/:

> V

hjlffl

for. the founding 'ef. '.a CoIUgt inihist CoHtiy!1

Gift of
Mrs. Selah Merrill
1914

THE
CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE
SACRED WRITINGS AND THE LITERATURE
OS /
PAHTICULAHLY THAT OP THE
CLASSICAL AGES,
ILLUSTRATED,
PRINCIPALLY WITH A VIEW TO EVIDENCE IN CONFIRMATION
OF THE TRUTH OF
REVEALED RELIGION J^.
BY ROBERT GRAY, D. D.
PEEBENDARY OF DURHAM AND OF CHICHESTER, AND
RECTOR OF BISHOP WEARMOUTH.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

SECOND EDITION.

3Umtion :
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,
AND SOLD BY F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON,
Sf. PAULAS CH-UR€H*YAKD, AND WATERLOO-PLACE, PALL-MALL.
1819.

R. Gilbert, Printer, St.' John's Square, Loudon.

TO THE
HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND
THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.

MY LORD, Since I had the honour of
inscribing the first Edition' of this Work
lo your Lordship, it has experienced that
countenance from the public, which en
courages me again to bring it forward in,
I trust, an improved form.
I am led to indulge the hope, that in
directing attention to those testimonies to
the truth and divine authority of the Scrip
tures which are casually scattered through
the profane writings of antiquity, and
a 2

IV
Which are here coUected under one general
point of view, I may contribute to impress
upon the mind of the classical student a per
manent reverence for that Religion, which -
alone has diffused any sure and steady light
during the many ages that have passed
away, and which alone can impart1 any
unerring direction, or adequate support
amidst the temptations .and vicissitudes of
life, I do not regret the time which I have
devoted to the work amidst many avoca
tions, since the principles which I have at
tempted to lay down, have been judged
by men eminent for their literary cha
racter and their station, useful to direct the
student in the examination of the Greek
and Latin writers, with a view to those,
objects of religious importance, which they
were perhaps principally designed to fulfil ;
and therefore so far calculated to concur in
promoting that efficacious system of instruc
tion in tlie history and doctrines of revela
tion, which are justly considered as chief
9

t."

objects y of attention- in bur Universities, ;
The evidence of Revelation which begins
witli the -origin of the world, and spreads;
iri the majestic scheme ^bftf Providence,
through every generation, is • so implicated
with' the history and literature 'of antiquity,
that the more extensive and accurate oun
researches are, the more they tend to con_
firfri our respect for the authority and im
portance ! of *its « communications. ¦> ) Hence
it is, that so many proofs of the 'influence, of;
ati enlightened faith are to be found in, our
seats of J learning, leading, men of distin
guished talents arid Jeminent .acquirements^
to useful' and unostentatious exertions, \q a-
dignified' independence^ of character, and,
as might be -exemplified in signal, instances,
to a voluhtary retreat from stations oU in-I
fluence aiid of power when within;«>thei
scope of their attainment, and even when
riroffered to their claims. -,7 /Mr Siun/I '
:'  V;'i 'lit.;'- t ff '. (z>;>h 'Jill , ,9-iqx,>
¦ It : is* impossible to 'hayes lived ramon*<
sucji men, or- to have traced in your Lord-r
ship's diocese the effects which havs-resuUed

> VI
to society from the exertions of the many
eminent persons whom you have selected as
the objects of your patronage, and not to
feel the most lively conviction of their worth.
It is impossible not to be convinced, that
we must look to those who early imbibe
sound knowledge under institutions, in
which a due regard is paid to religious in
struction, for that firm and cordial defence
of our Constitution both in Church and
State, which is necessary, when there is
often so much cause to lament a vague
latitude of opinion, as to doctrines essential
to the preservation of truth ; and a coldness
with respect to institutions sanctioned by
the example of the purest ages, compacted
with the frame of our Constitution and
LaWs, and indispensable to the mainte
nance of our civil and religious interests.
Permit me, upon this occasion, again to
express the deep sense of the important
obligations and gratifying marks of kind
ness which for many years I have expe
rienced from your Lordship ; and to renew

vn
my earnest hope, that you may still long
continue, amidst the many distinctions of a
life happily protracted in the enjoyment of
eminent blessings, to promote the benefit
of society, by a generous encouragement of
every object connected with the interests
of Religion and Literature ; and to receive,
in the just acknowledgment of your claims,
every testimony of public respect, and every
tribute of private gratitude.
I remain, MY LORD,
With sincere attachment and respect,
Your Lordship's greatly obliged,
and faithful Servant,

ROBERT GRAY.

Rectory, Bialvop Wearmouth,
May 15, 1819.

ERRATA TO VOL, I.
gel2,:line 2 ftom bottom, after as, read as well as- :., , ,' .,-'. . ;
' 28, line 17, note $, instead of lib. viii. c. 1—7, read Euseb. 'Prasp,
Evang. lib. viii.. c. 1—5; lib. ix. u. E; lib. xiii. a 12. ¦¦',, 1
30, for Scripture, read Scriptures
160, line 15, after only, add the admission of
198, note *, last line, for dilengenza, read diligenza
219, line 12, for inspire, read inspires ., f
24], last line, instead ofecords, retid records ^''
5290, line 13, for Emperors, read Emperor
297, line 9, for easy, read early; and line 12, dele early
300, line 14, for Plato, read Philo,
342, line 19, for double, fead durable
368, note %, instead of Raphael in. Pliilet. 4022, read Raphel on
Philip, iv. 22.

CONTENTS

TO

VOL. I.

CHAPTEIl PAGE
Introduction  1
I. Of the Connection subsisting between
the Religious Opinions of different
Nations which demonstrates often a
common Origin  33
11. On the Remains of Chaldean History
which confirm the sacred Accounts 37
111. On Zoroastres and the Religion of the
ancient Persians  46
iv. On the Phoenicians and Sanchoniatho 65
v. Of the Connection which subsisted be
tween the Jews and the Egyptians . . 75
vi. Hermes Trismegistus  83
vn. On Hecataeus, Manetho, Artapanus,
and others  87
viii. On the Intercourse which the Grecians
enjoyed with the Jews, and the
Knowledge they derived from it. . . . 94
IX. On the Intercourse which subsisted
between the Romans' and the Jews, „

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
and on the" Means of Information
which the former possessed  108
X. Of the general Belief in the Existence
of a Supreme Being, the Creator of
the Universe, prevailing among all
Nations  120
XI. On the Intimations which appear in
the Old Testament, and among
Jewish and Pagan Writers con
cerning the Doctrine of the Trinity 138
XII. On the Notions entertained by the
Heathens concerning the Creation
of the World, and the Origin of Man
from the same common Parents .... 148
Xiii. On the General Belief of the Divine
Origin and Immortality of the Soul
among the Heathens  153
xiv. On the Sentiments entertained with
respect to the Origin of Evil, the
Existence of Spiritual Beings, their
Revolt from Obedience, the Fall
and gradual Corruption of Men .... 157
xv. Of the Knowledge which prevailed
among Heathen Nations, of the
general Deluge  170
xvi. On Testimonies of Prophane Writers,
which directly bear Witness to Facts
recorded in the Scripture of the Old
Testament  176
Xvii. On Deities and fictitious Heroes in
Heathen Fable, who seem to repre
sent real Characters and Persons
mentioned in Sacred History  179
xvm. On Events related by Tradition and
prophane Historians, which are evi-

XXI.

XXII.
XXIV.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER ¦•'¦'• *k6t
dently mutilated Accounts of Events
recorded in the Scriptures  182
XIX. On Customs borrowed from the Jews 187
XX. On the Testimonies of Ancient Writers,'
with respect to the Soil and Climate
of Judea, confirming the Sacred
Descriptions of that Country  194
On the Heathen Testimonies which
verify the Accomplishment of the
Jewish Prophecies  .... 203
On the Heathen Morality  208,
On the Opinions entertained with
respect to Atonement for Sin, and
the Propriety of Prayer and Sacri.
fice  232
XXV. On the general Expectation, which
prevailed among the Jews, and the
Heathens, of the Coming of some
great Personage with Divine Autho
rity to reform Mankind, and to
restore them to Virtue and Hap-
' piness  241
xxvi. On the Sibylline Verses and the
Oracles  250
xxvii. On the General Belief in a State of
future Rewards and Punishments,
and the Administration of a final
Judgment  264
xxviii. Of Events subsequent to the Birth of
Christ, and the Promulgation of the
Gospel, which substantiate the Truth
of the Sacred Records  273
XXIX. On the Heathen Testimonies which
demonstrate the Completion of the

CONTENTS,
£H4fTEfe ,, ...PACf
: , prophecies of our Saviour and his
:  Apostles  281
; xxx. Philo  ?.....*#.. 288
xxxi. Josephus  303
XXXII. The Voyage of St. Paul apparently
confirmed by an Appount in the Life
of Josephus .,.,.,,,.,.,,.,. .... 357

INTRODUCTION.

From a superficial view of that system of
education which is generally established in
this country, an opinion has been sometimes
entertained, that heathen literature occupies
too large a portion of time. This opinion
seems to have originated in an erroneous per
suasion, that the attention of the classical
student is directed to the works of Pagan
antiquity, solely, with a view to the acqui
sition of languages, of to the attainment of
that knowledge which is calculated merely to
improve the taste, and to furnish amusement
for the leisure hours of life.
It is obvious, indeed, that these are among
the advantages which result from a study of
the heathen writings, -and undoubtedly not
the least of . them, is an accurate and critical
knowledge of the languages into which the
Scriptures of the Old Testament were tran
slated, nearly three centuries before the birth
of Christ, and in which the writings of the
VOL. I. B

New Testament, with a single exception, were
originally composed. A little reflection, how
ever, will suggest advantages of no inconsider
able importance, which may be drawn from a
full and systematic examination of the remains
of heathen antiquity, in philosophy, in history,
and in poetry ; and at the same time will con
vince us, that the objections which have been
brought against such attention to classical stu
dies, and the presumption that those studies
lead to little information of a solid nature,
argue a defective apprehension of the princi
pal objects which should be in the contem
plation of every well concerted plan of clas
sical instruction, and whicb such a plan usually
promotes. It should be observed, that in many de
partments of the liberal arts, besides those of
philology and criticism, already alluded to,
and even in some of the departments of sci
ence, a basis is laid on classical ground.
The most striking illustration, however, of
the importance of heathen literature, arises
from its connection with that of the sacred
writings, from the evidence which it affords
in confirmation of the doctrines, institutions
and facts upon which Christianity is founded,
or to which its records indirectly relate. In-
5

3
deed, it may not unreasonably be presumed,
that the, writings of Pagan antiquity have
been providentially preserved with peculiar
regard to this great object, since, notwith
standing numerous productions of past ages
have perished, sufficient remains are still pos
sessed, to unite the cause of heathen literature
with that of religion, and to render the one,
subservient to the interests of the other.
Accordingly, the heathen writings substan
tiate, by an independent and collateral re
port, the occurrence of many of the events,
and the accomplishment of many of the pro
phecies recorded by the inspired writers ;
they establish the accuracy of many inci
dental circumstances, which are interspersed
throughout the Scriptures, and above all, by
the gradually perverted representations which
they give of revealed doctrines and institu
tions, they attest the actual communication
of such truths from time to time, and pay
the tribute of experience to the wisdom and
necessity of a written revelation.
On the other hand it must be admitted,
that in proportion as the heathen writings lire
found to communicate these testimonies to the
cause of religion, they receive an increased
value, since whatever lustre they throw upon
b 2

4
it, is reflected back upon them, arid tends to
raise them in our esteem.
But if the literature of the heathens pre
sents much which strengthens the evidence
of revealed religion, that of the Jews affords
still more abundant confirmation of the au
thority of its institutions, and of the fidelity
of its records. Without entering into the
wide field of Rabbinical learning, (of which
the earlier productions, amidst many vain
traditions, authenticate and illustrate the
fundamental doctrines of Scripture), and con
fining ourselves to the works of Philo and
Josephus, we find that these eminent men
every where appeal to the Scriptures, as to
the oracles of God ; deriving all their reli
gious and moral convictions from them, stat
ing events in the same manner, and nearly in -
the same words, which the sacred historians
employ, and describing the accomplishment
of prophecies delivered in the books of the
Old and New Testament.
It need scarcely be mentioned, that the
main proofs in favour of the authority and
importance of the sacred writings, are to be
drawn from the internal evidence of inspira
tion which they contain, and from the won
derful connection and harmony of a scheme,

carried on with uniform design, and attested
by men miraculously supported through suc
cessive ages ; but the subsidiary proofs which
are to be deduced from the documents of
human learning, however inferior they may
be, are still valuable, and the more so, be
cause they are to be found casually scattered
without connection or design, in various works,
produced by writers who lived in periods re
mote, and in countries distant from each
other, who were not engaged in any common
views, and who had no interest to confirm
the sacred accounts.
In order to prove, to what great extent the
Jewish and heathen literature is capable of
affording such tribute to religion, and conse
quently of illustrating the wisdom and govern
ment of Providence, the author will endea
vour to sketch out, in the ensuing pages, an
abstract of some of the particulars, which
throw a light on the history, the prophecies,
the doctrines, and the institutions of religion,
following where it may be, the order of time
in the production of the extracts. He trusts
that he shall be able to shew, that the whole
range of ancient learning presents a wide
scope for such important disquisitions, though
it is his intention to take rather a popular view,

6
than any elaborate survey of the subject.
He is desirous — not to investigate every cir
cumstance which bears a resemblance to ob
jects described in Scripture, or to examine
all the channels of intelligence which the
heathens possessed, but only to give a general
relief to particulars which exemplify the con
nection between the sacred and profane writ
ings ; and by interesting the attention of the
classical student, to lead him to prosecute
enquiries, which may be carried with advan
tage far beyond the limits of the present
work. It is to be observed, generally, with re
spect to many of the circumstances which will
be adduced, that where a correspondence is
discoverable between the ordinances of di
vine, and those of apparently human institu
tion, the latter might have been adopted,
from their intrinsic utility, and under the in
fluence of that propensity to imitation, which
has at all times, generally and strongly pre
vailed. The resemblance which existed between
many of the accounts recorded in sacred writ
and those of profane history, was so strong,
that it did not escape the observation of the
heathens to whom the Scriptures were made

known. From that predilection of vanity,
however, with which all nations have flattered
themselves in the notion of high antiquity,
and from the influence of that error by which
men are naturally led to conceive those re
ports to be authentic and original, which they
have first heard or read, the heathens con
sidered their own fables as the sources from
which the sacred writers had borrowed.
This correspondence between many sacred
and profane accounts, led Celsus and other
adversaries of Christianity, to allege, with
out reflecting on the acknowledged antiquity
of Moses, that he had depraved the heathen
reports, particularly in his relations with re
spect to the tower of Babel, and the confu
sion of tongues : nor have there been wanting
writers in modern times, who, violating all
probability and historical truth, have endea
voured to confirm such misrepresentations.
We, however, to borrow the remark of Stil-
lingfleet, cannot do better than imitate Thales,
who took the height of the pyramids by mea
suring the length of the shadows, and thus
estimate the antiquity of truth by the extent
of the fabulous productions.
Enquiries upon this subject, as the same
writer has observed, are attended with so

8
much the greater difficulty, as the truth we
pursue, often takes covert under great anti
quity, and we are forced to follow its flying
steps through the dark and shady regions
of ancient historv.
A general presumption may be formed in
favour of the superior antiquity, and original
claims of sacred history, from a consideration
of the remarkable reverence which the Jews
have ever manifested, both for the books
which they believe to be of divine authority,
and for the institutions of which those books
describe the establishment. > It is not pro
bable that, with such sentiments, they should
have been disposed to borrow from foreign
sources of information : and this conclusion
is confirmed by the tenacious adherence
which they have always shewn to their own
laws and customs, as well as bv their rooted
aversion to admit any new rites of religion.
In this view of the subject, there can be little
doubt, that where any resemblance exists be
tween the sacred writings and the heathen
accounts, the former should be considered as
the primary and original documents.
It is to be remarked, likewise, that the rise
and progress of society, and the derivation
and succession of nations in the order of time,

9
should be attended to, in the examination of
all claims to priority, though, in many dis
sertations upon this subject, a great igno
rance, or disregard, of such considerations is
too often to be observed.
The Grecian and Roman states, from the
writers of which we draw our chief knowledge
of the history of heathen nations, and our
information with respect to their mythology,
opinions and law3, were so much more recent
as to all points of competition, that there
can be little difficulty in ascertaining where a
precedency should be allowed, and imitation
or corruption of accounts be imputed, when
soever discussions arise as to the origin and
fidelity of the relation and circumstances
which are described under different, though
similar, representations.
The Assyrians and Egyptians may be
allowed to stand upon an equal basis of anti
quity with the immediate descendants of
Abraham, or even upon a higher foundation
as flourishing nations; but considering that
men dispersed from the east, and that colo
nies emigrated from Asia to Europe, we must
be led to trace the descent of different people
in the line of regular procession, and to place
the pretensions of the Grecians below any

10
ground of contest for equality in point of
antiquity, with the Hebrews ; while indeed
there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate
the derivation of much of the knowledge of
Greece from Egypt and the East.
That the peculiar economy of the Hebrew
dispensation, and the miraculous circumstances
by which it was introduced and maintained,
were calculated to excite considerable atten
tion among other nations, and that great faci
lities were opened to other people for such
intercourse and communication as might en
able them to borrow information from the
Jews and their writings, will appear from the
slightest retrospect.
It was impossible that the rise and progress
of the Hebrew nation should not have engaged
the notice of all, who were within reach of the
rumour of the chosen people, or who saw that
" the Lord had done great things for them,"
and many of the neighbouring kingdoms in
deed felt " the terrors of the Lord fallen
" upon themselves." Some writers suppose
Job to allude to the Israelites in the twelfth
chapter and twenty-fourth verse of his book,
describing them as " the chief people of the
" earth," with reference possibly to the Di
vine favour which they experienced.

11
The vicissitudes and revolutions also, to
which this people, even from the beginning,
were exposed, were calculated to make them
and their religion known. They were carried,
or spread, into different countries at periods
when the several nations, among whom they
were placed, had attained great eminence by
their advancement in civilization and science,
as into Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Italy, so
that they must have attracted notice at the
very time at which it was most important
that they should be observed. The inter
course with other parts of the world which
resulted from the fame and the commercial
enterprizes of David and Solomon, and the
facilities of communication with the Jews,
afforded in later times by their dispersion
and continued abode in Assyria, Egypt, and
other countries, to which there was a great
resort, were very extensive *.
The greater part of the ten tribes remained
after the captivity, in Assyria, declining to
return with those, who went back under the
conduct of Ezra and Nehemiah-f-. Not
withstanding indeed the decree of Cyrus was
* Euseb. ptaep. Evang. 1 Chron. xiv. 2 Chron. ix. 12 —
14. l-
f Talmud Babylon in Kiddush, and Calmet Com. vol. vi.

addressed to all the people of Israel*, only
four of the twenty-four courses of the sons of
Aaron were re-established, though in order to
keep up the number, each of the four courses
subdivided itself into six. Josephus states that
but two tribes were subject to the Romans
in Asia and Europe, and that the rest
remained in unnumbered multitudes beyond
the Euphrates. Schools were established at
Babylon and other places, and, according to
the account of this historian, many of the
Jews were to be found in Babylon in his
time-j~. They were to be found also at Se
leucia and at Susa.
It appears from a letter of Eleazar to
Ptolemy, preserved by Josephus, that the
distinct character of the tribes was long after
maintained : since he professes to have sent six
elders from each tribe to assist in the Septua
gint version J.
Different writers represent colonies of Jews
to have spread through almost all countries,
as Syria, lower Asia, and Greece, so that it
was difficult to find a place in the habitable
* Ezrai. 1; vii. 13.
f Joseph. Antiq. lib. xi. c. 5. p. 482. Edit. Hudson.
Prideaux's Connect. Part I. Book i. Actsii. 9.
% Antiq. lib. xij. c. 2. Acts xxvi. 7.

13
\vorld which had not admitted them. They
state, that the Egyptians, Cyrenaeans, .and
other people, imitated their way of living,
and maintained great bodies of them, grow
ing up to greater prosperity with them, and
sometimes making use of their laws ; and that
the Jews had places assigned to them in
Egypt, which they inhabited, beside what
was particularly allotted to their nation at
Alexandria, where they had a large part of
the city *.
The ten tribes had heen carried princi
pally into Media and Persia -f. Descendants
of these, and probably of the other two tribes,
were to be found dispersed through ¦ the
East J; who repaired occasionally to Jeru
salem % and were addressed by the apostles
when Christianity was introduced ||.
Benjamin Tudela, in his Itinerary pub
lished towards the close of the 12th century,
states, probably with some exaggeration, that
there were fifty cities of Jews in the mountain
ous parts of Media ; and it is said that some
Jews are still to be found in Tartarv, the
* Philo, Legat. ad Caium. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 7.
t 1 Chron. v. 26. 2 Kings xvii. 6.
X Joseph. Antiq. 1. xi. c. 5, 6.
§ Actsii. 5— 11. || lPet.i. 1. James i. 1.

14
descendants possibly of those who were trans
ported into the northern countries beyond
the Bosphorus, and from whom they derived
some Jewish customs ; while others of the
same race are supposed by Major Rennel to
exist among the Afgans *.
There is an account given in the second
book of Esdras, which may claim some notice,
though the book indeed is not of great au
thority among those who reject the decisions
of the Romish Church. It is there related
that " the tribes took this counsel among
" themselves, that they would leave the mul-
" titude of the heathen to go forth into
" a further country, where never mankind
" dwelt, that they might there keep their
" statutes, which they never kept in their
" own land, and they entered into Euphrates
" by the narrow passages of the river, for
" the Most High then shewed signs for
** them, and held still the flood 'till they
" were passed over, for through that coun-
" try there was a great way to go, namely,
«' of a year and a half, and the same region
" is called Arsareth -j-."
Eldad, a Jew of the 13th century, places
* Rennel's Geograph. Syst. of Herodot. p. 390.
t 2 Esdras xiii. 41 — 45.

15
the ten tribes in Ethiopia, others in Assyria,
others in Arabia, and some in the East In
dies ; while some writers have conceived that
they • have discovered traces of them in
Africa *, and even in America -j-.
Some proofs might perhaps be adduced of
revealed knowledge, transmitted to the hea
thens by oral tradition from the Patriarchs,
to whom they were originally committed; or
derived from the Jews, by whom they were
preserved, or possibly from written memo
rials, which might have retained an autho
rity after many corruptions had been intro
duced, among those who mingled idolatry
with the service of the true God.
The inspired writers mention books and
chronicles distinct from their own sacred
records. The effects of this traditional or
written information are discernible in the
convictions and maxims which the heathens
professed, and they are to be perceived also
in the prophetic apprehensions of futurity,
which they entertained. Such were those
general expectations built on the promises
Mvith respect to the Messiah and the future
* See Modern Travels.
f Newton on Prophecy, and Basnage's Hist, of Jews, Book
vi. 2, 3. Universal History, &c.

16
renewal of the corrupted nature of man.
Other instances might be produced, as that
which Lactantius mentions, (though no great
importance can be attached to such accounts)
respecting Hystaspes, an ancient King of Me
dia, from whom the river Hydaspes took its
name, and whom he states to have committed
to record a dream under the interpretation of
a prophet, which foreshewed that the Roman
Empire and name should be taken away from
the earth, and that this alleged prophecy
was delivered before that nation of Trojan
origin was in existence *. Lactantius de
scribes this king as representing " the pious
" and faithful men of latter times separated
" from the guilty, and about to extend their
" hands with tears and groans to heaven,
" and to implore the faith of Jupiter, that
" he would have respect to the earth, and
" hear the voice of men, and exterminate
" the wicked ;" a prayer which might seem
modelled upon some work of inspiration -f.
Various revolutions of ancient times led
occasionally to an intercourse between remote
nations and the Israelites; for instance, the*
* Lactant. de VitaBeata, lib. vii. 15. p. 704. Edit. Lugd.
Bat. f Idem, lib. vii. c. 18.
6

J7
Scythians from the neighbourhood of the
Palus Maeotis, after conquering the Medes
under Cyaxares (in their return from an expe
dition against Egypt, from which they had
been diverted by the presents of Psamme-
ticus) invaded Judea, pillaged the temple of
Venus, at Ascalon, and established themselves
at Bethsene, a city of the tribe of Manasses
beyond Jordan, afterwards called Scylho-
polis. The Kings of Syria shewed much kindnesi
to the Jews ; Seleucus Nicator in particular
made them free of the cities which he built
in Asia and Lower Syria, and especially of
Antioch, the metropolis, and granted other
privileges to them. Antiochus the Great
also treated them with much regard, and
even furnished them with money and pro
visions for their sacrifices *.
The situation of Judaea was remarkably
adapted to the advancement of the great
objects, which appear to have been in the
contemplation of God, in the selection of
that Holy City as the place which should be
called " the Throne of the Lord -j-." Looking
to the progress of nations, and to the rise and
* Antiq. lib. xii. c. 3. f Jer. iii. 17.
VOL. I. C

18
establishment of the governments which pre
vailed in the earlier ages, it seems to have been
most happily placed as it were in the centre of
the three great Continents of the Ancient
World; and to have been in the direct line
of intercourse, between the Assyrians and
Egyptians, and a prominent object of atten
tion to the Grecians and Romans. It was a
place of great resort, though but little en
gaged in commerce. Frequent embassies
were interchanged between tbe Jewish go
vernment and foreign nations, which rendered
the laws and customs of the Jews known ; and
however the attachment of this people to their
religion might be a subject of invidious re
flection, it is certain that many distinguished
converts were made to its faith. Proselytes
indeed are often mentioned ; and Tacitus even
in later times, speaks of those who were led
to contemn their gods, and to abjure their
country, and their kindred *.
The writings of the Jews, inasmuch as
they contained many things inconsistent with
the received opinions of men, and were com
posed in a language not generally understood,
did not always attract the attention which
they merited, and some authors, who were
* Tacit. Histor. lib. v. c. 5.

19
acquainted with them, affected to pass them
over in silence.
Josephus speaks of Hieronymus, who,
though a governor of Syria, and a contem
porary of Hecatseus, never mentioned the
Jews in his book concerning the successors of
Alexander. On the other hand, a contrary spirit was
sometimes productive of similar effects, and
a veneration for the Jewish writings is said
to have withholden the heathens from bor
rowing from them.
Ptolemy Philadelphus, who directed the
translation of the Scriptures to be made, is
represented to have enquired, when the laws
of Moses were read to him, " whence it hap-
" pened, that none of the historians or poets
" had made mention of such an admirable
" code :" upon which Demetrius answered,
" that no one dared to touch the text*
" of those laws, because it was divine and
" venerable, and because some who had be-
" fore taken them in hand, had been*'pa-
" nished by Godf."
The accounts, which seem to have been bor
rowed from the sacred books by heathen wri-
t Joseph. Antiq. 1. xii. c. 2. p. 518. Edit. Hudson. 1720.
c 2

so
ters, were often much changed and perverted in
their transmission through channels of popular
information. The ancients also were at all
times accustomed to throw a veil over subjects
of remote antiquity, or of religious character;
and how desirous they who borrow, generally
are, to conceal the sources, from which they
derive their intelligence, is well known.
There are also other considerations which
are applicable, in a peculiar manner, to the
case in contemplation. The extraordinary
circumstances of the Jews, and the unparal
leled nature of their dispensation, were pro
ductive of effects, which, while they tended
to preserve a marked and distinct character
in the nation, insensibly generated an unso
cial spirit.
The proofs of divine protection which the
favoured race had experienced from its first
origin, when it was separated as " a nation of
" priests and an holy nation," for the recep
tion of revealed instruction, and for the esta
blishment of a policy introduced and supported
by miracles, and designed lo imprint a dis
tinct character on tlie people, led them to
entertain extravagant and unreasonable no
tions of a title to God's exclusive regard.
In the possession of the sacred records, on

21
the authority of which they could not but
rest with implicit confidence, they contem
plated with feelings of peculiar complacency
and exultation, the indisputable proofs of a
government administered under the imme
diate sovereignty of God, and regulated upon
principles, which discouraged an intermixture
with the heathens. Hence even in captivity,
which was designed " to mar the pride of
" Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem *,"
they maintained a sullen disposition, a fond
attachment to their Country, an ardent desire
to return to it, and a confident expectation
of the future glory of their nation, to be en
joyed under the universal dominion of a
sovereign, of the increase of whose govern
ment there was to be no end.
The commandments enjoining them to
avoid idolatry, and "the strong and animated
censures pronounced against it, detached the
Jews as a nation from all other people, whose
different systems of religion were judged
compatible with each other. Hence under
feelings sometimes carried to excess, they
were disposed, even when in the lowest state
of depression, to look with sentiments of
* Jerem. xiii. 9. See also .Levit. xxvi. 19.

22
utter haired and contempt upon their con
querors, to resist with religious fortitude the
imperious mandate to worship the images
which were set up, to scoff at the rites and
ceremonies of superstition which pervaded
every scene of public and private life, to im
precate destruction on their adversaries, and
to look forward with exultation to " the day
" when the Gentiles should come unto their
" God from the ends of the earth, and say,
" surely our fathers have inherited lies, vani-
" ties, and things wherein there is no profit*."
Many instances of the operation of this
spirit might be produced, not only during
the captivity in Assyria, where the Jews re
sisted all attempts to shake their attachment
to their institutions, but in later times; since
it is recorded that when Herod placed a
golden eagle on the terriple, it excited
an insurrection, in which the eagle was
thrown down ; and Josephus also relates, that
when Pilate introduced some ensigns into
Jerusalem, which contained the image of
Tiberius, it occasioned a great commotion,
and that Pilate was compelled to order them
to be carried back to Ceesarea -j~.
* Jerem. xvi. 19.
-j- Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 4 ; see also Philo de Lcgat, ad Caium.

23
When Caligula also sent Petronius with an
army into Syria, with orders to set up the
emperor's statues in the temple, to put to
death all who should resist, and to enslave
the nation ; he was informed, that if he would
persist in his resolution of erecting the
images, he must first sacrifice the whole Jew-
ish nation, and that they were ready to sub
mit themselves, with their wives and children,
to the slaughter. Philo relates, that when
the tidings reached Jerusalem, the people
abandoned their cities and villages, and re
paired to Petronius, both men and women,
vounf and old, with violent expressions of
grief, to entreat his intercession with the
emperor, and avert the threatened calamity*.
Circumstances, which demonstrate the strong
attachment of the Jews to their own institu
tions, and the final impression effected by the
influence of their laws -j-.
The character which the Jews displayed
when they flourished under the Divine favour,
and the virtues which their repentance drew
forth in adversity, often excited the respect of

* De Bel. Jud. lib. ii. cap. 10.
t See also Horace, lib. i. sat. 4. 1. ult.

24
other nations, and their religion and laws
were regarded with reverence*.
The aversion, however, which they mani
fested towards other people, their laws, their
ceremonies, and games, provoked resentment;
and when they degenerated in later times,
and, in consequence of their dissentions and
misconduct, became subject to foreign domi
nion, they experienced a diminution of re
spect. The rites and ceremonies of their religion,
were hastily derided by those who exercised
but little enquiry upon the subject: the
origin and tendency of these rites were mis
represented, and injurious reports concerning
them were received and circulated with eager
ness. Hence it Mas, that when their laws and
institutions were respected by the Roman go
vernment, theirnationalcharaclerand customs
were treated with contempt by individuals ;
and we find in the Heathen writers, not only
the exaggeration of the satirist -f-, and the sar
castic remarks of the orator J, but the mis-
* 1 Kings v. and x. Deut. iv. 6,; xxviii. 1, 10, 13. See
books of Esther and Daniel.
f Juv. Sat. 14. I. 103, 104. Horat. and comp. with
Joseph cont. Apion 1. 2. § 29.
t Cicer. Orat. Pro. Flacco. Philo says, v^y^ y^^ov
tret-toe, vto/Wqh;,

25
statement of the historian, however philoso
phical and correct in his general representa
tion *.
The influence of the mutual repugnance,
which subsisted between the Jews and the
Romans, occasioned many serious inconve
niences. Josephus, who witnessed its effects,
seems to have exerted himself to soften the
Jewish feelings with respect to the Heathens,
and to conciliate the good-will of the Ro
mans towards his countrymen *f.
Allowing for the operation of an hostile
spirit, not easily to be subdued, we are not
surprized to find that the Sacred Writings of
the Jews excited less reverence among the
Greeks and Romans, particularly in later
periods, than among people of higher anti
quity, and that they were placed by them
nearly on the same ground with the records
of the Pagan nations ; most of which nations,
indeed, professed to have received revelations,
and to have been favoured with intercourse
with the gods.
When, therefore, we meet with particulars
which substantiate the relations of Scripture,
we shall in general be disposed to think, that
they were derived from tradition, which
* Tacitus, Hist. lib. v. and vi.
f Antiq. lib. xvi. cap. 10.

26
was transmitted with more correctness in the
earlier ages of the world than at present,
since the longevity of man was then fa
vourable to fidelity of report ; and the man
ners of the eastern people, who delighted with
peculiar pleasure in relations accurately and
circumstantially recited, disposed them to
repeat their daily tale with unwearied renewal
of the subject as regularly as the evening
closed. The memory of the most remarkable events,
spread vvith the dispersion of mankind, and
the accounts of them were handed down in in
teresting details from father to son, till they
became gradually changed and corrupted in
the relations of successive generations *.
The various nations which colonized differ
ent countries after the confusion of tongues
and the dispersion of mankind, carried with
them the opinions and customs which then
prevailed, retaining at the same time the
notions of a common origin and of general
events, and a reverence for common proge
nitors and benefactors. Circumstances, which
had happened in the earlier periods of history,
were accommodated to subsequent times; and
* Orig. Gent. Antiq. G. R. Cumberland, published by B.
Payne in 1724. Plutarch de Isid.- et Osirid. p. 352.

hence the resemblance which is to be found
in the superstitions of the different nations of
antiquity. The real country, in which the
original event occurred, was often forgotten,
and became insensibly lost in the variety of
statements, while each nation contended for
the truth and authority of its own persua

sions*.

Notwithstanding, however we may be dis
posed to attribute much of the correspond
ence, which exists between sacred and pro
phane accounts, in part to the effect of oral
tradition, there are many particulars to be
found scattered in the writings of the Hea
thens, which may lead us to suppose that
they had some acquaintance with the sacred
books ; and it may be useful, therefore, to
enquire by what means an approach to the
inspired oracles may have been obtained.
It is probable in itself, and there are histori
cal accounts which confirm the belief, that parts
of the Sacred Writings, in the original lan
guage, were occasionally shewn to the Hea
thens ; as the Prophecies of Isaiah, to Cyrus ;
and those of Daniel, to Alexander,; and, in-

* Shuckford's Sacred and Prophane Hist, connect, vol. i.
b.v. p. 316, 317. 2d edit.

28
deed, there can be no reason to doubt that
the Jews, who were impressed with a pro
found reverence for their Scriptures, as writ
ten by inspiration, and who seem at all times
to have been desirous of making proselytes,
did invite attention, where they could, to
the invaluable treasures which they possessed.
On the other hand, Morinus informs us that
the Heathens wished to possess the Scriptures
that they might find in them the history of
their deities *.
The Septuagint version of the Scriptures,
into the Greek language, made at Alexandria
in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about
277 years before Christ, afforded a general
access to the sacred oracles -j-; and there is
reason to believe, that the law and the
Prophets, if not other parts of the Scripture,
were translated into Greek before that pe
riod i.
The Septuagint established so much repu-
* De Lingua prinueva, p.. 124. Morinus grounds his as
sertion on 1st Maccabees, c. iii. v. 4. where the Alexandrian
copies read *a\ ifahao-*, Ti frj&ior tS .»> *s() Zv I|^,u»„, T*
t Appendix to the literal Accomplishment of Prophecy
p. 117. 152. J
X Clemens Alex. Strom, lib. i. c, 22. p. 409. Edit. Potter.
lib. viii. c. 1 — 7.

29
taiion, that it was in general use in the time
of our Saviour, and many passages are cited
from it by the Evangelical writers.
There can be little doubt that partial
translations, at least, of the Scriptures were
obtained also, in other languages, before the
time of Christ. Such a work, however,
as the Septuagint, made under royal pa
tronage, at a period when literature flou
rished, «and when Alexandria was the resort
of learned men from all parts, could not but
excite considerable attention. The historian
would naturally have recourse to a work pro
fessing such high antiquity ; and the poet
would look with eagerness to a production
written with such force of description, and
animated with such strains of divine elo
quence ; diversified with beautiful allusions to
the works of nature, and inspired with pro
phetic views of futurity — with visions of ages
yet to come.
In proceeding to explore what remains of
the structures of ancient times, it is not
meant to search for every broken or defaced
character, or to consider all the just maxims
of Pagan philosophy, as transcribed from
entablatures on the Jewish or Christian tem
ples ; but only to bring forward a general col-

so
lection of the proofs, which the Heathen wri
ters afford, of an acquaintance with many
of the circumstances described in the Scrip
tures, and of the extent of information, which
they derived from them, and which proofs oc
casionally are to be discerned, half concealed
in mythological and corrupted accounts.
The result of such an undertaking cannot but
tend to give an interest to the classical works
of antiquity, which they could not otherwise
possess; and to draw testimonies to Chris
tianity from monuments, which may seem to
have been sheltered by a divine care, prin
cipally with a view to demonstrate the nature
of man in his unenlightened state ; the ne
cessity of revelation ; and the contrasted and
superior excellency of the Scripture, in which
its communications are recorded, above any
work of merely human production *.
Independently of the written memorials of
the Heathens, which seem occasionally to in
dicate an acquaintance with the Hebrew
Scriptures, there are circumstances, recorded
in history, which serve to shew how strong and
extensive were the impressions, which resulted
from the dispersion of revealed knowledge.
* See Leland's Paganum ; and Christianity compared.

31
The magi, who came to the nativity of Christ,
whether from A rabia or Persia, might possibly
have formed their expectations from some di
rect or indirect acquaintance with the pro
mises imparted to the Hebrew prophets*'.
The author has sometimes entered into
particulars which may at first sight appear
not to have any immediate connection with
the object of his work, upon examination
however they will be found to bear a relation
to it, as illustrating the age or country of the
several writers, or the circumstances under
which they wrote ; and as being designed to
shew what probability there was that they
possessed the means of obtaining sacred in
formation, as well as the influence of the
opinions which they held on their lives and
characters. The principal design however of the work
is to promote an acquaintance with the evi
dence of revealed religion, and to excite in the
rising generation a more animated reverence
for those sacred truths which pervade all time,
and which are engraven on every monument
of human learning ; which prescribe with all
* Numb. xxiv. 17, and Daniel ix. 24. Grotius on Matth.
ii. 1, &c.

32
authority instructions to regulate the course
of human life by a divine influence, and to
prepare the mind for scenes of eternal happi
ness.

33

CHAP. I.

Of the Connection subsisting between the Re
ligious Opinions of different Nations which
demonstrates often a common Origin.

Ufon every view of the religious opinions
and religious rites of antiquity, it will appear
that there are general marks of resemblance
which pervade the superstitions of Heathen
nations, and a conformity of parts in almost
every system. Similar notions with respect
to the creation of the world, the immor
tality of the soul, and the existence of a
future state, are to be found amongst almost
every people ; and however the principal
event*, on which different traditions were
founded, may have been disguised, and the
leading persuasions of mankind changed or
distinguished, a sufficient outline may be
drawn from the various records which have
been preserved, to establish an original iden
tity as to facts, and a common correspondence
as to many fundamental convictions.
vol. i, p

34
This o-eneral remark is intended as intro-.
ductory to the particular details which will
be made in the following chapters. In these,
it may be expedient to point out in some,
measure the period and place of the different
writers, whose authorities will be produced,
and whose opinions will be stated ; it will not
be necessary, however, to enter into any dif
fusive dissertations upon these subjects, or to
collect from the several works every thing
that might be obtained. It would be an
endless task to turn over the volumes of
antiquity, in order to draw forth every just
and reasonable opinion which is to be found
among the errors of the Heathen mythology,
with respect to the nature of the Supreme
Being, the divine origin of the soul, and the
dispensations of a future state ; and it would
be as difficult to attempt in all cases to ascer
tain how far the convictions which prevailed
were derived from tradition, or from aft ac
quaintance with the written doctrines of Scrip
ture. In searching the mines of antiquity,
we must be satisfied with a few remnants of
sacred ore recovered from amidst the dross.
Some glittering fragments are every where to
be found, and if in many instances the ori
ginal brightness of the substance has been so

35
much injured by length of time as to be with
difficulty distinguished from amidst the rub
bish, we know how liable to be discoloured
such scattered materials are where from igno
rance of their value, they are left in neglect.
Some of the authors who will be referred
to in this part of the work relating to the
Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, may
be thought of obscure name if not of question
able authority. Fragments only of their works
are preserved by Josephus, or by Eusebius,
and other writers who lived after the establish
ment of Christianity ; but as being appealed to
by those writers, they may be allowed to have
some weight; exhibiting what was deemed
important at the time they were produced,
and tending to substantiate the accounts of
Scripture. Some of these authors were pro
bably Jews, and some Hellenistical writers, or
proselytes, while others perhaps were pagan
poets and historians.
It is not very material to our enquiry, nor
would it, indeed, be easy to determine whe
ther these author's copied from the Hebrew
Scripture, or borrowed information from other
authorities which concurred with it,. In
either case, the testimony of ihese authors,
as far as it goes, contributes to substantiate
d2

36
the truth of events on which the history of
our religion rests its early claims.
The Grecian and Roman writers who com
posed accounts of their respective nations in
later times, retain proofs that the earlier
reports confirmed the relations of Scripture ;
and modern enquirers, who have taken a
general and comprehensive view of the sub
ject, and illustrated the connection between
sacred and prophane history, have made out
as clear a demonstration of a common origin
and early connection as can be expected, in
a detail of events so remote.

37

CHAP. II.

On the Remains qf Chaldean History which
confirm the sacred Accounts.

The great antiquity of the Assyrian em
pire, and the connection, which from the ear
liest periods subsisted between the inhabitants
of Nineveh and Babylon, and the Israelites,
must naturally lead us to expect traces of
correspondence between those few memorials
which are to be found in the fragments of
their history still preserved, and the reports
of the sacred historians.
Berosus, the Babylonian historian appears
to have been a priest of Belus at Babylon,
and a native of that city ; he wrote a history
of the Chaldeans, in three books. When
the Macedonians, under Alexander the
Great, took possession of Babylon*, he
acquired from them the Greek language,
* Tatian cont. Graec. Biblioth. Patrum, vol. i. p. 184.
Edit. Paris, 1624.

38
and quitting Asia, settled at Cos*, and thence
removed to Athens, where he became distin
guished by his astrological productions, and
where a statue was erected to*him. His history
was collected from ancient records carefully
preserved in the temple of Belus -j-, and was
dedicated to Antiochus Soter, king of Syria,
who began his reign B. C. 279 ; or, as some
suppose, to his son, Antiochus Theos. It was
esteemed of high authority by the Oriental
ists and Greeks. It contained an account of
the first ages of the world from the creation,
and of the dynasty of the kings who reigned
in Chaldea before the flood. The chronology
is obscure, and extended beyond all truth
and reasonable limits. Josephus and Euse
bius have preserved many fragments of it,
from the Greek of Alexander Polyhistor,
which concur, in some respects, with the ac
counts of Scripture. There are five books of
a spurious history under the jiame of Berosus,
which contradict, in many points, the ge
nuine fragments of Berosus, and which were
composed, probably, by a later writer.
* Vitruvius, lib. ix. c. 7. Edit. Amstel. 1549.
f Joseph, contra Apion, lib. i. Varreni censur. in quen-
dam auctorem qui sub falsi inscriptione Berosi circumfertur.
Jlom. 1765.

39
Berosus appears to have given a narrative of
the creation of the earth and of the heavens
from chaos, of the destruction of mankind by
the flood, of the preservation of one family
in the ark, of the building of Babel, and of
the genealogy of the sons of Noah, which
exhibits a resemblance to the relations of
Moses, but which is disguised often by fic
tion. He represents it as a report, that
some remains of the ark were to be seen on
the Cordysean mountains in Armenia in his
day ; and states that the people were accus
tomed to scrape the pitch from the planks,
and carry it about for an amulet *.
He seems to describe Abraham without
naming bim, as a -j- j ust and great man, who
lived among the Chaldeans, in the tenth
generation after the deluge, and who was
skilled in celestial matters ; and he appears
to relate the account of the destruction of
Sennacherib's army under Rab-shakeh, stat
ing, in conformity with Scripture J, that one
hundred and eighty-five thousand men, with

* Joseph. Antiq. lib. i. c. 3. § 6. Edit. Hudson, 1720.
Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 1 1 . Huet. Demon. Prop. 4.
c 2. $ 18. Edit. Paris, 1679.
+ Joseph. Ant. Lib. i. c. 7.
X' 2 Kings xix.

40
their leaders, were exterminated in one night
by a pestilential disease, from the. Divinity ;
and that Sennacherib, panic-struck and ago
nized by this calamity, fled with the remain
der of his force to Nineveh, his capital,
where, after a short time, he was slain in his
own temple of Arasca (Nisroch,) by the trea
chery of his elder sons, Adrammelech and
Sarasar (Sharezer,) who being driven into
banishment for the murder of their father,
went into Armenia ; upon which Assarae-
hoddas (Esarhaddon,) succeeded lo the king
dom *. He mentions the conquest of Judea
by Nebuchadnezzar, the demolition of the
temple, the leading away of the Jews to
captivity, and the order issued by Cyrus
that the temple should be rebuilt, in perfect
consistency with the accounts of the sacred
bisiorians-f- Eusebius has transmitted to us an extract
from the writings of Abydenus, a Greek his
torian, who probably flourished under one of
the first Ptolemys, as relating to the history
* Antiq. lib. x. c. 1 et 2. Biblioth. Patrum, lib. xv.
p. 117. Colon 1022.
t Antiq. lib. x. c. 11. Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. § 19.
Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 40. CJem. Alex. Strom, lib. i.
p. 392. vol. ii. Edit. Potter. 6

41
bf the Assyrians and Medes ; in which is an
account of Sisithrus, who, when Saturn had
foreshewn to him that an abundance of rain
should fall, and had directed him to conceal
every thing which was contained in his writ
ings upon the subject, at Heliopolis of the
Sippari, he, obeying the command of the
god, immediately sailed to Armenia, and
was involved in the completion of circum
stances which had been predicted ; but on
the third day, when the storm of rain began
to subside, he sent out birds to try whether
the land was covered with water: but they
finding water every where diffused, and no
place whereon to rest, came back to Sisithrus,
and after these, others were sent out ; but
when he employed them a third time, they
were fortunate, for they returned with their
wings (or soles of their feet, Tctga-ois,) covered
with mud. Immediately after, the gods re
moved him from the sight of men ; but the
vessel touching in Armenia, afforded wood
to be worn by the inhabitants as amulets
against disease.
It is sufficiently clear that this narrative, as
well as that of Berosus, is a compiled account
* Euseb. Pr»p. Evangel, lib. ix. c. 12.

42
of what is related of the deluge in the Sacred
Writings, which were deposited in the city
of Jerusalem.
The extract is given in other places by
Eusebius and Syncellus more at large, in
which Cronus is related to have warned
Sisithrus, in a vision, of the flood by which
mankind should be destroyed, and directed
him to take friends and relations into the
vessel; which he did, with all kinds of animals.
It appears from all the accounts that the ves
sel was a covered ark, and that it rested on
an inland spot *.
Abydenus relates that " men, confiding in
their gigantic strength, and impiously ima
gining themselves to be superior to the gods,
raised up a lofty rampart of towers where
afterwards Babylon stood ; which, when it
mounted to the heavens, was overturned by
the winds employed by the gods, and that
from the ruins of it Babylon was constructed :
he adds, that from that time, men, who had
before used one language, were impelled by
the gods to speak in various tongues -j- : and
that afterwards a war arose between Saturn
and Titan."
* Euseb- Chron. lib. v. and Syncel. Chronograph, p. 30.
f Euseb. Praep. Evangel, lib. ix. c. 14.

43
Abydenus gives also some vague accounts
of Nebuchadnezzar having prophesied of a
Persian mule, who should subject the Baby
lonians to his yoke : these were founded pro
bably on some knowledge of divine intima
tion imparted by the prophet Daniel to the
Babylonian kings *.
Alexander Polyhistor, a man highly
esteemed among the Grecians for his eru
dition -h, has preserved records of different
writers, and extracts from their works,
which exhibit a remarkable conformity to
those accounts, which have received the sa
cred seal.
Among these is Eupolemus, who mentions
the building of Babel by the Giants, the de
struction of the tower, and the dispersion of
men. He speaks of the distinguished emi
nence and knowledge of Abraham, of his
abode and actions in Phoenicia, of his re
ceiving gifts from Melchisedec, the priest of
God, and of his settling in Egypt; of the
king of Egypt being harrassed with plagues
on account of Abraham's wife, and of his re
storing her to the patriarch. He relates

* Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 41.
f Euseb. Prsep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 17.

44
also that Abraham instructed the priests at
Heliopolis ; and further that the Babylonians
traced up their origin, and that of the Phoe
nicians and Canaanites, as likewise the des
cent of the Ethiopians and Egyptians, from
the same family. He observes that Atlas,
whom the Greeks believed to be the inventor
of astrology, was the same as Enoch, the
son * of Methusalem ; and that he bad learnt
all things from the angel of God, the know
ledge of which flowed down to later times "j-.
In his work concerning the Prophecy of
Helias (Elijah), he continues a sketch of
the history of Joshua, Samuel, David, and
Solomon, of the extended dominion of
David, and the building of the temple by Solo
mon J. He mentions also Jeremiah and his
prophecies §. Clement, of Alexandria, has
preserved a fragment from his history of the
Jewish kings, in which he speaks of Moses
as the first wise man, from whom the rudi
ments of learning had been derived to the
Jews, and from them to the Phcenicians and
Greeks ||.
* The father of Methuselah,. Gen. v. 21.
¦r Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 17.
t Ibid. lib. ix. c. 30. 34. § Praep. Evan. lib. ix. c. 39.
|| Clemen. Alexandrinus. Strom, lib. i. § 148. p. 413.
Edit. Potter.

45
Aristaeus the Proconnesian, who lived in
the time of Cyrus and of Craesus, about
565 years before Christ, draws a sketch of
the history of Job, which agrees with what
is related in the Sacred Book under his
name *. This writer gives also a description
of the temple at Jerusalem -j-.
Chaerilus, an ancient poet, in treating of
the nations that fought under Xerxes, men
tions a people which
" With an admirable grace
Brought up the rear, their language Tyrian was,
Themselves unknown ; the mountain their abode,
By Solymis that near a vast lake stood ;
Their hair cut round, and their heads covered o'er
With head pieces of tann'd horse hides they wore J ."

* Praep. lib. ix. c. 25. + Ibid, lib, ix. c. 38.
J Joseph cont. Apion. lib. i. Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix.
c. 9. It seems probable, that this description refers to the
Jews, though Bochart supposes it to apply to the Solymi in
the neighbourhood of Cilicia. Vide Chanaan, Part II.
lib. i. c. 2.

46

CHAP. III.

On Zoroastres and the Religion of the ancient
Persians.

Zoroaster, or Zoroastres, or Zerdusht,
who was regarded as the great institutor or
reformer of the Persian religion, was one of
the earliest and most distinguished teachers
of mankind among the heathens.
There have been many persons of this
name*, and much confusion has been intro
duced concerning the age in which the ori
ginal Zoroastres lived -j-. Some place him
in the shade of remote antiquity, supposing
him to have lived six hundred years before
Xerxes passed into Europe J ; others carry
him back almost to the time of the flood.
More probable accounts, however, represent
him to have flourished towards the conclu-
sion of the empire of the Medes, to have
* Stanley's Lives of the Philosophers, part xiv. c. 2.
f Suidas. Plutarch, Isis. et Osirid. Pliny, lib. xxx. c. I.
X Diogen. Laert. Proem, p. 2. Edit. Stephan. 1683.

47
enjoyed the favour of Cyrus, and to have
established his religion in the time of Darius
Hystaspes* ; though others, indeed, consider
the contemporary of Darius as a second
Zoroastres, who introduced temples in which
the sacred fire was preserved. Clement of
Alexandria states that Pythagoras, (who
adopted many of the precepts of Zoroastres,)
described him as one of the Persian Magi -j- ;
Suidas speaks of him as a Chaldean or Perso-
Mediari, who wrote on mathematics. The
actions of many different persons seem occa
sionally to have been ascribed to the original
character, his name having been afterwards
applied to eminent persons as an honourable
distinction. Plutarch. represents him to have
taught magic to the Persians J, confirming
his pretensions to be regarded as the per
son who introduced science and philosophy
among them. Zoroastres appears to have
been indebted to the Mosaic and prophetic
writings for much of the information which he

* Hyde de Rei. vet. Pers. p. 277. 292. 312. 318. Pri-
deaux, Con. Part I. b. iv. Richardson, Diss. p. 74.
+ Strom, lib. i. p. 357, vol. i. Edit. Potter, 1715. L'Abbe
Foucher, Trait! historique de la Religion des Perses, torn.
xxv. Hist, de PA eadem. des Inscriptions.
X De Isid. et Osirid.

48
possessed, and for an acquaintance with those
doctrines which he communicated with hi*
instructions to his followers. From the
knowledge which he displays of* the religion
and customs of the Israelites, some have
conceived that he was a Jew, and a very
strong and general persuasion has prevailed
that he was an inmate with one of the
Jewish prophets, or of Ezra, and possibly
he might have lived with one of those who
partook of the captivity, as with Daniel or
Ezekiel, who prophesied in Assyria, rather
than with Jeremiah, who during that period
remained in Judea..
There are some circumstances, indeed, re
corded of the life of Zoroastres, which seem
to be borrowed from the history of Daniel,
particularly with respect to his being exposed
to danger from the persecutions of his ene
mies, and after a miraculous deliverance, re-
tored to favour with his sovereign.
The Arabian authors, some of whom assert
that he was dismissed from the prophet whom
he served, with a leprosy, inflicted as a punish
ment for having opposed his will, seem to
have misapplied to him the circumstances,
which are related with respect to Gehazi ;

49
and some have formed the opinion that he
lived with Elijah.
All that appears indisputable is, that he
was intimately acquainted with the history
and religioh of the Jews, and that he availed
himself of the information, which he pos
sessed, to support the pretence of inspiration,
and to establish his doctrines.
The acquirements of Zoroastres in learning
and philosophical knowledge enabled him to-
obtain a considerable authority. He endea
voured also to strengthen his influence by imi
tating the circumstances, which had conferred
a lustre on the Hebrew legislator, and by
pretending to distinctions of divine favour
and miraculous powers.
He ascended on a mountain, and there*
as he affirmed, he held converse with God,
who appeared to him in a flame of fire *, and
he afterwards retired to prepare his Institutes
in a cave decorated with mystical figures' of
Mithras, and allegorical devices, to impose
on the imaginations of the people ; thus em
ploying a contrivance, afterwards imitated
by Pythagoras, Mahomet, and other impos
tors, and by the Dervises of the East.
* Exod. iii. 2.
VOL. J. E

50
After having made his appearance at Xiz in
Bactria, orat Ecbatana, and laid the founda
tions of his religion in Media, he repaired un
der the countenance of Hystaspes, the father
of Darius to Bactria, and took up his abode
at Balch, on the river Oxus, on the confines
of Persia, India, and Cowaresmia, extending
his doctrines through those countries ; and
thence he went to Susa, where Darius be
came his convert, and by his example
brought over the superior ranks of the Per
sians to the new religion. Notwithstanding
the opposition of the Sabians, it soon became
the religion of the country, with public in
stitutions and sacred edifices, and the order
and economy of national establishments and
service. Having effected this, Zoroastres settled
himself as the spiritual head of the institu
tion, which he had set up, and governing
with patriarchal and almost regal power in
Bactria, he is said to have been killed by a
King of the Oriental Sabians, who resisted
his attempts to convert him. Darius avenged
his death, and continued to support his in
stitutions, which indeed maintained their
ascendancy in the East through many ages.
Many stories are related of him not worth

51
repeating, and the veneration for his^memory
was carried so far, that Plato did not scruple
to assert, that after his body had been burnt
on the funeral pile, he had risen again on the
twelfth day *.
The institutions of Zoroastres were super
seded by those of Mahomet. The sect of
the Magians, however, still professes to use
his liturgy and prayers, extracted from the
first part of the Zend-Avesta, repeating them
in a language not understood. Its adherents
consist chiefly of the lower and menial classes
of society, who are stigmatized as Giaours,
or Infidels, by the Mahometans. In conse
quence of a severe persecution which the
Magians experienced from the Moslems, they
fled in dispersion to different parts, and esta
blished themselves, towards the conclusion
of the eighth century, in the province of
Guzzerat, where their descendants, called
Parsis, still exist as a distinct community
while another colony of them lives under the
protection of the British government at
Bombay -f.
* De Repub. xvi. 10. Clemens, Alexand, Strom, lib. v.
§ 255. vol. ii. p. 711. Edit. Potter. 1715.
t Ovington's Travels.
E 2

52
The Zend-Avesta, which word has been
thought to mean the fire-kindler, and to bear
allusion to the mode of kindling fire, by rub
bing two bits of cane together, which prevailed
among the Persians, is the title of the sacred
book which Zoroastres composed, and which
contained his pretended revelations *. When
presented to Darius it was bound in twelve
rolls, and consisted of 100 skins of vellum.
Some say, that copies are still preserved by
the sect of the Magians, in their oratories
and fire-temples, written in the old Persian
language and character ; whilst modern
Persian scholars affirm, that all remains of it
have perished, and that the Parsis of Guz
zerat acknowledge that, so far from now pos
sessing the ancient books of Zoroastres, they
have not so much as one single copy saved
by their ancestors from the general wreck in
the seventh century ; the formularies which
they now use, being only transcripts of a
translation by one of the Parsi Destours, or
Priests, who lived three or four centuries
since.

* Plutarch de Isid. et Osirid et Euseb. Prid. Con. vol. i.
b. iv. p. 167. Some understand the expression Zend-Avesta
to mean the " living word."

53
The learned Hyde, in his history of the
ancient Persians, endeavours to establish
from various authorities the proofs of the
preservation of many of the doctrines of the
Patriarchal faith, and of the adoption of
sacred precepts and rites into the religion of
that people, and he was in possession of some
manuscripts, which he considered as frag
ments of the works of Zoroastres *, and pub
lished extracts from them. Upon his state
ments is grounded much of what is here ad
duced, with respect to the tenets and insti
tutions of that distinguished Legislator. It
is to be regretted, that his proposals to pub
lish an entire translation of what he pos
sessed was not encouraged. He himself de
scribed the book of the Sad-der (of which he
published the Introduction and Conclusion) as
a compendium of the precepts and rules of
Zoroastres, made for the use of the Church of
the Magi, composed in verse by a Parsi
Destour (Priest), who lived about two hun
dred years before the time of Hyde.
Richardson speaks with great contempt of
the manuscripts of Zoroastres -j-; nevertheless,
* Hist. Relig. vet. Persarum.
f Richardson's Dissert, prefixed to Persian Dictionary,
P. 4—7.

54
what Hyde has represented to be the doctrines
of Zoroastres is confirmed by many testimo
nies, and agrees with the general reports of an
cient writers upon the subject; and if the frag
ments and copies which remain, were compo
sitions of a spurious nature and modern date,
they were probably fabricated in conformity
to the best established accounts. It is said
that the whole Zend-Avesta was brought
from India by Mr. Fraser, and deposited in
the Radcliffe Library, at Oxford: if satis
factory proofs exist of the authenticity of the
work, there can be little doubt that the
learning and munificence of the present age
might, under such auspices, procure a tran
slation. The publication of Anquetil du Perron,
oriental interpreter to the King of France,
who professes to give a translation of the
whole Zend-Avesta, is declared also by Mr.
Richardson to bear palpable marks of a total
orat least of a partial fabrication, produced
in modern times. It is interspersed with
Arabic words, which were not introduced
into the Persian language till the seventh
century. There are, however, some writers,
among whom Kleuker may be particularly
mentioned, who contend that it has consi-

55
derable elaims to be regarded as a genuine
work. Hyde supposes the original doctrine of the
Persian religion to have been framed in con
formity to the primeval simplicity of the faith
of Shem, and to have inculcated a belief in
the Supreme Being, and the assurance of a
future judgment.
He is of opinion, that this faith after hav
ing been corrupted, was brought back to its
genuine spirit by Abraham, and afterwards
again depraved by additions, particularly by
Sabianism, which introduced an undue vene
ration for the heavenly bodies and elements,
a superstition against which Moses had cau
tioned the Israelites before, and from which
Job declared himself free *.
Zoroastres and his followers continued,
however, to reverence the sun as the Throne
of God, on which he sat with apparent ma
jesty ; and, as the Jews beheld the Shechinah,
or Divine Glory, in their temples, and pre
served the sacred fire on their altars, he and
his followers bent before the holy flame
which he professed to have obtained from the
fire out of which God addressed him, and
* Job xxxi. 2fi, 27.

5b
which he brought to Xiz, whence it was pro
pagated to other altars. This fire was fed
incessantly with wood stripped of its bark,
and even the breath of the priests was not
allowed to blow upon it *, so that they ap
proached it with their mouths covered. The
superstitious reverence for fire spread to the
Greeks and Romans, among whom a sacred
.flame was preserved by priests and vestals. It
is probable that the worship of fire was found
ed on a knowledge of the fact, that God had
appeared to Moses in the fire in the bush f.
The manner in which the Persians ex
pressed their veneration for the sun and the
elements, seems described by Ezekiel, where
he declares himself lo have beholden in vision
" at the door of the Temple of the Lord,
" between the porch and the allar, about five
" and twenty men, with their backs toward
" the Temple of the Lord, and their faces to-
" wards the East, and they worshipped the
" sun towards the East J."
Tlie Persians originally believing that the
Divine Nature was not to be circumscribed
by walls, worshipped the Divinity in the
* Strabo, lib. xv. p. 1010. Edit. Faloner.
-j- Exod. iii. 2 — 4.
I Ezek. viii. 16. M. Foucher Traite Histor. Acad, des
Jiibcrip. vol. xxv. p. 113.

57
open air and on high places, having neither
temples or statues. Zoroastres, however,
built every where temples to cover the altars
on which the sacred . fire was cherished.
It appears, therefore, that though this an
cient people had preserved some traditional
knowledge of the patriarchal faith, yet, in
many instances, they had changed its doc
trines, particularly with respect to the nature
and attributes of God ; thus, instead of wor
shipping exclusively one great and eternal
Being, they reverenced two independent
principles, one of good, the other of evil;
the former, according to Aristotle, called
Oromasdes, and by the Greeks, Jupiter; the
second Arimanes and Orcus. Zoroastres
corrected these errors, by teaching that both
these principles were subject to the Supreme
God, the Creator of light and darkness *,
being acquainted possibly with what Isaiah
had declared of God, " that he formed light,
" and created darkness — he made peace, and
" created evil -f." Words directed (pro
phetically) as Prideaux has observed, to
Cyrus; and intended, in his opinion, to
refer to the Magians, whom he supposes to
* Pococke and Hyde, c. ix. Prideaux, Part I. Book iv.
t Isaiah xiv. 7.

58
have existed as a corrupt sect in the time
of Cyrus, and to have been reformed by Zo
roastres *.
In order to avoid the difficulty of consi
dering God as the author of evil, Zoroastres
represents it not as originally created, but as
resulting from the defect of good, incul
cating a doctrine so far consistent with
the facts related by Moses, concerning the
fall ; but which is mingled with other no
tions, in which truth and falsehood are
blended. He supposes the world to have
been created by two distinct agents, the one,
the angel of light, the other, the angel of
darkness, subordinate indeed to the Supreme
Being, but forming all things by a mixture
of light and darkness ; waging a perpetual
contest with each other, which will terminate
only with the end of the world ; when a
general resurrection and day of retribution
shall take place, and the angel of darkness
and his followers shall be condemned to
eternal suffering, but the angel of light and
his followers shall be separated to eternal
reward.
* Berosus states that the Persians worshipped images.
Clem. Alex. Cohort, ad Gent. oper. Vol. ii. p. 57 Edit
Totter.

59
The works of Zoroastres, judging of them
not only from the fragments of Hyde, but
from other accounts, appear to have indi
cated an acquaintance with many other par
ticulars of Revelation and Sacred History *.
In treating of the Creation, he supposed it
to have been completed in six periods, com
posing three hundred and sixty-five days.
He spoke of the Deluge, of Joseph, of Moses,
and of Solomon ; and he borrowed many pre
cepts from the Hebrew Legislator, with rela
tion to clean and unclean beasts, purification,
the priesthood, and tithes. He transcribed
much from the Psalms of David, and incul
cated the doctrine of the immortality of the
soul, of a resurrection, and of a final judg
ment, with an assurance derived probably
from the writings of Daniel -j-, and other
prophets. Amidst the precepts of wisdom interspersed
through the works of Zoroastres, were laws
framed with unworthy views, as those which
seem designed to countenance the incestuous
marriages of the Sovereigns of the East;
* Pococke, Specim. Hist. Arab. — Hyde Praefat. p. 5. and
Prid. Part I. Book iv. Mem. de l'Academ. des Belle*
Lettres, Tom. xxvii.
f Chap. xii. 2, 3.

60
and others on the subject of wine, which
gave great offence, and led probably to some
of the regulations of Mahomet upon that
subject. The general character, however, of the re
ligion, improved as it was by the intermix
ture of revealed instruction, justly raised its
reputation, and the reverence maintained for
it by the Persians procured to them the praise
of a religious people.
It is probable that many of the sublime
sentiments of piety, which, according to Xe
nophon, enlightened the mind and regulated
the conduct of Cyrus, and which led him to
favour the Jews, were originallv deduced from
the Hebrew prophets, and possibly recom
mended to the Persian Monarch by the
writings of Zoroastres. It was the wisdom
also infused from them into the system of
Zoroastres, which rendered his religion an
object of choice to Pythagoras, and con
ferred upon it a reputation which led
Numa to imitate his modes of obtaining
communications with some pretended Deity.
It appears then that there may be some rea
son to think that Zoroastres, who possibly was
only a temporary adherent to one of the He
brew prophets, was rendered instrumental by

61
Providence to a renewal of some of the obli
terated characters of the patriarchal faith, and
permitted to receive and impart to the Hea
thens, a restoration of some of those great
doctrines which were first revealed by God
as the fundamental principles of all true reli
gion, ana1 from which there could be no de
parture, without a proportionate deviation
from the standard of immutable truth *.
Such a supposition does not imply that any
countenance was given to the personal views
or erroneous tenets of the Persian prophet.
It presumes only that a testimony was drawn
from time to time, even from the mouth of
those whose ways were perverse before God,
to the excellency of the doctrines which.
formed the basis of all natural and revealed
religion, and upon which whatever is esteemed
good among the superstitions of antiquity
must ultimately rest. These doctrines re
newed in divers manners were confirmed by
divine authority, and with encreasing clear
ness, to the Jews, and were displayed with
full manifestation at the coming of Christ.

* Shahristani de Religion Oriental Diogen. Laert. in
Procem. Plutarch de Isid. et Osirid.

Previously to that time, the Gentile nations,
however left to walk in their own ways, ob
tained occasional notices of God. The ex
ertions of Zoroastres certainly meliorated the
character of a religion, which for ages was to
maintain its influence in the Eastern world.
There is even some reason to believe, that
he was enabled, by the convictions which
he derived from authentic information, to
carry on the views of his followers to the ex
pectation of that future Prophet and So
vereign, who was to enlighten and govern the
world with righteousness and peace, and
whose star the wise men among the descend
ants of his countrymen were at length enabled
to behold.
The early heretics of the Christian Church
professed to be in possession of some revela
tions concerning Christ, imparted, as they
alleged, to Zoroastres : Porphyry exposed
these as forgeries.
Abul-Pharagius however tells us, that
Zoroastres foretold to his Magians, the com
ing of the Messiah, and the appearance of
the Star at his Nativity, which he instructed
them to follow when it should be seen, and
to offer their gifts and adoration to the

63
person to whom it should conduct them.
It is added, that in conformity to this di
rection, the wise men repaired to Bethle
hem*. Others attribute these prophetic in
timations to Balaam.
These accounts, it must be acknowledged,
are of a legendary nature, built possibly upon
oral communications of what the Scriptures
revealed. There is sufficient reason however
to believe, that both Balaam and Zoroastres
contributed to excite and keep alive the ex
pectation of the Messiah ; and that God so
far constrained these aliens to act in his ser
vice, with design, possibly, to draw truth
from the mouth of deception and error, and
to render even false witnesses subservient to
its establishment.
Zoroastres, and Mahomet who propagateu
his imposture over the same countries, bore
testimony to the authority of the Jewish pro
phets, and if the former foretold, the latter
admitted the claims of Christ, as a prophet.
Suidas attributes to Zoroastres four books
on Nature, and other works, which have pe
rished, excepting some fragments preserved
by Eusebius.
* Hyde de Relig. vet. Persar. c. xxxi. p. 382.
9

64
Some pretended oracles of Zoroastres have
been collected from Proclus, Simplicius,
Damascius, and others, which were, pro
bably, fabricated by the Platonic writers
subsequent to the time of Christ *.
* Chrysostom. Vit. Babyl. Martyr. Stanley's Lives of
the Philosophers, Part xix. c. iii.

65

CHAP. IV.
On the Phoenicians and Sanchoniatho.

The Phoenicians lived in a country so im
mediately contiguous to Judaea, that they
had the most direct means of knowing the
events which concerned the Jews, and of be
coming acquainted with the books which
they respected.
Sanchoniatho, a native of Tyre, or of Be-
rytus, is the author of greatest antiquity
among the Phoenicians, of whose writings
we have any remains. He has transmitted
accounts which go back to very early times,
and which retain some memorials of truth.
His name, indeed, in the Phoenician language,
signifies the friend of truth. The original
work is now lost, and what we possess is
a Greek translation of it made by Philo-
Byblius, in the time of Adrian.
Porphyry, as we learn from Eusebius,
supposed Sanchoniatho to have lived in the
reign of Semiramis, who preceded the Tro-
VOL. I. F

66
jan war nearly eight centuries; but this
could not be the case, as Tyre, according to
his account, was built not above ninety years
before the destruction of Troy, and probably
Sanchbhiatho, "agreeably1 to the opinion of
Suidas, lived about that time*. Huet
thinks that be was a contemporary of Gi
deon -f. Sanchoniatho is said to have col
lected his history froth the records 'of towns
arid'ferriples. It was contained in nine1 books!,
though Porphyry mentions only eighty pro'*-1
bably not reckoning the first, which related
to the Phoenician theology. n The authenti
city of Sanchoniatho's work was not ques-
tibned by Pbilo-Byblius, Porphyry,' or Euse
bius, but it has been' disputed by Dodwell.
Receiving what we possess, with that degree'
of consideration to which Bishop Cumber
land 'esteems it to be entitled/ as 'containing
the fragments 'of V genuine historyj' we may
examine its resemblance' to the Mosaic ac
count XI which indeed ; furnished ! Porphyry
i •:»'.*w.\. , ur -rjivr mi;. ,;-">» *"wt v cm
* Praep. Evan.. lib.i. c. 9. p. 31, and lib. x, c. 9. p. 485,
Edit. Paris, 1628^
t Demon. Evan. Prop. 4. c'2. § 1. pp. 42, 43. 57. Prop.
4. C. 3. § 2. p. '58. Prop. 4. c. 12. § 1. p. 131 . Prop. 4.
c.2. $ 54. p. 55. Prop. 4. § 6. p. 158, ,- Edit, Par^ 176"9.
X Selde.n de Diis. Syris. Bochart. Chanaan, lib. ii. c. 2,
p. 78S. lib. ii, c. 17. p. 85. Edit. 1616. c v ;'"

67
with ground for defending the authority of
the work/: 'nnl !!.<• '.:. :.\.,J mf<>! on ,¦>¦>, -i '"
Upon a view of the statements of this his
torian, iwe discover,! 'under vague and figu
rative representations, a description of the
creation of tbe world. He speaks of a dark
and windy air,' and> of a turbulent evening
eh<aos, with some allusion it 'might seem to
the*sptrit of God which moved on -the face
of the waters, and to the'dark void and form
less deep. He mentions' also the two 'first
mortals* whom he calls ^Eon andProftjg'o'nU^
who gathered food from trees in a 'manhe'f
which seems to bear some referericeto par*-
ticulars recorded ^of' Adam and Eye, van&'df
their transgression. '" Cumberland" ;alsO .SupL
poses, that, in 'the account of > Ate' 'line *'o!f
Genus* whom he conceives to be' Cain, 'Sar*1
choniatho preserved' the history of the-ido^-
latrous line, as Moses did thM "of "Sfeth.
Porphyry affirms that Sanchoniatho received
information from Jerubbaal1 or Gideon.1' He
had not,! however any desire to confirm the
Sacrsed'' Accounts, but rather wrote with an
Atheistical- design, following Thoth, a King
of Egypt, into the foulest corruption of Hea
thenism, which is a neglect of the Sovereign
and only1 true God/lhe Creator and Go-
v 2

68^
vernor of the world. " He missed, there-
" fore, the foundation of all true natural re-
" ligion, which is love and obedience to God
" as the founder and supporter of our being,
" to be expressed not only in silent thoughts,
" but in open solemn prayers and thanks-
" givings, joined with constant and public
" profession of his truth and worship, and uni-
" versa! justice and charity to mankind*."
Sanchoniatho, being addicted to idolatry,
omits all mention of the deluge and of other
signal judgments of God. Instead of speak
ing of these, he prepared the ground for the
vain and foolish religion of the Phoenicians
and Egyptians, who worshipped the crea
ture, rather than the Creator, God, blessed
for evermore. Sketches from his cosmogony
seem afterwards to have been borrowed by
Orpheus, Hesiod, and others.
This writer affords some light, in other
instances, into the origin of idolatry, and
the foundation of many cities ; and he gives
an outline of several generations and families,
in which some remnants of truth may be
discovered, amidst many wild and extrava
gant relations ; serving to illustrate, by a dark
* Cumberland's Sanchoniatho, p. 11.

69
contrast, the advantage which we derive from
that clear and interesting narrative of the
creation and of past ages, which Moses has
prefixed "as an introduction to his law.
Sanchoniatho gives a very remarkable
account of Cronus having offered up his
son in sacrifice to his father, Ouranus *.
Bochart supposes this to have been borrowed
from the relation in Scripture of Abraham
having prepared to immolate Isaac. Gro
tius -j-, however, and Cumberland."!"., dispute
this opinion : the latter imagines Abraham's
trial, in this instance, to have been designed
to shew, that God requires his servants to
love him above their nearest relations; but
that he abhors the sacrifice of their children,
and therefore sent his angel to interdict it.
This design is not inconsistent with the con
viction so generally and justly entertained,
that the whole was intended, by a prophetic
scene, to represent the future circumstances
of the Sacrifice of Christ.
It is possible, that Satan, who seems to
have perverted every religious rite lo the
utmost of his power, endeavoured to render
* Cumberland, Sanchon. Euseb. Prasp. Evan. lib. iv. c. 14.
+ De Yeritat. lib. i. Annot.
X Remarks on Hist. Remark 3.
-i-
-1-

70
Sacrificial appointments mischievous in their
nature, and subservient fof the exciting, of
erroneous' apprehensions^ ihstea'd ' J of Faith
in the great Sacrifice t6 be offered up by
Christ:" ¦;;<.:
The Heathen nations certainly abused the
Institution, by attaching an efficacy to the
type, which belonged only to the atonement
to be made by Christ; and they introduced
the most cruel and abominable custom of
human Sacrifices, even that of immolating
their 6 wnch il d ren .
The Canaanites were cast out for this
among other offences, and laws were enacted
against it by Moses*.
It is said by Sanchoniatho, that Cronus,
who, by sorne writers, is supposed to have
rieen Abraham, offered up his son; in agree
ment with an ancient praeticeHaf princes f.
It is wonderful- that so barbarous a custom
existing thus early, should have continued so
long as it appears to have done! Some have
imagined that it was in conformity with the
false persuasions which prevailed upon this
subject, that Agamemnon designed to offer
• Levit. xviii. 21 . Deut. xii. 31. See also Isaiah lvii 5
t Euseb. Praep. Evang. ;lib. i. c. 10; p. 38.

71
up Iphigenia ; others -suppose this to ".have
been aripepv.erted ^account,,, framed on,, the
sacred: relation of the (sacrifice of Jepljthah's
daughteir. :;i The: accounts .collected •; by j$a#j$pnj.ajJio
are confirmed by Eratosthenes,, thcJ.earned
Jibrarian of Alexandria,' under..; Ptolemj
-Euengetes^iof whose writings therear;e,,sqnie
remains*. .;:Hestia3US;, also, , and,( Hieiony-
mus, presenttus with some particulars, of ihe
history of PJioenk'Ja* which accoivd witl^.th^e
truth i
-i ;J«)setpbus:)Speaiks-pf,!C«opies.' qxta^t;; among
the Tyrians in his time, of the letters .Wjbjfth
passed-between Hiram snd S<$lojaaiQjUf£ and he
appeals: to Diu.Sj-:. whom he states tO/h^fe
been a Phoenician, historian, ,of!:undispu.ted
credit,, in t confirmation of, the account; that
Hiram went up to Mount Libanus,. ;to
cut wood;. for r/tftmplesyr' and thai, ^Solomon
interchanged problems with /Hiram foi?, so
lution "\--. .
¦:,;.;¦ Nicola as, of Damascus* affords some .ac-
:eounts which .deserve attention : we rknow
dittle more of hitm^ than: that he was a distin
guished advocate, and that he pleaded for
* Published at Oxford, in 1672. ..>;..;. .- .;
+ Antiq. lib. viii. c. 2.. j.C<W)t.-Apion.rkb;i. $.17-

72-
the Jews in a cause which was heard before
Marcus Agrippa, and upon other important
occasions. In the fourth book of his history,
he mentions Abraham as coming from be
yond Babylon, and reigning in Damascus,
and afterwards removing to Judaea : he
states, that, the name of the patriarch was
celebrated every where in the country of Da
mascus, and that a town existed which went
by the name of Abraham ; that afterwards
upon a famine, in Canaan, he settled in
Egypt, and communicated instruction to
the people in religion, arithmetic, and astro
nomy *.
Alexander Polyhistor represents Artapanus
likewise to have related, that Abraham went
from Syria to Egypt, and remained there
twenty years, teaching the Egyptians astro
nomy -j-.
Alexander Polyhistor mentions, also, that
Melo, who wrote against the Jews, stated,
that Abraham sojourned in the desert and
had two wives ; and that; of the one who had
been an Egyptian slave, he begat twelve
children, who divided Arabia and became
» Joseph. Antiq. lib. i. c. 7. See also Euseb. Prap.
lib. ix. c. 16.
f Euseb. Praep. lib, ix, c. 18.

73
princes of that country ; that, of his legiti
mate wife, he begat a son, called Laughter,
(ysKuja) *, who, when Abraham was dead,
begat twelve sons, of whom the youngest
was named Joseph, from whom Moses is
reckoned the third in descent. Polyhistor
adds, that Abraham was commanded to sa
crifice his son, and that he immediately,
taking him to a mountain, prepared a pile
and set him on it, but, being about to slay
him, he was forbidden by an angel, who fur
nished a ram to him for an oblation, and
that Abraham drew his son from the pile and
sacrificed the ram -j*.
The same author gives a great part of the
history of Jacob and Esau, and of the birth
of the twelve Patriarchs, particularly of
Joseph, from Demetrius, so as to exhibit an
abridgment of the sacred history, though
he extends the period from Adam to the re
moval into Egypt, to 3624 years, and differs
from Scripture in some particulars J.
Demetrius also mentions events in the
life of Moses, as of his killing the Egyptian,
and marrying Zipporah § ; and Alexander
• Gen. xviii. 12. The name " Isaac," means laughter.
f Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 19.
% Ibid. lib. ix. c. 21. $ Ibid. lib. ix. c. 29.

74
Pojy histor, relates, that Theodotus; speaks of
theiifruitfulnessv of ; Jnidaaa^ of the .coming, of'
Jacob into ^Mesopotamia/, of his ,twe .mar*
riagesiand removal \to'iCa.BaaB, of, the -jtreafe-
meut «MichiDinakiexperi.enGed, and: its con
sequences *.
Menander^: the Ephesian, relates that Hi
ram went up to Libanus to cut down -cedar
for temples : but he speaks of the temples
as being dedicatedjto Heathen deities. He
mentions also- the employing of a :young man,
called Abdemon, to expound, the riddles of
Solomon -}-.
* Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 22, ,3
f Joseph, lib. viii. c. 5.

75

CHAP: V

Qf the Connection which subsisted between the
'¦ Jews and fllte Egyptians. -'-'-¦¦

• if * ! 'i'.'i i' !.';¦, ;

Egypt was probably colonized in part
before ther dispersion of mankind took place,
from the .plains, of Shinar. Mizraim, the
son of Harn,fisr generally cpps,icjered as having
first established a settlerne^t otfrere.
The Israelites,; who, took up their abode in
Egypt with Jacob, qontinued there, four
hundred apcj fifteen years, completing, ac
cording to Josephus,, a period of four
hundred and thirty years from Abraham's
arrival in Canaan *r From the account
which Moses gives of trie departure of this
people from their bondage, it appears, that
all the descendants of Jacob at that time
quitted 'the country, young and old, sons
and daughters -j-, and with them a mixed
multitude £.
By the law of Moses to his people it was
directed that they should look with soirre fa-
* Exod. xii. 40. Joseph. Antiq. lib. ii. c. 14. i ¦
+ Exod. x. 9. xii. 31, 32. J Ibid. xii. 38.

76
vour on the Egyptians*, and the children of
the third generation of Egyptian origin were
to be allowed to enter the congregation ; but
it was ordained also that when a king should
be established among the Israelites " he
" should not cause the people to return to
" Egypt, to the end that he should multiply
" horses, forasmuch as the Lord had said,
" henceforth ye shall return no more that
" way-f-."
The Egyptians had been highly distin
guished for their wisdom from the earliest
period J. Their great attainments in know
ledge, and advancement in arts and sciences
are every where celebrated by sacred and
profane writers ; but their persuasions on
subjects of religion, appear to have been in
general, erroneous and absurd. Many of
the precepts of the Mosaic law were di
rected against their customs.
The people became so corrupt in later
times, that the prophet predicted their de
struction, from the infatuation which they
manifested, declaring that they should be
come the basest of the kingdoms, and no
more exalt themselves among the nations §.
* Deut. xxiii. 7, 8. + Deut> xviif ,6 1?>
t Herod, lib. ii. c. 121. 160.
§ Ezek. xxix. 14, 15.

77
Previously to the time of Solomon an
occasional intercourse subsisted between the
two countries, notwithstanding the prohibi
tions upon the subject delivered by the Al
mighty. Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh, king
of Egypt, and married his daughter *, laying
the foundation of his misery in disobedience ;
and under subsequent reigns, Egyptians
were admitted into Canaan, in order to con
tribute to its defence.
The Jews also were carried into Egypt at
different times when conquered by the armies
of that country, and occasional emigrations
of the people took place under circumstances
of dissension, as particularly in the civil wars
of the Asmoneans, which drove many of them
into exile. Alexander, when he built Alex
andria, transported many Jews from their
own country to people his new city, and en
couraged others to establish themselves there,
by conceding to them considerable privi
leges, particularly that of appointing their
own magistrates -f-, and many were at the

* 1 Kings iii. 1.
f Joseph, cont. Apion. lib. ii. De Bel. Jud. lib. ii. c. 18.26.
Antiq. lib. xiv. c' 12. Philo legat. lib. ii, c. 8.

78
same time; dispersed into other cities of
Egypt. -¦•;¦ . "¦/;¦
These greatly increased, and maintaining.
at Alexandria, and other places, a constant
intercourse with the Greeks who resorted
to Egypt, they acquired a knowledge of that
language, and were called Hellenistic Jews
or Grecians*, being sometimes regarded as
schismatics by their own countrymen.
The Jews had synagogues in Egypt, and
in every place, indeed, in which ten persons
of full age and free condition were to be
found "j". , .- : ,
Several successive j kings of Egypt are re*
lated to have carried the inhabitants of Judaea
into Egypt, taken in -different -expeditions-;
and Ptolemy, the son ; of Lagus, in parti-
cular, about- the year 312 before Christ,
took with him, in his retreat from Phoenicia,
many to whose fidelity he committed ; the
strong places of his kingdom, andisojme. of
whom lie placed in Lybia about Oyrene,
knowing that he could, confide in their oath ;
and among others whom he; carried away was
Hezechias, an eminent person, and high
''".-¦.•H/f 1 *•
* Acts vi. 1. ,_.
+ Megill. cl. '§ 3. Maimon in Tephil.. Lightfoot, et
Talm. Exert, in Matth. iv. c. 23.

79
priest of the Jews, (Mentioned by Hecataeus,
then with Ptolemy, as a man of great wis
dom, from whom be had derived information
concerning the religion, manners^ and policy
of the~Jews */Jfii 01 -juif; u<: -v.i [,'uotlt rnrfj
Ptolemy Euergetes offered u pi sacrifices
at Jerusalem for th;e victories which he hath
obtained over i the king of-. Syrian having
perhaps read, aSJPrideaux supposes, the pro
phecies ! of' Daniel relating to those vic
tories^-. >"<:)Y0Y,'O-t! .(\,Ah. vry\ q ; "loin- ,'tq
-^The repulse of Ptolemy Philopater, who
in his progress through Judsea attempted at
Jerusalem to enter the Holy of Holies, and
persisting in' spite, of the i remonstrance of
the high priest, was smitten, must have ex
cited much -attention J, particularly as the
hardened king on his return to Alexandria
persecuted- the Jews, endeavouring to make
them apostatize, or to exterminate them.
-Ptolemy, called Philometor, and his queen
Cleopatra, committed the management of im
portant affairs in Egypt to Jews, one of whom,
-•Joseph, cont. Apion. lib. i. Euseb; Praep. Evang. lib. viii.
c. 9, 10. Joseph. Antiq. lib. xii. c. 2. 1. 11. c. 8. Origen
cont. Cels. lib. 1.
•jr.Jdsepbj cont. Apion. lib. ii. § 5.
X 3Maccab. c. 1. * ,*;; ,

80
namely, Onias, obtained permission from the
king and queen to build a temple for the Jews
at Hierapolis in Egypt, like that at Jerusa
lem*, alleging the prophecy of Jererniah, that
there should be an altar to the Lord in the
midst of the land of Egypt ; and the king and
queen in their rescript speak honourably of
the law and of Isaiah -f. Divine service was
continued in this temple till the time of Ves
pasian, when it was suppressed by that em
peror's order : previously, however, to that
time, it is probable that many of the Egyp
tian Jews went up to Jerusalem on great so
lemnities J.
The Septuagint version, before mentioned,
afforded for near three centuries before the
time of Christ a facility to the various people,
who resorted to Egypt, of becoming ac
quainted with the sacred oracles, and we
know that it attracted attention. Aristobulus
is related to have written a commentary on
it, which he dedicated to the king ||, and the
* Joseph, de Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 10. and Prideaux,
Part II. book iv.
+ Newton on the Prophecies, vol. i. c. 12. Clem. Alex.
Strom, lib. i.
X Acts ii. 10. viii. 27.
|| Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. iii. c. 12. Huet. Demon.
Evan. Prop. iv. c. 2. $ 25. p. 50.

81
Jews and their laws must have been objects
of very general attention in Egypt, since
Philo relates, that in his time they amounted
to a hundred myriads, or one million, and
they probably had a full council, or great
synagogue in that country *.
The Egyptians themselves from the ear
liest times could not but be awfully impressed
with the religious communications imparted
to the Israelites, and with the miraculous
sanctions by which those communications
were confirmed ; a considerable aversion,
however, was entertained by the Egyptians
against the Jews, excited probably by the
great difference subsisting between them on
the subject of religion -j~.
Events of the Jewish history, even from
the most remote times, were not only re
ported amongst the Egyptians by tradition,
but were recorded, it should seem, in their
public annals, as for instance, it was related
in the books of the priests that an Egyptian
was killed by the words of Moses % : not to
mention that the early writers, who treat
* See in Flacc. p. 971.
f Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. § 25. Tacit. Hist. lib. v. c. 5.
% Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. i. p. 413. Edit. Potter. Euseb.
Praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 27.
VOL. I. G

82
of their history and religion, notice particulars
with respect to the contest of the giants
with the gods, and other particulars, which
bear a relation to events mentioned in Scrip
ture. The accounts also which are abridged by
Justin from Troqus Pompeius, concerning
Joseph and Moses, in which truth and false
hood are mixed together, were- probably de
rived by the original writer from the Egyp
tian priests *.
* See Justin, lib. xxxvi. c. 2. p. £30. Edit. Wetsteu.

83

CHAP. VI.

Hermes Trismegistus.

One ofr the first, if not the first of the
distinguished writers among the Egyptians,
and to whom they attributed their earliest dis*
coveries in the sciences, was Hermes, a le
gislator, poet, and philosopher, who is re
ported to have lived before the time of
Moses, and who seems by some to have been
confounded with Joseph or Enoch ; while
by others it is maintained, that Moses him
self* is denoted by that name. He is styled
Trismegistus in allusion, probably, to his
eminent attainments, though Suidas repre
sents him to have procured that title from
the reputation which he acquired by promul
gating some doctrines concerning the divine
nature and the Trinity. Some have ima
gined, that be or an earlier Hermes was
deified as the Egyptian Mercury. It is re
lated by Sanchoniatho, that he was an as-
* Kircher, tom. i. CEdip. Egypt, p. 67. 79. 114.
G 2

84
sistant of Cronus, whom Cumberland main
tains to have been Ham, he is sometimes
described as a contemporary of Osiris, whom
the same learned writer supposes to have been
Misraim*, and is said to have composed
many works on theology, two of which, con
taining hymns and precepts of elevated in
struction, were carried in religious processions
in Egypt, from which Sanchoniatho and
Manetho borrowed much relating to the first
creation of the world -}-.
From the various accounts which may be
collected of him and his writings, we may
conclude, that he had some acquaintance
with the principles of the patriarchal the
ology. '
In the cosmogony which is ascribed to
him, an unbounded darkness is said to have
extended over the abyss of water, and an
a-therial Spirit to have blowed with a divine
power over the chaos ; and further it is
stated that holy light was diffused, and the
elements raised from a moist sandy sub-
stance, while the gods distributed the se
minal principles of things.
The productions which are ascribed to
* Cumberland's Remarks, 1st and 2nd.
f Clem, Alex. Strom, lib. vi. p. 757.

85
Hermes contain possibly some remains of
his writings, mingled with spurious addi
tions of later times by Platonic or Chris
tian writers*. He speaks of one Supreme
Deity -f, as the light and life. Lactantius
refers to a work of this de'scription, entitled
Paemander, with design to shew, that Hermes
was not ignorant that men were made by
God, and in his similitude.
Lactantius refers also to a passage of this
or some other work, in which Hermes de
scribes man as formed of two natures, a
mortal and an immortal part, bearing an in
termediate character between a divine and
immortal nature, and a mortal and change
able one, that seeing all things he might ad
mire ali things If,
The same writer has preserved some pas
sages from other productions attributed to
Hermes, one of which is entitled a Per
fect Discourse, or the Asclepian Dialogue §.
Among these is a sentence which states, that
* See Edit. Ficiu. Venet. 1485. et ap. Alduni. 1552.
See Fabric. Biblioth. Graec.
f Cyprian de Idol. Van. vol. i. and Cudworth's Intel
lectual System, Book i. c. 4. p. 332. Edit. 1673.
X De Vit. Seat. lib. vii. § 4. p. G58, vol i. See also
Lact. de Origin. Error, lib. ii. § 10. p. 198—9.
§ De Vit. Beat lib., vii. § 13.

86
piety or righteousness, (which is described to
be the knowledge of God) is the only protec
tion, and that neither the evil spirit, or fate,
have power over the righteous man, for that
God defends him from every evil, and that
righteousness is the only good thing in man.
A sentence also is cited from the Asclepian
Dialogue, in which the author speaks of a
time, when the Lord, the Father and God,
beholding all things, and balancing good
with evil, and purifying all things by water,
and sharp fire should at length renovate the
world *.
A passage likewise might be mentioned,
which contains a mixture of true and false
doctrine, and which was probably attributed
to Hermes, by some later writer, since it
describes *' the Lord, the creator of all things,
" to have made the second God, visible and
" sensible, whom he formed the first, (be-
" gotten) and alone and one ; that he ap-
" peared to him good and most full of all
«« good things ; and that God sanctified and
" entirely loved him as his only begotten f."
* De Vit. Beat. lib. vii. c. 18.
¦j- De Vera Sapient, lib. iv. § 6. p, 364—5.

87

CHAP. VII.
On Hecatceus, Manetho, Artapanus,
and others.

Hecatjius, of Abdera, having been
trained up with Alexander the Great, appears
to have lived with Ptolemy, king of Egypt,
the son of Lagus ; he gave an account of
Abraham, and wrote a work upon the Jews,
in which he speaks of the great veneration
which they entertained for their laws, so as
to endure every torture, and death itself,
rather than violate them ; and he particu
larly mentions the patience with which they
sustained persecution from the Persian kings
and their officers, alluding possibly to ac
counts related in the book of Daniel. He
observes, that Alexander being inclined to
rebuild the temple of Bel at Babylon, was
opposed by the Jews when he commanded all
to co-operate, and being struck with their
constancy dismissed them.

88
He dilates upon the steadiness of the Jews,
their great population, and the extent, beauty,
and fruitfulness of their country, which he
represents to contain about three million of
acres, of excellent soil.
He speaks of Jerusalem and of its altars,
made of unwrought atones, which no tool
h^d touched ; of the golden allar and candle
stick, and of the priests who abstained from
wine *.
Manetho was an Egyptian writer, a priest of
Sebenua, who professed to have translated the
history of his own country into the Greek lan
guage from sacred writings -j-, by which some
understand the writings of the Egyptian
priests, others the Hebrew Scriptures, which he
expressly mentions in the same book as the
sacred writings of the Israelites, described
under the title of Shepherds +. His history is
carried on to the sixteenth year of Artaxerxes
Ochus. It was composed by the command of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, in whose reign the Sep-
* Euseb. Praep. Evan. lib. ix. c. 4. Huet. Dem. Evan.
Prep. 4. c. 2. Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. ^ 14.
+ "£* ts tbi is^-,, cont. Apion, lib. i. } 14. «<c to Ufa/ yfa/j.-
piruv, cont. Apion» lib. i. § 26.
X "' TbTO $VoU 'iSk( TOf zaAs/XSHtf, 9T0lfi£»«{, ai^.a/\ura( h
' tw; iscan cdruv filial! yiycx^Ai," COtlt. Apidn, lHj.iJ. § Yi.

89
tuagint version was made. Whatever infor
mation Manetho borrowed from the Scrip-
tures,is mixed with erroneous accounts, drawn
from corrupt sources, and it has been ima
gined, that he occasionally transcribed from
inscriptions on the pillars of Hercules.
He mentions Moses as a priest, first named
Osarsyph, and he represents thp people
whom he calls Shepherds, to have taken pos
session of Egypt, ;ind after retaining the
power in it for upwards of five hundred
years, to have been driven out, by way of
the wilderness, into Syria, and for fear of
the Assyrians to have retired into Judsea, and
there to have built a capacious city, called
Jerusalem. Josephus observes, that it may
be collected from this statement, that the
shepherds left Egypt three hundred and
ninety-three years before Danaus went to
Argos, and almost a thousand years before
the siege of Troy. It appears from the ac
count, that the shepherds are supposed to
have been Israelites, an opinion open to
many objections. Sir Isaac Newton ima
gines them to have been the Canaanites,
who flying from Joshua took possession of
Lower Egypt. There seems, however, lo be
much probability in the opinion, that the

90
shepherds had been in Egypt belore Jacob
removed thither*. Josephus further informs
us, that though Manetho professes to have
drawn his history from sacred records, he
blends some fabulous and unauthorized ac
counts with it, the falsehood of which is
pointed out by Josephus -f-.
Polemon is supposed to have lived in the
time of Ptolemy Epiphanes £. Africanus
says, that he wrote Grecian histories, allud
ing probably to a work which Athenaeus calls
EX\ctcf)ixov. In this it was related, that in the
reign of Apis, the son of Pharneus, a part of
the Egyptian army went out of Egypt and
took possession of that part of Syria which is
called Palestine not far from Arabia §. Jo
sephus and Eusebius have preserved also
remnants of the works of other writers,
which confirm the general report of history,
that the Jews taking their origin in Assyria
settled in Egypt, and afterwards being har-
rassed with servitude came out under the
' * Genesis xlvi. 34.
f Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. $ 16. Stillingfleefs Origin.
Sacr. Book i. c. 2. § 2.
J See Vossius de Hist. Graec.
§ Euseb. Chron. and Grotius. Huet. Dem. Evang. Prop 4.
c. 2. $ 26. p. 50.

91
direction of Moses, and passed by Arabia
into Syria. It would be endless to extract
all the passages which might be collected
from Philo Byblius, Hecataeus, Symmachus,
Chaeremon, Eupolemus, Demetrius, Me-
gasthenes, and other writers, who will be re
ferred to in this work.
Artapanus, in his book concerning the
Jews, represents the Israelites to have been
ill treated under a king of Egypt ; that
Moses was adopted by the daughter of one of
the kings of that country, and that he was
called (Musaeus by the Greeks,) the master
of Orpheus ; and after many circumstances of
questionable authority, he relates the mira
cles which Moses performed, and states that
the priests beyond Memphis, being called in
by the king, threw down what appeared to
be a serpent, and changed the colour of the
river. He mentions the miraculous passage
of the Israelites through the Red Sea, and
their wandering forty years in the wilderness,
supported by heavenly food.
Artapanus describes Moses to have been of
a noble family, of raddy countenance, with
long and white locks, and a dignified pre
sence, and to have performed many mi-

92
racles * : this writer seems also, from the ac
count of Alexander Polyhistor, to have given
the story of Joseph, much of which corre
sponds with what is related in Scripture -f.
Eusebius mentions Ezekiel, a tragic poet,
who introduces Moses ; representing his
being discovered on the shallow of the river J ;
his being educated by the daughter of the
king ; his killing and burying the Egyptian ;
his watering the flock for Sippora (Zipporah)
and marrying her. The same poet records
the miraculous circumstance § of the revela
tion of God to Moses, appointing him to his
great commission for the deliverance of the
Israelites; his miracles; the injunction of the
divine legislator as to the observance of the
passover, and the particulars of the Exodus;
and he describes, with dramatic effect, the
Egyptian soldiers, exclaiming on the banks
of the Red Sea, " Let us fly — God with his
" powerful right hand covers the Israelites —
" the passage is closed, and the army is de-
" stroyed." He gives also an account of the
wonders, and particularly of the pillar, in the

wild

emess.

* Euseb. Prscp. Evang. lib. ix. c. 27.
+ Ibid. lib. ix. c. 23. + Ibid. lib. ix. c. 28.
k Euseb. Prarp. Evang. lib. ix. c. 29.

93
Polyhistor states, that the Babylonians
left the ark with the tables of the law depo
sited in the hands of Jeremiah *.
* Euseb. Prsep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 39.

9*

CHAP. VIII.

On the Intercourse which the Grecians enjoyed
with the Jews, and the Knowledge they
derived from it.

The Grecian writers, from whom princi
pally we deduce the knowledge of what re
lates to the Heathen religion and morality,
and of the circumstances which respect the
origin and history of Pagan nations, have
conveyed to us many accounts which, how
ever eloquently described, exhibit much of
erroneous persuasion, and much of confused
and corrupted tradition.
The earliest information, which they pos
sessed, appears to have been obtained from
Egypt and Phoenicia, which countries many
of them visited. Herodotus* represents their
letters to have been of foreign origin, intro
duced, according to Grotius -j-, by Cadmus,
about 149S years before Christ, if we adopt
* Lib. i. c. 57. Grotius, lib. xv. De Veritat. lib. i. c. 15, in
the notes.
t Lib. i.e. 58.

95
the Chronology of Blair; some imagine
Cadmus and his followers to have been of
the inhabitants of Canaan, who fled when
that country was invaded by Joshua; though
Josephus disputes these early pretensions,
and others ascribe the introduction of letters
into Greece to Danaus or Cecrops*. The
Grecians themselves, whose vanity was not
supported by any information as to their ori
gin, which could claim the sanction of re
mote antiquity, and who could give but very
vague and conjectural accounts with respect
to the commencement of many of their chief
nations and cities, pretended that the first
inhabitants of Hellas were natives of the soil ;
by which, perhaps, might be meant, either,
that history did not afford any record of
their first arrival, or tbat they derived their
existence from the stones fabulously re
lated to have been thrown by Deucalion
after the flood, and which renewed the race
of men.
All that can be confidently affirmed upon
* Isaac Casaubon remarks in his Adversaria, that he ob
served Hebrew words in the most ancient Greek writers,
which had ceased to be in use, or were much changed. See
Gregory Sharp's Dissertations upon the Origin and Con
struction of Languages. P. 18.

96
this subject is, that the isles of the Gen
tiles were first divided by the sons of Ja-
van, the grandson of Noah *, who is sup
posed to have been the same person with
Ion, the ancestor of the Ionians. Bryant
observes, that some of the descendants of
Nimrod are to be traced to Ionia ; and he
contends with much ingenuity and learning,
for the derivation of many colonies from
Egypt, endeavouring to account, by the
proofs of an early connection, for the simi
larity which existed between many of the re
ligious rites of the Egyptians and Grecians -j\
He supposes the Helladians, (who were called
Hellenes from Hellen, the son of Deucalion) to
have descended from the (Cuthite) shepherds
of Egypt, who are recorded by Josephus to
have gone into Greece under the guidance of
Danaus, Cecrops, and others J. Dionysius
of Halicarnassus, and Strabo state, that the
* Gen. x. 1 — 5. An opinion has been sometimes expres
sed, that Elishah gave a name to Hellas; and that Tarshish
took possession of Achaia, Kittim of Macedonia, and Dodanim
of Thessaly and Epirus.
+ Diodor. Sicul. §§ 28, 29, and 33, Wetsten. Edit. 1745.
and Bryant's Mythology, and Observations on the Plagues
inflicted on the Egyptians.
X Diodor. ex lib. xl. Eclog. I. vol. ii. p. 543. and Zonaras,
vol. i. p. 22. See Syncel. p. 102.

97
Egyptians began to disturb the Pelasgi, who
were spread over the north of Greece, two
generations before the war of Troy.
The Athenians, Dorians, and Boeotians
are severally stated to have deduced their
origin from the Pelasgi, (whom Bryant sup
poses to have been of the. Cuthite race), or
from colonies of Cuthite extraction at a later
period. Numberless proofs of descent from a
common ancestry, occur among these three
nations. The evidences, of remote con
nection were retained with strong impres
sion, and manifested themselves at different
times. The notion so commonly expressed among
the Greeks of transmitted honours, partly
divine and partly human — of an origin in
some families derived from an union of tbe
gods with mortals, might probably have
taken its rise from the circumstances referred
to by Moses, when he relates that the sons
of God (that is, possibly, the posterity of
Seth) intermixed in marriage with the chil
dren of men, (that is, perhaps, the descen
dants of Cain).
The Athenians were, as Herodotus in his

VOL. I. H

98
Urania informs us, first called Cranai, whicli
name Cumberland supposes to be derived
from Cronus, or Ham, who probably lived
about four centuries after the deluge, and
consequently long before the time of Cecrops.
Cronus, is said to have moved from Ba
bylon to Phoenicia, and Astarte is considered
as his wife. In an account of Eusebius he
is reported to have been called Israel.
Sanchoniatho relates, that he was circum
cised, and that he compelled his auxiliaries
to be circumcised also *.
Cumberland imagines that Cronus found
some of Japhet's posterity in Attica, and
obtained the sovereignty over them. San
choniatho observes, that he gave Athens
to his daughter, which took its name from .
her. The Lacedemonians, who were a people of
Titanian origin, are said to have claimed
affinity with the Caphtorim, a tribe settled
in Judea, which some suppose to have been
descendants from the earliest inhabitants of
Canaan •f*.
* See Genesis xxxiv. 15.
t See p. 106. The Capthorim descended from Mizraim.
Gen. x, 14.

99
No other accounts which are authentic
seem to exist of the establishment of any
early communication be tween the Greeks
and the Jews ; the entrance of Alexander into
Asia opened the means of some intercourse.
This monarch, who commenced his under
taking about 334 years before Christ, is re
ported to have gone up to Jerusalem after the
siege and the taking of Tyre, and to have
been shown the prophecies of Daniel, which
predicted his victories *.
It is related also, by Josephus, that Alex
ander was so impressed with reverence for
the high priest, Jaddua, in consequence of a
dream, which he had in Macedonia, in
which he appeared to contemplate him, and
to be encouraged by the vision to pass over
into Asia, with a promise of success ; that
though he marched to Jerusalem with inten
tion to take vengeance of the Jews for having
refused to assist him with provisions, he no
sooner beheld Jaddua than he paid homage
to him, and upon his entrance into Jeru
salem offered sacrifices to Jehovah, add
granted many privileges to the Jews, par-
* Dan. vii. 6. viii. 20 — 22. xi. 3> and Newton on the
Prophecies.
H 2

100
licularly the enjoyment of their religion, and
an exemption from tribute in the Sabbatical
year *.
This account has been disputed, indeed,
by modern writers, but it has been vindicated
by Prideaux, Chandler, and others, and ad
mitted even by Bayle ; and there are circum
stances mentioned in Arrian and Pliny, and
other Heathen writers, which tend to confirm
the relation -{-. Justin, in particular, informs
us, that Alexander went into Syria, where
many princes of the East met him with their
mitres^ which account, as Vossius observes,
* Joseph, lib. xi. c. 8. De Bello Jud. lib. ii. c. IS.
p. 1098. Edit. Hudson.
f Arrian de Exped. Alex. lib. ii. c. 25. Plin. Nat. Hist.
Hb. xii. c. 25. § 54. where Pliny states that Alexander was
in the district of Jericho, i. e. at a distance of 21 miles only
from Jerusalem.
t (Infulis.) Hist. lib. xi. c. 10. § 6. The Jewish high
priest certainly wore a golden plate, made as a crown, on
which the sacred name of Jehovah was engraven, and which
was placed on a fillet or mitre. Philo describes it as
X£"™» irslaXov, uoaiii cr]tipa»o; ; and he adds, jtiilga o* It vir a£io
ti jj.v ^aiiit KtflaTw to nldm, v%o( & xai xi&*£t; xarrtrxtva^iia'
ixi&tgti ya\ oi rm taut /WiXhs alii ^aH/iuSot siudaai xpiaQal.-
De Mos. lib. iii. p. 152. vol. ii. Edit. Mangey ; and after
wards, xiJapm ii ilff AtaStifialoi ¦*rtli9i)lrt tw xifatSi hxaiut Ton
Hfupint tu ©i« xafi' ot %fin, iifirtzi Vftfifiit iircitlut xai p'n
pint ihuiut, aMaxai fianhim. Ibid. p. 155. See also Xenopb
de Exped. Cyr. lib. ii.

101
seems to allude to the circumstances of this
story. It has been remarked, that after the battle
of the Granicus, the conqueror manifested a
respect for the marriage ties, in a manner
which might seem to imply a regard to the
precept of the law of Moses, which com*
manded, that when a man had taken a new
wife he should not go out to war *, since
Alexander ordered those of his army, who
had married that year, to return to Ma
cedonia, to pass the winter with their
wives •j-.
Many of the ancient laws of Attica might
be supposed to have been borrowed from the
statutes of Moses, as that which Sopater men
tions, and to which Terence refers, which
directed that the nearest of kindred should
marry the widow of a deceased person. The
custom, grounded ou the principle of this
law, seems to have been received with
every sanction. Juno was reputed to be the
sister as well as the wife of Jove. After the
* Deut. xxiv. 5. Joieph. Antiq. lib. iii. c. 7.
f Prid. Con. Part i. Book vii. Ann. 354. Grot, de Jure
Pell. lib. ii. c. 1. § 12. Cornel. Nepos, Vit. Cimon.

102
death of Paris, Deiphobus is related to have
married Helen. Cimon was married to his
half-sister Elpinice *-.
Another law, which seems to have been
borrowed also from the sacred code, enjoined
that a priest should marry only a virgin and
a citizen -f. Others are well known which
enforced, in imitation of the Hebrew laws,
a reverence for the gods and for parents, and
a respect for dead bodies ;£.
The precept, ascribed to Pythagoras by
Hermippus, that an ass is not to be passed
when it has fallen on its knees, is sometimes
supposed to have had its origin from the
circumstance of the falling of Balaam's
ass, mentioned in Numbers §; but probably
only a lesson of humanity was inculcated:
The direction likewise of Jamblicus not to
injure a fruit tree belonging to an enemy,
should seem to have originated in the hu
mane and considerate commandment of Mo
ses, designed to check the injuries of war by
prohibiting the destruction of trees during
• Cornel. Nepos, Vit, Cimon,
t Levit. xxi. 14.
| ©mo-i/taw emlxfobeu. Vid. Carn>T Pythag.
§ Numb. xxii. 27.

103
the siege of a city*, which administered to
the support of human life.
It may be cursorily observed, that the
laws of Lycurgus and Solon, though in some
instances improved by the precepts of Moses,
illustrate the superiority of the Hebrew code.
There might be the greater disposition to
borrow from the laws of Moses, as he was
acknowledged to be a lawgiver of great an
tiquity, and known to have laid claim to the
authority of Jehovah -j-.
Aristobulus tells us that Pythagoras, So
crates, and Plato appear to have viewed all
the law of Moses with a scrutinizing eye £.
It has been observed, however, that we must
not therefore conclude that these philoso
phers, who were naturally dazzled with the
splendour and distinction which their na
tions enjoyed, were inclined to believe that
God had preferred a people, as the deposi
taries of his laws, upon whom they looked
down with disdainful feelings. The Athe
nians and other nations used in ancient

* Deut. xx. 19.
+ Diodor. Sic. Hist. lib. i. p. 105. Edit. Wetsten.
X Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. xiii. c. 12.

104
times the Mosaic mode of computation by
evening and morning, as did also the Druids
and ancient Gauls and Germans *. The
uniformity indeed, might have resulted from
the custom of reckoning by lunar revolt
tions. The transmission of knowledge from the
Egyptians to the Grecians may be easily
traced, and there can be no doubt that
through the intercourse with Egypt, and
with the cities of Syria, many opportunities
were opened to the Greeks of obtaining in
formation from the Jews.
Pythagoras, Thales, Solon, Eudoxus, and
Plato, visited Egypt, with many other distin
guished Grecians, who raised the reputation,
of their countries -j", and brought back ac
counts which became gradually blended with
their history.
The Greeks had nq historian, whose work?
are now extant, who lived within four hun
dred years of the Trojan war ; and Solon is
related to have found, with some surprise,
that the names and history of most of the
• Tacit, de Mor. Germ. Csesar. Comm. &c.
f Diod. Sicul. lib. i. § 98. p.llQ. Edit. Wetsten. Clem,
Alex. Strom. Edit. Pot. lib. i. p. 356.

105
Grecian deities had belonged to heroes in
Egypt. Plato represents the Egyptians to have re
proached the Grecians as being children ;
and Lucian, in one place, alludes to the
origin of philosophy from the East, and in
another admits that the Greeks derived their
convictions as to sacred things from the Egyp
tians*. Plutarch reports that the Egyptian
fables bear some faint and obscure resem
blance to the truth ; and we might conclude
therefore, from his authority, that much of
of what appears enveloped in Grecian fables
was derived from Egypt. Zonaras states the
religious rites of the Greeks to have been
borrowed from Egypt, into which country
they were introduced from Chaldsea -j*.
Josephus therefore had sufficient ground
to remark, that the Jews were not barely
known to the Greeks, or only to the common
sort of them, but likewise to their wise men,
and to philosophers of the first rank, and
with marks too, of singular friendship, and
esteem £.
* De Dea Syria, a work commonly attributed to Lucian.
t Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. { Ibid. lib. i.

106
The historian has himself supplied us with
some proofs of a direct intercourse. He gives
an account which is confirmed by the first
book of Maccabees, which represents a king
of Sparta to have written to Onias, the high
priest of the Jews, professing to be descended
from Abraham, and claiming the friendship
of the Jews ; the king is called Darius and
Areus in the book of Maccabees*. The
letter was probably addressed to Onias
the first, who was a contemporary of the so
vereign referred to -f, and not, as Josephus
states, to Onias, the son of Simon J.
The ambassadors sent by Jonathan to
Rome and Sparta, about 144 years before
Christ, addressed themselves to the Spartans
as to the allies of the Jews, they alluded to
the letter before mentioned as sent to Oniasj
and expressed sentiments of amity towards
the Lacedemonians, which seem to have
been well received, and to have been regis
tered in public records §. It appears that
* 1 Maccab. xii. and Usher.
t Scaliger, Animad. in Euseb. p. 139, and Seneca Isagog.
lib. iii. p. 340.
X Antiq. Lib. xii. c. 4.
§ 1 Maccab. xii. 1 — 22. xxiv. 22.

107
two or three years after, upon the death of
Jonathan, the Lacedemonians sent lo renew
the treaty of friendship with Simon *. Hyr
canus received honours from the Athenians,
and a decree was made by them in his fa
vour -f.
* Ibid. xxiv. 23.
t Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 8. § 5. vol. i. p. 623. edit,
Hudson.

108

CHAP. IX.

On the Intercourse which subsisted between
the Romans and the Jews, and on the
Means of Information which the former
possessed.

The Romans do not appear, at any early
period of their history, to have had im
mediate and direct intercourse with the Jews,
nor did any circumstance then exist which
can be supposed to have led to a communi
cation. Clement of Alexandria, however, states
that Numa, the second king of the Romans,
supported some doctrines which must have
been originally derived from the Hebrew re
velation. He appears indeed to have enacted
a law grounded on a reverence for the divine
nature, similar to what prevailed among the
Jews, and which directed, that no one should
attempt to express the ineffable name of God,
Neither were external representations of the
Deity allowed ; and for near two centuries
from the time of the building of the city,
there was no image of any deity, either in

109
sculpture or painting*. Suidas speaks of an
old Tuscan writer, who described the creation
in the order which Moses has laid down,
representing the six days as six thousand
years -j-.
The Jews, who, in their decline, and
amidst the distraction of parties, courted the
protection of foreign powers, being desirous
to withdraw themselves from subjection to
the Syrian kings, turned to the Romans for
assistance. One of the first accounts which we have of
an intercourse between the Romans and the
Jews, is that of Judas Maccabseus J, who,
after his victory over Nicanor, about 160
years before Christ, sent the first embassy
which took place between the two nations,
requesting the Romans, who had manifested
a generous detestation of tyranny, to make
a league with them, and to interpose in their
favour with Demetrius, who harassed them :
Eupolemus, the son of John, and Jason, the
son of Eleazar, being employed on this oc
casion. The treaty was ratified by the se
nate, and written on tables of brass, the ori-
* August, de Civit Dei, lib. iv. c. 31.
+¦ Voce Tvppw'nit, and Jackson's Chronol. p. 18.
X 1 Mace. viii. 17.

no
ginal being deposited in the capitol *. Be
fore the ambassadors returned, Judas was
dead. The league was confirmed to Jona
than, and having been written on brass, was
carried to Jerusalem, and read before all the
people -j-. It was afterwards renewed to
Hyrcanus. Pompey, when engaged in a war with
Tigranes, had formed an alliance with a party
of the Jews by the agency of Scaurus ; upon
his arrival at Damascus, he received a pre
sent from Aristobulus, the second brother
of Hyrcanus, of a golden vine of five hun
dred talents, which Strabo mentions, and
which Josephus professes to have seen in
the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus^.
This great conqueror having, by tbe as
sistance of a party in Jerusalem, introduced
his army into the city, and taken possession
of the temple, manifested his respect for the
Jews and their religion, for, though he en
tered into the sanctuary, he did not carry off
the sacred vessels, nor the treasure of two
* Mace. viii. xvii. Joseph. Antiq. xii. c. 10. §. 6. vol. 1.
p. 551.
+ 1 Mace. xiv. 16. 40. Joseph, lib. xiii. c. 5. §. 8. lib.
xiii. c. ix. § 2. Ed. Hudson.
I Lib. xiv. c. 3. de Bel. Jud. lib. i. c, 6.

Ill
thousand talents deposited there. He even
gave orders to those who had the charge of
the temple, to cleanse it, and bring what of
ferings the law required to God, and he
restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus,
and satisfied himself with reducing the na
tion to become tributary to the Romans, by
securing their strong towns, and confining
them within their ancient limits. It was
certainly a great proof of the forbearance of
the Romans towards the Jews, that the
temple of Jerusalem should have remained so
long unpillaged, since it was known to con
tain' considerable treasures, and when after
wards it was spoiled by Crassus, there were
found therein two thousand talents, collected
from various parts *.
Pompey, notwithstanding his moderation,
gave great offence, by prophaning with his
presence the holy of holies, whicb none but
the high priest was allowed to enter. Pri
deaux has remarked, that he never after
wards prospered -f-.
The account given by Josephus, is in
great part confirmed by Cicero, in his oration
* Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 4.
t Prid. Con. p. 2. 8

112
for Flaccus *. The passage here referred to^
is indeed remarkable; for, from the manner
in which Cicero speaks of the forbearance of
Pompey, it may be suspected, that the latter
entertained more than respect for the religion
of the Jews : " Although a conqueror when
" Jerusalem was taken, he touched nothing
" belonging to the temple, exercising in this
" the same wisdom which he shewed upon
" many other occasions, and principally with
" a view not to leave in a city, so much ad-
" dieted to suspicion and calumny, a subject
" for remark ; for I do not believe/' says the
Orator, " that the religion of those, who
" were Jews and enemies, was an obstacle to
" an excellent general, but his own modera-
" tion-j~;" a remark rather tending to con
firm, than to suppress the idea of some pe
culiar awe and reverence in the mind of
Pompey. It appears that this great general had a
freedman, who was a native of Gadara,
named Demetrius, and that Pompey to gra
tify him rebuilt that city which had been
demolished J; and it is not improbable, that
* Orat. pro Flacco, 28 ; see Chapter on Cicero.
+ See Middleton's Life of Cicero, vol. i. p. 304.
X Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 4. §. 4. de Bel. Jud. 1. i. e. 7.

113
a favoured adherent of this description, might
have inspired Pompey with sentiments of ve
neration for the worship of his country.
Julius Caesar made a league with An
tipater, and conferred the priesthood on its
lawful claimant Hyrcanus ; he discharged
the Jews from the burden of winter quarters,
and appointed their city to be repaired, ex
empting them from tribute during the sab
batical year, in which, as it is stated in the
decree, they neither " gather fruit from their
«' trees, nor sow the land*;" and Josephus
mentions a brazen pillar, at Alexandria,
which recorded the privileges conceded by
Julius Csesar to the Jews-f\
Anthony and Dollabella made a league
with Hyrcanus, and the latter granted a dis
pensation to the Jews from military service,
on account of their observance of the sab
bath +.
When the Romans had established a domi
nion over Judea, reducing it into a depend
ant sovereignty, and afterwards to a province,
they allowed the Jews great privileges, en-
* Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 8—10. Cont. Apion, lib. ii. Levit,
xxv. £0, 21.
f Ibid, et Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 10. j II.
X Ibid. c. 10.
VOL. 1. I

114
deavouring to conciliate, by a liberal policy,
a people strongly attached to their customs,
and permitting them to enjoy the exercise
of their religion and laws, especially with re
spect to marriage and divorce. The power
of condemning to death appears to have been
taken from them : the Roman governors,
however, were required to respect the laws
and public councils of the nation.
M. Agrippa visited Jerusalem, where he
offered a hecatomb to Jehovah, and splen
didly feasted the people, by whom he had
been treated with great respect. When he
passed through Ionia also with Herod the
Great, he redressed the complaints of the
Jews *.
Upon a representation made to Augustus
by the Jews of Asia, and of the parts of Ly-
bia about Cyrene, complaining that they
were deprived by the Greeks of their privi
leges, and spoiled of the money devoted to
the service of the temple, the Emperor issued
decrees, directing, that this people should be
allowed to enjoy their own laws, and to send
up their sacred offerings to Jerusalem ; that
they should not be compelled to appear be-
* Antiq. lib. xvi. c. 2; see also lib. xii. c. 3.

115
fore the Judges on the Sabbath day, or on
the preceding day of preparation, after the
ninth hour; and that whosoever should be
convicted of stealing their sacred books or
sacred money, should be judged guilty of
sacrilege *. This, when considered in con
junction with other decrees of the Roman
government in favour of the Jews, sufficiently
proves, that the Romans did not, as Mr.
Gibbon asserts, despise, what he is pleased
to term the superstition of the Jews; though
some writers have misrepresented the spirit
of their religion, and Tacitus, in the disdain
ful asperity of his prejudice, describes them
to have been the most despised part of the
dependants of the Medes and Persians;
and other writers speak contemptuously of
them for their zeal to make proselytes, and
those aversions which they manifested against
other people, in a manner contrary to the in
structions of Moses ¦f.
Augustus enforce^ these decrees by in*
structions to Norbanus Flaccus, Governor
of Syria. Agrippa also wrote to the ma-
* Antiq. lib. xvi. c. 6.
+ Horat. lib. i. sat. iv. 1. 142, 14)3. sat. ix. 1. 70. Tacitus,
Juvenal, &c.
i 2

116
gistrates, seriate, and people of Ephesus and
Cyrene, enjoining that the Jews should be
allowed the unmolested right of assembling
together, and of transmitting their sacred
money to Jerusalem ; and the pro-consul Ju
lius Antonius issued similar directions *.
Herod, who had been first created Te
trarch by Anthony, was afterwards solemnly
inaugurated ac Rome-f, with distinguished
honours, conferred upon him by Anthony
and Octavius. The Jews were allowed a
district at Rome on the side of the Tiber,
and were indulged in the exercise of their
worship, when other systems of religion were
discountenanced ; for it is not correctly true,
as the historian of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire has represented, that all
were deemed equally useful by the magis
trate. The Romans had much intercourse
with the Jews in Egypt, whither they fre
quently repaired for corn and commercial
purposes. Philo, who, in the reign of Caligula, was
sent from Alexandria, on an embassy to
Rome^;, contributed to attract attention to
* Antiq. jib. xvi. c. 6. -f Ibid. lib. xiv. c. 14.
X Ibid, lib, xviii. c. 19.

117
the Jews, being himself a man of consider
able learning and authority, and, though not
treated with respect by the emperor, he
probably was esteemed by his subjects.
The indulgence shown by the Romans to
the Jews, in granting and confirming pri
vileges to them, is supposed, by Whiston, to
have greatly contributed to procure for them
from God, the blessing of Christianity. It
is remarkable to observe, how Providence
rendered the extension of the Roman Em
pire, and its connection with Judea, sub
servient to the progress and diffusion of the
Gospel. Tiberius and Vitellius are said to have sent
orders for public sacrifices at Jerusalem,
Claudius confirmed the privileges of the
Jews; it wa.s observed by Seneca, that, after
the subjection of Judea, the conquered
nations gave laws to their conquerors ; and,
in this remark, he bears testimony to the
completion of the promise which God had
uttered to ihe Israelites, by Moses, " that
*' they should reign over many nations; but
*' other people should not reign over Is-
" rael *." Rutilius, on that account, ex-
* Dciat. xv. 6. August, de Civit. Dei, lib. vi. c. II.

118
presses the wish, that Judea had never been
subdued by the arms of Pompey *. It
should be observed that the Romans, by the
destruction of Jerusalem, made way for the
establishment of Christianity, which was not
to be implicated with a political institution,
but was designed to preserve a spiritual
church, capable of administering to the
moral and spiritual interests of men under
every government.
It appears, from accounts in the Evange
lical Writings, that the Romans at first
treated the Christians with mildness, and did
not always conspire with their persecutors -f:
they seem to have regarded them as a sect of
the Jews. The Roman government was, in
general, accustomed to protect its subjects in
the possession of their religious rites, except
ing when those rites had a mischievous ten
dency X- It was the rapid advancement of
Christianity, when it began to excite jealousy
and apprehension, when it shook the pillars
of the Heathen temple, and the whole struc
ture ot superstition seemed likely lo fall,
which instigated the emperors to become per-
t Rutil. Itiner.
* Acts xxii. 25, 26. xxvii, 2, 3. 42, 43. xviii. 14. 21.
f Cicero in Verrem.

119
secutors of the Christians. They complained
that the Roman altars were deserted, and
they threw the odium of crimes upon the
Christians, which were sufficiently refuted
by the principles which they professed, and
the virtues which they displayed.
We have observed, in the remarks on the
connection between the Grecian and the
Jewish accounts, that the Greeks borrowed
some of their laws from those of sacred au
thority ; and from the same source the Ro
mans, by the intervention of the Greeks,
might have obtained some knowledge of
them. The Romans, it appears, sent ambassa-»
dors to Athens to receive advice in the for
mation of their judicial code, and by these
means they might have obtained Hebrew
precepts originally derived through Solon,
the Athenian lawgiver,

120

CHAP. X.
Of the general Belief in the Existence of a
Supreme Being, the Creator of the Uni
verse, prevailing among all Nations.

The simple and sublime principle of na
tural religion, the existence of a Supreme
Being, seems to have been among the first
and most universal convictions of the human
mind. The assurance originally derived from that
disclosure of himself, which God vouchsafed
to make to our first parents, and which was
confirmed by the exercise of reason, where-
ever it was allowed to operate, might have
been expected to retain its evidence in every
age. The corruption, however, of human
nature, and its disposition to yield to im
pressions from sensible objects and to the
illusions of fancy, constantly subjected the
mind to the influence^of error, and led it to
mingle false apprehensions with the per
suasions of revealed truth. Hence, though
the outline of this great doctrine was to be

121
discovered irl the foundations of religion in
every country*, it was often defaced and co
vered by fictitious additions. Being committed
to record by the sacred writers, it preserved
its unimpaired lustre among the Jews, when
its traces were but faintly to be discerned in
the traditions of the heathen world, and its
belief was but imperfectly inculcated in the
speculations of the most improved philoso
phers of heathen nations. The intelligence
upon this awful jsubject,< which was diffused
among the whole people which had been se
lected to preserve the knowledge of the true
God- was established on communications im
parted from the earliest ages, and renewed
from time to time by the uniform language
of the prophets, as well as by those manifes
tations of himself which God had vouchsafed
to make ; while among the heathens, the just
impressions, which occasionally appeared, had
but little influence on the conduct of men.
The conviction of the existence of a Su
preme Being, which manifests itself in the wor
ship of Cain and Abel, continued to prevail
* Homer Odyss. lib. xvii. line 485. Justin.de Monarch.
Dei. August, de Civit. Dei. lib. iv. c. 31. Vossius de
Idolat. Cudworth Intellect. Syst. c. iv. Grotius de Veritat.
Plutarch de Iside et Osiride. Euseb. lib. iii. c. 10.

122
after the Flood, in the simple creed of the
. Patriarchs. It was preserved with faithful
and* exclusive veneration of the true God,
by those who were in the direct line of the
promises ; while Terah, and his descendants
in the branch of Nahor, blended the worship
of idols with that of the Almighty *. Indi
viduals, from time to time, not in the suc
cession of the chosen seed, manifested a re
spect for God, as Job and Abimelech ; and
some marks of adherence to just opinions,
with respect to the divine nature, and to or
dinances sanctioned by divine authority, are
occasionally to be observed. Joseph mar
ried a daughter of a priest of On, and
Moses a daughter of a priest of Midian,
which priests probably officiated in the ser
vice of the true God. In Egypt, long after
the time of Moses, a veneration for a Su
preme Being prevailed ; since in Thebais in
Upper Egypt, Creph, or Cneph, had a
temple at Syene, being worshipped as a su
preme God, and was represented, as might
seem through the malignant influence of
Satan, under the figure of a dragon or ser
pent, with the head of a hawk.
• Gen. xxxi. 30. Joshua xxiv. 2.

123
In further proof that the Egyptians, amidst
the multitude of their deities, reverenced with
peculiar awe one supreme God, it has been
observed, that this inscription was to be seen
upon the temple of Minerva or Isis, at Sais,
" I am all that hath been, is, and shall be,
" and my veil no mortal hath yet removed *."
The ancient Jews were of opinion, that the
declaration in Deuteronomy, " the Lord thy
" God is one Lord," implied that God
should be worshipped by the Gentiles, as well
as by the Jews-f-. It is not imagined, how
ever, that the heathen, at any time possessed a
full and complete knowledge of the Almighty.
It was in " Judah" that " God was known ;"
" he shewed his word unto Jacob," ** his
" statutes and his judgments unto Israel,"
and he did not deal so with other nations J.
The people of the East were gradually led
by gross apprehensions, to personate the
attributes of God, and to invest his creatures
with a divine nature. Herodotus relates,
that the worshippers of the sacred animals
paid their devotion to the God to whom the
* Plutarch de Isid. et Osirid. tom. ii. lib. xviii. c. 9. p. 453.
Edif. Wyttenbach, Oxon. f Chap. vi. 4.
X Psalm lxxvi. 1. cxlvii. 19, 20. Acts xiv. 16. Rom. ix. *.

124
beast belonged. The power and godhead of
the Almighty, were indeed at all times made
manifest among the heathens, by his govern
ment, and by his visible works : the censure
was, that " when they knew God, they glo-
" rifled him not as God, but changed the
" g^ory 0I" tne uncorruptible God into an
u image like to corruptible man, and to
" birds, and four-footed beasts and creeping
" things, worshipping and serving the crea-
" ture more than the Creator *.
By a lamentable perverseness, the visible
and sensible part of the material world, and
the very elements became objects of wor
ship -]-.
Thus, the heavenly bodies, the sun, and
ihe stars which displayed their radiant glory
by night, were first adored as having life
and form and intelligence. The sun was
worshipped in Egypt, under the name of
Hammon, and particularly at Heliopolis as
an incorporeal being ;[. ; and as fire became
the object of reverence in Persia, so in other
countries, every department of nature, every
» Rom. i. 18—25.
f Herod, lib. iv. c. 188. Plato in Cratyl.
J Cudworth, c. iv. p. 338,

125
grove and every stream, was subjected to the
fancied dominion of some tutelary deity.
The Providence, which extends over the
earth, the sea, and the heaven *, was symbo
lized under various divinities, multiplied with
endless diversity under the different forms of
superstition, and often denominated by epi
thets attributed to the heavenly bodies. The
original idea was, at length, nearly lost in
the extravagant fancies which were con
certed and pourtrayed by those who knew
not, or respected not the Divine prohibition,
against the making of any graven image or
sculptured similitude as an object of worship.
Hence, notwithstanding enlightened and
philosophical minds might entertain some
just apprehensions of the Divine nature, yet
St. Paul describes the heathen as being
without God in the world ; the ordinary ser
vice of idolatry was calculated to excite only
the most delusive and pernicious opinions and
practice in the great bulk of the heathen
world, while men bowed down tp their own
consecrated imaginations in the works of the
hands of man, or associated the memory of
departed benefactors with their sentiments of
* August, de Civit. Dei, Jib. iv. c. 1.

126
reverence for the Supreme Being*, wan
dering from the original doctrines revealed
concerning a first cause.
The Egyptian and Phoenician theologies,
which gradually sunk into the grossest super
stition, and the theology of the Babylonians
and Chaldaaans, which Lucian -f represents
to have been derived from them, though they
seem to have established a worship, repug
nant alike to reason and religion, the in
fluence of which spread to the Greeks ajul
Romans, yet could not totally extinguish the
remembrance of a Supreme God J ; and
hence, amidst the wildest and most extrava
gant fictions of antiquity, we occasionally
meet with just notions with respect to the
perfection of God's attributes.
In the mythology of the Greeks, not only
are the different deities represented in sub
jection to Jove, but he himself is described
by Homer and Herodotus, by poets and
historians, as subservient to, and constrained
by an everlasting fate §.
With respect to the nature and attributes
* Cicero Disput. Tuscul. lib.i. Plutarch de Isid. et Osirid,
f Lucian de Synecdoche, et de Dea Syria.
t Lactant. p. 11.
§ Cudworth, Intell. Syst. c. iii.

127
of God, there was such diversity of senti
ment as might be expected from those who
formed their opinions chiefly from traditional
notions, or from a contemplation of the
works of nature, and the appointments of
life, obtaining occasionally a glimpse of what
God had revealed of himself.
The philosophers in general spoke of the
Deity in a manner conformable to their se
veral systems. Some entertained appre
hensions of the unity of the spiritual nature,
and of the omniprescience of the Supreme
Being ; but they do not appear to have been
sufficiently aware of his claims to be regarded
as a distinct and independent Being, the
Creator and Director of the universe ; and as
standing in that relation to men, which exer
cises a providential care, and demands a per
petual reverence and submission. Socrates
obtained some apprehension of the personal
superintendance of God, but he admitted of
the existence of other deities. Plato con
sidered the convictions which he wilh diffi
culty formed of the Supreme Being, as
not capable of being communicated to the
people. Epicharmus, the most ancient of the comic
writers, relates a tradition, that God existed
7

128
before all chaos *. Socrates, Xenophon,
and Plato, describe the divine attributes
with much truth and sublimity -f. Socrates,
in particular, speaks of the Deity as of a
being distinct from the universe over which
he presides. Many of the most learned and
philosophical men, however, seem to repre
sent the Divinity rather as an animating
power, which pervades the world, than as an
eternal God by whom the material systems
were created and are sustained J ; and these,
while they expose the errors of different
sects, speak themselves with great diffidence
and uncertainty upon the subject.
The story of Simonides^ is well know^n, who,
being asked by Hiero, king of Syracuse, what
God was, desired a day to answer the ques
tion, and when that period had expired, he
requested two days ; upon being again called
upon for his answer, he doubled the number,
and continued so to do, when he was urged
upon the subject, the king therefore expressed
his surprize and enquired his reason, " I do
* Grotius de Verit. lib. i. not. et Cudworth.
i Memorab.
X See a Treatise on the Records of the Creation, by
John Bird Sumner, § 8.
j Socrat. Apol. § 6. 18. Plat. Phsed. 12. 30. et passim.

129
" so," said the poet, " because the longer
" I meditate upon the subject, the less I
" find myself able to answer the question :"
and in truth nothing but divine revelation has
afforded any just solution to it.
It was difficult for the most enlarged minds
to abstract their conceptions from impressions,
early imbibed, and strengthened by all the
institutions and religious observances which
men beheld ; and many of those who affected
superior knowledge, appear to have .mani
fested the greatest inconsistency and folly.
The deities, who were worshipped, were
beings of known and recent origin, who lived
in corporeal pleasures and sensual indul
gence ; they were Sometimes represented as
indifferent to the concerns of men, and some
times described as accessible to them, and
descending on earth for partial interference,
and the gratification of vicious passions.
Diogenes Laertius speaks of an altar,
erected in Attica, with design to avert a
plague, and which was dedicated to the un
known God *. It does not appear from the
account in the Acts of the Apostles, that any
image was consecrated to the Unknown God,
* In Vita Epimenid. See also Lucian in Philopat.
VOL. I. K ^

130
whom the Athenians ignorantly worshipped *,
It has been supposed, that the altar only was
inscribed with the dedication which St. Luke
has mentioned, and that no representa
tion by image was allowed of that nature,
which was confessedly inscrutable. Pau
sanias speaks also of altars among the Athe
nians, dedicated to the gods, called Un
known. Whether the attributes, which the
poets and philosophers ascribed to the chief
deity, whom they sometimes represented as
" greatest and best," were by the Athenians
referred to the mysterious and undescribed
God, or whether what they worshipped as
incomprehensible, was regarded as Pan, or
as a merely local or subordinate Deity, we
have no means of deciding. Macrobius -h,
however, states, that the philosophers, when
they treated of the supreme God, whom the
Greeks called r ccyuQov and ttqutov Atnov,
or sometimes vvv, admitted nothing fabu
lous. The general notions were loose and
vague, and men of understanding, who de
spised the superstition of the vulgar, though
* Acts xvii. 23. Pausan. 1. i. c. 4. p. 4. 1. v. c. 14. p. 412.
Edit. Lips. See also Maxim. Tyrius. Dissert. 22. Stobaeus
Excerpt, de Mahum. Also Plato, Phsed. Lucian, Philopat.
f Somn. Scip. lib.i. c,2.

131
willing to carry on their views beyond the
unsatisfactory objects which they professed to
worship, still lost themselves in conjecture, and
closed their reasonings in vain speculation.
St. Paul, in stating to them that the God
whom he declared unto them, had " made
" the world and all things therein, seeing
" that He is the Lord of heaven and earth,
" and dwelleth not in temples made with
" hands, and that in him we live and move
" and have our being," refers to certain of
the Grecian poets as having said that " we
" are also his offspring*."
Aratus and Cleanthes, as there will here
after be occasion to remark, have each been
supposed to be alluded to by St. Paul, upon
this occasion, and each has left a line ex
pressive of the sentiment which the Apostle
cites. Aratus begins his Phaenoraena with
this line,
Ex A ios- ic^fju/jieQa.
This is agreeable to the representation of
Homer, who describes Jupiter as the father
of men and Gods.
It appears that St. Paul, in proclaiming
the attributes of God to the Athenians, di-
* Acts xvii. 28. Wolfius in loc. Cudworth, Intell. Syst.
p. 475.
K 2

132
rected his reasoning to those points which
were of immediate and essential importance
to them, representing to them, that they ig
norantly worshipped the God " who was not
far from any of them, and who was to be
sought for if haply they might feel after him
and find him ;" thus leading a people, whose
forefathers had put Socrates to death upon a
bigotted charge of not esteeming those to be
Gods whom the city reverenced*, and of
having introduced new deities, to reflect,
that, in fact, they were in the darkness of
error, who thought that the godhead was
*' like unto gold or silver, or stone graven
" by art and man's device," and that "the
times of ignorance and idolatry were no
longer to be endured.
The communications which the Apostle
imparted, were well calculated also to correct
those erroneous notions which the heathens
entertained, upon contemplating the present
prosperity of the wicked, and the failure of
men of worth ; and to suppress the impious
murmurs whicb they often expressed to
wards the Gods, when defeated in the vain
glorious views which led them to aim at
* Platon, Apol. Socrat. tom. i, p. 26. Edit. Serrani.
5

133
foreign conquests. The ambitious spirit of
the Athenians, and the impatient temper
by which they were actuated, had shewed
themselves indeed at a much earlier period,
when Nicias and Demosthenes had en
countered their sad defeat in Sicily, upon
which occasion the soldiers loudly accused
the Gods, for having exposed to such cala
mities the former general, who had at all
times testified a reverence, for them and their
service*. By St. Paul the people were taught
to moderate such feelings, in the conviction
that God had set limits to every earthly
power; and they were told with equal con
sideration and solemnity, that " God had ap-
" pointed a day, in which he would judge
" the world in righteousness, by that man,
" whom he had ordained, whereof he had
" given assurance to all men in that he had
" raised him from the dead -j*.
It should be noticed, that Macrobius makes
a remarkable statement concerning the Epi
cureans, which may serve to illustrate the ac
count given in the Acts, with respect to the
reception which the doctrines preached by St.
Paul received from that sect. His words are
* Thucyd. 1. vii. § 86. p. 504. Edit. Duker.
+ Acts xvii. xxxi.

13*
as follow : Epicureorum tota factio, a3quo
semper crrore a vero devia,: et ilia existimans
ridenda quae nebciat, sacrum volumen et au-
gustissima irrisit naturae seria*.
Cicero well exposes the errors in the rea
soning of the different sects of philosophers
concerning God ; he affirms that there were
many popular deities, but , only one natural
God: he states under just apprehensions some
attributes of the divine nature, but does not
sufficiently refute the defective notions which
were brought forward ; particularly the opi
nions entertained by the Stoics of God's
Providence, which they conceived to lake
care of great things, but to neglect the
small, being unable to explain the misfor
tunes in which great men were sometimes
involved -j-.
Lucian, somewhat sarcastically, and in
later times, remarks that some, rejecting all
other deities, conferred universal dominion
on one J.
Plutarch relates the Stoics to have believed
in one God. iEacus is said to have obtained
rain when Greece was affected by a long
* Somn. Scip. lib. i. c. 2. p. 5. Edit. Lug. Bat. It is not
clear what is meant by " the sacred volume."
i De Natur. Deor. lib. ii. c. 66. et Tuscul. Quaest. lib. iii.
! J Menippus.

135
drought, by praying, at the suggestion of the
Delphic oracle, to the common God of all
nations *.
There are many Heathen writers, who not
only mention the unity of God, but who also
speak of Him as the Creator of the universe.
Jupiter is sometimes spoken of as a God of
Covenants, Zeu? offKJot, or Jupiter Fcederator,
and it is observable, that the fragments of
the Sybilline books, preserved by Lactantius,
assert the existence of one supreme unbe-
gotten God, the Creator of the heavenly
bodies, of the earth and water, who alone
was to be worshipped as the Governor of
the world, and who had lived from all eter
nity. As it is uncertain, however, at what
period the several parts of these books were
written, but little stress can be here laid upon
them. The Heathen gods in the time of Varro
exceeded thirty thousand. This writer, who
complied with the existing superstitions, ex
pressed the wish that men could be freed from
prejudice and custom, that they might wor-

* Clera. Alex. Strom, vi. § 3. p. 753, tom. 2. Edit. Potter.
1 Sam. xii. 18.

136
ship one God ; and he statedthat the ancient
Romans worshipped one God, without image,
for one hundred and seventy years after the
commencement of that empire ; he gave it
as his opinion, that, if they had continued to
do so, the gods would have received a purer
reverence, in confirmation of which he re
ferred to the Jews *.
It is obvious to remark, that the doctrine
thus described as general and prevailing in
all ages, is nevertheless to be regarded as
a memorial of truth, originally revealed
from God, and retaining, through every ge
neration, the impression of his word. It
still however produced, even on the minds
of the philosophers by whom it was main
tained, only a slight and precarious effect,
and was entirely obscured and corrupted
by the prevailing superstition and ido
latries which overwhelmed the general classes
of society, who " not knowing God, did
" service to them who were by nature no
" Godsf."

* Cicero de Legib. n. 26. August, de Civit. Dei. lib. iv.
c, 11.
+ Galat. iv. 8. 1 Cor i. 21.

137
The Jews uniformly asserted and acted
upon a just and consistent doctrine con
cerning the Divine Unity, while the heathen
world, however its philosophers occasionally
asserted the principle, totally lost sight of it
in practice.

138

CHAP. XI.

On the Intimations which appear in the Old
Testament and among Jewish and Pagan
Writers concerning the Doctrine of the

Intimations with respect to the Tri
nity appear in the writings of sacred, and of
profane antiquity. They are to be found
not only in the eastern theologies, but in the
religious opinions of the Jews, and in the
works of the Greeks, as may be particularly
instanced in the productions of the Rabbins,
and of Plato and Philo.
These notions, however they may differ
from the convictions entertained by Christians
upon the subject of the mysterious union of
three persons in the godhead, and however
they may have been corrupted in popular
superstition, seem to have originated in divine
communications, imparted from above; with
less distinction indeed under the old, than un
der the new dispensation, precise declarations

139
on the subject being reserved till the publi
cation of the Gospel, when the distinct offices
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit were fully
disclosed. That divine attributes are ascribed in the
Old Testament to the second and third per
sons of the Trinity, is certain; and that the
intimations thus imparted were productive
of persuasions which manifested themselves
among the Jews and Heathens, (whatever
other circumstances there might be which
gave birth or countenance to similar con
victions), may be collected from many consi
derations. God is represented at the creation,
in conjunction with other divine persons con
sulting in secret counsel*, to have concerted
the formation of man.
It is generally admitted also, that the ma
nifestations of the divine nature which were
made to the Patriarchs, to Moses, to Joshua,
and others, were made in the person of
Christ, " the Angel," or " Messenger of
" the Covenant ¦j- ."
* Gen. i. 26. iii. 22. xi. 7. xix. 24. See also Job i. 6.
xv. 8. Psal. xxxiii. 6. Jer. xxiii. 18. 1 Kings xxii. 19.
Dan. vii. 9, 10. Theophil. ad Autolic, lib. ii. p. 115. Edit.
Ox. 1684.
f Mal. iii. 1. Tertul. adv. Marcion, lib- 2. Taylor's
Ductor Dubit. book ii. c. 1.

uo
When the angel appeared to Hagar in the
wilderness, she called the name of the Lord
that spake unto her, " Thou God seest me *."
When the Lord appeared to Abraham, in
the plains of Mamre, it is said, that three
men stood by him, yet the Patriarch ad
dressed them as he would bave accosted one
being, or directed himself to one as superior,
" Nay my Lord pass not away -f."
When Jacob wrestled with the man who
appeared to him, he called the name of the
place Peniel, for, said he, " I have seen God
" face to face, and my life is preserved.];;"
and when he blessed the sons of Joseph, he
expressed the hope that the angel which re
deemed him from all evil would bless the
lads §.
The angel which appeared to Moses in the
bush, said, " I am the God of thy father,
" the God of Isaac, and the God of Ja-
" cob ||." When Joshua was encamped in
Gilgal, and he beheld the captain of the
host of the Lord, and worshipped hira,
Joshua was commanded as Moses had been
* Gen. xvi. 13. + Ibid, xviii. 1. 33. t Ibid, xxxii. 30.
§ Ibid, xlviii. 16. || Exod. iii. 6. and 14. com. with John
viii. 58.

141
before to loose his shoes from off his feet, for
the place whereon he trod was holy *.
When Manoah enquired the name of the
angel who appeared unto him, the angel
answered, " why askest thou after my name,
" seeing it is secret -f-," using the same He
brew word which is applied to Christ by
Isaiah J, when, he stiles him " Wonderful,"
and we are told that Manoah, when he
knew that he was an angel of the Lord, said
unto his wife, " we shall surely die because
" we have seen God §."
It was the object of the Jewish dispensa
tion to preserve men from idolatrous pro
pensities, and from following after strange
gods : Moses and the prophets,, therefore,
insist principally on the unity of God, though
when led to refer to the offices of the other
persons of the Trinity, they could not but
impart some notices of a doctrine which was
afterwards distinctly to be revealed. It ap
pears from various passages in the prophetic
writings, that a conjunction of persons was
implied in the contemplation of the unity of
* Exod. iii. 5. Josh. v. 1 5.
t >«ba Judg. xiii. 18. X Chap. ix. 6.
§ Judg. xiii. 22. See also Dan. iii. 25.

142
the Godhead. David represents the Lord
thus addressing the Son, " This day have I
*' begotten thee * ;" and as saying unto
him, "sit thou on my right hand until I
" make thine enemies thy footstool -f-." Ze
chariah, referring it should seem to the
death of Christ, calls upon the sword in the
name of the Lord of Hosts, saving, " Awake
" O sword against my Shepherd, and against
" the Man that is my Fellow +, saith the
" Lord of Hosts, smite the Shepherd and
" the sheep shall be scattered, and I will
" turn mine hand upon my little ones§;"
and this text was directly applied by our
Saviour to himself when he was about to be
betrayed ||.
With respect to the Holy Ghost, from the
creation, when the spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters f , till the period when
he descended upon Christ, he is described as
having inspired the Prophets and holy men,
* Psal. ii. 7.
t Ibid. ex. 1. See also Isai. xliv. xlviii. 16. Hag. ii. 4, 5.
X (n>DP.
$ Zech. xiii. 7. See also Job xix. 25. Isai. xlviii. 16.
lix. 19.
|1 Matt. xxvi. 31.
IT Gen. i. 2. Psal. li. 11.

143
who delivered the communications of God,
and he is spoken of by the Evangelists as a
being known to the Jews, and without any
intimation that they bring forward any new
doctrine. Many proofs that the Rabbins had a no
tion of the existence of a Trinity might be
produced, and learned writers bave abund
antly shown, that the ancient Jewish theo
logy concurs with the orthodox Christian
faith upon these points *. The Jewish
writers discovered a mystery in the word
Elohim -j-, they considered the person spoken
of as the Son, to be God J, and that he had
a twofold nature §. The Targumists and
Cabbalists make distinctions between Je
hovah, the Word, and the habitation of
Jehovah, ascribing to each, personal actions
and divine properties ||. They confess also a
* Carpzov. Introduct. Theolog. Judaic, c. ii. p. 6.
+ Rabbi Bechai in Seg. Job iv. Col. i.
X Beresehit Rabba, cap. v. lib. 2. Raymondi Pugio Fidei,
Part II. Dissertatio i. cap. 119.
§ Midrasch Tillim on Psal. ii. 7. See also Veelleh
Shemoth Rabba sive Glossa super Exod. xv. and Psal. lxxxix.
27, 28. See also Observat. Joseph, de Voisin in prooem.
Pugion Fidei.
II See Oxlee on the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity.

144
mystery in the blessing expressed in the book
of Numbers*.
Philo regards the Logos -f and the Holy
Spirit, as having each a divine nature.
Indications of a similar persuasion ap
peared among the Heathens in very early
times. The persuasion originated, probably,
in some traditionary knowledge of the par
ticulars which have been mentioned. The
Heathen Trinity has sometimes indeed no
farther conformity to the revealed doctrine
than what may be found in a numerical cor
respondence of persons, but it often also
seems to imply a Trinity in the Godhead, a
Trinity of causes, of beings eternal and un
created, though occasionally described under
representations which are confused and con
tradictory J. The doctrine of a Trinity,
then, was not deemed by the ancients in
compatible with the principles of reason, and
it has been well observed, that he who would
examine an article of faith by a proposition
in philosophy, should be well assured that his
philosophy is correct.
* Numb. vi. 26, and Hales.
T Tlfoi Tot tfsi/TSfon ©eo» o? tj-ni ixutov (0iS TTf^rs) Ao'yo'f.
Frag. Vol. ii. p. 625. lib. vii. c. 13. Edit. Marigey.
X Cudworth Intell. Sys.

145
Traces of the doctrine are said to be dis
covered among the Persians. In the magical
oracles of Zoroastres, a Trinity is asserted,
and a line is cited by Patritius from Damas
cius, which expresses, that a triad shines in
all the world of which unity governs *. These
oracles are, however, probably spurious.
The same notion prevailed among the Sar
mothracians. The Chaldaeans and Egyp
tians reduced tbe divine attributes to three,
which may be considered as expressive of
the Almighty Father, of the Holy Spirit, and
of Him who was the great prototype oflove.
Allusions to the second person of the Tri
nity are to be found in other writings of
great antiquity. Aristobulus, tutor to Pto
lemy Philadelphus, about 250 years before
Christ, spoke of a second cause, designated
as: " the wisdom of God," " the Father of
" lights;" and by other titles; Epicharmus,
before this time, had covertly described the
divine Word as the author of all useful in
struction, and as teaching men what they
ought to be "j".
* na»1i yu.^ *' xoa-fiu j\a.[/.irst, Tgia;, ij;. Mo»a< a«J£«. See also
Plato de Legibus, lib. x. tom. ii. p 895. Edit. Serran. Tay
lor's Duct. Dub. B.. i. ch. ii. p. 43.
+ Clemens Strom. I. v. J . 258. p. 719. See also Epist. ad
Dionys. and Whitaker on Arianism.
VOL. I. l>

U6
Chalcidius named the first person of the
Triad, the High God ; the second, mind or
Providence ; the third, the Soul of the world ;
He describes the three as " Ordinans,"
" Jubans," and " Insinuans *." He, how
ever, probably lived long after the promul
gation of Christianity.
Striking representations of wisdom per
sonified, and expressive, as some conceive, of
the second person of the Trinity, are dis
played in the Apochryphal books. The no
tion of a Trinity appears under diversified
modifications in the writings of Pytha
goras -j~, Parmenides and Plato J. That
the triad of the divine Hypostases which
they mention, differed in many respects from
the Trinity of persons described in the Gos
pel, is readily admitted. The representations
upon the subject, which were framed by the
later Platonists, being composed after the
promulgation of the Gospel, were probably
modified in adaptation to its doctrines. The
* See Cudworth. See also, on the other hand, Bp.
Randolph's Tracts on the Trinity.
t Porphyry de Abstinentia, Sectio 27. Carmina Pythag
Hieron. and Stillingfleet, Orig. Sac. b. iii. c. 7.
X Eiararw yag HhaTvta." atrix^u; oSto; ev t>i irpos Eparo' *«"
Kogio-xov ijri5-o^»J (fait neu •aati^a u«i v\m, oix olSf i'w»j, hm'Sf
W'dixut y^aZt \yQu\im. Clem Alex, i Strom. I. v. §.255.
p. 710. Edit. Potter.

147
notion, corrupted and disfigured under an
endless variety of forms, is consecrated in the
worship of the Brahmins, and represented in
their idols, and appears, it is said, in the
sacred writings of the Chinese.
The Indians, in South America also, are
said to have worshipped a God, whom they
considered to be one in three and three, in
one, but little importance however can be
attached to this account.

L %

148

CHAP. XII.
On the Notions entertained by the Heathens
concerning the Creation of the World, and
the Origin of Man from the same common
Parents*

Th e persuasion that the world was created
by the power and intelligence of the Su
preme Being, and that this supreme Being
formed all things from a rude and undigested
chaos, is to be found in various writings of
the Heathens, having been preserved amidst
the most extravagant fictions of antiquity *.
Many of the philosophers, indeed, enter
tained erroneous notions of the eternity of
the world, but a more just persuasion often
obtained acceptance, and particularly im
pressed itself on the intelligent mind of So
crates. Sophocles-j- also is represented thus to have
* Diod. Sicul. lib.i. c. 6. Edit. Westeling.
+ Cudworth.

149
expressed his conviction in lines which are no
longer -to be found in his works, " there is
" in truth one God who made the broad
" earth and the waves of the Sea arid the
^ forCe of the winds." Plato speaks of God
as the parent of the world, the artificer of
the soul, the creator of heavenly and earthly
things, whom it was difficult to discover on
account of his incredible power, and vvhen
discovered, impossible to describe to all.
On which Minutius Felix is led to observe,
either that the Christians were philosophers,
or that the philosophers had been Chris
tians*. Zeno remarks, lhat Hesiod's chaos was
water, which subsiding, left a deposit of mud.
From this theory many speculations of a
similar nature were framed.
Particulars with respect to the Creation
were sometimes blended with accounts re
lating to the deluge, and a common sera
wa.s assigned to both these events. Thales,
the Milesian, one of the seven sages, con
siders water as the principle of all things,
conceiving God to be the mind or spirit from
which all things proceed, and by which the
* Minut. Felix. Octavius, §. 20.

150
mighty mass of creation is moved. Pindar,
in his first Ode, alludes to this general no
tion. The origin of man also is attributed
to mud or earth, by Hesiod and Homer.
Numenius observes, that the prophet
Moses had said, that the spirit of God
hovered over the waters ; and it appears
from a treatise of Tertullian on Baptism,
that the resting of the spirit upon the waters
at the creation, which is described by a
remarkable expression, was regarded as
bearing an analogy to a later influence on
the consecrated element in baptism *. The
Hebrew word used in Genesis -j-, implies, in
one sense, the incubation of a bird upon the
egg, and Milton, who delights in allusions to
the opinions of antiquity, poetically represents
the figure " On the watery calm
His brooding wings the spirit of God outspread,
And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth,
Throughout the fluid mass |."
It is not impossible that the image expressed
by the word might have suggested the idea
* Dei Spiritum, qui ab initio super vectabatur, super
Aquas. Tertul. de Baptism, p. 225. Paris, 1664.
1 t nemo.
X B, vii. 1. 234—238.

151
of the mundane egg*, which occurs so fre
quently, particularly in the Eastern Cos
mogonies. Many of the Heathen descriptions of the
creation, not only exhibit a general concur
rence with the sacred account, but detail the
production of the several parts, in the very
order in which they were called forth ; man
being last formed in the image of the Gods,
with a countenance raised to contemplate
the heavens, and with a capacious mind to
rule over other creatures.
Lucretius argues, with great beauty of il
lustration, that the world had an origin, from
the paucity and recency of the memorials of
its history, contending that if there were no
beginning we should have received accounts
of events before the destruction of Troy "j-.
Horace also traces the progress of civiliza
tion, in consistency with a belief in the crea
tion of the world at no very distant period J.
Virgil represents Silenus to bave described
the world as framed from the elemental seeds
carried about the great void, while the soil

* Plutarch Sympos. xi. c. 3. Macrob. lib. vii. c. 16. Euseb,
Prsep. Evang. lib. iii. c. 11. Grot. lib. 1.
+ Lucretius, lib. v.
| H6rat. lib. i. sat. 3. Grot, de Verit,

152
hardened and the ocean was disclosed *.
He introduces Anchises also relating to
jEneas in the Elysian fields, that in the be
ginning a divine Spirit sustained the universe,
which was of celestial origin, and pervaded
every part; employing a language derived
from Platonic notions, and common to the
poets. It appears then, that though many of the
Heathens were materialists, yet that the
writers most eminent among them asserted
the creation of the world by an omnipotent
Being.
* Virg. Eel. vi.

155

CHAP. XIII.
On the General Belief of the Divine Origin
and Immortality of the Soul among the
Heathens.

A belief in the divine origin and im
mortal nature of the soul is to be found
among the earliest and most general persua
sions of all nations. There is no antiquity so
remote, and no people so barbarous, as not
to manifest some indications of these persua
sions : they are to be regarded, however, ra
ther as speculative opinions, mixed with error,
than as pure and efficacious principles. Ho
mer opens in his poem some intimations of a
future state, in which bis heroes were to exist.
Herodotus relates tbat the Egyptians first
believed in the immortality, together with
the transmigration of the soul*, and the same
persuasions were received by the (Brahmins -j-,
* Lib. ii. {. 123. Diodor. Sicul. lib, i.
t Strabo, lib. xv. Porphyry, lib, iv,
y

154
Indians, and Thracians. Caesar represents
the Druids to have anxiously instilled the
doctrine of the imperishable nature of the
soul, which they also supposed to pass from
one body to another, after death*.
The belief in a transmigration, here
ascribed to the Egyptians and Druids, is
illustrated by Virgil, who represents iEneas
to hava contemplated in the Elysian fields,
souls preparing to enter into other bodies,
by drinking of the oblivious streams of
I^ethe ; and in a noble episode which Milton,
(and perhaps Shakespeare) has imitated, the
succession of the distinguished descendants
of the Trojan prince is made to pass in review
before him, The conviction, however, was
not so general, as not to require a frequent
renewal of argument upon the subject, nor so
strong as to exclude doubt, even from minds
of enlarged capacity and considerable attain
ments. Individuals often expressed their
scepticism or their fears -j-, and some sects
publicly denied the doctrine. The best and
ablest men, however, maintained it with the
strongest assurance. The reasonings of So-
* Lib. vi. cap. 13. Strabo, lib. iv. Aram. Marcell. lib.
xv. cap. 2.
i Sallust Bel. Cat. Orat. C. Caesaris.

155
crates, Plato*, and Xenophon -f, were urged
with the greatest impression among the Gre
cians, and Cicero J deemed himself justified
in considering it as a doctrine admitted by
the consent of all nations.
Juvenal speaks of man as capable of divine
things, and as having derived an under
standing from heaven such as brutes do not
possess §.
Pliny commends Hipparchus for having
proved the relation of man with the stars,
and maintained that the soul was a part of
heaven ||. Lucian also supposes the soul to
have emanated from divine wisdom.
The learned among the primitive Chris
tians insisted with great effect on these and
other passages, which contained intimations
of the divine nature and immortality of the
soul, received as axioms, or koivki bvvoioci, ob
serving that the main particulars and founda
tions of Christianity were thus granted by
the philosophers as universal truths, lt
must, however, always be remembered, that
* Phaedo, et passim Mela, lib. ii. Grot, de Verit. lib. i.
cap. 22.
t Memorabilia et Cyropcedia.
I Tuscul. Quaest. lib. i. cap. 16.
§ Sat. xv. 1. 143—156.
|| Nat. Hist. lib. ii. cap. 24.

156
these persuasions were received only as
reasonable and probable conjectures, and
did not generally operate to practical and
moral effects. They were supported by poets
and philosophers, but they wanted the con
firmation of divine authority. It is to re
velation alone, that we are indebted for
that assurance which has left no excuse for
doubt. The persuasions were affirmed with
increased confidence among the Heathens,
after the promulgation of the Gospel.

157

CHAP. XIV.
On the Sentiments entertained with respect
to the Origin of Evil, the Existence of
Spiritual Beings, their Revolt from Obe
dience, the Fall and gradual Corruption
of Men.

The opinions which were entertained by
the ancients concerning the origin of moral
evil were various*.
The operation of some injurious principle
vitiating the nature of man, and perverting
his moral views, could not be disputed ; and
the influence of a malignant power seemed
to have introduced disorder even in the
first appointments of Providence, and to
have counteracted the beneficial tendency of
God's ordinances.
Popular convictions every where prevailed
of the existence of some beings of the higher
* Plutarch de Isid. et Osirid.

158
order, who had revolted from thei* subjection
to the heavenly Power which presided over
the universe ; and upon them were raised
manv fabulous stories.
It is probable that these convictions were
originally founded on the circumstances re
ferred to in Scripture with respect to Satan
and his angels, as powerful but malevolent
beings, who having first seduced Adam from
his obedience, incessantly laboured to de
ceive, corrupt, and destroy his descendants*-
The notion of the Magi of Plutarch, and of
the Manicheans, concerning two independent
principles, acting in opposition to each
other, was also founded on the real circum
stances of the apostacy of angels, and of
their interference and influence in the affairs
of men.
The fictions of Indian mythology with re
gard to contending powers, and their subor
dinate ministers, benevolent and malignant,
were erected on the same basis of truth;
and the Grecian and Roman accounts of the
battles of the Giants against Jupiter, were
perhaps relations built on the corruptions of
tradition on this point.
* 2 Chron, xviii. 20. Job i. 6. Zech. iii. i.

159
, In contemplating the wild fancies, which
are spread over the surface of the ancient
world, we behold many grotesque represen
tations, which, like the constellations on the
celestial globe, exhibit images which serve
only to direct us to the stars for which we
seek. The continued malignity of those spi
ritual beings, who had fallen from " their
" high estate," and who were still possessed
of powers far above those which men enjoy
in their limited sphere of action, instigated
them to support the delusions and supersti
tions of antiquity, by assisting the arts of
those who misled mankind through their de
ceptions, by prompting divination, possessing
the persons, and aggravating the afflictions
and despondence of men.
It is scarcely possible to read the accounts
of the wonders performed by the magicians,
who opposed Moses with their enchant
ments*, or the responses of the Pagan
oracles, (which however ambiguous in general,
seem sometimes to have displayed more \hiin
mortal discernment,) and not to be convinced
that the Almighty allowed these invisible

* Exod. vii. 11. 22. viii. 18, 19. See also Rev. xvi.
5—14.

'ifJO
beings to shew great signs and wonders *,
and to deceive and lead captive those who
in their infatuated wickedness served them.
The original temptation, by which they
drew our first parents from their duty, and
led them to transgress the only prohibition
which God had imposed, is described in the'
first pages of Scripture ; and it is repeated,
under much disguise, in many fables of
classical mytholog}'.
Origen considers the allegorical relations
furnished by Plato ¦f, with respect to Porus
tempted by Penia. to sin when intoxicated in
the garden of Jove, as a disfigured history of
the fall of man in paradise. It seems to have
been blended with the story of Lot and his
daughters. Plato might have acquired in
Egypt the knowledge of the original cir
cumstances of the fall, and have produced
them, under the veil of allegory, that he
might not offend the Greeks by a direct ex
tract from the Jewish Scriptures p The
heathen notions with respect to the Elysian
fields, the garden of Adonis, and that of
Hesperides, in which the fruit was watched
* Matt. xxiv. 2i.
T Xl^A7T©(7tO>, rt TTEtft epaJTof.
X Cont. Cels. lib. iv. p. 532. Edit. Benedict.

161
by a serpent, was probably borrowed from
the sacred accounts, or from traditional re
ports with respect to paradise.
The particular circumstances also of the
leader of the evil spirits having envied man's
happiness, and by disguising himself under
the form of a serpent, occasioned his ejection
from paradise *, was figured out in other ac
counts. The worship established iowards the evil
spirit by his contrivance, sometimes under,
the very appearance in which he seduced our
first parents, is to be found among the Phoe
nicians and Egyptians.
The general notion of the serpent as a mys
terious symbol annexed to the Heathen
deities, and particularly assigned to iEscu-
Japius, the god of healjng, might have been
suggested by perverted representations of thp
agency of the fallen spirit, who assumed the
form of a serpent ; or perhaps by some tra
ditional reports of the miraculous effects
produced by looking on the brazen serpent,
which Moses erected by divine command in
the wilderness ; and the invocation of Eve
in the Bacchanalian orgies, (with the pro-
* Casaubon's Origin of Temporal Evils. Plut. de Isid.
et Osirid. p. 261.
VOL. I. M

162
duction of a serpent, consecrated as an em
blem, to public view,) seems to bear some
relation to the history of the first tempta
tion *, which introduced sin and death into
the world.
The tutelar deity of particular districts
was somtimes introduced in the same man
ner ; thus a serpent is represented by Virgil
to have appeared to iEneas -j- ; and the con
nection between serpents and sacred places
frequently occur. t
The account of Discord being cast out
from heaven, referred to by Agamemnon, in
the 19th book of Homer's Iliad, has been
thought to be a corrupt tradition of the fall
of the evil angels.
The first worship of Apollo was offered to
him under the representation of a serpent;
but Apollo was generally regarded as the
deity who had killed the serpent, Python J,
which word was probably derived from the
Hebrew word ]DQ, which signifies a ser
pent. * Clem. Alex. Cohort, ad Gentes, Op. vol. i. p. 11. Edit.
Potter. Numb. xxi. 8, 9. Justin Martyr's Apol. i. p. 45.
Edit. Thirlb. p. 11. Plutarch in Agae et Cleomen. p. 524.
Epphan. Haeres. 80.
f Clem. Alex. lib. v. 1. 84.
1 See Gen. iii, 15.

165
Claudian shews an acquaintance with; the
circumstances of the seduction of man, and of
an ejection from paradise *, and his descrip
tion seems to have furnished subject of imi
tation to Milton.
It has been imagined, that the Indians en
tertained some notions, founded on tradi
tionary accounts, of Paradise : and the re
presentations of the serpent under the fe
male form, and styled the Mexican Eve* are
said to be found in the symbolical paintings
of Mexico •f.
The original perfection of man, the cor
ruption of human nature resulting from the
Fall, and the increasing depravity which
proceeded with augmented violence from ge
neration to generation, are to be found in
various parts of prophane literature.
Euryalus, the Pythagorean, declared that
man was made in the image of God %.
Cicero (as well as Ovid) speaks of man as
created erect, as if God excited bim to look
up to his former relation and ancient abode.
The loss of that resemblance was supposed
to have resulted from the effects of disohe-
* Praef. ad Ruffin.
t Humboldt's American Researches.
X Comp. with Wisd. ii. 23. See also Gen. i. 27.
M 2

164
dience, and was considered as so universal
that it was generally admitted, as is ex
pressed by Horace, that no man was born
without vices *.
The conviction of a gradual deterioration
from age to age — of a change from a golden
period, by successive transitions, to an iron
depravity-— of a lapse from a state devoid of
guilt and fear, to times filled with iniquity,
was universally entertained.
Descriptions to this effect are to be found
in the writings of almost all the poet6 -f-,
and they are confirmed by the reports of
philosophers and tiistorians. Providence
seems to have drawn evidence of the guilt of
men from their own confessions, and to have
preserved their Testimonies for the conviction
of subsequent times.
Catullus represents the unhallowed period
when justice was put to flight, and brothers
imbrued their hands in fraternal blood,
while incest and sacrilege alienated the mind
of God from man J ; and Tacitus marks out

* Lib. i sat. iii. 1. 68.
+ See Hesiod, Orpheus, Lucretius, Ovid, Juvenal, Ca.
tullus, and others.
X De Epithal. Pel. et Thetid. line 395—405. Taylor
Ductor Dubitan. Book ii, c. i, p. 173.

165
the progress of depravity, from a period free
from offence and punishment, to a flagitious
and abandoned wickedness, devoid even of
fear *.
The material world was supposed to have
a tendency to corruption, a supposition jus
tified by experience, if not founded on some
knowledge of the Divine curse to which it
had been exposed *f\
From a general view of these statements,
with respect to the Heathen manners, there
is but too abundant proof to demonstrate the
corruption of human nature, and the insuffi
ciency of human reason to devise a remedy.
The law of nature, which was a transcript of
divine wisdom, written on the tables of the
heart was broken, • and its characters de
faced J ; and the principles of truth, which
had been originally revealed by God, how
ever preserved in the writings of eminent
men, were so mixed with error and falsehood,
that they produced but little effect. Plato
confessed the necessity of waiting for a divine
instructor, who might direct men how to
* Annal. lib. iii.
+ Diog. Laert..
X See Ductor Dubitan. Bookii.c. l.p. 177.
6

166
eonduct themselves towards God, and their
fellow-creatures *.
The prophane, are scarcely less forcible
than the sacred descriptions, tending equally
to shew that the human heart was prone to
all evil.
The history of mankind is too often a de
tail of crimes ; but the most striking circum
stance in the character of the Heathen ages,
and in the influence of their superstitions, is,
that the principles of actions, approved by
the philosopher, and consecrated by the
the priest, were false and mischievous ; that
selfish passions were recommended as glo
rious, and vices regarded as virtues ; that re
ligion itself was the source of evil ; temples
were the scenes of licentiousness -f, and deities
the examples of vice.
If we confine ourselves to what is indis-
putablyxtrue, we find that the whole period
from the flood till the appearance of Christ,
exhibited strong proofs of the depravity of
the human heart, and of the weakness of
human reason, notwithstanding the light
which was ocasionally diffused by communi
cations from above; and every thing, .there-
* Alcibiad. f Herodotus, Clio, &c.

167
fore, illustrated the indispensable necessity of
some fuller instruction, of some more perfect
and efficacious principles to influence and di
rect mankind.
Corruption of manners among the Jews
appears to have reached its highest pitch
when the birth of Christ was announced.
The strictures of our Lord emphatically
expose the pharasaic pride which prevailed
among those, who, like whited sepulchres,
were full of impurity.
The courts of Herod, and of his successors,
were the scenes of every pollution, and the
people seemed abandoned and lost in wicked
ness. The condemnation of Christ, his cru
cifixion, and the rejection of his kingdom,
were alone wanting to complete the consum
mation of their guilt.
Josephus, speaking of the sacrilegious con
duct of some wretches during the siege of
Jerusalem, declares, that if tbe Romans had
delayed to come against these wicked men,
the city must have been swallowed up by an
earthquake, overwhelmed by a deluge, or
consumed by fire from heaven like Sodom ;
for that the generation was much more im
pious than those which had suffered such

168
judgments *; and that for their madness the
whole people was destroyed.
Among heathen nations most advanced
in civilization and refinement, " all iniquity
was committed with greediness," and the con
fessions of those who suffered from the effects
of depravity, attest the fidelity and the bene
ficial views of the disciples of Christ, who
laboured to introduce principles whicb might
counteract it.
It has been observed, that it was probably
one object of Providence, in the preservation
of sufficient documents, to illustrate the uni
versal failure in the human character, under
all the circumstances of public and domestic
life — of national and private manners ; to
draw even from the mouths of the Heathens
a testimony to the sad effects of the Fall, and
a confession of the necessity of a divine inter
ference to renovate a decayed nature. It
was an object also, which had been fully at
tained, to certify by actual experiment, the in
competency of reason, to recover by its own
powers its original rectitude and strength,
the vanity of the systems which had been
* DcBello Jud. lib. v. c. 13. § 6. p. 1256. Edit. Hud.

169
successively framed, and the utter inability
of man to judge or to act rightly by his own
unassisted intellect. The corruption of Pagan
manners continued long after the promulga
tion of Christianity, to exhibit a striking con
trast to the purity of those who were con
verted to that religion, and to draw out by
the persecution whicb it inflicted, impressive
proofs of the virtues of those who professed
it. The influence of the Gospel gradually
dispersed the shades, and produced a bene
ficial effect, a general diffusion of light over
the earth.

170

CHAP. XV.
Of the Knowledge, which prevailed among
Heathen Nations, of the general Deluge.

The destruction of mankind, which was
effected by the deluge, was so signal and
so extensive a judgment, that the remem
brance of it was every where retained, and
traditions of it every where preserved.
Express mention of this memorable inflic
tion of divine wrath, is to be found in the
earliest writings, and the accounts of its
general or partial operation appear in various
relations. Berosus and Abydenus we have seen,
speaking of it in histories of the Assyrians
and Medes *, and records of the event ex
tended through the East, and thence were

* Euseb. Praep. Evan. 1. ix. c. 12. Joseph. Antiq.
lib. i. c. 3.

171
circulated through every country, exciting
a peculiar interest in those lands, in which
some memorials and vestiges of it were to be
found. Travellers in Armenia were shewn on the
summit of Mount Ararat, near the source of
the Euphrates, the spot where the ark of
Noah was supposed to have rested after the
subsiding waters of the deluge ceased to
buoy it up ; and even the remnant of the
structure was said to be extant in the time
of Theophylact, of Antioch *, and Chry
sostom -f-. The Egyptians had a sacred
ship, called Baris, which represented the
ark ; and the story of the Argos is sup
posed, somewhat fancifully, by Bryant, to
have been derived from Egypt, and to have
relation to the ark, represented by the
sacred ship of Osiris. An allusion to the
ark is to be found also in many sacred rites
of antiquity.
* Theoph. lib. xxxiii. Jud. lib. xiv. c. 8.
f Vol. vi. c. 74. Edit. Savil. Sir W. Raleigh, after Ben
Gorion, supposes Ararat to be Mount Caucasus. Wells
determines, that the ark rested on the Gordyan moun
tains. See Geograph. of the Old Test. vol. i. p. 65. Uni
versal Hist, and Parsons' Remains of Japhet, p. 16.

172
Nonnus, who was born at Panopolis in
Egypt, in the fifth century, and who
collected in his Dionysiaca scattered rem
nants of knowledge, from the hierogly-
phical descriptions and ancient hymns of the
country, alludes to the circumstances of the
deluge*. - Relations respecting this event were to
be found in various parts of Greece. Aris
totle speaks of the effects of the deluge of
Deucalion in Epirus -j-. The Thessalians
seem to have believed it to have prevailed in
their country +.
The people of Phocis supposed the ark to
have rested on Parnassus §. Lucian, a native
of Samosata, gives also an account of the
flood ||.
Cumberland imagines the Scythian Deu
calion of Lucian to have been the Ouranus
of Sanchoniatho, distinguishing him from
the Grecian Deucalion : and a statue of him
is said to have been in the Adytum of Hie-
rapolis, with a golden dove upon his head.
* Bryant's Mythol. vol. ii. p. 369.
+ Meteorol. lib. i. c. 14. p. 778.
X Servius in Virg. Eclog. vi. 1. 41.
$ Pausan. x. p. 811.
|) De Dea Syria, vol. ii. p. 882. See chapter on Lucian,

173
Semiramis is related to have protected
pigeons, with some reference, it has been
supposed to Noah's dove. The Syrians
considered fish and doves as more especially
the gift of the Deity*, and allowed the
latter to fly unmolested through their cities
as sacred birds.
They were revered as the emblems of
peace in consequence, probably, of the tid
ing of abated wrath which they brought
back to Noah in the ark ; and for similar
reasons the olive branch might be regarded
as the symbol of forgiveness. Lucretius al
ludes to the character of Venus, as Dione
who calms the sea.
" O lovely queen of heaven, at thy command
The whirlwinds die away, the storm is still,
And the big clouds dissolve in limpid air ;
To thee we owe the beauties of the field,
And earth's rich produce — At thy mild approach
The dimpling waves put on a thousand smiles,
The sky no longer lours, but calm and clear,
Spreads its pure azure to the world's extreme,"
The dove was the emblematic bird of
Venus, and festivals were established to com
memorate the departure and return of that
* Hygyn. Fab. 197. Lucian de Dea Syria, p. 912.

174
eoddess to the sea *, and Venus was re-
garded as sprung from the sea. Bryant,
who pushes these remarks very far, observes,
that the ancient and true name of the dove
was Jonah, or Jonas -j-, importing a sacred
emblem so received- by the line of Ham,
and admitted as a symbol among the He
brews, and it had a peculiar propriety as
borne by the prophet, when he proclaimed
the necessity of repentance to Nineveh.
Some writers considered the sea as the
avenger of perfidy J. It deserves also to
be remarked, that Iris, the goddess of the
rainbow, is represented as the messenger
from the gods to men ; she was one of the
Oceanides, being the daughter of Thaumas
and Electra, and she is described as having
supplied the clouds with water for the de
luge. Not only did a general belief prevail
that a deluge had taken place, but the
history of the world among the Heathens
seems to take its origin from that period,
insomuch that many blended the idea of
* Seneca, Hyppol. and Musaeus, 1. 249.
I Bryant's Mythol. vol. i. p. 293*
J Ovid. Ep. Med. ad Jason.

175
a creation with that of the universal flood,
and supposed the system of the world to
arise from a chaos of elements, of which
water was the primordial principle.

176

CHAP. XVI.

On Testimonies of Prophane Writers, which
directly bear Witness to Facts recorded in
the Scripture of the Old Testament.

There are numberless passages in the
prophane writings of antiquity, which bear a
direct testimony to the truth of many facts
recorded by the sacred Historians. A few
only of these need be produced. Many re
presentations, which bear evidence to the
creation, the flood, and other particulars
which took place in the early ages of the
world, have already been brought forward;.
and many others will be produced in the re
marks upon the works of individual writers.
Manetho, Berosus, Hestiaaus, Hecataeus, and
others relate, that those who succeeded the
first man lived to a thousand years, and con
firm many other particulars too numerous to
mention with respect to the early ages of the
world.

17?
Nicolaus of Damascus mentions Abraham
as a stranger who had rule in Damascus, to
which city he came from Chaldea, and that
upon a tumult he went to Canaan, whete he
had a numerous offspring *.
Tacitus admits that distinguished cities had
been burnt by fire from Heaven on the plains
where Sodom and Gomorrah stood -f .
Josephus refers to writers who speak of the
race of giants % in Assyria and Canaan, and
Eusebius presents us with passages which
repeat accounts concerning them, particularly
from Abydenus § and Eupolemus ||.
The passage through the Red Sea was re
membered among the people of the Syrian
Hierapolis, and is related by Artapanus f.
Numberless writers speak of Moses as
a distinguished legislator; some advert to
the sublimity of his writings **, and others
describe the excellence and permanent in
fluence of his laws.
* Euseb. praep. Evan. lib. ix. c. 16-
t Hist. lib. v. §. 7.
X Lib. v. c. 2. lib. vii. c. 12.
§ Prsep. Evan. lib. ix. c. 14. Grot. deVerit. lib. i, notexl.
Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. vii. c. 16.
H Praep. Evan. lib. ix. c 17.
f Euseb. Praep. Evan. lib. ix. c. 27.
** Longinus.
VOL. I. W

173
Tacitus mentions the Exodus from Egypt,
and the abode of the Israelites in the wilder
ness, but he mingles many absurd reports with
his account*.
Menander, relating the acts of Ithobal,
king of the Tyrians, mentions the drought
which happened in the time of Elias -f*.
Josephus, in describing the events of sacred
history, repeats, in a continued relation, al
most all the leading circumstances which are
recorded by Moses, and by the inspired
Penmen, confirming his account from time
to time, by a reference to other writers;
most of the great events of the Jewish his
tory are thus supported, and with regard to
particulars recorded in the New Testament
the witnesses are still more numerous.
* Hist. lib. v. §. 3.
t Joseph. Antiq. lib. viii. c. 13. p. 378.

1?9

CHAP. XVII.
On Deities and fictitious Heroes in Heathen
Fable, who seem to represent real Charac
ters and Persons mentioned in Sacred
History.
In the biography of the East, we discover
every where the lineaments of men, who are
mentioned in Scripture as. the inventors of
useful arts ; and the Pagan mythology
shadows out the personages of Sacred Writ,
pourtrayed with such consistency as might be
expected, where both drew from originals
without copying from each other, and where
changes were frequently produced, in repre
sentations which rested for many ages only
on tradiiion.
When heroes and benefactors conferred
obligations on society, they naturally became
objects of veneration, and their fame ex
tended with the dispersion of mankind.
Noah is celebrated in the history of many
countries, sometimes under the name of
Janus, Saturn, and Prometheus*.
• Bryant's Mythology, vol. ii.
jr 2

180
The names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
were well known among Heathen nations*.
The Egyptians were accustomed to invoke
the God of Abraham. Japhet is supposed to
have been celebrated as Neptune. Ammon -f
was esteemed the son of Ham.
These, having been once consecrated, con
tinued to be regarded as divine, not only in
the countries, in which their apotheosis took
place, but wherever colonies emigrated, or
superstition spread ; hence it is, that we find
the same deities worshipped in different
countries, under the same symbols with dif
ferent names.
Plato J, adopting a notion alluded to by
Hesiod, supposes the race of heroes to be
derived from the intermixture of Gods with
women ; others imagined that the giants were
a race expelled from heaven ; accounts which
appear to be grounded on the relation in
Genesis vi. 2. Some writers speak of the
giants as sons of the earth §.
* Origen cont. Cels. lib. i. c. 22. p. 339. Edit. Be
nedict. Grotius ad Matt. xii. 23.
•J- Grotius de Veritat. lib. i. c. 16. 62.
X Selden. de Diis Syris. Syntag. ii. cap. '8. p. 247. Gafe'4
Court of the Gentiles, vol. i. cap, 1 1. p. 72.
§ Pausanius Attic, c. xxxv. p. 87. Edit. Lips. p. 160.
comp. with Gen. v. 4. \

mi
Cicero, in speaking of the different opi
nions which prevailed among the philoso
phers, with respect to the origin of the
gods, observes, that Chrysippus represented
some to have been men who had obtained
immortality; he remarks upon the absur
dity of those representations, which had
resulted in great measure from the deifica
tion of mortals, and which had been described
with such extravagant and incongruous fic
tions by the Poets. Qui et is a. infiamtnatos,
et libidine furentes induxerunt deos : fece-
wintque, ut eorum beila, pugnas, prselia, vul-
nera videremus; odia praeterea, dissidia, dis*
cordias, ortus, interitus, querelas, lamenta-
tiones, effusas in omni intemperantia libidines,
adulteria, vincula, cum humano genere con-
cubitus, mortalesque ex immortali procreatos.
Cum poctarurn autem errore conjungere licet
portenta Magorum, Egyptiorumque in eo
dem genere dementiam : tum etiam vulgi
opiniones, qua? in maxima inconstantia, veri
tatis ignoratione, versantur*.
It would be useless to prosecute this sub
ject, as it has been so fully investigated by
Bryant and other writers.
* Cicero de Natura Deorum, lib. L sect. 16;

182

CHAP. XVIII.
On Events related by Tradition and prophane
Historians, which are evidently mutilated
Accounts of Events recorded in the Scripx
tures.

The earliest records of Pagan history, and
the most remote accounts obtained by tradi
tion, though they often alledge an extrava
gant antiquity, do not when carried up to the
regions of fable extend beyond the deluge,
though they sometimes exhibit a corrupt
statement of circumstances which occurred
previously to that event, and which are trans
ferred by them to later times.
Among the most remarkable events which
took place after the flood, were the attempt
to build Babel, the consequent confusion of
tongues, and the dispersion of the inhabitants
of the earth from the plains of Shinar.
Frequent allusions to each of these circum
stances, and disfigured reports of them are to
be found in various works.

183
The tales concerning Ochus and Ephi-
altes, who affected to dethrone the gods,
with many others of a similar description,
related or referred to by all writers from
Homer to Ovid, may be regarded as muti
lated accounts conveyed down by tradition,
with respect to the fall of the angels, and the
giants who lived in the earlier ages of the
world *. Bryant supposes the structure
raised by the giants to have been a typhon
or altar of stone.
The fiction in Homer of Xanthus (the
horse of Achilles) having spoken and pn>
fiessed to have seen Apollo, is possibly taken
from the circumstance mentioned of the ass
of Balaam.
Vossius supposes Moses to have been the
Bacchus of the Greeks, and many of the
actions of Joshua and of Samson were as
cribed to the Syrian Hercules -b, who is the
original of the Grecian Hercules.
The memory of events, which occurred in
ancient times, was frequently preserved in
monuments erected on the very spots on
which they happened, and these memorials
* Horn. Odyss. lib. i. 1, 306. Virg. JEneid. lib. vi. 1. 582.
Origen Cont. Cels. Crenii Fascicul. Dissert, vol i. c. 2.
f Vossius de Idolat. lib. i. b. 1. c. 26 and 88. p. 169. -

184
gave celebrity to the events, among those
who emigrated from, or visited the countries
ih which they were preserved.
The erection of the stone, on which Jacob
had rested, pouring oil upon it, and calling
the place Bethel *, was kept in remembrance
under the consecrated stones which the Phoe-r
rucians, from Bethel, called Ba<-ruA<«, and
from this event probably was derived the
Heathen custom of anointing stones, which
were consecrated and worshipped in the su>
perstition of antiquity, and upon which custom
the proverb was founded, *' worship every
shining stone -j-." The erection of stones as
memorials of victories was very common J.
The memory of Joseph is supposed to have
been preserved, in Egypt, under various cir
cumstances, and particularly the Apis is
thought to represent the kine which appeared
to him in bis dream.
Pausanius relates that at the Battle of
Marathon, the Athenians received assistance
from a man who appeared in a rustic form
"* Gen. xxxv. 14, 15. Euseb. pratp. lib. i. c. 10.
t Scaliger not. It. Gr. Bochart Can. lib. ii. c. 2. Selden
de D'is Syris. iratla. 7vi6o» Miraptt irpoaxvtu. Clem. Alex. Strom,
lib. vii.
X Pausan. Attic, c. xxxii. p. 80.

185
and attire, who after having slain many of
the Barbarians with a ploughshare, disap
peared *, which relation may be thought to
bear some resemblance to the account of
Shamgar in the book of Judges -f,
There are so many correspondent circum
stances between the events of sacred and
those of prophane history, that details of
comparison have been pushed to a very
fanciful and extravagant extent. He, says,
Wai burton, who does not discover that the
story of Baucis and Philemon is taken from
that of Lot, must be very blind J ; though he
that can discover the expedition of the Is
raelites, from Egypt to Palestine, in the fable
of the Argonauts, is certainly blessed with
second sight,
The story of Sylla's having cut off the
purple lock of Nisus, king of Megara, and
given it to Minos, and by that means de
stroyed him and his kingdom ; that also re
corded with relation to Cephissus §; and like
wise that of Hercules and Omphale were
probably taken from the history of Samson.
* Attic, c. xxxii. p. 79.
+ Ch.iii. v.21. Maundrel's Travels, p. 149.
X See Bochart, Hiero. p. 1. lib ii. c. 14. M. Banier ]et
Metamorphoses d'Ovid Explicat. de la Fable de Lot.
$ Pausan, Attic, xxxvii. p. 90.

186
The fable of Aristaeus receiving the bees
from a putrid ox, seems to have been derived
from the account of Samson's finding honey
in the lion.
Some consider the story of Niobe 's chiU
dren as borrowed from accounts with respect
to the destruction of the children of Job; and
the fable of Phaeton to have been grounded
on the miracle of the standing still of the
sun, spoken of in the book of Joshua.
The Stoics and Epicureans believed that
the world should be finally destroyed by fire,
and some countenance to this persuasion is
tp be derived ffrom passages in sacred writ,

187

CHAP. XIX.
pn Customs borrowed from the Jews,

Many Heathen legislators affected to
have been enlightened by Divine Revela
tions, as Zoroastres and Zamocles.
Lycurgus, who established his institutions
about 840 years before Christ, laid claim to
inspiration ; and Numa Pompilius, endea
vouring to give a mysterious solemnity to his
regulations, pretended to hold converse with
the goddess Egeria*
Th,e practices of consulting oracles, of
conjecturing by dreams, and other modes
of procuring divine knowledge, together
with a respect for the distinction? of the priest
hood kept up in almost all countries, were
probably founded on imitation of Hebrew
observances. Rays of truth penetrated through the
thickest shades of Heathen darkness, and
tinctured the opinions of all nations upon

188
these subjects. They prevailed, not only
among the earlier people of the East,
but among the Greeks and Romans*, and
in some instances among the Cells and In
dians'!', the Gauls of Britain J, and even
among the different tribes of America §,
as may be collected from various circum
stances. The Heathen writers also borrowed images
from the accounts communicated in Scrips.
ture, and attributed to their deities distinc*
tions similar to those which are ascribed td
the Divine Majesty, when God manifested
himself to the world.
The Heathen deities are represented ||
to be veiled jn clouds as Jehovah ap
peared^.
* Oracul. Orph. Vers, in prolegom, Scalig. Emend.
Temp. + Those nations digested their accounts by weeks ; vide
Philo, lib. iii. c. 13. Dion. Cass. lib. xiii. et Hieron. lib. ii.
t The same may be observed of the Sclavonians; see
Hermolet. lib. xi. c. 84.
§ Joseph. Acpsta, Hist. lib. v. c. 27. lib. vi. sat. % and,
Antonio Hen-era de Orig. Amer, pref. lib. 104. c. 15. Leon.
Hist. Nat.
|| Horn. II. Lib. V. v. 185. Herat, lib. i. Ode 2. v. 31. Joseph.
Antiq. lib. v. Ovid. Metam. lib. ix. y. 271. Livius 1. 1. 16,.
Wolf, in Act. i. v. 9,
f Exod. xiii. 21. xl. 34. 1 Kings viii. 10.
4

189
Many of their religious institutions were
evidently derived from the Mosaic appoint
ments, as that of marriage and the ob
servance of stated days, particularly of the
Sabbath* among the Greeks and Romans,
and indeed among almost all nations.
The rite of circumcision, which was ap
pointed by God as a sign of distinctive co
venant witb Abraham, and designed to be
expressive of spiritual purity -f, was adopted
by other people. The Egyptians and Ethi
opians are supposed by some writers to have
derived the rite from Cronus, who is said to
have been circumcised ; and not from Abra1-
ham, who was not circumcised till after he
had left Egypt. The custom prevailed also
among the Odomanti, a people of Thracei.
The Scholiast upon Aristophanes informs us,
that they were reputed to be Jews.
There are other particulars in which the
•Heathens seem to have borrowed customs
from the Jews. Solon, agreeably to the
Jewish practice, decreed, that the time of
* Vide Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. ii. Philo de Die S^l.
Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. v. Selden de Jure Nat. et Gent.
lib. iii. c. 5. Euseb. lib. xii. c. 12. Theophil ad Autolic, lib. ii.
Lucian Paleolog.
t Gen. xvii. 12. Rom. u. 28, 29. Philip, iii. 3.

190
the sun setting on the mountains should he
the last hour. His law was copied by the
Decemviri. It should be observed, also, that the
Arabians and the Numidians, in Lybia,
computed time by nights or by lunar re
volutions, as did also the ancient Germans*.
Caesar relates the same story of the Gauls f,
and Ptolemy of the Druids +. The inhabi
tants of Bohemia and Poland still keep up
the custom, and the English retain the use
of the terms se'nnight and fortnight.
The laws of the twelve tables with respect
to the inheritance and adoption of children,
retribution in punishment of corporeal in
juries, and other points, seem to have been
framed upon principles sanctioned by Moses;
and traces of resemblance between the
Hebrew and Roman codes are still to he
discovered in the institutes of Justinian §.
The devotion of human victims on a re-

* Nicol. Damasc. Tacitus de Moribus German. Spiceleg.
Saxon, lib. i art. iii. 67.
t De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. § 18. Aulus Gellius, lib. iii. cap. 2.
t Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xvi. c. 95. Edit. Hard.
§ Comp. Is umb. xxvii. 8. with Just. Inst. lib. iii. tit. 1, 2.
Exod. xxi. 24, 25. comp. with Instit. lib. iv. tit. 4. See also
Exod. xxi. 35, 36. et Aulus Gellius, Noct. Attic. 1. xx. c. 1..

391
ligious principle, and the reverential regard
to oaths, (even to the extent of considering
them binding to the perpetration of actions
against the dictates of nature, and the wishes
of those who respected them) are illustrated
by Heathen relations, tending to confirm the
credibility of events recorded in Scripture,
which are not consistent with the established
opinions and ordinary conduct of men.
Thus, with respect to the former practice,
we might refer to the accounts concerning
Diomed, Codrus, Curtius, and the Decii ;
and with regard to the second, the surrender
-of Daniel by Darius to the malice of his
enemies, and the beheading of John the
Baptist, by Herod, in conformity with his
inconsiderate promise, may be compared
with what is recorded by Herodotus in the
history of Xerxes and Amestris *.
The appropriation of a tithe of the pro
duce of the land, of spoils, and of other
things, to rehgious purposes, is mentioned
by many Heathen writers-p. Lycurgus dis-
•Lib. ix. c 108-112.
f Herod, lib, vii c. 114. Dion. Hal. Pindar. Olymp. Ode ii,
Eurip. Rhes. Act iii. Pausan. in Phocis. Doughteei Analect.
Sacr. Excurs. Amst. 1684.

192
tributed the possession of the lands by lot,
and rendered them inalienable.
The feasts, in which servants were put
Upon a footing with their masters, were ap
parently borrowed from the Jews *, and
from the feast of tabernacles ¦f. The Eleu-*
synian mysteries also are thought to have
had a similar origin J.
We know the reverence which the Jews
paid to the state of the moon §. The pro
phets reprove them for their scrupulous
fancies upon this subject ||. The Lacede
monians, who were supposed to have had an
early connection with the Jewish nation ^[,
were influenced by similar impressions, as
appeared upon a memorable occasion, since
they were prevented from sending the as
sistance which they voted for the Athe
nians, (when the Persians were advancing'
with vast armies against them) on account
* Hospin. de Origin. Fest. Jud. Statius Antiq. Conviv.
p. 63.f Brand's Popular Antiq, c. 31. Macrob. Saturnal. c. 16.
X Macrob. 1. i. c 16.
£ 1 Sam. xx. 5. 2 Kings iv. 23. Prov. vii. 20. Isai. lxvi.
23. || Isaiah i. 14.
H 1 Mac. xii. 21.

193
of a superstition, which restrained them
from marching till after the new moon :
this delay deprived them of any share in
the honor of the battle of Marathon, as they
did not arrive till the day after it had taken
place *.
* Isocrates Panegyr. p. 113. See also Thucyd. Lib. vii.

VOL. t. O

194

CHAP. XX.

On the Testimonies of Ancient Writers, with
respect to the Soil and Climate of Judcea,
confirming tlie Sacred Descriptions of that
Country.

The early promises which were made to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with respect
to the multiplication of their seed, seem to
imply a proportionable fertility in the land
of Canaan, which it was foretold at the same
time should be given to them *.
The prophetic assurances also which de
scribed the land, spoke of it as abounding
with cattle and productions favourable to the
support of human life.
Jacob, in expressing his blessing to Issachar,
promises, that " the land should be pleasant ;"
and to Asher, that " his bread should be fat;"
of Judah he says, that " binding his fole unto
* Gen. xii. 7. xiii. 14, 15. xxvi. 4. xxvii. 28. xxxv.

195
** the vine, and his ass's colt unto the
" choice vine, he shall wash his garments in
" wine, and his clothes in the blood of
" grapes, that his eyes shall be red with
" wine, and his teeth white with milk ;" and
when God appeared to Moses, he declared
that *.' he would bring the Israelites into a
" good land and a large, into a land flowing
" with milk and honey * ;" figures, expres
sive of abundance and the luxuries of a
simple state.
The whole history of the Jews tends to
demonstrate the accomplishment of the pro
mises, with respect to the wonderful en
crease of this peculiar people. Notwith
standing the frequent wars in which the
nation was engaged, and the wasting dis
persions by which they were scattered, the
country continued to maintain prodigious
numbers in every age, excepting during the
captivity. The support of those numbers required
a very large produce, and Judaea appears
to have displayed a considerable fertility.
The Sacred Writers describe, in interest
ing pictures, the multitude of its cattle
* Gen. xlix. 12. xiv. 20. Cant. v. 12. Gen. xlix. 8. New
ton on the Prophecies, lib. i. 8. and Cant. iv. 11.
O 2

196
covering the hills, the luxuriance of its trees,
and the rich produce of its vineyards. The
grapes brought to Moses exhibited an early
proof of the fidelity of the prophetic de
scription ; and the vast multitudes which are
enumerated on various occasions confirmed
the assurance. The people, not being ad
dicted to commerce, cultivated the soil with
regular industry, and with that attachment,
which resulted from the nature of a tenure,
which could not be alienated permanently, as
the land reverted to its original proprietor
every fifty years.
That the divine blessing encreased the
exuberance of the soil may reasonably be
supposed, as indeed was especially promised ;
and a miraculous plenty must have been
imparted every sixth year, or the land could
riot have remained uncultivated on the
Sabbatical year, as we learn that it did,
even from Heathen writers, who mention
also many particulars which tend to confirm
the report which has been given.
Notwithstanding these testimonies, how
ever, Mons. de Voltaire, in order to indulge
a sarcastic vein against the historical ac
counts of the Old Testament, gives vent to
some remarks upon the subject, which are

197
not founded on accurate information, and
which do not authorise any supposition of
exaggeration in the sacred accounts.
This writer, in his account of the Cru
sades, represents Judsea to have been, as he
describes it to be " at present, one of the
worst of all the inhabited countries of Asia,
being almost entirely covered with parched
rocks, with one layer of soil, and such as,
if cultivated, might be compared to Switzer
land." It is to be observed, however, that this
unfair writer has totally overlooked many
circumstances which explain and confirm
the accounts of the Sacred Historians ; and
it would tend but little to justify his re
marks, even if he could prove that the soil
of Judaea is now barren ; since it would not
be unwarrantable to contend, that the Di
vine favour might have conferred extraor
dinary fertility upon it in former times, and
the Divine curse have afterwards condemned
it to sterility ; but, in truth, there is no
proof that it is now barren ; on the con
trary, travellers most entitled to credit, re
present it as more fruitful than the best
part of the coast of Syria or Phoenicia,

l£)8
the soil being richer and more productive * ;
while there is sufficient evidence that it was
formerly very productive and capable of sus^
taining its vast population.
The great number of inhabitants which
this country is represented to have supported,
was not more than the exertion of the nation
and their wars might seem to have required ;
and, indeed, the accounts upon this subject
are confirmed by Heathen testimonies and by
Josephus. Tacitus describes the climate as dry, and
the soil as fruitful, exuberant in its produce,
like that of Italy, and bearing the palm and
the balsam -f*, the former of great size and
beauty. This account is attested by Pliny

* See Shaw's Travels and Observations, p. 365. Edit.
Oxford. See also P. de Valle, Lett. iii. and 1 Kings v. 11.
2 Chron. xiv. 8. — Dr. Shaw gives the following extract from
P. de Valle, as confirming his accounts of the fertility of
the Holy Land. " II paese per donde camminavamo era
" bellissima. Tutti collini, valli e monticelli fruttiferi.
" Le convalle de Mambre e a punto comme tutti gli. altri
" paesi dintorno, che quantunque montuosi e sasgosi sono
" pero fertilissimi," Let. xiii. " Le montagne e valli bien
" che siano alpestri sono nondimeno tutte frutissere per la
" dilengenzadegliagricoltori." Id. Lett. iii.
t Hist. lib. v. § 6. Justin, lib. xxxvi. c. 3.

199
and Galen*. Josephus represents the soil
to be rich and fruitful, and he quotes writers
and historians "j- , as confirming his report ;
he particularly describes the district Gene-
sareth, as admirable for its fertility and
beauty, for a soil which did not refuse to re
ceive any kind of fruit, producing nuts,
which required a wintry climate, and palms
which are nourished by heat; and at the
same time figs and olives, which flourish test
in the temperature of a soft air, so that
nature seemed ambitious of collecting pro
ductions of the most opposite character, antj
of establishing an amicable contention, in
which each season seemed to claim possession
of the place as its own. He adds, that the
climate not only produced different fruits,
but preserved them for a long time ; that
grapes and figs were supplied for ten months
without interruption, and other fruits during
the whole year. Strabo describes part of tbe
country as rocky, but commends that about
Jordan or Jericho. Josephus observes, that
the Jews were desirous of increasing their
numbers, from which, it may be presumed,
* Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xii. e. 25. lib. xni. c. 4. lib.
xiv. c. 20.
t De Bell. Jud. lib. ii.

soo
that the land was capable at least of sup
porting its inhabitants. Whatever sterility
and want of population may be complained
of at present, should be attributed in great
measure to the influence of political changes,
to the vexatious tyranny and bad policy of
the government, and to the consequent ne
glect of the inhabitants, and their want of
industry and numbers to work the soil, as
well as to the harassing incursions to which
they are exposed from the Arabs *.
It is to be observed also, that in the time
in which the great population prevailed in
Judsea, it was sustained under favourable
circumstances resulting from the simplicity
of manners, and the frugal habits of the
people. The land was not covered by those
masses of buildings, and those extensive
gardens, woods, and parks, which occupy in
modern times such large spaces of productive
ground in other countries — All was open to
cultivation or to pasture.
As the people also were interdicted from
commerce, and few devoted themselves to
the arts of refinement or to science, no

* See Lettresde Quelques, Juifs. a Mons. de Voltaire,
vol. i. and Shaw.

201
class was exempted, nor was any part un
cultivated. If the country was mountainous, it is to be
considered that the extension of the surface
thence resulting, and containing according
to Hecataeus three millions of acres afforded
great range for cattle in climates of the
latitude of Judeea ; it is the mountain which
affords short and rich pasture, in which the
flocks particularly delight, and by which
their flesh and milk are improved, hence it
was that Hebron was granted to Caleb as a
favour. It cannot reasonably be conceived that
writers, who addressed their countrymen,
and who professed to reveal the promises
of God, and to relate their accomplishment,
could describe that as fertile, which in fact
was barren, or speak of a population which
did not exist; and there are still sufficient
proofs of the fruitfulness of the land to jus
tify this persuasion.
Nothing can be more unphilosophical
than to rest on the vague and hasty reports
of some travellers, who have visited this
country in later times, and to set them up,
even when contradicted by others more in-

202
telligent * in the present day, in opposition
to the description of those, who were con
temporaries and witnesses of the particulars
which they relate, and who, if they had
stated falsehoods, could not have excited the
respect which they received.
* As Shaw, Maundrell, &c.

203

CHAP. XXL
On the Heathen Testimonies which verify
the Accomplishment of the Jewish Prophe*
cies.

The accounts in profane history, which
bear record to the completion of the Jewish
prophecies, are so numerous that they will
scarcely admit of any summary statement.
A concise sketch of the subject in its out
line, and more remarkable illustrations, is all
that can be here attempted, and a reference
to more enlarged and detailed expositions
will be made in the notes, in order that those,
who wish to pursue enquiries, may be fur
nished with some lines of direction.
The accomplishment of the prophecies,
which related to the descendants of the Patri
archs, and especially to the tribe of Judah, as
likewise of those, which respected the different
nations rendered instrumental to the punish
ment pf the Jews, or become the objects of
Divine displeasure for their conduct towards

204.
them, may be exemplified in some striking
instances. Thus the character and fate of the de
scendants of Noah ; the enlargement of
Japhet ; the ascendancy of the posterity of
Shem ; the servitude of Canaan ; the multi
plication of the seed of Abraham in Isaac;
and the preservation of the line of Ishmael in
the Arabs distinctly characterized, are con
firmed by every part of ancient and modern
history *.
The prophecies relating to the destruction
of Nineveh -f-, Babylon:]:, and Tyre§; the
base and permanent degradation of Egypt || ;
and the victories of Cyrus, foretold by name
two centuries before his appearance, in a
manner which does not occur in any other
instance, are eminently entitled to attention.
The whole passage from Isaiab, relative to
* See Newton's Dissert, on the Prophecies, vol. i. a. 2; for
Heathen testimonies.
f Comp. Nahum and Zephaniah with Herodotus, Diodorus
Siculus, and Lucian.
X Comp. Jeremiah and Isaiah with Herodotus, Xenophon,
and Arrian.
§ Comp. Ezekiel with Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. i. §.21.
Antiq. lib. x. c. 7, and Quintus Curtius, lib. iv. c. 4.
|| Ezekiel xxix. 14, 15. 18, 19. comp. with Joseph, lib. x.
c. 6. 9. Euseb. praep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 40. Herod. Diod. Sicul.
Plin. Maxim. Tyrius. Polyaen. Stratag. 1. 7. c. 9. Justin.

205
this conqueror, is so remarkable, and spe
cifies particulars so exactly fulfilled, that no-
part of it should be omitted.
For thus said the Lord, of Cyrus, " He
" is my Shepherd, and shall perform all my
" pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, thou
" shalt be built; and to the temple, thy
" foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the
" Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
" right hand I have holden, to subdue na-
" tions before him ; and I will loose the loins
" of kings, to open before him the two-
" leaved gates; and the gates shall not be
" shut: I will go before thee, and make the
" crooked places straight. I will break in
" pieces the gates of brass ; and cut in suri-
" der the bars of iron : and I will give thee
" the treasures of darkness, and hidden
** riches of secret places *, that thou mayest
¦" know that I, the Lord, which call thee by
" thy name, am the God of Israel. For
" Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine
¦" electa I have even called thee by thy
" name; I have surnamed thee, though thou
" hast not known me. I am the Lord, and
*' there is none else, there is no God beside
* See Plin, lib. xxxiii. c. 15. Edit. Harduin.

206
" me : I girded thee, though thou hast not
" known me ; that they may know from the
" rising of the Sun, and from the West, that
" there is none besides me. I am the Lord,
" and there is none else*."
If, after reading this prophecy, we Consider
the character and history of Cyrus, as de
scribed by Xenophon, who, in the very lan
guage of Isaiah, styles him God's Shepherd,
together with the accounts of his victories
and of the capture of Babylon, we cannot
but be struck with the conviction, that the
great and distinguished qualities* by which
he was rendered, what Isaiah pourtrays him
to be, " a man more precious than fine gold,
" than the golden wedge of Ophir -f," were
bestowed upon him by an especial appoint
ment of Providence, to render him capable
of " punishing the world for their evil, and
" the wicked for their iniquity, and to cause
" the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and
" lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
Cyrus seems to have considered himself
as destined by the Fates to empire J, he
gave out as the signal for battle, " Jupiter
* Isaiah xliv. 28. xiv. 1 — 6.
f Ibid. xiii. 11, 12.
X Herod. Clio. I. 204. 209, 210.
6

207
'* the succourer ;" and his soldiers, who fol
lowed him, were inspired with a kind of re
ligious ardour. Josephus relates, that he
proclaimed throughout Asia, that the God,
whom the Hebrews worshipped, had foretold
his name by the prophets, and that he should
build him an house at Jerusalem, and that
this was made known to him by Isaiah's
writings, composed 140 years before the
temple was destroyed. He adds, that Cyrus,
on reading the prophecy, -was seized with an
ardent desire to fulfil it, and permitted the
Jews to return and to rebuild Jerusalem and
the temple» promising them assistance and
contribution from the neighbouring rulers
and governors, as was accordingly imparted.
He goes on to say, that Cyrus restored the
sacred vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had
taken away : and that he sent an epistle to
the governor of Syria, informing him that
the expense of rebuilding the temple was to
be defrayed out of the royal revenues, and
enumerating the sacred vessels which were
to be restored *. Cyrus might have de
rived from the Jews the conviction relating
to the immortality of the soul which he ex
pressed at his death.
* Antiq. b. xi. c. 1. and Theodoret.

208

CHAP. XXII.
On the Heathen Morality.

They who look to the Heathen morality
as it is occasionally displayed in the works of
Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, and Cicero, and
in later times in the writings of Seneca,
Epictetus, and Plutarch, will be often in
clined to regard it as entitled to considerable
respect. It is in many instances refined by
the most successful efforts of reason, and
matured by the deductions of long observa
tion and experience. In some places we
seem to trace the finger of God inscribing
moral impressions on the heart; and at
others, we behold the highest discoveries of
philosophy pushed so far, as to exhibit a kind
of anticipation of that knowledge, which was
afterwards revealed, or some acquaintance with
the Divine precepts imparted in the Gospel.
Some instructions of eternal wisdom, spread
abroad on the scattered leaves of revelation,

209
or handed clown by tradition, demonstrate
that God " at no time left himself without a
" witness," or withheld entirely that light,
which might direct the conscience. Inter
mixed, however, with the just principles
which at all times had established their au
thority, there were every where to be dis
covered the defects of imperfect knowledge.
Erroneous opinions, and fallacious maxims,
mingled their deceptions with the dictates of
truth ; while motives of false glory, and ob
jects of pernicious tendency, were allowed to
excite the evil passions, and mislead the be
wildered imaginations of men.
As the traces of the Patriarchal Faith dis
appeared, the various superstitions of anti
quity prevailed, and they generated false and
pernicious systems of ethics in proportion
as men receded from the standard of prime
val simplicity. A depravity of moral prin
ciple was to be traced in connection with the
prevalency of erroneous notions, as to the
nature of the deities who were worshipped.
The withdrawing of the mind from a con
templation of the attributes of God to a con
sideration of the qualities of those objects of
worship, which were substituted in bis place
— the worshipping of the creature rather than
VOL. I. P

210
the Creator, led to every kind of misappre
hension and error. The veneration entertained
by the Assyrians and Persians for the ele
ments of the visible world ; the gross super
stition of the Egyptians for objects in the
animal and material systems ; and the idola
trous regard paid by the Greeks and Romans
to deified mortals, could not be expected to
produce any codes of morality of a pure and
unexceptionable character.
A knowledge of the relation which sub
sisted between God and his creatures, and a
sense of a peculiar sanctity conferred on the
Jews by the divine favour, produced a convic
tion of strong obligations to holiness, among
that people, whilst their minds were enlight
ened by the purity of their faith : but upon a
general and collective view of the Pagan
discoveries, and upon a consideration of what
might be composed from a combination of
the most perfect and improved theories of
unenlightened nations, we shall find that
there is nothing, which can be framed from
the united splendor of the Heathen systems,
that can exhibit even a faint shadow of ex
cellency, when compared with the Gospel.
Without judging it necessary to enter into
any particular detail upon this copious sub
ject, it may be observed, that the deficiency

211
of the Heathen codes is shewn, as well by
the inferiority of the motives, as by the de
fect of the principles.
It is sufficiently evident, that wherever the
foundation is unsound, the structure must
fail ; and that the Heathen morality rested
on a false basis, will appear, if we reflect that
it was framed without sufficient knowledge
of the attributes and will of God, and with
out any just apprehension of the fallen na
ture of man.
It is true that many Heathen writers pro
posed the attainment of the divine favour a*
a principle of virtue; this however is ever
blended with an undue deference to motives
of earthly consideration, and the favour which
is looked to is not that of a being whose per
fections are defined, so as to become the
objects of well regulated piety or humble
imitation. The Almighty is not viewed in that light
in which he is disclosed to us ; and such ser
vice was not enjoined as is consistent with
the condition of a being, guilty of trausgres-
sion, and eyery way accessible to temptation
and sin. The motives, which revelation
tends to excite, are all of the purest and most
excellent kind, directly conspiring to the
f %

212
production of holy principles and upright
conduct, without constraint, without re
ference to human observation * : they aim at
effecting the renewal of a fallen nature, the
re-establishment of that similitude to God in
which we were first created.
One of the characteristic proofs indeed of
the divine origin and benevolent designs of
the religion, revealed to us by God, is, that it
inculcates internal purity with as much force
as external actions, evidently demonstrating,
that it is not the object of the Sacred
Writers to engage merely nominal professors
of their faith, but lo produce a sincerity of
attachment, of which God only can judge.
It is not indeed to be denied, that the
Heathens sometimes inculcated the necessity
of inward purity of intention ; and we know
that Herodotus, the earliest of the Greek.
historians, relates a remarkable story of
Glaucus, who, being regarded as a man of
great integrity, upon an occasion of a con
siderable sum of money being deposited in
his hands, and an opportunity occurring of
his detaining it from the owners, if he
would forswear himself, consulted the oracle
* 2 Chron. xxv. 1, 2. Psal. li. 6. Isai. Iviii. 3— 8. Prov.
v. 21. Matt. vi. 18. Rom. ii. 29.

213
at Delphi as to what conduct he should ob
serve : upon which he received for answer to
this effect ; "that it might appear advanta-
" geous for a short time thus to succeed by
" a false oath, and to take unjust possession
" of the wealth, and that therefore he might
" swear, since death awaited even the
" faithful man, but that an invisible power
" should arise from perjury, swift and re-
" sistless to seize, which should destroy the
" house and ihe whole race, while the genc-
" ration of the just man should best succeed
" in the end *."
The historian adds tbat Glaucus entreated
the gods to forgive him what he had ex
pressed ; but he was informed, that lo tempt
God, and to commit the action, were all
one ; and, though he sent for the Milesian
guests, whose money he had detained, and
delivered it to them, yet the historian adds,
that in his time there remained no progeny
of the house of Glaucus, but it was entirely
rooted out in Sparta. M Compare the words
*' of the oracle," says a learned writer, who
comments upon this relation, " with those of
" Zechariah, in which he says, " I looked
" and behold a flying roll, — then he said
* Herod, lib. vi. c, 86.

214
" unto me, this is the curse that goeth forth
" over the face of the whole earth," — and
" it shall enter into the house of the thief,
" and into the house of him that sweareth
" falsely by my name, and it shall remain
" in the midst of his house, and shall con-
" sume it with the timber thereof, and the
" stones thereof*."
Juvenal (who refers to the story) and Per
sius have expressed sentiments very similar
to those which are introduced in the relation
of Herodotus.
It is pleasing to see the former writer,
who was a stern moralist, and who, amidst
his coarse and indignant strictures against
vice, delivers the most animated lessons of
virtue, lay down principles, which might
seem to be derived from the stores of re-.
vealed wisdom.
" Whoever," says he, " conceives any
" wickedness within himself, has the same
" guilt as if he had committed it-j~." Ovid
had before delivered a sentiment not dissimi
lar, that " he who does not commit an action
" merely because it is not lawful, does in

* See Lardner. Zech. v. 3, 4,
t Sat. xiii. 1. 209, 210.

215
" fact commit it ;" that is, manifests a dis
position equally culpable; again, "though
*' we should keep the body, yet, if the mind
" is adulterous, adultery will be committed
" in private." Seneca also observes, that " he
" is incestuous, even without incest, who de-
" sires to commit the crime ;" and in another
place, that " he is not undeservedly placed
*' in the number of offenders, who is modest
ft only from regard to reputation, and not
" from respect to himself." Persius finely
represents a well ordered love of justice, and
piety in the hallowed recesses of the heart,
and a mind imbued with a generous rectitude,
as more acceptable to the gods than the
greatest offerings of wealth *. It is to be
remembered, however, that some of these
passages were written after the diffusion of
Christian knowledge.
The sentiments are the more remarkable,
as we find even Josephus intimating his opi
nion, that bad designs were not objects of
divine displeasure till carried into execution :
thus, the historian, speaking of Antiochus
Epiphanes, observes, that " he confessed at
" his death that he. died for the injuries
* Sat. ii. lib. 73-75.

216
" which he had committed against the
" Jews;" and Josephus adds, that "he
" wonders how an Heathen writer, (Poly-
" bius) who had treated of him, could say
" that he perished because he had purposed
" to plunder the temple of Diana, in Persia;"
for, says Josephus, " lo intend a thing and
¦' not to perform it, is not worthy of punish-
" ment;" a notion so erroneous, that it could
proceed only from that judicial blindness,
which characterized the Jews about the time
that they rejected Christ, when tbey forgot
the instructions of Solomon, who commanded
them to " keep the heart with all diligence,
" for out of it were the issues of life;" and
the declarations of their prophets, that
ft God was of purer eyes than to behold
" evil*, and weighed the thoughts;" and
when therefore, as Isaiah had foretold, "a
" marvellous thing was effected and a won-
" der, for the wisdom of their wise men had
" perished, and the understanding of their
" prudent men was hid."
The national spirit, which was cherished
by the different states of Pagan antiquity,
* Habak. i. 13.

217
was every where of an exceptionable charac
ter. The eastern sovereigns aimed, with un
bounded ambition, at the establishment and
extension of despotic power; ruling, except
ing in a few instances, with capricious tyr
ranny and licentious indulgence, while their
prostrate subjects were degraded and tram
pled down like the mire in the streets, and
rendered base, superstitious, and vile in man
ners and conduct.
The Grecian states cherished a love of
freedom, and a generous ardour for noble
actions ; but they manifested rarely a respect
for justice in their contests with other na-<-
tions, and little regard to the rights of hu*
manity ; while, in the internal regulations of
their governments, they seldom adhered to
the principles of moderation and equity.
Their distinguished men excited jealousy and
commotions by ambition ; and the general
classes of the community exhibited a spirit of
base ingratitude towards their benefactors, an
ungenerous suspicion of their most virtuous
rujers, and an hatred of all, who were raised
to distinction by pre-eminent qualities.
They calumniated those, who were most
entitled to praise, and banished men, whose

218
talents did honour to the periods in which
they lived, and who have transmitted the
fame of their several countries to distant
times, persecuting to expulsion and death
those, whose justice and wisdom have excited
the admiration of all succeeding ages.
The Romans professed to oppose tyranny,
and to spare those subjected to their power;
but their object was universal dominion.
They displayed the virtues of a stern and
military people in rising to eminence, and
particularly a noble patriotism and devotion
to the public interest ; but their lusts en
gendered unceasing wars, and their internal
state was disturbed and agitated with con
tests for an agrarian equality which never
could exist, and with tumults of factious
men clamouring for freedom, while they pro
moted sedition, and aimed at exorbitant
power. Dissention and civil wars at length
subjected thtm to imperial authority, which
s©on degenerated into the despotism of men,
raised by military caprice to a short-lived
and precarious power, or brought forward
by the chance of revolutions: while the
empire was shaken by internal enemies, or
sunk in iis decline into feebleness and
decay.

219
It is the spirit of Christianity alone which
moderating the views of sovereigns and
states, and directing the measures of go
vernment to the legitimate objects of its
institution — the promotion of the welfare of
society, and the preservation of its moral
interests, leads to an equitable consideration
of the rights and independence of other na
tions, and to an unremitted regard to the
well being of the community over which it
presides. It is this spirit of just and rea
sonable policy, which inspire rulers with a
desire of fulfilling the intentions of God,
'* who appointed them as a terror to evil
(( doers, and for the praise of them that do
** well," teaching them to promote, upon
general and permanent principles, the in
terests of every class of society, and fo
ground the confidence of power on the ob
servance of the just claims of every depart-?
ment. But not only was the spirit of public po
licy, which prevailed in the councils of
Pagan nations, often directly in opposition
to the maxims of justice and the lavvs of
morality, but even legislators violated the
plainest dictates of nature, and neglected,
in the particular designs which they enter-

. no
tertained, the manifest distinctions between
ri^ht and wron<j\ Infidelity and customs
destructive of all modesty were counteijanced
by Plato*.
The exposure of infants -j-, and the putting
to death of children who were weak or im
perfect in their form, was allowed by Lycuri
gus and by others J.
Theft was permitted in Egypt § and
Sparta ||.
The laws of nations were not established
upon any foundation commensurate with the
importance of their objects; they were ill de
fined and little respected. War, particularly
in its earliest periods, was little better than
pillage and piracy ^j". A respect for heralds
and ambassadors **, and for the claims of
the vanquished, was often violated.
The systems of philosophy also, framed
under imperfect apprehensions of the attri-
* Euseb. praep. Evang. Plato.
+ Children were placed on the floor to see whether their
fathers would take them up ; hence " puerum sustulit" is
applied to education. See Adams's Rom. Antiq.
% Tertul. c. 9. Terent. Hecyra.
§ Diodor. Sicul. lib.i. Grot. lib. ii. c. 1 — 3,
|| Plutarch. Lycurg.
IT Homer, and Thucydides, lib. i, Scholiast and Jutin,
Jib. iv. c. 3.
** Herod, lib. vii. c. 133.

221
butes of God, and of the real nature and
condition of man, exhibited every where
their defects, and illustrated every variety of
error*. But while instruction was thus erroneous
and defective, it would be unfair to examine
the codes of Heathen morality without re
ference to the unenlightened state in which
men lived ; and it would be equally incon
sistent with justice to decide upon the charac
ter of these codes, by detached passages and
occasional sentences, without regard to the
scope and object of their statements: we
find Cicero sometimes considering revenge as
a virtue -j- ; and at other times declaring that
nothing was more laudable than a placable
disposition and clemency.
A fundamental defect, however, necessarily
existed, in the ground upon which every
theory was raised from mistaken notions of
the unimpaired dignity of man; from a
want of just convictions on the subject of
human nature, vitiated as it is in its propen
sities, and subject to temptations from ati
Cvii and apostate spirit.
01 i
* See the learned work of Dr. Ireland, Paganism and
Christianity compared.
f Cicer. de Invent. 2. ad Anton, et Grot.

222
Hence, instead of lowliness, which is itself
a virtue of the most excellent character, and
productive of every thing that is great and
good, men were taught to cherish a proud
elation of mind, aiming at distinction, con
fiding in its own vigour, and presuming on
its own independent support. Hence also,
instead of a passive and enduring fortitude,
they encouraged a daring spirit of military
glory, which, though connected with pa
triotism, and softened by a remembrance of
the offices of friendship and the intercourse
of hospitality, yet generated a great severity,
and often cruel and vindictive excesses ; ex
cited a love of enterprize which disregarded
the appeal of justice and humanity ; and
stimulated feelings which led men to be
come ostentatious and inflated ; to give vent
to a contemptuous asperity against others,
and to express their sentiments of defiance
and indignation even against the gods.
The martial spirit excited bv an admira
tion of the heroes who destroyed the mon
sters which ravaged the earth, and opposed
the tyrants who oppressed mankind, fostered
by every institution, inspired by eloquence,
and in Greece inflamed by poetry, prompted
men to enterprises in which the boundaries

223
of justice were transgressed ; and produced
an overbearing temper, which carried its
effects into every private scene ; while the
existing superstition infused but little of
mildness or benevolence to direct the sensi
bilities, and soften the manners of social and
domestic life.
Where the general sentiment was thus
prejudicial, it was not to be expected that
the conduct of individuals should be regu
lated by moderation and forbearance.
Self-confidence, the prolific source of evil,
seemed every where to prevail, utterly de
void of that caution which results from a con
scious sense of unworthiness, and of the evil
bias of a fallen nature, and directly opposite to
that humility, which while it leads the Chris
tian to regard his best exertions as insuffi
cient, yet stimulates to every effort which
may produce a conformity to the will of God.
In the earlier times, among the Greeks
and Romans, much temperance and modesty-
were to be found, particularly in the female
character, but these virtues were gradually
impaired under the influence of luxury and
corruption *.
* Corrumpere et corrumpi seculum vocatur. Sallust
Catalin.

224
It may be observed also, that the sports
and public games, which at all times were
passionately admired, tended to keep up a
harsh and inexorable sternness, little favour
able to the virtues of domestic life. The
combats of gladiators, and the savage spec
tacles exhibited of animals tearing or de
stroying each other, were amongst the amuse
ments of ages highly civilized ; at which
females of the greatest refinement, the
diffident virgin, and the dignified matron,
did not scruple to appear, and even to give
the signal for the death of those who bled
for their diversion.
These sights, while they were calculated to
deaden all the sensibilities of the human
mind, and to destroy the delicacy of the
female character, tended to render the sex
callous and depraved, and we are not sur
prised at the effrontery and corruption which
the Roman satirist attributes to the nobis
women of his time *.
Notwithstanding, however, these descrip
tions, much of humanity and benevolence
was occasionally displayed in the scenes of
public and private life, among the Greeks
* Juvenal, sat. vi. 1. 397 — 440. et passim.
4

225
and Romans; and the writings of Plato, So
crates, Cicero, and others, abound with
noble sentiments of philanthropy, and with
passages expressive of great benevolence.
Terence, in his interesting character of
Chremes, makes him declare, that as a man,
he deemed nothing relating to human na
ture foreign to himself*: and Juvenal, in a
similar spirit, enquires, what good man ever
regarded any evil as unconnected with his
own case ; and he remarks, that this com
passionate temper distinguishes man from
the brute creation, and characterizes minds
capable of divine things -j-. Notwithstanding
also pride and revenge were too generally
fostered among the Heathens ; there are
not wanting examples of many who recom
mended and practised forgiveness of in-r
juries. Menander represents him to be the best of
men, who bas learnt to bear injuries better
than others J; and Ariston, the Spartan, to
one who said, " it is royal to do good to
" friends and to do evil to enemies," re
plied, " rather it is so, to do good to friends,
* Heauton, act 1. sc. 1.
+ Juv. sat. xv. 1. 142.
; Grotius, lib. iv. c. 12.
VOL. I. Q

226
" and to render those who are enemies,
" friends :" Dion also, the liberator of Si
cily, observed, that the true demonstration of
philosophy is to be placed in this, that every
one should be kind towards friends ; but if
any one is affected by injury, he should be
open to entreaty, and indulgent towards
those who have committed it. Juvenal con
siders revenue as the mark of a little
mind * ; and many other liberal sentiments
of benevolence and kindness might be pro
duced from other writers -f*.
They are to be found, however, most
abundantly in the works of those authors who
lived after the promulgation of tlie Gospel,
as in the writings of Seneca, Epictetus, and
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the last of whom
seems to have borrowed literally a precept
from the Gospel, when he directed us to do
to another what we would that he should do
to us.
The abandoned licentiousness of manners
which prevailed among the Heathens has al
ready been sufficiently stated. It was the
more deplorable, we have observed, inasmuch
as it was not only tolerated, but often saiic-
* Sat. xiii. 1. 190, 191. + Horace, &c.

227
tioned by the religion which was to direct tlie
conduct of men, and was encouraged by the
deities whom they were taught to revere.
Even the most eminent moralists tolerated
the greatest abominations *. Nevertheless,
there were many distinguished examples of
noble virtue, as well those which evinced a
controul over human passions, as those which
were calculated to illustrate the mild and be~
nevolent affections; they may be referred to, as
patterns for individual qualities, and as exhi
biting in striking colours the extent to which
courage, patriotism, and generosity might be
carried. As models of general excellence not
many Heathen examples have been produced ;
perhaps, however, those of Aristides, Socrates,
and Plato, among the Greeks, and of Cato
and Cicero among the Romans, may be men
tioned as conspicuous, at times much advanced
in the virtues of civilized life. Regarding
Socrates, as confessedly the most eminent
among illustrious Heathens, as he who is least
unworthy to be brought into comparison with
any sincere follower of Christianity, we soon
discover the inferiority even of the masters of
* Euseb. Praep. Evan. 1. xiii. c. 20.
q2

228
Heathen philosophy to the disciples pf
Christ. But farther, in the contemplation of the
Heathen characters there is certainly much to
admire, in the fearless intrepidity with which
men regarded danger, and in the unbroken
spirit in which they sustained adversity.
These marks of greatness, however, though
they had a noble air, were often fallacious,
as founded on a pretended apathy, which
cannot exist; or on a proud independence not
suited to the weakness of human nature, or
sufficiently aware of the necessity of Divine
aid. Fortitude not sustained by religious spirit
often failed, or rushed in despair, upon self-
destruction. In every point of view, it was
far inferior to the patient endurance which
the Christian has been taught to cultivate, in
confidence on the Supreme Being, and in re
signation to appointments which he believes
to be mercifully concerted in regard to the
future welfare and happiness of men.
The Heathens did not understand the
considerations upon which afflictions are dealt
out in a probationary state. St. Paul refer
ring, it should seem, to the wisdom of the

2^9
East, treats it as " science falsely so called * ;"
and speakingpartly of the Greek philosophy,
he considers it as " vain deceit founded on
" tradition -f\" Some" sects supposed all
things to be regulated by chance J; and few
had any just apprehensions of the desigh'of
Providence in subjecting man to circum
stances of punishment and trial. A senti
ment of Seneca, indeed, upon the subject is
interesting' and reasonable: as however it
was written after the promulgation of Chris
tianity it might be derived from the Scrip
tures, and possibly from the writings and
example of St. Paul, whom Seneca might
have seen at Rome when brought there in
bonds, after his appeal td Caesar, and as
Lardner supposes, when the Apostle was
called before Nero. " If," observes Se
neca, " there be a Providence, how comes it
" to pass, say some, that good men labour
" under affliction and adversity, and wicked
" men enjoy themselves in ease and plenty ?
" my answer is, that God deals with us as a
" good father does by his children, he tries
" us, he hardens us, he fits us for himself,
" he keeps a strict hand over those that he
* 1 Tim. vi, 20. + Coloss. ii. g. | Juv. sat. xiii. 1. 8S.

230
" loves *, and by the rest he does, as we do
" by our slaves, he lets them go on in li-
" cence and boldness -f-."
Epictetus, though a slave and lame, con
sidered himself as a favourite of Heaven, but
he also lived after the diffusion of the Gos
pel, and might have learnt from its precepts,
not to attach too much to external circum
stances. If these considerations had ope
rated in earlier times, suicide would not have
been deemed noble, and Cato would not
have inflicted death upon himself; an action
which Seneca mentions not only without
censure, but with apparent admiration. It
was upon these subjects particularly that the
Heathens wanted just information; and
melancholy illustrations of the necessity of
Divine instruction, to enable men to bear up
against the vicissitudes and afflictions of
human life, are presented in the frequentin-
stances of illustrious men who terminated
their ill-directed views and disappointed
hopes in self-destruction.
If however the Heathens very generally
failed from the delusion of a spirit alienated
from God, which led them to trust too much
f See Hebrews xii. 6, f Morals, c. viii.

231
to themselves, while it deceived their judg
ment, and counteracted all the efforts of rea
son; yet the exposure of human weakness,
and the failure of all the successive schemes
which were devised hymen to instruct and sup
port mankind, tended to produce very salutary
impressions, and furnished memorable proofs
of the insufficiency of natural religion. It
pleased God before the destruction of the
Heathen systems, to exhibit in the example
of Christ and his disciples the most striking
illustration of Christian fortitude, and the
most exalted patterns of virtue ; — to shew,
in the constancy of men persecuted only for
righteousness, and who were offered exemp
tion from torture if they would abjure the
faith which they professed, greater firmness
and resolution than the Heathen heroes in
the moments of the warmest ardour had dis
played amidst the applauses of those around
them.

252

CHAP. XXIV.
On the Opinions entertained^ zvith, respect to
Atonement for Sin, arid the Propriety of
Prayer and Sacrificef

There seems to be nothing in which the
traditions and opinions of the Heathens bear
stronger testimony to the doctrines of Scrip
ture, than the general conviction which pre
vailed of the necessity of an atonement for
sin, and of the intervention of a Divine Me
diator. The revelation imparted by Moses dis
closed the curse of God against our first pa
rents, and the entailed consequences on their
descendants ; it opened the promise of re
conciliation, it pointed to the Messiah, and
it instituted preparatory rites and services.
Much of the religious worship of Heathen
antiquity was founded on the conviction of
the necessity of some mediatorial atonement.
The belief indeed of an entailed guilt affect-

233
in^ the-descendants of wicked men, was very

•o.

commonly entertained among ancient na
tions*, particularly among the Grecians.
Prayer, which was a propitiatory, service,
early and universally established, had some
times a reference to this persuasion of trans
mitted guilt. It was offered up by all nations
with a view to deprecate wrath, as well for
entailed sins as for present offences, ^ and to
avert the punishment of them. It was some
times, however, disregarded in the wanton
ness of speculative opinion by philosophers of
eminence -j-.
The institution of sacrifice may be sup
posed to have taken its rise from a desire of,-
averting the effects of the fall. It is pro
bable that the skins with which God clothed
our first parents were obtained from beasts »
sacrificed, since flesh was not eaten, it should
seem, till after the flood £. The appoint
ment, at least, appears to have been respected
in the religious offering of Abel, for while

* See in the account of Glaucus from Herodotus in the * \
preceding chapter, and Exod. xx. 5. Horace ,Car. lib. i.
Ode 28. 1. 30, 31. and lib.iii. od&S. 1. 1.
\ Alcibiad.
+ Gen. ii. 16. ix. 3, 4.

234
the defect in the service of Cain consisted
probably in its not including any acknow
ledgment of sin, inasmuch as it was merely a
tribute to God of " the fruits of the earth,"
that of Abel, which was of the " firstlings of
" the flock," seemed to offer " a more excellent
" sacrifice *," an oblation for sin, prefigura-
tive, possibly, " of the lamb slain from the
" foundation of the world," and including a
confession of guilt, being accompanied by
the effusion of blood, " without the shedding
" of which tbere was no remission."
If the original design of sacrifice was too
often forgotten among the Jews, the prophets
were instructed to remind them of it, and to
reprove them for bringing their unavailing
gifts without right impressions and just sen
timents -j' •.
These inspired men explained the spiritual
import of ritual ordinances, and pointed to
Christ as to the true Paschal Lamb, de-

* Magee, vol. i. p. 81. 1. 212. vol. ii. 3d edit, and Heb.
xi. 4.
f Stanhope's Sermons, xiii. and Boyle's Lectures, vol. i.
p. 79. 794._ Kennicot's Dissert, p. 224, as quoted by Ma
gee, disc, and dissert, vol. ii. p. 78. 1 Sam. xv. 22. Ephes.

235
daring that the " chastisement of our peace
" should be upon him, and that by his stripes
" we should be healed *."
Among the Heathens also, though in the
popular notion, men regarded beasts and he
catombs as having an intrinsic worth, and be
lieved that the incense ascended in acceptable
fragrance to the gods, so that we find Xerxes
and others offering up thousands of animals at
the same time ¦f ; yet a more philosophical
notion regarded them as expressive merely
of guilt and propitiatory in their nature "J.
Parkhurst, as Magee has observed, re
marks, that it is known to every one who is
acquainted with the mythology of the Hea
thens, how strongly and generally they re
tained the tradition of an atonement §, evi
dence of which may be adduced from Hesiod
and Homer ||. Plutarch states, that no city
was to be found in which there were not sa-

* Isaiah liii. 5, see also 1 Pet. ii. 24. 2 Cor. v. 21. Gal.
iii. 13. 1 Pet. ii. 10.
+ Herod, lib. i. c. 50.
I Dion. Halicar. lib. i. Plin. xxviii. 30, 31. Cicero, i.
Plutarch par Mon. Fonteu. Middleton's Life of Cicero, p.
304. Lactant de Vit. Beat. lib. vii. c. 8.
§ Efya xxi tjfijp, 1. 338, and Magee on the preval. of Hea
then Sacrif. p. 124. 128, and Horat. lib. i. Od. 2. 1. 29.
|| Iliad, lib. i. 1.65. lib. ii. 1,550.

236
crifices to procure good and avert evil, and
in the nature of the sacrifices, as well as in the
forms and circumstances observed by the
Heathens in their sacrifices, we often meet
with a resemblance between sacred and Hea
then rites *.
It appears also, that the Heathens, by
some traditionary knowledge, entertained a
conviction of the efficacy of the shedding of
blood, and believed that propitiatory sacri
fices, accompanied with sorrow and good re
solutions, might reasonably be tendered, and
would be accepted by the Supreme Being.
The fire which was kindled in this spirit on
the Heathen altars was stolen as it were from
heaven. Pausanius relates, that Phasstus di
rected the Sicyonians to pay divine honours to
Hercules as to a God, who was before wor
shipped only as a Hero. In consequence of
which they offered a lamb in the time of Pau
sanius, and burned the members upon the al
tar, eating a part and offering up the other -j-.
In referring to these dawnings of Divine
light which opened upon an Heathen world,
it is not meant that there existed any clear

* Acts vii. 42. Isaiah xxx. 29. Tertull. Apol. c. 9.
t Corinth, c. x. p. 133. Ed. Lips. 1696.

237
conviction of the fall and of its consequences
in a penal subjection of man to the effects of
sin; or that the notions which occasionally
prevailed with respect to the efficacy of sa
crifice, and the necessity of mediation, led
the Heathens to regard their offerings in a
just and figurative view, with relation to their
primary objects; but only that some tra
ditionary notions had descended, and some
vague apprehensions prevailed, which pre
pared the way for the reception of the great
doctrines of the Gospel. Little of just con
viction, indeed, appeared in the general
practice and superstitions which arose ; and
with regard to the dreadful abomination
which led men to attempt to propitiate the
gods by human sacrifices, it must have been
suggested by him who was the prompter to
all evil ; deriving no authority from the
command given to Abraham with respect to
Isaac, since this was intended only to try his
faith and obedience, and to lead to the dis
play of a prophetic representation ; being
withdrawn when the patriarch had been
proved by the test proposed.
The notion of a moral purification also to
be effected by water, whether derived from

238
a figurative application of its natural effects,
or from some notion of the religious import
ance attached to it by the Jews, prevailed
among the Heathens. This is the more re
markable if we consider the sanction which
some have thought to have been given to the
idea, bv the water which flowed with the
blood from the side of Christ when it was
pierced ; and by the appropriation of the
element of water to the sacramental rite of
baptism by Christ, to which St. John refers.
Some of the Heathens derided the credu
lity of those who attached an efficacy to the
aspersions and purgations which were used;
as might well be the case, when these rites
were employed as having an intrinsic value
without reference to the great purification
to be introduced by Christ;
Fond men that think by water's chrystal flood
To cleanse away the horrid guilt of blood *.
The perverted notions of men led them to
ground the most wicked and preposterous
customs, on the belief which they entertained
* Ah ! nimium faciles, qui tristia -funera ccedis,
Tolli fluminea, posse, putatis, aqua.

239
of the efficacy of blood *, and especially of
that of human victims. Early and sad effects
of such persuasion appear to have prevailed
among the idolatrous nations of Canaan, pre- \
viously to the settlement of the Israelites in
that country ; and traces of a similar persua
sion occasionally -f shewed themselves among
other nations. Diodorus represents the Car
thaginians to have offered up human sacri
fices ; and Pliny relates that vestiges of the
horrible custom were to be found in Italy,
as noticed in the twelve tables; and that
even so early as the year 637 a decree of the
senate was passed in the consulship of
Cornelius Lentulus and Publius Licinius
Crassus, forbidding the abomination which
till that time had been openly practised.
Diodorus afterwards mentions the same cus
tom as prevailing among the Druids J.
Adeo ista (says Pliny) toto mundo con-
sensere quanquam discordi et sibi ig-
noto|. The relations with respect to Cur
tius and the Decii are well known. Cicero,
speaking of the opinions that the gods were
to be propitiated by individuals devoting
* Magee on the Atonement, vol. i. p. 98, 99.
+ Numb. xiii. 32. Isaiah xxxvii. 5.
"X Bibliothec. lib. v. c. 31. vol. i. p. 354. Csesar de Bell.
Gall- lib. vi. § 16.
§ Nat. Hist lib. xxx. c. 1.

240
themselves to death, enquires remarkably
enough with respect to the deities who had
required the devotion of such men as the
Decii : Quae fuit eorum tanta iniquitas ut
placari populo Romano non possent nisi viri
tales occidissent * ?
It is to be observed however, beyond what
has been stated, that there is ground to pre
sume that the Heathens looked, under vague
and general convictions, to a mediator inter
ceding by personal offices.
This persuasion is to be found among the
earliest notions of the East.
The worship of the Sabaeans was directed
to the heavenly bodies, as to the supposed
tabernacles of intelligent beings, who acted
as mediators to conciliate the gods -f.
Horace also, after describing events which
indicated the displeasure of the gods, en
quires to whom shall Jupiter give the part of
expiating guilt, and he points to Apollo as
the intercessor J.
* De Nat. Deor. lib. iii. § 6. Edit. Olivet, et pro M. Fon-
teio, § 10.
t See Specimen, Hist. Arab. p. 138. Note ad Albuf. p.
257. Hottinger. Hist. Orient, lib. iv. c. 8. Hyde Hist. Vet.
Pers. X Lib. i. ode 2. See also Silius I tai. lib. iv. 1. 767. Justin.
lib. xviii. c. 6. Lucan, lib. i. 1. 443. iEneid, lib. xi. 1.
114—118, and Servius iEneid, lib. iv. 1. 50. Plutarch de
Vir. Illust, Macrob, 1. iii. c. 5.

241

CHAP. XXV.
On the general Expectation, which prevailed
among the Jews, and the Heathens, of the
coming of some great Personage with Di
vine Authority to reform Mankind, andto
, restore them to Virtue and Happiness.

The first promises imparted by God to
mankind, those indeed given to Adam and
the patriarchs, which were received and en*
larged by the prophets in their communica
tions to the Jews, excited the strongest per
suasion of the coming of the Messiah ; a
persuasion prevailing from the earliest times,
and stimulated to the most impatient eager
ness, when the period, foretold by Daniel,
approached. Many circumstances, which demonstrated
the strength of the Jewish hopes about the
time of our Saviour, are mentioned, or al-
uded to by the Evangelists; and Josephus
ecords many others. Herod destroyed the
VOL. I. R

242
registers of the Jewish families, that the
claims of the descendants of David might
not be precisely ascertained. He undertook
also the building of the temple, a work which
it was expected the Messiah would accom
plish, and betrayed the most jealous appre
hensions of designs against his throne *.
The Herodians carried their admiration of
Herod so far as to regard him as the Mes
siah, and in order to celebrate his birth-day
with suitable distinctions even at Rome, they
placed, probably under this conviction, burn
ing lamps crowned with violets in their win
dows -f.
That there was often a disposition amongst
the Jews to apply the prophecies relating to
the Messiah, to Jesus, appears from many pas*
sages in the Gospel. But the prejudices of
that people, notwithstanding they expected a
Messiah vvith divine attributes, were offended
by .such high pretensions, when brought for
ward by one in the lowly condition in which
Christ appeared ; and by the contrast, be
tween the power assumed of forgiving sins,
which implied an equality with God, and
the circumstances Of a state destitute even of
* Antiq. lib. xv. c. 10. lib. xvi. c. 7.
f Tertullian Haeret. and Persius Sat, v. 1. 180. et Anno't.

243
human distinctions ; and though they put
him to death for those blasphemies, as they
conceived them to be, they still cherished
the hopes which prophecy had excited, and
directed their expectations so eagerly to other
persons, as to be easily led away by suc
cessive impostors *.
Josephus, speaking of the affairs of Judea
under Felix, says, deceivers and impostors,
upon pretence of divine inspiration aiming
at innovation and changes, seduced the people
to their destruction, and drew them into
the wilderness, where they assured them
God w^ould shew them signs of liberty -f ;
in which passage there seems to be an allu
sion to what the Jews often sought, some
demonstration of divine power, as when they
said to Christ, " shew us a sign." Theudas,
and Judas of Galilee were among those that
deceived their countrymen. The people, being
frequently disappointed in their application of
the prophecies, were led to believe, as they
still continue to affirm, that the time of the
Messiah was put off on account of their sins.
After Pompey captured Jerusalem, about
forty-three years before the Christian era,
* Joseph, lib. xviii. c. 1. Acts v. 36, 37. ibid. xxi. 38.
t De Bell. Jud. lib.ii. c. 13, f 4. see also Antiq. lib. xx.
c. 7. § 6. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 5. § 1.
a 2

244
it was believed at Rome, that the Jews would
produce, or, as Suetonius informs us on the
authority of Julius Marathus, that nature
was about to bring forth a king ; and the
historian adds, that the senate passed a de
cree, that no child born that year should be
brought up, but that those who drew the
prophecy to themfelves defeated the decree *.
Josephus states, that what chiefly encou
raged the Jews to the war, which terminated
in the destruction of Jerusalem, was an am
biguous prophecy, which was found in their
sacred books, that at that time some one
within their country should obtain the empire
of the world -f ; for they had received by tra
dition, that this was spoken by one of their
Own nation, and many of the wise men, he
says, were deceived by the interpretation, for
that in truth Vespasian, who was created em
peror in Judea, was designated by the pro
phecy. Vespasian attributed his success to Provi
dence, and in consequence liberated Jose
phus, who had first flattered him with an
application of the prophecies, which were in
circulation, to his imperial person ; and in
* Suet. Octav. Caesar. August, c. 94.
t Joseph, de Bell. Jud. lib. vi. (7.) c. 5. $ 4.

245
order to confirm the opinion that the title pro
perly belonged to himself, when emperor, he
pretended to perform miracles, in imitation
it should seem, of those of Christ, as that of
restoring sight to the blind *.
The proofs, that a general expectation of
some great deliverer prevailed among the
Heathens about the time at which Christ
appeared, are very numerous. The expec
tation, whether originally drawn from a tra
ditionary knowledge of the earlier promises,
or from colloquial intercourse with the Jews,
was almost universal.
Information of what was foretold in the
inspired writings had diffused itself; and
there is reason to believe that the genuine
and original verses of the Sibyl imparted no
tices upon the subject, framed in conformity
to the predictions of Revelation, aud obtained
from the Jews, who were spread abroad into
Asia, Egypt, and the Greek islands "f*.
The expectation among the Heathens, built
upon these notices, and not limited by the
specific descriptions which had been expressed
by the prophets, had produced many wild
and undefined opinions : and the confidence,
* Sueton. Flav. Vespasian, c. 7.
t Grotius on Matth. ii. 1.

246
which they excited, augmented in a degree,
which seemed to correspond with the in-
creased hopes of the Jews.
The disgrace, which attached to celibacy
among the Heathens, and which is fre->
quently alluded to, originated, probably, in
the ardent desire which prevailed, from the
earliest ages, to give birth to the expected
Saviour *.
The superstitious persuasion also of a se
curity to states, to be derived from the self-
devoted death of individuals, which was so
often productive of heroic actions among the
Greeks and Romans, should seem to have
some bearing towards the conviction, pre
vailing among the Jews, that " it was expe-
*' dient that one man should die for the
*' people." Such a notion very generally pre
vailed, Thus, in addition to instauces before
referred to, it may be observed Pausanias re-»
lates, that when the Peloponnesians made
war upon the Athenians because Theseus
would not deliver tlie children of Hercules
Jo Eurystheus, an oracle admonished the
Athenians, i that they could not obtain the
victory Unless one of the children of Hercules
* Vide the Electra of Sophocles, and the Hecuba of Eu
ripides, and the Old Test, passim.

247
should devote himself to a voluntary death.
Jn consequence of which, Macaria, the
daughter of Hercules by Deianira, yielded
herself to death, and thereby enabled the
Athenians to become victorious, and the foun
tain Macaria was afterwards called by her
name in honour of her memory *.
Philo expressed his opinions upon the
subject of some expected deliverer, in a pas
sage which will hereafter be confidered.
Among the Romans the expectation was so
strong, a little before the coming of our Savi
our, with respect to a King, who was to com
mence his reign and bring salvation, that
Julius Caesar contrived a motion in the senate
that the title of king should be conferred
upon him, when he was engaged in an under
taking against the Parthians, because it was
alledged that it was written in the book of
fate, (by which was meant probably the
oracles of the Sibyl), that the Parthians
could not be subdued but by a king, and
that they must acknowledge him to be a
king, who was a king in reality, if they would
be safe -f.
* Pausan. Attic, c. xxxii. p. 80. Edit. Lip.
f Dion Cassius, lib, xliv. Suetonius Jul. c. 79. Cicero de
Divin. ii. c. 54, and Chandler's Defence, c. 1. See also Plu
tarch. Vit.

248
Cicero observes upon this occasion, that
the keepers of the books should have been led
to bring forth any thing from them rather
than a king, which neither gods nor man
would tolerate. It is worthy of remark, that
the attempt of Caesar to obtain this title af
forded a subject of accusation against him,
and ultimately became the cause of his assas
sination. Lentulus attempted to derive some sup
port from the same authority, applying to
himself the prophecies, which were in circu
lation with respect to a sovereign, who
should overcome every obstacle ; and other
ambitious men early caught at traditions
upon the subject, of which they availed them
selves for the promotion of political views*.
Atthe birth of Augustus, flattery directed
the expectations of men to him, as to the pre
dicted king; and a similar adulation con
tinued to apply the descriptions, which were
derived from tradition, from the Scriptures,
and from intercourse with the Jews, to his
offspring, and to many emperors long after
the birth of Christ -j-.
* Cicero in Catil. Orat. iii. § 4.
+ Suetonius Octav. August, cap. 94.

249
Tacitus and Suetonius mention prophecies,
which existed upon the subject, and which
they apply to Vespasian, in passages which
will be separately considered, in examination
of the testimonies in their respective works.
Providence seems to have permitted the ar
rogant and blasphemous assumption of the
character of the Messiah by vain and ambi
tious men, thereby to illustrate the general
persuasion which prevailed that such a person
would appear ; and the futility of every other
application of the prophecies, relating to him,
except to the person of Christ.
The belief in the advent of a great deli
verer, which men generally entertained, was
often connected with the expectation of a re
turn of the golden age, when Astraea was
again to descend on earth, and virtue and
peace were to flourish *.
The Sibyls in particular foretold the return
of Astraea, called Mithras by the Persians,
and Orus by the Egyptians.
* Seneca iEdip. act 2.

230

CHAP. XXVI.
On the Sibylline Verses and the Oracles.

There are few subjects more interesting
in themselves, yet upon which it is more em
barrassing to decide, than that of the autho
rity of the Sibylline verses.
The question concerning them has been
rendered of more difficult solution by the in
termixture of some verses, which are com
paratively of late production, with thoie
which have been handed down from high an
tiquity ; the former having been, for the most
pan, manifestly inserted after the promulga-
ation of Christianity, and such intermixture
was alledged at a very early period to have
taken place. *.
There appears/however, to be some reason
to believe that the original verses ascribed to
the Sibyls, though not inspired vvith any pro<-
* Origen cont. Cels. lib. vii. page 369. Edit. Spenceri, 1677.

251
phetic intimations of futurity, were yet
formed under apprehensions of the divine
promises, which had been proclaimed to
the patriarchs and Hebrew nation, and the
knowledge of which was drawn from tradi
tionary reports, or from the Scriptures.
Grotius is of opinion that the verses, pre
served by the Quindecemviri at Rome, were
Hebrew verses, and that the prophecy men
tioned by Cicero to the Romans, " that if
they would be safe they must acknowledge
him to be king, who was king," was drawn
from them *.
The Sibylline verses, of which fragments
are dispersed through the writings of the fa
thers, and particularl v in the works of Lac
tantius and Theophylact, are of uncertain
origin: and whatever antiquity we may
ascribe to the greater part of them, it would
be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
determine which are to be deemed original,
and which are to be considered as spu
rious additions of later times, excepting, in
deed, that those, which argue an acquaint
ance with particulars disclosed in the Gos
pel, must be deemed interpolations.
* Cicero in Catil. Orat. 3. et de Divina, lib. ii. c. 54. Sal-
just, de Bell. Catil.

252
The Sibyls were females, supposed to have
been endued with a fatidical spirit *.
It appears, from the account of iElian and
Lactantius, that there were ten Sibyls,
whom on the authority of Varro he enu
merates. The Persian or Chaldaean ; the
Lybian ; the Delphic ; the Cumaean of
Italy; and another erroneously called the
Cumaean of iEolia, and named by dif
ferent writers Amalthea, Demophile, or
Herophile ; the Erythraean ; the Samian ;
the Hellespontine ; the Phrygian ; the Ti-
hurtine, or Albunean reverenced on the
banks of the Anio. Among these the Ery
thraean, the Delphic, and the Cumaean of
Italy -j-, were the most distinguished. The
Erythraean, which some suppose to have
been the same as the Chaldaean or Persian,
was pre-eminent, as having been, probably,
the most ancient. She is reported to have
been a native of Erythraea, a town of Ionia,
near Chios. Apollodorus, who represents
her as his fellow-citizen, states her to have
prophesied to the Greeks when preparing
for their expedition to Troy, assuring them
that they should succeed in destroying the
* Sibylla fltoCe^i, vid. Lactant. de falsa Relig. lib. i. c. 6.
Edit. Lug. Bat. et Annot.
+ Servius in Virgil's iEneid, lib. vi. 1. 69.
+

253
city : others place her later, in the time of
Romulus, and even suppose her to have been
the same with the Italic Cumaean Sibyl, of
whom the well known story is related of her
having burnt six, and sold her three remaining
books to Tarquinius PriscuSj or, as some say,
to Tarquinius Superbus *.
The story was contrived, probably, with a
view to assist the Roman kings in the early
periods of their government, and to aid their
controul over the minds of their subjects by
a superstitious influence.
The books were placed in the capitol, and
guarded with particular care in the strictest
privacy. Tarquin encreased the number of
them by collecting verses of the Sibyls from
all the cities of Italy and Greece, and they
were at length committed to the custody of
the Quindecemviri -j~. They were burnt, how
ever, with the capitol in the time of Sylla.
When the capitol was rebuilt, C. Scribonius
Curio proposed to the senate that ambas
sadors should be sent to Erythraea to col
lect what could be recovered of the Ery
thraean Sibyl's productions; and P. Gabinius,
• See Dion. Halicar.
1 Lact. de fals. Rei. lib. i. Alex, ab Alexand. lib. iii. c.
16. p. 737. vol. 1. Edit. Lug. Bat.

§54
M. Otacilius, and L. Valerius being serif,
brought back a thousand verses ; and others
were collected from different parts.
But these having been obtained in many
instances from private persons, and copies of
them having spread into circulation, they
were no longer in the exclusive possession of
the government, and could not, therefore,
be applied to purposes of state policy. By
the encrease of numbers, and the general
dispersion of them, the reverence, which
had been entertained for the original verses*
was diminished, at the same time that they
excited so much popular delusion, that
Augustus collected private copies, and burnt
to the amount of two thousand volumes,
which were supposed to contain the destinies
of Rome, and placed those, which he pre
served, in the temple of Apollo. They ap
pear afterwards to have been examined by
Tiberius, who destroyed others : till at length
Honorius, availing himself of the failure of a
pretended prophecy in them with relation to
Christianity, ordered the whole collection to
be committed to the flames, A. D. 399.
The Romans, fn general considered their
verses as derived from the Cumaean Sibyl.
Cicero, though he, as well as Plato and

4

255
Aristotle, entertained, or professed to enter
tain, some reverence for them, yet appears at
other times inclined to disparage their au
thority, intimating that they were com
posed too artificially to indicate the en
thusiasm of inspiration; and he observess
that they were contrived with such latitude,
as to be capable of accommodation to dif
ferent events and circumstances*.
Vossius thought that a great part of the
Sibylline verses was fabricated by the Jews ;
and Pausanias says, that one Sibyl was called
Sabba -p, she is supposed to have traced
her descent from Noah, and is some
times called the Babylonian, and sometimes
the Hebrew J. St. Austin states* that some
thought that the Sibylla Erythrasa was the
same as the Cumeean, and that she bad no
thing of idolatry in her Verses, but that she
belonged to the City of God §, that is, was
a Jewess, or within the pale of the universal
church. The Sibvlline verses, however,
countenanced many abominable rites and;
customs. Justin Martyr conceives the Cu-
* De Divin. lib. ii. c. 54.
t Pausanias in Phoe. p. 828. Edit. Lips. ^Elian, Suidas,.
% Alex, ad Alexandra, lib. iii. c. 16.
% De Civit. Dei. lib. xviii. c. 23.

256
maean to have been of Babylonian descent,
and the daughter of Berosus, and therefore
to have lived in the time of Alexander, con
sidering her, probably, the same as the Ery
thraean *. Virgil makes her contemporary
with jEneas.
The verses, which we now possess, having
been preserved in scattered and detached
works of the Fathers and early writers, were
collected again together. They were pub
lished at Basil, with a version of Castalio,
and the notes of XystUs Betalicu, from ma
nuscripts at Augsburg and Ferrara, as well
as by other editors.
It is evident, from a general view of the
descriptions produced in these verses, that
much must have been added and interpo
lated after the promulgation of Christianity :
and what was genuine in them, wherever it
has reference to the facts and doctrines of
Revelation, should seem to have been bor
rowed from the Jewish Scriptures, or from
traditions which they confirmed.
As it must be considered difficult, if not
impossible, to separate the original from the
* Cohort, ad Graec. See also Pausan. Phocic. lib. x.
c. 12. p. 828.

257
spurious lines, we may observe of them col
lectively, that they treat of the existence of
one Supreme and Eternal God, of the crea
tion of man, and of his ejection from Para
dise, of the building of Babel, and of the
confusion of tongues *. They contain pas
sages which resemble parts of the Jewish
prophets, particularly of Zechariah and Hosea.
They speak, as if prophetically, of the an
nunciation of the Blessed Virgin, and of the
voice calling all to the straight path, and to
baptism ; of the incarnation of the Son of
the great God, to be clothed in flesh in the
similitude of man, having in his name four
vowels and two consonants ; of his coming
to fulfil the law and not to destroy it ; of the
nativity at Bethlehem, and of the offering of
gold, myrrh, and frankincense to Christ ; of
his being preserved and brought from Egypt ;
of his miracles minutely described ; of his
appearing on a foal, meek to all ; of his
being cut off by a man ensnared by a re
ward ; of his sufferings and crucifixion, and
of the peculiar circumstances of his death,
* Sibyl, orac. lib. iii. p. 223. Euseb. Praep. Evan. lib. ix.
c. 15. Theoph. ad Autolyc. lib. ii. p. 371. Bryant. Mythol.
vol. iii. c. 10.
VOL. I. S

25.8
resurrection, and ascension ; of the descent
of the Spirit ; of the punishment of the Jews,
and the ruin of their deserted house. They
betray also an acquaintance with the peculiar
doctrines of tlie Gospel, and of the pure
manners of the primitive Christians ; they
speak of some of tbe Roman emperors
by their initials in order to disguise their re
ference ; . and, lastly, they foretel the for
ture reign of Christ on earth. Great part,
therefore, of what we now possess is evi
dently spurious : Lardner and Cave con
ceive, that some of the Sibylline verses were
forged in the time pf Hadrjan, and others in
the reign of Antoninus ; or of Commodus,
in whose time Prideaux believes the collec
tion to faaye been completed. Many are
cited by Justin Martyr, who did not outlive
A. D. 3(67— some lines might haye been
afterwards added.
While we reject the verses which bear such
evident marks of forgery, we must still admit
that those which were extant before the time
of our Saviour, must have contained many
allusions to the Messiah, which cannot be ex
plained, but on the supposition either that
they were drawn directly or indirectly from

6

259
the oracles of Hebrew revelation ; or that God
vouchsafed to impart some rays of prophetic
knowledge to gild the distant prospects of the
Heathen world.
Other early writers of the church be
sides those before-mentioned appeal to these
verses, as Athenagoras, Tertullian, Jerom,
and Clement of Alexandria. Some assert
that St. Paul refers to them; and as a
proof that part of the collection which has
a prophetic cast is genuine, it has been re
marked that Cicero mentions an acrostic in
them *, and that an acrostic now appears in
the collection which expresses " Jesus Christ
" the Son of God, the Saviour, and the
*' cross-}-. It is probable, however, that
Cicero alludes to a different sort of acrostic,
and that the one now cited, was fabricated in
later times, and possibly inserted by the com
piler.

* De Divin. lib. ii. c. 54.
+ Wat Xpis1«5 6sa i/ios, o-ulm^, alavpof, Prid. Conn. p. 2. b. 9.
The letters put together compose the word i%6«s, a fish ;
and hence the fathers, with indiscreet zeal and insipid al
legory, called Jesus, Piscem nostrum, the Christians, Pis-
einam. Tejtul. de Baptism. August, de Civit. Dei, lib. i.
c. 23.
S 2

260
It is a point which has been much contro
verted, whether the Heathen oracles were
inspired with any information from beings
of a more elevated nature than that of man,
who might afford an insight into future
times, subservient to the deception of those
who consulted them.
The equivocal answers which they deli-
livered, whether dictated by the caution of
human policy, or by the contrivance of su
perior beings, whose knowledge of futurity
may be as limited as our own, but whose
foresight may be more extended, can afford
no sufficient evidence to decide the question.
There are, however, some prophetic inti
mations of the Heathen oracles, and some
of their predictions, which seem to have
been directly or indirectly borrowed from a
sacred source. There are also some declara
tions which may be thought to have been
dictated by more than human sagacity, and
which were of a nature manifestly calculated
to do mischief, particularly as directing men
to the abominable rites of idolatry. Evil
spirits are represented in Scripture, to have
gone forth to suggest falsehood *, and as they
* 1 Kings xxii. 23.

261
certainly were allowed before and during the
time of our Saviour's abode on earth to
take possession of the persons of men, it
does not appear unreasonable to believe,
that they might have been constrained some
times to utter truth, and at other times per
mitted to increase the delusion of those who
gave themselves up to a lying spirit of di
vination, and who might thus be confirmed
in their infatuation by a judicial subjection
to such mischievous delusions.
The Pythian oracle is related to have
told the agents of Croesus in what manner
the monarch was employed in Lydia at the
time in which the oracle delivered its an
swer ; nor does this circumstance imply any
powers beyond what may occasionally be
ascribed to spiritual beings. The equivocal
declaration which was uttered at the same
time, and which informed him, that if he
attacked the Persians he would overthrow a
mighty empire, demonstrates the evil, and
limited nature of the agency which was em
ployed ; the communication serving but to
urge on Croesus to his ruin; While at the
same time the prophecy of Isaiah concerning
Cyrus was receiving its exact and literal ac-

262
complishment to the most beneficial pur
poses *.
Porphyry speaks of an oracle of Apollo,
which is cited also by Justin, in which the
Deity is represented to say, that the Egyp
tians, the Phoenicians, the Chaldaeans, and
the Hebrews, were the discoverers of the
way, and that the Chaldaeans alone had at
tained wisdom, and the Hebrews who wor
shipped the self-existing God in purity -f.
There are two oracles of Hecate, which
Eusebius has transcribed from Porphyry,
which seem to allude to Christ, the mes
senger distinguished above all others for
piety, who taught the immortality of the.
soul after death, and who sustained grief,
and ascended into the abode of heavenly
beings %.
It appears that the oracles ceased, not
long after the promulgation of Christianity,
and that the early Christians believed that
they were constrained to silence, by a divine

• Isaiah xliv. 28. xiv. 1 — 5.
f Justin et Grotius, lib. i. c. 9. Annot.
X August, de Civit. lib. xxix. c. 23, et Grot. lib. iv. c. 9.
Annot.

263
power, which over-ruled the spirits of dark
ness *.
Juvenal in his 6th Satire observes, that
the Delphic oracles had terminated, and that
the human race was condemned to remain in
ignorance of the future, he observes that
Chaldaean and astrological arts would m con
sequence be resorted to, with encreased eager
ness, and he intimates contemptuously the
pretensions of the Jews, who claimed to be
considered as the faithful interpreters of the
will of heavert "f.
* Fontenelle Hist, des Oracles.
t Sat. vi. 1. 541. 555. See Plutarch de Oracul'. Defect.

264

CHAP. XXVII.
On the General Belief in a State of future
Rewards and Punishments, and the Admi
nistration of a final Judgment.

That the Jews, in common with all na
tions entertained a belief in the immortality
of the soul, and a state of future rewards and
punishments, there can be no doubt.
Eternal remunerations do not indeed ap
pear to have been annexed as express sanc
tions to the dispensation revealed by Moses,
but the temporal promises recorded by him,
and confirmed by subsequent prophets, were
designed to impart and were often understood
to have ultimately in view, a spiritual and
eternal retribution.
The Patriarchs who trusted in God were
known to have died without having received
the completion of what was graciously cove
nanted ; and even Moses himself was not
allowed to enter the land which was dis-

265
closed to his view from the top of Pisgah,
when he beheld the valley of Jericho, and
the city of the palm-trees unto Zoar*. The
very events and circumstances which were
described by the Sacred Historians demon
strate, that God (as our Saviour afterwards
pointed out) was " not the God of the dead,
" but of the living;" and that those who had
" died in the faith, not having received the
" promises, but having seen them afar off,
" and who being persuaded of them, confessed
" that they were strangers and pilgrims on
" earth," thereby declared that " they sought
" a better, that is, an heavenly country -p."
The language and figures under which the
Jews expressed their confidence in the remu
neration of a future life, were of a general
nature; and where they spoke of Abraham's
bosom and of Paradise, it does not appear
that they attempted to define the character
of the happiness which they expected to en
joy, in the state thereby represented.
In the allusion to the place of torment,
mentioned in our Saviour's parable, there
was a reference probably to the received
opinions of the intolerable flames which were
* Deut. xxxiv. + Hebrews xi.

266
supposed to burn there. The Rabbinical
descriptions divide the Sheol, or place of the
dead, into Paradise, and Gehenna.
The Eastern nations in general believed
in a future state, and much of the imagery
and circumstances which they employed in
reference to it was borrowed, by the Greeks
and Romans, and was chiefly drawn from
Egypt, as the existing hieroglyphics abun
dantly shew.
Musaeus * and Orpheus -f recommended
expiations and purifications with a view to a
future state of rewards and punishments, as
do Hesiod and Homer, an<$ the poets iii
general. Plutarch remarks that the convic
tion that good men should obtain a recotn-
pence after death, was so ancient ihstt he
could not ascertain the author of it p
The philosophical writers, who were dis*
tinguished among the Greeks arid later na
tions, must have sometimes reasoned fronl
the events of human life, on the probability
of ulterior dispensations; tbey beheld the
inequalities which prevailed, bearing little
reference to moral chafracter; they saw the
* Plato Repub. lib. ii. p. 364. Edit. Serran.
+ Plutarch Vit. Lucul.
J Plut. in Consol. ad Apollon. Cicero, &c. Epist. 117.

267
world made as it were for bold and adven
turous men, and considered a great man suf
fering in adversity as the noblest spectacle
which the gods could behold.
Notwithstanding, however, they assented
to the general position, that the wicked
would seldom be finally happy, and that
punishments rarely failed to overtake" the
guilty, yet they adopted the conviction
before mentioned, which prevailed in the
time of Homer, and which was strenuously
maintained by the Stoics, that their deities,
and Jupiter himself, were constrained by the
inexorable decrees of fate, and compelled to
bow to an imposed necessity, and tbat, if
they administered occasional protection and
favour, it was under the restriction of a
prescribed Power.
The works of fiction might represent the
heroes who were favoured by the gods as
being sometimes protected by their interpo
sition ; they might exhibit Ulysses, or his
son, guided by Divine Providence, and the
suitors of Penelope finally destroyed ; but in
real life the event did not always seem to
justify the appointments of Providence, and
the cause that was unsuccessful, was often

268
approved by those who were most reverenced
and esteemed *.
If therefore the peremptory law, to which
gods and men were compelled to submit,
was founded on principles of infinite wisdom,
yet that wisdom not being made fully mani
fest on earth, its present appointments must
have been judged with reference to some
expected dispensation to take place here
after. Such convictions had their influence,
though they are not conceived with that
clearness, nor expressed with that confidence
which has been felt, since revelation has
fully explained that this is only a probation
ary state, — a part of a scheme of which the
conclusion is yet to be developed.
They were sufficient, however, to incline
both the philosophical and the vulgar eagerly
to catch at any intimations of a future life,
and to take up any superstitious opinions
which prevailed, rather than to live in im
patient murmuring against the gods, and to
die without hope of an existence in another
world. There are figurative images used by the i
* Lucan. Phars. 1. i, 128.

269
Greeks upon the subject of a future state,
which were probably received through the
Egyptians from the Jews : thus the expres
sion of Job*, DID ?"lytP-j-, was the original,
probably, from which Homer derived his
notion of " the gates of hell." The expres
sion occurs also in the works of Theocritus,
Sophocles, Euripides, Lucretius, and Virgil.
The superstitions entertained by the
Greeks and Romans upon this subject, were
of a gross and corporeal nature ; and even
when they were refined by men of elevated
minds, and decorated by all the advantage
of poetry, they seemed to exhibit scenes in
which the same affections and passions as
prevail on earth were supposed to continue,
and to be gratified with their accustomed
objects. Pluto, the sovereign of the infernal re
gions, is by some supposed to have been
the Egyptian Typhon ; and Enceladon is,
by Bochart, considered as Akalathon the
crooked J.
Virgil, in his description of the Tartarean
and Elysian regions, has introduced much
of popular opinion, and much of mysterious
* Job xxxviii. 17. + Aiiaa itvhat. X Isai. xxvii. 1.

270
allusion with respect to these interesting sub
jects. He describes the punishments as in
flicting chains and stripes, and labour and
suffering, which affected the body.
As he discloses the mournful plains, and
the lofty walls to which the guilty were con
demned, we behold wretches bearing the
same wounds which they received on earth.
In the vestibule as it were of hell, and on
the first threshold, grief and vengeful cares,
and fear, and afflicted age, and death and
labour and evil passions were to be found;
while, in the happy groves in which the
virtuous were received, the heroes were still
occupied in the games of the Palaestra, and
entertained the same love of chariots and
arms and of horses which prevailed on earth.
Their time was still occupied in contem
plating the steeds, which conducted their
cars of victory, now feeding idle on the pas
ture ; and their thoughts were employed in
recalling to remembrance the actions in
which they had served : but little of intel
lectual pleasure is specified, excepting the
recitation of verse. Such were the notions
which occupied the minds of men of en
larged views, for they had nothing better to

271
substitute, and even Socrates, Cicero, and
Seneca, rested their hope on the subject
upon arguments of very insufficient weight *,
Socrates, though one of the most enlight
ened of the Heathens, appears in his dis
courses to have been much embarrassed upon
the subject. Epictetus and others mention
the happiness of good men after death,
but he lived after the promulgation of the
Gospel. Whatever persuasions were entertained with
respect to the immortality, of the soul, no ge
neral expectation seems to have been formed
of the resurrection of the body, 'till our Sa
viour brought this great doctrine to light,
and illustrated its possibility by his own ap
pearance in the body on the third day after
his crucifixion.
The notion of the Stoics, which looked
to the restoration and renewal of all things
after tbe revolution of ages, might be thought
to imply a resurrection of human bodies;
and Diogenes Laertius states, that Theopom-
pus asserted that the Chaldaean Magi be-
• Chrysost. in 1 Cor, xi. 21. Plato Phsed. Grot. lib. ii.
c. 7. Cicero Tuscul. Quaest. Seneca Epist. 66. Epictet.
p. 113.

272
lieved that the Magi would revive again.
Phocylides also, a philosophical poet, inti
mated a hope that, after the dissolution of
the human body, the remains of the dead
would come to light, and become gods.

273

CHAP. XXVIII.
Of Events subsequent to the Birth of Christ,
and the Promulgation of the Gospel, which
substantiate the Truth of the Sacred Re~
cords.

Ulpian states that the governors of the
Roman provinces had the right of the sword,
which implied the authority of punishing
malefactors; an authority which was per-?
sonal and not to be transferred *.
Coponius, who was sent to govern Judaea
as a province, after the banishment of Arche
laus, was invested by Augustus with the
power of life and death -f*. 9
It was under these circumstances that
Christ, after being betrayed unto the chief
priests, and condemned to death, was deli
vered to the Gentiles, as he had most dis-
* Lib. vi. c. 8. de Officiis Proconsulis.
t Joseph, de Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 8. § 1.
VOL. I. T

274
tinctly foretold in the exact order of events,
to be crucified by the Roman governor.
Pilate's wife, (who is by some called Clau
dia Procula), is spoken of by St. Matthew,
as being then with her husband, in Judsea,
and is stated to have suffered many things
in a dream on account of Christ, and to
have admonished the governor to have no
thing to do with the persecution against him.
The governors of provinces under the re
public had not often been allowed to take
their wives with them to their praefectures.
Augustus did not approve that the custom
should be established * ; Tiberius however
allowed it in some instances. Agrippina ac
companied Germanicus into Germany and
Asia-f-; and Plancina was with Piso, and
contributed to inflame the insolence of her
husband towards Germanicus J. A motion
was afterwards made in the senate by Se
verus Caecina, to prohibit the indulgence, as
attended with inconveniences, but it was re
jected §. These statements tend to demon-
* Suet. August. 1. ii. c. 24.
+ Tacitus Ann. lib. ii. c. 55. lib. i. c. 40, 41. lib. ii. c. 54.
X Ibid. 1. i. c. 40.
§ Ibid. 1. iii. c. 33, 34.

27J;
strate the accuracy of the Evangelists, whose
books even Julian allowed to be authentic *.
The Heathen accounts are often valuable*
as tending to illustrate characters spoken of
in Sacred History, whether those employed
in the promulgation of the Gospel, or others
incidentally mentioned : thus the reports
concerning the primitive Christians made by
Pliny, Julian, and other writers, reflect a
lustre on the cause of religion ; while the
descriptions given by prophane authors, with
respect to the conduct of the governors of
Judaea, and of other persons mentioned in the
Evangelical History, confirm the fidelity of
its statements. Instances of these will be
adduced particularly in the chapters . con
cerning Josephus and Tacitus.
Circumstances of chronology and of local
detail, casually adverted to, by the Sacred
Writers, and which implicate the credibility
of their relations, are remarkably corrobo
rated by prophane authors.
Traditionary notions of a star which should
indicate the appearance of the Messiah,
founded possibly on the prophecies of Ba
laam, seem to have extended to the Hea-

* Cyril, Kx.
T 2

276
thens, and probably disposed the Romans to
attach great importance to the comet which
appeared soon after the death of Julius Caesar,
and which was understood to intimate the
reception of Caesar among the gods*. Au
gustus, who seemed to accede to the popular
persuasion, secretly indulged the assurance
that the comet was displayed for his sake,
rejoicing that he was born under its influence,
" and truly," says Pliny, " that comet was
salutary -b ;" referring it should seem to the
happiness of the age of Augustus.
Jewish and Pagan writers equally attest
that Jesus lived in the time of Tiberius, and
that he was crucified ; and indeed there is not
any question of the reality of these events.
The Jews also confess in their talmudical
books, that Jesus performed miracles J; and
neither Celsus or Porphyry appear to have
denied that he did so §.
The Heathens also, while they bear testi
mony to the ascendancy of the powers of
darkness, before the promulgation of the
* Sueton. Jul. Caesar, sect. 88. Dio Cass. lib. xiv. p. 273.
Edit. Han. 1606.
+ Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. ii. c. 23.
X In tit. Aben. Zara.
§ Origen, Cont. Cels. lib. ii.

277
Gospel, and to the cessation of oracles and
magical arts when Christianity was esta
blished, demonstrate the opposition whicli
subsisted between the kingdom of Christ,
and that of Satan. The miracles which
Vespasian pretended to perform have been
before referred to, and will hereafter be con
sidered : these arid others were concerted
probably in imitation of those of Christ and
his disciples.
There is a strange and extravagant story,
related by Philostratus, of Apollonius Tya
neus having raised a young woman from the
dead, and of his having vanished from the
presence of the emperor, which is so devoid
of all probability and authority as nbt to
have any claim to regard.
The miraculous darkness which took plaoe
at the crucifixion was not confined to Judaea*.
Phlegon, the freedman of the emperor Adrian,
speaks of an unprecedented eclipse of the sun,
which took place in the reign of Tiberius ;
the day, at the sixth hour, being turned into
dark night, so that the stars were seen ; and
he states that an earthquake at Nicaea, in
* Luke xxiii. 44.

278
Bithynia, subverted many buildings*. Por
phyry admits that prodigies took place at the
sepulchre of Christ f. Phlegon speaks also
of the miracles of St. Peter, or as some con
ceive of Christ, imagining that the name of
Peter was substituted for that of our Lord.
It may be observed farther, that the Ro
mans were accustomed to execute their cri
minals without the city. Plutarch alludes
to the circumstance of malefactors carrying
their cross %. Ulpian states, in his Treatise
on the duties of a Proconsul, that the bodies
of those condemned to death were not to be
refused to their relations, and Augustus had
respected the custom §. Josephus represents
it as a strong proof of the depravity of the
Jews in his time, that they threw out men
unburied, though their countrymen had be
fore shewn such regard to the rites of se
pulture, as to take down for interment :hose
who were crucified by a legal sentence |[.
It was indeed agreeably to the directions
* Euseb. Chron. Orig. in Matt, xxvii. 45. et Adv. Cels. 11.
Cyril, cont. Jul. lib. x. et Hieron. cont. Vigil.
-j- See also Petron. Arbit. Sat. c. Ixxi. Cicero in Verretn.
lib. v. c. 66. n. 169.
I Su/awo?, lib. iv. c. 2. p. 554. Edit. Par. 1624,
§ Lib. i. de Cadav. et lib. iii.
|| De Bell. Jud. lib. iv. § 2.

27.9
of the Roman and Jewish law, that the body
of Christ was given up to be buried.
An hundred pound weight of spices has
been thought a large quantity to be bought
for the embalming of the body of our Lord ;
but the dead body was sometimes laid, where
a respect was intended, " in a bed which was
filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of
spices," as was that of Asa*, and the soldiers
at Herod's funeral were followed by five
hundred slaves and freedmen bearing sweet
spices -j-.
St. Paul, writing to Titus, who had been
left in Crete to set things in order and to
ordain elders, complains of many disorderly
men there, who were deceivers and taught
false doctrines for the sake of gain; and he
refers to one of their own prophets or poets,
who described the Cretans under a repre
sentation similar to what his observation had
found them to deserve. The poet spoken of
is generally supposed to have been Epime-
nides, in whose book, irtp "XffV^f-uv, the verse
cited by St. Paul appears to be % ; by others,
* 2 Chron. xvi. 14-
f Joseph. Antiq. lib. xvii. c. 8. de Bell. Jud. lib. i. c.33.
p. 1043.
I Fabri. Bibl. Graec. lib. i. c. vi. j 3.

280
however, Callimachus is believed to have
been alluded to, in whose Hymn to Jove, the
Cretans are said " to be always liars." It
appears that, from the time of Homer, the
island of Crete was regarded as the scene of
fiction ; the character of the people seems to
have been proverbially bad, and they are
but too faithfully characterized by the verse
quoted by St. Paul.
The cloak, concerning which St. Paul
wrote to Timothy, is by some supposed to
have been the Roman penula. He is thought
to have worn it as being a citizen of Tarsus,
which city, after having been granted immu
nities by Mark Antony *, had been received
into alliance with Rome, and its citizens ad
mitted by Julius Caesar, after the battle of
Pharsalia, to all the privileges of Roman citi
zenship, and allowed a senate in which the
penula was worn ; others, however, under
stand the <pcit\ov*iv to mean a roll of parch
ment, or a bag in which the parchment was
carried ; and some that it was a dress worn
by the antient Christians "f.

* Ammianus, lib. v. p. 675.
t>Tertull. de Orat. et ad Martyr. See Paley's Horae
Paulinae on 2 Tim. iv. 13.

281

CHAP. XXIX.
On the Heathen Testimonies which demon
strate the Completion of the Prophecies of
our Saviour and his Apostles.

The predictions of our Blessed Lordy of
which the accomplishment is attested by
Heathen writers who were contemporary
with the first promulgation of Christianity,
are those which relate to his own crucifixion,
and resurrection on the third day from
the grave * ; the conduct and fate of his
Apostles -f- ; the rejection of the Gospel by
the Jews ; the calling of the Gentiles ; the
offences which should arise against Chris
tianity ; the subversion of the Jewish govern
ment ; the demolition of Jerusalem and its
Temple ; the dispersion of the Jews, and the
rapid and extensive progress of the Gospel.
* Matt, xxvii. 2. 23. Luke ix. 22.
+ Matt. xxvi. 21. 31. 34. John xviii. 19. xxi. 21,52,&e.

282
The period of the destruction of Jeru
salem was pointed out correctly in prophecy :
it was foreshewn that it should not be dis
tant, but that the Gospel should first be
preached to all nations, (i. e. of the Roman
empire,) as it appears to have been by the
wide-spread exertions of the Apostles.
The accounts of all the Evangelists were
published before this event, excepting that of
St. John, who does not mention the pro
phecies relating to it. St. Matthew's Gospel,
which gives them very fully, was written
eight years after our Saviour's ascension, and
thirty years before the destruction of the
city. St. Peter, who died A.D. 70, and
other Apostles, were enabled, by the criteria
which were furnished, or by prophetic know-
lege, to foretel that the event was near at
hand *.
Our Saviour } foreshewed many circum
stances which should immediately precede
this great event, predicting that there should
be earthquakes -f-, and famines, and pesti-
• Matt. xxiv. 9. 14. Heb. x. 37. James v. 1. 1 Peter
iv. 7- Col. i. 6.
f Luke xxi. 11. Acts ii. 19, 20. compare with Joseph.
Procem Bell. Jud. §. fl. et lib. vi. c. 5. Tacit. Ann. lib. xii. xiv.
Hist. lib. v. Sueton. Claud, c. 18. Senec. Nat. Qusst. lib
vi. c. 1. Orosius lib. vii. c. 7.

283
lences, and tearful sights, and great signs
from heaven ; and Josephus and Tacitus
speak of prodigies and portents in a manner
which, with every allowance for exaggeration
and superstitious fancies, customary upon
such occasions, indicates something pecu
liar. The circumstances of the siege, and their
exact conformity to the prophecies uttered by
Moses and successive prophets, and finally
detailed with more ample denunciation hv
Christ, are so well known, and have been so
often pointed out, that it is not my intention
fo produce them here.
In a consideration of the works of Jose
phus, Tacitus, and Suetonius, some particu
lars illustrative of the subject will be ad
duced, and those who wish for a more full
and exact investigation may have recourse to
Bishop Newton and other commentators.
The declaration of our Blessed Lord, with
respect to the destruction of the city and
temple, involved a consideration of the de
molition of the Jewish institutions, and the
establishment of Christianity in their stead,
while the dispersion of the Jews was intended
to distribute every where the living witnesses
of the truth of prophecy, unwilling and un-

284
suspected advocates for a cause which they
themselves blindly resisted.
The removal of the Jews into captivity in
Assyria, where they remained seventy years,
and into Egypt, whither they were brought
again and " sold for bond-men and bond-
" women *," events foretold in prophecy,
had only tended to confirm them in adherence
to their distinctive rites and customs.
But the remainder of the scroll of pro
phecy, unsealed by our Lord and his Dis
ciples, foreshewed the departure of the Mo
saic dispensation, leaving only the memorial
of its figures, the testimony of its prophecies,
and the moral force of its commandments ;
and it disclosed to the world the successive
periods of the Christian Church till the full
display of its triumph, the final consumma
tion of its glory.
In the prophecies, which relate to the dis
persion of the Jews, it was foretold that
they should be " plucked from off their own
" land -j-," and remain in captivity till their
final re-assembling ; and the testimony of
many Heathen writers might be adduced to
* Deut. xxviii. 68. and Joseph. Antiq. lib. xii. c. 1, 2. et
Bell. Jud. lib. vi. c. 9.
t Deut. xxviii. 63, 64.

285
prove how ineffectual all endeavours have
been to counteract the fulfilment of these
prophecies. That the Jews were often disposed to re
turn, and that they still cherish the hope
of returning is well known, Adrian found it
necessary to oppose the disposition, by for
bidding them, on pain of death, again to
settle in Jerusalem, and it appears that
few if any were able to effect it. Benjamin
-Tudela relates in the twelfth century, that
the city was almost totally abandoned by
the Jews, and that he could not find in it
above two hundred persons of that riationC
It was however disclosed in distinct terms,'
that, though tbe people should be dispersed
" from one end of the earth to the other,"
they should not be utterly destroyed, yet
that " they should find no ease or rest, being
" oppressed or spoiled," and that " they
" should be mad for the sight of their eyes,
" which they should behold, and become an
" astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word,
. " their plagues being wonderful and of long
" continuance *."
* Deut. xxviii. and xxxi. 17.

286
It will be seen then that the Heathen histo
rians afford an exact commentary on these ever
memorable prophecies. More abundant tes
timonies to their accomplishment might be
derived from the writings of the fathers and
ecclesiastical historians, but it is wished in
this work to deduce evidence from writers
only who were not converted to Christianity,
and whose bias was against its claims ; as if
turning for a moment, in contemplating.
the stupendous scene of the crucifixion, to
notice the centurion, and them that were
with him, who bore likewise their suffrage to
Christ, " saying, truly this was the son of
" of God."
The prophecies of our Lord, with regard
to the dispersion, sufferings, and death of his
disciples * and followers, and those with rela
tion to the rapid rise, progress, and establish
ment of Christianity, and to the opposition,
offences, and resistance from evil men which
it should experience, might be easily shewn
from Heathen writers to have received in
many instances an exact completion, but this
would lead us beyond the line proposed in
this work.
* See also Acts xi. 27. xxi. 11. ii. 9.

287
The predictions also of the Apostles and
Evangelists, which describe the Antichristian
powers, and the first measures of their en
mity, might be illustrated by similar testi
monies; but this detail does not fall within
the scope proposed ; and where modern his
tory and experience should be brought into
consideration to do any justice to the sub
ject, it would be useless, if not injurious, to
exhibit any representations necessarily in
complete and defective.

288

CHAP. XXX.
Philo.

Philo, who is stiled Judceus, that he
may be distinguished frOm Philo the Car
pathian, who lived in the fourth century,
was born before the appearance of Christ,
some writers contend even twenty or thirty
years before that era, and he must have sur
vived the period of the crucifixion a consi
derable time *. He is generally regarded as
a Jew of Alexandria ; he states himself,
however, to have been born at Jerusalem f,
and he appears occasionally to have repaired
to that city to perform sacrifices in the
temple. He was a man of distinguished
family %, and of great authority § at Alex
andria, being brother to Alexander Lysi-
* Mangey Praef. ad Phil. Opera.
f De Virtut. vol. ii. p. 587.

X Euseb.H. E.lib. ii. c. 4.
§ Hieron. de Vir. Ulust.

++

289
machus *, who was Alibarch -f, or chief of
the Fiscal Scribes. He enjoyed great opu
lence in that city, exercising an office which
is supposed to have had the direction of the
territorial revenue, or of the profits derived
from the cattle, and which was probably a
situation of considerable rank, as his son
married Berenice the daughter of Agrippa.
Philo appears to have been of sacerdotal
family £, to have been brought up a Pharisee,
and to have attained extensive, and various
information ; and great knowledge of the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, which he
read probably in the Septuagint version, not
having, it is supposed, been acquainted with
the Hebrew §, being an Hellenist, and writing
himself in the Greek language.
He was a man of very eminent qualities,
and highly revered ; and a remark of hi.s
wife, which is recorded, bears testimony to
his worth, since, on being enquired of,
wherefore she did not wear ornaments, she
answered, that the virtue of an husband was
a sufficient ornament for a wife. Mangey,
* Acts iv. 6.
+ Joseph, lib. xviii. c. 7. lib. xix. c. 5. Cicero Epist. nd.
Atticum, L. 2. 17. Valesius ad Euseb H. E. lib. ii. c f>.
t Euseb. Eccles. Histor. lib. ii. C. 4. Phot. Cod. 105.
§ Scaliger. not. in Euseb. Chron. P. 57.
VOL. I. U

290
the learned editor of Philo's works, agree-.
ably to the. opinion of Basnage, supposes
Philo to have been born A. U. 723, thirty
years before Christ*. He was deputed by
the Jews of Alexandria upon an embassy to
Rome, in the fourth year of Caligula,
A, U. C. 793, A. D. 41 or 42. The ob
ject was to counteract the calumnies of
Apion, and to make a complaint to Caligula
on the subject of a persecution excited by
Elaccus the Roman president, and others,
against these Jews, for having refused divine
-honours to the statues of the Emperors,
while the rest of the world was submitting
with servile flattery to the adoration of a
weak and depraved mortal as a God.
Philo, who appears to have been animated
with a generous love of freedom and hatred
of tyranny, describes his reception by the
Emperor at a villa, which had belonged to
Mecaenas, near to Rome. He was treated
with a contemptuous levity, equally unbe
coming the imperial dignity, and the vene
rable character of Philo -f. He however ma
nifested his firmness, and upon the failure of
his petition, turned to the Jews, who accom
panied him, and encouraged them by say.
* Mangey Praef. and Basnage, lib. iv. c. 21.
f Philo Legat. ad Caium, c. 9. 18. P. 1043.

291
ing, " that indeed Caius was in words, en-
" raged against them, but in reality he only
" made God his enemy *."
Eusebius and Jerom state, that, during
Philo's stay at Rome, he conversed with St.
Peter -f-; and some have affirmed that he
was converted to Christianity, either by that
Apostle, or by reading the Gospel of St.
Mark at Alexandria, and that he afterwards
renounced the Christian faith.
These accounts have been disputed by the
learned editor of the works of Philo, and it
has been maintained that it is not probable
that St. Peter was at Rome so early as Philo's
time, if at all ; since the Apostle remained
at Jerusalem till the death of Herod Agrippa,
and afterwards staid some time at Antioch :
and that St. Mark's Gospel was not pub
lished till A. D. 45, or as some assert till
A. D. 64 %.
Bryant however contends, that Philo^s
age is placed too far back, when it is assigned
to the time of Julius Caesar; that he was a
contemporary of the Apostles, and lived so
late as the reign of Nero ; and that as St.
* Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 9, 10. p. 821. Edit. Hudson.
+ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. c.J7. vol. i. p. 65. Hieron.
de Script. Eccles. vol. p. 106.
} Irenes Haer. lib. iii. c. l.§ 2.
u 2

Mark came to Alexandria in 48 or 49, Philo
had an opportunity of conversing with the
Apostle, and possibly of seeing his Gospel, if
we suppose it to have been published in 45.
In the works of Philo, we discover a great
devotion to the Old Testament, and he throws
much light on the Mosaic writings, though he
often follows a vague strain of allegory, par
ticularly in interpreting the history of the
creation and of the temptation in Paradise.
He does not seem to have considered the ser
pent as representing or acting under the in
fluence of Satan*. He expected tbat all nations
should be converted to the law of Moses,
and that it should be perpetual, conceiving
that the promises relating to Christ referred
only to a temporal Messiah -f- ; and describ
ing him as " a man," who, as the oracle fore
told, should " go forth commanding armies
" and warring, and who should subdue great
" and populous nations j:," and whose king
dom, by a daily increase, should be raised on
high. It is remarkable, that though Philo ap
pears to have believed in one God, the Far
* Allegor. 1. 3. p. 110. &c. Circumcis. p. 211.
+ De Vit. Mos.
X De Proamiis et Poenis p. 423. de Mundi Opificio. Alle
gor. lib. ii, Numb. xxiv. 7.

293
ther and Creator of the world *,.- he had
nevertheless been led to form very just ap
prehensions, in some respects, of the eternal
nature and attributes of the Logos, and to
describe him as a real and acting being, " the
first-begotten Son -j-,' " the express image
" of God J," " esteemed the same as God§,"
" the great cause of all things," '* by whom
" all things were produced and disposed jj,"
the person who " visibly appeared to Abra
ham, to Jacob, and to Moses in the bush^f,"
the appointed *< j\|ediator and Intercessor
" for the sins of the world**," " the second
" God, who is the Word of the Supreme
" God •f-r," " the Supreme God, by whom a
" ransom and price of redemption of the
"; soul may be paid %p"
* De Vertutib. p. 562. Edit. Mangey;
+ De Agricult. vol. i. p. 308. Yiputoyotot li»t. See also
de Somn. vol. i. p. 653. 656.
I De Monarch, vol. ii. p. 225. De Mundi Opif. vol. i. p. 6.
$ De Somnis, vol. i. p. 666.
|| De Leg. Alleg. vol. i. p. 121. De Opif. Mundi, vol. i.
p. 4. De Plant. Noe. p. 331. De Monarch, 1. ii. p. 225.
f Allegor. 1. iii. p. 120—130. et de Vit. Mos. lib. i. de
Sacrif. vol. i. p. 173.
** Quis Rerum. Divin. Hseres. vol. i. p. 501. 532. De
Somn, vol. i. p. 653. Frag. vol. ii. p. 625. De Vita Mosis.
vol. ii. p. 155.
tf- Philo. Frag. vol. ii. p. 625. Tot «<J!ef»» hit k •fIji* ixum
U De Confus. Ling, fol.i. p. 418. De Somn. vol. i. p. 331-

294
Philo speaks also remarkably of the Holy
Ghost, and styles him "the all-wise Spirit *,"
" the divine power which breathed the breath
" of life into man," " being sent from the
" blessed nature for abode here, to the :ad-
" vantage of the human race -f, that if man be
" mortal as to the visible, he might at least be
" rendered immortal as to the invisible part."
He represents a prophet also as " not mani-
" festing any thing of his own, but as being
" an interpreter (another dictating what he
" brings forward) during tbe time that he
" is under enthusiasm," " being himself in
" ignorance, his reasoning faculties receding
" and withdrawing from the citadel of his
" mind, and the Divine Spirit coming upon
" and dwelling in him, impelling and direct-
" ing the organism of his voice to a dis-
" tinct manifestation of what the Spirit pre-
" diets +."
These passages indicate clearly a sense of
the personal attributes of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost, and describe each of them in
a manner which the Sacred Writers sanc-

* De Gigant. Vol. i. p. 266. I. 2.
t De Mundi Opificio, Vol. i. p. 32. De Special. Leg.
p. 343. De Mandato, p. 356.
X Gen. i. 26. xlviii. 16. Psalm xxxiii. 6. cv. 19. cvii. 20.
cxix. 89. Prov. viii. 22, Isa. ix. 6. Nehem. ix. 20.

295
tion, and the Apocryphal Writers imitate *.
It was probably from these sources, indeed,
that Philo drew his opinions.
In a very remarkable passage we find an
application of a prophetic title of the Messiah
deduced from Jeremiah -j- to the Logos, " I
" have heard," says he, " truly one of the
" assistants (Irufyuv) of Moses uttering such
" an oracle : Behold a man, whose name is
" the East, a very new appellation if it be
" understood of what consists of (mere) body
" and soul ; but if it be said of that incorpo-
" real person bearing the divine image, it
" must be confessed, that the name of ' the
" East ' is most appositely ascribed to him ;
" for the Father of all things wished his most
" ancient Son to arise, whom elsewhere he
" declared his first born, and who, being be-
" gotten, imitating his Father's ways, and
" looking to his archetypical examples, framed
" forms +."
Philo, however, though he thus applies di-
* Judith xiii. 17. xvi. .17. Wisd. ix. 4. — 17. xvi. 12.
xviii. 15. Eccles. xxiv. 5. — 7. li. 14.
t See Jeremiah xxiii. 5. Zach. iii. 8. vi. 12. See also,
Luke i. 8. and Tacitus Hist. lib. v. cap. 13. where the He
brew word no» (branch) is translated in the Septuagint,
" oriens." '
\ De co'nfus. Ling. vol. i. p. 414.
6

1 296
vine attributes to the different persons of the
Godhead, does not state an association and
equality in the mysterious union, but dis
tinctly observes, that the Scripture says he
made man in the likeness of God, and not
in his own likeness, and that this was cor
rectly and wisely proclaimed, for that nothing
mortal could be framed in the image of that
highest God, the Father of the Universe, but
it might be (in the image of) that second God,
who is his word * : still, however, notwith
standing these vague and varying notions,
Philo must be allowed to have caught, either
from the Scriptures or from Plato, some out
line of the doctrine of the Trinity, asserting
the essential divinity of each person, while,
with respect to the Son in particular, he attri
butes to him also a human character; and he
appears in one instance, if the present reading
of the passage be adhered to, to represent
the Logos as " being man as to his image ~\-;"
and as '< the shepherd of the holy flock."}:,"
The observations, however, expressed by
* Fragm&nta Philonis. vol, II. p. 625. Edit. Mangey et
Euseb. Praep, Evan. lib. 7. c. 13.
t O *ai (ix.o»* a>>$£W7ro?. De Confus. Ling. vol. i. p. 427,
line 6. Euseb. Praep. Evan. lib. xi. c. 15, p. 533, as cited
by Bryant, Sue the sentiments of Philo Judaeus, p. 102.
I De Agiicult. vol. i.'p. 308.

297
Philo upon these and other points of faith,
and particularly upon Regeneration and the
Divine Grace *, so much resemble what is
communicated by St. Luke and St. James,
and by the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews -f, that we may suppose them to
have been borrowed from the inspired writ
ings, if we admit that these Scriptures were
produced sufficiently easy for that purpose.
We have observed, indeed, that Philo might
have seen the Gospel of St. Mark ; if he had
not any intercourse with the early disciples,
he might at least have caught the distant re
ports of those preachers, whose sound went
forth with rapid communication into all lands.
On the other hand, it is attended with dif
ficulties to suppose that the testimonies to
the word of Christ should have been ex
pressly presented to Philo, and not have
been noticed by him. Many, who like him

* Leg. Allegor. vol. i. p. 114. See also p. 379.
+ Compare Leg. Allegor. lib. iii. p. 127. with Heb. vi. 13.
See also de Alleg. p. 93. 114. De Ebrietate, p. 379. De
Agricult. vol.i. p. 301, with Heb. v. 13, 14. De Decern
Oraculis. vol. ii. p. 201. with 1 John iv. 20. in Flaccum,
p. 542, with 1 Cor. xv. 31 ; and Fragm. in Johan. Damas.
p. 649. with 1 John ii. 15. See also de Abraham, vol. ii.
p. 33. 1. 49. p. 3. 1. 46. p. 411. 1. .36. p. 463, last line with
Acts vii. 4. and Bryant, and Mangey, Preefat.

298
imagined that the divine perfections could
not be united to the flesh, maintained, as
did the Nicolaitans *, and afterwards the
Gnostics and Valentinians, that the body of
Christ was a heavenly substance, which as
sumed merely the appearance of the human
form ; it is probable therefore, that Philo
either did not hear, or was withholden by
his belief in the perpetuity of the Mosaic dis
pensation, from receiving the witness of the
Evangelists, if brought before him. He
was employed, however, by Providence, in
directly to support the cause of Religion,
and to bear his suffrage to many doctrines
communicated in the Gospel : thus, for in
stance, he gives a remarkable account of
Pilate the Roman governor, being appre
hensive that the Jews should send an em
bassy to Rome to represent the crimes of
his corrupt government, and the murder of
innocent persons who had been condemned
by him -f. Philo, agreeably to tbe account
of the Evangelists, describes Pilate as putting
* Revel, ii. 6 — 15. Tertul. de Prescript. Haeret. Irenaeus,
lib. iii. c. 11. p. 218. lib.i. c. 23. lib. iii. p. 288. Epiph.
vol.i. lib. i. p. 70. 74. 91. 171, as cited by Bryant. See
Sentiments of Philo, c. 6.
+ Philo Legat. ad Caium, 1034.

299
justice to sale, and as shedding innocent
blood *.
It may be worth notice also, that Philo,
in relating the circumstances of derision,
contrived by the people of Alexandria, to
express their contempt of Herod Agrippa,
states that, as the Tetrarch was proceeding
to his government with permission to wear a
crown, they seated a distracted creature of
the name of Carabas in a conspicuous place
in the theatre, and put a paper crown on his
head and covered his body with a mat,
placing a reed as a sceptre into his hand,
with mockery -f* levelled against Agrippa,
in a manner which reminds us of the blas
phemous insults put in practice, with every
aggravation against our blessed Redeemer.
The attempts which are recorded in the
Acts of the Apostles to have been made
upon St. Paul's life, will be more readily
accounted for, and the danger from which
he was delivered be more fully understood,
if we consider that the Jews were so blinded
by bigotry and a persecuting spirit, that
even Philo states it to be proper that all
"- De Legat. ad Caium? c< 16.
t Philo in Flacc.

soo
who bad a zeal for virtue should have a
right to punish without delay, and with
their own hands, those who forsook the
worship of the true God, not carrying them
before a court of judicature, or the council,
or any magistrate whatsoever, but indulg
ing: the abhorrence of evil and the love of
God, in the immediate punishment of those
impious wretches ; and from such principles
might originate the custom among the Jews
of making a vow not to eat and drink until
they had killed the object of their religious
abhorrence. The writings of Plato, though they con
tain many fanciful and mystical comments on
Scripture, yet abound with just sentiments
eloquently expressed ; they were highly es
teemed by the primitive Church. He speaks
of God, and of the worship and purity be
coming his creatures, and describes the
duties of life and the rewards and punish
ments of sin with great solemnity and
effect *. The elevation of his thoughts
sometimes swells out his representations be
yond a strict and literal accuracy ; his style
* Philo de Monarch, vol. ii. De Mundi Opificio. et
Joseph. Antiq. lib. iv. 8.

301
however is perspicuous and beautiful. He
bears, the testimony of an enlarged mind
to the truth of revelation, and to the har
mony and importance of its communica
tions ; and his works illustrate the Provi
dence of God, who at 'no time left himself
without a witness, but employed, in different
ages and countries, distinguished persons to
diffuse a light around them, which, however
defective when compared with the bright
ness of Gospel Knowledge, served at least
to open the minds of men for the recep
tion of preliminary convictions. Philo, by
his wisdom and eloquence, attracted much
attention at Alexandria ; and his writings;
which were widely spread, excited doubtless
a reverence for the Holy Scriptures among
many who were not acquainted with them.
They confirm the sacred accounts, and in
particular those which* relate to the Israelites
in Egypt, and the plagues by which that
country was harassed. His remarks shew
with what peculiar severity the divine pu
nishment operated on Egypt *.
Grotius -f thinks that he discovers some
* De Mosc.
+ Grotius ad Heb. iv. 12. et Clericus in Epist. Critic,
p. 316.

302
proofs that the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews and St. John, had read the works
of Philo : some writers, without sufficient
authority, supposed that he was the author
of the Book of Wisdom *, drawing their con
clusion principally from an apparent corre
spondence between its principles and opi
nions, and those scattered through the works
of Philo. The respect which Philo professes
for the Septuagint, and which led him to De"
lieve that the translators had been inspired
to the production of a perfect conformity
with each other, and to an exact correspon
dence with the original, though extravagant,
was not peculiar to himself. The persuasion
which very generally prevailed, gave a cele
brity to the version, and contributed to render
the Old Testament more generally known
before the publication of the Gospel. Philo
relates that an annual festival was celebrated
in the Island of Pharos, and resorted to, not
only by the Jews, but by other people, for
grateful thanksgivings to God for the bless
ing f.
* Fabricii. Philo.
+, De Mosc. lib. ii. p. 140: De Leget ad Caium.

303

CHAP. XXXI.
Josephus.

The character of Josephus, as an histo
rian, is entitled to very particular considera
tion, and the testimonies which he affords in
support of Christianity have an especial claim
tp regard.
This eminent man appears to have been
raised up by Providence for purposes equally
remarkable and important. He stands on a
distinct ground between Sacred and Heathen
writers, and his works afford most valuable
illustrations of the Divine Authority of the
Scriptures, and of the truth of man}' facts on
which the claims of religion rest.
Flavius Josephus was the son of Matthias,
of sacerdotal extraction, and of royal descent,
on the mother's side, she being of the As-
monean race; he was born at Jerusalem,
A. D. 37, and died in 93. He seems to

504
have been educated in strict adherence to
the Mosaic law.
Whiston maintained that he was a Na
zarene, or Ebionite Jewish Christian. We
shall, however, agreeably to the common
opinion, consider him only as a believer in
the Divine authority of Moses and the pro
phets. He appears, indeed, to have entertained
some apprehension of the approaching ter
mination of the Jewish dispensation, as he
combated the opinions of his countrymen
with respect to the necessity of circumcision,
maintaining that every man should be left to
serve God in his own way, and he seems to
have expected the fall of Jerusalem.
Whatever his religious persuasions were,
he certainly established a high character by
his judgment and attainments, so as to have
been consulted at a very early age by those
who had the direction of the public affairs.
He obtained also stations of considerable
authority, and was employed in many under
takings of great moment and enterprize, in
which he displayed much activity and cou
rage. His distinguished talents enabled
him to record his own actions, und to trans-

305
mit tbe memorial of them, with that of the
history of bis country, to after ages.
He went to Rome in the 26th year of his
'age, A. D. 63, and having been introduced
by Aliturus, an Hebrew comedian to Pop-
psea, the empress, he experienced much fa
vour from her. On his return to his coun
try, he was appointed to the command of
some forces in Galilee, and distinguished
himself in the defence of Jotapata against
Vespasian and Titus. When the place was
-reduced, he was not only pardoned at the
intercession of Titus, but received into much
confidence and favour with Vespasian. He
appears, indeed, to have deluded himself into
a belief, or to have artfully persuaded Ves
pasian that he was authorized by a Divine
commission, to assure him that he should
fulfil the Jewish prophecies, and suc
ceed to the Empire*. Josephus was taken
by Vespasian to tbe siege of Jerusalem,
whence after beholding the accomplishment
of the ever memorable predictions of Christ
in the siege and destruction of the city, be
accompanied TituS to Rome, and obtained
the privileges of a Roman citizen, with an
* De Bell. Jud. lib. iv. (Sj) a. 1Q. p. 1205. Edit. Hudson.
VOL. I. X

306
allowance from Vespasian, which he enjoyed
many years, employing his time in the study
of the Greek language and in the compo
sition of his works.
The productions of Josephus consist of
the Jewish Antiquities, the War of the Jews,
his own Life, and two books against Apion.
The authenticity of the principal works
though assailed by Harduin, is fully es
tablished. Some smaller pieces are ascribed
to him, particularly a work entitled the
" Maccabees," or a Discourse on the " Em-
" pire of Reason," in which is related the mar
tyrdom of Eleazer, and of a woman and her
seven sons for refusing to abjure their faith.
It has been doubted whether this, be the
work of Josephus, and though the history
is related with solemnity as real, and is.-as-
signed to the time of Antiochus, it seems to
be considered by Grotius as a fiction, or as
embellished at least with manv fictitious cir-
cumstances*. Josephus wrote his history of the Jewish
war at the command of Vespasian. Some
think that it was first composed in Hebrew;
and Hebrew manuscripts either of this
* Grot, ad Luke xvi. J 9.

307
original, or of a subsequent version are occa
sionally mentioned, in particular one which
was in the Vatican. The history which was
finished about A. D. 76. was presented to
Vespasian in the Greek language*, and the
Emperor with his own hand wrote an order
for its being published. It afterwards ob
tained the approbation of Julius Archelaus-}-,
a distinguished Jew, of Herod, and of
King Agrippa J. It was deposited in the
public library at Rome, and a statue was
erected in honour of the author §. The
work must have attracted great attention
at Rome, at the time when the Jewish
nation was brought greatly into notice by
their obstinate rebellion, and by the dis
tinguished victories and triumph of Vespa
sian and Titus : to whose honour an arch
was erected at Rome, on which are still
to be seen the sculptured representations of
the vessels and ornaments of the temple of
Jerusalem. The golden table, and the candle-
* See Willes's First Discourse prefixed to L'Estrange's
Translation of Josephus ; and Ant. lib. x. c. 10. p. 458.
t Fabricius de Joseph.
t Cont. Apion, lib. i. § 9. et de Vit. Joseph.
§ Euseb. H. E. lib. iii. c. 9.
x 2

308
stick with the seven branches, were depo
sited in the temple of Peace, built with great
splendour by Vespasian upon the occasion,
and the sacred book of the law, and the
purple veils of the sanctuary, in the palace
of the Emperor *. The History of Josephus
is greatly lo be admired for the striking
and animated manner in which the author
describes the affecting scenes which he be
held. The Jewish Antiquities, whieh extend to
twenty-books, bring down the history of the
Jews from the beginning of the world to the
twelfth year of the reign of Nero, when thev
rebelled against the Romans.
This work was finished in the thirteenth
year of Domitian, A. D. 93. It is almost a
transcript of the Sacred History, written with
the latitude of a paraphrase. The author
introduces dates, with more attention to
chronology than is usual in ancient writers,
but still, with less accuracy than might be
wished, as they do not correspond with the
chronology of the Hebrew text ; or with that
of the Septuagint version, from the latter of
* De Bell. Jud. lib. vii. e. 5. p. 1307-

309
which he appears frequently to derive his in
formation. It is possible, however, that the copies may
have been mutilated, since they differ from
each other in many points, as well as in
chronology, and vary also from the accounts
of other writers *.
The history of his own life, which seems
originally to have been annexed to the An
tiquities, is continued down to the reign of
Domitian, who distinguished him for some
time by his favour.
His two books against Apion were written
after his Antiquities. Apion was a gramma
rian of Alexandria, who entertained great
prejudices against the Jews, and made many
misrepresentations concerning them, which
were refuted by Josephus, who bas preserved
in his work, some interesting fragments of
ancient historians, which repeat or confirm
many accounts of Scripture. How many
years Josephus lived after completing this
work is not exactly known. It has been
conjectured that he did not long survive his
patron Epaphroditus, who was put to death

* Spanheim de Chronol. Sacr, p. ii. c. 2. et Fabricius
in Joseph. 4

310
by Domitian, A. D. 95, after which, it has
been suspected tbat the historian fell a victim
to the malice of his enemies *.
Josephus, as an historian, is justly cele
brated for his fidelity and correctness. If he
admitted some relations of questionable cha
racter into his earlier accounts, and even in
termixed them with particulars of Sacred
History, and also disagreed with other
writers, yet, upon an impartial judgment, he
is entitled to the highest respect; and Sca-
liger justly observes that it is more safe to
believe him, not only as to the affairs of the
Jews, but as to those of foreign nations, than
any of the Latin writers ; and that sincerity
and compass of learning are every where con
spicuous. A great mass of information might be
collected from the works of Josephus
in confirmation of the evidence of Chris
tianity. The attestation which he gives
to the sacred accounts of the Old Testa
ment, is, indeed, so full, that he confirms al
most every part; writing with such variation
as might naturally be expected from an au
thor who composes a work in his own style,
* Dodwell. Dissert, vi. ad Irenaeum.

311
introducing his own additions and speeches *,
but with an evident deference to the sacred
writings, demonstrating his deep veneration
for, and entire confidence in them. It has
been alledged that he suppressed some events
and miraculous occurrences in the history of
the Jews, that he might not offend the con
temptuous prejudices of the Greeks and
Romans. In detailing the insidious massacre
of the Scecbemites, related in Gen. xxxiv.
he omits the singular fact, that they had pre
viously submitted to circumcision; and he
passes over the circumstances under which
Jacob led the flocks of Laban to conceive
spotted and speckled cattle, thus qualifying
some particulars in accommodation to the
opinions and manners of people who differed
so much from his countrymen; and he was not
himself sufficiently aware of the spiritual im
port of the Jewish dispensation, and of the
figurative application of the prophecies. It is
possible, also, that after having witnessed, as it
were, the dereliction of the Jewish nation by
Providence, he began to concede somewhat
to the incredulity of the Heathens around him ;
since he speaks with some apparent doubt

* Lib. iii. c. 1. § 2. c. 4. § 5. lib. iv. c. 8, Edit. Hudson*
1720, et passim.

312
as to the origin of circumcision ; and admits,
with extravagant latitude, a comparison be
tween the history of the passage through
the Red Sea, and that of Alexander over
the Pamphylian Sea*, lt does not, how
ever, appear that he intended to withhold the
proofs of that miraculous economy under
which the Jews were governed, in subjection
to a theocracy, He distinctly asserts the
inspiration of the Scriptures, relates the ac-»
complishment of Jewish prophecies, and pro
duces the miracles which were displayed ¦f in
Confirmation of the revelations which were
imparted. The detail of circumstances which
he records every where, demonstrates the
support and direction of Providence, mani^
testing its interposition, and exhibiting the
signs of a peculiar protection of the Jews,
He mentions the frequent disclosure of the
Divine presence; the descent and ministry
pf angels conversing with the patriarchs and
Others ; the transmutation of Lot's wife
into a pillar of salt, which was extant in his
time, and which he professes to have seen^,
the marvellous deliverance pf the Israelites
* Antiq. lib. ii. c. 16.
-r Ibid. lib. v. c. 1. lib. x. c. 1. 6. 8. 10. ftc.
I Lib. i. c. 11. p. 28. Clem, ad Corinth, et Irenseus adv.
Haves, lib. iv. c. 51.

313
from Egypt, and their support in the wilder
ness, with many subsequent indications of
God's especial direction ; the kindling of ce
lestial fire on the altar, consuming the sacri
fices; the permanent abode of a Divine
oracle, or source of illumination from which
revelations were obtained by the High
Priest, by means of the Urim and Thum
mim, the operation of which was expected
to be restored when tbe temple was rebuilt
jn the time of Nehemiah *, and which Jo
sephus represents to have ceased two hun
dred years before be composed'his Antiqui
ties -f,
In treating of the declarations of God,
which were prophetic, as relating to the
Messiah, he sometimes generalizes what is
particular, from not apprehending that im
port of the words which is distinctly seen by
those who have the veil of prejudice taken
from their hearts,, He omits, therefore, or
qualifies passages vihich have a spiritual
meaning, and which now contribute to the
support of faith; thus in delivering the pro
phetic declaration of God in the expression
pf his wrath towards our first parents in

• Neheiw. vii. 65. 1 Esd. v. 40. iv. 46. xiv. 41 ,
f Antiq- lib. iii. c. 8. and Whiston's $ote,

*

14

Paradise, he, drops the intimation with re
spect to the Messsiah, which is the essential
part of the promise; -and not being aware,
that by the serpent, we are to understand
the great enemy of mankind, he interprets
the divine threat with regard to the bruising
of Satan by the victory of Christ, as import
ing only that men should direct their strokes
against the serpent's head. Writing as a Jew,
either ignorant of, or studiously disguising
the truth, he omits to mention those parts of
the promises communicated to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, which conveyed to them
the assurance, that " in their seed should all
the nations of the earth be blessed *." He
may be thought however to have had some
notion of the future dominion of the promised
seed, as he speaks of Esau's having deprived
Jacob of a kingdom to be given him by
God-f-; but he had not, it should seem, any
notion that the enjoined sacrifice of Isaac
had a typical character.
On a general view of the testimonies af
forded by Josephus, they will be found to
relate principally to the establishment of
* Comp. Ant. lib. i. c. 10. 13. 19. with Gen. xii. 3. xxii.
18. xxv. 12. xxviii. 14.
t* Lib.i. c. 19. § 6. p. 40. as ktyneripitM rni wapa rU &iS
$aoihi\*%.

313
facts, as well those which illustrate tbe com
pletion of prophecy, as those, which tend to
verify the reports and accuracy of the evan
gelical writers. In the particulars which
will be adduced from the works of the
Jewish historian, we shall not so much in
sist upon the proofs which are to be found
in them, in confirmation of the prophecies
of the Old Testament, the accomplishment
of which took place, before the time of
Christ*, since, as being a Jew, he may be
supposed to have had a bias in favour of
such prophecies ; and it will be seen, that
he acknowledged as sacred, all the books
of the Old Testament which are received
by our Church -j-. It may be remarked,
however, that he bears witness to the com
pletion of the prediction of Daniel, by in
forming us, that Antiochus Epiphanes spoiled
the Temple, and put a stop to the practice
of offering up daily sacrifice during three
years and six months J. The accounts which
Josephus gives of the external veneration
which the Jews entertained for the l^tosaic
law are very remarkable, and the general
* Antiq. lib. v. c. 1. lib. ix. c. 11 — 13. lib. xvi. c. 1 — 6.
8—10. &c.
+ Cont. Apion, lib. i. § 8.
X De Bell. Jud. lib. i. c. 1.

s-i6
picture of the corruption of manners which
prevailed amon^ them, while it exhibits a
striking departure from the principles of the
law, is equally deserving of attention, being
full of interest from the relation which it
bears to the argument for the necessity of
the Divine instruction of Christ, and of his
intervention as a Mediator.
It is necessary, however, to proceed to a
more minute exposition of the evidence de
ducible from the works of Josephus. The
first particular which may be mentioned as
demonstrating strongly the advantage to be
derived from attention to the writings of
this historian is, that he appears to relate
with minute and unusual accuracy, and de
tail of dates, that Nehemiah, by unwearied
perseverance, finished the rebuilding of Je
rusalem, after three years and four months
exprlion, in the 28th year of Xerxes, and in
tbe ninth month*. Again, although he sel
dom adverts to astronomical circumstances,
he mentions an eclipse of the moon, which
took place a little before the death of Herod
the Great. By these chronological notices
some most important points relating to the
history of Christianity have been ascertained,
* Antiq. lib. xi. c. 5.

317
as the explication of the seventy weeks of
Daniel, the duration of «our Saviour's minis
try, and the time of his death, in conformity
to the prediction of that prophet*.
Tbe historian, in describing Daniel's inter
pretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar,
when he comes to the part which relates to
the stone cut out of the mountain without
bands, which was to break in pieces the iron,
the brass, and the clay, the silver and the
gold, and which is generaUy supposed to re
late to the kingdom of the Messiah, speaks
thus remarkably : " Daniel did also explain
" the things concerning the stone to the
v king, but I do not think proper to relate
" them, since I am only bound to describe
" thing9 past, or things present, but not
" things future ; yet, if any one be so very
" anxious of knowing truth, as not to abstain
" from such points of curiosity, being de-
" sirous to enquire as concerning things
" which are uncertain whether they shall
" happen, let him be diligent in reading the
" book of Daniel, which be will find among
" the sacred writings." Upon this intimar
* Whiston's Joseph. Antiq. lib. xi. c. 5, and xvii. c. 6.
and Supplement to the Literal Accomplishment of Pro
phecy, p. 72„

318
tion of the belief of Josephus, in a propheey
relating to Christ, Havercamp observes, that
it is not to be wondered at, that the his
torian would not meddle with things future,
for he had no mind to provoke the Romans
by speaking of the destruction of that city
whicb they called the Eternal City *.
Josephus admits that Daniel wrote con
cerning the dominion of the Romans, and
the desolation of Jerusalem to be effected by
them. It should seem that he was induced
to apply to Vespasian the prophecies whicb
related to Christ, upon interested motives,
since he himself afterwards intimated that
the Messiah was yet to come ; and he en
deavoured to introduce a latitude of opinion
upon the subject, by saying tbat interpreta
tions go by fancy, some one way, some ano
ther, and that the Jews in the end came to
suffer for their mistakes with irreparable
destruction of their country.
The account which Josephus gives of the
22 books of the canon, and of the conviction
which the Jews entertained of the Divine
authority of these books, is highly important,

* Antiq. lib. x. c. 10. p. 457. Edit. Hud. and note, p. 348.
Whiston's Translation,5

319
since he states that none dared to add to, or
take from, or in any respect alter them, but
that it was implanted in all from their birth,
to reverence them as containing the precepts
of God, to abide bythem, and cheerfully to die
for them if necessary *. The circumstantial
detail, likewise, which he recites of the tran
slation of the Mosaic law, under Ptolemy
Philadelphus, exhibits a proof of the care
with which Providence substantiated to Hea
then nations the authority of the Pentateuch,
securing its distribution in a language gene
rally understood long before the promulga
tion of the Gospel "j-.
Josephus sometimes conforms to the chro
nology of the Hebrew Scriptures, and some
times to that of the Septuagint, but occa
sionally differs from both J. The learned Hales
undertakes, from statements of Josephus,
which are supported by Theophilus, to correct
the system of ancient chronology upon a rec
tified era of the creation, B.C. 5811 §. Jo-

* Contra Apion, lib. i. § 8. et Procem. ad Antiq. § 3.
f Antiq. lib. xii. c. 2.
| See Willes's Second Discourse upon Josephus.
$ See Hales's New Analysis, vol. i. page 105. Josephus
Prjefat. Antiq. §.3.

320
sephus professes to give a history of five
thousand years from Scripture*.
The passages, in which Josephus concurs
with the accounts of the Evangelists, are nu
merous ; thus, for instance, his representa
tions, with respect to the demoniacs, confirm
the sacred relations, stating them to be per
sons possessed by the souls of wicked men,
which destroy them, if no assistance be ob
tained -j- ; the description which he gives of
the Jewish sects, particularly of the Scribes
and Pharisees, corresponds with what is
stated of them in the Gospel. He observes,
that the Pharisees asserted that God had de
creed to put an end to Herod's government;
which confirms the account in St. Matthew,
that the chief priest and Scribes (many of
whom were Pharisees) declared that " it was
" written in the Prophets, that out of Beth>
" lehem should come a Governor, who
" should rule over the people Israel."
The dissensions, the incestuous marriages,
in violation of the laws of Moses J, and the
other abominable crimes of the family of

* Contra Apion, lib. i. $ 1.
t De Bell. lib. vii. c. 6. p. 1308.
X Levit. xviii. 6, 7. 9. and Matt. xiv. S, 4.

321
Herod, especially their conduct with respect
to Christ, and' the Baptist, and his disciples,
drew down the Divine vengeance, and effected
the destruction of their house. The fate of
the first Herod was distinguished by the
most striking miseries; and his death was
characterized by a malignity, that pre
served to the last, the same spirit which led
him to murder the. Innocents at Bethlehem.
Josephus states, that not long before he
expired, he sent orders through Judea, re
quiring the presence of all the chief men
in Jericho, and he earnestly enjoined his
sister Salome and her husband Alexis to
enclose the circus,1 in which they were assem
bled, with soldiers, and to kill them at his
death *. The other accounts with respect to
Herod and his successors, accord with the
circumstances of their reigns, and characters,
incidentally mentioned, or alluded to, by the
Evangelists. The historian informs us, tbat
Herod, by his will, appointed Archelaus to
succeed him in Judea* with the title of
King, and assigned the rest Of bis domi
nions to Herod Antipas, as Tetrarch of Ga
lilee, and to Philip, with the exception of
a small part given to Salome. The will was
• Lib. xvii. c. 6.^769.
VOL. I. Y

322
ratified in part by Augustus, and Arche
laus was appointed ruler over Idumea and
Judea, with the title of Ethnarch, that of
King being reserved till he should merit it *.
He, however, soon assumed the distinction,
and Josephus, who admits the restriction im
posed, nevertheless calls him " the King who
" succeeded Herod -j-." The historian adds,
that Herod Antipas continued Tetrarch of
Galilee till removed by Caligula, thus
confirming the account of St. Luke^"., that
our Lord was " sent lo Herod, who himself
" was at Jerusalem at that time," because
" he belonged unto his jurisdiction :" and
afterwards attesting the justice of tbe punish
ment inflicted upon the man who had dared
to " set at nought" the Saviour of the world.
Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas, ac-
according to Josephus, governed Trachonitis,
with Batanea§, (of which St. Luke makes.
bim Tetrarch) together with Auranitis, and
other territories, thirty-seven years |j.
St. Matthew relates that Joseph, in re
turning from Egypt, with Mary and the
child Jesus turned aside into the parts o(.
• Antiq. lib. xvii. c. 8. 13. De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 4.
t Lib. xviii. c. 8. Matt. ii. 22.
t Luke xxiii. 7.
$ Antiq. lib. xvii. c 13. De Bell . Jud. L ii. c. 6.
£ See Xuke iii. i.

323
Galileo, when he heard that Archelaus
reigned in Judea, by whicb is implied that
Archelaus succeeded his father Herod the
Great, that his power did not extend to
Galilee, and that the state of his dominions
was insecure, or his character odious ; it
appears from the accounts of Josephus, that
soon after his father's death considerable
turbulence and discontent were manifested
against the memory of the departed king,
and that clamours were raised for satisfac
tion for injuries, so that not long after the
accession of Archelaus, his soldiers slew three
thousand citizens in an insurrection, and
Judea in general was so disturbed and tu
multuous, tbat it naturally occasioned the
return of the holy family to Nazareth *.
The historian states, that a difference arose
between Aretas, king of Arabia Petreea, and
Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, who had mar
ried his daughter. On a journey to Rome,
Herod making a visit to his brother Herod,
surnamed Philip, fell in love with Herodias,
Philip's wife, and daughter of their brother
Aristobulus, and she acceded to his proposals
to her, to live with him, on condition of his-f-
* Antiq. lib. xvii. c. 9.
t Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 6. § 1 . p. 804. Grotius in Matt. «iv. 3.
Y 2

324
putting away the daughter of Aretas. This
divorce probably occasioned a war ; and it
may be collected from Josephus, that the
soldiers, sent by Herod upon this occasion
against Aretas, passed through the country in
which St. John preached, at the very time
that he was proclaiming the necessity of re
pentance. It is possible that these were the
persons whom he instructed to do no vio
lence to any man, neither to accuse any
falsely, and to be content with their wages*.
It is remarkable that Josephus seems to
have imbibed the same spirit of instruction,
since he describes himself to have given very
similar advice to his own soldiers.
He tells us, indeed, that he had been
some time with Banus, an Ascetic, whom
Hudson conjectures to have been a follower
of the Baptist: — Josephus imitated for a
time his abstemious life, and seems to have
received from him, or some other teacher, a
more elevated apprehension of the law than
generally prevailed. Hence, perhaps, it was,
that though our Saviour states it to have
been a popular notion among the Jews to
love their neighbours and to hate their
enemies, Josephus represents it to be pro-
* Luke iii. 14.

325
hibited by the Jewish laws to spoil their
enemies *.
Herod's army, in his expedition against
Aretas, was defeated in consequence of
treachery. Josephus states, that some of the
Jews attributed his failure " to a divine pu-
" nishment for what he had done to the Bap-
" list, whom Herod had slain, though John
" was a good man, who exhorted the Jews
" to cultivate virtue, and by justice among
" each other, and piety to God, to approach
" to baptism ; for that thus baptism ap-
" peared acceptable to God when they had
" recourse to it, not for remission of sins,
" but for the sanctity of body, their minds
" being previously purified by righteous-
" ness.
The historian adds, that when others
were converted to John, since " for the
" most part they were pleased with hearing
" his discourse, Herod, being afraid lest John
" should avail himself of the confidence
" which men reposed in him to excite sedi-
" tion (for tbey appeared disposed to follow
" his counsel in every thing), thought it
" most expedient to seize and put him to
* See his Life, $ 26. See also § 23.

326
" death * before any thing more new should
" arise from him, rather than to expose
" himself to a late repentance after he
" should be brought into difficulties by any
'< change that might be effected *." John
therefore, on account of the suspicion of
Herod, was sent bound to the castle of Ma
chaerus, and there was put to death. The
Jews however thought, that the army of
Herod was destroyed in consequence of the
displeasure of God, avenging the death of
John. The historian does not mention He
rodias as the instigator upon this occasion ;
he, however, elsewhere informs us, that she
had a daughter by a former marriage, called
Salome, who is generally supposed to have
been the person that danced before Herod,
and who, to make sure of his execution of her
mother's purpose, demanded and obtained the
head of John. The historian also represents
Herodias as a woman who, by heT envy and
ambition, occasioned the deposition and ba-.
nishment of her husband Herod Antipas.
Josephus states, that Coponius was sent
* The words of Josephus are remarkable, and may be
thought to have some reference to the approach of the
change to be affected by the Advent of our Saviour: «r$i»
?i Harlot t| air'H yetsa-&M. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 6. § 2. p. 805.

S27
into Judea to govern it as a Roman pro
vince *, with the power of life and death ; and
at the same time Cyrenius, a Roman senator
of consular dignity, was appointed to be a
judge in Syria, to tax the inhabitants, and
to confiscate the substance of Archelaus.
This is supposed by Prideaux -f- to have
taken place at the very period that Christ
made his appearance in the temple at the
age of twelve years. We shall hereafter
have occasion to remark, that Cyrenius had
been previously sent as an assessor into
Judea by Augustus, who, being displeased
with Herod, wished to mortify him by this
mark of subjection £, and an enrolment
had in consequence commenced agreeably
to the statement of St. Luke §. The ap
pointment of a Roman governor, invested
with tbe power || of life and death, clearly
indicates the departure of civil authority : and
hence the chief priests declared before Pilate,
that the Jews had no king but Csesar. Some
writers assign to this period the accomplish-
* Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 1. et de Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 8,
+ Connect. Part ii. Book ix. p. 512.
X Antiq. lib. xvii. c. 15. p. 789. lib. xviii. c. 1. De Bell.
Jud. § Luke ii. 2.
|| John xviii. 31. xix. 10. Tacitus Annal. lib. ii. c. 42.
Lardner, Parti. Book i. c. 2. Edit. Kippis.

328
ment of the prophecy,, which foretold the
departure of the sceptre from Judah ; that
tribe being put for the whole nation, of
which, after the captivity, it formed the
greater part. Others conceive that the scep
tre departed from Judah thirty-seven years
before, at the accession of Herod the Great
to the throne, who was not a Jew by descent
from Abraham, his family being originally
from Ascalon. It may be replied, however,
that Herod, although he was not a Jew by
family descent, yet was one by birth * ; so
that the sceptre may be -strictly said not to
have departed from Judah, that is, from one
of the Jewish nation, until the arrival of
Coponius the Roman governor. After that
period, the high priest, in conjunction with
the Sanhedrim, or chief council of the Jews,
exercised some judicial power only ; and
they continued to possess this shadow of
authority, until the whole Jewish polity was
dissolved in the destruction of Jerusalem.
Julian evidently considers the government
as passed away from the lime that the Ro
mans established their power over Judea, as
a tributary province ; but he places this event
under the reign of Herod, from an erroneous.
• Basnage.

329
opinion of the nature of the census made by
order of Augustus. Hence be groundlessly
states as an objection to the Christians, that
Jesus, whom they proclaimed, was one of
Caesar's subjects *.
It has been supposed, tbat the census,
which was decreed by Augustus to mortify
Herod, was suspended on the reconciliation
of the emperor to him, and was afterwards
enforced when Archelaus was deposed on the
complaint of the Jews, who requested that
Judea might be rendered a province.
Josephus, in treating of the very period to
whicli the prophecy of Jacob^f- seems to poinr,
relates some proofs of that controul over the
spiritual and civil power of Judah, which
was exercised by the Romans ; particularly
when Pilate, who had exasperated the Jews
by endeavouring to introduce the standards
of the legions crowned with images into the
city, had drawn his army out of Samaria, and
employed it to support the violation of the
Jewish laws, by enforcing a payment out of
the holy treasur}7 to defray the expences of
an aqueduct, which he had brought to Jeru-*
* Apud Cyril, lib. vi.p. 213. Edit. Spanli.
¦j- Gen. xlix. 10.

330
salem. Some of those persons who resisted
his command, were killed in a tumult excited
upon the occasion.
Some have supposed, that these were pos
sibly the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had
mingled with their sacrifices *. The severe
treatment of these subjects of Herod had
possibly produced the enmity between him
and Pilate, which was done away by PilateV
sending Jesus to Herod -j*. Thus were the
measures, which subjected Christ to mockery,
rendered subservient to the promotion of re
conciliation between those who sat in judg
ment against him. It is deserving of notice,
that St. Luke mentions Pilate's being at
Jerusalem at that time, and Josephus alludes
to the practice of Herod in going up to Je
rusalem at the feast of the Passover J.
There appears to be some ground to re
mark, tbat Pilate's disposition to favour-'
Christ, which is sufficiently apparent, (though
in his timid compliance with popular cla
mour, he consented to give him up to be
crucified), might possibly have originated in.
his wish to countenance any pretension which
* Hist. lib. xviii. c. 3. Luke xiii. 1.
•J- Luke xxiii. 6 — 12.
X Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 5. $ 3. p. 801. c. 6. § 3.

331
might concur with his object of abolishing the
Jewish laws*.
Josephus represents Caiaphas to have suc
ceeded to the high priesthood during the
time of Valerius Gratus, who was succeeded
soon after in the government of Judea by
Pontius Pilate -h; and the historian farther
states, that Caiaphas was deposed by Vitel
lius:!:; which representations concur with the
accounts of the Evangelists who describe
Caiaphas and Pilate as contemporaries §
having condemned Jesus.
It may be collected from some parts of
Josephus, that the historian, who had been
much in Galilee, was well informed of the
appearance of our Saviour, and of many
circumstances connected with his ministry.
There are even some grounds to believe that
he entertained a respect for his pretensions,
or some hesitation at least in rejecting his
claims. In the 18th book of the Antiquities the
following passage occurs: "Now there was
" about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if we
" ought to call him a man, for he was a doer
" of wonderful works, a teacher of such men
* Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 3.
f Ibid. lib. xviii. c. 2. p. 795.
X Lib. xviii. c. 5. p. S02. § Luke iii. 1, 2.

332
" as receive the truth with pleasure. He
" drew over to him many of the Jews and
" many of the Gentiles ; he was [the] Christ;
" and Pilate, upon the denunciation of the
" principal men amongst us, having con-
*< demned him to the punishment of the
" cross, they, that loved him at the first, did
" not cease (to love him), for he appeared
" unto them alive again the third day ; the
*' Divine Prophets having spoken these, and
" ten thousand other wonderful things con-
" cernino; him : and the tribe of Christians
" so named from him, have continued until
" this time *."
There appears to have been a strong dis
position in some writers, since the revival of
literature, to consider th:s passage as spurious,
though Fabricius represents it to have been
in all the Greek and Latin editions and
manuscripts, which Bosius Bigolius, and
Lambecius, examined ; in a very ancient
Hebrew version in the Vatican, but after
wards erased, as it was said, by the Jews ;
and in two manuscripts of an Hebrew ver
sion, spoken of by Robert Canute in the 12th
century -}-.
* Lib. xviii. c. 4. § 3. p. 798. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. i,
c. 11. Hieron.
+ Baron. An. Christi 34. Num. 226.

333
Doubts concerning the authenticity of
this passage seem first to have been sug
gested by Gifanius and Osiander in the six
teenth century ; others have since confidently
rejected it*. It has been objected to it that
it is not cited by Justin Martyr, Tertullian,
Origen, Cyprian, or Photius, even when some
of these writers argue against the Jews ; but
we are to consider that some of these writers
profess to derive their arguments only from
Scripture, and the testimony itself was of
less importance in early times than it may
now be deemed -j- ; it seems to be cited in a
discourse (which some consider as genuine)
addressed to Dioclesian by Macariusj;, who
held an office of distinction in that emperor's
court ; it is quoted by Eusebius and St.
Jerome, and in the most express manner;
by Sozomen, Hegesippus, and others §.
It has, however, been farther urged, that
* Daubuz de Test. Joseph, ap Joseph, vol. ii. Edit.
Haver, p. 203.
f Cave, Hist. Literar. A. D. 67. Huet. Demons. Evang.
prop. iii. sect. 13.
I Act. Sanct. Maii. tom. v. 149.
§ Isidor. Pelus. iv. Epist. 22. lib. iii. c. 2. sect. 13. vol. v.
Sozom. Hist. lib. i. c. 1. and Hieron. Catal. Scrip. Eccles.
c. 13. Fabricii, Bibl. Grasc. lib. 416. Joseph. Testim.
vol. iv.. Ambrose vel Hegisip. de Excid, Urb. Hieros. lib. ii.
c. 12.

334
the passage speaks in such clear terms of
Christ, and with such apparent acknowledg
ment of some of his claims, that if it were
genuine the author must have been a believer
in the Divine authority of the Gospel, since
it seems to admit that Jesus was Christ or the
Messiah, and attests his resurrection on the
third day from the grave, in agreement with
the predictions of the prophets. But in
answer to this it may be observed, that no
thing is asserted but what was generally
known; nor considering how generally the
copies of Josephus were dispersed, could tbe
passage have been interpolated ; that Jo-.
sephus could not omit all mention of Christ,
without convicting himself of a manifest sup
pression of facts, while he professes to have
nothing so much at heart as not to omit any
thing of consequence * ; and that, regarding
the passage as genuine, the historian may
perhaps be understood to relate the account
only as it was currently received, without
intending to substantiate it, or allowing our
Saviour to be the Messiah in the Christian
construction of the word -j~, but only to be
the person known under that designation J.
* Antiq. lib xiv. c. 1.
+ Whiston's Dissert. 1. on text of Josephus, § 3. 7. 8.
I Tacitus Annal, lib. Xv. c. 44. Plin. lib. x. Epist. 97.

335
Jerome cites a passage as referring to him,
who was believed to be the Christ *. The
expressions which have been critically ex
amined have been found strictly to accord
with the style of Josephus -j-. Origen men
tions a passage in Josephus, in which the
historian spoke of Christ's discourse with
the doctors in the Temple, but the passage
is not to be found in the works which
are extant J. The Jews accused the Chris
tians of interpolating, and the Christians.
reproached the Jews for erasing, testimonies
to their cause. Suidas speaks of a passage
in his History of the Destruction of Jeru
salem, in which mention was made of Jesus
officiating in the Temple with the priests §,
but the passage is not now to be found.
The character and authority attributed by
Josephus to Herod Agrippa, the son of Aris
tobulus, accords with the accounts given of
him bv St. Luke, with relation to St. Peter.
The statement also of his death, as re
lated by the Evangelists |[, is confirmed by
* De Viris Must.
f Willes's 1st Discourse, p. 8.
J Cont. Cel». lib. i. p. 33. lib. ii. p. 69.
$ Suidas in voce Jesus, p. 1228. See also Luke iy.
16—18.
|| See Lardner, Part i. b. i. e. 2. p. 20. Acts xii. 20—23.

336
Josephus, who informs us, that he exhibited
spectacles in honour of Cffisar on an ap
pointed festival at Cesarea, formerly called
Straton's Tower, at which great numbers of
persons of distinction and rank were assem
bled. On the second day he put on a dress
of a rich and curious texture, when the silver
of the garment reflecting the beams of the
sun, shone out with great splendour, so as to
excite extraordinary admiration ; and the
Jews cried out that he was a god, exclaim
ing " be thou merciful to us, for though we
" have hitherto received thee as a man, yet
" shall we henceforth own thee as superior
" to mortal nature." Upon this he neither
rebuked them, nor rejected their flattery * ;
but as be presently looked up he beheld an
owl sitting on a cord over his head, and im
mediately understood that the bird foreboded
some evil tidings, it having been predicted to
him by a German, whom he saw when at
Rome, that an owl which then appeared to
him was an auspicious omen of a deliverance
to him, and that when he should again see it
he should die within five days. Agrippa fell
into violent agonies, and bitterly reproached
* Compare Acts xii* 22, 23*

337
his attendants for their wicked flattery of a
weak mortal. After suffering a few days he
expired in dreadful torments*. It is sup
posed that he was subjected by Divine judg
ment to an ulcer which generated worms,
as had been the case with his grandfather,
and as had likewise happened to Antiochus
Epiphanes, Sylla Felix, and Pheretima, the
wife of Battus, spoken of by Herodotus -j-.
The mention of the owl, which gives a lu
dicrous and improbable air to this story, is
omitted by Eusebius, who evidently states
nearly the same account, some fictitious addi
tions excepted, with that which is related in
the Acts J.
Josephus informs us that Ananus the
younger brought the brother of Jesus, who
was called Christ, whose name was James,
before the Sanhedrim hastily and illegally
convened, and upon an accusation which he
had formed, delivered him to be stoned to
death §. It appears from the complaint
which in consequence was made to Albinus,
* Antiq. lib. xix. c. 8.
•f 2 Maccab. c. ix. Plutarch, Sylla, v. iii. p. 95. Edit.
Tonson. Herod. Lib. iv. c. 205.
| Acts xii. 23.
§ Antiq. lib. xx. c. 8. comp. with Euseb. Hist. Eccles.
lib. ii. c. 24.
VOL. I. Z

338
that the consent of the civil Governor was
judged necessary to sanction the decrees of
the Sanhedrim in capital cases, and what is
stated on this occasion by Josephus, explains
the course of proceeding which had been
previously adopted at the condemnation of
our Saviour, who after he had been led to
Caiaphas, and condemned for blasphemy by
the High Priest, was conducted to Pilate.
It is to be observed that there was an appeal
from the lesser council of seven, in other cities,
to the supreme council of seventy, at Jerusa
lem, which declared the law against those
who were guilty of capital offences, but the
power pf life and death was taken away
from them ; which circumstance seems to
throw some light upon our Saviour's words,
" It cannot be, that a prophet perish out
" of Jerusalem *," making them to con
vey, not only a reference to the callous and
vindictive spirit of the Jews, but an allusion
to the laws by which they were constrained.
The conduct of the Jews towards James,
called " the Just," with relation, probably,
to the righteousness of the law, is said to
have been regarded by the miserable people
as one cause of the condemnation with which
s Luke xiii. 33.

339
they were visited ; and this guilty conviction
might have been enforced by the declaration
of Christ with respect to their punishment
for the righteous blood which they had be
fore shed. Theophylact refers to a passage
in Josephus to this effect, as relating that
the wrath of God was kindled on account ot
this murder. The passage is not to be
found in the present copies of the historian,
though it is observed that the conduct of
Ananus was condemned by the honest and
conscientious part of the city, and made a
subject of complaint to Agrippa and Albinus*.
It may be worth remarking, that we learn
from a fragment of Hegesippus f , that the
Ebionites interpreted a prophecy of Isaiah
as foretelling that very murder, and its con
sequent punishment, representing the pro
phecy, however, to contain more than the
sacred text authorizes, citing it thus : " Let
" us take away the Just One, for it is un-
" profitable to us, and therefore say ye to
" the righteous, that it shall be well with
" them, for they shall eat the fruit of their
" doings %." Or as others render the pas-
* Antiq. lib. xx. c. 8,
f Whiston's 1st Dissert, on Joseph, lib. i. j 15.
t Isaiah iii. 10.
Z 2

340
sage, " Let us take away the Just One, for
" he is unprofitable to us, therefore shall
" they eat the fruit of their own ways."
Josephus then, it may be presumed, was
sensible that the guilt of the Jews was aggra
vated by their conduct in this instance, as
without doubt it was in that greater and un
exampled work of depravity, the crucifixion ot
Christ, though he has not expressly specified
it among the causes of God's anger.
Josephus' speaks of Felix as having been
the Governor of Judea, and of Portius Festus
having succeeded him ; in a manner which
concurs with the representations of Sacred
History, and circumstances stated by the
Evangelical writers*. He relates also, that
Felix had procured the death of Jonathan
the High Priest, who bad recommended him
to be procurator of Judea, but who had ex
cited the displeasure of Felix, by his admo
nition to him, to correct his administration -j-;
a particular proof of what Tacitus affirms,
that he did not scruple to commit any kind
of injustice. Josephus remarks that the Ce
sarean Jews followed him with complaints to

* Antiq. lib. xx. c. 6, 7. De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 12. 14.
+ Antiq. lib. xx. c. 7. p. 893.

341
Rome, and that he narrowly escaped their
resentment, which tends to confirm the pro
bability of the account of St. Luke, that
Felix hoped that money should be given to
him, of St. Paul that he might loose him,
and it is to be remembered that Paul had
told Felix that he had come to bring alms
and offerings to bis nation *.
Josephus represents Felix to have seduced
Drusilla from her former husband and re
ligion, she having been the wife of Azizus,
king of Emesa -j~, particulars confirmed by
Tacitus, excepting that the Roman historian
represents Drusilla as the grand-daughter of
Antony and Cleopatra, whereas she was the
sister of Agrippa, and Tacitus probably con
founded her with another wife of Felix, who
had been three times married J. From all
that we collect from the Heathen historians,
we are led to remark with what peculiar
boldness St. Paul must have reasoned before
such a judge, concerning righteousness, tem-

* Acts xxiv. 17. Antiq. lib. xx. c. 7. p. 895.
+ Antiq. lib. xx. c. 6. p.' 890. and Tacit. Hist. lib. v.
c. 9. Annal. lib. xii. c. 54. Gen. xlix. 10.
X Suet. Claud, c. 28. Lardner, Parti, b. i. c. 1. p. 28.
Edit. Kippis, 1788.

342
perance, and judgment to come, and we hear
without surprise, that Felix trembled.
Josephus shews his belief in the immorta
lity of the soul, and professes to have dis
suaded his companions after the siege of
Jotapata from destroying themselves and
killing him, by alleging arguments very
similar, and enforced by similar figures, to
those which are employed by St. Paul : the
following passage is remarkable. " Ail have
" mortal bodies formed of corruptible mat-
" ter, but the soul is immortal, being a por-
" tion of the divinity inhabiting our bodies-
" What, know ye not that they who depart
" out of life according to the laws of nature,
" and pay to God the debt which he claims,
" when it is his will that we should be com-
" posed to sleep, will obtain eternal praise,
" and double houses and generations, and
" that pure and obedient souls remain about
" to receive a most holy place in hea-
" ven, for whence, after the revolution of
" ages, they shall be again appointed to in-
" habit new bodies; but that the souls of
" those who have madly laid violent hands
" upon themselves, shall be consigned to the
" darkest grave or hell * ?"
* Pe Bell. Jud. lib. iii. c. 7. p. 1144.

343
How similar is this to what St. Paul says,
" for we know that if our earthly frame of
" this tabernacle were dissolved we have a
" building of God, an house not made with
" hands, eternal in the heavens, for in this
'* we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed
" upon with an house which i.s from hea-

" ven *.

The remarks of Josephus which have been
thought to allude to a transmigration of
souls, and their return after a revolution of
ages, might have been introduced in accom
modation to popular notions prevailing in his
time. Vespasian not long after, exhorting
his soldiers to the desperate enterprise of
scaling the tower of Antonia, animated them
by intermingling arguments of vulgar and
erroneous superstition vvith just grounds of
appeal to the assurance of the immortality
of the soul ; which had been fully ratified
within the walls of the city which he as
sailed, saying : " But what man of sense and
" spirit can be so far ignorant that those
" whose soqls are released by the sword
" from the body, in the ranks of battle,
" are translated into the pure element
* 2 Cor. v. 1, 2. Lardner.

344
" of heaven, and enthroned in the stars,
" hence to appear to their posterity as good
" and propitious demons. But for those
" who die in their bed, as we say, or of
" some bodily disease, their souls from that
" instant are buried in darkness, let them be
" never so pure, and their memories are for
" ever lost*."
The description which St. Paul gives of
the Athenians, being in all things too super
stitious, or rather (as the expression used
implies,) addicted to the fear of the gods to
excess, is confirmed by Josephus, who repre
sents them to have been the most religious
people in Greece. There are passages like
wise in Sophocles, particularly in ihe OZdipus
Coloneus to the same effect -f-.
There are many other particulars men
tioned by Josephus which illustrate the ac
curacy of the Sacred Writers, but which
require too much detail to be noticed here.
The representation which Josephus gives
of the destruction of Jerusalem verifies in
the fullest and most circumstantial manner
the completion of our Saviour's denunciations
* De Bell. Jud. lib. vi. c. 1. p. 1263.
t Lin. 252. 1065, 6. et Joseph, cont. Apion, lib. ii.

345
with respect to that ever memorable event :
some particulars, in illustration of this subject,
have been already produced, but the whole
relation of Josephus is so exact a comment
upon the prophecies of Christ, that some fur
ther particulars must here be mentioned, and
nothing, indeed, can be more interesting than
to pursue the subject by comparing the spe
cific declarations of our Lord with the history
of their accomplishment. The prophecies
were delivered forty years, and recorded by
St. Matthew near thirty years before the
destruction of the city, and the Evangelists
were dead before the events were accom
plished, excepting St. John, of whom it had
been foretold, that he should not see death
till the things which were to come to pass
should be fulfilled.
Josephus states, that the Jews were im
pressed with the apprehension of the subver
sion of their city ; the apprehension, when
contrasted with the convictions which they
had so long and so firmly entertained with
respect to the eternal duration of their po
lity, and the immutable character of their in
stitutions, is very remarkable, and argues a
conscious sense of the, guilt which had been

346
incurred by the nation ; and a knowledge of
the threats which had been uttered against it.
In considering the general ground of this
apprehension, and the extent of the Divine
wrath, which at this time overshadowed the
Jewish nation, it is necessary to include in
our view some reference to those threats,
which had been uttered from tbe earliest
times by Moses and the prophets against the
Jews, and which evidently pointed for their
ultimate completion to the period in which
their wickedness should be consummated by
the condemnation and murder of Christ, and
the persecution of his disciples. Josephus
seems to have been persuaded, that it was
the design of Providence to inflict the
punishments which he had predicted against
the Jews for their wickedness *, and he con
fesses, with full conviction, that neither did
any other city ever suffer such miseries, or
any age ever breed a generation more fruit
ful in wickedness. It deserves to be noticed
that the Jews were excited to the war prin
cipally by a confidence in the prophecies
relating to the Messiah.
* De Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 4.

347
The historian informs us that the neigh
bouring mountains echoed to the groans and
lamentations of the people, whose sufferings
he describes in words which are very striking,
to have been so great, that " it appeared to
" him, that if all the misfortunes of all men
" from the beginning of the world, were
" compared with those of the Jews, they
" would not be so considerable as those which
" they sustained * ;" a remark which cannot
but remind us of the signal declaration of our
Lord, that " then there should be great tri-
" bulation, such as was not since the begin-
" ning of the world to his [this] time, no,
" nor ever should be, and that except those
" days should be shortened, there should no
" flesh be saved, but, that for the elect's
" sake, those days should be shortened •f."
Moses had foretold that unless the Jews
should reform, God would avenge his cove
nant, and bring " a nation against them from
'* far, from the ends of the earth, as swift as
" the eagle flieth, coming as the lightning
" shineth from the east to the west, a nation
" of fierce countenance, which should not re-
" gard the person of the old or shew favour to
* Prajf. ad Bell. Jud. t Matt, xxiv. 21, 22.

348
" the young, that they should destroy the
" fruit of the cattle, and the fruit of the land,
" and that they should besiege the people in
" all their gates, until their high and fenced
" walls came down, wherein they trusted
" throughout all their land," and that the
Jews should eat " the fruit of their own body,
" the flesh of their sons and of their daugh-
" ters, which the Lord their God had given
" them, in the siege, and in the straightness
" wherewith their enemies should distress
" them*."
In the literal accomplishment of these de
nunciations Josephus informs us, that Vespa
sian and his army, which was brought from
Britain, entered Judea from the east, and
when come to Gadara, slew all, man by man,
not shewing mercy to any, such was their ha
tred to the nation -f-. The like slaughter was
made at Gamala, only two women escaping
by concealment, and not even children being
spared J. At Jerusalem, the impetuosity and
perseverance of the besieging army, and the
resistance and obstinacy of the besieged, the
closeness of the circumvallation, and the des-
* Deut. xxviii. 49, 50. 58.
1 De Bell. Jud. lib. iii. c. 6.
J Ibid. lib.iv. c. I.

349
perate sallies of the Jews ; the extent of the
famine, and the horrors which it occasioned,
are utterly unparalleled : so that the tender
and delicate woman manifested literally those
unnatural cruelties towards her husband and
children, which are so strongly described by
Moses *.
Josephus states, that five hundred persons
were, upon an average, daily taken pri
soners, who excited the compassion of Titus,
but least he should be embarrassed by the
custody of men whose courage and de
spair were so remarkable, he relinquished
them to the soldiers, who tortured and
crucified them before the walls of the city.
in such numbers, " that rfoom was wanting
" for tbe crosses, and crosses for the bo-
" dies-)--" Upon other occasions, however, Titus, in
contemplating the wretched spectacle of
men, emaciated and disfigured by the dread
ful effects of famine, and massacred by his
soldiers for the gold which they had swal
lowed when they deserted to them, issued
the strictest orders, and adopted the strongest
* Levit. xxvi. 29. Deut. xxviii. 56. et de Bell. Jud. lib.
vi. c. 3. p. 1275.
t De Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 11. p. 1247.

350
measures to protect them : and when he
beheld the dead and putrifying bodies
which were cast from the walls, he uttered
a groan, and spreading out his hands to
heaven, he called God to witness, that it
was not his doing ; and he assured the sol
diers, with peculiar confidence, that they
were assisted by God himself. On entering
the city also, when he contemplated the height
and solidity of the fortresses, the magnitude
of the individual stones, and the exact and
well-compacted harmony with which they
were joined, and considered their breadth
and length, he exclaimed : " We have fought
" with God on our side, who thrust down the
" Jews from these fortifications ; for what
" could the hands or machines of men avail
" against these towers * ?"
Our Saviour had forewarned his disciples,
that there should arise false Christs and false
prophets, who should shew great signs and
wonders ; and that if they should say unto
them, " behold he is in the desert, be-
" hold he is in the secret chamber, they
" should not go forth." Josephus repre
sents many such impostors to have increased
* De Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 12. lib. vi, c. 9. p. 1290. et passim.
5

351
the infatuation of the people, and exasperated
the enemy, by urging the Jews to the most
insolent and contemptuous defiance of the
Romans, in the confidence of miraculous de
liverance. Our Saviour instructed the Jews to pray
to God, that their flight might not be on the
sabbath ; and it appears from Josephus, that
very remarkable calamities resulted from a
flight on that day from Gischala, besieged
by Titus, while those who remained in the
town experienced the clemency of Titus*.
It appears also, that the superstitious re
gard which they paid to the day, so as to be
prevented from defending themselves, even
in cases of extreme necessity, occasioned
the taking of their city by Titus, as it had
before subjeeted them to defeat by Pompey
and Sosius-f-.
The Jews, it was foretold by Christ, were
to be left few in number. It is related by
Josephus, that upwards of eleven hundred
thousand of them were destroyed from the
entrance of the armies into Judea ; and it
appears by the enumeration made by Bishop
* De Bell. Jud. lib. iv. c. 2. Cont. Apion. lib. i.
t De Bell. Jud. lib. vi. c. 5. See Antiq. viii. 1 . xiv. c. 4.
lib. xii. c. 6. de Bell. Jud. lib. iv. c. 2. lib. vii. c. 3.
l Maccab. ii. 32.

352
Newton, that the number of their slain ex
ceeded one million three hundred and fifty
thousand, and that ninety-seven thousand of
them were taken captives *.
The siege of Jerusalem began at the pass-
over, when the city was filled with assembled
multitudes. The historian states also, that during the
siege upwards of seven hundred thousand
persons were carried out to burial through
the gate, besides the unnumbered multitudes
thrown over the walls. Tacitus reports six
hundred thousand to have perished. In
any case we may subscribe to the remark of
Josephus, that in reality it was God who
condemned the whole nation, and turned
every course that was taken for their preser
vation, to their destruction -p.
Our blessed Saviour declared, that Jeru
salem should be destroyed before a genera
tion should be passed away, or the Gospel
preached to all nations J. He declared that
the enemies of the city should lay it even with
the ground, and not leave one stone on
another §; and Micah had before pre-
* De Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 3. lib. vii. c. 11. lib. vi. c. 5.
+ Lib. v. c. 2.
t Comp. Isai. xiii. 10. with Matt. xxiv. 11.
$ Luke xix. 44.

353
dieted, that Zion should be ploughed as a
field *.
Josephus states, that Titus laboured to
preserve the temple, but that the soldiers,
as if hurried on by a Divine impulse,
would not listen to him, but set fire to every
part. Titus afterwards ordered the remainder
of the city to be demolished, and the founda
tions of its walls to be dug up -j-.
From that time, all attempts to rebuild
it have failed, and Ammianus Marcellinus
and Julian, furnish evidence of miraculous
interposition to prevent its being effected,
so that even Gibbon seems constrained to
admit, what he shews every disposition to
question. Thus it appears, that there are many par
ticulars incorporated with the works of Jo
sephus, which form together a firm texture
of truth, in which we every where discern the
confirmation of Sacred History. An Hebrew
writer, who lived at the time that the struc-

• Micah iii. 12.
-f De Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 2. Euseb. Demon, Evang.
lib. vi. c. 13. p. 273. Edit. Par. 1628.
VOL. 1. A a

354
ture of the Mosaic dispensation was dis
solved, and the foundations of the Christian
temple were laid, is endowed with particular
talents, and placed in peculiar circumstances,
to enable him to bear undeniable testimony
to the most important truths. A Jew, led
by the hand of Providence, is conducted by
the Romans to Jerusalem, to behold it en
compassed with their armies, which effect its
destruction in the manner precisely fore
told. " He walks about Zion, ahd goes
" round about her, tells the towers thereof,
*' marks well her bulwarks, and considers her
u palaces, that he may tell them that are to
** come after."
He acknowledges every where, and repre
sents the Roman emperor to have acknow
ledged the direction of the Almighty *. He
exhibits the Jews labouring under a judicial
blindness, and encouraged by the remem
brance of God's frequent interposition in
their favour, to believe, even when the enemy
was within the walls, that they should still
experience a deliverance, and thereby aggra
vating their own calamities, and ensuring
* De Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 28.

+

355
their own fate, having neither eyes to see, or
minds to believe *.
A spectator and an historian of the
events, he verifies the completion of the di
vine revelation in every part ; and while We
thought, possibly, that he was describing
only the fulfilment of the Jewish prophecies,
he unintentionally substantiated the exact
accomplishment of the denunciations of our
Lord -f. He, and the writers, who consent
with him, weave a purple robe for Christ,
which though put on with insult and
mockery, is expressive of the inherent ma
jesty of him who wears it ; and they inscribe
a title in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, which
with whatsoever view it was written, " is
" written," and declares that " Jesus is the
" King of the Jews."
The conviction which must result to every
impartial reader of the works of Josephus,
cannot, I think, be resisted. It is related in
the Life of Count de Santenne, who became
* De Bell. Jud. lib. iv. c. 7. lib. vi. c. i.
+ It is not undeserving of notice, that Josephus relates,
that the watchmen on the walls of the city, when they saw
the tremendous stones approaching which were thrown from
the engines, were accustomed to cry out, " the Son cometh ;"
all the manuscripts agree in this reading, and Reland ob
serves, that some will suspect a mystery.
a a 2

356
a monk of La Trappe, and is known under
the name of Palaemon, that he was first
moved to consider the majesty of God,
and to a faith in the Scriptures, by reading
Josephus *.
Josephus mentions other writers, besides
those whose report has already been ad
duced, who bear testimony to the Jewish
History, as Agatharcides, who speaks of the
reverence of the Jews for the sabbath, in ab
staining on that day from military exercises
and agriculture, and employing it in devo
tion -f ; he states also, that Ptolemy, the son
of Lagus, availed himself of this custom
to enter the city with an army on that day.
The historian mentions likewise Theo
philus, Theodotius, Aristophanes, Hermo-
genes, Conon, Zopyrian, and others, who
particularly spoke of the Jews, and acknow
ledged the antiquity of their nation.

* Fabricius, in Flav., Joseph, lib. iv.
t Cont. Apion, lib. i.

35?

CHAP. XXXII.
The Voyage of St. Paul apparently confirmed
by an Account in the Life of Josephus.

There is an account in the life of Jo
sephus, written by himself, which contains so
many circumstances of correspondence with
the relation given of St. Paul's voyage, in
the Acts of the Apostles, that it may be
worth while to compare the two reports; and
perhaps it will appear not improbable, that
they both refer, in part at least, to the same
events, and that St. Paul and Josephus were
companions upon this occasion, sailing during
part of the voyage together, and travelling in
company from Puteoli to Rome.
The very interesting detail of circumstances
recorded by St. Luke, has been examined
with so much attention, that it is somewhat
surprizing that the confirmation of it, which
seems to be afforded by Josephus, should have
escaped notice, or that the passage at least
should not have been brought forward with
a view to substantiate the statements made

358
by the Evangelist; a consideration whicb,
while it imposes the necessity of much diffi
dence, tends also to excite a desire that the
two accounts should be carefully compared ;
since it would be an interesting subject of
reflection, if the particulars in which the two
relations differ, could be reconciled, and we
might be authorized to conclude, that Jose
phus was a fellow passenger with St. Paul
during a part of the voyage.
As the account in the Acts of the Apostles
is familiar and accessible to all, it is unne
cessary to exhibit it at full length here, or
to give more than an abstract of the chief
circumstances. The Apostle, when 'accused before Felix
and Festus, having appealed to Caesar, was
ordered to be sent lo Rome. He is de
scribed as having embarked in conformity
to this order, in a ship of Adramyttium.
It is not stated from what port he sailed,
but as the vessel touched next day at Sidon,
it was possibly from Ptolemais (first called
Aeon *,) or as Grotius supposes from Cae
sarea -j-.
After having arrived at Myra, in Lycia,
he was put on board a ship of Alexandria
sailing for Italy ; many vessels being usually
* ]?liny, lib.ii, c. 73, t A^ts xxv. 4,— 13, and xxvii.

359
employed from that port to convey corn and
other productions to Italy, which generally
frequented Puteoli, as Bryant has observed.
The circumstances of the voyage are de
scribed with an animation and a detail parti
cularly affecting, so as to carry with them the
lively evidence of truth and exactness. When
on board this vessel, St. Paul seems, by
some Divine intimation, to have perceived
that the voyage would be attended, not only
with damage to the ship and its burden,
but to the lives of the passengers ; and to
have, in consequence, advised the centurion
to pass the winter in a haven of Crete ; but
the advice not having been followed, and
a tempestuous wind having arisen, the vessel,
after exposure to many perils, struck ; and
the hinder part was broken by the violence
of the waves ; upon which the whole crew,
consisting of two hundred and seventy-six
persons, casting themselves into the sea, es
caped in safety, agreeably to the assurance of
St. Paul, who had foretold that not an hair
should/fall from the head of any of them.
The island of Melita, which the Apostle
with others reached, has generally* been sup
posed, on the authority of Bochart, Cella-
rius, and others* and by local tradition, to
have been Malta. Grotius mentions an an-

360
cient incription in that island, in which the
first magistrate is styled, as by St. Luke, the
chief man of the island, (v^ujos rye. vytrv,) and
the Romanists have grounded many legends
and superstitions on the supposition. There is,
however, good reason to believe, as Bryant
has shewn, that it was not Malta ; and that
it really was Melita Illyrica, which was in
the direct course of the voyage, being si
tuated in the Adriatic between Corcyra
Nigra and tbe main land *. Malta, though
Bochart has endeavoured to represent it-h
as being in the Adriatic, cannot properly be
included within the limits of that sea.
After remaining three months in the island
which they had happily reached, the Apostle
and his companions again departed in a ship
of Alexandria, and after having for a short
time landed at Syracuse, at length disem
barked at Puteoli, where they found brethren,
and from thence, after being met by more
brethren at Appii Forum and the three
Taverns, they proceeded to Rome, where
St. Paul was allowed to dwell in a private
house under the care of a soldier appointed
to remain with him.
The account in the life of Josephus written
* Bryant on the Island of Melita, Polyb. Stephen.
t Geogr. Sac.

S6l
by himself, appears to relate to this voyage,
and seems to prove that Josephus was a
companion in a part of it with St. Paul.
There are, indeed, difficulties which interfere
with this opinion, which, as the subject is of
some moment, may be proposed for critical
investigation. The relation is as follows :
" After the 26th year of my age, it hap-
" pened that I went up to Rome on the oc-
" casion that I shall now mention. At the
" time when Felix was procurator of Judea,
" there were certain priests of my acquaint-
" ance, good and worthy persons, whom on
" a small and trifling occasion he had put
" into bonds, and sent to Rome to plead
"their cause before Cassar. For these I
" was desirous to procure deliverance, and
" that especially because I was informed
" that they were not unmindful of piety to-
" wards God, even under their affliction,
" but supported themselves with figs and
" nuts : accordingly I came to Rome, though
" it was often through great hazards by sea,
" for our ship being wrecked in the midst
" of the Adriatic Sea, we that were in it,
" being about six hundred in number, swam
" for our lives all the night, when, upon the
" first appearance of the day, a ship of Cyrene
" appearing to us, by the providence of

362
*' God, I, and some others, eighty in all,
*' preventing the rest, were taken up
" into the ship; and when I had thus
" escaped, and had come lo Diceearchia,
" which the Italians call Puteoli, I became
" acquainted with Aliturus, an actor of
" plays, a Jew by birth, and much beloved
" by Nero, and through his interest became
" known to Poppsea, Caesar's wife, and took
" care as soon as possible to entreat her to
" procure that the priests might be set at
" liberty*. The reasons which might lead us to sup
pose that this account refers to the voyage
and shipwreck, which St. Paul describes, are
as follows : In the first place, it is to be ob
served, that the period of time which is
assigned by the best supported calculations,
namely, A. D. 63 *j-, corresponds with that
mentioned by Josephus, since tbe historian
relates himself to have been born in the
third year of Caligula, A.D. 37, and to
have undertaken his voyage in the 26th year
of his age, which will bring his arrival at
Rome to A. D. 63.
It is not improbable that Josephus, who
• See Life of F. Josephus, Whist. Transl.
f Hales's New Analys. vol.;ii. p. 11. 13. Lardner, vol. i.
erS; p. 30.

S63
was of Sacerdotal descent, and brought up
in the strict profession of the Pharisaic opi-»
nions, should have felt an interest in the
welfare of St. Paul, who was a Pharisee,
brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and who
might be called a priest, as he assumed the
character of a preacher of righteousness.
What Josephus says pf Felix having, as pro
curator of Judea, sent the persons spoken of
to Rome may be inaccurately stated, or
may relate to some order first given by Felix
to this effect, but the execution of which was
delayed by the change of governor. This
would accord with the account of St. Luke,
and would not be inconsistent with what is
further stated by him, that St. Paul was de
tained two years in confinement, and that
Festus, not long after his arrival to take pos
session of the government, examined Paul at
Caesarea, and after having again beard his
defence in presence of Agrippa, directed
him to be conveyed to Rome. Josephus
then, speaking of the imprisonment and
sending of St. Paul to Rome, ascribes both
the measures to their first author, whose un
popular government was the subject of very
general complaint,, and whose proceedings
were most likely to be traversed at Rome.
Tbe piety and resignation which the histo-

364
rian ascribes to his companions, accord well
with the character of St. Paul ; and the
circumstance of their supporting themselves
by figs and nuts, may help to explain what
is stated in the Acts, that the passengers
fasted fourteen days * ; that is, had no re
gular food. It might have been by means
of the interest of Aliturus, that St. Paul was
allowed the liberty of residing at his own
house at Rome.
The other difficulties which occur are not
so easily removed, and present a fair subject
for discussion. It is stated by Josephus, that
there were six hundred persons in the ship in
which he sailed, though, in the vessel in which
St. Paul was wrecked, there were but two
hundred and seventy-six.
The number, however, mentioned by Jo
sephus is so great as to lead us to suspect
some mistake, since it is not by any means
credible, that trading vessels at that time
were accustomed to contain, or capable of
accommodating so great a number of persons.
With respect to the difference between
the accounts in the Acts, and that of Jose
phus, as to the circumstances of the escape,
it is to be considered whether Josephus, and
* Or fasted on the fourteenth day ; see observations on the
xiith Book of Pope's translation of Homer's Odyssey, 1. 532.

365
the seventy-nine with him, might not have
been separated from those, who swam to shore
at Melita, and have been taken up in the ship
of Cyrene, being the persons who " first cast
" themselves into the sea ;" as is related
in the Acts; and whether the remainder
of the crew, whom Josephus states, were
swimming with him all the night, and of
whose subsequent fate he says nothing,
' might not have reached the land together
with St. Paul. Why, when Josephus after
wards, upon this supposition, must have re
ceived the account of St. Paul's escape with
the rest, he should "omit to record it, can be
explained only from a reluctance which he
might feel, to confirm or report the miracu
lous circumstances which demonstrated the
Divine countenance to St. Paul's mission,
which if he had admitted he must have been
a convert to Christianity. He certainly speaks
inaccurately in one instance, representing
himself and his companions to have swam all
the night, which, without a miracle at least,
could not have been literally effected ; another
difficulty, and perhaps the greatest, is, that
St. Paul expressly says, that they escaped all
safe to land, and that when they escaped they
knew that the island was called Melita, which
seems to imply, that they all reached the same

^366
island. It is possible, however, that the
Apostle, by the word " all," refers to the im
mediate antecedent in the verse, speaking dis
tinctly of those who followed the first division.
The integrity of the miracle and the decla
rations of St. Paul, that there should be no
loss of any mart's life, and that not an1 hair
should fall from the head of any of them1, are
equally established, whether the whole crew
reached the land, or some only, while others
were taken up into a ship. If Josephus Was
one of the brethren whom the Apostle found
at Puteoli, he might have been delayed on
his voyage from Melita, or detained at Pu
teoli, by Aliturus, till St. Paul arrived there :
if these circumstances should not be thought
to be satisfactorily reconciled, there are still
so many concurrences, that the accounts must
at least be allowed to bear a very remarkable
resemblance to each other, if not to refer to
the same event ; for let it be considered that
in both accounts the prisoners are represented
to have been put into bonds, by Felix, upon
a trifling occasion, and in both, to have ap
pealed to Caesar. In both relations, men of
extraordinary piety and excellence are ex
posed to shipwreck in the Adriatic in the
same year ; and in both they wonderfully
escape by a remarkable Providence, In both

367
histories they arrive at Puteoli, and in both
instances the prisoners are, by an unexpected
indulgence in some degree, set at liberty, in
consequence it should seem of interest made
with the emperor.
Tt is probable, from some circumstances
which are alluded to in the Epistle of St.
Paul, that he appeared once if not twice
formally before Nero, soon after his arrival
at Rome. In his Epistle to the Philippians,
he observes, that " the things which had hap-
" pened, had fallen out rather to the fur-
" therance of the Gospel, so that his bonds
" in Christ were manifest in all the palace*,
" and in all other palaces ;" and he seems to
allude to his examination in his Epistle to
Timothy, stating, that " in his first answer no
" man stood with him, but all men forsook
" him, notwithstanding," continues he, " the
" Lord stood with me and strengthened me,
" that by me the preaching might be fully
" known, and that all the Gentiles might
" hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth
" of the lion -f ;" thus employing a term to
describe the emperor which is often applied,
by other writers, to tyrannical princes |.
* Philip, i. 12, 13.
t 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17; see also Acts xxv. 9, 10. 12. xxvi.
31, 32. xxv. 26.
X Ezek, xix, 1—9.

368
It has been farther conjectured that Ju
lius, who courteously entreated Paul *, might
have recommended him to the captain of the
guard. The charge against him was not
likely to excite much sensation at Rome.
Lardner supposes it probable that St. Paul
might have been brought before the emperor,
by Burrhus, the Praefect of the Praetorian
guard, and that many of the court, and pos
sibly Seneca might have been present y.
The Apostle appears to have converted
some in the palace, not, it should seem,
merely domestics or tradesmen, but relations
of the Emperor J: and, in his Epistle to the
Philippians, he sends the salutation of those
that are of Caesar's household §.
* Acts xxyii. 3.
t Lardner in 2 Tim. xii.
X Vid. Annot. Philol. in Polyb. et Arrian. a M. Georgia
Raphael in Philet. 4022.
§ Philip, iv. 12.

END OF VOL. I.

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