BS1235  .P74  1842  " 
 
 Priaulx,  Osmond  de  Beauvoir,  1805-1891. 
 Qu^stiones  Mosaic^  :  or  the  Book  of  Gen< 
 compared  vvilh  Ihe  remains  of  oncienl  relig 
 
QUiESTIONES  MOSAICiE, 
 
 BOOK  OF  GENESIS 
 
 COMPAKED  WITH    THl 
 
 REMAINS  OF  ANCIENT  RELIGIONS 
 
 OSBIOND  DE  BEAUVOIR  PRIAULX. 
 
 'Hq  <PyQ  oi),  Kovciv  uWo,  tovt'  oo'^Cjq  txftf. 
 
 Sophocles. 
 
 FROM  THE  CRKATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ABKAUAW. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN  BOHN,    17,   HENRIETTA- STREET, 
 
 COVENT-GARDEN, 
 MDCCCXLII. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The  host  of  writers  who  have  commented  on  the 
 Bible  may  be  divided  into  three  great  parties.  The 
 first  in  point  of  numbers  and  discipline  and  authority 
 is  unquestionably  the  party  of  "  the  orthodox." 
 They  reverence  in  the  Bible  an  inspired  book,  the 
 Book  of  Truth.  But  as  their  age  has  also  its 
 truths,  and  truths  which  none  but  a  few  unhappy 
 thinkers  ever  venture  to  doubt,  to  these  truths  our 
 orthodox  commentators  struggle  to  fashion  their 
 text :  and  we  find  them  consequently  with  Scrip- 
 ture now  confirming  error,  and  with  Scripture  now 
 opposing  and  now  ratifying  the  new  deductions  of 
 science.  With  them  the  Bible  has  as  many 
 meanings  as  man  has  opinions. — The  second  in 
 point  of  time,  the  last  in  point  of  numbers  and 
 authority,  are  "  the  infidels."  They  despise  the 
 religion  of  which  the  Bible  is  the  symbol ;  they  see 
 the  present  and  the  present  only ;  they  have  eyes  but 
 for  themselves  and  their  own  wants.    Into  the  spirit 
 
IV 
 
 of  the  ancient  world  they  seek  not  to  penetrate  : 
 it  is  not  their  spirit :  and  the  forms  of  old  religion 
 are  for  them  therefore  but  the  cunning  devices  of 
 priestcraft  to  ensnare  men's  souls. — The  third 
 party,  "the  rationalists,"  are  of  modern  date  :  they 
 form  a  middle  class  between  the  orthodox  and  the 
 infidel.  They  have  appreciated  the  wants  of  their 
 age,  and  with  reverence  they  have  approached  the 
 remains  of  antiquity :  they  have  caught  some 
 portion  of  its  spirit :  but  they  have  erred  in  that 
 they  have  translated  into  modern  language  the 
 idioms  of  a  society  long  since  extinct ;  in  that  they 
 have  seen  only  the  naked  fact,  and  not  the  fact 
 as  seen  by  those  who  have  transmitted  it  to  us. 
 They  have  made  the  ancient  world  a  confused 
 reflexion  of  the  modern. 
 
 To  no  one  of  these  classes  do  I  belong.  I  have 
 no  preconceived  theory  to  which  I  would  wrest 
 the  text  I  have  attempted  to  elucidate.  I  have 
 sought  but  to  ascertain  the  views  and  opinions  of 
 which  the  Pentateuch  may  be  considered  the 
 expression.  I  began  therefore  by  putting  aside  all 
 question  of  its  inspiration,  well  assured  however, 
 that  if  indeed  inspired,  the  fact  would  press  itself 
 upon  me  at  every  line.     I  then  read  Genesis,  to 
 
which  I  intended  to  confine  my  labours,  in  con- 
 nexion with  the  laws  of  Moses,  and  the  religion  of 
 the  Jews  as  it  appears  in  the  Prophets.  And  as  I 
 believe  that  the  same  stages  of  civilization  best 
 understand  and  best  represent  each  other,  with  the 
 rites  and  the  religion  of  Moses  I  compared  the 
 rites  and  the  religion  of  other  ancient  people.  I 
 looked  for  his  views  not  in  the  fables  of  the 
 Talmudists  or  the  ponderous  tomes  of  commen- 
 tators, but  in  the  Vedas,  the  Laws  of  Menu,  the 
 Zendavesta,  the  Kings  of  China,  the  traditions  of 
 Greece,  and  the  legends  and  customs  of  half-civi- 
 lized man.  I  found  different  nations  uttering  the 
 same  cry,  speaking  the  same  thought  though  not 
 indeed  in  the  same  phrase,  and  I  made  nation 
 interpret  the  language  of  nation.  In  this  w^ay  I 
 endeavoured  to  seize  the  life  and  spirit  of  the 
 olden  world,  and  that  life  and  spirit  I  compared 
 and  contrasted  with  the  life  and  spirit  of  modern 
 society. 
 
 But  again,  in  studying  the  olden  religions  I 
 could  not  but  observe  that  although  at  their 
 several  "  points  of  departure"  they  rather  re- 
 semble, yet  in  their  full  development  they  rather 
 differ   from,   each    other.     In    their   cosmogonies 
 
VI 
 
 then,  their  first  views  of  God  and  the  world,  I 
 sought  for  the  origin  of  those  peculiarities  which 
 subsequently  give  to  each  of  these  religions  its 
 character  and  individuality.  Hence  an  essay 
 towards  an  "  Esprit  des  Religions." 
 
 But  that  I  may  not  raise  expectations  which 
 must  be  disappointed,  I  will  at  once  state  that  I 
 know  nothing  of  the  oriental  languages.  My  igno- 
 rance, of  Hebrew  especially,  I  have  often  had  cause 
 to  regret ; — and  to  the  study  of  Hebrew  at  least  I 
 should  certainly  have  applied  myself,  had  I  not 
 been  aware  that  I  did  not  possess  those  philological 
 talents  which  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  cri- 
 tical knowledge  of  a  language. 
 
 With  regard  to  the  temper  in  which  I  have 
 written,  I  have  been  told  that  I  am  occasionally 
 guilty  of  a  sneer  ; — all  I  can  answer  is,  that  if 
 there  be  a  sneer,  it  is  on  the  lip  only  and  not  in 
 the  heart ;  and  that  if  I  have  been  betrayed  into 
 any  irreverent  contempt  for  the  opinions  of  others 
 (of  which  I  am  not  conscious),  it  has  been  through 
 fear  of  falHng  into  that  mincing  Jesuitism  which  is 
 one  of  the  crying  faults  of  our  age. 
 
CHAPTER  I. 
 
 ■    GENESIS  I.  1-31 ;  ii.  1-3. 
 
 Verse  1 :  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
 and  the  earth."  In  the  beginning  of  what  ?  Not  of  the 
 universe  certainly,  for  the  universe  yet  was  not;  and  not 
 of  God's  existence,  for  God's,  existenc'e  is  infinite  and 
 eternal.  In  the  beginning  then — of  creation?  "Vi-Tiat  ?  Had 
 the  Elohim,  as,  in  the  Indian  scheme,  the  great  Brahme, 
 liitherto  "  dwelt  in  some  egg,  Himself  meditating  on  Hun- 
 self?"!  and  was  "the  first  inclination  of  the  Godhead  to 
 diversify  liimself  by  creating  worlds," — was  the  first 
 desire,^  the  first  thought^  that  gave  a  ripple  to  the  calm 
 
 '  "  The  world,"  says  Menu, "  was 
 all  darkness,  undiscernable,  undis- 
 tinguisbaWe  altogether,  as  in  a  pro- 
 found sleep,  till  the  self-existent, 
 invisible  God,  making  it  manifest 
 with  five  elements  and  other  glori- 
 ous forms,  perfectly  dispelled  the 
 gloom  (comp.  Heb.  xi.  30).  He,  de- 
 siring to  raise  up  various  creatures 
 by  an  emanation  from  his  own 
 glory,  first  created  the  waters,  and 
 impressed  them  with  a  power  of 
 motion ;  by  that  power  was  pro- 
 duced a  golden  egg,  in  which  was 
 born  Brahme,  self-existing,  the  great 
 Parent  of  all  rational  beings.  The 
 God  having  dwelt  in  the  egg- 
 through  revolving  years.  Himself 
 vieditathuj  on  Himself,  divided  it 
 into  equal  parts,  and  from  those 
 halves  framed  the  lieaven  and  the 
 earth." — Sir  W.  Jones  On  the  Gods 
 of  Greece.  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i. 
 p.  244. 
 
 "  "  The  Indian  Maya,  the  first 
 
 inclination  of  the  Godhead  to  diver- 
 sify Himself  by  creating  worlds,  is 
 feigned  to  be  the  Mother  of  uni- 
 versal Nature."— Id.  p.  230. 
 
 ^  "  Then  was  there  no  entity  nor 
 nonentity  ;  no  world,  nor  sky,  nor 
 aught  above  it.  Death  was  not,  nor 
 then  was  immortality,  nor  distinc- 
 tion of  day  or  night.  But  that 
 breathed  without  afHation,  single, 
 with  her  who  is  sustained  within 
 him.  Other  than  Him,  nothing  ex- 
 isted which  has  since  been.  Dark- 
 ness there  was,  for  the  universe  was 
 enveloped  with  darkness  ;  but  that 
 mass  which  was  covered  by  the 
 husk  was  at  length  produced  by 
 the  power  of  contemplation.  First 
 desire  tvas  produced  in  the  mind, 
 and  that  was  the  original  produc- 
 tive seed." — From  the  Rig-veda,  by 
 Colebrook,  A.R.  viii.  404. 
 
 ■»  "  Originally  this  universe  was 
 indeed  soul  only;  nothing  else 
 whatsoever  existed  active  or  inactive. 
 
'A  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 of  an  hitherto  unconscious  existence — was  the  great 
 Word',  the  first-born,  that  broke  the  eternal  silence,  "  the 
 Beginning?"  Impossible.  Can  God  then,  as,  in  the  Per- 
 sian faith,  that  lifeless  spectre  Zeruane  Akerene,  that 
 terrible  abstraction,  Time  unchequered,  indefinite,  un- 
 create,  have  subsisted  alone?  And  does  "in  the  beginning" 
 allude  to  the  sublime  intelligences  which  first  peopled  the 
 boundless  solitudes — to  the  creation  of  the  Ormuzds  and 
 Ahrimans,''  the  Sephiroths  and  evil  angels  of  the  Cabala?^ 
 Or  is  it  to  be  referred  to  the  first  birth  of  the  pure  Honover,' 
 the  poAverful  living  word  of  Orniuzd,  the  holy  Logos^  of 
 Christianity,  which  afterwards  called  into  being  the  hea- 
 vens and  the  earth,  and  the  waters,  and  the  pure  worlds 
 of  light  ?  Again  impossible.  God  is  the  same  yesterday, 
 to-day,  and  for  ever :  moved  by  no  impulses,  urged  by  no 
 
 He  thought, "  I  will  create  worlds." 
 Thus  He  created  water,ligbt,  mortal 
 beings,and  the  waters." — Id.  p.  420. 
 
 *  "  Knowin,2,-  the  elements,  disco- 
 vering the  worlds,  and  recognizing 
 all  quarters  and  regions  to  be  Him, 
 and  worshipping  speech,  or  revela- 
 tion, who  is  the  first-boru,  &c."- — 
 Yajurveda,  id.  p.  433. 
 
 ^  The  two,  Ormuzd  and  Ahri- 
 man,  in  the  course  of  their  exis- 
 tence, are  the  sole  productions  of 
 Time  without  bounds.  Of  the  pro- 
 ductions of  the  pure  world,  Or- 
 muzd first  made  the  heaven,  that 
 world  of  light  which  was  the  pure 
 law  of  the  Mehestans.  He  then 
 made  Ardibehescht,  then  Schari- 
 ver,  &c."  Here,  the  Amschas- 
 pands  arc  the  creation  of  Ormuzd  ; 
 such  also  they  are  represented  in  the 
 Jescht  of  Bahman  Ardibehescht, 
 V.  ii.  p.  I.'i2,  Zend.  In  the  xix 
 Farg.  p.  413,  v..  i,  Zend,  they  are 
 spoken  of  as  the  production  of 
 Zeruane-Akercne: "  L'Etre  absorbe 
 dans  rexcellence  ta  donne;  il  a 
 aussi  donne  avec  grandeur  les 
 Amschaspands,  qui  sont  de  pures 
 productions  et  de  saints  rois." 
 
 '  "  Before  the  great  cause  of  all 
 
 causes,  the  most  secret  of  secret 
 things,  created  the  world;  before 
 He  created  obj  ects  cognizable  by  the 
 intellect  or  produced  form.  He  was 
 Himself,"  say  the  Cabalists,  "alone, 
 without  figure  or  similitude.  But 
 when  creation  commenced,  His  ex- 
 istence being  only  demonstrable  by 
 His  energies,  from  the  immensity  of 
 His  own  essence  sprung  forth  the 
 first  of  the  divine  Sephirotli  or  enu- 
 merations, communicating  in  va- 
 rious degrees  an  unceasing  influx 
 of  Deity  to  nine  others,  all  of  which, 
 combined,  display  to  us  a  tenfold 
 idea  of  the  Deity." — Bookof  Enoch, 
 Prelim.  History,  by  Laurence. 
 
 ^  St.  John'sGospel,  c.  i.  v.  1. 
 
 9  Zendavesta,  xix.  Farg.  ut  su- 
 pra, and  Id.  xix. Ha,  vol.i.  139.  The 
 word  of  Ormuzd,  the  word  given  of 
 God,  is  the  pure  Honover  which  ex- 
 isted before  the  heaven  and  the 
 earth."  "  J'ai  prononce  la  parole 
 avec  grandeur,  moi  qui  suis  absorbe 
 dans  rexcellence ;  et  tous  les  etres 
 purs  qui  ont  ete  faits,  ont  courus 
 dans  Ic  monde  d'Ormuzd."  And 
 again  (1  Carde.  vol.  i.  p.  \S6), 
 "  J'iuv()([ue  la  parole,  source  de 
 tout,  saintc,  pure  et  grande." 
 
CHAPTER   I.  6 
 
 wants,  but  following  out  His  own  beneficent  laws,  He  has 
 ever  wrought,  from  aU  eternity.  Yes,  He  has  ever  wrought, 
 and  yet  in  Hun,  the  Ideal  and  the  Real,  Thought  and 
 Being,  are  one  and  the  same.  Yes,  He  ever  v;orlcs,  and 
 yet  for  Him  have  ever  existed  both  this  glorious  spectacle 
 the  earth,  and  this  blue  heaven,  in  which  myriads  of  worlds 
 roll  theu'  predestined  courses.  Yes,  He  will  ivorJc  ever, 
 and  yet  to  Him  time  can  bring  no  change ;  before  Him, 
 all  that  ever  has  been,  all  that  is,  all  that  ever  will  be,  is 
 continually  present ;  in  Him  eternity  has  no  past,  no 
 fliture,  for  Him  it  is  but  a  moment,  as  a  moment  is  for 
 Him  eternity. 
 
 For  God,  there  is  no  beginning  and  no  end  of  work — 
 no  first  and  no  last  essay  in  creation :  but  man,  as  he 
 travels  back  from  age  to  age,  at  length  grows  weary  of  the 
 ever-receding  vista  of  bye-gone  centuries,  and  he  therefore 
 closes  his  eyes,  and  stills  his  impatient  mind,  with  a  word, 
 "  In  the  beginning."  And  "  in  the  beginning,"  when, 
 so  God  had  from  all  eternity  willed  it.  Time  began ;  when 
 man  first  stepped  into  existence — man,  to  whom  God  gave 
 much  of  earth,  and  something  of  Hunself ;  man,  in  whom 
 the  real  and  the  ideal  are  not  identical,  but  rather  antago- 
 nist principles,  and  who  is  Nature's  servant  or  God's 
 worshipper,  as  the  one  or  the  other  dominates  his  life — in 
 the  beginning  of  Time  and  as  the  beginning  of  History, 
 of  that  great  race  which  Humanity  has  to  run,  and  for 
 wliich  we  have  yet  scarce  girded  up  our  loins,  of  that 
 race,  whose  goal,  after  six  thousand  years  of  labour,  is 
 even  now  beyond  our  horizon, — God  created  Heaven,  earth, 
 and  man. 
 
 But  was  Moses,  indeed,  thus  impressed  with  God's 
 infinity  ?  I  doubt  it.  All  infant  people  reject  the  merely 
 intelligible ;  they  ask  for  sometliing  that  appeals  to  their 
 senses,  something  wliich  they  can  comprehend.  Speak  to 
 them  of  the  self-sustained  heaven,  or  of  the  round  worldi 
 
 1  "  Les  Tlascalans  croj-oient  la  ils  etoient  persuades  que  le  soleil 
 terre  plate,  et  n'ayant  aucune  idee  el  la  lune  dormoient  a  la  fin  de 
 de  la  revolution  des  corps  celestes,    leurs  cours."  Hist.  Gen.  des  Voy- 
 
held  in  its  course  by  opposite  and  counteracting  forces, 
 aud  they  will  laugh  you  to  scorn.  But  place  Heaven  on 
 the  broad  shoulders  of  Atlas,  or  on  the  ever-growing 
 Albordj,'  "  or  the  sun-bright  Meru:'"  rest  the  fiat  earth 
 on  marble*  pillars,  or  the  tortoise-back,  and  you  bring 
 before  them  causes  with  which  they  are  familiar,  and 
 which  seem  to  them  sufficient ;  you  amuse  their  imagina- 
 tions, and  they  will  not  enquire  into  the  cause  of  your 
 cause ;  and  years  may  pass  away,  perhaps  centuries,  ere 
 they  perceive  that  they  have  got  rid  of  one  difficulty  only 
 to  meet  another  and  a  greater.  Similarly,  speak  to  them 
 of  God,  as  He  i-eveals  Himself  to  rational  man;  insist 
 upon  His  infinite.  His  universal  nature ;  show  them  that 
 to  His  spiritual  existence  no  conceptions  into  which  time  or 
 space  enters  are  applicable;  and  will  not  a  strong  array  of 
 cherished  associations  and  accustomed  thoughts  angrily 
 rise  up  from  their  minds'  depths  to  drive  back  your  force 
 of  reason  ?  Tell  them,  however,  of  a  God  who  rules  the 
 storm  and  wills  the  earthquake,  who  gives  corn  and  har- 
 vest, and  dispenses  light  and  heat  to  man ;  of  one,  who 
 even  framed  this  earth  and  created  these  heavens ;  and 
 so  long  as  you  dwell  merely  on  God's  power,  thus  exercised 
 the  most  human  of  his  attributes,  they  will  comprehend, 
 and  perhaps  eagerly  receive,  your  words.  But  from  your 
 words,  can  we  conclude,  that  either  you,  or  they  whom 
 you  address,  have  any  but  very  narrow  conceptions  of  God? 
 What,  then,  shall  we  say,  v.'hen  at  the  head  of  an  ancient 
 cosmogony  which  similarly  describes  the  Deity,  we  meet 
 with  a  phrase  so  ambiguous  as  this  "  In  the  beginning"  ? 
 Shall  Ave  torture  it  into  some  meaning  not  contradictory  of 
 a  rational  apprehension  of  God  ?  Or  shall  we,  assuming  in 
 its  author  views  natural  to  his  age,  give  to  the  words  their 
 most  obvious  sense,  and  refer  them  to  some  beginning  in 
 
 ages,  vol.  xviii.  p.  597,  from  Her-  ''  Seems  to  have  been  the  opinion 
 
 rera.     The  Peruvians  held  much  of  the  Jews  even  so  late  as  the  times 
 
 the  same   notions,  vide  Hist,  dcs  of  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Enoch. 
 
 Yn .'MS,  p.  106.  "I  surveyed  the  stone  which  sup- 
 
 ^  According  to  the  Persian  books,  ports   the   corners   of    the   earth." 
 
 ^  Accordinc:  to  the  Vedas.  Enoch,  xviii.  2. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  O 
 
 creation,  some  hegimiing  in  eternity,  or  some  first  conscious- 
 ness of  the  Diety  of  Himself?' 
 
 Bnt  wliat  have  I  myself  done  ?  Have  I  not,  following 
 out  the  laws  of  the  human  reason,  sought  by  them  to 
 determine  the  laws  and  character  of  a  perfect  and  infinite 
 existence  ?  Miserable  sophist !  Does  not  a  world  of  facts 
 rise  up  to  confute  me?  To  my  speculations  the  plain 
 man  has  but  to  oppose  this  solid  earth,  and  man's  iron 
 will ;  and  what  can  I  answer  him  ?  Have  I  not  left  them 
 unaccounted  for,  and  unaccountable.  These  and  a  thou- 
 sand other  fiicts  shall  I  now  2;loze  over  with  a  show  of 
 
 ^  Compare  Gen.  i.  2,  which  de- 
 scribes God's  spirit  moving-  on  the 
 face  of  the  waters,  with  the  first 
 motion  ascribed  to  the  Godhead  in 
 the  Hindoo  books  (vide  notei  p.  1, 
 sup.).  See  also  the  Cosmogony  of  the 
 Parsis  in  tlie  Boun-Dehesch  vol.  ii, 
 Zend.,  and  compare  with  it  the 
 doctrine  of  the  Cabala  (note  7) ; 
 also  the  Neaesch  of  the  Sun,  ii.  p.  8, 
 Zend.,  where  Ormuzd  is  thus  ad- 
 dressed, "  Juste  Juge,  eclatant  de 
 gloire  et  de  lumiere,  qui  scavez 
 tout,  agissant,  Seigneur  des  seig- 
 neurs, Roi  eleve  sur  tous  les  rois, 
 Createur  qui  donnez  aux  creatures 
 la  nourriture  necessaire  de  chaque 
 jour,  grand,  fort,  qxd  kes  des  le 
 commencement,  Sec."  And  observe 
 the  character  of  the  first  God,  as 
 given  us  from  the  Hernietic  Books 
 by  lamblichus  :  "  vpo  rcov  ovtojq 
 ovTiov  tffTi  BiOQ  eiQ,  TTpajTog  1]  rov 
 TTpoJTOv  Srtov  Kai  BacnXtwQ,  aKivi]TOQ 
 tv  ^lovorrjTi  ti]q  kavrov  h'OTTjTog  /.u- 
 Vi))V  ovTi.  yap  voi]Tov  avrq)  tTrnrXe- 
 %£rai,  ovTt  aWo  tc  Trapadnyfia  ct 
 iSpvrai  Tov  avrovar^oc,  avroyovov, 
 Tov  fiovoTraTpog  Sreov,  tov  ovtujc  aya- 
 Sov.  fieipov  yap  ri  K}  Trpwroi',  iq  TTijyi] 
 
 TU)V  TTaVTO))',   /cat  TW^IXI-jV   TOIV    voov- 
 
 y-ivuiv  TzpoTojv  iiowi'  ovTuiv  aTvo  re 
 TOV  ivoQ  TovTov,  6  avTapx^^c  Bsog 
 tavTOv  tS,t\a^i-d/e,  cio  kuI  avTOTraTiop, 
 Kal  avTapxVQ-  <^PX^1  ynpovTOQitjSiioQ 
 Srtiuv,"  &c.  "  Ante  eas  res  quae  ve- 
 rae  sunt,  est  Deus  unus,  prior  etiam 
 
 primo  Deo  et  rege ;  est  ille  immo- 
 biliSyin  solitudine  sui3e  unitatisper- 
 manens,  neque  enim  intellectuale 
 ei  immiuiscetur,  neque  aliquid 
 aliud,  estque  exemplar  ipsius,  qui 
 est  sui  pater,  et  de  se  genitus,  et 
 unipater  Deus  et  vere  bonus.  Est 
 enira  majus  quid  et  prius,  fons 
 omnium  et  radix  intelligibilium, 
 idearum  primarum  entium.  Ab 
 hoc  autem  uno  Deus  per  se  suffi- 
 ciens  se  ipse  explicuit ;  proinde  est 
 sui  pater  et  sibi  sufiiciens.  Est 
 enim  hie  et  principinm  et  Deus  de- 
 orum." — De  Mysteriis,  &c.  viii,  c. 
 ii,  and  consult  Gale's  notes  on  this 
 passage.  1  am  aware  of  the  doubts 
 thrown  upon  the  books  of  Hermes. 
 I  know  that  they  are  said  to  have 
 been  compiled  "  out  of  the  works 
 of  Plato  and  the  divine  Scriptures." 
 (Stanley  Hist.  Phil.  159)  I  know 
 that  lamblichus  has  been  styled  a 
 dreamer  and  a  madman  (De  Pauw, 
 Egyptiens,  &c.  vol.ii.§  vii.  p.  149); 
 still  in  the  passage  above  I  see  so 
 much  that  accords  with  the  no- 
 tions of  Persian  and  Indian  priests 
 (see  especially  the  cosmogony  in 
 Poller  Mythologie  des  Indiens,  vol. 
 i.  p.  163),  that  though  somewhat 
 Platonicized  (see  Doctr.  of  Plato, 
 by  Picus  de  Mirandula,  in  Stanley, 
 §  i,  p.  1 96),  I  cannot  but  believe 
 that  it  pretty  fairly  expresses  the 
 p]gyptian  idea  of  the  first  God. 
 
6  CHAPTER   T. 
 
 subtle  argument  ?  Or  shall  I,  with  a  despairing  scepticism, 
 either  doubt  their  existence,  or  doubt  that  we  can  know 
 aught  of  God  ?  God  forbid  !  God,  in  truth,  can  never 
 be  other  than  very  partially,  very  dimly  known  to  us.  But 
 in  Him,  indivisible,  yet  multitudinous,  One,  yet  universal, 
 in  Him,  I  feel,  that  all  things  contradictory,  all  things 
 discordant — save  weakness,  error,  sin — meet  and  blend 
 together  with  a  harmony  which  saints  and  angels  live  to 
 contemplate  ;  and  I  content  myself,  therefore,  with  the 
 belief  of  the  wise  apostle,  "  Through  faith  we  understand, 
 that  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  Word  of  God." 
 
 "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
 earth."  "  Created,"  not  merely  gave  form  to  chaos,  or 
 another  order  to  old  materials,  but  bid  chaos  itself  exist. 
 So  we  understand  the  term ;  but  did  Moses  so  under- 
 stand it  ? 
 
 Not  invariably  certainly ;  for  it  is  from  Avater  that  the 
 great  whales  ("  and  God  created  great  whales  ")  are  brought 
 forth,  and  out  of  the  earth  that  cattle  and  creeping 
 things  are  made;  and  even  though  man  (Gen.  i.  27)  is  said 
 to  have  been  created  in  God's  image,  yet  that  creation  is 
 afterwards  (Gen.  ii.  7)  limited  to  a  mere  arrangement  or  com- 
 position of  existent  materials, — "  God  formed  man  of  the 
 dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
 of  life."" 
 
 In  this  first  verse  of  Genesis  then  ?  If  Moses  have  here 
 used  "  created  "  in  its  strict  and  only  proper  sense,  then  as 
 he  has  applied  it  to  heaven  and  earth  equally,  he  has 
 applied  it  to  them  both  in  the  same  sense,  and  both  conse- 
 quently exist,  though  the  latter,  and  the  latter  only  (for 
 two  chaoses  are  an  impossibility),  exists  as  chaos  (ver.  2). 
 But  if  heaven'  already  exist,  how  is  it  that  the  creation  of 
 
 *  I  lind  this  argument  in  Beau-  '  I  am  aware  that  the  heaven  in 
 
 sobre  Hist,  ties  Manicheens,  lib.  v.  the  first  verse  has  been  supposed  by 
 
 c.  iv.     He  refers  to  Isaiah  xiv.  7,  commentators  to  allude  to  the  su- 
 
 where  the  terms  Bara,  Jatsar,  and  preme  heaven,  in  which  are  the 
 
 Asah,  are  all  used  indiscriminately,  throne  of  God  and  the  habitation 
 
 vol.  ii.  p.  206.  of  the  angels;   while   that   in    the 
 
CHAPTER   I.  i 
 
 heaven  8  is  the  work  of  the  second  day,  and  appears,  like 
 the  after  creation  of  the  world,  as  a  mere  arrangement,  a 
 separation  of  the  waters  ?  How,  besides,  coidd  the  w^iole 
 creation  be  called  a  six  days'  labour,  when  an  indefinite 
 period  is  allowed  for  the  creation  of  that  which  was  alone 
 created — Chaos  ?  Taking  then  the  term  "  created  "  in  the 
 sense  of  produced,  foiined,  arranged,  I  conclude  that  this 
 first  verse  is  but  the  smumary  and  prefatory  verse, — the 
 "  arma  virumque  cano  " — of  Moses'  hymn  of  the  creation ; 
 that  the  second  shows  us  the  matter  on  wliich  God  wrought ; 
 and  that  icith  the  third  only  really  commences  the  first  act 
 of  creation :  the  spirit  of  God  then  moves  on  the  face  of 
 the  waters,  and  his  voice  is  then  first  heard, — "  Let  there 
 be  hght."  I  regard,  then,  the  creation  of  JMoses,  wath  the 
 exception,  perhaps,  of  the  creation  of  light,  as  a  mere 
 arrangement  of  pre-existent  though  confused  materials."" 
 
 2 :  "  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void, 
 and  darkness  was  on  the  face  of  the  deep."     "  I  do  not 
 
 eighth  verse  is  the  heaven  in  wliich  better  pictured  heaven  to  us,  than 
 are  the  planets,  &c.,  belonging  to  all  this  accumulation  of  the  too- 
 our  system.  I,  however,  remember  much  loved  riches  of  earth, 
 nothing  in  the  books  of  Moses  ^  I  know  nothing  of  Hebrew,  and 
 which  implies,  nor,  I  must  own,  can  have  turned  the  argument  on  the 
 I  conceive,  this  tier  of  heavens ;  I  word  "  created."  In  A^rniwZ  (iv.  p. 
 cannot  understand  how  God  is  1  10),  by  I  believethe  Hon.  Algernon 
 more  in  one  place  than  another,  Herbert,  however,  I  find  that  the 
 and  I  cannot  give  a  local  habita-  words  translated  "  the  heavens"  are 
 tion  to  pure  spirits.  To  be  blessed  " eth  hasciamaim ;" and  that  eth  "is 
 they  surely  need  no  white  raiments,  usually  rendered  essence,"  accord- 
 no  jasper  thrones,  no  gates  of  pearl,  ing  to  Hettinger  ;  and  that  Fabre 
 no  walls  of  sapphire,  or  emerald,  or  d'Olivet  "  renders  it  self-sameness 
 chrysolite,  and  no  cities  of  pure  an  equivalent  phrase."  How  far 
 gold  like  unto  glass ; — not  of  such  all  this  is  correct  I  necessarily  am 
 dross  is  their  heaven  :  and  if  for  unable  to  determine.  I  can  only 
 our  material  natures  heaven  must  observe,  that  the  context  floes  not 
 be  described  materially,  surely  as  favour  this  translation ;  and  that 
 the  spirit  of  God  rested  not  upon  many  great  Hebrew  scholars  seem 
 eastern  kings  or  the  throned  Caesars,  to  have  been  unaware  of  the  force 
 but  on  the  lowly  carpenter's  son,  of  this  little  word. 
 so  some  bleak  and  barren,  and  de-  ^  The  contrary  opinion  is  advo- 
 spised  heath,  made  glorious  by  the  cated  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke, — vid. 
 presence  of  God,  and  the  joy,  and  Comment  on  Genesis,  i.  1. 
 
 peace,  and  love  of  his  saints,  had 
 
»  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 remember,"  says  the  learned  Burnet,  "  tliat  any  of  the 
 ancients  that  ackno^yledged  the  earth  to  have  had  an 
 original,  did  deny  that  original  to  have  been  from  a  chaos. 
 We  are  assured  of  both  from  the  authority  of  Moses,  who 
 saith  that  in  the  beginning  the  eai'th  was  toJiu-bolm,  with- 
 out form  and  void,  a  fluid,  dark,  confused  mass,  without 
 distinction  of  parts,  but  without  order  or  any  determinate 
 form."  {Sacred  Theory  of  the  Earth,  vol.  i.  c.  4,  p.  61.) 
 That  the  Jews,  the  Alexandrian  Jews  at  least,  held  in  this 
 respect  the  opinions  of  their  age,  Philo-Judteus  is  evidence. 
 In  his  tract  (i)(3  Mimdi  Opif.  p.  12)  he  speaks  not  merely 
 of  the  one  cause,  efficient  and  intelligent,  but  also  of  a 
 second,  passive,  inert,  inanimate.^  He  tells  us  that  matter 
 {ovaria)  was,  in  its  nature,  without  form,  order,  motion,  was 
 chaos  in  a  word,  and  that  the  Deity  gave  it  form,  order, 
 motion :  that  hence  the  world  is  (yf^jj-oc)  generated,  and 
 not  (aytvYi-oo)  eternal.^  By  the  Brahmins  it  is  believed 
 that  "  this  all  once  existed  in  darkness,  imperceptible,  un- 
 definable,  undiscoverable,  and  imdiscovered,  as  if  wholly 
 immersed  in  sleep. "^  With  the  Egyptians,  as  also  with 
 the  Greeks,  chaos  was  a  humid  mass.*  Among  the  Chal- 
 deans, according  to  Berossus,  it  was  supposed  "  that  a  time 
 had  been  in  which  the  universe,  the  all,  was  darkness  and 
 water  ;"*  and  if  Sanchoniatho  is  a  fair  representative  of 
 the  philosophical  and  religious  opinions  of  his  time  and 
 country,  the  Phoenicians  conjectured  that  "  the  beginning 
 of  all  things  was  a  wind  of  black  air,  and  a  chaos  dark 
 
 1  "Tojitfj'  Hi'ai  dpa(TTt}pio7'  airiov,  DavidRecliei'cliessur  Jupiter,  vol.  i. 
 
 TO  Si  iraSrTjrov.  Kai  on  to  [xtv  Cpa-  p.  31. 
 
 arrjpLOv  6  tmv  oXdjv  vovg  e<jtiv *    Ev  (f!  to  irav  (Tttotoq  Kai  vSujp 
 
 TO  £t  TruBrjTov,  axpvxov  icj  aKtvjjrov  iivai.     Berossus  then  goes   on   to 
 
 f?  eavTov.  state  that  this  chaos  was  iiihahited 
 
 ^  From  Stahl  Lehrhcgriff  Philo  by  mis-shapen  monsters,  paintings 
 
 in  Eichhorn's  Bibliothek  der  bib-  of  which  were  to  be  seen  in    the 
 
 lischen  Literatur.  temple  of  Belus.     Vide  Fabricius 
 
 ^    Instit.  of  Menu,  c.  i.  by  Sir  Bib.  Gra;c.  vol.  xiv.  p.   175,  and 
 
 W.  Jones.  Cory's  Anc.  Frag.  p.  23.     In  the 
 
 ■*  For  the  Egyptian  chaos  see  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  according 
 pp.  320,  321,  of  Cory's  Ancient  to  Rosellini,  chaos  is  similarly  ex- 
 Frag,  from  Daniascius ;  for  the  pressed  by  a  confusion  of  the  limbs 
 Greek,  Idem,  p.  312  ;  and  Emeries  and  parts  of  various  animals. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  9 
 
 as  Erebus,  and  that  they  were  boundless  and  for  many 
 ages  without  bound.'"'  And  although  the  Chinese  books 
 noAvhcre,  so  far  as  I  remember,  directly  speak  of  a  chaos, 
 yet,  as  they  speak  of  the  Heaven  (Tien)  and  the  Earth  as 
 the  father  and  mother  of  all  things,^  they  imply  that  God 
 and  matter  are  co-eternal,  and,  as  Tien  is  also  creator,  a 
 chaos. 
 
 In  reviewing  these  various  speculations  on  the  begin- 
 ning of  our  world,  we  cannot  but  ask  ourselves  whether 
 the  existence  of  a  chaos,  that  once  "  overwhelming  neces- 
 sity,"^ is  compatible  with  our  idea  of  the  Deity?  Whether 
 in  some  corner  of  infinite  space — its  thousands  of  miles 
 some  creeds  have  not  hesitated  to  measure^ — darkness  and 
 confusion  could  ever  for  a  moment  have  hid  themselves 
 from  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God  ?  World  may  have  succeeded 
 world,  and  inferior  creations  may  have  been  replaced  by 
 creations  more  perfect,  and  the  transitions  may  have  been 
 sudden,  violent,  terrible,  in  our  eyes  moments  of  disorder, 
 all  this  I  can  very  well  understand ;  but  I  can  never  con- 
 ceive, that  any  speck  of  matter  has  ever  existed  but  by 
 God's  will  and  subject  to  God's  law ;  nor  that  any,  there- 
 fore, has  ever  existed  but  in  its  place,  and  that  place  the 
 best,  the  only  one,  in  the  whole  circle  of  the  universe, 
 fitted  to  the  purposes  for  which  that  matter  was  destined 
 and  created.     I  cannot,  therefore,  conceive  a  chaos.'     All 
 
 ^  Aepa   ZofojStj   ical  TrvtvjxaTiuot],  chaos,  it  will  be  objected  to   rae. 
 
 T]  Tvvoriv  atpoc  Zo(pojSov,;   Kai  xc-oi;  The    idea   of  jniqjose,   design,    is 
 
 ^■oXepov   sptj3u)See:    ravra   St   twai  surely    not   compatible    with    our 
 
 aTriipa^KaiSiairoXw  aiwvan'i}  txtiv  notion  of  a  chaos,  and  yet  essen- 
 
 TTipag." — FromFourmont'sAnciens  tially  enters  into  our  conceptions 
 
 Peuples.  of  God's   will.      Besides,   as    the 
 
 '  Vide  Chou-King',  Part  iv,  c.  i,  question  is  of  a  fact  which  tran- 
 
 p.  1.  "  Le  iciel  et  la  terre  sont  le  scends  experience,  which    can  be 
 
 pere  et  la  mere  de  toutes  choses." —  matter  of  speculation  only,  if  we 
 
 De  Guigne's  translation.  are  to  speculate — and  were  it  not 
 
 8  "  —l—TtpioTa  x^ovg  afiiyaprov  that  Others  had  ploughed  the  barren 
 
 avayxrjv." — Orph.  Arg.  12.  field,  I  assuredly  had  not  put  my 
 
 ^  Its  length,  l)readth,  and  depth,  dibble  in  earth — let  us  prefer  spe- 
 
 according  to  the  Lamaic  creed,  con-  culations  which    are   simple,    and 
 
 sisted   of    6,160,000    miles.      See  most  in    accord  with  the  pure  and 
 
 Pallas  Reise,  vol.  ii,  p.  234.  loftier  conceptions   of  God's  cha- 
 
 1  But   God  may  have  willed   a  racter. 
 
10  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 things,  every  where,  in  all  time,  have,  I  believe,  borne  the 
 mighty  impress  of  God's  plastic  hand;  and  whatever 
 may  have  been  their  courses,  have  but  sustained  a  pre- 
 established  part  in  the  ever-varying  harmony  of  Nature. 
 
 "And  the  spirit  of  God  moved  upon"*  the  face  of  the 
 waters."  This  verse,  while  it  more  distinctly  marks  out 
 the  nature  of  chaos,  its  fluid  mass,  at  the  same  time  de- 
 scribes the  "mochts  operandi,''''  the  manner  in  which  the 
 Deity  performed  His  creative  labours.  His  spirit  moves 
 upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  stirs  them,  makes  them  quick 
 with  life.  The  primal  matter,  and  the  mode  in  which,  by 
 the  intervention  of  the  first  active  principle,  it  was  adapted 
 to  the  purposes  of  the  universe,  are  problems  from  which, 
 however  impossible  they  are  of  solution,  the  olden  cosmo- 
 gonists  have  never  shrunk.  Thus,  the  author  of  the 
 Institutes  of  Menu,  having  first  informed  us  that  this 
 universe  existed  only  in  darkness,  adds  that,  "then  the 
 self-existing  power,  himself  undiscerned  but  making  the 
 world  discernible,  with  five  elements  and  other  principles, 
 appeared  with  undiminished  glory,  dispelling  the  gloom. 
 
 He,  whom  the  mind  can  alone  perceive even  He,  the  soul 
 
 of  all  beings. . .  .shone  forth  in  person.  He  havinrj  wished  to 
 produce  various  beings  from  His  own  substance,  first  with  a 
 thought  created  the   waters,  and  placed  in  them  a  pro- 
 
 *  The  Hebrew  word  Ruah,  wliich  mentators,  "  comprises  the  prin- 
 has  been  rendered  "  spirit  of  God,"  ciples  of  things,  and  the  elements; 
 means  "  a  breath,"  or  "  wind,"  and  the  existence  of  the  chaotic  mass, 
 some  transUitions,  instead  of  mak-  the  production  and  the  destruction 
 ing  the  spirit  to  move,  make  it  to  of  workls." — Colebrooke  on  the 
 brood  upon  the  waters,  as  a  hen  Rel.  Cerem.  of  the  Hindoos,  As. 
 upon  her  eggs,  thus  calling  to  Res.  vol.  v,  p.  351.  I  suspect,  how- 
 mind  the  mundane  egg  of  so  many  ever,  that  water  holds  this  high 
 cosmogonies  (videJablonsky,Panth.  place  only  among  the  Vischnuists  ; 
 ^gyp.  c.  ii,  §  8,  p.  41).  Milton  so  among  the  Sevaists  it  is  usurped  by 
 read  the  passage :  fire,  among  others  by  air ;  while  a 
 "  Thou  from  the  first,  passage  in  the   Yajur-Vcda    (Id. 
 
 Wast  present,  and  with  mighty  p.  432)   attributes  it  to  them  all 
 
 wings  outspread,  equally :    "  Fire    is    that    original 
 
 Dovelikc  sat'st,  brooding  on  the  cause ;  the  sun  is  that ;  so  is  the 
 
 vast  abyss,  air;  so  is  the  moon;  such  too  is 
 
 And  raad'st  it  pregnant."  that  pure  Brahme,  and  those  wa- 
 
 ^  "  Water,"  says  one  of  the  com-  tcr»,  and  that  lord  of  creatures." 
 
CHAPTER    I.  11 
 
 ductivc  seed ;  the  seed  became  an  egg,  bright  as  gold — 
 and  in  that  egg  he  was  born  himself,  in  the  form  of 
 Brahme,  the  great  forefather  of  all  spirits.  (The  waters 
 are  called  Nara,  or  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  since  they  were 
 his  first  Ayana  or  place  of  motion,  he  thence  is  named 
 Narayana,  or  moving  on  the  waters)."  According  to  San- 
 choniatho,  "  the  wind"  (To  'Kvtv\x.a.),  whether  the  black  air 
 before  spoken  of,  or  some  more  vital  principle  allnded  to 
 in  that  intervening  passage  Fonrmont  conjectures  lost,* 
 '^  embraces  chaos  and  thus  generates  Mot  or  Mud,  and  from 
 Mot  sprang  all  the  seed  of  creation  and  the  genesis  of  all 
 things."  In  the  Lamaic  creed,  golden  clouds  clash  toge- 
 ther in  space,  and  pour  down  deluges  of  rain,  whence  is 
 produced  a  mighty  sea.  On  this  sea,  by  degrees,  appears 
 a  foam ;  and  from  this  foam  come  forth  all  living  creatures 
 and  with  them  man ;  and  from  man,  man's  Burchan  or  the 
 Gods.^ 
 
 In  all  these  cosmogonies  water'  plays  a  principal  part, 
 and  it  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  trace  out  the  analo- 
 gies which  gave  it  this  eminent  place  among  so  many  of 
 the  olden  nations;  but  the  most  striking  of  them  would  be 
 to  all  superfluous,  and  the  more  hidden  and  subtle  to  the 
 many  doubtful.  I  therefore  pass  on  to  the  religious  ten- 
 dencies of  these  cosmogonies.  In  the  two  last,  the  world 
 and  aU  tilings  else  are  clearly  the  results  of  chance.  There 
 is  no  intelligent  principle  to  mould  into  any  preconceived 
 forms  tlie  fermenting  mass.     Sun,  and  moon,  and  stars. 
 
 *  I  have  not  omitted  this  verse,  relatinji:  to  the  churning  of  the 
 because  the  expressions  it  uses  ocean  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
 closely  resemble  those  of  our  own  the  Amreeta.  In  this  way  were  pro- 
 Scripture.  But  it  seems  to  me  so  ducecl  the  moon,  and  the  goddess 
 little  connected  with  the  rest  of  the  of  fortune,  and  of  wine,  and  the 
 passage,  such  a  merely  parentlieti-  white  horse,  and  the  tree  of  plenty, 
 cal  observation,  that  I  cannot  help  and  the  cow  that  grants  every 
 regarding  it  as  the  addendum  of  heart's  desire. — From  the  Bhaga- 
 some  later  transcriber.  vad,  by  Wilkms,  p.  148. 
 
 ^SeeFouraiontjAnciensPeuples,        ''That  water  plays  also  its  part 
 
 vol.  i.  in  the  Chinese  cosmogony,  see  Des 
 
 "  See  Pallas,  ut  supra,  and  com-  Guignes,      Chou-king,      Discours 
 
 pare  with  this  Lamaic  cosmogony  Prel.  vol.  i,  p.  10. 
 the  episodes  from  the  Mahabharat, 
 
12  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 sliine  fortli/ — wherefore,  none  can  discover :  they  arc 
 there,  in  the  broad  heaven,  beautiful  by  accident;  parts 
 of  one  great  scheme,  and  dependent  one  on  the  otlier,  and 
 mutually  lending  sujiport  to  each  other,  and  all  by  acci- 
 dent. There  is  no  intelligent  j^rinci^jk,  and  man,  whose 
 soul  rises  above  this  world  and  its  systems,  and  whose 
 history  is  one  continuous  struggle  for  moral  excellence,  is 
 but  a  spawn  of  the  teeming  sea,  or  the  offspring  of  wind 
 and  of  night — yes,  man,  whose  intellect  is  so  imbued  with 
 the  sense  of  order  that  it  abhors  all  accidents,  is  himself 
 but  a  piece  of  the  finest  and  most  complicated  machinery, 
 the  very  quintessense  of  dust — an  accident.  There  is  no 
 intelligent  principle,  and  the  very  gods  themselves,  dwarfed 
 down  into  the  sons  of  men,  or  of  mud,  are  but  accidents  of 
 an  accident,  whose  will  is  an  accident,  whose  law  is  an 
 accident,  and  whose  favour  is  an  accident.  They  are 
 gods;  but  as  they  have  been  raised  to  their  celestial 
 thrones  only  by  their  superior  power,  or  for  extraordinary 
 benefits,  their  simpler  votaries  either  kneel  to  them  from 
 fear  and  not  from  a  grateful  sense  of  love,  or  from 
 cupidity,  and  not  to  rise  again  new  creatures  with  higher 
 and  purer  objects  to  struggle  for ;  and  their  iviser  priests, 
 atheists  at  heart,  hypocrites  by  profession,  take  on  them 
 the  vows  and  offices  of  religion  for  wealth,  and  honour, 
 and  glory,  and  not  in  order  that  by  precept  and  exhorta- 
 tion and  example,  they  may  leatl  on  others  in  the  way  to 
 Heaven. 
 
 With  such  cosmogonies,  then,  religion,  metaphysically 
 speaking,  is  im})ossible.  But  man  is  not  always  a  conse- 
 quent animal,  and,  in  his  infancy,  he  is  less  consequent 
 than  in  his  manhood.  In  error,  he  ever  stops  short  of 
 any  glaring  absurdity ;  he  does  not  fear  to  stand  in  contra- 
 diction with  liimself.  I  can  believe,  therefore,  that  even 
 where  these  cosmogonies  have  been  generally"  received. 
 
 8  Vide  Fourmont,  §  6,  ut  supra,  tial  part  of  the  popular  creed  may 
 
 Kai  t^iXaix^e  Mior  t)\ioc  re  K«i  fft -  well  admit  of  a  doubt.    They  have 
 
 \r]vri  aariptg  Tt  Kiii  arrrpa  fitya^a.  a  false  air  of  philosophy  about  them, 
 
 "  That  they  ever  formed  an  essen-  ag;ainst  which  the    common-sense 
 
CHAPTER    I.  13 
 
 the  religious  feelings  have  been  in  some  measure  deve- 
 loped, and  the  higher  aims  of  life,  though  indistinctly, 
 perceived  ;  and  that  man  has  never  been  altogether  with- 
 out God  in  the  world. 
 
 The  cosmogonies  of  Menu  and  of  Moses  recognize,  each 
 of  them,  an  intelligent  God.  In  both,  the  Creator  begins 
 His  creation,  mo\dng  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  In  the 
 one,  however,  the  genesis  of  Moses,  He  is  the  great,  the 
 only  God ;  in  the  other.  He  is  but  the  first  creature.  In 
 Moses  too,  the  creation  is  clearly  distinguished  from  the 
 Creator  ;  God  works  upon  chaos,  moulds  into  form  already 
 existing  materials.  In  Menu,  on  the  other  hand,  as  chaos 
 existed  only  in  the  Divine  mind,  ^  so  creation  is  but  the 
 manifestation  of  the  creator ;  Brahme  is  the  soul  of  all 
 beings ;  he  produces  various  beings  from  his  own  sub- 
 stance, and  the  great  All  is  but  God  under  another  form. 
 In  the  former  is  laid  the  foundations  of  a  great  and  true 
 religion ;  in  the  latter,  there  is  a  tendency  to  both  pan- 
 theism and  polytheism:  whether,  however,  the  one  will 
 keep  u})  to  its  first  high  promise,  and  whether  the  other 
 will  save  itself  from  the  errors  to  which  it  seems  to  lean, 
 are  questions  wliicli  we  may  probably  be  enabled  to  an- 
 swer in  the  course  of  our  enquiries. 
 
 We  now  proceed  to  the  order  of  creation.  On  the  first 
 day  God  created  light.  "Let  there  be  light,  and  there 
 was  light. "^  Wliat  this  light  might  be,  has  naturally  ex- 
 ercised the  ingenuity  of  those  learned  commentators,  who 
 are  as  familiar  with  the  creation  and  the  counsels  of  God, 
 
 of  the  mass  would  immefliately  no  way  suUiine,  because  it  is  idio- 
 rise;  they  probaldy  contain  the  uaatic.  Whether  the  passage  in 
 dreams  of  an  infidel  priesthood.  Longinus  is  or  is  not  an  interpola- 
 1  Vide  note  ',  page  1 .  tion,  except  in  so  far  as  it  is  another 
 Longinus,  in  a  passage,  the  evidence  of  the  dishonesty  of  the 
 authenticity  of  which  is  disputed,  early  Christians,  is  of  little  import- 
 much  admires  the  sublime  gran-  ance ;  and  notwithstanding  Moses 
 deur  of  this  expression.  Hnetius,  could  scarcely  express  himself 
 however,  in  his  "  Demonstratio  otherwise  tlian  he  did,  I  am  still 
 Evangelica,"  and  later  writers,  have  content  to  admire, 
 endeavoured    to  show    that    it   is 
 
14  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 as  though  they  had  been  present  at  the  one  and  were  often 
 called  upon  to  take  a  share  in  the  other.  With  one  parti/ 
 this  first  light  is  but  a  dim  glimmering,  a  sort  of  twilight 
 or  darkness  visible;  vnth  a  second,  it  is  the  bright  She- 
 kinah  or  the  glorious  presence ;  while  tvith  a  third,  it  is 
 that  light,  allowed  to  run  wild  probably,  which  is  here- 
 after to  be  collected  together  into  sun,  moon,  and  stars.^ 
 It  is  a  light  without  a  sun, — so  much  we  know ;  and  such 
 a  light  both  Menu  and  Zoroaster  tell  us  of.  According 
 to  the  one^  Brahme^  has  but  to  appear,  and  the  gloom  is 
 dispelled ;  and  according  to  the  other,  light  is  the  dwelling 
 place  of  Ormuzd,  ^  coeternal  with  him ;  Ormuzd,  in  fact, 
 himself  is  light.  Moses  held,  then,  on  this  point,  certainly 
 no  singular  and  iwohably  none  but  popular,  opinions. 
 
 But  this  sunless  light  produces  morning  and  evening ; 
 hence  other  difficulties.  For  without  a  sun,  morning  and 
 evening  are  inconceivable  to  all,  save  commentators,  and 
 they  have  made  the  matter  very  clear  to  us.  ^ome  of  them, 
 reducing  the  Spirit  of  God  to  a  rushing  and  tempestuous 
 wind,*^  (the  atpa  'Co^wh]  kqI  irvEv/biaTwSt)  of  Sanclioniathon) 
 have  sent  the  world  revolving  about  its  axis,  and  thus 
 alternately  meeting  and  losing  the  light  which  God  had 
 created  over  half  its  surface :  others,  on  the  contrary, 
 have  made  the  light  to  follow  the  spirit  of  God  brooding 
 or  moving  over  the  face  of  the  waters.  To  each  of  these 
 conjectures  there  is  one  objection;  the  first,  supposes  a 
 theory  of  the  earth  which  was  not  and  could  not  be  known 
 to  Moses ;  and  the  seco7id,  such  a  conception  of  the  Deity 
 as  no  rational  mind  can  a  moment  entertain.  But  how 
 then  account  for  this  morning  and  evening  ?     Let  us  for- 
 
 3  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  (Coiiinicnt.)  in  the  light  of   the    world.     This 
 
 thinks  it  no  light,  hut  latent  heat,  throne  of  light,  this  dwelling-place 
 
 Moses  seemingly  was  a  chemist  of  of  Ormuzd,  is  called  the  first  light, 
 
 the  nineteenth  century.  and   this    sovereign    science,    this 
 
 ■•  See  note  ',  p.  1,  from  the  Insti-  purity,  production  of  Ormuzd." — 
 
 tutes  of  Menu.  Bonn.  Dehesch,  §  i. 
 
 ^  "  As  it  is  written  in  the  law  of        •*  Vide  note  ^  p.  10,  and  consult 
 
 the  Mehestans,  that  Ornuizd,  who  Simon,  Hist.  Crit.  du  Vieux  Tcs- 
 
 is  raised  above  all,  was  with  sove-  tament,  lib.  iii,  c.  iii. 
 reign  knowledge,  and  with  purity, 
 
CHAPTER    I.  15 
 
 get  our  knowledge  and  our  systems,  let  us  bring  to  the 
 writings  of  an  infant  people,  an  infantine  mind,  infantine 
 trust,  and  the  previous  existence  of  light  will  quite  suffice 
 to  make  morning  and  evening  very  possible. 
 
 "And  God  divided  the  light ^  from  the  darkness:  and 
 God  called  the  light  day,  and  the  darkness  he  called  night."" 
 Is  this  night  a  created,  or  is  it  the  original,  the  chaotic, 
 darkness  ?  In  the  Persian  creed,  so  abhorrent  of  darkness, 
 night  and  sleep  are  celestial,'*  proceeding  from  Orrauzd; 
 and  in  Moses,  God  nowhere  gives  a  name,  save  to  his 
 creatures. 
 
 Second  day  (v.  6  and  8):  "  And  God  said,  Let  there  be 
 a  firmament  in  the  midst  of  the  waters,  and  let  it  divide 
 the  waters  from  the  waters."  Similarly,  in  the  cosmogony  of 
 Menu,^  Brahme  divides  the  egg  into  equal  parts,  and  from 
 its  halves  produces  the  heaven  and  the  earth;  and  similarly 
 too,  in  that  of  Berossus,  Belus  or  Jupiter  divided  the 
 darkness  in  the  midst,  and  separated  heaven  and  earth 
 from  each  other,  and  reduced  all  things  to  order." ' 
 
 "  Let  there  be  a  firmament."  "  Firmament,"  in  the 
 Hebrew  "  expansion,"  to  which  our  "  heaven* — that  which 
 is  heaved  or  thrown  up"  (according  to  Home  Tooke), 
 pretty  nearly  answers.  Firmament  corresponds  with  the 
 word  used  by  the  Septuagint,  aTEpnofxa,  and  expresses 
 the  meaning  which  the  Alexandrian  translators  attached 
 to  the  heaven  of  Moses  and,   I  think,  the   meaning  of 
 
 '  So  Belus  is  represented  by  Be-     gP^',  P^jsq^'eUe    est    celeste."- 
 
 Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  p.  25.  '  }f"V«\ 'P'"^'  a  ^ 
 
 «  »  Qui  a  donne  aux  tenebres  la  J,  ^^  ^'  ^''^'"  ""  ^'«  /^^^^P/*"" 
 
 lumiere  protectnce  ?   Qui  a  donne  ^,^,,^: /^^  ,„j  ,i  ,,•  ^^^'. 
 
 a  la  terre  le  sommeil  pour  protec-  Xwv,     KaiStaraU     ro,.     Koaaol. 
 
 tion?  a  lesclaveZ«rem<  pour  guide?  Cory,  ut  supra.     Anaxagoras  has 
 
 trois   choses    qui  sont    celestes    et  the  same  notion :  navra   xplf^cira 
 
 grandes."     In   a  note  to  this  pas-  ,,,;  iJ/tou,  ara  vovq  eXOwv  avra  Su- 
 
 sage  of  the  Zend,  Anquetil  observes,  Korr^iujo-f . 
 
 "La  nuit  a  paru  apres  la  guerre         ^  jjj  Hebrew"  Samaim,"  which 
 
 des  dieux  avec  les  Izeds,  mais  elle  Bochart  (Canaan  lib.ii,  c.  ii.)  tians- 
 
 ne    vient    pas  du   mauvais  prin-  lates  "heights." 
 
16  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 Moses  himself.  For  the  cxi)anse  not  merely  divides,  but 
 sustains  the  waters,  and  when  rain  is  about  to  be  poured 
 down  upon  the  earth,  the  Avindows,  or  floodgates  of  heaven, 
 are  said  to  be  opened.  This  day  God  does  not  ratify  his 
 work  with  the  usual  formula,  "  God  saw  that  it  was  good." 
 
 Third  day  (v.  9.  13.)  A  second  time  the  waters  are 
 gathered  together  into  one  place  ;  ^  and  the  earth  then  first 
 appears,  naked  and  barren,  but  to  be  immediately  covered 
 with  herbs,  trees,  and  flowers,  to  all  of  which  God  gives,  it 
 will  be  observed,  a  productive  power;  they  are  herbs  yield- 
 ing seed,  and  trees  yielding  fruit,  whose  seed  is  in  itself. 
 This  day  twice  the  voice  of  God  is  heard  expressive  of  his 
 will,  and  twice  God  looks  upon  his  work,  and  sots  upon  it 
 the  seal  of  his  approbation. 
 
 Fourth  day  (v.  14).  They  who  admit  the  possibility  of 
 a  chaos,  may  argue  that  that  chaos  was  to  the  after  uni- 
 verse, as  the  first  lights  to  these  lights  of  heaven. 
 
 But  how,  up  to  tliis  time,  did  the  world  exist  in  its  place? 
 Must  we  suppose  that,  like  some  unskili'ul  workman,  God 
 made  first  this  earth,  and  then  the  sun  on  which  this  earth 
 depends?  That  without  laws,  or  subject  to  other  laws  than 
 those  which  now  regulate  its  existence,  he  drove  forth  our 
 planet,  either  to  wander  or  stand  motionless  in  the  abyss  of 
 space  ?  Or,  basing  our  conjectures  on  the  several  offices 
 assigned  to  the  lights  of  heaven,  shall  we  not  rather  say 
 that  Moses  comjjosed  his  creation  accoiding  to  theories 
 of  the  solar  system  which  obtained  indeed  in  his  day,  but 
 which  are  now  altogether  exploded?  For  Earth's  sake 
 order  is  aiven  to  chaos:  for  her  service,  and  her  service 
 
 ^  Hence  the  expressions  so  com-  Enoch,  chap,  liii,  "  All  the  waters 
 
 raon  in  Scripture,  "  Stretched  out  which  are  in  the  heavens  and  above 
 
 the  heavens;"  as  in  Job  ix.  8,  and  them  shall  be  mixed  top;ether." 
 
 "  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a  ''  According  to  the  Zend,  "  The 
 
 curtain,  and  sprcadeth  them  out  as  earth  floats  upon  the  water :"  "  I;e 
 
 a  tent  to  dwell  in,"  Isai.  xl,  &c.  monde  est  sur  I'eau." — Vendidad 
 
 And   in   the   Apocryphal   book   of  Sadi.  Farg.  xiii,  vol.  i,  p.  386. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  17 
 
 only — for  signs  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days  and  for  years, 
 — sun,  moon,^  and  stars  are  set  in  the  heavens;  they  are  there 
 Init  as  choral  nyinphs  in  her  train,  among  whom  she  moves, 
 distinguishable  by  her  size  and  beauty ;  they  are  there  but 
 to  wait  upon  her  pleasure,  and  to  do  her  honour,  and  to 
 accomplish  her  loveliness.  But  for  her  they  had  never  been 
 created.  The  earth,  in  a  word,  is  the  centre  of  Moses'  sys- 
 tem; it  is  more,  it  is  his  whole  system.  For  those  great 
 worlds,  whose  number  and  whose  immensity  startle  the 
 human  reason,  are  in  his  eyes,  smaller  than  Peloponnesus" 
 even;  they  are  but  gigantic  lamps'  hung  in  the  heaven 
 to  light  the  world.  Hence  the  otherwise  unaccountable 
 order  which  he  has  observed  in  his  creation. 
 God  this  day  ratifies  his  work. 
 
 Fifth  day  (v.  20-25.)  The  fowls  of  the  air  and  the  fish 
 of  the  sea  are  created.  Both  these  the  water  brings  forth ; 
 the  fish  are  produced  hy  the  waters  wliich  are  under,  and 
 the  fowl,  most  probably  by  the  waters  which  are  above,  the 
 firmament.  Both,  as  afterwards  the  beasts  of  the  field  and 
 creeping  things,  are  thus  natives  of  that  element  which 
 they  are  supposed  most  especially  to  inhabit. 
 
 God  this  day  not  merely  looks  Avith  approbation  on  His 
 work.  He  also  blesses  it.  "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply  and 
 fill  the  waters  in  the  sea ;  and  let  the  fowl  multiply  in  the 
 air."   The  laws  of  their  nature  are  the  blessings  which  God 
 
 ^  The  author  of  this  hymn  sees  and  the  moon  are  round  and  large 
 
 but  with  the  sensual  eye,  the  eye  of  as  the  shield  of  Norval,  and  the 
 
 the  great  hulk  of  men.     With  him  stars  somewhat  like  the  spangles  on 
 
 the  moon,  though  a  lesser  light,  is  his  mother's  robe, 
 
 great    comparatively    with     those  '  We   cannot  help  fiilling  into 
 
 specks  of  stars  which  cover  the  fir-  the  vice  of  conjecture.    Because  the 
 
 mament.  sun,  from  its  diminutive  size,  «y« 
 
 ®  Anaxagoras,  first  among   the  considered  insufiicient  of  itself  to 
 
 Greeks,  dared  to  suggest  that  the  produce  day,  light  was  first  cre- 
 
 sun  was  large  as  Peloponnesus  (it  ated,  and  tlien  the  sun  afterwards 
 
 has    grown  wonderfully   since  his  given  to  rule  and  direct  that  light, 
 
 time),  and  I  doubt  not  but  that  his  "  to  rule  the  day  and  divide  the 
 
 cotemporaries  had  much  the  same  day  from  the  night."  We  may  thus 
 
 notion  of  the  heavenly  bodies  that  account  for  the  anterior  creation  of 
 
 have  children,  for  whom  the  sun  light. 
 
18  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 bestows  on  His  creatures;  they  are  the  blessings  which  He 
 liere  pronounces  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea  and  airi 
 And  these  truly,  are  fruitful,  and  nuiltiply,  as  though  to  be 
 fruitful  and  to  multiply  were  the  sole  end  of  their  being. 
 Indeed  some  animals,  as  the  locust,  live  only  till  they  have 
 propagated  their  species,  and  then  immediately  perish ;  and 
 all  are  remarkable  either  for  their  prolific  powers  or  for 
 their  care  in  nurturing  their  offspring. 
 
 ■  But  if  to  be  fruitful  and  to  multiply  be  indeed  to  be 
 blessed,  are,  then,  those  animals  which  are  the  most 
 fruitful  the  most  blessed?  As  a  general  rule,  we  shall 
 find  that  fish  are  more  prolific  than  birds  or  beasts;  animals 
 of  inferior,  than  those  of  superior,  organization,  and  the 
 short-lived  and  the  weaker  than  the  long-lived  and  the 
 stronger.  The  blessing  consequently,  unless  we  are  of 
 those  who  regard  a  fine  and  noble  organization  as  the 
 greatest  of  miseries,  and  the  zoophite  therefore  as  the 
 happiest  of  created  things,  cannot  be  of  fruitfulness  abso- 
 lutely, but  of  fruitfulness  determined  by  the  laws  to  which 
 each  animal  is  subject.  And,  as  regards  any  animal  of  any 
 species,  its  rapid  increase  is,  no  doubt,  strong  evidence  of  its 
 well-being;  it  implies  a  soil  and  climate  suited  to  its  constitu- 
 tion and  habits,  abundance  of  room  and  food,  and  safety  or 
 protection  from  external  dangers.  But  this  increase  has,  it 
 must  be  remembered,  its  limit,  beyond  Avhich,  unless 
 arrested  by  the  gentlest  of  all  checks,  a  destroying  enemy, 
 (I  presume  migration  impossible),  it  becomes  not  a  blessing 
 but  a  curse.  Should,  for  instance,  the  food  be  abundant, 
 but  the  space  too  narrow  for  its  occupants,  then  the  soil, 
 however  naturally  healthy,  becomes,  so  I  have  heard  game- 
 keepers express  it,  stenched  or  tainted ;  and  as  fevers  in 
 ill-aired  jails  or  crowded  barracks,  so  infectious  diseases  of 
 one  sort  or  another  begin  to  rage  among  the  animals,  and 
 the  weak  die,  and  the  strong  are  weakened,  and  for  a  time 
 incapacitated  from  propagating  their  species.  Should,  on 
 the  other  hand,  the  space  be  large,  but  the  food  insufficient, 
 then  fixmine  destroys  the  younger  animals,  and  their  putrid 
 bodies  corrupt  the  air  and  tluis  generate  disease  among  the 
 
CHAPTER    I.  19 
 
 half-starved  and  enfeebled  survivors.  When  however  the 
 increase  of  the  animal  is  kept  in  check  hj  enemies  that 
 prey  upon  it,  then  the  animals,  which  perish,  perish,  but 
 without  injury  to  those  that  survive.  Hence,  man  is 
 justified  by  the  very  laws  of  nature,  of  reason,  and  of 
 hmuauity,  in  appropriating  animals  to  his  own  use  and 
 regidating  their  increase. 
 
 Sixth  day  (v.  24,  25.)  Earth  at  God's  command  has 
 already  brought  forth  trees  and  herbs ;  and  out  of  earth 
 God  noAV  creates  beast,  and  cattle,  and  creeping  thing ;  and 
 God  ratifies  his  work.  Not  here,  however,  closes  the  sixth 
 day's  lal)our.  God  proceeds  to  another  creation ;  and  he 
 noui  not  merely  expresses  his  will,  but,  as  if  to  mark  the 
 nobility  and  excellence  of  the  creation,  He  takes  counsel 
 with  himself.  "Let  us  make  man,"  &c. 
 
 "  Let  us  make  man."  These  words  had  been  read  and 
 re-read,  commented  upon  and  re-commented  upon,  for  nearly 
 two  thousand  years,  when  Christian  divines  suddenly  found 
 in  them  an  heretofore  unsuspected  meaning.  The  plural 
 pronoun  could,  they  argued,  only  allude  to  the  jjlurality 
 of  persons  in  the  one  Godhead,  the  holy  Trinity.  The 
 poor  Jews,  therefore,   priests  and  prophets  not  excepted,* 
 
 *  Clarke,  however,  in  his  com-  Elohim,  or  to  the  mere  word  Elo- 
 mentaiy  on  the  first  verse  of  Ge-  him ;  and  whether  the  whole  pas- 
 nesis,  asserts,  "  that  the  Christians  sage  is  not  founded  on  some  ety- 
 are  not  singular  in  receiving  the  mological  subtlety  in  which  the 
 doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  and  in  de-  Rabbins  delighted.  And  after  all 
 riving  it  from  the  first  words  of  this,  it  will  be  still  necessaiT  to  en- 
 Revelation.  An  eminent  Jewish  quire  whether  the  Rabbi  Ben  Joa- 
 Rabbi,  Simeon  Ben  Joachi,  in  his  chi  was  pm-e  Jew,  at  what  time  he 
 comment  on  the  sixth  section  of  livedandwhere,  and  whether  he  was 
 Leviticus,  has  these  remarkable  not  likely  to  have  been  infected  by 
 words  :  '  Come  and  see  the  mysteiy  the  Platonic  notions  of  the  Alexan- 
 of  the  word  Elohim  ;  there  are  drian  Jews.  Not  to  mention  that  this 
 three  degrees,  and  each  degree  passage  has  been  considered  a  for- 
 by  itself  «ioHc,  and  not  notwith-  gery  (DeRossi  Dizionario,  vol.  ii,p. 
 standing  they  are  all  one,  and  131),  Wolfius  (Bib.  Hel).)  supposes 
 joined  tof/ether  in  one,  and  are  not  Jochai,  or  Jochaides,  to  have  lived 
 divided  from  each  other.'"  These  a.c.  120.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
 are  certainly  extraordinaiy  words  ;  celebrated,  and  theearliestwriter,  of 
 but  before  it  is  possible  to  ascertain  the  Cabalists.  The  views  of  the 
 their  meaning,  one  must  know  Cabalists,  which  will  quite  suffi- 
 what  precedes  and  follows  them;  ciently  account  for  the  Rabbi's 
 whether   they  refer   to   the   being  comments,  may  be  found  in  Bas- 
 
20  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 had  lived  sind  died  ignorant  of  a  revealed  truth  on  which 
 the  salvation  of  a  world  depended. 
 
 Oh  the  Eleusinian  mystery,  the  dark  and  subtle  enigma 
 men  would  make  of  religion !  The  prophet  of  old,  warmed 
 with  a  divine  love  wliich  pierced  through  the  thick  veil  of 
 ages,  rapturously  proclaimed  that  the  path  of  God  would 
 in  time  become  so  plain,  that  even  the  wayfaring  man 
 should  not  err  therein.  After  five  and  twenty  centuries, 
 we  still  inquire — that  path,  where  is  it  ?  What  riot,  what 
 tumult  of  men  is  this  !  Wliat  Babel  of  contention !  I 
 hear  the  harsh  sounds  of  loud  and  coarse  abuse  and  heart- 
 felt invective,  mixed  up  with  smooth  words  of  charity 
 uttered  in  a  voice  of  hate.  A  wrangling  crew  approaches. 
 They  boast  themselves  the  servants  and  ambassadors  of 
 the  most  high  God,  and  his  appointed  guides  to  the  bliss- 
 ful path.  They  proffer  us  their  services.  And,  as  each 
 one  points  to  some  little  straggling  bye-way  of  his  own, 
 he  cries,  "  There !  there !  is  the  only  and  certain  road  to 
 Heaven !"  And  then  he  presses  to  your  ear  and  whispers, 
 "  See  you  that  small,  and  chosen,  and  faithfvil  band — ^join 
 it:  follow  me,  and  Heaven  and  its  joys  are  yours.  Follow 
 any  other,  and  though  I  dare  not  judge,  tremble,  lest  for 
 you  be  reserved  the  unquenchable  fire,  and  the  wonn  that 
 dieth  not."  That  little  track,  already  crowded  by  that 
 little  baud,  the  path  to  Heaven !  God  then  have  mercy 
 on  the  great  family  of  nations — mankind ! 
 
 But  who  is  so  mad,  that  liis  common-sense  rises  not 
 equally  against  both  these  promises  and  thi'cats?  All 
 these  would-be  guides,  thank  God !  cannot  be  right :  why 
 may  not  they  all  err  ?  Examine  their  narrow  paths,  and 
 you  will  find  that  though  they  are  all  carefully  separated 
 one  from  the  other  by  painted  canvass,  or  sculptured 
 walls,  or  the  more  fearful  idols  of  harsh  dogmas  and  into- 
 lerant opinions,  they  are  all  cut  out  of  the  same  great  com- 
 mon.'*    Look  now  at  those   who   travel   on  them.     The 
 
 nap;e  Hist,  des  Juifs,  lib.  iii,  c.  x,  "  "  Via  ejus  lata  ot  expansa  est," 
 p.  771.  783-787,  and  c.xiii,  p.  803.  says  the  Oupuekhat  (xxxvii,  laO; 
 This  particular  point  of  the  Trinity  Bralime  ii,  p.  30!>)—thou<^li  pro- 
 is  fully  considered  Ibid.  lib.  iv,  c.  v.  bably  because  "  a  few  only  amongst 
 
CHAPTER    I.  21 
 
 simple-iniiKlecl  man,  whichever  his  road  be,  walks  on  with 
 joyous  heart  and  head  erect,  and  walks  straight  onward  to 
 the  mansions  of  the  just.  Those,  however,  who  merely 
 busy  themselves  with  the  partition-walls  with  which  they 
 would  enclose  their  path — building  them  up  where  they 
 have  been  thrown  down,  and  strengthening  them  where 
 they  have  fallen  into  decay, — find  their  way  dark  with 
 mists,  haunted  by  erring  lights  and  full  of  pitfalls.  They 
 seem  to  joy  in  the  terrors  of  others,  only  because  they 
 themselves  are  in  the  hands  of  the  giant  Despair,  or 
 struggling  in  the  Slough  of  Despond. 
 
 "  The  man  then  is  every  tiling,  the  path  notliing." — 
 What !  is  not  the  man  much  formed  by  liis  creed  ?  Is  it 
 notliing  to  have  low  notions  of  God ;  to  see  in  the  Deity  a 
 Being  terrible  by  His  power  and  exacting  impossible  ser- 
 vice ?  Is  it  nothing  to  look  on  man  as  a  creature  so 
 steeped  in  sin,  so  naturally  weak,  that  he  who  once  wore 
 God's  image  is  now  incapable  of  goodness ;  that  it  is  his 
 cm'se  that  he  was  not  born  one  of  the  beasts  that  perish  ? 
 Is  it  nothing  to  have  one's  greatness  crushed  and  all 
 one's  littleness  fostered  by  the  littleness  of  one's  creed  ? 
 Nevertheless,  break  down  the  partition  w^alls, — tear  out 
 from  all  these  creeds  their  exclusiveness — leave  man  to 
 have  influence  on  man,  creed  on  creed,  and  all  errors  will 
 soon  be  amended.  Men  will  still  have  creeds,  but  i)urified, 
 enlarged  :  they  will  not  any  longer  shudder  away  from  the 
 large  sph'it  of  Humanity :  if  it  be  not  in  their  lesson,  they 
 will  put  it  there :  they  will  have  faith  in  man,  because 
 they  have  faith  in  God. 
 
 "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  lilicness.  .  .so 
 God  created  man  in  His  own  unage ;  in  the  image  of  God 
 created  He  liun,  male  and  female  created  He  them."  What 
 is  the  likeness  here  alluded  to?     Does  not  the  forming 
 
 ten  thousand  mortals  strive  for  per-  nere  jjradum  nm<?uum  entis  valde 
 
 lection,  and  but  few  of  those  who  difficile  et  subtile  est."     Why  so 
 
 strive  and    become  perfect  know  difficult,    is     however     explained 
 
 God    according    to   liis    nature;"  afterwards,  according  to  the  most 
 
 (Bhagavat,    les.   vi.) — in   the    151  approved  jargon    of    Brahminical 
 
 Brahme  we  are  told  that  "  Obti-  mysticism.     J  love  however  to  cull 
 
22  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  in  the  second,  ^  answer  to 
 the  unage  of  this,  the  first,  chapter — naturally  answer  to 
 it,  if  we  liring  to  the  question  no  preconceived  opinions  ? 
 Does  not  the  very  term  "  image  "^  itself  imply  a  resemblance 
 in  outward  form  and  lineaments ;  more  especially  when  it 
 is  taken  in  connection  with  the  sexual  distinction  "  male 
 and  female  created  He  them,"  Avhich  is  so  immediately 
 applied  to  the  created  man  ?  Is  it  not  then  man's  body 
 wliich  bears  his  Maker's  image  ? 
 
 But  how,  it  will  be  asked,  could  the  corporeal  man  be 
 formed  in  the  image  of  the  incorporeal  God  ?  The  real 
 question  is,  was  this  possible  in  the  eyes  of  Moses?  In 
 Genesis,  God  is  represented  as  working  by  day,  and  rest- 
 ing by  night ;  and  in  the  cool  of  the  day,  we  find  Him, 
 like  some  eastern  prince,  walking  in  His  garden.  He  enters 
 into  the  business  of  life :  He  interrogates  and  judges 
 Adam,  and  He  makes  coats  of  skins  for  him.  He  has 
 human  passions  and  affections ;  He  rejoices  in  the  sweet 
 savour  of  sacrifice,  and  partakes  of  the  hospitality  of  Abra- 
 ham, &c.  In  Exodus,  He  descends  on  Sinai,  and  there  He 
 calls  Moses  into  his  immediate  presence,  while  He  sets 
 bounds  about  the  mountain,  lest  the  people  should  break 
 through,  and  come  unto  the  Lord  (c.  xix.)    And  at  Moses' 
 
 out  a  human  lliouglit  wherever  I  "  image ;"  but  in  its  primary  ac- 
 
 Hnd  one.  ceptation  it  denotes  any  shape  or 
 
 1  Viewed  as  a  whole,  one  chapter  appearance  assumed  by  a  celestial 
 explains  the  other.  But  because  being." — Asiatic  Researches,  On 
 we  so  view  them  now,  we  are  not  the  Nile,  vol.  iii,  p.  359.  He  adds 
 precluded  from  afterwards  examin-  afterwards  "  that  the  sun,  the  stars, 
 ing  and  reviewing  each  chapter  the  earth,  and  the  powers  of  na- 
 separately,  and  even  contrasting  ture  are  considered  as  mnrlis  or 
 them.  images,  the  same  in  kind  as  our- 
 
 2  It  seems,  however,  that  the  selves,  but  transcendently  higher  in 
 Hindoos  use  the  word  to  denote  degree."  The  particular  sense 
 the  rcscnd)lance  between  the  soul  given  by  the  Hindoos  to  the  vmrti, 
 and  the  Supreme  Being.  "  Our  we  must  connect  with  their  Pan- 
 souls,"  sav.s  Wilford,  "  are,  accord-  theistic  doctrines,  and  their  notions 
 ing  to  the  Vedantas,  no  more  than  of  creation  l)y  emanation;  which 
 mnrti,  images,  or  ii5w\a  of  the  Su-  doctrines,  .Sic.  not  existing  in  the 
 preme  Spirit.'  And  the  word  Jewish  faith,  render  the  use  of  the 
 "  murti  or  form,"he  exidains,  "is  word  "image"  in  the  same  sense 
 exactly  synonymous  with  hSloXov,  almost  impossible. 
 
 and  in   a  secondary  sense  means 
 
CHAPTER    I. 
 
 23 
 
 request  He  shows  himself  to  Moses,  though  not  indeed 
 in  his  glory.^  (c.  xxxiii).  But  why  multiply  instances? 
 Throughout  the  works  of  Moses,  God  is  spoken  of  as 
 dwelling  in  one  particular  spot ;  *  and  if  God  be  in  one 
 place  rather  than  another,  then  God  is  not  infinite  in  sub- 
 stance ;  He  has  limits, — consequently  a  form,  and  of  that 
 form,  as  He  possesses  none  but  human  attributes,  our 
 body  may  fairly  enough  be  considered  a  resemljlance. 
 
 Because,  however,  we  assign  a  form  or  figure  to  the  God 
 of  Moses,  we  do  not  therefore  conclude,  that  He  was,  in 
 the  Jewish  conception  of  Him,  a  merely  materiaP  God. 
 The  deities  of  Homer  and  Hesiod  mix  with  men,  and  love 
 and  are  loved  of  them ;  they  see,  hear,  and  feel  by  means 
 of  the  same  organs  as  ourselves ;  they  wear  our  shape ; 
 and,  feeding  on  nectar  and  ambrosia,  they,  like  us,  require 
 sustenance;  yet,  human  as  they  are,  they  are  not  alto- 
 gether human.  Ichor,  not  blood,  flows  in  their  veins; 
 their  bodies  too  are  of  a  subtler  texture  than  ours,  they 
 are  literally  what  Hobbes  asserts  metaphysicians  to  have 
 defined   the    soul,    "  bodiless   bodies."  ^      Similar,  though 
 
 ^  Who  is  not  here  reminded  of 
 the  tale  of  Jupiter  and  Seniele? 
 
 ''  Over  the  holy  of  holies.  When 
 Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  Per- 
 sians had  no  images,  and  that  they 
 built  no  altars  nor  temples  to  their 
 gods,  he  adds  as  a  reason,  "  wc  fitv 
 ijioi  CoKii,  on  ovK  av5pii)Tro(l)veac 
 evofiiffav  Tovg  Btovg,  KaOainp  6i  EX- 
 Xj/vjC'"  (i.  31),  a  reason  which  at 
 any  rate  proves  that  among  the 
 Greeks,  altars  and  temples  were 
 intimately  connected  with  the  an- 
 thropomorphism of  the  gods. 
 
 ^  I  would  likeu  the  Jewish  views 
 of  the  Deity  to  the  Mahommedan. 
 The  Koran  always  attributes  om- 
 niscience and  omnipotence  to  God, 
 the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth 
 (vide  Koran,  by  Sale,  c.  Ixx).  But 
 take  its  description  of  the  day  of 
 judgment. — Allah  sits  on  his  angel- 
 supported  throne  (vide  Prelim.  Dis. 
 p.   110),  with  Mahommed  by  his 
 
 side  as  intercessor  for  mankind ; 
 before  Him  are  placed,  both  that 
 great  book  which  contains  his  de- 
 crees, and  also  those  other  volumes 
 in  which  guardian  angels  are  in- 
 cessantly engaged  in  distinctly 
 writing  down  all  our  actions; 
 according  to  our  works  testified  in 
 these  books  he  proceeds  to  judge 
 us,  and,  as  the  good  or  evil  pre- 
 vails, sends  us  to  heaven  or  to  hell, 
 (c.  Ixxxi,  &c.)  But  is  all  this, 
 I  would  ask,  compatible  with  the 
 idea  of  a  spiritual  Deity  ? 
 
 ^  The  argument  of  the  Epicu- 
 rean Velleius,  in  Cicero's  De  Na- 
 tura  Deorum,  will  prove  that  the 
 conceptions  of  God  which  I  ascribe 
 to  Moses  and  the  Jews,  were  not  in 
 the  eyes  of  the  old  world  quite  so  ab- 
 surd as  in  ours.  Common  consent, 
 argues  Velleius,  gives  to  the  gods  a 
 human  form,  and  in  that  form  they 
 have    ever    shown    themselves    to 
 
24  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 more  simple  and  more  exalted,  were  the  Jewish  con- 
 ceptions of  God.  He  hfid  sha})e '  without  being  of  earth, 
 and  senses,  though  no  fleshly  body.  lie  was  spirit  even  : 
 but  spirit  in  these  early  times  was  but  an  extraordinary 
 refinement,  the  volatile  essence,  of  matter ; «  and  hence 
 God  is  not  ordinarily  visible,  though  he  occasionally  deigns 
 to  show  himself,  to  mortal  eyes. » 
 
 But  it  may  be  objected  to  me, 
 
 1st.  That  as  the  passages  already  adduced,  and  the 
 many  others  which  may  be  adduced,  from  Moses,  giving 
 an  anthropomorphic  character  to  the  Deity,  are  all  of  them 
 easily  resolvable  into  metaphors,  they  will  not  berr  me  out 
 in  my  conclusions.  True ;  but  so  to  resolve,  so  to  inter- 
 pret them,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  to  confound  together  the 
 modes  of  thought  and  expression  of  different  and  distant 
 ages,  and  to  give  the  clear  and  definite  opinions  of  an 
 advanced  state  of  society  to  an  untutored  and  uncivilized 
 
 man;  besides,  man's  form  is  the 
 most  beautiful ;  it  must  therefore 
 be  that  of  the  gods,  and  he  adds, 
 "  Quoniamque  deos  beatissimos 
 esse  constat,  beatos  autem  esse 
 sine  \irtute  nemo  potest, nee  virtus 
 sine  ratione  constare,  nee  ratio 
 usquam  inesse  nisi  in  hominis  fi- 
 j>ura :  hominis  esse  specie  deos  con- 
 fitendendum  est .  .  .  Nee  tamen  ea 
 species  corpus  est,  sed  quasi  cor- 
 pus, &c." — Lib.  i.  §  xviii. 
 
 '  And  this  notwithstanding  the 
 assertion  in  Dent.  iv.  15;  which  is 
 contained,  it  will  be  observed,  in  a 
 parenthesis,  and  which  has  to  my 
 simple  mind  all  the  appearance  of 
 iin  interpolation.  Compare  Exod. 
 xxiv.  9,  10,  ]]. 
 
 "  Such,  in  the  Persian  faith,  arc 
 the  Ferouers,  the  spiritual  inhabi- 
 tants of  the  pure  world,  of  whom 
 we  are  the  degraded  semblances 
 (vide  Zend,  note  **,  p.  83,  vol.  i,  and 
 Jescht  Farvardim);  and  such  the 
 soul  of  the  Hindus,  which  "assumes 
 a  lun)inous  form  with  no  gross 
 body,  with  no  perforation,  with  no 
 
 veins,  no  tendons;  unblemished, 
 untainted  by  sin,  itself  being  a 
 ray  from  the  infinite  spirit."  (From 
 Isavasyam,  ver.  8,  in  Sir  W.  Jones' 
 Works,  vol.  xiii,  p.  375.  See  also 
 Colebrooke's  Essays,  vol.  i,  p.  236) ; 
 and  such  the  gods  of  the  Boodhists, 
 who  "  have  neither  flesh,  nor  aims, 
 nor  bodies  possessing  (my  degree  of 
 consistency,  though  apparently  with 
 hair  on  their  heads  and  teeth  in 
 their  mouths ;  and  their  skins  are 
 impregnated  with  the  most  lumi- 
 nous and  brilliant  qualities."  (Of 
 Ceylon,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol. 
 vii,  p.  35).  If  these  and  other 
 creeds,  however,  sought  to  spiritu- 
 alize matter,  the  Egyptian  priests, 
 according  to  Emeric- David,  mate- 
 rialized spirit :  "  Aux  yeux  des 
 pretres  de  Memphis,  tout  dans  la 
 nature  etait  vivant,  intelligent, 
 done  de  raison,  et  tout  cependant 
 pure  matierey — Recherches  sur 
 Jupiter,  vol.  i,  p.  2!). 
 
 '  Vide  Exodus  xxxiii ;  2  Kings 
 xxii.  li);  Isaiah  vi.  1. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  25 
 
 people.  For  infant,  barbarous  man,  there  are  no  meta- 
 phors ;  he  understands  not  the  legerdemain  of  words ;  he 
 never  says  to  himself,  all  these  passions  and  affections 
 which  the  priest  ascribes  to  the  Deity,  are  but  intended 
 to  express  the  interest  which  God  takes  in  me  and  in  my 
 people  ;  it  is  all  seeming.  No,  he  knows  not  seems :  for 
 him  the  tiling  is.  Like  Partridge  at  the  theatre,  the  play 
 which  is  in  our  eyes  a  play  and  nothing  more,  is  in  his, 
 strong  reality.  He  speaks  sensuously, — not  to  startle,  not  to 
 be  picturesque,  not  for  the  sake  of  effect — but  because  he 
 thinks  and  understands  sensuously. 
 
 2nd.  That  if  Moses  had  conceived  that  it  was  man's 
 body  which  bore  the  image  of  the  Creator,  he  would  not 
 so  decidedly  have  forbidden  the  worship  of  graven  images, 
 seeing  that  such  images  might  then  have  represented  the 
 supreme  God.  Yes ;  but  if  Moses  conceived  that  images 
 were  incompatible  with  the  worship  of  one  God,  would  he 
 not  have  forbidden  them?  Multiplied  throughout  the 
 country,  the  Deity  would  have  become  localized  ^  through 
 them  in  many  places :  to  particular  images  a  particular 
 efficacy  woidd  have  been  attributed :  the  unity  and  simpli- 
 city of  the  religion  would  thus  have  been  destroyed,  and 
 the  very  existence,  as  a  nation,  of  the  people  for  whom 
 Moses  legislated  would  have  been  perilled.  For,  each 
 tribe,  each  town,  would  have  set  up  and  consecrated  its 
 own  image,  and  would  have  claimed  for  it  the  high  honour 
 of  being  the  especial  dwelling-place  of  God.  The  ark, 
 and  afterwards  the  temple,  would  soon  have  ceased  to  be 
 the  banners  and  the  rallying  points  of  the  whole  nation. 
 Their  religion,  instead  of  uniting  the  several  tribes,  would 
 have  been  as  a  firebrand  among  them,  an  ever  fertile  source 
 of  hatred  and  contention.  Instead  of  one  rival,  Gerizim, 
 one  natural  enemy,  Zion  had  had  twelve  ;  and  instead  of 
 
 '  "  It  appears,"  says  the  English  addressed     to     monarchs     among 
 
 editor  of  Calmet,  in  Scripture  II-  oriental  nations ;  and  there  is  little 
 
 lustrated,    "  from    numerous    in-  that  the  Hebrews  addressed  them- 
 
 stances,  that  the  services  of  divine  selves  to  a  person  understood  to  he 
 
 worship  under  the  Mosaic  dispen-  resident    in    the    sanctuary.'" — Of 
 
 sation,    resembled    tliose     usually  Ancient  Censors. 
 
26  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 holding  their  own  some  centuries,  and  thus  gaining  time  to 
 develope  the  spiritual  life  which  lay  under  and  among 
 the  piles  of  earth  that  covered  them,  the  Jews,  divided 
 among  themselves  and  surrounded  by  enemies,  would  most 
 probably  never  have  attained  to  the  rank  of  a  nation ;  they 
 would  have  been  lost  among  their  more  powerful  neigh- 
 bours, and  all  trace  and  memory  of  them  would  long  since 
 have  perished  from  the  earth. 
 
 (Ver.  28.)  God's  first  words  to  man  are  words  of  blessing. 
 He  limits  man's  duties  by  his  pleasures.  Those  pleasures, 
 however,  are  purely  temporal,  and 
 
 1st.  Animal.  They  are  sexual,  but  sexual  limited  by 
 the  ends  for  which  the  sexes  were  created :  "  Be  fruitful, 
 and  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth." 
 
 2nd.  Of  dominion.  "Subdue  the  earth,  and  have  domi- 
 nion over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air, 
 and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  face  of 
 the  earth."  Man  bows  to  God,  and  the  brute  creation 
 bows  to  man.  Over  all  living  things,  man,  by  God's 
 patent,  is  created  the  natural  lord ;  but  the  earth  is  given 
 him  conditionally, — he  must  subdue  it ;  by  his  efforts  and 
 labour  alone  shall  it  become  subject  to  his  will. 
 
 (Ver.  29.)  God,  as  if  continuing  His  blessing,  gives  to 
 man  corn  and  fruit  for  food,  and  to  the  beast  of  the  field 
 He  allots  the  green  herl).  No  carnivorous  animals  then 
 had  been  yet  called  into  existence.  Lions  and  tigers, 
 whose  teeth  and  jaws  unfit  them  for  pasturage,  could  not 
 have  been  yet  created;  for,  grant  that  Nature  has  been 
 ever  consistent  with  herself,  to  suppose  them  with  other 
 teeth  and  jaws  is  to  suppose  them,  as  comparative  anatomy 
 shows  us,  with  other  limbs  and  another  confirmation  of  body, 
 i.  6.  is  to  suppose  them  something  else  than  lions  and  tigers.* 
 
 *  Yet  in  the  reign  of  the  Messiah,  lamh,  and    the   leopard  lie  down 
 
 during;  which,  as  in  the  reign   of  with  the  kid,  and  the  calf,  and  the 
 
 Sosiosh  of  the  Persian  creed,  earth  young    lion,   and   the  fatling  to- 
 
 will  again  l)ecome  an  Eden,  and  gether,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead 
 
 man  probahly  return  to  his  pristine  them  ;  and  the  cow  and  the  hear 
 
 food:  we  are  told  hy  the  prophet,  shall  feed,  and  their  young  ones 
 
 "That  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  tlie  shall  lie  down    together,   and  the 
 
CHAPTER    I.  27 
 
 Witli  man,  however,  the  case  is  different.  According  to 
 Cuvier,  he  seems  to  have  been  destined  to  feed  principally 
 on  fruits,  and  the  roots  and  succulent  parts  of  vegetables ; 
 his  hands  enable  liim  to  gather  or  tear  them  up  Avith 
 facility,  and  his  short  and  rather  feeble  jaws  on  the  one 
 side,  and  the  shape  of  his  canine  and  molinary  teeth  on 
 the  other,  scarcely  permit  him  to  pasture  on  grass  or  to 
 devour  flesh  until  prepared  by  fire ;  but  the  instant  that  he 
 becomes  acquainted  with  fire  and  its  uses,  and  that  he 
 has  acquired  the  skill  to  seize,  or  at  a  distance  to  kill,  other 
 animals,  then  all  living  creatures  serve  for  his  nourishment, 
 and  enable  him  infinitely  to  multiply  his  species.  Not 
 improbable,  therefore,  is  it  that  man's  first  food  was,  as 
 Moses  shows  us,  of  fruit  and  vegetables. '  God,  this  sixth 
 day,  overlooks  all  His  work,  and,  "behold  it  was  very  good." 
 
 Seventh  day  (ii.  1-3.)  God  rests  from  his  labour  and 
 blesses  the  seventh-day  and  sanctifies  it.  "  Sanctifies  it" — 
 but  how  ?  The  fourth  commandment  (Exodus  xx.)  refers 
 exclusively  to  the  Sabbath  and  the  manner  in  wliich  it 
 should  be  observed.  On  this  day,  the  Israelite  must  "  not 
 do  any  work,  nor  his  son,  nor  his  daughter,  nor  his  man- 
 servant, nor  his  maid-servant,  nor  his  cattle,  nor  the 
 stranger  within  his  gates ;"  and  consequently,  on  this  day, 
 the  people,  icliile  yet  in  the  desert,  are  forbidden  to  collect 
 manna,  or  to  light  fires,  or  to  gather  wood ;  *  and  after- 
 loards,  in  Jerusalem,  on  tliis  day  no  victuals  can  be  sold ; 
 tlirough  the  city-gates  no  burden  is  permitted  to  pass,  and 
 about  the  walls  no  merchant  of  Tyre,  no  asses  laden  with 
 wine,  or  grapes,  or  figs,  are  suffered  to  lodge :  for  "  the 
 Lord  hath  hallowed  the  Sabbath,  to  do  no  work  therein."  * 
 
 lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox ;  ^  So  also  Diodorus  Siculus,  vol. 
 
 and  the  suckling  child  shall  play  i,  b.  i,  §  viii,  p.  21,  Bipont. 
 
 on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and   the  "•  Exodus  xvi.  22.  24 ;  Numbers 
 
 weaned  child  put  his  hand  on  the  xv.  32,  33  ;  and  Juvenal : 
 
 cockatrice' den." — Isai.xi.6-8.  Vide     "  Septima  quaeque  fuit  lux 
 
 some  observations  on  this  passage,  Ignava,  et  partem  vita?  non  attigit 
 
 opposed  to  the  arguments  I  have  ullam." — Sat.  xiv,  105. 
 
 used,  in  iYimrorf,  vol.  iv,  p.  150.  ^  Nehemiah  xiii.  19;  Jeremiah 
 xvii.  24. 
 
28  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 On  this  day,  then,  the  business  of  life  was  at  a  stand.  The 
 day  was  hallowed  liy  rest.  Kest  from  labour  was  all  that 
 the  law  '^  required  from  the  Israelites,  as  a  nation,  on  the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 But  are  we  then  to  conclude  that  the  people  of  Israel 
 celebrated  "  the  world's  birth-day"  ^  by  devoting  it  to  mere 
 rest  from  labour,  to  indolence,  to  a  longer  sleep  ?  From 
 2  Kings  iv.  23,  we  may  gather,  that  it  was  customary  on 
 the  Sabbath  to  visit  some  priest,  prophet,  or  holy  man, 
 no  doubt  for  instruction  and  exhortation  in  the  duties  of 
 religion.  And  from  the  chap.  xvi.  v.  17,  of  the  same  book,  it 
 would  seem  as  though  "  a  covert,"  or  hall,  or  cloister,  had 
 been  built  and  set  apart  for  those,  who  frequented  the 
 temple  on  that  day.  A  portion  of  the  Sabbath,  then,  was 
 not  improbably  devoted,  even  in  the  early  periods  of 
 Jewish  history,  as  it  certainly  was  in  the  later  times  of 
 Christ,  to  religious  observances;  and  the  remainder  was 
 spent,  by  the  better  part  of  the  community  at  least,  "in  a 
 festal  8  cheerfulness,"  in  receiving  and  returning  the  visits 
 
 ^  In  the  58th  chapter  of  Isaiah  cum,  non  solurnmodo  pietatis  ofla- 
 
 perhaps,  the  Sabbath  is  alluded  to,  ciis  impendenmt.     Eos   enim  die 
 
 as  requirino:  something  more  than  Sabbati   (saltern    postquara    syna- 
 
 this.   But  Philo,  quoted  hj  Spenser  gogae  vel  templi  sacris  adfuissent) 
 
 (De  Leg.  Heb.),  speaks  of  it   as  epulis,  choreis,  ludis,  compotatio- 
 
 bringing    rest   even    to    tree   and  nibus  et  exercitiis  juvenilibus  se- 
 
 flovver;  and,  in  the  Espion  Turc,  ipsos  oblectare   solitos,  multis  ve- 
 
 is  a  Jewish  legend   respecting  it,  terum  testimoniis,   a   Sherlogo   et 
 
 quite    in    the    Rabbinical    taste :  Heylano  nostro  congestis,  abunde 
 
 "Les  Juifs   parlent   d'une   riviere  confirraatum    est.       Fatetur    ipse 
 
 d'Orient,  qui  demeure  immobile  le  Philo:    Mosen    aquum    censuisse, 
 
 septieme  jour   de  la    semaine,    ce  ut  sahhatum  celehrarent  otio\;  et  tv 
 
 qu'ils  regardent  comrae  una  con-  iXapivatctvOvfiiatcfestishilaritati- 
 
 firmation  de  leur  loi.     lis  disent  bun.     Augustinus  asserens  Judseos 
 
 aussi  que  ce  jour-la,  les  satyres  et  Sabbatum  col  uisse  tan  turn  ad  luxu- 
 
 autres  monstres  du  desert  evitent  riam  et  ebrictalem,    eosque    quie- 
 
 la  luraiere  du  soleil,  et  se  cachent  visse  solunnnodo  ad  nugas  et  luxu- 
 
 dans  les  cavernes  de  la  terre,  oil  rias  suas,    quod  diem  ilium  lan- 
 
 ils  maudissent  le  Sabbath  parce-  guido  et  luxurioso  otio  consume- 
 
 qu'il  surprit  Dieu  avant  qu'il  cut  rent,  eoque  non  solum  deliciis  Ju- 
 
 acheve  a  donner  la  derniere  main  daicis,   sed    ad    nequitiam  abute- 
 
 a  leur  forine,  i^^c." — Vol.  iii,  p.  11.  rentur." — Spenser,  De  Leg.   Heb. 
 
 ^  Trjv  Tov  KOffi.iov  yevt9\L0v  rjfie-  lib.  i,  c.  v,  p.  79.     Nevertheless  an 
 
 pav. — Philo.  opinion   obtained  among  the  Ro- 
 
 ^^  "  Judici  vctcres  otium  salibati-  mans,  that  the  Jews  fasted  on  their 
 
CHAPTER  I.  29 
 
 of  friends,  in  feasts,9  and  dances,  and  games,  and  juvenile 
 exercises  ;  while  hy  the  more  sensual  it  was  wasted  in  idle- 
 ness, and  luxury,  and  drunkenness,  in  the  commission  of  all 
 those  crimes  to  wliich  idleness  is  the  certain  passport. 
 
 In  reviewing  this  creation  we  are  struck : 
 
 I.  By  its  division  into  days. 
 
 These  days,  though  several  of  them  are  undetermined 
 by  any  revolution  of  the  earth  round  the  sun,  were  never- 
 theless, I  presume,  meant,  and  imderstood  to  be  natural 
 days  of  twenty-foiu-  hours  each.  Some  commentators, 
 however,  have  taken  another  view  of  them ;  and  of  late,^ 
 Faber,  anxious  to  reconcile  Moses  with  the  geologists, 
 argues,  that,  as  these  days  are  homogenous ;  and  as  the 
 term  day,  in  Hebrew,  is  often  used  for  any  indefinite  time, 
 and  cannot  in  this  chapter  mean  a  natural  day,  or  a  revolu- 
 tion of  the  earth ;  and  as,  moreover,  the  seventh  day  is 
 not  yet  ended,  because  no  new  creation  has  yet  taken 
 place ;  ^  that,  therefore,  each  day  measiu^es  a  space  of  at 
 least  six  thousand  years.  To  this  argimient  there  seem  to 
 me  two  objections — 
 
 1st.  That  the  assumption  that  God,  since  the  creation  of 
 this  earth,  or  of  our  system,  has  ceased  to  work,  is  scarcely 
 reconcilable  with  any  rational  apprehension  of  the  Deity ; 
 and  is  moreover  contrary  to  the  sense  of  Scripture  (Psalm 
 civ.  31;  Isaiah  xlv,  7;  John  v.  17);  and  contrary  to  the 
 theological  ^dews  of  infant  man,  w^liose  deities  are  ever  too 
 busy,  too  personally  active ;  and  ever  engaged,  if  not  in 
 creating,  in  mending  and  rectifying  their  handywork. 
 
 sabbaths.      "  Ne  Judaeus  quidem,  vol.  iv,  p.  152,  but  its   tendencies 
 
 mi  Tiberi,"  says   Augustus    in   a  are,it  seems  tome,misunderstood — 
 
 letter  to  Tiberius,  "  tam  diligenter  if  indeed  I  may  speak  of  the  ten- 
 
 Sabbatis   jejunium    sevvat,  quam  dencies  of  a  work  which  it  is  now 
 
 ego    hodie     servavi." — Suetonius,  many  years  since  I  have  read. 
 
 August.  §  76;  and  read  Casaubon,  *  This  is  clearly  the  Mahomme- 
 
 a.  h.  1. ;    see  also   Persius,  Sat.  v.  dan   doctrine.     "  It  is  God,"  says 
 
 184 ;  and  compare  Juvenal,  vi,  158  ;  the  Koran,  "  who  hath  created  the 
 
 Judith,  viii,  5,  6  ;  and  x,  2, 3.  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  what- 
 
 ^  Luke  xiv.  1,7.  ever  is   between   them;   and  then 
 
 '  I  have  just  met  with  this  argu-  ascended  his  throne."— M:.  xxxii. 
 ment  of  Fabcr's  stated  in  Nimrod, 
 
30 
 
 CHAPTER   I. 
 
 And  2dly.  That  though  "  day"  may  be  often  used  for 
 any  indefinite  time,  it  surely  never  is  so,  when  particu- 
 larized, as  it  always  is  in  the  creation,  as  morning  and 
 evening.  ^ 
 
 II.  By  the  manner  in  which  the  work  of  each  day  is 
 distributed  throughout  the  day. 
 
 Generally  each  day  represents  a  volition  of  the  Creator ; 
 a  creation  ;  and  a  retrospect  by  the  Deity  of  that  creation. 
 The  exceptions  are : 
 
 1st.  The  second  day  :  on  which  day  alone  God  does  not 
 look  back  on  his  work  and  declare  his  pleasure  in  it. 
 
 2dly.  The  third  day:  wliich  contains  two  distinct  volitions 
 
 ^  According  to  the  Chinese  crea- 
 tion, heaven  and  earth  were  per- 
 fected in  three  hours.  Chou-king, 
 by  De  Guignes,  Dis.  Prelim,  c.  i, 
 p.  1 0.  To  these  hours,  however,  an 
 interpretation,  similar  to  Faber's 
 of  theMosaical  days,  has  been  given 
 by  later  commentators.  I  will 
 quote  the  passages :  "  II  y  a  une 
 ancienne  tradition  qui  porte  que  le 
 ciel  fut  ouvert  a  I'heure  Tsc,  que  le 
 terre  parut  a  I'heure  Tcheou,  et 
 que  riiomnie  naquit  a  I'heure  Yu. 
 Ces  trois  heures,  par  rapport  a  un 
 jour,  comprennent  le  terns  qui 
 coule  depuis  onze  heures  de  la 
 nuit  jusqu  a  cinq  heures  du  matin." 
 — Chou-king,  p.  10.  "  Hou-chi 
 dit,  avant  toutes  choses  il  y  a  eu 
 le  ciel ;  la  terre  fut  form^e  cnsuite ; 
 et  apres  la  terre  I'homme  fut  pro- 
 duit  par  les  differens  combinaisons 
 que  les  vapeurs  les  plus  subtiles 
 prirent  entre  elles.  Le  ciel  com- 
 men^a  ces  operations  a  la  revolu- 
 tion du  Eat,  la  terre  les  siennes  a 
 celle  du  Boeuf,  et  I'homme  fut  pro- 
 duit  a  la  revolution  du  Tigre." 
 Chao-tse  dit:  "  Depuis  le  moment 
 ou  le  ciel  et  la  terre  out  ete  eu 
 mouvement,  jusqu'a  celui  ou  ils 
 finiront,  il  doit  y  avoir  une  revolu- 
 tion entiere.  Une  revolution  con- 
 tient  douze  periodes,  et  la  periode 
 est  composee  de  10,800  ans."  The 
 
 same  author  then  goes  on  to  assert, 
 that  a  space  of  10,800  years  took 
 place  between  each  creation. 
 
 Similarly  in  the  Persian  cosmo- 
 gony. Hyde  informs  us:  "  Loco 
 ejus  quod  nos  Hexaemeron  vo- 
 camns,  veteres  Perste  credunt 
 Deurn  creasse  mundum  in  sex 
 temporibus,  quaj  etiam  vocantur 
 k^axpovov,  respiciendo  ad  sex  dies 
 quiB,  in  libris  ccelestibus  seu  bibliis 
 sacris,  memorantur ;  idque  faciunt 
 ex  regula  qua;  in  Libris  Zend  exa- 
 rata  est;  viz.  putantes  in  tam 
 grandi  opere  diem  esse  pro  collec- 
 tione  dierum." — De  Rel.  Vet.  Pers. 
 c.  ix,  p.  164.  In  page  166,  id.  we 
 have  a  more  specific  account  of 
 these  times.  During  the  first  of  45 
 days,  the  heavens  were  created ; 
 during  the  second  of  60,  the  waters ; 
 in  the  third  of  75,  the  earth ;  in 
 the  fourth  of  30,  the  trees ;  in  the 
 fifth  of  80,  all  creatures ;  in  the 
 sixth  of  75,  man.  (Compare  Afrin 
 du  Gehanbar,  Anquetil  s  Zend, 
 vol.  ii,  p.  81.)  In  the  Boun-De- 
 liesch,  however,  we  are  told  that 
 the  creation  occupied  6000  years, 
 and  will  endure  6000  more.  With 
 this  last  creation,  as  evidently  bor- 
 rowed from  it,  compare  the  cosmo- 
 gony of  the  Tyrrhenians  from 
 Suidas,  V.  Tyrrhenia;  alsoinCory's 
 Ancient  Fragments,  p.  319. 
 
CHAPTER   I.  31 
 
 of  God,  and  two  creations ;  one  of  tlie  earth,  and  another 
 of  grass,  and  herbs,  and  trees  :  and  two  ratifications,  one  of 
 each  of  this  day's  works. 
 
 3dly.  The  fifth  day,  which  besides  a  volition,  creation, 
 and  ratification  of  that  creation,  contains  also  a  blessing, 
 which  God  pronounces  on  the  creatures  He  has  just  made. 
 And  4thly.  The  sixth  day,  which,  Hke  the  third,  has  two 
 distinct  voHtions,  and  two  creations,  and  two  ratifications, 
 one  of  the  first  of  that  day's  works,  a  second  of  the  whole 
 creation.  This  day  is  also  distinguished  from  all  the  rest,  by 
 the  manner  in  which  the  Deity  pauses  ere  He  creates  man, 
 and  by  the  large  blessing  which  He  pronounces  upon  him. 
 III.  By  the  order  of  the  creation. 
 
 The  creation  may  be  divided  into  two  parts  of  three 
 days  each.  The  first  begins,  as  preparatory  to  the  crea- 
 tion of  the  world,  by  dissipating  the  darkness  that  brooded 
 over  and  fonned  a  part  of  the  chaotic  mass  ;  that  mass  it 
 then  proceeds  to  drain  of  its  superfluous  water,  which  it 
 describes  as  gathered  up  into  Heaven :  the  seas  are  then 
 formed,  and  the  dry  land  appears,  and  is  unmediately  covered 
 over  with  verdure.  So  far  the  work  is  perfect.  A  world, 
 over  which  a  gentle  light  is  diffused,  rests  under  a  blue 
 heaven ;  seas  roll  their  waters  on  the  shore,  flowers  bloom, 
 trees  wave  their  leafy  branches,  and  the  grass  wears  the 
 beauty  of  spring,  even  as  now.  But  the  Deity  stays  not 
 here.  The  earth  is  but  a  stage,  on  which  living  beings  are 
 to  play  a  part,  and  God  therefore  proceeds  to  the  second 
 act  of  creation.  As  the  first  was  ushered  in  by  the  creation 
 of  Hght, — the  light  necessary  to  the  world  and  its  vegetable 
 productions  ;  so  the  second  commences  with  those  lights  of 
 Heaven,  which  are  considered  here  as  more  especially  useful 
 to  man ;  and  as  water  and  air  were  before  earth,  so  are 
 they  now  first  fiUed,  the  one  with  fish  and  the  other  with 
 birds ;  the  earth  is  then  called  upon  to  produce  its  living 
 creatm-es ;  and  man  is  last  of  all  created  the  crown  and  lord 
 of  creation,  the  image  of  the  Creator,  His  master-piece,  the 
 last  and  sublimest  eftbrt  of  His  skill. 
 
32  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 IV.  By  the  details  of  the  creation. 
 
 And  1st.  They  are  such  as  to  prevent  idolatry.  Thus 
 light  is  created  as  light  merely,  and  the  Persian  Ormuzd 
 is  no  god;  the  world  is  created  a  soul-less  mass,  and 
 Kneph  of  the  Egyptian  triad  never  had  existence ;  sun, 
 moon,  and  stars  are  created  the  measures  of  time,  and  the 
 Sabajan  deities  are  vain  idols ;  the  productive  powers  of 
 animals  are  given  to  them  by  God,  and  the  Israelite  can- 
 not bow  before  the  gross  emblems'  of  eastern  superstition. 
 Nay,  more,  in  this  his  cosmogony,  Moses  so  distinctly 
 places  man  before  our  eyes  as  the  centre  of  all  creation, 
 as  something  so  much  more  and  greater  than  all  other 
 created  things,  that  for  him  to  worship  any  or  all  of  them, 
 is  for  him  to  degrade  himself  below  his  servants,  and  to 
 swear  fealty  to  his  own  vassals. 
 
 2dly.  They  are  such  as  to  prepare  us  for  any  sudden 
 changes  in  the  established  course  of  Nature.  As  man  is 
 the  centre  of  creation,  as  for  him  all  things  were  made, 
 and  as  into  his  hands  all  things  are  delivered,  to  conduce 
 to  his  comfort  and  happiness,  we  can  never  feel  surprised, 
 if  for  his  sake  the  laws  of  Nature  should  hereafter  be 
 subverted. 
 
 3dly.  They  are  such  as  to  prepare  the  way  for  those 
 distinctions  of  meats,  which  make  up  so  large  a  part  of 
 the  Mosaical  and  other  eastern  creeds.  A  particular  food 
 is  set  apart  for  man.  He  may  eat  of  herbs  bearing  seed, 
 and  of  the  fruit  of  trees,  but,  by  a  fair  inference  he  may 
 not  eat  flesh.  In  the  superstitions  of  Egypt,  Persia  and 
 India,  various  meats  are  for  various  reasons  unlawful. '  In 
 the  Jewish,  they  are  unlawful  because  unclean  ;  and  they 
 are  unclean  because  they  have  been  declared  so  by  God. 
 Even    therefore  in   that   account   of  the  creation   which 
 
 *  See  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii,  may  possibly  inhabit  a  bird;"  in 
 p  338.  Persia,  because  all  unclean  animals 
 
 *  In'  India,  on  account  of  the  are  the  creation  of  Ahrinian,  the  evil 
 doctrine  of  IMetempsychosis,  be-  one;  and  in  Egypt,  for  sanitory 
 cause  "  the  soul  of  our  j^randam  reasons. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  33 
 
 opens  the  Hebrew  books,  it  is  no  matter  of  surprise  ibr 
 us  to  find  the  Eloliim  already  making  known  to  man  what 
 he  may,  and  by  implication  what  he  may  not,  eat.  As 
 the  lord  of  creatures,  man  has  rule  and  dominion ;  as  the 
 servant  and  steward  of  God,  he  must  learn  from  his  birth 
 to  obey. 
 
 4tlily.  They  allude  to  those  divisions  of  time,  which 
 occupied  so  much  of  the  attention  of  the  olden  nations. 
 These  are. 
 
 First,  the  Natural :  ascertained  by  the  mutations  of  the 
 sun  and  moon ;  those  great  dial  plates  of  Heaven,  which 
 the  Elohim  created  "  to  be  for  signs  and  for  seasons,  and 
 for  days  and  for  years." 
 
 And  secondly,  the  Sacred:  determined  by  the  periodi- 
 cal celebration  of  some  particular  event,  e.  p.,  of  the 
 creation ;  to  the  memory  of  which  as  "  the  world's  birth- 
 day," each  seventh  day,  thus  inducing  necessarily  a  divi- 
 sion of  time  into  weeks,  is  dedicated. 
 
 The  Natural  divisions  of  time — dependent  on  pheno- 
 mena universally  regular,  and  so  singularly  striking  that 
 they  arrest  the  attention  even  of  the  most  sottish  and 
 degraded, — are,  without  any  surprise,  found  every  where 
 the  same,  or  nearly  the  same ;  and  are  every  where,  too, 
 along  with  the  other  cardinal  inventions  of  early  ci\iliza- 
 tion,  ascribed  by  all  people  to  either  their  gods  or  first 
 legislators.  Thus  the  Egyptians,  taught  by  Theath,®  had 
 a  year  of  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each,  which,  with 
 five  intercalary  days,  gave  them  a  year  of  three  hundred 
 and  sixty-five  days.  ^  The  Persian  year  was  exactly  "*  simi- 
 lar ;  with  these,  in  the  number  of  its  days  and  intercalary 
 days,  the  old  Mexican  year  agreed ;  but  instead  of  twelve, 
 it  had  eighteen  months,^  each  of  twenty  days.  The 
 Chinese  ^  year   is  of  three   hundi-ed  and   sixty-six  days. 
 
 ^  Marsham  Canon.  Cliron.  p.  37.         ^  Yao    (tlie    first    Emperor     of 
 ^  Herod.  B.  ii,  c.  iv.  China)   dit :    "  Vous,    Hi  et    Ho, 
 
 ^  Hyde,  De  Rel.  Vet.  Pars.  p.  169.     vous  aurez  soin  que  I'aunee  soit  de 
 ^  De  Solis,  Conquest  of  Mexico,     trois    cent    soixaute-six  jours." — 
 b.  iii,  c.  xvii,  vol.  i,  p.  433.  Memoires  Cliinoises,  vol.  i,  p.  172. 
 
 F 
 
34  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 The  Greeks  was  of  twelve  lunar  months,  of  thirty  days 
 each,  "with  intercalated  years,  which  reduced  all  to  the 
 solar  form."  3  Similarly,  the  Jewish  year  was  lunar,  but 
 "like  the  Greeks,  the  Jews  were  necessitated  by  their 
 festivals  to  fling  in  an  intercalary  month  whenever  their 
 year  fell  short  of  the  seasons."* 
 
 With  regard  now  to  the  other  division  of  time,  tlie 
 Sacred:  it  clearly  differs  from  the  Natural,  in  that  it 
 depends  on  events  which  can  only  be  known  by  tradi- 
 tion, and  not  on  universal  facts,  which  "  all  who  run  may 
 read."  It  is  then  an  accidental  and  arbitrary  division  of 
 time,  and  one  that  will,  in  all  probability,  obtain  only 
 among  nations  which  have  a  common  origin,  or  a  common 
 religion,  or  which  derive  their  customs  from  a  common 
 source.  But  the  division  of  time  into  weeks,  the  first 
 sacred  division  of  time  upon  record,  and  one  instituted 
 by  God  himself,  and  coeval  with  the  creation,  has  been 
 boasted  of  by  later  writers^  as  a  custom  of  universal  ob- 
 servance. And,  in  truth,  it  has  established  itself  in  the 
 empire  of  China, «  over  Europe,  a  large  portion  of  Asia 
 and  America,  and  the  more  populous  parts  of  Africa,^ 
 wherever,  in  a  word,  the  names  of  Christ  and  Mahomet 
 are  held  in  honour.     Whence  then  this  universality  ? 
 
 In  the  old  Roman  Calendar,  the  months  were  divided 
 into  calends,  nones,  and  ides  ;*   in  the  Greek,  into  three 
 
 ^  For  the  fabled  inventors  of  the  ont  appliquee  a  Saturne,  le  bois  a 
 
 Greek  year,  see  Potter's  Antiquities  Jupiter,  le  feu  a  Mars,  le  metal  a 
 
 of  Greece,  c.  ii,  vol.  xxvi.  Venus,  et  I'eau  a  Mercure." — Mem. 
 
 *  Vide    Prideaux,     Connection,  Chinoises,  vol.  v,  p.  44. 
 B.  V,  c.  vi,  vol.  i,  p.  341.  "<  Even  on  the  Gold  Coast,  but 
 
 ''  Id.  id.  derived  from  Europeans :   "  Quoi- 
 
 ^  Witsius  iEgyptiaca,  lib.  iii,  c.  que  les  nejjres  n'ayent  pas  d'autre 
 
 ix,  §  ii.  notion  de  I'annee  et  de  sa  division 
 
 f  "  Les  Chinois  divisent  leur  se-  en  mois  et  en  semaines,  que  celle 
 
 maines  comme  nous,  suivant  I'ordre  qu'lls  tirent  de  la  fr/-quentation  des 
 
 des  planetes;  le  soleil  et  la  lune  Europeens,  &c.''    (Hist.  Gen.  des 
 
 sont  les    deux    premiers.      Quant  Voy.  vol.  iv,  p.  1(57.)  "  lis  divisent 
 
 aux  autres,  les   Chinois   leur  ont  le  tems  en  partis  heureuses  et  raal- 
 
 donne  les  noms  de  leur  cinq  ele-  heureuses." — Ibid.  The  true  bar- 
 
 mens,  qui  sont  la  terre,  le  feu,  I'eau,  baric  division, 
 le  bois  et  les  nictaux  ;  la  terre  ils        ^  Adams's    Roman  Antiquities, 
 
CHAPTER   I. 
 
 35 
 
 decads  of  days ;  in  the  Persian,  into  four  parts,  ^  two  of 
 which  contained  seven,  and  two  eight  days  each :  and  in 
 the  Mexican  year  the  weeks  were  of  thirteen  days.^  The 
 septenary  cycle,  as  in  general  use,  is  therefore  of  compa- 
 ratively modern  date ;  nevertheless,  so  early  as  the  age 
 of  Josephus,  2  it  prevailed  throughout  the  Roman  Empire, 
 though  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  introduced  into  the 
 calendar  till  the  reign  of  Theodosius.^  Whence  then  was 
 it  borrowed  ? 
 
 Besides  the  Jews,  the  Egyptians  are  the  only  people 
 among  whom  this  cycle  obtained,  who  press  forward  any 
 claims  to  its  invention/  Now  it  seems  that  the  civilized 
 world,  when  it  first  adopted  the  measure  of  weeks,  adopted 
 also  the  Egyptian^  names  of  the  days.     From  Egypt,  as 
 
 On  the  Roman  Year,  p.  304 ;  and 
 for  the  manner  in  which  the  nun- 
 dintE  were  observed  at  Rome,  see 
 Selden,  De  Jure  Nat.  lib.  iii,  c.  xv. 
 
 ^  Ut  Graeci  olim  septimanis  des- 
 tituti,  mensem  trifariam  in  tres 
 dierum  decanos  dividebant,  sic  cum 
 in  Vet.  Pers.  mense  non  sint  septi- 
 mana,  sicut  sunt  in  mense  Ara- 
 bum,  Persge  videntur  tale  quoddam 
 parasse  remedium  interponendo 
 nomen  Dei,  quod  quadripartitam 
 efEceret  mensis  divisionem,  quae 
 septinariae  partitioni  esset  prox- 
 ima."  The  first  day  of  the  month, 
 we  are  then  informed,  is  called 
 Hormuzd;  after  seven  days  comes 
 Deybadur,  "  seu  Dey,  Deus  cum 
 Adur,  et  eodem  modo  post  alios 
 septem  dies  venit  Deybamihir  seu 
 Dey  cum  Mihir,  et  tum  post  octo 
 dies  Deybadin  seu  Dey  cum  Din, 
 ^c."  The  Persians,  Hyde  conjec- 
 tures, were  led  to  this  division  for 
 convenience'  sake  :  "  Triginta  dies 
 non  potuerunt  aliter  dividi  quam 
 per  bis  septenos  etbis  octenos  dies." 
 —Hyde,  De  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  c.  xix, 
 p.  239 ;  and  see  further,  c.  xx,  p. 
 260. 
 
 '  "  The  Mexicans  had  their  weeks 
 
 of  thirteen  days,  with  different 
 names,  which  they  marked  in  their 
 calendar  by  images.'' — De  Solis, 
 ut  supra. 
 
 ^  According  to  Selden,  De  Jure 
 Nat.  B.  iii,  c.  xix  ;  and  see  note  ^, 
 p.  38,  infra. 
 
 ^  Scaliger,  De  Emendat.  Temp, 
 B.  iv,  p.  219. 
 
 ■»  Merely  in  so  far  as  Europeans 
 have  copied  from  them.  In  China 
 the  week  is  probably  original.  For 
 though  China  jars  have  been  disco- 
 vered in  Egyptian  tombs  (vide  Wil- 
 kinson's Egypt  and  the  Egyptians, 
 vol.  iii,  and  Davis's  China),  they 
 came  there  indirectly.  They  are 
 like  the  English  ware  Denham  and 
 Clapperton  found  at  the  court  of 
 Timbuctoo  ;  no  evidence  whatever 
 of  any  interchange  of  thought  and 
 customs  between  the  two  people. 
 
 ^  Herodotus,  b.  ii,  c.  Ixxxii;  Dio 
 Cassius,  B.  xxxvi,  p.  37  :  "  Quod 
 vero  dies  adsignantur  septem  stellis 
 qu3B  planetae  vocantur,  id  certe  est 
 inventum  .Egyptiorum." — From 
 Witsius  iEgypt.  B.  i,  c.  vi ;  see  also 
 Suetonius,  Julius  Cssar,  §.  40; 
 compare,  however,  Casaubon  ad 
 Suetonium,  Tiberius,  §  32. 
 
36  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 tlie  Romans  borrowed  their  year,  so  they  also  probably  bor- 
 rowed their  week.  But  in  Egypt,  the  ancestors  of  the  Jews 
 sojourned  some  four  centuries,  and  from  them  the  Egyptians 
 may  very  possibly  have  acquired  this  measure  of  time. 
 We  will,  therefore,  inquire  how  far  it  was  in  use  among 
 the  Patriarchs  before  Jacob's  emigration  into  Egypt. 
 
 From  the  book  of  Genesis,  we  learn  that  a  septenary 
 cycle  was  possibly  known  to  Noah,*  and  certainly  in  use 
 with  Laban  and  his  family.''  But,  in  this  first  chapter, 
 that  cycle  is  represented  to  us  as  subordinate  to,  and 
 merely  the  consequence  of,  the  Sabbath-day ;  as  in  fact 
 owing  its  existence  to  the  observance  of  that  day ;  and  yet 
 throughout  Genesis,  with  the  exception  of  this  creation — 
 and  what  evidence  have  Ave  that  this  creation  was  ever 
 revealed  to  any  other  than  Moses? — there  is  not  the 
 slightest  allusion  to  any  seventh,  as  a  peculiarly  holy,  day. 
 Not  indeed,  till  after  the  Exodus^  is  the  Sabbath  men- 
 tioned, and  then  its  sanctity  is  pressed  upon  us  in  almost 
 every  verse,  and  its  observance  is  ensured  by  the  heaviest 
 penalties ;  the  very  severity  with  which  it  is  commanded, 
 bespeaks  it  an  innovation  and  no  ancestral  and  well-estab- 
 lished custom.  In  a  word,  we  have  no  evidence  whatever 
 that  the  hebdomadal,  as  a  constantly  recurring  cycle,  as 
 dividing  and  measuring  the  whole  year,  was  known  to  the 
 Hebrews  before  their  settlement  in  Egypt.  And  we 
 must  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  weeks  of  Noah  and  of 
 Laban  were  merely  any  seven  days  set  apart  for  a  festal 
 or  a  religious  purpose — perhaps,  because  the  heptad,  or 
 number  seven,  was  held  in  peculiar  reverence ;  or,  for 
 some  other  reason  which  at  this  distance  of  time  it  would 
 
 *  Genesis   viii.   10-12;  and  see  — Ezek.  xx.  10,  11,  12;  and  Deut. 
 
 infra  ad  h.  loc.  v.  3 :  "  The  Lord  made  not  this 
 
 ^  Genesis  xxix.  27  covenant  with  our  father,  but  with 
 
 *"  Wherefore  T  caused  them  to  go  us,  even  us  ;^^  and  this  covenant  is 
 
 forth  out  of  the  laud  of  E^ypt,  and  contained   in   the   Decalogue.      I 
 
 hrouglit  them  into  the  wilderness ;  know,  however,  that  to  these  pas- 
 
 and  I  gave  them  my  statutes sages  another  sense  may  be  given. 
 
 Moreover  I  gave  them  my  sabbaths  If  they  do  not  prove  my  case,  they 
 
 to  be  a  sign  between  me  and  them."  give  it  at  least  probability. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  37 
 
 be  vain  to  speculate  on,  but  which  may  as  easily  be  di-awn 
 from  many  natural  phenomena  as  from  this  first  chapter 
 of  Genesis. 
 
 We  will  now  examine  the  Egyptian  week. . .  .At  a  first 
 glance  we  find  that  the  Egyptian  week  is  not  a  cycle  of 
 seven  mere  days,  but  of  seven  days,  each  one  of  which  has 
 its  appropriate  name,  and  a  name,  moreover,  taken  from 
 the  planet  to  which  it  is  dedicated.^  Did  not,  then,  for 
 the  Egyptians  were  a  people  devoted  to  astrology,  ^  the 
 number  of  the  planets  determine  the  number  of  their 
 days  ?  Or  were  they  led  to  the  division  of  their  months 
 into  weeks,  by  the  observation  that  the  moon  required 
 seven^  days  from  new  moon  to  its  first  quarter,  and  other 
 seven  days  to  reach  its  full,  and  so  on  to  its  decline  ?  And 
 did  they,  then,  finding  that  the  planets  were  the  same  in 
 number  as  the  days,  apply  the  names  of  the  one  to  denote 
 the  other?  I  cannot  determine  which  of  these  is  the 
 more  probable  reason  for  the  Egyptian  week ;  but  I 
 perceive  that,  as  that  week  was  associated  with  no  events, 
 hallowed  by  no  traditions,  it  had  no  arbitrary  origin,  but 
 was  founded  on  an  observation,  never  mind  how  crude,  of 
 the  phenomena  of  Nature  ;  and  that  therefore,  like  other 
 natural  divisions  of  time,  it  might  be  alike  original  in 
 China,  in  Haran,  and  in  Egypt. 
 
 If,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  decide  between  the  pre- 
 tensions of  the  Jews  and  those  of  the  Egyptians,  we  must 
 avow,  that  it  seems  to  us  just  as  probable,  that  the  Jews, 
 
 ^  Vide  supra,  note  ^,  p.  35.  participates  of  the  hebdomad  ;  the 
 
 '  Their  astronomical  observations  vioon  having  seven  days  measures  all 
 
 and  attainments  are  highly  prized  time." — Doctrine  of  Pythagoras,  c. 
 
 by  Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i,  c.  Ixxxi.  xiv,  part  ix.  And  in  a  note  of  Bro- 
 
 "  *  In  Stanley,  Hist.  Phil.,  though  tier,  to  Tacitus'  conjectures  on  the 
 
 quoted  indeed  from  later  writers,  I  origin  of  the  Sabbath,  the  virtue  of 
 
 find  among  the  doctrines  of  Pytha-  the    Heptad   is   considered   as   an 
 
 goras  (who,  like  Moses,  was  learned  Egyptian  as  well  as  a  Pythagorean 
 
 in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians),  superstition:    "  Ea  fuit  jEgyptio- 
 
 the  following  opinions  concerning  rum  ac  Pythagora:orum  ac  postea 
 
 the   Heptad  :   "  Whatever  is   best  astrologorum  superstitio,  ut  mundi 
 
 among  sensible   things,  by  which  tempora  hominumque  fata  septem 
 
 the  seasons  of  the  year  and  their  sidcruin  cursu  regi  crederent." — 
 
 periods  are  orderly  and  complete,  Hist.  Taciti,  note,  lib.  v,  c.  iv. 
 
38  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 who  show  none  but  accidental  or  traditional  reasons  for 
 the  use  of  their  cycle,  should  have  boiTowed  it  from  the 
 Egyptians,  as  it  is  improbable  that  the  Egyptians,  with 
 whom  it  appears  as  a  natural  measure  of  time,  should  have 
 acquired  it  from  the  Jews. 
 
 But  if  there  be  a  natural  reason  for  the  septenary  cycle, 
 there  is  none  for  the  observance  of  the  seventh  as  a  day 
 of  rest,  a  festival;  yet  is  the  Sabbath,  so  Jewish  and 
 Christian  writers  affirm,^  every  where  held  in  honour,  and 
 every  where,  by  the  confession  of  the  nations  themselves, 
 celebrated  as  a  day  holy  and  especially  dedicate  to  God. 
 
 That  this  hebdomadal  feast  was  not  altogether  un- 
 known to  the  Romans,  Ovid,  Seneca,  Juvenal,  Horace, 
 and  Tacitus "  are  witnesses ;  but  the  very  terms  in  which 
 
 ^  See  Huetius,  Demonstratio  tov  ij3SoiiaSoe,  rjv  apyov/xev  vntiQ, 
 Evangelica,  prop,  iv,  c.  xi,  for  the  to  iGog  ov  di.a7re(poirriKtv  :  "  Nulla 
 authorities  :  "  Insignis  est  locus  R.  omnino  urbs  est  vel  Graecorum,vel 
 GedaliiE  in  Catena  Cabalse,  quo  in  Barbarorum/ neque  ulla  gens  ad 
 confesso  apud  Etbnicos  ait,  univer-  quam  non  penetraverit  mos  cele- 
 sum  orhem  sabbathum  celcbrare ;  brandi  septimi  diei,  quem  feriati 
 insignis  et  ille  Josephi: — ov^'  tanv  traducimus."  See,  however,  Seldeu, 
 ov  TToXig  f\\r]v(i)v,  ovdrj  tiq  ovv,  ovSe  ut  supra,  who  gives  another  mean- 
 [iapfSapog,  ov5i  iv  idvoQ,  tvSia  fir)  to  ing  to  this  passage  of  Josephus. 
 ''  Ovid,  Art  Amor. : — 
 
 "  Nee  te  praetereat  Veneri  ploratus  Adonis 
 Cultaque  Judteo  septima  sacro  Lyro." 
 In  the  Remedia  Amoris,  Ovid  ap-    cendere    aliquam    lucernam   Sab- 
 plies  the  epithet "  peregrina"  to  the     batho  prohibeanius,  &c." — Juvenal, 
 Sabbath.  Seneca,  Epist.  xcv.  "  Ac-     xiv.  96: — 
 
 "  Quidam  sortiti  metuenteni  Sabbata  patrem 
 Nil  prseter  nubes,  et  coeli  numeu  adorant, 
 Nee  distare  putant  humana  carne  suillam, 
 Qua  pater  abstinuit ;  niox  et  praeputia  ponunt: 
 Romanas  autem  soliti  contemnerc  leges 
 Judaicum  ediscunt  et  servant  ac  nietuunt  jus 
 Tradidit  arcano  quodcunque  volumine  Moses." 
 Horace,  Sermon,  i,  9,  7 : — 
 
 (Fuscus)  "  Hodie  tricesima  Sabbata  :  vin  'tu 
 
 Curtis  Judaeis  oppedere  ?"      Nulla  mihi  inquam 
 Religio  est.     {Fmcus)  "  At  mihi  sura  paulo  infirmior,  unus 
 Multorum." 
 Tacit.  Hist.  v.  iv :  "  Septimo  die     num  ignavitc  datum."     See,  how- 
 otium  placuisse,  ferunt,  quia  is  fi-     ever,  Selden,  De  Jure  Nat.  lib.  iii, 
 nem  laborum  tulerit,  dein  blaudi-     c.  xvii. 
 cntc  inertia,  septimum  (|uoque  an- 
 
CHAPTER    I.  39 
 
 they  mention  it,  as  well  as  the  silence  of  all  antiquity  on 
 the  subject,  are  evidence  that  it  was  no  Roman  festival. 
 Among  the  Greeks  the  seventh  day  was  sacred,  even  so 
 early  as  the  times  of  Homer  and  Hesiod.  The  Athenians 
 more  particularly  celebrated  it  "  lam'um  gestantes,  canis- 
 trum  coronantes,  hymnisque  laudantes  Deum."  But  this 
 seventh,  as  Selden  proves,^  was  a  monthly,  and  no  week 
 day.  In  Egypt^  however,  Marsham,^  whose  mania  it  was 
 to  make  every  law  and  custom  of  Israel  but  a  reflex  or 
 copy  of  something  Egyptian,  will  have  it  that  the  Sab- 
 bath obtained : — 
 
 1st.  Because  the  Egyptian  priests  always  observed  a 
 septenary  cycle  in  their  purifications,  never  Kmiting  them 
 to  less  than  seven,  and  sometimes  extending  them  to 
 forty-two  days. 
 
 And  2dly.  Because  the  seventh  day,  as  dedicate  to  Saturn, 
 (among  astrologers  a  planet  of  melancholy  and  inauspicious 
 aspect),  was  a  black  day,  an  unlucky  day,  one  of  those  days 
 (the  vjuepat  oTTo^pacec  of  the  Greek  calendar)  on  which  no 
 business  whatever  was  transacted. 
 
 To  these  conjectural  reasons  we  may  object : 
 
 1st.  That  though,  when  viewed  alone,  each  one  may 
 carry  with  it  some  air  of  probability,  yet,  when  taken  toge- 
 ther, they  are  rather  contradictory  one  of  the  other  ;   and, 
 
 2dly.  That  while  the  second  is  quite  unsupported  by 
 authority,^  the  first  merely  proves  a  superstitious  and 
 mystical  reverence  for  the  heptad,  the  seven,  but  contains 
 nothing  which  can  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  in  Egypt, 
 every  recurring  seventh  day  was  a  day  of  rest,  a  holy  day, 
 a  Sabbath. 
 
 In  Persia,  in  India^  in  China,  in  Mexico,  tliis  "pandemic 
 
 *  Selden,  ut  supra.  Indes,  vol.  i,  p.  9.  That  the  sep- 
 ®  Canon.  Chron.  Secul.ix,p.  109.  teuary cycle, however,  wasunknown 
 ^  Witsius  yEgyptica  conf.  lib.  i,     to  the  religion  of  ancient   India, 
 
 c.  vi,  et  lib.  iii,  c  ix.  may  be  seen  by  the  divisions  of  the 
 
 *  Nevertheless,  among  the  secta-  civil  year,  given  by  Colebrook  in 
 riesof  Siva,in  the  west  of  Meissour,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  v,  p.  105, 
 the  Monday  in  every  week  is  ob-  by  Davis,  Id.  vol.  ii,  p.  230.  In  the 
 served  in  the  same  way  as  the  Sun-  White  Yajur-veda,  moreover,  are 
 day  with  us.— Dubois,  Moeurs  des  noticed  the  divisions  of  time  which 
 
40  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 feast'"'  is  equally  unknown:  in  short,  in  the  words  of 
 Selden,  "  Apud  etlmicorum  longe  potiorem  partem  diei 
 septimanae  ccssationem  deridiculo  fuisse,  et  (si  paucos  exci- 
 pias)  Judreos  solos  lucem  septlmam  quiete  transegisse."^ 
 
 But  though  the  Sabbath  day  was  unregarded,  the  Sab- 
 bath feasts,  or  feasts  analogous  to  them,  were  observed  by 
 aU  the  nations  of  antiquity.  The  savage  on  his  return 
 from  a  successfid  chase  makes  holiday,  and  prepares  a 
 plentiful  banquet,  and  gorges  himself  with  food,  and  then 
 lays  himself  down  to  sleep,  and  wakes  but  to  eat  again, 
 and  then  again  to  sleep,  until  his  stock  of  provisions  is  ex- 
 hausted, and  hunger  at  length  rouses  liim  to  fresh  exer- 
 tions. His  life  is  divided  between  the  severest  toil  and  the 
 most  listless  indolence.  So  soon,  however,  as  men  begin 
 to  live  in  societies,  and  have  learned  to  tame  and  to  keep 
 cattle,  and  to  cultivate  the  earth ;  so  soon  as  they  have 
 some  assured  means  of  subsistence,  we  find  their  legisla- 
 tors regulating  the  alternations  of  labour  and  repose,  conse- 
 crating particular  days  to  rest,^  and  hallowing  these  clays 
 by  dedicating  them  to  the  gods,  and  making  them  happy 
 days  for  the  people,  by  adorning  them  with  feasts  and 
 games,  and  solemn  sacrifice.  Thus,  among  the  Egyptians, 
 according  to  Herodotusj^*  there  were  many  public  festivals ; 
 he  enumerates  six  of  them,  and  though  he  describes  the 
 people  as  thronging  to  the  cities  in  which  they  were  more 
 particularly  celebrated,  it  is  no  rash  conjecture  to  suppose 
 that  the  days,  on  which  they  were  held,  were  holidays 
 throughout  the  land.     In  Greece,'^  the  days  Avere  of  three 
 
 ■belonjf  to  tlie  calendar  of  the  Vedas.  '  Selden,  De  Jure  Nat.  vol.  iii, 
 
 Fire  is  thus  addressed  :  "  Thou  art  c.  xv. 
 
 the  first  year  of  the  cycle,  thou  art  ®  Koirov  tovto  kciI  rwi>  'EWipnov 
 
 the   second    year thou   art  the  kuI  twv  (3apf3apm' eim,  to  rag  'upo- 
 
 fifth  year ;  may  morning  appertain  iroiag  jtisr  aviaeutq  iopTaariKriQ  Trot- 
 to  thee ;  may  days,  and  nights,  and  HaQai :  "  Commune  hoc  est  et  Grae- 
 fortnights,  and  moniks,  and  seasons,  cis  et  l)arharis  sacra  celebrare  cum 
 belong  to  tliee." — Asiatic  Re-  festa  lahorum  intcrmissioue." — 
 searches,  vol.  viii,  p.  434.  Straho,  lib.  x,  p.  467.  From  Mar- 
 »  Philo  Judtcus.  Travni^ioQ  topTi].  sham  Canon  Chron.  Sec.  ix,  p.  1 8;'). 
 I  here  sjjeak  of  it,  not  as  a  feast,  hut  ^  B.  ii,  c.  Iviii. — Ixiii. 
 as  a  feast  held  on  a  particular  day.  '  Selden,ut  supra,  B.  iii,  c.  xvi. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  41 
 
 kinds,    working    days    {f-pyncnfirrni) ;   black  days  (a-n-ocppane^)  ; 
 
 and  festal  days  {topTamfioi).  "  On  most  of  these  last  days, 
 the  shops  and  courts  of  judicature  were  shut  up.  The 
 labourers  rested  from  their  works,  the  tradesmen  from 
 their  employments,  the  mourners  intermitted  their  sor- 
 rows, and  nothing  but  ease  and  pleasure,  mirth  and  jollity, 
 were  to  be  found  among  them."^  In  Borne,  the  days  were 
 similarly  divided ;  every  ninth  day,  nundina,  was  a  holi- 
 day. And  on  holidays,  feriw,  the  citizen  was  expected 
 to  abstain  from  litigation  and  quarrels,  and  the  slave  from 
 labour.  *  The  Persians,  besides  many  other  holidays,  cele- 
 brated the  five  intercalary  days  {dies  appendices),  which 
 completed  their  year,  in  joy  and  feasting.''  These  same 
 days,  the  Mexicans  believed,  "  had  been  purposely  left  by 
 their  ancestors  as  days  of  vacation,  and  during  this  time 
 they  gave  themselves  up  wholly  to  idleness,  and  only 
 studied  how  to  lose  that  overplus  of  time.  Tradesmen 
 left  off  work  ;  the  business  of  the  tribunals  ceased,  and 
 the  very  sacrifices  in  the  temples."'  In  China,  the  holi- 
 days were  new  and  full  moon.  *  In  India,  there  are  cer- 
 tain prescribed  days,  on  which  the  superstitious  Hindoo 
 dares  not  even  clean  his  tceth.^      Amono-  the  Boodiiists  of 
 
 *  From    Potter's  Antiquities  of  celebrent  dans  les  tems  de  I'annee 
 
 Greece,  rol.  i,  hook  ii,  c.  xix.  qui   repondent   a    ceux    aiixquels 
 
 ^  Cicero,  commenting  on  these  Ormuzd  a  Forigine  du  monde  crca 
 
 words  of  an  old  law  :  "  Feriis  jur-  les  etres  qui  composent  I'univers." 
 
 gia  aniovento;  casque  in  familiis,  — L'Afrin  du  Gehanhar,  p.  814. 
 operihus    patratis,    hahento,"    oh-         ^  De  Solis,  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
 
 serves :     "  Feriarum    festonimque  ut  supra.     Scalifcer  seems  to  say 
 
 dierum  ratio  in  lihrris  requietem  that  the  thirteenth  d;iy  was  sacred 
 
 hahet  litium  et  jurgiorum  ;  in  srr-  among  the  Mexicans;  on  what  au- 
 
 ris  operum  et  laborum,  quia  com-  thority  I  kr.ow  not:  "  Ita  Jur'a>o- 
 
 positio  anni  conferre  dehet  et  ad  rum  est  «7rTn?;jLtf()oj',  veterum  Ro- 
 
 perfectionem    operum    rusticorum  inaF.orura   oicrarifxepov,    Mexicano- 
 
 et   ad  remissiouem  animorum."- —  rum  rpto-K-oicsK.TjjjUffiov." — Emend. 
 
 De  Legihus,  B.  ii,  cap.  xii  fk  vii.  Temp.  p.  9. 
 See  also  Columella,  ii,  22,  where         ^  Pallas  Reisen,  vcL  iii,  p.  \59. 
 what  was,  and  what  was  not  per-         '  "  L'Enfer  serait  le  partage  de 
 
 mitted  on  the  feri(p,  are  more  par-  qniconque  se  nettoierait  les  dents 
 
 ticularly  enunif'rated.  ces  jours  avec  sa  bafruette." — Dii- 
 
 '^  Hyde,   De   Rel.  Vet.   Pers.  p.  bois,  Mceurs  des  Indes,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 109,  193;  and  Precis  Rais;  vol.  ii,  336  ;  and  see  note  ^  p.  "9. 
 p.  (502  Zend  :  "  Les  Gehanbars  se 
 
42  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 Ceylon,  "  four  days  of  the  month  are  dedicated  to  public 
 worship — the  four  first  days  of  the  changes  of  the  moon ; 
 when  those  who  are  able  attend  at  the  temples.  There 
 are  no  other  public  days  of  festival  or  thanksgiving :  all, 
 however,  are  at  liberty  to  select  such  days  for  themselves, 
 and  these  they  particularize  by  acts  of  devotion,  consisting 
 in  fasting,  prayer,  and  forming  resolutions  for  their  future 
 good  conduct ;  all  which  devout  acts  are  addressed  to 
 their  saviour  Boodha." »  Every  where,  then,  we  find  the 
 Sabbath  feast,  in  this  sense,  indeed  pandemic ;  but  not 
 therefore  do  we  think  it  necessary  to  look  for  its  origin  in 
 Egypt,  or  Israel,  or  India,  or  Greece.  No :  as  we  breathe 
 the  air  without  teaching,  and  learn  to  eat  without  masters, 
 so  also  there  are  in  use  among  us  customs  so  consonant  to 
 our  nature,  so  agreeable  to  the  great  common-sense  of 
 man,*  that  every  where  they  must  be  regarded  as  original, 
 as  proofs  of  our  common  Humanity,  and  not  as  evidences 
 of  a  derived  civilization. 
 
 Wliat  now  is  the  revelation  contained  in  this  first  chap- 
 ter of  Genesis,  we  will  ask  ?  That  this  world  and  this 
 heaven  were  created  by  God,  is  the  most  obvious  answer. 
 But  this  revelation,  if  it  be  indeed  a  revelation, — and  some 
 writers  have  affirmed  that  it  is  the  only  one  to  which  the 
 
 ■''  Doctrine  of  Boodha,  liy  Captain  *  Yet  there  are  nations,  so  barba- 
 Mahony,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  rous,  to  whom  the  customs  more 
 vii,  p.  40.  I  will  here  remark  that  particularly  alluded  to  are  un- 
 these  festivals,  when  they  are  an-  known.  Of  the  inhabitants  of  Ma- 
 nual, are  generally  in  honour  of  dagascar  tlie  early  voyagers  tell  us: 
 some  person  or  event ;  when  more  "  lis  tiennent  qu'il  y  aun  Cr^ateur 
 frequent,  that  they  are  then  deter-  qui  a  cree  toutes  choses ;  mais  ils  ne 
 mined  either  by  the  seasons,  as  har-  lui  addressent  pas  des  prieres,  et  ne 
 vest  or  vintage  (Potter,  book  ii,  c.  lui  consacrent  aucun  jour  particu- 
 xix),  or  by  the  changes  of  the  moon,  lier.  Toua  lours  jours  sont  egaux, 
 asamong  the  Boodhists,  the  Greeks,  jusque-la  qu'ils  ne  leur  donnent 
 e.  g.  the  ^oviir]via  (Potter,  Id.  c.  point  de  noms  particuliers,  et  ils 
 xx),    the  Romans  :    "  Lunamque  ne  comptent  ni  par  annees,  ni  par 
 
 accretione  et  diminutione  lumiuis  mois,   ni  par  semaines." "  Ils 
 
 quasi  fastorum  notantem  etsignifi-  apprehendent    fort  le    Diable 
 
 eantem  dies."  Cicero,  Tusc. Quaist.  parcequ'il  prcud  plaisir  a  leur  tour- 
 
 b.  i,  §  28 ;  and  for  other  examples  menter." — Voy.  Holland,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 see  Spencer,  De  Leg.  Heb.  Dissert.  232. 
 lib.  iv,  0.  i,  p.  804. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  4d 
 
 great  legislator  of  the  Jews  can  lay  any  claim — has  been 
 made  known  to  man  through  other  lips  besides  those  of 
 Moses.  The  very  savage  of  Madagascar, "  who  observes 
 no  days  and  knows  neither  mouths  nor  years,  and  whose 
 terrors  drive  him  to  the  worship  of  the  malignant  spirit, 
 even  he  has  heard  of  the  great  Creator.  The  West  In- 
 dian ^  slave,  amidst  his  multitude  of  idols,  bows  also  before 
 the  God  who  thunders  in  the  air,  and  who  has  created, 
 and  is  powerful  over,  all  things.  Tiascala,'  Mexico,^  and 
 Peru,®  though  each  bowed  and  clung  rather  to  his  own 
 patron  deity,  were,  nevertheless,  not  without  a  knowledge 
 of  the  one  Supreme,  the  artificer  and  supporter  of  the 
 world,  the  soul  of  the  universe,  the  ineffable.  Ancient 
 Persia  worsliipped  Ormuzd,  the  first  created  only,  it  is 
 true,  but  in  his  turn  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth.^ 
 China  speaks  of  the  God  Self-existent,  i  And  India,  not- 
 withstanding its  thirty-three  crore  of  gods,  adores  "the 
 supremacy  of  that  divine  Sun  the  God-head,  who  illumi- 
 nates all,  who  re-creates  all,  from  whom  all  proceed  and 
 to  whom  all  must  return."'  And  not  in  religions  only, 
 those  revelations  of  the  mysterious  instincts  of  Humanity, 
 but  in  philosophy  also,  that  clear  and  approved  knowledge 
 
 ■•  Vide  note  ',  p.  42.  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth 
 
 '  Inzwischen   glauben   sie    alle  They  only  signified  that  they  knew 
 
 dass  ein  Gott  sey sie  glauhen  Him  by  looking  up  towards  Heaven 
 
 dass  er  die  Menschen  und  die  Welt  with    veneration,  and  giving  him 
 
 geschaffen,  und  iiber  alles  Macht  the  attribute  of  Ineffable — De  !^o- 
 
 habe,  dass  er  in  die  Luft  donnere.  lis,  vol.  i,  p.  437. 
 
 Ausser  diesen  hochsten  guten  ^  The  Peruvians  called  the  Su- 
 
 Gott,  niramt  der  gemeine  Haufe  preme  God  "  Pachacamac,"  trans- 
 
 noch  eine  Menge   Gotter    an." —  lated  sometimes  as  "  Creator  raun- 
 
 Sitten  der  Wilden,  vol.  ii,  p.  181.  di "  (Hist,  des  Yneas,  vol.  i,  p.  1 1 «) 
 
 ®   Of  the   Tlascalans    Herrera:  and  at  others,  "qui  est  lame  de 
 
 "  Toutes  le^5  extravagances  de  leur  I'univers.'' — Id.  p.  59. 
 
 Polytheisnie   ne   les    empechoient  ^  See  Boun-Dehesch,  vol.  ii.  §  i. ; 
 
 pas  de  reconnoitre  un  Dieu  supe-  Zendavesta,  by  Anquetd  du  Perron, 
 
 rieur,  mais  sans  le    designer  par  '  "  Celui  qui  est  lui-meme  son 
 
 aucun  noni." — Hist.  Gen.  des  Voy.  principe  et  sa  racine,  a  fait  le  tiel 
 
 vol.  xviii,  p.  597,  ed.  Hoi.  et  la  terre,    dit  Tchouau-tsee." — 
 
 ^"Amidst   their   multitude    of  Meraoires  Chinoises,  vol.  i,  p.  105. 
 
 gods,  and  the  obscurity  and  blind-  ^  The  Gayatri  or  H olitst  \  erse 
 
 ness  of  their  idolatry,  the  Mexicans  of  the  Vedas. — Vide  Sir  W.  Jones' 
 
 still  acknowledged  a  superior  Deity,  Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  417,  8vo. 
 to  whom  they  attributed  the  creation 
 
44  CHAFTEil    I. 
 
 of  rational  man,  and  more  especially  in  that  philosophy, 
 which  devotes  itself  rather  to  the  study  of  the  human  mind 
 than  to  that  of  the  external  world,  do  we  find — and  arrived 
 at  now  by  the  slower  but  natural  processes  of  thought — a 
 Creator  and  a  creation.  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  That, 
 through  Moses,  the  Elohim  has  made  known  to  man  not 
 the  fact,  but  the  manner  and  order  of  creation;  that 
 through  him  the  Deity  would  teach  us,  in  imitation  of 
 himself j  to  labour  six  days,  and  to  rest  on  the  seventh  ?  for 
 these  things  no  philosophy  could  discover,  no  sagacity 
 divine,  no  experience  verify ;  and  either  the  Deity  must 
 have  revealed  them  to  Moses,  or  Moses  must  have  invented 
 them.' 
 
 But  wherein,  are  we  now  naturally  led  to  inquire,  does 
 the  Creator  God  of  Moses  differ  from  the  Creator  God  of 
 these  many  creeds  ?  In  this,  that,  in  so  far  as  their  supreme 
 God  is  Creator,  these  creeds,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
 Jewish,  do  not  view  Him  as  the  one  and  sole  Creator ;  or  do 
 not  sufficiently  separate  Him  from  his  creation  ;  or  do  not 
 recognize  the  creation  as  originating  from  the  Creator  by 
 the  force  and  resolve  of  His  own  will,  but  by  a  sort  of 
 necessity.  Or  in  this,  that  in  so  far  as  the  Creator  is  God, 
 He  is  for  the  Jews,  in  contradistinction  to  other  people, 
 not  merely  the  God  of  the  universe,  but  the  patron  God 
 of  the  nation,  the  God  of  Israel;  and  not  only  the  supreme 
 God,  but  the  one,  the  only  God,  beside  whom  there  is  none 
 other.  That,  however,  we  may  arrive  at  no  rash  and  hasty 
 conclusions,  we  will  more  closely  examine  into  the  Hindoo 
 and  Persian  conceptions  of  the  Deity,  and  compare  them 
 with  the  Jewish. 
 
 In  the  Vedas,  we  hear  of  God  as  the  Creator : — "  the 
 Supreme  Being  alone  existed ;  afterwards  there  was  uni- 
 versal darkness ;  next,  the  watery  ocean  was  produced  by 
 the  diffusion  of  virtue;  then  did  the  Creator,  Lord  of  the 
 
 ^  Either  Moses  or  some  of  his  lions.  And  observe  that  throughout 
 
 predecessors ;  but  invented,  as  the  this   Book  of  Genesis  no  cUiim  is 
 
 priests  of  the  old  ivorld  invented,  hiid  to  a  revelation ;  the  writer  is 
 
 wiio  believed  what  they  imagined,  but  a  historian, 
 for  whom  iniagiuiugs  were  inspiia- 
 
CHAPTER    I.  45 
 
 Universe,  rise  out  of  the  ocean,  and  successively  frame 
 the  sun  and  the  moon,  which  govern  day  and  night,  and 
 whence  proceeds  the  revolution  of  years  ;  after  them,  He 
 framed  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  space  betv/een  the  celes- 
 tial region."^ 
 
 But  this  Supreme  Being,  we  learn  from  the  institutes 
 of  Menu,*  also  "  created  an  assemblage  of  inferior  deities, 
 with  divine  attributes  and  pure  souls,  and  a  number  of 
 genii  exquisitely  delicate."  But  all  emanations  from  God, 
 in  proportion  as  they  are  distant  and  detached  from  their 
 great  common  source,  lose  we  know  a  portion  of  their 
 power  and  purity.  And,  we  know  also,  that  these  created 
 deities  are  but  murtis  or  images  of  the  Creator,  the  same 
 in  kind"  with  ourselves,  though  transcendently  higher  in 
 degree.^  They  are  deities,  moreover,  whose  happiness  is 
 affected  by  human  act  and  thought :  we  may  pain  as  Vv^e 
 may  please  them :  and,  as  they  are  far  more  powerful  than 
 ourselves,  they  may,  according  as  they  are  gratified  or 
 angered  by  our  conduct,  reward  or  punish  us.  But  the 
 supreme!^  Being — alone  in  His  immensity  and  perfections 
 — neither  man  nor  god  can  any  way  affect.  Hence,  on 
 the  one  side,  the  acknowledgment  of  the  great  God  as  a 
 speculative  belief  merely,  vv^ithout  any  religious  sentiment 
 
 ''  is  this  a  text  of  tlie  Vedas,  or  soul  distinct  from  other  souls,  un- 
 
 a  commentary  only? — Vide  On  the  aiiected  by  the  ills  with  which  they 
 
 Ceremonies    of   the    Hindoos,  by  are  beset,  unconnected  with  good 
 
 Colebrooke,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  or    bad    deeds    and    their    conse- 
 
 V,  p.  361.  quences,  and  vv^ith  fancies  or  pass- 
 
 *  Vide  c.  i,  §  xxii,  and  comp.  with  ing   thoughts."— Colebrooke's   Es- 
 
 it§xxxii,  in  which  another  origin  says,  vol.  i,  p.  251.     And  Wilford 
 
 is  given  to  the  inferior  deities  and  tells  us   of  our  souls:    "  Such   a 
 
 to  mankind.     I   presume  because  murti  can  by  no  means  affect  with 
 
 the  creation    in    the  Institutes  is  any  sensation,    either  pleasing  or 
 
 compiled  from  two  different  sources,  painful,  the  being  from  which  it 
 
 "  Even  to  our  mortality:  "The  emanates,  though  it  may  give  plea- 
 earth  is  perishable,  the  ocean,  the  sure  or  pain  to  collateral  emana- 
 yods  themselves — pass  away  ;  how  tions  from  the  same  source.  Hence 
 shouldnot  that  bubble,  mortal  man,  they  (the  Hindoos)  offer  no  sacri- 
 meet  destruction."  —  Moral  Sen-  lices  to  the  Supreme  Essence,  of 
 tences  recited  at  a  Hindoo  Funeral,  which  our  own  souls  are  images, 
 
 '  V/ilford,  On  the  Nile,  Asiatic  but  adore  him  with  silent  adoration. 
 
 Researches,  vol.  iii.  *tc." — On  the  Nile,  ut  supra. 
 
 "  God,  the  Supreme  Ruler,  is  a 
 
46  v^flAPTER    I, 
 
 towards  Him ;  and,  on  the  other,  a  parasitical  worship  of 
 the  inferior  deities,  a  scramble  for  their  favour  and  pro- 
 tection— either  hy  single  acts  of  devotion,  such  as  might 
 perchance  find  grace  in  the  eyes  of  an  ignorant  tyrant,  or 
 5y  the  continued  observafice  of  that  heavy  code  of  ceremo- 
 nies and  external  compliments,  which  occupies  the  life 
 of  the  lower  and  more  superstitious  Hindoo,^  i.  e.,  a  religion, 
 in  a  word,  the  highest  principle  of  which  is  self-advan- 
 tage,' and  the  motto,  "  Serve  me  and  I'll  serve  thee." 
 
 But  the  thousand  gods  of  India  resolve  themselves 
 "  into  three  deities,  whose  places  are  the  earth,  the  inter- 
 mediate region,  and  the  heaven  (viz.  fire,  air,  and  the  sun) ;" 
 and  these  again  are  "  but  portions  of  the  one  Deity,"  so 
 that  in  fact  there  is  only  one  God.  =  And  "  that  God 
 is  the  universe  and  all  that  has  been  and  v/ill  be."'  "  He 
 is  Brahme,  He  is  Indra,  He  is  Prajapati,  the  Lord  of 
 creatures,  these  gods  are  He,  and  so  are  the  five  primary 
 elements;  earth,  air,  the  etherial  fluid,  water  and  light. "\.. 
 "  He  it  is  who  pervades  all  regions,  He  prior  to  whom 
 nothing  was  born,  and  who  became  all  things,  even  He  is 
 the  first-born,  it  is  He  who  is  in  the  womb.  He  who  is 
 born  and  He  who  will  be  produced.  He,  severally  and 
 universally  remains  with  all  persons."..."  In  Him  the  uni- 
 verse perpetually  exists,  in  Him  this  world  is  absorbed; 
 from  Him  it  issues ;  and  in  creatures  He  is  twined  and 
 wove  with  various  forms  of  existence."*  Here  then  we 
 have  a  determined  and  material  Pantheism,  in  which  not 
 only  God  is  all  things,  but  in  which  also  all  things,  each 
 and  individually,  are  God. 
 
 But  this  material  Pantheism,*  as  the  system  of  Spinoza 
 
 9  See  Colebrooke,  On  the  Reli-  ^  I<1.  id.  vol.  vii,  p.  251. 
 
 gious  Ceremonies  of  the  Hindoos,  '  Id.  id.  vol.  viii,  p.  426. 
 
 Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  v,  p.  345.  *  Id.  id.  id.  p.  433. 
 
 1  "  Les  Indiens  ont   pour  prin-  *  The  historical  progress  of  the 
 
 cipe  invariable,  qu'il  faut  honorer  Brahminical  faith  is  perliaps  hinted 
 
 tout  etre,  aninie  ou  non,  qui  a  le  at  in  the  lessons  which  Varuna  gives 
 
 pouvoir  de  nous  faire  du  hien  ou  his  son  Bhrigu.  Bhrigu  asks  of  his 
 
 du  nial." — Dubois,  Moeurs  des  In-  father    to    make    known    to    hiiu 
 
 des,  vol.  ii,  p.  297.  Brahme.    Varuna  answers:  "  That 
 
 *  Colcbrooke,  Asiatic  Researches,  whence  all   things   are   produced, 
 
 vol.  viii,  p.  307.  that  by  which  they  live  when  born, 
 
CHAPTER    I.  47 
 
 was  succeeded  by  that  of  Berkeley,  seems  very  soon  to  have 
 been  subtilized  into  a  spiritual  one.  For,  already  in  the 
 Vedanta,  we  find  that  God  alone  exists ;  and  that  tliis 
 external  universe, — earth  and  sky,  rock,  tree,  and  flower, 
 man  and  beast,  and  all  living  creatures — are  but  unreal 
 shadows,  and,  like  the  idle  mockery  of  a  dream,  exist  in  ap- 
 pearance only ;  that  they  are  mere  impressions  produced 
 on  the  mind  by  the  Deity,  the  mind's  Maya  or  Delusion.'' 
 But  for  a  doctrine  thus  metaphysical,  the  vidgar  adulation, 
 the  painful  ceremonies  of  the  ignorant  Hindoo,  are  mani- 
 festly insufficient  and  absurd.'  To  a  purely  spiritual  God, 
 the  philosophical  Brahmin  owes  a  purely  spiritual  worship  ; 
 and  we  find  him,  therefore,  "  with  no  companion  but  his 
 own  soul,"  seated  in  delighted  meditation  "  on  the  Supreme 
 Spirit,"  till  "  he  remains  absorbed  in  the  Divine  Essence."^ 
 But  as  from  the  one  immutable  Being,  who  alone  is 
 truth  and  everlasting  knowledge,^  man  is  detained  by  his 
 obstinate  clinging  to  sense  and  outward  things;  from 
 sense  and  its  ever-mutable  illusions  he  must  struggle  to 
 extricate  himself  He  must  live  without  passion  and 
 without  will,  without  affection  and  without  desu'e.^  He 
 must  see  all  things  in  God  and  God  in  all  things — God 
 
 that  towards  which  they  tend,  and  On  the  Gods  of  India,  Greece,  and 
 
 that  into  which  they  pass,  do  thou  Italy,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 seek,  for  that  is  Brahnie."    Bhrigu  245. 
 
 meditates  profoundly,  and  recog-  '  "  It  is  true  knowledge,  as  Ca- 
 nizes  fnod.,  or  body,  to  he  Brahiue ;  pila,  &c.  insist,  that  alone  can  se- 
 hut  yet,  unsatisfied,  he  meditates  cure  entire  and  permanent  deliver- 
 again,  and  discovers  breath,  or  life,  ance  from  evil ;  whereas  temporal 
 to  he  Brahme ;  and  again  medita-  means  are  insufficient  for  that  end, 
 ting,  he  then  finds  intellect  to  he  and  the  spiritual  resources  of  prac- 
 Brahme;  and  having  meditated  tical  religion  imperfect." — On  the 
 once  more,  he  knows  Ananda,  or  Philosophy  of  the  Hindoos,  Cole- 
 felicity,  to  he  Brahme.  Such  is  the  hrooke's  Miscellaneous  Essays,  vol. 
 science    which    was    attained     hy  i,  p,  238. 
 
 Bhrigu,   taught  hy   Varuna,   and  ^  Institutes  of  Menu,  c.  vi,  49, 
 
 founded  on   the  supreme  ethereal  82. 
 
 Spirit." — Colehrooke's  Essays,  vol.  i  "  Brahnie  is  truth,  the  one  ira- 
 
 i,  p.  77.  mutahle  Being ;  He  is  truth  and 
 
 ■^  "  Except  the  first  Cause,  what-  everlasting     knowledge."  —  Veda, 
 
 ever  may  appear  and  may  not  ap-  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  v,  p.  362. 
 
 pear  in  the  mind,  know  that  to  be  *  Colebrook's   Essays,   vol.  i,   p. 
 
 the  mind's  maya,  or  delusion,  as  237;  Menu,  c.  vi,  (iO,  80,  81. 
 light  as  darkness." — Sir  VV.  .Tones, 
 
4^. 
 
 CHAPTEVv    I. 
 
 everywhere,  God  alone.='  Abstracted  from  all  temporal 
 cares,  all  earthly  thourjhts,  and  all  moral  interests,  and 
 ever  fixed  in  contemplation  on  the  Divine  Nature,  the 
 jmrified  saint  then  disdains  all  action'  as  unworthy  of  him ; 
 and  strong  in  fiiith  and  knowledge,'  and  with  the  mystic 
 Om,*  the  all  [)0werful  name  of  God,  ever  upon  his  lips,  he 
 prepares  himself  for  that  union  with  the  Divine  Essence 
 which  will  identify  him  Avith  the  divine  soul' 
 
 Here  then  is  a  mystic  religion,  wliich  prefers  meditation 
 to  action,  nay,  regards  all  action  as  indifferent;  which 
 places  man's  greatness  in  the  abnegation  of  his  self-con- 
 sciousness ;  8  which  calls  indeed  for  faith,  and  a  pure  ser- 
 vice,'' but  allows  or  overlooks  all  crime ;  Avhich  separates 
 the  doer  from  the  deed,  and  the  man's  life,  the  outward 
 and  visible  sign,  from  himself,  the  inward  and  spiritual 
 srace. 
 
 *  "  Equally  perceiving  the  Su- 
 preme Soul  in  all  beiiijjs,  and  all 
 bein<;s  in  the  Supreme  Soul,  he  sa- 
 crifircs  his  nun  spirit  hy  fxing  it 
 on  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  ap- 
 proaches the  nature  of  that  sole 
 Divinity  who  shines  hy  his  own 
 effulgence." — Menu,  c.  xii,  f)l. 
 
 ''  "  En  ce  monde  le  vrai  devot  de- 
 daifjne  toute  action." — Bhajjavad 
 Gita.  From  Cousin  Cours  de  Phi- 
 losophic, vol.  ii,  p.  137;  and  see 
 also  note  10,  in  Wilkins'  Transla- 
 tion of  the  Bhapavat-Gita. 
 
 *  "  Celui  ([ui  a  la  foi  et  la  science, 
 et  celui  qui  a  la  science  et  la  foi, 
 par  ccla  scul,  attcint  a  la  tranquil- 
 lite  supreme.'' — Cousin,  Ibid. 
 
 *  "  He  who  havin<«-  closed  the 
 door  of  his  faculties,  locked  up  his 
 mind  in  his  own  breast,  and  fixed 
 his  spirit  in  his  head,  standinj;:  firm 
 in  the  exercise  of  devotion,  repeat- 
 iiifr  in  silence  Om  !  the  mystic  sion 
 of  Brahme,  shall,  on  his  (iuiuiiu!f 
 his  mortal  frame,  eallin;i-  upon  me, 
 without  doubt  go  the  journey  of 
 sui)remc  happiness." —  Bliagavad, 
 lesson  viii,  Wilkins',  p.  7(5.  See 
 also  note  **  to    rrchide  in   "The 
 
 Hero  and  the  Nymph,"  Wilson's 
 Hindoo  Theatre,  vol.  i,  p.  195. 
 
 '  "  The  whole  scope  of  the  Ve- 
 danta,"saysColebrooke,  "is  to  teach 
 a  doctrine,  by  the  knowledge  of 
 which,  an  exemption  from  metem- 
 psychosis shall  be  attainable." — 
 Essays,  vol.  i,  p.  207. 
 
 '  "  Individual  souls  emanate 
 from  the  Supreme  one... are  of  the 
 same  essence... <Ap  sours  artirity  is 
 not  of  its  essence,  but  inductive 
 through  its  organs  ;  it  is  a  sufferer 
 by  means  of  its  organs;  and  di- 
 vested of  them,  and  returning  to  the 
 Supreme  one,  it  is  at  rest  and 
 happy:'— Id.  p.  372. 
 
 "  "  Le  plus  criminel,  s'il  me  sert 
 sans  partage,  est  purifie  et  sanc- 
 tifie  par-la." — (Bhagavad  (from 
 Cousin,  Cours  de  Philosophic,  vol. 
 ii.)  And  again:  "  Fusses-tu  sou- 
 ille  de  tons  les  peches,  a  I'abri  de 
 la  science  tu  echapperais  a  I'enfer." 
 — Id.  (from  Langjuinais  (Euvres, 
 vol.  v,  p.  IHl).  And:  "He  who 
 fully  understands  the  omnipresence 
 of  God,  can  be  led  no  more  captive 
 by  criminal  acts."  See  Menu,  vi, 
 7-1. 
 
CHAPTER    I. 
 
 49 
 
 But  the  Hindoo  doctrine  of  God  has  also  its  favourable 
 side.  For  the  thousand  deities  of  the  vulgar-creed,  i  although 
 rejected  by  the  wiser  Brahmin,  are,  at  the  same  time, 
 considered  by  him  as  portions,  as  indistinct  apperceptions, 
 of  the  one  Supreme.  His  faith,  therefore,  like  the  Jewish, 
 acknowledges  God's  unity :  but,  unlike  the  Jewish,  it  is 
 devoid  of  all  exclusiveness.*  It  is  tolerant  in  its  very 
 nature.  It  allows  to  other  creeds  their  just  pretensions. 
 It  thrusts  not  out  the  poor  idolater  from  all  hope  of  the 
 blessings^  he  so  earnestly  prays  for.  It  holds  out  to  him 
 the  words  of  promise.  It  but  asks  of  him  faith, — faith  in 
 the  gods  whom  he  acknowledges ;  for  the  Great  God  it  is 
 whom  all  worship,  though  perhaps  blindly,  though  per- 
 haps involuntarily ;  and  the  Great  God  it  is,  who  is  their 
 reward.*  This  creed,  then,  more  than  any  other,  sees  the 
 connexion  that  necessarily  exists  between  religion,  in  so 
 far  as  it  is  something  positive,  and  the  state  of  the  mind's 
 development;  and  the  very  differences  and  discrepancies 
 we   find   in  it,  are  perhaps  l)ut  so  many  phases   which 
 
 '  "  As  the  i<?norant  perform  the 
 duties  of  life  from  the  hope  of  re- 
 ward, so  the  wise  man,  out  of  re- 
 spect to  the  opinions  and  preju- 
 dices of  mankind,  should  perform 
 the  same  without  motives  of  inte- 
 rest. He  should  not  create  a  divi- 
 sion in  the  understanding  of  the 
 ignorant  who  are  inclined  to  out- 
 ward works.  The  learned  man,  by 
 industriously  performing  all  the 
 duties  of  life,  should  induce  the 
 vulgar  to  attend  to  them."— Bhaga- 
 vat,  Wilkins,  p.  47. 
 
 ^  "  A  man's  own  religion,  though 
 contrary  to,  is  better  than  the  faith 
 of  another,  let  it  be  ever  so  well 
 followed.  It  is  good  to  die  in  one^s 
 oum  faith,  for  another  faith  beareth 
 fear.''' — Id.  les.  iii,  p.  49. 
 
 ^  How  beautiful,  how  tender  is 
 this  declaration  of  the  Supreme 
 Spirit:  "  I  accept  and  enjoy  the 
 holy  offerings  of  the  humble  soul, 
 who  in  his  worship  presenteth 
 leaves,  and  flowers,  and  fruit,  and 
 
 water   unto  me." — Id.  Lesson  ix, 
 p.  81. 
 
 ■*  "  Quelle  que  soit  I'image  que  le 
 suppliant  adore  dans  sa  foi,  c'est 
 moi  seul  qui  lui  inspire  cette  foi," 
 dit  Chrishna,  dans  le  Bhagavad- 
 Gita;  "  cette  foi  avec  laquelle  il 
 tache  de  rendre  cette  image  pro- 
 pice,  et  obtient  enfin  I'objet  de  ses 
 desirs,ainsi  que  je  I'ai  deteraiine... 
 Ceux  qui  adorent  d'autres  Dieux 
 avec  une  ferme  foi,  m'adorent  aussi, 
 quoique  involontairement ;  je  par- 
 ticipe  a  tous  les  cultes,  et  je  suis  leur 
 recompense.'''' — (From  B.  Constant, 
 De  la  Religion,  note,  lib.  iv,  c.  11) 
 Bhagavad,  Les.  ix,  Wilkins;  see  also 
 Id.  close  of  Les.  vii.  That  this  tole- 
 rance is  not  merely  speculative, 
 the  conduct  of  the  Brahmins  to 
 Dubois  is  evidence.  They  invited 
 him  into  their  temples,  and  they 
 gave  him  materials  for  repairing, 
 and  ground  on  which  to  build, 
 churches.  Vide  Dubois,  Moeurs  des 
 Indcs,  vol.  i,  p.  42;j-fi. 
 H 
 
50  CHAPTER    I. 
 
 it  puts  on,  in  order  the  more  I'eadily  to  accommodate 
 itself  to  different  grades  of  civilization,  or  of  individual 
 intelligence. 
 
 Again,  the  Brahminical  Deity  is  One  and  Creator,  and 
 he  is  also  Creation.  He  is  God  and  Nature,  every  thing. 
 His  unity  is  universality.  He  appears  before  us,  infinite, 
 imaltcralile,  invisible,  without  form,  without  passion, — and 
 his  religion,  like  himself,  is  universal.  It  rejects  all  acci- 
 dents, all  ceremonies  ;  it  rises  even  above  the  Vedas,*  the 
 productions  of  the  great  Brahme  ;^  it  speaks  of  a  superior 
 science,  by  which  the  everlasting  Lord,  present  every 
 where,  may  be  apprehended, — of  a  science  within  every 
 man's  power.  It  tells  us  that  to  become  like  God,  we 
 must  meditate  continuously  on  the  Divine  perfections,  and 
 give  ourselves  up  to  the  contemplation  of  the  Divine  nature. 
 And  who  can  do  this  ?  who  can  have  his  mind  and  heart 
 occupied  with  great  thoughts;  and  still  cling  to  that 
 littleness,  egotism,  and  selfishness,^  which  it  is  the  end 
 of  all  morality  and  religion  to  destroy?* 
 
 *  Menu  speaks  of  a  Brahmin  of  spectable  as  the  just  man,"  says 
 
 the  hifi^hcst  order,  as  "  having  aban-  the  Bhagavat;  liut  it  is  added :  "  he 
 
 doned  all  ceremonial  acts  and  re-  is  altogether  well  employed;  Aesoori. 
 
 linquished  all  forms"  (vi,  90, 9(5),  and  becometh  of  a  virtuous  spirit,  a.n(\. 
 
 the  Bhagavat  (Les.  ii,  p.  39)  thus  obtaineth  eternal  happiness." — Les. 
 
 describes  all  ceremonial   worship-  ix,  p.  82. 
 
 pevs:  "Men  of  confined  notions,  *  Of  the  large  spirit  of  the  Brah- 
 
 delightiny  in  the  controversies  of  the  minical  faith,  I  will  add,  as  exem- 
 
 Vedas,  tainted  with  worldly  lusts,  plifications,    two    precepts   drawn 
 
 and   prefrrrim/  a  transient  enjoy-  from    the   most    caste-like    of  its 
 
 nietit  of  Heaven  to  eternal  ahsorp-  books.   /"Ae  one  is  practical.  Among 
 
 tion,  whilst  they  declare  that  there  the  oblations  of  the  Brahmins  is 
 
 is  no  other  reward,  pronounce, /or  one  "for  the  welfare  of  all   crea- 
 
 the  attainment  of  ivorldh/ riches  and  tures;" — in  his  alms,  "dogs,  out- 
 
 enjoi/ments,  tlowery  sentences,  or-  casts,  dogfeeders,  sinful  men  pu- 
 
 daining  innumrrahle  and  manifold  nished  with   elephantiasis  or  con- 
 
 cercmonies,  and  promisinf/  rewards  sumption,"   have    a   share   (c.  iii, 
 
 for  the  actions  of  this  life."     See  91-;?).     The  other,  doctrinal:  "A 
 
 alsoLes.  iv,p.54;  Les.  vi,  p.  64,67;  believer  in  Scripture  may  receive 
 
 and  Les.  viii,  p.  77.  pure  knowledge  even  from  a  Sudra, 
 
 «  "  From  air,  from  fire,  and  from  a  lesson  of  the  highest  virtue  even 
 
 the  sun  he  milked  out  the   thne  from  a  Chandala,  and  a  woman, 
 
 ])rimordial   Vcdas." — Institutes   of  bright   as  a  gem,  even   from  the 
 
 Menu,  c.  i,  §  23,  Sir  W.  Jones.  basest  family;  even  from  the  poison, 
 
 '"  If  one  whose  ways  are  ever  so  nectar  may  be  taken;  even  from  a 
 
 evil  serve  me  alone,  ho  is  as   re-  child,  gentleness   of  speech ;   even 
 
CHAPTER   I.  51 
 
 The  Jewish  Elohim  is  Creator,  and,  unlike  the  Hindu 
 Brahme,  He  is  distinct  from  His  creation.  He  is  One ;  but 
 infinity,  unalterableness,  universality,  though  applied  to 
 Hhu  as  attributes,  are  not  His  characteristics.  He  is  One 
 and  Individual.  He  has  the  passions  and  feelings,  the 
 preferences  and  antipathies,  the  changeable  will  of  the 
 individual.^  He  now  works,  and  now  rests,  and  now 
 rejoices  in,  and  now  repents  Him,  of  His  work.  He  does 
 not,  like  the  great  Brahme,  pervade  His  creation.  He  has 
 His  chosen  dwelling,  His  favoured  land.  His  own  special 
 temple.  His  holy  of  holies.  He  looks  not  on  the  great 
 family  of  man  with  an  equal  eye,  as  His  children ;  He  has 
 His  eldest  born.  His  favourite.  His  peculiar  people.  He 
 is  not  so  much  the  God  of  the  universe,  as  the  God  of 
 Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  and  after- 
 wards the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and, 
 finally,  the  God  of  Israel.  He  is  a  family  God,^  gradually 
 grov/ing  into  a  national  Deity. 
 
 His  laws  and  His  religion  partake  of  His  character. 
 They  are  special  laws,  and  not  the  great  universal  laws  of 
 Humanity ;  they  are  special  laws,  intended  for  His  own 
 people,  and  for  them  only ;  and  they  are  laws,  which  are 
 no  doubt  very  well  adapted  to  a  half-barbaric,  half-civilized, 
 state  of  society ;  but  which,  as  special,  are  necessarily 
 revocable,  such  as  according  to  circumstances  man  may 
 modify,  or  even  annul ;  and  yet  the  Deity  issues  them 
 as  permanent  and  unchangeable,  and  threatens  all  non- 
 
 from  a  foe,  prudent  conduct;  and  dialogue  between  Ulysses  and  Mi- 
 even  from  an  impure  substance,  nerva, in  the  first  scene  of  Sophocles' 
 gold."— c.  ii,  238-9.  "  Ajax  Mastigophoros." 
 
 ^  The  general    characteristic   of  i  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
 
 the  Deity  of  uncivilized,   unedu-  Shem,''  even  Noah  exclaims;  and 
 
 cated  man,  is  power  influenced  by  does  not  the  xviiith  Psalm  (19,20), 
 
 human  motives.     The  god  has  the  by   the   sort  of  contrast  which  it 
 
 passions  of  Humanity,  but  not  its  draws  between  the  sun  and  moon 
 
 infirmities;  he  is  a  man,  wanting  which   God   has   imparted  to    the 
 
 the  grace  of  sympathy  with  weak-  nations  of  the  earth,  and,  the  Lord, 
 
 ness.      In  exemplification   of  my  who    took,    as  if   especially,    and 
 
 meaning  I  will  refer — in  the  Jewish  brought  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt, 
 
 history,  to  the  frequent   interces-  show  a  jealous  fear  lest  the  God  of 
 
 sions  of  Moses  for  his  people — for  the  Jews  should  be  considered  a 
 
 the  Grecian  view,  to  the  remarkable  universal  God  ? 
 
52  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 observance  of  them  with  tlie  same  punishment  as  a  violation 
 of"  the  moral  law. 
 
 Is,  then,  the  Deity  of  Moses  so  i)oor  a  conception? 
 Who  will  dare  to  say,  yea,  with  the  God  of  Christianity 
 before  him  ?  If  the  Elohim  of  Moses  is  the  God  of  an 
 infant  people,  He  is  also,  we  must  remember,  the  Invisible, 
 the  one  God,  the  Creator.  His  people  avoid,  therefore 
 the  abuses  of  a  Pagan  idolatry,  and  its  hopelessly  sensual 
 worshij) ;  and,  as  they  advance  in  civilization,  their  Deity 
 loses  his  narrow,  and  merely  national,  character,  and  gra- 
 dually appears  to  them  as  the  God  of  the  world  and  of 
 Humanity.  He  retains  his  individuality,  and  yet  is  universal 
 as  the  Supreme  Soul  of  the  Hindus ;  and  His  religion,  with 
 a  moral  law,  which  no  sophistry  can  bend  to  its  purposes, 
 and  no  fanaticism  break  through,  then  unites  all  the 
 tolerance  of  the  Brahminical,  with  all  the  strictness  of  the 
 Jewish,  creed.  Yes,  poor  as  we  may  deem  the  religion  and 
 the  Deity  of  Moses,  they  promise,  as  the  event  indeed  has 
 shown,  more  and  better  for  mankind  than  the  God  and  the 
 religion  of  the  Vedas. 
 
 In  the  ancient  Persian  faith,  we  have  the  one  first  God — ■ 
 "Zeruane  Akerene" — "Time  without  bounds,*  the  Being 
 absorbed  in  his  own  excellence" — of  Avhom  we  know  but 
 this,  that  He  exists,  and  that  He  produced  or  created  two 
 beings,  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman,  who  inhabit  the  abysses — 
 the  one  of  the  })rimal  light,  the  other  of  the  primal  darkness.' 
 
 Ormuzd  began  the  work  of  creation.  He  pronounced 
 the  holy  Ilomver,  and  thus  gave  existence  to  the  pure 
 worlds  and  their  holy  inhabitants.  But  now  "  arose 
 Ahriman,  the  evil  one,  and  drew  near  to  the  light.  And 
 when  he  saw  the  light  of  Ormuzd,  he  who  is  eager  to  strike 
 as  a  Daroudj,  and  swift  to  destroy,  he  rushed  towards  the 
 light  to  s{)oil  it;  but,  daunted  by  its  beauty,  and  splendour, 
 and  grandeur,  he  shrunk  back  into  the  thick  darkness,  his 
 
 "  Fiirpard  xix,   Zend.  vol.  i,  p.  frrandcur  les  Amschaspands,  (V-c." 
 
 413:"  L'Etrc  absorbe  dans  I'cxcel-  See  also  Boun-Dchescli,  §  i. 
 
 lence  t'a  donne;  Ic  terns  sans  1)onics  ^  Sec  Boun-Dehcsch,  vol.  ii,  p. 
 
 t'a  donnc;  il  a    aiissi  donne  avcc  r54n,  Zend. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  53 
 
 first  habitation,  and  spawned  there  Dews  and  Daroudjs  to 
 torment  the  world.  ^ 
 
 Then  Ormuzd  made,  firsty  the  heaven ;  secondly,  the 
 water ;  thirdly/,  the  earth ;  fourthly,  trees  ;  fifthly,  animals ; 
 and  sixthly  and  lastly,  man  :  *  and  all  these  he  created  pure 
 and  good.  But  Ahriman  and  his  Dews  enter  into,  and  mix 
 Avith,  and  corrupt,  the  creation  of  Ormuzd  :  they  defile  the 
 water,  and  the  trees,  and  the  very  light;  and  Alu'iman 
 penetrates  to  heaven  itself,  and  leaps  down  upon,  and 
 shatters,  the  earth  towards  the  south,  and  every  thing 
 becomes  black  as  night ;  he  infests  it  with  flies,  and 
 all  venomous  animals.® 
 
 Both  the  Brahminical  and  the  Persian  faith  acknow- 
 ledge One  Supreme,  who  "  sits  on  his  vast  and  solitary 
 throne,"  mere  immeasurable,  passive,  existence.  And  in 
 both,  this  one  Being  produces  a  first  angel  or  first  God, 
 who  in  his  turn  produces,  first,  the  intelligible^  world,  or 
 the  world  of  light,  the  KoafxoQ  vorjrog  of  the  Platonic,  and 
 the  TrapTOKparopiKif  kSpa  of  the  Pytliagoric,   schools  ;    and. 
 
 ''  Nio^ht  is  the  original  home  and  a  la  luniiere  avec  tous  les  Dews ; 
 
 dwelling-place  of  Ahriman ;  and  in  il   vit  le   ciel ;   les   Dews   qui   ne 
 
 Hesiod,  Night  is  made    to    bring  cherchent  qu'a  detruire  porterent 
 
 forth  "  cruel   fate,  terrible    neces-  dessus  I'oppression.    Ahriman  seul 
 
 sity,  and  death,  sleep,  and  dreams,  peuetre  dans  le  ciel.    Sous  la  forme 
 
 She  bears,  too,  Momus  and  corrod-  d'une  couleuvre    it  sauta  du  ciel 
 
 ing  grief,  and  the  Hesperides  who     sur  la  terre II  alia  dans  I'eau... 
 
 watch  the  golden  fruit.     The  fatal  il  alia  ensuite  sur  les  arbres,  sur  les 
 
 goddesses  Clothe,  Lachesis,  Atro-  taureaux,  sur  Kaiomorts  et  sur  le 
 
 pos,  are  daughters  of  Night She  feu.     Sous  la  forme  d'une  mouche, 
 
 produced,  also.  Nemesis,  so  pemi-  il  couroit  sur  tout  qui  avait  ete 
 
 cious to  man,andFear,and criminal  donne.      II    brisa    entierement    le 
 
 Love,and  infirm  Age,and  Discord...  monde  vers  le  midi;  tout  fut  noir 
 
 She  in  her  turn  gave  birth  to  labour,  comme  pendant  la  nuit.      II   mit 
 
 and  care,  and  tearful  grief,  combat  ensuite  sur  la  terre  la  couleuvre,  le 
 
 and  death,  war  and  carnage,  qua-  scorpion,  le  crapaud." — Id.  p.  352, 
 
 rels,  and  lies,  and  contempt  of  law  355. 
 
 and  crime." — Theog.  212.  Are  not  ^  With  the  duties  of  the  Ams- 
 
 these  the  Dews  and  Daroudjs  of  the  chaspands  in  the  Persian,  may  be 
 
 Persian  faith  ?  and  yet  how  clearly  compared  those  of  the  Lokapalas  in 
 
 the  original  production  of  the  Gre-  the  Hindoo  faith.     See  Boun-De- 
 
 cianmind!  hesch,  and  note  I,  p.  219,  vol.  i, 
 
 ^  Boun-Dehesch.  §  ii.  Wilson's  Hindoo  Theatre. 
 
 ®  "  Ensuite  Ahriman  se  presente 
 
54  CHAPTER   I. 
 
 afterwards,  this  visible  universe.  In  the  Brahminical 
 creed,  however,  this  production  takes  place  hj  emanation ; 
 in  the  Persian,  by  creation.  Hence  a  difference  in  the 
 relations  in  which,  in  each  creed,  the  first  God  stands 
 to  man.  For,  as  all  emanations  however  distant  retain, 
 nevertheless  some  portion,  never  mind  how  small,  of  the 
 nature  of  the  being  from  whom  they  are  derived ;  and  as 
 tliey  may  all  return  to,  and  be  resolved  in,  that  being, 
 and  again  identified  with  him;  Brahme  may  possibly 
 become  an  object  of  jiractical  adoration  to  the  Hindu ; 
 while  to  the  Persian,  Zeruane  Akerene,  as  the  creator  of 
 both  liglit  and  darkness,  good  and  evil,  as  the  first  father 
 of  both  Amschaspands  and  Dews,  can  never  be  other  than  a 
 curious  sjieculation, — never  more  than  the  unity  in  numbers, 
 or  the  point  in  mathematics.*  He  is  necessarily/  altogether 
 Avithdrawn  from  our  views,  and  hopes,  and  aspirations. 
 He  i)romises  nothing  ;  he  appears  neither  to  dispense 
 temjjoral  blessings,  nor  to  cherish  and  uphold  moral  excel- 
 lence. A  thick  veil  hides  him  from  our  eyes,  and  one 
 which  is  never  raised,  and  never  can  be  rent. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  the  Persian  with  the  Mosaical  faith, 
 in  both  we  find  a  good  and  wise  Creator,  and  in  both  the 
 same  manner  and  order  of  creation.  In  six  different 
 times,  in  six  days  of  heaven  (but  six  thousand  years  of 
 earth)  does  Ormuzd,  like  the  Elohim  of  Moses,  by  the 
 mere  expression  of  his  will,  create  the  world.  Like  Him, 
 he  begins  his  work  Avith  the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth, 
 and  like  Him  proceeds  to  that  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
 and  like  Him  ends  with  that  of  man,  and  with  a  single 
 man,  from  whom  are  descended  all  mankind.  The  one 
 cosmogony,  liowcver,  presumes  light,  the  other  darkness;  and 
 this  first  creates  the  man,  and  then  forms  the  woman  from 
 the  rib  of  tlie  man,  while  that  produces  both  from  the  seed 
 of  the  first  bull-man  Kaiomorts. 
 
 *  The  Persian  creed  has  not,  it  with  the  first  God,  I  presume  that, 
 
 must  be  remembered,  received  the  viewing  liim  as  the  origin  of  l)oth 
 
 (U'v clojtment    of  the  Brahminical  good  and  evil,  he  woulil  be  almost 
 
 ;ind  tlic  Jewish.   If  tlie  speculative  iicccssarily  led  to  moral  inditferent- 
 
 I'ersian,  liowcver,  occupied  himself  ism. 
 
CHAPTER    I.  55 
 
 Again,  in  both  Genesis  and  the  Zendavesta,  the  earth  is 
 but  a  flat  surface;^  and,  in  both,  the  heaven  a  firm  dome ; 
 in  Moses,  however,  it  is  a  dome  ornamented  with  "  pa- 
 tens of  bright^  gold,"  and  self-supported,  "by  its  own 
 weight  made  stedfast  and  immovable ;"  wliilst,  according  to 
 Zoroaster,  it  rests  on  the  ever-growing  mountain  Albordj,^ 
 but  is  inhabited  by  living  stars,  Ormuzd's  chosen  attend- 
 ants. In  both,  water  is  above  the  heaven,^  through  whose 
 opened  windows  it  is  poured  forth  on  the  earth ;  but,  in 
 the  Persian  creation,  there  is  above  this  water  a  higher 
 heaven,  wanting  to  the  Hebrew :  tliis  is,  the  infinite  king- 
 dom of  light,  the  bright  palace  of  Ormuzd. 
 
 But  Zoroaster  differs  materially  from  both  Moses  and 
 the  Vedas,  in  that  he  shows  us  not  one,  but  two  creators ; 
 that  to  the  God  of  good,  he  opposes  the  God  of  evil ;  and 
 to  the  creation  of  Ormuzd,  the  creation  of  Ahriman. 
 And  these  Gods  and  their  creations  he  shows  us,  moreover, 
 not  separated  from  each  other  by  any  great  and  impas- 
 sable gulph,  but  at  continued  and  ever-during  war,  with> 
 this  world  as  their  battle-field,  and  man  as  the  prize  of  the 
 victor.     And  man  is  the  creation  of  Ormuzd,''  and,  like 
 
 ^  "  The  Jews,  and  the  ancients  zuweilen  in  einander  fliessen." — 
 
 generally,  considered  the  earth  as  Gesenius  Comment  in  Jesai,  vol. 
 
 a  flat  surface.  This  idea  was  a  most  i,  p.  772. 
 
 natural  one,  till  the  study  of  astro-  ^  See  Boun-Dehesch,  vol.  ii,  p. 
 
 nomy  had  undeceived  the  learned,  3(:)4,  §xi,  Zend.,  and  "  Les  astres, 
 
 who,  in  these  early  times,  did  not  peuple  excellent  et  celeste." — Ven- 
 
 uudeceive  the  vulgar." — Welford,  didad-Sadi,  id.  vol.  p.  87. 
 
 Isles    of  the  West,    Asiatic    Re-  ^  From  a  single  expression  in  the 
 
 searches,  vol.  viii,  p.  272 ;  and  for  Boun-Dehesch,     I     presume    this 
 
 the  views  of  the  People  of  America,  was  the  Persian  view.     See  Ahri- 
 
 the  Tlasculans;  vide  note  ',  p.  3.  man's  journey  to  Heaven,  described 
 
 1  I  speak  of  the  stars  as   they  in    Boun-Dehesch,  §  i.      We  are 
 
 seemed  to  Moses,  not  of  the  stars  as  told   that,    "  II   vit   le   ciel,   mais 
 
 they  appear:  in  Enoch,  where  they  il   fut  brise   et   saisi    de    frayeur, 
 
 are  angels,  distinctly  angels:  or,  in  comme   Test  le   brebis   devant   le 
 
 some  of  the  Chaldaic  portions  of  loup.     II  alia  dans  I'eau,  il  vit  la 
 
 Isaiah,  where  the  notions  of  star  and  terre  dessous.^' 
 
 angel  mingle  and  flow  one  into  the  *  Man,  in  so  far  as  he  is  a  Per- 
 
 other.  Isaiah  xxiv,  21  :  "The  host  sian,  and  a  worshipper  of  Ormuzd. 
 
 of  the  High  One  on  High...  Him-  Ashe  is  a  foreigner,  a  worshipper  of 
 
 melsheer,    worunter    Man    Sterne  Ahriman,  he  is  a   Kharfester,  im- 
 
 und  Engel,  vorzugsweise  letztere  pure,  a  creation  of  Ahriman.   Thus 
 
 verstand,  doch  so,  dass  die  Begrifle  Ha.xix,  vol.  i,  p.  138,  Zend. :  "  Zo- 
 
5G 
 
 CHAPTER   I. 
 
 him,  pure  and  good ;  but  Dews,  male  and  female,  swarm 
 over  tlie  earth,  and  fill  every  creek  and  crevice  like 
 water,'  and  lie  in  wait  to  do  tlie  believer  harm,  and  Ijeset 
 his  path  to  tempt  liim  to  wrong.  ^VTiat,  then,  shall  save 
 him  from  enemies  thus  nimierous  and  thus  powerful? 
 The  stars,  which  are  angels,®  and  the  Izeds,  the  faithful 
 troops  of  heaven,^  every  where  protect  and  bring  assistance 
 to  the  worshipper  of  Ormuzd.  And  the  religion  of  Zoro- 
 aster teaches  him  besides,  words  and  ceremonies,  before 
 which  the  evil  genii  flee  abashed,  and  terrified,  and  heart- 
 crushed.  Here,  then,  an  almost  inevitable  consequence  of 
 the  thousand  spirit  enemies  which  press  around  us  and 
 would  ensnare  our  souls,  we  have  a  creed  which  invests 
 with  an  infallible  power  certain  charms  and  formulas,''  a 
 reliffion  of  faith  in  words  and  forms,  a  magic  religion.** 
 
 roastre  consulta  Ormuzd.  0  Or- 
 muzd !  qui  est  cette  grande  parole 
 
 qui  existoit  avant  le  ciel avant 
 
 I'homme  pur,  avant  les  Dews,  les 
 Kharfesters,  hommes  ■productions 
 des  Deivs,  &c."  And  also  we  hear  of 
 Dews :  "  les  productions  des  Dews, 
 qui  paroissent  sous  la  forme  de 
 riiomme." — Id.  p.  194.  The  Jews 
 have  the  same  notion  :  "  Die  Ju- 
 den  glauben  das  alle  die  Seelen  der- 
 jcnio-en,  welche  keine  Juden  sind, 
 von  den  unreinen  Geistern  und 
 Teufeln  hcrkimimen,  &c."  Eisen- 
 menger,  Des  Entdeckten  Juden- 
 thums,  vol.  ii,  part  ii,  c.  i,  p.  1. 
 
 '  "  Les  Dews  se  repandent,  O 
 Zoroastrc !  dans  les  Dakhmes, 
 comme  I'cau  coule  et  penetre  par- 
 tout." — Farg.  vii,  p.  326,  vol.  i, 
 Zend. ;  and  again,  Ha  xxxii,  p.  1 71 , 
 Id.:  "  II  dit,  lui  qui  n'a  appris  que 
 le  mal,  qu'il  tourmentcra  I'liomme 
 qui  vit  l)ien,  (jui  parlc  avec  intelli- 
 gence; I'cau  nc  coulera  plus,  les 
 biens  qui  viennent  de  Bahman  (the 
 pure  animal  creation)  disparoitront. 
 II  dit,  je  gatcrai,  en  les  re- 
 gardant d'un  ceil  mauvais,  les 
 troupeaux  crccs  grands,  le  pur  so- 
 ldi doniu"  pour  durcr  loiigtcms  ;  jo 
 
 ferai  que  les  paturages  seront  sans 
 eaux,  ainsi  que  tout  ce  que  vous 
 
 avez  cree  de  pur Qu'il  ne  de- 
 
 truise  pas  ce  qui  a  couve,  ce  qui 
 vit.  Que  ceux  qui  existent  vivent 
 longtems,  grands  et  sans  crainte ! 
 Viellez,  brillant,  pur,  et  excellent 
 Ormuzd,  sur  celui  qui  dechire  les 
 saints  de  coeur." 
 
 ®  VideBoun-Dehesch,§  ii.  Does 
 not  Deut.  iv.  19,  allude  to  this  be- 
 lief? 
 
 ^  They  are  of  heaven  and  of 
 earth.  Afrin  du  Gehanbar,  vol.  ii, 
 p.  82,  Zend,  and  Boun-Dehesch, 
 id.  §  ii,  p.  349. 
 
 •*  How  grateful  these  fomiulas 
 are  to  the  superior  powers,  may  be 
 seen  from  the  Afrin  du  Gehanbar, 
 ut  supra ;  and,  how  terrible  to  the 
 Dews,  from  x,  xi,  xviii  Farg.  Zend. 
 
 '  I  use  the  word  magic  in  no  bad 
 sense.  The  formulas  of  the  Zend 
 creed  were  not  the  heir-loom  of  a 
 priest-class ;  they  were  no  secret 
 and  mystic  words  known  only  to 
 the  few  initiated,  and  efficacious 
 only  when  pronounced  by  them ; 
 but  they  were  the  published  law  and 
 th(i  common  ])rayer  of  a  people,  and 
 their  meaning  and  objects  were  cvi- 
 
CHAPTER    I.  57 
 
 If  now  we  examine  these  two  principles,  as  seen  in  their 
 respective  creations,  we  find  that  to  Ormuzd  belong  all  the 
 grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  universe,  and  all  useful 
 animals.  To  man  he  gives  health  of  body,  riches,  all 
 temporal  blessings,  and  more  than  tliis,  all  moral  and 
 intellectual  excellence.  He  creates  him  pure,  holy,  and 
 loving  the  law.  From  Ahriman,^  on  the  other  hand,  jiro- 
 ceed  all  the  convulsions  and  eccentricities  of  nature ;  his 
 are  the  comet,  the  storm,  and  the  earthquake ;  his  the 
 smoke  in  fire,  the  blight  on  trees,  the  winter  in  the 
 seasons,  and  the  serpent,  and  the  toad,  and  all  noxious  and 
 venomous  insects:  on  man  he  has  brought  all  physical 
 disease,  all  temporal  miseries,  and  all  moral  mipurity.  He 
 is  the  author  of  all  evil.* 
 
 But,  in  all  creeds,  the  favoured  of  the  Deity  are  known 
 by  the  blessings  wliich  the  Deity  heaps  upon  them.  Xow 
 Ormuzd  is  the  creator  and  dispenser  of  all  good  things, 
 spiritual  and  temporal,  as  Ahriman  of  all  things  evil  and 
 impure.  The  true  worshipper  of  Ormuzd,  therefore,  prays 
 for,  and  possesses,  not  merely  spiritual  peace,  but  all  other 
 blessings.  If  his  creed  requires  liim  to  be  pure  of  mind, 
 it  as  imperiously  demands  that  he  should  be  also  strong, 
 
 dent;  they  were  the  law  of,  and  veral  places  of  residence,  Farg-.  i, 
 prayers  addressed  to,  the  Great  263 ;  and  Boun-Debesch,  p.  354, 
 Principle  of  Good,  and  a  law  and  and  note,  p.  164. 
 prayers  to  which  that  Principle  had  ^  But  howis  it  that  water  drowns? 
 given  a  power  over  the  Dews.  Map^ic,  that  fire  hums?  that  the  pure  crea- 
 in  the  ordinaiy  sense,  is  hateful  to  tion  of  Ormuzd  destroys  the  Or- 
 Orniuzd,  the  production  of  Ahri-  nnizd  worshipper?  are  questions 
 man:  "  Ensuite  ce  Peetiare  Ahri-  which  naturally  suggest  themselves, 
 man,  plein  de  mort,  y  produisit  la  and  which  Zoroaster  asked  and 
 raagie,  art  tres  mauvais.  La  Magie  Ormuzd  answered  :  "  Est-ce  I'eau 
 fait  paroitre  tout  ce  qu'on  desire  ;  qui  frappe  rhommequiy  est  noye? 
 elle  donne  tout.  Lorsque  le  magi-  Ormuzd  repondit:Ce  n'estpas  I'eau 
 cien  arrive,  lorsqu'on  le  voit,  la  qui  frappe  I'homme.  Le  Dew  As- 
 magie  paroit  quelque  chose  de  touiad  lie  celui  qui  tombe  dedans ; 
 grande ;  mais  lorsqu'elle  se  pre-  et  lorsqu'il  est  ainsi  lie,  les  poissons 
 sente  avec  le  plus  d'enipire  elle  ne  le  frappent,  &c."..."  Est-ee  le  feu 
 vient  que  du  mauvais  principe,  du  qui  frappe  rbomme?  Ormuzd  re- 
 chef  des  maux.  Elle  est  eloignee  pondit :  Le  feu  ne  frappe  pas 
 du  grand,  de  celui  qui  fait  lebien."  Thorn  me  ;  c'est  le  Dew  Astouiad 
 — Farg.  i,  268.  qui  le  lie;  et  lorsqu'il  est  ainsi 
 1  See  the  reasons  which  induced  lie,  les  oiseaux  le  frappent,  &c." — 
 the  Zend  people  to  leave  their  se-  Farg.  v,  Id.  vol.  i,  p.  199. 
 
 I 
 
58 
 
 CHAPTER    I. 
 
 and  healthy,  and  pure  of  body  ;  it  ahnost  insists,  too,  that 
 he  should  be  rich  considered.'  He  must,  in  every  respect,  be 
 out  of  the  dominion  of  Almman.  The  creed  of  Zoroaster 
 then  confounds  together,  as  proceeding  from  one  common 
 source,  that  good  Avhich  naturally  and  necessarily  results 
 from  a  moral  and  religious  frame  of  mind,  with  those 
 advantages  which  commonly  accompany  the  exercise  of 
 the  prudential  virtues  :*  and  it  does  this,  not  as  the  other 
 olden  religions,  from  some  erroneous  and  narrow  view 
 of  the  character  of  the  Deity,  which  time  may  enlighten 
 and  enlarge,  but  as  an  inevitable  consequence  of  its  double 
 creation.  It  is,  therefore,  a  creed  exclusive*  like  the 
 Jewish,  but  without  its  scope  for  imjjrovement ;  and  one 
 which,  though  it  may  have  been  useful  in  its  day,  is  so  at 
 
 ^  See  the  ix  and  xlii  Ha,  Zend, 
 vol.  i,  p.  120,  187;  Farg.  v,  id.  p. 
 310:  "  Je  fais  tomber  la  phiie  sur 
 la  uourriture  de  I'homme  juste,  et 
 SUV  les  paturages  de  I'aninial  pur." 
 See  also  the  laws  respecting  the 
 diseases  of  women;  the  several 
 prayers  of  Zoroaster  to  Hora;  and 
 the  Carde  xxiv,  vol.  ii,  p.  264,  where, 
 of  the  law  of  Ormuzd,  it  is  said  : 
 "  Elie  est  celeste, elle  multiplie  dans 
 les  villes  la  force  de  I'eau  et  des 
 arbrcs;  elle  multiplie  dans  les  villes 
 I'eau  profonde  et  les  arbres ;  elle 
 multiplie  dans  les  villes  la  purete  et 
 rimniortulite  dans  tout  le  peuple 
 donne  excellent,  &c."  And  again: 
 "  Celui  qui  a  marche  sur  les  pierres 
 (en  prononcant  le  Baraschnom), 
 s'il  est  dans  la  disette,  sera  dans 
 rahondance;  il  aura  des  enfans  s'il 
 n'en  a  pas ;  il  dcviendra  riche  s'il 
 n'a  pas  de  biens." — Fargard  v,  vol. 
 i,  p.  296.  And  again  :  "  Comment 
 sera-t-on  pur?  comment  vivra-l-on 
 lom/'tems,  devlendra-t-on  f/rand, 
 sai/e,  inlellujent  P  dites  le  nioi  ?  Cela 
 ne  viendra-t-il  pas  de  rintcUigence 
 de  ta  loi,  O!  pur  Ormuzd?"^— iJa 
 XXX,  vol.  i,  p.  103. 
 
 •*  See,  for   instance,    Vendidad, 
 Fargard  xx,  in  v.liich  are  enume- 
 
 rated the  services  of  Feridoun,  the 
 first  of  the  Pischdadians,  who  first 
 drove  away  the  Dews,  and  thus  pu- 
 rified the  land  of  Iran  ;  and  ^Ial- 
 colm,  History  of  Persia,  vol.  i,  p. 
 14.  See  also  among  the  leschts 
 Sades,  the  Patet  de  I'Iran,  which 
 contains  a  confession  of  all  crimes 
 of  commission  and  omission,  and 
 which  confounds  together  moral, 
 prudential,  and  ceremonial  errors 
 (Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  41) ;  and  the  xiii 
 Fargard,  which  accounts  for  the 
 ills  that  sometimes  fall  even  upon 
 the  faithful.— lb.  vol.  i,  p.  410. 
 
 *  Like  the  Jewish,  willingly  re- 
 ceiving converts  into  its  bosom : 
 "  Faites  attention,  O  Ormuzd,  a 
 celui  qui  fait  le  mal ;  que  j'aie  la 
 pure  satisfaction  de  le  voir  con- 
 noitre  la  purete  du  coeur ''  (xlvii 
 Ha) ;  but  also  like  the  Jewish,  ter- 
 rible in  its  hate  against  unbelievers. 
 Nereng  Ixx  is  thus  headed:  "Ne- 
 reng,  que  I'on  recite  en  tuant  les 
 Kharfesters"  (Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  135); 
 and  see  also  Ha  viii,  p.  106,  where 
 Zoroaster  announces  his  law  as 
 one  "  qui  prononce  une  imprecation 
 de  tourmens  et  de  malheurs  centre 
 tons  ceux  qui  dans  le  raonde  sont 
 adorateurs  des  Dews." 
 
CHAPTER    I.  59 
 
 variance  with  an  advanced  civilization,  that,  notwithstand- 
 ing its  morality,  which  is  more  spiritual®  than  that  of 
 INIoses,  and  more  practical  than  that  of  the  Vedas,  we  may 
 at  once  pronounce  it  unfitted  ever  to  represent  the  religion 
 of  Humanity. 
 
 Finally,  w^e  may  regard,  as  connected  with  tliis  chapter: 
 
 I.  All  the  laws  of  Moses  relating  to  idolatry,  as  the 
 first  and  second  commandments,  in  so  far  as  they  forbid 
 the  worship,  one,  of  other  Gods  besides  the  Lord ;  the 
 other,  of  images  which  are  the  likeness  of  any  thing  in 
 heaven  above,  &c.  (Exod.  xx. ;  Deut.  iv.  16-19.) 
 
 II.  The  laws  relating  to  feasts,  in  so  far  as  feasts  are 
 determined  by  the  different  phases  of  the  moon,  &c. 
 (Lev.  xxiii.  and  comp.  Gen.  i.  14.) 
 
 III.  The  laws  relating  to  meats,  as  permitted  or  for- 
 bidden.   (Lev.  xi.) 
 
 And  IV.  The  laws  relating  to  the  Sabbath,  and  the 
 Sabbatical  year.    (Vide  Exod.  xx.  and  xxiii.) 
 
 ^  "  Que  par  moi,  qui  suis  Zoro-  astre,     rhomme    d'Ormuzd,    qui 
 
 astre,  s'eleve  et  se  repande  dans  les  adresse  une  benediction  de  lumiere 
 
 lieux cette  loi,  qui  enseigne  et  de  bonheur  a  tous  les  purs  du 
 
 a  etre  pur  de  pense,  pur  de  parole,  monde." — Ha    viii,   Zend.    vol.  i, 
 
 pur  d'action ;  cette  loi  de  Zoro-  p.  106. 
 
60 
 
 CHAPTER  IL 
 
 GENESIS  II.  4—25. 
 
 Verses  4,  5 :  How  confused  is  this  passage  as  it  stands 
 in  our  translation :  how  little  connexion  is  there  between 
 the  several  parts !  It  opens,  apparently,  with  a  prefatory 
 verse,  which  announces  to  us  the  subject  matter  of  the 
 chapter:  that  the  mystery  of  the  generations  of  the 
 heavens  and  the  earth,  and  "  of  the  plants  of  the  field 
 before  they  were  in  the  earth,  and  of  the  herbs  of  the  field 
 before  they  grew,"  is  about  to  be  declared  to  us;  and 
 then,  forgetting  its  lofty  promise,  it  closes  with  the  reason 
 why  plants  coidd  not  grow,  or  why  they  were  not  yet  in 
 the  earth  :  "  for  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  on 
 the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground." 
 
 If,  however,  we  follow  the  translation  of  Michaelis^  and 
 De  Wette,*  and  substitute,  as  has  been  somewhere  sug- 
 gested by  Eichhorn,  a  period  for  the  comma  after 
 "  created ;"  if  we  read  the  passage  thus : — 
 
 Verse  1 :  "  These  are  the  generations  of  the  heaven  and 
 of  the  earth  Avhen  they  were  created.     Verse  2  :  In  the  day 
 
 '  Dis  war  dor  Aiifang-  von  Him-  '^  Diess    ist    der    Ursprung  des 
 
 iiiel   uiid   Krdc,  da  sic  geschaft'cn  Hiuimels    mid    der    Erde,  da  sie 
 
 wiirdcn,    als    der     Gott    Jehovah  geschaffon  wurdcn,  da  Gott  Jeho- 
 
 Iliiiiniel  uiid    Erde   machtc.      Es  vah    Himmel    uud   Erde  machte. 
 
 war  aher  iiotli  kcin  Buschwerk  auf  Da  war  noch  kein  Gcstrauch  au{ 
 
 dein    I'eldc,    uiid   Krauter  waren  der  Erde,  und  kein  Kraut  des  Fel- 
 
 noch    niclit   hevvorwachsen,    denn  des  war  noch  gesprosset,denn  Gott, 
 
 der    Gott,    Jtliovah,    hatte    noch  Jehovah,  liessnicht  regnen  auf  der 
 
 nicht  aufdeni  Krilliodcn  rcgen  las-  Erde,  und  kein  Mcnsch  war  da, 
 
 sen,  und  waren  kein  Menschen  da,  das  Land  zu  haiien."— De  Wette. 
 
 ihn   zu  bauen." — JMichaelis  Uher-  And  sec  also  Simon,  Hist.  Crit.  du 
 
 setz.  d.  A.  T.  Vieux  Test.  lib.  ii,  e.  iv,  p.  369. 
 
CHAPTER    11.  61 
 
 that  the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and  the  heavens,  no 
 plant  of  the  field  was  yet  in  the  earth,  and  no  herb  yet 
 grew :  for  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon 
 the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground:" — 
 then  we  have  the  first  as  a  prefatory  verse ;  while  the 
 second,  supposing  earth  and  heaven  to  be  already  created, 
 shows  us  the  state  of  the  earth  at  its  creation, — it  was 
 barren :  and  the  reason  of  that  state, — it  was  barren, 
 because  "the  Lord  God  had  not  yet  caused  it  to  rain 
 on  the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground." 
 
 The  chapter  then  proceeds  to  tell  us  how  these  deficien- 
 cies were  supplied : 
 
 1st.  By  a  heavy  dew  (ver.  6.)  "But  there  went  up  a 
 mist  from  the  earth  and  watered  the  whole  face  of  the 
 ground."  The  Author  of  the  creation  in  the  first  chapter 
 seems  to  have  been  perplexed  by  the  quantity  of  super- 
 fluous water  at  his  command.  Water,  or  rather  mud, 
 was  his  original  matter ;  and,  after  having  placed  water 
 above  the  heavens,  he  drains  the  earth,  and  forms  seas. 
 The  Author  of  the  creation  in  this  chapter,  on  the  con- 
 trary, seems  at  a  loss  for  water.  The  earth  is  for  him 
 a  dry  rock,  or  a  sandy  waste,  and  he  waters  it  with  dew. 
 His  primal  matter,  whatever  else  it  may  have  been,  was 
 evidently  not  water.^  The  one  cosmogony  belongs,  we 
 would  conjecture,  to  a  country  in  which  water  abounds,  the 
 plains  of  Egypt  ^  or  Chaldea;^  the  other  to  some  hot  and 
 dry  latitudes,  the  upper  and  mountainous  parts  of  Asia,  or 
 the  deserts  of  Arabia. 
 
 2ndly.  By  the  creation  of  man.  "  And  the  Lord  God 
 formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,"  &c.  In  the  pre- 
 ceding chapter,  man  was  the  Elohim's  last  creation,  and  there 
 
 ^  111  this  chapter  observe  that  no  jU£6'  ac,  yewrjOrjvai  rov  Trpiorov  Ka- 
 
 iiieiition  whatever  is  made  of  the  /i»;0ij'. — Damascius,  p.  320,  Cory, 
 creation  of  the  fish  of  the  sea.  ^  See  the  Cosmogony  of  Beros- 
 
 *  According  to  the  Egyptians  :  sus,  who  speaks  of  that  time :  tv  <^' 
 
 H  ju£i'  [.ua  Tii)v  oXujv  ap\r}  'S.kotoq  to  irav  okotoq  kch  vSiop  uvac  and 
 
 ayvioaTov  vfivovfiein]  Kui  tovto  rpig  again  vygov  yap  ovtoq  tov  t^civtoq, 
 
 ava(po)vovfitvov   ovtioq'    r«(,"   ^(   ^vo  Kal   $wwv    tv   avrt^i    yiytvvmitvwv, 
 
 «px«e  Vcfwp  Kai  "iraniiov.  .t^  wv  kui  <kc. — Cory,  p.  24,  25. 
 
62 
 
 CHAPTER    II. 
 
 the  writer  dwelt  on  the  shape  and  form  given  to  man: 
 "male  and  female,  and  in  His  own  image,"  we  are  told, 
 "  created  He  them :"  but  whether  a  single  pair,  or  whether 
 several,  is  left  uncertain ;  here  man  is  Jehovah  Elohim's 
 first  creation,  and  here  we  are  occupied  with  the  material 
 of  wliich  man  was  framed :  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  one 
 man  is  formed,  Adam:  and  of  one  of  his  ribs  is  subse- 
 quently made  the  woman.*'  And  from  this  pair  are  descended 
 all  the  varieties  of  the  human  race.'' 
 
 "  And  the  Lord  God  fonned  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
 ground." 
 
 Many  are  the  origins  which  man  has  fabled  for  himself. 
 Either  he  is  a  spontaneous  production  of  mere  matter; 
 sometimes  of  water,  as  in  the  Lamaic  creed :«  but  more 
 generally  of  earth,  as  among  the  Peruvians,  CoUas,  Carib- 
 bees,^  and  the  North  American  Indians,^  &c.,  Avhere  he 
 
 *  I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that 
 there  is  any  contradiction  between 
 the  first  and  second  chapters;  on 
 the  contrary,  it  is  just  possible  that 
 they  proceed  from  the  same  pen, 
 and  that  the  second  but  explains 
 and  limits  the  meaning  of  the  first. 
 
 '  These  discrepancies  Philo  Ju- 
 djEUS  gets  over  by  supposing  the 
 man  of  the  first  chapter  to  be  a 
 merely  inlclleclual  creation,  while 
 the  man  in  this  second  chapter  is  the 
 actual  real  man:  6  fitv  yap  ^lairXaa- 
 9(1^  i)Ci]  ain9i]T0Q,  iiiTf)(ij)v  ttoi/jt/;- 
 Toc,  CK  awfiaroc  kuI  ^vx'>}C  cvvKTTaQ, 
 &c. :  "  Qui  enim  nunc  formatur 
 sensibilis  est,  particeps  qualitatis  et 
 corporc  constans  ct  anima,  vir  et 
 mulicr  natura  mortalis.  Illc  vero 
 ad  imaginem  factus,  idea  (juredam, 
 aut  genus  aut  signaculum,  intelli- 
 gibilis,  incorporcus,  nee  mas  nee 
 fcemina,  uaturaliter  incorrupti- 
 bilis."— De  Mund.  Opif.  p.  30.  To 
 tliis  explanation  the  objections  are: 
 1st.  That  any  division  of  the  crea- 
 tion into  the  Ko(Tf.ioQ  voijroc  and 
 (codjuof  ui(t6iitoc,  on  wliicli  Philo's 
 view    is    founded,    is   wholly    un- 
 
 known to  the  Mosaical  books  ;  it  is 
 a  Platonic  doctrine,  though  proba- 
 bly borrowed  from  the  East.  And, 
 2(lly,  That  the  .creation  in  chap,  i, 
 is  of  man  as  mule  and  female,  and 
 consequently,  according  to  Philo's 
 own  showing,  not  of  man  as  intel- 
 ligible and  incorporeal. 
 
 ^  Vide  Pallas'  Travels,  vol.  ii,  p. 
 234. 
 
 '^  The  Peruvians,  i.  e.,  the  people, 
 believed  that  the  world  was  peopled 
 by  four  men  and  four  women, 
 brothers  and  sisters,  who  appeared 
 from  0])enings  in  certain  rocks  near 
 Cuzco  (Hist,  des  Yncas,  B.  i).  For 
 the  various  but  similar  conjectures 
 on  this  subject  of  the  Collas,  a 
 people  conquered  by  the  Peruvians, 
 see  Id.  p.  11 1  ;  for" those  of  the  Ca- 
 ribees,  Sitten  der  Wilden,  vol.  ii. 
 
 '  "  They  consider  the  earth  as 
 their  universal  mother.  They  believe 
 that  they  were  created  within  its 
 bosom,  where,  for  a  long  time,  they 
 had  their  abode,  before  they  came 
 to  live  on  its  surface.  Among  the 
 Delawarcs,  those  of  the  Wolf  tribe 
 say,   that  in   the    beginning    they 
 
CHAPTER   II. 
 
 63 
 
 steps  forth  from  fountain,  rock,  or  cave.  Or,  he  is  formed 
 out  of  earth  Ly  some  superior  power,  as  in  ancient  Egypt,^ 
 India,^  China,''  some  parts  of  Mexico,*  and  among  the 
 Yncas  Amantas  of  Peru.  Or,  he  is  formed  out  of  earth 
 by  the  addition  of  some  other  thing ;  as  among  the  ancient 
 Chaldeans,*  who  supposed  that  man  was  produced  by 
 the  mixing  of  the  blood  of  Belus  with  earth :  and  as  in 
 ancient  and  Magian  Persia,^  where  the  seed  of  the  man- 
 
 dwelt  in  the  earth,  under  a  lake, 
 and  were  extricated  from  this 
 abode  by  the  discovery  which  one 
 of  their  men  made*  of  a  hole, 
 through  which  he  ascended  to  the 
 surface.  Here  he  found  a  deer, 
 which  he  carried  back  with  him  to 
 his  subterraneous  habitation  ;  there 
 the  deer  was  killed,  and  the  meat 
 found  so  good,  that  all  determined 
 to  remove  to  a  place  where  such 
 excellent  game  was  in  abundance. 
 The  other  tribes,  rejecting  the  lake, 
 have  the  same  notions.  Among 
 the  Iroquois  the  tradition  is,  that 
 they  dwelt  in  the  earth,  where  no 
 sun  did  shine  ;  that  Ganawagahha 
 found  a  hole  to  get  out  of  the  earth 
 at;  walking  about  on  the  earth,  he 
 found  a  deer,  which  he  took  back, 
 and  which  was  found  so  good, 
 that  their  mother  concluded  it  best 
 for  them  all  to  come  out ;  they  did 
 so,  and  immediately  set  about 
 planting  corn." — From  Hnkev.el- 
 der's  History  of  the  North  American 
 Indians. 
 
 ^  "  Les  philosophes  Egyptiens 
 qui  preteudoient  que  Thomme  avoit 
 ete  forme  du  limou  du  Nil." — 
 Fourmont,  Anciens  Peuples,  vol.  i, 
 lib.  ii.  §  i,  p.  10;  and  compare 
 Diod.  Sic.  B.  i,  §  xii. 
 
 ^  According  to  the  philosophers 
 of  India:  "The  grosser  body  with 
 which  a  soul  is  invested  for  the 
 purposes  of  fruition,  is  composed  of 
 five  elements,  or  of  four,  excluding 
 the  ethereal ;  or  of  one  earth  alone, 
 &c." — Colebrooke's  Essays,  vol.  i, 
 p.  245. 
 
 ''  "  Le  livre  Fong-zen-tong  dit : 
 Quand  le  ciel  et  la  terre  furent 
 crees,  il  n'y  avait  encore  ni  liomme 
 ni  peuple.  Niu-hoa  (the  wife  and 
 sister  of  Fou-hi)  fetrit  de  la  terre 
 jaune  pour  en  faire  I'homme. 
 C'est  la  la  vraie  origine  du  genre 
 humain."  Memoires  des  Chinoises, 
 vol.  i,  p.  105. 
 
 *  Of  the  inhabitants  of  Mechoa- 
 can,  a  province  of  Mexico,  we  are 
 told :  "  lis  racontoient  que  Dieu 
 avoit  cree  de  terre,  un  homme  et 
 une  femme,  &c."  (Hist.  Gen.  des 
 Voyages.)  "  Les  Yncas  Amantas 
 (the  learned  priest  class  of  Peru) 
 ont  cru  que  I'homme  etoit  com- 
 pose d'ame  et  de  corps ;  que  I'ame 
 ne  pouvoit  etre  mieux  appelee 
 qu'un  esprit  immortel,  et  que  le 
 corps  etoit  fait  de  boue  parcequ'il 
 devenoit  terre." — Hist,  des  Yncas, 
 1.  ii,  c.  vii,  Garcilasso  de  Vega. 
 
 ^  Tov  ^i  BrjXov. . .  .iciXevffai  kvi 
 Tiov  Btov  Ti]V  Ke(pa\i]v  a<pt\ovTi  tav- 
 rov  T(fi  aTTOppvevri  aifian  (pvpaffai 
 r)]v  yT]v,  Kal  oiaTrXadai  av^pdjirovi; 
 Kal  Srrjpia  ra  ^vvajjieva  rov  aepa 
 (lispeiv."  —  Berossus,  Ant.  Frag. 
 Cory,  p.  26. 
 
 ^ "  II  est  dit  dans  la  loi  que  Kaio- 
 morts  ayant  rendu  en  mourant  de 
 la  semeuce,  cette  semence  fut  puri- 
 
 fiee  par  la  lumiere  du  soleil Au 
 
 bout  de  40  ans  le  corps  d'un  Reivas 
 formant  une  colonne  (un  arbre)  de 
 15  ans  avec  quinze  feuilles  sortit 
 de  la  terre.  Get  arbre  represen- 
 toit  deux  corps  disposes  de  maniere 
 quel'un  avoit  la  main  dans  I'oreille 
 de  I'autre,  lui  etoit  uni,  lie,  faisant 
 
64  CHAPTER   II. 
 
 bull,  Kaiomorts,  sinks  into  the  ground,  and  grows  into  the 
 tree  Reivas,  to  which  Ormuzd  gives  life  and  motion,  and 
 of  it  then  forms  the  first  ancestors  of  mankind.  Or,  he  is 
 generated  from  the  union  of  beings  other  than  himself,  as 
 in  the  Phoenician  cosmogony,  where  he  is  the  son  of  the 
 wind  Colpias  and  his  wife  Baau.'  Or,  lastly,  he  is  of 
 confessedly  unknown  origin,  as  among  the  Iroquois,"  who 
 give  the  human  race  one  mother,  heaven-descended,  and 
 six  fatliers,  of  whom  they  narrate  many  stories,  though 
 they  know  neither  how  nor  whence  these  first  men  came 
 into  the  world.  Which  of  these  conjectures  is  the  most 
 rational  I  will  leave  others  to  decide :  the  voice  of  man- 
 kind, however,  seems  to  be  in  favour  of  an  earthly 
 origin — and  for  the  same  reason  probably  as  was  given 
 by  the  Yncas  Amantas  of  Peru,  and  which  is  found 
 also  in  Genesis :  "  Man  is  of  earth,  because  he  returns 
 to  earth." 
 
 But,  after  having  formed  man's  body,  Jehovah  Elohim 
 gives  that  body  life.  As  a  father,  by  inflating,  sometimes 
 gives  action  to  the  lungs  of  the  new-born,  and  before 
 seemingly   lifeless,    infant,  so    now   God   breathes    "  into 
 
 un  memo  tout  aveclui Onmizd  hommes.     D'oii  etoient  venus  ces 
 
 (lit  (lu'il  a  (lonne  d'abord  la  main,  hommes  ?  C'est  ce  qu'ils  ne  savent 
 
 et  eiisuite  Ic  corps qu'il  a  pro-  pas.      II  n'y  avoit  pas  encore  de 
 
 duit  Taction  propre  au   corps,   et  terre;  ils  erroient  au  gre  du  vent;  ils 
 
 qu'il  a  donnc  le  corps  pour  qu'il  n'avoient  point  non  plus  de  femme, 
 
 fasse  son  ceuvre  et  passe  vive  dans  et  ils  sentoient  bien  que  leur  race 
 
 cet  etat.     Mais  il  a  donne  I'ame  alloit    perir  avec  eux.     Enfin   ils 
 
 d'abord,  ct  cnsuite  le  corps."  Bonn-  apprirent  qu'il  y  en  avoit  une  dans 
 
 Dehesch,  §  xv,  p.  37(),  vol.  ii,  Zend,  leciel.  Ayant  tenu conseil  ensemble, 
 
 "  "  rty£i/tff3rai  (K  Tov  KoXizia  avt-  il  fut  resolu  que  I'un  d'eux,  nom- 
 fiov  Koi  yvvaiKoQ  avTov  ]iuav,  tovto  me  Hagouaho,  ou  le  luup,  s'y  trans- 
 ect vixcrn  tp^jjvtuaj',  Aiojva  Kai  ITpw-  porterait;    les   oiseaux  de  concert 
 
 Toyovov  ovTU)  KiiTyoviuvovg,  8cc." —  I'y   eleverent Lorsqu'il    y    fut 
 
 Cory's  Fragments.     I  am,  never-  arrive,    il    attendit    au  pied  d'un 
 
 thelcss,  aware  of  Fourmont's  con-  arbre  que  cette  femme  sortit  a  son 
 
 jecture,  that  the  Baau  and  Colpias  ordinaire  pour  aller  puiser  de  I'eau 
 
 of  Sai.choniatho  are  but  the  Bohu  a  une  fontaine  voisine.     La  femme 
 
 (chaos)  and  the  Rouach  (Spiritus  ne  manqua  pas  de  veuir.   L'horamc 
 
 Dei)  of  Moses.  lia  conversation  avec  elle  ct  lui  fit 
 
 "  Iroquois   tradition  from   Lafi-  un  present  de  graisse  d'ours.     Elle 
 
 tau— compare    it    with  that  cited  se    laissa  seduire,  <Scc."— Lafitau, 
 
 al)ovc,  from  liukcwclder:  "Dans  Mtturs  dcs  Sauvages  Amcriquains, 
 
 Ic    commencement  il  y  avoit    six  vol.  i.  p.  •);}. 
 
CHAPTER   ir.  65 
 
 man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  becomes  a 
 living  soul." 
 
 I  find  the  "breath  of  life"  applied  indiscriminately  to  all 
 living  things :  thus,  in  ch.  vi.  7,  God  says,  "  I,  even  I, 
 do  bring  a  flood  upon  the  earth  to  destroy  all  flesh  wherein 
 is  tlie  breath  of  life ,-"  and,  again,  ch.  \Tii.  22,  we  are  told, 
 "  all  flesh  died,  both  of  fowl,  and  of  cattle,  and  of  creeping- 
 thing,  and  every  man,  all  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  hreath 
 of  the  spirit  of  life.^^  I  conclude,  then,  that  the  life  which 
 God  bestows  upon  man,  is  a  life  which  all  creatures  enjoy 
 in  common  with  man.^ 
 
 But  man  surely  has  this  prerogative,  "he  becomes  a 
 living  soul."  De  Wette  has  translated  this  passage,  "  man 
 becomes  a  living  beinf^  (lebendiges  Wesen)  ;  Michaelis, 
 "  a  living  animar^  (zum  lebendigen  Thier).  And  even  sup- 
 posing that  our  English  Bible  has  correctly  rendered  the 
 verse,  I  find,  from  Roberts'  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  that, 
 in  that  part  of  the  20  v.  ch.  i.  which  speaks  of  the  creation 
 of  the  fish  of  the  sea,  "as  of  the  moving  creatures  that 
 have  life,"^  the  Hebrew  has  for  life,  "soul;"  conse- 
 quently, man,  in  so  far  at  least  as  we  can  learn  from  this 
 passage,  has  no  pre-eminence  over  the  brute  creation.' 
 Than  the  brutes  of  the  field  he  may  indeed  be  wiser 
 
 '  As,  according  to  the   Mahom-  rrjg  \iS,ttog,  6v  ainov  ovra  roiu|/vxi- 
 
 medans  (see  Koran,  c.  Ixxxi ;  and  kov  toiq  i^wotQ  tvofiianv  vizapxn-v 
 
 Sale's  Prel.  Dis.  p.  Ill;  but  com-  Travnov  oiovti  nva  iraTspa-  ffVfKpio- 
 
 pare  p.  119),  all  creatures  are  to  vav  ct  tovtovq  (patn  rov  t-KKpavta- 
 
 participate  in  the  resurrection  ;  all  rnroi' rwj' Trap'EXXT/ffiTroo/Twv,  £7r( 
 
 creatures,  like  us,  have  immortal  toi>  S-eoj/  tovtoi'  Xeyovra  : 
 souls,  and  "  breathe  the  breath  of  nar»;(j  avc'pwj'  r£  Subjv  rt. 
 
 the  Spirit  ofLife;"  and  the  Mahom-         ^  De  Wette  has  rendered  "the 
 
 medans  then  seemingly   interpret  moving  creatures  that  have  life," 
 
 this  verse  as  we  have  done.     The  "  Let  the  waters  swarm  with   fish, 
 
 Hindoos  similarly  believe,  "  That  living  beings"  ("  Es  wimmele  das 
 
 all  souls  come  from  Brahme;"  and,  Wasser  von  Wasserthieren,  leben- 
 
 in   the   Scanda-Purana,   it  is   re-  digen  Wesen");  Michaelis:  "Let 
 
 corded,  "  That  souls  may  be  born,  the  waters  bring  forth  abundantly 
 
 as  men,  beasts,  or  birds;  as  grass  living  beasts  of  the   sea"  ("Das 
 
 or  trees,   or  mountains  or  gods."  Wasser    bringe     allerley   lebende 
 
 (Roberts,  Illustrations,  p.  75.)  And  Thiere  des  Wasserreichs  hervor"). 
 the  Egyptians,  according  to  Dio-         ^  Very  evidently  the  doctrine  of 
 
 dorus  Sic.  B.  i,  §  xii:  Uvevfia  i^ia  Ecclesiastes,  chap,  iii,  10,22. 
 TrpocTayopEVffai,  •  ■  p(9fpi.u]V£voiisvr)g, 
 
66  CHAPTER    II. 
 
 and  more  powerful ;  but  if  lie  diifcr  from  them,  it  is  in 
 degree  only,  and  not  in  kind. 
 
 "  The  breath  of  life."  Is  not  breath  an  evidence  of  life, 
 here  confounded  with  life  itself,  or  at  least  regarded  as 
 its  cause  ?  And  as  when  this  breath,  this  life,  leaves  the 
 body,  the  body  returns  to  its  original  dust ;  so,  most  pro- 
 bably, will,  in  the  eyes  of  infant  man,  this  breath  leave 
 the  body^  but  to  return  to  Him  who  gave  it, — to  God. 
 
 But  man  developes  and  arranges  his  ideas ;  and  this 
 "  breath"  loses  consequently  in  time  its  primary  meagre 
 signification,  and  grows  into  the  mysterious  principle  of 
 life,  the  soul.*  And  for  this  soul,  his  individual  self,  man 
 is  very  soon  compelled  by  his  dearest  affections,  and  the 
 unsatisfied  necessities  of  his  moral  nature,  and  the  loud 
 voice  of  reason,  to  conceive,  and  claim,  and  believe  in  an 
 individual  existence  continued  after  death. 
 
 But  again  as  the  soul  is  a  pure  emanation^  from  the  great 
 God  Himself,  it  is,  in  so  far  at  least  as  its  mere  existence  is 
 concerned,  divine,  i.  e.  indestructible,  immortal.^  And 
 because  its  present  earthly  lot  depends  on  the  will  and 
 pleasure  of  the  Deity,  so,  therefore,  reasons  man,  will 
 its  future  immortal  state.     But  the  Deity  is  not,  it  is  also 
 
 *  Vide  Ecclesiast.  xii.  7 ;  see  also  "  Duplici  modo  potest  concipi  eina- 
 
 for    the   Egyptian    doctrine,     Ja-  natio;   vel   ita   ut    quod    emanat, 
 
 blonski,  lib.  i,  c.  ii,  §  3  :  "  Nempe  unam  eandemque  constituat  essen- 
 
 anima   secundum    .'Egyptios    erat  tiara,  vel  ita  ut  ab  ea  separatur. 
 
 TO  Sfjoj/,  Divinitas   vel     Essentia  Priori  modo  qui  emanationem  in- 
 
 divina,    qua;    a    sede    sua     veluti  telligunt  in    magnum    periculum 
 
 delapsa,  aliquamdiu   -per  homines  Spinosismi  sese  conjiciuut,  ut  qui, 
 
 et    anhnalia    transibat,   donee   ad  posteriori  modo  capiunt,  nihil  do- 
 
 pristinum  locutn  rediret."   In  Ota-  cent  quod  reprehendi  debeat.''  And 
 
 lieite  the  soul  was  supposed  to  be  in  this  last  and  orthodox  sense  I 
 
 eaten  by  the  Great  Spirit.     (Vide  understand  the  emanation  of  Ge- 
 
 Cook's  first  Voyage.)  nesis. 
 
 ^  The  very  terms  which  express        '  In  the  time  of  Hesiod,  the  dead, 
 
 the   soul  are  evidence  of  the  ori-  among   the    Greeks,    had  already 
 
 ginally   naiTOw    view    which    was  their    local    hal)itation,    Tartarus, 
 
 tiikcn  of  it :  irvivfia,  "  anima,  spi-  Its  (fcoi/rajih)/  is  known,  its  produc- 
 
 ritus,  <Scc."  tions,  its  inhaliitants.     In  the  time 
 
 'With  this  chapter  of  Genesis  of  Homer,  though  the  dead  have 
 
 before  me,  I  cannot  say  that  the  individual,  they  seem  to  have  no 
 
 soul  was  created,  but  that  it  pro-  real  existence;  they  are  but  slia- 
 
 coeded,  was   an   emanation,   from  dows  flitting  in  a  world  of  shadows; 
 
 God;  and,  according  to  Ihulda'us:  nothing  but  memory  is  left  them. 
 
CHAPTER  II. 
 
 67 
 
 believed,  indifferent  to  human  conduct :  those  who  merit 
 His  approbation,  whom  He  loves,  He  rewards  with  good 
 tilings ;  and  on  those  who  displease  Him  He  heaps  punish- 
 ment. The  soul's  immortality  then,  will  be  one  of  happi- 
 ness or  misery,  according  to  the  relation  of  favour  or  dis- 
 favour in  which  any  individual  soul  stands,  or  is  supposed 
 to  stand,  to  Grod.  How,  then,  shall  we  obtain  the  favour 
 of  the  Deity  ?  How  secure  for  ourselves  eternal  happiness, 
 is  the  great  question  which  occupies  our  lives,  and  one 
 which  men  wiU  answer  differently,  according  to  their 
 several  conceptions  of  the  Deity. 
 
 I.  If  their  Deity  be  devilish,   i.  e.  mahcious,  envious,^ 
 as  among  several  of  the  Aborigenes  of  South  America, 
 
 Their  state  is  one  of  desolation,  for  thus  the  proud   shade  of  Achilles 
 rejects  the  comfort  of  Ulysses : — 
 
 "  I  rather  wish  to  be  on  earth  a  swain, 
 Or  serve  a  swain  for  hire,  that  scarce  can  give 
 Bread  to  sustain  him,  than  (that  life  once  gone) 
 Of  all  the  dead  sway  the  imperial  throne." 
 
 Chapman,  Odys.  xi,  48. 
 
 '  I  know  not  by  what  divine  jus- 
 tice and  injustice  of  the  Devill,^'' 
 says  Purchas,  "  it  comes  to  passe 
 that  God  hath  given  some  men  up 
 so  farre  unto  the  Devill's  tyrannic, 
 that  he  hath  banished  out  of  their 
 hearts  the  knowledge  and  worship 
 of  the  true  God ;  and  yet  the  na- 
 ture of  man  cannot  be  without 
 apprehension  of  some  greater  and 
 more  excellent  nature  ;  and  rather 
 than  want  all  religion,  they  will 
 have  a  religious-irreligious  com- 
 merce with  the  Devill.  Yea,  the 
 more  all  knowledge  of  God  is  ba- 
 nished, the  baser  service  doe  men, 
 in  doing  and  suffering,  yield  to  the 
 Devill ;  as  it  falleth  out  in  these 
 regions.  Nova  Francia." — Pilgri- 
 mage, p.  629.  Similarly  the  moun- 
 taineers of  India,  to  the  west  of 
 Meissour,  according  to  Dubois 
 (Mceurs  des  Indes,  vol.  ii,  p.  441), 
 have  no  other  divinity  than  the 
 devil :  "  Tous  les  maux,  toutes  les 
 contrarietes  qu'ils  eprouvent,  sont 
 imputes  a  leurs  boutams,  dont  ils 
 
 croieut  s'etre  attire  la  haine,  et  c'est 
 pour  les  calmer  qu'ils  se  montrent 
 si  devots  envers  eux."  In  Africa  : 
 "  Les  negres  de  Guinee  font  encore 
 des  sacrifices  au  Diable." — Confor- 
 mite  des  Coutumes  des  Indes 
 Orientales  avec  celles  des  Juifs,  &c. 
 p.  155.  The  Caribbees  also  wor- 
 ship or  sacrifice  to  their  gods  only 
 to  stay  their  anger :  "■  In  dem  sie 
 sie  fast  grossten  Theils  fur  feind- 
 selige  Wesen  halten." — Sitten  der 
 Wilden,  vol.  ii,  p.  53.  The  Antis 
 worshipped  snakes  and  tigers: 
 "a  cause deleur  cruaute"(Histoire 
 des  Yncas,  p.  204) ;  and  the  natives 
 of  Virginia,  "  all  things  that  are 
 able  to  hurt  them  beyond  their  pre- 
 vention, and  chiefly  the  Devil" 
 (Purchas,  p.  639);  and  among  the 
 Greeks,  the  gods  are  shown  us  as 
 seeking  occasion  to  destroy  rich 
 and  powerful  families :  "  Qe  Aitrxu- 
 
 \oQ  fiEjei oTi  ^ioQuev  airiav  <pvti 
 
 jSpoTOig  brav  KUKioaai  Swfia  irctfinT]- 
 or]v  S^tXy  (Plato  de  Rep.  lib.  ii,  vol. 
 vi,  Bib.,  and  Herod,  vol.  vii,  p.  46); 
 
68  CHAPTER    11. 
 
 and  some  of  the  savages  of  Africa,  then  men  pray  to 
 their  God  but  to  propitiate  his  wrath,  and  make  him 
 offerings  only  to  turn  away  his  envy.  Their  religion  is 
 one  of  fear,  and  their  worship  is  adulation ;  their  morality, 
 too,  is  at  the  best  but  selfish  and  prudential,  and,  as  a 
 rule  of  conduct,  holds  subordinate  place  to  what  they  con- 
 sider their  religious  service,  i.  e.  to  those  acts  and  ceremo- 
 nies which  they  believe  will  gain  for  them  the  favour 
 of  their  Deity.'  Like  Eastern  slaves,  or  the  degraded 
 Romans  under  the  rule  of  Tiberius,  they  readily  tread 
 under  foot  the  most  sacred  duties  of  Humanity.  They 
 scruple  at  no  baseness,  they  hesitate  at  no  crime,  so  long 
 as  his  privy-council  assures  them  that  they  stand  well  with 
 their  idol. 
 
 n.  If  their  Deity  be  anthropopathicJc.,  i.  e.  if  kindliness, 
 benevolence  be  His  characteristic ;  then,  as  their  Deity 
 loves  His  creatures,  He  will  desire  their  good,  and  teach 
 them  how  to  ensure  it.  But,  as  He  is  human,  individual. 
 He  will  teach  them  not  by  revelations  made  to  man, 
 the  great  books  of  nature  and  of  experience,  but  by 
 special  revelations  made  to  nations,  or  to  individuals,  as 
 the  Vedas,  the  Zend,  the  Old  Testament,  the  Koran,  &c. 
 And  these  revelations  will  be : 
 
 1st.     As  the  De'ity  is  good — of  moral   precepts,  which 
 
 and  among-  the  Romans  we  know  vol.  iv,  p.  160.     See  also  the  Eu- 
 
 the   proverl),  "  Quern    Deus   imlt  thyphron  of  Plato,  and  the  account 
 
 perdere,"  &c.  of    the   persecution   of   the    Albi- 
 
 "  Of  the  negroes  of  the    Gold  jrenses,    Sismondi,     Histoire    des 
 
 Coast  we  are  told:  "  lis  rcgardent  Fran^ais,  12th  and  13th  centuries; 
 
 la  mort  comme  le  plus  terrible  de  remember  too  the  child-sacrifices  to 
 
 tous    les     chatimens;    c'est    cette  Moloch,  frequently  alluded  to  in 
 
 crainte    qui    enllammc   leur    zele  Scripture,    an    awful    instance  of 
 
 dans  toutes  les  aflaires  de  religion,  which,  as  offered  by  the  Carthage- 
 
 et  ([ui  les  rend  si  fideles  aleurs  en-  nians,  is  mentioned  by  Diodorus 
 
 gagcniensd'abslincnce.  Lemeurtre,  Sic.  (vol.  ix,  lib.  xx,  c.  xiv,  p.  40, 
 
 radulhhr  el  Ir  ml  ne  passent  point  Bip.);and  the  atonement  of  Ames- 
 
 parnii  eii.r  pour  des  grands  crhnr.i,  tris,  the  wife  of  Xerxes,  who,  accord- 
 
 parcequ'ils  peuvcntetreexpiesavcc  ing    to    Herodotus,    buried    alive 
 
 une  somme  d'argcnt;  nu  lieu  que  twelve  Persian  youths  to  appease 
 
 les  fautes  qui  blesscnt  la  religion  nc  the  anger  of  the  gods.      See  also 
 
 peuvent   etre  si    parfaitement  cf-  Levit.  xxvii.  2^*,  2n;and  Deut.xxi. 
 
 fac^s    qu'il     n'cn    rcste    quehiue  18;     not      forgetting      Jephtlia's 
 
 tache. — Hist.    (Jt'n.   des  Voyages,  daughter. 
 
CHAPTER   II.  69 
 
 will  appear  as  the  commands  of  God  for  the  rule  of  man's 
 conduct  through  life. 
 
 And  2ndly.  As  He  is  great — of  those  rites  and  ceremo- 
 nies with  wliich  He  desires  His  worshippers  to  approach 
 Him. 
 
 Hence  then  a  religion,  moral  and  ritual,  which  is  not 
 without  hope,  not  without  grandeur,  but  which  too  much 
 regards  particulars ;  which  dwells  less  upon  general  and 
 immutable  laws,  and  more  upon  those  of  custom,  or  expe- 
 dience, or  prejudice  ;  which  delights  in  non-essentials,  and 
 idolizes  its  peculiar  tenets ;  which  magnifies  differences, 
 especially  formal  ones;  and  which,  though  perhaps  tolerant, 
 is  exclusive  and  sectarian.  But  such  a  religion  is  also 
 hmnan  ;  it  is,  therefore,  progressive ;  it  advances  with 
 man's  mind,  and  daily  loses  some  Httleness ;  and  daily, 
 notwithstanding  all  opposition  of  interest  and  bigotry, 
 approaches  to  a  rational  and  universal  rehgion. 
 
 But,  again,  as  man's  eternal  happiness  or  misery  is 
 determined  by  liis  conduct  upon  earth,  so  the  character  of 
 that  happiness  or  misery  depends  upon  the  notions  which 
 he  entertains  of  the  soul's  nature.  Thus,  when  the  soul  is 
 sensual,  or  a  subtler  body  only,  the  heaven  or  hell  unagined 
 wiU  be  material  and  sensual  also,  though  the  man's  concep- 
 tions of  it  will  vary  according  to  the  tastes  and  habits  of 
 different  nations.  Such  was  the  heaven  of  the  ancient  Ger- 
 mans, the  inhabitants  of  which  were  to  gain  continued 
 victories,  and  feast  nightly  in  the  halls  of  Odin.^  Such  is 
 that,  also,  of  the  American  Indian,^  who  hopes  eternally 
 
 'In  Valhalla:  "  Der  Einlierrn  iiacli  Heim,  und  selzen  sich  alle 
 
 Zeitvertreib     wird   tiiglich    dieser  zuni  trinken  dahin,  wo  des  Odius 
 
 seyu.     Wenn  sie  sich  an  deni  Hy-  grosses  Herrnhaus  ist." — Edd.  xx 
 
 dromel  salt  getrunken,  und  alle  am  Parabel.  Schhnmellman. 
 
 Tage  bekleidet  seyn,  so  gehen  sie  ^  "  Concerning   the   religiou    in 
 
 zusammen   in    einen    Ziikel  und  these  parts  of  Canada,  even  among 
 
 in  einen  Garten  aus ;  sie  kampfen  the  savages,  we  find  some  tracks 
 
 sich,  und  sehen  ob  einer  den  andern  and     foot-prints     thereof,     which 
 
 niederlegen    und   besiegen    kann.  neither  the  dreadful  winters  have 
 
 So   bald   sie    aber    zum  Mittags-  quite    frozen    to  death,  nor  these 
 
 mahl  geruffen  werden,  so  lauffen  great  and  deep  waters  have  wholly 
 
 sie  geschwinde   alle  unbeschadigt  drowned,  but  that  some  shadowc 
 
70  CIIAPTEll   II. 
 
 to  hunt  iu  prairies  where  game  never  fails.  Such  that  of 
 several  Eastern  people,  who  dream  of  gardens,  cool  with 
 gentle  breezes,  and  beautiful  with  trees,  and  shrubs,  and 
 flowers,  and  ever  playing  fomitains.  And  such,  too,  that 
 of  the  Judaical  Christian,  who  revels  in  a  golden  city,  the 
 new  Jerusalem,  where  is  ever  heard  the  deep  chaunt 
 of  crowned  saints,  and  the  "  enchanting  ravishment"  of 
 seraphic  harps. 
 
 But  when  the  soul  of  man  is  animal  f  when  man  has 
 not  been  so  much  struck  by  the  differences,  as  the  similari- 
 ties, between  himself  and  the  animal  creation,  and  has 
 therefore  made  no  distinction  between  his  soul  and  the 
 soul  of  beasts ;  when  his  soul  is  life  merely,  independent 
 of  all  self-consciousness :  then,  as  he  must  grant,  if  he 
 would  be  consequent,  to  all  other  souls  the  same  immor- 
 tality he  claims  for  his  OAvn,  and  as  he  is  not  prepared 
 to  allow  to  inferior  creatures  the  same  merit  and  the  same 
 heaven''  as  to  himself:  he  will  either  imagine  a  grade 
 of  heavens,  each  allotted  to  particular  grades  of  excellence ; 
 or  he  will  have  recourse  to  a  succession  of  births  and 
 deaths,^  according  to  which,  the  souls  of  animals  inhabit  at 
 
 thereof  appeareth  in  these  shadows  gether  in  one  and  the  same  ereed, 
 
 of  men,  however  wilde  and  savage,  and  in   one  and  the  same  nation, 
 
 like  to  them  which  give  her  enter-  The  first  is  the  more  rude ;  it  is  the 
 
 Uiinment.     This   people  believeth,  mere  instinct  of  immortality  declar- 
 
 saith  Jaques  Cartier,  in  one,  which  ing  itself,  giving  itself  body,  shape, 
 
 they    call    Cudruaigni,   who,    say  The  seccmd  is  more  refined ;  man 
 
 they,  often  speaks  to  them,  and  tells  has    thought  a  little,  reasoned    a 
 
 them    what  weather   will    follow,  little ;  he  has  perceived  that  some 
 
 whether  good  or  bad.     Moreover,  part  of  him   is  perishable,  and  he 
 
 when  he  is  angry  with  them  he  casts  has  gone  on  abstracting  something, 
 
 dust  into  their  eyes.     They  believe  till  all  individual    immortality  is 
 
 that  when  they  die  they  go  into  the  destroyed. 
 
 stars,  and  thence  by  little  and  little  "  The  Mahommedans  have  cut 
 
 descend  downe   into  the  horizon,  the  Gordian  knot.    After  they  have 
 
 even  as  the  stars  doe,  after  which  called    up    and  judged  the  brute 
 
 they  goe  into  certaine  grcene  fields,  creation,  they  change  them  all  into 
 
 full  of  goodly   faire  and  precious  dust,  except'  the  dog  of  the  seven 
 
 trees,    and  flowers,  and  fruits." —  sleepers  and  Ezra's  ass,  which,  by 
 
 Purchas  his  Pilgnmage,  B.  viii,  c.  a  peculiar  fiivour,  are  admitted  into 
 
 iv,  p.  027.  paradise.— Sale's  Koran,  Prel.  Dis. 
 
 *  As  in  Ecclesiastes  (iii.  18,  22).  p.  119. 
 
 These  two  views  of  the  soul  may  ^  This  system  accordingly  pre- 
 
 very  well,  and  do  often,  co-c.\ist  to-  vailed  in  Egypt  (Herod,  vol.  ii,  p. 
 
CHAPTER   II.  71 
 
 length  the  bodies  of  men,  and  thence,  if  they  have  done  well, 
 are  removed  to  heaven,®  and,  if  evil,  are  sent  back  again  to 
 some  animal  form — to  the  system,  in  a  word,  of  metem- 
 psychosis, or,  more  properly,  of  metensomatosis.'  This 
 system  is,  however,  especially  faulty :  its  immortality  is 
 mere  perpetuity  of  existence;  an  immortality  of  the  soul, 
 and  not  of  the  person,  of  individual  life  broken  up  into 
 many  parts,  and  not  of  one  and  the  same  individual  con- 
 sciousness moulding  these  parts  into  one  continuous  whole. 
 
 Verses  8-14.  These  verses  contain  the  site  and  descrip- 
 tion of  the  garden  of  Eden.  They  present  to  us  the 
 habitable  world  as  a  large  plain  bounded  by  four  great 
 rivers,  which  had  their  source®  eastward,  in  Eden,  the 
 birth-place  of  the  human  race,  and  described  as  a  garden 
 containing  every  thing  that  could  satisfy  the  wants,  or 
 gratify  the  fancy  of  its  inhabitants. 
 
 For  Eden,  as  a  terrestrial  paradise,  we  may  find  parallels 
 in  the  splendid  fables  of  the  Greeks,''  the  enchanted  gardens 
 
 123;  and  Jablonski,  Pant.  iEgypt.        "^  Among  the    North  American 
 
 c.  ii) ;  also  among  the  Jews,  accord-  Indians  this  systerj  shows  itself  in 
 
 ing  to  Josephus  (De  Bel.  Jud.  lib.  its  simplest,  most   harmless,   and 
 
 ii;  and  Antiq. lib.  xviii,  c.  ii);  and  most  affectionate  form.     They,  ac- 
 
 still  prevails  among  the  Hindoos :  cording  to  Chateaubriand,  lay  the 
 
 "  The  Orientals    believe  that   the  dead  bodies  of  their  infants  near 
 
 vital  principle  in  animals  will  never  some  frequented  fountain,   in  the 
 
 die,  and  when  the  life  or  soul  has  hope  that  their  women  may  drink 
 
 separated  from  the  body,  it  is  said  in  the  fluttering  souls, 
 to  enter  into  and  animate  another."         ®  Thus,   in  the    Persian    sacred 
 
 — Roberts' Illust.  of  Scripture,  p.  2.  books,   the    fountain    Ardouisour, 
 
 ®  That  is,  those  who  have  done  "  The  Palace  of  Rivers,"  rising  in 
 
 well  in  the  highest  form  of  Huma-  the  midst  of  the  mountain  Albordj, 
 
 nity.  Thus,  in  the  Veda,  says  Wil-  is  carried  over  tlie  earth  in  a  thou- 
 
 kins,  note  ""*  to  the  Bhagavat,  "  it  is  sand  channels.  See  Neresch  Ardou- 
 
 declaredthatthesoulsofwomenand  isour,  Vendidad   Sade,  Ha  Ixviii, 
 
 of  the  inferior  brutes  are  doomed  to  vol.  i,  p.  246;  and  also  Boun-De- 
 
 transmigration  till  they  can  be  rege-  hesch,  vol.  ii,  p.  368,  §  xiii.  Zend, 
 
 nerated  in  the  body  of  a  Brahmin."  So  also  in  Chinese  mythology,  four 
 
 This   miserable    exclusiveness    is,  rivers    flow    from    the    mountain 
 
 however,  rejected  by  the  Bhagavat  Kouen-lun  to  the  four  quarters  of 
 
 itself:  "Those  men  who  may  be  of  the  world. — Prelim.  Dis.  to  Chou- 
 
 the  womb  of  sin,  women,  the  tribes  king,  p.  128,  by  De  Guignes. 
 of  Visya  and  Sudra,  shall  go  the         ^  The  gardens  of  the  Hesperides, 
 
 supreme  journey  if  they  take  sane-  the  Isle  of  Leuce,  ^c. 
 tuary  with  me." — Sect,  iv,  close. 
 
CHAPTER   II. 
 
 of  tlie  Chinese/  the  Eeriene-Veedjoo  of  the  Persians,'  and 
 the  holy  Meru'  of  the  Hindus.  With  man's  innocence 
 and  happiness  there,  we  may  compare  the  reigns  of  the 
 gods  and  demigods  in  Egypt  and   Phoenicia,"  of  Djem- 
 
 "  1  Au  milieu  du  sommet  de  la 
 montagne  Kouan-lun  est  un  jardin 
 oil  uu  doux  zephyr  souffle  sans 
 cesse  et  agite  les  feuilles  des  beaux 
 arbres  Tong,  dont  il  est  entoure. 
 Ce  jardin  enchante  est  place  aupres 
 de  la  povte  fermee  du  ciel :  les  eaux 
 qui  rarroscnt.  sent  la  source  jaune 
 qui  est  la  plus  elevee  et  la  plus 
 abondante,  elle  s'appelle  lafontaine 
 de  Vhnrnortalite ;  ceux  qui  en  boi- 
 venl  ne  meurent  plus.  Cette  fon- 
 tainc  se  divise  en  quatre  fieuves. 
 Ces  quatre  fleuves  sent  les  fon- 
 taines  du  Seigneur  Esprit  (Ty- 
 Chiu) ;  c'est  par  elles  qu'il  prepare 
 des  remedes  a  tout,"  &c.  Hoai-nan- 
 tsee  du  Paradis  Terrestre  des  Tas- 
 tsee. — Meni.Cliinoises,vol.i,p.  106. 
 The  Clian-hai-king  also  describes 
 this  garden,  but  with  a  difierence  : 
 "  On  y  trouve  tout  ce  qu'on  peut 
 desirer,  il  y  a  des  arbres  admirables 
 etdes  sources  merveilleuses. — II  est 
 appelle  le  jardin  ferine  et  cache,  le 
 jardin  suspendu,  le  doux  ouvrage 
 
 des  Heurs la  vie  est  sortie  de  la; 
 
 c'est  le  chemin  du  ciel,  mais,c'etoit 
 au  fruit  de  I'arbre  qu'etoit  attache 
 la  conservation  de  la  vie.'' — La 
 glose  le  nomme  Varhre  de  la  vie." 
 —Ibid. 
 
 ■  *  "  Ormuzd  dit  a Sapetman  Zoro- 
 aster: J'ai  donne,  O  Sapetman,  un 
 lieu  de  delices  et  d'abondance,  per- 
 sonne  n'en  peut  donner  un  pareil. 
 Ce  lieu  est  Eeriene-Veedjoo,  qui 
 etoit  plus  beau  que  le  nionde  entier 
 qui  existe  (par  ma  puissance).  Le 
 premier  lieu,  la  (premiere)  ville 
 semblable  au  Behescht  que  je 
 produisis,  moi  qui  suis  Ormuzd, 
 fut  Eeriene-Veedjoo,  donne  pur. 
 Kusuite  ce  Pcetiarc'-Ahriman  plein 
 de  mort  (it  dans  le  fleuvc  qui  arro- 
 soit  Eeriene-Vadjoo,  la  grarulecou- 
 
 leuvre  (mere)  de  I'hiver  donne  par 
 les  Dews  (i.  Fargard.  Vendidad. 
 Zend.  vol.  i,  p.  263)  This  Eeriene- 
 Veedjoo  is  also  called  Hedenesch 
 in  the  Boun-Dehesch ;  this,  with 
 the  great  serpent  that  destroys  its 
 beauty,  induced  me  to  suppose  it 
 might  be  the  same  as  Eden  ;  but  it 
 is  a  town,  and  not  a  garden ;  and 
 the  first  habitation  of  the  Persian 
 people,  and  not  that  of  Meschia 
 and  Meschiane,  the  Adam  and  Eve 
 of  the  Zend-Avesta. 
 
 ^  "There  is  a  fair  and  stately 
 mountain,  and  its  name  is  Meroo.  a 
 most  exalted  mass  of  glory,  reflect- 
 ing the  sunny  rays  from  the  splendid 
 surface  of  its  gilded  horns.  It  is 
 clothed  in  gold,  and  is  the  respected 
 haunt  of  Dews  and  Gandharvas. 
 It  is  inconceivable,  and  not  to  be 
 encompassed  by  sinful  man  ;  and 
 it  is  guarded  by  dreadful  serpents. 
 Many  celestial  medicinal  plants 
 adorn  its  sides,  and  it  stands  pierc- 
 ing the  heavens  with  its  aspiring 
 summit, — a  mighty  hill,  inaccessi- 
 ble even  to  the  human  mind !  It 
 is  adorned  with  trees  and  pleasant 
 streams,  and  resoundeth  with  the 
 delightful  songs  of  birds."  From 
 the  Mahabharat,  by  Wilkins,  notes 
 to  Bhagavat,  p.  146;  and  see,  also, 
 Wilford  on  the  Nile,  Asiatic  Re- 
 searches, vol.  iii.  p.  200 ;  and  an 
 account  of  the  four  paradises  of 
 India  and  their  different  joys,  in 
 Dubois  Moeurs  des  Indes,  vol.  ii, 
 p.  414. 
 
 ■*  From  Egypt  and  Phenicia  are,  I 
 presume,  borrowed  the  "  Saturnia 
 Regna"  of  Greece.  Then  men 
 lived  happy  as  the  gods ;  without 
 care,  without  labour,  ever  young, 
 in  continued  enjoyment.  Vide 
 Hesiod's  0pp.  p.  109  et  seq. 
 
CHAPTER    II.  73 
 
 schid^  in  Persia,  the  Age  of  Virtue"  in  China,  and  the 
 "  Saturnia  Regna,"  the  Golden  Age,  of  Greece.  But  Eden, 
 as  both  the  paradise  of  the  trees  of  life  and  knowledge, 
 and  the  birth-place  and  nursery  of  mankind,  stands  alone, 
 and  exists  only  in  the  mythology  of  the  Hebrews. 
 
 In  Eden  grows  every  tree  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good 
 for  food.  In  the  first  chapter,  man's  first  food  was  of  fruit 
 and  herbs  bearing  seed;  in  this,  it  seems  to  have  been  of 
 fruit  alone.  And,  if  we  consider:  on  the  one  side,  the 
 agreeable  flavour  of  fruit,  and  the  ease  with  wliich  it 
 may  in  general  be  obtained :  and,  on  the  other,  the  nature 
 of  corn,  which  nowhere  grows  in  any  abundance  without 
 cultivation,  and  which,  to  be  edible,  requires  some,  and,  to 
 be  pleasant  and  leholesome,  considerable,  preparation:  we 
 may  safely  conclude,  that  man  originally  lived  on  fruit,  and 
 any  succulent  roots,  and  that  hunger  and  necessity  alone 
 first  drove  him  to  taste  corn ;  and  that  much  observation 
 and  long  experience  were  requisite  to  teach  him  its  supe- 
 rior qualities  as  an  article  of  food. 
 
 "The  tree  of  life."  In  the  legends  ^  of  the  Chinese,  we 
 hear  sometimes  of  a  fountain  of  immortality,  at  others,  of  a 
 tree  of  life.  And  in  the  heaven  of  Indra,  so  the  Hindu 
 mythology  teaches,  is  "  a  tree  Avhich  sprang  from  the  Amur- 
 
 ^  Vide  Fargard  ii ;  Vend.  vol.  i,  d'eux-memes.      L'homme  liabitoit 
 
 p.  271,  Zend.  Then:  "  II  n'y  avoit  au  milieu  desbetes,runiveisn'etoit 
 
 aucun  clief,  de  loin  ni  de  pres,  qui  qu'une  I'aiuille.      On   cultivoit  la 
 
 commandat    avec    durete ;   il   n'y  vertu  sans  le  secours  de  la  science 
 
 avoit  ni  mendiant,    ni    imposteur  ....rien  ne  pouvoit  etre  funeste  ni 
 
 qui  portat  au  culte  des  Dews ;  ni  donner  la  mort.    Quoique  I'liomme 
 
 ennemi  cache,  ni  homme  violent,  eu  des  connoissances,  il  n'avoit  pas 
 
 ni  dent  cruelle.  On  n'y  separoit  pas  occasion  d'en  faire  usage." — Me- 
 
 les  bommes  les  uns  des  autres.  Les  moires  Chinoises,  vol.  i,  p.  177.  The 
 
 femmes  n'y  etoient  pas  sujettes  aux  author  of  the  tract, "  sur  I'Antiquite 
 
 terns    critiques    dont  Ahriman    a  des  Chinois,"  from  which   this  is 
 
 '  le  genre  humain." — P.  176.  taken,    asserts   that   Tchoang-tsee 
 
 Thus  described  by  Tchoang-  lived  before  Yao.   Unless  the  trans- 
 
 tsee  :  "  Tout  croissit  partout  de  soi-  lator  has  paraphrased  the  words  of 
 
 meme.    On  etoit  partout  chez  soi;  his  author,  the  style  is  a  very  extra- 
 
 les  animaux   assembles    en   trou-  ordinary  one  for  that  age.  Compare 
 
 peaux,   erroient  ^a  et  la  dans  la  it  with  the  conversational  and  dra- 
 
 campagne  ;    les    oiseaux   voloient  matic  tone  of  the  Kings. 
 en  troupes  de  tons  cotes,  et  tons         "^  See  note ',  page  72. 
 les   fruits   de    la   terre   naissoient 
 
74 
 
 CHAPTER    II. 
 
 nam,  which  was  churned  by  the  gods;  and  those  in  the 
 heavenly  world,  who  eat  of  its  fruit,  have  immortality,  and 
 whatsoever  they*  desire."  The  Zend,  too,  tells  us  of  a 
 tree  growing  in  the  fountain  Ardouisour,  the  white  horn, 
 the  juice  of  which  gives  immortality,  while  its  touch,  at 
 the  resurrection,  will  render  life  to  the  dead.^  These 
 fountains  of  immortality,  these  trees  of  life,  I  cannot, 
 however,  a  moment  compare  with  the  tree  in  Eden ;  they 
 are  hke  the  dreams  of  poets,  or  of  alchymists  ;  they 
 but  express  the  heart's  wishes,  perhaps  its  hopes,  while  this 
 appears  as  an  historical  fact,  to  which  are  knit  the  misery 
 and  misfortimes  of  mankind.' 
 
 *  Roberts,  Illustrations  of  Scrip- 
 tures, p.  5 ;  and  Mceurs  des  Indes, 
 Dubois,  vol.  ii,  p.  425.  According 
 to  the  Oupnekhat:  "  In  illo  Para- 
 diso  duo  fluvii  magni  sunt;  et 
 illud  stagnum  Kothr  plenum  e 
 vino  est,  illo  modo(tali)  vino,  quod, 
 (|uicun(|ue  illud  comedit  (bibit)  in 
 Ireto  statu  ebrius  efficiatur;  et  in 
 illo  Paradiso  arbor  (pilpd)  est, 
 quod  ab  ilia  aqua  vitas  stellat."— 
 Duperron's Translation,  vol.i,  p.  85. 
 
 *  "  Pres  de  ces  arbres  est  le  Horn 
 blanc  qui  donne  la  sante,  qui  fait 
 con5evoir,il  croit  dans  la  source  de 
 I'eau  Ardouissour.  Quiconque  en 
 boira  (du  jus)  de  cet  (arbre)  ne 
 niourra  pas".  On  I'appelle  I'arbre 
 Gokeren,  comme  il  est  dit:  Le  Horn 
 qui  eloigne  la  mort,  a  la  resurrec- 
 tion rendra  la  vie  aux  raorts." — 
 Boiin-Deliesch,  vol.  ii,  §  xxvii,  p. 
 404,  Zend.  This  Horn,  this  tree 
 of  Life,  like  the  tree  in  Eden,  is  to 
 be  found  in  Paradise  alone.  There 
 the  resemblance  ends.  The  Hum 
 receives  its  name  and  power  from 
 H(nn,  its  preserving  Spirit;  from 
 lloni,  the  \vor.shipper  of  Ormuzd; 
 liie  (irst  who  revealed  his  life  and 
 health-giving  law  to  man;  from 
 Horn,  physician  and  priest;  "  Hoin, 
 great  and  victorious,  and  Ijcautiful; 
 the  fount  of  health  and  plenty;  the 
 king  who  treads  evil  under  loot, 
 'tnd    aniiiliilates   ihc    Daruudj."- 
 
 Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  301.  The  virtues 
 of  the  tree  Hom  are  derived,  and 
 seem  but  symbolical  of  him  to 
 whom  it  is  consecrated ;  while 
 those  of  the  Tree  of  Life  in  Eden 
 are  its  natural  property.  With  the 
 Hom  juice  of  the  Parsis,  Von  Boh- 
 len  compares  the  Kusa-grass  and 
 Soma-plant  of  the  Hindoos. 
 
 '  To  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  I 
 know  no  parallel ;  for  I  cannot 
 compare  with  it  that  Well  of  Wis- 
 dom in  the  Northern  Mythology, 
 from  which  even  the  Universal 
 Father,  Odin  himself,  deigns  to 
 drink,  and  whence  the  all-knowing 
 Mimer,  draws  his  science.  Under 
 the  roots  of  the  great  Ash-tree, 
 whose  boughs  extend  through  the 
 world  and  reach  to  heaven  :  "  1st 
 die  Quelle  Mimis,  in  welcher  die 
 Weisheit  verborgen  ist.  Der  Herr 
 von  diesem  Brunnen  heist  INIimer. 
 Er  ist  mit  aller  Art  der  Weisheit 
 iil)erschwenglich  erfullt;  weil  er 
 alle  Morgen  das  Wasscr  aus  dicser 
 Quelle,  durch  die  Giallhorn  trinket. 
 Eines  Tages  kam  der  All-Vater, 
 und  bath  sich  einen  Trunk  davon 
 aus,  aber  er  konnte  es  nicht  eher 
 erlangen,  bis  er  eines  von  seinen 
 Augen  zum  Pfande  gesetzt.  Wie 
 denn  davon  in  der  Voluspii  also 
 gesagtist:  Odin!  Odin!  wo  hast  du 
 dcin  eines  Auge  gelassen  ?  ist  es 
 nicht  in  der  reinen  Mimis-Quelle? 
 
CHAPTER  ir.  75 
 
 Verses  15-17.  In  Eden,  with  his  wants  al)undantly 
 supplied,  and  with  an  occupation  at  once  his  duty  and  liis 
 delight — in  itself  sufficient  to  make  of  any  barren  heath  a 
 paradise — that  man  was  happy  I  can  well  conceive.  He 
 was  happy — no  contemptible  blessing  as  the  world  goes ; — 
 but  his  happiness  I  see  no  reason  to  adorn  with  those  high 
 moral  and  intellectual  qualities  wdiich  we  are  so  eager 
 to  heap  on  our  first  great  ancestor.''  I  find  no  trace  of 
 them  in  the  story.  On  the  contrary,  the  duties  assigned 
 him  there, — and  as  they  are  assigned  him  by  God,  they 
 surely  are  the  true  measure  of  his  powers'* — are  simple, 
 cliildlike.  Examine,  for  instance,  the  one  prohibitory 
 command,  by  the  observance  of  which,  man  holds  liis 
 tenure  of  life  and  happiness :  is  it  not  one  which  demands 
 simple  obedience  merely,  and  wliich  enforces  that  obedi- 
 ence by  the  threat  of  punislmaent  ?  is  it  not  just  such 
 an  one  as  a  father  would  impose  upon  his  child,  who  knew 
 not  good  and  evil,  and  with  whom,  as  no  reasons  were 
 valid,  punishment  alone  could  avail  ?  Does  it  not  show  man 
 to  have  been  ignorant  as  well  as  innocent  ?  or,  rather,  does 
 it  not  make  man's  innocence  to  depend  upon  his  ignorance  ? 
 
 But  if  man  was  thus  ignorant  of  good  and  evil,  hoAV 
 could  God  threaten  him  with  punishment  ?  For  with  the 
 conception  of  a  punishment  is  involved  the  idea  of  some 
 evil :  and  the  very  threat  of  punislmient,  therefore,  when 
 rational,  presupposes  in  the  being  threatened  with  it,  a 
 capacity  to  choose  between,  and  consequently  a  knowledge 
 of,  good  and  evil ; — how,  then,  can  that  knowledge  be  said 
 to  have  been  attached  to  the  fruit  of  the  fatal  tree  ? 
 
 Alle  Mortren  kehret  Mimer  in  dem  who  has  the  time  to  waste  I  refer 
 
 siissen    Hydromel,    dieses   theure  to     Bayle,      Arts.     Adam,     Eve; 
 
 Pfand    um,    und    schmecket    den  D'Herbelot,     Bib.     Orient.,     Art. 
 
 Meth,  weil  das  theure  Pfand  darin  Adam  ;   Eisenraenger    Entdecktes 
 
 ist." — Edd.  viii,  Parab.  Schimmel-  Judenthum,    lib.    xlviii,    p.  365 ; 
 
 man.  Barto'.occ.  Bib.  Rab.  vol.  i,  p.  65, 
 
 '  It  would  be  easy  to  fill  many  78. 
 
 pages   with   the    extravagant  and  ^  Unless,  indeed,  like  the  Chinese, 
 
 absurd  conjectures  on  which  various  (see  note  ^,  p.  73,  infra)  we  give  him 
 
 divines,  from   the  Rabbins  down-  a  knowledge  and  a  power  of  which 
 
 wards,  have  ventured.      But  why  he  has  no  need, 
 waste  time  on  these  follies  ?     Him 
 
76  CHAPTER    II. 
 
 Again,  the  punishment  with  which  man  is  threatened  is 
 death.  "  Thou  shalt  surely  die."  What  ?  have  we,  a 
 priori,  a  conception  of  death  ?  Can  we  know  what  death 
 is  but  by  seeing  its  effects  ?  One  of  two  things,  then, 
 — either  the  Deity,  if  He  spake  intelligibly  to  Adam, 
 revealed  to  him  what  death  was:  or  Adam  had  seen 
 animals  die.  In  the  latter  case,  (the  most  probable,  for  the 
 former  supposes  revelation  upon  revelation),  death  was 
 not  excluded  from  paradise.  Already,  bird,  beast,  or 
 creeping  thing,  had  been  seen  by  man,  lifeless,  motionless. 
 Already  death  had  appeared  an  object  of  terror,  and  not, 
 therefore,  as  a  calm  and  eternal  sleep,  but  attended  with 
 all  the  convulsions  of  pain,  and  followed  by  a  putrid  rotten- 
 ness. Already,  then,  death  had  taught  man  the  pain  of 
 disgust, — and  even  in  paradise  he  had  fears. 
 
 But  again  this  command  is  also  indicative  of  our^  author's 
 notions  of  the  Deity.  And,  as  it  is  not  a  moral  command ; 
 as  it  is  no  way  linked  to  any  of  those  great  laws  which, 
 though  perhaps  not  clearly  seen,  nor  even  divined,  are  the 
 basis  of  man's  moral  life,  it  is  not  the  command  of  a  purely 
 moral  God,  i.  e.  of  one  before  whom  all  moral,  is  the 
 highest,  excellence.  And,  as  it  is  a  command  substantiated 
 by  no  possible  reason ;  as  it  stands  before  us  like  Gessler's 
 hat,  or  Caligula's  horse,  to  be  bowed  to,  obeyed,  as  one 
 of  those  whuns  and  caprices  with  which  mere  power  frets 
 and  tortures,  or  asserts  its  superiority  over  those  who  are 
 subject  to  its  will ;""  it  is  the  command,  I  will  not  say,  of 
 
 *  Throughout,    I    rep;ard   these  betriichtlicher  Anzabl  zu  besuchen 
 
 books  as  human  productions:   did  bekam,  hat  er  gefundcn,  dass  die 
 
 I  view  them  as  divine,  I  should  no  meisten  von  dem  Vorurtheile  ein- 
 
 more  dare  to  criticise  them  than  I  f^enommen  waren,  dass  die  Gesetze 
 
 do   the   threat  book   of  providence  Gottes    sich    bloss    auf    absolute 
 
 shewn  us  in  the  fate  and  fortunes  Gewalt   griinden,   Gott  nur  nach 
 
 of  mankind,  and  in  our  own  lives,  Gewalt    und   willki'ikrlichen    Ein- 
 
 in  every  pap;c  of  which  we  so  dis-  fallen     handle,     und    weder    von 
 
 tinctly   trace   the   linger  of    God,  Weisheit  noch  Giite  geleitet  werde, 
 
 that  we  never  raise  a  cry  against  sie  f(dp;lich  nicht  wider  ein  reines 
 
 the  justice  of  events  which  wc  un-  moralisches  Princip,  sondern  wider 
 
 derstand  not.  ein  unerbittliches  Muss  oesiindigt 
 
 ^  I  must  own  that  the   expcri-  hiitten,  und  daher  ihr  Verbrechen 
 
 encc  of  Boysen  no  way  surprises  und  Strafen  als  ZufoU  und  Ver- 
 
 me:  "  lici  Ucbelthatern,  die  or  in  haniiniss  bctrachten  miisstcn,  dcm 
 
CHAPTER    II.  77 
 
 an  irrational  God,  but  of  one  whose  laws  are  not  necessary 
 and  universal,  and  who  is  himself  an  individual  and 
 limited,  rather  than  a  rational  and  universal,  being. 
 
 Verses  18,19.  The  fowls  of  the  air,  here  formed  out  of  earth, 
 are,  in  the  first  chapter,  said  to  be  the  production  of  water. 
 And  the  creation  of  anmials,  which  there  precedes,  and  is  in- 
 dependent of  that  of  man,  inhere  posterior  to,  and  consequent 
 upon  it.  In  both  chapters,  however,  dominion  is  given  to 
 man ;  in  the  first  expressly,  in  the  second,  by  implication 
 only,  God  brings  the  animal  creation  to  Adam,  "to  see  what 
 he  would  call  them,  and  whatsoever  Adam  called  every 
 living  creature,  that  was  the  name  thereof." 
 
 "  Adam."  The  word,  which  our  translators  have  ren- 
 dered Adam,  some  commentators  suppose  not  to  be  a 
 proper  name,^  but  merely  the  generic  term  man,  which, 
 with  the  article  he  prefixed  to  it,  an  article  never  found 
 with  proper  names  in  Hebrew,  signifies,  "  the  man."  Its 
 root,  according  to  Josephus,  means  red-coloured;"  Michaelis 
 and  Bruns,'  however,  conceive  that  a  dark-brown  or  olive 
 is  rather  intended  by  it,  and  that  it  alludes  to  the  supposed 
 complexion  of  the  first  man,  or  rather  to  the  complexion  of 
 the  people  among  whom  this  fragment  originated. « 
 
 nicht      auszuweichen      gewesen."  was  formed  out  of  red  caly,  while 
 
 Boysen's   Lebensbescreibung,   Re-  the  sallow  Chinese  knead  him  out 
 
 cesion. — Getting.  Bib.  Theol.  Lit.  of  yellow  earth.     See  note  ^  p.63. 
 
 V.  Schleusner  and  Staiidlin,  vol.  ii,  We  may  observe,   also,  that  in 
 
 pp.  417,418.     And  what,  after  all,  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  sort  of  pun 
 
 is  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy,  but  a  on    the    creation    of    man  —  God 
 
 morality    founded    on    the    same  formed    Adam     out    of   Adamah. 
 
 views  of  God?  Either  then,  the  name  of  the  first 
 
 '^  K crra  yXajTravE/Spatd^f, TTiippoc,  man  known,  may  have  led  to  the 
 
 iTrtiSrjTnp    a-Ko    TrjQ    vvppag    yjje  legend  of  the  matter  of  which  man 
 
 (huparrOsimiQ   tyeyovei. — Jos.  Antiq.  was  formed,  or  the  supposed  matter 
 
 book  i,  §  ii ;  and  see  other  explana-  of  which  the  man  was  formed  to 
 
 tions  given  to  the  name  in  Glossii  his   name.     We   find   exactly   the 
 
 Philol.  Sac.  C.  de  Ling.  Hebraic,  same  thing  in  northern  mythology : 
 
 p.  514.  the  first  pair  were  made  out  of  the 
 
 ■^  Bruns   iiber   d.  altest.   Sagen  branches  of  two  trees  by  the  gods ; 
 
 und  Entsteh.  d.  Mensch. — Paulus  vide  v.  d.  Hagens  Nordische  Hel- 
 
 Neues  Reper.  fiir  Biblisch.  Lit.  vol.  den,    vol.   v;    Noma   Gests-Saga, 
 
 ii,  p.  202.  chap.  v.   p.   139,  note.     And   the 
 
 *  Vide  Bruns,  ut  supra.  Thus  the  Edda  thus  recounts  their  creation  ; 
 
 red  Indians  will  have  it  that  man  "  After  the  sons  of  Bor  had  formed 
 
78  CHAPTER    II. 
 
 Verse  20.  "Then  Adam  gave  names  to  all  cattle."  Though 
 the  invention  of  names  is  by  the  Chinese  ascribed  as  a  high 
 honour  to  the  first  and  most  revered  of  their  sovereigns, 
 Fo-hi^,  and  was,  by  some  of  the  ancient  philosophers,* 
 regarded  as  an  evidence  of  the  highest  wisdom, — it  seems 
 to  me  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  necessary  results  of  the 
 power,  possessed  by  a  rational  creature,  of  producing  arti- 
 culate sounds.  For  children,  we  find,  instinctively  give 
 names  to  the  objects  which  most  interest  them.  We 
 know,  too,  that  while  man  may  by  cries  and  signs  make 
 known  his  wants  and  affections,  he  is  wholly  unable  to 
 denote  to  others  any  external  object,  not  immediately 
 present,  but  by  some  common  and  intelligible  word.''  The 
 course  of  nature,  therefore,  and  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
 seem  to  show  us  that  names  were  man's  first  essays  in 
 speech,  and  that  to  these  were  in  time  added  those  words 
 which  express  passion  or  affection, — verbs.  The  materials 
 of  language  were  then  within  his  grasp ;  but  who  shall  say 
 how  many  generations  must  have  passed  away  ere  he 
 learned  to  bind  these  materials  together — ere  he  was  able 
 to  build  them  up  into  phrases  ?  and  how  many  other  gene- 
 rations, ere  these  phrases,  necessarily  so  uncouth  and  cum- 
 bersome in  their  origin,  could,  by  the  use  of  inflexions, 
 or  the  addition  of  particles,  be  filed  down  and  polished 
 
 earth,  sea,  and  sky,  out  of  the  body  se  et  le  Vaiki  que  dans  I'antiquite 
 
 of  the  giaut  Ymer,  '  Sie  gingen  les  hommes  se  cachoient  au  fond 
 
 eintsmals  am  Ufer  spatziren,  und  des  antrcs  etpeuploient  les  deserts; 
 
 fanden   zwey  Holzer,  die  nahmen  qu'ils    vivoient    en    societe     avec 
 
 sie    in    die  Hande   und  machten  toutes    les   creatures;   et   que    ne 
 
 daraus  Menschcn,  eincnMann  Ask,  pensant  pas  a  faire  aucuu  nial  aux 
 
 und  Einen    Weibchen,  Embla.'"  betes,  celles-ce  ne  songeoient  pas  a 
 
 (v.  Paraljcl,  Schimmelnian's  trans.)  les  offenser,"   (Chou-king,  par  de 
 
 Mone  (in  his  Gesch.  des  Heiden-  Guignes,  Pref.   p.  82),  \.  e.   man 
 
 thums   in    nord.    Europa,   vol.   i,  lived  a  beast  among  beasts. 
 
 §  Ixiv,  p.  M2)  explains  these  names  '  Fohi,  according  to  the  Chinese, 
 
 of  the  first  pair: ''/l.s/er" as "i?4cA<?,"  first   gives    names  to  plants  and 
 
 ash;  and,  "  Emhla"   as   "  ^7/fr,"  animals. 
 
 al'ler.  a  "  Qui   primus    nomina,    quod 
 
 9  Man  lived  therefore  in  innocent  sunimae  sapientias  Pythagora?  visum 
 
 fellowship  with  the  beasts  of  the  est,  omnibus   rebus   imposuit?"— 
 
 field.     Such,  at   his   origin,  he  is  Cicero  Tusc.  Qua;st ,  lee.  i,  §  xxv. 
 
 described  in  sjme  of  the  Chinese  ="  The  making  the  object  known, 
 
 legends.     "  II  est  dit  dans  le  Lou-  by  drawing  it,  is   put"  out  of  the 
 
CHAPTER    II, 
 
 79 
 
 into  more  courtly  and  serviceable  proportions  i  and, 
 arrived  at  this,  how  far  is  man  even  yet  from  those 
 formulary  expressions,  those  abstract  terms,"  into  which 
 are  crowded  and  condensed  whole  volumes  of  thought  ? 
 Our  histories  of  language,  like  our  histories  of  mankind, 
 beoin  in  the  middle. 
 
 Verses  21-25.  This  myth  (relating  to  the  creation 
 of  woman),  while  it  accounts  for,  seems  to  rest  upon, 
 certain  Hebrew  idioms.  Thus  woman  derives  her  name 
 from  man,  because  she  was  taken  out  of  man ;  and 
 the  wife  is  said  to  be  bone  of  her  husband's  bone,  and 
 flesh  of  his  flesh,  because  the  first  woman  was  made  of  the 
 first  man's  rib.  Would  it  not,  however,  be  more  rational 
 to  presume  that  the  idioms  and  the  etymologies  are  the 
 origin  of,  and  fully  account  for,  the  myth  ?  That  because 
 the  word  Soha  (woman),  was  derived  from  Soh  (man), 
 that,  therefore  (and  the  reasoning*  is  quite  in  accordance 
 
 question,  as  beloHginc^  to  a  later 
 and  more  advanced  state  of  society. 
 
 "*  Terms  with  which  many  na^ 
 tions  are  yet  unacquainted  :  "  La 
 langue  de  "Perou,"  says  Condamine, 
 "  manque  de  termes  pour  exprimer 
 les  idees  universelles,  preuve  e^i- 
 dente  du  pen  de  progres  qu'ont  fait 
 les  esprits  de  ces  peuples.  Temps, 
 duree,  espace,  etre,  substance,  ma- 
 tiere,  corps,  tons  ces  mots  et  beau- 
 coup  d'autres  n'ont  pas  d'equiva- 
 lent  dans  leurslangues  ;  non-seule- 
 ment  les  noms  des  etres  metaphy- 
 siques,  mais  ceux  des  etres  moraux 
 ne  peuvent  se  rendre  chez  eux 
 qu'imparfaitementet  par  delougues 
 periphrases.  II  n'y  a  pas  demot 
 propre  qui  reponde  exactement  a 
 ceux  de  vertu,  justice,  liberte,  re- 
 connoissance,  ingratitude." — Voy. 
 a  la  Riv.  des  Amazons. 
 
 *  Several  instances  of  tales 
 founded  upon  names,  and  after- 
 wards related  to  account  for  those 
 names,  are  given  in  Pashley's  Tra- 
 vels in  Crete  ;  see  also  the  Theseus 
 and  Romulus  of  Plutarch.  Several, 
 
 too,  may  be  found  in  the  Edda, 
 Parabel  xviii  (Schimmelman's 
 Translation).  One,  which  accounts 
 for  a  name  given  to  the  wrist,  I 
 shall  subjoin  :  "  Es  geschahe  ein- 
 stens  dass  die  Aeser  den  Wolff 
 Fenris  an  sich  locken  woUten,  um, 
 dass  sie  ihn  mit  dem  Fuss-eisen, 
 Gleipner,  gutwillig  binden  mogten; 
 aber,  als  er  Ihnen  nicht  trauen 
 wollte,  weil  er  glaubte,  dass,  wenn 
 sie  ihn  einmal  gebunden  und  ge- 
 fasset  batten,  sie  ihn  nicht  so  wieder 
 frey  wiirden  davon  gehen  lassen; 
 und  daher,  jemandes  Hand  in  sei- 
 nen  Racben  als  einen  Unterpfand 
 gestickt  haben  wolte ;  so  war  dieser 
 Gott  Tyr  so  tapfer  und  grosmiithig 
 dass  e  r  ihn  die  rechte  Hand  zum 
 Pfand  in  den  Racheu  steckte  ;  und 
 da  die  Aeser  den  gefesselten  Wolff 
 Fenris  nicht  wieder  losketten 
 wollten,  so  bis  ihm  der  Wolff 
 Fenris  die  eine  Hand  ab  an  dem 
 Ort  der  bis  diese  Stunde  Wolffs- 
 Lidur  heist." — Parab.  xiv.  And 
 see  also  the  account  of  the  Indian 
 Deluge,  from   the  Padma   Purana 
 
80 
 
 CHAPTER   11. 
 
 with  the  views  of  an  infant  and  wonder-loving  people), 
 the  woman  was  said  to  have  been  taken  out  of  man  ?  and, 
 because  the  wife  left  her  lather's  house,  and  became  one 
 family  with  her  husband,  because  she  was  considered  (as 
 among  the  Hindus  at  this  day®)  as  his  half, — as  liis  side, — 
 flesh  of  his  flesh ;  that,  therefore,  the  woman  was  said 
 to  have  been  formed  of  the  rib  of  the  man?^ 
 
 If  now  we  compare  this  myth  with  the  corresponding 
 narrative  in  the  first  chapter,  we  find,  that  there  man 
 and  woman  are  created  simultaneously,  and  then  sent 
 forth  to  increase  and  multiply,  i.  e.  to  fulfil  one  of  the 
 animal  laws  of  their  species  ;  and,  liere,  that  the  woman  is 
 created  for  the  man, — but  created  for  him,  not  as  the  slave 
 of  his  will,  an  instrument  of  his  pleasures,  but  as  his  help- 
 meet, his  companion,  his  equal ;  she  is  created  to  stand  by 
 the  side  of  man, — a  wife,*  i.  e.  that  the  law  of  the  species 
 is  here  limited,  and  becomes  a  law  to  the  individual. 
 
 His  instincts  urge  man  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  desires, 
 and  in  the  satisfaction  of  them  he  finds  enjoyment ;  but, 
 
 (in  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i  p. 
 230),  and  of  the  birth  of  Sagara  and 
 the  etymology  of  his  name,  in  the 
 Ramayuna,  vol.i,  taken  from  Rhode 
 ii.  rel.  Bildung  d.  Hindus,  vol.  i, 
 p.  168. 
 
 "  See  Digest  of  Hindoo  Law,  vol. 
 iii,  p.  458.  The  same  idea  must  have 
 prevailed  among  the  Persians  (vide 
 their  account  of  the  origin  of  Man, 
 c.  ii,  note  ^,  p.  (53),  and  also  among 
 all  those  nations  with  whom  the 
 first  man  was  androginc ;  an  opi- 
 nion adopted  by  Plato  in  his  Syra- 
 posion,  vol.  X,  p.  2()0,  Bipont. 
 
 '  In  the  Oupnekhat,  vol.  ii,  chap, 
 cxlviii,  p.  294,  is  a  legend  (the 
 names  of  its  personages  are  very 
 evidently  not  Indian,  but  Perso- 
 Mahometan)  which  speaks  of  the 
 creation  of  woman  not  very  dissi- 
 milarly from  (I'cucsis.  After  hav- 
 ing routed  the  Djcniare,  or  devils, 
 ihe  Feresclitehha,  or  angels,  did 
 not  give  to  Brahmc  the  glory  of  the 
 victory.    Brahmc,  to  bring  them  to 
 
 a  true  sense  of  their  weakness,  puts 
 on  the  form  of  Adam  (cum  figura 
 mirabile  tov  Adam  apparens  fuit), 
 and  puzzles  the  Fereschtehha  by 
 his  questions.  They  address  them- 
 selves to  Andr,  their  king.  But 
 Adam  hides  away,  and  Andr  in 
 his  place  finds  a  woman,  (quod 
 nomen  ejus  Adama  fuit) ;  and 
 afterwards  we  are  informed  that 
 Brahme,  "  quod  cum  figura  Adam 
 (hominis  mirandi  apparens  fuerat, 
 et  e  voiitione  ejus  ?';  Adama  pro- 
 ducta  reddita  fuerat." 
 
 ^  The  Chinese  make  Fou-hi  the 
 inventor,  not  of  marriage  exactly, 
 but  of  the  marriage  ceremonies, 
 "  Avant  Fou-hi  il  n'y  avoit  point  de 
 mariage  determine;  il  etablit  une 
 maniere  de  contracter  cette  union 
 et  des  ceremonies  pour  constater  la 
 realite.  II  assigna  a  chacun  des 
 epoux  des  devoirs  particuliers  a 
 reraplir,  et  par  ces  moyens  il  etablit 
 des  regies  de  beinseance  et  des 
 ma-urs." — Mem.  Chin.  vol.  iii.  p.  9. 
 
CHAPTER    II. 
 
 81 
 
 from  experience,  he  learns,  that  to  ensure  a  continued  well- 
 being,  he  must  enjoy  moderately;  that  he  must  not  so 
 nmch  press  his  desires,  as  be  pressed  by  them,  to  enjoy- 
 ment ;  and,  from  reason,  that  these  his  desires  must  not  at 
 all  interfere,  or  interfere  the  least  possible,  with  the 
 desires  of  others.  His  conduct  in  life,  then,  is  determined 
 by  \^^s physical,  prudential,  and  rational,  and  it  is  his  duty 
 to  find  the  harmony  of  these  laws.  But  that  harmony,  when 
 found,  constitutes  the  code  of  Humanity,  the  code  of  God 
 to  man ;  and  to  facilitate  the  observance  of  its  several  pre- 
 cepts is,  or  should  be,  the  chief  end  and  object  of  the 
 machinery  of  civil  society.  Now  all  the  conditions  of  tliis 
 human  or  divine  code,  in  so  far  as  the  sexual  instincts 
 are  concerned,  society  has  satisfied  by  the  institution  of 
 marriage.^  Marriage  then,  speaking  generally,  is  advan- 
 tageous to  the  individual,  not  only  because  it  renders 
 him  a  happier,  but  also  because  it  makes  him  a  better,  man.^ 
 For,  if  forgetting  that  self-denial  and  self-command  are 
 but  means,  the  man  seek  to  stifle  the  demands  and 
 instincts  of  nature:  if  he  shut  himself  up  in  an  ascetic  or 
 religious  morality  :^  then  (and  I  suppose  him  a  man  of 
 inflexible  purpose)  the  never-failing  watchfidness  which  he 
 must  keep  over  himself,  the  continued  self-restraint  to 
 which  he  is  a  slave,  give  to  his  character  a  harshness 
 and  rigidity  which  gradually  unfit  hmi  for  the  sympathies 
 of  social  life.  He  lives  alone,  unloving  and  unloved  ;  soured 
 in  temper,  he  broods  over  his  systems,  till  they  become  a 
 
 ^  Marriage,  as  it  exists  in  Chris-  book  of  God  before  his  eyes,  the 
 tian  countries,  without  deteruii-  luxurious  forms  of  fair  women 
 ning,  however,  how  far,  and  on  trouble  his  attention,  dreams  at 
 what  grounds,  the  marriage  con-  night  torment  him  -,  he  may  be  con- 
 tract is,  or  «^oitW  6e,  dissoluble,  tinent,  but  he  is  unchaste.     What 
 
 1  If,  generally,  marriage  does  then  is  the  fate  of  those  whom  fear, 
 not  effect  all  this,  we  may  rest  as-  or  a  thousand  other  causes,  compel 
 sured  that  there  is  some  v"ice  in  the  to  abstinence?. ..The  abnormal  de- 
 machinery  of  society,  which  should  velopments  of  the  sexual  instinct  it 
 be  diligently  looked  for,  and,  at  is  not  my  business  to  trace  out ; 
 any  price,  radically  cured.  who  would  see  a  fearful  instance  of 
 
 ^  It  is  this  morality  which  drives  them,  I  refer  to  Scipio  di  Ricci's 
 the  monk  to  the  cloister,  and  the  examination  of  the  nuns  in  a  con- 
 hermit  to  the  desert.  St.  Anthony  vent  at  Fiesole ;  and  who  would 
 may  roll  himself  in  snow,  may  tear  know  their  terrible  consequences,  to 
 his  flesh  with  pincers,  or  macerate  Burdach's  Physiologic,  lib.  viii, 
 it  with  rods;  but    even  with  the  §  505, 
 
 M 
 
82  CHAPTER    II. 
 
 fanaticism ;  and  he  dies  happy,  if  he  dies  sane.  If,  on  the 
 other  hand,  he  neglect  or  despise  the  laws  of  prudence, 
 — if  he  give  himself  up  to  all  sensual  indulgence,  and 
 seek  out  new  pleasures  to  whet  a  blunted  appetite, — then, 
 a  prey  to  all  nervous  disorders,  with  a  diseased  body,  a 
 degraded  intellect,  and  an  imbecile  will,  he  drags  out 
 an  idiotic  existence,  an  old  man  in  the  prime  of  life.  Or, 
 if  he  merely  disregard  the  rational  law, — if  callous  and 
 seliish,  he  know  no  law  but  his  own  lusts, — then,  however 
 rich,  healthy,  and  honoured  he  may  be,  he  is  a  bad 
 man,  and,  such  is  my  faith,  a  miserable  one. 
 
 Verse  23 :  "  And  they  were  both  naked,  the  man  and 
 his  wife,  and  were  not  ashamed."  So  also  the  Chinese 
 describe  the  first  created,  as  inhabiting  the  fields,  clothed 
 in  their  innocence  alone,  the  true  children  of  the  Tien.' 
 But  if  to  be  naked  and  not  ashamed  be  to  be  innocent, 
 what  shall  we  say  to  the  maidens  of  Bissao,'*  whose  bodies, 
 although  sometimes  painted,  are  always  without  clothing  ? 
 What  to  the  Caribbees,^  who  ridiculed  as  a  folly  the  mere 
 notion  of  covering  that  which  nature  had  left  bare  ? 
 Wliat  to  the  ancient  Peruvians,  before  the  time  of  Manco 
 Capac,  whom  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  on  the  authority  of 
 an  old  Ynca,  describes  as  not  knowing  how  to  cultivate 
 the  earth,*  nor  how  to  prepare  wool  or  cotton  to  make  for 
 
 '  "  Quand  riioiiiine  fut  cree  (dit  es  eine  Thorlieit  den  Leib  den  sie 
 
 le  livre  Lieou-chou-tsiii-ouen)  il  n'y  von  der  Natur  bios  bekomnien  hat- 
 
 avoit  point  encore  d'habils;  il  habi-  ten  mit  Kleidern  zu  bedecken." — 
 
 toit  dans  les  canipag;nes,  convert  de  Sitten  der  Wilden,  vol.  ii,  p.  21. 
 
 sa  seule  innocence,  et  eloit  vrai-  ^  "  Les  homines  de  ce  teinps-la, 
 
 ment  Ic  fils  du  Tien." — Memoires  tels  que  les  betes,  etoient  sans  po- 
 
 des  Chinoises,  vol,  i,  p.  199.  lice  and  sans  religion.    On  ne  par- 
 
 *  "  Les  lilies  dc  Bissao  sont  en-  loit  parmi  enx,  ni  de  maison,  ni  de 
 
 tierement  nues ;  si  leur  naissance  ville ;     et     coinme     ils     n'avoient 
 
 est  dislinj;uee,  elles  ont  le   corps  aucune   sorte   d'esprit,   ils  ne   sa- 
 
 niarqne    de    Hears    et  d'autres  fi-  voient  ni  cultiver  la  terre,  ni  filer 
 
 gures,  ce  qui  iaitparoitre  leur  peau  la  laine  on  le  coton  pour  en  faire 
 
 coinme    une   piece    de    satin  tra-  des  babits  propres  pour  couvrir  leur 
 
 vaillee." — Histoire    des    Voyages,  nudite... Les herbes  des  champs, les 
 
 vol.  iii,  p.  380.  racines  des  arbres,  les  fruits  sau- 
 
 '  Of  the  Caribbees :  "  So  wohl  vages,  et  nieme  la  chair  humaine. 
 Manner  als  Wciber  gehen  ganz  etoient  les  alimens  dont  il  se  nour- 
 nackend...sie  sagen  das  sie  nackend  rissoient  comme  les  betes.... lis  me- 
 ans Mutter-Leibe  kamen;  so  ware  noient  un  vie  tout-a-fait  brutale, 
 
CHAPTER    II,  83 
 
 themselves  clothes;  as  feeding  on  the  roots  of  trees,  and  on 
 wild  herbs  and  fruits,  and  even  on  human  flesh,  as  men 
 without  civilization  or  religion — beings  scarcely  raised  above 
 the  brute  creation?  Why,  that  in  general  the  sense  of 
 shame  is  not,  as  is  here  implied,  connected  with  the  sense 
 of  nakedness,  where  the  use  of  clothing  is  unknoAvn,  but 
 with  the  sense  of  nakedness,  where  the  use  of  clothing  is 
 habitual.'' 
 
 In  the  preceding  chaptei',  the  Deity  was  called  Elohim ; 
 in  this,  he  is  Jehovah  Elohim. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  the  cosmogonies  of  these  two 
 chapters, — the  cosmogony  of  Elohim  with  that  of  Jehovah 
 Eloliim, — we  shaU  find  that,  in  the  one,  being  is  given 
 to  a  universe, — the  world  and  its  heaven;  while,  in  the 
 other,  that  a  garden'  only  is  planted,  over  which  is  hung  a 
 canopy  of  clouds  f  that  this  begins  with  the  foraiation  of 
 man,  for  whose  wants  or  pleasures  all  trees,  with  a  single 
 exception,  and  fowl  and  beasts  are  one  after  the  other  called 
 into  existence ;  while  that,  commencing  with  the  creation 
 of  animals  of  rudest,  gradually  proceeds  on  to  others  of 
 nicer  and  more  complicated  organization,  till  it  concludes 
 with  man,  who  is  immediately  invested  with  a  sovereignty 
 over  all  ^  animated  nature.     The  first  cosmogony  shows  us 
 
 et  s'occupoient  avec  les  premieres  Volkern,  im  Westen  den  Kiisten- 
 
 femmes   qu'ils  rencontroient,  sans  landern  des  MiUelmeers,  im  Nor- 
 
 en  avoir  aucune  en  propre,  ou  qui  den  dem  Gog  und  Magog,  im  Si\- 
 
 leur    fut    particuliere." — Histoire  den  den  iEgyptern  und  Kuschaern, 
 
 des  Yncas,  lib.  c.  xv.  im  Osten  den  Persern  und  Medern 
 
 '  Yet  the  men  of  Nootka-Sound  daclite." — Comment,  iib.  d.  Jesaia, 
 
 (the  women  were  more  modest)  are  v.  26. 
 
 described  by  Capt.  Cook  as  throw-         i  I  would  liken  the  creation  in 
 
 ing  off,  on  all  occasions,  the  whole  this  chapter  to  the  Persian,  which 
 
 of  their  covering,   and   appearing  creates   a  mountain  Albordj,  or  a 
 
 quite  naked;  and  this  without  the  river   j^ rdouissour,   &c.,   which  it 
 
 slightest  shame. — Captain   Cook's  afterwards    makes    the  father  and 
 
 Third  Voyage,  c.  iv.  grandfather  of  all  other  mountains 
 
 *  Gesenius,  speaking  of  the  geo-  or  rivers, 
 graphical    knowledge    of  the  He-        *  "  Behold !  I  have  given  you 
 
 brew,  observes  that :  to  him  "  Die  every  herb,  and  everj/  tree,"  Sec. — 
 
 Erde  als   eine   vom  Horizont  be-  Gen.  i.  29.     "  Of  every  tree  that  is 
 
 schrankte  Scheibe  erschien,  deren  in  the  garden  thou  mayest  eat,  but 
 
 Granzen  er    sich    nicht  allzuweit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,"   kc. — 
 
 hinter  den  ihm  bekannten  fernsten  Gen.  ii.  16. 
 
84  CHAPTER   II. 
 
 man  as  the  lord  of  creation  ;  the  second  as  the  sei-vant  of 
 God.  The  one  is  nervous  and  serried  in  its  style,  abhor- 
 rent of  detail,  and  full  of  large  views:  its  thoughts, 
 methodically  and  artistically  arranged,  point  to  and  cluster 
 round  its  Author's  purpose ;  it  is  a  noble  hymn  to  man's 
 greatness,  and  to  God  the  Creator's  glory.  The  second, 
 on  the  other  hand,  is  a  narrative,  and  told  with  all  the 
 graceful,  and  sometimes  garrulous,  and  sometimes  frag- 
 mentary, simplicity  of  the  olden  world ;  it  seems  to  hurry 
 away  from  any  comprehensive  view ;  it  loves  the  real  and  the 
 individual ;  it  delights  in  all  details  and  particulars,  which 
 are  made  to  follow  each  other  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
 most  vulgar,  but  most  natural,  association  :  at  every  line, 
 some  knowledge  geographical  or  philological,  or  some 
 reason  to  be  rendered,  seems  to  lure  the  author  from  his 
 purpose ;  much  of  what  he  tells,  he  tells  by  the  way ;  and 
 though  he  knows  of  facts  only,  they  are  facts  that  labour 
 with  meaning,  and  facts  that  explain  or  solve  all  those 
 great  problems  which  rouse  to  inquiry  even  the  slumbering 
 mind  of  infant  Humanity;  they  form  the  first  facts  of  his- 
 tory, and  they  are  the  vindication  of  God's  ways  to  man. 
 
85 
 
 CHAPTER    III. 
 
 GENESIS  iii.  6. 
 
 1-7.  How  strangely  is  the  serpent  every  where 
 mixed  up  with  the  development  of  the  religious  sentiment 
 in  man.  Sometimes  it  is  a  God — worshipped  with  all 
 due  fear  and  trembling,  as  throughout  Africa'  and  among 
 the  lower  castes  of  India,'  and  the  more  savage  tribes 
 of  America.*  At  others,  it  is  a  symbol  merely,  and  the 
 symbol, 
 
 I.  Of  the  evil  principle, — as  in  Persia,  where  it  stands 
 as  the  representative  of  Ahriman,*  who,  in  its  form,  first 
 visited  the  earth,  and  produced  all  venomous  animals,  and 
 burnt  this  world,  and  laid  it  desolate. 
 
 II.  Of  superior  wisdom  and  power, — as  in  China,  where 
 the  Tien-hoangs,  the  kings  of  heaven,  and  the  Ti-lings, 
 the  sovereigns  of  earth,  are  said  to  have  the  bodies  of 
 serpents.' 
 
 And  III.  It  is  a  symbol,  sometimes  of  good,  and  some- 
 times of  evil. 
 
 •  "  Sur  les  cotes  de  I'Afrique,  ment  Long  par  dragon,  animal  qui 
 
 on  n'a  guere  trouve  des  nations  qui  inspire  en  Europe  une  idee  de  gros 
 
 ne  r^verassent   les  serpens." — De  serpent,  et   qui  se  prend  presque 
 
 Pauw,   Egyptiens  et  Chinois,  vol.  toujours  en  mauvaise  part ;  au  lieu 
 
 ")  P-  11<^-,  que  cliez  les  Chinois,  Long  offre 
 
 2  Dubois,  MiEurs  des  Indes,  vol.  presque  toujours  une  si  belle  idee 
 ii.  p.  43G.  que  c'est  un  des  plus  beaux  sym- 
 
 3  As  the  Antis,  the  Chachapuyas,  bols."— (De  Guignes,  Chou-king, 
 the  Huacrachucas,  &c.  Garcilasso  Prelim.  Dis.  p.  m,  67.)  "  Long  les 
 dela  Vega;  Hist,  des  Yncas,  vol.  i,  genies  bienfaisants,"  (id.  p.  128.) 
 p.  204,  4 1 6.  The  Ti-lings  have, hovvever,with  the 
 
 '  Boun-Dehesch,  §  iii.  p.  352,  face  of  a  girl,  the  feet  and  body  of  a 
 Zend.  horse. 
 
 *  "  Nous   cxpliquons  ordinaire- 
 
86  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 As,  1st,  in  Egypt,* — where  It  is  the  mythic  form  of  the 
 great  Kneph,  the  eternal  spirit,  and  the  author  of  all  good ; 
 and  also  of  Tithrambo,  the  God  angry,  and  inflicting  on 
 man  deserved  jmnishment  ;^  and,  lastly,  of  Typhon,'  evil, 
 physical  and  moral,  embodied. 
 
 2ndly.  In  Greece, — where,  as  good,  it  draws  the  peace- 
 ful car  of  the  corn-giving  Ceres,  or  winds  itself  round 
 the  staff  of  the  wise  and  wakeful  Mercury,  or  Avaits  at  the 
 feet  of  the  health-restoring  Esculapius  ;  and  where,  as  evil, 
 it  is  also  found,  hissing  from  the  girdles  of  the  terrible 
 Eumenides,  or  united  to  the  earth-born  bodies  of  the  blas- 
 pheming giants,  or  dying  under  the  arrows  of  the  young- 
 Apollo. 
 
 And  3rdly.  In  India, — where,  welcomed  as  the  har- 
 binger of  good  fortune,  it  glides  unharmed  mid  temples 
 or  cottages  ;  ^  and  where,  as  the  symbol  of  eternity,  it 
 sails  on  the  great  milk-sea,  bearing  the  sleeping  Vischnu  :i 
 but  where,  also,  as  the  genius  of  evil,  it  vainly  wrestles 
 with  the  mountain  goddess  Parvati,^  or  is  seen  torn  to 
 pieces  and  devoured  by  the  bird-god  Garouda,'  or,  with 
 bruised  head,  writhing  beneath  the  feet  of  the  love- 
 inspiring  Chrishna.* 
 
 ®  Not  in  Egypt  merely,  but  in  disent-ils  il  fait  le  bonlieur  des  lieux 
 
 Plicenicia  also,  according  to  San-  qu'il  habite."  Leitres  Edif.  et  Cur. 
 
 choniatho,  Trju  fuv  ovv  rov  ApaKov-  vol.  xi ;  Mceurs  des  Indes,  p.  84  ; 
 
 roc   <pvrriv  kuI   o(piwv  i^eOtuicnv  o  also  Wilson's  Hindu  Theatre,  v.  i ; 
 
 TaavTOQ,     /cat     jtter'     avTov    av9ig  Toycart,  p.  21. 
 
 4>otv£Kf(.-  rt  Kal  AtyuTrnoi.  1  Dubois,  vol.  ii,  p.  437.    I  need 
 
 ^  Jablonski  Pant.  -Egypt,  lib.  i,  not  remind  the  reader  of  the  great 
 
 c-  iv.  §  V.  serpent  in  the  cosmogony  of  Or- 
 
 *  Creuzer  Symbolik,  B.  ii,  c.  i,  pheus. 
 
 §  8,  from  Jomard,  Des.  of  the  Ty-  «  Sakti  als  Berggottin  heisst  sie 
 
 phonium.    Kircher  also  asserts  that  Parvati,  oder  Durga,  und  als  solche 
 
 "in  the  Egyptian  symbolical  alpha-  wird  sie   am  gewolmlichsten  vor- 
 
 bet  it  was  an  emblem  of  subtlety  gestellt,    wie  "sie    mit    einer    von 
 
 and  cunning,  and  of  lust  and  sen-  Schlangen  uniringten  Figur  kampft 
 
 sual  pleas\irc."  Middleton's  Letters  welche    zugleich     das    feindliche 
 
 to  Dr.  Waterland,  Works,  vol.  ii,  Princip  derNatur,  die  Ursache  ihrer 
 
 P-  '51-  Verschlechterung  anzeigt." — Vide 
 
 9  "  lis  nourissent  de  ces  serpens  Von  Bohlen,  Das  Alte  Indien,  vol. 
 
 a  la  porte  des  temples,  ct  jusques  i,  p.  249. 
 
 dans  Icurs   propres  maisons.      lis  ^  Dubois,  vol.  ii.  p.  438  (note), 
 
 lours  donncnt  le  nom  de  Nalla  Pom-  "  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii,  p. 
 
 bou,  (pii  signilie  bon  serpent;  car  201. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  87 
 
 So  much  for  the  serpent,  as  it  appears  in  other  creeds, 
 and  in  other  lands.  Not  such,  however,  is  the  serpent  of 
 Moses.^  With  liim,  it  is  neither  a  God,  nor  a  symbol* 
 of  any  principle,  good  or  evil,  but  a  Una  fide  beast  of  the 
 field,  remarkable  as  the  principal  agent  in  a  supposed 
 historical  fact,  which  is  meant  to  explain  and  account  for 
 the  misery  and  misfortunes  of  mankind.'' 
 
 But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  was  the  serpent  chosen  to 
 play  this  part  ?  With  some  commentators,  and,  in  truth,  it 
 is  pleasant  to  measure  great  men  by  one's  own  littleness, 
 we  may  answer, — in  hate  to  the  Egyptians;  because, 
 among  them,  the  serpent  was  the  symbol  of  the  Godhead. 
 Or,  tcith  others,  no  jot  more  magnanimous, — out  of  regard 
 to  the  acquired  prejudices  of  the  Hebrew  people ;  because, 
 during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt,  they  had  learned  to  look  on 
 the  serpent  as  the  symbol  of  the  evil-working  Typhon. 
 But,  if  we  are  satisfied  with  the  reason  alleged  in  the  myth, 
 we  will  merely  answer, — "  because  the  serpent  was  more 
 subtle  than  any  beast  of  the  field."  Yes ;  his  mysterious 
 goings  in  and  comings  out,  his  quick  and  watchful  eye,' 
 
 '  In  Moses,  however,  the  serpent  it  does  not  account  for  the  origin  of 
 
 is  not  altogether  evil :  raised  in  the  evil.         For  the  serpent— observe 
 
 wilderness,  it  there  gives  health  and  the  bitter  irony   of  his  words,  he 
 
 life  to  the  dying  Hebrew.  speaks  as  if  Go'd  mocked  his  crea- 
 
 *  I  read  the  words  according  to  tures  (vide  Luther's  Com.  on  B.  i, 
 
 their  simplest   and   most   obvious  Moses)— thought    evil ;    from   evil 
 
 meaning,   viz  ,   that   the    serpent,  motives  induced   the  man  to  eat. 
 
 "  one  of  the  beasts  of  the  field  which  When  man  was  expelledfrom  Eden, 
 
 the  Lord  God  had  made,"  was  more  "  the  imaginations  of  his  heart  were 
 
 subtle  than  the  rest :  but  in  ours,  evil  from  his  youth  ;"  but  how  came 
 
 and  the  several  translations  I  have  the   evil    in  'the   serpent's   heart  ? 
 
 consulted,  the  "which  the  Lord  God  When  we  have  our   first  question 
 
 had  made,"  may  refer  to  the  beasts  answered,  how  many  centuries  pass 
 
 of  the  field  as  opposed  to  the  ser-  away  ere  we  examine  and  question 
 
 pent,  who  may  there  l)e  the   evil  on  the  answer! 
 
 principle,  or  the  creation  of  the  evil  «  Lgjjz  "  Schlangenkunde  "  says 
 
 pnnciple.     Such  a  reading,   how-  that  day  and  night  he   has  come 
 
 ever,  seems  to  me  at  variance  with  upon  serpents  unawares,  that  he  has 
 
 the  nineteenth  verse  of  the  second  watched  them  diligently,  carefully, 
 
 chapter  ;  though,  as  it  crossed  my  but  never  found  tliem  asleep,  i.  e. 
 
 mind,  and  is  an   objection  to  my  insensible  to  outward  objects.     A 
 
 view  of  the  subject,  I  have  thought  sort  of  torpor  seems  to  supply  the 
 
 it  right  to  mention  it.  place  of  sleep.     Among  the  names 
 
 '  1  use  the  words  advisedly,   for  of  the  serpent  in  India  are  the  fol- 
 
gg  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 his  tortuous,  stealthy,  and  silent  motion,  have,  like  the 
 owl's  face,  gained  for  their  owner  a  great  reputation. 
 The  mythological  serpent  is  the  very  ideal  of  subtlety, 
 cunning,  and  sagacity;  and  the  reflex  cf  his  fame  has 
 fallen  upon  his  brother  of  natural  history,  who,  however, 
 on  a  closer  knowledge  of  his  habits  and  character,  is  found 
 to  be  a  very  common-place  beast  indeed,  and,  save  that  he 
 poisons  where  he  bites,  without  any  pre-eminence  over  his 
 fellow-beasts. 
 
 But  why,  instead  of  the  evil  one,  the  evil  principle 
 embodied,  choose  a  beast"  to  tempt  man  to  his  death? 
 With  the  people  whom  Moses  addressed,  the  serpent 
 was  no  improbable  agent.  Why,  then,  should  he  destroy 
 the  simplicity,  the  unity  of  his  creed,  by  opposing  to  his 
 one  God,  an  angry  and  destroying  demon  ?  Besides,  such 
 a  demon  Moses  had  seen  acknowledged  in  Egypt;— -and 
 there  he  was,  not  merely  abominable,  but  powerful, — not 
 merely  hated,  but  feared.  With  heaven's  King,  though  to 
 be  eventually  conquered,  he  held,  for  the  present,  divided 
 empire,  and  had  claim,  therefore,  to  divided  homage, — and 
 to  his  honour,  as  to  that  of  God,  temples  were  raised  ;i 
 his  worship  was  sanctioned  by  unholy  rites,  and  his  wrath 
 propitiated  by  unclean  sacrifices.'  Had  not,  then,  Moses 
 to  fear ;  and  was  he  not,  therefore,  justified  in  avoiding 
 every  thing  which  might  induce  a  similar  idolatry  ?  Or, 
 is  it  that  the  author  of  this  legend,  wiser  than  they 
 that  came  after  him,   recognized  no  evil  one  ;    that   his 
 
 lowiiifi; : — "  He  who  lias  eyes   for  both."       (Vide   Koran,   vol.  ii,  c. 
 
 cars,"    "  the  secret  one,"    '"'  he   of  xxxvii,  p.  299.)     With  the  serpent 
 
 tricks." — Roberts'  Illustrations  of  of  the  old  Persian  faith,  and  this 
 
 Scripture,  p.  7.  serpent  in  Genesis,  it  is  not,  how- 
 
 "  I  think  it  right  to  observe,  that,  ever,  difficult  to  account  for  this 
 
 in  Arabic,  if  I  may  judi>;e  from  a  double  meaning  to  the  same  word 
 
 note  of  Sale's  in   the   Koran,  the  in  Arabic. 
 
 same  word  may  intend  either  a  scr-  '  Creuzer,  Symbolik,  B.  ii,  c.  i, 
 
 pent  or  a  devil.    The  passage  in  the  §8. 
 
 Koran  is  this  : — "  The  tree  Al  Zak-  ^  Vid.  Plutarch,  Iris  and  Osiris, 
 
 kucn  i.ssueth   from  the  bottom  of  p.  607.      To  Typhon  the  detested 
 
 hell,  the  fruit  thereof  resembleth  the  red  ox  was  sacrificed,  though  a  sin- 
 
 ihc  heads  of  devils.''   Sale,  in  a  note,  gle  white  or  black  hair  saved  him, 
 
 adds,  "or  of  serpents  ugly  to  be-  as  nothing  that  was  dear  to  the  Gods 
 
 hold  :  the   original   word    signifies  could  1)e  ofiered  to  the  evil  one. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  S9 
 
 mind  was  so  occupied  with  the  unity  of  God,  that 
 there  was  not  room  in  it  for  any  antagonist  principle  f 
 and  that,  the  evils  therefore,  which  he  could  not  but 
 admit,  he  was  compelled  to  impute  to  man's  own  fault  ? 
 
 But  how  did  the  serpent  speak?  Did  "he  utter  a 
 serpent's  mind  with  serpent's  hiss?'"  or  did  he  speak 
 verily,  in  good  set  terms  ?  If  we  can  suppose  that  the  ser- 
 pent was  so  like  a  seraph  that  Eve  mistook  him  for  a  good 
 angel,  or  that  he  even  had  the  face  of  a  seraph,  we  can 
 also  easily  suppose,  that  he  spoke  very  passable  Hebrew.^ 
 But,  I  must  own,  I  do  not  see  why  a  seraph,  or  a  half- 
 seraph,  or  a  half-seraph-half-snake,  should  be  any  more  a 
 serpent  in  the  time  of  Moses,  than  in  our  own. 
 
 Some  commentators,  however,  of  the  new  school  of 
 rationalists,  will  have  it  that  the  serpent  spake  never  a 
 word.  The  whole  tale  is  an  historical  myth.  In  some 
 paradise  of  Asia/  God  created,  and  placed,  though  sepa- 
 rated from  each  other,  the  first  pair.  Adam,  with  the 
 beasts  of  the  field  as  his  companions,  observed  their  habits, 
 and  unitated  their  cries,  and  thus  gave  them  names,  and, 
 besides,  learned  to  distinguish  animal  from  animal,  and 
 species  from  species.  But  Adam  soon  felt  his  loneliness, 
 and  proceeded  in  search  of  some  companion  for  himself 
 One  day,  wearied  with  Avandering,  he  laid  himself  down  to 
 sleep,  and  dreamt  that  of  his  rib  had  been  formed  a  being 
 like  himself,  a  help-meet  for  him : — he  awoke,  and  before 
 him  stood  woman. 
 
 'For  Deut.  xxxii,  17.     We  find  after  the  captivity.     But  compare 
 
 in  our  translation  a  mention  of  de-  with  it  2  Samuel  xxvi.  1  •  and  see 
 
 vils.  "  They  sacrificed  unto  devils."  Warburton's   Divine   Legation,  vi. 
 
 The  marginal  reading,  and  I  find  it  §  2. 
 
 con-oborated  by  De  Wette's  trans-  *  Arcadia,  p.  222. 
 
 lation,  has,  "  they  sacrificed  unto  ^  The  opinions  of  the  divines  of 
 
 things  which  were  not  God."    But  the    preceding    century.— Patrick, 
 
 the  personification  of  the  evil  priu-  Tenison,  Sec.  -.  by  many  of  them,  also' 
 
 ciple  in  devils  is  surely  a  concep-  Hebrew  was  supposed  to  have  been 
 
 tion,  very  diff"erent  from  that  of  an  the  language  of  Eden, 
 
 idol,  that  which  is  not  God.      The  ^  Eichhorn,  Gabler,  &c.,    from 
 
 first  mention  we  have  of  Satan  is  in  Eiehhorn's  Bib.  der  Bib.  Lit.,  but 
 
 1  Chronicles  xxi.  I  ;  but  this  book,  quoted  from  memory, 
 it  is  generally  allowed,  was  compiled 
 
90  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 Now  in  the  garden  which  our  common  ancestors  inha- 
 bited were  to  be  found  a  tree  of  life,  i.  e.  "  dropping 
 medicinal  gum,"  and  a  tree  of  knowledge,  i.  e.  some 
 poisonous  plant,  against  which  the  Elohim  had  warned 
 Adam.  Of  the  fruit  of  this  last  tree,  however,  Eve 
 saw  the  serpent  frequently  eat,  and  escape  unharmed, — 
 Her  own  thoughts  now  tempt  her.^  She  begins  to  doubt 
 the  motives  and  warnings  of  God,  and  to  suspect  that  the 
 serpent,  the  subtlest  of  animals,  owes  to  this  fruit  his 
 superior  wisdom.  She  eats  of  it,  and  urges  her  husband 
 to  eat  also. — New  and  tumultuous  emotions  are  thus  awaked 
 in  them. — Towards  evening  a  storm  arises :  to  the  unac- 
 customed sight  of  our  first  parents,  it  is  a  punishment 
 from  God.  They  hide  themselves  in  the  thicket ;  but  the 
 thunder  reaches  them  even  there, — and  its  repeated  peals 
 drive  them  at  length  from  Eden,  which  their  superstitious 
 fears  prevent  them  ever  again  entering.* 
 
 The  rationalists  have  thus,  it  seems  to  me,  removed  indeed 
 one  difficulty,  and  have  set  up  in  its  place  another,  and  a 
 greater.  For,  though  they  have  deprived  our  legend  of 
 that  savour  which  makes  it  unpalatable  to  the  few,  yet, 
 as  it  is  but  one  of  a  thousand,  to  all  of  which,  as  of  similar 
 nature,  the  same  method  of  interpretation  must  necessarily 
 be  apphed;  it  follows,  that  to  unravel  them  all  into  a 
 series  of  possible  occurrences,  we  are  compelled  to  assume 
 
 ■^  Similarly  in  Gotbe's  Faust.  The  be  but  pictorial  expressions,  which 
 
 suggestions  of  Margaret's  despair  mean  that  man  sought  to  hide  his 
 
 are  represented  in  the  temptations  shame,  to  pacify  his  conscience,  but 
 
 of  whispering  demons.      (Seethe  vainly;  he  but  covered  himself  as  if 
 
 scene  p.  207,  translation  by  John  with  fig-leaves.  God,  however,  gave 
 
 Hills.)  him  coats  of  skins,  i.  e.  really  hid 
 
 '  J.  G.  Rosenmiillcr  supposes  the  his  shame,  gave  him  peace  of  con- 
 whole  tale  relating  to  the  fall  of  science.  I  will  not  go  further  into 
 man  to  be  a  description  of  some  Rosenmiiller's  hypothesis,  (who 
 hieroglyphical  painting.  The  scr-  would  see  it  at  full  length  will  find 
 pent  then  stands  for  Satan ;  and  it  in  Eichhorn's  Repertorium,  vol. 
 much  that  in  the  legend  seems  tri-  i,  p.  158, 185),  but  observe  merely, 
 vial  is  but  the  painter's  rude  at-  tliat  it  is  based  on  the  supposition 
 tempt  to  describe,  the  mind's  cmo-  that  pictorial,  or  hieroglyphical,  was 
 tions,  as — "  they  sewed  fig-leaves  the  first,  writing,  which  is  probable 
 together  and  made  themselves  enough  :  but  it  is  certain  that  pic- 
 aprons,"  and,  "  the  Lord  God  made  torial  speech  was  before  either, 
 coats  of  .skins,"  Src. — he  supposes  to 
 
CHAPTER    III.  91 
 
 such  a  multitude  of  extraordinary  combinations  of  common 
 events,  as  to  render  a  history,  formed  of  such  combinations, 
 a  far  greater  miracle,  than  a  history  of  simple  miracles. 
 Myself,  I  could  more  readily  believe  in  the  miracle. 
 
 But  how  did  the  serpent  speak  ?  The  language  of  bird 
 and  beast  is  a  belief,  Avhich  originated,  and  is  still  fondly 
 cherished,**  in  the  east.  Many  of  the  negro  tribes,  too,  are 
 fully  persuaded  that  the  monkey  could  tallv  if  he  would, 
 but  that  he  fears  to  be  compelled  to  the  drudgery  of  a 
 hewer  of  wood,  and  a  drawer  of  water.  Might  not,  then, 
 some  such  fable  relating  to  the  serpent  have  prevailed 
 among  the  half-civilized  Hebrews?  And,  in  their  eyes, 
 would  not  this  legend,  consequently,  unobstructed  by 
 improbabilities,  have  very  satisfactorily  accounted  for  the 
 origin  of  evil  ?  But,  in  ours,  what  is  it  ?  A  fragment  from 
 the  philosophy  of  the  earliest  ages,  which  neither  demands 
 our  belief,  nor  is  necessary  to  our  faith,  but  which  is  full  of 
 instruction  for  us,  by  the  deep  insight  it  gives  into  the 
 simple  creed  of  infant  man.  With  such  instruction,  how- 
 ever, our  orthodox  divines  will  not  rest  satisfied.  We 
 must  believe  these  tales  of  wonder  as  historical  facts ; 
 we  must  not  see  that  they  are  altogether  at  variance  with 
 our  notions  of  God,  and  of  God's  pro^ddence ;  and  that 
 they  dwarf  down  the  Great  Supreme  to  a  Deus  ex  machind, 
 — some  stage  idol — who  at  every  moment  must  interfere 
 bodily  to  rectify  the  mischiefs  which  his  general  laws 
 inflict  upon  mankind. 
 
 Verse  6.  If  man,  in  paradise,  had  fears,  he  had  desires 
 also,  and  desires  which  are  stiU  the  fountain  of  much  that 
 
 ^  See  the  conversation  between  birds  :"  and  see  the  beginning  of  this 
 the  crow  Bhu'shanda'  and  the  sage  chajiter,  which  has  "all  the  air  of 
 eagle  Gerhnr,  in  the  last  book  of  an  Arabian  tale.  The  same  belief 
 the  Ra'ma'yan  (Sir  W.  Jones'  is  found  in  the  Northern  Mytho- 
 Works,  vol.  xiii,  p.  343,  361 ) ;  see  logy  -.e.g.,  it  is  the  talk  of  the  quails 
 also  the  Hitopadesa,  vulgarly  Pil-  after  the  slaughter  of  the  great  ser- 
 pai's  Fables,  id.  id.  p.  12;  and  pent  Fafnir,  which  decides  the  con- 
 many  of  the  tales  in  the  Arabian  duct  and  the  fate  of  Sigurd.  Vide 
 Nights.  The  Koran,  also,  c.  xxvii,  Volsunga-Saga  oder  Sigurd  der 
 makes  Solomon  to  say:  "0  men!  Fafnirstodter,  v.d.  Hagen,c.  xxviii, 
 we  have  been  taught  the  speech  of  p.  90. 
 
92 
 
 CHAPTER    III. 
 
 is  good  and  great  in  him;  desires,  not  after  the  beauty 
 of  the  fruit,  the  gratification  of  the  palate  merely,  but 
 desires  to  be  wise.  He  sinned  in  paradise,  as  he  often 
 sins  now,  from  mingled  motives. 
 
 Verse  7.  No  great  thing  to  learn,  and  to  have  lost 
 Eden  to  learn  it.^  And  yet  view  this  legend  in  another 
 light : — and  how  could  the  first  step  from  a  state  of  nature 
 towards  an  artificial  state,  or  state  of  civilization,  be  better 
 intimated  to  an  infant  people  ?  Man,  in  Eden,  is  the  mere 
 brute,  the  mere  natural,  man  ;  and  man,  ignorant,  rooted  to 
 earth,  with  no  other  wants  than  those  of  the  body,  and 
 wants  for  which  some  luxuriant  wilderness  amply  provides; 
 man,  mere  animal,  if  man  could  even  thus  have  existed, 
 must  be  happy.^  But  the  instant  that  artificial  wants  and 
 feelings  occupy  him,  and  he  must  labour  and  struggle  to 
 satisfy  them ;  the  instant  the  intellect  awakes,  and  a  higher, 
 or  supposed  liigher,  state  of  existence  becomes  possible  ; 
 
 '  Parallel  to  this,  is  tbe  case  of  the 
 mother  of  the  great  family  of  man, 
 who,  accordiug  to  the  Iroquois  le- 
 gend, lost  Heaven  for  a  pot  of 
 bear's  grease ;  see  note  ",  p.  64. 
 
 "  The  hill  Demaras  say  of  them- 
 selves :  "  We  are  a  stupid  race ; 
 we  don't  know  or  do  any  thing  hut 
 look  for  food,  and  dance  when  we 
 have  got  it ;  all  we  want  to  know  is 
 where  to  get  a  large  animal  to  kill 
 and  eat." — Alexander's  Interior  of 
 Africa.  "  The  inhabitants  of  Port- 
 Philip  (New  South  Wales)  are  can- 
 nibals, eating  the  bodies  of  their 
 enemies  killed  in  battle.  Their  per- 
 ceptions of  hearing,  seeing,  and 
 smelling,  are  remarkably  acute. 
 Their  food  consists  chiefly  of  kan- 
 garoo's flesh,  lish,  roots  of  every 
 kind,  black  swans,  ducks,  &c.,  as 
 well  as  reptiles.  In  their  appetites 
 they  are  (|uite  voracious.  They 
 appear  to  be  tvithnut  nny  rcUginus 
 observances,  althougli  they  evidently 
 
 believe  in  a  future  stale They 
 
 are  of  a  cheerful  hajipij  ilispasitiim, 
 and  in  the  eveninf/s  siiu/  and  dance 
 for    amusement.'"  —  Hobart-Town 
 
 Almanack  for  1837.  And  the  Carib- 
 bees,  we  are  told  :  "  Erreichen 
 wegen  ihrer  gesunden  Natur  mei- 
 stentheils  ein  holies  Alter.  Sie 
 leben  ohne  Sorge  und  Bekiimmer- 
 nibs,  wissen  nichts  von  Gemiiths 
 unruhe,  und  fiihren  eine  sehr  mas- 
 sige  Lebensart.  Sie  geniessen  eine 
 reine  Luft  und  Leben  unter  einer 
 giinstigen  Himmelsgegend." — Sit. 
 der  Wilden,  vol.  ii,p.  21.  Similarly 
 happy,  and  altogether  incurious, 
 Wallis  describes  the  Americans  at 
 Elizabeth  Bay  (Histoire  Generale 
 des  Voyages,  vol.  xxx,  p.  23) ;  simi- 
 larly Parry  and  Lyon,  the  Esqui- 
 maux, adding,  that  even  in  the 
 midst  of  the  most  fearful  hunger 
 they  are  cheerful  and  gay,  and  so 
 Robertson  speaks  of  the  aborigines 
 of  Mexico  and  Peru.  It  would 
 seem  that  not  so  much  the  pressure 
 of  outward  circumstances  makes 
 man's  misery,  as  the  comparison  of 
 any  present  with  some  better  state. 
 The  state  of  the  savage  is  a  dead 
 sleep ;  ours  is  a  troubled  and  feverish 
 dream. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  93 
 
 that  instant  man  feels  his  nakedness,  his  littleness,  and 
 is  ashamed. — He  has  eaten  of  the  tree  of  knowledge. 
 
 "  And  they  sewed  fig-leaves  together,  and  made  to 
 themselves  aprons."  Not  sewed,^  but  interwove,  and 
 bound  together ;  and  not  the  leaves  of  the  common, 
 but  of  the  Indian  fig,  still  used  for  that  same  purpose 
 by  the  more  barbaric  races  of  Asia.  Such  aprons,  accord- 
 ing to  the  Chinese  books,"  are  said  to  have  been,  and  were, 
 not  improbably,  man's  first  covering ;  and  they  were, 
 according  to  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  worn  by  several  of  the 
 American  tribes.^ 
 
 Our  parents  ate  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
 and  afterwards  felt,  for  the  first  time,  naked  and  ashamed. 
 The  author  of  our  legend,  who  probably  inhabited  the 
 warmer  latitudes  of  Asia,  where  clothing  of  some  sort  is  in 
 general  use ;  and  who  knew  of  no  nation,  no  people,  who 
 went  altogether  naked  (though  perhaps  of  many  whose 
 scanty  covering  was  limited  to  that  which  decency  re- 
 quired), could  attribute  the  custom  of  concealing  from 
 sight  certain  parts  of  the  body  to  no  other  motive  than 
 that  of  shame.  And  this  shame  of  nakedness,  because  he 
 conceived  it  universal,  he  seeks  to  account  for,  by  hokhng 
 it  up  to  us  as  the  first  symptom  of  that  enduring  change 
 which  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  brought  upon  the 
 human  race.  From  various  sources,  however,  we  know 
 that  among  several  of  the  races  of  Africa,^  and  the  more 
 
 '  "  La   plus   Efrande   partie   du  c.  xiii.  And  the  missionary  Padilla, 
 
 genre  humain  a  ete  longtemps  sans  whose  honest  and  pious  zeal,  how- 
 
 coimoitre  le  fil." — Goguet,  Origine  ever  one  may  differ  from  him,  all 
 
 des  Lois,  vol.  i,  c.  ii.  must  admire,  finding  the  savages 
 
 ■"'Au  commencementleshommes  among  whom  he  was  sent,  naked, 
 
 se  couvroient  avec  des  herbes  : —  taught  them  to  cover  their  naked- 
 
 '  Circum  se   foliis  ac  frondibus  ness   with    the    leaves    of    trees: 
 
 involventes.'  "  "  Cependant  on  se  sert  comme  on 
 
 — De    Guignes,    Chou-king,  Dis.  peut  de  feuilles  d'arbres  pour  se 
 
 Prelim,  p.  78.  couvrir,  en  attendant  quelque  chose 
 
 *  "  Dans  les  pays  ou  ils  ne  sa-  de    mieux." — Lettres     Edifiantes, 
 
 voient  ce  que  c'etoit  ni  de  tissure  ni  viii,  p.  48. 
 
 de  fillet,  les  uns  et  les  autres  cou-  *  The  inhabitants  of  the  Coast  of 
 
 vroientles  parties  honteuses  avec  les  Guinea :  "  Les  femmes  des  Vetires 
 
 feuilles    ou    I'ecorce    de    quelque  sont   tout-a-fait    nues." — Histoire 
 
 arbre." — Histoire  des  Yncas,  lib.  i,  Generale  des  Voyages,  vol.  iii,  p. 
 
94  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 rude  tribes  of  America,  "Nature  has  not  suggested  any 
 idea  of  impropriety  in  being  altogether  uncovered."  ^  We 
 know  that  shame,  therefore,  is  not  invariably  connected  with 
 the  sense  of  nakedness.  One  of  three  things,  then, — either 
 the  view  of  our  author,  however  satisfactory  for  his  age 
 and  countiy,  is  too  narroAV  and  circumscribed  for  ours ; 
 or  the  results  of  the  terrible  fruit  Avere  not  of  universal 
 consequence,  have  not  been  inherited  by  all  mankind  ;  or, 
 the  human  race  is  not  descended  from  one  common  stock. 
 And  these  conclusions,  either  taken  together  or  separately, 
 are,  it  is  certain,  more  or  less  at  variance  with  the  notions 
 of  inspiration  usually  attached  to  this  legend. 
 
 Verse  20.  How  natural  and  dramatic  is  this  picture  !  In 
 the  cool  of  the  day,  when  the  evening  breeze  arises,  Jehovah 
 Elohim,  like  some  oriental  satrap,  walks  forth  in  his  garden 
 to  take  his  pleasure.  His  creatures,  to  whom  his  presence  was 
 formerly  a  joy,  and  in  whose  innocent  simplicity  he  himself 
 took  delight,*  nowhere  meet  his  eyes.  He  calls  to  Adam — 
 but  the  man  has  eaten  of  the  tree  of  knowledge ;  he  feels, 
 and  shudders  at,  the  immeasurable  distance  which  separates 
 him  from  his  Maker,  and  he  comes  forth  reluctantly.  He 
 knows  not  how  to  approach  the  Lord.  He  feels  naked  and 
 is  ashamed :  his  guilt  is  thus  betrayed,  and  he  stands  con- 
 victed of  having  tasted  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  But  the 
 woman,  so  he  excuses  himself,  Avho  had  been  given  to  him 
 as  his  help-meet,  had  been  his  tempter.*  To  her  Jehovah 
 turns  ;  and  she,  it  seems,  had  eaten  because  the  serpent  be- 
 guiled her.  Man,  woman,  and  serpent,  then  stand  before 
 their  judge ;  and  on  each  he  pronounces  sentence.  The 
 form  of  the  serpent  is  changed  ;  from  henceforth  he  crawls 
 
 425  ;  id.  Par. ;  and  see  note  vol.  iii,  wore  some  ornaments  for  the  head, 
 
 p.  bij.      Tlic   Iclitliyophagi  (Diod.  of feathcrs,sheUs,or seeds." — Forbes' 
 
 Sic.  vol.  vii,  lib.  iii).  California,  p.  18. 
 
 ^  Robertson's  America,  p.  358;  «  yj^jg  j.   jj^  ^   jc,^  ^^^^ 
 
 and  LafiUiu,  Ma;urs  des  Sauvafres,  »  Tbis  is   altogether  in   eastern 
 
 vol.  ii,  p.  5.5;  and  Lettrcs  Edili-  taste.  "  It  is  the  nature  of  women," 
 
 antes,  Anierique,  vol.  viii,   p.   10.  says  Menu,  "in  tbis  world  to  cause 
 
 "Tbc   men    (of    California)   were  the  seduction  of  man."— ii,  §  213, 
 actually    uakcdj    cxrc/it    that   thcji 
 
CHAPTER    in. 
 
 95 
 
 upon  his  belly/  and  eats  of  the  dust  of  the  earth.  Between 
 him  and  man  are  enmity  and  continued,  though  unequal,* 
 war,  and  a  war  wliicli  shall  end  only  in  the  annihilation  of  his 
 race.  The  Avoman  is  made  subject  to  her  husband,  and 
 punished  with  the  pains  of  childbirth ;  while  the  man  is 
 condemned  to  a  life  of  toil  and  disappointment. 
 
 "  And  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life."^ 
 Hyde  asserts,  that  as  neither  devil  nor  serpent"*  eats  dust, 
 these  words  must  be  used  metaphorically,  and  are  but  in- 
 tended to  express  the  abasement,  the  abject  condition  ^  to 
 which  the  serpent  is  to  be  henceforth  reduced.  In  this 
 case,  the  literal  ®  and  the  metaphorical  are  strangely  mixed 
 up  together.  I  should  rather  understand  the  words  in  their 
 simple  and  most  ob\ious  sense,  and  explain  them  by  sup- 
 posing that  they  allude  to  opinions  ^  respecting  the  food  of 
 serpents,  once  held,  but  long  since  exj^loded. 
 
 'Was  the  fabulous  dragon  already 
 known  to  the  patriarchal  world? 
 Or  did  the  fossil  remains  of  strange 
 antediluvian  animals  give  rise  to 
 the  belief  that  the  serpent  once 
 walked  or  flew,  as  (though  I  am 
 aware  another  meaning  is  given  to 
 the  passage,  vide  Michaelis,  De 
 Wette's  translations)  in  Isaiah, 
 xiv.  29.  The  Zend  book  speaks  of 
 "  I'ancien  serpent  infernal,  qui  a 
 deux  pieds,  cet  Ashmogh  inipur." 
 Farg.  vol.  i,  205. 
 
 ^  "  It  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and 
 thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel." 
 
 ^  "  Necessario  fuit  vera  species 
 serpen tis,  quia  pcBVia  inflicta  fuit 
 tanquamin  speciem  serpentis,  sxiper 
 ventri  tuo  gradieris,  sive  figurate, 
 sive  literaliter ;  sed  non  item  litera- 
 liter,  et  pulverem  comedes ;  quia  dia- 
 bolus  qui  serpentem  obsedit  non 
 edit  omnino,  et  serpens  non  edit 
 pulverem,  qui  non  est  alimentum 
 cujusvis  animalis." — Hyde  Hist. 
 Rel.  Vet.  Pers.,  c.  iii. 
 
 ''•  According  to  Roberts,  the  Vi- 
 reyan  serpent  eats  dust. — Illustra- 
 tions of  Scripture,  p.  7. 
 
 ^  As  in  Persia  the  common  phrase, 
 "  I  shall  make  him  to  eat  dirt." 
 
 *  "  Upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou 
 crawl."  To  eat  dust  has  the  same 
 meaning,  according  to  later  com- 
 mentators. They  appeal,  as  parallel 
 passages,  to  Isaiah  xlix.  23  ;  Micah 
 vii.  17;  Psa.  Ixxii.  9;  and  also, 
 "  to  eat  ashes,"  for  "  to  sit  in  ashes," 
 Psa.  cii.  10;  Eichhorn's  Urge- 
 schichte  in  Repertor,  vol.  iv.  p.  247. 
 
 ^  Thus  Micah,  710B.C.:— "They 
 shall  lick  dust  like  a  serpent,"  viii. 
 17.  This  very  passage,  Hyde  (ut 
 supra),  has  adduced  in  confirma- 
 tion of  his  opinion,  that  this  part  of 
 the  curse  on  the  serpent  is  meta- 
 phorical merely ;  for  he  says,  though 
 serpents  do  not  eat  dust,  "  videntur 
 tamen  sic  facere,  et  eundem  1am- 
 bere,  quia  inter  gradiendum  ora 
 eorum  terram  contingunt."  Ge- 
 senius,  however  (Comment.  Jesaiah, 
 c.  Ixv.  V.  25,;  vol.  iii.  p.  292, 
 shows  that  it  was  a  popular  error 
 among  the  ancients,  that  serpents 
 did  eat  dust.  Hyde  explains  the 
 origin  of  that  error,  but  he  was  pre- 
 cludedby  the  view  which  he  took 
 of  the  book  of  Genesis,  from  mak- 
 ing use  of  a  popular  notion  to  in- 
 terpret words  put  into  the  mouth  of 
 the  Deity. 
 
96  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 Luther  and  Hyde  are  both  of  opinion  that  the  serpent  of 
 this  legend  is  a  natural  serpent ;  the  one,^  because  he  fears 
 to  gloze  over  God's  word,  and  to  accommodate  it  to  human 
 views ;  the  other ^  because  he  cannot  reconcile  it  to  God's 
 justice  that  the  serpent-race  should  be  punished  for  the 
 crimes  of  some  other  creature.  Notwithstanding,  however, 
 the  zeal  of  the  one  for  God's  word,  and  of  the  other  for 
 God's  justice,  both  agree  '  in  regarding  the  serpent  but  as 
 a  mask  behind  which  Satan  acts,  or  as  an  instrument  wliich 
 he  moves.  Of  the  former,  we  would  therefore  ask,  lohere 
 and  how  the  story  alludes  to  the  evil  one,  or  the  principle 
 of  evil  ?  And  of  the  latter,  whether  it  is  in  accordance  with 
 the  simplest  and  most  evident  views  of  justice,  that  on  the 
 serpent,  literally  reduced  to  one  of  Descartes'  beasts,  should 
 be  laid  so  heavy  a  curse,  wliile  the  true  criminal  escapes 
 without  even  a  reprimand  ?  No  ;  I  believe  the  tempter  to 
 be  a  natural  serpent;  1st,  on  the  authority  of  the  legend; 
 and,  2nd,  because  I  find  him  punished  with  a  serpent's 
 nature. 
 
 Verse  15.  And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
 woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed,"  &c.  In  this 
 passage  I  see  an  announcement  of  that  mutual  hate  which 
 exists  between  the  serpent-race  and  mankind — each  indivi- 
 dualized in  the  words  "  thy  seed,"  and  "  her  seed ;" — but 
 no  allusion  to  the  Messiah,  and  the  victory  which  he  is  to 
 gain  over  sin  and  death. 
 
 I  can,  however,  well  conceive,  that,  literally  understood, 
 this  legend,  with  its  child-like  philosophy,  became,  in  the 
 
 * "  Es  gebiirt  uns  nicht  Gottes  ten  Verstand.    Denn    soUt    ei*  so 
 
 Wort  zu  deuten,    wie  wir  wollen.  sclireiben,    das    der  Teuft'el  hette 
 
 Wir  sollen  es  nicht  lenken,  sondern  mit  ihr  geredet  in  eigener  Person, 
 
 nns  nacli  ihm  lassen  lenken,  und  wiirde  sich  nicbt  schicken.  Darumb 
 
 ihm  die  Ebre  geben,  das  es  besser  bat  er  miissen  durch  die  Scblange 
 
 gesetzt  sey  denn  wirs  konnen  ma-  reden." — Moses  ausgelegt   durch, 
 
 chen.   Darumb  miissen  wirs  lassen  D.M.L.,  B.  i,  c.  iii,  v.  i. 
 
 stehen  das  es  eine  rechte  uati'irliche  ^  Vide  note  to  p.  95. 
 
 Scblange  gewesen  sey,  die  das  Weib  i  Vide  note,  supra,  from  Luther, 
 
 mit  Augen  gesehen  hat,    imd  ist  Hyde  calls  the  serpent "  instrumen- 
 
 darumb  geschrieben,  das  die  His-  turn  et  vehiculum  tentationis  dia- 
 
 toric  gcfasset  wi'irdo  in  eincn  Icicb-  bolioa?." — Ut  supra. 
 
CHAPTER   III.  97 
 
 course  of  ages,  insufficient  for  the  mental  wants  of  an  im- 
 proved and  more  thoughtful  state  of  society  ;  and  that 
 there  then  necessarily  grew  up — for  its  divine  authority  was 
 not  doubted — different  modes  of  interpreting  it.  Some, 
 struck  by  man's  weakness  and  liability  to  sin,  would  view 
 the  tale  as  an  allegory,^  in  which  the  serpent  was  the  sym- 
 bol of  that  cunning  sophistry  which,  when  they  would  lure 
 us  on  to  pleasure  or  self-advantage,  the  senses  and  the  un- 
 derstanding oppose  to  the  laws  and  dictates  of  reason. 
 Wliile  others,  convinced  that  man  could  come  forth  from 
 the  hands  of  his  aU-wise  and  perfect  Maker  but  as  a  wise 
 and  perfect  being,  received  the  legend  as  an  historical  fact, 
 which  accounted  for  man's  present  degenerated  state.  But 
 man,  wise  and  perfect,  no  mere  serpent,  but  the  evil  prin- 
 ciple alone,  could  tempt ;  and  the  serpent,  therefore,  was 
 raised  into  the  agent  and  representative  of  Satan.  And 
 as  each  of  these  parties  followed  out  his  own  hypothesis, 
 each  one  necessarily  explained  the  curse  on  the  serpent, 
 and  more  particularly  that  part  of  the  curse  now  under 
 consideration,  according  to  his  own  views.  The  former 
 regarded  it  as  a  prediction  of  that  great  victory  which,  in 
 the  latter  times,  the  reason  shall  gain  over  the  flesh,  the 
 law  of  God  over  the  law  of  sin — as  an  announcement  of  that 
 perfect  society  which  poets  and  philosophers  have  dreamt 
 of,  and  which  Christianity  promises  under  the  name  of  the 
 Millennium ;  while  the  latter,^  knitting  mercy  with  justice, 
 hope  with  punishment,  reverenced  it  as  the  first  prophecy 
 of  the  Messiah,  whose  death  and  resurrection  gave  the  blow 
 which  wUl  finally  destroy  the  power  and  kingdom  of  Satan. 
 
 Verse  16.  "  Unto  the  woman  he  said,  I  will  greatly  mul- 
 tiply thy  sorrow,"^  &c. 
 
 ^  See  Ammon's  Christoloo^e  des  teritate :   hie   te  proculcabit,  licet 
 
 Alt.  Test.  1  Per.  p.  19,  and  Mid-  a  te  victo  mordebitur."     See  Ani- 
 
 dleton's  Letter  to   Dr.  Waterland,  mon's   Christologie  des  Alt.  Test. 
 
 Works,  vol.  ii,  p.  149.  p.   17,  where   may   be   found   the 
 
 ^  Rosenmiiller  thus  translates  the  objections   to   this   reading;    and, 
 
 passage:  "  Inimicitias  excitabo  in-  also,  the   various   explanations  of 
 
 ter    te    et    mulierem,   inter   hmm  which  the  passage  is  susceptible. 
 genus  et  vnum  ex   mulieris   pos-         *  I  will  not  s<ay  there  is  contra- 
 
98  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 As  liis  punishment  explains  why  the  form  of  the  serpent 
 so  much  deviates  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  brute  creation, 
 so  now  the  sentence  pronounced  upon  the  woman  accounts 
 for  those  differences  which  unfavourably  distinguish  her 
 from  the  man.  She  is  subjected  to  the  pains,  more  acutely 
 felt  in  our  northern  clhnes,  of  child-bearings  and  child-birth ; 
 and  from  the  equal  of  her  husband,  she  is  (according  to  a 
 custom  long  established  in  oriental  households,  but  rejected 
 by  the  more  civilized  nations  of  Europe)  degraded  to  his 
 slave.  ^ 
 
 Verses  17-19.  For  man's  sake  earth  was  created;  for 
 man's  sake  made  beautiful  and  fertile ;  and  is  for  man's 
 crime  now  cursed.  It  is  no  more  covered  with  trees  plea- 
 sant to  the  sight  and  good  for  food :  no,  thorns  and  thistles 
 are  its  natural  productions;  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  alone 
 "  shall  man  eat  of  it,"  and  then  in  sorrow.  Truly  Jehovah 
 Elohim  is  the  Jewish  Deity,  the  object  of  Jewish  worship, 
 the  reflex  of  the  Jewish  mind ;  to-day  blessings,  to-morrow 
 curses  only,  issue  from  his  lips — but  with  this  difference : 
 that  his  blessings  he  doles  out  to  individuals  like  an  alms, 
 while  his  curses  he  pours  forth  over  a  world. 
 
 "  In  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life." 
 We  of  the  north  know  the  ennui,  but  not  the  luxuries  of 
 
 diction,  but  is  there  not  some  dis-  ®  There  is  no  contradiction  be- 
 agreement  between  this  verse  and  tween  these  and  the  observations 
 the  28th  verse  of  the  first  chapter  ?  attached  to  the  2 1  st  verse  of  the 
 •'''  Of  the  African  women  voyagers  second  chapter ;  or,  if  there  be  con- 
 tell  us  :  "  La  facilite  des  femmes  a  tradiction,  it  is  not  of  my  making, 
 se  delivrer  de  leur  fruit  dans  I'ac-  The  forms  of  marriage,  and  of  lan- 
 couchement,  paroitroit  incroyable  guage,  in  the  East,  recognise  the 
 si  elle  n'etoit  attestee  par  tons  les  woman  as  the  equal  of  her  hus- 
 voyageurs.  EUesne  jettent  pas  un  band,  as  a  wife;  while,  in  fact, 
 cri;  elles  ne  poussent  pas  meme  she  is  every  where  a  slave.  See 
 un  soupir."— Hist.  Gen.  des  Voy-  the  Duties  of  an  Indian  Wife,  in 
 ages,  vol.  iii,  p.  171.  But  the  Michelet,  Origines  de  Droit  Fran- 
 Ostiack  and  the  Samojede  women,  cais,  chap.  ii.  Mariage  Indien. 
 have  the  same  facility  in  their  con-  That  the  state  of  the  wife  among 
 finements :  "  Elles  accouchent  sans  the  Hebrews  was  little  better,  the 
 paroitre  resscntir  aucun  douleur,  polygamy  of  the  patriarchs,  and  the 
 elles  se  contcntcnt  dc  s'asseoir  au  wives  and  concubines  of  the  kings, 
 premier  cndroit, fut-il  meme  convert  sutliciently  prove, 
 dc  neigc,"  &c. — Id.  xviii.  p.  .517. 
 
CHAPTER   III.  99 
 
 indolence  ;  they  of  the  east,  on  the  other  hand,  feel  all  the 
 exertion  and  fatigue  of  labour,  but  cannot  appreciate  the 
 enduring  cheerfulness  which  a  life  of  industry  ensures. 
 To  us,  Eden  with  its  idyllic  and  somewhat  monotonous  plea- 
 sures, had  been  intolerable  ;  for  them  it  is  Paradise  indeed, 
 the  very  ideal  of  an  earthly  heaven.  On  them,  consequently, 
 the  curse  of  Jehovah  Elohim  presses  heavily,  while  on  us 
 it  lies  a  feather-weight.  They  eat  their  bread,  earned  indeed 
 with  comparative  ease,  in  insecurity  and  sorrow ;  and  we 
 ours,  wrung  though  it  be  from  an  unwilling  soil,  in  peace, 
 and  content,  and  joy. 
 
 But  we  must  not  forget  that  among  the  nations  of  anti- 
 quity, in  the  tunes  of  Moses,  this  curse  was  literally  realized. 
 Labour  was  then  lightened  by  none  of  those  hopes  which 
 render  it  pleasant  to  civilized  man ;  it  was  all  bitter.  As 
 the  slave's  portion,  it  never  took,  never  could  wear,  the 
 cheerful  form  of  industry ;  it  made,  not  the  man  himself  but 
 Ms  owner,  rich.  As  the  lot  of  the  poorer  citizens,  it  was, 
 instead  of  a  bond  of  imion,  the  great  gulph  between  them 
 and  their  nobler  neighbours.  For,  as  the  rich  man  possessed 
 numerous  slaves,  he  was  seldom  called  upon  to  hire  the 
 labour  of  freemen  ;  and  as  he  Avas  hmiself  a  dealer  in  labour, 
 a  trader  in  artizans,  he  looked  upon  those  freemen  as  his 
 rivals :  he  hated  them  for  their  independence,  and  had  no 
 feeling  for  their  misfortunes.  By  liis  wealth,  and  the  ex- 
 tent of  his  operations,  he  gradually  narrowed  their  means,^ 
 and  oppressed  and  ruined  their  trade,  and  drove  them  from 
 the  exercise  of  the  city  arts,  and  reduced  them  to  till  their 
 little  spot  of  ground  for  their  daily  bread.  And  then  one 
 bad  season,  one  failure  of  their  crops,  or  a  murrain  among 
 
 ^  "  Ce  n'etait  pas  aux  riches,"  sus,  qui  r^petait  souvent...qu'un 
 
 says  M.  de  Cassagnac,  "que  les  bomme  ne  peut pas se  vanter d'etre 
 
 ouvriers  reunis   en  jurandes  pou-  riche,  a  moins  d'avoir  de  quoi  sou- 
 
 vaient  offrir  leur  travail.     Etait-ce  doyer  une  ann^e  de  quarante  mille 
 
 aux    pauvres  ?     Mais   aupres    de  homiues  avec  ses  revenus." — Hist. 
 
 ceux-ci    les    jurandes    trouvaient  des    Classes    Ouvrieres  et   Bour- 
 
 encore  la  concurrence  des  loueurs  geoises,  chap.  xii. ;  and  see,  also, 
 
 d'esclaves.    Et  quelle  concurrence  ?  Plutarch,  M.  Crassus ;  &  Sisniondi, 
 
 nous  I'avons  deja  dit,  la  concur-  Histoire  des  Fran^ais,  vol.  i,  p.  51 
 
 rence  de  capitalistes,  comme  Cras-  Sc  447,  ed.  Beige. 
 
100  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 their  cattle  {all  accidents  fjir  more  frequent  in  those  days 
 than  in  ours),  compelled  them  to  become  suitors  to  their 
 riclier  neighbour :  and  he  purchased  their  heart' s-blood  by 
 hard  loans,  di-agged  them  down  to  the  rank  of  dependants, 
 and  gradually  forced  them  into  slavery.' 
 
 Man  is  also  made  subject  to  death.  This  simple  legend, 
 as  written  for  aU  countries,  and  for  all  times,  I  have  judged 
 as  a  European  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a.d.  ;  but  let  me 
 now  view  it  as  written  in,  and  for  men  of,  the  nineteenth 
 century  of  a  previous  era — as  the  preface  to  Moses'  code  of 
 laws ;  and  in  how  different  a  light  it  then  appears !  It 
 speaks  to  us  of  a  Deity  who  realizes  the  loftiest  conceptions 
 of  infant  man, — of  the  Creator  who  is  powerful  and  benefi- 
 cent, and  whose  creation  man's  crime  alone  has  soiled.  It 
 offers  us  a  probable  solution  of  all  those  high  mysteries 
 which  agitate  man's  inexperienced  mind ;  it  tells  us  how 
 sin  came  into  the  world,  and  misery,  and  death.  It  teaches 
 us,  moreover,  by  awful  examples,  not  to  examine  into,  but 
 to  fulfil,  God's  commands ;  it  warns  us, — never  mind  how 
 pure  and  noble  our  motives — against  disobedience ;  it  holds 
 up  disobedience  to  us  as  a  sin  of  the  deepest  die,  and  one, 
 the  punishment  of  which  affects,  not  merely  the  criminal, 
 but  all  inanimate  nature.  And  now,  in  our  simple  faiths, 
 are  we  not  prepared  to  receive  the  code  of  Moses  as  the  code 
 of  God  ?  To  yield  to  it  a  blind  veneration  ?  WiU  we  not, 
 shrinking  away  from  all  scrutiny,  inquire  merely,  what  it  is 
 the  law  commands,  and  not  whether  its  command  is  wise 
 and  just  ?  Will  we  not,  terrified  by  the  power  and  the 
 jumishments  of  an  all-searcliing  Deity,  readily  learn  to 
 check  all  lawless  passions,  and  to  subdue  ourselves  to  the 
 
 "  As  instances,  I  might  adduce  appeal  to  the  direct  testimony  of 
 the  manner  in  which  the  whole  Chinese  writers,  who,  amid  other 
 Egyptian  people  were  reduced  to  causes  of  slavery  in  China,  enume- 
 slavery  by  Joseph;  also  the  laws  rate:  "les  troubles  et  malheiirs  de 
 regarding  slavery  in  the  code  of  la  troisieme  dynastie;  alors  les 
 Moses  (see  Deut.  xv.  12) ;  also  the  pauvres  qui  se  voyoient  sans  res- 
 well-known  usury-laws  of  Rome,  source,  se  donnoient,  avec  leurs  f\i- 
 which  had  their  parallel  in  ancient  milles,  aux  grands  et  aux  riches 
 CJrccce  (vide  Wachsmuth,  Hist,  qui  vouloient  les  nourrir."  — Mc- 
 Antiq.  of  Greece,  vol .  ii,  lib.  ii,  c.  v,  moives  des  Chinois,  vol.  ii,  p.  4 10. 
 §  vi,  p.  ;i().5);   and  finally,  I  may 
 
CHAPTER    III.  101 
 
 observance  of  numberless  ceremonies  ?  Self-restraint  wiU 
 then  become  a  habit,  conscience  soon  a  heeded  monitor, 
 and  we  are  already  humanized ;  we  have  advanced  beyond 
 the  state  of  impulses,  the  state  of  nature;  and,  unless 
 arrested  by  a  superstitious  regard  for  laws  once  so  beneficial, 
 but  each  day  growing  more  unnecessary,  we  are  in  the  fair 
 ti*ack  to  become  a  moral,  and  therefore  a  truly  great,  people. 
 And  now  we  will  recapitulate  our  legend ;  we  will  thus 
 more  readily  perceive  the  several  points  in  which  it  resem- 
 bles, or  differs  from,  the  smiilar,  or  seemingly  similar, 
 legends  of  other  people.  According  to  Genesis,  then,  dis- 
 obedience was  the  crime :  a  desire  of  knowledge,  and  un- 
 necessary and  ill-regulated  appetites  the  motive :  the  serpent 
 and  the  woman  the  tempters :  and  something  ethble  the 
 occasion :  which  lost  man  paradise,  and  made  misery  and 
 sorrow  the  heir-looms  of  our  race. 
 
 And  I.  The  Iroquois  believe  that  the  first  men,  living 
 alone,  were, 
 
 "  By  the  viewless  winds, 
 Blown  with  resistless  violence  round  about 
 The  pendant  world." 
 
 Fearing  the  extinction  of  their  race,  and  having  learnt  that 
 a  woman  dwelt  somewhere  in  the  heavens,  they  deputed  one 
 of  their  number  (Hogouaho  the  wolf)  to  seek  her  out.  This 
 messenger  of  mankind  is  borne  to  the  skies  on  the  wings 
 of  assembled  birds ;  and,  arrived  there,  he  watches  at  the 
 foot  of  a  tree  tiU  the  woman  comes  forth  to  draw  water 
 from  a  neighbouring  well.  On  her  approach  he  addresses 
 her,  gives  her  bear's  fat,  and  thus  seduces  her.  The  Deity 
 perceives  her  shame,  and  in  his  anger  thrusts  her  out  from 
 heaven.  The  tortoise  receives  her  on  his  back ;  and,  from 
 the  depths  of  the  sea  the  fish  bring  clay,  and  gradually 
 build  up  an  island  on  which  the  universal  mother  brings 
 forth  her  first  twins.^ 
 
 This  legend  accords  with  ours  of  Genesis,  merely  in  that 
 it  represents  man  as  living  in  kindly  fellowshijD  with  the 
 
 ^  See  Lafitau,  Moeurs  des  Sauvages,  vol.  i,  p.  93. 
 
102  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 brute  creation,  and  ivoman  as  banished  from  a  joyful  home, 
 an  Eden,  because  she  gave  way  to  her  appetites.  The  points 
 of  difference  are,  however,  many  and  material. 
 
 1st.  The  Avoman  inhabits  no  luxuriant  Eden,  but  heaven 
 itself. 
 
 2nd.  She  is  the  tempted,  and  not  the  tempter. 
 
 3rd.  Though,  like  Eve,  she  is  banished  to  this  common 
 earth,  her  banishment,  however  wretched  it  may  have  made 
 her,  made  man  happy  ;  her  loss  was  man's  gain.     And, 
 
 4th.  The  original  condition  of  mankind,  unlike  that  of 
 Adam,  is  here  represented  as  wretched  and  uncertain.  By 
 the  woman's  punislunent  that  condition  is  improved;  through 
 her,  man  is  enabled  to  insure  the  continuance  of  his  race, 
 and  through  her,  first  gains  a  fixed  habitation. 
 
 The  one  legend  seems,  in  a  narrative  shape,  to  contain  a 
 solution  of  the  principal  religious  difficulties  of  an  infant 
 and  contemplative  people.  While  the  other  probably  is  but 
 the  expression  of  the  first  dim  reminiscences  of  some  savage 
 tribe,  who,  in  the  course  of  their  wanderings,  having  seized 
 or  seduced  away  a  woman  of  a  more  civilized  and  nobler 
 race  than  themselves,  through  her  influence,  and  at  her 
 persuasion,  began  a  more  settled  course  of  life. 
 
 II.  According  to  Hesiod,^  the  Greeks  supposed  that 
 man  originally  lived  wifeless  and  ignorant,  but  innocent 
 and  happy.^     Prometheus  (the  great  civilizer),  however, 
 
 '  I  have,  as  quite  sufficient  for  my  Theogony,  as  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
 ])urj)ose,  preferred  the  simpler  le-  phetic  curse  of  Uranus,  we  have — 
 gend  in  "the  Works  and  Days."  the  fates  of  Menoetius  and  Atlas 
 The  Thcoijony  seems,  however,  to  detailed  to  us— as  also  the  irrever- 
 trace  the  origin  of  all  misery  to  ent  crime  of  Prometheus,  and  his 
 the  crime  of  Saturn  against  his  fa-  theft  of  fire  from  Heaven,  which 
 ther  Ouranos  (v.  205-10),  though  thus  connects  our  fortunes  with 
 it  refers  (v.  510),  as  in  the  Works,  those  of  the  Titanic  race.  The  The- 
 </ie7ni,ser?/o/TOrtn  more  immediately  ogony  has  no  golden  age,  no  Pan- 
 to the  folly  of  Ei)imetheus.  In  the     dora's  box. 
 
 -  "  Tl(iiv  fitv  yaj)  'C<DtaKov    tiri  x^ovi  (pv\'  aj^0pa*7rwv 
 voff^tv  artpOs  KaKU)v,  kuI  arip  x^^f^'O'o  Troroto 
 vovaiov  T'ci()ya\twv,  ai  r'av^pam  Kripac  eSioKav." — 90,  &c, 
 "  The  race  of  men  lived  upon  the  earth,  without  ills,  and  without 
 pamful  labour,  and  cruel  disease,  which  bring  care  to  man." 
 
CHAPTER   III.  103 
 
 steals  fire  from  Heaven,  and  teaches  man  its  use.  Tlie 
 angered  Jupiter  threatens  vengeance.  He  orders  Vulcan 
 to  form  a  woman  of  clay/  on  whom  the  gods  bestow  every 
 grace  and  beauty,  at  the  same  time  that  they  fill  her  heart 
 with  vanity,  and  cunning,  and  all  violent  desires.  Tliis 
 woman,  Pandora,  Jupiter  presents  to  Epunetheus,  who, 
 regardless  of  the  warnings  of  liis  wiser  brother,  accepts 
 the  gift,  and  marries  her.  From  that  moment  disease  and 
 evil  of  all  sorts  have  been  man's  lot." 
 
 In  this,  as  in  the  Hebrew  legend,  the  ill- regulated  appe- 
 tites of  an  individual  cause  the  misery  of  the  world.  In 
 both,  man  lives  alone,  and  happy,  and  ignorant.  In  both  the 
 woman  is  created  for  the  man :  but  in  the  one,  of  man's 
 own  flesh  and  as  a  helpmeet :  in  the  other,  of  clay  and  as  a 
 curse.  In  the  former,  knowledge,  that  acquu'ed  by  the 
 magic  tree :  in  the  latter,  the  power  knowledge  confers, 
 represented  by  fire,^  provokes  the  jealousy  of  the  Deity. 
 In  this,  however,  the  Deity  appears  as  cunning  and 
 treacherous,  as  luring  man  on,  though  guilty  of  no  ill,  to 
 his  destruction;  in  that,  thovigh  seeming  to  fear  man's 
 possible  equality,  the  God  is  just,  and  pronounces  on  man 
 but  a  promised,  though,  in  consideration  of  the  temptation, 
 a  somewhat  commuted,  sentence.  The  one  legend  never 
 altogether  forgets  that  its  Deity  is  the  wise  and  powerful 
 
 3  Vaiav  vl'ii  ipvpeiv,  ev  S'avOpujTrov    like  the  breath  in   Genesis.     The 
 Bijiiv  avctji' — "  to  knead  earth  with     Theogony    forms    the    woman    of 
 water,  and  place  there  the  voice  of    earth  alone :  the  earth  and   water 
 a  man  (Epy.   icai  vfiep.)  " — not  un-     typify  her  unstable  sense. 
 *  "  fivpia  Xvypa  Kar  avQpu)Trov<;  aXuXjjrai: 
 
 TrXfiJj  ^sv  yap  yaia  KaKS)v,  TrXtirj  f e  OaXaffua : 
 vovaoi  c'av9po)7TOi(nv  £(f>  yjispy  rj'o  £7ri  vvkti 
 avroficiTOi  (poiruxri.     KUKa  Srvtjroifft  (pepovffai 
 (TLyij.  f TTfi  (piovtjv  e^siXsTo  i.ir]TiiTa  Ztuc."- — -100,  &C. 
 "  Thousand  griefs  stray  among  men  ;  full  is  the  earth  of  ills,  and  full 
 the  sea ;  day  and  night,  Plagues  unbidden  haunt  our  race,  noiselessly 
 bearing  woes  to  men  ;  for,  of  speech,  the  wise  Jove  has  deprived  them." 
 •'  In  Homer,  Vulcan,  the  god  of  fire,  is  essentially  the  artist.     In  He- 
 siod,  Theog.  929,  he  is  : — 
 
 "  Ek  TTavTuiv  Tsxvrjffi  KSKaiTfievov  Ovpavtuvwv." 
 And  in  ^Eschylus,  Prometheus,  who  gave  fire  to  men,  speaks  of  himself  as 
 one: — 
 
 "  a(p'  ov  yt  TToXXac  tKfiaQrjaovrai  nxvag." 
 
104  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 Creator,  while  the  other  never  rises  beyond  its  first  con- 
 ception of  the  gods,  who,  like  its  men,  are  mere  accidents. 
 
 III.  According  to  the  traditions  of  the  Lamaic  faith,  the 
 first  men  lived  to  the  age  of  60,000  years.«  They  are  repre- 
 sented as  holy  men,  invisibly  nourished,  and  as  having 
 possessed  the  wonderful  power  of  raising  themselves  to 
 the  skies.  In  this  age  of  the  world  the  transmigration  of 
 souls  was  universal, — all  men  were  twice  born  ;^  and  in  this 
 age  it  was  that  the  thousand  Burchan,  or  gods,  settled  them- 
 selves in  the  heaven.  In  an  unlucky  hour,  the  earth  pro- 
 duced a  honey-sweet  substance, — a  glutton  ate  of  it,  and 
 seduced  the  rest  of  mankind  to  follow  his  example.  From 
 that  time  man  lost  his  pristine  holiness  and  innocence  ; 
 he  could  no  longer  fly  to  heaven,  and  no  longer  attained 
 the  great  age  and  giant  size  of  the  men  of  former  times. 
 He  lived,  too,  a  while  in  darkness,  until  at  length  a 
 sun  and  the  stars  appeared.  After  a  certain  period,  how- 
 ever, the  manna  began  to  fail:  and  man  must  feed  now 
 on  earth-butter,  and,  shortly  after,  on  a  species  of  reed- 
 grass,  of  which,  taught  by  experience,  they  began  to  make 
 provision :  but  this,  too,  became  scarce : — and  now  all 
 virtue  fled  the  world,  and  adultery,  murder,  and  injustice 
 prevailed.  Then  men  began  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and 
 to  divide  it  among  themselves ;  and  they  chose  out  from 
 among  themselves  the  most  experienced  to  be  their  law- 
 giver,— and  he  became  their  Chan. 
 
 Here,  again,  we  have  men  innocent  and  happy,  till  their 
 sensuality  and  ill-regulated  appetites  drive  them  down 
 from  misery  to  misery ;  and  here,  too,  we  have  the  first 
 steps  towards  a  civilized  state  associated  with  the  lowest 
 moral  degradation.  This  legend  is,  however,  true  to  itself; 
 — it  produced  the  universe  and  its  inhabitants  without 
 a  Creator,  and  it  now,  unlike  the  others,  makes  man's 
 misery  as  it  made  his  happiness,  something  altogether 
 independent  of  the  Deity." 
 
 "  Pallas  Rcise,  vol.  i,  p.  334.  the  Brahmins  arc  alone  honoured  as 
 
 '  In  our  (lays  the  privilege  of  the     "  twice-horn." 
 higher  priesthood  only.     Tn   India         "  Yet,  perhaps,  is  there  no  creed 
 
CHAPTER    III.  105 
 
 IV.  According  to  the  Cbalias  of  Ceylon,  "TlieBrahmes  are 
 first  represented  as  inhabiting  the  regions  of  the  air,  where 
 they  enjoyed  perfect  happiness.  They  fed  on  the  earth, 
 till,  fearing  that  it  would  be  entirely  consumed,  they 
 di^dded  it  equally  amongst  themselves ;  ®  but  the  unfortu- 
 nate idea  of  dividing  destroyed  the  dehcious  flavoui-  of  the 
 earth.". . .  Chance  then  produced  a  species  of  mushroom,  of 
 which,  as  they  also  divided  it,  they  were  also  deprived. 
 Thus  they  proceeded  from  food  to  food,  till  at  length 
 these  diiferent  kinds  of  food  changed  the  nature  of  the 
 Brahmes, — and,  from  spirit,  they  became  matter  in  a 
 hmuan  shape,  having  bones,  flesh  and  blood : — "  And, 
 having  imbibed  wicked  ideas,  they  became  hemiapkro- 
 dites,  and  communicated  carnally  Avith  each  other :  the 
 consequence  was,  that  they  lost  their  ancient  glory."  ^ 
 
 This  legend,  wdth  much  that  resembles,  essentially 
 differs  from,  the  last.  In  both,  indeed,  the  first  men  divide 
 their  time  between  earth  and  heaven ;  in  both,  they  feed 
 on  the  earth,  and,  as  they  degrade  from  food  to  food, 
 lose  some  portion  of  their  virtue,  till  at  length  they 
 become  common  men.  In  the  one,  however,  the  inha- 
 bitants of  the  world  are  mortal  men,  holier  indeed,  and 
 longer  lived,  than  ourselves,  but  still  mortal ;  in  the  other^ 
 they  are  immortal  spirits.  In  this  the  desire  to  appro- 
 priate, selfishness,  is  the  primary  cause,  in  that  the  first 
 consequence  of  man's  misery ;  and  that  misery,  in  the 
 former,  is  expressed  by  poverty,  and  the  loss  of  moral 
 excellence ;  in  the  latter,  by  the  acquisition  of  a  material 
 body.  The  one  legend  accounts,  then,  for  the  wretchedness 
 which  is  our  lot ;  while  the  other  but  tells  us  hovv^  we 
 became  possessed  of  our  bodily  frames,  of  which  all  carnal 
 appetites  are  the  necessary  result. 
 
 in  which  the  priests  claim  higher  ^  Vide  also  Buchanan  on  the  Re- 
 honours,  and  have  more  unoon-  ligion  and  Literature  of  the  Bur- 
 trolled  power,  than  in  the  Lamaic.  mese,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi,p. 
 The  fact  is,  they  possess  the  power  of  246. 
 
 distributing  the  good  and  ill  of  this  i  Vide   On   the    Religion    and 
 
 world,  and  they  teep  also  the  keys  Manners  of  Ceylon,  by  Joinville,  in 
 
 of  the  heaven  and  hell  of  the  next.  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vii,  p.  438. 
 
 P 
 
106  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 V.  According  to  the  Chinese,  man  is  partly  spirit,  partly- 
 animal.  The  spirit  follows  the  laws  of  heaven  as  a  disciple 
 his  master ;  the  animal,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  slave  of 
 sense.  At  his  origin  man  obeyed  the  heavens :  his  first 
 state  was  one  of  innocence  and  happiness, — there  was  no 
 disease,  no  death, — he  was  wise  and  good  by  instinct :  he 
 was  all  spirit.^  But  the  immoderate  desire  of  knowledge, 
 according  to  one  author,  or,  according  to  others,  gluttony, 
 or  the  temptation  of  the  woman,  was  the  ruin  of  man- 
 kind.^ Man  held  no  more  power  over  himself:  lust  and 
 passion  gained  ascendancy  over  him,  and  he  lost  his 
 intellectual  pre-eminence."  All  beasts,  and  birds,  and 
 reptiles,  now  waged  war  against  him :  as  he  acquired 
 science,  all  creatures  became  his  enemies.* 
 
 We  find,  then,  among  the  Chinese,  as  among  the  Jews, 
 an  innocent,  peaceful,  and  happy  life  attributed  to  the 
 first  men,  and  the  same  motives  occasioning  its  loss.  But 
 the  Chinese  deal  in  generalities, — they  evidently  philo- 
 sophize, conjecture  only,  and  not  always  in  harmony :  they 
 merely  aim  at  the  probable.  The  Jews,  on  the  other 
 hand,  narrate  a  plain  simple  fact, — whether  probable  or 
 not  they  care  little, — they  believe  in  it,  and  demand  for  it 
 the  belief  in  others. 
 
 VI.  According  to  the  Persian  faith  : — Ormuzd,  when  he 
 
 *  Lo-pi,  quoted  by  De  Guignes,  vers,  et  a  ete  la  porte  ile  tons  les 
 
 Chou-king,  Dis.  Prelim,  p.  75,  says,  crimes.     L'ancien  proverbe  dit,  II 
 
 speakiiio;  of  the  golden  age  :  "  Que  ne  faut  pas  ecouter  les  paroles  de 
 
 les    bommes    etoient  spirituels   et  la  femme.     La  glose  :  '  Ces  paroles 
 
 vertueux,  qu'ils    avoient    tout   du  indiquent  que  la  perversion  de  la 
 
 ciel  et  rien  de  Thomme.     L'esprit,  femme  a  ete  la  premiere  source  et 
 
 Chin, suit  leciel  commeun  disciple  la  racine   de   tons  les   maux.'" — 
 
 suit  son  maitre;  Tappetit,  Kouei,  Memoires  Chinoises,  vol.  i,  p.  107. 
 la  partie  animale,  sert  en  esclave         *•  Vide  from  Lo-pi, in  De  Guignes, 
 
 aux   cboses   scnsil)les.      Au   com-  ut  supra. 
 
 mencement,  I'liomnie,  obcissant  au  ■'  This  is  also  from  Lo-pi :  "Apres 
 ciel,  etoit  tout  esprit;  maisensuite,  la  degradation  de  I'homme,  dit  Lo- 
 ne vielhint  ])as  sur  lui-meme,  la  pi,  les  animaux,  les  insects,  et  les 
 passion  prit  le  dessus,  et  il  perdit  serpens,  commencerent  a  I'envie 
 I'intelligence."  a  lui  faire  la  guerre.     Apres  que 
 
 '  "  Le  desir  imniodere  de  la  sci-  I'liomme    eut    acquis  la    science, 
 
 ence  a  perdu    le    genre  humain,  toutes  les  creatures  furent  ses  cn- 
 
 dit  Hoainan-tsee.  Selon  leTou-lai-  nemis."  —  Memoires      Chinoises, 
 
 see,  la  gourmandise  a  perdu  I'uni-  vol.  i,  p.  107. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  107 
 
 gave  existence  to  the  pure  worlds  of  light,  created  also  the 
 Ferouers,^  or  hScjXu  of  men.  These  Ferouers  he  placed  in 
 the  pleasant  Gorodinan :  and  there  they  are  supposed  to 
 wander,  pure  and  happy,  till,  called  forth  to  take  part  in 
 the  ever-during  war  against  Ahriman  and  liis  Dews,  they 
 appear  as  men  on  the  great  battle-field  of  the  world.^ 
 
 "  Man  was,"  says  the  Boun-Dehesch,^  "  the  father  of 
 man  was, — heaven  was  his  destiny, — but  he  must  be 
 humble  of  heart,  and  humbly  do  the  works  of  the  law ; 
 pure  he  must  be  of  thought,  pure  of  word,  pure  of  deed, 
 not  invoking  the  Dews; — and  such,  in  the  beginning,  were 
 the  thoughts  and  acts  of  our  first  parents." 
 
 First  they  said,  "  It  is  Ormuzd  who  has  given  the  water, 
 and  the  earth,  and  the  trees,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and 
 the  stars,  and  the  moon,  and  the  sun,  and  all  things  pure." 
 But  Ahriman  arose,  and  rushed  upon  their  thoughts,  and 
 beat  down  their  good  dispositions,  and  said  to  them,  "  It  is 
 Ahriman  who  has  given  the  water,"  &c.  Thus  Ahriman 
 deceived  them,  and  even  to  the  end  will  seek  to  deceive.' 
 To  his  lie  they  gave  credence,  and  became  Darvands  ;  and, 
 therefore,  are  their  souls  condemned  to  the  Douzakh,  even 
 until  the  great  resurrection  of  the  body.  During  thirty 
 days  they  feasted,  and  covered  themselves  with  black 
 clothing.     After  thirty  days  they  went  to  the  chase  ;  and 
 
 ^  "  Les  Ferouers  sont  comme  je  vous  retablirai  dans  votre  pre- 
 I'expression  la  plus  parfaite  de  la     mier  etat ;  vous  serez  heureus. 
 
 pensee  du  Createur  appliquee  a  tel  Ensuite  le  Ferouer  de  rhomme  ar- 
 
 objetparticulier.  Ilsontd'abordex-  riva   dans   le   ruonde,  y  parut.'' — 
 
 iste  seul.   Reunis  ensuite  aux  etres  Boun-Dehesch, Zend.  vol. ii,  p.350. 
 qu'ils   representoient,    ils    out  fait         *  Vide  p.  377-380,  ibid, 
 partie  de  lame  des  creatures,  mais         ^  Anquetil,  at  the  foot  of  the  pafje, 
 
 ils  ne  se  disent  proprenient  que  des  gives    this    other    reading,  which 
 
 etres  raisonnables.'' — Note  of  An-  more  distinctly  connects  our  destiny 
 
 quetil  to  p.  83,  vol.  i,  of  his  Trans^  withthatof  MeschiaandMeschiane: 
 
 lation  of  the  Zend.  "  Ce  fut  aiusi  qu'au  commencement 
 
 ^  "  En  meme  temps  I'excellente  Ahriman  men  tit  (aux  hommes)  sur 
 
 intelligence  porta  aux  hommes  les  ce  qui  regardoit  les  Dews;  etjus- 
 
 Ferouers  des  hommes,  et  leur  dit,  qu'a  la  fin  ce  cruel  ue  cherche  qu'a 
 
 Quel    avantage   ne   retirerez-vous  (les    corrompre)  ;   a    cause    d'eux 
 
 pas,  de  ce  que  dans  le  monde  je  (Meschia  et  Meschiane)  les  ames 
 
 vous  donnerai  d'etre  dans  des  corps !  seront  en  enfer  jusqu'a  la  resurrec- 
 
 Combattez  alors  les  Daroudj ;  faites  tion."  Zandavesta ,  ut  supra, 
 disparoitre  les  Daroudj  ;  a  la  fin 
 
108  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 they  found  a  white  goat,  and  with  their  lips  they  drew  off 
 her  milk,  and  drank  her  milk  and  were  glad :  "  We  have 
 tasted  nothing  like  to  this  milk,"  said  Meschia  and 
 Mescliiane ;  "  the  milk  we  ha^'c  drunk  was  pleasant  to 
 the  taste,  very  pleasant  to  the  taste,"  and  it  was  an  evil  to 
 their  bodies. 
 
 "  Then  the  Dew,  the  liar,  grown  more  bold,  presented 
 himself  a  second  time,  and  brought  with  him  fruit  of 
 which  they  ate  ;  and  of  a  hundred  excellences  which  they 
 possessed,  one  only  was  left  them.  And,  after  thirty  days 
 and  thirty  nights,  they  found  a  white  and  fat  sheep,  and 
 they  cut  off  its  left  ear ;  and,  taught  by  the  Izeds  of 
 heaven,  they  drew  fire  from  the  tree  konar,  and  they  fired 
 the  tree,  and  with  their  breath  raised  the  fire  to  a  flame ; 
 and  they  burned,  first,  the  branches  of  the  konar,  then 
 of  the  khorma,  and  afterwards  of  the  myrtle ;  and  they 
 roasted  the  sheep,  which  they  divided  into  three  portions ; 
 and  of  the  two  which  they  did  not  eat,  one,  it  is  said, 
 was  carried  to  heaven, — the  bird  kehrkas  carried  it  away." 
 
 "Afterwards,  they  feasted  on  dog's  flesh,  and  they 
 clothed  themselves  in  its  skin.  They  gave  themselves  up  to 
 the  chase,  and  with  the  furs  of  wild  beasts  they  covered 
 their  bodies.  And  Meschia  and  Meschiane  digged  a  hole 
 in  the  earth,  and  they  found  iron,  and  the  iron  they  beat 
 with  a  stone,  and  they  made  for  themselves  an  axe,  and 
 they  struck  at  the  roots  of  a  tree,  and  they  felled  the  tree, 
 and  arranged  its  branches  into  a  hut ;  and  to  God  they 
 gave  no  thanks :  and  the  Dews  took  heart.  Now  become 
 enemies,  Meschia  and  Meschiane  hated  each  other,  and 
 they  advanced  against,  and  struck,  and  wounded  each  one 
 the  other,  and  each  went  his  own  way  :  then  from  his 
 place  of  darkness  the  chief  of  the  Dews  was  heard  to  cry 
 aloud,  "Man  worship  the  Dews!"  And  the  Dew  of  hate 
 sat  upon  his  throne.  And  Meschia  advanced,  and  drew 
 milk  from  the  bull,  and  sprinkled  it  towards  the  north, 
 and  the  Dews  became  strong ;  and,  during  fifty  winters, 
 Meschia  and  INlescliiane  lived  apart,  and  after  that  time 
 they  met,  and  Meschiane  bore  twins,"  &c. 
 
 In  this  legend,  as  in  that  of  Genesis,  we  have  the  history 
 
CHAPTER    III.  109 
 
 of  the  first  ancestors  of  our  race.  In  loth,  man  is  created 
 pure  and  innocent ;  but,  in  the  one  legend,  he  is  formed  of 
 earth,  and  is  pure,  because  ignorant;  while,  in  the  other, 
 he  comes  from  God,  or  God's  dwelling,  "  trailing  with  him 
 clouds  of  glory,"  and  is  pure,  because  moral  and  religious.' 
 In  both  legends,  the  eating  of  a  particular  fruit  {in  the  one, 
 it  is  the  special  food  of  the  Elohim;  m  the  other,  it  is  a  pro- 
 duction of  Ahriman)  causes  a  great  change  for  the  Avorse 
 in  the  condition  of  our  race.  According  to  Moses,  however, 
 this  is  the  one  crime,  while,  according  to  Zoroaster,  this 
 is  hut  one  of  a  series  of  crimes,  committed  by  our  first 
 parents.  In  both,  man  is  represented  as  yielding  to  the 
 first  temptation ;  and,  iri  both,  man,  by  his  own  fault,  con- 
 demns himself  to  misery ;  but,  in  Genesis,  man  sins  by 
 disobeying  an  express  command, — and  he  sins  because 
 tempted  by  a  beast  of  the  field ;  while,  in  the  Zend,  he 
 sins  against  his  conscience, — sins,  because  tempted  by 
 Ahriman,  and  sins  by  acknowledging  Ahriman  as  the 
 author  of  all  good.  In  this  latter  legend,  man  is  not  created 
 for  this  earth;  and  all  things  earthly,  therefore,  defile  him; 
 as  he  eats,  he  loses  his  spiritual  nature  ;-  and,  as  he  acquires 
 
 1  I  draw  this  distinction  between  opprime,  moi  Onnuzd,  qui  suis  la 
 
 the  Adam  and  Eve  of  Genesis  and  supreme  force ;  il  la  vit  opprimee, 
 
 the  Meschia  and  Meschiane  of  the  cetteloiexcelleutequi  estlalumiere 
 
 Zend  advisedly.     In  Genesis   the  des  kmes;  etcelaparceque  fhomme, 
 
 man  dressed  the  Lord's  garden,  and  Meschia,  ne  ni'avoit  pas  fait  Izeseh- 
 
 talked  with  his  master  as  with  his  wee»meno7/i?»an<,  commeles  Izeds 
 
 friend.     He  knew  not  good  from  mefont  Izeschneen  menommant." 
 
 evil,  and  he  did  not  tnnnhle  before,  — Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  191. 
 and  does  not  seem   to  have   tvor-         ^  I  presume   this  from  the  fact 
 
 shipped  God,  till  after  he  lost  his  that,  in  the  course  of  ages,  man  is 
 
 innocence.   The  first  words  of  Mes-  to   return   to   his   pristine   food — 
 
 chia  and  Meschiane,  on  the  other  water ;  and  at  length,  when  Sosi- 
 
 hand,  are  words  of  worship ;  they  osch  appears,  during  the  last  year 
 
 acknowledge  their  Maker  and  their  of  the  great  millenium,  will  neither 
 
 God.    They  cease  to  worship  him —  eat  nor  require  food :    "  Dans  le 
 
 and,  as  we  learn  from  the  lescht  of  mille   d'Oscheder-mah,  il   y   aura 
 
 Taschter    (Garde  vi) :   "  Le    Dew  encore  de  la  force  dans  la  nature, 
 
 Epeoscho  vainquit  Taschter,  eclat-  mais  elle  diminuera.    Lcs  hommes 
 
 ant   de  lumiere  et  de  gloire,  qui  passeront  trois  jours  et  trois  nuits 
 
 s'enfuit  du  Zare  Voorokesche,  a  la  faisant  Izeschne,  et  mangeant  I'uu 
 
 distance  d'un  grand  Hesar.  Tasch-  avec  I'autre,  et  se  trouveront  a  la 
 
 ter,  eclatant  de  lumiere  et  de  gloire,  fin  des  terns.   Ensuite  ils  cesseront 
 
 vitl'eau  resserree  et  violentee  couler  de  manger  de  la  viande,  et  manger- 
 
 avec  peine  vers  le  midi ;  il  me  vit  ont  du  fruit  des  arbres  et  du  lait ; 
 
110  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 the  mechanical  arts  of  life,  he  but  subjects  himself  the 
 more  to  the  power  of  the  evil  one.  In  the  former,  on  the 
 other  hand,  man  is  expressly  made  for  this  world ;  he  pos- 
 sesses it  as  its  lord,  and  he  eats  of  its  fruit,  and  does  God 
 service:  and,  if  knowledge  makes  him  miserable,  it  is 
 because  that  knowledge,  which  is  not  instinct,  is  not  of 
 God's  giving,^  and,  therefore,  cannot  be  for  man's  good. 
 In  the  one  legend^  man  is  sent  on  the  earth  as  to  a  place  of 
 trial ;  in  the  other,  as  to  a  place  of  enjoyment.  This,  then, 
 punishes  man  sufficiently,  by  making  him  to  feel  his 
 nakedness,*  by  driving  him  out  into  the  briery  wilderness 
 of  the  world,  and  by  condemning  him  to  return  to  the 
 dust  of  which  he  had  been  formed ;  but,  in  that,  no  such 
 punishment  could  avail :  for,  tlie  weed-covered  earth  Ahri- 
 man  had  already  corrupted  and  defiled ;  to  the  earth  the 
 pure  Ferouer  had  been  ordered  but  to  try  his  courage  and 
 his  truth:  death  then  coidd  have  no  terrors  for  the  faithless 
 servant :  it  could  but  lead  him  back  to  the  pleasant  odours, 
 the  beauteous  exhalations,  and  the  heavenly  light  of  the 
 happy  Gorodman — unless,  indeed,  some  terrible  retribution 
 awaited  him  beyond  the  grave.  Yes,  it  was  decreed,  that 
 he  who  worshipped  the  Dews,  should  suffer  with  the 
 Dews, — he  must  sink  down  to  the  stench,  the  corruption, 
 and  the  darkness  of  the  Douzakh. 
 
 puis  ils  quiUeront  le  kit,  cesseront  Avesta.     For,  having  worshipped, 
 
 de  manger  le  fruit  des  arbres,  et  our  parents  become  subject  to  Ah- 
 
 ne  boirout  que  de  Teau.     Ensuite  riman,  and  Ahriman  it  is  who  has 
 
 la  derniere  annee,  lorsque  Sosiosch  afflicted  the  eaith  with  cold;  and 
 
 paroitra,  I'homnie  ne  mangera  plus,  Ahriman  it  was  who  with  cold  drove 
 
 et  il  ne  mourra  pas." — Bouu-De-  the  people  of  Ormuzd  from  Eerieue- 
 
 liesch,  vol.  ii,§  xxxi,  p.  411.  Veedjoo  :  "  Le  premier  lieu,  la  pre- 
 
 ^  According  to  the  book  of  Enoch,  miere  ville,  semblable  au  Behescht 
 
 "  the  angels  who  have  commerce  que  je  produisis,    moi,    qui    suis 
 
 with  the  daughters  of  men  teach  Ormuzd,     fut      Eeeriene- Veedjoo 
 
 them  the  secrets  of  Heaven;"  and  donne  pur.      Ensuite  ce  Peetiare 
 
 this  is  put  forward  as  one  of  the  rea-  Ahrinmn,  plcin  de  mort,  fit  dans 
 
 sons  for  the  destruction  of  the  world  la  fleuvc  qui  arrosoit  Eeriene-Veed- 
 
 by  the  deluge.  joo,  la  grande  couleuvre,  mere  de 
 
 ^  In  both  legends,  the  first  con-  'rhivcr  donne  par  le  Z)e?f\''— Far- 
 sequence  of  nuiu's  sin  shows  itself  gard  i,  Vendidad,  Zend,  p.  263. 
 in  the  desire  of  clothing  :  the  sense        =  For  a  description  of  Gorodman, 
 of  shame  induces  it  in  Genesis,  but  see  Nann-Setaeschne   xiii,   Zend, 
 the  sense  of  cold,  1  suspect,  in  the  vol.   ii,   p.   25  :   of  the   Douzakh, 
 
CHAPTER    in. 
 
 HI 
 
 VII.  According  to  the  Hindoos,  all  individual  souls 
 emanate  from  the  one  Supreme.  As  a  portion  of  the  Divine 
 Essence,  they  are  infinite,  immortal,  sentient,  true.  Each 
 soul  is  also  created  free,  and  is,  besides,  originally  invested 
 Avith  a  subtle  person,  too  subtle  for  restraint,  and  one  which, 
 though  affected  by  sentiments,  is  incapable  of  enjoyment.^ 
 And  thus  free  and  happy,  our  souls  long  lived  as  devatas  or 
 angels,  until  persuaded  by  the  Devs  Moisasur,  and  Rhabun, 
 we,  out  of  envy  and  jealousy,  fell  aAvay  from  the  Deity  ; 
 and  thus  lost  our  former  happiness,  and  our  purely  spiritual 
 natures.  Our  souls  were  now  confined  to,  imprisoned  in, 
 bodies,^  grosser  and  viler  in  proportion  to  our  crimes ;  and 
 this  world  was  created  as  our  place  of  banishment  and  puri- 
 fication.* Here  we  are  thrown  to  suffei',  but  not  without 
 hope;  mankind,  the  Deity  made  evident  by  his  power 
 occasionally  deigns  to  visit,  "  appearing  from  age  to  age, 
 for  the  preservation  of  the  just,  the  destruction  of  the 
 wicked,  and  the  establishment  of  virtue."*     On  this  earth. 
 
 Boun-Dehesch,  p.  416  ;  id.:  of  the 
 resurrection  and  the  reception  which 
 the  just  may  expect,  Fargard  xix, 
 vol.  i,  p.  418  :  "  Les  araes  des  justes 
 passeront  le  pont  Tchinevad  qui 
 inspire  la  frayeur,  accompagnees 
 des  Izeds  celestes.  Bahman  se 
 levera  de  son  trone  d'or ;  Bahman 
 leur  dira:  Commentetes-vousvenus 
 ici,  6  ames  pures,  de  ce  monde  de 
 maux,  dans  ces  demeures  ou  I'au- 
 teur  des  maux  n'a  aucun  pouvoir  ? 
 Soyez  lesbien-venues,6  ames  pures, 
 pres  d'Ormuzd,  pres  des  Amschas- 
 pands,  pres  du  trone  d'or,"  Sec. 
 
 ®  Colebrooke's  Essays,  vol.  i,  p. 
 238,  244. 
 
 ^  In  Menu  the  body  is  thus  de- 
 scribed :  "  A  mansion  with  bones 
 for  its  rafters,  with  nerves  and 
 tendons  for  cords,  with  muscles  and 
 blood  for  mortar ;  with  skin  for  its 
 outward  covering;  filled  with  no 
 sweet  perfumes,  but  loaded  with 
 foeces  and  urine;  a  mansion  in- 
 fested by  age  and  by  sorrow,  the 
 seat  of  malady,  harassed  with  pains, 
 haunted  with  darkness,  and  incap- 
 
 able of  standing  long.  Such  a 
 mansion  of  the  vital  soul  let  its 
 occupier  always  cheerfully  quit; 
 as  a  tree  leaves  the  bank  of  a  river 
 when  it  fells  in,  or  as  a  bird  leaves 
 the  branch  of  a  tree  at  its  pleasure, 
 
 thus  he  who  leaves  his  body is 
 
 delivered  from  the  ravening  shark 
 of  the  world." — vi.  77-78. 
 
 ^  Dubois,  Moeurs  des  Indes,  vol. 
 ii,  p.  309 ;  Von  Bohlen,  Das  Alte 
 Indien,  vol.  i,  p.  171;  Rhode,  Hei- 
 lige  Sage,  p.  162;  Id.  Ueber  die 
 altesten  Rel.  des  Morgenlandes, 
 Beitriige  zur  Alterthuraskunde, 
 i,  Ht.  76 ;  Languinais,  Relig.  des 
 Indous,  from  the  Oupneck'hat, 
 CEuvres,  vol.  iv,  p.  318.  This  origin 
 of  evil,  which  makes  a  part  of  the 
 popular  religion  of  India,  is,  we 
 must  observe,  from  the  Shasta  of 
 Brahma,  and  not  from  the  Vedas. 
 The  Vedas  no  where  moot  this  diffi- 
 cult question,'perhaps  because  with 
 them  all  evil,  like  all  separate  exist- 
 ence, is  but  delusion. 
 
 '^  Bhagavat-Geeta,  by  Wilkins, 
 Lecture  iv,  p.  52. 
 
112  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 then,  the  once-angel  soul  wanders,  passing  many  births, 
 and  subject  to  successive  transmigrations ;  now  degraded  to 
 the  form  of  a  Pariah,  and  now  united  to  the  purer  essence 
 of  God  and  Genii,  but  never  w^holly  freed  from  the  bonds 
 of  matter — never  completely  exalted  above  the  possibilities 
 of  sin,  and  consequent  abasement,  until  it  loses  its  indivi- 
 duality by  identification  with  the  Divine  mind/ 
 
 According  to  the  Hindoo  doctrine,  then,  the  body  was 
 formed  for  the  soul;  according  to  Genesis,  the  soul  was 
 given  to  animate  the  body  :  in  this  the  world  appears  at  its 
 origin  as  a  happy  garden,  in  whicli  wandered  an  innocent 
 and  joyous  race  ;  in  that,  it  is  held  up  as  the  Siberia  of  the 
 heavenly  empire,  the  purgatory  in  which  rebel  souls  ex- 
 piate past  offences.  The  one  accounts  for  the  creation  of  a 
 miserable  and  disorganised  world  ;  the  other,  for  the  woful 
 change  which  has  come  over  the  fate  and  fortunes  of  man- 
 kind. Both  are  oppressed  with  the  material,  the  physical, 
 sufferings  of  Humanity  ;  but  the  former,  in  the  differences 
 of  caste  and  of  fortune,  finds  some  shadow  of  a  previous 
 glory ;  while  the  latter  throws  its  curse,  unqualified  by  any 
 exception,  uninfluenced  by  any  hope,  over  our  wretched 
 race.  The  one,  however,  by  the  unknown  crimes  and  un- 
 remembered  virtues^  which  it  punishes  or  rewards,  sanctifies 
 and  perpetuates  the  condition  in  which  the  individual  is 
 born :  and  it  induces  in  the  rich  and  happy,  the  civilized 
 classes,  a  Pharisaical  self-content;  and,  in  the  poor  and 
 suffering,  a  slavish  abasement.  The  other,  on  the  contrary/, 
 recognizes  no  distinction  between  man  and  man  f  it  finds 
 
 '  Colebrooke,  vol.  i,  p.  368  ;  and  secbzelinten  Jal^'eil•gendeinFellle^• 
 Lansuinais,  id.  id.  ]).  338  ;  and  the  entwickelt,  oder  wer  irgend  ein 
 whole  scope  of  the  Bhagavat-Geeta.  Gebrechen  mit  auf  die  Welt  bringt, 
 
 *  ''  C'cst  aux  memes  causes  qu'il  aus  seinem  Kasten  gestossen  wird, 
 
 faut  attrilnier  les  distinctions  qu'on  da  man  jeden  kiirperlichen  Fehler 
 
 observe  panni  les  hommes.  Les  uns  als  Strale  I'ur  Siinden  des  vorigen 
 
 sont  riches,  les  autres  pauvres,"  Ike.  Lebens  betrachtet." — Rhode,[ii.  Re- 
 
 "  rien  de  tout  cela  n'est  Teffet  ligos.  Bildung  d.  Hindus,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 du  hazard,  mais  bien  le  resultat  des  219. 
 
 vertus  ou  des  vices  qui  out  precede        ''  T  speak  here  of  the  true  Mosai- 
 
 la    renaissance."— Dubois,    id.   p.  cal  doctrine  :  the  transmigration  of 
 
 309.      "  Jeder  gebornc  Brahman,  souls  and  the  belief  that  the  mis- 
 
 an  dcssen  Korper  sich  vor  seinem  fortunes  of  this  life  were  the  punish- 
 
CHAPTER    III.  113 
 
 US  all  equally  miserable,  and,  unless  it  hereafter  offer  to  us 
 the  pardon  and  the  consolations  of  tlie  Deity,  all  equally  hope- 
 less. The  first,  then,  as  it  developcs  itself  in  the  state,  will 
 appeal  to  the  religion  of  the  many  to  make  them  the  slaves 
 of  the  few  ;  while  the  second  will  leave  us  slaves  indeed  of 
 the  Deity  and  of  liis  priests,  but  will  demand  respect  not 
 for  the  man,  but  for  the  laios.  The  one  will  lean  towards  a 
 paternal  form  of  government,  a  tyranny;  the  other,  towards 
 a  republic,  of  which  equality,  fraternity,  is  the  basis. 
 
 Again,  according  to  Genesis,  God  speaks  his  fiat,  and  our 
 universe  bursts  into  existence :  but  whether  as  God's  first 
 and  best,  or  last  and  poorest,  creation,  Moses  is  silent. 
 God,  too,  breathes  upon  the  kneaded  clay,  and  man  steps 
 forth  a  living  soul, — and  man  dies,  and  his  body  returns 
 to  earth :  but  this  bodily  death,  whether  or  not  his  soul 
 survives,  Moses  leaves  undetermined.  A  superior  world 
 and  a  future  state,  then,  may  coexist  wdth,  but  are  not  ne- 
 cessary to,  the  religion  of  Moses.  According  to  the  Vedas  and 
 the  Zend,  on  the  other  hand,  this  material,  is  created  but  as 
 a  pendant  to  a  spiritual,  world,  and  to  one  in  v/hich  the  souls 
 of  men  are  supposed  to  have  been  originally  placed,  and 
 from  which  they  are  sent  to  this  earth  for  the  purification 
 and  destruction  of  evil ;  their  births  and  deaths  here  are, 
 therefore,  but  phases  in  their  lives,  phenomena  to  Avhich 
 their  nature  and  the  purposes  of  the  Deity  subject  them. 
 According  to  these  books,  then — first,  a  superior  Avoi'ld, 
 with  its  hierarchy  of  angels,  thrones,  dominions,  princi- 
 palities, and  powers :  ^  and,  secondly,  the  continuous  existence 
 
 ments  of  crimes  committed  in  some  But  attentively  read  the  cosmogony 
 
 previous  state  of  existence,  because  of  Moses,  and  you  cannot  help  won- 
 
 only  in  later  times  an  article  of  the  deriug  how  they  come  there.  Their 
 
 Jewish  faith.     Hence  that  question  names  at  least  are,  Viy  the   Jews 
 
 put  to  Christ :  "  Did  this  man  sin,  themselves,  allowed  to  be  Chaldean, 
 
 or  his  parents,  that  he  was   born  R.    Simeon    Ben    Lachish    dicit: 
 
 blind?"  "Nomina  angelorum  ascenderunt 
 
 "•  Cherubim  are,  it  is  true,  spoken  in   manu  Israelis,    ex    Babylone. 
 
 of  in  this  chapter,  angels  too  ap-  Nam  ante  dictum  est,  advolavit  ad 
 
 pear  frequently  in   Genesis  :  and,  me  unus  ruv  seraphim.     Seraphim 
 
 accustomed   to  them,   we   do   not  steterunt  ante  eum(Esaivi).  At  post, 
 
 find  their  appearance  at  all  strange,  vir  Gabriel  (Dan.  ix.  21),  Micnael 
 
 Q 
 
114  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 of  the  soul  under  all  changes  (and,  according  to  the  one, 
 these  changes,  manifold  almost  to  infinity,  may  all 
 take  place  on  this  earth;  while,  according  to  the  other, 
 they  are  limited  but  to  a  single  life,  which  sends  the  soul 
 to  heaven  or  to  hell),  are  essential  and  fundamental  articles 
 of  faith. 
 
 Again,  these  hooks  assert  that  this  earth  has  been  created 
 for  a  particular  object ;  the  moment,  therefore,  that  object 
 has  been  attained,  or  is  found  unattainable,  this  earth  of 
 necessity  becomes  a  useless  blot  in  the  creation.  And  to  this 
 earth,  consequently,  both  Persians  and  Hindus  allot  a 
 definite  existence,  one  of  12,000  years,^  during  which, 
 according  to  the  universal  belief  of  the  olden  world,  evil 
 daily  gathers  strength,  until,  in  the  latter  days,  it  sliall 
 overcome  and  tread  under  foot  all  good,  and  would  finally 
 annihilate  it,  did  not  the  Deity,  as  he  has  promised  in  his 
 mercy,  send  upon  the  earth  a  Saviour  (Calci  on  the  wlrite 
 horse,  the  tenth  incarnation  of  Vischnu,  and  Sosiosch,^  the 
 third  and  posthumous  son  of  Zoroaster),  who  shall  destroy 
 the  kingdom  of  the  evil  spirits,  and  restore  good  to  its  just 
 supremacy,  after  which  this  world  will  be  annihilated,  and 
 a  newer  and  more  beauteous  one  created  in  its  jjlacc.  Here, 
 then,  we  have,  as  necessary  consequences  of  the  Hindu 
 and  Parsi  cosmogonies, 
 
 I.  A  specified  duration  allotted  to  this  earth.  With  the 
 Jews  also,  this  earth  (for  God  may  destroy  what  God  has 
 made)  will  one  day  perish.  But  the  Jews,  true  to  their  nar- 
 row view  of  the  Deity's  character,  show  us  their  Elohim 
 as  destroying  the  world  capriciously,  arbitrarily,'  because 
 the  world  pleases  him  not ;  while  the  Hindus  and  Parsis 
 
 princcps  vester  (Dan.  x.  21)."—  p.  236;  and  Id.  vol.  ii,  p.  121. 
 Lightlbot,  Horce  Hcbraicae.  In  Calci,  or  Calenk,  is  described  some- 
 Evan.  Lucae,  i.  26.  what  like  him  on  the  White  Horse, 
 
 *  These  years  are,  according  to  in  Revelations  vi.  21 ;  Sosiosch,  like 
 
 the   Persians,   natural   years;   ac-  the  Messiah,  coming  to  judge  the 
 
 cording  to  the  Hindoos  they  are  world  at  the  last  day.     Vide  close 
 
 years  of  the  gods,  which  amount  to  of    Boun-Dehcsch,    and    compare 
 
 420,000  of  ours.     Vide  Von  Boh-  Revelations  x. 
 len,  Das  Alte  Indien,  vol.  i,  p.  171.         '  Vide  Genesis  vi.  6 ;  viii.  21  ;  ix. 
 
 •^  Vide  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i,  S-17. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  115 
 
 represent  their  God  as  destroying  the  world,  because  he  has 
 so  ordained  it  from  all  eternity. 
 
 II.  The  promise  of  a  Saviour.  Because  this  earth  has 
 been  created  for  a  particular  end — to  forward  that  end,  to 
 assure  it,  we  have  a  Saviour  j^romised  us  who  shall  restore 
 man  to  his  lost  happiness  and  almost  forgotten  virtue.  The 
 Jews  have  also  the  same  belief;  but  with  them  it  is  an  after- 
 thought, it  does  not  naturally  flow  from  their  scheme  of 
 the  creation.  They  seem  to  have  borrowed  it,  and  to  have 
 pared  it  down  till  it  tallied  with  their  own  selfish  views  of 
 the  Divine  Providence.  They  know  of  a  poKtical  deliverer, 
 a  political  conqueror  only,  a  Jewish  Mahomet.  The' 
 Saviour  of  the  Hindu  and  Zend  books,  on  the  other  hand, 
 is  the  Saviour  of  mankind — a  Christ. 
 
 And  III.  The  promise  of  another  and  a  better  world. 
 Wlieu  this  world  has  been  destroyed,  a  pm-er  world  takes 
 its  place.  All  are  then  purified,  all  made  happy, — and  the 
 very  principle  of  evil  becomes  good.^  Among  the  Jews 
 we  again  find  the  same  thought ;  but  again  defaced,  muti- 
 lated. They,  and  with  them  the  Judaical  Christians,  know 
 only  of  a  new  Jerusalem,  wliich  a  certain  nation,  men  of  a 
 certain  creed  only,  shall  inhabit.  Even  beyond  the  grave, 
 before  the  very  throne  of  God,  they  cannot  admit  the 
 humble  but  honest  votary  of  anotlier  faith.  Their  separa- 
 tion wall  is  built  for  eternity.^ 
 
 Again :  to  judge  from  these  traditions,  Ave  do  not  view 
 God  and  nature  under  the  same  asjject  as  did  our  fore- 
 fathers. Because  infant  man  but  sees  and  reflects  himself, 
 to  their  God  our  first  ancestors  gave  their  own  thoughts, 
 feelings,  views ;  and  as  their  God  was  also  a  Creator,  they 
 assumed  that  because  he  was  wise  and  powerful,  he  would 
 produce  only  faultless  works.  And  because  man  was  his 
 favourite  offspring,  if  any  one  of  his  works,  as,  e.g.  the  world, 
 
 *  "  Lorsque  la  fin  du  monde  sera  inquiring  after    that    pure    world 
 
 arrivee,  le  plus  mechant  des  Dur-  which   was   to   give   life,  and  had 
 
 vands  sera  pur,  excellent,  celeste."  people  and  Shastah  of  Brahma. 
 
 — Ha  XXX,  p.  1(54.     And  in   the  ^  Vide  Revelations  xiv.  3;  and 
 
 Fargard    xix,    we    find    Ahriman  comp.  Sale's  Dis.  Koran,  iv,  p.  125. 
 
116 
 
 CHAPTER    III, 
 
 was  created  for  man's  use,  they  concluded  that  it  would  be 
 accommodated  to  man's  wants,  suited  to  man's  convenience, 
 and,  therefore,  be  a  paradise,  or  a  '■'pays  de  Cocagne.""  ^  But 
 such,  bitter  experience  taught  them,  the  world  was  not.  To 
 them,  nature  seemed  to  cast  man  on  a  perilous  shore,  all 
 naked,  weak,  and  helpless, — to  grudge  him  the  veiy  neces- 
 saries of  life,  to  wrestle  with  him,  to  oppress  him.  Their 
 history  was  but  a  chronicle  of  hopes  baffled,  and  endeavours 
 frustrated ;  their  memory  but  occupied  Avith  legends  of 
 cruel  giants,  and  heaven-inflicted  calamities ;  they  knew 
 only  of  devastating  wars,  or  of  lightnings,  volcanoes,  earth- 
 fpiakes,  deluges.*  In  their  eyes,  the  world  was  one  of  dis- 
 order and  misrule,  and  man  a  deteriorating,  retrograding 
 anunal.  How,  then,  to  reconcile  what  ivas,  with  that  which 
 should,  or  must,  have  l)een,  created,  became  with  them  one 
 of  the  great  questions  which  priests  and  philosophers  strove 
 
 1  Thus  tlie  negroes  on  the  Gold 
 Coast  will  not  believe  that  God  has 
 given  them  the  gold,  corn,  fruit, 
 (S:c.,  with  which  their  country 
 abounds :  "  lis  pretendent  que  ce 
 n'est  pas  Dieu,  mais  la  terre  qui 
 leur  donne  de  I'or,  quand  ils 
 prennent  la  peine  d'ouvrir  son  sein ; 
 quelle  leur  t'ournit  du  raaiz  et  du 
 riz,  mais  avec  le  secours  de  leur 
 travail ;  qu'a  I'egard  des  fruits,  ils 
 en  ont  I'obligation  aux  Portugais, 
 qui  leur  ont  plante  dcs  arbres ;  que 
 leurs  bestiaux  produisent  eux- 
 memes  des  petits,  et  que  la  mer 
 donne  liberalcment  du  poisson.  Ce 
 qui  n'empechc  p:is  ([u'ils  ne  soient 
 ol)liges  d'y  contribuer  de  leur  tra- 
 vail, sans  quoi  ils  seroient  reduit  de 
 mourir  de  faim,  et,  par  consequent, 
 ils  n'ont  aucunc  obligation  a  Dieu 
 
 detouscesbiens." "Leur  Dieu 
 
 est  noir  et  mechant,  au  lieu  que 
 celui  dcs  Europeens  est  un  trcs  bon 
 
 Dieu Dans  leurs  idces  on  n'a 
 
 besoin  en  Europe  ni  de  travail,  ni 
 d'industric  pour  se  procurer  toutes 
 sortcs  de  commoditds,  ct  la  predi- 
 Irclion  de  Dieu  jmiir  les  blanc!  leur 
 fail  trouver  tonics  Icnrs  richcssrs  ait 
 
 milieu  des  champs." — Histoire  Ge- 
 nerale  des  Voyages,  vol.  iv,  lib.  ix, 
 §  vii,  p.  155.  With  these  negro 
 views  compare  the  Tuba  of  ihc  Ma- 
 hommedan  Paradise,  from  the 
 boughs  of  which,  as  from  the  waist- 
 coat-pocket of  Peter  Schleniihl's 
 tall  gentleman  in  black,  one  may 
 take  every  thing  one  desires — birds 
 ready  roasted,  asses  and  camels  all 
 saddled,  turbans  and  silk-breeches, 
 and  whatever  else  "  belongs  to  a 
 frippery." — bale's  Preliminary  Dis. 
 Koran,  p.  127. 
 
 ^  Thus,  in  Lucian,  Timon  ap- 
 peals to  Jupiter :  "  In  your  youth 
 you  were  not  to  be  trilled  with ; 
 your  bolt  was  in  full  practice,  your 
 a^gis  always  in  motion,  your  thun- 
 der always  bellowing,  and  your 
 lightning  continually  flashing 
 hither  and  thither  like  darts  in  a 
 skirmish.  The  earth  quaked  as  if 
 it  had  been  shook  in  a  sieve,  the 
 snow  fell  in  lumps,  it  hailed  rocky 
 fragments,  and  the  rain  then  poured 
 dowu  in  torrents,  every  drop  a 
 river.  Witness  the  great  deluge 
 in  Deucalion's  time," &c.— Timon. 
 'J'ookc's  Trans,  vol.  i,  p,  33. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  117 
 
 to  iinswer ;  and  a  problem  Avliich  they  solved,  either  by 
 giving  to  the  Deity,  as  among  the  Hindus  and  Persians, 
 some  particular  design  in  the  creation  of  this  earth  ;  or  by 
 supposing,  as  among  the  Jews,  that  this  world  had  once 
 been  all  that  man  could  imagine,  till  man's  crimes  brought 
 upon  it  God's  curse.  With  these  views,  their  religion  was 
 necessarily  a  propitiatory  service,  one  which  sought  to 
 avert  temporal  misfortunes,  God's  punishments,  and  to 
 ensure  temporal  goods,  God's  rewards;  but  one  which 
 dwelt  little  on  moral  excellence,  and  knew  not  of  a  spiritual 
 world,  the  full  beatitude  of  which  should  consist  in  the  love 
 and  contemplation  of  the  Divine  perfections. 
 
 Ours,  however,  is  another  age;  ours,  other  thoughts. 
 We  examine  our  globe ;  we  see  it,  at  its  origin,  a  mere 
 mass  of  water, — desert,  lifeless.  At  length  the  voice  of  God 
 is  heard,  and  the  water  chry stall zes  into  granite  mountains: 
 the  dry  land  appears,  and  with  it  a  few  zoophytes  and  creep- 
 ing worms.  For  aivhile,  they  alone  inhabit  the  barren  world, 
 and  then,  swept  away  by  some  terrible  convulsion,  they 
 give  place  to  some  more  perfect,  though  still  inferior,  crea- 
 tion, which  is  itself  but  the  precursor  of  another  and  more 
 l)erfect  one ;  till,  after  many  revolutions, — a  long  space  of 
 unknown  and  imdiscoverable  ages, — the  earth  appears  in  its 
 present  beauty,  a  fit  habitation  for  new-born  man.^ 
 
 We  examine,  also,  the  intellectual  and  moral  world — the 
 history  of  man.  We  see  him  at  first  ignorant  and  unprac- 
 tised; wasting,  because  he  knows  not  how  to  employ,  his 
 powers;  pursuing  his  own  vain  wishes,"  and  not  the  pos- 
 sible and  attainable ;  opposing  ever,  instead  of  studying 
 and  directing  himself  by,  the  laws  of  God  and  of  nature  ; 
 ever,  therefore,  disappointed  in  his  fondest  expectations, 
 yet  ever  stumbling  on  some  useful  invention,  or  on  some 
 great  principle,  which,  though  he  does  not,  his  posterity  ivill 
 hioiv  hoiLi  to  ivielil.  We  see  him,  besides,  mixing  and  con- 
 founding together  things  of  opposite  natures,  creating  and 
 
 '  Cuvier,  Discours  sur  les  Revo-     mulas,  and  faith  in  astrology  ;  anil 
 
 liitions  de  la  Surface  du  Globe.  hence,  too,  the  influence  of  wizards 
 
 *  Hence  charms  and  magic  for-     and  conjurors  on  uneducated  man. 
 
118  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 })utting  out  all  his  energies  to  give  eternity  to  forms  of 
 society,  which,  because  after  a  time  they  but  accumulate 
 and  preserve  error,  are  necessarily  doomed  to  perish.  Every 
 Avliere  we  see  civilization  succeed  civilization,  every  where 
 change,  but  every  where  also  improvement.  Yes ;  man, 
 tauo-ht  by  his  kindly  mother,  has  at  length  risen  up  to  con- 
 quer. Natural  obstacles  the  natural  sciences  daily  over- 
 come, or  turn  to  use ;  and  moral  and  intellectual  errors, 
 though  more  slowly,  the  love  of  truth  and  self-study  begin 
 to  dissipate ;  with  every  generation  man  learns  to  follow 
 out  some  error  to  its  source  and  through  its  consequences, 
 and  thus  to  destroy  false  associations,  false  virtues,  false 
 vices;  and  with  every  generation  he  records  some  new 
 truth  which  withdraws  his  eyes  from  what  is  unimportant 
 and  immaterial,  and  fixes  them  on  that  which  is  alone  vital 
 and  essential. 
 
 As,  then,  in  the  natural  world,  we  see  life  first  struggling 
 in  the  zoophyte,  then  gradually  developing  itself  through 
 various  stages,  till  it  at  length  performs  all  its  functions  in 
 man's  more  complicated  organization ;  so  in  the  Avorld  of 
 Humanity,  we  find  intellectual  and  moral  excellence, 
 (scarce  breathing  in  the  first  and  almost  altogether  animal 
 men),  more  developed,  and  still  developing  itself,  in  their 
 successive  descendants :  till,  in  our  day^  it  begins  to  be  talked 
 o/as,  and  by  future  generations  will  certainly  he  made,  the 
 end  and  object  of  life.  We,  then,  look  forward  ;  our  ancestors 
 looked  back  :  our  life  is  one  of  hope ;  theirs  was  one  of  des- 
 pair :  our  world  is  one  of  improvement ;  theirs  one  of  deteri- 
 oration. Our  God,  though  his  purposes  avc  scarce  ventm'e 
 to  scan,  one  in  ivhom  we  have  trust ;  theirs,  though  his  designs 
 were  familiar  to  them  as  their  own,  one  before  tvhom  they 
 trembled.  Their  religion  Avas  the  adulatory  service  of 
 a  slave,— a  cupboard  worship;  ours,  on  the  other  hand, 
 is  nothing,  if  not  the  aspiration  after  what  is  good 
 and  great :  it  is  truth,  peace,  hope,  and  joy  in  believing, 
 Christianity. 
 
 Verse  20.     Eve,  Chavah — living.     By  giving  his  wife  a 
 
CHAPTER   III.  119 
 
 name,  Adam  at  once  asserts  that  supremacy*  over  her  which 
 Jehovah  Elohim  had  promised  liim.  The  reason  for  the 
 name  was  most  probably  found  by  the  philological  author 
 of  this  legend. 
 
 Verse  21.  For  the  milder  climate  of  Eden,  the  leaf-apron, 
 intended  to  cover  merely,  and  not  to  give  warmth  to  the 
 body,  was  sufficient.  For  the  colder  world,  however,  our 
 first  parents  must  have  some  more  substantial  clothing : 
 and  God,  therefore,  before  he  drives  them  from  paradise, 
 makes  coats  of  skins  for  them,  or,  as  the  rationalists  would 
 explain  it,  inspires «  them  with  the  thought  of  making  such 
 coats  for  themselves. 
 
 According  to  Sanchoniatho,''  clothes  were  the  invention  of 
 Usous,  who  made  them  of  the  skins  of  the  wild  beasts  which 
 he  caught  in  the  chase.  And  skins,  though  perhaps  at  first 
 worn  in  a  raw  state,  are  so  simple  and  evident  a  protection 
 against  weather,  as  to  make  it  very  probable  that,  in  the 
 colder  and  more  variable  climates,  they  were  the  first  ma- 
 terials used  for  that  purpose.  But  the  raw  skin,  as  it  dries 
 up,  shrinks,  and  becomes  hard  and  unserviceable, — an  evil 
 which  the  ingenuity  of  man  must  have  been  very  early 
 exerted  to  remedy ;  for  scarcely  a  nation  that  clothes  itself 
 in  skins  has  yet  been  found  so  utterly  ignorant  and  bar- 
 barous, as  to  be  without  the  means  of  rendering  them  soft,^ 
 pliant,  and  durable.^  Thus  the  ancient  Chinese,  according 
 to  their  liistories,  prepared  their  skins  by  merely  taking  off 
 
 *  If  the  woman's  inferiority  was  ^  "  Ovcrwog,  oq  aKsvtjv  ti^  awfian 
 
 notalreadyimpliedfirst  by  her  after-  Trpwroc  «k  SepfiaTiov  wv  ig-)(^v(ti  avX- 
 
 creation,  and  secondly,  by  the  fact  \a(itivbr]pnt)VEv(>i.'''' — Sanconiatho, 
 
 that   her    Jehovah  never  warned.  Cory's  Fragments,  p.  6. 
 
 Through   her   husband   alone   she  *  Of  the  aborigines  of  New  South 
 
 seems  to  have  learned  that  the  fruit  Wales  (among  the  most  ignorant 
 
 of  the  tree  of  knowledge  was  for-  and  barbarous  people  existing)  we 
 
 bidden.     We  might  say  from  chap,  are  told :  "  their  dress  consists  of  an 
 
 iii.  23,  24,  she  was  hy  right  the  opossum    or  kangaroo   skin,   very 
 
 equal  of  the  man;  in /aci,  his  in  fe-  neatly    sewed    together    with    the 
 
 rior.  sinews  of  the  otter." — Hobart  Town 
 
 ®  So  Achilles  collects  together  the  Almanack  for  1837. 
 
 Grecian  force  :  ry   yap    iTn-    (ppeci  ^  From  the  account  of  the  expe- 
 
 ^jjKf  Srta  \evK(o\evoe  'Up?]. — 11.   a,  dition  of  the  Viceroy  of  Egypt  to 
 
 verse  55.  Nigritia,  given   in   the    Times   of 
 
120  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 the  fur  with  wooden  rollers.  And  the  ignorant  Icelanders 
 at  this  day  manipulate  the  skin,  and  afterwards  soak  it  in 
 water,  and  then  occasionally  soften  it  with  oil ;  while  the 
 North  American  Indians  first  soak  the  skin,  yet  warm,  then 
 clean,  rub,  and  beat  it  till  it  becomes  dry,  and  afterwards 
 grease  and  smoke  it  to  make  it  waterproof^  In  a  Avord, 
 tlie  preparation  of  leather  is  among  the  first  arts  which  man 
 acquires. 
 
 Verse  20.  Had  man  eaten  of  the  tree  of  life,  nowhere 
 forbidden  him,  before  he  tasted  of  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
 how  had  he  been  punished  ?  Not  by  death  surely,  for  in 
 this  verse  Jehovah  Elohim  assigns  as  a  reason  for  driving 
 man  from  Eden,  his  fear  lest  man  should  "  taste  also  of  the 
 tree  of  life,  and  live  for  ever."  Is  not  the  Jewish  Deity 
 here  made  to  act  somewhat  absurdly  ?  He  places  man  in 
 a  garden  with  a  tree  of  knowledge,  and  threatens  liim 
 with  death,  if  he  taste  of  its  fruit :  and  yet,  near  this 
 very  tree  of  knowledge,  he  plants  a  tree  of  life,  of  which 
 should  man  eat,  he  lives  for  ever.  This  Deity  owes  it  to 
 an  accident,  then,  that  he  is  enabled  to  put  his  threat  into 
 execution. 
 
 Jehovah  Elohim  will  not,  truly,  that  man,  now  conscious 
 of  his  weakness,  helplessness,  and  ignorance,  i.  e.  conscious 
 of  a  state  of  existence  far  above  that  to  Avhich  he  has  been 
 destined,  become  "  as  one  of  us,"  a  God.  How  bitter  is 
 the  irony,  worthy  of  some  Pagan  deity !  Yes  ;  notwith- 
 standing that  threat  in  Revelations,^  against  those  who  wor- 
 ship idols, — a  threat,  by  the  way,  itself  indicative  of  an 
 idolatrous  conception  of  the  Deity,  and  of  a  false  view  of 
 
 July  4,  1839,  it  would  seem  as  if  should  not  worship  devils  and  idols 
 
 in  Nigritia  the  people  were  unac-  ofgold  and  silver which  neither 
 
 quainted  with  any  means  of  pre-  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk."     The 
 
 parinp:  their  skins.  author  forgets  that  the  idols  which 
 
 1  Goguct,  Origine  des  Lois,  vol.  for  him  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
 
 i,  p.  115;  and  Lalitau,  Mceurs  des  walk,  are,  in  the  eyes  of  their  vo- 
 
 Sauvages,  vol.  ii,  p.  32.  taries,  powerful  deities.  He  judges 
 
 *  Chap.  ix.  20 :  "  And  the  rest  of  those    poor    heathen    by    himself, 
 
 the  men  which  were  not  killed  by  his  own  views,  his  own  morality  ; 
 
 these  plagues,  yd  repented  not  of  whereas,   by  themselves  it  is,  tliat 
 
 the  works  of  their  hands,  that  they  Cod  will  judge  them. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  121 
 
 the  laws  of  Humanity — the  Jehovah  Elohlm  of  Genesis 
 is,  in  my  eyes,  as  much  an  idol  as  the  Maha  Deo  of  those 
 simple  guides  at  Carli,  who  elicited  the  compassion  of  the 
 pious  Heber,*  or  as  the  Boschman  God,  son  of  a  Boschman, 
 to  whom  the  benighted  Boschman  prays,  and  to  whom  he 
 looks  for  the  flesh  of  the  rhinoceros  or  the  gemsbok."  The 
 fact  is,  that  we  all,  because  unable  to  apprehend  God  in  his 
 sublime  purity,  7nore  or  less  worship  idols  (barbarous  man, 
 generally  sensual  idols,  of  which  carved  images  in  wood 
 and  stone  are  the  fair  representatives ;  more  civilized  man, 
 idols  of  opinion,  which  show  themselves  in  creeds,  articles 
 of  faith,  &c.);  and  we  all,  at  the  same  time,  worship  God, 
 if  our  Deity  we  only  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
 
 "  And  the  Lord  God  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of 
 Eden  cherubims,  and  a  flaming  sword."  "At  the  east."  Adam 
 then  migrated  to  the  east  of  Paradise  ;  and  the  eastern 
 quarter  of  the  globe  consequently  (Michaelis*  supposes  In- 
 dia), was  first  peopled. 
 
 "  Cherubims."  In  this  verse  we  find  the  first  mention 
 of  creatures  which  belong  not  to  our  world,  though,  as  the 
 flaming  sword  indicates,  they  must  have  been  like  ourselves, 
 corporeal.  Here  they  appear  as  the  guardians  of  Eden, 
 of  God's  dwelling-place  ;  elsewhere,  however, — because  in 
 the  ark  over  the  mercy-seat,  and  in  the  temple  within  the 
 holy  of  holies,  two  cherubims  were  placed  with  expanded 
 
 ^  "  At    Carli    we  asked  of  our  lay  down  a  piece  of  flesh,  seeds  of 
 
 guides  what   deities  the   alto    re-  the  navas  fruit,  or  an  arrow,  or  any 
 
 lievos  represented.    '  These  are  not  thing  else  he  may  have  about  him 
 
 gods ;  one  God  is  sufficient.  These  and  can  spare,  as   an    offering  to 
 
 are  viragies,  devotees,'  was  the  an-  Toosip,  the  old  man  of  the  water." 
 
 swer  we  received.     On   inquiring  Toosip  he  described  as  a  great  red 
 
 further,  if  their  god  was  the  same  man  with  white  hair,  and  who  could 
 
 whom  they  worshipped  in  the  little  do  them  good  and  harm.     He  had 
 
 temple  before  the  steps,  and  if  he  neither  bow,  nor  assegai,  nor  wife, 
 
 were  Maha  Deo,  they  answered  in  They  pray  to  him  thus :  "  O  great 
 
 the  affirmative,  so  that  their  deism  father !  son  of  a  Boschman,  give  me 
 
 extended  to  paying  worship   to  a  the  flesh  of  the  rhinoceros,  of  the 
 
 singleidol  nnly.'" — Heber's  Journal,  gemsbok,  of  the  wild  horse,  or  what 
 
 Works,  vol.  iii,  p.  1 12.  I   require  to    have." — Expedition 
 
 *  "  Before  any  Boschman,"  said  into  the  Interior  of  Africa. 
 Numeep  to  Sir  James  Alexander,         =  Michaelis,  Comment,  on  Ge- 
 
 "  digs  for  water  at  Kuisip,  he  must  nesis,  a.  h.  1. 
 
 R 
 
122 
 
 CHAPTER    III. 
 
 wings,  from  between  whom  the  Lord  communed  with  Moses, 
 — they  are  spoken  of,  sometimes  as  the  supporters,  bearers"  of 
 the  Elohim ;  at  others,  as  the  beings  between  whom  the 
 Elohim  was  supposed  to  dwell/  In  form,  the  cherub  was* 
 like  a  winged  and  beautiful  youth:  according  to  Ezekiel,' 
 however,  he  was  a  sort  of  sphinx,  or  like  the  anca  of  the 
 Arabians,  or  the  griffin  of  mid  Asia,  or  the  fabulous  beasts  i 
 of  the  Persian  creed, — he  was  part  lion,  part  man,  part  eagle, 
 part  ox,  having  four  wings,  of  which  two  covered  his  body, 
 and  two  were  stretched  out  to  bear  up  God's  throne  :  he  was 
 a  symbolical  being  merely,^  Herder  conjectures, — and  a  sym- 
 boHcal  being  he  may  possibly  he,  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel ; 
 but  a  real  living  creature  he  certainly  is  in  the  Genesis  of 
 Moses. 
 
 Man's  short  day  of  happiness  is  past ;  he  is  sent  forth, 
 and  the  gates  of  Eden  are  closed  upon  him  for  ever.  Is  it 
 not  some  tale,  some  tradition  of  a  Paradise,  that  has  at 
 various  times  urged  on  the  migrations  of  so  many  hordes?* 
 
 *  Hence  Michaelis,  ut  supra, 
 translates  the  word  "  Donnei-pferde" 
 thunder-horses;  and  compare  Her- 
 der Geist  der  Ebraiscb.  Poesie  vi. 
 Gesprach.  Vide  2  Sam.  xxii.  11 ; 
 and  Psalms  xviii.  10,  &:c. 
 
 '  Exod.  XXV.  17,20;  1  Sam.iv. 
 4;  Isaiah  xxxvii.  16. 
 
 *  Lightfoot,  Hora;  Hebraicje,  in 
 Evan.  Johan.  xx.  12  :  "  Cheruhini 
 erant  inslar  puerorum  recedentium 
 a  maf^istro."  And  Glassii,  Pbilol. 
 Sacra,  lib.  v,  Tract,  i,  c.  x :  Che- 
 rubim, h.  e.,  "  imagines  humanae  et 
 alata)." 
 
 '  Ezekiel  i  and  x ;  and  Selden, 
 De  Jure  Nat.  lib.  ii,  c.  vi,  p.  183. 
 
 1  Bochliart,  Hieroz.  lib.  vi,  c, 
 xiv,  p.  185.  Musculus  (following 
 .loseplius:  "  $wa  Trtniva  fiopftjv 
 ovSti'i  T{ttv  i"r  arOpoiTToiv  iwf)afitvwv 
 TrapaTrXj/ffia." — Antiq.  Jud.  lib.  iii, 
 c.  <j)  supposes  the  cherubim  to 
 have  been  birds,  "  volucres  illas 
 horribiles  "  (Glassii,  Philol.  Sacra. 
 lib.  X,  c.  X,  De  Angelis,  p.  1()()4): 
 Hoffman,  monsters  :   "  Unter  Che- 
 
 rubs darf  man  sich  nicht  nach  dem 
 Wahn  der  Rabbi nen.,..Engel  dar- 
 stellen,  sondern  wunderbar  gestal- 
 tete  Thiere "  (Heb.  Alterthum.  p. 
 162):  and  Gesenius  and  Michaelis, 
 snake-headed  sphynxes ;  vide  Ge- 
 senius, Comment.  Jesaia,  vi.  2,  vol. 
 i,  p.  257 ;  and  compare  Spencer, 
 De  Leg.  Heb.,  De  Origin.  Arcae  et 
 Cherubinorum. 
 
 ^  Their  name  is  legion.  Vide 
 Boun-Dehesch,  §  xix ;  and  pictures 
 of  them  in  Chardin,  Voyages,  &c. 
 vol.  v. 
 
 ^  Herder,  ut  supra,  and  id.  ii. 
 Ursprungeund  Wesen  der  Ebraisch. 
 Poesie,  vol.  ii,  §  v ;  Werke  zur 
 Phil,  and  Gesch.  p.  20. 
 
 ^  So  in  the  opening  of  the  Edda, 
 the  king  Gangler,  proceeds  on  a 
 pilgrimage  to  find  that  Asgarten, 
 that  palace  of  the  world,  in  which 
 man  once  dwelt.  See  Selbst  eigene 
 Vorrede  des  Eddas,  p.  103,  Schim- 
 melman's  Translation,  and  com- 
 pare c.  V  and  xxxvii,  ut  supra. 
 
CHAPTER    III.  123 
 
 Has  not  man  in  his  rude  state,  unmindful  that  things 
 strange  and  marvellous  please  only  so  long  as  they  are 
 new,  ever  dreamt  of  some  happy  valley,  some  Eldorado, 
 some  island  of  Calypso, 
 
 "  Reddit  ubi  Cererem  tellus  inarata  quotannis, 
 Et  imputata  floret  usque  vinea,'' 
 
 — where,  in  an  Epicurean  ease,  a  luxurious  excitement,  he 
 might  rejoice  in  a  merely  animal  existence  ?  Or,  if  more 
 advanced,  has  he  not,  with  higher  aims  (but  still  struggling 
 after  the  impossible,  to  find  eternity  in  tune,  and  spiritual 
 purity  in  the  midst  of  corporeal  infirmity),  gone  forth  a 
 pilgrim  warrior,  to  build  up  in  some  heaven-consecrated 
 spot  the  new  Zion?  These  vain  hopes  we  no  longer 
 cherish  : — Eden  lies  about  us ;  heaven  is  in  us  : — for  us  the 
 cherubim  are  empty  spectres,  the  flaming  sword  an  air- 
 drawn  dagger ;  but,  for  the  untutored  Hebrew,  to  whom 
 a  particular  land  was  destined,  and  whose  roving  disposi- 
 tion was,  therefore,  to  be  checked,  not  encouraged — they 
 were  terrible  realities :  they  rendered  Eden  unapproach- 
 able; and  they  so  quailed  the  spirit  of  the  most  daring, 
 that,  throughout  the  Hebrew  story,  we  hear  of  no  migra- 
 tions, no  enterprises  imdertaken,  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
 and  taking  possession  of  that  better  land,  which  was  man's 
 birthright. 
 
 But  why  is  it  that  our  paradise  is  generally  in  the  East, 
 the  land  of  memory,  while  our  migrations  have  ever  been 
 Westward,  towards  the  land  of  hope  ?  When  a  child, 
 was  it  not  to  you  a  pleasant  thing  to  watch  the  setting 
 sun  ?  How  happy,  then,  seemed  that  distant  shore,  over 
 which  was  spread  so  gorgeous  a  canopy  of  purple  and  gold ! 
 How  pale  your  own  blue  sky,  before  that  of  azure !  Believed 
 you  not  that  its  inhabitants  were  of  a  higher  nature  than  our- 
 selves: that  them  the  sons  of  God  indeed  deigned  to  visit? 
 Yes,  it  was  the  brightness  of  their  wings  that  was  so  beau- 
 tiful, as  they  expanded  them  ere  they  took  flight  to  heaven. 
 Why  could  we  not,  also,  travel  thither — you  would 
 inquire  of  your  nurse, — we  should  be  so  near  to  God's 
 throne,  as  scarce  to  need  Jacob's  ladder  ?  And  then  her 
 answer  would  fall  so  coldly  on  your  ear,   with  realities 
 
124  CHAPTER    III. 
 
 putting  to  flight  its  loved  imaginations,  again  and  again  to 
 return,  till  better  knowledge,  science,  made  of  the  living 
 sun  a  dead  mass,  and  of  its  attendant  glories  pestilential 
 vapours.  But,  had  you  lived  in  earlier  times,  would  not 
 these  thoughts,  cherished  by  those  around  you,  have  grown 
 with  your  growth?  And  would  you  not  with  others  of  your 
 years,  at  length  have  set  forth  to  realize  them  ?  You  might 
 have  crossed  rivers,  and  clomb  mountains  in  pursuit  of  the 
 ever-receding  shadow,  until,  wearied  with  the  length  of  the 
 way,  you  pitched  your  tents  in  some  pleasant  places.  But 
 when  age  had  chilled  your  blood  and  stiffened  your  limbs,  and 
 your  childi^en's  children  hung  around  your  knees,  the  home 
 of  your  infancy  would  then  have  risen  before  you — the 
 cottage  of  your  fathers  a  sumptuous  palace ;  its  vines 
 and  orchards  rich  in  luscious  fruit,  its  sky  cloudless,  yet, 
 cooled  by  gentle  breezes — an  earthly  paradise,  over  which 
 memory  threw  a  halo.  Its  beauties  and  its  joys  would  be 
 your  theme  ;  you  would  dwell  on  those  happy  days  when 
 you  played  naked  on  its  sunny  banks,  and  were  not 
 ashamed ;  and,  as  you  spoke,  you  would  point  eastward  to 
 the  garden  in  Eden.* 
 
 We  will  now  finally  examine  these  two  chapters  as  con- 
 nected with  the  laws  of  Moses,  or  with  customs  and  modes 
 of  thought  which  prevailed  in  his  nation.     And, 
 
 I.  Wc  see  that,  here,  the  Lord  is  not  merely  the  Creator, 
 but  the  possessor  of  our  earth,  and  that  he  distributes 
 it  among  his  creatures  as  seems  to  him  good.  (Exod. 
 xix.  5  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  8.) 
 
 II.  Here  we  also  see  the  first  evidences  of  that  spirit 
 of  favouritism  which,  in  after  times,  so  essentially  dis- 
 tinguishes the  Jewish  Deity.  As  from  among  his  creatures 
 he  now  chooses  out  man ;  so,  from  among  man's  descendants, 
 he  will  choose  out,  first,  individuals,  then  families,  and  then 
 
 *  I  scarcely  know  whether  the  their  Paradise  in  that  land  to  which 
 Indian  Paradise,  ])laced  by  Wilford  they  ever  looked,  the  west;  for  even- 
 in  the  west  (Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  ing  is  the  time  for  contemplation  : 
 viii),  does  or  does  not  confirm  my  those  who  had  emigrated,  in  that, 
 views.  The  original  nations,  and  most  probably,  from  whence  they 
 such  are  the  Oriental,  would  have  came. 
 
CHAPTER   III.  125 
 
 a  nation ;  and,  from  this  nation  again,  other  families,  and 
 other  individuals,  on  whom  to  heap  his  favours.  (Deut. 
 vii.  7;  ix.  14,  15.) 
 
 ra.  The  favours  of  the  Deity  are  here  made  conditional, 
 (compare  Exod.  xix.  5):  and  we  are  shown  that,  if  those 
 conditions  are  not  fulfilled,  his  punishments  are  terrible, 
 and  extend,  not  merely  to  the  individual  oifending,  but  to 
 his  descendants  (vide  the  latter  part  of  the  Second  Com- 
 mandment, Exod.  XX.  5  ;  Deut.  iv.  26-27  ;  and  Deut. 
 vii.  4).    Compare  Deut.  xxiv.  16. 
 
 IV.  Though  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  disgust 
 which  is  universally  induced  by  certain  issues  of  the  body, 
 is  the  origin  of  that  association  of  impurity  which,  in  the 
 Jewish  creed  is  attached  to  those  parts  of  the  body  from 
 which  such  issues  proceed  (vide  Levit.  xv,  and  compare 
 Boun-Dehesch  and  Dubois  Moeurs  des  Indes  passim) ; 
 nevertheless,  in  that  shame  of  their  nakedness  (ch.  ii.  11.) 
 which  our  first  parents  are  made  to  feel,  IMoses,  I  conceive, 
 sought  to  show  to  his  people,  that  a  state  of  nudity, 
 the  first  glimmerings  of  reason  must  teach  them,  was  not  a 
 state  (however  it  might  be  permitted  or  required  by  the 
 gods  of  other  religions)  in  which  to  appear  in  the  presence 
 of  the  Lord.  With  this  verse,  then,  I  would  connect  the 
 laws  of  decency  (Deut.  xxiii.  12-14,  and  xxv.  11,  12),  and 
 the  ordinance  respecting  altars  (Exod.  xx.  26),  and  the 
 four  wings  given  to  the  cherubim  and  seraphim*  in 
 Ezekiel  and  Isaiah,  and  which,  I  doubt  not,  were  also 
 found  on  those  over  the  mercy-seat  in  the  ark,  and  in  the 
 holy  of  holies  in  the  temple, — viz.  two  wings,  for  service, 
 and  two  to  cover  the  body. 
 
 V.  As  here  Eden,  so  afterwards  in  later  tunes  (Ezek.  v.  5), 
 Jerusalem,'  is  presented  to  us  as  the  centre  of  the  earth. 
 
 *  Ezekiel,  ut  supra ;  Isai.  vii.  2.  with    the     Persians,    to    Albordj 
 
 andcomp.Suctonius. Tiberius  §58.  (Boun-Dehesch);   with  the    Hin- 
 
 and  the  notes  of  Torrentius  and  doos,    to  the   golden    Meru  (vide 
 
 Casaubou  a.  h.  1.  "  The  Hero  and  the  Nymph,"  Wil- 
 
 ^  Vide     Gesenius,      Comment,  son's    Hindoo     Theatre,    p.   240, 
 
 Isaiah  ii.  2.       With    the  Greeks  note) ;  and  with  the  Arabians,  it  is 
 
 this  honour  was  given  to  Olympus ;  usurped  by  Mecca, 
 
126  CHAPTER   III. 
 
 Was  not  of  Eden,  guarded  by  cherubim,  the  holy  of  holies, 
 God's  eartlily  dwelling-place,  more  especially  a  type  ? 
 On  its  doors,  made  of  olive-tree,  were  carvings  of  che- 
 rubim, and  palm-trees,  and  open  flowers;  and  over  the 
 mercy-seat  were  two  cherubim,  from  between  whom  the 
 Lord  addressed  the  high-priest.  The  temple  was  the 
 earthly  representation  of  the  heavenly  court  of  Jehovah,' 
 and,  therefore,  of  Eden.  (1  Kings  vi.) 
 
 And  VI.  We  connect  the  inferior  condition  of  the  woman 
 among  the  Israelites,  proved  by  the  fact  that  she  is  an  article 
 of  barter  (see  Exod.  xxi.  7  ;  Hosea  iii.  2),  and  that  poly- 
 gamy was  allowed  (Deut.  xxi.  15-17  ;  and  compare  Deut. 
 xvii.  17  ;  Levit.  xviii.  18  ;  and  Prov.  xxxi.  1-31.) 
 
 ^  Vide  Gesenius,  Commentar.  iib.  d.  Jesaiah,  vol.  i,  c.  6,  p.  253-4. 
 
127 
 
 CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 GENESIS  IV. 
 
 Verses  1-2.  Eve  bears  two  sons :  the  elder  she  names 
 Cain  (possession)  ;  the  younger  AbeP  (breath,  instability), 
 a  keeper  of  sheep.  The  one  cultivates,  occupies,  possesses, 
 the  soil;  the  other,  following  his  flocks,  wanders  over  it. 
 The  former  builds  cities  and  lives  his  centuries,  while  to  the 
 latter  is  allotted  but  a  breath  of  life.  He  is  slain  in  the 
 very  prime  of  youth,^  by  his  stronger  and  more  lordly  bro- 
 ther.    It  seems,  then, 
 
 1st.  That  the  names  of  these  eldest  born  of  the  human 
 race  Avere  indicative  of  their  different  occupations,  and 
 symbolical  of  their  opposite  fates  ;  and, 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  joyous  words  of  Eve  at  the  birth  of  Cain 
 were  prophetic  ;  and  that  her  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  appa- 
 rently in  the  very  teeth  of  Jehovah, — who,  as  he  doomed 
 Cain  to  be  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond,  surely  never  intended 
 that  he  should  possess  the  earth.  ^  One  of  three  things, 
 then  (for  the  Hebrew  books  acknowledge  no  accidents),  we 
 must  suppose  :  either — 
 
 1st.  That  to  the  progenitors  of  mankind  was  given  an 
 insight  into  futurity  denied  to  us  (the  Jewish  view,  as  the 
 names  of  Noah,^  Japhet,   and  the   blessings  uttered  by 
 
 1  "Abel — Hauch,   Verijanglich-  the  possession,  for  the  building  the 
 keit "  (breath,  transitiveness,  insta-  first  city, 
 bility),  Gesenius,  art.  Abel,  Ersch         *  Vide  Gen.  i.  28. 
 and  Grubers  Encyclop.     "  Cain"         ^  Vide   verse   17,   and    conopare 
 Gesenius   explains   by   "  speer— a  with  it  the  25th  verse  of  this  chap- 
 spear  ;"  which,  with  the  usual  ety-  ter  and  the  third  verse  of  chap.  v. 
 mology,  would  thus  account  for  the         ■*  Bochart,  Sac.  Geog.  vol.  iii,  p.  1. 
 two  great  events  of  his   life  ;  the  and  compare  Hermann  in  Sopho- 
 spear,  for  the  killing  of  his  brother ;  clem.  Ajax.  425. 
 
128  CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  &c.  clearly  prove) ;  i.  e.  we 
 must  suppose  that  the  first  men  were  In  possession  of  powers 
 of  which  we  have  been  deprived :  and  that,  consequently, 
 tve,  in  comparison  with  them,  are  but  an  inferior  and 
 degenerate  race  ;  an  opinion  which  is  so  utterly  at  variance 
 with  the  observation  and  the  knowledge  of  the  modern 
 world,  that  we  cannot  a  moment  entertain  it. 
 
 Or,  2ndly,  that  any  bare  name  having  been  handed  down 
 to  posterity,  postei'ity,  with  that  horror  of  ignorance  which 
 characterizes  mankind,  attached  to  that  name  (and  hence 
 with  names  are  so  frequently  joined  their  etymologies)  some 
 legend  which  corresponded  with  its  meaning  :  a  conjecture 
 n  itself  not  improbable,  but  to  which  it  may  justly  be  ob- 
 jected, that,  if  it  were  correct,  we  should  possess  a  fuller 
 history*  of,  and  more  copious  information  respecting,  these 
 antediluvian  heroes. 
 
 Or,  3rdly,  that  the  name  was  not  at  these  early  times 
 given  at  the  birth  (and  the  words  of  Eve  are  then  apocry- 
 phal), but  in  after  life,  when  the  man's  character  was  formed, 
 or  his  fate  decided. 
 
 3,  4.  "  Abel  brought  of  his  flock,  Cain  of  the 
 fruits  of  the  ground."  In  general,  man  offers  to  the  Deity 
 as  a  sacrifice  a  portion  of  that  on  which  he  himself  subsists. 
 He  feeds  his  God  with  his  own  food,  with  the  proceeds  of 
 his  labour.  If  a  husbandman,  he  eats  of  the  fruits  of  the 
 ground ;  and  if  a  shepherd,  of  the  produce  of  his  flock : 
 and,  according  as  he  is  husbandman  or  shepherd,  his  sacri- 
 fice will  be  animal  or  vegetable.^ 
 
 *  Yet  De  Guigrnes  ol)jects  to  the  Greece),  "  in  the  first  sacrifices,  no 
 
 early  history  of  the  Chinese,  and  living    creatures,    nor    any    thing 
 
 Malcolm  to  the  Dabistan,  because  costly,  as  perfumes,  were  used,  but 
 
 it  is  so  meagre.  herbs  and  plants  plucked  up    by 
 
 ^  The  Egyptians,  in  memory  of  the    roots    were   burnt  with  their 
 
 the  food  and  first  sacrifices  of  their  fruits    and    leaves;   and   even    to 
 
 fathers,  never  entered  the  temples  Draco's  time,  the  Attic  oblations 
 
 for  the  purposes  of  prayer  but  with  consisted  but  of  the  earth's  produc- 
 
 the  herb  agrostis   in  their    hands  tions."     (Yet  by  the  way,  Lycaon 
 
 (Goguet,  Origine  des  Loix,  vol.  i,  ofi'ers  a  child,  and  Prometheus  an 
 
 p.  7;^).     According    to    the  Greek  ox  to  Jupiter;  vide  Pausan.  Arcad. 
 
 writers    (vide    Potter's    Autiq.    of  c.  ii,  §  i ;  and  Hesiod,  Theog.  p. 
 
CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 129 
 
 In  general,  too,  man  is  generous  to  his  gods,  self-denying, 
 in  proportion  to  the  difficulty  with  which  he  obtains  a  live- 
 lihood. Thus,  the  fishing  and  hunting  tribes,  whose  pursuits 
 are  often  attended  with  no  little  danger,  and  whose  suste- 
 nance is  precarious,  are  more  devotional,  make  to  their  idols 
 more  frequent  and  richer  gifts,  than  do  the  nomadic  and 
 pastoral^  races,  —  who,  unknowing  of  want,  and  living 
 entirely  upon  milk,  are  observed  rarely  to  offer  sacrifice  ; 
 and  who,  when  they  do  sacrifice,  are  seen  themselves  to  eat 
 up  the  best  and  fattest  of  the  meat,  and  to  throw  to  their 
 gods  the  bones,  skin,  and  other  refuse. 
 
 In  general,  too,  it  will  be  found,  that  while  the  act "  of 
 sacrifice  belongs  to  barbarous  man,  tJie  art,  though  made  to 
 rest  on  long-established  custom,  is  one  wliich,  like  all  others, 
 owes  its  rise  to  the  agricultural  nations.  Thus,  in  the  first 
 times,   any  man  may  sacrifice ;  ^  afterwards,  as  individuals 
 
 535.)  The  CJmiese,  on  the  other 
 hand,  assert  that  in  the  olden  time 
 the  great  sacrifices  cousisted  of  ani- 
 mals: the  ox,  the  lamb,  and  the 
 boar  (vide  Doctrine  Chin.,  Mem. 
 Chin.  vol.  iv,  p.  55,  note).  Among 
 the  Hindoos,  too,  the  great  ekiam, 
 or  the  immolation  of  a  horse,  and 
 sometimes  of  a  man  (vide  Dubois, 
 Mceurs  des  Indes,  vol.  ii,  p.  443), 
 would  induce  one  to  suppose,  par- 
 ticularly as  abstinence  from  animal 
 food  is  no  where  insisted  on  in  the 
 Vedas  (vide  Uttara  Rama  Cherita, 
 Wilson's  Hindoo  Theatre,  p.  340, 
 with  note),  that  the  Hindoos  in 
 olden  times  were  also  in  the  habit 
 of  offering  animal  sacrifices.  In 
 the  Zend,  the  first  sacrifice  re- 
 corded is  the  oblation  of  that  por- 
 tion of  the  sheep  which  Meschia  and 
 Meschiane  did  not  eat,  and  which 
 was  carried  up  to  heaven  (supra,  p. 
 78),  an  animal  sacrifice  therefore. 
 In  the  New  "V^'orld,  among  the  Pe- 
 ruvians :  "  Le  principal  sacrifice 
 etoit  celui  des  agneaux,  des  mou- 
 tons,  de  toutes  sortes  d'oiseaux 
 bons  a  manger."  (Hist,  des  Yncas, 
 lib.  ii,  c.  viii.)  But  wherefore  all 
 tliis  ?     To  show  that  the  matter  of 
 
 the  first  sacrifices  differs  according 
 to  the  mode  of  life,  habits,  and  food 
 of  different  people. 
 
 ^  Thus  Sanconiatho  makes  the 
 hunting  and  fishing  races  the  in- 
 ventors of  charms  and  divinations 
 (Vide  Cory's  Fragments,  p.  {)), 
 while  Meiners  (Gesch.  der  Reli- 
 gion, vol.  ii,  p.  16, 17)  shows  us  the 
 Tartaric  hordes  and  the  negroes  as 
 niggardly  in  sacrifice;  a)id  Alex- 
 ander thus  speaks  of  the  careless 
 oblation  of  the  Boschman  :  "  He 
 must  lay  down  a  piece  of  flesh, 
 seeds  of  the  nava's  fruit,  or  an  ar- 
 row, or  any  thing  he  may  have 
 about  him  and  can  spare."  (Tra- 
 vels in  Africa,  ut  supra).  For  the 
 indifferentism  of  the  Arabs  in 
 matters  of  religion,  see  Volney's 
 Travels,  close  of  chap,  xxiii. 
 
 *  On  the  same  principle,  cities, 
 nations,  are  represented  in  times  of 
 prosperity  as  neglectful  of  the 
 gods ;  in  times  of  danger,  whether 
 from  plague,  famine,  or  a  foreign 
 ennemy,  as  loud  in  prayer,  eager  in 
 sacrifice. 
 
 ^  Vide  Lafitau,  ut  supra. 
 
 '  As  Cain  and  Abel,  not  yet 
 fathers  of  families. 
 
 S 
 
130  CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 grow  into  families,  the  father  of  the  family  only ;  *  and  soon, 
 when  families  unite  to  form  a  city  or  people,  particular 
 families,  or  particular  individuals,  are  set  apart  for  that 
 purpose.  Again,  in  the  earliest  ages,  any  thing  presented 
 at  any  time,  and  any  where,  might  be  an  offering  to  the 
 gods ;  ^  but  soon  the  best  of  the  corn  and  oil,  the  choicest 
 of  the  flock  or  herd''  only  are  worthy  of  God's  acceptance, — 
 and  then,  too,  they  must  be  sacrificed  at  some  appointed 
 time,  in  some  appointed  place,  and  according  to  a  certain 
 ceremonial,^  or  the  sacrifice  is  an  insult.  At  length  man 
 begins  to  believe  that  the  richer  the  gift  the  more  accept- 
 able, and  now  is  the  era  of  hecatombs  burnt  in  spices,  and 
 all  the  epicurism  of  a  mighty  priesthood. 
 
 4,  5.  Abel's  sacrifice  was  accepted,  Cain's  des- 
 pised.    Wliy  was  this  ? 
 
 1st.  Because  Abel's  ofiPering  was  rich  and  agreeable: 
 Cain's  poor  and  contemptible :  is  the  simplest  and  most  ob- 
 vious answer, — and  one,  which,  as  it  considers  merely  the 
 outward  and  visible  sign,  we  may  term  the  purely  Judaical;* 
 Or, 
 
 2ndly.  Because  Abel's  choice  sacrifice  showed  his  re- 
 spect for,  Cain's  careless  one  his  contempt  of,  Jehovah  ;'' — 
 a  solution  which,  because  it  regards  the  outward  and  visible 
 sign  as  the  evidence  (though  according  to  some  prescribed 
 rule),  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace,  i.  e.  because  it 
 judges  the  man  before  God,  not  by  himself,  but  by  his 
 
 '  As  in  the  patriarchal    times,  temples,  dedicated  to  the  gods  in 
 
 And  thus   in  China  :    "  Le   droit  the  Greek  superstition.     Vide  Fei- 
 
 d'offrir  sur  le  Tan  appartenait  au  thius,  lib.  i,  c.  iii. 
 
 seul  souverain,cxclusivement  a  tout  ^  From  Luther's  commentary  on 
 
 autre,  le  j^rand  sacrifioateur  de  la  this  passage.  Malachi  i.  8 ;  and  Le- 
 
 nation." — Memoires    des   Chinois,  viticus  xxii.      Under  this  head  I 
 
 vol.ii,  p.  lo.  would  also  class   that   interpreta- 
 
 ^  Vide  Potter,  ut  supra;  Lafitau,  tion  which  supposes  Cain's  sacrifice 
 
 ut  supra.  to  have  been   rejected  because   it 
 
 ^  Vide  Leviticus,  passim ;  Feithii,  was   eucharistic  ;   Abel's  accepted, 
 
 Homer.   Antiq.  lib.  i,  c.   ix ;   and  because  it  was  a  sin-offering.  Vide 
 
 Animadver.  in  Feithium,  p.  18.  Dr.  Clarke's  Commentary. 
 
 '■>  Vide  Leviticus  and  Dcutero-  ^  From       Philo-Juda)us.       See 
 
 nomy,  passim ;  and  remember  the  1  Samuel  xv.  22  ;  and  compare  id. 
 
 lands,    trees,    forests,    and    lastly  xvi.  7. 
 
CHAPTER    IV.  131 
 
 actions,  and  those  actions  again,  by  any  moral  or  religious 
 standard,  and  not  always  by  that  standard  which  he  whose 
 actions  are  thus  judged  recognises, ^  we  may  term  the 
 Christo-judaical.     Or, 
 
 3rdly.  Because  Abel  and  Cain  approached  Jehovah, 
 the  one  with  a  pure  and  holy,  tlie  other  with  a  proud  and 
 wicked  heart ;  ^ — an  answer  which,  as  it  directs  the  view  to 
 the  inward  and  spiritual  grace,  the  man  himself:  as  it  judges 
 the  man  before  God  by  himself,  and  not  by  any  other 
 standard,  we  may  term  the  purely  Christian. 
 
 Of  these  answers,  we  may  observe  that  they  are  all  con- 
 jectural ;  that  the  text  is  either  only  not  contradictory  of, 
 or,  at  best,  but  feebly  warrants  them.  For  instance,  the 
 two  first  would  seem  to  rest  upon  the  very  different  manner 
 in  which  the  sacrifices  of  the  brothers  are  sj^oken  of;  the 
 one  offerino;  of  the  firstlino;s  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat 
 thereof;  the  other,  merely  of  the  fruits  of  the  ground. 
 Yet,  if  we  turn  to  the  books  of  the  law,  we  find  that  while 
 with  animal  sacrifices  some  words  of  choice  are  almost  in- 
 variably associated,  vegetable  are  almost  as  invariably  spoken 
 of  as  first  fruits  only.  The  eulogy  coupled  with  the  ofter- 
 ing  of  Abel  appears,  therefore,  as  a  customary  form  merely ; 
 wliile  its  omission  before  that  of  Cain  neither  proves  that 
 his  gift  was  a  paltry  one,'  nor  that  he  had  been  neglectful 
 in  its  selection.  To  the  third,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may 
 be  objected  that,  though  quite  consonant  to  right  reason, 
 and  to  our  views  of  the  character  of  the  Deity,  it  is — 
 
 *  e.  g.   Among   the   Greeks,  tlie  l  Luther,  in  his  Commentary  (ut 
 
 Athenians  chose  for  sacrifice  ani-  supra),  has  already  remarked  that 
 
 mals  sound  and  without  blemish,  we  have  no  evidence  of  Cain's  hav- 
 
 The  Lacedemonians  offered  often  ing  offered  an  unworthy  sacrifice : 
 
 defective  ones,  out  of  an  opinion  "  Auffs  erste  soil  man  nicht  dafiir 
 
 thatso  long  as  their  minds  were  pure  halten  das  Kain  ein  geringer  Opfer 
 
 their  external  worship  could  not  fail  gethan  habe  denn  Abel,  denn  es  siiul 
 
 of  being  acceptable.  The  Christian  die  besteu  Friichte  gewesen  ;  uud 
 
 Jew  then  looks  at  the  Lacedemo-  wenn  man  die  Opfer  in  Mose  anse- 
 
 nian  sacrifice  with  an  Athenian  eye,  het,  sind  die  Speisopfer  fast  die  edel- 
 
 judgesitwithanAthenianmind,and  sten    unter    alien    Opfern."     The 
 
 never  takes  into  account  the  priu-  word  here  used  is"  Minchah,"  also 
 
 ciple  which  actuates  the  sacrificer.  used  and  explained  in  Le\'iticus  ii. 
 
 "  St.  Paul,  Heb.   xi;    Staudlin  ].     See,  on  this  matter,  Clarke's 
 
 Gesch.  der  Moral  Jesu,  vol.  i,  p.  8L  Commentary. 
 
132  CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 1st.  Altogether  unsupported  by  the  text,  which,  though 
 it  distinctly  states  the  occasion  of  Cain's  crime,  omits  all 
 mention  of  any  previous  wickedness  in  Cain  which  might 
 induce  Jehovah  to  reject  liis  sacrifice.     And, 
 
 2ndly.  It  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  notions  which 
 the  Jews  held  of  their  God,  Jehovah.  He  is  gracious  to 
 whom  He  will  be  gracious.  He  has  mercy  on  whom  He  will 
 have  mercy.''  He  puts  aside  Ishmael  and  Esau,^  and  blesses 
 Isaac  and  Jacob  ;  He  chooses  out  Israel  to  be  his  peculiar 
 people ;  He  has  his  preferences,  his  favourites  ;  and  these 
 are  selected  often  for  no  moral  reason,  but  merely  because 
 He  so  wills  it ; — and  because  He  so  willed  it,  I  believe,  and 
 for  no  inferiority  in  Cain  or  his  sacrifice,  "  He  has  respect 
 to  Abel  and  his  offering,  but  unto  Cain  and  his  offering  He 
 has  no  respect." 
 
 Verses  5,  6,  7.  How  knew  Cain  that  his  sacrifice  was 
 rejected?  Probably,  answer  sojne,  fire  came  down  from 
 Heaven  (as  once  when  Abraham  sacrificed)  and  burnt  up 
 Abel's  offering,  but  left  Cain's  untouched.  Truly,  it  is 
 easy  to  explain  away  a  difficulty  by  the  aid — either  of  a  mi- 
 racle, as  the  supernaturalists  ; " — or  of  one  of  those  happy 
 accidents,  in  this  case  a  flash  of  lightning,  which,  though 
 natural,  are  more  extraordinary  than  miracles,  as  the  ration- 
 alists.^ Of  both  one  might,  however,  ask,  how  and  where 
 they  learned  that  the  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel  were  pre- 
 cisely burnt  offerings  ? 
 
 How,  then,  kncAv  Cain  that  his  sacrifice  was  rejected  ? 
 Probably,  answers  Michaelis,^  by  the  failure  of  his  next 
 harvest.  What !  is  it  conceivable  that  a  narrative  so  care- 
 fully arranged  as  to  make  a  pause  between  the  wrath  of 
 Cain  and  the  murder  of  Abel,  should  thus  have  crowded 
 into  one  and  the  same  scene  the  several  months  which 
 
 ^  Exodus   xxxiii.    19.      So   the  ^  Luther,  Commentary  on   Ge- 
 
 Alhih  of  Mahomet :  "  He  forsiveth  ncsis  ;  and  the  orthodox  orenerally. 
 
 whom  he  pleaseth,  and  punishcth  ^  Eichhovn,  Bruchstiicke    iilier 
 
 whom  he  plcascth."— Koran,  c.  V,  die    Heil.   Schrif.   Bibliothek    dev 
 
 Sale's  Translation.  Bih.  Lit.  vol.  iv,  p.  1072. 
 
 *  Vide  Malachi  i.  fi  Commentary  on  Genesis. 
 
CHAPTER    IV,  133 
 
 necessarily  intervened  between  Cain's  sacrifice  and  his 
 knowledge  that  that  sacrifice  had  not  been  accepted  ?  If 
 words  have  a  meaning,  the  thing  is  impossible. 
 
 But  how  knew  Cain  that  his  sacrifice  was  rejected  ?  For 
 a  moment  put  aside  Jewish  prejvidices, — -for  a  while  leave 
 the  beaten  track  of  long-established  opinion : — read  tliis 
 legend  as  you  would  the  account  of  Prometheus'  sacrifice 
 at  Mecone  ;  ^  read  it  as  though  you  read  it  for  the  first  time, 
 and  to  simple  words  be  content  to  give  a  simple  meaning : 
 and  then,  two  brothers  dwell  near  to  Eden,  Jehovah  Eloliim's 
 pleasure  garden  ;^  on  a  certain  day  they  take,  the  one  of  the 
 fruits  of  the  ground,  the  other  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock, 
 and  bring  them,  according  to  oriental  custom,  as  gifts  ^  unto 
 their  Lord.  Abel,  and  his  gifts,  Jehovah  receives  favour- 
 ably ;  but  "  unto  Cain,  and  his  offerings,  he  has  no  respect." 
 Cain,  thus  neglected,  is  wroth  ;  his  countenance  falls ;  his 
 eyes  are  fixed  on  the  earth.  Jehovah,  however,  notes  his 
 anger,  sees  his  thoughts,  and  at  once  rebukes  and  warns 
 him  :  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Cain,  why  art  thou  wroth  ? 
 why  is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  so 
 lookest  thou  u[) ;  but  thinkest  thou  evil,  beware,  so  lurks 
 abeady  sin  at  the  door,  waiting  thy  nod.  But  thou  rule 
 over  it."' 
 
 ^  Hesiod,  Theoi?.  535.  '  I  have  generally    followed    a 
 
 *  Genesis  iv.  16;  and  compare     translation  in   Eichhorn's    Bib.  d. 
 
 with  it  Gen.  iii.  S.  Bib.  Lit,  whicL,  however,  differs 
 
 3  Jilichaelis,  Varianten  im  Pro-     but  little  from  those  of  Michaelis 
 
 phet    Jesaiah,    vol.    xiv,    p.    146,     and  De  Wette.    I  subjoin  them : — 
 
 Orient.  Bib. 
 
 "  Hebel  opferte  seiner  Heerde  Erstlinge. 
 Und  Gott  blickte  auf  Hebel  und  sein  Opfer, 
 Aber  auf  Kain  und  sein  Opfer  blickte  er  nicht, 
 Und  Kain  ziirnte! 
 Es  sank  sein  Gesicht. 
 Und  Jehovah  sprach  zu  Kain, 
 Was  ziirnest  du  ?     Was  sinkt  dein  Gesicht  ? 
 Wenn  du  gut  bist,  kannst  du  wohl  aufblicken. 
 Denkst  du  aber  auf  Boses  ? 
 Siehe !  so  laurt  vor  der  Thiir  schou  die  Siinde  ; 
 Du  aber  beherrsche  sie." 
 
 Otmar,  Bib.  d.  Bib.  Lit.  ut  supra. 
 Compare,  however,  Kohler's  Ver-     Stellen   des  Alt.  Test.,  Eichhorn's 
 besserungen  der  Leseart  in  einig.     Repertorium,  vol.  ii,  p.  244. 
 
 Michaelis 
 
134 
 
 CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 "  Cain  and  Abel  then  came  into  the  very  presence  of 
 Jehovah?" 
 
 Listened  not  Jehovah  curiously  to  Adam's  yet  unpractised 
 language  ?  Talked  He  not  with  him  as  with  a  friend  ?  Was 
 He  not  wont,  too,  to  visit  his  happy  creatures  in  the  cool  of 
 the  day  ?2  And  when  they  sinned,  by  disobedience,  did  He 
 not  himself  pronounce  their  sentence  ?  Why,  then,  should 
 not  Cain  and  Abel  approach  Him  ?  They  were,  indeed, 
 banished  from  Eden,  but  not  from  God's  presence ;  and 
 God's  presence  the  very  words  in  which  this  scene  is  told 
 presume :  "  And  Jehovah  looked  not  on  Cain  and  his  offer- 
 injT  :  and  Cain's  countenance  fell.  And  Jehovah  said,  Wliy 
 is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?"  Are  not  these  expressions  just 
 such  as  would  be  used;  nay,  are  they  not  expressions  such 
 as  could  only  he  used,  of  two  persons  standing  ^  face  to  face  ? 
 
 "  But  the  idea  is  absurd  ?" 
 
 Absurd  with  our  conceptions  of  the  Deity ;  but  not 
 absurd  either  in  the  eyes  of  Moses  or  of  liis  people.     Was 
 
 Michaelis  thus  renders  the  pas- 
 sage :  Ver.  6.  "  UndJehovah  sprach 
 zu  Kain :  Warum  bist  du  so 
 ezVirnt?  und  warum  hangst  dein 
 Gesicht  zur  Erde  ?  1st  es'  nicht 
 wahr  wenn  du  gutes  tbust,  so 
 kannst  du  die  Augen  in  die  Hohe 
 heben?  wenn  du  aber  das  Gute 
 nicht  thust  so  liegt  die  Siinde  vor 
 der  Thur,  und  sie  hat  Lust  zu  dir. 
 Du  sollst  aber  iiber  sie  herrschen." 
 — Uebersetz.  d.  Alt.  Test. 
 
 De  Wette,  thus:  "  Da  sprach 
 Jehovah  zu  Kain  :  Warum  bist  du 
 zornig  und  schliigst  den  Blick  zur 
 Erde  i*  Nicht  wahr,  wenn  du  gutes 
 thust,  so  blickest  du  auf?  und 
 wenn  du  nicht  gutes  thust,  so  liegt 
 vor  der  Thiire  die  Siinde,  und  hat 
 Verlangen  zu  dir;  aber  du  herrsche 
 iiber  sie." — Uebersetz.  des  Alt. 
 Test. 
 
 Dr.  Clarke,  following  our  autho- 
 rized version  in  other  parts,  thus 
 translates  the  latter  portion  of  this 
 passage :  "  But  if  thou  docst  not 
 well,    a    sin-oilVring  lieth  at   thy 
 
 door,"  I.  e.,  "  an  animal  fit  to  be 
 offered  as  an  atonement  for  sin  is 
 now  couching  at  the  door  of  thy 
 fold."!!! 
 
 2  Gen.  ii.  19;  iii.  8,  17. 
 
 *  Compare  Cain  and  Abel's  vt-ith 
 Noah's  sacrifice.  Tliere,  an  altar  is 
 built,  and  beasts  and  birds  are 
 off'ered  as  burnt  offerings  on  the 
 altar,  and  the  odour  of  the  sacrifice 
 rises  even  to  the  Lord's  nostrils; 
 here,  we  find  nothing  of  all  this, 
 none  of  the  formulas  of  sacrifice. 
 In  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  ii,  p. 
 116,  119,  Sir  W.  Jones,  in  the  sa- 
 crifice of  Swayambhuva,  or,  Son  of 
 the  Self-Existent,  finds  a  parallel 
 with  the  sacrifices  of  Cain  and 
 Abel ;  and  at  that  sacrifice  the 
 Deity  is  represented  as  being  pre- 
 sent, but  present  by  descending 
 from  Heaven.  The  tenor,  however, 
 of  the  narrative  in  Genesis  will  not 
 admit  of  the  supposition  that  Je- 
 hovah comes  to  Cain  and  Abel; 
 they  it  is  who  approach  him. 
 
CHAPTER  rv.  135 
 
 It  not  tlieir  firm  belief,  that,  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  the 
 first  temple,  Jehovah  was  wont  to  show  Himself  to  the  high- 
 priest  in  a  cloud  darkly?*  And,  although  in  these  latter 
 and  degenerate  days,  the  consecrated — the  chosen  of  a 
 chosen  race  alone — dared  to  look  upon  the  Lord,  and  then 
 only  upon  the  Lord  in  His  veiled  glory;  and  although 
 even  to  Moses  it  was  not  given  to  see  His  face  : — yet,  if 
 we  go  back  to  earlier  times,  we  find  that  Jacob  wrestled 
 with  God,^  and  that  Abraham  walked  with  Jehovah  on  his 
 way  to  Sodom/  Is  it  not,  then,  natural  to  conjecture, 
 that,  among  the  first  men,  when  sin  and  wickedness  had  not 
 yet  driven  the  gods  from  the  earth,  the  Lord  was  supposed 
 by  Moses  to  have  lived  like  a  father  among  his  cliildren  ? 
 Is  not  this  conjecture,  moreover,  confirmed  by  the  parental 
 tone  of  the  warning  to  Cain,  and  the  cry  of  Cain  when  he 
 is  doomed  to  be  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond :  "  From  thy 
 face  shall  I  be  hid"? 
 
 If,  however^  tliis  interpretation  be  objected  to,  because 
 It  supposes.  In  Genesis,  false  and  narrow  conceptions  of 
 the  Deity  (which,  as  it  is  an  Inspired  book,  it  never  could 
 have  sanctioned),  then  have  I  little  to  answer.  I  can  but 
 observe  that,  in  this  case,  the  word  of  God  necessarily 
 changes  its  hue  and  form  with  every  succeeding  age ;  and 
 that,  while  in  other  tvorh,  it  is  the  reader's  business  care- 
 fully to  study  the  author's  thoughts  and  views.  In  order  that 
 he  may  fully  understand  their  meaning;  in  this  one,  he 
 has  but  to  keep. before  his  eyes  the  opinions  and  reputed 
 truths  of  his  own  time  and  country.  In  order  to  force  the 
 text  into  some  conformity  with  them. 
 
 Verse  8.  This  first  quarrel,^  observe,  was  a  religious 
 one :  Cain  kills  a  brother  to  rid  liimself  of  a  formidable 
 
 ■*  Leviticus  xvi.  1,  13  ;  and  Ex-  tliey  fought  together:  "  lis  avoient 
 
 odus  xxxiii.  ]  8,  &c.  des  arraes  inegales,  doiit  ils  ne  con- 
 
 *  Genesis  xxxii.  24,  &c.  noissoient  pas  la  force;    celles  de 
 
 ^  Genesis  xviii.  I'un  etoient    offensives,    et    celles 
 
 ^  Of  the  twins  borne  by  the  mo-  de  I'autre  u'etoient  point  capable 
 
 ther  of  mankind,  according  to  the  de  nuire ;  de  sorte  que  celui-la  fut 
 
 Iroquois  legend,  we  are  told  that  tuesanspeine  "  Lafitau,vol.i,p.93. 
 
136  CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 rival  in  his  God's  favour.  "  Nc  voila-t-il  pas  un  beau  debut," 
 says  a  French  wit ;  "  ils  ne  sont  que  trois  ou  quatre  au 
 monde,  et  ils  s'entretuent  deja !  apres  cela  que  pouvait 
 esperer  Dieu  des  hommes,  jiour  se  donner  tant  de  peine  h. 
 les  conserver?"*  Crimes,  terrible  as  those  which  brought 
 destruction  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  are  daily  enacted. 
 The  savage  enslaves,  or  torments  to  death,  and  then  some- 
 times eats  the  stranger  Avho  falls  within  his  power.  The 
 eastern  despot,  that  he  may  know  no  taste  of  fear,  like 
 Abimelech  of  old,  slays  his  threescore  and  ten  brethren. 
 We,  hov:iever,  the  civilized  of  the  earth,  are  content  with  more 
 peaceful  vices.  We  make  a  wordy  parade  indeed  of  our 
 intolerance  and  our  bigotry  :  but  our  social  envy,  or  secta- 
 rian hate,  seldom  displays  itself  in  any  thing  worse  than  a 
 few  acts  of  petty  spite  and  malice.  Or,  we  rejoice  in  that 
 respectable  epicurism  which,  while  it  wraps  itself  up  in 
 its  own  comforts,  wonders  that  others  shiver  w^ith  the  cold. 
 And  yet  the  world  is  still  preserved,  and  preserved,  no 
 doubt,  because,  though  crime  may  be  rife,  crime  is  not  on 
 the  ascendant,  and  daily  loses  ground.  Yes,  like  Cain,  we 
 too  are  criminals  ;  but,  like  Cain's,  our  penitence,  our 
 horror  of  crime,  is  greater  even  than  our  crimes. 
 
 Verses  ^-\(i.  Man's  first  crime  was  disobedience;  his 
 second,  murder.  For  both  crimes,  the  punishment  awarded, 
 is,  in  part,  the  same — banishment, — in  the  former  case, 
 from  Eden,  God's  garden.  His  holy  of  holies ;  in  the  latter, 
 from  tlie  earth,  man's  home,  and  the  outer  court  of  God's 
 temple.  For  the  one  crime,  however,  the  earth,  and  not 
 the  criminal,  is  cursed ;  and  so  long,  consequently,  as  the 
 earth  is,  the  curse  endures.  For  the  other,  the  criminal 
 himself  was  cursed;  and  all  his  hopes,  therefore,  must 
 prove  abortive,  all  his  enterprises  unsuccessful — but,  with 
 him,  the  curse  stops  :  it  does  not  extend  to  his  descendants ; 
 they  may  sin  on  their  own  account,  and  be  punished  for  it ; 
 but  they  do  not  suffer  for  the  sin  of  their  father. 
 
 We  may  ol)servc,  by   the  way,  that  the  punishments 
 
 "  I»IiillKrl)f.     \'i(lc  Tallcinant  dcs  Roaux  Menis.  vol.  i,  p.  1;')8. 
 
CHAPTER  rv.  137 
 
 inflicted  in  both  cases  are  wholly  temporal ;  though,  per- 
 chance, in  the  shame  of  Adam  hiding  himself  from  the  pre- 
 sence of  the  Lord:  and  in  the  assurance  which  Cain  requires 
 from  Jehovah,  that  in  every  man  he  shall  not  find  the  avenger 
 of  Abel:  it  is  darkly  intimated  that  the  punishments  which 
 God  here  pronounces  as  a  judge,  are  punishments  such  as 
 the  law  inflicts — some  additions  to  that  misery  which 
 necessarily  proceeds  from  crime  itself,  and  which  is  piurely 
 mental. 
 
 "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  one  that  findeth 
 me,  shall  slay  me."  These  words  surely  indicate,  not  merely 
 that  Cain  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  lex  talionis, 
 but  that  it  was  the  law  generally  recognized  and  acted 
 upon^  in  his  time.  Yet,  in  the  sixth  verse  of  the  ninth 
 chapter,  we  find  an  account  of  the  institution  of  this  law : 
 which,  with  the  others  then  made,  seems  intended  as  a 
 check  upon  the  imaginations  of  man's  heart.  How  are 
 these  discrepancies  to  be  reconciled  ? 
 
 1st.  We  may  avoid  them,  by  following  Michaelis'  version 
 of  this  text :  "  Alles  was  mich  antrift,"  every  thing, 
 i.  e.  every  wild  beast  ^  which  meets  me,  &c.  But  I  find 
 this  translation  unsupported  by  any  other  authority.  I 
 find,  too,  on  referring  to  his  notes,  that  Michaelis  prefers 
 it,  not  because  it  better  renders  the  Hebrew  words,  but 
 because  it  is  more  conformable  to  what  he  supposes  to  have 
 been  the  then  state  of  the  world  and  of  mankind.^  It  is, 
 therefore,  a  merely  conjectural  translation.     It  is,  besides, 
 
 ^  Indeed,  Dr.  Clarke  knows  all  aus   dem  bewolinten   Lande  weg-, 
 
 about   it:    "In  the    antediluvian  und  in  die  Wiklniss  begab  ?  Das' 
 
 times,"  be  says,  "  the  nearest  of  kin  menschliche  Geschlecht....wobnete 
 
 to  a  murdered  person  had  a  right  to  damahls  beisammen.    Desto  gros- 
 
 revenge  his  death  by  taking-  away  ser  aber  war  die  Gefahr,  dass  er  von 
 
 the  life  of  the  murderer;"  and  he  der  Hiilfe  seiner  Nebenmenschen 
 
 adds :  "  this,  we  have  seen,  contri-  entfernt  am  ersten  Tage  die  Beute 
 
 buted  not  a  little  to  Cain's  horror."  der  wilden  Thiere  werden  wiirde," 
 
 —Commentary  on  verse  23.  &c.     Vide 'Anmerkung.  zum  erst. 
 
 I  See  Commentary  on  this  pas-  B.  Mose,  iv.  40.     One  might  also 
 
 sage.  Michaelis,  Bibel.  inquire  how  a  man  could  be  far 
 
 _  *  "  Hier  ist  nicht  von  Menschen  removed     from     his     fellow-men 
 
 die  Rede:   Wie    sollte    Kain    die  whose    first   act    was   to   build    a 
 
 anzutreffen  fiirchten,  wenn  er  sich  city  ? 
 
 T 
 
138  CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 one  which  makes  the  answer  of  Jehovah  incomprehensible : 
 for,  by  what  mark  could  brute  beasts  be  taught  not  to  attack 
 Cain  ?  and  what  sevenfold  vengeance  could  God  take 
 upon  tliem  ?  This  objection  Michaelis  foresees,  and  an- 
 swers, by  referring  to  the  well-known  practice  of  the  olden 
 world,^  which  punished,  even  on  the  beast,  the  death  of  the 
 man,  i.  e.  he  answers  it  by  referring  to  the  lex  talionis.  We 
 must,  therefore,  again  ask,  how  are  these  discrepancies  to 
 be  reconciled? 
 
 2ndly.  We  may  suppose  the  lex  talionis  to  have  been  a 
 relic  of  antediluvian  legislation,  which,  only  after  the 
 deluge,  received  the  sanction  of  the  Deity.  But  how  is  it 
 conceivable  that  this  lex  talionis  (limited,  when  delivered  to 
 Noah,  to  cases  of  violent  death  by  the  hands  of  another) 
 should,  as  a  human  institution,  be,  not  merely  not  sanc- 
 tioned, but  actually  rejected  by  Jehovah  ;  and  then  after- 
 wards issue  from  his  lips  as  his  especial  law — and  that  too, 
 immediately  after  he  had  swept  aAvay  a  world  of  men 
 from  the  face  of  the  earth,  because  their  imaginations 
 were  evil? 
 
 But  how,  then,  are  these  discrepancies  to  be  reconciled  ? 
 Let  the  strictly  orthodox  divine  answer  the  question.  I 
 see  in  them  but  the  unsteady  and  inconsequent  views 
 of  infant  man,  which  I  feel  no  way  obliged  to  receive, 
 though  they  teach  me,  indeed,  how  slowly,  and  with  how 
 great  difficulty,  the  human  mind  developed  its  notions 
 of  the  Deity. 
 
 We  will  now  examine  the  interpretation  which  the 
 rationalists  give  to  the  events  that  follow  the  murder 
 of  Abel.  *     No  sooner,  say  they,  has  Cain  slain  his  brother, 
 
 '    "  Auch  dis   ist    der   Schutz  schen  blut  vegiesse,  es  sey  Mensch 
 
 Gottes  nach  der  ersten  Denkunp^s-  oder  Thier,  wieder  zu  todteu." — 
 
 art    der    Meuscben    ausgedruckt,  Id.  id.  v.  15. 
 
 die  den  Tod  der  zerrissenen  Men-  ■•  Eichhorn's  Urgeschichte,  Re- 
 
 schen   auch  an    den   Raubthieren  pertorium,  vol.  iv,  p.  190,  224,i?tc. 
 
 rachen  werden,    ob    dicse     glcicb  In  exemplification  and  corrobora- 
 
 keiner    eigentlichen    Strafe    fiihis;  tion  of  tbeir  views,  both  as  regards 
 
 sind.     Noch   nach  der  Sundllutb  tbeir    explanation    of  the  banish- 
 
 redet  Gott  el)en  so,  ja  cr  gicl)t  ein  ment  from  Eden  and  this  tale  of 
 
 eigenes  Gesetz,    alles    was  Men-  Cain,  the  Rationalists  might  quote 
 
CHAPTER   IV.  139 
 
 than  the  thought  rushes  on  him,  that  he  will  be  called 
 upon  to  account  for  his  brother's  non-appearance.  But,  as 
 infant  man  ascribes  every  unexpected  event,  every  unac- 
 countable accident,  to  the  immediate  influence  of  his  gods  ; 
 so  he  connects  every  thought,  not  elicited  by  something 
 outward  and  visible,  with  the  only  invisible  object  with 
 which  he  is  acquainted — the  Deity.  Hence  Cain's  reproach 
 of  conscience  appears  as  the  searching  question  of  Jehovah, 
 "  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ? "  But,  again,  because  in 
 these  early  times  language  is  yet  unable  to  distinguish 
 between  the  thought  (i.  e.  the  words  of  the  heart),  and  the 
 words  (i.  e.  the  thoughts  of  the  lips),  all  thoughts  are 
 described  as  something  uttered ;  hence,  the  thought 
 acknowledgedly  drawn  from  the  resources  of  his  own 
 mind,  with  which  Cain  meets  that  other  thought  sug- 
 gested by  Jehovah,  naturally  enough  takes  the  form  of 
 an  answer  to  it.  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?"  But  the 
 once  awakened  conscience  is  not  thus  easily  quieted:  it 
 calls  up  before  the  eyes  of  the  terrified  criminal,  the  earth 
 yet  reeking  with  the  blood  which  he  has  shed, — he  remem- 
 
 the  following  anecdote  : — The  Fue-  large  stone  in  his  hand,  he  crept 
 gians  believe  that  "  a  great  black  stealthily  towards  the  place,  and 
 man  is  always  wandering  about  the  there  saw  one  of  these  wild  men 
 woods  and  mountains,  who  is  cer-  plucking  a  bird  which  he  had  got 
 tain  of  knowing  every  word  and  out  of  the  cliff.  Without  saying  a 
 every  action,  who  cannot  be  es-  word,  he  dashed  the  stone  at  the 
 caped,  and  who  influences  the  wild  man's  head,  and  killed  him 
 weather  according  to  men's  con-  on  the  spot.  Afterwards,  York's 
 duct.  York  related  a  curious  brother  was  very  sorry  for  what  he 
 story  of  his  own  brother,  who  had  had  done,  particularly  when  it  be- 
 committed  a  murder :  "  In  woods  gan  to  blow  very  hard.  York  said, 
 of  my  country,"  said  he,  "  some  in  telling  his  story  :  "  Rain  come 
 men  go  about  alone ;  very  wild  down ;  snow  come  down  ;  hail  come 
 men ;  have  no  belly  (meaning,  pro-  down;  wind  blow  —  blow — very 
 bably,  very  thin) ;  live  by  stealing  much  blow ;  very  bad  to  kill  man  ; 
 from  other  men."  He  then  went  on  big  man  in  woods  no  like  it;  he 
 to  say  that  his  brother  had  been  very  angry."  At  the  word  "  blow," 
 getting  birds  out  of  a  clifif,  and  on  York  imitated  the  sound  of  a  strong 
 coming  down,  hid  them  among  wind,  and  he  told  the  whole  story 
 some  long  rushes,  and  went  away,  in  a  very  mysterious  manner,  con- 
 Soon  afterwards  he  returned,  and  sidering  it  an  extremely  serious 
 seeing  feathers  blown  away  by  affair." — Voyages  of  Ad  venture  and 
 the  wind  from  the  spot,  suspected  Beagle,  vol.  ii,  p.  180,  Quarterly 
 what  was  going  on  ;  so,  taking  a  Review,  December  1 839. 
 
140  CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 bers  the  sin  of  liis  father,  and  its  punishment,— and  he 
 hears  Jehovah  pronounce  his  doom :  "  And  now  art  thou 
 
 cursed  from  the  earth Wlien  thou  tillest  the  ground  it 
 
 shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee  her  strength ;  a  fugi- 
 tive and  a  vagabond  shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth."  And 
 Cain,  fully  sensible  of  the  misery  which  awaits  him,  now 
 cries  out,  "  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear ;" 
 and  "every  one  that  findeth  me  shall  slay  me."  But, 
 again,  a  new  thought  strikes  him,  in  which  he  finds  conso- 
 lation : — If  I  who  have  slain  my  brother  be  punished,  will 
 not  the  man  who  slays  me  be  punished  also?  This 
 thought  he  also  attributes  to  the  Deity,  who  then  seems 
 to  assure  him,  "  That  whosoever  slayeth  him,  vengeance 
 shall  be  taken  on  him  sevenfold." 
 
 To  sum  up  the  whole  in  a  few  words :  the  rationalists 
 assert,  that  this  dialogue,  in  which  Jehovah  bears  so  large 
 a  part,  merely  describes,  according  to  the  language  of  the 
 young  world,  the  various  and  contending  emotions  which 
 by  turns  occupied  the  mind  of  the  conscience-stricken  Cain. 
 And  if,  by  this  interpretation,  they  but  mean  to  account 
 for  the  origin  and  actual  form  of  our  legend,  and,  at  the 
 same  time  to  justify  the  good  faith  and  honesty,  either  of 
 those  who,  for  so  many  centuries,  treasured  it  up  in  their 
 memories ;  or  of  Cain,  Avho,  we  will  suppose,  himself  first 
 told  the  tale  ;  no  one  will  deny  to  their  views  some  proba- 
 bility, and  to  themselves  much  critical  acuteness.  But  if 
 they  go  further;  if  they  contend  that  the  author  who  first 
 transcribed,  and  they  who  repeated  to  him  this  legend,  were 
 all  fully  aware  of  its  true  meaning,  then  I  must  object  to  their 
 interpretations :  first,  as  supposing  in  infant  man  too  ma- 
 tured and  calculating  a  judgment  :^  and,  secondly,  as  directly 
 counter  to  the  o})inion  of  the  author  of  Genesis,  who  gives 
 objective  reality  to  the  whole  scene,  by  the  words  in  which 
 he  concludes  it.  "  And  the  Lord  set  a  mark  upon  Cain, 
 lest  any  finding  him  should  kill  him."  Yes ;  as  I  interpreted 
 the  first  act  of  this  drama,  so  I  must  interpret  the  last. 
 The  author  of  Genesis  believed  that  every  thing  took  place 
 
 *  Vide  ut  supra,  p.  24. 
 
CHAPTER   IV.  141 
 
 really,  actually,  as  he  states  it ;  that  Jehovah  personally 
 accused,  and  personally  sentenced  Cain. 
 
 Verse  16.  "And  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the 
 Lord."®  Cain  travels  still  further  eastward,  and  dwells  in 
 the  land  of  Nod, — exile,  banishment.  Was  its  name  given 
 to  this  land  previous  to  Cain's  crime,  and  did  it  then  influ- 
 ence the  legend  which  records  his  fate  ?  Or  was  the  land 
 so  called  after,  and  because,  Cain  settled  there  ? 
 
 Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
 
 When  He  would  judge  our  first  parents,  Jehovah  Elohim 
 is  represented  as  calling  them  before  him.  He  is  shown  us, 
 too,  coming  down  7  after  the  flood,  ^  "  to  see  the  city  and  the 
 tower  which  the  children  of  men  had  builded,"  and  we  meet 
 him  tarrying  in  Abraham's  tent,  ere  he  sets  forth  to  destroy 
 Sodom.     Again,  when  the  Lord"  (called  the  angel  of  the 
 
 ^  According  to  Herodotus,  lib.  i,     divine    punishment    would  surely 
 
 §  XXXV,  the    Phrygian,   Adrastus,     overtake  the  man  who  should  omit 
 
 for  the   accidental  murder  of  his     to  effect  his  purification  or  expiate 
 
 brother,  flees   for    purification    to     his  crime  by  flight"  (Hist.  Antiq.  of 
 
 Croesus.     According  to  Euripides     Greece,  vol.  i,  p.  135).     With  this 
 
 (Hippolytus,   verse  35),     Theseus,     ancient  notion  of  expiation  may  we 
 
 after  the  just  and  necessary  slaugh-     not  connect  that  law  of  Athens  and 
 
 terofthePallantides,  exiles  himself    Rome,  which  permitted  the  guilty 
 
 from  Athens,  to  avoid  the  conta-     citizen  to   fly   from  the  hands  of 
 
 mination    of  their    blood   {iiiaujia    justice,  provided  sentence  had  not 
 
 (psvyoiv  ai^aTog) ;  and  Wachsmuth     yet  been   pronounced  upon  him  ? 
 
 (On  the  flight  of  Peleus,  Hercules,     (Casaubon,  in  Sueton.  Julius  Cae- 
 
 and  Orestes,  each  on  account  of  a     sar,  §  xlii ;  Monk,  in  Hippolitum,  v. 
 
 murder),    observes    "  that  though     37,  Euripides).  And  when  we  call  to 
 
 they  fled,  and  not  without  a  design     mind  the  flight  of  Cain,  the  city  of  re- 
 
 to  evade  the  penalty  of  retribution,     fuge,and  the  scape-goat,  may  we  not 
 
 yet  that   the   chief  impression  by     ask  whether  some  analogous  view 
 
 which  they  were  actuated  was,  that     did  notonce  obtain  among  the  Jews? 
 
 ^  Thus  Apollo:   "  B^  ^£  Kctr  ovXvfnroio  Kapi]v(t)v." — II.  a,  verse 44. 
 
 ^  So  Virgil  describes  the  gods  assisting  in  the  destruction  of  Troy : — 
 
 "  Neptunus  muros,  magnoque  emota  tridenti 
 
 Fundamenta  quatit,  totamque  a  sedibus  urbem 
 
 Emit.     Hie  Juno  Scaeas  saevissima  portas 
 
 Prima  tenet 
 
 Jam  summas  arces  Tritonia,  respice,  Pallas 
 Insedit,  nimbo  effiilgens  et  Gorgone  steva. 
 Ipse  Pater  Danais  animos  viresque  secundas 
 Suflicit :  ipse  Deos  in  Dardana  suscitat  arma." 
 
 ^neid.  ii,  610. 
 ®  Dieser  Engel  redet,  v.  15,  so  dass  Man  ihn  nicbt  wohl  fiir  etwas 
 
142  CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 Lord),  meets  Hagar  in  the  wilderness,  do  not  her  words 
 denote  her  surprise,  that  even  there,  in  that  desert  place, 
 the  Lord  should  have  seen  her?'  And  when,  on  his  road 
 to  Haran,  Jacob  in  a  dream  sees  Jehovah,  the  God  of 
 Abraham  and  of  Isaac,  what,  on  waking,  is  his  exclama- 
 tion ?  "  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it 
 not."   In  the  conception  of  the  infant  world,  it  seems,  then, 
 
 1st.  That  icliere  God  acts  and  works,  that  there  He  is 
 regarded  as  immediately  and  personally  present.     And, 
 
 2ndly.  That  He  is  supposed  to  prefer  the  cultivated  field,'^ 
 the  tents  and  haunts  of  men,  where  He  receives  offerings, 
 and  is  gratified  with  worship,  to  the  desert,^  where  there  are 
 none  to  do  Him  service. 
 
 geringeres,  als  fiir  den  wahren  Gott  vaste  gueule  et  Tenorrae  poitrine 
 halten  kann." — Michaelis,  Com.  du  Dew  seront  brulees  lorsque  le 
 zum.  Gen.  xvi,  7.  grain  sera  en  abondance."  (Fargard 
 
 '  Vide  Michaelis'  Translation  iii,  p.  284.)  Somewhat  analogous 
 and  Commentary  :  "  Hier  in  dieser  to  this  was  the  opinion  of  the  an- 
 Wiiste!  Eine  Erscheinung  des  cient  Egyptians,  who  made  the 
 wahren  Gottes  hatte  sie  ehe  in  dem  sandy  desert  the  habitation  of  Ty- 
 Hause  Abram's  erwartet,  aber  phon ;  and  of  the  Hindoos,  who  be- 
 nicht  an  diesem  bisher  gar  nicht  lieve  that  the  waste  Kobi,  and  the 
 fur  heilig  gehaltenen  Orte." — Id.  barren  mountains  of  Thibet,  are 
 V.  13.  the  chosen  dwelling  of  the  evil  spi- 
 
 ^  Hence  in  the  Persian  faith  :  rits.  Vide  Gesenius,  Com.  ii.  d. 
 The  well  cultivated  earth  is  well-  Jesaiah,  i,  p.  464  ;  and  Rhode, 
 pleasing  to  Orrauzd,  and  agricul-  Heil.  Sag.  93,  and  compare  Tobit 
 ture  is  a  duty.  For,  according  to  viii.  3  ;  and  see  Eisenmenger's 
 the  Zend,  \k\QDews  multiply  when  Entdeckt.  Judenthum,  vol.  ii,  c. 8; 
 the  land  is  left  waste :  "  Lorsque  which  shows  that  the  same  opinion 
 Ormuzd  ne  donnepas  le  laboureur,  prevailed  among  the  later  Jews, 
 les  Dews  sans  nombre  se  multiplie"  '  So  among  the  Greeks.  The  gods 
 (Ha  xxxi,  p.  168) ;  and  are  weak-  loved  the  abodes  of  men,  where  they 
 ened  when  grain  is  abundant :  "  La    might  feaston  hecatombs.  There : — 
 
 "  AaivvvTai  Tt  Trap  afijxi  KaBiifievoi,  evS'a  ntp  »/jit£ic." — Odys.  jj,  203. 
 — and  avoided   willingly   the   barren    sea;  so  at  least   Mercury  tells 
 Calypso  (Odys.  t,  99)  :— 
 
 "  ZivQ  t^e  r]vtDyu  Stvp^  iXSitfitv  ovk  i^iXovra  : 
 Tif  Sdv  tKtov  ToaaovSt  SiaSpafioi  aXfivpov  vScop 
 AdTTETOv ;  ovSe  rig  ay%i  /Sporoiv  TToXig,  oirt  Btoiffiv 
 'lepa  re  pt^ovin,  Kai  t^aiTovg  «Karojitj8ae."' 
 And,  as  the  Elohim  forsook  the  ta-    sians,  the  Divinity  abandoned  the 
 bernacle  of  Shiloh  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  60),     Acropolis  of  Athens  (Herod,  lib  viii, 
 and  hurried  away  from  those  cities     §.  41);    and  when  Tyre   was   be- 
 which  were  doomed  to  destruction  ;     sieged  by  Alexander,  a  Tyrian  saw 
 so,  too,  on  the  approach  of  the  Per-    Apollo  deserting  the  city  :  and  the 
 
CHAPTER   IV.  143 
 
 I  conclude,  therefore,  that  Cain  was  literally  understood 
 to  have  gone  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,-*  when  he 
 left  the  home  of  his  father,  and  dwelt  in  an  unknown  and 
 uninhabited  country. 
 
 We  will  now  inquire  into  the  state  of  man,  and  the  degree 
 of  civilization  which  he  is  represented  as  having  attained, 
 in  the  year  of  the  world  128. 
 
 Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep.  A  part  of  the  animal 
 creation,  sheep,5  for  instance,  man  had  ah-eady  tamed  and 
 domesticated ;  a  task  which  required  some  observation, 
 some  forethought,  and  a  certain  labour ;  and  one,  the  results 
 of  which  were  neither  sure  nor  immediate,  and  for  which, 
 as  our  antediluvian  ancestors  did  not,  or,  at  least,  were  not 
 permitted  to,  eat  flesh,  they  scarcely  seem  to  have  had  any 
 sufficient  inducements.  What,  however,  may  have  been 
 these  inducements  ?     To  them  sheep  were  useful, 
 
 1st.  For  the  purposes  of  sacrifice.  "  Abel  offers  of  the 
 firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof;"  and,  till  the 
 time  of  Enos,  according  to  one  interpretation  given  to  the 
 26th  verse  of  this  chapter,  sacrifice  seems  to  have  been  the 
 only  religious  service. 
 
 2ndly.  For  the  purposes  of  food.  They  drank  of  the 
 milk  of  their  flocks.  And  milk,  Avith  its  preparations  of 
 butter  and  cheese  (for  both  of  which  the  milk  of  sheep, 
 though  not  abundant,)  may  be  used,  forms  at  this  day  the 
 principal  food  of  most  nomadic  tribes.* 
 
 Tyrians,  to  keep  him  there,  chained  one,  but  several,  for  Abel  had  a 
 
 his  statue  to  a  pedestal  (Diod.  Sic.  flock, — must  have  been  a  work  of 
 
 lib.  xix,  p.  520).  considerable  difficulty. 
 
 ■•  So  Zeus  was  supposed  to  be  *  Burckhardt  says  of  the  Turko- 
 
 especially    present    in     Dodona :  mans :  "  Their  manner  of  living  is 
 
 "  Homer  wie  Hesiodus  nennt  den  luxurious  for  a    nomadic  people. 
 
 Zeus  '  National  Gott  der  Pelasger,'  They  taste  flesh  only  upon  extraor- 
 
 und  Dodona  war  der  Ort  wo  sie  ihn  dinaiy  occasions,  such  as  a  marriage 
 
 hesonders  gegenw'drtig  glaubten" —  or  a  circumcision.      Their   usual 
 
 Schlosser  Gesch.  d.  alt. Welt,  i,  305.  food   is   bourgoul.      This   dish  is 
 
 '  The  Argali,  or  Mouflon,  consi-  made  of  wheat,  boiled,  and  after- 
 
 dered  by  Bufl'on  and  Pallas  as  the  wards  dried  in  the  sun,  in  sufficient 
 
 original  of  our  common  sheep,  is  quantities  for  a  year's  consumption, 
 
 described  as  a  remarkably  shy  and  Besides   bourgoul,  they   eat    rice, 
 
 wild  animal,  loving  the  highest  and  eggs,  honey,  dried  fruit,  and  sour 
 
 most  inaccessible  rocks.     To  tame,  milk  ;  they"  have   none   but  goat's 
 
 therefore,  the  first  sheep, — and  not  milk." — Appendix  to  Syria,  p.  638. 
 
144  CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 Srdly.  For  the  purposes  of  clothing.  Though  for  Adam 
 and  Eve  Jehovah  Elohim  made  coats  of  skins,  he  left  their 
 children  to  make  coats  for  themselves.  But  as  the  raw  skin 
 soon  shrinks,  and  becomes  hard  and  unserviceable,  we  must 
 presume,  if  the  first  men  continued  to  wear  skins,  that  they 
 had  either  themselves  discovered,  or  had  been  taught  by  Jeho- 
 vah, some  means  of  preparing  the  skin,  and  rendering  it  fit  for 
 the  purposes  of  clothing ;  and,  as  the  coats  of  Adam  and  Eve 
 were  their  model,  that  they  had,  moreover,  learned  in  some 
 way  to  adapt  the  skin  to  the  shape.  In  other  words,  we 
 must  presume  that  our  first  ancestors  possessed  a  know- 
 ledge of  several  of  the  arts  of  life,  which,  though  no  doubt 
 among  the  most  simple  and  necessary,  are  still  unknown 
 to  many  nations. 
 
 II.  Cain  was  a  tiller  of  the  ground.''  The  Chinese  his- 
 torians thus  relate  the  labours  and  experiments  of  Yen-ti, 
 the  inventor  of  agriculture  :  "  He  tasted  every  wild  plant 
 he  could  meet  with.  Some  he  found  injurious  to  the  health, 
 and  these  he  sought  to  exterminate ;  while  others  possessed 
 medicinal  properties,  of  which  he  determined  the  use.  Of 
 the  different  grains  which  might  serve  for  the  food  of  man, 
 he  chose  out  the  most  nutritious.  He  distinguished  five 
 principal  sorts ;  of  these  he  advised  the  cultivation,  in  pre- 
 ference to  the  rest,  which  he  considered  as  less  usefid.  He 
 selected,  also,  one  hundred  kinds  of  fruits,  and  planted  in 
 an  inclosure  ("  fit  planter  a  part")  the  several  trees  which 
 bore  them.  But,  defeated  in  his  object,  he  learned,  after 
 the  experience  of  some  years,^  that  it  was  not  merely  neces- 
 sary to  plant  trees,  but  that  they  required  more  and  other 
 attention :  that  attention  he  gave  them.  He  now  regidated 
 his  mode  of  treatment  according  to  the  seasons,  and  the  soil, 
 
 '  Michaelis  somewhere  expresses  the  simplicity  of  the   olden   time, 
 
 his  surprise  that  Genesis  makes  no  which  heaps  ever  upon  one  man  the 
 
 mention  of  him  who  first  planted  experience  and  the  knowledge  which 
 
 wheat.    As  it  takes  for  granted  that  generations  only  can  acquire.  That 
 
 man  always  possessed  domestic  ani-  Yen-ti  is  made  to  do  what 'is  im- 
 
 mals,  so  it  presumes  that  he  always  possible  does  not  impugn  the  anti- 
 
 knew  the  use  and  value   of  those  quity  of  the  narrative,  but  rather 
 
 grains  which  constitute  his  principal  strengthens  it.      The   forgeries  of 
 
 food.— Vide  Genesis  i.  29 ;  iii,   18.  civilized  times  are  never  so  impos- 
 
 'This  relation  accords  well  with  sible  and  absurd. 
 
cn.vPTKR  IV.  145 
 
 his  mode  of  treatment  according  to  the  seasons,  and  the  soil, 
 and  the  nature  of  the  trees  themselves.  He  thus  invented 
 tillage,  agriculture,  and  the  other  labom-s  of  the  field."' 
 
 The  author  of  our  Genesis  is  not  so  explicit  as  the 
 Chinese  historian.  He  asserts  merely  that  Cain  was  a 
 tiller  of  the  ground.  Cain,  then,  must  have  known  that 
 some  plants  were  edible  and  more  wholesome  than  others ; 
 he  must  have  perceived  that  certain  wild  grasses,  wheat, 
 for  instance,  might  by  culture  be  so  improved,  as  with 
 but  little  preparation  to  become  food  fit  for  man.  He  must 
 have  observed  the  soils  and  situations  these  grasses  delighted 
 in :  with  a  provident  mind  he  must  have  gathered  their 
 seeds,  and  ascertained  at  what  period  of  the  year  these 
 seeds  should  be  put  into  the  ground :  and,  that  nothing- 
 might  check  their  growth,  he  must,  at  the  same  time,  have 
 learned  (probably  the  only  tillage  of  these  early  times,  and 
 the  only  tillage  the  virgin  soiP  required)  to  tear  up  and 
 clear  away  all  weeds,  and  thus  to  soften  the  earth,  and 
 prepare  it  to  receive  his  more  useful  grains. 
 
 But  not  to  mention  that  these  eldest  born  of  Adam  each 
 represent  one  of  the  tuy)  great  races  into  which,  in  the 
 time  of  JNIoses,  mankind  was  divided :  the  tillers  of  the 
 earth,  the  first  founders  and  inhabitants  of  cities,  and  the 
 fathers  of  all  mechanics  and  artizans ;  and  the  keepers  of 
 sheep,  the  pastoral  and  nomadic  tribes: — is  it,  I  would  ask, 
 conceivable,  that  the  few  individuals  then  existing  should, 
 without  any  traditional  knowledge,  and  in  the  course  of  one 
 short  century,  have  acquired  the  diversified  experience 
 which  their  different  occupations  presume  ?  Is  it  conceiv- 
 able, that  the  first  men  should  thus  have  strode  onward  to 
 civilization:  when,  after  six  thousand  years,  we  find  that,  of 
 their  descendants — so7ne  nations  continue  so  unimproved  that 
 they,  like  Adam,  cultivate  the  earth  literally  by  the  labour 
 
 '  VideMemoires  des  Chinois,  vol.  ing-  is  given  in  vol.  iv.  p.  200,  Hist, 
 
 i.  p.  45,  &c.  Gen.   des  Voyages),  they  turn   up 
 
 '  The  negroes  on  the  Gold  Coast  the  ground ;  having  sowii  their  seed, 
 
 merely  burn  the  grass  on  the  lands  they  never  weed,  but  cut  millet  and 
 
 they  mean  to  cultivate ;  and  then,  tares    together.— Hist.    Gen.    des 
 
 witha  rude  spade  (of  which  a  draw-  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  130,  131. 
 
 U 
 
146 
 
 CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 of  their  hands/ — others,  so  improvident,  that  on  tlic  first 
 warm  day  they  burn  the  huts  which  have  sheltered  them 
 from  the  cold  of  winter/ — others  yet  so  brutish,  that,  living 
 alone,  and  hiding  in  holes  and  hollow  trees,  they  can 
 scarcely  be  said  to  possess  a  language,^ — and,  lastly,  others 
 yet  so  destitute,  that  they  have  no  tame  animals,*  or  are 
 unacquainted  with  fire  and  its  uses?®  No,  it  will  be  an- 
 swered, this  rapid  advance  is  not  conceivable  under  ordinary 
 
 -  "  Pour  semer  le  millet  les  ne- 
 gres  mettent  iin  genouil  a  terre, 
 font  des  petits  trous,  y  jettent  trois 
 ou  quatre  grains  de  leurs  semence 
 — et  bouchent  cbaque  trou  de  la 
 meme  terre." — Histoire  Generale 
 des  Voyages,  vol.  iii,  p.  117,  188; 
 id.  vol.  iv,  p.  120,  &c. 
 
 ^  "  Their  habitations  (in  Cali- 
 fornia) are  small  round  huts  of 
 rushes,  erected  where  they  halt  for 
 a  season,  and  burnt  when  they 
 change  their  station.'' — California, 
 by  A.  Forbes,  p.  186. 
 
 *  "  D'autres  encore  vivoient  dans 
 des  fosses  et  dans  le  creux  des  gros 
 
 arbres et  ont  a  peine  une  langue 
 
 pour  exprimer  leur  pensee  aux 
 autres,quoiqu'ilssoientd'unememe 
 nation;  de  sorte  qu'ilsviventcomme 
 des  auimaux  de  differentes  especes, 
 toujourseloignes  lesuns  desautres 
 sans  jamais  comrauniquer  en- 
 semble.''— Garcilasso  de  la  Vega, 
 Histoire  des  Yncas,  lib.  i,  c.  xii,  p. 
 27.  See  also  account  of  the  Fue- 
 gian  language  by  Darwin,  Voyage 
 of  Adventure  and  Beagle,  vol.  iii, 
 p.  228. 
 
 •'  Robertson's  History  of  America, 
 lil).  iv.  p.  323 — of  many  American 
 people.  Among  the  inhabitants  of 
 the  Alariane  or  Ladrone  Islands, 
 Magellan  found  no  animals  save  a 
 fevvf  doves. — Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages, 
 vol.  X.  p.  3()(3.  "  The  Nameguas 
 say  of  the  Damaras,  that  they  keep 
 nothing  to  kill,  and  not  even  dogs 
 to  catch  the  fawns  of  the  spring- 
 bok, as  the  Boschman  do." — Alex- 
 dcr's   Travels  in  AlVica.      And  of 
 
 some  Fuegians  Captain  Stokes  nar- 
 rates, "  that  the  tracks  they  inhabit 
 are  altogether  destitute  of  four-foot- 
 ed animals,  and  that  they  have  not 
 domesticated  the  geese  and  ducks 
 which  abound  there.  Of  tillage, 
 he  adds,  they  are  utterly  ignorant ; 
 and  their  only  vegetable  productions 
 are  a  few  wild  berries  and  a  kind  of 
 sea-weed.  Their  principal  food 
 consists  of  muscles,  limpets,  and  sea- 
 eggs,  and  seal,  sea-otter,  porpoise, 
 and  whale." — Voyage  of  the  Adven- 
 ture and  Beagle,  vol.  p.  75. 
 
 '^  "  Les  habitans  des  lies  Ma- 
 rianes,  decouvertes  en  1521,  n'a- 
 voient  aucune  idee  du  feu  ;  jamais 
 lis  ne  furent  plus  surpris  que  quand 
 ils  en  virent  lors  de  la  descente  que 
 Magellan  fit  dans  une  de  leurs  iles. 
 lis  prirent  d'abord  le  feu  pour  un 
 animal  qui  s'attachoit  au  bois  et 
 qui  s'en  nourrissoit.  Les  premiers 
 qui  s'en  approcherent  trop  s'etant 
 brules,  leurs  oris  inspirerent  de  la 
 crainte  aux  autres,  qui  n'oserent 
 plus  le  regarder  que  de  loin.  Ils 
 apprehendirent  la  morsure  d'un  si 
 terrible  animal,  qu'ils  crurent  ca- 
 pable de  les  blesser  par  la  seule 
 violence  de  sa  respiration."  (Hist. 
 Gen.  des  Voy.)  "  Les  habitans  des 
 Philippines  et  des  Canaries  aussi 
 ...de  los  Jordanos,  plusieurs 
 peuples  de    I'Amerique,  et,  entre 
 
 autres,  les  Amikouanes." 
 
 "  L'Afrique  offre  encore  de  nos 
 jours  des  peuples  qui  sont  dans  la 
 meme  ignorance." — Goguet,  Ori- 
 gine  des  Lois,  des  Arts  et  des 
 Sciences,  vol.  i,  p.  f>9. 
 
CHAPTER    IV.  147 
 
 circumstances :  not  conceivable,  if,  in  opposition  to  all 
 antiquity  which  ascribes  the  first  and  necessary  arts  of  life 
 to  the  gods  or  to  deified  men,  we  suppose  the  first  man, 
 like  Condorcet's  statue,  suddenly  awaking  into  existence, 
 and,  by  the  force  of  his  own  energies,  and  unassisted  by 
 divine  Providence,  fighting  his  way  up  to  civilization :  but 
 very  conceivable,  if,  taking  the  Hebrew  books  for  our 
 guides,  we  place  him  in  an  Eden  and  allow  him  a  frequent 
 intercourse  with  the  Deity,  and  give  him  the  beasts  of  the 
 field  for  his  subjects,  and  make  him  to  keep  the  garden  and 
 to  di'ess  it : — for  then,  we  may  presume,  that  whenever  he 
 shall  lose  tliis  paradise,  whenever  he  shall  be  driven  forth 
 into  the  common  world,  he  will  bring  with  him  into  his  new 
 habitation,  not  only  the  arts  and  the  knowledge  which,  as 
 necessary  to  his  duties,  he  must  have  possessed  when  in 
 Eden,  but  also  not  improbably  those  animals  which  there 
 best  loved  and  most  frequented  his  society. 
 
 But  it  may  in  this  case  be  objected  to  us,  that,  according 
 to  these  books,  Adam's  sojourn  in  Eden  was  so  short,  that, — 
 unless  that  knowledge,  and  those  arts  which  in  all  time  have 
 been  the  results  of  frequent  observation  and  constant  prac- 
 tice, were  in  him  intuitive  ;  and  unless  the  nature  of  the 
 animals  which  followed  him,  judging  from  those  of  the 
 same  species  now  found  wnld,  was,  for  his  sake,  especially 
 changed, — our  hypothesis  is  impossible.  And  if,  to  maintain 
 it,  we  find  no  difiiculty  in  subverting  the  regulated  course 
 of  God's  providence :  we  shall  still  have  to  show  to  Avhat 
 end  and  purpose  God  thus  violated  his  own  laws, — since  the 
 condition  of  many  nations  even  in  this  our  age  ])roves  that, 
 for  them  at  least,  these  laws  were  violated  in  vain,  and  the 
 records  of  almost  all  the  great  people  of  antiquity  prove 
 the  same  thing  for  manJcind.  For  these  records,  while 
 they  speak  of  a  period  of  darkest  ignorance,  mention 
 at  the  same  time  Avitli  honour  the  inventors''  of  those  xery 
 
 '  See  the  Generations  of  Sancho-  caine  among  them  and  instructed 
 
 niatho,  Cory's  Fragments,  p.  6,  &c.  them. — Cory,  id.  p.  23.  The  Greeks 
 
 The  Chaldeans,  according  to  Be-  record  the   gods,   or    god-inspired 
 
 rossus,  ascribed  all  sciences  and  arts  men  who   invented   the  necessary 
 
 to  a  sort  of  monster  Oannes,  who  arts  of  life.    The  Egyptians  also ; 
 
148  CHAPTER    IV. 
 
 arts  which  ive  would  consider  as  relics  saved  from  that 
 great  wreck  in  which  man  lost  virtue  and  happiness  to- 
 gether. 
 
 Verse  17.  Cain  begets  a  son,  Enoch  (the  instructed,  de- 
 dicated, initiated).  The  name  which  Cain  gives  his  son 
 presupposes  certain  religious  customs,  the  dedication  of 
 children,  probably  the  eldest  born,  to  God ;  and  the  dedi- 
 cation of  them  for  a  particular  purpose,  that  they  might  be 
 instructed,  initiated,  in  the  mysteries  of  God's  service; 
 that,  in  a  word,  they  might  be  his  priests. 
 
 Cain,  too,  builds  a  city :  "  Le  premier  qui  a  seme  un  grain 
 de  ble  a  fonde  les  empires,"  was  wont  to  say  the  father  of 
 Mirabeau.  And  men,  no  doubt,  began  to  unite  and  form 
 themselves  into  communities,  and  to  settle  down  in  some 
 fixed  habitation,  so  soon  as  agriculture  afforded  them  the 
 permanent  means  of  subsistence.  Not  inaptly,  therefore. 
 Is  Cain,  the  husbandman,  made  the  first  founder  of  cities. 
 But  Cain  calls  his  city  Enoch,  the  dedicated.  Enoch  was 
 then  probably  a  holy  city — a  city  which,  like  those  of  Egypt,' 
 was  merely  an  appendage  to  a  temple  ;  or  which,  like  Rome, 
 was  at  once  a  sacred  city  and  a  city  of  malefactors.^  For  a 
 city,  however,  are  required  not  merely  earthen  walls 
 and  mud  liuts,i  but  also  inhabitants — and  inhabitants  living 
 
 (Diod.  Sic.  vol.  i,  p.  3) ;  and  the  Chi-  Cassagiiac,  Hist,  des  Classes  Ouvri- 
 iiese  :  Memoires  des  Chinois,  vol.  i,  eres  et  Bourg.  c.  iv. 
 lib.iii,p.  149.  ^  "  La  cite  commence  par  uu 
 *  "  The  Egyptian  nonies,  at  asyle :  '  vetus  ur1)es  condentium 
 their  origin,  were  appended  to  the  consilium.'  Mot  profond,  que  la  si- 
 temples.  Every  new  settlement  of  tuation  de  toutes  les  vieilles  villes 
 the  priest  class,  with  the  territory  de  I'antiquite  ct  du  moyen  age 
 that  formed  it,  constituted  one  of  commente  eloquemment."— Mi- 
 these  nomes."— Heeren,  Egypt,  c.  chelet,  Hist,  de  Rome,  vol.  i,  p.  94. 
 ii.  "  II  y  a  ceci  de  particulier  pour  And  De  Cassagnac,  ut  supra,  ob- 
 certaines  villes  de  I'ancienne  serves,  "  que  la  cite  d'Hium  est 
 Grece,  qu'au  lieu  de  s'etre  formees  appelee  sacrec,  parcequ'elle  servait 
 autour  d'un  chateau,  elles  se  sont  d'asyle." 
 
 foudees  autour  d'un  temple.  Telles  '  Though  the  ancient  inhabitants 
 
 ^toient   les  villes   de   Delphos    et  of  Peru  lived,  and  the  Bushmen  of 
 
 d'Olympie.     C'^taient  des  especcs  the  present  day  still  live,  only  in  holes 
 
 de    villes    sacrees,    auxquelles    le  and  hollow  trees,  the  construction  of 
 
 temple  qui  en  etait  le  centre  ser-  huts  is  among  the  earliest  and  sim- 
 
 vait  de  sauvogarde."— (Jranier  de  plest  of  human  inventions.     Thus 
 
CIIAl'TEU    IV.  149 
 
 under  certain  laws  and  institutions.  Whence  then  came 
 the  inhabitants  of  Enoch,  for  the  country  was  desert  and 
 uninhabited  ? 
 
 If  we  sujipose,  first,  that  this  city  was  founded  some  years, 
 say  one  hundred  and  thirty,  after  the  birth  of  Enoch,  its 
 inhabitants  may  then  very  well  have  consisted  of  the  chil- 
 dren and  descendants  of  Cain,  who,  according  to  Dr.  Clarke's 
 calculation,  might  in  that  time  amount  to  twelve  hundred 
 persons.''     And  we  then  suppose, 
 
 1st.  That  the  antediluvian  men  knew  neither  disease 
 nor  sudden  death. 
 
 2ndly.  That  though  they  never  began  to  have  children 
 before  they  were  sixty-five  years  of  age,  and,  in  this 
 respect,  consequently,  were  subject  to  other  laws  than  our-- 
 selves :  that,  nevertheless,  the  period  of  gestation  was  the 
 same  as  now,  and  that  they  had  a  child  every  year.' 
 
 And  3rdly.  That,  with  a  barren  soil,*  little  agricultural 
 skill,  and  no  fit  implements  of  labour,  they  increased  more 
 rapidly  than  do  in  our  day  the  most  intelligent  colonists 
 of  the  most  civilized  people,  under  the  most  favourable 
 circumstances. 
 
 And  if  we  suppose,  secondly,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
 Enoch  w^ere  criminals — refugees,  like  Cain,  from  the  happy 
 
 the  inhabitants  of  Port  Philip,  New  teenth  century,  the  continuator  of 
 
 South  Wales  (among  the  most  har-  William  de  Nangis  observes,  that 
 
 barons  of  any  people  yet  discovered),  the  survivors    "  se    marierent    en 
 
 have  huts.     "  Their  habitations  are  foule.     Les  survivantes  concevoient 
 
 of  the  readiest  construction,  being  outre  rnesure.      II  n'y  en  avoit  pas 
 
 composed  of  the  branches  of  trees,  de  sterile.     On  ne  voyoit  d'ici  et  de 
 
 laid  with  tolerable  compactness,  in-  la  que  femmes  grosses.      Elles  en- 
 
 clining  to  an  apex,  at  an  angle  of  iantaient  que  deux,  que  trois  enf ants 
 
 about   forty-five." — Hobart   Town  a  lafnis." — From  Michelet's  His- 
 
 Almanackfor  1837.  toire  de  France,  vol.  iii.  p.  349. 
 
 ^  Vide  Commentary  on  Genesis  ■*  "  The  earth  shall  not   hence- 
 
 chap.  iv.  15.  forth  yield  unto  thee  her  strength," 
 
 *  Yet  Noah,  at  500  years  of  age,  &:c.  That  Cain  and  his  immediate 
 has  but  three  children,  and  one  descendants  possessed  little  agricul- 
 hundred  years  after  that  time  he  tural  skill  is  a  fair  and  probable  con- 
 has  still,  to  all  appearance,  the  jecture;  and  that  they  had  no  fit 
 same  number  only.  We  must  not  implements  of  labour  we  know,  be- 
 forget,  however,  that  the  human  cause,  until  Tubal-Cain,  the  in- 
 species  propagates  itself  more  ra-  structor  of  artificers  in  iron,  such 
 pidly  at  some  periods  than  at  others,  instruments  could  have  been  made 
 After  the  black  plague  of  the  four-  but  of  wood  or  stone. 
 
150  CHAPTER    I\  . 
 
 land  near  Eden, — and  that  Enoch,  like  the  cities  of  refuge, 
 (cities  also  of  priests,^)  was  built  for  them ; — then  we 
 suppose,  that  men,  who  could  not  tame  down  their  wild 
 passions  to  the  simple  duties  of  a  family,  should,  with  the 
 world  before  them  where  to  choose,  voluntarily  submit  to 
 the  policy  and  tedious  regulations  of  a  city;  i.  e.  we  suppose 
 that  the  outcast  Indian,  like  the  London  vagabond,  prefers 
 New  York  to  the  vast  woods  around  him,  where  he  may 
 live  and  Avander  free  and  unconstrained. 
 
 Verses  18-2:2.  Of  Cain's  posterity,  the  sons  of  Lamech 
 are  distinguished ;  one  of  them  as  the  father  of  such  as 
 dwell  in  tents,  &c. ;  another  as  the  father  of  such  as 
 handle  the  harp  and  the  organ ;  and  a  third,  Tubal-Cain, 
 as  the  instructor  of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron  ;'' — and 
 the  sister  of  Tubal-Cain  was  Naamah.  Willingly  as  we 
 treasure  up  even  such  scanty  records  as  Ave  here  find  of 
 those  who  stand  amidst  the  herd  of  men  as  the  inventors 
 of  useful  and  pleasing  arts — who  is  there  peruses  these 
 antediluvian  fragments,  that  lingers  not  with  some  feeling 
 of  curiosity  and  sm-prise  over  the  name  of  the  only  woman 
 of  a  former  world  whose  joarentage  is  known  ?  AVlierefore 
 has  it  been  preserved  ?  Adah  and  Zillah,  the  wives  of 
 Lamech,  are  the  mothers  of  men  who  have  deserved  well 
 of  their  felloAvs.  It  is  in  their  ear,  too,  that  Lamech  pours 
 his  plaint — to  them  he  confesses  his  crime :  and  woman 
 stands  forward,  even  in  the  world's  first  age,  as  man's  best 
 comforter.     But  Naamah  ?'  She  lived,  and  died,  not  un- 
 
 *  Such  also  were  ovu-  churches  musical  instrument.  But  Pan, 
 and  cathedrals  in  the  middle  ages,  one  of  the  old  divinities,  plays  on 
 So  true  it  is  that  in  all  time  man  the  reed;  and  the  Peruvians,  though 
 but  repeats  an  old  lesson — but  co-  unacquainted  with  metal  instru- 
 pies  himself.  ments,  used  a  sort  of  Pandean  pipe, 
 
 *  Fourmont  finds  an  identity  be-  (Hist,  des  Yncas,  lib.  i,  c.  26) ;  and 
 tween  the  generations  in  Sanchoni-  the  Otaheitans  and  Sandwich  Is- 
 atho  and  these  generations  of  Cain,  landers  the  drum  ;  and  I  think  it 
 See  the  beginning  of  his  Anciens  probable,  that,  as  in  Genesis,  music 
 Peuplcs,  vol.  i.  was  invented  before  the  art  of  vvork- 
 
 '  According  to  one  Greek  myth,  iug  iron  was  discovered, 
 the  Dactyli,   tlie   first  workers   in         «  Fourmont  says  she  is  the  first 
 
 iron,  were  also  tlic  inventors  of  mu-  Venus,  and  that,as  it  was  customary 
 
 sic;  and  tlic  eyuil.al  was  tlic  first  in  these  carlv  limes  for  brolhcis  and 
 
CHAPTER    IV.  151 
 
 known,  not  nnheard  of;  but,  on  what  was  founded  her 
 fame, — a  fame  of  sixty  centuries  ?  Was  it  on  deeds  of 
 love  or  hate  ? 
 
 "  And  Lamech  took  unto  him  two  wives."  By  the 
 fathers  Lamech  was  judged  an  adulterer :  he  was  looked 
 upon  as  the  first  man,  and  the  only  one  before  the  deluge, 
 who  ever  had  two  wives.  It  is  not  probable,  however, 
 that  Moses,  in  whose  eyes  Jacob  was  certainly  no  criminal, 
 should  have  thought  thus  hardly  of  Lamech  ;  particularly 
 as  he  seems  to  have  mentioned  the  number,  and  the  names 
 of  Lamech's  wives,  merely  to  render  intelligible  the  subse- 
 quent address  of  Lamech  to  them. 
 
 Verses  23-24.  I  will  not  pretend  to  explain  this  pas- 
 sage, for  I  do  not  understand  it.  Some  of  the  many 
 translations  of  it,  almost  all  of  which  have  a  different 
 meaning,  I  will  give.  If  the  words  be  read  interrogatively, 
 the  passage  runs  thus,  according  to  Dr.  Clarke. 
 
 "  And  Lamech  said  unto  his  wives 
 Adah  and  Tsillah,  Hear  ye  my  voice ; 
 Wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  to  my  speech  ; 
 Have  I  slain  a  man,  that  I  should  be  tvoundi'd  P 
 Or  a  young  man,  that  I  should  be  bruised  P 
 If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold ; 
 Also  Lamech  seventy  and  seven."* 
 
 Another  translation  from  the  same  source  runs  thus — 
 
 "  For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me. 
 And  a  young  man  for  having  bruised  me."' 
 
 sisters  to  marry,  slie  married  Tuhal-  called  Sedini. — De  Orig.  et  Prog. 
 
 Cain  or  Vulcan.  (Fourmont,  An-  Idol.  lib.  i,  c.  xvii.       See  Eisen- 
 
 ciens  Peuples,  vol.  i,  p.  44.)     Vos-  menger's   Entdeclctes  Judenthuni, 
 
 sius,  among   other  conjectures    of  vol.  ii,c.  viii,  p.  415-16. 
 which  Naamah  has  been  the  sub-         *  From   Dr.  Clarke's  Commcn- 
 
 ject,mentions  that  she  has  been  sup-  tary.      The    meaning    which   Dr 
 
 posed  to  be  Minerva,  and  also  Ve-  Clarke  attaches  to  this  translation 
 
 nus,  as  her  name  implies  beauty ;  is  that,  I  presume,  which  is  found 
 
 and^that  the  very  angels  were  so  in  the  last  paragraph  of  commen- 
 
 taken  by  her  beauty  that  they  coha-  tary  to  verse  '23d.    If  it  be  the  true 
 
 bited  with  her,  and  the  produce  of  meaning,  what  becomes  of  his  notes 
 
 their  union    were    certain    devils  on  the  sixth  chapter? 
 
152  CHAPTER    IV 
 
 Geddes  renders  the  passage  thus  : 
 
 "  A  man  I  have  killed  !  but  to  my  own  wounding: 
 A  young  man !  but  to  my  own  bruising." 
 -De  Wette,'  thus : 
 
 "  If  I  slew  a  youth  with  ivounch, 
 And  a  young  man  unth  blows"  Sec. 
 — ]\Iichaelis  and  Luther,"  thus  : 
 
 "  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding, 
 And  a  son  to  mi/  hurt,^''  &c. 
 — Voltaire/  thus: 
 
 "  I  have  slain  a  man  by  my  wounds, 
 And  a  young  man  by  my  bruises,"  ^c. 
 — Marginal  reading,  thus  : 
 
 "  I  have  slain  a  man  in  my  wounds, 
 And  a  young  man  in  my  hurt." 
 
 Verse  25.  In  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter,  we  have  the 
 origin  of  the  name  of  Cain,  gotten,  possessed  :  because, 
 at  his  birth,  Eve  said,  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  Jehovah. 
 In  this  verse  we  have  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Seth, 
 appointed,  just  ;  "  For  Elohini,"  she  said,  "  hath  appointed 
 me  another  seed  instead  of  Abel,"  &C.''  If,  now,  from  the 
 ominous  words  which  fixed  the  name  of  Seth,  we  separate 
 what  is  superfluous  and  unnecessary  to  the  name, — if  we 
 read  them  simply  thus,  "  For  Elohim  hath  appointed  me  a 
 son,"  it  will  seem  that  Eve  expressed,  at  the  birth  of  both 
 her  eldest  and  her  youngest  son,  exactly  the  same  senti- 
 ment; save  that,  in  the  one  case,  she  called  the  Deity 
 Jehovah,  and,  in  the  other,  Elohim ;  and  that  she  spoke  of 
 herself,  at  the  one  time,  as  having  received,  at  the  other,  as 
 liaving  been  presented  with,  a  son. 
 
 1  Scliriften  des  Altes  Test,  iibersetzt  v.  August!  und  De  Wette  : — 
 "  Wenn  einen  Jiingling  ich  schliige  mit  Wunden 
 Ihid  einen  Jiingling  mit  Beulen,"  &c. 
 *  Michaelis  and  Luther  : — 
 
 "  Ich  habe  einen  Mann  erschlagen  mir  zur  Wundc, 
 Und  einen  Sohn  mir  zwr  i?eit/t\" 
 ^  Voltaire,  Genese  :  "  J'ai  tue  un         *  So  in  Homer  the  mother  is  re- 
 homnie  par  ma  blessure,  et  un  jeune     presented  as  giving  the  name  to  the 
 homme  par  ma  meurtrissure."  child  : — 
 
 "  ApvaioQ  v'ovoji   i(jKV  TO  yap  ^iro  noTvia  jujjn;(i 
 
 Ek  yevtrnc."  Qdys.  xviii.  1.  .0. 
 
CHAPTER    IV.  153 
 
 Verse  26.  "  Then  began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
 the  Lord  :"*  otherwise  translated,  "  Then  began  men  to  call 
 themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord."^  If  we  take  the 
 ^rst  translation,  then  following  out  the  view  I  have  sup- 
 posed Moses  and  his  time  took  of  the  relations  in  which 
 God  and  the  first  men  stood  together,  the  meaning  of  the 
 passage  would  be, — then  began  men,  no  longer  permitted 
 to  approach  Jehovah's  person,  to  call  upon  his  name,  to 
 address  him  with  pi-ayer,  to  invoke  his  protection.^  If  we 
 prefer  the  second, — and  if  we  take  the  expression,  "  to  call 
 themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  in  a  good  sense:  it  will 
 then  signify,  that  the  worsliippers  of  Jehovah  began  to  dis- 
 tinguish themselves  (ch.  vi.  20)  from  the  rest  of  mankind  as 
 the  sons  of  God  f — if,  however,  in  a  bad  sense :  then  it  will 
 mean,  that  men  now  began  to  profane  the  name  of  the 
 Lord,  by  blaspheming  it,  or  by  invoking  it  lightly,  or  by 
 applying  it  to  tilings  that  are  not  God.*  Of  these  two 
 last  interpretations  we  may  observe,  that  the  second  has 
 a  limited  sense,  that  it  merely  asserts  man's  wickedness ; 
 but  that  the  first  includes  the  second :  for  the  sons  of  God 
 would  scarcely  distinguish  themselves  from  the  children  of 
 men,  unless  these  latter,  by  their  profane  and  irreligious 
 lives  had  driven  them  to  it. 
 
 In  reviewing  this  chapter,  we  may  observe, 
 
 1st.  That,  throughout  it,  with  the  exception  of  the  25th 
 verse,  the  Deity  is  named  Jehovah ;  whereas,  in  the  first 
 chapter.  He  is  called  Elohim,  and,  in  the  second  and  third, 
 Jehovah  Elohim. 
 
 2ndly.  That  it  presents  the  same  view  of  the  Deity, 
 
 *  English  version,  Luther's,  De         ^  Vide  Michaelis,   Commentary, 
 
 Wette's.  ad  h.  1. ;  and  Dr.  Clarke's  id. 
 
 6  Marginal    reading,     Clarke's         ^  "  Tunc  profanatiim  est  in  invo- 
 
 versioH,  Michaelis.  cando  nomine  Dei,  i.  e.  nomen  Dei 
 
 '  It  seems  to  me  that  the  name  rebus  creatis  irapie  tributum  est; 
 Enos — which,  as  opposed  to  Isch,  ita  veitit  Seldenus  noster,  Para- 
 man  generally,  and  Adam,  an  earth  phrasten  utrimque  secutus  et  Bab- 
 man, — signifies  a  man  of  sorrow,  a  binos,  qui  locum  de  novorum  Nu- 
 wretched,  miserable  man,  favours  minum  initiis  intelligunt.'' — JMar- 
 this  meaning.  Vide  Luther  on  this  sham,  Canon  Cbronicon,  p.  54  ;  see 
 verse ;  and  comp.  Eichhorn,Einleit.  also  Dr.  Clarke's  Coiumentury  on 
 in  das  Alte  Test.  vol.  iii,  p.  125.  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
 
 X 
 
154  CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 and  of  His  intimate  relations  with  man,  and  of  the  causes 
 which  disturbed  them,  that  did  the  second  and  third 
 chapters. 
 
 3rdly.  That,  like  the  second  and  third  chapter s,"^  it  both 
 notes  the  mventions  which  take  place  in  the  arts  of  life, 
 and  the  individuals  to  whom  they  are  due :  and  at  the  same 
 time  it  presupposes  a  certain  degree  of  knowledge  and 
 civilization  as  intuitive  in  man. 
 
 4tlily.  That,  like  these  chapters,  it  dwells  upon  the 
 etymologies  of  names. 
 
 5thly.  That  it  contains  a  poem,  or  the  fragment  of  a 
 poem,  which,  in  all  probability,  is  not  the  production  of 
 the  author  of  the  chapter,  but  one  of  those  songs  which, 
 handed  down  from  father  to  son,  live  on  the  lips  and  in  the 
 memories  of  a  people,  and  which  are,  perhaps,  the  first 
 histories. 
 
 With  this  chapter,  we  may  connect  those  of  the  laws  of 
 Moses,  which  refer  to  offerings  of  first  fruits,  both  of 
 the  ground  and  of  cattle.  (Vide  Levit.  ii.  14 ;  Nmnbers 
 xviii.  17  ;  and  Lev.  vii.  23.) 
 
 n.  The  laws  relating  to  manslaughter,  and  the  cities  of 
 refuge.    (Vide  Numbers  xxxv.  12  ;  Deut.  iv.  42-3.) 
 
 As  parallels  to  the  preference  which,  in  this  chapter, 
 Jehovah  shows  to  Abel,  we  may  refer  to  the  choice  of 
 Shem  before  Japhet,  of  Isaac  before  Ishmael,  of  Jacob 
 before  Esau,  and  of  Levi  and  Judah  before  the  rest  of 
 their  brethren. 
 
 '  Chap.  ii.  20,  23  ;  iii.  7,  21 . 
 
155 
 
 CHAPTER  V. 
 
 GENESIS  V.  1-32. 
 
 Verses  1-5.  Our  history  now  retraces  its  steps,  and 
 taking  up  the  creation  of  man  by  the  Eloliim,  described  in 
 the  27th  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  proceeds  to  detail  the 
 generations,  the  progeny,  of  Adam  through  Seth. 
 
 "  In  the  day  God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God 
 
 made  he  hun and  he  called  their  name  Adam and 
 
 Adam  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness  after  his  own 
 image."  As  Seth  was  born  after  the  fall;  and  as  he 
 was  born  the  image  and  likeness  of  his  father ;  and  as 
 the  history,  before  it  proceeds  to  mention  his  birth, 
 recapitulates  the  creation  of  Adam,  and  the  likeness  after 
 which  Adam  was  made ;  is  it  not  natm-al  to  conclude  that 
 that  likeness  Seth  also  bore,  that  he  too  was  made  in  the 
 image,  and  after  the  likeness,  of  the  Elohim  ?  ^ 
 
 But  what  was  this  likeness  ?  Again  I  say,  a  corporeal 
 one.  The  son  is  stated  to  be  begotten  m  the  likeness 
 of  Ills  father,  and  his  father  to  be  created  in  the  likeness  of 
 the  Elohim.  If  words,  then,  have  a  meaning,  unless  they 
 be  mere  juggleries,  the  terms,  used  to  express  the  simihtude 
 between  the  son  and  the  father,  and  between  the  father 
 and  the  Deity,  being  the  same,  denote,  in  both  cases,  the 
 
 1  Yet  Dr.  Clarke,  with  whom  my  were  produced  by  his  transgression, 
 
 reasons  would  probably  have  had  and  did  not  flow  from  his  original 
 
 as  little  weight  as  his  have  with  me,  state.   For,  as  he  u-as  created  in  the 
 
 takes  the  very  opposite  view  of  the  image  of  God,  he  tvas  created  free 
 
 matter.     "  This  account,''  he  says,  from  natural  and  morol  enl.     As 
 
 "  is  again  introduced  to  keep  man  in  the  deaths  of  the  patriarchs  are  now 
 
 remembrance  ofthe  heights  of  glory  to  be  mentioned,  it  was  necessary 
 
 whence  he  had  fallen  ;  and  to  prove  to  introduce  them  by  this  observa- 
 
 to  him  that  the  miseries  and  death  tion,  in  order  to  justify  the  ways  of 
 
 consequent  upon  his  present  state  God  to  man." — Comment,  ad.  h.  1. 
 
156  CHAPTER   V. 
 
 same  kind  of  similitude.  Now,  the  son  may  be  like  the 
 father,  either  in  form  and  feature,  or  in  character ;  or,  in 
 both  form  and  feature,  and  character.  If  he  be  like  him, 
 either  in  form  and  feature  alone,  or  in  both  form  and 
 feature,  and  character,  my  position  is  proved :  and  the  Deity, 
 in  the  Jewish  conception  of  Him,  had  form,  or,  in  other 
 words,  the  Jewish  was  not  the  universal  God. 
 
 But  the  son  may  be  like  the  father  in  character  alone. 
 Now  we  may  use  the  word  character  in  two  senses.  In 
 the  one  sense,  it  will  denote  the  particular  development 
 of  f:ny  individual  man,  his  peculiar  modes  of  feeling, 
 thought,  expression,  conduct,  &c., — and  in  character,  in 
 this  sense,  a  son  may  aptly  enough  be  said  to  be  like 
 his  father, — though  in  character,  in  this  sense,  no  man, 
 unless  we  would  rush  into  the  most  determined  anthropo- 
 morphism, can  be  said  to  be  like  God.  In  the  other,  it  will 
 express  the  distinctive  mark  of  our  race,  our  moral  sense, 
 our  reason,  our  Humanity ;  and,  as  it  then  indicates  that 
 in  us  which  is  infinite  and  eternal,  that  in  us  which  may, 
 perchance,  be  a  dim  reflex  even  of  the  great  Creator,  we 
 may  truly  be  said  to  bear,  as  applicable  to  character  in  this 
 sense,  the  likeness  of  the  Deity  : — but  in  character,  thus 
 understood,  can  a  son  be  said  to  be  lihe  his  father  ? 
 
 If,  now,  we  receive  the  likeness  of  the  father  to  the 
 Deity  in  the  only  sense  in  which  it  can  be  intelligible  to 
 rational  man,*^  we  cannot,  without  repeating  a  most  puerile 
 
 ^  Yet  tn  character  in  this  sense  do  not  so  apply  it;  or  they  would 
 
 I  very  much  douht  that  any  of  our  not  speak  of  an  original  sin,  which, 
 
 divines  ap]ply  that  likeness  of  him-  as  it  has  not  deprived  us  of  that 
 
 self  which  the  Deity  is  said  to  have  glorious  likeness  we  must  ever  hear, 
 
 imprinted  on  Adam.     No,  they  do  can  denote  merely  those  obstruc- 
 
 not  so  a])})ly  it,  or  surely  they  would  tions  of  time  and   situation,   con- 
 
 not'spcak  of  man  as  "  fallen   rom  stitution   and  circumstances,   (the 
 
 thejieights  of  glory ;"  for,  though  curse  on  the  earth,  the  liability  lo 
 
 he  may  have   little  morality,  and  death   according  to   Moses),    that 
 
 be    most   brutishly   ignorant    and  turn  away  man  from  his   natural 
 
 thoughtless,  and  wholly   occupied  course,     and    prevent    him    from 
 
 with  material  olijects,  yet  (unless  moulding  his  life  on,  or  even  appre- 
 
 he  have,  indeed, losthisHumanity),  bending,  the  divine  model  within 
 
 he  still  possesses  the  same  infinite  him.        No  :   according   to    them, 
 
 soul,    tlie  same  reason,   the   same  when  Adam's  individual  develop- 
 
 moral  sense  he  ever  did.     No,  they  ment  took  a  form  other  than  that 
 
CHAPTER    V.  157 
 
 truism,  speak  of  a  similar  likeness  as  existing  between 
 father  and  son — as  such  a  likeness  will  merely  express,  that 
 a  man  begot  a  man,  and  neither  a  demon  nor  a  monkey. 
 If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  take  the  likeness  between  the 
 son  and  the  father  in  its  only  natural  sense,  and  then  apply 
 the  same  sense  to  the  similitude  said  to  exist  between  the 
 father  and  the  Deity:  then  we  have  a  merely  human 
 Deity,  and  neither  the  God  of  Moses,  but  as  He  is  one 
 and  alone,  nor  his  creed,  but  as  it  is  one  and  exclusive, 
 much  differs  from  either  the  Gods  or  the  creeds  of  many 
 other  nations. 
 
 But  though  man  begets  man,  yet  it  not  necessarily 
 follows,  it  could  not  be  known,  that  the  first,  the 
 created  3  man,  also  begot  a  man.  Hence  it  was  obligatory 
 on  Moses,  and  no  vulgar  truism,  to  inform  us  that  the 
 begotten  son  was  essentially  like  to  the  created  father. 
 This  objection  might  have  some  weight,  if  Seth  had 
 been  the  first-born  of  Adam ;  or,  if  we  could  conceive  that 
 the  abstract  man — man  independent  of  this  flesh,  these 
 passions,  all  accidents, — had  been  known,  or  could  have 
 been  known,  to  Moses  or  his  time  ;  or,  lastly,  if — with  the 
 large  view  we  would  then  necessarily  take  of  the  Deity — 
 the  actions,  and  feelings,  and  character  attributed  to 
 Jehovah  or  the  Elohim  in  the  books  of  Moses  any  way 
 accorded.  No  ;  if  we  must  refuse  to  the  God  of  Moses 
 form  or  shape,  if  we  will  insist  on  the  likeness  of  Adam  to 
 Him,  being  a  likeness  of  the  internal  man :  then  let  us 
 make  it  a  likeness  of  the  internal  man  individually 
 developed.  For,  though  the  Elohim  then  becomes  an 
 individual  God,   and  though  such   a  God  no  way  comes 
 
 prescribed  by  God,  i.  e.  when  his  the  descendants  of  Adam  were  men, 
 
 internal  individual  self  was  chang-  but  what  the  created  father  was,  we 
 
 ed,  when  he  lost  "  the  knowledge,  cannot  know  ;  not  having  the  same 
 
 righteousness,  and  true  lioliness"  origin  as,  he  may  have  been  a  being 
 
 which  were  his  intuitively,  he  lost  different  in  kind  from,   ourselves. 
 
 "  the  moral  image  of  God  ;"  and.  And  when,  therefore,  Moses  tells  us 
 
 as  individuals,  we,  too,  have  lost  it.  that  Seth  was  born  in  his  likeness. 
 
 It  was  the  individual  then.,  and  not  he  intends  but  to  assure  us  that  he 
 
 the  man,  that  bore  God's  likeness.  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a 
 
 ^  Rather  thus  : — We  know  that  man. 
 
158  CHAPTER    V. 
 
 up  to  our  even  narrow  views  of  the  Deity,  yet  with  such 
 a  God,  much  in  the  early  history  of  the  Jews  that  would 
 be  otherwise  incomprehensible  and  absurd,  becomes  plain, 
 simple,  and  intelligible. 
 
 Verse  8.  De  Guignes  objects  to  the  early  annals  of  the 
 Chinese,  because  they  are  so  meagre ;  they  contain  little 
 but  names.  A'\niat  shall  we  say,  then,  to  this  genealogy  of 
 the  Seth  family,  which  compresses  sixteen  centuries  and 
 ten  generations  into  thirty-two  verses,  and  which  enmne- 
 rates  and  preserves  the  names  of  men,  whose  years  serve," 
 indeed,  as  links  in  the  great  chain  of  time — but  who  them- 
 selves are  mere  blanks  unworthy  of  a  record,  and  remem- 
 bered only  because  they  fulfilled  the  vulgarest  laws  of  their 
 species, — begat  sons  and  daughters,  and  then  died  ? 
 
 Verse  22.  "  And  Enoch  walked  with  (or  before)  God, 
 and  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him  ; "  i.  e.  either  translated 
 him,  that  he  should  not  see  death ;  or  took  him  to  himself 
 after  an  early,  but  religious  and  happy  death. 
 
 Of  these  interpretations,  the  class  of  persons  who  accept 
 the  first  will  accept  it, 
 
 1st.  Because  it  is  the  most  natural  and  the  most  common. 
 
 2ndly.  Because  it  is  backed  by  the  authority  of  St. 
 Paul ; '"  and, 
 
 3rdly.  Because  it  presumes  a  miracle — to  which  last  rea- 
 son some  will  add  this  other, — and  because  the  mii'acle  it 
 presumes  was  one  familiar  to  the  Jewish  mind.  Thus,  accord- 
 ing to  the  Jewish  traditions,  Elijah  was  carried  up  to  heaven 
 bodily,  and  was  there  supposed  to  tarry  until  he  should  be 
 called  again  to  earth  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Messiah. 
 
 Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  prefer  the  second  inter- 
 pretation, will  prefer  it, 
 
 1st.  Because  it  presumes  no  miracle  ;  and  they  think  it 
 
 ■•  Or  rather  to  puzzle  chronolo-  sions  alone,  give  to  the  world  at  the 
 
 gists,  for  the  different  years  given  flood,  an  age  varying  from  1656, 
 
 to  the  patriarchs  in   the  Hebrew,  and  1307,  to  2242  years. 
 
 Samaritan,  and    Scptuagint    vcr-  =  Vide  Hebrews  xi.  4. 
 
CHAPTER   V.  159 
 
 unwise  to  believe  a  single  miracle  more  than  is  absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 2ndly.  Because  it  proves  that  a  future  life  was  known 
 to  Moses  and  his  times  ;  and, 
 
 Srdly.  Because  it  but  does  that,  without  which  no  early 
 record  of  ancient  nations  can  be  understood :  i.  e.  it  trans- 
 lates into  matter  of  fact  language  the  necessarily  figurative 
 expressions  of  an  infant  people. 
 
 Verse  29.  "And  he  called  his  name  Noah,  saying,  The 
 same  shall  comfort  us,"  &c.  With  the  exception  of  this  verse, 
 the  Deity,  throughout  this  chapter,  bears  the  name  of  Elo- 
 him.  In  tliis  verse,  however,  he  is  styled  Jehovah.  And  this 
 verse,  no  way  belying  that  taste  for  etymologies,  we  have 
 already  remarked  in  i\\e  JeJiovaJi"  portions,  of  Genesis,  con- 
 tains the  origin  and  etymology  of  the  name  of  Noah  or 
 Noe,  which  it  derives  from  nachani  (to  comfort),  but 
 which  modern  Hebraists  seem  to  think  more  probably  comes 
 from  nach  or  nuach^  (to  rest) ;  an  origin  to  which  chap.  viii. 
 21,  (also  a  Jehovah  verse),  when  it  speaks  of  a  savor  of  r^s^, 
 (in  our  translation,  "  a  sweet  savor"),  seems  to  allude. 
 
 If,  now,  we  compare  together  the  family  registers  con- 
 tained in  these  tAvo  chapters,  we  are  struck, 
 
 1st.  By  the  similarity  of  the  names  which  they  each 
 present  to  us.  In  loth  there  is  an  Enoch,  and  in  hoth  a 
 Lamech  ;  and,  as  the  father  of  Lamech,  we  find  in  the  first 
 genealogy  a  Methusael,  in  the  second,  a  Methuselah ;  in 
 this,  too,  we  have  a  Cainan,  a  Mahalaleel,  and  a  Jared ;  and, 
 in  that,  a  Cain,  a  Mahajael,  and  an  Irad.  Down  to  Lamech, 
 the  common  penultimate  of  both  families,^  with  the  excep- 
 tion of  the  name  of  Seth,  (a  name  unknown  to  the  Cainites), 
 the  names,  in  hoth  genealogies,  bear  so  strong  a  resemblance 
 
 *  For  brevity's  sake,  I  will  in  fu-  on  this  verse — "  De  Noacli  dictum, 
 ture  designate  the  several  portions  consolat»iturnos(jenachainence). — 
 of  the  hook  of  Genesis  according  Bochart,  Sac.  Geog.  vol  iii,  §  1. 
 to  the  name  which  they  respectively  **  I  here  look  upon  the  Seth  gene- 
 give  the  Deity.  alogy  as  terminated  in  Noah.    Ob- 
 
 ^  These   etymologies    are    from  serve,  also,  that  the  names  Seth  and 
 
 Dr.  Adam  Clarke's   Commentary  Cainhavealmost  the  same  meaning. 
 
160  CHAPTER   V. 
 
 to  each  other,  at  least  in  sound,  as  ahnost  to  raise  and  war- 
 rant a  suspicion,  that  the  one  contains  the  descent  of  Noah, 
 according  to  those  who  worshipped  the  Elohim  ;  the  other, 
 his  descent  according  to  those  who  acknowledged  Jehovah. 
 
 We  observe,  secondly,  that,  though  in  each  of  these 
 genealogies  the  Deity  has  his  own  peculiar  name,  that, 
 nevertheless,  in  the  one  genealogy,  that  of  Jehovah,  we  find 
 a  strays  verse  in  which  he  is  called  Elohim;  and,  in  the 
 other,  that  of  Elohim,  a  similar  one  in  which  he  is  styled 
 Jehovah ;  and  each  of  these  verses,  we  may  remark  by  the 
 way,  connects  the  record  to  which  it  belongs  with  events 
 which  that  record  had  omitted  to  mention.  Thus  the  verse 
 Elohim,  in  the  genealogy  Jehovah,  alludes  to  the  fate  of  Abel 
 and  the  existence  and  banishment  of  Cain  ;  while  the  verse 
 Jehovah,  in  the  ;  egiste,'  Elohim,  reminds  us  of  the  curse 
 which  the  Jehovah  Elohim  laid  on  the  earth. 
 
 3rdly.  That  both  genealogies  simply  state  the  descent 
 from  father  to  son — the  first  concisely,  but  not  always  in 
 the  same  terms,  thus: — "To  Enoch  was  born,"  and  "Irad, 
 &c.,  begot,"  and  "  Cain  and  Lamecli's  wives  bare ;"  the 
 second,  more  at  length,  and  with  the  exception  of  Enoch's 
 "  was  not,  for  the  Elohim  took  him,"  in  the  same  formula 
 invariably.  Invariably  it  first  notes  the  age  of  the  father 
 at  the  birth  of  the  son:  then  the  number  of  years  which  he 
 lived  after  that  event,  and  how  during  those  years  he  begat 
 more  sons  and  daughters  ;  and  lastly,  how  he  at  length  died, 
 and  at  what  age. 
 
 4thly.  That  loth,  up  to  the  last  generation  of  Avhich  they 
 make  mention,  confine  themselves,  the  one  to  the  notice,  the 
 other  to  the  name,  of  the  eldest-born  son.  In  that  genera- 
 tion, hoAvever,  the  former  records  the  names  and  deeds  of 
 the  three  sons,  and  the  name  of  the  daughter  of  Lamech ; 
 and  the  latter,  the  names  of  the  three  sons  of  Noah.i 
 
 »  Chap.  iv.  2.').     Eichorn  thinks  the   Jehovah  etymoh)gies.     Coiu- 
 
 the  Elohim  of  this  verse  to  he  the  pare  chap.  iv.  1  -29  with  the  Elohim 
 
 mistake  of  some  copyist ;  for,  first,  etymologies  in  Genesis  Ixxx. 
 
 it  contains  the  ctymolog^y  of  the  ''  I  have  hefore  viewed  the  genea- 
 
 name   Scth,   and,  in  this  case,   it  lopy  as  terminating  in  Noah.       I 
 
 would   he    the    only   etymological  do  not,  however,  think  myself  pre- 
 
 versc  Elohim  before  the  time  of  Ja-  eluded  from  extendingit  tohis  sons; 
 
 cob  ;  secondly,  it  is  in  the  style  of  i.  e.  from  viewing  it  in  several  lights. 
 
CHAPTER    V.  161 
 
 5tlily.  That  both  occasionally  leave  the  barren  office  of 
 the  mere  genealogist, — the  one,  to  preserve  the  song  of  La- 
 niech,  and  to  chronicle  the  arts  and  inventions  which  illus- 
 trate the  names  of  his  sons ;  the  other,  to  notice  the  piety  of 
 Enoch,  and  its  high  reward. 
 
 And,  6thly.  That  if  we  make  the  birth  of  Seth  contem- 
 poraneous with  that  of  Enoch,  and  then  reckon  the  gene- 
 rations, in  the  one  genealogy,  from  Cain,  and,  in  the  other, 
 from  Adam,  we  shall  find  that  the  sixth  descent  in  both  is 
 the  descent  which  most  illustrates  these  families.  In  the 
 sons  of  Lamech  and  in  Enoch,  the  agricultural  or  civic, 
 and  the  pastoral  or  nomadic  races  are,  as  it  were,  typified. 
 For  these,  as  they  treasure  up  the  names  and  customs  of 
 their  ancestors — their  common  parents,  as  they  live  in  the 
 past,  are  of  manners  simple  and  prunitive :  and,  as  by  the 
 very  nature  of  their  occupations  they  are  compelled  to 
 long  solitude  in  the  open  heaven,  are  religious  and  con- 
 templative in  their  characters ;  while  those,  as  they  are 
 attached  to  the  laws  of  their  city — to  their  country,  and  its 
 soil — are  rather  under  the  dominion  of  expediency,  and  more 
 or  less  take  the  hue  and  colour  of  circumstances  ;  and,  as 
 their  habits  oblige  them  to  mix  much  one  with  the  other,  they 
 acquire,  by  this  very  collision,  understandings  at  once  acute, 
 inventive,  and  practical.  Among  agricultural  people,  then, 
 civic  duties  ;  among  nomads,  family  affections,  predominate. 
 And  hence  it  is  that  the  first  genealogy  dwells  upon  matters 
 that  are  interesting  to  mankind,  the  second,  on  those  which 
 are  purely  personal ;  that  the  one  records  the  piety  of  Enoch, 
 and,  because  its  generations  were  subject  to  no  changes  but 
 those  time  brings  with  it,  notices  merely  the  ages  of  its 
 patriarchs,  and  that  the  other  hurriedly  passes  over  all  ignoble 
 names,  but  seems  to  rejoice  in  the  inventions  for  which  the 
 men  of  old  were  renowned ;  that  this  gives  us  an  insight 
 into  the  progress  and  state  of  antediluvian  society,  while 
 that  assists  us  to  its  chronological  history,  and  that  of  the 
 world.^ 
 
 ^  The  Arabians  before  Mahomet  the    study    of    chronology. — Vide 
 
 almost  wholly  confined  themselves  Eichhorn,  vol.iii,  §  412,  Eiuleitung, 
 
 to  the  study  of  geuealojiies,   with  in  A.  T. 
 which  is  almost  necessarily  united 
 
162 
 
 CHAPTER  VI. 
 
 THE  DELUGE.— GENESIS  vi,  vii,  viii. 
 
 Verses  1-12.  These  verses  contain  the  determination  of 
 the  Elohim,  or  Jehovah,  to  destroy  man  from  the  face  of  the 
 earth,  and  the  reasons  which  induced  Him  to  that  determina- 
 tion.    These  reasons  are, 
 
 1st.  The  intermarriage  of  two  different  and  distinct 
 races:  of  the  sons  of  God  with  the  daughters  of  men. 
 
 2ndly.  The  unmitigated  wickedness  of  man,  in  heart  and 
 thought — "  for  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his 
 heart  was  evil  continually ;"  and, 
 
 3rdly.  His  wickedness  of  conduct ; — "  the  earth  was  filled 
 with  violence." 
 
 As  regards  this  determination  itself,  we  may  observe, 
 
 1st.  That  it  presumes  that  the  Deity  rules  the  physical 
 universe,  not  according  to  any  general  laws,  but  according 
 as  He  may  be  pleased  or  displeased  with  man's  conduct;'  i.  e. 
 arbitrarily.     And, 
 
 2ndly.  That  it  shows  us  the  Deity  punishing  wickedness 
 by  death ;  i.  e.  it  shows  us  the  Deity  ruling  the  moral 
 world  by  other  laws  than  those  to  which  it  is  now  subject. 
 For  now  in  individuals,  'phjsical  crimes,  and  only  in  so  far 
 as  they  are  imprudences,  are  punished,  and  not  invariably, 
 by  physical  disease  ;  while  moral  enormities,  Avhen  they  are 
 enormities  of  the  heart,  when  they  do  not  aifect  the  physi- 
 cal structure,  when  they  confine  themselves  to  evil  thoughts 
 and  desires,  or  to  malicious  acts  not  punishable  by  law,  and 
 which  injure  only  our  neighbours,  are  inevitably  accom- 
 
 '  Supra,   vide  p.  32. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  163 
 
 panied  with  troops  of  fears,  suspicion,  doubt  of  others, 
 disappointment,  and  a  moody  discontent.  The  crimes  of 
 masses,  nations,  on  the  other  hand,  are  avenged  either  by- 
 leagued  enemies,  or  by  the  slower  process  of  national  degra- 
 dation, or  by  intestine  wars, — the  terrible  struggle  of  the 
 oppressed  classes  with  their  oppressors  for  bread  or  liberty, 
 or  of  the  oppressors  among  themselves  for  solitary  rule. 
 Whether,  then,  we  read  the  histories  of  nations,  or  observe 
 the  lives  and  fortunes  of  individuals,  or  attentively  exa- 
 mine our  own  conduct,  and  the  influence  it  has  had  upon 
 our  character  and  happiness :  every  where  we  see,  notwith- 
 standing the  seeming  exceptions  that  may  rise  to  our  lips, 
 the  even  course  of  a  great  Providence,  wliich,  in  the  natural 
 consequences  of  our  actions,  makes  us  to  feel  our  errors,  and 
 tlius  urges  us  on  to  a  closer  study  and  a  better  observance 
 of  our  duties.  But  what  does  this  hook  ?  It  holds  up  to 
 us  a  Deity,  who,  indeed,  intervenes  in  the  affairs  of  men ; 
 but  who  intervenes  to  pimish  only,  and  not  to  better  and 
 improve  mankind ;  and  who,  when  he  intervenes  to  punish, 
 punishes  violently/,  by  changing  the  whole  course  of  nature, 
 and  unwisely  and  uselessly,^  by  destroying  the  criminal,  and 
 not  by  rooting  out  or  subduing  the  motives  to  crime. 
 
 As  regards  the  reasons  given  for  the  determination,  we 
 may  observe  on  the  two  last,  that  they  do  not  altogether 
 accord  with  the  notions  which,  without  them,  we  should  be 
 likely  to  form  of  antediluvian  society  from  the  genealogies. 
 For,  in  the  genealogies,  we  have  seen  men :  living  in  cities, 
 living,  therefore,  according  to  certain  laws  and  institutions, 
 and  necessarily  accustomed  to  some  self-control,  to  repress 
 the  first  impulses  of  passion  and  to  restrain  the  merely  ani- 
 mal instincts,  and  conscious,  therefore,  of  some  moral  obH- 
 gation,  never  mind  how  few  its  objects,  or  how  narrow  its 
 range :  men,  pouring  out  in  song  to  the  wives  of  their 
 heart  their  sorrows  or  their  crimes :  men,  therefore,  not  in- 
 
 ^  "  And  the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet  is  evil  from  bis  youth  :  neither  vvill 
 
 savour,  and  the  Lord  said  in  his  I  again  smite  any  more  every  thing 
 
 heart,  I  will  not  again  curse  the  living  as  T  have  done." — Genesis. 
 
 ground  anymore  for  man's  sake,  viii. 21. 
 for  the  imagination  of  man's  heart 
 
164  CHAPTER    YI. 
 
 sensible  to  domestic  joys,  not  incapable  of  domestic  affec- 
 tions :  men,  moreover,  making  rapid  progress  in  the  useful 
 and  pleasing  arts,  —  attentive  observers  of  nature  and  her 
 works  :  ttmi  among  whom  thought  is  fermenting,  and  who 
 live,  therefore,  in  a  certain  security,  and  hold  intellectual 
 superiority  in  some  respect.  We  have  partly  been  shown, 
 and  partly  guessed  all  this  ;  we  have  every  promise  of  an 
 improving  and  healthy  state  of  society :  our  hearts  begin 
 to  beat  with  hope, — when  all  suddenly  the  sons  of  God  ap- 
 pear upon  the  scene,  and  the  earth  is  now  filled  with  violence; 
 the  unagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil  continually ;  evil  be- 
 comes man's  good,  his  life.  The  Deity,  therefore,  decrees  that 
 man,  irreclaimably  wicked,  shall  perish.  But  of  this  great 
 family,  among  all  these  renowned  heroes  that  were  of  old, 
 these  benefactors  of  their  age,  a  remnant  will  be  found,  a 
 few  at  least,  in  whom  dwells  some  love  for  all  things  great  and 
 good  ?  No  :  no  : — they  must  all  perish,  and  one  individual 
 alone  is  chosen  out  as  worthy  to  preserve  our  name  and 
 kind.  Assuredly  there  is  no  keeping  in  this  picture,  no 
 truth:  or  it  had  needed  no  deluge  from  God  to  destroy  man- 
 kind ;  for  whenever  good  shall  have  disappeared  from  the 
 earth,  Humanity  will  have  committed  suicide. 
 
 As  now  regards  the  first  reason,  we  may  remark,  that 
 though  it  is  one  the  force  of  which  we  can  scarcely  be  said 
 to  feel,  it  is  one  which  would  seem  to  have  had  no  little 
 weight  with  the  nations  of  antiquity.^  For,  in  general, 
 man,  yet  half  barbarous,  half  civilized,  has  as  slight  a  re- 
 spect for  himself  as  man,  as  he  has  a  pampered  conceit  of 
 himself  as  the  member  of  a  certain  tribe  or  nation.  In  him 
 the  spirit  of  family  overlays  and  smothers  the  spirit  of 
 Humanity.  Self-pride  and  mutual  contempt,  we  find,  then, 
 early  separate  nations  not  of  the  same  blood  ;  and  diversity 
 
 '  And  also  half-civilized  nations  gem     beilegen,    in     der    Schrift- 
 
 of  modem  times.     Speaking  of  the  Sprache  auch  nicht  brauchen,  ob- 
 
 Abyssinians,  Gesenius  informs  us  :  gleich  im  gemeinen  Leben  Habesch 
 
 "  lici  Arabern  heissen  sic  Habasch,  vorkomtnt.     Dagegen  nennen  sie 
 
 das  Land  Hahascha,  d.  i.,  ein  aus  selbst  ibr  Reich  Gees  oder  Modra- 
 
 mehrcren  Stiimmen  zusammenge-  Agasgan,  Answanderung." — Ersch 
 
 luufencr  ITaiife,  wcshall)  sic  auch  und  Gmber  Encyclop.  art.  jSilhio- 
 
 selbst  dicsen    Nanien    sich    nicht  pien. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  165 
 
 of  customs,  laws,  and  religion,  widen  the  breach.  Not 
 willingly  do  they  hold  intercourse  with  strangers,  and  they 
 shudder  away  from  any  close  alliance  with  them.  Thus 
 the  Hindus  avoid  all  foreigners,  and  the  different  castes  of 
 Hindus  all  commerce  with  each  other  :*  thus  the  Egyptian 
 of  ancient  times  drove  the  stranger  from  liis  coasts,  and 
 would  not  defile  himself  by  marriage  with  a  Greek:* 
 thus,  too,  the  Persian  could  not  intermarry  with  the  Khar- 
 fester,*  nor  the  Jew  with  the  Moabite:'  thus  the  Roman 
 patrician  feared  to  sully  his  nobility  by  a  plebeian  alhance:^ 
 and  the  Peruvian  Ynca  to  taint  the  purity  of  his  blood  by 
 contracting  a  union  with  the  member  of  any  family  other 
 than  Iris  own.s 
 
 But  Genesis  represents  the  offspring  of  the  mixed  mar- 
 riages it  speaks  of  as  giants,  and  as  the  cause  of  the  wicked- 
 ness and  violence  that  prevailed.  Similarly  the  Hindus  hold 
 in  horror  the  children  of  parents  of  different  castes ;  similarly, 
 also,  in  the  Boun-Dehesch,  monsters  with  a  tail,  the  men  of 
 the  mountains,  impious  men,  and  black  men,  and  the  Arabs 
 of  the  desert,^  are  the  produce  of  Djemschid  with  a  Dew, 
 
 ■•  Vide  Dubois,  McEurs  des  In-  bantur." — Livius,  lib.  iv,  §  i ;  also 
 
 des,  vol.  i,  c.  i ;  and  compare  pages  lib.  iv,  2 ;  vi,  41  ;  vii,  6  ;  "Augustus 
 
 7  and  8  of  Introduction  to  the  Toy-  magni  existimavit,    sincerum,  at- 
 
 Cart.  in  Wilson's  Hindoo  Theatre,  i)ue  ob  onini  colluvione  peregrini 
 
 vol.  i,  and  Wachsmuth  Hist.  Antiq.  ac  servilis  sanguinis  incorruptum 
 
 of  Greece,  vol.  i,  p.  118.  servare  populum." — Suetonius,  ad 
 
 *  "  'Ot  /lev  yap  Trpo  tovtov  (*aju-  August.  §  40. 
 
 firjTixov)  SvvaaTEVffavTsQ,  avtiri(3a-  ^  Of  the  first  Ynca,  Garcilasso 
 Tov  ToiQ  S,£voiQ  iTvoiovv  Ti]v  AiyvTT-  dc  la  Vcga  says  :  "  II  avoit  eu  en- 
 rol', Tovg  jisv  (povivovTsg,  Tovace  ku-  core  de  cette  princesse  d'autres  fils 
 raoovXovixtvoi  raiv  KaTanXeovTojv."  et  filles,  qui  furent  maries  ensemble 
 — Diod.  Sic.  lib,  i,  §  67 ;  and  He-  pour  ne  s'allier  qu'avec  ceux  de 
 rod.  lib.  ii.  c.  xli :  "  Tcop  'iivsKa  ovr'  leur  sang.  D'ailleurs  ces  manages 
 avrjp  AiyviTTiog,  ovrt  yvvr],  avSpa  de  freres  et  soeurs  avoient  ete  or- 
 "EWijva  (piXrjanE  av  Tqj  arofiarL,"  donnes   par  I'Ynca  Mauco  Capac 
 
 *  1  remember  no  law  in  the  Zend  de  la  part  du  soleil ;  de  sorte  que 
 which  prohibits  marriage  with  Khar-  leurs  fils  ne  pouvoient  se  marier 
 festers  ;  but  the  whole  tenor  of  the  autrement,  pour  conserver  leur 
 books  supposes  such  a  law.  sang  pur  et  entier,  ni  I'Ynca  heri- 
 
 ■^  Vide  Ezra  ix.  1,  2.  tier  du  royaume  epouser  autre  per- 
 
 '  "  De  connubio  patrum  et  pie-  sonne  que  sa  sceur." — Histoire  des 
 
 bis  C.  Canuleius  tribunus  plebis  Yncas,  vol.  i,  p.  53. 
 rogationem  proraulgavit;  qua  con-         l  "  lis  s'unirent  ensemble,  et  de 
 
 taminari  sanguinem  suum  patres  leur  union  vint  I'infernal,  I'impie, 
 
 confundique    jura     gentium     re-  le  noir  de  peau,  les  Arabes  du  de- 
 
166 
 
 CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 the  sister  of  a  Dew ;  and  similarly  among  the  Greeks,  the 
 children  of  a  citizen  by  any  woman  not  a  citizen,  were  dis- 
 pised  and  regarded  as  illegitimate/  In  general,  wherever 
 the  marriage  is  unholy,  the  offspring  of  that  marriage  will 
 be  considered  unholy  also.^  The  children  will  share  in  the 
 hate  with  which  their  parents  are  visited,  and  will  almost, 
 necessarily  grow  up  with  all  those  vices  which  seem  to  cling 
 to  the  degraded  classes  as  an  heirloom.  With  their  names 
 will  be  associated  all  crimes  and  violence ;  and  to  sweep 
 them  away  from  the  face  of  the  earth  will  be  regarded  as  a 
 just  and  holy  deed,  and  one  beneficial  to  mankind  and 
 pleasing  to  the  gods. 
 
 Verse  2.  "And  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of 
 men  that  they  were  fair." 
 
 Now,  because  the  more  immediate  servants  of  God,  the 
 
 sert." — Zend,  vol.  ii,  p.  379.  From 
 the  silence  of  the  Zend  books  on 
 this  criminal  union  between  the 
 Holy  Djemschid  and  the  Dews, 
 Rhode  regards  it  as  a  tradition  of 
 later  times,  and  a  proof  that  oft  re- 
 peated oral  traditions  at  length 
 mixed  themselves  up  with  the 
 Zend  myths.— Heil.  Sage,  p.  49. 
 ^  "  Athenian  citizenship  de- 
 pended essentially  on  being  born 
 in  wedlock,  of  parents  who  Avere 
 themselves  citizens.  The  offspring 
 of  a  citizen  and  a  foreign  woman 
 were,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  illegiti- 
 mate, VO0OI." — Herman,  Pol.  An- 
 tiq.  of  Greece,  §  110  ;  and  see  Life 
 of  Themistocles,  Plutarch.  In  La- 
 cedemon  also  we  find  Cleombrotus 
 named  successor  to  Agesilaus,  in 
 preference  to  Leonidas,  who  is  re- 
 fused the  crown  because  he  had 
 married  a  foreigner.  Vide  Titt- 
 man's  Verfassung  Griechenlands, 
 lib.  iii.  p.  95.  Even  the  philoso- 
 phical Plato  in  this  respect  rises 
 not  above  the  prejudices  of  his  age. 
 In  liis  work  De  Legibus,  lib.  ix, 
 speaking  of  the  produce  of  slaves 
 with  citizens  :  "Ertvo't^oiroJ'  ooji- 
 
 \r]C,  i]  fK  SovXov  iavTrjg,  Kal  TTtpi- 
 (paveQ  TOVT  t),  TO  fitv  TyQ  yvvaiKOg 
 ai  yvi'aiKeg  tig  aXXt]v  %wpav  iKTTifi- 
 
 TTOVTUJV    OVV    Til)    TTttrpf       TO    Ss     TOV 
 
 avSpog  01  vojxo(pvhaKEg,  <7vv  th}  yev- 
 vrj<7a(j7j." — "  Quod  si  quispiam  ex 
 serva  sua  natum  susceperit,  aut 
 qusepiam  ex  servo  peperit  proprio; 
 idque  pateat,  natum  quidem  ex 
 serva  et  libera  mulieres  in  aliam 
 regionem  cum  patre  simul  emittant; 
 natum  vero  ex  libera  et  servo  legum 
 custodes  una  cum  matre  extra  fines 
 expellant."  Should  we  not  read 
 the  first  part :  "  natum  ex  servo  et 
 libera  mulieres" — the  second:  "na- 
 tum vero  ex  libero  et  serva  legum 
 custodes,"  Sec? 
 
 ^  Thus  Menu  tells  us  that  "  in 
 the  four  base  marriages  (by  pur- 
 chase, for  lust,  by  ravishment,  by 
 treachery)  are  produced  sons  acting 
 cruelly,  speaking  falsely,  abhorring 
 the  Vedas  and  the  duties  prescribed 
 in  it.  From  the  blameless  nuptial 
 rites  of  men  springs  a  blameless 
 progeny ;  from  the  reprehensible,  a 
 reprehensible  offspring."  —  Insti- 
 tutes, c.  iii.  v.  41,  42. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  167 
 
 angels  that  wait  around  the  throne  of  the  Almighty,  are 
 spiritual  beings  ;  and  because  in  heaven,  i.  e.  for  the  inha- 
 bitants of  heaven,  there  is  neither  marriage  nor  giving  in 
 marriage, — i.  e.  because  fleshly  pleasures  are  incompatible 
 with  purely  spiritual  natures — therefore,  by  "  the  sons  of 
 God,"  argue  Christian  commentators,  cannot  be  intended 
 the  angels  of  God.  But  who  then?  One  'party  ^  observing 
 that  in  the  Old  Testament  the  Israelites  are  sometimes 
 styled  the  children  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Moabites  the  peo- 
 ple of  Chemosh,  and  strange  women  the  daughters  of  a 
 strange  God,^  conclude  that  "  the  sons  of  God"  is  but  a 
 figurative  expression  for  the  worshippers  of  God,  the  Seth- 
 ites,  who  are  thus  placed  in  opposition  to  those  who  wor- 
 shipped no  God  whatever,"  ("the  daughters  of  men"),  the 
 descendants  of  Cain.  Another  party ^  however,  looking  to 
 the  genius  and  idiom  of  the  Hebrew  language,  find  that  a 
 great  rushing  wind  is  called  a  wind  of  God ;  a  lofty  moun- 
 tain, a  mountain  of  God  ;  kings,  and  mighty  men,  sons  of 
 God.  They  pretend,^  moreover,  that  the  words  which  our 
 version  renders  "  sons  of  God,"  may  be  translated  sons  of 
 dignities,  and  that  the  passage  then  means,  that  the  antedi- 
 
 ^  Michaelis,  Anmerk.  zinn  erst  rally.      And    again:     "  Auch   die 
 
 Buch  Mose,  vi.  2;  Adam  Clarke's  Konige  eben  Gotter-Sohue  waren." 
 
 Comment,  ad  h.  1.  — Gesenius,  id. in  Cap.  ix.  5,  vol.  i, 
 
 *  Deut.  siv.  1  ;  Numb.  xxi.  29  ;  p.  362  ;  and  see  Exodus  xxii.  28. 
 
 Malachi,  ii.  11.  In  Homer,  too,  we  find  that  kings; 
 
 ®  Only  in  Michaelis,  who  very  and  heroes  are  ever  "  sons  of  the 
 properly  applies  the  same  method  gods — nourished  by  the  gods,"  Atog 
 of  interpretation  to  explain  the  two  AxiXXtnc  —  cioT^i^tmv  ^atjiK^]i>iv . 
 parallel  phrases,  "  daughters  of  (Sec,  and  in  the  Chou-king,  the  em- 
 men,"  and  "  sons  of  God."  The  peror  is  "  Fils  du  Ciel." — Part  iii, 
 first  being  so  called,  because  they  c.  viii,  p.  122,  &c. 
 recognised  none  but  a  natural  fa-  ^  I  have  united  the  views  of  several 
 ther;  while  the  others  obtained  their  commentators.  This  translation  is 
 name,  because  they  claimed  God  as  from  the  Exposit.  Index  to  Holy 
 their  creator.  But  one  may  ask,  Bible,  by  the  editor  of  Calmet,  on 
 how  was  it  then,  that  in  the?2rtmeA-qf  c.  vi,  v.  2,  who  adds  :  "  This  view 
 the  family  of  Cain,  the  name  of  of  the  passage  is  not  new  :  Onkelos 
 God,  the  Elohim,  so  often  enters,  and  the  Targums  read,  the  sons  of 
 as  e.  g.  in  Mehujael,  in  Methusael.  the  great ;  the  Sam.  reads,  the  sons 
 Compare  Gesenius  Com.  iib.  den  of  sultans  ;  Arab,  sons  of  the  nobles ; 
 Jesiah,  v.  i.  p.  281 .  but  it  takes  off  entirely  the  notion 
 
 ''  Patrick  on  this  verse;    Eich-  of  angelic  commerce  with  women." 
 horn,  and  the  Rationalists  gene- 
 
168  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 luvlan  chiefs  and  nobles  took  wives  of  all  the  handsonie 
 inferior  women  that  they  chose. 
 
 To  these  interpretations  we  may  object : — 
 1st.  That  they  are  founded  on  the  conjectural  notions 
 which  are,  at  present,  entertained  with  respect  to  angelic 
 natures,  and  that  they  would,  therefore,  fall  to  the  ground 
 with  those  notions.  In  other  words,  we  object  to  them  as 
 interpretations  made  for  the  nonce,^  because  they  are  not 
 such  as  would  be  suggested  by  an  unbiassed  perusal  of  the 
 passage  itself. 
 
 2ndly.  Because  they  either  no  way  account  for  the 
 giants,  and  the  mighty  men  of  old  (the  men  of  renown, 
 said  to  have  been  the  produce  of  these  mixed  marriages); 
 or  they  account  for  them  irrationally,  by  supposing  that 
 a  superior  race,  physically  and  mentally  suj)erior,  was 
 obtained,  by  grafting  a  pure  or  noble  on  an  impure  or 
 inferior  stock. 
 
 To  the  Jj/rst  interpretation  we  may  besides  object, 
 1st.  That,  though  the  Israelites  are,  indeed,  sometimes 
 the  children,  they  are  never  the  sons  of  God  ;^  and  that, 
 though  they  are  His  children,  they  are  His  children  only 
 in  opposition  to  other  people  or  persons,  the  worshippers  of 
 other  gods :  but  never  His  children,  as  in  this  passage,  in 
 opposition  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  In  a  word,  they  are 
 His  children,  because  He  is  their  national  God,  and  not 
 lecmise  they  are  especially  his  servants. 
 
 2ndly.  That  if  the  Sethites  were  intended  by  "the 
 sons  of  God,"  and  the  Cainites  by  "  the  daughters  of  men," 
 that,  then,  the  terms  used  to  express  the  two  families,  Avould 
 have  been  more  general  {children,  most  probably),  as  inter- 
 marriages would  have  taken  place  between  daughters  and 
 sons,  as  well  as  between  sons  and  daughters.     And, 
 
 ^  See,  however,  the  last  note  in  cannot  he  measured  nor  numbered, 
 
 favour  of  the  seeond  interpretation.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in 
 
 '  In  Hosea  only  is  the  expression  the  place  where  it  was  said  unto 
 
 applied  to  the   servants    of   God.  them.  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there 
 
 The  verse  is  this :  "  Yet  the  num-  it  shall  be  said  unto  them  Ye  are 
 
 ber  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  ihe  sons  of  the  living  Gorf."— c.i,  10. 
 be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  which 
 
CHAPTER  vr.  169 
 
 3rdly.  We  may  object  the  context : — for,  "  the  daughters 
 of  men  "  must  be  the  daughters  of  the  men  in  the  first 
 verse,  who  then  began  to  multiply  on  the  earth  :  and  these 
 men,  again,  can  be  no  other  than  the  several  members  of 
 those  families,  whose  genealogies  have  but  now  been  given 
 (the  men  the  descendants  of  Cain,  and  the  men  the 
 descendants  of  Seth),  and  they  are  the  men  to  whom  the 
 sons  of  God  are  placed  in  direct  opposition. 
 
 To  the  second  interpretation  we  may  object, 
 
 1st.  That  though  it  may  rest  on  oriental  idioms,  it  is 
 scarcely  conformable  to  what  we  know  of  oriental  customs 
 and  modes  of  thought.  In  the  East,  the  cliief  men  honour 
 the  poor  by  choosing  wives  from  among  them ;  in  the  East 
 polygamy  is  permitted,  and  even  honoured  as  the  privilege 
 of  wealth  and  station.  Moreover,  as  we  know  that  it  was 
 sanctioned  by  the  example"^  of  the  patriarchs,  we  can  scarcely 
 suppose  that  it  was  a  crime  in  the  opinion  of  the  author  of 
 Genesis  ; — and  yet  a  great  crime  he  evidently  thought  it, 
 that  the  sons  of  God  should  take  to  themselves  wives  of  the 
 daughters  of  men. 
 
 2ndly.  We  may  object  the  context : — for,  if  this  inter- 
 pretation were  the  true  one,  the  violence  which  filled  the 
 earth  would  surely  have  been  shown  us  as  a  consequence 
 of  the  selfish  lust  of  the  rich  and  powerful ;  whereas,  it 
 seems  more  especially  connected  with  the  mention  of  the 
 children  of  the  mixed  marriages.  They,  it  is,  who  are  the 
 men  of  renown,  and  whose  wickedness  is  great :  in  tliem 
 vice  is  inherent — the  type  and  characteristic  of  their  race ; 
 and  them  the  deluge  is  sent  to  destroy. 
 
 But  who,  then,  are  these  "sons  of  God"?  I  w^ill  not 
 assert,  with  "  some  of  the  ancients,"  and  with  Philo  and 
 St.  Austin,  that  they  were  positively  bi  ayyeXoL  rov  ^eov,"'' 
 but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they  were  beings  of  another 
 race  and  kind  than  the  sons  of  Cain  and  Seth.  This  inter- 
 pretation, though  there  are  objections  to  it,  I  prefer. 
 
 1st.  For  its  simplicity.     It  does  not  speculate  on  any 
 
 ^  Seidell,  De  Jure  Naturali,  lib.  ^  Patrick,  Comment  on  Genesis, 
 V,  0.  vi.  ad  hunc  loc. 
 
170  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 foregone  conclusions:  it  understands  the  words  in  their 
 most  obvious  sense,  and  that  a  sense  in  which  they  are 
 undoubtedly  used  in  other  parts  of  Scripture." 
 
 2ndly.  For  its  antiquity.  In  the  apocryphal  book  of 
 Enoch,  supposed  to  have  been  written  about  a  century 
 before  Christ,  these  "  sons  of  God  "  are  expressly  stated  to 
 have  been  angels,  inhabitants  of  heaven ;  and  to  them,  as 
 angels,  does  not  that  inexplicable  verse  in  the  1  Corinthians' 
 refer  ? 
 
 3rdly.  Because  it  accords  well  with  the  notions  and 
 views  of  ancient  nations.  Thus  the  Greek  mythology 
 delights  in  the  loves  of  gods  and  women,  and  men  and 
 goddesses :  and  the  Hindu  in  the  marriages  of  nymphs  and 
 heroes  ;®  while  the  Persian  notes,  though  with  abhorrence, 
 the  connexion  of  Djemschid  with  a  Dew,  the  sister  of 
 a  Dew.^  I  know  no  infant  people  among  whom  the  sup- 
 position of  a  sexual  intercourse  between  the  higher  natures 
 of  heaven  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  is  either  impos- 
 sible or  absurd. 
 
 4thly.  Because  it  can,  alone,  make  the  deluge  justifiable. 
 In  the  Mosaic  cosmogony,  God  creates  man,  and  the  earth 
 for  man's  use  and  pleasure.  Angels,  being  of  another 
 kind,  however,  intermarry  with  men,  and  from  their 
 union  springs  a  mixed  and  monstrous  race — a  race  only 
 half-man,^  but  more  powerful  than  man,  and  oppressing 
 and  destroying  hmi  f  a  race  essentially  wicked,  whose  evil 
 nature  no  time  can  change,  no  circumstances  ameliorate ; 
 a  race  whose  very  existence  counteracts  the  designs  and 
 counsels  of  the  Deity;  and  one  which,  in  order  that  mankind 
 may  again  replenish  the  earth,  God  resolves  to  destroy, 
 
 *  Joh  xxxviii.  7 :  "  When  the  salute  ihem." — Enoch  xix.  2,  with 
 morning  stars  sang  together,  and  which  compare  1  Corinthians  xi.  10. 
 the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  •"  Vide    Introduction    to    "The 
 
 *  Chap.  vii.  10.  The  ret'erence  Hero  and  the  Nymph,''  Wilson's 
 is  rather  to  a  passage  in  the  book  of  Hindoo  Theatre,  vol.  i. 
 
 Enoch:  "  For  in  the  great  day  they  '  Vide  note  1,  p.  1 05,  supra, 
 
 shall  he  judged ;  and  their  wives  '*  The  Book  of  Enoch  takes  the 
 
 also  shall  be  judged,  iHio  led  astray  same  view  of  them,  vide  chap.  xv.  ^. 
 
 the  an(fcls  of  heaven  that  they  might  ^  Ibid.  vii.  11,  12,  Sec;  and  x. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  171 
 
 while  yet  one  man  of  pure  blood  and  perfect  in  his  genera- 
 tions exists.! 
 
 To  tliis  interpretation,  however,  it  may  be  objected, 
 
 1st.  That  it  is  contrary  to  any  rational  concej^tion  of 
 spirits  or  angels.  This  objection,  which  can  have  no 
 weight  with  him  who  reads  this  book  to  understand  its 
 meaning,  will  be  a  fatal  one  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  read  it 
 to  find  there  doctrines  of  faith  and  inspired  truths. 
 
 2ndly.  That  it  supposes  beings, — angels,  for  instance, — 
 which  seem  strange  to  the  cosmogony  of  Moses.*  Such 
 beings  have  however  already  appeared  in  the  persons  of  the 
 cherubim,  and  will  often  again  appear  in  the  course  of  the 
 narrative.  But  whether  they  are  of  Hebrew,  whether  of 
 Chaldaic  origin, — whether  they  belong  to  some  popular 
 and  ancient  superstition,  the  traces^  of  which  are  not 
 unfrequently  to  be  met  with  in  the  works  of  Moses ;  or 
 whether  they  are  to  be  ranked  among  the  interpolations 
 introduced  into  the  Jewish  books  at  their  great  revision 
 after  the  captivity,  are  questions  which  it  is  impossible,  at 
 this  distance  of  time,  to  solve.  For  us  it  must  suffice  that 
 we  find  the  angels  here,  and  their  appearance  it  is  our  busi- 
 ness to  reconcile,  as  nearly  as  we  may,  with  the  rest  of 
 the  story.     And, 
 
 Srdly.  We  may  object  the  context: — for,  if  the  terras 
 used  to  express  the  wickedness  of  the  earth's  antediluvian 
 inhabitants  were  applicable  only  to  the  mixed  and  mon- 
 strous races,  would  Jehovah  have  characterized,  in  pre- 
 
 '  I  reason  here  as,  I  presume,  generally  acknowledge    that    they 
 
 Moses,  and  the  men  of  Moses'  time,  brought  their  names  from  Bahylon. 
 
 the  men  whom  Moses  addressed,  That  their  existence  and  creation 
 
 would  have  reasoned.  Thus  Menu,  puzzled    commentators,    may     be 
 
 speaking  of  the  mixed  classes,  says,  seen  from  Hyde,  De  Rel.  Pers.  lib. 
 
 "  In    whatever  country  such  men  iii ;  and  Basnage,  Hist,  des  Juifs, 
 
 are  born  as  destroy  the  purity  of  lib.  iv,  c.  ix  ;  and  see  note  4, p.  113. 
 the    four     (Hindu)    classes,    that         ^  To  such  a  superstition  may  be 
 
 country  soon  perishes,  together  with  referred  the  offering  which  Abraham 
 
 the  natives  of  it." — Laws  of  Menu,  made  of  his  son  ;  to  such  also  the 
 
 X.  61.  Theraphim   of  Rachel,  &c. ;  and 
 
 ^  No  angel  is  mentioned  by  name  compare  Hosea  iii.  4  with  Judges 
 
 till  after  the  captivity,  and  the  Jews  xvii.  4,  5. 
 
172  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 clsely  the  same  terms/  that  purer  race  which  Noah  and  his 
 sons  were  to  propagate  over  the  earth  ? 
 
 "  There  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days,  and  also 
 after  that,  Avhen  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the 
 daughters  of  men."  Giants,  Nephilim.  Our  commen- 
 tators, as  usual,  anxious  to  square  and  fashion  the  sacred 
 books  on  the  Procustean  bed  of  reigning  opinion,  have  made 
 these  Nephilim  mere  men  of  violence,  ennnTrTovTEQ,  (Siaioi,^ 
 men  renowned  for  their  strength  and  wickedness.  I  must 
 own,  however,  that  I  see  no  reason  for  rejecting  the  com- 
 mon and  vulgar  translation,  for, 
 
 1st.  I  find  that  giants  play  no  ignoble  part  in  the 
 mythology  or  traditions  of  infant  nations.  In  Greece,**  of 
 a  mixed  race,  they  unite  against,  and  almost  overcome,  the 
 powers  of  heaven.  In  India:  enemies  of  the  Brahmins,  thej 
 lie  in  wait  to  spoil  and  pollute,  and  thus  render  of  none 
 effect,  the  holiest  sacrifices ;  and,  enemies  of  the  gods,  they 
 wage  with  them  doubtful  war, — the  very  persons  of  the 
 holy  Trimurti  tremble  before  them,  and  Siva  himself  but 
 escapes  from  their  hands,  through  the  stratagem  of  Vishnu.^ 
 In  China,  after  a  long  line  of  beneficent  monsters,  we 
 arrive  at  Tchi-yeou,  the  inventor  of  arms  of  iron,  and  of 
 
 ■*  Compare  cluip.  vii.  5  :   "And  kotoq  fivQo\oyi]Giivanio\vGMiiaTovQ. 
 
 God  saw  that every  imagina-  — Died.  Sic.  lib.  i,  c.  xxvi. 
 
 tion  of  tlie  thoughts  of  his  heart  ^  According-  to  Orpheus :  'OvviKa 
 
 was  only  evil    continually,"    with  -yjjf  tytvovro  Kai  alfiaTog  ov^^avoio. 
 
 viii.  21  :  "  And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  ^  yi^^g  Dubois,  Moeurs  des  Indes, 
 
 not  again  curse  the  ground  for  man's  vol.  ii,  part  ii,  c.  xxxii ;  also  the  ac- 
 
 sake  :  for  the  imagination  of  man's  count  of  the  churning  of  the  Am  - 
 
 heart  is  evil  from  his  youth."  reeta,  in  notes  toWilkins'  Bhagavat- 
 
 5  Aquila  and  Symmachus,  from  Ghita,p.  148.  TnboththeHinduand 
 
 Patrick,  ad  loc. ;  and  II  Stuore  del  Greek  mythologies  the   giants  act 
 
 Padre  Menochio,  vol.  iii,  p.  (560  ;  the  same  parts  ;  in  1)otli''  they  war 
 
 and  with  these  translations   com-  against  Heaven,  and  in  both,  with 
 
 pare    the    Egyptian    many-bodied  a  like  result— at  first  partial  suc- 
 
 men,  rovg  viro  tmv  'E\\t)vwv  ovo-  cess,    and,  in  the    end,    complete 
 
 Ha'CofievovQ  Tiyavrac tvioi  fuv  overthrow.     They    are    known   as 
 
 ovv  avTovs  ynyivug  (pncTiv  vTrap^ai  Asuras,     Daityas,    Danavas,    and 
 
 tvioi  5e  Xfyoyffi,  atonarni:  pMjjrj  Rukshasas  in  India.  Vide  Introd.  to 
 
 i^nviyKovrag,    kcu   TToWag    npa'iiti<:  "  Uttara  Rama  Christa,"  Wilson's 
 
 fTTjreXfiTrt/xfi'oi'c,  ((no  rov  (Tvjijhlii]-  Hindoo  Theatre,  vol.  i,  p.  278. 
 
CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 173 
 
 torments,  the  first  rebel,  the  first  instructor  in  crime,  the 
 elder  brother  and  the  chief  of  the  nine  black  giants,  with 
 whom,  aided  by  legions  of  evil  spirits,  he,  for  three  years, 
 bids  defiance  to  the  power  of  the  virtuous  Hoang-ti :  though 
 he  is  at  last  defeated  by  the  special  interposition  of  heaven/ 
 Among  the  northern  nations,  too,  we  hear  of  giants ; 
 but,  there,  they  are  not  necessarily  the  enemies  of  gods 
 and  men :  if  at  times  they  show  themselves  as  wanton  and 
 cruel  oppressors,  at  others  they  are  held  up  to  our  admira- 
 tion as  having  earned  the  right  to  a  deathless  fame  by 
 great  and  noble  deeds.'*  In  the  New  World  also  giants 
 were  not  unknown  :  traditions,  though  silent  on  their 
 moral  qualities,  tell  us  of  their  existence,  and  dwell  on 
 their  enormous  stature,  for  which,  fragments  of  bones  here 
 and  there  discovered,  are  adduced  as  credible  vouchers.^ 
 
 2ndly.  Because  I  find  the  existence  of  giants  recognized 
 in  other  parts  of  Scripture.    In  Deuteronomy  (chap.  ii.  10) 
 
 ^  "  Le  Chou-king  dit que 
 
 Tchi-yeou  est  le  premier  de  tons  les 
 rebelles,  et  que  sa  rebellion  repandit 
 sur  tous  les  peuples,  qui  apprirent 
 de   lui  a  coimnettre  loutes  sortes 
 
 de  crimes Tchi-yeou  etoit  chef 
 
 de  iieuf  uoirs on  dit  de  meme 
 
 que  les^eants  etoientfreres lis 
 
 avoient  le  corps  d'animaux,  la  tete 
 de  cuivre,  et  le  front  de  fer;  c'est 
 aux  neuf  noirs,  et  a  Tchi-yeou  leur 
 aine  et  leur  chef,  qu'ou  attribue 
 I'origine  des  revoltes  et  des  fraudes 
 
 Tchi-yeou  se  mit  a  la  tete  des 
 
 mauvais  genies Le  roi  de  Hi- 
 
 ong,  pendant  trois  annees,  livra 
 neuf  batailles  sans  pouvoir  vaincre 
 
 I'ennemie alors  le  ciel  lui  en- 
 
 voya  une  fille  celeste,  qui  lui  donna 
 des  armes,avec  I'assurauce  de  la  vic- 
 toire."— Chou-king,Dis.Prel.p.l28. 
 
 ^  An  instance  of  the  latter  is  the 
 celebrated  Starcheter  (vide  Hist,  de 
 Gent.  Septentri,  Olao  Magno  au- 
 tore,  lib.  v,  c.  iv.) ;  an  instance  of 
 the  former  is  the  terrible  Fafnir, 
 who  fell  by  the  sword  of  Sigurd. 
 Vide  Volsunga-Saga,  chap,  xxvii, 
 
 Nordischen  Helden,  v.  iv,  by  Von 
 der  Hagen.  In  the  Edda  the  giant 
 Yme  "  war  gottlos  wie  alle  seine 
 Nachkommeu."  Edda Z wote Fabel, 
 p.  114,  Schimmelman. 
 
 '  Cieca  de  Leon,  quoted  by  Gar- 
 cilasso  de  la  Vega,  lib.  ix,  c.  ix, 
 relates  a  tradition  (common  among 
 the  natives  of  Munta)  of  giants, 
 who  in  former  times  landed  on 
 their  shores  and  infested  them  :  he 
 adds  that  large  bones  have  been 
 found,  which  confirm  the  tradition. 
 Waffer  (Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages, 
 vol.  xviii,  p.  459,  ed.  Hoi.)  says : 
 "  C'est  une  tradition  du  pays  qu'il 
 y  avoit  autrefois  des  geans  aux  en- 
 virons de  JMexico.  J'y  ai  vu,  sous 
 le  gouvernement  du  Due  d'Albu- 
 querque,  des  ossemenset  des  dents 
 d'une  prodigieuse  grandeur,  entre 
 autres,  une  dent  de  trois  doigts  de 
 large,  et  longue  de  quatre.  Les  plus 
 habiles  gens  du  pays  jugerent  que 
 la  tete  ne  devoit  pas  avoir  moins 
 d'une  aune  de  largeur."  And  see 
 also  Purchas  his^Pilgrimage,  lib. 
 ix,  c.  ix,  p.  723. 
 
174  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 we  hear  of  the  Emlms,  who  are  tall  as  the  Anakim,  "  which 
 also  were  accounted  giants  ; "  and  these  Anakim  are  them- 
 selves described  by  the  spies  as  men  before  whom  the 
 children  of  Israel  were  "  as  grasshoppers,"  as  men  "  of 
 great  stature,"''  and  of  a  statui-e  which  seems  to  have  borne 
 the  same  proportion  to  that  of  common  mortals,  that  their 
 grapes  bore  to  common  grapes. 
 
 But  it  may  be  objected  that  all  this  is  very  indefinite. 
 Wliat  shall  we  say,  then,  when  we  find  the  length  and 
 breadth  of  the  bedstead  of  him  "  who  only  remained  of  the 
 remnant  of  the  giants  ?■* — nine  cubits,  somewhat  more  than 
 fifteen  feet,  was  the  length,  and  four  cubits,  about  seven 
 feet,  the  breadth  thereof."  Now,  surely,  the  great  size  of 
 this  bedstead''  has  been  especially  noted,  to  give  us  some 
 conception  of  the  great  stature  of  the  man ;  but  this  bed- 
 stead, while  it  measures  the  individual,  measm-es  him  as 
 one,  the  last,  of  a  certain  race;  and  it  thus  enables  us 
 to  form  some  probable  guess  as  to  the  size  of  that  race  ;*  a 
 size  which,  however  great  the  allowances  we  may  make 
 for  the  nature  of  the  admeasurement,  quite  warrants  the 
 title  of  giant. 
 
 "There  were  giants  in  those  days."  Moses,  without 
 giving  us  any  clue  to  the  ordinary  stature  of  men  in  the 
 early  ages  of  the  Avorld,  merely  states  that,  in  those  times, 
 
 *  Numhers  xiii.  33.  be  the  correct  one,  what  possible 
 ^ "  They  cut  from  thence  a  SrawcA     object  could  Moses  have  in  thus 
 
 with  one  cluster  of  grapes,  and  they  particularizing  the  size  and  mate- 
 bare  it  between  two  upon  a  stafiF."  rial  of  this  bed  of  Og  ?     See  Frag- 
 — Id.  ver.  23.  ment  xiii,  id.      Surely  its  size  is 
 ■•  Deuteronomy  iii.  11.  given  to  mark  tlie  size  of  the  man, 
 
 *  The  English  editor  of  Calmet,  and  its  material  to  show  his  hardi- 
 in  Fragment  xii,  thinks  that  oresh,  hood. 
 
 rendered  "  bedstead,"  properly  in-         "  I  have  said,  ^'probable  guess" 
 
 tends   the   floor  or   carpet  of    the  and  yet  in  the  eyes  of  those  who 
 
 duan,  or  perhaps  both.     "  Either  weigii  well  the  prejudices  of  the 
 
 sense  of  the  word,"  he  adds,  "  will  old  world :  who  remember  that  with 
 
 take  off  much  occasion   from  the  them  man  was  a  being  ever  degene- 
 
 wondermeut    of  ignorance  on   the  rating  both  physically  and  morally, 
 
 dimensions     of   this    bedstead    or  Og,  the  last  of  tlie  giants,  will  be  a 
 
 duan."     But  if  this  interpretation  pigmy  compared  with  his  fathers. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  175 
 
 there  existed  a  race  of  giants,  i.  e.  of  men  whose  stature 
 far  exceeded  that  of  their  cotemporaries.  Adam,  and 
 Seth  born  in  the  image  of  Adam,  may  then  have  been 
 either  of  our  stature,  or  tall  as  the  Rabbins  love  to  repre- 
 sent them.''  Wliatever  was  their  size,  the  giants  were 
 giants,  quoad  them.  The  question,  then,  which  we  have 
 to  settle,  is,  not  whether  man  was  ever  twenty  feet  in 
 height  (in  which  case  we  might  appeal  to  the  mummies 
 and  sarcophagi  of  Egypt,  and  through  them  show  that 
 man,  four  thousand  years  ago,  was  physically  very  like 
 man  of  the  present  day,  and  that  probably,  therefore,  the 
 existing  races  in  the  same  countries  have  always  averaged 
 the  same  height),  but  whether,  with  and  among  the  race  of 
 men,  there  has  ever  existed  another  race — now  extinct — 
 the  race  of  giants.     In  favour  of  its  existence, 
 
 I.  We  have  the  independent  testimony  of  several  nations 
 no  way  connected  together.  China  and  Greece,  Mexico 
 and  Peru — the  old  and  the  new  world — have  their  giants. 
 To  this  testimony,  however,  it  may  justly  be  objected,  that 
 it  is  purely  traditional,  and  of  so  mythological  a  character, 
 that,  unless  corroborated  by  other  evidence,  it  can  form  no 
 rational  ground  for  belief  in  any  fact. 
 
 II.  We  have  certain  fossil  remains  spoken  of  by  ancient 
 writers  as  the  bones  of  men  of  gigantic  stature.  Thus 
 Pausanias,^  on  hearsay,  relates,  that  on  occasion  of  an  inun- 
 dation in  Mysia,  human  bones  were  tlirown  up  of  an  enor- 
 mous size.  Boccaccio,  in  his  Genealogia  Deorum,  informs 
 us  that,  in  his  own  time,  a  number  of  peasants,  while  em- 
 ployed on  some  excavations  near  Trapani,  in  Sicily,  dis- 
 covered a  large  cave,  in  which  they  found  the  body  of  a 
 giant,  seated,  with  the  left  hand  leaning  on  a  staff.  On 
 being  exposed  to  the  air,  the  body  crumbled  into  dust ;  but 
 
 ■^  "  Moise     Bavufas    dice,    che  discountenance.     In  the  account  of 
 
 quando    Adamo   fu  scacciato   dal  the  deluge  we  find  that  the  waters 
 
 Paradiso  terrestre,  passo  il  mare  a  prevailed  fifteen  cubits  (about  23 
 
 guazzo,  tanto  era  orande, e  si  tras-  feet);  we  may   presume  therefore 
 
 fere  ad  altri  paese." — II  Stuore  del  that  the  stature  of  the  tallest  man 
 
 Padre  Menochio,  vol.  i,  p.  29.    All  of  that  time  was  below  that  height, 
 
 these    fabulous    and    exaggerated  ^  Vide  II  Stuore,  ut  supra,  vol. 
 
 tales,    the  sacred  books,  however,  iii,  p.  661. 
 
176  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 the  staff  was  preserved,  and  weighed  fifteen  hundred  pounds. 
 Girolamo  Maggio/  in  the  first  book  of  his  Miscellanies, 
 affirms,  that  while  he  was  a  prisoner  in  Africa,  he  saw  the 
 head  of  a  giant,  Avhich  had  been  ploughed  up  by  two 
 Spanish  slaves,  who,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  their  liberty, 
 presented  it  to  Assano,  the  son  of  Barbarossa.  This  head 
 measured,  he  says,  eleven  palms  in  circumference.  Maggio 
 adds,  that  a  friend  of  his,  a  certain  ahhate,  in  digging  a  well 
 near  Reggio,  found  a  human  skeleton  five  brachia  in  length. 
 On  these  fossil  remains,  we  will  observe, 
 
 1st.  That,  with  the  exception  of  those  mentioned  by 
 Pausanias,  they  were  the  remains,  and  only  the  partial  re- 
 mains, of  single  individuals  ;  and  that  they  do  not  seem  to 
 have  been  ever  examined  with  any  attention,  but  to  have 
 been  at  once  received  as  the  skeletons  of  men.     And, 
 
 2ndly.  That  as  no  human  fossil  remains  have  been  dis- 
 covered since  comparative  anatomy  has  become  a  science,  we 
 must  receive  with  caution  all  conclusions  drawn  by  former 
 times  from  some  enormous  tooth  or  thigh-bone  ; '  and  with 
 the  tnore  caution,  as  all  such  bones  have,  when  submitted  to 
 scientific  examination,  been  found  to  be  the  bones,  not  of 
 men,  but  of  some  of  those  great  primitive  monsters  who 
 were  the  earth's  first  inhabitants.'' 
 
 ^  As,  unlike  the  others,  who  tell  vano    trovato  quel    cranio,    erano 
 
 what  they  have  heard  merely,  Mag-  anco  le  altre  osse  di  quel  corpo,  di 
 
 gio  relates  what  he  actually  saw.  I  grandezza  a  quella    testa    corre- 
 
 will   transcribe    the   passage  from  spondente." — Id.  vol.  iii,  p  6(31. 
 
 Menochio :  "  Maggio  ritrovandosi  ^  Vide  note  l,p.  173:  "  Sancte 
 
 I'anno    1559    prigione    in   Africa,  Agostino  nel  lib.  15  de  Civit.  Dei, 
 
 vidde   la  testa  d'un    gigante,  che  alcap.9,diced'haver  visto  undente 
 
 due  Spagnuoli  schiavi  con  I'aratro  a  d'huomo  di  tal  grossezza,  che  diviso 
 
 caso  havevano  trovata,  e  dissotterata  in  parti  haverehbe  potuto  far  cento 
 
 e  portata  con    concorse    di  molta  del  nostri." — Menochio,  lb.  vol. i,  p. 
 
 gente  tratta  della  novita  della  cosa  29.   "  I  saw  a  tooth  (saith  Acosta^ 
 
 ad  Assano  figlio  di  Barbarossa,  con  at  Mexico,  in  the  year  1586,  as  big 
 
 spcranza  d'oltenere  con  questo  cu-  as  the  fist  of  a  man,  and  according 
 
 rioso  prescntc,  la  lilierta ;  ma  che  to  this  all  tlie  rest  was  proportion- 
 
 quel'  barbaro  non  gliela  voile  con-  able." — Purchas   his    Pilgrimage, 
 
 cedere,  e  solamente  face  dar  lore  lib.  viii,  c.  x,  p.  iyGO. 
 
 cinque  Unghari,  e  che  quella  testa  ^  Suetonius  seems  to  have  been 
 
 liavcva  di  circonferenza  undici  pal-  aware  of  this  :  of  the  bones  collected 
 
 mi,  e  che  quelli  schiavi  Spagnuoli  by  Augustus  at  Caprea,  he  tells  us 
 
 rifcrivano  che  nel  hiogo  dove  have-  tliat  they  were  "innnanium  bellua- 
 
CHAPTER  VI.  177 
 
 And  III.  We  have  a  few  historical  giants.  Thus  Pliny 
 mentions  one  Gabara,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius,  who  mea- 
 sured ahove  nine  feet.  The  emperor  Maximus  Avas  up- 
 wards of  eight  feet  high.  The  standard-bearer  of  Charles 
 V.  was  celebrated  for  his  gigantic  stature.  But  why  mul- 
 tiply instances  ?  Vie  have  seen  in  our  own  time  O'Brien, 
 the  Irish,  and  Behin,  the  Belgian,  giant, — men  some  tliree 
 feet  above  the  ordinary  height.  But  these  historical  giants 
 are  pigmies  compared  with  the  giants  of  mythology,  or 
 even  with  the  Og  of  Moses.  They  are  moreover  few,  and 
 only  prove,  that  we  do  not  justly  rate  the  maximum  of  hu- 
 man stature,  and  not  that  nature  has  ever  produced  a  finer 
 and  nobler  race,  to  be  pressed  from  the  earth  by  a  weaker 
 and  more  ignoble  one.  Without,  therefore,  altogether 
 denying  the  possibility  of  a  race  of  giants,  we  must  allow 
 that  we  have  no  evidence  for,  and  great  probabilities  against, 
 such  a  race  having  ever  existed. 
 
 "  The  same  became  mighty  men  of  old,  men  of  renown." 
 Such,  and  of  a  like  origin,  were,  in  Hindu  story,  Rama, 
 Sumitra,  &c. ;  such,  among  the  Peruvians,  Manco  Capac, 
 and  Mama  Oello  Huaco ;  and  such,  in  Grecian  mythology, 
 Hercules,  Pollux,  ^neas,  &c.,  and  in  later  times,  and  with 
 another  fame,  the  divine  Plato.  But  these  were  all  honoured 
 as  heroes  and  demi-gods,  and  were  men  of  renown — because 
 they  destroyed  monsters  and  repressed  violence — because 
 they  were  kind,  benevolent,  pious,  gentle  ;  while  those,  if  we 
 may  judge  by  the  context,  must  have  earned  infamy,  by 
 doing  violence,  by  oppressing  and  enslaving  their  fellows, 
 and  by  lives  stained  with  all  deeds  of  lust  and  rapacity. 
 
 Verse  3.  The  Lord  declares  that  his  patience  is  nearly 
 exhausted,  and  that  he  will  allow  the  race  then  inhabiting 
 the  earth  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  more  of  life. 
 Such  is  the  determination  which  this  verse  makes  known 
 to  us.  The  reason,  however,  which  it  gives  for  that  deter- 
 mination, "  my  spirit  shall  not  always   strive  with  man, 
 
 rum  feravumque  membra  prsEgrau-     et  arma  Hcroum."  (Vide  Suet.  Au- 
 dia,  ijuffi  dicmitui'  gigantiim  ossa     gustus,  §  7:3. 
 
 2  A 
 
178  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 for  tJiat  lie  also  is  fiesh,''  I  do  not  understand.  For  to  sup- 
 pose thotfiesh  is  a  metaphorical  expression  for  carnally- 
 minded,'  seems  to  me  scarcely  in  character  with  these  early 
 times ;  and  to  give  it  the  meaning  of  mortal,  or  by  it  to 
 intend  that "  natural  weakness  flesh  is  heir  to,'^*  is  to  make  Je- 
 hovah conclude  on  man's  destruction  for  reasons  which  should 
 most  especially  induce  him  to  mercy  and  long-suffering.^ 
 
 Again,  "  for  that  he  also  is  flesh."  What  is  the  force  of 
 the  particle  also  ?  Does  it  imply  that  man  was  something 
 more  than  flesh,  that  he  was  also  spirit  ?  Or  is  it  merely 
 used  to  give  force  to  the  sentence  ? 
 
 Verse  7.  "And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  destroy  man,  both 
 man  and  beast,  and  the  creeping  thing,  &c." 
 
 The  Hebrews — who,  like  other  ancient  nations,  regarded 
 every  unaccountable  occurrence  or  every  unexpected  com- 
 motion of  the  elements  as  some  especial  manifestation  of 
 •God's  will,  and,  when  it  affected  mankind,  as  the  instru- 
 ment by  means  of  which  God  rewarded  his  favourites  or 
 punished  his  enemies — observed  moreover,  that  whenever 
 man  suffered,  whether  by  earthquake  or  by  fire  from 
 heaven,  the  inferior  creation  suffered  with  him.  With 
 man,  therefore,  they  seem  to  have  associated  all  living  crea- 
 tures as  man's  servants ;  and,  as  his  servants,  they  have 
 made  them  to  share  in  his  crimes  and  his  misfortunes,  and 
 to  partake  in  his  blessings  and  prosperity.®  Thus  his  ani- 
 mal companions  were  driven  with  him  from  Paradise,  and 
 with  him  they  now  perish  in  the  deluge.  And  thus,  too, 
 in  after  times,  we  find  that  with  their  masters  they  too  are 
 doomed,'  and  must  die  by  the  sword  or  be  burned  with 
 
 ■^  In  Patrick,  Clarke,  in  h.  1.  ^  Vide  Psalm  Ixxvii,  9.     Where 
 
 "•  Vide  Michaelis,  in  h.  1.      The  these  reasons  do  so  induce  him. 
 
 translations  of  Michaelis  and   De  ^  Thus   in    Burma — "Some    of 
 
 Wette  I  will  suhjoin.     JSlichaelis:  their  doctors  assert  that  domestic 
 
 "  Mein    Geist    soil  die  Menscheu  animals  follow  the  fortunes  of  man- 
 
 nicht  inimcrfort  strafen,  wenn  sie  kind,  and  that  where  men  livelong 
 
 irren.  Der  Mench  ist  Fleisch,"  &:c.  they  do   so  likewise." — Lit.   of  the 
 
 De  Wette  :  "  Mein  Geist  soil  nicht  Burmese  by  Buchanan,  vol.  vi.  p. 
 
 im    Mcnschen    hleiben     ewiglich,  215.  Asiatic  Researches, 
 
 sintemal  er  Fleisch  ist,"  &c.  'Vide  Deut.  xiii.  15,  16;  vide 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  179 
 
 fire :  and  that  with  them  they  too  must  fast  and  cease  from 
 labour:  and  that  with  them  they  are  blessed^  and  made  fruit- 
 ful and  free  from  sickness. 
 
 Verse  9.  "  These  are  the  generations  of  Noah."  Eich- 
 horn  observes  on  these  words,  "  these  are  the  generations," 
 that  they  occur  only  where  there  is  a  pause  in  the  story,  and 
 when  the  author  is  about  to  pass  on  to  another  subject. 
 They  evince  in  the  present  case, — the  transition  from  the 
 antediluvian  to  the  actually  existing  world ;  used  again  in 
 chap.  xi.  29,  ("these  are  the  generations  of  Terah") — the 
 transition  from  the  history  of  mankind  to  that  of  the 
 family  of  Abraham;  and  again  in  chap.  xxv.  19,  ("these 
 are  the  generations  of  Isaac  ") — the  transition  of  the  nar- 
 rative from  the  life  of  Abraham  to  that  of  Isaac. 
 
 Verses  13-16.  I  have  diligently  read  several  commentaries 
 on  the  plan,  &c.  of  this  ark,  and  though  they  are  all  no 
 doubt  very  ingenious,  lam,  I  must  own,  as  much  in  the 
 dark  as  ever. 
 
 The  Elohim  gives  Noah  instructions  to  build  an  ark,  and 
 instructions  which  pretty  clearly  show  that  Noah  knew 
 nothing  of  ship-building  :  ^  and  yet  foUow  these  instructions 
 to  the  letter — build  the  vessel  to  order,  and  then  load  it  as 
 this  ark  was  loaded,  and  it  would  not,  and  could  not,  float;'" 
 
 also  the  destruction  of  Amalek,  1  cliaelis,  Comment,  ad  li.  1.     And 
 
 Sam.  XV.  3  ;  of  Jericho,  Joshua  vi. ;  the  author  of  Nhnmd — who  some- 
 
 and  the  judgment    passed    upon  what  injjeniously  argues  that  the 
 
 Achan,  because  he  had  taken  of  the  waters  which   were  collected    into 
 
 accursed  thing.  "  He  and  his  sons,  seas  were  placed  under  the  earth, 
 
 his  daughters,  and  his  oxen,  and  his  (he  endeavours  to  explain  away  the 
 
 sheep,  and  his  asses,  and  his  tent,  great  whales,  Szc.) — .also  observes  : 
 
 and  all  that  he  had,  are  stoned  with  "  that    the    instructions   given  by 
 
 stones,  and   burnt  with  fire  after  God  to  Noah  do  not  allude  to  the 
 
 they  have  been  stoned  witli  stones."  previous  existence  of  any  such  art 
 
 (Joshua  viii.)  as  navigation. — Vol.  iv,  p.  120. 
 
 *  Vide  Commandments ;   Jonah  '"  In  his  Orient.  Bib.  vol.  xviii,  p. 
 
 iii.  7;  Levit.  xxv.  18,  &:c.;  Exodus  27,  Michaelis,  however,   mentions 
 
 xxiii.  25,  26 ;  Deut.  vii.  14  ;  xxviii.  that  the  Dutch,  during  the  peace  of 
 
 4,  &c.  1609,  built  vessels  on  the  model  of 
 
 "  "  Hier  scheint  es  Noach  werde  the  ark,  and  found  that  they  carried 
 
 als  ein  der  Schiffs-bau-kunst  voliig  a  third  more  than  common  ships  of 
 
 unwisscnder  unterrichtet."  —  Mi-  the  same  size.    "  Im  1609  lebte  zu 
 
180  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 unless,  indeed,  you  built  it  on  a  raft.  But,  however,  let 
 the  ark  be  built — let  it  float — how  then  do  you  provide 
 light  and  air  for  the  crowds  within  the  cells  of  its  several 
 stories  ?  How  do  you  cleanse  off  the  impurities  of  this,  in 
 one  short  week,  Augean  stable  ?  And  how  with  a  crew  of 
 eight  persons  only  do  you  manage  daily  to  supply  so  many 
 animals,  all  so  different  in  their  habits,  with  their  just  pro- 
 portions of  wholesome  food  ?  Assuredly,  when  we  consider 
 the  skill  which  the  mere  construction  of  such  a  vessel  as  the 
 ark  supposes,  and  the  experience  and  method,  knowledge 
 and  science  which  were  required  to  fit  it  for  the  purposes 
 for  which  it  was  intended,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  these 
 instructions,  which  dwell  so  minutely  on  a  certain  length, 
 and  breadth,  and  height,  on  a  one  window,'  and  a  one 
 door,  are  but  as  the  meagre  ideas  of  a  prince,  from  which 
 an  architect  has  to  build  a  palace. 
 
 Verses  18-22.  Michaelis^  is  of  opinion,  that  during  the 
 one  hundred  and  twenty  years  of  warning,  Noah  was  em- 
 ployed in  collecting  together  the  birds  and  beasts  which 
 were  to  be  preserved  from  the  deluge,  and  in  observing  their 
 habits,  diet,  &c.  But  how,  we  may  then  ask,  could  Noah, 
 without  an  especial  revelation,  have  ascertained  that  his 
 collection  of  animals  was  a  complete  one  ?  And  how  could 
 he,  without  a  knowledge  of  natural  history  (scarcely  pos- 
 sible in  these  early  times),  have  avoided  overcharging  it  with 
 
 Hoorn  im  Novdholland,  ein  Men-  war,  dassdie  Hollander  viel  solcher 
 
 noniste,  Peter  Janson,  der  auf  deu  Schiffe  baueten,  die  sie  Archen  Noa 
 
 Einfall  kam  ein  Schiff"  nach  eben  nenneten,  nur  mit  dem  Ende  des 
 
 der  Proportion  liauen  zu  lassen  die  Stillstandes  Ui21  horeten  sie  auf, 
 
 Moses  angieht,  nur  nacli  verjunfr-  weil    sie   keine    Canonen     trageu 
 
 tern  Maassstabe,  120  Fusslang,  20  konnten,  also  p^egen  Kapcrn  niclit 
 
 brcits,  und    12  boch.     Bey    dem  sicher    waren."      Will    our   sliip- 
 
 Bau    laclite   ilini  jedermann    aus,  builders  take  counsel  from   Peter 
 
 aber  er  bestand  auf  seinem  Sinn ;  Janson's  successful  experiment  ? 
 als  es  in  See  kam,  fand  sich  dass  es         '  "  A  window  shalt  tbou  make  in 
 
 ein    Drittbeil    mebr    Last    traoen  the  ark."  (v.  16).      "  And  it  came 
 
 konnte  als  andere  Schiffe  von  gki-  to   pass tliat  Noah  opened  the 
 
 chen    Grosse,   iiicht   inehr    H'dnde  wimlmv."  (ix.  6). 
 
 zum  reipcrcn  bmuchfc,    vnd    viel        *  Michaelis,  Comment,  on  Gen. 
 
 (/csvhwindrr  acvijeUc ! !     Die  Fol<j;e  vi.  18-22,  ad  h.  1. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  181 
 
 specimens  of  varieties  of  the  same  species  of  animal?^  Is 
 it  not,  then,  more  natural,  more  in  accordance  with  the 
 spirit  of  the  myth,  to  suppose  that  all  these  animals  of  their 
 own  accord  presented  themselves  to  Xoah,  and  of  their  own 
 accord  came  into  the  ark  ? 
 
 Chapter  vii.  verses  2,  3.  "  Of  every  clean  beast  shalt  thou 
 take  to  thee  by  sevens." 
 
 Dr.  Adam  Clarke^  observes,  that  under  "  clean  beasts " 
 are  included  all  beasts  fit  for  food  and  sacrifice.  If,  how- 
 ever, we  examine  the  laws  relating  to  clean  and  unclean 
 beasts,  and  compare  them  with  those  relating  to  animals  to 
 be  offered  in  sacrifice  ;^  we  find  that,  though  all  clean  leasts 
 are  beasts  fit  for  food,  not  all  are  fit  for  sacrifice;  and  also, 
 that  of  those  Avhich  are  fit  for  sacrifice,  some,  for  particular 
 sacrifices,  are  required  to  be  of  a  certain  age ;  and  all,  at 
 all  times,  must  be  perfect  and  without  blemish.  As,  then, 
 we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  these  intricacies  of  the 
 Jewish  law  were  known  to  Noah  and  his  times,  we  will, 
 with  Michaelis,^  by  the  expression  "clean  beasts"  under- 
 stand merely  beasts  proper  for  food. 
 
 But  if  "clean  beasts"  be  beasts  proper  for  food,  then  the 
 antediluvian  men  were  accustomed  not  merely  to  eat  flesh, 
 but  to  restrict  themselves  to  the  flesh  of  certain  animals 
 only,  and  to  look  on  all  other  flesh  Avith  disgust,  and  with 
 a  certain  religious  antipathy.  And  yet,  after  the  deluge, 
 Ave  find  the  Elohim,  and  for  the  first  time,  giving  man  per- 
 mission to  eat,  and  Avithout  any  distinction  of  meats,  "  of 
 every  moving  thing  that  liveth."  Surely  the  terms  "  clean" 
 and  "unclean,"  as  applied  in  this  passage  to  the  brute  crea- 
 tion, have  all  the  appearance  of  anachronisms. 
 
 "Clean  and  unclean  beasts."      From  Leviticus  xi.  we 
 
 ^All  the  calculations  made  as  to  Commmentavy  on  verse  15  of  this 
 
 the  capacity  of  the  ark  to  contain  chapter, 
 
 the  animals  for  which  it  was  in-  ■•  Commentary,  ad  h.  1. 
 
 tended  are  made  on  the  number  of  *  Compare  Leviticus  xi.  with  Le- 
 
 species  known  exclusive  of  the  va-  viticus  i.  ii.  &c. 
 
 rieties.     (Vide  Bishop  Williams  on  ^  Commentary,  ad.  h.  1. 
 this  subject  in  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's 
 
182  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 learn,  that  of  beasts  all  which  part  the  hoof  and  are  cloven 
 footed,  and  chew  the  cud,  are  clean — all  others,  unclean ; 
 and  of  fisli,  all  with  fins  and  scales  may  be  eaten,  wliile  all 
 without  them  are  an  abomination.  Of  birds  and  insects 
 this  chapter,  moreover,  furnishes  us  with  a  list  in  the  one 
 case  of  the  non-edible,  in  ilio  other  of  the  edible,  kinds.  It 
 appears,  then, 
 
 1st.  That  the  marks  which  distinguish  clean  from  un- 
 clean animals  were  simple  and  decisive,  and  admitted  of  no 
 exceptions;  and, 
 
 2ndly.  That  although  unclean  animals  seem  while  yet 
 alive  no  way  to  have  polluted  those  with  whom  they  came 
 in  contact,  yet  that  as  carcases  they  were  always  unclean. 
 
 The  same  superstitious  regard  for  meat  we  find, 
 
 I.  Among  the  Hindus.  The  Bramin,  of  our  day^  not 
 only  abstains  from  all  animal  food,  and  restricts  himself  to 
 a  milk  and  vegetable  diet ;  but  he  also  puts  an  anathema  ^ 
 on  certain  vegetables  and  preparations  of  milk  which 
 other  nations  find  j^leasant  to  the  taste,  and  no  way  prejudi- 
 cial to  the  health.  He  will  not,  for  instance,  "  eat  of  gar- 
 lick,  onions,  leeks,  or  mushrooms,  nor  any  vegetable  raised 
 in  dung,"*  or  the  head  or  root  of  which  is  round.^  He 
 avoids,  also,  "  red  gums,  and  the  juices  of  Avounded  stems, 
 and  rice  boiled  with  furmity."    Of  milks  he  must  not  taste 
 
 '  "  The  use  of  flesh-meat  is  posi-  comes  eager  to  destroy  Brahmens, 
 
 lively  enjoined  at  certain  ohsequies,  through   a   neglect  of  reading  the 
 
 (Sec. ;  but  the  precepts  of  their  law-     Vedas and  through  various  of- 
 
 givers  on  the  subject  are  by  some  fences  in  diet."  (Institutes  of  Menu, 
 
 deemed  obsolete  in  the  present  age,  chap,  v.)      And  the  Gentoo   code, 
 
 and  are  evaded  by  others,  who  ac-  after  insisting  on  the  innocence  of 
 
 knowledge    the   cogency   of   these  the  first  men,  goes  on  to  say,  that 
 
 laws.       These  commonly  make   a  soon  "  men  employed  themselves  in 
 
 vow  to  abstain  from  flesh-meat,  and  all  occupations  of  debauchery  and 
 
 consider  that  vow  as  more  binding  iniquity, and  flsstmiet/  the  Ucentious- 
 
 than  the  precepts  here  alluded  to.  7iess   of  eating  things  forbidden," 
 
 Others,  again,  not  only  eat  meat  at  &c.  :  thus  placing  the   Uiking   of 
 
 obsequies  and  solemn  sacrifices,  but  forbidden  meats  among  the  cardinal 
 
 make  it  their  common  diet,  in  di-  sins. — Halhed's  Gentoo  Code, 
 
 rect  breach  of  the  institutes  of  their  '^  Menu,  chap.  y.  5,  &c. 
 
 religion."     (Vide  Colebrooke,  Re-  •  Dubois  says  they  reject  all  ve- 
 
 ligious    Ceremonies    of    Hindoos,  getables  the  root  or  head  of  which 
 
 vol.  vii,  p.  271 ,  Asiatic  Researches.)  is  round. — Mccurs  dcs  Indes,  vol.  i, 
 
 **  For  "  the  genius  of  death  be-  p.  258. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  183 
 
 of  "  the  thickened  milk  of  the  cow,  within  ten  days  after  her 
 calving,  nor  of  the  milk  of  either  the  camel  or  other  animal 
 with  a  hoof  not  cloven;  nor  of  that  of  any  forest  beast  ex- 
 cept the  buffalo ;  nor  of  the  milk  of  a  woman,  nor  any 
 thing  naturally  sweet,  but  acidulated,  except  buttermilk, 
 and  every  preparation  of  buttermilk,"^ 
 
 In  former  times  also,  when  the  doctrine  of  transmigra- 
 tion had  not  yet  fully  developed  itself:^  when  flesh  was 
 still  occasionally  eaten;  the  twice-born  man  was  enjoined  to 
 avoid  "  carnivorous  birds,  and  such  as  live  in  towns,  and 
 solitary  animals,  and  quadrupeds  with  uncloven  hoofs,  and 
 creatures  with  five  claws  (except  those  allowed  in  the  Ve- 
 das,  &c.),  birds  that  strike  with  their  beaks,  web-footed 
 birds,  and  those  who  dive  to  devour  fish,  all  amphibious  fish- 
 eaters,  tame  hogs,  and  fish  of  every  sort."''  But  the  ani- 
 mal whose  flesh  it  was  a  deadly  oifence  to  eat  was  not  in 
 itself,  it  seems,  necessarily  impure.  For  the  life  of  a  cat, 
 or  an  ichneimion,  of  a  frog  or  a  lizard,  an  owl  or  a  crow, — 
 all  of  them  non-edible  animals, — is  put  on  the  same  footing 
 as  that  of  a  Sudra;^  and  from  the  Rudhira'rhya'ya®  we 
 learn,  that  "  birds,  tortoises,  alligators,  fish,  nine  species  of 
 animals,  lions,  tigers,  men,  &c.,  are  looked  upon  as  proper 
 oblations ;  "  and  as  that  which  has  been  destroyed  for  the 
 purpose  of  sacrifice  attains  in  the  next  world  an  exalted 
 birth,"'  we  may  presume  that  that  alone  can  be  sacrificed 
 which  is  dear  to  the  gods,  and  clean,  pure,  and  holy.* 
 
 ""  Menu,  chap.  v.  5,  &c.  63—69.  "  If  a  Brahmin  kill  by 
 ^  Buddha  seems  to  have  been  the  design  a  cat  or  an  iclmeumon,  or  a 
 first  who  censured  the  sacrifice  and  frog  or  a  lizard,  an  owl  or  a  crow, 
 eating  of  animals,  (vol.  i,  Asiatic  he  must  perform  the  ordinary  pen- 
 Researches,  p.  236.)  And  in  Menu,  ance  required  for  the  death  of  a 
 chap.  V,  verse  30,  I  find  that,  "  He  sudra." 
 
 who  eats  according  to  law  commits  ^  Vide  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  r. 
 
 no  sin,  even  though  every  day  he  art.  xxiii. 
 
 took  the  flesh  of  such  animals  as  ^  Institutes  of  Menu,  v.  408. 
 
 may  lawfully  be  eaten ;  since  both  *  For    the  thousand   other  pre- 
 
 animals,  who   may  be    eaten  and  cepts  relative  to  diet,  the  where  and 
 
 those   who  eat  them,  are  equally  how  food  is  to  be  received,  eaten, 
 
 created  by  Brahme."  &:c.,  see  Religious  Ceremonies  of 
 
 *  Institutes  of  Menu,  id.  the  Hindus,  by  Colebrooke ;  Asiatic 
 
 *  Institutes  of  Menu,  chap.  xi.  Researches,  vol.  vii.  277, 
 
184  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 II.  x\mong  the  Egyptian  priests.  According  to  Chare- 
 mon,  many  of  them  altogether  abstained  from  flesh,  and  all 
 were  forbidden  to  taste  of  fish  and  carnivorous  birds,  and 
 of  those  quadupeds  that  were  imhorned  or  had  clawed 
 feet,  or  whose  hoofs  were  uncloven.®  Like  the  Hindus, 
 however,  the  Egyptians  had  some  exceptions  to  these  gene- 
 ral rules,  for  they  ate  of  the  swan  and  the  goose,  and  shud- 
 dered away,  vAth  a  holy  reverence,  from  the  flesh  of  the  ram 
 and  the  cow,  and,  with  the  antipathy  of  hate,  from  that  of 
 the  red  ox  and  the  pig,  both  of  which  they  nevertheless 
 occasionally  sacrificed — the  one  to  Typhon,  the  other  to 
 Hecate.'  Like  the  Hindus,  too,  they  held  several  non-edible 
 animals  in  high  honour,  as  cats,  serpents,  crocodiles,  &c.^ 
 With  the  Egyptians,  then,  as  with  the  Hindvis,  the  notions 
 of  purity  or  impurity  which  were  attached  to  the  flesh  of  any 
 animal,  as  food,  did  not  extend  to  the  animal  itself;  and  did 
 not,  as  with  the  Jews,  exclude  it  from  the  altars  of  the 
 gods. 
 
 III.  Among  the  Persians.  All  living  things  were,  by  the 
 law  of  Zoroaster,  separated  into  two  great  and  distinct  fa- 
 milies :  the  living  things,  the  creation  of  Ormuzd ;  and  the 
 living  things,  the  creation  of  Ahriman.  To  the  former 
 belonged  all  useful,  to  the  latter,  all  noxious  animals.  The 
 one,  pure  and  holy,  were  to  be  loved,  cherished,  and  pre- 
 served ;  the  other,  impure  in  themselves  and  making  impure 
 what  they  touched,  were  to  be  avoided,  hated,  and  rooted 
 out  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  As  noxious  they  regarded, 
 first,  all  predatory  animals,  as  lions,  tigers,  bears,  &;c. ;  se- 
 
 '  Tjjv  di  Knr  avTr)v  ttjv  Aiyvrrrov.  iEgyptiosetPhocniceshiimanis  vesci 
 
 Ex  lis  quaj  jEe^ptus  ipsa  pro-  carminibus,  quam   vaccam  morsu 
 
 tulit,  piscihiis  omnibus  abstinebant,  attingere  maluisse Asinum 
 
 e  ([uadnipedibus  quotquot  soliclas  etiam  et  bovem    rufum    tanquam 
 
 aiit  nniltiliilas  habereiit    ungulas,  animalia  ad  odium  et  contumeliam 
 
 aut  coniuta'  non  essciit,  et  volucri-  iiati  pcnitus  aversebantur." — Id.  ib. 
 l)us  omnibus  ([Uffi  carnes  devora-         *  "  Nam  J^lgyptii  boves  adora- 
 
 rent ;  multi  ctiam  universis  animal-  bant,  et  sacra  serpentibus,  crooo- 
 
 ibus  abstinebant." — De  Esu  Cam.  dilis,  belluis  caiteris  avibus  et  pis- 
 
 c.  i,  2,  5  ;  from  Spencer,  De  Leg.  cibus  instituebant,  hoc  aperte  dicit 
 
 Jud.  i,  vii,  p.  128.  Minutius  Felix."— Id.  ib.  p.  118. 
 
 '    "  llei'ert     ttiam     Porpliyrius 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  185 
 
 condly,  all  animals  wliich  fear  the  light  and  love  darkness, 
 as  moles,  rats,  mice,  &c. ;  thirdly,  all  animals  which  creep 
 or  crawl,  as  snakes,  toads,  frogs,  &c. ;  and,  lastly,  all  in- 
 sects, as  flies,  ants,  &c.'  The  flesh  of  no  one  of  these 
 animals  could  the  Ormuzd  worshipper  touch  without  risk ; 
 and,  though  the  Zend  contains  no  dietary  laws,  much  less, 
 therefore,  eat.  Of  pure  and  clean  animals,  some  were  pro- 
 bably not  considered  edible,  as  the  horse,  the  ass,  the  dog;^ 
 but  of  the  edible  all  could  be  oifered  in  sacrifice — if  sacri- 
 fice that  may  be  called,  which  was  slaughtered  indeed  with 
 certain  religious  ceremonies,  but  which  was  so  slaughtered, 
 not  as  an  offering  to  Ormuzd,  but  to  receive  his  blessing, 
 and  thus  be  rendered  food  more  wholesome  and  more  pure.^ 
 If  we  review  these  several  ordinances  relating  to  meats 
 and  animals,  we  find — 
 
 I.  That  the  Zend  and  Hebrew  laws  recognise  but  tu'o,  the 
 Egyptian  and  Hindu  books  several,  sorts  of  animals:  the 
 former  regard  all  animals,  the  one  as  either  noxious  or  use- 
 ful—the other  as  either  clean  or  unclean ;  both  the  latter 
 speak  of  animals  edible  and  non-edible,  animals  sacrificial 
 and  non-sacrificial,  and  animals  sacred  and  profane.^ 
 
 II.  That  the  Zend  laAv  rejects  all  noxious  animals,  the 
 productions  of  Alu-iman,  and  holds  up  to  rehgious  abhor- 
 rence not  merely  the  flesh  of  these  animals,  but  the  animals 
 themselves.      It  is  thus  for  ever  precluded  from  any  large 
 
 '  Bees?    Anquetil,  Ceremoii.  ct  soin.     II  iie  faut  tuer  ni  les  ani- 
 
 Moral  de  Zovoastre,  Zend.  vol.  ii,  inaiix  jeicnes,  ni  ceux  qui  sont  en- 
 
 Fargard  i,  p.  681  ;  id.  vol.  i,  Far-  core  utiles." 
 
 gard  xiv,  p.  266  ;  id.  Fargard  xviii,  ^  We  may  gather  this  from  the 
 
 p.  388,  411.     As  the  production  of  account  of  Herodotus.      He  tells 
 
 Ahriman  these  animals  are  all  to  be  us  that  after  the  slaughter  of  the 
 
 destroj'ed  ;  hence    that  custom   of  victim,  the  magus  sings  a  sacred 
 
 the  magi  (which  astonished  Hero-  hymn  ;  but  that  after  a  little  time, 
 
 dotus)  who,  with  their  own  hands,  ettktxoji'   eg  oXiyoi'  xpovov,  a-Ko^i- 
 
 killed  ants,  serpents,  &c. —  Herod,  pt rai  6  5(i<7«f  ra  xpsa,  Kai  xparai  6- 
 
 lib.  i,§  140.  n  fiw  o  Xojog  aipKt."— Herod.  lib. 
 
 Zend,  vol.  i,  Fargard  vii,  p. 
 
 cxxxn. 
 
 .320;  and  Vie  de  Zoroastre,  id.  p.  ^  Among  the  Hindus  and  Egyp- 
 25,  26.  The  Amschaspand  Bah-  tians,  as  sacrificial  animals  are 
 man  tells  Zoroaster:  "Jevous  livre  sometimes  edible,  sometimes  non- 
 les  animaux  et  les  troupeaux ;  que  edi])le,  and  sometimes  even  profane, 
 les  Mobeds  apprenuent  a  en  avoir     thev  must  form  a  class  of  themselves. 
 
 2b 
 
186  CHAPTER  VI. 
 
 view  of  the  beauty,  order,  harmony,  and  usefulness  of  all 
 creation. 
 
 III.  That  the  Egyptian  law,  though  it  recommends  ab- 
 stinence from  some  kinds  of  food  for  sanatory  reasons, 
 objects  to  others  from  religious  motives.  Some  animals  it 
 so  abhors,  or  so  reverences,  that  it  will  not  permit  its  sub- 
 jects to  touch  of  their  flesh. 
 
 IV.  That  the  Hindu  books  forbid  the  use  of  animal  food, 
 from  the  high  esteem  in  which  they  hold  all  life,  and  from 
 the  peculiar  view  Avhich  they  take  of  the  state  of  the  soul 
 after  death; — a  view  which  obtained  also  in  Egypt,  and 
 occasionally  led  to  the  same  results. 
 
 V.  That  the  Jewish  law,  by  the  general  rules  which  it 
 lays  down  to  distinguish  clean  from  unclean  meats, — rules 
 which  admit  of  no  exception,  and  which  rank  among  the 
 unclean  many  noble  and  useful  animals — clearly  shows  that 
 it  was  induced  to  this  classification  by  no  fanciful  or  super- 
 stitious motives,  but  that  its  sole  object  was  to  reduce  all 
 edible  animals  under  one  head,  and  thus  to  render  it  easy 
 for  every,  the  simplest,  man  to  ascertain  what  animals  were 
 or  were  not  edible.  It  probably  merely  determined  and 
 sanctioned  the  ancestral  usages  of  the  Israelites. 
 
 VI.  That  Persians,  Egyptians,  and  Hindus,'  necessarily 
 view  with  disgust  and  horror  all  men  who  eat  of  the  flesh 
 of  some  of  those  animals  from  which  they  abstain, — not  so, 
 however,  the  Jew :  though,  indeed,  the  terms  by  which  his 
 law  designates  its  non-edible  animals — a  term  certainly  not 
 in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  its  cosmogony,  and  rather 
 Persian  than  Jewish — will  no  dou1:)t  induce  a  spirit  of  self- 
 gratulation  and  self-conceit,  which  must  effectually  prevent 
 any  social  intercourse  with  foreigners. 
 
 VII.  That  all  these  religions  regard  the  animal  creation 
 as  existing  solely  for  man's  sake  and  service;  they  consider 
 
 '  The  Persian  faith  is  alone  con-  tinction  between   one  animal  and 
 
 sequent  in   its  hate  of  some  ani-  another  ?     Why  the  Jew  dcsi;;nate 
 
 mals— they  are  the  productions  of  as  unclean  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
 
 Ahriman.      For    why   should   the  creation  ?     One  God,  they  all  be- 
 
 E<i:y])tian  hate  the  pip;  or  the  red  lieve,  made  all  thin<i;s,  and,  the  Jews 
 
 ox?     Why  the  Hindu  malvc  dis-  believe,  made  all  things  well. 
 
CHAPTER  vr.  187 
 
 animals  not  as  they  are  in  themselves,  but  merely  as  they 
 stand  in  some  relation  with  man's  wants,  or  his  interests. 
 
 Verses  11,  12.  The  same  clay  were  all  the  fountains  of 
 the  great  deep  broken  up. 
 
 If  ever  there  was  a  deluge,  that  that  deluge  could  take 
 place  only  because,  and  in  the  way,  God  willed  it  to  take 
 place,  no  man  can  doubt.  °  Yet  all  who  hesitate  to  receive 
 the  book  of  Genesis  as  an  unquestionable  authority,  will 
 necessarily  inquire,  "  Was  there  ever  a  deluge  ?" 
 
 They  who  believe  in  the  inspiration  of  Moses  will  argue 
 that  his  testimony  on  this  point  is  confirmed, 
 
 I.  By  the- several  phenomena  which  the  earth  itself  pre- 
 sents to  our  notice.  Its  various  irregular  and  broken  strata 
 bear  evidence  that,  in  long  past  ages,  our  globe  has  under- 
 gone sundry  violent  changes ;  and  the  fossil  remains  of 
 shells  and  marine  animals  not  unfrequently  found  on  the 
 tops  of  even  its  highest  mountains  prove  that,  among  these 
 changes,  some  one  at  least  was  brought  about  by  a  deluge.® 
 
 II.  By  the  similar  testimony  of  different  nations.  India, 
 Chaldea,  Egypt,  Greece,  China,  Persia,  and  several  of  the 
 people  of  the  new  world,  have  treasured  up  legends  of  a 
 universal  flood,  by  which,  as  in  the  deluge  of  Moses,  the 
 human  race,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  individuals,  was 
 entirely  destroyed.  And,  as  so  improbable  an  event  as  a 
 deluge  could  scarcely  have  been  independently  imagined  in 
 
 *  The  English  editor  of  Calmet's  for  that  purpose.     If,  on  the  other 
 
 Dictionary,   and  Michaelis   (Com-  hand,  we  judge  these  books  as  we 
 
 mentary,  ad.  h.  1.)   endeavour   to  would  any  other  work,  then,  as  they 
 
 show,  tliat  the  means  which,  accord-  here  treat  of  facts  of  which  we  can 
 
 ing  to  Moses,  the  Deity  makes  use  have  no  experience,  and  of  causes 
 
 of  to  bring  about  the  deluge,  are  which  are  no  longer  in  operation, 
 
 fully  sufficient.  I  see  no  advantage  we    cannot    inquire   whether  the 
 
 in    ex  rcising  one's   ingenuity   in  causes  were  sufficient  to  produce 
 
 conjectures  of  this  sort.    For,  if  we  the  effects,  though  we  may,  whether 
 
 regard  the  books  of  INIoses  as  the  of  the  effects  any  traces  are  yet  to 
 
 words  of  the  Deity,  we  cannot  a  be  found,  either  in  the  earth  itself, 
 
 moment  hesitate  to  believe  that  the  or  in  the  traditions  of  its  difTereut 
 
 means  by  which  the  Deity  is  there  inliabitants. 
 
 represented    to   have   Hooded    the  "  Vide  Woodward's  History  of 
 
 earth  were  the  best  and  most  fitted  the  Earth. 
 
188  CIlAPTEIl    Y. 
 
 SO  many  and  such  distant  countries,  we  may  fairly  j)resume 
 that  the  traditions  of  it  arc  founded  on  fact. 
 
 Now,  without  staying  to  object,  that,  though  frequent 
 deposits  of  marine  fossil  remains  may  be  very  fair  evidence 
 that  our  globe  was  once  covered  by  water,  they  no  way 
 prove  tliat  it  was  ever  so  covered  by  a  deluge, — we  will 
 merely  remark,  on  the  first  reason^  that  the  huge  masses, 
 the  large  and  deep  strata,  which  these  remains  form,  are, 
 if  evidence  of  a  deluge,  evidence  of  one  which  no  way 
 corresponds  with  that  described  in  Genesis.     Because, 
 
 1st.  The  deluge  of  Moses  is  no  convulsion:  the  rain  pours 
 down  from  heaven,  and  rivers  and  seas  indeed  overflow  their 
 banks,  sweeping  away  man  and  beast  and  perhaps  shatter- 
 ing and  destroying  in  their  course  man's  immortal  works ; 
 but,  after  one  year's  space,  the  earth  appears  already  dry, 
 the  olive  has  again  put  forth  its  leaves,  i  and  the  fields  are 
 green,  and  every  thing  once  more  wears  its  wonted  and 
 familiar  appearance.  Our  fossil  strata,  on  the  other  hand, 
 tell  of,  and  are  only  to  be  accounted  for  by,  fearful  and 
 violent  convidsions,*by  which  all  nature  was  rent,  and  the  face 
 of  the  earth  changed,  and  thus  rendered  incapable  of  bearing 
 fruit  and  green  herb  for  perhaps  centuries.     And  because, 
 
 2ndly.  While  the  fossil  bones  found  in  these  strata — and 
 each  one  of  these  strata  is  connected  with  some  particular 
 convulsion — speak  of  several  animal  creations,  whose  species 
 are  almost  invariably,  and  whose  genera  are  sometimes 
 now,  extinct:  wo  remains  have  yet  been  met  with  which  can 
 induce  to  the  conclusion,  that  among  the  animal  races 
 which  peopled  the  preadamite  worlds,  man  was  included. 
 But  man  it  is  that  the  deluge  of  Moses  destroyed ;  man 
 possessing  arts ;  man  powerful,   and  probably  numerous ; 
 
 1  "  A  judicious  remark  has  been  longer  period  to  restore  to  it  its  pre- 
 
 made   (by  Mr.  Baiikes)  respecting  viously  flourisbing  condition  than 
 
 the  choice  of  the  olive  as  the  cm-  the  olive  grove." — Wilkinson's  Mo- 
 
 blem  of  peace.     After  the  devasta-  dern  Egyptians,  vol.  i,  p,  415.  How 
 
 Hon  of  a,  country  hi/ fiostila  invasion  gentle,  then,  must  have  been  the 
 
 and  (he   consequent   neglect   of  its  deluge! 
 culture,  no  plantation   requires  a        '■'  Vide  Cuvicr  Revol.  du  Globe. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  189 
 
 but  as  of  man  these  strata  contain  no  relics/  to  the 
 deluge  of  Moses,  the  Jiwman  deluge,  in  contradistinction 
 to  other  convulsions  which  affected  our  earth,  none  of  these 
 strata  can,  with  any  show  of  probability,  be  referred. 
 
 And  now  with  regard  to  the  second  reason,  brought 
 forward  as  corroboratory  of  this  deluge  in  Genesis,  to 
 estimate  it  properly,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine  more 
 at  large  the  several  traditions  to  which  it  apj^eals.     And, 
 
 I.  The  Hindus  believe,  "  that  in  the  reign  of  the  sun- 
 born  monarch  Satyavrata,  the  whole  earth  was  drowned, 
 and  the  whole  human  race  destroyed  by  a  flood,  except 
 the  pious  prince  himself,  the  seven  Rishis,  and  their  several 
 wives ....  This  general  iwalaya,  or  destruction,  is  the  sub- 
 ject of  the  first  Purana,  or  sacred  poem  ;  and  the  story  is, 
 besides,  concisely  told,  in  the  eighth  book  of  the  Bhaga- 
 wata,  from  which  the  following  is  an  abridged  extract : — 
 "  The  demon  Hayagriva  having  purloined  the  Vedas 
 from  the  custody  of  Brahma,  while  he  was  reposing,  at 
 the  close  of  the  sixth  Manwantara,  the  whole  race  of  men 
 became  corrupt,  except  the  seven  Rishis  and  Satyavrata, 
 who  then  reigned  in  Dravira,  a  maritime  region  to  the 
 south  of  Carnita.  This  prince  was  performing  his  ablutions 
 in  the  river  Critamala,  when  Vishnu  appeared  to  him  in 
 the  shape  of  a  small  fish,  and,  after  several  augmentations 
 of  bulk  in  different  Avaters,  was  placed  by  Satyavrata  in 
 the  ocean,  where  he  thus  addressed  his  amazed  votary  :  '  In 
 seven  days,  all  creatures  who  have  offended  me,  shall  be 
 destroyed  by  a  deluge ;  but  thou  shalt  be  secured  in  a 
 capacious  vessel  miraculously  formed.  Take,  therefore,  all 
 kinds  of  medicinal  herbs  and  esculent  grain  for  food,  and, 
 together  with  the  seven  holy  men,  your  respective  wives, 
 and  pairs  of  all  animals,  enter  the  ark  without  fear :  then 
 shalt  thou  know  God  face  to  face,  and  all  thy  questions 
 shall  be  answered.'  Saying  this,  he  disappeared ;  and, 
 after  seven  days,  the  ocean  began  to  overflow  the  coasts, 
 and  the  earth  to  be  flooded  by  constant  showers,  when 
 Satyavrata,  meditating  on  the  Deity,  saw  a  large  vessel 
 
 ^  Vide  Buckland,  Bridgevvater  Treatise,  vol.  i,  p.  I'J. 
 
190  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 moving  on  the  waters  :  he  entered  it ;  having  in  all 
 respects  conformed  to  the  instructions  of  Vishnu,  who,  in 
 the  form  of  a  vast  fish,  suifered  the  vessel  to  be  tied,  with 
 a  great  sea  serpent,  as  with  a  cable,  to  his  measureless 
 horn.  "Wlien  the  deluge  had  ceased,  Vishnu  slew  the 
 demon,  and  recovered  the  Vedas,  instructed  Satyavrata 
 in  divine  knowledge,  and  appointed  him  the  seventh  Menu, 
 by  the  name  of  Vaivaswata."'' 
 
 II.  The  Chaldeans  believed  that,  during  the  reign  of 
 Xisuthrus,  tenth  king  of  Babylon,  and  the  son,  in  one 
 place,  of  Otiartes,  and,  in  another,  of  Ardates,^  happened 
 a  great  deluge,  the  history  of  which  is  thus  described : — 
 "The  Deity  Chronus  appeared  to  this  Xisuthrus  in  a 
 vision,  and  warned  him  that,  upon  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
 month  Dajsius,  there  would  be  a  flood,  by  which  mankind 
 would  be  destroyed.  He,  therefore,  enjoined  him  to  Avrite 
 a  history  of  the  beginning,  procedure  and  conclusion  of  all 
 tilings,  and  to  bury  it  in  the  city  of  the  Sun  at  Lippara ; 
 and  to  build  a  vessel,  and  take  with  him  into  it  his  friends 
 and  relations ;  and  to  convey  on  board  every  thing  neces- 
 sary to  sustain  life,  together  with  all  the  different  animals, 
 both  birds  and  quadrupeds,  and  trust  himself  fearlessly  to 
 the  deep.  Having  asked  the  Deity,  whither  he  was  to 
 sail  ?  he  was  answered,  '  to  the  gods ; '  upon  which,  he 
 offered  up  a  prayer  for  the  good  of  mankind.  He  then 
 obeyed  the  Divine  admonition,  and  built  a  vessel  five 
 stadia  in  length,  and  two  in  breadth.  Into  this  he  put 
 every  thing  which   he  had  prepared  ;    and,    last    of   all, 
 
 conveyed  into  it,  his  wife,  and  children,  and  friends 
 
 After  the  flood  had  been  upon  the  earth,  and  was,  in  time, 
 abated,  Xisuthrus  sent  out  birds  from  the  vessel,  which, 
 not  finding  any  food,  nor  any  place  whereupon  they  might 
 rest  their  feet,  returned  to  him  again.     After  an  interval 
 
 ■•  Vide  On  tlic  Chronology  of  the  as  slightly  differing  from  them  the 
 
 Hindus,  by  Sir  W.  Jones,  vol.  ii,p.  account  in  the  Oupnek'hat,  c.  xx. 
 
 1 16-7,  Asiatic  Researches.  A  some-  p.  481 . 
 
 what  fuller  account  is  also  given  in        ^  Vide  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments, 
 
 another  volume  of  the  same  work,  p.  26,  31,  from  Berossus. 
 (vol.  i,  p.  230.)  Compare  with  these. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  191 
 
 of  some  days,  he  sent  them  forth  a  second  time,  and  they 
 now  returned  with  their  feet  tinged  with  mud.  He  made 
 a  trial  a  third  time  with  these  birds  ;  but  they  returned  to 
 him  no  more :  from  which  he  judged  that  the  surface  of 
 the  earth  had  appeared  above  the  waters.  He,  therefore, 
 made  an  opening  in  the  vessel,  and,  upon  looking  out, 
 found  that  it  was  stranded  upon  the  side  of  some  mountain, 
 upon  which  he  immediately  quitted  it,  with  his  wife,  his 
 daughter,  and  the  pilot.  Xisuthrus  then  paid  his  adoration 
 to  the  earth ;  and,  having  constructed  an  altar,  offered 
 sacrifices  to  the  gods,  and,  with  those  who  had  come  out  of 
 the  vessel  with  him,  disappeared  ....  They  who  remained 
 within,  finding  that  their  companions  did  not  return, 
 quitted  the  vessel  with  many  lamentations,  and  called 
 continually  on  the  name  of  Xisuthrus.  Him  they  saw 
 no  more ;  but  they  could  distinguish  his  voice  in  the  air, 
 and  could  hear  him  admonish  them  to  pay  due  regard  to 
 religion  ;  and  he  likewise  informed  them  that  it  was  upon 
 account  of  his  piety,  that  he  was  translated  to  live  with 
 the  gods ;  and  that  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  the  pilot  had 
 obtained  the  same  honour.  To  this  he  added,  that  they 
 should  return  to  Babylonia,  and,  as  it  was  ordained,  search 
 for  the  writings  at  Lippara,  which  they  were  to  make 
 known  to  all  mankind.  Moreover,  that  the  place  wherein 
 they  then  were,  was  the  land  of  Armenia."" 
 
 III.  Of  the  deluge,  the  traditions  of  Egypt,  so  far  as  they 
 are  known,  afford  no  details.  Manetho,  as  quoted  by  Syn- 
 cellus  and  Eusebius,  asserts  merely  that  he  drew  the  mate- 
 rials for  his  history  "  from  the  inscriptions  which  were 
 engraved  in  the  sacred  dialect  and  hierograj^hic  character,' 
 upon  the  columns  set  up  in  the  Seriadic  land  by  Thoth 
 
 ^  Vide  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  appellabant,  niagno  labore  excavati, 
 
 p.  26,  &c.  From  Georgiiis  Syncel-  veteribus  meraorati,  Ammiann  prse- 
 
 lus   and  Eusebius  ;    and  see  also  cipue,  qui  eorum  parietibus  Hiero- 
 
 Fabricius  Bib.  Grace,  vol.  xiv,  p.  glyphicas  literas  insculptas  fuisse 
 
 180  ;  from  Abydenus.  perhibet  ante  Diluvium,  a  viris  qui 
 
 '  Huetius,  of  tbe  Eg-yptian  An-  calamitatis  hujusprajsciipriscorum 
 
 tiquities:  "Mirabiles imprimis fuere  rituum  rationem  ad  posteritatis me- 
 
 subterrana3i  quidamsecessus,prope  moriara  hac  arte  commendarunt." 
 
 Thebas    iEgyptias,  quos  Syringes  — Demonst.  Evangel,  p.  57. 
 
192  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 the  first  Hermes  ;  and,  after  the  deluge  {jiera  tov  raraK-Xvo-juoj/), 
 translated  from  the  sacred  dialect  into  the  Greek  tongue, 
 in  hieroglyphic  characters,  and  committed  to  writing  in 
 books,  and  deposited  by  Agathodtemon,  the  son  of  the 
 second  Hermes,  the  father  of  Tat,  in  the  penetralia  of  the 
 temples  of  Egypt."  "^ 
 
 rv.  Among  the  Greeks,  we  find  the  history  of  the 
 Scythian  Deucalion,  "related  by  the  Greeks  after  their 
 manner,  and  it  runs  thus : — '  The  present  race  of  men 
 is  not  the  same  as  at  the  beginning :  those  of  the  first  race 
 all  perished:  mankind,  as  they  now  are,  are  a  new  and 
 second  race,  that  were  spread  abroad  again  by  Deucalion 
 in  these  vast  numbers.  Of  those  first  men  it  is  reported, 
 that  the;^  were  haughty,  Jlerce  people,  who  committed  heinous 
 iniquities ;  for  they  neither  kept  their  oath,  nor  exercised 
 hospitality,  nor  s^^ared  the  vanquished,  though  imploring 
 mercy.  For  all  tliis,  however,  a  horrible  calamity  came 
 over  them:  all  at  once  the  waters  burst  forth  from  all 
 parts  of  the  earth,  prodigious  showers  of  rain  poured  down 
 from  above,  the  rivers  swelled  and  overflowed,  the  sea  rose 
 far  above  its  shores;  in  short,  all  was  water,  and  all  mankind 
 were  drowned.  Deucalion  alone  was  preserved,  on  account 
 of  his  piety  and  good-nature,  for  the  propagation  of  a  new 
 race;  and  that  in  the  following  manner:  he  had  a  very 
 large  chest,  in  which  he  packed  his  wives  and  children, 
 and  when  they  were  all  in,  he  at  last  went  in  himself. 
 Just  as  he  was  entering,  there  came  running  to  him, 
 swine,  horses,  and  all  kinds  of  wild  beast  and  creeping 
 creatures ;  in  one  word,  every  animal  that  feeds  upon  the 
 earth,  pair-wise.  He  took  them  all  in,  and  Jupiter 
 instilled  into  them  such  peaceful  dispositions,  that  they  did 
 him  no  harm,  but  they  lived  together  in  the  most  peaceful 
 accord,  and  so  they  Avere  all  preserved  in  this  single  chest, 
 as  in  a  ship,  as  long  as  the  flood  lasted.'  This  the  Greeks 
 relate  touching  Deucalion.""' 
 
 *  Cory's     Ancient    Fragments,    translation.)     In  the  Tiinon,  how- 
 
 p.  168.  ever,  Lucian  follows  tbe  more  au- 
 
 ^  Lucian  de  Dea  Syra,  (Tnoke's     thentic  Greek  leg-end,  and  makes 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  193 
 
 We  have,  also,  the  same  catastrophe  somewhat  differently, 
 and  perhaps  more  authentically,  related  by  Ovid.  The 
 world  he  represents  "  as  confederate  in  crime,"  and  doomed, 
 therefore,  to  just  punishment.!  Jupiter  sends  down  rain 
 from  heaven;  and  rivers  and  seas,  gushing  forth  from  their 
 caves,  gather  over  the  earth's  surface, 
 
 "  And  nishing  onwards,  with  a  sweepy  sway, 
 Bear  flocks  and  folds,  and  lab'ring  hinds  away."  * 
 
 Mankind  perishes.  Deucalion  and  his  wife  alone,  borne  in 
 a  little  skiff,^  are  stranded  on  the  top  of  Parnassus.  By 
 degrees  the  waters  subside :  and  the  only  surviving  pair 
 ask  of  the  gods  how  they  may  again  people  the  desert 
 earth.  With  veiled  heads  they  are  ordered  to  throw 
 behind  them  the  bones  of  their  great  mother.  Half-doubt- 
 ing the  sense  of  the  oracle,  they  throw  behind  them  stones, 
 which  are  immediately  changed  into  men  and  women,  and 
 the  earth  spontaneously  produces  the  rest  of  the  animal 
 creation." 
 
 Deucalion   to  escape  in    a    little    mals),  and  land  on  Mount  Lycoris 
 skiff,  (consequently  without  the  ani-     — Parnassus. 
 
 1  "  Qua  terra  patet,  fera  regnat  Erynnys. 
 In  facinus  j  urasse  putes.  Dent  ocyus  omnes, 
 Quas  meruere  pati  (sic  stat  sententia)  poanas." 
 
 Ovid.  Met.  lib.  i.  2 10. 
 ^  Id.  ill.  2(35.  be  made  again.     Jupiter  bade  him 
 
 ^  Apollodorus,  Bib.  lib.  i,  p.  23,  to  throw  stones  over  his  head,  from 
 calls  the  skiff,  XapvaS,,  a  coffer,  which  men  should  come,  and  that 
 He  thus  narrates  the  myth : —  those  cast  by  Pyrrha  should  be 
 "  When  Jupiter  determined  to  de-  turned  into  women."  (From  Sharon 
 stroy  the  brazen  race,  Deucalion,  by  Turner's  Sacred  History,  vol.  ii.) 
 the  advice  of  Prometheus,  made  a  Near  this  legend  I  mustplacethatof 
 great  ark,  XapvaKct,  and  put  into  it  theTamanaiks: — "They  stated  that 
 all  necessary  things,  and  entered  it  in  tlie  great  deluge  a  man  and  wo- 
 with  Pyrrha.  Jupiter  then  pour-  man  saved  themselves  on  a  high 
 ing  down  heavy  rains  from  heaven,  mountain,  called  Pamanaca,  situ- 
 overwhelmed  the  greatest  part  of  ated  on  tlie  banks  of  the  Ariveru; 
 Greece,  so  that  all  men  perished,  and  casting  behind  them  over  their 
 except  a  few  who  fled  to  the  highest  heads  the  fiuit  of  the  Mauritia 
 mountains.  He  floated  nine  days  palm-tree,  they  saw  the  seeds  con- 
 and  nights  in  the  sea  of  waters,  tained  in  those  fi'uits  produce  men 
 and  at  last  stopped  on  Mount  Par-  and  women,  who  re-peopled  the 
 nassus.  Then  Jupiter  sent  Mer-  earth."  (From  Von  Humboldt's 
 cury  to  ask  him  what  he  wished.  Personal  IS  arrative,  vol.  iv,  p.  471. 
 and  he  solicited  tliatraankind  might         ■*  Ovid.  Met.  lib.  i,  ver.  384,  ^c. 
 
 2  C 
 
194  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 V.  Of  the  people  of  the  new  world,  and  i.  Of  the  Mexi- 
 cans : — 
 
 1st.  The  Tlascalans*  believed  that,  though  the  world 
 was  eternal,  it  had  twice  changed  its  form,  once  by  deluge, 
 and  by  tempest  once ;  they  asserted,  also,  that  those  who 
 had  been  preserved  had  been  changed  into  monkeys,  but 
 had  afterwards  recovered  their  form  and  reason. 
 
 2ndly.  The  Mexicans*'  preserved  traditions  of  a  deluge, 
 which  had  destroyed  all  animals,  with  the  exception  of  one 
 man  and  his  Avife,  who  escaped  in  a  boat.  The  man  was 
 called  Concox,  the  woman  Chichequetzel.  This  happy 
 pair  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  Culhuacan,  and 
 there  engendered  a  great  number  of  children,  who  were  all 
 born  dumb,  but  who  one  day  received  the  gift  of  speech 
 from  a  dove,  which  came  and  perched  itself  on  a  lofty  tree. 
 Not  understanding,  however,  one  another's  language,  they 
 determined  on  separating,  &c.     And, 
 
 Srdly.  The  Mechoacans '  narrated,  that  mankind,  having 
 forgotten  their  duties  and  their  origin,  had  been  punished 
 by  an  universal  deluge,  from  Avliich  the  priest  Tezpi,  and 
 
 ^  "  Le  monde  etoit  eternel  dans  tendant  pas  la  langage  de  I'autre, 
 
 leurs  idees ;  mais  ils  croyoient  sur  ils  pvirent  la  paitie  de  se  separer." 
 
 d'anciennes  traditions,  qu'il    avoit  — Id.  ib.  p.  341.     These  traditions 
 
 chanoe  deux  fois  de  forme,  I'une  are  corroborated  by  the   Mexican 
 
 par  un   deluge,  et  I'autre  par  la  pictures  examined  by   Humboldt, 
 
 force  du  vent  et  des  tempetes,"  &c.  See  Sharon  Turner's  Sacred  Histoiy. 
 
 — From    Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.  des         ^    "  lis    racontoient que  les 
 
 Voyages,  vol.  xviii,  p.  597,  ed.  Hoi.  hommes  etant  tombes  dans  I'oubli 
 
 ^  "  Les  anciennes  liistoires  des  de  leurs  devoirs  et  de  leur  origine, 
 
 Mexiquains    rapportent    (dit-on)  ils  avoient  ete  punis  par  une  de- 
 
 quelquescirconstances  d'un  deluge  luge  universel,  a  I'exception  d'un 
 
 qui  lit  perir  tous  les  hommes  et  les  pretre  Indien,  nomme   Tezpi,  qui 
 
 aiiimaux,  a  I'exception  d'un  homme  s'etoit  mis  avec  sa  femmc  et  scs  en- 
 
 et  d'une  femme,  qui  se  sauverent  fans  dans  un  grand  cofl're  de  bois, 
 
 dans    une    do  ces   barques   qu'on  ou  il  avoit  rassemble  aussi  quantite 
 
 mnnmc  Acalles L'homme  s'ap-  d'animaux    et     d'excellentes    se- 
 
 pelloit  Concox,  et  la  femme  Chi-  mences  ;   qu'apres   la  retraite  des 
 
 chequetzel.      Cet  heureux  couple  eaux  il  avoit  lache  un  oiseau  nom- 
 
 arriva  au  pied  de  la  montagne  du  me  Aura,  qui  n'etoit  pas  revenu, 
 
 Culhuacan II  y  mit  au  monde  et  successivement  plusieurs  autres 
 
 un  grand  nombre  d'enfans,  qui  na-     mais  que  le  plus  petit  avoit  re- 
 
 quirent  tous  muets,  et  qui  regurcnt  paru  bientot  avec  la  branche  d'un 
 
 un  jour  la  faculte  de  parler,  d'une  arbre  dans  son  bee." — Histoire  Ge- 
 
 C()loml)c  (|ui  vint  se  ])('rclier  sur  un  nerale  desVoyages,  vol.xviii,p.590. 
 arl)rc  fori  haul.     ]\iais  I'un   u'cu- 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  195 
 
 his  wife  and  children,  had  been  alone  preserved.  Tezpi 
 shut  himself  up  in  a  great  chest  of  wood,  into  which  he 
 also  put  all  sorts  of  animals  and  useful  seeds ;  and  they 
 said  that,  after  the  waters  had  subsided,  he  sent  out  a  bird 
 called  Aura,  which  did  not  return  to  him,  and  afterwards 
 several  others  ;  but  that  the  smallest  at  length  reappeared 
 with  the  branch  of  a  tree  in  his  beak. 
 
 II.  Among  the  Peruvians,  we  find  that  it  is  believed, 
 "  that  on  a  time  it  rained  so  exceedingly  that  it  drowned 
 all  the  lower  countries,  and  all  men,  save  a  few,  which  got 
 into  caves  upon  high  hills,  where  they  shut  up  themselves 
 close,  that  no  rain  could  get  in:  there  they  had  stored 
 much  provision  and  living  creatures.  And  when  they 
 perceived  that  it  had  done  raining,  they  sent  forth  two 
 dogges,  but  they  returning  all  myrie  and  foule,  they  knew 
 that  the  waters  had  not  yet  ceased :  after  that  they  sent 
 forth  more  dogges,  wliich  came  back  again  dry.  Then 
 did  they  goe  forth  to  people  the  earth,  but  were  mightily 
 afflicted  with  multitudes  of  great  serpents,  which  had 
 sprung  up  out  of  those  mirie  reliques  of  the  flood ;  but  at 
 last  they  killed  them."« 
 
 III.  Among  the  North  American  Indians,  "  quite  gene- 
 rally, there  is  a  tradition  of  the  deluge,  dimly  discoverable 
 under  some  form,  though  curiously  connected  with  ideas 
 which  have  no  relation  to  the  truth.  The  ancient  five 
 nations  supposed  (according  to  Charlevoix)  that  there  Avere 
 three  generations  of  a  certain  family  on  the  earth  before 
 the  flood  ;  that,  when  this  came,  they  were  all  destroyed ; 
 and  that,  to  re-people  the  earth  afterwards,  beasts  were 
 changed  into  men." 
 
 "  The  traveller  Henry  gathered  a  different  account 
 among  some  of  the  Lake  tribes.  '  A  person  of  great  cha- 
 racter,' say  they,  '  the  father  of  all  the  Indian  nations, 
 lived  originally  towards  the  setting  sun,  where,  being- 
 warned  in  a  dream  that  a  flood  was  coming,  he  built  a 
 raft,  on  which  he  afterwards  preserved  his  own  family,  and 
 
 *  Vide  Purchas  his  Pilgrimage,  book  ix,  c.  ix,  p.  723,  729 ;  and  see 
 Deluge  of  Nicaruaga,  ib.  p.  68(5. 
 
196  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 the  whole  of  the  animal  world.  His  raft  drifted  about 
 many  months  during  the  deluge,  till  he  began  at  length  to 
 despair ;  and  even  the  animals  he  had  saved,  having  the 
 gift  of  speech,  murmured  loudly  against  him.  Finally, 
 a  new  earth  was  made,  and  man  and  the  animals  placed 
 upon  it.  The  use  of  speech  was  afterwards  taken  from 
 the  latter,  on  account  of  a  conspiracy  which  they  entered 
 into  against  man,  the  bear  being  the  ringleader  of  the 
 plot."  9 
 
 VI.  In  China  we  find,  in  the  earliest  sacred  books,  fre- 
 quent, though  not  very  precise,  mention  of  a  deluge.  The 
 waters  are  represented  as  covering  the  liills  on  every  side, 
 and  overtopping  the  mountains,  and  reaching  even  to  hea- 
 ven, and  the  people  as  struck  with  terror,  and  perishing.^ 
 
 And  VII.  The  orthodox,  among  the  ancient  Persians, 
 according  to  Hyde,  speak  of  a  universal  deluge,  sent  upon 
 the  earth  to  punish  the  wickedness  of  man.^ 
 
 These  various  legends,  at  a  first  glance,  seem  strongly  to 
 confirm  the  Jewish. 
 
 I.  Because  they  are  all  founded  on  the  same  great  event, 
 — the  almost  total  destruction  of  the  human  race  by  a 
 deluge. 
 
 II.  Because  their  details  aU,  more  or  less,  accord  with 
 those  of  this  great  catastrophe,  as  preserved  in  the  Jewish 
 books. 
 
 Thus,  1st.  The  Hindu,  Scytho-Greek,  Greek,  Mechoa- 
 can,  and  Persian  legends,  attribute  each  one  its  deluge  to 
 the  corruption  and  wickedness  of  mankind. 
 
 2ndly.  In  the  Hindu,  Chaldaic,  Greek,  ^  and  Lake-tribe 
 
 "  Vide  Thatcher,  Indian  Traits,  *  "  Veterum  Persarum  orthodoxi 
 
 vol.  ii,  c.  viii,  p.  148-9.  credunt    diluvium,     idque     fuisse 
 
 '  "  Le  texte  du  Cliou-king  sur  universale  et  totam  terram  occu- 
 
 le  delup^e  :    L'Empereur  Yao   dit,     passe Ex  Zornastris  autem 
 
 Helas  de  I'univers!  des  eaux  im-  sententia  aiunt  quod  non   fuisset 
 
 menses  sont  r<5panducs  !  O  qu'elles  diluvium,  nisi  propter  iniquitatem 
 
 sont  ^levees!    elles   entourent  les  et  diabolica  prajstisjia   nequissimi 
 
 collines,  suipassent  les  montagnes,  hominis,Malcus,(intelliguntCain)" 
 
 elles  montcnt  jusqu'au  ciel." — Me-  &c.  &c. — Hyde  de  Rel.  "Vet.  Pers. 
 
 moires  des  Chinois,  vol.  i,  p.  319;  c.  x,  p.  171. 
 
 and  compare  Des  C  uigncs'  transla-  ^  Vide  note ''  to  p.  193,  from  Apol- 
 
 tion  of  Chou-king,  p.  8,  9.  lodorus. 
 
CHAPTER  vr.  197 
 
 legends,  the  persons  saved  from  the  deluge,  are  so  saved,  in 
 consequence  of  some  divine  warning. 
 
 3rdly.  In  the  Hindu,  Chaldaic,  Scytho-Greek,  Greek, 
 Mexican,  Mechoagan,  and  Lake-tribe  legends,  the  means 
 of  safety  or  preservation  are  an  ark,  skiff,  or  raft. 
 
 4thly.  Among  the  Hindus,  Chaldees,  Scytho- Greeks, 
 Greeks,  Mexicans,  Mechoagans,  and  Lake  Tribes,  the 
 number  of  persons  saved  is  small,  and  generally  confined 
 to  a  single  family. 
 
 5thly.  Besides  certain  indi\aduals  saved  from  the  deluge, 
 Hindus,  Chaldees,  Scytho-Greeks,  Mechoacans,  Pemvians, 
 and  the  Lake  Tribes,  make  mention  of  all  sorts  of  animals, 
 as  saved  with  them. 
 
 6thly.  After  the  deluge  had  been  some  time  upon  the 
 earth,  the  Chaldees  and  the  Mechoacans,  like  the  Jews, 
 describe  the  persons  in  the  ark  as,  from  time  to  time, 
 sending  forth  birds  ;  and  the  Peruvians,  hid  in  the  cave, 
 as  sending  out  dogs,  to  ascertain  whether  the  land  was  yet 
 dry. 
 
 7thly.  The  Chaldees  and  Greeks  represent  the  individuals 
 preserved  as  offering  sacrifice  immediately  on  their  quitting 
 the  ark. 
 
 8thly.  All,  with  the  exception  of  the  Greek  and  two''  of 
 the  American  legends,  represent  the  present  race  of  men 
 as  the  descendants  of  those  persons  who  were  saved  from 
 the  deluge. 
 
 And  9thly.  The  Chaldaic  and  several  of  the  American 
 legends,  accord  with  the  Jewish  in  connecting  with  the  de- 
 luge the  variety  of  languages  found  among  man. 
 
 If,  however,  we  now  enter  into  a  critical  examination 
 of  these  several  traditions,  we  will  begin  by  at  once  ex- 
 cluding, 
 
 1st.  The  Persian  deluge.     And  this. 
 
 First,  because  it  rests  on  no  sufficient  authority  :  *  for  it 
 
 *  The  Tatnanaiks  (vide  note  as  this  instance  only,  hut  throughout 
 ahove,  from  Humboldt)  and  the  his  work — of  which  Mosheim  says  : 
 FiveNations.    Vide  Legend,  p.  195.  "  Liher  pereruditus,  at  indigestus 
 
 *  The  authorities  quoted  by  Hyde  et  conjecturis  parum  probabilibus 
 are  Mahommedan  writers — not  in  passim  refertus." 
 
198 
 
 CIIAPTEll    VI. 
 
 is  no  where  mentioned,  or  even  hinted  at,  in  the  Zenda- 
 vesta.     And, 
 
 Secondly,  because  it  is  an  event  which  not  only  does  not 
 accord  with,  but  actually  stands  in  direct  contradiction  to, 
 the  whole  scheme  of  creation  as  expounded  by  Zoroaster.® 
 
 And  2ndly.  The  Chinese  deluge.  And  this,  because  it  is 
 clearly  not  a  universal  deluge,  I  ut  merely  an  accidental  flood. 
 For  Chun,  the  successor  of  Yao,  speaks  of  it  as  of  an  inun- 
 dation, which  he  had  himself  witnessed,  and,  to  avert  the 
 evils  of  which,  he  and  his  nobles  had  laboured;^  by  supply- 
 ing the  people  with  boats,  and  garnering  up  grain  and  other 
 provisions  for  them ;  and,  afterwards,  by  cutting  canals 
 and  channels,  for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  land.* 
 
 Among  the  remaining  deluges,  we  will  also  observe, 
 
 1st.  That  the  Egyptian,  of  which  we  have  no  details,  and  the 
 Chaldean, y\^y^Q.^  independently  of  its  details  (if  we  may  form 
 a  judgment  of  the  one,  from  the  testimony  of  either  Plato 
 or  Censorinus/  and,  of  the  other,  from  that  of  Seneca,')  are 
 
 ^Videp.  113, 114,  supra.  Sharon 
 Turner,  however,  finds  a  deluge  iu 
 the  Boun-Dehesch.  But  this  de- 
 luge, if  it  be  a  deluge,  has  for  its 
 object  the  regeneration  or  renova- 
 tion of  our  earth,  infested  with 
 Kharfesters,  and  burnt  up  with  the 
 fires  of  Ahriman :  it,  besides,  pre- 
 cedes the  creation  of  man. 
 
 '  "  Ensuite  il  ajouta,  Venez,  Yu. 
 Quand  nous  eiimes  tant  a  craindre 
 de  la  grande  inondation,  vous  tra- 
 vaillates  avec  ardeur  et  avec  droit- 
 ure." — Des  Guignes'  translation  of 
 Chou-king,  part  i,  c.  iii,  p.  26. 
 
 *  "  Yu  continua  ainsi :  Quand 
 la  grande  inondation   s'eleva  jus- 
 
 qu'au  ciel alors  j'eniployai  les 
 
 quatre  Tsai  (barques  pour  les  ri- 
 vieres, voitures  pour  les  montagnes, 
 &c.)  Je  suivis  les  montagnes,  et 
 je  coupai  les  bois.  Avec  Y  je  fis 
 des  provisions  de  grains  et  de  chair 
 d'animaux  pour  faire  subsistcr  les 
 peuples.  Dans  les  neuf  parties  du 
 raonde,  je  menageai  des  lits  pour 
 les  rivieres,  ct  je  les  (is  couler  vers 
 
 les  quatre  mers.  Au  milieu  des 
 campagnes  je  creusai  des  canaux, 
 pour  communiquer  avec  les  rivi- 
 eres," &c. — i^art  i,  chap,  v,  p.  35. 
 
 -"  Plato,  in  the  Timaius,  says  that 
 the  Egyptian  philosophers  informed 
 Solon  that  the  world  had  suffered 
 often  by  water  and  by  fire  :  ■noWai 
 (pOopai-  -Tivpt  jxtv  t]  vVari  fiiyicTTai, 
 
 moreover,  "certis  temporum 
 
 curriculis  illuvies  immissa  caelitus 
 omnia  populatur;  multaque  et  va- 
 ria  hominum  fuere  exitia ;  ideo  qui 
 succedunt  et  litteris  et  musis  or- 
 bati  sunt."  And  vide  Censorinus 
 "  Of  the  Great  Year,"  in  Cory's 
 Fragments,  p.  323. 
 
 1  "  Berossus,  qui  Belum  inter- 
 pretatus  est,  ait  cursu  ista  siderum 
 fieri :  et  adeo  quidem  id  aflirmat, 
 ut  conflagrationi  atque  diluvio  tem- 
 pus  assignet ;  arsura  enim  terrena 
 contendit,  quando  omnia  sidera, 
 qua;  nunc  diversos  agunt  cursus, 
 in  Cancrum  convenerint,  sic  sub 
 eodem  posita  vestigio,  ut  recta  linea 
 exire    per  orbes   omnium    possit : 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  199 
 
 each  but  links  in  a  series  of  periodical  occurrences,  which, 
 as  they  are  wholly  determined  by  astronomical  })henomena, 
 may  probably  rest,  not  on  any  living  and  jDopular  tradition, 
 but  on  the  consequential  reasonings  of  astrological  priests  ;* 
 in  a  word,  these  deluges  may  be,  not  events  remembered 
 however  darkly,  but  events  imagined  to  suit  particular 
 theories. 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  Hindu  deluge,  with  which  perhaps 
 the  Egyptian  and  Chaldean  may  be  connected,  avowedly 
 expresses  but  one  of  those  deaths  and  births  to  which, 
 according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Brahmins,  our  world  like 
 ourselves  has  been,  and  ever  will  be,  subject,^ — until  time  is 
 no  more,  and  all  individual  and  special  existence  is  lost 
 in  the  universality  of  the  great  Brahme. 
 
 Of  the  legends  connected  with  these  several  deluges,  we 
 regard  with  suspicion, — 
 
 I.  The  Greek.  For  it  seems  to  have  been  unknown  to 
 both  Homer  and  Hesiod.  And  Herodotus,  Thucydides  and 
 Xenophon,''  while  they  place  Deucalion  among  the  first 
 kings  of  the  Hellenes,  are  silent  on  that  great  catastrophe 
 with  which  his  name  is  so  intimately  connected.  In  the 
 odes  of  Pindar^  we  first  hear  of  the  Deucalion  deluge,  but 
 
 it  is  confined  to,  and  localized  in,  Greece.  Plato®  next 
 speaks  of  it,  and  speaks  of  it  as  universal,  but  speaks 
 of  deluges  generally,  as  of  periodical  accidents  by  which 
 the  priests  of  Egypt  accounted  for  man's  unsteady  pro- 
 gress, and  even  regress,  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  Aristotle 
 knows  of  a  local  inundation  near  Dodona  merely.  With 
 Apollodorus'  (and  the  scene  is  still  confined  to  Greece) 
 
 inondationem  futuram,  cum  eadem  Dubois,  Mceurs  des  Indes,  vol.  ii, 
 
 siderum  turba  in  Capiicornum  con-  p.  99. 
 
 venerit.     Illic  solstitium,  hie  luna  ■•  Herod,   lib.  i,  §  56;   Thucyd. 
 
 conficitur." — Seneca,  Nat.  Quaest.  lib.  i.  §  3. 
 
 iii,  29 ;  Cory,  322.  '  Pindar,  Od.  Olym.  i 
 
 ^  Are   not  the   several   opinions  of  Deucalion  as  landino^  on  Par- 
 
 with  regard  to  the  Egyptian  de-  nassus,  and  re-creating  his  people 
 
 luge,  mentioned  by  Diodorus,  lib.  with  stones,  &c. 
 
 i,  c.  X,  confirmatory  of  this  view  of  ®  Plato,  beginning  of  the  third 
 
 the  case  ?  book  De   Legibus ;   Timseus,  and 
 
 ^  Vide   Wilford,   in  Asiatic  Re-  Critias.    Vide  note  ^  p.  198,  supra. 
 
 searches,     vol.    v,    p.    244  :     and  '^  Ajwllod.  Biblio.  i.  23;  and  vide 
 
200 
 
 CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 the  legend  first  begins  to  acquire  shape  and  consistency, — 
 he  mentions  the  ark  Xapvam.  After  a  lapse  of  more  than 
 two  centuries,  in  Plutarch'  we  meet  with  the  doves.  A 
 few  more  years,  and  Lucian  knows  of  the  ark,  and  of  the 
 animals  running  to  it  pair-wise :  in  him  the  legend  wears 
 an  Asiatic  dress.  In  general,^  then,  we  find  that  the  more 
 modern  the  author,  the  more  nearly  the  details  of  this 
 deluge  correspond  with  those  of  the  Mosaical;  and  we 
 conclude,  therefore,  that  the  legend  which  narrates  it, 
 whether  as  told  by  Lucian^  or  by  Ovid,  because  it  is  most 
 probably  not  of  Grecian  origin,  though,  from  local  circum- 
 stances it  has  been  attached  to  the  name  of  Deucalion,  adds 
 little  or  no  weight  to  the  Mosaical  testimony  in  favour  of 
 a  universal  deluge. 
 
 II.  The  Chaldaic.  For  it  so  agrees  with  the  Jewish 
 tradition,  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  they  both  have  a 
 common  origin,  or  that  one  is  borrowed  from  the  other ; 
 for  both^  traditions  are  particular  in  dates :    in  both  the 
 
 note^,  p.  193,  supra.  But  we  must 
 remember  that  lie  was  acquainted 
 with  the  hooks  of  Berossus. 
 
 *  Incidentally  merely — in  treat- 
 ing on  the  instincts  of  animals. 
 
 ®  Compare,  for  the  whole  of  this, 
 Cttvier,  Revolutions  du  Globe,  p. 
 
 ^  The  Jewish  legend  compared  with  the  Chaldaic 
 
 157,  &c.  with  Sharon  Turner,  Sa- 
 cred History,  vol.  ii. 
 
 1  Pindar  lived  in  the  fifth  cen- 
 tury B.  c. ;  Apollodorus,  about  a 
 century  B.C.  Plutarch  died  a.d. 
 140;  Luciau,  A.D.  180. 
 
 "  In  the  second  month,  the  se- 
 venteenth day  of  the  month,  the 
 same  day  were  all  the  fountains," 
 &c. 
 
 "  And  God  said  unto  Noah,  The 
 end  of  all  flesh  is  come  before  me." 
 
 "Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher 
 wood  :  the  length  of  the  ark  shall 
 be  three  hundred  cubits,  the  breadth 
 of  it  five  cubits,"  &c. 
 
 "  And  thou  shalt  come  into  the 
 ark,  thou,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy 
 wife,  and  thy  sons'  wives  with  thee ; 
 and  of  every  living  thing  of  all 
 flesh  two  of  every  sort  shalt  thou 
 bring  into  the  ark ;  and  take  unto 
 thee  of  all  food  that  is  eaten,"  &c. 
 "  After 
 
 "  Upon  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
 month  Dajsius,  there  would  be  a 
 flood." 
 
 "  The  deity  Chronus  appeared  to 
 Xisuthrus  in  a  vision,  and  warned 
 him,"  &c.  "  by  which  mankind 
 would  he  destroyed." 
 
 "  He  therefore  enjoined  him  to... 
 
 build  a  vessel And  he  built 
 
 a  vessel  five  stadia  in  length,  and 
 two  in  breadth." 
 
 "  And  enjoined  him  to  take  with 
 him  into  it  his  friends  and  relations, 
 and  to  convey  on  hoard  every  thing 
 necessary  to  sustain  life,  together 
 with  all  "the  different  animals,  both 
 birds  and  quadrupeds." 
 
 "  After 
 
CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 201 
 
 Deity  appears  to  his  favoured  servant,  and  warns  him  of 
 the  approaching  deluge,  and  bids  him  build  a  vessel  of 
 a  certain  size,  and  to  take  with  him  into  it  his  family 
 and  a  sufficiency  of  food,  and  animals  of  all  sorts,  &c.  In 
 both  too,  after  the  flood  has  abated,  they  in  the  ark  or 
 ship  three  times  send  forth  birds  to  ascertain  whether  the 
 earth  is  yet  dry,  which  birds  tvnce  return,  because  they  find 
 no  food,  nor  any  place  where  they  may  rest  their  feet:  after 
 the  third  trial,  however,  the  inmates  of  the  ark,  in  both 
 legends,  remove  the  covering  and  look  out,  and  the  earth 
 appears  now  above  the  surface  of  the  waters,  and  they 
 therefore  quit  the  ark,  and  in  both  cases  build  altars  and 
 offer  sacrifice  to  God. 
 
 Aware  then  that  the  Jews  and  Chaldees  were,  at 
 several  periods  of  their  history,  in  intimate  relation  with 
 each  other,  we  cannot  but  inquire,  as  the  legends  are 
 so  circmustantiaUy  alike,  with  which  of  the  two  nations 
 the  legend  is  original  ? 
 
 In  favoiu"  of  a  Chaldaic  origin  we  may  observe : 
 
 1st.  That  the  Chaldeans  were  a  nation  while  the  fathers 
 
 Jewish  : — 
 
 "  After  the  waters  returned  from 
 off  the  earth,  Noah  sent  forth  a 
 raven,  which  went  forth  to  and  fro. 
 Also  he  sent  forth  a  dove  from  him, 
 to  see  if  the  waters  were  abated  from 
 off  the  face  of  the  earth.  But  the 
 dove  found  no  rest  for  the  sole  of 
 her  foot,  and  she  returned  unto  him 
 into  the  ark.  And  he  stayed  yet 
 other  seven  days,  and  agaiuhe  sent 
 forth  the  dove  out  of  the  ark  ;  and 
 the  dove  came  to  him  in  the  even- 
 ing; and  lo,  in  her  mouth  was  an 
 olive  leaf,"  &c. 
 
 "  And  Noah  removed  the  cover- 
 ing of  the  ark;  and  hehold,  the 
 face  of  the  ground  was  dry." 
 
 "  And  Noah  went  forth,  and  his 
 sons,  and  his  wife,"  &c.  "And 
 Noah  builded  an  altar  unto  the 
 Lord,  and  took  of  every  clean  beast, 
 and  of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered 
 burnt  offerings  upon  the  altar." 
 
 Chaldaic  -. — 
 "  After  the  flood  had  been  upon 
 the  earth,  and  was  in  time  abated, 
 Xisuthrus  sent  out  birds  from  the 
 vessel ;  which,  not  finding  anv  food, 
 nor  any  place  whereupon  they 
 might  rest  their  feet,  returned  to 
 him  again.  After  an  interval  of 
 some  days,  he  sent  them  forth  a 
 second  time,  and  they  now  returned 
 with  their  feet  tinged  with  mud. 
 He  made  trial  a  third  time  with 
 these  birds,  and  they  returned  to 
 him  no  more. 
 
 "  He  therefore  made  an  opening 
 in  the  vessel ;  and  upon  looking 
 out,  found  that  it  was  stranded 
 upon  the  side  of  a  mountain." 
 
 "  Upon  which  he  immediately 
 quitted  the  vessel,  with  his  wife,  his 
 daughter,  and  the  pilot.  Xisuthrus 
 then. ..having  constructed  an  altar, 
 offered  sacrifices  to  the  Gods,"  &c. 
 
 2  D 
 
202  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 of  the  Jewish  people  were  yet  unborn ;  and  that  as  out  of 
 Chaldea  came  the  first  great  ancestor  of  the  Jews,  so  out  of 
 Chaldea  Abraham  probably  brought  with  him  all  legends 
 connected  with  events  antecedent  to  his  own  time. 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  relations  in  which  the  Chaldees  stood 
 to  the  Jews,  were  always  those  of  superior  to  inferior — 
 relations  not  in  general  favourable  to  a  borrowing  or  imi- 
 tative spirit; — and  this  the  Jews  seem  to  have  felt;  for 
 Josephus,3  while  he  endeavours  to  show  the  reasonableness 
 of  the  traditions  of  his  people  by  appealing  to  those  of  the 
 Chaldeans,  never  once  hints  that  these  last  may  have  been 
 borrowed  from  the  Jewish  records. 
 
 And  3rdly.  That,  in  general,  the  Jews  seem  to  have  been 
 at  no  time  disinclined  to  seize  upon  and  appropriate^  the 
 customs  and  views  of  other  nations ;  as  may  be  seen  from 
 their  laws,*  many  of  which  evince  an  Egyptian  origin; 
 from  their  later  prophecies,6  which  bear  the  decided  im- 
 press of  the  Persian  mind ;  and  lastly,  from  the  literature 
 of  the  Hellenistic  Jews,'  which  everywhere  betrays  a  desire 
 to  adapt  the  sense  of  Scripture  to,  and  expound  it  by,  the 
 the  writings  of  Plato  and  other  Greek  philosophers. 
 
 In  favour  of  a  Jewish  origin,  we  may  adduce : 
 
 1st.  The  comparatively  modern  age  of  Berossus,  who  is 
 supposed  to  have  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Alexander  the 
 Great,  in  whose  time  the  Hebrews  began  to  be  known  to, 
 and  already  to  excite  the  attention  of,  the  then  civilized 
 world. 
 
 And  2ndly.  The  fact  that  Berossus  himself,  in  his  account 
 
 ^  Josephus  contra  Apion,  i,  19;  tions  in  science  and  tlieir  discoveries 
 
 Arch.  i.  6.  in  the  arts.    Vide  Josephus,  Antiq. 
 
 *  As  an  instance  of  this  appro-  lib.  i,  c.  ii ;  and  compare  legend  ii 
 
 priating  spirit,  and  one  applicable  from  Berossus,  iii  from  Manetho. 
 to  the  subject  before  us,  we  may         *  Vide  Marsham,  Canon  Chron, 
 
 remark,  that  in  his  account  of  the  passim;  Spenser,  De  Legibus  Hebr. 
 
 deluge    Josephus  himself  borrows  ditto ;  and  comp.  Witsius  iEgypt- 
 
 either  from  the  Clialdcan  or  Egypt-  iaca. 
 
 ian  legend,  when  he  states  that  the         *  Vide  Gesenius,  Commentar.  lib. 
 
 children  of  Seth,  in  anticipation  of  d.  Jesaia,    iiber  Kap.  13,  14,  21, 
 
 the  deluge,  raised  two  pillars,  one  24-27,  34-35,  and  40-66. 
 of  brick,  the  other  of  stone,  on  which        ''Vide    Philo's    Lehrbegriff   by 
 
 they  engraved,  in  order  that  they  Stahl  in  Eichhorn.  Bib.  der  Bib. 
 
 might  preserve  them,  their  acquisi-  Lit.  vol.  iv. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  203 
 
 of  the  tower  of  Babel,  evinces  a  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew 
 language,  and  of  the  early  HebreAV  traditions. » 
 
 In  comparing  the  arguments  severally  adduced  in  favour 
 of  a  Chaldaic  or  a  Jewish  origin  for  this  legend,  we  must 
 observe  that  the  claims  of  the  Chaldees  are  supported  by 
 conjectural  reasons  only,  which  even  allowing  them  the 
 full  force  of  positive  evidence,  will  but  prove  that  a  uni- 
 versal deluge  was  a  Chaldaic  tradition ;  while  those  of  the 
 Jeios,  limited  to  the  legend  in  its  actual  shape,  rest  on  the 
 Chaldaic  historian's  avowed  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  tra- 
 ditions, which  he  was  thus  enabled  to  borrow,  and  adapt  to 
 the  heroes  of  his  own  nation.  We  regard  therefore  the 
 legend,  in  its  details,  as  a  Hebrew,  and  not  a  Chaldaic 
 legend  ;  and  the  hare  fact,  the  mere  deluge,  as  a  fact  most 
 probably  traditionally  preserved  by  both  people,  who,  as 
 they  have  a  common  origin,  repeat  the  same  tiling  on  the 
 same  authority,  and  do  not  therefore  add  any  weight  to 
 each  other's  evidence. 
 
 ni.  We  regard  with  suspicion  the  legends  of  the  New 
 World. 
 
 1st.  Because,  even  among  tribes  of  the  same  nation, 
 they  very  much  differ  one  from  the  other. 
 
 2ndly.  Because  some  of  the  legends,  as  the  Mexican, 
 and  the  Mechoacan  especially,  too  nearly  resemble  the 
 Hebrew ;  in  fact,  more  nearly  resemble  it  than  does  any 
 other  similar  legend  of  the  Old  World,  the  Chaldean  ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 3rdly.  Because,  though  these  people  retain  this  precise 
 and  accurate  remembrance  of  so  distant  an  event  as  the 
 deluge,  they  have  lost  all  memory  of  other  and  compara- 
 tively modern  events,  fully  as  interesting  to  themselves ; — 
 thus,  they  are  wholly  ignorant  of  their  own  original,*  &c. 
 
 *  O  ^£  TOTTOQ  tv  <,J  TTvpyov  oj/copo-  tbcv  tlkit  tlic  boot  of  Gciiesis  con- 
 fii]<Tav  vvv  Ba(3v\(iiv  KaKnTtn,  cia  tains  a  true  narrative  of  the  deluge, 
 rrjv  (Tvyxvaiv  tov  Trtpi  ri]v  CluXek-  we  then  suppose  that  rude  and  un- 
 Tov  TTpwroc  tvaypovQ-  Ej3paioi  yap  civilized  trilies  have  retained  a 
 Ti]v  (Tvyxvcnv  Ba/3fX  KaXovai. —  more  distinct  knowledge  of  long- 
 Berossus, Cory,  Ancieut Fragments,  past  events,  than  the  most  enlight- 
 p.  35.  ened  people  of  the  Old  Continents. 
 
 *  Taking  it  for  granted  that  the  '  Robertson's  America,  vol.  i, 
 Hebrew  is  the  true  legen'3,  or  ra-  book  iv,  p.  259. 
 
204  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 And  4thly.  Because,  without  at  all  impugning  the  good 
 faith  and  honesty  of  the  first  historians  of,  and  travellers 
 in,  the  New  World,  we  have  some  doubts  of  the  accuracy 
 of  their  testimony,  when  they  sj^eak  of  its  religion  and 
 traditions.'^  For,  with  their  imperfect  knowledge  of  its 
 languages,  they  necessarily  misapprehended  much  that 
 they  heard ;  and  being  fervid  religionists,  they  eagerly 
 caught  at  any  terms  wliich  reminded  them  of  the  legends 
 of  their  own  creed ;  and  by  their  questions,  each  one  of 
 which  was  no  doubt  a  suggestion,  they  probably  induced 
 these  simple-minded  i:»eople  to  give  such  a  form  and  colour 
 to  the  traditions  3  they  repeated,  as  might  please  and  flatter 
 the  vanity  of  their  all-powerful  catechists. 
 
 IV.  In  addition,  we  may  remark  generally,  that  in  all 
 these  legends,  the  Jewish*  excepted,  the  deluge  is  closely 
 connected  with  the  country  in  which  each  legend  obtains. 
 We  may  therefore  be  permitted  to  ask,  whether  they  all 
 refer  to  the  same  event ;  or  whether  they  may  not  rather 
 be  traditions  of  different  local  inundations,  each  one  of 
 which  was  magnified  into  an  universal  deluge  by  the  infant 
 
 ^  De  Pauw,  Recherches  Phil,  sur  waters." — Researches,  vol.  ii,  p.  23. 
 les  Americains,  vol.  i,  part  iii,  §  i,  "  Another  painting  represents  Cox- 
 p.  269 ;  and  Robertson's  America,  cox  in  the  midst  of  the  water,  lying- 
 book  iv,  §  vii,  p.  367.  in  a  bark.  The  mountain,  the  sum- 
 
 ^  That  the  people   of    America  mit  of  which,  crowned  by   a   tree, 
 
 should  have  some  remembrance  of  rises  above  the  waters,  is  the  peak 
 
 a  deluge  or  deluges  was  natural     ofColhuacan At  the  foot  of  the 
 
 from  the  nature  of  their  country  mountain  appear  the  heads  of  Cox- 
 (vide  De  Pauw,  Recherches  sur  les  cox  and  his  wife.  The  latter  of 
 Americains ;  Purchas,  Pilgrimage,  them  is  known  by  the  two  tresses  in 
 Of  the  Tinitiras,  on  the  Orenoque,  the  form  of  horns,  which  denote 
 p.  699  ;  also  Condamine ;  and  the  female  sex." — Researches,  vol. 
 Lettres  Edifiantes,  quoted  in  Ro-  ii,  p.  64.  From  these  simple  draw- 
 bertson's  America,  book  iv,  p.  252,  ings  to  the  legend  of  the  Mechoa- 
 note),  and  the  Mexican  drawings  cans  there  is  a  long  interval, 
 adduced  by  Sharon  Turner  from  ■•  This  exception  is  easily  ac- 
 Humboldt,  evince  no  more  than  a  counted  for.  The  Jews,  as  a  no- 
 general  tradition  of  some  greater  madicpeople,  were  attached  to  their 
 deluge  than  ordinary :  "The  draw-  ancestors,  not  to  a  country;  and 
 ing  of  the  deluge  represents  the  while,  therefore,  they  care  little 
 goddess  of  water  descending  to-  about  the  country  on  which  the  ark 
 wards  the  earth ;  Coxeox,  the  Noah  rests,  they  insist  strongly  on  their 
 of  Mexico,  and  his  wife,  are  seated  descent  from  the  favoured  son  of 
 on  the  branch  of  a  tree  covered  him  who  was  saved  in  that  ark. 
 with  leaves,  and  lloatin-i'  amid  the 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  205 
 
 people  whose  world,  probably  bounded  by  the  nearest 
 mountains,  it  laid  waste  and  whose  ancestors  it  destroyed : 
 and  whether  these  people,  finding  traditions  of  some  similar 
 event  among  the  different  nations  with  which  they  after- 
 wards came  in  contact,  did  not  borrow  one  from  the  other 
 the  several  details  which  give  to  all  these  legends  the 
 same  family  character? 
 
 Having  thus  examined  the  different  traditions  of  different 
 people  with  regard  to  a  deluge,  and  also  stated  some  ob- 
 jections which  may  be  made  against  their  authenticity, 
 originality,  &c.,  we  shall  conclude  by  observing,  that  while 
 we  concede  that  these  traditions  are  both  numerous  enough, 
 and  similar  enough,  to  justify  the  believer  in  the  inspi- 
 ration of  Moses  in  adducing  them  as  evidence  corrobora- 
 tory of  the  truth  of  Moses'  history : — we  must  also  avow 
 that,  in  our  eyes,  they  are  neither  in  their  meaning  suffici- 
 ently precise,  nor  as  testimony  sufficiently  independent 
 one  of  the  other,  to  command  our  acceptance  of  the  facts 
 they  preserve  ; — they  seem  to  us,  in  a  word,  to  form  rather 
 an  excuse,  than  a  ground,  for  belief  in  a  universal  deluge. 
 
 ChajJter  viii.  verses  1-3.  To  this  incident  of  the  dove, 
 I  see  two  objections : 
 
 1st.  I  do  not  comprehend  why  she  should  so  willingly 
 do  Noah's  bidding.  In  very  truth,  she  could  have  been  no 
 common  dove.  Like  the  birds  and  beasts  that  grace  our 
 fairy  tales,  she  is  not  subject  to  the  vulgar  laws  of  a  merely 
 animal  nature ;  she  is  endowed  with  higher  instincts,  and 
 is  fitted  to  do  man  service  ;  she  has  human  thoughts,  and 
 is  gifted  with  a  human  soul ; — or  surely,  raven-like,  she 
 would  hover  round  the  ark,  which  is  her  home,  and  which 
 holds  her  mate,  and  her  nest,  and  her  young ;  or,  if  she 
 had  indeed  flown  away  into  the  wide  and  desert  world  to 
 find  some  spot  whereon  she  might  rest  the  sole  of  her  foot, 
 having  found  that  spot,  either  she  would  never  have  re- 
 turned to  her  former  prison,  or  she  would  return  to  it 
 bearing  with  her  mud  on  her  feet  or  on  her  wings,  as  the 
 doves  of  the  Babylonian,  or  the  dogs  of  the  Peruvian, 
 
206  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 legend, — some  accidental  mark,  by  which  man  could  have 
 guessed  at  the  then  state  of  the  earth  ;* — but  no  olive-leaf, 
 jjurposely  plucked  off,  as  a  symbol  for  Noah  that  the  world 
 again  wore  some  portion  of  her  ancient  fruitfulness  and 
 beauty." 
 
 And  2ndly.  I  do  not  understand  why  Noah  should  em- 
 ploy this  bird  on  such  a  service.  For  however  pleasingly 
 the  dove  adorns  this  otherwise  dreary  legend,  she  is  in 
 reality  sent  on  a  useless  and  unnecessary  mission.  She  can 
 teach  Noah  notliing  which  he  could  not  much  more  readily, 
 and  more  naturally  and  certainly,  learn,  by  looking  out  of 
 the  window  of  his  ark :  for,  did  the  ark  rest  on  a  plain, 
 from  its  top  he  could  see  the  mountains  above  him ; — was 
 it,  on  the  other  hand,  stranded  on  a  mountain,  he  could 
 daily  watch  the  gradual  regress  of  the  waters  at  his  feet. 
 Wherefore,  then,  send  forth  the  dove  ? 
 
 And  yet,  these  doves  are  found  in  many  traditions.  Is 
 it  not  because  they  are  mythic  bir  's  ?  As  the  echo  of  the 
 popular  mind,  the  myth  builds  with,  and  accounts  for, 
 popular  notions :  as  the  voice  of  Humanity  hoAvever  it 
 speaks  man's  hopes,  and  fears,  and  wishes  ;  and  as  the  voice 
 of  infant,  uneducated  Humanity,  it  speaks  them  with  all 
 the  naive  and  simple  faith  of  childhood,  which  knows  no 
 laws  of  criticism,  and  is  indifferent  to  all  facts  of  obser- 
 vation and  experience.  The  myth,  then,  while  it  loves  the 
 wonderful,  and  hesitates  not  to  realize  man's  most  extra- 
 vagant phantasies,  also  Avillingly  engages  the  affections  on 
 the  side  of  national  prejudices. 
 
 But  the  myth  is  the  creation,  not  of  one  intellect, 
 but  of  an  age  ; — and  as  it  comes  forth  at  its  first  birth  rude 
 and  bare,  a  mere  outline,  and  is  unchecked  in  its  growth 
 
 ^  Vide  Babylonian  and  Peru-  serve  that  purpose,  it  will  then  be 
 vian  Legends,  p.  1!)0,  195.  The  objected  to  us:  1st,  That  the  re- 
 mud  the  Arabs  have,  however,  turn  of  a  bird  building  its  nest 
 added.  Vide  Wilkinson's  Modern  could  be  no  evidence  to  Noah  of  the 
 Egyptians,  vol.  i,  p.  402,  note.  state  of  the  earth ;  and  2dly,  That 
 
 *  If  we  suppose  that  the  dove  re-  if  we  suppose  our  bird  to  be  build- 
 turned  with  an  olive  leaf,  because  ing  her  nest  this  week,  we  cannot 
 she  was  then  building  her  nest,  and  suppose  her  deserting  it  the  next; 
 very  naturally  brought  back  with  and  yet  from  her  third  mission  she 
 her  any    materials    which    might  never  returns. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  207 
 
 by  the  fetters  of  writing,  which,  in  very  truth,  kill  to  pre- 
 serve ; — and  as  it  then  lives  in  the  hearts  and  on  the  lips 
 of  a  people ; — what  wonder  is  it  that  it  appropriates  to 
 itself  any  new  incident ;  and,  indifferent  to  all  charges  of 
 plagiarism,  gladly  seizes,  as  its  prey,  upon  every  fresh 
 marvel  which  arrests  the  attention,  and  captivates  the 
 fancy  ?  Hence  it  is  that  so  many  myths,  of  so  many  dif- 
 ferent people — original,  perhaps,  among  each  people,  in 
 substance  and  objects — so  nearly  resemble  one  another  in 
 their  details  ; — the  several  nations  who  possessed  any  one 
 myth  in  common,  having,  with  certain  adaptations  to  suit 
 popular  notions,  freely  borrowed  from,  as  they  came  into 
 contact  with,  each  other. 
 
 Chapter  viii.  verse  4  :  "  For  yet  seven  days,  and  I  will 
 cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth."  Verse  10:  "  After  seven 
 days,  the  waters  of  the  flood  were  upon  the  earth."  Chap- 
 ter vii.  verses  3,  4 :  "  And  after  the  end  of  the  one  hun- 
 dred and  fifty  days,  the  waters  were  abated,  and  the  ark 
 rested  in  the  seventh  month,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of 
 the  month,  upon  the  mountains  of  Ararat."  Verse  5  :  "  In 
 the  tenth  month,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month,  were  the 
 tops  of  the  mountains  seen."  Verse  6  :  "  At  the  end  of 
 forty  days  Noah  opened  the  window  of  the  ark . . .  and  he 
 sent  forth  a  raven,  and  also  he  sent  forth  a  dove." .  . .  Verse 
 10:  "And  he  stayed  yet  other  seven  days,"  &c.  Verse  12  : 
 "  And  he  stayed  yet  other  seven  days."  Verse  13  :  "In 
 the  six  hundredth  and  first  year,  of  the  first  month,  of  the 
 first  day  of  the  month,  the  waters  were  dried  up.  And  on 
 the  second  month,  on  the  seven  and  twentieth  day  of  the 
 month,  was  the  earth  dried." 
 
 I  have  already  observed  that  I  do  not  look  ujjon  the 
 several  seven  days  mentioned  in  these  chapters  as  any  evi- 
 dence that  the  septenary  cycle,  as  determined  by  the 
 regular  periodical  recurrence  of  a  sabbath,  or  day  of  rest, 
 
 '  As  an  illustration,  vide:  the  how  far  the  waters  have  abated,  z.e., 
 Greek  myth  of  the  deluge  in  its  employs  an  animal  which  was  un- 
 several  stages  of  development:  and  known  to  Peru  till  after  its  dis- 
 may I  not  also  add,  the  Peruvian,  covery  by  the  Spaniards.  But 
 which    employs   dogs  to  ascertain  might  they  not  be  the  alco  P 
 
208  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 was  known  to  Noah  or  the  antediluvian  world.  For,  to  be 
 evidence  of  such  a  cycle,  these  several  seven  days  must  all 
 of  them  either  begin  or  close  with  a  sabbath.  If,  therefore, 
 Noah  enters  the  ark  on  a  sabbath  day,  on  a  sabbath  day, 
 also,  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  will  be  broken  up : 
 and  on  a  sabbath  day  the  raven  and  the  dove  will  be  sent 
 forth  to  ascertain  the  state  of  the  earth.  But,  if  we  follow 
 the  natural  coiu-se  of  the  story,  we  find,  that,  on  the  seventh 
 day  after  Noah  enters  the  ark,  the  deluge  begins,  and  that 
 it  prevails  for  nine  months,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  days ; 
 that  it  then  gradually  decreases  for  two  months  and  thir- 
 teen days,  or  seventy-three  days,  i.  e.  until  the  first  day  of 
 the  tenth  month,  on  which  day  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
 are  seen  ;  and  that,  forty  days  after  this  time,  Noah  sends 
 forth  the  raven ;  and,  seven  days  after,  the  dove.  We 
 have,  then,  from  the  entrance  of  Noah  into  the  ark  to  the 
 flight  of  the  raven,  a  sum  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-one 
 days,  a  number  no  way  divisible  by  seven.  We  may  con- 
 clude, therefore,  that  each  of  the  seven  days  were  any 
 seven  days  chosen  arbitrarily,  and  not  any  seven  days 
 determined  by  the  periodical  recurrence  of  a  particular 
 feast. 
 
 If,  however,  we  take  another  view  of  the  narrative,^  and 
 put  aside  the  fifth  verse  of  the  eighth  chapter  as  a  paren- 
 thesis, and  reckon  the  forty  days  of  the  sixth  verse  imme- 
 diately after  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  of  deluge,  we 
 then  have  a  sum  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  days 
 from  the  time  Noah  entered  the  ark  to  that  on  which 
 he  sent  forth  the  raven.  And  if  we  suppose  that  he 
 entered  the  ark  on  a  sabbath,  we  shall  find  that  the 
 hundred  and  ninety-seventh  day  after  that  period  will  be 
 itself  a  sabbath,  as  also  both  the  first  day  of  the  tenth 
 month  (the  day  on  wliich  the  tops  of  the  mountains  are 
 first  seen),  and  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  the  second  month 
 of  the  six  hundred  and  first  year  (the  day  probably  on 
 which  Noah  leaves  the  ark  and  builds  an  altar  and  sacri- 
 
 ^  In  reading  chap.  xxiv.  55,  another  view  of  this  passage  has  pre- 
 sented itself  to  my  mind.  To  the  observations  made  on  that  chapter 
 I  refer  the  reader. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  209 
 
 fices  to  the  Lord,  By  a  slight  and  no  way  forcible  alteration, 
 then,  we  have  the  principal  events  of  the  deluge  all  hap- 
 pening on  and  sanctifying  a  day  which  the  Jewish  mind 
 delighted  to  honour.  And  we  have,  also,  a  regular  Sab- 
 batical cycle  known  and  observed  in  the  earliest  ages,  and 
 now  clearly  not  of  Egyptian  origin. 
 
 I  wish  I  could  adopt  this  emendation,  I  see  however, 
 one,  but  that  a  fatal,  objection  to  it.  By  it  the  facts  of  the 
 narrative  are  rendered  inconsistent  one  with  the  other 
 For,  if  we  adopt  it,  we  then  have  the  mountain  tops  first 
 visible  on  the  first  of  the  tenth  month,  i.  e.  first  visible  on 
 the  seventy-fourth  day  from  that  on  which  the  ark  first 
 rested  on  Ararat ;  and  yet,  on  the  fifty-fourth  day  from 
 the  same  period,  we  find  that  olive  trees  have  already  put 
 forth  their  leaves,  and  already  appear  above  the  surface  of 
 the  water ;  i.  e.  we  find  that  the  olive,  which  is  rarely  met 
 with  above  the  girdle  of  any  thing  fit  to  be  called  a  moun- 
 tain,* is  free  of  the  waters  long  before  the  tops  of  the 
 mountains,  wliich  surely  Is  impossible. 
 
 Verse  2.  And  Noah  builded  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  &c. 
 
 "  Spirits  and  Gods  have  vanished."  Crime  and  violence 
 have  driven  Jehovah  from  His  pleasant  Eden.  Heaven  is 
 now  His  dwelling-place :  and  man  is  no  more  admitted  to 
 
 *   And     certainly     not     Ararat,  gers,  et  des  troapeaux  galeux,  par- 
 
 Tournefort  thus  describes  it: "Nous  mi  lesquels  on  voit  quelques  per- 
 
 commentjames  a  monter  ce  jour-la,  drix;  ceux  de  la  seconde    region 
 
 le  Mont  Ararat,  sur  les  deux  heures  sont  des  tigres  et  des    corueilles. 
 
 apres  midi ;    mais  ce  ne  fut    pas  Tout  le  reste  de  la  montagne  est 
 
 sans  peine.     11  faut  grimper  dans  couverte  de  neige  depuis  que  I'arche 
 
 des  sables  mouvans,ou  Ton  ne  voit  s'y   arreta,   et  ces  neiges  sont  ca- 
 
 que  quelques  pieds  de  genievre  el  chees  la  moitie  de  I'annee  sous  des 
 
 d^epine  de  bouc.     Cette  niontagne  uuages  fort  epais Malgre  Pe- 
 
 est  une  des  plus  tristes  et  des  plus  tonnement  ou  cette  effroyable  soli- 
 
 desagreables  aspects  qu'il  y  ait  sur  tude  nous  avoit.jette,  nous  ne  lais- 
 
 la  terre.     On  ri'y  trouve  ni  arhres,  sons  pas  de  chercher  ces  monasteres 
 
 7ii  arbrisseaux.     Encore  nioins  de  dont  Steuys n'est  pas  le  seul 
 
 religieux  Armeniens  ou  Francs...  qui  a  parle;  cependant  on  nous  as- 
 
 II  n'y  a  d'animaux  vivans  qu'au  sura  qu'il  u'y  avoit  qu'un  petit  cou- 
 
 bas    de    la   montagne   et   vers   le  vent     abandonue,     au     pied     de 
 
 milieu;  ceux  qui  occupe  la   pre-  I'abime." — Tournefort,  Voyage  du 
 
 miere  region  sont  de  pauvres  ber-  Levant,  vol.  iii,  Let.  xix,  p.  215-29. 
 
 2e 
 
210  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 His  presence,  and  can  no  more  approach  Him  with  bloodless 
 gifts.  Would  he  propitiate  the  Deity  ?  would  he  gain  His 
 favour  ?  he  must  now  build  altars,  and  offer  on  them  burnt 
 sacrifices,  the  savour  of  which  will  rise  up  with  their  smoke, 
 and  bear  up  his  prayers  and  wishes  to  the  high  and  invisible 
 God. 
 
 "  And  Noah  took  of  every  clean  beast,"  &c.  That  per- 
 sonality which  we  found  so  strongly  marked  in  the  acts 
 and  character  of  the  Jewish  Creator,  here  takes  the  form 
 of  caprice.  Jehovah  made — with  the  exception  of  man, 
 who  is  their  lord — all  animals  equal,  and  blessed  them  all. 
 And  now,  without  any  sufficient  reason  for  the  preference, 
 we  find  that  his  altars  must  be  served  with  those  animals 
 only  which  are  termed  (no  one  knows  wherefore)  clean. 
 Gradually  we  are  prepared  for  all  those  nice  distinctions  of 
 sacrificial  meats  which  crowd  the  Jewish  ceremonial,  and, 
 indeed,  all  old  Pagan  idolatries.^ 
 
 "And  the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savour."  However 
 fondly  we  may  dwell  on  the  differences  wliich  se})arate  the 
 Jewish,  from  the  Pagan,  mind,  those  differences,  in  the  early 
 periods  of  history  at  least,  are  formal  rather  than  real. 
 And  hence  it  is  that,  although  the  Jcav  owes  fealty  but  to 
 one  God,  Avhile  the  Pagan  pays  homage  to  a  thousand: 
 that  nevertheless  they  both  so  often  agree  as  well  in  the  acts 
 and  characters  which  they  attribute,  the  one  to  his  God,  ilie 
 other  to  his  gods,  as  also  in  the  mode  of  worship  by  which 
 they  both  hope  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  Deity.  The 
 same  views,  in  a  word,  seem  to  my  mind  to  pervade  the 
 same  stages  of  civilization :  and  I  am  jjerhaps  therefore 
 sometimes  too  apt  to  idolize  the  Jewish  Deity,  who  was 
 indeed  a  human,  but  no  sensual,  God,  when  I  find  a  parallel 
 to  his  acts  in,  or  would  explain  them  by,  those  narrated  of 
 some  Pagan  demon.  Thus,  as  I  read  that  "  the  Lord 
 smelled  a  sweet  savour,"  and  then  resolved  not  again  to 
 curse  the  ground  for  man's  sake,  I  am  strongly  reminded 
 
 '  For  some  of  the  niceties  at-  p.  203;  for  those  attending  Jewish, 
 tending  pagan  sacrifices,  sec  Four-  tlie  four  last  books  of  Moses,  pas- 
 mont,     Anciens    Pcuples,    vol.    i,     sini. 
 
CHAPTER    VI.  211 
 
 of  the  assurance  which,  in  the  Oclyssey,^  Mercury  makes  to 
 Calypso,  that  not  willingly  did  he  traverse  the  vast  and 
 desert  sea,  where  man  has  built  no  cities,  and  offers  no 
 sacrifices  or  choice  hecatombs.  And  it  then  seems  to  me 
 as  if  the  words  of  this  verse  would  express,  that  Jehovah 
 too  was  w^eary  of  the  vast  solitude  of  the  waters,  and  so 
 rejoiced  to  breathe  again  the  odour  of  sacrifice,  that  he 
 gladly  determined  never  more  to  destroy  man  from  the 
 face  of  the  earth. 
 
 "  Neither  will  I  again  smite  any  more  every  living  thing 
 as  I  have  done."  Is  tliis  promise  reconcileable  with  the 
 Christian  notion  that  the  end  of  the  world  is  at  hand  ? 
 Can  the  human  race  perish  away  by  slow  decay  ?  Shall 
 not  "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply,"  that  oft-repeated  injunc- 
 tion of  the  Deity,  that  one  command  wliich  man  has  never 
 ceased  to  fulfil,  that  great  instinct  of  our  nature,  shall  it  notbe 
 ever  stronger  than,  and  always  jjrevail  against,  the  never- 
 resting  scythe  of  our  terrible  enemy  Death  ?  I  believe  so. 
 But  is  the  human  race  then  eternal  ?  I  know  not  whence 
 they  are,  but  there  are  traditions  which  are  prophecies,  and 
 which,  like  the  voice  of  God,  are  heard  in  every  corner  of 
 this  great  Paradise,  the  world :  and  they  proclaim  that  the 
 universe^  like  ourselves  must  perish.  Wliile  the  earth 
 remaineth,  God  will  not  any  more  smite  man:  the  same 
 destruction  may,  however,  envelope  both. 
 
 ^  Vide  Odys.  ?;,  quoted  (note  ^,  declares  bis  intention  of  destroying- 
 p.  1 42)  chap,  iv ;  and  similarly  in  the  earth  by  a  deluge,  though  the 
 the  Metamorphoses,  when  Jupiter     gods  assent — 
 
 "  Est  tamen  humani  generis  jactura  dolori 
 Omnibus  :  et  quiE  sit  terrte,  mortalibus  orbse 
 Forma  futura  rogant:  quis  sit  laturus  in  aras 
 ThuraP  Lib.  i,  verse  246. 
 
 And  in  Hindu  mythology,  when  ^  The  limited  duration  of  the 
 the  sage  Durvasas  "  pronounced  world  is  an  essential  doctrine  of 
 that  India  and  all  the  three  worlds  the  Hindu  and  old  Persian  creeds, 
 under  his  supremacy  should  be  de-  Vide  Wilford  on  the  Nile,  vol.  v, 
 prived  of  their  Sri,  or  prosperity,  p.  244,  Asiatic  Besearches ;  Boun- 
 the  world  in  consequence  fell  into  Dehesch,  Zend,  vol.  iii.,  and  it  was 
 AecsLy,sacrifices  ceased,  and  the  f/o(h  known  even  to  the  Greek  and  Ro- 
 tvere  enfeehled."  —  Wilson,  Hind,  man  religions,  vide  Ovid.  Metamor. 
 Theat.  i,  82,  note  :  comp.  Zend,  as  lib  i. 
 above,  note  i,  p.  109. 
 
212  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 22.  This  division  of  the  seasons  is  a  purely  agri- 
 cultural one.  Seed-time  and  harvest,  or  spring  and  autumn, 
 are  the  only  two  specified  and  definite  divisions  of  the  year: 
 heat  and  cold,  summer  and  winter,  are  only  some  indefinite 
 spaces  of  time  which  lie  between  these  two  great  epochs, 
 these  busy  periods,  in  the  life  of  the  husbandman;  and  they 
 are  expressed  consequently  by  terms  which  indicate,  not 
 activity  and  exertion,  but  patience,  if  not  idleness. 
 
 By  the  way,  Von  Bohlen,  in  his  "  Alte  Indien,"  some- 
 where objects  to  our  narrative  of  the  deluge,  on  the  score 
 of  its  year  of  tlu-ee  hundred  and  sixty  days,  which,  he 
 asserts,  could  not  have  been  known  at  this  early  period. 
 I  too  find  it  somewhat  strange  that  the  antediluvian  men, 
 who  had  so  nicely  observed  the  course  of  sun  and  stars 
 that  they  had  a  year  of  twelve  months  of  thirty  days" 
 each,  should  nevertheless  have  been  so  negligent  of  the 
 larger  divisions  of  the  year  into  seasons,  as  in  reality  to 
 have  but  two,  seed-time  and  harvest.^ — But  who  can  assert 
 <i  'priori  the  particular  direction  which  civilization  shall 
 take  ?  The  Greeks  were  long  without  any  true  knoAvledge 
 of  the  year,*^  and  yet  Mexico  at  its  discovery  had  a  year 
 of  three  hundred  and  sixty  monthly,  and  five  interca- 
 lary, days.  The  Otaheitans,  too,  built  curiously  carved 
 canoes,  and  wove  cloth,  and  mats,  and  were  nevertliless 
 ignorant  that  water  could  be  made  to  boil.  And  the  Peru- 
 vians similarly  had   constructed   roads   throughout   their 
 
 *  One  of  tlie  books  of  the  Zend-  he  makes  of  366  days,  also  orders  a 
 avesta  is  the" Siruze," or  Liturgical  calendar  to  be  made  which  shall 
 Calendar,  as  Klcuker  calls  it.  An-  point  out  the  seasons  :  "  et  qui  d^- 
 quetil  says  that  "Siruze"  means  terminat  exactement  le  commence- 
 thirty  days ;  and  the  book  is  divided  ment  de  chacui^e  des  quatre  saisons 
 according  to  the  thirty  days  of  the  de  I'annde,  afin  que  tout  fut  dans 
 months,  but  in  fact  it  contains  only  I'ordre." — Memoives  des  Chinois, 
 twenty-nine  days.  Kleuker  con-  vol.  iii,  p.  225.  It  was  in  Yao's 
 eludes,  therefore,  that  there  was  a  reign,  too,  that  the  great  deluge 
 period  when  the  Zend  month  was  happened  which  covered  nearly  the 
 lunar  and  of  twenty-nine  days.—  whole  of  China. 
 
 Vide    Rhode,    Heilige    Sage    des        ^  According  to   Herodotus,  the 
 
 Zend  Volks,  p.  38.  Greeks  borrowed  their  year  from 
 
 *  "  In    China,  Yao,    who    first  the  Egyptians ;  vide  lib.  ii,  o.  iv. 
 settles  the  length  of  the  year,  which 
 
CHAPTER  VI.  213 
 
 dominions,  and  had  establislied  posts  of  communication 
 between  the  several  parts  of  their  country  and  their  capital; 
 they  had  learned  also  to  card  and  weave  wool,  and  could  work 
 silver  into  vessels  and  tools,  and  would  even  occasionally 
 mould  it  into  images  which  prettily  imitated  nature  :^  and 
 yet  the  iron  that  was  at  their  feet  they  had  never  observed, 
 and  knew  not  how  to  turn  to  account.*  Wlien,  therefore, 
 we  compare  what  the  early  nations  are  said  at  any  given 
 time  to  have  known  with  that  of  wliich  they  remained  in 
 ignorance,  we  may  often  be  surprised  as  well  at  the  subtlety 
 and  ingenuity  of  their  discoveries,  as  at  the  stupidity  of 
 their  ignorance:  but  we  cannot  from  their  ignorance  argue 
 against  their  inventions. 
 
 Chapter  ix.  The  Elohim  blesses  Noah  and  his  sons  as 
 He  before  blessed  Adam. 
 
 1st.  He  bids  them  replenish  the  earth,  i.  e.,  He  enjoins 
 that  sexual  intercourse  which  has  for  its  end  the  produc- 
 tion of  offspring. 
 
 2ndly.  He  delivers  into  their  hands  the  whole  animal 
 creation :  the  fear  of  them  is  upon  beast,  and  bird,  and 
 fish ;  the  reign  of  love  has  ceased,  the  reign  of  fear  has 
 begun. 
 
 3rdly.  He  gives  them  every  moving  thing  that  liveth,  to 
 be  for  meat  for  them ;  but  as  when  He  gave  Adam  the 
 fruits  of  every  tree  in  Eden  for  food.  He  specially  excluded 
 the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge ;  so  now,  when  He  per- 
 mits man  to  eat  of  all  living  creatures.  He  at  the  same  time 
 forbids  him  "  to  eat  the  blood  thereof,  which  is  the  life 
 thereof." 
 
 ''  "  Ce  jardiu etoit  du  tems  papillons  et  des  oiseaux  de  toutes 
 
 des  Yncas  tout    d'or  et  d'argent,  les  sortes  pour  rembeliissement  de 
 
 comme  ceux  qu'on  voyoit  dans  les  ce  lieu." — Histoire  des  Yncas,  lib. 
 
 palais  de  leurs  rois,  oil  il  y  avoit  en  iii,  o.  xxiv. 
 
 or  quantite  d'herbes,  de  fleurs,  de  ^  "  lis  avoient  plusieurs  mines 
 
 plantes    et  d'arbres     de     diverses  de  fer,  iiiais  i]s  ne  le  savoient  pas 
 
 sortes,  comme  aussi  plusieurs  ani-  tirer,  &c." — Vide  Histoire  des  Yn- 
 
 maux  grands  et  petits,  &c La  cas,  par  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  vol. 
 
 meme  etoient   representes  au  na-  'i,  p.  120. 
 
 turel,  et  mis  en  leur  place des 
 
214  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 "  Even  as  the  green  herb  have  I  given  you  all  thmgs." 
 There  is  no  animal  however  disgusting,  which  the  neces- 
 sities or  the  gluttony  of  some  nations  does  not^  even  in  our 
 day,  render  palatable.  Thus  the  aborigines  of  New  South 
 Wales  will  eat  all  sorts  of  reptiles.^  And  the  nomadic  or 
 mountain  races  of  India,  according  to  Dubois,^  eagerly 
 devour  any  flesh  except  that  of  the  cow ;  foxes,  cats,  rats, 
 serpents,  &c.,  are  all  equally  welcome  to  them.  The  na- 
 tive Americans  too,  Lafitau"  informs  us,  will  eat  of  every 
 thing,  and  find  every  thing  good ;  and  Robertson^  mentions 
 that  they  are  sometimes  compelled  to  feed  on  spiders,  eggs 
 of  ants,  lizards,  serpents,  various  reptiles  of  odious  forms, 
 and  a  kind  of  unctuous  earth.  But  even  among  more  civi- 
 lized people  we  not  unfrequently  find  that  some  sorts  of 
 flesh  are  considered  edible,  from  which  our  own  country- 
 men generally  would  turn  away  with  disgust:  thus  the 
 Egyptians  willingly  eat  of  the  locust,  the  Tartar  tribes  of 
 the  field  mouse,''  the  Arabs  of  the  camel,  and  the  South 
 Americans  of  the  horse ;  and  in  China  puppies,  in  Italy 
 one  sort  of  snails,  and  in  France  frogs,  are  severally 
 esteemed  delicacies.  A  foolish  and  self-conceited  nation, 
 which  sees  other  people,  and  those  no  way  in  the  rear  of 
 civilization,  thus  gladly  turning  to  use,  and  finding  nou- 
 rishment, in  meats  which  it  regards  as  an  abomination,  will 
 no  doubt  swell  with  pride  at  the  pleasing  contemplation  of 
 its  own  superior  nicencss  and  purity ;  a  laise  one  will  begin 
 to  consider  whether  or  not  its  catalogue  of  edible  animals 
 is  not  too  exclusive,  and  whether  it  has  not  rejected  from 
 its  tables  many  kinds  of  wholesome  and  palatable  food, 
 and  thus  unnecessarily  restricted  its  means  of  subsistence. 
 
 "  But  flesh  with  the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood 
 thereof,  shall  ye  not  eat."     As  a  necessary  consequence  of 
 
 9  Vide  supra,  note  ^,  p.  92.  Mouurs  dcs  Sauvagcs,  vol.  ii,  p.  91, 
 
 1   Dubois,    Ma>urs    dcs    Indcs,  92. 
 part,  i,  c.  V.  ^  Rohertson's  America,  book  iv. 
 
 ^  La  necessite  les  oblige  a  man-         ■•  Pallas,  Reisen  durch  verschie- 
 
 ger  de  tout  sans  discernemcnt,  et  a  dene    Provinzcn    des   Russischen 
 
 trouver  tout  bon,"    fkc. — Lafitau,  Rcichs,  vol.  iii,  p.  348. 
 
CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 215 
 
 this  injunction,  flesh  cannot  be  eaten  until  it  has  been  pre- 
 pared by  fire.  That  originally  flesh  was  eaten  raw,  that 
 before  the  discovery  of  fire  it  must  commonly'^  have  been 
 so  eaten,  if  it  were  eaten  at  all,  there  is  little  doubt.  But 
 even  after  the  [)roperties  of  fire  were  known,  there  are 
 several  reasons  wliich  would  retard  the  universal  applica- 
 tion of  it  to  flesh  as  an  article  of  food. 
 
 1st.  The  habit  of  eating  raw  flesh  had  rendered  it  palat- 
 able,6  and  compared  with  the  high  flavoiir  of  the  hot  blood, 
 baked  meats  doubtless  tasted  tame  and  mawkish. 
 
 2ndly.  The  time  and  trouble^  which  are  necessary  to  pre- 
 pare flesh  by  fire  would  little  suit  the  voracious  and  impa- 
 tient appetites  for  which  all  savages  are  remai'kable.^  Not 
 until  man  began  to  make  provision,  and  to  have  set  and 
 appointed  times  for  eating,  could  cooked  flesh  come  into 
 general  use.*     And 
 
 ^  Some  nations,  however,  eat 
 their  food  after  drying- it  in  the  snn: 
 "  Agathareide,  Arrien,  Diodore, 
 Strabon,  Pliue,  et  meme  des  rela- 
 tions modernes,  parlent  de  nations 
 qui  n'avoient  point  d'autre  maniere 
 de  cuire  leur  nourriture,  que  de 
 I'exposer  aux  rayous  du  soleil.'' — 
 Goguet,  Origine  des  Loix,  lib.  ii, 
 p.  76. 
 
 ®  In  the  Recueil  des  Voyages 
 Holland,  vol.  i,  p.  597,  is  an  ac- 
 count of  the  dinner  of  a  savage  of 
 the  coast  of  South  America  off 
 Penguin  Island :  "  Comme  elle  ne 
 vouloit  -point  manger  de  viande  cuite, 
 on  lui  donna  des  oiseaux  qui 
 etoient  dans  les  canots,  qu'elle  prit, 
 et  en  ayant  tiie  les  plus  grandes 
 plumes,  elle   les  ouvrit  avec    des 
 
 coquilles Eusuite  elle  les  vida, 
 
 et  jetta  le  fiel,les  entrailles,  et  le 
 coeur,  mais  elle  passa  le  foie  surle 
 feu  et  le  mangea  encore  si  cru, 
 que  le  sang  en  couloit  le  long  de 
 
 ses  levres Les  autres  parties  du 
 
 corps,  elle  les  dechira  de  ses  dents, 
 en  sorte  que  le  sang  lui  couloit  sur 
 le  sein.  Les  enfans  firent  de  meme, 
 et   mangerent    des    oiseaux    tout 
 
 crus."  The  Samojedes  eat  fish 
 always,  and  flesh  often,  raw. — His- 
 toire  Generale  des  Voyages  xviii, 
 504.  "  Les  Ostiacksparoissent  faire 
 grand  cas  du  sang  chaud  de  quel- 
 queanimalque  ce  soit." — Id. p. 515. 
 
 ^  Vide  an  enumeration  of  some 
 of  the  long  and  tedious  expedients 
 to  which  savage  nations  have  re- 
 course for  cooking  their  meat,  in 
 Goguet,  ut  supra,  Origine  des  Loix, 
 p.  76-7. 
 
 ^  e.  g.  The  example  of  Saul's  sol- 
 diers after  their  victory  at  Mich- 
 mash. — Sam.  xiv. 
 
 "  I  have  no  distinct  authority  for 
 this,  but  it  is  consonant  with  rea- 
 son, and  I  find  that  among  wan- 
 dering tribes  raw  flesh  is  not  un- 
 frequently  eaten.  Thus  Burck- 
 hardt,  of  the  nomad  tribes  in  Syria, 
 tells  us  that  among  them  "  the 
 livers  and  lungs  of  all  animals  are 
 usually  eaten  raw"  (Syria,  p.  592) : 
 of  those  of  Nubia,  "  that  the  Bush- 
 araje,  who  rarely  descend  from  the 
 mountains,  live  entirely  upon  flesh 
 and  milk,  eating  much  of  the  former 
 raw.  According  to  the  Nubians, 
 thev  are  very  fond  of  the  blood  of 
 
216  CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 3rdly.  The  introduction  of  cooked  meats  would  be 
 opposed  by  those  who,  mistaking  ferocity  for  courage, 
 would  insist  that  raw  flesh  gave  strength,  hardihood,  and 
 all  other  manly  virtues.^ 
 
 «  The  blood  thereof,  which  is  the  life  thereof."  "  One 
 day  at  Borneo,  being  indisposed,  Captain  Beckman  ordered 
 the  sm'geon  to  bleed  him.  Cay  Deponatte,  a  native,  with 
 several  others,  being  present,  and  strangers  to  the  opera- 
 tion, were  in  great  amazement  to  know  what  we  were 
 about,  till  at  length  the  vein  being  opened  they  saw  the 
 blood  gush  out ;  on  this  they  were  so  frightened  that  they 
 immediately  ran  out  of  the  room,  crying  out,  "  Oran  gela 
 attee,"  i.  e.,  "  the  man's  heart  or  mind  is  foolish ;"  after 
 which  they  told  us  that  we  let  out  "  our  'cery  souls  and  lives 
 willingly  y  * 
 
 By  the  way,  in  the  second  clia-pter,  Jehovah  Elohim  breathes 
 into  man's  nostrils  and  the  plastic  clay  becomes  a  living 
 soul.  The  life  then  of  the  man  made  by  Jehovah  Elohim, 
 and  made  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  seems  to  have  been  in 
 the  breath ;  according  to  this  passage,  however,  the  life  of 
 the  man  made  by  the  Elohim,  and  made  in  His  image,  is  in 
 the  blood.  Surely  between  these  two  accounts  of  that 
 which  constitutes  our  life  tliere  is  a  discrepancy  which 
 cannot  easily  be  removed ;  ^  both  may  be  wrong,  but  both 
 scarcely  can  be  right. 
 
 slaughtered     sheep ;      but    their        •  Thus  the  giant  Starchatevus  (of 
 greatest  luxury  is  said  to  he  the     Denmark)  when  asked  to  a  feast, 
 raw  marrow  of  the  catnel."  (Nubia,     where  well-baked  meats   did   fur- 
 p.   128.)       The   Esquimaux,   too,     nish   forth  the  festal  tables,  "  Ut 
 when    at    a    distance    from   their     Danicum   luxum,  Teutonum  ritu 
 dwellings,  will  eat  game  and  fish     (unde  eftemiuati  fierent)  introduc- 
 raw.     Vide  De  Pauw,  Americans,     turn,  averteret,  inter  alia  patrio  car- 
 part  iii,  §  10,  p.  262.  mine,  multis  dimissis,  sic  cecinit, 
 "  Fortium  crudus  cibus  est  virorum  : 
 Nee  reor  lautis  opus  esse  mensis 
 Mens  quibus  belli  meditatur  usum 
 Pectore  forti." — Olaus  Magnus,  De  Gent.  Septen. 
 ^  From  a  collection  called  "  The     same  double  view  of  the  vital  prin- 
 Portfolio,"  p.  156.  ciple;  sometimes  the  soul,  rtjufi^ei-m 
 ^  Yet  in  chap.  vi.  17,  the  Elohim     tp/coc   oSovnov   (H.  ix,  409);   and 
 recognises  the   breath  as  the  life,     sometimes   Kar'ovTaiieviiu    o^TuXtiu 
 The  Greeks  seem  to  have  had  the     £(T(n;r't7rtiyojU£v>;.--Il.  xiv.  519. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  217 
 
 Verses  5  Sc  6.  The  Elohim  proceeds  to  warn  Noah  that 
 henceforward  manslaughter  shall  be  punished/  The  rea- 
 soning on  which  this  law  is  based  seems  to  be  the  follow- 
 ing: Because  the  blood  is  the  life,  and  the  life  is  God's, 
 though  you  have  permission  to  kill  the  animal  and  eat  it, 
 you  shall  respect  its  blood,  i.  e.,  its  life,  which  belongs  to 
 God/  But  not  merely  man's  blood,  i.  e.,  his  life,  is  God's, 
 but  his  body  also  is  made  in  God's  image,  and  that  image 
 therefore  you  shall  not  desecrate  by  shedding  man's  blood, 
 under  the  penalty  of  yourself  losing  your  own  blood,  i.  e., 
 your  own  life ; — or  in  other  words,  because  God's  image  has 
 been  desecrated  in  one  case,  therefore  it  shall  be  desecrated 
 in  another — an  absurd  conclusion  enough,  though  one  to 
 which  the  last  clause  of  verse  6,  containing  the  reason  of 
 the  law,  "for  in  the  image  of  God  made  he  man,"^  can  only 
 apply. 
 
 Man  and  beast  are,  it  will  be  observed,  included  in  this 
 penal  law.  This  law,  then,  punishes  an  act,  bloodshedding, 
 and  not  a  crime,  mvirder.  And  this  first  and  simple  code, 
 which  the  Elohim  promulgates  among  mankind,  consists, 
 
 1st.  Of  a  law  which,  however  useful  it  may  have  proved 
 as  a  means  of  civilization,  is  not,  considered  in  itself,  a 
 moral  law,  i.  e.  a  law,  the  observance  of  which  is  of 
 universal  obligation.     And, 
 
 *  Vide  supra,  p.  62.  chargenlt  pas  de  la  punition  des  ho- 
 
 *  The  relation  of  Moses  is  at  least  micides;  parcequ'elle  croyoit  les  em- 
 consistent  with  itself.  There  is  no  pecherplusefficafement,enlaissant 
 government,  and  the  murdered  man  ce  soin  a  ceux  qui  etaient  plus  inte- 
 must  he  avenged  by  his  nearest  re-  resses  a  les  venger,  la  partie  pub- 
 lation.  Not  so  the  Chinese  books  ;  lique  pouvant  etre  reduite  ou  des- 
 there  is  a  government,  a  judicature,  armee  par  I'interet  de  I'etat." — 
 a  public  opinion,  it  seems  ;  and  yet  Sur  I'antiquite  des  Chinois,  Me- 
 of  homicide  the  law  takes  no  cogni-  moires  des  Chinois,  vol.  i,  p.  181  ; 
 zance,  it  leaves  its  punishment  to  and  compare  Des  Guignes,  Chou- 
 the  family  :  "  Sous  le  regne  de  king,  c.  v,  p.  38. 
 Chun,ditOuen-ty,  MM.  bonnet  colore,  ^  Do  not  these  words  again  show 
 des  habits  extraordinaires,  etaient  us  that  the  image  of  Adam,  which 
 la  punitio7i  des  coupables^le \^euTp]e  was  the  image  of  God,  was  not 
 intimide,  n'osait  violer  la  loi.  Et  merely  continued  to  man  through 
 maintenant  que  la  loi  condamne  Seth,  but  still  ennobles  Adam's  post- 
 aux  supplices,   les  crimes   ne   ta-  diluvian  descendants? 
 
 ri.ssent  pas.'' "  La  loi  ne  se 
 
 2  F 
 
218  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 2ndly.  Of  a  law  which  severally  confounds  together, 
 under  the  same  categories,  first,  men  and  beasts,  beings  dis- 
 similar in  kind  ;  and,  secondly,  murder  and  manslaughter, 
 acts,  in  a  moral  view,  essentially  different  one  from  the  other. 
 
 Again,  these  two  laws,  which  are  both  prohibitions, 
 differ  one  from  the  other,  in  that  the  first  has  no  punish- 
 ment affixed  to  it,  while  the  second  is  sanctioned  by  a  lex 
 talionis.  The  first  law,  then,  is  imperfect ;  and  its  imper- 
 fection we  may  conjecturally  account  for  in  several  ways. 
 We  may  suppose, 
 
 1st.  That  the  horror  of  blood  was  a  feeling  so  general, 
 that  the  law  was  no  way  likely  to  be  transgressed,  and  was, 
 indeed,  intended  rather  to  account  for  that  horror,  than  to 
 induce  it. 
 
 Or,  2ndly.  That  the  eating  of  blood  was  a  custom  so 
 prevalent,  that  the  legislator,  while  he  wished  to  discourage, 
 dared  not  punish  it.* 
 
 Or,  3rdly.  That  because  there  was  no  judicature,  and 
 because  all  crimes  against  the  person,  all  injuries,  were 
 punished,  not  by  judges,  but  by  the  person  himself,  or  liis 
 relations,  and  punished  by  retaliation  :^  and  as  this  eating 
 of  blood  was  an  offence  against  God,  and  one  to  which  no 
 lex  talionis  was  applicable :  that  therefore  to  God  also  was 
 left  the  punishment,  and  the  degree  of  punishment  with 
 which  it  should  be  visited.^ 
 
 '  With  this  notion  much  that  is  class   striving  to  civilize  a  ruder 
 
 related  in  this  early  history  is  con-  race,  and  giving  to  their  laws,  as 
 
 sistent.  Thus  the  creation  accounts  will  all  priest-classes,  the  authority 
 
 for  the  sanctification  of  the  Sah-  of  the  Divinity;  vide  supra,  p.  148. 
 hath  ;  God's  command,  for  the  ani-         ^  For  the  extent  to  which  the 
 
 mal  instinct  to  propagate  the  spe-  spirit  of  retaliation  in  the  punish- 
 
 cies,  for  the  eating  of  flesh,   i^c.  ment  of  all  sorts  of  offences  is  car- 
 
 Against  this   conjecture,  however,  ried  hy  the  Arabs,  see  Burckhardt, 
 
 we  have  the  example  of  many  na-  INIanners  of  the  Arabians.     Maho- 
 
 tions    eating    blood,    and    among  met  extends  it  to  the  next  world, 
 
 these  also  some  nomadic  people  ;  The  brutes  are  called  up  merely  to 
 
 vide  note  ^  p.  215.  take  vengeance  of  one  another,  and 
 
 *  We  may  insist  upon  the  fact  arc  then  changed  into  dust.     Vide 
 
 that  blood  is  still  eaten  and  was  Sale's  Koran,  Prelim.  Dis.  p.  129. 
 frequently   eaten   by    the    nations         '  Similarly  to  the  Deity  is  left 
 
 neighbours  to  the  .fews,  &c.,   but  in  all  religions  the  punishment  of 
 
 the  law  would  then  suj-.pose  a  priest-  perjury. 
 
CHAPTER   VI.  219 
 
 Verses  8-17.  This  is  finely  imagined.  Man  lands  upon 
 the  wrecked  earth  weak  and  helpless ;  he  trembles  now  at 
 every  cloud ;  and,  occupied  in  providing  against  some  coming 
 deluge,  he  neglects  every  art  of  life  :  he  lives  from  day  to 
 day :  he  has  not  courage  to  cultivate  the  earth :  rapidly  he 
 is  falling  back  to  his  old  ignorance  and  pristine  barbarism, 
 when  suddenly  the  Elohim  appears,  and  makes  his  cove- 
 nant with  Noah,  and  sets  his  bow  in  the  heavens, 
 strengthening  men's  hearts  Avith  the  assurance  that  never 
 again  shall  flood  destroy  the  earth. 
 
 A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  to  show  that,  as 
 the  rainbow  is  but  a  refraction  of  the  rays  of  light  upon 
 a  cloud,  so  long  as  the  sun  has  existed,  and  clouds 
 have  obscured  the  heaven,  so  long  rainbows  must  have 
 been  seen.  Be  it  so.  This  also  is  but  another  of  those 
 myths  which,  while  it  accounts  for,  gives  a  new  interest  to, 
 physical  phenomena,  by  knitting  them  to  the  past  fate  and 
 fortunes  of  mankind.^ 
 
 On  a  first  perusal  of  this  story  of  the  deluge,  we  are 
 struck  by  the  seemingly  unnecessary  frequency  of  the 
 repetitions,  and  the  also  seemingly  indiscriminate  use  of 
 the  names  Jehovah  and  Elohim,  as  applied  to  the  Deity. 
 When,  however,  we  more  carefully  examine  and  analyze 
 the  narrative,  we  begin  to  perceive  that  its  repetitions  are 
 intimately  connected  with  these  two  names  of  the  Jewish 
 God ;  that,  in  fact,  this  story  of  the  deluge,  as  it  appears 
 in  Genesis,  is  composed  of  two  narrations  of  the  same 
 event ;  the  one  of  which  recognizes  the  Deity  as  Jehovah, 
 s  Elohim. 
 
 The  wickedness  of  man  is  observed  upon  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vi.  6.  "  And  Jebovah  saw 
 that  the  wickedness  of  man  was 
 great  in  the  earth,  and  that  every 
 imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his 
 heart  was  only  evil  continually.^ 
 
 Elohim. 
 
 Chap.  vi.  12.   "  And  the  Elohim 
 
 looked  upon  the  earth  and  behold 
 
 it  was  corrupt,  for   all  flesh   had 
 
 corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth." 
 
 '  Homer,  too,  calls  the  rainbow  ^  This,  in  our  Bible  an  Elohira 
 TipaQ....avO(>ujTrwv.  11.  xi  .28,  xvii.  verse,  is  by  Eichorn  given  to  Jeho- 
 546  ;  and  see  Heyne  in  h.  1.  f^h. 
 
220 
 
 CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 Judgment  is  pronounced  on  man  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vi.  7.  "  And  Jehovah  said, 
 I  will  destroy  man  whom  I  have 
 created  from  the  face  of  the  earth, 
 hoth  man  and  beast,  and  the  creep- 
 ing thing,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air  ; 
 for  it  repenteth  me  that  I  have 
 made  them." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vi.  13.  "  And  the  Elohim 
 said  unto  Noah,  the  end  of  all  flesh 
 is  come  before  me,  for  the  earth  is 
 filled  with  violence  through  them, 
 and  behold  I  will  destroy  them  with 
 the  earth." 
 
 The  purity  of  Noah  is  recognised  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vi.  8.  "  But  Noah  found 
 grace  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  ;"  and 
 chap.  vii.  1.  "  And  Jehovah  said 
 unto  Noah,  Thee  have  I  seen  righ- 
 teous before  me  in  this  generation." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vi.  9.  "  Noah  was  a  just 
 man  and  perfect  in  his  generations, 
 and  Noah  walked  with  God." 
 
 A  flood  is  threatened  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  1.  "  For  yet  seven 
 days  and  I  will  cause  it  to  rain 
 upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty 
 nights,  and  every  living  substance 
 that  I  have  made  will  I  destroy 
 from  oft"  the  face  of  the  earth." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap  vi.  17.  "  And  behold  I, 
 even  I,  do  bring  a  flood  of  waters 
 upon  the  earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh 
 wherein  is  the  breath  of  life  from 
 under  heaven ;  and  every  thing 
 that  is  in  the  earth  shall  die." 
 
 Noah  is  ordered  to  gather  living  things  into  a  ship  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  1.  "  Come  thou  and  all 
 thy  house  into  the  ark... 2,  Of  every 
 clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee 
 by  sevens,  the  male  and  his  female: 
 and  of  beasts  that  are  not  clean  by 
 two,  the  male  and  his  female:  of 
 fowls  also  of  the  air  l)y  sevens,  the 
 male  and  the  female ;  to  keep  seed 
 alive  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vi.  18.  "  Thou  shalt  come 
 into  the  ark ;  thou  and  thy  sons, 
 and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons'  wives 
 with  thee ;  and  of  every  living  thing 
 of  all  flesh  ;  two  of  every  sort  shalt 
 thou  bring  into  the  ark,  to  keep 
 them  alive  with  thee,  they  shall  be 
 male  and  female:  of  fowls  after 
 their  kind,  and  cattle  after  their 
 kind,  and  of  every  creeping  thing 
 after  his  kind,  two  of  every  sort  shall 
 come  unto  thee  to  keep  them  alive." 
 
 Noah  obeys. 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  5.    "  And  Noah  did 
 according  unto  all   that   Jehovah 
 commanded  him." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vi.  22.   "  Thus  did  Noah 
 according  to  all  that  the  Elohim 
 commanded  him." 
 
CHAPTER    VI. 
 
 221 
 
 Noah's  ajre  at  the  flood  accordiiio-  to 
 
 Jehovah.  Elohim. 
 
 Chap.  vii.  6.  "And  Noah  was  Chap.  vii.  11.  "In  the  six  hun- 
 six  hundred  years  old  when  the  dredth  year  of  Noah's  life,  in  the 
 flood  of  waters  was  upon  the  earth."  second  month,  the  seventeenth  day 
 of  the  month,  the  same  day  were  all 
 the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
 broken  up,  and  the  windows  of 
 heaven  were  opened." 
 
 Noah  enters  the  ark,  and  gathers  into  it  all  living  things 
 accordino;  to 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  7.  "  And  Noah  went 
 in,  and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and 
 his  sons'  wives  with  him  into  the 
 ark,  because  of  the  waters  of  the 
 flood :  of  clean  beasts,  and  of  beasts 
 that  are  not  clean,  and  of  fowls,  and 
 of  every  thing  that  creepeth  upon 
 the  earth,  there  went  in  two  and 
 two  unto  Noah  into  the  ark,  the 
 male  and  the  female. 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vii.  1.3.  "  In  the  self-same 
 day  entered  Noah,  and  Shem,  and 
 Ham,  and  Japheth,  the  sons  of 
 Noah,  and  Noah's  wife,  and  the 
 three  wives  of  his  sons  with  them 
 into  the  ark  ;  they,  and  every  beast 
 after  his  kind,  and  all  the  cattle 
 after  their  kind,  and  every  creeping 
 thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth 
 after  his  kind,  and  every  fowl  after 
 his  kind,  and  every  bird  of  every 
 sort ;  and  they  went  in  unto  Noah 
 into  the  ark,  two  and  two  of  all 
 flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life ; 
 and  they  that  went  in  went  in  male 
 and  female  of  all  flesh." 
 
 The  flood  is  upon  the  earth  and  prevails  according  to 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  17  and  (19?)  "  And 
 the  flood  was  forty  days  upon  the 
 earth:  and  the  waters  increased 
 and  bare  up  the  ark,  and  it  was  lift 
 up  above  the  earth — and  the  waters 
 prevailed  exceedingly  above  the 
 earth ;  and  all  the  liigh  hills  that 
 were  under  the  whole  heaven  were 
 covered.^ 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap,  vii  12  &  17.  "And  the  rain 
 was  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and 
 forty  nights,  and  the  waters  prevailed 
 and  were  increased  greatly  upon 
 the  earth,  and  the  ark  went  upon 
 the  face  of  the  waters  :  fifteen  cu- 
 bits upwards  did  the  waters  prevail, 
 and  the  mountains  were  covered." 
 
 ^  Eichhorn  regards  this,  though 
 with  some  hesitation,  as  a  Jehovah 
 verse.  For  me,  who  know  no  He- 
 brew, to  have  an  opinion  is  absurd, 
 yet  as  the  expression  "under  the 
 
 heaven  "  belongs  to  the  undoubtedly 
 Elohim  portion  of  Genesis  (chap, 
 vi.  17),  why  not  regard  this  also  as 
 an  Elohim,  and  the  18th  as  a  Jeho- 
 vah verse  ? 
 
222 
 
 CHAPTER   VI, 
 
 All  living  things  perish  according  to 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  vii.  23.  "  And  every  living 
 substance  was  destroyed  which  was 
 upon  the  face  of  the  ground,  both 
 man  and  cattle,  and  the  creeping 
 thing,  and  the  fowl  of  the  heaven, 
 and  they  were  destroyed  from  the 
 earth :  and  Noah  only  remained 
 alive  and  they  that  were  with  him 
 in  tlie  ark." 
 
 Elohim. 
 Chap.  vii.  21  &  22.  "  And  all 
 flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the 
 earth,  both  of  fowl,  and  of  cattle, 
 and  of  beast,  and  of  every  creeping 
 thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth, 
 and  every  man ;  all  in  whose  nostrils 
 was  the  breath  of  life  of  all  that 
 was  in  the  dry  land  died." 
 
 That  man  shall  not  again  perish  promised  by 
 
 Jehovah. 
 Chap.  viii.  21.   "  And  Jehovah 
 said  in  his  heart,  I  will  not  again 
 curse    the    ground  any   more  for 
 
 man's  sake; While  the  earth 
 
 remaineth,  seed-time  and  harvest, 
 cold  and  heat,  &c . . .  shall  not  cease. 
 
 Elohim, 
 Chap.  ix.  8.  "  And  the  Elohim 
 spake  unto  Noah,. .saying. ,.I  will 
 establish  my  covenant  with  you  ; 
 neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut  off  any 
 more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood : 
 neither  shall  there  be  any  more  a 
 flood  to  destroy  the  earth ;  and  the 
 Elohim  said.  This  is  the  token  of 
 
 the  covenant  which  I  make I 
 
 do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,"  Sec. 
 
 In  these  two  narratives,  similar  as  they  undoubtedly  are 
 in  their  great  leading  features,  we  may,  nevertheless,  dis- 
 cover some  little  peculiarities  of  thought  and  expression 
 which  distinguish  them  one  from  the  other.    For  instance, 
 
 I.  Jehovah's  determinations  are  expressed  in  conversa- 
 tions with  himself  (as  vi.  3,  6-7  ;  viii.  21):  the  Elohim's 
 in  conversations  with  Noah  (vi.  13  ;  ix.  1-17). 
 
 II.  By  Jehovah  all  animals  are  divided  into  clean  and 
 unclean ;  and,  according  as  they  are  one  or  the  other,  they 
 are  to  be  taken  by  sevens  or  by  twos  into  the  ark.  By 
 the  Elohim,  the  animal  creation  is  sorted  according  to  its 
 kinds,  and  no  one  kind  is  more  favoured  than  the  other ;  of 
 every  kind  a  pair  only  is  to  be  preserved.  (Compare  chap, 
 vii.  2,  3,  4,  and  8,  9  verses,  with  chap.  vi.  19,  20,  and  vii. 
 14,  15  verses). 
 
 And  III.  The  Jehovah  narrative  concludes  with  a  sacri- 
 fice, but  knows  of  no  covenant ;  the  Elohim,  on  the  other 
 hand,  concludes  with  a  covenant,  but  is  altogether  igno- 
 
CHAPTER  VI.  223 
 
 rant  of  a  sacrifice.  And  each  of  these  conclusions  seems 
 to  me  to  accord  well  with  the  whole  tenor  of  the  narrative 
 to  which  it  belongs.  JeliovaJi,  when  he  fills  the  ark  with 
 clean  leasts,  prepares  us  for  the  savour  of  sacrifice ;  but 
 neither  in  the  solitude  of  His  councils,  nor  in  the  bitterness 
 of  His  repentance,  nay,  nor  even  in  the  tone  of  His 
 address  to  Noah,  can  we  read  any  hope  that  he  will  ever 
 do  more  than  endure  mankind.  ^  Not  so  the  Elohim.  He 
 makes,  indeed,  no  provision  of  clean  beasts :  and  no  sacrifice 
 therefore  can  be  offered  to  Him,  save  at  the  expense  of 
 some  race  or  species  of  animal,  for  the  very  preservation  of 
 which  the  ark  was  constructed ;  but  His  kind  and  parental 
 tone,  and  His  own  spontaneous  and  solemn  promise,''  gua- 
 rantee to  us  that  He  will  not  leave  man  trembling  and 
 helpless,  but  that  He  will  comfort  him  by  assurances  of 
 protection  and  support. 
 
 And  IV.  Each  of  these  narratives  is  distinguished  by  the 
 same  peculiarities  as  those  other  portions  of  Genesis  which 
 recognize  the  Deity  under  the  same  name.  Thus,  as  in 
 some  preceding  chapters  of  Jehovah  we  noticed  a  decided 
 predilection  for  etymologies,  a  certain  fondness  for  plays 
 upon  words,  so  here,  in  the  twenty-first  verse  of  the  eighth 
 chapter,  the  words  "the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savour,"  or 
 "a  savour  of  rest"  (nuach),  seem  to  be  an  etymology  of,  or 
 pun  on,  the  name  of  Noah.^  As,  too,  in  his  genealogies,  the 
 Jehovah  author  attached  to  each  name  the  inventions  for 
 which  its  possessor  deserved  to  be  remembered ;  so  noiv,  by 
 his  classification  of  beasts  into  clean  and  unclean,  and  by 
 his  description  of  the  sacrifice  of  Noah,  so  different  in 
 every  particular  from  the  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel,  and, 
 lastly,  by  his  division  of  the  year  into  seasons,  he  goes  on, 
 incidentally  indeed,  marking  the  improvements  of  society, 
 and  the  progress  of  civilization. 
 
 Similarly  the  Elohim  narrative  of  the  deluge  accords 
 with  the  other  Elohim  portions  of  Genesis.  Compared 
 with  the  Elohun  genealogies,  it  uses  the  same  terms  to 
 
 ''  Vide  chap.  vi.  3,  5 ;  and  com-         '  Vide  chap.  vi.  18. 
 pare  chap.  viii.  27,  kc.  ^  Vide  supra,  p.  159. 
 
224  CHAPTER   VI. 
 
 express  holiness,  —  like  Enoch,  Noah  walks  with  God. 
 Compared  with  the  Elohim  creation,  we  find  it,  like  that 
 creation,  designating  all  animals,  as  beasts  after  their  kind, 
 and  cattle  after  their  kind ;  like  that  creation,  too,  it  pro- 
 nounces on  all  living  things  the  blessing,  "  be  fruitful  and 
 multiply ;"  and,  like  that  creation,  it  gives'  man  dominion, 
 and  chooses  for  him  his  food,  permitting  him  to  eat, 
 without  any  distinction  of  meats,  "  of  every  moving  thing 
 that  liveth." 
 
 With  the  first  verses  of  the  sixth  chapter,  we  may  con- 
 nect those  of  the  laws  of  Moses  which  are  based  upon  the 
 principle  that  things  unlike  are  not  to  be  mixed  together, 
 i.  e.  those  laws  which  forbid  all  intermarriage  with  strange 
 nations  (Exod.  xxxiv.  16;  Deut.  vii.  3,  4,  &c.);  those 
 laws  which  punish  all  unnatural  crimes  (Levit.  xviii.  22, 
 and  XX.  5);  and  those  laws  which  prohibit,  first,  the  bring- 
 ing of  diverse  kinds  of  cattle  together  for  purposes  either  of 
 generation  (Levit.  xix.  19)  or  of  husbandry  (Deut.  xxiv. 
 10)  ;  and,  secondly,  the  wearing  of  garments  of  divers 
 stuffs ;  and,  thirdly,  the  sowing  the  same  field  with  divers 
 seeds  (Deut.  xxii.  9  and  11). 
 
 In  the  deluge,  considered  as  the  j^unishment  of  crime, 
 and  in  the  preservation  of  Noah  and  the  reasons  given  for 
 it,  we  have  the  first  great  exemplifications  of  the  JcAvish 
 notions  of  God's  providence  as  shown  in  the  government 
 of  the  world,  and  exemplifications  which  every  subsequent 
 page  of  Jewish  history  is  made  to  corroborate. 
 
 In  the  reasons  given  by  Jehovah  for  not  again  destroy- 
 ing the  earth,  Ave  have  the  first  notice  that  sin  and  crime 
 are  now  something  natural  to,  innate  in,  man. 
 
 As  exemplifying  the  strictness  with  Avhich  the  law 
 against  blood-eating  was  observed  by  the  Jews,  we  may 
 note:  the  anxiety  of  Saul  to  expiate  the  crime  of  which  his 
 army  was  guilty  in  breaking  this  laAV  after  their  victory 
 over  the  Philistines  at  INIichmash  (vide  1  Sam.  xiv.  30,  &c.) : 
 the  refusal  of  David  to  drink  of  the  water  which,  at  the 
 peril  of  their  lives,  three  of  his  mighty  men  obtain  from 
 the  well  at  Bethlehem  (2  Sam.  xxiii.  17)  :  and  the  name  of 
 
CHAPTER  vr.  225 
 
 horror,  given  to  the  potter's  field,  which  was  purchased 
 with  the  price  of  Christ's  blood.  (Matth.  xxvii.  4.) 
 
 In  the  directions  for  the  ark,  which  the  Elohim  gives  to 
 Noah,  we  see  the  Deity  who  is  hereafter  to  plan  and  over- 
 look the  building  of  His  own  tabernacle,  or  Holy  of  Holies. 
 (Vide  Exod.  xxxvi.  5,  and  xxxix.  5 ;  &c.) 
 
 In  the  division  of  beasts  into  clean  and  unclean,  and  in 
 the  sacrifice  of  Noah,  we  find  the  germs  of  the  whole  sacri- 
 ficial law.     (Vide  Levit.  passim.) 
 
 In  the  prohibition  to  eat  blood,  we  may  discover  the 
 first  germ  of  all  the  laws  regarding  meats. 
 
 In  the  law  against,  or  punishing  manslaughter,  we  find 
 the  principle  of  the  whole  Mosaical  penal  code.  (Exod.  xxi. 
 24  ;  xxii.  1.) 
 
 And  in  the  covenant  which  the  Elohim  here  makes 
 with  Noah,  we  see  the  first  of  those  many  covenants  in 
 which  the  Deity  hereafter  assures  the  greatness  of  the 
 Abrahamic  race. 
 
 2  G 
 
226 
 
 CHAPTER  VII. 
 
 GENESIS  ix.  18-29. 
 
 Chapter  ix.  verse  20  :  Noah/  the  contemplative  Noah, 
 prosecutes  and  improves  the  arts  of  the  Cainite  race.  He 
 walks  now  on  the  green  sward  of  the  new  world,  observant, 
 thoughtful.  He  has  tasted  of  the  wild  grape ;  he  has 
 observed  that  its  fruit,  even  when  dried,  is  still  pleasant  to 
 the  taste,  and  not  without  nourishment.  He  collects  there- 
 fore numerous  vines,  and  plants  them  around  his  home, 
 and  gathers  their  fruit,  and  extracts  and  preserves  the 
 juice,  which  in  time  ferments  and  becomes  wine. 
 
 The  art  of  extracting  and  preparing  some  intoxicating 
 liquor  from  roots,  grains,  fruit,  or  milk,  is  one  known  and 
 practised  by  almost  every  nation,*  however  ignorant  and 
 barbarous.  These  several  liquors,  which  may  be  com- 
 prised under  the  general  names  of  wine,  beer,  and  spirits, 
 are  found  as  habitual  beverages  considerably  to  influence 
 the  moral  character  of  the  several  people  which  make  use 
 of  them.  Thus  every  day  experience  and  the  testimony 
 of  all  travellers  prove,  that  the  populations  of  beer  and 
 spirit  countries  are  in  general  addicted  to  drunkenness, 
 while  those  of  wine  are  sober,  gay,  and  social.  Beer  and 
 spirits  then,  {the  one^  because  it  stupifies  the  understanding, 
 the  other,  because  it  irritates  the  nerves  and  inflames  the 
 
 '  The  invention  of  wine  I  here  of  Yu,  Y-ti  was  banished  for  his 
 
 give  to  No.ih — following   the    re-  pains. — Chine,  by  Du  Halde,  vol. 
 
 ceived  opinion — the  text  is  donbt-  i,  p.  80. 
 
 ful ;  it  is  attributed  by  the  Egyp-  *  The  only  people  I  can  remera- 
 
 tians  to   the  second  Osiris  (Diod.  ber,  who   seem  to  be  without  any 
 
 Sic.  lili.  i,  §  xv),  by  the  Greeks  to  prepared  fermented   or   spirituous 
 
 Bacchus,  by  the  Italians  to  Saturn,  beverage,  are   the    inhabitants    of 
 
 by  the  Chinese  to  Y-ti ;  in  the  reign  Australia  and  Terra  del  Fuego. 
 
CHAPTER    VII.  227 
 
 passions),  if  they  do  not  tend  to  brutalize  a  people,  at  least 
 induce  habits  which  are  adverse  to  the  habits  of  civilization. 
 Wine,  on  the  other  hand,  cheers  the  heart,  and  refreshes 
 and  invigorates  the  intellect,  and  enhances  the  allowed 
 pleasures  of  life  :  it  has  therefore  a  humanizing  tendency. 
 
 Noah  drinks  of  the  Avine  till  he  is  drunken.  This  little 
 episode  is  not  told  to  the  disparagement  of  Noah,  and  no 
 way  impugns  his  former  holiness — not  however  because  he 
 drank  the  wine,  unconscious  of  the  effect  it  would  have 
 upon  him," — but  because  the  religion  of  Moses  is  altogether 
 anti-ascetic  in  its  spirit :  witness  Isaac's  blessing  of  Jacob, 
 (Gen.  xxvii.  28),  the  numerous  descriptions  of  Canaan, 
 (Books  of  Moses  passim),  and  the  apologue  of  Gotham 
 (Judges  ix.  13) ;  and  see  also  the  Prov.  xxxi.  and  Isaiah 
 XXV.  6 ;  and  Deut.  xii.  7.  18  ;  xiv.  26  ;  xxvi.  11  ;  and  com- 
 pare xxi.  20,  &c.^  The  same  anti-ascetic  tendencies,  we 
 may  presume,  belong  also  to  the  Zend  creed. 
 
 1st.  Because  the  Zenda vesta  contains  no  dietary  pre- 
 cepts; and 
 
 2dly.  Because  the  propagation  of  domestic  animals,  and 
 the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  are  the  most  meritorious  of 
 the  services  which  Ormuzd  demands  of  his  worshippers.'' 
 
 In  this  respect,  then,  the  creeds  of  Moses  and  Zoroaster 
 favourably  distinguish  themselves  from  the  religion  of  the 
 Vedas,  which  enjoins  long  penance  and  severe  mortifica- 
 tions, as  the  surest  means  of  doing  God  service ;  and 
 which  finds  a  holy  virtue  in  roots  and  the  hard  ground, 
 i.  e.  poverty  and  sloth ;  which  luscious  fruits  and  healthful 
 
 ^  SoMichaelis,  Comment.;  Hoff-  ^  Zendavesta,  vol.  i,  Fargard  iii, 
 
 man,     Heb.    Alterthiim.      But   if  p.  279,  284;  and  see  also  an  ac- 
 
 eiror  be  pardonable,  how  is  it  tliat  count  of  the  life  and  deeds  of  the 
 
 the  man  who  accidentally  kills  an-  pure  Djemschid  (Farg.  ii,  p.  271), 
 
 other  must  die  ?  and  why,  when  the  and  the  close  of  the  "  Nekah,"  or 
 
 oxen  shake  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  and  nuptial  benediction  (vol.  ii,  p.  98). 
 
 Uzzah  puts  forth  his  hand  to  steady  I  find  that  Anquetil  (Sybt.  Theol. 
 
 it,  does  "  God  smite  him  for   his  de  Zoroastre)  confirms  this  view ; 
 
 error"? — 2  Sam.  vi.  he   says   expressly  that  fasting  is 
 
 1  Hoffman,  Heb.  Alterthiim.  p.  forbid'den    to    the    Parsi    (vol.   ii, 
 
 464,  says  that  the  Hebrew  word  for  a  p.  601). 
 feast  is  properly  "  a  drinking  bout." 
 
228  CHAPTER    VII. 
 
 meats,  and  beds  of  pui-ple,  i.  c.  Industry  and  elegance,  can 
 never  give.^ 
 
 Verse  21.  Among  nomadic  people,  even  in  this  our  day, 
 the  chief,  or  father  of  the  tribe,  is  held  in  great  reverence. 
 In  the  earliest  times,  he  was  king,  priest,  and  prophet."  In 
 him  resided  all  power ;  his  words  were  law ;  he  stood 
 before  his  children  in  God's  place.  The  sanctity  of  his 
 person  none  dared  to  violate.  His  authority,  and  rever- 
 ence for  his  authority,  were  the  conditions,  which  alone 
 made  the  family  state  possible.  Any  insult  to  his  age, 
 therefore,  any  act  which  might  draw  down  contempt  upon 
 his  character,  was  a  crime  of  deep  dye.  Hence  to  Moses 
 and  his  people,  the  conduct  of  Ham, — in  our  eyes  it  merits 
 at  the  most  but  a  rebuke, — is  a  treason,  a  rebellion^  which 
 like  the  disobedience  of  Adam,  indicates  a  taint  in  the 
 blood,  and  like  it  therefore  must  be  punished  through 
 interminable  generations. 
 
 The  once  supreme  authority  of  the  parent  Ave  may  trace 
 in  the  laws  and  customs  of  several  of  the  ancient  nations. 
 Thus  in  India,^  where  the  sole  expounders  of  the  Vedas, 
 the  Brahmins,  have  transferred  to  themselves,  as  spiritual 
 
 ^  See  Institutes  of  Menu,  c.  vi,  bound  to  maintain  his  natural  and 
 
 On  Devotion.    The  instruction  to  spiritual  parents  ;"  and  C.  Educa- 
 
 the  Brahmen  "who  has  read  the  tion,  §  13.'):    "  The  student  must 
 
 Vedas,  legally  begotten  a  son,  and  consider  a  Brahmin,  though  but  ten 
 
 has  performed  sacrifices,"  i.  <?.,  who  years  old,  and  a  Shastrya,  though 
 
 has  paid  his  three  debts, — how  to  aged  100  years,  as  father  and  son, 
 
 apply  his  heart  to  eternal  bliss.  as  between  these   two  the   young 
 
 ■*  "  Dovettere  i  Padri  eroi Brahmin  is  to  be  respected  as  the 
 
 essere  nello  stato  che  dicesi  di  na-     father §  146.  "  Of  him   who 
 
 tura,i  sapientiinsapienzad'auspicj  gives  natural  birth,  and  him  who 
 
 0  sia  sapienza  volgare;  e  'n  seguito  gives  knowledge  of  the  whole  Veda, 
 
 di  cotal  sapienza  esser  i  sacerdoti  the  giver  of  sacred  knowledge  is 
 
 che,  come  pin  degni,dovevanosagri-  the  more  venerable   father;"  also 
 
 ficarc,  per  procurareo  siabeninten-  §150-1  ;  and  for  the  respect  paid 
 
 dergliauspicj;  efinahnenteli  re, che  to  preceptors,  vide  §  (94,  201  ;  and 
 
 dovevano  portar  Ic  leggi  degli  Dei  also  Act  iii.of  "  Midra  Rakshasa," 
 
 a  le  loro  famiglie." — Vico  Scienza  in  Wilson's  Hindu  Theatre.     For 
 
 Nuova,  lib.  secon.  p.  270;  and  see  the  practical  working  of  these  laws 
 
 also  id.  Dignita  Ixxii,  iii,  iv.  v.  I  refer  to  Dubois,  Moeursdes  Indes, 
 
 «  Vide  Institutes  of  Menu,  §  251,  vol.  i,  p.  422. 
 C.  Private  Morals :  "  Tiie  child  is 
 
CHAPTER    VII. 
 
 229 
 
 fathers,  that  respect  and  veneration  which  elsewhere  is  the 
 due  of  the  natural  parents  ;  even  in  India,  the  parent  may 
 still  sell  his  children  to  strangers/  and  has  still  a  claim 
 upon  them  for  maintenance.  And  in  Greece,^  Avhere  the 
 state  early  interfered  with,  and  limited  the  authority  of 
 the  father,  and  gave  its  protection  to  the  child  till  it  con- 
 ferred on  liim,  when  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood,  the 
 dignity  of  citizenship:  in  Greece,  we  find  the  father, 
 though  prevented  by  an  express  law  from  disposing  of  his 
 children's  Kberty,'  still  invested  with  the  power  of  pro- 
 nouncing at  their  births  on  their  life  or  death :»  and  in 
 Greece,  moreover,  though  we  hear  little  of  the  duties  of 
 parents,  we  see  those  of  children  sanctioned  by  the  gods 
 and  inculcated  in  many  a  terrible  legend.'  In  ancient 
 Persia,  the  cliild  up  to  a  certain  age,  owed  to  his  parents 
 unlimited  obedience,  and  the  cliild  that  thrice  answered  his 
 father  or  mother,  Avas  considered  worthy  of  death.^  In 
 Rome,3  and  here  the  paternal  authority  appears  as  absolute, 
 the  father  was  lord  of  his  household  ;  his  children  Avere  his 
 natural  slaves ;  he  had  poAver  over  their  lives  and  property, 
 and  Avas  accountable  to  none  for  the  use  he  made  of  that 
 power.  In  China,'  avc  find  the  same  fiunily  despotism  as  in 
 
 ^  Forbes,  Oriental  Memoirs,  vol. 
 i,  p.  251,252. 
 
 ^  Hermann,  Political  Antiquities 
 of  Greece,  §  122,  123;  Bekker 
 Charikles,  Append,  c.  i,  iib.  Erzie- 
 huns;  d.  Knaben. 
 
 ^  Solon  took  away  this  power. 
 Vide  Titman,  Graccis.  Staatsverfas. 
 p.  12 
 
 ^  Potter,  Antiq.  of  Greece,  vol. 
 ii,  p.  326  ;  Bekker,  ut  supra.  The 
 father  must  decide  on  the  life  of 
 the  child  before  it  is  six  days  old. 
 
 '  As  in  the  laws  of  Triptolemus, 
 engraved  on  the  walls  of  Eleusis 
 (Creuzer,  Symbolik,  vol.  iv.p,  122); 
 as  in  the  legends  Theseus,  CEdipus, 
 Orestes,  and  others,  adduced  Ijy 
 Plato,  De  Legibus,  xi,  from  Potter. 
 
 •  "  L'enfaut  doit  a  ses  parens 
 une  soumissiou  absolue.  Celui  qui 
 
 repond  trois  fois  a  son  pere  ou  sa 
 mere,  et  ne  leur  obeit  pas,  est  digne 
 de  mort." — Anquetil,  du  Perron's 
 Usages  des  Perses,  Zend,  vol.  ii, 
 p.  552.  After  the  child  became  a 
 Behdin,  he,  however,  seems  to  have 
 1)een  emancipated. — Id.  p.  554. 
 
 ^  By  the  law  of  the  twelve  tables : 
 "  Paterfamilias  jus  vitaB  et  necis  in 
 liberos  esto ;"  and  again:  "  Quic- 
 quid  Alius  acquirit,patri  acquirit;" 
 and  see  Michelet,  Hist.  Rom.  vol. 
 i,  p.  97. 
 
 *  "  C'est  sur  le  respect  qu'on  doit 
 aux  parens  et  aux  maitres  que  les 
 Chinois  out  principaleraent  etabli 
 les  fondemens  de  leur  moral  et  de 
 
 leur  politique Les  loix  donnent 
 
 aux  peres  un  pouvoir  absolu  sur 
 leurs  fanjilles,  ils  ont  meme  le 
 droit  de  vcndrc  leurs  tufans  a  dcs 
 
230  CHAPTER   VII. 
 
 Kome.  But  in  Rome  this  disposition,  though  recognized 
 by  the  laws,  does  not  seem,  excei)t  in  so  far  as  its  tenden- 
 cies were  aristocratic,  to  have  had  influence  on  the  govern- 
 ment or  constitution  of  the  state  ;  while  in  China  it  is  the 
 basis  of  all  civil  and  religious  morality,  and  the  model  on 
 which  the  state  is  framed.  In  the  Judaical  books,  the 
 child  is  regarded  as  the  property  of  his  parents  ;  he  may  be 
 sold  for  their  benefit,  and  mortgaged  for  their  debts :»  and 
 thouo-h  Deut.  xxi.  limits  the  power  of  the  father,  it  limits 
 that  power  so  slightly,  that  with  the  legends  of  Abraham 
 and  Jephtha  before  us,  we  may  fairly  conclude  that  it 
 once  extended  even  over  the  life  of  the  child. 
 
 Again,  as  in  China,  so  in  the  Mosaical  books,  the  reli- 
 gion and  the  laws  delivered  to  the  people,  are  delivered  to 
 them  as  the  laws  and  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  FiUal 
 piety — displayed  in  a  reverential  love  for  their  great  common 
 parents,  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  from  whom  they  hold 
 their  God  and  their  right  to  their  country, — is  among  the 
 great  bonds  which  make  of  the  twelve  tribes  one  nation. 
 But  if  the  Israelites  loved  to  dwell  upon  the  memory  of 
 their  great  ancestors,  they  were  at  the  same  time  taught  to 
 look  forward  to  their  own  posterity.'  With  the  very 
 name  of  their  first  father,  Abraham,  was  associated  the 
 promise  of  Him  in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
 should  be  blessed.  They  therefore  lived  not  in  the  past 
 only,  but  in  the  future  also.     In  China,  however,  man's 
 
 strangers  s'ils  sont  mecontens  de  ^  Vide  Nehemiah  v.  and  Deuter. 
 
 leur  conduite Un  pere  qui  ac-  xxi.  18.     With  these  we  may  com- 
 
 cuse  un  fils  devant  le  Mandarin  de  pave  Plato,  De  Legibus,  §  xi,  p.  1 53, 
 quelque  manquement  a  son  egard,  where  he  treats  of  the  differences 
 n'a  pas  besoin  de  preuves,  le  fils  de  which  sometimes  arise  between  pa- 
 la  est  coupable,  et  le  pere  a  tou-  rents  and  children, 
 jours  raison  (compare  Deuter.  xxi.  ^  The  Zend,  in   the  nuptial  be- 
 
 18,&c.) Si  un  enfant  s'emporte  nediction,  or  "  Nekah,"  makes   it 
 
 jusqu'a  dire  des  injures  a  son  pere,  the  man's  duty  to  excel  his  father  : 
 
 ou  meme,  si  transporte   de  fureur,  "  Rendez-vous  plus    celebre  ^  que 
 
 il  vient  a  le  frapper,  ou  a  lui  nter  votre  pere." — Vol  ii,  p.  97.     There 
 
 la  vie,  un  pareil  crime  met  toute  la  is  more  of  the  spirit  of  modern  so- 
 
 province  en  alarme,  on  punit  ses  ciety  in  these  words  than  in  any  T 
 
 proches,  on  depose  souveutlc  Man-  remember  in  the   other    old    reli- 
 
 darin,"    kc. — Du    Haldc,   Chine,  gions. 
 vol.  iii,  p.  155,  ^c. 
 
CHAPTER   VII.  231 
 
 duties  are  not  merely  based  upon,  but  comprehended  under, 
 filial  piety.  In  China,  consequently,  he  clings,  or  is  chained, 
 to  the  tomb  of  his  fathers.'  In  their  steps  it  is  his  desire 
 to  walk,  and  not  himself  to  invent,  but  to  imitate  the 
 ancients ;  and  to  equal  not  to  improve  upon  them,  is  the 
 ambition  of  the  virtuous  sage.  Hence  a  literature  Avhich 
 is  confined  to  history,*  and  a  virtue,  a  science,  and  a  grief," 
 which  are  erudite. 
 
 Again,  the  Jewish  lawgiver,  while  he  enforces  the  duties 
 of  filial  piety,  limits  their  duration.  "  A  man  shall  leave 
 his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife, 
 and  they  shall  be  one  flesh."  So  soon  as  he  married,  the 
 wandering  patriarch  seems  to  have  inhabited  his  own  tent, 
 and  to  have  been  lord  of  his  own  family  ;  and  though  he 
 may  have  continued  to  travel  in  the  company,  and  perhaps 
 as  a  follower,  of  his  father,^  he  seems  to  have  been  no  way 
 subject  to  the  paternal  authority.  With  the  years,  he 
 took  upon  himself  the  offices,  of  manhood,  and  claimed  the 
 right  of  independent  act  and  independent  thought;  and 
 while  he  doubtless  respected  liis  fiither's  opinion,  loved, 
 honoured  him,  he  ceased  to  make  his  father's  will  his  law. 
 Not  so  the  Chinese  son.  So  long  as  his  parents  live,  he  is 
 a  child.     The  duties  of  a  husband  and  a  father  must  vield 
 
 ''  "  Quancl  un  lettre  vent  quitter  manlere  meme  de  pleurer  puisse  etre 
 
 sa  patrie,  on  tache  de  I'eu  detourner  imilee.^' — Id. p.  13,  and  see  Doctrine 
 
 en  lui  disant,  Quoi!  vous  abandon-  des  Chinois  sur  la  Piete  Filiale,  in 
 
 neriez    les  tombeaux    de  vos  an-  same  note. 
 
 cetres  ?  " — Memoires  des  Chinois,  i  Thus,  Ahrara  travelled    some 
 
 vol.  iv.  p.  10.  time  with  his  father   Terah,    but 
 
 ^  "  Ne  nous  hazardez  jamais,"  seems  soon  to  have  parted  company 
 
 says  Confucius,  in  his  "  Hia-king,"  with  him  (Gen.  xii.  1).    Isaac  also, 
 
 "  a  rien  dire  qui  ne  soil  conforme  at  his  marriage,  dwelt  alone  in  the 
 
 aux  loix  que  les  anciens  empereurs  south  country.      Jacob  and  Esau 
 
 ontfait;  et  n'osez  rien  faire  dont  must  have  been  both  of  them  inde- 
 
 leurs  vertus  ne  vous  aitdonne  I'ex-  pendent  of  their  father.      Simeon 
 
 emple." — Id.  p    33;    and  see  the  and  Levi  of  their  own  njotion  slay 
 
 accusation  preferred  against  Ouang-  the  men  of  Shechem  ;  and  Judah, 
 
 si-heou,  id.  vol.  xv,  p.  287.  without    consulting    Jacob,    con- 
 
 "  "  Le  sage,  dit  Confucius,   se  demns  his  daughter-in-law  Tamar 
 
 possede  assez  lui-meme  dans    I'i-  to  death.  Sec. 
 vresse  de  la  douleur  pour  que  sa 
 
232  CHAPTER    VII. 
 
 before  those  which  he  owes  as  a  son  :^  his  place  it  is  to 
 obey.  So  the  lawgivers  have  ordered  it.  God,  however, 
 has  ordered  otherwise ;  and  though  His  laws  are  protected 
 neither  by  the  whip  nor  the  bowstring,  sure  and  terrible  is 
 the  punishment  which  Avaits  upon  all  violation  of  them.' 
 In  China,  then,  man  compelled  by  law  to  sacrifice  his  self- 
 independence,  binds  down  liis  nature  by  numerous  cere- 
 monies to  an  hypocritical  mildness;  he  makes  himself  a 
 livino-  lie ;  he  becomes  selfish,  and  sensual,  and  cruel, — any- 
 thing so  long  only  as  he  maintains  the  decency  of  appear- 
 ances, and  violates  not  that  conventional  politeness  which 
 is  the  alpha  and  omega  of  Chinese  society. 
 
 Verses  24  and  25.  The  first  murder  on  record  is  a  fra- 
 tricide, and  the  first  human  curse  is  the  curse  of  a  father  on 
 his  son.  Created  man's  first  crime  was  one  of  disobedience, 
 disobedience  against  his  Maker;  post-diluvian  man's  one 
 of  disrespect,  disrespect  of  a  child  towards  his  father.  In 
 both  cases  the  offended  party  pronounces  sentence  on  the 
 criminal.  In  the  one  case,  Adam  is  condemned  to  return 
 to  the  dust  of  which  he  was  made  ;  in  the  other,  Canaan  is 
 punished  with  a  life  of  servitude  ;  and  in  both  cases  about 
 930  years  elapse  ere  either  of  the  sentences  are  fulfilled. 
 
 "  Cursed  be  Canaan !"  Commentators  terrified  at  the 
 injustice  of  this  curse,  have  supposed — 
 
 I.  That  the  text  was  corrupt;  that  the  words  should 
 stand  thus,  "  Cursed  be  Ham,  the  father  of  Canaan  !"*  But 
 if  we  inquire  of  them  why  Ham  is  especially  called  the 
 father  of  Canaan,  and  not  rather  the  father  of  Cnsh  ;  their 
 
 *  "  Un    fils    doit  repudiev   une  garder  la  viduite,  et  ([u'elle  se  re- 
 
 femme  qu'il  aime  des  qu'ellc  de-  marie." — Id. 
 plait  a  son  pere  et  a  sa  mere,  et        '  Hence  the  necessity  of  study- 
 
 garder  toute  sa  vie  celle  pour  qu'il  inp;  history,  of  looking  at  nations 
 
 a  de  I'aversion  des  qu'elle  est  a  leur  through  their  laws,  creeds,  &o.  and 
 
 gre"  (Mem.  des   Chinois,  p.  288);  observing  how  far  these  influence 
 
 and  again :"  La  loi  veut  qu'un  fils  their     character.       History     thus 
 
 ne  regardc  plus  comme    sa  mere  studied  is  the  great  hook  of  God's 
 
 celle  qui  lui  a  donnc  le  jour,  lors-  providence,  which  gradually  opens 
 
 (|u'elle  a  ete  repudiee  par  son  pere,  to  us  the  laws  of  God  to  man. 
 et   surtont  lorsqu'elle  nc  vent  pas         '  Vide  Michael.  Com. ad  h.l.,  .^c. 
 
CHAPTER    VII.  233 
 
 answer,  it  is  evident,  will  be,  because  in  Canaan's  race  the 
 curse  was  to  be  fulfilled/  This  emendation  consequently 
 unsupported  by  any  authority,  and  which  must  be  applied 
 to  tlu'ce  several  verses,  is  an  emendation  in  seeming  only, 
 — it  leaves  the  justice  of  the  case  just  where  it  found  it. 
 
 n.  That  Ham  was  cursed  in  Canaan,  because  Canaan 
 was  his  favourite  son.  Hoav  these  commentators  have 
 ascertained  that  Canaan  Avas  the  favourite  of  Ham,  I  know 
 not ;  but  this  I  know,  that  the]/  can  have  but  strange  ideas 
 of  justice,  who  punish  the  father  through  his  innocent 
 children.  And  yet  these  very  men,  who  thus  endeavour 
 to  excuse  the  curse  of  Noah,  because  they  believe  that 
 God  has  sanctioned  it,  abhor  the  similar  sentence  of 
 Gesler  as  a  cruel  tyranny.    Such  and  so  consequent  is  man. 
 
 III.  That  Canaan  was  cursed,  because  he  stood  by  and 
 mocked  his  grandfather's  nakedness.  No  trace  of  this  is 
 to  be  found  in  the  tale.  And  were  it  all  there,  still  would 
 it  no  way  account  for  the  justice  of  a  sentence  which  took 
 effect,  not  upon  the  criminal,  but  upon  his  descendants,  in 
 the  tenth  generation. 
 
 Shall  we  say,  then,  that  Canaan  was  unjustly  cursed? 
 Yes,  the  men  of  our  age  will  unhesitatingly  answer.  But 
 how  would  have  answered  Moses?  The  very  fact  that 
 this  curse  is  recorded  in  a  sacred  book,  that  it  proceeds 
 from  the  mouth  of  a  pious  patriarch,  and  that  its  fulfilment 
 is  left  to  God's  providence,®  proves  that,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
 
 '  In    Africa     (the    great    slave  I'ecriture :  que    Dieu    consentit  a 
 
 quarry  of  the  European  race)  we  leur  choix  :  mais  qu'irrite  de  leur 
 
 find  traditions  which  account  for  avarice,  il  d^clara  qu'ils  seront  les 
 
 the  origin   of  slavery :    "  lis    sou-  esclaves  des  blancs,  sans    aucune 
 
 tiennent,"  according    to    Bosman,  esperance  de  voir  changer  leur  con- 
 
 "  que  dans  I'origine  Dieu  crea  des  dition." — Histoire    G^nerale     des 
 
 blancs    et    des    negres  ;    qu'apres  Voyages,  vol.  iv,  lib.  ix,§vii,  p.  158. 
 
 avoir  considere  son  ouvrage,  il  fit  ^  When   the  despoiled    Croesus 
 
 deux  presens  a  ses  deux  creatures,  sent  his  fetters  to  Delphos  and  re- 
 
 I'or  et  la  connoissance    des  arts;  proached   the   gods  with  his  cap- 
 
 que  les  negres  ayant  eu  la  lilierte  tivity,  the  Pythian  replied,  "  that  he 
 
 de  choisir  les  premiers,  se  deter-  suffered   not  for  his  own   sin  but 
 
 minerent  pour   I'or,    et   laisserent  that  of  his  ancestor." — Herod,  lib. 
 
 aux  blancs  les  arts,  la  lecture,  et  i,  §  91.      When  we  would  judge 
 
 2  H 
 
234  CHAPTER    VII. 
 
 Israelites,  the  curse  was  both  rational  and  just.  Wherein, 
 then,  did  their  modes  of  thought,  their  notions  of  crime  and 
 justice,  differ  from  ours  ?     In  this, 
 
 I.  That,  vnth  us,''  right  and  power  are  two  things  sepa- 
 rate and  distinct  one  from  the  other;  toith  them,  on  the 
 other  hand,  they  were  frequently  confounded  together, 
 and,  when  so  confounded,  the  power  always  included  the 
 right^  to  do.  Hence,  the  arbitrary  acts  so  often  attributed 
 to  their  deities  and  holy  men  by  the  ancient  nations,  Jews 
 as  well  as  heathens. 
 
 II.  That,  with  us,  the  great  object  of  punishment  is  the 
 repressal  of  crime ;  tvith  them,  it  was  the  inflicting  pain  on 
 the  criminal."  Hence  it  is  that  we  study  principally  the 
 motives  of  the  offender ;  while  they,  and  we  must  remember 
 that  their  crimes  were  crimes  against  the  Deity,  looked 
 wholly  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  offended  ;  they  propitiated 
 anger,  and  their  punishments,  therefore,  bear  often  no 
 proportion  to  the  offence  which  called  them  forth. 
 
 III.  That,  with  us,  all  crimes' are  personal,  dishonours 
 those  only  who  are  guilty  of  them ;  inth  them,  on  the 
 other  hand,  some  crimes  were  considered  hereditary  ; — they 
 had  their  seat  in  the  blood,  and  were  handed  down  from 
 father  to  son.'     Such  was  the  sin  of  disobedience,  which 
 
 the  actions  and  motives  attributed  dicevano  seriameute  ;  egli  nondebb' 
 
 to  the  Deity  in  our  sacred  hooks,  essere  signore  per  niente.    L'Aretino 
 
 we  should  look  out  for  similar  ac-  si  lamentava  perche  il  Papa  iion 
 
 tions    and  motives    attributed    to  puniva  il  suo  assassino  ;  il  Papa  e 
 
 other  deities  bj'  their  several  creeds,  il  Papa,  e  tu  sei  un  furfante,  gli 
 
 and  judi^-e  them.  rispondeva    il    Berni." — Oper.    di 
 
 '  I  speak  of  our  age  generally.  Vico,  vol.  i,  p.  9. 
 Some  barl)arous  and  selfish  spirits         ^  This  may  be  seen  even  in  the 
 
 there    are,  no  doubt,    among   us,  institution  of  the  cities   of  refuge 
 
 whose  cry  is:  "I  can  do  what  I  in  cases  of  manslaughter.  I  would 
 
 will  with  my  own  '. "  thus  07ili/  partly   account  for  the 
 
 *  The  same  views  we  find  in  the  atrocities  which  disgrace  the  olden 
 
 middle  ages.     Ferrari,  in  his  his-  codes ;  for  I  have  elsewhere  (Na- 
 
 torical  preface  to  the  works  of  Vico,  tional  Education)  traced  those  atro- 
 
 describing    the    fifteenth  century,  cities,  and  still  think  they  may  in 
 
 observes  :    "  Tutti  rispettavauo  la  part  be  traced,  to  the  sluggish  and 
 
 forza,  tutti  la  impiegavano    negli  uninventive  disposition  of  the  half- 
 
 avvenimenti  della  vita  ;  se  un  alto  civilized  mind, 
 personaggio  commettava  un'  injus-         i  Though  Moses  for  civil  crimes 
 
 tizia,  gli  uomini  scnsati  dell'  epoca  lays    down  (Deut.    xxiv.    6)    this 
 
CHAPTER   VII.  235 
 
 we  inherit,  with  its  punishment,  from  Adam ;  such  the 
 sin  of  rebelHon,  punished  in  Said  and  his  descendants ;  and 
 such  the  sin  of  idolatry,  visited  even  unto  the  third  and 
 fourth  generation,  &c. 
 
 Remembering,  then,  the  respect  to  which  the  patriarch 
 was  accustomed,  and  his  power,  and  also  the  nature  of  the 
 insult  offered  to  him,  and  the  anger  it  must  have  raised  in 
 his  breast,  we  shall  wonder  no  more  at  the  bitterness  of 
 the  imprecations  which  he  pours  forth  against  his  offend- 
 ing son,  but  shall  rather  admire  his  prophetic  spirit,  which 
 mournfully  sees  Ham's  lawless  character  working  its  way, 
 and  developing  itself  in  one  branch  of  his  descendants,  and 
 in  them  suffering  the  punishments  to  which  he  now  fore- 
 dooms it. 
 
 Again,  Noah  will  not  curse  Ham,  because,  in  Ham,  he 
 would  curse  all  Ham's  family,  even  to  the  tenth  generation ; 
 he  limits,  therefore,  the  curse  to  the  Canaanite  branch, 
 and,  instead  of  destroying,  Noah  thus  contents  himself 
 with  decimating,  the  race  of  Ham. 
 
 Verses  26,  27.  In  the  blessing  of  Shem,  the  Deity 
 appears  as  Jehovah  Elohim ;  in  that  of  Japhet,  as  Elohim. 
 Because,  howevej,  the  blessing  of  Japhet'^  is  etymological, 
 
 p^rand  rule,  that  "every  man  shall  ants,  and  the  reverential  homage, 
 
 be  put  to  death  for  his  own  sin,"  he  which    is    paid  to  the  tablets  on 
 
 does  not  observe  it  m  religious  ones,  which  his  name  is  engraved  (Vide 
 
 Thus,  for  the  rebellion  of  Korah,  Coutumes  P'unebres  des  Nations). 
 
 Dathan,  and    Abiram,    they,   and  — But  to  return  to  our  subject,  I  see 
 
 their  little  children,  and  all  that  some  sins  punished  on  the  children, 
 
 appertains  to  them,  are  destroyed.  I  know  that  men  are  cruel  in  rao- 
 
 (N umbers  xvi.)      Similarly  in  the  ments  of  anger,  but  I  cannot  but 
 
 Chou-king  (p.  60),  I  find  that  Ki  believe,  that  when  this  cruelty  is 
 
 thus  encourages  his  officers  :  "  Je  legal,  part  of  a  system,  that  there 
 
 ferai  mourir  devant  le  Che  (I'esprit  must  be  a  reason  ibr  it;  in  the  pre- 
 
 de  la  Terre)  ceux  qui  seront  cles-  sent  case  I  think  I  see  that  reason 
 
 obeissant,  eux  et  leurs  enfans." —  in  the  belief  that  some  sins  were 
 
 (By  the  way  I  must  observe  that  in  hereditary.     Do  not  the  existence 
 
 China  to  put  the  children  to  death  of  family  priesthoods,  the  divisions 
 
 as  well  as   the  father  is  a  high  re-  into  castes,  the  hate  towards  parti- 
 
 finement  of  cruelty ;  because  there  cular  people,  all  rest  on  the  belief 
 
 the  state  of  the  man  in  an  after-life  in  such  hereditary  tendencies? 
 depends  veiy  much  on  the  respect         ^  "  God  shall  enlarge   (Japhth) 
 
 in  which  he  is  held  by  his  descend-  Japheth."   Bochart,Sac.  Gcog.  iii,i. 
 
236  CHAPTER   VII. 
 
 or  rests  on  a  play  upon  words,  and  because  moreover  like 
 the  curse  on  Canaan  and  the  blessing  of  Shem,  it  is 
 metrical  in  its  form,  i.  e.  because  it  has  all  the  characteris- 
 tics which  distinguish  the  Jehovah  portions  of  Genesis, 
 Eichhorn^  supposes  here  some  corruption  of  the  text,  and 
 that  instead  of  EloUrn  we  should  read  Jehovah, 
 
 With  regard  to  blessings  and  curses  generally,  of  which 
 there  are  many  examples  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  we 
 may  observe, 
 
 I.  That  once  pronounced  they  could  not  be  recalled.  Thus 
 Isaac,  though  he  regrets,  acknowledges  his  inability  to  annul, 
 the  blessing  which  he  unwittingly  pronounced  on  Jacob. 
 
 II.  That  they  were  prophetic. 
 
 1st.  As  they  always  related  to  forthcoming  events. 
 
 And,  2ndly.  As  they  were  sometimes  independent  of 
 the  will  of  him  who  uttered  them.  Thus  Balaam,  though 
 he  would  wish  to  curse  Israel,  and  by  this  means  obtain 
 the  favour  of  Balak,  is  nevertheless  compelled  "  to  speak 
 the  word  that  God  putteth  in  his  mouth."  ■* 
 
 III.  That  they  differed  from  prophecies. 
 
 1st.  In  that  they  sometimes  depended  on,  and  expressed 
 the  will  of  him  who  uttered  them.  Thvis  it  is  in  Isaac's 
 power  to  bless  Esau  in  preference  to  Jacob, — and  of  liis 
 own  free  will  it  is  that  Noah  curses  Canaan. 
 
 And,  2ndly.  In  that  they  not  merely  foretold,  but 
 actually  influenced  the  course  of  events.^  Thus,  because 
 Isaac  blessed  Jacob,  Jacob  becomes  lord  over  his  brethren, 
 and  has  the  fatness  of  the  earth  for  his  portion ;  and, 
 because  Noah  curses  Canaan,  Canaan  is  doomed  to  be 
 a  servant  of  servants.  Similarly  in  ancient  Grecian  story, 
 the  imprecations  (and  that  without  regard  to  their  justice 
 or  injustice)  of  G^dipus,  and  Amyntor,  and  Theseus,  on 
 their  several  children,  are  heard  by  the  gods®  and  realized. 
 
 ^  Eichhorn  Einleitun<i;  in  d.  Alt.  alter  and  determine  the  course  of 
 
 Test.  §  416.  events. 
 
 *  Vide  Numbers  xxiv.  "  Vide  Plato,  De  Legibus,  lib.  xi, 
 
 ^  Throughout  the  interviews  of  p.   159,  Bipont.  vol.  ix,  where  he 
 
 Balak  with  Balaam,  Balak  seems  treats  of  the  efficacy  of  the  blessings 
 
 to  look  on  the  curse  which  he  asks  and  curses  of  parents. 
 
 of  Balaam  as  a  charm  which  would 
 
CHAPTER    VII.  237 
 
 And,  even  in  our  day,  the  Hindus  tremblingly  acknow- 
 ledge the  efficacy  of  both  the  blessings  and  curses  ^  of  their 
 priests,  who  thus  arbitrarily  dispense  happiness  or  misery, 
 according  as  men  please  or  displease  them. 
 
 Following  in  the  steps  of  Eichhorn,  we  have,  in  the 
 course  of  our  examination,  observed  that  the  Jehovah  and 
 Elohim  portions  of  Genesis  were  each  distinguished  by 
 a  peculiarity  of  thought  and  expression  which  warranted 
 the  conclusion,  that  they  originally  formed  two  distinct 
 narratives,  from  which  Moses,  or  whoever  was  the  author 
 of  this  book,  composed  his  account  of  the  creation,  and  of 
 the  earth's  first  inhabitants.  With  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japhet, 
 the  antediluvian  race  perished.  Ere  therefore  we  enter 
 on  that  new  scene  in  wliich  we  are  playing  our  brief  parts: 
 ere  we  begin  the  history  of  that  new  world  to  which  we 
 ourselves  belong,  we  will  again  separate  and  review  the 
 descriptions  which  Jehovah  and  Elohim  each  present  us  of 
 antediluvian  society. 
 
 Jehovah  shows  us  man  as  having  already  learned  to  cul- 
 tivate the  earth,  and  to  tame  and  domesticate  animals ;  and 
 as  early  beginning  to  build  and  inhabit  cities.  A  few 
 generations  pass  away,  and  then  appear  men,  who  are 
 nomadic  princes,  dwelling  in  tents,  and  rich  in  herds  of 
 cattle ;  others,  who  taught  mankind  to  confine  and  modu- 
 late sounds,  and  make  of  them  sweet  music;  and  again 
 others,  who  wrought  metals  into  ornaments,  and  vessels 
 for  domestic  uses,  and  instruments  of  labour  and  of  war. 
 Such  were  the  occupations,  and  such  the  state  of  the  arts 
 
 ^  "  Si  les  effets  salutaires  de  leur  debiter  a  ce  sujet  plusieins  contes 
 
 benediction leur  attirent  tant  ridicules,  dont  ils  disent  avoir  ete 
 
 d'admiration  et  de  respect  du  stu-  les  teraoins  oculaires Tantot 
 
 pide  vulgaire,  leur  malediction,  qui  c'est  une  personne  niorte    subite- 
 
 n'est  pas  moins  puissante,  les  rend  ment  al'instant  niemeoii  le  gourou 
 
 redoiitables.       Les    Indiens    sont  a  lance  sa  malediction  contre  elle; 
 
 persuades  q'u'elle  ne  manque  jamais  tantot  e'en  est  un  autre  qui  a  ete 
 
 iVavoir  son  ejfet,  soil  qu'elle  ait  ete  saisie  d'une  tremblement  dans  tons 
 
 justement  ou  injustcment  encourue.  les  membres,  qui  dure  encore,"  &c. 
 
 Les  personnes  de  la  suite  du  — Dubois,  Mceurs  des  Tndes,  vol. 
 
 qoiirou ne  manquent  pas  de  ii,  p.  168. 
 
238  CHAPTER  vn. 
 
 among  the  men  with  whom  Jehovah  makes  us  acquainted. 
 Of  their  domestic  life,  though  its  outlines  are  faint,  he 
 traces  the  same  favourable  i)icture.  For,  as  liis  wife 
 accompanies  the  banished  Cain,  may  we  not  gather  that 
 both  she  and  her  cotemporaries  acknowledged  all  the  sacred 
 obligations  of  marriage  ?  And  because  it  is  Adah  and  Zillah 
 whom  Lamech  calls  to  his  councils,  is  it  not  fair  to  pre- 
 sume that  he  and  his  age  felt  the  equality  of,  and  honoured 
 the  woman  ?  That  thus  early  the  authority  of  the  father 
 was  respected,  the  conduct  of  Shem  and  Japhet  proves; 
 while  the  curse  of  Noah  presupposes  a  distinction  of  ranks, 
 which,  coupled  with  the  manner  in  which  the  arts  then 
 practised  are  divided  among  particular  castes,^  induces  to 
 the  conclusion  that  the  advantages  arising  from  the  division 
 of  labour  were  already  known  and  appreciated  by  the  ante- 
 diluvian men.  In  their  religious  worship,  too,  we  meet 
 with  the  same  advance.  They  sacrifice,  and  oflPer  choice 
 sacrifices.  For  the  purpose  of  sacrifice,  they  have  already 
 separated  the  animal  creation  into  two  parts,  the  clean,  and 
 the  unclean ;  and  the  name  which  Cain  imposes  on  his 
 son  seems  to  imply,  that  that  son  was  consecrated^  dedi- 
 cated^ to  God ;  that  he  was  from  his  birth  a  priest ; — and 
 public  worship  must  then  have  been  instituted  in  all  the 
 Cainite  cities. 
 
 The  Elohim  creates  man,  male  and  female ;  He  endows 
 him  with  dominion  over  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  gives 
 him  fruit  and  grain  for  food.  He  next  shows  us  man, 
 seemingly  the  husband  of  one  wife, — though  marriage"  is 
 by  Him  limited  to  the  purposes  of  generation  ;  and  He 
 tells  us  of  one  man  who  is  the  friend  and  servant  of  God. 
 He  then  proceeds  to  mourn  over  the  wickedness  and  law- 
 
 *  Vide  chap.  iv.  20,21,  22.  riage  in  civilized  countries  has  in 
 
 ^  The  fonnula   by  wJiich  Jeho-  view, — that  one  will,  that  cominu- 
 
 vah  expresses  the  marriage  state :  nity  of  interests,  that  mutual  com- 
 
 "  Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  fort  and  assistance,  which  render  a 
 
 father  and  mother  and  cleave  unto  well-assorted  marriage  the  highest 
 
 his   wife,  and   they   shall   be   one  happiness  of  which  our  mortal  state 
 
 flesh,"  symbolically  expresses   all  is  capable. 
 
 those   higher  objects   which   mar- 
 
CHAPTER  vn.  239 
 
 lessness  of  the  beings  He  has  created :  He  condemns  them 
 to  perish  by  a  dehige,  but  first  builds  for  Noah,  or  teaches 
 him  how  to  build,  a  ship,  in  which  to  save  himself  and  his 
 family.  In  that  sliip,  before  the  deluge  commences.  He 
 commands  Noah  to  enter ;  and,  after  the  deluge  is  over, 
 that  ship  He  bids  him  to  quit ;  and  now  again  gives  him 
 dominion  over  the  animal  creation,  and  permission  to  eat 
 of  all  living  things,  provided  he  eat  not  of  their  blood : 
 He  then  adds,  as  his  Avill,  that  "whoever  sheds  man's 
 blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed  ; "  and  concludes  by 
 making  a  covenant  with  Noah,  in  which  He  promises  never 
 again  to  destroy  the  earth. 
 
 These  two  pictures,  viewed  separately,  are  quite  in  har- 
 mony with  themselves.  In  the  one,  man  is  bold  and  inde- 
 pendent, and  relies  on  his  own  exertions,  and  he  subdues 
 the  earth  and  all  the  animal  creation  to  his  will ;  in  the 
 
 make  no  one  step  but  by  the  advice,  and  at  the  express 
 command  of  his  God  and  guardian  :  if  he  act  for  himself, 
 he  sins  :  he  is,  at  best,  but  great  prospectively.  The  first, 
 too,  necessarily  supj)oses  man  living  under  certain  laws,^ 
 and,  by  the  very  expressions  which  it  uses  to  designate 
 beasts  for  sacrifice,  implies  that  flesh  had  long  been  an 
 article  of  food.  The  second^  on  the  other  hand,  knows  of 
 no  sacrifices,  of  no  animal  food,  before  Noah's  time  ;  and  of 
 no  laws  besides  those  animal  instincts  wliich  only  are  God's 
 laws,  because  they  are  inherent  in  man's  physical  constitu- 
 tion, but  which  a  liigher  law,  God's  moral  law,  teaches  us 
 not  how  to  indulge,  but  how  to  moderate.  These  two 
 pictures  then,  viewed  separately,  stand  in  strong  contrast 
 one  with  the  other.  Unite  them,  endeavour  to  make  one 
 picture  out  of  them,  and  you  have  a  composition  without 
 keeping,  without  harmony, — a  host  of  discrepancies,  almost 
 contradictions,  which  the  most  artistical  care,  the  most 
 anxious  desire,  by  an  addition  here,  an  omission  there, 
 vainly  strives  to  reconcile.  You  have  the  first  chapters  of 
 the  book  of  Genesis. 
 
 '  Vide  supra,  p.  16.3, 164. 
 
240  CHAPTER  vrr. 
 
 With  this  tale  we  may  connect, 
 
 I.  The  laws  in  Exod.  xxi.  15-17,  &c. ;  the  fifth  com- 
 mandment, and,  as  an  exemplification  of  it,  the  story  of 
 Ruth;  the  threats  contained  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second 
 commandment,  and  the  several  curses  in  Deut.  xxvii. 
 
 II.  The  hate  shown  by  the  Israelites  to  the  people  of 
 Canaan,  and  the  cruelties  exercised  on  them ;  and,  as  a 
 fulfilment  of  the  curse  on  Canaan,  the  slavery  to  which 
 Gideon  is  condemned  by  the  princes  of  Israel.   (Josh,  ix.) 
 
241 
 
 CHAPTER  VIII. 
 
 GENESIS  X.  1—32,  and  xi.  1—9. 
 
 "  The  sons  of  Japhet," — laireroc,  Japetus,  appears  in 
 Grecian  story ;  lie  is  one  of  the  six  Titans,  but  is  remark- 
 able only  as  the  father  of  Prometheus.^ 
 
 "  Gomer  and  Magog."  They  are  represented  in  Eze- 
 kiel  xxxviii.  as  a  martial  people,  Avhose  armies,  consisting  of 
 cavalry  and  infantry,  were  well  appointed ; — the  former, 
 men  and  horse,  are  described  as  wearing  armour;  the 
 latter,  as  numerous,  and  as  armed  with  shields  and  swords. 
 
 "  Javan,  Tubal,  and  Meschech."  Jaones,  Tones,  the 
 name  of  one  of  the  Greek  races.  Javan  is  the  ancestor  of 
 the  Greeks ;  and  Javan  is  the  name  by  which  Greece  was 
 known  to  the  x\siatics,  in  the  time  of  Alexander.  (Daniel 
 viii.  21.  Bochart  Geog.  Sac.  lib.  iii.  chap.  iii.  Goguet 
 Orig.  des  Lois,  vol.  i.  p.  58.)  Javan,  with  Tubal  and 
 Meshech  in  Ezekiel's  picture  of  the  commerce  of  Tyre,  is 
 represented  as  trading  in  vessels  of  brass  and  slaves.* 
 
 "  Tarshish  "  is  celebrated  in  Hebrew  story  for  the  com- 
 merce which  it  carried  on  with  Solomon,  through  its  own 
 ships,  and  those  of  Hiram  of  Tyre.  Its  exports  seem  to 
 have  consisted  of  raw  materials  merely ;  gold  and  silver, 
 iron,  tin,  and  lead,  elephants'  teeth,  and  apes,  and  peacocks."* 
 
 '  Diod.  Sic.  lib.  v.  chap.  66.  pare  Euinsus'  account  of  his  Phte- 
 
 '^  Chap,  xxvii.  13 :  They  traded     uician  nurse,  Odys.  v  xv.  402. 
 the  persons  of  men  and  vessels  of        ^  Vide  1  Chron.  x.  22 ;  and  mar- 
 brass  in  their  markets."    And  com-     ginal  reading ;  and  Ezek.  xxvii.  12. 
 
 2  I 
 
242  CHAPTER  VIII. 
 
 Its  navy,  however,  must  have  been  considerable  and  of 
 high  repute.  (Vide  Isaiah  xxiii.  1,  and  Ix.  9.) 
 
 "  Chittim  and  Elisha."  The  first,  also  a  naval  power, 
 (Numbers  xxiv.  24)  was  famous  for  its  ivory  ;  the  second, 
 for  a  blue  and  purple  dye,^  which  was  inferior  only  to  the 
 Tyrian.    Ehsha  is  supposed  to  be  Elis.  (Bochart,  ib.  ch.  iv.) 
 
 "  The  sons  of  Ham."  Mizraim  is  one  of  the  Scripture 
 names  of  Egypt,  and  it  doubtless  implies,  that  from  Ham 
 the  Egyptians  were  descended.  Their  early  greatness, 
 their  progress  in  all  the  arts  of  civilization,  it  is  needless, 
 and  would  be  out  of  my  power,  to  insist  upon.  Their  re- 
 nown the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews,  and  Greek  poets,  his- 
 torians and  philosophers,  loudly  speak,  and  a  thousand 
 ruins  confirm  if 
 
 "  Phut."  The  men  of  Phut,  mercenaries  doubtless, 
 composed  the  heavy  infantry  of  Tyre.  They  were  armed 
 with  shields  and  helmets,  and  seem  to  have  been  held  in 
 high  repute. 
 
 "  Sheba,  Dedan,  and  Kaamah."  All  commercial  cities. 
 Dedan  traded  in  ivory  and  ebony,  and  its  "  clothes  for 
 chariots "  were  costly  and  much  esteemed.  Sheba  and 
 Raamah  brought  to  Tyre  incense,  spices,  precious  stones, 
 and  gold  ;  and  the  caravans  of  Sheba  were  besides  loaded 
 with  blue  cloths,  and  broidered  work,  and  rich  apparel. 
 Dedan  and  Sheba  then  dealt  not  merely  in  raw  produce, 
 but  in  manufactures  also,  and  their  merchants  seem  to 
 have  been  much  considered  in  the  fairs  of  Tyre.'' 
 
 "  Babylon,  Nineveh."  What  busy  crowds  of  men  are 
 here  !  what  mighty  works  of  art !  lakes,  canals,  palaces, 
 and  hanging  gardens  !  what  barbaric  grandeur !  what  hosts 
 of  conquered  nations  !  And  these  once  crowned  queens, 
 who,  with  almost  Bacchanal  riot,  erst  shouted  forth  their 
 
 ^  Ezek.  xxvii.  6.  (Phut)  with  them,  all  of  them  with 
 
 ■•  Id.  verse  7.  shield  and  helmet"  id.  xxxviii.  5. 
 
 5  VideWilkinson'sAncientEgyp-  And  in  Jeremiah  xlvi.  9,  the  Lihy- 
 
 tians.  ans  are  opposed  to  the   Lydians, 
 
 "  "  They,.. of  Phut,  were  in  thine  "  that  handle  and  bend  the  how" — 
 
 army,  thy  men  of  war :  they  hanged  light  troops. 
 
 the  shield  and  helmet  in  thee  (Ezek.  '  Vide  Ezek.  xxvii.  20,  22,  24  ; 
 
 id.  verse  10.)     "  Persia  and  Libya  and  for  Sheba,  Isaiah  Ix.  8. 
 
CHAPTER   VIII.  243 
 
 great  names,  and  paraded  their  youthful  beauty,  in  the  pre- 
 sence of  subject  and  admiring  Humanity,  nov.^  widowed  and 
 childless,  sit  silent  and  mournful,  brooding  over  their  hope- 
 less desolation. 
 
 Sidon.  "  The  Great  Sidon."  She  who  had  Tyre  for 
 her  daughter, — "the  crowning  city"' — she  is  the  eldest 
 born  of  Canaan  the  accursed.  Her  citizens  distinguish 
 themselves  in  history,  as  those  Avho  first  made  the  art  of 
 navigation  serve  the  purposes  of  commerce. »  They  were 
 besides  great  astronomers  and  arithmeticians,  and  are  sup- 
 posed to  have  been  the  inventors  of  glass;  they  were 
 indeed  celebrated  for  their  skill  in  all  arts.' 
 
 Notwithstanding  their  descent,  the  Sidonians  were  not, 
 it  would  seem,  included  in  that  implacable  hate,  which 
 Moses  compelled  Israel  to  vow  against  the  Canaanite. 
 Whether  it  was  that  they  were  a  peaceable,  orderly,  and 
 quiet  people,^  whose  neighbourhood  could  only  be  advan- 
 tageous ;  or  whether  it  was  that  their  city  afforded  a  con- 
 venient market  or  dehouche  for  the  various  productions 
 of  Palestine  f  certain  it  is,  that  Moses  never  advised, 
 and  none  of  his  successors  ever  attempted,  the  conquest 
 of  Phoenicia :  on  the  contrary,  as  the  Hebrews  grew  more 
 civihzed  and  more  powerful,  avc  find  them  entering  into 
 stricter  friendship,  and  even  "  brotherly  covenant,"  with 
 Tyre,  the  successor  of  Sidon.* 
 
 "  The  Arvadite," — a  race  of  seafiiring  men ;  they  are 
 mentioned  in  Ezekiel  xxvii.  as  serving  in  the  navies  of  Tyre. 
 
 «  Judges  xi.  8  ;  xix.  28  ;  Isaiah  dauglitcr  Carthage  is  handed  down 
 
 xxiii.  to  us  as  a  bye  word  for  all  selfish- 
 
 ^  Goguet  Orig.  d.  Loix  i.  28 1 .  ness,  avarice,  treachery,  and  cruelty. 
 
 '  Homer     calls     them     S.dovtq  See  Michelet  Hist.  Rom.  Look  ii, 
 
 ■jro\vSaica\oi,  Iliad,  743,  lib.  xxiii ;  chap,  iv.;  and  the  account  Diodorus 
 
 and  see  the  note  from  Strabo  on  gives  us  of  the  mode  in  which  the 
 
 this  verse,  in  Clarke's  ed.  ;    also,  gods  are  appeased  on  the  defeat  of 
 
 (ib.  vi  289,)  the  account  of  the  robes  her  armies  by  Agathocles. 
 given    to    Helen    by   Paris,  ipya         3  Ezek.  xxvii.  17. 
 yvvaiKwv  2i5oj/tw)' ;    and  compare         "  Amos  i.  9.     Michaelis  Mosais- 
 
 Prov.  xxxi.  18,  19.  dies    Recht,    vol.   i,    §25;    and 
 
 ^  Vide  Judges  xviii.  7.     On  the  Heeren,  Ideen  1  Theil.  ii.  Abthei- 
 
 raoral  character  of  Sidon,  history  I  lung  Fabiiken,  &c.  der  Phtenicier, 
 
 believe  is  silent;  but  her  celebrated  p.  132. 
 
^44  CHAPTER    VIII. 
 
 The  sons  of  Shem.  From  him  are  descended  Elam,  the 
 Persians,  or  first  inhabitants  of  Persia,  and  tlie  cliiklren  of 
 Eber,  the  Jews ;  and  the  descendants  of  Lud,  the  Lydians 
 and  Armenians; — with  the  exception  of  the  Jews  and 
 Persians,  nations  no  way  celebrated  either  in  this  or  in  any 
 former  time. 
 
 Verses  8  and  9.  According  to  Eichhorn,  this  is  but  the 
 fragment  of  some  old  poem,  and  one  to  which  we  doubtless 
 owe  all  that  has  been  preserved  to  us  of  the  life  and  deeds 
 of  Nimrod.  These  ancestral  poems,  we  have  before  ob- 
 served, are  the  oldest  national  records  ;  traces  of  them  are 
 evident  throughout  even  the  most  historical  parts  of  the 
 Jewish  Scripture."  By  the  Chinese  they  have  been  col- 
 lected, and  they  form  that  one  of  their  King's  or  sacred 
 books  which  solemnly  celebrates  the  great  men  and  the 
 great  deeds  of  the  olden  time.''  Among  the  Greeks,  they 
 have  been  bound  up  into,  and  lost  in,  the  Iliad  and  Odi/sse^/ 
 of  Homer.  And  among  the  Gaels,  they  appear  under  the 
 name  of  Ossian.  To  them  belonged  those  national  hymns^ 
 once  sung  by  the  Roman  youth ;  and  to  them  also  those 
 verses,  in  which  German  and   Scandinavian   bards,^  and 
 
 ^  "  A  Semo  enim  orti  sunt  Syri,         ^  Selden,  notes   to   book   vi.  of 
 
 Assyrii,  Lydi,  Armenii,  Persa^  Ely-  Drayton's     Polyolbion  ;     Toland's 
 
 mffli,  ct  innumeri  alii  Dei  cof^ni-  History    of    the    Druids,     Select 
 
 tione     prorsus     expertes."— Boch.  Pieces,    vol.    i,  p.   53    and    191  ; 
 
 Sac.  Geog.  book,  vol.  ii.  §.  1 .  Schlosser  Alt.  Gesch.  vol.  i,  p.  312  ; 
 
 *  Thus,  e.  g.  the  song  of  Moses,  and  Lafitau,  Moeurs  des  Sauvages, 
 
 in  Exod.  X,  is  evidently  the  origi-  vol. ii, p. 103. — " Ceux  qui  font  pro- 
 
 nal  whence  the  historian  has  drawn  fession  de  jouer  du  Balafo  sont  des 
 
 his  miraculous  account  of  the  pas-  negres  d'un  caractere  singulier,  et 
 
 sage  of  the  Red  Sea.  ([ui  paroissent  egalcment  faits  pour 
 
 ^  Mem.  Chin.  vol.  ii.  p.  74.  la  musique  et  la  pocsie Les  rois 
 
 '  The   TTcrrptoi  v\ivoi,   mentioned  et  les  seigneurs  du  pays  ont  tou- 
 
 by  Diony,sius,  from  Fabius  Pictor,  jours  de  ces  Gueriots  pres  d'eux, 
 
 lib.  i.  §  7K,  of  which  Cicero  Tusc.  pour   leur    propre   amusement    et 
 
 Quxst.     remarks  :     "  Gravissimus  ceux  des  etrangers  qui  paroissent  a 
 
 aucturinoriginibiis,  dixitCato,mo-  leur  cour lis  accompaguent 
 
 rem  apud  majores  hunc  epularum  leurs  instruments  dediverses  chan- 
 
 fulsse  ut  qui  acculiarent,  crt?K?j-(«<  sons,  dontle  sujet  ordinaire  «< /'an- 
 
 ad  tibiam  clarornm  rinrtnn  laudcs  tifjiiile,  la  nnhlesxe,  ct  les  exploits  de 
 
 atque    virtulesy — From     JNIicheltt  har    prince.^^ — Histoirc   Gcnerale 
 
 Hist.    Kom.  vol.  ii.  p.  6S,  which  des  Voyages,  vol. iii, p.  17(5,  Negroes 
 
 consult  on  tiiis  mutter.  of  Gand;ia. 
 
CHAPTER   VIII.  245 
 
 perhaps  American  warriors  and  Negro  Gueriots  "  harmoni- 
 cally celebrated  valiant  performers."  These  songs  lived 
 in  the  memories  of  the  people,  and  made  their  children 
 familiar  with  great  deeds.  In  war  they  served  to  stir  the 
 warriors  on  to  battle;  and  in  peace  they  enlivened  the 
 social  board,  and  graced  the  solemn  feast  of  state.  They 
 were  a  national  literature  emanating  from  and  influencing 
 the  national  character. 
 
 Clmfter  xi.  verses  1-9.  Plow  difficult  it  is  to  divest  one- 
 self of  the  notions  which  have  been  pressed  on  us  in  child- 
 hood !  How  almost  impossible  not  to  lend  to  a  sacred  book 
 those  thoughts  and  meanings  with  which  time  and  a  host 
 of  commentators  have  overloaded  it  I  In  studying  this 
 Genesis,  I  feel  aU  the  influence  of  long-estabhshed  opinion: 
 I  read,  but  through  other  men's  spectacles :  I  see,  but 
 with  other  men's  eyes :  like  some  excited  somnambulist, 
 I  am  dead  to  the  real  world  before  me :  I  live  with  phan- 
 toms :  I  converse  with  beings  that  exist  not,  and  answer, 
 but  only  to  words  that  never  have  been  uttered.  And  what 
 cunning  sophist,  or  what  powerful  magician,  hath  done  all 
 this  ?  Om-  nursery  is  before  me  with  its  dark  wainscot ; 
 we  arc  crowding  round  the  antique  fire-place,  covered 
 with  Dutch  tiles  rich  in  holy  legends,  of  which  our  loved 
 old  nurse  explains  the  purport.  There  is  the  fatal  tree, 
 with  its  golden  apples  ;  there  rises  the  smoke  of  Abel's 
 accepted  sacrifice  ;  there  God's  winged  chariot  bears  away 
 the  pious  Enoch  ;  there  the  ark,  closed  against  the  shrieks 
 of  drowning  men,  now  floats  upon  the  waters,  and  now  on 
 dry  land  pours  forth  from  its  sanctuary  Noah's  family  and 
 birds  and  beasts  ;  there  too,  are  the  plains  of  Shinar, 
 where  men,  with  giant  labour,  are  building  up  the  lofty 
 Babel,  a  spiral  ladder  by  which  they  hope  to  mount  to 
 heaven  ;  and  there  the  hand  of  God  is  on  the  tower's  sum- 
 mit— and  it  crumbles,  toppling  down  on  the  heads  of  fleeing 
 nations. 
 
 And  is  not  all  this  in  the  book  ?  To  keep  to  our  sub- 
 ject ;  read  the  simple  tale.     The  inhabitants  of  the  world. 
 
246  CHAPTER   VIII. 
 
 of  one  language,  have  hitherto  lived  as  one  family,'  they 
 have  pitched  their  tents  together,  journeyed  together. 
 Now  considerably  increased  in  numbers,  and  fearful  of 
 being  dispersed,  they  determine  to  build  a  city,  with  a 
 lofty  tower""  to  serve  either  as  a  citadel  or  as  a  landmark 
 in  their  hunting  excursions,  and  to  "  make  themselves  a 
 name,"  i.  e.  to  form  themselves  into  a  nation.  Jehovah, 
 however,  is  jealous  of  their  power,  and  confounds  their  lan- 
 guage, and  scatters  them  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  And 
 "  they  leave  off  to  build  the  city." 
 
 Eichhorn  is  of  opinion  that  this  tale  merely  expresses  in 
 a  mythical  form,  that  originally  the  inhabitants  of  this 
 earth  formed  one  family ;  and  that,  animated  by  the  same 
 desires,  united  in  one  purpose,^  they  began  to  build  a  city  ; 
 but  that,  in  the  course  of  the  work,  dissensions  arose  among 
 them,  quarrels,  and  that  they  gradually  separated,  or  were 
 scattered  abroad;  and  that  from  this  separation  proceeded 
 all  varieties  of  language. 
 
 Kanngiesser  takes  an  even  more  secular  view  of  the  myth. 
 He  supposes  that  the  Syrian  shepherd  race,  who  had 
 hitherto  wandered  from  valley  to  valley,  once  attempted  to 
 make  a  permanent  settlement  on  the  Tigris.  Here  they 
 began  to  build  a  large  circular  wall  (for  the  protection  of 
 their  flocks),  and  a  watch  tower  (to  guard  against  any 
 sudden  and  hostile  attack.)  The  mountaineers  however, — 
 to  whom  other  necessities,  another  mode  of  life,  had  given 
 
 '  "  And  the  whole  earth  was  of  they  had  so  lately  received  the  as- 
 one  Ian  i^uage and as  they  surance  of  Jehovah  that  he  would 
 
 journied  together "  (verses  1  &  2),  never    again    smite    every    living 
 
 they,  the  whole  earth.  thing?   Besides  to  the  reason  which 
 
 ^  "  Whose  top  may  reach  unto  I  have  given,  that  it  is  the   one 
 
 heaven."      Compare   Deut.  i.  28  :  which  induced  the  people  to  build 
 
 "  Whose  cities  are  great,  and  walled  the    city,   the  very  occupation    of 
 
 up   to  heaven."      This  tower   was  Ninirod  points, 
 certainly  not  intended  to  save  its         ^  "  The  whole  earth  was  of  one 
 
 builders  from  any  future  flood.  For  language,    one    lip."     One   lip   or 
 
 such  a  purpose  they  would  have  mouth  is  used    in  other  parts   of 
 
 built  arks  and  not    towers,   or   if  Scripture  in  the  sense  of  "  mind — 
 
 towers,    they  would   have  erected  accord."  Vide  Josh.  ix.  2  ;  1  Kings 
 
 them  not  in  plains,  but  on  the  tops  xxii.  13 ;  and  similarly  "  division  of 
 
 of  mountains.     Besides,  what  fear  tongues"  for  "  dissension."  (Psalms 
 
 could  they  have  of  a  deluge  when  iv.  9.) 
 
CHAPTER    VIII.  247 
 
 another  character  and  a  different  hmguage — united  under 
 Nimrod,  fall  upon  them  and  drive  them  from  their  hold 
 and  put  them  to  flight ;  part  of  them  are  thus  scattered 
 abroad,  while  a  part  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  In 
 this  encounter,  the  shepherd  race,  who  for  the  first  time 
 heard  a  language  different  from  their  own — their  own  they 
 naturally  enough  considered  the  only  possible  one — regarded 
 its  unintelligible  jargon  as  a  miracle,  and  also,  because  in  a 
 difference  of  language  they  saw  the  occasion  of  many  mis- 
 understandings and  much  hostility,  as  a  divine  punishment." 
 
 To  this  interpretation  we  may  object. 
 
 1st.  The  context,  which  positively  asserts  that  the  whole 
 earth  was  of  one  language  ; — and, 
 
 2dly.  The  improbabilities  wliich  it  contains. 
 
 It  shows  us  the  shepherd  races  in  their  own  opinion  the 
 only  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and  yet  represents  them  as 
 building  walls  and  towns  for  protection — against  what  or 
 whom?  Not  wild  beasts,  or  wherefore  the  tower?  and 
 not  against  one  another,  for  they  were  all  allies,  relations; 
 but  against  strangers,  enemies.  They  had  seen  then,  or 
 surmised,  the  foot-mark  on  the  sand : — they  knew  that  they 
 were  not  alone ;  that  the  earth  contained  men,  and  men 
 different  from  themselves  in  habits,  dress,  colour  perhaps, 
 and  wherefore  not  different  from  them  in  language?  Kan- 
 giesser's  interpretation  in  fact  refers  the  myth  to  the  first 
 surprise,  wliich  men  of  a  particular  race  felt  on  discovering 
 that  there  were  other  races  besides  their  own  on  the  earth : 
 and  yet  he  shows  us  these  men  acting  in  a  way  which 
 makes  such  a  surprise  impossible. 
 
 On  Eichhorn's  interpretation  we  may  observe,  that  it 
 would  account  naturally  enough  for  the  different  languages 
 
 ■•  I  have  found  this  in  Gesenius'  tion  he  has  given  of  the  tale,  my 
 
 art.    on  Babi/lon,    in    Ersh     und  objectionstoit  may  fall  wide  of  their 
 
 Griibers  Encyc. ;  it  is  taken  from  mark.      For   local    circumstances, 
 
 Kanng-iessers  Grundriss  der  Alter-  which    seem  to  me  to  confirm  it, 
 
 thumswissenschaft,  p.  61-()(3.    As  I  the  reader  may  refer  to  Heeren's 
 
 have  not    this  work,  and  do  not,  Ideen,  vol.  i,  Perser,  Abschnitt,  i. 
 
 therefore, know  the  reasons  on  which  c.  ii,  §  i,  p.  220. 
 its  author  grounds  the  interpreta- 
 
248  CHAPTER    VIII. 
 
 which  prevail,  if  all  of  them  Lore  some  marks,  however  ob- 
 scure, of  a  common  origin/  But  though  many  languages 
 can  be  traced  to  one  parent  stem,  yet  are  there  several 
 parent  stems,  which,  as  far  as  our  present  knowledge  ex- 
 tends, we  are  unable  in  any  way  to  connect  together. 
 
 The  simple  and  vulgar  interpretation  of  this  myth, 
 moreover,  seems  to  me  better  to  accord  with  Moses'  views 
 and  modes  of  thought,  than  do  these  more  subtle  and 
 artistical  glosses.  For  after  a  beneficent  Deity  had  created 
 tliis  pleasant  earth  and  man  as  its  possessor,  what  was  the 
 first  question  Moses  necessarily  asked  himself, — what  the 
 first  difficulty  which  he  sought  to  solve?  This,  surely.  How, 
 if  God  be  good  and  powerful,  and  man  his  fiivourite  creation, 
 came  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe  ?  And  what  is 
 his  answer  ?  Man  disobeyed  his  Maker's  command ;  and 
 death  and  disease  are  his  punishment ;  or,  in  other  words, 
 physical  evil  is  the  consequence  of  sin.  And  now  that  a 
 former  v^^orld  has  been  destroyed,  now  that  another  race 
 possesses  the  earth  "  in  their  lands,  after  their  nations," 
 Avhat  is  the  phenomenon  In  this  new  world  of  men,  wliich 
 must  present  itself  to  the  mind  of  Moses,  as  something 
 opposed  to  his  doctrine  of  a  common  ancestry,  and  as 
 something  therefore  to  be  accounted  for?  AVhy,  that  all 
 these  nations,  though  descended  from  the  same  parent, 
 and  though  from  that  parent  necessarily  receiving  by  tra- 
 dition the  languages  which  they  speak,  do  in  fact  all  speak 
 different  languages.  Whence  then  these  languages  ?  We, 
 with  the  Burma  doctor,*^  may  partly  account  for  them  by 
 
 '  EioLiiovn  (De  Diversit.  Linp;ua-  not  the  same  language  among  all 
 ruin,  Bib.  bib.  Lit.  vol.  iii,  p.  981)  nations,  and  whence  arises  that  va- 
 has  seen  this  obji^ction  and  avoided  riety  of  manners,  religions,  com- 
 it,  by  boldly  asserting  that  Noah's  plcxions,  and  features,  &c.,  observ- 
 flood  was  not  universal.  As  my  able  among  the  inhabitants  of  this 
 object  is  to  endeavour  to  learn  what  earth?  This  same  doctor  thinks 
 this  sacred  book  says  and  means,  I  he  answers  the  questions,  by  saying- 
 am  precluded  from  making  these  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  the 
 emendations ;  and  see  also  Mi-  world,  after  having  greatly  multi- 
 chaelis,  Comment,  ad  h.  1.  plied,  were  forced  to  emigrate  to 
 
 ^  "All  mankind  being  the  off-  various  parts  of  the  earth,  and  as  in 
 
 spring  of  the  same  stock,  a  certain  these  the  climate,  air,  water,  ua- 
 
 Burma  doctor  asks,  Why  is  there  tural  productions,  and  temperature 
 
CHAPTER  VIII.  249 
 
 long  separation,  varieties  of  wants,  the  consequence  of 
 the  varieties  of  climate,  soil,  &c.  But  the  slow  progress  of 
 natural  causes  little  suits  the  rapid  and  religious  imagina- 
 tions of  the  first  poetic  historians  of  Humanity.  They  would 
 see  God  everywhere ;  but  to  them  He  visibly  appears  only 
 in  things  strange,  in  accidents  sudden  and  unaccountable.'' 
 They  see  indeed  His  hand  in  the  hope-giving  rainbow  and 
 the  all-destroying  earthquake,  but  they  can  find  no  trace  of 
 His  presence  in  the  noiseless  step  of  nature,  and  can  hear 
 no  echo  of  His  voice  in  that  sweet  and  ever-living  music 
 which  lures  man  on  to  civilisation.  What  wonder  is  it, 
 then,  that  the  descendant  of  wandering  patriarchs,  the 
 shepherd  of  Jethro's  flock,  he  who  loved  the  plain  and 
 the  desert,  and  who  sought  the  mountain  to  die,  should 
 find  in  the  building  of  the  first  diluvian  city  the  original 
 cause  of  that  great  distinction  which  still  separates,  and 
 will  for  ever  separate  mankind,  and  should  triumphantly 
 point  to  its  ruins  and  its  name  in  corroboration  of  the  truth 
 of  his  hypothesis  ? 
 
 "  Go  to,  let  us  make  brick — and  let  us  build  us  a  city, 
 and  a  tower,  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven." 
 
 are  extremely  different,  such  cir-  I  see  no  way  of  accoiintino-  for  any 
 cumstances  could  not  fail  to  have  variety  of  lang-uages  but  by  a  mi- 
 produced  an  effect  on  the  religion,  racle,  and  one  miracle  is  as  probable 
 manners,  &c.,  of  those  who  were  as  another.  For  the  common  descent 
 under  their  influence."  —  Asiatic  of  the  human  races,  Kant,  Von  den 
 Researches,  vol.  vi,  p.  254.  I  have  verschiedenenRacenderMenschen, 
 said  'partly  account :  for,  the  objec-  is  the  best  essay  I  know.  For  their 
 tion  to  "  natural  causes,"  supposing  separate  descent,  Cuvier  argues  in 
 men  to  have  a  common  origin,  I  his  Regne  Animal,  and  Schlosser, 
 have  stated  in  opposition  to  Eich-  Gesch.  der  alt.  Welt,  vol.  i. 
 horn's  view.  The  fact  is,  taking  ^  Hence  the  excuse  which  Aga- 
 Moses'  account  of  the  creation  and  meninon  offers  to  Achilles.  Of  his 
 his  picture  of  the  first  man  as  true,     conduct  he  says  : — 
 
 "  Eyw  o'eiiK  aiTioQ  etfjii 
 AWa  Zevg,  kuI  Moipa,  Kal  TjipoipoiriQ  Epivvvg, 
 'Oi  re  fioi  eiv  ayopjj  (ppitnv  ifij5a\ov  aypiov  artjv 
 'H/iart  r<^,  or  A;)^i\\rjoe  yepag  avTog  aTDjvpiov.'' — II.  xix,  86. 
 
 "  Ego  autem  non  in  causa  sum 
 Sed  Jupiter  et  Saturn,  ct  per  tenebras  vagans  Erynnys 
 Qui  mihi  in  condone  menti  injecerunt  scevam  noxam 
 Die  illo,  quo  Achillis  pra>miuni  ipse  abstuli." 
 
 2k 
 
250  CHAPTER   VIII. 
 
 According  to  Plato/  every  deluge  destroys  not  merely 
 man,  but  man's  civilisation  also.  According  to  Genesis,  in 
 the  deluge  mankind  perishes,  but  the  arts  he  has  invented, 
 the  knowledge  he  has  acquired,  survive  in  the  individuals 
 who  are  preserved.  The  first  shows  us  the  diluvian  men 
 after  such  a  catastrophe  falling  back  almost  to  the  primal 
 barbarism.  Without  metals,  and  without  implements  of 
 labour,  they  can  neither  cultivate  the  earth,  nor  build 
 for  themselves  houses ;  they  dwell  therefore  in  mountain 
 caves  or  mud  huts,  or  wander  about  in  search  of  pasturage. 
 They  are  however  acquainted  with  fire  ;  they  knovv^  how 
 to  work  clays  into  vessels  for  domestic  uses ;  the  chase  and 
 their  own  numerous  herds  supply  them  with  food  (flesh 
 and  milk)  and  clothing.  With  abundance  for  their  wants 
 they  are  too  rich,  and  without  silver  and  gold  they  are  too 
 poor,  to  quarrel.  Their  lives  are  pure  and  simple  and  reli- 
 gious, such  as  idyllic  poets  love  to  paint.  The  second,  on 
 the  other  hand,  immediately  after  the  deluge  represents 
 the  farther  of  the  present  world  as  planting  a  vineyard  and 
 making  wine,  and  his  children  in  the  third  generation  as 
 already  inhabiting  the  low  countries,  and  as  having  wan- 
 dered to  the  plains  of  Shinar ;  here  they  remain  some 
 time,  and  here  at  length  resolve  to  settle  and  to  build  a  city. 
 But  Shinar'  is  without  stone  or  wood ;  in  certain  parts  of 
 the  plain,  however,  are  found  large  strata  of  a  clay  which 
 is  peculiarly  suited  for  bricks,  and  in  others  a  bitumen 
 which  answers  all  the  purposes  of  mortar.^  These  natural 
 advantages  our  diluvian  men  turn  to  the  best  account; 
 "  they  make  bricks  and  burn  them,  and  slime  have  they 
 for  mortar,"  and  with  these  materials  they  begin  to  build 
 their  city:  they  determine  besides  on  gracing  it  with  a  lofty 
 tower  or  citadel,  the  erection  of  which  required  no  little  skill 
 
 *  De  Legibus,  lib.  iii,  commence-  *  Herodotus  (lib.  i,  c.  180)  de- 
 ment, scribes  Babylon  as  built  with  the 
 
 ^"'AiTrXao-rKcaiyapKHiorrrtiTrXeK:-  materials  mentioned   in   the   text. 
 
 TiKM  roiv  Ttxviiiv  ovStv  TrpoffCtovTai  He  adds,  that  of  the  clay  which 
 
 aidrjpovj^' Sec. — Id.  vol.  viii,  p.  110,  was   obtained  from   the   trenches, 
 
 '  VideHeerenIdccn,Th.  i,  Abth.  were  made  the  ])ricks  with  which 
 
 ii,  V.  d.  Lande  d.  Babylo,  p.  159.  the  city  was  built. 
 
CHAPTER  vm.  251 
 
 in  architecture,  and  proved  that  they  had  not  lost  the  memory 
 of  some  of  those  arts  by  which  the  sons  of  Lamech  had 
 earned  their  fame.  So  much  the  Book  of  Genesis  tells  us. 
 But  the  nature  of  the  climate  in  Shinar  is  such,  the  heat  is 
 so  great,  the  droughts  so  excessive,  that  its  soil,  the  mar- 
 vellous fruitfulness  of  which  Herodotus  fears  to  mention, 
 is,  though  liable  to  frequent  inundations,  without  the  aid  of 
 artificial  irrigation  completely  unproductive.  The  art  then 
 of  making  canals,  and  of  distributing  the  water  with  which 
 these  canals  were  supplied  over  all  parts  of  the  plain  by 
 means  of  smaller  trenches  and  even  machines  (according 
 to  Herodotus)^  must  have  been  known  to  the  followers  of 
 Nimrod ;  otherwise,  with  the  world  before  him  where  to 
 choose,  the  leader  of  mankind  had  not  settled  in  a  country, 
 the  manifest  inconveniences  of  which  were  compensated 
 by  no  peculiar  advantages.  The  diluvian  men  of  IMoses 
 are  then  learned  in  the  arts,  and  wise  in  the  things  of  this 
 world;  but  they  are  at  the  same  time  contemners  of  all 
 authority,  rebellious,  irreligious ;  they  are  in  every  thing 
 the  antipodes  of  the  diluvian  men  of  Plato. 
 
 Humboldt's  Spaniard,"  nearly  naked  and  black  as  a 
 Zembo,  with  his  wife  and  daughter  as  naked  as  himself, 
 wandering  in  the  Savannahs  of  America,  and  retaining 
 only  the  recollection  and  the  prejudices  of  civilized  life 
 without  any  of  its  real  advantages,  surprises  me  not.  I 
 understand  the  degradation  of  the  individual.  I  under- 
 stand too  how  sundry  arts  are  lost  or  fall  into  disuse ;  but  I 
 cannot  understand  how  man  whose  arts  and  knowledge, 
 according  to  Moses,  escaped  the  wreck  of  the  deluge ;  who 
 never  forgot  how  to  till  the  earth,  or  to  work  iron ;  and 
 who,  some  hundred  years  after  his  almost  total  destruction, 
 already  began  to  build  cities  and  erect  lofty  towers,  should 
 as  a  nation  ever  sink  back  into  a  negro  of  the  interior  of 
 Africa,  a  mere  savage  that  subsists  by  the  chase  and 
 cowers  in  the  woods  like  a  wild  beast,  without  clothing, 
 
 ^  Vide  Heeren,  ut  supra;  and  xiv,  p.  185, and  Cory's  Fra:>nients. 
 Herodotus,  lib.  i,c.  cxiii ;  and  Be-  *  Humboldt,  Voy.  Nouvelle  Es- 
 rossus  in  Fabricius  Bib.  Gra?c.  vol.     pagne,  vol.  iv. 
 
252  CHAPTER   VIII. 
 
 without  a  hut,  and  save  a  few  hissing  sounds,  ahnost  with- 
 out a  language.  With  Moses'  picture  of  the  dihivian  men 
 before  us,  the  intellectual  degradation  of  Humanity  seems 
 to  me  impossible,  save  by  a  miracle.  The  confusion  of 
 tongues  could  alone  dissolve  a  society  such  as  he  repre- 
 sents. 
 
 Verses  6  and  7.     Well  might  Calypso  say — 
 
 "  Insatiate  are  ye  gods,  past  all  that  live, 
 In  all  things  ye  afiect  which  still  converts 
 Your  powers  to  envies."* 
 
 That  Adam  might  not  become  "  as  one  of  us,"  a 
 God,  Jehovah  Elohim  drove  him  from  Paradise;  and  now, 
 lest  man  should  continue  united  and  happy  and  attain 
 unheard-of  powers,  Jehovah  confounds  his  language  and 
 scatters  him  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  the 
 eyes  of  infant  Humanity,  how  great  is  mankind  !  how  little 
 the  Deity ! 
 
 Of  this  Babel,  a  legend  far  more  interesting  to  Humanity 
 than  the  deluge,  for  the  one  but  killed  man's  body,  the 
 other  to  a  certain  extent  destroyed  his  soul,®  we  do  not  find 
 the  memory  preserved  among  the  ancient  nations.  "  The 
 people  of  the  Easf  (the  Hindus),  Roberts  asserts,  "  have 
 nothing  which  corresponds  with  the  scriptural  account  of 
 the  confusion  of  tongues.''  The  Zendavesta,  too,  makes  no 
 mention  of  such  an  event,  which  is  equally  unknown  to 
 the  Chinese  books.^     The  Chaldeavis,  however,  according  to 
 
 *  Odyssey,  lib.  v.  108.  vol.  iii,  p.  195,  and  compare  vol.  iv, 
 ®  Because  man's  morality,  its  p.  63) ;  and  see  Robertson's  Intro- 
 nature  and  purity,  depends  on  his  duction  to  Sac.  Scrip,  p.  l(i. 
 intellectual  acquirements.  ^  The  author  of  "  L'autiquite  des 
 ''  Sir  W.  Jones,  however,  is  of  Chinois,"  however  he  may  repudiate 
 opinion  "  that  the  lion  bursting  the  charge,  certainly  attempts  to 
 from  a  pillar  to  destroy  a  blasphem-  draw  a  parallel  between  Yao  and 
 ing  giant  (the  giant  with  a  golden  Nimrod.  Yao  digs  canals,  irri- 
 axe),  and  the  dwarf  who  beguiled  gates  the  country,  and  liuilds 
 and  held  in  derision  the  magnifi-  towers— and  the  tower  in  Chinese 
 cent  Bcli  (Beli,  or  Vali,  was  like  hieroi/ItfpJiirs  is,  it  seems,  the  sym- 
 the  giant,  an  imj)ious  and  arrogant  bol  of  sei)aration,  of  a  son  who 
 monarch)  arc  one  and  the  same  (|\iits  his  paternal  roof :"  Le  carac- 
 story"  with  our  legend  (vide  Works,  tore  du  mot  '  Tsou,'  (jue  nous  tra- 
 
CHAPTER    VIII.  253 
 
 Berossus,  relate,  "  That  the  first  Inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
 glorying  in  their  own  strength  and  size,  and  despising  the 
 gods,  undertook  to  raise  a  tower  whose  top  should  reach 
 the  sky,  in  the  place  in  which  Babylon  now  stands  ;  but 
 when  it  approached  the  heavens,  the  winds  assisted  the 
 gods  and  overthrew  the  work  upon  its  contrivers ;  and  its 
 ruins  are  said  to  be  still  at  Babylon ;  and  the  gods  intro- 
 duced a  diversity  of  tongues  among  men,  who  till  that 
 time  had  all  spoken  the  same  language,  and  a  war  arose 
 between  Chronus  and  Titan.  The  place  on  which  they 
 built  the  tower  is  now  called  Babylon,  on  account  of  the 
 confusion  of  tongues ;  for  confusion  is  by  the  Hebrews 
 called  Babel."  The  same  tale  is  repeated  in  the  Sibyline 
 Oracles,^  probably  from  Berossus ;  in  Alexander  Polyhistor 
 and  Hestfeus,  &c.^  In  the  Neiv  World  we  find  "  the  confu- 
 sion of  tongues  "  known  to  the  Mexicans.  After  the  deluge, 
 they  relate,  "  that  Concox  and  Chichequetzal,  the  only 
 siu'vivors  of  the  human  race,  engendered  many  cliildren  ; 
 that  they  were  all  born  dumb,  but  that  they  one  day 
 received  the  gift  of  speech  from  a  dove  which  came  and 
 perched  itself  upon  a  lofty  tree.  But  as  the  gift  was  not 
 of  the  same  speech,  as  these  people  did  not  understand 
 one  another,  they  determined  on  separating.  Fifteen 
 heads  of  families  however  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
 have  obtained  the  same  language,  set  out  together  in  search 
 of  a  new  habitation.  After  wandering  from  place  to  place 
 for  one  hundred  and  four  years,  they  at  length  settled  on 
 the   borders  of  a  lake   and   built  Mexico."^'      The   Tlas- 
 
 duisons    '  commenca,'     est    com-  skparer,fils  qui  quitte  son  pere." — 
 
 pose  d'une  image  de  tour  et  du  sym-  Compare  Memoires   des    Chinois, 
 
 bole  de  sacrifice.  II  siofiiifie  'aieul,  vol.  i,  p.  213,  with  id.  p.  222  &  224. 
 principe,  origine ;'  mais  comment         '  For  the  little  faith  to  be   put 
 
 rendre  en  Frangais  la  signification  in    them  —  vide    Fabricius,   Bib. 
 
 d'un     pareil     caractere  ?        Nous  Graeca,  vol.  i,  lib.  i,  c.  xxxii,  §  5, 
 
 n'osons   en   donner  I'analyse  telle  p.  206;  and  c.  xxxiii,  p.  216,  &c. 
 qu'on  la  trouve  dans  les  livres.  On         '  Vide  Cory's  Antient  Fragments, 
 
 nous  soupconneroit  a  coup  sur  de  p.    34-50.     Alexander    Polyhistor 
 
 Vavoir  forge  pour  rapprocher  Yao  and  Abydenus  are  but  copyists  of 
 
 de  la  tour  de  Babel,  et  on  nous  Berossus.  Vide  from  Geor.Syncellus 
 
 accuseroit  de  I'avoir  reve  si  nous  Fab.  Bib.  Grrec.  vol.  v,  p.  178. 
 dirions  que  I'image  tour  toute  seule,         ^  Histoire  Generale  des  Voyages, 
 
 signifie  par  nietaphorc  sV/?  aller,  se  vol.  xviii.  p  341 . 
 
254  CHAPTER    VIII. 
 
 calan^  and  North  American'^  legends  may  be  also  quoted,  as 
 darkly  intimating  the  same  event.  The  first  shows  us  the 
 men  who  are  preserved  from  the  deluge  changed  into  mon- 
 keys, and  only  after  a  time  recovering  their  form  and 
 reason  ;  the  second  makes  the  flood  to  destroy  the  whole  hu- 
 man race  without  exception,  and  then  re-peoples  the  earth 
 by  changing  beasts  into  men.  But  of  these  legends  we  must 
 put  aside  the  Chaldaic,  for  it  appeals  to  Hebrew  authority, 
 and  is  no  doubt  partly  borrowed  from  the  Hebrew  books. 
 And  of  the  others,  we  will  observe,  that  their  similarity 
 with  the  legend  in  Genesis  is  formal  merely ;  for  they  tell  of 
 the  first  step  in  civilisation,  of  a  gift  of  speech  and  reason, 
 of  benefits  conferred  upon  man,  while  Genesis  speaks  of 
 fearful  punishments  inflicted  on  liim,  of  a  regress  to  barba- 
 rism. 
 
 If  now  we  consider  this  legend  in  connexion  with  the 
 history  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  it  will  present  some  diffi- 
 culties.    For 
 
 I.  It  shows  us  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  journeying 
 from  the  east :  and  yet  their  course  from  Ararat,  on  which 
 the  eighth  chapter  lands  them,  to  Shinar,  would  have  been 
 almost  due  south. 
 
 II.  Though  the  confusion  of  tongues,  supposing  Moses' 
 picture  of  the  first  men  to  be  a  faithful  one,  sufficiently 
 accounts  for  the  sottish  barbarism  into  which  so  many 
 people  have  sunk,  it  is  not  in  keeping  with  what  he  relates 
 of  mankind  some  two  hundred  years  after  this  event.^ 
 
 III.  The  preceding  chapter  speaks  of  Babel  as  the  begin- 
 ning of  a  kingdom,  which  in  time  included  Erech,  and 
 Arcad,  and  Calneh,  all  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Our  legend, 
 on  the  other  hand,  represents  Babel  as  a  great  unfinished 
 ruin  deserted  by  its  builders,  who  are  thence  scattered 
 abroad  over  the  whole  earth.  And  if,  to  remove  this  diffi- 
 culty, we  suppose  with  the  Jew  Rabbins  and  the  Greek 
 fathers,  that  the  confusion  of  tongues  only  separated  man- 
 
 '  Id.  id.  p.  597 ;  and  see  p.  193,    ii,  p.  148  ;  and  see  p.  195,  supra. 
 supra.  *  Vide    chap.  xii.   15;    xiii.  2; 
 
 ■*  Tliatclicr,  Indian  Traits,  vol.     xiv,  xx,  lVc. 
 
CHAPTER   VIII.  255 
 
 kind  into  families ;  i.  e.  if  we  suppose  that  only  so  many- 
 new  languages  arose,  as  there  were  at  that  time  families 
 on  the  earth ;"  or,  in  other  words,  if  we  suppose  that  the 
 indi\aduals  of  each  family  all  suddenly  and  simultaneously 
 forgot  old  and  familiar  words  and  all  simultaneously 
 expressed  themselves  in  new  and  unwonted  sounds,  which 
 all  of  them  simultaneously  understood  and  applied  to  the 
 same  thoughts,  feelings  and  objects  :  we  may  then  indeed 
 send  forth  each  family  to  seek  out  for  itself  some  new 
 settlement,  and  there  build  its  Erech,  or  Arcad,  or  Calneh. 
 But  as  the  essential  characteristic  of  this  legend,  considered 
 as  a  religious  legend,  is  the  dispersion  of  mankind  lest 
 mankind  should  become  too  powerful;  and  as  only  one 
 hundi-ed  and  fifty  years  were  sufficient  to  make  of  eight 
 individuals  a  great  people,  we  will  very  naturally  ask, 
 where  then  was  the  utdity  of  this  most  astounding  miracle 
 which,  considered  as  a  punisliment,  only  retarded  man's 
 progress,  but  did  not  destroy  his  powers ;  which  made  him 
 change  his  place,  but  not  his  plans;  and  merely  drove  him 
 from  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  those  of  the  Tigris  T 
 
 IV.  We  may  remark  on  the  extraordinary  appropriation 
 of  the  languages  which  were  then  thrown  among  mankind. 
 Well  indeed  does  Babel  deserve  its  name,  for  there,  with 
 the  speech  of  mankind  his  races  also  were  confounded; 
 there,  in  the  scramble  that  took  place,  families  of  different 
 races  seized  upon  the  same  language,  while  different  fami- 
 lies of  the  same  race  obtained  each  of  them  totally  different 
 languages.  There  the  sons  of  Eber  and  of  Canaan,  the 
 blessed  and  the  cursed,  caught  and  shared  between  them  the 
 same  tongue,  for  both  spoke  dialects  of  the  Semitic  f  while 
 
 *  Vide    Bochart.    Geog.    Sacra,  lestine ;  the  Phoenician,  on  the  sea- 
 
 Phaleg,  lib.  i,  c.  xv.  coast ;  and  the  Arabic,  in  Arabia 
 
 ^  Vide  id.  ib.  lilj.  iii,  c.  xx.  and   the  steppes   of  Mesopotamia 
 
 ^  Its  dialects  were  the  Cappado-  (Heeren  Ideen,  Th.i,  Abt.i,  p.  145). 
 
 cian,  spoten  to  the  west  of  the  Ha-  See  also  Rollin,  Histoire  Ancienne, 
 
 lys;  the  Syrian,  between  the  Medi-  Des  Carthaginois,  vol.  i,  §  i ;  Mi- 
 
 terranean  and  the  Euphrates  ;  the  chaelis,    Einleitung   in   Alt.  Test. 
 
 Assyrian,  on  the  borders  of  the  Ti-  Eichhorn,  Einleitung  in  Alt.  Test. 
 
 gris ;   the   Chaldaic,  in   Babylon ;  c.  i,  p.  59 ;   and    Calinet,    article 
 
 the  Hebrew  and  Samaritan,  in  Pa-  Canaan.     Taylor's  E. 
 
256  CHAPTER   VIII. 
 
 to  brothers  of  the  same  stock,  Mizraim  and  Canaan  the 
 children  of  Ham,  and  Aram  and  Arphaxad  the  children 
 of  Shem,  were  given  severally  langnages  totally  different 
 one  from  the  other ;  for  Mizraim  spoke  Coptic,  Aram 
 first  Zend  and  afterwards  Pelvic ;  Canaan  and  Arphaxad, 
 Semitic' 
 
 Of  this  section  we  may  observe  that  it  belongs  to 
 Jehovah, 
 
 I.  With  Nimrod,  the  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord, 
 we  may  connect  Ishmael  and  Esau,  both  cunning  hunters, 
 and  both  deemed  unworthy  of  becoming  the  fathers  of  the 
 chosen  people. 
 
 II.  With  the  legend  of  Babylon,  in  so  far  as  it  shows  us 
 Jehovah  angry  and  coming  down  from  Heaven,  we  may 
 compare  Jehovah  Elohim  banishing  Adam  from  Paradise, 
 and  Jehovah  sitting  in  judgment  upon  Cain  and  going 
 forth  to  destroy  Sodom. 
 
 III.  With  it,  in  so  far  as  it  represents  man  scattered 
 abroad,  we  may  connect  the  expulsion  of  our  first  parents 
 from  Eden,  and  the  banishment  of  Cain. 
 
 And  IV.  with  the  confusion  of  languages  we  may  con- 
 trast the  gift  of  tongues  made  to  the  disciples  at  the  feast 
 of  Pentecost. 
 
 *  Jacob  and  his  family  spoke  the  "  Jenseits   des    Tigris   fingen   die 
 
 language  of  Canaan;  yet  his  sons,  Persischen  Sprachen  an,  die  nicht 
 
 when  they  address  Joseph,  thinking  nur  in  ihren  Wortern    und   Aus- 
 
 him    an    Egyptian,    address    him  driicken,  sondern  aueh  in  ihren  Bau 
 
 through  an  interpreter,  (xlii.  23.)  und  in  ihren  Elementen  von  den 
 
 1  Heeven    says :   "  Als    Haupt-  Semitischen  so  giinzlich  verschie- 
 
 sprache  Asiens  muss  man  die  Semi-  den  waren,  dass  man  sogleich  in 
 
 tischen   und  Persischen  Mundart  ihnen  die  Ziveige  eines  gam  andern 
 
 ansehcn"  (vol.i,p.  149) ;  and  again :  Stmmnes  erkennt.'' — Id.  id.  p.  146. 
 
257 
 
 CHAPTER  IX. 
 
 GENESIS  xi.  10-32. 
 
 Chapter  y^\.  verses  \0-\\.  If  we  compare  this  genealogy 
 with  that  of  Noah  in  the  fifth  chapter,  we  shall  find  the 
 lives  of  men  after  the  deluge  considerably  shorter  than 
 they  were  before  it,  and  that  they  shorten  with  each  ge- 
 neration, but  still  exceed  the  bounds  of  probability.  The 
 same  exaggerated  notions  of  the  lives  of  the  first  men  are, 
 however,  to  be  found  in  the  Egyptian,  Hindu,  and  Chi- 
 nese mythologies.  The  first  kings  of  Egypt  of  divine 
 origin  reigned  each  of  them  more  than  twelve,  the  last 
 more  than  three,  hundred  years.  ^  During  the  golden  age, 
 human  life,  according  to  the  Hindus,^  extended  to  a  hun- 
 dred thousand  years,  but  Avith  each  age  diminished  in  a 
 subdecuple  ratio.  The  Chinese  books  give  to  the  first 
 ancestors  of  mankind  a  life  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  and 
 the  first  founders  of  the  empire  reign  a  hundred  and  sixteen 
 and  a  hundred  and  forty-five  years.^  Every  where,*  in  fiict, 
 we  find  that  man  fills  up  the  blank  pages  of  history  by 
 adding  to  the  years  of  his  ancestors. 
 
 From  this  genealogy,  it  would  seem  that  Abraham  was 
 sixty  years  old  when  Noah,  Jacob  about  fifty  when  Eber, 
 died.  We  may  also  observe,  that  as  Noah  was  the  tenth 
 in  descent  from  Adam,  so  Abraham  was  the  tenth  from 
 Noah.^ 
 
 1  Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i,  c.  xxvi.  crificed  to  a  symmetrical  arrange- 
 
 ^  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  x,  p.  70  merit  of  countries,  mountains,  lakes, 
 
 ^  Des  Guignes,  Chou-king,  Dis.  and  rivers,    with  which  they    are 
 
 Prelim,  p.  65.  highly  delighted."      I  cannot  hut 
 
 *  Throughout  the  East,  except  in  observe  the  same  symmetrical  ar- 
 the  Zendavesta.  rangement,  but  of  generations,  in 
 
 *  Of  the  geography  of  the  Hindus  Hebrew  story.  See  Asiatic  Re- 
 Wilford  observes  that  "  truth  is  sa-  searches,  vol.  viii,  p.  372. 
 
 2  L 
 
258  CHAPTER    IX. 
 
 Verse  31.  .Fourmont^  asserts  tliat  Terah  was  the  Phoeni- 
 cian Ovpapog,  and  Abraham  'S.povvc,  or  Saturn,  and  he 
 brings  forward  in  support  of  his  hypothesis  a  great  many 
 very  ingenious  reasons,  against  which  one  can  only  set  the 
 equally  ingenious  reasons  of  Hyde^  to  show  that  Abraham 
 and  Zoroaster  were  one  and  the  same  person  ;  of  Bocliart, 
 to  prove  that  Noah  was  Saturn  ;8  of  Kircher,  that  Noah 
 was  Coelus,  and  Shem  Saturn ;  and  of  many  others,  all  of 
 whom  have  each  his  own  peculiar  view,  though  all  agree 
 in  finding  the  gods  and  heroes  and  civilisation  of  the  old 
 world  in  the  men  of  the  Hebrew  Scripture.  ° 
 
 "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees."  Ur,  it  seems,  signifies  fire  ;  and 
 as  fire  was  held  sacred  among  the  Chaldjeans,  the  city  Ur, 
 probably  dedicated  to  fire,  was  like  the  city  Enoch  a  sacred 
 city  probably  ;  and  thus,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to  give  way 
 to  conjecture,  differed  from  Babel  the  city  of  Nimrod 
 which  was  a  city  of  warriors; — the  one  gathered  its  inha- 
 bitants round  a  temple,  the  other  about  its  lofty  tower,  its 
 citadel ;  that  afforded  protection,  sanctuary  to  the  fugitive ; 
 and  this  received  and  enrolled  the  discontented  and  rebel- 
 lious, and  sent  forth  its  soldiers  to  war  and  plunder.^ 
 
 The  Chaldees,  according  to  Diodorus  Siculus,  were 
 claimed  by  the  Egyptians  as  their  descendants ;  and  they 
 are  spoken  of  by  him,  not  as  a  race  or  nation,  but  as  a 
 family  or  tribe  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  the  gods. 
 Their  language  however  proves  them  to  be  of  Semi- 
 tic,^ and  not  of  Egyptian,  origin ;  and  the  monsters,  half- 
 
 *  Anciens  Peuples,  vol.  i,  p.  63,  Of  the  first,  the  temple  of  Her- 
 
 &c.     His  proofs  are  etymological,  cules  at  Tarechea,  to   which    the 
 
 See  the  excellent   observations  of  servants  of  Paris  fled  (Herod,  lib. 
 
 Sir  W.  Jones  on  these  conjectural  ii,  c.  1 13),  is  an  instance:  of  the  se- 
 
 etymologies,  Works,  On  the  Origin  cond,  the  Norman  bands  who   so 
 
 of  Nations,  vol.  iii,  p.  198,  199.  long  desolated   Europe. — See  Mi- 
 
 ^  Hyde, DeRel.  Vet. Pers. passim,  chelct  Hist.  France,  vol.  i.  p.  394. 
 
 8  Bocharti,  Geog.  Sac.  Phaleg,  ^  Hist.  lib.  i,  c.  28. 
 
 lib.  i,  c.  i,  p.  1.  *  This  we  know  from  those  por- 
 
 ^  Vossius  first  erected  this  Eue-  tions  of  the  Jewish  books  which  are 
 
 merism  into  a  system  ;  he  has  been  written  in  Chaldaic,  &c.,  and  yet 
 
 followed     by     Bochart,    Kircher,  Jeremiah  speaks  of  the  Chaldees 
 
 Dicken.son,     Marsham,     Huetius,  as  "  of  a  nation  whose  language 
 
 Tliomassin,    Cumberland,     Four-  thou  knowest  not."  Chap.  v.  15. 
 mont,  (Sec. 
 
CHAPTER   IX.  259 
 
 men  half-fish,  the  Annedotl  mythic  beings,  but  in  com- 
 mon parlance  the  strangers  in  ships,  that  came  up  from 
 the  Erythrean  sea  and  taught  them  all  arts  and  sciences, 
 and  how  to  construct  cities,  and  to  distinguish  the  seeds  of 
 the  earth,  are  evidence  that  their  civilisation  was  derived : 
 and  their  cosmogony  so  nearly  resembling  the  Egyptian 
 induces  the  conclusion,  that  it  was  derived  from  Egypt." 
 
 The  Chaldees  are  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time  in 
 the  Hebrew  books,  and  ages  are  to  pass  away  ere  they 
 agairv"  appear  within  the  sphere  of  Jewish  story  ;  and  tlien^ 
 to  play  how  great  a  part !  to  give  to  their  freedmen  a  new 
 alphabet,  a  new  language,  and  with  it  other  arts  and  other 
 modes  of  thought,  which  do  not  always  seem  very  natu- 
 rally to  dovetail  into  the  old  and  genuine  Jewish  notions. 
 
 This  section  belongs  to  Elohim. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  this  genealogy  of  Abraham  with 
 the  other  genealogies  in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  find: 
 that  the  first  troubles  itself  little  with  the  fate  and  fortunes 
 of  mankind,  that  it  confines  itself  to  the  immediate  ances- 
 tors of  the  great  father  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  and  that  it  evi- 
 dently mentions  the  three  sons  of  Terah  only  because  their 
 cliildren  were  either  historically  connected  with  Abraham, 
 or  had  intermarried  with  liis  descendants ;  it  is  in  a  word  a 
 mere  family  pedigree :  that,  the  second,  on  the  other  hand, 
 continues  to  grace  itself  Avith  old  lays,  and  to  find  in  names 
 a  prophecy  or  a  history ;  and  that,  as  it  hefo^^e  recorded 
 the  inventors  of  useful  arts,  so  now  it  illustrates  the  great 
 men  of  past  times ;  that  it  notes  the  founders  of  the  first 
 great  cities,  and  views  its  generations  relatively  to  the 
 lands  which  they  occu])ied ;  that  it  is,  in  short,  a  chart  of 
 the  then  known  world,  the  preface  to  a  universal  history. 
 
 If  now  we  view  together  the  cursed  races  of  the  two 
 
 ''  Berossus,   Cory's  Fragments,  founded  it  for  them  that  dwell  in 
 
 pp.  23,  31.  the  wilderness." — Chap,  xxiii.  13. 
 
 *  And  yet  according  to  jlsaiah,  In  Jeremiah,  however,  cljap.  v.  15, 
 
 they  are  a  new  people  :     "  Behold  they  again  appear  as  "  an  ancient 
 
 the   land   of  the   Chaldeans;  this  nation." 
 people   was   not   till    the    As-yrian 
 
260  CHAPTER    IX. 
 
 worlds,  how  similar  must  seem  to  us  their  fate.  Mighty 
 men  of  valour,  builders  of  cities,  inventors  of  the  useful 
 and  elegant  arts,  hoth  have  perished  away  from  the  earth. 
 Of  the  Hamite  race  however  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
 Thebes  and  Memphis,  Tyre  and  Sidon,  were  once  monu- 
 ments. They  were  the  ancient  world's  brightest  jewels ; 
 and  their  mythic  lustre  still  rouses  the  wonder,  and  is  dear 
 to  the  memory,  of  modern  man.  We  still  linger  among 
 their  ruins,  and  turn  over  every  stone,  and  gather  up 
 every  fragment,  in  hope  that  some  ray  of  light  may  break 
 upon  us,  and  open  to  our  view  the  life  of  the  fathers  of  our 
 civilization. 
 
 Examine  now  the  blessed  race,  Sethite  and  Semitic. 
 Through  twenty  generations  the  son  regularly  succeeds 
 the  father,  and  their  numbered  years  are  our  guides  to  the 
 world's  age.  Of  it  Ave  know  only  that  its  members  begat 
 children,  and  then  died.  Do  we  then  owe  it  nothing  ? 
 Humanity  does  not  thus  throw  about  her  crowns  :  on  her 
 tablets  are  written  some  infamous,  but  no  ignoble  names. 
 To  this  race  we  owe  the  knowledge  of  the  one  God; 
 to  this  race  a  great  example  of  justice,  benevolence,  piety, 
 and  trust  in  Providence,  shown  us  in  the  life  and  character 
 of  Abraham ;  and  to  this  race  we  owe  this  great  book, 
 which  gives  us  the  only  complete  history  of  the  religious 
 idea,  as  forming  the  character  of,  and  developing  itself  in, 
 a  nation. 
 
 But,  moreover,  this  genealogy,  this  heap  of  names, 
 which  a  filial  love  has  so  carefully  collected  and  preserved, 
 and  which  here  and  there  a  halo  of  piety  adorns,"  has  not 
 been,  I  believe,  altogether  without  its  influence  on  our 
 morals  and  character.  Contrasted  with  the  brilliant  gene- 
 alogy of  Ham,  does  it  not  point  to  and  exemplify  that 
 saying  of  Christ,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ?" 
 Does  it  not  remind  us  of  that  eastern  \artue,  so  gentle, 
 long-suffering,  and  patient,  which,  though  it 
 
 *  Accordin};:,  however,  lo  .Tosliua,  world  around  them,  idohiters;  or  at 
 chap.xxiv.2,.'},  Terah,  and  ])erhaps  least  "served  other  gods," — ac- 
 his  fathers,  were  like  the  rest  ol  the     knowledged  a  plurality  of  gods. 
 
CHAPTER   IX. 
 
 261 
 
 quiet  grandeur,  is  for  us  of  the  North'  too  passive,  too 
 confined,  too  effeminate,  too  egotistical?  Of  that  virtue 
 which,  if  it  be  prepared  for  sacrifices,  is  powerless  to 
 affront  dangers,  which  teaches  man  to  die,  but  not,  though 
 indifferent  to  life,  to  struggle  on  his  own  or  others' 
 account  against  death,  or  tyranny,  or  persecution,  or 
 for  liberty,  or  for  the  civic  rights  of  his  country?^  It 
 was  a  law,  in  the  great  city  of  ancient  Europe,  that  every 
 honest  man  should  take  share  in  the  commotions  and  dis- 
 turbances of  his  native  land.  I  understand  the  devotion  of 
 the  citizens  of  Athens.  To  suffer  with  patient  dignity  is 
 the  great  doctrine  of  Eastern  morality  ;  and  I  see  why 
 Mohammed  Shah,  though  he  shudders  from  a  battle  with 
 Kouli  Khan,  so  calmly  prepares  the  poison  for  himself  and 
 his  wives,  and  his  children. 
 
 ^  This  distinction  has  not  escap- 
 ed the  eastern  moralists.  "  Qu'est- 
 ce  que  la  force?"  asks  one  of  his 
 disciples  of  Confucius.  "  Chez  tea 
 peuples  du  midi,  repondit  ce  sage, 
 elle  consiste  a  gagner  les  coeurs  a 
 la  vertu  par  la  bienfaisance  et  la 
 persuasion,  et  a  les  degouter  du 
 vice  par  la  patience  et  la  douceur  ; 
 c'est  la  force  des  philosophes.  Les 
 peuples  du  Nord  la  mettent  a  dor- 
 mir  vetus  sur  des  arcs  et  des  lances, 
 et  a  affronter  sans  palirles  dangers 
 et  la  mort:  c'est  la  force  desheros." 
 (Tchong-Yong,  ou  Juste  Milieu, 
 vol.  iii,  p.  462,  Mem.  Chin.)  Con- 
 fucius judges  the  North  as  a  man 
 of  the  East,  as  a  civilized  man 
 barbarians.  Those  barbarians  have 
 however  not  remained  stiitionary ; 
 
 they  too  have  become  civilised  ;  and 
 their  morality,  to  all  the  manly 
 daring  and  fortitude  of  the  North, 
 adds  the  graceful  virtues  of  the 
 East. 
 
 *  "  Qui  connait,"  says  again 
 Confucius,  "  les  charraes  de  la 
 vertu,  et  en  est  epris,  brave  la  mort 
 pour  aller  a  elle  -.  mais  si  un  roy- 
 aume  est  sur  le  penchant  de  sa 
 ruine,  le  sage  n'a  garde  d'y  entrer ; 
 sHl  est  agite  de  guerres  intestines,  il 
 s^enfuit;  sties  lois  sont  sans  vigueur 
 et  les  crimes  impunis,  il  se  cache." 
 (Id.  id.  p.  465.)  This  morality  is 
 almost  a  necessary  consequence  of 
 the  high  respect,  the  idolization  of 
 the  paternal  authority.  Vide  supra, 
 p.  175,  176. 
 
262 
 
 CHAPTER  X. 
 
 GENESIS  xii.  1-20. 
 
 Verses  1-3.  This  book  of  Genesis  has  hitherto  presented 
 us,  not  so  much  with  a  history  of  the  human  race,  as  with 
 fragments  of  histories,  traditions,  and  genealogies,  which  if 
 they  account  for  many  of  the  phenomena  of  Ufe,  serve  at  the 
 same  time  to  connect  mankind  with  the  Jewish  people  and 
 the  Jewish  God.  Now  however  that  it  has  shown  us 
 Abraham  leaving  his  country  and  his  kindred  and  his 
 father's  house,  it  confines  itself  to  his  history,  and  that 
 of  his  family,  which,  with  here  and  there  an  exception,^  it 
 relates  in  two  continuous  narratives  drawai  from  the  sources 
 Jehovah  and  Elohim.  With  this  chapter  properly  begins 
 the  Jewish  history. 
 
 If  we  now  turn  back  to  the  years  of  the  patriarchs,  we 
 shall  find  that  Noah  lived  to  witness  the  power  and  the  king- 
 dom of  Nimrod,  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and  the  birth  and 
 manhood  of  Abraham ;  and  that  Eber,  already  a  father 
 before  the  dispersion,  was  also  a  cotemporary  of  Abraham, 
 Isaac,  and  Jacob.  During  the  lives  of  these  men  then, 
 many  cities  were  built,  many  kingdoms  founded,  and 
 Egypt  had  already  made  considerable  progress  in  civilisa- 
 tion, and  the  arts  and  sciences.  But,  in  all  this  long  lapse 
 of  centuries,  where  Avas  Noah  ?  where  Eber  ?  in  what  deep 
 valley  had  they  hid  themselves?  in  what  pleasant  land 
 pitched  their  tents  ?     While  cities  and  palaces  rose  around 
 
 I  As  chap,  xxxiii.  18-34  ;  xxxvi.  xlix.  1.  27.  Vul.  Eiolioru  Eiiilci- 
 tuiig-  in  A.  T.  1. 
 
CHAPTER    X.  263 
 
 him,  was  Noah  still  content  to  live  amid  his  flocks  and  herds? 
 And  his  sons,  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood,  did  they,  as 
 now  among  the  most  prunitive  of  the  nomadic  races,^  go 
 forth  to  seek  their  own  fortunes,  to  become  themselves 
 heads  of  houses,  perhaps  fathers  of  nations  ?  And 
 alone  and  deserted  did  the  great  patriarch  linger  out  his 
 centuries? — Aroimd  him  surely  were  gathered  the  most 
 loved  of  his  descendants,  the  chosen  family  of  Eber? 
 Nay  was  it  not  from  his  lips  that  Abraham  learned  the 
 heavy  judgments  of  God  and  the  future  fate  of  mankind  ? 
 AVhat  Nahor  and  Terah^  in  the  tents  of  Noah  ?  idolators 
 in  the  holy  place  of  the  Eloliim  ?  Jehovah  forgotten  even 
 where  he  should  have  been  most  remembered  ?  and  the 
 flood,  and  the  wonderful  ark,  and  the  covenant,  and  the 
 rainbow,  old  wives'  tales  even  at  the  hearth  of  him  who 
 had  experienced  all,  suffered  all  ?  It  cannot  be/  Where 
 then  dwelt  Noah  ?  where  Eber  ? 
 
 Again :  man  journeys  to  Shinar,  and  determines  on 
 designs  which  are  displeasing  to  Jehovah.  Wlio  then 
 ruled  the  counsels,  wlio  was  the  head,  the  chief,  of  this 
 great  family  ?     Not  Noah  certainly  but  Nimrod,^  he,   the 
 
 '^  "  Le  P.  du  Halde  dit  que  cbez  father  Abraham,  &c."  Jud.  xxiv.  2, 
 
 les  Tartares  c'est  toujoiuo  le  der-  '' In  absence  of  any  positive  proof, 
 
 nier  des  males  (Shem)  qui  est  The-  the  probabilities  are  clearly  against 
 
 ritier,  par  la  raison  qu'a  mesure  tliis  supposition ;  and  yet  on  this 
 
 que  les  aines  sont  en  etat  de  mener  supposition  is  built  the  hypothesis 
 
 la  vie  pastorale,  ils  sortent  de  la  for   the   traditional   knowledc^e   of 
 
 niaison  avec  une  certaine  qnantite  Moses  of  the  facts  which  he  relates, 
 
 de  betail  que  le  pere  leur  donne,  et  Taking  it  for  granted  that  Noah  v?as 
 
 vont  former  une  nouvelle  habita-  still  alive  349  years  after  the  flood, 
 
 tion.     Le  dernier  des  males  done  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
 
 qui  reste  dans  la  maison  avec  son  Abraham  ever  saw  him. 
 
 pere   est  son   heritier  naturel."—  ^  Buddseus  argues  that  Nimrod 
 
 Montesquieu  Esprit  des  Lois,  lib.  made  himself  the  chief  or  captain 
 
 xviii.  c.  xxi.  p.  242.     Hence,  per-  of  those  who  after  the  dispersion 
 
 haps,  the  origin  of  the  sign  "  tow-  remained  near  Babel.  "  Qui  enim," 
 
 er,"    among    the   Chinese.      Vide  he  asks,  "  initium  regui  ejus  esse 
 
 note  ^  to  p.  252.  potuit,  cum  nondum  esset  ?" — Hist. 
 
 ^  "  Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the  Vet.  Test.  vol.  i,  p.  229.  But  how 
 other  side  of  the  flood  in  old  times ;  many  difficulties  does  this  view  in- 
 even  Terah,  the  father  of  Abraham,  vite;  though  in  truth  any  explana- 
 and  the  father  of  Nahor,  and  they  tion  of  the  legend  is  but  a  choice  of 
 served  other  gods,  and  I  took  your  difiiculties. 
 
264  CHAPTER  X. 
 
 beginning  of  whose  kingdom  was  Babel.  Had  Noah  then 
 like  the  old  Laertes  laid  down  his  authority  ?«  or  did  the 
 popular  "  rage  despise  his  emi)ire "  ?  or  had  Nimrod,  as 
 his  name  would  imply/  disi)ossessed  him  of  his  place  ?  In 
 no  way  does  this  book  enable  us  to  guess  at  the  relation  in 
 which  Noah  stood  to  his  descendants. 
 
 Noah  however  has  disappeared  from  the  scene.  Nimrod 
 is  now  chief  and  king.  Then,  as  Nimrod  is  the  cotempo- 
 rary  of  Eber's  father,  of  him  who  lived  four  hundred  and 
 thirty-three  years  and  who  lived  therefore  to  see  the 
 Pharaohs  of  Egypt  and  the  Abimelechs  of  Gerar:  how"  is 
 it  that  of  this  Nimrod's  existence,  save  perhaps  as  remem- 
 bered in  the  burden  of  some  old  song,  Abraham  appears 
 so  wholly  unconscious  ? — But  Nimrod  perchance  was  dead  ? 
 — What,  are  not  the  long  years  of  the  patriarchs  noted  to 
 show  us  the  superior  vigour  of  the  men  of  olden  time  ? 
 Are  we  to  suppose  that  their  lives  were  specially  length- 
 ened ;  and  that  all  other  men,  after  some  short  span  of 
 eighty  years,  perished  away  as  we  do  ?  How  then  is  it 
 that  these  Methuselahs  died  and  left  no  sign  ?  while  the 
 ephemeral  races  built  cities,  invented  arts,  founded  govern- 
 ments, made  of  themselves  in  a  word  men?  Assuredly 
 the  years  of  the  children  of  Shem  are  the  years  of  the  men 
 of  their  generation.  Into  what  fairy  land  then  had,  in  the 
 days  of  Abraham,  the  kingdom  and  the  power  of  Nimrod 
 fled  ?  With  Amraphel  king  of  Shinar  and  other  kings, 
 his  allies,  Abraham  wages  battle,  and  totally  overthrows 
 
 "  "  When  with  cares 
 For  his  lost  son  he  left  all  court  affaires." — Odyss.  xxiv.  377. 
 Achilles,  however,  Odyss.  xi.  in-  sernione,  rehellemP — Witsius  Mis- 
 quires  of  Ulysses,  whether  "  his  eel.  Sacr.  vol.  ii,  p.  207,  de  Assyris. 
 father  still  commands  the  Phthian  Witsius  then  goes  on  to  tell  us  how 
 throne,  or  whether  Phthian  and  Nimrod  got  his  power :  "  Et  sane 
 Thessalian  rage  despise  his  em-  neglecta  aucloritate  Noae,  cui  im- 
 pire."  peril    partes   omni  jure    hactenus 
 
 ''  "  Est  aliquod  in  Nimrodis  no-  competierant,  principatum  erigere 
 mine  ominosum  nisi  fortassc  ex  eo  molitus  est ;  allectis,  ut  rehellantes 
 (|uod  fecit  deinceps  co  nomine  die-  solent,  a  paterno  No3b  prssidio,  ad 
 tus  fuerit.      Significat  cnim   Hcb.     sua  castra,  complurimis.— Id. 
 
CHAPTER    X.  265 
 
 them.  "Was  then  Nimrod  dead  ?  Had  he  perished  in  his 
 youth,  centuries  before  his  time  ?  Was  this  Amraphel  his 
 successor  ?  or  had  other  sovereigns  intervened  between 
 them  ?  And  was  the  mighty  Babylon — she  who  was  the 
 earth's  eldest  daughter  and  the  mother  of  great  cities — 
 already  reduced  to  a  petty  kingdom  ?  *  Who  can  unravel 
 the  difficulties  of  this  story  ? 
 
 "  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation."  The  Jews  are 
 the  people  in  whom  this  prophecy  is  supposed  to  have  been 
 fulfilled.  Were  they  ever  a  great  nation?  They  were 
 never  great  in  the  arts  of  peace  or  war ;  never  great  in 
 science ;  never  in  power,  nor  even  in  numbers.  Neverthe- 
 less, they  are  great ;  for  their  history  is  still  for  us  a  subject 
 of  deep  contemplation ;  and  the  idea  which  they  were  set 
 apart  to  develope,  the  unity  of  the  Godliead,  their  creed,  is 
 the  basis  of  the  religion  of  the  whole  civilized  world. 
 
 "  And  I  will  make  thy  name  great,  and  thou  shalt  be  a 
 blessing.  .  .  ,  and  in  thee  shall  all  the  families,"  &c. 
 
 And  great  indeed  is  the  name  of  Abraham !  Civilized 
 man  cherishes  its  memory  ;  and  Mahommedans  and  Chris- 
 tians contend  who  shall  pay  it  most  reverence.  But  in 
 the  time  of  Moses,  had  it  already  spread  among  the  people 
 of  western  Asia  ?  Is  it  known  either  to  the  history  or 
 the  mythology  of  the  pristine  nations  ?  Or  is  it  only  in 
 this  book  that  we  hear  of  it  ? 
 
 Through  Josephus^  we  learn, 
 
 1st.  That  Berossus  makes  mention  of  a  certain  Chal- 
 dean who  lived  in  the  tentli  generation  after  the  flood,  and 
 who  was  celebrated  for  his  power  and  justice,  and  skill  in 
 all  celestial  things.^ 
 
 2ndly.    That  Hecataaus,  a  cotemporary  of  Alexander, 
 
 ^  From  the  whole  of  the  four-  sus — is  it  on  their  authority  that 
 
 teenth  chapter  it  seems  to  me  as  if  Eupolemus      the    Jew     has    con- 
 
 Shinar,  Eleasar,  were  like  Sodom,  structed  his  account  of  Abraham, 
 
 &c.,  tributaries  of  Chedorlaomer.  on  their  authority  that  he  tells  us 
 
 "  Antiq.  Jud.  lib.  i,  c.  vii,  §  2.  that  the  Chaldeans  speak  of  Abra- 
 
 '  "  Kai  TO  ovparia  efXTrsipog  "are  l:am  as  the  inventor  of  astrology 
 
 the  words  of  Josephus  from  Beros-  and  magic  ? 
 
266  CHAPTER    X. 
 
 not  merely  speaks  of  Abi*aliam  by  name,  but  has  actually 
 written  a  treatise  on  liis  life  and  character.     And, 
 
 Srdly.  That  Nicolaus  Damascenus  relates  of  Abraham, 
 that  he  came  out  of  Chaldea  Avith  an  army,  and  possessed 
 liimself  of,  and  reigned  over,  Damascus,  but  that  he  after- 
 wards removed  witli  his  followers  into  Canaan. 
 
 And  through  Hyde^  we  hear  that  the  Brahmins  of 
 India  derive  their  name  from  Abraliam ;  that  the  ancient 
 Persian  faith  is  called,  "  Religio  Abrahami-Zerduscht ;" 
 and  that  constant  tradition  makes  Abraham  the  founder 
 of  the  temple  at  Mecca. 
 
 Without  remarking  on  the  scantiness  of  the  testimonials 
 which  Josephus  has  collected,  we  shall  at  once  proceed  to 
 examine  whether  they  are  such  as  to  induce  us  to  ascribe 
 any  extended  reputation  to  the  name  of  Abraham. 
 
 Damascenus  =>  was  the  friend  of  Herod,  and  his  ambassa- 
 dor at  the  court  of  Augustus.  He  was  employed  too  by 
 the  Jews  to  plead  their  cause  before  Agripjja,  and  he 
 pleaded  it  with  a  Jewish  heart,  and  like  one  well 
 acquainted  with  the  Jewish  laws  and  customs :  he  could 
 not  but  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Jewish  books. 
 Hecatieus  was  an  officer  of  Alexander's,  and  afterwards  of 
 Ptolemy  Lagus.*  He  wrote  a  history  of  the  Jews,  and  a 
 treatise  on  Abraham.  He  speaks  of  Jerusalem  as  though 
 he  had  visited  it.  He  served  with  Jewish  troops,  was 
 acquainted  vt^ith  the  High-priest,  and  seems  to  have  mixed 
 much  with  Jews.  What  shall  we  say  then  to  the  testimo- 
 nies of  these  men  when  they  speak  of  Jewish  heroes? 
 Shall  we  not  regard  their  writings,  in  absence  of  any 
 evidence  to  the  contrary,  as  derived  from  Jewish  sources, 
 and  resting  on  Jewish  authority,  and  as  insufficient  there- 
 fore to  prove  that  the  names  they  Avould  glorify  were 
 known  to  any  other  than  the  Jewish  people?  As  to 
 Berossus,  Ave  may  doubt, 
 
 2  Hyde  de  Rcl.  Vet.  Pers.  v.  ii,        ^  ^1,^;,^  j„,]  jn,.  ^ii,  c.  iii,  §  ii; 
 
 p.  31,  38,  from  Sliiiiistan  ;  Do  Pii-  and  compare  lib.  xvi,  c.  ii,§iv,  and 
 
 mis  et   Ultimis,  l*liaraii;;li    Suriiri,  e.  x,  §  iv. 
 
 i^c,  Arabian  works-,  and  the  Koran,         ■*  Josephus  cont.  Apionem,  lib.  i, 
 
 c  iii.  §  xxii. 
 
fAPTER    X. 
 
 267 
 
 1st.  Whether  by  his  anonymous  Chaldean  he  indeed 
 intended  Abraham.     And, 
 
 2ndly.  Wliether  (supposing  him  to  have  intended  Abra- 
 ham) he  did  not  become  acquainted  with  his  character 
 through  the  Hebrew  books. 
 
 To  Hyde's  conjectures  we  may  object, 
 
 1st.  That  as  he^  would  derive  the  Brahmins  from 
 Abraham,  so  others,"  and  with  just  as  much  show  of 
 reason,  have  derived  Aljraham  from  the  Brahmins. 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  name  of  Abraham  is  altogether  un- 
 known to  the  Zendavesta ;  and  moreover  that  his  cha- 
 racter as  a  nomad  is  at  variance  with  its  notions  of 
 excellence.^ 
 
 And  3rdly.  That  the  passage^  in  the  Koran,  to  which 
 Hyde  alludes,  and  which  seems  to  appeal  to  tradition,  may 
 not  improbably  be  itself  the  origin  of  the  tradition.  It 
 was,  according  to  Sale,  "  received  by  Mohammed  when  the 
 Jews  said  that  their  Kel^lah,  or  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
 was  more  ancient  than  that  of  the  Mahommedans,  or  the 
 Casba."  ^ 
 
 ^  "  Qiiosdam,"  says  the  Arahian 
 author,  "  existimave  Brahmanos  sic 
 clici  ab  Ibrahim  ;  id  tanien  fieri  nou 
 
 posse Sed  Brahanianos  sic  dici 
 
 ab  homine  cui  nomen  Abraham." 
 On  this  objection  of  his  author 
 Hyde  observes  :  "  Hoc  modo  Shah- 
 ristani  disputat  contra  seipsum, 
 ignorando  quod  Ibrahim  apud 
 Arabes  sit  idem  nomen  quod  Abra- 
 ham et  Braham,  quse  dicti  nominis 
 Abrahamatici  forma  apud  Persas." 
 -De  Vet.  Pers.  ReL  p.  31  ;  and 
 vide  Morhofs  Polyhistor,  voL  i, 
 lib.  i,  c.  X,  p.  89. 
 
 "  Clearchus  makes  Aristotle  to 
 say  that  the  Jews  were  mroyovoi 
 Twi'  iv  li'SoiQ  (piKoaoipMv, — Jose- 
 phus,  ut  supra. 
 
 7  Thus  Djemsohid  is  a  builder 
 of  cities,  a  civilizerof  men,  a  culti- 
 vator of  the  earth.  Vide  Fargard 
 ii,  iii ;  and  see  the  Persian  hate  of 
 the  Arabs  justified  by  their  extrac- 
 tion, note  T,  p.  165,  supra. 
 
 ^  The  passage  is  this :  "  Verily 
 the  first  house  appointed  unto  men 
 to  worship  in,  was  that  which  is  in 
 Becca;  blessed,  and  a  direction  to 
 all  creatures.  Therein  are  manifest 
 signs  ;  the  place  tvherein  Abraham 
 stood,''''  i.e.,  they  show  the  print  of 
 Abraham's  feet ;  and  compare  Pre- 
 lim. Dis.  p.  154,  Sec. 
 
 ®  See  Sale's  notes  to  chap.  ii.  of 
 Koran.  The  fact  is,  the  Koran,  and 
 Old  Testament,  and  Gospels,  have 
 spread  the  names  of  the  Biblical 
 personages  throughout  Asia.  Thus 
 in  Syria  every  great  work  is  attri- 
 buted to  Solomon  (Volney's  Tra- 
 vels, c.  xxix  and  xxxi),  and  all  the 
 best  horses  in  Arabia  are  traced  up 
 to  the  studs  of  David  and  Solomon. 
 And  even  in  India  the  Mahomme- 
 tans  have  imagined  scriptural  ge- 
 nealogies for  the  native  tribes;  thus 
 the  Afghans  are  the  descendants  of 
 Saul.  Vide  Von  Bohlen  d.  alt. 
 Indicn,  vol-  i,  p.  7. 
 
268  ciiArTEii  X. 
 
 On  the  whole  then  we  may  conclude,  that  Abraham 
 owes  indeed  his  reputation  to  the  Hebrew  books ;  but  that 
 Christians  and  Mahommedans  first  extended  that  reputation 
 beyond  the  confines  of  his  fiimily,  and  made  it  universal. 
 
 "  In  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 
 In  thee,  thy  descendants.  As  the  poor  Jew  wanders  from 
 land  to  land,  are  blessings  poured  upon  his  head  ?  Do 
 cities  rejoice  in  his  sojourn  ?  Are  families  proud  of  his 
 alliance  ?  Every  where  he  is  hated  or  despised  :  every 
 ivhere  only  tolerated :  every  lohere  he  finds  his  name  a  bye- 
 word  for  obstinacy,  and  credulity,  and  avarice,  and  mean- 
 ness :  and  every  where  the  haughty  Christian,  or  the  haugh- 
 tier Mahometan,  maligns  his  character,  and  envies  his  gains 
 which  hard  labour,  superior  prudence,  and  a  frugal  life, 
 gradually  heap  up  into  wealth.  And  yet  this  man — whose 
 heart  petty  persecutions  and  continued  insults  have  per- 
 chance crushed,  Avliose  once  warm  affections  now  rest  only 
 on  his  gold,  whose  character  is  in  keeping  with  his  degra- 
 dation— even  this  man,  with  unshaken  faith  and  fond  hope, 
 points  to  this  prophecy  as  a  certain  evidence  of  his  and  his 
 nation's  future  greatness.  This  prophecy  ice  however  find 
 most  extraordinarily  fulfilled  in  the  character  and  doc- 
 trine of  Clu-ist:  and  his  pure  and  bright  religion,  obscm'ed 
 by  ignorance  and  prejudice  and  defiled  by  the  dark  pas- 
 sions they  foster  in  man,  has  hitherto  worked  its  good  in 
 secret,  almost  unperceived  ;  though  now  indeed  that  it  is 
 undergoing  transfiguration,  now  that  it  is  beginning  to 
 throw  off  its  earthly  coil  and  to  show  itself  in  its  grand 
 simplicity,  it  gives  us  hope  and  evidence,  as  the  bright  clouds 
 that  herald  in  the  rising  sun,  of  the  universal  light  and 
 blessings  of  perfect  day. 
 
 "  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that 
 curseth  thee."  Not  thee,  the  individual  ordy,  but  thee, 
 the  nation,  of  which  thou  shalt  be  the  ancestor ;  and  to 
 that  nation,  Israel,  Balaam  applies  the  blessing,  "  Blessed  is 
 he  that  blesseth  thee,  and  cursed  is  he  that  ciu'seth  thee  !"  ^ 
 1  Nuiiibcrs  xxiv.  9. 
 
CHAPTER   X.  269 
 
 Jehovah  makes  with  Abraham  a  league  offensive  and 
 defensive:  He  becomes  Abraham's  protector  and  patron, 
 and  instals  Abraham  as  His  favourite  :  He  identifies  Abra- 
 ham with  Himself:  for  Abraham's  sake  He  promises  to 
 change  the  great  laws  of  providence,  and  henceforward  to 
 deal  out  good  or  evil  to  men,  not  according  to  their 
 character  and  conduct,  but  according  to  their  character 
 and  conduct  in  relation  to  Abraham.  And  hence  it  is 
 that  for  an  injury  to  Abraham  Pharaoh  and  his  house  are 
 plagued ;  and  hence  it  is  that  for  betraying  her  country  to 
 Israel  Kahab"  the  harlot  is  saved  out  of  the  accursed  city, 
 and  deemed  worthy  of  becoming  the  ancestress  of  Jewish 
 sovereigns  and  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  hence  too  it  is,  because 
 "  they  have  reproached  and  magnified  themselves  against 
 the  people  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,"  that  "  Moab  is  as  Sodom, 
 and  the  children  of  Amnion  as  Gomorrah."  ^ 
 
 In  other  creeds  we  find  similar  views  ;  in  the  Deity  the 
 same  favouritism ;  and  in  the  dealings  of  the  Deity  with 
 men,  the  same  constant  regard  for  liis  favourites.  Thus, 
 in  Greek  mythology,  for  his  injurious  treatment  of  Chryses 
 Agamemnon  sees  his  army  perish  by  the  arrows  of  Apollo.'' 
 And  thus,  in  the  Brahmin  faith,  great  rewards  are  pro- 
 mised to  him  who  does  good  to  Brahmins ;  "  while  he  who 
 sheds  their  blood  shall  feel  excessive  pain  in  after  life :  as 
 many  particles  of  blood  as  the  dust  shall  roll  up  from  the 
 ground,  for  so  many  years  shall  the  shedder  of  that  blood 
 be  mangled  by  other  animals  in  his  next  birth.""  And 
 thus  too  according  to  the  Zend,  blessings  are  the  portion 
 
 *  Josliua  vi.  17.     With  the  con-  just  reception  of  the  assassins   of 
 
 duct  and  the  fate  of  Rahab  com-  Pompey. 
 
 pare  the  conduct  and  the  fate  of        ^  Zephaniah  ii.  9,  10.     See  also 
 
 Tarpeia  in  Roman  story.  And  now  2  Chronicles  xxxvi.  14,  15;  Nehe- 
 
 that  we  are   comparing;    together  miah  iv.  4. 
 
 Jewish  and  Roman  traditions,  with         ^  See  in  Herod,  (lib.  vi,  §  75)  the 
 
 the  safety  awarded  to  him  who  he-  account  of  the  madness  and  death 
 
 trayed  Bethel,  contrast  the  punish-  of  Cleomenes,  and  the  various  sa- 
 
 me'nt  inflicted  on  the  schoolmaster  crileges  to  which  it  was  attributed, 
 of  Falerii,  and  choose  between  the         ^  Vide  Laws  of  Menu,  chapter 
 
 song  of  Deborah  glorifying- Jael  for  on    (Economicks,   §  110,  117,  Sir 
 
 the  murder  of  Sisera  and  Cajsar's  W.  Jones'  Works,  vol.  vii. 
 
270  CHAPTER   X. 
 
 of  all  Avlio  tend  upon  and  honour  the  creatures  of  Ormuzd, 
 while  terrible  punishments  await  those  who  willingly 
 injure  them/ 
 
 In  these  vieios  we  may  observe  that  the  Zend  is  alone 
 consequent.  Its  double  creation,  and  the  war  which  it 
 supposes  to  subsist  between  the  creatures  of  Ormuzd  and 
 those  of  Ahriman,  a  war  in  Avhich  Ormuzd  is  represented 
 as  o-aining  the  vantage  by  and  through  his  creatures,  com- 
 pelled it  to  regard  every  thing  wdiich  could  benefit  the 
 creation  of  Ormuzd  as  a  religious  duty  and  pleasing  to 
 Ormuzd,  and  therefore  to  be  rewarded  by  the  good  things 
 which  Ormuzd  bestows  upon  his  followers.  To  the  Brah- 
 minical  and  Jewish  cosmogonies,  however,  these  notions  of 
 favouritism  are  strange, — they  apj^ear  as  after-thoughts, 
 as  mere  addenda,  introduced  to  justify  the  exclusive  claims 
 of  a  class  or  nation  to  rights  which  belong  to  mankind. 
 Thus,  as  Brahma  is  the  God  "  from  whom  all  things  pro- 
 ceed, and  to  Avhom  all  things  must  return ;"' — and  as  the 
 Elohim  is  He  who  made  all  creatures  "  after  their  kind  :" — 
 in  the  sight  of  the  one  no  difference  of  creatures,  and  in 
 that  of  the  other  no  difference  of  creatures  of  the  same 
 kind,  should  naturally  find  place.  But  between  creatures 
 Nature  has  made  a  difference.  The  creed  of  the  first 
 therefore  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  a  series  of  ema- 
 nations to  account  for  the  superiority  of  one  creature  over 
 another ;  and  it  at  the  same  time  took  occasion  to  gratify 
 the  vanity  of  its  priestclass,  by  giving  to  that  class  a  more 
 honourable  birth  than  to  the  rest  of  mankind.^  The  creed 
 of  the  second  had  not  so  many  difficulties  to  contend  Avith ; 
 
 "  See  the  duties    to  dogs,  e.  g.  foot."— §  xxxi.     Compare  id.  §  92, 
 
 Fargaid  xv.  vol.  i,  p.  39G.  93,  On  the  Creation,  from  the  Laws 
 
 'From  the  Gayatri,  or  holiest  of  Menu.  See  also  p.  1 1 1-12,  supra, 
 
 verse  of  the  Vedas.— Sir  W.  Jones'  There    the    creation   is  examined 
 
 Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  417.  from  a  lower  point  of  view — here  it 
 
 •*  "  That  the  human  race  might  is  viewed  in  its  first  principle,  as 
 
 be  multiplied.  He  caused  tlie  Brah-  delivered    in    "the    Gayatri,    the 
 
 min,  the  Chatriya,  the  Vaisya,  and  mother  of  the  Veda."    Vide  Sir  W. 
 
 the  Sudra,    to  proceed    from    his  Jones'  Works,  Preface  to  the  Laws 
 
 mouth,  his  arm,  his  thigh,  and  his  of  Menu,  vol.  vii,  p.  89. 
 
CHAPTER    X.  271 
 
 unlike  the  first,  vrhicli  is  a  metaphysical  s  system,  it  deals 
 in  facts,  it  proceeds  to  work  historically ;  and  as  all  bar- 
 barous people  are  ever  self-conceited,  and  self-conceited 
 just  in  proportion  as  they  are  barbarous,  it  seeks  a  reason 
 for  the  holiness  of  the  nation  to  which  it  belongs  in 
 the  holiness  of  that  nation's  ancestors,  and  in  the  promises 
 which  their  holiness  exacted  from  the  well-pleased  Deity. 
 
 But  these  false  views,  alas  !  are  not  confined  to  Jewish 
 and  Heathen  creeds :  irrational  and  antichristian  as  they 
 are,  they  have  made  their  way  into  our  Christianity :  they 
 are  justified  by  examples  in  the  Christian  books.  Thus 
 the  deceit  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  their  lie  to  Peter  is 
 represented  as  a  lie  to  God,  and  they  are  struck  dead.^  And 
 thus  too  the  opposition  of  the  Jews  at  Antioch  to  Paul 
 and  Barnabas  is  threatened  with  a  punishment  more  ter- 
 rible than  that  inflicted  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.^  And 
 thus  for  his  intrigues  against  the  Christian  doctrine  Elymas 
 the  sorcerer  suddenly  becomes  blind.  But  it  will  be 
 answered,  that  deceit  and  a  lie  are  ever  crimes  against 
 God ;  that  the  Jewish  opposition  to  Paul  and  Barnabas 
 was  an  interested  opposition — the  opposition  of  wicked 
 and  obstinate  men ;  that  Elymas  prosecuted  an  unlawful 
 calling,  was  leagued  with  the  prince  and  jDowers  of  dark- 
 ness, or  was  at  least  an  impostor ;  and  that  therefore  Ana- 
 
 *  i.e.  The  diflerence  which  the  xxxvi,  Bipont.  vol.  x,  p.  169:  the 
 
 one  makes  to  exist  between  the  se-  punishment     which     the    tribune 
 
 veral  classes  of  men  are  differences  Aulus  Pompeius  suffered  for  ill- 
 
 in  kind  ;  while  the  differences  which  treating  one  Batanes,  a  Phrygian 
 
 the  other  insists  upon  are  accidental  priest, 
 merely.  ^  "  But  they  shook  off  the  dust 
 
 1  A  woman  in  Siberia,  who  had  of  their  feet  against  them,  and  came 
 
 been  converted  to  Christianity,  in  a  to  Icouium." — Acts  xv.  11.    "  And 
 
 fit  of  jealousy  killed  her  husband  ;  whoever  shall  not  receive  you,  nor 
 
 "  Les  Tartares  croyoient  que  leurs  hear  you,  when  ye  depart  thence, 
 
 demons  I'avoient  porte  a  ce  crime  shake  off  the  dust  under  your  feet 
 
 pour  qu'elle  fiit  elle-meme  punie  for     a     testimony    against    them, 
 
 d'avoir    abandonne  la  foi  de    ses  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be 
 
 peres,  et   embrasse    le    Christian-  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Go- 
 
 isme.''  —  Histoire    Generale    des  morrha  in  the  day    of  judgment, 
 
 Voyages,  vol.  xviii,  p.  393.      See  than  for  that  city." — Ivlarkvi.  11. 
 also  in   Diod.   Sic.   Fragmen,  lib. 
 
272  CHAPTER    X. 
 
 nias  and  Sapphira,  the  Antioch  Jews  and  Elymas,  were  all 
 deservedly  punished. 
 
 When  the  woman  taken  in  adultery  was  brought  before 
 the  Christ,  he  but  answered,  "  Let  him  that  is  guiltless 
 cast  the  first  stone."  On  Ananias  and  Sa})phira,  who  now 
 among  us  will  sit  in  judgment? — The  fact  however  is,  that 
 it  is  not  the  mere  lie^  which  this  story  condemns,  but 
 the  lie  as  told  to  Peter  and  the  Christian  community;  and, 
 because  so  told  to  them  it  is  held  up  as  a  lie  to  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  Examine  also  the  case  of  Elymas  the  sorcerer; 
 he  is  allowed  free  room  and  verge  enough  so  long  as  he 
 meddles  not  with  Christians  and  Christian  doctrine ;  but 
 the  moment  he  comes  forward  to  withstand  Paul  he  is 
 struck  blind.  What  now  is  the  natural  deduction  from 
 "  these  judgments  ?""  Wliy  this  surely, — that  crimes  which 
 affect  the  pious  are  more  deserving  of  punishment  than 
 those  which  merely  injure  the  common  herd  of  men ;  that 
 such  crimes  God  takes  it  upon  Himself  to  punish,  and  to 
 punish  signally.  Hence,  consequently,  among  pietists  a 
 constant  expectation  that  God  will  take  their  cause  into 
 His  own  hand,  and  see  His  sacred  ministers  righted. 
 
 Take  now  the  opposition  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  at 
 Antioch.  Wlien  the  martyr  .Stephen  perished  beneath 
 the  stones  of  the  Jews,  Paul  was  consenting  to  his  death. 
 Was  Paul  at  that  time  dishonest  ?  Was  he  but  a  shallow 
 hypocrite,  who  hid  himself  under  the  guard  of  a  mad  fana- 
 ticism ?  Paul  assuredly  never  was  a  hypocrite,  but  one  of 
 those  enthusiasts  whose  belief  Avas  so  heartfelt  that  he 
 conceived  not  how  any  other  belief  could  a  moment  obtain. 
 By  himself  he  judged  others,  and  not  by  themselves. 
 Hence  his  presence  at  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen;  and 
 hence  his  condemnation  of  the  Jews  at  Antioch, — a  con- 
 demnation which,  if  we  receive  as  just,  will,  in  connexion 
 with  the  other  instances  adduced,  have  no  little  influence 
 on  our  moral  character :  for  we  shall  then  institute  our- 
 selves judges  of  what  is,  and  ichat  is  not,  truth ;  and  all 
 
 ^  Vide  .TurHlh  ix.   10;  and  xi.  16,  10. 
 
CHAPTER   X.  273 
 
 opposition  to  our  views  Ave  shall  regard  as  interested  and 
 obstinate  opposition, — as  a  crime  not  against  us,  but 
 against  the  Holy  Ghost;"  and  we  shall  then  feel  justified 
 in  going  any  lengths  to  put  down  that  opposition.  Hence 
 we  shall  have  inquisitions ;  or,  if  our  common  sense  rises 
 against  inquisitions,  articles  of  faith,  pet  doctrines  by 
 which,  if  temporal  pains  and  penalties  be  out  of  our 
 power,  we  shall  test  the  salvation  or  damnation  of  our 
 neighbours. 
 
 Wliat  shall  we  say  then — that  holy  men  are  not,  more 
 than  others,  the  especial  care  of  Providence  ?  That  I  know 
 not ;  but  tliis  I  know,  that  as  every  evil  thought  is  pimished 
 even  in  the  thinking,  and  every  evil  act  even  in  the  doing, 
 so  also  ignorance  is  punished  by  its  own  darkness,  and 
 narrowness  of  mind  by  its  own  littleness ;  and  that  no  holy 
 man  therefore,  in  so  far  at  least  as  he  is  holy,*  will  shake 
 the  dust  oif  liis  feet  in  judgment  against  his  opponents, 
 Ijut  will  either  pity  them  for  their  obstinacy,  or  look  into 
 himself  to  find  there  the  reason  of  their  opposition. 
 
 Besides,  who  are  holy  men  ?  "  Not  every  man,"  says 
 Christ,  "  who  calleth  me  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  my 
 kingdom."  Who  then  are  holy  men  ? — Philippe  de  Comines« 
 relates,  that  when  he  was  looking  at  the  body  of  John 
 Galeas  I  of  Milan,  a  native  of  Bourges  who  was  then  pre- 
 sent called  the  said  John  a  saint :  "  Et  je  lui  demanday  en 
 I'oreille,"  adds  De  Comines,  "  pour  quoi  il  I'appellat  sainct, 
 et  qu'il  pouvoit  voir  peinctes  a  I'entour  de  luy  les  armes 
 
 ■•  Thus  the  Aljb6  de  Clairvaux,  stance  the  historian  himself  wit- 
 when  he  finds  that  the  heretics  (Al-  nessed  their  accomplishment. — 
 bio;enses)  of  Vertfeuil  will  not  listen  From  Guil.  Pod.  Laur.  apud  Mi- 
 to  his  preaching,  plays  the  part  of  chelet,  Hist,  de  Faruce,  p.  469-70. 
 Paul  and  Barnabas :  "  alors  secou-  ^  Paul,  great  as  he  was,  had  his 
 ant  centre  eux  la  poussiere  de  ses  faults,  and  terrible  must  have  been 
 pieds, pour  leurfaire  entendre  qu'ils  the  punishment  of  this  one;  how 
 n'etaient  que  poussiere,  il  partit,  et  his  large  and  tender  heart  must 
 reportant  ses  regards  vers  la  ville,  have  grieved  under  the  thought, 
 il  la  maudit,  en  disant :  Vertfeuil,  that  so  large  a  portion  of  his  bre- 
 que  Dieu  te  desseche."  The  pre-  thren  and  of  mankind  were  doomed 
 late's  blessings  are  worth  less  than  to  so  fearful  torments  ! 
 the  meanest  coin,  but  his  curses  are  *  Memoires,  livre  vii,  c.  9,  ed. 
 ever  powerful ;  in  the  present  in-  Petitot. 
 
 2  N 
 
274  CHAPTER    X. 
 
 de  plusieurs  citez  qu'il  avoit  usurpes,  ou  il  n'avoit  nul 
 droit.  II  me  repondit  tout  bas,  'Nous  appellons,  dit-il 
 en  ce  pays  icy,  saincts  tous  ceux  qui  nous  font  du  bien.' "  ^ 
 This  "  Bourgeois "  saint  we  laugh  at ;  but  are  we  more 
 reasonable  ?  Men  now  are  saints  who  pray  daily,  and 
 endow  chapels,  and  subscribe  largely  for  the  conversion  of 
 the  heathen :  men  are  saints  who  build  Sunday-schools, 
 and  distribute  soup  and  blankets  to  the  poor,  and  hate 
 popery :  men  are  saints  who  worship  the  idol  of  their 
 generation, — for  it  is  their  generation  that  canonizes  them. 
 But  I  image  to  myself  that  great  day  when  we  shall  all 
 appear  before  the  throne  of  God,  each  one  seen  now 
 through  no  false  medium,  and  dressed  in  no  specious 
 colours ;  and  then  methinks  how  many  a  man  whom  the 
 world  has  contemned,  persecuted,  vilified,  whom  even 
 perhaps  the  laws  have  punished,  will  stand  forth  in  all 
 his  native  nobility  !  how  many  another  too  Avhom  we 
 have  judged  unworthy,  hard-hearted,  cruel,  will  wear  the 
 spotless  robe  of  innocence !  Yes,  before  the  blood  covered 
 Batta  *  fresh  from  the  carnage  of  heretical  Boodhists ; 
 before  the  .stern  inquisitor  who  knew  not  how  to  pity 
 what  the  Church  had  doomed  ;  ^  before  the  Indian  son  who 
 
 ^  For  the  same  reason  Charles  de  self  in  honour  of  Juggernaut. 
 
 Blois,  whose  name  is  stained  by  ^  I  allude  to  him  who  called  his 
 
 terrible     massacres,     was    canon-  sovereign  (Philip  II.  of  Spain)  to 
 
 ized  by  the   priests :  "  II  se  con-  account,  and  made  that  sovereign 
 
 fessait    matin    et    soir ;    entendait  do  a  penance  of  blood  for  the  cry 
 
 quatre  ou  cinq  masses  par  jour of  pity  which  escaped  liim  when  he 
 
 Voya\t-\\  passer  unpretre,  ilse  jeiait  saw  one  he  had  known  and  loved 
 
 a  bas  de  cheval  dans  la  boue,"  &c.  make  part  of  a  procession  in  an 
 
 Michelet,  Hist,  de  France,  vol.  iii,  auto-da-fe.      Or  look  even  at  the 
 
 p.  314.  first  inquisitor,  the  stern  St.  Domi- 
 
 *  Batta  was  an  Indian  philoso-  nic,  him  who  led  on  that  1)Ioody  per- 
 
 pher  of  the  sect  Nyayan,  i.  e.  Rea-  secution    against    the    Albigenses 
 
 son.     He  distinguished  himself  in  (see  Sismondi,  Histoire  de  France, 
 
 the  massacre  of  the   Boodhists  by  thirteenth  century),  him  whom  the 
 
 his  sect;  and  afterwards,  to  purify  careless  Voltaire   makes  Grisbour- 
 
 hiniself  from  the  blood  be  liuil  shed,  don  to  meet  at  the  very  threshold 
 
 he  with  great  solemnity  burnt  him-  of  hell,  and  to  whom 
 "  L'oinl)re  rcj)ond  d'un  ton  melancolique: 
 Helas,  mon  tils,  je  suis  Saint  Dominique." 
 
 La  Pucelle,  livre  v. 
 
 look  at  him  as  he  appears  in  Ro-  cuting  spirit  is  the  spirit  of  his  age 
 
 man  Catholic  writers — his  perse-  — Ins  fervent  piety,  his  tearful  elo- 
 
CHAPTER    X.  275 
 
 pressed  his  mother  to  the  funeral  pile  ;  before  the  heathen 
 father  who  devoted  his  eldest  born  to  Moloch;  before 
 these  whom  we  condemn,  and  many  others  our  cotempora- 
 ries  whom  we  shudder  from,  how  shall  we,  so  prudent  in 
 well-doing,  so  well-guarded  in  all  words  and  deeds,  so 
 respectable  in  morality,  and  so  decent  in  religion,  before 
 these,  how  shall  we  stand,  shivering  in  our  nakedness  and 
 littleness. 
 
 Verse  5.  And  Abram  took  Sarai  his  wife  and  Lot  his 
 brother's  son."  Nahor  and  Terah,  Joshua  informs  us,  were 
 idolaters.  Was  Lot  of  the  same  faith  as  his  fathers,  and 
 did  he  accompany  Abraham  but  in  execution  of  his  grand- 
 father Terah's  plan  ?  Or  did  he  accompany  him  as  a  con- 
 vert, a  disciple,  one  whom  his  words  had  moved  to  a  belief 
 in  his  doctrine?  The  care  of  the  Lord  to  save  Lot  from 
 the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  makes  it  most 
 probable  that  Lot  was  of  the  same  creed,  worshipped  the 
 same  God  as  Abraham. 
 
 Verses  6  and  7.  Abraham  having  journeyed  until  he 
 arrives  at  Moreh,  the  Lord  there  appears  before  him  and 
 promises  the  land  to  his  seed.  There  is  something  touch- 
 ing in  the  pride  of  half-ci\'ilized  man  ;  it  is  like  the  pride  of 
 cliildren,  knit  to  home  and  the  things  of  home,  it  is  unself- 
 ish. You  do  not  find  him  boasting  his  own  virtues, 
 parading  his  own  merits,  admiring  his  own  greatness ;  he 
 dwells  rather  on  the  antiquity  of  his  nation,  the  splendid 
 actions  of  his  ancestors,  the  beauty  of  his  native  city,  the 
 superior  excellence  of  his  country,  &c.  He  is  therefore 
 either  God-descended,  or  descended  from  one  whom  the 
 God's  cherished;^  or  he  is  either  an  autochthon,*  one  whose 
 
 queuce,  his  self-denyinjr  charity  are  ame  a  Dieu"— and  then  condemn 
 
 his  own— see  him  giving  all  that  him.— Michelet,  Hist,  de  France, 
 
 he  has  to  found  a  monastery  for  the  vol.  ii,  p.  479. 
 
 daughters  of  the  poor  nobility,  and  i  Hence  the  epithets  of  Homer: 
 
 then,  "  entendant  dire  a  une  femme  SiorpsipEwv  (iaffiXtojv. — II.  ii,  98,  &c. 
 
 que  si  elle  quittait  les  Albigeois  elle  ^  yj^jg  ^j-,  ^-^^  epithet  h(pv>]g— 
 
 se  trouveroit    sans    ressources;  il  Emeric    David,     Recherches    sur 
 
 voulait  seve7idre  comme esclave,  pour  Jupiter,  Appendix,  vol.  ii,  p.  600. 
 avoir  de  quoi  rendre  encore  cette 
 
276  CHAPTER   X. 
 
 first  parents  sprang  from  the  very  earth  which  that  pa- 
 rent's descendants  now  inhabit ;  or  if  no  antochthon,  if  a 
 foreign  soil  claims  him  for  her  own :  then  his  Gods  have 
 appeared  to  him,  have  bid  him  travel  to  some  other 
 and  better  country ;  they  have  accompanied  and  led  him' 
 on  his  road,  and  strange  signs  and  Avonders  have  pointed 
 out  the  promised  land.  Thus  vEneas  is  driven  from  shore 
 to  shore,  till  "  jiost  tot  discrimiua  re  rum,"  the  eaten  plates 
 and  the  farrowing  sow  point  out  the  seat  of  the  world's  future 
 capital/  Thus  too  Djemschid,  armed  with  the  golden 
 poniard,  in  obedience  to  Ormuzd  travels  eastward,  and 
 every  where  he  cleaves  the  earth  with  his  poniard  and 
 renders  it  fruitful  and  fills  it  with  domestic  animals ;  but 
 when  he  arrives  at  the  Ver,  there  he  builds  a  great  fortress, 
 and  founds  a  people  and  the  city  of  Ver-efschoue.^  Thus, 
 too,  the  Mexicans,  promised  a  great  kingdom  by  their  god 
 Vitzilipuztli,  leave  their  country,  and  on  their  road  con- 
 quer many  nations,  build  several  towns,  but  still  journey 
 onwards,  till  the  promised  sign,  an  eagle  perched  upon  a 
 fig-tree  growing  out  of  a  rock,  warns  them  to  stay,  and 
 there  fix  the  centre  of  their  empire.  And  thus  also,  when 
 Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Oello  are  sent  forth  with  a 
 golden  rod  by  their  father,  the  sun,  to  civilise  mankind, 
 they  too  wander  from  place  to  place  seeking  the  heaven- 
 appointed  spot,  until  they  at  length  arrive  at  the  valley  of 
 Cuzco,  where  the  golden  rod  driven  into  the  ground 
 wholly  disappears,  and  thus  advises  them  that  here  is  their 
 destined  residence :  and  here  therefore  they  begin  to  build 
 the  city  of  Cuzco.' 
 
 ^  So  the  Sabines  were  led  on  by  vol.  xii,  p.  525  :  "  Ce  fut  dans  ce 
 
 a  wolf  and  a  magpie  in  their  de-  lieu  nienie  (|u'ils  commencerent  a 
 
 scent  from  the  mountains  ;  so  Cad-  batir  leur  ville  a  la([uelle  ils  don- 
 
 mus  followed  a  crow  into  Boeotia,  nerent  le  nom  de  Tetniichitlan,i.«?. 
 
 and  so  a  goose  and  a  goat  marched  le  Figuier  sur  un  rocher.      De  la 
 
 at  the  head  of  a  great  army  of  pil-  vient  que  les  annes  de  Mexico  out 
 
 grims    in   the  first  crusade. — Mi-  toujours  ete  une  aigle  regardant  le 
 
 chelet,  Hist,  de  France,  vol.  i,p.228.  soleil,  les  ailes  eploiees,  tenant  un 
 
 ■*  Vide  Virgil,  .^neid.  viii;  Dion,  serpent  dans  une  de  ses  griffcs,  et 
 
 Hal.  lib.  i,  §  Ivi.  I'autrc    patte    appuiee     sur     une 
 
 ^  Persepolis  i'     Vide  P'argard  iii,  branche  de  figuier  des  Indes." 
 Zend.  '  Garcilasso  de  la  Veg-a,  Histoire 
 
 *  Histoire  Gcneralc  des  Voyages,  dcs  Yncas,  liv.  i,  c.  xv. 
 
CHAPTER   X.  277 
 
 Of  these  several  legends,  the  Persian  and  Peruvian  at- 
 tribute the  one  to  Djemschid,  the  other  to  Manco  Capac,  the 
 same  high  motive  of  travel,  the  civilisation  of  mankind 
 and  the  spread  of  what  each  presumed  to  be  true  reli- 
 gion ;  the  Roman  and  the  Mexican,  on  the  other  hand, 
 know  only  the  desire  of  empire ;  while  the  Jewish  differs 
 from  them  all,  both  in  that  it  shows  the  land  promised 
 to  be  a  good  and  fruitful  land,  and  in  that  it  shows  the  Jews 
 proceeding  thither  because  the  land  is  good  and  fruitful, 
 and  has  been  promised  to  them  by  their  God  on  account 
 of  the  merits  of  their  ancestors.  Do  we  not  then,  even  in 
 these  legends,  see  that  Mexico  and  Peru,  Rome  and  Persia, 
 are  nations  that  have  given  to  themselves  a  mission  ;  that 
 if  prosperous,  they  must  spread  themselves  either  by  force 
 of  arms  or  force  of  reason,  or  both;  that  some  way  or 
 other  they  must  either  be  themselves  subjugated,  or  sub- 
 jugate to  their  power  the  people  around  them  ?  That  the 
 Jews  on  the  other  hand,  limited  to  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
 have  their  portion  of  earth"  assigned  them,  their  own  God 
 too,  and  their  own  law  ;^  that  they  are  thus  shut  up  in  them- 
 selves, and  shut  out  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world ;  and 
 that  as  Jews  therefore,  they  never  can  be  any  other  than 
 the  inhabitants  of  Canaan,  or  refugees  in  some  other  part 
 of  the  globe  ? 
 
 "  And  there  builded  he  an  altar  unto  the  Lord."  It  is 
 only  in  the  land  of  Canaan  that  the  patriarchs  raise  altars. 
 Did  they  by  these  altars  take  possession  of  the  country 
 as  modern  Europeans,  by  planting  their  standard,  appro- 
 priate newly-discovered  lands  ?  Or,  unlike  the  altar  of 
 Noah  which  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  sacrifice,  were 
 these  altars  intended  as  memorials,   that  in  the  place   in 
 
 ^"Quemon  desirs'accomplisse!"  don  to  Lasha,  and  from  Sidon  to 
 
 cries  Zoioastre.     "  Ce  que  je  vous  Gaza;  and  in  like  manner  the  Rab- 
 
 demande,  O  Ormuzd!  c'est  que  les  bins  draw  aline  from  the  mountains 
 
 envieux  devienuent  Mehestans  sans  of  Amana  to  the  river  of  Egypt ; 
 
 peches,  que  sur  le  champ  dans  le  whatsoever  is  witliin  that  line  be- 
 
 lieu  oil  etoit  le  peche  on  ne  voye  longs  to  the  land  of  Israel ;  what- 
 
 que    des    oeuvres    pares." — Zend,  ever  is  without  that  line  is  without 
 
 vol.  i,  Ha  xxxi,  p.  ItiS.  the  land." — Calmet,  art.  Canaan. 
 
 ^  "Moses  draws  a  line  from  Si-         '   Dcut.  xxxiii.  t. 
 
278  CHAPTER   X. 
 
 which  they  were  erected  God  had  appeared ;  and  were 
 they  then  an  evidence  that  the  country  belonged  to  Jeho- 
 vah ?  In  the  old  world  each  country  had  its  god,  to  whom 
 its  inhabitants,  whoever  they  might  be,  paid  due  honour/ 
 That  the  Israelites  were  not  untainted  with  this  supersti- 
 tion of  their  time  is  clear  from  the  many  denunciations 
 which  their  books  contain  against  all  who  should  worship 
 the  idols  of  Canaan.  Moses  therefore  shows  them  that 
 these  idols  are  interlopers,  and  that  their  God  Jehovah  is 
 the  real  and  original  God  of  the  country ;  and  he  thus 
 shows  them,  that  Jehovah — who  as  a  family  God,  a  penates, 
 accompanied  them  from  place  to  place — had  also  his  own 
 land  in  which  he  loved  to  dwell,  and  which  he  had  promised 
 to  them  as  his  people  ;  i.  e.  he  shows  them  a  Deity  who  is  at 
 once  a  family  and  a  local  God,  and  who  therefore  to  affec- 
 tion for  them  as  his  children,  unites  love  to  their  country 
 as  his  country,  and  who  being  thus  every  way  their  God 
 will  no  more  suffer  another  God^  near  him,  than  a  lawful 
 monarch  will  call  an  usurper  to  share  his  throne. 
 
 Abraham  builds  his  altar  on  a  mountain.  JNIountains 
 hold  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  religions  of  antiquity. 
 And— 
 
 I.  Because  of  their  awful  majesty,  and  that  they  seem  to 
 touch  the  Heavens,  and  are  difficult  of  access ;  and  also 
 because  in  fair  weather  their  summits  appear  either  cloud- 
 
 **  Thus  the  people  sent  to  Sama-  the  religious  rites  of  the  Egyptians, 
 
 ria  (2  Kings  xvii.  24-28)  ask  for  a  because  their  cities  are  jiulgecl  to  be 
 
 priest  to  teach  them  the  religion  of  in  Egypt.  (Herod,  lib.  §  xviii.)  And 
 
 the  country.     Thus  also  the  citi-  thus,  too,  yEneas,  on  finding  him- 
 
 zensof  Apis, and Morea,  though  not  self  on  the  destined  land,  inime- 
 
 Egyptiaus,  are  compelled  to  observe  diately 
 
 Frondenti  tempora  vamo 
 
 Implicat,  et  Geniumque  loci,  priniaraque  Deorum 
 
 Tellurem,  Nymphasque,  ct  adhuc  ignota  precatur 
 Flumina.'"  iEneid.  vii,  135. 
 
 And  sec  Feithii  Ant.  Horn.  p.  11.         »  The  Jews  in  general  sin  not  in 
 
 To  a  similar  notion  probably  was  rejecting  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
 
 owing  the   conversion   in  mass  to  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  but  in  adding  to 
 
 Christianity  of  the  barbarians  after  his   worship  the  worship  of  some 
 
 their  occupation  of  the  Roman  em-  other  G  od ;  like  the  Athenians  in  all 
 
 pirc.  things  they  were  too  superstitious. 
 
CHAPTER   X.  279 
 
 covered  or  light-illumined ;  and  in  foul,  are  the  centre  of  the 
 gathering  storm — they  have  been  made  by  infant  nations  the 
 dwelling-place  of  their  gods.  Thus  Merou  is  the  home  of 
 the  Hindu  Deities,  and  Albordj  was  the  habitation  of  the 
 Persian  Ormuzd.  On  Olympus  the  Grecian  Jupiter  was 
 wont  to  hold  his  court :  and  on  Sinai  the  Hebrew  Jehovah 
 first  appeared  to  Moses,  and  in  the  temple  on  Zion  after- 
 wards dwelt/ 
 
 And  II.  Because  they  are  to  the  merely  sensual  eye 
 nearer  to  Heaven  than  the  plain,  because  from  their  heights 
 the  God  can  much  more  readily  hear  man's  prayers  and 
 wishes,  and  because  too  they  are,  as  natural  altars,  which 
 the  earth  herself  has  raised  to  the  Deity, — to  the  Deity 
 man  has  hastened  to  consecrate  them ; — on  them  he  has 
 ever  loved  to  sacrifice  and  to  build  temples  and  to  raise 
 altars.  Thus  in  China,  though  in  later  ages,  four'  moun- 
 tains, one  on  each  boundary  of  the  empire,  were  set  apart 
 for  religious  purposes ;  in  the  earlier  times,^  the  first  emi- 
 nence, the  nearest  hill,  served  for  the  holiest  sacrifice. 
 The  Persians,  Herodotus  represents  as  performing  sacrifice 
 on  the  highest  mountains ;  and  the  Zend  shows  Hom  the 
 first  votary  of  Ormuzd,  Hom,  who  stands  in  the  same 
 relation  to  Zoroaster  that  Abraham  does  to  Moses,  as 
 worshipping  Ormuzd  on  the  mountains  :  and  accounts  the 
 consecration  of  "  high  places "  to  religious  uses  as  among 
 the  acts  most  pleasing  to  the  earth,  and  therefore  to 
 Ormuzd.'  In  India,  according  to  Dubois,  scarce  a  moun- 
 tain is  to  be  found  on  which  is  a  well  or  fountain  that  is 
 
 ■•  Of  the  negroes  of  the  Gold  des  lieux  consacres  au  culte  re- 
 Coast:  "lis  s'imagiiient  que les plus  ligieux  de  toute  la  nation." — Mem. 
 hautes  montagnes,  celles  d'ou  ils  des  Chinois,  vol.  ii,  p.  35.  Antiq. 
 voient  sortir  les  eclairs,  sout  la  re-  des  Chinois. 
 
 sidence  de  leurs  dieux.  Ils  y  portent  ^  "  Dans  les  commencemens  de 
 
 des  offrandes." — Histoire  Genera  e  la  monarchie  on  consacroit  un  Kiao, 
 
 des  Voyages,  vol.  iv,  p.  161.  on  erigeoit  un  Tau  sur  une  colline, 
 
 *  Compare     Gesenius    v.     dem  sur  la  premiere  eminence,"  lScc. — 
 
 Gotterberge  im  Norden.   Ite.  Bey-  Id.  ib.  p.  16. 
 
 lage.  Comment,  iiber  d.  Jesaiah.  «  Y\Ae  Ha  ix,  Zend.  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 ^  "Hoang-tiassignaquatremon-  112;  Fargard  ii.  Id.  p.  279.     To 
 
 tagnes   aux  quatre    cotes   de    ses  the ijuestion:  "Quelle  est  laseconde 
 
 etats,  pour  etre  desormais  comme  chose  qui  plaise    a  cette    terre?" 
 
280  CHAPTER    X. 
 
 not  surmounted  by  some  temple."  In  Grecian  mythology, 
 every  lofty  hill  is  a  hill  of  Jove  ;^  and  Palestine  has  its 
 Bethel,  its  house  of  God,  where  the  people  go  up  and  ask 
 counsel  of  God,  and  afterwards  its  Zion,  on  which  all  sacri- 
 fice must  be  offered,  all  great  feasts  celebrated. 
 
 Verses  10  and  20.  Scarcely  two  centuries  have  elapsed 
 since  a  terrible  calamity  dispersed  and  for  ever  separated  the 
 great  family  of  mankind  ;  and  yet  in  that  short  space, — for 
 what  are  two  centuries  in  the  life  of  Humanity  ? — several 
 cities  have  risen  up  round  the  ruins  of  Babylon  ;  and  of  those 
 of  the  earth's  inhabitants,  whom  their  fears  drove  to  more 
 distant  lands,  some  have  settled  themselves  in  Sidon,^  and 
 others  have  built  Damascus,  and  Salem,  and  Sodom  and 
 Gomorrah,  and  Gerar,  &c.  And  these  men  have  not  only 
 found  time  to  begin  and  complete  these  great  Avorks, 
 wliich,  because  the  confusion  of  tongues  dissolved  society 
 and  reduced  all  knowledge  to  individual  acquirements,  pre- 
 suppose, with  a  certain  degree  of  culture,  the  invention  also 
 of  many  of  the  more  useful  and  necessary  arts :  but  they  have 
 at  the  same  time  ascertained,  that  it  is  easier  to  take  from 
 others  than  to  labour  for  one's  self;  they  have  raised  rob- 
 bery to  a  science  ;  they  have  learned  to  oppress  and  pi'ofeci 
 each  other ;  they  have  discovered  the  advantage  of  alliances 
 offensive  and  defensive.  With  them  the  arts  of  peace 
 have  flourished, — not  as  with  us, — in  periods  of  security 
 only,  but  in  troublous  times  also,  when  they  must  have 
 
 Ormuzd  answers:  "Si  un  homine  autem  mons  Jovis  mons  vocatur, 
 
 puissant  et  juste  donne  des  lieux  quoniam  mos  eiat  apud  antiques, 
 
 sains  et  e/ey&s  aux  pretres,"  &c...  sumino  Deo  in  summitate  sacrificia 
 
 and  Herod,  lib.  i,  §  cxxxi.  feceri." 
 
 "  "  II  est  peu  de  niontagnes  oil  ^  Vide  Judges  xx.  18,  26;  xxi. 
 
 se  trouve  un  puits  ou  une  source  2 ;  and  compare  with  it  1  Samuel 
 
 qui     ne     soient     surmontees    par  x.  3.    On  a  mountain  too  it  is  that 
 
 (iuel((ue  ediiice  consacre  au  culte  Abraham  offers  his  son  Isaac  in  sa- 
 
 religieux."— Mceurs  des  Indes,  vol.  crifice  ;  on  a  hill  Jacob  also  sacri- 
 
 ii,  P-  343.  Qees,  &c. 
 
 '    Feithii    Antiq.  Hom.  p.    22,  »"  And  Canaan  hcgat  Sidon,  his 
 
 from  Melanthe :   ttuv    St  opoc  rov  first-born"  (Chap.  x.  b5.),  compare 
 
 Aioe  opoc  ovofia'Ctrai-  tnu  tOoc  nv  with  chap.  xii.  6:  "And  the  Ca- 
 
 rote  TrakaioiQ,  v\pirTT(i)  ovti  tw  ^tf^  naanite  was  then  in  the  land." 
 
CHAPTER   X.  281 
 
 lived  with  tlieir  arms  in  their  hands,  to  resist  the  dominion 
 or  the  predatory  excursions  of  their  neighbours/ 
 
 But  why  dwell  on  these  cities,  when  kingdoms  already 
 exist.  China  is  now  a  nation.  That  China,  which  for  so 
 many  centuries  was  a  fabled  land  for  civilized  Europe,  has 
 already  been  discovered,  is  already  inhabited;  its  woods 
 are  cut  down,  its  plains  intersected  with  dykes,  and  its 
 rivers  covered  with  boats ;  the  height  of  its  mountains  is 
 scientifically  ascertained,  and  its  lands  are  divided  into 
 px-ovinces."  But  the  annals  of  China  are  perhaps  in  our 
 eyes  forgeries.  Well  then  Genesis  itself  knows  of  Tidal 
 king  of  nations,  and  of  Elam,  and  of  Egypt.  Yes,  Egypt 
 appears,  ah-eady  a  country  fertile  and  well  cultivated  and 
 liberally  governed ;  already  it  boasts  the  splendour  of  the 
 Pharaohs,  and  is  rich  in  gold  and  silver,  and  already  it  has 
 erected^  monuments  which  are  the  admiration  and  the 
 wonder  even  of  this  age. 
 
 Now  with  the  view  we  have  thought  ourselves  obliged 
 to  take  of  the  Babylonian  legend,  these  pictures  of  society 
 are  impossible.  For  as  individuals  then  forgot  the  language 
 they  once  spoke, — as  they  heard  around  them  languages 
 
 ■•  Vide  chap.  xiv.  danslesendroitsquieiimanquoient, 
 *  Yu  (who  lived  from  2255  b.c.  et  enajantfait  desamas  je  fis  faire 
 to  2049)  thus  describes  his  services  des  echanges;  ainsi  Ton  eut  partout 
 after  the  great  inundation  of  China:  des  grains.  Ensuite  on  fit  la  divi- 
 "  Alors  j'employai  les  quatres  Toni  sion  des  departemens,  on  leur  donna 
 (barques  pour  les  rivieres,  voitures,  une  forme  de  gouvernement." — 
 &c.),  je  suivi  les  montagnes,  et  je  Chou-king,c.v,p.35;  and  in  note  to 
 coupai  le  hois.  Avec  Y  je  fis  des  §  ix,  p.  52,  id.  we  are  informed  from 
 provisions  de  grain  et  de  chair  d'a-  the  Tcheoii-pey,  one  of  the  most  an- 
 nimaux  pour  faire  subsister  les  cient  books  of  China,  that  "  Yu, 
 peuples.  Dans  les  ueuf  parties  du  avec  la  counoissance  du  triangle  et 
 mondeje  menagea  des  lits  pour  les  du  rectangle,  et  celles  des"  pro- 
 rivieres,  et  je  les  fis  couler  vers  les  prietes,  put  mesurerles  montagnes 
 quatre  niers.  Au  milieu  des  cam-  et  les  profondeurs,"  &c. 
 pagnes  je  creusai  des  canaux  pour  ^  The  great  pyramid  and  the  py- 
 comrauniquer  avec  les  rivieres,  ramids  to  the  north  of  Memphis 
 Aide  deTsi,j'ensemencai  les  terres,  were  built  by  Sujdiis  and  his 
 et  a  force  de  travail  on  en  tira  de  brother  Sesuphis,  about  2120  B.C. 
 quoi  vivre.  On  joignit  le  chair  des  "and  the  tombs  in  their  vicinity 
 anhnaux  a  celle  des  poissons,  et  les  may  have  been  built  or  eut  in  tlie 
 peuples  avoient  de  quoi  subsister.  rock  shortly  after  their  completion." 
 Par  mon  attention,  je  vins  a  bout  — Vide  Wilkinson's  Egypt,  vol.  i, 
 de  faire  transporter  des  provisions  p.  U)  and  41. 
 
 2o 
 
282  CHAPTER   X. 
 
 they  understood  not, — they  necessarily  looked  each  upon 
 his  neighbours  as  madmen,  and  scared  and  terrified  they 
 rushed  away  one  from  the  other,  and  hid  themselves  in  the 
 woods  and  caves,  from  which  they  came  forth  stealthily, 
 and  only  to  supply  their  most  urgent  necessities.  They 
 sank  into  the  dai-kest  barbarism,  and  centuries  must  have 
 passed  away  ere  society  could  be  again  reconstructed  and 
 raised  to  its  former  height  of  development.  We  wall  there- 
 fore suppose  the  miracle  of  miracles,  a  confusion  of  tongues 
 which  affected  not  individuals,  but  families.  And  then  as 
 each  family  wandered  forth,  we  can  well  conceive  that 
 Avhen  any  family,  possessing  within  itself  individuals  ac- 
 quainted with  the  more  useful  and  necessary  arts,  settled 
 down  in  some  favourable  spot,  that  it  might  within  a  very 
 short  period  so  increase  in  numbers,  as  to  merit  for  its  habi- 
 tation the  name  of  a  city.  And  we  can  also  understand, 
 that  for  the  sake  of  self-government,  or  to  resist  the 
 marauding  expeditions  of  those  other  families  who  sought 
 to  subsist  on  the  labour  of  others  rather  than  their  own,  it 
 chose  out  from  among  its  members  the  most  Avorthy  to  be 
 its  chief  or  king,  its  leader  in  war,  its  judge  in  peace.  So 
 far  the  story  has  possibility.  But  Egypt  also  is  there; 
 and  remember  now  the  length  of  the  way :  that  from 
 Babylon  to  the  plains  of  the  Delta  is  an  hitherto  untra- 
 velled  country ;  that  the  wandering  family  having  no  par- 
 ticular, no  known  destination,  rested  in  every  fertile  valley 
 and  lingered  near  the  banks  of  every  .  stream ;  and  that 
 years  therefore  probably  passed  away  ere  it  reached  its 
 future  home.  And  then  to  drain  and  clear  away  the 
 luxuriant  earth,  and  to  protect  itself  from  the  noxious 
 animals  which  infest  the  land,  is  its  first  occupation,  its 
 one  care.'  In  the  course  of  time  however  new-born  gene- 
 rations have  increased  its  numbers.     They  have  spread 
 
 ■^  How  difficult  a  task  this  imist  million  of  Israelites,  lest  the  beasts 
 
 have  proved  we  may  gather  from  of  the  field  increase  upon  them.- — 
 
 the  fact  that  centuries  after,   the  Deut.  vii.  22.     Diodorus  shows  us 
 
 Klohim    refuses     iuiniediately    to  the  first  Egyptian  forging  arms  to 
 
 drive  out  the   nations  heforc    the  destroy  the  wild  beasts.  (Lib.  i,§lo.) 
 
CHAPTER    X.  283 
 
 themselves  over  the  country ;  their  rich  harvests  have  set 
 them  above  the  fear  of  famine ;  the  arts  they  brought 
 with  them  they  now  begin  to  cultivate  and  to  improve ; 
 they  liave  built  cities,  but  they  still  retain  the  unity  of  the 
 family ;  they  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  capital ;' 
 they  have  become  a  nation.  All  this  however  improbaljle 
 is  just  possible ;  and  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  our  supposi- 
 tions we  may  add  that  the  architect  of  the  Babylonian 
 tower  may  have  planned  the  pyramids,  and  the  people 
 whose  ancestors  willingly  built  the  one  may  also  supersti- 
 tiously  have  toiled  at  the  other. 
 
 But  this  nation  which  is  one  family,  and  knows  itself  to 
 be  one  family  (for  the  cotemporaries  of  Ximrod,  the  ori- 
 ginal colonizers,  are  still  living),  has  either  chosen  or  been 
 compelled  to  acknowledge  a  sovereign,  one  with  whose 
 birth  and  parentage'*  it  is  acquainted,  and  who  nevertheless 
 wears  a  sacred  title,'  and  is  surrounded  by 'all  the  pomp 
 and  circumstance  which  wait  upon  king-descended  mo- 
 narchs.  For  he  appears  not  as  wise  in  council  or  able  in 
 war,  not  as  one  whose  personal  worth  had  raised  him  to 
 rank  and  station  and  given  him  authority,  but  as  one 
 guarded  from  vulgar  eyes  by  his  court,  his  princes,  who 
 obsequiously  flatter  his  vices  and  pander  to  his  appetites. 
 In  two  centuries  then,  when  life  was  extended  to  four, 
 men  under  favourable  circumstances  may  have  made  great 
 and  unheard  of  progress  in  the  arts  ;  but  it  is  inconceivable 
 to  me  how  within  the  space  of  half  a  generation,  they 
 could  forget  their  equality  of  birth,  and  their  sovereign 
 acquire  his  divine  right  of  rule.  This  tower  of  Babel, 
 which  ever  way  we  view  it,  is  suri'ounded  with  difficulties. 
 
 Verses  11  and  12.     Abraham,  judging  from  his  request 
 
 «  This  is  contrary  to  fact :  "  Quot  much  less  respect  for  personal  than 
 
 urhes,    tot    reo^es,   quemadmodum  for  ancestral  worth. 
 
 yEjfvptus,  priscis  hisce  temporihus  l  "  Pharaoh,"  accorrlin<?  to  Wil- 
 
 interdiversosdistrihutaestreo^ulos."  kinson  and  Rosellini,  is  the  Coptic 
 
 — jMarshani,  Canon.  Chron.  p.  74.  word  "  Phrah,"  the  Sun ;  and  see 
 
 ^  What    was    the    cry    against  Jahlonsky,  Pantheon  .Egypti.  vol.  i, 
 
 Christ:  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  lib.  ii,  c.  i,  §  viii,  p.  136,  "and  com- 
 
 son?"     Men  half  barbarous  have  pare  Schumann  in  Gentsin  ad  h.  1.  ' 
 
284  CHAPTER  X. 
 
 to  Sarah,  seems  to  have  been  well  aware  of  all  the  value 
 and  all  the  danger  of  beauty ;  of  its  value  when  it  is 
 regarded  as  something  we  may  not  be  unwilling  to  part 
 with  ;  of  its  danger  when  it  appears  as  something  we  have 
 appropriated  and  must  guard  with  our  lives.  For  his 
 sister's  sake,  Abraham  was  courted, 'feasted  and  loaded  with 
 presents ;  for  his  wife's,  he  would  have  been  either  thrown 
 into  prison  or  poniarded  or  poisoned. 
 
 Verse  15.  How  much  may  this  little  verse  intend  !  Of 
 how  large  a  picture  may  these  be  the  faint  outlines  !  The 
 princes  of  Egypt  are  struck  by  the  beauty  of  Sarah  :  but 
 they  are  courtiers — they  know  no  passion  but  that  of  gain 
 — they  feel  no  desire  but  that  of  standing  well  with  their 
 king, — and  to  his  presence  they  hurry ;  they  tell  him  of 
 the  fair  stranger ;  they  speak  of  her  with  the  warmth  of 
 lovers ;  their  Avords  burn  though  their  hearts  be  cold ; 
 they  are  poets  in  her  praise,  and  the  devoted  slaves  of  their 
 sovereign.  And  what  is  their  object,  what  their  motive  ? 
 They  seek  to  supplant  some  favourite  sultana  or  to  supply 
 her  loss  ;  to  give  to  a  Maintenon  the  place  of  a  Montespan, 
 or  to  find  a  Barry  for  a  Pompadour,  and  thus  to  work 
 their  way  to  court  honours,  court  favours  and  court  pen- 
 sions. In  these  princes  of  Pharaoh  we  may  see  the  proto- 
 types of  the  titled  valets  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
 Louis;  and  in  this  short  verse,  the  character  of  the  court 
 memoirs  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
 
 Verse  16.  Abraham  is  a  nomad  and  possesses  a  nomad's 
 wealth.  Of  the  size  of  his  herds  and  flocks  we  may  form 
 some  conception  from  those  which  now  belong  to  Arab 
 and  Tartar  families."  Pallas  describing  the  Sregai  Tartars 
 inforans  us  that  the  rich  among  them  have  from  eighty  to 
 a  hundred  horses,  as  many  cows,  and  several  hundred 
 sheep :  while  the  poor  have  but  from  ten  to  twenty  head 
 
 "  Reise  (lurch  d.Russ.  Reich,  vol.  14;  of  Job's  wealth,  Joh  i.  2;  though 
 iii.  p.  348.  See  also  the  account  of  we  must  remember  that  Job  was  no 
 Jacob's  present  to  Esau,  ch.  xxsiii.     nomad,  ch.  xxxi.  32-34. 
 
CHAPTER    X,  285 
 
 of  cattle.  Buckhardt  ^  enumerates  the  wealth  of  an  Arab 
 whose  guest  he  was.  "  The  family  of  my  host,"  he  says, 
 "  possessed  four  horses,  three  mules,  about  five  hundred 
 sheep,  one  hundred  and  fifty  goats,  six  cows  and  eight 
 camels.  He  is  looked  iipon  as  in  easy  circumstances :  there 
 are /«??.';  persons  whose  property  does  not  amount  to  half  so 
 much,  and  there  are  many  who  have  three  or  four  times 
 more  cattle^  And  Anquetil  du  Perron*  tells  us  of  some 
 wandering  Boyades  who  are  employed  as  carriers  in  the 
 Dekhan,  that  they  had  with  them  from  five  to  six  hundred 
 oxen,  the  greater  number  of  wliich  carried  merchandise 
 and  provisions,  the  rest  were  for  the  women  and  the 
 guides.  Their  other  property  consisted  of  bufialoes  and 
 asses. 
 
 Abraham  we  may  observe  differed  from  the  Arabs  of 
 the  present  day  in  that  he  possessed  no  horses,  though 
 asses  and  camels.  Was  then  the  horse — for  to  suppose 
 that  Abraham,  who  was  rich  in  camels,*  had  no  horses 
 because  horses  are  unsuited  to  the  hilly  country  of  Pales- 
 tine, is  absurd — was  the  horse,  a  sacred  animal  in  Persia^ 
 and  found  in  the  oldest  Egyptain  paintings,  unknown  to 
 Abraham?  And,  as  it  is  mentioned  in  the  funeral  of 
 Jacob,  had  it  in  the  intervals  between  his  visit  to  Egypt 
 and  the  death  of  Jacob  been  first  trained  and  become  a 
 domestic  animal  ?  Or  is  the  absence  of  the  horse  in  this 
 catalogue  of  the  wealth  of  Abraham  to  be  accounted  for, 
 by  the  natural  antipathy  that  he,  a  man  essentially  of 
 peace,  must  have  felt  for  an  animal  which  in  these  ancient 
 times  was  used  only  in  war  ?^ 
 
 ^  Buckhardt,    Syria,  Appendix,  mud,   and   hdng  no  way  adapted 
 
 p.  639.  to  climbing,  fits  him  only  for  a  diy 
 
 *  Preface  to  the  Zend,  p.  223.  level  and  sandy  soil,  &c." — Travels 
 Dubois  of  the  Indian  nomad  says,  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  vol.  i.  p.  272. 
 "  Leurs  chefs  ont  quelquefois  des  *  The  horse  appears  in  the  Zend 
 troupeaux  de  betail  considerables,  as  the  third  (incarnation?)  ofBah- 
 consistant  en  hceufs,  huffies  et  anes.  man  (Carde  iii.  vol  ii.  p.  288);  he 
 lis  voyagent  par  bandes  de  dix,  watches  over  the  earth  during  two 
 vingt,  trente  families." — Dubois,  hours  of  the  night.  (Carde,  vol.  xii. 
 Moeurs  des  Indes,  vol.  i.  p.  83.  p.  292,)  &c. 
 
 *  Volney  says  of  the  camel,  ''  Wilkinson's  Egypt,  vol.  i.  ch. 
 "Nature  has  lined  his  foot  with  a  ii.  p.  335,  &c. 
 
 lump  of  flesh,  which,  sliding  in  the         ^  Compare  Deut.  xvi.  16.     Ob- 
 
286  CHAPTER    X. 
 
 Verse  17.  From  the  very  first  the  Israelites  are  the 
 guests  of  Egypt,  and  from  the  very  first  they  dupe  the 
 Egyptians  with  falsehoods,  and  bring  on  them  great 
 plagues. 
 
 Verse  18.  Though  Pharaoh  is  thus  indignant  at  a  false- 
 hood which  might  have  occasioned  him  to  commit  a  crime, 
 it  is  by  no  means  certain,  that  that  indignation  is  not  the 
 consequence,  rather  of  the  plagues  with  whicli  his  house 
 is  visited,  than  of  any  right  feelings  of  justice  and  hospi- 
 tality. 
 
 Diodorus"  asserts  that  the  Egyptians  contrary  to  the 
 rest  of  mankind  intermarried  with  their  sisters ;  I  think 
 Pharaoh's  observation,  which  implies,  that,  because  Sarah 
 was  Abraham's  sister,  it  was  impossible  that  she  should  be 
 his  wife,  rather  justifies  De  Pauw's'  conjecture,  that  the 
 marriage  of  brother  and  sister  was,  not  an  Egyptian,  but, 
 a  Macedonian  custom. 
 
 This  chapter  is  the  first  which  makes  the  Deity^  to 
 appear.  It  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah,  and,  in  the 
 only  one  point  in  which  it  can  be  compared  with,  differs 
 from,  the  preceding  chapter,  with  the  name  Elohim : 
 for  the  one  makes  the  migration  of  Abraham  into  Canaan 
 the  consequence  of  a  divine  warning,  while  the  other  shows 
 
 serve  also  that  the  horse  is  not  to  he  vvoulil   seem  as  if  the  laws  there 
 
 found  in   the   catalogue   of   Job's  enacted  relating  to  marriage  between 
 
 wealth;  ut  sup.  that  however  it  was  kindred,  were  in  opposition  to  the 
 
 known  to  him  (vide  the  description,  customs  of  Egypt,  Canaan,  &c.     I 
 
 chap,  xxxix.  19),  <Scc. ;  and  observe,  never  heard,  however,  that  in  Egypt 
 
 that  that  description  is  of  an  animal  a  son  was  permitted  to  marry  his 
 
 used   in   war ;  and  remember   the  mother,  or  a  father  his  daughter. 
 
 Telmessians'  explanation  of  a  cer-  ^  ^am  Se  rovq  Trivn  Btovc  tovq 
 
 tain  prodigy  to  Crasus,  in  which  vnoH(n]^uvovcira<TavT7]voiKovfiivr]v 
 
 they  say  of  the  horse,  ttoXejuioj/  ts  tTrnT-o^itvirrBai,    (pavraKoiiivovg  toiq 
 
 Kui  CTTTiXvCia,  Herod,  lib.  i.  §  78.  av^poj-n-oiQ   iv  bpwi^  ^wwj/  fiop(pcuc, 
 
 3  Diod.    book    i.    p.    16(5,    from  f^ri    oe    ore   tig   avOpwirm^    idsag  t) 
 
 Mar.sham  Canon  Chron.  p.  67.  nviov  aXXwj^  ^uTajiaWovrac:.    Kai 
 
 1  Sur  les  Egyptieus  et  Chinois.  tovto  y.-,]  fivSraioiQ  vnapx^'-^',  nXXa 
 
 See  however  the  opposite  testimony  dvvarov,  niTip  ovroi  Trpog  aXT}9eiav 
 
 of  Pausanias,  speaking  of  Ptolemy  nm    oi    Travra    yfvvwvrsc.— Diod. 
 
 Philadel.  i,  chap.  vii.  p.  25,  §  i. ;  and  lib.  i.  §  1 2,  of  the  Egyptians.     See 
 
 also  Levit.  xviii.  3,  from  which  it  also    Homer's    Odys.     xvii.    485 
 
CHAPTER    X.  287 
 
 it  us  as  the  consequence  of  a  resolution  which  had  been 
 previously  formed  by  Terah  Abraham's  father. 
 With  this  chapter  we  may  connect 
 
 I.  All  the  promises  subsequently  made  to  the  Hebrew 
 people. 
 
 1st.  Of  possession  of  the  Holy  Land. 
 2nd.  Of  national  greatness,  and 
 
 3dly.  Of  national  greatness  under   the   rule  of  the 
 Messiah.     Isaiah,  chap.  Ix.  &c. 
 
 II.  The  opinion  so  prevalent  among  the  Jews,  that  all 
 Avho  injure  the  loved  of  God,  God  punishes ;  an  opinion 
 exemplified  by  the  plagues  with  which  at  various  times 
 Pharaoh  and  his  people  are  afflicted  ;  by  the  vengeance 
 with  which  Babylon,  Edom,  &c.  are  threatened.  Vide 
 Isaiah;  Ezek.  xxv^  13;  Obadiah,  &c. 
 
 III.  Not  only  the  opinion  that  the  same  crimes  are  more 
 heinous,  when  they  are  committed  against  God's  people, 
 than  when  they  are  committed  against  indifferent  persons: 
 but  also  this  other  opinion,  that  God's  people  are  permitted 
 to  act  as  they  will,  are  without  any  moral  conscience,  have 
 only  to  consult  their  own  interests,  in  their  dealings  with 
 God's  or  their  own  enemies.  Thus  Abraham's  lies  to 
 Pharaoh  are  held  guiltless;  thus  Moses  and  the  captive 
 Israelites  cheat  their  confiding  hosts  and  glory  in  the 
 deed^ — and  thus  David  repays  the  protection  of  Achish  by 
 treachery  the  most  base,  but  spares  Israel  and  is  without 
 reproach.^     1  Sam.  xxvii. 
 
 IV.  The  sojourn  of  Abraham  in  Egypt  as  typical  of  that 
 of  the  IsraeUtes. 
 
 "  Quel  est  done  votre  Fetiche  ?  de-  to    man  ignorant  and  barbarous, 
 
 manda  Villault :  c'est,  lui  dirent-ils,  Thus,  "  Un  negre  qui  vole  un  au- 
 
 iin  gros  ehieu  noir  qui  se  fait  voir  tre  negre  est   regarde  panui  eux 
 
 au  pied  d'liu  grand  arbre." — Hist,  avec  detestation.      Mais  ils  ne  se 
 
 Gen.  desVoy.  vol.  iv.  p.  167,  Gold  figurent  pas  de  crime  a  voler   les 
 
 Coast  Negroes.  Europeens.     lis  font  gloire  au  con- 
 
 ^  Exod.  xii.  iraire  de  les  avoir  trompes ;  et  c'est 
 
 ■*  These   narrow  views   of  duty  aux  yeux  de  leur  nation  line  preuve 
 
 and  morality,  though  thty  express  d'esprit  et  d'adresse." — Vide  His- 
 
 theinselves  in  this  form  only  among  toire  Generale  des  Voyages,  vol.  iii. 
 
 the  Jews  and  the  Christians,  are  p.   97.    Des   Negres    de  la   Cote 
 
 not  especially  Jewish,  they  belong  d'Or. 
 
288 
 
 CHAPTER  XL 
 
 GENESIS  xiii.     Verses  1  —  18. 
 
 Verses  1  and  2.  "  And  Abraham  was  very  rich  in 
 cattle,  in  silver  and  in  gold."  This  is  the  first  mention  of 
 the  precious  metals.  In  the  preceding  chapter,  we  were 
 told  of  Abraham's  sheep  and  oxen  and  maid  servants  and 
 men  servants :  now  however  that  he  has  visited  Egypt,  the 
 El  Dorado'  of  the  olden  world,  and  been  well-entreated 
 there  for  his  wife's  sake,  he  jiossesses  also  silver  and  gold. 
 
 Gold  and  silver  and  copper  are  the  metals,  which, 
 because  they  are  found  in  a  pure  or  nearly  pure  state,  are 
 the  most  easily  worked  and  the  most  easily  applied  to 
 useful  purposes.  Thus  in  some  parts  of  Africa,  on  their 
 first  discovery,  the  javelins  of  the  natives  were  pointed 
 with  silver.  In  Mexico  and  Peru,^  gold  and  silver  were 
 not  merely  worn  as  ornaments  but  also  used  for  various 
 household  utensils.  Among  Herodotus's  Ethiopians,  the 
 fetters  of  the  common   prison   were  of  gold.     And  the 
 
 •"That  the  riches  of  the  country  gold-coast  we  find  gold  an  article 
 
 were  immense,  is  proved  by  the  ap-  of  commerce   and  of  luxury  (for 
 
 pearance  of  the  furniture  and  do-  already  it  purchases   honours,   al- 
 
 mestic  utensils,  and  hy  the  great  ready  expiates  almost  everv  crime), 
 
 quantity  of  jewels,  of  gold,  silver,  its  estimation  is  probably  owing  to 
 
 precious  stones in   use  among  long  commerce  with  Europeans. — 
 
 them  in  the  earliest  times their  Vide  Hist.  Gen.  dcs  Voyages,  vol, 
 
 treasures  became  proverbial  among  iv.  p.  120, 177,  and  193. 
 the    neighbouring    states,"   &c. —         ^  See  the  description  of  the  tem- 
 
 Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  pie  of  the  sun,  Hist,  des  Yncas, 
 
 i.  p.  232.  p.  174. 
 
 ^  "  Les  hommes  avoient  quatrc        ^  Herodotus,  lib.  iii.  §  23.     The 
 
 longues  javelines  garnies  de  pointes  Scythians  also  used  gold  only  :  they 
 
 d'argent." — Voyage  des HoUandois,  used  neither  silver  nor   brass,   id. 
 
 vol.  i.  p.  237.     And,  though  on  the  lil).  iv.  §.  71. 
 
CHAPTER   XL  289 
 
 earliest  Egyptians,  according  to  Diodorus/  manufactured 
 the  precious  metals  first  into  arms  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
 terminating the  wild  beasts  with  which  their  country  Avas 
 infested,  and  afterwards  into  implements  of  agriculture, 
 and  lastly  into  statues  and  temples  of  the  gods. 
 
 But  poor  indeed  is,  and  must  ever  remain,  the  nation, 
 whose  knowledge  of  metals  is  confined  to  gold  and  silver. 
 They  are  too  rare— except  in  those  distant  ages  of  wliich 
 we  know  nothing  and  those  countries  which  are  yet  un- 
 discovered—and too  soft  to  be  of  any  great  use  for  the 
 common  purposes  of  life,  and  copper  or  brass  accordingly 
 seems  to  have  been  very  early  substituted  for  them.  For  of 
 brass  all  sacred  instruments  were  made:  it  was  besides  used 
 for  swords,  armour,  &c.  f  indeed  the  ancient  nations  seem 
 to  have  possessed,  like  the  Peruvians,^  the  art  of  hardening 
 it  which  we  have  lost,  for  among  them  it  held  the  place 
 wliich  iron  does  with  us. 
 
 As  regards  iron:  though  silver  and  gold  are  mentioned  for 
 the  first  time  in  connexion  with  the  name  of  Abraham,  while 
 according  to  the  Zendavesta  the  uses  and  properties  of  iron 
 
 '  Diodorus,  lib.  i,  c.  xv.  de  doniier  au  cuivre  une  trempe 
 
 ^  "  Among   the    antients  brass,  pareille  a  celle  que  re^oit  I'acier." 
 
 not  iron,  was  the  metal   of  most  — De   Pauw,  Americains,  vol.  iii, 
 
 use.     lu  their  little  scythes,  where-  p.  181.     The  Egyptian  tools  used' 
 
 with  they  cut  their  herbs  for  en-  in   the    granite    quarries   were  of 
 
 chantraent,    their    priests'    razors,  bronze. —Wilkinson's    Eo-yptians, 
 
 plough-shares,    for   describing   the  vol.  iii,  p.  252 ;  and  for  th'e  uses  to 
 
 content  of  plotted  cities,  their  mu-  which  they  put  brass,  id.  p.  253. 
 sick   instruments    and    such   like,         "  II  est  dit  que  Meschia  et  Mes- 
 
 how   special  this  metal  was,  it  is  chiane  firent  un  trou  dans  la  terre 
 
 with  good  waiTant  delivered.     Nor  lis  y  trouverent  le  fer,  le  frapperent 
 
 with_   less     how    frequent   in    the  avec   la   pierre,   et  en    firent   une 
 
 making    of    swords,    spears,    and  hache :  ils  frapperent  au  pied  d'un 
 
 annours,  in  the  heroic  times,  &c."  arbre,  le  couperent,  et  arrangerent 
 
 — Selden,  notes  to  Drayton's  Poly-  les  parties,"   &c.— Boun-Dehesch, 
 
 olbion,  song  6,  Works,  vol.  iii ;  and  Zend,  vol.  ii,  p.  279.    Sanchoniatho 
 
 Herod,  lib.  ii.  ch.  37.  makes  the  sons  of  the  inventors  of 
 
 ^  "  Les  Peruviens  ne  savoient  pas  hunting  and  fishing  the  discoverers 
 
 forger  le  fer,  et  I'on  n'a  pas  trouve  of  iron,   and   first   workers  of  it : 
 
 dans  leur  pays  un  seul  instrument  inSrjpovivpiTac.Kai  tij^tovtov  tpyaa- 
 
 de  ce  metal,  I'ame  des  metiers  et  rof.— Cory's  Fragments,  p.  7.      It 
 
 des  arts  ;  mais  en  revanche  ils  pos-  is  known  also  to  Job :  "  Iron  is  taken 
 
 sedoient  le  secret  que  nous  avons  out  of  the  earth,  and  brass  is  molten 
 
 laisse  perdre  dans  notre  continent,  out  of  the  stone."— xxviii.  2. 
 
 2p 
 
290  CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 were  known  to  the  first  pair,  and  according  to  Genesis  its 
 manufacture  was  an  antediluvian  art ;  yet  besides  the  tes- 
 timonies of  several  ancient  nations  as  to  its  late  discovery, 
 there  is  something  in  the  very  nature  of  iron  which  induces 
 us  to  regard  it  as  one  of  the  last  metals  which  man 
 learned  to  a2:)propriate.  For,  even  where  iron  most 
 abounds,  Avhere  it  exists  in  its  purest  form,  it  will  lie  long 
 unnoticed, — to  the  vulgar  eye  it  seems  but  a  blackish 
 gravel  :*  there  is  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  the  stones 
 around,  but  its  weight ;  and  to  speculate  on  its  properties 
 from  its  weight  presupposes  some  knowledge  of  metals. 
 Again,  after  the  gravel  or  the  rock  has  been  ascertained  to 
 be  metalKc,  you  must  fuse  the  metal.  Now  after  a  single 
 fusion,  gold,  silver,  and  copper  are  fit  for  all  ordinary  pur- 
 poses— not  so  iron  :  it  comes  forth  from  the  furnace  hard 
 and  brittle  as  a  stone.  It  must  be  again  applied  to  the 
 fire,  and  Avhen  at  the  point  of  fusion  beaten  with  hammers, 
 and  this  again  and  again,  till  it  at  length  becomes  plastic 
 and  malleable."  So  complicated  a  process  must  necessarily 
 have  retarded  the  use  of  u'on  long  after  its  discovery.^ 
 
 Verse  3.  Abraham  returns  to  Bethel,  and  there  a  second 
 time  calls  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Bethel  was  a  holy 
 place  ;  God's  house.^  Here  appeared  the  ladder  which,  in 
 Jacob's  dream,  united  earth  to  Heaven;  here  stood,  in 
 after  times,  the  ark  of  the  covenant  (Judges  xv,  27);  and 
 
 *  At  New  Zealand,  "  On  trouva  of  iron,  and  yet  were  unable  to  work 
 
 une  srrande  quantite  de  sable  ferru-  it. — Vide  supra,  Deluf^e,  note  ^,  p. 
 
 gineux,  qui  avoit  ete  jette  sur  la  213.     The  same  appears  to  Lave 
 
 cote  par  tous  les  petits  ruisseaux  been  the  case  with  the  inhabitants 
 
 d'eau  douce  qui  viennent  de  I'inte-  of  Madagascar. — Voyages  des  Hol- 
 
 rieur  du   pays Cependant  les  landais,  vol.  i,  p.  230.     In  Egypt, 
 
 habitans  de  ce  canton,  ainsi  que  however,  so  early  as  the  times  of 
 
 ceux  des  autres  parties  de  la  cote,  Remeses  III  and  his  grandfather, 
 
 ne  connoissent  point  I'usage  de  ce  from  1269  to  1235  b.c,  we  learn, 
 
 metal." — Histoire  General  des  Voy-  from  the  tombs  at  Thebes,  that  steel 
 
 ages,  vol.  XX,  p.  448.  was  in  use.     Wilkinson  says  of  the 
 
 ^  Goguet,  Origine  des  Lois,  vol.  i,  weapons  painted  on  the  walls,  that 
 
 p.  147.  "  their  blue  colour  proves  them  to 
 
 'The  Peruvians,  e.g.    seem  to  have  been  of  steel." — Thebes,  p.  Ill 
 have  known  the  metallic  properties        "^  Beth-el,  the  house  of  God. 
 
CHAPTER   XI.  291 
 
 here,  the  people  came  to  consult  the  oracles  of  Gocl.  (Judges 
 xxi,  2,  and  1  Sam.  x,  3.)  Here  too  Samuel  stayed  in  his 
 circuit  to  judge  Israel;  and  here  seem  to  have  dwelt 
 the  sons  of  the  prophets.  (1  Sam.  vii,  23,  and  x,  5.)  The 
 great  part  which  Bethel  thus  plays  in  the  early  period  of 
 Hebrew  story,  contrasted  with  the  disgrace  and  abomina- 
 tion afterwards  brought  upon  it  by  Israel's  idolatrous 
 worship  there  of  the  golden  calves  of  Jeroboam^  and  the 
 hatred  subsequently  shown  by  the  Jews  for  the  once  holy 
 place,*  is  assuredly  some  evidence  that  these  books  which 
 magnify  its  sanctity  were  at  the  very  least  compiled  from 
 traditions  that  existed  previous  to  the  separation  of  the 
 kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah. 
 
 Verse  5.  Tents  are  an  antediluvian  invention — and 
 they  are  of  various  kinds.  Thus  the  Fuegian'  tent  or  hut 
 is  made  of  the  interwoven  branches  of  trees ;  the  Hindoo'' 
 is  of  bamboo  or  hosier,  and  portable ;  the  Samoede  and 
 Tartar^  is  of  the  bark  of  trees,  sewed  together,  and  covered 
 over  with  skins;  the  Bedouins  according  to  Joinville  is 
 formed  of  hoops  and  stakes  over  wliich  are  thrown  sheep- 
 
 10,  &c 
 
 1  Kiugs  xii.  29,  &c. ;  Ainos  vii.  des  batons  de  moyenne  grosseur." 
 
 ■^c.  (Histoire   Generale    des  Voyages, 
 
 *2  Kings  xxiii.  15,  &c. ;    Ho-  vol.  xviii,  p.  504.)     "Die  Jurten 
 
 seaiv._15;  Jeremiah  xlviii.  13, &c.  (der  Tataven)    oder  Gezelte  sind 
 
 5  Vide  Voyage  of  the  Adventure  mit   Filzeu    iiberzogen."— Pallas 
 
 and  Beagle,  vol.  i,  p.  75.  Reise,  vol.  ii,  p.  81.     In  winter, 
 
 ^  "  lis  logent  toujours  sous  des  however,   "  Sie   mit   Birkenrinden 
 
 tentes  d'osier  ou  de  bambou,  qu'ils  ihve  Jurten  bekleiden." — Id.    vol. 
 
 portent  partout.      Chaque  famille  iii,  p.  404. 
 
 a  sa  tente,  longue  de  sept  ou  huit        «  "  Ces  Bedouins  ne  demeurent 
 
 pieds,  large  de  quatre  ou  cinq,  et  ni  en  ville  ni  en  cite,  mais  gisent 
 
 haute  de  trois  ou  quatre,  dans  les-  toujours  aux  champs  et  en  deserts, 
 
 quelles  les  peres,  les  meres,  les  en-  Et  quant  il  fait  mauvais  temps,  eux, 
 
 fans,  les  poules,  et  quelquefois  les  leurs  femmes  et  enfans,  lichent  en 
 
 cochons,    logent,   ou   plutot   s'en-  terre  une  fa9on  de  habitacle,  qui 
 
 tassent  pele-mele."  Dubois,  Mceurs  est  fait  de  tonnes  et  de  cercles  liez  a 
 
 des  Indes,  vol.  i.  p.  83.  des   perches,    ainsi   que    font    les 
 
 ^"  Leurs  tentes  (Samojedes)  com-  femmes  a  secher  les  buees,  et  sur 
 
 posees  de  morceaux  d'ecorce  d'ar-  ces  cercles  et  perches  gestent  des 
 
 bres,  cousus  ensemble,  et  converts  peaux  de  grans  moutons cour- 
 
 de  quelque  peaux  de  rennes,  sont  royees  en  allun."— Joinville,  Mem. 
 
 dressees  en  forme  pyramidale  sur  de  St.  Loys,  vol.  i,  p.  256. 
 
292  CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 skins  prepared  with  alum ;  while  according  to  later  travel- 
 lers' it  is  of  wool  or  goat's  hair  dyed  black, — of  cloth  in 
 a  word :  and  the  Mogul  imperial  tent  is  of  a  white  stuff, 
 and  so  large  as  to  contain  two  thousand  persons.' 
 
 From  the  Fuegian  tent  to  the  Mogid,  there  is  a  long 
 interval.  Of  what  kind  were  the  tents  of  the  patriarchs  ? 
 They  were  of  some  value,  for  they  form  a  part  of  Lot's 
 possessions  :  jmrtable,  for  Abraham  removes  his  tent :  and 
 small,  for  the  principal  members  of  a  family  have  each 
 one  his  or  her  own  tent ;  as  Sarah,  Leah,  Rachel,  and 
 the  maid-servants.  They  consisted  probably  of  but  one 
 apartment,'  for  the  camel  furniture  in  the  same  chamber 
 with  the  sick  Rachel  excites  no  suspicion ;  and  that  apart- 
 ment, save  perhaps  in  the  rainy  season,  seems  to  have  been 
 used  for  sleeping  merely,  for  Abraham  receives  and  enter- 
 tains the  three  strangers  without  his  tent  at  Mamre. 
 
 As  to  the  material  of  which  these  tents  were  formed, 
 we  may  guess  at  it  from  the  purpose  for  which  the  tents 
 were  intended.  In  the  summer  they  served  to  protect  the 
 wanderer  as  well  from  the  heat  of  noon  as  from  the  dews 
 of  night ;  and  in  the  Avinter  they  sheltered  him  from  the 
 rain :  we  may  therefore  presume  that  they  were  not  of 
 linen,  which  would  scarcely  answer  any  one  of  these  pur- 
 poses,"*  but  that  they  were  made  either  of  skins  such  as  the 
 Tartar,  or  of  a  dark  woollen  or  hair  stuff  such  as  the 
 Bedouin,  tents.  And  that  they  were  rather  like  the 
 latter,  which  are  no  modern  invention  if  they  are  indeed 
 alluded   to  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,*  we  are  inclined  to 
 
 "  Arabs  of  Africa.     "  Sie  wohnen  the    Bedouin   tents  have  two    or 
 
 in  Gezelten,  die  aus  groher  Wolle,  even  three  apartments. — Michaelis, 
 
 oder  Ziehen  Haare  verfertiget  sind,  Orient.  Bib.  vol.  vii,  p.  29. 
 und  schwarz  gefiirbet  werden  " —         ^  It  will  protect  from  the  night 
 
 Hosts,  Marokos  und  Fes;  Alicha-  dews.     The  English,  of  European 
 
 elis,  Orient.  Bib.  vol.xix,  p.71.  nations,  for    some    time  alone  re- 
 
 1  "  Cinq  jours   apres  il   les   fit  tained  the  use  of  tents  in  military 
 
 conduire  a  la  cour  de  sa  mere,  ou  expeditions.     The  Prussians  how- 
 
 ils  trouverent    une   teute   d'etoffe  ever,  of  late  have  found  the  night 
 
 blanche,  capable  de  contenir  deux  air  in  bivouacking  so  prejudicial, 
 
 mille  personnes." — Histoire  Gene-  that  they  have  returned  to  them, 
 
 rale  des  Voyages,  vol.  vii,  p.  252.  ■*  "  I  am  hlnvli  but  comely as 
 
 *  According  to  Neibuhr,  some  of  the  tents  of  Kedar."— Chap.  i.  5. 
 
CHAPTER   XL  293 
 
 think,  from  the  fact,  that  the  Bedouins  besides  claiming 
 a  descent  from  Abraham  inhabit  the  same  climate,  and 
 wander  over  the  same  tracts  of  country  that  did  the  pa- 
 triarchs. In  this  case  the  patriarchal  tent  would  imply  a 
 certain  culture,  a  certain  degree  of  civilization ;  for  it 
 proves  that  man  has  learned  to  economize  liis  resources,  and 
 to  apply  the  skins  of  animals  for  instance  to  a  double  use, 
 the  hair  or  wool  to  weave  into  stuff,  and  the  skin  to  make 
 into  leather. 
 
 But  how  and  when  is  the  existence  of  any  art  an  evi- 
 dence of  civilization  ?  When  the  South  American  Indian 
 covers  himself  with  the  barks  of  trees  sewed  together 
 with  roots,  and  the  Ostiack*  weaves  the  fibres  of  nettles 
 into  curtains;  when  the  native  Chilian^  makes  cloth  of  the 
 long  Avool  of  his  sheep,  and  the  savage  of  Madagascar® 
 manufactures  the  cotton  that  grows  wild  on  his  woods ;  we 
 perceive  that  though  a  certain  degree  of  thought  has  been 
 exercised,  it  has  been  exercised  only  on  the  nearest  objects, 
 and  only  to  meet  the  exigences  and  wants  of  daily  life ; 
 and  we  conclude  that  even  the  savage  has  his  arts.  When 
 however  we  learn  that  the  hard  l)ark  of  the  American 
 becomes  a  warm  and  pliable  cloth  in  the  hands  of  the 
 Otaheitan,  and  that  that  cotton  which  is  so  coarsely  manu- 
 factured in  Madagascar  is  by  the  Carabee'  and  the  Gam- 
 bia* negro  made  up  into  stuffs  which  excite  the  admiration 
 even  of  the  European ;  when  we  know  that  the  barbarous 
 Germans^  were  clad  in  linen,  and  that  the  state  robes  of 
 
 *  "  Les  femines  Ostiaques  s'oc-  '  Lafitau,  speaking  of  the  mate- 
 cupent  encore  a  preparer  et  a  filer  rials  which  several  savage  nations 
 de  certaines  orties,  elles  en  font  de  make  up  into  stuffs, says:  "Tels  sont 
 la  toile  et  des  rideaux,"  &c. — Hist,  les  deux  ou  trois  sortes  de  cotouuiers 
 Gen.  des  Voy.  vol.  xviii,  p.  678.  dont  les  femmes  des  Caraibes/on< 
 
 *  "  Les  habitans  du  Chili  ont  des  les  beaux  lits  de  coton  qu'on  nomme 
 vetements  faits  de  la  laine,  que  leur  Hamacs." — Moeurs  des  Sauvages, 
 fournissent  certains  brebis,  qui  ont  vol.  ii,  p.  160. 
 
 le  lainage  si  long  qu'il  pend  jus-         *  The  red  cloth  of  the  Gambia 
 
 qu'a    terre." — Voyages    Holland,  negroes  is  much  esteemed. — Hist, 
 
 vol.  ii,  p.  43.  Gen.  des  Voyages,  vol.  iii,  p.  184. 
 ^  Les  femmes  de  Madagascar  a        ^  "  II  est  surprenant,"  says  De 
 
 filer  et  a  testre  de  la  toile  de  coton."  Pauw,  "  que  chez  des  nations  qui 
 
 — Voy.  Hoi.  vol.  i,  p.  231.  paroissent  avoir  ete  plongees  dans 
 
294  CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 ancient  China  were  embroidered  with  divers  colours  of 
 needle-work,  t  sun  and  moon  and  stars  and  birds  and  trees 
 and  flowers  and  serpents :  we  perceive,  that  thought  has 
 been  exercised  not  merely  to  satisfy  the  most  crying 
 necessities,  but  to  please  the  eye  and  increase  the  comforts 
 of  men  ;  and  Ave  then  have  a  state  of  society,  in  advance  of 
 savage  life  certainly,  and  in  advance  of  it  just  in  propor- 
 tion to  the  number  of  arts  which  that  society  possesses ; 
 but  nevertheless  a  state  of  society  which  can  yet  lay  no 
 just  claim  to  civilization.  For,  if  the  mere  possession,  that 
 is  the  exercise,  of  an  art  or  of  many  arts  be  proof  of  a 
 country's  civilization:  then  the  civilization  of  any  country 
 may  be  rej^resented  by  its  artizans,  ever  among  its*  rudest, 
 and  save  in  so  far  as  their  several  arts  are  concerned, 
 among  its  most  uncultivated,  classes.  Not  therefore  the 
 mere  possession  of  arts  ;  and  not  therefore,  that  merely 
 manual  dexterity  in  the  arts,  and  that  nicety  of  execution 
 by  which  many  nations  are  distinguished,  and  which  are 
 the  certain  and  earlT/,  though  also  the  highest,  results  of  a 
 constitution  of  castes,  are  evidences  of  civilization, — but 
 rather,  that  which  first  gave  life  to  all  art,  the  thought 
 that  is  at  work  among  a  people,  and  which,  in  so  far  as  the 
 arts  are  concerned,  manifests  itself  in  continued  improve- 
 ments, in  the  simplification  of  complicated  processes,  in 
 the  adaptation  to  use  of  hitherto  neglected  olDJects,  in  the 
 economising  of  time,  labour,  and  material, — in  a  word,  its 
 advance,  its  progress,  in  the  arts  is  the  surest  proof  that  a 
 society,  if  not  yet  civilised,  possesses  at  least  within  itself 
 the  principle  of  civilization. 
 
 Verses  6-18.    The  Nomad  has  his  customs,  laws,   and 
 property.     The  Bedouin  travels  not  without  star  or  com- 
 
 iine  grande  barharie,  comme   les        i  Vide  Chou-kino-,  cliap.  v.    The 
 
 Thraces  et  les  Germains,  la  culture  Emperor  Chun  thus  addresses  his 
 
 du  lin  et  la  filage  eussent  fait  des  ministers  :  "  Si  lorsque  je  vois  la 
 
 progres  qui  supposent  une  indus-  figure  des  anciens  habits sur 
 
 trie  bien  superieure  a  celle  qu'on  lesquels  le  soleil,  la  lune,  les  etoiles, 
 
 porte  ordinairement  a  ees  peuples."  les  signes,  les  montagnes,  les  ser- 
 
 Recherches  Philosophiques  sur  les  pens,  et  les  oiseaux    de    diverses 
 
 Grecs,  vol.  i,  p.  307.  couleurs  soient  rcprdsentes,''  &c. 
 
 i 
 
CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 295 
 
 pass  nor  without  an  object,  whithersoever  a  vagrant  will 
 may  hurry  him — he  has  certain  appointed  stations,  certain 
 districts,  in  which  from  time  immemorial  his  ancestors^  have 
 at  certain  periods  of  the  year  been  accustomed  to  pitch 
 their  tents.  To  liis  own  plains  he  restricts  himself;  he 
 looks  upon  them  as  his  patrimony ;  and  though  they  are 
 guarded  by  neither  hedge  nor  ditch,  as  his  patrimony  are 
 they  respected  by  neighbouring  tribes.^  Now  what  does 
 Moses?  He  shows  the  Israelites  that  in  Canaan  their 
 fathers  were  wont  to  dwell, — that,  unmolested  by  its  city 
 populations,  they  had  occupied  its  pastures,  dug  wells  in 
 its  plains,  and  built  altars  on  its  mountains, — and  that 
 
 *  "  Each  of  the  Bedouin  tribes 
 appropriates  to  itself  a  certaiu  tract 
 of  land":  in  this  they  do  not  diifer 
 from  cultivated  nations,  except 
 that  their  territory  requires  a 
 greater  extent  in  order  to  furnish 
 subsistence  for  their  herds  through- 
 out the  year and  as  the  entire 
 
 space  is  necessary  for  ths  annual 
 subsistence  of  the  tribe,  whoever 
 encroaches  upon  it  is  deemed  a 
 violator  of  property ;  this  is  with 
 them  the  law  of  nations.  If  there- 
 fore a  tribe,  or  any  of  its  subjects, 
 enter  upon  a  foreign  territory,  they 
 are  treated  as  enemies  and  robbers, 
 and  a  war  breaks  out."* — Volney, 
 Syria,  c.  xxiii.  Again :  "  The  val- 
 ley of  the  Jordan  affords  pasturage 
 for  numerous  tribes  of  Bedouins. 
 Some  remain  the  whole  year,  con- 
 sidering it  as  their  patrimony, 
 others  visit  it  in  winter." — Buck- 
 hardt,  Syria,  p.  346.  So  also  the 
 North  American  Indians:  ''Among 
 them,  with  no  ideas  of  individual 
 property  in  land,  each  tribe  pos- 
 sesses a  right  derived  from  the  most 
 remote  antiquity,  to  certaiu  regions 
 over  which  they  hunt  in  common. 
 
 and  remove  their  tents  or  wigwams 
 from  one  location  to  another, 
 according  as  the  animals  on  which 
 they  feed happen  to  be  abun- 
 dant or  scarce." — Morning  Herald, 
 November  1837. 
 
 ^  "  The  desert  of  Suez  is  never 
 inhabited  by  Bedouin  encamp- 
 ments, though  it  is  full  of  rich 
 pasture,  and  pools  of  water  during 
 the  winter  and  spring.  No  strong 
 tribes  frequent  the  eastern  borders 
 of  Egypt,  and  a  weak  isolated  en- 
 campment would  soon  be  stripped 
 by  nightly  robbers.  The  ground 
 itself  is  the  patrimony  of  no  tribe, 
 but  is  common  to  all,  ivhich  is  con- 
 trary to  the  general  practice  of  the 
 desert,  where  every  district  has  its 
 own  acknou'ledged  owners,  ivith  its 
 limits  of  separation  from  those  of 
 the  neighbouring  tribes,  although  it 
 is  not  always  occupied  by  them^ — 
 Buckhardt,  Syria,  p. 462;  and  Sale, 
 of  the  literature  of  the  Arabs,  says, 
 "  In  their  poems  were  preserved 
 the  distinction  of  descents,  the  rights 
 of  tribes,  and  the  propriety  of  lan- 
 guage." —  Prelim.  Discourse  to 
 Koran,  p.  36. 
 
 *  Inattention  to  or  ignorance  of  this  peculiarity  of  the  Arabs  was  the 
 cause  of  the  late  war  between  the  Arabs  and  the  French.  The  Duke  of 
 Orleans  out  of  curiosity  passed  the  boundary-line  of  the  territory  ceded 
 to  the  French.     He  thiis  declared  war  against  Abd-el-Kedr. 
 
296  CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 therefore,  according  to  nomad  law  and  custom,  the  land  was 
 their's,  and  as  their's  it  seems  to  have  been  regarded  during 
 the  long  sojourn  in  Egypt."  Moses,  in  short,  shows  his 
 people  that  they  had  a  nomad  right  to  Canaan. 
 
 But,  besides  a  nomad,  Moses  claims  for  the  Israelites  a 
 divine,  right  to  the  country.  It  is  theirs  by  a  patent 
 received  from  their  God  himself.  He  promised  it  to  their 
 fathers,  and  promised  it  to  them  even  while  the  Canaanites 
 dwelt  there.  And  as  they  continued  to  dwell  there  when 
 He  called  upon  Israel  to  take  possession.  He  necessarily 
 called  upon  Israel  to  take  forcible  possession ;  and  either 
 to  drive  the  Canaanites  from  the  country  or  to  extu-pate 
 them. 
 
 On  these  claims  of  the  Israelites  we  may  observe,  that 
 they  were  valid  for  the  Israelites;  but  as  this  book  is  held 
 up  to  our  veneration  as  the  book,  not  of  the  Israelitish 
 Jehovah,  but  of  the  Great  God  Himself;  as  it  professes  to 
 lay  open  to  us  the  ways  of  God  to  man :  as  it  contains  the 
 true  history  of  God's  secret  government  of  the  world :  it 
 behoves  us  to  inquire  whether  these  claims  are  valid  in 
 the  eyes  of  Humanity,  and  accord  with  the  ideas  we  would 
 form  of  the  acts  of  a  just  God. 
 
 And  I.  As  regards  the  nomad  or  legal  right  of  Israel,  we 
 will  observe, 
 
 1st.  That  it  was  confined  to  the  pasturages,  and  did  not 
 extend  to  the  cities  of  Canaan.  For  even  if  we  suppose 
 with  Michaehs,  that  the  Israelites  were  the  first  discoverers 
 and  occupiers  *  of  the  country  ;  yet,  as  they  permitted  the 
 Canaanites  tranquilly  to  settle  there,  and  to  build  cities, 
 and  to  cultivate  the  soil,  they  coidd  with  far  less  justice 
 
 ''  Vide  the  account  of  the  burial  ever  his  descendants  should  return 
 
 of  Jacob  (chap.  1.  7,  13 ;  and  Exod.  there. 
 
 xiii.  19;  and  also  1  Chron.  viii.24)  ^  Vide  Michaelis,  Mosaisches 
 by  which,  as  Michaelis  observes,  it  Recht,  §  1  :  "  RecLte  der  Israeli- 
 would  seem  as  if  a  f^randdauu^hter  ten  an  Palestine.''  From  Gen.  xi. 
 of  Joseph's  had  built  two  cities  in  3 1 ,  Michaelis  concludes  that  the 
 Canaan,  even  during  the  sojourn  Israelites  dwelt  in  Canaan  from  the 
 of  the  Israelites  in  Eg'ypt:  and  re-  time  of  Eber;  while  chap.  xii.  6 
 member  also  the  retiuest  of  Joseph  implies  that  at  that  early  period  the 
 to  be  removed  to  Palestine,  when-  Canaanites  were  not  yet  in  the  land. 
 
CHAPTER  XI.  297 
 
 reclaim  a  temtory  to  which  centuries  of  undisturbed  pos- 
 session had  given  its  inliabitants  a  title,  than  could,  at  this 
 day,  the  native  Indians  the  many  cities  and  cultivated 
 fields  of  civilized  America. 
 
 And  2ndly.  That  this  right  was  lost  during  the  long 
 sojourn  of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt.  According  to  Mi- 
 chaelis,^  theCanaanites,  whatever  may  have  been  their  vices, 
 appear  to  have  been  at  the  least  a  just  people.  For  seve- 
 ral centuries  they  respected  the  burial  places  and  the 
 acquired  property  of  Israel  :  and  what  more  could  man 
 expect  of  them  ?  Who  is  so  mad  as  to  assert,  that  they 
 should  either  have  permitted  their  rich  plains  to  remain 
 unenclosed  and  uncultivated,  or  that  before  occupying 
 them  they  should  at  least  have  sent  some  embassy  to 
 obtain  the  permission  of  the  Israelites  ?  Among  civilized 
 nations,  indicidiials,  even  though  they  may  not  claim  pro- 
 perty, retain  all  their  rights  to  it  until  a  certain  conven- 
 tional i^eriod  has  expired :  and  the  property  which  Israel 
 as  an  individual,  as  a  family,  possessed  in  Canaan,  was 
 never  trespassed  upon.  But  as  the  only  title  wliich  any 
 people  have  even  to  their  native  land  is  the  occupation  of 
 its  soil,  it  is  clear  that  Israel,  as  a  people,  lost  all  claim  to 
 Canaan  as  their  possession,  the  instant  they  en  masse 
 voluntarily  quitted  the  country.^ 
 
 As  regards  the  dicine  right  of  the  Israelites,  founded  on 
 the  divine  promises,  we  may  observe, 
 
 1st.  That  such  a  right  may  be  set  up  by  any  class 
 of  men  or  any  nation,  to  the  prejudice  of  other  men  and 
 other  nations.  With  this  rio;ht  to  cheer  and  encourajxe 
 their  followers,  Mohammed  and  his  successors  conquered 
 half  the  then  known  world ;  and  with  this  right  and  the 
 example   of  the   Israelites   to    palliate   their   crimes,   the 
 
 *  Mosaisches  Recht,  vol.  i,  §  28,  ^  And  such  must  have  been  the 
 p.  118.  Michaelis,  throughout  the  opinion  of  the  Israelites  themselves, 
 whole  of  his  argument,  seems  to  if  we  may  judge  of  it  from  the  man- 
 considers  only  the  claims  of  the  ner  in  which  they  entertain  the 
 Israelites ; — he  altogether  forgets  claims  of  Ammon  to  the  land  be- 
 that,  in  every  dispute,  tliere  are  at  tween  Arnok  and  Jabbok.  Judges 
 the  least  two  parties.  xi.  13,  17. 
 
 2q 
 
298  CHAPTER   XI. 
 
 Si)aniarcls*  depopulated  America.  And  that  we  may  the 
 better  feel  the  absvirdity  of  all  such  pretensions,  we  will 
 suppose;  that  the  nomad  race  of  our  own  country  either 
 possessed  or  imagined  some  obscm-e  prophecy,  some  antique 
 rhyme  which  gave  to  their  tribe  the  broad  lands  and  fair 
 cities  of  England ;  and  also  that  they  believed  the  time  now 
 come  for  them  to  seize  upon  their  own, — might  they  not, 
 when  we  rose  up  to  dispute  their  pretensions,  very  fairly 
 ask  of  us :  why,  if  God  once  gave  an  already  inhabited 
 country  to  a  gypsy  race,  should  He  not  again  give  another  ? 
 I  do  not  see  how  we  could  answer,  but  I  know  we  should 
 laugh  at,  them.  And  even  after  the  prophecy  had  been 
 justified  by  the  event,  we  shoidd  still  assert  and  feel  that, 
 though  they  might  be,  not  impostors,  but  deluded  fanatics, 
 such  a  prophecy  came  not  and  never  could  come  from 
 God. 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  grant  of  such  a  right  supposes  the 
 Deity  committing  an  injustice.  If  our  world  be  not  one 
 of  confusion,  the  ideas  of  right  which  God  has  implanted 
 in  man,  God  Himself  observes  in  His  dealings  with  man. 
 Now  Canaan  is  already  occupied,  is  already  the  property  of 
 a  people,  and  is  recognized  as  their  property"  even  by  the 
 ancestors  of  Israel ;  and  nevertheless  the  God  of  Israel,  be- 
 cause it  is  a  rich  and  fair  land,  promises  it  to  the  descendants 
 of  His  favourite  Abraham.  And  although  it  is  certain  that, 
 had  the  Canaanites  voluntarily  emigrated  to  other  climes, 
 
 '  Without  the  example  of  Israel,  salvation  ;  they  went  forth  merely 
 Mohammed  and  the  Spaniard  must,  to  acquire  lands  and  beeves.  As 
 let  it  be  observed,  have  found  some  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which 
 other  plea  for  their  ambition.  Mo-  the  Spaniards  executed  their  mis- 
 hammed  received  his  commission  sion,  we  may  instance  the  case  of 
 from  the  Jewish  God  himself, — the  Haiti,  which,  at  its  discovery,  con- 
 Spaniard  from  the  Pope,  that  God's  tained  1 ,000,000  inhabitants, — 
 vice<rerent.  The  one  and  the  other,  sixty  years  after,  15,000, — and  in 
 however — for  we  improve  still— j^o  1729,  the  aborigines  were  extinct, 
 forth,  not  to  conciuer  lands  only,  — P.  Margat  au  P.  de  la  Neuville, 
 but  to  spread  the  inowlcdfje  of  the  Let.  Ediliantes,  vol.  vii. 
 true  faith.  They  extirpate  those  "  Vide  the  account  of  Abraham's 
 only  who  will  not  be  saved.  (Vide  purchase  of  the  field  of  Ephron 
 Sale's,  Prelim.  Dis.  to  Koran,  pp.  (Gen.  xxiii.) ;  of  Jacob's  of  a  field 
 56,  57.)  The  Israelites,  on  the  of  Hamor  (xxxiii),  to  build  an  altar 
 other  hand,  professed  no  mission  of  to  the  Elohim  there. 
 
CHAPTER   XI.  299 
 
 the  Hebrews  might  then,  without  any  reproach,  any 
 shadow  of  injustice,  have  entered  into  and  possessed  the 
 country ;  yet  as  such  was  not  the  case,  as  the  Canaanites 
 chmg  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  the  holy  people  were 
 compelled,  and  were  indeed  ordered  by  their  God,  to  drive 
 them  from  it  by  force,  i.  e.  to  become  thieves,  rol)bers, 
 though  on  so  large  a  scale  as  would  have  elicited  the  admi- 
 ration even  of  a  Jonathan  Wild. 
 
 But  the  Canaanites  were  destroyed  for  tlieu'  crimes. 
 "  Les  plus  fiibles  ont  toujours  tort."  With  the  many  that 
 which  is,  is,  not  for  some  reason  merely,  but  is  because  it 
 is  right.  With  them  Eussia  is  justified  in  tearing  out  the 
 heart  of  Poland,  America  in  cheating  the  aboriginal 
 Indians,  and  the  English  settler  in  shooting  the  Australian 
 savage  ;  like  the  Mahometans  they  cry  "  It  is  God's  will ;" 
 and  because  the  strong  and  powerful  are  God's  instru- 
 ments, the  weak  and  suffering  are  they  believe  God's  ene- 
 mies, wicked  men  of  whose  crimes  the  earth  is  weary. 
 Such  of  course  were  the  Canaanites.  But  if  we  place  not 
 implicit  credence  in  the  dark  picture  which  Romans  have 
 drawn  of  Carthaginian  manners,  shall  we  in  that  which 
 Moses  gives  us  of  Canaanite  vices  ?  Let  us  remember  that 
 when  the  vices  of  nations  are  a  plea  for  their  extermina- 
 tion, it  is  one  which  hate  can  always  find,  or  cupidity 
 always  invent. 
 
 Verse  16.  Buckhardt'  observes  "  that  no  nation  excels 
 the  Bedouins  in  numerical  exaggeration.  Ask  a  Bedouiu 
 who  belongs  to  a  tribe  of  three  hundred  tents  of  the  num- 
 ber of  his  brethren,  and  he  will  take  a  handful  of  sand, 
 and  cast  it  up  in  the  air,  and  point  to  the  stars,  and  tell 
 you  that  they  are  no  less."  When  however  we  remember 
 that  before  Mohammed  many  of  the  Arab  tribes  and 
 princes  had  embraced,  some  Christianity,  others  Judaism,^ 
 
 '  Syria,  note  to  p.  560.  And   again  :    "  Though  the    Jews 
 
 ^  "  Christianity  had  made  a  very  were  an  inconsiderable   people  in 
 
 great  progress  among  the  Bedouins  other  parts  of  the  world,  yet  in  Ara- 
 
 before   Mohammed The  prin-  bia  they  grew  veij  powerful,  several 
 
 cipal  tribes  that  embraced  Christi-  tribes  and  princes  embracing  their 
 
 anity  were  Hamyar,  Ghassan,"  &c.  religion"  (p.  46),  e.  g.  Arab  princes 
 
 (Sale's  Prel.  Dis.  to  Koran,  p.  29.)  appear  in  Josephus  as  proselytes. 
 
300  CHAPTER    XI. 
 
 we  may  doubt  whether  this  particular  mode  of  speech  is 
 original  among  the  Arabs,  or  whether  they  borrowed  it 
 from  the  Jewish  books. 
 
 This  chapter,  like  the  preceding,  with  which  it  is  closely 
 connected,  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah.  Like  it,  it 
 speaks  of  the  journeys  of  Abraham  and  of  the  altars  which 
 he  built  and  the  prayers  which  he  offered  to  the  Lord ; 
 like  it  too,  it  insists  on  his  connexion  with  Lot,  on  his 
 riches,  and  the  insufficiency  of  the  land  for  liis  support.  It 
 mentions  besides  the  amicable  separation  of  Lot  and  Abra- 
 ham, and  terminates  with  a  second  promise  similar  to,  and 
 confirmatory  of,  the  first. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  together  these  two  promises,  we  find, 
 that  the  first  refers  rather  to  Abraham  himself,  the  second 
 to  his  posterity ;  and  that,  though  both  are  in  style  figura- 
 tive and  poetical,  the  one  labours  to  express  the  love  of 
 Jehovah  for  Abraham,  the  other  to  overpower  us  with  the 
 numerical  greatness  of  Abraham's  descendants;  the  former 
 is  more  vague  and  general,  it  blesses  Abraham  and  the 
 earth  through  Abraham ;  the  latter  more  definite  and  pre- 
 cise, it  blesses  Abraham  in  his  seed  and  in  the  possession 
 of  Canaan  :  that  therefore  may  possibly  have  a  Messiacal 
 wliile  this  was  limited  to  a  Judaical  application. 
 
 With  the  separation  of  Lot  and  Abraham  we  may  com- 
 pare that  of  Esau  and  Jacob,  chapter  xxxvi.  7. 
 
 With  Jehovah  bidding  Abraham  to  look  out,  for  all  the 
 land  which  he  saw  He  the  Lord  would  give  him  (ver.  14-15) 
 we  may  contrast  Satan's  third  and  last  temptation  of 
 Christ.  (Matth.  iv.  5.) 
 
 With  the  expressions  used  to  convey  a  notion  of  the 
 numbers  of  Abraham's  posterity  we  may  connect  the 
 superstitious  objection  of  Joab  to  number  the  people  of 
 Israel  (2  Sam.  xxi;  1  Chron.  xxi)  and  the  remorse  of  David 
 for  having  ordered  it  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  10). 
 
 From  the  fact  that  the  promise  of  Canaan,  &c.  is  made 
 to  Abraham  immediately  after  Lot  has  quitted  him,  we 
 learn  that  Lot  had  no  part  in  the  promise  which  is  recorded 
 in  chapter  xil 
 
301 
 
 CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 GENESIS  xiv.  1-24. 
 
 Verse  1.  When  Boemond  laid  siege  to  Arsur,  William 
 of  Tyre  records,  that  from  the  heights  of  the  mountains  of 
 Samaria  several  kings  came  down  to  the  plains  of  An tipatris, 
 bringing  with  them  bread  and  wine,  and  dried  figs  and 
 raisins,  as  presents  to  the  Christian  leader.^  Such  and  of 
 about  the  same  power  were  probably  the  four  chiefs  whom 
 the  historian  here  decorates  with  such  pompous  titles. 
 
 2-4.  This  is  the  first  war  the  sacred  liistory 
 speaks  of — though  certainly  not  the  first  which  man  had 
 waged  against  man — "  The  mighty  men  which  were  of 
 old,  men  of  renown,"  may  indeed  have  been  like  the  heroes 
 of  Paganism  great  by  theii*  personal  strength  and  valour, 
 which  they  devoted  to  the  extinction  of  Avild  beasts,  or  of 
 wilder  robbers  who  pillaged  the  dwellings  and  carried 
 away  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  people.  Like  them 
 too  may  have  been,  notwithstanding  liis  name,  Nimrod  the 
 mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord,  whom  gratitude  perhaps 
 raised  to  a  tlu'one;  but  not  like  them  coidd  have  been 
 Chedorlaomer,  for  kings  were  his  tributaries,  indej)endent 
 states  owned  and  feared  his  power,  "  twelve  years  did  five 
 kings  serve  him."  He  was  one  who  had  already  fought 
 battles  and  gained  victories ;  one  who  had  armies  at  his 
 command,  and  a  king  therefore,  who,  if  he  did  not  rule 
 despotically,  ruled  at  least  over  some  martial  people. 
 
 1  Guillaume  de  Tyr,  Histoire  des  Croisades,  vol.  xvii,  livre  ix,  p.  41 ; 
 Guizot,  Mem.  sur  I'Hist.  de  France, 
 
302  CHAPTER   XII. 
 
 Verses  5-12.  Chedorkonier  marches  against  the  five 
 cities  of  Sitldim.  On  his  road  he  lays  waste  the  country ; 
 in  Siddim  itself  he  meets  and  joins  battle  with  the  rebel 
 forces,  he  puts  them  to  the  rout,  and  retires  with  many 
 prisoners  and  a  large  booty.  The  object  of  this  war  seems 
 to  have  been  not  so  much  conquest  and  the  extension  of 
 dominion,  as  slaves  and  plunder :  it  Avas  properly  a  preda- 
 tory excursion, — an  expedition,  like  that  of  some  Highland 
 chieftain,  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  exacting,  and  no 
 doubt  to  have  been  avoided  by,  the  regular  payment  of 
 blackmail. 
 
 Verses  13-15.  Abraham  with  a  band  of  his  servants 
 pursues  the  conquerors,  and  overtakes  them ;  and  having 
 divided  his  troops  into  two  bodies,  he  during  the  night 
 attacks  the  enemy's  camp  in  opposite  places,  puts  him  to 
 the  rout  and  obtains  possession  of  his  baggage  and  plunder. 
 That  these  four  kings  were  petty  sovereigns  I  think  pro- 
 bable, but  we  cannot  conclude  that  they  were  so  from  the 
 smallness  of  the  force  which  conquered  them."  For  the 
 victory  was  gained  by  a  surprise  over  a  sleeping  and  secure 
 enemy,  and  in  this  way  many  a  small  band  has  routed  a 
 large  army.  For  instance,  of  the  Christians  of  Kerah,  who 
 are  renowned  for  their  courage,  Buckhardt  relates  "  that 
 a  party  of  the  Aeneze  had  on  a  Sunday,  when  the  men 
 were  absent,  robbed  the  encampment  of  all  its  cattle  ;  on 
 the  first  alarm,  given  by  the  women,  twenty-seven  young 
 men  pursued  the  enemy,  whom  they  overtook  at  a  short 
 distance  and  had  the  courage  to  attack,  though  amounting 
 to  upwards  of  (four  hundred  men  ?)  on  camels,  and  many 
 of  them  armed  with  fire-locks.  After  a  battle  of  two  hours 
 the  Ro walla  gave  way  with  a  loss  of  forty  killed — and  of 
 the  whole  of  the  booty  which  they  had  carried  ofi'."^ 
 
 Verses  16-24.     Abraham  returns  with  the  prisoners  and 
 
 ^  This  is  argued  by  Voltaire  with    and  Gruher's  Encyclop.),  Micha- 
 a  sneer    (Notes   sur   Gencse),   by     elis,  and  others. 
 Gesenius    (Art.    Abraham,    Erscli        '  Buckhardt,  Syria,  p,  382. 
 
CHAPTER  XII.  303 
 
 the  booty.  Met  and  blessed  by  Melchisedek  he  gives  liim 
 tythes  of  all :  he  refuses  from  the  king  of  Sodom  any 
 recompense  for  his  services,  restores  to  every  man  his  own, 
 and  retains  that  only  which  the  young  men  had  eaten  and 
 the  portion  of  Aner,  Eschol,  and  Mamre  who  had  assisted 
 him. — Where  then  did  Abraham  take  the  tythe  which  he 
 gave  to  Melchisedek  ? 
 
 Verse  14.  "  Abraham  arms  his  trained  servants,  born 
 in  his  house,  three  hundred  and  eighteen."  Abraham's 
 encampment  must  have  been  like  that  of  some  small  army. 
 He  can  take  from  his  servants  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
 picked  men  born  in  his  house,  his  family  slaves,  men  in 
 whose  courage  and  fidelity  he  has  confidence — and  all 
 young  and  vigorous  enough  to  undertake  a  rapid,  nocturnal 
 and  dangerous  expedition.  His  encampment  therefore 
 must  have  comprised  the  parents  of  these  men,  their  sisters, 
 wives  and  children — and  besides  these,  servants  also  which 
 he  had  bought  with  his  money,  and  others  which  he  had 
 received  as  presents  from  Pharaoh.  It  could  not  have 
 consisted  of  much  less  than  three  thousand  soids.  The 
 cattle  which  was  required  for  the  support  of  this  multi- 
 tude, and  the  camels  for  carrying  the  tents,  furniture  and 
 cliildren,  must  have  been  very  numerous.  If  Lot's  pos- 
 sessions at  all  approached  those  of  Abraham,  no  wonder 
 they  were  compelled  to  sejiarate. 
 
 Verse  18.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  Jerusalem  in 
 Scripture.  Nineteen  centuries  b.  c.  Salem  was  a  holy 
 city,  and  its  king  the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God.  Nine- 
 teen centuries  after  Christ,  and  Salem,  many  times  con- 
 quered, many  tunes  destroyed,  is  still  El  Kods  the  Holy. 
 
 Two  modern  travellers,  men  of  very  different  characters 
 and  views,  Volney  and  Clarke,  thus  severally  describe 
 their  feelings  on  approaching  this  city,  to  which  nations 
 have  gone  in  pilgrunage.  "  Two  days'  journey  south  of 
 Nablous,  following  the  direction  of  the  mountains  which 
 gradually  become  more  barren  and  rocky,  we  arrive  at  a 
 
304  CHAPTER   XII. 
 
 town  which  presents  a  striking  example  of  the  vicissitudes 
 of  human  affairs :  when  we  behold  its  walls  levelled,  its 
 ditches  filled  up,  and  all  its  buildings  embarrassed  with 
 ruins,  we  scarcely  can  believe  we  view  that  celebrated 
 metropolis  which  formerly  baffled  the  efforts  of  the  most 
 powerful  empire  ;*  in  a  word,  we  with  difficulty  recognize 
 Jerusalem.  Nor  is  our  astonishment  less  to  think  of  its 
 ancient  greatness,  when  we  consider  its  situation  amid  a 
 ruo-ged  soil,  destitute  of  water,  and  surrounded  by  dry 
 channels  of  torrents  and  steep  heights.  Distant  from  every 
 great  road,  it  seems  to  have  been  neither  calculated  for  a 
 considerable  mart  of  commerce,  nor  for  the  centre  of  a 
 great  consumption.  It  however  overcame  every  obstacle 
 and  may  be  adduced  as  a  proof  of  what  popular  opinions 
 may  effect  in  the  hands  of  an  able  legislature,  or  when 
 favoured  by  happy  circumstances.  The  same  opinions 
 still  preserve  to  this  city  its  feeble  existence.  The  renown 
 of  its  miracles  perpetuated  in  the  East  invites  and  retains 
 a  considerable  number  of  inhabitants  within  its  walls. 
 Mahommetans,  Christians,  Jews,  all  make  it  a  point  to  see 
 what  they  denominate  the  noble  and  holy  city.'" 
 
 Clarke  says :  "  No  sensation  of  fatigue  or  heat  would 
 counterbalance  the  eagerness  and  zeal  which  animated  all 
 our  party  in  the  approach  to  Jerusalem.  At  length,  after 
 about  two  hours  ascending  a  hill  towards  the  south,  '  Ha- 
 giopohs !'  exclaimed  a  Greek  in  the  van,  and  immediately 
 throwing  himself  from  his  horse  was  seen  upon  his  knees, 
 bare-headed,  facing  the  prospect  he  surveyed.  Suddenly 
 the  sight  burst  upon  us  all.  The  effect  produced  was  that 
 of  total  silence  throughout  the  company.  Many  of  our 
 party,  by  an  immediate  impulse,  took  off  their  hats  as  if 
 
 *  By  what  stranoe  perversity  of  should    thiuk    principally   of    the 
 
 imagination  is  it,  that  a  man  look-  opposition  it  made  to  the   Roman 
 
 ing  on  Jerusalem,  one  of  the  most  arms?     Could  not  Volncy  feel  that 
 
 strongly  situated  cities  in  the  world  it  was  not  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of 
 
 ("  Sa  forme  est  un  carre  long,  etde  Judea,  that  was  great,  hut  Jerusa- 
 
 trois  cotes  elle  est  enfermee  et  de-  lem,  the  field  and  scene  of  Christ's 
 
 fendue  par  des  vallecs  extreraement  life  and  deeds  ? 
 
 profondes." — Guil.  de  Tyr.  liv.  viii)  ^  Volney's  Travels,  vol.  ii,  p.  196. 
 
CHAPTER  XII.  305 
 
 entering  a  clmrcli,  without  being  sensible  of  so  doing. 
 The  Greeks  and  Catholics  shed  torrents  of  tears ;  and  pre- 
 sently crossing  themselves  with  unfeigned  devotion,  asked 
 if  they  might  be  permitted  to  take  off  the  covering  from 
 their  feet  and  proceed  bare-footed  to  the  holy  sepulchre. 
 We  had  not  been  prepared  for  the  grandeur  of  the  spec- 
 tacle which  the  city  alone  exhibited.  Instead  of  a  wretched 
 and  ruined  town,  by  some  described  as  the  desolated  rem- 
 nant of  Jerusalem,  we  beheld  as  it  were  a  flourishing 
 and  stately  metropolis,"  presenting  a  magnificent  assem- 
 blage of  domes,  towers,  palaces,  churches,  and  monasteries ; 
 all  of  wliich  glittering  in  the  sun's  rays,  shone  with  incon- 
 ceivable splendour.  As  we  drew  nearer,  our  whole 
 attention  was  engrossed  by  its  interesting  and  noble  ap- 
 pearance."' 
 
 Melchizidek  is  a  great  name  in  both  Jewish  and  Chris- 
 tian mythology.  He  is  mentioned  with  honour  in  Psalm 
 ex :  "  The  Lord  hath  sworn  and  will  not  repent :  Thou 
 art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchizidek."  The 
 object  of  this  psalm  seems  to  have  been,  while  it  commemo- 
 rated some  victory  gained  by  David's  lieutenants,  to  make 
 of  David's  absence  from  the  scene  of  contest  an  occasion  of 
 glory  to  him.  Like  Melchizidek,  he  appears  but  to  receive 
 the  conquerors,  and  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  victory.  After 
 times,  however,  gave  to  this  psalm  a  Messiacal  interpreta- 
 tion;   and    St.    Paul,    quoting   the    Septuagint,    directly 
 
 ^  Jerusalem,  without  being  per-  Of  the  famous  Siloe,  he  gives  no 
 
 haps  the  ruin  Volney  describes,  can  more   favourable    account":    "  La 
 
 never  have  been  of  any  extraordi-  source  est  peu  abondante,  et  jaillit 
 
 nary  size.     Guillaume  de  Tyr  says  dans  le  fond  de  la  vallee ;  elle  donne 
 
 of  it:  "  Elle  est  situee  dans  un  lieu  des  eaux  qui  n'ont  point  de  gout, 
 
 presque  entiereinent  depourvu  de  et  ne  coulent  pas  toujours;  on  as- 
 
 ruisseaux,  de  fontaines,  de  bois,  et  sure  que  c'est  une  fontaine  inter- 
 
 de  paturages."     And  shortly  after:  mitten te,  et  qui  ne  donne  de  I'eau 
 
 "Leshabitansen  sont  reduits  a  ne  que  de  trois  en  trois  jours."— liv. 
 
 se  servir  que  des  eaux  pluviales."  viii,  pp.  406-417.     The  same  au- 
 
 Of  the  fountains  without  the  city,  thor    thus    describes     Jerusalem  : 
 
 celebrated  in  Hebrew  story,  he  in-  "  Jerusalem  est  plus  petite  que  les 
 
 forms  us  :  "  Elles  sont  peu  nom-  plus  grandes  villes,  et  plus  grandes 
 
 breuses,  et  ne  fourniss^nt  d'ailleurs  que  les  villes  ordinaires." 
 qu'une  trcs  petite  quautite  d'eau."         '  Travels,  vol.  iv,  c.  vii,  p. 289. 
 
 2  R 
 
306  CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 applies  to  the  Christ  (Heb.  v.)  that  portion  of  it  which 
 alludes  to  Melchizidek  ;  and  afterwards  goes  on  to  infonii 
 us,  that  he  (Melchizidek)  was  without  father,  without 
 mother,  without  descent,  having  neither  beginning  of  days, 
 nor  end  of  life,'*  but  made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God,  abideth 
 a  priest  continually."  But  as  nothing  of  all  tliis  is  to  be 
 found  in  Moses,  we  cannot  help  inquiring  where  St.  Paul 
 found  his  account  of  the  king  of  Salem.  Did  he  gather  it 
 from  the  words  of  David  ?  i.  e.  did  he  apply  the  "  priest 
 for  ever"  to  Melchizidek,  and  thus  obscure  and  mystify 
 the  simple  sense  of  the  passage  ?  or  did  he,  as  he  would 
 imply  (Heb.  v.  11),  gather  his  knowledge  from  the  tradi- 
 tions of  the  Rabbins,  and  thus  give  to  these  traditions  all 
 the  weight  of  his  authority  ?  I  only  know  that  the  Mel- 
 chizidek of  St.  Paul,  save  that  he  is  priest  and  king,  has 
 little  in  common  with  the  Melchizidek  of  Moses.  This 
 one  is  a  mere  man,  that  a  supernatui'al  being. 
 
 Melchizidek  is  king  and  priest :  as  king  he  brings  forth 
 bread  and  wine  to  refresh  the  wearied  followers  of  Abra- 
 ham ;  as  priest  he  appears  to  give  blessings  and  to  receive 
 tithes. 
 
 Melchizidek  blesses  Abraham,  and  blesses  God  for  hav- 
 ing delivered  Abraham's  enemies  into  Abraham's  hand. 
 Our  wars  are  not  always  so  just  as  Abraham's ;  but  then 
 with  us,  as  Madame  de  la  Ferte  once  remarked  to  Anne  of 
 Austria,  "  Le  bon  Dieu  se  range  toujours  du  cote  des  gros 
 battaillons."  And  yet,  such  is  the  force  of  habit  or  of 
 superstition,  that  we  admire  the  piety  of  those  who  before 
 they  join  battle,  like  the  first  William  and  the  Black 
 Prince,'  pray  to  God  for  victory ;   and,  after  they  have 
 
 *  Melcliizidek  is  niucli  more  like  ^  "  Des  que  le  Due  Guillaume 
 
 the   great   Dalai-Lama,   than   any  fut  informede  laraarclie  d'Harold 
 
 one  else;  thou!>h  I  am  aware  that     il  entendit  la  messe,  ct  se  for- 
 
 Bochart,   Hyde,   Glassius,   Light-  tifia  le  corps  et  I'ame  par  lessacre- 
 
 foot,  &c.  have  ascertained  that  he  mens  du    Seigneur ;    puis  il   sus- 
 
 was    Shem.      I  have  no  telescope  pendit  humblement  a  son  cou  les 
 
 that  reaches  hack  into  those  distant  saintcs  relicjues  sur  lesquelles  Ha- 
 
 ages;  hut  I  see  nothing-  in  the  se-  rold  avait  jure... Les  deux  eveques, 
 
 vera!  accountsof  Melchizidek  wliicli  OdondeBayeux  etGeoff'roide  Cou- 
 
 justides  this  supposition,  tances  se  trouvaient  lii  <irec  beau- 
 
CHAPTER  XII.  307 
 
 gained  the  victory,  return  thanks  to  God  for  His  assist- 
 ance. In  our  eyes,  the  God  who  listens  only  to  prayers 
 for  moral  and  spiritual  excellence,  and  who  answers  those 
 prayers  even  while  our  heart  utters  them,  is  nothing 
 worth.  We  must  have  a  Deity  who  shall  interpose 
 between  us  and  the  accidents  of  hfe ;  who  shall  preserve 
 us  from  unforeseen  dangers,  and  heap  on  us  especially  all 
 sorts  of  temporal  blessings ;  ^  one  of  whom  it  is  possible 
 that  we  become  favourites;  one  who  for  our  sakes  may 
 change  the  great  and  even  course  of  a  just  Providence  ; 
 and  who  for  our  sakes,  though  worlds  should  perish,  may 
 again  make  the  sun  to  stand  still.  Hence  it  is  that  tee 
 pray  for  victory  over  our  enemies,  our  enemies  for  victory 
 over  us;  that  some  pray  for  rain,  others  for  sunshine;  and 
 that  this  nation  asks  for  deliverance  from  plague  and  pesti- 
 lence, while  that  strives  to  thwart  its  prayers.*  In  our 
 eagerness  to  realise  our  wishes,  or  out  of  our  weakness  or 
 our  pride,  we  will  not  restrain  ourselves  to  the  legitimate 
 objects  of  prayer :  we  use  prayer  but  as  a  means  for  the  at- 
 tainment of  that  which  God  every  moment  tells  us  must 
 be  attained  by  other  exertions.  We  are  yet  far  from  that 
 wise  spirit  of  true  religion,  which  humbly  seeks  in  all 
 things  to  direct  itself  according  to  the  law  of  God. 
 
 coup  de  moines  el  de  clercs,  dont  the  Gods.  (Herodotus,  viii.  143.) — 
 Voffice  etait  de  combattre  •par  les  But  the  Black  Prince,  it  will  be 
 prieres  et  les  conseils." — Orderic  said,  prays  only  that  the  good  cause 
 Vital,  trad,  de  Guizot,  vol.  ii,  liv.  may  prevail.  The  moment,  how- 
 iii,  p.  140. — When,  after  vainly  ever,  we  believe  that  the  Deity  in- 
 endeavouring  to  accommodate  the  terferes  to  protect  right, — that  mo- 
 two  parties,  the  Cardinal  de  Peri-  ment  duels,  battles,  trials  by  ordeal, 
 gord  tells  the  Black  Prince  before  &c.  are  legitimate  means  of  assert- 
 ihe  battle  of  Poitiers,  " '  Beau  fils,  ing  the  justice  of  one's  demands, 
 faites  ce  que  vous  pourrez,  il  vous  or  of  proving  one's  innocence, 
 faut  combattre,  ou  je  ne  puis  trou-  i  Bishop  Hall  indeed  says  of  the 
 ver  nuUe  grace  d'accord,  ni  de  paix  Christian,  "  His  prayers  are  suited 
 devers  le  roi  de  France,'  cette  der-  according  to  the  degrees  of  the 
 niere  parole  enfelonni  en  encou-  benefits  sued  for ;  he  therefore  begs 
 ragea  grandement  le  cceur  du  grace  absolutely,  and  temporal  bless- 
 Prince.  Et  repondit,  '  C'est  bien  ings  ivith  limitation." — The  Chris- 
 I'inteution  de  nous  et  des  notres,  et  tian,  §  ix. 
 
 Dieu    vueille    aider   le  droit.'  " —         *  As  in  the  late  war,  when,  on 
 
 Froissart,  Chron.  c.  354. — So  also  an  occasion  of  a  fever  desolating 
 
 the  Athenians  determine  to  oppose  France,  the  British  Parliament  pro- 
 
 thc  Persians,  trusting  to  the  aid  of  hibited  the  exportation  of  quinine. 
 
308  CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 Abraham  gave  tythes.  Of  the  ancients,  the  Greeks 
 generally  seem  to  have  dedicated  a  tenth  of  their  spoils  to 
 Apollo,  though  the  Athenians  dedicated  them  to  Minerva," 
 the  Samians  to  Juno,"  &c.  The  Romans  gave  tythes  to 
 Hercules  and  others  of  the  gods.  The  Carthaginians 
 sent  a  tythe  of  their  Sicilian  spoils  to  Hercules  at  Tyre  ; 
 and  the  Arabians  offered  to  Sabis  a  tenth  of  their  frankin- 
 cense.^ These  people  gave  tythes  to  the  gods  for  their 
 help,*'  Abraham  to  God's  priest  for  his  prayers. 
 
 Verse  24.  "  And  Abram  said,  I  have  lift  up  my  hand 
 unto  the  Lord."  I  have  sworn,  made  a  vow  ;  the  sign  of 
 the  vow,  the  hand  lifted  up,  put  for  the  vow  itself.  We 
 find  another  form  of  oath  in  the  second  verse  of  the 
 twenty-fourth  chapter.  There,  however,  the  oath  is  one 
 which  man  swears  to  man,  the  servant  to  his  master,  the 
 son  to  his  father,  the  subjects  to  their  prince,  the  inferior 
 to  his  superior.  Here  the  oath  is  that  of  an  independent 
 prince,  Avho  swears  by  himself  or  his  God  ;  it  is  the  oath  of 
 a  sovereign,  that  oath  which  the  Elohim  himself  swears.' 
 
 Abraham  throughout  this  little  war  acts  generously  and 
 greatly.  According  to  the  morality  of  his  age  and  neigh- 
 bours, Abraham  was  justified  in  retaining  tliat  property 
 which  he  had  recovered  by  his  valour.*    He  saw  the  booty 
 
 '  Herod,  lib.  iv,  §  cliii.  was  rov  (Ticr)Trrpov  tTravaaTucn^^  or 
 
 ■*  Id.  lib.  V,  §  Ixxvii.  "  the   lifting   up  of  the   sceptre," 
 
 ^  Seidell,  Hist,  of  Tythes,  c.  iii ;  which  was  called  op/cior  (TKy-n-Tpov, 
 
 Feithius,  in  Homer,    p.  H6  ;    and  or  "  the  oath  sceptre,"  and  therefore 
 
 Animadversiones  in  Feith.  p.  24.  doth  Homer  make  Achilles  swear 
 
 *  I  see  in  our  national  cathedral  by  his  sceptre  :  Nat  jxa  ro  h  (tk-jjtt- 
 
 thc  spoila  ojnma  of  our  enemies,  i-pov,  and  calls  it  jutyav  opKor,"  the 
 
 the  various  colours  we  have  taken  great    oath."— Selden,    Titles     of 
 
 from  them.   Are  these  trophies  evi-  Honour,  part  i,  p.  269.  The  Caftre 
 
 deuces  of  our  prowess,  or  of  God's  chiefs,  I  have  been  informed  by  a 
 
 blessings  on    our   arms  ?     If    the  friend,  swear  in  the  same  way,  by 
 
 former,  they  are  no  honour  to  us ;  lifting  up  their  hands. 
 
 if  the  latter,  little  better  than  bias-        "  The  proof  is  that  the  king  of 
 
 phemy.  Sodom  makes  this  offer  as  though 
 
 '  Compare  Exodus  vi.  8.   with  it  were  customary  (see  also  1  Sam. 
 
 Genesis  xlvii.  29,  and  1  Chronicles  xxx.  22),  and  that  Abraham  refuses 
 
 xxix.  24.  Somewhat  similar  to  this  it  as  though  he  had  foreseen  that 
 
 oath  of  Abraham's  was  that  sworn  it  would  have  been  made,  but  at 
 
 by  the  kings  in  the  heroic  times  :  the  same  time  leaves  to  his  allies 
 
 "  The  oath  of  them  that  were  sworn  their  portion.  That  the  booty  must 
 
CHAPTER  XII.  309 
 
 ricli  and  tempting  ;  l)ut  he  felt  that  to  assist  a  friend 
 for  gain  was  no  friendly  assistance ;  and  he  lifted  up  his 
 hand  and  swore,  that  of  that  booty  none  should  pass  into 
 liis  tents.  Abraham  has  not  half  the  virtue  of  one  of 
 Morton's  or  Cumberland's  heroes.  He  is  simple/  great: 
 like  all  great  men,  great  by  impulse,  great  unconsciously — 
 but  most  great  when  he  makes  the  oath ;  for,  when  he  puts 
 forward  that  oath  as  a  reason  for  not  taking  of  the  goods  of 
 Sodom,  he  acts  like  any  common  man  of  his  time,  like 
 any  unlettered  and  superstitious  barbarian  to  whom  the 
 oath  to  do,  the  supposed  promise  to  his  God,  and  not  the 
 morality  and  justice  of  the  deed,  are  sacred.^ 
 
 But  as  the  oath  of  Abraham  induced  him  only  to  a  just 
 and  good  deed,  and  as  we  too  frequently/  look  to  some  parti- 
 cular result,  too  seldom  to  the  principles  and  tendencies  of 
 a  moral  act :  we  shall  briefly  examine  the  nature,  and  use, 
 and  abuse,  of  oaths.  An  oath  is  a  solemn  declaration 
 either  truly  to  perform  or  to  abstain  from  any  act  or  acts, 
 or  truly  to  speak  on  any  given  matter ; — it  refers  then  either 
 to  promises  or  evidence,  and  presupposes  mature  delibera- 
 tion and  a  fixed  purpose.  As  referring  to  evidence,  it  pre- 
 vents the  witness  from  speaking  lightly  and  thoughtlessly, 
 it  wakens  his  conscience,  drives  him  back  into  himself,  and 
 compels  him  carefully  to  examine,  whether  he  speaks  from 
 belief  ov  hioioledge,  and  whether  his  recollection  be  faint 
 
 have  been    very    large,    we    may  de  pain,  et  de  leur  fuire  boire  ce 
 
 Leather  from  Abraham's  objection:  Fetiche  en  temoignage  de  la  verite. 
 
 "  Lest  thou  shouldst  say,   I  have  S'ils  parlent  centre  le  reproche  de 
 
 made    Abraham    rich."      I   have,  leur  coeur,  rien  ne  sera  capable  de 
 
 however,  throughout  followed  our  les  faire  toucher  la  liqueur,  parce- 
 
 English  version.  Luther,  Michaelis,  qu'ils  sont  persuades  que  la  mort 
 
 and  De  Wette,  all  make  the  oath  est  iufaillible  pour  ceux  qui  jurent 
 
 of  Abraham  subsequent  to  the  ofier  faussement :  mais  si  ce  qu'on  leur 
 
 of  Sodom.  demande  est  tel  qu'ils  disent,  ils 
 
 9  Le  Loyer   says  of  the  Guinea  boiront  sans  crainte Un  negre 
 
 negroes  :  "  On  pent  se  reposer  sans  qui  s'engage  par  cette  espece   de 
 
 defiance  sur  le  servient  des  negres  lien,  trouve  plus  de  credit  parmi 
 
 lorsqu'ils  out  jure  par  leur  Fetiches,  scs  compatriotes,   qu'un   Chretien 
 
 et  surtout    lorsqu'ils   Font    avale.  n'en  trouve  parmi  nous  en  oftrant 
 
 Pour  tirer  la  verite  de  leur  bouche,  dejurer  sur  ies  saints Evangiles." — 
 
 il   suffit  de  meler   quelqiie    chose  Histoire  Generale  des  Voyages,  vol. 
 
 dans  I'eau,  d'y  tremper  un  morceau  iii,  p.  438. 
 
310  CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 and  obscure  or  clear  and  decided.  As  referring  to  promises, 
 the  oath  is  ever  rash  and  inconsiderate ;  but  as  I  wish  not 
 to  enter  into  any  of  those  casuistical  questions  which  are 
 as  pitfalls  and  jack-o'-lanthorns  in  the  otherwise  plain  path 
 of  right,  I  will  merely  state  that  the  oath  is  binding  only 
 in  so  far  as  the  promise  is  binding,  i.  e.  possible  of  execu- 
 tion, legitimate,  and  not  opposed  to  other  and  recognised 
 duties.^ 
 
 But  again  an  oath  is  not  merely  a  solemn  declaration, 
 but  a  solemn  declaration  made  to,  or  before,  God,  and 
 supposed  to  be  especially  sanctioned  by  divine  punish- 
 ments.^ Perjury  then,  the  hidden  crime,  the  crime  which 
 the  world  detects  not,  is  of  all  crimes  the  most  sure  of 
 punishment,  and  the  swearer  consequently,  as  in  the  case 
 of  Jephtha,  considers  not  the  lawfulness  or  justice  of  the 
 deed  he  has  promised  to  perform,  but  solely  the  oath  which 
 is  on  his  soul.  And  the  witness  similarly  regards  his 
 evidence  but  as  an  annex  to  his  oath,  and  as  something 
 Avliich,  but  for  his  oath,  he  mio-ht  chano;e  or  colour  as  he 
 
 '  There  is  so  little  to  praise  in  treaties   Jove  himself  will  punish 
 
 Mahonimedanism,  that   I    cannot  (II.  iv.  158),  and  afterwards  (verse 
 
 overlook  the  view  it  has  taken  of  237)  he  tells  the  Greeks  that  they 
 
 oaths.  In  a  note  referring  to  a  pas-  who  break  treaties  will  be    them- 
 
 sage  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  selves  torn  with  vultures  (compare 
 
 chapter  of  the  Koran,  Sale  informs  Jerem.  xxxiv.  20),  and  their  wives 
 
 us,  "that  the  infidels  having  abused  and  children  made  slaves:  "Quam- 
 
 the  dead  body  of  Hamza,  Moham-  obrera   veteres     Graeci    perjurium 
 
 med's    uncle,    by    taking    out  his  Deo    soli  puniendum   reliquerunt, 
 
 bowels,  &c. ;  when  Mohammed  saw  ut  docet   Demosthenes  in   Aristo- 
 
 it,  he  swore  that  if  God  granted  cratem.     Unde  etiam  apud  Cic.  de 
 
 him  success,    he    would    retaliate  Leg.  (lib.  ii,  c.  ix.),    Perjurii  poena 
 
 those  cruelties  on  seventy  of  the  divina  exitium  ;  humana  dedecus." 
 
 Koreish  ;  but  he  was  by  these  words  — Feith.  Antiq.  Homer,  p.  542.  See 
 
 forbidden  to  execute  what  he  had  also  Diodorus' account  of  the  Tem- 
 
 sworn,  and  accordingly  made  void  pie  of  the  Palices,  lib.  xi. — Menu 
 
 his    oath." — Sale's  Koran,  vol.  ii,  similarly    expressly   declares    that 
 
 p.  91.  "  He  whom  the  blazing  fire  burns 
 
 *  Thus  Agamemnon,  when  the  not,  vvhom  the  water  soon  forces  not 
 
 truce  has  been  broken  by  Pandarus,  up,  or  who  meets  with  no  speedy 
 
 comforts  Menelaus  with  the  assur-  misfortune,  must  be  held  veracious 
 
 ance  that  the  blood  of  lambs  and  in  his  testimony  on  oath."  (Chap, 
 
 the  libations  of  wine  have  not  been  viii,  p.  115),  i.  e.  that  he  whom  God 
 
 ]H)ured  out  in  vain,  that  the  broken  does  not  punish  is  not  perjured. 
 
CHAPTER  XII.  311 
 
 pleased  :  lie  respects  oaths  but  despises  truths :  he  will  lie, 
 but  he  will  not  swallow  his  fetisch/ 
 
 Of  the  oath,  the  oath  based  on  superstition,  the  state, 
 ever  indolent,  has  of  course  ever  freely  availed  itself,  so 
 freely  indeed  that  we  might  almost  think  it  had  created  its 
 deities  only  to  serve  its  own  purposes.  The  oath  is  a  state 
 engine,  a  guard  for  that  easy  chair  in  which  the  state  so 
 peacefully  slumbers,  and  a  steel  trap  or  spring  gun  to 
 catch  or  kill  the  consciences  of  the  people.  Oaths  it  scat- 
 ters about  as  though  they  were  blessings.  It  applies  the 
 'promissory  oath,  to  oblige  man  to  that  which  is  not  in  man's 
 power,  to  answer,  not  for  one  particular  act,  but  for  the 
 opinions  and  conduct  of  his  future  life ;  and  the  evidence 
 oath,  forgetting  that  what  is  solemn  must  be  rare  and  must 
 be  solemnly  approached,  it  thrusts  upon  us  on  every  occa- 
 sion :  it  seems  to  lead  its  subjects  on  to  their  own  damna- 
 tion :  it  damns  so  many,  and  these  many  so  often  prosper, 
 that  the  oath  loses  its  terrors  ;  but,  thank  God,  as  the  oath 
 loses  its  terrors,  truth  grows  more  lovely. 
 
 Eichhorn^  asserts  that  this  chapter  appears  like  a  frag- 
 ment in  the  history  of  Abraham.  With  the  fifteenth 
 chapter  it  has  no  connexion  whatever,  and  with  the  twelfth 
 and  thirteenth  none,  save  that  it  narrates  an  event  which 
 happened  after  the  separation  of  Abraham  and  Lot.  Its 
 style  and  manner  moreover  strikingly  distinguish  it  from  all 
 other  parts  of  Genesis.  Here  and  here  only  does  the 
 Deity  bear  the  name  of  El  Eljon  Kone  Schamaim 
 Vaarez  ;  here  and  here  only  is  the  Creator  Kone  Scha- 
 maim Vaarez;  here  and  here  only  is  Abraham,  the 
 Hebrew,  and  here  too  and  here  only  do  we  find  so  many 
 parentheses  explanatory  of  geographical  names  (ver.  2,  3, 
 7,  8,  17).  Lastly  the  expressions  it  puts  into  the  mouths 
 of  its  personages  so  strictly  in  keeping  with  their  different 
 
 ^  Vide  note  ',  p.  309,  supra,  and  and  to  save  others  from  it. — Mi- 
 
 with  this  compare  the  pious  fraud  chelet,Hist.deFrance,vol.ii,p.  141. 
 
 by  which  Rohert  of  France  sought  ''  Einleitung  in  das  alte  Testa- 
 
 to  escape  the  penalty  of  the  oath,  ment,  §  407. 
 
312  CHAPTER  XII. 
 
 characters  betray  a  coteraporary  author.  Thus  the  king  of 
 Salem,  a  foreigner,  does  not  like  a  Hebrew  speak  of  a 
 Jehovah  or  El  Schadai,  or  Elohim,  but  of  an  El 
 Eljon;  and  not  of  a  Bore,  but  of  a  Kone  Schamaim 
 Vaarez.  And  on  the  other  hand,  Abraham  the  Hebrew 
 when  he  swears,  lifts  up  his  hand  to  Jehovah,  whom  his 
 friend  acknowledged  as  El  Eljon  Kone  Schamaim  Vaa- 
 rez. This  strict  attention  to  costume,  together  with  the 
 frequent  explanations  which  the  transcriber  of  this  parti- 
 cular narrative  found  it  necessary  to  add  to  the  geogra- 
 phical names,  induces  Eichhorn  to  regard  this  chapter  as  the 
 production  of  some  one  who  if  he  were  not  a  witness  of, 
 at  least  lived  in  or  near  the  period  of  the  events  which  he 
 records. 
 
 This  chapter,  by  whomsoever  written,  is  an  extraordi- 
 nary one.  It  abounds  in  the  names  of  kings  and  nations ; 
 it  is  this  chapter  which  first  gives  an  account  of  national 
 wars,  and  which  first  speaks  of  alliances  offensive  and 
 defensive  between  different  nations :  it  is  the  chapter 
 which  first  alludes  to  slavery  and  the  office  of  priests,  and 
 the  payment  of  ty thes,  and  the  sanctity  of  oaths^ — and  the 
 only  chapter  in  this  book  which  is  exclusively  occupied 
 with  wars  and  their  results. 
 
 With  this  expedition  of  Abraham,  and  his  refusal  of  the 
 spoil,  we  may  compare  the  expedition  of  David  against 
 the  Amalekites,  &c.  narrated  in  1  Sam.  xxx. 
 
 With  the  tythes  paid  by  Abraham  to  Melchizidik  we 
 may  connect  the  various  laws  respecting  tythes  in  Lev. 
 xxvii ;  Numb,  xviii,  &c. 
 
 ^  It  would  seem  from  a  passage  was  a  lie  we  may  learn  from  the 
 
 in  the  (Edipus  Tyraninis,  v.  645,  opening-  of  the  Philoctetes,  109,  10, 
 
 652  (see  Hermann  ad  h.  1.)  that  it  and    comp.    1325.      Similarly    in 
 
 was  in  Greece  a  crime  to  doubt  or  Israel,  witness    the  falsehoods  of 
 
 disbelieve  the  oath  taker  (see  supra,  Abraham  and  the  oath  of  Jephtha, 
 
 note  ^  p.  309.)     Did  the  same  feel-  and  contrast  the  treachery  of  David 
 
 ing  prevail   in   Israel?    Again  in  to  Achish  with  the  tenacity  of  his 
 
 Greece,  where  the  oath  was  so  sa-  faith  and  of  his  vengeance  towards 
 
 cred  a  thing,  how  small  a  matter  Shimei. 
 
313 
 
 CHAPTER  XIII. 
 
 GENESIS  XV.  1-21. 
 
 Verse  1.  "  After  these  things,"  those  events  mentioned 
 in  the  last  chapter,  and  in  reference  to  them,' — is  it  not  ? 
 notwithstanding  Eichhorn's  assertion,  that  the  Lord  comes 
 to  Abraham  saying  "  Fear  not,  &c." 
 
 Verse  2.  Jacob  made  terms  with  God  as  he  made  them 
 with  liis  brother ;  and  his  descendants,  following  his  ex- 
 ample, clung  ever  to  the  temporal  promises  and  the  crea- 
 ture blessings,  which  were  to  be  the  reward  of  the  faithful. 
 But  Abram,  though  he  occasionally  showed  himself  weak 
 and  temporising,  loved  God,  I  always  thought,  with  a 
 simple  and  honest  love :  his  was  a  religion  of  conviction 
 and  not  of  interest.  I  was  glad  that,  even  in  the  midst  of 
 the  grossest  heathen  ignorance,  the  great  God  w^as  wor- 
 shipped and  contemplated  in  his  purity  and  excellence. 
 Nevertheless  when  I  began  to  reflect  on  this  "  What  wilt 
 thou  give  me  ?"  my  heart  sank  within  me :  I  felt  as  though 
 Abraham's  faith  and  service  also  were  but  commercial  spe- 
 
 1  In  reference  to  the  preceding  several  traditions  he  made  use  of  by 
 chapter,  Michaehs  has  translated  the  bond  of  time  at  least ;  but  that 
 "  I  will  be  thy  shield :"  "  Ich  will  between  this  chapter  and  the  fif- 
 freygebig  seyn  gegen  dich:"  "I  will  teenth  there  was  in  reality  no  con- 
 be  bountiful  towards  thee."  Luther  nexion.  It  seems  to  me,  however, 
 instead  of"  after  these  things,"  has  that  this  chapter  would  be  almost 
 "  Nach  diesen  Geschichten-."  "after  unintelligible  without  the  one  that 
 this  event."  Eichhorn  might  indeed  precedes  it:  that  one  accounts  for  the 
 still  insist  that  the  compiler  was  of  subsequent  promise  ratified  by  a 
 course  obliged  to  knit  together  the  covenant. 
 
 2  S 
 
314  CHAPTER    XIII. 
 
 culations.  Now  however, — taking  to  my  aid  the  rationalist 
 method  of  interpretation,  and  using  it  not  to  interpret  this 
 verse  as  it  was  interpreted  by  them  for  whom  it  was  writ- 
 ten, but  merely  to  explain  this  chapter,  so  that  it  may 
 harmonise  with  whatever  else  we  know  of  the  character  of 
 Abraham, — I  view  the  matter  in  another  light. 
 
 Abraham  believing  in  one  God  had  quitted  his  father's 
 house,  fallen  into  idolatry.  Separated  from  his  friend  and 
 brother,  he  was,  though  rich  in  cattle  and  in  servants  and 
 in  silver  and  in  gold,  alone  in  the  world.  He  had  no  son 
 to  whom  to  teach  his  doctrine,  it  must  perish  with  him. 
 And  yet  in  the  days  of  his  manhood,  he  had  talked  with 
 God :  he  had  rejoiced  in  visions  of  magnificent  promise : 
 he  had  been  inspired  with  the  hope  that  in  him  all  families 
 of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  Now  then  that  he  has 
 restored  his  brother  to  liberty,  and  saved  the  daughters 
 and  wives  of  his  allies  from  pollution  and  their  sons  from 
 slavery  :  now  that  he  has  made  a  nation  happy,  and  refused 
 the  gifts  their  gratitude  would  have  heaped  upon  him : 
 and  now  that  in  the  solitude  of  his  tent  he  walks  meditat- 
 ing, the  consciousness  of  having  acted  well  and  justly  cheers 
 him ;  his  heart  is  light ;  the  still  small  voice,  and  it  is  to 
 him  as  the  voice  of  God,  whispers,  "  Fear  not  Abraham,  I 
 am  thy  shield  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward."  And  what 
 more  could  he  desire  ? — Soon  however  other  and  gloomy 
 thoughts  gather  round  him. — He  has  wealth  and  power, 
 and  he  bears  an  honoured  name,  but  what  avails  it  ?  He 
 stands  already  "  on  the  silent  solemn  shore  of  death's  vast 
 ocean,"  and  one  born  in  his  house  is  his  heir — the  nothing- 
 ness of  all  things  temporal  overwhelms  him.  And  now  he 
 goes  forth  into  the  open  heaven,  and  the  stars  and  their 
 beauty  fill  his  soul,  and  his  God  is  their  Creator,  and  before 
 Him  he  bows  himself,  and  gradually  the  hopes  and  assur- 
 ances of  other  days  warm  his  heart,  and  he  rises  with  the 
 grateful  consciousness  that  God  will  realise  tlie  wishes  of 
 His  servant ;  and  God  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness. 
 
 But  Abraham  remembers  that  with  the  promise  of  pos- 
 terity is  associated  tlie  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan — 
 and  the  internal  voice  l>ids  hiin  therefore  ask  of  the  Lord 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  315 
 
 a  sign  wherel)y  he  shall  know  "  that  he  shall  inherit  it." 
 And  he  takes  unto  him  a  heifer  and  a  she  goat,  and  lays 
 them  one  upon  the  other  and  watches  them ;  but  as 
 evening  comes  on,  a  deep  sleep  falls  upon  him,  and  the 
 horror  of  great  darkness,  and  the  prophetic  vision  again 
 passes  before  him,  and  the  fate  of  his  posterity  is  then 
 clearly  made  known.  And  when  he  wakes,  lo  !  the  sacri- 
 fice he  had  prepared  was  consumed. 
 
 But  in  order  to  magnify  Abraham,  it  is  not  for  us  to 
 slur  over  the  written  word,  whose  every  letter  is  of  such 
 deep  import,  and  whose  every  syllable  so  rules  the  moral 
 fate  of  thousands.  We  cannot  alter  its  sentences  at  will, 
 nor  accommodate  them  to  our  opinions.  We  must  look 
 diligently  for  its  legitimate  meaning,  which,  however  ob- 
 scured by  the  fictions  of  commentaries,  will  still  show  forth 
 in  many  a  practical  consequence ;  we  shall  thus  judge  the 
 book  by  its  own  intrinsic  worth,  and  learn  to  hold  it  at  its 
 proper  value.  We  will  therefore  examine  this  chapter  in 
 detail. 
 
 "  Fear  not  Abram,  I  am  thy  shield  and  thy  exceeding 
 great  reward."  For  me,  there  breathes  more  of  the  spirit 
 of  true  religion  in  these  few  and  simple  words,  than  in  all 
 Moses'  solemn  hymn  of  Creation,  or  Job's  magnificent  ex- 
 altations of  the  Elohim's  power.  The  religious  and  the 
 irreligious  man  are  subject  to  the  same  hazards;  in  the 
 great  lottery  of  life  they  play  with  the  same  chances ;  and 
 as  the  world's  great  prizes  are  equally  within  the  reach 
 of  both,  so  neither  is  exempt  from  the  ills  and  disap- 
 pointments, the  pains  and  penalties  of  mortality.  Both, 
 then,  equally  enjoy  success;  but  in  sickness,  under  mis- 
 fortune, the  one  is  oppressed  by  the  failure  of  his  hopes 
 and  the  loss  of  his  happiness,  while  the  other  clings  the 
 more  earnestly  to  his  God  whom  he  finds  to  be  indeed  his 
 reward.  Yes ;  God  is  thy  reward — and  note  ;  riches  are 
 trodden  under  foot,  unnoticed  and  unseen  ;  earthly  glory 
 stalks  away  an  unsubstantial  vision  ;  health  itself  becomes 
 a  common  field-flower,  and  the  very  heart's  happiest  afiec- 
 
316  CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 tions  pale  before  the  brightness  of  the  beatific  reality. 
 God  is  thy  reward  ;  and  the  worn  monk  treads  his  cloisters 
 with  a  still  thoughtful  but  a  happier  step.  God  is  thy 
 reward ;  and  his  denuded  cell  wears  now  to  the  hermit's 
 eye  a  beauty  before  which  the  gorgeousness  of  palaces  is 
 but  a  tinselled  poverty.  God  is  thy  reward;  and  the 
 needy  curate  travels  from  cottage  to  cottage  and  pours 
 comfort  and  blessings  into  many  a  wounded  heart,  and  for- 
 gets the  scanty  meal,  the  hard-working  wife,  the  sickly 
 children,  and  the  cheerless  home  which  await  him.  He  is 
 happier  than  a  mitred  prelate.  God  is  thy  reward ;  and 
 the  simple  peasant  who  heartily  and  honestly  performs  his 
 simple  duties,  cramped  and  narrowed  though  they  be  by 
 his  ignorance  and  his  prejudices,  even  he  is  conscious  of  a 
 joy  which  he  knows  well  that  the  earth  cannot  give.  God 
 is  thy  reward ;  and  that  poor  student,"  who  rejected  wealth 
 and  honour  as  incompatible  with  the  great  objects  which  he 
 had  set  up  for  himself,  who  literally  gave  up  all  for  truth 
 and  found  error,  who  built  up  a  system  which  had  room 
 only  for  an  overwhelming  necessity,  who  lived  unfriended 
 and  unloved,  whose  whole  life  was  one  martyrdom, — was 
 not  God  his  reward?  Oh!  assuredly;  for  He  ever  has 
 been,  and  ever  will  be  the  reward  even  of  those  who  know 
 Him  not  or  who  reject  Him;  of  the  deluded  but  honest 
 heathen,  or,  if  such  an  one  exist,  of  the  deluded  but  honest 
 Atheist.' 
 
 "  I  am  thy  exceeding  great  reward."  These  words  con- 
 tain the  whole  mystery  and  beauty  of  religion.  Yet  it 
 may  be  doubted  whether  they  faithfully  render  the  He- 
 brew ;  Michaelis,  and  a  greater  authority  than  he,  De 
 Wette,  have  given  the  passage  another  sense.  The  first 
 translates  the  words  thus  :  "  Ich  will  freygebig  gegen  dich 
 seyn,  und  dcinen  Lohn  sehr  gross  raachen," — "  I  will  be 
 bountiful  towards  thee,  and  make  tliy  reward  very  great," 
 De  Wette  :   "  Ich  bin  dein  Schild ;  grossen  Lohn  sollst  du 
 
 *  I  have  before  nie  the  life  and  ^  The  existence  of  the  Atheist  I 
 character  of  Spinoza.  doubt;  not  his  honesty,  if  he  do 
 
 exist. 
 
CHAPTER  xirr. 
 
 317 
 
 haben !"  i.  e.  "  I  am  thy  shield ;  gi'eat  shall  be  thy  rewai'd !" 
 Both  these  translations  are,  it  must  be  owned,  more  in 
 harmony  with  Abraham's  answer  than  our's.  They  may 
 therefore  be  correct  and  literal :  but  what  then  ?  is  it  less 
 true  that  God  is  the  reward  of  all  who  with  heart  and  soul 
 serve  Him  ?  Not,  though  every  verse  of  this  book  were  to 
 deny  it. 
 
 "  What  wilt  thou  give  me  ?"  Uncivilized,  or  half- 
 civilized  man  is  in  his  religion  a  selfish  utilitarian  of  the 
 lowest  order.  His  gods  are  there  to  satisfy  his  wants,*  to 
 realize  his  hopes,  or  to  quiet  his  fears,  or  to  avert  misfor- 
 tune. Is  he  in  sickness  ?  a  god  will  give  him^  health.  Is 
 he  a-hungered  ?  a  god  will  procure  him^  food.  Is  he  in 
 danger  ?  a  god  will  be  his    protector.     With  such  views. 
 
 "*  "  Si  les  Kanischatdales  ne 
 donnent  rien  a  leur  dieux,  c'est 
 qu'ils  en  attendeni  peu  de  choses. 
 
 Ces  peuples  ne  peuvent  croire 
 
 qu'un  Dieu  puisse  leur  faire  du 
 bien." — Histoire  Generale  des Vo- 
 yages, vol.  xix,p.  299.  "  Les  In- 
 dians ont  pour  principe  invariable 
 qu'ilfaut  honorer  tout  etre,  anime 
 ou  non,  qui  a  le  pouvoir  de  nous 
 faire  du  lual.  '  Mon  Dieu!'  me  dit 
 un  Indien  de  quelque  considera- 
 tion, '  c'est  le  chef  des  liommes  qui 
 cultivent  mesterres;  comnie  ils  tra- 
 vaillent  sous  ses  ordres,  il  pent  en 
 usaut  de  son  ascendant  me  faire 
 beaucoup  de  bien  ou  de  mal." — 
 Dubois,  Indes,  vol.  ii,  p.  297.  Vide 
 also  Diod.  Sic.  account  of  the  Tro- 
 glodyti,  who  give  their  cattle  names 
 of  endearment  which  they  refuse  to 
 their  parents. — Lib.  iii,  §  xvii. 
 
 *  So  in  Egypt  Isis  was  the  uni- 
 versal healer ;  she  gave  sight  to  the 
 blind  and  new  limbs  to  the  maimed. 
 (Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i,  §  xiv.)  So  Naa- 
 man  the  Syrian  applies  to  Elisha 
 the  prophet  (2  Kings  v.),  and  so  of 
 the  Gold  Coast  negroes  we  are  told : 
 "  Leurs  docteurs  en  medecine  sont 
 en  meme  terns  leurs  pretres,  et  ces 
 imposteurs  n'ont  pas  dc   peine  a 
 
 persuader  aux  malades  que  pourse 
 retablir  ils  doivent  offrir  quelque 
 present  aux  Fetiches." — Histoire 
 Generale  des  Voyages,  vol.iv,p.l45. 
 In  a  more  advanced  state,  to  the 
 assistance  of  the  gods  called  down 
 by  a  charm  men  add  medicines; 
 thus  (Odyssey  xix,  457)  Ulysses 
 binds  the  wound  with  all  art,  and 
 "  with  a  charme  staide  stright  the 
 blood." 
 
 ^  "  Chaque  jour  les  negres  de 
 Guinee,  levant  les  yeux  aux  ciel, 
 font  cette  priere :  '  Mon  Dieu,  don- 
 nez-moi  aujourdhui  du  riz  et  des 
 ignames  ;  donnez-moi  de  I'or  et  de 
 I'aigris;  donnez-moi  des  esclaves  et 
 des  richesses  ;  donnez-moi  la  sante, 
 et  accordez-moi  d'etre  prompt  et 
 actif.' " — Hist.  Generale  des  Voy- 
 ages, vol.  iii,  p.  436. 
 
 ''  Of  the  Samojedes  it  is  reported 
 that  they  neglect  and  are  indifferent 
 to  all  the  customary  ceremonies  of 
 religion  :  "  Le  ministere  de  leurs 
 pretres  se  borne  a  leur  donner  des 
 avis  et  des  idoles  de  leur  fagon, 
 lorsqu'il  arrive  qu'ils  sont  plus  mal- 
 heureux  que  de  coutume  dans  leur 
 chasses,  ou  r/u'il  leur  parvient 
 quelque  maladie.''^ — Histoire  Gene- 
 rale des  Voyages,  vol.  xviii,  p.  509. 
 
318  CHAPTER    XIII. 
 
 he  can  never  inqnire,  v^Jio  is  the  God  he  prays  to  ;  only, 
 tohat  God  will  most  probably  answer  his  prayers.  Hence 
 it  is,  that  "  unknown  gods'"  are  worshipped,  and  that  Ty- 
 phon  and  Moloch*  have  their  altars  ;  that  the  very  furies 
 are  honoured  ;  that  blights  and  mildews  receive  oblation  ;1 
 and  that  even  vices  are  raised  to  deities.*  Hence,  too,  it 
 is  that  several  races  of  men,  while  they  acknowledge,  ne- 
 glect, the  one  great  and  good  God ; — some^  because  He  is, 
 they  argue,  so  good,  that  of  His  own  accord  and  unasked 
 He  will  do  them  all  the  good  in  His  powder ;  others  because 
 they  suppose  that  He  has  altogether  retired  from  the 
 government  of  the  world,  and  given  it  over  to  a  number  of 
 subordinate  beings,  who  appear  as  gods,  angels,  genii  ;■* — the 
 former  consequently  worship  in  the  hope  that  they  may 
 conciliate  the  evil  spirits  who  make  it  their  business  to 
 thwart  the  plans  of  the  Deity,  and  to  injure  and  torment 
 mankind ;  Avhile  the  latter,  like  true  courtiers,  pay  all  due 
 reverence  and  tribute  to  God's  lieutenants,  the  flexible 
 dispensers,  as  they  believe,  of  all  earthly  good  and  evil. 
 
 ^  Acts,  xvii.  auciine  creature.     Par  cette  raison 
 
 ^  TV(pii)vtia.  —  Creuzer,   Symho-  raeme  ils  le  negligent ;  ils  croient 
 
 lik,  B  ii,  §  viii.      For  "  Moloch,"  que  I'etre  bon  par  essence  doit  ne- 
 
 vide    art.   Carthago,  by  Gesenius,  cessairement    faire   du  bien,   sans 
 
 Ersch  und  Gruber's  Encyclop.  qu'on  soit  oblige  dele luidemander, 
 
 '  Varro,  De  Re  Rust.  lib.  i,  when  ni  qu'on  lui  en  ait  grande  obliga- 
 
 he  invokes  tbe  rustic  deities'  names,  tion.     Ainsi  toute  leur  devotion  se 
 
 "  Quarto  Robigura  et  Floram,  qui-  tourne    vers    I'etre    malfaisant." — 
 
 bus  propitiis,   neque    rubigo   tru-  Histoire    Generale    des    Voyages, 
 
 menta    atque     arbores    corrumpit  vol.    xviii,   p.   393,   ed.   Par.      So 
 
 neque  non  tempestive  florent.    Ita-  also  tbe  Samojedes,  Id.  p.  508  ;  so 
 
 que  publicae  robigo  feriEE  robigolia;  also  the  North  American   Indians, 
 
 florae  ludi  floralia  instituti."  Sitten  d.  Wilden,  vol.  iii,  p.  80,  81. 
 
 *  Among  the  Mexicans:    "  liCs  ^  "  I^es    negres    d'Issini  recon- 
 
 vices  avoient  leurs  divinites  comme  noissent  un  Dieu  Createur  detoutes 
 
 les  vertus ;  le  courage  et  la  pol-  choses,    et     particulierement    des 
 
 tronnerie,  I'avarice  et  la  lib^ralit^,  Fetiches,  qu'il  envoye  sur  la  terre 
 
 etoient  honores  sous  des  bizarres  pour rendre service aucjenre  humain. 
 
 figures." — From  Herrera ;  Histoire  Ils  ont  appris  par  une  ancienne  tra- 
 
 Generale  des  Voyages,  vol.  xviii,  p.  dition  qu'ils  sont  rcdcvables   aux 
 
 597,  cd.  Holl.  So  also  the  Romans  Fetiches  de  tons  les  biens  de  la  vie, 
 
 and  Greeks.     Vide  Cudworth.  Int.  et  que  ces  etres  ont  aussi  le  pouvoir 
 
 Sys.  lib.  i,  §iv.  de  leur  causer  toutessortesdernaux. 
 
 '  "  L'idee  que  ces  idolatres  (Tar-  Dieu  a  donnS  tout  son  pouvoir  aux 
 
 tares  de  Siberic)  ont  de  Dieu  c'est  Fetiches,  et  ne  s'en  est  pas  reservi^ 
 
 qu'il  ne  sauroit  faire  que  du  bien,  Histoire  Generale  des  Voyages,  vol. 
 
 et  qu'il  ne  fait  jamais  du   mal   a  iii,  ji.  loO. 
 
CHAPTER    XIII. 
 
 319 
 
 This  self-seeking  spirit,  in  whatever  creed  it  may  be 
 found,  to  whatever  deity  it  may  address  itself,  is  the  very 
 root  and  heart  of  all  heathenism.  I  cannot  distinguish 
 between  the  devotion  of  Samovatsa^  and  of  Croesus,®  who, 
 for  the  same  object,  the  enlargement  of  their  empire,  both 
 sought — though  in  different  way  s  and  certainly  with  different 
 results — to  gain  the  favour  of  their  respective  gods.  I  must 
 avow  also,  that  the  prayer  of  Hezekiah'  when  told  that 
 he  must  die,  to  my  mind  evidences  the  same  views  of  God 
 and  of  religion  as  the  reproach  of  the  Egyptian  Myce- 
 rinus,^  on  being  informed  that  the  close  of  his  life  was  at 
 hand.  I  cannot  reverence  the  piety  of  David,  who,  having 
 treacherously  procured  the  death  of  his  servant,  fasts,  and 
 in  sackcloth  and  ashes  beseeches  the  Lord  that  the  punish- 
 ment of  his  crime  may  be  averted  f  and  then  ridicule  the 
 superstition,  or  shudder  at  the  blasphemy  of  him,^  who, 
 
 *  "  Samovatsa  was  a  warlike  and 
 amhitious  liut  a  wise  and  devout 
 prince,  and  he  performed  austere 
 acts  of  humiliation  to  Vishnu,  with 
 a  desire  of  enlarging  his  empire,  and 
 the  gods  granted  his  boon." — Wil- 
 ford  on  theNile,  Asiatic  Researches, 
 vol.  iii,  p.  437. 
 
 *  See,  the  magnificent  presents  of 
 Croesus  to  Delphi  (Herod,  lib.  i,  § 
 51,  52),  and  after  his  defeat  by 
 Cyrus  the  account  of  the  embassy 
 which  he  sent  with  his  fetters  to  the 
 same  temple,  inquiring  whether  it 
 was  the  custom  of  the  Grecian  gods 
 to  be  ungrateful  —Id.  ib.  §  90. 
 
 '  2  Kings  XX.  30. 
 
 "  Mycerinus  was  in  Egypt  what 
 Hezekiah  was  in  Judea— a  great 
 religions  restorer.  A  message  is 
 however  sent  him  from  Butos,  that 
 he  has  but  twelve  years  to  live,  on 
 which  he  reproachfully  reminds  the 
 god  of  his  religious  services,  &c. — 
 Herod,  lib:  ii,§  cxxxiii. 
 
 ^  2  Sam.  xii.  14  ;  and  compare 
 with  it  verse  16. 
 
 '  Louis  XI.  The  story  is  thus 
 related  by  Brantome  :  "  Entre  plu- 
 
 sieurs  bon  tours  et  dissimulations, 
 feintes  finesses  et  galanteries,  que 
 fit  ce  bon  roy  en  son  tems,  fut 
 celuy,  lorsque  par  gentille  Industrie 
 il  fit  mourir  son  frere,  le  Due  de 
 Guyenne,  quand  il  y  pensoit  le 
 moins,  et  luy  faisoit  le  plus  beau 
 semblant  de  I'aimer,  luy  vivant,  et 
 le  regrettant  apres  sa  morte  ;  si  bien 
 que  personne  s'en  apergut  qu'il  eiit 
 faitfaire  le  coup  sinon  par  le  moyen 
 
 de  son  fol Estant  done  un  jour 
 
 en  ses  bonnes  prieres  et  oraisons  a 
 Clery,  devant  Notre  Dame  qu'il  ap- 
 peloit  sa  bonne  patrone,  au  grand 
 autel,  et  u'ayant  personne  aupres 
 de  luy,  sinon  ce  fol,  qui  en  estoit 
 un  peu  eloigne...il  I'entendit  comma 
 il  disoit :  '  Ah  !  ma  bonne  Dame, 
 ma  petite  maitresse,  ma  grande 
 amie,  en  qui  j'ay  toujours  eu  mon 
 reconfort!  je  te  prie  de  supplier 
 Dieu  qu'il  me  pardonne  la  mort  de 
 mon  frere,  que  j'ai  fait  empoisonner 
 par  ce  mechant  abbe  de  St.  Jean. 
 Je  m'en  confesse  a  toi  comme  a 
 ma  bonne  patrone  et  maitresse; 
 mais  aussi  qu'eusse-je  su  faire  ?  II 
 ne  me  faisoit  que    troubler   mon 
 
320 
 
 CHAPTER    XHI. 
 
 having  poisoned  liis  brother,  was  heard  to  ask,  of  "his 
 Lady  of  Clery,  his  best  friend,  his  comfort,  his  patroness, 
 that  she  should  procure  his  pardon,  and  overlook  his  crime." 
 In  my  eyes,  tlie  deluded  Chinese  who,  to  obtain  the  bless- 
 ings of  Fo,  purchased  a  nail  from  the  Bonze's  chair,  =*  showed 
 as  pure  a  faith  as  that  neoj)hyte,  who  to  make  God  his 
 debtor  brought  in  a  time  of  scarcity  his  little  all  as  a 
 contribution  to  the  Church,  in  the  certain  hope  that  it 
 would  be  returned  to  him  a  hundredfold.'  I  feel  that  it  is 
 not  the  name  we  give  our  God,  but  the  heart  Avith  which 
 we  approach  Him  ;  and  not  the  rites  or  ceremonies,  but  the 
 motives,  of  worship,  which  constitute  the  character  of  our 
 religion.  The  heathen  man  may  rejoice  in  a  Christian,  as 
 the  Christian  man  may  be  cursed  with  a  Heathen,  spirit. 
 
 What  shall  we  say  then  ?  that  it  is  a  crime  to  pray  for 
 temporal  blessings  ?  that  we  must  look  on  the  objects  of 
 our  dearest  affections,  as  they  struggle  against  pain  or 
 death,  and  never  once  raise  up  our  hands  or  our  voice  to 
 
 royaume;  fays-moi  done  pardonner, 
 ma  bonne  Dame,  el  je  say  ce  que 
 je  te  donneray." — Digression  sur 
 Louis  XI. 
 
 ^  "  Je  renconlrai  un  jour,  dit  le 
 P.  le  Comte,  au  milieu  d'un  vil- 
 lage un  jeune  Bonze  debonnaire, 
 doux,  et  tout  propre  a  demander 
 I'aumone  et  a  I'obtenir.  II  etoit 
 dc])uutdans  une  chaise  bien  fermee 
 ct  lierissee  eu  dedans  de  longues 
 pointes  de  oloux...de  maniere  qu'il 
 nelui  etoit  pas  permisde  s'appuyer 
 sans  seblesser;  deux  honimes  gagez 
 le  portoient  fort  lentement  dans  les 
 maisons,  oil  il  prioit  les  gens  d'avoir 
 compassion  de  lui.  '  Je  me  suis,' 
 disoit-il,'  enfernie  dans  cette  chaise, 
 pour  le  bien  de  vos  ames,  resolu 
 de  n'en  sortir  jamais  jusqu'a  ce  que 
 Ton  ait  achete  tons  ces  cloux  (il  y 
 en  avoit  plus  de  deux  mille),chaque 
 clou  vaut  dix  sols ;  mais  il  n'y  en 
 a  aucun  qui  ne  soil  une  source  de 
 bhiMlctions  dans  vos  maisons.  8i 
 vous  achetez,  vous  pratiquerez  un 
 acte  de  vcrtu  heroique,  et  ce  sera 
 
 un  aumone  que  vous  donnerez, 
 non  aux  Bonzes,  a  qui  vous  pouvez 
 d'ailleursfaire  vos  charites,  mais  au 
 Dieu  Fo,  a  Vhonneur  duquel  nous 
 halissons  un  temple^  "  &c. — Du 
 Halde,  Chine,  vol.  iii,  p.  28. 
 
 ^  "  Dans  un  tems  oil  Ton  etoit 
 menace  d'une  famine  generale,  un 
 
 bon  neophyte mitaux  pieds  du 
 
 pere  Bouchet  cinq  fanons;  le  pere 
 refusa  d'abord  son  offrande,  ap- 
 portant  pour  raison  que  durant  la 
 cherte  il  etoit  difficile  qu'il  ne  fut 
 danslebesoin.  'Ilestvrai,monpere,' 
 repondit  ce  fervent  neophyte,  '  que 
 ces  cinq  fanons  font  toutes  mes 
 richesses,  et  que  la  disette  qui  aug- 
 mente  tons  les  jours  me  reduit  a  la 
 derniere  extremity ;  mais  c^est  pour 
 cela  mime  que  jefais  present  ct  I'e- 
 glise  du  peu  que  je  possede ;  Dieu 
 devient  mon  debiteur;  ne  me  payera- 
 t-il  pas  au  centuple  P '  " — Lettres 
 Edifiantes,  xi.  p.  89.  This  is  also 
 pure  Mahoinmedanism.  A  frequent 
 exhortation  of  the  Koran  is, "  Lend 
 to  God  on  good  usury." 
 
CHAPTER    XIII.  321 
 
 God,  that  he  may  pity  us  and  save  them  ?  Morally,  that 
 is  no  crime  which  is  not  the  result  of  criminal  intention. 
 The  question  then  is,  not  whether  such  prayers  are  a  crime, 
 nay,  not  even  whether  such  prayers  are  consistent  with 
 our  ideas  of  the  Deity,  hut  whether  such  prayers  are  ever 
 answered, — and  who  shall  assert  that  they  are  not  ?  The 
 temples  of  Greece  and  Rome  were  graced  with  many  a 
 votive  tablet  which  gratitude  had  laid  at  the  feet  of  the 
 preserving  God.  And  in  Catholic  countries  we  have  but 
 to  approach  the  shrine  of  any  favourite  saint,  to  see  there 
 pictures  and  figures  commemorating  diseases  which  the 
 saint  has  cured,  or  dangers  from  which  he  has  preserved 
 his  votary.  And  among  Protestants  I  have  met  men  of 
 deep  religious  feelings  and  of  no  vulgar  intellect,  who 
 cite  their  own  experience  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer  in  tem- 
 poral matters.     We  must  therefore  observe, 
 
 I.  That  those  events  which  are  attributed  to  divine 
 interposition,  the  consequence  of  prayer,  might  possibly, 
 the  most  bigoted  must  allow,  have  happened  under  any 
 circumstances  whatever, — might  in  fact  have  taken  place, 
 had  no  prayer  ever  been  offered. 
 
 II.  That  prayers  for  divine  interposition  and  assistance, 
 however  eai-nestly  made,  and  with  however  firm  a  faith, 
 are  not  in  general  granted, — in  other  words,  the  hazards 
 and  accidents  of  life  may  very  fairly  account  for  the  grant 
 of  these  prayers,  whenever  they  are  granted. 
 
 III.  That  cases  of  divine  interposition  are  always  more 
 striking  and  more  numerous,  as  the  nation  is  more  super- 
 stitious and  ignorant." 
 
 IV.  That  such  cases  may  be  found  in  every  creed  ;  *  and 
 
 ■*  It  was  but  lately  that  I  took  up  He  was  a  man,  however,  of  a  higher 
 
 Stilling's  "  Lehrjahren"  and  found  order,  of  an  honest,  simple,  and  not 
 
 it  filled  with    examples  of  God's  uncultivated  mind, 
 
 especial     providence     shown     in  *  Vide    Jeremiah    xliv.   17,  18. 
 
 worldly  matters  ;  e.g.  do  Stillino's  "  All  the  people  answered  Jeremiah 
 
 creditors  press  him  for  money,  he     sayings We  will  not  hearken 
 
 prays  earnestly  and  money  is  found,     unto  thee but  v/ill  burn  incense 
 
 His  life,  in  so  far  as  these  matters  unto  the  queen  of  Heaven,  and  pour 
 
 are  concerned,  is  a  pendent  to  Hun-  out  drink  offerinp^s  unto  her,  as  we 
 
 tington's,  the  S.S.  or  Sinner  Saved,  have  done.... /"or  then  had  weflentij 
 
 2t 
 
322 
 
 CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 are  ever  quoted  by  the  priests  and  votaries  of  any  creed  in 
 evidence  of  the  truth  and  efficacy  of  their  belief '^ 
 
 The  evil  effects  of  this  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  in 
 temporal  matters  are, 
 
 I.  That  it  induces  too  high  an  estimation  of  temporal 
 blessino-s ;  and,  so  long  as  men  possess  these  blessings,  a 
 moral  and  religious  slothfulness.  Hence  it  is  that  we  find 
 rich  and  poimrful  nations  negligent  of  the  rites  and  ser- 
 vices of  their  creed,  though  contented  with  and  unwilling 
 to  change  their  form  of  religion :  ^  poor  and  unliappy,  on 
 the  other  hand,  diligent  in  Avorship,  but  ever  ready  to 
 swear  fealty  to  any  new  God.s 
 
 of  victuals  and  were  ivell  and  saio  no 
 evil ;  but  since  we  left  off  to  burn 
 incense  to  the  queen  of  Heaven  and 
 to  four  out  drink  offerings  to  her, 
 we  have  xvantedall  things,  and  have 
 been  consumed  by  the  sword  and  by 
 famine,"  &c.  The  queen  of  Heaven 
 gave  because  she  was  pleased,  gra- 
 tified with  the  adoration  she  re- 
 ceived ;  and  she  withheld  her  gifts 
 because  that  adoration  ceased. 
 
 *  Of  these  reasons  I  must  avow 
 that  only  the  two  first  weigh  with 
 me ;  the  two  last  I  add  because 
 they  only  will  probably  weigh  with 
 others.  *For  if  it  be  in  the  great 
 scheme  of  Providence  that  prayer 
 should  be  effectual,  I  believe  it  will 
 be  effectual  in  one  creed  as  well  as 
 another. 
 
 ^  Vide  p.  128,  supra.  See  also 
 what  Pallas  relates  of  some  Tartar 
 tribes  :  "  Weil  sie  meist  alle  reich 
 an  Vieh  sind  so  haben  sie  sich  noch 
 immer  wieder  zum  Ackerbau,  noch 
 zum  Chrifitenhum  entschliessen 
 wollen." — Reise  durch  d.  Russis. 
 Reich,  vol.  iii,  p.  400.  The  same 
 reason  is  also  given  for  the  Boltiren 
 remaining  heathens  (lb.  p.  355) ; 
 see  also  note  supra  from  Jeremiah, 
 and  Yolney's  account  of  the  indif- 
 ference of  the  Arabs  in  matters  of 
 religion,  Travels  in  Syria,  c.  xxiii. 
 ^  P.  128,  supra;  and  see  2  Chron. 
 XXV,   28  —  the  reason  why    Ahaz 
 
 sacrifices  to  the  gods  of  Damascus; 
 also  the  account  of  the  Ostiac  pe- 
 nates  in  Histoire  Generale  des  Voy- 
 ages, vol.  xviii,  p.  521  :  "  Lorsque 
 ces  idoles  ne  paroissent  pas  prendre 
 assez  d'interet  a  leurs  petites  for- 
 tunes, ils  les  depouillent,  les  mal- 
 traitent,  et  quelque  fois  meme  les 
 
 jettent  an  feu et  fabriquent 
 
 d'autres.  Mais  lorsqu'ils  pros- 
 perent,  lorsqu'ils  croient  avoir  a  se 
 louer  de  la  protection  de  leurs 
 dieux,  11  n'y  a  point  d'honneurs 
 dont  ils  ne  les  comblent.  Ils  les 
 caressent  tendrement,  ils  les 
 couvrent  des  fourures  les  plus  pre- 
 cieuses,  ils  les  placent  a  Tendroit  le 
 plus  honorable  de  leur  cabane,  ils 
 leur  offrent  en  sacrifice  des  ani- 
 maux,  des  poissons,  et  les  bar- 
 bouillent  de  leur  graisse."  So  (Bry- 
 done  ?)  relates  of  some  Sicilian  ma- 
 riners in  a  storm,  that  after  having 
 vainly  besought  their  saint  to  allay 
 the  violence  of  the  wind,  they 
 finished  by  ill-treating  and  throwing 
 his  image  into  the  sea.  So  also 
 the  Neapolitans,  if  the  blood  of  San 
 Januarius  refuses  to  flow,  after  they 
 are  wearied  of  prayers,  try  the  effi- 
 cacy of  abuse  and  curses ;  and  in 
 Brittany,  according  to  Michelet: 
 "  Le  saint  qui  n'exauee  pas  les 
 prieres  risque  d'etre  vigoxireusement 
 fouetti.'' — Histoire  de  France,  vol. 
 ii,  p.  19. 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  323 
 
 II.  That  it  diverts  the  mind  from  the  legitimate  objects 
 of  prayer.  The  world  is,  even  in  the  world,  too  much 
 with  us :  let  us  if  possible  shut  it  out  from  our  closets. 
 There  at  least  let  us  examine  ourselves  and  forget  our  for- 
 tunes ;  tliere  let  us  meditate  on  the  divine  perfections  and 
 the  great  and  just  laws  of  Providence  ;  and  tliere  let  us  study 
 diligently  our  moral  life  and  measure  it  by  the  highest 
 excellence ;  and  then  each  one  of  our  deficiencies  will  be, 
 not  merely  acknowledged,  but  painfully  felt ;  against  them 
 we  will  struggle  and  most  earnestly  pray ;  and  soon  sin 
 and  crime  are  odious  and  abominable  in  our  eyes.  With 
 a  high  and  pure  ideal  too  ever  before  us,  great  thoughts 
 become  familiar  to  us, — they  are  the  forerunners  of  great 
 deeds, — our  natiu-e  gradually  rises  almost  to  the  very 
 height  of  our  aspu-ations — our  lives  are  the  realisation  of 
 our  prayers. 
 
 Verse  3.  "  And  lo,  one  born  in  my  house  is  my  heir !" 
 Lot  was  alive,  and  had  sons  and  daughters.  Lot  was 
 loved  of  Abraham, — the  expedition  against  Chedorlaomer 
 proves  it ;  and  yet  Abraham,  who  so  climg  to  his  family 
 and  the  purity  of  his  race,  that  he  chose  out  of  it  a  wife 
 for  his  son,  is  now  so  neglectful  of  his  name  and  blood, 
 that  he  speaks  of  one  of  his  slaves  as  his  heir.  Had  Lot, 
 the  inhabitant  of  Sodom,  fallen  away  from  the  true  faith  ? 
 Is  he  now  an  idolater,^  that  Abraham  prefers  to  him  a 
 stranger  and  a  slave  ? 
 
 Abraham  had  numerous  slaves.  They  seem  to  have 
 belonged  to  him : 
 
 1st.  By  right  of  inheritance :  they  were  a  portion  of  his 
 paternal  property. 
 
 2ndly.  By  accident  of  birth :  they  were  born  in  his 
 house — of  his  slaves. 
 
 3rdly.  By  right  of  purchase :  they  were  bought  with 
 his  money. 
 
 4thly.  By  right  of  gift:  they  were  given  to  him,  by 
 
 ^  From  chap.  xix.  29.  It  would  Sodom,  more  especially  for  Abra- 
 seem  as  if  Lot  had  been  saved  from    ham's  sake. 
 
324  CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 Pharaoh  for  exanii)le,  as  presents :  in  this  way  probably 
 Hagar  came  into  the  service  of  Sarah. 
 
 These  several  modes  of  acquisition  are  evidence  that 
 slave  property  was  a  valuable  and  legal  property,  and  that 
 slavery  was  already  sanctioned  by  long  established  usage. 
 How  did  it  originate  ? 
 
 The  first  right  which  the  barbarian  acknowledges,  is 
 the  right  of  strength :  "  to  the  measure  of  his  might"  he 
 fashions  his  laws.  The  new-born  child  lies  at  his,  a  father's 
 feet,  naked  and  helpless  ; — the  child's  doom  is  in  his  hands ; 
 — if  he  raise  the  infant,  give  him  food,  and  clothe  and 
 house  him,'  in  return  the  growing  child  does  him  suit  and 
 service ;  at  Jirst,  because  he  fears  the  father  s  strength ; 
 afterwards,  because  he  respects  liis  experience ;  and  at 
 last,  because  obedience  has  become  a  habit.  Should  how- 
 ever the  father,  pressed  by  his  necessities  or  dissuaded  by 
 his  indolence,  reject  the  child :  then,  if  he  do  not  immedi- 
 ately put  the  infant  to  death,^  he  will  either  expose  him  in 
 some  public  or  unfrequented  place,  or  else  he  will  sell  him. 
 The  child  thus  falls  into  the  hands  of  a  stranger,  and 
 that  stranger  immediately  takes  the  father's  place  and 
 becomes  entitled  to  the  father's  rights : '  the  child  must  do 
 his  wiU, — serve  him,  labour  for  him :  he  has  nothing  of 
 his  own,  he  can  acquire  nothing,  his  time  and  hands  arc 
 his  master's.  And  when  therefore  he  grows  up,  and  him- 
 self becomes  a  father,  because  he  has  nothing,  it  is  not  in 
 his  power  to  pronounce  on  the  life  of  his  own  offspring, 
 his  master  alone  can  do  that : — his  offspring  are  thus,  even 
 from  their  birth,  like  himself,  slaves.  We  have  now  a 
 slave  population. 
 
 '  Vide    Miclielct,     Synibolique,  Isaac — thfir    inalienahiliiii,    from 
 
 p.  2  and  7.  2  Kings  iv,  1,  by  which  it   seems 
 
 ^  A  relic  of  this  custom  was  the  tliat  the  sons'  bodies  were  liable  for 
 
 Spartan  law,  which  transferred  the  the   father's   debts — even  after  his 
 
 power  from  the  father  to  the  state,  death.      And   it  was  the  recog-ni- 
 
 Michelet  ib.  tion  of  these  national  rip^hts  which 
 
 ^  The  extetit  of  these  ru/htx  we  I  doubt  not  induced  the  Ei^yptians 
 
 may  gather,  from  the  story  of  Abra-  to  mitigate  the  punishment  for  in- 
 
 hani,  who  drives  Ishmacl  into  the  fanticide.     (Vid.  Diodorus  Sic.  lib. 
 
 desert — and  prepares   to   sacrifice  i,  c.  xxvii.) 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  325 
 
 Agaiu,  if  the  father  have  a  right  to  sell  his  children,  the 
 man  also  has  a  right  to  sell  himself;  and  famine/  the  curse 
 of  all  uncivilised  societies,  or  some  pressing  want  often 
 drives  the  unfortunate  or  the  poor  to  give  themselves  as 
 slaves,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  food  or  money.  This 
 slavery  was:  sometimes  for  a  specified  time,  and  then 
 approached  to  our  condition  of  servant ;  —  thus  Jacob 
 served  Laban  seven  years  for  the  sake  of  his  daughter. 
 Sometimes  for  life ; — thus  in  a  famine  the  Egyptians  sold 
 themselves  to  their  king  f — and  thus  the  Germans,  after 
 having  lost  all,  would  stake  themselves  and  their  liberty  on 
 the  dice. 
 
 Again :  the  state,  for  certain  crimes  or  on  certain  occa- 
 sions, condemned  its  subjects'  to  slavery,  either  public  or 
 private — thus  Anysis  when  he  was  king  of  Egypt,  in  the 
 place  of  putting  criminals  to  death,  employed  them  in 
 raising  the  embankments  of  the  several  cities  to  which  they 
 belonged.'  Thus  too  among  the  Hebrews  the  thief  be- 
 came the  slave  of  him  whom  he  had  robbed ;  and  the  debtor' 
 and  even  his  children,  of  him  of  whom  he  had  borrowed. 
 
 Again  with  wars,  as  a  natural  consequence  came  slavery. 
 
 ''  "  Dans  les  troubles  et  malheurs  vaux  et  le  prison  auxquels  ils  fa- 
 de la  troisiemedYnastie,les  pauvres,  rent  condamnes  en  punition  de 
 qui  se  voyoient  sans  ressource,  se  leurs  crimes."  Mem.  Chin.  vol.  ii, 
 donnoient,  avec  leurs  families,  aux  430. 
 
 ijjrands  et  aux  riches  qui  vouloient  ®  Herod,  lib.  ii.  §  137.  Diodorus 
 les  nourrir.  Mem.  des  Chinois,  (lib.  i,  §  Ixi,)  attributes  this  to  Saba- 
 vol,  ii.  p.  41 1  ;  and  see  "  Toy  Cart,"  con,  of  whom  let  me  add  that  he 
 Wilson's  Hindu  Theatre,  vol.  i,  p.  is  the  only  king  on  record  who 
 48 ;  Muno-o  Park's  Travels  in  gave  up  voluntarily  the  sovereign 
 Africa,  p.  248.  power  rather  than  retain  it  at  the 
 
 *  Genesis  xlvii.    2:3,    "  Behold  price  of  blood. 
 
 I  have  bought  you  this  day."  ^  Exod.  xxii,  3. 
 
 *  Tacitus,  Germania,  s.  24.  i   Nehemiah  chap.  v.    So  also  in 
 ■^  According  to  the  Chinese  books,     Rome — and  in  Athens  to  the  time 
 
 "  II  n'y  avoit  point  d'esclaves,  ni  of  Solon,  "  Bis  auf  Solon  konnte 
 
 homraes,  ni  femmes,   dans  I'anti-  jeder  seine  Kinder  verkaufen  und 
 
 quite.    (Herodotus  similarly  of  the  sich  selbst  seinem  Glaubigen  per- 
 
 Athenians  in   the  early  times,   Ov  scinlich     so  verpflichten    dass    er 
 
 yap  eivai  tovtov  tov  xpo^ov  ct^kti,  wenn  er  nicht  zahlte  in  Sklaverei 
 
 oii^£  Toiffi   aXXoiiri  EWrjai  oiKtrae,  verfeil,  sowohl  in  das  Ausland  ver- 
 
 lib.vi,§137)  Lcspremiersquifurent  kauft    zu   werden   als  in  eigenem 
 
 esclaves  furent  dcs  coupables  qui  Lande  Sklav  zu  seyn."— Tittman 
 
 pcrdirent  Icur  liberie  par  les  tra-  Gricch.  Staatsverf.  p.  12. 
 
326  CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 A  kindly  feeling/  and  some  perception  of  future  advan- 
 tages, induced  the  conquerors  to  turn  to  use  the  bodily 
 strength  and  acquirements  of  their  captives  instead  of 
 putting  them  to  death.  Thus  the  Gibeonites  became  ser- 
 vants, hewers  of  wood  and  draAvers  of  water,  in  the  house 
 of  God  for  ever.  And  thus  among  the  negroes^  one  of 
 the  principal  objects  of  war  is  the  obtaining  of  slaves  and 
 booty.  They  fight,  as  did  the  four  kings,  for  captives  and 
 plunder. 
 
 Lastly ;  another  great  source  of  slavery  was  piracy  and 
 robbery.  From  the  poems  of  Homer  and  from  Herodotus 
 we  learn  that  the  Phoenicians*  and  other  sea-faring  nations, 
 were  infamous  in  this  w^ay.  They  carried  off  when  oppor- 
 tunity offered  women  and  children  whom  they  sold  among 
 the  neighbouring  people. 
 
 Verse  6.  If  by  disobedience,  the  consequence  of  disbe- 
 lief, man  lost  Eden ;  and  if,  having  lost  Eden,  the  imagi- 
 nation of  his  heart  be  evil  from  his  youth — how  now  that 
 he  is  chained  down  to  a  hopeless  degradation,  shall  he 
 recover  his  former  grace,  and  gain  again  the  favour  of  the 
 Deity  ?  The  historian  solves  the  difficulty.  To  the  aged 
 Abraham  "  this  life-dead  man  in  an  old  dongeon  flong" 
 Jehovah  promises  a  son,  "  that  shall  come  forth  out  of  his 
 
 *  A  feeling  which  the  Israelites  place  of  the  son  or  husband)  they 
 
 did  not  always  indulge  in — witness  put  all  their  captives  to  death. — 
 
 their  extirpation  of  the  Midianites  Vide  Lafitau,  Moeuvs  des  Sauvages, 
 
 (Numb,  xxxi) ;  and  one  in  which  vol.  ii,  p,  26«,  308. 
 even  civilized  Greece  was  not  al-         '  The  mode  in  which  slaves  are 
 
 ways  consistent — witness  the  mas-  made  among  the  negroes  of  Guinea 
 
 sacres  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mity-  are  the  following  :  "  Ou  ils  out  ete 
 
 leneand  of  the  youth  of  Melos  by  vendus  par  leurs  parens,  ou  pris  a 
 
 the  Athenians ;  and  the  massacre  of  la  guerre,  ou  condamnes  pour  leurs 
 
 the  Athenian  chiefs  l)y  the  Sicilians,  crimes,  ou  reduit  a  ce  triste  sort 
 
 (Diod.   Sic.  lib.  xiii.)    In  general,  par  la  pauvrete." — Histoire  Gene- 
 
 however,  the  Greeks  made  slaves  of  rale  des  Voyages,  vol.  iv,  p.  1 75. 
 their  prisoners.     To  this  point  of        "*  See  :  the  opening  of  the  History 
 
 humanity  the  North  American  In-  of  Herodotus,  theaccountofthecar- 
 
 dians  have  not  yet  reached.  Except,  rying  away  of  lo,  Europa,  Medea  : 
 
 on  very  rare  occasions  (as  when  the  Eumaeus  tale  (Odys.  xv) ;  and  the 
 
 mother  or  the  wife  of  one  of  their  character  of  the  Acha^ans  in  Schlos^ 
 
 own  slain  will  take  a  captive  in  the  scr  Alt.  Gesch.  vol.  i,  p.  31 1. 
 
CHAPTER  xiir.  327 
 
 own  bowels."  Abraham  believed  in  this  promise,  and  it  is 
 counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  As  disbelief  was  the 
 one  sin  for  which  man  was  banished  to  this  dark  world  of 
 shadows — so  belief,  belief  in  Jehovah,  is  the  one  great 
 virtue,  the  Sybil's  golden  branch,  which  turns  aAvay  the 
 flaming  swords  of  the  cherubim  and  once  more  opens  to  us 
 the  gates  of  Paradise. 
 
 In  our  eyes,  this  particular  act  of  belief,  which  gained 
 for  Abraham  so  high  a  prize,  cannot  but  seem  something- 
 most  natural.  We  wonder  not  so  much  at  Abraham's 
 faith  as  at  his  want  of  it.  We  ask  how  he  who  talked  with 
 God,  should  so  far  doubt  God's  word  as  to  ask  a  sign  of 
 him.  For  us  one  promise  had  sufficed :  on  that  we  would 
 have  staked  our  Kves.  There  is  a  taint  of  Pistol  or 
 Parolles  in  all  of  us.  Is  it  not  clear  either  that  Abraham 
 had  conceptions  of  the  Deity  very  different  from  our  own, 
 or  that  these  promises  were  not  made  directly  and  person- 
 ally by  Jehovah  Himself — though  the  text  often  so  gives 
 us  to  understand — but  were  delivered  either  in  dreams  or 
 visions  as  in  the  present  case,  or  by  oracles,  which  might 
 be,  the  first,  delusive  and  therefore  require  confirmation  ; 
 the  last,  of  doubtful  meaning,  and  therefore  require  inter- 
 pretation. 
 
 Verses  7-17.  Jehovah  orders  Abraham  to  prepare  a 
 sacrifice,  and  He  then  makes  a  covenant  with  Abraham, 
 observing  all  the  usual  forms^ — the  animals  are  divided ; 
 and  a  smoking  furnace  and  a  burning  lamp  (fire  is  one  of 
 the  forms  in  which  the  Deity  loves  to  appear)  pass  between 
 the  pieces.  Jehovah  thus  binds  Himself  by  the  most 
 solemn  of  oaths  to  fulfil  His  promise. 
 
 Jehovah  however  at  the  same  time  declares  the  condi- 
 tions under  which  Abraham's  posterity  shall  possess  the 
 
 ^  See  Jerem.  xxxiv.  18, 19,  20 :  I  will  even  give  them  into  the  hands 
 
 "  And  I  will  give  the  men  that  have  of  their  enemies  and  into  the  liands 
 
 transgressed  my  covenant. -...when  of  men  that  seek  their  life,  and  their 
 
 they  cut  the    calf  in  twain    and  dead  bodies  shall  be  meat  unto  the 
 
 passed  between  the  parts  thereof...  fowls  of  the  heaven." 
 
328 
 
 CHAPTER  Xni. 
 
 land — four  hundred  years,  or  four  generations,  must  pass 
 away,  and  pass  away  in  servitude — of  whicli  perhaps  the 
 fowls  that  came  down  on  the  carcases  were  an  omen — ere 
 the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  full,  and  the  land  shall  be 
 given  up  to  the  Abrahamites. 
 
 Verse  18.  The  Elohim  has  already  established  his  cove- 
 nant with  Noah  on  the  behalf  of  mankind,  Jehovah  now 
 enters  into  a  covenant  with  Abraham  on  the  behalf  of 
 Abraham's  descendants.  These  two  covenants  resemble 
 each  other  in  that  they  are  covenants  on  the  part  of  the 
 Deity  to  fulfil  certain  promises,  and  to  fulfil  them  uncon- 
 ditionally. Man  is  no  party  to  them,  except  in  so  far  as 
 they  are  made  in  his  favour,  to  allay  his  doubts,  and  to 
 pacify  his  fears.  From  these  covenants,  and  others  which 
 we  afterwards  meet  with,  and  which  as  we  proceed  onward 
 become  more  solemn,  for  in  them  man  and  God  are  par- 
 ties, the  collection  of  the  Hebrew  Sacred  Scriptures  derives 
 its  name.  It  is  not  inaptly  called,  the  Book  of  the  Old 
 Covenant. 
 
 To  this  Book  of  the  Covenant,  as  regards  its  form  and 
 contents,  the  Parsi  scripture,  the  Zendavesta"  or  Book  of 
 the  Living  Word,  bears  some  resemblance.  Both — the  one 
 in  the  Pentateuch,  the  other  in  the  Vendidad'  or  Law  given 
 of  God, — contain  the  national  code  of  their  respective  coun- 
 tries. Both  too  profess  to  make  known  the  character  and 
 attributes  of  the  Deity  as  manifested  in  the  government 
 of  the  world,  and  to  reveal  that  course  of  action  moral  and 
 religious  whicli  shall  ensure  to  man  as  well  the  divine 
 favour  as  all  earthly  happiness.  In  both  moreover  the 
 revelations  of  the  Deity  are  delivered,  not  at  one  moment, 
 but  from  time  to  time ;  either  as  the  Deity  of  his  own 
 accord^  may  think  fit  to  communicate  them:  or  as  they 
 
 *  "  '  Zendavesta,'   c'est    a  dire,         *  Thus,   "  And  the    Lord    said 
 
 parole  vivante." — Vocahulaire  des  unto  Moses,"  Exodus,  passim.    In 
 
 Anciennes    Lans^ues  de  la   Perse,  the  Zend,  "  Maintenant  je  parle 
 
 Pref.  Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  423.  clairement,"  ^c.     Ha.  xliv, 
 
 7  Id.  vol.  i,  p.  89. 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  329 
 
 may  be  called  forth  by  the  questions  of  those  holy  men 
 with  whom  He  deigns  to  converse.^ 
 
 The  Hebrew  books  however,  in  conformity  with  their 
 name,  hold  up  ohedience  to  the  laics  they  publish  as  the 
 condition  which  the  Deity  imposes  upon  His  people,  in 
 return  for  the  blessings  which  He  has  showered,  and  will 
 continue  to  shower,  upon  them.  In  so  far  then  as  the  Israel- 
 ites are  concerned,  their  observance  or  non-observance  of 
 their  several  articles  of  these  covenants  is  the  key  to  the 
 divine  economy  as  seen  in  the  events  of  our  world. ^  And, 
 because  Jehovah's  priests  are  the  ministers  and  interpreters 
 of  His  will,  they  are  necessarily  therefore;  ^v&t, Historians 
 to  connect  passing  events,  the  dispensations  of  Providence, 
 with  man's  past  conduct ;  and  secondly,  Prophets,  in  times 
 of  prosperity  and  of  neghgence  in  religious  matters,  to  urge 
 on  the  nation  both  the  divine  wrath  and  the  ills  that  are  pre- 
 paring for  sinners ;  and  in  times  of  adversity  and  oppres- 
 sion, and  religious  fervour,  to  rouse  the  people  with  the 
 hopes  of  brighter  days,  to  insist  on  the  blessings  promised 
 them,  and  to  connect  those  blessings  with  the  name  of 
 some  heavenly  deliverer.  Hence  it  is  that  the  Hebrew 
 scriptures,  the  Old  Testament,  consists  principally  of  his- 
 torical and  prophetical  books. 
 
 The  Zendavesta,  on  the  other  hand,  though  it  opens  to 
 our  view  the  great  scheme  of  Providence,^  contains,  in  so 
 far  at  least  as  they  relate  to  particular  events,  no  prophe- 
 cies ;  and  only  so  much  of  the  history  of  the  Zend  people 
 as  accounts  for  their  settlement  in  the  country  they  once  in- 
 habited. It  publishes  its  law,  because  it  is  the  law  of  God, 
 the  law  which  has  existed  from  all  eternity,'  and  the  lavv^ 
 
 ^  "  And  Moses  inquired  of  the  be  finally  wholly  conquered  in  the 
 
 Lord."     In  the  Zend,  "  Zoroaster  last  times  by  Sosiosch,  the  last  post- 
 
 consulta   Ormuzd    en    lui   disant,  humous  descendant  of  Zoroaster. 
 
 &c."     Fai-gard,  xi.  ^  Thus  Ormuzd  is  said  to  dwell 
 
 1  Jeremiah  xxxiv.  13,  &c.  "  avec   la   science    souveraine,    et 
 
 ^  e.  g.  That   Ahriman    and    his  cette  science  souveraine,  cette  pu- 
 
 Dews  shall  never  destroy  the  crea-  rete  production  d'Ormuzd,  est  ce 
 
 tion  of  Ormuzd;  that  after  a  time  qu'on    appelle    la    loi."       Boun- 
 
 they  will  lose  all  their  power,  and  Dehesch.  §  i,  and  the  pure  Hono- 
 
 2u 
 
330  CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 which  can  alone  make  man  pure  of  heart  and  pure  of  life 
 and  pure  of  deed ;"  it  shows  us  this  law  as  the  law  of 
 Ormuzd,  and  it  occasionally  therefore  enters  into  the  cha- 
 racter and  nature  of  the  Deity'^  as  He  is  in  Himself.  And 
 as  man,  from  its  particular  view  of  the  creation,  is  beset 
 with  unseen  enemies,  it  reveals  to  him  the  poimrful  word  of 
 Ormuzd,  by  which  he  created  and  supports  the  worlds  of 
 lights,  and  before  which  the  Dews  sink  as  if  annihilated® — 
 it  teaches  him  besides  numerous  prayers  to  and  praises^  of 
 the  Deity,  which  are  indeed  living  words,  as  they  make 
 man  good,  pure,  and  holy.  The  name  of  the  Zend  book 
 accords  then  with  its  contents,  and  its  contents  are  very 
 naturally  determined  by  its  views  of  the  Deity  and  of 
 man. 
 
 The  Hindu  Scripture  is  called  the  Veda,*  or  Book  of 
 Knowledge.  Like  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Zenda- 
 vesta,  it  lays  claim  to  a  divine  origin  ;  like  them  too  it 
 speaks  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  of  man  and  beast, 
 &c. ;  and  like  them  it  expatiates  on  the  course  of  moral 
 and  religious  action,  by  which  man  may  hope  to  obtain  the 
 grace  and  favour  of  the  Deity.  From  them  however  it 
 differs  in  its  form.  It  is  not  a  narrative  of  different  reve- 
 lations written  by  him  to  whom  they  were  made  for  the 
 benefit  of  his  fellow-men,  but  the  very  revelation  itself, 
 
 ver  existoit  avant  que  le  ciel  eut  ete  ^  "  Si  vous  voulez,  O  Zoroaster, 
 
 doniie,  &c."     Zend.  vol.  i,  p.  139.  rendre  malades  et  briser  les  Dews 
 
 Ha.  xix.  homines,  les  magiciens,  les  Paris, 
 
 *  "  Ce     Dew    endort    rhomme.  les  Dews  qui  affoiblissent,  qui  rcn- 
 
 Ne   vous  laissez   pas  surprendre ;  dent    sourds,    ceux    qui    rendent 
 
 vous  n'auriez  pas  les  trois  disposi-  aveugles,    les    couleuvres  a   deux 
 
 tions  celestes,  la  purete  de  pensee,  pieds,  les  Ascbmoghs  a  deux  pieds, 
 
 la  purete  de  parole,  la  purete  d'ac-  les  loups   a  quatre  pieds,  I'armee 
 
 tion."    Farg.  xviii.  vol.  i.  p.  424.  nombreuse  et  impure    qui   arbore 
 
 ^  Heis  ligbt,intellip;ence,  science,  avec  fierte  une  multitude  de  grands 
 
 &c.     lescbt   d'Ormuzd,  id.  ii,    p.  etendards,    qui  porte   le    drapeau 
 
 144.     Of  tbe  Nosks  or  parts  into  cruel;  prononcez  mon   nom  dans 
 
 which  the  Avesta  is  divided,  "  Sept  tout  son  etendu,  tous  les  jours  et 
 
 traitoient  du  premier  principe,"  id.  toutes     les     nuits,    &c."      lescht 
 
 i,  p.  479.  A  more  detailed  account  d'Ormuzd,  Zend.  vol.  ii.  p.  116. 
 
 of  their  contents  Anquetil  has  given  ''  leschts  and  Izeschnes,  passim, 
 
 in  the  Journal  des  Savans,  vol.  i,  ^  "  Veda,  das    Wissen." — Von 
 
 p.  176,  and  Rhode  has  copied  it.  Bohlen,  Alt.  Indien,  vol.  i,  p.  128, 
 Heilige  Sage  d.  Zend  Volks. 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  331 
 
 the  production  of  the  Supreme  God,  which  Brahme  the 
 great  lawgiver  translated  from  the  devla  or  language  of 
 the  gods  into  the  Sanscrit  or  priestly  language/  and 
 which,  having  inscribed  on  tablets  of  gold,  he  delivered 
 over  to  four  mounys  or  penitents,  in  order  that  they  might 
 comnmnicate  it  to  the  Brahmins,  j 
 
 Like  the  Zendavesta  however  (and  in  this  our  Old 
 Testament  advantageously  differs  from  both)  it  knows 
 of  worlds  and  spiritual  beings  whose  existence  or  non- 
 existence, though  it  may  be  matter  of  speculation  for  us, 
 is  beyond  the  reach  of  our  knowledge.  Like  it  too, 
 though  more  fully,  it  treats  of  the  very  nature  and 
 essence  of  the  divine  mind.  But  though  in  both  the 
 creator  is  Intelligence  and  Light ;  yet,  as  in  the  one 
 there  are  two  creators,  and  as  Ahriman  is  also  Intelli- 
 gent,— this  one,  the  Zendavesta,  was  compelled  to  subsume 
 Intelligence  to  Light,  and  Knowledge  to  Moral  Purity ; 
 while,  as  in  the  other  there  is  but  one  Creator,  in  whom 
 all  things  subsist,  who  is  indeed  aU  things,  earth  and  air, 
 fire  and  water,  light  and  darkness, — that  otlier,  the  Veda, 
 necessarily  sees  in  Light  but  a  portion  and  manifestation 
 of  the  Creator ;  and  because  the  Supreme  Intelligence  can 
 alone  appreciate  and  comprehend  the  infinite  and  infinitely 
 varied  existence  of  that  Creator,  in  Intelligence  it  acknow- 
 ledges "Brahme  the  Great  One." ^ 
 
 Again,  the  Veda,  as  it  allowed  some  truth  in  all  creeds, 
 
 5  Rhode  says   Brahma  was  the  pliquer  aux    Brahmes." — Dubois, 
 
 translator :  "  Die  Vedas  hat  Birmah  Moeurs  des  Tndes,  vol.  i,  p.  234. 
 verfasst,  uiid  Brahma  der  erste  Ge-         ^  "  He  is  Sudra,  he  is  Praja'pati 
 
 setzgeber    hat    sie    nur    aus    der  the  Lord  of  Creatures ;  these  gods 
 
 Sprache  der  Devla  oder  Gotter,  in  are  he,  and  so  are  the  five  primary 
 
 dieSamshadaoderSprachderMen-  elements,  earth,  air,   the   ethereal 
 
 schen  iibersetzt." — Rhode,  Heilige  fluid,  water,  and  light On  intel- 
 
 Sage.  lect  every  thing  is   founded;   the 
 
 '  "Ces  quatrelivresmerveilleux  world   is  the  eye  of  intellect,  and 
 
 sont  I'ouvrage   du    Dieu    Brahme  intellect  is  its  foundation.     Intelli- 
 
 lui-meme,quilesecrivitdesapropre  gence  is  Brahme,  the  Great  One." 
 
 main,  sur  des  feuilles  d'or.     II  en  — Asiat.  Researches,  vol.  viii, p.  426. 
 
 tevela   I'intelligence  a   quatre   fa-  Again:  "  Omnis  mundus,  et  illud 
 
 meux  mounys  ou  penitens  auxquels  quod  in  mundo  est,  omne  in  medio 
 
 il  les  confia  et  les  chargea  de  les  ex-  ejus est,"&c. — Oupnekhat,c.lxxxii. 
 
332  CHAPTER   XIII. 
 
 some  good  in  all  men,  was  compelled  to  find  the  difference 
 between  creed  and  creed,  and  man  and  man,  in  the  more 
 or  less  perfect  conception  which  each  creed  3  contained,  or 
 each  man  possessed,  of  the  Deity ;  in  knowledge  then,  Mow- 
 ledge  of  God,"  it  finds  all  religion,  all  virtue  ;  and  to  obtain 
 that  knowledge  ^  is,  it  declares,  the  great  end  and  object  of 
 life.  And  that  knowledge  it  professes  to  make  known : 
 hence  its  name. 
 
 The  different  views  of  these  three  Scriptures  may  be 
 thus  shortly  characterized.  The  Old  Testament,  at  least 
 in  its  earliest  books,  represents  religion  as  a  compact 
 entered  into  between  man  and  the  Deity,  as  something 
 legal  afid  ceremonial ;  and  life  as  the  period  during  which 
 that  compact  holds  good.  In  the  Zend-Avesta,  religion  is 
 a  moral  and  ceremonial  service,  by  which  man  ensures  his 
 own  good  and  advances  the  kingdom  of  Ormuzd  and 
 weakens  the  power  of  Ahriman :  Avith  it  life  is  a  moment 
 only ;  but  a  moment  to  the  right  employment  of  which 
 are  attached  inexpressible  rewards ; — it  is  a  moral  combat, 
 with  heaven  as  the  prize  of  the  victor.  In  the  Vedas, 
 religion,  in  its  lowest  form,  is  the  service  and  adoration  of 
 any  Deity  ;  in  its  highest,  it  is  the  true  knowledge  of  God, 
 the  means  to  which  are  abstraction  and  meditation, — life 
 with  it  is  a  mere  jugglery,  of  which  the  ignorant  are  the 
 dupes, — but  Avhich  the  wise  use  as  a  ladder  to  obtain 
 supreme  glory,  unification  with  the  Supreme  Deity. 
 
 Verses  18-22.  Here  we  find  for  the  first  time  the 
 boundaries  of  the  promised  land, — and  these  boundaries 
 it  was  necessary  to  know.  For  the  land  of  Canaan  the 
 Jews   supposed   to   be   peculiarly  holy,  both   because  it 
 
 ^  Divisioncs   fidum,   et   religio-  pore  quo  omnia  cornipta  fiant,  is 
 
 num    et     rectitudo    et    derelictio  etiam  cum   ente,  quod  omne   loco 
 
 (inundi)  et  pia;ccpta omne  ab  plenum  est,  unum  fit." — Id.c.  Ixvi. 
 
 eo  producluni  est."— Oup.  p.  82.  ^  "  Brahme  who  is  intellect 
 
 ••  "  Qiiisquis  omnia  ilia....  ct  se-  is  the  best  path  to  happiness  for  the 
 
 ipsum  et  omnes  existentias  appa-  generous   votary   who   knows   him 
 
 rentes  Brnhm  sciverit,  is  etiam  cum  and  remains  fixed  in  attention." — 
 
 locis  superioribus  ut  pervenit,  tern-  Sir  W.  Jones'  Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  448. 
 
CHAPTER   XIII.  333 
 
 furnished  holy  things  for  the  temple,  and  because  neither 
 the  Shechinah  nor  the  Sacred  Spirit  ever  dwelt  as  they 
 asserted  on  any  person,  even  a  prophet,  out  of  this  land. 
 The  country  the  Rabbins  divided  into  three  parts, — Judca, 
 beyond  Jordan,  and  Galilee ;  they  thus  excluded  Samaria, 
 which,  as  a  country,  so  far  as  its  fields,  waters,  dwellings 
 and  paths  were  concerned,  was  clean,  but  unclean  by 
 reason  of  its  inhabitants.®  In  India  we  find  the  same 
 notions :  there  the  sacred  territory  is  also  clearly  defined ; 
 and  whatever  lies  without  its  boundaries  is,  as  formerly 
 was  the  case  among  the  Jews,  considered  impure  and 
 unholy, — even  for  instance  the  Deccan,  though  centuries 
 have  now  elapsed  since  its  inhabitants  first  embraced  the 
 religion  of  Brahma.'  Hetruria  too,  according  to  a  frag- 
 ment of  an  Etruscan  cosmogony  quoted  byMichelet,  seems 
 to  have  claimed  for  itself  a  peculiar  sanctity, — it  is  Jupi- 
 ter's own  land  f  so  also  Crete,  as  Jupiter's  birth-place ; 
 Athens  as  Minerva's  favourite  city,  &c. 
 
 But  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  are  not  satisfied  with 
 merely  prizing  and  preferring  their  own  country,  they 
 also  prize  and  prefer  themselves  before  other  people — they 
 hate  or  despise  them.  Thus,  for  the  Jew  the  rest  of 
 mankind  were  but  Gentiles ;  while  for  the  Greeks  and 
 Egyptians,  they  were  Barbarians.^  And,  lest  we  should 
 suppose  that  this  self-complacency  and  contempt  for  others 
 are  the  consequences  of  superior  and  acknowledged  merit,  we 
 wull  but  observe,  that  these  feelings  are  at  tliis  day  enter- 
 tained by  one  of  the  most  degraded  races  of  the  human 
 species — the  Esquimaux.  Yes,  the  dwarfish  Esquimaux, 
 whose  large  heads  and  fiat  faces,  prominent  under-jaws, 
 and  didl  and  yellow  eyes,  render  them  hideous  in  our  siahf, 
 
 ^  Calmet,  Diet.  art.  Canaan.  iin  Ge^ensatze  zu  andern  Nationen 
 
 '  Von  Bohlen,  das  Alt.  Indien,  zu    erheben    bemerkbar,    und   sie 
 
 p.  9.  allein  haben   fiir  Auswartige    die 
 
 *  "Cum  autem  Jupiter  terram  Benennung  Barbaren  aufgebracht, 
 
 Hetruriae  sibi  vindicavit."  —  Hist,  die  leider  spaterhin  selbst  die  Grie- 
 
 Rom.  vol.  i,  p.  265,  note.  chiscben  Weisen  gelaufig  wurde." 
 
 ^  "  Endlich  wird  bey  den  ^gyp-  — Von  Bohlen,  Id.  ib.  p.  60  ;  He- 
 tern  eiu  grenzenloser   Stolz,   sich  rod,  lib.  ii,  §  xv. 
 
334  CHAPTER  xin. 
 
 are  models  of  beauty  in  their  oion. '  They  are  the  favoured 
 descendants  of  a  beneficent  genius,  while  their  dogs  and  all 
 the  other  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  the  produce  of  an 
 evil  spirit.^  In  nations,  as  in  individuals,  self-conceit  and 
 contempt  for  others  are  evidence  of  littleness  and  igno- 
 rance ;  they  act  upon  both  in  the  same  way ;  they  shut 
 them  out  from  all  those  humanizing  advantages  which 
 frequent  commerce  with  men  of  other  views  and  other 
 customs  would  naturally  bring  with  it.  They  are  barriers 
 truly  impregnable  to  all  imjirovement. 
 
 This  chapter  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah. 
 
 Does  this  chapter  narrate  one  or  two  distinct  visions  ? 
 The  Lord  appears  to  Abraham  in  the  night,  or  at  least 
 before  the  sun  has  risen,  while  the  stars  are  yet  shining  in 
 the  heaven,  and,  having  promised  him  a  numerous  i^osterity. 
 He  then  leaves  him,  and  the  vision  is  closed. — Or,  before 
 He  leaves  him.  He  alludes  to  Abraham's  inheritance  of 
 Canaan ;  and  when  Abraham  demands  of  Him  a  sign,  He 
 orders  him  to  prepare  a  certain  sacrifice.  Morning  now 
 appears,  and  Abraham  busies  himself  in  choosing  out  the 
 necessary  animals,  in  slaying  them,  dividing  them,  and 
 laying  them  one  upon  another.  Ere  the  sacrifice  is  ready 
 the  day  is  far  advanced,  but  not  until  the  sun  has  gone 
 
 '  "Les  Esquimaux  sedistinguent  from  another  wicked  female  spirit 
 
 par  la  petitesse  de  leurs  pieds  et  de  are  descended  tlie  other  three  crea- 
 
 leurs  mains  et  la  grosseur  enornie  tures  who  inhabit  the  earth,  viz. 
 
 de  leurs  tetes :  plus  que  hideux  au  the  Itkali  or  Indians,  the  Cahbunre 
 
 jugement  des  Europeens,  ils  sont  or  Europeans,  and,  after  long  hesi- 
 
 parfaitement    bicn    faits    a    leurs  tation  before  they  would  express  it, 
 
 propres  yeux,  quoiqu'ils  ayent  la  the  dogs  which  they  drive.     The 
 
 face  platte,  la  bouche  ronde,  le  nez  Itkali  they  abhor  and  speak  of  as 
 
 petit  sans  etre  ecrase,  le  blanc  de  murderers  who   never   spare  their 
 
 I'ceil  jaunatre,  I'iris  noir  et  pen  bril-  tribes.     Of  the  Cabbunse  they  had 
 
 lant.     Leur  machoire  inferieur  de-  only  heard  by  report,  never  having 
 
 passe  celle  d'en  haut,  et  la  levre  en  seen  a  European  till  they  encoun- 
 
 est  aussi  plus  grosse  et  plus  char-  tered  those  in  the  Fury  and  Hecla; 
 
 nue,"  &c. — De  Pauw,  Americains,  but  it  is  clear  from  their  classing 
 
 vol.  i,  part  iii,  §  i,  p.  262.  them  with  the  Indians  and   dogs 
 
 *   "  The    Esquimaux    say   that  that  they  have,  that  they  have  no 
 
 their  race  originally  sprung  from  a  very  exalted  idea  of  their  virtues." 
 
 beneficent   female  spirit,  and  that  — Parry's  Voyage. 
 
CHAPTER  xiir.  335 
 
 down  is  the  sacrifice  consumed.  In  this  last  case,  this 
 chapter  would  narrate  the  occurrences  of  a  night,  a  day, 
 and  a  portion  of  another  night.  In  the  former,  any  period 
 of  time  may  intervene  between  the  visions. 
 
 Of  this  last  vision  Eichhorn  views  with  suspicion,  as 
 addenda  of  the  author  of  Genesis  or  of  some  later  editor — 
 
 I.  All  that  part  of  it  which  relates  to  the  fate  and  for- 
 tunes of  Abraham's  descendants.  For,  first,  it  has  the 
 distinctness  of  histoiy  ;  and,  secondly,  it  appears  unneces- 
 sarily tlurust  in  between  Abraham's  question  and  the 
 answer  to  it, — the  consumption  of  the  sacrifice  by  fire 
 from  heaven. 
 
 n.  All  that  wdiich  relates  to  the  boundaries  of  Canaan. 
 For  these  boundaries  are  not  in  accoi'dance  Avith  those  set 
 by  Moses,  nor  w^ith  Joshua's  plan  of  conquest.  Only  in 
 the  time  of  David  did  the  kingdom  of  Israel  extend  to 
 them.  Eichhorn  observes,  moreover,  that  the  people  after- 
 wards mentioned  (Kenites,  &c.)  did  not  occupy  the  whole 
 of  Palestine,  but  only  that  part  wdiich  was  known  as 
 Canaan, — that  part  over  which  Abraham  wandered, — and 
 which  ISIoses  claimed  for  Israel  and  Joshua  attacked.^ 
 
 With  this  chapter  we  may  connect  that  belief  of  the 
 Israelites : 
 
 I.  That  the  promises  of  God,  though  not  immediately 
 fulfilled,  were  certain  of  fulfihuent. 
 
 II.  That  it  was  lawful  and  permissible  for  them  to  ask 
 of  God  some  sign  by  which  they  might  be  assured  that 
 His  promises  would  certainly  be  fulfilled.  Thus  Gideon 
 obtains  a  sign  in  the  dried  fleece  (Judges  vi),  Hezekiah  in 
 the  retiring  sun  (2  Kings  xx,  11);  and  following  the 
 example  of  their  ancestors,  (and  though  all  Christianity  is 
 eager  to  stone  them  for  it,  I  cannot  blame  them),  the  Pha- 
 risees demanded  of  Christ  a  sign  from  heaven,  in  order 
 that  they  might  know  that  he  was  the  INIessiah. 
 
 '  Eichhorn,  Einleitung  in  das  Alt.  Test.  §  419. 
 
336 
 
 CHAPTER  XIV. 
 
 GENESIS   xvi.   1-16. 
 
 Verses  1,  2.  With  Sarah  Abraham  has  no  doubt  often 
 spoken  of  the  promises  of  Jehovah ;  and  though  her  name 
 Jehovah  has  never  mentioned,  she  has  hitherto  buoyed 
 herself  up  with  the  hope  that,  through  her,  her  husband 
 would  yet  be  blessed.  But  she  is  now  old,  and  has  no 
 child  ;  and  she  is  content  to  be  the  mother,  hy  ado])t'ion^  of 
 Abraham's  offspring.  She  therefore  desires  Hagar  to  sup- 
 ply her  place  in  her  husband's  bed,  in  the  belief  that,  by 
 means  of  her  handmaid  (according  to  a  custom  which  pro- 
 bably did  not  originate  with  Abraham,  and  which  certainly 
 prevailed  with  the  later  patriarchs,  and  still  subsists  in 
 India*  and  China,^)  she  might  obtain  children. 
 
 •  See  the  account  of  Juno's  adop-  '  In  China :  "  L'epouse  legitime 
 
 tion  of  Hercules  (Diod.  Sic.  lib.  iv,  est  laseule  censeemere  de  la  famille; 
 
 c.  x) ;  and  see  also  Michelet,  Sym-  les  fils  des  concubines  lui  appar- 
 
 bolique,  p.  10-14.  tiennent,  elle  a  sur  eux  les  niemes 
 
 ^  I  conclude  so,  for  the  passage  droits  que  sur  ses  propres  enfans, 
 
 does  not  distinctly  state  this  :  "  Si  ils  lui  doivent  les  memes  respects  et 
 
 I'on  voit,"  says  Dubois,  "  des  gens  le  meme  obeissance.    Ce  n'est  qu'en 
 
 d'un  rang  inferieur  vivre  avec  plu-  vertu  de  cette  espece  de  filiation  et 
 
 sieurs  femmes,   une  seule  d'entre  d'adoption     qu'ils     sont    regardes 
 
 elles  porte  le  titre  et  le  nom  d'e-  comme  de  la  famille  et  les  freres  de 
 
 pouse,  les  autres  ne  sont  que  des  leurs  freres ;  et  encore  la  loi  meme 
 
 concubines.    Dans  plusieurs  castes,  les  met-elle  au  dessous  d'eux;  quoi- 
 
 les  enfans  qui  naissent  des  dernieres  qu'ils  soient  les  aines,  leurs  cadets 
 
 sont  des  batards;  etsi  le  pere  meurt  ont  le  pas  avant  eux  dans  les  cere- 
 
 sans  avoir  dispose  d'une  partie  de  monies,  dans  les  assembles,  et  dans 
 
 ses  hiens  en  leur  faveur,  ils  sont  tout  ce  qui  a  rapport  a  la  vie  civile." 
 
 exclus    du    partago   commun." —  Doct.  des  Chin,  sur  la  Piete  Filiale, 
 
 Mojurs  des  Indos,  vol.  i,  p.  288.  Mem.  des  Chinois,  vol.  iv,  p. 289. 
 
CHAPTER    XIV.  337 
 
 Verse  3.  Saral  was  now  seventy-five  years  of  age. 
 She  was  ten  years  younger  than  Abraham/  and  conse- 
 quently sixty-five  when  the  promise  of  a  numerous  poste- 
 rity and  of  the  possession  of  Canaan  was  first  made  to  her 
 husband.  If  then  of  that  posterity  she  hoped  to  be  the 
 mother,  either  the  physical  laws  of  women  must  at  that 
 time  have  been  other  than  they  tioio  are,  or  the  whole  his- 
 tory of  Abraham  and  Sarai,  though  I  know  the  rationalists 
 woidd  explain  it  by  some  idiosyncracy  of  constitution,  was 
 from  their  mid-age  to  their  deaths  a  continued  miracle. 
 
 Verses  4-6.  Abraham  has  no  authority  over  his  own 
 family.  He  suffers  the  handmaid  to  despise  the  mistress, 
 and  the  mistress  to  avenge  herself,  and  in  no  measured 
 way,  on  the  handmaid :  throughout  these  transactions,  he 
 displays  a  weak  and  timid  character.  Such  is  the  judg- 
 ment o  if  r  a^e  must  pass  upon  Abraham;  but  whether  A/.'? 
 own  would  so  hardly  judge  him  is  another  matter.  Ilagar 
 is  Sarai's  maid, — her  slave.  To  Hagar's  services  Sarai  has 
 a  right, — over  her  life  power.  Sarai  heaps  on  Hagar 
 kindness,  even  honour :  Hagar  repays  Sarai  with  con- 
 tempt. As  the  mother  of  Abraham's  future  heir,  she 
 claims,  if  not  to  be  the  mistress  of  Abraham's  household 
 and  the  queen  of  his  harem,  to  be  at  least  the  equal  of  his 
 wife.  Of  these  intrigues  and  quarrels  in  the  women's 
 apartments,  Abraham,^  hke  other  oriental  lords,  is  igno- 
 rant, until  made  acquainted  with  them  by  Sarai,  who 
 appeals  to  liis  authority,  and  enquires  whether  her  maid 
 has  his  support  and  warranty.  Abraham  disavows  the 
 pretensions  of  Hagar,  and  at  the  risk  of  losing  his  child 
 admits  the  right  of  Sarai  over  her  own  slave.*     Abraham 
 
 ■•  Vide  chap.  xvii.  17.  they  must  have  had  intrigues,  &c. 
 
 '  From  the  story  of  Rachel  and  among  themselves, 
 the  images  (Gen.  xxxi.),  and  the  ^  Sarah's  right  over  her  servant 
 fact  that  Sarah  is  not  present  when  once  allowed  by  Abraham,  Sarah 
 Abraham  entertains  the  three  stran-  might  treat  Hagar  as  she  pleased, 
 gcrs  (chap,  xviii.),  I  conclude  that  Thus,  when  Amestris  at  the  royal 
 the  women  lived  apart  from  the  banquet  asked  of  Xerxes  her  bus- 
 men.    If  so,  as  in  Jacob's  family,  band,  to    give  her  the  wife  of  his 
 
 2x 
 
338  CHAPTER    XIV. 
 
 subsumes  his  hopes  and  his  affections  to  his  sense  of  jus- 
 tice. His  view  of  the  moral  duties  may  be  confined, — may 
 not  be  such  as  ours, — but  his  observance  of  that  which  he 
 conceived  to  be  his  duty  is  worthy  of  all  admiration. 
 
 Verses  7-9.  Those  modern  Paltephati,  the  rationalists, 
 explain  away  the  supernatural  occurrences  in  this  chapter, 
 in  the  most  natural  manner  possible.  This  angel  of  the 
 Lord,  say  they — and  they  bid  us  remark  that  his  appear- 
 ance excites  no  surprise — is  merely  some  stranger  whom 
 Hagar  accidentally  met  at  the  well,  and  to  whom  she 
 accordingly  told  all  her  grievances ; — how  she  had  l)een 
 loved  of  her  master,  and  how  her  mistress  had  grown  jea- 
 lous of  her ;  and  how,  though  she  was  indeed  with  child, 
 she  had  run  away  from  home  to  escape  persecution.  The 
 stranger  hears  her  talc,  and  very  sensibly  advises  her  to 
 return,  and  submit  herself  into  her  mistress's  hands ;  better 
 that  than  starve  in  the  wilderness  ; — and  Hagar  very  sen- 
 sibly follows  his  advice. 
 
 This  explanation  certainly  does  away  with  all  that  is 
 miraculous  in  these  occurrences,  and  must  prove  very  satis- 
 factory to  those  Avho  dislike  the  unusual,  the  extraordinary ; 
 but  to  me  its  seems,  that  the  gist  of  this  tale  is,  not  in  the 
 appearance  of  the  angel  nor  in  the  advice  given,  but  in 
 the  prophecy,  which,  while  it  discloses  to  Hagar  the  for- 
 tunes and  the  fate  of  her  yet  unborn  son,  at  the  same  time 
 makes  known  to  her  the  presence  of  Jehovah.  And  that 
 prophecy  nevertheless  we  must,  according  to  these  men, 
 look  upon  as  a  sort  of  moral  merely,  which  the  author  of 
 Genesis,  having  before  his  eyes  the  power  and  the  cha- 
 racter of  the  Ishmaelites,  introduces  by  the  way  for  the 
 instruction  and  edification  of  the  Hebrew  people.'  But, 
 though  this  book  of  Genesis  certainly  lays  no  claim  to  the 
 
 brotber,  Xerxes  obliged  by  custom,  which  was  worse  than  barbarous. — 
 
 though  reluctiiiitly,  assented.     He  Herodotus,  lib.  ix,  1 10-112. 
 
 foresaw  the  treatment  that  awaited  '  Eichhorn,  Recension  v.  E.  F.  C. 
 
 his  sister-in-law ;    and  having  as-  Rosenmulleri  Scholia  in  Vet.  Test, 
 
 scnted,  he  takes  no  precautions  to  in  Bibliothek  dcr  Biblischen  Lite- 
 
 jtrevcnt    the    cruelly  of  l\is   wife,  ratur,  vol.  vi,  p.  1023. 
 
CHAPTER    XIV.  339 
 
 honours  of  inspiration,  and  though  it  may  even  be  a  col- 
 lection of  legends,  which,  in  their  tradition  from  father  to 
 son,  acquired  with  each  generation  some  new  marvel, — 
 yet,  as  its  very  end  and  purport  is  to  show  Jehovah's  secret 
 dealings  with  the  family  of  Abraham,  to  reduce  its  mira- 
 culous interpositions  to  natural  occurrences  liyperbolically 
 or  poetically  narrated,  is  to  extract  from  the  lemon  its  acid- 
 ity, from  sugar  its  sweetness,  and  to  hold  up  what  remains, 
 the  caput  mortuum,  as  the  real  lemon  and  the  real  sugar. 
 It  is  the  play  of  Hamlet  with  the  part  of  Hamlet  left  out. 
 No :  this  book  contains  the  religious  views  of  a  people, 
 of  an  age  ;  and  as  a  religious  book  we  must  examine  and 
 judge  it.  We  may  refuse  to  accept  its  views,  but  we  can- 
 not alter  them,  or  pare  down  its  narrations  till  they  square 
 with  our  own  notions  of  life  or  of  the  Deity. 
 
 Verses  11-12.  To  be  told  that  the  child  for  whom  we 
 have  longed  and  prayed  would  be  no  better  than  a  common, 
 though  a  successful  robber,  and  the  father  of  robbers, — that 
 he  would  live  hated  of  men,  and  almost  necessarily  hating 
 them, — would  be  for  us  no  very  consolatory  intelligence. 
 Among  the  olden  people  however  another  code  of  morality 
 obtained ;  they  took  another  and  a  more  confined  view  of 
 duty.  They  looked  too  much  to  results;  and  as  these 
 were  in  the  hands  of  the  Deity,  success  with  them  justified 
 almost  any  means.  Fate  or  Destiny  too  solved  many  of 
 the  difficult  problems  of  life.  It  made  any  profession 
 honourable.  He  who  was  "to  the  manner  born"  rejoiced 
 in  the  occupation  of  his  fathers.  Thus  in  India  at  the 
 present  day,  the  caste  of  robbers  in  the  Marava  is  a  high 
 caste  ;*  and  formerly  in  Egypt,  if  we  are  to  believe  Dio- 
 
 ^  "  Les    princes,"    says   Dubois,  a  un  caller  a  quelle  tribu  il  appar- 
 
 "  sont  de  cette  tribu,  et  la  profession  tient,  il  repond  hardiinent, '  Je  suis 
 
 de  voleurn'a  rien  d'infame,  nipour  un   voleur.' " — Mceurs  des   Indcs, 
 
 eux,  ni  pour  aucun  des  individus  vol.  i,  p.  5.     By  the  way,  Haaf'ner 
 
 qui  composent  la  caste,  parcequ'en  bears   very   different  testimony   to 
 
 volant  Us  sont  censes  faire  lew  de-  the  morals  of  the  Hindoos.      He 
 
 voir,  et    user  seidement  iVun  droit  assures  us  that  among  them,  the 
 
 inne.     lis  ne  roupssent  nullement  onh/  thieves  bij  profession  are  the 
 
 de  leur  caste ;  et  lorsqu'on  demande  Europeans. 
 
340  CHAPTER   XIV. 
 
 dorus  Siculus,"  the  tlilefs  was  a  regular  and  recognized 
 calling, — a  trade,  having  its  corporation  ;  and  one,  there- 
 fore, which,  though  not  perhaps  in  high  repute,  had  never- 
 theless its  rights  and  privileges.  And  in  Sparta,  similarly, 
 not  theft  but  discovery  was  disgraceful.  Hagar  saw  in 
 this  prophecy  merely  that  she  was  to  be  the  mother  of  a 
 powerful  people. 
 
 Verse  13.  From  this  verse  it  should  seem  that  this 
 angel  of  Jehovah,  whom  Moses  himself  (ver.  7)  calls  "the 
 angel  of  the  Lord,"  but  whom  Hagar  at  first  mistook  for  a 
 mere  man, — was  Jehovah  himself,  i  We  may  also  observe 
 that  Hagar's  exclamation,  "  Have  I  also  here  looked  for 
 thee  !"  implied  surprise  at  meeting  Jehovah  in  such  a  place ; 
 in  the  house  or  tent  of  Abraham  she  might  have  expected 
 to  see  him  ;  but  not  here  in  the  desert. 
 
 This  chapter  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah,  who 
 here  twice  bears  the  title  of  Adonai^ — Lord  ;  a  title  which 
 the  Jews  applied  to  their  Deity  exclusively.  Like  the 
 other  portions  of  Genesis  written  with  the  same  name,  it 
 delights  in  etymologies.  It  gives  us,  for  instance,  the  ety- 
 mology : 
 
 1st.  Oflshmael — God  heareth. 
 
 2ndly.  Of  the  well,  Beer-lahai-roi,  the  well  of  him  that 
 liveth  and  seeth  ;  and 
 
 3rdly.  It  either  associates  with  Hagar  a  story  that  cor- 
 responds with  her  name,  which  signifies  flight  or  fugitive,^ 
 or  it  gives  Saral's  maid  a  name  which  corresponds  with 
 her  story. 
 
 "  Lil).  i,  chap,  xxviii,  §  ii.      He         ^  Who  would   see  the  thousand 
 
 says,  that  every  one  who  wished  to  mystic  raeauings  of  this  word — for, 
 
 become  a  thief  had  but  to  inscribe  in  Hebrew,  "  a  rose  by  any  other 
 
 his  name  on  the  books  of  the  captain  name"  does  not  "  smell  as  sweet" 
 
 of  the  thieves,  to  whom  he  was  ob-  — I  refer  to  Glassii  Philol.  Sacra, 
 
 liged  to  carry  every  thing  he  stole,  c.  de  Ling.  Heb.  Necessitate.     For 
 
 To  the  captain,  all  who  were  robbed  the  simple  meaning  of  the  word,  to 
 
 applied;    and  on   giving   up  one-  the  art.  Adonai,  by  Gesenius,  Ersch 
 
 fourth  of  the  value  of  tlic  article  and  Gruber's  Encyclop. 
 lost,  it  was  restored  to  them.  ^Gesenius   art.    Hagar.     Ersch 
 
 1  But  Conf.  Shuinanu  ad  h.  1.  and  Gruber's  Encyclop. 
 
CHAPTER  XIV.  341 
 
 Of  the  prophecy  in  this  chapter  we  may  observe,  that 
 though  it  is  mentioned  incidentally  merely,  it  has  been 
 much  more  literally  and  strictly  fulfilled  than  that  other 
 and  principal  prophecy  which  has  been  so  often  repeated 
 and  so  solemnly  sworn  to, — viz.  that  proi^hecy  which  gave 
 to  the  seed  of  Abraham  (evidently  meaning  the  seed  of 
 Abraham  by  Sarah)  the  land  of  Canaan  for  an  everlasting 
 possession.'' 
 
 ■•  Vide  xiii.  15,  and  xvii.  2.     I  may  be  said  to  inherit  the  land  to 
 
 have  said,  the  seed  of  Abraham  and  this    day, — though,    indeed,    they 
 
 Sarah.     Such  the  prophecy  clearly  rather  till  and  wander  over  it  as 
 
 intends;  for,  in  some  measure,  the  serfs  than  possess  it  as  free  men. 
 Arabs,  the  descendants  of  Ishmael, 
 
342 
 
 CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 GENESIS  xvn.-l-27. 
 
 Verse  1.  "  I  am  the  Almighty  God."  Elohim  Schad- 
 dai.  This  is  a  name  of  the  Deity,  like  Jehovah,  according 
 to  Michaelis,' — and  Re  bears  it  in  allusion  to  the  Creation, 
 according  to  the  Rabbi  Eliezer.  "  Extensi  autem  sunt 
 coili,  atque  progressi  sunt,  donee  iis  dixit :  sufficit.  Hinc 
 etiam  vocatur  nomen  ejus  Schaddai,  sufficiens ;  quia  afta- 
 tus  est  coelos,  sufficit,  atque  substiterunt."^ 
 
 Allmight  is  the  attribute  of  the  Deity  in  most  creeds. 
 The  Samojedes^  acknowledge  a  supreme  God,  the  Creator 
 of  all  things,  and  sovereignly  good  and  beneficent.  The 
 Chang-ti  or  Tien  of  the  Chinese  is  the  supreme  Emperor  of 
 Heaven,  and  supremely  powerful.''  Ormuzd  of  Persia, 
 "  est  celui  qui  actuellement  pent  tout."^  Zeus  of  Greece, 
 we  are  told,  hwarai  airavra,  can  all  things ;  and  Jupiter 
 among  the  Romans,  is  Jupiter  Omnipotens,  Pater  Omni- 
 l)otens,  SiC."  When  however  we  I'emember,  that  Abraham 
 smiled  incredulously  at  the  promise  of  the  Almighty 
 Elohim  f    that  the  Samojedes*  oppose   to  their    supreme 
 
 '  Comment,  ad  h.  1.  du  mal."— Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages, 
 
 '  Anquctil  du  Perron,  Dissertatio,  vol.  x viii,  p.  508. 
 
 p.  50,  Oupnek'hat.  ■>  Du  Halde,  Hist,  de  la  Chine, 
 
 ^  "  Lcs  Samojodes  admettent  I'ex-  vol.  iii,  pp.  3-6. 
 
 istence  d'un  ctre  supreme,  createur  *  lesclitd'Ormuzd,  Zend,  vol,  ii, 
 
 de   tout,    souveiainement  hion   et  p.  145. 
 
 bienfaisant lis  joig-nirent  a  cette  «  From  Cudwortb's  Intellectual 
 
 idee,  celle  d'un  etre  elernel  et  invi-  System,  chap,  iv,  §  iv. 
 
 aihle^  tres  puissant,  qunique  subor-  ^  Vid.  ver.se  17  of  this  eliapter. 
 
 4»nne  cm  premier,  et  enclin  a  faire  ^  Vide  note  ",  suj)ra. 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  343 
 
 and  beneficent  Deity,  a  supreme  and  maleficent  Spirit; 
 that  with  the  Tien  the  earth  is  coeval ;  that  Zeus  or  Jupiter 
 cannot  break  the  decrees  of  fiite,  that  he  is  himself  subject 
 to  imperious  necessity  f  and  that  Ormuzd  though  he  shall 
 eventually  conquer,  cannot  immediately  destroy  the  terri- 
 ble Ahriman — we  must  feel  that  between  an  attribute 
 allowed  and  an  attribute  possessed,  there  is  a  material  diifer- 
 ence.  And  though  the  disbelief  of  Abraham  only  evi- 
 dences his  own  narrow  conceptions  of,  but  no  way  impugns, 
 the  Elohim's  infinite  power — yet  as  in  the  other  cases  above 
 cited,  the  Omnipotence  which  each  creed  attributes  to  its 
 Deity  Avould,  if  literally  understood,  make  of  that  creed  a 
 jumble  of  contradictions ;  we  must,  if  we  do  not  limit  its 
 meaning,  regard  it,  either  as  an  hyperbolical  compliment, 
 a  sweet  incense  of  flattery  which  man  offers  to  his  God,  or 
 as  one  of  those  instances  of  illogical  absurdity  of  which 
 infant  man  has  no  fear. 
 
 Alljiight  cannot  be  the  attribute  of  any  being  inde- 
 pendently of  whose  will  any  other  thing  or  being  exists. 
 For 
 
 I.  If  any  thing  is  independently  of  the  Deity,  and 
 1st.  If  any  event  happen  either  without  His  command 
 or  contrary  to  His  wish,  then  the  Deity  is  evidently  not 
 Almighty. 
 
 And  2dly.  If  a  chaos  or  matter,  as  the  Jews,  Chinese, 
 Greek  philosophers,  &c.  believe,  has  existed  from  all  eter- 
 nity :  then  as  it  must  have  so  existed,  because  its  creation 
 was  out  of  the  power  or  province  of  the  Deity — and  as  it 
 must  have  so  existed  moreover,  necessarily  possessing  cer- 
 tain inherent  qualities  which,  though  the  Deity  might  turn 
 them  to  use,  mould  them  to  certain  purposes.  He  could  not 
 destroy  because  He  did  not  give ;  then  also  is  the  Deity 
 not  Almighty. 
 
 ^  "  Esse  quoque  in  fatis  reminiscitur  affore  tempus 
 Quo  mare,  quo  tellus,  correptaqne  Regia  Call 
 Ardeat  et  mundi  moles  operosa  laboret." — Ovid.  Mctam.  lib.  i. 
 And  seethe  wLole  policy  of  Olym-     Ju])iter  and  Juno,  concerning-  Sar- 
 pus,  in  this  conversation  between     pedon,  Iliad,  xvi,  433,  &c. 
 
344  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 And  II.  If  any  other  Being  exist  independently  of  Him 
 whom  we  reverence  as  the  Deity ;  and 
 
 If,  first,  that  Being  be  not  co-eternal  with  the  Deity,  but 
 have  merely  sprung  into  existence  without  His  sanction  : 
 then,  as  there  are  evidently  causes  at  work,  which  are 
 either  heyond  the  Deity  s  prevention  or  out  of  the  sphere  of  His 
 knowledge,  the  Deity  is  either  simply  not  Almighty,  or  not 
 Almighty  because  not  all-knowing. 
 
 If  however,  secondly,  that  Being  be  co-eternal  with  the 
 Deity :  then  as  both  cannot  be  infinitely  wise  and  power- 
 ful, &c.,  or,  they  would  then  both  have  one  character,  one 
 will,  and  be  consequently  not  two  but  one  and  the  same 
 being :  one  of  them  must  be  inferior  to  the  other.  And  as 
 that  one  cannot  have,  though  in  a  less  degree,  exactly  the 
 same  attributes  as  this  other,  and  exactly  the  same  sphere  of 
 operation,  without  being  included  in  Him  ;  He  must  there- 
 fore have  other  attributes,  another  will,  another  sphere  of 
 operation,  and  must  in  some  measure  limit,  or  get  without 
 the  will  of  Him  of  whom  we  would  suppose  Allmight  an 
 attribute,  which  is  impossible. 
 
 And  if,  thirdly,  this  second  Being  be  co-eternal  with  the 
 Deity,  but  opposed  to  Him  in  character,  will,  and  attri- 
 butes ;  then,  as  this  Being's  will  is  independent  of  the 
 Deity,  though  over  him  the  Deity  may  have  power,  as  a 
 master  over  a  slave,  yet  over  His  will  He  has  no  more  con- 
 trol than  man  has  over  the  will  of  man.  The  Deity  may 
 torture  and  heap  mountains  on  him,  may  create  a  hell  for 
 him,  may  eventually  destroy  him, — but  his  will  is  there,  an 
 everlasting  monument  that  the  God  with  whom  he  waged 
 unequal  war  is  not  Almighty. 
 
 We  will  now  examine  how  far  the  Allmight  attributed 
 to  the  Deity,  in  the  three  great  creeds  to  which  we  have 
 principally  confined  ourselves,  is  consistent  with  their 
 several  doctrines  of  the  cause  and  origin  of  evil. 
 
 According  to  the  Hindus"  the  Great  Eternal  created  hj 
 
 "  From  a  Gennun  translation  and  well's  I  have  vainly  tried  to  pro- 
 al)strai-t  of  Holwell's  translation  of  cure.  Tn  his  Rel.  Bild.d.  Hindus, 
 the  Sciuiiitah  of  Hraliniah.     Hoi-     Rhode  has  given  the  whole  of  tliis 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  345 
 
 Ms  will  and  out  of  his  own  nature  a  number  of  spiritual 
 beings,  who  were,  accordinp  to  their  otrn  free  choice,  either 
 capable  of  reaching  to  perfection,  or  liahle  to  prefer  tlie  imper- 
 fect. He  created  first  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Schiva,  then 
 Moisasur  and  the  army  of  spirits.  The  highest  place  he 
 gave  to  Brahma ;  Brahma  he  made  lord  over  the  angels, 
 and  Vishnu  and  Schiva  were  his  councillors. 
 
 And  the  Eternal  divided  the  spirits  into  principalities 
 and  powers,  and  over  each  class  he  set  a  chief ;  and,  accord- 
 ing to  their  worth  and  dignity,  they  prayed  round  the  throne 
 of  the  Eternal :  and  harmony  was  in  heaven.  At  length 
 however  Moisasur  and  Ehabun  the  next  to  him  in  rank, 
 through  envy  and  jealousy  turned  to  evil,  and  seduced 
 away  the  powers  under  them,  and  they  all  did  evil  in  the 
 sight  of  the  Eternal,  and  they  refused  him  their  homage, 
 and  said  one  to  the  other,  "  We  will  rule." 
 
 And  the  Eternal  whose  hnowledge  and  provichnce  and 
 influence  extended  over  all  things,  the  acts  of  those  beinqs 
 excepted  whom  he  had  created  free,^  saw  tliis  rebellion  with 
 grief  and  anger.  But,  merciful  even  in  his  wrath,  he  bid 
 Bralmia  and  Vishnu  and  Scliiva  show  the  fallen  spirits 
 their  sin,  and  call  them  back  to  their  duty — but  they  vf  ere 
 hardened  in  evil.  And  nov/  the  Eternal  armed  Schiva 
 with  his  almighty  power  and  urged  him  to  drive  the  rebels 
 from  heaven,  and  to  plunge  them  into  the  abyss  of  darkness 
 and  unspeakable  woe. 
 
 Here  sighed  the  fallen  angels.  But  for  their  forgiveness 
 and  reinstatement  they  who  had  stood  firm  and  continued 
 true  ceased  not  to  pray  the  Eternal.  And  the  Eternal 
 was  moved  by  their  prayers,  and  though  he  could  not  pre- 
 suppose (Er  nicht  voraussetzen  konnte)  that  his  mercy  would 
 have  its  due  effect  on  the  rebel  spirits,  yet  in  the  hope  that 
 they  might  do  penance,  he  decreed  that  they  should  be 
 
 Shastah.     I  can  hut  refer  to  it,  as  sicli  iiber  alle  Dini^e  crslreckt  aus- 
 
 I  have  received   this  work  at  the  ser  uber  die  HaiitUuiigen  der  von 
 
 last  hour,  and  have  only  time  to  ihm     freigeschaffenen    Wesen." — 
 
 hastily  run  over  it.  '  Rhode,    ii.  d.   Werth   einige   Ur- 
 
 1  "  Der  Ewige  dessen  Allwissen-  kundcn  d.  Morgenlandes;  and  see 
 
 heit, Vorherwissenheit und  Einfluss  note  ^  p.  Ill . 
 
 2  Y 
 
346  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 forthwith  set  free  from  the  depths  of  darkness,  and  placed 
 In  some  state  of  trial  where  they  would  be  enabled  to 
 work  out  their  own  salvation  and  happiness.  And  for  this 
 purpose  he  set  apart  fifteen  worlds. 
 
 And  in  the  lowest  of  the  fifteen  worlds  Vischnu  was 
 ordered  to  place  the  spirits,  and  they  were  given  bodies  as 
 prisons,  in  which  according  to  their  crimes  they  were 
 subjected  to  all  natural  ills,  to  accidents,  and  death,  and 
 renewal  in  various  forms.  And  as  ambition  was  the  first 
 sin  of  the  heads  and  chiefs  of  the  angels,  though  they 
 were  not  refused  the  mercy  of  the  Eternal,  yet  was  their 
 power  of  evil  increased,  and  they  Avere  doomed  to  wander 
 thi'ough  eight  worlds,  and,  as  heretofore,  the  inferior  spirits 
 were  made  subject  to  their  temptations.  And  according  as 
 the  one  made  use  of  their  powers  of  evil  to  induce  the  others 
 to  ill,  so  were  their  punishments  increased  and  their  after 
 trials  made  more  severe;  and  as  the  others  more  or  less 
 resisted  the  temptations  which  were  thrown  in  their  way, 
 so  was  their  chance  of  pardon  rendered  more  or  less  certain. 
 
 In  this  legend  we  may  observe,  that  the  Eternal,  as 
 Creator,  is  Almighty  ;  but  that  he  not  merely  creates 
 beings  to  whom  he  gives  a  will  of  their  own,  but  also  places 
 those  beings,  in  so  far  at  least  as  they  are  agents,  beyond 
 the  sphere  of  his  influence.  He  was  Almighty,  but  by  his 
 creation  ceased  to  he  so. 
 
 According  to  the  Zend  creed,  Ahriman  is  coeval  with 
 Ormnzd.  He  is  evil  embodied :  his  dwelling  was  in  the 
 thick  darkness ;  there  he  lay  grovelling  till  the  beams  of 
 Ormuzd's  glorious  creation  stirred  him  to  envy,  and  called 
 into  play  his  wicked  energies : — that  creation  he  rushed 
 forward  to  spoil  and  destroy ;  but  its  beauty  and  its  gran- 
 deur terrified  him,  and  he  skulked  back  to  his  foul  abyss 
 and  spawned  there  Dews  and  Daroudjs,  which,  like  their 
 father,  are  evil,  frightful,  and  breathing  rottenness. 
 
 And  now  Ormuzd,  to  save  his  own  worlds  of  light, 
 offers  Ahriman  peace. — If  Ahriman  will  respect  the  crea- 
 tion  of  Ormuzd,   liis  own  progeny  shall  be  immortal. — 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  347 
 
 Ahriman  refuses  these  terms,  and  declares  war  to  the  last 
 day. 
 
 The  first  i^art  of  this  myth,  the  hate  of  Ahriman,  his 
 horror  and  fear  of  every  thing  that  is  good,  is  finely  ima- 
 gined. 
 
 The  second  'part,  however,  displays  all  the  vice  of  the 
 Zendavesta's  double  creation.  For  though  good  is  to  the 
 death  as  much  the  enemy  of  evil  as  evil  is  of  good,  yet  as 
 in  this  creed  evil  is  coexistent  with  good,  Ahriman  with 
 Ormuzd ;  and  as  Ahriman  is  not  Ormuzd's  creature,  but 
 is  like  Ormuzd  himself  a  creator,  and  like  Ormuzd  strong 
 and  mighty ;  before  his  power  Ormuzd  may  very  fairly 
 be  conceived  almost  to  tremble :  with  him  he  holds  divided 
 empire ;  with  him  he  is  forced,  even  against  his  wish,  to 
 fight  for  supremacy ;  and  though  in  the  end  he  is  to  gain 
 complete  and  assured  victory,  he  suffers  in  the  mean  while 
 many  and  severe  overthrows.  Ormuzd  never  was,  like  the 
 Hindu  Eternal,  almighty. 
 
 The  Satan  of  the  later  Jews  ^  and  Christians, — save  that 
 he  contends  for  man  alone,  that  the  human  soul  is  his  only 
 prey, — partakes  of  the  Ahriman  of  the  Zend,  and  the 
 Moisasur  of  the  Hindu,  creed.  Like  them  he  stands  forth 
 as  the  rival  and  adversary  of  God ;  like  them  he  fights 
 with  God  for  God's  creatures ;  and  like  them  is  often  con- 
 queror. On  the  one  hand,  however,  he  differs  from  the 
 Persian  Ahriman,  in  that  he  is,  like  the  Hindu  Moisasur,  a 
 created  being;  and  that  like  him  he  was  created  pure  and 
 good ;  that  like  him  too  he  was  once  chief  among  the  hea- 
 
 *"  Ormuzd,    qui   scait  tout,   se  quera  pas.'     Alors  Ahriman  repon- 
 
 leva.     II  vit  le  peuple  d'Ahriman,  (lit :  '  Je  renonce  a  toute  liaison ; 
 
 peuple  effrayant,  ne  respirant  que  je  ne  secourerai  pas  votre  peuple ; 
 
 pourriture, mauvais Cependant  je  ne  le    respecterai    pas;    je  ne 
 
 Ormuzd,  qui  scavoit  de  quelle  ma-  m'unirai  avec   vous   pour  aucune 
 
 niere  I'ceuvre  du  Pectiare  Ahriman  ceuvre  pure.     Je  tounnenterai  vo- 
 
 devoit  a  la  fin  se  terminer,  lui  offrit  tre  peuple  tant  que  les  sieclesdure- 
 
 la  paix,   en  lui  disant :  '  O  Ahri-  ront.     Moi,  qui  suis  Tennemi  de 
 
 man,    secours  le  monde   que   j'ai  toutes   vos    productions,   je   ferois 
 
 cree,  respecte-le;  et  ce  que  tu  as  amitie    avec  vous!'"  —  Boun-De- 
 
 produit  sera  immortel,  ne  vieillira  hgsch,  Zendavesta,  vol.  ii,  p.  -Md. 
 pas,  ne  se  corrompera  pas,  ne  man-        ^  Warbuiton's  D.  Leg.  vi,  §2. 
 
'.'AS  CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 venly  host;  and  like  him  sinned  against  his  creator;  and 
 i'd-e  him  was  hurled  to  the  dark  pits  of  hell.  But,  on  the 
 other  hand,  unlike  Moisasiu'  and  liJce  Ahriman,  in  the  bot- 
 tomless pit  is  still  his  habitation ;  like  Ahriman,  he  him- 
 self prowls  forth,  or  sends  out  his  troops  of  subject  spirits, 
 to  plague  men  with  disease  and  misfortune,''  or  to  tempt 
 them  to  crime ;  like  him  too  he  wages  a  war  with  heaven, 
 in  which  heaven  only  can  be  the  loser:  lilte  him,  he  can  tbaw 
 God's  children  from  their  allegiance,  while  his  own  angels 
 are  for  ever  excluded  from  God's  presence  ;5  and,  liJce  him 
 also,  he  rejoices  not  in  sin  merely,  but  also  in  the  sinner's 
 torment :  for  though  hell  is  his  place  of  banishment,  like 
 Ahriman  he  is  king  of  hell. 
 
 Of  these  several  conceptions  of  the  principle  of  evil,  the 
 Persian,  though  the  most  at  variance  with  the  omnipo- 
 tence attributed  to  the  Deity,  is  the  boldest  and  the  most 
 logical.^  Evil,  it  tells  us,  is  Ahriman's  nature — his  good. 
 He  torments  all  pure  creatures,  because  he  hates  purity ; 
 
 ■*  As  in  the  case  of  Job ;  and  Luke  suis  le  crime  ineme" — but  not  in 
 
 xiii.  16.  so  far  as  it  afterwards  converts  or 
 
 ^  The  eternity  of    the   Ormuzd  turns  that  evil  principle  to  good, 
 
 creed  must   be  taken   cum  gmno  (Ha.  xxx.)     For  that  which  is  in 
 
 sails.     Like  the  coquettes,  of  it  we  its   nature,   essence,  evil,  may  be 
 
 may  ask,  annihilated,   but  cannot  be  made 
 
 "  What  day  next  week  th'  eternity  good.     Darkness,  when,  as  in  the 
 
 shall  end  ?"  Zend,  it  is  something  positive,  can- 
 It  lasts  only  "  tant  (|ue  les  etres  not  be  changed  into  light — it  is 
 dureront" — after  which  all  things  destroyed  by  light.  The  conversion 
 return  into  the  bosom  of  Zeruane  of  Ahriman  presupposes  that  evil 
 Akerene — Time  without  bounds, i.e.  in  him  is  accidental, — his  choice 
 Nihilism.  After  tv/elve  thousand  merely;  that  he  was  created  good, 
 years,  moreover,  Ahriman  will  be  and  with  a  nature  capable  of  good, 
 cither  destroyed  by  Ormuzd,  or  he  — a  view  which  is  also  found  in  the 
 and  ;ill  his  Dews  will  become  pure ;  Zend.  Thus  Ha.  xix.  "  Le  celeste 
 — but  this,  not  on  account  of  the  Ormuzd  prononCj-a  THonovcr;  moi 
 war  with  Ahriman,  but  because  it  celeste,  j'operai ;  et  le  chef  du  mal 
 has  been  so  decreed.  ne  fut  plus.     II  dit  au  milieu  des 
 
 ''The  most  logical,   only  in  so  Darvands, — il  dit  dans  le  Douzakh, 
 
 far  as  it  makes  the  evil  principle  '  Je  ue  penserai  pas  le  bieu ;  je  ne 
 
 independent  of  the  good,  as  in  Ha.  le  dirai  pas;  je  ne  serai  pas  intel- 
 
 xliv,  vol.  i,  p.  193,  where  Ahriman,  ligent.  Jeneveuxnime  soumettrc, 
 
 "  au  commencement  du  monde  ce-  ni  parler,  ni  agir;  je  renonce  a  la 
 
 leste,"    thus    addresses    Ormuzd :  lot ;  mon  ame,  qui  existe,  ne  rc- 
 
 '  O  vous  ((ui  etcs  rcxccllencc,  je  connoit  pas  cctte  parole." 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  349 
 
 and  he  tempts  man  to  do  him  service,  to  sin,  because 
 he  thus  v/eakens  the  power  of  Ormuzd  and  enlarges  his 
 own  dominion.  It  accotmts  for  the  origin  of  evil  by 
 assuming  its  co-existence  with  good.  Kot  so  the  Hindu 
 and  Judaico-C/iristian  creeds :  they  account,  not  for  the 
 origin  of  evil  itself,  but  for  the  evil  in  tliis  our  world. 
 For, 
 
 I.  As  regards  the  Hindu  faith.  Because  Moisasur  sinned, 
 this  w^orld  and  our  bodies  were  created  as  prisons  for  the 
 tallen  angels,  and  the  soul  therefore  comes  to  inhabit  them 
 already  steeped  in  sin.  So  far  good.  But  when  we  ask, 
 how  came  Moisasur  to  sin  ?  The  Hindu  books  attempt  to 
 answer  the  question  by  supposing,  that  the  Eternal  created 
 his  angels  in  2^((-rt  jter/ect,  in  part  imperfect,  and  that 
 having  created  them  free  he  withdrew  from  them  the  con- 
 troul  of  his  influence ;  they  therefore  sinned  without  his 
 foreknowledge — and  yet  sinned  because  they  had  been 
 created  to  sin,  because  they  had  been  created  favdty. 
 The  Hindu  creed  leaves  the  origin  of  sin  still  a  mystery, 
 and  strives  to  be  consequent  at  the  expense  of  the  Deity's 
 omniscience  and  omnipotence.     And  similarly 
 
 The  Judaico-Christian  mythology  informs  us  that  Satan 
 and  his  legions  sinned,  and  because  they  sinned  were  driven 
 from  heaven.  And  if  we  ask  how  Satan  came  to  sin,  avc 
 are  told  that  God  created  the  angels  w4th  a  will  of  their 
 ow^n,  a  choice,  and  that,  in  consequence  of  that  will,  many 
 of  them  chose  evil,  and  having  power  over  us,  tempt  us  to 
 do  likewise.  Satan  then  was  the  first  sinner;  but  if  Satan, 
 an  angel,  chief  among  the  choir  of  heaven,  sinned,  un- 
 tempted,  why  may  not  we  ?  Wherefore  then  this  thick 
 cloud  of 
 
 "  Black  spirits  and  white, 
 Red  spirits  and  grey"  ? 
 
 this  cumbersome  machinery  of  devils  wliich,  though  it 
 may  give  interest  to  a  poem  or  a  play,  suits  little  with  the 
 known  manifestations  of  God's  providence  ?  Besides,  if 
 the  Deity  created  His  angels  with  a  power  of  choice,  a  will 
 to  choose  between  good  and  evil,  if  He  Himself  knew  good 
 
350  CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 and  evil,'  evil  already  existed,  in  thought  at  least.  Whence 
 then  evil  ? 
 
 All  these  embodiments  of  evil  arc  besides  liable  to  objec- 
 tion. 
 
 I.  Because  by  them  evil  is  placed  before  us  as  something 
 positive,  whereas  it  is  a  want :  as  of  health,  whence  phy- 
 sical pain :  of  knowledge,  whence  low  and  narrow  views  of 
 right,  a  selfish  morality,  and  of  self-discipline;  whence 
 inability  to  act  up  to  our  standard  of  right,  our  morality. 
 To  Evil  these  creeds  give  strength,  strength  and  power, 
 not  merely  to  fight  against  Good,  but  to  overcome  her. 
 Good  is  weak  before  her  enemy ;  and  though  she  fights 
 with  divine  might  and  divine  weapons,  she  shrinks  from 
 the  combat  which  she  should  herself  provoke.  Like  the 
 fabled  knights  of  old  let  her  go  in  the  face  of  day  against  the 
 fiend.  His  puny  enchantments,  his  airy  monsters,  his 
 jabbering  spectres,  fade  away  before  her  indomitable  will. 
 As  she  moves,  Aveakness  gathers  strength ;  what  was  scat- 
 tered or  fallen  is  united  or  built  up ;  from  her  eyes  beam 
 light  and  happiness;  law  and  order  flow  from  her  lips; 
 and  at  every  word  she  utters,  at  every  lesson,  whether  of 
 science  or  of  morals,  that  she  teaches  the  listening  nations, 
 she  strikes  down  and  treads  to  the  earth  and  annihilates 
 some  one  of  the  infinite  spawn  of  the  ever-worsted  Ahri- 
 man.  Yes,  evil  is  in  the  world  :  why,  we  know  not,  nor 
 shall  discover :  but  because  all  that  is,  and  ever  can,  and 
 shall  be,  is  and  must  be,  God's  work ;  because  as  the  one 
 self-existent  and  sole  Creator,  God  is  necessarily  Almighty ;  ® 
 
 ^  "  Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  I  was  fifteen),  the  purport  of  which 
 
 one  of  us,  to  know  <^ood  and  evil."  was  to  show  what  things  are  impos- 
 
 *  Cudworth,  ut  supra,  cites  from  sible,   even  to  Omnipotence.     All 
 
 Aristotle  a  Greek  poet  to  the  effect  such  speculations  are,  it  seems  to 
 
 "  that    nothins?  is  exempted  from  me,  out  of  our  province ;  they  are 
 
 the  power  of  God,  but  only  this, —  all   based   too  on  tlie  supposition 
 
 that  He  cannot  make  that  not  to  that  the  laws  of  our  mind  are  the 
 
 have  been,  which  hath  been:  i.e.  only  possible  laws;    but  as  those 
 
 do  what  implies  a  contradiction."  laws  God  imposed  upon  us,  how 
 
 T  remember  too  a  sermon  or  treatise  know  we  that  he  might  not  have 
 
 of  (Charnock's  ?) — (I  write  hesita-  imposed  altogether  different  ones  ? 
 tingly,  for  1  have  not  seen  it  since 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  351 
 
 it  is  there  we  humbly  beheve  by  God's  will,  and  in  fur- 
 therance of  the  great  schemes  of  God's  providence. 
 
 And  II.  Because  they  tend  to  sensualize  the  Deity.  To 
 evil,  are  ever  opposed  good,  angels.  We  see  God  on  His 
 throne  surrounded  by  cherubim  and  seraphim,  through 
 whom  He  hears  the  prayers  and  provides  for  the  wants  of 
 mankind,  and  whom  He  sends  forth  as  the  ministers  of 
 His  will,  to  protect  His  servants  and  fulfil  His  commands. 
 We  think  too  of  the  evil  spirits  as  lurking  about  our  world, 
 hiding  in  our  homes,  and  when  the  eye  of  God  or  of  His 
 angels  is  not  on  them,  sallying  forth  to  do  man  mischief, 
 and  to  thwart  the  course  of  God's  law.  With  views  like 
 these  how  can  any  pure,  although  imperfect,  knowledge  of 
 God  ever  exist?  What  becomes  of  His  infinite  power, 
 or  goodness,  or  providence  ?  They  are  reduced  to  empty 
 names ;  and  the  Deity  is  degraded  to  a  Persian  sovereign, 
 who  dwells  in  the  innermost  recesses  of  his  palace,  while 
 his  satraps  govern  his  armies  and  his  provinces." 
 
 "  I  am  the  Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou 
 perfect."  Though  we  will  not  venture  to  enumerate  the 
 characteristics  which  are  essentially  distinctive  of  a  reve- 
 lation, we  will,  in  reference  to  the  noble  precept  before  us, 
 cursorily  note  some  of  the  conditions  Avhich  every  doctrine 
 professinci  to  he  revealed  should  fulfil,  although  we  must, 
 at  the  same  time,  acknowledge  that  the  fulfilment  of  these 
 conditions  is  no  evidence  of  a  revelation. 
 
 I.  Every  such  revelation  then  must  be  couched  in  terms, 
 or  made  in  a  tone  which  is  intelligible  to  those  for  whom 
 it  is  intended.  If  it  should  be  addressed  to  simple  men, 
 it  must  be  expressed  in  sincere,  and  plain,  and  simple  lan- 
 guage. For  to  such  men,  the  bitter  irony  of  Voltaire  or 
 of  Swift  would  be  sober  earnest,  and  the  abstraction  of 
 metaphysics  a  ridiculous  jargon. 
 
 II.  It  must  tell  man  something  he  did  not  know  before. 
 Heaven  comes  not  down  to  earth,  to  speak  to  us  of  truths 
 
 "  Thus,  in  Tobit,  Raphael  says  sent  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and 
 of  himself:  "I  am  Raphael,  one  which  (!^o  in  and  out  before  the  glory 
 of  the  seven  holy  angels  which  pre-     of  the  Holy  One." — Tohit  xii.  15. 
 
352  CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 which  we  may  gather  on  every  bush,  commonplaces  which 
 are  in  every  mouth ;  but  to  tell  us  of  something  we  had 
 not  perceived, — of  which  we  were  ignorant ; — something 
 we  could  not  ourselves  discover. 
 
 III.  It  must  speak  to  the  common  sense  of  those  to 
 whom  it  is  addressed ;  it  must  be  reasonable  in  their  eyes, 
 suitable  to  their  capacity  and  state  of  civilization.  It  must 
 contain  a  truth  for  them,  or  they  will  reject  it  as  al)surd 
 and  impossible.  For  instance,  there  are  savages  in  Africa" 
 Avho,  because  gunpowder  and  muskets  and  shoes  and 
 stockings  do  not  grow  wild  in  their  country,  regard  their 
 God  as  a  black  and  mischievous  and  vindictive  being. 
 Let  us  now  suppose  that  to  these  men  we  speak  of  a  reli- 
 gion which  promises  inward  peace  and  content  and  joy 
 to  aU  who  truly  love  and  serve  the  Deity,  but  which  leaves 
 wealth,  power,  &c.,  the  probable  rewards  of  industry,  pru- 
 dence and  worldly  wisdom,  as  well  to  the  irreligious  as  the 
 religious  man  :  how  would  these  men  receive  our  words  ?2 
 They  would  laugh  us  to  scorn.^  As  earthly  good  is  their 
 only  good,  as  spiritual  good  they  know  not  of,  the  God 
 and  the  religion  we  preached  to  them  would  in  their  eyes 
 be  nothing  worth.  To  these  people,  a  pure  revelation 
 therefore,  Christianity  for  instance,    could   not  be  made, 
 
 '  "  Lcur  Dieu  etoit  noir  et  me-  ^  For  instance,  Socrates,  when  he 
 
 chant ;  il  prenoit  plaisiv  a  leur  can--  compels  Crito  to  admit  that  never 
 
 ser   mille   sorle  de   tourmens;  au  is  injustice  other  than  evil,  and  that 
 
 lieu  que  celui  des  Europeens  etoit  therefore  man  must  never  repay  in- 
 
 un  treshon  Dieu,  puisqu'il  les  trai-  justice   with    injustice,    evil   with 
 
 toit  comme  ses  enfans,"     Why  the  evil,  as  the  many  tliink — wec>E  ttoX- 
 
 European  God  is  a  p;ood  God,  we  Xoi  oioi'rai— hids  him  at  the  same 
 
 learn :  "  Dans   leurs  idees   on  n'a  time  beware  how  he  assents  to  this 
 
 besoin  en  Europe  ni  de  travail  ni  doctrine,  as  he  will  find  it  neither 
 
 d'industrie  pour  se  procurer  toutes  then  nor  at  any  other  time  a  popu- 
 
 sortes  de  commodites ;  et  la  predi-  lar  one— oI5a  yaf)  on  oXiyoic  rio-t 
 
 lection  de  Dieu  pour  les  hlancs  leiir  ravra  yap  ^okei  kctc  ?o4'£t. — Plato  in 
 
 fail  trouver  toutes  lenr.f  richesses  au  Crito.     How  little  Socrates  foresaw 
 
 milieu  des  champs^ — Hist.  Gen. des  that  this  morality  so  despised  in  his 
 
 Voyages,  vol.  iv,liv.  ix,§vii,  p.  155.  day,  and  which  seems  to  have  cs- 
 
 '•^  When  Franklin  told  one  of  the  caped    the    notice    of   Xcnophon, 
 
 Anjifetkooks,  orconjurcn'sof  the  Es-  (for  we  can  fsnd  no  trace  whatever 
 
 quimaux,  of  a  Deity  who  was  every  of  it  in  his   Memorabilia)   would 
 
 where,  the  Anp,-etkook  rushed  away,  hereafter  be  in  the  mouth  of  every 
 
 and  hid  himself  in  terror.  field  preacher! 
 
CHAPTER  XV.  353 
 
 for  it  could  not  without  long  preparation  be  received  or 
 even  rendered  intelligible  to  them. 
 
 IV.  Every  such  revelation,  because  it  is  from  God, 
 must  contain  not  merely  a  truth  for  the  people  to  whom 
 it  is  addressed,  but  a  truth  for  their  posterity,  for  all  time ; 
 its  doctrine  must  be  eternally  and  universally  true ;  and 
 while  therefore  that  doctrine  takes  many  diifferent  hues, 
 and  wears  many  shapes,  according  to  the  different  ages, 
 and  different  states  of  civilization,  and  even  different  cha- 
 racters which  receive  it, — it  appears  still  ever  suggestive 
 of  other  truths,  still  inexhausted  and  inexhaustible,  and 
 still  expansible  to  infinity.  It  stands  ever  before  us  as 
 some  great  problem  which  Humanity  in  its  long  life  can 
 alone  fully  work  out  and  solve. 
 
 All  these  conditions  this  grand  precept  fulfils.  It  is  a 
 principle,  a  motive  for  moral  conduct  intelhgible  even  to 
 savages ;  and  yet  within  itself  it  contains  the  germs  of  a 
 large  and  Christian  morality.  It  speaks  to  all  ages  and 
 times  ;  the  child  feels  its  truth  ;  it  enters  into  the  faith  of 
 the  negro,^  and  before  its  grandeur  the  philosopher  stands 
 abashed. 
 
 Verse  2.  How  lame  a  conclusion,  alas,  to  how  grand  a 
 beginning !  "  I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and 
 thee  and  multiply  thee  exceedingly."  He,  who  but  now 
 was  the  God  of  the  universe,  dwindles  down  into  the 
 Fetisch  of  the  Gold  Coast  negro — and  naturally  enough. 
 Among  infant  people,  the  earthly  and  the  sensual,  how- 
 ever they  may  be  a  moment  thrown  into  the  shade  by  some 
 distant  glimpse  of  the  eternal  and  the  spiritual,  soon  re- 
 claim their  wonted  empire.  It  is  not  God,  the  infinitely 
 good  and  powerful,  they  care  to  worship, — but  God,  as  the 
 giver  of  good  things.     Hence  where  many  Gods  are  wor- 
 
 ■*  e.f/.  "Les  negves  de  la  Cote  leuvs  mauvaises.     lis  font  consister 
 
 d'Or,   suivant   Bosman,   ont  dans  cette  recompense  dans  le  nombre  de 
 
 leurs  maisons  un  Fetiche,  auquel  leurs  femmes  et  de  lews  esclaves,  et 
 
 \h  cvoient  les  yeux  sans  cesse  ouveris  la  punition  dans  la  perte  de  ces 
 
 sur  leur  conduite,  pour  recompenser  biens." — Histoire  Genciale  des  Vo- 
 
 leurs  bonnes  actions,  et  pour  punir  yages,  p.  160. 
 
 2z 
 
354  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 shipped,  not  the  greatest  and  the  holiest  God  is  the  most 
 worshipped,  but  he  who  will  most  favour  his  worshippers. 
 Hence  in  the  middle  ages  the  devotion  which  was  paid  to 
 miracle-working  saints  and  relics  of  saints,  a  devotion 
 which  superseded  the  worship  of  God.*  And  hence  too 
 Moses  (perhaps  because  he  himself  so  conceived  of  the 
 Deity,  or  perhaps  because  he  knew  all  the  weakness  and 
 sensuality  of  his  nation  and  therefore  subdued  his  own 
 lofty  spirit  to  the  spirit  of  his  age)  a  second  time  closes 
 the  short  but  rich  view  which  he  gives  the  Israelites  of 
 pure  religion,  with  promises  of  blessings  which  they  could 
 better  understand  and  more  prized.  He  shows  them  God 
 as  they  themselves  desired  to  see  Him,  and  he  thus  with- 
 draws from  them  every  pretext  for  the  worship  and 
 acknowledgment  of  other  Gods. 
 
 Verses  3-14.  The  Elohim  changes  the  name  of  Abram, 
 from  Abram,  sublime  father,  to  Abraham,  father  of  multi- 
 tudes. He  then  enters  into  a  covenant  with  Abraham,  by 
 which  He  promises  to  make  him  the  father  of  nations  and  of 
 kings,  and  to  give  to  his  descendants  Canaan  for  an  ever- 
 lasting possession ;  but  in  return  demands  that  Abraham 
 and  his  posterity  on  their  parts  circumcise  the  flesh  of  their 
 foreskin  in  token  of  the  covenant  betwixt  Him  and  them. 
 
 This  covenant  imposes  circumcision  on  the  descendants 
 of  Abraham.  As  this  seems  however  to  have  been  a  rite 
 which  other  nations  observed  in  common  with  the  Jews, 
 much  dispute  has  arisen  as  to  the  peojjle  with  Avhom  it 
 originated.  We  will  therefore  endeavour  to  ascertain  what 
 nations  besides  the  Jews  practised  this  rite — the  extent  to 
 which  it  prevailed  among  them — and  its  supposed  objects 
 and  orioinal. 
 
 '  Of  the  shrine  of    Thonias-a-  7i'cut  pas  une  offrande.'''' — Histoire 
 
 Becket,  Michelet  rehites :  "  Selon  de  France,  vol.  ii,  pp.  345-fi.   See 
 
 une  tradition,  on  aurait,  en  un  an,  Rapin,  vol.  i.  p.  818,  book  xv,  note, 
 
 offert  jusqu'a  950  livres  sterlings  who  from   the  ledger  book  of  the 
 
 a  la  chapelle  de  St.  Thomas,  tandis  offerings  gives  the  exact  sums.     In 
 
 que  I'autel  de  la  Vierge  ne  recut  confirmation  of  this  account,  vide 
 
 que  quatre  livres.     Dieu  bti-meme  Burnet,vol.i.p.244,<ScStowe,p.57f>. 
 
CHAPTER    XV. 
 
 355 
 
 Sanchonlatho  (supposed  by  some  to  be  a  cotemporary  of 
 Gideon,  by  others  of  Solomon)  is  the  first  profane  author 
 who  speaks  of  circumcision.  He  tells  us  that  on  occasion 
 "  of  a  plague  with  a  great  mortality,  Chronus  offered  up 
 his  only  begotten  son  as  a  sacrifice  to  his  father  Ouranus, 
 and  circumcised  himself  and  compelled  his  allies  to  do  the 
 same."^  From  Herodotus  we  learn,  that  circumcision  was 
 practised  by  the  Colchians,  Egyptians,  Ethiopians,  and 
 Syrians  of  Palestine,  and,  though  still  in  use,  was  then 
 (450  B.  c)  beginning  to  be  discontinued  by  the  Phenicians,' 
 esiiecially  those  who  had  any  intercourse  with  the  Greeks. 
 
 *  Vide  Coiy's  Ancient  Fragments, 
 p.  10. 
 
 '  Movvoi  'KavTii)v  avQpwTTiiiv  KoX- 
 1^01  Kai  Aiyv-TTTioi  Kcii  AiGiOTrig 
 TTtpiTa/n'ovrai  mr'  apxnc  Ta  ailoia. 
 ^oiviKtQ  Se  Kai  Supot  6i  ev  ry  Tla- 
 XeaTLvy,  Kai  avroi  ofioXoyiovai  iraa 
 AiyvTTTdov  ^iina9r]Kivai-  Ivpoi  h 
 01  mpi  Qspfiixj^ovTa  Kai  Uapdiviov 
 ■KOTafjLOv,  Kai  MaKpiovsg  ot  Tovroiai 
 affTvytiTOveg  eovre^,  aizo  KoXy'^*' 
 ^a(7i  vtwcTTi  fitfia9i]KEvai. . .  .avTo>v 
 Se  ALyvirTHxiv  kui  AiOioirwv  ovk  S')((t) 
 
 HTTEIV     OKOrepOl      TTapa      TUV      STSpOJV 
 
 t'^inaOov wc    CETTifiiayoixsvoi 
 
 AiyvTVTu)  t^iiiaOov,  jieya  /loi  Kai  Toet 
 TSKfirjpiov  yiveraf  ^oiviKtji)v  OKoaoi 
 ry  Y.XKaSi  eTTijiKTyovrai,  ovketi 
 AiyvTTTiovQ nifitovrai  Kara  ra  ai^oia, 
 aXKa  T(x)V  fKiyivonti>ii)v  ov  TTspi- 
 Tofivovtri  ra  atSoia.  Herod,  lib.  ii. 
 s.  104. 
 
 Calmet,  however  (art.  Circumci- 
 sion), informs  us  "  that  those  who 
 assert  that  the  Phenicians  were  cir- 
 cumcised, mean  probably  the  Sa- 
 maritans ;  for  we  know  from  other 
 authority,"  what  he  does  not  deign 
 to  mention,"  that  thePhenicians  did 
 not  observe  this  ceremony."  Surely 
 Calmet  overlooks  the  testimony  of 
 Sanchoniatho,  which  alone  is  of  lit- 
 tle weight,  but  which  receives  au- 
 thority from,  and  gives  it  to,  the 
 evidence  of  Herodotus.  Sancho- 
 niatho accounts  for  a  rite  which  in 
 
 his  day  obtained  somewhere,  and  he 
 tells  us  that  the  inventor  of  the  rite 
 was  a  Phenician  king  and  god. 
 Some  centuries  after,  Herodotus 
 calls  the  Phenicians  a  circumcised 
 people.  Surely  there  can  l)e  little 
 doubt  but  that  the  Phenicians  to 
 whom  he  alludes,  are  the  Pheni- 
 cians of  Sanchiouatho.  Moreover, 
 the  Phenicians  of  Herodotus  are  a 
 people  who,  he  tells  us,  were  in  ha- 
 bits of  intercourse  with  the  Greeks 
 (vide  Josephus  cent.  Apion,  i,  §  12) 
 and  that  Greek  opinion  had  influ- 
 ence over  them.  Is  this,  I  ask, 
 applicable  to  the  Samaritiins,  who 
 were  unknown  to  the  Greeks  till 
 the  time  of  Alexander  ?  (Vide 
 Marsham,  Canon  Chron.  sec.  ix, 
 p.  144.) 
 
 Again,  Ammonius,  (Calmet's  au- 
 thority?) speaking  of  theldumoeans 
 as  Phenicians — and  Witsius  un- 
 derstands him  of  the  Phenicians 
 of  Herodotus — uses,  according  to 
 Prideaux,  these  words  :  "  Juda^i 
 sunt  qui  a  natura  ita  fueruut 
 ab  initio.  Idumaei  uon  fuerunt 
 Judaei  ab  initio,  sed  Phcenices  et 
 Sj/ri,  a  Judceis  autem  superati,  et, 
 ut  circumciderentur,  et  in  unam 
 cum  iis  gentem  coirent,  et  eisdem 
 legibus  subderentur  adacti,  Juda;i 
 sunt  nominati." — Connection,  vol. 
 iii,  p.  366.  Now  from  Josephus, 
 Ant.  1.  xiii,  c.  17,  we  learn  that  the 
 
356  CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 Philo-JudtEuss  speaks  of  it  as  a  rite  sedulously  ob- 
 served by  many  nations  and  more  especially  by  the  Egyp- 
 tians. Josephus^  confirms  the  testimony  of  Herodotus  as 
 regards  the  Egyptians.  And  that  the  Egyptians  practised 
 and  held  circmncision  in  honour  the  Bible  itself  seems 
 to  admit :  for  Joshua  (chapter  v.  8,  9)  after  the  Israelites 
 have  been  circumcised,  represents  the  Lord  as  saying, 
 "  This  day  have  I  rolled  away  the  reproach  of  Egypt  from 
 you."  In  Jeremiah  moreover  (chapter  ix,  25,  26)  according 
 to  Michaelis  (I  must  own,  however,  that  his  interpretation 
 of  the  passage,  though  it  accords  tolerably  welP  with  his 
 translation  of  it,  seems  to  me  somewhat  forced),  we  find  an 
 enumeration  of  several  circumcised  people,  which  besides 
 the  Egyptians  and  the  Jews,  includes  the  Edomites,  Am- 
 monites, Moabites  and  Arabs  of  the  wilderness. 
 
 Through  the  Arabians  and  the  Jews  this  rite,  we  may 
 observe,  has  survived  even  to  this  day — both  people  still 
 practise  circumcision;  and  through  the  Arabians,  who 
 derive  the    custom   from   their  ancestor  Ishmael,    it  has 
 
 Idumeans  were  conquered  by  Hyr-  *  ntptroyiijj,  Trpay/xa  (ncovlalo- 
 cauus,  and  by  him  compelled  either  ^tvov  ov  ixerpMg  kuI  Trtpi  ertpotc 
 to  submit  to  the  Jewish  laws  and  iOvtffi,  Kai  [laXiara  toj  aiyvKTuiKij). 
 customs,  or  to  quit  their  country.  — Phil.  JudiEus,  inpi  irepiTonrie, 
 Many  preferred  submission.  As  p.  810,  ed.  Turneb. 
 this,  however,  happened  about  129  *  Quotes  Herodotus,  ut  supra, 
 B.C.,  it  could  scarcely  be  to  them  cont.  Apion.  lib.  i,  §  xxii. 
 that  Herodotus,  450  B.C.,  alluded.  i  Mosaiches  Recht,  §  v,  p.  184, 
 I  think  we  must  conclude  then  that  which  with  Hoffman's  art.  Be- 
 the  Phenicians  of  Herodotus  were  schneuhmcf,  Ersch  &  Gruber  Ency- 
 real  Phenicians,Phenicians  of  Tyre,  clop.;  Witsius  ^Egyptiaca;  Spenser, 
 and  Sidon,  and  Byblus.  We  must  De  Legibus  Heb. ;  and  Marsham, 
 observe,  however,  that  when  he  Canon.  Chron.,  I  have  freely  con- 
 speaks  of  these  people  as  circumci-  suited  and  made  use  of. 
 sing,  he  speaks  of  them  also  as  be-  *  "  Es  kommen  Zeiten  spricht 
 spinning  to  discontinue  the  custom ;  Jehova,  da  ich  liber  alle  Beschnit- 
 and  consequently,  neither  in  Dio-  tenen  die  Vorhaut  halien,  Gericht 
 dorus  Sic.  chap,  i,  parti,  §  xxviii,  halteu  will" — "Behold  the  days 
 nor  in  Strabo,  are  they  mentioned  come  that  I  will  hold  judgment 
 among  the  circumcising  nations,  over  all  the  circumcised  who  are 
 In  the  same  way,  the  Idumeans  uncircumcised,"  &c.  —  Uebersetz. 
 seem  at  one  time  to  have  circum-  d.  Bibel.  But  surely  the  Ammon- 
 cised,  (Jeremiah  xx)  and  to  have  ites  and  Moabites  were  not  cir- 
 afterwards  dropped  the  practice,  till  cumcised  :  see  Deuteronomy  xxiii. 
 they  were  again  compelled  to  it  by  3  and  7 ;  and  Marshain's  Canon. 
 Hyrcanus.  Chron.  p.  1(58;  and  Judith  xiv.5-10. 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  357 
 
 established  itself  among  all  the  professors  of  the  Moham- 
 medan religion,  Asiatic  and  African,  and  in  Africa  has 
 spread  even  amid  the  neighbouring  people,  as  the  Abyssi- 
 nians  and  CafFres.  But  noc  only  in  the  Old  World,  and 
 not  only  among  nations  who  were  more  or  less  in  habits  of 
 intercourse  one  with  the  other,  has  cu'cumcision  obtained, 
 it  was  known  also  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  Conti- 
 nent. Captain  Cook^  found  it  practised  by  the  islanders 
 of  the  Pacific;  and  De  Sons'*  relates,  that  among  the 
 Mexicans  "  New-born  infants  were  brought  up  to  the  altar, 
 and  there  with  a  thorn  of  Maguey  or  a  lancet  of  flint  the 
 priests  drew  some  blood  from  the  privy  parts,  after  which 
 they  either  sprinkled  them  with  water  or  dipped  them 
 into  it." 
 
 We  shall  now  examine  the  extent  to  which  this  rite 
 prevailed  among  these  several  nations.  Among  the  Jews 
 we  find  that  every  male  descendant  of  Abraham,  conse- 
 quently all  Israelites,  must  be  circumcised,  and  with  them, 
 all  bought,  and  born,  slaves  (ver.  12,  13).  We  find  also, 
 when  Abraham  has  grown  into  a  nation,  a  provision  made 
 (Exod.  xii,  44-48)  for  the  naturalization  of  strangers ;  all 
 who  will  be  circumcised  and  keep  the  passover,  shall  be  as 
 those  that  are  born  in  the  land.*  Circumcision  gave  the 
 stranger  a  right  to  partake  of  the  passover,  and  his  joining 
 in  that  feast  was  considered  an  evidence  that  he  had  become 
 one  of  the  nation.  To  use  modern  language,  circumcision 
 gave  the  stranger  the  freedom  of  the  state,  and  the  keeping 
 the  passover  showed  merely  that  he  had  taken  up  that 
 freedom.  Children  were  circumcised  eight  days  after  their 
 birth :  purchased  slaves  and  foreigners,  the  one  when  they 
 were  bought,  the  other  immediately  on  their  desire  to  natu- 
 
 ^  Cook's  Voyage,  vol.  i,  ii.  cains,  part,  iv,  §  iv. 
 
 *  De  Solis,  Conquest  of  Mexico.  «  And  thus  it  was  probably  "  that 
 
 These  lancets  of  flint  remind  me  of  many  of  the  people  of  the  land  be- 
 
 Joshua's  "knives  of  flint."      See  came'  Jews"    in    Esther    viii.   17. 
 
 marginal  reading  (chap.  v.  3),  and  The  provisions  in  Exodus  for  the 
 
 the   \idov  AiOoTTiKov  used    by    the  naturalization    of    foreigners,    no 
 
 Egyptians    in    embalming   (Diod.  doubt   the  original   law,   seem  to 
 
 Sic.  lib.  i,  c.  xci.) ;  and  see  also  De  have  been  revised  and  limited  by 
 
 Pauw,  Recherches  sur  les  Ameri-  the  subsequent  law  of  Deuter.xxiil. 
 
358 
 
 CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 ralize  as  Jews.  Among  the  Jews  then,  circiuncision 
 appears  as  the  great  national  symbol,  which  all  without 
 exception®  were  obliged  to  take  upon  themselves. 
 
 Of  the  Egyptians,  Herodotus  tells  us  merely,  that  they 
 circumcised;  Strabo  and  AmbrosiusHhat they  circumcised 
 their  children  of  both  sexes,  and  circumcised  them,  adds 
 Ambrosius  {nescio  unde  edoctus,  observes  Marsham)  in  their 
 fourteenth  year.  Philo-Juda;us  says  generally,  that  they 
 held  circumcision  in  high  honour  ;  but  Josephus^  speaks  of 
 it  as  a  rite,  which  in  Egypt  was  regarded  as  obligatory  on 
 the  priest  class  only,  though  it  was  not  therefore  limited  to 
 that  class.  Clemens®  informs  us,  that  to  be  initiated  into 
 the  mysteries  of  the  Egyptian  priests  Pythagoras  under- 
 went circumcision;  and  Origen^  affirms  that  no  one  in 
 Egypt  could  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  astronomy  or 
 geometry  or  hieroglyphics,   or  become  a  priest  or  sooth- 
 
 ^  This  is  not  to  be  understood 
 quite  literally.  For  "  Lightfoot 
 infonns  us  that  the  frequent  mor- 
 tality this  rite  occasioned,  produced 
 a  standing  order,  that  when  any 
 person  lost  three  children  succes- 
 sively hy  the  operation,  he  was  to 
 be  excused  from  circumcisint>-  the 
 rest;  in  consequence  of  which  there 
 were  actually  many  uncircuracised 
 among  them,  who  in  these  circum- 
 stances were  esteemed  still  to  be  in 
 all  points  as  good  Israelites  and 
 even  as  perfect  priests  as  the  rest." 
 — From  Middleton,  Letter  to  Wa- 
 terland,  Works,  vol.  ii,  p.  158. 
 
 ^  Michaelis,  Mosaisches  Recht, 
 vol.  iv,  §  clxxxv ;  and  Mai'sham, 
 Canon.  Chron.  p.  74  and  168.  Most 
 probably  Strabo  refers  to  the  Arab- 
 ians, who  to  this  day  circumcise 
 both  sexes. 
 
 *  Cont.  Apion.  lib.  ii,  §  xiii : 
 }<La\  ixi)v  II  TiQ  avToi'  ijptro,  twv 
 TzavTwv  AiyvTTTKop  Tivag  tii'ai  icai 
 <TO(pwT(iTOvc  Kfti  BtoaejStig  vojut^tt, 
 TravTwg  av  cJno\oyt](TE,  tovq  iipetg, 
 Svo  yap  avTOvg  ^aatv  inro  to>v  ftaai- 
 \€ix)v  t't,  ap')(r]Q  ravra  Trpoffrfrax^rtt, 
 Tr]v  Tt  Tiov  Sraov  Btpcnrtiav,  Kai  rtjg 
 
 rrofjiiaQ  TTjv  fTTifitXiiav,  EKSivoi  roi- 
 vvv  a-KaVTtQ  icai  Tnpirai-nwvrai. 
 
 ^  From  Marsham,  Canon.  Chron. 
 p.  73 :  "  Pythagoras  cum  ^Egyp- 
 tiorum  prophetis  congressus  esse, 
 dicitur,  Si  ovg  icai  TripuTinvero,  iva 
 St  Kal  tig  ra  aovra  KUTtXOwv,  Trjv 
 fXvariKTjv  Trap  AiyvTrrtov  tKj.iadoi 
 <piko(jo<piav.  (Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  lib. 
 i,  cap.  cccii. 
 
 '  "  Apud  J^lgyptios  inquam  nul- 
 lus  aut  geometrias  studebat,  aut 
 astronomic,  quae  apud  illos  proe- 
 cipuce  ducuntur,  nuUus  certe  astro- 
 logiae  et  geneseos,  qua  nihil  divi- 
 nius  putant,  secreta  rimabatur,  nisi 
 circumcisione  suscepta.  Sacerdos 
 apud  cos,  aruspex,  aut  quorumlibet 
 sacrorum  minister,  vel,  ut  illi  ap- 
 pellant, propheta  omnis,  circumci- 
 sus  est.  Literas  quoque  sacerdotales 
 veterum  jEgyptiorum,  quas  hiero- 
 glyphicos  appellant,  nemo  disce- 
 bat,  nisi  circumcisus.  Omnis  hie- 
 rophantes,  omnis  vates,  omnis  cceli, 
 infernique  myster  et  conscius,  apud 
 eos  ipse  non  creditur  nisi  circum- 
 cisus."— Origines  ad  Rom.  Ep.c.  ii, 
 §  xiii,  from  Michaelis,  Mosaisches 
 Recht,  §  clxxxv. 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  359 
 
 sayer  or  prophet,  unless  he  were  first  circumcised.  Epi- 
 phanms^  speaks  of  circumcision  as  pecuHar  to  hierophants 
 and  priests ;  and  Horapollo^  gives  as  a  reason  why  the 
 Cynocephalus  stands  for  a  priest  "  that  he  is  born  circum- 
 cised, and  that  the  Egyptian  priests  sedulously  observe 
 circumcision."  On  the  whole  then,  we  may  conclude  with 
 Josephus,  that  circumcision  as  an  Egyptian  rite  was 
 obligatory  on  all  who  belonged  to  the  priest  class,  or  who 
 desired  to  be  initiated  in  certain  mysteries ;  but  that  many 
 of  the  people,  as  the  testimony  of  Herodotus  goes  to  prove, 
 submitted  to  it,  as  with  it  were  associated  ideas  of  extra- 
 ordinary purity  and  holiness. 
 
 Of  the  other  people  who  practised  circumcision  we 
 know  little.  We  are  told  merely  that  they  circumcised. 
 From  the  expressions  used  by  Herodotus,  the  Phenicians, 
 we  would  suppose,  circumcised  their  children  while  yet 
 infants — but  whether  circumcision  was  among  them  a 
 religious  or  a  national  rite,  or  a  fashion  merely  as  Hero- 
 dotus would  give  us  to  understand,  we  have  no  means  of 
 ascertaining.  One  thing  we  know,  that  their  colonies,  as 
 Carthage  for  instance,  seem  early  to  have  dropped  the 
 custom — and  they  themselves  observed  it  so  loosely,  that 
 there  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  it  obtained  among  them. 
 The  Arabians,  we  have  positive  evidence,  circumcised  in 
 the  tune  of  Josephus,*  and  then  as  now  adduced  as  the 
 reason  of  the  rite,  the  example  of  their  ancestor  Ismael, 
 in  imitation  of  whom  also  they  did  then  and  do  still  cir- 
 cumcise at  the  age  of  thirteen.  They  moreover  impose 
 the  operation,  as  do  also  the  Ethiopians,  on  both  boys  and 
 girls.* 
 
 Now  of  the  ancient  nations  we  have  mentioned,  who 
 
 ^  Spenser,  p.  54-59  :  "  Asserere  compare  Vita  Josephi,  §  xxiii.    The 
 
 videtur  Epiphanius  (Ha?res  30)  cir-  modern  Egyptians   (Arabs   of  the 
 
 cumcisiouem     solis     Jigyptiorum  Bedawee  tribe)  never    circumcise 
 
 Hieropbantis  et  sacrorum  ministris  children  till  their  seventh  year,  and 
 
 peculiarem."  often  not  before  their  fourteenth. — 
 
 ^  Hieroglyp.  XXV on  avTcpg  Lane's  Modern  Egyptians,  vol.  i, 
 
 jivvaTai  TrepLTSTfiri^uvoQ,  ifv  icai  6i         5  Ergch  und  G ruber's  Encyclo- 
 
 hptig  iTnTtjoevoviTi  TftfjiTofDji'.  pedie.  art.  Bescheidung,  \o\.  ix,  t^, 
 
 ''  Antiq.  lib.  i,  c.  xii,  §  ii ;  and  268. 
 
360  CHAPTER    XV. 
 
 practised  circumcision,  the  Israelites  Eclomites  and  Arabs 
 appear  to  have  derived  the  custom  from  their  common 
 ancestor  Abraham ;  the  Phenicians  from  the  commands  of 
 their  god  and  king  Chronus;  and  the  Egyptians  and 
 Ethiopians  to  have  observed  it  from  all  ages.  A  question, 
 therefore,  has  arisen  as  to  the  people  with  whom  it  origi- 
 nated. And  because  the  Phenicians  have  by  common 
 consent  been  excluded  from  the  field,  and  the  claims  of  the 
 Jews  and  the  Egyptians  have  been  alone  considered,  to  the 
 separate  claims  of  the  Jews  and  Egyptians  we  also  will 
 confine  our  attention.     And 
 
 I.  All  the  profane  writers  who  speak  of  circumcision 
 and  of  the  various  people  among  whom  it  obtained,  speak  of 
 it  as  an  Egyptian  rite.  Thus  Herodotus''  says  that  cir- 
 cumcision was  practised  by  no  nation,  except  such  as  had 
 learned  it  from  the  Egyptians.  Diodorus  Siculus^  esti- 
 mates the  Colchians  and  Jews  to  be  Egyptian  colonies, 
 because  they  circumcise.  Strabo,*  alluding  to  circumcision 
 as  an  Egyptian  custom,  allows  that  it  is  practised  by  the  Jews 
 also,  but  that  they  were  originally  Egyptians.  And  lastly 
 Jamblichus,  quoted  by  Stanley,^  says  of  Pythagoras,  that 
 "  when  at  Sidon  he  conferred  with  the  prophets  and  with 
 the  Phenician  priests,  and  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries 
 and  sacred  institutions  of  divers  other  parts  of  Syria,"" — he 
 did  this  "  not  being  ignorant  that  the  rites  of  these  places 
 were  deduced  from  Egyptian  ceremonies."     But 
 
 II.  To  this  Egyptian  origin  Jews  and  Christians  have 
 objected.  It  is  not  probable  they  have  argued,  that,  at 
 the  age  of  ninety  and  nine,  Abraham,  out  of  mere  caprice 
 and  in  imitation  of  the  Egyptians,  should  have  consented 
 
 ^  Lib.  ii,  §  xxxvi :  Ta  aiSoia  utWoi  oiKiaai  tivuq  opjxi]5itvTaQ  nap  iav- 
 
 [Xtv  ewai  'wc  iyevovTo,Tr\r]V  btyoi  airo  rwv,  SiO  Kai  irapa  Toig  ysvtai  rov- 
 
 rovTUJV  {\iywruov)  (jxaSrov.  TOig   tK  TtaXaiov    irapuStSooOai    to 
 
 '  Cliap.i,pai't  i,§  xxviii :  Oi^f  owv  iripirinvtiv   tovq  ytwiUfiivoVQ  ttui- 
 
 AiyvTTTioi  <l)a(n  Kai  jitra  ravra  atroi-  Sac,t^  AiyvTTTov  ^irevtjviyfiivov  tov 
 
 KLog    irXiiTTag   t^     AiyvTTTov    Kara  vufxivov. 
 
 TTUffav  Siamraprjvai  rrjv  oiKovjitvriv.  ^  From  Michaelis,  ut  supra. 
 
 Atyovffi  Se  to,  re  twv  KoXx"^"  ®  Stanley,    History    of   Ancient 
 
 lOvoQ  IP  Tq)  \lovT(^  Kai  to  Tuiv  lov-  Philosophers,  Pythagoras,  Part  ix. 
 
 SaiiDv  ava  fieaov  Apajiiag  Kai  I,upi.ag,  chap.  iii.  p.  349. 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  361 
 
 to  undergo  the  painful  and  dangerous  operation  of  circum- 
 cision;^ he  could  have  been  induced  to  it,  only  by  the 
 positive  command  of  the  Deity.  The  rite  therefore  was 
 probably,  as  the  books  represent  it,  ordained  by  God  him- 
 self. But  if  ordained  by  God  himself — is  it  credible  they 
 ask  that  the  Deity,  who  desired  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
 brance of  a  particular  covenant  entered  into  with  Abra- 
 ham alone,  should  for  that  purpose  have  preferred  as  its 
 token,  a  mark  which  was  already  imprinted  on  the  body  of 
 every  Egyptian  priest  ?  No — the  conjecture  is  absurd,  and 
 much  more  probable  is  it  that  the  Egyptians  circumcised 
 in  imitation  of  the  Jews  . 
 
 Again :  we  are  bid  to  observe,  that  the  Greek  testimony 
 which  has  been  adduced  must  lose  much  of  its  authority, 
 when  we  remember  that  it  proceeds  from  men,  who,  because 
 they  regarded  the  Egyptians  as  the  fathers  of  Greek  civi- 
 lization and  knew  of  the  Jews  only  by  report,  very  natu- 
 rally therefore  and  without  any  the  least  previous  inquiry 
 attributed  to  the  Egyptians  the  origin  of  all  those  customs 
 which  they  found  common  both  to  them  and  to  the  Jews. 
 Besides,  who  are  the  writers  who  give  this  honour  to  the 
 Egyptians?     Herodotus  who   lived  445  b.  c.      Diodorus 
 
 1  "  Circumcisionis  actio  ita  com-  asks,  could  the  child's  nation  Lave 
 
 parata   est,   ut   nemo   vel  sibi  vel  been  so  instantly  ascertained,  had 
 
 liberis  suis,  nisi  propter  fidem  et  not  the  child  borne  upon  him  the 
 
 religionem,  earn  sit  facturus.  Nam  seal  of  his  parentage,  circumcision  ? 
 
 non  est  levis  aliqua  cruris  laesio  sed  To  say  nothing  of  the  persecutions 
 
 res  durissima   et   difficillima,  nee  which  were  then  directed  against 
 
 sine  vitae    discrimine    quandoque  them,  we  may  answer :  that  it  is 
 
 subeunda."  —  From   Maimonides,  not  improbable  that  the  Hebrews 
 
 Spenser,  De  Legibus  Heb.  lib.  i,  swaddled  their  children  differently 
 
 c.  xiv  ;  and  see  also  from  Lightfoot,  from   the    Egyptians  ;  —  that  it  is 
 
 ut  supra.  quite    certain  that   the  Egyptians 
 
 ^  Witsius,  lib.  iii,  cap.  vi.    Wit-  (jusXayxpoJte  Kai  ovXorptx«c)  were, 
 
 sius  besides  closes  his  case  in  favour  and,  on  the  walls  of  Thebes  and 
 
 of  the  Hebrew  claims  to  the  origin  Luxor,  are  still,  by  their  features 
 
 of  circumcision,  by  an  argument  of  and     complexion,    distinguishable 
 
 Pierius    Valerianus,    drawn    from  from    the    Hebrews  ;  —  and    that 
 
 Exodus.       For    when     Pharaoh's  lastly  the  child  could  scarcely  have 
 
 daughter  finds  the  child  Moses  en-  been  Egyptian,  because  the  Egyp- 
 
 closed  in  the  basket,  what  is  her  tians  we  are  assured  never  exposed 
 
 exclamation  ?     "  This  is  one  of  the  their    children.      (Vide   Diodorus 
 
 Hebrew's  children !"     And  how,  he  Siculus,  lib.  i,  c.  Ixxx). 
 
 3  A 
 
362  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 and  Strabo,  cotemporaries,  the  one  of  Julius,  the  other  of 
 Tiberius,  Caesar;  and  Jamblichus,  who,  though  Pytha- 
 goras of  whom  he  wrote  the  hfe  lived  a  century  before 
 Herodotus,  himself  belonged  to  the  later  periods  of  Grecian 
 literature  : — and  can  we  put  the  authority  of  these  men  in 
 comparison  Avith  that  of  Moses  who  died  almost  a  thousand 
 years  before  the  first  of  these  was  born  ? 
 
 To  the  claims  of  the  Jews  and 
 
 I.  As  they  rest  on  Scripture,  we  may  object : 
 
 1st.  That  the  early  sacred  books,  though  they  mention 
 its  introduction  into  the  city  of  Shechem,  no  where  speak 
 of  circumcision  as  a  custom  of  Hebrew  origin,  nor  of  it  as 
 copied  from  the  Hebrews  by  the  Egyptians. 
 
 2dly.  That  the  very  terms  in  which  it  is  first  ordained 
 prove,  that  it  was  a  custom  known  and  practised  in  the 
 days  of  Abraham,  and  that  it  was  a  custom  with  which 
 Abraham  was  himself  acquainted. 
 
 3dly.  That  the  words  in  Joshua,  already  quoted,  "  This 
 day  have  I  rolled  the  reproach  of  Egypt  from  you,"  imply 
 that  in  Egypt,  in  the  time  of  Moses  uncircumcision  was  a 
 dishonour,  an  evidence  of  low  caste.' 
 
 n.  As  they  impugn  the  authority  of  those  Greek 
 writers  who  have  given  us  an  account  of  Egypt,  we  may 
 observe 
 
 ]  st.  That  though  these  writers  are  certainly  centuries 
 younger  than  Moses,  their  statements  nevertheless  won- 
 derfully tally  with  his.  They  show  us  in  the  Egyptians 
 the  same  pride,  the  same  abhorrence  of  strangers,  the  same 
 superstitious  faith,  and  the  same  love  of  the  mystic  and 
 magic  arts ;  they  seem  to  fill  up  a  picture  of  which  Moses 
 has  but  given  us  the  outlines.  The  very  discrepancies 
 between  him  and  them  are  but  so  many  varied  lights  Avhich 
 "morning,  noon,  or  dewy  eve"  shed  over  the  same  land- 
 scape. Their  accounts  confirm,  and  are  confirmed  by, 
 those  of  Moses. 
 
 2dly.  That  though  in  their  statements  of  the  Jewish 
 
 ^  Vide  also  Exodus  vi.  12. 
 
CHAPTER    XV.  363 
 
 opinions  with  respect  to  circumcision,  these  writers  have 
 shown  but  little  acquaintance  with  the  Jewish  mind  :*  that 
 nevertheless  their  statements  at  least  prove  that  in  Egypt 
 circumcision  was  so  sedulously  practised,  and  considered  of 
 such  vital  importance,  and  its  origin  so  lost  in  the  night  of 
 ages,  that  the  mere  observance  of  this  rite  by  any  other 
 people  was  for  the  Greeks  sufficient  evidence  either  of  an 
 Egyptian  ancestry,  or  at  least  of  some  long  intercourse 
 Avitli  Egypt. 
 
 III.  As  they  are  based  on  probabilities,  we  may  remark 
 1st.  That  it  is  just  as  probable  that  the  Deity,  in  token 
 of  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  should  choose  a  rite  already 
 known,  as  one  which  would  be  copied,    and  afterwards 
 claimed,  by  other  nations. 
 
 2dly.  That  though  to  assert,  that  Abraham  would  not 
 have  undergone  circmucision  but  at  the  express  command 
 of  the  Deity,  appears  reasonable  enough ;  yet  when  we 
 remember  that  in  our  day  many  among  the  Hindus  yearly 
 throw  themselves  under  the  car  of  Juggernauht ;  and  that 
 among  the  ancient  people,  the  priests  of  B-heas  suffered  a 
 mutilation  the  most  horrible  in  honour  of  their  goddess ; 
 we  cannot  but  feel  that  "  the  command  of  God"  in  one 
 age  and  one  state  of  civilization  may  intend  something 
 very  different  from  what  it  does  in  another. 
 
 But  let  us  now  examine  how  circumcision  could  have 
 been  plagiarized  by  one  people  from  the  other,  and  let  us 
 suppose  it  to  have  been  borrowed, 
 
 I.  By  the  Egyptians  from  the  Jews :  then — 
 As  after  the  ordinance  of  circumcision  :  Abraham   does 
 not  seem  to  have  visited  Egypt,  nor  indeedany  of  his  descend- 
 ants till  Joseph,  and  afterwards  his  father  and  brethren, 
 
 *  Vide  Witsius,  ut  supra.  ministros   quos   Gallos   vocant,  in 
 
 *  "  Seneca  apud  S.  Augustinum,  Rhaj  honorem  se  castrare  solitos  ; 
 sic  ritus  insanos  perstringit  minis-  quosdam  insuper  adolescentes,  ad 
 trorum  ethnicorum :  ille  viriles  par-  templum  Deae  Syriae  se  conferentes, 
 tes  sibi  amputat,  ille  lacertos  secat  ense  destricto  partes  ipsoriim  geni- 
 
 tantus  est  perturbatse  mentis  tales  execuisse." — Spencer  de  Leg. 
 
 et  sedibus   suis   pulsae    furor Heb.  p.  555,  and  see  Juvenal,  Sat. 
 
 Refert  etiam   Lucianus  sacrorura  ii.  116;  and  vi.  513. 
 
364  CHAPTER  XV. 
 
 settled  there : — from  Joseph  or  his  family  the  Egyptians 
 must,  if  they  copied  it  at  all,  have  copied  this  rite.  But  Jacob 
 and  his  sons  were  unclean  ^  in  the  eyes  of  the  Egyptians : 
 the  Egyptians  had  a  moral  and  religious  antipathy  to 
 them,  and  one  which  centuries  of  intercourse  appear  no 
 way  to  have  diminished,  for  Moses  speaks  of  himself  as 
 of  one  whom  Pharaoh  would  despise  as  profane.''  But 
 from  nations  or  individuals  who  are  profane,  "  an  abomi- 
 nation," one  surely  is  not  in  the  habit  of  borrowing  institu- 
 tions ;  and  yet  this  must  have  been  -the  case  with  the 
 Egyptians,  if  we  suppose  that  they  acquired  this  rite 
 from  the  Hebrews. 
 
 But  Joseph,  the  favourite  of  the  Pharaohs,  filled  high 
 posts  of  honour  in  Egypt.  He  had  moreover  married 
 into  a  family  of  high  priestly  caste ;  and  through  him  that 
 caste  may  have  gained  a  knowledge  of,  and  borrowed,  the 
 rite  of  circvmicision.  What  then  was  circumcision  for 
 Joseph  ?  It  was  a  rite  which  did  not  in  itself  confer  any 
 superior  purity,*  but  merely  confirmed  and  preserved  an 
 already  existing  purity  of  race  ;  a  family  rite,  which  could 
 advantage  only  a  particular  family,  and  that  but  in  so  far 
 as  this  family  continued  stedfast  in  the  worship  of  its 
 family  God ;  a  religious  family  rite,  which  was  a  token  as 
 the  bow  in  the  cloud  of  the  Elohim's  favour, — not  however 
 of  the  Elohim's  favour  to  mankind,  but  of  His  favour  to 
 Abraham  and  his  descendants  alone, — and  a  token  given 
 to  assure  them,  and  them  only,  that  they  should  one  day 
 inherit  and  possess  the  land  of  Canaan.  If  asked  then  the 
 meaning  of  this  sign  (and  sui'ely  the  Egyptians  would  have 
 asked  its  meaning  before  they  imposed  it  on  themselves), 
 what  in  Joseph's  answer  could  induce  them  to  adopt  and 
 appropriate  it  ?  i.  c.  induce  them,  the  priest-class  of  a  great 
 
 *  "  The  Efj^yptians  might  not  eat  of  uncircumcised  lip  P" — Exod.  vi. 
 
 bread  with  the  Hebrews,  for  that  is  12. 
 
 an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians."  *  Is  not  the  slaughter  of  the  men 
 
 — Gen.  xliii.  32.  of  Shechem,  (Gen.  xxxiv)  after  they 
 
 ^  "  And  Moses  spake  unto  the  had  sulnnitted  to  circumcision,  an 
 Lord,  Behold,  the  chihlren  of  Israel  evidence  that,  in  these  early  times, 
 have  not  hearkened  unto  me;  how  circumcision  alone  conferred  no- 
 then  shall  Pharaoh  hear  vie,  irhonm  thini;-  i' 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  365 
 
 nation,  to  confound  themselves  with  the  children  of  a  petty 
 tribe  ?  We  might  do  such  things  ;  tve  have  an'ived  at  that 
 pitch  of  civilisation,  that  we  are  glad  to  learn  even  from 
 barbarians ;  but  who  that  keeps  before  him  the  spirit  of 
 the  ancient  people,  especially  the  Egyptians,  will  believe 
 it  of  them,  and  of  their  proudest  class  ? 
 
 II.  By  the  Jews  from  the  Egyptians. 
 
 Before  his  circumcision  Abraham  had  visited  Egypt. 
 He  had  been  struck  no  doubt  by  the  power  and  wisdom^  of 
 its  priests ;  and  in  the  solitude  of  the  desert  he  meditated 
 often  on  their  doctrines,  their  institutions,  and  the  mystic 
 rites  of  initiation.  He  remembered  too  that  he  was  him- 
 self a  priest  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  that  he  was 
 to  become  the  father  of  a  priest  nation ;  and  that  the  land 
 of  Canaan  was  that  nation's  promised  inheritance :  and  he 
 then  asked  himself,  whether  he  should  hesitate  to  make  a 
 sacrifice,  which  in  Egypt  was  obligatory  on  all  who  were 
 vowed  to  the  priestly  office?  whether  he  should  be  less 
 holy  than  these  ministers  of  vain  idols,  less  devoted  to  his 
 God,  less  willing  to  suffer  for  his  God's  honour  ?i  How 
 infant  man,  who  regards  not  the  reasonableness  of  any  reli- 
 gious act  hut  his  oion  inotlms,  would  answer  these  questions 
 we  cannot  a  moment  doubt ;  and  we  may  conclude,  there- 
 fore, that  the  circumcision  of  Abraham  after  his  visit  to 
 Egypt  (supposing  that  the  Egyptian  priests  already  ob- 
 served this  rite),  was  both  natural  and  probable. 
 
 But  if  the  Hebrews  circumcised  in  unitation  of  the 
 Egyptians,  it  will  be  asked,  why  the  one  people  only  par- 
 tially, and  the  other  universally,  observed  this  rite  ?  and 
 
 f  8  In  Hyde,(deRel.  Vel.  Pers.70,  In  stating  the  claims  of  the  Jews, 
 
 75)  from  Josephus,  Ewsebius,  &c.  is  we  must  keep  to  that  account  of  the 
 
 a  long  account  of  Abraham,  who,  it  institution  of  this  rite  which  the 
 
 seems,  civilized  the  Egyptians,  and  Jewish  books  have  handed  down  to 
 
 taught  the  Egyptians  and  Pheni-  us.     But  in  stating  those  of  the 
 
 cians    astronomy.     If    there   were  Egyptians,  we  ask  only,  what  would 
 
 any  foundation  for  all  this,  my  ar-  be  the  natural  course  of  things? — 
 
 gument  would  fall  to  the  ground,  what  are  the  motives  which  induce 
 
 It  is,  however,  the  invention  of  later  one  people  to  adopt  the  customs  of 
 
 writers.     Vide  supra,  p.  266.  another,   even  though,  while  they 
 
 1  It  maybe  objected  to  me  that  I  adopt  them,  these  people  may  put 
 
 have  here  presumed  motives,  which  forward  original  reasons  for  their 
 
 are  not  to  be  found  in  the  record,  institution. 
 
366  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 why  this  performed  the  operation  on  infants,  and  that  on 
 men,  or  on  those  who  had  at  least  arrived  at  the  age 
 of  puberty  ?  In  Egypt  circumcision  was  a  step  prepara- 
 tory to  initiation  into  the  mysteries ;  it  was  a  step  there- 
 fore which  every  man  who  took  must  take  voluntarily,  of 
 his  own  free  will,  but  one  which,  to  deter  the  many  from 
 taking  it,  was  attended  with  certain  inconveniences,  a  cer- 
 tain suffering.  Among  the  Jews,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
 was  a  symbol  of  the  nation,  which,  as  descended  from 
 Abraham,  claimed  to  be  "  a  holy  nation,"  a  "  nation  of 
 priests  ; "  ^  and  it  was  therefore  a  symbol  which,  as  a  Jew, 
 every  man  must  wear ;  and  to  ensure  his  wearing  it,  it  was 
 fastened  on  him  at  his  birth.  Among  the  one  people,  while 
 it  was  the  sign  of  a  spiritual  brotherhood,  it  was  also  an 
 evidence  of  the  zeal,  the  docility,  and  patience  of  the  suf- 
 fering Neophyte ;  and  among  the  other,  while  it  was  but 
 the  mark  of  a  common  parentage,  it  was  also  both  a  service 
 attached  to  their  possession  of  Canaan,  and  a  gage  of  their 
 common  God's  continued  favour  and  protection. 
 
 We  will  now  examine  the  different  reasons  which  in- 
 duced some  of  these  nations  to  the  practice  of  this  rite. 
 Among  the  Phenicians,  it  seems  to  have  been  at  its  origin 
 a  penance,  a  sacrifice  offered  to  projiitiate  an  angry  deity ; 
 and  so  long  as  it  obtained  among  them,  it  was  probably 
 looked  upon  as  something  onerous,^  as  a  pain  voluntarily 
 inflicted  by  the  father  on  his  child,  or  the  man  on  himself, 
 to  pacify  the  envy  of  Gods  jealous  of  human  prosperity  and 
 happiness.  Among  the  Egyptian  priests,  in  whose  eyes 
 cleanliness,  or  cleanliness  perhaps  as  conducive  to  health, 
 was  a  matter  of  no  little  religious  imjDortance  ;*  and  who, 
 therefore,  shaved  their  heads,  and  suffered  no  liair  upon 
 their  bodies,  and  indeed  rid  themselves  of  every  thing 
 which  seemed  to  them  superfluous,  and  which  served  but 
 to  accumulate  filth, — this  rite  probably  originated  in  that 
 
 °  These  expressions  have  clearly,  character  of  the  national  supersti- 
 
 it  seems   to   me,    allusion   to   the  tion,   I  should    suppose   that   the 
 
 Efjyptian  customs.  Mexican  circumcision  had  the  same 
 
 ^  Vide  supra,  p.  355.    I  may  also  object  in  view  as  the  Phenician. 
 
 ohservehere,  that  from  the  cruel  "■•  Vide  Herod,  ii,  37,  63,  77,  81. 
 
CHAPTER    XV. 
 
 367 
 
 anxiety  after  bodily  purity  which  characterises  the  reli- 
 gions of  tropical  climates.  Among  the  Jews  it  obtained, 
 because  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  imposed  upon  them 
 by  their  God,  and  it  was  after  a  time  regarded  by  them  as 
 a  rite  which  conferred  on  those  on  whom  it  was  performed 
 a  peculiar  holiness.  As  however  it  had  been  merely  com- 
 manded by  God,  and  He  had  not  deigned  to  give  any  rea- 
 son for  its  institution  ;  and  as  it  appeared  to  uncircumcised 
 people  an  absurd  and  ridiculous  ceremony  ;^  later  Jewish 
 writers  endeavoured  to  show  its  advantages  and  reason- 
 ableness. Thus,  Philo-Judajus  gives  for  its  use  four  prin- 
 cipal reasons,  which  he  professes  to  have  heard  from 
 tradition.''  Of  these  reasons,  the  first  was,  that  circumci- 
 sion prevents  a  certain  disease,  ardpat, ;  ^  the  second,  that 
 it  is  favourable  to  cleanliness ;  the  third,  that  it  gives 
 Tr]v 'jrpoQ  xapStay  b/JLOiorrira  tov  TtepLTfxri^EVTOQ  nepoigf  and  the 
 fourth,  that  it  is  favourable  to  generation.'' 
 
 '  Thus  Calvin  (Witsius,  p.  224) 
 looking  through  Geneva  spectacles 
 of  the  sixteenth  century,  finds  cir- 
 cumcision a  rite  absurd  and  ridicu- 
 lous in  itself,  and  one  which  the 
 command  of  God  could  alone  sanc- 
 tify. On  this  opinion  of  Calvin's, 
 I  must  again  observe  : 
 
 1st.  That  Calvin,  like  most  of 
 the  Protestant  divines,  evidently 
 regards  God's  commands  as  merely 
 arbitrary,  i.  e.  such  that  they  might 
 just  as  reasonably  have  been  the 
 opposite  of  what  they  are.     And 
 
 2ndly.  That  I  cannot  join  in  the 
 mock  of  tlie  uncircumcised,  though 
 I  see  no  good  reason  for  circumci- 
 sion ;  for  I  cannot  believe  that  a 
 rite  which  has  maintained  itself 
 among  the  same  people,  and  in  the 
 same  climates,  for  thousands  of 
 years,  can  be  altogether  unreason- 
 able. 
 
 ®  Apx(^i-o\tyop.eva  Trapa  Qtane- 
 (XioiQ  avSpaaiv,  6i  ra  Mwaeiog  ov 
 ■KipupywQ  SiTjpiirjvtvsiv. — De  Cir- 
 cumcis. 
 
 ■^  "  Westing,  an  eminent  physi- 
 cian, is  of  opinion  that  there  were 
 natural  reasons  for  the  Egyptians, 
 
 both  men  and  women,  receiving  cir- 
 cumcision."— Calmet,  art.  Circum- 
 cision. Had  this,  however,  been 
 the  fact,  circumcision  had  been  uni- 
 versally observed,  whereas,  accord- 
 ing to  all  probability,  it  was  only 
 partially  so.  This  matter  is  tho"- 
 roughly  investigated  in  Michaelis, 
 Mos.  Recht.  ut  supra;  and  ear- 
 nestly on  the  other  side  by  De 
 Pauw,  Recherches  sur  les  Ameri- 
 cains,  part  iv,  chap.  iv. 
 
 ^  Lightfoot  gives  a  reason  as 
 whimsical  as  this  one.  "  The  land 
 of  Canaan,"  he  says,  "  was  be- 
 queathed to  Shem  by  his  father 
 Noah,  because  Ham  and  his  son 
 Canaan  had  derided  Noah's  naked- 
 ness. When  therefore  the  land 
 was  to  be  settled  on  the  right  heirs 
 of  Shem,  a  seal  and  an  assurance 
 thereof  is  given  on  that  meml)er 
 which  had  been  derided  by  Canaan, 
 to  the  loss  of  that  land.  This  is  a 
 main  reason  why  males  alone  were 
 circumcised,  and  why  on  that  mem- 
 ber."— From  Middleton's  Works, 
 vol.ii.  p.  195. 
 
 '  This  last  reason  reminds  me  of 
 a  German  rationalist's  explanation 
 
368  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 Of  circumcision  as  a  rite  actually  observed  by  these 
 several  nations,  we  may  observe,  that  the  Phenician  was 
 induced  to  submit  to  it  only  by  motives  of  fear :  on  him  it 
 conferred  no  special  honour  or  purity ;  it  did  not  raise  him 
 above  the  people  with  Avhom  he  trafficked ;  and  as  soon 
 therefore  as  he  perceived  that  it  could  be  omitted  with 
 impunity,  he  ceased  to  impose  it  upon  his  children;  and  it 
 gradually  fell  into  disuse.  With  the  Jew  and  the  Egyp- 
 tian, on  the  other  hand,  it  was  a  religious  ceremony,  and 
 the  seal  of  the  child's  or  the  man's  dedication  to  God ; 
 it  introduced  liim  into  the  circle  of  the  Deity's  more  imme- 
 diate favourites;  it  made  him  holier  and  purer  than  his 
 fellow-men ;  and  he  consequently  looked  down  upon  them, 
 and  perhaps  avoided  their  society.' 
 
 "With  the  Jews  however  circumcision  seems  to  have 
 held  higher  place  than  with  the  Egyptians.  It  grew  in 
 importance  as  the  Jewish  mind  and  character  developed 
 itself.  The  want  of  it  was  visited  with  scorn ;  and  the 
 term  which  expresses  that  want  was  in  the  lips  of  the 
 Hebrew  prophets  a  bitter  reproach,  and  the  strongest  epi- 
 thet by  which  they  could  express  both  their  hate  for,  and 
 the  unholiness  and  impurity  of,  their  enemies.  And  such 
 was  the  sanctity  which  this  rite  Avas  supposed  to  confer, 
 that  in  the  later  periods  of  the  Hebrew  republic,  even 
 Christianised  Jews  would  not  admit  their  heathen  Christian 
 brethren  to  equal  rank  and  fellowship  with  themselves: 
 *^they  that  were  of  the  circumcision  contended  with  Peter, 
 saying.  Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncircumcised  and  didst 
 eat  with  them."  It  was  in  fact  for  the  Jews  the  great 
 pledge  of  God's  especial  favour  and  protection,  their  na- 
 tional symbol,  a  religious  and  distinctive  mark  of  honour, 
 which  both  separated  them  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  and 
 sanctified  that  separation ;  and  it  consequently  became 
 more  dear,  and  was  the  more  insisted  on,  as  their  inter- 
 course with  other  people  became  closer  or  more  frequent. 
 
 of  the  l)irth  of  Isaac.     It  is  in  Eich-         •  John,  xiii.  28 ;  Acts  x.  28 ;  for 
 
 horn,  Bil).  d.  Bib.  Lit.  to  which  as  natural  causes  which   induced   in 
 
 it  is  too  strange  for  English  ears  I  the  Egyptians  a  hate  of  strangers, 
 
 can  only  refer.  see  Robertson's  India,  b.  i.  §  i. 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  369 
 
 With  the  Egyptians  on  the  other  hand,  circumcision 
 never  seems  to  have  acquired  any  exckisive  importance. 
 Like  the  Jews  indeed  we  find  them  obstinate  in  their  hate 
 of,  and  avoiding  any  close  intimacy  with,  foreigners, — but 
 not  because  those  foreigners  were  uncircumcised.     For, 
 
 1st.  It  is  pretty  clear  that  not  all  Egyptians  were 
 circumcised. 
 
 2ndly.  Though  cu'cumcision  is  spoken  of  as  a  requisite 
 for  all  who  would  be  initiated  into  the  sacred  mysteries  or 
 who  aspired  to  the  honours  of  the  priesthood,  yet  it  is  no 
 where  spoken  of  as  the  only  requisite.  Pythagoras  must 
 not  merely  be  circumcised.  They  who  converse  with  the 
 priests  must  do  so  :  uyrevadv-ac,  fcai  TroXXoiy  airoffyonevovQ'  Kal 
 rovro  ih(7irep  koipoq  twv  kut    ALypirror  ieowv  Be/tho?  eutiv.^ 
 
 And  3rdly.  Though  non-circumcision  is  certainly  al- 
 luded to  in  Joshua  as  a  reproach  in  Egypt,  yet  it  is  never 
 stated  by  Moses,  nor  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  as  a  reason 
 for  the  Egyptian  hatred  of  strangers.  Had  it  been  so, 
 the  circumcised  would  surely  have  been  exempted  from 
 that  hate  ;  and  yet  with  the  Hebrews,  a  circumcised  race, 
 the  Egyptians  might  "  not  eat  bread,  for  that  is  an  abomi- 
 nation to  the  Egyptians."  (Genesis  xliv.  32.)  And  again 
 (xlv.  34),  Joseph  bids  his  father  tell  Pharaoh  that  his  trade 
 had  been  about  cattle :  "  for  every  shepherd  (circumcised 
 or  uncircumcised)  is  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians."^ 
 
 Circumcision  then  among  the  Egyptians  was  one  of 
 many  rites  which  distinguished  the  several  grades  of  the 
 priesthood :  it  was  a  caste,  and  not  a  national,  symbol ; 
 but,  as  a  caste-symbol,  its  importance  depended  on  the 
 power  or  reputation  of  the  caste  to  which  it  belonged,  and 
 with  that  caste  consequently  it  seems  to  have  fallen  into 
 contempt,  as  I  think  the  reproach  of  Apion  sufficiently 
 testifies. 
 
 *  Clemens,  from  Marsliam  ?  certain  the  cause  of  the  Egyptian 
 ^  From  these  verses,  and  Hero-  avoidance  of  strangers,  and  that 
 dotus,  lib.  ii.  c.  41  and  65,— and  without  having  recourse  to  the  no- 
 compare  De  Pauw,  Recherches  sur  madic  hordes  of  Tyschsen.  Vide 
 les  Americains,  vol.  ii,  Ft.  iv,  §  iv,  Ueber  d.  Buchstaben  d.  alt.  .Egypt, 
 p.  120,— we  may  pretty  nearly  as-  Bib.  d.  alt.  Lit.  und  Kunst,  vol.  vi. 
 
 3  B 
 
370  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 "Him  that  is  bought  with  thy  money  must  needs  be 
 circumcised.". . .  But  "  thy  bondmen  and  thy  bondwomen 
 which  thou  shalt  have,  shall  be  of  the  heathen  which  are 
 round  about  you."*  Circumcision  then  was  obligatory  on 
 the  slave,  but  left  to  the  choice  of  the  stranger  ;  and  yet 
 this  man  it  made  a  citizen  of  Israel,  while  that  it  left  what 
 it  found  him — a  slave.  Wlierefore  then  was  it  a  solemn 
 and  advantageous  rite  for  the  one,  and  only  a  painful  opera- 
 tion for  the  other  ?  The  stranger  was  free  to  depart  to  his 
 own  country,  wherever  he  would ;  he  was  considered  but  a 
 visitor  in,  or  a  traveller  through,  the  land;  and  all  that 
 could  be  asked  of  him  was  to  obey  during  his  sojourn  the 
 police  laws  of  the  state.  The  slave,  on  the  other  hand, 
 was  an  inhabitant  of  Canaan,  bound  to  its  soil  :  as  he 
 belonged  to  the  country,  he  must  be  subject  to  its  cus- 
 toms ;  *  and  as  he  belonged  to  his  master,  he  belonged  to 
 his  master's  God,^  and  with  his  master  must  wear  that 
 God's  seal.  But  besides,  circumcision  was  not  a  mere 
 cruelty  inflicted  upon  the  helpless  slave :  it  gave  him  many 
 and  great  advantages;  it  saved  him  from  the  stigma  of 
 uncleanness ;  it  enabled  him  to  partake  in  all  the  great 
 national  feasts ;  it  occasionally  gave  him  a  seat  at  his  mas- 
 ter's table  ;  it  made  him  a  member  of  his  master's  family. 
 Imposed  on  his  children,  and  his  children's  children,  it  be- 
 came for  them  an  ancestral  rite ;  it  nationalised  them,  and 
 gradually  opened  to  their  view  the  prospect  of  liberty  and 
 citizenship :  it  gave  therefore  the  freedom  of  the  family ; 
 and  was  not  this  a  step  towards  the  freedom  of  the  state  ?^ 
 
 ''  Leviticus  xxv.  44.  serve  under Brasidas.  (Tbucydides, 
 
 ^  See  supra,  p.  278,  witli  note  ^  lib.  v.  c.  34.)  And  in  Rome,  slaves 
 
 *  Vide  supra,  p.  17(),  notes  ®  ^  were  often   emancipated   by  their 
 
 ^  The  haughty  Brahmins  receive  master,  and  their  children  became 
 
 strangers  into  their  holy  caste  by  citizens.     (Michelet,    Hist.    Rom. 
 
 binding  on  them  the  triple  cord. —  lib.  iii,  chap,  i.)      Was  it  in  the 
 
 Vide   Dubois,   INIoeurs  des   Indes,  Mosaical  code  alone  that  no  provi- 
 
 vol.i,  p.  127.  Manco  Capac  adopted  sion   was  made  for  the   liberation 
 
 the  chiefs  of  his  kingdom  into  the  of  foreign   slaves  ?  or  do  not  the 
 
 family  of  the  sun,  by  giving  them  laws  in  Deut.  xxiii.  refer  to  them, 
 
 the  title  of  Ynca.  (Hist,  des  Incas,  and  determine  the  period  at  which, 
 
 liv.  i,  chap,  xxiii.)     Lacedemon  oc-  according  to  their  nation,  they  were 
 
 casionally  gave  freedom  to  its  helots,  to  be  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
 
 to  those  who  volunteered  to    hired  servants  of  the  Israelites? 
 
CHAPTER    XV.  371 
 
 Slavery  is  a  tMng  odious  in  our  eyes.  It  is  opposed  to 
 our  views  of  right  and  justice,  and  to  all  our  social  insti- 
 tutions ;  its  existence  among  us  would  be  an  anomaly  and 
 a  crime,  wliich  could  but  embarrass  our  onward  progress  in 
 civilisation.  But  was  slavery  always  thus?  If  we  look 
 back  into  past  times,  or  indeed  extend  our  view  beyond 
 the  mere  pale  of  European  society,  we  find  that  there  is  a 
 period  in  the  life  of  Humanity  when  it  is  regarded,  and 
 that  as  well  by  the  slave*  as  the  master,  as  quite  in  accord 
 with  the  supposed  laws  of  God  and  the  then  recognised 
 rights  of  man.  And  it  may  therefore  become  a  question 
 whether  at  this  period  slavery  is  not  in  reality,  as  it  is 
 then  considered,  the  great  promoter  of  civilisation,  and  the 
 condition  without  which  all  advance,  all  improvement  is  im- 
 possible ?  And  this  question  we  must  not  too  rashly  solve. 
 We  must  weigh  well  the  wants  and  difficulties  which  beset 
 infant  man,  the  small  choice  of  expedients  which  present 
 themselves  to  his  mind,  and  his  apathy,  and  indolence,  and 
 ignorance.  We  must  not  forget  that  he  is  an  isolated 
 being ;  that  nothing  but  absolute  necessity  will  drive  him 
 either  to  labour  for  himself  or  to  unite  with  his  fellow  men 
 in  labour  for  some  common  object.  Or  suppose  him  willing 
 to  labour,  yet  as  his  conceptions  are  undervalued  or  disre- 
 garded by  those  around  him :  he  never  can  realize  them, 
 unless  by  right  of  parentage,  or  of  conquest,  or  of  purchase, 
 he  can  command  the  assistance  of  others,  i.  e.  unless  he 
 have  slaves. 
 
 We  must  remember  also  that  in  these  early  times  there 
 
 *  "  Dans  I'lnde,  I'etat  de  domes-  Ton  ne  doit  pas  etre  surpns  de  voir 
 
 ticite  n'a  rien  de  d^gradant  par  lui-  aupres  d'eux  que  la  lie  de  la  soci- 
 
 meme;   la  valet  mange  avec   son  ete." — Dubois,  Indes,  vol.i,  p.  57. 
 
 maitre,  la  servante  avec  sa  mai-  This  is  said  of  servants,  but  is  ap- 
 
 tresse ;  et  les  uns  et  les  autres  vont  plicable  to  slaves,  the  only  servants 
 
 de  pairs  dans  le  commerce  de  la  of  early  ages.     It  gives  us  insight 
 
 vie.     Les  Europeens  tenant  a   cet  into   the   differences   between   the 
 
 egard  une  conduite  toute  differente,  service  of  our  and  of  other  times. 
 
 lenr  service  est  a  cause  de  cela  de-  Amongst    our    Genuau    ancestors 
 
 venu  odieux  pour  tout  indigene  qui  also:  "Danslafamille  gerraanique, 
 
 conserve  quelqiie  amour  propre,  ou  la  domesticite  ennoblit,"  Sec. — Mi- 
 
 quelque  sentiment  de  delicatesse ;  et  chelet,  Hist,  de  France,  vol.  i,  p.  275. 
 
372 
 
 CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 was  only  a  distinction  of  ranks,  and  not  a  diiFerence  of 
 conditions  f  that  the  slave  in  general,  midistinguishable 
 in  complexion  and  features  i  from  his  master's  children, 
 held  in  the  house  the  same  place  as  a  son ;  in  his  labours 
 his  master  shared,  and  he  was  not  forgotten  in  his  master's 
 feasts.  The  master  Avas  the  father  of  his  slaves,  the  father 
 the  master  of  his  children  ;  the  slave  and  the  child  walked 
 hand  in  hand,  with  this  only  difference,  that  the  child 
 became  in  time  himself  a  father  and  a  master,  while  the 
 slave  remained  ever  a  child. 
 
 The  master  too  whose  power  was  protected  by  no  penal 
 statutes  or  civic  regulations,  depended  for  its  continuance 
 on  the  force  of  habit,  and  on  the  esteem  and  affection  with 
 which  he  knew  how  to  inspire  his  family.  He  had  his 
 duties    and  they  were  the  safeguard  of  his  rights.     If  of 
 
 ^  See  the  preceding  note ;  also 
 the  description  of  Laertes  and  his 
 slaves,  Odys.  xi,  and  compare 
 xxiv;  also  Plutarch's  account  of 
 the  kindness  and  humanity  with 
 which  slaves  were  treated  in  the 
 early  times — Life  of  Coriolanus,  &c. 
 
 '  Negroes,  however,  appear  as 
 slaves  in  the  Egyptian  paintings. — 
 Vide  Wilkinson's  Egyptians.  I 
 am  not  sure  but  that  their  diffe- 
 rences of  complexion,  &c.  are  not 
 an  insuperable  bar  to  any  true  equa- 
 lity between  the  European  and  the 
 negro  races.  I  speak  of  them  as 
 making  part  of  the  same  nation. 
 For,  in  the  same  nation  can  there 
 be  equality  between  two  races  which 
 cannot,  or  at  least  should  not,  in- 
 termarry one  with  the  other? — be- 
 tween two  races,  of  which  the  infe- 
 rior one  is  physically  offensive  to 
 the  superior?  We  cannot,  how- 
 ever, yet  answer  these  questions, 
 for  we  do  not  know  what  change 
 education  and  civilisation  may  pro- 
 duce in  the  constitution  and  brutal- 
 ized features  of  the  negro. 
 
 ^  Cuvier  is  of  opinion  (Regne 
 Animal,vol.i,p.47)  that  these  great 
 civilisers   of    mankind — to    whose 
 
 times  history  does  not  in  reality  ex- 
 tend, but  of  whom  Abraham  may 
 fairly  be  considered  a  type — sought 
 to  make  of  their  superior  knowledge 
 a  means  of  domination  over  their 
 fellows.  Now  T  believe  that  some 
 domination  existed,  perhaps  before 
 any  superior  knowledge  was  attain- 
 able, and  certainly  before  it  could 
 be  directed  to  any  great  practical 
 results ;  and  that  the  knowledge 
 of  these  men  modified  that  domi- 
 nation, made  of  it  a  blessing.  And 
 in  corroboration  of  my  view,  1 
 would  point  to  the  castes  of  India 
 and  Egypt  (Laws  of  Menu,  pas- 
 sim ;  Creuzer,  Symbolik,  vol.  i, 
 p.  253  ;  Herder,  Rel.  u.  Phil.  vol. 
 iv,  p.  231,  .'Egypten,  chap,  iv) — 
 to  the  aristocratic  monarchies  of 
 Greece  (Wachsmuth,  Antiq.  vol.  i, 
 p.  114)— and  to  the  rights  of  the 
 patricians  in  Rome,  (Michelet, 
 Rome,  1st  period) ; — to  the  institu- 
 tions, in  a  word,  of  the  most  ancient 
 nations ;  and  I  would  ask  whether 
 these  institutions  did  not  naturally 
 grow  out  of  the  then  existing  state 
 of  society  ? — whether  they  were  not 
 suited  to  the  then  state  of  popular 
 feeling? — and  whether  they  were 
 
CHAPTER    XV.  373 
 
 meditative  mind,  he  occupied  himself  with,  and  worked 
 out,  the  principles  of  justice  and  morality  and  religion :  he 
 was  then  a  priest  and  prophet.  If  of  an  observant  cha- 
 racter, he  searched  into  the  secrets  of  external  nature,  he 
 found  thex'e  herbs  fit  for  food  or  medicine ;  or  he  discovered 
 metals  and  applied  them  to  use ;  or  he  invented  tools  for 
 more  easily  cultivating  the  earth,  or  for  dressing  skins,  or 
 carding  and  weaving  wool  and  cotton ;  or  he  observed  the 
 stars  and  the  sun's  course  and  the  moon's  changes,  and 
 then  calendarised  the  times  and  seasons.  Or  if  his  intel- 
 lect was  practical  rather  than  inventive,  he  sat  at  the  gate 
 of  his  tent  and  listened  to  the  wants,  or  settled  the  dis- 
 putes, of  his  servants  :  or  he  taught  them  and  their  chil- 
 dren those  axioms  of  religion  and  morality  which  he  had 
 received  from  his  fathers.  He  was  the  depository  of  the 
 learning,  the  history  and  the  customs  of  his  race;  and  if  he 
 laboured  not  with  his  own  hand,  his  was  the  head  which 
 directed  to  profit  the  labour  of  others.  He  alone  knew 
 where  to  sow  and  when  to  reap,'  and  he  alone  could  call 
 down  upon  his  family  the  blessing  of  their  God.  Without 
 him  his  servants  must  perish. 
 
 "  Money."  "  On  n'a  pas  trouve,"  observes  De  Pauw,'' 
 "  dans  toute  I'Amerique  un  seul  peuple  qui  eut  invente 
 une  monnoie."  And  yet  already  in  the  time  of  Abraham 
 we  have  a  known  and  current  standard  of  value  ;  something, 
 Avhich,  whether  it  consisted  of   mere  rude  ingots  valued 
 
 not  then  regarded  as  benefits  so  lucky  and  unlucky.  With  the  na- 
 great,  so  essential  to  the  well-being  tural  calendar  then  they  joined  a 
 of  society,  that  all  accorded  in  religious  calendar,  v/hose  intricacies 
 wishing  them  perpetual  ?  and  variations  were  beyond  the 
 ^  On  earth,  all  things,  even  the  reach  of  the  profane.  —  Vide  De 
 l>est,  grow  corrupt.  As  the  know-  Pauw,  Egyptiens,  vol.  ii,  p.  186  ; 
 ledge  necessary  to  practical  life  Hyde  de  Rel.  Pers.  chap,  xvii,  p. 
 liltered  down  to  the  common  peo-  206 ;  Pallas'  account  of  the  astro- 
 pie,  the  priests  and  learned  classes,  logical  books  of  the  Calmucks, 
 anxious  to  preserve  their  power  and  Reise,  vol.  i,  p.  353  ;  of  the  Chi- 
 authority,  had  recourse  to  the  ter-  nese  calendar,  id.  vol.  iii,  p.  158; 
 rors  of  superstition.  With  the  divi-  and  Adams'  Roman  Antiquities, 
 sion  of  years  into  seasons,  there  was  p.  268. 
 another  vulgar  division  into  days,         ■•  Amcricains,  vol.  ii,  pt.  v,  p.  184. 
 
374  CHAPTER    XV. 
 
 according  to  their  weight/  or  of  different  pieces  of  metal 
 bearing  a  particular  shape,  as  the  gold  and  silver  rings 
 which  formed  the  money  of  Egypt  in  the  fifteenth  century* 
 B.  c,  was  a  recognised  means  of  exchange. 
 
 15,  16.  Sarai's  name  is  changed  to  Sarah,  "  prin- 
 cess ;"  and  the  blessings  which  Jehovah  had  confined  to 
 Abraham,  are  by  the  Elohim  extended  to  Sarah  also.  She 
 it  is  who  shall  be  the  mother  of  nations,  and  kings  of  people 
 shall  be  of  her. 
 
 Verse  17.  The  Elohim  is  the  Creator  of  the  universe, 
 and  the  great  Providence  which  rules  the  world.  He  it  is 
 who  drove  our  first  parents  from  Eden,  who  destroyed 
 mankind  at  the  deluge,  and  scattered  them  over  the  face  of 
 the  earth  at  Babel.  All  these  his  works  were  knoAvn  to 
 Abraham — for  with  Abraham  he  was  wont  to  talk  as  with 
 a  friend  ;  and  to  Abraham  he  has  just  revealed  the  infini- 
 tude of  his  power  and  the  moral  nature  of  his  service.  And 
 yet  now  that  he  proceeds  to  repeat  those  promises  which 
 Jehovah  yesterday  made,  and  yesterday  confirmed  by  a 
 sign — how  are  those  promises  received  ?  The  awed  Abra- 
 ham falls  upon  his  face ;  his  attitude  is  all  attention  and 
 respect  and  reverence,  but  in  his  heart  he  laughs  scepti- 
 cally ;  he  doubts  and  disbelieves ;  he  understands  how  God 
 may  create  or  destroy  a  world,  but  not  how  Sarah  "  that 
 is  ninety  years  old  shall  bear  ?"  His  conduct  here  is  then  in 
 contradiction  with  his  creed — but  not  unnaturally  so.^  Of 
 infant  man  our  childhood  is  in  some  measure  a  type.  And 
 those  years  we  can  surely  remember,  when  though  on  our 
 lips   God  was  the  Creator  and   Almighty,  in  our  hearts 
 
 *  Genesis  xliv.  21.  Koran,  chap,  xvii ;  and  Sale,  in  a 
 
 ®  Wilkinson's  Thebes,  money  of  note  to  chap,  xvi,  tells  us  of  "  a 
 
 Thotmes,  1495  B.C.  professed  disputer  against  the  re- 
 
 ■^  Thus  the  people  whom  Moham-  surrection,"  that  he  "  came  with  a 
 
 med  addressed  seem  not  have  been  rotten    bone   to   Mohammed,   and 
 
 unwilling  to  acknowledge  a  Cre-  asked  him  whether  it  was  possible 
 
 ator ;    but  they   say :    "  After   we  for  God  to  restore  it  to  life." — So 
 
 have  become  bones  and  dust,  shall  also  the  resurrection  was  a  stum- 
 
 we  be  raised  a  new  creature  ?" —  bling-block  at  Athens. 
 
CHAPTER    XV.  375 
 
 we  doubted  not  but  that  we  could  hide  from  hun  our 
 thoughts,  and  deceive  him  by  some  external  homage. 
 Similarly  Abraham — he  has  a  speculative,  rather  than  a 
 practical,  faith  in  the  Deity.  He  has  glimpses,  indeed, 
 though  few  and  far  between,  of  God's  power.  He  acknow- 
 ledges it  in  the  courses  of  nature,  he  sees  it  exercised  in 
 those  thousand  accidents  for  which  he  cannot  account; 
 but  whatever  in  his  eyes  bears  the  character  of  inalter- 
 abihty  seems  to  him  without  its  province. 
 
 But  again,  the  ancestors  of  Abraham  had  all  lived  their 
 two,  three,  and  four  centuries ;  his  own  father  died  at  the 
 advanced  age  of  two  hundred  and  five,  and  had,  according 
 to  some  commentators,*  already  counted  one  hundred  and 
 fifty  years  when  Abraham  was  born  ;  and  we  nevertheless 
 here  find  this  very  Abraham — who  after  the  death  of  Sarah 
 i.  e.  when  he  was  at  least  one  hundred  and  forty,  took  to 
 himself  wives  and  begat  children, — though  he  has  now  only 
 just  past  the  meridian  of  life,^  sceptically  inquring  "  Shall 
 a  child  be  born  unto  him  that  is  an  hundred  years  old  ?  And 
 shall  Sarah  that  is  ninety  years  old  bear  ?"  Surely  under 
 the  circumstances  these  questions  are  impossible — unless 
 indeed  we  suppose:  that  the  laws  which  regulate  human  life 
 in  our  day  altogether  differ  from  those  which  regulated  it 
 in  the  patriarchal  times:  that  then,  between  the  duration  of 
 life  and  the  power  to  perform  all  its  functions  there  Avas 
 not  as  noip  any  relation,  but  that,  like  him  of  the  eastern 
 tale  whose  body  was  turned  to  stone,  these  age-wearied 
 men  retained  of  life  only  the  capacity  of  suffering — a 
 supposition  which  seems  to  me  untenable :  and  the  doubt 
 of  Abraham  therefore,  is  in  my  eyes  altogether  irreconcile- 
 able  with  that  state  of  mankind  which  this  book  records. 
 
 *  Vide  Russell's  Sacred  and  Pro-  Nahor — and,  by  the  age  which  he 
 
 fane  History.     It  seems  to  me,  at  actually  reached,  he  must  have  had 
 
 any  rate,  that  the  question  of  Abra-  every  reason  to  expect  this — in  his 
 
 ham  in  this  verse,  is  quite  incompa-  hundredth  year,  supposing-  life  to 
 
 tible  with  this  conjecture.  have  extended  to  one  hundred  and 
 
 ^  Supposing  Al)raham  lived,  or  forty,  he  was  as  a  man  in  his  fifty- 
 expected  to  live,  only  so  long  as  seventh  year  in  our  day,  when  life 
 the  shortest  lived  of  his  ancestors,  is  limited  to  eighty. 
 
376  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 Verse  18.  "  Oh  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee !" 
 Is  this  the  strong  cry  of  love  ?  Did  Abraham  so  love  tliis 
 son,  was  he  so  wrapped  up  in  that  love,  that  he  was  jealous 
 and  fearful  lest  some  new  object  should  claim  a  share  in 
 his  affection,  or  press  Ishmael  from  his  heart?  Or  do  not 
 these  words  rather  express  the  hidden  doubt?  Are  they 
 not  a  remonstrance  which  a  disbelief  that  dares  not  openly 
 avow  itself  timidly  ventures,  a  suggestion  by  which  the 
 servant  hopes  to  gain  the  ear  of  his  master  ?  The  answers 
 of  the  Elohim,  though  he  showers  blessings  upon  Ishmael, 
 seems  to  imply  this. 
 
 Verse  20.  The  blessing  pronounced  upon  Ishmael  must 
 have  been  already  realized  when  the  book  of  Genesis  was 
 written  or  compiled ;  for  in  its  twenty-fifth  chapter  Ave 
 find  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  "  by  their  towns, 
 and  by  their  castles,  twelve  princes  according  to  their 
 nations." 
 
 Verses  22-27.  God  leaves  Abraham.  And  Abraham 
 then  performs  his  part  of  the  covenant  and  circumcises  all 
 the  men  of  his  house. 
 
 In  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter  Jehovah  is  represented 
 as  identifying  himself  with  the  Elohim,  and  as  in  chapter 
 xvi.  he  bore  the  title  of  Adonai,  so  here  he  claims  to  be 
 Elohim  Schaddai. 
 
 The  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  written  with  the  name 
 Elohim.  It  contains  the  account  of  a  promise  which  the 
 Elohim  gave  to  Abraham  and  which  in  substance  is  the 
 same  as  that  recorded  of  Jehovah  in  chapter  xii,  and  again 
 repeated  in  chapters  xiii  and  xiv. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  this  chapter  with  that  })ortion  of 
 Genesis  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  we  find,  that,  here  first 
 the  Elohim  author  ventures  on  the  etymologies  of  names. 
 In  this  chapter  we  have  the  etymologies  of  the  names  of 
 Abraham  and  Sarah,  and  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Isaac, 
 "  Lauirhter." 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  377 
 
 If  we  compare  its  promise 
 
 I.  With  that  which  the  Elohim  gave  to  Noah;  we 
 observe  that  they  both  take  the  form  of  a  covenant,  and 
 that  they  are  both  connected  with  the  imposition  of  new 
 laws ;  with  this  difference,  that  the  one  covenant  is  repre- 
 sented as  conditional  on  the  observance  of  those  laws,  while 
 the  other  is  wholly  unconnected  with  them. 
 
 And  II.   With  those  promises  made  by  Jehovah  :^  we  find 
 
 1st.  That  the  Elohim  always  expressly  appears,  while 
 Jehovah  sometimes  seems,  in  so  far  at  least  as  the  text 
 affirms,  only  to  have  addressed  his  favourites. 
 
 2ndly.  That  the  Elohim  opens  his  promise  to  Abraham 
 by  a  solemn  declaration  of  his  name  and  title,  while  Jeho- 
 vah (save  in  ch.  xv)  at  once  proceeds  to  make  known  His 
 intentions. 
 
 3rdly.  That,  as  the  ground  or  condition  of  the  promises 
 made,  the  Elohim  holds  up  the  rite  of  circumcision  (xvii, 
 9, 10);  Jehovah,  on  the  other  hand,  the  faith  of  Abraham, 
 (xv,  6.) 
 
 And  4thly.  That  the  Elohim's  form  of  expression  is 
 short  and  simple,  while  Jehovah's  is  full  of  similitudes, — 
 imaginative,  poetical.  Thus,  to  convey  the  notion  of  a 
 numerous  posterity,  the  Eloliira  promises  to  Abraham — 
 "  I  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly :  thou  shalt  be  the  father 
 of  many  nations  :  I  will  make  thee  exceeding  fruit- 
 ful ;  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come 
 out  of  thee."  And  in  relation  to  Ishmael,  He  says — 
 "  I  have  blessed  him  and  made  him  fruitful,  and 
 wiU  multiply  him  exceedingly :  twelve  princes  shall  he 
 beget :  and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation."  Jehovah 
 expresses  the  same  promises,  with  some  variations  of  phrase. 
 To  Abraham  he  declares — "  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
 nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee  and  make  thy  name  great, 
 and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing ;  and  I  will  bless  them  that 
 
 '  This  comparison  is  of  course  however  assist  us,  and  that  too  very 
 
 very  imperfect,  as  it  includes  only  materially,  in   forming-   our  judg- 
 
 a  portion  of  the  promises  made  hy  ment,  when  the  whole  of  them  are 
 
 either  Jehovah  or  Elohim.     It  will  before  us. 
 
378  CHAPTER   XV. 
 
 bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee  ;  and  on 
 thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed.". . ."  And 
 I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth". . ."  and  look 
 now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be  able  to 
 number  them — so  shall  thy  seed  be."  And  to  Hagar  He 
 promises — "  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  exceedingly,  that  it 
 shall  not  be  numbered  for  multitude."  The  one,  makes  the 
 man  exceeding  fruitful  and  multiplies  him,  and  he  be- 
 comes the  father  of  many  nations ;  the  other,  multiplies  the 
 mail's  seed,  till  it  is  as  the  dust  of  the  earth  or  the  stars  of 
 heaven — for  multitude  innumerable.  The  former  blesses 
 by  simply  giving  posterity,  and  seems  to  know  no  higher 
 blessing  than  a  powerful  posterity  f  the  latter  blesses  by 
 assurances  of  love  and  favour:  His  love  He  labours  to 
 express :  He  heaps  blessing  on  blessing :  through  Abra- 
 ham He  seems  to  become  reconciled  to  man,  and  through 
 Abraham  He  blesses  all  mankind. 
 
 Again,  as  regards  the  promised  land,  the  Elohim  either 
 gives  the  land  of  Canaan  by  name,  or  speaks  of  it  as  "  the 
 land  tuherein  thou  art  a  stranger ;"  ^  while  Jehovah  gives 
 "  this  land,"  or  bids  Abraham  "  look  northward,  and  south- 
 ward, and  eastward,  and  westward,"  for  all  that  land  shall 
 be  his  ;  or,  while  He  gives  it.  He  marks  out  its  boundaries 
 and  geographical  position,  it  is  the  land  "  from  the  river  of 
 Egypt  unto  the  great  river  Euphrates."  The  gift  of  the 
 Elohim  then  supposes  merely,  that  at  some  time  or  other 
 Abraham  had  visited  Canaan  and  that  the  country  was 
 not  altogether  unknown  to  him  ;  but  the  gift  itself  may 
 have  been  made  in  China,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates, 
 as  well  as  in  Canaan :  it  wants  locality,  and  the  substance 
 of  it  only  is  preserved  to  us.  The  narrative  of  Jehovah, 
 on  the  other  hand,  has  all  the  reality  which  local  colom'ing 
 can  give  it.  You  ascend  the  mountain  with  Abraham ; 
 with  him  you  walk  through  the  land ;  and  with  him  you 
 
 ^  As  in  tlie  blessing;:  of  Abraliaiii,  and    compare   willi   this   last    the 
 
 xvii,  6  :  "  Kinjjfs  shall  come  out  of  blessing  by  Jehovah,  xvi,  10. 
 thee  ;"  and  in  that  of  Ishmael,  20 :         ^  The  marginal  reading  has,  "  Of 
 
 *' Twelve  princes  shall  he  beget;"  thy  sojournings." 
 
CHAPTER   XV.  379 
 
 measure  its  bounds :  you  know  all  the  circumstances  which 
 called  forth  the  several  deeds  of  gift,  and  you  hear  the 
 very  words  in  which  the  gift  was  made/ 
 
 With  this  chapter  we  may  connect, 
 
 I.  Chapters  i  and  ix,  in  so  far  as  they  represent  the 
 Elohim  as  the  great  law-giver.  But,  as  the  ninth  chapter 
 represented  the  Elohim  promulgating  certain  laws  which 
 bear  with  them  no  mark  of  necessity :  so  this  chapter  shows 
 Him  either  instituting  or  authorising  a  religious  ceremony 
 which  an  advanced  state  of  civilisation  has  rejected  as  bur- 
 densome and  absurd ;  and  yet  we  have  these  laws  and  this 
 ceremony  ordained  by  the  same  authority  which  in  the 
 first  chapter  gave  their  several  laws  to  Nature  and  Hu- 
 manity. 
 
 n.  The  institution  of  circumcision,  and  the  various  ob- 
 servances connected  with  it,  among  the  Hebrews. 
 
 ni.  The  belief  of  the  Hebrews,  that  because  their  laws 
 and  religious  ceremonies  originally  came  from  God,  no 
 change  could  take  place  in  them  but  by  the  express  com- 
 mand of  the  Deity. 
 
 IV.  Their  expectation  that  the  God  who  had  made  this 
 covenant  with  their  fathers  would  continue  His  especial 
 favour  towards  themselves,  so  long  as  they  fulfilled  their 
 articles  of  the  covenant. 
 
 And  V.  We  may  connect  with  the  belief  of  the  Israel- 
 ites, that  their  laws,  &c.  were  given  them  by  their  God, 
 the  similar  belief  of  several  other  people : — of  the  Hindus 
 and  the  Zend  jieoijle ;  of  the  Cretans,  who  believed  that 
 Minos  was  Atoe  jxeyaXov  oapitrrric/  and  that  his  laws  were  the 
 revelation  of  Jupiter ;  of  the  Lacedemonians,  that  Lycur- 
 gus  was  the  especial  friend  of  the  Delphian  god,  and  his 
 laws  divine  revelations,  &c. 
 
 *  Vide  T.  F.  W.  Miiller  iiber  die  d.  Biblisch.  Literal,  vol.  iv,  p.  480. 
 Urkuuden  Genesis,  Eichhorn,  Bib.        ^  Odyssey,  xix,  179. 
 
380 
 
 CHAPTER  XVI. 
 
 GENESIS  xviii.  1-33. 
 
 Verses  1-5.  After  a  short  preface  which  makes  known 
 the  subject-matter  of  this  chapter,  we  see  Abraham  sitting 
 at  his  tent  door — he  is  now  very  old,  and  he  is  basking  in 
 the  full  sunshine ;  his  eyes  are  fixed  on  the  ground ;  he 
 meditates  probably  on  the  hopes  and  future  fortunes  of  his 
 race ;  when  lo,  three  men  stand  by  him— and  the  aged 
 patriarch  is  young  again ;  he  runs  to  meet  the  strangers,  he 
 bows  himself  before  him  who  seems  the  chief  among  them, 
 he  promises  them  the  best  his  house  affords,  his  servants  i 
 and  even  his  wife  are  called  uj)on  to  attend  to  their  comfort, 
 and  he  himself  hastens  forth  to  choose  out  from  amid  his 
 herd  the  fatted  calf.  With  liis  own  hands  he  prepares  for 
 them  the  feast,  with  his  own  hands  sets  it  before  them, 
 and  stands  by  them  under  the  tree  while  they  do  eat.  And 
 all  this  while  he  asks  no  questions,  he  intrudes  not  him- 
 self upon  his  guests,  he  is  content  to  administer  to  their 
 wants  and  to  do  them  service ;  his  hospitality  has  all  the 
 warmth  of  affection  with  all  the  reserve  of  the  highest 
 breeding. 
 
 The  hospitality  of  Abraham  we  must  not  however  prize 
 
 I  In  the  accounts  which  Volney  India,  to  wash  the  feet  and  ankles 
 
 and  Burckhardt  i^ive  of  the  hospita-  of  the  weary  traveller  is  considered 
 
 lity  of  the  Arahs,  I  do  not  reniem-  a  necessary  part  of  Eastern  hospi- 
 
 ber  any  mention  of  washing   the  tality.      He   adds,   moreover,   that 
 
 feet.       Roberts,    in    his    Oriental  the  service  is  always  performed  by 
 
 Illustrations   of    the   Holy   Scrip-  servants. — Vide  ad  hunc  loc. ;  and 
 
 tures,  however,  informs  us  that  in  see  Inst.  Menu,  chap,  iii,  §  101. 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  381 
 
 too  highly.     He  but  exercises  the  virtue  of  the  desert,  and 
 a  virtue  of  which  the  meanest  Bedouin  even  in  this  day 
 often  gives  an  example.  Volney  tells  us  of  the  Arabs,  that 
 "  the  principal  Shaik  in  every  tribe  defrays  the  charges 
 of  all  who  arrive  at  or  leave  the  camp..... ..Adjacent  to  his 
 
 tent  is  a  large  pavilion  for  the  reception  of  all  strangers 
 and  passengers.  The  crowd  which  enters  successively,  he 
 must  treat  with  coffee,  bread  baked  on  the  ashes,  rice,  and 
 sometimes  roasted  kid  or  camel ;  and  in  a  word  he  must 
 keep  open  table ;  and  it  is  of  great  importance  to  him 
 to  be  generous,  as  this  generosity  is  closely  connected 
 with  matters  of  the  highest  consequence.  On  the  exercise 
 of  this  his  credit  and  his  power  depend.  The  famished 
 Arab  ranks  the  hosjiitality  which  feeds  him  before  every 
 virtue."^  And  of  the  people  themselves,  he  informs  us 
 that'  "  if  a  stranger,  nay  even  an  enemy,  touch  the  tent  of 
 the  Bedouin,  from  that  instant  his  person  becomes  invio- 
 lable. It  would  be  reckoned  a  disgracefid  meanness,  an 
 indelible  shame  to  satisfy  even  a  just  vengeance*  at  the 
 expense  of  hospitality.  Has  the  Bedouin  consented  to  eat 
 bread  and  salt  with  his  guest,  nothing  can  induce  him  to 
 betray  him.  The  power  of  the  Sultan  himself  would  not 
 be  able  to  force  a  refugee  from  the  protection  of  a  tribe, 
 but  by  its  total  extermination.  What  little  the  Bedouin  pos- 
 
 ^  Volney's  Travels  in  Syria  and  point  of  honour,  that  if  any  one 
 
 Egypt,  chap,  xxiii,  §  iii ;   and  for  neglect  to  seek  his  retaliation,  he 
 
 the    consideration    hospitality   ob-  is  disgraced  for  ever.    He  therefore 
 
 tains,  see  also  Burckhardt's  Notes  watches   every   opportunity  of  re- 
 
 on  the  Bedouins,  vol.  i,  pp.  72-118.  venge;  if   his  enemy  perish  from 
 
 ^  Ut    supra.      This    hospitality  any  other  cause,  still  he  is  not  sa- 
 
 has  however  its  limits;  "  after  the  tisfied,  and  his  vengeance  is  directed 
 
 stranger  has  dwelt  in  the  tent  of  against  the  nearest  relations.  These 
 
 his  host  three  days  and  four  hours,  animosities   are   transmitted    from 
 
 he  is  expected  to  state  his  business;  father  to  children,  and  never  cease 
 
 and  if  he  remain  there,  to  take  a  but  by  the  extinction  of  one  of  the 
 
 share  in  the  family  labours. "^Vide  families,  unless  they  agree  to  sacri- 
 
 Burckhardt,  ut  supra,  p.  179.  fice  the  criminal,  or  purchase  the 
 
 ■•  To  feel  the  full  force  of  this  blood  for  a  stated  price  in  money 
 
 generosity,  we  must  know  the  full  or   in    flocks."     And  consult  also 
 
 force  of  this  desire  of  vengeance  in  Burckhardt,   ut    supra.      On    the 
 
 the  Arab.     Volney,  ut  supra,  tells  Blood-revenge,  or  Thar,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 us :  "  So  nice  are  the  Arabs  on  this  148,  and  again,  id.  p.  312. 
 
382  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 sesses  he  is  ever  ready  to  divide.  He  has  even  the  dehcacy 
 not  to  wait  till  it  is  asked;  when  he  takes  his  repast  he  affects 
 to  seat  himself  at  the  door  of  his  tent  in  order  to  invite 
 passengers !  his  generosity  is  so  sincere,  that  he  does  not 
 look  upon  it  as  a  merit  but  merely  as  a  duty:  and  he 
 therefore  readily  takes  the  same  liberty  with  others.'" 
 The  same  frank  and  generous  spirit  is  to  be  found  among 
 the  North  American  Indians.  "  Quiconque,"  says  Lafitau, 
 "  entre  chez  eux  est  bien  re^u.  A  peine  celui  qui  arrive, 
 ou  qui  rend  visite,  est-il  entre,  qu'on  met  a  manger  devant 
 lui,  sans  rien  dire ;  et  lui-meme  mange  sans  fac^'on,  avant 
 d'ouvrir  la  bouche  pour  declarer  le  sujet  qui  I'amene."^  And 
 so  also  the  ancient  Germans^  held  it  a  crime  to  refuse 
 hospitality  to  and  to  share  their  food  with  the  stranger. 
 In  short  among  all  uncivilised,  or  half- civilised,  nations  of 
 nolle  race,  hospitality  is  not  so  much  a  virtue  as  the  want 
 of  it  a  crime.     A  mong  us,  the  civilised, 
 
 "  Whoe'er  has  travelled  life's  dull  round, 
 Whate'er  his  stages  may  have  been, 
 Must  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
 The  readiest  welcome  at  an  inn." 
 
 Yes,  hospitality  has  become  among  us  one  of  those  cheap 
 virtues  Avhich  men  are  content  with  loudly  extolling, — a 
 sort  of  mythic  virtue,  which  may  very  prettily  adorn  a 
 ballad  or  a  pastoral,  but  which  not  one  man  in  his  senses 
 would  ever  think  of  exercising.  Have  we  then  dege- 
 nerated— do  we  shrink  from  duties  which  our  forest  an- 
 cestors embraced  so  warmly,  and  held  ever  so  near  to  their 
 hearts  ?  I  do  not  think  so  hardly  of  our  age,  nor  so  hardly 
 of  civilisation. 
 
 *  Lafitau,  Mceurs  des  Sauvages,  quantum    ad   jus   hospitii,    nemo 
 
 vol.  ii,  p.  83.  discernit Gaudent    mune- 
 
 ^Queracumque    mortalium    av-  rihus :  sed  nee  data  imputant,  nee 
 
 cere  tecto,nefashabetur,pro  fortuna  acceptis  ohliyantur.^'' — Tacitus,  Ger- 
 
 quisque    apparatis   epulis  excipit.  mania,  §  xxi.     What  an  insight  do 
 
 Cum   defecere,   qui   modo   hospes  these  few  last  words  give  us  into 
 
 fuerat,   monstrator  hospitii   et   co-  a  whole  code  of  morality,  and  one 
 
 mes,  proximam  domwn  non  invi-  based   on  very  different  principles 
 
 tati  adeunt.     Notum  ignotumque,  to  ours ! 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  383 
 
 1st.  Circumstances  have  changed,  and  the  moral  of  cir- 
 cumstances has  changed  with  them.  The  innumerable 
 commercial  relations  of  civilised  Europe,  the  strangers  who 
 throng  its  towns,  and  the  accommodations  which  money 
 may  every  where  purchase,  have  rendered  an  indiscrimi- 
 nate hospitality  neither  desirable  nor  necessary.  The  inn, 
 become  now  the  home  of  the  traveller,  has  relieved  society 
 of  a  tax  which  had  become  impossible. 
 
 And  2ndly.  Another  state  of  society  has  introduced 
 another  view  of  moral  obligation.  When  strength  lost  its 
 rights  and  power  its  privileges,  generosity,  which  is  the 
 root  and  fount  of  aU  their  virtues,  ceased  to  be  our  prin- 
 ciple of  conduct.  The  noble  classes,  in  all  that  constituted 
 nobility  in  the  eyes  of  the  olden  world,  together  with  the 
 society  of  which  they  were  the  very  life  and  energy,  have 
 perished.  Every  where  an  equal  law  is  now  paramount ; 
 every  where  the  rights  of  man,  no  empty  phrase,  are  felt, 
 and  practically  acknowledged.  Inclination  no  longer  de- 
 termines duty.  The  sense  of  equality  has  developed  in  us 
 the  sense  of  justice.  To  do  justice  is  the  rule  of  our  lives, 
 the  highest  aim  of  our  moral  endeavours.  Either  we  dare 
 not  be  generous,  or  we  are  generous  because  we  are  just. 
 In  other  words,  morality  has  taken  the  place  of  impulse  ; 
 duty  of  sentiment,  and  a  higher  state  of  society  has  suc- 
 ceeded to  a  lower ;  and  man,  though  he  cannot  now  boast 
 the  easy  graces  of  the  indebted  and  grasping  prodigal, 
 walks  at  least  with  the  firm  step,  and  wears  the  elevated 
 front  of  honest  independence. 
 
 Verses  4-7.  In  these  primitive  times  occupation  was  no 
 disgrace.  Homer  shows  us  Andromache  feeding  the 
 horses^  of  Hector,  and  Nausicaa  washing  the  clothes  of 
 her  brothers  and  her  kingly  father  Alcinous ; '  and  Hero- 
 dotus,9  in  that  tale  which  he  relates  of  the  first  founder  of 
 
 ■^  Iliad  viii,  186.  travail   choisit  quelque  profession 
 ®  Odyssey  vi,  9,  Sec.  honnete,  telle  que  I'agriculture  ou 
 ®  Lib.  viii,  §  cxxxvii.    And  Bos-  la  peche.     II  en  tire  de  quoi  four- 
 man  thus  describes  a  negro  prince:  nir  a  son  entretien.      II  n'a  pas 
 "  Un  prince  qui  arrive  a  I'age  de  honte  de  porter  le  fruit  de  son  tra- 
 
384  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 the  Temenian  race,  speaks  of  the  then  king  of  Macedon 
 as  cultivating  his  own  field,  and  of  his  wife  as  cooking  the 
 victnals  for  him  and  his  hinds  ;  and  Volney  '  describes 
 a  modern  Bedouin  Sheikh  as  one  who,  though  "he  has 
 the  command  of  five  hundred  horse,  does  not  disdain  to 
 saddle  and  bridle  his  own,  nor  to  give  him  his  barley  and 
 chopped  straw :  in  his  tent  his  wife  makes  the  coffee, 
 kneads  the  dough,  and  superintends  the  dressing  of  the 
 victuals;  liis  daughters  and  kinswomen  wash  the  linen, 
 and  go  with  pitchers  on  their  heads  and  veils  over  their 
 faces  to  draw  water  from  the  fountain." 
 
 Verses  6-7.  Volney^  again  informs  us  that  in  Syria, 
 "  Every  house  has  its  portable  mill  with  which  the  -women 
 grind  the  barley  or  the  Dourra  for  their  sustenance" — but 
 he  adds — "  the  flour  from  these  mills  is  coarse,  and  the 
 little  round  loaves  made  of  it  ill-leavened  and  badly 
 baked,  but  they  preserve  life  and  that  is  all  that  is  re- 
 quired." Burckhardt^  says  of  the  Turkomans :  "  Their 
 bread  is  a  thin  unleavened  cake,  which  the  women  bake 
 upon  a  hot  iron  plate  in  less  than  a  minute  ;" — and  of  the 
 Bedouins  :  "  The  Ayesh  (flour  and  sour  camel's  milk  made 
 into  a  cake  and  boiled)  is  the  daily  dish  of  the  Aenezes ; 
 and  even  the  richest  Sheikh  would  think  it  a  shame  to 
 order  his  wife  to  dress  any  other  chsh  merely  to  please  his 
 own  palate.  The  Arabs  never  indulge  in  luxuries,  but  on 
 occasion  of  some  festival  or  on  the  arrival  of  a  stranger. 
 For  a  common  guest,  bread  is  baked  and  served  up  with 
 the  ayesh :  if  the  guest  be  of  some  consideration,  coffee  is 
 
 vail  au  marche.     Le  reste  de  ses  bread  of  some  of  the  North  Ameri- 
 
 occupations  lie  repond  pas  mieux  can  Indians :  "  C'est  une  inasse  de 
 
 a  sa  naissance,  et  c'est  ordinaire-  leur  farine,  pestrie  mal  proprement 
 
 ment  de  ces  exercises  nieohaniques  sans  levain  et  sans  sel.     lis  I'enve- 
 
 qu'il  monte  au  trone  royale  de  ses  loppent  de  feuilles  de  hied  d'lude, 
 
 peres."  —  Histoire    Generale    des  et  le  font  cuiie  sous  la  cendre,  ou  \e 
 
 Voyages,  vol.  iv,  p.  184.  font  bouillir  dans  la  chaudiere 
 
 '  Travels  in  Syria   and  Egypt,  Ce  pain  n'est  pas  de  conserve,  et 
 
 c.  xxiii,  §  iii.  n'est  guere  hon  qu'a  etre  mange 
 
 *  Id.  ih.  vol.  ii,  c.  xxxix,  p.  288.  chaud  en  sortant  du  four." — Lafi- 
 
 '  Vide  Travels  in  Syria,  p.  ti38.  tau,  Moeurs  des  Sauvages,  vol.  ii, 
 
 Somewhat  similar  seems  to  be  the  p.  94. 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  385 
 
 prepared  for  him,  and  hehatta,  or  bread  with  melted  butter. 
 For  a  man  of  rank  a  kid  or  lamb  is  killed.  When  this 
 occurs,  they  boil  the  lamb  with  burgoul  and  camel's  milk, 
 and  serve  it  up  in  a  large  wooden  dish,  round  the  edge  of 
 which  the  meat  is  placed."'' 
 
 Verse  9.  I  cannot  better  exemplify  the  text  than  by 
 again  referring  to  the  customs  of  the  desert.  Of  the 
 Turkoman  women  Burckhardt  observes,  that  "  they  do 
 not  hide  themselves  even  before  strangers ;  but  the  girls 
 seldom  enter  the  men's  rooms,  although  pemiitted  to  talk 
 freely  with  their  father's  guests."*  In  another  place  he 
 describes  the  conduct  of  some  Arab  women  whom  he 
 accidentally  fell  in  with :  "  Ayd  (his  guide)  knew  the 
 women,  who  belonged  to  his  own  tribe;  their  husbands 
 were  fishermen,  and  were  then  at  the  sea  shore.  They 
 brought  us  some  milk  and  were  not  at  all  bashful.  I 
 freely  talked  and  laughed  with  them,  hut  tliey  remained 
 at  several  yards  distance  from  me.  Ayd  shook  them  by 
 the  hand,  and  kissed  the  children ;  but  Hamd,  who  did 
 not  know  them,  kept  at  the  same  distance  as  myself." « 
 And  again  he  says — (and  I  see  Sarah  behind  the  tent  door, 
 and  I  remember  Abraham's  visit  to  the  country  of  the 
 Pharaohs) — "  In  one  encampment  I  found  the  Avomen 
 much  more  reserved  than  among  other  Bedouins.  I  could 
 not  induce  any  of  them  to  converse  with  me,  and  soon 
 perceived  that  both  themselves  and  their  husbands  disliked 
 their  being  noticed: — a  fastidiousness  of  manners  for 
 which  they  were  no  doubt  indebted  to  the  frequent  visits 
 of  their  husbands  to  the  capital  of  Egypt.'" 
 
 Verses  9,  10.  "  And  they  said,  where  is  Sarah  thy  wife  ? 
 . . .  and  he  said,  I  will  certainly  return  unto  thee,"  &c. 
 Abraham  receives  and  converses  with  his  guests,  like 
 Hagar,  unconscious  of  their  high  dignity,  till  the  allusion 
 
 ■*  Notes  on  tlie  Bedouins,  vol.  i,         «Id.  ib.  p.  421 ;  and  Nubia,  p.  139. 
 P-  62.  7  Syria,  p. 539;  but  see  Sophocles, 
 
 *  Syria,  p.  638.  (Ed.  Colon.  353. 
 
 3d 
 
386  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 made  by  one  of  them  to  the  near  fulfilment  of  his  long 
 delayed  hopes  reveals  to  him  Jehovah/  And  if  it  be 
 objected,  that  in  this  case  Abraham,  besides  that  he 
 seems  to  address  himself  to  one  only  of  the  strangers, 
 treats  his  guests  with  unnecessary  and  unheard-of  defer- 
 ence,— for  he  bows  himself  to  the  ground  before  them,  and 
 waits  upon  them  like  a  servant  while  they  eat: — we  will 
 observe,  that  he  addresses  one  only  of  the  strangers, 
 because  that  one  is  evidently  the  lord  or  chief  of  the 
 others ;  and  that  he  bows  himself  before  him,  as  he  bows 
 himself  before  the  sons^  of  Heth, — as  according  to  oriental 
 custom  all  bow  themselves  who  demand  a  favour.^  We 
 may  add  too,  that  hefore  this  promise  or  prophecy,  the  three 
 guests  are  always  either  spoken  of  together  and  anony- 
 mously, as  "  rest  yourselves,"  "  set  the  meat  before  them," 
 and  "  they  said  ; "  while,  after  it,  we  have  but  one  interlo- 
 cutor, and  that  one  mentioned  by  name — "  the  Lord  said, 
 Jehovah ;"  I  conclude  therefore  that  the  objection  is  of 
 little  weight. 
 
 Verses  11-15.  Sarah  doubts  Jehovah's  power  to  alter 
 or  control  the  course  of  nature;  but  Sarah  knows  and 
 feels  Jehovah's  power  over  her  own  fate  and  fortunes. 
 Hence,  on  the  one  side,  her  mockery  of  Jehovah's  idle 
 promises,  her  heart-laughter  at  His  impossible  boasts; 
 and,  on  the  other,  her  fear  of  His  anger,  and  her  stout 
 denial  of  an  act  which  He  might  regard  as  an  insult. 
 Her  conduct  is  that  of  a  cunning  slave  before  a  capricious 
 master. 
 
 .7,  18.     May  not  these  verses,  prefacing  Jeho- 
 vah's  intentions   towards   Sodom,  assist  us  to  the  sense 
 
 ^  PatrickjComment.adlmncloc.  what  difficult  clearly  to  make  out 
 
 seems  to  think  that  Abraham  knew  what  he  means. 
 
 .Jehovah  at  once,  that  Jehovah  ap-  *  Vide  chap,  xxiii.  7. 
 
 peared  in  his  glory.    The  conimen-  i  Vide  Burckhardt's  account  of 
 
 tary   on   this  chapter — however   I  the  eager  and  ambitious  hospitality 
 
 speak  from  memory — is  so  confused  of   the    Bedouin. — Notes  on    the 
 
 and  contradictory  that  it  is  some-  Bedouins. 
 
CHAPTER  XVI.  387 
 
 which  Moses  probably  attached  to  the  great  j3romise 
 made  to  Abraham,  that  in  Abraham  all  the  families  of  the 
 earth  should  be  blessed  ?  For,  we  here  learn,  that  "  the 
 Lord  will  do  unto  Abraham  as  He  hath  spoken  of  him ;" 
 because  "  Abraham  will  command  his  children,"  &c.  . . . 
 "and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord."^  But,  from 
 the  subsequent  dialogue,  we  know  that  ten  righteous  men 
 would  have  saved  Sodom.'  Is  it  not  then  pretty  evident 
 that,  in  the  belief  of  IVIoses,  the  world  was  preserved  from 
 dissolution  only  by  the  moral  life  of  those  few  of  its  inha- 
 bitants who  worshipped  the  true  God  ?  But  those  few 
 were  the  Israelites,  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Were  not  these 
 few  then  indeed  a  blessing  to  this  earth  ?  its  salt,  as  the 
 gospel  expresses  it  ?  and  perhaps  at  every  moment  of  time 
 its  salvation.^ 
 
 Verses  19-33.  According  to  Hesiod,^  heaven  rains  down 
 plagues  on  those  states  and  assemblies  that  are  regardless 
 of  the  right;  while  those  wliicli  observe  the  laws  of  justice 
 Jupiter  preserves  from  the  horrors  of  war  and  famine,  and 
 loads  with  favours.     Often,  he  exclaims,  is  a  whole  city 
 
 '  111  the  Chinese  books  this  truth  milarly  tells  us  that  "  if  God  had 
 
 is  more  broadly  and  fully  stated  :  not  prevented  men,  the  one  by  the 
 
 "  Ce  n'est  pas"  (says  his  minister  other,  verily  the  earth  had  been  cor- 
 
 to  Tai-kia,  an  emperor  of  the  Chang  rupted."  The  Hindu  books  hold  up 
 
 dynasty,  1753-1529  B.C.),  "  ce  n'est  the  Brahmin  as  him  "  through  the 
 
 pas  que  le  Ciel  ait  un  amour  pirti-  benevolence  of  whom  other  mortals 
 
 culier  pour  la  dynastie  de  Chang,  enjoy  life." — Menu,  c.  i,  §  101,  and 
 
 Le  Ciel  aime  une  vertu  pure." —  c.  viii,§  22.      And  in  the  Zenda- 
 
 De  Guignes,  Chou-king,  Ft.  iii,  c.  vesta,  Ormuzd  declares  to  Zoroaster 
 
 vi,  p.  102.  "  s'il    n'y   avoit  pas  comme  vous 
 
 ^  Thus  Lot's  piety  is  strong  to  quelqu'un  qui  executat  ma  parole, 
 
 save  (had  they  taken  the  warning)  qui  fut  pur  dans  ses  pensees,  dans 
 
 his  sons  and  his  sons-in-law,  and  ses  paroles,  le  nionde  seroit  mainte- 
 
 his  daughters,  and  whatsoever  he  nant  a  sa  fin." — Ha  xlix,  p.  194. 
 
 had  in  the  city  :    (chap.  xix.  12.)  This  belief  is  however  a  necessary 
 
 compare,   however,    Ezekiel  xviii.  corollary  of  the  Zend  view  of  the 
 
 And  the  Jews  even  to  this  day  be-  creation  and  of  the  power  of  Ahri- 
 
 lieve  that  "  God  will  not  redeem  man  over  it.     In  Genesis  it  has  no 
 
 them  for  any  merit  of  theirs,  but  for  necessary  connexion  with  the  great 
 
 his  name's  sake,  rtwtZ /or  <Ae  sa^e  of  first  view   of  the   Deity  and    the 
 
 the  few  righteous." — Adams'  Hist,  world ;  it  is  a  thought   suggested 
 
 of  the  Jews,  p.  488.  by  a  belief  in  man's  demoralization. 
 
 *  The  Koran  (chap,  ii,  p.  45)  si-         *  Epya  kcu  i^ntpai. — 215-55. 
 
388  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 the  victim  of  the  pernicious  counsels,  and  the  disorders  of 
 a  single  citizen, — and  the  people  die,  the  women  are 
 afflicted  with  barrenness,  and  families  perish  away.  In 
 the  Etruscan  fragment  already  quoted,^  Jupiter  is  repre- 
 sented as  himself  punishing  those  who  remove  their  neigh- 
 bours' landmarks,  and  are  false  and  double-tongued.  Their 
 names  and  families  are  threatened  with  extermination ;  for 
 their  crimes  the  very  earth  is  afflicted  with  storms,  and  its 
 productions  suffer  from  rains  and  hail,  and  parching  heat 
 and  blights  ;  and  dissensions  arise  among  the  people. 
 The  Chinese  books  make  the  weather  'a  barometer  of 
 moral  excellence  :  "  Quand  la  vertu  regno,  la  pluie  vient  a 
 propos...une  chaleur  qui  vient  a  propos  designe  la  pru- 
 dence. .  .Quand  les  vices  regnent,  il  pleut  sans  cesse;  et 
 les  vents  soufflent  toujours  si  on  est  aveugle  sur  soi- 
 meme."'  In  China,  the  good  or  evil  which  heaven  accords 
 to  men  depends  on  their  moral  state.'  The  Hindu  law 
 regards  all  disease'  as  the  punishment  of  past  offences; 
 and  the  Zenda vesta'  refuses  to  all  who  neglect  its  oft- 
 
 ^  "  Cum  autem  Jupiter  terram  guis  sis,  disciplinam  pone  in  corde 
 
 HctruriiE  sibi  vindicavit,  constituit  tuo." — From  Michelet  I  have  tran- 
 
 jussitque  metiricampos,  signarique  scribed  the  whole  of  this  passage, 
 
 agros ;  sciens  hominum  avaritiam  it  gives  one  so  large  an  insight  into 
 
 vel   terrenam  cupidinem,  terminis  the  Etruscan  superstition. 
 
 omnia  scita  voluit Sed  qui  con-  ''  Chou-king,part  iv,  c.  iv,  p.  172  ; 
 
 tigerit    nioveritque     possessionem  and  compare  Deut.  xi.  13. 
 
 promovendo  suam,  alterius  minu-  ^  "  Le  bonheur  et  la  rnalheur," 
 
 endo,  ub  hoc  scelus  damnabitur  a  says  Y-Yu,  "  ne  sont  point  attaches 
 
 Diis.     Si    servi    faciant,    dominis  aux  hommes ;  mais  le  bien  ou  le 
 
 mutabuntur  a  deterius.       Sed  si  mal  que  le  Ciel  envoie  depend  de 
 
 conscientia  domestica  fiet,  celerius  leur  vertu." — Id.  p.  182. 
 
 domus  extirpabitur,  gensque  ejus  ^  Institutes  of  Menu,  c.  xi,  p. 
 
 omnis    interiet.      Motores    autem  48,  where  may  be  found  the  parti- 
 
 pcssimis  morbis  et  vulneribus  affi-  cular  disease  which  is  attached  to 
 
 cientur,  membrisque  suis  debilita-  each  particular   crime ;   and   Yon 
 
 buntur.     Tum  etiam  terra  a  tem-  Bohlen,  dasAlt.  Indien,vol.i,  p.37. 
 
 pestatibus  vel  turbinibus  plerum-  l  "  Comment    vivra-t-on    long- 
 
 ([ue    movebitur.       Fructus    ssepe  temps,  deviendra-t-on  grand,  sage, 
 
 liedentur  decuticnturque  imimbus  intelligent?  ne  viendra-t-il  pas  de 
 
 atque  grandine,  caniculis  intcrient,  I'intelligeuce  de  la  loi,  0  Ormuzd!" 
 
 robigine  occidentur,  multa;  dissen-  (Ha  xxx.)     And  of  those  who  per- 
 
 siones  in  populo  fient.  Hajc  sistote  form  not  the  requisite  ceremonies, 
 
 cum  talia  scelera   committuntur  :  "S'ilsdemandentdesbiens,s'ilsdesi- 
 
 propterea  neque  fallax,ncquc  bilin-  rent  que  des  troupcaux  uombreux. 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  389 
 
 enjoined   ceremonies  the  wealth,    and  strength,  and  nu- 
 merous herds,  which  it  heaps  on  its  punctual  votaries. 
 All  these  creeds  acknowledge,  we  find, 
 
 I.  A  great  general  Providence,  which  rides  the  world 
 according  to  certain  appointed  laws  ;  and 
 
 II.  An  especial  Providence,  wliich  orders  physical  acci- 
 dents according  to  man's  moral  conduct. 
 
 But  of  the  physical  accidents  themselves,  which  the 
 Deities  in  these  different  creeds  are  supposed  to  employ  in 
 their  moral  government  of  the  world,  we  may  observe, 
 that  there  are  two  kinds : 
 
 1st.  They  are  such  as  immediately  affect  the  individual 
 himself,  and  affect  him  alone,  or  at  the  most  his  family 
 with  him ;  as  poverty,  disease,  &c.  as  in  the  Zend  and 
 Hindu  creeds.     And 
 
 2ndly.  They  are  such  as  immediately  affect,  not  the 
 individual,  but  the  world  about  him,  and  the  individual 
 through  it.  Such  are  the  pestilences,  storms,  and  unsea- 
 sonable w^eather  of  the  Greek,  Etruscan,  and  Chinese 
 creeds. 
 
 Considered  as  punishments,the  first  kind  have  the  advantage 
 of  being  strictly  just, — they  fall  directly  on  the  criminal, 
 and  "  every  man  then  suffers  for  his  own  sin."  The  second, 
 on  the  other  hand,  while  they  evidence  all  the  force  of 
 that  bond  which  undeniably  unites  man  to  man,  and  gives 
 to  the  whole  of  society  an  interest  in  the  conduct  and  cha- 
 racter of  each  one  of  its  members,  are  liable  to  objection, 
 because  they  equally  afflict  the  innocent  and  the  guilty ; 
 because  in  short  they  are  unjust.^ 
 
 As   regards   the  Jewish   faith,    from   this    colloquy  it 
 
 et  dont  les    corps    soienl  grands,  Candide   perishes   with   his   ships, 
 
 leur  soient  donnes,  oil  qu'ils  sou-  Candideexclaimsto  Martin," 'Vous 
 
 haitent  interieurenient  que  la  force  voyez  que  le  crime  est  puni  quel- 
 
 leur   soit   donnee,  ww,s  ne  la  leur  quefois;  ce  coquin  de  patron  Hol- 
 
 accorderez  pas." — Zendavesta,  Ha  landais  a  eu  le  sort  qu'il  meritait.' 
 
 xlv.  vol.  ii.  p.  193.  '  Oui,'  dit  Martin,  'inais  iiillait-il 
 
 ^  I  know  no  better  explanation  que  les  passagers  qui  etaient  sur 
 
 of  their  injustice  than  Voltaire  has  son  vaisseau  perissent  aussi.'    Dieu 
 
 given  us  in  Candide.    When  the  a  puni  ce  fripon,  le  diahle  a  noye 
 
 Dutch   captain   who  had    robbed  les  autrcs." 
 
390  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 would  seem,  that  its  views  of  providence  differ  in  nothing 
 from  those  contained  in  these  other  creeds.  Its  God  rules 
 the  world  by  precisely  the  same  laws,  and  shows  His  plea- 
 sure or  displeasure  in  exactly  the  same  way.  We  must 
 observe  however  that  when,  like  the  Deities  of  the  Greeks, 
 Chinese,  &c..  He  is  about  to  punish  by  accidents  which  will 
 affect  men  in  the  mass,  he,  unlike  them^  takes  care  by  some 
 direct  interjjosition  in  favour  of  the  innocent  to  render 
 these  accidents  pernicious  only  to  the  guilty ;  He  is  not 
 therefore  liable  to  the  charge  of  injustice.  But  as  every 
 extraordinary  event  is  now  a  manifestation  of  some  sen- 
 tence Avhicli  God  pronounces  on  the  conduct  of  those 
 whom  that  event  affects, — sudden  poverty,  some  diseases, 
 &c.,  become  evidences  of  hidden  crimes,  and  men  are  then 
 judged  rather  by  their  fortunes  than  by  themselves, — their 
 circumstances  are  the  test  of  their  worth. 
 
 But  does  the  Deity  indeed  govern  the  world  as  these 
 creeds  represent  Him  to  have  governed  it  ?  Or  rather — for 
 into  the  great  mysteries  of  Providence  none  have  pene- 
 trated, and  the  dark  problem  of  life  none  have  yet  solved — 
 does  the  little  light  experience  and  observation  have  lent 
 us  verify  the  vicAvs  which  infant  man  seems  almost  uni- 
 versally to  have  taken  of  the  Divine  Providence.     And 
 
 I.  As  regards  states.  Do  the  people  die,  and  are  the 
 women  afflicted  with  barrenness,  because  of  the  pernicious 
 counsels  or  the  disorders  of  a  single  citizen  ?  *  Who  that 
 considers  the  degraded  state  of  Spain  since  the  reign  of 
 Pliilip  II,  or  calls  to  mind  the  fatal  consequences  to  India 
 of  the  infamous  rice  monopoly  in  1770,^  will  refuse  his 
 
 '  Vide  from  Hesiod  supra ;  the  the  occasion  of  the  first  madness  of 
 
 CEdipus   Tyrannus   of    Sophocles,  George  the  Third,  we  learn  that 
 
 &c.     Thus  too  in  the  Jewish  books  the  sovereign  was  deprived  of  rea- 
 
 we  find  the  women  of  Gerar  alHicted  son  in  punishment  of  our  iniquities, 
 
 with   barrenness,   because   Abime-  — Wraxall's  Memoirs,  iii,  324. 
 
 lech    seized   on   Sarah  ;    and   the  "*  "  The  rice  monopoly  in  1770, 
 
 eldest  born  of  the  Egyptians  struck  caused  the  death  through  hunger 
 
 by  the  hand  of  death,  because  Pha-  of  not  less  than  5,000,000  of  Hin- 
 
 raoh  detains  Israel;  and  from  the  dus." — Dow,  History  of    Hindus - 
 
 prayers  put  up  in  our  churches  on  tan,  vol.  ii,  p.  101. 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  391 
 
 assent  to  the  great  general  proposition,  that  the  mistakes 
 of  the  governors  are  prejudicial,  and  often  fearfully  so 
 to  the  governed.  But  this  general  proposition  it  is  not 
 wliich  these  creeds  assert.  In  the  eyes  of  their  authors,  its 
 natural  consequences  were  no  sufficient  punishment  for 
 error.  They  indeed  heeded  not  the  evils  which  all  error, 
 whether  moral  or  intellectual,  necessarily  produces.  God 
 therefore  must  sanction  His  laws,  as  we  do  ours,  by 
 punishments  that  have  no  natural  connexion  with  the 
 acts  to  which  they  are  attached.  Hence  a  scheme  of 
 Divine  Providence,  of  which  we  know  but  this : — that 
 every  national  crime  is  as  certainly  the  prelude  to  some 
 great  national  calamity,  as  every  national  calamity^  is  the 
 consequence  of  some  foregone  national  crime,  i.  e.  a  scheme 
 of  Providence  which,  as  its  manifestations  are  conceived 
 and  realized  by  the  imagination  alone,  no  reason  can  test, 
 and  no  experience  verify,  and  which  but  rests  on  authority, 
 and  through  our  hopes  and  fears  commands  our  belief. 
 
 n.  As  regards  individuals.  Is  disease  indeed  the  punish- 
 ment of  sin  ?  and  are  wealth  and  other  temporal  goods  the 
 rewards  of  piety  and  virtue  ?  as  the  Parsees,  Hindus,  &c. 
 believe. 
 
 And  1st.  As  regards  punishments.  That  very  many 
 diseases  may  be  traced  to  excess,  sometimes  in  sensual 
 pleasure,  at  otiiers,  of  mental  and  physical  exertion ; 
 and  again,  that  of  these  diseases,  some  are  transmitted 
 by  the  man  to  liis  posterity,  are  facts  now  universally 
 acknowledged.  And  because  they  are  facts  wliich  de- 
 pend on  some  one  of  those  great  laws  that  rule  the 
 material  universe,  i.  e.  because  they  take  place  by  God's 
 wiU,  and   according   to    God's   law, — though  I  may  not 
 
 ^  In  Du  Halde's  China,  (vol.iii,  are  suffering  is  in  himself  or  his 
 p.  41)  is  an  edict  issued  by  one  of  house.  He  bids  his  people  follow 
 the  Chinese  emperors,  Yong- tolling,  his  example:  for  until  the  sin  is 
 on  occasion  of  some  epidemic  which  expiated  and  put  away,  they  can- 
 was  then  raging.  The  emperor  not  expect  the  plague  to  cease, 
 has  looked  into  his  own  heart,  and  Does  not  this  exemplify  the  cry  of 
 has  examined  into  the  lives  and  Abimelech,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou  also 
 conduct  of  his  family,  to  find  whe-  slay  all  a  righteous  nation  ?" 
 ther  the  sin  for  which  his  people 
 
392  CHAPTER   XVI. 
 
 understand  liow,  from  my  very  soul  I  believe,  that  they 
 are  consonant  with  the  Divine  justice.  But  these  facts, 
 into  which  no  idea  of  punishment  as  a  sanction  of  the 
 moral  law  can  enter,  merely  exemplify  some  portion  of 
 the  natural  law  of  cause  and  effect.  It  is  not  to  them 
 then  that  our  creeds  can  refer.  Their  doctrine  is — that 
 the  laws  of  the  material  universe,  in  so  far  as  they  affect 
 the  corporeal  man,  are  modified  in  particular  cases  to  meet 
 individual  wickedness,  or  are  made  subservient  to  the 
 punishment  of  individuals.^  Thus  Miriam  becomes  leprous 
 because  she  conspires  against  Moses ;  and  Uriah  is  struck 
 dead  because  he  touches  the  ark  of  the  Lord :  i.  e.  they 
 assert  that  diseases,  misfortunes,  are  but  dooms  pronounced 
 on  our  moral  state,  involuntary  penances  for  sins  of  wliich 
 we  may  be  wholly  unconscious :  i.  e.  they  assert  a  provi- 
 dence, of  which  the  terrible  but  clumsy  proceedings  of  the 
 Inquisition  are  a  copy. 
 
 2ndly.  As  regards  rewards.  "  Un  jour,  au  cercle,"  tells  us 
 TaUemant  desReaux,  "  je  ne  sais  quel  homme  fit  aMalherbe 
 un  grand  eloge  de  Madame  la  Marquise  de  Guercheville,  qui 
 etoit  alors  presente,  comme  dame  d'honneur  de  la  Reine- 
 mere,  et  apres  lui  avoir  conte  toute  sa  vie,  et  comme  elle 
 avoit  resistee  aux  poursuites  amoureuses  du  feu  roi,  Henry 
 IV,  il  conclut  son  panegyrique  par  ce  mot,  en  la  lui  mon- 
 trant,  '  Voila,  monsieur,  ce  qu'a  fait  la  vertu.'  Malherbe 
 sans  hesiter  lui  montra  la  Connetable  de  Lesdiguieres,^  qui 
 
 ^  A  modification  of  tliis  opinion  hideous  faults,  they  only  the  more 
 
 is  cherished  by  our  modern   reli-  sedulously  admire  their  own  excel- 
 
 gionists.    "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth,  lences,   exclaiming,    "Whom   the 
 
 he  chastcneth,"  is  now  their  motto.  Lord  loveth,  he  chasteneth." 
 And  not  health,  not  riches,  not  tem-        ''  I  ought  to  explain,  that  for  her 
 
 poral   blessings,    but   misfortunes,  virtuous  resistance  to   Henry  IV, 
 
 real  or  imaginary,  deserved  or  acci-  Madame  de  Guercheville,  a  lady 
 
 dental,   are  the  fovours  on  which  of  high   nobility,   had  been  made 
 
 they  dwell.     Are  they  ridiculed  for  dame  d'honneur  to  the  queen  ;  and 
 
 their  long  prayers  in  the  market-  that  Madame  de  Lesdiguieres,  who 
 
 place,  for  their  zeal  in  small  mat-  was   a  woman  of  low  birth,  and 
 
 tcrs,  for  their  impertinent  assump-  originally  the  mistress  of  the  cele- 
 
 tion, — or  are  they  opposed  for  their  brated  Marechal  de  Lesdiguieres — 
 
 loud  bigotry  and  their  sectarian  in-  had  smoothed  the  way  to  a  marriage 
 
 tolerance,— instead  of  looking  into  with   him  by  poisoning  her   hus- 
 
 themselves   to   correct    their  most  band. 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  393 
 
 etoit  assise  aupres  de  la  reine,  et  lui  dit,  '  Voila,  monsieur, 
 ce  qu'a  fait  le  vice.' "  !  For  every  Pamela  in  real  life  we 
 may  find  at  least  one  Nell  Gwynne.  We  may  remember 
 too  that  Socrates  died  in  prison,  and  Christ  on  the  cross ; 
 Sylla  the  first  man  in  Rome,  and  Alexander  Borgia 
 loaded  with  years  and  the  head  of  the  Christian  Church. 
 
 But  to  keep  to  every-day  men  and  every-day  occur- 
 rences. Let  us  take  Hogarth's  two  parish  prentices. 
 They  have  about  the  same  common  average  talent;  the 
 one  however  is  industrious,  gentle  and  modest  in  his  car- 
 riage, fair  and  punctual  in  his  dealings,  and  to  a  decent 
 observance  of  the  common  precepts  of  morality  he  joins 
 great  respect  for  men  in  authority,  and  opinions  in  repute. 
 The  other,  on  the  contrary  is  idle,  overbearing,  and  over- 
 reaching ;  he  is  as  indifferent  to  the  feelings  of  those 
 around  him,  as  to  his  own  fair  fame ;  he  is  a  scoffer  and  a 
 debauchee.  Cannot  we  now  very  probably  predict  the 
 fortunes  of  these  youths?  The  one  wiU  succeed  in  life, 
 will  acquire  wealth,  and  be  loved  and  respected ;  the  other 
 Avill  meet  with  nothing  but  disappointment  and  misfortune, 
 and  will,  unless  he  gain  a  great  prize  in  some  lottery,  almost 
 certainly  die  a  beggar — if  he  do  not  die  on  the  gallows.  Is 
 not  virtue  then  rewarded  on  earth  ?  I  think  not.  The  honest 
 prentice^  like  Cardinal  de  Retz,^  may  wear  his  character 
 from  motives  of  policy :  he  has  met  with  the  rewards  of 
 prudence,  merely  because  he  was  prudent,  and  not  because 
 
 ^  Guicciardini,  I  know,  makes  tbe  pratique."  —  vol.   i,    p.  29.       And 
 
 Pope  die  of  the  poison  he  had  pre-  again  :  "  Je  n'ignorai  pas  de  quelle 
 
 pared    for    his   friends.     Voltaire,  necessite  est  la  re<i;le  des  mceurs 
 
 however,  in  an  essay  on  the  death  a  un  eveque et  je  sentois  en 
 
 of  Henry  IV,  has  shown  the  impro-  nieme  tenis   que  je  n'en  etois  pas 
 
 hability  of  the  story. — Essais  sur  capable Je  pris  apres  six  jours 
 
 les  Mceurs  et  I'Esprit  des  Nations,  de  reflexion  le  parti  de  faire  le  mal 
 
 vol.  i,pl.  cxc  par  dessein parcequ'on   le  fai- 
 
 ^  See   his    ^lemoires.      "  Je   ne  sant  ainsi,  Ton  y  met  toujours  des 
 
 faisois   pas  le  devot,  parceque  je  prealables    qui   en   couvrent    una 
 
 ne  pouvois  pas  assurer  que  jepuisse  partie,  et  parcequ'on  evite  par  ce 
 
 diirer  a  la  confrairie;  mais  j'esti-  moyen  le  plus  dangereux  ridicule 
 
 raois    beaucoup   les   devots,    et  a  qui  se  puisse  rencontrer  dans  notre 
 
 leur  egard  c'estun  des  plus  grands  profession,  qui  est  celui  de  meler  a 
 
 points  de  la  piete.     J'accommodois  contre-tems  le  peche  dans  la  devo- 
 
 meme  mes  plaisirs  au  reste  de  la  tion." — Id.  p.  .50. 
 
 3e 
 
394  CHAPTER  XVI. 
 
 he  wns  virtuous; — and  his  idle  companion  similarly  has 
 been  ruined,  not  by  his  vices,  but  by  his  imprudence  in 
 vice. 
 
 Has  God  then  thrown  us  on  this  earth  without  a  single 
 inducement  to  piety  and  virtue  ?  The  question  is, — what 
 do  we  call  inducements  to  piety  and  virtue  ?  Are  you  ambi- 
 tious ? — do  you  intensely  desire  wealth,  honour,  &c.  ?  God 
 has  said  :  "  You  may  be  gratified  :  only  be  industrious  to 
 acquire,  prudent  to  keep  what  you  have  acquired :  ob- 
 serve men  and  events,  and  be  wise  to  judge  of  opportu- 
 nities, and  active  to  seize  on  them,  and  you  will  most 
 probably  attain  your  ends."  But  perhaps  you  desire  tem- 
 poral goods  with  moderation,  you  would  be  a  good  man 
 as  well  as  a  rich  one.  Well,  God  has  so  ordered  it,  that 
 the  practical  wisdom  which  leads  to  fortune  is  no  way 
 incompatible  with  the  purest  and  most  religious  virtue. 
 But  moreover  God  has  so  ordered  it,  that  accident,  chance, 
 will  sometimes  do  more  for  a  man  than  the  wisest  con- 
 duct ;  that  at  others  it  will  elude  all  foresight,  baffle  all 
 endeavour.  Do  what  we  will,  the  murrain  kills  our  cattle, 
 the  blight  destroys  our  corn,  the  moth  eats  up  our  trea- 
 sures, the  thief  breaks  in  and  steals.  Our  providence  is  of 
 no  avail.  And  now,  we  turn  about  to  seek  whether  there 
 be  not  blessings  which  once  possessed  are  Inviolable,  and 
 to  study  how  to  acquire  them.  Those  blessings  we  have 
 found  in  that  pure  Virtue  whose  seat  is  the  bosom  of  God. 
 With  religious  faith  man  has  called  her  down  to  earth. 
 The  light  and  spirit  of  holiness  now  fill  his  heart,  and 
 bear  him  up  with  a  calm  joy  in  the  midst  of  misfortunes 
 and  disappointments,  and  give  him  a  foretaste  of  that 
 beatitude  which  awaits  him  when  sin  and  death  shall 
 have  no  more  power  over  his  body,  and  his  will  shall  be 
 no  more  feeble,  nor  his  soul  faint. 
 
 We'  may  observe  here  that  the  days  of  Adam,  after  the 
 curse  of  death  was  on  him,  were  nine  hundred  and  thirty 
 years ;  that  about  the  same  number  of  years  elapsed  from 
 the  time  Noah  pronounces  the  curse  upon  Canaan,  to  that 
 
CHAPTER   XVI.  395 
 
 in  which  it  is  realized  upon  his  descendants ;  and  about 
 half  that  number  from  the  same  period  to  the  destruction 
 of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
 
 This  chapter  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah.     And 
 
 I.  As  in  the  Jehovah  narrative  of  the  deluge,  it  describes 
 the  determinations  of  Jehovah  with  regard  to  Abraham 
 and  his  descendants,  as  thoughts  Avhich  Jehovah  makes 
 known  in  soliloquy  with  himself.  (Compare  v.  17,  18, 19, 
 with  vi.  6,  7,  viii.  21,22.) 
 
 II.  As  in  chap.  xii.  7,  it  makes  Jehovah  to  appear. 
 
 in.  As  in  the  Jehovah  genealogies,  &c.,  it  gives  us  an 
 insight  into  the  civilization  of  the  period  of  which  it  treats. 
 The  three  men  travelling  unprotected,  the  generous  and 
 polite  hospitality  with  which  they  are  received,  the  com- 
 fort evidently  attached  to  cleanliness,  the  fine  meal,  the 
 calf  dressed  with  butter  and  milk,  are  all  indications  of  a 
 state  of  society  advanced  beyond  that  of  barbarism. 
 
 rv.  As  in  the  fourth  chapter,  it  shows  us  Jehovah  as  the 
 great  judge  of  mankind,  and  it  makes  Him,  as  in  the  ele- 
 venth chapter,  to  come  down  from  heaven  to  execute  His 
 judgments. 
 
 V.  It  gives  to  Jehovah,  and  for  the  last  time,  that  kind 
 and  confidential  tone  Avhich  He  was  wont  to  use  in  His 
 dealings  wath  the  antediluvian  men. 
 
 VI.  As  in  the  twelfth  chapter,  in  Abraham  it  blesses  the 
 whole  earth. 
 
 As  compared  with  the  last,  an  Elohim  chapter — and 
 Eichhorn  supposes  that  it  refers  to  the  same  event — we  find 
 
 I.  That  there  are  some  points  of  resemblance  between 
 them.  Both  refer  the  name  of  Isaac  to  the  incredulous 
 smile  of  one  of  the  parents  of  the  promised  child;  and 
 both  determine  the  exact  period  of  the  child's  birth.  Ac- 
 cording to  one,  "  Sarah  shall  bear  a  son  at  this  set  time 
 next  year ;"  according  to  the  other,  "  At  the  time  ap- 
 pointed will  I  return  to  thee,  according  to  the  time  of  life, 
 and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son." 
 
 II.  There  are  also  great  points  of  difference.  The  Elo- 
 him with  the  promise  of  the  child  associates  a  certain  rite. 
 
396  CHAPTER  XVI. 
 
 circumcision ;  and  Jehovah,  the  long  and  tried  faith  of 
 Abraham :  on  the  observance  of  circumcision,  the  former 
 makes  the  possession  of  Canaan  conditional, — on  the  faith 
 of  Abraham  continued  in  his  posterity,  the  latter.  This 
 then  could  scarcely  attribute  the  smile  of  incredulity  to 
 Abraham,  nor  that  under  the  circumstances  give  it  to 
 Sarah. 
 
 We  may  observe,  that  in  this  chapter  the  Deity  is  for 
 the  first  time  named  the  judge  of  all  the  earth. 
 
 With  the  nineteenth  verse  we  may  connect  as  a  com- 
 mentary upon  it  the  seventy-eighth  Psalm. 
 
 With  the  pleading  of  Abraham  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
 we  may  connect  the  prayer  of  Moses  for  the  congregation 
 in  the  rebellion  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram.  (Num- 
 bers xvi). 
 
397 
 
 CHAPTER  XVII. 
 
 GENESIS  xix.— 1-27. 
 
 Verses  1-11.  This  is  a  horrible  tale,  and  more  like  an 
 Eastern  fiction  than  an  historical  fact.  The  details  are  so 
 disgusting,  that  I  willingly  hurry  away  from  them.  I  will 
 but  note  a  difficulty  which  presents  itself  to  my  mind.  As 
 one  of  the  objects  of  the  tale  is  to  illustrate  by  an  example 
 the  wickedness  of  Sodom,  I  naturally  conclude  that  the 
 conduct  it  attributes  to  the  Sodomians  was  not  the  effect 
 of  some  sudden  and  unaccountable  frenzy,  but  something 
 habitual ;  and  I  cannot  help  asking,  how  Lot  could  volun- 
 tarily fix  his  residence  among,  and  afterwards  contract 
 family  alliances  with,  so  lawless  and  so  vicious  a  people  ? 
 and  how  it  was,  that  knowing  their  character,  he  did  not 
 rather  warn  away  the  strangers  from  the  dangers  of  the 
 loathsome  city,  than  press  upon  them  his  hospitality  ? 
 
 Verses  12-13.  The  strangers,  having  warned  Lot  of  the 
 destruction  prepared  for  Sodom,  desire  him  to  gather  his 
 family  together,  and  hurry  away  from  the  devoted  land. 
 He  goes  forth  to  call  his  children :  his  sons-in-law  however 
 refuse  to  accompany  him.  They  look  on  him  as  little 
 better  than  a  madman  or  a  di-eamer.  They  chide  him 
 that,  for  so  idle  a  message,  he  has  awakened  them  out  of 
 their  first  sleep;  they  recommend  him  to  return  to  his 
 home  ;  they  laugh  at  his  fears  ;  "  Ah,  could  we  but  hope 
 to  live  as  long  as  Sodom  shall  stand,  the  eternal  city  I"  they 
 cry ;  and  they  rub  their  eyes  and  go  yawning  to  their  beds, 
 
398  CHAPTER  XVII. 
 
 and  sleep  their  last  sleep.  On  the  morrow,  they  and  Sodom 
 are  no  more. 
 
 The  doubts  of  his  sons-in-law  seem  to  have  had  some 
 effect  on  Lot,  for  when  the  moment  of  escape  arrives,  he 
 lingers  ;  and  the  men — elsewhere  called  angels,  clearly  they 
 wore  human  shape,  and  were  no  way  distinguishable  from 
 other  men — are  obliged  to  lay  hold  of  his  hand  and  to 
 bring  him  forth. 
 
 In  the  seventeenth  verse  a  new  interlocutor  appears  on 
 the  scene, — the  Lord'  himself;  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
 Immediately  recognized,  for  Lot  addresses  him  as  God, — as 
 having  power  to  save  and  to  destroy ;  and  He  answers  as  if 
 possessing  that  power,  for  He  remits  the  destruction  of 
 Zoar.  And  this  Lord  nevertheless  speaks  of  himself  as 
 having  only  a  Umited  power,  "  For  /  cannot  do  anything 
 until  thou  be  come  thither." 
 
 Verse  20.  I  know  not  why  it  is,  but  to  God  men  pray 
 as  they  would  to  their  fellows.  The  smallness  of  the 
 favour  asked  is,  they  think,  a  reason  for  its  being  granted. 
 So  in  Sophocles,  Ajax  prays  to  Jove  : 
 
 AiTTjaoixai  Se  (t   hv  fiaKpov  yepag  Xa[3eiv.^ 
 
 Verses  24-25.  Volney,  from  the  aspect  of  this  j)art  of 
 Syria,  "  susi)ects  that  the  whole  valley  [this  one  of  Sodom] 
 has  been  formed  only  by  a  violent  sinking  of  a  country 
 which  in  some  former  period  poured  the  Jordan  into  the 
 Mediterranean."  He  goes  on  however  to  say  that  "  it 
 seems  certain  that  the  catastrophe  of  the  five  cities  des- 
 troyed by  fire  must  have  been  occasioned  by  the  eruption 
 of  a  volcano  then  burning."'  Michaelis,^  notwithstanding 
 the  brimstone  rain,  is  of  opinion  that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
 were  destroyed  by  the  sudden  giving  way  of  the  crust  of 
 
 '  And  yet  this  Lord,  the  one  who  Lord  in  heaven  were  diflerent  per- 
 
 was  with  Lot,  in  the  24th  verse,  sonages. 
 
 rains  hrimstone  from  "  the  Lord,  *  Ajax,  836. 
 
 out  of  heaven."     Unless  this  be  ^  Syria  and   Egypt,    chap,   xx, 
 
 some    Hebrew  idiom,  one  woukl  sect.  iv. 
 
 suppose  the  Lord  raining  and  the  ■*  Comment,  ad  hunc  h)c. 
 
CHAPTER  XVII.  399 
 
 earth  on  which  they  were  built,  and  which  alone  separated 
 them  from  a  subterraneous  lake  of  liquid  sulphur.  And 
 that  this  is  no  unprobable  conjecture,  we  may  learn  from 
 Mr.  Darwin's  description  of  the  volcanic  and  bituminous 
 country  about  Concep9ion.  "  The  extent  of  country,"  he 
 says,  "  through  which  the  subterranean  forces  were  thus 
 unequivocally  displayed,  measures  seven  hundred  by  four 
 hundred  geographical  miles.  From  several  considerations, 
 which  I  have  not  space  here  to  enter  upon,  and  more  espe- 
 cially from  the  intermediate  points  where  liquefied  matter 
 was  ejected,  we  can  scarcely  avoid  the  conclusion,  however 
 fearful  it  may  be,  that  a  vast  lake  of  melted  matter,  of  an 
 area  nearly  doubling  in  extent  that  of  the  Black  Sea,  is 
 spread  out  beneath  a  mere  crust  of  solid  land."  * 
 
 But  though  Michaelis,  and  others  with  him,  thus  explain, 
 and  very  satisfactorily  it  must  be  owned,  the  feai-ful  catas- 
 trophe which  destroyed  these  cities,  I  do  not  think  that 
 they  therefore  explain  the  ojDinion  which  our  author  or  liis 
 time  entertained  with  regard  to  it.  For  after  they  have 
 translated  the  language  of  the  old  into  that  of  the  modern 
 world, — after  they  have  identified  the  very  natural  objects 
 or  events  which  in  this  myth  wear  so  marvellous  a  form, — 
 they  seem  to  think  that  they  have  cleared  the  story  of  all 
 its  diflftculties,  and  that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  then  perish 
 as  in  after  times  Hercidaneum  and  Pompeii.  But  we  have 
 only  attentively  to  read  this  narrative,  to  feel  that  Moses 
 wrote  it  to  call  our  attention,  not  to  the  brimstone  showers 
 and  the  fire  rain  which  destroyed  these  cities,  but  to  the 
 primary  cause  of  their  destruction.  And  that  cause — and 
 here  for  us  is  the  real  miracle,  of  which  no  explanation  can 
 get  rid — he  finds  in  the  wickedness  and  irreligion  of  the 
 inhabitants,  and  not  in  the  volcanic  and  bituminous  nature 
 of  the  country.  Had  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  only  conti- 
 nued faithful  to  the  laws  of  Nature  or  Jehovah,  they  might, 
 according  to  the  belief  of  Moses,  have  still  slept  secure  over 
 the  sulphureous  streams  which  boiled  beneath  them. 
 
 ^  Voyages  of  the  Adventure  and  Beagle,  vol.  iii,  p.  380. 
 
400  CHAPTER   XVII. 
 
 Again  the  very  differences  of  language  and  expression 
 which  distinguisli  the  age  of  Moses  from  our  own,  can  arise 
 only  from  our  differences  of  view.  Moses,  following  out 
 his  system,  believed  that  Nature  should  like  some  staid 
 matron  move  on  her  way  with  a  calm  and  measured  step. 
 But  he  had  witnessed  her  wild  throes  ;  he  had  heard  her 
 shrieking  agony  ;  he  had  seen  her  with  mad  riot  tear  to 
 pieces  and  devour  her  own  loved  children  ;  and  trembling 
 and  bewildered  he  made  of  her  a  puppet  of  which  some 
 hidden  master  pulled  the  strings.  And  now  with  an 
 audacious  faith  he  tore  aside  the  curtain  which  separated 
 him  from  Nature's  mysterious  Lord;  with  Him  he  held 
 converse  ;  he  learned  His  plans,  and  was  made  a  sharer  in 
 His  counsels.  The  whole  rationale  of  the  universe  was  laid 
 before  him.  And  the  thunder  then  became  this  Being's 
 voice,  the  lightning  His  arm,  the  storm  His  instrument  of 
 vengeance,*'  and  the  volcano's  falling  cinders  and  burning 
 lava,  fire  and  brimstone  which  He  rained  down  from 
 heaven.  With  every  natural  accident  Moses  thus  joined 
 its  supposed  author  and  object.  Afraid  to  look  at,  and 
 through,  nature,  he  turned  himself  to  nature's  God,  and 
 without  any  pains-taking  study,  he  could  now  explain  every 
 thing,  account  for  every  thing ;  his  imagination  was  ever 
 ready  to  supply  him  with  laws  to  order  the  world  which 
 his  imagination  had  created. 
 
 ^  So  also  among  the  Peruvians :  on  I'environnait  de  harrieres  pour 
 
 "  Ilsappelloientletonnerre,  I'eclair,  que  personne  ne  put  en  approcher 
 
 et  la  I'oudre,  les  executeurs  de  la  el  la   souiller." — Michelet,    Hist. 
 
 justice   du  soleil S'il  arrivoit  Romaine,     vol.   i,    p.    255,    note. 
 
 qu'un  logis  ou  autre  lieu  fut  frappe  Among  the  Greeks,  "  Persons  killed 
 
 de   la   fcmdre,   ils   I'avoient   eu    si  with  lightning  were  thought  hateful 
 
 grande  aboiuination,  qu'ils  en  mu-  to  the  Gods,  and  were  buried  apart 
 
 roientaussitot  les  portes Sielle  by   themselves,    lest  the   ashes   of 
 
 etoit  tonibee  a  la  campagne,  ils  en  others  should  be  polluted  by  them ; 
 
 marquoient      I'endroit     avec     des  and  all  places  struck  with  thunder 
 
 homes,  afin  que  personne  n'y  mit  were  avoided." — Potter,  Antiq.  of 
 
 le  pied." — Hist,  des  Yncas,  vol.  i,  Greece,  vol.  ii,  p.  172,  and  see  the 
 
 p.  59.    Among  the  Romans,  "  Lors-  death  of  Capaneus  in  the  Pho-nis.  of 
 
 <iue  la  foudre  avoit  tonibe  sur  un  Eurip.  1196.     So  also  the  Hindus 
 
 lieu,  il  prenoit  le  nom  de  fuhjarita  look  on  thunderas  the  arm  of  Sudra, 
 
 ou  nbstita;  il  devenait  sacre,  sur-  and  believe  that  no  bolt  falls  from 
 
 tout  si  un  homme  y  avait  etc  tue  ;  heaven  but  to  strike  some  offender. 
 
CHAPTER  XVII.  401 
 
 We  are  beings  of  another  stamp.  Time  and  observa- 
 tion have  made  us  more  cautious  and  more  modest.  We 
 rush  no  more  into  the  presence  of  the  Deity.  We  have 
 learned  rather  to  look  at  Nature  in  the  face.  We  have 
 gradually  unravelled  some  few  of  the  laws  by  which  she 
 regulates  her  course ;  others  we  labour  to  discover.  We 
 are  patient  in  our  ignorance,  only  to  be  more  certain  in 
 our  knowledge ;  and  our  knowledge,  little  as  it  is,  is  the 
 foundation  of  our  faith.  We  now  indeed  boast  of  no  inspi- 
 ration ;  and  we  can  no  longer  explain  or  account  for  every 
 occurrence ;  but  we  have  gathered  up  here  and  there  a  scat- 
 tered leaf  of  the  great  oracles  of  God,  and  by  its  study  we 
 have  learned  to  look  on  every  thing  contentedly.  We  can- 
 not, in  truth,  as  our  ancestors  of  old,  see  the  busy  hand  of  a 
 meddling  Providence  in  every  unexpected  event :  we  do 
 not  pray  and  tremble  for  our  personal  safety  in  every  storm, 
 nor  do  we  feel  a  punishment  in  every  disease ;  but  we 
 apprehend  God's  presence  in  all  times  and  in  all  place, 
 and  we  read  His  will  in  the  laws  of  our  corporeal  and  m-oral 
 and  intellectual  natm-e. 
 
 Verse  25.  "  It  may  be  inferred,"  says  the  English  editor 
 of  Calmet's^  Dictionary,  "  that  Lot's  wife,  delaying  her 
 flight  and  too  slowly  quitting  the  scene  of  devastation,  was 
 surprised  by  a  shower  of  bitumen  or  sulphur  falling  upon 
 her  and  around  her ;  amid  which  she  stood  erect,  motion- 
 less, deprived  of  life,  and  formed  the  outer  nucleus  for  a 
 mass  which  gathered  around  her,  and  which  becoming  hard 
 as  it  cooled,  was  well  known  as  the  monument  of  this 
 unhappy  woman." 
 
 "  His  wife  looked  back."  It  seems  that  to  look  back  is 
 in  India  considered  unlucky,  and  so  unlucky  indeed,  that 
 the  expression  is  commonly  used  to  account  for  any  sudden 
 and  unexpected  misfortune.  Thus,  "  he  has  looked  back 
 and  the  evil  spirit  has  caught  him.'" — Is  there  any  similar 
 phrase  in  Hebrew  ?    And  if  there  be,  did  the  phrase  origi- 
 
 ''  Scripture  Illustrated,  Exposi-  ^  Roberts'  Oriental  Illustrations 
 tory  Index  to  Bible,  p.  29.  of  the  Scriptures,  p.  22. 
 
402 
 
 CHAPTER  XVII. 
 
 nate  the  tale  ?  Or  was  the  tale  the  origin  of  the  phrase  ? 
 Did  Moses  attach  to  the  phrase  this  myth,  and  thus  inter- 
 mingle his  religion  with  everything  in  common  life  ? 
 
 Verse  29.  From  this  verse  it  would  seem  as  though  it 
 was  for  Abraham's  sake  that  Lot  was  saved. 
 
 Verses  31-38.  In  these  verses  we  have  the  origin  of  the 
 Moabites  and  Ammonites,  and  they  are  it  seems  of  kindred 
 race  Avith  the  Hebrews.  The  desire  of  children,  a  holy 
 motive  in  all  eastern  climes,  and  no  incitement  of  lust,^ 
 seems  to  have  induced  the  daughters  of  Lot  to  this  incest, 
 of  which  the  Ammonite  and  the  Moabite  were  the  pro- 
 duce. They  were,  Ave  may  observe,  cursed  races ;  and 
 though  their  hire  of  Balaam,  and  not  their  origin,  is  put 
 forward  as  the  reason  for  their  exclusion  till  the  tenth 
 generation  from  the  congregation  of  the  Lord,'  I  have  no 
 doubt  that  that  origin  was  a  reproach  or  tojDic  of  abuse 
 which  national  hatred  took  heed  not  to  overlook.* 
 
 ^  A  merely  animal  desire  never- 
 theless. "  Wie  die  Krankheiten 
 des  Mensclien,  so  sind  audi  seine 
 sittlichen  Verirrun<Ten  als  Recidive 
 in  die  niedere  Thierbeit  zu  betrach- 
 ten,  da  jede  Stufe  in  der  Tbierreiche 
 als  eine  friibere  Durcbgang^spunct, 
 als  ein  iiberstandenes  Lebensalter 
 zu  betracbten  ist,  und  so  ist  denn 
 jedes  Laster  die  Ruckkebr  zu  einer 
 bestiramten  tbieriscben  Natur.  In 
 diesem  Sinne  bezeicbnete  der 
 Spracbgebraucb  der  Eomer  ein 
 Hure  riebtig  als  Lupa.  Da  aber 
 der  Mensch  bei  einera  solcben 
 Riickfalle  immer  tiefer  sinkt  als 
 das  Thier,  dem  er  dann  abnelt, 
 und  welcbes  von  der  Natur  auf 
 diese  Stufe  gestellt  ist,  so  stebt 
 aucb  die  eigentlicbe  Hiindin  weit 
 bober  als  ibre  Nachabmerin.  Denn 
 erstere  bat  zwar  aucb  keine  Liebe 
 zu  bestimmten  Individuen,abersie 
 will  bei  den  Opfern,  die  sie  der 
 Venus  vulijimf/a  bringt  docb  uielit 
 
 als  Befrucbtung,  und  ist  diese  er- 
 folgt,  so  ist  sie  bef'riedigt :  sie  bat 
 im  Dienste  der  Natur  gebandelt 
 und  einen  wirkliclien  Zweck  der- 
 selben  erfiillt."  Like  tbe  eigentUche 
 Hiindin,  were  tbe  daughters  of  liOt. 
 Vide  Burdach  Pbysiologie,  b.  ii, 
 §250. 
 
 '  Vide  Deut.  xxiii. 
 
 ^  Tbougb  in  Hebrew  story  Moab 
 appears  sometimes  as  entering  into 
 family  alliances  with  Israel  (vide 
 Rutb),  and  at  others  as  offering  an 
 asylum  to  oppressed  and  fugitive 
 Israelites,  (2  Sam.  xxii. ;  Jeremiah 
 xl.  11);  yet  is  there  little  doubt  but 
 that  tbe  continued  jealousies  and 
 wars  between  tbe  two  nations  must 
 have  at  length  produced  a  national 
 bate  which,  on  tbe  side  of  tbe  He- 
 brews (unable  to  deny  their  rela- 
 tionship) showed  itself  in  threaten- 
 ing prophecies  against  tbe  Moabites, 
 (Numb.  xxi.  xxiv. ;  Isaiah  xlviii. ; 
 Ezekiol  xxv. ;    Zepha.  ii.)  and   in 
 
CHAPTER  XVII.  403 
 
 With  the  Lord  and  angels  in  this  and  the  })receding 
 chapter,  we  may  connect  the  belief 
 
 1st.  Of  the  Egyptians,  that  in  ancient  times  the  Gods 
 visited  the  earth  in  hnman  shape :  ^ 
 
 And  2dly.  Of  the  Greeks,  that  they  visited  tlie  habita- 
 tions of  men  like  "  poor  stranger  pilgrims," 
 
 "  Observing  as  they  passe  stil,  who  they  be 
 That  piety  love,  and  who  impiety."'' 
 
 With  Jehovah's  visit  to  Lot  we  may  compare  Jupiter's 
 visit  to  Philemon  and  Baucis.^  In  both  legends  the  un- 
 known Deities  are  treated  with  disrespect  by,  and  meet 
 with  little  charity  from,  mankind ;  and  in  both  the  family 
 which  receives  and  hospitably  entertains  the  Gods,  is  alone 
 exempted  from  the  destruction  to  which  its  neighbours  are 
 condemned. 
 
 And  with  Jehovah  visiting  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  be- 
 cause "  their  cry  is  great  and  their  sin  is  grievous,"  we 
 may  compare  Jupiter  brought  down  to  earth  from  high 
 Olympus  by  the  loud  report  of  men's  infamy,^  and  visiting 
 Lycaon.  In  both  legends  the  Deity  seems  to  find  men 
 worse  than  he  expected  to  find  them, — in  both  legends  he 
 is  treated  with  scorn,  and  the  rites  of  hospitality  are 
 violated  in  his  person,  and  in  both  he  inflicts  on  the  offend- 
 ers signal  punishment.'' 
 
 If  now  we  compare  this  chapter  with  the  preceding  of 
 which  it  is  a  continuation,  we  cannot  but  observe  that  the 
 same  angels,  who  so  willingly  partook  of  the  hospitality  of 
 Abraham,  now  hesitate  to  enter  the  doors  of  Lot,  for 
 whose  sake  one  would  have  supposed  it  was  that  they 
 visited  Sodom.     Was  it  to  look  for  the  ten  righteous  that 
 
 mocks  upon  their  origin  ;  and  on  ^  Ovid's  Metamor.  viii. 
 
 the  side  of  the  Moabites,  in  pride,  ^  Id.  ib.  i,  210,  &c.      "  Conti- 
 
 haughtiness,  and  cruelty.    (Isaiah  gerat  nostras  infamia  temporis  au- 
 
 xvi.  6;  Zephaniah  ii.  10)  res,"  &:c.  &c. 
 
 3  Diod.  Sic.  vol.  i,  §  xii.  '  Distinctly  so  in  the  legend  pre- 
 
 ■•  Odyssey,  xvii,  485,  Chapman's  served  by  Ovid  : 
 
 translation  ;  and  compare  Hebrews  "  Minor  fuit  ipsa  infamia  vcro.' 
 xiii.  2. 
 
 Only  impliedly  so  in  that  of  Moses. 
 
404  CHAPTER  XVII. 
 
 they  desired  to  abide  in  the  street  all  night?  Or  had  they 
 resolved  to  include  Lot  in  the  common  destruction  ?  And, 
 in  the  absence  of  their  Lord,  were  they  fearful  of  compro- 
 mising themselves  to  his  safety  by  becoming  his  guests  ? 
 Or  did  they  avoid  his  hospitality,  because  the  guest  of  the 
 individual  was  then,  as  among  the  Arabs'  of  the  present 
 day,  the  guest  of  the  whole  city,  and  was  therefore  bound, 
 as  its  guest,  to  respect  the  persons  and  property  as  well  of 
 its  citizens  as  of  his  particular  host's  family  ?  i.  e.  had  the 
 Sodomians  behaved  with  common  decency,  would  Lot's 
 accepted  hospitality,  according  to  the  views  then  taken  of 
 the  relations  between  the  guest  and  his  host,  have  rendered 
 the  destruction  of  Sodom  a  crime  ? 
 
 This  chapter  from  the  first  to  the  twenty-eighth  verse 
 inclusive  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah,  the  remainder 
 with  the  name  Elohim. 
 
 They  both,  the  one  in  detail,  tlie  other  summarily,  narrate 
 the  same  event,  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
 There  is  however  as  usual  some  little  variation  in  their 
 accounts.  For,  the  preservation  of  Lot  the  first  evidently 
 attributes  to  Lot's  own  merits  and  hospitality ;  the  second 
 to  the  Elohim's  love  for  Abraham :  this  too  speaks  of  the 
 city  to  which  Lot  fled  as  though  it  had  borne  the  name  of 
 Zoar  even  in  Lot's  time,  while  that  in  accordance  with  its 
 love  for  etymologies  accounts  for  its  name,  and  in  a  way 
 which  renders  it  very  improbable  that  that  name  should 
 have  become  general  till  after  Lot's  family  had  grown 
 numerous  and  powerful. 
 
 With  this  chapter  we  may  compare  chapter  xix  of  Judges. 
 Between  them  there  is  a  wonderful  similarity.  They 
 record  the  same  inhospitality,  accompanied  by  the  same 
 brutal  ferocity  of  character  ;  and  save  that  the  one  is  graced 
 by  a  supernatural  machinery  which  is  wanting  to  the  other, 
 they   both   present,    notwithstanding   the    five    centuries 
 
 »  See  Buivkhardt's  Notes  on  the  and  also  his  (Nuhia?)  p.  351  ; 
 Bedouins,  vol.  i,  p.  172,  Chap.  On  and  see  Koran,  vol.  ii,  chap,  xi, 
 ioV)bery  and  theft;  and  On  Dalvhcil ;     p.  26. 
 
CHAPTER  XVII.  405 
 
 which  separate  them,  the  same  customs  and  state  of  society. 
 From  them  \vc  gather,  that  the  traveller  carried  with  him 
 food  for  himself  and  provender  for  his  cattle,  and,  as  the 
 inn  or  caravansera  was  unknown  to  these  times,  trusted  to 
 the  hospitality  of  the  cities  through  which  he  passed  for  a 
 lodging.  And  in  general  the  first  person  he  met  with  on 
 entering  a  town  invited  him  to  his  house,  and  insisted  on 
 providing  for  all  his  wants.  Should  no  host  however  pre- 
 sent himself,  the  stranger  sat  him  down  in  the  streets,  and 
 most  probably  displayed  his  provisions,  and  thus  made 
 known  that  he  would  be  no  burden  or  expense  to  the 
 family  which  received  him,  and  that  he  only  wanted  a 
 lodging.  This  appeal  was  I  should  think  rarely  resorted 
 to,  and  from  the  text  of  Judges,  must  very  rarely  have 
 failed. 
 
 With  the  escape  of  Lot  from  Sodom  we  may  connect 
 the  injunctions  laid  upon  the  Hebrews  with  regard  to  the 
 Canaanites.  They  were  sent  forth  utterly  to  destroy  the 
 population  of  a  certain  country.  They  were  the  avengers 
 of  God ;  like  the  brimstone  and  fire  mere  instruments  in 
 His  hand.  Compassion^  must  not  touch  their  hearts,  nor 
 avarice  induce  them  to  mercy.  To  kill  was  their  religious 
 duty.  But  when  beauteous  maidens  knelt  before  them,  and 
 innocent  babes  smiled  on  the  destroyers,  wovdd  not  moved 
 humanity  exclaim,  "  far  be  it  from  thee  to  do  after  this 
 manner,  to  slay  the  righteous  with  the  wicked."  The 
 soldier  then  must  feel  that  God's  judgments  are  altoge- 
 ther just,  that  the  very  convulsions  of  nature  distin- 
 guished the  innocent  from  the  guilty  ;  that  thus  the  deluge 
 respected  Noah,  the  volcano  Lot ;  that  for  the  faithful 
 some  Zoar  was  ever  near.  And  then  with  an  assured 
 conscience  he  could  strike  and  spare  not ;  an  accursed  race 
 fell  before  him;  in  him  mercy  would  be  a  crime:  the  chil- 
 dren of  God's  enemies  were  wicked  by  fault  of  birth. 
 
 '  Tims  Jeremiah,  in  his  prophecy  Lord  deceitfully,  and  cursed  be  he 
 against  Moab,  exclaims,  "Cursed  that  keepeth  back  his  sword  from 
 be  he  that  doeth  the  work  of  the     blood." — xlviii.  10. 
 
406  CHAPTER   XVII. 
 
 With  the  escape  of  Lot  and  his  children  from  Sodom, 
 we  may  connect  the  reported  escape  of  the  Christians  from 
 Jerusalem,  on  Titus's  advancing  to  lay  siege  to  it. 
 
 With  the  drunkenness  of  Lot  we  may  compare  the 
 drunkenness  of  Noah.  In  both  cases  it  seems  to  have  been 
 involuntary,  and  in  both  cases  to  have  induced  the  man  to 
 acts  of  which  he  was  unconscious  and  had  reason  to  be 
 ashamed. 
 
 With  the  quick  and  sudden  vengeance  Avith  which  the 
 Elohim  and  the  gods  of  Greece  in  the  first  ages  visit  crime, 
 we  may  contrast  the  patience,  and  long-suffering,  and 
 slowness  to  anger,  which  both  he  and  they  display  in  after 
 times.' 
 
 1  Bfoi  yap  tv  [isv,  o^£  ^'fiffopdig',  oTai/ 
 Tu  Srti'cKpiiQ  riQ,  eig  to  ii(iivi(T9ai  Tpmrr]. 
 
 Sophoc.  Colon.  1533,  4. 
 So  also  in  the  sneer  of  Juvenal : — 
 
 "  Ut  sit  magna,  tamcn  certo  lenta  ira  Deoruni  est." 
 
 Sat.  xiii,  100. 
 
407 
 
 CHAPTER  XVIII. 
 
 GENESIS  XX.  1-18. 
 
 Verses  1-8.  Sarah  is  the  Nmon  de  I'Enclos  of  the  patri- 
 archal age.  "  She  is  waxed  old :  it  has  ceased  to  be  with 
 her  after  the  manner  of  women."  She  counts  nearly 
 ninety  years,  and  is  nevertheless  still  considered  not  un- 
 worthy a  royal  bed. 
 
 Notwithstanding  the  sneer  of  Voltaire,  beauty  is  not 
 necessarily  incompatible  with  the  age  of  Sarah.  Bran- 
 tome  ^  thus  graphically  describes  Madame  de  Valentinois  : 
 "  J'ai  vue  Madame  de  Valentinois,  en  I'age  de  soixante-dix 
 aussi  beUe  de  face,  aussi  fraische,  et  aussi  aimable,  comme 
 en  I'age  de  trente  ans.  Aussi  fust-elle  fort  amiee  et 
 servie  cPun  des  grands  roys  et  valeureiix  du  monde.  Je 
 le  puis  dire  franchement  et  sans  faire  tort  a  la  beaute 
 de  cette  dame ;  car  toute  dame  aimee  d'un  grand  roy, 
 c'est  signe  que  la  perfection  habite  et  abonde  en  elle, 
 qui  la  fait  aimer :  aussi  la  beaute  donnee  des  cieux  ne 
 doit  etre  epargnee  des  demy-dieux.  Je  vis  cette  dame  six  mois 
 avant  qu^elle  mourust,  si  helle  encore^  que  je  ne  s(,-ache  coeur 
 de  rocher  qui  ne  s'en  fust  emeu,  encore  qu'auparavant, 
 elle  se  fust  rompu  une  jambe  sur  le  pave  d'Orleans,  allant 
 et  se  tenant  a.  cheval  aussi  dextrement  et  disposement, 
 comme  elle  avait  jamais  fait;  mais  le  cheval  tomba  et 
 glissa  sous  elle.  Et  pour  telle  rupture  et  maux  de  douleurs 
 qu'elle  eudura,  il  cut  semble  que  sa  belle   face  s'en  fut 
 
 '  Discours  v,  Des  Vieilles  Anicurcuses. 
 
408  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 changee,  mais  rieu  moins  que  cela ;  car  sa  beaute,  sa  grace, 
 sa  majeste,  sa  belle  aiDparence  estolent  toute  pareille, 
 qu'elle  avait  toujoiirs  eu  ;  et  surtoiit  elle  avait  une  tres 
 grande  blanchcur,  et  sans  se  farder  aucunement :  mais  on 
 dit  bien  que  tous  les  matins  elle  usoit  de  quelques  bouillons 
 composez  d'or  potable,  et  autres  drogues,  que  je  ne  scay 
 pas,  comme  les  bons  medecins  et  doctes  apothecaires.  Je 
 croy  que  si  cette  dame  fust  encore  vescu  cent  ans  qu'elle 
 n'eust  jamais  melly^  fust  de  visage,  tant  il  estoit  bien  com- 
 pose; fust  de  corps  cache  et  couvert,  tant  il  estoit  de  bonne 
 trempe  et  de  belle  habitude.  C'est  dommage  que  la  terre 
 couvre  un  si  beau  corps." 
 
 In  this  heaven-descended  dream  ^  which  visits  Abimelech, 
 we  may  observe, 
 
 I.  That  it  is  made  no  matter  of  reproach  to  him,  that 
 he  has  taken  away  a  woman,  and  most  probably  without 
 her  consent,  from  her  family  and  friends ;  but  that  he  has 
 taken  a  woman  who  "  was  married  to  an  husband."^  The 
 woman  in  these  times  seems  to  have  been,  like  the  common 
 earth,  which  became  the  property  of  him  who  first  chose 
 to  occupy  it ;  she  was  a  thing,  and  sacred  only  as  the 
 goods  and  chattels  of  the  man. 
 
 II.  That  Abimelech's  justification  of  his  conduct,  or 
 rather  the  manner  in  which  that  justification  is  received 
 by  the  Elohim,  sufficiently  evidences,  in  so  far  as  the 
 Elohira  is  concerned, 
 
 1st.  That  sin  consists  in  the  mere  doing  of  some  forbidden 
 act,  without  any  reference  to  the  animus  of  the  agent;* 
 and  that  consequently  a  man  may  sin  through  ignorance, 
 may  sin  through  accident,  may  sin  unconsciously,  and  yet 
 must  suffer  the  punishment  of  sin,  however  grievous : 
 
 And  2ndly.  That  the  same  act  w^hich  in  one  man  is  sin, 
 
 ^  In  tbe  fifteentli  chapter  we  had  Compare  witli  it  Jamblichus'  view 
 
 an  account  of  a  vision.     The  vision  of  the  divine  dream,  De  Mysteriis, 
 
 seems  to  he  the  dream  of  the  wak-  c.  iii,  sect.  ii. 
 ing,  as  the  dream  is  the  vision  of        ^  Marginal  reading, 
 the  sleeping,  man.     The  mode  in         ''  This    is   quite   in   accordance 
 
 which  the  divine  vision  or  dream  with  the  laws  of  the  Elohim  against 
 
 occurred    is  given  in  Job  iv.  13.  manslaughter  in  chap.  ix. 
 
CHAPTER  xviir.  409 
 
 find  sin  worthy  of  death,  is  in  another  to  all  appearance  no 
 sin  whatever.  For,  suppose  that  events  had  followed  their 
 natnral  course:  then,  though  unintentionally,  Ablmelech 
 would  have  committed  an  act  of  adultery  Avith  Sarah,  and 
 would  have  been  accounted  guilty  of  and  punished  for  the 
 sin;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  seem  that  both 
 Sarah  Avho  knowingly  gave  up  her  body  to  another  than 
 her  husband,  and  her  husband  who  timorously  connived 
 at  his  own  and  his  wife's  dishonour,  would  have  been  held 
 blameless,  and  perhaps  made  as  they  now  are  the  arbiters 
 of  Abimelech's  fate.  Yes,  the  honest  Ablmelech  must  be 
 punished  and  must  suffer  death,  unless  Avith  gifts  he  can 
 p'acify  this  false  pair,  and  through  their  intercession  obtain 
 his  pardon.  Such  Is  the  sentence,  such  the  equal  justice  of 
 the  Elohim  ! 
 
 Verse  9.  Ablmelech,  frsf,  in  his  answer  to  the  Elohim : 
 "  Lord,  wilt  thou  also  slay  a  righteous  nation  ?"  and  vioia 
 again,  in  his  remonstrance  with  Abraham,  "thou  hast 
 brought  on  me  and  on  my  kingdom  a  great  sin:"  asso- 
 ciates his  people  with  himself,  and  seems  to  take  it  for 
 granted  that  they  were  to  share  in  his  crime  and  in  his 
 pun  shment.  Does  not  this  show  us  that  the  ancient  He- 
 brew world,  like  the  ancient  Persian*  or  Greek,*^  saw  in  the 
 prince  the  whole  nation  ?  and  believed  that,  as  the  Inferior 
 animal  creation  existed  for  man's  use  and  benefit  and  fol- 
 lowed man's  fortunes,  so  the  subject  existed  solely  and  exclu- 
 sively for  the  sake,  and  therefore  followed  the  fortunes,  of 
 his  sovereign?  Or,  in  other  words,  were  not  the  people 
 merely  things.  Incapable  of  doing  God  service  as  priests,7 
 or  their  fellows  service  as  leaders  in  war  or  legislators  in 
 peace,  and  only  fitted  therefore  to  become  the  instruments 
 of  a  royal  will? 
 
 *  Vide  Fargard  ii,  wliicli  shows  of  the  (Ed.  Tyrannus  of  Sophocles, 
 us  the  earth  peopled  and  made  7  The  very  position  of  the  He- 
 fruitful  for  the  sake  of  Djeinschid.  brews  in  relation    to   the   rest   of 
 
 •^  Vide  Wachsmuth,  Hist.  Aiitiq.  mankind  is  formed  on  some  view  of 
 
 of  Greece,  p.  123  ;  and  the  opening-  this  sort. 
 
 3g 
 
410  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 Verses  11-13.     Abraham  excuses  himself  to  Abimelech. 
 
 I.  "  Because  I  thought  the  fear  of  God  is  not  in  this 
 place  and  they  Avill  slay  me  for  my  wife's  sake."*  Had  not 
 Abraham  the  promise  of  God,  that  by  his  wife,  Sarah, 
 he  was  to  become  the  father  of  a  great  nation  ?  His 
 hour  then  was  not  yet  come.  But  where  in  the  mean- 
 while was  that  faith  which  had  been  accounted  to  him  for 
 righteousness  ?  Did  it  fail  him  as  difficulties  and  dangers 
 approached  ?  When  fear  pressed  upon  him  did  he  not 
 forget  his  God,  and  put  his  trust  in  a  falsehood,  i.  e.  in  the 
 wicked  one  who  is  the  father  of  lies  ?  So  it  would  seem, 
 though  he  excuses  himself, 
 
 II.  By  the  fact  that  Sarah  is  indeed  his  sister,  "  the 
 daughter  of  my  father,  though  not  of  my  mother."  But  is 
 not  this  a  poor  prevarication  ?  For  was  it  not  his  intention 
 to  deceive  Abimelech;  and  Avas  not  his  motive  a  mean 
 and  paltry  one — his  own  ease,  comfort  and  safety?  I 
 speak  however  let  it  be  remembered  as  a  man  of  the  fifty- 
 ninth  century  judging  a  man  of  the  nineteenth,  as  one 
 morality  would  judge  another.  And  as  I  conceive  that 
 Abraham's  actions  were  not  in  opposition  to  his  views  of 
 duty,  I  therefore  condemn  Ms  conduct  only,  Avhich  necessarily 
 took  a  colouring  from  the  times  in  which  he  lived ;  but 
 Avhile  I  condemn  it,  I  cease  not  to  love  and  admire  Ills  cha- 
 racter. In  other  words  I  see  that  his  standard  of  morality 
 was  low,  but  that  it  may  have  been  high  compared  with 
 that  of  his  neighbours,  and  that  its  precepts  were  strictly 
 adhered  to.  Hence  his  claim  to  be  great  and  good.-^ — and 
 how  much  greater  and  better  than  we!  who,  though  we 
 stand  on  the  mount  which  he  first  raised  and  to  which 
 
 ^  Menu  justifies   under  certain  Ahraliam  was  justified  in  his  lie. 
 
 circumstances  false  evidence  "  from  ^  The  Koran  (chap,  xxxix)  asks, 
 
 a  pious  motive"  (chap.  viii.  103),  "Shall  they  who  know  their  duty, 
 
 and  "  whenever  the  death  of  a  man,  and  they  who  know  it  not,  he  held 
 
 who  had  not  heen  a  grievous  offen-  equal  ?"     Though  evidently  not  so 
 
 der would  he  occasioned  hy  put,  this  is  a  question  of  degree 
 
 true  evidence,   falsehood    may   he  merely,  and  a  question  which  none 
 
 spoken;    it  is   even   preferahle   to  can   answer.      The   real   essential 
 
 truth''  (§  104) :  compare  Sophocles,  dilference  is  hetween  those  who  do 
 
 Philoct,  100.    In  the  eyes  of  iNtenn  their  duty  and  those  who  do  it  not. 
 
CHAPTER   XVIIl. 
 
 411 
 
 forty  centuries  have  each  been  adding  more  or  less  of 
 height,  have  but  extended  our  vievrs,  but  learned  to  judge 
 and  perhaps  to  despise,  without  gaining  that  simplicity 
 and  largeness  of  heart  which  in  liim  prevented  those  con- 
 tradictions between  the  internal  and  the  external  man  that 
 make  us  so  little  and  so  miserable. 
 
 Some  commentators  have  been  very  anxious  to  prove 
 that  Sarah  was  Abraham's  niece,i  and  not  his  sister.  Why, 
 I  do  not  know.  Time  and  experience  only  could  teach  us 
 that  marriage  between  persons  so  near  of  kin  was  physi- 
 cally'"^ and  morally  injurious;  and  if  Sarah  was  indeed 
 Abraham's  sister,  it  only  proves  that  in  his  age  such  mar- 
 riages were  not  considered  incestuous,  though  the  whole  of 
 this  story  shows  that  even  then  they  must  have  been  rare. 
 
 Verse  16.  This  is  a  much  vexed  verse,  and  there  are 
 several  translations^  of  it  which  differ  considerably  from 
 
 1  For  the  advantage  of  those  who 
 are  especially  in  love  with  this  con- 
 jecture, I  will  observe  that  in  India, 
 an  uncle  may  marry  his  niece,  the 
 daughter  of  his  sister,  thougli  not 
 his  niece  the  daughter  of  his 
 brother;  that  there  in  fact  the  de- 
 scendants of  the  masculine  line 
 may  intermarry  with  those  of  the 
 feminine,  though  neither  the  mas- 
 culine nor  the  feminine  line  are 
 ever  permitted  to  marry  among 
 themselves ;  because  all  the  chil- 
 dren of  the  same  line,  "  continuent 
 de  generation  en  generation  de 
 s'appeller  entre  eux  frere  et  sceur, 
 aussi  long-temps  qu'il  est  connu 
 dans  le  public  qu'ils  derivent  d'une 
 
 meme  source" "  Un  homme 
 
 epouseroit  done  sa  sceur,  dit-on, 
 si  les  enl'ans  se  marient  entre  eux 
 dans  I'une  on  I'autre  de  ccs  deux 
 lignes ;  tandis  que  les  enfans  de  la 
 ligne  masculine  ne  donnant  pas 
 le  nom  de  here  et  de  sceur  a  ceux 
 de  la  ligne  feminine  et  vice  vena, 
 mais  se  designant  entre  eux  par 
 leurs  noms  personnels,  on  pent  et 
 mcme  on  doit  cppuser  la  lille  de  sa 
 
 sceur,  mais  jamais  celle  de  son 
 frere." — Dubois,  Mceurs  des  Indes, 
 vol.  i,  p.  11 .  A  similar  custom  pre- 
 vails among  the  Iroquois,  and  is 
 indeed  brought  forward  by  Lafitau 
 to  explain  the  relationship  which 
 existed  between  Abraham  and  Sa- 
 rah: "Parmi  ks  Iroquois  et  parmi 
 les  Hurons  tous  les  enfans  d'une 
 cabane  rcgardent  comme  leurs 
 meres  toutes  les  sopurs  de  leurs 
 meres,  et  comme  leurs  oucles  tous 
 les  freres  de  leurs  meres;  par  la 
 meme  raison,  ils  donneut  le  nom 
 de  pere  a  tous  les  freres  de  leurs 
 pcres,  et  de  tantes  a  toutes  les  sceurs 
 de  leurs  peres.  Tous  les  enfans  du 
 cote  de  la  mere  et  de  ses  socurs,  du 
 pere  et  de  ses  freres,  se  regardent 
 entre  eux  Icgalement  comme  freres 
 et  sceurs ;  mais  par  rapport  aux  en- 
 fans de  leurs  oncles  et  tantes,  i.  e., 
 des  freres  de  leurs  meres  et  dcs 
 soeurs  de  leurs  peres,  il  ne  les 
 trailent  que  sur  le  pied  de  cousin." 
 jMoeurs  des  Sauvages,  vol.  i,  p.  552. 
 
 *  Vide  however  infra,  observations 
 on  the  fourth  verse  of  chap.  xxiv. 
 
 ^  Consult  Schumann  ad  h.  1. 
 
412  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 that  in  our  Bible.  Boothroyd^  lias  rendered  the  passage 
 thus :  "  I  have  given  to  thy  brother  one  thousand  pieces  of 
 silver  to  purchase  veils  for  thee  and  all  that  are  witli  thee." 
 Michaelis  :'  "  But  iinto  Sarah  he  said,  I  have  placed  with 
 thy  brother  a  thousand  shekels  of  silver,  with  it  buy  thee 
 a  veil  and  wear  it  everywhere,  so  that  every  man  may 
 know  that  thou  art  married."  De  Wette:®  "  And  to  Sarah 
 he  said.  Behold  I  have  given  thy  brother  a  thousand  she- 
 kels of  silver,  Avith  it  buy  thee  a  veil  and  Avear  it  before  all 
 that  are  with  thee  and  before  all  other,  so  that  thou  mayest 
 be  distinguished.'"'  Which  of  these  translations  is  the  best 
 it  is  not  for  me  to  decide:  I  will  but  transcribe  from  Burck- 
 hardt^  some  Arabian  customs  which  may  perhaps  explain 
 the  passage.  "  In  the  interior  of  the  Desert,  even  in 
 Iledjaz,  and  as  I  understood  likewise  in  Yemen,"  he  tells 
 us,  "  the  Bedouin  women  usually  go  unveiled.  All  the 
 Bedouins  who  are  connected  in  intercourse  with  Egypt, 
 oblige  their  women  to  wear  veils  before  strangers."  And 
 in  another  place,  among  the  ceremonies  of  marriage,  he 
 mentions,  "  that  the  bride  is  taken  to  her  father's  tent  by 
 the  young  men,  who  then  place  her  in  the  Avomen's  apart- 
 ments ;  and  one  of  the  bridegroom's  relatives  immediately 
 throws  over  her  an  abba  or  man's  cloak,  completely  envelop- 
 ing her  head,  and  exclaims,  '  None  shall  cover  thee  but 
 such  an  one.'"  Both  these  Arab  customs®  would  illus- 
 trate this  verse  as  translated  by  Michaelis  and  De  Wette. 
 
 Verse  18.  All  these  transactions  must  have  taken  place 
 between  the  visit  of  Jehovah  to  Mamre  and  the  birth  of 
 Isaac,  i.  e.  in  a  period  of  time  somewhat  less  than  a  year; 
 
 *  From  Roberts'  Illustrations  of  hers     deinem     Briuler    gcgelien ; 
 Scripture,  ad  h.  1.  dafiir    kaufe    dir   einen    Sdileyor, 
 
 *  "  Zur  Zara  sagte  er :  Ich  hahe  und  tra<<;e  iliii  vor  alien,  die  niit  dir 
 deinem  Bruder  tauseud  Seckel  Sil-  sind,  und  vor  alien  andoru,  damit 
 l)er  zugestellt;  i'lir  die  kaufe  einen  du  auss;ezeiclinet  seyest." 
 Schleyer,    und    trage  ihn  i'lberall,  ^  Notes  on  the  Bedouins,  vol.  i, 
 darait  jedermann  wisse  du  verhcy-  p.  234. 
 
 rathet  hist."  **  See  also  Chardin,  Voyages  en 
 
 ^  "  Und  zu  Zara  si^racli  er:  Perse,  vol.  ii,  p.  50,  Veils  of  the 
 Siehc !  ich  hahc  tauscnd  Seckel  Sil-     Armenian  women. 
 
Cil AFTER   XVIII.  413 
 
 and  as  Abimelech  docs  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  that 
 Sarah  vfas  a  married  woman,  we  may  suppose  that  they 
 happened  in  the  earlier  part  of  that  period.  How  then 
 could  Abimelech  in  this  short  space  have  ascertained  that 
 the  Avombs  of  his  house  were  closed  up  ? 
 
 But  again  this  curse  of  barrenness,  applied  to  the  women 
 of  a  country,  and  one  of  the  favourite  afflictions  with 
 which  in  Greece^  the  angry  Deity  visits  his  offending 
 worshippers — is  it  the  curse  of  a  merely  fertile  and  fearful 
 imagination  ?  Or  had  the  ancient  men  observed,  that 
 periods  of  calamity  were  periods  of  barrenness  ?  Or  did 
 they  suppose  that  as  there  are  years  of  deficient  harvest  so 
 there  are  also  others  in  which  the  number  of  births  is  much 
 below  the  average  ?  Did  they  in  a  word  imagine  a  fact 
 or  account  for  one  ?  I  suspect  that  modern  statistics 
 would  show  that  in  a  given  number  of  years  the  same 
 number  of  marriages  produce  about  the  same  number  of 
 children.'     I  speak  however  without  book. 
 
 In  this  chapter  we  find  mention  for  the  first  time  of 
 dreams  and  prophets.     We  may  observe 
 
 I.  Of  dreams :  that  a  faith  in  them  is  among  the  super- 
 stitions of  uncivilised  and  half-civilised  man.  Thus  though 
 the  Zendavesta  is  silent  on  this  mattei',  from  the  Zerdust- 
 namah,^  which  relates  a  prophetic  dream  of  Dogdo  the 
 mother  of  Zoroaster,  and  speaks  also  of  interpreters  of 
 dreams,  we  may  gather  that  in  ancient  Persia  dreams  were 
 both  observed  and  studied.  Among  the  Egyptians,  so 
 early  as  the  time  of  Joseph,  they  were  regarded  as  pro- 
 phetic, and  the  task  of  interpreting  them  was  entrusted  to 
 a  learned  and  honourable  profession.^     In  the  Chou-king 
 
 °  Hesiod,  ut  supra.     Sophocles  reasons, — the  uncouscious  crimes  of 
 
 (Ed.  Tyran.  179,  shows  iis  Thebes  its  prince. 
 
 suft'ering   the   same    afflictions   as  '  I  have  presumed  the  contrary 
 
 Gerar:                    Ovts  yap  (note^     p.   149)   on   no  sufficient 
 
 ixyorm  K\vraQ  x^vvog  evidence. 
 
 avKsrai,  ovts  roKOLaiv  ^  Vide  Vie  de  Zoroastrc,  Zend. 
 
 iKSiov  Kafiarujv  ai^s^oiai  vol.  i,  p.  11  and  12. 
 
 yvvaiKig.  a  Vide  Genesis  xl.  8 ;  xli.  8 ;  and 
 
 — and  suffering  them  from  the  same  compare  xli.  16. 
 
414  CHAPTER  XVIII. 
 
 of  the  Chinese,  it  is  in  dreams  that  the  sovereign  of  heaven 
 communicates  his  will  to  the  sovereign  of  the  earth.2  In 
 Homer  they  come  from  Jove  f  and  by  Greeks  and  Ro- 
 mans it  was  believed,  that  in  the  solitude  of  caves  and 
 groves  and  temples,  the  Gods  appeared  in  dreams,  and  in 
 dreams  deigned  an  answer  to  their  votaries.^  Among  the 
 Hindus  they  give  a  colouring  to  the  whole  business  of 
 life ;  "  men  and  women  take  long  journies,  perform  arduous 
 penances,  and  go  through  expensive  ceremonies  from  no 
 other  cause  than  a  dream.'"  Among  the  North  American 
 Indians  all  dreams  are  of  importance,  but  some  are  of  that 
 mysterious  fatality  to  the  dreamer,  so  intimately  con- 
 nected with  his  well-being  and  even  his  existence,  that  to 
 obtain  their  fulfilment  becomes  the  one  object  of  his 
 thoughts  and  the  aim  of  all  his  endeavours.e  Among  the 
 Hebrews  an  extraordinary  power  was  attributed  to  them. 
 Their  divine  nature  is,  at  least  tacitly,  acknowledged  in  the 
 Hebrew  Scripture ;  in  it  they  appear  sometimes  as  express 
 revelations  from  the  Deity,  at  others,  as  warnings  and  as 
 prophecies  of  future  events.  And  the  Jews,  like  the 
 Heathen  nations  around  them,  to  obtain  happy  dreams  or 
 to  avert  the  ill  omen  of  a  dream,  often  imposed  fasts  and 
 penances  on  themselves,  and  like  them  had  both  rules  for 
 ex2:)laining,  and  learned  men  whose  honourable  profession 
 it  was  to  interpret  dreams.^ 
 
 But  whence  this  faith  in  dreams  ?   We  may  ascribe  it 
 1st.  To  that  horror   of  accidents  which   characterizes 
 infant  no  less  than  civilised  man.    With  infant  man  every 
 thing  has  a  cause,  every  thing  a  meaning'  and  a  purpose. 
 
 ^  Vide  Cliou-king,  part  iii,  cliap.  dreams,  vide  Lit^litfoot,  Hora?  Heb. 
 
 viii,  p.  123,  &c.  in   Evan.  Matt.  xxiv.  24  ;  for  the 
 
 ^  Iliad  ii.  (Jy.  Hindu,  Roberts,  ut  supra;  for  the 
 
 ''  Cicero,  De  Divinatione,  lib  i,  Greek  and  Roman,  Le  Loyer,  Hist. 
 
 §xliii;   .^^neid  viii;    Vossius,  De  des  Spectri:s,liv.iv,c.xxii;  Cardan, 
 
 Idololat.  lib.  iii,  c.  xxxv.  Synes  Somnior. ;  and  Rossini  Ro- 
 
 *  Rol)erts'  Illustrations  of  Scrip-  man.  Antiquit.  lib.  ii,  c.  ii,  p.  87. 
 ture,  ad  Deuter.  xiii.  5.  "  "  As    believing,"     says     Lord 
 
 ^  Lafitau,  Moeurs  des  Sauvages,  Herbert  of  Chcrbury,   "  that  no- 
 
 vol.  i,  p.  3fi3-7.  thing  in  the  order  of  the  universe 
 
 '  For   the    Jewish   doctrine   on  could  be  very  rare  or  infrequent, 
 
CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 415 
 
 But  as  infant  man  does  not,  like  us,  study  the  meanings 
 and  purposes  of  things  in  the  things  themselves,  but  in 
 things  as  they  aifect  him :  as  he  refers  every  thing  to  him- 
 self: he  accounts  for  every  unexpected  occurrence,  not  by 
 attaching  it  to  some  physical  laws,  never  mind  how  absurd, 
 but  by  supposing  it  the  consequence  of  a  direct  interposi- 
 tion of  the  Deity,  for  the  purpose  of  reward,  or  punish- 
 ment, or  warning.  Hence  a  habit  of  viewing  the  acci- 
 dental as  the  expression  of  the  Divine  will ;  and  in  time 
 the  choice  of  particular  classes  of  accidents  as  a  means, 
 according  to  certain  rules,  of  ascertaining  the  Divine  inten- 
 tions in  the  government  of  the  world.  Hence  the  pro- 
 phetic powers,  which,  in  one  place  or  another,  have  been 
 attributed  to  the  lines  on  the  tortoise'  back,  or  to  thunder, 
 or  to  the  flights  of  birds,  or  the  feeding  of  chickens,  or  the 
 entrails  of  sacrificed  animals,  but  which  every  where  seem 
 to  have  been  allowed  to  lots  and  dreams.^ 
 
 ■without  some  meaning.  In  the 
 consideration  of  which  also  the  time 
 and  place  were  remarked,  they  of 
 the  common  sort  in  general  heing 
 thought  to  divine  best,  out  of  some 
 impetus  naluralis,  did  as  it  were 
 unawares  speak  their  opinion;  and 
 not  sneezing  only  on  a  sudden,  hut 
 itching,  panting,  shaking,  and 
 trembling  of  certain  limbs  or  parts 
 of  the  body,  had  their  interpreta- 
 tion."— Dialogue  between  a  Tutor 
 and  a  Pupil,  p.  147. 
 
 9  I  will  venture  on  an  imperfect 
 classification  of  some  of  those  acci- 
 dents which  different  nations  have 
 regarded  as  prophetic.     These  are: 
 
 I.  Dreams,  ut  supra. 
 
 II.  Lots,  as  in  the  case  of  Achan 
 (Josh.  vii.  14);  of  Jonathan  (1  Sam. 
 xiv) ;  as  in  China  by  the  Pou,  and 
 afterwards  by  the  Y-king,  the  Sortes 
 Virgilianae  or  Biblicae  of  Europe, 
 (Chou-king,  p.  28 ;  and  Memoires 
 des  Chinois,  vol.  ii,  p.  62);  and 
 by  the  dice  and  Fals  among  the 
 Parsis  (Zend,  i,  part  i,  p.  318),  &c. 
 
 in.     Natural     Phenomena,     as 
 
 thunder,  monstrous  births,  the  di- 
 rection of  fire,  &c. 
 
 IV.  The  fortuitous  expressions  of 
 individuals  under  particular  cir- 
 cumstances ;  as  in  the  words  of  the 
 garrison  at  Michmash  to  Jonathan 
 (1  Sam.  xiv.  9),  of  the  Pythoness  to 
 Alexander,  of  his  daughter  Tertia 
 to  L.  Paulus  (Cicero,  De  Divin. 
 lib.  i,§  xlvi ;  and  compare  Plutarch, 
 De  Is.  et  Osir.  §  xiv),  of  his  de- 
 pendent to  the  Brahmin  minister 
 ("  Mudra  Rakshusa,"  Wilson's 
 Hindu  Theatre,  vol.  ii,  p.  162),  of 
 the  psalm  which  determined  Clovis 
 to  invade  the  Biirgundians  (Sis- 
 mondi.  Hist,  des  Fran(;ais,  parti, 
 c.  v),  &c. 
 
 V.  The  involuntary  motions  of 
 rational  beings,  as  sneezing,  the 
 throbbing  of  the  eye  among  the 
 Hindus  (Wilson,  Hindu  Theatre, 
 vol.  ii,  p.  177),  the  Peruvians  (Sit- 
 ten  d.  Wilden,  vol.  i,  p.  150). 
 
 VI.  The  motions  of  irrational  ani- 
 mals, as  the  flight  and  songs  of 
 birds,  &c.  among  the  Tuscans, 
 Cilicians,&c.  (Cicero, De  Divin. §i.) 
 
416  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 And  2nclly.  To  a  dim  perception  of  the  spiritual  nature 
 of  the  soul  and  of  the  Divine  Being.  The  phenomena  of 
 sleep  attract  the  wandering  and  indolent  attention  of  the 
 barbarian  ;  its  mysteries  stir  him  to  thought.  He  lies  on 
 his  couch  with  outstretched  limbs  ;  his  eyes  are  closed  ;  all 
 his  senses  numbed.  He  sees  not  the  loved  faces  which  are 
 o-athered  around  him ;  he  heeds  not  the  festal  meats  which 
 await  his  presence ;  he  is  indifferent  alike  to  the  shout  of 
 revelry  and  the  wailings  of  sorrow.  But  what  pleasant 
 visions  greet  his  sight !  to  what  "spirit  voices  of  no  tone" 
 does  he  so  delightedly  listen !  what  rich  perfumes  so 
 gratefully  inhale  !  these  plains  too  in  which  he  wanders 
 with  so  unconstrained  a  step,  and  these  beings  with  v/hom 
 he  mixes  in  such  happy  converse,  are  they  not,  though 
 never  seen  by  the  bodily  eye,  familiar  to  him?  Is  not 
 this  the  old  country  ?  are  not  these  the  old  flimiliar  faces  ? 
 Is  he  not  native  here  ?  is  not  this  his  home  ?  and  does  he 
 not  begin  to  believe  that 
 
 "  The  soul  that  rises  v/ith  us,  our  life's  star. 
 Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 
 And  cometh  from  afar"  ? 
 
 — that,  imprisoned  in  the  body,  it  loses  its  ancient  freedom, 
 but  that  in  sleep  it  escapes  from  the  trammels  of  sense, 
 and  ranges  abroad  to  its  former  haunts;  and  then  more 
 clearly  expresses  its  wishes  or  its  fears,  or  enters  into 
 more  intimate  connexion  with  its  Lord,i  and  hence  in 
 its  dreams  foresees  and  prophecies  ? 
 
 We  may  observe, 
 
 II.  Of  prophets :  that  they  are  not  peculiar  to  this  or 
 that  nation,  but  that  they  belong  to  infant  Humanity.  If 
 we  direct  our  view  to  the  ancient  world,  we  find,  that  their 
 counsels  determined  the  political  conduct  of  the  Canaanite'' 
 people  generally ;  that  in  Egypt  they  formed  the  highest 
 order  of  the  priesthood  ;^  and  that  Greece  and  Rome  listened 
 
 1  Vide  Lafitau  ut  sup.  and  Jam-        ^  Vide  Jeremiah  xxvii.  9. 
 blichus  de  Mysteriis,  chap,  iii,  §  iii.        ^  "  One  of  the  principal  grades  of 
 
CHAPTER   XVIII.  417 
 
 to  their  voice  in  the  ravings  of  the  Pythoness  or  the  dark 
 sayings  of  the  Sibyls.  And  if  we  examine  the  uncivihzed 
 nations  of  our  day,  among  them  also  we  trace  the  prophetic 
 character  more  or  less  developed :  first,  in  the  Angetkok  of 
 the  Esquimaux,  who  with  violent  gestures  and  loud  threats 
 compels  the  storm  to  silence,  and  ensures  to  his  family 
 success  in  their  fishing  expeditions."  Secondly,  in  the 
 Koedesnik  of  the  Somojedes,  who  stands  in  close  relation 
 with  the  evil  spirit,  and  is  consequently  enabled  to  give 
 counsel  and  assistance  to  those  Avho  are  either  sick  or 
 unfortunate.*  Thirdly,  in  the  Schaman  of  the  Tartars, 
 who,  clothed  in  liis  magic  robes  and  jingling  his  bells  and 
 beating  his  tambourine,  Avitli  strange  grimaces  and  fearful 
 contortions  and  loud  cries  calls  down  his  familiar  spirit 
 and  then  pronounces  his  divinations.s  Fourthly,  in  the 
 Piaye  of  the  Caribbees,  who,  after  long  fasts  and  much 
 self-inflicted  torment  and  large  draughts  of  tobacco-juice, 
 obtains  the  favour  of  a  demon,  and  is  then  invested  with 
 the  power  of  curing  diseases  and  invoking  Avith  magic  song 
 his  master  spirit.^     And  fifthl}^,  in  the  Fetissero  of  the 
 
 the  priesthood   was   the   prophets,  niks,  ce  n'est  qua  cause  des  rela- 
 
 They  were  particularly  versed  in  tions  qu'ils  croient  qu'ils  out  avec 
 
 all  matters  relating  to  religion,  the  Tetre  malin."..."  II  n'est  question 
 
 laws,  the  worship  of  the  Gods de  leurs  Koedesniks,  ni  a  I'occasiou 
 
 and  when  any  new  regulations  de  leurs  tnariages,  &:c. ;  tout  le  mi- 
 were  introduced  in  affairs  of  reli-  nistere  de  ces  pretres  se  borne  a 
 gion,  they,  with  the  chief  priests,  leur  donner  des  avis  et  des  idoles 
 were  the  first  consulted." — Wilkin-  de  leur  fagon,  lorsqu'il  arrive  qu'ils 
 son's  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  264,  And  sont  plus  malheureux  que  de  cou- 
 Diodorus  tells  us  of  the  Egyptian  tume  dans  leurs  chasses,  ou  lors- 
 priests,  that  they  were  both  astro-  qu'il  leur  arrive  quelque  maladie." 
 logers  and  historians, — astrologers  — id.  p.  509. 
 
 to  disclose  the  future,  historians  to  ^  INIuller  says  of  the  Schamans  : 
 
 exemplify  by  facts,  &c. — lib.i,  §  73.  "  C'est  pour  eux  un  furieux  travail 
 
 ■•  From  Parry.  que  leurs  sortileges.     Les  sauts,  les 
 
 *  Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages,  vol.  mouvemens,  et  les  coniorsions  ex- 
 
 xviii,  p.  508.  "  lis  font  peu  de  cas  de  traordinaires  qu'ils  font,  joints  a  la 
 
 leurs  idoles ;  et  s'ils  s'en  chargent,  pesanteur  de  leur   robes,    les   fii- 
 
 ce  n'est  que  par  I'attachement  qu'ils  tiguent  beaucoup ;  aussi  les  voit-on 
 
 paroissent  avoir  aux  traditions  de  tout  trempes  de  sueur,    et  meme 
 
 leurs  ancetres,  dont   les    Koedes-  6cumant." — HistGen.desVoyuges, 
 
 niks  sont  les  depositaires  et  les  in-  vol.  xviii,  pp.  179  and  278. 
 
 terpretes." "  iS'ils  font   quelque  '^  Lafitau,  Mosurs  des  Sauvages, 
 
 cas  des  conseils  de  leurs  Koedes-  vol.  i,  p.  349. 
 
 3  H 
 
418  CHAPTER    XVIII, 
 
 African,  to  whom  all  things  sacred  are  known,  and  who 
 can  therefore  answer  all  questions  relating  to  the  past  and 
 the  future ;  who  has  control  over  the  winds  and  the 
 storm ;  and  who  is  enabled  to  give  health  to  the  sick,  and 
 happiness  to  the  dead.* 
 
 But  to  leave  these  diviners  or  sorcerers,  and  to  turn 
 to  the  prophet.  The  Hebrew  prophet  seen  in  Abraham  or 
 rather  Moses,  is  the  friend  and  favourite  of  the  Deity. 
 He  is  one  whose  prayers  and  wishes  the  Deity  hastens  to 
 fulfil,  and  one  therefore  who  can  work  much  weal  or  woe 
 on  his  fellow-men  ;  hence  their  fear  of  him,  and  their 
 eagerness  to  secure  his  intercession,  to  employ  him  to  pray 
 and  to  mediate  for  them,  to  institute  him  their  priest." 
 
 Again,  he  is  one  with  whom  the  Deity  deigns  to  con- 
 verse :  the  Deity  loves  to  call  him  to  His  counsels  and  to 
 open  to  him  His  designs ;  i  He  does  not  disdain  to  answer 
 his  questions,  to  remove  his  doubts,  and  even  occasionally 
 to  receive  his  suggestions :  hence  it  is  that  to  the  prophet 
 the  secrets  of  the  past  and  the  future  are  alike  known, 
 and  that  he  appears  as  cosmogonist,  lawgiver,  and  seer. 
 
 But  if  now  we  with  Moses  compare  his  successors  in 
 the  prophetic  office,  we  find  that  they  possessed  a  small 
 portion  only  of  his  dignity  and  his  privileges.  Like  him 
 indeed  they  were  set  apart  from  the  common  herd  of  men, 
 and  like  him  honoured  as  the  favoured  servants  of  their 
 God ;  like  him  they  worked  miracles,  and  like  him  were 
 made  acquainted  with  the  great  secrets  of  futurity.     But 
 
 *  One  of  these  is  thus  spoken  of  et  qu'etant  porte  a  I'indulgence,  il 
 
 among   negroes    themselves:    "II  envoyoit  le  plus  grand  nombre  duns 
 
 avoit  sous  ses  ordres  les  vents  et  les  une   region   de   bonheur,"    &c. — 
 
 tempetes.     Quoique  sa  maison  fut  Hist.   Gen.  des  Voyages,   vol.  iv, 
 
 sans  toit,  il  eloit  toujours  a  convert  p.  171 . 
 
 de   la   pluie.      Non    seulement   il         '  Compare  with  this  description 
 
 avoit  le  counoissance  de  toutes  les  of  the  Hebrew  prophet   the   high 
 
 choses  passees,  mais  il  lisoit  dans  character  of  the  Egyptian   priest- 
 
 I'avenir  comme  s'il  eut  dte  present,  hood  in  Creuzer,  Syrabolik,  vol.  i, 
 
 II  guerissoit  toutes  sortes  de  mala-  ii,  p.  322. 
 
 dies.     Les  habitans  de  son  canton         '  "  The  Lord  God  will  do  no- 
 
 assuroient     que    tons     ceux     qui  thing;  but  He  revealeth  His  secret 
 
 avoient  vecu  dans  son  canton  pa-  unto  His  prophets,"  &c. — Amosiii. 
 
 i-oissoicritdevant  Uiiapresleurmort,  7,8.     See  also  Moses  passim. 
 
CHAPTER    XVIII.  419 
 
 they  do  not  like  him  dwell  in  the  presence  of  the  Elohira ; 
 nor  like  him  speak  with  Jehovah  face  to  face.  They  saw 
 and  conversed  with  their  God  in  dreams  or  visions  only  ; 
 or  from  time  to  time  they  heard  His  voice,  or  were  visited 
 by  His  spirit.  They  were  not  prophets  habitually,  con- 
 stantly— prophets  in  soul,  by  right  of  birth ;  they  wore 
 their  mantle  uneasily,  like  usurpers  ;  their  inspiration 
 was  an  oppression  from  which  they  would  willingly  have 
 fled;^  a  madness'  which  sometimes  hurried  them  away, 
 whither  they  could  not  foresee ;  ^  and  sometimes  urged 
 them  to  great  coarseness  of  expression  and  gross  indecency 
 of  act.* 
 
 Of  these  later  j)rophets,  Ave  may,  fi-om  the  sacred  books, 
 though  it  must  be  allowed  not  always  very  distinctly, 
 gather, 
 
 1.  That  they  were  restricted  to  no  particular  tribe  ( 1 
 Sam.  X,  12  ;  Amos  i,  1): 
 
 2.  That  they  were  especially  educated  for  the  sacred 
 office "  (vide  Amos  vii,  14);  and  while  so  educating  were 
 called  "sons  of  the  prophets:"  (1  Kings  xx,  35  ;  2  Kings 
 il,  2 ;  &c.)  : 
 
 3.  That  this  their  education  included  music  and  singing 
 (1  Sam.  X,  5  ;  1  Chron.  xxv,  1-3),  and  instruction  in  the 
 laws  and  history  of  their  nation,  as  we  may  gather,  both 
 from  the  frequent  allusions  wliich  they  make  in  their  pro- 
 phecies to  past  events,  and  from  the  histories  which  they 
 themselves  have  written :  (as  the  Books  of  Samuel,  &c. ;  and 
 see  2  Chron.  xii,  15): 
 
 4.  That  they  were  collected  together  into  schools  or 
 
 "  Vide  Jonah  i,  4  ;  Jeremiah  i.  6;  *  Vide  1  Kings  xviii,  12.   "  And 
 
 Ezekiel  ii,  8 ;  and  so  also  the  Py-  it  shall  come  to  pass  as  soon  as  I 
 
 thoness  often  shuddered  away  from  am  gone  from  thee  that  the  spirit 
 
 the  convulsions  of  inspiration.  of  God  shall  carry  thee  whither  I 
 
 *  Vide  2  Kings  ix.  11.     So  Por-  know  not,"  &c. — 1  Sam.  xviii,  10  ; 
 
 phyryaraongthe  causes  of  prophecy  2  Kings  ii,  16  ;  and  Acts  viii,  39. 
 
 places  madness:  'H   iv  Totg  voaif-  ^  Ezekiel  xvi ;  Hoseai,ii;  Isai. 
 
 fiaai  ffvuntTTTovcra  jiavia.     So  also  XX:  and  I  Samuel  xix,  24. 
 
 Plato  in  Timseo,  ix,  301  :  ^ujTiKjjv  ^  So  also  the  Egyptian  priests; 
 
 atpporrvvr/  9t(yg  av^Qwirti'y   ct£o)Ktv,  vide  from  Wilkinson,  supra. 
 &c. 
 
420  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 colleges,  as  at  Gibeah  (1  Sam.  x,  5),  Ramali  (id.  xix,  18, 
 20),  Bethel  and  Jericho  (2  Kings,  ii,  3,  4  ;  and  vi,  1),  and 
 Gilgal  (2  Kings  iv,  38)  : 
 
 5.  That  at  least  in  Israel  the  general  rule  was,  that 
 none  but  those  who  were  licensed  by  these  colleges  were 
 permitted  to  prophesy.''  See  the  reproach  of  Amaziah  to 
 Amos,  and  Amos's  answer  (Amos  vii.  10,  17),  and  the 
 surprise  which  Saul's  prophetic  fury  excited  (1  Sam. 
 X,  11): 
 
 6.  That  the  number  of  these  licensed  prophets  Avas  con- 
 siderable— thus  Ahab  gathers  four  hundred  of  them  in  one 
 place  and  for  one  purpose  (1  Kings,  xxii,  6  ;  1  Sam.  x.  5) — 
 and  that  of  them  many  prophesied  either  inspired  by  a 
 lying  spirit  as  Zedekiah  and  the  other  prophets  of  Ahab 
 (1  Kings  id.),  or  "  out  of  their  own  hearts  following  their 
 own  imaginations  (Ezek.  xiii,  Jeremiah  xxiii) : 
 
 7.  That  the  prophets  prophesied  either  spontaneously, 
 urged  on  by  some  sudden  and  irresistible  impulse,  as  Amos ; 
 or  at  the  instigation  and  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  those 
 who  came  to  consult  them,  as  Micaiah,  &c.  (1  Kings  xxii): 
 
 8.  That  the  prophets  did  not  wholly  devote  themselves 
 to  prophesying  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term :  they  were 
 not  seers  or  diviners  merely,  they  were  preachers  also ; 
 they  employed  themselves,  both  in  instructing  the  people 
 in  the  duties  of  religion  (2  Kings  iv.  23),  and  in  educating 
 those  who  were  destined  to  the  prophetic  office  (2  Kings 
 vi,  1) : 
 
 9.  That  as  preachers  they  Avere 
 
 1st.  Moral  reformers.  They  insisted  on  the 
 moral  degi'adation  of  the  people,  and  exhorted  them 
 to  repentance  f  they  expounded  to  them  the  laws 
 of  Moses,  and  gave  to  his  institutions  a  spiritual 
 meaning.     In  times  of  prosperity,  when  the  half- 
 
 ^  See  in  Lafitau,  lit  supra,  tlie  the  diviners  were  among  them  a 
 
 long  mortifieation,    the    torments  class,  an  order.  With  these  however 
 
 which  among  savage  nations   the  contrast  the   simple  ordination    of 
 
 aspirant  to  the  divining  office  must  Elisha,  1  Kings  xxii, and  2  Kingsii. 
 undergo  ;    all   wiiich   implies  that         "  Vide  Ezekiel  iii,  l."*,  21. 
 
CHAPTER    XVIII.  421 
 
 barbarian,  happy  and  secm-e,  is  neglectful  of  his 
 God's  service,  they  threatened  the  nation  with  dis- 
 grace and  misfortune,  the  divine  vengeance  :  and  in 
 the  hour  of  distress,  when,  oppressed  by  foreign 
 enemies  or  torn  by  intestine  divisions,  Israel  in  dust 
 and  ashes  bowed  himself  to  the  earth  and  broken- 
 hearted sought  the  altar  of  God,  they  roused  him  to 
 hope,  they  reminded  him  of  the  promises  made  to 
 his  fathers,  of  the  sovereignty  to  which  he  was 
 certainly  destined ;  and  their  hearts  then  swelling 
 with  joy  poured  themselves  out  in  words  of  uni- 
 versal peace,  in  blessings  in  which  all  living  things 
 were  comprehended. 
 
 And  2dly.   Statesmen.     They  warned  away  the 
 people    from   all    association   with   their  Heathen 
 neighbours ;    in  times  of  war  and   invasion   they 
 w^atched  with  anxious  eye  the  actions  and  councils 
 of  the  sovereign,  they  pointed  out  to  him  all  the 
 dangers  of  foreign  and  mercenary  assistance,^  and 
 they  urged  him  to  put  his  trust  in  God  and  his  own 
 forces.     To  the  last  they  kept  alive  the  national 
 spirit  and  the  national  honour ;  and  when  they  saw 
 their  country  subdued  by  the  all-powerful   Chal- 
 deans, they  were  the  first  to  suit  themselves  to 
 existing  circumstances,  and  the  first  to  predict  the 
 uselessness  of  resistance  and  all  the  consequences  of 
 rebellion.' 
 10.  That  as  seers  they  were  sometimes  attached  to  the 
 service  of  men  in  poAver,  as  Gad,  David's  seer :  and  were 
 consulted  about  things  hidden  and  future,  as  to  the  issue  of 
 an  illness  or  a  battle,^  or  the  fate  of  property  which  had 
 been  stolen  or  lost,  &c.^     They  foretold  both  changes  of 
 weather  and  changes  of  dynasties,  and  the  fate  of  a  sinning 
 nation  and  that  of  a  meddling  courtier,  ^-c* 
 
 "  Isaiah  vii.  'As  Samuel  about  Saul's  asses, 
 
 1  Jeremiah,  Zedekiah,  &c.  1  Samuel  ix. 
 
 ^  Vifle  2  Kings  i,  3  ;  and  I  Kings  '■  I  Kings  xviii,4 1  ;  and  2  Kings 
 
 xxii.  vii,  19. 
 
422  CHAPTEK   XVIII. 
 
 11.  That  they  performed  miracles  ;  thus  they  now  make 
 iron  to  swim,  and  now  multiply  a  pot  of  oil  till  it  fills  many 
 vessels ;  now  they  bring  down  fire  from  heaven  to  destroy 
 tlieir  enemies,  and  now  raise  the  dead  to  life ;  and  now 
 they  curse,  and  now  afflict  with  disease.^ 
 
 12.  That  they  considered  music **  favourable  to  inspira- 
 tion; thus  Saul,  when  he  meets  the  prophets  coming  down 
 from  Bethel  with  psaltery  and  tabret  and  harp,  falls  to 
 prophesying  ;  and  Elisha  sends  for  a  minstrel  to  play 
 before  him  when  he  would  prophesy  to  Jehoshajihet 
 (1  Kings  iii). 
 
 13.  That  their  prophecies  were  often  accompanied  by 
 symbolical  action.  Thus  Zedekiah  puts  horns  upon  his 
 head  (1  Kings  xxii),  and  Isaiah  walks  naked  and  barefoot 
 (Isaiah  xx),  and  Hosea  "  loves  a  woman  beloved  of  her 
 friend,  yet  an  adulteress"  (Hosea  iii). 
 
 14.  That  they  subsisted  partly  on  the  rewards  of  divi- 
 nation (1  John  ix),  partly  on  the  presents  they  received 
 from  those  Avhom  they  cured,  or  who  had  consulted  them 
 in  sickness  (2  Kings  v,  20),  and  partly  on  the  kindness  of 
 the  pious  (2  Kings  iv,  8,  &c.)^ 
 
 15.  That  they  clothed  themselves  rudely,  wearing  girdles 
 of  leather  (2  Kings  i,  8)  and  rough  mantles^  of  hair 
 (Zechariah  xiii,  4) ;  and  that  they  were  accustomed  to  long 
 fasts  ^  (1  Kings  xix);  and  that  they  lived  apart  from  the 
 
 *  Vide   the  lives  of  Elijali  and  SoXiov,    ayvprrjv,    (xrric    tv  toiq 
 
 Elisha,  and  compare  them  with  the  Ktpdedi 
 
 account  of  the  great  negro  Fetisseio  ^o^ov  ^f^opKt.        Tyran.  305. 
 
 quoted  above.  And    is    not  Balaam's     covetous- 
 
 «  So  Porphyry,  Epist.  ad  Anat.  "ess,   his   willingness  to  let    hini- 
 
 QC    rojv    tUriinnov    s/^ioi  rivff  self  out  for  money,  the  great  charge 
 
 avTiov  aicovovrsg   jj    KvufiaXoiv,     r)  agamst  him ; 
 
 Tv^Traviov,  r]  tivoq  /lEXovg  tvBvaiw-  '  So  the  Schamans  of  the  Tartars, 
 
 aiv,  o)Q  01  Ts  Khpvj3avTiZoii(voi,  &c.  ut  supra.      Students  in  theology, 
 
 7  Though  the  prophet  might  re-  among  the  Hindus,  "  wear  for  their 
 ceive  presents,  I    suspect    that  to  mantles  the  hides  of   black  ante- 
 prophecy  for  gain  was  a  reproach,  lopes."— Menu,  vol.  ii,  p.  41. 
 So  (Edipus  of  Tiresias :  ^   In   a  note   to   the    thirteenth 
 
 'Trtftc  iiayov  roiov  St  iinx^vop-  chapter  of  the  Koran,  Sale  observes 
 
 pafov, 
 
 from  Maimonides,   "  that  it  is 
 
CHAPTER  xviir.  423 
 
 common  herd  of  men,  and  only  communicated  with  them 
 through  means  of  their  servants  or  scholars  (2  Kings  iv. 
 27  ;  V.  10). 
 
 16.  That  though  sometimes  persecuted  because  of  the 
 unwelcome  truths  it  was  often  their  duty  to  make  known, 
 they  were  in  general  held  in  high  honour.  Thus  even 
 Elisha  (1  Kings  iv,  13)  speaks  of  himself  as  of  one  who  had 
 influence  at  court ;  and  Elijah  is  addressed  with  all  humi- 
 lity by  Obadiah  the  governor  of  the  house  of  Ahab,  &c. 
 (1  Kings  xviii). 
 
 17.  In  conclusion  we  may  observe  that,  as  Scripture  is 
 silent  with  regard  to  the  acts  and  persons  of  the  j^rophets  of 
 Judea,  though  all  its  prophecies — which  do  not  merely 
 relate  to  passing  events,  which  have  a  moral  and  human 
 and  therefore  lasting  interest — are  from  their  lij)s  or  pens ; 
 so  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  difHise  in  its  account  of  the 
 actions  and  miracles  of  the  great  seers'^  of  Israel,  though  as 
 evidence  of  their  prophetic  powers  it  has  preserved  for  us 
 only  a  few  local  divinations. 
 
 If  now  we  compare  the  prophet  of  Scripture  with  the 
 prophet  as  he  appears  in  those  religions  to  which  we  have 
 more  particularly  directed  our  attention,  and  as  he 
 appears — 
 
 I.  In  the  Brahminical  creed.  The  Hindu  legends  tell  of 
 the  extraordinary  powers  of  Brahmins  learned  in  theology, 
 and  of  their  miracles  wdiich  rival  those  of  an  Elijah  or  an 
 Elisha;^  and  every  Hindu  town  even  at  this  day  possesses 
 its  diviner,  who  is  called  upon  to  display  his  skill  in  nearly 
 
 maxim  with  the  Jews,  that  nothing  nyawalcya  and  Sa'calya  as  to  who  is 
 
 is  more  repugnant  to  prophecy  than  most  skilled  in  theology,  Yajnyaw- 
 
 carnality." — Koran,  vol.  ii,  p.  58.  alcya  asks  his  adversary  a  question 
 
 '  2  Sam.  XV.  27.  and  declares,  "if  thou  art  not  able 
 
 *  The  seer  of  Israel  was  partly  to  explain  this  thy  head  shall  drop 
 
 Schaman,  partly  Angetkok,  partly  otF.     Sa'calya  could  not  explain  it, 
 
 Fetissero,   Sec.      The    prophet    of  and  his  head  did  drop  off;"  and 
 
 Judea   is  without   a  type   among  (Asiatic    Researches,   vol.    viii,  p. 
 
 idolatrous  heathen  nations.  447)  see  also  an  account  of  the  con- 
 
 ^  According   to   the   Vedas,  the  test  between  the  rejected  and  the 
 
 most  learned,  the  most  skilled  in  sacred  priests  of  Asama'ti   (Id.  p. 
 
 theology  has  extraordinary  powers.  394),  and  compare  with  it  Elisha's 
 
 Thus,  in  the  contest  between  Yaj-  contest  with  the  priests  of  Baal. 
 
424  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 the  same  way  as  were  formerly  the  seers  of  Israel.  <  India 
 has  its  seers.  But  as  the  Vedas — though  here  and  there 
 indeed  a  hymn  bears  the  name  of  some  royal  personage  or 
 saintly  priest^ — are  the  production  of  the  Deity  himself;" 
 and  as  all  the  reforms^  or  changes  which  the  Brahminical 
 religion  has  undergone,  or  will  undergo,  are  and  must  be 
 attributed  to  an  avatar  or  incarnation  of  one  of  the  three 
 persons  of  the  great  Trimurti ;  to  this  religion  the  idea  of 
 a  prophet,  as  we  see  it  realised  in  Moses,  or  even  in  the 
 Isaiah  and  Ezekiel  of  Judea,  is  unnecessary  and  un- 
 knoAvn. 
 
 II.  In  the  Zend  creed.  The  Zendavesta  contains  the 
 law  given  of  God,  and  announced  to  man  first  by  Horn, 
 afterwards  by  Zoroaster.  Hom  and  Zoroaster  then 
 are  prophets ;  and  we  may  compare  them,  the  one  with 
 Abraham,  the  other  with  Moses.*  Hom  like  Abraham 
 professes  to  worship  the  Creator  God  alone;  like  him  he  is 
 put  forward  as  the  inspired  author  of  a  new  ritual,  the 
 founder  of  a  new  religion.^     The  former  however  is  an 
 
 ■•  Of   the  sootlisayers   in    India  priests,  and  monai'chs  also  (lb.  p. 
 
 Forbes  says  :  "  Altbouoh  I  do  not  393) ;  they  are  the  authors  only  as 
 
 liken  them  to  Samuel  and  the  early  they  are  the  first  to  whom  the  sa- 
 
 prophets,  I  often  found  them  and  cred  test  was  revealed, 
 
 their   employers    entertaining   the  ^  Vide  p.  330,  supra, 
 
 same  ideas  and  following  the  same  "^  Vide  p.  Ill,  supra, 
 
 practice  as  is  recorded  of  the  seers  ^  To  these  may  be  added,  and 
 
 of  Palestine,  especially  in  the  little  they  answer  to  the  prophets  of  Ju- 
 
 stoiytold  of  Saul  and  his  servant,     dea,  Ireschoster Aderbad,  Mah- 
 
 (Scc.     Such  is  exactly  the  state  of  rcspand,  &c.,  who  have  taught  the 
 
 things    in    the  eastern   district  of  law   of  Zoroaster,  "  I'ont  fait  pra- 
 
 Guzerat ;  every  considerable  town  tiquer  publiquement  aux  purs   du 
 
 has  its  soothsayer,  who  is  consulted     monde" "restaurateurs   de  la 
 
 on  all  occasions."— Oriental   Me-     saintete qu'ils  ont  rendu   bril- 
 
 moirs,  vol.  ii,  p.  115,  Il(>;  and  see  lante.'' — Patet   de   I'lran,   Zend, 
 
 an  accouunt  of  the  prediction  made  vol.  ii,  p.  49. 
 
 to  Mr.  Hodges  that  he  should  one  ^   "  Vous    etes    le    premier,   O 
 
 day  be  governor  of  Bombay. — lb.  Grand  (Hom),  a  qui  Ormuzd  ait 
 
 p.  118.  donne   I'Evanguin   et    le    Ladere 
 
 ^   Of  the    Rigveda,  Colebrooke  (vetemens)  utiles  donnes    du  ciel 
 
 informs  us  that  "  several  persons  of  avec  Ja  pure  loi  des  Mazdeiesnans 
 
 royal  birth  are  mentioned  among     Apres  I'avoir  ceint  (I'Evan- 
 
 the   authors  of  the  hymns   which     guin)  sur  les  montagnes vous 
 
 constitute  this  Veda"  (Asiatic  He-  avez  annonce  la  ])arole  surles  mon- 
 
 searehes,  vol.   viii,  p.  392),  sages,  tagnes."  Ha  ix,  Zend,  vol.i,  p.  112. 
 
CHAPTER    XVIII.  425 
 
 Isolated  individual,  the  latter  the  lord  and  father  of  a  family, 
 or  horde;  this  therefore  delivers  the  ordinances  of  the  Elo- 
 him  to  his  household,  while  that  preaches  the  heaven- 
 descended  law  among  the  few  mountain  shepherds  his 
 neighbours.  In  time  however  the  family  grows  into  a 
 people,  and  the  shepherds  become  numerous  and  powerful, 
 settle  themselves  in  towns  and  acquu-e  the  habits  of  citi- 
 zens. But  the  religion  and  rites  which  the  one  and  the 
 other  had  received  from  their  ancestors  were  now  found 
 insufficient  to  fill  the  heart  and  soul  of  a  nation,  and  were  in 
 danger  therefore  of  being  put  aside  for  other  and  strange 
 superstitions,'  unless  they  could  be  adapted  to  the  more  com- 
 plicated wants  of  a  civic  society.  And  now  it  was  that 
 among  the  one  and  the  other  jyeople  a  man  of  large  mind 
 arose,  here  Moses,  there  Zoroaster,^  who,  having  collected 
 and  ordered  the  traditions  and  customs  of  his  fathers  and 
 suited  them  to  the  exigences  of  the  times,  framed  from 
 them  a  new  ritual  and  a  body  of  laws,  which,  though  they 
 already  bear  the  sanction  of  antiquity,  he  besides  issues  as 
 the  revealed  will  and  unchang-eable  law  of  his  God.^  Hence 
 
 Of  these  gannents,  Anquetil  tells  merely,  by  conimandiug  obedience 
 
 us  :  "  La  ceinture  et   I'espece    de  to  the  government  and  insisting  on 
 
 chemise  qui   forment  le  sceau  du  the  advantages   of  union,  but   by 
 
 vrai  disciple  de  Zoroastve  sont  les  knitting  the  prayers  and  the  good 
 
 habits  de  combat."  —  Syst.   Theol.  works  of   each    individual    to  the 
 
 vol.  ii,  p.  616.      These  garments  prayers  and  the  good  works  of  all 
 
 thus  answer  to  the  circumcision  of  the  faithful,  both   who  exist    and 
 
 Abraham.  have    existed.    (Vide  Syst.  Theol. 
 
 1  See  an  account  of  the  various  Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  595.)     Hence  the 
 
 religions    which    occupied    Persia  frequent    mention     of   celebrated 
 
 when  Zoroaster  appeared.    (Vie  de  saints  and  prophets  in  the  prayers 
 
 Zoroastre,Zend,vol.i.p.67.)  Tothe  of  the  Parsees  :  (videPatetdel'Iran. 
 
 many  superstitions  which  obtained  Nireng  Boni   Daden,   8cc.   Zend, 
 
 among  the  Israelites,  the  books  of  vol.  ii,  p.  41,  51): — and  because 
 
 Moses  everywhere  bear  testimony,  these  saints  are  living  personages, 
 
 ^  Vide  Vie  de  Zoroastre,  p.  68.  and  living  in  the  very  presence  of 
 
 '  The  Israelites  are  a  nation  be-  Ormuzd,  and  powerful  against  the 
 
 cause  they  have  a  common  descent.  Dews,  the  frequent  invocation  of 
 
 a  common  worship,  and  one  Deity,  them,  as  of  Horn.  (Ha  ix.)     But 
 
 The  Ormuzd  worshippers  are  not  again,  as  the  saints  of  heaven  are 
 
 of  one  stock,  and  their  religion  is  able  to  assist  the  faithful  of  earth, 
 
 their  one  sole  bond  of  uuion.    And  so  also  the  saints  of  earth  can  by 
 
 union  their  religion  every  way  in-  their  prayers  assist  the  dead  who 
 
 culcates,  not  politically  or  morally  have  died   in    sin.      Hence    with 
 
 3  I 
 
426  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 It  is  that  in  both  creeds  the  prophetic  glories  of  Moses  and 
 Zoroaster  have  eclipsed  those  of  their  predecessors  ;  and 
 that  in  both  creeds  they  are  especially  represented  as  the 
 mouthpieces  of  the  Deity,  the  interpreters  of  God's  will, 
 and  the  preachers  of  God's  law  to  man.  Zoroaster  how- 
 ever, unhke  Moses,  works  no  miracles,''  and  possesses  no 
 supernatural  powers;  and  though  fully  acquainted  with  the 
 great  designs  of  Providence  in  the  government  of  the 
 world,  he  has  no  foreknowledge  of  particular  events.  He 
 and  Hom  are  cosmogonists,  legislators,  prophets  in  the 
 noblest  sense,  never  seers. 
 
 in.  In  the  Chinese  faith.  Tien  or  Chang-ti,  sometimes 
 the  Heaven,  sometimes  the  Lord  of  Heaven,^  a  material 
 and  spiritual  Being,  is  the  Supreme  God  of  China.  And 
 this  Supreme  God  has  selected  the  emperor  to  be  his  sole 
 minister  and  representative  on  earth.«  From  the  emperor 
 alone,  at  the  four  great  yearly  feasts,  will  he  accept  sacri- 
 fice :  to  him  alone  he  declares  his  will,  with  him  alone  con- 
 verses, and  with  him  alone  of  men  stands  in  relation.^  The 
 emperor  is  the  loved  son  of  the  Tien,  and  not  merely  there- 
 fore the  sovereign,  but  also  the  mediator,  priest  and  pro- 
 phet of  his  people. 
 
 But  again  the  air  is  crowded  with  innumerable  invisible 
 spirits,  Chen,^  Avho  like  men  are  endowed  with  power  to 
 work,  and  will  to  choose  between,  good  and  evil :  and  who 
 like  men  are  distinguishable  one  from  the  other  by  differ- 
 
 prayers    offered    to  the    dead   are  the  most  beautiful  of   all  natural 
 
 united  prayers /or  the  dead.   (Vide  objects;  and  that  the  Chinese,  like 
 
 Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  603.)    Thus  in  the  other  nations,  use  often  the  habita- 
 
 Zend  creed  we  find  two  of  the  most  tion  of  the  person  for  the  person 
 
 touching  and  beautiful  doctrines  of  himself.      Vide     Confucius,     sive 
 
 the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  Scientia  Sinensis,  Praemialis  Decla- 
 
 ^  J. e.TheZendavestanever  speaks  ratio,  p.  91.      I   do   not,    however, 
 
 of  him  as  a  miracle-worker;  not  so,  place  much  reliance  on  the  conjec- 
 
 however,    the     Zerdust-namah,    a  tures  of  these  learned  Jesuits  who 
 
 work  of  later  date.     Vide  Vie  de  had  a  theory  to  support. 
 Zoroastre,  Zend.  vol.  i.  *  "  Hie  adverte  Sinas  binis  his 
 
 ^  The  authors  to  the  preliminary  litteris  ticn  hia,  i.  e.  quod  sub  ccelo 
 
 dissertation  to  "  Confucius"  assert  est,  passim  notare  imperium  suum 
 
 that  the  Chinese  called  their  su-  Siuense." — Id.  lib.  i,  §  iii. 
 preme  god  Tien,  '•  Heaven,"  be-        '  Vide  Mem.  Chin,  xv,  p.  215. 
 cause  he  was  the  Lord  of  Heaven,        *  Id.  ib. 
 
CHAPTER   XVIII.  427 
 
 ences  of  rank,  talent  and  occupation  ;  but  who  all,  because 
 man  is  the  most  perfect  of  created  beings,  exist  but  for 
 man's  use  and  service,  and  are  like  man  made  subject  to 
 the  will  of  the  son  of  heaven.  These  spirits  then,  accord- 
 ing to  their  several  merits  and  capacities,  the  emperor 
 names  guardians,  some  of  provinces,  some  of  towns,  some  of 
 villages,  &c. ;  while  to  others  he  allots  certain  months,  days 
 or  hours  during  which  they  are  to  perform  certain  func- 
 tions.* The  former  provide  their  districts  with  seasonable 
 rains  and  genial  sunshine,  and  protect  them  from  storms, 
 inundations,  earthquakes,  plagues  and  pestilences ;  the 
 latter  on  the  other  hand  employ  themselves,  noiv  in  assist- 
 ing the  labours  of  the  husbandman,  nov^  in  guarding  the 
 traveller,  and  now  in  furthering  the  claims  of  suitors,  &c. 
 And  all  of  these  as  they  fulfil  or  neglect  their  duties  are 
 rewarded  with  praise,  statues,  temples,  &c.  or  punished  by 
 degradation  and  banishment  to  the  barren  air.^  The 
 emperor  therefore  is  lord  not  only  of  the  earth  but  also  of 
 nature. 
 
 But  the  emperor,  as  the  Son  of  Heaven,  is  entrusted 
 with  the  law  of  heaven :  and  that  law  the  emperor  must 
 himself  both  sedulously  observe  and  must  oblige  his  offi- 
 cers to  observe  also.  This  is  the  duty  attached  to  his 
 office ;  and  when  he  fulfils  that  duty,  the  Mandarins  then 
 cherish  the  honest  and  peaceful  citizen,  and  punish  and 
 repress  all  evil-doers ;  and  the  Chen,  kept  to  their  labours, 
 are  careful  that  no  natural  accidents  shall  disturb  the 
 public  weal ;  and  order,  content,  and  prosperity,  now  reign 
 
 ^  Meraoires    des    Chinois,    vol.  to  each  day,  and  why  to  undertake 
 
 XV,  p.  216  :  "  C'est  a  eux  qu'il  con-  any  other  occupation  on  that  day  is 
 
 fie  la  ^arde  aerienne  de  son  empire  considered  unlucky.  Vide,ut  supra. 
 
 pour  le  defendre   de  tout  ce  que  '  "  S'il  arrive  a  ces  Chen  de  ne 
 
 pourroitluietrenuisible;c'estpanm    pas  remplir  leur  tache On  les 
 
 eux  qu'il  choisit  les  protecteurs  par-  reprochent  leur  peu  de  talent,  leur 
 
 ticuliers  de   chaque  ville,  village,  inattention;  on  les  injurie jusqu'a 
 
 &c.,  et  c'est  a  chacun  d'eux  qu'il  frapper  et  briser  les  statues  qu'on 
 
 assigne I'annee,  le  mois,  le  jour,  les  avoit  assignees  pour  logement 
 
 pour  y  presider  aux  affaires  qu'on  y     Les  Chen  ainsi  degrades  vont 
 
 traite,"  &c.  Hence  the  reason  why  augmenterle  uonihre des  Chen  oisifs 
 
 in  China  its  occupation  is  assigned  qui  pciiplent  les  airs." — Id.  p.  218. 
 
428  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 throughout  the  country.  Should  the  emperor  however, 
 forgetful  of  his  high  destinies,  waste  away  his  life  in  a 
 luxurious  sloth :  or  should  he  with  a  tyrannical  rapacity 
 violate  the  laws  he  has  been  chosen  to  administer :  then 
 his  magistrates  following  his  example  will  neglect  to 
 check  or  will  perhaps  even  encourage  crime,  and  the  Chen 
 no  longer  feeling  the  controlling  eye  over  them  will  grow 
 careless  and  indiiFerent  to  their  duties.  Children  will  now 
 no  longer  listen  to  the  wisdom  of  their  parents ;  age  and 
 its  counsels  are  despised ;  and  disobedience,  disorder,  tur- 
 bulence, rapine,  begin  to  tear  at  the  very  heart  of  a  society 
 which  long  droughts,  or  intemperate  rains  and  inundations 
 and  plagues  and  famine  alternately  afflict.^  Here  then  we 
 have  a  scheme  of  providence  in  which  moral  excellence  is 
 indissolubly  bound  up  with  temporal  prosperity,  and  where 
 consequently  temporal  misfortunes  are  a  gage  and  evidence 
 of  moral  guilt;  and  one  moreover  (and  herein  consists 
 its  peculiarity)  in  which  that  prosperity  and  those  misfor- 
 tunes, in  so  far  as  they  are  national,  are  attached  to  the 
 emperor  as  their  author.  And  hence  it  is,  that  when  his 
 subjects  are  suifering  from  flood  or  drought,  the  emperor 
 retires  into  himself  to  examine  how  far  his  own  con- 
 duct, or  the  conduct  of  those  immediately  about  him,  has 
 been  the  cause  of  the  national  calamity.^  He  comes 
 before  the  Tien  as  a  mediator  for  his  people.  And  as  in  the 
 presence  of  mankind  he  is  the  son  of  the  Tien,  so  in  the 
 presence  of  the  Tien  he  is  the  son  of  man — the  representa- 
 tive of  Humanity." 
 
 ^  Vide  from  the  Chou-king,  sup.  dvoiture  et  de  piete  dans  Tesperance 
 
 p.  286.  que  par  una  vie  reguliere  je  ferai 
 
 ^  Thus  Yong-tsching,  before  al-  changer  la  volonte  que  le  Tien  a  de 
 
 luded    to,    addresses    his    people:  nous  punir." — Du  Halde,  Chine, 
 
 "Aussitot    qu'on     m'avertit     que  vol.  iii,  p.  42.      I  must  observe, 
 
 quelque  province  souffre,  ou  d'une  however,  that  this  emperor  rejects 
 
 longue  secheresse  ou  de  I'exces  des  all  belief  in  the  Chen  as  a  mere 
 
 pluies,j'cntre  aussitot   dans   moi-  superstition ;  but  it  does  not  there- 
 
 meme,j 'examine  avec  soin  ma  con-  fore  follow  that  the  mode  of  con- 
 
 duite,  je  pense  a  rectifier  les  dere-  duct  which  he  adopts  did  not  ori- 
 
 glemens  qui  se  seroient  introduits  ginate  in  that  belief. 
 
 dans  mon  palais Je  m'appliquc  •■  With  this  view  of  the  Chinese 
 
 a,  donner  au  Tieu  des  marques  de  popular  faith,  compare  the  view  we 
 
CHAPTER   XVIII.  429 
 
 But  the  emperor  we  have  said  was  a  prophet:  but 
 all  his  predecessors  have  been  prophets ;  all  have  obeyed 
 the  law  of  the  Tien ;  in  the  sayings,  acts,  and  ordinances 
 of  the  first  emperors  then  he  reads  that  law,^ — the  great 
 common  law  of  mankind.  But  of  that  law  the  first  prin- 
 ciple is  respect  and  reverence  to  parents ;  to  obedience 
 then  to  that  law  he  joins  a  careful  observance  of  those  cus- 
 toms, &c.  which  are  peculiar  to  liis  own  family ;  and  those 
 customs  because  he  is  emperor  become  for  that  reason 
 alone  national.  Hence  it  is  that  every  change  of  dynasty 
 is  accompanied  by  a  change  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  em- 
 pire.^ The  ancestral  hall  of  the  dethroned  sovereign  is 
 violated ;  the  high  privileges  liis  fathers  enjoyed  are  with- 
 drawn from  them,  and  bestowed  on  the  ancestors  of  the 
 new  emperor.  They  become  the  tutelary  saints  of  the 
 kingdom,  the  lords  of  the  dead,  as  he  is  the  lord  of  the 
 living.^ 
 
 I.  We  may  observe  that  in  this  religion,  verho  sit  venia, 
 and  in  this  religion  alone,  man,  as  both  physical  and  spiri- 
 tual, is  a  being  of  a  higher  order  than  the  mere  spirit. 
 
 n.  That  the  emperor  is  so  immeasurably  great,  that 
 man  is  as  nothing  before  him.  His  greatness  indeed 
 throws  not  merely  man  but  the  Deity  liimself  into  the 
 background.  He  stands  like  some  Egyptian  pyramid, 
 alone  in  a  desert  of  sand  and  sky.  He  occupies  the  whole 
 attention  of  his  people;  they  see  him  every  where,  and 
 him  only.     Keverence  and  obedience  are  their  duties,  and 
 
 have  taken  of  the  relations  which  or  history  of  the  Tcheou  dynasty. — 
 
 existed  between   the    patriarch  of  Vide  Chou-king,  p.  409 ;  Memoires 
 
 olden  times  and  his  slaves,  p.  871,  des  Chinois,  vol.  ii,  p.  62,  65  ;  vol. 
 
 372,  supra.  viii,  p.  193;    and  Confucius,  sive 
 
 *  That  law  is  contained  in  the  Scientia  Sinensis,  Praemialis  Decla- 
 
 sacred  books  of  China,  the  Kings  ratio,  p.  15,  and  88,  89,  &c. 
 which  were  either  composed  by  em-         ^  Vide  Amiot,   Hist,  of  the  Ce- 
 
 perors,  as  the  Y-king  by  Fo-hi,  and  remonial  of  China,  at  the  close  of 
 
 part  of  the  Chou-king  by  Ya:  or  by  Chou-king,  p.  345. 
 their  order,  as  the  Hi-ki  and  the        ''  See    Memoires    des    Chinois, 
 
 Che-king :    or    they    contain     an  vol.  xv,  p.  231   ;  and  the  account 
 
 account  of  the  sayings,  Szc.  of  the  of  Ou-ouang's   usurpation  of  the 
 
 olden    emperors,    as  part  of    the  throne  and  of  his  negociations  with 
 
 Chou-king  and  the  Tchuu-tsieou  the  Chen. — Id. 
 
430  CHAPTER   XVIII. 
 
 temporal  comforts  their  highest  rewards.  For  them  the 
 soul  has  no  voice  and  no  Avants  ;  and  we  find,  conse- 
 quently that  while, 
 
 III.  The  authority  of  the  emperor  appears  wholly  reli- 
 gious f  the  obedience  it  commands  wears  a  moral  and  poli- 
 tical rather  than  a  religious  aspect.  His  government  would 
 invest  itself  with  the  dignity  of  a  religion,  but  the  religion 
 of  his  subjects  is  confined  to  the  idea  of  a  government. 
 Where  there  is  no  independence  of  thought,  and  the  soul 
 is  chained  down  to  earth  or  earthly  things,  religion  in  any 
 true  sense  is  impossible. 
 
 This  chapter  is  written  with  the  name  Elohim  (except 
 the  last  verse,  wliich  Eichhorn  supposes  to  be  a  gloss  from 
 the  narrative  Jehovah,  introduced  to  complete  the  tale.' 
 
 It  recounts  a  similar  event  to  that  which  Jehovah  made 
 known  in  the  twelfth  chapter.  The  only  difference  is, 
 that  the  one  lays  the  scene  in  Gerar,  the  other  in  Egypt ; 
 and  that  this  is  more  concise  and  worldly,  and  that  more 
 diffuse  and  religious,  in  its  details. 
 
 The  last  verse  in  this  chapter  written  with  the  name 
 Jehovah  has,  Eichhorn  observes,  a  form  of  expression 
 found  only  in  the  Jehovah  portions  of  Genesis.  (Vide 
 chap,  xvi,  2.) 
 
 ^  In  the  next  chapter  (p.  448)  I  is  seldom  or  ever  known.     Before 
 
 have  noted  the  superstitious  reve-  ascending  the  throne,  he  assumes 
 
 rence  with  which  the  name  of  the  a  name  by  which,  when  spoken  of, 
 
 Deity  is  generally  regarded  by  igno-  he  must  be  called ;  for  to  pronounce 
 
 rant  man.  In  China,  however — if  a  or  write  his  proper  one,  by  accident 
 
 letter  in  a  newspaper  is  any  autho-  or  intention,  is  death  to  the  divulger 
 
 rity,  and  it  accords  well  with  the  of  the  secret  and   his  family." — 
 
 popular  superstition  of  the  country  Times,  Oct.  6,  1841. 
 — it  is  the   name  of  the    emperor        ^  Vide  Einleit.  im  Alt.  Test.  vol. 
 
 which  is  revered.     "  His  real  name  iii,  §  416,  p.  131. 
 
431 
 
 CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 GENESIS   xxi.  1-34. 
 
 Verses  1-7.  At  the  birth  of  Isaac  Abraham  was  a  hun- 
 dred, and  Sarah  ninety  years  of  age.  That  however,  Avhich 
 was  a  singularity,  a  miracle  in  Canaan,  seems  formerly  to 
 have  been  among  the  Caraibs  a  matter  of  very  common 
 occurrence :  i.  e.  if  we  give  any  credit,  which  I  do  not,  to 
 the  accounts  early  voyagers  have  given  of  these  people. 
 They  often  reached  we  are  told  the  age  of  one  hundred 
 and  fifty  years,  and  among  them  it  was  nothing  strange  to 
 meet  with  men  of  ninety  who  were  fathers  of  infants,  and 
 women  of  eighty  who  were  about  to  become  mothers.^  To 
 those  who  sincerely  believe  in  the  possibility  of  miracles 
 and  yet  do  not  love  to  have  their  faith  too  much  tried,^ 
 this  example  of  the  Caraibs,  apocryphaP  though  it  be,  will 
 as  tending  to  naturalize  another  miracle,  prove  not  unac- 
 ceptable. With  true  Protestant  spirit  let  them  make  the 
 most  of  it.     I  must  avow  that  if  we  are  to  believe  in 
 
 1  Of  the  Caribbees :  "  Das  ge-  the  book  of  Jonah  should  be  a  ca- 
 wohnliche  Alter  gehetbis  150  Jahre  nonical  book — he  would  reject  it  if 
 und  driiber :  sie  sind  dabey  noch  it  were  possible — he  had  rather  not 
 so  stark  und  vermogend,  das  sie  in  believe  in  it — he  cannot  digest  the 
 90en.  Jahre  noch  Kinder  zengen  ;  whale  ;  but  its  authority  he  finds  is 
 und  es  soil  gar  nichts  seltenes  unter  indisputable,  so  he  e'en  puts  it  up 
 ihnen  seyn,  dass  man  Kindbetterin-  with  the  rest. 
 
 nen   von    80   Jahren    antrifft." —  ^  "  Vers  I'age   de   douze  ans," 
 
 Sitten  und  Meynungen  d.  Wilden  says  Labat,  "  car  les  Caraibes  ne 
 
 in  Amerika,  ii,  p.  23.  sont  pas  fort  exact  dans  le  calcul  des 
 
 2  Thus  Michaelis,  for  instance,  annees"  &c. — Hist.  Generale  des 
 somewhere  expresses  his  regret  that  Voyages,  vol.  xv,  p.  472. 
 
434  CHAPTER   XIX. 
 
 vmjustifiable.  But  when  we  remember,  that  both  in  her 
 own  eyes  and  in  the  eyes  of  those  among  Avhom  she  lived 
 Hagar  was  innocent  of  all  crime :  that  she  had  shared 
 Abraham's  bed  at  Sarah's  instigation  and  for  Sarah's  sake: 
 that  she  was  the  mother  of  one  of  Abraham's  children,  and 
 was  in  fact  Abraham's  wife:  then  Abraham's  conduct 
 appears  criminal  indeed,  and  to  attribute  it  to  the  counsel 
 of  the  Deity  is  nothing  short  of  blasphemy. 
 
 But  would  his  cotemporaries  have  judged  thus  harshly  of 
 Abraham  ?  Yes,  if  they  ventured  to  judge  him  at  all,  or 
 why  is  a  command  of  the  Deity  put  forth  as  his  excuse, 
 his  warranty,  his  justification  ?  But  how  suppose  that 
 God  would  command  a  crime  ?  Superstitious  man  is  ruled 
 by  his  fears  and  not  by  his  reason ;  his  God  is  not  a  moral, 
 but  a  powerful  Being,  a  Being  arbitrary  and  above  all  lav, 
 rather  than  one  in  whom  all  laAv  i-esides;  a  Being  in  a  word 
 of  whom  he  can  believe  any  absurdity  properly  authenti- 
 cated— it  is  the  safer  course — and  whose  commands  there- 
 fore he  will  hasten  to  obey  whether  they  be  to  thrust 
 out  a  wife  or  to  desolate  an  empire.' 
 
 But  again,  as  much  of  our  own  conduct,  and  particularly 
 our  conduct  in  reference  to  children,  is  determined  by  our 
 expectation  of  certain  results ;  does  not  this  revelation 
 which  with  a  command  of  the  Elohim  unites  a  promise, 
 and  which  in  fact  amounts  but  to  this,  "  Send  your  child 
 away  from  you,  it  will  be  the  better  for  him ;"  does  it  not, 
 because  it  lays  open  the  future  to  Abraham,  justify  him  in 
 his  treatment  of  Ishmael?  And  as  it  induces  him  to  subsume 
 his  own  affections  to  Ishmael's  welfare,  does  it  not  give  a 
 moral  character  to  that  treatment?  And  is  it  not  there- 
 fore the  revelation  of  a  moral  and  merciful  Deity,  and  one 
 to  which  the  most  tender-conscienced  parent  would  even 
 in  our  day  most  gladly  submit  ?  To  this  view  of  the  case 
 I  must  object. 
 
 1.    The  text.     It  is  but  necessary  to  glance  over  the 
 
 ^  e.g.  The  atrocities  of  the  cru-  See  Sismondi's  Hist,  des  Frangais, 
 
 sades  against  the  Saracens,  Vaudois,  part  iii ;  and  Gesta  Dei  per  Francos, 
 
 Albigeois,  Paterins,  &c. ;    were  all  of  which  Gibbon  says,  "some  critics 
 
 sanctioned  hythccommand  of  God?  proi)ose  to  read,  Gesta  Diaboli." 
 
CHAPTER    XIX.  435 
 
 address  of  the  Elohim,  to  perceive  that  His  counsel  is  not 
 given  for  the  sake  of  Ishmael,  but  for  the  sake  of  Isaac  and 
 of  Sarah,  and  that  His  promise  in  favour  of  Ishmael  is  a  mere 
 afterthought,  and  I  might  have  supposed  intended  as  a 
 salve  for  Abraham's  grief,  but  that  it  does  not  extend  to 
 Hagar. 
 
 2.  The  manner  in  which  Abraham  executes  the  counsel  of 
 the  Elohim.  Abraham  "has  .sheep  and  oxen  and  he-asses,  and 
 men-servants  and  maid-servants  and  she-asses  and  camels," 
 and  yet  with  all  his  Avealth  he  can  spare  not  one  servant  to 
 tend  upon  Ms  wife  and  child,  and  no  beast  of  burden  to 
 carry  them  and  their  property :  empty-handed  they  came 
 into  his  tent,  and  empty-handed — nay,  with  a  loaf  of  bread 
 and  a  bottle  of  water — he  drives  them  out  into  the  wilder- 
 ness to  starve.  Does  this  indicate  a  father  who  in  pure  love 
 to  his  son  sends  him  into  the  world  ?^ 
 
 But  Abraham,  it  will  be  answered,  had  faith  in  God.  It 
 is  doubtless  very  pious  of  us  who  are  rich  and  happy  to 
 speak  of  God's  providence  to  the  cold  and  starving  poor, 
 and  to  bid  them  put  their  trust  in  Him  who  clotheth  the 
 lily  and  feedeth  the  raven :  but  I  more  honour  the  man 
 who  in  their  troubles  assists  his  fellows,  and  in  his  oicn 
 lifts  up  his  heart  to  God.  Truly  Abraham  shows  a  faith 
 that  will  remove  mountains  when  Hagar  and  Ishmael  are  in 
 question;  but  where  Avas  his  faith  when  he  feared  lest 
 Sarah's  beauty  should  jeopardy  his  life  ? 
 
 But  is  it  credible  that  Abraham,  who  so  loved  Ishmael 
 that  he  would  gladly  have  made  him  his  heir,  should  now 
 forge  a  revelation  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him  ?  Not  cre- 
 dible most  assuredly,  as  little  credible,  as  that  counsel  such 
 as  these  verses  give  should  have  come  from  God.    I  believe. 
 
 *  Michaelis  says  indeed:  "Man  von  den  Lebensmitteln  die  Rede. 
 
 muss   diesen    Vers    (14)  nicht  so  und  wenn   Hag-ar  auch  sonst 
 
 verstehen,   als   beschriebe    er    die  noch  so  viel  Kostbaikeiten,  &:c 
 
 Ausstaltunff  Ismael's:  denn  das  ist  bey  sich  gehabt  hatte,  so  jjehorte 
 
 wohl  unbefi:reiflich  dass  ein  so  be-  das    doch  nichts   zu    unserer  Ge- 
 
 mittelter  Vater  den  Sohn   den   er  schichte,"  &c.      Incomprehensible 
 
 zartlich  liebtc,  mit  Brod  &c.  abge-  I  grant  it;  but  read  the  last  chapter 
 
 iundeu  hal)en  soUte.    Hier  ist  bios  of  Ezra. 
 
434  CHAPTER   XIX. 
 
 unjustifiable.  But  when  we  remember,  that  both  in  her 
 own  eyes  and  in  the  eyes  of  those  among  whom  she  lived 
 Hagar  was  innocent  of  all  crime:  that  she  had  shared 
 Abraham's  bed  at  Sarah's  instigation  and  for  Sarah's  sake: 
 that  she  was  the  mother  of  one  of  Abraham's  children,  and 
 was  in  fact  Abraham's  Avife:  then  Abraham's  conduct 
 appears  criminal  indeed,  and  to  attribute  it  to  the  counsel 
 of  the  Deity  is  nothing  short  of  blasphemy. 
 
 But  would  his  cotemporaries  have  judged  thus  harshly  of 
 Abraham  ?  Yes,  if  they  ventured  to  judge  him  at  all,  or 
 why  is  a  command  of  the  Deity  put  forth  as  his  excuse, 
 his  warranty,  his  justification  ?  But  how  suppose  that 
 God  w^ould  command  a  crime  ?  Superstitious  man  is  ruled 
 by  his  fears  and  not  by  his  reason ;  his  God  is  not  a  moral, 
 but  a  powerful  Being,  a  Being  arbitrary  and  above  all  law, 
 rather  than  one  in  whom  all  law  resides;  a  Being  in  a  word 
 of  whom  he  can  believe  any  absurdity  properly  authenti- 
 cated— it  is  the  safer  course — and  whose  commands  there- 
 fore he  will  hasten  to  obey  whether  they  be  to  thrust 
 out  a  wife  or  to  desolate  an  empire.^ 
 
 But  again,  as  much  of  our  own  conduct,  and  particularly 
 our  conduct  in  reference  to  children,  is  determined  by  our 
 expectation  of  certain  results;  does  not  this  revelation 
 which  with  a  command  of  the  Elohim  unites  a  promise, 
 and  which  in  fact  amounts  but  to  this,  "  Send  your  child 
 aAvay  from  you,  it  will  be  the  better  for  him ;"  does  it  not, 
 because  it  lays  open  the  future  to  Abraham,  justify  him  in 
 his  treatment  of  Ishmael?  And  as  it  induces  him  to  subsume 
 his  own  aftections  to  Ishmael's  w^elfare,  does  it  not  give  a 
 moral  character  to  that  treatment?  And  is  it  not  there- 
 fore the  revelation  of  a  moral  and  merciful  Deity,  and  one 
 to  which  the  most  tender-conscienced  parent  Avould  even 
 in  our  day  most  gladly  submit  ?  To  this  view  of  the  case 
 I  must  object. 
 
 1.    The  text.     It  is  but  necessary  to  glance  over  the 
 
 ^  e.g.  The  atrocities  of  the  cru-  See  Sismondi's  Hist,  des  Fran^ais, 
 
 sades  agaiusttheSaracens,  Vaudois,  part  iii ;  and  Gesta  Dei  per  Francos, 
 
 Albijjeois,  Paterins,  (V'C. ;    were  all  of  which  Gihbon  saj's,"  some  critics 
 
 sanctioned  hythcconin)and  of  God?  propose  to  read,  Gcsta  Diaboli." 
 
CHAPTER    XIX.  435 
 
 address  of  the  Elohlm,  to  perceive  that  His  counsel  is  not 
 given  for  the  sake  of  Ishmael,  but  for  the  sake  of  Isaac  and 
 of  Sarah,  and  that  His  promise  in  favour  of  Ishmael  is  a  mere 
 afterthought,  and  I  might  have  supposed  intended  as  a 
 salve  for  Abraham's  grief,  but  that  it  does  not  extend  to 
 Hagar. 
 
 2.  The  manner  in  which  Abraham  executes  the  counsel  of 
 theElohim.  Abraham  "lias  sheep  and  oxen  and  he-asses,  and 
 men-servants  and  maid-servants  and  she-asses  and  camels," 
 and  yet  with  all  his  wealth  he  can  spare  not  one  servant  to 
 tend  upon  his  icife  and  child,  and  no  beast  of  burden  to 
 carry  them  and  tlieir  property :  empty-handed  they  came 
 into  his  tent,  and  empty-handed — nay,  with  a  loaf  of  bread 
 and  a  bottle  of  water — he  drives  them  out  into  the  wilder- 
 ness to  starve.  Does  this  indicate  a  father  who  in  pure  love 
 to  his  son  sends  him  into  the  world  ?^ 
 
 But  Abraham,  it  will  be  answered,  had  faith  in  God.  It 
 is  doubtless  very  pious  of  us  who  are  rich  and  happy  to 
 speak  of  God's  providence  to  the  cold  and  starving  poor, 
 and  to  bid  them  put  their  trust  in  Him  who  clotheth  the 
 lily  and  feedeth  the  raven :  but  I  more  honour  the  man 
 who  in  their  troubles  assists  his  fellows,  and  in  his  oicn 
 lifts  up  his  heart  to  God.  Truly  Abraham  shows  a  faith 
 that  will  remove  mountains  when  Hagar  and  Ishmael  are  in 
 question;  but  where  was  his  faith  when  he  feared  lest 
 Sarah's  beauty  should  jeopardy  his  life  ? 
 
 But  is  it  credible  that  Abraham,  who  so  loved  Ishmael 
 that  he  would  gladly  have  made  him  his  heir,  should  now 
 forge  a  revelation  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him  ?  Not  cre- 
 dible most  assuredly,  as  little  credible,  as  that  counsel  svich 
 as  these  verses  give  should  have  come  from  God.    I  believe. 
 
 *  Michaelis  says  indeed :  "  Man  von  den  Lebensmitteln  die  Rede. 
 
 muss   diesen    Vers    (14)  nicht  so  und  wenn   Haoar  auch  sonst 
 
 verstehen,   als   beschriebe    er    die  noch  so  viel  Kostbarkeiten,i*«;c 
 
 Ansstaltnno:  Ismael's:  denn  das  ist  bey  sich  gehabt  hiitte,  so  g-ehnrte 
 
 wohl  unbegreiflich  dass  ein  so  be-  das    doch  nichts   zu    unserer  Ge- 
 
 mittelter  Vater  den  Sohn   den   er  schichte,"  &c.      Incomprehensible 
 
 zartlich  liebtc,  mit  Brod  fkc.  abpe-  I  grant  it;  but  read  the  last  chapter 
 
 fundeu  hal)en  sollte.    Hier  ist  bios  of  Ezra. 
 
436  CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 for  I  take  the  story  as  I  find  It,  that  Aljraham  acted  under 
 some  dehision,  tlie  influence  of  some  dream,  or  some  sud- 
 den impulse,  which  whatever  might  be  its  purport,  he  ever 
 at  any  sacrifice  instantly  and  blindly  obeyed. 
 
 But  Abraham  is  very  old,  he  cannot  live  much  longer, 
 and  should  he  die  suddenly  may  not  Ishmael  seize  upon 
 the  inheritance  of  Isaac,  and  thus  thwart  the  designs  of 
 Providence?  Is  he  not  justified  therefore  in  guarding 
 against  so  untoward  an  event  ?  It  is  very  considerate  ti'uly 
 of  Abraham  thus  to  take  Providence  under  his  immediate 
 protection,  and  quite  right  of  him  doubtless  to  use  what- 
 ever precautions  he  may  think  necessary  to  secure  the  due 
 execution  of  his  last  wiU  and  testament — but  must  he 
 therefore  send  out  Hagar  and  Ishmael  into  the  desert  to 
 starve  ?  Let  us  never  forget  that  it  is  one  of  the  first 
 principles  of  our  morality,  that  we  "  must  not  do  evil  that 
 good  may  come." 
 
 "  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called ;  and  also  of  the  son 
 of  the  bondwoman  will  I  make  a  nation  because  he  is  thy 
 seed."  Isaac,  the  son  of  Sarah  the  free  woman,  is  the 
 father  of  the  Hebrews ;  Ishmael,  the  son  of  Hagar  the 
 bondwoman,  is  one  among  the  recognised  ancestors  of  the 
 Arabians.  Of  these  people  the  one,  as  the  favourite  chil- 
 dren, received  the  rich  and  fertile  Canaan  as  their  portion, 
 while  to  the  other  fell  the  barren  deserts  of  Asia.  The 
 former  however  inherited  their  patrimony  to  little  purpose. 
 Their  annals  tell  us  only  of  their  reverses  in  war  and  in- 
 ternal divisions,  of  their  weakness,  and  of  the  oppression 
 they  endured  either  from  their  own  sovereigns  or  from 
 those  of  their  neighbours  to  whom  they  were  tributary. 
 Their  existence  during  their  long  occupation  of  Palestine 
 scarce  one  gleam  of  freedom  ever  warmed.  And  since 
 their  last  captivity  and  dispersion  they  cannot  be  said  to 
 have  lived,  but  rather  to  have  suffered  one  prolonged  mar- 
 tyrdom,— during  which  this  praise  at  least  is  theirs,  that 
 whatever  may  have  been  the  persecutions  heaped  upon  them, 
 
 »  Vide  Sale's  Koran,  Prelim.  Dis.  5  i,  p.  11. 
 
CHAPTER  XIX.  437 
 
 they  have  still  loudly  professed  the  faitb,  and  still  stoutly 
 maintained  the  characteristics,  of  their  race.  The  latter 
 on  the  other  hand  to  this  day  possess  their  inheritance,  and 
 to  this  day  they  are  as  they  have  ever  been,  a  poor  but  an 
 independent  people,  to  whom  their  independence,  indivi- 
 dual and  political,  is  as  the  air  they  breathe.  Indeed,  un- 
 like the  Hehretcs^  they  may  be  ranked  among  the  o^ypressors, 
 rather  than  among  the  oppressed,  of  mankind ;  though,  like 
 them,  they  continue  the  same  and  unmoved  in  the  midst  of 
 change,  for  they  still  cling  to  the  simple  customs  and  pur- 
 sue the  wandering  life  of  their  fathers.  These  brother 
 people  then,  so  different  in  their  fates  and  characters,  re- 
 semble each  other  in  the  obstinacy  of  their  nationality, 
 and  still  more  strangely  in  the  sort  of  influence  which  they 
 have  severally  exercised  over  Humanity.  For,  though  no 
 inventions  in  the  arts  of  either  peace  or  war,  and  no  great 
 names  of  warriors,  statesmen,  or  philosophers,  illustrate 
 their  existence,'  and  connect  it  with  ours,  yet  have  they 
 each  in  their  long  career  produced  one  great  prophet — the 
 Hebrews  Christ,  the  Arabians  Mahomet — and  that  prophet 
 the  founder  of  a  new  religion,  and  of  one  which  still  sub- 
 sists and  still  occupies  the  attention  and  fills  the  heart  of  a 
 large  portion  of  the  civilized  world. 
 
 But  to  Isaac  belong  the  promise  and  the  blessing.  Ma- 
 homet, the  great  prophet  and  chief  glory  of  Ishmael,  is  but 
 a  disciple  and  successor  of  Moses  the  Hebrew.  Like 
 Moses,  Mahomet  found  himself  one  of  a  race  of  men,  who, 
 though  they  owned  to  a  common  origin,  had  no  common 
 bond  of  union,  and  like  Moses  by  the  aid  of  a  religion  he 
 formed  of  this  crowd  of  people"^  a  nation.     From  Moses 
 
 1  I  speak  of  the  Jews  before  the  — Michaelis,  Brief\vech.vol.i,p.44. 
 dispersion,  of  the  Arabians  before         ^  The  reconciliation  and  union 
 
 Mahomet.  Reiske,  the  great  Arabic  of  the  Arab  tribes  is  considered  by 
 
 scholar,  in  a  letter    to  Michaelis,  the     Mahommetans     arnontr     the 
 
 says  of  them  :  "  Ne  unicus  quidem  strongest  proofs  of  the  divinity  of 
 
 liber  Arabicus  mihi  notus  est,  see-  their  prophet's  mission.      To  that 
 
 culo  post  Christum  octo  antiquior ;  reconciliation  Mahomet  alludes. — 
 
 poemata     eorumque     coUectione  ;  Koran,  vol.  i,  c.  viii,  of  Sale's  trans- 
 
 quales  Aevanos  appellant,  excipio."  lation. 
 
438  CHAPTER    XIX. 
 
 Mahomet  borrowed  his  creation,  and  origin  of  sins  and  the 
 early  history  of  mankind.  Following  in  the  steps  of  Moses, 
 he  built  up  his  creed  on  the  unity  of  the  Godhead ;  and  like 
 Moses  he  rather  affirmed  that  unity  than  gave  such  a  con- 
 ception of  his  Allah  as  made  a  plurality  of  Gods  some- 
 thing altogether  absurd  and  impossible.  From  Moses 
 he  obtained  his  laws,  and  from  the  later  Jews  the  greater 
 number  of  his  religious  doctrines ;  he  thus  appropriated 
 their  angels,  their  scriptures,  their  prophets,  their  resurrec- 
 tion, and  their  day  of  judgment." 
 
 But  Moses  and  Mahomet  looked  at  religion  from  dif- 
 ferent points  of  view,  and  saw  its  end  and  objects  in  different 
 lights.  Moses,  as  the  foster  son  of  the  Pharaohs,  as  learned 
 in  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt,  claimed  a  distinguished  station 
 among  his  people,  and  was  early  called  upon  to  act  as  their 
 counsellor,  leader  and  legislator.  Invested  w^ith  this  high 
 authority,  he  announced  to  them  their  future  religion,  and 
 announced  it  to  them  as  a  state  religion,  and  as  framed  for 
 a  particular  state  and  for  that  state  only.  He  gave  this 
 religion   moreover  a  creed  so  narrow  and    negative,   he 
 
 ^  Mahomet,  however,  thus  ac-  in  thy  strait  way;  then  will  I  come 
 counts  for  the  fall  and  sin  of  Eblis  upon  them  from  before  and  from 
 (Satan).  "  We,  Allah,  created  you  behind,  and  from  their  right  hands 
 (man),  and  afterwards  formed  you;  and  from  their  left ;  and  thou  shalt 
 and  then  said  unto  the  angels,  not  find  the  greater  part  of  them 
 "Worship  Adam  ;  and  they  all  wor-  thankful.  God  said  unto  him,  Get 
 shipped  him,  except  Eblis,  who  was  thee  hence,  despised  and  driven  far 
 not  one  of  those  who  worshipped,  away  ;  verily,  whoever  of  them  shall 
 God  said  unto  him,  What  hindered  follow  thee,  I  will  surely  fill  hell 
 thee  from  worshipping  Adam,  since  with  you  all." — Id.  chap,  vii,  p.  174. 
 I  had  commanded  thee  ?  He  an-  This  tale,  which  has  a  ndiveti  about 
 swered,  I  am  more  excellent  than  it  wanting  to  the  Koran  in  general, 
 he ;  thou  hast  created  me  of  fire,  seems  to  me  quite  out  of  character 
 and  hast  created  him  of  clay.  God  with  the  whole  scope  of  the  Ma- 
 said,  Get  thee  down  from  Paradise,  hommedan  doctrine  and  religion, 
 for  it  is  not  fit  that  thou  behave  Mahomet  was  earnest  and  bitter 
 thyself  proudly  therein  ;  get  thee  against  idolatry,  and  yet  he  makes 
 hence;  thou  shalt  be  one  of  the  Allah  to  punish  Eblis  because  Eblis 
 contemptible.  He  answered,  Give  refused  to  Ite  an  idolater, 
 me  respite  unto  the  day  of  judg-  *•  See  Sale's  Prelim.  Dis.  §  iv, 
 ment.  God  said.  Verily  thou  shalt  and  compare  with  the  Mahomme- 
 be  one  of  those  who  are  respited,  dan  doctrines  those  of  the  later  Jews, 
 The  Devil  said.  Because  thou  hast  described  in  Basnage,  Histoire  dcs 
 depraved  me  I  will  lay  wait  for  men  Juifs,  liv.  iv,  c.  i,  ix,  xxxii. 
 
CHAPTEH  XIX.  439 
 
 limited  it  to  objects  so  purely  temporal,  he  crowded  it 
 with  observances  so  entirely  ceremonial  or  national,  that  we 
 find  it  difficult  to  determine  whether  Moses  merely  estab- 
 lished this  religion  in  order  that  by  a  community  of  wor- 
 ship he  might  induce  in  the  tribe-divided  Israelites  that 
 community  of  sentiment  which  would  constitute  them  a 
 nation  ;  or,  whether  he  only  roused  them  to  a  sense  of  their 
 national  dignity  in  the  hope  that  they  might  then  more 
 faithfully  perform  the  duties  of  priests  and  servants  of 
 Jehovah.  In  other  words,  we  hesitate  to  decide  whether 
 in  the  mind  of  Moses  the  state  was  subsumed  to  the  pur- 
 poses of  religion,  or  religion  to  purposes  of  state. 
 
 Of  Mahomet,  we  can  have  no  such  doubts.  Originally 
 a  servant,  Mahomet'  was  only  accidentally  raised  to  wealth 
 by  a  happy  marriage;  uneducated  and  "illiterate,"^  he 
 made  no  figure  and  was  of  no  rank  among  his  countrymen  ; 
 the  influence  he  possessed  with  them,  whatever  it  may 
 have  been,  was  consequently  not  the  influence  of  a  public 
 man,  that  influence  which  acts  upon  masses ;  but  the  influ- 
 ence of  an  individual, — that  merely  personal  influence  which 
 acts  upon  individuals.  To  individuals  therefore  Mahomet 
 was  compelled  to  proclaim  his  mission,  and  to  preach  his 
 docti-ines ;  his  converts,  wherever  he  could  find  them,  he 
 gathered  round  him ;  he  formed  them  into  a  community 
 of  which  he  was  the  head,  and  upon  that  community  he 
 laid  it  as  an  imperative  duty  to  extend  itself  until  it  shovdd 
 embrace  and  in  him  unite  together  the  whole  earth.  Ma- 
 homet then  was  a  prophet  only,  Moses  both  statesman  and 
 prophet,  and  perhaps  more  statesman  than  prophet ;  Moses 
 legislated  for  a  people  and  founded  a  state  and  a  religion; 
 Mahomet  addressed  mankind  and  founded  a  brotherhood 
 of  which  religion  was  the  tie :  the  one  through  the  state 
 worked  upon  the  individual,  the  other  through  the  indivi- 
 dual on  the  state;  the  former  limited  his  legislation  to, 
 and  provided  for  its  maintenance  among,  his  own  people 
 
 *  See  Sale's  Prelim.  Dis.  §  ii,  for  shall  follow  the  apostle,  the  illite- 
 this  account  of  Mahomet.  rate  prophet"  kc. — vol.  i,  c.  vii,  p. 
 
 ^  He  so  styles  himself :   "Who     197,  and  elsewhere. 
 
440  CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 only;  the  latter  knew  no  people,  no  country,  and  no  limit 
 to  the  spread  of  his  doctrines  and  the  number  of  his  fol- 
 lowers, whom  he  commanded,  by  force^  or  persuasion,  still 
 to  proselytize.  In  the  absence  then  of  all  spiritual  energy, 
 of  any  moral  aims,  this  established  a  religion  which  must 
 live  in  an  active,  that,  one  which  can  only  display  itself  in 
 a  resisting,  passive,  fanaticism. 
 
 Again  JMahomet, — and  let  me  beware  that  I  rank  not 
 among  those  who  have  ever  a  mock,  and  a  scourge,  and  a 
 crown  of  thorns,  for  him  who  devotes  himself  to  another 
 cause  than  that  to  which  they  have  vowed  allegiance, — 
 Mahomet  was  a  man  of  sanguine  temperament,  with  a 
 keen  relish  for  sensual  pleasure ;  but  of  a  religious,  medi- 
 tative, and  imaginative  mind,  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic 
 disposition,  and  a  large  and  noble  heart.  His  apprehension 
 seems  to  have  been  quick,  his  memory  ready  and  tenacious, 
 but  his  understanding  was  acute  and  material  and  practical 
 rather  than  theoretical  and  comprehensive. 
 
 Mahomet  was  born  and  brought  up  among  the  Heathen 
 Koreish  ;  from  their  gross  and  sensual  idolatry  he  however 
 appears  early  to  have  turned  away,  and  to  have  sought  in 
 other  religions*  then  professed  in  Arabia  that  rest  for  his 
 soul  which  his  ancestral  creed  could  not  afford ;  and  he 
 sought  in  vain.  From  the  Jews  Mahomet  heard  of  God — 
 the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Almighty,  the  One ; 
 he  studied  their  law  ;  he  was  captivated  by  the  simplicity 
 of  their  creed  ^  and  their  unity  of  worship  ;  but  their  con- 
 
 ■^  Thus,  "God  hath  purchased  the  Koran,  belonfiiui!;  to  the  Zend  reli- 
 true  believers,  their  souls,  and  their  gion  exclusively, nothing  which  had 
 substance,  promising  them  the  en-  not  already  found  its  way  into  the 
 joyment  of  Paradise  on  condition  Jewish  creed,  I  do  not  think  it  ne- 
 thatthey  fight  for  the  cause  of  God."  cessary  to  suppose  that  Mahomet 
 (vol.  i,  c.  ix,  p.  21]);  and  "  When  had  directed  his  attention  to  that 
 ye  encounter  the  unbelievers  strike  religion  particularly. 
 off  their  heads,  until  ye  make  great  "  Of  the  importance  which  Ma- 
 slaughter  of  them." — Vol.ii,c.xlvii,  hornet  attached  to  a  simplicity  of 
 p.  3<H,  Sic.  creed,  the  praise  he  gives  the  Koran 
 
 *  Sale  adds  to  the  Jewish  and  is  a  proof; in  it  "there  is  no  crooked- 
 Christian  faiths  with  which  Maho-  ness,"  "  it  is  a  straight  rule,"  "  the 
 met  was  acquainted,  the  Magian.  perspicuous  book.'' — vol.  ii,  c.  xviii, 
 As,  however,  1  find  nothing  in  the  ]>.  117;  c.  xxxix,  (Sec. 
 
CHAPTER   XIX.  441 
 
 temptuous  exclusiveness,  their  indiiFerence  to  the  fate  of 
 others,  their  narrow  selfishness,  repelled  him ;  he  instinc- 
 tively felt  that  the  God  of  the  universe  Avas  the  God  of 
 mankind,  and  not  of  a  people ;  and  by  their  own  confession 
 he  knew  that  their  law,  to  Ayliich  they  clung,  was  but  a 
 lesson  preparatory  to  another  and  a  purer  revelation ; — for 
 that  revelation  then  Mahomet  asked,  and  that  revelation 
 the  Christians  boasted  that  they  had  received.  They 
 spoke  to  him  of  God  the  universal  Father,  and  of  their 
 great  prophet  who  had  preached,  not  vain  ceremonies,  but 
 peace  and  good  will  to  man.  He  inquired  into  their 
 views :  and  now  sect  rose  up  to  battle  against  sect,  and  by 
 their  contradictory  doctrines,  their  nice  and  subtle  distinc- 
 tions, they  confounded  his  simple  mind.  He  looked  into 
 their  practice,  —  and  pictures  and  images  of  worshipped 
 saints  and  angels  reminded  him  of  the  rejected  faith  of  the 
 Koreish.     Christianity  was  no  religion  for  him. 
 
 Mahomet  retired  into  himself.  One  great  truth — the 
 vmity  of  the  Godhead — had  struck  deep  root  into  his  soul : 
 that  truth  he  dwelt  upon,  cultivated  and  developed,  till  it 
 at  length  embraced  and  occupied  his  whole  being.  To  the 
 one  God  he  devoted  his  thoughts,  his  energies,  his  life; 
 and  the  one  God — for  none  shared  his  faith — in  solitude  he 
 worshipped.  In  solitude  too  he  no  doubt  often  mourned 
 over  the  lost  and  abject  condition  of  his  idolatrous  kinsfolk 
 and  countrymen,  and  often  remembered  the  great  prophets 
 who  in  olden  times  had  so  fearlessly  preached  God  to  their 
 heathen  neighbours ;  and  then  doubts  of  his  own  ability,  or 
 a  fear  of  injuring  the  cause  for  which  he  would  have 
 oifered  himself  a  willing  martyr,  alone  deterred  him  from 
 imitating  their  example.  But  daily  that  example  grew 
 upon  him,  and  daily  took  a  stronger  hold  of  his  imagina- 
 tion ;  daily  he  was  more  occupied  with  this  his  great  duty, 
 less  with  himself;  and  he  now  only  waited  some  call,  some 
 inspiration — when  at  length  he  heard,  or  seemed  to  hear, 
 the  voice  "  of  the  angel  of  revelations" '  proclaiming  him 
 the  ambassador  and  apostle  of  the  Most  High. 
 
 '  Gabriel.  See  note  9  to  chap,  ii     appearance  of  Gabriel,   ordainin;;- 
 of  Sale's  Koran,  p.  18.     This  first     Mahomet  to  his  hip:h  mission,  is 
 
 3l 
 
442  CHAPTER   XIX. 
 
 But  Mahomet  was  a  man  of  a  material  and  sensuous 
 mind,  and  belonged  to  a  material  and  sensuous  age  and 
 nation ;  and  his  religion,  like  himself,  his  nation,  and  his 
 age,  is  material  and  sensuous.  His  Deity,  for  instance,  is 
 ever  great  by  his  visible  works,  by  his  earth  and  his 
 heavens,  and  by  his  innumerable  creatures  and  his  power 
 over  their  fortunes  and  happiness  ;  he  is — though  it  must 
 be  allowed  that  wisdom,  mercy,  goodness,  are  not  sparingly 
 attributed  to  him — a  mere  omnipotence.^  And  because  he 
 is  infinitely  raised  above  all  other  things,  because  he  is 
 accountable  to  none  for  his  acts,  he  is  a  merely  arhitrary 
 omnipotence ;  i.  e.  mere  brute,  uncivilized,  uneducated  man, 
 with  the  power  of  a  God,  or  a  merely  material  God.  And 
 as  a  material  God  he  is  shown  to  us,  either  seated  on  his 
 throne  above  the  heavens  with  the  great  book  of  his 
 decrees  ever  before  him,  or  descending  borne  up  by  angels 
 to  judge  the  gathered  nations.^  As  a  material  God  too  he 
 creates  nothing  but  matter  ;  his  nearest  attendants  are 
 therefore  material  beings,"  and  his  ministers  winged  palp- 
 able^ forms,  who  wait  upon  us  and  watch  us  and  in  a  good 
 legible  hand  write  down  every  our  minutest  action,  and 
 thus  prepare  the  tablets  which  must  at  the  last  great  day 
 decide  our  fates.  And  as  a  material  God  he  has  also  set 
 apart  for  us  a  local  paradise,  where — and  whose  soul  sickens 
 not  at  the  prospect  of  such  an  eternity? — black-eyed  houris, 
 and  cool  gardens,  and  sealed  wines,  and  delicious  fruits, 
 and  never-failing  appetites,  await  the  believer,  made  merry 
 
 from  Abulfeda  (de  VitaMoh.  c.  vii,  vie  of  fire,  and  bast  created  him  of 
 
 p.    14,    15)    quoted  by  Schrockb,  clay." — Cbap.  xxxviii. 
 Christlic.   Kirchgesch.  vol.  xix,  p.         ^  "  Praise  be  to  God,  wbo  raaketh 
 
 329,  330.  the    angels    his    messengers,   fur- 
 
 '■^  I  mean  that  in  the  Koran  the  nished  with  two,  three,  and  four 
 
 omnipotence  of  the  Deity  is  so  pro-  pair  of  wings.''  (c.  xxxv.)    "  When 
 
 minently  put  forward,  that  all  his  the  two  angels  deputed  to  take  an 
 
 other  attributes  are  swallowed  up  account  of  a  man's  behaviour  take 
 
 in  it.  an  account  thereof;  one  sitteth  on 
 
 ^  Vide  chap.  Ixix,  &c.   I  call  the  the  right    hand,  and  the  other  on 
 
 Allah  of  Mahomet  material,  because  the  left:  he  uttereth   not  a   word 
 
 he  is  not  spirit.     Vide  observations  but  there  is  with  him  a  watcher 
 
 on  cliap.  i,  26.  ready  to  note  it." — Chapter  L,  kc. 
 
 *  Thus  Eblis,"  Thou  hast  created 
 
CHAPTER    XIX.  443 
 
 by  the  sight  of  a  Divina  Cormnedia  indeed — the  devouring 
 flames  and  intolerable  tortures  of  hell.s 
 
 Again,  because  Allah  is  omnipotence,  and  because 
 change  is  a  characteristic  of  weakness,  the  will  and 
 decrees  of  Allah  are  necessarily  fixed  and  unalterable ; 
 but  because  Allah  is  an  arbitrary  omnipotence,  his  will  as 
 addressed  to  man  wears  the  form  of  a  command'  rather 
 than  of  a  law ;  i.  e.  appears  as  something  to  be  obeyed,  not 
 examined ;  as  something  which  has  its  reason  in  its  origin, 
 and  not  in  itself.  Hence  a  morality  of  mere  regulations,^ 
 devoid  of  all  spiritual  life  and  freedom,  and  a  providence 
 which  as  it  is  reduced  to  a  destiny  stays  all  intellectual 
 inquiry  and  renders  all  human  effort  unavailing,  and  thus 
 induces  a  hopeless  content,  or  a  patient  endurance. 
 
 But  Allah  is  also  a  beneficent  omnipotence  ;  he  desires 
 the  good  of  his  creatures,  and  to  insure  it  he  has  at  various 
 times  and  through  his  prophets  revealed  to  them  his  will 
 and  purposes.  Of  these  prophets,  Mahomet  appears  as 
 the  last  and  the  crown.  To  him  Allah  delivered  not, 
 as  to  others,  fragments  of  his  law,  but  the  eternal  book  of 
 the  divine  decrees — the  Koran,  which  he  bid  him  publish 
 to  mankind.  To  this  book  then  Mahomet  ever  points  as 
 an  incontrovertible  evidence  of  his  mission.  He  boasts 
 the  music  of  its  sentences,  and  the  majestic  beauty  of  its 
 style ;  and  he  is  awed  by  the  sublimity  of  its  doctrines, 
 and  the  simple  yet  unfathomable  wisdom  of  its  precepts. 
 To  its  study  he  calls  uj^on  his  followers  to  devote  tliem- 
 selves ;  and  after  a  lapse  of  centuries  the  Koran  is  still  for 
 a  large  portion  of  the  civilized  world  literally  the  Book  of 
 Life,  the  well-spring  of  faith,  whence  man  draws  advice  in 
 
 ^Verily     the     righteous     shall  hell."— Chap.  Ixxxiv.   See  the  last 
 
 dwell  among  delights  :  seated   on  chapters  of  the  Koran  generally, 
 
 couches  they  shall  behold  olijects  of  '  Hence  the  contradictions  which 
 
 pleasure ;  thou  shalt  see  in   their  are  occasionally  met  with  in  the 
 
 faces  the  brightness  of  joy.     They  Koran.    Hence  too,  that  command 
 
 shall  be  given  to  drink  of  pure  wine  which  occasioned  the  fall  of  Eblis, 
 
 sealed One  day  the  true  be-  &c. — Note  ^  p.  438,  supra. 
 
 lievers  in  their  turn  shall  laugh  the  ^  See  Koran,  passim,  c.  ii,  p.  30; 
 
 infidels  to  scorn  ;  lying  on  coaches,  c.  iii,  p.  75;  c.  vii,  p.  170;  c.  viii, 
 
 they  shall  look  down  upon  them  in  p.  206;  and  c.  xlii,  p.  341,  S:c. 
 
444 
 
 CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 perplexity,  comfort  in  tribulation,  and  hope  and  peace  in 
 death.     For  the  Mahommedan  such  is  the  Koran. 
 
 I  have  read  the  sacred  books  of  several  other  people : 
 much  in  them  I  have  met  with  which  I  judged  trivial  and 
 even  absurd ;  but  in  all  I  have  here  and  there  been  stayed 
 by  some  sentence  full  of  light  and  meaning,  some  cry 
 heaved  up  from  the  depths  of  the  human  heart  to  which 
 the  human  heart  responded,  some  truth  so  all-embracing 
 so  inexhaustible,  that  I  wonder  not  man  received  it  as 
 divine.  The  Koran  alone  I  have  toiled  through,  and 
 found  all  barren.  I  have  been  wearied  by  its  want  of 
 order  and  method,  by  its  frequent  repetitions,  and  its  dis- 
 putatious dogmatism.  Its  terrible  denunciations  against 
 unbelievers,  and  the  joy  with  which  it  seems  to  utter  them, 
 disgust  me :  and  I  cannot  admire  those  much-prized  de- 
 scriptions of  a  Deity  who  is  merely  material  and  sensual, 
 human  mighty.^     It  is  not  to  power  that  I  would  pay 
 
 "  Though  my  indifference  to  the 
 alledged  beauties  of  the  Koran — 
 beauties  which  millions  of  men 
 assert  are  such  that  they  "  are  in- 
 imitable by  human  pen,  and  can 
 have  none  but  a  divine  origin'' — 
 evidences  only  either  that  I  do  not 
 rightly  apprehend  the  bool;,  or  that 
 my  taste  is  sectarian  or  national 
 rather  than  catholic ;  yet  I  think  it 
 right  to  annex  one  or  two  cele- 
 brated passages,  in  order  that  every 
 one  may  judge  for  himself.  The 
 first  relates  to  the  Deity,  and  is  re- 
 garded as  the  sublimest  piece  in 
 the  Koran  :  "  God '.  there  is  no 
 God  but  He;  the  Living,  the  Self- 
 subsisting!  neither  slumber  nor 
 sleep  seizeth  Him ;  to  Him  be- 
 longeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and 
 earth.  Who  is  he  can  intercede 
 with  Him  but  through  His  good 
 pleasure  ?  He  knoweth  that  wliich 
 is  past,  and  that  which  is  to  come 
 unto  them,  and  they  shall  not 
 comprehend  any  of  His  knowledge, 
 but  so  far  as  He  pleaseth.  His 
 throne  is  extended  over  heaven  and 
 
 earth,  and  the  preservation  of  both 
 is  no  burden  to  Him.  He  is  the 
 High,  the  Mighty."  (c.  ii,  p.  45-6.) 
 The  second  is  the  passage,  the 
 beauty  of  which  is  said  so  to  have 
 struck  the  poet  Labid,  then  an 
 idolater  (vide  Sale's  Prelim.  Dis.  p. 
 72),  that  he  immediately  professed 
 himself  a  disciple  of  Mahomet, 
 "  declaring  that  such  words  could 
 proceed  from  an  inspired  person 
 only":  "  There  are  some  who  say, 
 We  believe  in  God  and  the  last 
 day,  but  they  deceive  themselves 
 only,  and  are  not  sensible  thereof. 
 
 These  are  the  men  who  have 
 
 purchased  error  at  the  price  of  true 
 direction  ;  but  their  traffic  has  not 
 been  gainful,  neither  have  they  been 
 rightly  directed.  They  are  like 
 unto  one  who  kindleth  a  fire,  and 
 when  it  hath  enlightened  all  around 
 him,  God  taketh  away  their  light 
 and  leaveth  them  in  darkness ;  they 
 shall  not  see ;  they  are  deaf,  dumb, 
 and  blind,  therefore  they  will  not 
 repent.  Or  like  a  stormy  cloud 
 from  heaven  fraught  with  darkness, 
 
CHAPTER   XIX.  445 
 
 adoration,  or  I  must  worship  Eblis,  but  to  God,  in  whom 
 all  perfection  dweUs,  and  through  whom  alone  we  appre- 
 hend (though  so  dimly)  all  truth  and  excellence.  And 
 such  a  God  Allah  is  not. 
 
 Verses  14-21.  At  this  time  Ishmael  must  have  been 
 a  youth  from  thirteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  yet  the 
 whole  tenor  of  the  narrative  would  lead  one  to  suppose 
 that  he  was  a  mere  child,  almost  unable  to  take  care  of 
 liimself,  and  certainly  incapable  of  bearing  either  fatigue  or 
 privation. 
 
 Verses  22-32.  Abimelech,  recognising  the  high  favour 
 in  which  Abraham  stands  with  God,  and  observing  the 
 rapid  increase  of  his  wealth  and  power,  desires  to  enter 
 into  a  treaty  with  him,  by  which,  in  consideration  of  cer- 
 tain services  already  rendered,  Abraham  shall  promise  to 
 contrive  nothing  against  the  land  of  Abimelech  or  against 
 Abimelech  himself  and  his  descendants,  for  two  genera- 
 tions. Before  however  Abraham  binds  himself  to  these 
 conditions,  he  requu^es  Abimelech  to  restore  "  a  well  of 
 water," — even  in  our  day  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes 
 of  war  ^  in  these  countries — of  which  he  complains  that  Abi- 
 melech's  servants  had  deprived  him.  Abimelech  pleads 
 his  ignorance  of  the  whole  matter,  and  disavows  the  con- 
 duct of  his  servants,  and  then  by  a  contract,  of  which  the 
 acceptance  of  seven  ewe  lambs  is  the  seal,  acknowledges 
 the  right  of  Abraham  to  the  well. 
 
 Abimelech  acknowledges  Abraham's  title  to  the  well : 
 
 thunder,  and   lightning,  they  put  their  hearing  and  their  sight."  (Vol. 
 
 their  fingers  in  their  ears,  because  i,  c.  ii,  p.  4.)     These  passages  are 
 
 of  the  noise  of  the  thunder,  for  fear  above  the  average  ;  but  even  these 
 
 of  death.    God  encompasseth   the  no  way  induce  me  to  revoke,  but 
 
 infidels;     the    lightning    wanteth  rather  confirm,  my  opinion, 
 but  little  of  taking  away  their  sight;         l  "The  most  frequent  cause  of 
 
 so  often  as   it  enlighteneth   them  war  among  the  Arabians  is  a  jea- 
 
 they  walk  therein,  but  when  dark-  lousy   about   watering-places    and 
 
 ness  cometh  on  them,  they  stand  pasture-grounds."  —  Burckhardt's 
 
 still,  and  if  God  so    pleased,  he  Notes  on  the  Bedouins,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 would  certainly    deprive  them  of  146. 
 
446  CHAPTER   XIX. 
 
 he  sets  up  no  counter-claim  of  his  own  founded  on  a  pre- 
 vious proprietorship  of  the  soil ;  he  seems  to  consider,  that 
 that  which  labour  alone  had  made  of  value  Avas  honestly 
 the  property  of  him  Avho  had  employed  that  labour  upon 
 it ;  or  he  regards  that  permission  which  he  gave  to  Abra- 
 ham— "  My  land  is  before  thee,  dwell  where  it  pleaseth 
 thee," — as  a  permission  to  settle  in  any  tract  of  country 
 which  was  yet  vinoscupled. 
 
 In  these  early  times  it  would  appear  that  property  in 
 land  was  of  two  kinds.  The  land  which  immediately  sur- 
 rounded the  walls  of  any  city  was  probably  originally  dis- 
 tributed among  its  citizens,  and,  unless  it  was  exchanged 
 for  something  else,  descended  like  any  other  property,  as 
 houses,  goods,  and  chattels,  from  the  father  to  his  children. 
 It  was,  both  from  the  conveniency  of  its  situation  and  the 
 facility  with  which  its  crops  might  be  protected  and 
 gathered  in,  generally  employed  in  tillage — it  was  the 
 granary  of  the  city.  The  rest  of  the  country,  a  large 
 tract  (for  in  these  days  the  population  was  thin,  the  cities 
 few  and  far  between)  was  considered  as  a  sort  of  common, 
 on  which  the  citizens  had  the  right  of  pasturage :  and 
 this  right,  as  there  was  room  enough  and  to  spare,  they 
 seem  at  times  to  have  extended  to  strangers.  But  as 
 in  the  course  of  years  the  same  family  again  and  again 
 returned  to  the  same  spot,  and  as  it  there  from  time  to  time 
 erected  conveniences  for  its  herdsmen  and  cattle  and  dug 
 wells  and  planted  groves,  it  began  to  look  on  the  tract  it 
 usually  occupied  as  its  country,  to  claim  a  prescriptive 
 right  to  it,  and  to  regard  any  attempt  to  settle  upon  it  as 
 an  intrusion  which  was  to  be  repelled.  In  this  state  of 
 things,  where  every  body  arrogates  a  right  which  no  one 
 acknowledges,  i.  e.  where  he  who  invades  claims  an  equal 
 right  with,  and  denies  the  exclusive  right  of,  him  who 
 defends,  such  quarrels  as  these  between  the  herdsmen  of 
 Abraham  and  Abimelech  must  often  take  place,  though 
 they  will  rarely  be  pacified  by  so  equitable  a  decision 
 as  that  of  Abimelech's,  a  decision  which  in  fact  recognises 
 a  new  order  of  things,  by  admitting  that  occupancy  consti- 
 tutes a  title  to  i)roperty. 
 
CHAPTER  XIX.  447 
 
 "Wherefore  he  called  that  place  Beersheba."  This 
 name  has  two  significations,  and  both  of  them  applicable  to 
 the  spot  in  which  this  transaction  took  place ; — it  signifies 
 either  the  "  well  of  the  oath,"  or  the  "  well  of  the  Seven."" 
 
 Verse  33.  Abraham  plants  a  grove  in  Beersheba,  and 
 calls  there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  law^  forbids 
 the  Hebrews  to  "  plant  a  grove  or  any  trees  near  unto  the 
 altar  of  the  Lord."  But  why,  we  would  naturally  inquire, 
 was  that  prohibited  to  the  descendants  which  was  per- 
 mitted to  the  ancestor  ?  Moses  perhaps  desired  to  distin- 
 guish the  service  offered  to  his  God  from  that  which  was 
 offered  to  the  neighbouring  idols,  particularly  Baal."  Per- 
 haps too  he  feared  to  call  around  the  altar  of  God  a  crowd 
 of  idle  devotees,  who  would  come  there  not  to  worship  but 
 to  enjoy  themselves,  and  whom  the  cool  and  pleasant  shade 
 would  soon  allure  to  all  sorts  of  licentious  freedoms.  And 
 perhaps  too,  as  we  have  before  observed,  he  conceived  that 
 if  altars  were  allowed  to  be  raised  and  groves  planted  any 
 where,  the  unity  of  God  would  be  lost,  and  a  separate  and 
 distinct  God  would  possess  every  shrine. 
 
 But  why  should  Abraham  build  altars  and  plant  groves  ? 
 Wherever  Abraham's  tent  was,  there  was  Jehovah;  and 
 whatever  altars  he  raised,  he  raised  them  still  to  one  and 
 the  same  Deity.  But  when  Abraham's  descendants  had 
 grown  into  a  people,  though  Jehovah  might  accompany 
 them  as  a  people  in  their  wanderings,  yet  as  He  could  not 
 rest  In  every  tent.  He  chose  an  ark  for  His  dwelling,  and 
 afterwards  a  temple,  whence  He  overlooked  if  He  could 
 not  occupy  the  whole  land. 
 
 "  And  Abraham  called  there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
 the  everlasting  God,"  i.  e.  there  invoked  or  prayed  to  the 
 everlasting  God.^     But  while  we  give  the  probable,  and 
 
 "  Marginal  reading',  and  Micha-     Alii  hypallagen  hie  ponunt; 
 
 elis'  Commentary,  ad  h.  1.  nomen  Dei,  h.e.  Deus  nominis  seu 
 
 ^  Deut.  xvi,  21.  noniinatissimusetlaudatissimus.... 
 
 '' Judges  iii,  7;  2  Kiugsxvii,  16.  Sic  invocare  nomen  Domini,  dili- 
 
 *  "  Redundare  dicitur  nomen  in  gere  nomen  Domini,  psallerenomini 
 
 phrasi,  nomen  Dei,  h.e.  ipse  Deus.  Dei,    est  verura   Deum  invocare, 
 
448  CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 perhaps  original,  meaning  of  this  form  of  expression,  we 
 must  not  omit  to  note  a  superstition,  seemingly  connected 
 with  it,  which,  though  possibly  borrowed  from  some  neigh- 
 bouring nation,  obtained  among  the  Jews.  With  them 
 then  the  name  of  the  Deity  was  not  like  any  other  word, 
 a  mere  sound  to  which  common  consent  had  given  a  par- 
 ticular signification,  but  it  was  a  word  which  partook  of 
 the  nature  and  power  of  the  Being  it  was  employed  to  de- 
 note.   It  was 
 
 I.  A  holy  word,  consecrated,  and  applicable  only,  to 
 God  :*  a  word  not  be  lightly  uttered,  and  not  to  be  uttered 
 by  profane  lips  or  to  profane  ears  f  indeed  it  could  be 
 pronounced  only  in  God's  temple,  on  the  day  of  purifica- 
 tion, when  the  high  priest  entered  into  the  holy  of  holies." 
 It  was, 
 
 II.  A  word  of  power.  It  is  presented  to  us  as  the  great 
 centre  round  which  all  things  pressed,  on  Avhicli  all  things 
 depended :  it  controlled  all  spirits,  and  had  sovereign  au- 
 thority over  all  creatures,  it  ruled  in  fact  the   universe.^ 
 
 diligere,  laudare." — Glassii  Philol.  sapientia  purgatis  fas  est  audire 
 
 Sacra,  toin.  i,  lib.  iii,  p.  671.  nominareque   in    saeris,    prjeterea 
 
 *  Exodus  XX.  7.     In  the  Parsee  nemini,"   &c.  —  De    Vita    Mosis, 
 
 faith,  among  the  sins  .enumerated  lib.  iii,  p.  684,   Pans  edit.    Jose- 
 
 in   the   Patet   de   I'lran,   is   this:  phus    also     narrates,     that    when 
 
 "  Pour   avoir   donne   le  nom  des  Moses  asks   the   name   of   God — 
 
 Izeds  aux  Dews,et  celui  des  Dews  'O  Otoe  ai^fiaivei  ti]v  kavrov  Tr^our]- 
 
 aux  Izeds." — Zend.   vol.  ii,  p.  46.  yo^iav,  ov  irpoTe^ov  hq  avBpbJTrovQ 
 
 Is  not  this  very  nearly  the  Jewish  TraptXQovffav  vepi  r/c  oi^  juoi  Sre^eg 
 
 law   of    blasphemy,   according    to  enrsiv.      "  Turn    Deus    nomen   ei 
 
 Maimonides  ?     "  Quicunque   con-  enunciat  hominibus  non  antea  pa- 
 
 fiteturidolorumcultumverumesse,  tefactum,  quod  effari   niihi   nefas 
 
 etiamsi  ipse  idolis  non  servat,  certe  est." — Antiq.   vol.  ii,   c.  xii,  §  iv. 
 
 ille  abnegat  et  blasphemat  nomen  Among  the  Egyptians,  this  super- 
 
 honorabile   ac   formidabile." — De  stition    seems   to    have    obtained. 
 
 Idolat.  chap,  ii,  §  9,  Voss's  transla-  Vide  Herod,  lib.  ii,  §  61, 170,  Sec. 
 tion;    and  see,    for  traces  of  the        « n  l^  i^j  defend  de  prononcer 
 
 same  superstition,    Koran,  vol.  i,  ce  grand  nom,  excepte  dans  son 
 
 chap,  vii,  pp.  201-202,  Sale's  trans-  temple,  lorsque  le  souverain  sacri- 
 
 lation.  ficateurentrait  dans  le  lieu  tres- 
 
 ■^  Philo    regards    Jehovah   as   a  saint  au  jour  des  propitiations." — 
 
 name  -.  o  /^oj/otg  roig  ibra  Kai  yXwr-  Basnage,  Hist,  des  Juifs,  lib.  iii, 
 
 rav  (!o<pia  KtKaBapf.uvoig  Be^iig  aKov.  chap,  xiii,  §  v. 
 £iv  KUL  Xtyeiv  tv  nytoig-  aXKqj  S'ov-        »  The  cabbalists  of  the  name  Je- 
 
 dtvi  TO  Tvapanav  ovSafiov,  he hovah.     "  Ce  nom  a  une  autorite 
 
 "  Quod    solis    aures    linguamque  souveraine  suv  toutes  les  creatures. 
 
CHAPTER    XIX. 
 
 449 
 
 And  it  was 
 
 III.  A  word  which  could  be  replaced  by  no  other  word  ; 
 it  was  therefore  untranslateable  and  unchangeable ;  his 
 name  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  Deity  as  his  attributes, 
 and  a  knowledge  of  it  was  considered  essential  to  his  true 
 service.' 
 
 From  the  reverence  with  which  the  divine  names  were 
 regarded,  we  may  deduce  several  superstitions  once  current, 
 and  the  traces  of  which  are  still  to  be  found  among  us. 
 And 
 
 1st.  Because  the  names  given  to  the  Deity  were  names 
 revealed  by  the  Deity  himself,  and  revealed  only  after 
 long  ages ;  and  as  they  were  moreover  names  seldom  pro- 
 nounced; men  concluded  that  "the  gods  delighted  in  privacy, 
 in  the  concealment  of  their  names." ^ 
 
 2ndly.  Because  a  certain  power  was  attached  to  the  re- 
 vealed names  of  the  Deity,  a  similar  power  Avas  naturally 
 enough  extended  to  all  revealed  words,  independently  of 
 
 C'est  lui  qui  gouverne  le  monde 
 
 par  sa  puissance Le  nom  de 
 
 Jehovah  influe  sur  las  autres  noras 
 et  surnoms ;  il  se  fait  une  impres- 
 sion de  ces  noms  sur  les  princes 
 qui  en  dependent,  et  des  princes 
 sur  les  nations  qui  vivent  sous  leur 
 protection." — Basuage,  id.  ib.  In 
 the  Zend  creed  also,  Ormuzd  thus 
 addresses  Zoroaster :  "  Si  vous  vou- 
 lez  rendre  malades  ct  briser  les 
 Dews  hommes,  les  magiciens,  &c. 
 prononcez  et  recitez  mon  nom  dans 
 toute  son  etendue,"  &c. — lescht 
 d'Ormuzd,  Zend.  vol.  ii,  p.  146-8. 
 In  the  Brahminical  faith,  simi- 
 larly, "  The  triliteral  monosyllable 
 
 is  an  emblem  of  the  Supreme 
 
 All  rites  ordained  in  the  Veda... 
 pass  away,  but  that  which  passes 
 not  away  is  the  syllable  Om,  the 
 symbol  of  God,"  &c.— Menu,  vol. 
 ii,  p.  84-85 ;  and  see  supra,  chap,  i, 
 p.  140,  note. 
 
 '  Of  the  names  of  God,  Agrippa 
 (de  Occul.  Phil.  lib.  iii,  chap,  xi. 
 
 p.  288-9,  fol.  1533):  "Haec  sunt 
 occulta,  abscondita  de  quibus  difB- 
 cillimum  est  adferre  judicium  et 
 completum  tradere  scientiam,  nee 
 in  ulla  alia  lingua  quam  in  He- 
 braica  intelligi  et  doceri  possunt," 
 &c.  And  again  :  "  There  are  cer- 
 tain names,  says  Psellus,  among 
 all  nations,  delivered  to  them  by 
 God,  which  have  an  unspeakable 
 power  in  divine  rites ;  change  not 
 these  into  the  Greek  dialect,  for 
 they  are  then  ineffectual." — Stan- 
 ley, Hist.  Phil,  part  xix,  p.  47; 
 Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  Oracles 
 of  Zoroaster,  No.  155,  p.  271 ;  and 
 see  Jamblichus  de  Mysteriis,  chap. 
 V,  §  viii.  And  Basnage,  ut  sup. 
 "  On  voit  par-la  qu'il  est  de  la  der- 
 niere  importance  de  savoir  la  sig- 
 nification des  noms  que  Dieu  porte, 
 puisque  en  s'y  trompant  on  se 
 damneroit  au  lieu  de  se  sauver." 
 
 ^  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  viii, 
 p.  425  ;  Judges  xiii.  18  ;  and  note, 
 supra,  from  Agrippa. 
 
 3  31 
 
450  CHAPTER    XIX. 
 
 Hence  the  moral  and  even  sometimes  physical  power  sup- 
 posed to  reside  in  certain  holy  books,  which  men  are  or- 
 dained to  read  or  to  copy/  and  in  formulary  prayers,  which 
 among  some  people,  to  be  efficacious  must  be  recited,  while 
 among  others  it  is  sufficient  to  swallow  them  in  pills,  or  roU 
 them  round  on  cylinders/ 
 
 3rdly.  Because  on  account  of  age  or  for  some  other  rea- 
 son these  revealed  words  became  generally  unintelligible, 
 tn 
 
 1st.  To  look  on  obscurity,  unintelligibleness,  as 
 among  the  characteristics  of  the  divine  language. 
 Because  God  spake  darkly,  they  heard  God's  voice 
 in  unknown  tongues,  in  the  cries  of  madmen  and 
 the  babblings  of  idiots.  They  went  at  length  so  far 
 as  to  hold  idiotcy  as  something  sacred,  and  its  prayers 
 as  more  especially  efficacious.^     And 
 
 2ndly.  To  give  over  the  interpretation  of  the 
 divine  language  to  a  particular  set  of  men,  priests, 
 who  made  that  language  their  study,  and  a  know- 
 ledge of  it  essential  to  the  exercise  of  the  priestly 
 office,  and  who  thus  raised  themselves  to  the  dignity 
 of  a  learned  and  separate  class,  which  while  it  pur- 
 
 ^  Sucli  books  are  the  Vedas,  the  Gesch.  d.  Alt.  Welt.  vol.  i.     Menu 
 
 Zendavesta,    the    Chinese    Kings  says :    "  This   holy   Scripture,   the 
 
 (Mem.  Chin.  vol.  ix,  p.  350),  the  Veda,   is  a  sure   refuge   even   for 
 
 Dordshe-Dshodho  of  the  Kalmucks,  those  who  understand  not  its  mean- 
 
 ofwhich  books  Pallas  tells  us, "  De-  ing."  —  vol.  vi,    p.  84.     See   also 
 
 ten  Kraft  auch  ruchlose  Seelen  von  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  viii,  p.  389. 
 
 denen   verdienten   Strafen   befreyt.  The  pills  and  cylinders,  which  are 
 
 wenn  sie  dieselben  in  ihrem  Leben  certainly  an  improvement  on  this 
 
 fleissig  gelesen  oder  abgeschrieben  sort  of  formulary  service,  are  used 
 
 oderauchbey  sich  getragenhaben."  by  the  Kalmucks. — Pallas,  Reise, 
 
 — Reise,  vol.  i,  p.  349.  vol.  i,  p.  357. 
 
 ■•  They  may  be  recited  without         *  Idiotcy  is  held  sacred  through- 
 
 any  attention  to,  or  knowledge  of,  out  the  East.     In  Africa,  at  Lo- 
 
 their  contents,   as  when  they  are  ango,  "  Les  Albinos,"  according  to 
 
 recited  in  a  language   with   which  De  Pauw,  "  font  la  priere  devant 
 
 one   is   unacquainted, — as   in   the  le  roi ;  cette  mode  si  choquante  de 
 
 Romish   liturgy.     Schlosser   says,  faire  reciter  les  prieres  par  des  im- 
 
 "  that   the   prayers   of    the   Vedas  becilles  vient  de  I'opinion  qu'on  a 
 
 may  be   read   indifferently,   back-  de   leur    saintete."  —  Americains, 
 
 wards  or  forwards; — in  the  words  vol.  ii,  p.  20.  A  modification  of  this 
 
 is  the  magic  power."— Indien,  §  ii ;  superstition  existed  also  in  Greece. 
 
CHAPTER   XIX.  451 
 
 sued  all  plans  for  its  own  aggrandisement,  at  the 
 same  time  gave  a  certain  development  and  con- 
 sistency to  the  doctrines  it  professed  to  make 
 known." 
 
 In  this  chapter,  verse  1  and  verses  33,  34,  bear  the  name 
 of  Jehovah. 
 
 Verse  1,  "  And  the  Lord  visited  Sarah  as  he  had  said," 
 &c.  declares  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  made  by  Jeho- 
 vah in  c.  xviii.  "I  will  certainly  return  unto  thee,  and 
 Sarah  shall  have  a  son." 
 
 Verses  33,  34,  Eichhorn'  regards  as  a  supplement  to  the 
 history  of  Abraham's  sojourn  among  the  Philistines.  Is 
 not  however  verse  33  one  of  those  verses  which  identify 
 Jehovah  with  the  Elohim,  Avhicli  make  of  them  one  and 
 the  same  being  ?  a  sort  of  verse  which,  even  supposing 
 Eichhorn's  view  of  the  two  original  narratives  to  be  correct, 
 must  occasionally  have  been  met  with,  if  not  in  the  Elohim, 
 at  least  in  the  Jehovah  narrative  ? 
 
 The  remainder  of  the  chapter  is  written  with  the  name 
 Elohim,  and  refers  to,  and  continues  the  previous  Elohim 
 narrative.  Thus  the  second  verse  relates  the  accomplish- 
 ment  of  the  Elohim  promise  in  chapter  xvii,  21 ;  while 
 
 *  The  sacred  language  of  India  p.  425.)     This  language  is  Geez,  a 
 
 is  the  Sanscrit,  known  to  the  Brah-  dialect   of    the    Semitic ;  see  art. 
 
 mins  ;  of  the   Parsees,  the  Zend,  ^thinpen  and  Amarische  Sprache, 
 
 known  to  the  Moheds  ;  of  the  Jews,  by  Gesenius,  in  Ersh  and  Gruber. 
 
 the  Hebrew,  known  to  the  Rabbis.  And  in  Otaheite,  according  to  Cook, 
 
 Besides  these  people,  the  Egyptians  the  language  used  in  devotional  ex- 
 
 also  had  a  sacred  alphabet  and  Ian-  ercises  is  different  from  that  which 
 
 giiage  known  to  the  priests.- — War-  is  used  in  common.  (Kerr's  Collec- 
 
 burton,  Divine  Legation,  vol.  ii,  p.  tion  of  Voyages,  vol.  xiv,  p.  59.)  The 
 
 97,  132;  Diod.  lib.  i,  §  81 ;  Herod,  religious  language  seems,  however, 
 
 lib.  ii,  c.  36.     In  Peru,  the  Yncas  sometimes  to  have  been  retained, 
 
 had  a  language  peculiar  to  them-  though  its  meaning  was  lost,  as  in 
 
 selves,  though  already  forgotten  in  Samothrace. — Diod.  Sic.  lib.  v,  § 
 
 the  time  of  Garcilasso  de  Vega,  who  ^47;  and  in  two  towns  of   Lydia  ; 
 
 wrote  but  half  a  century  after  the  (Pausanias,  lib.  v,  27,  §  3) ;  I  pre- 
 
 destruction  of  their  empire.— Hist,  sume  because  the  priesthood  here 
 
 des  Yncas,  liv.  vii.     At  the  present  were  elected  from  among  the  people, 
 
 day  the  Abyssinians  have  a  sacred  not  educated  and  ordained  for  the 
 
 language,  in  which  the  holy  books  office, 
 
 are  alone  written.   (Bruce,  vol.  i,  '  Einleitungin  d.  alt.Test.§416. 
 
452  CHAPTER  XIX. 
 
 verses  3,  4,  5,  wliicli  tell  us  of  the  name  which  Abraham 
 gave  to  his  new-born  son,  and  of  that  son's  circumcision 
 when  he  was  eight  days  old,  and  of  the  age  of  Abraham  at 
 that  same  birth,  stand  in  connexion  respectively  with  verses 
 19,  12,  and  24  of  chapter  xvii.  From  verse  22  to  32 
 inclusive  is  a  continuation  of  chapter  xx,  and  the  covenant 
 which  it  makes  known  is  perhaps  the  consequence  of  the 
 permission  which  Abimelech  gave  to  Abraham,  to  dwell 
 where  it  pleased  him  (chapter  xx,  15). 
 
 In  this  Elohim  narrative  we  find  for  the  first  time,  the 
 etymology  of  the  name  of  a  place,  Beersheba ;  and  also  a 
 play  upon  the  name  of  Isaac  (verse  6).  Eichhorn  says 
 that  the  etymology  here  given  to  the  name  of  Isaac  is 
 diflPerent  from  that  presented  by  the  Jehovah  author, 
 (chap,  xviii,  15). 
 
 We  may  observe  also  that  the  events  relating  to  Hagar 
 in  this  chapter  very  nearly  resemble  those  already  narrated 
 by  Jehovah  in  chapter  xvi.  Are  the  two  narratives  but 
 difterent  traditions  of  one  and  the  same  event  ? 
 
 With  the  banishment  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael  from  the 
 house  of  Abraham  we  may  connect  the  conduct  of  the 
 Israelites,  on  their  return  from  captivity,  to  their  strange 
 wives  and  such  as  were  born  of  them.  They  put  them 
 away  by  the  counsel  of  Ezra,  and  did  it  according  to  the 
 law  (Ezra  x,  3). 
 
 Of  the  appearance  of  the  Deity  in  this  chapter  we  may 
 remark,  that  it  is  one  among  the  very  few  that  occurred 
 during  the  day-time,  and  that  of  those  few  two  occurred 
 to  Hasar. 
 
453 
 
 CHAPTER  XX. 
 
 GENESIS  xxii,  1-24. 
 
 1-14.  In  the  time  of  Moses,  child-sacrifices,  as 
 we  may  gather  from  the  books  of  the  law,^  were  frequent 
 in  both  Canaan  and  the  neighbouring  states.  How  did 
 they  originate  there  ?  The  Phoenician  historian,  Sancho- 
 niatho,  speaks  of  them  as  sanctioned  by  the  highest  anti- 
 quity, and  he  cites  the  example^  of  the  first  Phoenician 
 king,  the  deified  Chronos,  who  to  save  his  country  from 
 ruin  oifered  up  his  only  son  to  the  avenging  gods.  If  now 
 we  attach  any  weight  to  the  authority  of  Sanchoniatho,  we 
 must  conclude  with  Marsham,  that  child  sacrifices  were 
 
 ^  Leviticus  xx,  2-4.  Tlie  Ara- 
 bians iu  the  time  of  Mahomet  sacri- 
 licedjby  burying  alive,  their  daugh- 
 ters.— Prelim.  Dis.  to  Koran. 
 
 *  According  to  Marsham,  Canon. 
 Chron.  Secul.  v  :  "  Feralis  iste  sa- 
 crificandi  ritus  Abrahami  tempori- 
 bus  vetustior  erat ;  Philo-Byblius, 
 ex  Sanchoniathone,  ad  ipsum  Sa- 
 turnum  refert."  The  words  of 
 Philo,  however,  scarcely  go  so  far 
 as  to  attribute  the  origin  of  this 
 rite  to  Saturn.  They  are :  ES'oe  i]v 
 Toig  TraXfuoif  tv  Taig  fisya\aiQ  avji- 
 (popaiQ  riav  Kivcvinov  avri  rr]g  wav- 
 Twv  <p9opac,  TO  rjywjrrifiti'ov  rwv  tik- 
 V(j)v,  Tovc  KparovvTue  t)  ttoXewc  ^ 
 iSrvovc  (iQ  (T(paytii>  ETTiCtSoimi  XvTpov 
 ToiQ  TifiwQoig  daif.ioar  KciTfffcpaTTOVTO 
 St  6i  h^ojjLit'oi  jtvnrtKMQ.      Kpoi^oc 
 
 TOIVOVV,  6v  01   ^OIVIKIQ   I\  TTpouayo- 
 
 ptvovai,  jSaffiXsvwv  rrjg  ^upag,  &c. 
 Apud  veteres  mos  fuit  in  raagnis 
 periculis,  ut  reges  urbium  aut  po- 
 pulorum  filium  maxime  dilectum 
 pro  calamitate  publica  mactan- 
 duni  darant,  ad  placandum  deo- 
 rum  iram.  Qui  sic  devoti  sunt, 
 ceremouia    mystica  jugulantur.... 
 
 Enimvero  Saturnus,  quem 
 
 Phoenices  Hum  nominant,  qui 
 etiam  postmortem  in  Saturni  sidus 
 consecratus  est,  cum  in  illo  tractu 
 regnaret,  et  ex  Anobiet  nympha 
 iudigena  suscepisset  filium  unicum, 
 quem  propterea  uominavit  Jeud 
 (qua?  vox  etiam  num  apud  Phoe- 
 nices unigenam  significat)  cumque 
 maximum  ex  bellis  periculum  im- 
 mineret,  filium  cultu  regio  ornatum 
 ad  aram  a  se  constructam  immo- 
 lavit." 
 
454  CHAPTER   XX. 
 
 anterior  to  the  age  of  Abraham,  and  that  Abraham  in  his 
 resolve  to  sacrifice  Isaac  probably  sought  to  emulate  the 
 devotion  of  his  neighbours;  and  we  then  interpret  the 
 legend  thus — "  God  did  tempt  Abraham."  Abraham  saw 
 the  Heathens  around  him  bringing  to  their  altars,  not 
 merely  the  firstlings  of  their  flocks  and  the  fruits  of  the 
 grotmd,  but  even  their  own  children,  and  often  he  would 
 ask  himself,  "  Do  I  love  my  God  less  than  these  people  their 
 idols  ?  Am  I  capable  of  so  terrible  a  sacrifice  ?"  At  length 
 he  seems  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Elohim  demanding  his 
 son,  and  he  no  longer  hesitates ;  he  cheerfully  proceeds  to 
 offer  him  up  on  the  appointed  mountain. 
 
 But  the  strictly  orthodox  ^  reject  this  interpretation. 
 As  the  Greek  grammarians  found  the  germs  of  all  know- 
 ledge in  the  poems  of  Homer,  so  they  find  the  origin  of  all 
 religious  rites  in  the  Bible.  They  will  not  moreover  allow 
 the  holy  men  of  antiquity  to  have  been  subject  to  any 
 natural  influences,  and  they  therefore  assail  the  authority 
 of  Sanchoniatho,  by  observing  on  the  many  centuries 
 which  separated  him  from  Abraham,  and  on  the  uncer- 
 tainty and  confusion  of  all  mythological  story ;  or  utterly 
 disregarding  all  those  diflfereuces  of  position,  habits,  and 
 character,  which  distinguish,  even  to  contrast,  Chronos 
 from  the  Jewish  patriarch,  they  insist  on  the  two  or  three 
 points  in  which  these  national  heroes  resemble  each  other, 
 and,  adding  some  etymological  confirmation,"  conclude  that 
 they  were  but  one  and  the  same  person,  and  that  the 
 unconsummated  sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  in  fact  the  prototype 
 and  origin  of  aU  child-sacrifices. 
 
 I  attach  no  great  weight  to  the  authority  of  Sanchonia- 
 tho, and  I  leave  to  the  orthodox  all  the  advantage  they  can 
 receive  from  the   subtleties    of  etymology  ;  but  when  I 
 
 '  Vide  Witsius,  .Egypt,  lib.  iii,  that  the  name  "  Jeud,"  given  to  the 
 
 c.  vii ;  Buddaeus,  Hist.  Vet.  Test,  only  son  of  II,  closely  resembles  the 
 
 Per.  i,  Sect,  iii,  §  v,  &c.  epithet  applied  to  Isaac,  '■\jehid." — 
 
 ■•  For  "  II,"  or  "  Ilus,"  the  name  Genesis  xxii,  2.  Vide  Marsham, 
 the  Phoenicians  gave  Chronos,  they  ut  supra;  Witsius;  Buddteus,  Sea- 
 read  "  Sarmel ;  and  they  observ  e  liger,  De  Em  Tem.  in  Frag.  p.  48. , 
 
CHAPTER  XX.  455 
 
 remember  that  in  about  four  centuries  after  the  events 
 recorded  in  this  chapter,  child-sacrifices  were  of  frequent 
 occurrence  in  Canaan,  I  cannot  account  for  them  by 
 pretending  the  example  of  Abraham.  For  maugre  all  the 
 sophistries  of  Satan,^  I  cannot  conceive  how  a  sacrifice 
 which  was  so  silently  resolved  upon,  and  so  unostenta- 
 tiously prepared,  and  which  at  the  moment  of  execution 
 was  so  solemnly  and  strikingly  prevented,  should  ever  have 
 induced  a  stranger  though  neighbouring  people  to  an  imi- 
 tation of  it — to  adopt  it  into  their  rites.  Surely  the  whole 
 tale  would  have  had  for  them  quite  another  moral.  It 
 seems  to  me  then,  that,  though  the  argiunent  of  Marsham  is 
 certainly  not  conclusive,  the  conjecture  of  liis  antagonists 
 is  altogether  improbable. 
 
 But  again,  as  history  affords  many  instances  of  cliild- 
 sacrifice,  Jewish  and  Christian^  authors  have  remarked, 
 that  Abraham  was  urged  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  obedience 
 to  the  will  of  God,  to  an  act  which  was  strange  both  to  his 
 own  habits  and  opinions,  and  to  the  habits  and  opinions  of 
 those  amongst  whom  he  had  spent  the  greater  portion 
 of  his  life  ;  while  all  others  on  the  contrary  gave  up  their 
 children  sometimes  to  superior  force,  or  urged  by  the  fear 
 of  public  disgrace;  and  sometimes  because  it  was  the  custom 
 of  the  country,  or  from  the  dread  of  ills  which  the  divine 
 power  could  alone  avert.  In  short,  Abraham  was  influ- 
 enced by  the  best  and  purest,  and  his  unitators  only  by 
 low  and  most  unworthy,  motives. 
 
 Can  it  be  that  the  heathen  is  always  a  bad  man  ?  Is  his 
 heart  never  elevated  to  noble  thought?  Are  sin  and 
 crime  lovely  in  his  eyes,  his  portion  and  his  heritage  ? 
 I  will  not  believe  that  goodness  and  greatness  are  the 
 attributes  of  a  creed  and  not  of  Humanity.  They  who 
 sacrificed  their  children  spared  not  their  own  bodies.  In 
 the  enthusiasm  of  then-  barbaric  fiiith,  they  brought  to 
 their  Gods  what  was  most  dear  to  their  own  souls :  they 
 loved  their  children  much,  but  they  loved  their  rehgion 
 
 *  Witsius,  lib.  iii,  c.  vii,  §  x. 
 
 ®  Pbilo-Judaeus,  quoted  in  Witsius,  ut  supra. 
 
456  CHAPTER   XX. 
 
 more.  They  were  bound  to  their  idols  by  so  faithful  a 
 service,  that  in  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  evidence  their 
 devotion  by  the  torture  of  their  mere  flesh,  they  added 
 to  it  a  torture  of  their  aifections,  and  with  hearts  beating 
 fearfully  they  looked  on  while  the  most  loved  of  their  sons 
 died  the  cruel  death  by  fire.  Their  understandings  were 
 in  fault,  not  their  hearts;  and  they  were  ignorant  and 
 superstitious,  not  little  or  selfish,  men.  But  while  I  vindi- 
 cate the  moral  dignity  of  the  heathen,  I  must  also  acknow- 
 ledge, that  wherever  self-torment  is  regarded  as  an  evi- 
 dence of  a  religious  mind  and  a  superior  excellence,  the 
 many  who  have  recourse  to  it,  will  have  recourse  to  it  like 
 Voltaire's  faquir,  "  pour  la  consideration."  The  few  great 
 and  good  however  are  they  whom  we  should  contemplate : 
 and  they  do  not  follow  example,  but  give  example  to  their 
 fellows.  Careless  of  opinion,  they  set  opinion  at  defiance, 
 own  and  but  obey  the  law  and  impulse  of  their  hearts.  They 
 act,  and  indifferent  to  the  consequences  of  their  act,  they 
 gain  renown  or  martyrdom — and  a  crowd  of  disciples,  who 
 tread  indeed  in  their  steps,  though  they  are  not  animated 
 by  their  spirit.  And  what  is  this  servile  herd  to  us  ? 
 Long  enough  we  have  been  wearied  with  histories  and  phi- 
 losophies and  religions  which  dwell  on  man's  weakness : 
 it  is  time  that  we  view  him  in  his  strength. 
 
 But  to  turn  to  more  important  matters.  Is  the  command 
 here  attributed  to  the  Elohim  such  an  one  as  we  might  ex- 
 pect from  the  Deity  ?  Any  man  who  in  our  day  ventured  to 
 sacrifice  a  child,  never  mind  how  much  loved,  in  honour  of 
 his  God,  would  be  unanuuously  condemned  to  either  a 
 madhouse  or  the  gallows.  In  Abraham's  time,  however, 
 another  morality,  other  views  prevailed ;  the  child  was 
 then  the  slave,  the  absolute  property  of  the  father,  who  in 
 his  turn  was  the  slave'  and  property  of  the  Deity.     But 
 
 ^  Our  religion  reduces  us  to  a  Throughout  this  tale,  1  see  Abra- 
 
 condition  of  slavery  when  our  God  ham  giving  proofs  of  unconditional 
 
 has  the  character  and  feelings  of  an  obedience,  the  slave-service.     But 
 
 individual ;  because  he  is  then  ca-  where,  I  every  moment  inquire,  is 
 
 pricious  and  arbitrary,  and  we  the  faith  St.  Paul  so  highly  prized  ? 
 obey      commands,    not    a     law. 
 
CHAPTER   XX.  457 
 
 the  Elohim  demands  of  Abraham  his  son's  life.  If  now 
 we  bear  in  mind  that  over  his  son's  life  Abraham  has  un- 
 controlled power, — that  he  may,  without  infringing  any 
 known  laAv,  condemn,  whenever  he  pleases  it,  that  son  to 
 death, — we  must  allow  that  this  right  and  power  which  he 
 holds,  and  holds  from  his  God,  he  may  at  any  time  be 
 called  upon  to  exercise  at  his  God's  request;  and  that 
 whenever  such  a  request  should  be  made  (in  his  eyes  no 
 improbable  event)  the  same  sense  of  duty  which  induced 
 him  to  deliver  Hagar  and  his  yet  unborn  child  into  the 
 hands  of  Sarah,  will  then  compel  him  to  yield  up  his  much- 
 loved  son  to  his  own  and  that  son's  Lord  and  Master,  the 
 Elohim.  A  sense  of  duty  is  the  great  dominating  prin- 
 ciple of  Abraham's  life  ;  it  constitutes  his  claim  to  our  love 
 and  admu'ation. 
 
 But  is  the  command  here  attributed  to  the  Elohim  such 
 an  one  as  we  might  expect  from  the  Deity  ?  If  we  regard 
 the  code  of  morals  to  which  we  own  obedience  as  valid  and 
 binding  on  us,  because  it  declares  to  us  the  will  of  the 
 Deity  as  made  known  by  some  especial  revelation, — then 
 because  the  several  precepts  of  that  code  are,  in  so  far  at 
 least  as  we  are  concerned,  arbitraiy,  and  to  be  obeyed,  not 
 examined,  they  may  just  as  well  be  precepts  enjoining  one 
 course  of  conduct  as  another ;  and  because  they  owe  their 
 force  to  a  particular  revelation,  they  may  be  either  parti- 
 ally or  entirely  superseded  by  further  such  revelations ; 
 and  this  command  of  the  Elohim  we  may  then  view  as 
 possible,  and  even  natural.  But  if  on  the  other  hand  our 
 moral  code  expresses  the  will  of  God  as  read  in  the  prin- 
 ciples of  our  nature:  then,  as  its  precepts  are  rational  and 
 universal,  a  revelation  made  to  Humanity,  they  can  be 
 altered  by  no  revelation  vouchsafed  to  an  individual,  but 
 only  by  one  made  to  mankind,  i.e.  they  can  be  altered 
 only  by  a  change  being  made  in  the  laws  of  our  nature  : 
 no  command  then,  as  opposed  to  these  precepts,  can  be 
 conceived  as  having  proceeded  from  the  Deity. 
 
 But  may  not  such  a  change  have  taken  place  in  the  laws 
 of  om-  nature  ?     If  we  compare  the  morality  of  any  ancient 
 
 3  N 
 
458  CHAPTER    XX. 
 
 nation  with  that  of  some  living  people  of  about  the  same 
 degree  of  civilisation,  we  find  that  in  both  nearly  the  same 
 view  of  the  moral  obligations  obtains.  But  we  are  not 
 prepared  to  say  that  Arabs,  New  Zealanders  and  Africans, 
 are  differently  constituted  from  ourselves, — that  they  are 
 beings  of  another  kind ;  on  the  contrary,  Ave  feel  that  the 
 differences  between  them  and  us  are  accidental  merely,  and 
 suflSciently  accounted  for  by  our  more  extended  knowledge 
 and  habits  of  more  continued  reflection.  "Wliy  then  apply 
 another  principle  to  the  Abrahamic  times  ? 
 
 But  may  not  the  Deity  for  man's  sake  accommodate 
 his  laws  to  man's  state  ?  Man  (so  I  believe  Providence 
 has  ordered  it,  for  so  history  and  observation  teach  us) 
 accommodates  God's  laws  to  himself.  But  if  we  once 
 suppose  that  God's  laws  are  now  not  merely  subjectively 
 but  positively  different  from  what  they  were  in  the  infancy 
 of  the  human  race,  Abraham's  time  for  example,  then  if  we 
 would  be  consequent,  we  must  also  suppose  that  these  laws 
 have  been  continually  changing  as  man  has  advanced  in 
 the  career  of  civilisation.  But  because  man  has  so  ad- 
 vanced not  in  one  great  body, — because  many  and  popu- 
 lous nations,  the  great  crowd,  have  either  lagged  in  the 
 rear,  or  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of  escaping  from 
 the  darkness  of  barbarism, — then  these  laws  have  in  fact 
 been  changed  for  the  benefit  of  the  few  leaders  of  their 
 race,  and  because  they  are  unfitted  for,  have  been  so 
 changed  to  the  great  detriment  of,  the  great  mass  of  men. 
 The  supposition  is  absurd. 
 
 "  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac."  Josephus 
 assures  us  that  at  this  time  Isaac  was  twenty-five  years  of 
 age ;  while  Michaelis '  argues  that  he  must  have  been  a 
 mere  child,  or  he  never  would  have  tamely  submitted  to 
 be  liound  and  laid  on  the  altar  by  so  aged  a  man  as  his 
 father ;  he  would  have  defended  his  life.  Thus  it  is  that 
 we  judge  other  people  by  ourselves.     We  forget  that  the 
 
 **  Comment,  ad  h.  1. 
 
CHAPTER   XX.  459 
 
 morality  of  Abraham  was  the  morality  of  his  family ;  that 
 those  rights  which  he  claimed  over  his  children,  his  children 
 readily  allowed ;  and  that  it  is  therefore  no  way  impro- 
 bable that  the  son  was  as  zealous  in  his  duties  as  the  father, 
 as  ready  to  obey  and  suffer.^  The  argument  of  Michaelis 
 then  seems  to  me  inapplicable.  Besides,  though  I  know 
 of  no  "  Time's  Telescope"  which  reaches  back  to  these 
 distant  centuries,  yet  when  I  compare  the  child-like  weak- 
 ness, the  helplessness  of  Ishmael  in  the  desert,  with  the 
 bold  bearing  and  the  physical  strength  here  displayed  by 
 Isaac,  I,  must  conclude  that  as  the  former  was  then  in  his 
 thirteenth  year,  the  latter  could  not  now  be  far  short  of 
 man. 
 
 "  Get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah  ;"  the  upland,  high- 
 land, and  into  that  part  of  it,  the  Jews  say,  in  which  the 
 temple  of  Jerusalem  was  built  ;i  and  into  that  part  of  it, 
 say  the  Samaritans,  on  which  stood  their  temple,^  INIount 
 Gerizim.  The  land  Moriah  seems  a  designation  so  indefinite 
 that  we  may  place  the  sacrifice  just  where  it  most  suits  us. 
 
 Verse  5.  "  I  and  the  lad  will  go  yonder  and  worship  and 
 come  again  to  you."  Voltaire''  here  accuses  Abraham  of 
 a  falsehood  :  Michaelis*  justifies  him  by  supposing  that  he 
 went  forth  to  sacrifice  his  son  fully  convinced  that  God 
 would  immediately  restore  that  son  to  life,  and  that  they 
 would  both  again  descend  the  mountain  and  return  home 
 together.  I  do  not  believe  that  Abraham  had  any  such 
 conviction ;  he  obeyed  the  commands  of  his  God,  and  asked 
 no  questions, — and  if  he  told  his  servants  "  I  and  the  lad 
 go  yonder  and  come  again,"  he  did  it  not  with  any  inten- 
 
 5  The  Koran— I  do  not  quote  it  "  0  my  father,  do  what  thou  art 
 
 as  an  authority,  but  to  show  the  commanded ;  thou  shalt  find  me  a 
 
 sentiments  of  a  people  who   hold  patient  person." — Vol.  ii,  c.  xxxvii, 
 
 paternal  authority  in  high  respect —  p.  30 1 . 
 
 takes  the  same  view  of  the  case.  It  i  Vide  Geographical  Index,  No. 
 
 makes  Abraham  to  say  to  Isaac  :  1 1 1  &  330. 
 
 "  O  my  son,  verily  I  saw  in  a  dream  *  Vide  Clarke's  Travels,  vol.  iv, 
 
 that  I  should  offer  thee  in  sacrifice;  c.  vii. 
 
 consider  therefore  what  thou  art  of  ^  Notes  de  la  Genese,  ad  h.  c. 
 
 opinion  I  should  do."  He  answered,  ■*  Comment,  ad  h.  1. 
 
460  CHAPTER  XX. 
 
 tion  to  deceive  them,  but  merely  because  lie  wished  them 
 to  understand  that  they  were  to  await  his  return. 
 
 Verse  14.  "  And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  that  place 
 Jehovah-Jireh."  Here  Jerusalem  was  afterwards  built. 
 "  According  to  the  Rabbins  its  name  is  compounded  of 
 Jireh  and  Salem.  The  first  was  a  name  given  by  Abra- 
 ham to  the  place  where  he  purposed  to  sacrifice  his  son ; 
 and  the  latter,  say  they,  was  the  name  given  to  the  royal 
 station  of  Melchizedek,  i.  e.  Shem.  Now  God,  being  un- 
 willing to  offend  either  of  these  patriarchs  by  adopting 
 one  name  only,  he  combined  them,  whence  Jesusalem.""^ 
 From  the  narrative  itself  one  certainly  never  could  have 
 guessed  that  Abraham  was  near  any  inhabited  place  :  one 
 would  have  supposed  that  he  went  to  worship  alone  in  the 
 solitude  of  the  mountain — and  that  therefore  he  refuses 
 the  attendance  of  even  his  own  servants.  But  no,  it  seems 
 that  here  is  a  great  city;  a  royal  station.  Or  had  this 
 city,  like  those  enchanted  palaces  in  the  olden  tales  of  chi- 
 valry, vanished  away  with  all  its  population,  and  left  be- 
 liind  nothing  but  a  barren  mountain  ?  Or  is  the  authority 
 of  the  liabbins  in  this  as  in  most  other  cases  worth  just 
 nothing  ?     I  incline  to  this  last  supposition. 
 
 Vei'ses  15-19.  Jehovah  moved  by  the  ready  obedience 
 of  Abraham  repeats  and  confirms  by  an  oath  his  former 
 promises.  He  gives  to  Abraham  a  posterity  numerous  as 
 the  stars  of  heaven  (see  chap.  xv.  5)  and  the  sand  on  the 
 sea-shore  (see  chap.  xiii.  16)  :  and  as  in  the  twelfth  chap- 
 ter he  declared  that  in  Abraham  the  families  of  the  earth 
 should  be  blessed,  so  now  he  promises  that  in  his  seed  that 
 blessing  shall  be  continued.  In  this  chapter  however  we 
 have  a  phrase,  "  and  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his 
 enemies,"   which  though   it  may  answer  to    "  and  I  will 
 
 *  Roberts'  Illustration  of  Scrip-  turn  ;'  and  that  this  is  applicable  to 
 
 ture  informs  us  that  "  the  people  of  the  Hebrew  idiom  of  conversation, 
 
 the  East  never  say  as  those  of  Eng-  *  Geooraphical  Index  to  Bible, 
 
 land  when  taking  leave,  '  I  go,'  or  by  the  English  editor  of  Calmet, 
 
 '  I  am  going-,'  but,  '  1  go  and  re-  art,  Jerusalem. 
 
CHAPTER   XX.  461 
 
 ciirse  him  that  ciu'seth  thee,"  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  of 
 the  previous  promises. 
 
 "  And  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies  : 
 and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 
 Vce  victis !  Where  is  the  nation  that  has  welcomed  its 
 conquerors  as  a  blessing  ?  Terrible  are  the  wars  even  of 
 civilised  people  !  fearful  the  oppression  and  intense  the 
 suffering  caused  by  the  best  disciplined  troops  !  And  yet 
 we  fight  for  the  sake  of  justice  and  out  of  a  tender  regard 
 for  the  interests  of  our  adversaries  and  our  own ;  we  con- 
 quer and  oppress,  too,  with  gentle  words  on  our  lips — and 
 yet  even  we,  though  we  regard  ourselves  as  God's  favourites, 
 are  in  the  eyes  of  our  fallen  enemies  but  God's  scourges. 
 I  do  not  remember  any  victory  gained  or  any  conquest 
 made  by  the  chosen  posterity  of  Abraham,  which  by  the 
 advantages  it  conferred  could  induce  the  wish  to  have 
 been  ranged  among  the  conquered. 
 
 20-24.  The  chapter  concludes  with  a  genealo- 
 gical table  of  the  descendants  of  Abraham's  brother 
 Nahor,  from  which  it  seems  that  Kebecca,  the  future  wife 
 of  Isaac,  is  the  great-niece  of  Abraham. 
 
 All  the  portion  of  this  chapter  from  verses  1  to  10  in- 
 clusive, which  narrates  the  vision  and  jom-ney  of  Abraham 
 and  his  preparation  for  the  sacrifice  of  his  son,  is  written 
 with  the  name  Elohim :  while  aU  that  from  verses  1 1  to 
 19,  also  inclusive,  which  tells  us  of  the  miracle  that  stayed 
 his  hand,  of  the  ram  caught  in  the  thicket  and  offered  in 
 the  place  of  Isaac,  and  of  the  favour  with  wliich  the  Deity 
 regarded  the  ready  obedience  of  liis  servant,  is,  with  a 
 single  exception,^  which  Eichhorn  supposes  the  fault  of 
 some  copyist,  written  with  the  name  Jehovah.  The  re- 
 mainder of  the  chapter  Eichhorn  connects  with  the  gene- 
 alogies in  chapter  xii.  26-32,  and  regards  them  as  most 
 probably  belonging  to  the  Elohim  legend. 
 
 '  In  verse  12 :  "  For  I  know  horn,  Einleitung  in  d.  Alt.  Test, 
 that  thou  fearest  God."     See  Eich-    p.  416. 
 
462  CHAPTER   XX. 
 
 Eichhorn  accounts  for  the  peculiar  division  of  the  nar- 
 rative part  of  this  chapter,  by  supposing  that  the  editor  of 
 Genesis  selected  from  each  of  the  two  traditions  before  him 
 those  facts  which  it  most  fully  detailed,  and  then  published 
 them  in  their  present  form.  But  how  is  it  that  he  who  has 
 hitherto  appeared  as  a  compiler  merely,  who  has  so  often 
 and  so  studiously  repeated  himself,  should  all  at  once  take 
 upon  him  the  office  of  a  selector  ? 
 
 I  cannot  but  remark  too  that  this  is  the  first  time  that  a 
 sacrifice — and  what  a  sacrifice! — has  been  mentioned  in 
 connexion  with  the  Elohim.  But  that  sacrifice,  observe, 
 is  never  consummated,  and  the  ram  which  is  substituted 
 for  it  is  offered  to  Jehovah.  With  the  help  of  a  little  ety- 
 mology, what  a  field  of  conjecture  one  might  disport  in  ! 
 
 That  part  of  the  narrative  which  bears  the  name  Jeho- 
 vah resembles  in  the  language  of  its  promises  the  rest  of 
 the  traditions  to  wliich  it  belongs.  It  sets  before  us,  how- 
 ever, the  obedience  of  Abraham  as  a  new  and  powerful 
 motive  for  the  fulfilment  of  those  promises. 
 
 With  this  chapter  may  we  not  connect  Leviticus  xxvii. 
 28,  29,  as  in  some  measure  authorizing  human  sacrifices  ? 
 And  does  not  the  law  of  redemption  in  Numbers  xviii. 
 14,  15,  imply  that  child  sacrifices  Avere  not  unknown  to 
 the  ancient  Israelites  ?  May  not  that  law  be  the  modifi- 
 cation of  a  more  cruel  custom,  and  one  acquired  during  a 
 residence  in  Canaan,  but  dropped  by  the  more  enlightened 
 of  the  people  during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt?  Compare 
 Diodor.  Sic.  lib.  xx.  §  xiv.  vol.  ix.  p.  40,  with  lib.  i.  §  Ixxvii. 
 vol.  i.  p.  230. 
 
463 
 
 CHAPTER  XXI. 
 
 GENESIS  xxiii.  1-20. 
 
 Verses  1-20.  Sarah  dies  at  Kirgath-arba.  Abraham 
 asks  of  its  inhabitants  permission  to  bury  her  body  in 
 their  territory.  This  permission  they  willingly  grant,  and 
 besides  offer  him  a  place  in  any  one  of  their  own  family 
 tombs.  Abraham  however  expresses  a  wish  to  pmxhase 
 of  Ephron  the  cave  and  field  of  Machpelah  ;  Ephron  begs 
 his  acceptance  of  it  as  a  gift;  but  at  length  estimates 
 its  value  at  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  about  nine 
 pounds  of  our  currency  according  to  Michaelis,  and  up- 
 wards of  fifty  according  to  Voltaire.^  Abraham  immedi- 
 ately weighs  out  and  delivers  the  money,  and  the  land 
 with  the  timber  upon  it  is  transferred  to  him  and  his  heirs 
 for  ever. 
 
 In  reading  this  chapter  we  are  struck, 
 
 I.  By  the  gentleness  and  courtesy  of  the  manners  with 
 which  it  makes  us  acquainted.  The  several  personages 
 who  take  a  part  in  tliis  most  ancient  court  display  a 
 regard  for  law  and  order,  and  a  benevolence  and  kindness, 
 wliicli  sufficiently  attest  the  progress  of  civilisation — but 
 of  a  civilisation  wliich  their  merely  complimentary  gene- 
 rosity and  their  invariable  abasement  of  self,  with  their 
 exaggerated   professions   of  respect   for   others,  will  not 
 
 '  Michaelis,  Comment,  ad  h.  1.,  (Notes  de  Gen.)  that  they  are  equal 
 says  that  400  shekels  are  worth  to  1280  livres.  Michaelis  is  the 
 from  90  to  100  guilders  ;  Voltaire     better  authority. 
 
464  CHAPTER   XXI. 
 
 allow  us  to  estimate  too  highly.  It  is  too  soft  and  effemi- 
 nate for  men,  and  too  yielding  and  servile  for  citizens ; 
 it  belongs  either  as  cattse  or  consequence  to  a  despotism ; 
 and  it  is  in  fact  even  to  this  day  the  civilisation  of  the 
 oppressed  East.^ 
 
 II.  By  the  legal  form  of  the  Vi^hole  transaction.  The 
 pm*chase  takes  place  before  the  nobles  and  elders  assembled 
 in  the  most  public  part  of  the  city.  The  money  of  a  par- 
 ticular standard  is  weighed  out  in  their  presence,  and  in 
 their  presence  the  land  with  all  trees  and  buildings  thereunto 
 belonging  is  made  over  unto  Abraham.  One  would  almost 
 suppose  that  the  author  of  Genesis  had  before  him  the  ori- 
 ginal deed  of  sale,  and  that  from  it  he  had  extracted 
 the  present  chapter. 
 
 Verse  6.  "  Hear  us,  my  lord,  thou  art  a  mighty  prince 
 among  us,"  a  prince  of  God.  These  words'*  have  been 
 brought  forward  to  show  the  greatness  of  Abraham,  and 
 the  important  part  which  he  must  have  played  in  the  tra- 
 ditions of  Canaan.  .  They  fairly  evidence  the  consideration 
 in  which  Abraham  was  held,  and  probably  therefore  his 
 power,  but  nothing  further.  As  a  nomad  his  wealth  was 
 easily  estimated,  but  as  a  nomad  he  rather  gained  acquaint- 
 ance with,  than  was  known  to,  the  several  people  among 
 whom  he  dwelt ;  and  as  a  man  he  was  of  a  character  too 
 unobtrusive  and  peaceful,  too  little  connected  with  great 
 
 *  Roberts,  in  bis  Illustrations  of  be  a  great  favour  if  you  will  take 
 
 Scripture,  remarks  on  tbis  passage,  it.'      Sbould  tbe  possessor  believe 
 
 that  in  India  "  Respectable  people  tbat  one  day  be  will  need  a  favour 
 
 are  always  saluted  with  tbe  digni-  from  the  great  man,  nothing  will 
 
 fied   title   of    '  My  Lord  ;'    hence  induce  him  to  sell  tbe  article,  and 
 
 English  gentlemen  are  apt  to  sup-  be   will   take    good   care   through 
 
 pose  that  they  are  taken   for  those  the  servants  or  a  friend  that  it  shall 
 
 of  very  high  rank." "  The  man  soon  be  in  his  bouse.     Should  he, 
 
 of  whom  Abraham  oflered  to  pur-  however,   have   no   expectation   of 
 
 chase  Macbpelab  affected  to  give  favour,  he  will  say  as  Ephron,  'the 
 
 the  land And  this  fully  accords  thing  is  worth  so  much;  your  plea- 
 
 with  the  conduct  of  those  who  are  sure  my  Lord.'  " 
 requested  to  dispose  of  a  thing  to  a         ^  Vide  Witsius,  ut  supra.     He 
 
 person  of  superior  rank.     Let  the  uses  them  in  his  argument  to  show 
 
 latter  go  and  ask  tbe  price,  and  the  tbat  Abraham  was  raised  to  a  deity 
 
 owner  will  say,  '  My  Lord,  it  will  by  the  Canaanites. 
 
CHAPTER   XXI.  465 
 
 and  striking  *  events — the  only  events  a  people  can  remem- 
 ber— to  have  attracted  the  popular  attention.  He  is  a 
 patriarch — the  mythic  hero  of  the  family ;  not  a  demigod — 
 the  mythic  hero  of  a  nation. 
 
 Besides,  if  the  children  of  Heth  give  Abraham  the  title 
 of  mighty  prince,  or  prince  of  God,  and  address  him  as 
 "  my  lord,"  Abraham  in  his  turn  frequently  bows  himself 
 before  the  cliildren  of  Heth.  This  submissive  language 
 on  the  one  side,  and  respectful  action  on  the  other,  might 
 enable  a  Marquis  de  Pisani,*  or  a  Lord  Herbert  of  Cher- 
 bury,®  or  any  Spanish  grandee^  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
 accurately  to  deteniiine  the  relative  rank  of  these  high 
 contracting  parties ;  but  as  I  think  with  Dr.  Johnson,* 
 that  there  are  points  of  precedence  which  it  is  ridiculous 
 to  settle,  I  am  even  content  to  regard  Abraham  and  the 
 Hittites  as  equals,  and  as  treating  with  each  other  as 
 equals.  At  the  same  time  however  we  must  observe,  that 
 when  we  speak  of  the  Hittites  as  the  equals  of  Abraham, 
 we  speak  of  them,  not  as  individuals,  but  of  them  as  form- 
 ing a  body,  as  collected  together  into  a  city,  a  republic. 
 As  Abraham  then  is  one,  the  Hittites  many,  may  we  not 
 to  this  diiference  between  them  trace  the  different  forms  in 
 which  they  express  their  courtesy  ?  For  an  assembly  can 
 more  easily  show  its  respect  to  an  individual  by  a  compli- 
 ment of  words,  an  individual  to  an  assembly  by  a  compli- 
 ment of  obeisance. 
 
 Verse  16.  "Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  four  hun- 
 dred shekels  of  silver  current  with  the  merchants."  If  this 
 chapter  correctly  describes  the  customs  of  the  age  of  which 
 it  speaks ;  so  early  as  the  nineteenth  century  b.  c.  men  had 
 
 ■*  The  inemory  of  his  interference  and  Pisani  both  set  their  lives  on  a 
 
 in  favour  of  Sodoiu,  Sic,  excep   in  point  of  precedence, 
 
 so  far  as  it  was  preserved  by  his  fa-  ''  Vide   Memoires    de    Bassom- 
 
 mily,    must    have    perished     with  pierre;  account  of  the  cause  of  the 
 
 Sodom.  illness  and  death  of  Philip  III  of 
 
 *  Historiettes  de  Tallemant  des  Spain.  (Petitot  Collect,  de  Mem. 
 
 Reaux,  vol.  i.  vol.  xx,  p.  228-229.) 
 
 ^  Vide  his  Life  by  Himself.  He  '  Vide  Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson. 
 
 3  o 
 
466  CHAPTER  XXI. 
 
 learned  to  accommodate  the  precious  metals  to  a  certain 
 recognised  standard,  and  to  look  on  them  as  a  measure  of 
 value,  and  to  make  use  of  them  as  a  medium  of  exchange ; 
 i.  e.  in  other  words,  men  had  seized  on  and  adopted  the 
 first  rude  idea  of  a  metal  currency.  And  that  idea  one 
 would  naturally  suppose  they  would  have  gone  on  to 
 develope  and  j)erfect;  that  very  soon  they  would  have 
 begun  to  give  to  these  metals,  not  merely  a  stamp  which 
 made  known  their  quality,  but  one  also  which  declared 
 their  weight ;  and  that  finally  they  would  have  divided 
 them  into  pieces  adapted  to  that  scale  of  weights  which 
 was  most  suited  to  meet  the  wants  of  society ;  i.  e.  that 
 they  would  have  coined  and  issued  money.  But  simple 
 and  evident  and  even  necessary  as  this  second  step  appears, 
 centuries  passed  away  ere  it  was  taken ;  for  Wilkinson 
 tells  us  that  coined  money  was  not  in  use  among  the  most 
 ancient  Egyjotians ;  and  as  it  is  never  mentioned  by  Homer, 
 it  was  probably  unknown  both  to  the  Greeks  of  his  time 
 and  to  those  nations  (Phoenicians  and  Egyptians^)  with 
 whom  the  Greeks  were  in  habits  of  commercial  intercourse. 
 The  date  given  to  its  invention  is  about  nine  hundred  years 
 B.  c.     How  now  account  for  this  tardy  progress  ? 
 
 AYhen  the  great  mass  of  the  population  of  a  country  live 
 on  the  produce  of  their  labour ;  when  each  family  provides 
 generally  for  its  own  wants,  and  is  both  husbandman  and 
 manufacturer ;  and  when  all  traffic  is  consequently  in  the 
 hands  of  merchants  who,  in  so  far  as  the  consumer  is  con- 
 cerned, barter  commodity  (commonly  raw  material)  with 
 commodity,  and  who  therefore  only  in  great  operations 
 among  themselves  and  with  wealthy  individuals  ever  have 
 recourse  to  the  precious  metals  (current  with  the  mer- 
 chant),— in  such  a  state  of  society '  I  can  very  well  con- 
 
 *  Wilkinson,  however,  is  of  opi-  1  The  Jews  for  instance,  so  long 
 
 nion  that  the  gold  and  silver  rings  as  the  family  state  existed  among 
 
 which  are  painted  on  a  tomb  of  the  them,  i.  e.  till  after  the  l)iiilding  of 
 
 time  of  Thotmes  III,  1495  b.  c,  re-  the  second  temple,  though  in  habits 
 
 present  the  money  of  that  epoch,  of  intercourse  with  the  Phenicians, 
 
 I  do  not  know  on  what  grounds,  had  no  coined  money,  according  to 
 
 Vide  Thebes,  p.  155.  De   Pauw    (Egyptiens  et  Chinois, 
 
CHAPTER   XXI.  467 
 
 ceive  that  centuries  might  elapse  ere  the  spirit  of  commerce, 
 fostered  by  the  division  of  labour,  spread  itself  among  the 
 great  body  of  a  people,  and  urged  upon  them  the  necessity 
 of  some  "  common  drudge  'tween  man  and  man."  To  cir- 
 cumstances therefore,  and  not  to  any  slowness  of  appre- 
 hension, I  attribute  the  long  interval  which  passed  away 
 between  the  first  appreciation  of  the  precious  metals  as  a 
 medium  of  exchange  and  the  development  afterwards 
 given  to  that  idea  by  the  coining  of  money.  Money  in 
 short  I  regard  as  the  invention,  not  of  an  individual,  but  of 
 an  age,  as  one  of  those  great  inventions  which  spring  out 
 of  the  wants  of  society,  as  at  once  the  consequence  and 
 cause  of  an  extended  commerce. 
 
 Verse  17.     From  tliis  verse  it  is  pretty  clear, 
 1st.  That  land  had  already  begun  to  be  enclosed,  either 
 by  hedges  or  by  trees,  which  served  as  landmarks  : — "  and 
 all  the  trees  that  were  in  the  borders  round  about." 
 
 And  2ndly.  That  timber  was  considered  of  some  value  : 
 and,  as  it  is  particularly  mentioned  in  the  deed  of  transfer, 
 that  it  was  not  necessarily  sold  with  the  land,  but  that 
 with  the  buildings  it  was  an  article  of  special  agreement. 
 
 Verse  18.  The  whole  of  this  transaction  is  represented 
 as  taking  place  in  the  open  air,  and  in  the  most  public 
 thoroughfare  of  the  city.  The  elders  or  nobles  were  most 
 probably  accustomed  to  assemble  in  the  square  before 
 the  city  gates,  and  there  to  witness  contracts,  to  give 
 counsel,  and  to  do  judgment;  and  the  common  order  of 
 citizens  who  either  happened  to  be  present  or  were 
 interested  in  any  cause  then  and  there  to  be  decided,  seem 
 to  have  taken  some  share  in  the  proceedings.* 
 
 vol.  ii,  p.  309.)     Similarly  in  the  counted.     Vide  Travels  in  Egypt 
 
 early  part  of  the  middle  ages,  when  and  Syria,  c.  xxxviii. 
 
 society  was  again  reduced  to  the  '  Compare  Job  xxix,  7,  and  the 
 
 family  state,  money  was  rare  and  description  of  a  suit  in  Iliad,  xviii, 
 
 little   required.      Vide   Sismondi's  497.     There: 
 
 Hist,  des  Frangais,  part  ii,  c.  xiv.  6i  Se  ytpovTec 
 
 And  to  this  day  in  Syria,  Volney  Eiar'  tin  ^tcrroifft  XiQoic,  upv  tvi 
 
 asserts,  money  is  weighed  rather  than  Kv/cXy. 
 
 Among 
 
468  CHAPTER   XXI. 
 
 Verse  20.  Wilkinson  says,  "that  the  earliest  monu- 
 ments of  Egyptian  grandeur  are  to  be  found  among  their 
 tombs ;  which  were  caves  partly  natural,  partly  cut  out  of 
 the  solid  rock.  They  were  situated  without  the  city,  and 
 at  the  foot  of  some  hill."  Such  probably  was  the  cave  of 
 Machpelah.  These  caves  were  preferred  from  their  ex- 
 ceeding dryness  ;  they  preserved  the  body  uncorrupted  for 
 centuries;^  they  accustomed  the  people  to  the  sight  of 
 their  departed  ancestors  ;  they  stripped  for  them  death  of 
 half  its  horrors.  Men  began  to  desire  that  their  bodies 
 should  not  see  corruption ;  and  their  wishes  were  a  duty 
 to  their  surviving  relations ;  but  a  duty,  for  the  fulfilment 
 of  which  in  an  unfavourable  soil  and  climate  they  were 
 obliged  to  have  recourse  to  artificial  means.  Hence  the 
 early  invention  and  wide-spread  custom  of  embalming. 
 
 Because  the  first  verse  gives  the  sum  of  the  years  of 
 Sarah's  life,  and  because  in  the  fifth  stands  the  name  of 
 Elohim,  Eichhorn  regards  this  chapter  as  belonging  to  the 
 Elohim  portion  of  Genesis. 
 
 Michaelis*  observes,  that  this  portion  of  Genesis  so  differs 
 in  tone  and  style  from  the  rest  of  the  book,  that  he  cannot 
 help  considering  it  as  a  chapter  by  itself,  as  an  extract 
 from  some  old  family  document  or  some  ancient  title-deed, 
 perhaps  in  part  a  copy  from  the  original  contract  between 
 Abraham  and  Ephron.  If  Michaelis  is  correct  in  his 
 hypothesis,  the  art  of  writing  (he  elsewhere  attempts  to 
 
 Among    the    Celts    the    druidieal  Sic.  lib.  i,  §  51) ;  and  we  may  add, 
 
 circles  served  as  the  courts  of  jus-  that  because  members  of  the  same 
 
 tice.   Vide  Logan,  Scottish  Gael,  ii,  family   were  buried   in   the    same 
 
 p.  325  ;  and  see  also  an  account  of  tomb,  very  possibly  arose  the expres- 
 
 the  round  mounts  of  Wales  (To-  sion,  "  was  gathered  to  his  people," 
 
 land's  Hist,  of  the  Druids,  p.  194),  "was  gathered  to  his  fathers." — Is 
 
 and  of  the  uses  to  which  the  Breit  the  expression  Egyptian  ? 
 
 Stein  in  the  Alt  Marktin  ^  tralsund  '' Comment,  in  d.  Alt.  Test,  ad  h.l. 
 
 was  formerly  put.   (Erinnerungen.  *  Einleitung  im  Alt.  Test.     Be- 
 
 V.  E.  M.  Arndt.  pref.  cause  Callisthenes  found  that  the 
 
 ^  Hence,  perhaps  it  was  that  the  astronomical   calculations    kept  at 
 
 Egyptians  regarded  their  earthly  Babylon  embraced  a  period  of  1903 
 
 houses  but  as  caravanseras,  inns,  years,    Michaelis    concludes    that 
 
 KaTa\v(Tiic ;    their   graves,  on   the  writing   must    have   been   in    use 
 
 other  hand,  as  eternal  homes  (Diod.  among  the  Babylonians  2234  B.C. 
 
CHAPTER   XXI.  469 
 
 prove  that  it  must  have  been  known  2234  years  b.  c.) 
 was  not  only  in  ordinary  use  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  but 
 a  specimen  of  the  style  and  composition  of  that  day  has 
 survived  to  our  time. 
 
 On  the  conjectures  of  both  Michaelis  and  Eichhorn  we 
 may  remark,  that  neither  of  them  accounts  for  the  extra- 
 ordinary difference  between  the  state  of  society  represented 
 in  this,  and  in  any  other  chapter.  Take  for  instance  the 
 agreement  or  alliance  made  with  Abimelech  in  the  twenty- 
 first  chapter  and  compare  it  with  this  contract.  There 
 every  thing  depended  on  certain  tokens  (the  seven  ewe 
 lambs  given  and  received)  to  which  the  parties  can  appeal; 
 they  serve  as  helps  to  the  memory  of  the  witnesses.  Here 
 all  the  proceedings  are  in  the  market-place  before  certain 
 persons  ;  and  het^e  are  no  tokens  save  only  the  record 
 of  the  proceedings  themselves.  The  first  is  the  contract 
 of  a  rude  and  unlettered  age  ;  the  second  that  of  man 
 advanced  in  civilization. 
 
 Again,  with  regard  to  this  Kirjath-arba,  does  the  repre- 
 sentation here  given  of  it,  its  superior  culture,  and  the 
 value  of  the  land  about  it,  at  all  accord  with  the  notions 
 the  first  mention  of  it  (chapter  xiii.  18)  would  raise  in  our 
 minds  ?  From  that  chapter  we  would  have  supposed 
 Mamre  some  rich  but  yet  unoccupied  desert,  in  the  deep 
 seclusions  of  which  Abraham  had  erected  an  altar  to  pray 
 to  his  God.  We  see  it  now  a  cultivated  plain,  divided 
 into  various  portions,  and  occupied  by  different  individuals 
 — the  domain  of  Hebron. 
 
 Another  peculiarity  of  this  chapter  is,  that  it  shows  us 
 Sarah  (the  hitherto  faithful  companion  of  all  Abraham's 
 wanderings)  as  now  living  and  finishing  her  days  apart 
 from  Abraham  :  he  lives  at  Beersheba,  she  in  Hebron ; 
 and  he  arrives  not  to  console  her  in  her  last  moments,  but 
 to  bury  her  and  inherit  her  property. 
 
470 
 
 CHAPTER  XXII. 
 
 GENESIS  xxiv,  1-67. 
 
 Verses  1-9.  Abraham  is  about  to  disappear  from  the 
 scene,  but  he  makes  a  noble  exit ;  the  last  and  crowning 
 act  of  his  life  is  altogether  worthy  of  him.  There  he  is, 
 "old  and  well-stricken  in  age,"  but  "having  strongest 
 soul,  when  mo:^  his  reines  do  bow :"  there  he  is,  as  in  his 
 youth,  still  occupied  wholly  with  his  immense  hopes,  and 
 still  meditating  on  the  j)romises  which  have  given  colour 
 and  character  to  his  existence :  there  he  is,  labouring,  even 
 in  a  last  solemn  injunction  to  his  friend  and  servant,  to 
 ensure  the  happiness  of  his  son,  the  purity  of  his  race,  and 
 the  possession  of  the  Holy  Land.  His  daughter-in-law 
 must  be  of  his  own  kindred,  and  must  willingly  leave  her 
 father''s  house  and  her  own  country,  and  must  settle  in 
 Canaan. 
 
 "  And  Abraham  said  unto  his  eldest  servant  of  his  house" 
 — not  to  the  eldest  in  age,  but  to  the  eldest  or  first  in 
 place — "  that  ruled  over  all  that  he  had."  But  this  major 
 domo,  this  maire  du  palais,  was  not,  according  to  Miclia- 
 elis,'  that  Eliezar  of  Damascus,  that  steward  of  whom  we 
 
 •  Comment,  ad  cap.  xv.  4.      As  Abraham  ait  fait  avoir  a  Hagar  ou 
 
 Fourmont,  however,  found  Chronos  a  son  fils  la  seigneurie  de  Sais." — 
 
 in  Abraham,  so  on  the  faith  of  this  Anciens  Peuples,  vol.  i,  p.  81.  How 
 
 embassy,  he  sees  Mercury  in  Eli-  forced  and  impossible  do  all  these 
 
 azar.     With  him,  too,  Atlas  is  Lot  identifications   appear   when   they 
 
 ■ — Atlas,  Atolas,  by  transposition  for  are  simply  placed  before  us  ;  how 
 
 Alotas  —  and     Minerva,    Theban  plausible  and  natural,  if  we  will 
 
 name  Ogya,  Hagar;  and  he  adds:  but  labour  through  the  folios  and 
 
 "  Qu'on  se  souvienne  que  dans  le  quartos   in   which    great   learning 
 
 texte  de  Sanchoniathon  pour  Am-  and    no    inconsiderable    acuteness 
 
 KTiv  il  faut  lire  ZairiKjjv.     II  ne  re-  have  developed  their  etymological 
 
 pugne  point  du  tout  que  Kpovoc  ou  theories  ! 
 
CHAPTER    XXII.  471 
 
 have  already  heard,  now  too  old  for  such  a  mission,  but 
 some  other  trusty  servant  of  the  wealthy  Abraham. 
 
 Verse  4.  "  But  thou  shalt  go  unto  my  countiy  to  my 
 kindred,  and  take  a  wife  to  my  son  Isaac."  As  the  off- 
 spring of  marriage  contracts  between  individuals  of  the 
 same  family  are  considered  to  be  in  general  puny,  unhealthy 
 and  degenerate ;  such  marriages  (and  here  we  stand  at  issue 
 with  the  ancient  world)  are  in  our  day  almost  universally 
 condemned.  Our  views  we  confirm  by  analogies  drawn 
 from  the  breeding  of  animals  and  the  produce  of  seeds. 
 And 
 
 I.  As  regards  seeds.  It  is  a  common  field  axiom  that 
 the  same  seed  repeatedly  sown  in  the  same  ground  at 
 length  deteriorates  in  its  produce.  ]\I.  Macaire  however, 
 by  the  aid  cf  experiment,  has  proved  "  that  the  noxious 
 matter  thrown  out  by  the  roots  of  vegetables  unfits  the 
 soil  for  the  growth  of  the  same  plant,  though  it  may  be 
 beneficial  to  another  kind."^  Our  axiom  is  therefore  too 
 narrow ;  for  it  is  the  continued  succession  of  similar  crops, 
 and  not  merely  the  same  seed  sown  again  and  again  in  the 
 same  ground,  which  materially  affects  the  produce  of  the 
 land,  both  as  regards  quantity  and  quality.  And  IVIr.  Le 
 Couteur,^  in  his  pamphlet  on  wheat,  speaking  of  its  sup- 
 posed tendency  to  degenerate,  observes  that  that  degeneracy 
 is  but  the  natural  result  of  the  mixed,  good  and  bad,  vari- 
 eties of  seed  originally  sown,  which  in  the  course  of  several 
 crops  necessarily  change  the  proportion  in  which  they  at 
 first  stood  one  to  the  other,  and  consequently  also  the  qua- 
 lity of  their  joint  produce ;  i.  e.  he  observes  that  good  seed 
 under  ordinary  circumstances  produces  good  grain,  and 
 inferior  seed  inferior  grain  ;  but  that  when  both  are  sown 
 mixed  together,  the  proportion  of  quantity  in  which  they 
 originally  stood  one  to  the  other  varies  as  the  one  or  the 
 
 '  From      Wilkinson's    Ancient  it  is  Mr.  Le  Couteur's  argument  for 
 
 Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  3,  note.  a    more    minute  classification    of 
 
 ^  This  is  quoted  from  memory ;  seeds. 
 I  have  not  the  pamphlet  by  me ; 
 
472  CHAPTER   XXII. 
 
 other  seed  has  been  most  prolific.  So  far  as  seed  is  con- 
 cerned then,  our  axiom  cannot  bear  the  test  of  a  crucial 
 experience. 
 
 II.  As  regards  animals/  every  breeder  tells  us  that  in- 
 and-in-breeding,  i.  e.  breeding  from  animals  of  near  blood, 
 will  almost  certainly  produce  an  unhealthy  and  degenerate 
 stock.  How  far  is  this  assertion  well  founded  ?  Physio- 
 logists have  ascertained  that  the  physical  defects  and  weak- 
 nesses of  the  parents  are  frequently  inherited  by  the 
 offspring.  And  nature  has  accordingly  provided  for  the 
 maintenance  of  a  healthy  and  vigorous  race,  particularly 
 among  polygynic  animals,  by  making  the  females  the  prize 
 of  the  strongest  male.^  Suppose  now  that  among  our 
 domestic  animals  none  but  individuals  of  the  same  family 
 were  ever  put  together  for  the  purposes  of  breeding  ;  then, 
 as  our  choice  is  limited,  it  will  often  happen  that  an  infe- 
 rior and  weakly  animal,  one  either  accidentally"  or  origi- 
 nally defective,  must  be  employed  either  as  sire  or  dam  to 
 propagate  its  species  ;  and  such  an  animal  will  in  general 
 produce  a  weak  and  sickly  offspring.  But  this  inferiority 
 of  the  offspring  is  as  a  general  rule  to  be  attributed,  not 
 to  any  nearness  of  blood  existing  between  the  parents,  but 
 to  either  the  weakness  or  defective  organization  of  one  or 
 both  of  them. 
 
 "  There  is  no  objection  then  to  in-and-in  breeding." 
 Not  so.     For  if  the  sire  and  dam  be  brother  and  sister,^ 
 
 *  Because  animals  rather  repro-  gleich  demSieg;er,"  &:c.— Eurdacb, 
 
 (luce  the  species,   aud   tlius   differ  vol.  i,  §  254,  f. 
 
 from  plants,  which  reproduce  the  ®  That  accidental  defects  may  at 
 
 indlviduaL       In    treating    o^    the  length  become  organic  and  lieredi- 
 
 bre?ding  of  animals  we  can  p.sseut  tary,  is  a  fact  acknowledged      See 
 
 only    probable    results,    to    .vhich  the  evidence,  particularly  Sir  Ant. 
 
 there  are  many  exceptions.  Carlisle's,  in    the    Report   to    the 
 
 •^  *'  Bei  vielen  Thiereu,  am  stark-  House  of  Commons  on  our  manu- 
 
 sten  bei  den  polygynischen,  ist  das  factures.      The   effect    of   certain 
 
 Manncheu  sehr  eifersiichtig,  und  habits    on   the  organization  Blu- 
 
 kampft  sich  mit  seinen  Nebenbuh-  menbach  proves  (?)  by  the  peculiar 
 
 lern.      Der  Hirsch  erkjim  ft  sich  form  of  the   canine   teeth   in   the 
 
 seine  Weibchen,  welche  nun  sein  mummies  of  Egyptian    priests. — 
 
 Eij;cntluim  bleiben;  das  Weibchen  Apud  Burdach. 
 
 sieht  dem  Kampfe  gelassen  zu  und  '  Or  if  they  be  descended  from 
 
 itVerlasts  sich  nach  deraselben  so-  any  common  stock,  from  or  through 
 
CHAPTER  XXII.  473 
 
 and  if  the  dam  for  instance  suffer  from  any  constitutional 
 or  organic  defect,  that  defect,  though  it  may  never  break 
 out  in  disease,  will  not  improbably  have  been  inherited  by 
 her  brother  also,  and  will  therefore  ahnost  inevitably  des- 
 cend to  their  joint  progeny.  But  if  the  weakly  dam  had 
 been  put  to  an  animal  of  strange  blood,  one  free  from  the 
 hereditary  defects  of  the  brother,  though  inferior  in  both 
 size  and  strength  to  him ;  then  the  offspring,  even  though 
 they  had  inherited  the  constitutional  tendencies  of  their 
 dam,  would  have  inherited  them  modified  probably  by 
 other  tendencies  which  they  owed  to  their  sire ;  and  by 
 the  infusion  of  new  blood  the  young  stock  would  thus 
 have  acquired  fresh  strength  and  vigour.  The  general 
 rule  then  seems  to  be  this :  Do  not  breed  from  animals 
 having  hereditary  tendencies  to  the  same  diseases  ;  and  as 
 a  corollary  to  this  rule>  Do  not  breed  from  animals  in 
 which,  as  descended  from  the  same  stock,  as  nearly  allied 
 one  to  the  other,  the  same  diseases  are  probably  hereditary. 
 Besides,  if  this  in-and-in  breeding  be  in  itself  so  perni- 
 cious, how  do  we  account  for  the  life-crowded  earth  and 
 sea  and  air?  For  if,  as  is  generally  supposed,  all  animals 
 are  descended  each  after  its  kind  from  a  single  pair ;  then, 
 as  for  some  genei'ations  at  least  no  offspring  could  be  born 
 but  from  animals  of  near  blood,  the  race  must  have  gone 
 on  deteriorating,  and  that  without  a  chance  of  improvement, 
 as  all  animals  of  the  same  kind  being  in  fact  of  the  same 
 blood,  any  infusion  of  fresh  or  strange  blood  was  impos- 
 sible ;  the  animal  races  of  our  time  are  consequently  but 
 the  degenerate  representatives  of  those  of  the  yet  infant 
 world.  But  if  it  be  here  objected  that  we  have  no  evidence 
 whatever  that  only  one  pair  of  animals  of  a  kind  were  cre- 
 ated, then  we  may  point  to  the  seyexoi  factitious  breeds «  of 
 animals,  i.e.  to  those  breeds  which  man  has  by  many 
 crosses  at  length  succeeded  in  establishing,  and  which  once 
 
 which  they  both  inherit  the  same     lands.     Bunlach  mentions  a  pair 
 
 disease  or  tendencies  to  it.  oi'  rabbits  set  upon  an  island,  which 
 
 ^  Or  to  the  descendeuts  of  pairs     in  two  years  had  increased  to  six 
 
 of  animals  set  on  newly  discovered     thousand.  Physiologic,  vol.  i,§26ti. 
 
 3  p 
 
474  CHAPTER  XXII. 
 
 established  he  has  taken  care  to  keep  pure  and  unmixed ; 
 such  are  our  race-horses,  Marlborough  and  King  Charles's 
 spaniels,  &c. — all  of  them  breeds  descended  each  one 
 from  a  common  parent,  and  yet  all  of  them  containing 
 individuals  which  we  look  upon  as  the  finest  specimens  of 
 their  kinds.  On  the  whole  then  it  seems  to  me  that  in- 
 and-in  breeding  as  regards  animals  is  subject  to  no  special 
 laws, — or  more  properly,  that  as  applicable  to  the  animal 
 creation  all  breeding  follows  the  same  great  laws. 
 
 ni.  As  regards  man.     We  find  : 
 
 1st.  Some  barbarous  nations  who  allow  and  encourage 
 intermarriages  between  near  relations.  Among  the  Osti- 
 acks  no  degree  of  relationship  is  an  impediment  to  mar- 
 riage f  and  though  the  son  will  not  marry  his  mother,  the 
 father  often  takes  his  own  daughter  to  wife,  and  the  bro- 
 ther his  own  sister.  The  Ostiacks  however  are  eaten  up 
 with  scorbutic  diseases ;  but  then  they  eat  raw  and  putrid 
 flesh,  and  are  besides  an  exceedingly  dirty  people.  In 
 California  we  are  told  that  "  parentage  or  relationship 
 forms  no  obstacle  to  intermarriage ;"  and  the  Californians 
 are  described  as  a  small  deteriorated  race,  "  but  as  very 
 healthy,  notwithstanding  their  filthy  habits."  Their  small 
 size  we  may  attribute  to  the  badness  of  their  food : 
 "  they  make  flour  of  acorns,  which  they  grind  and  make 
 gruels  and  balls  of  it."'  The  native  inhabitants  of  New 
 South  Wales,  TurnbulP  says,  are  divided  into  families, 
 the  individuals  of  which  generally  marry  among  them- 
 selves, though  they  consider  any  union  between  relatives 
 nearer   than   first   cousins   unlawful.      These   people   are 
 
 ^  "  Les   den'res   de   parente   ne  quelle  ils  vivent,  les  viandes  criies 
 
 mettent  auciu)  obstacle  a  ces  unions  et  infectes  dout  ils  so  nourrissent, 
 
 conjugales.     Un  fils  n'epouse  pas  lour  causent  des  maladies  scorbu- 
 
 sa   mere,  parceque  les  meres  sans  tiques,"  Sec.  (Id.  p.  524.) 
 doute  sont  dejd  vieilles  lorsque  leurs         i  Forbes'  California,  p.  189, 190, 
 
 enfans  sont  nubiles;  mais  on  voit  196.     They  are  healthy  "in  their 
 
 des   peres   faire  leurs   femmes  de  native   state   only ;   it   is   very   far 
 
 leurs  propres  fiUes,  et   des  freres  otherwise    in     their     domesticated 
 
 epouser  leurs  soeurs."    (Hist.  Gen.  state." 
 
 des  Voyages,   vol.   xviii,   p.  516.)         ^  Voyage  round  the  World,  vol. 
 
 "  L'cxcessive  malproprete  dans  la-  i,  p.  81. 
 
CHAPTER  XXII,  475 
 
 quick  of  eye  and  ear,  but  meagre  in  their  persons  ; 
 perhaps  because  they  are  subject  to  great  vicissitudes 
 of  plenty  and  famine.  Similarly  the  Caribbees  we  are 
 informed  always  choose  their  wives  from  among  their 
 relations ;  but  they,  unlike  the  other  nations  we  have 
 passed  in  review,  are  placed  before  us  as  a  tall,  and 
 straight-limbed,  and  broad-shouldered,  and  healthy,  and 
 long-lived  race."  But  to  leave  these  uncertain  accounts 
 of  barbarous  people,  we  find  that, 
 
 2ndly.  Among  comparatively  civilised  nations,  and  among 
 those  too  who  more  particularly  studied  the  material  and 
 external  world,  several  have  allowed  and  even  encouraged 
 the  intermarriage  of  near  relations.  The  ancient  Greeks  ^ 
 permitted  all  relatives,  save  parents  and  children,  to  marry 
 one  with  another ;  thus  the  six  sons  of  ^olus  are  married 
 to  his  six  daughters ;  Iphidamas  and  Diomed  to  their 
 maternal  aunts ;  and  Alcinous  to  his  niece.  Amono-  the 
 Hindus,  those  of  good  caste  to  the  utmost  avoid  the 
 alliances  of  strangers ;  they  ever  seek  to  marry  their 
 children  into  families  to  which  they  are  already  united  by 
 ties  of  blood  or  affinity  ;  and  the  marriage  is  preferred  in 
 proportion  as  the  contracting  j^arties  are  nearly  related.^ 
 
 ^  Sitten  d.  Wilden,  vol.  ii :  "  Sie  lia  ;  oude  da'  fratelli  e  sorelli  do- 
 
 sich  nur  mit   Weibern   aus  ihrer  vettero    incouiinciare."  —  Scienza 
 
 Verwandschaft      verlieyratlieii." —  Nuova,  §27H.    See  also  the  institu- 
 
 P.  10.   "  Sie  sind  meistentbeils  vou  tioiis  of  Manco  Capac  with  regard 
 
 eineni  hohen  Wucbs  und  wohlge-  to    marriage.      (Garcilasso    de  la 
 
 baut,  von   breiten    Sclmltern    uud  Vega,  Hist,  des  Yncas,   c.  xxi,  § 
 
 Huften,  und  von  gesunder  Natur."  i,  p.  46.) 
 
 (p.  17.) "  Man   trifft  unter         *  "  Les  Indiens  de  bonne  caste 
 
 ilinen  keine  Kri'ippel  und  ungestal-  evitent  autant  qu'ils  le  peuvent  de 
 
 tete    Personen    an,  keine  Blinde,  contraeter  des  alliances  etrangeres, 
 
 keine  Kahlkopt'e  die  esvonlSatur  et  ils  cberchent  loujours  a  marier 
 
 sind." — Id.  p.  IS.  lenrs  enfans  dans  des  families  avec 
 
 ''  Feithii  Antiq.  Homer,  c.  xiii.  lesquelles  ils  sont  deja  unis  par  les 
 
 The  same  was  the  custom  of  the  liens  de  consanguinite  ou  d'affinite. 
 
 ancient    Romans,      according     to  Les  mariages  se  font  d'autant  plus 
 
 Vice :  "  Le  nozze  del  Romani  si  volontiers,  que  les  contractans  sont 
 
 celebravano  aqim  el  igne ;  perche  plus    proches    parens."  —  Dubois, 
 
 i  primi  matrimonj  naturalmente  si  Moeurs  des  Indes,  vol.  i,  p.  10,  30. 
 
 contrassero    tra    uomini   e   donne  See  the  rules  to  be  observed  in  the 
 
 ch'  avevano  I'acqua  e'l  fuoco  com-  choice  of  a  wife.  (lustit.  of  Menu, 
 
 mune,  e  si  erano  d'una  stessa  fami-  c.  iii,  §  o,  10.) 
 
476  CHAPTER   XXII. 
 
 Of  the  physical  condition  of  the  Hindus  generally,  Dubois 
 gives  us  no  very  favourable  opinions;  but  Von  Bolilen 
 describes  them  as  handsome,  tall,  and  slender,  and  well- 
 built  and  well-proportioned,  though  somewhat  effeminate 
 in  appearance,  as  a  race  of  men  far  superior  to  the 
 Aborigines  and  mixed  population  of  India.'  The  Egyp- 
 tians allowed  brothers  and  sisters  to  marry  ; »  and  from  the 
 exclusive  character  of  their  priesthood,9  we  may  presume 
 that  among  them,  as  among  the  Hindus,  individuals  of 
 high  caste  generally  chose  wives  from  out  of  their  own 
 families.  Herodotus  nevertheless  speaks  of  them  as  the 
 healthiest  people  then  known  next  to  the  Lybians,  and  as 
 the  people  who  paid  the  most  attention  to  their  health,  i 
 The  Persians  regard  marriage  as  something  in  itself  most 
 holy ;  but  a  marriage  between  cousins-german  is  an  action, 
 says  Zoroaster,  which  merits  heaven ;  and  every  page  of 
 his  law  evidences  the  attention  which  he  paid  to  health, 
 and  the  horror  in  Avhich  he  held  all  deformity.^  Similarly 
 the  Jews,  though  oppressed  by  sanitory  laws  and  degraded 
 by  any  mal-conformation  of  body,^  preferred  alliances  with 
 their  own  kindred.''     But  if  family  intermarriages  were  so 
 
 "  "  On  n'y  rencontre  que  tres  peu  the  Isouri.     Vide  Von  Bohlen,  lb. 
 
 de  bossus,   tres   peu   de   boiteux,  p.  24. 
 
 autres  que  ceux  qui  le  deviennent  "  Diodorus  Sicnlus,  ut  supra. 
 
 par  accident En  revanche  le  '  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
 
 nombre  des  aveugles  y  est  conside-  vol.  i,  p.  271. 
 
 rable"  (ut  supra,  p.  445).     Again:  i  Vide  Herodotus,  lib.  ii,  §  77, 
 
 "  La  faiblesse  des  facultes  mentales  and  the  passages  in  Wilkinson,  ut 
 
 chez  les  peuples  de  I'lnde  parait  supra,  vol.  iii,  p  391,  &c. 
 
 etre  proportionnee  a  celles  des  fa-  ^   "  Zoroastre    recomraande    le 
 
 cultfes  corporelles.     Je  ne  crois  pas  manage     entre     cousins-germains 
 
 qu'il  existe  d'autre  nation  civilisee  comme  une  action   qui    merite   le 
 
 qui  compte  dans  son  sein  autant  Ciel."— Zend.  vol.ii,p.612.  Forthe 
 
 de  gens  idiots  ou  stupides." — Id.  importance  attached  to  health,  see 
 
 p.  452.  Fargard  xv,  xvi. 
 
 '  "Die  Brahmanen-hindus  wie  ^  \See  Levit.  xxi.  17. 
 
 man  sie  im  Gegensatze  der  Urbe-  •»  Thus  Tobit,  in  his  instructions 
 
 wohnern  nennen  kann  sind  gross  to  his  son  Tobias :  "  Beware  of  all 
 
 und  schlank,  wohlgebaut  und  pro-  whoredom,   my   son  ;   and   chiefly 
 
 portionirt,  aber  wenig  muskelos,"  take   a   wife   of   the  seed    of  thy 
 
 i^c. — Das  Alt.  Tndien,  vol.  i,  p.  47.  fathers  ;  and   take    not  a  strange 
 
 Von    Bohlen   describes  the   high-  woman  to  wife  which  is  not  of  thy 
 
 caste  Brahmins   of  the    Dekkan  ;     father's  tribe Rememl)cr,  my 
 
 Dubois  the  mixed  population   of  son  that  our  fathers,  even  from  the 
 
CHAPTER   XXII.  477 
 
 pernicious,  would  the  fact  have  escaped  the  observation  of 
 these  people  to  whom  it  was  of  such  importance. 
 
 But  though  by  an  examination  into  the  condition  of  dif- 
 ferent people  who  have  allowed  or  encouraged  family 
 intenuarriages  we  may  have  shown  that  there  is  no  reason 
 to  suppose  that  such  marriages  perniciously  affect  the 
 national  physical  character;  yet  as  they  may  be  compara- 
 tively rare,  we  can  arrive  at  no  accurate  conclusion  as  to 
 their  tendencies,  until  we  can  state  the  proportion  which 
 their  offspring  bears  to  the  whole  population  ; — as  we  are 
 unable  to  do  this,  we  must  look  for  some  historical  family, 
 the  members  of  which  were  accustomed  to  marry  amongst 
 themselves,  and  then  examine  whether  its  descendants 
 showed  any  extraordinary  or  unexpected  marks  of  degene- 
 racy. Such  a  family  was  the  Bacchiadian,5  the  oligarchy 
 of  Corinth ;  for  two  hundred  years  they  ruled,  and  pros- 
 perously ruled  their  native  city  ;  and  during  that  time  they 
 founded  several  great  colonies,  and  pi'oduced  several  dis- 
 tinguished men.«  That  they  did  not  intellectually  dege- 
 nerate, their  position  and  their  deeds  sufficiently  prove  ; 
 and  that  they  were  phjsically  a  fine  race,  I  think  avc  may 
 gather  from  the  very  story  of  the  lame  and  rejected 
 Labda.''  Such  another  family  was  the  Ptolemaic,  in 
 which  brother  frequently  married  sister ;  and  yet  of  these 
 sovereigns  of  Egypt,  though  morally  depraved,  I  do  not 
 remember  that,  with  the  exception  of  Ptolemy  Physcon, 
 they  were  as  men  deficient  in  either  personal  attraction  or 
 mental  power.  And  such  another  family  was  that  of  the 
 Yncas  of  Peru.  They  were  compelled  to  marry  their 
 nearest  surviving  relative, — the  sister  was  preferred  ;  and 
 yet  read  their  histories,  compare  them  with  their  sub- 
 jects, and  they  are  indeed  "children  of  the  sun."* 
 
 beginning,  that  they  married  wives  the  poet ;    Pbilolaos  the  lawgiver, 
 
 of    their    oivn  kindred,  and    were  &c. — Miiller,  die  Doner,  vol.  i,  p. 
 
 blessed  in  their  children.'"— \v.  12.  102,  129;  vol.  ii,  p.  200. 
 
 ^  BaKxiaSai eSiSoaav  St  Kai         '  Herod,  ut  supra. 
 
 »)yoj/ro  t|  aXXj/Xwv.— Herod,  v.  92.         *  Garcilasso   de  la  Vega,  Hist. 
 
 ®  Archias,  founder  of  Syracuse ;  dcs  Yncas. 
 Chersikrates  of  Corcyra  ;  Eumelos 
 
478  CUAPTER  XXII. 
 
 But  we  will  view  the  question  in  another  light ;  we  Avill 
 look  at  those  nations,  and  into  the  history  of  those  fami- 
 lies, who  in  forming  matrimonial  alliances  avoid  or  have 
 avoided  all  degrees  of  consanguinity.  Such  are  the  Samo- 
 jedes : '  no  one  among  them  will  marry  a  girl  who  is  of  a 
 common  descent,  never  mind  how  distant,  with  himself. 
 Well,  surely  if  there  be  such  virtue  in  the  mixing  of 
 bloods,  the  Samojedes  are  pre-eminent  among  their  fellow- 
 men  ?  They  are  indeed  a  healthy  because  a  well-fed 
 people ;  but  among  the  smallest  and  ugliest  of  known 
 races.'  Look  too  at  the  condition  of  Europe  during  the 
 dark  ages ;  the7i  marriages  between  relatives  to  the  seventh 
 degree  were  prohibited ;  and  yet  these  are  the  ages  of 
 plagues  and  pestilence,  of  choleras,  leprosies,  and  sweating- 
 sickness,  of  human  degeneracy.^  Or  take  a  family.  Look 
 into  the  history  of  the  Merovingian  kings.  They  married 
 neither  sisters  nor  cousins,  but  took  them  wives  of  all 
 which  they  chose ;  and  after  three  descents  their  first 
 burst  of  energy  was  already  exhausted ;  and  fathers  at 
 fifteen,  old  men  at  thirty,  they  but  dragged  out  another 
 century  of  an  unnoticed  existence.  Examine  also  the  sove- 
 reigns of  the  Carlo vingian  dynasty :  they  sought  out  for  fiiir 
 Avomen  and  married  them;  and  after  three  or  four  generations 
 they  too  had  faded  away.  Compare  these  ephemeral  races 
 with  the  Capetian  that  succeeded  them.     This  last  endea- 
 
 ^  "  Us  evitent  scrupuleusement  est  a-peu-pves  au  niveau  de  I'os  de 
 
 dans  leurs  mariages  les  degres  de  la  machoire  superieure  qu'ils   ont 
 
 consang'uinite  ou  de  parente,  jus-  fort  elevees,  la  bouclie  grande,  et 
 
 qu'a  la  qu'un  homine  n'epousera  les  levres  minces."  (Id.  p.  502.) 
 
 jamais  une  fille  qui  descend,comme  "  La  chasse  en  hiver  et  la  peche  en 
 
 lui,  d'une  meme  famille,  a  quelque  ete  leur  fournissent  abondamment 
 
 degre  d'eloignement  que  ce  soit."  la  nourriture    necessaire."  —  (Id. 
 
 — Histoire  Gen^rale  des  Voyages,  p.  504. 
 vol.  xviii,  p.  509.  ^  We    might     instance     Sicily. 
 
 1    "  C'es   hommes  sont  pour   la  Mankind  seems  to  have  given  itself 
 
 pliipart  d'une  taille   au  dessous  de  rendezvous  on   its   shores.      Sica- 
 
 la  moyenne." "  lis  ont  le  corps  uians,Greeks,  Dorians  and  lonians, 
 
 dur  et  nerveux,  les  jambes  courtes  Africans,  Romans,  Vandals,  Arabs, 
 
 le  cou  tres  court,  et  la  tete  Normans,  Germans,  French,  have 
 
 grosse le  visage  aplati,  les  yeux  all  contributed  to  its  population — 
 
 noirs  et  mediocrement  ouvcrts,  le  and   that  population    is   certainly 
 
 nez  tellemcnt  ecrase  que  le  bout  en  not  a  fine  race  of  men. 
 
CHAPTER  xxn.  479 
 
 voured  rather  to  perpetuate  itself  by  family  alliances ; 
 cousin  has  married  with  cousin,  uncle  with  niece,  and 
 after  nine  centuries  it  flourishes  still,  occupying  half  the 
 thrones  of  Europe. 
 
 With  man  then,  as  with  the  rest  of  the  animal  creation, 
 it  seems, 
 
 1st.  That  strong  and  perfectly  healthy  parents,  never 
 mind  how  closely  allied  in  blood,  generally  i:)rocreate 
 strong  and  healthy  children ;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
 
 2ndly.  That  weak  and  diseased  parents,  though  wholly 
 unconnected  in  blood,  generally  produce  offspring  weak 
 and  sickly  like  themselves. 
 
 But  again  as  childi-en  may  and  do  inherit,  not  the  con- 
 stitutional tendencies  of  one  parent  merely,  but  the  modi- 
 fied constitutional  tendencies  of  both,  it  follows, 
 
 1st.  That  healthy  parents,  but  each  of  them  with  a  cer- 
 tain latent  tendency  to  disease,  though,  not  to  the  same  disease, 
 may  produce  children  inheriting  indeed,  though  probably 
 in  a  less  degree,  their  diiferent  constitutional  tendencies ; 
 and  consequently  produce  children,  to  say  the  least,  as 
 healthy  as  themselves.^     And 
 
 2ndly.  That  healthy  parents,  but  with  latent  tendencies 
 to  the  same  disease,  may  indeed  procreate  children  inhe- 
 riting these  tendencies  only  in  the  same  degree  as  them- 
 selves ;  but  most  probably  they  will  procreate  children  in 
 whom  these  tendencies  are  developed  and  active,  unhealthy 
 children. 
 
 As  regards  now  family  intermarriages,  but  considering 
 marriage  only  in  so  far  as  it  has  for  its  object  the  procrea- 
 tion of  a  healthy  and  vigorous  offspring,  we  will  observe, 
 
 1st.  That  no  one  who,  through  his  father  say,  inherits 
 
 ^  I  say  with  latent  tendencies  to  whose  make,  &c.  you  can  trace  to  a 
 
 disease,  because  where  is  the  family  cross  which  took  place  some  jjenera- 
 
 that   has    not    on    the    father    or  tions  back  in  the  ancestors  of  either 
 
 mother's   side   its    hereditary   ma-  of  the  parents  ;  so  also  no  doubt  the 
 
 lady  ?     And  throughout    I    speak  bad  constitution  of  a  great  grand- 
 
 generally ;  for  as  in  breeding  ani-  father  may,  skipping  the  interme- 
 
 mals  you  will  sometimes  find   the  diate  descents,  be  inherited  by  the 
 
 female  throwing  young  wholly  un-  great-grandchild. 
 like  to  either  the  sire  or  herself,  but 
 
480  CUAPTER   XXII. 
 
 tendencies  to  any  particular  disease,  should  venture  to 
 contract  an  alliance  with  a  paternal  aunt ;  or  though  the 
 mixture  of  other  blood  has  diminished  the  risk,  even  with  a 
 first-cousin  on  the  father's  side.  But  in  so  far  at  least  as 
 that  particular  disease  is  concerned,  he  may,  without  the 
 slightest  danger  of  developing  it  in  his  children,  intermarry 
 with  either  his  mother's  sister  or  her  niece. 
 
 And  2ndly.  That  no  one  will  intermarry  into  the  family 
 of  either  of  his  parents,  who  observes,  both  in  himself  and 
 in  his  brothers  and  sisters,  an  increased  development  of 
 those  defects  (as  ungainly  form,  small  stature,  &c.)  which 
 characterise  the  family  of  one  of  them,  and  from  which 
 that  of  the  other  appears  free ;  for  he  perceives  that  the 
 mixture  of  the  two  bloods  favours  instead  of  correcting 
 these  defects. 
 
 The  general  rule  for  marriage  then  is  this : 
 
 If  you  belong  to  a  healthy  and  well-formed  family,  with 
 a  wife  of  the  same  family  you  will  produce  healthy  and 
 well-formed  children.  If  on  the  other  hand  you  are  of  an 
 unhealthy  and  ill-formed  race ;  marry  into  some  family  of 
 better  blood,  and  thus  seek  to  correct  the  impurities  of 
 your  own. 
 
 But  a  question  suggests  itself. 
 
 Is  it  desirable  to  mix  races  ?  Are  the  children  of  a  ne- 
 gro and  a  white,  or  of  a  negro  and  a  Hindu,  or  of  a  Hindu 
 and  a  red  man,  improvements  on  the  inferior  parents  ?  are 
 they  an  approach  to  a  higher  type  of  Humanity  ?  Or  if 
 we  take  individuals  of  the  same  race  but  of  different  coun- 
 tries and  climates  ;  if  we  vmite  an  Englishman  to  an  Ara- 
 bic woman,  or  a  Spaniard  to  a  Dane ;  or  if  we  take  indi- 
 viduals of  the  same  country  but  of  different  ranks  and 
 habits,  if  we  ally  the  gentleman  to  the  peasant,  what  will 
 be  the  produce  of  these  several  unions?  Will  their  progeny 
 equal  children  born  from  parents  of  the  same  country  and 
 of  the  same  station  in  life? 
 
 Verses  10,  14.  The  faithful  servant  sets  forth  on  his 
 journey.     He  arrives  at  the  city  of  Nahor,  but  he  does  not 
 
CHAPTER  XXII.  481 
 
 immediately  proceed  to  Nahor's  house,  to  demand  one  of 
 Nahor's  daughters  in  marriage ;  no,  seated  near  the  public 
 well,  he  considers  within  himself  how  he  may  best  execute 
 the  commission  with  which  he  has  been  entrusted,  and — 
 with  that  timidity  of  character,  we  would  say,  which  is 
 often  mistaken  for  piety,  but  rationally  enough  considering 
 the  views  Avhich  he  and  his  age  entertained  of  the  divine 
 providence — he  concludes  on  leaving  the  matter  in  God's 
 hands. 
 
 Rousseau  in  his  "  Confessions,"  mentions,  that  in  the  earlier 
 part  of  his  life  he  Avas  often  troubled  with  doubts  and  fears 
 as  to  his  lot  in  a  future  world :  but  that  one  day  as  he  was 
 strolling  in  the  fields,  he  suddenly  took  up  a  stone  and 
 aiming  at  a  tree  which  stood  at  some  distance,  determined 
 that  if  he  hit  the  tree,  and  he  was  but  a  bad  marksman,  he 
 should  look  on  liimself  as  saved, — if  he  missed  it,  as  damned. 
 He  fortunately  hit  the  mark,  he  adds,  and  from  that  day 
 forward  regarded  his  salvation  as  certain.  Abraham's 
 ambassador  however,  does  not  go  to  work  quite  so  blindly  : 
 for  he  resolves  on  choosing,  not  the  first  maiden  who  ofiers 
 him  her  services,  but  the  first  who  willingly  grants  the 
 service  asked  of  her.  As  the  question  proceeds  from  him, 
 he  secures,  youth,  health,  beauty,  and  a  suitable  rank ;  and 
 the  answer  he  requires,  and  which  is  to  seal  his  choice, 
 speaks  the  future  bride's  kindly  and  willing  disposition. 
 
 Again  Abraham's  servant  not  improbably  takes  on  him- 
 self the  initiative  of  the  convei'sation,  because  he  conceives 
 that  that  maiden  shows  no  maidenly  spirit,  who  unasked 
 offers  an  apparently  wealthy  stranger  so  slight  a  service  as 
 a  drink  of  water ;  or  he  feels  that  a  woman's  attentions  may 
 sometimes  be  but  "  a  chevril  glove"  to  her  curiosity,  and 
 an  evidence  rather  of  an  impudent  officiousness  than  of  a 
 well-natured  disposition.  In  this  wooer's  mode  of  pro- 
 ceeding there  is  some  method  :  and  with  all  his  trust  in  Pro- 
 vidence, he  displays,  despite  the  fairy-tale  rashness  of  his 
 plan,  no  little  shrewdness  and  practical  wisdom. 
 
 Verses  15-52.  Rebekah  comes  to  the  well  to  draw  water, 
 
 3q 
 
482  CHAPTER  xxri, 
 
 and  does  just  what  was  required  of  her  ;  on  this  Abraham's 
 servant  proceeds  to  her  father's  house,  and  proposes  for  her 
 in  his  master's  name.  His  offer  is  accepted,  and  the  mar- 
 riage is  regarded  by  both  parties  as  literally  a  marriage 
 "  made  in  heaven,"  as  proceeding  from  the  Lord. 
 
 Put  out  the  piety  which  does  not  belong  to  our  age,  and 
 change  the  form  of  expression  a  little,  and  this  marriage 
 negotiation  which  took  place  b.  c.  1840,  will  do  very  well 
 for  A.  D.  1840.  A  joroposal  for  the  daughter  of  a  family  is 
 still,  as  it  was  then,  a  mere  statement  of  rent  roll, — "seven 
 hundred  pounds  and  possibilities  is  good  gifts," — to  which  is 
 now  affixed  an  assurance — and  herein  we  differ  from  the 
 men  of  the  olden  world — not  that  the  contemplated  mar- 
 riage is  God's  will,  but  that  it  is  equally  desired  by,  and 
 will  be  for  the  mutual  happiness  of,  the  parties  principally 
 interested. 
 
 Have  we  then  degenerated  ?  Are  we  more  selfisli  and 
 less  pious  than  the  men  of  the  ancient  time  ?  I  think  not. 
 The  world  was  for  them  some  inextricable  labyrinth,  the 
 issues  and  confused  windings  and  mazes  of  which  were 
 known  only  to  its  great  Maker.  To  Him,  therefore,  and 
 He  was  ever  near  them,  on  all  great  occasions  they  looked  : 
 at  every  doubtful  turn,  they  prayed  for  His  assistance,  they 
 required  His  willing  counsel,  and  their  own  desperate  re- 
 solves they  then  regarded  as  His  inspirations.  They  were 
 like  docile,  because  timorous,  children,  who  fly  the  respon- 
 sibility of  self-conduct.  We  however  have  found  an 
 Ariadne.  The  clue  of  the  labyrinth  is  ours.  We  rejoice  in 
 its  exquisite  beauty,  its  perfect  order.  Curiously  we  trace 
 it  through  its  thousand  turnings  and  returnings  ;  we  know 
 its  great  alleys,  its  issues  and  its  entrances.  We  are  men; 
 and  God  has  given  us  star  and  compass  ;  and  we  pray  now, 
 not  for  His  help  in  our  career  after  fortune  or  happiness, 
 but  for  pure  hearts,  so  that  whatever  may  be  our  fates  we 
 may  never  disgrace  His  service. 
 
 Verse  50.  "  Then  Laban  and  Bethuel  answered."  Is 
 this  Bethuel,  Bethuel  the  father?      How  then  is  it  that 
 
CHAPTER    XXII.  483 
 
 throughout  this  busy  chapter  we  only  once  find  his  name, 
 and  only  once  hear  his  voice,  and  hear  it  but  as  the  echo 
 of  Laban's  ?  Was  he  worn  out  and  imbecile  with  age, 
 that  he  had  given  up  the  government  of  his  house  and 
 family  ?  For  to  his  son  he  leaves  it  to  invite  the  approach- 
 ing guest,  and  to  dispose  of  his  only  daughter  in  marriage, 
 and  to  accept  her  dowry  ?  Rather,  was  he  not  dead  ?  and 
 is  not  his  name  here  a  form  or  an  interpolation  ? 
 
 Verse  53.  Wherever  women  are  condemned  to  severe 
 and  perpetual  labour,  wherever  they  are  more  or  less  the 
 slaves,  first  of  their  parents  and  afterwards  of  their  hus- 
 bands, there  they  are  also  regarded  as  property,  and  there 
 the  father  will  not  part  with  his  daughter  but  for  a  valu- 
 able consideration :  hence  the  custom  among  barbarous 
 nations,  as  in  ancient  Peru,  in  Siberia,  among  the  Tartars, 
 the  negroes  of  Guinea  and  Senegal,  and  the  Arabs,  and 
 even  among  the  Chinese,  of  purchasing  the  bride  by  adower.'' 
 Were  "  these  precious  tilings"  which  Abraham's  servant 
 presented  to  Laban  and  his  mother  the  dower  or  purchase- 
 money  of  Rebecca  ?  I  should  conclude  so  from  the  price, 
 fourteen  years  of  servitude,  which  the  poor  Jacob  was  com- 
 pelled to  pay  for  Laban's  daughters,  Leah  and  liachel. 
 Was  the  wife  in  these  times  then  only  the  slave  and  pro- 
 perty of  the  husband  ?  * 
 
 "•  Mill's  British  India,  vol.  i,  book     through  avarice  takes  a  gratuity  for 
 ii,  p.  384.  Robertson's  America,  p.     that  purpose,  is  a  seller  of  his  off- 
 311;  Histoire  Gen.  des  Voyages,     spring."  —  Institutes,  c.  iii,  §   51. 
 vol.  v;  p.  180;  xviii,   p.  565,  Ike.     In  Menu  there  seems  a  desire  to 
 In  Menu  however — and  in  India,     raise  the  condition  of  the  woman, 
 the  woman  nevertheless  holds  an     See  Id.  §  56,  60,  Sec. 
 inferior  and  dependant  station  (v.         ^  The  custom  may  however  con- 
 ix,2,18,&c.) — the  sale  of  daughters     tinue  after  the  woman  is  compara- 
 appears  as  something  disgraceful,     tively  emancipated,  and  even  the 
 "  Let  no  fathers  ho  knows  the  law,"     wife  may  be  purchased    and    re- 
 he  advises,  "  receive  a  gratuity  how-     ceive    a   jointure  at  one  and  the 
 ever  small  for  givir.g  his  daughter    same  time.     So  Agamemnon  offers 
 in  marriage ;  since  the  man,  who     Achilles,  of  his  daughters — 
 "  The  worthiest  let  him  take 
 AM  joi/nturelesse,  to  Peleus  court :  /  ivill  her  jnipiture  make. 
 And  that  so  great  as  never  yet  did  any  maide  preferre ; 
 Seven  cities  right  magnificent  I  will  bestow  on  her." 
 
 II.  ix.  144,  Chapman. 
 
'484 
 
 CHAPTER   XXII. 
 
 "  And  the  servant  brought  forth  jewels  of  silver  and 
 jewels  of  gold,  and  gave  them  to  Rebecca."  "  Among  the 
 Orientals,"  says  Volney,  "  the  only  articles  of  luxury  are 
 goldsmith's  work,  Avhich  is  confined  to  women's  trinkets, 
 saucers  for  coifee  wrought  like  lace,  the  ornaments  of  their 
 harness,  their  pipes,  and  the  silk  stuffs  of  Alejypo  and 
 Damascus^ "  The  Hindoos  too,  according  to  Dubois,  have 
 the  same  tastes;  the  wives  of  the  very  poorest  among  them 
 (and  their  poverty  is  beyond  anything  we  can  conceive) 
 possess  silver  bracelets,  and  wear  earrings  generally  of 
 crold.^ 
 
 Verses  54-67.  Rebecca  leaves  the  home  of  her  lather, 
 and  dwells  with  Isaac  in  the  tent  of  Sarah. 
 
 Verse  55.  "  Let  the  damsel  abide  with  us  a  few  days, 
 at  the  least  ten."  The  marginal  reading  has  "  a  full  year 
 or  ten  months."  Again  ten  months,  as  in  the  deluge! 
 Have  we  not  somewhat  too  lighty  taken  it  for  granted 
 that  the  year  in  these  early  times  was  of  twelve  months, 
 or  three  hundred  and  sixty  days  ? 
 
 In  my  observations  on  the  deluge,  I  suggested  that  by 
 putting  out  the  fifth  verse  of  the  eighth  chapter  as  an 
 
 ^  Travels  in  Syria,  vol.  ii,  cliap. 
 xxxix,  p.  287. 
 
 ■^  For  the  wretched  condition  of 
 the  Hindus,  see  Dubois,  part  i, 
 chap.  vi.  "  Les  moins  miserables 
 possedent  un  vase  de  cuivre  pour 
 
 boire des  bracelets  d'argent  va- 
 
 lant  trois  ou  quatre  roupies,  a 
 I'usag-e  des  fennncs,"  &c. — vol.  i, 
 p.  102.     "  Tousles  Indiens  portent 
 
 des    pendans   d'oreilles." — id. 
 
 p.  469.  Dubois  goes  on  to  say: 
 "  Ces  pendans  d'oreilles,  quelque- 
 fois  d'une  grosseur  demesnree, 
 sont  un  nouveau  temoignage  de  la 
 perseverance  des  Indiens  dans  leurs 
 antiques  hal)itudes,  car  les  auteuvs 
 sacres  et  pnjl'ancs  attcstent  tjue  des 
 ornemcns  d'une  parcille  nature  cx- 
 
 istaicnt  «?7?eiir.s  des  temps  immenio- 
 rials." — Id.  I  find  however  the 
 same  ornaments— among  the  Peru- 
 vians :  "  Des  pendans  d'oreille  de 
 la  largeur  d'un  pied  de  bocal." 
 (Hist,  des  Yncas,  p.  48.) — and  in- 
 deed amongst  almost  all  uncivilized 
 people,  who,  instead  of  asking 
 "  Jahre  lang  schon  bedien'  ich  niich 
 
 meiner  Nase  zum  Riechen ; 
 "  Hah'  ich  denn  aher  an  sie  audi 
 
 ein  erweisliches  Recht  ?" 
 seem  to  think  that  their  ears  and 
 noses  were  made  to  stick  ornaments 
 on.  I  call  the  wearing  of  earrings, 
 &c.  not  the  perseverance  in  an  old 
 custom,  but  a  custom  which  belongs 
 to  a  certain  stage  of  Humanity. 
 
CHAPTER    XXII.  485 
 
 interpolation,  we  might  render  it  highly  probable  that  the 
 sabbatical  cycle  was  known  to  and  observed  by  the  ante- 
 diluvian ages.  I  thought  this  an  emendation,  but  was 
 obliged  to  reject  it  as  directly  opposed  to  the  facts  of  the 
 history.  And  if  now  to  ascertain  the  length  of  the  patri- 
 archal year  I  refer  to  the  narrative  of  the  deluge,  I  find, 
 on  adding  together  the  several  periods  mentioned  there, 
 that  the  last  dove  was  sent  from  the  ark  on  the  three  hun- 
 dred and  thirty-second  day  of  the  year,  and  that  the  year 
 therefore,  unless  some  error  have  crept  into  the  text,  was 
 of  more  than  ten  months,  or  three  hundred  days. 
 
 But  the  narrative  of  the  deluge,  as  it  at  present  stands, 
 presents  many  difficulties  ;  suppose  therefore  some  error  in 
 its  text ;  suppose  its  year  to  have  consisted  but  of  ten 
 months, — and  it  speaks  but  of  ten  ;  then,  if  we  reject  the 
 forty  days  in  the  sixth  verse  of  chapter  the  eighth,  we 
 have  a  year  just  such  as  we  require  ;  and  if  moreover  we 
 make  Noah  to  send  forth  the  raven  on  the  first  day  of  the 
 tenth  month,  and  seven  days  afterwards  the  dove,  and  so 
 on  to  the  opening  of  the  ark,  we  shall  find,  supposing 
 Noah  to  have  entered  the  ark  on  a  sabbath,  that  the  first 
 and  second  day  ^  of  the  tenth  month  is  also  a  sabbath ;  that 
 in  fact  all  the  great  divisions  or  epochs  in  the  deluge  fall  on 
 a  sabbath,  except  the  opening  of  the  ark,  which  takes  jilace 
 only  eight  days  after  the  flight  of  the  last  dove,  and  takes 
 place  consequently  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  also  the 
 first  day  of  the  first  month  of  the  new  year,  the  first  year 
 of  Noah's  seventh  century,  the  birth-year  of  the  new  earth. 
 We  thus  have  a  conjectural  emendation  which  reduces  the 
 length  of  the  year  to  the  number  of  months  mentioned  in 
 the  text,  which  accounts  for  every  day  spent  in  the  ark, 
 and  wliicli  in  accordance  Avith  the  views  of  tlie  olden  world 
 
 *  The  Sabhath  beginning:  on  the  the  whole  of  the  Sabbath  for  the 
 
 evening  of   the   fir  it — the    Jews  return  of  the  hist  dove,  he  would 
 
 reckoning  the  day  from  sunset  to  wait  its  return  till  the  sunset  of  the 
 
 sunset — Noah  wouldprobaljly  delay  last  day  of  the  year,  and  would  not 
 
 sending   forth  the   bird   until   the  therefore  probably  uncover  the  ark 
 
 morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  until  the  lirst  day  of  the  new  year, 
 tenth  month.     And  if  he  waited 
 
486  CHAPTER   XXII. 
 
 commemorates  only  certain  days — an  emendation  moreover 
 plausible  enough,  but  one  with  wliich  I  am  not  so  much 
 in  love  as  to  regard  it  as  anything  more  than  a  conjecture. 
 
 Verse  60.  In  India,  to  be  the  mother  of  a  numerous 
 offspring  is  considered  a  great  honour.  "  Hence  parents 
 often  say  to  their  daughters,  '  Be  thou  the  mother  of  thou- 
 sands.'    Beggars  also  when  relieved  say  to  the  mistress  of 
 
 the  house,  '  Ah,  madam,  millions  will  come  from  you.' 
 
 Brahmins  in  blessing  their  followers  say, '  The  blessings  of 
 children  are  yours.' "  ^  In  Egypt  too  Ave  find  the  same 
 longing  desire  for  offspring.  An  Egyptian  will  divorce 
 his  wife  because  she  is  barren,  or  he  will  marry  a  second, 
 and  make  the  childless  one  her  slave.  There,  children,  the 
 husband  seems  to  consider,  are  the  one  end  and  object  of 
 marriage ;  and  there  the  wife,  besides  that  desire  for  them 
 which  is  natural  to  her  sex,  longs  for  them  because  her 
 destiny  depends  upon  her  becoming  a  mother.' 
 
 Verse  63.  "  And  Isaac  went  out  to  meditate  in  the 
 field  at  even-tide."  The  marginal  reading  has  "  to  pray." 
 Micliaelis  and  De  Wette^  however  translate  the  passage  as 
 if  Isaac  went  out  to  look  whether  there  was  trace  or  tidings 
 of  the  returning  messenger.  I  must  own  that  the  prayer 
 in  the  field  seems  to  me  in  keeping  neither  with  the  lan- 
 guage of  this  book  nor  with  the  character  of  these  times. 
 For  infant  man  prayer  is  too  solemn  an  act  to  be  lightly 
 engaged  in ;  it  requires  the  prestige  of  the  altar  and  the 
 sacrifice.^ 
 
 "  Roberts'  Illustration  of  the  Sa-  Abend,  unci  erliol)  seine  Augcn,"&c. 
 
 creel  Scriptures,  p.  29,  125.  ^  Are  not  the  very  prayers  which 
 
 '  Lane's  Modern  Ej^yptians.  are  wrung  from  these  men  by  any 
 
 '^  Michaelis:  "  Isaak  ging  gegen  present  necessity,  and  which  admit 
 
 die   Abendzeit  in   das   Feld,  sich  not  of  the  delay  of  sacrifice,  but 
 
 umzusehen,    ob   er  nichts   in  der  which  are  always  accompanied  by 
 
 Feme  erblickte,  und  ward  gewahr  a  vow  of  future  or  an  appeal  to  past 
 
 das   Camele  kamen."     De  Wette :  service,    an   evidence  that   prayer 
 
 "  Und  cr  war  ausgegangen  umher-  was   not  witli   them  a  hal)it,  but 
 
 zuwandcln  auf  dcni   Felde  gcgcn  something  rare  and  solemn!' 
 
CHAPTER    XXII.  487 
 
 This  chapter  is  written  with  the  name  Jehovah  ;  and 
 though  in  the  third  and  seventh  verses  Abraham  speaks  of 
 Jehovah  as  tlie  Elohim  of  the  heaven  and  of  the  eartli,  and 
 Abraham's  servant,  in  the  twelfth,  twenty-seventh,  forty- 
 second,  and  forty-eighth  verses,  of  Jehovah  as  the  Elohim 
 of  his  master,  Eichhorn^  accounts  for  this  addition  as  neces- 
 sary to  the  construction. 
 
 *  "  Jeliova  bleibt  immer  das  proprium  Gottes  nicht  im  statu  con- 
 Hauptwort,  und  Eloliim  ist  hloss  structo  stehen  kanii." — ^Einleituiig 
 zugesetzt,  weil  Jehova  als  iiomen     ira  A.  T.  vol.  iii,  §  416,  p.  131. 
 
488 
 
 CHAPTER  XXIII. 
 
 GENESIS  XXV,  1-10. 
 
 Verses  1-10.  Abraham  marries  another  wife,  begets 
 more  children,  dies  in  a  good  old  age,  and  is  buried  by  his 
 sons  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah. 
 
 Of  these  descendants  of  Abraham  by  Keturah  we  may 
 observe,  that  the  name  of  Dedan  has  already  appeared 
 in  the  genealogy  of  Cush;  Sheba  and  Asshurim  in  the 
 genealogies  of  both  Cush  and  Shem,  These  different  men 
 bearing  the  same  name,  are  each  of  them,  according  to 
 Bochart,'  the  fathers  of  a  different  people.  The  Dedanites 
 of  Cush  are  celebrated  as  great  merchants  by  Ezekiel :  the 
 Dedanites  of  Abraham  lived  in  the  interior  of  Idumea,  and 
 Avere  celebrated  for  nothing.  The  Shebaites  of  Cush  and 
 Shem,  like  the  Dedanites  of  Cush,  were  a  commercial  nation : 
 the  Shebaites  of  Abraham,  like  the  Ishmaelites,  were 
 robbers.^  The  trade  of  the  Mosaic  world  then  seems  to 
 have  been  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  cursed,  while 
 robbery  was  the  monopoly  of  the  blessed,  race. 
 
 In  these  ancient  times  commerce  must  have  been  some- 
 thing very  different  from  what  it  is  in  our  day,  or  Moses 
 viewed  it  with  very  prejudiced  eyes.  From  the  story  of 
 Joseph,  and  several  passages  in  the  Odyssey,  I  suspect 
 that  it  served  often  but  as  a  colourable  pretext  for  the  most 
 atrocious  villanies;  that  traders  were  then  little  better  than 
 
 '  Geographia  Sacra,  Pt.  ii,  chap,  commerciis  ot  ex  --[uarto  latrociuiis 
 XXV  ;  Pt.  iv,  chap.vi,  &c.  dediti." — Ibid. 
 
 *  "  E  primis  tribus  nati  populi 
 
CHAPTER    XXIII.  489 
 
 disguised  thieves,  who  either  forcibly  carried  off  unpro- 
 tected maidens,  or  with  some  glittering  gew-gaw,  some 
 useless  glass  beads,  tempted  the  sunple  and  unwary  lands- 
 man to  sell  his  children :  a  sort  of  visitors  whom  vanity, 
 cupidity,  the  love  of  novelty,  eagerly  welcomed ;  but 
 whose  visits  were  ever  afterwards  remembered  with  the 
 bitterest  regret.  They  were  cunning,  sneaking,  and  there- 
 fore hateful  thieves,  who  stole  against  all  law,  and  knew 
 no  measure  to  their  desires.  The  Abrahamites,  on  the 
 other  hand,  were  bold  and  national  robbers,  who  stole 
 openly  and  according  to  law,  and  from  their  enemies  only, 
 and  with  a  certain  moderation,  and  who  were  therefore  as 
 robbers  respectable  and  much  respected. 
 
 Verse  6.  In  this  spring-time  of  the  yet  youthful  world, 
 what  a  rich  inheritance  of  hope  fell  to  the  lot  of  poor 
 younger  brothers !  They  went  forth, — not  as  now  to  work, 
 that  they  might  eat,  to  heap  up  petty  gains  into  a  fortune, — 
 but  to  become  the  founders  of  cities,  the  fathers  of  nations, 
 the  revered  ancestors  of  kings.  Their's  was  a  high  and 
 glorious  destiny,  an  imperishable  name,  which  was  to  be 
 read  not  in  books  nor  in  monumental  alabaster,  but  which 
 lived  in  the  blood  and  thrilled  on  the  lips  of  a  whole 
 people. 
 
 "  And  his  sons  Isaac  and  Ishmael  buried  liim  in  the 
 cave  of  INIachpelah,"  &c.  Ishmael  is  not  ranked  among  the 
 sons  of  the  concubines,  though  like  them  he  is  sent  away 
 from  his  father's  home.  With  Isaac  he  seems  to  have 
 tended  Abraham's  last  moments ;  and  with  Isaac  to  have 
 followed  Abraham  to  the  grave.  He  has  all  the  forgiving 
 generosity  of  a  daring  spirit. 
 
 Of  this  chapter  (closing  at  the  tenth  verse)  we  may  ob- 
 serve, that 
 
 The  first  part  (from  the  first  verse  to  the  sixth  inclu- 
 sive) is,  according  to  Eichhorn,  written  with  the  name 
 Jehovah,  and  has  all  the  tone  and  manner  of  the  Jehovah 
 genealogies  in  the  tenth  chapter. 
 
 And  that  the  second  part  (from  the  seventh  verse  to  the 
 
 3  R 
 
490  CHAPTER   XXITI. 
 
 tenth  inclusive)  is  written  with  the  name  Elohira,  and 
 seems  to  stand  in  connexion  with,  and  to  close  the  narra- 
 tive contained  in  the  twenty-tliird  chapter. 
 
 If  now  we  review  this  history  of  Abraham,  we  find, 
 I.  That  the  actions  which  it  attributes  to  him  are  either 
 religious  or  secular ;  and  we  find  moreover : 
 In  the  first  place:  That  as  religious,  they  are : 
 
 1.  Spontaneous,  the  result  of  his  own  religious 
 feelings,  or  religious  education.  Thus,  of  his  own 
 motion,  he  erects  altars  to,  and  calls  upon  the  name 
 of,  the  Lord,  and  gives  tithes  of  his  spoil  to  Mel- 
 cliisidek;  and  of  his  own  motion  intercedes  with 
 Jehovah  for  the  doomed  inhabitants  of  the  plain. 
 Or, 
 
 2.  Commanded:  i.e.  acts  performed  in  obedience 
 to  the  commands,  or  supposed  commands,  of  the 
 Deity ;  i.  e.  acts  to  which  the  Divine  command 
 alone  gave  a  religious  character.  Thus  Abraham 
 left  his  father's  house  and  wandered  through  the 
 land  of  Canaan ;  thus  too  he  prepared  a  great 
 sacrifice,  and  instituted  the  rite  of  circumcision, 
 and,  though  old  and  childless,  believed  in  the 
 greatness  of  his  posterity  ;  thus  also  he  drove 
 Hagar  from  his  home,  and  prepared  to  slay  his  own 
 son  Isaac.  Of  these  acts,  of  which  the  responsi- 
 bility is  thrown  upon  the  Deity,  we  cannot  but 
 observe,  that  no  one  of  them  is,  in  itself  and  liy 
 itself^  a  moral  act, — that  they  are  all  either  acts 
 from  which,  as  having  no  moral  feature,  we  can 
 draw  no  moral  conclusions ;  or  acts  which,  as  abso- 
 lutely criminal,  we  should  but  for  the  context 
 attribute  only  to  a  weak  or  immoral  man. 
 
 Secondly.  That  as  secular,  they  are,  judging  them  by 
 our  view  of  morality, 
 
 1.  Morally  indifferent.  Such  were  Abraham's 
 journeys  to  Egypt  and  Gerar;  such  his  separation 
 from  Lot,  liis  covenant  with  Abimelech,  his  pur- 
 chase of  Machpelah,  and  the  measures  Avhich  he 
 takes  for  the  marriaue  of  his  son  Isaac. 
 
CHAPTER  xxni.  491 
 
 2.  Criminal,  and  such  as  display  a  weak  and 
 timid  character.  Such  were  his  falsehoods  to  the 
 kings  of  Egypt  and  Gerar ;  and  such  his  neglect 
 to  shield  Hagar  from  the  too  bitter  persecution  of 
 Sarah.     And 
 
 3.  Praiseworthy.  Such  was  his  rescue  of  Lot ; 
 such  his  refusal  to  partake  of  the  spoils  of  Sodom ; 
 and  such  his  generous  hospitality. 
 
 But  it  may  here  be  asked — why  is  it  that  when  we 
 thus  view  each  act  of  his  by  itself  we  judge  Abraham  so 
 little,  and  that  when  we  read  his  history  we  feel  that  he  is 
 so  great  ?  We  take  but  a  narrow  or  even  a  false  view  of 
 greatness.  We  associate  it  only  with  the  names  of  men 
 who  represent  great  events  or  world-renowned  systems,  or 
 who  live  in  feats  of  magnificent  daring,  or  heroic  self- 
 devotion  ;  we  know  only  of  great  patriots,  great  warriors, 
 great  philosophers,  and  great  statesmen ;  we  are  so  occu- 
 pied with  the  greatness  which  thrusts  itself  upon  our 
 notice,  that  we  have  no  eye  for  the  serene  dignity  of  him 
 who  silently  walks  in  the  even  path  of  duty.  Hence  it  is 
 that  by  the  aid  of  traditions  and  fables,  or  by  an  addition 
 here,  an  omission  there,  some  among  us  have  managed  to 
 endow  Abraham  with  all  learning,  and  courage,  and  virtue, 
 and  to  magnify  liim  into  something  more  than  man :  Avhile 
 others  (forgetful  that  our  every-day  conduct  is  an  evidence 
 not  so  much  of  our  character  as  of  our  education  and  the 
 opinions  of  our  age)  have  analyzed  his  actions  and  dwarfed 
 him  down  to  the  low  proportions  of  a  degraded  Humanity. 
 Let  us  endeavour  to  judge  him  fairly  and  honestly.  As  a 
 religious  man  then,  Abraham,  though  born  of  an  idolatrous 
 family,  early  apprehended  the  unity  of  the  Godhead.  In 
 the  Deity  he  saw  the  great  Creator,  the  Almighty,  the 
 Judge  of  the  earth  ;  to  God  he  devoted  himself  and  his 
 household,  and  he  worshipped  God  by  doing  justice  and 
 judgment.^  As  a  prince  (though  of  an  age  in  which 
 princes  were  regarded  as  above  all  law,  and  in  which 
 the  strong  because  they  were  strong  oppressed  the  weak 
 '  Gen.  xviii.  19. 
 
492  CHAPTER   XXIII. 
 
 because  they  were  weak),  Abraham  (and  he  was  strong 
 and  powerful  among  the  strongest  and  the  most  powerful), 
 ever  bore  liimself  meekly,  as  a  man  eminently  of  peace, 
 and  with  somewhat  of  the  indolence  and  apathy  which 
 belong  to  that  character.  He  ever  respects  the  rights  of 
 others ;  he  avoids  all  causes  of  contention  and  dispute  ;  he 
 suffers  wrong  patiently,  and  claims  its  redress  without 
 arrogance ;  he  negociates  where  he  might  command,  and 
 purchases  where  he  might  seize.  Once  only  is  he  roused 
 out  of  his  peaceful  mood,  once  only  he  arms  himself  for  the 
 battle,  and  then  he  goes  forth  to  the  rescue  of  his  friends 
 and  brother,  and  then  he  proves  himself  as  intrepid  a  war- 
 rior as  he  is  a  generous  ally.  But  for  this  one  expedition, 
 we  had  not  perhaps  recognised  the  slumbering  lion. 
 Lastly,  as  a  private  man:  Abraham  was  a  man  of  con- 
 templative and  imaginative  mind :  he  loved  the  desert  and 
 the  silent  grove,  and  mixed  unwillingly  in  the  noise  and 
 traffic  of  cities :  gentle  and  amiable  to  a  fault,  he  avoided 
 the  business  of  life,  and  either  too  readily  left  things  to 
 take  their  own  course,  or  too  readily  gave  up  to  others  the 
 management  of  his  domestic  affairs :  he  shuts  his  eyes  to 
 the  quarrels  of  his  household :  he  will  not  act  until  com- 
 pelled to  act;  his  authority  must  be  appealed  to  ere  he  will 
 interfere :  but  when  called  upon  to  declare  himself,  he  acts 
 it  must  be  allowed  unselfishly,  worthily  he  resolves  on,  and 
 sedulously  and  at  any  sacrifice  performs,  what  he  conceives 
 to  be  his  duty.  We  need  the  help  of  no  fables,  and  no 
 systems,  to  admire,  in  Abraham,  the  moral  ideal  of  infant 
 man. 
 
 II.  That  it  records  several  communications  which  the 
 Deity  vouchsafes  at  different  times  to  different  persons, — 
 as  Abraham,  Hagar,  Abimelech.  Aud  these  communica- 
 tions are, 
 
 1st.  Audible  merely,  and  are  generally  introduced  to 
 our  notice  by  the  formula,  "  Jehovah  said,"  "  the  Eloliim 
 said."     And  they  are  then  put  before  us, 
 
 1st.    Without  any    information  as  to  the  time 
 when  they  occurred,  or  the  place  whence  the  voice 
 
CHAPTER  XXIII.  493 
 
 in  which  they  were  uttered  seemed  to  proceed. 
 Thus  Jehovah  speaks  in  chapters  xii,  1,  and  xiii,  14, 
 but  whether  from  heaven,  or  in  the  man's  ear,  or 
 from  the  man's  heart,  or  whether  in  the  broad  day, 
 when  the  mind  is  awake  and  active,  or  during  the 
 night  in  dreams  and  visions,  are  matters  of  which 
 the  record  leaves  us  in  ignorance. 
 
 2ndly.  With  the  time  expressed  or  implied  of 
 theu'  occurrence.  Thus  the  word  of  Jehovah 
 comes  to  Abraham  in  a  vision  (chapter  xv,  1); 
 and  in  the  night  the  Elohim  addresses  him 
 (chapters  xxi,  12,  and  xxii,  1).     And 
 
 3rdly.  With  all  the  circumstances  of  both  time 
 
 and  place.     Thus  dm-ing  the  day  out  of  heaven  the 
 
 angel  of  the  Elohrm  called  unto  Hagar  (chapter 
 
 xxi);   and   the   angel  of  Jehovah  unto   Abraham 
 
 (chapter  xxii,  12). 
 
 2ndly.  Audible  and  visible ;  i.  e.  to  the  communication 
 
 is   attached   some   supernatural   appearance.       And   that 
 
 appearance, 
 
 1st.  Is  simply  affinned  without  any  circiun- 
 stances  of  time,  &c.  Thus  Jehovah  appears 
 (chapter  xxii,  7);  the  Elohim  or  Jehovah  (chapter 
 xvii,  1).     And 
 
 2ndly.  Takes  place  during  the  night,  in  sleep, 
 thus  the  Elohim  came  to  Abimelech  in  a  dream  by 
 night  (xx.  3),  and  by  night  Jehovah  appeared  to 
 Abraham  as  a  lamp  of  fire  (xv.  17);  and 
 
 3rdly.  It  occurs  in  the  broad  day ;  and  the  vision 
 
 consists  then  of  an  angel  of  Jehovah,  as  in  Hagar's 
 
 case  (xvi.) ;  or  of  Jehovah  and  two  angels,  as  in 
 
 Abraham's  (xviii);  or  of  two  angels,  as  in  Lot's  (xix). 
 
 Of  these  several  communications  we  may  observe — 
 
 1st.  That  the  more  indefinite  as  regard  time  and  cu'cum- 
 
 stances,  and  those  also  wliich  are  stated  as  having  occurred 
 
 dm-ing   the  night,   are  all  referred  to   the  Deity  himself, 
 
 whether  Jehovah  or  Elohim. 
 
 2ndly.  That  all  those  which  may  be  placed  in  the  day 
 
494  CHAPTER   XXIII. 
 
 time  are  attributed  to  angels,  whether  of  the  Elohim  or 
 Jehovah,  or  to  the  Deity — hut  to  the  Deity  as  Jehovah, 
 and  to  him  accompanied  by  angels. 
 
 3rdly.  That  whenever  Jehovah  and  his  angels  appear — 
 except  in  chapter  xv,  17,  where  Jehovah  appears  alone 
 and  during  the  night,  and  appears  as  a  burning  lamp — 
 they  clearly  appear  in  human  shape,  and  are  no  way  dis- 
 tinguishable from  other  men. 
 
 4thly.  That  whenever  an  angel  appears,  the  narrative 
 so  speaks  of  him,  that  it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  he  is 
 not  the  Deity  himself 
 
 in.  That  men  were  united  into  societies,  amongst  which 
 we  distinguish — 
 
 1st.  That  of  the  family,  but  of  the  family  without  any 
 fixed  habitation,  and  wandering  whithersoever  its  wants  or 
 a  vagrant  will  might  lead  it.  The  family  consisted  of  the 
 father  or  patriarch,  his  wives  and  children,  and  servants 
 from  different  countries,  and  numerous  herds  of  cattle." 
 Over  his  cattle  and  household,  the  patriarch  was  absolute 
 lord,  they  were  his  property,  and  he  might  literally  do 
 what  he  would  with  his  own.  He  was  their  will,  their 
 religion,  their  representative  before  God,  and  in  his  piety 
 they  were  blessed  and  for  his  sin  punished.  Of  this  so- 
 ciety the  empire  of  China  as  we  have  seen  it  represented 
 by  the  popular  superstition  may  be  considered  a  develop- 
 ment. 
 
 2ndly.  That  of  the  family,  but  settled  in  the  city  and 
 occupied  with  agriculture.  Such  a  society  was  that  formed 
 by  the  cliildren  of  Heth.  As  the  descendants  of  Hcth 
 increased  in  numbers  and  grew  into  a  people,  they  founded 
 a  city,  and — though  they  most  probably  did  not  interfere 
 with  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  family — they  vested,  it 
 would  seem,  the  government  not  in  any  elected  body,  but 
 in  the  citizens   generally,    before   whom  all  transactions 
 
 ■*  I  put  the  cattle  with  and  after  the  servants,  hecausc  I  invariably 
 lind  them  so  placed  in  Genesis. 
 
CHAPTER   XXiri. 
 
 495 
 
 between  citizen  and  citizen  were  laid,  and  who  by  vote 
 decided  all  disputes. 
 
 3rdly.  That  of  the  city,  but  of  the  city  as  the  property, 
 as  existing  for  the  sole  use  and  benefit  of  one  man/  Such 
 seems  to  have  been  the  city  of  Gerar,  the  city  of  Abime- 
 lech  and  of  liis  servants,  men  of  no  name  or  nation  ;  a  city 
 rich  in  cattle,  and  neglectful  of  the  peaceful  arts  of  agri- 
 culture,'' a  heroic  city,  a  city  of  Bedouins,^  for  which  war 
 and  rapine  were  a  trade — unless  indeed  the  host  of  Abim- 
 elech  was  intended  rather  to  intimidate  his  own  subjects^ 
 than  to  plunder  the  territories  of  his  neighbours. 
 
 4thly.  That  of  the  commercial  city.  Such  was  Sodom 
 — a  city  of  men  collected  from  all  parts;  a  city  of  peace 
 wliich  the  stranger  approached  without  fear,  and  in  which, 
 for  money,  he  found  all  the  conveniences  of  life ;  a  rich  city, 
 luxurious,  effeminate,  unwarlike;  a  city  of  freemen  and 
 freedmen,  in  which  all  rank,  and  consequently  all  religion, » 
 
 *  Vide  note  quoted  above  from 
 Wachsmuth,  Ant.  of  Greece,  i,  123. 
 
 ®As  we  may  gather,  1st,  from 
 the  permission  given  to  Abraham 
 in  chapter  xx,  a  permission  which 
 supposes  an  open  and  uncultivated 
 country  ;  and  *2ndly,  from  the  occa- 
 sion of  the  dispute  between  Abra- 
 ham's and  Abimelech's  servants. 
 
 ''  I  say  a  city  of  Bedouins,  be- 
 cause this  Phichol,  whom  I  find 
 again  chapter  xxvi,  with  Abime- 
 lech,  reminds  me  of  a  Bedouin  cus- 
 tom. Among  the  Bedouins,  the 
 office  of  agyd  or  general,  like  that 
 of  sheikh,  is  hereditary.  "  And  the 
 Arabs,"  says  Burckhardt,  "  submit 
 to  the  command  of  an  agyd  whom 
 they  know  to  be  deficient  both  in 
 bravery  and  judgment,  rather  than 
 yield  to  the  orders  of  their  sheikh 
 during  the  actual  expedition." — 
 Notes  on  the  Bedouins,  vol.  i,  p. 
 296.  Is  not  this  Abimelech  the 
 sheikh,  Phichol  the  agyd  ?  and  may 
 not  time  have  modified  the  relation 
 in  which  the  sheikh  once  stood  to 
 his  followers  ? 
 
 ^  Does  not  Abimelech's  covenant 
 with  Abraham,  his  anxiety  for 
 Abraham's  friendship,  coupled  with 
 the  very  diiferent  tone  which  the 
 Abimelech  of  chapter  xxvi  uses — 
 and  king,  not  of  Gerar,  but  of  the 
 Philistines — seem  to  imply  that  his 
 subjects  were  beginning  to  gi'ow 
 disaffected,  to  demand  the  redress 
 of  wrongs,  &c.? 
 
 ^  '•  The  notion  of  citizenship," 
 says  Wachsmuth,  "  existed  only  in 
 so  far  as  the  condition  of  aliens  and 
 domestic  slaves  was  its  negative : 
 at  this  stage  the  nobility  and  the 
 lower  order  of  people  alone  attract 
 attention,  as  cssenlialli/  distinct 
 ingredients  of    the  union,   and  as 
 
 subject   to   different   laws The 
 
 poetic  legend  recounts  no  rising  of 
 the  nobles  out  of  the  mass;  it 
 forges  links  between  the  heroic  and 
 the  divine  races,  but  between  the 
 heroes  and  the  populace  it  inter- 
 poses a  chasm  which  forbids  them 
 to  intermingle." — Antiq.  of  Greece, 
 vol.  i,  p.  114  ;  see  also  ib.  p.  118, 
 
496  CHAPTER   XXIII. 
 
 was  disregarded ;  a  democratic  city,'  governed  by  magis- 
 trates chosen  by  the  people  from  among  the  citizens ;'  a 
 city  governed  by  laws,  but  in  which  the  laws  were  little 
 regarded.     Sodom  appears  as  the  type  of  an  ochlocracy.^ 
 
 5thly.  That  which  results  from  the  association  of  several 
 cities  together  for  purposes  either  of  war,  as  the  alliance 
 between  the  cities  of  the  plain,  &c.  or  of  government,  as 
 between  the  several  cities  which  united  together  in  the 
 sovereign  formed  the  kingdom  of  Egypt. 
 
 Of  the  state  of  society  during  this  period  we  can  form 
 no  definite  idea.  We  perceive  however  that  these  several 
 cities  and  nations,  though  each  one  was  in  itself  an  inde- 
 pendent state,  do  not  stand  alone  and  isolated,  but  that  they 
 are  rather  bound  and  connected  together  by  ties  of  com- 
 merce or  friendship ;  we  find  that  travellers,  whether  mer- 
 chants or  nomads,  carry  with  them  the  news  of  events 
 which  have  happened  at  a  distance  (xxii,  20),  and  by  their 
 relations  spread  abroad  a  knowledge  of  the  productions  of 
 different  countries  (xii,  10,  xiii,  10)  and  of  the  character  of 
 different  people  (xii,  12,  xx,  1,  2)  ;  and  we  guess  moreover 
 that  between  the  great  marts  of  traffic,  the  plains  of  Baby- 
 lon and  the  Nile,  frequent  caravans  have  already  traced  a 
 route.  We  see  the  precious  metals  used  as  a  means  of 
 exchange  and  wrought  into  ornaments  for  the  person ; 
 camels  and  asses  employed  as  beasts  of  burden  and  for 
 
 '  "  Das     tyrannisirende    Volk,"  the  differences.     The  people  of  So- 
 
 observes  Von   Ralimer,    "  handelt  dom  are  punished  for  their  own  sin, 
 
 wahnsinnig    in    eigenem    Namen,  — tiiose  of  Gerar  for  Abimelech's. 
 
 Handlanger  eiues  Tyrannen  han-  Sodom  Abraham  approaches  with 
 
 deln    niedertrachtig    in    fremdem  confidence;    in  Sodom  Lot  settles 
 
 Namen." — Beytrage  z.  neu.  Gesch.  and  marries  his  daughters.     Gerar 
 
 Europa,   iii,  vol.  i,  p.  152;    vide  Abraham  enters   with  precaution, 
 
 chap,  xix,  verses  4,  &c.  but  in  Gerar  he  is  received  hospi- 
 
 *  Vide  xix.  9.  tably  ;  while,  but  for  Lot,  no  one  (?) 
 
 '  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  in  Sodom  would  have  entertained 
 
 this  is  in  the  text ;  but  from  the  the  angels.     It  is  true  that  Sodom, 
 
 text   I  am  justified  in  regarding  like  Gerar,  has  its  king  ;  butin  So- 
 
 Heth,  Gerar  and  Sodom,  as  cities  dom  the  king  appears  only  to  com- 
 
 of  very  different  kinds ;   and   the  mand  its  armies, — in  Gerar  we  hear 
 
 question  is,  whether  I  have  taken  only  of  the   king.     I  think   these 
 
 a  right   view  of   their   characters,  difi'erences  warrant  the  conclusions 
 
 Between  Sodom  and  Gerar  observe  I  have  drawn. 
 
CHAPTER    XXIII.  497 
 
 riding.  In  the  house  we  find  numerous  servants,  who 
 seem  to  have  been  in  general  kindly  treated  by  their  mas- 
 ters, and  sometimes  to  have  held  in  their  master's  heart  the 
 place  of  children."*  To  the  wife  all  domestic  arrangements, 
 the  economy  of  the  household  appears  to  have  been  left, 
 she  distributed  the  ju'ovisions  necessary  for  the  day,  and 
 on  great  occasions  herself  superintended  the  preparati(jn  of 
 them.  As  articles  of  food  we  have  fine  meal  baked  iato 
 cakes,  meat  dressed  with  sauce,  milk  and  butter  and  wine. 
 Of  the  articles  of  dress,  we  know  neither  the  material  nor 
 the  fashion ;  though  indeed  as  raiment  is  among  the 
 presents  sent  to  Rebecca,  and  a  veil  Abimelech's  peace 
 offering  to  Sarah ;  we  may  guess  that  it  was  not  confined 
 to  mere  clothing,  but  was  both  costly  and  magnificent. 
 Such  and  so  indefinite  are  the  fragments  we  can  gather  of 
 the  mode  of  life  and  civilisation  of  the  Abrahamic  times. 
 
 ■*  V^ide  the  cliapter  which  enjoins  circumcision. 
 
 3s 
 
ERRATA. 
 Page  230,  line  1,  for  "disposition"  read  despotism. 
 Page  249,  line  2,  for  "  progress"  read  process. 
 
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 As  the  rarity  of  this  masterpiece  of  one  of  our  most  eminent  Divines  has  pre- 
 vented its  being  so  universally  known  as  it  deserves  to  be,  the  Publisher  may  be 
 pardoned  for  citing  a  few  among  the  numerous  commendations  in  its  favour. 
 
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 that  man !" 
 
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 like  a  Field  wliich  the  Lord  hath  blessed." 
 
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 conformity in  the  University." — Gough. 
 
 "  When  he  first  set  about  writing  his  book  '  of  the  Church,"  his  old  acquaintance,  Dr- 
 Kettle,  dissuaded  him,  telling  him  that  when  once  he  was  engaged  in  controversy  he  would 
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 to  be  nearly  the  case,  as  liis  main  arguments  were  never  refuted." — Chalmers. 
 
 Heylin,  in  his  "  Lite  of  Laud,"  calls  him,  "  the  reverend  right  learned  Dr.  Field,  whose 
 excellent  works  will  keep  his  name  alive  to  succeeding  ages." 
 
 SUBSCRIBER.S'  NaMES  RECEIVED  BY 
 
 John  Bohn,  17,  Henrietta  Street,  Covent  Garden. 
 
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