.'?«' f 566. SMITH (George). The Gentile Nations ; or, the History and Religion of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. With the" ful- filment of .Sacred Prophecy. N. Y., n. d Svo. oUHB^BPftM^ $1.50 THE GIFT OF HEBER GUSHING PETERS CLASS OF 1892 [kim dtrlm < 5226 The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this book copy the call No. and give to the hbraiian. HOME USE RULES. All Books subject to Recall. Books not in use for instruction or research are returnable within 4 weeks. Volumes of periodi- cals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special purposes they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges tor the bene- fit of other persons. Students must re- turn all book^ before leaving town. Officers should arrange for the return of books wanted during their absence from town. Books needed by more than one person are held on the reserve list. Books of specid value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to report all cases ,of books marked or muti- lated. Do not deface books by marks a^^hrritine. Cornell University Library arW37534 The Gentile nations : 3 1924 031 786 191 olln.anx The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031786191 THE GENTILE NATIONS OR, t Ptstarg au^ ^l^Ugiott EGYPTIANS, ASSYRIANS, BABYLONIANS, MEDES. PERSIANS, GREEKS, AND ROMANS; OOLLBOTED PEOM ANCIENT AtTTHOBS AND HOLT 80EIPTUEE, AND INCLUDING THE RECBNT DISCOVERIES IN EGYPTIAN, PBK8IAN, AND A88TEIAN IN8CEIPTI0NB : rOEMINa A COMTLETE CONNEXION OF SACRED AND PROPANE HISTORY, AND SHOWING THE FULFILMENT OF SACRED PROPHECY. BY GEORGE SMITH, F. A. S., MBMBBE OF THE EOTAL ASIATIC 800IBTT OF GEEAT BEITAIN AND ntELAND, OF THE EOTAI, 800IBTT OF LITBBATUBB, OF THE IEI8H AECH^OLOGICAX SOOIBTT, ETC. FOCBTH EDITION. PUBLISHED BY CAELTON & POETEE, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. PREFACE. In presenting the third and concluding part of the " Sacred Annals " to the public, the author feels called upon to apologize for the delay which has taken place in its pubUcation. In the Preface to " The Hebrew People," he announced that, so long since as 1849, he had made considerable preparation for the composition of this portion ; but, notwithstanding this preparation, and his most diligent exer- tions, it has not been found possible to complete it at an earlier period. This has been in part the result of unexpected demands which have been made on the author's time; but the principal cause has been his anxious wish to avail himself to the utmost of the recent important discoveries in the Bast, and to incorporate their result, as far as practicable, in his account of the annals and faith of the earlier of the four great empires. This has been done ; and the history and religion of these ancient Gentile nations are now placed before the reader, with the full advan- tage of the additions, corrections, and corroborations, which have been obtained by the disinterment of Assyrian and Babylonish sculptures, and the translations of the inscriptions which have been found in those countries, and in Persia. In this part of the work, as well as in the preceding, it has been the author's unvarying aim to exhibit an intelligible view of the history and religion of these ancient monarchies. From the size of the book, the historical part can hardly be expected to extend beyond a mere sketch of each of the great empires. Yet, even in this limited compass, scarcely a single diflSculty or an important event has escaped notice and elucidation. Especial attention has been given to chronology ; and this, which has been aptly termed "the soul of history," has, in respect of the early portion of the annals of every nation, been very carefully investigated, and, it is hoped, accurately ascertained. But the ruling element of this volume, and, in fact, of the whole work, is its religious character. The maintenance of this through- out the series of researches comprised in the " Gentile Nations," has been a labour attended with very great difficulty. To pass beyond the ritualism and ceremonial extemalism everywhere preva- 4 PREFACE. lent, to penetrate into the nature and genius of the various forms which idolatry assumed, and to form a sound judgment respecting the religious doctrines, practices, and morals of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, of Persia, Greece, and Rome, has been a most arduous task. But it has been honestly and earnestly attempted; and the result is now submitted to the candid consideration of the Christian public. If the author has succeeded in these efforts, it will have been made plain, that, in every one of these far-famed nations, God left himself not without an efficient witness. Everywhere is seen demonstrative evidence of the existence and operation of divine truth, and of divine influence, in ancient days ; and ample proof is afforded, that the soul- destroying and mind-debasing idolatry of those nations was not an accident, or an error, but a crime induced by Satanic agency. The author ventures to hope, that more than this has been eflFected by these researches ; and that the field of ancient history has been wrested from the power of infidelity and scepticism, and made subservient to the interests of revealed truth. It has at least been shown, that an honest and candid examination of the annals of the primitive nations, not only does not produce any facts in opposition to the records of Holy Writ, but actually furnishes the most important illustrations and corroborations of their teaching : and, what is yet more remarkable, it has been clearly shown, that the foul and false systems of doctrine and worship, which Satanic energy fastened at length on every part of the Gentile world, in all their darkness and enormity, bear witness to the light from which men had departed, and the truth which they had forsaken : so that, in future, the history and religion of the ancient heathen world may be numbered among the most important of the external evidences of the verity of divine revelation. At all events, the author has filled up his plan in accordance with his first announcement. More than ten years ago he formed the purpose of writing " An Epitome of the History and Religion of the World, from the Creation to the Birth of Christ." By a steady and continued course of exertion, amid the pressure of many important avocations, he has at length, by the good providence of God, completed his task ; and, with feelings of unaffected thanks- giving to the Author of all good, he consecrates the result of his toil to the cause of evangelical godliness, for the advancement of Scriptural knowledge. Tbevu, Cameobne, October 13th, 1863. CONTENTS. peelimInary disseetation. THE ORIGIN, CHARACTER, MYSTERIES AND ORACLES OF PAGAN IDOLATRY. Knowledge of this Subject necessary — False Seligion attests the Religious Tendency of Man — Heathen Idolatry must be studied with a distinct Recognition of Satanic Influ- ence — Necessity of admitting the Evidence of Revelation — Oeigin of Idolatet — Idolatry in Postdiluvian Times arose before the Dispersion — And emanated from Babel — Was not at first a violent Introduction of Error, but a fatal Perversion of Truth — Elements of Truth liable to this Perversion — Plurality of Persons in one Deity — Promised Incarnation — Rites of Patriarchal Worship — Man's primitive Purity and Fall — Similarity of the Adamic and Noachic Families — Hero- Worship considered as arising out of the promised Incarnation, and taking the Form of a Triad from the Great Father and his three Sons — ^Peculiar Case of Egypt — Animal-Worship — Folly of many Attempts to account for it — Originated in the Cherubim — Worship of material Elements — ^The Agency under which all this Error was evolved made apparent by the universal Worship of the Serpent Form — ^The eeligious Chaeactek of this System — It practi- cally obliterated the essential Principle of the Divine Unity — Banished all Idea of Divine Purity — And destroyed at once the Knowledge of God, and Confidence in him — Character of Idolatrous Worship — General Admission — But the Being to whom this Worship was offered was not God — And the Service, although often grand and imposing, was generally associated with foul and filthy Abominations — The MYSTEEiEa — The Theory of Warburton refuted by Leland — Conflicting Theories as to the Origin of the Mysteries — Their Object equally contested — Their Origin defined — Their Object explained — ^Essential Elements of Heathen Mysteries — The Oeacles of Heathen Worship — An undoubted Privilege of Patriarchal Times to have Access unto God, and to obtain special and important Instruction by this Means— Contest between the Learned as to whether Heathen Oracles were sustained by Satanic Influence — Testimony of Scripture — Judgment of the Learned on the Character and Credit of the Oracles — Case of CrcBBUs, King of Lydia, from Herodotus — The Result of the Inquiry establishes the Operation of Satanic Influence — General Observations in Conclusion Page 15 CHAPTER I, EBYPT : ITS HISTORY. Geneeal View of Egypt — ^Difficulties which oppose our Acquaintance with its Early History — ^Undoubted Evidence of High Civilization in the most Remote Times — Prowess and Reign of Amosis — Eighteenth Dynasty — ^Death of Jacob — ^Wonder- ful Perfection of Mechanical Art — ^Death of Joseph — ^Moses — The Exodus — Canaanitish Nations weakened by Egyptian Invasion before . the Israelites crossed the Jordan — Sesostris — Nineteenth Dynasty — Sethos — His Conquests — ^The Absence of further ; CONTENTS. Allusion to Canaan on the Monuments, a striking Proof of the Truth of Scripture— TwENTrETH Dtnastt— TwENTT-nEST DnTASiT— Effect of the Commercial Policy of the Hebrews on Egypt — TwENTT-SEcoifD Dynasty— Shishat— His Invasion of Judea — Twenty-third Dynasty— Decline of Egyptian Power— Twenty-focbth Dynasty— Bocohoris- Twenty-fifth Dynasty — Tarkus— Twenty-skth Dynasty — The Dodeo- archy— Triumph and Reign of Ps'ammiticus— Pharaoh-Necho — His Victory over the Hebrews— Apries, the Pharaoh-Hophra of Scripture— Defeated and put to death by Amosis— Conquest of Egypt by a Persian Army— Twenty-seventh Dynasty— Era of Persian Rule— Successful Government of Darius — Gallant Effort of Inaros — His Defeat and Death— Herodotus— TwENTY-EioHTH Dynasty— Amyrtseus— Twenty-ninth Dy- nasty — THntTiETH Dynasty — Chronological DifBcuIties — ^Persian Invasion defeated — Slothful Habits and Ultimate Energy of Darius Ochus— Thiety-eiest Dynasty — Persian Rule reestablished — Thiety-seoonb Dynasty — Conquest of Egypt by Alex- ander the Great — His profound and successful Political and Commercial Policy — Alexandria built^-Ruin of the Macedonian House — ^Thiety-thied Dynasty — The Ptolemies— Lagus— His Successful Rule— Power and Cultivation of Egypt under Philadelphus— Euergetes successful in War— Intercourse between Egypt and Rome — Gradual Decline of Egyptian Power — ^Excessive Vices of the ruling Princes — Cleopatra, Ctesar, and Antony — ^Bgypt a Roman Province Page 5S CHAPTER II. THE RELIGION OP THE EGYPTIANS. Refbeenoe to this Subject in " the Patriarchal Age " — ^The Importance of Th«olost to Religion — Egyptian Triads, their Relation to primitive Promise and Noah — The prob- able Identity of these Triads — Animal-Worship originated in the Cherubim, and carried out to an infamous Extent — General View of Egyptian Mythology — The Moeai.3 of Egypt, recognised in Jurisprudence — Prominence given to Truth and Justice — • Illustrations — The Doctrine of the Immoetauty of the Soul — Curious Corruptions associated with this Doctrine — Object of Embalming — The Doctrine of a future Judg- ment — ^The Opinions held by this People exhibited — ^Important Light imparted thereby on the Subject of Morals — The Hall of Judgment and forty-two Assessors— All result- ing in everlasting Happiness or Punishment — Providence — General Accuracy of Doc- trine, but neutralized by Polytheism — General Character and Influence of this Relig- ion — ^Morals — ^Divine Sanction — ^Future Retribution — Spiritual Character — Remarkable Juxtaposition of Truth and Error 128 CHAPTER III. THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS History of Assyria resumed with the Reign of Beloohus — Absence of precise Informa- tion respecting this and succeeding Reigns — ^Probability that even in this Age the Power of Egypt was felt on the Banks of the Euphrates — Interference of Assyria in the Trojan War — Fragmentary Notices of ancient Reigns recovered from Inscriptions by Colonel Rawlinson — Connected Assyrian History begins about the Tenth Centurv, B. C. — Adeammbleoh I. — Saedanapalus I. — His military Career and Successes — ^Di- vanubaea — The Annals of his Reign from the Black Obelisk and other Sculptures — Shemas Adae — Adeammelech II. or Thonos Concoleeos — The Termination of the Old Imperial Dynasty — Aebaoks the Mode on the Throne of Assyria — The Mission of Jonah, and its Results — The Assyrians recover their Sovereignty— PuL obtains the sceptre — Mcnahem, King of Israel, destroys Tiphsah — Pul invades Israel, and ex- CONTENTS. 7 torts a thousand Talents of Silver from Menahem — Tiglath-Pilesbe succeeds to the Throne — ^At the Solicitation of Ahaz, he invades Syria and Israel, and carries the trans-Jordanic Tribes and the Inhabitants of Galilee into Captivity — Colonel Raw- linson's Arrangement of the Information obtained from the Sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik — Sargina usurps the Throne — His Annals and public Works — Sex- NACHERiB — His Campaigns from the Inscriptions — Remarkable Accordance between their Account of his War with Hezekiah, and that given in the Scriptures — The De- struction of his Army — His subsequent Reign — Esaehaddon — ^The Ruin of Samaria, and final Subversion of the Kingdom of Israel — The Captivity and Restoration of Man- asseh — Nabuchodokosob — His Wars in the East — Defeat and Death of Phraortes — An Army under Holofernes sent into Western Asia — The General slain by Judith, and the Army surprised and routed — Saeac, or Saedanapalus II. — Alliance of Media and Ba- bylon against Assyria — ^Nineveh besieged and taken — The Assyrian Empire sub- verted Page 148 CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORY OF THE BABYLONIANS. Babylon the Seat of the first Postdiluvian Sovereignty — Conquered and subjected to Assyria — ^Policy of Assyria toward subject Countries — Nabosassae — The Era bearing his Name — He was independent — Nadius, CniNzmns, Pokus, and Jue.sns, successively reign — Maedocempadus or Meeodach-Baladak — ^His Embassage to Hezekiah — Aechi- A-itjs — ^Haqisa — ^Maeadach Baldanes — Beubds defeated by Assyria — Asoedanes — Nabopolassae — ^Babylon asserts its Independence — Coalition of Babylon and Media against Xineveh — Scythian Invasion — ^Nineveh destroyed — The King of Egypt de- feated at Carchemish — Nebuchadsezzae — ^Takes Jerusalem— Carries avray the prin- cipal Inhabitants into Captivity — Makes Zedekiah King— He rebels — Jerusalem again taken, and destroyed— Tyre taken, after a Siege of Thirteen Years— Egypt conquered Nebuchadnezzar greatly improves Babylon by many Splendid Erections — ^Nebuchad- nezzar's Dream of the Great Image — ^Explained by Daniel — Its wonderful Revelations The Golden Image — Extraordinary Measures adopted for its Dedication — Heroism of the Three Hebrews — Glorious Revelation of the Son of God — ^Important Results of this Divine Interposition — The Dream of a Great Tree — Its Interpretation and Accom- plishment — Noble Acknowledgment of the King— His Prophecy and Death— Evir.- ilEEODAOH King— Liberates Jehoiachin from Prison — Neriglissar reigns — Forms a Combination against Media — He is slain in Battle — Laboeosarchod reigns — The Bel- 9HAZZAE of the Book of Daniel — His Youth and Cruelty — He profanes the Sacred Vessels Is slain — Darius takes the Kingdom, and appoints Labtsetus Viceroy of Babylon He rules subject to Media — ^Declares himself independents-Is defeated in Battle ^Babylon taken by Cyrus — LabynetuB taken at Borsippa, and sent into Car- mania — Termination of the Babylonian Monarchy 181 CHAPTER V. THE RELIGION OF THE ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. Babylon the seat of the first post-diluvian Apostacy— Peculiar Religious Position of Babylon and Assyria^Epiphanius on the Early Declension of Religion— Information contained in his Statement^Fragment of Damascius— Its Important Teaching— The Chaldjean Oracles exhibit the same Fact— A Triad consisting of the Great Mother, Father, and Only-begotten Son— Further Development of Chaldean Mythology— ■ ialdcean Deities— Their Origin and Peculiarities— Worship of the Heavenly Bodies, S CONTENTS. and of Fire — Chaldaean and Assyrian Idolatry began with Hero and Demon Worship in the Form of Iliads — ^Mr. Faber on this Subject — Symbolical Eepresentation of the Great Triad— Other Symbols— Assarac — Cherubic Figures— The Sacred Tree — A Gar- den called " Paradise " attached to each Eoyal Palace — The Palace itself a Sacred Temple^Doubts of Layard — Elaborate Proof of Fergusson — The King revered as a Divine Person — ^Proof of this — Manner in which the Kings evinced their Claim to this Character — This Idea shown to pervade the whole System — Remarkable Identity of Character which the Eeligion of Assyria and Babylon maintained through so many Ages — General Views — Gradual Declension in Theology — ^Worship of Fire — The Results of Hebrew Intercourse and Divine Interposition on the Religion of these Countries — Sabffianism not the Primitive Religion of Assyria — A large Amount of Patriarchal History and Religious Knowledge must have remained in the Primitive Nations long after the Dispersion — Patriarchal Longevity designed to prevent a Deterioration in Religion — Connexion with the Hebrews — Divine Interposition more likely on this Ground to be effective — Assyrian Intercourse with Egypt — Assyrian Knowledge of Hebrew History — The Mission of Jonah — Its Religious Results — The Destruction of the Assyrian Emigrants in Samaria by Lions — A Hebrew Priest sent to teach them the Law of the Lord — Babylon elated by the Ruin of Jerusalem — The King humbled, and all the People taught Divine Truth, on the Plains of Dura — Nebuchadnezzar's Insanity, Restoration, and Proclamation Page 202 CHAPTER VI. THE HISTORY OF THE MEDES. LiNEAOE and Country of the Modes — Ecbatana, the Capital — Revolt of the Modes against Assyria — They recover their Independence — A Season of Anarchy — Public Spirit and judicial Efforts of Dejoces — He is raised to the Sovereignty of Media — Establishes a regular Government and greatly improves the Country — Phhaoetes, a martial Prince, subdues Persia, and extends the Median Power over other neighbouring Nations — Invades Assyria, is defeated and slain — Ecbatana stormed and spoiled by the Assyrian King — Ctaxares invades Assyria — Defeats the Imperial Army, and besieges Xineveh — The Scythian Invasion — ^The Medes defeated — The Scythians overrun Asia — Their Massacre and Expulsion — The Lydian War — ^It is suspended, and Nineveh besieged a second Time, and taken — The Lydian War renewed — Terminated by the Eclipse of Thales — Asttages reigns — Prosecutes various Wars — Belshazzar slain — ^The Kingdom of Babylon reverts to Astyages — Media conquered, and the Kingdom subverted by Cyrus 243 CHAPTER VII. THE PERSIANS AND THE MEDO-PEBSIAN EMPIRE. Persia a Province of the Assyrian Empire — ^Peculiar Interest attaching to this Part of Persian History — The Spirit and Prowess of the Blacksmith Kawah obtain the Inde- pendence of his Country — Feridoon placed on the Throne — His long and just Reign — He divides his Kingdom between his Sons, Selm, Toor, and Erij — Erij slain by hi? Brothers — ^The Assassins defeated and slain by Manucheher, who reigns with great Celebrity — Sam, Prime Minister — Roostum, his Grandson, the great Persian Hern, born — ^Nouzer succeeds to the Throne — His cruL'l Reign — He is slain — Zoo oxpels the Enemy — His Son Kersharp raised to the Throne, and afterward deposed — End of the Peshdadian Dynasty — The Kaianian Dynasty — ^The Median Ascendency concealed by imaginary Kings, Kai Kobad representing Dejoces and Phraortes, and Kai Koos Cyax- CONTENTS. 9 ares and Astyages — Reference to the Eclipse of Thales— Kai Khoseu, or Cyrus, succeeds to the Throne — The Account of Ctesias respecting his Parentage — The proba- ble Career of this Warrior, until he defeats and deposes Astyages — Cyrus marries the Daughter of Astyages — ^The Death of the deposed King — Cyrus conquers Lydia — Takes Babylon, and establishes a universal Empire — His Conduct toward the Hebrews —The Restoration of Jerusalem begun — ^Extent of the Persian Empire — The Death of Cyrus — Cambtses — He prohibits the Progress of Building at Jerusalem — Invades and conquers Egypt — His impolitic Cruelty and Impiety — Usurpation of Smerdis the Magian — Death of Camhyses — Smerdis destroyed by a Conspiracy of Nobles — Darius raised to the Throne — His improved Mode of Government — The Case of DeniOL-edes, the Greek Physician — Makes an Edict in favour of the Hebrews — ^Reduces Samos — Babylon rebels — The Self-sacrifice of Zopyrus — Babylon is taken — Conquests in the East — A Body of Greek Troops wage War in Asia Minor, and burn Sardis — Darius contemplates the Invasion of Greece — Failure of the first Expedition under Mardo- nius — Battle of Marathon, and Ruin of the second Persian Invasion — Death of Darius — ^Persepolis — Behistun Sculptures — ^Xerxes — Subdues Egypt — Makes vast Prepara- tions for the Invasion of Greece — Crosses the Hellespont — Battle at Thermopylte — The Persian Fleet defeated at Salamis, and their Army destroyed at Platsea— The Remnant of the Persian Fleet and Ai'my destroyed at Mycale — Horrible Criro- and Cruelty perpetrated in the royal Court — ^Xerxes assassinated — -Artaxerxes I. established on the Throne — MaiTies Esther — Ezra -and Nehemiah sent to Judea — Revolt of Egypt — ^Peace with Athens — Xerxes II. — Sogdianus — ^Darius Nothcs sub- dues his Rivals — ^Demoralization of the Persian Court — Artaxerxes H. — Revolt of Cyrus — He marches into the East — Is slain, and the Army dispersed, at Cunaxa — Re- treat of the Ten Thousand Greeks — Continued Iniquity of the Court — ^Revolt and Death of the Heir-apparent — ^Artaxerxes HI. murders the royal Family — ^Restores Persian Authority in Egypt, Phenicia, and Cyprus — ^Darius HI. undertakes the Government — Alexander invades the Empire — Triumph of the Macedonian Page 251 CHAPTER VIII. THE RELIGION OF THE PERSIANS. Importance and Difficulties of the Subject — Great Aid supplied by ancient Inscriptions — The Religion of Persia identical in its original Elements with that of Assyria and Babylon — Opinion of Jacob Bryant on the first Zoroaster — ^Its probable Import — The Magi — General Elements of the Persian Faith — Deity of the King — ^Palace-Temples — Paradises — Sacred Tree — Cherubic Figures — Divine Triad — Persian Peculiarities in this Symbol — The supreme Deity in Persia represented with the Head of a Bird — The Religious System of Zoroaster — The first Triad : Cronus, Ormuzd, Ahriman — This changed to Ormuzd, Mithras, Ahriman — ^Their respective Character and Position — The Antagonism and Creations of Ormuzd and Ahriman — The Worship of Fire, its probable Origin — ^The System of Zoroaster professed to rest on Divine Revelation — The Creation of Angels, the World, and Mankind — General Accordance with Holy Scripture — The Fall of Man The Prevalence of Evil — The Flood — Continuance of Depravity — Mission of Zoroaster — ^The Spiritual Nature of Man — Future Judgment — Resurrection — Dccr trine of universal Restoration — Wicked Men, and even Ahriman, raised to Heaven — The Priesthood — Their Three Orders : Herboods, Mobeds, and the Dustoor — Altars and Temples— Perpetual Fire — ^Public Worship — Sacred Rites — Holy Water — Morals — Sound Principles mingled with much that is puerile and superstitious — The Faith of Persia formed a perfect Type of Papal Superstition — Observations on the Manner in which this Inquiry has been conducted — Folly of forming an Opinion on this Subject under the Influence of Greciiin Mythology — Necessity of recognising the Founders of the Nation as Members of the great patriarchal Family — General View of the Sys- tem 287 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. THE HISTORY OF THE GEECIAN STATES. Althoush occupying a small Country, and not possessing early Civilization, the Greeks arose to superlative Distinction in History — The Geography of Greece — The Origin of the Greeks — Pelasgians and Hellenes kindred Races — ^Legendary History — The Argo- nautic Expedition — The Theban Legends — The Trojan War — The Heturn of the Hera- cleids — State of the Grecian States in the Time of Lycurgus — Division into numerous independent Communities — Their Unity of Blood, Manners, and Religion — ^The Politi- cal and Civil Institutions of Lycurgus — Sparta subdues the Messenians — The State of Athens — ^Prevalent and long-continued Disorder — Solon — He regains Possession of Salamis — Succeeds in the Sacred War against Cirrha — Fearful State of Society — Solon invested with Supreme Power — ^His Reforming Measures, and new Political Constitu- tion, established — Pisistratus obtains the Chief Authority — The Tyrant expelled, and Democracy established, by the Aid of Sparta — The smaller Grecian States — The Islands and Colonies — Causes which led to the First Persian Invasion— It utterly fails — ^A Second prepared, and disembarked at the Bay of Marathon — Completely defeated by the Athenians under Miltiades — ^Further Persian Preparations for the Conquest of Greece — Suspended by the Death of Darius — ^Xerxes at length determines on another Invasion — His Immense Preparations and Vast Army — Checked at Thermopyl* — His Fleet defeated at Artemisium — ^Athens destroyed — The Persian Fleet ruined at Salamis — Xerxes retreats — ^Returns to Asia — ^Mardonins makes the most flattering Overtures to the Athenians — Which they nobly reject — ^Apathy of Sparta — Attica ravaged a Second Time — A United Greek Army at length opposes the Foe — The Persian Force is annihilated at Plataea — On the same day the Persian Fleet is destroyed at Mycale — Successful Prosecution of the War, followed by Peace with Persia — -The Period, Caiises, and Progress of Grecian Civilization and Advancement — ^Thales — ^Pythagoras — Greece attains her Highest Intellectual Elevation — Great Wealth and Power of Athens — ^First Peloponnesian War — Mischievous Policy of Alcibiades — Second Peloponnesian War — Ruin of Athens — Sparta tyrannizes over the other Grecian States — Restoration of Athens to Independence — Xenophon and the Ten Thousand — Thebes — Pelopidas and Epamiuondas — Philip of Macedon — His Improved Military Tactics — Takes advantage of the Disunion and Rivalry of the Greek States to make himself Master of the Coun- try — Alexander succeeds his Father — Prepares for the Invasion of Persia — -Battle of the GranicuB — ^His uninterrupted Success — ^In Three Years he extends his Sway from the Mediterranean to India — His Death — State of Greece during the Victorious Career of Alexander — Aggression of Sparta on Macedon — ^Repelled — Tumults on the Death of Alexander, repressed by Antipater — Cassander — His Government — ^Interference of Rome — ^Progress of her Power — Greece a Roman Province Page 313 CHAPTER X. THE REUGION OF GREECE. The earliest Religion of this People appears to have been a strange Compound of the Adoration of the material Elements and Powers of Nature ; united with a sacred Re- gard for Mythic Ijegends, which had been traditionally preserved — Expansion of this Scheme after the Return of the Heracleids, and the Establishment of the Dorian Power — Outline of Grecian Theology and Cosmogony — The Grecian Deities — Zens Hera — ApoUon — Artemis — Hermes — Hephaistos — Aphrodite — Ares — Eros, and other minor Divinities — The Greek Triad— Evident Connexion of the whole Scheme with Scriptural Tradition — The Temples — ^Priests — Worship— Divination — Oracles and Mys- teries — The Influence of Philosophy examined— Thales — His Doctrines, and the Ionic CONTENTS. 11 School — Ptthagoeas — His System — Failure in Greece, and wonderful Success in Sicily — ^The Character of Ms Teaching — Sooeates — His Mode of Instruction — ^Doctrines — He claims a Divine Mission — The important Character and Influence of his Teaching — Plato — General View of his Ohject — His Doctrines — Grand Intellectual Development evinced in his Philosophy — But his Efforts unfavourable to Morals and Religion — Aristotle — His brilliant Intellectual Efforts — ^Inefficient in respect of Religion — Zeno and the Stoics — Physical and Moral Doctrines — ^Unsatisfactory Result — EpicnKns — His System — ^Its pernicious Effects — General View of Grecian Faith — Importance of Divine Influence, and a recognition of its Power — The Eifect of these four Schools of Philosophy fatal to the Religion of Greece — ^Utter Failure of every Influence to correct the Effects of a vitiated Theology Page 360 CHAPTER XL THE HISTORY OF KOME. Impoetanoe of Roman History — Unusual Extent of its Legendary Portion — ^Arrival of iEneas on the Banks of the Tiber — ^Lavinium — ^Alba — Romulus and Remus — ^Rome — Death of Remus — ^Rape of the Sabine Virgins — Sabine War — Political Constitution of the first Romans — ^Numa — Tullus Hostllius — Albans removed to Rome — Aneus Martins — ^The Reigns of the Tarquins and of Servius Tullius — ^Tragic Fate of Lucretia — Abolition of Royalty — Junius Brutus — ^War with Porsenua — ^Destruction of Veil — Invasion of the Gauls — ^Distress of the Romans — Oppressive Character of the Laws respecting the Poor — ^Legislative Reform — ^Renewed aggressive War — ^All Italy subdued by the Romans — War with Carthage — The First Punic War — Sicily added to Rome as a Province — Fur- ther Extension of Territory on the Continent procured by the Romans — Sardinia seized — Hannibal — ^His deadly Enmity to Rome — His Measures in Spain — ^The Second Punic War — Hannibal invades Italy — His wonderful Success — ^Repeated Defeat of the Roman Armies — Scipio leads a Roman Army into Africa — Obtains successive Victories — ^Hannibal recalled to Carthage, and defeated — Peace between Rome and Carthage, on Terms dictated by Rome — ^War with Macedon, in which Rome is triumphant, Philip reduced to Submission, and Liberty proclaimed to Greece — Antiochus of Syria malces War on Rome — ^Is entirely defeated — ^War between Rome and Perseus, King of Mace- don — He is completely subdued — Rapid Increase and vast Extent of the lionian Do- minions — The Third Punic War — ^Destruction of Carthage — Continued Progress of Roman Power — ^Results of these successive and immense military Operations on the Parent State — Isolation of the Ruling Class from the People — Great Distress of the latter — Tiberius Gracchus endeavours to effect legislative Reforms for correcting these Evils — Is circumvented, and murdered — Cains Gracchus succeeds his Brother in his Efforts to redress the Grievances of the People — Carries several Measures — ^Loses his election on being proposed a third Time for the Tribuneship — Determines on armed Re- sistance—Is defeated, and slain — ^Progress of Patrician Power, and the Demoralization of Roman Governments— Jugurthine War — Marius Consul — Termination of the War, and Captivity and cruel Death of Jugurtha — War with the Cimbri — The Romans sustain several Defeats, but the Enemy is ultimately routed and destroyed by Marius — Civil Wars in Sicily and Italy — Italians incorporated as Roman Citizens — Factious Rivalry between Marius and Sylla — The former in a Tumult expels his rival, and makes him- self Master of Rome^-Sylla at the Head of an Army marches to Rome, and takes Pos- session of the City — ^He removes his Enemies from Power, and proceeds to conduct the War against Mithridates — The King of Pontus completely defeated — Rome subjected to fearful Carnage and Disorder by Marius and Cinna — Sylla grants Mithridates Terms of Peace, and, uniting the Army of Fimbria to his own, returns to Rome — Sylla de- feats the Troops of the Consuls, and makes himself absolute Master of Rome — ^Fearful Extent of his Proscriptions, and consequent Slaughter of Soldiers and Citizens — His Death — Pompey defeats a Marian Faction in Spain — Destroys the Cilician Pirates — 12 CONTENTS. Defeats Mithridates, and annexes Ms Dominions to Rome — Conspiracy of Catiline at Eome — Defeated ty Cicero — The First Triumvirate— Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Csesar — Crassus slain in the Parthian War — Cmsar, commanded by the Senate to dis- band his Army, marches on Borne — ^Porapey retires to Greece — ^Is followed by Csesar, and defeated — Flies to Egypt, and is slain there — Julius Csesar sole Ruler of the Roman Dominions — Caesar slain by Conspirators — Strange Irresolution and want of Unity evinced by the Conspirators after the Death of Caesar — The selfish Policy, Peculation, and Ambition of Antony — ^Prudent Conduct of the young Octavius — He is elected Ci ii- sul— Flight of Brutus and Cassius— The Second Triumvirate — ^Antony, Lepidns, and Octavius— Defeat and Death of Brutus and Cassius — Antony's disgraceful Residence in Egypt — Lepidus banished — ^Defeat of Antony at Actium — ^He commits suicide in Egypt— Octavius, as Augustus, supreme Euler at Rome Page 406 CHAPTER XII. THE RELIGION OF ROME. Mistaken Notion which obtains of this Religion — Rome greatly indebted to Btruria— The Religious Institutions of the Etruscans — ^Importance of the Establishment of these Religions Institutions in Italy, before the Rise of Rome to Power — The Etruscan Religion exhibited much important Truth and Divine Influence — Considerable Refer- ence -to Primitive Traditions, and the Recognition of a Future State and Judgment — The Founders of Rome educated in these Doctrines — All the Primitive Arrangement and Organization of Rome formed on an Etruscan Basis — Sabine and Latin Deities introduced by the Union of these Tribes — Numa and his Institutions — Reign of Tar- quin — Servius Tullius — Corruptions in Theology and Image-Worship introduced — The Gods of Rome — Dii majorum — Dii aelecti — Dii minorum — Sacred Persons — ^Priests — Augurs — Fetialee — Flamens — ^The Sacred Places and Rites of this Religion — ^Temples — Prayers — Vows — Sacrifices — Festivals — Lupercalia — Bacchanalia — Saturnalia — Gen- eral View of the Roman Religion — ^Remarkable Unity maintained, notwithstanding so much Extension and Addition — Completeness of the Ecclesiastical Economy — It an- swered its Design so far as to pervade the public Mind with its Influence — Originally identified with many important Religious Truths — Inquiry into the Effect of this System on the People — The Knowledge of God which it gave to the People — The Opinions of Deity entertained by Philosophers — Analysis of the Religious Works of Cicero — The Result — The Philosophy of Rome afforded nothing better than Epicurean or Stoical Views of Deity^ — ^Knowledge possessed by the Romans of the Immortality of the Soul, and of Future Rewards and Punishments — Efi'ect of this Destitution of Truth upon Roman Morals — The Description given by St. Paul — State of Domestic Manners — Con- dition of Slaves, and their Cruel Treatment — Horrid Cruelty displayed toward the Children of Sejanus — Awful Prevalence of Licentiousness and unnatural Impurity. 459 CHAPTER XIII. A GENERAL REVIEW OF THE HISTORY AND RELIGION OF THE GENTILE NATIONS. Mistaken Notions respecting the Accordance of ancient History with Holy Scripture — The Elevation of Man in his primitive State — ^Remarkable Corroboration of Scripture by Facts in Ancient History — Gentile Religion an important Development of Mosaic Teaching — It contains wonderful Revelations of the Power and Providence of God — Ancient History, as a Fulfilment of Prophecy, a remarkable Attestation of revealed Truth — Relation of Revelation to the Teaching of Science — ^The Testimony of ancient History in Respect of Religion in remarkable Accordance with the Bible — Proofs of CONTENTS. 13 the Existence and Power of Satanic Influence — Infinite Absurdity of Idolatry — Yet it was universal — False Theories devised for the Purpose of accounting for the Existence of Idolatry, considered and refuted — Satanic Aggression on the Purposes of God and Happiness of Man — ^The Deluge one of its Results — Corruption of the patriarchal Faith — ^Attempt to frustrate the divinely-appointed Dispersion — Miraculously defeated — The Call of Abraham, and Election of the Hebrew People, still further show the Violence of Satanic Aggression on the Purpose of God — -The Succession of great ruling Empires displays the Power of diabolical Influence — ^The World prepared for the Introduction of the Kingdom of God Page 500 NOTES. Antediluvias Idolatry, p. 525. — ^Was the Doctrine of the Trinity known to the early Patriarchs? p. 526. — The Worship of Man, p. 528.— The Geography and Population of Egypt, p. 530. — The Chronology of Ancient Egypt, p. 531. — The Monumental Names of Kings, p. 534.— Sir Gardiner Wilkinson on the Date of the Exodus, p. 535. — The Providential Preparation for the Israelitish Invasion of Canaan, p. 535. — The Martial Career of Sesostris, p. 535. — The Cruelty exhibited in Egyptian Sculptures, p. 536. — The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Egypt, p. 537. — The progressive Development of this Idolatry, j . 5il. — The Changes made in the Egyptian Triad, p. 542. — Glass sent as an Article of Tribute from Assyria and Babylon to Egypt, p. 543. — The Army sent from Assyria, under the Command of Memnon, to assist Priam during the Trojan War, p. 643. — The Kemarkable Means by which the Beading of ancient Monu- mental Inscriptions has been recovered, p. 544. — The peculiar Difficulty of identifying Assyrian proper Names, p. 545. — The proper chronological Succession of the Beigns exhibited in the Assyrian Sculptures, p. 546 — ^The chronological Position of the lower Line of Assyrian Kings, and their Eelation to the Median Eevolt, p. 547. — Evidence of Sargina's Wars with Egypt, and the Kind of Tribute sent thence to Assyria, p. 549. — ^The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Assyria, p. 549. — The Era of Nabonassar, p. 553. — Probable State of the Political Belation of Babylon to Assyria, prior to the Reign of Nabopolassar, p. 553. — The Punishment of Zedekiah, p. 554. — The Median Princess whom Nebuchadnezzar married, — the Queen Nitocris, p. 555. — The Magnitude and Splendour of Babylon, p. 555. — The chronological Succession of Baby- lonian Kings after Nebuchadnezzar, p. 556. — The Geography of Borsippa, where Laby- netus took Refuge, p. 560. — The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Baby- lon, p. 561. — The Testimony of Herodotus respecting the Temple of Mylitta at Babylon, p. 565. — ^What was the true Principle and Meaning of Sabffian Worship? p. 566. — The Assyrian Triad, p. 567. — The Cherubim of Ezekiel, and their Relation to the compound Figures of the Assyrian Sculptures, p. 568. — ^Imitations of Paradise attached to the royal Palaces of the Assyrian Kings, p. 569. — Babylon the Type of Papal Antichrist, p. 570. — The Time of Anarchy, and the Accession of Dejoces, p. 572. — The Period of Scythian Dom- ination over Asia, p. 573. — Chronology of the Eclipse of Thales, p. 573. — Who was the " Darius the Mede " of the Book of Daniel ? p. 573.— The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Media, p. 575. — The personal History of Cyrus, p. 576. — ^Was Cyrus made acquainted with the Prophecies of Daniel ? p. 577. — The successful Opposition of the Governors of Syria and others to the Building of Jerusalem, and the Evidence thereby afforded of the Integrity and Perfection of the national Records at the Court of Persia, p. 579. — ^The Deliberations of the Conspirators as to the future Government of Persia, and the appointment of Darius Hystaspes to be King, p. 580. — The Succession of Xerxes to the Throne of Persia, p. 581. — The Behistun Inscriptions, containing Da- rius's own Account of his Wars, p. 582. — ^Did the Jews fight in the Army of Xerxes? p. 590. — The Inscriptions relating to the Beign of Xerxes, p. 591. — The Inscriptions relating to the Beign of Artaxerxes, p. 592. — The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in- the 14 CONTENTS. History of Persia, p. 592. — The conflicting Opinions and Controversy respecting Zoroas- ter and his Doctrines, p. 595. — Probable Theology of Persia before Zoroaster, p. 596. — The Origin of Fire-Worship, p. 599. — The Eewards of Heaven, and the Punishments of Hell, according to Zoroaster, p. 600. — The Argonautic Expedition, p. 603. — The Theban Legends, p. 606.— The Trojan Wars, p. 609.— The Return of the Heraclidse, p. 612.— The Seven Wise Men of Greece, p. 615. — ^The Amphictyonio Council, p. 616. — Mortgage Pil- lars, p. 617. — The Judicial Court of Areopagus, p. 617. — Banishment by Ostracism, p. 617. — The curious Mode employed to count the Army of Xerxes, p. 618. — The Re- building of the City of Athens and its Fortifications, p. 618. — The Fulfilment of Scrip- ture Prophecy in the History of Greece, p. 619. — The Grecian Theogony, a poetic and corrupted Version of primitive History and of the Scenes of Babel, p. 621. — The Divine Inspiration of Gentile Prophets, p. 622. — The certain Presence of Satanic Energy in Grecian Soothsaying and Oracles, p. 624. — The sacred nocturnal Scenes of the Eleusinian Mysteries, p. 625. — The Doctrines of Plato respecting the Soul and its Transmigration, p. 628. — The Credibility of the earliest Roman Historians, p. 630. — The Legend of ^neas, p. 633.— The Legend of Alba, p. 634.— The Legends of Romulus and Remus, p. 63i. — The Legend of Tarpeia, p. 635. — ^The Etruscan Origin of Roman Power and Civilization, p. 635. — ^The Origin and Character of the Dictatorship, p. 636. — The first standing Army of Rome, p. 636. — ^A general View of the legendary History of Remus, to the Capture of the City by the Gauls, p. 637. — ^The oppressive Laws of ancient Rome respecting the Poor, p. 637. — The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Rome, p. 638. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. THE ORIGrU, CHARACTER, MYSTERIES AND ORACLES OF PAGAN IDOLATRY. Ekottlbiiqe of this Subject necessary — False Religion attests the Religious Tendency of Man — ^Heathen Idolatry must be studied with a distinct Recognition of Satanic Influ- ence — Necessity of admitting the Evidence of Revelation — Origin of Idolatet— Idolatry in postdiluvian Times arose before the Dispersion — And emanated from Babel — Was not at first a violent Introduction of Error, but a fatal Perversion of Truth — Elements of Truth liable to this Perversion — Plurality of Persons in one Deity — Promised Incarnation — Rites of Patriarchal Worship — Man's primitive Purity and Fall — Similarity of the Adamic and Noachic Families — Hero-Worship considered as arising out of the promised Incarnation, and taking the Form of a Triad from the Great Father and his three Sons — ^Peculiar Case of Egypt — Animal-Worship — Folly of many Attempts to account for it — Originated in the Cherubim — Worship of material Elements — ^The Agency under which all this Error was evolved made apparent by the universal Worship of the Serpent Form — ^Thb eeugious Chakaotbk of this Ststem — ^It practi- cally obliterated the essential Principle of the Divine Unity — Banished all Idea of Divine Purity — And destroyed at once the Knowledge of God, and Confidence in him — Character of Idolatrous Worship — General Admission — But the Being to whom thir Worship was offered was not God — And the Service, although often grand and imposing, was generally associated with foul and filthy Abominations — The Mysteries — The Theory of Warbnrton refuted by Leiand — Conflicting Theories as to the Origin of the Mysteries — Their Object equally contested — Their Origin defined — Their Object explained — Essential Elements of Heathen Mysteries — The Okacies of Heathen Worship — An undoubted Privilege of Patriarchal Times to have Access unto God, and to obtain special and important Instruction by this Means— Contest between the Learned as to whether Heathen Oracles were sustained by Satanic Infiuence — Testimony of Scripture — Judgment of the Learned on the Character and Credit of the Oracles — Case of Crcesus, King of Lydia, from Herodotus — The Result of the Inquiry establishes the Operation of Satanic Influence — General Observations in Conclusion. A KNOWLEDGE of the religion of the ancient heathens is essential to a correct acquaintance with the history, the character, and th^ condition of this immense and interesting portion of the population of our world. The attainment of this knowledge is, however, as difficult as it is desir- able. Not only do the remoteness of the period whence the information is to be obtained, and its recondite nature, offer formidable obstacles to the prosecution of this inquiry ; but, in addition to these, we have the disad- vantage of exploring an almost untrodden path. The philosophy of the ancients has been laboriously investigated ; the mythologies of the several 16 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. primitive nations have been elaborately detailed ; early history and chro nology come before us, elucidated by the labour, learning, and genius ol the greatest authors of ancient and modern times : but no writer of emi- nence with whose works I am acquainted, has done more than make a passing allusion, or give an incidental reference, to the religion of the ancient world, in the sense in which the term is here used. Before entering on this investigation, it may be observed, that the religion of the heathen world is not to be regarded as any invention or wayward aberration of the human mind ; much less can it be considered as the result of any combination of human circumstances. Viewed in connexion with man's fall and its consequences, it is rather the substitution of an evil which the human mind, in its darkness and obliquity, and in its unextinguished aspirations after happiness, has chosen, instead of embracing that which God has prescribed as its satisfying portion. The worship of idols attests man's capacity for the worship of God. The ado- ration even of material elements is one of the collateral proofe of the possession and perversion of a noble attribute, which allies man with the spiritual world, and speaks his intended intercourse with Deity. Idolatry, in the nature of things, could not have been the original exercise of the human mind in respect of worship. While, therefore, this adoration, perverted from its divine object, tends to prove the primitive purity of man, his devotional access to God, and his spiritual ruin through sin ; its existence in human history exactly harmonizes with all these elements of man's early condition, and is utterly incompatible with any other supposed commencement of his subsequently devious career. Again : the origin of idolatry will never be understood while the inves- tigation is confined to the character of the human mind or the history of the human race, without a distinct recognition of man's exposure to Satanic influence and aggression. It might as reasonably be attempted to write a history of England while ignoring the Norman Conquest, or a system of physics without reference to gravitation, as to give a consistent and rational account of the origin of idolatry in the absence of all reference to Satan, its real author and object. It may be said, " This is unscientific ;iiid unphiJosophical." But is it not in perfect accordance with the purest science, and the soundest philosophy, to apply all truth to useful purposes, and, by the judicious adaptation of ascertained principles to cognate subjects, to solve apparent mysteries, unravel difficulties, and make that I'lear and plain which was before confused and obscure? Why, then, should this mode of proceeding be prohibited in respect to the truths of the Holy Scriptures by those who admit their divine origin ? Sceptics and infidels may decline such a method: it is their consistent habit so to do. But why should those who make the undoubted verity of God's holy word the basis of their highest hopes and dearest interests, hesitate to apply its PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 17 teaching to the great problems presented by all the aspects of the world's religion ? In the investigation of the origin and character of idolatry, this aid is essential. The moment we enter on this study, we are met by such questions as these : — " What were the origin and design of bloody sacrifices ? Why were they universal, when the most profound sages were ignorant of their origin and object ? Why was the form of the serpent, above every other, consecrated to supreme elevation and honour?" These. and many other queries cannot be solved by any study of human nature or human history. No recondite researches into ancient mythology, no laboured exploration into the poetry or religion of the primitive nations, will afford a satisfactory answer. To understand the origin, object, and character of idolatry, we must pass beyond the twilight of mere human intelligence and induction, and, standing in the full glory of revealed truth, contemplate the primitive condition and early history of mankind. Here we learn our glorious origin, and the mighty agencies with which our nature, in the outset of its career, was brought into contact ; mark the fearful change wrought in man's moral nature, and watch its terrible results, until we see him turn away from the God of his life, and bow in profane adoration before the most filthy impersonations of his foul destroyer. In this light we see that the relentless foe of God and man did not quit his prey when covered with guilt, and involved in condemnation. It may be fairly questioned whether any crisis in the affairs of the human race stands invested with more terrible grandeur than this. Here we see that as Divine Mercy interposed the scheme of redemption for the salvation of man, the arch-foe not only opposed its principles and its progress by a wide range of malignant effort, but, in a manner at once daring and insidious, he devised idolatry, and succeeded in introducing it into the world, as a means of wresting the spiritual dominion of mankind from the Mediator-Deity, and establishing himself as " the god of this world." This was the agency under which idolatry was introduced, and rose into influence and power.; and throughout its almost infinite range of development, the evil and debasing character of its author is legibly imprinted upon all its numerous deities, doctrines, rites, and religious observances. Our limits forbid any extended proof of these statements. It may, how- ever, be necessary to observe that the primitive progress of man in purity and religion is an undoubted doctrine of the Bible. Learned men may, indeed, pei-sist in asserting that " fetichism, or the worship of the material elements, was the universal religion of the earliest inhabitants of the earth :" and this has been done so frequently and so confidently, that it has to a great extent been admitted by incautious and inconsiderate readers. Nothing, however, can be more opposed to the history of every primitive nation, as well as to the explicit declarations of holy writ, than this notion. It has been 18 PRELIMINAEY DISSERTATION. * already shown, that all ancient testimony proves the condition of man in the outset of his career to have been one of religion, happiness, and moral elevation. The word of God fully confirms this view, and assures us that idolatry did not arise in a season of ignorance, but when men "knew Qod ;" — that it could not, therefore, have been a primitive religion of man, but a superinduced corruption ; — that it arose not so much from intellectual obliquity as from spiritual unfaithfulness, — not so much from the influence of a debased mind as from an affectation of wisdom : for it was when men •' knew God " that " they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was dark- ened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ; and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping' thing.s." Rom. i, 21-23. It is also declared with equal explicitness that in ancient times the heathen offered " their sacrifices unto devils." Lev. xvii, 7. Clearly as these points are ascertained, it is not so easy to state when, and under what circumstances, this abomination arose. It has been already shown that Jewish tradition ascribes the introduction of idolatry to the days of Enos in the antediluvian period. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 235, 236.) Whatever doubt may rest on the statement of Maimonides, it must be admitted that it is so consistent in all its parts, and in such exact accord- ance with the general teaching of antiquity on the subject, as to stand invested with a high degree of probability of its being, at least in its main particulars, an approximation to the truth. (See Appendix, note 1.) But whatever was the religious condition of the human race before the Deluge, it is certain that there must have been a commencement of idolatry subsequent to that event. Here we meet with one fact nearly amounting to a demonstration, that the postdiluvian origin of this evil is restricted to a comparatively short period : idolatry must have arisen before the Dis- persion. " The various systems of pagan idolatry in difJ'erent parts of the world correspond so closely, both in then- evident purport and in numerous points of arbitrary resemblance, that they cannot have been struck out independently in the several countries where they have been established, and must all have originated from a common source. But if thev all originated from a common source, then either one nation must have com- municated its peculiar theology to every other people in the way of peaceful and voluntary imitation ; or that same nation must have communicated it to every other people through the medium of conquest and violence ; or, lastly, all nations must, in the infancy of the world, have been assembled together in a single region and in a single community, — must, at that period and in that state, have agreed to adopt the theology in question, and must thence, as from a common centre, have carried it to all quarters of tlie globe. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 19 " These are the only three modes in which the universal accordance of the Gentiles in their religious speculations can be accounted for. But as the incredibility of the first, and the equal incredibility and impossibility of the second, may be shown without much difficulty, the third alone remains to be adopted." — Fdber's Origin of Pagan Idolatry. The assertion, therefore, that idolatry arose before the Dispersion, is justified. This fact is, moreover, sustained by explicit proof from the inspired records. Babel, or Babylon, is well known to have been the seat of the world's population prior to the Dispersion. This locality is rendered infa- mous in the Bible as the place whence this foul evil arose, and radiated to poison the nations. " Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunken of her. wine ; therefore the nations are mad. Every man is bi'utish by his knowl- edge ; every founder is confounded by the graven image : for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them." Jer. li, Y, 17. The New Testament affords similar evidence. Without at all impugning the application of the Apocalyptic prophecies to the Roman Antichrist, we hold that the terms in which they are couched derive point and power only from their previous connexion and import. Hence, when we read of "Babylon the great, the Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth ;'' (Rev. xvii, 5 ;) and, " Babylon the great is fallen : — for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication ;" (Rev. xviii, 2, 3 ;) we have marked intimations of the primitive scene, and principal seat, of idolatry, the greatest invasion of the prerogatives of Heaven. Having thus ascertained by undoubted induction, confirmed as it is by Scripture proof, the period and place whence idolatry originated, we may proceed another step, and ehcit from the great and common principles of all heathen mythology some notion of the ruling elements of unhallowed feehng and corrupt imagination, which generated the evil of which we speak. In this effort it will be of consequence for us to recognise the important fact, that in all ages Satanic error has been most successful when presented to the human mind as a perversion of truth. Faber justly observes : " The human mind rarely tolerates any great changes if they be violent and sudden, particularly in matters of religion. It seems natural to suppose that this great apostasy was not a violent and abrupt setting aside of true religion ; that it was not a sudden plunge from the worship of Jehovah into the grossness of rank idolatry. I should rather appre- hend that it must have commenced with a specious perversion of sound doctrine, and with an affectedly devout adoption of authorized rites and ceremonies and phraseology." — Faher's Origin of Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, p. 100. This judgment of an experi^ced and learned writer, who;had carefully investigated the subject, may be safely admitted as sound. What, then, were those prominent elements of patriarchal reKgion 20 PBBLIMINART DISSERTATION. which were most likely, being generally known and partially obscure in their character, to lead to speculation, corruption, and ultimately to idolatry ? Here it may be necessary to remind the reader, that our first parents must have had peculiar means of obtaining an acquaintance with God. Who can tell the knowledge of Deity which Adam enjoyed in his state of innocence ? Nor can the form of language used throughout the patriarchal age in respect of God be accounted for, except on the supposi- tion that man, at the commencement of his career, obtained a knowledge of the divine nature and character which has never been fully explained, and probably never will be, in this world. We have always spoken guardedly (Patriarchal Age, pp. 266-271) of the knowledge which in prse-Christian times obtained concerning the Divine Trinity : but the more the subject is studied, the more clearly does it appear that, what- ever doubt may exist as to the acquaintance of the later heathens with this doctrine, there can be little as to the prevalence of an opinion of this kind among the early patriarchs. (See Appendix, note 2.) Further, it is certain that, from the first family downward, the hope of the world was centred in the birth and actions of a superhuman Being, — in other words, in the work of an incarnate Saviour. There might have been much vagueness of view and opinion in respect of this subject : but we greatly err if we suppose that all the information possessed by the first family and their descendants, in respect of this doctrine, was merely that which is contained in the primitive promise. Gen. iii, 15. Of the various revelations which Adam received from God we have scarcely any information. It is certain that sufficient knowledge on this subject was revealed to afford a basis for an enlightened, operative, saving faith in the mind of Abel and others : and if so, it must have been sufficiently complete and defined to afford to other men an intelligible acquaintance with the subject. (See Appendix, note 3.) Again : in addition to these elements of religious knowledge, the early races of mankind had a prescribed mode of worship. Enough has been already said in the preceding volumes of this work to warrant the con- clusion of Faber, that the worship of the Israelites " was no other than Patriarchism, by vai'ious additions and special institutions, adapted to the peculiar situation of a people which had been selected by Jehovah." There was, therefore, a special place where God was worshipped by sacrifice before the cherubim. Of the nature and character of the rites performed in this primitive worship it is difficult to speak with any pre- cision ; but it is evident that there must have been a person (in those days generally the father of the family) to offer the sacrifice ; and in all probability there was, in the pure patriarchal period, some visible fire, or glory, representing the presence of Deity. (See Faber's Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, p. 425, and note to p. 424.) PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 21 Besides these doctrines, there were facts in the early history of the world which must have been traditionally known, and which, from their char^ter, would more or less influence the opinions and the views of the people. There was, in the first place, the paradisiacal scene of man's primitive glory and fall, which, with all its circumstances, would certainly have been preserved in memory. The temptation, the serpent, the trees in the midst of the garden, the judgment of the ofifenders, their expulsion from Eden, — all these prominent particulars would have been narrated by father to son continually, until they had perfectly imbued the mind and memory of mankind. The Deluge introduced another element into the religious traditions of the new race of mankind. For, while they would preserve and cherish the knowledge of all the religious doctrines, rites, and facts with which man had been endued in the outset of his being, and which had been evolved in the course of his career, it could not escape observation that the beginning of the postdiluvian race bore a remarkable similarity to that of the primitive family. In each case there was a patriarchal father, with his wife. In each case this father had three sons : and in both instances one of these sons exposed himself to divine malediction. With these elements of religious knowledge, and facts popularly known and pervading the public mind, we have to contemplate the postdiluvian population of the world under the aspect in which they are presented to us in the pages of holy writ. ■ We are told that they " knew God," They had sufficient acquaintance with the being, attributes, and provi- dence of God. Yet in those circumstances, this people did not glorify God, nor evince gratitude toward him : and with these sins of the heart, there existed in active operation a strong tendency to refined speculation. They "became vain in their imaginations," indulging in unworthy exposi- tions of established truth, and adding to it according to the dictates of their corrupted fancy. The consequence of this conduct produced its natural result : — it darkened their mind, and introduced death into the religious affections of their hearts ; and thus, " professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." The consequence of all this was the introduc- tion and practice of the vilest idolatry. Rom. i, 21-23. Were we able to detail with certainty and precision the progress of this declension, it would form a very important branch of the early history of our race. But this is more than can be expected. When we have placed the result in connexion with the cause, we shall have furnished materials from which to form some idea of the steps by which mankind descended downwards to the lowest estate of moral degradation. In the first instance, it may be observed that a ruling element in the idolatry of heathenism is the deification of human nature. Man has 22 PKELIMINARY DISSERTATION. been everywhere invested with divine attributes, and honoured with divine worship. What could have originated such extravagant and unreasonable conduct? With all the bodily weakness incident to his constitution, — exposed to casualty, disorder, disease, and death, — utterly unable to ward off mental or physical evil, or to sustain the mind in peace, or to provide for the wants of the body by any inherent power, — what could have originated the idea of investing poor perishing humanity with the attributes of Divinity ? It is not wonderful that, after the prac- tice had been introduced, a martial hero like Alexander should have aspired to such a vain and monstrous distinction. The question is. What could have led to the introduction of the absurd and proud assumption ? After carefully considering all the professed solutions of this problem which ancient or modern times have supplied, we can receive none as satisfactory but that which refers its origin to the promised incarnation. Ill-understood and imperfectly-transmitted traditions of the primitive promise of an incarnate Redeemer naturally induced expectation and inquiry. When any man obtained moi'e than usual celebrit}', or arose into great prominence under very extraordinary circumstances, there would always be a motive for inquiring whether he was the Incarnate One who had been promised. This would of course incline any man of a daring, ambitious mind, who aspired to great elevation and power, to claim this divine character, and put himself forward as the expected incarnation. It is more than probable that Nimrod acted thus, in order to persuade all the people to remain under his government at Babel, rather than to disperse themselves over the world in obedience to the command of Heaven. The whole practice of heathen demonolatry, however, proves that whatever influence the promised incarnation might have had on the origin of the evil, other agencies must have operated to mould and form it into a system. No fact is more evident than that the earliest human objects of worship are almost always presented to us in triads. Mr. Faber attributes this singular circumstance entirely to the fact that Adam, as the great father, and his three sons, were regarded as reappearing in the persons of Noah and his sons. Indeed, every part of the heathen world affords ample evidence that the three sons of Noah were the popular triad of Gentile idolatry. Yet this does not, in my judgment, include the opinion that the hope of the promised incarnation was the sole origin of this human deification. In the case of Egypt, for instance, we have, in the researches of Cham- pollion, a very curious exception to this rule. iVccording to this erudite writer, " the primary form or antitype of the entire mythology (of Egypt) is a triad of divinities, composed of Amoun, the father, Mout, the mother, and Chons, the infant son." On this curious fiict I quite agree with a PKELIMINAEY DISSERTATION. 23 learned Egyptologist, who observes, " It does not appear probable that men to whom the doctrine of the triunity of God was unknown, could have framed such a system as this." — Osburn^s Antiquities of Egypt, p. 138. It is not to be imagined that these persons had refined and elevated views and clear conceptions of this doctrine, like those who have the Christian Scriptures in their hands ; but that they had a vague and imperfect notion of the triune personality of Deity. Taking the Egyptian triad in connexion with the triads of other countries, it does not seem possible to avoid the induction, that the general system of human deifica- tion arose out of a combination of influences, arising from a corrupted tradition of the promised incarnation, a vague notion of the doctrine of the Trinity, and a speculative fancy of the application of these to the sons of the first great father, as reproduced in the ofl'spring of Noah. And this induction, be it observed, is justified by numerous instances in the history and mythology of the ancient world. Idolatry, however, was not confined to the worship of eminent living men, and their revered ancestors : it extended to the animal creation. If this practice had not been all but universal, and as such attested by indu- bitable evidence, it would appear utterly incredible. That man should bow down in lowly adoration, and worship the image or person of his fellow-man appears passing strange ; but that he should stoop to ascribe divinity to a brute, and prostrate himself in religious reverence before it, seems too much for belief. Yet so it was, and in heathen lands is even now. What could have originated such gratuitous debasement and profa- nation ? This question has been frequently asked both in ancient and modern times, but has seldom obtained a satisfactory solution. The obscurity which rested on this subject in respect to the learned among the heathen, we may see finely illustrated in the false and foolish answers which they vainly offered. One reason assigned for this practice, according to Diodorus Siculus, is, that the gods, in the early ages of the world, being in fear of the numbers and wickedness of mankind, assumed the form of animals, in order to avoid their cruelty and oppression ; but that, having afterward brought the world under their government, the gods decreed that the forms under which they had obtained security .should be regarded with religious veneration. A second reason assigned is, that the ancient inhabitants of Egypt, having suffered many defeats from their enemies in consequence of confusion and want of discipHne in their army, devised the plan of carrying standards, and for this purpose selected the figures of animals. These serving as a rallying-point for the several divisions of the troops, they obtained a victory, and ever afterward treated these figures with religious respect. A third reason given is, that this worship arose out of gratitude for the benefits conferred by them on mankind. But when it is 24 PRELIMINAKY DISSERTATION. reinembered that the lion and the eagle were prominent in the earlj stages of animal-worship, this answer will sink down to a level with the preceding. Other notions, equally ridiculous and absurd, have been handed down to us ; but this diversity of opinion, and this laboured effort to devise any plausible origin for so strange a practice, only prove the darkness which rested on the subject. Porphyry, who though a clever writer was a bitter enemy to revelation, has inadvertently on this point given us an important suggestion. In propounding his theory on this subject, he attributes the origin of animal-worship to the operation of the principle that the Deity permeates other beings, as well as man ; that, in fact, " nearly the same spiritual essence pervades all the tribes of living creatures." On this account, he adds, " in fashioning images of the gods, they have adopted the forms of all animals ; sometimes joining the human figure with those of beasts ; at othei's, combining the shapes of men and of birds," &c. — Porphyrins de Abslin., lib. iv, cap. 9. It it always important in investigations of this kind to distinguish between fact and philosophical speculation. In this instance the learned heathen, I have no doubt, gives us an important fact, namely, that animal-worship originated in a practice which had grown up, of com- bining portions of the figures of animals, or of birds, with pai-ts of the human figure. If we may rely on this statement, which is open to no reasonable doubt, we find that, unlike almost every other part of heathen idolatry, the worship of animals was not the first form of this error. The veneration of images preceded that of the real animals. Nor were these images representations of complete animal forms, but of compound figures, e.\hibiting difierent combinations of the cherubic elements — man, lion, ox, and eagle. Here, then, we have an account of the origin of animal-worship which meets all the difiiculties of the case. The cherubic figures, we are sure, wei'e copied in the sculptures of the ancients in almost every divereity of form and combination. These, like the teraphim of the Hebrews, became, in process of time, objects of superstitious regard, and ultimately of idolatrous reverence. The next step produced images of animals as meriting similar devotion ; and living brutes succeeded as objects of worship. Beneath this depth of human abasement, folly, and sin, there is yet a lower deep. Men not only condescended to worship brute beasts, and birds, and creeping things ; they proceeded even to reverence and adoro the different parts of inanimate creation. Reference has been already made to the causes which led to an early reception of the false dogma of an endless succession of worlds. This opinion, however, when once accepted, induced a belief of the principle involved in it, namely, the eternity of matter: and, eternity being clearly recognised as a divine PKELIMINAEY DISSERTATION. 25 attribute, the entire natural creation was regarded as divine ; and both notions were extensively propagated. In the progress of this error, how- ever, the speculative perversity of the men who, professing to be wise, sunk into such folly, encountered a serious difficulty. While admitting the eternity of matter, they could not repudiate the eternity of the great father, the belief of whose reappearance, at the commencement of each cycle of the world's existence, lay at the foundation of the whole system of error. But then they found themselves stumbling between the idea of two eternals : one occasionally, and at great intervals of time, appear- ing in human form ; the other infinitely diversified throughout the whole material world. This difficulty was solved, or rather the Gordian knot cut, by supposing the first of these to represent the mind or soul — the second, the material body — of the world. "As it was observed that man consisted of two parts intimately associated, the circumstance was analogically extended to the world at large. The spirit of man for a season animated a body ; and when that body was worn out, and its component particles were resolved into their original substance, the spirit occupied another tene- ment; and again, at a stated interval, quitted it for a new one. In a similar manner, the intellectual great father for a season animated his body the world ; and when that body at each great catastrophe was resolved into the primeval crude matter out of which it had been formed, the soul soon formed to itself another body in a new world, which it again occupied, and again quitted, at the close of the new period." — Faher's Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, p. 163. Thus the foundation was laid for the most extended system of idolatry, in which every part of nature might be regarded as divine. The modifi- cations of this notion, and the inferences derived from it, were numberless. This mystic union of spirit and matter was frequently exhibited under the notion of a conjugal union, in which the pervading spirit is spoken of as the great father, and the material world as the great mother. Another representation exhibited the heavenly bodies as embodiments, or -residences, of the pervading and ruling spirit ; while the terrestrial world was regarded as the body of the universal deity. Another modification of this error, which arose afterward, taught that the intellectual principle was light and goodness, and the material prin- ciple darkness and evil. And thus was exhibited the idea of two inde- pendent and rival deities : one, the patron of purity and light ; the other, of evil and darkness. It can scarcely be doubted that this latter inflexion of the error was greatly modified under the influence of a tradition respect- ing the grand tempter and the fallen angels. Thus, by these several means, the great elements of a universal idolatry were established in the world. If it had been judged necessary, the 26 PEELIMINARY DISSERTATION. several particulars which have been noticed might have been amply sus- tained by learned references : but the best, as well as the most ample and convincing proof which can be given in their support will be afforded by the various developments of them which will be found in the chapters exhibit- ing in detail the religion of the several nations which have to come under our notice. Enough has been said to indicate, in outline at least, the more prominent of those speculations by which men, even while knowing the true God, and " professing themselves to be wise, became fools." In proceeding to notice the object and character of idolatry, it may be first observed, that, regarded in the united hght of reason and Scripture, it stands before us as a grand effort to defeat or neutralize the great scheme of redemption. I freely confess, I know of no subject that has been treated so unvforthily as this. According to .established usage, the youth in our best schools — the readers of our most erudite manuals and educational works — are all introduced to an acquaintance with this sub- ject as a curious development of human ingenuity and speculation, — as a science mainly consisting of the actions, character, and worship of certain imaginary mythological personages. With these it is thought an accom- plishment to have some acquaintance ; and no one can doubt that this is essential to any intelligent study of classic authors. But does all this present to the mind any consistent idea of the object and character of idolatry ? We teach the rising generation, and all inquiring minds, the great elements of man's primeval history from the sacred record. They are instructed respecting man's innocency and temptation, his expulsion from Paradise, and the promise of a Redeemer. But when they are called to study the history of our race, to mark the progress of a fearful moral and mental deterioration, which covered the world with gross darkness, and rendered the isolation of the elected Hebrew people necessary to the maintenance of the knowledge of God in the world, all this fearful system of error and evil is exhibited as totally unconnected with spiritual agencies and moral ends. Is this reasonable or consistent ? Is it not certain that the same -agency which effected the fell, and thus spoiled the pm-ity of man, induced the whole scheme of idolatry, in order to defeat the promised redemption, and to frustrate the purpose of God in the promised mission of his Son ? Can there be a doubt in any reasonable mind on tliis import- ant point? Evidence from Scripture has been briefly adduced, and might be extended : but this is not necessary ; the whole tenor of holy writ is decidedly in favour of my argument. I wish, however, to call more par- ticular attention to one important point — the worship of the serpent. That the malign foe should repeat his assault on human happiness after the promise of redemption, is not wonderful. That he should have perse- vered in his aggression, might be inferred from his subtilty and malice. But it will scarcely be believed, that even Satan should not only have PRELIMINAKY DISSERTATION. 27 aimed so high as to supplant the adorable and eternal God as the object of human worship, but should also have aspired to put himself forth as the object of supreme worship, and challenge the adoration of the world, under the precise form in which he had succeeded in effecting the ruin of the race. Yet so it was. The serpent form has in all probability approached nearer to universal adoration than any other. A learned author, who has investigated this subject with great labour and research, assures us that he has "traced the worship of the serpent from Babylonia, east and west, through Persia, Hindiistan, China, Mexico, Britain, Scandinavia, Italy, lUyricum, Thrace, Greece, Asia Minor, and Phenicia. Again, we have observed the same idolatry prevailing north and south, through Scythia on the one hand, and Africa on the other. The worship of the serpent was therefore universal. For not only did the sacred serpent enter into the symbolical and ritual service of every religion which recognised the sun, but we even find him in countries where solar worship was altogether unknown, — ^as ia Sarmatia, Scandina- via, and the Gold Coast of Africa. In every known country of the ancient world, the serpent formed a prominent feature in the ordinary worship, and made no inconsiderable figure in their Hagiographa, entering alike into legendary and astronomical mythology. "Whence, then, did this only universal idolatry originate? That it preceded polytheism, is indicated by the attribution of the title Ops, and the consecration of the symbolical serpent, to so many of the heathen deities. The title Ops was conferred upon Terra, Vesta, Rhea, Cybele, Juno, Diana ; and even Vulcan is called by Cicero Opas. " In Grecian mythology the symbolical serpent was sacred to Saturn, Jupiter, Apollo, Bacchus, Mars, jEsculapius, Rhea, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Ceres, and Proserpine : — that is, the serpent was a sacred emblem of nearly all the gods and goddesses. " The same remark may be extended to the theogonies of Egypt, Hin- dustan, and Mexico, — in all of which we find the serpent emblematic, not of one deity, but of many. "What, then, is the inference? That the -serpent was the most ancient of the heathen gods:" — Dearie's Worship of the Serpent, pp. 441-443. So the great and terrible truth stands clearly attested, not only by the word of God, but by authentic records of every ancient nation, that the old serpent, the devil, who seduced our first parents from their alle- giance, succeeded in establishing himself, under the very figure in which he wrought his first fatal triumph, as the almost universal object of human worship, — " the god of this world." Yes, and as the corrupt fancy and bewildered speculations diversified modes of worship, and multiplied forms and objects of adoration, this malign spirit, as if to assert his universal supremacy, and perpetuate his name and influence over the wide 28 PRKLIMINAET DISSERTATION. \yorld of human nature, stamped the serpent name on every deity, and the serpent form on every ritual. To use the elegant language of the author already cited, " The mystic serpent entered into the mythology of every nation ; consecrated almost every temple ; symbolized almost every deity ; was imagined in the heavens, stamped upon the earth, and ruled in the realms of everlasting sorrow. His suhtilty raised him into an emblem of wisdom; he was therefore pictured upon the aegis of Minerva, and crowned her helmet. The knowledge of futurity which he displayed in Paradise exalted him into a symbol of vaticination ; he was therefore oracular, and reigned at Delphi. The ' opening of the eyes'' of our deluded first parents obtained him an altar in the temple of the god of heeding ; he is therefore the constant companion of ^sculapius. In the distribu- tion of his qualities the genius of mythology did not even gloss over his malignant attributes. The fascination with which he intoxicated the souls of the first sinners, depriving them at once of purity and immortality, of the image of God and the life of angels, was symbolically remembered and fatally celebrated in the orgies of Bacchus, where serpents crowned the heads of the Bacchantes* and the poculum boni dcemonis circulated under the auspices of the ophite hierogram, chased upon the rim. But the most remarkable remembrance of the paradisiacal serpent is displayed in the position which he retains in Tartarus. A cunodracontie Cerberus guards the gates; serpents are coiled about the chariot wheels of Proserpine; serpents pave the abyss of torment; and even serpents constitute the caduceus of Mercury, the talisman which he holds when he conveys the soul to Tartarus. The image of the serpent is stamped upon every mythological fable connected with the realms of Pluto." — Seane's Wor- ship of the Serpent, pp. 443, 444. To such a fearful extent is the presence and image of Satan the de- stroyer impressed on the wide range of idolatry ! Nor is the character with which he has imbued it less dubious than the symbolism under which it is exhibited to the world. The genius of heathen idolatry is throughout diabolical. It would be easy to exhibit this with the most ample proofs, if our limits would allow the insertion of a wide range of evidence. But this is impossible. All, therefore, that is permitted us is, to cite a proof or two under a few leading particulars, which may confirm and illustrate this strong assertion. I. One great object, then, of religion is to make known to man the nature and character of God. How does the idolatry of the heathen world, sustained as it has been by science, intellect, and genius of the highest order, meet this grand requirement? The only answer which can be given is this, — With utter and unmitigated disappointment. The first law of revelation, and the first dictate of reason respecting God, clearly assei't the divine unity. To this truth all idolatry stands directly PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 29 opposed ; for it exhibits " lords many and gods many." I am well aware that it has been boldly asserted, that this apparent multiplication of deities and images is ideal ; that these poetic and material representa- tions were only intended to shadow forth the attributes of Deity, and to bring him vividly before the mind. Do the persons who make these assertions know that in the best days of Greece the philosopher Stilpho was banished from Athens, by a decree of the Areopagus, for afBrming that the statue of Minerva was not a god ? (Diogenes Laertius, lib. ii, segm. 116.) Is it not notorious that a form of invocation was long pre- served in the ritual of the supreme pontitf, which was used by the Romans for the purpose of coaxing the tutelary deity of a place with which they were at war, by tire promise of more costly offerings than he had been accustomed to receive, to come over to them ? (Valerius Maxi- mus, cited by Pliny, lib. ii, cap. 1.) Yes, and although the Greeks and Romans sometimes affected to despise this superstition, they could them- selves descend to the absurdity of chaining the images of gods to their pedestals. (Plutarchus, De Iside et Osiride, Opera, torn, iii, p. 39V.) No sarcasms of satirists or maxims of philosophers can be poised, for a moment, against the weight of this practical evidence. Next to the unity of God, religion should exhibit his purity. For all the moral ends of religion this is unquestionably essential. What heathen idolatry has done to manifest this attribute of God to mankind, scarcely need be detailed. Let all mythology be examined, the Pantheon of every heathen nation be investigated, and where can one prominent deity be found whose moral character, as exhibited by his worshippers, would not expel any living individual from any civilized society ? What crimes did not one or another of these celestials commit ? Murder, adultery, incest, — all that lust could suggest, that rage could induce, that ambition and jealousy could inspire, — abundantly stained the conduct of these imagin- ary lyings. There is no point in the whole system of idolatry more affecting than this. Here the fountain is polluted at its source. Can man be expected to present a purer character than his God ? Yet here the teeming multitudes of heathendom have a concentration of every vice presented to their view as their model of character. Yet our best literati speak as if this idolatry was innocuous, and only presented the divine character under another name. Witness the famous stanza of Pope, which has been so often placed in the hands of our children : — " Father of all, in every age, In every clime adored, By saint, by savage, and by sage, Jehovah, Jove, or Lord." Is it true, then, that the person and character of the great Jehovah were exhibited of old by the foul and filthy impersonations of Olympus 3 30 PKELIMINARY DISSERTATION. Above all, are we to be told now that this was the case ? No : the purity of God was unknown to idolatry. That oifspring of Satanic influence and human depravity produced ideas of Deity in direct accordance with the temper and spirit of the mind of the poet. Nor was the evil resulting from this polytheism and impurity merely notional and speculative : it directly tended to destroy all real knowledge of God, and practical confidence in him. How could God be known, when only seen through the medium of heathen divinities? Or if these were taken as exhibiting the divine character, who could confide in such a manifestation of Deity ? How, in fact, could such confidence be exer- cised, when the recognised deities were divided into factions always dis- united, and frequently decidedly hostile 5 He who sought the favour of Venus excited the anger of Juno : he who sacrificed on the altar of Jove, rather displeased than propitiated Neptune. Realms and kingdoms, as well as individuals, were exposed to this evil : every nation had its natural patrons and foes in the council of Olympus ; and its prosperity or decline did not so much depend on its virtue or piety, as on celestial favour fortuitously gained, or celestial enmity unknowingly and unde- servedly provoked. It may, indeed, be objected that these were the sentiments thrown out in the poetry, and adopted by the people, of heathen lands, but that the philosophers and the learned knew better. If this argument could be admitted, it would but very slightly improve the case. For, in a religious aspect, who are they that compose the masses of nations, and involve their dearest intei'ests and final destiny ? Are they not the people ? If, therefore, the literati and philosophers had entertained higher or clearer views, it would be saying little in the favour of this religious system if it required them to keep the people in ignorance. But, notwithstanding all these allegations, there is no satisfactory proof that either learning or philosophy presented an efficient antidote to the evils of idolatry. I may cite here the summary of a learned author who has carefully studied this subject : — " On three points the theological discords of the ancient schools were softened into unusual harmony. 1. All the philosophers, excepting the atheistical sects, agreed in admitting a plurality of gods. If some of them occasionally speak of deity in the singular number, they speedily lapse into the error of the popular faith, and avow persuasions which sufficiently prove they had no conception of the unity of the Divine Being. Socrates and Plato, the best and purest of the philosophical theologists, wore scarcely less devoted than the plebeian disciples of the popular creed to the dogmas of polytheism. 2. The ancient philosophers also agreed in limiting the attributes of their gods. The deity was said neither to exer- cise nor to possess creative energy. Matter, uncreated, eternal, and self- PEBLIMINARY DISSERTATION. 31 existent, might be shaped into diversity of form by divine skill, but it existed independently of divine power. It was thus invested witii the fundamental qualities of Deity. 3. The popular creed of Greece and Rome was an extravagant Manioheism, in which demoniacal powers were mingled with divine. The philosophers adopted, but modified the doc- trine. An eternal and disorderly principle was supposed to interfere per- petually in the government of the world. The existence of moral evil, not to be accounted for, as was thought, under the sole dominion of a benevolent deity, was thus explained ; and the wisdom and goodness of the ruling god were subjected to a counteracting and malignant power." — Alley's Vindicice Christiance, pp. 30, 31. It is, therefore, certain that the direct tendency of idolatry, as estab- lished in the most civilized and refined nations of the eartli, eft'ectually concealed the knowledge of God from almost all classes of society ; and at the same time not only spread over the whole surface of religion unmis- takable emblems of the evil principle, but actually recognised the evil one as a real divinity, counteracting the designs, and frustrating the purposes of the beneficent God. 11. We next turn our attention to the general character of idolatrous worship. Of all the exercises of the human mind, the worship of God is the most noble, and most intimately allies man to the heavenly world. If ever the best affections of human nature are called into lively action, and the highest attributes of the human mind are likely to be employed under the highest influence, it must be when man, under a sense of weakness and want, comes in an acceptable manner to God, as the Author and Giver of all good, to receive those blessings of which he fiiels the need. In this devotional duty the mind, when rightly directed, apprehends the infinite majesty and mercy of God, humbly offers its penitence and prayer, and earnestly implores a visitation of grace. How did the most refined sys- tems of idolatry meet this requirement, and lead man into intercourse with God ? It cannot be denied that this idolatrous worship, in highly cultivated countries, — in Greece, for instance, — " often afforded a beautiful and inter- esting spectacle. The extensive area before the temple, and the noble porticoes which generally surrounded it, were crowded by a devout and zealous multitude. The priests or priestesses, in splendid garbs, appeared at a little distance, in the vestibule, at the foot of the altar. After a solemn pause, one of the subordinate ministers, in order to excite the atten- tion of the people, demanded, ' Who are those that compose this assem- bly V and a universal response was returned, 'Upright and pious citizens.' The officiating priest then slowly advanced, and, in distinct and awful voice, exhorted the congregation ' to offer up their prayers, and to suppli- 32 PEBLIMINAET DISSERTATION. cate the gods.' Prayers adapted to the occasion were next recited by the priest; or hymns, in which the divine genius of the poet had celebrated the majesty of the gods, were chanted by a chorus of youths and virgins." —Alley's VindicicB, p. 151. Yet notwithstanding the pleasing order and affecting character of these ceremonies, it must not be forgotten that the being to whom all this was addressed was not God, but a creature of the imagination. In most instances these deities were not only imaginary, and thei'efore imperfect, but highly criminal, cruel, or licentious. In those cases the absurdity and wickedness of the worship would be in proportion to the ignorant zeal of the worshippers. Nothing, indeed, can be more certain than that, so far as the great mass of the people were concerned, this worship was mere ceremony. The multiplicity of deities, — the confusion of ideas arising from their manifold and conflicting attributes, — the minute ceremonial connected with the offering of sacrifice, — would effectually prevent any real worship of God, except under circumstances the most extraordinary. But the irreligious character of this worship is one of its most favour- able features. It was frequently degraded by the vilest cruelty and ferocity. Human beings — not unfrequently women — were savagely butchered, and offered upon the altars of these sanguinary deities. In other cases this service became a mere purchase and sale of sinful licence. The sacrifice was not an expression of contrition and a means of pardon for sin, but a means of exemption from its punishment by the presentation of a costly bribe to the divinity supposed to have been aggrieved. At other times filthier, if not fouler consequences resulted from this adora- tion. The deity was, in many instances, an embodiment of licentious- ness ; and then the worship would be of a corresponding character. Bands of courtezans, armed with every blandishment of beauty, music, and' dancing, by a thousand arts inflamed the excited worshippers, until they were prepared to wallow in pollution from which the mind turns away with infinite disgust. The cause of truth demands that it should be distinctly stated that these abominations are not accidental circumstances, arising in some par- ticular age or country. No ; they are the natural results of idolatry. Wherever this fearful error has reigned, in ancient or modern times, it has produced similar effects. Carnal, unmeaning ceremony, — cruelty and blood, — licentious impurity, to an extent forbidding all description, — have always been the natural fruits of this evil. When exhibiting the religion of the several Gentile nations, it will be necessary to present these subjects in greater detail. Enough has here been said to give a general idea of the spirit and genius of idolatry ; and to show that, as a standing rule, it has banished all just and worthy views of God from the minds of men, and has substituted, for that divine worship PRELIMINAUY DISSERTATION. 33 ■whicli was appointed by God as the great means of raising the mind and renewing the character of man, a system of creature-worship which has debased mankind, and become a fruitful cause of the blackest crimes, and of the most filthy impurities. If, therefore, an investigation of the origin of this compound of wicked- ness and folly led to the opinion that it arose in the world through the direct agency and influence of Satan, all that we have seen of its results, in respect of man's knowledge and worship of God, fully confirms this view. In all its character, spirit, tendency, and resulting circumstances, idolatry presents itself to the mind as the work of Satanic guile, and of a powerful influence exercised on the depraved hearts of unfaithful men. Notwithstanding the overwhelming amount of evidence by which these views of the origin and character of pagan idolatry are supported and attested, a disposition has been evinced by some men of learning — espe- cially by those among them who have not carefully studied the sacred Scriptures, or the Christian religion — to endeavour to show that the moral impurity and intellectual perversioTi, which obviously resulted in a fearful torrent from this source, were not universal ; that among certain classes 01' sections of heathen society the doctrines of a pure theism were plainly taught, and the precepts of a sound morality carefully enforced. And, strange as it may appear, an eminent Christian divine and English bishop has mightily promoted these (in our judgment) erroneous views. Bishop Warburton, in his " Divine Legation of Moses," strongly asserts that in the heathen mysteries all the errors of polytheism were explained and neutralized ; that here the initiated were taught, "that Jupiter, Mer- cury, Bacchus, Venus, Mars, and the whole rabble of licentious deities, were only DEAD MORTALS ; subject in life to the same passions and infirmities with themselves; but having been on other accounts benefactors to man- kind, grateful posterity had deified them, and with their virtues had indiscreetly canonized their vices. The fabulous gods being thus routed, the Supreme Cause of all things naturally took their place. Him they were taught to consider as the Creator of the universe, who pervaded all things by his virtue, and governed all things by his providence." But, according to the judgment of this learned prelate, not only were prevalent errors repudiated, and sterling truth enforced ; a religious change of lieart, and a life of unblemished purity and virtue, were also enjoined. He says, " The mysteries openly proclaimed it as their chief business to f'estore the soul to its original purity," — " taught the necessity of a strict and holy life." Hence, " those that were initiated, were obliged by solemn engage- ments to commence a new life of the strictest purity and virtue : nor was a less degree of purity required of the initiated for their future conduct." — Divine Legation, book ii, sec. 4. If these strange assertions had been sustained by reasonable proof, 3 34 PRELIMINAKY DISSERTATION. although it might not necessarily impugn what has been said respecting the Satanic origin, character, and influence of heathen idolatry, it would certainly compel us to admit that some graciousinterference had infused into the centre of this corrupt mass a counteracting influence of truth and right- eousness. It would, therefore, be most cheering to find the speculations of the learned prelate of Gloucester on this subject abundantly verified. It is with sincere regret that we are compelled to affirm that, although they are supported with all his energy and learning, his reasoning is inconclusive, and his inferences are unsatisfactory. A careful and extended inquiry com- pletely dissipates the hopeful scheme which his ingenuity had raised. Leland, (Christian Revelation, part i, chap, viii,) by an elaborate and learned investigation, showed very clearly that the bishop's conjecture is entirely unsupported, and falls to the ground in the absence of proof. It does not comport with the plan of this work to give even a sketch of this controversy, or of the various opinions which have been promul- gated on this important and interesting subject. It will, however, be necessary to furnish some distinct idea 'of these heathen mysteries, and to state our opinion of their origin, object, and progressive character. Entering upon this needful, but very difiicult, part of our undertaking, it may be proper to premise, that while our space forbids great amplifica- tion, and restrains the exhibition of our views, and the production of evidence, to a limited compass ; it will, nevertheless, be attempted to state the case so clearly, and to exhibit such an amount of proof, that in future this stronghold of scepticism may be deprived of its power to counteract the teaching of God's holy truth. And, as the subject is very obscure, it will be our aim to be particularly explicit. The term " mysteries," by which in our language these sacred services and rites are designated, comes from the Greek fivaTTipiov, and, in its modern acceptation, imports something above human intelligence ; some- thing awfully obscure and enigmatical ; anything artfully made difficult ; the secret of any business or profession. This term is frequently used in the New Testament Scriptures ; and, when thus employed, generally sio-ni- fies those doctrines of the gospel which the Jews in preceding times did not understand, in consequence of the darkness of their religious dispen- sation ; or those profound truths — such as the Trinity in Unity, the Incar- nation, &c. — which the weakness of human reason can never adequately comprehend. In the application of this term, however, to the sacred and occult rites of the heathen, its meaning is not so obvious. Many ingenious and con- flicting conjectures, on the etymology of the term, and its application to this subject, have been offered by learned writers ; but that seems most probable which derives the word from the Hebrew 'itiBb — which means " any place or thing hidden or concealed." As there can be little doubt PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 35 that the occult rites to which this term was appUed, were imported into Greece from Egypt and the East, and as in those regions names and distinc- tive terms possess a peculiar significancy and force, this sense of the word may be safely received. On a subject so recondite and obscure as the origin of these religious rites, it might be expected that great difference of opinion would be found among the learned. This is the case in a more than ordinary degree. One able writer insists that " the mysteries were the offspring of bigotry and priestcraft; they originated in Egypt, the native land of idolatry." " They were instituted with a view to aggrandize that order of men," (the priesthood,) " to extend their influence, and enlarge their revenues. To accomplish these selfish projects, they applied every engine toward besot- ting the multitude with superstition and enthusiasm. They taught them to believe that themselves were the distinguished favourites of Heaven ; and that celestial doctrines had been revealed to them, too holy to be commu- nicated to the profane rabble, and too sublime to be comprehended by vulgar capacities. "All the orientals, but more especially the Egyptians, delighted in mysterious and aEegorical doctrines. Every maxim of morality, every tenet of theology, every dogma of philosophy was wrapped up in the veil of allegory and mysticism. This propensity, no doubt, conspired with avarice and ambition to dispose them to a dark and mysterious system of religion."— ^wcy. £rit., art. Mysteries. Another and very opposite opinion respecting the origin of the heathen mysteries is given by Warburton. Instead of regarding them as invented and brought into use to promote the objects of the priesthood, he considers " that the mysteries were invented, established, and supported by law- givers." He argues this, "1. From the place of their original; which was Egypt. This Herodotus, Diodorus, and Plutarch, who collect from ancient testimonies, expressly affirm ; and in , this all antiquity concurs. Now, in Egypt, all religious worship being planned and established by statesmen, and directed to the ends of civil policy, we must conclude thai the mysteries were originally invented by legislators." 2. Secondly, it is urged that " the sages who brought them out of Egypt, and propagated them in Asia, in Greece, and Britain, were all kings or lawgivers; such as Zoroaster, Inachus, Orpheus, Melampus, Trophonius, Minos, Cinyras, Erechtheus, and the Druids. " 3. They were under the superintendence of the state. A magistrate entitled BA2IAETS, a ' king,' presided in the Eleusinian mysteries. Lysias informs us, that this king was to offer up the pubKc prayers, according to their country rites ; and to see that nothing impious or immoral crept into their celebration. This title given to the president of the mysteries was, doubtless, in memory of the first founder; to whom were joined fpur 36 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. officers, chosen by the people, called 'EIIIMEAHTAI, or ' curators ;' the priests being only under-offioers to these, and had no share in the direction : for, this being the legislator's favourite institution, he took all possible care for its support, which could not be done more effectually than by his watching over it himself. " 4. But this original is still further seen from the qualities required in the aspirants to the mysteries. According to their original institution, neither slaves nor foreigners were to be admitted into them. Now, if the mys- teries were instituted, primarily, for the sake of teaching religious truths, there can be no reason given why every man with the proper qualifications should not be admitted : but supposing them instituted by the state for civil purposes, a very good one may be assigned ; for slaves and foreigners have there neither property nor country. " 5. Another proof of this original may be adduced from what was taught promiscuously to all the initiated ; which was, the ■riecessity of a virtuous and holy life, to obtain a happy immortality. Now this, we know, could not come from the sacerdotal warehouses : the priests could afford a better pennyworth of their Elysium, at the easy expense of oblations and sacrifices. " 6. Another strong presumption of this original is the great use of the mysteries to the state ; so amply confessed by the wisest writers of antiquity, and so clearly seen from the nature of the thing itself. " v. But, lastly, we have the testimony of the knowing Plutarch for this original ; who, in his treatise ' Of Isis and Osiris,' expressly tells us, that it was ' a most ancient opinion, delivered down from legislators and divines to poets and philosophers, the author of it entirely unknown, but the belief of it indelibly estabhshed, not only in tradition, and the talk of the vulgar, but in the mysteries and in the sacred offices of religion, both among Greeks and barbarians, spread all over the face of the globe, that the universe was not upheld fortuitously, without mind, reason, or a governor to preside over its revolutions.' " — Divine Legation, book ii, sec. 4. These conflicting views of the origin of the mysteries are sufficiently startling ; but it will be necessary to add to their number before proceed- ing to investigate the subject. We are told in a modern work of great merit, " That the ancient mysteries were nothing but the impositions of priests, who played upon the superstitious and ignorant, is an opinion which, although entertained by Limburgh-Brouwer, the latest writer on the subject; certainly cannot satisfy those who are accustomed to seek a more solid and vital principle in all religious institutions that have ever had any lasting influence upon mankind. The persons imited and initiated to celebrate the mysteries in Greece were neither all priests, nor did they belong to the ignorant and superstitious classes of society ; but they were, on the contrary, frequently the most distinguished statesmen PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 37 and philosophers. It has been remarked, that it is far more probable that the mysteries of the various parts of Greece were remains of the ancient Pelasgian religion. The associations of persons for the purpose of celebrating them must, therefore, have been formed at the time when the overwhelming influence of the Hellenic religion began to gain the upper hand in Greece, and when persons who still entertained a reverence for the worship of former times united together, with the intention of pre- serving and upholding among themselves as much as possible of the religion of their forefathers. It is natural enough that they formed them- selves for this purpose into societies, analogous to the brotherhood of the Church of Eome, and endeavoured to preserve against the profanation of the multitude that which was most dear to them. Hence the secrecy of all the Greek mysteries, and hence the fact that the Greek mysteries were almost invariably connected with the worship of the old Pelas- gian divinities." — Smithes Did. of Greek and Roman Antiquities, art. Mysteries. Again : a different solution of this difficult subject is given by Mr. Faber. He first identifies the mysteries, notwithstanding the diversity of deities Mid names under which they were celebrated ; and, having estab- lished their common origin, he proceeds : " Bishop Warburton, agreeably to his system of deducing everything from Egypt, contends that they were first invented in that country ; whence, in process of time, they were carried into Greece, Persia, Cyprus, Crete, Samothrace, Lemnos, Asia Minor, Britain, Hindostan, and all those barbarous nations, wherever situated, among which we find them established. " This theory seems to me so utterly incredible, that I feel myself altogether unable to adopt it. "Whatever was the origin of the mysteries, such also must have been the origin of the whole fabric of the pagan mythology : for the two are so intimately connected, that it is impossible to separate them from each other and to derive them from different sources. If, then, we subscribe to the hypothesis of Warburton, we must prepare ourselves to believe that the whole frame-work of Gentile idolatry, with the sacred mysteries attached to it, was the exclusive contrivance of the Egyptian priesthood ; and that the entire human race were but servile copyists of one single nation. We must believe, not only that the neigh- bouring Greeks and Phenicians borrowed from Egypt, but that the most remote communities, the British Celts, the Pelasgic Scythians, the Magi of Persia, the Chaldeans of Babylon, and even the Brahmins of Hin- dostan, were all content to receive their theology from the same country. We must believe, too, that this universal obligation to Egypt was incurred in the very earliest ages : for, not to enter into a discussion respecting the antiquity of Babylon, or Persia, or Hindostan, we find the orgies of Adonis, or Baal-peor, and of Astarte, or Lida, completely established in 88 PEBLIMINAKY DISSERTATION. Palestine prior to the time of the Exodus; and we observe the Greeks* acknowledging that they had already received from the northern Pelasgi, or Thracians, those very mysteries which were again imported by the southern settlers from Egypt. "The whole of this appears to me perfectly incredible. Egypt, no doubt, was a civilized and well-regulated state at a very remote period ; and its established idolatry was, I believe, coeval with its very existence as a nation : but, neither was it the only civilized community ; nor, even if it were, would this satisfactorily account for the universal adoption of its mysteries, as well by its more immediate neighbours, as by the far- distant colonies of the extreme east, and north, and north-east. When the earth was once peopled by the descendants of Noah, and when his children had once formed distinct states in regions widely separated from each other, I can never bring myself to believe, that any single nation could communicate its own peculiar religious system to the whole world ; I can never persuade myself, that all mankind with one consent forsook the worship of their fathers, merely that they might adopt the fantastic inventions of Egypt. "How, then, are we to account for the general prevalence and' identity of the pagan mysteries ? and from what common origin are we to suppose them to have sprung ? I undoubtedly account for the matter precisely as I account for the identity of the various systems of pagan mythology. So remarkable and exact accordance of sentiments and institutions, which may be distinctly traced in every part of the world, leads inevitably to the belief that, in the infancy of society, when as yet mankind were but few in number, all the children of Noah were associated together in one com- munity ; that, while they thus formed but one empire, a great apostasy from the worship of the true God took place ; that at that period the original system of idolatrous mythology and the sacred mysteries attached to it were first contrived ; and that afterward these, by the Dispersion, were spread over the world." — Pagan Idolatry, vol. iii, p. 106. If it had been my object to exhibit to the utmost the discordance which obtains among the learned respecting this subject, I should next quote the opinion of Dr. Hales, who believes the mysteries to have had their origin in the Hebrew feast of tabernacles, and then adds some equally strange notions from other authors : but my limits forbid an exposure of the eccentricities of scholars, which can yield no practical advantage. It may appear a Utopian undertaking to attempt to reconcile these conflicting opinions ; although it may be candidly acknowledged that elements of truth may be found in each of them. The prevalent error into which those and other eminent men have fallen seems to be that they have not only studied the subject each under different aspects, but they have also confounded changes introduced into the institution of PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 39 ■which they speak, in different ages and countries ; and, consequently, that which ought only to be regarded as a peculiar and local feature, has been spoken of as a general and prevaiHng characteristic. It will, however, now be necessary for us to give the view of the origin, object, and character of these institutions, which we have formed after a ■careful consideration of all these opinions. 1. As to their origin, the argument of Mr. Faber appears to he irre- sistible. The learned writer in Dr. Smith's Dictionary may as reasonably contend for the origin of the mysteries in Greece, — although it is noto- rious that they previously existed in Egypt, — as Warburton can for their Egyptian origin, when their early prevalence and general identity cannot be denied. Whatever precise period, therefore, may be fixed on as having produced these strange ceremonies, it must be placed before the Dispersion, in order to account for their general prevalence. 2. The most curious and important section of the inquiry, however, respects the object or design which led to the estabUshment of a religious ceremonial, that spread so widely, and exercised such an immense influence over the world throughout succeeding ages. On this point it does not become me to speak positively ; yet it seems probable that, by carefully reviewing a few particulars, some definite information may be obtained even on this recondite topic. It appears that in all these mysteries there is mention made of a cer- tain sacred ark. " Apuleius mentions the ark of Isis ; and describes it as containing the sacred symbols which were used in the mysteries : he also exhibits Psyche as deprecating Ceres by the silent orgies of the ark of that goddess. Plutarch, in treating of the rites of Osiris, speaks of the sacred ark which his long-robed priests were wont to carry, and which 2ontained within it a small golden boat. Pausanias notices an ancient ark which was said to have been brought by Eurypylus from Troy, and within which the sacred image or symbol of Bacchus Esymnetes was enclosed : he likewise mentions certain arks as being ordinarily dedicated to Ceres, who was worshipped in conjunction with Bacchus, just as Isis was in conjunction with Osiris. Eusebius informs us, that, in celebrating the mysteries of the Cabin, the Phenicians used a consecrated ark. Clemens says that a similar ark was employed in the orgies of the same Corybantic Cabiri, who were venerated in Mount Olympus ; that it con- tained an indecorous symbol of Bacchus ; and that it was conveyed by the Cabiric brethren themselves into Etruria, where the mystic use of it was likewise adopted. This author speaks also of the ark of the Eleu- sinian Ceres, and is very particular in noticing its contents. Theocritus, in describing the mysteries of Bacchus as celebrated by the three Lenae, — Ino, Autonoe, and Agave, the three representatives of the triplicated great mother, — fails not to specify the sacred ark, out of which they take the 40 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION, hidden symbols that were used in the orgies." — Faber's Pagan Idolatry, vol. iii, p. 119. Further proof to the same effect might be produced respecting the use of the ark for these sacred purposes in Greece, Rome, Babylon, India, and Britain. This important element may, therefore, be considered as fully established. " The question, then, is," as Mr. Faber very pertinently puts it, " What are we to understand by this so generally reverenced ark ?" This learned writer supplies an elaborate answer, in accordance with his theory of heathen idolatry ; and satisfactorily establishes the fact, that this sacred ark, as used in the mysteries, was employed in significant reference to the Deluge, and the great father and mother who were there preserved. On one point, however, I think it necessary to suggest an extension or emendation of this learned author's views. I cannot divest myself of the belief that the ark devised for the purpose of this idolatry and these heathen mysteries, was the original or first sacred ark. If it has been established that the cherubim of Eden were appointed for a purpose .similar to that to which the cherubim were applied in the Mosaic sanctu- ary ; (Patriarchal Age, pp. 143-148;) and that, throughout all patri- archal times, the faithful had a place of worship, a seat of the divine presence, a depository for sacred emblems of the patriarchal faith, and an oracle; (Hebrew People, pp. 525, 526, 528, 529;) then it is, to say the least, extremely probable that the origin of the mysteries, in the outset of postdiluvian idolatry, was not the invention of a new ceremonial of sacred things, but a perversion of an old and pure service. Intimations of this may be discovei'ed in the evidence which has been already given. For instance, in the extract from Plutarch's description of the rites of Osiris, he speaks of the "sacred ark :" but this is not, as in many other instances, the symbol of the ark of Noah ; on the contraiy, it contained a small golden boat, which was evidently intended to serve that purpose. It seems, therefore, that the measure which led to the establishment of the mysteries was a virtual repudiation of the old pure patriarchal faith, and the adoption of a scheme of idolatry which deified the great father and mother, as reappearing in Noah and his wife, and then triplicated in the persons of their children ; and that the mysteries were an adaptation of the sacred patriarchal worship to this idolatry. It is not to be expected that any particular solution of this difficult subject will be received with favour, or commend itself to general accept- ance ; especially as the most ample collection of evidence which could be exhibited, must, from the nature of the subject and the character of the testimony, fail to furnish that absolute proof which the mind requires, iu order to rest with implicit reliance on the certainty of the thing. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 41 All, therefore, that can he hoped, and which, indeed, the nature of the subject seems to admit, is, to supply such a solution as shall meet all the requirements and difficulties of the case. It has been already shown that none of the schemes to which we have alluded, although propounded by men of eminence, have done this. It is, for instance, vain to fur- nish the most plausible account of the origin of the mysteries derived from the relative influence of Hellenic and Pelasgian doctrines in Greece, when it is an incontestable fact, that essentially the same ceremonies pre- viously obtained in Egypt. It is equally futile to argue, with Warburton, for their Egyptian origin, when, from their prevalence in such remote countries as India and Britain, it must be seen that they could not have emanated from any single nation, but must have originated prior to the Dispersion. No arguments can be satisfactory which ascribe these sacred services to any particular class, whether priests or statesmen, when it is undeniable that both these classes, as well as the most profound philoso- phers, took a deep interest, and felt a vital concern in the maintenance of their sacred character. Nor is it possible to make the more correct theory of Faber meet all the requirements of the case. To suppose the ark of the mysteries to have had no other prototype than the ark of Noah, is irreconcilable, not only with the fact that in some instances the symbols of the ark of the Deluge are found separate and distinct from the sacred chest of the mysteries, but also with this most important circum- stance, — that the sacred ark of the Hebrew tabernacle, which could have had no reference to the Deluge, was almost identical with those found in ancient Egyptian sculptures of religious ceremonies. I am desirous to subject to the same test which I have applied to other schemes, the solution which I have suggested. 1. We find a sacred ark used in the mysteries of almost every (if not every) ancient people. This ark not only is, in many instances, shaped like a ship, a boat, or a lunar crescent, — but, in many others, has addi- tional figures and emblems of this kind, while the body of the ark itself is almost an exact copy of the Hebrew ark of the tabernacle. (Kitto's Cyc. of Bib. Lit., art. Ark.) Again : let the population of the world at the time of the Dispersion be fairly considered, and whether we refer to the evi- dence afforded by the general identity of all heathenism, or the Scriptural account of the patriarchal times, it must be believed that the service and worship of God were conducted publicly, intelligently, and by the off^ering of sacrifice in or before a place sacredly set apart as the dwelling of God. To ascribe the origin of the mysteries to a corruption of this service, is, therefore, to obtain the countenance of all antiquity to the probability of our theory. 2. It is not intended here to expand the hints which have been given respecting the sin of Nimrod in his effort to make himself the religious, as 4ii PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. well as the political, head of the new world. It can, however, scarcely be doubted by any who will carefully peruse the voluminous evidence col- lected by Faber, that the establishment of postdiluvian idolatry was effected by the deification of Noah and his sons, as reappearances of the great father, to the end that the aspirant himself might also claim divinity as a descendant from them, most probably in the character of the promised Seed. If such was the fact, what means could have more certainly carried out such a project successfully, (and carried out we know it was,) than making those sacred services of patriarchal worship which, from the rapid increase of population, must have become select, accessible only to a few, who had entered into the ambitious and profane purpose ; and then ingrafting on all its sacred things, doctrines, and rites, a refined and elaborate, but corrupt and debasing idolatry ? 3. It will be obvious that the ascription of special sacredness to these religious rites would allow ample opportunities for the changes sought, and at the same time would have invested these new rites and doctrines with peculiar and important influence. Nor is it easy to conceive how else a whole people could be led into such serious errors. It is, however, certain, that in all ages the introduction of fatal errors respecting religion has been covered with combined prescriptions of secrecy and mystery. 4. It must be admitted that this idea of the origin of the mysteries perfectly accounts for the essential identity, and, at the same time, national diversity, which they exhibit. Having had one common origin, they were all framed on the same principle and pattern : but alterations in the detail of names, rites, and ceremonies, would be afterward introduced, harmonizing them severally vrith the diverse peculiarities of national mythology. 5. This theory of these sacred heathen rites is no less important in respect of their object than with reference to their origin. If it had been desirable here to quote detailed particulars, both these points might be amply sustained and illustrated. This will, however, be more suitably done when we come to consider the religion of the several nations in separate chapters. Still it may be proper to remark, that much confusion has been introduced into the subject by learned writers speaking of the origin and object of the mysteries from the aspects which they present in a particular nation. It is very conceivable that they might have been introduced into Greece in a very different manner from that in which they were first produced at Babel ; and that priests and legislatore might, in different countries and ages, have made them subservient to their own purposes. The view we have taken, therefore, corrects what is erroneous, and harmonizes what is sound, in the several conflicting theories which have been propounded under limited and local impressions of the subject. 6. Yet although this is not the place to insert in detail the various PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 43 ceremonies which were incorporated into the mysteries of ancient nations, it is necessary to give some idea of the general character which they exhibited, and of the ruling elements which everywhere distinguished them. The mysteries were sacred sacrifices and ceremonies which took place at night, or in secret, within some sanctuary, into which the uninitiated were not permitted to enter. There were several particulars essential to these religious services, and common to them in all countries. (1.) There were always objects of worship. The mysteries were, in fact, always a secret worship of some particular deity or deities. In Egypt, Isis and Osiris were adored ; in the Grecian Eleusinian mysteries, Demeter and Persephone ; in those of Thebes, Bacchus ; and in other places other divinities were the centres and objects of these select and secret rites. In each and every case, these orgies were celebrated in honour of some deity whose praises were the special business of the offici- ating hierophant. This precisely harmonizes with our view of their origin in the deification of Noah and Nimrod. (2.) Another essential to the celebration of the mysteries was, the use of sacred utensils. We have already observed, the principal of these was an ark or chest, containing sacred articles which, it seems, were generally exhibited in the mysteries. Apuleius mentions the ark of Isis as containing secret symbols. Plutarch, treating of the rites of Osiris, says that the ark contained a golden boat. Pausanias notices an ancient ark, within which the sacred image or symbol of Bacchus Esymnetes was enclosed. Clemens says, that a similar ark was employed in the orgies of the Corybantic Cabiri, and that it contained an indecorous symbol of Bacchus. Numerous other instances might be cited from classic authors ; but these are sufiicient to show that sacred arks, containing rehgious symbols, were common in different countries in the celebration of the mysteries. (3.) A third requisite for these secret services was a recital, by the hierophant, of ancient traditions, with their interpretation. Warburton has employed his mighty genius and learning to show that the doctrines taught in the mysteries were the human origin, death, and sepulture of the heathen gods, — the real unity of the Deity, — and the necessity of a holy life. The sense in which the learned prelate understands these points, and the consequences which he has drawn from them, have been ably contro- verted by Leland and Faber. Yet, to a great extent, these writers are obliged to admit the accuracy of the data upon which the bishop reasons, however successfully they have overturned his inductions. It seems, then, to be an undoubted fact, that the mysteries taught the origin of the hero-divinities of postdiluvian idolatry. Whether, as War- 44 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. burton conjectures, the fragment of Phenician history preserved by San- cboniatho was the very account read to the initiated or not, the constant reference to the mutilation of Osiris and other deities, combined with other circumstances, identifies this teaching with the story of Noah beyond any chance of mistake. Nor does it appear at all improbable, notwithstanding the objections of Faber, that, in the origin of this hero-worship, there was a recognition of the unity of the supreme God, and that this was verbally proclaimed in these sacred rites, even when in practice unbounded poly- theism prevailed. In like manner, it is very conceivable that the intro- duction of this system of idolatry, and the establishment of these sacred rites for its promulgation, were connected with large professions of purity and moral improvement : and this may account for the existence of many passages in classic authors on which much reliance has been placed. But if this was the case at first, it soon gave way to the prevailing spirit which irhbued the whole idolatrous system, until at length, as Cicero says, the mysteries became synonymous with " abomination." On the whole, then, it may be regarded as an established fact : that the mysteries originated in a series of grand, but secret or covert efforts to establish polytheism, and to secure the great rebellion against the pur- poses of God in the days of Nimrod ; that in the progress of these eflibrts the pure patriarchal religion was corrupted, and hero-worship established ; that the means used in effecting the alteration were afterward continued with a view to sustain it, and the sacred patriarchal symbols were retained, but with considerable modifications and additions ; and that, in harmony with the whole design and object, these mysteries were open only to the initiated, who were bound not to divulge any of the privileged communi- cations which they had received. III. We now direct attention to the sacred oracles of the heathen. These were everywhere regarded as means of obtaining from the Deity some solution of difficult cases, or information respecting events in distant places, or at future times, beyond that which merely human wisdom could possiblj' furnish. The fact of their institution and prevalence is, therefore, a testimony borne by all antiquity to the fact of the divine omniscience, and to the certain existence of a primitive revelation. If, as some would-be philosophers are anxious to make us believe, mankind began their career in a semi-bestial state, and by gradual and successive improvements worked their way up to their present elevated intellectual position, whence could possibly have originated a behef in the divinity of oracles? We might as reasonably calculate on a herd of baboons seeking such illumination, as that man would do so in such cir- cumstances. No; it stands confessed, that heathen oracles, however vain, or false, or guileful, were but corruptions of a true and real revela- tion from God to man. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 45 It was, indeed, tlie crowning glory of the pious in patriarchal times, that they had access unto God. The few elements of information which have reached us respecting this period, do not explain, as fully as could be desired, the manner and means by which this boon was reahzed : but it speaks to the fact in such a way as to place it beyond all doubt. When Eebekah was driven by her distress to seek divine succour, she was at no loss for the means of obtaining it: "She went to inquire of the Lord" The puerile exposition of commentators, that this was an appeal to some patriarch, or a simple exercise of pray.er, is altogether inadmis- sible : the clear, ample, explicit, and prophetic answer which she received, decides the case, and proves that she had access to an oracle of God. Gen. XXV, 22, 23. When, therefore, Satanic guile and power had succeeded in diverting the minds of men from the only true object of worship to deified men, and brutes, and elements, it became necessary that the false, idolatroiis religion thus introduced should possess a real or pretended power, equiva- lent to that afforded by the oracle of Jehovah in patriarchal times. Hence we find everywhere, among the cultivated heathen nations of antiquity, oracles established which professed to give responses dictated by Deity in answer to the inquiries of the worshippers ; and, as the learned Banier aflSrms, " every nation where idolatry prevailed had its oracles.'' Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other countries, afford abundant evidence in proof of this assertion. The important question is then suggested, What was the real character of these oracles? Were they the result of combined fraud and ingenious contrivance? or did they in any measure emanate from, and were sus- tained by, Satanic influence? In the solution of this question, the learned of our own as well as of other countries are much at variance with each other. Bishop Sherlock is so confident of the Satanic character of the heathen oracles, that he does not hesitate to state that he regards those who deny that the devil gave out the oracles to the heathen world, as evincing "a degree of unbelief" which deprives them of all right to debate questions of this kind. (Works, vol. iv, p. 49. London. 1830.) While, on the other hand. Dr. Middleton pleads guilty to this degree of unbelief, and maintains that these oracles were " all mere impostures, wholly invented and supported by human craft, without any supernatural aid or interposition whatever." (Miscel. Works, vol. v, p. 262. Lon., 1755.) When such divines stand thus opposed to each other, nothing can be hoped for in respect of authority. Our only resource is, therefore, to investigate the subject for ourselves, under the guidance of such aids as its nature affords. It may be observed in limine, that an objection has been taken to supernatural interposition in respect of oracles, which appears to be most 46 PKBLIMINAEY DISSERTATION. unsound and unreasonable. It has been asserted that numerous proofs exist of fraud, deceit, and corruption, in the agency by which they were administered : and hence it is argued, that they could not have emanated from diabolical influence. It is difficult to conceive of a more inconse- quential conclusion. If it had been alleged that these oracles vi^ere the result of divine prescience, then the proof of positive guile and wickedness in the agents might be held sufficient to disprove the claim. But surely there is no such obvious antagonism between Satanic influence, and fraud, guile, and wickedness, that the presence of the one must necessarily prove the absence of the other. On the other hand, I am free to confess, that this asserted guile and fraud, instead of disproving the presence of Satanic influence, rather inclines me to infer the operation of such agency. In the investigation of this subject, then, it appears to me, we have to decide on these important questions : — First, have we any certain knowl- edge that a fallen spirit, at any time, or under any circumstances, has been permitted to dictate superhuman knowledge to mankind ? And, secondly, if this has been done, is the case of heathen oracles one which reasonably justifies the belief that such influence was exerted in respect of them ? 1. Passing by other and more doubtful cases, I call attention here to a clear and indubitable instance of the communication of superhuman knowledge by a diabohcal agency. The case I refer to has been noticed for another purpose in a note ; it is that of the Pythoness of Philippi. We have here (Acts xvi, 16-19) an unquestionable proof of such a com- munication of superhuman knowledge. It may be flrst observed, that the term used by the sacred writer to describe this woman's occupation, Havrevofiai, and which our translators have rendered " soothsaying," sig- nifies ^^ to foretell, divine, prophesy, deliver an oracle." It is precisely the same word which is used by Herodotus when referring to the divina- tion of the Scythians, (Lib. iv, cap. 67,) and which is also employed by him- when speaking of the famous oracle at Delphi. (Lib. vi, cap. 76; et lib. viii, cap. 38.) The case is, therefore, strictly in point. ^ In this instance, then, it is clear that an evil spirit gave to the woman the power of making superhuman, or oracular, communications. The presence and power of this spirit were absolutely necessary to the produc- tion of these results : for, when the demon was expelled, her mastei-s " saw that the hope of their gains was gone," and their chagrin and rage led to a fierce persecution. It is vain to urge that this was a mere mercenary affair ; and that it is not to be supposed that Satanic influence would be permitted in such a case. The Holy Ghost has declared it to be a fact. "Whatever fraud or wickedness might have been employed in connexion with this business, it is, therefore, an acknowledged truth by every believer in revelation, that oracular answers, communicating superhuman knowledge, were in this case given by diabolical agency. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 47 2. We have to inquire, in the second place, whether the case of the heathen oracles is such as to justify the opinion that this diabolical in- fluence was sometimes used in respect of them. (1.) It seems reasonable to suppose, that if such Satanic influence was employed in what appears to have been merely a private, and mercenary effort, it might surely be expected in those great national institutions which stood associated with idolatrous delusions, and which had all been brought into operation by the same infernal power. (2.) It is important to consider the fact, that these oracles were sus- tained in high credit, and trusted with implicit confidence, by the wisest statesmen and sovereigns of the nations of antiquity most celebrated for their high state of civilization. Not only did this continue under particu- lar circumstances and for a season or an age, but it lasted throughout successive centuries. This is an argument which all candid minds have felt. Hence the learned Banier asks, " Is it, then, credible, that if the oracles had been nothing but the offspring of priestcraft, whatever artful methods they may be thought to have used, and however successful in pumping out the secrets and schemes of those who came to consult them ; — is it credible, I say, that those oracles would have lasted so long, and supported themselves with so much splendour and reputatiou, had they been merely owing to the forgery of the priests ? Imposture betrays itself, falsehood never holds 6ut. Besides, there were too many witnesses, too many curious spies, too many people whose interest it was not to be deluded. One may put a cheat for a time upon a few private persons, who are overrun with credulity, but by no means upon whole nations for several ages. Some princes who had been played upon by ambiguous responses, — a trick once discovered, — the bare curiosity of a free-thinker, — any of these, in short, was sufficient to blow up the whole mystery, and at once to make the credit of the oracles fall to the ground. How many people, deluded by hateful responses, were concerned to" examine if it was really the priests by whom they were seduced ! But why ? Was it so hard a matter to find one of the priests themselves, capable of being bribed to betray the cause of his accomplices, by the fair promises and more substantial gifts of those who omitted no means of being thoroughly informed in a subject of such concern?" — Mythology, vol. i, p. 328. Lempriere echoes the same argument, and says, " Imposture and forgery cannot long flourish, and falsehood becomes its own destroyer." — Diction- ary, s. V. Oraculum. Yet it is an undeniable fact that, " during the best period of their history, the Greets, generally speaking, bad undoubtedly a sincere faith in the oracle, its counsels and directions." — Smith's Diet, of Oreek and •Roman Antiq., p. 610. Hence Lucan, who wrote his Pharsalia scarcely thirty years after our Lord's crucifixion, laments as one of the greatest evils of the age, that the Delphic oracle was become 48 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. silent. From the general credit which the oracles maintained in an enlightened age, and during a very lengthened period, it is extremely improbable that they should have been nothing more than the base results of fraud and fiction. (3.) The nature of the communications given forth by these oracles is strongly confirmatory of the existence of Satanic agency. Our reference must be confined to one remarkable instance ; but shall be a case of such public notoriety as to form a fair example of the general character of the institution. I refer to the case of Croesus, King of Lydia, and the Pythian oracle. Herodotus informs us that this sovereign, alarmed at the growing power of Cyrus, King of Persia, and meditating an attack on his dominions, was anxious first to consult the most celebrated oracles as to the issue of such an important enterprise, before he committed himself to it. Prior, how- ever, to his submitting to the oracle the important question upon which his fate depended, he was determined to propound one which should enable him, as he thought, to test the prescience of the oracle. He accordingly sent messengers to Delphi ; and having carefully considered the period required for the journey, and allowed them ample time, he commanded them at the appointed hour to present themselves before the Pythoness, and propose this question : " What is Croesus, son of Alyattes, now doing ?" They were to write the answer carefully down, and send it to him. The answer was to this efiect : — " I count the sand, I measure out the sea ; The silent and the dumb are heard by me. E'en now the odours to my sense that rise A tortoise boiling with a lamb supplies, Where brass below and brass above it lies." The fact was, that Croesus, determined to be occupied in the most unlikely and unkingly manner, was engaged at that time in boiling the flesh of a tortoise and a lamb together in a covered vessel of brass. Croesus was so impressed with the exactness of this response, that he determined to do all in his power to propitiate this oracle, and to trust himself to its direction. He accordingly sent to Delphi the most costly presents in gold and silver, — amounting altogether, according to the com- putation of the Abbe Barthelemy, to £879,547, — with ordei-s to make the following inquiry: "Croesus, sovereign of Lydia and of various nations, esteems these the only genuine oracles. In return for the sagacity which has marked your declarations, he sends these proofs of his liberality. He finally desires to know whether he may proceed against the Persians and whether he shall require the assistance of any allies.'' The answer was, that if Croesus carried his arms against the Persians, he would overthrow a great empire ; and that he would do well to make alliances with the PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 49 most powerful states of Greece. Interpreting this reply to his own advan- tage, but anxious to put the case in another aspect before the oracle, he sent a third time, to inquire as to the duration of his empire. The answer on that occasion was, — " When o'er the Medes a mule shall sit on high, O'er pebhly Hermus then, soft Lydian, fly, Fly with all haste ; for safety scorn thy fame, Nor scruple to deserve a coward's name." Still giving to the answers of the oracle the interpretation most favour- able to himself, Croesus regarded the reign of a mule over Media as an impossibility, and thence inferred the stability of his own power. Under this impression he made war on Persia, and, as is well known, was soon vanquished, stripped of his dominions, condemned to death, but ultimately preserved and supported as a captive by Cyrus. Reference will be elsewhere made to the history of these events. In this place I have simply to investigate these oracular responses, with a view to ascertain their character. First, then, it cannot be denied that the first answer, which referred to the strange occupation of Crcesus at the time, exhibits remarkable accuracy. We may think ourselves very wise in dismissing such a case with the cry of "jugglery and cheating ;" but it is doubtful whether by such conduct we do not evince great folly. The King of Lydia was a man of great energy and intellectual power : he was therefore competent to judge of the chances of imposition, and to guard against them, much better than we can now imagine. Yet he, by the presentation of gifts to the value of nearly one million sterling, gave ample proof that he regarded the whole as a bona fide transaction. Is it not, then, reasonable to ask, " By what means could the Pythoness have given such a reply ? By what means could the priestess at Delphi have ascer- tained what the King of Lydia was doing at a given hour, in his palace at Sardis, hundreds of miles away, when he had determined to exercise his utmost care and ingenuity in order to test her abihty ?" Neither captious querulousness nor unmeaning sneering will meet the case. Here is an undoubted historical incident, which, I am bold to say, admits of no satis- factory solution, except on the principle of diabolical agency. But on this principle all is plain : the difiiculty, otherwise insurmountable, immediately vanishes. But then it is asked in the most triumphant tone, " Why were not all the responses given in language equally distinct and intelHgible ? Why the double meaning and equivocation of the other replies ?" It is truly astonishing to see the confidence with which this objection is urged, when it is open to a very simple and rational solution. It is easy to conceive, that diabolical agency might enable the Pythoness to give a clear and distinct answer as to what was transpiring at the moment in a distant 4 50 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. place, whieh to all merely human intelligence would have been wholly inscrutable ; but it is far from certain that this agency could unravel the mystery of future contingent events. This is the exclusive attribute of Jehovah : he challenges this power to himself alone : " I am God, and there is none else ; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning;" (Isa. xlvi, 9, 10;) while to the idols and their worshippers he says, " Produce your cause, saith the Lord ; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen : let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them ; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come here- after, that we may know that ye are gods.'' Isa. xU, 21-23. Diabolical aid, therefore, although it might give superhuman knowledge in respect of passing events, and afford a means of conjecture beyond all human wisdom as to the future, could not communicate the power of foretelKng future contingencies. Obscure, conjectural, and enigmatical expressions, in the communication of oracles, would consequently be as necessary under this agency as without it. The result of our inquiry, then, is, — 1. That we find the heathen oracles maintaining a high character and general confidence, to an extent, and for a period, beyond that which would be likely to result from continued and unaided human fraud and falsehood. 2. The accredited declarations of these oracles exhibit a measure of knowledge respecting passing events, and a sagacity in respect of futurity, far above all that merely human ingenuity or contrivance could produce. 3. Yet all this is found in such combined operation with wickedness, fraud and corruption, as clearly to prove that if superhuman knowledge was connected with the oracles, it must have been diabolical. 4. It is a certain fact, based on the authority of New-Testament reve- lation, that diabolical agency was used in ancient times for the purpose of giving forth superhuman oracular responses. From all these premises we conclude that the sagacity and general credit of heathen oracles was in some instances owing to diabolical agency. It only remains to ofier a few brief observations on the entire system. 1. We see its unity of character. It did not set itself in positive col- lision with primitive truth ; but, incorporating important elements of this truth into the system, it fell back on these for support and defence. It was by this means that a common ground of union was established between the old idolatrous nations. The truths which they had incorporated and per- verted were at the same time so many links in the chain by which, not- withstanding the diverse names of their deities, they were united, and plates of the armour by which they were defended. PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 51 2. It will be seen how directly all the parts of this idolatrous system were pointed against the actual sovereignty of God, and his divinely appointed scheme of redemption. Whether we look to the origin, char- acter, mysteries, or oracles of this idolatry, we find it specially hostile to the unity, providence, and religion of God. Moral truth, on some occasions, might be admitted; the fact of a future judgment could be conceded; a general but vague notion of providence might be taught : but God must BE DETHRONED ; men, or beasts, or material elements, or heavenly bodies, or the foul serpent-form, must rule supreme, and receive divine adoration. Is not this a deeply instructive fact? It is the common badge of the system, the unmistakable evidence of the presence and power of the arch-destroyer. I cannot close this chapter without placing on record my strong and decided opinion, that this subject has been usually treated in such a manner as to palliate or conceal the enormous sinfulness of idolatry. I contemplate with the deepest regret the results flowing to the rehgion of our country from the tone of teaching imparted by men of the most respectable character. Let any enlightened Christian mind contemplate the learning of our colleges and academies, our treatises and manuals, on this subject. Charmed as we must be with the ghtter of genius and heroism, the philoso- phy and learning, of classic times and persons, are we justified in allowing our children to rise up into life with merely sufficient instruction to enable them to infer that idolatry is an absurdity, when they ought to be dis- tinctly taught that it is the most enormous sia ? With unfeigned and deep veneration for the learned of our land, I feel bound, at any hazard, to assert my strong conviction, that the honour due alone to the Triune Jehovah, as the God and Governor of this world, is not made sufficiently prominent ; and that the heinous evil and fearful sin of idolatry, as such, is not adequately enforced. On this point we cannot be too jealous — we cannot go beyond the requirements of our Bible — for the honour of our God. It was idolatry which, as a master-evil, blasted, and withered, and ruined the ancient world, despite all its learning, genius, arts, and arms : and it can only be by a general and devoted fidelity to the truth on the part of Christians that the kingdoms of this world can ever " become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ." THE HISTORY AND RELIGION OF THE GENTILE NATIONS. CHAPTER I. EGYPT : ITS HISTORY. General View of Egypt — Difficulties which oppose our Acquaintance with its Early History — ^Undoubted Evidence of High Civilization in the moat Remote Times — Prowess and Reign of Amosis — Eighteenth Dinasty — Death of Jacob — ^Wonder- ful Perfection of Mechanical Art — Death of Joseph — ^Moses — The Exodus — Canaanitish Nations weakened by Egyptian Invasion before the Israelites crossed the Jordan — Sesostris — Nineteenth Dynasty — Sethos — His Conquests — The Absence of further Allusion to Canaan on the Monuments, a striking Proof of the Truth of Scripture — Twentieth Dynasty — Twenty-fisst Dynasty — ^Effect of the Commercial Policy of the Hebrews on Egypt — Twenty-second Dynasty— Shishak— His Invasion of Judea — Twenty-third Dynasty — ^Decline of Egyptian Power — ^Twenty-fourth Dynasty — Bocchoris — Twenty-fifth Dynasty — ^Tarkus — Twenty-sixth Dynasty — The Dodec- archy — Triumph and Eeign of Psammiticus^Pharaoh-Necho — His Victory over the Hebrews — ^Apries, the Pharaoh-Hophra of Scripture — ^Defeated and put to death by Amosis — Conquest of Egypt by a Persian Army — Twenty-seventh Dynasty — Era of Persian Rule — Successful Government of Darius — Gallant Effort of Inaros — His Defeat and Death — Herodotus — Twenty-eighth Dynasty — Amyrtceus — Twenty-ninth Dy- nasty — Thirtieth Dynasty — Chronological Difficulties — Persian Invasion defeated — Slothful Habits and Ultimate Energy of Darius Ochus — Thirty-first Dynasty — Persian Rule reestablished — Thirty-second Dynasty — Conquest of Egypt by Alex- ander the Great — ^His profound and successful Political and Commercial Policy — Alexandria built — ^Ruin of the Macedonian House — ^Thihty-thihd Dynasty — The Ptolemies — Lagus — His Successful Rule — Power and Cultivation of Egypt under Philadelphus — ^Euergetes successful in War — Intercourse between Egypt and Rome — Gradual Decline of Egyptian Power — ^Excessive Vices of the ruling Princes — Cleopatra, Cffisar, and Antony — Egypt a Roman Province. Egypt must always hold a position of special promineBce and interest in any investigation into the history and religion of ancient nations. In the earliest ages we find this country under a powerful politi- cal government, and possessed of all the advantages resulting from a knowledge of the arts and sciences, and consequent civilization. The colossal prowess, gorgeous magnificence, immense wealth, and extensive learning of Egypt, stand out in the dim haze of remote 54 THE GENTILE NATIONS. antiquity, like her own pyramids, with a grandeur of outline, and a substantiality of character, which shame all scepticism as to their existence, and indubitably attest their magnitude and power; although no traces remain of their rise and progress, and none can tell us what wise and potent agencies produced these grand results. Egypt, unlike Rome and other ancient empires, was not an association of different tribes, alien from each other in blood, lan- guage, and habits. It was, on the contrary, in the strict sense of the terms, a great nation. " We here see," as an eloquent writer observes, " a single people of pure unmixed race, and limited both as to numbers and territory, (see Appendix, note 4,) preserving, during" many centuries, " the most rigid union of character, custom, and social polity. We see them maintaining, during that long period, an indomitable spirit of political independence, often in the midst of the severest disasters and discouragements. We see them consolidating a power which, while f;s very essence was incom- patible with such an extension of frontier as formed the boast of their rivals, rendered them more than a match for the mightiest among them." — Edinburgh Review, 1845, p. 392. Eut while ancient Egypt presents to our view a fabric of civili- zation more complete in itself, and surpassing, in many essential points of excellence, what more highly-gifted races have since been able to accomplish, it has not left us a history of the nation, nor indeed materials for a history. This great defect is not to be attributed to the inability or indisposition of this people to record events. On the contrary, the Egyptians were "the most zealous race of scribes that ever existed. Their temples, their houses, their tombs, their idols, their portraits, their domestic furniture, — almost every tangible object they possessed, was covered with writ- ing." — Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol, ii, pp. 12, 13. It is probable that the peculiar character used in these inscriptions may account for the unsatisfactory amount of information which, when regarded as historical records, they are found to communicate. As far as can be now ascertained, the use of hieroglyphics was the only mode which the ancient Egyptians possessed of recording events, or of communicating ideas to posterity. Bui this mode was so exceedingly complex and difficult, that it appears as if adapted to conceal, quite as much as to communicate, knowledge. The great body of the Egyptian people were, as might be expected, ignorant of the art of reading these strange symbols ; and— what is of more importance, as accounting for the scant information respecting ancient Egypt to be found even in neighbouring countries — stran- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 55 gers were universally unacquainted with the import of the Egyptian language and character. There is no evidence which warrants the opinion, that any of the Greeks who visited Egypt, and wrote on its history, understood either the language or the hieroglyphics of that country. They were consequently entirely dependent on the priestly or learned caste for all the information which they acquired. This must have opposed mighty obstacles to the attainment of any correct and extensive knowledge of early Egyptian history ; espe- cially as the attention of these Greek sages was directed to the study of the antiquities and history of this land only when the glory of Egypt had passed away, and her priests had ample reasons for magnifying and mystifying their national annals. Even these inquiries were conducted by literati, whose only native historical authorities were Homer and Hesiod, and who were, therefore, but ill qualified to test with critical acumen the authenticity of the com- munications and claims of the Egyptian priesthood. These circumstances are amply sufficient to account for the ad- mitted fact, that ancient Egypt has been for centuries an enigma, — a mystery to modern Europe. But it is said, " Now the enigma is solved, the mystery unravelled. Now, as the genius and learning of the present age have mastered the reading of the recondite hiero- glyphics, ancient Egypt stands revealed to our vision ; and we can see the progress of her great career, and trace her wonderful history, in the hitherto unreadable monuments which her departed glory has bequeathed to us." It is important that the great advantages of this discovery be neither under- estimated nor over-rated. Imperfect, even yet, as is the art of deciphering hieroglyphics, it has cast great light upon the early condition and history of Egypt. We can now not only see in the remaining monuments of this primitive nation an almost endless range of public events recorded, but also a pictorial exhibi- tion, the most elaborate and minute, of their manufactures, sports, domestic habits, social manners, private employments, with the bat- tles, sieges, exploits, and public works which distinguish the national progress. . As, by the recovery of the knowledge of hieroglyphics, these several records can now be at least tolerably understood, and the several sculptures identified as to their subject, design, and the reign of the prince under whose government they were executed, valuable means are placed within our reach for acquainting ourselves with Egyptian affairs, and for ascertaining the measure of civiliza- tion of the country, and the state of its manners, science, and art, in different ages. But notwithstanding all these advantages, and this profusion of information, neither the monumental inscriptions, the accounts fur- 56 THE GENTILE NATIONS. nished by Greek visitors, nor the fragments of native authors vrhich have been preserved, give us any history of ancient Egypt. We find, for instance, numerous dynasties of kings ; and the monumental inscriptions prove that some of these were contemporaneous, -while others were successive : but no friendly hand has given an arrange- ment of these classes ; nor do the monuments, or any other authority, afford an intelligible and consistent chronology of the different reigi^g. Yet -with all this lack of precise information on important points, enough is given to prove that the state of Egypt, at the period when we have to resume its history, was one of great power, science, civilization, and refinement. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the chronological arrangement of dynasties and reigns, it is certain that at the death of Isaac Egypt exhibited indubitable proofs of mighty genius, abundant wealth, and great cultivation. At this period Thebes was the capital of a district to which it gave its name. The great temple of Karnak or El-Usquor stood in all its majesty and glory. The caves of Beni-Hassan, with their beauti- ful and elegant catacombs, displaying even to this day the most perfect architectural symmetry and arrangement, and ornamented throughout with coloured figures and devices, had been excavated and finished. Heliopolis was also founded about, or prior to, this period; and its splendid obelisk, made out of a single block of granite, and covered with the most exquisitely sculptured hierogly- phics, had already been raised. Such works prove the power, wealth, and energy of Egypt, and attest the existence of art and science in great perfection. A learned lady-traveller has, from the monumental sculptures still existing, given the following vivid description of Egyptian life and manners at the early period to which we refer : " We have here the art of writing, as a familiar practice, in the scribes who are num- bering stores on every hand. There are ships which would look hand- some in Southampton Water, any sunny day. There are glass-blowers who might be from Newcastle, but for their dress and complexion. There arc flax- dressers, spinners, weavers, — and a production of cloth which an English manufacturer would study with interest. There are potters, painters, carpenters, and statuaries. There is a doctor attending a patient ; and a herdsman physicking cattle. The hunters employ arrows, spears, and the lasso. The lasso is as evident as on the Pampas at this day. There is the bastinado for the men, and the flogging of a seated woman. Nothing is more extra- ordinary than the gymnastics and other games of the women. Their various games of ball are excellent. The great men are attended THE GENTILE NATIONS. 57 by dwarfs and buffoons, as in a much later age ; and it is clear that bodily infirmity was treated with contempt, deformed and decrepit personages appearing in the discharge of the meanest offices. It was an age when this might be looked for ; and when war would be the most prominent occupation, and wrestling the prevailing sport, and probably also the discipline of the soldiery ; and when hunting, fishing, and fowling would be very important pursuits. But then, what a power of representation of these things is here ! and what luxury coexisting with these early pursuits ! Here are harpers, with their harps of seven strings; and garments and boat-sails with elegant patterns and borders, where, by the way, angular and regular figures are pointedly preferred ; and the ladies' hair, disordered and flying about in their sports, has tails and tassels, very like what may have been seen in London drawing-rooms in no very remote times. The incident which most reminds one of the antiquity of these paintings is, that the name of bird, beast, fish, or artificer is written up over the object delineated." — Miss Martineau's Eastern Life, p. 230. This was the condition of Egypt and the state of the people when "the father of the faithful" visited the country. These were the prevailing customs and manners when the youthful Joseph was carried a slave to the banks of the Nile. Whatever difficulty may .oppose the effort, it is necessary to arrive at some con«lusion respect- ing the state of the Egyptian government at this period, and to make the most reasonable arrangement of the several dynasties thencefor- ward, until we arrive at the time when the annals of Egypt can be certainly synchronized with those of other nations. In the consideration of this obscure subject, as on other occasions, the leading object of this work must be kept distinctly in view. Special reference must be had to the teaching of Holy Scripture ; and special attention paid to the intercourse and connexion which from time to time took place between the Hebrews and this ancient people. By a careful and extended investigation of all the monumental and written teaching which bears on this subject, it has been made sufficiently clear that the Shepherds were expelled from Egypt about the year 1845 B. C, (see Appendix, note 5,) by Amosis, who, hav- ing thus established the independence of his country, reigned twenty- five years, and became the founder of Manetho's eighteenth dynasty. The chronological table at the end of the chapter will place this and the following dynasties in juxtaposition with contemporary events in the history of the Hebrews and other neighbouring nations. At this stage of Egyptian history we have the means of giving 58 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the titles and names to the sovereigns from the ancient monuments. (See Appendix, note 6.) The symbolical title assumed by Amo- sis is " Pharaoh," that is, " Sun," " avenging Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt:" his name, " Amosis," that is, "born of the Moon." There is peculiar propriety in the assumed appellation : having ex- pelled the foreign intruders from his country, he calls himself, when entering on the undisputed government of Egypt, " the avenging Lord of the Upper and Lower Country." This was the Pharaoh whose dreams Joseph interpreted, and who received Jacob and his family, and appointed Goshen for the place of their residence. The immediate descendant of this prince was the first sovereign of the eighteenth dynasty. Amenophis 1. — The contents of his first or titular ring are, "Pharaoh, Director of Offerings." His name, given in the second ring, is, "Amenophis (I.,) Son of Amosis." He also appears to have been a very warlike and successful prince, although, as will be seen hereafter, it is possible that he obtained the public honour due at least to a portion of his father's exploits. In a grotto near Aboo- simbel he is represented sitting in the middle of a small temple, attended by an officer of state, who holds over him a feather fan, and two other fly-flaps. In a collection of Egyptian antiquities now in the Louvre, are several small tablets, which not only com- memorate the "deeds of this king, but also show the alFection with which his memory was cherished, and the manner in which this affection was evinced. These tablets appear to have been intended to be worn on the breast. On them this sovereign is represented grasping captives by the hair, carrying them with their heads down- ward, and preparing to destroy them with a curved battle-axe. Several of these captives are clad in leopards' skins, and are natives of the south ; others, from their ample drapery, appear to belong to colder climates. Conventionally they represent the Ethiopian and Asiatic people ; and we may conclude that Amenophis carried on wars successfully against both. It is curious at this distance of time to be able to trace out, not only the public events, but even some particulars in the family history of the Pharaoh who reigned in Egypt while the patriarch Jacob dwelt there. In a tablet in the British Museum this prince is represented with two women, one black, and the other of a fair complexion. The first bears the title of "Royal Dame;" and as her name is the same as that given to the queen of Amosis, it is fairly inferred that she was the widow of that prince ; and that Amenophis is, in this instance, placed before us in company with his queen and the queen-dowager, whose name was Ahmos Nofre Ari. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 59 From several monumental sculptures it is evident, that thi? sovereign was regarded with a degree of respect bordering on religious reverence. »In one of the little chapels excavated among the quarries of Silsilis in the reign of Manepthah, Amenophis I., along with Atraoo, and another Egyptian deity, receives an offering of incense from the king: and in the tombs of private individuals at Thebes similar honours are paid to him on the part of the deceased. One of these tombs is of the age of Manephthah I. ; and it appears from the inscriptions that a special priesthood was instituted to pay these honours to Amenophis. He was succeeded by his son, Thothmosis I., whose title was, " Pharaoh great in the World through his Offerings :" his hiero- glyphical name, " Thothmosis (I.,) like the Sun in his Rising." His wife was Ahmos. The flourishing state of the kingdom during his reign is fully attested by the splendid structures which he raised, and which still bear his name. Although some small and fragmentary remains have been found at Thebes which bear the name of Osortasen, it seems now placed beyond doubt that Thoth- mosis began the erection of the great palace of Karnak. The un- equalled boldness and grandeur of the architectural designs for this erection will always be the wonder of the world. There appears to be unquestionable evidence that the plan laid down at the outset not only comprehended the noble structures and obelisks raised by this prince, but also, in great measure at least, those built by his successors on this site throughout the following centuries. The advanced state of the arts at this period is abundantly dis- played by existing remains. There is a memorial of Thothmosis I. found on the western side of the Nile, at El- Assasef A gate of red sandstone of beautiful execution is still standing amid ruins bearing his name, with those of his successors. He here appears accom- panied by the queen- dowager, wife of Amenoph I., as that prince had been represented accompanied by the widow of his father Amosis. She is described as wife and sister of a king, and as ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. One of the monuments, recording the services of a military officer, mentions the wars of Thothmosis I. in Ethiopia, and also in the land of Naharaina, which is known to mean Mesopotamia. The kingdom of Egypt during this reign ex- tended as far up the Nile as the Island of Argo in Upper Nubia, latitude 19° 12' N., a little above the Third Cataract, where a hieroglyphical tablet has been found bearing the names of Thoth- mosis I. and Amenoph III. The reason which induced these sovereigns to rear the noble builings of Thebes is easily explained. This place had afforded a CO THE GENTILE NATIONS. refuge for the native princes of Egypt during the long period that the Shepherds held dominion over the lower country. When, there- fore, the intruders had been expelled, and all»the resources of the kingdom restored to its legitimate rulers, they were disposed to employ their riches and efforts to ornament and enlarge their south- ern capital. < During the time that Thothmosis 1. reigned in Egypt, the patri- arch Jacob died in Goshen. How striking is the contrast between the most wonderful productions of man and the glorious revelations of God ! Here, while all that human wisdom and wealth, science and skill, genius and perseverance, could possibly effect, were laid under contribution to rear the gorgeous and imperishable structures of Thebes, while immense political power and unbounded resources stood out in glorious array, and invested Egypt with undying fame, — an event occurred, in the tents of the humble Hebrews, which, in intrinsic importance and glorious results, far outvied all the lustre of Egyptian history. The patriarch who had talked with Jehovah, and wrestled with the Angel of the Covenant, — the dying Jacob, inspired by the prescient Spirit of God, was heard addressing his twelve sons in language which, even at that time, gave them wonder- ful intimations of the divine purpose and will in the election of the house of Israel ; and which continues to be, in all succeeding ages, an illustrious evidence of the heavenly character of human redemp- tion, — a splendid proof of the truth, faithfulness, and goodness of God. Thothmosis II. was the next sovereign. His assumed title was, "Pharaoh great in the World:" his royal name " Thothmosis (II.,) beneficent King of the World." His sway appears to have been as extensive as that of his predecessor; for his name has been found at Gebel-el-Birkel, (Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i, p. 52, note,) the Napata of the Romans. In his reign we first find mention of "the royal son," or prince, "of Ethiopia," from which circumstance it has been inferred that during this period Ethiopia formed a vice-regal government dependent on Egypt. W ilkinson seems inclined to conjecture that this addition was made to the dominions of Egypt by the marriage of Amenophis I. with an Ethiopian princess. Our means of sketching the history of this country during the reign of Thothmosis II. are exceedingly limited : in fact, scarcely any records of his time have been preserved. Amensb, sister of Thothmosis II., succeeded him. Her assumed title was, " Pharaoh devoted to Justice :" her hieroglyphical name, " Amounsit." Her reign, says Wilkinson, has given rise to more THE GENTILE NATIONS. 61 doubts than that of any other sovereign of this dynasty. Whether she was regent during the minority of Thothmosis I. or Thothmosis II., or reigned supreme between them, or after the latter, are ques- tions which have been fully canvassed by learned authors. Cham- pollion-Figeac, and Mr. Osburn, have adopted the last-named con- clusion, which seems supported by the greatest weight of evidence. That she was daughter of Thothmosis I. is proved by the obelisk before the granite sanctuary at Karnak. (Kenrick's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 212.) The state of the arts during her reign is shown by a most remarkable specimen, still extant in the great obelisks at Karnak. They were erected by this queen in the same central court of that pile of buildings in which the smaller obelisks of Thothmosis I. stood, but are far superior to them in magnitude and beauty. Of their execution Rosellini thus speaks : " All the figures are delineated with such purity and freedom, cut with such art, and relieved within the excavated part with such perfection and precision of outline, that we are lost in astonishment in contemplating them, and wonder how it has been possible to work this hardest of materials, so that every figure seems rather to have been impressed with a seal than engraven with a chisel. The fragments of the companion obelisk, which are lying on the ground, may be handled : those parts which represent animals, in particular, are treated with such accuracy of design and finish of execution, as not to be surpassed by the finest cameos of the Greeks. The pyramidion represents Amunre seated, and placing his hand on the head of the king, whom he thus inau- gurates. There is a peculiarity in the arrangement of the hierogly- phical inscriptions. The central column is occupied by the custom- ary form of dedication ; but the two lateral columns — which in some obelisks, as in that of Heliopolis, are left vacant, in others are filled by inscriptions of subsequent sovereigns^are here occupied more than half-way down with repetitions of the figure of Amunre on one side; on the other, of the dedicating sovereign, who offers to the god wine, ointment, milk, perfumes, and sacred insignia. The dedication and offering are usually in the name of Ment-Amen, (Amense,) but in some of the compartifcents the youthful Thoth- mosis III. appears, bringing an offering to the god." — Kenrick, vol. ii, p. 214. It was in the early part of this reign, if our chronology is correct, that Joseph died; his wonderful interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, and consequent advancement to honour, having occurred during the latter part of the reign of Amosis. It is probable that for a long time before his death, although treated with honourable distinction, 62 THE GENTILE NATIONS he ceased to have any connexion with the affairs of government. Yet, although unconnected with the administration of public affairs, his death was a most important event both for Egypt and for Israel. It severed the bond which had long held the rising house of Jacob in friendly relation to the imperial power of the Pharaohs. Alien from each other in blood, language, habits, and religion, aswere the two people; the Hebrew ex-minister, whose inspired wisdom had saved Egypt from being desolated by famine, soon after it had been delivered from foreign domination, would stand an admitted memo- rial of the obligation under which Egypt was laid to Israel, as long as he lived : but his death removed all this evidence, and left the authorities of Egypt to act as state-policy might suggest. There seems, indeed, reason to believe that, even before the death of Joseph, the Hebrews had ceased to be regarded by the Egyptians as friendly visitors, who were at liberty to retire from the country whenever they pleased. This appears from the words used by Joseph just before his death : " God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land." Gen. 1, 24. It can, therefore, elicit no sur- prise, that, when this impediment was removed, jealousy was soon engendered, nor that this should soon issue in persecution. Amense had two husbands, but was herself queen-regnant. We have undoubted proof that glass was known and used in Egypt during her reign, at least for ornamental purposes; a large glass bead having been discovered which bears her name. It is also cer- tain, from sculptured representations, that the mode of irrigating land was similar to that of the present day, by the shadoof, or .pole and bucket. It is worthy of observation, that the modern Egyptians have a tradition, that this mode of watering the land was derived from their Pharaonic predecessors. The manufacture of linen cloth, the arch, and other important inventions supposed to be of more recent date, are found delineated in sculptures executed during this reign. Thothmosis III. succeeded Amense. Kenrick supposes him to have been her brother; (Kenrick, vol. ii, p. 212;) but this notion appears to be satisfactorily refuted by the fact, that in the sculptures on the great obelisk at Karnak, Amense appears with this Thoth- mosis as a youth, (ibid., p. 214,) presenting offerings. Now, seeing that Amense reigned nearly twenty-two years, and that her brother Thothmosis II. reigned twenty years before her, this could not be, if her successor was also her brother. There can, therefore, be scarcely a doubt that he was her son. His title was, "Pharaoh, Builder of the World;" his name, "Thothmosis (HI.,) Benefactor of the World." This prince is generally believed to have been the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 63 Mceris of Herodotus and Manetho. His reign is one of the most glorious in the annals of the eighteenth dynasty. Monumental remains in great variety, bearing his name, prove that the limits of Egyptian rule had not been diminished in any direction. The most magnificent erections of this prince are those with which Thebes was adorned; many of them still remain. There is a mutilated obelisk at Constantinople which is of this reign, and probably at first stood in the central court at Karnak. Another, of the same date, is at Rome, and was placed before the church of St. John Lateran by Sixtus V. This is the most lofty, and the most perfect in execution, of all that are extant; the central column of hieroglyphics, which bears only the titles of Thothmes HI., was executed during his reign, while the lateral columns were added by his grandson Thothmes IV. One of the most remarkable and " instructive memorials of this reign is a painting in a tomb at Quoorneh, copied by Mr. Hoskins in his ' Travels in Ethiopia.' It represents four principal nations of the earth bringing their tribute to the king, who is seated on his throne. Two obelisks of red granite, beside which the various objects are deposited by the bearers, and registered by the royal scribes, probably mark the great court of the palace at Karnak as the scene of the ceremony." — Kenrick's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 219. One part of this procession is composed of negroes, mixed Avith men of a red-brown colour, like the Egyptians. They bring only natural productions, — blocks of ebony, tusks of ivory, coloured stones, ostrich- eggs and feathers, a tree, gold and silver in rings, bags, and ingots, and a variety of animals. The name of the land has been read Fount, or Phunt ; but this gives no certain information of its geography. Another portion of the procession is specifically called "Nations -of the South." From the products which they bring, they are evidently inhabitants of the African continent, — Libyans, Nubians, and Ethiopians. A third portion presents persons similar to the Egyptians and Libyans in colour, but differing greatly from them in costume. These bring vases of silver and gold, of beauti- ful form and workmanship. They probably represent the Phoe- nicians, and other nations of Palestine. Another company is com- posed of men of white complexion, with reddish hair and beards. They bring ring-money of gold and silver, coloured woods, precious stones, and vases. It is equally difficult to fix the geography of this portion of the procession, as it is to specify with certainty that of the preceding parts. Their dress and colour agree with those of the dwellers in Northern Media, on the south shores of the Caspian. A company of women with children, of this nation, and of people 64 THE GENTILE NATIONS. of the south, closes the ceremony. As this representation can scarcely be accounted for but on the supposition that it depicts an historical fact, we may conclude that we have here a striking exhibition of the wide range of Egyptian power and influence at this period. But if any doubt be entertained as to the strict historical charac- ter of this representation, there can be none as to the monument which is known as " The Statistical Table of Karnak." This docu- ment is of the reign of Thothmosis UI. ; and the inscription placed above it declares its object to be— to record the victories of this sovereign. It seems to be the identical tablet which the priests exhibited and explained to the Roman Germanicus, when he was at Thebes. (Tacitus, Annales, lib. ii, cap. 60.) It records a series of successful expeditions into different countries, with a particular enumeration of the tributes levied on them respectively. Although it is scarcely possible to do more than guess at the nations intended to be specified, several parts of the tablet having been mutilated, and the geographical terms which remain being exceedingly obscure and difficult of application; yet the enumeration of the tribute levied on those subject nations is most precisely given. As Tacitus observes, " The inscription further stated the tribute paid by the conquered nations ; the specific weight of gold and silver; the quan- tity of arms, the number of horses, the offerings of ivory and of rich perfumes, presented to the temples of Egypt; the measure of grain, and the various supplies, administered by every nation ; making altogether a prodigious revenue, no way inferior to the taxes of late years collected either by Parthian despotism, or the authority of Rome." — Annals, book ii, chap. 60. Whether Thothmosis III. carried on these successful warlike operations in person or by his generals, cannot now be ascertained ; but that at this period Egypt held many surrounding countries in tributary subjection, and was greatly distinguished among the na- tions for wisdom and power, must be received as an undoubted fact. Another remarkable monument of this age is that which is known by the name of " The Tablet of Karnak." It is found in the inte- rior of a chamber, evidently built for the purpose, in the palace of Karnak at Thebes ; and represents Thothmosis III. offering gifts to a series of sixty-one kings, disposed in four lines around the walls. But, after all, probably the most interesting remnant of sculpture relating to this reign which has been preserved to our time, is a tomb, at Thebes, of a person named Pekshare, who is said to have been "a superintendent of great buildings" under Thothmosis III. On the walls of this tomb the singular representation is found which THE GENTILE NATIONS. C5 is spoken of in a preceding volume, (Hebrew People, p. 30,) and ■which describes the labours of the Hebrews under their taskmasters, while employed in making bricks. In that passage, the certainty of this application is fully proved; and we have hero an undoubted evidence of that cruel bondage which Israel suifered in the land of Egypt. This fully accords with the date ascribed in this work to the Exodus, as may be seen by referring to the Appendix, notes 5 and 7. It is worthy of observation, that although our arrangement gives but twelve years and nine months for the reign of this sovereign, some of the monuments speak of the thirtieth and thirty-first years of his reign; while at the same time the monumental allusions to Amense have been frequently defaced. DiiFerent theories have been propounded for the purpose of solving these diflSculiies. Bunsen and Lepsius suppose that Amense was daughter of Thothmosis 1., and sister to the second and third sovereigns of this name; and that she exercised the powers of a regent during their minority. Champollion-Pigeac and Osburn, on the other hand, maintain that she was sister of Thothmosis 11. and mother of Thothmosis III,, which seems the most reasonable hypothesis. In that case it becomes likely that the monuments were, after the accession of Thoth- mosis III., altered so as to make his reign begin with his birth, thus cancelling all that portion of the reign of Amense after the birth of her son, and appropriating all this period to him. But whatever disputable points may stand connected with the chronology of this reign, we are fully entitled to regard it as identi- fied with the hard and cruel bondage of the Israelites. This was the king that " knew not Joseph," the Hebrew ex-governor having died three years before his mother ascended the throne. Thoth- mosis III. either originated, or greatly increased, that violent perse- cution of the Hebrews which terminated in the Exodus. Amenophis II., the son of the preceding monarch, succeeded his father on the throne. His symbolical title was, " Pharaoh great in all Lands;" his regal name, "Amenophis (II.,) Ruler in the pure, just Land," that is Egypt. We know but little of the events of his reign, which lasted nearly twenty-six years. The obelisk at Aln- wick Castle, brought from Egypt by Lord Prudhoe, is inscribed with his name; but it simply records the fact of his having erected two obelisks to the god Kneph. A sculptured representation of him is found in an excavated chapel at Ibrim, where he appears seated with two princes or great officers. One of them, Osorsate, presents to him the animal productions of the southern regions, — lions, jackals, and hares ; an inscription above specifying their num- 5 66 THE GENTILE NATIONS. bers. He also added to the erections at Thebes ; but most of his works there have perished. Thothmosis IV., son of Amenophis II., succeeded his father. He assumed as his title, " Pharaoh, Edifier of all Lands ;" and took for his name, "Thothmosis (IV.)" He reigned nine years and eight months. The hierogljphical inscriptions of this reign, which are very beautifully executed, record the victories of this prince over the people of Ethiopia; and a stele, engraven ' on a rock of granite on the right bank of the Nile, opposite to Philse, mentions a victory gained by him over the Libyans in the seventh year of his reign. He also appears in the tomb of an officer at Quorneh, seated on a throne ; on the base of which are nine foreigners, apparently Asiatics, bound in the manner in which captive nations are repre- sented on Egyptian monuments. During the reign of this prince the persecution of the Hebrews was at its height. It is more than probable that he issued the san- guinary decree for the destruction of the male infants, as Moses was born in the seventh year of his reign. Amenophis IH., son of Thothmosis IV. and his queen Manthe- moa, next ascended the throne. His title was, "Pharaoh, Lord of Justice ;" his regal name, " Amenophis (HI.)" He reigned thirty years and five months, and was one of the most distinguished princes of the eighteenth dynasty. We have no evidence, prior to this reign, that Egypt had any permanent occupation of Nubia higher up the Nile than Semneh ; but the temple of Soleb, which stands a degree farther south, contains proof that " under Amenoph HI. the boundary of the empire extended thus far.'' — Kenrick's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 254. This sovereign appears to be the same as the Memnon of Manetho and Herodotus. If there be any truth in the tales which have come down to us respecting the exploits of Moses at the head of an Egyptian army against the Ethiopians, they must have been achieved in this reign. However this may be, it was under the government and patronage of Amenophis III., the brother of the princess who had adopted the persecuted infant, that the future leader and legislator of the Hebrews was brought up and taught " all the wisdom of the Egyptians," and became " mighty in words and deeds." As this portion of Egyptian history was the period of Hebrew persecution, and the precursor of the Exodus, it may be important to show — as there is ample opportunity for doing— the extravagant, superhuman assumption which the sovereigns of Egypt at this time carried to such an extent as almost, if not fully, to amount to the claim of proper divinity. In the case of Amenophis IH., there is THE SBNTILB NATIONS. 67 reason to believe that this pretension was advanced in the most prominent and imposing manner. It was stated in the first volume of this work, (Patriarchal Age, p. 475,) that " a small edifice was erected by the side of every temple, the entrance of which was through the adytum or ' sanctuary;' so that it was, in the estimation of the people, the holy of holies, the perfection or crowning mystery of the entire worship." The reason for this is found in the preva- lent doctrine that God created all things at first by the primary emanation from himself, — his First-born. And in perfect accord- ance with their principles of metempsychosis, this Divine Being was expected to become incarnate, and appear as an infant in this world. As such, he is always represented as the third person in the trinity of Egypt. There can be no doubt that all this arose from a corrupted tra- dition of the primitive promise of a Redeemer, preserved among the early settlers in Egypt, and transmitted by them to their de- scendants. In the application of these doctrines, a practice at this time obtained of representing the Egyptian triad by the figures of the royal family. Thus the first person in this trinity is frequently exhibited by the sculptured representation of the Pharaoh who built the temple ; the second person, or the Divine Mother, by that of his wife, the queen ; and consequently their first son would assume the character of the Divine Word, the promised Seed. This was the case in a most remarkable manner in the instance of Amenophis III., the son and successor of Thothmosis IV. Prior to the birth of this prince, the queen is represented in the character of the goddess Athor, in the presence of the god Thoth, who, holding a roll of papyrus, is, as the Egyptian Hermes, supposed to be addressing her on her approaching maternity. In the next scene, the queen is conducted by the god Kneph into an apartment called ma-en-misa, or " the birth-place," — the same appellation as is given to the most sacred part of the temple before described, — while the goddess Athor, who stretches toward her the key of life, leads her to the bed. Here attendant goddesses await her; and the scenes describe the mystical character of the place which is regarded as the birth- place of the infant god. In the next sculpture, Amunre is seen holding the youthful prince, whom a hawk- headed god has pre- sented to him. He is addressing the child, and declares that he bestows upon him life, stability, purity, and happiness, magnanimity, and dominion on the throne of Horus. Afterward follow scenes de- scribing the purification and inauguration of the young prince. In this manner the birth of the Pharaoh is described Who sat upon the throne when Moses ivas brought up at the Egyptian court. 68 THE GENTILE NATIONS. By these significant ceremonies he is associated with divinity, and not very obscurely identified with the promised Seed, the incarnate Redeemer. HoRUS, son of Amenophis III., succeeded his father. His hiero- glyphic title was, "Pharaoh, Director of the Worlds, approved of the Sun;" his regal name, "the beloved of Amoun, Horus in the Assemblies." It is not likely that this prince made less pretensions to divinity than his father. A sufficient proof of this is found in the regal name which he assumed, Horus ; this being the title of the infant deity who, in the mythology of Egypt, slew the great ser- pent by piercing his head ; on which account he was identified with the Grecian Apollo, the Indian Chreeshna, and the Scandinavian Thor. This prince reigned thirty-eight years and five months. In a grotto near the Second Cataract, he is represented in the form of the youthful god Horus, suckled by the goddess Anouke. The principal monuments, however, of this reign are in the quarries of Silsilis-. He here appears seated on a throne, carried on the shoulders of twelve military chiefs, while two others shade him with fans attached to long spears, and an attendant, keeping his face towards the king as he walks, scatters grains of incense on a censer which he holds out towards him. It is evidently the cele- bration of a military triumph, for a victory which he gained over the Africans. It was in the seventh year of the reign of Horus that Moses inter- posed, in the hope of rescuing his kindred from their bondage, and was in consequence obliged to flee into Midian. The successor of Horus was Ramses I. His title was, " Pharaoh, inexorable Avenger of Upper and Lower Egypt;" his name, " Ramses (I.)" It is a remarkable fact, and one which strikingly corroborates the arrangement which I have made of Egyptian history, that we are here, for the first time in this dynasty, puzzled with a discrepancy between the lists and the monuments. Little is known, too, of the reign of this prince. His tomb has indeed been found covered with rubbish; and utterly destitute of sculpture, but deco- rated with paintings, which show that it was erected, and that some of these were executed, during his lifetime. There is, indeed, no evidence that any monumental or other inscription to his memory was made after his death. His whole case is in perfect agreement with his being the Pharaoh who perished in the Red Sea. This prinxie sat on the throne when Moses returned from Midian. He was the subject of the plagues, and fell a victim to his insane resistance of almighty power. After this terrible calamity to the Egyptian state a new monarch ascended the throne, — THE SENTILE NATIONS. 69 Sethos I., whose royal title was, " Pharaoh, firm in Justice ;" his name, "the Servant of Amoun, Sethos (I.)" Soon after his acces- sion to the throne, he undertook a military expedition against the same nations whom the Thothmoses and Amenophis had previously reduced to subjection : — a fact which seems to indicate that some internal convulsion or weakness had emboldened these tributaries to throw oflF the Egyptian yoke. It is scarcely possible to conceive of any events more likely to produce this rebellion than the terrible humiliation of Egypt under the plagues, and the prostration of her power by the triumphant Exodus of Israel. The campaign thus com- menced was eminently successful; and elaborate sculptures describe the prowess of the king, the rout of the enemy, and the reduction of their fortresses. Similar sculptures exhibit other successful wars in which this prince engaged, and magnify his valour and triumphs. From these it has been inferred that Sethos carried his successful arms even into Asia Minor. These warlike operations took place during the wandering of the Hebrews in the wilderness ; for Sethos reigned nearly thirty- three years. The tomb of this Pharaoh, discovered by Belzoni in the Bab-el-Melook, is the most splendid that has yet been unveiled to modern eyes. It contains a representation which is found repeated with some variations in the tombs of other kings, of this and the following dynasty, and which seems designed to assert the universality of Egyptian dominion. It would appear that, the successful wars of Sethos having restored to Egypt the political ascendency and splendour which had been so greatly ob- scured by the persecution of Israel and its consequences, the mon- arch assumed claims to an extent of dominion which had not been previously contemplated. In this tomb, "the godHorus, the symbol of royalty, is preceded by four companies of men, of different colour, physiognomy, and costume. The first are plainly Egyptians : the third are blacks : the second, white, with bushy black hair, blue eyes, aquiline noses, and reddish beards; they wear short party-coloured tunics, with several tassels at the lower extremities: the fourth resemble the people called Rebo in the campaigns of Ramesis IV., wearing feathers in their heads and large cloaks, and having their bodies tattooed. Taken together, they appear to have conventionally represented the principal nations known to the Egyptians; and as these wars did not extend to Europe, we must seek the originals in Asia " (Kenrick, vol. ii, pp. 264, 265) and Africa. A short time since, this was all that could be said respecting the wars of Sethos : but the labour and learning of Mr. W, Oabum have 70 THE GENTILE NATIONS. cast much light on this subject. He has shown that the hiero- glyphic sculptures state that Sethos carried on wars with the land of Canaan. Not only is this national name identified, but others which refer to tribes and districts. In the pictures which celebrate the conquests of Sethos, he has found Tyre and Zidon, Arvad on the coast to the north of these cities, and the Hermonites in the hill- country adjoining. The Philistines are exhibited, and their personal appearance, dress, and warlike manners and armour defined. The Jebusites, Zuzim, and Hittites are also identified as having been vanquished by Sethos, as were also the Amorites and Moabites. There is no doubt that, from the peculiar nature of hieroglyphic inscription, a few errors will afterward be found in some of these solutions : yet it is an interesting circumstance, and one which serves to elucidate the history of Egypt, that its monumental annals gener- ally recognise these Scriptural appellations, and refer to them in a manner so corroborative of the truth of Holy Writ. Ramses H. succeeded his father. His assumed title was, " Pha- raoh vigilant in Justice ;" his name, " the beloved of Amoun, Ramses (H.)" He reigned five years and five months. To this sovereign belong the historical pictorial representations found in the temple at Brisoualli in Nubia ; where the sculptures in the sacred sanctuary represent the youthful monarch suckled by Isis and Anouke; while in the vestibule he is delineated as mounted in his chariot, and ac- companied by his two sons, also in chariots, routing the Ethiopians, who are shown flying and falling before the Egyptian heroes. In another part of the same vestibule, the king is seated under a rich canopy, while the fruits of his victory are displayed in a procession, in which the principal productions of Africa are presented to the king. In another part, the victories of this prince in Asia are cele- brated in detail with great spirit. The sculptures on the northern side of this cave describe the wars which Ramses II. carried on in Palestine. Following in the steps of his father, he successfully assailed the Jebusites, the Tyrians, and the Hittites. The sculptures are, unfortunately, much muti- lated ; but enough remains to identify these nations, and to prove that, just prior to the arrival of the Israelites under Moses on the banks of the Jordan, the power of the Canaanitish nations had been in a great measure broken by the successive invasions of Sethos and Ramses II. (See Appendix, note 8.) Ramses III.- — His title, as given in the hieroglyphic cartouche, is, " Pharaoh vigilant in Justice, Sesostris," that is, " approved of the Sun;" hia name, "The beloved of Amoun, Ramses (III.)" This sovereign was the son of Sethos, and brother of the preceding Pha- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 71 raoh. He was the great Sesostris, so celebrated in the history of ancient times. It has always been a matter of diiEculty to reconcile the warlike exploits of this Egyptian conqueror with the fact, that no notice whatever is found of him in the Hebrew history. Some learned writers have been led by this circumstance to arrange the Egyptian dynasties so as to make this reign take place before the Exodus. According to the chronological arrangement adopted in this work, no difficulty of this kind occurs, as the Hebrews crossed the Jordan in the third year of Sesostris ; and his great campaign, commenced in his fifth year, would happen before the tribes of Israel had ob- tained any settled location in Canaan, or had made themselves objects of jealousy or enmity to the Egyptian warrior. According to Herodotus, the first warlike measure of this monarch was a maritime one, directed against the coasts of the Red Sea and of the Persian Gulf This, to a certain extent, failed for lack of nautical knowledge. On his return, he raised a great army; and, having made extensive arrangements for the government of the country in his absence, confiding the principal administration of affairs to his brother, he marched forth on a grand career of conflict and conquest. It is not possible to define with accuracy the route pursued, or the nations vanquished, by this Egyptian king; some of the ancients extending his conquests from India to the north of Europe, while some modern writers would limit his warlike opera- tions almost entirely to Canaan. The entire scope of the history proves these extremes to be alike unworthy of confidence. The first point of attack appears to have been the people to the south of Canaan. Here Punon, near Mount Hor, was besieged and subdued. While engaged in the reduction of this place, Sesostris received ambassadors from the SJietin, with proposals of peace; but the terms were such that he rejected them. Having subdued this fortified city, and thus established his power in the hilly region of Edom, Sesostris turned his arms northward. Here, however, we have no undoubted guide as to his course, and little can be offered beyond probable conjecture. (See Appendix, note 9.) But it would appear that Sesostris passed to the south-west angle of Canaan, where, accompanied off^ the coast by a fleet probably from Ascalon, he marched through the land of the Philistines to the south frontier of the Jebusites. Erom thence, fighting only with those who obtruded themselves on his way, by the same route and just in the same manner as Pharaoh-Necho did in after-ages, he reached the land of the Phenicians. This people had long before been in intercourse with Egypt. Here in all probability the king strength- t'Z THE GENTILE NATIONS. ened his friendly relations with those maritime tribes: nor is it unlikely that some coercion might have been used to enforce his wishes. That he came into this territory cannot be doubted; for, in the e.xtreme north of Phenicia, there are yet extant monumental proofs of his prowess. These are sculptures in the solid rock found near Beirout, which distinctly bear the titular shield of Ramses III., with the characters, "the approved of Re." — Trans, of the Royal Soc. of Lit., vol. iii, p. 105. From Phenicia it is more than probable that Sesostris went to effect the great object of his campaign on the banks of the Euphrates. It has been already observed that, when in the south of Palestine, he received ambassadors from the Shetin, and that he refused their terms of peace. It is also apparent from the monuments, that this waxlike people, finding their overtures rejected, took the initiative, and besieged the city which Mr. Osburn calls Hadanaz, and which was in alliance with Egypt. Having in a great battle defeated the enemy, and rescued his friends, he assails the capital of his foes, which, I think, stood somewhere on the banks of the Euphrates. That it could not lie in the hill- country of Judea is evident from the monumental delineation of the contest : for the attack is made by him " on a fortified city standing on a river, branches of which flow round its walls, and serve the purpose of a trench. The enemy, who wear long-sleeved tunics, have generally the head shaven, with the exception of a lock which falls over the back of the neck, and wear mustachios. Their' shields are of different forms — some square, and apparently made of basket-work ; others with wood, with incurved sides. The enemy are driven headlong to the fortress, and some of them have been precipitated with their horses and chariots into the river.'' — Kenrick, vol. ii. The subject of these sculptures was regarded as so important, that another representation of it is given at Thebes on a gorgeous scale. A circumstance strongly corroborative of the correctness of the view here taken, with regard to the course of this conqueror, is found in the fact, that the Zidonians are described as assisting in this battle as allies of the Egyptians ; (Osburn's Egypt : her Testimony, p. 86;) and, further, in the tribute imposed on the conquered people : for the treaty made between Sesostris and four chiefs of the Shetin is still extant. In this document "nothing can exceed the pompous arrogance of Pharaoh, and the abject crouching submission of the princes of Shetin. He grants them peace only on condition of entire submission, and an annual tribute of silver, precious stones, and spicery."— Oster«'s Egypt : her Testimony, p. 91. These articles clearly indicate the eastern geography of the country. It may, XHB GENTILE NATIONS. 73 therefore, be fairly presumed, that Sesostris marched his army from Phenicia through the vale of Lebanon, and thence to the banks of the Euphrates ; and that by this means he not only virtually extended the frontier of Egypt to that river, but opened up a way to oriental commerce for Egypt, through the instrumentality of the Phenicians — a commerce afterward secured by Solomon on the same route. It is not so easy to trace the subsequent progress of this con- queror. The priest who explained the Egyptian monuments of Thebes to Germanicus, declared that Rameses had possessed Libya, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, Bactriana, and Scythia, with the territories which the Syrians, Armenians, and their neighbours the Cappadoc- ians, inhabit, extending his dominion from the Bithynian Sea on the one side to the Lycian on the other; (Tacitus, Annales, lib. ii, cap. 60;) upon which Mr. Kenrick remarks, "Now we know from the monuments that the claim of dominion over Libya, Ethiopia, and Syria was well-founded. In the time of Herodotus its memorials existed in Asia Minor, and may yet perhaps be, found there. The valley of the Tigris was familiar ground to the military sovereigns of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties. Confirmed in so many points, why should not the accounts of the Egyptian priests be believed, when they tell us that Media, Persia, and Bactriana were also the scenes of the conquests of Rameses?" — Kertfick, vol. ii, p. 283. The question which the learned writer here asks, may be answered by a reference to the undoubted exaggerations, not of the priests, (their expositions may on some points be sufiSciently questionable,) but of the monumental inscriptions themselves. Without, therefore, making any claim on behalf of Sesostris to Media, Persia, and Bactria, — since, even if the armies of these empires had been sub- dued, Egypt could not hold military occupation of such an extensive territory, — we are fully justified in receiving the testimony of the monuments, when they are confirmed by competent historical authority. We may therefore safely conclude that, marching through Asia Minor, Sesostris probably reduced various states to subjection, and thus returned to Egypt. Herodotus mentions a fact to which, as coming under his own observation, he attached great importance. He discerned an evi- dent similarity between the Colchians and the Egyptians, in respect of their colour, hair, and general appearance ; and on conversing with the former, he found them possessed of a distinct traditional- remembrance of their Egyptian origin. It is well known that this country was famed for .the production of gold — a circumstance very likely to tempt the cupidity of the Egyptian king. To this we may 74 THE GENTILE NATIONS. add the conjecture of Larcher, who, referring to the tradition handed down by Valerius Flaccus, considers it probable that Sesostris, attempting to pass into Europe, was defeated by the Thracians, and in consequence left a detachment of his army in Colchis to cover his retreat. One of the inscriptions on the rocks of Aboosembel is important; as corroborating our opinion as to the extent of this campaign. It declares that the king had employed the captives taken in his Asiatic wars on those works. On returning to Egypt, Sesostris very narrowly escaped destruc- tion through the treachery of his brother, who caused his tent to be fired in the night. Erom this danger the king escaped with the loss of two of his children ; and having overcome every difficulty, he devoted the remainder of his long reign to the improvement of his country. In the chief city of every nome he erected a temple to the tutelary deity, and employed the captives whom he had taken in his wars to drag stones, and do the most laborious part of the work: so that all these buildings had inscriptions placed on them, purporting that they had been raised by the labour of captives, and not of Egyptians. The Exode of the Hebrews had removed a great num- ber of men long devoted to this kind of slavery, and thus rendered the importation of these captives necessary to supply their place on these new public works. Diodorus (lib. i, cap. 4) relates that a company of these captives who had been brought from Babylon, unable to bear the severe labour assigned them, rebelled, and seized a fort near the river, where for a season they defended themselves, and wasted the neighbouring country ; that they afterward obtained a pardon, and called the place by the name of their native land, Babylon. After effecting great improvements in the country by his public works and legislative measures, Sesostris was afflicted with blindness, which, it is said, so affected his mind that he destroyed himself The successor of Sesostris was his son, Manephtha, whose royal name was, " Pharaoh, strengthened by the Spirit of Amoun ;" his title, "Manephtha, devoted to Justice." This reign, as might be expected from the length of the preceding one, was short, extending only to five years. With Rameses III. we lose the guidance of the Tablet of Abydos, and consequently have difficulty in giving accu- rately the names of the Pharaohs. No proper historical monuments of this reign exist. The Rameseion contains the portraits of the twenty-three sons of Rameses III., with their names and offices. The thirteenth, Manephtha, bears the addition of " King." He is represented at Silsilis in acts of adoration to various divinities No great building appears to have been raised by this sovereign THE GENTILE NATIONS. 75 When his name is found, it is in trifling additions made to the works of preceding monarchs. His tomb at Bab-el-Melook is one hundred and sixty- seven feet in length, and has been ornamented ■with great care in the portions near the entrance. Here one piece of sculpture still remains, of which the colours are as brilliant as when they were first laid on. Manephtha, crowned with a splendid head-dress, and clad in a long transparent robe, fringed at the bot- tom, stands before the hawk-headed god, Phre, who promises him length of days upon his throne. This is a sufiBcient proof of the practice of excavating the tomb during the lifetime of the king. (Kenrick, vol. ii, p. 294.) After the death of Manephtha, his son, Sethos II., ascended the throne. His regal title was, " Pharaoh, vigilant in all Lands, the Friend of Amoun ;" his name, " Sethos II., Servant of Phtha." He is represented at Silsilis as making an offering to Amunre, accom- panied by an officer of his court, who puts up a prayer for the king. But Egypt had at this time rapidly declined from the glory to which it had been raised by the brilliant genius and prowess of Rameses III. We have no history of this reign ; and the low and perilous condition of the monarchy is indicated at Silsilis by a curious and unique monumental inscription. This Pharaoh is represented as offering a prayer to Amunre, that his son may sit on the throne after him, — a prayer nowhere else found on the sculptures of Egypt. Taosir, or Taseser, the queen of Sethos II., is frequently represented as making offerings to the gods, sometimes alone, and at others in company with her husband. There is no date on any of the monu- ments of this sovereign ; and everything indicates that either during his reign, or afterward, he was not fully recognised as a legitimate monarch of Egypt ; though he bore the title, and held possession at least of Upper Egypt. The son of the preceding Pharaoh succeeded him. His assumed title was, " Pharaoh, the Light of the Sun, Sesostris (II. ;)" his name, " Si-Ptah Manephtha." Of this reign even less is known than of the preceding. He also appears to have been regarded as not justly entitled to sovereign dignity, — a fact which accounts for the appearance of his name on the monuments, where, as possessing supreme power, he could compel it to be placed, while it is omitted from the historical lists. With this reign the eighteenth dynasty terminated. In closing this sketch of the period of Egyptian history which gave imperishable fame to this nation, and stands so prominently identi- fied with the most interesting events of Hebrew history, it may possibly occur to the reader that there is here a serious discrepancy, 76 THE GENTILE NATIONS. if not a direct contradiction. It may be supposed that a people so wise, powerful, and refined, — so polished in art, and abundant in the enjoyment of all luxury and elegance, — could never be guilty of the atrocities which, according to the Scriptures, led to the divine inter- position that produced the Exodus. It is remarkable, however, that this notion is abundantly refuted by secular history. The exquisite and imperishable monuments of Egypt bear undeniable and ever- lasting evidence to her tyrannical, cruel, and blood-thirsty character. Natural as the objection appears, it is perfectly annihilated by ex- tant monumental inscriptions. We have before our eyes an abiding demonstration that, with all her wisdom and wealth, her prowess and art, her civilization and philosophy, Egypt was the power which, above all other ancient nations, might be expected to per- petrate the deeds of blood and darkness that the Bible charges on her in the case of Israel, and in consequence deserved to be made a special example of divine punishment. (See Appendix, note 10.) In passing to the nineteenth and following dynasties, it will not be possible to be as minute as heretofore, inasmuch as great obscurity rests upon many reigns : even the names and titles can but seldom be identified on the monuments. I shall therefore give the lists of the dynasties, as far as can be ascertained, with such information as may be collected with reference to the several reigns. HINETEENTH DTNASTT : FIVE DIOSPOLITAN KINGS. Ye are. 1. Sethos reigned 55 2. Rameses 66 3. Amenephthes 40 4. Rameses — 5. Ammenemnes 26 Duration of the dynasty 187 years. These are the kings of this dynasty, according to Eusebius. But no part of the Egyptian history — with the exception of one reign — is shrouded in deeper darkness than this. Neither the annals nor the monuments give any positive information. Mr. Os- burn supposes the last king of the eighteenth dynasty to have been driven from his throne by a second invasion of the Canaanites or " Shepherds," and to have died in Ethiopia, leaving an infant son, Sethos Ramses, then only five years of age. I confess that the reasons assigned by him, from Manetho, for this decision, appear to me very unsatisfactory. Yet, knowing as we do the strength of numerous warlike tribes residing in the south of Canaan, or Edom, and wandering in powerful nomadic hordes in the Wilderness of THE GENTILE NATIONS. 77 Sinai * it cannot be unreasonable to believe that a confederation of these might take advantage of any v^eakness or disorder in the Egyptian state, and, for a while at least, successfully assail and ravage the lower and more exposed part of the kingdom. Nor is it very improbable that this was done; and that, as Manetho intimates, after a while, the young king, supported by the power of Upper Egypt and Ethiopia, defeated and expelled these warlike intruders, and restored the integrity of the kingdom ; the great and obvious error which writers, from Manetho to the present day, have fallen into, being the attempt to identify this eruption either with the descent or the Exodus of the Hebrews. This Pharaoh, however, having possessed himself of the throne, took for his regal title, " Pharaoh, Guardian of Justice, the Friend of Amoun;" and for his name, " Rameses, Prince of On." His reign was long and apparently prosperous. He restored not only the integrity of the kingdom, but its influence abroad. He appears to have gone over most of the lands which had been sub- dued by Sethos and Sesostris. We are distinctly told that he con- quered the Shetin. Having finished his foreign wars successfully, he pursued the course usually adopted by his predecessors, and devoted the spoils which he had acquired to the erection of a splendid temple. The magnificent palace-temple of Medinet-Abou, in Western Thebes, was raised by him ; and its vast range of walls was covered with sculptured representations of his various wars. In one of these scenes, the king is represented sitting in his chariot, with an air of calm dignity on his countenance. Four great officers stand by him, presiding over the ceremony of counting each of the heaps of hands which have been cut from the enemies who had been slain. Bach heap is said to contain three thousand. Close by are four rows of captives, bound in the usual manner. Immediately over the king is the address which he delivers to his army : it is in the form of a short poem or ode : — " Tte address of Eameses,'' &c., " to his royal sons, And to his servants who commanded his infantry and cavalry. Give yourselves up to joy; Let it resound to heaven. My falchion hath smitten the Hittlte. I come, (and) terror fills their hearts. If the Amalekites possessed sufioient power to place in jeopardy a body of six hundred thousand fighting men, even admitting the latter to have been to a great extent undisciplined and unarmed, (although this is not mentioned,)' they would be formidable foes on the frontier of any kingdom. Eiod. xvii. 78 THE SENTILB NATIONS. I arise, conquering with the armies of Upper and Lower Egypt. I manifest you in the midst of them like springing lions, Or like hawks among the water-fov/1. My heart is strong against them, like a bull against a ram. I have forded their rivers ; I have laid waste their lands ; I have burned their forts with fire. Amoun-Re hath put the whole world under my feet. I am a king upon my throne forever." — OehurrCe Egypt, p. 101. I add one further extract from Mr. Osburn's learned work, which has reference to the monumental records respecting this reign : — " The mutilated state of these vast pictures prevents the possi- bility of anything like a connected account of the events of this war. Two actions of it are still remaining. The one is the surprise of a city or district of the Philistines, by the combined armies of the Egyptians and Zidonians. The other is an attack upon the fleets of the Philistines and Zidonians in harbour by the Egyptians. In both these pictures the defeat of the enemies of Egypt is as complete as in all other cases. In the land-fight, the army of the Philistines is vainly endeavouring to cover the flight of their wives, children, and possessions, in wagons of wicker-work with solid wheels, and drawn by four oxen abreast. Their ranks are broken, and they are in in- extricable confusion, while their wagons fall a prey to the Egyptian soldiers. The sea-fight is in every respect a remarkable picture, and deserves far more attention than it has hitherto received. As it occurs in the same series with the former, the event probably took place in the same war. Nothing, of course, can be known of the circumstances which induced the Zidonians, who in the former pic- ture appeared as allies of Egypt, to join the ranks of its enemies on the present occasion. Such changes are of frequent occurrence in war. The occasion of the battle appears to have been a meditated descent on the coast of Egypt, by the combined fleets of the Zido- nians and Philistines. The action took place either on the Egyptian < coast or in its immediate vicinity. Rameses, at the head of Jiis army, repulsed the enemy in their attempt to land, while the Egyptian fleet engaged with them by sea ; both, on the authority of the picture, with incredible, yea, impossible, success. The entire fleet of the enemy was taken, and carried in triumph to Egypt ; and the forces which had manned it graced the triumphal procession of the con- queror at Thebes." — Osburn's Egypt, p. 110. The cruel character of this country and age is strikingly displayed in the picture of the king, who is represented armed with his bow, with each of his feet upon the necks of four of his enemies ; while THE GENTILE NATIONS. 79 his four sons, all engaged in the same act, stand in line before him. We have no precise information respecting other sovereigns of this dynasty, whose rule extended from the time of Othniel to that of Deborah and Barak. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that as the power of the Hebrew commonwealth became consolidated, and its political influence paramount in Canaan, so we lose all notice of the Canaanitish nations on the monuments of Egypt, where they are constantly recognised previously. After the reign of Sethos Rame- ses, the first king of the nineteenth dynasty, no allusion to the people of Canaan is found in the Egyptian sculptures, until the time of Rehohoam, when, as if to prove that the absence of these arose out of the altered condition of Canaan, and not from any change in the manners and usages of Egypt, we have gorgeous sculptured representations of the incursion of Shishak, and of his triumph over Rehohoam. We proceed to the twentieth dynasty, respecting which we only learn that it consisted of twelve Diospolitan kings, who reigned one hundred and seventy- eight years, and that the greater number of them were called Rameses. Lepsius seems to have identified on the monuments Pharaohs of this name from Rameses IV. to Rameses XIV. We have no trace's of foreign war or conquest during the reigns of these sovereigns. The principal memorials of Rameses V. are the lateral inscriptions of the obelisk which Thothmes I. erected at Karnak. They contain, however, no his- torical fact. His tomb in the Bah-el-Melook is small; the sarco- phagus remains in it, and has been broken. Rameses VI. has in some instances effaced the name of his predecessor ; but we have no memorials of his reign, and can only conjecture that it was long, from the unusual amount of labour employed in the preparation of his tomb. It is three hundred and forty-two feet in length, descend- ing by a gradual slope to a depth of twenty-five feet below the ground, and is divided into a number of chambers. The whole surface of the walls and ceilings is covered with a profusion of coloured sculp- tures of minute size, chiefly astronomical and mythical. One of them represents the judgment- scene before Osiris, and the supposed return of a wicked soul to the world. Of Rameses VII. there is absolutely no memorial, except his tomb, which' is of much less finished execution than that of his predecessor. The sarcophagus is excavated in the rock of the floor to the depth of four feet, and covered with a slab of granite. Rame- ses VIII. is known only by the occurrence of his shield. The shields of the other sovereigns of this dynasty are much more crowded than 80 THE GENTILE NATIONS. those of the eighteenth dynasty. Rameses IX. was, according to Lepgius, the son of Rameses VII. He began a temple to Chons, on the right bank of the Nile, near Karnak; but left it imperfect, except the sanctuary. His tomb is small, and appears to have remained unfinished at his death, as the walls of some of the apartments have figures and inscriptions traced upon them, but not sculptured. The tombs of Rameses X., XI., XII., have also been ascertained. That of Rameses X. is executed with care, and adorned with astrological paintings. The seventeenth year of the reign of Rameses XI. has been found on a papyrus, and the second of Rameses XII. Of Rameses XIII. and XIV nothing beyond the names is known, which is the more indicative of the inactivity which characterized the last years of this dynasty, because Rameses XIV. reigned at least thirty-three years. Rosellini reckons a fifteenth, by whom a hypostyle-hall was added to the temple of Chons at Karnak, founded by Rameses IX. (Kenrick, vol. ii, page 338.) According to the Arundelian Marbles, the fall of Troy took place in 1184 B. 0. : and Pliny states that a Rameses then sat on the throne of Egypt. According to our arrangement this would happen during the reign of one of the latter Pharaohs of this name and dynasty. The rule of this line of kings ranged from the time of Deborah and Barak to that of Eli. The Hebrews were at that time expanding into a great people, and were gradually displacing all the old nations which had occupied Canaan. The Philistines alone appear to have remained unbroken in strength ; and it is possible that there is in that fact more than at first meets the eye. This warlike people occupied the sea-coast in the southwest angle of the Promised Land. They stood, therefore, as a bulwark against Egyptian aggression. The wise providence of God seems strikingly dis- played in the fact, that the last remnant of the martial power of Canaan which remained in the land, seemed alike designed to punish the Hebrews for their apostasy, when unfaithful, and to protect them from Egypt, while they remained devoted to Jehovah. The rising power of the Hebrews, with that of Philistia, also shielded the Phenicians ; and this maritime and commercial people rose rapidly into opulence and power, while the sway and trade of Egypt became more than ever circumscribed. Thus did' Providence prepare the way for the political and commercial prosperity of the elect nation under David and Solomon. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 81 THE TWEHTT-FIEST DTKASTT : SETEJt TANITB KINGS. Years. Smendes reigned ; 26 Psousennes 41 Neptercheros i Amenophthis 9 Osochor 6 Psinaclies 9 Psousennes 33 The dynasty continued 130 years. Tanis, or Zoan, now first appears in Egyptian history, as supply- ing a race of sovereigns to the imperial throne. This city stood on a branch of the Nile, the most easterly, and consequently the near- est to Palestine and Arabia, with the exception of the Pelusiac. Scripture plainly informs us that Zoan wp.s built seven years after Hebron. We do not, indeed, know when the Jebusite town was founded ; but it is mentioned in the time of Abraham, it is probable that Tanis rose into importance during the time when the shepherd- kings exercised supreme sway in Lower Egypt. In Psalm Ixxviii, the miracles which accompanied the Exodus are said to have been wrought in "the field of Zoan;" (verse 43;) an expression which indicates that about the time of David this city was regarded as the residence of the Pharaoh who had "refused to let Israel go." In the age of Isaiah it was still considered as the capital of the Delta. " The princes of Zoan, and the princes of Noph," (Memphis,) are spoken of as equivalent to " the nobles of Egypt." The ruins of this ancient city, although they have never been explored, are amply sufficient in extent to attest its magnificence. Its principal temple stood within an area of fifteen hundred feet by twelve hundred and fifty, and appears to have been built by Rameses- Sesostris, whose shield is seen in various parts of the ruins. It was adorned with an unusual number of obelisks. If its ruins had been explored with the same diligence as has been employed on those of Middle and Upper Egypt, some very important information would probably have bSen furnished for the history of this dynasty. This has hitherto been prevented by the rude character of the inhabitants, and the pestilential atmosphere of the district. No sources of intelligence are at present accessible, which throw light on the manner in which the sceptre of Egypt passed from the Diospolitan dynasty to the Tanite. The temple which Rameses IX. erected to the god Ghons (to which reference has already been made) exhibits a priest, " whose name has been read Hrailior, or Pehor, distinguishable by his shaven head and panther's skin, and denominated in his shield, ' High-Priest of Amun,' who at the same 6 82 THE SENTILE NATIONS. time appears to have performed the functions of royalty. In one compartment of the sculptures, Horus places on his head the white cap, and Nebthi the red cap, — acts symbolical of his investiture with the dominion of Upper and Lower Egypt. He even appears in a military capacity, with the title of ' Commander of the Archers.' Another priest, whose name has been read Fischiam, appears on the same building qualified with the titles of royalty. These names do not correspond with any of those in Manetho ; and we are left to conjecture that, during the time that elapsed after the expiration of the Rameside dynasty, and before the establishment of the Tanite in full authority over Upper as well as Lower Egypt, the high- priests of Thebes assumed the royal style, and even military command. It would be agreeable to the practice of Manetho, not tp include them in his dynastic lists, but to carry on his chronology by means of the Tanite kings, even though two or three generations elapsed before their authority was acknowledged in Thebes." — Kenrick's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 343. During the rule of this dynasty the greatest political and com- mercial changes took place in Palestine, — changes which most seriously affected the sway and trade of Egypt. The military and political genius of David had not only consolidated the energy of the Hebrew people, and given to their hitherto isolated tribes a national character and power : it had also extended a commanding influence over the Phenicians, and, by dictating to them the terms on which they should carry on the traffic with the East, (a measure which Solomon secured by the erection of Baalbec in the Valley of Lebanon, and Palmyra in the Wilderness,) had completed their sub- serviency to the Hebrew government. The conquest of Edom by David fulfilled this scheme of policy. By these means the commu- nication of Egypt with the East was completely cut off, and even the old-established caravan traffic through Petra, which had existed from the days of Joseph, was placed in the hands of the sovereign of Jerusalem. Solomon availed himself of all the advantages arising out of the geographical position of his country, and, by the aid of Phenician mariners, secured to Judea an important coasting- trade with the gold-coast of Arabia and India. Those measures of the Hebrew government had the effect of iso- lating the Pharaohs of Egypt from all their conquests in Asia, and shutting them out from all important commercial operations in the East. It is remarkable that, either awed by the daring valour of the Hebrews, or withheld by an overruling Providence, Egypt saw the progress of the Hebrew power and policy without striking a blow. A military junction with the Philistines, Edomites, Am- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 83 monites, or other warlike tribes, which were successively subdued by Israel, would have so obviously been for the interest of Egypt, that it is scarcely possible to account for the continued apathy of such a nation in those circumstances, without attributing it to provi- dential interposition. In the brief notices of Egypt which are found in the sacred Scriptures, there is enough to show that people not to have been indifferent spectators of these mighty changes in their political rela- tions. When Joab, in the reign of David, slaughtered the males of Bdom, Hadad, one of the royal family, having escaped to Egypt, was not only received and protected, but provided for as a royal prince, and was favoured with the queen of Egypt's sister for his wife : his son, too, was brought up in Pharaoh's house. It must be admitted that, in the early part of his reign, Solomon appeared to hold a very friendly relation to the reigning Pharaoh, and married his daughter. But even in the Scriptural notice of this event there is evidence, that Egypt had not ceased to regard Palestine as a theatre for warlike operations. We are told that when Solomon married the princess of Egypt, " Pharaoh King of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife." 1 Kings ix, 16. This city stood on the south frontier of the tribe of Ephraim, about fifteen miles N. W. by N. of Jerusalem : so that, even after all the martial triumphs of David, this Canaanitish town remained in the very heart of the country ; and, in the early part of the reign of Solomon, a king of Egypt led an army along the western coast of Palestine, and sacked this city within a few hours' march of the capital of Judea. Such a fact casts important light on the international policy of ancient times. When Solomon became enervated by luxury, and corrupted by sin, Hadad, Prince of Edom, went up from Egypt with the consent of Pharaoh ; and, he having formed an alliance with Rezon, a daring freebooter, they succeeded in wresting from the Hebrew monarch Edom and a part of Syria. Hadad consequently became king of his native land, while Rezon reigned in Damascus. It is not stated that these persons received aid from Egypt in their efforts ; but as it was obviously the interest of this nation that they should succeed, it can scarcely be doubted that they were favoured with indirect countenance and help, if not with open and avowed support. During the reign of Solomon an active commerce in horses, chariots, and linen yarn was carried on between Judea and Egypt. Solomon not only furnished his own armies with horses and chariots from this country, but sold them again to the Hittites and the Syrians ; 84 THE GENTILE NATIONS. and, as if to indicate the thorough and monopolizing character of the Hebrew king's policy, it is distinctly stated that this was done by " the king's merchants." 1 Kings x, 28, 29. TWENTY-SECOND DYNASTY: NINE BUBA8TILE KINaS. Yean. Sesonchis (Shishak) reigned 21 Osorchon 15 Three other kings omitted by Eusebius 25 TakellotWs 13 Three others omitted by Eusebius 42 The dynasty continued 116 years. The first of these kings is undoubtedly the Shishak of Holy Scripture ; and as his invasion of Judah took place in B. C. 974, it must have occurred in the third year of his reign. It is a fact no less important than singular, that the monumental record of this event should exist at the present time in a perfect state, and exhibit an undoubted memorial of this historical event. Although much doubt in general attends the identification of names on Egyp- tian monuments, in consequence of its being necessary " to assume certain phonetic values for characters which do not occur elsewhere, or only in positions equally ambiguous; there appears to be no uncertainty respecting the most important figure of the whole," (in this monument,) " the third in the third line, which contains, in well- known characters, Joudmalk, that is, Joudah-Melek, 'King of Judah;' which being followed by the usual character for 'land,' the whole will read, 'Land of the King of Judah;' these shields repre- senting, not persons, but places, symbolized by a figure of their inhabitants." — Kenrick, vol. ii, p. 350. This monument is found on the external wall of the hypostyle-hall at Karnak. There are other memorials of this sovereign at Karnak and Silsilis ; but they are of a religious, and not of an historical charac- ter. If Sesonchis were the same as the Sasychis of Diodorus and Herodotus, (which, from an ingenious conjecture of Bunsen, is ren- dered very probable,) he was celebrated as a legislator, as well as a conqueror. To him is attributed the law which allowed a debtor to raise money by pledging the body of his father, on condition that, if he did not repay the money, neither he himself nor any of his family should be interred, either in the family sepulchre or elsewhere. The state of the arts had now evidently declined. There are several statues of the lion-headed goddess Pasht which were exe- cuted about this time ; one of them is in the British Museum. Mr. Birch pronounces it far inferior in design and execution to the stat- uary of Thothmes III. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 85 A son of Sesonchis appears joined with him in an act of worship at Karnak. As was sometimes the case in Egypt, he united with the sacerdotal office the post of " captain of the archers." He did not succeed his father. Osorchon is the next king in Manetho's dynasty, and his shield follows that of Sheshonk in the sculptures of the court at Karnak. The Books of Kings record no intercourse between Judah and Egypt, from the invasion of Shishak to the reign of Hoshea, who made an alliance with Seva or So, King of Egypt. The Second Book of Chronicles, however, says that in the reign of Asa, Zerach, an Ethiopian king, invaded Judah. Critics have supposed this Zerach to be the same as Osorchon, the successor of Sesonchis. All the circumstances of the case render this conclusion extremely prob- able. Zerach could not be one of the twenty-fifth or Ethiopian dynasty of Egyptian kings, since the earliest of these lived about two hundred years after Asa. The name "Zerach" is not very different from " Osorchon," when reduced to its consonants. We can scarcely believe that during Osorchon's reign any Ethiopian sovereign could have invaded Judah : for it is certain that at this time his sway extended over Upper as well as Lower Egypt ; and, in order to accomplish this purpose, the Ethiopian army must have marched through the entire length of Egypt, — which is incredible. The sacred text, indeed, calls the invading sovereign an " Ethiopian :" but then this is found only in the Book of Chronicles, which was not written — at least, in its present form — till after the Captivity. And the use of this term may be accounted for, even supposing the war to have been conducted by one of the Pharaohs ; for at this time the armies of Egypt were mainly composed of Libyan and Ethiopian troops. But, in addition to all this, the time exactly agrees. Rehoboam reigned twelve years after the invasion of Sesonchis; Abijah, his son, who succeeded him, three years; and the victory of Asa took place in the fifteenth year of his reign : so that thirty years elapsed from the invasion of Sesonchis to the defeat of Zerach. And as Sesonchis reigned twenty-two years, — nineteen of which were after his invasion, — and Osorchon fifteen years, his defeat by Asa (supposing him to be identified with Zerach) would have taken place in the eleventh year of his reign. When so many circumstances unite in the corroboration of an historical probability, in the absence of all opposing evidence, it may be safely regarded as an established fact. There was also a reason for this war. Sesonchis had humbled Rehoboam, and spoiled Jerusalem : Judah would in consequence be regarded as a dependent, if not a tributary state. When, therefore, 86 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Asa had made a league with the king of Syria who ruled in Damas- cus, and had built and fortified many places in Judah, Osorchon had just cause to apprehend, not merely the loss of all Egyptian influ- ence in the East, but the probability that a powerful hostile alliance would be maintained against him. He accordingly assembled a great army, and invaded the south of Judah; but Asa, strong in the protection of Jehovah, went out against him, defeated his army in a great battle, and pursued him to Gerar on the southern boundary of Palestine. 1 Kings xv. " The names of the three successors of Osorchon I. are not given by Manetho. Lepsius makes his immediate successor to have been Amunma Pehoe, who was probably his son. Another son, whose name was Sheshonk, filled the office of high-priest ; and is' men- tioned in a funeral papyrus which appears to have accompanied the mummy of another high-priest of the name of Osorchon^ the son of this Sheshonk, and consequently the grandson of Osorchon I. Neither of these appears to have ascended the throne. Pehor was succeeded by Osorchon II., and he by Sheshonk II. His shield is distinguished from that of the founder of the dynasty by the addi- tion of the goddess of Bubastis, Pasht. The name of Takelothis was recovered by Champollion from a fragment of a piece of syca- more-wood, the remainder of which is in the Vatican ; in which a priest, clad in the leopard's skin, is represented performing an act of adoration to Plire, in behalf of Takelothis' s son. It has since been found on the wall at Karnak, with the date of the twenty-fifth year of his reign. The same inscription mentions the name of his queen, Keromana, and of his son and probably his successor, Osor- chon, who is called ' High-Priest and Captain of the Archers.' Of Osorchon III., Sheshonk III., and Takelothis II., with whom the dynasty became extinct, no historical fact is recorded." — Kenrich vol. ii, p. 356. From a remark in the Canon of Eusebius it seems probable that under the twenty-third dyn^ty the Egyptians became a considerable maritime power, rivalling, if not excelling the Phenicians. TWENTT-THIED DYNASTY: FOUR TANTTE KDfQS. Yeara. Petubatis reigaed 40 Osorcho 8 Psammus jO Zet 31 The dynasty continued 89 years Of this entire dynasty no name had been found on the monuments, until very lately Lepsius has found a shield with the name of Petse- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 87 pesht, the Egyptian word whence the Petuhastes of Eusebius, and the Petubates of Manetho, were derived. A shield at Karnak, con- taining the name of Psemaut, has been ascribed by Lepsius to Psammus of this dynasty. Neither Herodotus nor Diodorus aifords any information respect- ing this dynasty. There are not even any private monuments which cast hght upon the state of Egypt at this time. Everything seems to indicate that it was a season of decline and decay, which ranged from the sixteenth year of Joash King of Judah to the thirty- seventh year of Uzziah. TWENTY-FOUETH DYUASTY. Years. Bocchoris of Sais reigned 44 I have here adopted the numbers of Eusebius, in preference to the six years of Manetho, as rendered by Julius Africanus. Not that I have particular confidence in this reckoning ; on the contrary, while I think the general line of chronology which I have laid down to be founded on unimpeachable historical data, yet, as regards the particular reigns, it would be mere affectation to pretend to undoubted accuracy. In the present instance the longer, instead of the shorter, term is selected, because the brief space of six years is far too short to work out a celebrity such as that which is unequivocally bestowed upon Bocchoris ; and, further, because the former arrangement best agrees with the general course of events, and places Psammitichus and Nechao II. in more strict accordance with Hebrew history than would otherwise be the case. The dynasty of Sais, as Kenrick truly observes, may be said to have been in fact prolonged to the time of the Persian conquest, the Ethiopian dynasty being intrusive, and the Dodecarchia only tem- porary. Sais, the city whence this dynasty obtained its name, stood near the Canopic branch of the Nile, — a district to which, as being the nearest and most accessible, the traffic of the Greeks was from the first attracted. The name of this Sovereign has been discovered on no monuments which can be referred with certainty to his reign. Diodorus calls his father Tnephaehthus. According to the same writer this king was small in person, and contemptible in appearance, "but as to wisdom ana prudence far excelling all the kings that were before him in Egypt." He is also supposed to have framed laws, defining the prerogatives and duties of the sovereign, and establishing equi- table regulations respecting commercial contracts, ^lian, indeed, gives a very different account of Bocchoris, who, he says, obtained a very false reputation for the justice of his decisions. He alleges 88 THE GENTILE NATIONS. that, to grieve the Egyptians, Bocchoris set a wild bull to attack their sacred Mnevis; but that, as the assailant was rushing furi- ously on, he stumbled, and entangled his horn in the tree persea, when Mnevis gave him a mortal wound in the flank. To such accounts not much credit is due. Plutarch acknowledges the just decisions of Bocchoris, but calls him " a man of stern character." The probability is, that this Pharaoh reigned in a time of great declension and disorder, and that he made wise and energetic efforts to remedy existing evils, — efforts which, being partially successful, gave him great celebrity ; but as these measures painfully affected those who were deriving private gain from public wrong, he was, to the extent of their influence, stigmatized by them as severe and cruel. TWENTY-FIFTH DYNASTY : THEEE ETHIOPIAN KINGS. YearB. Sabaco reigned 8 (He took Bocchoris prisoner, and burnt liim alive.) Sebichos, (Sevechus,) Ms son 14 Tarkus 18 Duration of tlie dj'nasty 40 years. The term " Ethiopian " is so indiscriminately applied to the Arab of Yemen, the Abyssinian, the native of Nubia, as well as to the inhabitants of other districts, that it becomes necessary, in intro- ducing this Ethiopian dynasty, to ascertain the seat of its original power. On this point no uncertainty exists. The seat of the mon- archy of Sabaco was the Napata of the Romans, — the same as Gebel-Berkel, standing about seven hundred miles above Syene on the banks of the Nile. Under the eighteenth dynasty Egypt ruled over the Valley of the Nile as far as this city. Its ruins even now bear the name of Thothmes III. But under the succeeding dynas- ties, the rising power of Ethiopia so far prevailed that the northern frontier of this kingdom included the Island of Argo ; while, under the feeble twenty-third and twenty-fourth dynasties, it is not im- probable that the Ethiopians occupied Thebes* and that Bocchoris held his crown as a tributary or subject prince. This supposition alone accounts for the statement, that, when taken prisoner by the Ethiopian monarch, he was burned to death. This is a conjecture of Mr. Kenrick, and one which seems particularly plausible, as Sabaco is celebrated as a just and humane sovereign, and therefore not likely to inflict such a terrible death on a captive prince, unless he had been guilty of some breach of faith or treachery. We have no satisfactory information respecting this invasion. Herodotus calls the king who reigned in Egypt at this time Anysis ; THE GENTILE NATIONS. 89 and says that he was not put to death, but took refuge in the marshes of the Delta. But this account is utterly improhable. He also aMeges that the monarch was blind, but that nevertheless he suc- ceeded in escaping to the marshes, where he constructed an island of ashes and earth ; that he maintainecl himself here fifty years ; and that then, the Ethiopians having retired, he reassumed the reins of government. But whatever might have been the manner in which the power of Ethiopia became paramount in Egypt, it is certain that it must not be regarded as the irruption of a barbarous people on a highly civilized country. On the contrary, Ethiopia at this period was as far advanced in cultivation as Egypt herself The latter country had, in fact, proceeded far in declension; and it is probable that thus, by the ordinary operation of the human mind in such circum- stances, the hardy, daring Ethiopian acquired an easy ascendency over the enervated Egyptian. The name of the first sovereign of this dynasty, written Shabek, is found at Luxor, with the usual titles of Egyptian sovereignty. The sculptures on the internal wall of the propylaa raised by Rameses Sesostris having been injured or decayed by time, Sabaco renewed them, and substituted his own name for that of Rameses. These prove that Egyptian art still existed in considerable vigour. A statuette of the same king is preserved in the Villa Albani at Rome ; and his shield has been found over a gate of the palace of Karnak. Sebechus, or Sevechus, son of the preceding king, succeeded him. But it is impossible to distinguish this Pharaoh on the monuments from his father, as their phonetic names are written in the same characters. This explains the circumstance, that the name has been found on fragments with an indication of the twelfth year of the reign : these of course refer to Sebechus. It is stated in the Second Book of Kings that Hoshea, king of Israel, having made an alliance with So, or Seva, king of Egypt, (2 Kings xvii, 4,) refused to pay his customary tribute to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. This event happened in the latter part of the reign of Hoshea, and in the beginning of that of Sevechus. This was the reasonable policy of the rulers of Egypt, — to maintain the power of Israel and Judah, the only barrier between their kingdom and Assyria. It is, how- ever, very probable that in this instance the policy of Sevechus was defeated by the prompt energy of the king of Assyria, who had an efiicient ally in the king of Judah ; and, in consequence, the king- dom of Israel was subverted and destroyed. Tarkus succeeded Sevechus. His name, written Tarhak or Tar- 90 THE SENTILB NATIONS. haka, is found on the internal face of the pylon of a building erected at Medinet-Abou by Thothmes IV. Tarkus, or Tirhaka, was a very martial prince ; and Stratbo speaks of him as rivalling Sesosttis. There may be much exaggeration in this ; but it is not improbable that at this time, when the whole power of Egypt and Ethiopia were united under one warlike sovereign, the limitation of its martial glory might have been the result rather of the overwhelming power of Assyria, than of any real weakness. The account of Strabo in fact indicates as much, since he says that Tirhaka extended his conquests westward even to the Pillars of Hercules. At all events, it seems certain that Tai'kus dreaded an encounter with this power. In the reign of Ahaz, Judah acknowledged the supremacy of As- syria ; but when his son succeeded to the throne, strong in the holy confidence that Jehovah would protect his people, he threw off this allegiance, refused the customary tribute, and during many years maintained the independence of his country. In the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Samaria was subdued, and the kingdom of Israel was soon afterward destroyed. Then there was no independ- ent power intervening between the Assyrians and Egypt but Judah. Nor was this state left long unmolested. We are not informed of the relations wliich subsisted between Hezekiah and the reigning Pharaoh ; but when, in the fourteenth year of the Hebrew monarch, Sennacherib invaded Judah, and Hezekiah had to purchase a brief respite by an enormous contribution, the officers of the haughty Assyrian, when delivering their insolent address in the name of their master, taunted the Hebrew king by saying, " Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me ? Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt." 2 Kings xviii, 20, 21. This would of itself be sufficient to prove that some connexion between the two countries had been induced by their common danger. But all doubt is removed by the Scripture fact, that when these messengers returned to Lachish to their mas- ter, he heard that Tirhakah, the Ethiopian king, was marching against him. Chap, xix, 9. Upon receiving this intelligence, the Assyrian sovereign raised the siege of Lachish, and, fearing to encounter this formidable foe in an enemy's country, marched toward Egypt to meet Tirhakah. The king of Egypt in his turn began to fear ; Hezekiah did not dare to pursue the Assyrians ; and Phai-aoh retired within the Egyptian frontier, while the whole country trem- bled in the prospect of a sanguinary invasion. But Egypt and Israel were both preserved by a miraculous interposition. The As- syrian army was all destroyed in one night by an angel of the Lord ; and the boastful monarch was compelled to return to his own land THE GENTILE NATIONS. 91 in weakness and disgrace. This wonderful event is recorded in Egyptian history as distinctly and almost as fully as in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Hebrew People, p. 579.) No satisfactory information can be obtained respecting the close of this dynasty. Herodotus says that the Ethiopian king was induced to retire from the country by a dream; and that he was succeeded by Sethos. This, however, cannot be true, inasmuch as we know that Tirhakah reigned when the Assyrian army was de- stroyed. It is not improbable that the conjecture of Kenrick is correct, — that Sethos, a priest, held a kind of subordinate sove- reignty in Lower Egypt during the imperial sway of Tirhakah ; and that martial monarch, having retired from before Sennacherib, per- haps into Upper Egypt, thus left the sacerdotal and unwarlike vice- roy of Memphis to defend himself; a task to which he felt so une- qual that he retired into the temple, and was told in a dream, that he should obtain deliverance from the Assyrian king. This promise was almost immediately fulfilled by the ruin of the army of Sen- nacherib. TWENTY-SIXTH DTNASTT : MNE SAITE KIHGS. YeRiB. 1. Stephanates reigned 7 2. Nechepsos 6 3. Nechao 8 4. Fsammiticlius 54 5. Neciao 11. (He took Jerusalem) 6 6. Fsammuthis II 6 7. Uaphris 19 8. Amosis M 9. Fsammeeherites 6 months. We have no means of ascertaining whether this dynasty stood in any relation or connexion to Bocchoris of Sais : but, as Herodotus says that the blind king, who was driven into the marshes by the Ethiopian invasion, returned when they left the country, it is not improbable that Stephanates might have been of the same family. We have, however, no information respecting the first three sove- reigns. Herodotus states that the Ethiopian king, before he left Egypt, slew Nechos, the father of Psammitichus ; and that, on the death of Sethos, the Egyptians recovered their liberty ; and as they could not live without kings, they chose twelve, among whom they divided the several districts of Egypt. It appears therefore certain, that at this period Egypt was torn by civil discord, which terminated in a dodecarchy; the chroniclers selecting one line of kings as legitimate, in whom the succession is numbered. The account which Herodotus gives of this collateral sovereignty is as follows : " These princes connected themselves 92 THE GENTILE NATIONS. with each other by intermarriages, engaging solemnly to promote their common interest, and never to engage in any acts of separate policy. The principal motive of their union was to guard against the declaration of an oracle, which had said, that whoever among them should offer in the temple of Vulcan a libation in a brazen vessel, should be sole sovereign of Egypt ; and it is to be remembered that they assembled indifferently in every temple. " These twelve kings were eminent for the justice of their admin- istration. On a certain occasion they were offering sacrifice in the temple of Vulcan, and on the last day of the festival were about to make the accustomed libation. For this purpose the chief priest handed to them the golden cups used on these solemnities ; but he mistook the number, and, instead of twelve, gave only eleven. Psammitichus, who was the last of them, not having a cup, took off his helmet, which happened to be of brass, and from this poured his libation. The other princes wore helmets in common, and had them on the present occasion ; so that the circumstance of this one king having and using his was accidental and innocent. Observing, however, this action of Psammitichus, they remembered the predic- tion of the oracle, 'that he among them who should pour a libation from a brazen vessel, should be sole monarch of Egypt.' They minutely investigated the matter ; and being satisfied that this action of Psammitichus was entirely the effect of accident, they could not think him worthy of death. They nevertheless deprived him of a considerable part of his power, and confined him to the marshy parts of the country, forbidding him to leave this situation, or to communicate with the rest of Egypt. " This Psammitichus had formerly fled to Syria, from Sabachus the Ethiopian, who had killed his father Nechos. When the Ethi- opian, terrified by the vision, had abandoned his dominions, those Egyptians who lived near Sais had solicited Psammitichus to- return. He was now a second time driven into exile among the fens by the eleven kings, from this circumstance of the brazen helmet. He felt the strongest resentment for the injury, and determined to avenge himself on his persecutors. He sent therefore to the oracle of Latona, at Butos, which has among the Egyptians the highest char- acter for veracity. He was informed that the sea should avenge his cause by producing brazen figures of men. He was little inclined to believe that such a circumstance could ever occur ; but, some time afterward, a body of lonians and Carians, who had been engaged in a voyage of plunder, were compelled by distress to touch at Egypt : they landed in brazen armour. Some Egyptians hastened to inform Psammitichus in his marshes of this incident ; and as the messenger THE GENTILE NATIONS. 93 had never before seen persons so armed, lie said, that some brazen men had arisen from the sea, and were plundering the country. He instantly conceived this to be the accomplishment of the oracle's prediction, and entered into alliance with the strangers, engaging them by splendid promises to assist him. With them and his Egyptian adherents he vanquished the eleven kings." — Euterpe, cap. 147-152. The battle which defeated the confederated kings, and gave Egypt to Psammitichus, was fought at Momemphis, near the Canopic branch of the Nile, and on the shore of the Lake Mareotis. Some of the opposing kings were slain ; the rest escaped into Libya. According to Herodotus, the dodecarchs, while they ruled together in amity, being determined to leave some permanent memorial of their joint sway, built the Labyrinth: but Diodorus ascribes this building to an earlier sovereign, although, from his account, it is not improbable that the primary erection had fallen into decay, and that the work of the twelve kings was reared on the same site. Psammitichus, having established himself in power, rewarded his allies and native supporters by allotting them a district on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, a little nearer to the sea than the city of Bubastis. The foreign troops had a settlement on one bank of the river, and the natives on the other, as, notwithsta,nding their association in the service of the same king, their national and relig- ious prejudices were too strong to allow them to fraternize in one community. This place became afterward of the utmost importance to the destinies of Egypt. Although no monument bearing the name of this sovereign remains in Egypt, there is ample proof that the whole country submitted to his sway. His shield is found in the palace at Kamak, and in a little island near Philse. In the quarry of Tourah the design of a monolithal shrine, intended to be excavated, is traced on the rock in red paint, the cornice of which bears the shield of Psammitichus. Works of his reign are found in several European museums ; but the most remarkable remnant of the art of this era is the obelisk which stands in the Monte Citorio at Rome. It was brought from Egypt by the Emperor Augustus, as a memorial of its conquest by the Romans. As a work of art, it is decidedly inferior to those of the age of Thothmes III. ; but considering that seven hundred years had elapsed between these eras, the degeneracy is not so great as might be expected. It seems to be an established fact, that the reliance of this monarch on foreign and party support alienated from him a large portion of his Egyptian subjects, although the precise occasion of the quarrel 94 THE GENTILE NATIONS. is not so clearly ascertainable. From the combined statements of Herodotus and Diodorus, it appears that the king of Egypt wished to subdue Ashdod, which had been taken and garrisoned by the king of Assyria; that for this purpose he invested it with an army, composed of native troops and his foreign auxiliaries ; and that, he having given the latter the post of honour in the war, the former deserted him, and retired into Ethiopia. Herodotus ascribes this defection to the fact, that the garrisons in Upper Egypt had not been relieved for three years. But, whatever the cause might be, after this desertion iiad taken place, the king applied himself more dili- gently than ever to perfect the internal policy of his kingdom, and the cultivation of a friendly intercourse with Greece. Egypt, for- merly the most inhospitable of all nations, now opened her harbours freely. To promote this intercourse, the king encouraged the study of Greek literature, and caused his own sons to be instructed in that language. Toward the latter part of this reign Egypt was threatened with a foreign invasion. During the time that Cyaxares and his allies were besieging Nineveh an overwhelming army of Scythians entered Asia. Cyaxares attempted to arrest their progress, but was defeated. After ravaging the east, this terrible host marched toward the west. The prophet Zephaniah, who wrote a few years previously, is sup- posed to have predicted their character and progress with great spirit and fidelity. If indeed, the passages referred to (Zeph. i, 4, 5, 6, and ii, 1) apply to this invasion, their appropriateness is un- doubted: but notwithstanding the weighty support which Hitzig, Cramer, and Eichhorn have given to this opinion, it does not seem to be established. However this may be, after the Scythians had ravaged Media, they marched into Palestine, and menaced Egypt. They had advanced as far as Ascalon on the coast of Palestine, when Psammitichus met them, and by presents and entreaties pre- vailed on them to return. This took place about 618 B. C, and consequently in the thirty- seventh year of Psammitichus. Necho, or Nechao, son of the preceding, succeeded his father 615 B. C. His first public work appears to have been an attempt to unite the Nile and the Red Sea by a canal : but this effort, after an enormous expenditure of wealth and life, was at length relinquished. Herodotus observes that "when Necho abandoned his plan of join- ing the Nile and the Red Sea by a canal, he engaged in military operations." It is more than probable that the peculiar aspect of political affairs in Asia induced him to forego his favourite project, and turned his attention to martial pursuits. On the expulsion of the Scythians, (612 B. C,) Cyaxares resumed the siege of Nineveh ; THE GENTILE NATIONS. 95 and Pharaoli-Neclio regarded this as a favourable opportunity for recovering the power -which Egypt had formerly possessed on the banks of the Euphrates. He accordingly began the necessary preparations, and, 608 B. C, transported an army into Palestine, for the purpose of recovering military possession of Carchemish. But Josiah, the Hebrew king, drew together the whole strength of his kingdom, and marched out to oppose his progress. The Egyp- tian sovereign earnestly dissuaded him from his purpose, but in vain. The armies met at Megiddo. The result is well known. The good king of the Hebrews was completely defeated, and fatally wounded ; so that he was taken to Jerusalem, where he died. This event appears to have totally deranged the plans of Necho. He was at Riblah in Hamath, when he heard that the people of Judea had made Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, king. Necho immediately sent for the newly-appointed sovereign to Hamath, when he was deposed and imprisoned, after a reign of three months. Necho then sent Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he ended his days, and made a younger son of Josiah, Eliakim, king, changing his name to Jehoiakim ; im- posing on him a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Whether Necho on this occasion did go on to Carchemish, is not certain. He might have thought it more important fully to establish his supremacy over Judea. We find him, however, four years afterward, proceeding to Carchemish with an army of Egyp- tians, Ethiopians, and Libyans. Jer. xlvi. He was then signally defeated. The sacred prophet tersely states, that Nebuchadnezzar " smote the army of Necho ;" and the decisive effect of this stroke is indicated by the statement of another inspired writer : " The king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land : for the king of Babylon had taken from the River of Egypt unto the River Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt." 2 Kings xxiv, 7. This decided the supremacy of Babylon. Egypt in future had to study the most effectual means of defence. During this reign, according to Herodotus, Africa was circum- navigated by a Phenician fleet; of which the historian gives the following account : " For as to Libya, it shows itself to be circum- navigable, except where it borders on Asia. This was first proved, so far as I know, by Necho, King of Egypt. When he gave up ex- cavating the canal that runs from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent out some Phenicians in ships, giving them orders on their way back to sail through the Pillars of Hercules into the Northern Sea, and thus return to Egypt. Setting out, then, from the Red Sea, they sailed into the Southern Sea. As often as autumn returned they landed in Libya, and planted some com in the place where they 96 THE GENTILE NATIONS. happened to be. When this was ripe, and they had cut it down, they again departed. Having thus consumed two years, they, in the third, doubled the Columns of Hercules, and returned to Egypt. Their relation may obtain attention from others, but to me it seems incredible ; for they afiBrmed that, having sailed round Libya, they had the sun on their right hand. Thus was Libya for the first time known." — Melpomene, cap. 42. In this relation of the father of history, it is observable that the difficulty which provoked his incredulity is the most satisfactory demonstration of the truth of the narrative. For, as Larcher observes, the phenomenon must have appeared as stated; "and this curious circumstance, which never could have been imagined in an age when astronomy was yet in its infancy, is an evidence of the truth of a voyage which, without this, might have been doubted." — Larcher's Notes to Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 34. Necho was succeeded by his son Psammitichus 11., whom Herod- otus calls Psammus, and Manetho Psammuthis II. But as we do not meet with this latter name previously, there can be no doubt that Eusebius is correct, when he gives the name as above. This sov- ereign began to reign 599 B. C. No public building erected by him remains : but his name is found on several fragments of sculpture ; as, for instance, in the citadel of Cairo, under the base of Pompey's Pillar at Alexandria. His titular shield is also found on the obelisk of the Piazza Minerva at Rome, which was executed under his son and successor Apries ; and his name and titular shield also appear on a part of an intercolumnar plinth now in the British Museum. He is here delineated presenting an offering to the gods, who give him all power and victory, and put all lands under his sandals. Toward the end of his reign, Psammitichus II. made an expedition into Ethiopia : but as to the object or result of this war we are not informed. His shield is found at the Island of Snem, near the Cata- racts of Syene. He died almost immediately after this expedition, and was succeeded by his son, Uaphris, the Apries of the Greeks, and the Hophra of Scripture, ascended the throne 593 B. C. Until the beginning of his reign, Egypt had made no aggressions on Asia for the purpose of repairing the consequences of the defeat of Necho at Carchemish. But Apries, perceiving the gradual and steady progress of Babylonian ascendency in Western Asia, determined to make another effort to check this influence, and to extend the power of Egypt. He accord- ingly collected an armament, and invaded Phenicia. From the information supplied by Herodotus and Diodorus, it seems that he took Sidon, defeated the Cyprians, (who appear to have been allies, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 97 if not subjects, of the Phenicians,) and reduced the whole sea-coast of Phenicia. There can scarcely be a doubt that this was the over- flowing flood predicted by Jeremiah. Chap, xlvii. Its coming from "the north" is explained by the fact that Phenicia Proper was the first scene of conflict. To this place the Egyptian army was con- veyed in a fleet ; and having gained several victories over the Phe- nicians, Apries marched his army toward the south, subduing all the strongholds on the sea-coast. He accomplished these objects, and produced on the king and court of Judea a deep impression of the great military power of Egypt. Zedekiah, having sent ambas- sadors to Apries, and obtained a promise of support, felt embold- ened to violate his oath of fidelity to Nebuchadnezzar, relying on obtaining' succour from Egypt. This led the king of Babylon to invest Jerusalem, when Apries proceeded with an army to relieve his ally. But Nebuchadnezzar was too good a general to remain before Jerusalem until the arrival of the Egyptians, and thus to place himself between two foes. He accordingly raised the siege, and proceeded to meet the host of Egypt. Apries did not venture, unaided, alone, and in the desert, to resist the Babylonish king: he retired, without hazarding a conflict, into his own land. Upon this Nebuchadnezzar returned, and took and destroyed the royal city of Judea ; and thus were fulfilled the predictions of the prophets, that the apostate Hebrews would find no efficient aid in Egypt. (See Ezek. xii.) After this storm had passed over, and Gedaliah, who had been left by Nebuchadnezzar as governor of Judea, had been slain, all the people that remained took Jeremiah the prophet, and fled into Egypt. Here they were kindly received by Apries ; for we find them located with the prophet in the royal city. After the ruin of the Hebrew monarchy, and the deportation of the survivors, who were carried into Chaldea, the king of Babylon prosecuted the war against the Phenicians and other inhabitants of the sea-coast. Whether Tyf e, in consequence of the military meas- ures of Apries, was avowedly subject to Egypt or not, it was hos- tile to the advancing power of Babylon : but it fell, after a long and desperate struggle, before the prowess of Nebuchadnezzar. Nor can there be a question that the conqueror swept the whole coast, and ravaged Egypt, in the same campaign. This was distinctly pre- dicted by Ezekiel ; and although Herodotus does not mention the fact, all probability is in favour of its having taken place. The language of the sacred seer is remarkable: "Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus : every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled : yet had 7 98 THE GENTILE NATIONS. he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it : therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will gi\e the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon : and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey ; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour," &c. Ezek. xxix, 18-20. Jeremiah, also, while in Egypt, asserts the same. After having hidden stones in the clay in the brick-kiln, near the palace of Pharaoh at Tahpanhes, he says, " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, 1 will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my ser- vant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them." It was also declared tlaat he would "break the images of Bethshemesh," — Heliopolis. Jer. xliii, 8-13. That Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, is, however, not only probable, and asserted by the voice of sacred prophecy; but it is also stated as a fact by Megasthenes, who says that he con- quered a great part of Libya, which he could not do without passing through Egypt. The absence of any notice of this event by the Greek writers may be accounted for by supposing that, in accord- ance with the spirit of the times, the Babylonian monarch merely marched through and plundered Lower Egypt, without locating an army in the country, or extending his conquest to Upper Egypt. It is necessary here to observe that, prior to this period, the colony of Cyrene had been founded, and had grown into considera- ble opulence and power. Battus, its founder, governed it forty years. Arcesilaus, his successor, ruled sixteen years. He was suc- ceeded by Battus II., under whose government an invitation was sent to all Greeks to come and aid the Cyrenians in colonizing Libya. The Pythian oracle recommended compliance, and warned the people against delay. The result was that a multitude of per- sons from all parts of Greece soon congregated at Cyrene. As might have been expected, these could not be provided with allot- ments of land, without removing the native Libyans from their property, and treating them with great injustice. In those circum- stances the king of Libya sent to solicit aid of Egypt. Apries, who saw it to be his interest to extend his influence over Libya, and at the same time to check the progress of a dangerous and increas- ing power in his neighbourhood, complied with the request, and sent an army into that comitry. But on this occasion he could not venture to employ his Greek mercenaries against their own coun- trymen : the troops wove entirely native Egyptians. This was the first time that the free Greeks had to conflict with the troops of an old despotic monarchy. Here, as elsewhere, a contempt for the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 99 limited numbers and unostentatious appearance of the Greeks seems to have caused the ruin of their enemies. The Egyptians marched negligently to the field, and were not only completely de- feated, but almost entirely destroyed. Few of them returned to their own country. The news of this calamity produced a general insurrection in Egypt. The few who returned, joined by the relatives and friends of those who had fallen, immediately revolted. On hearing of this, Apries sent Amasis, one of his favourite officers, to restore order among the disaffected; but, while he was haranguing them for that purpose, a soldier came behind him, and placed a crown on his head, upon which the crowd saluted him as sovereign. Accepting the proffered dignity and danger, Amasis placed himself at the head of the revolt, and 'prepared to march against Apries. This monarch, on being informed of his conduct, sent Paterbemis, an officer of high rank, to bring Amasis alive into his presence. The rebel chief bade him return, with a contemptuous refusal ; and when with this mes- sage he appeared before the king, the infatuated sovereign ordered his ears and nose to be cut off. This decided the fate of Apries. The Egyptians who had hitherto supported him, disgusted at his cruelty and injustice, went over to Amasis. Apries, was, in conse- quence, left alone with his Carian and Ionian auxiliaries. Witii these, however, he marched to meet Amasis. The armies met on the banks of the Lake Mareotis ; and in the contest which ensued, Apries was defeated and taken prisoner ; and Amasis, although of low origin, was then raised to the sovereignty of Egypt. From the manner in which Herodotus -records these events, the conclusion is warranted, that Apries, by relying for the maintenance of his power on his thirty thousand hired Greek troops, had griev- ously offended the native soldiery, and prepared the way for the general defection that followed, when the defeat before Cyrene ex- cited the public mind, and became a pretext for the rebellion, which hurled him from the throne after a reign, according to Eusebius, of twenty-five years. Amasis, or Amosis, a native of a small town in the Saitic Nome, and of plebeian birth, ascended the throne B. C. 568. He is the first king of Egypt of whose personal character we have any knowl- edge. Of him we are told, that he appropriated the early part of every day to the duties of his station ; that he gave audience to all that required it, and thus earned the reputation of a wise, just, and good man. Yet after he had discharged these duties, he devoted the rest of the day to pleasurable recreation. On being remon- strated with on this unkingly conduct, he is said to have replied, 100 THE GENTILE NATIONS. " They who have a bow bend it only at the time they want it ; when not in use, they suffer it to be relaxed; it would otherwise break, and not be of service when exigence required. It is precisely the same with a man: if, without some intervals of amusement, he applied himself constantly to serious pursuits, he would impercepti- bly lose his vigour both of mind and body. It is the conviction of this truth which influences me in the division of my time." He thus silenced those who objected to his manner of life. He adopted another mode with those who despised him on account of his ple- beian origin. Having "a gold vessel in which he and his guests were accustomed to spit, and wash their feet, of the materials of this he made the statue of some god, which he placed in the most con- spicuous part of the city. The Egyptians, assembling before it, paid it divine honours ; on hearing of which, the king called them together, and informed them that the image which they thus ven- erated was made of a vessel of gold which he and they had formerly used for the most unseemly purposes. He afterward explained to them the similar circumstances of his own fortunes, who, though formerly a plebeian, was now their sovereign, and entitled to their reverence. By these means he secured their attachment." During this reign Egypt continued in great prosperity. The regular rise of the Nile diffused plenty throughout the land. A friendly treaty was established with Cyrene. The danger which threatened Babylon from the rising power of Media, took off all apprehension from that quarter. Amasis entered into an alliance with the king of Babylon, to support Croesus, King of Lydia, against Cyrus; but the rapid movements of the Persian warrior rendered their intended interference nugatory. In consequence of the ravages of Nebuchadnezzar, the Phenicians were so crippled in their re- sources that Amasis subdued Cyprus, and laid it under tribute. Although he was at first disposed to regard the Greeks with disfa- vour, as they had so strenuously supported his predecessor, yet he afterward manifested a friendly bearing toward that nation. He allowed them a free location in the city of Naucratis ; and to those who came only for commercial purposes he gave sites, on which they might build altars to their gods. Amasis was for a while on terms of intimate friendship with the Greek tyrant of Samos, Polycrates; but afterward renounced his friendship, on the plea that the Greek had enjoyed such uninter- rupted good fortune as foreboded a melancholy termination of his career. Such is the poetic account of Herodotus. Diodorus, in all probability, comes nearer the truth. He states that Amasis renounced the friendship of Polycrates, because the latter paid no regard to an THE GENTILE NATIONS. 101 embassy which had been sent to him by the Egyptian king, exhort- ing him to abstain from outrages on his fellow- citizens, and on strangers who resorted to Samos. It was under the influence of this friendship that Pythagoras, who was of Phenician extraction and a native of Samos, visited Egypt. Whatever may be doubtful as to the wide range of travel and research attributed to this philoso- pher, — that he resided long in Egypt, and obtained a great acquaint- ance with its philosophy and religion, must be regarded as an estab- lished fact. Architectural works of great splendour and magnitude were erected by Amasis ; among which the propylcea of the temple of Minerva at Sais hold a distinguished rank. These, "for height and size, and the magnitude and quality of the stones employed, surpassed all others. These he brought from the quarries of Memphis, as well as the colossal figures and andro- sphinxes with which the dromos was adorned. A monolithal shrine of granite, from the quarries of Elephantine, excited the especial admiration of Herodotus. Two thousand men were employed to bring it down the Nile. From Elephantine to Sais was an ordinary navigation of only twenty days ; but in this case three years were occupied, probably because the immense weight made it impossible to float it, except during the season of the high Nile. Its height was above thirty feet; its depth, from front to back, twelve feet; its breadth, twenty-one. After all the cost and labour bestowed on its extraction and convey- ance, it was not erected in the temple of Minerva. As they were drawing it in, the superintendent of the works uttered a groan, through weariness of the labour, and the thought of the time that had been expended; and Amasis, either because he deemed this ominous, or because one of the workmen had been killed in the process of moving it on levers, would not allow it to be drawn any further. When Herodotus visited Egypt, it remained lying before the temple." — Kenrick's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 441. Amasis also erected a colossus, seventy-five feet high, at Memphis, before the temple of Pthah; and two of granite, twenty feet high, one on each side of the inner sanctuary. He also built a temple, of great size and magnifi- cence, at Memphis : it was dedicated to Isis. His reign, according to Herodotus and the lists, lasted forty-four years ; according to Diodorus, flfty-five ; but I have thought it safest here, as in the last reign, to adopt the numbers of Eusebius, who makes it forty-two years. Amasis died B. C. 526, and was suc- ceeded by his son. Psammenitus, on ascending the throne, was placed in circum- stances of great difficulty and danger. Cyrus the Great had taken 102 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Babylon during the reign of Amasis ; but the nomadic tribes of the north having provoked him by their restless daring, he led an army against them, and perished in the enterprise. His son, Cambyses, on ascending the throne, immediately planned an expedition against Egypt. This was in course of preparation when Amasis died ; and to his successor was consequently bequeathed the defence of the kingdom. This would under any circumstances have been a difficult task. The Medo-Persian empire was now paramount in Asia. The army of Cambyses was, therefore, composed of the best troops of the age. It must have 'cast gloom on the prospects of Egypt, to remem- ber that in every contest that had occurred between the armies of Egypt and those of the east, for several centuries, the former had invariably been worsted. The case of Sennacherib cannot be regarded as an exception, because in that instance there was no con- flict, and the ruin of the Assyrians was confessedly miraculous. The great difficulty which the Persian monarch had to encoun- ter was, to cross the desert from Palestine to Egypt. Here was a distance of about one hundred geographical miles in which no vege- tation or water fit for drinking was to be found. If the land-marks had been removed from this desert, and no aid been afforded by neighbouring nations, it would have been a serious obstacle to the advance of an invading army. But all this advantage to Egypt was neutralized by the treachery of a Greek officer in the Egyptian ser- vice. Before the death of Amasis, that king had ofiended Phanes of Halicarnassus, one of the commanders of the mercenary troops. This person, knowing that Cambyses was preparing to invade Egypt, fled from his post, and, though hotly pursued and placed in great danger, he succeeded in reaching the Persian court, where, by the aid and information he afforded, Cambyses succeeded in placing his army in great strength before Pelusium. It is said by an ancient author, that the Persians captured this key to Egypt by practising on the superstition of the Egyptians. Knowing in what veneration they held cats, dogs, sheep, and other animals, the Persian king collected a great number of these crea- tures, and drove them in the front of the army, as they proceeded to assault the city. The Egyptians, not daring to endanger the life of beings which they adored, allowed them to advance unopposed, so that Cambyses took the place without loss. Soon after this event the Egyptian king appeared at the head of his army ; the Persians marched out to meet him; the fate of Egypt trembled in the bal- ance. Before the battle began, the Greek mercenaries, to show their detestation of the treachery of Phanes, brought his children into the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 103 front of the army, cut their throats, drank their blood, and then proceeded to the conflict. A singular omen is said to have portended ill to the cause of Egypt, just before this struggle took place. Rain fell at Thebes, — a prodigy never known to have happened but in that single instance. The battle was long and desperate : but Persia triumphed, and Cam- byses pursued the wreck of the Egyptian army to Memphis. De- sirous of avoiding further slaughter, he sent a Mityienian vessel to Memphis to treat with the Egyptian authorities. But, enraged be- yond measure at their defeat, the Egyptians no sooner saw the vessel approach, than they assailed it, and slaughtered all on board, being two hundred persons, Memphis was at once invested: it held out for a while, but was compelled to submit to the conqueror. 0am- byses took a terrible revenge for the death of his crew, by causing ten times as many of the noble youths of Memphis, including the eldest son of the king, to be put to death. From Memphis Cam- byses went to Sais, where he disgraced himself and outraged the feelings of both Egyptians and Persians, by treating the mummy of Amasls with every indignity, and afterward burning it with fire. With the taking of Memphis the authority of Cambyses was estab- lished over Egypt, and the reign of Psammenitus terminated, having lasted but six months. Libya and Gyrene bowed to the conqueror without a struggle, sent gifts, and submitted to tribute. The ambition of the proud Persian, however, extended beyond, — to Ethiopia in the south, and Carthage in the west. The first he endeavoured to reach; but the inter- vening desert defeated his purpose. After having decimated his army, in order to support the living on the flesh of their dead com- rades, he was forced to retreat. Carthage was accessible only by sea; and as he could not induce the Phenicians to act against their own colony, and had no suSScient means of transporting his army independently of them, he was obliged to abandon his project. TWENTY-SEVENTH DYNASTY : EIQHT PERSIAN KINGS. Years. Montlis. 1. Oamtyses (who in the fifth year of his reign in Persia he- came Icing of Egypt) reigned 6 2. Darius (son of Hystaspes) 36 3. Xerxes the Great 21 4. Artahanus 7 5. Artaxerxes 41 6. Xerxes 2 7. Sogdianus 7 8. Darius (son of Xerxes) 19 Duration of the dynasty 124 4 104 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Much trifling conjecture has been employed to explain the cause of the Persian irruption into Egypt: but this is unnecessary. When all western Asia had been subdued, the invasion of an old and wealthy kingdom like Egypt followed as a matter of course. It will be necessary here to regard therwhole time of this dynasty as one reign. The succession of the several sovereigns, and their history, will be narrated in the chapter devoted to Persia. As far as our information goes, Cambyses, on obtaining possession of Egypt, behaved toward the people with great moderation and for- bearance The slaughter of the two thousand, in reprisal for the mur- der of the crew of the Mitylenian vessel, must ever be regarded as an act of monstrous cruelty and injustice. But this was not the deed of Cambyses : Herodotus is careful to inform us that it was the deliberate decision of " the king's counsellors." But, after the proud Persian had been compelled to abandon his attempt on Ethiopia, and had suffered the loss of fifty thousand men ivhom he had despatched to burn the temple of Ammonium, he returned to Memphis filled with grief and rage. On the pretence of his having stirred up the Egyp- tians to revolt, (which he might possibly have done in consequence of these disasters,) Psammenitus was put to death ; and the magis- trates of Memphis suffered in all probability in a similar way. On the return of Cambyses to that city, he found the people engaged in public rejoicings, upon which he immediately summoned the magis- trates before him, and demanded the cause : they told him that their god Apis had appeared to them, as was his custom to do ; and that when this happened, the Egyptians always held a festival. The king, however, persisted in regarding these manifestations as connected with the defeat of his attempt on Ethiopia, and accordingly con- demned the magistrates to death. Unsatisfied with this vengeance, he sent for the priests ; and as they gave him the same account, he insisted on seeing the god, and ordered Apis to be brought. When he saw the young steer with some strange marks on his body, he reviled their superstition ; ordered the priests to be scourged, with every Egyptian who had participated in the festivities ; and, drawing a short sword, he aimed a blow at the belly of Apis, but struck him on the thigh. Herodotus regards the conduct of the Persian king as proving his insanity : but it is more probable that he was afflicted with epilepsy, which rendered him irritable, and incapable, at certain times, of self-control. Cambyses reigned over Egypt six years. No memorial is found of him in any temple; but his shield is seen on the road to Cosseir, near the Red Sea. Under Darius, who bent the energies of his vigorous mind to con- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 105 solidate and govern the great empire which his predecessors had by their military genius and energy won, Egypt was made one of the twenty satrapies into which the Medo-Persian dominions were divided. This satrapy included, besides Egypt Proper, Libya, as far as Cyrene, the Oases of the Libyan Desert, and the country be- tween the Nile and the Red Sea. Aryandes, who had been left governor of Egypt by Cambyses, was made the first satrap ; and, when Darius introduced the gold daric into this kingdom, he sup- plied a silver coinage to Egypt. His government was, however, so disagreeable to the Egyptians, that when Darius visited Egypt, he conciliated the people by offering a reward for the discovery of Apis, whose place was then vacant, and ordered Aryandes to be put to death. Darius is the only Persian king whose name is accom- panied by a titular shield, and whose phonetic shield bears the Pharaonic crest of the vulpanser and disk, "Son of the Sun." Neither his, nor that of any other Persian king, is found on a public monument within the limits of Egypt. Darius is supposed at this time to have obtained possession of the Great Oasis and of the Oasis of Sirvah, the temples in both bearing his inscriptions. He also resumed the excavation of the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea;- and although he did not complete the underaking, he left a very small space unaccom- . plished. It is said that he was deterred from finishing the work by the discovery that the level of the Red Sea was higher than Lower Egypt. We know little of the history of Egypt at this period : the pro- jected invasion of Greece by the Persians seems to have fully occu- pied the mind of Greek historians ; but it is certain that these events had a most important influence on Egypt. In 490 B. C. the Persian army was defeated at Marathon ; and this decisive blow so encour- aged the patriots in Egypt, that in 486 the whole country was in open revolt against the authority of Persia. We do not know who led this movement, nor what kind of government was established during the time that the dominion of Persia was in abeyance ; but the interval of independence was short. In two years after this revolt Xerxes marched his army into Egypt, and, with scarcely a struggle, reduced it to entire submission, and left his brother Achsemenes satrap of the country. In consequence of this success, two hundred Egyptian vessels were engaged on the side of the Persian king in his attack on Greece. Nothing further is known of the internal history of Egypt, untU the death of Xerxes, which took place 465 B. C. Artaxerxes, having ascended the throne, found the empire in a 106 THE GENTILE NATIONS. state of great disorder and weakness, from the effects of the Greek campaigns. While he was engaged in repairing this disorder, and punishing revolted satraps, a gleam of hope was cast on the destiny of Egypt. At this time Inaros, a son of Psammitichus, probably a descendant of the Saitic princes, had obtained the sovereignty of that part of Libya which bordered on Egypt ; and, encouraged by the difficulties which surrounded the king of Persia, he raised an army, crossed the frontier, and entered Egypt. He was immediately received as the deliverer of the country, and almost all the power of Egypt flocked to his standard. The Persian executive and tax- gatherers were immediately expelled, and the whole country sub- mitted to Inaros. But this chief, well aware that he could not long maintain himself in this authority, unless able to resist all the power of Persia, lost no time in soliciting aid from Athens ; and this power, hailing the opportunity with joy, sent him forty vessels with. 3, force of about six thousand men. In the mean time Artaxerxes had employed all the resources of his empire to collect a fleet and an army, for the purpose of establish- ing his authority in the west. He intended to commence his opera- tions by the reduction of Egypt, and to command the army in person. His friends, however, advised him to give the command to Achse- . menes, who had returned to Persia in consequence of the revolt. The king consented, and the satrap, at the head of his army, speedily entered Egypt. Inaros, fully acquainted with the ground, and anxious to avail himself to the utmost of his resources, retired to the western frontier, where he had not only the Egyptian forces and Athenian auxiliaries, but also the strength of Libya, congregated to meet the enemy. Here a great battle was fought, in which the Persians were defeated mainly by the prowess of the Greek troops, and Achsemenes fell by the hand of Inaros. Immediately after this defeat the Persians retired to Memphis, whither they were followed and besieged by Inaros. He was, however, unable to reduce the citadel ; and while he was thus occupied, another Persian army was equipped and sent into Egypt under the command of Megabyzus. This completely altered the aspect of affairs. The siege of Memphis was raised ; the Greeks were compelled to burn their vessels and retire to Cyrene ; Inaros and many others were taken prisoners, and carried to Susa, where the gallant chief was crucified five years afterward at the instigation of the mother of Achyeuienes. By these means the greater part of Egypt was again brought under the dominion of Persia. The low and marshy lands about the mouths of the Nile, inhabited by a warlike population which had frequently been brought THE GENTILE NATIONS. 107 into contact with the Greeks, alone maintained their independence. Here Amyrtseus, who was descended from the Saitic dynasty, ruled in defiance of all foreign opposition. Egypt was in this condition when Herodotus, the Greek historian, visited the country. It was then in a state of peace, and the Greek traveller passed in safety from the sea to the limits of Ethiopia. The frontier-towns and Memphis were occupied by Persian troops ; but the worship in the temples went on as usual. Greeks were found in all the principal towns actively employed in commerce, and min- gling freely with the Egyptians, notwithstanding the barrier which difference in manners and religion interposed between them. It is evident, however, that this subjection to Persia, although compara- tively light, was very repugnant to public feeling in Egypt ; so that, as soon as opportunity offered, it was ready to throw off the yoke. The situation of the country contributed to encourage such an effort. Far removed from the centre of government, and connected with the rest of the empire only at a single point, whatever disturbed the peace, or threatened the power of the dominant state, held out hopes to Egypt of recovering that political independence which she had maintained for many centuries. The death of Artaxerxes afforded such an opportunity. During the disputes and murders connected with the succession, there were some commotions in Egypt. These, however, led to no serious attempt to restore the national independ- ence, until the second year of Darius, and even then it was either partially suppressed, or kept in check for eight years : for it was not until the tenth year of Darius Nothus, that the Persian rule was broken, and Egyptian independence secured. TWENTY-EIGHTH DYNASTY. Ycnrs. Amyrtseus the'Saite reigned 6 It has been supposed that this sovereign is identical with the Amyrtseus who, when Inaros was defeated, and Egypt subdued by Megabyzus, established himself in the marshes of the Delta, and still maintained his independence. But the similarity of the name is insufficient to establish this identity, especially when it is considered that more than forty years elapsed between that event and the com- mencement of the Twenty-eighth dynasty. In all probability Ken- rick's conjecture is just : that this Amyrtseus was grandson of the former, and son of Pausiris, who is said to have succeeded his father in his independent sovereignty. We have scarcely any information from ancient authors respecting this reign, except that it is known that Amyrtseus maintained friendly relations with Athens, and entered into an alliance with the Arabians, 108 THE a ENTILE NATIONS. in order to strengthen himself against any aggression on the part of Persia. The monuments, however, bear testimony to the works of this sovereign. In the temple of Chons at Karnak is an inscription, stating that it had been repaired by him, — the first notice of the kind since Thebes was destroyed by Cambyses. There is a similar record in a temple dedicated to Sevek in Bilithyia : and Mr. Kenrick states that the sarcophagus in the British Museum, which Dr. Edward Daniel Clarke believed to have been that of Alexander the Great, was made for this monarch, and bears his shield. TWEIfTT-iriNTH DYNASTY : FOUR MENDESIAN KllfOS. Years. Montlui. 1. Nepterites reigned 6 2. Achoris 13 3. Fsammuthis 1 4. Neplierites 4 Duration of the dynasty 20 4 It seems at first sight strange that the Saite dynasty should close, and a new one be established on the throne of Egypt, without an effort on the part of Persia to reduce it again to subjection. The circumstances of the imperial government, however, explain the case. Just at this time the Modes revolted : soon afterward Darius Nothus died; and Cyrus, with the aid of the famous " Ten Thousand" Greeks, endeavoured to wrest the throne from his elder brother. Persia was, in consequence, in no condition to carry her arms into Egypt. The name of the first sovereign of this dynasty is not found on any building in Egypt, but is inscribed on a statue in the Museum at Bologna. He sent substantial aid to the Lacedaemonians, when they were engaged in resisting the Persian arms in Asia Minor ; but it happened to fall into the hands of the enemy. After the death of Nepherites, Evagoras of Salamis solicited the aid of Achoris against Persia, and obtained supplies of corn, and fifty vessels. The name of this Pharaoh is found at Medinet-Abou, and among the ruins of Karnak. The quarries of Mokatlam also contain his shield ; and there is a sphinx in the Museum of Paris, on the base of which his name is found hieroglyphically written, with the addition, " the beloved of Kneph." Of the short reign of Psammuthis there are no records ; but his sliield has been found at Karnak. THIRTIETH DYNASTY : THREE SEBENNYTIC KINGS. 1. Nectanebus reigned 18 2. Tecs .,.. 2 3. Nectanebus 18 The dynasty lasted „ 38 yeai'S. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 109 There is considerable difficulty in fixing with precision the chro- nology of these reigns. It seems a settled point, that the Saite dynasty terminated B. C. 408. The lists give but twenty years and four months for the twenty-ninth dynasty ; and yet there are many reasons for placing the accession of the thirtieth dynasty B. 0. 380, instead of 388 or 387 B. C. One of the most important of these reasons is the circumstance, which has been strongly urged, that Nectanebus II. was only in the eleventh year of his reign when Ochus, B. C. 350, expelled him from the kingdom, and again subdued Egypt to the dominion of Persia. Yet it is not easy to reconcile this with the fact, that all the lists state the reign of the last of the Pharaohs to be eighteen years : and as, throughout, the authority of the ancient records has been admitted, so here I have adopted them as the safest guides. The first event of consequence in the history of Egypt under this dynasty which meets our notice, is a Persian invasion of a most formidable character : the more so, because the oriental troops, were strongly'supported by an army of Greeks under Iphicrates. The Persian commander was Pharnabazus. With means quite sufficient to subdue the whole country, this expedition was rendered perfectly useless by the jealousy and suspicion which existed between the two generals. The name of Nectanebus is found at Philse on a temple dedicated to Athor; and also at Medinet-Abou in a small building of elegant workmanship, in which he appears presenting offerings to Amun Ee and the other Theban deities. The thirteenth year of this king is mentioned on a stele preserved at Rome. Teos, or, as he was named by the Greeks, Tachos, was the next sovereign. He had scarcely assumed the reins of government, when he was alarmed by the menacing attitude assumed by the court of Persia. He immediately applied to Sparta for assistance ; and Age- silaus, willing to assist a nation friendly to the Lacedsemonians, went himself to Egypt with a strong force of Greek auxiliaries. It ap- pears that the Egyptian king, having heard much of the fame of the Spartan warrior, was greatly surprised to see him a feeble and diminutive old man. He therefore refused to fulfil the intimation which had been given, by placing him in command of the army; but allowed him only the direction of the Greek force, while he put the fleet under the orders of Ghabrias the Athenian. Nor was this the only instance in which the famed Spartan found himself griev- ously disappointed in the prosecution of this enterprise. Tachos, in raising funds for the war, as well as in the appointment of his officers, appears to have been guided by the advice of the sage Athe- 110 THE GENTILE NATIONS. nian. But this proved fatal to Ms cause. While his military policy rendered the Spartan his enemy, his financial measures were not only generally unpopular in Egypt, but peculiarly obnoxious to the priesthood. The Egyptian armament had, in consequence, scarcely commenced operations in Phenicia and Syria, before Nectanebus, nephew of the king, who commanded a section of the army, — ad- vised by his father, who held an important post in Egypt,— revolted; and, being joined by Agesilaus and the Greek troops, compelled Tachos to fly to Sidon. The insurgents then defeated Mendasius, who had been named as heir to Tachos, and secured possession of the throne. Tachos, after having been thus driven into exile, repaired to the palace of the Persian monarch, where he was well received ; and, having counselled a Persian invasion of Egypt, shortly after died. Nectanebus XL, having usurped the throne of his uncle, adminis- tered the affairs of the kingdom with considerable ability and suc- cess. Artaxerxes died in the ninth year of Nectanebus, and was succeeded by his son Darius Ochus. This prince was at once cruel and unwarlike. At first he gave way to indolence, and directed several attacks to be made, on Egypt, which were always easily repelled ; until, at last, roused by the ridicule which these failures excited, and especially by the defection of the rulers of Cyprus and Phenicia, who, in consequence of his sloth, had despised his power and revolted, he prepared himself for action, and marched, at the head of a formidable force, into Western Asia. He commenced his operations by reducing Cyprus and Phenicia ; after which, having added to his army ten thousand Thebans. Ar- gives, and Asiatic Greeks, he proceeded toward Egypt. In passing the desert, he sustained a serious loss of troops in the quicksands ; hut he succeeded in reaching Pelusium with a powerful army. Nectanebus had made every possible provision for the defence of his kingdom, and the first operations of the war were conducted on both sides with great spirit. It appears, however, that the Greek auxiliaries in the service of Persia managed to out-general the Egyptian king, and establish themselves in force in the rear of his position. This forced Nectanebus to retire to Memphis, — a meas- ure which compelled the garrison of Pelusium to surrender, and led to the subjugation of the whole country. For Ochus, having be- haved with great moderation to the Egyptians who had fallen into his power, and having punished with death some Persian soldiers who had attempted to spoil the garrison of Pelusium, contrary to the articles of capitulation, produced an impression that those who submitted first would be treated best. The people, therefore, THE GENTILE NATIONS. Ill eagerly received him; and Nectanebus was compelled to fly into Ethiopia. Thus was Egypt again completely reduced, and made a province of the Persian empire, B. C. 350. THIKTY-FIK8T DYNASTY : PEESIAH KINGS. Yearn. 1. Darius Ochus reigned 12 2. Arses 2 3. Darius Codomannus i The fair promise of leniency and conciliation which the conduct of Ochus gave to Egypt during the war, completely vanished when his power was established over that kingdom. He not only imitated the outrages of Cambyses, but greatly excelled him in wanton cruelty. He caused Apis to be killed, dressed, and served up to a banquet, he and his friends feasting on his flesh. He commanded an ass to receive the honours due to the god. He spoiled the temples, taking away gold, silver, and sacred records. The latter were, indeed, restored, but only after extorting a large sum from the priests as the price of their redemption. The walls of the principal towns were razed, to prevent their being formidable in future. Wanton injustice, murders, profanations of sacred rites, and continual perse- cutions characterized his government ; and thus Egypt groaned in affliction until he retired from the country. To show their abhor- rence of his memory, the Egyptians substituted for his name, in their catalogue of kings, the figure of a sword, as the emblem of destruction. Nothing is known of the internal government of Egypt from the departure of Ochus to the invasion of Alexander. The severe character of the administration may, however, be inferred from the fact, that the Macedonian conqueror was hailed with great joy by the. people of that country. THIKTY-SEOOND DYNASTY: MACEDONIANS, Yctira. B. C. Alexander reigned 332 Philip Aridaeus I ci i „ ( 6 323 , , . , n , ( "tolemy governor J Alexander (sou of the Great) ) "^ * I 6 317 Duration of the dynasty 21 years. Alexander, having established his power in Egypt, had to leave it, for the purpose of prosecuting his gigantic schemes of foreign conquest. But, prior to doing this, he planned the building of a new city on the sea-coast, to be called after his own name, Alexan- dria. He made Cleoraenes general overseer of this great work, and Dinocrates — who had become famous by rebuilding the temple of Diana at Ephesus, after it had been burned down by Eratostratus — architect of the buildings. He also settled the government on a 112 THE' GENTILE NATIONS. plan as original as might be expected from his genius. Wishing that the land might be governed by its own established laws and customs, he appointed Doloaspes, an Egyptian, the civil governor" of the whole country. But, not wishing to intrust him, or any other individual, with all the military power of such an important king- dom, he divided it into districts, and placed the military force of each in the hands of a separate lieutenant. These were all inde- pendent of each other ; and their power was limited to the several sections over which they were called to preside. Egypt was gov- erned in this manner during the life of Alexander. On his death his four principal generals agreed to place his natural brother Aridaeus on the throne under the name of " Philip," — at the same time appoint- ing themselves to the government of four great divisions of the em- pire, which they were to rule in the name of the new king. Under this arrangement, Ptolemy obtained Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Palestine, and Coele- Syria, and fixed the seat of his government in Egypt. Throughout the remainder of this period incessant plots and coun- ter-plots, wars, treasons, and murders, preva.lled. In all of these, how- ever, Ptolemy maintained his ground in Egypt. From the first, he aimed at ruling with justice and moderation, and adopted such measures as not only endeared him to the Egyptians, but induced many of the Greeks to go and reside in Egypt. But this anoma- lous state of things could not continue long. In 317 B. C, Olym- pias, the mother of Alexander, having returned to Macedonia, and got the principal power into her hands, caused Aridaeus and his wife to be put to death. The youthful Alexander, the son of Roxana, was now called " king," and continued to bear that title until 311 B.C., when Cassander, who had for a long time shut him and his mother up in prison, had them both privately murdered. Thus was termin- ated even the nominal rule of the family of the great Macedonian. THIKTT-THIED DTNASTT : THE PTOLEMIES. Years. Began B. C, Lagus or Soter reigned 27 311 Philadelphus 38 284 Euergetes '25 2i6 PMlopator 17 221 Bpiphanes 24 204 Philometer 35 ISO Euergetes II 29 145 Soter II 10 116 Alexander I. (Soter deposed) 18 106 Soter n. restored 7 88 Berenice 6 months. 81 Alexander II.....^ 15 80 Neus Dionysus 14 65 Ptolemy the Elder 4 51 Ptolemy the Younger 3 47 Cleopatra 14 44 Egypt a Boman province 30 30 THE GENTILE NATIONS. 113 As the reader has heen already informed, Ptolemy ruled Egypt from the date of the death of Alexander the Great, although he did not assume the royal style and title until B. C. 305. For some years indeed after the death of the younger Alexander, there were inces- sant wars between those generals who had divided the empire among them. In the course of these conflicts Antigonus had wrested Phenicia, Judea, and Syria from Ptolemy; while Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, succeeded in subduing the Island of Cyprus, not- withstanding the utmost efforts of Ptolemy to retain it. But the restless ambition of Antigonus compelled the other generals to form a combination against him ; in consequence of which a great battle was fought, near Issus, a city in Phrygia, B. C. 301, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius compelled to fly at the head of only five thousand men. This confirmed Ptolemy in his government, and enabled him to consolidate his power, and devote his energies to the internal improvement of his kingdom. In these efforts he displayed great moderation and practical wisdom. Notwithstanding his intense partiality for Greek manners, he did not attempt to Hellenize Egypt. On the contrary, he revived, as far as altered circumstances would allow, its ancient religion and form of government. He restored the priesthood to a large portion of their pristine power and privilege ; renewed the division (ff the country into nomes ; declared Memphis, although not the usual resi- dence of the sovereign, the capital of the country ; and its temple of Pthah the national sanctuary, where alone the kings could receive the crown. These prudent measures were accompanied by a wise and liberal scheme of commercial policy. Under its fostering influence Alex- andria rose into great power and prosperity. Merchants from all the neighbouring nations traded thither. Nor did Ptolemy, in his martial, civil, and commercial cares and plans, overlook the higher and more elevating pursuits of learning and philosophy. He plan- ned or erected a splendid museum, or college of philosophy, and supported its professors and teachers from the public funds. These measures were too grand in their scope and character to produce much immediate benefit ; but the basis was laid for future prosperity : a seed was sown which produced fruit through succeeding centuries. Another element which contributed in no insignificant degree to the welfare of Egypt was the large infiux of Jews who were introduced into the kingdom. This importation was begun in the early part of his government. Enraged that the Jews, who had sworn allegiance to Laomedon, afterward refused to submit to himself, Ptolemy assaulted Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day, and carried away nearly 8 114 THE GENTILE NATIONS. one hundred thousand of the inhabitants into Egypt. (Hebrew People, p. 411.) But afterward, considering that the fidelity of this people ought to have entitled them to his respect, he treated them kindly, and trusted several important posts to their Keeping, and allowed them the same privileges as they had enjoyed under Alex- ander. By these means many of this nation were induced to go voluntarily and settle in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt, where their industry and talents made them an important portion of the community. By this means the worship of the true God, and a large amount of revealed truth were placed prominently before the Egyptian people. Another most valuable result of the establishment of a Greek sovereignty in Egypt, was the impulse which real learning and sound philosophy thereby received. With a sovereign, Greece gave Egypt her literature. The far-famed wisdom of Egypt had long before this become obsolete, and exhibited at best a kind of mummy- existence, — a lifeless resemblance of its former glory. But the patronage which Ptolemy gave to philosophy and art, opened up one of the greatest revivals of science and learning which the world has seen. By a remarkable coincidence, Egypt, although but the shadow of her former self, contributed most essentially to this important result. While Greece gave her learning, Egypt presented in return the pajjyrus, — a boon at that day only inferior, as a means of communicating knowledge, to the invention of printing. Before this time books had been written on linen, wax, or the bark of trees ; and public records on stone, brass, or lead. But the papyrus afforded a medium so much more convenient and cheap, that it gave an immense impetus to learning, so that many persons then possessed books who had never previously seen them. Even in Greece and Rome this sub- stance was almost exclusively used, as long as it could be pro- cured. Under these influences Egypt arose into new life and vigour, and again assumed a most important position among the independent nations of the world. Ptolemy had married Eurydice, the daughter of Antipater, and had by her his eldest son Ptolemy Ceraunus. But, having been greatly fascinated with Berenice, who came into Egypt as a companion to Eurydice, he married her also, and was ever after so much under her influence, that, in order efiFectually to exclude his eldest son from succeeding to the throne, he associated Ptolemy Philadelphus, the son of Berenice, with him in the govern- ment during his lifetime. During the year of their joint rule, the famous watchtower, or light-house, of Pharos was finished. It was a large square building of white marble, on the top of which fires THE GENTILE NATIONS. 115 were kept burning, as a guide to shipping entering the port of Alexandria. Ptolemy Philadelphus succeeded to the undivided dominion of Egypt, B. 0. 284, on the death of his father. Under his govern- ment Egypt attained the summit of power and fame. Here com- merce was unrivalled; learning acquired an influence and honour unknown in any other nation of the day. The Museum of Philoso- phy and the Royal Library would have been the glory of any age or nation. Euclid, Conon, and Hipparchus had imparted to the schools all the weight of their great character. Manetho, the great Egyptian historian, wrote at this period; while Aristarchus, as a critic, and Apollonius Rhodius, as a poet, adorned and strengthened this galaxy of science. But perhaps one of the greatest achievements of this age was the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, at the instance of the sovereign. Thus the inspired books became patent to the world, and all the glorious truths of Old-Testament revelation were placed in the hands of the learned. No other language could at that time have obtained such currency for the sacred volume as the Greek. It is a singular and significant fact, that just at the time when this Ptolemy was securing a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, he was also engaged in the removal of the idol Serapis from Pontus to Egypt. For this image a most magnificent temple was erected in one of the suburbs of Alexandria. Here, too, was deposited that famous library which grew to be one of the most extensive collec- tions of writings which the world ever witnessed. Under Ptolemy Philadelphus, Egypt became the first maritime and commercial power of the age, and was scarcely second to any in military strength. By building a city on the western bank of the Red Sea, and another, named after his mother Berenice, almost on the frontiers of Ethiopia, he succeeded in engrossing all that trade which had successively enriched Judea and Phenicia. Like these nations, also, he added to this maritime traffic the overland caravan- trade with Arabia and the East. This monarch, having heard that the Romans had succeeded, after a struggle of six years, in driving Pyrrhus, King of Bpirus, out of Italy, sent ambassadors to Rome, congratulating the senate on their success. This being the first time that any Egyptians had appeared in Rome, and the Romans being flattered by the attention of a nation so celebrated as Egypt, they sent ambassadors in return, and thus established friendly relations between the two countries. It seems probable that this may have had considerable influence on 116 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the destiny of the rising republic. For when, twenty years after- ward, the Carthaginians sent to request Ptolemy to lend them two thousand talents, to aid them in their war with Rome, the king of Egypt replied, " I will assist you against enemies or indifferent per- sons ; but cannot, without a breach of fidelity, lend one friend any aid against another.'' The tranquillity of the country was for a while disturbed during this reign by Magus, the king's half-brother, to whom he had intrusted the government of Libya and Gyrene. But Ptolemy repelled the aggres- sion, and defeated all his efforts, and was ultimately reconciled to him. This prince died B. 0. 246, having reigned thirty-eight years. Ptolemy Buergetes succeeded his father. He was scarcely seated on the throne when he was drawn into a war with Seleucus Callini- cus, King of Syria, in consequence of the murder of Berenice, sister of Ptolemy, who had been a wife to the father of Seleucus. Having collected a numerous army, Ptolemy crossed the desert ; but instead of directing his march immediately to Syria, as might be expected from the peculiar cause of the war, he overran Palestine, Babylonia, Persia, and the rich provinces of Upper Asia, and came back laden with an enormous amount of spoils. On his return he attacked Seleucus, defeated him with great slaughter, and compelled him to take refuge in Antioch. The Egyptian army then returned home, having gained immense booty, but no real addition of territory, by the war. Not only was the wealth thus acquired prodigious, but we hear on this occasion, and, I think, for the first time, of works of art and virtu being carried off by the conqueror. Ptolemy, we are told, brought back with him two thousand five hundred pictures and statues, among which were many of the Egyptian idols which Cam- byses had taken from Egypt. This greatly pleased the Egyptians, and they in consequence gave Ptolemy the name of Euergetes, "the Beneficent." Having concluded this war, and made peace with the king of Syria, Euergetes devoted himself to the promotion of learning, and the completion of his father's object in the formation of a national library. With this design he sent learned men into distant coun- tries, to purchase at any price such books as they thought desirable ; and thus he greatly added to the literary treasures previously col- lected. Upon the death of Zenodotus, who had been librarian from the time of Ptolemy Soter, Euergetes invited from Athens Eratos- thenes, a learned Cyrenian, to take this duty on him, — a trust which he discharged with honour to himself and great benefit to the insti- tution. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 117 Toward the close of his reign, Ptolemy Euergetes again directed his attention to martial pursuits ; and having led an army southward, he made himself master of both sides of the Red Sea, as far as the straits which connect it with the ocean. Having perfectly succeeded in his object, he found on his return to Egypt, that Cleomenes, King of Sparta, was involved in a Grecian war. At first Ptolemy felt dis- posed to aid the Achseans ; but taking oifence at their application to Antigonus, King of Macedon, he sent considerable support to Cleo- menes. Notwithstanding this aid, the Spartan king was completely defeated in the battle of Salasia, and compelled to take refuge in Egypt, where Ptolemy allowed him a yearly stipend of twenty-four talents, and promised, as soon as an opportunity offered, to assist him to recover his throne. But before any favourable occasion pre- sented itself, Ptolemy died, and left the government to his son. During this reign Egypt was restored to the zenith of prosperity. Her power secured the respect of every other nation ; her civiliza- •tion equalled, if not exceeded, that of all surrounding countries ; while her commerce, far beyond that of all her contemporaries, filled the public treasury with wealth, and diffused plenty and contentment throughout the country. In looking back on the state of E^ypt in those times, it seems as if, under the first three Ptolemies, it had arisen from the prostration of ages into an intelligence and power equal to that possessed by any nation of the day. But, alas ! this exaltation was very short-lived. With Ptolemy Euergetes the sun of Egyptian prosperity sank from its meridian altitude, and began to verge toward decline. The authors of the " Universal History " say of him, " He was the last of his race in whom any virtue, humanity, or moderation appeared." Though we are hardly dis- posed to adopt this language, it may safely be said that in scarcely any other instance do we see such striking results flow to a country from the individual character of its sovereigns. Here is a nation rescued from a chaos of confusion, — political, commercial, general ; for this was the condition of Egypt when conquered by Alexander. Yet under three successive rulers it rises into a proud preeminence in all respects over every neighbouring country. Again we look ; and under the descendants of these kings the same land, without any external or other prominent cause, is seen reduced once more to weakness, confusion, and subjection. This circumstance will render the further account of its history more brief than might otherwise be expected. Ptolemy, called Philopator, " a Lover of his Father," ascended the throne B. 0. 221. He was a weak and wicked prince, and ren- dered his government odious and mischievous by resigning himself 118 THE GENTILE NATIONS. generally to the direction of unworthy favourites. By the instigation of his minister, Sosibius, he caused his brother Magus to be mur- dered, lest he might endeavour to secure the kingdom to himself. The death of Cleomenes, the exiled King of Sparta, who had been protected and provided for by the preceding king, soon followed. Antiochus the Great, who at this time ruled in Syria, perceiving the disorder and licentiousness which prevailed in the court of Egypt, thought it a favourable time to declare war against that country. Ptolemy, who seems not to have lacked courage, roused himself to the emergency, collected a great army, and proceeded to meet the enemy. In the beginning of the war, Antiochus obtained some advantages over the Egyptian troops : but shortly after, in a great battle fought at Raphia, near Gaza, he was completely defeated, with great loss ; and Ptolemy obtained a large extension of influence in Palestine and Syria. Humbled by this defeat, and alarmed at the progress of Achseus in Asia Minor, Antiochus was anxious to make peace with Ptolemy ; and the Egyptian king, although he had every inducement to prosecute the war, being equally anxious to return to his licentious pleasures, was ready to receive his overtures. A peace was in consequence concluded, by which Coele- Syria and Palestine were confirmed as belonging to Egypt. This being done, Ptolemy went to Jerusalem, where he was well received, and treated the inhabitants kindly, until, having made a fruitless attempt to enter the inner sanctuary, (Hebrew People, p. 414,) he retired from the city threatening the whole nation of the Jews with extermination. It does not appear that he dared to assail the sacred city ; but, on returning to Egypt, he published a decree, which he caused to be engraved on a pillar erected at the gate of his palace, excluding all who did not sacrifice to the gods whom he worshipped. By this means the Jews were virtually outlawed, being prevented from suing to him for justice, or from claiming his protection. But this was not the extent of his infliction. By another decree he reduced them from the first rank of citizens — to which they had been raised by the favour of Alexander — to the third rank. They were in consequence degraded so far as to be enrolled among the common people of Egypt. When commanded to appear for this enrolment, they were ordered to have an ivy-leaf the badge of Bacchus, branded on their faces ; those thus marked were consigned to slavery. Yet, notwithstanding the offering of sacrifice to the heathen gods presented a ready ex- emption from these dreadful penalties, but very few, out of many thousands of Jews, were induced thus to apostatize. The resolute firmness of the people in resisting the king's will being construed into factious obstmacy, he determined to destroy them altogether. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 119 All the Jews in Egypt were in consequence collected and shut up together within the hippodrome, with a view to their execution. Five hundred elephants were drawn up to execute the king's wrath. Meantime the persecuted Hebrews betook themselves to earnest pi'ayer ; and we are told that when these animals were let loose, in- stead of slaughtering the Jews, they turned upon the soldiers and spectators, and destroyed great numbers of them. This circum- stance induced the king to forego his purpose, and to restore the Hebrews to all the dignity and privilege which they before en- joyed. During this reign the Romans, being again at war with Carthage, sent ambassadors to Egypt, to renew their ancient friendship, who brought magnificent presents to Ptolemy and his queen. At the death of Philopator, B. C. 204, Ptolemy Epiphanes, being then a child of five years old, ascended the throne. In the early part of his reign another Roman embassy visited Egypt, when the king's counsellors took the opportunity of placing the young prince under the guardianship of the powerful republic. The senate of Rome accepted the charge, and sent Marcus Lepidus to act as guardian, — a trust which, after a short stay in Egypt, he conferred upon Aristomenes, an Acarnanian, who discharged the duties of this important office with inte^ity and ability for several years, until the king had attained the age of fourteen, when, according to the usage of the country, he was entitled to take the administration of the kingdom into his own hands. The folly of investing a person so young with absolute power was in this instance made fully apparent. The youth, who had been universally popular while under the direc- tion of Aristomenes, was no sooner enthroned than he placed him- self under the influence of worthless men, by whose advice he was led to the adoption of measures through which great disorders were introduced into every branch of the governiuent ; and at length his former able and honest minister was put to death. Epiphanes married Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus the Great. This marriage appears to have taken place when the young king was but about seventeen years old. It is generally supposed that he was taken off by poison, administered by his nobles, to prevent him from entering on a war with Syria, to which he had committed himself, when the national finances were so low that they feared they should have to contribute largely toward the expenses of the contest. He left two sons, Philometer and Physcon ; and a daughter, Cleopatra, who was successively married to her two brothers. Philometer, the elder of the two sons, then but six years old, was placed on the throne under the guardianship of his mother, Cleopatra, 120 THE GENTILE NATIONS. who for eight years conducted the afFaira of the kingdom with great judgment and success. After her death, Lannseus, a nobleman of distinction, and Eulseus, a eunuch, were charged with the govern- ment of the country. One of their earliest measures was to insist on the restoration of Ccele- Syria and Palestine to Egypt, — these provinces having been wrested from the dominion of Egypt by Antiochus the Great. This demand led to a violent contest, which tended more than any preceding event to demonstrate the rapid decline of Egyptian power, and the rising sway of Rome. The Syrian army, under the command of Antiochus Epiphanes, prosecuted the war with such vigour and success that it penetrated to the walls of Alexandria, and actually secured the person of the Egyptian king. Whether he was taken in war, or placed himself willingly in the hands of the Syrian king, does not clearly appear. But, however this may be, the Syrian monarch gained little by his acquisition. For, although he induced Philometer to enter into a treaty with him, this was instantly disallowed by the nation, who, regarding a sovereign in the power of an enemy as lost to his coun- try, immediately raised Physcon, the king's brother, to the throne. This led to a second Syrian invasion, which resulted in the expulsion of Physcon; Antiochus restoring Philometer to the government, but retaining Pelusium, the key to thfe country, in the possession of Syrian troops. From this and other indications of the Syrian king's intentions, Philometer rightly judged that it was his design, by setting the two brothers in continued collision with each other, to retain Egypt virtually in his own power. Acting on this judgment, Philometer invited his brother to terms of reconciliation, which, by the aid of their sister Cleopatra, was happily eifected. The measures adopted by the two brothers to restore Egypt to an independent and prosperous condition induced Antiochus again to march an army into that country. He was on this occasion, how- ever, compelled, by the prompt and energetic interference of the Romans, to abandon the enterprise. By agreement between the two brothers, they were to reign jointly ; but they were no sooner freed from the danger of foreign aggression than they began to quarrel among themselves. This quickly produced an open rupture, in which Physcon succeeded in driving his brother out of the king- dom. He was, however, soon after restored by the power of Rome, which at the same time assigned Libya and Cyrene to Physcon. New disputes arose, and various contests took place between them, in all of which Rome regarded herself as entitled to act as the para- mount ruler of Egypt, and to award its sovereignty according to her will. THE GBNTILB NATIONS. 121 Philometer was soon after provoked into a war with Alexander Bala, who had been raised to the throne of Syria mainly by his sup- port. In the prosecution of this contest, the king of Egypt marched into Syria, where he completely routed the army of Alexander near Antioch, but died a few days after of wounds received in the battle. He left behind him a high reputation for wisdom and clemency. It was in his reign, and by his favour and that of his queen, Cleopatra, that the Jews under Onias were permitted to build the famous Jewish temple at Heliopolis. On the death of her husband, Cleopatra endeavoured to secure the crown for their son : but some of the leading men inclined toward Physcon, and invited him from Cyrene, where he then reigned, into Egypt. The queen raised an army to oppose him, and a civil war was imminent, when an accommodation was arranged, through the mediation of Rome, by which Physcon married Cleopatra, who was his sister and his brother's widow, on the understanding that they were to reign with joint authority, and that Cleopatra's son by Philometer should be declared next heir to the crown. This agree- ment was no sooner completed than it was violated. On the day of his marriage Physcon murdered the son of Philometer in the arms of his mother, and commenced a career of iniquity and slaughter of which this was a fitting prelude. He indeed assumed the name of Euergetes, or " Benefactor," which the Alexandrians changed into Kakergetes, or " the Evil-doer," — an epithet which he justly merited ; for he was the most cruel and wicked, the most despicable and vile, of all the Ptolemies. To the Jews he evinced unmitigated enmity and cruelty, because they had espoused the cause of Cleopatra. To the Alexandrians he was no less cruel, because they had supported him, — and he feared lest those who had raised him to the throne should by the same power remove him. During this reign three Roman ambassadors visited Egypt, while making a tour of the countries dependent on, or in alliance with, Rome. Their stay induced a cessation of Physcon's barbarous conduct, which, however, was renewed on their leaving. He then divorced Cleopatra his wife, and married her daughter, of the same name, who was his own niece ; but not before he had subjected the young princess to the vilest indignity. Such conduct excited the disgust of his subjects, and, accompa- nied as it was with excessive cruelty, produced a revolt which drove him from the kingdom. He, however, succeeded in recovering his position, and at length died in the sixty-seventh year of his age, having reigned twenty-nine years. It is a fact as singular as unaccountable, that this most licentious 122 THE GENTILE NATIONS. and bloody prince, whose name is infamous, as associated with almost every crime, is notwithstanding celebrated by the most respectable ancient writers as a great restorer of learning, a patron of learned men, and withal an author of some celebrity himself. According to the testimony of Athenceus, it was his practice during the short intervals between his debaucheries, to apply himself zeal- ously to the study of the polite arts and sciences; and he thus acquired so extensive a knowledge of all kinds of literature that he obtained the name of " Ptolemy the Philologist." The same author adds that he wrote a History in twenty-four books, and a learned Commentary on Homer. His History, Epiphanius informs us, was in great repute among the ancients : and Galen says that he enlarged and enriched the Alexandrian library by the purchase, of valuable books at a great expense. Physcon left three sons, — Apion by a concubine, and Lathyrus and Alexander by his wife Cleopatra. By his will he left the kingdom of Cyrene to Apion, and the crown of Egypt to his widow in conjunction with either of her sons whom she should choose. In the exercise of this discretionary power, the queen would have preferred Alexander, the younger son: but this was so distasteful to the people that she was compelled to admit Lathyrus to the joint sovereignty, and placed Alexander in the kingdom of Cyprus. Here we have a repetition of the mean and unnatural policy which at this period disgraced the government of this country. By repeated efforts the queen induced the people to withdraw their confidence from Lathyrus, and to consent to the return of Aleiander. After reigning ten years, the former prince was obliged to leave Egypt, to which his brother immediately returned ; Lathyrus repairing to Cyprus, and taking upon himself the government of that country. It was at this period that Lathyrus invaded Judea, then governed by Alexander Janneus, and obtained such advantages over him that the Jewish state was only saved from ruin by the aid sent to it by Cleopatra from Egypt. (Hebrew People, p. 443.) In the mean time the younger brother, Alexander, having for nearly eighteen years, while bearing the name of " king," submitted as a slave to the violent and capricious will of his mother, became quite weary of her intolerable tyranny, and put her to death. This fact being made public, he was driven from the throne, and Lathyrus, or Soter II., restored, who reigned seven years longer. During this period the ruin of Thebes took place. Lathyrus, freed from the power of his rivals, undertook to restore the government of the kingdom to its former state. This led to an insurrection, of which Thebes was the centre. That ancient city not only refused to sub- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 123 mit to the prescribed laws, but even struggled to regain its lost inde- pendence. The efFort was vain. The king, having defeated the rebels in several battles, besieged Thebes, which, having held out for three years, was at length subdued, and was in consequence given up to the ravages of the soldiery, who committed such devasta- tion that this noble capital was never afterward repaired, and conse- quently sank into ruin. Lathyrus was succeeded by his only legitimate child, Cleopatra, whose proper name was Beranice. This princess, however, had scarcely assumed the sovereignty, when she was called to submit to the dictation of Roman power. Sylla, then perpetual dictator of the imperial city, no sooner heard of the death of Lathyrus, than he conferred the crown of Egypt on Alexander, a son of the king of that name who had been driven out of the country for having murdered his mother ; he was consequently a nephew of the deceased king. On his arrival in Egypt, where Berenice had reigned six months, his presence occasioned great consternation. The Alexan- drians were unwilling to create a rupture with Rome, and equally so to set aside a reigning sovereign on the nomination of another ruler by a foreign power. To avert the diflBculty, they succeeded in persuading Alexander to marry Berenice, and reign jointly with her. This he did; but, in nineteen days afterward, caused her to be murdered. He, however, continued on the throne, and reigned fifteen years in a manner which might be expected from the atrocity of the commencement. At length the people, worn out by his exac- tions, and goaded to desperation by his cruelties, rose with common consent, and drove him from the throne. He made some fruitless efforts to induce Pompey to aid him to recover his crown, but died, a few months after his expulsion, in banishment at Tyre. The Egyptians, having driven out this tyrant, selected a natural son of Ptolemy Lathyrus to fill the vacant throne. This prince, by a gift of six thousand talents (about £500,000) to Julius Csesar and Pompey, was recognised as king of Egypt in alliance with Rome. He was named Ptolemy Auletes, or " the Flute- player ;" but took on himself the title of Dionysus Neos, or " the New Bacchus." He was a fit representative of the fallen condition of the Egyptian state. More effeminate than any of his predecessors, priding himself on dancing in a female dress in religious processions, he was at the same time equal to his grandfather Physcon in the violence and viciousness of his conduct. After some time he was, like his pre- decessor, expelled from the throne. He succeeded, however, by immense gifts, in inducing Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria, to attempt his restoration, which was at length accomplished ; Arch- 124 THE GENTILE NATIONS. elaus, who had been invested with the government, having been de- feated, and slain by the Romans. Auletes was thus restored to the throne, and died in peaceable possession of his dignity about four years after his restoration. Auletes, on his restoration, had put to death his daughter Bere- nice ; and at his demise left two daughters, Cleopatra and Arsinoe, and two sons. The first of these, Ptolemy the Elder, otherwise called Dionysius II., was, according to his father's will, married to his eldest sister, then about seventeen years old : and the juvenile couple were invested with the sovereignty of Egypt, under the pro- tection of the Roman republic. It appears that this most celebrated Egyptian princess evinced considerable vigour and talent, even at that early age. So clever, indeed, was she, that the ministers who had been placed in charge of the national aiFairs were very anxious to get rid of her, and at length deprived her of her share in the sove- reignty, and expelled her from the kingdom. Cleopatra, however, had a spirit equal to the occasion. She retired into Syria, raised an army, and in a short time marched upon Pelusium, prepared to dis- pute with her brother the sovereignty of the nation. It was while the hostile armies of the brother and sister lay within sight of each other, that Pompey, after the loss of the battle of Pharsalia, reached Egypt, expecting protection and support, but was put to death by the ministers of Ptolemy. Soon after this event, Julius Caesar arrived in pursuit of his rival, and was presented with his head and his ring. Cleopatra, whose licentiousness was quite equal to her talent and energy, caused herself to be secretly conveyed to the quarters of Caesar, where she succeeded in captivating that mighty conqueror, and commencing an intimacy which resulted in the birth of a son, called, after his father, Neocresar. The scandal of this conduct ena- bled Ptolemy and his ministers to rouse the public spirit of the Alexandrians, and of Lower Egypt generally, against the mighty Roman, to such an extent that he was placed in most imminent peril. Csesar, however, disposed the handful of soldiers which he had with him in such a manner as to keep the Egyptians in check, until the arrival of Mithridates with large reinforcements, when' he defeated the Egyptian forces with great slaughter. In the course of this conflict Ptolemy was drowned in the Nile. Caesar soon adjusted the aifairs of Egypt to his own mind, placing Cleopatra on the throne. But as the Egyptians had a great antipa- thy to female sovereignty, he compelled Cleopatra to submit to the farce of marrying her younger brother, a lad eleven years old. She, however, held the power in her own hand, until he reached the age of fourteen, when by the laws of the country he was entitled to enter THE GENTILE NATIONS. 125 upon the joint administration of affairs. She then caused him to be poisoned. Arsinoe, who had been carried to Rome by Julius Caesar, and compelled to walk, bound in chains of gold, before his triumphal chariot, was also assassinated at the instigation of Cleopatra. The death of Csesar convulsed the whole empire of Rome and all its dependencies, and swept away the last feeble figment of Egyptian monarchy and independence. On this occasion Cleopatra instantly decided to support the triumvirs against the murderers of Julius. On a charge of being unfaithful to this purpose, she was summoned to appear before Antony at Tarsus. Confident in the power of her charms, she obeyed, and effectually seduced that great captain. In fact, so besotted was he by this intercourse, that he neglected his affairs, and was at length so completely ruined, that, having inflicted on himself a mortal wound, he died in the arms of his wanton mis- tress. Cleopatra had two sons by Antony, and soon after his decease she shared the fate which she had brought on him. To avoid being made a spectacle at the triumph of Augustus, as he was proof against her seductive charms, she procured her own death by the bite of an asp. Egypt then became a province of the Roman empire, and con- tinued in this state until the birth of Christ, and long afterward. Thus Egypt flourished, and fell. Her history affords ample proof of the cultivation of the human mind in early times, and forms the great connecting link between European annals and the primitive nations. If our limits would allow, the subject would furnish rich materials for extended disquisition. We can, however, only observe that the chapter of history which has been thus sketched shows a most uncommon identity of character. In times so remote that the light of history scarcely renders objects visible, we just perceive colossal forms of civilization, learning, wealth, and power, standing out before us in wondrous array. As we descend the stream of time, when everything becomes well defined, Egypt appears equal in every respect to the proudest of her contemporaries. Yes, and strange to say, when her martial prowess had declined, and she fell beneath the sword of the invincible Macedonian, his genius, by the erection of Alexandria, laid new foundations for the stability and resources j)f Egypt, and made her, amid the waning of every other ancient kingdom, the mart of commerce and the seat of wealth. Notwithstanding the lengthened rule of the Ptolemies, who had been placed on the throne by Grecian power, and the overwhelming influ- ence of Rome in the time of Caesar, the adherence of the people to their old usages continued intact, and marked the last struggle which placed Egypt at the feet of imperial Rome, (See Appendix, note 11.) A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE KINGS OF EGYPT. Year Lengtli before An arraDgement of Dynaetiea and Rei^na, of Chriet. Reign. V. M. 1845 The Hyksos expelled from Egypt by Amosis, who reigned 25 — XVm. DYKA3TT. — SIXTEES SOVEEEIOHS. — 848 TEAES. 1820 (1) AmenopUs 1 30 7 1789 (2) Thothmosls 1 13 — 1776 (3) Thothmosls n 20 7 1755 (4) Amense [siater of the last king) 21 9 1734 (5) Thothmosls m. {son of Amenae) 12 9 1721 (6) Amenophis 11 25 10 1695 (7) Thothmosis IV 9 8 1685 (8) Amenophis III. (Memnon) 30 5 1655 (9) Horus 88 5 1617 (10) Bamses 1 9 — 1608 (11) SethosI 32 8 1575 (12) EamsesH 5 5 1569 (13) Kamses III. {Sesostris).... 68 2 1501 (14) Manephtha 5 — 1496 (15) Sethos II 19 6 1477 (16) Sethos III 5 3 XIX. DTNASTT. — FIVE KDfGS. — 187 TEAES. 1472 (1) Sethos 55 — 1417 (2) Eampses 66 — 1351 (3) Amenepthes 40 — 1311 (4) Eameses 1311 (5) Ammenemnes 2Q — XX. DYNAST*. — TWELVE KINGS ITS TEAES. 1285 This was a Diospolitan Dynas- ty, most, if not all, of whom were called Eameses ; but the length of the reigns is not given. Year Lengtil before An arrangement of DynaetieB and Eeigna. of ChrUt. Reign. Y. U. XXI. DYNASTY. — SEVEN THOnTE KINGS. — 130 YEAES. 1107 (1) Smendes 26 — 1081 (2) Psousennes 41 — 1040 (3) Nephercheres 4 — 1036 (4) Amenophthis 9 — 1027 (5) Osochor 6 — 1021 (6) Psinaches (H.) 9 — 1012 (7) Psousennes 35 — XXn. DYNASTY. — NINE BUEASTILE KINGS. — 116 YEAES. 977 (1) Sesonchis {SMshak) ... 21 — 956 (2) Osorthou 15 — 941 (3, 4, 5) Three other kings, names omitted 25 — 916 (6) Tacelothis 13 — '903 (7,8,9) Three other kings, whose names are not given 42 — XXm. DYNASTY. — FOUE TANITE KINGS. — 89 TEAES. 861 (1) Petubatis 40 — 821 (2) Osorcho 8 — 813 (3) Psammus 10 — 803 (4) Zet 31 — XXIV. DTNASTT. ONE SAITE KING. — 44 YEAES. 772 (1) Bocchoris 44 — XXV. DTNASTT. — THEEE ETHIOFIC KINGS. — 40 TE.IES. 728 (1) Sabaco 8 — 720 (2) Sebichos {Sevechm) 12 — 708 (3) Tarkus 18 — XXVI. DYNASTY. — NINE SAITE KINGS. — 164 YEAES, 6 MONTHS. 690 (1) Stephinates 7 — 683 (2) Nechepsos 6 — THE GENTILE NATIONS. 127 Year Leng^ before An arrangement of DynBstieH and Reigne, of Christ. Reign. Y, M. v!7r (3) Nechaol 8 — 669 (4) Psammitichus 54 — 615 (5) NeehaoII 16 — 599 (6) Psammuthis 6 — 593 (7) Uaphris {AprUi, Hophm) 25 — 568 (8) Amosifi 42 — 526 (9) Psammeclierites — 6 XXVn. DYNASTY. — BIGHT PERSIAN KINGS. — 111 YEARS, 4 MONTHS. 625 (1) Cambyses (iu tlie fifth year of his Persian reign).... 3 — 522 (2) Darius Hystaspls 36 — 486 (3) Xerxes (the Great)....' 21 — 465 (4) Artabanus — 7 464 (5) Artaxerxes 41 — 423 (6) Xerxes n..., — 2 423 (7) Sogdianus — 7 423 (8J Darius (aon o/ Xerxes) 9 — XXTm. DYNASTY. — ONE SAITB KING. — 6 TEARS. 414 (1) Amyrtoeus 6 — , XxrX. DYNASTY..»-F0im MBNDBSIAN KINGS. — 20 YEARS, 4 MONTHS. 408 (1) Nepherites 1 6 — 402 (2) Achoris 13 — 389 (3) Psammuthis 1 — 388 (4) Nepherites H — 4 XXX. DYNASTY. — THREE SEBENNYTIO KINGS. — 88 YEARS. 388 (1) Nectanebus 1 18 — 370 (2) Teos 2 — 368 (3) Nectanebus n 18 — Tour -UngOk before An arrangement of Dynafltiee and Reigna. of Cliriat. Reign. Y. M. XXXI. DYNASTY. — THREE FERBIAN KINGS. — 18 YEARS. 350 (1) Darius Ochus 12 — 338 (2) Arses 2 — 336 (3) Darius Codomannus 4 — XXXH. DYNASTY. — THREE MACEDONIANS. — 21 YEARS. 332 (1) Alexander (the Great) 9 — 323 (2) Philip Arid^us (Ptolemy, governor) 6 — 317 (3) Alexander {eon of the Great : Ptolemy, gover- nor) 6 — XXXm. DYNASTY. — THE PTOLEMIES. 311 (1) Lagus, Soter (who had previously governed Egypt 12 years, and, on the death of Alexander, is styled king) 27 — 284 (2) Philadelphus 38 — 246 (3) EuergetesI 25 — 221 (4) Philopater 17 — 204 (5) Epiphanea 24 — 180 (6) Philometer 35 — 145 (7) Euergetes H 29 — 116 (8) Soter U 10 — 106 (9) Alexander I. {Soter de- posed) 18 — 88 {S} Soter U. {restored) 7 — 81 (10) Berenice — 6 80 (11) Alexander n 15 — 65 (12) Neus Dionysus 14 — 51 (13) Ptolemy (the Elder) 4 — 47 (14) Ptolemy (the Younger).... 3 — 44 (15) Cleopatra 14 — 30 EGYPT A ROMAN PBOVINOE 30 — 128 THE GENTILE NATIONS. CHAPTER II. THE RELIGION' OF THE EGYPTIANS. • Eefekenoe to this. Subject in "tlie Patriarchal Age" — ^The Importance of Theologt to Religion — Egyptian Triads, their Relation to primitive Promise and Noah — The prob- able Identity of these Triads — Animal-Worship originated in the Cherubim, and carried out to an infamous Extent— General View of Egyptian Mythology — The Morals of Egypt, recognised in Jurisprudence — Prominence given to Truth and Justice — Illustrations — The Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul — Curious Corruptions associated with this Doctrine— Object of Embalming — The Doctrine of a future Judg- ment — The Opinions held by this People exhibited — Important Light imparted thereby on the Subject of Morals — The Hall of Judgment and forty-two Assessors — All result- ing in everlasting Happiness or Punishment — Providence — General Accuracy of Doc- • trine, but neutralized by Polytheism — General Character and Influence of this Relig- ion — Morals — ^Divine Sanction — Future Retribution — Spiritual Character — Remarkable Juxtaposition of Truth and Error. Some reference has been made to this subject in a preceding volume. (Patriarchal Age, p. 469, et seq.) To the brief sketch there given the reader is requested to turn, as an outline of the primitive Egyptian faith which it is not necessary here to repeat, but which it will now be our aim to expand into a succinct account of Egyptian idolatry, and its religious and moral influence upon the nation. In the passages to which I refer, it was stated, on the authority of a learned and religious writer, that " the religion of Egypt under- went no alteration from the time of its establishment by Menes, to that of its abolition by Christianity." This sentiment is fully adopted in this work, in the sense in which, it is believed, the author intended it to be received; but in this sense it does not preclude progressive development and expansion, but specially refers to the principle and genius of the entire system. (See AppevdiT, note 12.) In the prosecution of this purpose it is proposed to investigate in order the theology, morals, doctrines, and general influence of this religion. The centre and soul of any religious system is its theology. Religion, as the term imports, unites — or, rather, re-binds (from the Latin verb re-ligo) — man to God. It is based on the presump- tion of man's alienation from his Maker, and therefore treats of the means and manner of his reunion with Deity. But then it inevi- tably follows, that the truth or falsehood, the purity or depravity, of the representation which is thus given of God, affects the entire THE GENTILE NATIONS. 129 character of the religion. Notwithstanding the numerous and minute delineations of deities, acts of worship, and religious rites, which we find on the monuments of Egypt, we have no native account of the religion of the country, much less of its primitive state. Not even a fragment of Manetho has come down to us on this subject : all we know from him has been given to us through Plutarch. Yet from the traditions which have been thus preserved, one fact stands out most unmistakably, — namely, that, " prior to the empire of Menes," the Egyptians "had their temple-service regularly organized;" (Bunsen, vol. i, p. 358;) and consequently the whole frame- work of their religious system was designed and brought into operation. - It has been already stated that anciently this people believed in the unity of the supreme God ; and that human representations or incarnations of him were at first regarded as divine, rather by union with him, or emanation from him, than from their intrinsic nature ; and hence had the name of the Supreme added to their own. Pass- ing by all the speculation of Greek writers, and ascending to the primitive state of the Egyptian faith, there appears abundant reason for identifying its theology with the great departure from patriarchal religion which took place at Babel. Hence the triad, — Osiris, Isis, Horus. Again, we have Amout, Mout, Chons. In both these instances the triad consists of father, mother, and son. From what has been already stated, (Patriarchal Age, p. 475,) there can be no reasonable doubt that these deities arose out of a corrupted tradition of the first pair, in combination with the promised incarnate Seed, given under different names. (See Appendix, note 13.) It is, how- ever, suflBciently evident that the circumstances of Noah, the second great father of the world, and his sons, had a great influence in the formation of the original idolatry of Egypt. We have sufiicient proofs of this in the obvious identity of Osiris and Noah, — a fact confirmed by the mutilation common to both, and the manner in which it was made prominent, and sacred in the case of the Egyptian deity. It is observable that Osiris and Isis are cele- brated as the only deities worshipped in every part of Egypt ; the birth of the son being sometimes regarded as prospective and ap- proaching. This allusion to the Arkite family is further corroborated. Kneph, according to Wilkinson, represented the idea of " the Spirit of God, as it moved upon the face of the waters." He was commonly ex- hibited with a ram's head, and regarded specially as the god of the Nile. But this deity was supposed to merge into three: — first, Kneph, the Spirit; then Pthah, proceeding from him, and thence regarded as his son; and lastly, Khem, (whose name is identical 9 130 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ■with the Scriptural Ham,) who was supposed to rule over the pro- creation of the human species. Probably all these triads were alf first identical, and intended to exhibit a personification of the supreme God under allusive repre- sentations of man's primitive history, and that of the Noachic family. But the moving ag^nt in this process, although insidious, was not concealed. The asp ivas sacred to Kneph. The most poisonous winged serpent in the land was made the personification of the crea- tor and ruling spirit! In fact, the serpent was the type of dominion! Its figure was in consequence affixed to the head-dress of Egyptian kings; and a prince, on his accession to the throne, was entitled to wear this distinctive badge of royalty. This Satanic as- sumption is embedded in the language to a considerable extent. " M. Champollion has satisfactorily accounted for the name Urceus, given to the snake, by suggesting that the word derives its origin and signification from Ouro, in Coptic, ' a king,' answering, as Hora- pollo tells us, to the Greek (iaaiXioKog, 'royal;' and it is from this last word that the name 'basilisk' has been applied to the asp." — Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv, p. 240. Of Pthah it may be necessary to observe, that he was regarded as the Lord of truth, and is said to have been produced in the shape of an egg from the mouth of Kneph, and represented the creative power of Deity. . It cannot escape observation how closely this resembles the Divine Word. Wilkinson says, " The form of this deity is generally a mummy;" {Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv, p. 252;) but Cory shrewdly suspects that the bandaged figure rather represents "an infant swathed, as is the custom in the Mediterranean." — Mythological Inquiry, p. 42. The principle of idolatrous substitution and representation having been once adopted, it was susceptible of infinite expansion and change. Hence, in the classic age. we find the great triad represented as com- posed of Osiris, Horus, Typhon ; and Horus is set forth by Plutarch as the son of Osiris and Isis, begotten before they themselves were born, and born with them : a singular but remarkable allusion to the preexistence of the promised Seed. Typhon is the destroying principle; and, according to Plutarch, his proper name is Seth. Some have supposed this deity to be an introduction of later times after the great reformation in Persia. His name and character are, however, so involved in the legends of Osiris and Isis, that there seems reason for believing that, to some extent at least, even in early times the evil principle was recognised as divine, — an opinion confirmed by the appearance of his name, Seth, on the oldest monuments. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 131 Our limits will not allow an enumeration of all the Egyptian deities ; nor would any good purpose be served by it. Indeed, dif- ferent opinions prevail, even among scholars, as to their number and character. Bunsen gives eight gods of the first order, twelve of the second order, and seven of the third order, with four genii of the dead. It is essential, however, to pay special attention to that which forms the most extraordinary element of Egyptian idolatry, namely, animal-worship. On this subject a learned writer has expressed himself in language so strikingly corroborative of the views main- tained in this work, that we quote him at length: "It is matter of very curious inquiry how mankind degenerated into the worship of animals, and the abominations of idolatry. It will have been ob- served in the preceding remarks that, among the heathens, the EAGLE was the token of the ethereal power; the lion, of the light; and the^ bull, of fire, heat, or the solar orb ; though these distinc- tions are not always very accurately maintained. These animals are, in fact, no other than the animals that composed the cherubim, which, in the antediluvian, patriarchal, and Jewish dispensations, were placed at the entrance of Paradise, and afterward upon the mercy-seat of the ark. They were deemed oracular; and above them rested the Shekinah, the cloud of glory, the visible symbol of the presence of the Lord, who is represented as sitting between tiiem, or flying upon them.* The form of the cherubim was that of a bull, from which arose a human body, as a centaur, with four heads, — that of a bull, of an eagle, of a lion, and of a man, with wings and hands, and covered with eyes. In the heathen cherubim, among other re- markable variations, the head of the serpent is often substituted for the human head. The seraphim are considered to have been simi- lar ; and the teraphim were of the same form, but smaller figures, which were set up by individuals in their own house, and to which they resorted for answers. Zech. x, 2. " The cherubim constituted the place of worship for all believers : they were termed the pheni Elohim, ' the faces,' (Zech. vii, 2, pas- sim,) or 'presence of God;' and from between them issued oracles. Exod. XXV, 22. It would have been a singular omission, if the heathen, as they went off from the patriarchal worship, had not car- ried with them an institution so remarkable: accordingly we find the figures worked up into all their religious institutions, and the memory of them retained, even to the present day. The cherubim ° In this case our learned author is incorrect. The Lord is never represented as fly- ing on the cherubim but in one mistranslated passage in the Old Testament. See mj " Doctrine of the Cheruliim," p. 37. ]32 THE GENTILB NATIONS. may be found in every part of the heathen world ; and to the abuse of them, I believe, may be traced the worship of animals." — Cory's Mythological Inquiry, pp. 90-104. It is observable that the curious compound figures which abound ill Egypt and in the East, are almost always found at the entrance of sacred places. If anything is necessary, beyond what is given in the Preliminary Dissertation, to identify the animal- worship of Egypt with that of the cherubic figures, it is supplied by the fact — that the living Apis was required to have marks of this cherubic combination. The selected animal must have not only a white crescent on his side, and a particular lump under his tongue, but also the " resemblance of an eagle on his shoulders." And this, explained by antique bronze figures of Apis, gives not the addition of an eagle to the ox, but the form of eagle wings on his shoulders, similar to those of the Nimroud sculptures. These marks, as Wilkinson observes, were undoubtedly supplied by the priests : but this rather corroborates the opinion that the cherubic form was the model to which the living animal was, as far as possible, to be conformed. These corruptions having been introduced, they were carried out to an amazing extent. " Among the Egyptians," says Clemens Alex- andrinus, " the temples are surrounded with groves and consecrated pastures ; they are furnished with propylcea, and their courts are encircled with an infinite number of columns ; their walls glitter with foreign marbles and paintings of the highest art; the naos is resplen- dent with gold and silver, and electrum, and variegated stones from India and Ethiopia ; the adytum is veiled by a curtain wrought with gold. But if you pass beyond into the remotest part of the enclosure, hastening to behold something yet more excellent, and seek for the image which dwells in the temple, a pastophorus, or some one else, who ministers in sacred things, with a pompous air, singing a pasan in the Egyptian tongue, draws aside a small portion of the curtain, as if about to show us the god, and makes us burst into a loud laugh. For no god is found within, but a cat, or a crocodile, or a serpent sprung from the soil, or some such brute animal : the Egyptian deity appears a beast rolling himself on a purple coverlet." — Pcedag. iii, 2, p. 253. Potter. Diodorus (lib. i, cap. 84) bears similar testimony : " The tem- ples of Egypt are most beautiful; but if you seek within, you find an ape or ibis, a goat or a cat." These animals were treated with the utmost tenderness, and supplied with the most delicate and luxurious food. Nor was this attention and reverence confined to the priesthood. In the reign of Ptolemy Auletes, when it was his special interest to keep on good terms with the Roman people, a sub- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 133 ject of the imperial republic, residing in Egypt, had unintentionally killed a cat, — an accident which excited the popular feeling to such an extent, that neither the awe of the Roman name, nor the utmost efforts of the king of Egypt, could save the unhappy man from death. The character and intensity of this insane devotion do not rest on the mere testimony of ancient historians. These animals, after being adored all their lives, were embalmed after death; and anti- quarians have in recent times by their discoveries abundantly con- firmed all that the ancients reported. " The embalmed bodies of bulls, cows, and sheep, dogs and cats, hawks and ibises, serpents and beetles, and, in short, nearly the whole zoology of Egypt, except the horse and the ass, have been found in excavations." — Kenrick, vol. ii, chap. 6. Let us for a moment pause, and ponder on this exhibition of Egyptian theology. It may be said that this people retained some knowledge of the supreme God, and cherished the idea of his unity, powfer, and prescience. To some extent, in ancient times at least, this was undoubtedly the fact. Yet how all these views must have been defiled, corrupted, and debased by this idolatry ! To exalt human nature, character, and passions to divinity, was to bring the Deity down to the level of manhood. To adore a brute, was to de- grade the ideas of the worshipper respecting God to that contemptible measure. And this astounding degradation is a fearful fact. At a date prior to the monarchy of Menes, the founders of this nation made the fatal experiment. Although " they knew God, they glori- fied him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations." They made men representatives of Deity, and regarded eminent departed worth with idolatrous veneration. They perverted the pure rites of patriarchal worship, until every element of it was merged into a vile idolatry. The natural consequence of this — nay, 1 am not sure that the consequence is simply natural — the religious conse- quence of this was fully realized : '' Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Wherefore God gave them up to " their vanity and folly, so that every luminary in the heavens, and almost every element on earth, were worshipped as divine. But, amid all this, one fact stands out conspicuous in the whole scheme : — the author-mind is fully exhibited. The unfailing badge of Egyptian idolatry is the sign seen in the centre of every temple, and paraded in every conceivable manner in the rites, ceremonies, sculptures, and pictures of Egypt. I allude to the winged globe and serpent. These are thus explained: "The globe denotes the Divine Na- ture; the serpent, his Word, which animates and impregnates the world : and the wing, the Spirit of God, which vivifies it with his 134 THE GENTILE NATIONS. motion."* Here, as in profane parody on such views of the Trinity as then obtained, we have a triad constructed, of which the Satanic form is the centre and ruhng agent in respect of this world. This theology, therefore, while it preserved many important truths respecting the nature of God, and his promises of mercy to the fallen race of man, completely overlaid them with a gross and elaborate idolatrous machinery, which, if it did not entirely conceal, must to a fearful extent have neutralized their influence, The great deceiver of man had pervaded this corrupt scheme with such multi- plied exhibitions of the form in which he successfully urged the first temptation of mankind, that it appears as if, while the first object of the system was to isolate man from God by substituting anything, from the image of a man to a live cat or beetle, as an object of wor- ship, its secondary design was to induce a recognition of the serpent- form as the highest exhibition of Deity. One important point is, therefore, evident : The theology of Egypt, instead of elevating the mind, and shedding on the spirit of the worshipper a clejirer and purer light than human reason can afford, — which, in fact, is the proper province of this divine science, — darkened the intellect, and prostrated the man before dogs, cats, and beetles. We direct attention, in the next place, to the morals inculcated by this system : and here it is cheering to observe, that, vile and con- temptible as were many of the objects of worship, this system was free from the reproach resting on many so-called religious schemes; it did not repudiate all connexion with morals. On the contrary, moral character was deemed an integral element of religion. It was, indeed, the great merit of the religion of Egypt, that it taught the observance of moral law with reference to a future judgment. While making this statement, as an opinion which appears to be fully war- ranted by a general review of the system, it is but just to say that others have from the same premises reached an opposite conclusion. Probably, however, if we had more ample means of information, it would be found that, while the religion of Egypt taught the doctrine of future retribution as an article of faith, the multiplicity and various character of their several divinities almost entirely neutral- ized this doctrine as a popular element of religion, and left the public to a great extent unaffected by its salutary influence. In respect of times so remote, and a country of which we have such imperfect knowledge, it is very likely that we can glean the best information on the subject of public morals by considering the character of their laws. ° This exposition is derived from a Syriac MS. attributed by Kircher to Sanchoniatho. (Cory's Mythological Inquiry, p. 99.) THE GENTILE NATIONS. 135 Here it may be observed that special attention was paid to the jurisprudence of the country. Ten persons, the most upright and learned that could be found, were selected from each of the three principal cities,— Thebes, Memphis, and Heliopolis. " These thirty individuals constituted the bench of judges ; and at their first meet- ing they elected the most distinguished among them to be president, with the title of ' arch-judge.' His salary was much greater than that of the other judges, as his office was more important ; and the city to which he belonged enjoyed the privilege of returning another judge, to complete the number of the thirty from whom he had been chosen." They all received ample allowances from the state, in order that, possessing a competency, they might be inaccessible to bribes. When engaged in his judicial duties, the arch-judge wore, sus- pended by a chain from his neck, a small figure ornamented with precious stones. This was a representation of the goddess worship- ped under the two-fold character of Truth and Justice, and was called Thmei. It has been supposed with good reason, that this was a corruption of the same patriarchal element, afterward developed in the Hebrew religion as the Thummim of the high priest. The laws of the Egyptians were said to have been dictated by the gods, or more immediately by Thoth. This notion was common to many heathen nations ; but it should not on this account be always treated as pretence and imposture. No doubt this was frequently the case. Legislators often gave out that they had received their laws from some deity, in order to secure for them acceptance and reverence. But it was not so in Egypt. ISlo historical research can reach the origin of the Egyptian laws : " they were handed down from the earliest times." The plea of their divine origin was not, there- fore, set up to procure their sanction, but was in all probability virtually true, inasmuch as they might have been founded on real revelations made to the early patriarchs by God. It is remarkable that, throughout their code, truth was always identified with justice ; and this combination was considered to be the cardinal virtue among the Egyptians. It was regarded as much more important than prudence, temperance, fortitude, and other virtues, which only affect the individual who possesses them, while truth and justice relate more particularly to others, and therefore act upon society at large. "Falsehood was not only considered disgraceful, but, when it entailed an injury on any other person, was punishable by law. A calumniator of the dead was condemned to a severe punishment ; and a false accuser was doomed to the same sentence which would have been awarded to the accused, if the 136 THE GENTILE NATIONS. offence had been proved against him. But to maintain a falsehood by an oath was deemed the blackest crime, and one which, from its ^ complicated nature, could be punished by nothing short of death." — Wilkinsnn' s Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii, p. 32. Murder, whether committed on a freeman or a slave, was punished with death. In this respect the Egyptians were in advance of Greece and Rome. In all instances in which a woman was capitally con- victed, great care was taken to ascertain whether the condemned was in a state of pregnancy, in which case punishment was deferred until after the birth of the child. Theft was sometimes punished with great severity. The nose of the criminal -was cut off, and he was banished to a town built on the borders of the desert, and called, from the nature of the punish- ment, Rhinocolura. Yet,' notwithstanding this, there was a recog- nised official, called " the chief of the robbers." Every one prac- tising the profession of a thief gave in his name to this person ; and every robbery, with all the detail of time, place, quantity, and value of stolen goods, was reported to him, as soon as the theft was effected. T'he party robbed, therefore, had always the option of applying to this chief, and receiving back his goods by paying one quarter part of their value. Unlike the Greeks and Romans, the Egyptians did not allow to fathers absolute power over the life of their offspring ; nor did they punish the murder of a child by its parent as a capital offence. But, as a medium course, they adopted a mode of punishment adapted to prevent the crime, and to lead the criminal to repentance. The person convicted of this offence was condemned to have the dead body of the child fastened to his neck, and was compelled, under the care of a public guard, to spend three days and eights in its embrace. A woman convicted of adultery was punished with the loss of her nose ; a man, to receive a bastinado of one thousand blows. If it was proved that the man used force, he was subjected to a terrible and inhuman punishment. If we now examine the doctrines taught by this religious system, especially those respecting future retribution and providence, further light will be cast on the subject of the morality of ancient Egypt. The doctrine of the soul's immortality appears to have been always known and believed in Egypt. But then, this tenet was held in con- nexion with that of transmigration. All our authorities concur in stating it to be the general belief among the Egyptians, that the souls of men survive their bodies, and return to life again in ani- mals. " Herodotus fixes the period at three thousand years, when THE GENIILB NATIONS. 137 the soul returned to the human form : and Plato says, if any one's life has been virtuous, he shall obtain a better fate hereafter; if wicked, a worse. But no soul will return to its pristine condition till the expiration of ten thousand years, since it will not recover the use of its wings until that period ; except it be the soul of one who has philosophized sincerely, or, together with philosophy, has loved beautiful forms. These, indeed, in the third period of one thousand years, if they have thrice chosen this mode of life in suc- cession, shall in their three-thousandth year fly away to their pristine abode : but other souls, being arrived at the end of their first life, shall be judged. And of those who are judged, some, pro- ceeding to a subterraneous place of judgment, shall there sustain the punishments they have deserved ; but others, in consequence of a favourable judgment, being elevated into a certain c^estial place, shall pass their time in a manner becoming the life they have lived in a human shape. And in the thousandth year, both the kinds of those who have been judged, returning to the lot and election of a second life, shall each of them receive a lot agreeable to his desire. Here, also, the human soul shall pass into the life of a beast ; and, from that of a beast, again into a man, if it has first been the soul of a man. For the soul which has never perceived the truth, cannot pass into the human form." — Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. v, p. 442. This curious notion of successive transmigrations of the soul has been so explained as to lead to the belief that the order observed was, " that the same soul enters the body of a man, an ox, a dog, a bird, and a fish, until, having passed through all of them, it returns to that from which it set out." From this it has been inferred that the object of the Egyptians in the embalmment of deceased relations was, to preserve the body entire until the return of the soul. The fact that the lower animals were also sometimes embalmed, has been regarded, if not as con- futing this notion, at least as throwing considerable doubt upon it. More has been made of this objection than it merits. Notwith- standing the circumstance of animal embalmment, which may not admit of satisfactory explanation, it seems probable that the notion of the return of the spirit to the same body might have had much influence in introducing the general practice of embalming human bodies. Respecting the interesting subject of the future judgment, numer- ous exhibitions and illustrations are found on the monuments. But it is our misfortune to have to elicit the doctrine from these pictures. We are, therefore, in danger of resting an essential doctrine upon some merely poetic pictorial appendage. No suflicient literal de- 138 THE GENTILE NATIONS. scriptiou has reached us. It remains, therefore, for us to draw the soundest inferences from the data placed before us. " The judg- ment scenes, found in the tombs and on the papyri, sometimes repre- sent the deceased conducted by Horus alone, or accompanied by his wife, to the region of Amenti. Cerberus is present as the guardian of the gates, near which the scales of justice are erected ; and Anubis, 'the director of the weight,' having placed a vase, in the form of the human heart, and representing the good actions of the deceased, in one scale, and the figure or emblem of Truth in the other, proceeds to ascertain his claims for admission. If on being 'weighed,' he is found 'wanting,' he is rejected; and Osiris, the judge of the dead, inclines his sceptre in token of condemnation, pronounces judgment upon him, and condemns his soul to return to earth, under the form of a pig, or some other unclean animal. Placed in a boat, it is moved, under the charge of two monkeys, from the precincts of Amenti, all communication with which is figuratively cut off by a man who hews away the earth with an axe after its pas- sage; and the commencement of a new term of life is indicated by those monkeys, the emblems of Thoth. But if when the sum of his deeds is recorded by Thoth, his virtues so far predominate as to entitle him to admission to the mansions of the blessed, Horus, taking in his hand the tablet of Thoth, introduces him to the pres- ence of Osiris; who, in his palace, attended by Isis and Nepthys, sits on his throne in the midst of the waters, from which rises the lotus, bearing upon its expanded flower the four genii of Amenti. " Other representations of this subject differ in some of the de- tails. In the judgment of a royal scribe, whose funeral proces- sion is described on the monuments, the deceased advances alone, in an attitude of prayer, to receive judgment. On one side of the scales stands Thoth, holding a tablet in his hand ; on the other, the goddess of justice; and Horus, in lieu of Anubis, performs the oflice of director of the balance, on the top of which sits a cynocephalus, the emblem of Thoth. Osiris, seated as usual on his throne, hold- ing his crook axid flagellum, awaits the report from the hands of his son Horus. Before the door of his palace are the four genii of Amenti, and near them three deities, who either represent the asses- sors, or may be the three assistant judges, who gave rise to the Minos, ^acus, and Rhadamanthus of Greek fable." — Wilki7ison's Ancient Egyptians, vol. v, p. 448. In another MS., preserved at the Louvre, the deceased, Amenham, addresses a prayer to the god of light coming from heaven, whose eyes enlighten the material world, and dissipate the darkness of night. The picture which accompanies it represents many souls and THE GENTILE JSTATIONS. 139 men adoring a luminous disk. He next prays to Phre, the great god, manifested in the two firmaments under his two forms of Re, the rising sun, and Atmou, the setting sun; then again to Phre and Thoth, as gods of the sun and moon. Afterward he invokes Netphe, the mother of the gods ; by whose bent body, covered with stars, all space was circumscribed: she was the impersonation of heaven. The bark of the sun is represented as sailing thereon, under the guidance of Moui, or light. His next petitions are presented to Osiris, the lord of Totou, the region of stability. The emblems of this divinity, and those of the ibis-headed Thoth, are enclosed in a serpent biting its own tail, the symbol of eternity. Afterward he prays to all the divinities presiding over the judgment of souls, and concludes with short ejaculations to Osiris, Nofre Tmoui, and the sacred cow of Hathor or Venus. (Antiquities of Egypt, p. 154.) In order to a proper understanding of the Egyptian notions respecting the future judgment, it is necessary to state that they supposed the final judgment to be conducted by forty- two judges or assessors, each of these being imagined to take cognizance of a par- ticular crime, so that the departed spirit, in passing before them in order, had to clear itself of the several sins in regular succession. Over these assessors Osiris presided, as the arch-judge did in the temporal courts. The assessors appeared in a human form, with difierent heads. The first had the head of a hawk ; the second, of a man ; the third, of a hare; the fourth, of a hippopotamus; the fifth, of a man; the sixth, of a hawk ; the seventh, of a fox ; the eighth, of a man ; the ninth, of a ram ; the tenth, of a snake ; the others, according to their pecul- iar character. It is proper to observe, that the appearance of these assessors differs in different rituals; but in all of them it appears that they were intended to represent the accusing spirits, each having a separate moral district under his particular care. (Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. v, p. 76.) In another ritual, a transcript of which is preserved in the British Museum, the deceased dedicates his heart to his mother and his ancestors, immediately after his adoration of the god Pthah. The second part of the ritual consists of eleven liturgical prayers to Thoth, the guide of souls, and, as we have already said, the imper- sonation of the divine wisdom. The soul implores this divinity to undertake for him, to cast down his enemies, to plead his cause with the gods of the various regions through which he has to travel, and finally to open for him the gates of the great hall of judgment, that he may pass through them in safety. This formidable array of gods and monsters, however, was but 140 THE GENTILE NATIONS. introductory to a still more fearful ordeal that awaited the soul on its arrival at the terrible portal of the judgment-hall, where all the actions of its life while in the body were examined. This scene is by no means confined to th'e ritual which we are now considering. Its frequent occurrence on mummy-cases, votive tablets, boxes, and funeral remains of every description, sufficiently attests the very high importance that was attached to it by the Egyptians, and the conspicuous place that it occupied in their creed. Many of these pictures are much curtailed and abbreviated, according to the custom of the scribes on all occasions. In the most perfect of them the deceased is represented as standing immediately before the entrance of a vast hall in the attitude of supplication, and addressing a long prayer to the divinity who presides in it, Osiris, the supreme judge. He has for his assessors the two goddesses Thmei. The first of them, who was called " the Themis of the Left," because she occu- pied the left side of the hall, was president over the first twenty- one avengers : the other, " the Themis of the Right," had the charge of the other twenty-one assessors The prayer to Osiris at the entrance of the hall reads thus : " thou avenger, lord of justice, great god, lord of the two Themes, (Justice and Truth,) I worship thee, my lord. I have spoken, speak thou to me thy name : tell me the names of the forty-two gods who are with thee in the great hall of justice and truth, living guardians of the wicked, fed with their bloods bring forward my righteousness, search out my sins." The deceased then proceeds to enumerate the moral offences of which he has not been guilty : " I have defrauded no man ; I have not slaugh- tered the cattle of the gods ; I have not prevaricated at the seat of justice ; 1 have not made slaves of the Egyptians ; I have not defiled my conscience for the sake of my superior ; I have not used violence ; I have not famished my household ; I have not made to weep ; I have not smitten privily ; 1 have not changed the measures of Egypt ; / have not grieved the spirits of the gods ; I have not committed adultery; I have not forged signet-rings ; I have not falsified the weights of the balance ; I have not withheld milk from the mouths of my children." The offences that follow are peculiar to the climate and to the idolatry of Egypt : " I have not pierced the banks of the Nile in its annual increase ; I have not separated to myself an arm of the Nile in its advance." These passages render it probable that, in ancient as in modern times, an important part of the revenue of Egypt was raised by imposing a tribute upon the lands overflowed by the annual inundation ; so that to obtain any portion of these fertilizing waters secretly, was to defraud the state. This singular disavowal concludes thus : " I have not disturbed the gazelles of the THK GENTILE NATIONS. 141 gods in their pasturage ; I have not netted the water-fowl of the gods ; 1 have not caught the sacred fishes ; 1 have not despised the gods in their offerings;" (in other words, "1 have not given to the gods that which is imperfect ;") " t have not bound the cattle of the gods ; 1 have not pierced the god in his manifestation," as a sacred animal. The prayer conclude? with petitions for purification and illumination. The deceased then entered the great hall of judgment, and kneel- ing before the forty-two assessors, protested to each his innocence of the sin of which he was the minister of vengeance. The names of these terrible beings are descriptive of their appearance or quali- ties. The soul says to the first of them, " thou that hast long legs," (art swift to pursue,) " I have not sinned." To the second, " thou that dost"ti-y with fire, I have not been gluttonous." To the fourth, " thou that devourest tranquillity," (that is, with whom there is no peace,) " 1 have not stolen." To the fifth, " thou that smitest the heart, I have done no murder." To the sixth, " thou with the two lions," (heads,) " I have not falsified measures." To the seventh, " thou that hast piercing eyes, 1 have not acted the hypocrite." To the ninth, " thou that dost make limbs to tremble, I have not lied." To the sixteenth, " thou that dost delight in blood, I have not slain the cattle of the gods." To the twenty- second, " thou that dost consume creation, I have not been drunken." The foregoing may suffice as specimens of what has gen- erally been termed " the negative confession." Some parts of it remain still in much obscurity as to their import ; others allude to offences of which it is a shame even to speak. (Osburn's Antiqui- ties of Egypt, p. 157.) We have stated that the forty-two 'assessors are ministers of vengeance, whose wrath is to be deprecated by the deceased. The names of all the forty-two, and the particular regions over which they preside, occur in the entire copies of this scene. In other copies they are represented sitting before their presidents. In the presence of the judge Osiris, these and other divinities, or genii, rigorously examined the conduct of the soul while incarnate on earth. The sentence which resulted from this judgment was full of joy to the good, and of woe to the wicked. They who by a faithful dis- charge of all their moral obligations, as children, as parents, as masters, as servants, as kings or subjects, and by the conscientious avoidance of vice under all its grosser forms, had been enabled to pass the ordeal, were permitted to go through the Hall of Themis ; whence embarking on the infernal Nile, they are privileged to behold once more the disk of the sun^ — a blessing for which the gods are 142 THE GENTILE NATIONS. very frequently supplicated on behalf of the deceased. With that luminary it would seem that they arose to heaven, and in his bark they navigated the celestial Nile, or primordial ether. At the fifth hour they were landed in the habitations of blessedness, where they rested from their labours. Here they reap the corn, and gather the fruits of Paradise, under the eye and «mile of the " lord of joy in the heart," that is, the sun, who exhorts them thus : " Take your sickles, reap your grain, carry it into your dwellings, that ye may be glad therewith, and present it as a pure offering unto God." There also they bathe in the pure river of the water of life that flows past their habitation : from which it is evident that the Elysium of this religion was no more than a celestial Egypt. Over them is inscribed, " They have found favour in the eyes of the great God ; they inhabit the mansions of glory, where they enjoy the life of heaven ; the bodies which they have abandoned shall repose forever in their tombs, while they rejoice in the presence of the supreme God." But a terrible fate impended over those who, being weighed in the balance of Amenti, were found wanting. In the first instance, as has been already observed, their souls were driven back to earth again by ministers of vengeance in the form of baboons, to transmigrate into that animal to which their besetting sin had assimilated them. The glutton, driven from the tribunal with heavy blows, became a hog; the cruel man a wolf; and so of others. If after their transmigrations, the soul remained polluted, its hope perished forever. It was then transported to the regions of dark- ness and eternal death, symbolized by the twelve hours of the night, and the lower hemisphere. God, under the symbol of the sun, is here also ; but, as the avenger and tormentor, he makes the dark- ness his pavilion ; his disk is" black ; no ray of light issues from him to illume their cheerless abodes. His object in visiting them is to superintend and preside over the punishments endured by the wicked in the seventy-five zones into which the lower hemisphere was divided. Each zone has an attendant spirit attached to it, who is also the executioner. In one of the zones the lost souls are bound to stakes, covered with wounds, which their executioners are still inflicting, brandishing their bloody swords, and at the same time reproaching them with the crimes they have committed while on earth. In an- other they are suspended with the head downward : elpewhere they walk in long and melancholy procession, with their hands bound across their breasts, and their heads nearly severed from their bodies ; or with their hands tied tightly behind their backs, and their hearts torn from their bosoms, and dragging after them on the ground. In other zones, souls in the form which they bore when on earth, or THE GENTILE NATIONS. 143 in that of a hawk or crane, are plunged into boiling caldrons, along with the symbol of divine felicity, the fan, which they have forfeited forever. In the great representations of these fearful scenes, which are repeated in many of the tombs of the kings, the offences for which they endure these torments are specified over each zone, and it is declared concerning all the inhabitants of these abodes of misery, " These souls are at enmity with our God, and do not see the rays which issue from his disk ; they are no longer permitted to live in the terrestrial world, neither do they hear the voice of God when he trav- erses their zone." — Antiquities of Egijpt, p. 163. The importance of the subject justifies this extended information respecting the doctrines of future retribution held in ancient Egypt; and to every intelligent believer in the truth of revelation it will suggest many important arguments corroborative of the teaching of Jude, — that even the early patriarchs were acquainted with the doc- trine of a future judgment, and made it a prominent element of their religious teaching. Jude 14, 15. The doctrines of the Egyptian religion on the subject of providence will next briefly engage our attention. Here the paralyzing and destructive influence of polytheistic theology is plainly seen. As a general doctrine, providence was clearly and. fully recognised by the ancient Egyptians. This was done to an extent which ought to confound not merely avowed infidels, but many who call themselves Christians. Not only did this people consecrate each month, and even each day, to a particular divinity, but all nature was by them supposed to be pervaded with the essence of God. Almost every town and river, every tree and shrub, as well as every animal, was regarded as divine. The shining beams of the sun were looked on as divine influences : the mild radiance of the moon was invested with divine power. The sovereign Avas invariably regarded as the beloved of Deity: and divine interposition in human affairs was fully recognised and believed. We may adduce one proof of this, which is at once interesting and decisive. When Sennacherib the Assyrian, fearing the advance of the king of Egypt, while he was engaged in the conquest of Judea during the reign of Hezekiah, brought his army to the borders of Egypt, the Egyptian monarch repaired, as Hezekiah had done, to the temple of his god, and spreading his deplorable case before his deity, sought refuge in prayer. He was, the account informs us, assured in a dream that he should sustain no injury from the invading army. So it came to pass ; for, as is well known from Hebrew history, the enemy was ruined without a conflict. The Egyptian account of this event has already been 144 THE GENTILE NATIONS. given ; (see Appendix, note 11 ;) and it clearly Bho"WS the ruling idea of Egyptian sovereignty, that God not only interposed in the affairs of mankind, but that he did so specially in answer to prayer. This important fact demonstrates that, among the superior classes of Egypt, the priesthood at least, (for we are specially informed that this sovereign was a priest,) there remained a conviction of the divine unity, sufiBciently clear and strong to induce them to repose confidence in the powerful interposition of the Supreme God, and in his gracious government of the human family. But then it is equally apparent that the masses of the people, ignorant of those important truths, and bewildered in the multitude of imaginary deities, would be strangers alike to confidence and consolation. This assumption of the ignorance of the people is well founded. Wilkinson, their most assiduous apologist, is compelled to admit that, " though the priests were aware of the nature of their gods, and all those who understood the mysteries of the religion looked upon the Divinity as a sole and undivided being, the people, as I have already observed, not admitted to a participation of these important secrets, luere left in perfect ignorance respecting the objects they were taught to adore ; and every one was not only permitted but encour- aged, to believe the real sanctity of the idol, and the actual existence of the god whose figure he beheld." {Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv, p. 175.) What, then, could be the confidence of the people in the providential interposition or protection of Deity ? When the grand destinies of the people were confided to a deified lion, crocodile, cat, or dog, how could such their trust yield consolation ? What could have been- the real amount of reliance which those of a particular locality reposed in their gods, when they knew that the men of a different nome, but a short distance off, were killing and feeding on the same kind of animals as by them were considered to be divine ? To those, therefore, who, knowing the true character of the inverted theology, held fast to the patriarchal elements of revealed truth which had been preserved, to them divine providence might have been an important and efficient doctrine. But, with the people, who were left in ignorance, and who consequently regarded the bull Apis as being just as sacred as the Divinity of which it was the type, — with these there could be no rational confidence in provi- dential government. We hasten to make a few observations on the character and extent of the religious influence which this system imparted to the nation, as well as to individuals. This is the most interesting and important aspect in which the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 145 religion of any people can be regarded. And here the religion of Egypt presented much to admire, and much to lament. 1. The morals of this system were, on the whole, sound. Vice was prohibited and condemned ; truth and justice were sanctioned and enforced. In fact all the precepts already noticed (Patriarchal Age, p. 217) as pure patriarchal laws were found, with one excep- tion only, in the statute- code of Egypt. It must be admitted, not- withstanding the apologies which learned writers have urged, that there is great reason to fear that Phallic worship produced even in Egypt impure and demoralizing results; but if such conse- quences arose, they occurred not with the sanction, but in violation, of Egyptian law. 2. This morality was enforced, not simply as conducive to human welfare, and, as such, necessary to individual and general happiness ; it was enforced as of divine authority. The laws were regarded as of divine origin and obligation. The fact that this assumption has been falsely made in other countries, no more militates against the moral faith of Egypt, than it does against that of Christianity. 3. The propriety of moral conduct was not only urged as by divine authority, but by the explicit teaching of a future retribu- tion ; and a retribution, be it observed, which, after all the fanciful interposition of transmigration, finally issued in eternal misery to the wicked, and everlasting felicity to the righteous. Whatever doubts may exist as to the origin of any particular moral law, it is certain that these doctrines could only be adduced in sanction of morals by divine revelation: so that, in this instance, we have an unmistakable proof that important elements of Egyptian faith were derived from early divine revelation. 4. It is observable that this moral code was understood and taught in a truly spiritual sense. It was not merely mechanical action which was prohibited by the faith of Egypt. Neither conventional religious rites, ending in mere externalism, nor a compliance with the mere letter of a written law, met the demands made on the con- sciences of Egyptians. Let me quote in proof that remarkable ex- pression found in " The Book of the Dead," used by a departed spirit even before it could have access to the assessors : " / have not grieved the spirits of the gods." This phrase implies the deep and com- passionate interest which, according to Egyptian theology, the dei- ties took in the well-being of the people, and at the same time expresses the sincere and devout service which the people were required to render to their gods. It appears, therefore, clear to my mind, that in Egypt an uncom- mon amount of pure patriarchal truth was preserved. Nor does it 10 146 THE GENTILE NATIONS. seem to admit of a doubt, that it was this which preeminently con- stituted the boasted wisdom of Egypt. However lightly esteemed by learned modern writers it may have been, this class of subjects attracted the attention of Pythagoras, Herodotus, and Diodorus, more than any other : and it was on these points that Egypt yielded to those sages the most important harvest of information. Here they read divinity which recognised the doctrine of the Trinity, and the hope of a future incarnation of God. Here they found a system of ethics based upon the tenet of the immortality of the soul of man, — upon his responsibility to his Maker for his deeds on earth, — and upon his appearance after death at the judgment-seat of God, — and also upon the infinitely important truth, that God himself is the exceeding great reward of the righteous, and will surely punish the wicked ; that his favour is everlasting life, that his wrath is death eternal. (Antiquities of Egypt, p. 164.) This country stands immortalized on this account. Amid all its follies and sins, the truth which Egypt preserved from age to age affords the brightest and the best collateral proof of the reality and power of patriarchal religion. But if this is conceded, it may be asked, " Why, then, so severely condemn this religion '?" The an- swer is, On the ground of its vile, impure, and contemptible theology. While the native Egyptians held with wonderful tenacity great ele- ments of patriarchal faith, they with equal devotedness clung to the master-error which had been promulged at Shinar. They conse- quently sank into an abyss of idolatrous infamy, such as was scarcely the fate of any other nation.- Ancient Egypt, therefore, stands before us as an intelligible and perpetual monument of the vital importance of the knowledge of God. Possessing an amount of revealed truth which in other respects might have made her the envy, and which did constitute her the teacher, of surrounding nations, she was, in one grand ele- ment of religion, the special victim of Satanic guile. God was shut out from the knowledge of the people. If the glorious doc- trines of his unity, omnipotence, and omniscience, were preserved at all, they were held as corporate treasure by the priesthood and the initiated. The people were left to offer devotion to, and seek hope and consolation from, crocodiles, lions, asps, and beetles ; \Yhile, over all this bestial array, the image of the serpent constituted the established sign of power and dominion. In the case of this people, the saying of the apostle is preemi- nently true : They " knew the judgment of God, that they who com- mitted such things were worthy of death ;" and yet, unchecked by a just perception of the divine chajracter, they did these very things. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 147 Rom. i, 32. How grand, how truly sublime, is the subject here pre- sented to our contemplation ! God excluded, his honour given to vile reptiles, nay, even to the Satanic image, — the Eternal One thus scorned and rejected; while, nevertheless, his Spirit strives; every element of truth which the mind will consent to receive, is invested with special vigour and energy, and made — as far as divine oversight and providential arrangement (perhaps) could make it — permanent in its teaching and generally influential; the debasing consequences of their idolatry being, all the while, equally apparent. Well may the religious man exclaim, " the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !" Rom. xi, 33. 148 THE GENTILE NATIONS. CHAPTER 111. THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS. HisTOET of Assyria resumed with the Reign of Bblochus — ^Absence of precise Informa- tion respecting this and succeeding Reigns — ^Probability that even in this Age the Power of Egypt was felt on the Banks of the Euphrates — ^Interference of Assyria in the Trojan War— Fragmentary Notices of ancient Reigns recovered from Inscriptions by Colonel Rawlinson — Connected Assyrian History begins about the Tenth Century, B. C. — Adeammelech I. — Sardanapalus I. — His military Career and Successes — Dr- VANDBAEA — The Annals of his Reign from the Black Obelisk and other Sculptures — Shemas Adae — Adkammeleoh n. or Thoitos Concoleeos — The Termination of the Old Imperial Dynasty — Aebaces the Mede on the Throne of Assyria — The Mission of Jonah, and its Results — The Assyrians recover their Sovereignty — ^Pul obtains the sceptre — ^Menahem, King of Israel, destroys Tiphsah — Pul invades Israel, and ex- torts a thousand Talents of Silver from Menahem — Tiglath-Pilesee succeeds to the Throne — At the Solicitation of Ahaz, he invades Syria and Israel, and carries the trans-Jordanic Tribes and the Inhabitants of Galilee into Captivity — Colonel Raw- linson's Arrangement of the Information obtained from the Sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik— Saegina usurps the Throne — His, Annals and public Works — Sen- NACHEEIB — His Campaigns from the Inscriptions — ^Remarkable Accordance between their Account of his War with Hezekiah, and that given in the Scriptures — The De- struction of his Army — His subsequent Reign — Esaehaddon — The Ruin of Samaria, and final Subversion of the Kingdom of Israel — The Captivity and Restoration of Man- asseh — Nabuchodonosoe — His Wars in the East — Defeat and Death of Phraortes — An Army under Holofernes sent into Western Asia — The General slain by Judith, and the Army surprised and routed— Saeac, or Saedanapalus II. — ^Alliance of Media .and Ba- bylon against Assyria — Nineveh besieged and taken — The Assyrian Empire subverted. The origin and early progress of this empire were stated in a pre- ceding volume. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 434-441.) It will now be necessary to resume its history with the reign of Belochus, which began B. C. 1857. This sovereign continued to direct the affairs of his country at the time when Isaac died. Unfortunately, however, no records of this and of several succeed- ing reigns have been preserved. A dry chronicle of the names of kings, with the period during which they respectively governed, copied from the national archives by Ctesias, the Greek physician, is all that has been transmitted to us in a verbal and authentic manner. In a preceding chapter, when treating of Egyptian history, it was stated as a probable fact that, in the time of Thothmes III. of the eighteenth dynasty, the power of Egypt had been felt, and tributary gifts elicited, as far north and east as the banks of the Caspian, and THE tiENTILE NATIONS. 149 the borders of Media. Further researches have rendered it all but certain that, even at that early period, Egypt and Assyria had been brought into close contact, and probably into hostile collision. A learned writer, (see Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit., New Series, vol. ii, p. 227,) from the same monumental materials, elicits the information, that this Egyptian warrior stopped at Neniiev, or Nineveh, and " set up his tablet in Naharina, (Mesopotamia,) on account of his having enlarged the frontiers of Egypt. Twenty-four ingots of glass were brought, as the tributes, by the chief of Saenkar or Singara, and as many from Bebel or Babylon. (See Appendix, note 14.) These wars could scarcely have been carried on, without bringing these two ancient empires into an adverse position toward each other. When it is remembered how strenuously Egypt, in later times, struggled for the possession of Carchemish on the Euphrates, the fact that this district was then visited by an Egyptian army will seem more probable than it might at first sight appear. But the facility with which nations then sought to avoid worse treatment by the presenta- tion of gifts, and the readiness with which they threw off all sense of obligation as soon as the danger had passed away, will cause us to hesitate before we infer anything positive from such information respecting the proper extent of the territory of any empire. Colonel Rawlinson has ascertained from the Assyrian sculptures, that a sovereign named after the goddess Derceto, or Semiramis, reigned in Assyria about 1250 B. C. His exact title has not been deciphered. But it seems likely that he built, rebuilt, or greatly enlarged the city of Nineveh on the Tigris, immediately opposite to the present town of Mosul. We are further informed, that Teutames, the twenty- sixth king of this list, sent Memnon, who was the son of Tithonus, prefect of Persia, with an army, to assist Priam, King of Troy, when his city was besieged by the Greeks. This warrior, it appears, after having greatly distinguished himself, fell in that war. The statement of Herodotus, that the issue of this protracted conflict was regarded as sufficient to constitute the Greeks hereditary enemies of the para- mount rulers of Asia, seems to countenance this tradition. (See Appendix, note 15.) Great expectation has arisen, among the learned, from the recent wonderful discoveries which have been made in the ruins of the cities of this ancient country, and from the no less wonderful recovery of the art of reading the monumental inscriptions. Yet, although our knowledge of the power, manners, warfare, civilization, and arts of the Assyrians has been much increased, neither the great talent and perseverance which have been exerted abroad, nor the devoted in- 150 THE GENTILE NAaiONS. quiry which has been excited at home, has, as yet, given ns such information respecting the history and chronology of this mighty empire as yre should desire to possess. They have, indeed, enabled us to solve important problems respecting the history of the Assyri- ans, to verify many statements of Holy Scripture, and to form at least a tolerable idea of the national spirit, progress, and power of this empire during the last and most interesting period of its existence. It is justly to be ranked among the most wonderful phenomena of divine providence, that here, as well as in Egypt, the extent to which the curse of Babel was carried, in the multiplication of dia- lects, should have so signally wrought its own cure. (See Appendix, note 16.) Yet, notwithstanding the rapid, extensive, and surprising success which has crowned the labours of learned and skilful men who have devoted themselves to the elucidation of the characters and language of the early Assyrian inscriptions, great, and, in many respects, unexpected difficulties have been found, which have much retarded a clear and positive identification of individual reigns. (See Appendix, note 17.) It has, however, been ascertained that, in the twelfth century before Christ, a sovereign reigned whose name has been rendered Divanukha. He built the city of Calah, upon the site which is now called " Nimrud." The identification of these two cities, Nineveh and Calah, is quite positive. Their names are found upon every brick, and almost on every slab, excavated from the ruins which cover their sites. It must not, however, be supposed, when we read of the building of a city of a certain name, that no city of that name or on that site existed before. Very frequently what is celebrated as the building of a city was only the rebuilding or en- larging of it, which is believed to have been the fact in respect both of Nineveh and Calah. A royal cylinder has been recently discovered in a temple of Nep- tune near Nineveh, which appears to give the names of the two im- mediate successors of Divanukha. Colonel Rawlinson compares these names with Mardokempad and Messimordacus, preserved in the Canon of Ptolemy. The titles would certainly be thus read at Babylon; but the learned explorer is not quite satisfied that the planet Mars was called Merodach at Nineveh, as it certainly was at Babylon. (See Appendix, note 17.) The next king of whom we have any account must have reigned in the eleventh century before Christ, following at no great distance of time the grandson of Divanukha. His name signifies, "the Servant of the Prince," or, " the Servant of the Son of the Noble House ;" and, if expressed phonetically, may be read as Anak-bae- BETH-HiRA. The terms, however, " the Noble House," and " Son THE GENTILE NATIONS. 151 of the Noble House," occur so frequently in the inscriptions, both in proper names and in addresses to the gods, that they probably allude to some deified hero, or at any rate to some object of worship, of which the special title would in speaking replace the written periph- rasis. This king seems to be the first of whom we have any knowledge, as carrying the Assyrian arms into foreign countries. His exploits are recorded on a slab which was found at Nimrud, a relic of some ancient palace ; and they are of value in defining the limits of the Assyrian empire at that early period. The king boasts that he had extended his sway from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean; but it is evident, from his lists of conquests, that neither Syria to the west, nor Asia Minor to the northwest, nor Media to the east, had yet been visited by the armies of Nineveh. At this time the em- pire comprised Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia ; and incursions seem to have been then first made into Armenia, and the mountain- ous countries about the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates. Connected Assyrian history may be said to commence in the tenth century before the Christian era, with the reign of Adram- MBLECH I., as the appellation has been read by Colonel Rawlinson, — the first element being the name of the god Adar, and the second a royal title. This sovereign, in the judgment of the learned trans- lator, must have ascended the throne shortly after the death of Solo- mon. Neither of this king, nor of his son, have any monuments been yet discovered. But the latter was certainly a warrior of note : for his conquests are often alluded to by his son, the great Sardanapalus. His name signifies, " the slave of Mars ;" and Colonel Rawlinson suggests that it should be read Anaku-Merodach, (so in He- brew &33>, " a collar,") and compared with the 'Avanvvdapd^i)^ of the Greeks. Sardanapalus appears to have begun his rejgn about 930 B. C, in which case he would be the Ephecheres of Ctesias. He repaired the city of Calah, which had been founded by his ancestor Divanukha, building at that place the famous palace which has supplied our national Museum with the best specimens of Assyrian sculpture. He also erected at Calah temples both to Assur and to "Mars;" and he built a third to Uranus, or " the Heavens," at Nineveh ; some relics of this latter building, which was repaired by Sennacherib, having lately been discovered. As a warrior, his achievements were well known to the Greeks ; and these exploits he recorded in an inscrip- tion of about four hundrad lines, engraved upon each face of an enormous monolith, which was placed in the vestibule of the temple of Mars at Calah. By a careful examination of all the frai^meuts 152 THE GENTILE NATIONS. of this monolith, Colonel Rawlinson has obtained a complete and continuous copy of the whole inscription ; and a translation of it is promised to the world at an early period. It describes, in most elaborate detail, the various expeditions of the king, and enables us to identify a multitude of cities and countries which are named in the historical and prophetical books of Scripture, but of which the positions have been hitherto unknown. Gozan, Hanan, and Rezeth, Eden and Thelaser, Calno and Carchemish, Hamath and Arpad, Tyre and Sidon, and Grebel and Arpad, are all distinctly named. So are the Arab tribes of Kedar and Hazor, Sheba, Teman, and Dedan. For the illustration of the general geography of Western Asia this inscription is not less important. The Tigris and Eu- phrates, the two Zabs, the Hermas and the Khaboor, are designated almost according to their modern names; and we have further the true native forms of Cilicia, Comagene, Sophene, and Gogarene, and of most of the other provinces, both north and south of the Taurus, which are named by the Greek geographers. Other inscriptions, relating to this reign, have been discovered, — one in the northwest palace of Nimrud, which is repeated more than a hundred times. It contains a certain formula of royal commemo- ration, which, in regard to the titles employed and the general charac- ter of address, was adopted by all the succeeding kings of the dynasty in the dedication of their palaces. It thus begins : " This is the palace of Sardanapalus, the humble worshipper of Assarac and Beltis, of the shining Bar, of Ani, and of Dagon, who are the princi- pal of the gods, the powerful and supreme ruler, the King of Assyria; son of the servant of Bar, (Kati-bar,) the great king, the powerful and supreme ruler, the King of Assyria ; who was son of Hevenk the great king, the powerful and supreme ruler. King of Assyria." After this introduction, the inscription goes on apparently to notice the efforts made byihe king to establish the worship of the Assyrian gods generally throughout the empire ; and, in connexion with this subject, incidentally, as it were, occurs a list of the nations tributary to Nineveh, which is of considerable interest, as affording a means of comparing the extent of the kingdom, as it was constituted at that time, with the distribution given in later inscriptions, when the em- pire was enlarged by conquest. A brief outline of this can alone be given. First are mentioned the people of Nahiri, (or Northern Mesopotamia,) of Lek, (perhaps the Lycians, before they moved westward,) of Sabiri, (the Sapires,) and of the plains sacred to the god Hem. There is then an allusion to the countries beyond the River Tigris, as far as Syria : and after several other names, Rabek is mentioned, which, from many points • THE GENTILE NATIONS. 153 of evidence in other inscriptions, Colonel Rawlinson believes to be Heliopolis, the capital of Lower Egypt. The inscription adds: "I received homage from the plains of Larri to Ladsan; from the people beyond the River Zab as far as the city Tel-Biari; from the city of Tel-Abtan to the city of Tel-Zabdan; from the cities of Akrima and Karta, and the sea-coast dependent on Taha-Tanis, to the frontiers of my country. I brought abundance from the plains of Bibad as far as Tarmar ; I bestowed (all) upon the people of my own kingdom." Our learned author pertinently observes, " This list is no less remarkable for what it omits than for what it mentions. It would seem as if the sea-coast of Phenicia had not yet fallen under the power of Assyria, nor the upper provinces of Asia Minor, nor the high land of Media ; and if Susiana and Babylonia were included, — as the mention of Taha-Tanis would seem to indicate, — they were not held of suiEcient account to be noticed ;" or rather were regarded as such essential elements of the empire as not to require mention. In a subsequent inscription, namely, that on the monolith already noticed, the period when Phenicia came under the Assyrian power is mentioned. It is there stated, that when Sardanapalus was in Syria, he received the tribute of the kings of Tyre and Sidon, of Acre, of Byblos, of Berytus, of Gaza, of Barza, (?) and of Aradus, — a complete list of the maritime cities of Phenicia. It seems, therefore, that the wars of Sardanapalus issued in a considerable extension of the Assyrian empire in Western Asia. It was this, unquestionably, which made his name so celebrated in Greece. The inscription in the Nimrud palace, made in the early part of his reign, although evidently designed to set forth the extent of his dominions, omits all mention of the sea-coast of Phenicia; while the monolith which was reared to perpetuate his triumphs, parades all the cities of this country as rendering tribute to Assyria. Sardanapalus was contemporary with Ahab, King of Israel ; and received tribute from Bthbaal, King of Sidon, whose daughter Jezebel was married to the king of Israel. The military career of this great warrior affords a most remark- able instance of the special providence which Jehovah exercised over the Hebrew people. While Sardanapalus was encompassing Pales- tine with his armies, and extending his power over every neighbour- ing people, God did not permit him to touch even apostate Israel, until every merciful means of restoring them had failed. The wicked Ahab, therefore, is left to the reproofs of Elijah, and not handed over to the proud and cruel Assyrian. 154 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Sardanapalus was succeeded by his son DiVANUBARA; a name ■which signified, " the beloved of Divan " or " Hercules." Of the actions of this sovereign, who throughout a long reign appears to have displayed unfailing vigour and incessant activity, we have a remarkably extended and perspicuous account recorded on the Black Obelisk which Layard discovered at Nimrud, and which is now in the British Museum. Indeed, Colonel Rawlinson declares that "by comparing the obelisk inscription with the writing upon the votive bulls belonging to the centre palace, which were dedicated appar- ently at an earlier period of Divanubara's reign, and with the legend on the statue found at Kileh Shergat, which was designed especially to commemorate the king's southern expedition, we have as complete a register of the period as could well be desired. Of this register I will now accordingly undertake to give an explanation, merely pre- mising that, although considerable difficulty still attaches to the pro- nunciation of proper names, and although the meaning of particular parts is still unknown to me, I hold the accurate ascertainment of the general purport of the legend to be no more subject to contro- versy than my decipherment of the Persian inscriptions of Behis- tun." — Jour, of the Roy. Asiatic Soc, vol. xii, p. 431. The inscription on the obelisk commences with an invocation to the gods to protect the empire. This occupies fourteen lines of writing. The whole cannot be read ; but among other phrases are the following : " The god Assarac, the great lord, king of all the great gods; Ani, the king; Nit, the powerful, and Artenk, the supreme god of the provinces ; Beltis, the protector, mother of the gods; — Shemir," (perhaps the Greek Semiramis,) "who presides over the heavens and the earth ; — Bar, Artenk, Lama, and Horus ; — Tal and Let, the attendants of Beltis, mother of the gods." The favour of all these deities, with Assarac, the supreme god of heaven, at their head, is invoked for the protection of Assyria. Divanu- bara then goes on to give his titles and genealogy. He calls him- self " king of the nations who worship Husi," (another name for the god Shemir,) "and Assarac; king of Mesopotamia; son of Sar- danapalus, the servant of Husi, the protector, who first introduced the worship of the gods among the many-peopled nations of Per- sepolis." Divanubara then says, " At the commencement of my reign, after that I was established on the throne, I assembled the chiefs of my people, and came down into the plains of Esmes, where I took the city of Harida, the chief city belonging to Nakharni. " In the first year of my reign, I crossed the Upper Euphrates, and ascended to the tribes who worshipped the god Husi. My ser- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 155 vants erected altars " (or tablets) " in that land to my gods. Then I went on to the land of Khamana, where 1 founded palaces, cities, and temples. I went on to the land of Make ; and there I established the worship" (or laws) "of my kingdom. " In the second year, I went to the city of Tel-Barasba, and occu- pied the cities of Ahuni, son of Hateni. I shut him up in his city. I then crossed the Euphrates, and occupied the cities of Dabagu and Abarta, belonging to the Sheta, together with the cities depen- dent on them. "In the third year, Ahuni, son of Hateni, rebelled against me, and, having become independent, established his seat of government in the city of Tel-Barasba. The country beyond the Euphrates he placed under the protection of the god Assarac the Excellent, while he committed to the god Rimmon the country between the Euphrates and the Arfceri, with its city of Bether, which was held by the Sheta. Then I descended into the plain of Elets. The countries of Shakni, Dayini, Enim, Arcaskan, the capital of Arama, King of Ararat, La- ban and Hubiska, I committed to the charge of Detarasar. Then I went^out from the city of Nineveh, and, crossing the Euphrates, 1 attacked and defeated Ahuni, the son of Hateni, in the city of Sitrat, which was situated upon the Euphrates, and which Ahuni had made one of his capitals. The rest of the country 1 brought under sub- jection; and Ahuni, the son of Hateni, with his gods and his chief priests, his horses, his sons and his daughters, and all his men of war, I brought away to my country of Assyria. Afterward 1 passed through the country of Shelar," (or Kelar,) " and came to the dis- trict of Zobah. I reached the cities belonging to Nikti, and took the city of Gedi, where Nikti dwelt." From the confusion evident on this part of the obelisk sculpture, and the parallel bull inscrip- tion, it seems probable that what is given above includes the third and fourth years. We therefore pass on : " In the fifth year, I went up to the country of Abyari. t took eleven great cities ; I besieged Akitta of Eni in his city, and received his tribute. " In the sixth year, I went out from the city of Nineveh, and pro- ceeded to the country situated on the River Belek. The ruler of the country having resisted my authority, I displaced him, and appointed Tsimba to be lord of the district ; and I there established the As- syrian sway. I went out from the land on the River Belek, and came to the cities of Tel-Atak and Habaremya. Then I crossed the Upper Euphrates, and,received tribute from the kings of Sheta. Afterward I went out from the land of Sheta, and came to the city of Umen. In the city of Umen I raised altars to the great gods. 156 THE GENTILE NATIONS. From the city of Umea I went out, and came to the city of Barbara. Then Hem-ithi-a of the country of Atesh, and Arhulena of Hamath, and the kings of Sheta, and the tribes which were in alliance with them, arose ; setting their forces in battle array, they came against me. By the grace of Assarac, the great and powerful god, I fought with them, and defeated them ; twenty thousand five hundred of their men I slew in battle, or carried into slavery. Their leadera, their captains, and their men of war I put in chains. " In the seventh year, I proceeded to the country belonging to Khabni of Tel-ati, which was his chief place; and the towns which were dependent on it I captured and gave up to pillage. I went out from the city of Tel-ati, and came to the land watered by the head- streams which form the Tigris. The priests of Assarac in that land raised altars to the immortal gods. 1 appointed priests to reside in the land, to pay adoration to Assarac the great and powerful god, and to preside over the national worship. The cities of this region which did not acknowledge the god Assarac, I brought under sub- jection; and I here received the tribute of the country of Nahiri. "In the eighth year, against Sut-Baba, King of Taha-D^is, appeared Sut-Belherat and his followers. The latter led his forces against Sut-Baba, and took from him the cities of the land of Beth- Takara. " In the ninth year, a second time I went to Armenia, and took the city of Lunanta. By the assistance of Assarac and Sut, I ob- tained possession of the person of Sut-Belherat. In the city of Umen 1 put him in chains. Afterward Sut-Belherat, together with his chief followers, I condemned to slavery. Then 1 went down to Shinar; and in the cities of Shinar, of Borsippa, and of Ketika, I erected altars, and founded temples to the great gods. Then I went down to the land of the Chaldees, and I occupied their cities, and I marched on as far even as the tribes who dwelt upon the sea- coast. Afterward, in the city of Shinar, I received the tribute of the kings of the Chaldees, Hateni, the son of Dakri, and Baga-Sut, the son of Aukni, — gold, silver, gems, and pearls. " In the tenth year, for the eighth time I crossed the Euphrates, and took the cities belonging to Ara-lura, of the town of Shalumas ; and I proceeded to the country belonging to Arama " (who was king of Ararat.) "I took the city Arnia, which was the capital of the country ; and I gave up to pillage one hundred of the dependent towns. I slew the wicked, and I carried off the treasures. "At this time Hem-ithra, King of Atesh, Arhulena, King of Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes who were in alliance with them, came forth, arraying their forces against me. They met THE GENTILE NATIONS. 157 me, and we fought a battle, in which I defeated them, making pris- oners of their leaders, and their captains, and their men of war, and putting them in chains. " In the eleventh year, I went out from the city of Nineveh, and for the ninth time crossed the Euphrates. I took the eighty- seven cities belonging to Ara-lura, and one hundred cities belonging to Arama ; and I gave them up to pillage. I settled the country of Khamana ; and, passing by the country of Yeri, I went down to the cities of Hamath, and took the city of Esdimak, and eighty-nine of the dependent towns, slaying the wicked ones, and carrying off the treasures. Again, Hem-ithra, King of Atesh, Arhulena, King of Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes," (or " the twelve kings of Sheta,") " who were in alliance with them, came forth, levying war upon me. They arrayed their forces against me. I fought with them and defeated them, slaying ten thousand of their men, and carrying into slavery their captains, and leaders, and men of war. Afterward I went up to the city of Habbarie, one of the chief cities belonging to Arama" (of Ararat); " and there I received the tribute of Berbaranda, the king of Shetina, — gold, silver, horses, sheep, oxen, &c. I then went up to the country of Khamana, where I founded palaces and cities. " In the twelfth year, I marched forth from Nineveh, and for the tenth time I crossed the Euphrates, and went up to the city of Sevenahuben. I slew the wicked, and carried off the treasures from thence to my own country. " In the thirteenth year, I descended to the plains dependent on the city of Assar-Animet. I went to the district of Yata. I took the forts of the country of Y'^ata, slaying the evil- disposed, and car- rying off all the wealth of the country. " In the fourteenth year, I raised the country, and assembled a great army : with one hundred and twenty thousand warriors I crossed the Euphrates. Then it came to pass that Hem-ithra, King of Atesh, and Arhulena, King of Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes of the Upper and Lower Country, collected their forces together, and came before me, offering battle. I engaged with them, and defeated them ; their leaders, and captains, and men of war I cast into chains. " In the fifteenth year, I went to the country of the Nahiri, and established my authority thi'oughout the country about the head- streams which form the Tigris. " Afterward I descended to the plain of Lanbuna, and devastated the cities of Arama, King of Ararat, and all the country about the head- water of the Euphrates ; and I abode in the country about the' rivers which form the Euphrates ; and there I set up altars to. the 158 THE GENTILE NATIONS. supreme gods, and left priests in the land to superintend the worship. Hasa, King of Dayini, then paid me his homage, and brought in his tribute of horses; and I established the authority of my empire throughout the land dependent on his city. " In the sixteenth year, I crossed the Zab, and went against the country of the Arians. Sut-Mesisek, the king of the Arians, I put in chains, and I brought his wives, and his warriors, and his gods, captives to my country of Assyria ; and I appointed Yanvu, the son of Khanab, to be king over the country in his place. " In the seventeenth year, I crossed the Euphrates, and went up to the country of Khamana, where I founded palaces and cities. "In the eighteenth year, for the sixteenth time I crossed the Euphrates. Khazakan of Atesh came forth to fight : one thous- and one hundred and twenty- one of his captains, and four hundred and sixty of his superior chiefs, with the troops they commanded, I defeated in this war." This campaign^ is not only thus briefly noticed on the obelisk, but was also commemorated by the setting up of two colossal bulls, which were found in the centre of the mound at Nimrud. On these is an inscription, giving a more elaborate account of this war, and stating the numbers, as above, of the prisoners taken, together with thirteen thousand fighting men who were sent into slavery. " In the nineteenth year, for the eighteenth time I crossed the Euphrates. 1 went up to Khamana, and founded more palaces and temples. " In the twentieth year, for the nineteenth time I crossed the Euphrates ; I went to the country of the Berahui. I took the cities, and despoiled them of their treasures. " In the twenty-first year, for the twentieth time I crossed the Euphrates, and again went up to the country of Khazakan of Atesh. I occupied his country ; and, while there, received tribute from the countries of Tyre, of Sidon, and of Gubal." This latter name is the same with the Greek BvdXog. The form occurs in the Hebrew Bible i23. See Ezek. xxvii, 9; and 1 Kings v, 18. " In the twenty-second year, for the twenty-first time I crossed the Euphrates, and marched to the country of Tubal. Then I received the submission of the twenty- four kings of Tubal; and I went on to the country of Atta, to the gold country, to Belni and to Ta- Esfereon. "In the twenty-third year, I again crossed the Euphrates, and occupied the city of Huidra, the strong- hold of Ellal of Melada ; and the kings of Tubal again came in to me, and I received their tribute " In the twenty-fourth year, I crossed the river Zab ; and, crossing THE GENTILE NATIONS. 159 away from the land of Kharkhar, went up to the country of the Arians. Yanvu, whom I had made king of the Arians, had thrown off his allegiance ; so I put him in chains. I captured the city of Esaksha, and took Beth-Telabon, Beth-Everek, and Beth-Treida, his principal cities. I slew the evil-disposed, and plundered the treas- ures, and gave the cities over to pillage. I then went out from the land of the Arians, and received the tribute of twenty-seven kings of the Persians. Afterward, I removed from the land of the Persians, and entered the territory of the Medes, going to Ratsir and Kharkhar. I occupied the several cities of Kdkhidra, of Taizanem, of Irleban, of Akhirablud, and the towns which depended, on them. I punished the evil-disposed. I confiscated the treasures, and gave the cities over to pillage ; and I established the authority of my empire in the city of Kharkhar. Yanvu, the son of Khaban, with his wives, and his gods, and his sons and daughters, his servants, and all his prop- erty, I carried away captive into my country of Assyria. " In the twenty-fifth year, I crossed the Euphrates, and received the tribute of the kings of the Sheta. I passed by the country of Khamana, and came to the cities of Akti of Berhui. The city of Tarbura, his strong- hold, I took by assault. I slew those who resisted, and plundered the treasures ; and all the cities of the country I gave over to pillage. Afterward in the city of Barhura, the capital city of Aram, son of Hagus, I dedicated a temple to the god Rimmon; and I also built a royal palace in the same place. " In the twenty-sixth year, for the seventh time I passed through the country of Khamana. I went on to the cities of Akti of Ber- hui ; and I inhabited the city of Tanaken, which was the strong-hold of Etlak. There I performed the rites which belong to the worship of Assarac, the supreme god ; and I received as tribute from the coun- try, gold and silver, corn and sheep and oxen. Then I went out from the city of Tanaken, and I came to the country of Leman. The people resisted me, but I subdued the country by force. 1 took the cities, and slew their defenders ; and the wealth of the people, with their cattle and corn and movables, I sent as booty to my country of Assyria. I gave all their cities over to pillage. Then I went on to the country of Methets, where the people paid their homage ; and I received gold and silver as their tribute. I appointed Akharriya- don, the son of Akti, to be king over them. Afterward I went up to Khamana, where I founded more palaces and temples, until at length I returned to my country of Assyria. " In the twenty-seventh year, I assembled the captains of my army, and I sent Detarasar of Ittana, the general of the foroeSi in command of my warriors to Armenia; he proceeded to the land of 160 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Khamana, and in the plains belonging to the city of Ambaret he crossed the river Artseni. Asiduri of Armenia, hearing of the in- vasion, collected his cohorts, and came forth against my troops, offering them battle. My forces engaged with him, and defeated him ; and the country at once submitted to my authority. " In the twenty- eighth year, while I was residing in the city of Calah, a revolt took place on the part of the tribes of the Shetina. They were led on by Sherila, who had succeeded to the throne on the death of Labami, the former king. Then I ordered the general of my army, Detarasar of Ittana, to march with my cohorts and all my troops against the rebels. Detarasar accordingly crossed the Upper Euphrates, and, marching into the country, established him- self in the capital city, Kanala. Then Sherila, who was seated on the throne, by the help of the great god Assarac, 1 obtained pos- session of his person, and his officers, and the chiefs of the tribes of the Shetina, who had thrown off their allegiance, and revolted against me, together with the sons of Sherila, and the men who ad- ministered affairs ; and imprisoned or punished all of them ; and I appointed Ar-hasit, of Suzakisba, to be king over the entire land. I exacted a tribute also from the land, consisting of gold and silver, and precious stones, and ebony, &c. ; and I established the national worship throughout the land, making a great sacrifice in the capital of Kanala, in the temple which had been there raised to the gods. " In the twenty-ninth year, I assembled my warriors and captains, and I ascended with them to the country of the Lek. I accepted the homage of the cities of the land, and I went on to Shenaba. " In the thirtieth year, while I was residing in the city of Calah, 1 summoned Detarasar, the general of my army; and I sent him forth to war in command of my cohorts and forces. He crossed the river Zab, and first came to. the cities of Hubiska ; he received the tribute of Daten of Hubiska; and he went out from thence, and came to the country belonging to Mekadal of Melakari. He then went on to the country of Haelka of Minni. Haelka of Minni had thrown off his allegiance, and declared himself independent, estab- lishing his seat of government in the city of Tsiharta. My general, therefore, put him in chains, and carried off his flocks and herds and all his property, and gave his cities over to pillage. Passing out from the country of Minni, he next came to the territory of Selshan of Kharta. He took possession of the city of Maharsar, the capital, of the country, and of all the towns which depended on it ; and Sel- shan and his sons he made prisoners, and sent to his country, de- spatching to me their tribute of horses, male and female. He then went into the country Sardera, and received the tribute of Ataheri THE GENTILE NATIONS. 161 of Sardera. He afterward marched to Persia, and obtained the tribute of the kings of the Persians ; and he captured many more cities between Persia and Assyria, and he brought all their riches and treasures with him to Assyria. " In the thirty-first year, a second time, while I abode in the city of Calah, occupied in the worship of the gods Assarac, Hem, and Nebo, 1 summoned the general of my army, Detarasar of Ittdna, and I sent him forth to war with my troops and cohorts. He went out accordingly, in the first place, to the territories of Daten of Hu- biska, and received his tribute; then he proceeded to Anseri, the capital city of the country of Bazatsera ; and he occupied the city of Anseri, and the thirty-six other towns of the country of Bazat- sera. He continued his march to the land of Armenia; and he gave over to pillage fifty cities belonging to that territory. He afterward proceeded to Ladsan, and received the tribute of Hubu of Ladsan, and of the districts of Minni, of Bariana, of Kharran, of Sharrum, of Andi, — sheep, oxen, and horses, male and female. And he afterward penetrated as far as the land of the Persians, taking possession of the cities of Baiset, Shel-Khamana, and Akeri- Khamana, all of them places of strength, and of the twenty-three towns which depended on them. He slew those who resisted, and he carried off the wealth of the cities. And he afterward moved to the country of the Arians, where, by the help of the gods Assarac and Sut, he captured their cities, and continued his march to the country of the Kherets, taking and despoiling two hundred and fifty towns, until at length he descended into the plains of Esmes, above the country of Umen." This monarch appears to have been succeeded by his son Shemas Adar, who was followed by Adrammelech II. As these were the last sovereigns of the old imperial dynasty, the only mode of reconciling the teaching of the inscriptions with the list of Ctesias is, to identify Sardanapalus with Ophratseus, Divanubara with Ephe- cheres, Shemas Adar with ^Eraganes, and Adrammelech II. with Thonos Concoleros. Nor does this arrangement involve any dis- crepancy. The second of these sovereigns, according to the list, reigned the unusual period of fifty-two years; while the inscrip- tions record a series of annual campaigns extending to his thirty- eighth year. No doubt can be entertained as to the fact, that with Adramme- lech II., or Thonos Concoleros, the old imperial dynasty termi- nated, and that Arbaces the Mode next succeeded to the throne. This is confirmed alike by the testimony of all ancient history, and is fully warranted by the inscriptions. The manner in which this 11 162 THE GENTILE NATIO^'S. was done is, however, one of the most disputed questions in ancient history. (See Appendix, notes 18, 19.) We have by careful inquiry into the subject been convinced, that Arbaces, being a Median ofiBcer, appointed in regular course with others to command the garrison of Nineveh, took advantage of his period of office to sup- plant his licentious and effeminate master, and seat himself on his throne. No inscriptions have been found recording the actions of this king, although Colonel Rawlinson has discovered from damaged slabs evi- dence of the existence of a sovereign who reigned between Adram- melech II. and Pul. If our arrangement of these reigns is correct, this will be the sovereign who ruled Assyria, when Jonah went there on his mission from Jehovah. It is not improbable that future re- searches into the ancient mounds of that country may yet produce some native evidence of the preaching of the Hebrew prophet and its great results. It is, however, clear, that this period is as suita- ble to the circumstances detailed in the Scriptural account as any that can be found. If we had heard that one of the last rulers of the old imperial line had then reigned, we might have been struck with the improbability that a person so steeped in sensuality and sloth, as by universal consent these princes are said to have been, should promptly submit to the divine message, and unite with his people in self-denial, penitence, and prayer. But from a man who had dared to aspire to a throne to which he was not entitled, who had succeeded in reaching that dangerous elevation, and who was probably open to every sound of alarm in his own mind, and anx- ious to avail himself of any opportunity of blending his own with the general sympathies of his people, — from such a monarch the course pursued by the king of Nineveh, as recorded by the prophet, was just what might be expected. Yet the subject of this narrative must always be regarded as a most extraordinary event. What could have induced a whole peo- ple to such instant and universal humiliation ? The simple answer is afforded by the Scripture : " The people of Nineveh believed God." Jonah iii, 5. It is, however, probable that the men of Nine- veh were familiar with the wonderful interpositions of Jehovah on behalf of Israel. Having for centuries had intercourse with Egypt, this degree of religious knowledge would be inevitable ; and hence we find that it was not until the Israelites had fallen into idolatry, and had assimilated their worship to that of the surrounding nations, that the Assyrians dared to assail them. Compare 2 Kings xviii, 22, with verses 33-35. Pul succeeded Arbaces in the government of Assyria. The THE GENTILE NATIONS. 163 name of this monarch has not yet been found on the inscriptions ; but fragments have been identified as referring to his reign. Raw- linson believes Pul to have been connected with the old Assyrian line of kings; and Mr. Sharpe affirms, (Bonomi's Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 69,) that, " after the death of Arbaces the Mede, the As- syrians were able to make themselves again independent." It seems probable that after his decease the throne of Nineveh was secured by a native Assyrian, inasmuch as all the sculptures referring to this and the following reign indicate a return to the usages of the former dynasty. Under this sovereign we meet with the first conflict between the Hebrews and the Assyrians, which, strangely enough, was begun by the former people. Menahem, having slain Shallum, King of Israel, and seated himself on his throne, was so fool- hardy as to lead an army to the banks of the Euphrates, where he stormed Tiphsah, a city belonging to Assyria, and destroyed its inhabitants with the most atrocious barbarity. 2 Kings xv, 16. This assault was not long left unavenged. In the following year Pul marched an army into Samaria, of such magnitude and power that the affrighted king did not dare to meet it ; but purchased a peace , by the payment of ten thousand talents of silver. This circum- stance is mentioned in an inscription found on a fragment of .a slab in the south-west palace of Nineveh. Another fragment of Pul's dnnals, which is still lying in a passage of the same palace, seems to have contained a particular account of the expedition of this Assyrian king against Samaria; but the writing is so mutilated that little can be made out, except the name of the city. TlGLATH-PiLESBR was the ncxt king of Assyria. He also was brought into contact with the Hebrews by their own act. We have scarcely, in the whole history of that nation, a more striking instance of the evil consequences of their impiety and unbelief. Israel, under the reign of Pekah, entered into an alliance with Rezin, King of Syria, against Judah. The main object of this confederacy was the dethrone- ment of the house of David, and the establishment of a son of Tabeal as sovereign of Judah. This produced a profound sensation at Jeru- salem, when God sent Isaiah the prophet to King Ahaz, assuring him that this conspiracy should fail, and inviting him to ask any sign for the truth of this promise. The impious king declined to ask, on the plea that he would " not tempt God ;" upon which the Lord gave, by the prophet, the glorious prophecy of the birth of Immanuel. Isa. vii. But although Ahaz would not ask a sign of God, he was so alarmed at the union of these two powers against him, that " he took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the trea- 164 THE GENTILE NATIONS. sures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria," with this servile message to Tiglath-Pileser : "I am thy servant and thy son : come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.'' 2 Kings xvi. This course precisely falling in with the policy of the king of Assyria, he complied with the request, and proceeded to Syria, which he subdued, killing Rezin the king in the war, and taking Damascus. He then entered the kingdom of Israel, which he also subjected to his will ; and, leaving the humbled king only the province of Samaria, he took all the cities on the east bank of the Jordan, and Galilee in the north, and carried the inhabitants away as captives to the extreme portion of his own kingdom on the banks of the river Kir. Ahaz went in person to Damascus, to thank the Assyrian for his aid. Thus began the long-threatened deporta- tion of the idolatrous Hebrews into the land of their conquerors. At the close of this reign we have again the light of recovered and translated inscriptions, to guide us in our way. In the next king we meet with the builder of Khorsabad, and have the aid of the inscriptions found in this city, and also in that of Koyunjik, to assist us in this and the following reigns. These literary treasures, so strangely brought to light, have been arranged by Colonel Rawlinson in four classes : — "1. First, the standard inscriptions, which contains the names and titles of the king, and a list of the principal tribes and nations sub- ject to Assyria; with occasional notices of the building of the city of Khorsabad ' near to Nineveh, after the manner of Egypt,' together with a prayer to the gods for its protection. " 2. The second class consists of the long inscriptions on the votive bulls, which, without being strictly historical, go into much greater detail regarding the constitution of the empire, and name the various kings and chieftains subdued by the Assyrian monarch. There are also in those inscriptions very elaborate notices of the Assyrian Pantheon. " 3. The third or historical class consists of the slabs surrounding the sculptured halls, interposing between the bas-reliefs which repre- sent the battles and sieges recorded in the inscriptions. Some of these records are in the form of regular yearly annals, while in others the entire history of the monarch's reign is given as a continuous narrative, without being interrupted by divisions of time. In some of these insciptions the geographical details are quite bewildering. " 4. The inscriptions of the fourth class are those on the back of thC' slabs, which were never intended to be seen. They are strictly religious, containing no geographical notices whatever, but merely THE GENTILE NATIONS. 165 noticing the building of Khorsabad by the king, and invoking the gods to extend protection to that city." — Jour, of the Roy. Asiatic Sac, vol. xii, p. 458. It will only be necessary here to present the reader with a tolerably copious abstract of the historical inscriptions relating to this period. The name of the founder of Khorsabad, as given in a phonetic form in the inscriptions, is Arko-tsin. He calls himself " King of As- syria and Babylonia," and of two provinces of which the titles are usually given as Saberi and Hekti, and which may be understood to denote that portion of Upper Asia immediately to the eastward of the valley of the Tigris. His three special divinities, who are named in every inscription immediately after the proclamation of his own titles, are Assarac, Nebu, and Sut. Then follows a catalogue of geographi- cal names, which appears intended to mark out the limits of the Assy- rian empire, and not to give a list of the merely tributary provinces. It commences with the passage, " From Yetnan, a land sacred to the god Husi, as far as Misr and Misek," (or Lower and Upper Egypt,) " Martha or Acarri," (Acre, — which was the sea-coast of Phenicia,) "and the land of Sheta." The countries of Media, Vakana, (perhaps Hyrcania,) Ellubi, Rasi, and Susiana, are after- ward mentioned in succession ; and the list closes with a multitude of names of tribes and cities which belong to Susiana, Elymais, and Lower Chaldea, and the positions of which are illustrated by their contiguity to the great rivers Tigris, Eulseus, and Pasitigris. After these geographical notices, which are important as indicating the extent of the empire at the time, follow the annals, which extend from the commencement of the king's reign to his fifteenth year. Before entering on the details of the next reign, it must be observed that we have here another change of dynasty, — a revolu- tion. Sargina, the Sargon of Isaiah, and the Shalmaneser of the Book of Kings, who succeeded Tiglath-Pileser, was not his son, nor in any way connected by relationship with the royal line, but a sub- ordinate officer in the palace. " Polyhistor, in Agathius, calls him ' the head gardener ;' and it is very possible that this may have been his real condition." — Raivlinson's Outlines of Assyrian History, p. 29. But, being a man of great daring, energy and capacity, he succeeded in grasping the reins of government, immediately after they had fallen from the hands of Tiglath-Pileser. Having established himself on the throne, Sargina placed himself at the head of his army, and proceeded to consolidate the power of the empire by enforcing the entire subjection of those provinces which had evinced symptoms of insubordination, and to extend be- yond its former limits the authority of Assyria. 166 THE GENTILE NATIONS. The first campaign noticed on the sculptures was against Helubi- nerus, King of Susiana, who was defeated ; and twenty-seven thousand eight hundred of his men, two hundred of his captains, and fifty of his superior ofiicers, were carried into captivity. The second campaign was against certain tributaries of the king of Egypt; and as in this passage (which is repeated several times in the halls) occurs the only mention of the Egyptian monarch's name. Colonel Rawlinson gives the clause as literally as possible : " Khanan, King of the city of Khazita, and Shelki, of the tribe of Khalban, belonging to the country of Misr," (or Egypt,) " prepared their forces for battle in the city of Rabek. They came against me; and I fought with them, and defeated them." This passage the learned translator applies to the frontier- towns of Egypt, (see Ap- pendix, note 20,) and adds from the inscriptions, "1 received the tribute of Biarku," or Biarhu, " King of Misr, — gold, asbatera," (perhaps tin,) "horses and camels," together with certain unknown articles, coming from Harida and Arbaka. The next campaign presents some very interesting allusions. It was carried on against Kehek, the King of Shenakti, a city which is usually mentioned in connexion with Ashdod, and which must therefore be situated on the sea-coast of Palestine, being perhaps the same place as Askalon. Here occurs in the record a notice of peculiar interest. After the city of Shenakti was taken from Kehek, it was presented by the Assyrian king to Methati, King of Atheni. Colonel Rawlinson believes this to refer to Melanthus of Athens ; and is supported in this judgment by the fact, that in the general inscriptions, which give a synopsis of the historical data, the city of Shenakti is said to be held by the Yavana. That this term refers to the lonians seems certain. It is, therefore, likely that we have here an account of the presentation of a city by the king of Assyria to the Athenians, for naval assistance rendered by them during his wars. Colonel Rawlinson is disposed to think that many of the pre- dictions and notices found in Isaiah (chap, xix and xx) were verified in this campaign. The fourth campaign was against Amris, King of Tubal, who seems to have been supported by Arab, King of Ararat, and by Meta, King of Misek, and also by the tribe of the Amorites, here called Amari These campaigns are remarkable for their identity of character, and are almost all described in the same terms. The king of Assyria defeats the enemy in the field, subjugates the country, sacrifices to the gods, and then generally carries the people into captivity, sup- plying their places by colonists drawn from other parts of his empire, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 167 and appointing his own governors or prefects to rule these new com- munities. This uniformity is clearly attributable to the circumstance, that nothing was inscribed which could prove unacceptable to the royal warrior. The following campaigns relate to wars successively carried on against Hamath and its dependencies, — Ararat and Minni, — Khark- har and Media, — Syria, — and Susiana, Elymais, and Babylonia. In this list we find no notice of the capture of Samaria. Indeed, the year before this event is the last recorded in the annals which have been recovered. But it is unquestionable that the conquest was one of the triumphs of that reign. In a former campaign Sargina had subjected the king of Israel to tribute. 2 Kings xvii, 3. But finding afterward that Hoshea was forming an alliance with the king of Egypt, he sent an army to invest bis capital, which fell into the hands of the Assyrians after a siege of three years, when the conquerer " took Samaria, and carried the people of Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." 2 Kings xvii, 6. From this time Israel ceased to be a kingdom. Although no inscriptions have as yet been discovered which furnish an account of these events, others very clearly prove that they actually took place in this reign. It seems that soon after the conquest of Syria and Israel, Sargina turned his arms against Carchemish, the city of the Hittites, on the Euphrates ; and having spoiled this city, and brought from thence a great amount of wealth into the royal treasury, he set up a tablet in the palace of Sardana- palus at Calah, in celebration of the event. On this monument he for the first time assumes the title of " the Conqueror of the remote Judea;" so glorious in the estimation of the princes of the east was the subjugation even of a part of the Hebrew nation. Not content with his success on the continent, it is asserted that Sargina sailed to the Island of Cyprus, and reduced it to subjection. There is still extant, in the Museum at Berlin, a statue of this king, with a suitable inscription, which was found in that island. But Menander, quoted by Josephus, (Antiquities, book xi, chap, xiv, sect. 2,) says that Sargina failed in his efiForts to subdue Tyre, although his army was employed against that city for five years. Sargina makes no mention of his ancestors ; but upon a clay tablet, of the date of Sennacherib, the name of Sargina's father is given as Nabosiphuni, and that of his grandfather as Kilapel. This sovereign was the builder of Khorsabad, from whence so rich a harvest of sculptured treasures has been procured, and which 168 THE GENTILE NATIONS. stands identified with the lower line of Assyrian kings. This city, named in the common idiom of the country after its founder, retained among the inhabitants the title of Sarghan, until the period of the Arab conquest. It appears certain that Sennacherib succeeded his father Sat- gina,.or Shalman, on the throne of Assyria. Respecting him the sacred Scriptures give us a considerable amount of information ; but the monuments have as yet furnished no complete copy of the annals of his reign. Yet the patient and unvpearied industry of those, to whose researches the world is so greatly indebted for im- portant notices on this interesting subject, has brought together the materials for a tolerable account of the early part of Sennacherib's career. It will serve to show the remarkable manner in which this knowl- edge has been obtained, if we notice the sources whence this account has been derived. The first is a clay cylinder, covered with inscrip- tions, which was found by Mr. Rich at Nineveh; and which, after lying for the last thirty years almost unnoticed in the British Museum, has been recently published m fac- simile by Grotefend at Hanover. This cylinder furnishes ample details of the first two years of Sennacherib's reign, and further contains a very interesting account of the king's early buildings at Nineveh. The second docu- ment is an inscription on a pair of bulls in Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh. Throughout all the historical portion of this inscription, which extends to the king's sixth regnal year, the writing is much mutilated; but, by the aid of the other texts, and a very careful examination of the slabs under every possible light, Colonel Rawlin- son has succeeded in effecting an almost complete restoration. The third document — which is the most valuable of all, as it extends to the king's eighth year, and contains abundance of detail omitted on the bulls — is an inscription upon a clay cylinder, which was found at Nineveh many years ago, and was conveyed to England by Colonel Taylor in 1846. The original cylinder is said to be lost; but casts of it are extant,^ — one taken on paper by Colonel Rawlinson in 1835 ; and another taken in plaster by M. Lottin de Lavel, about ten years later : of these casts a great portion of the inscription can be re- covered. From such materials, so wonderfully preserved, and so strangely brought into juxtaposition, the following account has been arranged according to Colonel Rawlinson's translations. Sennacherib adopts the ordinary royal epithets assumed by his pre- decessors ; but he also on many occasions takes the especial title of Ebidu Malki, " the Subduer of Kings ;" and he further styles himself, " he who has reduced under his yoke all the kings of Asia, from the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 169 Upper Forest •whicli is under the setting sun," (Lebanon,) "to the Lower Ocean which is under the rising sun," (the Persian Gulf.) His annals, as presented in those monumental remains, thus com- mence : " In the first year of my reign I fought a battle with Mero- dach-Baladan, King of Kar-duniyas, and the troops of Susiana, who formed his army ; and I defeated them. He embarked on board his ships, and fled across the sea ; concealing himself in the country, to Guzumman, the River Agammi, and the parts beyond it, he fled. His ships saved him. His standards, his chariots, his horses, his mares, his camels, and his mules, which he abandoned on the field of battle, fell into my hands. I then marched to his palace, "which was near the city of Babylon ; I opened the royal treasure-house, and rifled it of the gold and silver vessels, the hoards of gold and silver, altogether a vast booty ; his idols, the women of his palace, all his chief men, &c., (fee, each and all I seized and carried off into captivity. By the grace of Assur my lord, seventy-nine of the prin- cipal fortified cities of the Chaldseans, and eight hundred and twenty of the smaller towns which depended on them, I took and plundered. The nomade tribes of the Aramaeans and Chaldteans, who inhabited the Mesopotamian country, I subdued and carried off into captivity. " A man of the name of Bel-adon, the son of one of my confi- dential ofiicers, who had been bred up in my palace, I appointed to be king of the country, attaching to his government the provinces of the north and east. " At the same time I subjugated the Aramaean tribes, who lined the Tigris and Euphrates : — the Tehaman," (Teman of Scripture,) the Rikis, the Yetukh, the Hubad, the Kiheim, the Melik, the Gurum, the Hubal, the Damun, the Tebal, the Kindar," (Kedar of Scripture,) " the Ruhua^'the Bakud, the Kamran, the Khagurin," (Hagarenes,) " the Nabaat," (the Nebaroth or Nabat^ans,) " the Lihata, and the Aramaeans Proper. I carried off to Nineveh two hundred and eight thousand men and women, eight thousand two hundred horses and mares, eleven thousand one hundred and eighty head of cattle, five thousand two hundred and thirty camels, one million and twenty thousand one hundred sheep, eight hundred thousand three hundred goats, — altogether an enormous booty." It is worthy of observation that the king of Babylon, Merodach- Baladan, spoken of in this campaign, was the same who afterward sent an embassy to Hezekiah. This war is mentioned both by Polyhistor and Abydenus. It is further remarkable that the As- syrian annals speak of Kar-duniyas in the Lower Country, and not Babylon, as the capital of the nation. The second year of Sennacherib's reign found him occupied among 170 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the mountains to the north and east. He seems to have crossed the Taurus into countries to which his ancestors had never penetrated ; and his annals contain the usual amount of huming and plundering, sweeping off the old population, and planting fresh colonies in their place. For the rest of the year, Sennacherib says, he was occupied in reducing Ellibi, — a name by which Northern Media is usually designated. The title of the king of the country, Aspabara, shows that he was of Arian extraction ; and one of his cities, Marukarta, is well known in Armenian history. A large portion of Aspabara's territory was attached directly to Assyria ; another of his principal cities was rebuilt, and, under the name of Beth- Sennacherib, was peopled by an Assyrian colony, and placed under the charge of the governor of Kharkhar (Van). From Ellibi, Sennacherib went on to Media, and received tribute from that nation, "which had never," he adds, "submitted to the kings my ancestors." The annals of the third year are more important, and require to be given with more particular detail. " In my third year," says Sennacherib, " I went up to the country of the Khetta " (or Hittites). " Suliya, King of Sidon, had thrown off the yoke of allegiance. On my approach from Abiri, he fled to Yetnan, which was on the sea- coast." Mr. Rawlinson supposes Yetnan to be the same as the Rhinocolura of the Greeks, since it is always spoken of as a mari- time city south of Phenicia, which formed the extreme limit of the Assyrian territory toward Egypt. He believes that we have here a remarkable fulfilment of the prophecy of Balaam against the Kenite, (Num. xxiv, 21, 22 ;) and proposes the following as a more correct reading for the former of these verses : " Thy dwelling-place is Ethan," (Yetnan,) " and thou puttest thy nest in Sela " (Petra). After which the learned translator asserts, " The transportation of the Kenites to Assyria, foretold in the next verse, is duly related in the inscrip- tions." Sennacherib thus proceeds with a narrative of his annals : " I re- duced the entire country ; the places which submitted to me were Sidon the Greater and Sidon the Less, Beth Zitta, Sariput, Mahallat, Hussuva, Akzib, and Akka. I placed Tubaal on the throne in the place of Suliya " It seems probable that this person was related to the chief who in the preceding reign was intended, by Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah, King of Israel, to supersede the house of David on the throne of Judah. Isaiah vii. The annals proceed : " The kings of the sea-coast all repaired to my presence in the neighbour- hood of the city of Husuva," or Tyre, " and brought me the accus- tomed tribute. Sitka of Ascalon, who did not come to pay me THE GENTILE NATIONS. . 171 homage, the gods of his house and his treasures, his sons and his daughters, and his brothers of the house of his father, I seized, and sent off to Nineveh. I placed another chief on the throne of Asca- lon, and I imposed on him the regulated amount of tribute." We are now brought to the point at which Sennacherib gives his own version of the campaign narrated in Holy Scripture, which ter- minated so disastrously for Assyria. We will give the account from the annals. The Assyrian monarch goes on to say : " In the autumn of the year, certain other cities, which had refused to sub- mit to my authority, I took and plundered. The nobles and the people of Ekron, having expelled their King Haddiya, and the Assyrian troops who garrisoned the town attached themselves to Hezekiah of Judea, and paid their adorations to his God. The kings of Egypt also sent horsemen and footmen, belonging to the king of Mirukha," (Meroe or Ethiopia,) " of which the numbers could not be counted. In the neighbourhood of the city of Allakis " (Lachish) " I joined battle with them. The captains of the cohorts, and the young men of the kings of Egypt, and the captains of the cohorts of the king of Meroe, I put to the sword in the country of Lubanah " (Libnah). "Afterward I moved to the city of Ekron; and the chiefs of the people having humbled themselves, I admitted them ■into my service ; but the young men I carried into captivity to in- habit the cities of Assyria. Their goods and wealth also I plundered to an untold amount. Their King Haddiya I then brought back from the city of Jerusalem, and again placed in authority over them, imposing on him the regulated tribute of the empire ; and because Hezekiah, King of Judea, did not submit to my yoke, forty-six of his strong fenced cities, and innumerable smaller towns which depended on them, I took and plundered : but I left to him Jerusa- lem, his capital city, and some of the inferior towns around it. The cities which 1 had taken and plundered, I detained from the govern- ment of Hezekiah, and distributed between the kings of Ashdod, and Ascalon, and Ekron, and Gaza ; and having thus invaded the territory of these chiefs, I imposed on them a corresponding increase of tribute over that to which they had formerly been subjected. And because Hezekiah still continued to refuse to pay me homage, I attacked and carried off the whole population, fixed and nomade, which dwelt around Jerusalem, with thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver, the accumulated wealth of the nobles of Hezekiah's court, and of their daughters, with the officers of his palace, men- slaves and women-slaves. 1 returned to Nineveh, and I accounted this spoil for the tribute which he refused to pay me." How marvellous is this record! How strange that we should 172 THE GENTILE NATIONS just at this time recover the Assyrian king's account of his own wars ! I will briefly note the points of agreement and of discrepancy found to exist in the Scriptural and monumental versions of this campaign. It may be observed, in the first place, that the general scope of the inscriptions perfectly accords with the Scriptural account. We read in the Scriptures, (2 Kings xviii, 8,) that Hezekiah, in the early part of his reign, " smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza." Colonel Rawlinson, with great plausibility, supposes that this defeat of the maritime tribes of Philistia is spoken of in the inscriptions as a defection of the Bkronites ; and the fact that the Assyrian governor of Ekron was, on the approach of Sennacherib, found at Jerusalem, seems to afford sufiBcienfc proof of this. It was to this district that Sennacherib directed primary attention, when, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, he marched into Pal- estine. He was there when he heard of the approach of the Egyptian army. Whether the statement of the inscriptions, that he engaged and defeated the Egyptian army before Lachish, is a grave fact or an Assyrian boast, cannot now be satisfactorily determined, although it seems probable that some collision between these forces took place. There is a singular agreement between the Scriptures and the As- syrian records respecting the amount of gold which Sennacherib received from Hezekiah. Both state it to have been thirty talents of gold. 2 Kings xviii, 14. With respect to the sum contributed in silver there is a discrepancy ; the sacred records mentioning three hundred, but the inscriptions eight hundred, talents. It seems, how- ever, from the manner in which this is told in the inscriptions, that in the latter amount was included a portion of the plunder of the surrounding country. It is true that the Scriptures do not assert that any considerable number of Hebrews were sent into captivity by this sovereign ; while the sculptures say that not less than two hundred thousand were at this period sent into Assyria. But it is a remarkable fact, that De- metrius the Jew, who lived about two hundred and twenty years before Christ, and is quoted by Clemens of Alexandria, assigns to this reign the great Assyrian captivity of the Jews : so that it is probable some considerable deportation of the Jews then took place. The reduction of the greater portion of the towns of Judea, so osten- tatiously claimed in the inscriptions, seems to be virtually admitted by the sacred writer, who briefly observes, " Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah did Sennacherib King of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." 2 Kings xviii, 13. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 173 Still the fact, the great indisputahle fact, is admitted : — Jerusalem was not subdued. " I left to him Jerusalem his capital city, and some of the inferior towns around it," says the boastful monarch. And why ? Certainly not because of the military strength of the Iking of Judah ; — for, had he been able, he would have defended the whole of his country ; — but simply because the city of David was at that time protected by the power of God. How glorious is this proof of the truth and faithfulness of Jehovah ! Yet how singularly do the style and manner of the inspired writer and of the inscriptions contrast, when carefully collated with each other ! We feel as if called to compare the cool and truthful state- ments of an authentic history of a war with the gasconading bul- letins of the unscrupulous warrior who was the aggressor in the conflict. The inscriptions do not, of course, say a word respecting the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army. It may be ques- tioned whether the truth respecting that wonderful event was ever fully made known in Assyria. Besides the troops actually march- ing as the army of aggression, there must have been, to the west of the Tigris, an immense military force, spread over the several coun- tries, and occupying various garrisons and important military and political posts. And a man of mind and energy, as Sennacherib undoubtedly was, would easily be able to collect from these a respect- able body of troops, with which to return to his capital. It must not, therefore, be imagined that the Assyrian warrior fled as a fugi- tive to Nineveh, on the ruin of his grand army. It is much more probable that the inscriptions give the plan on which he acted ; and that he exerted himself to the utmost to sustain the character of a conqueror, and to go back to his capital as one returning from a con- tinued course of success. Yet the complete change of tone in the annals of the king, immediately after the termination of this cam- paign, is as perfect a corroboration of the Scriptural account of the miraculous destruction of his army, as could have been given with- out an explicit notice of the fact. As an instance, it may be stated that the events of his fourth year present a marked contrast to the detailed and magniloquent descriptions of the preceding periods. They are confined to a few meagre lines, and refer exclusively to an expedition against the Chaldees, undertaken, as Colonel Rawlinson jonjectures, in order to punish Merodach-Baladan for having sent ambassadors to Hezekiah. Sennacherib does not appear to have conducted this war in person : he does indeed say that he went to the country of Beth-Yakina, (at the mouth of the Euphrates,) " where Sifeubi the Chaldsean, who dwelt in the city of Bittuth, sus- 174 THE GENTILE NATIONS. tained a defeat. My troops pursued him ; but he fled away, and his place was not found." The rest of the year was occupied in th? reduction of Beth-Yakina. Sennacherib goes on to narrate, " Mer- odach-Baladan, whom I had defeated in the course of my first year, he fled before my chief officers, and concealed himself beyond the sea. His brothers, the offspring of his father's house, whom he had left on this side of the sea, together with the men of the country, I ordered to be conveyed from Beth-Yakina. The rest of the cities of Merodach-Baladan I destroyed and burned, and placed my son Assur JSTadun over the government of the country in an independent . position." It has been generally assumed, that Sennacherib, immediately after the ruin of his great army, hastened to Nineveh, where he was almost immediately afterward slain by his two sons. But that this assassination took place immediatejy, ^or within fifty-five days, after his return to Nineveh, is only taught in a doubtful passage in the apocryphal Book of Tobit. Chap, i, 18-21. The account given by the sacred writer would rather lead to the opinion, that he survived the destruction of his army some considerable time : for it is said that, after this catastrophe, he " departed, and went and returned, and DWELT at Nineveh;" (2 Kings xix, 36;) an expression which would certainly indicate that he continued to reside there more than a few days. ' This is, however, fully established by the inscriptions, which record the annals of five years after that memorable event. In the fifth year of Sennacherib, there were two expeditions, — one against the tribes of Takhari ; and the other against Manigama, King of the city of Vakku : but the geography of these places has not been clearly ascertained. The inscriptions on the bulls at Nineveh close with an account of a maritime expedition, conducted by Sennacherib against the Chal- dseans, who, to escape Assyrian tyranny, had embarked, with their gods and wealth, in vessels, and taken refuge'beyond the sea in the city of Nagiat. Unable to reach them with his own people, Sennach- erib brought artisans and mariners from Tyre and Sidon. These he assembled on the Upper Tigris, and thence, on rafts or vessels, floated them down to Beth-Yakina. Here they constructed and .manned a sufficient number of ships, and, after sacrificing to the gods, crossed over to the city of Nagiat, which they destroyed, and returned laden with much booty. Nagiat was probably some im- portant harbour in the Persian Gulf The annals of the seventh and eighth years of Sennacherib's reign are also found on Colonel Taylor's cylinders : but, in consequence of the damaged state of the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 175 casts, Colonel Rawlinson is at present unable to furnish a transla- tion of this part of the annals. Besides these historical documents, the inscriptions referring to the reign and actions of Sennacherib are very numerous, and afford very important information respecting the disinterred buildings of Assyria. We are by these means instructed that it was before his Syrian campaign, that this sovereign began the embellishment of Nineveh. There were at that period four important buildings on the mound of Koyunjik: — the original royal palace; a temple to "the heavens," built by Sardanapalus ; and two smaller edifices: — but these had all suffered from injury or decay, and Sennacherib undertook their repair. For this purpose he collected a host of prisoners from the Ghald«an and Aramaean tribes upon one side, and from Oilicia and Armenia on the other. The prisoners he dis- tributed in four bodies, assigning three hundred and sixty thousand men for the repair of the great palace, and employing women almost to the same number in restoring the other buildings. The account given by Herodotus of the building of the tomb of Alyattes, the father of Croesus, in Lydia, has excited surprise, on account of the prominent share which he ascribes to young women in the work. But the employment of females in such operations is very plainly recorded in the Assyrian inscriptions. The palace excavated by Mr, Layard, whence he took the bass- reliefs of which such beautiful drawings have been recently published, was built in a later period of Sennacherib's reign. It was, in Colonel Rawlinson's opinion, executed for the most part after his return from his maritime expedition against the Chaldaeans. Sen- nacherib also erected a palace on the mound, now called Nebi Yunus, in the centre of Nineveh ; and another in the city of Tarbisi, three miles to the north of the capital. The length of this reign is uncertain, and can at present be only approximately estimated. Further discoveries among the interred chronicles of Assyria may soon remove all doubt on the subject. The manner of Sennacherib's death is clearly stated in Scripture. While worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, he was assassi- nated by two of his sons, who afterward fled into Armenia. EsARHADDON Succeeded his father. His name and title are found in the inscriptions. On a Babylonian clay tablet in the British Museum the name is distinctly written as Assur- Akh ■ Adana. This sovereign appears to have devoted himself, with great ability, energy, and success, to repair the losses sustained by his father. He had in the first place to resist the spread of revolt in the different provinces of his empire ; and, with the exception of Media, he seems 176 THE GENTILE NATIONS. to have succeeded: but he does not appear to have thought the reduction of that nation practicable, with the forces which he could command. At Babylon — which also took advantage of the weakness of the imperial state to assert its independence — he had better success. Having reduced that refractory province to obedience, Esarhaddon placed his son in command of it, — a situation in which he himself had been placed by his father Sennacherib, — and secured his government from further trouble in that quarter. Having thus established his affairs in the east, the Assyrian sovereign proceeded to strengthen his interests in the west. His first step appears to have been to remove a considerable number of his subjects from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, to Samaria and the other cities formerly occupied by the Ten Tribes of Israel. This importation of people is spoken of in connexion with the capture of Samaria, as if it immediately followed that event. 2 Kings xvii, 24. But the authority of Ezra is decisive as to this being the act of Esarhaddon. Ezra iv, 2. It was most probably in connexion with this colonizing of the land of Israel, that the king of Assyria discovered reason to distrust the fidelity of Mannasseh, King of Judah : upon which he sent the captains of his host against him, and took him captive, " and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." 2 Chron. xxxiii, 11. The Hebrew king deeply humbled himself before G od in his captivity, and the Lord heard his prayer, and turned the heart of the Assyrian monarch, so that he released Manasseh from his prison and his fetters, and restored him again to his throne, where he evidenced the genuineness of his re- pentance by a godly life and a righteous reign. It was this sovereign who ruined the old palaces of Calah, which had been raised by a preceding dynasty, in order to obtain materials for the construction of a palace for himself. Of Esar- haddon's annals very important portions can be recovered from two cylinders placed in the British Museum by Mr. Layard, as well as from numerous clay tablets more recently found ; but this has not yet been done. Nothing has hitherto been discovered that refers to that most important part of his reign which includes the captivity of Manasseh, and the transfer of tribes from the east to occupy the land of Israel, although records of these events may be expected yet to be brought to light. Esarhaddon was succeeded by his son, whom Mr. Rawlinson calls Sardanapalus III., but who is known in history as Nabuchodonosor. A vast number of relics referring to his reign have been found. In THE GENTILE NATIOKS. 177 fact, the debris of the temples built by him in Nineveh to Mars and to Diana are literally filled with clay tablets, broken cylinders, and other similar relics, covered with inscriptions. Besides the hoards already in the British Museum, thousands yet remain to be trans- mitted to this country. That portion of these inscriptions which has been deciphered refers to the wars which this monarch waged in Susiana. It is extremely probable that, Babylon being held in doubtful subjection, and Media being avowedly independent, it required the utmost ex- ertion of the imperial power to keep the neighbouring provinces in . quiet submission. We consequently hear nothing of this monarch's power in Western Asia, until he had humbled the strength of Media. In this instance he was not the aggressor, but stood upon the de- fensive. Phraortes, King of the M edes, being confident in his martial prowess, marched against Assyria, with the avowed design of sub- duing that empire. The army of Nabuchodonosor met him in the plain of Ragau : for the Assyrian king had so fully prepared him- self to meet the coming danger, that he actually entered the Median territories before his enemies had left them. In this great battle the king of Media was taken prisoner, and his army completely defeated. Intoxicated with his triumph, Nabuchodonosor slew his royal captive the same day. He then led his army against Ecbatana, the Median capital, which he subdued and spoiled ; and having completely suc- ceeded in this campaign, he returned to Nineveh, where he feasted •his troops for one hundred and twenty days. Judith i, 16; ii, 1. Having thus recovered his supremacy in the east, Nabuchodonosor in the following year sent a great army, under Holofernes as com- mander-in-chief, into Syria and Palestine, to establish his authority in those parts, and to chastise those provinces which had refused to furnish their stipulated contingent of forces for his Median war. The first object of attack by the Assyrian commander was the sea- coast of Phenicia, which he completely reduced, and compelled the people to send reinforcements to his army. After this,. he was de- tained with his huge host a month in the plain of Esdraelon, for the provision of sufficient carriages and materiel for his army. He then proceeded to invest Bethulia, the key of all the hill-country of Judea. By enforcing a strict blockade, and cutting off the water, he had suc- ceeded in reducing this little city to great straits, when Judah was saved, and the Assyrian army ruined, by the address and energy of a Hebrew heroine. Judith, having found admission to the tent of Holofernes, so fascinated him with her charms, that she obtainedi an: opportunity of killing him ; which having effected, she returned to the city with his head in her possession. Early on the following 12 178 THE GENTILE NATIONS. morning, the Hebrews, displaying to the Assyrians the head of their general, sallied out to attack them, when, panic- struck and without leadership, they fled in the utmost disorder ; so that, instead of a battle, it was the rout and slaughter of the Assyrian host. Sakac or Sardanapalus II. next ascended the imperial throne, and had to direct the affairs of government at a most disastrous crisis. By the death of Holofernes, and the rout of his army in the west, the martial power of the empire was, of course, reduced to the lo\Yest state. But what greatly aggravated the danger of the new monarch was the fact, that Cyaxares, who had succeeded his father Phraortes on the throne of Media, proved to be a man of great capacity and an able warrior. Having recovered and restored Ecbatana, and re- ' organized the Median army, he took advantage of the loss of the Assyrian host at Bethulia, and the accession of a new sovereign, to renew hostilities with Assyria. On this, as on the former occasion, the Assyrian king met his foes in the field. But the decay of imperial power was now manifest : the Medes triumphed ; and the Assyrian, having succeeded in reach- ing Nineveh, was immediately shut up and besieged in his capital. The operations of this siege were, however, soon afterward com- pletely deranged by an irruption of Scythians, who, pouring from the northwest into Asia, defeated the Median army, and completely overran all the neighbouring countries. For eight years these bar- barians spread themselves through the east, and ravaged several nations in succession, until such excesses produced the inevitable results of disorder and disorganization. Availing himself of these indications, Cyaxares took advantage of a festival, and caused all the , leaders of the Scythians to be invited to the houses of the Medes, and there to be simultaneously destroyed. Then, attacking the dis- ordered and confounded troops, he drove them out of the country. Delivered from this evil, the Median king turned again to the great object which filled his mind, — the conquest of Nineveh. But, previously tp the renewal of his attack, he formed an alliance with Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, who had also declared his country independent of Assyria. This alliance was ratified by a marriage between Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and Amytis, the daughter of Cyaxares. Immediately afterward the confederate armies proceeded to renew the siege of Nineveh. According to Justin, the Assyrian king betrayed the utmost cowardice ; and after a feeble resistance burnt himself and all his treasures, on a pile which had been prepared for the purpose in one of his palaces. But Diodorus has given a much more probable account of this prince. He states that, relying upon an ancient prophecy that THE GENTILE NATIONS. 179 Nineveh should never be taken until the river became its enemy, Sarac did everything which prudence and courage could suggest to resist the power of his foes. He sent off a great part of his treas- ures, with his children, to the care of his most intimate friend Cotta, Governor of Paphlagonia ; stored up ammunition and provisions in abundance for the siege, and for the support of the inhabitants ; and set his enemies at defiance. For nearly two years this state of things continued, the besiegers being unable to make any impres- sion on the city, and the king of Assyria being too feeble to drive them from their post ; until at length an unusual quantity of rain having fallen on the Mountains of Ararat, where the Tigris has its head, that river became so swollen that it rose above its banks, and the flood threw down about twenty furlongs of the city wall. The king, struck with dismay and despair at this unexpected fulfilment of the prophecy, had a pile prepared in his palace, and burnt him- self, his concubines, and his treasures, to prevent them from falling into' the hands of the enemy, who, having entered the city by the breach in the wall, sacked it, and razed it to the ground. Thus perished Nineveh, after it had stood about nineteen hun- dred years from the time of Asshur, and had been the capital of one of the most extended empires that the world has ever seen. It is impossible to turn away the mind from the contemplation of a political and military fabric, so ^ enerable for its antiquity, so distinguished by its martial prowess, so wonderful in the literary and historic treasures of its ruined cities, without a thought respect- ing the great purposes of Divine Providence in the prolonged exist- ence of this remarkable empire, and its connexion with the elect people of God, and the prophecies of Holy Scripture. (See Ap- pendix, note 21.) Having arisen out of the emigration of Asshur from his own ap- pointed territory, in consequence of the usurpation of Nimrod, As- syria not only maintained her existence, but established her supremacy in Asia ; — was the appointed agent of Providence in the subversion and captivity of the kingdom of Israel ; — humbled in the dust an apostate king of Judah ; — and, after recognising and bowing before the authority of one of Jehovah's prophets in sackcloth and peni- tence, became an illustrious subject of divine prophecy, and verified in her history some of the most sublime predictions which ever ema- nated from the prescience of Jehovah. Wonderful was Assyria in her rise, — her power,— her continued supremacy ; still more wonder- ful in her fulfilment of sacred prophecy, and in sending forth from her ruined cities, after an entombment of twenty-four centuries, her records and annals for the instruction of the world. CiaitONOLOlilCAt TABLE OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY. B.C. Kings* Names and Events. Years. Reigned. OLD ASSYBIAN UKB. itel Baloeus ; 1769 Sethos Altadas 1734: Mamythus 1701 Ascalius 1674 Sphserus 16iG "Mamylus 1616 SparthsEus 1574 Ascatades 1584 Amyntas 1484 Belochus II .....; 1459 Baletores 1425 Lamprides 1S88 Sosares 1368 Lampares 183& Panyas 12^3 Sbsarmus 1281 Mithrffius 1214 Teutames (Who sent an army, under Mem- non, to assist Priam in the Trojan war.) 1182 Teuta!us 1138 Thineus libs Dercylus 1068 Eupacmes iteO Laosihenea ■985 Pertiades.... 955 Ophratseus Kings' ffames and Events. Yean Reigned. OMD ASSYKIAlf TJms COFTDfUED. 934 Ephecheres ; 62 882 AcraganCs 42 (Whose deeds are recorded on the Obelisk.) 841 I'honos Cdncoleros 26 MEDIAIf Kuro. 821 Arbaces 17 ASSYKIAN LINE EE3TOBED. 804 Pul 51 753 Tiglath-Pileser ; 19 (Who probably built the centre palace at Nimroud.) LOWER LDTE OF KKfOS. 734 Sargina (Sargon) 20 (The builder of Khorsabad.) 714 Sennacherib 9 705 Esarhaddon S6 (Builder of the south-west .palac6 at Nimroud.) 667 Nabuchodonosor 42 (Who sent Holofernes into Ju- dea, where he perished.) 625 Sarac I9 (Who built the «outh-east palace at Nimroud.) 606 Nineveh destroyed by th« Medes and Babylonians. THE GENTILE NATIONS, 181 CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORY OF THE BABYLONIANS. B^BXLOH the Seat of the first Postdiluvian Sovereignty — Gonquered and subjected to Assyria — Policy of Assyria toward subject Countries — Nabokassas— The Era bearing his Name — He was independent.— Nadius, Chinzieos, PoKna, and Judus, successively reign — Mardocehpadus or Merodach-Baladah — ^His Embassage to Hezekiah — Archi- ANus — Hagisa — Maradach Baldanes — Belibus defeated by Assyria — Asordanes — Nabopolassak — Babylon asserts its Independence — Coalition of Babylon and Media against Nineveh — Scythian Invasion — Nineveh destroyed — The King of Egypt de- feated at Carchemish — Nebuohadsezzab — Takes Jerusalem— Carries away the prin- cipal Inhabitants into Captivity — Makes Zedekiah King — He rebels — Jerusalem again taken, and destroyed — Tyre taken, after a Siege of Thirteen Years — Egypt conquered — Nebuchadnezzar greatly improves Babylon by many Splendid Erections — Nebuchad- nezzar's Dream of the Great Image — Explained by Daniel — ^Its wonderful Revelations — The Golden Image — ^Extraordinary Measures adopted for its Dedication — Heroism of the Three Hebrews — Glorious Revelation of the Son of God — ^Important Results of this Divine Interposition — The Dream of a Great Tree — Its Interpretation and Accom- plishment — Noble Acknowledgment of the King — His Prophecy and Det^th — Evnr- Mbrodagh King — ^Liberates Jehoiachin from Prison — Neriglissar reigns — Forms £1 Combination against Media — He is slain in Battle — ^Laborosarchod reigns — The Bei/- shazzar of the Book of Daniel — His Youth and Cruelty — He profanes the Sacred Vessels — Is slain — ^Darius takes the Kingdom, and appoints Labynetus Viceroy of Babylon — He rules subject to Media — Declares himself independent — Is defeated in Battle — ^Babylon taken by Cyrus — Labynetus taken at Borsippa, and sent into Car- mania — Termination of the Babylonian Monarchy. The history of Babylon stands invested with special and peculiar interest, in consequence of its immediate connexion with the most terrible calamity inflicted on the Hebrew people, during the extended period to which this volume refers. This country, as we have seen in a previous volume, (Patriarchal Age, pp. 431-434,) was the seat of the first kingly government established in the world aft-er the flood. But, as there detailed, Babylon was conquered by Belus or Ninus, and added as a province to the Assyrian empire. It was in this state at the period when we are called to resume its history. It must, however, be remembered, that in these ancient times the conquest and subjugation of a country did not prevent its retaining its separate national existence and government. No attempt ap- pears to have been made to merge all the countries subdued by As- syria into one united and compact government. The kings of the several lands were allowed to reign, on their declaring their allegiance 182 THE GENTILE NATIONS. to the imperial throne, and furnishing to the sovereign the required tribute. When this promise was not kept, and the contumacy of the vassal king brought down upon him the irresistible power of the imperial army, no change was made in the ruling policy. The rebellious chief, with his family and friends, if notput to death, was removed in chains, and another person appointed king of the subject country in his stead. This practice renders it extremely difficult to elicit with accuracy the precise times when important countries, such as Babylon, Media, and others, rteally obtained their independence, as it is possible that they may have claimed this privilege long before the imperial state would recognise it. This was the case in respect of Babylon ; and many writers, overlooking this circumstance, have been led into serious errors. The first of those kings who ruled in Babylon, after its subjection to Assyria, of whom we have any definite information, was Nabo- NASSAR. He ascended the throne B. G. 747 ; and made the period of his accession to the regal dignity the commencement of the famous Nabonassarean Era; {see Appendix, note 22;) which, in conjunction with the Greek, Roman, and Christian, completes the four great cardinal eras of sacred and profane history. The principle of this era was an avoidance of intercalary days. The year consisted of twelve months of thirty days each, with five supernumerary days ; and was in consequence very convenient for astronomical calculations, and for this reason was adopted by the early Greek astronomers. As Babylon rose into prominence and power under the rule of this sovereign, Sir Isaac Newton was led to conjecture that Nabo- nassar was a younger son of Pul, King of Assyria, who, it is sup- posed, left the imperial crown to his eldest son, Tiglath-Pileser, and the throne of Babylon to Nabonassar. But this conjecture, which has been partially adopted by Hales and other learned men, has no solid foundation in history. It is unquestionably true, and is attested by Alexander Polyhistor and the Astronomical Canon, that Babylon had always kings of her own from the earliest times. And as Clin- ton truly observes, " These kings were sometimes subjected to the Assyrians, and sometimes independent; but they never acquired extensive dominion till the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Nabonassar was independent." — Fasti Hellenici, vol. i, p. 278. Respecting this reign no further information of importance can be obtained. Nabonassar was succeeded by Nadius, who is said to have reigned two years; and he was followed by Chinzirus and PoRUS, each of whom ruled five years. JuGiEUS then ascended the throne, and reigned five years. Nothing whatever has been handed down to us THE GENTILE NATIONS. 183 respecting the public or personal history of these kings. Nor is it probable that their names, as here given, are those by which they were known in their own country, since these bear no affinity to the Chaldee or Assyrian names. Mardocempadus succeeded Jug^us. He is certainly the Mero- dach-Baladan of Holy Scripture; and is the first king of Babylon who is noticed in the Old Testament as having had any intercourse with the Hebrew nation. It seems more than probable that, up to this time, Nabonassar and his successors had ruled in Babylon vir- tually independent of Assyria ; although it is equally probable that this independence was never proclaimed at Babylon, nor acknowl- edged at Nineveh. This prince appears to be the first Babylonian ruler who directed his attention to the extension of his dominion in Western Asia. Having informed himself of the state of the coun- tries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, and having heard that Hezekiah King of Judah had recovered fronj a dangerous illness, he sent ambassadors to the Hebrew monarch, congratulating him on his restoration to health. The king of Babylon alleged that he was induced to send this embassy mainly by a desire to have some ex- planation of the sun's wonderful retrocession, as a sign of the Hebrew king's recovery. 2 Chron. xxxii, 31. It is probable, however, that the motives which prompted the Chaldsean monarch to this step went far beyond mere kindly compli- ment or scientific curiosity. Babylon at this time was beginning to feel a rivalry with Nineveh ; and undoubtedly, in this visit to Judea, it was intended to cultivate a good understanding with the most powerful king of Western Asia. The sculptures recently discovered among the Assyrian ruins cast important light upon this event. They inform us that after Sennacherib had lost his great army in his celebrated campaign in Palestine and Egypt, he prosecuted a series of wars against this Babylonish monarch, until he had driven him out of the country, and compelled him to seek refuge " beyond the sea." The juxtaposition of these events is remarkable. Sen- nacherib's army is destroyed, and he returns in disgrace and confu- sion. Hezekiah is taken sick, and recovers. Merodach-Baladan sends his messengers to the Hebrew court: — while, the Assyrian king having in some measure repaired his loss, and organized a military force, the first object to which he directs his attention is a war with this king of Babylon, whom he succeeds in driving out of the country. The Assyrian inscriptions slate that, having driven out Merodach- Baladan, Sennacherib appointed his son Esarhaddon to rule in Babylon, — a fact which still further confirms the jealousy which the 184 THE GESTILE NATIONS. intercourse between Babylon and Judah had excited in the imperial court. The name of Archianus, however, stands in the list as the next king ; but no account whatever of his reign has been preserved. He was succeeded by Hagisa, who reigned thirty, days : then fol- lowed Maradach Baldanes. a fragment of Berosus, in the Chronicle of Eusebius, casts some light on this period. It says that Archianus was brother of Esarhaddon, and ruled in Babylon as his viceroy; but that Hagisa, or Acises, expetled him from the country, and seized the reins of government ; and that this usurper, after a brief rule of thirty days, was slain by Maradach, who maintained himself in possession of power six months, when he was in turn cut off by Belibus. After the expiration of three years, the king of Assyria, having resolved to reduce this refractory country to obedience, collected his forces, defeated Belibus, the usurper of Babylon, and carried him prisoner into Assyria. Babylon was thus again fully brought into subjection to the supreme state. It appears, from isolated notices of the fact, that Esarhaddon, in order to secure this noble city and wealthy province to his dominion, sent his son Apronadius, or AsoRDANES, to govem Babylon. His rule is set down as having continued six years. From this period to the accession of Nabopolassar, we have no further information beyond a mere list of the names of the kings and the length of their reigns. {See Appendix, note iS.) It seems highly probable that, during most of the intervening period, Baby- lon was subject to Nineveh. This was certainly the case B. C. 675, since about this time, when the king of Assyria subdued Manasseh, King of Judah, and led him into captivity, he took him, not to Nine- veh, but to Babylon. 2 Chron. xxxiii, 11. The accession of Nabopolassar to the throne of Babylon was the beginning of a new era in the political progress and power of this state. This fact is so prominent in ancient annals, that Jack- son calls him "the first king and founder of the state." It can scarcely be doubted that this progress was greatly favoured by ex- ternal causes. At this period the rising power of the JMedes had rendered them formidable enemies to the Assyrian sovereign. Baby- lon took advantage of this to assert its independence. As described in a preceding chapter, the siege of Nineveh was interrupted by the sweeping incursion of the Scythians, which com- pelled the king of Babylon to turn his whole attention to the defence of his own country. After this storm had passed away, he again joined his forces with those of the Medes, and effected the entire destruction of Nineveh. This event occurred B. C. 606, Herodotus THE GENTILE NATIONS. 185 doea not mention the presence of the Babylonians in this siege ; but Tobit distinctly refers the capture of JNineveh to the joint forces of Media and Babylon. Tobit xiv, 15. Pending these preparations against Nineveh by the united Medes and Babylonians, the king of Egypt thought this a favourable oppor- tunity to make an effort to recover his ascendency in the east. He accordingly transported an army into Palestine, where he was reluct- antly compelled to fight his passage through a Jewish army under Josiah, King of Judah. The result of this conflict has been already detailed. (Hebrew People, p. 342.) Having overcome this oppo- sition, the king of Egypt marched against Carchemish on the Eu- phrates. The united army before Nineveh could not be diverted from their purpose by this invasion, and this very important city and military station was consequently suffered to fall into the hands of Pharaoh-Necho. 2 Kings xxiii, 29 ; 2 Chron. xxxv, 20. After this success, the Egyptian sovereign returned, securing Syria and Palestine in subjection to his authority by the way. In order to this, he appeared before Jerusalem within three months after Jehoa- haz had ascended the throne, and, removing him from the govern- ment, he placed his brother Eliakim, whose name he changed to Jehoi- akim, on the throne in his stead, and carried Jehoahaz in chains to Egypt. Nineveh having fallen before the power of the combined forces, and the territories west of the Euphrates being assigned to the king of Babylon, as his portion of the empire, Nabopolassa* sent his son with a great army to establish his power in these parts. The king of Egypt, being informed of this purpose, hastened to maintain the ascendency which he acquired in the east. But his efforts were vain. His army was smitten by Nebuchadnezzar, (Jer. xlvi, 2-10,) who pursued his enemy through Syria, Palestine, and even unto the borders of Egypt. The complete success of the youthful Babylonish chief in this campaign is described with equal brevity and force by the sacred writer : " The king of Egypt came -not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt." 2 Kings xxiv, 7. It was during this progress of the Babylonish army that the Rechabites took refuge within the walls of Jerusalem. Jer. xxxv. We have not very ample particulars of this campaign. But it is fully apparent that Nebuchadnezzar on this occasion became master of Jerusalem, and put Jehoiakim in chains, with the purpose of taking him as a captive to Babylon ; and that the king of Judah in this distress so humbled himself in the presence of his conqueror, 186 THE GENTILE NATIONS. that Nebuchadnezzar restored him to the government as his vassal, having first exacted an oath of fealty from him. Daniel and his companions, with many others of the noble families of Judea, were at this time carried away into Babylon. Whilst Nebuchadnezzak was thus employed in establishing the power of Babylon in Western Asia, he received intelligence of the death of his father : upon which, leaving the main body of his army under the command of his officers, and giving into their care the captives whom he had taken from the Syrians, Phenicians, and Jews, that they might conduct them to Babylonia, he hastened across the desert by the nearest course, with only a few attendants, to his capital. Here he found that order had been preserved ; and he immediately entered upon the government of the kingdom. He now dispersed, into several parts of the kingdom, the captives whom he had taken, and adorned the temple of Belus with the spoils of the war. (Berosus apud Josephum, Contra Apion., lib. i, cap. 19.) For three years Jehoiakim faithfully sent his promised tribute; but afterward, being encouraged to resistance by a new alliance with Psammuthis, King of Egypt, who had just then succeeded his father, he refused any further submission to the king of Babylon. It does not appear, from either sacred or profane history, that Nebuchadnezzar was able at the moment to chastise this insub- ordination of the Hebrew king. But it seems probable, that he ordered his lieutenants in those quarters to assail and harass the refractory sovereign. This seems clearly indicated by the sacred writer. 2 Kings xxiv, 2. While engaged in this warfare, Jehoiakim died ; but in what manner the prophecy of Jeremiah respecting him was fulfilled does not appear. Jer. xxii, 18, 19 ; xxxvi, 30. On the death of Jehoiakim, his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. This prince had, however, ruled but three months, when Nebuchad- nezzar appeared in person at the head of a great army before Jeru- salem. Hopeless of resisting such power, the Hebrew submitted, and " went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers." 2 Kings xxiv, 12. By this ready submission he saved his life : for Nebuchadnezzar " car- ried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives." Verse 15. On this occasion, also, " all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and the craftsmen and smiths a thousand, and all that were strong and apt for war," were carried captive to Babylon. 2 Kings xxiv, passim. Hebrew People, p. 349. Having thus prostrated the power of the Hebrew state, and car- ried away all the principal inhabitants, with all the treasures of the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 187 temple and the palace and the spoil of the city, leaving none behind but " the poorest sort of the people of the land," Nebuchadnezzar took Mattaniah, the uncle of the deposed king, and, changing his name to Zedekiah, made him swear by the name of the Lord not to rebel against him, nor to help the Egyptians. 2 Chron. xxxvi, 13 ; Ezek. xvii, 13-15; Esdras i, 48; 2 Kings xx, 17. It does not clearly appear in what martial enterprises the king of Babylon was employed during several years after this event. It is probable that he was occupied in the conquest of some of those nations so signally set forth in the predictions of Jeremiah, Jer. xxv, 18-26 ; — most likely, those nearest to Babylon. No portion of the wonderful incidents connected with this reign is more remarkable, than the precision with which the rising power of Babylon is made the subject of sacred prophecy. A collection of these predictions in order is well worthy of very serious attention ; and shows how wonderfully the prescience of Jehovah was mani- fested in the providential government of the world at this period. Jeremiah, indeed, announced with the most wonderful exactness the exploits of this king ; and that not only verbally, but on some occa- sions by the most significant types and figures. For instance : when the kings of the Moabites, Ammonites, Tyrians, and Zidonians were using all their influence to induce Zedekiah to join them in a coali- tion against Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah sent to each of the ambas- sadors of these nations, then at the court of Jerusalem for this purpose, yokes and bonds, as a present to their sovereigns, with this declaration: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, my servant. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come. And it shall come to pass that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the King of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand." Jer. xxvii, 4-8. Such interposition must not only have greatly affected the amount of resistance opposed to the progress of the Chaldsean conqueror, but also have given him great encouragement in the prosecution of his plans for the consolidation and extension of his dominions. Yet all this was insufBcient to induce even Zedekiah to render a 188 THE GENTILE NATIONS. filling subjection to Nebuciiadnezzar. The diviners and sorcerers of these neighbouring countries, and the false prophets, who sur- rounded the person of Zedekiah, united, on the contrary, to assure the confederate princes of success in their effort. Jer. xxvii, 9, 14. Under this influence, after the lapse of several years, when the king of Egypt joined them, measures were taken by these princes for the promotion of their object. This was soon made known to Nebuchad- nezzar, who immediately collected an army and marched into Syria. Here, when arrived at the place where the roads diverged to Rab- bath, the capital of Ammon, and to Jerusalem, the king of Babylon baited, and proceeded to ascertain by divination which way he should take. Arrows, teraphim, and sacrificial victims, were all employed ; (Ezek. xxi, 21, 22;) and the result of this process was a determination to advance upon Jerusalem. In his progress the Babylonian king took several of the fenced cities of Judah ; after which he laid siege to Jerusalem, simultaneously investing Lachish and Azekah with other divisions of his army. Pharaoh-Hophra, who now reigned in Egypt, was at the same time inordinately vain of his power, (Herodotus, Euterpe, cap. 169; Ezek. xxix,) and the most important member of the alliance of western states, which had united to resist the ambitious projects of the Chaldean king. On hearing of this invasion he immediately marched an army to the relief of Jerusalem. But in this instance, also, the repeated predictions of the prophets were verified : for no sooner had Nebuchanezzar raised the siege, and marched to meet the Egyptians, than Pharaoh at once retreated before him, without striking a blo-^v, and returned into his own country. Nebuchadnezzar hastened back to the Hebrew capital, which, after holding out for eighteen months, was taken. Zedekiah endeavoured to escape by night with his sons and chief oflBcers ; but he was pur- sued, overtaken in the plains of Jericho, and carried into the presence of the king of Babylon at Riblah, in Syria; where the conqueror caused his two sons to be slain before his eyes, and then punished him, in a way frequently employed toward rebellious vassals, by putting out his eyes, and sending him in chains to Babylon. (See Appendix, note 24.) Having completely destroyed the city and temple of Jerusalem, carried off all the wealth of the land as spoil, with the great body of the people as captives, Nebuchadnezzar directed the operations of his army against the surrounding countries. Rabbath, too, was destroyed, and its princes carried into captivity, while the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Arabs, and Syrians were also devastated and spoiled ; according to the declarations which had been made by the sacred prophets respecting these nations. See THE GENTILE NATIONS. 189 Nahum iii, 8-10 ; Jeremiah xliii, 8-13 ; xliv, 27-30 ; xlvi, 13-26; Ezekiel xxix, 30-32. Returning to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar dedicated the spoil to his idol deities, distributed his captives in different parts of the kingdom, and recruited his army for the next campaign. . The following year Nebuchadnezzar began his military operations by the siege of Tyre. In this, as in other parts, the conqueror's progress, the difficulty of his undertaking, and his ultimate success, were distinctly foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel two years before he entered upon it. Bzek. xxvi ; xxviii. This is one of the most mem- orable sieges on record, and exhibited equal determination and constancy in the attack and defence. Thirteen years of unavailing effort were expended on this wealthy commercial city; but in the fourteenth year it fell into the hands of its unwearied foe. The city, thus taken and totally destroyed, stood on the mainland : it was never rebuilt. The attention of Nebuchadnezzar was now turned to Egypt, which he ravaged, as stated in a preceding chapter. (Page 97.) As this fact was so discreditable to their nation, the Egyptian annalists did not record it ; and in consequence we have no mention of the event by Herodotus, Diodorus, or Strabo. A similar silence is maintained respecting the catastrophe of the Red Sea. Berosus, however, afiBrms that Nebuchadnezzar " subdued Egypt, Syria, Phenicia, Arabia, and excelled in warlike exploits all the Babylonian and Chaldsean kings who reigned before him." As already mentioned, (page 98,) Megasthenes asserted his conquest of Libya; (Josephus, Contra Api- onem, lib. i, cap. 19;) and Syncellus says that the ancient Pheniciain historians related that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Syria, Egypt, and all Phenicia. (Syncellus, Chronog.,p. 221.) Having thus completely subdued all Western Asia, and freed himself from every apprehension of trouble on the side of Egypt, the king of Babylon returned with his army, laden with spoils, to his capital. He had now attained the summit of bis ambition. Everywhere his power prevailed. In the east, if the Medes main- tained a show of independence, it was merely nominal; and was allowed, because of the intimate family relationship subsisting be- tween the two sovereigns, Nebuchadnezzar having married a sister of the king of Media. (See Appendix, note 25.) In every other direction, from Egypt and the Mediterranean to the extreme east, the Babylonish power prevailed. Nebuchadnezzar had commenced great alterations and improvements in his capital, even before he entered upon the siege of Tyre. He now completed these stupendous works, which have always been considered among the most remark- l90 THE GENTILE NATIONS. able erections of the world. Berosus thus speaks of them : " When he had thus admirably fortified the city, and had magnificently adorned the gates, he added also a new palace to those in which his forefathers had dwelt, adjoining them, but exceeding them in height and splendour. Any attempt to describe it would be tedious. In this palace he erected very high walks, supported by stone pillars ; and by planting what was called a ' pensile paradise,' and replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resem- blance of a mountainous country. This he did to gratify his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous situation." — Cory's Fragments, p. 40. (See Appendix, note 26.) Having thus fortified and beautified his capital, Nebuchadnezzar resolved to take the most effective measures for the consolidation of his power and the perpetuation of his empire. While occupied in this manner, lying on his bed, and revolving these matters in his mind, he fell asleep, and had a very remarkable dream, which, on his awaking, rested with unusual weight on his mind. Fully believ- ing, in accordance with the national faith, that such visions were intended to convey important information respecting future events, the king immediately summoned to his presence the chief of his soothsayers, astrologers, and magicians, and required them to tell him his dream and its interpretation. The policy of the king in this instance is fully explained by his language. He distrusted the fidelity of these sages, and felt convinced that the same amount of supernatural wisdom which would enable them to give an authorized interpretation, would be sufiicient to qualify them to declare the dream ; while, in the latter case, his knowledge would enable him to test their fidelity; but, in" the former, he would have no proof that their interpretation was anything more than mere pretence. The wise men were confounded by this strange procedure, and promptly confessed their utter inability to comply with his demand. This so incensed the disappointed monarch, that he ordered all the wise men to be slain. Prior to this, Daniel and his three Hebrew companions, having greatly distinguished themselves in the attain- ment of knowledge, were enrolled among the number of the members of this sage body. When, therefore, the ofiicer of the guard, in obe- dience to the king's command, was collecting all the wise men of Bab- ylon preparatory to their execution, he had to include Daniel and his friends, informing them at the same time of their danger and of its cause. Daniel expostulated respecting the hastiness of the measure, and begged for time, that he might endeavour to furnish the required information. This respite was granted ; and the prophet and his THE GENTILE NATIONS. 191 associates gave themselves to earnest prayer to God, that he would give to Daniel the knowledge necessary to save them from the impending doom. Their prayer was answered. The secret was revealed unto Daniel in a night-vision ; and he accordingly presented himself before the king, and told him that he had seen in his dream a great and terrible image, the head of which was of fine gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and the legs of iron, while the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. Aston- ished as the king was at hearing this exact description of his dream, he was still more so at its interpretation. Daniel — having assured him that it was not by his own wisdom that he had attained the knowledge of this secret ; but by the special gift of God, who had given the dream and the interpretation thereof, that he might make known to the king what should come to pass hereafter — proceeded to unfold the divine teaching thus symbolically conveyed. Addressing Nebuchadnezzar as a king of kings, possessing bound- less power, dignity, and glory, by the direct and immediate gift of the God of heaven, Daniel told him that he was the head of gold ; that, after him, another kingdom should arise, inferior to him, as silver is to gold ; and afterward a third kingdom, of brass, should bear rule over the earth; that at last a fourth kingdom,. strong as iron, should put forth its power, and should be, at the same time, remark- able for invincible power and incurable intestine disunion ; and that, during the period and rule of this fourth kingdom, the God of heaven should set up a kingdom, which, unlike all these successive transitory thrones, should embrace the whole earth, and continue to the end of the world. It is scarcely possible, at this distance of time, to form any reason- able conception of the amount of information thus conveyed to the mind of this proud king. He must, at least, have been deeply im- pressed with the magnitude of the divine wisdom and power. He must have felt that a prescient and omnipotent Power ruled in this earth, before whom all human policy and martial prowess were as nothing ; and that this Power had decreed but a temporary duration to his kingdom, extensive and elevated as it was ; that there should be a succession of four prevailing monarchies, which should exercise paramount supremacy in the earth ; and that, under the last of these, the kingdom of God should be established in the world. No notion respecting antiquity is more unfounded than the sup- position, that the king of Babylon and his courtiers would be at a loss to understand this announcement. From the earliest ages, the primitive promise lived in the memory and hope of mankind : and the form it assumed throughout successive generations was, — that a 192 THE GENTILE NATIONS. divine person, or " Son," should appear, who, subduing all evil powers, would establish one united and perpetaal sovereignty in the earth. The interpretation of the king's dream, therefore, was calculated — and, very probably, was designed — to remove those vain-glorious thoughts which had occupied his mind, and to assure him that, so far from his own being the great and long-expected sovereignty, his kingdom was destined to be succeeded by three others, each wielding universal dominion, before the promised kingdom of God would come ; and that, when at length it was set up, it should be so diverse, in its character and constitution, from all these, that it would break in pieces and destroy all these kingdoms, and stand forever. Ban. ii. The revelations thus given by Daniel to the king were so satis- factory, that he raised the prophet to the highest honour, gave him great gifts, and appointed him Rab Mag, or chief of all the wise men, and ruler over the province of Babylon. Daniel immediately promoted his three friends to offices of trust and honour in the government of the province with which he had been intrusted. Our next information respecting this reign announces the erection by Nebuchadnezzar of a golden image, of great height and splendour. This was set up in the plains of Dura in the province of Babylon. The simple addition of an image, even a large and golden one, to the objects already worshipped in a country so devoted to idolatry as Babylonia, would of itself excite no surprise, and scarcely call for observation. In this case, however, there are many extraordinary circumstances. In the first place, the king summoned, to meet him at the dedication of this image, " the princes, the governors, and cap- tains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces." Now, in an empire so extensive as that of Babylon, and so recently constituted, a measure of this kind must not only have involved great cost, inconvenience, and waste of time, but must, especially in recently- subdued countries, have been con- nected with some danger. This is so evident that it must be uni- versally admitted, that nothing but a great and urgent reason would have led to such an abstraction of all the government staff, and the elite of all the officers of the empire from their post of duty, that they might meet together on this occasion. The motive which operated in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar was, however, sufficient to induce him to adopt this course : and this is conclusive evidence that he aimed at something more than the addition of one more image to the Pantheon of Babylonia. Whether the exposition given in a preceding volume (Hebrew People, pp. 396, 586-589) be received or rejected, I think it must be THE GENTILE NATIONS. 193 admitted that the king was moved to adopt this course by some strong desire to bring the united religious faith and feeling of his officers everywhere to bear upon their fealty to him, and to promote the consolidation of his empire by this means. • Whatever might have been the king's motive in all this great effort, it led to marvellous consequences. The pious determination of the three Hebrew youths was formed; and they refused com- pliance with the royal mandate, to " fall down and worship the golden image." They were in consequence cast into a fiery furnace. Struck with such remarkable conduct, and enraged at this resist- ance to his authority, Nebuchadnezzar carefully watched the execu- tion of the punishment. While thus occupied, he was amazed beyond measure to find that the fire had no power on the bodies of the con- demned men. Their bonds, indeed, were burned off, but their per- sons and their clothes remained unharmed by the destroying element ; and they walked up and down in the midst of the fire. Stranger even than all was the appearance of a divine person, walking in company with them through the fire, whom the terrified king, either struck by the display of some well-known sign or appearance, or taught by an immediate afflatus from heaven, at once recognised as THE Son of God. Whatever personal, political, or religious design, then, was con- templated in the collection of this great assembly, it could have been but partially secured, and was probably entirely frustrated. This great, and at the same time select, concourse of the official and ex- ecutive bodies of all the provinces of this immense empire are sent back to their localities, not only under a deep impression of the faithfulness and almighty power of the God of the Hebrews, but with an assurance that, notwithstanding the hopes and expectation of every people looked each to its own several country for his appearance, the Son of God was eminently the God of the He- brews. The religious effect of this miracle on this Hebrew multitude will be noticed elsewhere : we simply observe here, that its political influ- ence must have been great. What though Jerusalem lay in ruins, and the Hebrews were scattered throughout Chaldsea in abject cap- tivity ? their fortunes could not be regarded as hopeless, their politi- cal interests could not be desperate, while an almighty God was thus present to interpose in their behalf When, therefore, " the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered' together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed," they saw before them living proofs of the vitality of the Hebrew state, — a certain pledge that it 13 194 THE GENTILE NATIONS. also should be delivered from the furnace of affliction in which it then was, and rise again to honour and power. As no heathen monarch had ever before been the subject of such a large amount of prophecy and promise as Nebuchadnezzar, so no one was distinguished by such remarkable interpositions. Not only was he permitted to overthrow the Hebrew state, which had arisen under the special and immediate protection of Heaven, and had been miraculously sustained for many centuries ; but universal sovereignty was in distinct terms promised to him, and he was actually put in possession of it. While he remained a proud and haughty heathen, although influenced by a mad ambition, he is called a "servant" of Jehovah, and direct punishment from God is denounced on all who refuse to submit to his authority. Jer. xxvii, 6-8. The result of this unparalleled success and eleva- tion was intolerable pride, which subjected him to a most remarkable afflictive visitation. Our information respecting this fact is brought before us in an extraordinary manner, being contained in a long and important proclamation or edict, issued by the king, which details all the cir- cumstances of the case, with his solemn judgment thereon. It recites that the king saw in a dream a great and lofty tree, of unequalled strength, size, and beauty; that while he gazed on it a holy one came down from heaven, and cried aloud : " Hew down the tree, cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth : let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him ; and let seven times pass over him." The king said, that the dream made him afraid, and troubled him. He then called in his wise men ; but they could not afford him any satisfactory solution of the dream. Daniel was then summoned : and, on hearing the strange recital, stood wrapt in mute astonishment for an hour ; until the king said, " Belteshazzar, let not the dream trouble thee." The prophet then, in a speech full of tenderness, power, and fidelity, told his master that the dream betokened the greatest personal calamity to the king. Identifying the sovereirrn with the tree, he thus explained its cutting down, &c. : " This is the interpretation, king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king : that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall THE GENTILE NATIONS. 195 wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." The prophet closed his address by earnestly exhorting the king to repentance, that, if possible, the infliction of this terrible evil might be delayed or averted. No immediate prospect of the fulfilment of this prophetic doom appeared. Nebuchadnezzar still proceeded in his usual course, until twelve months after he had had this dream, when, while standing in his palace, admiring the splendour of his dwelling, and the magnifi.- cence and extent of his capital, he said, " Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?" Instantly a voice from heaven arrested his ear, and announced that the predicted infliction would now take place. And so it was : the same hour the king's reason left him : insanity, in its most humiliating form, affected his mind ; and from this time he herded with beasts, and was a stranger to the comforts of humanity, until seven years had passed over him. It is possible that during these years Nebuchadnezzar had intervals sufficiently lucid to enable him to appreciate the extent of his loss, and the misery and degradation to which he was reduced. At the end of seven years he recovered his reason, and was restored to his kingdom. He immediately published, as a proclamation, that which is now found in the fourth chapter of Daniel's prophecy, and which was perhaps drawn up, at his request, by the hand of the prophet. It contains a noble acknowledgment of the truth, wisdom, goodness, and power of the true God. Soon after this event, Nebuchadnezzar died, and left the kingdom to his son. We cannot, however, close the account of this extra- ordinary reign without observing, that it was in fact the Babylonian empire. The prophetic explanation given by Daniel of the first uni- versal monarchy was as strictly accurate as it iwas bold and terse, when he said to N-ebuchadnezzar, " Thou art this head of gold." Like Alexander of Greece, this king of Babylon, under God, gave power to his country. All before him was slow, almost impercepti- ble, growth : — all after him, rapid decay. It may further be observed, that the numerous predictions respect- ing the future history of the world which thiS sovereign had received through the medium of Daniel, had given him a knowledge of suc- ceeding events which have left traces on the page of profane history. In a fragment of Megasthenes,* preserved by Abydenus, it is stated, ° Megasthene.s was a Greek author who wrote B. C. 300. He was sent by Seleucus to India, to renew a treaty with Sandrocottus. 196 THE GENTILE NATIONS. " It is moreover related by the Chaldeans, that as Nebuchadnezzar went up into his palace, he was possessed by some god; and he cried out and said, ' Babylonians, I Nebuchadnezzar foretell unto you a calamity -which must shortly come to pass, which neither Belus my ancestor nor his queen Beltis have power to persuade the Fates to turn away. A Persian mule shall come, and by the assistance of your gods shall impose upon you the yoke of slavery ; the author of which shall be a Mede, the vain-glory of Assyria. Before he should thus betray my subjects, that some sea or whirlpool might receive him, and his memory be blotted out forever; or that he might be cast out, to wander through some desert, where there are neither cities nor the trace of men, a solitary exile among rocks and caverns, where beasts and birds alone abide! But for me, before he shall have conceived these mischiefs in his mind, a happier end will be provided.' When he had thus prophesied, he expired." — Cory's Fragments, p. 45. It will be freely admitted, that if Daniel had fully communicated his several visions to Nebuchadnezzar, he would have been in pos- session of all the information given in the above extract : and noth- ing seems more probable than that, although from motives of policy he might keep the import of these to himself during his life, he might, just before his death, unburden his mind in such language as Megasthenes has given us, — language which wUl be found in perfect keeping with the thoughts, feelings, and character of the speaker. (Prideaux's Connexion, vol. i, p. 117.) On the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-MbrODACH ascended the throne. We have but slender information respecting this sovereign. The first act of his which is mentioned in Holy Scripture is the liberation of Jehoiachin, the captive king of Judah, from the prison in which he had been confined for thirty-seven years. 2 Kings XXV, 27. A Jewish tradition, already noticed, supposes the Baby- lonian prince to have been imprisoned by his father, and thus to have formed an acquaintance with the captive Hebrew. A cause is suggested for this imprisonment of the Babylonish prince by a statement of Xenophon to this ^effect, that during a hunting excur- sion he entered the Median territory, but was encountered and repulsed by a party of Modes under the command of Cyrus, who was then a youth. Wliether either of these traditions has any foundation in fact can- not now be ascertained : but it is sufficiently evident that his kind- ness to the captive king of Judah is the most prominent action of this sovereign's government which has come to our knowledge. He was slain, after a brief reign of three years, by a conspiracy, at the THE OBNTILB NATIONS. 197 head of which was his brother-in-law, Neriglissar, who had married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Neriglissar succeeded to the throne on the death of Evil- Merodach, and was greatly esteemed by his subjects for his justice and bravery. He saw in the rising power of the Modes, and their close con- nexion with Persia, danger to the independence of his country : and it is highly probable that this apprehension was greatly strengthened by the predictions which Nebuchadnezzar had received from Daniel, and which would be preserved in the court of Babylon, as important guides to direct the policy of the state. He accordingly exerted himself to promote a powerful confederacy against Media. This was composed of the Lydians under Croesus, the King of Cappa- docia, the Phrygians, the Carians, thePaphlagonians, the Ciliciana, and some Indians. The Median monarch, in order effectually to resist this aggressive combination, first marched into Armenia, where the king, encour- aged by these appearances of hostility, had thrown off his allegiance, and withheld his accustomed tribute. Having subdued and pardoned this prince, he proceeded to meet the confederated chiefs, who did not shrink from the conflict. A great battle was the result, in which the Modes were conquerors, and Neriglissar was slain. Croesus of Lydia assumed the command of the defeated army, and retreated toward his own country; while the son of Neriglissar, Laborosar- CHOD,' being a very young man, ascended the throne of Babylon. This prince was the Bblshazzar of Daniel : he reigned but nine months ; in consequence of which, his name does not appear in the Astronomical Canon of Ptolemy. Short as was his reign, he gave ample proof of his cruelty and dissipation. He wantonly slew the son of Gobrias, one of his principal jiobles, because, while hunting, he successfully threw a dart at a wild beast which the king had hoped to kill. He also subjected another of his nobility to the most infamous and cruel treatment, because one of the royal concubines had praised his appearance. The crowning act of his short and in- glorious reign was his profanation of the vessels of the house of the Lord at Jerusalem; which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away, and placed in the temple of his idol deity at Babylon. This young and vain prince having assembled a thousand of his lords to a grand banquet,— while they were feasting with unbounded revelry, it occurred to him, that it would greatly add to the interest of the scene, and to his own honour, if he introduced these sacred vessels to his guests. The desire was immediately gratified. The sacred vessels were introduced. He drank wine out of them, and 198 THE GENTILE NATIONS. handed them to his guests, who, following his example, all united in extolling their own gods, by whose favour such trophies were placed in their hands. While thus employed, the finger of a man's hand was seen writing on the wall opposite to the royal seat. To apprehend this fully, it must be stated that these royal halls were covered with sculpture and inscriptions. Every national triumph, and all the splendid actions of their several kings, were thus emblazoned before the eyes of all beholders. The finger of a man's hand thus miraculously adding to these records, of course, filled the assembly with con- sternation and alarm, and most of all dismayed the king, who in trembling haste summoned his wise men to his aid ; but they could not read the writing. The queen, Nitocris, now appeared. She was the king's grandmother; and had been the wife of Nebuchad- nezzar, and was therefore perfectly familiar with the history of that king's reign, and with the character and wisdom of Daniel. She accordingly suggested, that the sacred seer should be called; who, when he appeai;ed, after a faithful reprehension of the king for his impiety, announced that the sentence so marvellously added to the inscriptions of the royal palace, was simply this: "Thou art WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES, AND ART FOUND WANTING. ThY KINGDOM IS NUMBERED AND FINISHED, AND GIVEN TO THE MeDES AND Persians." (See also Hebrew People, pp. 354, 355.) That same night Belshazzar was slain by conspirators ; and, as the sacred record informs us, " Darius the Median took the king- dom, being about threescore and two years old." Dan. v, 31. ISlo portion of ancient history is more complicated or beset with greater diiBculties, than this : and for further information respecting the chronology and order of this succession the reader must be re- ferred to another place. (See Appendix, note 27.) It may, how- ever, be stated here, that there is nothing in the conclusion to which we have come, or in the Scriptural account which we fully receive, contrary to the highest probability. The sovereign of Media, with whom the Persians were in strict alliance, was brother of Nitocris, the wise and energetic queen- mother of Babylon. The race of Nebuchadnezzar was now extinct. Darius was the nearest of kin to the late royal line. The power of the Medes and Persians was in the ascendant. But a few months previously, the king of Babylon had fallen in battle against them, and all the confederate host had been routed by the Medo-Persian army. At this moment the young Cyrus was pursuing his career of con- quest in the west of Asia. At the same time, it was known that the Median supremacy was just and clement. The king of Armenia THE GENTILE NATIONS. 199 had a short time before been pardoned, and allowed to retain the sovereignty of his country, even after he had been convicted of infi- delity. Above all, the queen was well aware, that, with the deceased monarch, God's prophet had declared that the royal line of Babylon should cease, and the country become subject to the Medes and Persians. This was, indeed, not only known to the queen by pre- vious predictions, but had also, on that eventful night of revelry, been heralded forth to all the assembled aristocracy by the venera- ble Daniel. Can it, then, excite any surprise that this course was taken, now that there was no royal ambition to gratify ? Need we wonder that the Babylonians did not decide upon appointing a king, and enter- ing, under every disadvantage, upon a new Median war, rather than, by a ready submission to Darius, securing to themselves a mild and tolerant government ? The king of Media, on these terms, took possession of the king- dom, and treated it as the rest of his dominions. The sacred writer proceeds to say, that " it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes." The person he appointed as viceroy of Babylon was Nabonnedus, or Labynetus, as he is sometimes named. It would seem, from the accounts of ancient authors, that he was the choice of the Babylonish people; it being extremely probable that, in those circumstances, the Median monarch would allow them a governor in whom they had the fullest confidence. Having made this appointment, and having heard, perhaps by public report, and possibly more fully from his sister, the fame and char- acter of Daniel, Darius took him to his own capital of Ecbatana, and made him the first minister of his great empire. Labynetus reigned seventeen years. We have no information respecting the early part of his government : but it seems that, hav- ing become accustomed to rule, he, after some years, turned his attention to the feasibility of obtaining the independence of Babylon. His first efforts were directed toward greatly improving the fortifi- cations of his capital. At length, taking advantage of the conquest of Media, and the troubled state of the affairs of Cyrus, Labynetus assumed entire independence. How long he was permitted to enjoy this, does not appear. But at length the indefatigable Persian marched toward Babylon. Too confident in his strength, the king went forth, and met him in the field, but was completely defeated. Still the king of Babylon, relying on the strength of the city walls, refused to submit ; and Cyrus was long detained by the siege, until at length, taking advantage of a public festival, he diverted the river from its bed, and caused his troops to ehter, on each aide of the 200 THE GENTILE NATIONS. city, in the night, which was thus taken by surprise, and completely reduced to subjection. Labynetus, on the capture of the city, re- treated to Borsippa, the sacred palace and citadel, which were strongly fortified. (See Appendix, note 28.) Cyrus destroyed the principal part of the lofty walls of Babylon, before he left it. Having subdued the capital, Cyrus proceeded to invest Borsippa; but Labynetus, seeing his circumstances desperate, submitted him- self to the conqueror, and was sent into Carmania, where he ended his days. Thus terminated the glory and power of Babylon. We cannot, however, dismiss the history of this country without observ- ing, that we have here the first of those four remarkable nations which were raised up by the special providence of God, made the subjects of wonderful prophetic revelations, and placed in singular proximity to the people of God. There is nothing in the history of the world comparable to the magnitude of this divine interposition. Its effect on the religious character and knowledge of the several countries will be elsewhere shown : but, as a grand element in God's government of the world, this divine vocation of nations to peculiar political power is truly wonderful. Babylon, after ages of subjec- tion to Assyria, suddenly, and exactly when the Hebrew state was tottering to its fall, started up to the summit of martial power and political grandeur ; and, having fulfilled her destiny in the ruin and captivity of the Hebrews, and verified the numerous predictions which had been delivered respecting her, she with equal rapidity, and almost without a struggle, descended first into her former subor- dinate position, and thence into absolute and perpetual desolation. (See Appendix, note 29.) CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF BABYLONIAN HISTORY. B. C. Names and Eventa. iJSd. 747 Nabonassar 14 (Who made the date of his acces- sion the beginning of the Na- bonassarian Era.) 733 Nadius 2 731 Chinzirus 5 726 JugEeus 5 721 Mardocempadus 12 (The Merodach-Baladan who sent an embassy to Hezekiah.) 709 Archianes, brother to Esarhaddon... 5 704 Hagisa 30 days (Who killed the preceding Assy- rian viceroy, and ruled inde- pendently.) Maraduk 6 months Interregnum. 702 Belibus 3 699 Apronadius 6 (Babylon being again subdued to Assyria, this king, another brother of Esarhaddon, gov- erns.) 693 Regibulua 1 B. C. Names and Events. RTf*"d 692 Mesesimordacus 4 688 Second Intei'regnum 8 680 Asaridin 13 667 Saosduchin 20 647 Chinladin 22 625 Nabopolassar 21 (In conjunction with the Medea, destroys Nineveh, B. C. G06, and sends his son, Nebuchad- nezzar, to subdue Western Asia.) 604 Nebuchadnezzar 43 (Destroys Jerusalem, B. C. 586.) 561 Evil-Merodach 3 558 Neriglissar... 5 Laborosarchod 9 months (The Belshazzar of Daniel ; his feast and death.) 553 Labynetus 17 (Rules at first as viceroy under Darius; but at length, assum- ing independence, is subdued by Cyrus.) 636 Babylon taken by Cvrus. 202 THE GENTILE NATIONS. CHAPTER V. THE RELIGION OF THE ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. Babtloit the seat of the first post-diluvian Apostaoy — ^Peculiar Religious Position of Babylon and Assyria — Epiphanius on the Early Declension of Religion — Information contained in his Statement — Fragment of Damascius — Its Important Teaching — The Chaldasan Oracles exhibit the same Fact — A Triad consisting of the Great Mother, Father, and Only-begotten Son — Further Development of Chaldsean Mythology — Chaldtean Deities — Their Origin and Peculiarities — Worship of the Heavenly Bodies, and of Fire — Chaldsean and Assyrian Idolatry began with Hero and Demon Worship in the Form of Triads — Mr. Faber on this Subject — Symbolical Representation of the Great Triad — Other Symbols — ^Assarac — Cherubic Figures — The Sacred Tree — A Gar- den called *' Paradise " attached to each Royal Palace — The Palace itself a Sacred Temple — Doubts of Layard — Elaborate Proof of Fergusson — The King revered as a Divine Person — Proof of this — Manner in which the Kings evinced their Claim to this Character — This Idea shown to pervade the whole System — Remarkable Identity of Character which the Religion of Assyria and Babylon maintained through so many Ages — General Views — Gradual Declension in Theology — Worship of Fire — The Results of Hebrew Intei'course and Divine Interposition on the Religion of these Countries — Sabseanism not the Primitive Religion of Assyria — A large Amount of Patriarchal History and Religious Knowledge must have remained in the Primitive Nations long after the Dispersion — Patriarchal Longevity designed to prevent a Deterioration in Religion — Connexion with the Hebrews—Divine Interposition more likely on this Ground to be effective — Assyrian Intercourse with Egypt — Assyrian Knowledge of Hebrew History — The Mission of Jonah — ^Its Religious Results — The Destruction of the Assyrian Emigrants in Samaria by Lions — A Hebrew Priest sent to teach them the Law of the Lord — Babylon elated by the Ruin of Jerusalem — The King humbled, and all the People taught Divine Truth, on the Plains of Dura — Nebuchadnezzar's Insanity, Restoration, and Proclamation. When the antiquity and extensive dominion of these great empires, Assyria and Babylon, are considered, it is almost impossible to attach too much importance to an acquaintance with their religion. Here, unquestionably, the first post-diluvian apostacy was carried into effect, and recognised as the established faith of a particular nation. Regarding Mr. Faber's induction — that the great princi- ples of heathen idolatry were evolved, and generally adopted, before the Dispersion— as an established fact, we hold that these must have been incorporated into the national faith of Assyria and Baby- lon, before any other people would have obtained a settled location, and assumed a national form. Another circumstance serves to confirm this opinion : by the universal consent of all antiquity, the founder of the Babylonian state was one of the leaders, if not the prime mover, in the origination and development of this apostacy. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 203 To Nimrod has been awarded, in all ages, the position of arch- apostate in this departure from the truth of God: and this being admitted, there cannot be a doubt that he enforced the adoption of this perverted faith as a part of the policy of his own govern- ment. But while these circumstances clearly indicate the existence of some important facts, and the operation of certain principles, we must recollect that they prove the period to which our inquiry is directed to be exceedingly remote. We have here to discuss the nature of religious changes effected four thousand five hundred years ago, and to trace, as far as possible, their operation, influence, and development for the twenty centuries which ensued; and to attempt all this, under the great disadvantage arising from the circumstance that this people has perished from the earth, and been unknown among men during the last two thousand years. Much, therefore, cannot be expected in such an effort, beyond general heads of information. Accuracy in detail must in this instance be almost impossible. What can be gleaned, however, from authentic sources, it will be our aim to furnish ; and from these data to supply general views of the character, morals, influence, and policy of this religious system. In the absence of precise information respecting the early opera- tion of idolatry in Assyria, it might be fairly presumed that those great errors which have been shown to have originated before the Dispersion, and to have wrought a total corruption in the theology of the world, had obtained in that country, and produced similar results to those which meet the eye of religious research in Egypt and other ancient nations. We are not totally left to this barren induction, in respect of a subject of so much interest and importance. There are several facts connected with it, handed, down to us by ancient Greek authors, who had opportunities of collecting, from the literature of Assyria and Babylon, important elements of information, which were current in their day, respecting the religion of those countries. These stores of instruction are largely supplemented by the extensive dis- coveries recently made in the sculptures and inscriptions of these ancient nations ; which have shed a flood of light on the religious usages, rites, worship, sacred persons, and divinities of Assyria and Babylon. These sources of information, when studied under the direction of the general teaching of history, and with a due regard to the influence exercised by the numerous divine interpositions and communications of religious truth, through the instrumentality of the Hebrew people and of the Hebrew Scriptures, will, it is hoped, 204 THE GITfmLE NATIONS. enable us to form a tolerably correct and full idea of the religion of these countries. It may be desirable to call attention, in the first instance, to the following extract from Epiphanius : for although a part of it refers to a preceding period, altogether it shows the opinions which pre- vailed, at an early age, respecting the declension and deterioration of religion which took place at different times, and probably the account of the changes which it records is accurate : — " The parents of all the heresies, and the prototypes from which they derive their names, and from which all other heresies originate, are these four primary ones. " The first is Barbarism," (Patriarchism,) " which prevailed with- out a rival, from the days of Adam, through ten generations, to the time of Noah. It is called ' Barbarism,' because men have no rulers, nor submitted to any particular discipline of life ; but as each thought proper to prescribe to himself so he was at liberty to follow the dic- tates of his own inclination. " The second is Scythism, which prevailed from the days of Noah, and thence downward to the building of the tower and Babylon, and for a few years subsequently to that time, that is, to the days of Phalec and Ragar. But the nations which incline upon the borders of Europe continued addicted to the Scythic heresy, and the cus- toms of the Scythians, to the age of Tharra, and afterward. Of this sect also were the Thracians. " The third is Hellenism, which originated in the days of Seruc with the introduction of idolatry : and as men had each hitherto fol- lowed some demonolatrous superstition of his own, they were now reduced to a more established form of polity, and to the rites and ceremonies of idols. And the followers of this began with the use of painting, making likenesses of those whom they had formerly honoured, — either kings or chiefs, or men who in their lives had performed actions which they deemed worthy of record, by strength or excellence of body. " And from the times of Tharra, the father of Abraham, they intro- duced images and all the errors of idolatry ; honouring their fore- fathers and their departed predecessors with effigies which they fashioned after their likenesses. They first made these effigies of earthenware, but afterward, according to their different arts, they sculptured them in stone, and cast them in silver and gold, and wrolight them in wood, and all kinds of different materials. " The Egyptians and Babylonians, the Phrygians and Phenicians, were the first propagators of this superstition, of making images, and of the mysteries ; from whom it was transferred to the Greeks, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 205 from the time of Cecrops downward. But it was not until after- ward, and at a considerable interval, that Cronus and Rhea, Zeus and Apollo, were esteemed and honoured as gods." — Cory's Frag- ments, pp. 53-55. Although this statement is not regarded as detailing the potent causes which produced these changes, nor as specifying the exact times when these causes began to operate, we accept it as an import- ant communication of the great stages of degeneracy, and of the order and time when these changes were so fully effected as to become open to public observation, and to stand patent to the world as accom- plished facts. Regarded in this a'spect, it teaches that no great religious change, subsequent to the Deluge, was so fully effected as to be openly ob- servable in the state of society, until the time of Peleg and Reu. The first of these was born about two years before the death of Nimrod. Further, we are informed that idolatry was reduced to an established form of polity in the time of Serug, who was born B.C. 2452, or two hundred and sixty years after the death of Nimrod. We are also told, that at this period idol-worship had become invested with special rites and ceremonies, and that it began with painting the objects of idolatrous regard ; but that, in the days of Terah, it had become so developed that images were common. It is added, that it was not until some time afterward that Cronus, Rhea, Zeus, and Apollo, were esteemed and honoured as gods. And, lastly, we are informed that Babylon was one of the first of the nations which adopted and promulgated these errors. Indeed, we know from other evidence that the Babylonians were the first people that fully committed themselves to this national sin and folly. Thus in Chaldsea was this master-evil introduced, and the true knowledge of God assailed by the rise, progress, and general preva- lence of this fatal superstition. But it will be asked, "How did this scheme, in its systematic action, affect the knowledge of the one true God ?" There can, indeed, be little doubt that the extract from Epiphanius is perfectly correct in stating that, before this time, indi- viduals had been addicted to demonolatrous superstitions. It was, in fact, this whicn made practicable the impious attempt to intro- duce idolatry as an established form of polity, and which brought it into general operation. It may be safely assumed, that at the beginning, as we have already stated, this error was not put forward as an avowed antago- nist to the truth, but rather in the character of an addition, an aux- iliary to it. The first notice we have of the operation of this system is in perfect accordance with this general rule. " The Babyloni- 206 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ans," we are told, "like the rest of the barbarians, pass over in silence the one principle of the universe ; and they constitute two, — Tauthe and Apason ; making Apason the husband of Tauthe, and denominating her ' the Mother of the Gods.' And from these pro- ceeds an only-begotten son, Moymis." — Cory's Fragments, p. 318. In this brief but important passage there are some points which deserve especial notice. We are told that the Babylonians — and not they only, but the Gentile nations in general — preserved a strict silence with respect to the one true God, — " the one principle of the universe." They did not deny this : it would not have answered their purpose. This truth was, in that early age, too deeply imbed- ded in the faith, traditions, and judgment of all people. A denial of this cardinal doctrine would have raised resistance, and called forth startling proofs of its certain verity. T^o; but they were tac- iturn respecting the glorious unity of the true God ; while other objects of veneration and worship were, with the utmost diligence and energy, spread before the mind, and by every sacred association urged on the acceptance of the people. Thus, while perfect silence was maintained respecting the divine unity, two persons are at first exhibited as divine ; and then the triad is completed by the addi- tion of their only-begotten son ! Is it not truly astonishing that the two oldest primitive nations, Babylon and Egypt, should not only have adopted the first pair, with the promised incarnate Seed, as their divine triad, but that, after the lapse of so many ages, such unmistakable proofs of this should yet remain to attest the cer- tainty of the fact ? That this was the case here, as in Egypt, cannot admit of a doubt ; or if such existed, it would be dispelled by the significant terms " ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON." It is uot merely a son, — a regal, a ruling son ; but he is to be such a son as can have no equal, no parallel, — an only-begotten, divinely-promised son. It is further observable, that the woman is made the first of the triad, and called " the Mother of the Gods." (T!avrr)v 6e jj,riTepa ■&eci)v dvofM^ovTeg.) This arises out of the fact contained in the primitive promise, namely, that the incarnate Son was to be emphatically " the Seed of the woman :" and if this Chaldaean dogma had not %ome down to us through the language and medium of a nation of polytheists, we certainly should not have found the female parent of an only-hegot- ten son called "the Mother of the Gods;" but rather, in strict accordance with the language employed by thei Babylon of gospel times, " the Mother of God." The celebrated Chaldtean oracles are full of similar teaching. Mr. Cory says of them, "We meet everywhere with the doctrine THE GENTILE NATIONS. 207 of a triad." And although, with this learned and lamented author, I am disposed to make considerable allowance for the forgeries and corruptions which there is reason to believe the later Platonists introduced into these oracles, 1 quite agree with him in believing " that in them many of the remnants of the ancient system have been preserved;" and that "the fundamental tenet which they set forth is, that ' a triad shines through the whole world, over which a monad reigns.' " — Cory's Fragments, p. 318. But while the fragment of Damascius gives us this important information respecting the origin of the Chaldaio triad, it proceeds further to develop the progress of Chaldean idolatry. Although it had been stated so distinctly, that Moymis, the third person of the triad, was, an only-begotten son, the account proceeds thus : " From them, also, another progeny is derived, — Dache and Dachus ; and again, a third, — Kissare and Asorus ; from which last three others proceed, — Anus, and Illinus, and Aus. And of Aus and Dauce is born a son called Belus, who, they say, is the fabricator of the world, the Demiurgus." — Cory's Myth. Inq., p. 63 ; and Cud- worth's Intel. Sys., vol. i, pp. 488-492. Thus it appears that, having made the first pair and the promised Seed the triad which stands at the head of their theogony, the Babylonians had to exhi- bit a series of sacred persons, terminating with their hero-divinity Belus or Nimrod, who sustained the character of the great God, was their principal national deity in after-times, and is celebrated as the Demiurgus, or " Creator of the world." It seems extremely probable that this ancient fragment has preserved, and now presents to our view, an outline at least of the general plan upon which the idolatrous system of these countries was framed, and the order in which the more prominent errors were evolved and brought into operation. But our task goes far beyond this. We have also to ascertain Ihe extent to which this was carried, and the further progress of this fearful corruption, until it had reared up a system so full of impur- ity, and so opposed to divine truth, that it deserved to be called " Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." The first step in this inquiry should be directed to the theology of this religion. The names, number, and respective character of Assyrian and Chaldsean deities must be, as far as possible, ascer- tained. Hitherto little has been known on these subjects ; and even now the means available for supplying this information are very limited, although from the resuscitated sculptures and inscriptions some valuable aid has been procured. The best arrangement and 208 THE GENTILE NATIONS. condensation of what has been thus obtained is given by Col. Raw- linson in his valuable " Outlines of Assyrian History," pages xviii-xxi, and is here subjoined entire in his own words : — " The most important, and at the same time the most difficult, branch of study connected with the Cuneiform Inscriptions, is that which relates to the Pantheon; — important, because the names of the kings, and sometimes even the names of the countries which they rule over, are composed of the names of the gods ; — difficult, because these names of the gods are usually expressed by arbitrary monograms, because several monograms often apply indiflFerently to the same god, and because many of the gods have, to all appearance, distinct and independent titles, in Syria, in Assyria, and in Baby- lonia. Colonel Rawlinson has bestowed much labour on this intri- cate branch of inquiry, but he has only in a partial degree overcome its difficulty : he has identified most of the deities worshipped by the Assyrians with the gods and goddesses of the Greek mythology, but in a few instances only has he satisfied himself of the vernacular pronounciation of the title. " He presents, however, the following brief sketch of the Pan- theon : — "(1.) Assur, the patriarch 'Asshur' deified; Biblical 'Nisroch;' the tutelar divinity of Assyria, and the head of their Pantheon, but unknown to the Babylonians. " (2.) Anu, the patriarch 'Noah' deified; ' Cannes' of Berosus: the name occurs frequently in composition: compare the nymph Anobret of Sanchoniathon, ' beloved of Anu ;' Telani, ' hill of Anu,' native place of the Assyrian monarchs ; and the name of Shalman, or ' Shalmaneser,' which in the Inscriptions is Sallam A nu, ' the likeness of Arm.' " (3.) Bel, Belus or Jupiter, called on the obelisk ' husband of Derceto' and ' father of the gods,' but not easily to be recognised in the later Inscriptions, as the title Bel, with a qualificative adjunct, was applicable to several other divinities. " (4.) Derceto, or Semiramis, ' mother of the gods.' The native name was perhaps Tarkat, for which our copies of the Bible have Tarkat, as the deity of the Avites. 2 Kings xvii, 31. A famous temple of 'Atargatis' is thus described by Isidore, at 'Besechan,' or ' Ava,' on the Euphrates, near Hit ; and all that part of Babylonia is distinguished in the Inscriptions by the name of the goddess. Tarkat was the special divinity of the first Assyrian dynasty, her name being usually attached to that of the king; and hence the family were named Dercetades by the Greeks. This fact also ex- plains the pretended descent of the Assyrian kings from Semiramis. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 209 " (5.) ' Saturn,' whose name is perhaps to be read ' Moloch,^ and who is sometimes placed at the head of the Pantheon, being styled the chief of the four thousand gods who inhabit the heavens and the earth. " (6.) The planet ' Mars,' called Merodach by the Babylonians, (whence the Mirrikh of the Arabs,) but distinguished perhaps by another name at Nineveh. (The Greeks say Thurras or Tur.) He is called 'the god of battles,' and temples and memorial tablets to him abound both in Assyria and Babylonia. Merodach and Neho, or 'Mars' and 'Mercury,' were the tutelary gods of Nebuchadnezzar, and the long Inscription at the East India House is almost entirely devoted to their glorification. " (7.) ' The Sun,' one of whose names was Shamas, as in Hebrew and Arabic, but who seems to have been known by several other titles. He is called 'the guardian of the heavens and the earth,' and temples were erected in his honour in all the chief cities of Babylonia. " (8.) The god San, whose title is found in the names of Senna- cherib, Sanballut, (fcc, but whose character has not yet been identified. " (9.) ' Diana,' associated with Derceto, of whom she seems to have been the daughter, and represented everywhere by a naked female figure. She was called Tanath or Alath, ('Alitta,') in Syria, as in the title of Vabalathus on the coins, for ' Artemidorus ; and, according to Herodotus, her Assyrian name was Mylitta. But though her monograms can be everywhere recognised and her attri- butes partially explained, nothing has yet been found in the Inscrip- tions to show how the name was pronounced either at Nineveh or Babylon. " (10.) Hodad, or Ador, 'the god of fire,' son of Anu or Noah, represented symbolically hy flames, and called 'the vivifier of man- kind,' ' the life of heaven and earth,' &c. That the Syrian designa- tion of this deity was Hadad is shown by the Biblical title of 'Ben Hadad,' King of Damascus, of whose name, as it is found on the obelisk, the monogram of the ' fire- god ' forms the principal element. Joseplms, however, and the Greeks, frequently write ' Ader,' instead of ' Hadad ;' and ' Adar' is the true Babylonian word for ' fire,' as in the names of Adrammelech, Aflrameles, Atropates, (fee. The Sep- harvites worshipped this god when they burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech. 'Hadad/ who is called by Sanchoniathon ' kin;;; of the gods,' was principally worshipped in Syria, and thus, according to Nicolaus, all the kings of the Damascus family assumed the name. His figure, as it is described by Macrobius, with rays- 14 210 THE GENTILE NATIONS. darting downward to express beneficence, is frequently seen on the Assyrian monuments. "(11.) Ashteroth, or 'Venus;' the name is written Yastara in the Inscriptions, and is frequently used as a generic appellation for all the goddesses of the Pantheon, like the Baalim and Ashtaroth of Scripture. In Babylonian she is called ' the queen of heaven and earth,' and seems to be confounded with Nana, the Nannaia of the Greeks, and Nani of the Syrians, which is the name still applied in Syriac to the planet ' Venus.' Where Nana is mentioned in the ISlineveh Inscriptions, she is usually named 'queen of Baby- lon.' The name of Nanabius, King of Babylon, cited by Nicolaus, signifies ' beloved of Nana.' "(12.) 'Rhea,' or ' Cybele,' whose name in Assyrian means ' queen of the gods ;' . she is usually associated with ' Saturn.' " (13.) Nebo, or ' Mercury,' a deity held in great veneration both in Assyria and Babylonia; he is termed 'the king of heaven and earth,' or ' the ruler of heaven and earth,' and was the tutelar divinity of the family of Nebuchadnezzar. "Among the other gods who have been identified with more or less of certainty, are (14.) the Succoth Benoth of Scripture; (15.) Nit, or 'Minerva,' adopted probably from Egypt; (16.) Dagon; (17.) Martu, or 'Neptune,' the god of the sea, who was also, like Hadad, the god of fire, a sont)f Anw, or 'Noah,' and whose temple, erected by Sennacherib, is now being excavated in a mound near Nineveh; (18.) 'the Moon, of whose native name, however, no indi- cation has been yet found. " (19.) Divan or Diman, whom it is proposed to identify with the Greek Hercules, for Syncellus has preserved a tradition that this deity was called l^idddv by the Phoenicians, the Cappadocians, and the Ilians ; and a further argument that Divan must represent a deified hero rather than a god is furnished by the fact that, although the name, expressed phonetically, and preceded by the determinative of divinity, enters into the composition of many Assyrian royal titles, it is yet never found in any invocation or list of gods, nor does there ever seem to have been a temple erected in his honour. We find also, (20.) 'the Heavens' personified and worshipped as a deity both at Babylon and Nineveh; and we further recognise a god, named Dala, (21,) whose title is to be found in the AeAatdCTrap-o?- of Josephus, in Deleboras, 'beloved of Dala,' the name of an Assy- rian king preserved by Macrobius, in AeXe^dr, explained by Hesy- chius as ' the star of Venus,' in Dalphon, the name of a son of Haman, (fcc. ; and there are perhaps ten or twelve more of the Assyrian gods whose names and attributes are altogether obscure. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 211 " The Assyrians have likewise preserved the titles of many stranger gods, -whom they do not seem to have admitted into their own Pantheon. They were thus acquainted with the true God Jehovah, marking the term, wherever it occurred in proper names, with the sign of a divinity ; and they distinguish in the same man- ner the gods of Susiana^ Khumba and Duniyas, and the gods of Armenia, Haldi and Bakbarta." Dr. Layard, in his new work (mneveh and Babylon, p. 629) has given a list of thirteen deities ; but it affords no additional informa- tion of importance, beyond what is above cited from Col. Rawlinson. We find in the deification of AssHUB. in Assyria, and in the cir- cumstance of his being unknown at Nineveh, a striking confirmation of the views advocated in this work respecting the building of Nin- eveh. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 344, 345.) If Nimrod, of the family of Ham, had been the founder of this city and empire, it is very improbable that Asshur, of the family of Shem, would have been the first and tutelar deity of the country. But if— as we have done — we take the words of the sacred writer in their plain and obvious sense : " Out of that land," Shinar, " went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehohoth, and Calah, and Re- sin;" then it might be expected that, as in almost every other idolatrous country, he would be the tutelar divinity of the nation : while, as Nimrod reigned at Babylon, Asshur would not be recog- nised there in that character : so that, in this instance, the position which Asshur occupies, as the first deity of the Assyrian Pantheon, may be fairly taken as a demonstration that our view of the origin of the empire is correct. This deity is the Biblical Nisroch, — the Assarac of the sculptures. He was the great god of the nation ; and, in fact, he represented in his person and worship the national faith of the Assyrian people. (Layard's Nineveh and Babylon, p. 637.) The position of NoAH in this catalogue is in accordance with the usual course of idolatry in other ancient nations ; and the prevalence of his divine appellation shows the early age at which his worship was introduced. Bel, or Beltjs, is a most important element in this list of idol deities. It is diflBcult to ascertain the precise manner in which this deity was added to the Pantheon. Two facts are unquestionable : — first, that this term has always been associated with the worship of the sun ; and, secondly, that Bel, or Belus, was equally adored at Nineveh and Babylon. It is further to be observed, that the Assy- rian Belus is said to have been the husband of Derceto, or Semi- ramis, — whi<;h would identify him with Ninus. From this it seems 212 THE GENTILE NATIONS. reasonable to infer, that in each country some distinguished warrior or hero was deified under this name; and that this apotheosis took place with reference to the worship of the solar orb. Further discoveries of inscriptions may possibly clear up this point. At all events it may be regarded as sufiSciently evident, that Nimrod at Babylon and Belus, the father of Ninus, at Nineveh, (or probably Ninus himself,) were the persons thus raised to be objects of profane adoration. Of Dbrceto, or Semiramis, we have nothing to add to what has been found on the inscriptions, and abeady recorded of their his- tory. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 439-441.) The name of Saturn on the inscriptions is MoLOCH, — a circum- stance which opens up a curious subject for inquiry, for which it is to be feared there are as yet no very available materials to work out a satisfactory solution. I allude to the fact, that this divinity is known to have been worshipped in connexion with the barbarous immolation of young children. Has this anything to do with the Greek fables of his destroying his own offspring? Or is there some common substratum of fact which will account for both ? Besides the personification of the sun in the royal Belus, this orb was worshipped as a glorious luminary. Diana, or Mtlitta, appears to have sustained a very different character in Assyria from the virgin purity associated with her name in Europe. Herodotus has given an account of usages that obtained in the temple of this goddess at Babylon, when he visited that city, which it is necessary here to adduce : — " The Babylonians have one custom in the highest degree abom- inable. Every woman who is a native of the country is obliged, once in her life, to attend at the temple of Venus. Such women as are of superior rank do not omit even this opportunity of separating themselves from their inferiors. These go to the temple in splendid chariots, accompanied by a numerous train of domestics, and place themselves near the entrance. This is the practice with many ; while the greater part, crowned with garlands, seat themselves in the vestibule ; and there are always numbers coming and going. The seats have all of them a rope or string annexed to them, by which each stranger may determine his choice. A woman, having once taken this situation, is not allowed to return home till some stranger throws her a piece of money, and leads her to a distance from the temple. It is usual for a man, when he gives the money, to say, ' May the goddess Mylitta be auspicious to thee !' — Mylitta being the Assyrian name for Venus. The money given is applied to sacred uses, and must not be refused, however small it may be. The woman ia not suffered to make any distinction. She afterward THE GENTILE NATIONS. 213 makes some conciliatory oblation to the goddess, and returns to her house, never afterward to be subjected to similar forms. Such as are eminent for their elegance and beauty do not continue long ; but those who are of less engaging appearance have sometimes been known to remain for three or four years, unable to accomplish the terms of the law. It is to be remarked that the inhabitants of Cyprus have a similar observance." — Herodotus, Clio, cap. 199. (See Appendix, note 30.) The father of history, from the similarity of their rites, identified this goddess with Venus : but Colonel Rawlinson has found another Assyrian female divinity to whom he applies that term. This is AsHTAROTH, whom the; Babylonians called " the queen of heaven," and who is the same that is spoken of by Jeremiah, and to whom the apostate Israelites burnt incense, and poured out drink-oiFerings. Jer. xliv, 17-25. Nbbo is supposed to embody the attributes afterward ascribed to Mercury. This divinity was revered in Assyria, as well as Baby- lonia ; but in the latter country he was specially regarded as the tutelar deity of the family of Nebuchadnezzar, and the term is accordingly found incorporated in the names given to many of the princes of this line. The other deities do not call for particular observation. Passing from the Pantheon of Assyria, we have to notice some of the idol deities of Babylon. The first of these is Belus, or Baal. Berosus, the Chaldaean priest of this deity, says, that when Chaos reigned, — who was described by the cosmogony of this people as a woman, presiding over the embryo elements of nature, — then " Belus came, and cut her asunder : and of one half of her he formed the earth, and of the other half the heavens." Afterward this deity is described as taking oflF his head ; " upon which the other gods mixed the blood, as it gushed out, with the earth; and from thence were formed men, who on this account became rational, and partakers of divine knowledge. This Belus, then, divided the darkness, and sepa- rated the heavens from the earth, and reduced the universe to order." The account then proceeds to state that the animals which previ- ously existed, " being unable to bear the light, died. Belus, upon this, commanded one of the gods to take o6F his head, and to mix the blood with the earth, and from thence to form other men and animals. Belus formed also the stars, and the sun and the moon, and the five planets." The statue of this deity, as seen in his temple at Babylon, is described by Diodorus as in the attitude of walking. His words are : " Upon the top she placed three statues of beaten gold, — of Jupiter, 214 THE GENTILE NATIONS. (whom the Babylonians call Belus,) Juno, and Rhea. That to Jupiter stood upright, in the posture as if he were walking ; he was forty feet in height, and weighed a thousand Babylonish talents." It is a singular fact, that we have now before us a representation of this figure. In the Epistle attached to the Book of Baruch, and which Jeremiah is supposed to have written to the captive Hebrews, when they were being carried unto Babylon, he says, " Wow shall ye see in Babylon gods of silver and of gold and of wood borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear." Verse 3. A reference to this Epistle in the Second Book of Maccabees (ii, 2, 3) proves that the ancient Jews regarded it as genuine ; (compare Isa. vi, 6, 7;) while, in strict accordance with the Sicilian historian and the Hebrew prophet, on one of the slabs disinterred at Nineveh we have a representation of several idols carried on men's shoulders, and one of them erect in a walking attitude. But what seems decisive as to the identity of the prophet's description with the sculpture is, the very singular circumstance that the prophet, in describing the image of this deity, says, " He hath also in his right hand a dagger and an axe." These will be allowed to be very unusual implements to be carried by a divinity ; yet in the recently recovered bass-relief he is represented " with an axe." In the same chapter Diodorus describes a goddess as seated in a chair of state, made of gold, with two lions at her knees, and near her two very large silver serpents. She has been supposed to be the same with the Greek Rhea ; but the Babylonish name has not yet been obtained. Another female deity is also mentioned in this con- nexion. She has been believed to be identical with Here. She appears standing, holding in her right hand a serpent by the head, and in her left a sceptre ornamented with precious stones. It will now be necessary to notice the worship of the heavenly bodies, which extensively prevailed in those countries. It has been generally believed that this was the primitive and universal religion of the Assyrians and Babylonians. But although the opinion has obtained such general acceptance, it does not appear, on examina- tion, to be sustained by such weight of evidence as amounts to rational proof It may, indeed, be admitted as highly probable, that an idolatrous regard for the heavenly bodies began even before the Flood ; (Patriarchal Age, pp. 235, 236 ;) and that many of the un- divided community which journeyed to Shinar were greatly affected by this heresy. But it seems to be an undoubted fact, that the prime apostasy of Nimrod was of another kind, and, although stealthily and insidiously introduced, issued in the establishment of hero and demon worship, mainly in the form of triads of divinities. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 215 It may, however, be regarded as certain, that the adoration of the heavenly bodies was afterward ingrafted upon this system of hero and demon idolatry. Mr. Faber has thus stated this subject : " The hierophants of old appear to have been very early addicted to the study of astronomy ; though, unfortunately, instead of pursuing their researches in a legitimate manner, they perverted them to the vain reveries of magic, and prostituted them to the purposes of idolatry. As they highly venerated the souls of their paradisiacal and arkite ancestors, considering them in the light of demon-gods, who still watched and presided over the afiairs of ihen, it was an easy step in the way of apostate error, to imagine that they were translated to the heavenly bodies, and that from these lofty stations they ruled and observed all the passing events of this nether world. When such a mode of speculation was once adopted, whatever virtues might afterward be attributed to the planets, and in whatever man- ner the stars might be combined into mythological constellations, the first idea that must obviously have occurred to the astronomical hierophants, would undoubtedly be this : — Since they perceived the sun and the moon to be the two great lights of heaven, and since they worshipped with an especial veneration the Great Father and the Great Mother, they would naturally elevate those two personages to the two principal luminaries. Such, accordingly was the plan which they adopted. Those ancient writers who have treated on the subject of Pagan mythology assure us, that, by what was called 'the mystic theoa-asia,' all the gods of the Gentiles ultimately resolved themselves into the single character of the Great Father ; and, in a similar manner, all their goddesses, into the single character of the Great Mother : and they further declare that, as all their gods melt insensibly into one, they are all equally the sun; and as all their goddesses no less melt into one, they are all equally the moon. " Yet notwithstanding these avowed and recognised doctrines, the gods of the Gentiles are allowed to have been the souls of their ancestors, and are described as having once acted a conspicuous and sufficiently intelligible part upon earth. The only conclusion that can be drawn from these apparently opposite declarations is, that the demon-gods were worshipped in the heavenly bodies; and, agreeably to such a conclusion, we are unequivocally told, that the souls of certain deified mortals were believed to have been elevated after their death to the orbs of the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. Hence originated the notion, that all these celestial bodies, instead of being mere inert matter, were each ani- 216 THE GENTILE NATIONS. mated by a divine spirit, — were each a wise and holy intelligence." ' Origin of Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, pp. 31, 32. (See Appendix, note 31.) While these profound expositions apply generally to the whole range of idolatry, they do so with peculiar force and exactitude to the religion of Assyria and Babylon. But even in respect of these countries there is a perceptible difference in the development of those cardinal doctrines. In Babylon, for instance, the ramification of this system inclined to the solar form, while in Assyria it was decidely in the astral direction. There is, however, no more striking feature in the whole of this idolatrous system, than the multiplicity of compound human and animal forms which everywhere meet the eye. The first of these which deserves notice is the figure of a man, with the wings and tail of a bird, enclosed in a circle. Mr. Layard observes of this symbol, " We may conclude, from the prominent position always given to this figure in the Nimroud sculptures, and from its occurrence on Persian monuments as the representation of Ormuzd, that it was also the type of the supreme deity among the Assyrians. It will require a more thorough knowledge of the contents of the inscrip- tions than we at present possess, to determine the name by which this divinity was known. It may be conjectured, however, that it was Baal, or some modifigation of a name which was that of the Great God among nearly all nations speaking the cognate dialects of a Semitic or Syro- Arabian language. According to M.. Layard, this symbol is formed by a circle or crown — to denote time without Ijounds or eternity — encircling the image of Baal, with the wings and tail of the dove, to show the association of M} litta, the Assyrian Venus, — thus presenting A complete triad." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 449, and note. Have we not here the key to this recondite symbol 1 All kinds of puerile conjectures have been put forth on this point : but this is one every way consistent and satis- factory. Nothing is more certain than that the Great Father was, from the introduction of idolatry, worshipped as Cronos or Saturn, or Time, in all its wide and boundless range of duration. Then we have Mylitta, or perhaps rather Derceto, — "the Mother of the Gods" nccording to this system, and eminently the Great Mother, (Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 454, 455,) who was fabled in her youth to have been sustained by doves for a whole year, and after her death to have been changed into a dove ; and under this symbol was univer- sally worshipped in Assyria. Thirdly, Baal is presented as the Son, the Great God descending from the Great Father and Mother, and with them forming the Assyrian triad. (See Appendix, note 32.) THE GENTILE NATIONS. 217 In fact, we have here Tauthe, Apason, and Moymis, symbolically combined as the great object of worship. ' Dr. Layard'a further discoveries, published since the above was written, greatly strengthen these conclusions. In the rubbish at the foot of one of the gigantic human-headed bulls, in the grand entrance to the palace of Khorsabad, were found four engraved cylinders. On one of these, made out of green felspar, "which," says the learned explorer, " I believe to have been the signet or amulet of Sennacherib himself, is engraved the king standing in an arched frame, as on the rock-tablets at Bavian, and at the Nahr-el-Kelb in Syria. He holds in one hand the sacrificial mace, and raises the other in the act of adoration before the winged figure in a circle, here represented as a triad with three heads. This mode of portray- ing this emblem is very rare on Assyrian relics, and is highly in- teresting, as confirming the conjecture that the mythic human figure, with the wings and tail of a bird, enclosed in a circle, was the symbol of the Triune God, the supreme deity of the Assyrians, and of the Persians, their successors in the empire of the east." — Nineveh and Babylon, p. 160. The importance of this discovery can scarcely be over-estimated. The triadic figure, or symbol, in this instance, is precisely the same as those so frequently seen on the early Assyrian and Persian sculp- tures. Here is the human form, the circle, and the expanded wings ; but from each of these wings another head is represented as rising, as if to mark out, in the most unmistakable manner, the great fact, that this symbolical representation was intended to exhibit the union of three personalities. Well may Layard say, that this confirms the opinion, that we have here " the symbol of the Triune God." The further prosecution of the subject, when we have specially to treat of the objects and manner of worship, will greatly enlarge and strengthen this view of the case. But, passing beyond this symbolical representation of the primi- tive triad, we find the architecture and sculpture of these countries filled with figures compounding parts of the human body with those of birds and animals. One of the most remarkable of these combinations occurs in the eagle-headed human figure. This, executed in colossal proportions, is not only found sculptured on the walls, and guarding the portals of the chambers, at Nimrqud : it is also embroidered on the royal robes, and introduced in almost every possible variety of manner, connexion, and arrangement. It is supposed to represent Assarac, — the Nisroch of the Scriptures. Besides this, numerous human-headed lions and bulls are met 218 THE GENTILE NATIONS. with, many of them being of such gigantic dimensions and beautiful workmanship as to impress the mind with a strong conviction of the immense importance which the Assyrians and Babylonians attached to these curious and, to our view, unnatural compounds. Directing our attention to these, in the hope of ascertaining their design and character, we are struck with the fact that, except when embroidered on raiment, they are always found in pairs, on each side of an entrance, as if guarding it. Another circumstance is very significant : with few and unimportant exceptions, these figures are combinations of the four cherubic creatures, — the man, the bull, the lion, and the eagle. These facts have led every careful student of Assyrian antiquities to regard these compound sculp- tured figures as standing in some connexion with the Mosaic cheru- bim, which were in a similar manner sculptured for the taberna- cle and temple of the Hebrews, and embroidered on the curtains of both. Layard says, " The resemblance between the symbolical figures I have described, and those seen by Ezekiel in his vision, can scarcely fail to strike the reader. As the prophet had beheld the Assyrian palaces, with their mysterious images and gorgeous decorations, it is highly probable that, when seeking to typify certain divine attri- butes, and to describe the divine glory, he chose forms that were familiar not only to him, but to the people he addressed, — captives, like himself, in the land of Assyria." I have given the learned explorer's view, (much mistaken as I be- lieve it to be in its reasoning, see Appendix, note 33,) for the sake of obtaining his countenance to the undoubted fact, that the com- pound Assyrian figures and the cherubic elements were identical. Mr. Bonomi, who has most elaborately and successfully investi- gated these remains, observes, " These symbolical combinations we regard as derived from the traditional descriptions of the cherubim, which were handed down after the deluge by the descendants of Noah ; to which origin, also, we are inclined to attribute their situa- tion as guardians of the principal entrances of the palaces of the Assyrian kings. The cherubim guarded the gates of Paradise : the cherubic symbols were placed in the adytum of the tabernacle, and afterward in the corresponding sanctuary of the temple : and here in the Assyrian palaces they are never found except as guardians of portals." — Nineveh and its Palaces, Tp. 133. To cite one more authority on this point, I give the following from the Rev. Mr. Blackburn: " We have glanced at the temples of the heathen, and seen these compound creatures, in various forms of debasement, placed in the avenues and the portals of their most THE GENTILE NATIONS. 219 celebrated fanes, as sentinels and guards ; just as we see, in the sacred writings, the cherubim attending upon the throne of Jehovah, from the first cloudy pavilion that was pitched before the approaches to Eden, down to the celestial visions of Ezekiel in the plains of Assyria. These forms, I think, the Assyrians must have borrowed from the Jews, or rather from the earlier patriarchs : the doctrine, it may be, was lost in superstitious traditions ; but the form and the symbol remained, as we see them in the present day." — Nineveh : its Rise and Ruin, pp. 176, 177. This subject might be further elucidated, and those views sus- tained,; if it were necessary ; but the conclusion of Dr. Layard ap- pears to be inevitable. " It will be observed," he says, " that the four forms (and those only) chosen by Ezekiel to illustrate his description, — the man, the lion, the bull, and the eagle, — are pre- cisely those which are constantly found on Assyrian monuments as religious types. These coincidences are too marked not to deserve notice, and do certainly lead to the inference that the symbols chosen by the prophet were derived from, or rather identical with, these Assyrian sculptures." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 445. Regarding this identity as an established fact, we might now pro- ceed to the interesting inquiry, as to the object and design of the Assyrians in the adoption and general use of these curious figures. But this will be better accomplished after we have investigated some other elements of this religious system. Another symbolical object which meets the eye in all the religious rites and services of this people is the sacred tree. This is the vine, the palm, or the fir ; generally the last, which is highly ornamented with elegantly arranged groups of honeysuckle. It may serve to convey some idea of the character of this sym- bolism, if we give a sketch of the sacred tree as it occurs in the large work of Dr. Layard, — " The Monuments of Nineveh." Plate 7 exhibits two winged females standing one on each side of the sacred tree, with their left hands holding a garland, and their right hands raised as if engaged in some act of worship. Plate 7 (A) exhibits two winged human figures, kneeling one on each side of the sacred tree : they are evidently engaged in an act of devotion. Plate 25 is an interesting and striking exhibition. In the centre stands the sacred tree, ornamented with honeysuckle : on each side is a king, holding a sceptre in h^ left hand, and raising the right, as if making some solemn covenant or engagement. Immediately above the tree, the celestial triad is represented by the circle, wings, and deity in human form: on this symbol of divinity the kings seem to be gazing with solemn interest ; while behind each sovereign 220 THE GENTILE NATIONS. stands a winged human figure with the usual basket m the left hand, and raising a fir-cone oyer the shoulder of the king with the right hand. This is clearly intended to exhibit a most important religious ceremony. But it is not only on the sculptures that the sacred tree is found : it entered into their architectural decorations; and to this we are undoubtedly indebted for that beautiful ornament, the Grecian honeysuckle. It equally pervaded all their designs for embroidery. One plate, (8,) showing the upper part of the king's robe, is nearly covered with figures of the sacred tree in almost every variety of form. Another, (plate 6,) giving the embroidery worn on the breast of the sovereign, contains the same sacred symbols in equal abun- dance and variety ; the centre being the sacred tree, over which is the symbolic triad of divinities ; and on each side a royal figure, the borders being filled with numerous devices of honeysuckle and other parts of these sacred emblems. This is not an unimportant circum- stance. Dr. Layard, indeed, observes on this point, "From the constant introduction of the tree, ornamented with them, into groups representing the performance of religious ceremonies, there cannot he a doubt that they were symbolical, and were invested with a sacred character. The sacred tree, or tree of life, so universally recognised in eastern systems of theology, is called to mind ; and we are naturally led to refer the traditions connected with it to a common origin." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 472. The allusive range of Assyrian sacred types to Edenic originals "did not terminate here, but actually included the garden itself This was placed in immediate proximity to the royal palace, and seems to have been arranged more after the fashion of an English park, containing numerous large trees, with a great number of ani- mals of diiferent kinds. Respecting this Dr. Layard speaks thus : " To the palace was attached a park, or Paradise, as it was called, in which was preserved game of various sorts for the diversion of the king." — Idem, vol. ii, p. 246. It cannot, however, be admitted that the preservation of game was the principal object in the prep- aration of a place like this. The name given to it, — one consecrated to the highest realities of divine revelation, — the association of such a garden with the various Edenic symbols to which we have referred, (see Appendix, note 34,) and especially its immediate connexion with a consecrated temple and a sacred person, — all clearly show a higher and deeper design for such an appointment than that of a small enclosure for a royal hunt. The primitive intention, however passing ages might have obscured it, must have been in accordance with the genius of the whole system of Assyrian faith and practice. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 221 We shall be induced the more readily to assent to this induction, when we perceive that the royal residence was a sacred temple, and the person of the king revered as a divinity. On the first head, we may not be able to produce evidence so satisfactory as might be desired. Indeed, it has not satisfied Lay- ard himself, as will be seen from the following words of that learned author : " Were these magnificent mansions palaces or temples ? Or, while the king combined the character of a temporal ruler with that of a high-priest or type of the religion of the people, did his residence unite the palace, the temple, and a national monument raised to per- petuate the triumphs and conquests of the nation ? These are ques- tions which cannot yet be satisfactorily answered." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 267. No one will dispute the dictum of such a man, on such a point as this. But if these questions have not been satisfactorily answered, all that is possible seems to be done by Mr. Fergusson, who, writing two years after Layard, and availing himself of the important dis- coveries made in this interval, has given a careful and elaborate investigation of this difficult question : — " Were these buildings palaces or temples? — a difficulty, however, not peculiar to this place, as the same uncertainty exists in Egypt : in Thebes, for instance, where, according to our usual nomenclature, it is impossible to say whether the great buildings there were, properly speaking, mere places of worship or residences of the sovereigns. That the king did generally, if not always, reside within these halls, seems nearly certain; and that all the great ceremonies and minis- trations of government took place within these halls, are facts that can scarcely be doubted. Indeed, they seem at first sight to have been built almost wholly for these kingly purposes ; whereas, on the other hand, the portion set apart for the image of the god, or exclusively devoted to religious ceremonies, is so small and insig- nificant as scarcely to deserve notice in comparison of the rest ; yet these buildings were as certainly temples, and the only ones, of the most theocratic religion the world ever knew, though, at the same time, they were the palaces of the most absolute kings of whom we have any record. To name, therefore, these palace-temples or temple-palaces, as well as our Persepolitan buildings, we must re- define our words, and come to a clearer understanding of the terms we use, before we can explain what the buildings of which we are now treating really were. "When we speak of a Greek or Roman temple we perfectly understand the term we use. It was a building simple in plan and outline, meant to contain the image of the god to whom it was 222 THE GENTILE NATIONS. dedicated, and wholly devoted to tlie religious ceremonies connected with the prescribed worship of that deity. A Christian church, in like manner, was in all ages a temple, wholly devoted to religious worship, without any secular use — a hall, in short, where people may congregate to worship the great God himself, or the saint to whom it is dedicated ; hut with the distinct idea that it is the house of God, sacred to the purposes of religion, and the fit and proper place in which to ofifer up prayer and sacrifice. " In like manner, a palace in all the countries of Europe is, and always has been, merely a large house. It possesses the sleeping, eating, and state and festival apartments which are found in the dwellings of all men of the middle and even the lower classes, — larger, more numerous, and more splendid, of course, but dedicated to the same uses, and to them only. In modern times, a king is only a chief magistrate ; in the middle ages, he was a leader ; and neither Greece nor Rome ever had kings in the Asiatic sense of the word, at least, certainly not after Rome ceased to be Etruscan, or, in other words, Asiatic, in her form of government. In Persia, how- ever, and indeed, throughout the east, the king is an essential and principal part of all forms of government, and virtually, also, the chief-priest of his people, and head of the religion of his country. We should have a far more distinct idea of the eastern kingly offices and functions in ancient days, if we called him ' caliph,' or ' pope,' instead of 'king;' and were it not that with us the latter title is ap- plied to only one potentate on earth, and we can scarcely understand the idea of there being, or having been, another, the term is just such a one as would directly define that union of temporal and spiritual power which we find united in the Persian monarch; and at the same time, as a necessary corollary, the term hacilica, in its original Roman sense, would as correctly describe the buildings we have been examining at Persepolis." — Nineveh and Persepclis, pp. 186-188. Although this passage more directly refers to the ruins of Perse- polis than to those of Assyria and Babylon, it so strictly applies to cognate usages in other eastern countries, and is, in the express terms of the author, so applicable to the royal residences in Asia, and the east generally, that I feel great pleasure in placing it before the reader. And here, it may be observed, we have no mere theo- rist, — no writer studying eastern antiquities for the purpose of deducing evidence in support of any peculiar religious dogmas ; but a learned and intelligent man of science, investigating with intense diligence the remains of the ruined cities of ancient Asia for archi- tectural purposes. In the prosecution of this labour, he educes the object and design for which the wonderful palace-edifices of the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 223 east were erected : and his conclusion is, that " the actual dwelling- places of the king they certainly were not;" {Ibid., p. 188;) and further, that if " these buildings were not palaces, according to our usual acceptation of the term, still less were they temples;" {Ibid., p. 189 ;) but that they were the seat and centre whence the king, in his compound character of political ruler and religious head of the people, administered the government, and prescribed for the faith and ecclesiastical polity of the country; where in fact a heathen pope sat in all the plenitude of his power. It must not be supposed, when we hear temples mentioned as existing in Assyria or Babylonia, that such statements militate against what has been advanced. Although uniform in the great first principles of faith, the several nations and cities greatly differed in the details of their buildings. As an instance, Mr, Fergusson believes that he has discovered at Khorsabad, not only a building which he calls " the temple," but also the ruins of a range of houses, which he regards as the residence of priests. But then this temple is not only small in size, compared with the whole fabric, but was " situated in the very innermost recesses of the palace ;" so that, in fact, it was part of the same pile of buildings. Of the celebrated temple of Bel at Babylon we really know but little, and cannot elicit any additional information from the meagre accounts which have come down to us : but it is highly probable that future explorations will bring to view proofs that in this respect Babylon, like Assyria and Persia, followed the same general rule. It is important to keep in mind the fact, that these palace-temples were surrounded with Paradises, and that a stream, or streams, of water flowed through the latter, — rising, where that was possible, within the precincts of the temple. This was so universal in the east, that Larcher, in his Notes on Herodotus, (vol. i, p. 221,) observes, " We must bear in mind, that a temple of the ancients was very different from one of our churches. It comprised a considera- ble extent of ground, enclosed by walls, within which there were courts, a grove, pieces of water, sometimes habitations for the priests, and lastly the temple properly so called, and into which, most usually, the priest only was admitted." It may, indeed, be safely gathered from all the information attain- able in respect of these buildings, that they were the official resi- dence of the sovereign ; and that he stood so identified with divinity in the national belief, that they at the same time were regarded with all the reverence and sanctity of consecrated temples. (Layard, vol. ii, pp. 201, 267.) We should here observe, that although the serpent-form does not 224 THE GENTILE NATIONS. appear so often and so prominently in the sculptures of Assyria as in those of Egypt, it is seen in such positions, and is repeated with such frequency, as to indicate very clearly its Satanic original. It will be hereafter observed, that serpents are associated with the worship of fire on the sculptures of Koyunjik : and we have seen that the female divinities of Babylon, as described by Diodorus, are accompanied by images of this reptile. The statue supposed to be that of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, had two colossal serpents standing before it; while that named "Juno" was exhibited holding a serpent in her right hand. A learned author, who has carefully studied this subject, inclines to the opinion that live serpents were kept to be worshipped at Babylon, as at Thebes in Egypt ; and that this led to the fable of Bel and the Dragon. (Deane's Worship of the Serpent, pp. 41-47.) Further, it has been generally believed, that the serpent was the emblem borne aloft on the banners of Assy- ria, and the sign under which all their battles were fought ; and that the emperors of Constantinople derived their dragon- standard from this people. When it is remembered with what devotion the soldiers of heathen countries regarded their chief ensign, the position of the serpent-form in the religious estimation of this people is easily ascertained. Attention must now be directed more particularly to the character which the sovereigns of Assyria and Babylon sustained, or assumed, for the purpose of carrying out this politico-religious government. On this subject Mr. Layard writes as follows : " A very superficial examination of the sculptures will prove the sacred character of the king. The priests, or presiding deities, (whichever the winged figures, so frequently found on the Assyrian monuments, may be,) are represented as waiting upon, or ministering to, him : above his head are the emblems of the divinity, — the winged figure within the circle, the sun, the moon, and the planets. As in Egypt, he may have been regarded as the representative, on earth, of the Deity ; receiving his power directly from the gods, and the organ of com- munication between them and his subjects." — Nineveh, vol. ii, p. 207. And again the same author remarks, " The residence of the king, as I have observed, was probably at the same time the tem- ple; and that he himself was either supposed to be invested with divine attributes, or was looked upon as a type of the supreme Deity, is shown by the sculptures. The winged figures, even that with the head of the eagle, minister unto him. All his acts, whether in war or peace, appear to have been connected with the national religion, and were believed to be under the special protection and superintendence of the Deity. When he is represented in battle, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 225 the winged figure in the circle hovers above his head, bends his bow against his enemies, or assumes his attitude of triumph. His con- tests with the lion and other formidable animals not only show his prowess and skill, but typify at the same time his superior strength and wisdom. Whether he has overcome his enemies, or the wild beasts, he pours out a libation from the sacred cup, attended by his courtiers and the winged figures." — Ibid., p. 474. It will thus be seen that the Assyrian sovereign was not only personally identified with the religion of his country, and occupied the position of sacred head of his people ; but that he passed even beyond this dignity, and assumed an eminence as lofty as it was peculiar. The winged figure with an eagle's head has been identi- fied by Rawlinson as Assarac, or the deified Asshur, the tutelar god of the Assyrian people ; yet even he is seen on the sculptures min- istering to the king. But, what is still more remarkable and signifi- cant, the winged figure in the circle has been shown to represent the primitive triad, and, of course, the centre figure in human form the divine son; yet this symbol, whenever it occurs, is placed over the head of the king, and — what is most striking — always appears to be in the same attitude as the sovereign. I may notice two or three instances from Layard's " Monuments of Nineveh." One of the sculptures gives a vivid description of an attack on a fortified city. The ramparts are lined with bowmen, and the Assyrians are surrounding the walls, while the king in his chariot is bending his bow against the men on the walls, and is on the point of shooting. Above his head is the symbolic triad, with the centre figure directing the point of his arrow against the city, and exhibit- ing precisely the same action as the king. (Plate 13.) In another sculpture we see the great king returning in triumph from a cam- paign : he rides in his chariot, with his bow unbent in his left hand, and his right hand raised. Precisely such is the attitude of the human figure in the symbol of the divine triad above him. (Plate 21.) Again, we see two kings, one on either side of the tree of life, with their right hands raised : such is the attitude of the figure above.* (Plate 25.) What could be done to give a more clear and expressive declaration, that the king, throughout the whole of this system, was regarded as acting on earth in the character and power of the divine son above? For, be it observed, this figure is never seen over any one but the king. It will now be necessary to glance at the manner in which these kings sustained and acted out this sacred character: and for this ' This has been supposed, with great proBability, to represent two views of the great king, and not two several Itings. 15 226 THE GENTILE NATIONS. purpose the Babylonish kingdom will be regarded as succeeding to all the pretensions and powers of the Assyrian empire. Nebuchad- nezzar and his successors will consequently be spoken of as if they had followed the last king of Nineveh on the Assyrian throne; the religion of the two countries being so similar as to render any dis- tinction for our present purpose unnecessary. Referring to the chapter on the History of Assyria, we call atten- tion to the annals of Divanu-bara, son of the great Sardanapalus, which are recorded at length on the Black Obelisk. There, in the account of his first campaign, it is said, "I crossed the Euphrates, and ascended to the tribes who worshipped the god Husi. My ser- vants erected altars in that land to my gods. Then I went on to the land of Khamana, where 1 founded palaces, cities, and temples. I went on to the land of Malar ; and there 1 established the worship of my kingdom." Our limits forbid the mention of similar instances in detail. But here is one, and the first that meets us. It is a record of the first campaign of a young warrior-king. Yet, in scarcely more lines, there are three several declarations that he prosecuted his wars for the extension of his religion in other lands. This is described as the prime object in every case. Again, in the seventh year of his reign, having subdued Tel-ati, he says, "1 appointed priests to reside in the land, to pay adoration to Assarac, the great and powerful god, and to preside over the national worship." In his fifteenth year, having subdued the country of the king of Ararat, he " set up altars, and left priests in the land, to superintend the wor- ship." In the twenty-eighth year of his reign, having reduced the Shetina to obedience, he " established the national religion through- out the land." These extracts are suflicient to show the religious authority assumed by the sovereigns of Nineveh in the early period of her history. We have the means of proving that in the later period of her annals the monarchs of Assyria had not abated one jot of their profane assumption. Let the latter part of the message which Sen- nacherib sent to the nobles of Jerusalem be read as ample evidence of this fact : " Hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying. The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah ? Have they delivered Samaria out of MINE HAND ? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?" 2 Kings xviii, 32-35. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 227 Let this part of the address be carefully perused, and the reader will perceive that it does not discuss the relative military power of the parties. That matter was finished, when, with infinite contempt, Rabshakeh offered the Hebrews a truce, and a present of two thou- sand horses, if the king of Judah could set riders on them. Verse 23. The point in that part of the address which I have quoted has not respect to military strength, but to the relative power of deities. It was spoken in accommodation to the general polytheistic opinion, that certain gods presided over particular nations. But in this con- test for divine power, who represents Assyria ? We read of the gods of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, Ivah, and the Lord of Jerusalem ; and others are mentioned in the version of the speech as given by Isaiah : but, strange to say, we hear nothing of the gods of Assyria. The pontiff-king of Nineveh arrogated this dignity to himself. If he had trusted in his god, the case had been altogether different : but the power poised against all the deities of the lands which he had conquered, and even against the Lord himself was his OWN. " Who shall deliver out of mine hand ?" is the profane boast with which he challenges to himself a power above all gods. It was this which called forth the word of the Lord : " Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed, and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel." 2 Kings xix, 22. It was this profane daring to equal or excel the power of Jehovah which led to the fearful doom denounced against him : " Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou earnest." Verse 28. It is certain, therefore, that the spirit of religious zeal, proud intolerance, and profane assumption, which characterized the sove- reigns of Assyria in the early part of its history, was not merely continued, but rather increased, until the termination of the empire. We have now to direct attention to Babylon, as exhibiting an embodiment of this religion. And here it may be observed that this was unquestionably the original seat of this system of faith, and the centre whence it emanated. Here, under the auspices of Nim- rod, this fearful apostasy was established in connexion with kingly rule : here for a while both flourished ; until, overwhelmed by the superior military power of Nineveh, Babylonia became a province of the Assyrian empire. After a very extended period of supremacy, this power in her turn fell before the combined army of Modes and Babylonians ; and then that part of the old Assyrian empire and influence which lay to the west of the Euphrates naturally passed into the hand of the sovereign of Babylon. 228 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Not only did this transition take place as the result of the ever- recurring changes in the martial power of nations : it was distin- guished and consummated in a manner and by an agency of the most extraordinary character. Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded to the throne of Babylon just two years after the destruction of Nineveh, was one of those men so distinguished for martial genius, daring ambition, and invincible energy, as to insure themselves the most prominent position in the age in which they flourish. In succeeding to the throne of Babylon, he succeeded to all the pretensions of the impious founder of that state, and to all those claims and powers which many centuries had sealed as the undoubted prerogative of the imperial sovereign of Assyria. A reference to a few points in his history will show whether he also assumed to be divine. We have the advantage of pursuing this part of our inquiry under the guidance of sacred writ. We find this sovereign, immediately after he had established himself in the empire, and extended his sway from Nineveh to Egypt, gathering together all the chief ofiScers, civil and military, from every part of his dominions, for a special and important purpose. But this was not, as might be at first surmised, either for a military or a civil object, but for one decidedly religious. The king had caused a great image of gold to be made, and set up ; and the assembled multitudes were command- ed at a given signal to bow down and worship this image. Reasons, which it is not necessary here to repeat, have been adduced, in a preceding volume, (Hebrew People, pp. 586-589,) for believing that this image represented Nebuchadnezzar himself in the character of the divine Son, the promised incarnate Seed ; but, apart from this, there are important facts bearing on our subject in the inspired nar- rative of this event. Nebuchadnezzar, without preface or apology, prescribes an object of worship to his people. He does this as if it lay as much within his own legitimate authority, as to prescribe the boundary of a province, or the terms of military service. At the given signal all are required to fall down and worship the image. Dan. iii, 4, 5. Then this command is enforced by a threat, and by actual punishment. Verses 15, 21. It must be admitted that the stupendous miracle which saved the three young Hebrews, appears to have elicited from the king language which may, at first, be taken to imply a withdrawal of his assumed power, verse 28 : but imme- diately after, he issues a decree, which, although in support of truth, and in vindication of the true God, is marked by the unchanged character of profane assumption : " Every people, nation, and lan- guage, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses THE GENTILE NATIONS. 229 shall be made a dunghill." Verse 29. The whole conduct of Nebu- chadnezzar, throughout the entire narrative, is, in fact, a positive assumption of the divine prerogative of prescribing an object of faith and worship for mankind. But the existence of this assumption of divine attributes and powers is perhaps still more clearly seen in the following chapter. This gives an account of the king's vision of a great tree, with Daniel's interpretation of it, and the actual accomplishment of the predictions which it contained. It is to be feared that this well- known portion of Scripture has not received the attention which it merits. Let me ask, What was the precise object of all this won- derful interposition? It was simply this, — that Nebuchadnezzar might be brought fully to acknowledge the existence and supremacy of the most high God : " Till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." Dan. iv, 25. And it is certain that the indisposition of Nebuchadnezzar to know and acknowledge this did not arise from a high reverence for any other god. As in the case of Sennacherib, the contest was between the claims of Jehovah and his own assumed dignity and power. This is rendered certain by the fact, that the culminating point of his crime was the inflated inquiry, " Is not this great Baby- lon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of MY power, and for the honour of my majesty "?" Verse 30. And we may well attach the strongest meaning possible to these terms, when it is known that they were immediately followed by a miracu- lous punishment, instant and terrible. All this serves to show, that the principles and spirit which dic- tated the first great rebellion against God at Shinar, remained in active and powerful operation at the time of Nebuchadnezzar. But, after all, perhaps the strongest proof we have of this fact is the predictive declaration of the Prophet Isaiah respecting this king. In the fourteenth chapter of his prophecy, this sacred seer has given one of the most splendid prophetic odes to be found in the whole scope of holy Scripture. This prophecy is directed against a king of Babylon who was a great conqueror, who was succeeded by his son and grandson, after which the race was " cut off." This king of Babylon must therefore have been Nebuchadnezzar : the terms used by the prophet do not, and never have been supposed to, apply to any other person. In this prophecy we have not an account of this king's actions, but an exhibition of the thoughts and purposes of his heart, set forth under the guidance of that omniscient power which seeth what is in man : " Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God : I will sit 230 THE GENTILE NATIONS. also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north : 1 will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; I will be like the Most High." Isaiah xiv, 13, 1 4. My view of the purport of this text, sustained by the authority of the Rev. G. S. Faber, has been given in the place already referred to : (Hebrew People, p. 588 :) it will therefore be only necessary to add here, that these words fully teach that Nebuchadnezzar would aspire to divinity; that he would not be content with being regarded merely as one of the local hero-deities of heathen nations ; that he would claim an equality with the Most High; that he would be supreme; further, that he would claim this as the incarnate Seed, who was to recover the seat in Paradise, which is here indicated by " the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north." — Faber' s Origin of Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, p. 350. It will be necessary now to place before the reader a brief re- capitulation of the results to which we have been led in this portion of our inquiry. It has been ascertained that the sacred places of this people were filled with figures combining the human with animal forms ; that these combinations are always made by the union of two or more of the creatures spoken of as found in the Scriptural cherubim ; and that this is done in such a manner as to leave no doubt on the mind that the human-headed and eagle- winged lions and bulls, which are now seen in the museums of London and Paris, and which still abound in the mounds of Assyria, were designed from traditional notions of the primitive cherubim. We find a sacred tree associated with all the sacred rites of this people, and placed in such juxta-position with these cherubic sculp- tures as to lead to the conclusion, that it was incorporated into this religious system as a memorial of the tree of life in Eden. It is certain that, attached to the royal palaces of Assyria, there were large enclosed gardens or parks ; and the universal presence of trees and a river, and especially the peculiar adoption of the name and its application in holy Scripture, warrant the opinion, that these were memorial imitations of the garden of Eden, the scene of man's primitive happiness and fearful fall. Further, it has been ascertained that the royal residence contio'uous to this Paradise had a sacred character, and was as much a temple as a house, and thus appeared as a place consecrated to Deity. Again, it has been shown that the sovereign was regarded as divine ; that all the sculptures identify him in a remarkable manner with the divine Son in the sacred triad; that he assumed the care of the national religion, exerted himself to make it universal, and freely put forth the power of enforcing canons of faith on the people. THE GESTILB NATIONS. 231 and of dictating to them authoritatively on all points relating to religion. Now, let it be remembered that all this took place in the neigh- bourhood where, and arose out of the people among whom, Nimrod, the great apostate leader, laboured to frustrate the purposes of the Most High by preventing the divinely appointed dispersion of the people, by his proud claim to be a universal sovereign, and his pro- fane assumption of divine attributes. It is admitted on all hands that the promise of an incarnate Deity would foi-m the most plausible basis for such a scheme of operation. For a moment let this be assumed, and it will be seen that all these elements of Assyrian religion are precisely those which under the circumstances might be expected. Here is the promised divine ruler and high-priest, sur- rounded with paradisiacal emblems, in a consecrated dwelling, adapted to his two-fold character, in close proxity to a Paradise, made as nearly as possible after popular traditions of the original, labouring to fulfil his mission by bringing all the world under his sway, and inducing them to receive terms of faith from his word. The substratum of this system was historic truth and pure revela- tion. The thrilling events of man's primitive history were carefully brought out; every sacred place and sacred emblem were critically elaborated; ideas of primitive history and religion, hallowed by the lapse of ages, were brought into operation ; the natural veneration due the man and woman whom Grod made, and placed in purity upon this earth, were all employed; and, more than all these, the language in which the antidote for man's misery in Heaven's mercy was first whispered into the ear of sinning mortals, — the promise of an incarnate Redeemer, — was added, to lay the foundations for the religion of Assyria and Babylon. But all this truth was neutralized, perverted, and made the foun- dation on which was reared a superstructure full of evil. This was not done by rude opposition, but by insidious addition and vitiation. A proud, daring, ambitious man, urged on by the great author of all evil, having entrenched himself in those hallowed records of man's early history, daringly claimed divine honour, and thus prepared the way for unlimited idolatry. Thus, as far as patient research can penetrate the obscurity of the subject, this system arose : and perhaps there is nothing in human history more remarkable than the identity of character which it maintained throughout two thousand years. In all the alterations of national prosperity or adversity, whether the seat of imperial power was at Nineveh or Bal y!on. the same system was maintained in respect of religion: so that, when, during the reign 232 THE GENTILE NATIONS. of Nebuchodonosor, Assyria was hastening to her fall, it is distinctly said of that king that "he had decreed to destroy all the gods of the land, that all nations should worship i^ebuchodonosor only." Judith iii, 8. So intense, even then, was the claim to divinity made by the kings of Assyria. We have seen that this did not abate, when the seat of empire was restored to Babylon. Then Jehovah had to reduce Nebuchadnezzar to the condition of a beast, and to continue him in that abject state for seven years, before he would recognise the existence of any divine power beyond that which he claimed to centre in himself It has been found necessary to go more into detail with regard to this subject, than has been usual in this work, for two reasons. In the preceding volumes I was compelled to assume the existence of the facts and doctrines here developed ; and it therefore became important that these assumptions should be fully justified. This course was also demanded by the circumstance, that this branch of the subject comes before us not only as an important element in the religion of those countries, but also as being equally identified with the religion of the world. The facts elicited in respect of Assyria and Babylon more or less illustrate and explain the religion of every other idolatrous country. At the same time they shed no unim- portant light upon very interesting portions of the sacred record. (See Appendix, note 35.) It will now be necessary to add such general observations about this system of religion and its influence on the people, as may arise out of the limited information which has been handed down to us by history, or gleaned from a study of the disinterred sculptures. Here, as in other primitive heathen countries, there is found a gradual but marked deterioration in theology and objects of religious worship. In the earliest sculptures of Nimroud, the only object which the king is seen to worship is the winged figure in the circle, — the divine triad. He has, indeed, before him the sacred tree ; but it does not appear that this is an object of adoration. It seems much more probable that this is employed only as a symbol of the tree of life. And this, the primitive form of worship among the Assyrians, as far as our means of information extend, strikingly confirms our view of the gradual and insidious manner in which the patriarchal faith was superseded by all the abominations of idolatry. Here was a symbolic representation of the true God, in his triune character, containing allusive representations of the great Father and Mother, with the promised Saviour as the incarnate Son, prominently exhibited as the centre and substance of Deity. The figure of the sacred tree would illustrate all this ; and, by presenting to the mind THE GENTILE NATIONS. 233 an emblem of the happy seat from which man had been expelled, and to which it was believed he would be restored by the Saviour, the past history and future hopes of the world were concentrated to a focus, and that point was made the object of the earliest Assyrian adoration. But truth alone is permanent and abiding ; error is always subject to variation and change, and generally to a fearful progression from bad to worse. This is seen in the slender information supplied by the Assyrian sculptures on the subject of religion. Although no worship is represented on the ruins of Nimroud but that which is offered to the sacred triad, it is certain that idolatrous error had be- come widely extended and greatly diversified prior to the ruin of this ancient city. There has been found in the remains of that palace what has been called " the Hall of Nisroch." It is a chamber one hundred feet long and twenty-five broad : its entrance is by a door- way guarded on each side by one of those colossal- winged, human- headed bulls, now in the British Museum. With one exception, this room is covered with sculptured representations of Assarac, the deified patriarch, Asshur, the tutelar god of Assyria, called in Holy Scripture Nisroch. The exception to this rule is one slab, on which there is a representation of the king wearing a kind of necklace, con- sisting of emblems of the heavenly bodies, such as "the sun, the moon, a cross, a three-horned cap, and a symbol like two horns," (Bonomi's Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 261,) which Layard calls " a trident." This Assarac — we know, from the annals of kings recorded on the sculptures generally, and especially from those on the Black Obelisk — was held forth as the great national deity. His worship was introduced wherever the Assyrian arms prevailed. Altars for his service were raised in every conquered country. It does not appear why he is thus represented. The wings and the eagle-head may, indeed, be regarded as cherubic emblems, although no reason has been assigned for their peculiar application in this instance. It is, however, probable that this selection was devised as a representation of the deified patriarch, under the influence of the maxims of mythic philosophy which obtained in the east at this time. This notion seems justified by the fact, that a fragment of the Oracles of Zoro- aster, preserved by Eusebius, states that " God is he that has the head of a hawk. He is the first, indestructible, eternal, unbegotten, indivisible, dissimilar ; the dispenser of all good ; incorruptible ; the best of the good, the wisest of the wise : he is the father of equity and justice, self-taught, physical, and perfect, and wise, and the only inventor of the sacred philosophy." — Eusebii Prap. Evang., lib. i, 234 THE GENTILE NATIONS. cap. 10; Cory's Fragments, Tp.2BQ. Yet, although Assarac was the deified patriarch of the country, and uniformly recognised as the head of the Pantheon in all the royal annals, and withal dignified with such elevated attributes ; and though his figure occurs so frequently on the sculptures ; yet in no instance is the reigning king seen offer- ing adoration to him ; but, on the contrary, Assarac is seen minis- tering to the monarch. This is, perhaps, one of the most convincing proofs that can be furnished of the accuracy of the view which we have taken concerning the direct assumption of the highest divinity by the kings of Nineveh. In the latter ages of the empire, however, we find considerable changes in the religious rites and objects of worship. At Khorsabad the primitive symbol of the trinity — the man with wings in a circle — has altogether disappeared. No visible type of this primeval doc- trine remains. Here is found a colossal figure, which Mr. Bonomi shows good reason for believing to be Nimrod: but whether this conjecture is well founded, and -this mighty warrior was deified in Assyria, we have not as yet the means of deciding with satisfactory certainty. Here is also a human figure with four wings, which is conjectured to be Ilus or Cronos. Whatever uncertainty may attach to the identification of the deities of this latter period of the empire, it is certain that the wor- ship of fire had been introduced and become general. Although there are no traces of this in the earlier inscriptions, undoubted evidence of its existence is found on the sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik. Among the ruins of the former city is a striking instance of this species of idolatry. Two eunuchs are seen standing before an altar, engaged in some religious service. They have the square basket, or utensil, seen on the older bass-reliefs. This sculpture casts im- portant light on the singular ceremony so frequently seen on the Nimroud sculptures, — the presentation of the pine-apple, or fir-cone, — to which it has been found very difiicult to attach any meaning. Here the fir-cone, painted red, as if to represent fire, is placed on the high stand or altar ; a delineation which seems to justify the sur- mise that this cone was regarded as sacred, on account of its figure and inflammable qualities. From the ruins of Kouyunjik there has been brought a still more curious representation of fire-worship. Two figures " appear stand- ing before an altar, on which is the sacred fire. Two serpents appear to be attached to poles, and a bearded figure is leading a goat to the sacrifice." — Layard, vol. ii, p. 463. This seems to prove that this form of idolatry originated in Assyria, and was carried from thence THE GENTILE NATIONS. 235 into Persia. Mr. Layard also describes a singular altar found at Khorsabad, which is supported on three lions' feet ; and which re- sembles so strikingly the Greek tripods, that the learned explorer conjectures that many of the forms and religious types, hitherto regarded as peculiar to Greece and Asia Minor, had their origin in Assyria. Before I proceed to a general summary of the morals and religion of Assyria and Babylon, I will endeavour, as briefly as possible, to glance at the effects likely to be produced on the governments and people of these countries by their intercourse with the Hebrews, and the divine interpositions which arose out of this connexion. Here the reader should be reminded at the outset, that whatever errors might have been concocted and disseminated by the rebellious conspiracy at Shinar, the masses of the population at that day must have been fully informed as to the great facts of the world's previous history. The Creation, — the Fall, — the promise of redemption, — the sin and violence of the old world, — the piety, the righteousness of Noah, — the doom of the antediluvians, — the preparation of the ark, — the Flood, — the accepted sacrifice of the arkite patriarch, — and the sin (whatever it was) which led to the malediction of Noah on Ham or Canaan,— all these facts, and a thousand more, unhappily lost to us, deep in significance, full of instruction, had been handed down from father to son, and had pervaded the public mind, and given a colour and a character to the opinions, the feelings, and even the prejudices of the people. When, therefore, erudite authors describe the people of Assyria and Babylon as occupying a level country, and seeing the heavenly bodies through a clear atmosphere, and as thus being led to worship them as types of the power and attributes of the supreme Deity; and allege that this was their original theology; they must not expect their inferences to be believed by those who venerate the authorfty of Holy Scripture. Do these writers really believe that the grandson of Noah sur- vived the Dispersion "? I do not hesitate to express my firm belief that Divine Providence wisely ordained the longevity of mankind, at the beginning of the postdiluvian period, for the set purpose of making defection from the service of God as difficult as possible. My meaning will be fully apprehended by an inspection of the syn- chronistical chart in a preceding volume. (Patriarchal Age, p. 4.31.) From this it will be seen that, until after the Dispersion, the number of lineal descendants living contemporaneously was generally five : that is, a man's grandson was always born and arrived at manhood, before the man's own grandfather died. 236 THE GENTILE NATIONS. In this state of society, and -with such grand historical events — involving the mightiest operations of divine power, the most won- derful revelations of God's justice and mercy — living in the memory of the people, the notion that any great division of them could dis- possess themselves of all this knowledge and its cognate ideas, and adopt Sabseanism as a general and original religious system, is utterly absurd, because it is impossible. The only vray open to the tempter at that early age for the introduction of idolatry on a large scale, was in the v^'ay of insidious corruption of the truth. So much of this same historical and religious knowledge as re- mained, would also serve to give efifect to the salutary influence ■which an intercourse with the Hebrews was calculated to afford. It is a remarkable fact, — at least, it will be so esteemed by those who study the divine government of this world in relation to its bearing on the spiritual and immortal interests of mankind, — which Dr. Layard (Nineveh, vol. ii, p. 206) adduces, when he asserts that " a close intercourse" had existed between Egypt and Assyria, from the commencement of the eighteenth dynasty. This was the period, it will be remembered, when Joseph was carried to the banks of the Nile : so that this connexion was established just in time to render all the thrilling events of the Hebrew history in Egypt known in Assyria. And as this intercourse continued to increase during the succeeding dynasties, it cannot be doubted that such events as the miraculous Exodus of Israel, the fame of which, it is certain, was extended far and wide, (Josh, ii, 9-11,) must have been well known in Assyria. It is important to mark such facts as are thus brought to our knowledge by the Assyrian inscriptions, proving, as they do, that the position of the Hebrews, as the elect people of Jehovah, and as saved by him through the most miraculous interposition, was known among the principal nations of the ancient world. The mission of Jonah next calls for attention. But of this we have no detailed information, beyond the simple statement of fact. A question, indeed, arises, — Would the message of Jonah itself have produced the results which followed, in the absence of all knowledge by the Assyrians of the Hebrew people ? This does not seem prob- able. The facts are clearly these : — Jonah entered the city, and proclaimed, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The people regarded this communication as the word of God : for it is said, "The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast," &c. This humiliation was universal, from the sovereign on the throne to the meanest subject: and God accepted this peni- tence, and turned away the evil which he had threatened to do, and did it not. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 237 Taken in a religious aspect, it is impossible not to regard this as a most important event. It clearly implied the entire absence from the minds of the Ninevites of all real confidence in their own gods. This message did not come from them : — that must have been fully known. The result also implied, I think, some considerable ac- quaintance with Jehovah as the God of the Hebrews, and the mighty miracles of judgment and mercy which he had wrought. The brief antecedents of the history also serve to countenance this view of the matter. Without something of this kind it is scarcely possible to conceive of a great and powerful people, through all its ranks and ages, submitting to such a course. Yet, if this supposition is correct, it must follow that, notwith- standing the continued practice of idolatrous corruptions, the As- syrian people retained a large portion of patriarchal truth ; which, supplemented by the knowledge they had obtained of the God of Israel, was sufficient to point them out a way of escape from the threatened infliction. At any rate, they were then found possessed of such religious knowledge as enabled them on that occasion to engage in four of the most vitally important duties of practical religion. First : They exercised faith in God : they believed the truth of the message delivered by the prophet, and admitted it, in all its ful- ness of meaning. Then they humbled themselves in sackcloth, and by fasting. This is most remarkable. In all that the Bible contains respecting patriarchal religion, fasting is not mentioned ; nor does Moses enjoin any particular fast, except that on the great day of expiation. The sacred records, from Moses to Jonah, mention but two or three instances of fasting on account of some grievous calamity ; and, I believe, but one of these included any considerable number of people : yet here we have a fast enjoined with the utmost rigour, throughout a great city like ISineveh ! Again, the injunction to this people was, " Cry mightily unto God." How deeply expres- sive is this of earnest and continued prayer ! Further, to this faith, penitence, and prayer, was added amendment of life : " Let them turn every one from his evil way." It is not possible to ascertain whether the communication of the prophet went beyond the procla- mation of the threatening; but, taking the fact as it stands on the sacred record, this course of submission and obedience argues the possession, by the Assyrians of that day, of a, large amount of sound religious knowledge, however extensively this might have been neu- tralized by idolatrous error. But even admitting the existence of all this knowledge, we cannot account for the ready and general sub- mission of the Ninevites, without supposing them on that occasion 238 THE GENTILE NATIONS. to have been visited by a very gracious and prevalent influence of the Holy Spirit. When the idolatrous kingdom of Israel vpas given into the hand of the king of Assyria, this divine interposition did not entirely cease. The Ten Tribes having been carried into Media, and none but the lowest, weakest, and poorest of the people being left in the land; and the men of Babylon, Cuthah, Hamath, and other places in the east, being brought to supply a population for Samaria and its neighbouring districts ; these heathens introduced their own idolatry with themselves: in consequence of which, we are told, "the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them." Indeed, so terrible did this plague become, that a formal representa- tion of the case was made to the imperial court; and one of the priests who had been carried into captivity was sent back again, to teach all the people the worship of Jehovah. Thus, even after Israel was ruined, and when the pride, cruelty, and idolatry of As- syria had brought that mighty empire to the verge of destruction, did Jehovah interpose to assert his proper sovereignty over the land which he had given to his people : and this was done in a manner which elicited from the haughty conqueror an acknowledgment of the fact, and a submission to the consequence, in the return of a captive Hebrew priest to teach the people the law of the Lord. In all this were attested an admission of the Deity of Jehovah, and a belief of his paramount power. We pass on to the case of Babylon. The first instance of inti- mate intercourse between the Hebrews and this state was of an unfavourable character. It arose out of the subversion of the kingdom of Judah, and the destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Here was the centre and seat of Hebrew power and polity. Miracle and prophecy had been united for many centuries in the defence of this metropolis ; and whatever knowledge respecting the God of the Hebrews, and his wonderful interpositions on behalf of his people, might have reached Babylon, they would all refer to the throne of the house of David, and to the sacred sanctuary at Jerusalem. When, therefore, these had been swept away by the martial power of Nebuchadnezzar, and the tem- ple had been burned with fire, and Jerusalem was a heap of ruins, then would the king and people of Babylon regard their own gods as paramount in power, and the God and people of Jerusalem as alike subdued before them. This unquestionably accounts for the inordi- nate vanity of the king of Babylon. If the king of Assyria, after having subdued the Israelites of Samaria, gloried in the title of " Conqueror of the remote Judea," need we wonder that Nebuchad- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 239 uezzar should be vain, after he had subverted the throne of David, and destroyed his city and the temple of his son ? There can be no doubt that, inflated with this success, and augur- ing therefrom the confirmation of his proudest purposes, — his own recognition as a divine religious and political head of his vast empire, — he made the golden image, and congregated the multitude of his officials on the plains of Dura. But, alas ! what a defeat was that ! How clearly, and publicly, and fully did Jehovah testify to this numerous host of the Babylonish aristocracy, that his arm was not shortened, — that, for those who were faithful in his service, he was still able and willing to exert his almighty power ! It is scarcely possible to overrate the amount of knowledge, which the events of this day gave to the spectators, of the infinite wisdom, goodness, and power of the Hebrews' God. This would scatter to the winds all the profane assumptions of their king, — at least, so far as the people were concerned. Those who saw the affrighted monarch standing aghast at the sight of the Son of Grod walking in the midst of the flames, were not likely to recognise him again as a real divinity. The wonderful vision of this king, and his predicted insanity, recovery, and consequent proclamation, must have largely contrib- uted to open the eyes of the Babylonish people to the vanity of idols, and to an acknowledgment of the true deity ami power of Jehovah. The decrees published by this sovereign, (Dan. iii, 29 ; iv, 1-37,) must have fallen as a glorious light on the darkness of Babylonish idolatry. Who can estimate the effects of such procla- mations? Who can conceive of the besotted state of mind which would be necessary to impel men to neglect these, and trust in diimb idols? But, perhaps, nothing which occurred during this reign tended more fully to show the glorious perfections of Jehovah, than the prophecies of Daniel respecting the king's vision of the great image, which was explained as referring to the four great monarchies. At first sight we perceive in the conduct of the king respecting his wonderful dreams nothing but a cool, calculating prudence. He would not be imposed on by the wise men, and therefore insisted on their telling him the particulars of the vision which had given him so much alarm. Terrified at the demand, they shrank from the effort, — when the enraged king doomed them all to instant execution. These measures, however, effected one thing of the utmost conse- quence, which they were never intended to do. They fixed public attention on this case. The dream, and the interpretation, that had placed the sacred college under sentence of death, from which all the members had been saved only by the revelations of the Hebrew prophet, could not be concealed : and, when made known, what did 240 THE GENTILE NATIONS. they declare? The infinite prescience and glorious sovereignty of the true God were asserted; the prevalent notion of local and national divinities was exploded ; the great purpose of Jehovah to direct the entire government of the world, so that in his own appointed time the kingdom of God might be set up, was declared. Truly Jehovah left not himself without witness. Babylon, in all her apostasy and guilt, had glorious revelations of the wisdom, truth, mercy, and power of the true God. Yet, notwithstanding this amount of divine interposition, and the consequent communication of much religious knowledge, Assyria and Babylon remained idolatrous and corrupt. We have not the means of tracing here, as distinctly as we could in regard of Egypt, the remains of pure patriarchal truth. But from the general analogy observable between the religion of these countries and that of ancient Persia, it may be safely assumed, that the doctrine of the soul's immortality, and of a final judgment, were firmly and generally believed. On the subject of morals but little can be said : but if we apply here a rule which generally holds good, — namely, that the laws and usages respecting women form the clearest indication of the moral condition of any people, — our estimate of the state of these nations will be low. The testimony of Herodotus, as to the prostitution of females of all ranks in the temple of Mylitta, is appalling ; and yet it is the testimony of an intelligent and credible eye-witness. This practice was continued to the last period of the Babylonish history ; and its prevalence is rather confirmed by an- other and independent statement of the same author. He says that no man was at libertj' to make a matrimonial engagement for his daughter ; but that all the marriageable females were periodically put up to public sale; and that, after the most beautiful had been first sold at high prices, and others less favoured at lower rates, the money so raised was distributed to portion such as were plain or deformed, so that all were thus disposed of It is added that each man was bound to marry the woman whom he thus obtained. (Herodotus, Clio, cap. xcvi.) The Greek historian applauds this institution; but he will have no echo to his sentiments from any Christian mind. On the whole, the religion of Assyria and Babylon does not pre- sent to our observation any wonderful range of invention, either in its theology, doctrines, or modes of worship. Less prominence is here given to these than in other heathen countries. In fact, the religion is marked by one great peculiarity, one grand distinguishing feature : — it was an enormous despotism. This was its character, its essential and distinguishing quality. A thorough investigation THE GENTILE NATIONS. 241 of this subject would require a dissertation. We can only glance at this primeval attempt to reduce the great body of mankind into a bondage of the most grievous kind, — a thraldom of soul, — a vassal- age of spirit, — a subjection, perfect and entire, not only in civil and political affairs, but also in essentially religious matters, to the judg- ment and will of one man, misnamed " divine.'' There is here presented to our attentive consideration a most important phase in the progressive development of human impurity. The antediluvian world perished through sins engendered in the absence of efficient political and religious government: "The earth was filled with violence." To prevent a recurrence of this evil, and its consequent suffering, the divine purpose appointed the dispersion of the postdiluvian population over the earth, under the heads of the several tribes. The sin of Nimrod was, at first, a vain attempt to counteract this purpose, by assuming to himself a divine charac- ter, and in this character claiming universal sovereignty over man- kind. The miraculous intervention at Babel frustrated his impious purpose, and enforced the dispersion. But,- defeated in the extent of his great design, he clung to its principle and spirit with invincible tenacity. The results we see in the religion of Assyria and Babylon. Here we find every paradisi- acal element exhibited with the most gorgeous profusion, — every primitive fact emblazoned with the greatest prominence, — all the essentials of a national faith brought out in pompous array. But when we come to investigate the operation of this system, and its influence upon the human mind, we find a dreary chasm. Viewed in this aspect, it loses its character as religion. On the one hand, we see a mortal man assuming divinity, and affecting to tyrannize over the faith and feeling, the judgment and conscience, of his fel- lows ; we hear the voice of an earthworm outrage reason and heaven by the profane challenge, "I will be like the Most High :" while, on the other hand, the countless numbers of men and women by whom he is surrounded are all regarded as called into being to do him homage, and live and think and feel in subjection to his will. The withering curse of this profane subversion of all human right blasted the happiness, and paralyzed the intellectual development, of these nations. Men subjected to such domination might be fit tools for a military despotism ; they might be better adapted, in consequence of the blind devotion to their king, to sustain him in his martial aggression on other nations : but for all the great and elevating purposes to which human nature is called, and for the accomplishment of which it is prepared by the possession of the noblest attributes, they were utterly disqualified. A military sub- 16 242 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ordination was therefore reared up and maintained ; an extensive empire was conquered, and by the same means long continued : but here was the end of its powers. Having accomplished this, it in turn sunk into subjection, and thence into perpetual desolation. Such were the character, the doings, and the end of the first great antichristian aggression on the purposes of God and the liberties of man ! Such were the spirit, the power, and the doom of the prae- Christian Popery ! THE GENTILE NATIONS. 243 CHAPTER VI. THE HISTORY OF THE MEDES. LiHEAaB and Country of the Medes — ^Ecbatana, the Capital — Revolt of the Medes against Assyria — They recover their Independence — A Season of Anarchy — Public Spirit and judicial Efforts of Dejoces — He is raised to the Sovereignty of Media — ^Establishes a regular Government and greatly improves the Country — Pheaoetes, a martial Prince, subdues Persia, and extends the Median Power over other neighbouring Nations — Invades Assyria, is defeated and slain — Bcbatana stormed and spoiled by the Assyrian King — Cyaxaees invades Assyria — Defeats the Imperial Army, and besieges Nineveh — The Scythian Invasion — The Medes defeated — The Scythians overrun Asia — Their Massacre and Expulsion — The Lydian War — ^It is suspended, and Nineveh besieged a second Time, and taken — The Lydian War renewed — Terminated by the Eclipse of Thales — Astyages reigns — Prosecutes various Wars — Belshazzar slain — The Kingdom of Babylon reverts to Astyages — ^Media conquered, and the Kingdom subverted by Cyrus. The Medes, yjho were descended from Madai, the third son of Japhet, occupied an important territory on the south coast of the Caspian Sea. It extended to Persia and Assyria on the south, and was bounded by Parthia and Hyrcania on the east, and Armenia on the west. This country was generally mountainous, and a great part of it cold and barren. Its chief city was Ecbatana, which is said to have been erected by Dejoces, The walls of this capital are greatly celebrated by ancient writers, and are minutely described by Herod- otus. They are seven in number, all of a circular form, and gradu- ally rising above each other by the height of the battlements of each wall. The situation of the ground, sloping by an easy ascent, was very favourable to the design of building them, and perhaps first suggested it. The royal palace and treasury were within the inner- most circle of the seven. The Book of Judith states that the walls of this metropolis were seventy cubits high and fifty cubits broad ; that the towers on the gates were a hundred cubits in height, the breadth in the foundation sixty cubits, and that the walls were built of hewn and polished stone, each stone being six cubits in length and three in breadth. Of this noble city not a vestige now remains to mark the site on which it stood. (Ancient Universal History, vol. iv, p. 3.) The Medes were, in the remotest antiquity, celebrated as a brave and iardy race, possessing all the requisites for making excellent 244 THE GENTILE NATIONS. soldiers. Their government was originally monarchical ; and they seem to have had kings of their own in the earliest times. Accord- ing to Lactantius, one Hydaspes reigned long before the Medes were conquered by the Assyrians : and Diodorus says, that Pharnus, King of the Medes, was, with his seven sons, defeated and taken prisoner by Ninus in the beginning of the Assyrian empire. At the period when this volume resumes the history of these nations, the Medes were subject to the Assyrians, and their country formed a most important province of that vast empire. But in this state of subjection, there can be no doubt that they continued to be governed by their own kings ; either hereditary descendants of their former rulers, or persons raised to this dignity by the imperial sovereigns of Nineveh. It is impossible now to ascertain the line of succession of these sovereigns, or to mark out even their names, and the respective periods of their rule. It is known, however, that, during the time they were labouring under all the disadvantages of foreign domination, Media continued to hold a most important position, and to rank as one of the most martial and powerful provinces of the empire. In the Appendix of this volume (note 19, p. 547) reasons have been given for believing that the influence and power of this province were so great, that, at the termination of the reign of the feeble Assyrian monarch, Thonos Concoleros, a Median prince obtained possession of the imperial throne. The infusion of new life and vigour which was thus communicated to the government of Assyria, doubtless contributed to the successive conquests obtained during that and the following reigns. This was in fact the most glorious period of Assyrian history. But it is apparent that the elevation of a Median prince to the throne of Nineveh did not satisfy the aspirations of the Median people, or sufficiently gratify the ambition of its chiefs. We ac- cordingly find that, on the humiliation of Sennacherib, after the miraculous ruin of his great army between Palestine and Egypt, efforts were made to obtain the independence of Media. Erom the manner in which Herodotus states the case, it appears that the Medes were the first of all the nations of Upper Asia who asserted their national liberty, and revolted against the Assyrian power. This revolt, according to that historian, did not take place under the direction of the sovereign or satrap of the country, but by a general effort of the people ; which proving successful, the Assyrian govern- or was expelled, and the paramount supremacy of that power was destroyed. For we are told, that, having secured their liberty, no national govemment was established ; but the six several tribes of THE GENTILE NATIONS. 245 which the nation was composed lived apart, and according to their individual pleasure. The consequence of this was universal disorder. Injustice and rapine prevailed, while no effectual authority existed, sufficient to restore order, and conduct a government. This great want was, however, soon supplied. Dejoces, a Me- dian, although living in a private station, was so distinguished for his wisdom and integrity, that, in this period of anarchy, many per- sons resorted to him for the settlement of their disputes, and the adjustment of their differences. He discharged this office with so much equity and intelligence, that at length his decisions were generally recognised, and his judgment appealed to, even by persons from the other Median tribes. These public services were continued Avith so much zeal and talent, and received with such popular favour, that at length the whole people acknowledged him as their sovereign, built him a noble palace, and invested him with supreme authority. Dejoces appears to have fully justified the popular choice. He either founded, or greatly improved, Ecbatana, the capital of the country. His most earnest endeavours were devoted to elevate the manners and habits of his people ; and having greatly improved their condition, he turned his thoughts toward the enlargement of his dominions, and succeeded by force of arms in extending his authority over some of the neigh- bouring tribes. The length of the reign of Dejoces cannot be accurately ascer- tained. The open revolt of Media took place just after the ruin of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, about 710 B. C. ; but no infor- mation has come down to us showing how long the state of anarchy continued, nor what period of time elapsed while Dejoces was serving the cause of his country, before he was raised to the throne. (See Appendix, note 36.) It seems, however, to be admitted that this prince, after greatly benefiting his nation, by serving it in different ways for more than forty years, died B. C. 651, and was succeeded by his son Phraortes, the son of Dejoces, was a very martial prince. He is called Aphraartes by Busebius and Syncellus ; and is certainly the Arphaxad of the Book of Judith. Some have hastily doubted this, because it is said in that apocryphal book that he built a very strong city, and called it Ecbatana, — a work universally ascribed to his father Dejoces. This error is fully corrected by the Vulgate Version, which says that " Arphaxad added new buildings to Ecba- tana." This is unquestionably the recorded fact. A single reign is clearly too limited a period to build and perfectly to finish a noble capital : so the son completed what the father had begun. 246 THE GENTILE NATIONS. This sovereign, being firmly seated on the throne, and having improved his capital, proceeded to extend his dominions. He over- ran, and brought into subjection to Media, several of the neighbour- ing countries. Herodotus says that " he singled out the Persians as the objects of his ambitious views, and reduced them first of all under the dominion of the Modes." — Clio, cap. cii. It has been objected, that Persia was subdued by his son and successor Cyaxares. (Ancient Universal History, vol. iv, p. 18.) This, however, is no valid objection. It has been repeatedly stated in the preceding pages, that the effect of conquest in those days was neither the annexation nor the military occupation of the conquered country, but rather the carrying away of valuable spoil, or of large gifts in lieu thereof, with a promise of annual tribute ; and that, in conse- quence, if the subject power felt sufiScient confidence, it would throw off the yoke, and, as the result, would probably be subdued a second or even a third time. This was perhaps the case with Persia. Favoured with success in these enterprises, Phraortes dared to assail the imperial state, and turned his arms against Assyria. Nabuchodonosor prepared for the threatened attack with becoming spirit. He summoned all his vassal kings to meet him, with their promised contingent of warriors. Many of these, however, seeing his precarious condition, refused compliance. Undaunted by this defection, he collected as large an army as possible, and boldly marched to oppose the Median king. The conflict took place in the plain of E-agau, in which, notwithstanding his desperate valour, the Median chief was defeated and slain, and his army utterly routed. Flushed with victory, the Assyrian sovereign marched into Media, stormed and took Ecbatana the capital, demolished its fortifications and most splendid buildings, and returned with all the spoil he could collect unto Nineveh, where "he rested, and feasted his own army a hundred and twenty days." Judith i, 14-16. Although greatly weakened and distressed by these reverses, the spirit of the Modes was not broken ; and while the ' imperial victor was revelling in luxury at Nineveh, they gathered the wreck of the army together, and placed Cyaxares, the son of the late sovereign, on the throne. The new king was in some measure relieved from apprehension by the march of the great Assyrian army under Holo- fernes into Western Asia ; and being a brave and prudent prince, he devoted himself with great talent and energy to repair the losses which his country had received, and to prepare for taking advantage of any favourable change which might occur in the fluctuations of the imperial power. The death of Holofernes by the hand of Judith, and the surprise and rout of the Assyrian army before Bethuliah, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 247 soon after presented such an opportunity. Cyaxares accordingly hastened his preparations ; and, anxious to revenge the death of his father, and to retaliate on the Assyrian capital for the recent spoil- ing of Ecbatana, he led his army toward Nineveh. Pending these events Nabuchodonosor died, and left the defence of his country to his son. The nevr Assyrian monarch had to oppose this invasion with the wreck of the great army which had just returned broken and dis- pirited from Syria. Yet he boldly marched out, and gave battle to the Median forces. On this occasion he was doomed to defeat: his troops gave way, and, in despite of every effort, he, and those who escaped, were driven to take refuge within the walls of Nineveh, which was immediately afterward invested by the victorious Medes. Cyaxares vigorously pressed the siege, and would in all probability have speedily reduced that great city, formidable as were its forti- fications ; but his design was frustrated,' and he was compelled to raise the siege, by an aggression as resistless as it was unexpected. A formidable and countless host of Scythians, having driven the Cimmerians out of Europe, were in full pursuit of their flying ene- mies, whom they had followed to the borders of Media. Cyaxares, alarmed at this irruption, left Nineveh, and marched to meet this new enemy. In the battle which ensued the Medes were defeated ; and the Scythians, finding no other power to oppose them, spread their ravages over all Upper Asia, and even marched to the confines of Egypt. The king of that country diverted them from their pur- posed invasion by costly presents. They then returned into Pales- tine, where some of them plundered the ancient temple of Venus at Ascalon, while others seized Bethshan, a city of the tribe of Manas- seh on this side Jordan, which from them was afterward called Scythopolis. For eight years the Scythians held possession of Asia, (see Ap- pendix, note 37,) and revelled at pleasure, spreading desolation in every direction. At length the Medes devised the means of shaking off this destroying incubus, and putting an end to the evil. This was accomplished in the following manner : The Medes, perceiving that their anemies had in this lapse of time lost all military order, and had sunk into licentiousness and sloth, took advantage of a general feast, and by mutual concert invited as many Scythian leaders as possible to their several houses, where, freely indulging in drink, the guests were all cut off in their intoxication. The remaining Scythians were soon driven out of Media. The destruction and expulsion of the Scythians from Media were immediately followed by a war between that country and Lydia. 248 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Herodotus assigns a fanciful cause for this contest, which has not been generally received. It has been supposed that when, after the -mas- sacre, the remaining Scythians were driven from Media, they found refuge with Halyattes, King of Lydia, and were protected by him. Whatever occasioned the war, it was carried on with equal vigour and determination on both sides, and for some considerable time without any material advantage to either party. Pending this war, Cyaxares having effected an alliance with Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, resumed the siege of Nineveh, which after a lengthened struggle fell before the power of its ene- mies, as stated in a preceding chapter. This event made the Modes the preponderating power in Asia, while the Babylonians occupied a position scarcely inferior to them in martial strength and political influence. These nations being in close alliance with each other, they were able, without difficulty, to subjugate the neighbouring states, and to extend their national and territorial aggrandize- ment. The first step in this course, after the conquest of Nineveh, was the defeat of the Egyptian army at Carchemish. The king of Egypt had taken advantage of the conflict between Assyria and the united armies of Babylon and Media, to renew and extend the power of Egypt in the east. He accordingly marched a great army through Judea, and, having defeated and slain King Josiah, proceeded to the Euphrates, where he was totally routed by the combined forces, and compelled to relinquish all his possessions in Asia. Having thus far effected his purpose, Cyaxares renewed the Lydian war. As before, this struggle was for some time indecisive. At length, both parties having prepared for a desperate conflict, it had commenced, and was being prosecuted with the utmost ardour, when the two armies became suddenly enveloped in the shades of dark- ness. (See Appendix, note 38.) Terrified by this uncommon cir- cumstance, they retired as by mutual consent, regarding the prodigy as a sign of the anger of their gods. The truce thus unexpectedly occasioned was followed by a peace, arranged between the contend- ing parties by the mediation of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, on the part of the Modes, and of Syennesis, King of Cilicia, on the part of the Lydians. Media and Babylon continued to carry out their ambitious designs, sometimes acting in concert, and sometimes separately, subduing other countries formerly subject to Assyria. Ccelesyria, Samaria, Galilee, Jerusalem, Persia, and Susiana were thus reduced, and Media raised into a powerful empire. Cyaxares and Nebuchadnez- zar were the principal agents in these successful wars. The king of THE GENTILE NATIONS. 249 Media having thus realized the object of his ambition, died, after a reign of forty years, and was succeded by his son, — AsTYAGES, whose first effort appears to have been directed toward effecting a more solid union with Persia, and to reconciling that numerous and powerful people to yield a willing obedience to his authority. They had suffered severely in the conquest of their country, and smarting under a deep sense of injury, were very un- willing subjects. To remove this feeling, Astyages is said to have given his daughter in marriage to Cambyses, a prince of the family of the Achaemenidse, and of the royal tribe of Pasargadce. Of the reign of this sovereign, although it extended oVer thirty- five years, very few incidents have been recorded. He was brother of Nitocris, the celebrated queen of Nebuchadnezzar. In the early part of his reign, he had to subdue an insurrection which broke out in the province of Mazandran, bordering on the Caspian Sea. Having besieged the rebellious chief in his capital, he counterfeited a great want of provisions, and by his emissaries in the city pur- chased food of the keeper of the stores at an exorbitant price, until they were exhausted. He then summoned the citizens to surrender ; which they were compelled to do by the discovery of this treachery. (Hales's Analysis of Ancient Chronology, vol. iv, p. 85.) Astyages is said to have prosecuted other wars, with various suc- cess, against Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Arabia. While Cyrus was carrying on his Lydian war, the great nephew of Astyages, Belshazzar, King of Babylon, was slain by conspirators, who immediately proffered their submission to Astyages, as the nearest of kin to the royal house of Nebuchadnezzar, which had thus become extinct. Astyages accordingly assumed the sovereignty of this country, (see Appendix, note 39,) in the thirty- seventh year of his reign. He did not, however, on this account remove the seat of his government to Babylon ; but, taking from thence Daniel the prophet, of whose fame he had heard, to be his prime minister, and such other persons as he required, he treated Babylon as a province of the great empire, the administration of which was carried on at Ecbatana, the Median capital; the local affairs of Babylon being placed under the direction of a viceroy, appointed for that purpose. (See Appendix, note 40.) Here, in the Median capital, it was that the conspiracy was formed against Daniel which proved his fidelity to Grod, and led id his being cast into the den of lions, from which he was miraculously delivered. Astyages in his old age, with a large unwieldy empire, was not equal to resist the rising genius of Cyrus of Persia. This prince, having subdued Lydia and other surrounding countries, turned his 250 THE GENTILE NATIONS. arms against the Median king. In this war, (as is more particu- larly detailed in the chapter on Persia,) Cyrus defeated and impris- oned Astyages, and established the Medo-Persian, or second great universal empire. CHRONOLOGY OF THE MEDIAN KINGDOM. B.C. Revolt, and War of Independence 710 The several Tribes under Self-government, 7 Years. Dejoces enters on Public Life 704 After serving his Country in a judicial Capacity, and in other Ways, he is raised' to the Throne, his whole Period of public Service being 53 Years. Phkacetes or Aephaxad (22 Years) 651 He subdues Persia, and other neighbouring Countries ; and, having invaded Assyria, is slain in a Battle with that Nation. Ctaxaees reigned 40 Years 629 Siege of Nineveh, and Scythian Invasion 620 Expulsion of the Scythians 612 Lydian War, and second Siege of Nineveh 608 Nineveh taken 606 Second Lydian War terminated by Thales' Eclipse 603 AsTTAGES reigned 38 Years 589 Babylon added to the Median Kingdom on the Death of Belshazzar 553 Media invaded, conquered, and its King deposed by Ctkus, who reigned 22 Years 551 Medo-Persian Empire. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 251 CHAPTER VII. THE PERSIANS AND THE MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE. Peesia a Province of the Assyrian Empire — ^Peculiar Interest attaching to this Part of Persian History — The Spirit and Prowess of the Blacksmith Kawah obtains the Inde- pendence of his Country — Fbeidoon placed on the Throne — His long and just Reign — He divides his Kingdom between his Sons, Sblm, Toob, and Erij — ^Erij slain by his Brothers — The Assassins defeated and slain by Mahucheheb, who reigns with great Celebrity — Sam, Prime Minister — Roostum, his Grandson, the great Persian Hero, born — NouzEE succeeds to the Throne — His cruel Reign — He is slain — Zoo expels the Enemy — His Son Keeshasp raised to the Throne, and afterward deposed — End of the Peshdadian Dynasty — The Kaianian Dynasty — ^The Median Ascendency concealed by imaginary Kings, Kai Kobad representing Dejoces and Phraortes, and Kai Koos Cyax- ares and Astyages — ^Reference to the Eclipse of Thales — Kai Khosec, or Cteus, succeeds to the Throne — ^The Account of Ctesias respecting his Parentage — The proba- ble Career of this Warrior, until he defeats and deposes Astyages — Cyrus marries the Daughter of Astyages — ^The Death of the deposed King — Cyrus conquers Lydia — Takes Babylon, and establishes a universal Empire — His Conduct toward the Hebrews — The Restoration of Jerusalem begun— Extent of the Persian Empire — The Death of Cyrus — Cambyses — ^He prohibits the Progress of Building at Jerusalem — ^Invades and conquers Egypt — -His impolitic Cruelty and Impiety — Usurpation of Smerdis the Magian — Death of Cambyses — Smerdis destroyed by a Conspiracy of Nobles — Daeius raised to the Throne — His improved Mode of Government — The Case of Democedes, the Greek Physician — ^Makes an Edict in favour of the Hebrews — Reduces Samos — Babylon rebels — The Self-sacrifice of Zopyrus — Babylon is taken — Conquests in the _ East — A Body of Greek Troops wage War in Asia Minor, and burn Sardis — Darius contemplates the Invasion of Greece — Failure of the first Expedition under Mardo- nius — Battle of Marathon, and Ruin of the second Persian Invasion — Death of Darius — ^Persepolis — Behistun Sculptures — Xekxes — Subdues Egypt — Makes vast Prepara- tions for the Invasion of Greece— Crosses the Hellespont — Battle at Thermopylae — The Persian Fleet defeated at Salamis, and their Army destroyed at Platsea — The Remnant of the Persian Fleet and Army destroyed at Mycale — Horrible Crime and Cruelty perpetrated in the royal Court — ^Xerxes assassinated — ^Aetaxekxes I. established on the Throne — Marries Esther — Ezra and Nehemiah sent to Judea — Revolt of Egypt — Peace with Athens^XBEXES II. — Soomahus — Daeius Nothus sub- dues his Rivals — Demoralization of the Persian Court — Aetaxeexes II. — Revolt of Cyrus — He marches into the East — ^Is slain, and the Army dispersed, at Cunaxa — ^Re- treat of the Ten Thousand Greeks — Continued Iniquity of the Court — ^Revolt and Death of the Heir-apparent — ^Aetaxeexes IH. murders the royal Family — ^Restores Persian Authority in Egypt, Phenicia, and Cyprus — Daeius IH. undertakes the Government — Alexander invades the Empire — Triumph of the Macedonian. On resuming the history of Persia, we find it a province of the great Assyrian empire, having been subdued by Ninus or his imme- diate successor, and placed in entire subjection to the imperial government. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 453-455.) This period of subjection is shrouded from public view, and its disparaging influ- ence on the national fame concealed, by the Persian historians describing it as the reign of a tyrant sovereign, Zohauk, who is fabled to have ruled for a thousand years. 252 THE GENTILE NATIONS. The history of Persia, especially during the time which has now to pass under review, will always possess the deepest interest. This nation stood in intimate and peculiar relation to the elect people of Jehovah, in the most eventful period of their career, — placed in trembling jeopardy the fate of Greece, in the outset of her glorious course, — and by its fall immortalized the greatest military genius the world ever produced. This portion of Persian history, there- fore, cannot fail to excite deep and serious attention. A knowledge of the real facts of this period is, however, a very difiBcult acquire- ment. Sir William Jones calls the season of Assyrian domination over Persia the " dark and fabulous " age ; and that which we have now to review he designates the "heroic and poetical" age. And this is its true character, since we have to collect our information from the conflicting statements of ill-informed Greeks on the one hand, and from native writers, who disfigured all their annals with fable and poetry, on the other. Amid this general darkness, however, we have clear and explicit information respecting the deliverance of Persia from her vassalage to Assyria, and her restoration to independence. As this foreign domination was described in the Persian annals as the tyranny of a monster king, named Zohauk, whose rapacity and cruelty were fast spoiling and depopulating the land ; so the emancipation of Persia . is spoken of as the defeat and death of this tyrant. This event was effected by the spirit and prowess of an humble blacksmith named Kawah. Zohauk having selected Kawah's two sons to be victims of his cruelty, Kawah rose in bold resistance. Having armed himself, and succeeded in rousing the spirit of his countrymen, he raised his blacksmith's apron on a pole as his banner; and, proceeding with the force thus collected, he defeated the royal troops. Kawah being afterward joined by great numbers of Persians, who now saw the dawn of hope for their country, the insurrection was continued, and extended, until Zohauk was defeated and slain, and Persia restored to liberty and independence. Feeidoon — a young prince descended from the .ancient royal family of the kingdom, who had hitherto lived in seclusion— ^joined the victorious blacksmith, and was, on the termination of the war, raised to the throne. The first act of the new sovereign was to appoint the old apron of Kawah as the royal standard of Persia ; and as such it continued to be recognised during all the fluctuations of the national history, until the conquest of the kingdom by the Mohammedans, when it was taken, and studded with gems, with which it had been from time to time enriched. This prince is said to have ruled with great justice and modera- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 253 tion. But, he having lived to a great age, his last days were imbit- tered by family feuds. When growing infirmities obliged' him to relinquish the cares of royalty, he divided his dominions between his three sons, Selm, Toor, and Brij. But as the home-country of Persia was given to Erij the youngest son, the elder brothers de- manded a new division, which the aged monarch refused ; a course by which they were so greatly incensed, that they soon after put Erij to death : and, not satisfied with this act of cruelty, they embalmed his head, and sent it to his father. The aged sovereign was seized with frantic grief for the loss of his favourite son, and implored heaven to spare his life until a descendant of Erij should avenge his death. His wish was granted. Mantjchehbr, the son of a daughter of Erij, became the hope of the aged king. When grown to manhood, he commenced a war with the murderers of his father, who were both slain by his hand, and their forces de- feated. Soon after this, Feridoon died, having previously placed the crown on the head of Manucheher, who reigned with great celebrity. In compliance with the advice of Feridoon, he took for his prime minister Sam, a Persian nobleman of great talents and integrity. During this reign Roostum, the great martial hero of Persia, was bom. He was the grandson of the prime minister Sam. Nothing can be more extravagant and romantic than the accounts given of the birth and prowess of this warrior by the poets of his country. After a lengthened period of rule, Manucheher died, leaving his son NouzBR to succeed him in the government; whom he charged, on his death-bed, to be guided in all his conduct by the wise advice of Sam and of his sons. The youthful sovereign neglected this counsel, and pursued a course equally impolitic and unjust. In con- sequence of his cruel and oppressive conduct, his subjects were driven to the verge of rebellion. While in this state, the kingdom was invaded by a neighbouring potentate, Pushung, King of Turan ; and the results of this contest were unfavourable to Persia. In one single combat, Kobad, a son of the famous Kawah, was killed by his adversary; and in another Nouzer himself fell by the hand of Afrasiab, the son of Pushung, who commanded the invading army. Zal, a son of Sam, is said to have made a further effort to save his country from foreign rule. He raised a prince of the royal house, named Zoo, to the throne, who succeeded in expelling the enemy! and restoring the integrity of the kingdom. He was succeeded by his son Kbrshasp, who was soon after set aside by Zal, as in- 254 THE GENTILE NATIONS. competent to govern. He was the last prince of the Peshdadian dynasty. Having thus given the most probable account that can be extracted from the mass of fiction and fable handed down to us by the professed historians of this age, it will be necessary to observe that scarcely any part of it can be regarded as established historic fact, except that which exhibits the insurrection, prowess, and success of Kawah. These are fully attested by ample evidence. Sufficient indications of the extravagance of these annals generally will be found in the circumstance, that Feridoon is said to have reigned five hundred years, and Manucheher one hundred and twenty. It is, neverthe- less, probable, that in all this romancing there is a substratum of fact, which it has been our object, as far as possible,, to elicit, and to exhibit in the preceding account. The reign of Kershasp was followed by the Kaianian dynasty, which continued to rule until the subversion of the kingdom and empire by Alexander. It may be observed here, that, although the reign of Kai Khosru, or Cyrus, places us in the region of history, and we have, after that period, ample and authentic information ; yet, down to the reign of the great Persian, the annals of this kingdom continue to be shrouded in darkness. The Persian lists give but two reigns between Ker- shasp and Kai Khosru, — those of Kai Kobad and Kai Koos. Sir John Malcolm conjectured, that the two reigns of Cyaxares and Astyages are represented by the Persian account of Kai Koos. This is probable. In fact, it seems almost beyond doubt, that, in order to conceal the subjection of their country to Media, the Per- sian annalists identified those Median sovereigns who had ruled over their land as their own kings; and, as such, had placed them in their lists, and given them an extravagant length of rule, sufficient to fill up the intervening space ; following the same course in respect of Media as they had done in regard to Assyria. Hence the first king of the Kaianian dynasty is described as a descendant of Manu- cheher, of the Peshdadian dynasty. We are warranted in this hypothesis by the fact, that the same vanity actually induced the Persian scribes to invent a Persian lineage for Alexander of Mace- don. (Malcolm's Persia, vol. i, p. 73.) According to this supposition, Kai Kobad will fill up the space occupied by Dejoces and Phraortes. But the accounts left of his reign are so few, that they do not furnish any means of identifi- cation. It is, however, not so with his successor, Kai Koos. He, while engaged in a great battle, is said to have been, with his whole army, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 255 struck with blindness, — a curious poetic version, after the eastern style, of the memorable effect of the eclipse of Thales on the army of Cyaxares. Kai Khosru, the next sovereign, appears to be satisfactorily identified with Cyrus. Sir William Jones, a high authority on such a subject, has used the strongest terms to express his opinion on this point. He says, " I shall only doubt that the Kai Khosru of Firdausi was the Cyrus of the first Greek historian, and the hero of the oldest political and moral romance, when I doubt that Louis Quatorze and Lewis the Fourteenth were one and the same French king." — Works, vol. iii, p. 106. In the case of this Persian hero, we are embarrassed by another of the great discrepancies which are found in the writings of Herod- otus and Xenophon. And, as in other instances, so here I am compelled to take the Father of History as my guide. I do not come to this conclusion because I regard him as having furnished a clear, complete, and consistent account of the founder of the Medo- Persian empire ; but because, with much that appears to be artificial and romantic, he seems to have supplied an outline of facts more consistent in themselves, in better accordance with the history of neighbouring nations, and more strongly supported by Persian tra- dition, than the narrative of Xenophon or any other writer. (See Appendix, note 41.) Respecting the early years of this prince, it is probable that we have a key to his true history in the outline of the work of Ctesias which has been handed down to us. According to the account of the Greek physician, — who, having resided seventeen years at the Persian court in the reign of Darius Nothus, had important means of procuring information,— Cyrus was a Persian in no way related to the royal house of Media ; but having succeeded in securing the sovereignty of Persia, and in Vanquishing Astyages, King of Media, he gave out the story of his relationship to the deposed king, that he might by this means more easily secure the submission of the distant parts of the Median empire. To give effect to this report, and to secure his object, he soon after married Amyntas, the daughter of Astyages. This appears to be the most probable ac- count ; and the romantic tales of Herodotus and Xenophon must be regarded as the stories propagated by the Persian courtiers to feed the national vanity. As it was the usual practice in the East at this period to select governors, or viceroys, from the royal famihes of the dependent countries, so it is probable that Cyrus was intrusted with the admin- istration of affairs in Persia, and was thus enabled to train up a nu- 256 THE GENTILE NATIONS. merous body of brave and hardy soldiers. Nor is it improbable that the account of Xenophon is so far true, that he might be em- ployed as a general in the imperial service, and have become a favourite with the soldiers by his prudence and daring ; and that, as Herodotus states, Astyages had greatly aliehated the hearts of his people from him by his excessive cruelty. The information thus supplied by Ctesias may afford a key to many of the statements given by Herodotus and Xenophon, which are probably for the most part facts founded on a false theory. Cyrus is said to have ascended the throne of Persia B. C. 559. It does not follow that he then asserted his independence, or declared war against the imperial state. It might have been at this time that Cambyses his father died, the hereditary chief of the nation or province. In the following year, B. C. 558, the united army of Babylonians, Lydians, and their allies are said to have been defeated by the Medes and Persians under Astyages and Cyrus, and JSferig- lissar was slain. This may be true. Cyrus, as viceroy of Persia, might have been employed on such a service, and have greatly dis- tinguished himself in it. How the Persian warrior was occupied iu the succeeding years is not known, — probably, in organizing his army in Persia. It could not be in the Lydian war, which Xenophon makes to follow the above battle, as the capture of Sardis did not take place until at least ten years afterward. Having aspired to supreme dominion, Cyrus, B. C. 553, com- menced his war of independence. From the hints thrown out by Xenophon in his Anabasis, this struggle continued some time. The empire was not wrested from the Medes without some difficulty. The Persian was, however, crowned with success. Astyages was defeated and taken prisoner, B. G. 551. The empire of the Medes was thus terminated, and the Medo-Persian empire established by the junction of both nations, with their dependencies. Herodotus says that Cyrus treated his captive kindly. The account of Ctesias, however, wears an aspect more like the political transactions of those times. He says, that Cyrus propagated the story of his re- lationship to the deposed monarch, and actually sent him to be ruler of the Barcanians ; that, having married the daughter of Astyages, Cyrus after some time sent for him to see his daughter and himself; and that by the way the eunuch, who had the deposed king in charge, murdered him. Cyrus, to show his indignation of the crime, gave up the eunuch to the severest punishment. But as he was by the act freed from a dangerous rival, the innocence of Cyrus in the affair has been seriously impeached. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 257 All the accounts of this era taken together show, that Cyrus had to act with the most consummate policy, in order to effect a fusion of the two nations, that they might be fully available for cooperation in the working out of the vast ambitious projects which he had formed. At first he gave the Persians no distinction in preference to the Medes, but earnestly cultivated the friendship and confidence of many nobles of the latter nation. Indeed, comparing all that has come down to us respecting the Persian conqueror, it would seem that he owed his great success to his profound sagacity and con- summate statesmanship, quite as much as to his military genius and prowess. Having sufficiently effected these objects, Cyrus marshalled his troops, and proceeded to extend his sway over the neighbouring countries. Aroused by his progress, Croesus, King of Lydia, be- came exceedingly concerned ; and having taken the utmost pains to procure information from the most celebrated oracles, and constru- ing these responses favourably to himself, he crossed the River Halys, which separated Lydia from the provinces of the Median empire, and invaded Cappadocia. Cyrus, as soon as possible, marched to meet him ; and it appears that a great battle was fought with no decisive effect. Yet Croesus perceived his army to be inferior in numbers to that of the enemy; and finding that Cyrus did not renew the engagement on the following day, he returned immediately to Sardis, and instantly sent messengers in every direction, soliciting the aid of his allies, — a request which appears to have been promptly responded to: for soon afterward we find Croesus at the head of a great army, consisting of Egyptians, Baby- lonians, &c., encamped on the banks of the River Pactolus in Lydia. Cyrus had been equally diligent in preparing for this encounter, and hastened his attack, in order that the battle might be fought before the arrival of the Lacedaemonians. He succeeded in this object, and obtained a great victory, principally, we are told, by opposing camels to the Lydian cavalry, — the horse, we are informed, having so great a dislike to the odour of the camel, that this manoeuvre prevented the effective action of the most important section of the Lydian army. Croesus immediately retreated to Sardis, whither, next morning at day-break, Cyrus followed him. While directing his engines of war against the walls, a§ though he had determined on a regular siege, he at the same time employed some of the most expert climbers in his army, under the direction of a Persian who had formerly lived at Sardis, to endeavour to scale those parts of the fortifications which appeared to be almost inaccessible. These succeeded in their attempt; and the Persian troops thus obtained 17 258 THE GENTILE NATIONS. possession of the walls ; upon seeing which the Lydians fled, and Sardis was taken. We shall not detail what is said of the treatment of Croesus by Cyrus in the conflicting statements of Herodotus and Xenophon. It will sufiice that the Lydian king was saved, and afterward was generally found in personal attendance on the conqueror, who appears to have attached importance to his opinions and advice. In the war that followed, the troops of Cyrus subdued the remainder of Asia Minor and Ionia, including Halicarnassus, the native city of Herodotus, who might in consequence feel disposed to speak harshly of Cyrus, when occasion offered, as of one who had enslaved his country. Having secured his conquest in the west, Cyrus reduced all Syria and Arabia, and at last invested Babylon. On the deposition of Astyages, Labynet.us, his viceroy, assumed an independent power, and joined in the confederacy with Croesus. He was now deprived of the assistance of his allies, and had to sustain alone a war with the overwhelming Medo-Persian host. Yet the king of Babylon did not shrink from the contest ; but when Cyrus appeared before the city, he marched out and gave him battle. The effort was fruit- less ; the Babylonians were defeated and pursued into the city. Cyrus immediately invested this proud metropolis ; but its walls were of such height and strength, that the reduction of the place by the ordinary engines of war seemed a hopeless task. It is said that nearly two years were consumed in this siege. At length Cyrus adopted the extraordinary expedient of diverting the waters of the Euphrates from their channel. Having employed his soldiers in cut- ting a deep trench or canal in a place suitable for the purpose, he took advantage of a public festival, when general revelry prevailed in the city, and connecting his canal with the river, he let the waters run off, so as to leave the bed of the river fordable. A select body of troops were then marched into the city, through the arched opening in the walls by which the river entered it ; and another through that by which it left. These forces, meeting, took Babylon by sur- prise : the gates were soon thrown open, and Cyrus was made master of this otherwise impregnable place. There can scarcely be conceived a more circumstantial and com- plete fulfilment of sacred prophecy, thaft was furnished by this conduct and success of the Persian king. Cyrus had now established a universal dominion. ]\ledia, andallits dependencies — Lydia, with all her surrounding and attached states, and Babylon, with every tributary country, together with his native Persia — were subject to his sway. And his mighty mind appeared equal to THE GENTILE NATIONS. 259 the burden of this vast empire. He consolidated its power, directed its general policy, and prosecuted his career of aggrandizement as though but a single nation depended on his will. The most remarkable part of this extraordinary reign is the lan- guage and conduct of Cyrus toward the Hebrew people. We are tersely informed in Scripture that " Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." Dan. vi, 28. With the successive acquisitions of territory and power, Cyrus had a threefold accession to the honours of sovereignty. He was truly independent king of Persia B. C. 559. He conquered Asty- ages, and added the empire of Media to his dominions, B. C. 551 : and, fifteen years afterward, B. C. 536, he subdued Babylon, and completed the establishment of his empire. This- sovereign died B. C. 529. The period of his actual sovereignty was therefore thirty years. But as Media was previously the supreme state, the period of its conquest is that given in the Chronicles to the accession of Cyrus, who then succeeded, not merely to a sovereignty, but to the imperial government ; while the Hebrew writers, who stood in so peculiar a relation to Babylon as the destroyer of their native land, (the king of that city still ruling over a great part of the He- brew captives,) did not regard Cyrus as beginning to reign until -he had reduced that country to subjection. Consequently, "the first year of Cyrus," spoken of in the Book of Ezra, is B. C. 536, — the first year of his universal rule. When Cyrus deposed Astyages, and succeeded him in Media, he unquestionably found Daniel at Ecbatana, one of the most able and honoured ministers of state. The deliverance of the -prophet from the den of lions, which had a short time previously taken place, must have occurred in Media, and not at Babylon, because the punishment was inflicted under the rigid application of Median law, which could not have been done at Babylon, since it was not usual to alter the internal economy and social laws of subject states, so as to make them precisely similar to those of the supreme kingdom. We are further informed, that " Daniel prospered in the days of Cyrus ;" and the word is used so as to warrant the conclusion that he " pros- pered" in the same manner as he had done under Darius, — namely, by holding those elevated offices of trust and honour with which he had been invested by the Median monarch. It can scarcely be doubted, therefore, that in the confidential communications which took place between the king and his aged minister, Daniel would make known to Cyrus the wonderful revelations which had been given to him respecting the successive great monarchies which were appointed by Divine Providence to succeed each other in the earth. 260 THE GENTILE NATIONS. It is a remarkable fact, that Nebuchadnezzar was fully informed of this succession, by special divine appointment, almost immediately after he had completed his conquests. It is equally certain, that Alexander of Greece, when setting out on his career of conquest, had these predictions read to him by the high-priest at Jerusalem. It would, then, be marvellous indeed if Cyrus, coming into daily and confidential communication with the prophet, should have remained in ignorance of these glorious revelations. Among numerous other proofs that he did receive such information, we refer to his edict in favour of the Jews. Having put down all opposition, and extended his empire " from the River Oxus to the frontiers of Egypt, embracing Lydia and Asia Minor no doubt as far as the mountains of the Afghans which separate Chorassan from India, (Niebuhr's Lee. on Anc. Hist., vol. i, p. 110,) Cyrus turned his attention to the government of these vast dominions. One of the edicts published by him, in the first year of this universal reign, was the following : " Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia, The Lord Grod of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people ? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jeru- salem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem." Ezra i, 2, 3. (He- brew People, pp. 362-364.) At first sight this would appear a most extraordinary document. Cyrus had been, for the greater part of his life up to this year, engaged in war. He was bred in Persia, and of course a believer in the religion of that country. We have no definite information of his having had any intercourse with the Hebrew nation, with the single exception of his minister Daniel. It must be readily admitted, that under the ordinary impulses and calculations of worldly policy, the restoration of the Jews — of whom it may be fairly presumed that Cyrus had heard but little, and known still less — would not have been one of the first acts of his imperial sovereignty. But this is not only undertaken by him, but he explicitly states that he does it in obedience to a divine command. Nay, he does not scruple to ascribe all his extended power and dominion to the gift of the Lord God of Israel, whose injunction he thus obeys. Taking all the accom- panying circumstances into account, this is a most remarkable edict, and, I am bold to say, can only be accounted for in any reasonable manner by supposing that Daniel had communicated to Cyrus the prophetic revelations of God respecting him, and his preordained in- terference on behalf of the Hebrew people. (See Appendix, note 42.) THE GENTILE NATIONS. 261 This measure was effectual. A great number of the Jews, from different parts of the kingdom, gathered together their families and their substance ; and, encouraged by the royal countenance, went in a body to Judea, where they proceeded to lay anew the foundations of a Hebrew state, and rebuild the holy city and temple, which had so long lain in ruins. It is also remarkable, that this event affords one instance of the exact fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, — that the captivity should last seventy years; and one, too, peculiarly interesting to the prophet Daniel. As it was exactly seventy years from 586 B. C, when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, to 516 B. C, when the second temple was finished ; so it was precisely seventy years from 604 B. C, when Daniel and his companions were carried into captivity, to 534 B. C, when the first body of Hebrews, by virtue of this edict, reached Judea, appointed Joshua high-priest, and laid the foundation of the second temple. Thus did the continued exertions of the Persian hero, while aim- ing at the gratification of his own inordinate ambition, carry into effect the great purposes of Divine Providence respecting the govern- ment of the nations of this world. The kingdom symbolized by the head of gold had fulfilled its destiny, and passed away : that indi- cated by the breast and arms of silver had now extended her power over the nations. The " lion with eagles' wings " — which so strikingly represented the power of Babylon, where these identical figures guarded every approach to the palace-temples of her pontiff-kings — had perished ; and now the Medo-Persian bear had arisen to devour. How intensely fraught with teaching of the highest order is such history, regarded in the light of revealed truth ! Here we look into the sacred page, and find the purpose of God clearly expressed in plain terms, and forcefully illustrated by the most energetic sym- bolical imagery. We look abroad in the nations of the earth : Baby- lon is triumphant in martial power, sitting as a queen among the nations; Media, possessing hereditary distinction for bravery and military prowess, is second only to the paramount state; while Persia, uncultivated and almost unknown, has scarcely yet made an impression on a page of history. Yet a series of contingent evolu- tions begins, involving the utmost energy of individual minds, and the most strange and unexpected collisions and associations of nations. Universal clamour, confusion, and war succeed : at length the storm is hushed, — ^peace reigns. We look; and out of this chaos of national strife has come, in all its predicted perfectness, the very event which the prophets of God had foretold. Cyrus, having organized Persia, and associated its rude hardihood with the ii62 THE GENTILE NATIONS. military discipline and tactics of Media, by these united powers extends his dominion over Asia, and reigns supreme. And, to fulfil to the letter the utmost range of sacred prophecy, no sooner is he found in possession of this sway than he says " to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built." Thus the Hebrew people were placed in the way of working out their national and ecclesiastical polity, and of attaining a posi- tion in which all the purposes of redeeming grace, as predicted by their holy prophets, might be fully accomplished. The empire thus established by Cyrus, and over which he reigned in peace for seven years, was immense in its extent. Bounded on the east by the Indus, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the Caspian and Euxine, and on the south by Ethiopia and the Arabian Sea, the vast range of Central and Western Asia was subject to his sway. The accounts which speak of the death of Cyrus are of the most conflicting description. Some afiBrm him to have been slain in war : Herodotus and Justin say the catastrophe took place while he was fighting against the Scythians; but Ctesias places this war at an earlier date, and says that he was killed by the javelin of an Indian. Xenophon, however, makes him die peacefully in his bed, while dis- coursing with his friends. On one point there seems to be a mutual agreement among ancient authors : — they all assert that Cyrus was buried in Pasargadae, and that his tomb was found two centuries afterward by Alexander the Great. This fact seems decisive in favour of the statement of Xenophon. It is not Ukely that, if kiUed in Scythia or in India, he would have been interred in Persia. Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambysbs, whom on his death- bed he appointed heir to the throne. The first incident of govern- ment that we meet with in this reign is the successful eflFort of the Ammonites, Moabites, and others, to prevent the further progress of the Hebrews in building the city and temple of Jerusalem. Ezra has recorded this fact; (Ezra iv, 6;) and Josephus (Antiquities, book xi, chap, ii, sect. 1, 2) has preserved the correspondence at length, and concludes his account with the statement, "Accordingly, these works were hindered from going on, till the second year of the reign of Darius." (See Appendix, note 43.) The principal object which seems to have filled the mind of this king was the conquest of Egypt. Various tales have been circulated for the purpose of accounting for this strong desire. It is probable, however, that his motive was simply ambition. Cambyses saw, all around him, nations bowing to his sway, which had been conquered by his father and the preceding sovereign, and he longed to add to THE GENTILE NATIONS. 263 the empire a conquest of his own. Egypt, an old and wealthy king- dom, offered the greatest incentive to this passion. He accordingly began a series of preparations on a grand scale, which occupied him during the first four years of his reign. At length the Persian king proceeded to carry out his long- cher- ished purpose. He had obtained, just before his setting out on this expedition, the greatest possible advantage, in the friendship of Phanes, a Greek officer of great capacity and courage, who had been previously employed by the king of Egypt as the commander of the Grecian auxiliaries in his service, but who, on receiving some affront from Amasis, had fled, and found succour in the court of Persia. This officer not only explained to the Persian king the resources of Egypt, and the nature of the country, but also put him in the way of obtaining water for his army while crossing the desert from Pal- estine to the Nile. Without a supply of this necessary, the transit of an army would have been impracticable : but this was secured, under the advice of Phanes, by an alliance into which Cambyses entered with the Arabian prince who ruled over the intervening country. Pending these arrangements, Amasis, King of Egypt, died, leaving to his son Psammenitus the kingdom, and the duty of de- fending it. By the assistance which he had obtained, Cambyses appeared with his vast army before Pelusium, — the key to Egypt on the east. As noticed in the chapter on Egypt, it has been said that Cambyses obtained possession of this important post by collecting together a great number of cats, dogs, sheep, and other animals held sacred by the Egyptians, and by driving them before his army, when it ad- vanced to attack the city. The Egyptian troops, not daring to raise a weapon against creatures which they revered as divine, allowed the Persians to come on without opposition, until it was too late : and thus the city was taken without loss. The king of Egypt, on hearing of this movement, immediately led his troops to the Pelusiac mouth of the Nile, and encamped opposite the Persian army. Here a great battle was fought, which terminated in the defeat of the Egyptian king, and the ruin of his army. A very small proportion of his troops escaped, and took refuge in Memphis. The further progress of Cambyses in Egypt, his conquest and cruelty, his fatal attempt on Ethiopia, and vain desire to wreak his vengeance on Carthage, have all been briefly detailed in the history of Egypt. Cambyses was accompanied mto Egypt by a brother named Smerdis. This prince appears to have possessed more muscular 264 THE GENTILE NATIONS. strength than any other man in the Persian army : for, when the Ethiopian king sent his bow as a derisive present to Cambyses, Smerdis was the only one in his army who could bend it. This greatly enraged Cambyses : a mind so limited and jealous as his could brook the presence of no superiority. He therefore devised an excuse for his brother's return to Persia. But, having soon afterward a dream, in which a messenger informed him that Smerdis had ascended the throne, and touched the heavens with his head, he became so alarmed and excited that he sent his favourite courtier Prexaspes into Persia, with orders to put his brother to death ; which bloody command was fully carried into effect, although authors differ as to the manner in which this noble prince was assassinated. From this period the life of the Persian king exhibited a con- tinued series of acts of brutality and butchery. Cambyses had a sister named Meroe, whose name he gave to a celebrated island in the Nile. This princess he married; but, suspecting that she lamented the death of her brother Smerdis, he brutally kicked her when pregnant, so as to occasion her death. His character at this time evinced a degree of cruelty almost surpassing belief: he caused several of his nobles to be buried alive, and scarcely a day elapsed without some of his courtiers being sacrificed to his fury. Prexaspes, who had murdered Smerdis at the command of the king, was now called to feel the violence of his temper. He was one day asked by Cambyses, what the Persians thought of him. The courtier replied, that they admired his wisdom, but regretted that he indulged to excess in wine. " They think, then," said the king, " that wine disturbs my understanding ; but you shall judge." Then, after drinking more freely, he ordered the son of Prexaspes, Avho was his cup-bearer, to stand upright at the further end of the room. "Now," turning to the father, he said, "if! shoot this arrow through the heart of your son, the Persians have slandered me : but if I miss, I will allow that they have spoken the truth." He drew the bow; the youth fell: and, on the body being opened, it was found that the arrow had pierced his heart. Cambyses then asked Prexaspes whether he had ever seen any one shoot with a steadier hand : to which the servile courtier replied, that " Apollo himself could not have aimed more correctly." Such are the results of the contact of brutal tyranny with crouching slavery ! Cyrus had commended his captive, Croesus of Lydia, to the kind- ness of his son ; but about this time, being displeased with an answer which he had received from Croesus, the king commanded him to be put to death. The courtiers delayed the execution, thinking that he would relent, which he soon did, and rejoiced to find that Croesus THE GENTILE NATIONS. 266 was still alive ; but he devoted to instant death those who had dis- obeyed his order. Cambyses had entered on the eighth year of his reign, when he left Egypt to return to Persia. On his arrival in Syria, he met a herald sent from Susa to apprize the Persian army that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, was proclaimed king, and to command their obe- dience. This revolution arose out of the following circumstances : When Cambyses left Persia for the invasion of Egypt, he com- mitted the government of the country to Patizithes, one of the prin- cipal Magi, who had a brother very much resembling in person Smerdis, the brother of Cambyses, and called by the same name. Although the death of this prince had been kept from the public, the Magian had obtained intelligence of the event; and knowing that the tyranny and extravagance of Cambyses had become insup- portable, and that the name of Smerdis was popular, he placed his brother on the throne, as the son of Cyrus, and sent heralds through the empire proclaiming his accession ; trusting mainly, for the success of his attempt, to the odium attaching to the govern ment of Cambyses. The king, having assured himself by a careful interrogation of Prexaspes, that his brother Smerdis was really dead, and that the usurper was Smerdis the Magian, ordered the immediate march of his army to Persia. But when he was mounting his horse for this purpose, his sword slipped from the scabbard, and inflicted a serious wound in his thigh. The Egyptians, who recollected that it was by a wound in this part of the body that Cambyses had killed the sacred Apis of Egypt, regarded this as a judgment from heaven on his pro- fane impiety ; and, strange to say, our learned Prideaux entertained a similar opinion. During his stay in Egypt, the king had consulted the oracle of Butus respecting his destiny, and was told that he would die at Ecbatana. Knowing no place of this name but the capital of Media, he regarded himself safe in Western Asia. But while lying ill from the effects of his wound in a small town in Syria, he asked the name of the place, and learned to his dismay that it also was called Ecbatana : upon which he abandoned himself to despair, and died about twenty days after the accidental infliction of the wound. Before his death, Cambyses had charged the nobles and officers of his army not to submit to the Magian Smerdis, who was undoubt- edly a usurper. But after his death this statement was disbelieved : for Prexaspes faltered in his story, and admitted that he had not slain Smerdis with his own hand, being, it is supposed, bribed to do so by the Magi : so that the army and the nation for some time submitted to the new ruler. 266 THE GENTILE NATIONS. The suspicions of the nobles were, however, soon excited by the scrupulous care which the Magi took to prevent the new sovereign from being seen. This induced one of them, named Otanes, to attempt to discover whether Smerdis was the son of Cyrus or an impostor. He possessed an advantage for prosecuting this inquiry peculiar to himself His daughter had been the wife of Cambyses, and had after his death passed in the same capacity to his successor. Otanes, therefore, went to his daughter; but as she had not seen Smerdis the son of Cyrus, and was only admitted to the presence of the king at night, she could not resolve the doubt. It then occurred to Otanes, that Smerdis the Magian had, for some great crime committed during the reign of Cyrus, been deprived of his ears: he therefore charged his daughter to ascertain, when next called to the bed of the king, whether he had, or had not, been deprived of his ears. Delicate and dangerous as was the task, so anxious was she to meet her father's wishes, and to ascertain whether she was the wife of a king or of an impostor, that the next time she found her husband fast asleep, she made sure of the fact that his ears had been removed. The princess lost no time in communicating this fact to Otanes, who presently in- formed a friend. These two ultimately associated five other noble- men in the plot ; and, having, by the dignity of their position, obtained access to the palace, they slew Smerdis and his brother Patizithes, and thus put an end to this impudent usurpation. It is said that the death of these impostors was followed by a general massacre of the Magi, and that nothing but the cover of night prevented their extermination. Having effected their purpose, the conspirators deliberated as to the kind of government which should be established; (see Appendix, note 44 ;) and they having ultimately decided on continuing an hereditary monarchy, and having agreed on the means by which the next sovereign should be appointed, in the prosecution of their plan, Darius the son of Hystaspes, of the Achaemenean family of Persia, was raised to the throne. Before his elevation to the sovereignty, Darius had mamed the daughter of Gobryas, one of the most daring of his associates in the destruction of the Magian impostor. To this wife he, after his accession, added the two daughters of Cyrus, — Atossa, who had been the wife of her brother Cambyses, and afterward of the Magian ; and Artystona, who had not previously been married, and who be- came the most favoured of his wives. He also married Parmys, the daughter of Smerdis, the son of Cyrus ; and Phaedyma, the daughter of Otanes, who had been married to Smerdis the Magian, and was the means of his being detected. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 267 Having strengthened Hs position by these marriages, Darius proceeded to improve the government of his vast empire. He effected this by dividing it into twenty separate governments or satrapies, over each of which he placed a governor or satrap. I am in- cHned to think that we have, in this measure of Darius, the first really practical movement toward the organization and establishment of an empire, in the strict and proper sense of the term. Every pre- ceding conqueror had either left the several nations intact, under some new prince or king; or else transported the inhabitants from one country to another ; a plan which appears to have been resorted to when the former arrangement was not likely to prevent them from struggling to recover their independence. The first mode was very defective, and allowed the continuance of every national partiality and prejudice, feeling and desire; while the latter destroyed the ■wealth, and all the productive agencies — social, commercial, political, and military — in order to prevent future insurrection. The course pursued by Darius secured a much larger amount of good, with none of this sacrifice and loss. By associating several distinct nations into one government, the manners and customs of each were assimi- lated ; the caution of one people acted as a check on the daring of another ; so that good government grew to be not only possible, but easy, and the chances of rebellion and intestine war became very slender indeed. A circumstance occurred about this time which is worthy of notice, it having first directed the attention of the Persian court to the invasion of Greece. Darius, having hurt his foot while hunting, found that the Egyptian physicians, to whose care he intrusted him- self, were making no progress with the cure of the wounded limb ; and, apprehensive of being disabled for life, he inquired for other medical aid. As the result of this inquiry, he learned that there was in the city a Greek slave, named Democedes, who had been brought from Samos. Darius having sent for him, and induced him to undertake the cure of his foot, his skill was successful ; and after a short time the foot was perfectly restored. The king loaded him with gifts, and introduced him to his wives as " the man who had restored the king to life." Democedes had now a sumptuous house, and in fact everything but that which he so ardently desired, — namely, his liberty. At length Atossa, the king's wife, was afflicted ■with a desperate disorder, and in her distress she applied to the Greek physician, who engaged to cure her, provided she would use her influence with the king in favour of an object on which his own heart was set. The queen promised, and Democedes cured her; and then he claimed her good offices to enable him to visit Greece. 268 THE GENTILE NATIONS. She acted under his instruction ; and, not daring to apply for his release, she urged the king to invade Greece, telling him that the Greek physician could procure every information for him, and that she greatly desired some women of Sparta, Athens, Argos, and Corinth in her service ; and that it became Darius, in the prime of his manhood, to attempt some great enterprise. Darius was roused by the queen's speech, and soon afterward sent fifteen trusty Persians with Democedes, to travel in Greece, and bring him a particular account of the coast and the military position of the country. A great part of this survey had been completed, when Democedes escaped from his companions, who had to return to the mortified and incensed king with the communication that he had been duped and deceived. In the third year of his reign, Darius rendered very essential service to the Hebrews. After the death of Smerdis, the edict of that king had lost its force : but the Jews, disheartened by repeated interruptions, did not resume the reedification of the city and tem- ple ; and in consequence of this apathy they were subjected to divine chastisement. Their vintage and harvest failed; and they were specially informed by a prophet, that their negligence in not re- building the house of God was the cause of this providential visita- tion. Hag. i, 6, 8-11. Roused to diligence by these infiictions, the Hebrews resumed their appointed work. This, as usual, called forth the opposition of the Samaritans, who on this occasion did not apply directly to the royal court, but to Tatnai, the governor whom Darius had appointed over the province of Syria. This ofiicer appears to have behaved on the occasion with great judgment and discretion. He proceeded to Jerusalem, and demanded of the Jews by what authority they acted ; and on their producing the decree of Cyrus in their favour, Tatnai wrote to Darius to inquire whether this document was genuine, and to learn the king's wishes in the matter. Darius caused a search to be made ; and on this occasion Ezra is careful to inform us, that this record was found at Ecbatana, or, as he writes it, " Achmetha, the palace that is in the province of the Medes." Ezra vi, 1-12. Darius renewed this decree ; and ordered that the remaining vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the house of God, should be restored ; and that resources for carry- ing on the work should be supplied to the Jews out of the revenues of the province ; at the same time threatening with instant death all who might hereafter obstruct this important work. Prideaux ob- serves, on the authority of Lightfoot, that, in gratitude for this decree, which was dated from the palace at Shushan, the eastern gate THE GENTILE NATIONS. 269 in the outer -wall of the temple was called " the Gate of Shushan." Josephus (Antiquities, book xi, chap. 3) has given a diiferent ver- sion of the reasons which induced Darius to evince this favour to the Jews ; but it appears rather too fanciful for sober history. During this period the empire had been maintained in peace. The first war in which Darius was engaged was connected with the reduction of Samos. But while this was being carried on under the direction of Otanes, a more important rupture occurred nearer home, in the revolt of the Babylonians. It is probable that the lengthened absence of Cambyses and his army in Egypt, and the numerous difficulties which Darius had encountered after his accession, had given the inhabitants of this proud city hopes of retrieving their independence. On the first intelligence of this revolt, the king col- lected an army, which greatly terrified the rebellious Babylonians. They saw, from the power of the imperial force, that their only hope was to sustain a lengthened siege : and in order to do this, they adopted the horrible expedient of strangling the great body of their women and children, that their provisions might last for the longest possible period. Darius soon appeared before the city, and closely invested il : but the Babylonians were so confident in the strength of their defences, that they danced upon the walls, and treated the king and his army with the greatest possible contempt. Nor did they miscalculate their resources. After a siege of nineteen months, Darius seemed as far from the attainment of his object as when he began. But what no amount of military daring or energy could effect, the self-sacrifice and duplicity of one of his nobles enabled him to secure. The name of this officer was Zopyrus. He appeared before Darius with his nose and ears cut off, his back lacerated with scourg- ing, and presenting a most pitiable, mangled, and bloody spectacle. He soon removed the astonishment of the king, by telling him that he had inflicted these injuries on himself, for the purpose of procur- ing the success of the royal enterprise; that in his mangled and bloody condition he was going to Babylon, and would say that he had been thus cruelly treated by Darius, and was therefore his bit- terest enemy. He then concerted a series of measures which Darius was to carry out, and which would, as he expected, enable him to admit the Persian troops into the city. This explanation being given, Zopyrus hastened as a deserter to Babylon. He being seen from the walls running and looking behind him, as with great anxiety, the guard descended and admitted him. Zopyrus told his concerted tale; upon which he was presented to 270 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the Babylonish assembly, when the wily Persian told them that he had advised Darius to raise the hopeless siege, and that for this fault the king had treated him so cruelly as to reduce him to the miserable condition in which he appeared before them. He con- cluded his tale of woe by imploring them to allow him to fight in the front rank against his former master. Deceived and deluded by these specious representations, the Babylonians took him into their confidence. Zopyrus now told them, that on a particular day Darius would march a body of a thousand troops against a certain post ; and that if they would place a corresponding force under his direction, he would destroy them. The Babylonians, taking every reasonable precaution, complied. As had been told them, they saw a body of one thousand men approach the gate of Semiramis. Acting under the direction of Zopyrus, the Babylonians sallied out, and completely destroyed them. He then said, that about a certain day he expected a larger body to assail the gate of Nineveh, when he would in like manner effect their destruction. This promise also he fully re- deemed. Afterward he warned them that a troop of four thousand men Tflould about such a time attempt the Chaldsean gate. Again Zopyrus led the assault, and again the whole body of the invading force was destroyed. The sacrifice of these seven thousand men had been fully arranged between Darius and Zopyrus. This success filled the Babylonians with unbounded joy. They saw in these vic- tories the prospect of destroying the invading force in detail. Their confidence in Zopyrus was at its height, and he promised them a complete triumph. Soon afterward Darius ordered a general assault. Zopyrus promised to repeat his victories ; but in the heat of the struggle, instead of destroying the Persians, he by a preconcerted signal admitted them into the city. The result of this treachery was fatal. Babylon fell prostrate beneath the power of the con- queror. Darius stained his triumph by crucifying three thousand of the most distinguished Babylonians. He also reduced the height of the walls, carried away the gates, and prohibited the use of arms by the inhabitants; these being precautions against any future attempt at insurrection. Immediately after the complete reduction of Babylon, Darius commenced his invasion of Scythia, — an effort remarkable for noth- ing more than the madness of the enterprise, the number of troops employed, — nearly 700,000, — and the distance to be marched, — about one hundred and fifty days' or nearly five months' journey. If the project of Miltiades to destroy the bridge across the Danube had been carried into effect, but few, if any, of this vast host would THE GENTILE NATIONS. 271 have returned. - The enterprise was begun in ignorant precipitancy, and finished under consummate disgrace. Darius appears now to have turned his attention to the east, in the hope of retrieving his fame and extending his territory. In this he seems to have been successful, although we are not in possession of the details of the expedition. Herodotus says, " A very consid- erable part of Asia was discovered by Darius. That prince, wishing to ascertain whether the Indus flowed into the ocean, sent out ships with persons in whom he had confidence, especially Syclax of Caly- andria. They embarked at Caspatyras, in the Parthian territories, following the eastern course of the river toward the ocean. Hence sailing westward, they arrived, after a voyage of thirty months, at the same point from whence the Phenicians sailed to circumnavigate Libya. In consequence of this voyage, Darius subdued the Indians, and became master of that ocean." — Melpomene, cap. xliv. In con- nexion with these discoveries, acquisitions were made in India which formed the twentieth satrapy of the empire, and produced a yearly revenue of six hundred talents in golden ingots. (Thalia, cap. xciv.) From the period of the Scythian invasion, the Persian interest in the west had been in a state of continual oscillation. Thrace and Macedon had acknowledged the supremacy of Persia by giving the ambassadors of Darius "earth and water:" but no real subjection was shown to the imperial court. At length Aristagoras — a nephew and son-in-law of Histiseus, who had saved the royal army in the Scythian campaign by preserving the bridge across the Danube — commenced an insurrection of the Greeks against Persia. Sparta declined to take part in it, but Athens joined the confederacy. This united army crossed over to Ephesus, and succeeded in laying the city of Sardis in ashes. But their measures were hastily taken and ill supported ; and, on encountering the Persian forces, they were completely defeated. This led Darius seriously to contemplate the entire reduction of Greece. He wis so enraged against the inhabitants of the capital of Attica, that he implored Jupiter that he might be allowed to be revenged on them, and employed an attendant to remind him three times a day of the Athenians. The first armament sent on this service was commanded by Mar- donius, the king's son-in-law. But this army was surprised by the Thracians, and suffered great loss, the Persian general himself being wounded in the conflict, while the Persian fleet encountered a storm in doubling Mount Athos, by which they lost three hundred ships and twenty thousand men. Mardonius returned into Asia with the vn'eck of this great army. 272 THE GENTILE NATIONS. But Darius, with the resources of an immense empire at his disposal, could not brook the complete frustration of his purpose. While preparing another army, he sent heralds to the several states of Greece, demanding their submission, ^gina and many of the smaller cities signified their compliance; but Athens and Sparta felt so outraged at the demand, that, forgetting the sacred character of the messengers, they instantly put the heralds to death. This violent measure hastened the departure of the Persian army. Darius had on this occasion intrusted the command to Datis, a Median officer, and Artaphernes, his own nephew. On reaching the sea- coasts of Ionia, they collected an army of three hundred thousand men, and a fleet of six hundred ships. This immense force com- menced the war by taking Naxos. Eretria was next subdued, and the inhabitants sent captives to Susa. The Persian army then passed over to Attica; when, at Marathon, ten miles from Athens, this mighty host of two hundred thousand men and ten thousand horse were entirely routed, and those who escaped with life were chased in confusion to their ships. Thus terminated the second Persian attempt to invade Greece. The rage of Darius at this defeat was unbounded. He imme- diately commanded preparations to be made for an invasion on a larger scale : but while these were going on, Egypt revolted. The Persian monarch, whose mind rose with the emergency, determined to astonish the world by simultaneously conducting two wars, — one in Egypt and the other in Greece. Before his arrangements were completed, he had to settle a dispute in his family respecting his successor. The claimants were Artobazanes, who claimed the crown by virtue of his birthright; and Xerxes, the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, who asserted his right to the throne because he was the first son born after his father was a king, and should there- fore have the precedence of a son born when his father was a private citizen. By the advice of Demaratus, the exiled king of Sparta, Darius decided in favour of Xerxes, and appointed him his suc- cessor. This was the last public act of Darius : he soon after died, leaving the prosecution of his vast projects, in the recovery of Egypt and the conquest of Greece, as a legacy to his successor. (See Ap- pendix, note 45.) Darius had acquired the reputation of an able military commander; and he did much to foster the rising interests of the Hebrew people. Before closing our account of this reign, some reference must be made to the great city Persepolis, the ruins of which cast important light on the history and the religion of Persia. Of the origin of this capital we know literally nothing. It is not mentioned either by THE GENTILE NATIONS. 273 Herodotus, Ctesias, Xenophon, or Nehemiah, although they all fre- quently allude to Susa, Babylon, and Ecbatana. This silence may perhaps be accounted for, by the fact that this city does not appear at any time to have been the settled residence of the Persian kings, although there was at Persepolis a magnificent palace. This edifice, glorious even in its ruins, seems to have been one of the noblest structures that art ever reared. A question has, indeed, been raised as to whether Persepolis and Pasargadse were not two names for the same city. Scholars generally, however, have decided that these were different places. It is also necessary to refer to an account of the early part of this reign, of a very extraordinary character. On the western frontiers of Media, on the great road leading from Babylon to the east, stands the sacred rock of Behistun. Rising abruptly from the plain to a height of one thousand seven hundred feet, it was approached with reverence, and regarded as consecrated to the Supreme God. On the face of this rock, which was smoothed down for the purpose, about three hundred feet above the level of the ground, there stands an elaborate sculpture. It is so inaccessible, on account of its height and the perpendicular form of the rock, that it is difiicult and dangerous to approach sufiiciently near to read it.. The nature of this sculpture is peculiar. It contains pictorial rep- resentations of Darius as the great king, with two attendants stand- ing behind him; and before him — one being prostrate under his right foot — are ten men, with a rope round their necks, thus con- fining them together in a line, and their hands bound behind their backs. Above, just before the king, is the symbol of the divine triad, as seen in the Sculptures of Assyria. Above, around, and beneath, in separate columns, are numerous cuneiform inscriptions. After this ancient record had taxed the labour and learning of many scholars, all of whom made some progress toward its decipherment, we have now before us a complete translation of it, the fruit of the learning and industry of Colonel Rawlinson. The origin, manner, and contents of this record are all so peculiar, that it was not thought desirable to incorporate it in fragments with the history, but to place it entire and at once before the reader in a note. (See Appen- dix, note 46.) On ascending tiie throne, Xerxes entered heartily into the mar- tial measures which had been begun by his father, and hastened the preparations for the reduction of Egypt. Before he proceeded with this undertaking, he confirmed the Jews in possession of all the privileges conferred on them by Darius. At length he marched his army toward Egypt, and effected, almost without a struggle, the 18 274 THE aBNTILB NATIONS. entire subjugation of that country, leaving his elder brother Achae- menes, as satrap, to administer the government of that nation. The three following years were fully employed in preparations for the invasion of Greece. This measure was opposed by Arta- banus, the surviving brother of Darius, and other eminent officers : but a great number of Grecian refugees, who had found succour at the Persian court, by practising on the ambition of the king, urged' him onward in this insane project ; Mardonius, who longed to repair the injury done to his military fame in the first invasion, exerting himself to the utmost to promote the attempt. At length, the preparations were complete; and Xerxes, with perhaps the largest army ever assembled on earth, proceeded toward the Hellespont. It is difficult to give serious attention, not to say credence, to the tales which are reported of the intolerable arrogance of this king; such as his sending an epistle to Mount Athos, his flogging, and casting fetters into, the Hellespont, and other acts equally extrava- gant and improbable. At length, however, a bridge was erected across the straits, over which the many-nationed host passed for seven days and nights without intermission, their speed being fre- quently hastened Jjy the lashes of whips ; — as if men who needed such a stimulus to action would be of any worth when opposed to the best soldiers in the world. Having made a grand review of his army, Xerxes proceeded through Thrace toward Greece, while the fleet followed the line of the coast. During this march, the most particular attention was paid to religious services, sacrifices being offered at every suitable place according to the rites of the Persian religion. In fact, throughout the whole of these preparations and arrangements, everything appears to have been done that human sagacity could devise. Even large sums of money had been sent to Carthage, to induce that nation to invade the Greek settlements in Sicily, that Magna GrcEcia might derive no aid in this struggle from her colonies. Thus was the prophecy of Daniel fully verified : " There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all : and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." Dan. xi, 2. Indeed, every part of the dominions of Xerxes appears to have contributed to this multitudinous host. (See Appendix, note 47.) The Persian army now approached the Pass of Thermopylee, where Xerxes found, as had been before reported to him, a small body of Spartans in possession of the defile. After waiting four days in the expectation that they would fly from his presence, the king sent THE GENTILE NATIONS. 276 against them a detachment of Medes and Cissians, with orders to bring them prisoners. It was, however, repulsed, although continu- ally reinforced with fresh men ; until Xerxes exclaimed, that he had many men, but few soldiers, in his army. At length the Medes were superseded, and the Immortal Band of Persians, commanded by Hydames, were sent against the Greeks, but with no better success. Xerxes, who witnessed the encounter, thrice leaped from his horse, in apprehension of the ruin of his whole army from this handful of men. At length, by the treachery of a Greek, the Persians were conducted by a narrow path over the mountains, so that a body of the army was enabled to pass, and completely enclose the Spartan troops. Seeing his desperate condition, Leonidas sent away his aux- iliary forces, and, with his three hundred Spartans and seven hun- dred Thespians, not only withstood the attack of these hundreds of thousands, but became the assailant, and actually penetrated to the royal pavilion of Xerxes, from which the monarch had hastily escaped. But numbers at length prevailed, and the gallant Greeks fell, rather wearied with their own exertions, than vanquished even by multitudes. According to Herodotus, the Persians lost in this contest two of the king's brothers, and twenty thousand men. Having obtained this passage, the Persians laid waste Phocis, and marched on Athens. This city they found almost entirely aban- doned; the citizens having, by the advice of Themistocles, taken refuge on board their fleet. The few who remained defended their homes until they were all slain; and then Xerxes obtained the -"■atification of destroying this capital. iJefore this event, there had been a naval engagement between the Persian and Greek fleets near Artemisium, in which the Greeks had the advantage, although the victory was not decisive. After the ruin of Athens, the Greek fleet having retreated to the Straits of Salamis, the Persians followed them : and it was on the next course of proceeding that the issue of the war clearly depended. The plan which wisdom and prudence dictated to the Persians, was the one strongly urged in the council of the brave Queen Artemisia, — namely, for the Persian fleet to beleaguer that of the Greeks, while the great Persian army should proceed to the reduction of the Peloponnesus. If this course had been taken the results of the war might have been dififerent. Instead of this, however, Xerxes adopted the unwise determination of attacking the Grecian fleet. Compelled to do so under every disadvantage, on account of the contracted space, the Persians were completely defeated ; two hundred of their ships were destroyed, and the rest driven on the coast of Asia, never again daring to appear in the waters of Greece. 276 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Xerxes witnessed this battle from an eminence, where he sat sur- rounded by scribes to record the deeds of the day : but these had nothing to write except the ruin of their master's hopes. On the completion of this disaster, Xerxes trembled lest the Greek fleet should sail to the Hellespont, break down his bridge, and cut off his retreat to Asia. Leaving, therefore, three hundred thousand men under Mardonius to continue the war, he hastened his return with the remainder of his surviving troops. These endured terrible hard- ships during their march; and the king at length, worn out with disappointment and apprehension, left his army, and with a small retinue hurried to the Hellespont. Here he found the bridge de- stroyed : and he who had passed over with such a host returned in a single skiff. But the disasters of Persia did not terminate here. Their Car- thaginian allies were totally defeated in Sicily, where one hundred and fifty thousand were slain, and nearly as many sold into slavery. Mardonius passed the winter in Thessaly : and, before opening the next campaign, made the most liberal offers to the Athenians, if they would accept the friendship of Persia. He engaged to make good all they had lost in the war, to extend their possessions, to guarantee them their own laws, and make them the most favoured of the tributaries of Persia. Athens was deaf to every overture, and both parties prepared for a renewal of hostilities. Pausanius, King of Sparta,and Aristides of Athens, led the Greek army to meet the Persians. The former had about one hundred and twenty thousand, the latter three hundred and fifty thousand, men. The opposing forces met at Platasa, where the Persians were not only defeated but destroyed. Mardonius fell in the battle. Artabazus, who appears to have anticipated the result, made good his retreat with a body of forty thousand men : besides these it is said that not four thousand of the Persian army survived that fatal day. On the same day another terrible defeat was infiicted on Persia. The remains of the naval imperial force had assembled near Mycale on the coast of Asia. The Greeks, having ascertained their position, proceeded to attack them. On their approach the Persians drew their vessels ashore, where they had an army of one hundred thou- sand soldiers, and had formed a strong rampart for their defence. But such terror was inspired by the Greek name, and such were the daring confidence of the one party, and the trembling apprehension of the other, that the Greeks stormed the rampart, defeated the army, and utterly destroyed the fleet. Xerxes, who had halted at Sardis to learn the success of his generals, was no sooner told of these accumulated calamities, than he THE GENTILE NATIONS. 277 fled from Sardis, with as much haste as he had from Athens after the battle of Salamis, giving orders for the destruction of all the Greek temples in Asia Minor. The remainder of this reign was distinguished by nothing but what covered the monarch with infamy. After plundering the tem- ples of Babylon, while passing through that city, in order to replenish his exhausted exchequer, and thereby verifying the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, (Isaiah xlvi, 1 ; Jer. 1, 2,) he returned to his court at Susa. Here he sought to seduce the wife of his brother Masistes. Finding her inflexible, he hoped to conciliate her by marrying her daughter to his son; but this had no influence on the virtuous matron. The licentious king then turned his desires toward the daughter, now the wife of his own son ; and her he succeeded in debauching. In consequence of this wickedness Artaynta, the daughter, became possessed of a rich mantle, which Hamestris, the wife of Xerxes, had wrought for him. This she displayed in public, so that the fact became known to the queen. Enraged at the circumstance, and attributing all the blame to the innocent mother, Hamestris waited until the king's birthday came, when the kings of Persia were accustomed to grant the most ex- travagant favours to their friends; and then the queen asked her husband that the wife of Masistes should be given into her power. Xerxes, suspecting the object, and knowing the innocence of the woman, for a while refused, imtil, conquered by her importunity, he complied. He then immediately sent for his brother, and asked him to divorce his wife, and offered him one of his own daughters instead. Masistes respectfully declined the honour, and urged that his wife was the mother of his children, and was in every way agreeable to him. Xerxes in a rage threatened, and his brother left him. While this conference was proceeding, the queen was working out her horrible revenge. She had given the wife of Masistes to the royal guards, and made them cut off her breasts, her nose, her ears, her lips, and her tongue; and, thus horribly mutilated, she sent her to her house. Masistes on his return found her in this condition. He immediately collected his family, and fled toward Bactria, of which he was governor, intending to rouse that warlike people to revenge his wrongs. But Xerxes, penetrating his design, sent a body of troops after him, by whom the injured prince, every member of his family, and all his followers, were put to death. This tragedy was soon followed by another, involving the fate of its guilty author. Xerxes was soon afterward assassinated by Artabanus, the captain of his guards ; and his eldest «on shared the 278 THE GENTILE NATIONS. same fate. A few inscriptions belonging to this reign have been preserved and translated. They have chiefly a religious bearing, and cast no new light on the history. (See Appendix, note 48.) After the death of Xerxes and his eldest son, the regicide con- ferred the crown on Aetaxbkxbs, the third son of Xerxes, hoping to reign in the name of the young prince. But the new king seized the first opportunity of revenging the death of his father and brother, by the execution of the assassin with his confederates. Artaxerxes, although raised to the throne, and delivered from the faction of Artabanus, was far from secure in the possession of power. His elder brother Hystaspes was governor of Bactria ; and he not only possessed a valid title to the throne, but was supported in his claims by the martial province over which he ruled. Artaxerxes, therefore, raised an army, and led them to Bactria, where a battle was fought between the two claimants for the crown, without any decisive result. Both parties retired, to prepare for a second encounter. But Artaxerxes having the resources of the empire at his command, while Hystaspes was shut up in a single kingdom, the former in the ensuing campaign obtained a complete victory, and the undisputed possession of the throne. Having thus obtained his object, and his whole dominions being in a peaceful condition, the king returned to Susa, where he appointed a series of feastings and rejoicings to extend over a period of one hundred and eighty days. It was during this season of revelry that the events recorded in the Book of Esther took place ; the fair Jew- ess of that name being then raised to the dignity of queen of the empire, as the wife of Artaxerxes. As the Scriptural account is so well known, it will not be necessary here to give even an outline of that narrative. It will, however, be desirable to refer to some of the results of this marriage. This queen has been justly spoken of as " one of the very few that resist the allurements of splendour, that cherish kindness for their poor relatives, and remember with gratitude the guardians of their youth." When, therefore, we read of the appointment of Ezra, and afterward of Nehemiah, to go to Jerusalem, invested with plenary powers under the royal authority to restore the city, and recon- struct the Hebrew commonwealth, we see clearly the results of the queen's influence. And when the diflSculties which these devoted men had to encounter are taken into account, it may be fairly pre- sumed that nothing short of the favour with which they were sup- ported by the imperial court could have enabled them to succeed in their pious and patriotic objects. To the appointment of these ofiioers, under God, we have to attribute the second series of Hebrew THE GENTILE NATIONS. 279 national history : and their being called to high stations appears with equal clearness to be attributable to the elevation of Esther. So wonderful are the evolutions of Divine Providence ! In the early part of this reign the Egyptians revolted under Inaros, as already related ; but this eflFort totally failed. At length Artaxerxes, wearied of war, commanded his officers to make peace with Athens on the best terms that they could obtain : and although these were sufficiently humiliating to the pride of Persia, the treaty was completed. By this compact it was agreed, 1. That all the Greek cities of Asia should be made free, and allowed to live under their own laws. 2. That no Persian ships should enter the ^gean Sea. 3. That no Persian army should approach within three days' march of these waters. 4. That the Athenians should commit no hostilities within the territories of the king of Persia. These arti- cles being sworn to, peace was proclaimed. The cruel death of Inaros, after an imprisonment of five years, — the revolt of Megabyzus, and his restoration to favour, — and the efforts made by Lacedeemon to enlist the Persians on their side when the war broke out between Sparta and Athens, — occurred in the latter part of this reign; but do not require to be mentioned at length. Artaxerxes died in the forty-first year of his reign. Besides the substantial aid he afforded to the Hebrews, the peace with Greece was the great political event of this period — a measure which, undoubtedly desirable as it was for Persia, clearly indicated the decline of that empire, and foreboded the rapid downfal which immediately succeeded. Xerxes II., the only legitimate son of Artaxerxes, succeeded his father. He had, however, to contend against the wild disorder of seventeen sons, whom his father had by his concubines, — a post of danger for which his dissolute habits rendered him peculiarly unsuited. After a reign of forty-five days, having retired to rest drunk, he was murdered in his sleep by Sogdianus, one of his illegitimate brothers, who at once succeeded to power. Sogdianus was, however, scarcely seated on the throne, before he evinced a very cruel disposition, commencing with the death of Bagorazus, a most respectable eunuch, and one of the confidential servants of Artaxerxes. This conduct so disgusted the nobility, that when his brother Ochus returned with an army from Hyrcania, of which he was governor, Sogdianus found himself completely deserted. OcHUS was in consequence raised to the throne, and Sogdianus put to death. On assuming the government of the empire, Ochus took the name 280 THE GENTILE NATIONS. of Darius, to which historians generally have attached the term Nothus, or " Bastard," on account of his illegitimate birth. Arsites, a brother of Darius, perceiving the facility with which Sogdianus had displaced Xerxes, and Darius had supplanted Sogdianus, thought that he might serve Darius in the same manner. Having, therefore, obtained the counsel and support of Artyphius, the son of Megabyzus, he broke into open rebellion. As the usurping prince and his prime supporter appeared in arms in different parts, Darius marched against his brother, while Artasyras, one of his generals, proceeded against Artyphius. By the aid of his Greek mercenaries, x\rtyphius twice defeated the imperial troops : but, these being at length bought over by large gifts to the royal cause, he was reduced to such a desperate condition as to be compelled to surrender himself, and rely on the mercy of Darius. The king was disposed to order his immediate execution; but he was restrained by his wife Parysatis, a daughter of Artaxerxes by another mother, ' and a very clever and crafty woman. By her advice the king gener- ally suffered himself to be guided. Under this influence, Artyphius was treated with clemency, while Darius proceeded with great energy against Arsites. This prince, seeing himself deprived of the principal support on which he had relied, and that his general, although a stranger, had been kindly treated on his submission, resolved to lay down his arms, and surrender to his brother, not doubting but that he should in a higher degree partake the royal clemency. The king, indeed, felt disposed to save his brother ; but the same influence which had dictated a clement policy toward the general, now insisted on the destruction of both. At the instance of the queen, therefore, Arsites and Artyphius were put to death. Throughout the remainder of this reign, the court, and in fact the whole empire, were involved in plots and counter-plots, murders, insurrections, and intestine wars. The principal direction of public affairs had been left in the hands of three eunuchs, who were influ- enced more by selfish and factious motives than by a desire to pro- mote the public good. Kot a few of these troubles were owing to the restless disposition of Cyrus, the king's youngest son, who had been appointed governor of Syria, and had used the influence of his position to foment war in Greece : besides which, he had put to death two noble Persians, nephews of the king his father, for no other reason than because they did not offer him the salutation usually given to royalty. This conduct displeased Darius, who required his attendance at court, and was disposed to remove him from his governmerjt. On the other hand, the queen laboured to induce the king to make him his heir. This, however, Darius posi- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 281 tively refused to do : so the interview which took place between them issued in the confirmation of Cyrus in the government of Syria. Soon after this interview Darius died, and was succeeded by his son Artaxerxbs, commonly surnamed Mnbmon. The new king, according to the custom of the Persian monarchs, proceeded to Pasargada to be inaugurated by the priests of Bellona. He was there informed by one of the priests, that his brother Cyrus had formed a conspiracy against him, with a design to murder him in the very temple. Having received this information, the king commanded Cyrus to be seized, and sentenced to death. But even then Pary- satis, his mother, had suflScient influence with the king to have this sentence reversed, and to get Cyrus sent back to his government in Syria. Having reached his seat of government, and being enraged at the defeat of all his plans, and especially that he had been sentenced to death, Cyrus resolved to attempt the ruin of the king his brother, and the attainment of his crown. Finding it impossible to make the necessary preparations for such a great enterprise while his province was in perfect peace, he seduced the cities which had been placed under the government of Tissaphernes, so that they revolted from him, and submitted to Cyrus. This led to a war between the two governors ; which being rather agreeable to the king than other- wise, he allowed them to raise what forces they pleased. Cyrus fully availed himself of this advantage ; and having made great sac- rifices and exertions, he soon found himself at the head of an army of thirteen thousand Greeks, and one hundred thousand regular troops of other nations. With this armalment Cyrus left Sardis, giving out the report that he was directing his arms against the Pisidians. But Tissaphernes, rightly judging that the preparations were on too large a scale for such an object, set out with all possible speed to give the king a true account of the doings of Cyrus; which information enabled the king to collect a great army, and march out to meet his rebellious brother. The battle took place at Cunaxa in the province of Baby- lon, where Cyrus, after having furiously assailed and twice wounded the king, was slain, and his forces in consequence were totally re- pulsed and dispersed. After this battle, efforts were made by the royal forces to cut off the Greeks who had fought on the side of Cyrus ; and their principal officers were treacherously destroyed. But, electing others in their stead, they beat off their assailants, and then commenced, and suc- cessfully accomplished, that masterly retreat of which Xenophon has given an eloquent and inimitable account in his Anabasis. 282 THE GENTILE NATIONS. At this period of the history, the mind sickens, and turns away in intense disgust, at the recital of the treacheries, murders, and horrible atrocities perpetrated by means of the royal females of the Persian court. These seem generally to be presented to the mind by the history of the age as the Furies of the country, waiting on every change of the royal family, or when any new aspect of politi- cal relations appeared, to interpose with vengeance and blood. During this reign, one officer after another was delivered to the im- placable Parysatis, for having claimed the honour of killing Cyrus ; and these, instead of being rewarded, were put to death with un- heard-of torments. Even Statira, the beautiful and beloved wife of the king, after having put Udiastes to a horrible death, was herself poisoned by Parysatis, who, pretending to be reconciled to her, had invited her to supper, and divided ^etween them a delicate bird, with a knife which had been poisoned on one side only ; so that, while she ate one half with impunity, her victim died in convulsions in a few hours. Such atrocities prepare the mind for the ruin of the country in which they take place. In fact, when such crimes become com- mon, as they were in Persia at this period, they afford indubitable evidence that the country is already ruined. While the court was thus the scene of malice and bloodshed, the provinces were convulsed with anarchy and misgovernment. Agesi- laus, King of Sparta, having formed an alliance with the Asiatic Greeks, prosecuted a series of rapid conquests in Western Asia; and if he had not been recalled, in consequence of the lavish distri- bution of Persian gold in Greece, would in all probability have dis- membered the Persian empire, if he had not altogether anticipated the work of Alexander. The latter years of the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon were pecu- liarly unfortunate. He had no sooner got rid of Agesilaus and the Spartan Greeks, than he was harassed with an insurrection in Egypt, which, notwithstanding the great efforts he made for the purpose, he could not put down, owing to a disagreement between the Persian general and his Athenian auxiliaries. Then Cyprus regained its independence. Worse than all, domestic troubles of the most afflict- ing character pressed on the mind of the king. Darius, who had been declared his heir, conspired against the life of his father, and Are^ fifty of his brothers into the treason : (the king had one hun- dred and fifteen children by his several concubines :) but the sover- eign was apprized of his danger, the conspirators were seized, and all, including the fifty-one sons of the king, were put to death. This melancholy event raised a new question as to the succession THE GENTILE NATIONS. 283 to the throne. For this dignity there were three candidates, — Ariaspes and Ochus, sons of the king and queen, and Arsames, the son of the king by a concubine, but greatly beloved by his father on account of his princely virtues. Ochus succeeded in terrifying his elder brother, who was of a weak and yielding temper, to such an extent that he poisoned himself: shortly after which, the prince pro- cured the assassination of Arsames. These calamities were too much for the aged monarch, who died under the pressure of his domestic troubles. Ochus succeeded his father; and on his accession assumed the name of Artaxerxes III. No sooner did the intelligence of the death of the king reach Western Asia, than there was a general revolt. This would have been fatal to the ^pire, had not the lead- ers of the insurrection soon quarrelled among themselves, and so neutralized all their efforts. The danger, however, was sufficient to alarm the new king, and to excite his cruel disposition. Deter- mined that no revolted province should have any of the blood-royal to set up against him, and that none of his relatives should conspire against his authority, he adopted the horrid expedient of putting them all to death. The Princess Ocha, his own sister and mother-in- law, — for he had married her daughter, — he caused to be buried alive. He shut up one of his uncles, and one hundred of his sons and grandsons, in a court of the palace ; and then caused them to be shot at by archers, until they were all slain. But even these wholesale murders did not suffice to keep his sub- jects in awe : Artabazus, the satrap of Asia Minor, rebelled, and, having procured the assistance of an Athenian army, obtained sev- eral victories over the royal troops. The king, however, by large presents succeeded in inducing the Athenians to withdraw their forces from the contest. Artabazus then procured aid from the Thebans, and by their help was again successful; but again the influence of Persian gold induced these auxiliaries to return home. Thus left to his own resources, Artabazus was vanquished, and forced to take refuge at the court of Philip of Macedon. The king, flushed with this success, marched against the leaders of an insurrection which had been promoted by Phenicia, Egypt, and Cyprus. He first proceeded to Sidon, which city was treacherously thrown open to him, and instantly destroyed. This severity so terrified the other cities of Phenicia, that they submitted to the Persian king, who forthwith proceeded toward Egypt, which was completely sub- dued, and treated by the conqueror with the greatest tyranny and cruelty. Cyprus was also recovered, and made a Persian province; after which the king rewarded Mentor, his able military com- 284 THE GENXILB NATIONS. mander, according to Ws merits, and gave himself up to ease and dissipation. This conduct afforded his confidential eunuch Bagoas opportunity to effect a purpose which he appears to have formed in consequence of the king's impious attacks on the religion of Egypt. Bagoas was a native of that country ; and, when he saw the sacred Apis slain, dressed, and served up for a feast, might well burn with intense indignation. Whatever might be the cause, it is certain that Bagoas poisoned his master; and it is said that, burying another body instead, he actually gave the flesh of the king for food to animals. Having despatched the king, the guilty eunuch raised his youngest son Akses to the throne, and put all the others to death, that he might thus retain the power of governing in his own hand. (See Appendix, note 49.) Arses did not long retain even a nominal sovereignty : Bagoas, finding him less tractable than he expected, put him to death also ; and, not yet daring to assume the sovereignty himself, placed Darius sumamed Codomannus on the throne. This person, although of the blood-royal, was not the son of a king, but a junior member of the family, who escaped in an unaccountable manner when Artax- erxes III. destroyed the members of the royal house. In the war which that king waged with the Cadusians, one of those barbarians challenged the whole Persian army to find a man to fight him in single combat. When no one else offered, Codomannus accepted the challenge, and slew the Cadusian. For this noble act he was re- warded with the government of Armenia, from whence he was called by Bagoas to accept the imperial crown. Darius Codomannus, on entering upon the government of the empire, evinced even less disposition than his predecessor to be the servile creature of Bagoas, and was consequently doomed by that unscrupulous murderer to the same fate. The king, however, pene- trated his design; and when the deadly potion was presented to him, he compelled Bagoas to drink it himself, — thus disposing of the traitor by his own means. Having accomplished this, he acquired possession of imperial power without further danger. The throne of Persia, however, at this time was of little worth. Alex- ander of Macedon ascended the throne the same year with Darius, and found ready to his hand all the preparations which Philip had made for the invasion of Persia. By the time, therefore, that Darius had fairly entered upon the government of his great empire, the ambitious Greek was marshalling his host for its invasion. Darius appears to have done all that the disorganized and effem- inate state of his dominions rendered possible : but to resist, with THE GBNTIIiE NATIONS. 285 the means at his command, the genius and energy of Alexander, and the armour, discipline, and overwhelming power of the Macedonian phalanx, was impossible. In the second year of the reign of these kings, the battle of the Granicus was fought, and won by Alexander ; and from that day evferything pertaining to Persia really belongs to the history of Greece, which actually passed under the government of Alexander, as soon as the immense range of territory permitted him to take possession of it. Thus perished the Persian, or Medo-Persian empire, which arose into power by the military genius and indomitable energy of Cyrus, like a meteor among the nations of the East, — obtained an extent of territory and a consolidation of political and military power beyond ,any nation that had previously existed, — and, having fulfilled its destiny in the accomplishment of sacred prophecy, (see Appendix, note 50,) and especially in the restoration of the captive Hebrews to the land of their fathers, at length rapidly declined in all the elements of national strength, as it increased in disorganization, impiety, and crime. As a chapter in the history of the world, the annals of this empire present to our view the introduction of that system of policy by which one nation aggregated others into social, political, and mili- tary union with itself. Assyria stalked through the earth as a martial giant, robbing and crushing all by its immense power. Persia first expanded the grand idea of making an empire consist of united nations, just as a nation consists of associated districts. In the accomplishment of this result, the talents and energy of Darius were scarcely second to the genius of Cyrus. But how short-lived is the power of any people, unless continuously sus- tained by the influence of intelligence, morals, and religion ! CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF PERSIAN HISTORY. fi. C. Thames and Events. Persia, a province of the Assyrian empire. Kawali restores its in- dependence, and raises Feridoon to the throne. rEUIDOON. Manuchehee. NOUZEE. Zoo. Kershasp. (The chronology of these reigns is unknown.) Persia in subjection to J\Iedia. 560 Cyrus reigns in Persia. Subdues Media, B. C. 551 ; and Babylon; B. C. 536. By these and other conquests Cy- rus establishes the Medo-Persian empire. 529 Cambyses Conquers Egypt. B. C. Nflmes and Events. Reian"d Smerdis the Magian reigned 7 months. 521 Darius Hystaspis 3C Promotes building of Jerusalem. 485 Xerxes 2] Invades Greece. 464 Artaxerxes 41 423 Darius Nothus 19 404 Artaxerxes Mnemon 46 Cyrus, the king's brother, rebels, aided by the Ten Thousand Greeks. 358 Ochus, or Artaxerxes III 21 337 Arses is placed on the throne by the eunuch Bagoas, and after two years is put to death. 335 Darius Codomannus. Persia invaded by the Macedonian, and, after a short struggle, is subdued by Alexander. THE aENTILE NATIONS. 287 CHAPTER VIII. THE RELIGION OP THE PERSIANS. Impoetance and Difficulties of tlie Subject — Great Aid supplied by ancient Inscriptions — The Religion of Persia identical in its original Elements with that of Assyria and Babylon — Opinion of Jacob Bryant on the first Zoroaster — ^Its probable Import — The Magi — General Elements of the Persian Faith — Deity of the King — Palace-Temples — Paradises — Sacred Tree — Cherubic Figures — Divine Triad — ^Persian Peculiarities in this Symbol — The supreme Deity in Persia represented with the Head of a Bird — The Religious System of Zoroaster — The first Triad ; Cronus, Ormuzd, Ahriman — This changed to Ormuzd, Mithras, Ahriman — Their respective Character and Position — The Antagonism and Creations of Ormuzd and Ahriman — The Worship of Fire, its probable Origin — The System of Zoroaster professed to rest on Divine Revelation — The Creation of Angels, the World, and Mankind — General Accordance with Holy Scripture — The Fall of Man — The Prevalence of Evil — The Flood — Continuance of Depravity — Mission of Zoroaster — -The Spiritual Nature of Man — Future Judgment — Resurrection — Doc- trine of universal Restoration — Wicked Men, and even Ahriman, raised to Heaven — The Priesthood — Their Three Orders : Herboods, Mobeds, and the Dustoor — Altars and Temples — Perpetual Fire — Public Worship — Sacred Rites — Holy Water — Morals — Sound Principles mingled with much that is puerile and superstitious — The Faith of Persia formed a perfect Type of Papal Superstition — Observations on the Manner in which this Inquiry has been conducted — Folly of forming an Opinion on this Subject under the Influence of Grecian Mythology — Necessity of recognising the Founders of the Nation as Members of the great patriarchal Family — General View of the System. The authors of the " Universal History," in the beginning of a very unsatisfactory chapter under a* title similar to that which stands at the head of this, say, "There is hardly any subject which hath employed the pens of authors, ancient or modem, that deserves to be treated with greater accuracy, or to be read with more attention, than this which we are now about to discuss." In these sentiments we cordially concur; and may add, that there is hardly any subject which presents a wider or more formidable range of difficulties than those with which the religion of Persia is encompassed. It may be freely acknowledged that this has not been a neglected topic. On the contrary, scarcely anything connected with the con- dition of the ancient world has excited more attention, or provoked more violent controversy. The collision of opinion thus educed constitutes, in fact, one of the greatest difficulties which embarrass a dispassionate inquiry into the religion of ancient Persia. The reader will scarcely require to be informed, that every investigation of this subject must begin with the person and doctrines of Zoroas- ter, (see Appendix, note 51,) and that the results of the inquiry will 288 THE GENTILE NATIONS. mainly depend on the conclusions arrived at respecting the character and teaching of this sage. All that lahour and learning can do has been done, to collect and explain the passages bearing on this subject, which are found scat- tered through the pages of ancient authors. But, unfortunately, all these come to us through the agency of aliens or enemies. No native Persian, of the most brilliant period of her history, has left us a page respecting the religion of his country. Strangers, inquir- ing after the manners and customs of an ancient people, — hostile scribes, employed by those who had conquered the kingdom, — or the literati of other lands, picking up, at second-hand at best, what they could collect on this subject, — are the chief sources whence European scholars have had to draw their information respecting the faith of ancient Persia. It will readily occur to the reader, that, when placed in such circumstances, foreign authors do not afford us the best data from which to elicit sound information respecting- a system of re- ligious doctrines. Too much reliance must not, therefore, be placed on deductions from such sources. In one respect we approach this inquiry furnished with important aids to which the authors of preceding times were strangers. The historical information supplied by all the remaining literary fragments of antiquity can only lead to probable conjecture on many important points. We have, however, in our hands the recovered sculptures of the east ; and, by the light they afford, can not only form sound opinions respecting the meaning of these fragments, but actually enlarge the information which they communicate, and even correct their statements, when partial or mistaken. In the first place, then, it is an undoubted fact, that the religion of Persia was reared on precisely the same foundation as that of Assyria. That the palace-temples were built on the same general plan in both countries is unquestionable, and has been proved beyond the possibility of ^ doubt by Mr. Fergusson in his very valuable work. (See Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis, passim.) And this is not a mere isolated circumstance, remotely connected with the subject, as might at first appear to us under the influence of our European habits and ideas : it stands in immediate relation to the ruling element of this great religious system. It involves the character of the whole structure of the religious fabric. As was shown in the case of Assyria, — the peculiar compound of divine and regal dignity sustained by the king was really the centre of the whole system of faith. He was emphatically, by divine right, the religious, as well as the political, head of the people. His person was sacred: his official residence united the characters of palace a?id THE 8ENTILE NATIONS. 289 temple. In fact, we have in this single circumstance a common principle which substantially identifies the great scheme of Persian religion with that of the more ancient kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon. Lest, however, it should be supposed that I build too much on a single circumstance, I will satisfy the reader by quotin;^' a passage from Dr. Layard, which will be found conclusive. "Although," observes that indefatigable explorer, " we may not at present possess sufficient materials to illustrate the most ancient Sabseanism of the Assyrians, we may, I think, pretty confidently judge of the nature of the worship of a later period. The symbols and religious ceremo- nies represented at Khorsabad and Kouyunjik, and on the cylinders, are identical with those of the ancient monuments of Persia : at the same time, the sculptures of Persepolis, in their mythic character, resemble in every respect those of the Assyrians. We have the same types and groups to embody ideas of the divinity, and to con- vey sacred subjects. When the close connexion, in early ages, between religion and art is borne in mind, it will be at once con- ceded, that a nation like the Persian would not borrow mere forms without attaching to them their original signification. The connexion, as exhibited by art, between Assyria and Persia, is sufficient, I think, to prove the origin of the symbols and myths of the Persians." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 441, and note. There appears, therefore, sufficient reason for believing that Persia adopted the religious system and symbols of the Assyrian empire, as the foundation of her faith and ceremonial rites. This will afford us better means for fully apprehending the general scope and particular elements of this economy, than we should otherwise possess. It may also be fairly questioned whether this is not what we are to understand by " the first Zoroaster." The learned Jacob Bryant says : " Of men called Zoroaster, the first was a deified personage, reverenced by some of his posterity, whose worship was styled Magic, and the professors of it Magi ; and the institutors of those rites which related to Zoroaster. From them this worship was imparted to the Persians, who likewise had their Magi. And when the Babylonians sunk into a more complicated idolatry, the Persians, who succeeded to the sovereignty of Asia, renewed under their princes, and particularly under Darius, the son of Hystaspes, these rites, which had been, in a great degree, effaced and forgotten. That king was devoted to the religion of the Magia, and looked upon it as one of his most honourable titles to be called a professor of those doctrines. By Zoroaster was denoted both the deity, and also his 19 , 290 THE GENTILE KATIOXS. priest. It was a name conferred upon many personages." — Analysis of Anaient Mythology, vol. ii, p. 389. See note. It seems therefore to be very probable, that the antiquity and Chaldffian origin of what is called " the first Zoroaster," is nothing more than an oriental mode of covering the foreign origination of the religion of Persia ; just as the period of Assyrian domination was represented under the figure of the reign of the tyrant Zohauk for a thousand years. Hence Layard says : " The identity of the Assyrian and Persian systems appears also to be pointed out by the uncertainty which exists as to the birthplace and epoch of Zoroaster. Accord- ing to the best authorities he was a Ohaldyean, who introduced his doctrines into Persia and Central Asia. The Persians themselves may be supposed to have recognised the Assyrian source of their religion, when they declared Perseus, the founder of their race, to have been an Assyrian." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 443. While, therefore, all exact information respecting the person spoken of as " the first Zoroaster," and the origin of this faith, is lost in the obscurity of remote antiquity, there can still be little doubt that it emanated from Assyria, and from thence passed into Persia. Another circumstance is worthy of notice, as casting some light on the nature and progress of this religion. The priests were called Magi ; and, according to Herodotus, during the most flourishing period of the Medo-Persian empire they were regarded as the only minis- ters of the national religion. (Clio, ca.p. c.xxxii.) But they consti- tuted one of the six tribes of the nation of Medes. (Clio, cap. ci.) It seems that, even after they were regarded as sustaining this sacred character, they had not altogether lost their sense of national identity and partiality. For it is evident that Cambyses regarded the reign of the Magian Smerdis as equivalent to the restoration of the sovereignty of the empire from Persia to Media; and hence we find the son of Cyrus, in his last illness, entreating the Persian nobles in his army to resist the usurpation of the Magi, and not to "permit the empire to revert to the Medes." (Thalia, cap. Iv.) The government of the Magi, then, was regarded as a ^iledian gov- ernment, — a fact which is further proved by the wholesale slaughter of these priests after the death of Smerdis ; of which it is said, that if night had not interposed its darkness just at the time when it did, the Magi would have been all destroyed. (Thalia, cap. Ix.xi.x.) But we have no means of ascertaining the manner in which this Median tribe obtained their sacerdotal character and ascendency ; nor have we any information as to the way in which, or the period when, the ChaldaBan mystic faith was deposited with this race of priests. It will now be necessary to notice some of the leading, original, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 291 and essential elements of this religion. We will then furnish a general view of it, after it had been reformed and remodelled by Zoroaster. It has been already observed, that the palace-temples of Persia were precisely similar in their general character to those of Assyria and Babylon ; and, as was intimated, this fact shows the general identity of the two systems. This view is confirmed by a reference to all the essential features of this religious scheme. The divine character assumed by the king, under the direction of the Magi, is shown by the decree of Darius, that for a certain time no prayer was to be offered to any god or man, save unto the king only. This was also attested by the rigid religious reverence with which ap- proach to the person of the king was prohibited, so that neither man nor woman was permitted to enter " the inner court " of the palace, unless specially invited to do so, on pain of death. Esther iv, 11. Those who were privileged with admission, were not permitted to smile or spit in the royal presence. (Clio, cap. xcix.) But we are assured that this respect and reverence issued in actual adoration ; that, in fact, the king stood, in the estimation of his subjects, "on the same level with the gods." The real worship of the sovereign was therefore a public duty of universal obligation. " None durst appear before the king without prostrating themselves on the ground ; nay, they were all obliged, at what distance soever the king appeared, to pay him that adoration. Nor did they exact it only from their own vassals, but also from foreign ministers and am- bassadors ; the captain of the guard being charged to inquire of those who asked admission to the king, whether they tuere ready to adore him. If they refused to comply with that ceremony, they were told that the king's ear was open to such only as were willing to pay him that homage ; so they were forced to transact the business with which they were charged, by means of the kings servants or eunuchs. (Plu- tarch, in Vita Themistoclis.) Indeed, the Persians gloried in this. Hence we find Artabanus, in his conference with Themistocles, observing, 'Among those many excellent laws of ours, the most excellent is this, that the king is to he honoured and worshipped religiously, as the image of that God which conserveth all things.' " — Ancient Universal History, vol. iv, p. 77. In all other respects, the similarity between the ancient religion of Persia and that of Assyria holds good. The palace- temple of this adored sovereign was attached to a paradise with a sacred stream and trees. The compound cherubic figures are found in the sculptures of Persepolis and other ruins of Persia, as they are at Nimbrod, Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik. The sacred tree occurs 292 THE GENTILE NATIONS. with all the prominence in Persia that it does in Assyria. The triadic figure of the man, wings, and circle, is found over the head of Darius Hystaspis on the sacred rock at Behistun, as over the head of Sennacherib in his capital. All this indubitably attests the iden- tity of these systems beyond the possibility of mistake. There are, indeed, peculiarities in some of these cases, which it may be necessary to mention. The triadic figure, with the circle, wings, and human form, is found nowhere more frequently, or in greater perfection, than in Persia. And this is by Layard, and other respectable authors, frequently called Ormuzd, that being the name usually given to the supreme god by the ancient Persians. I rather incline, however, to the opinion that the human figure in this symbol represented, according to times and circumstances, both Ormuzd and Mithras. The Zen- davesta recognises as a fundamental principle Zerwan, — a term which is understood to denote "time," — time in its widest range, without beginning and without end. This will be perceived to be identical with the first personality in the Chaldaean triad, which was stated to be Cronos, or " Time." There can be no doubt that in both countries this was a title given to the great father, or the patriarch of the tribe or nation. How far the most ancient triad of Persia represented three hero-gods — Oromasdes, Arimanius, and Mithras — I shall not undertake to decide : but the learned Mosheim has supported this opinion with great skill and erudition. (See Ap- pendix, note 52.) The human figure with the head of a bird, which on the Assyrian sculptures was called Nisroch or Assarac, is here represented as setting forth the great God. The first of the triads of Zoroaster preserved by Eusebius is to this effect : " But god is he that has the head of a hawk. He is the first, indestructible, eternal, unbegotten, indivisible, dissimilar; the dispenser of all good; incorruptible; the best of the good, the wisest of the wise : he is the father of equity and justice, self-taught, physical, and perfect, and wise, and the only inventer of the sacred philosophy." This seems to render it cer- tain that, whatever usage obtained in Assyria, this form was chosen to represent the supreme Deity in Persia. The Dabistan (Shea and Troyer's Trans., vol. i, p. 36) confirms this view. It states : " The image of the regent Hormuzd (Jupiter) was of an earthly colour, in the shape of a man with a vulture's face : on his head a crown, on which were the faces of a cock and a dragon ; in the right hand a turban, and in the left a crystal ewer." On this passage Mr. Fergusson remarks : " ' Pitcher ' would be a more cor- rect word than ' ewer,' to judge from the form of the vessel he carries THE GENTILE NATIONS. 293 on the sculptures ; but from the same authority, we should read 'fir- cone' for 'turban.' Can it be an error of description by some one mistaking one object for the other? The fir-cone is not unlike the Persian lamb-skin or Parsee cap." — Nineveh and Persepolis, p. 295. We see, therefore, that as far as any light has been cast on the prse-Zoroasterian period of the Persian religion, although it bears evident marks of a local and national character, it nevertheless accords in all its essential elements with that which had previously obtained in Babylon and Assyria. The more important part of our task is, however, to exhibit this religion after its reformation. Our first attempt will be directed to the attainment of some definite idea of its theology. At first, as 1 have already intimated, Zoroaster assumed the existence of a primary principle or deity named Zerwan, or " Time." From this incomprehensible being, we are told, there arose the two great active powers of the universe — Ormdzd, the principle of all good ; and Aheiman, the principle of all evil. " And," observes Mr. Fraser, in his judicious outline of this faith, " the question why light and darkness, good and evil, were mingled together by a benefi- cent and omnipotent Creator, has been as much controverted among the Magian priesthood as by modern metaphysicians." — Histcry of Persia, p. 150. These three appear to have formed the primitive Persian triad, and to have been represented by the circular ring, denoting the boundless Eternal as Cronos or Time ; Ormuzd, in a human form, in the centre; Ahriman being set forth by a serpent which, encompassing the figure in its folds, passes his head out on one side and his tail on the other. As it is utterly impossible, at the present day, to separate the actual tenets of the Persian reformer from the elements of the ancient faith previously received, no positive assertion can be ad- vanced on this point, — although 1 have little doubt that some close approximation to this triad was common, long before Zoroaster. If we may rely on the induction of Mosheim, it would seem that in the early and isolated position of ancient Persia, Oromasdes, Ari- manius, and Mithras formed the national triad of hero-gods. Sub- sequently, an intercourse with other countries having made more prominent the great eternal God, and the author of all evil these were introduced, one as the first, and the other as the third, of the triad, which accordingly was exhibited as the combination of a circle, a human figure, and a serpent, under the names of Zerwan, Ormuzd, and Ahriman. Whether the last-mentioned triad was the produc- tion of Zoroaster, or otherwise, it was not the last effort of his reforming genius jn respect of theology. For we are informed, that 294 THE GENTILE NATIONS. wlien the malignity of Ahriman led him to put forth all his powers to frustrate the benevolent designs of Ormuzd toward mankind, Mithras was brought into being, as a mediator between the Deity and his creatures. It is not perfectly clear to what extent this new creation affected the divine triad, but it seems very likely that the first cause of all things, or Zerwan, was in this respect lost sight of and Mithras placed in the centre, as the mediator embodied in human form. This change seems to be indicated in the Zoroastrian Oracle: " The Father perfected all things, and delivered them over to the Second Mind, whom all nations of men call the First :" — a remarkable con- fession of the fact that, by the multiplication of deities, the great eternal God, although once recognised as the first cause of all things, was ultimately lost sight of, and superseded by other deities. Ac- cording to Psellus, a Greek commentator on this oracle, it- would seem that this was supposed to arise from the ignorance of people generally respecting the plurality of hypostases in the Deity. For his gloss upon the oracle just quoted is to this effect : " The first Father of the Trinity, having produced this whole creation, deliv- ered it to Mind, or Intellect : which Mind the whole generation of mankind, being ignorant of the paternal transcendency, commonly call ' the First God.' " Ormuzd, Mithras, and Ahriman became, therefore, the recognised divine triad of the Magi, the First Great Cause having dropped out of their code. This supposition is fully confirmed by Plutarch, the earliest and ablest writer who has given us any account of this religious system. He observes : " They say that Zoroaster made a threefold distribution of things ; and that he assigned the first and highest rank of them to Oromasdes, who in the oracles is called ' the Father ;' the lowest to Arimanes ; and the middle to Mithras, who in the same oracles is likewise called ' the Second Mind.' " — De hide et Osiride, p. 370. Thus did the genius of Zoroaster modify the ancient theology of Persia, and introduce corresponding changes into the national sym- bols of this triad of divinities. It now becomes necessary that we form some definite conception of these several personalities. Oripuzd is spoken of as the supreme god, and invoked in this character on all occasions. The term Ormuzd signifies " great king ;" and he is called " luminous, brilliant." His attributes are perfect purity, intelligence, justice, power, acthity, and beneficence. He is, indeed, regarded as a perfect image of the Eternal, " the centre and author of the perfections of all nature, the first creative agent produced by the Self-existent." THE GENTILE NATIONS. 295 Now it has been contended that the Persians believed in and worshipped only the one true God. The authors of the " Universal History" roundly assert this; and Dr. Prideaux joins with them, as a disciple of Hyde, to this extent also ; but with this difference, — that while the former omit all mention of Ormuzd, the learned author of the " Connexion" alludes to Ormuzd and Ahriman as " two angels." Happily we can now correct the speculations of these eminent scholars by the words used by the Persians them- selves. We have the language dictated by Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes, in our hands. We know their thoughts and sentiments from their words, and of course have the means of ascertaining the objects of their worship. What, then, is the fact ? Did the kings and people of ancient Persia worship the eternal God, whom they are supposed to have known, and treat Ormuzd as a created angel r On the contrary, Darius Hystaspis, the contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, in his inscription on the sacred rock at Behistun, invokes Ormuzd as the supreme god. "Says Darius the king: — Ormuzd has granted me the empire. Ormuzd has brought help to me, until I have gained this empire. By the grace of Ormuzd, I hold this empire." — Column I, par. 9. And on the tomb of Darius at Makhsh-i-Rustam is inscribed : " The great god Ormuzd, (he it was) who gave this earth, who gave that heaven, who gave mankind, who gave life to mankind, who made Darius king, as well the king of the people as the lawgiver of the people." This is decisive as to Ormuzd being regarded not merely as an angel, but as a real divinity. The following sentence, taken from an inscription of Xerxes, not only confirms this opinion, but proves that while Ormuzd was regarded as a god, he was not worshipped as the only deity revered by the ancient Persians : " The great god Ormuzd, the chief of the gods, (he it is) who has given this world, who has given that heaven, who has given mankind, who has given life to mankind, who has made Xerxes king." Ormuzd was, therefore, regarded as a god, and as the chief of the gods. The pure theism of the Persians, then, under the AchEBmenian dynasty, vanishes before the knowledge supplied by the ancient inscriptions. Mithras, according to this system, was created or produced by Ormuzd, to act as mediator between him and his creatures, and thus to counteract the malevolent designs of Ahriman. The mediatorial character of this deity was so strongly marked, and so universally recognised, that Plutarch affirms that " the Persians, from their god Mithras, called any mediator, or middle betwixt two, Mithrnx." It has been conjectured that this introduction of Mithras into the 296 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Persian theology was the great reforming work of Zoroaster in thi3 direction; and that the old triad — whether composed of Time, Ormuzd, and Ahriman, as the great God, with two others proceed- ing from him ; the first, the author of all good ; the second, of all evil ; or of Oromasdes, Arimanius, and Mithras, as national hero- deities— Avas by this reforming Magian made to accord with the new views which he promulgated respecting the promised Redeemer and the great spiritual adversary of mankind, and exhibited as Ormuzd, Mithras, and Ahriman. Hence Porphyry refers to this Mithras as the great object of Zoroaster's labour, and at the same time as the creator of the world : " Zoroaster first of all, as Eubulus testifieth, in the mountains adjoining to Persia, consecrated a native orbicular cave, adorned with flowers, and watered with fountains, to the honour of Mithras, the maker and father of all things ; this cave being an image or symbol to him of the whole world, which was made by Mithras." — Porphyrius, De Antra Nymph., p. 254. We can scarcely doubt from this description that the cave of Zoroaster was so devised as to represent not only the creation of the world, but also the garden, the primitive residence of man. But, however this may be, it is certain that this last- described form of the theologic triad in Persia assumed precisely the same position as that of Assyria occupied in the national estimation. Indeed, the professed identity of person between the king and the second person of this triad is rather more strongly marked than was the case in the older country. For not only did the Persian monarchs make a more open and absolute claim to divinity than the Assyrian kings : they also made their identity with the second person, or human form, in the sacred triad, more fully apparent. It will be remem- bered that in Assyria the human figure in the triad was always rep- resented in precisely the same attitude as the king. On the monu- ments of Persia this resemblance is carried much further. The human figure which arises from the winged circle is here "the very miniature of the monarch below;" (Landseer's Sabcean Researches, p. 2Uy ;) so that, in the language of sculpture, this fact seems to say, " He who now walks the earth and reigns below, is identical with the second divine personality which shines in the sacred triad above." Ahriman, the third personality in this triad, and the personifica- tion of the evil one, must be next noticed. He is described as essentially wicked : but it seems doubtful whether he was originally so. In one place he is represented "as a power originally good, but who, like Lucifer, fell from that high estate through rebellion and disobedience. Ormuzd gives the following metaphorical picture THE SBNTILB NATIONS. 297 of his rival: — He is alone, — wicked, impure, accursed. He has long knees, a long tongue, and is void of good. He is called a king, however, and said to be without end." — Eraser's History of Persia, p. 152. " M. du Perron concludes, that Zoroaster meant to assign priority of existence to Ahriman ; and that, full of his own perfections, and blinded as to the extent of his power, when he beheld in Ormuzd a being of equal might, jealousy rendered him furious, and he rushed into evil, seeking the destruction of everything calculated to exalt his rival's glory. The Great Ruler of events, displeased at his arro- gance, condemned him to inhabit that portion of space unillumined by light. Ormuzd, as he sprang into existence, saw his malicious adversary, and made vain efforts to annihilate him. The Eternal bestowed on him the power of calling into being a pure world ; while, as if the impulses of good and evil were simultaneous, Ahri- man immediately opposed to it a world of impurity." — Eraser's History of Persia, p. 151. It is, however, important to observe that this malignant being was worshipped in the best days of Persia as truly divine. Hesychius, following the usual practice of the Greeks in giving their own names to foreign deities of a similar character, says, "Arimanius among the Persians is Hades," or Pluto. And Plutarch observes that, on the arrival of Themistocles at the Persian court, Xerxes " prayed to Arimanius, that his enemies might ever be so infatuated as to drive from among them their ablest men ; that he offered sacri- fices to the gods," — and undoubtedly to the god to whom he had prayed, as the most prominent of them. Besides this triad of deities, the Persians are said to have adored the sun and fire, as real gods ; while, on the other hand, it is con- tended that neither of these was regarded as truly divine, but both as the tabernacles of the Deity, or as the fairest and best exhibitions of his character. However this may have been, the ever-burning fire was kept flaming on the Persian altars. There were certain places consecrated to this purpose, which were called by the Greek writers Pyrcetheia. Bach of these contained an altar enclosed with gratings, within which none but the Magi, who had the charge of these fires, were permitted to enter. Thither these went every day, with a bundle of rods in their hands, when they remained an hour in adoration, and in supplying the everlasting fire. This element of the Persian religion is one of great importance, and deserves atten- tive consideration. Its origin is described by Firdusi in a strain of romantic poetry : but little real light has been cast by ancient writers, or oriental authors generally, on this recondite subject. 298 THE GENTILE NATIONS. It has for a long time been fashionable to describe the adoration of the heavenly bodies as the primitive worship of mankind, on account of their glorious appearance ; and the worship of fire, as the next step in the progress of idolatry, fire being the most natural and active representative of the solar orb. But all this is unsupported by the slightest historical evidence. The account given by Maimo- nides, (Patriarchal Age, p. 235,) and by Sanchoniatho, (Cory's Fragments, p. 7,) referring as they do to antediluvian times, cannot be said to bear on this subject. Looking, then, to the fire-worship of Persia, it appears that nothing like ancient evidence of the man- ner or period of the introduction of this idolatry is attainable. We are therefore left to a reasonable induction from admitted facts. It has been already intimated, that the general opinion of authors on this subject has been given in favour of the origin of this practice in the way of scientific or philosophical reasoning : as if in primi- tive times mankind were found without any idea of God, and were thus led to the most likely natural objects for exhibiting to their minds the divine character and attributes. I am compelled fully and frankly to declare that I altogether dissent from this opinion. I do not believe that mankind in the early ages of the world were ever found in this state, or ever formed their theological notions on such grounds. On the contrary, the whole scope of our researches into the history and religion of the eastern nations establishes the judg- ment, that the details of the ancient idolatry, beyond the grand system of apostasy devised at Shinar, did not arise from philosophi- cal reasoning, but from a corruption of primitive tradition. J^or does there appear to be any reasonable doubt that the wor- ship of fire was introduced in this manner. It is a known fact, that the first manifestation of Grod to the fallen pair was connected with an infolding fire ; and that this was continued in some manner throughout patriarchal times. It seems to follow as a natural result, that when the minds of men were perverted to idolatrous practices, fire, which had from the beginning stood so intimately connected with the manifestations of Grod and his worship, should itself be held sacred, and become an object of adoration. (See Ap- pendix, note 53.) This exposition accounts for the conflicting opinions which have been expressed respecting the nature of the reverence entertained for the sacred fire ; some asserting, with the authors of the " Universal History," that the " fire before which the Persians worship, — taking that word in an extended sense, — they acknowledge nothing of divinity therein; but, esteeming it a symbol of the Deity, they prostrate themselves before it, and then, standing up, they pray to THE GENTILE NATIONS. 299 God;" (Ancient Universal History, vol. iv, p. 86;) while others allege that " fire held a distinguished rank among the Persian gods. The fire was, therefore, in that country, the holiest of all things. It was always carried about with their kings, wherever they went; they addressed their prayers chiefly to it; and even when they attended the service of any other god, they first offered up a prayer to the fire." — Christmas's Universal Mythology, p. 136. Both these opinions may be perfectly correct, if taken to apply to different times and circumstances. Among the primitive patriarchs there might have been a reveren- tial remembrance of the infolding fire cherished for a long time; and the Persian faith, as reformed by Zoroaster, might in this particular, as it was unquestionably in many others, have been made to approach so nearly to that of the Hebrews, as to have a perpetual fire maintained on the altar, which was to be always used for sacred purposes, but not as in any measure in itself divine : while it is equally possible, and even probable, that, under the operation of this insti- tution, the sacred fire might in process of time become an object of profane adoration. Having said thus much on the theology of this system, it will be necessary to proceed to detail other elements of this religion. It may, then, be observed, in the next place, that this system, as reformed by Zoroaster, professed to be sanctioned by divine revela- tion. The stated object of this sage was " to revive the original purity of the law, to perfect its doctrines, and to enforce its observ- ances:" — a scheme as grand in its design, and as clearly defined in its means, as was ever propounded by mortal man. To crown the whole, the Persian reformer declared that he had not only diligently collected and arranged the fundamental parts of the pure primitive creed, separating these from all the errors which had been introduced, but that he had also received from Ormuzd new revelations, which greatly added to the sacred code, and improved the institutions of religious worship : so that the religion of Zoroaster professed to rest on the basis of the clear and explicit teaching of divine revela- tion. As we have already intimated, this system distinctly taught, as a first principle, "that God existed from all eternity, and was like infinity of time and space;" but that, besides this supreme Deity, there were two great principles essentially opposed to each other, as light and darkness, good and evil, Ormuzd and Ahriman. Of these we have already spoken : but it is important to add that the agent employed by the Almighty in the production of these opposite principles is his Word, — a sacred and mysterious being frequently 300 THE GENTILE NATIONS. mentioned in the Avesta, under the appellations of Honover and lam. This being is said to possess " ineffable light, perfect activity, and unerring prescience ;" and is the agent by whom every creative act of the Eternal is performed. The first act of antagonism between the principles of light and darkness which this system reveals, was the creation by Ormuzd of the universe and its celestial inhabitants. These were the Ferohers, or the spiritual prototypes, — the " unembodied angels," — of every reasonable being destined to live upon earth. Ahriman, alarmed and enraged at these productions of his rival, flew with malign intent toward the light; but a single intimation from the Wokd, or Iam, sent him howling back into darkness, where he immediately called into being a host of deeves and evil spirits, which were designed to oppose the works of Ormuzd. According to this scheme of faith, at that period a proposal was made to Ahriman of peace and amity, accompanied by an exhorta- tion to return to the paths of virtue. This, however, he rejected with scorn and defiance. Ormuzd then created six superior guardian angels : Bahman, to whose charge was intrusted the animal creation ; Ardibehesht, the genius of fire and light, the guardian of all fires; Shahriwar, the spirit of the metal and the mine ; Espendermad, the female guardian of the earth ; Kourdad, who presides over running streams ; and Amerdad, who watches over the growth of plants and trees. (Dabistan, vol. i, pp. 241-243.) Immediately when these six angels arose into being to further the holy designs of Ormuzd, six deeves were produced from the darkness by the voice of Ahriman, to promote his malignant purposes. In those contests a fabulous period of time is said to have elapsed,,at the end of which " Ormuzd called into being the heavens and their celestial systems, the earth with its complicated productions ; and fire was given as the repre- sentative of that divine and original elerhent which animates all nature. Serooch, the guardian of the earth, and Behram, armed ' with a mighty club and arrows, were formed to repel the attacks of Ahriman. Mythra, the mediator between Ormuzd and his creatures, and Rash Rast, the genius of justice, with multitudes of spirits, were called forth to assist in repelling the powers of darkness ; and angels were appointed to protect every being. The stars and planets, the months of the year, the days and even watches of the day, had each their attendant spirit : all nature teems with them ; all space is pervaded by them." — Eraser's History of Persia, p. 156. Through the agency of these spiritual beings a long period of peace and tranquillity is supposed to have been maintained, until the purpose of Ormuzd to create man awakened afresh the malignant THE GENTILE NATIONS. 301 activity of Ahriman. The Feroher being delighted with the tran- quillity which prevailed on earth, Ormuzd sent it thither, that it might assist in eradicating evil, promising that the souls of human beings should finally return to their divine mansions. The Feroher consequently descended, and was embodied in the form of the sacred bull, Aboudad, the man-bull, the excellent, the pure, the principle of all good. Ahriman, in the depths of hell, trembled at these proceedings, and, mustering all his evil spirits, ascended to the earth in the form of a monstrous serpent, when he covered the surface of the world with noxious animals ; and, in the shape of a huge fly, he polluted every- thing by insinuating the poison of evil into all nature. By means of a burning drought he parched the face of the whole earth, and caused his deeves to inflict a fatal wound on the sacred bull. But Ormuzd had taken care that his benign purposes should not be so defeated. " From the right limb of the dying beast issued Kayomurz, the first man ; and from the rest of its members sprung a multitude of those vegetable productions destined to render the earth fruitful. Its seed, carried to the moon, and purified by Ormuzd, produced a bull and a cow, from whence all animals took their origin." Kayomurz was beautiful, pure, and intended to be immortal. But neither his virtue nor the power of Ormuzd could save him from the malignant energy of Ahriman, who, after a severe conflict, succeeded in destroying him. Still Ormuzd was steady to his pur- pose. The principle of regeneration, being preserved, and confided to the tutelar genius of fire, was purified by the light of the sun, and after forty years produced a plant, or tree, representing two human bodies : these were Maschia and Maschiana, the parents of the human race. In the whole of this narrative of creation we find a very interest- ing analogy to the history of Moses : and it is not improbable that some of the apparent extravagance and fable with which we now find it invested, were originally patriarchal traditions, not altogether devoid of truth and meaning. At all events, we have here an account of the existence and pursuits of holy and evil angels : a fanciful account, it is true, but yet one which strongly asserts the fact, and proves it to have been an undoubted element of popular belief Here also is a statement of the elevated condition in which human nature was first formed, — man's name signifying immortality, and his condition being conformed to the mind of Ormuzd. Equally significant is the account of the fatal wound inflicted by the evil one. Nor should we regard as mere fable the reproduction of human nature in a vegetable form; especially as we are told, in 302 THE GENTILE NATIONS. explanation, that the names given to the pair of mortals, according to M. Du Perron, signify " death," and that they were regarded as the children of earth just in like manner as a tree which is nourished by the soil in which it grows, and the heavens by which it is be- dewed. But the effects of the Fall, and the progress of depravity, are carried by the Avesta still further. For although Maschia and Maschiana were supposed, notwithstanding their humble condition, to have been created pure, we are told that they were tempted to rebel, and even to worship Ahriman. In consequence of this crown- ing iniquity, they were cut oif, and consigned to hell, there to remain until the resurrection, while the earth was overrun with incarnate evil spirits. These were destroyed by a general flood. Still the descendants of the first human pair increased in number ; and the activity and power of the evil principle also increased; until at length, to defeat the malice of the evil one, and to shield human beings from the effects of his power, Ormuzd decreed to give a new and authorized promulgation of his law through Zoroaster. It is observable here, that the genius of this entire system is the antagonism of two opposite and equally potent principles, — good and evil. The intimate union of these in everything rendered it impossible, according to this theory, to destroy the works of Ahri- man, who was himself indestructible. Consequently the entire ground-work and argument of this faith were the incessant collisions and alternate preponderance of these rival influences on human and rational agents. The nature of man, by this scheme, is exhibited in a peculiar aspect. Kayomurz is described in glowing terms, as of lofty aspect, pure and dazzling substance. His body was composed of the four elements, — fire, air, water, and earth; and was united to an immor- tal spirit, by which it was animated. But the soul of man, instead of being considered as a simple essence and individual spirit, was regarded by Zoroaster as com- pounded of five separate parts, each having its distinct and peculiar office. First, the Feroher, or principle of sensation. This was regarded as having existed previously. In fact, it seems that this system taught that Ferohers were created by Ormuzd for every individual destined to appear upon earth ; and that they remained, until the birth of the body, in their spiritual abode. Secondly, the Boe, or principle of intelligence. Thirdly, the Rouh, or Rouan, the principle of practical judgment, imagination, volition. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 303 Fourthly, the Akho, or principle of conscience. Fifthly, the Jan, or principle of animal life. The four principles named first in order cannot subsist in the body without the last. When, therefore, they leave their earthly abode, the Jan mingles with the winds, and is thus separated from the other principles and dispersed. At death the Akho, also, is separated from the other elements of the soul : for, as its oiEce led it always to urge the mind to do good, and to avoid evil, it cannot be regarded as partaking in the guilt of the soul, or as punishable for its crimes : so that, when the body ceases to exist, the Akho returns to heaven, where it continues in a state of separate existence similar to that of the Feroher before the birth of the individual. According to this system, the Boe, the Rouan, and the Feroher, united together, form the responsible soul, and, as such, are held accountable for the deeds of the man, and will accordingly be examined in respect of them at the last judgment. But, according to the tenets of Zoroaster, nothing is annihilated at death ; the materials of the body rejoin their respective elements, — earth to earth, water to water, fire to fire, and the life to air. It is believed that, for three days after death, the soul hovers around the body, hoping to be again united to it. On the fourth the angel Seroch comes and conducts it to the bridge of Chinevad, where it is ap- pointed to its destiny until the resurrection. On this bridge, which connects earth with heaven, sits the angel of justice. Rash Rast, to weigh the actions of mortals ; and according to his decision the soul is permitted to pass along the bridge into heaven, or is cast over, and falls into the gulf of hell, which yawns beneath. If the good deeds of the individual preponderate, the soul is met on the bridge by a dazzling figure, which thus addresses it : ''I am thy good angel (Kherdar) : 1 was pure originally, but thy good deeds have rendered me purer;" and, passing his hand over the neck of the blessed soul, the angel leads it to paradise. If, how- ever, the sins of the deceased person preponderate, he is met on the bridge by a hideous spectre, which howls out, "I am thy evil Kherdar : impure myself, thy sins have rendered me more foul ; through thee we shall be miserable until the resurrection ;" on which it drags the condemned spirit to hell, where Ahriman, as a perfect Satan, taunts it with its folly and its crimes. In this system the body is not regarded as subject to future retribution, being consid- ered as a mere instrument in the power of the Rouan, and therefore not responsible for its acts. The doctrine of a future judgment is prominent among the tenets of Zoroaster. During the last ages of the world the power of Ahri- 304 THE SENTILB NATIONS. maa mil prevail, and in consequence desolation and misery be extended over the earth. Then the three prophets will appear ; the last of whom, Sosioch, will be the .precursor of the general judgment and the renewal of nature. Strange as it may seem, the judgment shall be preceded by a general resurrection. Although the human body was not thought sufficiently identified with the moral conduct of the person to make it a partaker of its sorrow or joy in the inter- mediate period between death and judgment, yet the material frame was destined to be restored and reunited to the soul. Accordingly the Avesta taught that the genii of the elements, who had received the various component parts of all human bodies in charge, will on this great day of account be called upon to render up their trust. " The soul will recognise its earthly companion, and reenter it. The juice of the herb Horn, and the milk of the bull Heziosk, will restore life to man, who then becomes immortal. Then begins the final separation of the good from the evil. Sinners who have not in the intermediate state expiated their faults, are again sent to hell, but not for eternal punishment. The tortures of three awful days and nights, equal to an agony of three thousand years, suffice for the punishment of the most wicked. The voice of the damned, ascending to heaven, will find mercy in the soul of Ormuzd, who will withdraw them from' the place of torment. The world shall melt with fervent heat; and the liquid and glowing metals shall purify the universe, and fit all beings for everlasting felicity. To the just, this ordeal proves a pleasant bath of milk- warm water : the wicked, on the other hand, shall suffer excruciating agonies ; but it shall be the last of their miseries. Hell itself and all its demons shall be cleansed. Ahriman, no longer irreclaimable, will be converted to goodness, and become a ministering spirit of the Most High." — Eraser's History of Persia, p. 161. These kindred sentiments as to the final salvation of lost men and devils, are most unequivocally taught in the sacred books of this religious system. We read, " But above all he (Zardasht) has said, ' God has commanded me : Say thou to mankind, they are not to abide in hell forever ; when their sins are expiated, they are deliv- ered out of it.' " — DabistAn, vol. i, p. 263. The ultimate fate of Ahriman is stated in the Zend Avesta as follows : " That unjust, that rmpure being, who is a Div but in his thoughts ; that dark king of the Darwands, who understands nothing but evil ; he shall at the resurrection recite the Avesta, and not only himself practise the law of Ormuzd, but establish it even in the habitations of the Dar- wands. Moreover, it is said that Ahriman, that lying serpent, shall at the end of ages be purified by fire, as well as the earth be freed THE GENTILE NATIONS. 305 from the dark abode of hell. Ormuzd and Ahriman, accompaBied by all the good and evil genii, shall sing the praises of the Author of all good." — Dabistdn, vol. i, p. 358. It will now be necessary to afford some information respecting the priesthood, and the ceremonies, rites, and worship of this system. The priesthood were the Magi, originally a tribe of the Median nation, (see p. 290,) but who, by means now inscrutable, had secured to themselves the influential and honourable position of religious teachers' and priests, not only among their own people, but also throughout Persia. This office, even after it became so widely ex- tended, did not merge into the general mass of the community, but continued to be hereditary in the same tribe. Of this priesthood there were three gradations, or orders, — Her- boods, or ordinary priests ; Mobeds, or superior priests ; and the Dustoor, or superintending priest. The Herboods were the lowest class of the Magi; and, as far as we can now form any conception of their duties, it would seem that their office bore some analogy to that of the Hebrew Levites, except- ing that the Herboods were competent to sacrifice. Unlike other ancient nations, the Persians did not allow a layman to sacrifice. The presence of one of the Magi was essential to the performance of this rite. Above this lower grade of Magi were the Mobeds ; which term seems to have comprehended the ideas of " prefect, judge, superior." They held a superior rank to the Herboods, and were subordinate to the Dustoor, — a kind of intermediate superintendents of the affairs of religion in their several localities. There was never but one Dustoor, or high-priest, at the same time. He held a position somewhat similar to an " archbishop, or rather a metropolitan, who was acknowledged the successor of Zoroaster, and deemed the supreme head of the Church." — Ancient Universal His- tory, vol iv., p. 93. Some authors have expressed considerable gratification at the similarity which they have perceived between the regulations of this priesthood, and that which obtains in Episcopal Churches. In one particular, however, the parallel does not hold; for the Magian priesthood had no fixed salaries, being paid voluntarily for each service as it occurred. Some writers have given copious rules which were established for the regulation and direction of the Magi ; but it seems more than probable that these were drawn from the practice of the modern Parsees^ rather than from' the institutes of Zoroaster. Yet, at the same time, since this religion has been continued from the era of Darius Hystaspis to the present day, as the settled relig- 20 306 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ious belief and practice of the same people, even the usages of the present time may in some measure illustrate ancient observances. Before the time of Zoroaster, their worship was conducted in the open air ; but he directed them to enclose and cover their altars, so that they might with the greater certainty maintain the perpetual lire, which was before so often extinguished by accident, through the weather or other causes. It is expressly asserted, that these buildings were by no means intended as the residence of Deity, or in any way to limit his omnipresence, but simply as places for the shelter of their fire-altars. The priesthood appear to have been subject to very minute rules of discipline, and to have been compelled to an exact observance of order in the conduct of public worship. The religious services, according to this system, were generally conducted in the pyrea, or " fire-temples." In each of these stood an altar, on which the sacred fire was kept perpetually burning by the officiating Magi. When the people assembled for public worship, the priest put on a white vestment and mitre, with a gauze or cloth passing before his mouth, that he might not breathe on the holy element. Thus he read cer- tain prayers out of the liturgy, which he held in one hand, speaking very softly, and in a whispering sort of tone; holding in his left hand certain small twigs of a sacred tree, which, as soon as the ser- vice was over, he threw into the fire. At these times, all who were present put up their prayers to God, for such things as they stood in need of; and when prayers were finished, the priest and people silently withdrew, with every appearance of awful respect. It is not improbable that we have a specimen, to say the least, of this Magian ritual in the Zend Avest.a. For this celebrated work does not, as many have supposed, contain a treatise on the Magian faith, or even a synopsis of the articles of their belief; but it is rather a series of liturgical services for various occasions ; and, as the Abbe Toucher well remarks, " bears the same relation to the doc- trinal works of Zoroaster, that breviaries and missals do to the Bible." The ancient Persians kept six religious festivals in the year, in memory of the six periods of time in which all things were created. But on one point connected with these there is considerable dif- ference of opinion among authors, some saying that these festivals were each followed by five days of fasting, in memory of God's resting five days, as they believe, after each of these periods ; while others contend that they had no fasts, and rejected everything of the nature of penance. " God, they 'say, delights in the happiness of his creatures ; and they hold it meritorious to enjoy the best of every- thing they can obtain." THE GBNTILB NATIONS. 307 In their religious rites much use was made of a kind of holy water named zor, which was regarded as powerful in repelling evil spirits ; and the consecrated juice of a particular shrub called the horn, pre- pared with many ceremonies, was regarded as possessing wonderful eflScacy, and is often spoken of in the sacred books. (See the Dabis- tan, vol. i, p. 345.) A drop of this juice was given to infants, to cleanse them from the impurities of the womb ; and also to persons at the point of death. A variety of other customs of a religious character were observed. On naming a child, a sacred ceremony was performed; but still more importance was attached to putting on the sacred cord (kusti), and the equally sacred shirt {sadra). This was, indeed, a most solemn act, as these articles were supposed to form an armour against Ahriman. According to the Dabistdn the sacred cord was a woollen cincture, girded round the wai«t, in which they made four knots : — the first, to signify the unity of God ; the second, the cer- tainty of the faith ; the third, that Zardasht was the prophet of God ; the fourth, to imply " that, to the utmost of my power, I will ever do what is good." — Dabistdn, vol. i, p. 844. As often as they ate flesh, fish, or fowl, they carried a small part of it to the temple, as an offering to God, praying at the same time that he would forgive them for taking away the lives of his creatures for their subsistence. It will now be necessary to direct attention to the moral influence of this religion. And in respect of this important point, we have here, as elsewhere, great scarcity of information. Almost every other matter was thought worthy of being recorded, except the moral character of the great body of the people. It must be fully ad- mitted, that this faith inculcates general benevolence ; to be honest in bargains, to be kind to one's cattle, and faithful to masters ; to give the priests their due, physicians their fees. But with these sound precepts others, fanciful and superstitious, are regarded of equal importance ; for instance, — physicians are enjoined to practise their sanitary experiments on infidels, before applying them to the followers of the faithful Zoroaster. Dogs and cats are held in great regard, as animals that watch the approach of evil spirits, against which the disciples of Zoroaster are constantly on their guard. On the other hand, it is meritorious to kill serpents, frogs, toads, and other reptiles, as being the creatures of Ahriman. But, perhaps, we shall obtain the most accurate and forcible expo- sition of the morals of this system by noting at some length the virtues which secured to persons admission to the splendours and joys of paradise, and the sins for which others were shut up in hell. From this review it will be clear, that while real virtues are 308 THE GENTILE NATIONS. extolled, and positive vice punished, the most childish puerilities are placed on a level with either. A catalogue of the blessed, for in- stance, would comprise the spirits of the munificent and noble- minded ; those who observed Naii Roz, the great festival on the first six days of the year ; just princes ; priests and high-priests ; women obedient to their husbands; attendants on fire-temples; champions who fought in the ways of God ; slayers of noxious animals ; hus- bandmen ; heads of families who have improved the world by gar- dens and water -courses ; and those who solicited money of the wealthy for the cause of religion, or to relieve pious poverty. On the other hand, the inhabitants of hell were held to be, — men of vile passions ; a shedder of innocent blood ; he who seduced the wives of other men ; a man who had omitted to perform one peculiar mode of worship ; an adulteress ; those who had not adopted the sacred cincture ; one who had betmyed his trust ; a cruel and unjust king ; a man who had slain four-footed animals ; one who had neglected both the concerns of time and those of eternity; a slanderer and liar; a false witness; a man who had amassed wealth by unlawful means; hypocrites; a man who had killed dogs; a woman who, while combing her head, allowed some hairs to fall into the fire, (fcc. (See Airpendix, note 54.) This crude and unreasonable operation of law, when taken in con- nexion with the certain deliverance from suffering which the vilest sinner was assured of at the last day, must have operated most per- niciously on the conduct of the whole people. Nor must it be quite forgotten, in the consideration of this subject, that the laws of nature were publicly outraged by the incestuous marriages which took place constantly in the Persian court ; and that the most inhuman cruelty and savage barbarism coexisted there with the height of oriental refinement, wealth, and luxury. The morals of Persia appear, there- fore, at a disadvantage, when compared with those of other ancient heathen countries. But there is one feature of this whole system which deserves special and peculiar notice. If Babylon had the unenviable distinc- tion of introducing and establishing the great prse- Christian Anti- christ, Persia appears to have carried out his development to the utmost limits ; so that we can scarcely find an essential element of Popery that did not form a part of this system of Persian faith. In the illustration of this point, the Scriptural Christian will not misapprehend my meaning, when I speak of any divinely-appointed rite as pertaining to Popery ; since all must admit that while there is a true and proper application of these terms, there is a thoroughly Popish sense in which they are used ; and it is in the latter sense, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 309 and often in regard of the opus operatum doctrines, that the refer- ence is here made. It must be borne in mind that the divine character of the sover- eign was here put avowedly and prominently forward. So fully was this done that his being worshipped as divine was enacted by absolute law, and not only enforced on his subjects, but regarded as essential even on the admission of a foreign ambassador to the royal presence. Besides this, it must be noticed that the intrinsic merit of good works was clearly taught. Kirfah, the term used to desig- nate the meritorious character of an action, is defined to mean " a good work, — a merit which absolves from sin." How fully this accords with the great doctrine of the antichristian apostasy on this subject, I need not stay to demonstrate. Again : the great principles of priestly authority and efficacy were fully taught and enforced. In reading the following remarkable proof of this point, let it be remembered that the term Dustur stands for " high-priest," " archbishop," or, perhaps even more accu- rately, "supreme pontiff:" — "It is manifest, from the principles of religion, that we must -concede due authority to the Dustur, and must not deviate from his commands, as he is the ornament and splendour of the faith. Although thy good works may be countless as the leaves of the trees, the grains of sand, the drops of rain, or the stars in the heavens, thou canst gain nothing by them, unless they be acceptable in the sight of the Dustur. If he be not content with thee, thou shalt have no praise in this world. Therefore, my son, thou shalt pay to the Dustur who teaches thee, the tithe of all thou possessest, (wealth and property of every kind, gold and silver.) Therefore thou, who desirest to enjoy paradise to all eternity, pay tithes to the Dustur : for if he be satisfied with thee, know that paradise is thine ; but if he be not content with thee, thou canst derive no portion of benefit from thy good works ; thy soul shall not find its way to paradise; thou shalt have no place along with angels; thy soul can never be delivered from the fiends of hell, which is to be thy eternal abode : but pay the tithes, and the Dusturs will be pleased with thee, and thy soul shall get to paradise without delay. Truly the Dusturs know the religion of all (faithful) men." — Dabis- tan, vol. i, p. 313, Hyde's Trans. Can priestly claims be carried beyond this? And then, this priesthood was. divided into regular gradations, until the series terminated in the Dustur, or " supreme pontiff." In addition to these elements, analogous rites were established, As soon as a child was bom, it was purified by the, sacred horn. The priest was present when the child received its name: imme- 310 THE GENTILE NATIONS. diately after which the infant was taken to the fire-temple, when the priest poured water into the rind of a holy tree, and from thence into the mouth of the child, at the same time oflfering up a prayer. At seven years of age the child was confirmed, after receiving instruction, passing through certain ablutions, and being dressed in a particular costume, one part of which it was necessary for the priest to make with his own hand. The zor, or "holy water," was also an important element in these rites. Finally, the sacred horn was administered by the priest, just in the manner of extreme unc- tion, immediately before the death of a believer. Truly there is little originality in the superstitious adulterations which have been used to paralyze and corrupt the gospel. There were precisely the same errors in doctrine; the same vain and absurd, but proud and profane, claims of the priesthood ; and nearly identical unmeaning or pernicious rites were attached to the form of worship. In fact, the same round of means was employed, under the same influence, and with the same success, to corrupt the pure patriarchal faith of God's appointment, as we have seen operating to the perversion of the gospel : so that the apparent paradox is per- fectly true, — that, whereas Popish superstition is, in respect of the gospel, a novelty, it is, at the same time, only a re-cast of errors and superstitions of a much more ancient period. As our conclusions respecting the religion of Persia, and that of her more ancient neighbours, Assyria and Babylon, differ in many important particulars from those of preceding writers, whose investi- gations have been received with great attention and respect, I think it necessary to observe, that I altogether disclaim a wish to estab- lish any theory of my own, or to introduce any novelty into this very important subject. But I candidly confess that I have felt it necessary to adopt a rather novel course in respect of this inquiry. On this point I will speak freely, — though fully open to correc- tion. Until the recent discovery of the inscriptions, our knowledge of the religion of the ancient eastern nations was mainly derived from Greek writers. They, as is perfectly well known, coloured all their accounts according to the principles of their own mythology. If, for instance, a Greek writer saw a statue of an Assyrian deity, or heard an account of a Persian religious ceremonial, he would natu- rally give the first the name of the Greek deity who came nearest to it in attributes and character, and would identify the second with the most similar rites to be found in his own religious system. The consequence has been, therefore, that we have been accustomed to see the religion of the primitive eastern nations through a Gre- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 811 cian medium. And it is only in this way that we read in Herodotus of Rhea, Juno, and Mars, as if they were Persian deities, and of Mylitta as the Babylonian Venus ; that Dlodorus speaks thus of Jupiter, Rhea, and Juno ; and that Xenophon makes Cyrus always offer his prayers to Jove. These names were unknown in the east, and are not translations, but applicatioiis of the names of Greek deities to those of eastern countries, on account of some real, or sup- posed, resemblance between their respective attributes. This has not only led to embarrassment and confusion : it has altogether misrepresented oriental religion, by putting it forth under a Grecian form, and associated with Grecian names. If Greece had been the parent of these nations, — if Assyria, Babylon, and Persia had received their civilization and religion from Greece, — this would be a correct course : but it was quite otherwise. These nations flourished in civilization, and had their religious systems matured, when Greece lay prostrate in barbarism. Grecian tenets, manners, and doctrines could by no possibility, therefore, have affected these oriental systems. All that is Grecian in the accounts which reach us of their religions must, in consequence, be mis- leading. But while all the efforts to assimilate the religion of the primitive eastern nations to a Grecian model must have a pernicious tendency, it is evident that there was a more ancient faith, and an earlier sacred history, with which these eastern nations were acquainted ; a history which brought down to them the great deeds of their ancestors, and which stood associated with the most wondrous operations of al- mighty power ; and a faith which arose out of glorious and imme- diate revelations made by God to man, and had been impressed on all their traditions, opinions, habits, and history. Now I maintain that while the course which 1 impugn must be injurious, it is equally so to study these religions without any reference to man's primitive history, and while ignoring the faith and doctrines of the patrianjhs; as though Assyria, Babylon, and Persia had not derived their eSst- ence, knowledge, and religion from the men who had been congre- gated together at Babel. Whatever defects, therefore, may be found in the sketch which has been given of the religion of these countries, I am satisfied that it is an approximation to sound views on this important subject. What, then, was the character of the religion of Persia, as a system ? and what were its results on the national mind ? Like its predecessor and prototype in Assyria, it was the soul of despotism. All that was said on this subject at the close of the fifth chapter might be repeated here. The profane assumption of the 312 THE GENTILE NATIONS. sovereign led to the intellectual and moral debasement of the people, as an inevitable result. Beyond this it may be observed, that the difference between the fa'ith of Persia and that of Assyria and Baby- lon appears to have arisen from two opposite and conflicting causes, — the revival of primitive truth, and the introduction of monstrous and pernicious error. Here was a clearer knowledge of man, in his true relation to God, than obtained in the more ancient nations. The primitive purity and fall of man, — Satanic power and malevolence, with their results, — the appointment of a mediator, and his position in the trinity, — the certainty of a future judgment, — the resurrection, and immortal life,— all these are prime articles of religious faith, of great import- ance in any religious code ; and these, associated with an immense amount of primitive and paradisiacal tradition, were found as recog- nised articles of faith among the ancient Persians. But then they were fearfully neutralized by additional errors. Not only was the Persian theology corrupted, as in Assyria, by polytheistic adultera- tion ; the profane assumption of the priesthood must also have been ■ a frightful evil. It divested moral actions of their proper character and quality, by making them entirely contingent for acceptance on the will of the priest. The multiplied ritual services, in which priestly efficacy was the only virtue, would tend to the same result, and introduce many childish distinctions, calculated to confound the understanding and pervert the mind ; while the doctrine of a uni- versal restoration to heavenly happiness and glory, not only of wicked men, but even of devils, would neutralize the influence of a future judgment, and render that doctrine of little, if of any, effect. The combined result was, that in Persia, even more than in As- syria and Babylon, religion was a royal and priestly monopoly. The people were not taught, and scarcely considered : every sacred rite required the presence of a Magian priest; and the public — save in their attendance on their fire-temples, where they heard something freqiiently of prayer — were left to the fearful and ruinous influence of moral putrefaction. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 313 CHAPTER IX. THE HISTORY OF THE GRECIAN STATES. Although occupying a small Country, and not possessing early Civilization, tlie Greeks arose to superlative Distinction in History — ^The Geography of Greece — ^The Origin of the Greoiks — Pelasgians and Hellenes kindred Races — Legendary History — The Argo- nautic Expedition — The Theban Legends — The Trojan War — The Return of the Hera- cleids — State of the Grecian States in the Time of Lycurgus — ^Division into numerous independent Communities — Their Unity of Blood, Manners, and Religion — The Politi- cal and Civil Institutions of Lycurgus — Sparta subdues the Messenians — The State of Athens — Prevalent and long-continued Disorder — Solon — ^Ho regains Possession of Salamis — Succeeds in the Sacred War against Cirrha — Fearful State of Society — Solon invested with Supreme Power — His Reforming Measures, and new Political Constitu- tion, established — ^Pisistratus obtains the Chief Authority — The Tyrant expelled, and Democracy established, by ihe Aid of Sparta — The smaller Grecian States — ^Tbe Islands and Colonies — Causes which led to the First Persian Invasion — ^Ifr utterly fails — A Second prepared, and disembarked at the Bay of Marathon — Completely defeated by the Athenians under Miltiades — Further Persian Preparations for the Conquest of Greece — Suspended by the Death of Darius — Xerxes at length determines on another Invasion — His immense Preparations and Vast Army — Checked at Thermopylae — His Fleet defeated at Artemisium — Athens destroyed — The Persian Fleet mined at Salamis — Xerxes retreats — Returns to Asia — Mardonius makes the most flattering Overtures to the Athenians — Which they nobly reject — Apathy of Sparta — Attica ravaged a Second Time — A United Greek Army at length opposes the Foe — The Persian Force is annihilated at Plataea — On the same day the Persian Fleet is destroyed at Mycale — Successful Prosecution of the War, followed by Peace with Persia — The Period, Causes, and Progress of Grecian Civilization and Advancement — Thales — Pythagoras — Greece attains her Highest Intellectual Elevation — Great Wealth and Power of Athens — First Peloponnesian War — Mischievous Policy of Alcibiades — Second Peloponnesian War-— Ruin of Athens — Sparta Tyrannizes over the other Grecian States — Restoration of Athens to Independence — Xenophon and the Ten Thousand — Thebes — Pelopidas and Epaminondas — Philip of Macedon — His Improved Military Tactics — Takes advantage of the Disunion and Rivalry of the Greek States to make himself Master of the Coun- try — Alexander succeeds his F^her — Prepares for the Invasion of Persia — Battle of the Grauicus — His uninterrupted Success — ^In Three Years he extends his Sway from the Mediterranean to India — His Death — State of Greece during the Victorious Career of Alexander — Aggression of Sparta on Macedon — ^Repelled — Tumults on the Death of Alexander, repressed by Antipater — Cassander — His Government — ^Interference of Rome — Progress of her Power — Greece a Roman Province. In approaching the history of Greece we are brought into contact with a people of the most extraordinary character and destiny. It was not because of early greatness, or ancient splendour, th^ this people stood preeminent among the nations of the world: for, many centuries after Assyria, Egypt and Persia were possessed of wealth, power, luxury, and learning, Greece was occupied by semi-barbarous tribes, with very imperfect political institutions, who were strangers even to the knowledge of letters. Nor was it because of the ex- 314 THE QENTILB NATIONS. tended territory :• for Greece, properly so called, is scarcely larger than the kingdom of Naples. Yet with this limited geography, and with a celebrity of so recent a date that the national records do not afford materials for a history of the nation until the eighth century before Christ, it had then established a character in the world, and has exerted a more potent influence on mankind at large than any other people. Rising into prominence and power at this late period of the ancient world, Greece, in the progress of five hundred years, accomplished all that seems possible of attainment by giant intellect and culti- vated genius. In all the elegant arts — architecture, painting, stat- uary — the Greeks distanced all their predecessors, and created a school which it has been the glory of every subsequent age to imi- tate. Every branch of literature — poetry, history, and the drama — was carried to perfection. Science, philosophy, and logic were culti- vated with equal success. And, what is yet more strange, having thus evinced a rare combination of intellectual power, cultivated taste, and brilliant genius, the sons of Greece successfully repelled an invasion of their country, although assailed by the united forces of the most mighty nations of the world ; and, having triumphed in this effort, they went forth in irresistible martial power, and bowed the world to their will. Every nation that could be reached was subdued; and Grecian power ruled, and the Greek language and manners pervaded, the civilized world. Nor is the waning glory of this wonderful people less remarkable than the rise and progress of their power. For, when Greece, in her turn, fell before the military might of imperial Rome, it was the proud boast of the conquered, that they imparted to their conquer- ors more advantage in the communication of arts and elegance, literature and learning, than the Romans had obtained in martial honours or territorial aggrandizement by the conquest of the coun- try. Thus Greece, as she fell into ruin and obscurity, enlightened and elevated the most powerful nation on earth. There has been some difference of opinion as to the extent of Greece in respect of its northern boundary ; some writers including, and others excluding, Epirus and Macedonia. The inhabitants of these countries owned the same origin as the Greeks ; were of sim- ilar Ipanners, language, and religion ; yet, in the progress of ages, they became so alienated from the great body of the Greek nation, that our best writers agree in describing Greece Proper as bounded on the north by Olympus, and the Oambunian Mountains, which divide it from Macedonia. Greece, so limited, extends from north to south about two hundred THE GENTILE NaTIONS. 315 and fifty miles ; and its greatest breadth, from the western coast of Acarnania to Marathon in Attica, is one hundred and eighty miles. This country is about half the size of England, — a geographical com- pass by no means proportionate to the martial power of the people, or to the influence which they exerted on the world. As it seems necessary to give a very brief sketch of this territory, it may be first observed that it was naturally divided into two parts by the Isthmus of Corinth. That part which lay below this neck of land was anciently called the Peloponnesus, and recently the Morea ; and that beyond, on the continent, contained Attica, Boeo- tia, Phocis, iEtolia, and Acarnania. The Peloponnesus — so called in honour of Pelops — forms the southern region of Greece. It is a peninsula, surrounded by the sea, excepting where it is joined to the main-land by the Isthmus of Corinth. It has in its centre the far-famed Arcadia of poetical tra- dition. This is an elevated and hilly district, its highest peak being Mount Cyllene. It is an excellent pasture- country, and in its gen- eral features greatly resembles Switzerland ; while its inhabitants as strikingly exhibit the Swiss character, — being equally fond of liberty and money. The god Pan is said to have resided here, and to have invented the flute with seven reeds. Here he was worship- ped, and delivered oracles. Around Arcadia were seven other districts, or territories, all of which were well watered by streams that descended from its highlands. Of these, Corinth lay immediately in the Isthmus, having a harbour on each side. It was thus possessed of immense maritime advantages, and facilities for commerce perhaps equal to any port of the world. To the south of Corinth lay Argolis, so named from Argos, its chief town. Here stood Tiryns, whence Ha"cules depart- ed to begin his labours ; and Mycenae, the city of Agamemnon ; Nemea, celebrated for its games in honour of Neptune ; and Nau- plia, now the celebrated Napoli di Romania. To the southwest of Argolis lay Laconia, — a country rough and mountainous, watered by the Eurotas, on whose banks arose the celebrated Sparta ; yet, although this was one of the principal cities in Greece, its site can- not now be identified. To the north and west of Laconia was Messenia. Pylos, one of the cities claiming to have given birth to Nestor, was situated in this district. Elis, the Holy Land of Greece, lay immediately to the north of Messenia. There rolled the Alpheus, on whose banks the Olympic Games were celebrated : and here stood Olympia, with its glorious temple, and colossal statue of Jupiter, the masterpiece of Phidias. Temples to Jupiter and Luoina also adorned the neigh- 316 THE GENTILE NATIONS. bourhood. On this spot Pausanias counted two hundred and thirty statues ; and in the days of Pliny they had increased to three thou- sand, — and all these the work of eminent artists. What are all our museums, and collections of statuary, compared to this? To the northeast of Elis we find Achaia, watered by the mountain-streams from Arcadia ; and between this and Corinth lay the ancient city and small territory of Sicyon. From this rapid glance at the Peloponnesus, we turn to notice that part of Greece which is situated beyond the Corinthian Isthmus. Immediately to the east of this lay Attica; its form was nearly tri- angular. This has generally been regarded as the most beautiful part of Greece, although the soil was by no means remarkably fruit- ful. Athens, the city of Pallas, the centre of Grecian civilization, learning, and refinement, was the capital of the district. On the top of a hill close to the city, stood the Acropolis, which in the days of her glory was covered with the most beautiful architecture. To the northwest of Attica lay Boeotia and Phoeis, separated from Thessaly by the mountain range of (Eta, through which the famous Pass of Thermopylae alone afforded easy communication. The renowned Parnassus divided Boeotia from Phoeis. Delphi, noted for its oracle of Apollo, stood on the south side of Parnassus. Here excellent pieces of statuary were exhibited in countless num- ber; and the contents of treasuries, received from neighbouring princes and kings, astonished the beholder. Here, also, in the Am- phictyonic Council, the first maxims of law were taught, and the principles of policy laid down and matured. The Pythian Games, surpassed only by the Olympic, were celebrated in this neighbour- hood ; and here, above all, the Castalian Fountain poured forth her streams sacred to the Muses. It would hfve been scarcely necessary to notice Thessaly in this sketch, but on account of some very ancient recollections. lolcos, whence the Argonauts sailed, was in this province. This was also the country of Achilles. To the west of Thessaly we find ^Etolia and Acamania. Having thus glanced at the geography of Greece, it will be neces- sary, before proceeding to trace its history, to notice its early inhab- itants, and, if possible, discover its primitive settlers. Without presuming to speak positively on a subject so full of difficulty, we may venture to observe that there appears reason to believe that, in the general dispersion of the descendants of Noah, this portion of the world was occupied by Javan, the fourth son of the arkite patri- arch, and afterward principally by the family of his son Elishah. As it is not intended to maintain this opinion at length, it will be THE GBNXILE NATIONS. 317 sufiBcient to observe in support of it, that continental Greece was originally called Ionia, which term our best scholars have supposed to have been derived from the namie Javan ; with which, they con- tend, it nearly agreed, according to ancient Greek pronunciation. It is also a curious fact, corroborative of this opinion, that the Septua- gint Version of Holy Scripture always renders the Hebrew term ■^ii Javan by the word " Greece." This fact not only proves the origin generally attributed to the Greeks by the learned, in the third cen- tury before Christ : it does more : for, inasmuch as it is scarcely possible generally to substitute the name of any other country with- out doing violence to the consistency of the sacred writer, (as, for instance, in an important passage in Daniel viii, 21,) so we have the authority of the inspired Hebrew text itself in favour of this opinion. This is also the case in respect of Elishah ; for Ezekiel speaks of the "isles of Elishah" in such a connexion as almost certainly to fix the designation upon the Greek islands. In conformity with this evidence, the peninsula and isles of Greece have been regarded as peopled by the descendants of Elishah, while Tiras is supposed to have been the father of the Thracians. But whatever truth there may be in these conjectures, it appears to be an undoubted fact, that considerably more than a thousand years elapsed from the first occupation of Greece to the time when we obtain materials for a history of its inhabitants. It cannot, then, be a matter of surprise, that it has been found utterly impossible to trace up,' by any satisfactory historical induction, to any particular primitive root, the people who are the subject of Grecian history. There is, however, one question, lying at the foundation of Gre- cian history, which must be noticed and disposed of, before we fairly enter on the subject. The earliest occupants of the country are always spoken of by ancient writers as Pelasgians ; while the great body of the Greek nation in historical times are called Hel- lenes. The debatable points are, — Whether these were different tribes speaking different languages, or in their origin essentially the same people?— and, secondly, By what means, or in what manner, did the Hellenes ultimately acquire universal ascendency in Greece '? On these subjects the learned have been long divided, nor can it yet be said that the question is settled. While such men as Professor Wachsmuth and Dr. Thirlwall advocate one view of the subject, and Mr. Grote the opposite, it becomes us to express ourselves with great diffidence. Yet, notwithstanding this conviction, we must be allowed to say that we fully agree with the first-mentioned authors, that the Pelasgians and Hellenes were originally the same people. The general prevalence of the Pelasgic people, or rather the 318 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Pelasgic name, seems a fact constantly admitted by ancient ■writers. "All are pretty well agreed," observes Strabo, "that the Pelasgians were an ancient race which prevailed throughout all Greece, and especially by the side of the iEolians in Thessaly." — ThirlwalVs History of Greece, vol. ii, sect. 4. This statement must not, indeed, be so construed as to exclude the existence of other and distinct tribes in ancient Greece ; — for Strabo, as well as Herodotus and Thucydides, speaks of several of these ; — but it clearly shows that the Pelasgians were the most powerful and widely-diffused people of Greece, whose language and manners gave a character to the whole country. Traces of their residence have, indeed, been distinctly found in Thessaly, Epirus, Boeotia, Attica, and the Peloponnesus, — especially in Argolis, Achaia, and Arcadia. With respect to the Hellenes, it has been supposed that they originated from Hellen, who is sometimes called "the son of Zeus," but is generally regarded as the immediate descendant of Deucalion and Pyrrha, although he is often mentioned as the brother of the Grecian hero of tbe Deluge. But whether such a person as Hellen ever existed, except in mythological fable, or not, it is a settled mat- ter that no historical researches can carry up the Hellenic tribe or people to this individual. Historically we only know the Hellenes as deriving their name and character from a people, or tribe, which anciently resided in Epirus. There were, in fact, two tribes bearing this name, resident near Dodona, who were probably nearly related to each other and to the ancient Pelasgians. Mr. GrotC, indeed, joins his weighty judgment with that of preceding writers, in decid- ing, upon the authority of a passage in Herodotus which refers to the language of the Pelasgians, that they were essentially a distinct people from the Hellenes. We think Dr. Thirlwall's statement remains in all its strength, notwithstanding this objection ; (Thirl- wall's Greece, vol. i, p. 60,) and, such being the case, the general current of evidence naturally leads to the belief that the Pelasgians and Hellenes were kindred races. By what means, then, or in what manner, was that great change effected which spread the Hellenic name and influence so generally over Greece ? One point is clear : it is undoubted, that " the pecul- iar stamp which distinguished the Greeks from every other nation on the earth, was impressed on them by the little tribe which first introduced among them the name of Hellenes." — Thirlwall's Greece, vol. i, p. 97. At the same time, it is the decided opinion of this learned writer, that this change " was not effected simply by the conquests or migrations of this new people." — Thirhuall's Greece, vol. i, p. 97. The alternative inference appears inevitable, — that THE GENTILE NATIONS. 319 the Hellenic ascendency was that which a highly paartial caste, raised by their daring energy above the need of labour, impatient of repose, and eager for warlike adventures, obtained over a weaker, but perhaps an equally civilized, people. The late era at which Greece appears before us as a subject of history, is in some measure compensated by the length and grandeur of what may be called " the traditional period." The greatest labour and learning have been expended on this topic ; but they have failed alike to elicit with any certainty the exact chronology, and the pre- cise historical character, of the important events which are supposed to have transpired during the thousand years which elapsed prior to 800 B. 0. It will, however, be necessary to mention the princi- pal of these occurrences. The Argonautic Expedition may be referred to as the first, in order of time, of these notable events. If from the immense mass of poetry and legend, bearing on this subject, anything definite can be inferred, it may be supposed that about 1300 B. C. Jason, a prince of Thessaly, having collected together a number of the most chivalrous spirits of Greece, sailed on an expedition, partly com- mercial and partly martial, to the shores of the Euxine Sea ; and, having fought, conquered, and plundered, on their return home they planted a colony at Colchis, carrying with them a princess of the ' country which they had invaded. (See Appendix, note 55.) The Theban legends may also be adduced, as of a similar charac- ter. As far as can be ascertained, the subject of these arose out of the introduction of the Phenician or Asiatic worship into Thebes by Cadmus. But it involved the singular and melancholy fate of (Edi- pus, a protracted war, ending in the capture of Thebes, and the con- sequent isolation of this district, in sympathy and interest, from the general concerns of Greece. (See Appendix, note 56.) The Trojan war may be noted next in order. It may be doubted whether there was ever such an extended account, given to the world with such exquisite and unsuspecting simplicity, and so gen- erally regarded as actual history, without any independent evidence of its historical existence, as that which we find in the Homeric epic. Perhaps, as Mr. Grote conjectures, such an effort as that of Homer would never have come into existence in an age in which historical records existed. However this may be, it is an unquestionable fact, that the narrative of Homer was currently received and reverentially cherished throughout Greece ; and it is equally clear that all which can be said respecting even the basis of the story, (omitting all the dramatic machinery of gods, goddesses, and heroes,) is that it is possible. But then, as an eminent writer on the subject observes, 320 THE GENTILE NATIONS. " As the possibility cannot be denied, neither can the reality of it be affirmed." (See Appendix, note 57.) A further reference to Grecian legend is necessary, because it both relates to an important revolution in the government of the country, and in a great degree accounts for the numerous and power- ful Greek colonies ivhich, at the commencement of the historical period, we find established in different parts of Asia Minor. This legend, or series of legends, relates to the descendants of Hercules. After the death of this hero, his children were driven from Pelopon- nesus, and found refuge at Athens ; and their descendants, after many ineffectual efforts, succeeded, in connexion with a powerful army of Dorians, in subduing the peninsula. In consequence of this irruption, numerous bodies, led by those who had previously possessed power and distinction, emigrated, and formed Greek colo- nies in various islands, and in different parts of Asia Minor. (See Appendix, note 58.) Passing over the legendary period of Grecian annals without further notice, we enter upon the times when this wonderful people stand before our view in the light of history ; and select, for the commencement of our research, the era when Lycurgus introduced his scheme of legislation into Sparta. This occurred, according to Thucydides, B. C. 817. At this time Amaziah reigned in Judah and Jeroboam II. in Israel, it being just one year before the death of Elisha the prophet. In endeavouring to convey some idea of the peculiar position of Greece at this time within the narrow limits of a chapter, our atten- tion must be directed to two or three particulars. We find Greece, unlike every other ancient nation, not only without any political unity and national sovereignty, but actually divided into just as many free states as it had cities. It is, indeed, true that in some districts the most powerful city held a kind of supremacy over the smaller ones, which was called by the Greeks " hegemony :" but this extended only so far as to merge the foreign political relations of the minor places in those of the capital; so that the whole district, in all peaceful treaties and warlike measures, would act together. It did not allow the principal city, however powerful, to interfere in the internal administration of the several minor civil communities. Another peculiarity of the Greek people was the character of the union which subsisted throughout the entire nation. This was maintained, first, by the common bond of nationality. The whole Hellenic race regarded themselves, however subdivided, as one people. A family feeling pervaded the entire extent of the popula- tion, and induced a mutual fraternal recognition among all its THE GENTILE NATIONS. 321 members. This union was greatly promoted by the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games. All these — which main- tained a powerful influence on the public mind, not only throughout Greece, but in all neighbouring countries, for many centuries — were greatly conservative of Grecian unity. At these games, although strangers might be spectators, none but Hellenes could enter the lists, as candidates for the prize. As this privilege was highly valued, the limitation was greatly conducive to the unity of national feeling and regard. But, after all, the great secret of the identity subsisting between the numerous cities and clans of Greece lay in her religious institu- tions. Apart from their common object, as mere festivals, the games above mentioned, to some extent, partook of a religious character, and in this respect exerted a powerful influence on the public mind. This was, however, but a single and comparatively unimportant element. The Hellenes everywhere worshipped the same gods, held their sacrificial services in common, and regarded themselves, through their heroes, as descended from these deities. The intensity of the unity of feeling thus produced cannot be exhibited more forcibly than was done by the Athenians. When their city lay in ruins, and they, and their wives and children, found refuge only on board their ships, or in the Isle of Salamis ; at the time they were deserted by the Spartans, and received the most tempting overtures from Persia, the principal reason set forth by them for their noble conduct is thus stated by their envoys to Lace- dsemon : " We, however, though deserted and betrayed by the Greeks, have steadily refused all his offers, [those of the king of Persia,] through reverence for the Grecian Jupiter." — Herodotus, lib. ix, cap. 7. The success of the Heracleids, by means of their Dorian auxiliaries, established that people as a ruling caste, and reduced the greater portion of the former inhabitants to slavery. But this victorious aggression, instead of introducing strength and consolidation into the country, caused disunion and weakness. The unequal distribu- tion of property produced domestic quarrels, while the unsettled state of affairs at home embroiled the state in a tedious and harass- ing war with the Argives. This condition of things continued, sub- ject to various fluctuations and changes, for more than two hundred years, when, at length, a man arose into influence and power, whose genius moulded the institutions of Sparta into a permanent form, and rendered that state, small as it was in geographical extent, one of the most powerful of its day. It had Ions: been the custom in Sparta for two kings to reign at 21 322 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the same time, with conjoint power. This originated, according to Pausanias, in the accession of the two sons of Aristodemus, Eurys- thenes and Proclus, and continued, notwithstanding the mutual jealousy and suspicion inseparable from a diarchy, through thirty princes of the former line and twenty-seven of the latter. In the early part of these dynasties, struggles were frequent between the kings and the people. In one of these a sovereign was killed : his son, succeeding to the throne, soon after died, and was followed by his brother Lycurgus. But this prince, discovering that his brother's widow was pregnant, held the supreme authority in trust, until the birth of the infant, which proving to be a son, he presented the child to the magistrates of the city as their king, and exercised dominion only in his name as regent. Notwithstanding this nobility of con- duct, the mother of the infant prince, and her brother, having thrown out suspicions respecting the intentions of Lycurgus, he deemed it prudent to retire a while from Sparta, and travelled into Crete and other lands, observing their institutions, and forming his opinion as to the best political basis for the constitution of his own country. The absence of Lycurgus was severely felt at Sparta. Those who were invested with authority evidently lacked the power to maintain it ; difficulty and danger beset the state on e\'ery side. In this emergency, earnest and importunate entreaties were sent to Lycurgus to hasten his return. He complied, and, on arriving at home, was hailed with delight by all parties, since he was regarded as the only man able to heal the disorders which prevailed. He undertook the task : but, perceiving the magnitude of the engage- ment, he made use of every precaution. In the first place, he obtained the unambiguous approbation of the oracle at Delphi for his measures. He then secured the aid of a number of the principal citizens of Sparta, who engaged, if necessary, to support him with their arms. These precautions taken, Lycurgus introduced his new system of government and polity Our sketch of this system must be as brief as possible. As a political code, it was, in the most strict sense of the term, a mixed government. The monarchical principle was maintained, but in a weak form ; as the rule of two contemporaneous kings, reigning with joint power, was continued. The aristocracy was represented by a senate of twenty-eight persons; while every Spartan of thirty years of age. and of unblemished character, had a voice in the assembly of the people. In addition to this, the commons were represented by the Ephori. These corresponded to the tribunes among the Romans. At first they appear to have been appointed THE GENTILE NATIONS. 323 as minor officers connected with police and courts of law. In con- sequence, however, of the divided and enfeebled condition of the monarchy, these gradually assumed a censorial, inquisitorial, and judicial power, which enabled them frequently to overawe and con- trol both the kings and the senate. This alteration in the mode of government was, however, accord- ing to Plutarch, the least of the innovations of Lycurgus. The fol- lowing are the more important measures which are ascribed to him. He ordered an equal partition of the land among all the citizens ; so that those who had been rich had to divide their landed property with the poor. The entire territory of Sparta was partitioned into nine thousand lots, and the rest of Laconia into thirty thousand, — the number of their respective citizens. Having succeeded thus far, the lawgiver proceeded to enforce an equal division of all movable property. Finding this measure to be impracticable, he assailed distinctions of rank and the indulgence of luxury by more indirect means. Gold and silver currency was prohibited, and an iron coin substituted, of such small value that, to lay up ten rniruB, (about £32 5s. sterling,) a whole room was required, and a yoke of oxen necessary to remove it. This alteration cut up avarice and luxury by the roots, and at the same time isolated Sparta from the rest of Greece, and in great measure interdicted commercial intercourse ; for this money would not pass current out of Sparta. The conse- quence was, the greatest simplicity in all the houses, furniture, and manner of living. These statements of Plutarch must, however, be taken as exhibit- ing the general character of Spartan policy and practice, rather than the measures which were introduced, and fully carried into effect, by the personal exertions of the lawgiver. It is certain that, in the days of Lycurgus, the whole of Laconia was not subject to Lace- demonian rule ; and it is open to serious doubt, whether an equal division of land was ever fully effected, even in Sparta itself As early as B.C. 600, we hear complaints made respecting the influence of wealth, and the degradation of the poor, even in the capital. A further arrangement of this legislator was the establishment of public tables, where all were required to eat in common. The rich offered great opposition to this regulation; but it was notwithstand- ing carried into effect. To it Lycurgus added a public arrangement for the education of youth. All children were, according to his institutions, regarded as the property of the state, and treated accordingly. Yet it is a singular fact, that while the men were trained to this practice, and dined on plain fare, their wives at home not unfrequently maintained a luxurious establishment. 324 THE GENTILE NATIONS. The result of all these measures was to make the Spartan stale thoroughly martial in its character. The city was like a great camp : every man was a soldier ; bodily strength and mental vigour were chiefly prized, as they rendered the man a more eiEcient war- rior. It will be seen that these laws could not be made operative on the whole population. Husbandry and tillage, handicraft arts and menial service, necessarily require a large proportion of every peo- ple. To provide for these without diverting the Spartan citizen from his martial exercises, a system of wholesale slavery was estab- lished. The victims of this oppression were called Helots. It seems they were originally captives taken in war, whose posterity were ever afterward doomed to this cruel bondage ; while further conquests increased their number. The laws and institutions of Lycurgus were not given in a written code, but reduced to short sentences like proverbs, called prj-pai, rhetrai. All these were confirmed by the oracle of Delphi, and committed to memory by the people. The first important war in which the Spartans were engaged was with their neighbours the Messenians. After a! very protracted struggle, this contest terminated in the subjection of that territory to the Spartan dominion ; but the sacrifices and efforts put forth to attain this end greatly weakened the power of the victors for a con- siderable period. It will now be necessary to direct attention to Athens. The political history of this state may be can-ied back to the time of Theseus. Among his successors the most eminent were Mnestheus, who fell before Troy, and Codrus, whose generous devotion (as already stated) led to the abolition of monarchy. After the intro- duction of this change, thirteen archons of the royal family ruled in succession. From the year B. 0. 75ii, the archons were chosen every ten years from the family of Codrus There were seven of these, reaching to the year B. C. 682. Nine annual archons were then elected by the nobility. All these changes, however, did but little to promote the well-being of the state. The people were reduced to a miserable condition. The equestrian order, — so called from their fighting on horseback, — having, in the infancy of martial tac- tics, infinite advantage over a rabble on foot, secured to themselves all authority, civil, religious, and military. The ancient laws, being few and simple, were insufficient to meet the demands of the age : consequently much was left to the discretion of the magistrates, who too frequently decided according to their class-interests oi prejudices. In these circumstances the very framework of society was shaken, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 325 and Athens seemed to tremble on the brink of ruin. To avert this calamity, Draco, the archon, was selected to prepare a system of laws for the reformation of the state. He undertook the task, but supplied a code of such unexampled severity that it was said to have been written in letters of blood. Death was the punishment for idleness, as well as for murder. At first these penalties were enforced, but they gradually sunk into disuse ; and the legislator was obliged to withdraw to jEgina, where he died. This unsuccessful effort was followed by a series of disorders and crimes, until at length a legislator arose, who by his brilliant genius and wisdom introduced an efiBcient measure of social and political reform. Solon was of purest heroic blood, and possessed a moderate fortune. In his earlier years, owing to the improvidence of his father, he found it necessary to engage in commercial pursuits, by which means he added to his substance and his knowledge. The energy of his mind, and his habit, in accordance with the prevalent custom of the times, of expressing his thoughts in simple verse, made him known throughout Greece ; and he was classed with other six, as one of the Seven Wise.Men. -(See Appendix, note 59.) The first political event of importance in which Solon engaged was the recovery of the Isle of Salamis. Megara had long success- fully disputed with Athens the possession of this island; and her citizens had actually established themselves upon it ; while the Athenians had suffered so much in the struggle, and felt so annoyed at the result, that they decreed the punishment of death to any one who should propose any further effort for its recovery. Solon determined to remove this dishonour from his country. To effect this object, he composed an earnest poetic address ; and, feign- ing a state of ecstatic excitement, he rushed into the agora, and, taking his stand on the stone usually occupied by the official herald, he recited his elegiac address to the surrounding crowd on the sub- ject of Salamis. He so fully succeeded in this attempt that they rescinded the prohibitory law, determined to renew the war, and intrusted Solon with the conduct of the enterprise. He accepted the command, and conducted the invasion with so much prudence and valour, that he restored that important island to the government of Athens. Another circumstance, which occurred soon after, greatly added to the reputation of Solon, and secured to him countenance and support the most important, in respect of his future career. Cirrha was a small seaport in the Gulf of Corinth, offering ready access to Delphi. The inhabitants of this place obtained enormous riches by levying exorbitant tolls on the passengers who landed there on their 326 THE GENTILE NATIONS. way to the temple. This was felt to be a national grievance; and Solon not only moved the Amphictyonic Council to insist on the removal of the evil, (see Appendix, note 60,) but, when the Cirrhae- ans refused to reform the abuse at his instance, a band of Athenians accompanied a joint force of Thessalians and Sicyonians, and, after a Sacred War of two years' duration, accomplished the desired object by completely subduing and destroying the town, except just what was necessary to make it a suitable landing place ; and dedi- cated the whole plain, from the sea to the temple, to the Delphian god. While, however, Solon saw his efforts crowned with success in these external measures, he found the internal condition of the country rapidly approaching a crisis which threatened to issue in a frightful disruption of all society. The people of Attica were divided into three factions : the Pedieis, or " men of the plain," comprising Athens, Eleusis, and the neighbouring territory ; among whom were the richest and noblest families of the land; the Diak- rii, the mountaineers in the north and east, who were very poor; and the Paralii, whose means and soeial position were intermediate. Among these there appears to have existed a long- continued class- struggle. But this was greatly aggravated by a still more fearful evil, — a general outburst of feeling of the poor against the rich, arising out of deep misery, acted upon by great oppression. The rich had hitherto dictated the laws : these were partial and unjust. The needy man borrowed money on the security, not merely of his substance, but also of his own body. Nay, more : not only might the insolvent debtor be sold to pay his debts, but even his minor sons, unmarried daughters, and sisters also, might be sold with him. In this manner great numbers had been reduced from freedom to slavery ; some had been sold for exportation ; and others had main- tained their own liberty by the sale of their children. It was when Solon had by his talents and integrity commended himself to all classes, as possessing every requisite for a great reformer, that this mutinous feeling had reached its height. This so alarmed the rich, that although it was known he had severely condemned their cruelty in his poems, they consented that he should be invested with supreme power, in the hope that he would thus con- serve the state, and relieve them from the impending danger. He was therefore appointed archon, nominally as the colleague of Philom- brotus, but with authority substantially dictatorial. Solon began his reforms by a measure which satisfied neither the rich nor the poor. In his first effort he cancelled at once all those contracts in which the debtor had borrowed on the security either of THE GENTILE NATIONS. 327 his person or of his land; forbade all future loans or contracts in which the person of the debtor was pledged as security ; and de- prived the creditor of all further power to imprison, or enslave, or extort work from his debtor, confining him to an effective judgment at law, which would authorize the seizure of the property of the latter. This regulation swept off the numerous mortgage-pillars (see Appendix, note 61) from the landed properties in Attica, and left the land free from all past claims. It liberated and restored to their full rights alj those debtors who were actually in slavery under previous legal adjudications ; and it even professed to provide means for the restoration of those who had, for a similar reason, been sold into foreign slavery. (Grote's History of Greece, vol. iii, p. 135.) By this extensive measure poor debtors and small tenants, together with many others in needy circumstances, were greatly relieved. But this relief placed another important class in great difficulty. These were they who, while they stood in the relation of creditors to the poorest classes, were themselves debtors to the richest. To meet the case of such, Solon had recourse to the des- perate expedient of debasing the money-standard of the country to the extent of more than twenty-five per cent. The middlemen con- sequently obtained relief to this amount, while their rich creditors had to submit to an equivalent loss. Again : Solon decreed that all those who had been condemned by the archons to civil disfranchisement, excepting only those who had been convicted by other legal courts for murder or treason, should be free. The necessity for such measures — indeed, the possibility of intro- ducing them — clearly shows the diseased and disorganized state of the Athenian commonwealth. The policy of Solon, however, not only warded off the imminent convulsion which had long threatened the country ; it virtually depressed the political power of the rich, and restored the poorer classes to extensive influence in public affairs. Having succeeded thus far, Solon was requested to prepare a new constitution for the country ; which task he also accepted, and carried! into effect thus : — He divided the whole population into four classes, without reference to their tribes and families, but regulated entirely by their possession of property. The first of these, comprising the richest portion of the people, whose annual income was equal to five- hundred medirnni of corn or above, were alone eligible to be archons. and to military and naval commands. A second class was composed of persons whose income ranged from five hundred to three hundred medirnni. These were called "knights," or "horsemen of the state,'' they being supposed to possess sufficient substance to keep a horse, 328 THE GENTILE NATIONS. and to perforin military service in that capacity. The third class, possessing an annual income of from three hundred to two hundred medimni of corn, constituted the heavy-armed infantry of the Athe- nian army, and were bound to serve as such, each with his own equipment of cotnplete armour. Five hundred medimni were equal to about seven hundred imperial bushels ; and one medimnus was equal to a drachm, and of the same value as a sheep. These three classes paid all the direct taxes that were levied. Of course duties on imports and other articles of consumption would be paid in common by all. These direct taxes were levied in the form of a graduated income-tax, so far as the several classes are re- garded ; but as an equal tax, when considered with reference to the several individuals composing each class. Thus the poorest mem- ber of the first class, with an income of five hundred drachms, would, on a levy of one per cent., pay fifty drachms. Every other mem- ber of that class, whatever his wealth, would pay a pro rata sum. The poorest member of the second class, with an income of three hun- dred, would on the same levy pay thirty drachms ; while the poorest member of the third class would be required to contribute only ten. The fcmrth class, composed of all persons whose annual income was less than two hundred drachms, or about forty dollars, (which would then purchase about two hundred sheep, or about two hundred and eighty imperial bushels of corn,) were exempt from all direct taxes, disqualified from holding any individual post of dignity, and only served in war as light- armed troops, in armour provided by the state. Although, by these institutions of Solon, the great body of the people, who were comprised under this fourth class, were de- prived of the privilege of holding ofiice, their collective importance was in other ways greatly increased. For, though ineligible to ofiicial time, always enjoyed the right of appeal from the judgment of the supreme magistrate to the general assembly of their own order: and it was by this law declared, that Plebeians ought to have a similar privilege. Even in this obscure period, when Rome prospered, her annals seem tolerably authentic; but, on the contrary, when she suffered serious reverses, we are enveloped in all the darkness of the most improbable legendary tales. We now enter upon the annals of one of these seasons. Driven for refuge and support from one state to another, the Tarquin family wandered up and down, until at length they secured the aid of Porsenna, the most powerful of the Tuscan princes. It is vain to attempt a narration of the war which ensued, as we have but the most scanty elements of authentic information respecting it ; yet it may be safely inferred, that although the Tus- can warrior failed to restore his client to the Roman throne, he had such manifest advantage in the war as to reduce the Romans to a tributary condition, and to take hostages from them for the perform- ance of their engagements under the treaty. A series of wars with surrounding states followed, which had various results, and were accompanied by incessant struggles be- tween the Patricians and the Plebeians ; the aristocracy invariably oppressing the people, when relieved from external aggression ; and being compelled to make great concessions in answer to their de- mands, in seasons of public diificulty and peril. This succession of conflicts led to the banishment, and ultimately to the death, of Coriolanus. The retirement of the plebeian soldiers, in time, of great danger, and the consequent appointment of tribunes, — the fatal defeat of the f abii, — all these events a,re fully narrated ; but they come to us more in the character of legendary tales than of authentic history, and therefore require only this passing allusion. The siege and destruction of Veil require more distinct mention. This ^vas the largest and richest city of Etruria, and had frequently been a formidable enemy to Rome. The sovereign of this city hav- ing put to death some Roman ambassadors, and refused to make any THE GENTILE NATIONS. 417 satisfaction for the outrage, the Romans determined on the entire destruction of his capital. After the siege had continued several years, Camillus was appointed dictator; (see Appendix, note 78;) and he succeeded in obtaining possession of the place. Its riches were transferred to the victorious soldiery, its citizens were enslaved, its idols were sent to Rome, and the city itself was destroyed. Notwithstanding the lustre of this success, Camillus, on the charge of having embezzled a part of the spoil, was sentenced to exile. (See Appendix, note 79.) This successful warrior had but just left the city in disgrace, when the Romans became involved in the most terrible conflict which they had ever seen. An immense host of Gauls, under their king, Bren- nus, are said to have crossed the Alps, and, after spoiling the coun- try, to have laid siege to Clusium, a city of Etruria. That people immediately apprized the Romans of the invasion ; who, being much concerned at the event, sent three noble citizens to ascertain the natui-e and extent of this incursion. These persons joined the besieged in a desperate sally, and greatly distinguished themselves in the conflict. Brennus, on being made aware of the circumstance, immediately sent to Rome to demand satisfaction for this irregular aggression on the part of her citizens^ and, not receiving satisfactory redress, he at once raised the siege of Clusium, and marched to- ward Rome. The imperial city was in no condition to oppose such a host. An army, hastily gathered and inefficiently provided, pro- ceeded to meet the enemy, about ten miles from Rome ; but it was totally defeated. The victorious G-auls now approached the capital of the republic with irresistible power. The Romans in this emer- gency did all that was possible. They selected the most able body of men that could be collected ; and, providing them with as large a store of provisions as could be got together, they shut them up in the Capitol. The rest of the inhabitants, with all the wealth that they could carry, abandoned the city, and sought refuge in the neighbouring towns. It is stated that about eighty of the prmcipal pontiffs and Patricians remained in passive dignity in the senate- house.' On the arrival of the Gauls, no defence was made : they marched into the deserted city, slew the senators who had remained, ravaged the public and private edifices, and invested the Capitol. After making vain attempts to reduce this stronghold, Brennus — ^finding that his army was rapidly becoming disorganized through irregular living, and the effect of the climate, to which they were unaccus- tomed — agreed to evacuate the city on receiving a great ransom. The Roman historians state, that before this sum was actually paid, 27 418 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Caraillus returned at the head of an army, defeated the Gauls, and compelled them to retire. But the account of Polybius is much more probable ; namely, that, while engaged in this war with Rome, the Gauls heard that the Veneti had invaded their country ; where- upon they concluded a treaty with the Romans, and proceeded to protect their own land. (See Appendix, note 80.) After the departure of the Gauls, the condition of the Romans was truly desperate. A city, mean at first, and now destroyed by rapine and fire, — walls which had been rudely constructed, and now partly demolished, — all the movable property that violence could seize, having been carried off; and all that barbarian cruelty could destroy, having been consumed, — these fragments of ruin remained to this people as their only portion. It need not, therefore, be matter of surprise, that there was a great indisposition among the people to undertake the restoration of the city. Many urged that the city of Veil, which had been abandoned, could be more easily restored to a habitable condition ; and it seems that it was only by an accident, or a mean preconcerted manoeuvre, that the purpose of removal was checked, and the restoration of the city begun. The great talents and energy of Camillus soon restored Rome to a respectable position with relation to the surrounding states, many of which had altogether thrown off all recognition of her supremacy, in consequence of the Gallic invasion. But no sooner was the city repaired, and the military power of the state in a tolerable degree reorganized, than the old dissensions between the Plebeians and Patricians became as rife as before, in consequence of the almost unlimited power which the existing laws gave the rich over the poor. (See Appendix, note 81.) These political and social evils were now absolutely unendurable ; and the only question which seemed to arise respecting them was, — whether they would issue in the entire demor- alization of the community, or lead to furious and bloody collision. A careful review of the history of this period induces the convic- tion that scarcely any agency which ministered to Roman greatness, throughout the entire period of her advancement, contributed more essentially to rear the colossal fabric which afterward ruled over the world, than that of those energetic and discreet men who at this period introduced the most important legislative reforms. These were Caius Licinius Stolo, and Lucius Sextius Lateranus, aided by an influential Patrician, Marcus Fabius Ambustus, the father-in-law of Licinius. These men propounded a series of laws adapted to the exigencies of the times. The first enabled Plebeians to be. elect- ed to the consular dignity. The second prohibited any person from THE GENTILE NATIONS. 419 holding more than five hundred acres of public land for tillage and plantations, and from having more than a hundred large, or five hun- dred small, cattle feeding on the common pasture. This law also specified the rents of the public as not to exceed a tenth of the corn produced, and a fifth of the produce of fruit-trees. The third law enacted that, in all cases of outstanding debts, the interest which had been paid should be deducted from the principal, and the balance paid by equal annual instalments during three years. The opposition offered by the Patricians to these laws was very general and intense, and was carried through the long period of five years. Yet, during this whole time, the advocates of reform never allowed themselves to sink into supineness or despair on the one hand, or to rush into sedition and violence on the other ; but, steadily keeping to their object, and directing their energies within the limits of the constitution, they ultimately succeeded in their wise and benevolent design. The only alteration effected in the project was, that the consuls should not act as civil judges in future ; but that magistrates, under the name of "praetors," should be appointed to perform this duty. Relieved from intestine discord, the Roman people put forth their power in martial aggression on the neighbouring states. In a series of wars, during which they sustained some very severe .reverses, they proceeded to subdue in succession the Samnites, Umbrians, Etruri- ans, Sabines, and Tarenfcines. The latter state was powerfully sup- ported by Pyrrhus, King of Macedon, who vainly hoped to rival the great Alexander ; but he was completely defeated by the Romans under Dentatus, their consul. Rome by these efforts became the mistress of all Italy, from the northern frontiers of Etruria to the Straits of Sicily, and from the Tuscan Sea to the Adriatic. At this period we have to mark the progress of Rome in a contest with a rival republic of first-rate power and immense resources. "Carthage, originally a Tyrian colony, had acquired extensive domin- ions in Africa, conquered a considerable portion of Spain, occupied Sardinia, Corsica, and all the islands on the coast of Italy, and, in addition to all these, had subdued a great part of Sicily. With possessions so numerous, this mighty republic was unequalled throughout the world for her commercial enterprise, and was in con- sequence mistress of the sea. With such a power it would seem impossible for the Italian state successfully to contend. But in one essential particular the advantage was wholly in favour of Rome. The ( 'arthaginians were not soldiers ; they depended on mercenaries for military strength; while the Italian republicans were a daring, hardy, and martial race. 420 THE GENTILE NATIONS. These two republics had been united by successive treaties of amity from an early period of Roman history. Their first collision arose professedly out of a dispute respecting the city of Messana in Sicily, but really for the political ascendency in that important island. The Carthaginians having obtained possession of the citadel of Messana, a large section of the people solicited aid from Rome ; and the Romans, although reluctant to engage in such a quarrel, yet, rather than see their rivals in possession of the whole of Sicily, embarked an army for that island. Here their arms were as suc- cessful as on the Italian peninsula. They defeated the Carthagini- ans in several battles ; and, although meeting with some reverses, they soon secured the alliance of Hiero, King of Syracuse, and laid siege to the important city of Agrigentum. Carthage sent a large army to the relief of this place, but in vain ; for, after a severe con- flict, they were compelled to retreat, and the garrison abandoned the city, which fell into the hands of the Romans. This was the largest and most important place which had been taken by Rome. An immense amount of spoil was secured, and more than twenty- five thousand of the inhabitants were sold into slavery. The capture of this city filled the Carthaginians with rage, and inspired the Romans with new motives for exertion. Conscious that they could not carry out this war with any hope of ultimate success, while their enemies remained masters of the sea, the Romans turned their attention to the immediate construction of a fleet. Nothing more strikingly displays the characteristic energy and tact of this people, than their success in this enterprise. Although they were, up to this time, so ignorant of the art of ship-building, and of maritime affairs in general, that they could not construct a vessel, until they had secured the hull of a Carthaginian galley which had been stranded on the coast; (Niebuhr's History of Rome, vol. iii, p. 575 ;) yet they proceeded to work on this model with such dili- gence and ability, that in a short time they sent to sea a fleet with which they ventured to encounter that of the Carthaginians. In this engagement, the Romans succeeded (mainly by means of a newly- invented mode of boarding enemies' ships) in capturing fifty Cartha- ginian vessels. After this victory the Romans prosecuted with advantage the war against the Carthaginian possessions in Sicily, although, from the resolution, resources, and naval experience of their enemies, they made but small progress, even during eight years of conflict, toward the reduction of the island. In those circumstances the daring spirit of Rome could brook no further delay ; and it was therefore determined to carry the war into Africa. For this purpose a fleet and an army were prepared, and THE GENTILE NATIONS. 421 embarked for the African coast. The Roman fleet consisted of three hundred and thirty vessels, manned with more than one hundred thousand fighting men, — a portion of them being specially selected, as the flower of the Roman army. The Carthaginian fleet, sent out to oppose this armament, carried not less than one hundred and fifty thousand men. The opposing forces met in the narrow straits between Sicily and Africa, where a long- continued and desperate battle was fou^t. This was probably the greatest naval conflict which had, up to this period, taken place in the world. For many hours the success alternated in nearly an equal degree; but at length victory declared for the Romans, who, although they had twenty-four of their galleys sunk, inflicted a much more severe loss on their enemies, destroying thirty of the Carthaginian vessels, and capturing sixty-three. Utterly unable to continue the conflict, after sustaining such a loss, the Carthaginian fleet fled, and left their foes in possession of their prizes. Rather incited to fresh efforts than satisfied with this success, the Romans returned to their harbour in Sicily, repaired and equipped their fleet with all possible expedition, and, embarking a further body of troops on board the vessels which they had taken, sailed for Africa. Having effected a landing, and taken the city of Clupea, near Carthage, on its eastern side, the Roman commander sent home for further instructions. The senate recalled the consul Man- lius, who was ordered to return to Rome with the fleet ; and com- manded the other, Regulus, with the army to conduct the war in Africa. This was done. Manlius took with him twenty-seven thousand prisoners to Rome ; and Regulus carried on the war with such spirit, that he soon shut up the Carthaginians in their capital, and drove them to sue for peace in very humble terms. If the Roman commander had not prevented it by the most extravagant demands, a peace highly honourable and beneficial to Rome, and disastrous to Carthage, might then have been concluded. But the conditions of Regulus were equivalent to the utter ruin of the Punic state, and were therefore resisted. Meanwhile, it happened that Xanthippus the Spartan arrived at Carthage; and, observing the conduct of the opposing parties, he declared that the humiliation of Carthage and the success of Rome were not owing to the relative strength of the two armies, but to the conduct of the generals. He enforced this opinion with so much reason, that the Carthaginian people insisted that he should be appointed to take the command of their army. The result justified the choice. The Spartan chief, having organized his troops, and arranged the several bodies suit- ably, marched out, offered battle to the Romans, and won a splendid 422 THE GENTILE NATIONS. victory. The Roman army was annihilated; the consul Regulus and five thousand troops were taken prisoners, and thirty thousand men were left dead on the field. Indeed, but two thousand escaped, who effected their retreat to Clupea. After this victory both parties made preparations for carrying on the war on a larger scale than before. The first renewal of the con- test was in a sea-fight off the coast of Sicily, in which the Romans obtained a complete victory, destroying above one hundred Cartha- ginian galleys, capturing thirty, and destroying fifteen thousand men. After this success the Roman fleet proceeded to Clupea, where they had no sooner landed their troops than the Carthaginian army appeared before the place. The two Hannos commanded, Xanthippus having returned to Greece: but notwithstanding the improved tactics introduced by the noble Greek, 'nothing could com- pensate his loss; the Romans were victorious, and their enemies were routed with the loss of nine thousand men. With such alternate successes and reverses, the war was con- tinued. Obliged, notwithstanding their victory, to retire from Africa by scarcity of provisions, the Roman commanders, returning with a large fleet, wished to signalize their voyage by some exploit, and for that purpose coasted Sicily, where they were almost anni- hilated by a storm. Out of three hundred and seventy ships, only eighty escaped shipwreck. To repair this disaster, another fleet was prepared, and some important successes were obtained in Sicily: but of this armament one hundred and sixty galleys were destroyed by another tempest ; on which the Romans abandoned their purpose of being a first-rate naval power, and limited their fleet to fifty gal- leys. But this resolve was soon laid aside, further fleets were pre- pared, and the war was prosecuted with such success, that the Car- thaginians took their captive Regulus from his dungeon, and sent him to Rome to negotiate a peace. But, when there, the noble Roman strongly advised the continuance of the war, — advice which the senate adopted ; on which Regulus was sent back to his prison, where he soon after died. On the renewal of the war, the Romans suffered some severe losses. Another fleet was destroyed by a storm, and Hamilcar Barca conducted the war in Sicily with great success. But all this was counterbalanced by a naval victory obtained by the consul Lu- tatiu^over Hanno, which forever destroyed the supremacy of Car- thage at sea, and placed Hamilcar in a position which compelled him to solicit a termination of the conflict. These circumstances led to the establishment of peace between the two nations, on terms highly favourable to Rome. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 423 At the close of the first Punic war, the Romans enjoyed a short season of tranquillity. The temple of Janus was shut for the secontl time, and there was quiet at home and abroad. But it is sufficiently apparent that this war seriously injured the best interests of the Roman state; and Niebuhr sagely observes, that it "was one of the first causes of the degeneracy of the Roman people." But, inde- pendently of its moral effects on the citizens of the Italian capital, it led to serious results both at Rome and at Carthage. At the latter place, the rapacity and tyranny of Rome produced such an effect on the mind of the great Hamilcar, that he took his son to the altar of his god, and there taught the young Hannibal to swear eternal enmity to the Romans, — an exercise of parental influence which, in its operation, brought Rome to the verge of ruin. On the return of the Cartha- ginian mercenary soldiers from Sicily, the state was unable to pay all the arrears which were due to them; and the negotiations hereby occasioned led to a desperate war, in which Carthage stood opposed to other old Tyrian colonies in Africa, combined with the barbarous tribes of Libyans in the neighbourhood. The rulers of the Punic capital, however, after seeing their city brought to the brink of destruction, were able to cut off their enemies, and establish their supremacy. But this measure fearfully weakened the martial re- sources of the state. The results of the war were no less remarkable on Rome. At its close Sicily was declared to be a Roman province. It was the first country, out of Italy, thus associated with the central govern- ment, and exhibited the origination and first action of that principle which led to the aggregation of numerous nations under one head, as the great Roman empire. While Rome was recovering from the financial and general ex- haustion occasioned by this war, and Carthage was struggling through her conflict with her revolted mercenaries, a similar rebell- ion took place in the Punic towns on the seacoast of Sardinia. Having extinguished the rebellion in Africa, a Carthaginian force was sent to put down the insurrection in Sardinia : but here Rome interposed, and not only protected the rebels, but compelled Carthage to abandon the island, and to pay one thousand two hundred talents, as the price of continued peace, — conduct which has been truly cliar- acterized as " one of the most detestable acts of injustice in the his- tory of Rome." — Niebvhr's History of Rome, vol. iv, p. 56. The Romans took advantage of this season of tranquillity to extend their power in Northern Italy, where they subdued the Ligurians and some Gallic tribes. They also determined to punish the notorious piracies of the Illyrians. A fleet and an army were Hi THE UEXTILE KATIOSS. soon equipped; and, as the result of this successful invasion, the greater part of lUyricum was coded to Rome. In the mean time, Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar Barca, had grown up to manhood, and entered on public life with all the spirit and energy of his father. Filled with hatred to Rome, and shut out from the Mediterranean islands by the terms of his father's treaty with that nation, he cast an anxious eye around, to discover a coun- try from which he might obtain a martial force, and the necessary means for assailing the obnoxious rival of his fatherland. What he sought for, he found in Spain. The southern parts of this country, yielding all the products of Sicily and Sardinia, and being besides rich in silver mines, formed a very natural object of attraction to Carthaginian rulers, after the loss of those important islands. Accordingly, when Hamilcar was driven from Sardinia, he pro- ceeded to Spain, where he encouraged the prosecution of the silver mines, and made himself very agreeable to the natives. On the death of this great man, his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, took the com- mand of the troops and country, and either entirely built, or ■finished the building of, Carthagena, (or New Carthage,) which is supposed by some to have been begun by Hamilcar. By these measures the Carthaginians acquired a political ascendency over a population numbering millions, from which they could recruit and extend their army, without being compelled to hire faithless mer- cenaries on exorbitant terms. Rome unquestionably viewed all these operations with dislike and suspicion ; but the intermediate Gauls prevented her from attempting any coercive measures. After Hasdrubal had conducted the affairs of Carthage in Spain for nine years, he was assassinated, and Hannibal succeeded to the govern- ment. This general was not long possessed of power before he determined to adopt measures of aggression against Rome. He accordingly marshalled his troops, and laid siege to Saguntum, a Greek city and ■colony on the Iberus ; which, after a siege of eight months, he cap- tured. Having thus acquired an immense booty he sent rich presents to Carthage, and proceeded to place his army in a state of prepara- tion for an effort on a much grander scale. The Romans, displeased at the success of Hannibal, sent ambassadors to remonstrate against Ills conquest of Saguntum. The wily general immediately referred them to Carthage, where he well knew that his success had placed his influence in the ascendant. When they appeared before the Punic rulers, the Romans blamed Hannibal for his aggression on Saguntum. The Carthaginians insisted that he was justified in the course he had taken ; and that it did not become Rome, while ex- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 425 tending her conquests on every side, to complain of their acquisitions in Spain. Oifended at this discourse, the Romans bade them choose peace or war ; to which they responded, that they would choose nei- ther, but take whichever was offered them. Hereupon the Romans said, " Then take war," — an announcement which was received by the Carthaginians with acclamations. An ample field was now opened for the daring energy, wonderful genius, and indomitable spirit of Hannibal. He immediately sub- dued the remainder of Spain, and crossed the Pyrenees, to march on Italy. Scipio, who was then consul, was sent with an army into Spain, to find employment for Hannibal in that country. But when he arrived as far as Marseilles, he found that his enemy had already reached the banks of the Rhone. He accordingly disem- barked his troops, and proceeded to dispute the passage of the river : but Hannibal was too quick in his motions to be arrested by this force. Before Scipio arrived Hannibal had passed the river, and, disregarding every other object, crossed the Alps, and descended on the plains of Italy. Here he immediately captured Turin, and was soon inforDied that Scipio had arrived to oppose him, and was ' encamped on the banks of the Po. It is beyond a doubt, that the Carthaginian general suffered a severe loss of troops, horses, and elephants, in crossing the mountains ; but it is equally certain that the Alpine Gauls, who bore a deadly hatred to Rome, flocked to his standard, and greatly recruited his army. The Roman forces, being greatly augmented by the arrival of the consul Sempronius and his troops, were prepared for active operations. By various irritating measures, Hannibal provoked his enemies to pass the river, and attack him ; when a desperate battle was fought, which issued in the total defeat of the Romans. Those who escaped took refuge in Placentia ; while Hannibal went into winter- quarters, and established an alliance with the Gauls of Northern Italy. The next campaign was opened by Flaminius and Servilius, who, having been appointed consuls, proceeded at the head of two Roman armies against the invaders. Servilius occupied Ariminum, to op- pose the progress of the Carthaginians, in case they should choose to proceed along the eastern side of the peninsula ; while Plaminius took his position at Arretium, to guard the approach to the capital through Etruria. Hannibal adopted the latter course, and conse- quently came in contact with the forces of Flaminius. Having offered him battle on the plains in the neighbourhood without effect, he proceeded toward Rome, leaving the consul and his army in his rear. This measure roused the ire of the Roman commander, and he immediately followed the Punic army. Hannibal, however, took 426 THE fiENTILB NATIONS. advantage of a thick fog, and a narrow defile in tiie mountains, to turn on his pursuers, when a brief conflict sufficed to destroy the consul and his army together. When the intelligence of this action was proclaimed in Rome by the praetor, in these words, — "We are vanquished in a great battle; the consul, with great part of his army, is slain," — general dismay filled the heart of the people, and the voice of the officer was drowned in lamentation. In this calamity the Romans appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus dictator; and his prudence, sagacity, and talent amply justified the choice of his constituents. Immediately on his appointment he proceeded to organize a force sufficient to repel the invader. Meanwhile Hannibal, not deeming it safe to advance on Rome, recrossed the Apennines, and directed his course to Apulia on the eastern side of the peninsula, where he did his utmost to lay waste the Roman settlements, and to detach the natives from their allegiance to Rome. Fabius, having raised four new legions, and organized the troops that had served under the consul Servilius, proceeded to meet the enemy. While on his march he issued a proclamation, requiring the inhabitants of all unfortified places within the range of the enemy's operations, to retire with all their movable wealth, and to burn and destroy their granaries, houses, and every- thing that could not be removed. Fabius then proceeded to the neighbourhood of Hannibal's quarters. The Punic chief at once offered him battle ; but the wary Roman knew that his strength was delay. He therefore took advantage of every opportunity to harass the enemy, to cut off stragglers, and to engage in any skirmish on advantageous terms But he steadily refrained from a general battle ; and, much to the annoyance and distress of the Carthaginian general, he maintained this cautious and prudent policy throughout his term of office. By this time, however, the Roman spirit had recovered its tone ; but the conduct of Fabius, although eminently successful, was stigmatized as mean and cowardly. In this state of public feeling the time arrived for the election of consuls, when 0. Terentius Varro and L. ^milius Paulus were raised to that dignity. The first seems to have been appointed on account of his bold and daring spirit, — a qualification regarded as essential to the adoption of energetic measures for the expulsion of Hannibal from Italy. The latter officer had obtained a triumph for his victories in Illyricum, and was supposed to possess sufficient coolness and judgment to prevent the rashness of his colleague from being injurious. With an army of eighty thousand foot, and more than seven thousand horse, these officers proceeded against the Car- thaginians. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 427 By this time Hannibal had possessed himself of the fortress and small town of Cannae, on the Aufidus, where the Romans had stored considerable quantities of warlike ammunition and food. This acquisition, together with the fact that the Roman troops had ob- tained the advantage over the Carthaginians in some recent skir- mishes, induced a strong disposition at Rome to hazard a battle ; and instructions to this effect were forwarded to the consuls. These officers proceeded to carry their orders into effect. Varro, being eager for the contest, availed himself of his day for commanding, to place the army directly before the position of Hannibal, who imme- diately crossed the river, and arranged his forces in order of battle. The Roman troops were the most numerous ; but they had not suffi- cient room to act with effect ; while the superior genius and inex- haustible military resources of Hannibal gave him overwhelming superiority. The result was a defeat more terrible, in its extent and results, than any which Rome had received, except in the conflict with the Gauls on the Allia. The consul Paulus was left dead on the field ; the consuls of thetpreceding year were also slain ; and, with the exception of ten thousand men who had been posted to guard the camp, and three thousand who fled from the carnage, the Roman army appears to have been destroyed. Out of six thousand horse only seventy escaped with the consul Varro. This officer in some measure compensated his haste in beginning, and lack of judg- ment in directing, the battle, by the indomitable spirit which he evinced under the full pressure of the calamity. Despairing neither of himself nor of his country, he carefully collected the wreck of his troops, and manfully took up his position at Venusia, between the victorious Carthaginians and Rome, to resist to the utmost their approach to the capital. The intelligence of this disaster filled Rome with deep affliction. But the spirit of this remarkable people rose with the emergency : they again appointed Fabius dictator, and he at once resumed his old cautious policy, which had obtained for him the surname of Cunctator, "the Delayer." Meanwhile, Hannibal, crossing over to the western side of the peninsula, occupied the city of Capua. Here the relaxing influence of the southern climate, and the indulgences and licentious practices into which his soldiery plunged, rapidly deteriorated their military strength, and prepared the way for that change in the relative power of the belligerents which soon took place. Nothing more fully shows the lofty and daring spirit of the Roman people, than the fact, that while Hannibal was ranging through Italy, ravaging their towns, and destroying their troops, they maintained 428 THE GENTILE NATIONS. an army in Spain, — which cut off the supply of further reinforce- ments to Hannibal from that country,^— and another in Sicily ; and, hearing that their great enemy had formed an alliance with Philip of Macedon, they actually sent a third army into Greece. It was in Sicily that military success first dawned on the arms of Kome after her terrible defeats. There, the praetor Metellus took Syracuse, which had been defended not only by the bravery of its citizens, but also by the wonderful talents and mechanical resources of the great Archimedes, who was slain in the capture of the place. Soon afterward Agrigentum, the last Carthaginian fortress on that important island, also fell into the hands of the Romans, who thus became masters of the country, which was thenceforth, in its whole extent, a province of Rome. As Hannibal received no reinforcements from Carthage, he sum- moned his brother, who had long resisted the Scipios in Spain, to join him in Italy. Hasdrubal obeyed, and crossed the Pyrenees and the Alps in safety ; but, while proceeding to join Hannibal, he was misled by his guides, and compflled at great disadvantage to hazard a battle with the Romans under the consuls Livius and Nero, in which he perished with his whole army. The first tidings that Hannibal received of this great disaster, were by the bloody head of his brother being thrown into his camp. Harassed by these reverses, Hannibal made earnest application to Carthage for, more troops ; but the rival factions of that devoted republic were deaf to his applica- tions. They neither aided him to continue the contest, nor took any means of obtaining peace. Yet, under all these disadvantages, the heroic Carthaginian prosecuted the war ; and, without any ex- ternal resources, while shut up in the heart of an enemy's country, he maintained the struggle for sixteen years. At length Scipio, who, notwithstanding his youth, had earned a high military reputation in Spain, was raised to the consulship, and earnestly solicited leave to invade Africa. At first the senate regarded the proposal as extravagant: but, moved by the arguments and solicitations of the young and successful soldier, they assigned him the province of Sicily, leaving it to him, if he could obtain resources, to make a descent on the African coast, while they refused to provide him with any more troops than could be raised in Sicily. There can be no doubt that the senate was at this time greatly em- barrassed by the straitened condition of Rome ; but it seems equally certain that in this instance it manifested a mean and unworthy opposition to Scipio, who was the darling of the people. After spending one year in Sicily, making preparations, — which he did mainly by receiving, on account of his great popularity, THE GENTILE NATIONS. ' 429 numerous volunteers and munitions of war from Italy, — he passed over to Africa. Here lie found himself opposed by three armies, — one Carthaginian under Hasdrubal, and two .Numidian under Masin- issa and Syphax. Scipio had previously detached Masinissa, the legitimate king of Numidia, from his allegiance to Carthage ; and the latter now showed his treachery by leading the Carthaginians into an ambuscade, where many of them were destroyed, after which he openly went over to the Romans. The consul then entered into a correspondence with Syphax; and, having gained sufiBcient time by amusing the Numidian usurper, he broke off the negotiation, sud- denly surprised their camp in the night, set it on fire, and thus routed and destroyed a great part of the army. After this success, Scipio laid siege to Utica. To save a place of so much importance, the Carthaginians mustered all their available forces. But Scipio again assailed the combined army of Carthaginians and Numidians, before they were fully prepared for action, and obtained a second victory of such magnitude, that the Punic army was completely driven from the field, and Utica and Tunis were simultaneously invested. The government of Carthage, alarmed and confounded by these defeats, sent off expresses to Mago and Hannibal, commanding their immediate return for the defence of their own country. The former general died on the voyage, of wounds received in battle : the latter, with his army, returned in safety. Prior to his arrival, the Cartha- ginians had entered into negotiations with Scipio for a treaty of peace : but they no sooner saw the veteran general and brave troops, who had so long set at defiance the armies of Rome even in the heart of Italy, than they broke off their correspondence with the Roman commander, and resolved once more to try the fortune of war. The Carthaginians arrived at this determination in opposi- tion to the judgment of Hannibal. He would have made peace on reasonable terms ; but his countrymen were so elated by his pres- ence that they refused. With secret misgivings as to the result, this brave man made the best possible preparation for meeting the enemy in the field. The battle took place on the plains of Zama, where — after a des- perate and long- continued conflict, during which the Punic veteran did all that military genius and experience, directing the operations of determined bravery, could effect — the Romans were completely victorious. Hannibal escaped from the field of carnage with a small body of horse, and soon reached Carthage. When the rulers of the city saw their idolized chief without an army, and heard that intrepid warrior declare that " Carthage had no resource but peace," their 430 • THE GENTILE NATIONS. spirit sunk into abject submission, and they accepted the terms of peace, or rather of subjection to Rome, which were dictated by Scipio. By these terms Carthage had to deliver up all Roman prisoners and deserters ; to surrender all her ships of war, except ten, and all her elephants ; to pay toward the expenses of the con- flict about two millions sterling ; to agree not to make war without the consent of Rome ; and to give one hundred hostages for the due performance of the treaty. When the Roman general returned home, he was honoured with a most magnificent triumph, and digni- fied with the surname of Africanus. The successful termination of this war placed the Roman state at the head of all the nations of Europe, as a military power. And it lost no time or opportunity of availing itself of this advantage for the extension of its dominions. The Athenians, having suffered greatly from the attacks of Philip, King of Macedon, sought, and readily obtained, the aid of Rome. The consul Sulpicius at first, and afterward Quinctius Flamininus, at the head of the Roman legions, carried the war to the shores of Epirus. Yet although the Romans had now obtained a great extension of territory, having established their supremacy over all Italy, Sicily, and the Carthaginian dominions in Spain, they had at the same time been reduced to the lowest extremity of financial distress, by their efforts to maintain the war. Indeed, this appears to have been the distinguishing feature of the Roman character : for no ancient nation ever made such sacrifices to maintain a military struggle, as did Rome on this occasion. When every mode of taxation failed, the state called for the voluntary contributions of its members, and received gold and silver ornaments and plate, which, together with a great debasement of the currency, enabled them to carry on the war to a successful termination. Although the Roman army under Sulpicius succeeded in protect- ing the Athenians, it effected nothing decisive against Macedon. During two years the war languished, and the Roman arms obtained but little respect in the east of Europe. At length T. Quinctius Flamininus was sent to take the command of the Roman army in Greece. He immediately altered the seat and the character of the war. Having completelj^ defeated the design of the Macedonian king in guarding a strong pass between Epirus and Thessaly, the Roman general compelled him to retire, throwing open to Rome almost the whole of the Peloponnesus. At the opening of the next campaign, the opposing armies encoun- tered each other in Thessaly. Here the advanced guard of the two nations met by accident in a thick fog; when a struggle immediately THE GENTILE NATIONS. 431 took place, which extended to the whole of the troops, and became a general battle. Victory declared for the Romans ; and Philip, de- feated and humbled, sued for peace. This was granted with a great show of liberality : for, while the Romans compelled the king of Macedon to surrender his ships of war, to reduce his army to five hundred men, to discontinue the training and use of elephants, and to pay one thousand talents toward the expenses of the campaign, they professed to have no design of aggrandizing themselves, but most pompously proclaimed liberty to Greece. When this procla- mation was made at the Isthmian Games, as Dr. Taylor well ob- serves, "it filled the foolish spectators with so much delight, that they virtually became slaves to the Romans through gratitude for freedom." The Romans hastened the conclusion of this treaty, having heard that Antiochus, King of Syria, was advancing at the head of a great army along the seacoast of Asia Minor toward the Hellespont; which induced the Roman deputies, who had been charged with the conduct of the arrangements consequent on the close of the war with Philip, to meet the Syrian monarch, and to protest against his proceeding to Europe. To this address the haughty warrior replied with scorn, that he knew his own rights, and did not require teach- ing from the Romans ; and that they had better set some bounds to their own ambition, before they presumed to dictate moderation to other states. "Yet, notwithstanding this angry meeting, no imme- diate hostilities took place. It must not escape observation, that these wars in Greece bring Rome under notice as a subject of sacred prophecy, and of that peculiar providential interposition which the fulfilment of divinely- revealed and publicly-recorded predictions so clearly implies. Mace- don was the hereditary kingdom of Alexander, and the seat of his first sovereignty. Antiochus was one of the successors of that great warrior, and ruled over a large part of the empire which he had reared up. A victory over these powers would consequently, in the then state of other countries, have placed the conqueror as the fourth monarchy which had been so clearly predicted by the prophet Daniel. This was soon afterward obtained. The Romans, notwithstanding their military strength, still felt a latent dread of the rising power of Carthage, cultivated and directed by the indomitable Hannibal. They accordingly availed themselves of some little difference which arose between the king of Numidia and the Punic rulers, to send a commission to Carthage : the real object, however, was, if possible, to get the veteran general into their power. When we consider the violence of the rival factions in 432 THE GENTILE NATIONS. that city, it seems probable that they might have carried this plan into eiFecfc, had not the experienced warrior sought safety in flight. On the arrival of the Roman commissioners, he received them in his state costume, and conducted himself with his usual ease and self- possession ; but that night he abandoned the city, and embarked for the east, where he was soon found at the court of Antiochus. Rightly judging that this sovereign was the only one who possessed military means and martial spirit sufficient to ofier any chance of success in a struggle with Rome, the brave old Carthaginian, faith- ful to his youthful oath, determined to do his utmost to induce the Syrian king to attempt the arresting of the progress of Roman power. Antiochus readily entered into the views of Hannibal ; and a plan of operations was devised, by which the Romans were to be assailed simultaneously in Italy and Greece, — in the former, by an army under the Punic general ; in the latter, by Antiochus. Messengers were actually despatched to Carthage, to bring that power into co- operation with the design ; but, this fact being made known to the faction opposed to Hannibal, they betrayed the secret to the Ro- mans. War thus became inevitable, and Antiochus passed over to Greece. The Romans made vast preparations for this contest, and sent their consul Glabrio, at the head of a great army, into Greece. Antiochus, who had brought with him but ten thousand men, felt unequal to meet the enemy in the open field, and took his position at the celebrated Pass of Thermopylae. Here he was attacked and dislodged, and his army almost entirely destroyed. The king him- self, with only five hundred men, escaped. At first he took refuge in Chalcis, from whence he passed over into Asia. The Romans, elated with this success, prepared to prosecute the war with increased spirit ; and, having elected L. C. Scipio (brother of the conqueror of Carthage) consul, sent him, with his able brother as second in command, to. conduct the war in Asia. Antiochus possessed vast resources, and might have been a most formidable enemy of Rome. He, however, devoted himself far more to sensual pleasures than to the stern duties of military life. But when he was aware of the approach of the Roman forces, he placed himself at the head of an army of eighty thousand men, and waited the arrival of the enemy near Magnesia, at the foot of Mount Sipylus. Here he suffered a severe defeat : his army was destroyed, and he compelled to secure his personal safety by a precipitate flight. The result of this victory gave to Rome all the possessions which Anti- ochus had previously held in Europe, nearly the whole of Asia Minor, and a sum equal to about three millions sterling, in addition to the spoil taken in the battle, which was immense. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 433 The tone of command now assumed by the Roman functionaries in Greece gave great umbrage to the native rulers '; and they eagerly desired to throw off the yoke, which had been almost imperceptiblj', but with ultimate rigour, imposed on them. None felt this foreign domination so keenly as Perseus, who had succeeded to the Mace- donian throne ; and he cautiously, but diligently, proceeded to hus- band his finances, augment his army, and make alliances with his neighbours, with the view, in due time, of asserting and maintain- ing his independence. In making these preparations for resisting Roman domination, he did not fail to correspond with the natural enemy of that power, — Carthage ; and, as usual, from the factious character of the government of that republic, this step was soon known in the Italian capital. An army was consequently sent against Perseus, who entered Thessaly at the head of his forces, captured several important towns, and encountered the Roman troops on the banks of the River Peneus, where, in an engagement between the cavalry and light infantry of the two armies, the Mace- donians had the decided advantage, and the Roman consul was compelled to retreat Perseus, however, was not by this success led away from a just consideration of the dangers of his position. Taking advantage, therefore, of this success, he immediately made proposals for peace, which the Romans, according to their invariable custom, refused to entertain after a defeat. The war was accord- ingly recommenced, and continued for three years, without giving the Romans any advantage over their enemies. At length ^Emilius Paulus, son of the commander that was slain at Cannae, was appointed to the command of the army. This general, by his pru- dent conduct and wise strategy, soon altered the aspect of the war. Having found the Macedonian army intrenched on the banks of the Enipeus, he carefully examined the ground, and made a successful effort with a company of his troops, by which a pass was forced in the mountain, and a way opened to the rear of the Macedonian camp. This measure compelled Perseus to retreat, and take up a position on the Haliacmon, near Pydna. Here the Macedonian king was fol- lowed by the Roman army, and compelled, by the nature of the ground, either to hazard a battle, or to separate his forces. He chose the former alternative : a severe conflict ensued, in which the Romans obtained a complete victory. Perseus fled, — but was pursued, and ultimately compelled to surrender to the Roman consul. About the same time, a Roman army, under the prsetor Anicius, invaded Illyr- icum, and completely subdued it in a campaign of thirty days. Thus Macedon, Epirus, and Illyricum were added to the Roman dominions. 28 434 THE ge:;iile nations. The result of these wars places Rome before the mind of every believer in the truth of divine revelation, as the fourth kingdom, the first having been that of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The head of gold had fallen ; the Medo-Persian empire, symbolized by the breast and arms of silver, had perished ; and now the sway of " the orazen-coated Greeks" was terminated by the subjection of Alex- ander's direct successor in the paternal kingdom, and of his most powerful successor in Asia, to the dominion of Rome. The further progress of this power should, therefore, be considered under an abiding recognition of this providential arrangement. It will be found that the future history of Rome rapidly placed it in the pre- cise position in which it was spoken of by the prophet,— namely, as under the rule of "kings." Dan. ii. Released from the Grecian war by the conquest of Macedon, the Romans looked around on every side with unquenchable ardour, seeking for territory to seize, and nations to subdue. After various intrigues, which greatly extended their influence in Spain, Transal- pine Gaul, and Asia Minor, it was resolved, at the instigation of Cato, to destroy Carthage. The rulers of this republic, although possessing a considerable increase of wealth and power since the close of the last war with Rome, had nevertheless conducted their affairs with so much sagacity and prudence, that when the Roman senate had determined on its destruction, they were at a loss for any reasonable ground for renewing the war, and at last had recourse to the cruel and absurd decision, that the inhabitants of Carthage should remove with all their effects from that city to another resi- dence, ten miles from the sea. The rulers, and, in fact, the whole population of Carthage, perceived that their ruin was determined on ; and that the proposed measure, although it might produce that result more slowly than the operations of war, would with equal cer- tainty effect it. They therefore resolved on a determined resistance ; and never was a resolution more manfully carried into effect. Rich and poor vied with each other in their efforts to defend their city to the utmost. Even the ladies cut off the long hair of which they were so proud, to make strings for bows and slings. This unexpected unanimity and energy rendered the destruction of Carthage a work of greater difficulty than was anticipated. For more than two years they made a successful resistance to every effort of their enemies. But at length the Romans appointed Scipio ^milianus, the adopted son of Scipio Africanus, to the command of their army in Africa ; and his energy and genius soon brought the war to a close. Ho at first devoted himself to restore the disci- pline of the army, which had been allowed by former commanders THE GENTILE NATIONS. 435 to degenerate into disorder and licentiousness. Having removed this evil, and, by the justice of his measures, and the blandness of his manner, secured the confidence and respect of the neighbouring African nations, he proceeded to assail Carthage with all his power. The defence was able and obstinate, but vain. The Roman general stormed the outer wall, cut his way to the principal square of the city, spent six days in preparing for the reduction of the strong fortresses which guardetl it, and at length obliged the garrison to surrender at discretion ; whereupon Carthage was consigned to the flames, and great numbers of the inhabitants perished in the ruins of the place, rather than submit to their cruel enemies. During the progress of the Third Punic war, fresh disturbances broke out in Greece. These were principally raised by an impostor, who pretended to be the son of Philip. The Achasans entered into the strife; but resistance to the legions of Rome was fruitless. Corinth, Thebes, and Colchis were completely destroyed, and Greece was fully subjected to the Roman government. About the same time, the Roman arms were equally successful in Spain, which henceforth became a province of Rome. The unscrupulous rapacity, and boundless grasping at power, which impelled the Roman senate to these continued sanguinary wars, were equally evinced in the government at home. The rapid succession and vast extent of these military operations, the numer- ous offices which they called into existence, and the means of highly lucrative employment for the nominees of the senate, raised that body to an inordinate measure of power and wealth ; while the taxes and duties, for the maintenance of these extended struggles, falling on the people, reduced them to the direst poverty and wretchedness. The government, therefore, while it exulted in territorial aggrandize- ment and martial power, became, through the operation of these causes, a proud and violent aristocracy, isolated from the people by class feelings, privileges, and powers, and hated by them in propor- tion to this isolation. This state of things was perceived and lamented by the best and greatest Romans of the day ; but the first who boldly attempted to check the oppression, and redress the grievances, of the people, was Tiberius Gracchus. The son of a consul, — his mother the daughter of Scipio Africanus, — he had access to the highest offices of state, and might have shared in the power and plunder enjoyed by the great, had he chosen to ally himself with them. He nobly aspired to higher aims. His soul was moved with indignation at the un- checked progress of corruption ; and he resolved to devote his best efforts to remedy the evils which prevailed. With this object, he 436 THE GENTILE NATIONS. offered himself, and was elected, as a tribune of the people. Invested with the authority of this ofiBce, he soon perceived that one promi- nent part of the prevailing corruption lay in the conduct of members of the aristocracy with respect to the public lands ; as an individual would frequently undertake the management of an extensive and valuable tract of country, which he would sub-let in small portions to numerous needy dependants, — making thereby an enormous profit to himself at the expense of the public. Gfacchus, therefore, after consulting with the wisest and most virtuous of the citizens, and obtaining their concurrence in his proceeding, determined to enforce the Licinian prohibition against any individual holding more than five hundred acres of the public land. This measure roused the ire of the sordid and oppressive aristocracy, who, although they did not dare openly to resist the operation of an admitted law, were resolved, if possible, to prevent it from being carried into effect. The patri- otic tribune, however, not satisfied with this measure, and seeing the poverty and distress of the people, and that the resources of the state, after its recent successful wars, were quite equal to its wants, proposed that the treasures bequeathed to Rome by Attalus, King of Pergamus, should be distributed to relieve the wants of the poorest citizens. While the enactment of these and other similar measures was being carried into effect, the year of office for which Gracchus was appointed tribune expired. He was, indeed, proposed for reelec- tion; and would doubtless have succeeded, had not a combination of patricians and place-holders determined to risk all the crimes and hazard of a bloody tumult, rather than allow this intrepid advocate of the people to proceed in his course of reform. Nasica, a large holder of public lands, with others equally interested, daringly assaulted the unarmed multitude who supported Gracchus, In this commotion the earnest reformer of public abuses was slain, witii many of his friends. The cause for which Tiberius Gracchus died, did not perish with him. At the time of his death he had a brother, a mere boy, named Caius ; who, undaunted by the fate of his relation, determined to devote himself to a similar line of conduct. When he arrived at a proper age, he was elected quaestor, and discharged the duties of that office in Sardinia with great ability and integrity. On return- ing to Rome, he was raised to the dignity of tribune. In this office he proposed, and carried into effect, some measures which bore with peculiar force against the murderers of his brother. He then turned his attention to the enforcement of the agrarian law. When a second time elected tribune, he procured the enactment of a statute which THE GENTILE NATIONS. 437 raised the equestrian order to the dignity of judges, and proportion- ately diminished the power of senators. To neutralize the operation of his influence, the patricians set up Drusus, another tribune, as a rival to Caius Gracchus in the popular esteem. For this purpose he was enabled, with the sanction of the senate, to remit taxes, and make large grants of public money, to the people. The mean design of this measure was, indeed, so suc- cessful, that, when proposed for tribune the third time, Caius lost his election. This, however, did not deter him from the prosecution of his great object. But, with the loss of his ofiice, he had lost his legal power to stem the torrent ; while, by the same influence which shut out Caius from office, Opimius, the most factious and violent of the patricians, was elected consul. In this state of things a furious collision was inevitable, and soon occurred. One of the lictors, engaged in some sacrificial service, having made a coarse remark to the crowd which surrounded Caius and Fulvius, some of the party rushed on him with such force that he was slain in the broil. This impolitic violence afforded the aristocracy the opportunity which they had long desired : the senate was convened, and Opimius declared dictator. Caius Gracchus and his friends, determined to carry their resistance to the utmost, took possession of Mount Aventine. But they had miscalculated their power, under the influence of their own ardent feelings. The people were neither sufficiently organized, nor proof against the seductions of the power- ful and wealthy party arrayed against them. Consequently, even before they were attacked, great numbers who had at first sur- rounded Gracchus, departed from his side ; so that when the dicta- tor assailed the popular party, it was completely routed. Above three thousand were slain. Caius himself fell, at his own request,- by the sword of a faithful slave, rather than come into the hands of his enemies. With the death of the Gracchi perished the last remnant of constitutional liberty at Rome. Henceforth the government was conducted by an oligarchy, until at length it became an absolute monarchy. We now approach, in the progress of this mighty nation, the period in which, notwithstanding the utmost degeneracy into which their institutions had fallen, they succeeded, through the genius and energy of a series of most extraordinary men, in placing Rome on the pinnacle of power, and, in fact, reigning supreme in the world. We have the first development of this extraordinary cycle in the 438 THE GBNTILB NATIONS. Jugurthine war. Micipsa, King of Numidia, and son of Masinissa, divided Ms dominions, on his death-bed, between his two sons, Hiempsal and Adherbal, and his illegitimate nephew, Jugurtha. The latter, possessing an unscrupulous and daring mind, determined to seize the whole kingdom. He accordingly procured the murder of Hiempsal ; and when Adherbal prepared to assert his own right, and punish his brother's murderer, he was Soon defeated, and com- pelled to fly to Rome to solicit aid. Jugurtha, who knew the char- acter of the nation with which he had to deal, sent emissaries to the imperial city with such large sums of gold, to be employed in brib- ing the rulers, that he prevented any effective interference from that quarter. The senate, indeed, decreed, that the Numidian dominions should be equally divided between Jugurtha and Adherbal; but when the latter had taken possession of his portion, Jugurtha de- clared war against him, took him prisoner, and put him to death This atrocity induced the Romans to send a prsetor to Africa, pledg- ing the public faith for the personal safety of Jugurtha, but com- manding him to repair to Rome to answer for his conduct. He obeyed the summons ; but the power of gold prevailed : for, while one tribune questioned the African king, another, with equal author- ity, forbade him to reply ; and thus the ostensible object of the Romans was defeated. Jugurtha by these means not only obtained exemption from pun- ishment, but actually dared, even in the capital, to perpetrate new crimes. Learning that another cousin of his was in the Roman capital, and regarding it as probable that he would obtain from the senate some portion of the Numidian dominions, he procured his assassination. When this murder became known, and had been fully traced to its author, it was regarded as such a flagrant insult to the Roman power, that although the pledge of personal safety was held sacred, and he was allowed to return to Africa, the consul Albinus was instructed to proceed with an army to make war upon him. Jugurtha, however, was as wary in war as he was daring in crime ; and he managed to foil the operations of the Romans for the first year without coming to any decisive struggle. When the con- sul returned to Rome to hold his comitia, he left the army under the command of his brother Aulus, whose mind seems to have been filled with an intense desire to gratify his avarice by seizing the treasures of the Numidian king. Rashly adopting a series of meas- ures for the accomplishment of this object, he enabled his antago- nist to surprise, defeat, and capture his whole army The proud Numidian determined to avail himself to the utmost of this success ; so he made his captives pass under the yoke, — a practice adopted THE GENTILE NATIONS. 43.T by the Romans themselves for symbolizing the total national subju- gation of a conquered country. . All Rome was roused by this infamy. The senate disavowed this dishonourable surrender; while the tribunes demanded the sending of a commission to Africa, to make inquiries, and to punish those who had received bribes from Jugurtha. But this virtuous effort was poisoned at the beginning of its operation. Scaurus, one who had been most flagrantly guilty, got himself appointed on the commission of inquiry; so that this notorious criminal presided over the trial and condemnation of four consulars and a pontiff. Among them was Opimius, who had been the cause of the death of Caius Gracchus. At this time Rome suffered most severely from several defeats which she received from the barbarous tribes of the Cimbri on the northern frontier of their empire. This foe had destroyed one con- sular army on the borders of lUyricum, whence they marched west- ward, until they were found again in prodigious strength at !Nar- bonne in Transalpine Gaul. Here, again, they were met by the greatest army that Rome could command, under the proconsul Csepio and the consul Manlius : but the barbarians were again vic- torious, and it is said that eighty thousand of the Roman troops were left dead on the field. • In the mean time, the war was carried on against Jugurtha by Metellus with great success; and the usurper was compelled to solicit aid from Bocchus, King of Mauritania, and to take refuge in his dominions. The Roman general commanding in this war derived great assistance in these struggles from Caius Marius, — a young officer of mean birth, who had risen from the lowest grade of the service to be lieutenant of the army. As the war seemed drawing to a close, Metellus was surprised to hear Marius solicit leave of absence, that he might go to Rome, and offer himself for the consular office the ensuing year. The general at first refused, with some contemptuous expressions respecting the youth of the aspirant. Afterward, however, when there was scarcely time for him to reach Rome before the day of election, leave was given. Marius improved the opportunity : he fled, rather than travelled, to Rome, and made such good use of the brief interval that he was not only elected, but, notwithstanding Metellus had been confirmed by the senate in the command of the army of Africa, he had that country assigned him by the assembly of the people as his province. Utterly disregard- ing the appointment made by the senate, he collected fresh levies, and organized an army, to proceed to his appointed province. In doing this, perhaps chiefly by the daring energy of his own ■110 THE GENTILE NATIONS. example and character, Marius continued to work out a complete revolution in Rome. Prior to this time the Roman legions were supplied from the respectable classes of society : men who possessed some propertj^ and consequently had a stake in the country, were alone deemed eligible to fill the ranks of the heavy- armed infantry. But neither Latins nor Italians had yet been enrolled as Roman citizens, Avhile the free population had been diminished by successive wars. In these circumstances, Marius induced the senate to concur in his recruiting from the lowest of the people ; and he soon found himself surrounded by a hardy and daring body of men, ready to follow his standard to meet any enemy. But then, as an able writer observes, they were led forth " without a prejudice or a principle, ready at his bidding to turn their arms upon either friends or enemies." Uninfluenced by the patriotic feelings and conservative restraints which were sure to aflfect men in the position of the old legionaries, these newly-formed soldiers became the creatures of their chief; and in consequence we henceforth find Rome ruled over by military power. Marius hastened to Africa, where Metellus had carried on the campaign very successfully, but, hearing that he had been super- seded, retired to Rome, where he was honoured with a triumph. Mariu^ prosecuted the war with ability and spirit; and although Jugurtha defended himself with consummate genius, and seemed inexhaustible in resources, Marius at length defeated him in a great battle, and Jugurtha Avas afterward delivered up to the Romans by his faithless allies. It is undoubtedly true, that this man had been guilty of the most enormous crimes ; but the barbarity of his victors seems equally detestable. After being led in chains through the laud which he had governed, and exposed before the triumphal chariot of Marius, on the day Avhen he ATas rewarded for the glorious termination of the Avar, the wretched captive Avas cast headlonf into the subterranean prison on the Capitoline Rock, and left to perish «)? cold and hunger through a mortal agony of six days. When Marius triumphed for his success in Africa, he had just been chosen consul for the second time, and Avas at once appointed to conduct the war against the Cimbri in Gaul. Thither he pro- ceeded; but he found his raw levies unequal to subdue these ha.vdy barbarians. Acting, therefore, on the defensive, inuring his troops to discipline and exertion, he patiently prepared for the Avork which had been assigned him. It was, however, not until he had been appointed consul the fourth time, that he felt sufficient confidence in his legions to risk a pitched battle. The prudent delay of Marius inspired the Cimbri with contempt for his troops ; but, at length, in THE GBNTILD NATIONS. 441 two successive conflicts, he defeated this huge host with immense slaughter. Yet, notwithstanding these successes, a great army of the Cimbri still survived, crossed the Alps, and descended to the banks of the Po. The forces sent out to meet them retired in confusion at their approach. Fortunately Marius arrived just at this moment, effected a junction of his victorious legions with the army of Catulus, his colleague in the consulship, and in a great battle routed and destroyed this terrible host. It is said that one hundred and fifty thousand were slain, sixty thousand taken prisoners, and great num- bers of both men and women destroyed themselves rather than fall into the hands of the Romans. Thus ended the third perilous inva- sion of the Roman state. Marius was instantly counted with Romu- lus and Camillus, as the third founder of the city, and the preserver of his country. About this time a second servile war in Sicily was terminated with a fearful loss of life. A much more dangerous one, of a very similar kind, also broke out in Italy. It arose out of the gross injus- tice with which the Romans persisted in treating the Italian allies. After a murderous contest of three years, it was ended by the Romans granting the freedom of their city to all the Italians who laid down their arms. Amid all these conflicts, it became very evident that the most imminent danger of the state arose from the rivalry of two great generals. Marius, now nearly seventy years of age, still retained ambition and energy of character. His rival was Sylla, a soldier of noble extraction, about forty-five years old, who had served under Marius as quaestor in Africa, and greatly distinguished himself in the last victory over the Cimbri. Both these warriors had been engaged in the war waged by Rome against the Italians, although Marius retired before its close, while Sylla was actively and honourably employed to the end. Mithridates, King of Pontus, one of the most formidable enemies that Rome ever had in the east, had taken advantage of these com- motions in Italy and Sicily to extend his power throughout Asia Minor, and, in fact, to make himself paramount in Western Asia. Considering the position which Rome had assumed, a war with this power was unavoidable. The command of the enterprise was looked for by Sylla as an object of intense desire : and Marius, old as he was, felt no less anxious to obtain the distinction. But the latter was always regarded by the senate with dislike ; and he had recently made himself specially obnoxious by a covert connexion with a fac- tious tribune, Saturnius, who had occasioned an insurrection, in which he and many others had been slain. Under such circum- 442 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Stances the senate appointed Sylla to undertake the war against Mithridates. Marius, enraged at being deprived of this command, obtained the active aid of Sulpicius Galba, one of the tribunes, and commenced an active agitation against the government. Availing himself of all the elements of discontent arising out of the recent arrangement between Rome and the Italians, and holding out hopes to his parti- sans of their sharing in the spoil of Mithridates, if successful, he by these means gathered a party, raised a tumult, and assailed the consuls: blood was shed, and Sylla had to seek safety in flight. Meanwhile, Sulpicius, having cleared the forum of his principal opponents, proposed to an assembly of the people the appointment of Marius to the command in Asia, which was carried. Marius was now, in fact, the master of Rome ; and prators were sent to inform Sylla, who had proceeded to his camp, that he was superseded in his command, and required to deliver up the army to Marius. But the factious leaders of this movement had mistaken the character of the man with whom they had to deal. Sylla immediately appealed to his troops, told them of the indignity to which he had been subjected, and persuaded them that they were no less insulted an,d injured than himself The great number of his officers, men of family and property, refused to unite in any violent measure ; but the soldiers, to the ex- tent of six legions, declared their readiness to follow their general ; and, placing himself at the head of these, he marched toward Rome. The Marian faction, as well as the senate and the people of Rome, were alarmed and confounded at this measure : they had no troops to meet this army in the field. Officers were sent to Sylla, forbidding his approach to the city. These were slain, and the legions advanced : by an artful manoeuvre Sylla obtained possession of one of the gates of the city, and entered at the head of his troops. The people as- sailed the advancing soldiers from the windows and house-tops ; but a threat to set the city on fire soon put down this opposition, and Sylla in turn was paramount at Rome. lie, however, preserved strict discipline among his troops, but insisted on the proscription of twelve of his enemies. Sulpicius was betrayed and slain. Marius narrowly escaped by flight. Sylla then assembled the people^ and caused them to abrogate those laws by which the tribunes had been able to excite such formidable seditions, leaving the people in full possession of their suffrages. He then allowed them to elect two consuls : Octavius, a firm supporter of the senate, was one ; and Cinna, a decided partisan of Marius, was the other. It is remarkable that, possessing such power, Sylla should have permitted this last appointment ; but he THE GENTILE ^ATIONS. 443 satisfied himself with requiring Cinna to take a religious vow to maintain and administer faithfully the new laws which had been made. • Having effected these objects Sylla returned to the camp, and proceeded to his appointed sphere of action against Mithridates. Here he had a difficult part to act ; but he succeeded, After afford- ing his soldiers ample opportunities for obtaining booty, in order to secure their adherence to himself, he stormed Athens, which had been in alliance with Mithridates, slaughtered the inhabitants with- out mercy, and defeated the armies of the king of Pontus in two decisive engagements. While these events transpired in the east, a strange revolution had been wrought in Rome. Sylla had scarcely left Italy before Cinna avowed a determination to annul all the regulations which he had so religiously sworn to maintain. He accordingly insisted on the recall of the exiles, and the restoration of the laws of Sulpicius. These propositions, however, met with violent opposition from the senate, from his colleague in the consulship, and also from the tribunes; and when these found that Cinna was determined to attempt carrying his measures by force, they anticipated his move- ments, flew to arms, expelled him from the consulship and the city, and elected Morula, a flamen of Jupiter, consul in his stead. But Cinna, when thus cast as a fugitive on the world, did not despair. He immediately proceeded to the newly-created citizens in Campania; and, exciting their compassion for him, and their fears that their newly- acquired dignity was likely to be wrested from them, he induced great numbers to rally round him, together with many exiles of the Marian party, and among them Sertorius, an officer of distinction. He then went, clothed in black, to the Roman camp, and appealed to the soldiers. The sight of a consul in such distress so moved these men, that they insisted on march- ing under his orders. At the head of a Roman army Cinna pro- ceeded to Rome. In the mean time, Marius, who was well informed of all that was passing, suddenly landed on the coast of Etruria, where he was soon joined by many of his party, and a large body of dis- contented slaves ; so that he, also, gathering strength as he went, approached Rome. Other sections of the army joined the insurrec- tion ; and Rome was completely beleaguered by her own rebellious subjects. After some considerable delay, during which a pestilence raged with fearful violence, both in the city and in the camp, the senate was compelled to submit. Marius and Cinna entered the city triumphant ; and a fearful scene of carnage and plunder ensued. Marius glutted his rage against all who had opposed his party without 444 THE GENTILE NATIONS. any limitation ; while the soldiers, who had crowded to his standard for the hope of plunder, eagerly grasped the opportunity now afforded them, and Rome was filled with blood and rapine. Having gratified the revenge of his partisans, Marius appointed himself consul, without even the formality of an election ; and, with Cinna, undertook the government of the state. It was arranged that the latter should direct the affairs of Italy, while the aged general should collect an army^ proceed to the east, and supersede Sylla in the war with Pontus. Daring as he was, it is generally thought that Marius dreaded an encounter with his younger rival in arms; it is, however, certain that he died soon after his appointment, — as is supposed, by suicide. Valerius Flaccus was now appointed con- sul, as colleague of Cinna. Order being somewhat restored in Italy, Flaccus collected an army, and marched to the east, to watch the motions of Sylla : but while manoeuvring his army in Greece, in the hope of obtaining an advantage over his able opponent, he was assassinated in his camp, and Fimbria,' a violent and factious tribune, who may be supposed to have had some participation in the murder, succeeded to the com- mand of the army. This new general, not willing to measure his strength against Sylla at the head of Roman legions, passed over into Asia, in the hope that he should distinguish himself by the conquest of Mithri dates. With this view, he attacked the troops of Pontus wherever he could find them, ravaging every wealthy city in his way ; and he would actually have captured the great king himself, if Sylla, determined not to allow his rival such a glory, had not afforded Mithridates the means of escape. Mithridates was, by these re- verses, led to be anxious for peace, which Sylla, in his peculiar position, was equally disposed to grant. A peace was therefore concluded, by which Mithridates delivered up a large portion of his fleets and treasures, and was limited in his government to the dominions which he possessed before the breaking out of the war. Having secured this settlement, Sylla turned his forces against the army of Fimbria, where the use of his gold was so effectual, that that tribune, abandoned by his army, committed suicide ; and Sylla, at the head of the united forces, marched toward Rome. After a severe struggle against the forces of the consuls, and the armies which had been raised in Italy to oppose him, Sylla made himself absolute master of Rome, and, to a fearful extent, surpassed the most sanguinary cruelty of Marius. Citizens of every rank were proscribed, and murdered, in the most reckless manner. These murders were extended to the provinces. Tyrant power reigned, and wild disorder ranged unchecked throughout the Roman THE GENTILE NATIONS. 445 States. Having gratified his lust for blood to the utmost, Sylla caused himself to be elected dictator for an unlimited time ; but, three years after, he retired into private life, — a measure which surprised every one, until, after a brief period, it was explained by his dying of a loathsome disease, brought on by intemperance and debauchery. On the abdication of Sylla, the consul Lepidus endeavoured to grasp the power which had fallen from his hands : but, unequal to the task, he was defeated and abandoned, and perished. Delivered from this danger, the senate was alarmed at the progress of a Marian insurrection in Spain, where Sertorius had collected an imposing force in the interest of that faction. Pompey was sent against him ; and, although the veteran warrior, Sertorius, was at first more than a match for the daring young officer, the latter contrived to bring the war to a successful close. Sertorius was murdered; and his troops, deprived of his talent and energy, were soon reduced by Pompey. Before this result had been secured, Italy was convulsed by a revolt, as dangerous as it was unexpected and daring. Spartacus, a gladiator, became the head of an army, which either defeated or kept at bay all the forces of Rome, and held all Italy in fearful excite- ment and apprehension, for more than three years. This insurrec- tion arose out of the practice of coercing slaves, captives, and crimi- nals to butcher each other in the arena, for the amusement of Roman spectators. A large troop of these swordsmen, maintained for this purpose, had plotted together, thinking that war in another form would be as pleasing, and as profitable, as that which they had been compelled to wage on each other. They accordingly meditated escaping, and seventy-eight of them succeeded ; and, after taking a temporary refuge in an extinct crater of Vesuvius, they procured an accession of numbers, seized a neighbouring fortress, made Spar- tacus their chief, and prepared to defend themselves. They did this with such effect, and their numbers swelled so rapidly, that at one period it is said they formed a body of one hundred thousand men. But the veteran legions of Rome at length prevailed; Spartacus was slain, and his troops were dispersed or destroyed. Crassus and Pompey were now chosen consuls. Both being anxious to seize supreme power, they paid extravagant court to the people, — the former, by large donations of corn ; the latter, by restor- ing the power of the tribunes. Pompey, having obtained the com- mand of the forces sent against the Cilician pirates and Mithridates, proceeded on his mission. By measures equally spirited and saga- cious he contrived to induce these daring plunderers to collect their 446 THE GENTILE NATIONS. vessels, which were distributed over every part of the Mediterranean, into one body ; and he then defeated them in a single battle. After- ward he proceeded against them so effectually on shore, that he broke their strength, and put an end to their depredations. He also con- ducted the war against Mithridates with equal effect. After trav- ersing Asia beyond the range of any previous Roman army, the king of Pontus was completely subdued, and destroyed himself, rather than fall into the hands of his conqueror. While Porapey was extending the Roman dominions and glory in the East, Rome herself was brought to the brink of ruin by the con- spiracy of Catiline, — a daring and dissipated noble, who had several times been defeated in attempting to procure elevated offices in the state, and at length determined to secure the object of his ambition by violence. For this purpose he had drawn into his designs some of the 'influential nobles of Rome, and had prepared such an ex- tended scheme of revolt as could scarcely fail to be successful. The vigilance and ability of Cicero, who was then consul, saved Rome. He with boundless sagacity penetrated all the schemes of the con- spirators, and at length so forcibly charged Catiline with treason in the senate, that the guilty man, overwhelmed with confusion, left the city. The consul then took his measures so adroitly, that he appre- hended the chief conspirators, and confronted them with written proofs of their guilt. They were promptly placed on their trial, condemned to death, and immediately executed. Catiline, perceiv- ing that nothing more could be done by policy, now took up arms, and assembled a body of about twenty thousand men : but he was defeated and slain by a consular army near Pistoria. In gratitude for his conduct on this occasion Cicero was saluted by the people, on the motion of Cato, with the title of " Father of his Country." Rome had now reached a point of political and moral disorganiza- tion which rendered the effective operation of any popular govern- ment impossible. Pompey had returned from Asia, and enjoyed the most splendid triumph which had been seen in Rome. But he was on ill terms with Crassus, who was perhaps the most powerful man in the state. A collision between these great men would have been fatal to Rome. It was prevented by him who was afterward destined to rule supreme over the Roman dominions. Julius Coesar now possessed considerable influence. He was forty years of age, and had never commanded an army, or filled any public office of especial responsibility, except that of supreme pontiff. He had, however, by the exercise of his great talents, in the ordinary public business of the state, acquired so much popular favour and general influence, that his position in the Roman councils was one of distin- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 447 guished eminence. CjBsar availed himself of the present emergency to use this influence with effect. He reconciled Pompey and Cras- sus, and, uniting himself with them, formed what is called " the First Triumvirate." According to the terms of this partnership of power, Caesar led an army into Gaul; Crassus was elected consul, and proceeded to Syria ; and Pompey, also consul, weijt to Spain. Caesar continued his command in Gaul eight years, during which time he not only subdued the whole of that country, but also brought under the dominion of Rome all the territory between the Pyrenees and the German Ocean ; crossed the Rhine, and defeated the Ger- man! in their own country; and passed over into Britain, and a least brought a portion of this island into professed subjection to Rome. While Cassar was prosecuting these conquests, Crassus perished, with a great part of his army, in a war against Parthia Pompey became envious of his colleague's fame ; and the death oi Julia, Caesar's daughter, whom Pompey had married, dissolved the last link of union between these two great men. It then became evident that, with their ambition and power, a collision between them would soon be inevitable. The crisis was hastened by Caesar's asking permission to hold the ofiSce of consul during his absence. He had previously, by lavish gifts, secured the most influential adherents at Rome, and among them the powerful and popular Caius Curio. This able and ener- getic tribune, perceiving that the senate would soon be induced to recall Cjesar, took advantage of a proposition of the consul Mar- cellus to that effect, to submit a distinct motion, — that both Pompey and Caesar should lay down their military command. This propo- sition was carried in the senate by a great majority, and applauded with enthusiasm by the people without; but was not carried into effect. The senate feared Caesar, and trusted in Pompey, and would not consent to place their idol in a private position. After consider- able time had been wasted in negotiation, the senate passed a decree, by which Caasar was commanded to disband his army before a speci- fied day, on pain of being declared a public enemy. Antony and Cassius, as tribunes, interposed their veto against this vote. At first their right to interpose was disputed ; but at length the diffi- culty was obviated by a vote which suspended the constitution for this purpose, and the proposed measure was carried, the opposition of the tribunes being thus set aside. The principal adherents of Caesar in Rome immediately left the city, and fled to his camp. Caesar, on receiving this intelligence, acted with a promptitude and energy which astonished his enemies. He immediately sent forth his troops toward the Rubicon, — the small river which divided 448 THE GENTILE NATIONS. his province from the Italian peninsula, — entertained his friends as usual through the day, and at night followed his men in their line of march. It is said that he hesitated for a moment on the bridge over the narrow river; and then, exclaiming, " The die is cast," he passed over. Pompey, who had previously boasted that he had only to stamp with his foot to raise legions in any part of Italy, found him- self utterly unprepared to meet the daring spirit of his rival in the field, supported as he was by those legions at whose head he had passed on in an uninterrupted course of conquest during the pre- ceding eight years. It is beyond comprehension how the imperator, with all the power and resources of the vast Roman dominions at his beck, and with all his experience and personal influence, should have allowed himself to be taken so completely by surprise, as not to be able for a moment to meet his rival. As soon as he heard that Csesar had passed the Rubicon, he immediately declared that he had no force in Italy equal to cope with him ; and he and the senate retired from the capital with such precipitation, that they even forgot to secure the public treasures lodged in the temple of Saturn. This neglect was not thought of until they arrived at Capua, when no one dared to return and fetch them. All Italy was subdued in sixty days. Pompey sailed from Brundisium for Greece, to collect an army from the legions of that country and of Asia; while Cffisar marched in triumph to Rome. This revolution — for such it undoubtedly was — differed essentially from every preceding assumption of absolute power in Rome. C«sar evinced no disposition to shed blood. Even captives who fell into his hands while in armed resistance to him, he spared. This clemency produced a general feeling in his favour : nobles and senators returned to Rome ; and, after a brief interval, the chief who had accomplished these wonders found the capital in such an orderly condition, that he felt quite at liberty to prosecute the war against his enemies in the provinces. He first proceeded to Spain, which had been Pompey's province, and where he had many partisans among the ofiRcers. These collected their strength, but were soon compelled to surrender to Csesar. Marseilles held out awhile against him ; but it was reduced. Here, too, he spared the lives of all captives, taking only their munitions of war and treas- ures. Having thus reduced all the Roman dominions in the west to his sway, Caesar returned to Rome, where he was created dictator, — an office which he held only eleven days. Causing him- self and Servilius Isauricus to be elected consuls, and the other great offices to be filled with his devoted friends, confiding the government of the city to Lepidus, and placing the troops in Italy THE GENTILE NATIONS. 440 under the command of Marc Antony, Caesar followed Pompey into Greece. This general had not wasted the time which had been so oppor- tunely given him. All his influence in the east was called into requisition ; and a large army — indeed, one far exceeding in number that of his opponent — was gathered, and prepared to defend his cause. On the arrival of Caesar, both generals seemed reluctant to stake the issue on a decisive battle. After much manoeuvring, a combat was fought, in which Caesar was forced to retire with some loss, and which inspired the troops of Pompey with unbounded de- light, and gave them a very false confidence as to the future. After this conflict, Caasar, whose army greatly needed provisions, proceeded to Thessaly ; upon which the advisers of Pompey urged him to cross the narrow sea, and seize Italy ; but that veteran did not dare to make a movement of such consequence. He preferred effecting a junction with a body of troops under the command of Scipio, which placed the hostile armies again in immediate proximity to each other. At length Pompey, who had evidently feared to oppose his raw levies to the veteran troops of Caesar, confiding in his vast numerical superiority, offered battle on a plain near Pharsa- lia. The battle was neither very long contested, nor very bloody, although it decided the empire of the world. The cavalry of "Pom- pey fled before the German horsemen opposed to them ; and the infantry, assailed in front and flank, numerous as they were, could not resist the veteran legionaries of Caesar. It is, indeed, probable that the real cause of this victory is found in the fact, that while the soldiers of Caesar loved their general, felt personally interested in his cause, and were prepared to die in his service, those of Pom- pey, being hastily collected, had no sympathy or confidence in each other, or in their chief This victory made Caesar the sovereign of the Roman empire. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was slain. Caesar followed, too late either to destroy, or to save the life of, his great rival, but in time to subdue Egypt after a desperate struggle. Having consoli- dated his conquest, he proceeded to Tarsus, passed through Cilicia and Cappadocia, and completely defeated the unnatural son of the great Mithridates in Pontus, in a war so short and effective, that it occasioned the celebrated despatch, Veni, vidi, via, "I came, I SAW, I conquere'53." Having established the dominion of Rome in the east, he returned to Italy, when he was again named dictator. Returning to Rome, Caesar found the public business deranged, and the city full of confusion, through the violent quarrels of Anto- ny and Dolabella. Having, after some difficulty, reconciled them, 29 450 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the dictator sailed to Africa, where Catg with an army still main- tained the cause of the fallen Pompey. His arrival was soon after followed by that of Cneius Pompey, with the remains of the host which had fought at Pharsalia. The troops of Cato and Pompey were then combined under the command of Scipio, so that it seemed as if the contest had yet to be decided, especially as Caesar had not more than half the number of soldiers that were marching under the banners of his opponents. Strangely enough, this mo^t perilous conquest was begun without the general's command. The celebrated tenth legion, which had been but just before almost mutinous at Rome, and had been disbanded, but afterward restored to favour, on this occasion was so determined to distinguish itself, that, when both armies were drawn up in order of battle, this body of troops rushed headlong on the enemy; and the dictator, finding it impossible to restrain thend, gave the word, " Good luck," and led on the other legions to the conflict. The struggle was very short. The African elephants, on receiving the first shower of arrows, gave way, and threw the infantry into confusion, so that Scipio's legions made little resistance. This decided the fate of the world. Cato soon after killed himself at Utica ; Scipio was taken and slain ; Juba and Petreius fought, until the former fell, and the latter slew himself. Oeesar now returned to Rome, and was received with the most extravagant adulation. In his triumph, his chariot was drawn by four white horses, like those of Jupiter. He was also declared dic- tator for ten years, and had his statue placed in the capitol, with a globe under his feet, bearing the inscription, "To C.s;sab, the Demi-god." After staying awhile at Rome, the dictator found it necessary to lead his legions again to Spain, where the sons of Pom- pey were in arms ; but the star of Caesar was still in the ascendant, and the last elements of the Pompeian party were crushed. While the means by which Csesar acquired uncontrolled dominion at Rome proved him to be the first soldier of his age, the fact that he managed to wield this power without assuming a title, or intro- ducing a usage, unknown to the republic, or a,t variance with the precedents of its history, exhibits him as a profound statesman. He was created dictator, tribune, supreme pontiff, inspector of morals, and prince of the senate : so that the possession of all these legiti- mate offices gave him the command of the army, — a veto on all legislation, — the distribution of national finances' Even the order of society and the regulation of manners were placed under his cog- nizance ; as were augury and religion, the direction of debate in the senate, as well as all executive and judicial power. Having thus raised himself to absolute rule over the largest aggre- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 451 gation of nations ever formed into one government, this wonderful man contemplated vast plans, worthy of his genius and power. He prepared to revenge the defeat of the Romans under Crassus in a war with Parthia, and to make great improvements in Italy by colossal public works. But, notwithstanding the extent to which successive revolutions had prepared the Roman people for an autoc- racy, and although absolute rule, either in the hands of one indi- vidual, or by a domineering oligarchy, had actually governed Rome from the times of the Gracchi, there were many able and honest Romans, who mourned over the elevation of Cajsar, as the ruin of their country, and the total loss of its civil liberty. Brutus and Cassius were at the head of this party. After much deliberation, it was agreed to put an end to this absolute rule, and to restore the country to freedom by the assassination of Caesar, on the fifteenth of March. So many persons were parties to this conspiracy, that the plot was in imminent danger of exploding before the hour arrived ; and even on the morning of the day appointed for the murder, it seemed scarcely possible to prevent the whole project from being communicated to the intended victim. The plot was, however, con- cealed. Cffisar went to the senate-house, was there surrounded by the assassins, and fell, pierced by numerous wounds, at the foot of Pompey's statue. Perhaps no man fills a larger space, or occupies a more prominent position, in the general history of the world, than Julius Csesar. Whatever may be said of his ambition, it is certain that he reduced the conflicting elements of Roman society to order and harmony. He incorporated the most worthy and distinguished foreigners with the citizens, and even with the senate at Rome. He magnanimously rose above the cruel and cowardly practice of putting political op- ponents to death: and, as if military operations and the ordinary detail of government were insufiBcient to employ his unfailing energy, he, as supreme pontiff, prepared and published a correction of the calendar, which, of itself, would have immortalized his name. Nor were the projects of Caesar less in advance of his age than his actual achievements. He contemplated a system of legislation, and a condensed and harmonious arrangement of statutes, as a code of law, which would have anticipated the work of Justinian by six hundred years. He designed an elaborate survey of the vast regions subject to Roman dominion; and actually appointed a commission of geographers and mathematicians to construct a map so large in scale, and so full of detail, that it required no less than thirty-two years to complete the work. In addition to these, he projected emptying the Lake Fucinus, — draining the Pontine Marshes, — mak- 452 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ing a canal from Rome to Terracina, — opening a new road across the Apennines, — and cutting through the Isthmus of Corinth. The man who could do what Caesar did, and project what he planned, was a man far too great to be simply a tyrant. That he had great faults, is undoubted ; that he pursued a selfish and ambitious policy, is un- questionable : but, notwithstanding this, he will ever stand before the world as the greatest man whom Rome produced throughout the whole of her history. On the death of Caesar, all Rome was filled with' terror. No one knew to what danger the public peace was exposed ; nor on what . principles those who had slain the dictator were prepared to govern the state, nor whether they were disposed to involve in the ruin of Csesar his partisans and friends. But as he had contrived, to grasp absolute power without any violation of established law, all the elements of government remained intact, and tranquillity and order were maintained until the day of Csesar's funeral. On that occasion Marc Antony, by a studied oration over the dead body, a recital of Caesar's will, and the exhibition of an image of the hero with his twenty-three wounds, as in the agonies of death, managed to inflame the passions of the people to such an extent, that they tore up the benches of the senate-house, to burn the body on the spot; after which they attacked the houses of the principal conspirators, who were obliged to secrete themselves, in order to secure their personal safety. Antony was ambitious to step into the position occupied by his departed patron; and his being consul at the time gave him an immense advantage in carrying out his views. In the mean time the conspirators evinced ,the greatest timidity and indecision, and the utter absence of all unity of purpose. Instead of regarding the death of Caesar as the beginning of a course of measures which were to issue in the renovation of the vast republic, they acted as thouofh it was the only result at which they aimed, and consequently gave their opponents the opportunity of defeating the object which they meant to accomplish. Antony, as Caesar's executor, possessed all his papers, and, in addition, gained over to his service the late dicta- tor's secretary. He then induced the senate, on the plea of prevent- ing universal disorder, to confirm all Caesar's acts and appoint- ments; and managed to include in this confirmation the projects which Caesar contemplated. This measure invested Antony with almost unlimited power. He sold appointments, gave donations, conferred magistracies, did, in fact, anything, — bringing his authority for all out of the pretended papers of Caesar. By these means he not only repaired his own shattered finances, but was able to give a THE GENTILE NATIONS. 453 bonus to the soldiers, and to secure to himself important military influence. He at the same time introduced a state of things which induced Cicero to say, " The tyrant is dead; but tyranny still lives." While Antony was pursuing this course, a new hero appeared on the stage. Octavius, a young man, eighteen years of age, a nephew of Julius Caesar, had been adopted as his son, and left his heir, by the last will of the dictator. His friends strongly advised him, on account of his youth, to forego the perilous distinction which had been bequeathed to him; but Octavius possessed spirit equal to the emergency. He accordingly came to Rome, and boldly claimed the position which his uncle had assigned him : and when he found that he could not obtain from Antony, as his uncle's executor, a sufficient sum to pay the legacy which had been bequeathed to the Roman citizens, he sold the residue of the late dictator's estate, together with his own, borrowed what more was necessary, and paid the amount. This conduct rendered the young man extremely popular. At length, the long-impending crisis approached. Brutus and 'Cassius, perceiving that Antony was preparing to sustain the posi- tion which he had assumed by force of arms, departed to the east, in the hope of inducing the Roman legions in Greece, Macedonia, and the neighbouring provinces, to assert and defend the cause of liberty. Antony retired into Cisalpine Gaul, and levied an army of veterans to support him ; while Octavius, jealous of the pride and power of Antony, professed to adhere to the senate; and that august body, inflamed by the furious harangues of Cicero, sent the two consuls with their forces, accompanied by Octavius, against Antony. Be- tween these armies two battles were fought. In the first, the con- sular army had the advantage ; in the latter, Antony was entirely defeated, but both of the consuls were slain. This event placed Octavius at the head of the united armies of the state ; while Antony fled to Lepidus, who commanded a formidable force in Spain. In this state of affairs a negotiation took place, which reflects infamy on all the parties concerned. Octavius, who had been elected consul before he was twenty, opened a correspondence with Antony and Lepidus, which issued in the formation of a second Triumvirate. These men partitioned the power of Rome between them, on the basis of sacrificing individual friends to the blood-thirsty animosity of each other. By this sanguinary agreement, seventeen of the most eminent men in Rome, including the venerable Cicero, and great numbers of inferior note, were basely murdered. This Triumvirate was boldly proclaimed, and its terms read and ratified, in the camps of the respective officers. By this covenant, Antony, Octavius, and Lepi- dus were, under the title of " triumvirs," to rule over the Roman 454 THE GENTILE NATIONS. dominions conjointly. They were to have the appointment of all magistrates ; and their decrees were to have the force of law, without the sanction of the senate or the people. By this treaty, the two Gauls were assigned to Antony ; the two Spains to Lepidus ; and Africa and the Mediterranean Islands to Octavius; Italy being regarded as held in common between them. Greece and the east were to be divided when Brutus and Cassius, who held them at the time with a republican army, should be defeated. Lepidus was then left, with his soldiers, in charge of the government at home; while Antony and Octavius, each at the head of twenty legions, marched into Greece against the forces of Brutus and Cassius. Here the cause of liberty, which had previously perished in Italy, was staked on the issue of the war. The armies met at Philippi ; and, in two great battles, the cause of the conspirators was ruined. Brutus and Cassius fell by their own swords ; Antony and Octavius were triumphant, and added to their previous atrocities by their bar- barous and bloody treatment of the most illustrious of the captives who fell into their hands. After these victories, Antony proceeded to Asia, to reward his soldiers with the spoils of that country, while Octavius returned to Italy. On entering Asia, the former plunged into a course of sen- sual dissipation, fatal to his military success. But, on his going to Egypt, the wanton Cleopatra met him ; and he at once became an unresisting captive to her charms, and fully gave himself up to a life of voluptuous indolence and unbridled dissipation. In the mean time Octavius returned to Italy. Here he found Fulvia, the wife of Antony, a proud and daring woman, exercising a powerful ascend- ency over the con-suls, and virtually directing the government. Dis- putes of a serious nature soon arose between the young triumvir and the wife and brother of his absent colleague. Octavius, with his usual policy, first bestowed large gifts upon the soldiery, and then proposed to submit to their arbitration the matters in dispute be- tween hiiJisclf and Antony. The veterans, of course, accepted the offer, and cited the triumvirs to meet before them at Gabii. Octa- vius appeared ; Antony was absent, being in Egypt : the affair, how- ever, mightily increased the influence of Octavius with the army. Lucius Antonius, as consul, adopted a bold course, and drove the indolent Lepidus before hiin ; but he was soon defeated by the troops of Octavius, and, being compelled to surrender, was sent into a kind of honourable exile, being appointed to a command in Spain. By this means Octavius obtained the entire direction of the affairs of Italy, and the command of all the legions in the west. These events at length roused Antony from his besotted crime THE GENTILE NATIONS. 453 and folly in Egypt. He returned to Italy, and the state of affaiis betokened a bloody struggle. But the veteran legions again insisted on an accommodation between their quarrelling commanders; and accordingly a new partition of the empire was agreed upon. An- tony received Egypt and the east, with the charge of the Parthian war ; Octavius was placed in possession of Italy and all the west ; and Lepidus obtained Africa; while to Sextus Pompey, the only surviving son of the great triumvir, who had made himself formida- ble at sea, were assigned Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. This hollow peace was, like many other of the Roman alliances of this period, cemented by a marriage. On his return from Egypt, Antony had treated his wife Fulvia with such neglect, that this high-spirited woman died of grief and vexation. In order, there- fore, to secure a family union between Octavius and Antony, as the leading members of this alliance, it was arranged that the latter should marry Octavia, half-sister of Octavius. This being done, Antony repaired to the east, to conduct the threatened war against Parthia. The first inroad on this alliance was a quarrel between Sextus and Octavius. The former, seeing how dependent Rome was on the sea for supplies, availed himself of his maritime power to cut these off, by which means the price of provisions at Rome was doubled. With considerable difficulty Octavius, having obtained the aid of Lepidus, drove Sextus out of Sicily, and compelled him to take refuge in the east, where he was soon after put to death by one of Antony's officers. Meantime, 'Lepidus determined to attempt acquiring undivided sway in the west, and, at the head of twenty legions, took possession of Messana. Octavius marched against him, and, as he had frequently done before, secured more by policy than by war. Proceeding alone and unarmed into the camp of his rival, Octavius so wrought on the soldiers, that they came over to him in a body ; upon which Lepidus, finding himself abandoned, threw himself at the feet of the victor, and in the most abject terms begged his life. Octavius could afford to be merciful ; so he sent his former rival into banishment, where he lived in obscurity more than twenty years. While the adopted son and successor of the great Julius was thus making himself supreme master of all the western part of the Ro- man dominions, Antony, after spending some time in Greece, sent back his new wife, Octavia, to Rome, determined to devote himself to the Parthian war. But no sooner was this done, than he sum- moned Cleopatra to meet him in Syria ; where he commenced, in her ^ company, a fresh career of dissipation and folly. He had, indeed, 45G THE GENTILE NATIONS. SO fully committed himself to the invasion of Parthia, that he could not withdraw from it ; so, leaving his licentious mistress behind him, he proceeded to the east. But this war, which had been so long projected, and for which ample preparations had been made, was rashly begun, unwisely conducted, and terminated with defeat and disaster to the Roman arms. Antony proceeded with such haste to the Parthian territory, in order to commence operations before winter, that, when he reached the first fortified city of the country, he found that he had out- stripped the transit of his siege apparatus ; and that, while he could not reduce the place without it, he could neither advance, leaving this strong fortress of the enemy in his rear, nor hope to receive the requisite materiel before winter. The Roman veteran had, there- fore, no alternative but to retreat; and this inglorious movement was not effected without great difiiculty and immense loss. At length, however, the Roman frontier was gained, when, instead of distributing his forces, and preparing for a more successful campaign in the ensuing spring, Antony hastened again to the arms of Cleo- patra, and abandoned alike his public duty and his honour for the gratification of his vices. Octavia did all that a virtuous matron could effect. Hearing of the reverse her husband had sustained, and knowing how he was employed, she obtained her brother's consent to visit him with such presents as were deemed suitable to his circumstances. Antony, informed of the coming of his wife, sent a message to meet her at Athens, forbidding her to proceed further ; while he and the partner of his guilt went on to Alexandria. Octavia felt she could do no more to save a worthless husband from the fate he merited ; so she returned to Rome, and devoted her time to the care of her children, and of those of her husband by Fulvia, his former wife. This sealed the fate of Antony ; for it filled the Roman mind with disgust for the man who could act in such a vicious and contemptible man- ner. But, not satisfied with this conduct, he sent his wife a bill of divorce, and appointed his children by Cleopatra to kingdoms in the east, sending the notifications of this to Rome, and demanding their formal enrolment there. It did not require this excessive amount of insult and injury to induce Octavius to prepare for war: his interest and his inclination led him to this course ; and both parties saw that the sword must soon decide the fate of these rivals for power. Immense prepara- tions were made on each side, and, as in a previous instance, Greece was again selected as the theatre of war. For a considerable period the armies lay encamped on opposite sides of the little gulf of Am- THE GBNTILE NATIONS. 457 brsTcia. Antony, influenced by Cleopatra, who dreaded not being able to escape in ca"se of defeat, determined to stake the issue on the result of a sea-fight, which took place in the straits leading to the gulf. Here, while the battle was still raging, Cleopatra hoisted her sails and fled: Antony, renouncing his fame, and abandoning the troops who were shedding their blood in his cause, followed the guilty woman, and both reached Egypt in safety. But this conduct, more than the result of the battle, placed the legions of Antony in the power of Octavius. The conqueror proceeded into Asia, and, after a short period, to Egypt, where, after scarcely a struggle, Antony fell by his own sword, and Cleopatra perished by the bite of an asp, which she procured for the purpose. Henceforth Octavius was absolute sovereign of Rome. As he did not ascend to this dignity by grasping an aggregation of republican oflSces, like his uncle, but as the successor of a Triumvirate which had formally assumed a power to rule irrespectively of the senate and the people, the constitution of the government became in theory, as in fact, an autocracy. With the fate of his uncle before him, Octavius took special care of his personal safety. The Roman people seemed divested alike of all desire to retain their former liberty, and of all apprehension of tyranny. They showered every honour on Octavius, — dignified him with the appel- lation of Augustus, — actually enrolled his name in the list of deities to whom public prayers were addressed, — and in other respects treated him as divine. This wonderful man obtained this full amount of sway, B. C. 30 ; and in the following year he had so consolidated his power that, amid universal peace, the temple of Janus was shut. Augustus still reigned, when, according to the divine purpose, the Son of God was incarnated among men, and the God of heaven set up his kingdom in the earth. (See Appendix, note 82.) CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ROMAN HISTORY. B. C. Names and Events. Yeara. 753 Rome founded. — Romulus king 36 716 NuMA fully established the Etrus- can religion. 679 Tuixos HosTHJus. 640 Abtcus Maetius. 618 Taequinius Sibylline Books bought. 578 Servius '{ullius. 634 Taequinius Supekbus. Rome exercises supremacy over the Latins. Death of Lucretla. 509 Expulsion of Tarquin. End of the monarchy. 508 First commercial treaty with Car- thage. 498 First Dictator appointed. 493 Tribunes of the people created. 445 Military tribunes. 405 Siege of Veii begun, which lasted ten years, and led to the estab- lishment of a standing army. 390 Rome sacked by the Gauls. 366 Plebeian consuls appointed. 353 First Plebeian dictator. 293 Census, 272,300 Roman citizens. 264 First Punic War lasted 23 Rome becomes a naval power. 218 Second Punic War 17 Hannibal, from Spain, invades Italy, and threatens Rome. 'Jin The Scipios carry on war in ftpain. 203 Battle of Zama; Carthage compel- led to submit to peace. 200 War with Philip of Maeedon 3 1U2 War with Autiochus of Syria. The power of Rome supreme. 171 Macedonian war with Perseus. B. C. Names and Events. 168 The battle of Pydna, when the Mac- edonian kingdom is destroyed. 165 Rome so enriched by the spoils of conquered nations that the citi- zens no longer pay taxes. 149 Third Punic War. 146 Carthage, after a desperate strug- gle, destroyed. 133 Tiberius Gracchus, endeavouring to introduce reforms on behalf of the people, is slain in a tumult. 123 Caius Gracchus, attempting to carry out his brother's designs, is also slain. 107 Marius six times consul. 106 Cicero and Pompey born. 100 Julius Csesar born. 88 Bloody civil wars between the factions of Marius and Sylla, in which 150,000 Romans perish. 62 Pompey triumphs as conqueror of fifteen nations and four hundred cities. 60 First Triumvirate, — Caesar, Pom- pey, and Crassus. 49 Civil war between Ceesar and Pompey. 48 Pompey slain ; Ceesar master of the Roman empire. 46 Reformation of the Roman Calendar. 44 Julius Caesar slain. 43 Second Triumvirate, — Antony, Octa- vius, and Lopidus. Bloody proscriptions ; death of Cicero. War between Octavius and Antony. 31 Oetavius, under the title of Augus- tus, reigns supreme over Rome. 29 Temple of Janus shut. THE GENTILE NATIONS. 459 CHAPTER XII. THE RELIGION OF KOME. MiSTAKEif Notion which obtains of this Religion — ^Rome greatly indebted to Etruria — The Religious Institutions of the Etruscans — ^Importance of the Establishment of these Religious Institutions in Italy, before the Rise of Rome to Power — The Etruscan Religion exhibited much important Truth and Divine Influence — Considerable Refer- ence to Primitive Ti'aditions, and the Recognition of a Future State and Judgment — The Founders of Rome educated in these Doctrines — All the Primitive Arrangement and Organization of Rome formed on ah Etruscan Basis — Sabine and Latin Deities introduced by the Union of these Tribes — Numa and his Institutions — Reign of Tar- quin — Servius Tullius — Corruptions in Theology and Image- Worship introduced — The Gods of Rome — Bii majontm — Bii selecti — Dii minorum — Sacred Persons — Priests — Augurs — FetiaXea — -Flamens — The Sacred Places and Rites of this Religion — Temples — Prayers — Vows — Sacrifices — Fe stivals — Lupercalia — Bacchanalia — Saturnalia^-G&n- eral View of the Roman Religion — Remarkable Unity maintained, notwithstanding so much Extension and Addition — Completeness of the Ecclesiastical Economy — It an- swered its Design so far as to pervade the public Mind with its Influence — Originally identified with many important Religious Truths — ^Inquiry into the Effect of this System on the People — The Knowledge of God which it gave to the People — ^The Opinions of Deity entertained by Philosophers — Analysis of the Religious Works of Cicero — The Result — ^The Philosophy of Rome aff'orded nothing better than Epicurean or Stoical Views of Deity — ^Knowledge possessed by the Romans of the Immortality of the Soul, and of Future Rewards and Punishments — ^Effect of this Destitution of Truth upon Roman Morals — ^The Description given by St. Paul — State of Domestic Manners — Con- dition of Slaves, and their Cruel Treatment — Horrid Cruelty displayed toward the Children of Sejanus — Awful Prevalence of Licentiousness and unnatural Impurity. The religion of the ancient Romans has generally been regarded as merely a recast of the Grecian mythology, with the names of its deities rendered into Latin, and its sacred ceremonies and rites adapted to the genius and state of the people. A very limited search is sufficient to show the fallacy of this notion, and the real original of this system of faith. In tracing the early history of Rome, it was observed, that this grand ruling power arose by the daring prowess and indomitable military energy and genius of a rude, but hardy, race, who did not locate themselves in a previously unoccupied country, but obtained a settlement among, and gradually acquired paramount authority over, a more ancient and civilized, but less martial, people. It is to this people that we are to look for the fundamental ele- ments of the religion of Rome. For, as certainly as Rome, toward the close of her grand career, obtained a rich amount of knowledge 460 THE (JENTILE NATIONS. and refinement from the conquered Greeks ; so, in the early part of her course, did she receive an equally important schooling in all the arts of civilization, and the principles of religion, from the ancient Etruscans. Our limits will not allow us to go into the disputed question of the origin of the primitive inhabitants of Etruria. A highly accom- plished lady of our own country has succeeded in casting very im- portant light on this obscure subject ; and argues with great force in favour of the opinion, that this part of the Italian peninsula was first colonized by a body of people who emigrated originally from Resen in Assyria, located for some time in Egypt, and ultimately crossed the sea, and took up their residence in the province after- ward called Etruria. However this may be, it is an undoubted fact, and one which will be hereafter considerably illustrated, that from hence Rome obtained her theology, ecclesiastical polity, and relig- ious ceremonial. , It becomes important, therefore, as far as our scanty means of information will enable us, to form some definite idea of the religion of the ancient Etruscans. The founder and patriarchal chief of Etruria was Tarchun: his origin and country are very doubtful; but he is celebrated as the founder of this ancient and cultivated state. The highly poetic tra- dition preserved by Cicero says, that, " while Tarchun was plough- ing at Tarchunia, — most probably, ploughing the sacred foundation of its walls, — a genius arose from the deep furrow, with a child's body and a man's head, who sang to him the divinely-inspired laws of his future government, and then sank down and expired." — Mrs. Gray's History of Etruria, vol. i, p. 141. Further information has been gleaned respecting this legend, from which it appears, that this was the means employed for asserting the inspiration and consequent divine authority of the primitive laws of the ancient Etruscans. Cicero calls this genius Tages, and says, he was the son of Jupi- ter, or the supreme god. It has been supposed that he was identical with — or,, at least, an embodiment of — the same ideal representa- tion which we find in the Phenician Tapates, or Tanates, and the Egyptian Thoth, — "the Coptic word which expresses 'hand,' and the man who was the first and greatest scribe, the deified writer and lawgiver of the wisest of nations." — Ibid, p. 142. The representation that Tages appeared with the head of a man and the body of a child. seems of easy interpretation. It clearly indicates the maturity of the wisdom which dictated the law, and the infancy of the colony which received it. At the same time, it showed the local seat of the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 461 legislation. The body politic, to whom this code was addressed, was in a state of infancy ; but the laws propounded were ancient, ma- tured, and perfect. Yet these inspired commands were not Phe- nician, Egyptian, or Assyrian, but Etruscan. The mysterious legislator arose from the soil of Etruria. Yet was he not a juve- nile in intellect and experience: his head was that of a sage, "show- ing forth that his laws, full of mature wisdom and sound judgment, were yet of infant date to the land of Tarchun. He was not ' Tages transplanted from Egypt,' but ' Tages born again in this new coun- try.' He belonged to the Resena, notwithstanding his gray hairs ; he rose from their soil, and, while he appeared as the ruler of all their chiefs, he was adopted by the nation as their own child. He embodied himself in their spirit, he adapted himself to their situa- tion, and he bade them live henceforward as a new people, in the land which God had given them." Cicero and Censorinus say that Tarchun, on hearing the voice of Tages, at first screamed in fear, but afterward received the genius in his arms, learned his laws, which were delivered in verse, and then wrote them down. Hence arose the Books of Tages, which were twelve in number. Some authors have, indeed, doubted whether these laws were im- mediately written, and suppose them to have been committed to memory, and thus disseminated. But this hypothesis is at variance with such a broad range of facts, that it is quite inadmissible. Etruria was not simply one state, but twelve ; yet, throughout all these, there was a perfect uniformity of religious doctrine, and an entire unity of ceremony and discipline, — a state of things which continued throughout successive ages. This could not have been the result of merely vocal traditions. Variations in different states would inevitably arise, and time would as certainly produce changes and corruptions. Nothing but the existence of a written code could have maintained this uniformity. The laws of Tages were received with great reverence, diligently studied and guarded, and so implicitly obeyed, that they not only gave a character and spirit to the faith of ancient Rome, but main- tained their ascendency in Italy, until supplanted by Christianity. In fact, to the Romans Tages was the same as Menu to the Hindus, and, so far as the apprehension of the people extended, what Moses was to the Hebrews. Miiller, indeed, calls his institu- tions " the Leviticus of the Romans." Servius states, that a nymph received Tages before he disappeared; but this is understood to refer to a celebrated priestess, named Bygoe, who afterward wrote a commentary on some of these laws ; and so greatly distinguished 462 THE GENTILE NATIONS. herself by piety, learning, and zeal, that she was in consequence §aid to have nourished Tages, and sung to him. We feel a great desire to give an explicit statement of the theology taught by the institutions of Tages ; but we fear that our informa- tion is less satisfactory respecting this particular than on any other part of this religious system. We are told that "the Etruscans acknowledged only one Supreme God ; but they had images for his different attributes, and temples to those images. But it is most remarkable, that the national divinity was always a triad under one roof" — Mrs. Gray's History of Etruria, vol. i, p. 147. Here we have again a further proof of the spread of primitive tradition, and the power which its truth had upon the minds of men, although separated to the greatest distance from the common centre of the world's primitive population. The Etruscan names for the three elements of this sacred triad were Tina, " Strength," Talna, " Riches," and Minerva, " Wisdom ;" God being regarded as a supreme union of these prevailing attributes. Notwithstanding the explicit manner in which this triad is said to represent these divine attributes, it seems certain that an impression of distinct personality was equally recognised. Tina, and the other gods, were called to witness on the most solemn occasions. He was specially invoked in sacred ceremonies, as at the election of Numa : " Father Tina, if it be thy will." From the expressions used on this occasion, it is certain that the Tina of the Etruscans became the Jupiter of Rome. But that people had other deities. Janus was their god of war ; and is supposed to have included, not only the attributes of Mars, but also those of Saturn and Hercules. Sethlans, the god of protection against fire and other evils, very nearly corresponded to Vulcan. Pales was the Etruscan god of shepherds ; Nortia, the goddess of fortune ; Fides, the god of good faith : beside which, we meet with the names of other deities, such as Viridianus, Valentia, Vertumnus, Volumnus, Volumna, Voltumna, Pilumnus, and others, whose attributes are not now ascertainable. (Ancient Universal History, vol. xviii, p. 205.) Augury was an essential element of this religion. Cicero speaks of it, in connexion with divination, as the ars Etrvsca, and disciplina Etnisca. Ovid aifirms that Tages was the first who taught the Etruscans a knowledge of the future; and Miiller says, "Augury was considered as a covenant between God and man, where each must act his part ; and the augur, in those early days, firmly believed that his thoughts and words were inspired." The most ancient and remarkable manner of Etruscan augury was by lightning. For Tarchun clearly had the means of drawing lightning from the clouds ; THE GENTILE NATIONS. 4G3 and the wide range of information collected by Miiller proves that a command over the electric element was essential to Etruscan augury. Another important feature of this divine science was, that no augur could consult the gods, or ascertain their will, except in a place pre- viously consecrated ; and any spot so consecrated was regarded as a fane or temple. But no place was considered as a temple without such consecration. The responses obtained by lightning were always either simply affirmative or negative ; while the omens fur- nished by the flight of birds were supposed to give more general information. The Vestal virgins were another part of the institutions of Tar- chun. These were appointed to guard and maintain the sacred flame, which was originally kindled by celestial fire, — either an elec- tric spark, or a solar ray. This, according to some authors, was renewed every year on the first of March, and was, in the popular notion, a symbol of pure divinity. Those, however, who have care- fully considered the manner of divine revelation to the primitive patriarchs, will easily discern, in this part of these sacred usages, a reference to the infolding fire of the primitive cherubim. If this sacred fire should by any neglect or accident be extinguished, it must be again relit by being drawn from heaven. These virgins were endowed with special privileges. They had the highest seats assigned them in places of public resort, and enjoyed the power of pardoning criminals whom they might meet on their way to the temple. They had the fasces carried before them, and were subject to no authority but that of the pontifex maximus, or " sovereign pontiff." These females were devoted to virginity during their term of ofiice, which extended over thirty years ; ten of which were employed in learning the duties of the office, — ten, in a performance of its duties, — and ten more, in teaching the art to their successors. If, during this term of thirty years, they were known to violate their vow of chastity, they were on conviction buried alive. Every city and town had a principal temple, consecrated to the national triad of deities. Every city might have as many more gods, temples, and gates, as the inhabitants might choose ; but it was obligatory, wherever the laws of Tages were received, to have one temple consecrated to this threefold divinity, and three sacred gates to the city. The most sacred of all the Etruscan temples was that in his own capital of Tarchunia. This, although dedicated to the triad, was usually called "the temple of Tina," he being the first of the three. . Miiller has given us the manner of selecting the site, and appointing the limits of the sacred spot. Tarchun, having chosen the most elevated spot, as best adapted to his purpose, close 464 THE GENTILE NATIONS. to the fortress of the city, — :that the one might bless, and the other defend, the capital, — then obtained his omen that this was in accord- ance with the divine will. The omen was most probably a flash of lightning, which, as chief augur and pontifex maximus, he had the power of procuring. " He then pronounced with a loud voice, in the presence of a multitude of his people, these solemn words, in the name of Tina of the Resena : ' My temple and my sacred land shall extend so far as I please to make it holy, and to dedicate it by the mouth that now speaks. That holy object' (tree, or some other limit named) 'which I name, shall bound my temple to the east. That holy object which I name, shall bound my temple to the west. Between them 1 limit this temple with the drawing of lines, having surveyed it with the sight of mine eyes, after reflecting thereupon, and establishing it according to my good will and pleasure.' The augur then drew his lituus upon the ground, and was silent. " This is probably what Plutarch and Tacitus call ' the prayer of consecration ;' and it took place whenever the augur was called upon to make ground holy. The Etruscan lines, both on the ground and in the air, were in the form of a +, and were named car do, or 'merid- ian,' decumanus, or 'horizon.' The four regions marked out by these lines were called cardines; and hence our word ' cardinal,' and our denomination ' cardinal points.' Each region was again divided into four ; so that the ground occupied by the building con- tained sixteen points, each giving its peculiar augury ; of which the north-east was the most fortunate; and when the augur was con- sulted or officiated, he placed himself in the position of the gods, who were supposed to inhabit the north. " After the dedication of the ground was completed, the founda- tions which were marked out for the temple were surrounded with fillets and crowns, and then the soldiers who had happy- sounding names went in, and threw into the enclosed space branches of olive and other sacred trees. Then came the Vestals, and the children whose parents were alive; and they bathed the place in fountain and river water. Tarchun then sacrificed a bull, a sheep, and a pig : and, laying the entrails on the grass, he prayed to Tina, Talna, and M. N. Y.fa, to bless the place. Then he touched the garlands in which the sacred corner-stone was bound, and raised it by a cord, while all the people shouted, and helped him. They then threw in metals, both worked and raw, of gold, silver, and copper, which were not dedicated to other gods, or rather to other attributes ; and the ceremony was ended." — Mrs. Gray's History of Etruria, vol. i, pp. 151-153. It will now be necessary to direct more particular attention to the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 4C5 Sacred persons employed in connexion with this system ot re- ligion. The first and principal of these was the augur. He was, in fact, in a religious sense, the human head of the people, — the visible representative of deity on earth. It was his high vocation to declare with absolute and despotic power the divine will. It was blasphemy to contradict him, — rebellion to disobey him. The augur ascer- tained the divine will by means prescribed in the sacred books, and then authoritatively declared and expounded it to the people. Without him there could be no election to any sacred or civil office ; no king, dictator, povlifex. Vestal, fetial, or priest, could be called into office, or enter on its duties, but through the instrumentality of the augur. The foundation principle of all Etruscan civil and relig- ious policy appears to be best expressed in the Scriptural maxim, " There is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God." Rom. xiii, 1. It is necessary to add that the character of the deity, as exhibited by the augur, was of a highly elevated nature; but he was especially represented as having a fatherly regard for all the people, without distinction of rank or degree, — always open to their prayers, watching over their interests, punishing their crimes, rewarding their virtues, rendering it equally obligatory upon all to walk by one law, to observe one rule. The person of the augur was sacred, and his office endured for life. He was thus raised above fear'in the discharge of his duty ; while he was supported at the public expense, that he might have no temptation of yielding to bribery. He was always of a noble family, no person of mean condition or low extraction being eligible to the office. It was necessary, not only that the augur should possess high birth, but also that he should be a man of sound judgment, considerable knowledge, and varied acquirements : for no general could march his army over a frontier, or across a river, engage in battle, or make a division of spoil, without the augur's permission. There could be no marriage or adoption in noble families without his consent. He could dissolve any assembly, nullify any election, and exercise a veto on all public business, by a declaration that such was the divine will. The power of the augur was, indeed, so great, that the danger to the state was only obviated by multiplying the number of them, and thus interposing the power of one as a check on the action of his colleague. When an augur died, his place was filled by the remaining augurs, either with or without the approval of the nobility. There was at least one augur in every city, and generally three in the most important and populous places. From a considera- tion of the great deference paid by all classes of society to this office, 30 466 THE GEJI,TILE NATIONS. and the length of time the institution was maintained in paramount influence in Italy, it cannot be doubted that a deep religious con- viction pervaded the people that the augur was, in truth, the authorized exponent of the divine mind. The institutions of Tages in one particular greatly resembled the Hebrew dispensation. All that pertained to the national policy and institutions, — indeed the whole range of political economy and regal power, — were as much elements of divinely- appointed and religiously-regulated matters, as the most sacred services of augury or sacrifice. Tarchun was the sovereign of the Etruscan nation. But afterward, when large cities arose as the capitals of the different provinces, a king was appointed to each of them : so that, while a common bond of nationality was recognised, each state was virtually independent, and each king absolute ruler in his own dominions, except so far as he was limited by the national statute-code of Tages. Tarchun, with each sovereign after him, was also pontifex maxi- inus, or " chief-priest." The priesthood were not a separate caste, or, indeed, a separated body from the rest of the people. In fact, every Lucumo, or noble of Etruria, was a priest, and could take auspices, being at the same time equally eligible to conduct affairs of state or to command an army in war. From these statements it will appear that the institutions of Tages, as brought into operation by Tarchun, and made the basis of the civil and religious statute-code of Etruria, exhibited a very remarkable variety of that great spiritual assumption which we have already found to pervade all the eastern nations. Here, as well as in Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, we have a divinely-appointed and absolute sovereign, — one, too, who, in addition to regal dignity, not only holds in his own person the national high-priesthood, but is specially consecrated the representative of Deity on earth, — an authorized revealer and expounder of the will of God. We hear nothing, indeed, of the grounds on which these claims to reverential regard and divine knowledge are made to rest, — nothing of the promised Son, or expected incarnation of Deity ; but, in every other respect, we have, in the combination of those three offices, all the powers and claims so proudly put forth by the sovereigns of the primitive nations of the east. Yet, while this identity is clearly seen, it is equally apparent that it is brought before us in Etruria in a manner which seemed likely to neutralize the pernicious effects of these claims, at least to a very considerable extent. For, although all these offices centered in Tarchun, and thus gave him a status nearly simitar to that of an THE GENTILE NATIONS. 467 Assyrian or Persian potentate, the most sacred office of the three, namely, that of augur, was afterward given to another individual, and thus separated from the head of the state. The division of the nation into small states, or royal dominions, operated in the same direction : so that, while we perceive, in the essential elements of the Etruscan faith, a great similarity to the profane assumption of the east, we see it so modified by future arrangements as to be prevented from working out that intolerant spiritual despotism which we have had to contemplate in those countries. It will only be necessary to notice one other class of the sacred persons of Etruria, — the fetiales. These were always Lucumones, or nobles, and consequently priests. Their special function was to preside over and direct national treaties, and to seek reparation for national injury prior to the declaration of any war. When one tribe of the Etruscan nation, or any foreign state, had offended or injured any Etrurian government, the practice was to send to the offending party a deputation of fetiales, who, attired in a state-dress, • and crowned with vervain, applied for admission to the senate. Here they stated their grievance, and asked for redress within a limited time. At the end of this period, if their representations were not attended to, they took Tina and the other gods to witness that they had performed their duty, and it was for their country to decide upon the event. On their return home, they announced to their own senate that war was now lawful. If this were resolved on, the fetiales returned to the frontier of the offending country, and then, casting a spear into the territory, called the gods to witness against the want of justice in that people, and their obstinacy in refusing to make reparation. The Etruscans were a highly-civilized and well-educated people. Their arts and sciences are even now attested by imperishable monu- ments in every part of western Europe. But, more than this, the Etruscans were a religious people. They possessed, perhaps, as pure a theology as any Gentile nation of that period. For, although recognising a plurality of deities, they appear to have still retained their knowledge and reverence of one supreme governing Grod, whose will they professed to seek, and by whose laws they sought to walk. To what extent their devotion and obedience were sincere and effectual, we cannot now pretend to determine; but thus much is evident, — ithat they regarded God as the Father and Goveri^or of men. They recognised his watchful care, believed in his ever- pervading providence, and continually taught the necessity of doing everything, public and private, — things of the least concern, and of the greatest magnitude, — in direct accordance with the divine will. 468 THE GENTILE NATIONS. It is a remarkable fact, and one that has been too much over- looked, in the providential dispensations of.Grod toward mankind, — that, prior to the rise of Rome to fame and dominion, this people were brought to Italy, established in power, and permitted to extend the influence of their civilization, science, and religion throughout that peninsula. From the Tiber, the southern frontier of Etruria Proper, their authority extended to Cisalpine Gaul ; and their influ- ence, potent in every respect, had a far wider range. It was not by accident or chance that the band of martial spirits who began to rear up the fourth great monarchy, — which was to extend its rule over all the nations of the world, and usher in the glorious kingdom of God, — laid the foundation-stone of their politi- cal power in immediate proximity to this civilized and religious people. It cannot be doubted that the influence of Etruscan civili- zation and religion formed the manners, and moulded the character, of Rome. This being the fact, it would be very desirable to form a correct estimate of the Etruscan system of faith : but we have not information sufficient for this purpose. It is certain that this peo-" pie retained among them a large portion of patriarchal truth ; that by it they were led to a general and effective recognition of the government and providence of God, and the vital importance of entire subjection to the divine will ; that prayer was a well-ascer- tained and frequently-practised duty ; and, indeed, that they acknowl- edged that man's whole course of life on earth should be shaped according to the will of Heaven. Now it is impossible to account for the knowledge of such doctrines, and the existence of such prac- tices, without admitting the action of a considerable amount of divine truth, and the presence of a large measure of divine influence. It is true that the theology of the people was becoming corrupt, and a multiplicity of inferior deities had begun to be introduced ; but, prior to the foundation of Rome, it does not appear that this defec- tion had become either so extensive, or had so fatally infringed on the prerogatives of the Supreme Deity, as to have materially affected the faith of the people, or their confidence in the divine adminis- tration. There is abundant evidence, in the pictures and sculptures of the early Etruscan tombs, to attest the prevalent belief of the people in the primitive traditions, and in the doctrines of the immortality of tlje human soul, and of a future judgment. No eye familiar with Layard's "Monuments of Nineveh" can look over the elegant coloured plates of Mrs. Gray's "Sepulchres of Etruria" without perceiving the constant recurrence of the symbolical tree of life. Between every pair of figures in the painting or sculpture, in every THE GENTILE NATIONS. 469 variety of form, in the frieze and other ornamental portions of the architecture, the tree, its fruit and foliage, are always to be dis- cerned. Then, as to the future existence of the soul, numerous most sig- nificant, pictures convey the ideas entertained by this ancient people. One or two instances will be sufficient to prove this. In the Grotto del Cardinale there is a remarkable frieze, representing a procession of souls to judgment, attended by good and evil angels ; the former being represented white, and the latter black. In one instance, a singular struggle is seen between a good and an evil angel for the possession of a person, whose character was of such doubtful quality, that while the evil angel endeavours to draw off the car on which the spirit sits, the other interposes his power; and the group is seen standing still during the progress of the contest. In the Grotto del Tifone there is another remarkable painting, exhibiting a procession of souls. This is led by a good angel with a flambeau, who is fol- lowed by several spirits. Then comes an evil angel, whose com- plexion is black, and whose features are an ugly distortion of a negro countenance. Other souls follow this figure ; and the procession ig closed by another black evil angel, similar to the former. All the angels, good and bad, have living serpents about their heads, or in their hands. These have been supposed to symbolize eternity ; but we rather incline to think them an intelligible and living exhibition of that form under which the great tempter introduced death and all its fearful consequences into the world. However this may be, the angelic contest for the possession of a spirit, and the joyous appearance of the souls near the good angel, and the agonized aspect of those in proximity to the bad ones, clearly evince a firm belief in the doctrine of fu,ture rewards and punish- ments. Surrounded with a civilized population imbued with these religious views and doctrines, Rome was founded, and rose up into power. We will proceed to notice those stages in the progress of Roman history which had a special influence on the foundation of the national faith. If we may rely on Plutarch, it seems that Numitor brought up Romulus and Remus at an Etruscan college, and gave them all the instruction usually imparted to princely Lucumones. They would, therefore, be taught everything necessary to the performance of the service of the priesthood, of which every Lucumo was a member. When the two brothers, with their band of followers, went forth from Alba to found a new settlement, they were attended by augurs ; and the site of Rome was selected by the divination of augury, according 470 THE GENTILE NATIONS. to the Etruscan usage. It has been remarked as a singular fact, that the religious guides of the new settlers should not be Alban augurs, or Latin priests, but Etruscans. Plutarch, in Vita Romuli, adds, that Eomulus sent to Etruria for special assistance, and had the whole city and its arrangements and policy directed according to the religious mysteries, ceremonies, and written laws, of that people. So exact, indeed, was this attention to sacred guidance, that Rome from the first was called " the Holy City." After the singular junction of the Romans and Sabines, as had been distinctly stipulated in the treaty, the Romans were bound to adopt the Sabine theology, laws, and customs, wherever these dif- fered from those previously in use : and as the religion of the Sabines was essentially the same as that of Etruria, it followed that in future the religion of Rome must be entirely Etruscan. Under this ar- rangement, twelve altars were built, on which sacrifices were offered to the following deities, — Vidius, Jupiter, Saturn, Sethlans, Sum- manus, Vesta, Terminus, and Vertumnus. These were all Etruscan gods. To these were added Quirinus, or Mars, — a deity peculiar to the Sabine people, — with Ops, Hora, Sol, Luna, Diana, and Lucina, which were divinities common to the Sabines and the Latins. From this statement it will be seen that while Rome secured all the advantages derivable from the civilization, learning, and religious doctrines of Etruria, she also received, at the very outset of her national career, an increased tendency to polytheism, by the incor- poration of Sabine and Latin gods with those of Etruria. Romulus also appointed two Vestals, — one from the Roman, and the other from the Sabine nation, — who were installed priestesses of Vesta. He also established a college of the Salii, or dancing priests of Mars ; and he dedicated the Campus Martins without the walls to Mars, who, as Quirinus Mavors, or Marte, was common to the three nations. Temples were also built to the Etruscan Seth- lans and Janus, the latter of whom had henceforth two heads, to represent the union of the two nations. The prevalence of Etruscan institutions at Rome during the early part of its history may be inferred from another important fact. Neither Plutarch nor any other author of credit ascribes one single invention to Romulus : yet it is certain that in his time there were kings, palaces, colleges, augurs, priests, temples, shrines, ceremonial services, and, in short, all the elements of a state-religion in the full development of a broad and efficient economy. Numa, the Sabine, succeeded Romulus. He was an eminently pious prince, and would not adorn himself with the ensigns of roy- alty, even when fully elected by the senate and people, until the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 47j. augurs declared his appointment to this supreme oflSce to be in accordance with the divine will. He instituted a body of priests, caWed pontijices, who were to have special charge of a bridge which he caused to be built across the Tiber, and who were bound to keep a feast of union on this bridge. Numa established a college of fetiales, twelve in number. He also instituted several other col- leges, and appointed flamens, or hereditary priests, of particular gods : such as the flamen of Quirinus and Romulus, the flamen of Jupiter, the flamen of Mars, — whose wives were priestesses. This sovereign also doubled the number of the Vestal virgins, and built a circular temple to the goddess Vesta, where the fire was ever kept burning. Numerous other additions were made by him to the insti- tutions of the religion of Rome; and all these were done in the spirit of the original books of Tages, that is, by professed revelation. ISluma alleged that he was divinely taught through the medium of the nymph Egeria; and, to render the laws which he founded on these revelations of the greatest benefit to his people, he had them written, and caused the priests of Rome to get them by heart. It is a singular fact, and one which, fairly considered, greatly confirms the view which has been taken in the foregoing pages,' — that, although Rome was a martial state, and acquired her supremacy by success- ful wars, yet the most prosperous of her early reigns, and those which did most to consolidate the national power, were those of the most peaceful and religious of her kings : and of these the rule of Numa is a remarkable example. Some readers may imagine that the manner in which we speak of this subject is in contradiction to the doubts which are expressed in the preceding pages with respect to the history of Rome at this period. We beg, however, to observe, that we think those doubts to be perfectly warranted, and in fact imperatively called for, by the nature of the evidence upon which the history of this period rests. But it is very evident, that the civilized and religious condition of Btruria prior to the foundation of Rome, and the influence of this civilization and religion on the condition of Rome, and the religious institutions brought into operation during the early period of Roman history, are much more clearly authenticated than the names of kings, or the marvellous and improbable exploits frequently ascribed to them. If therefore, it should be proved that no such prince as Numa ruled in Rome, wc should nevertheless be compelled to believe that, about the time ascribed to his reign, the religion of Rome, which had been previously raised on an Etruscan basis, was greatly developed, extended, and strengthened by the addition of many important rites and institutions. 472 THE GENTILE NATIONS. Plutarch mentions a tradition of this king, — that, while engaged in a religious service, he was informed that the enemy was at the gates ; to which he simply replied, " I am sacrificing," — as if to intimate that, while engaged in the service of the gods, he felt per- fectly secure of divine protection. The same authority states, that at this period there were no images of any deity in Rome ; from which it has been inferred, that such images were common at that time in other parts of Italy. But this is altogether unwarranted by the language of this eminent biographer. His words are : " Numa forbade the Romans to represent the Deity in the form either of man or beast. Nor was there among them formerly any image or statue of the Divine Being. During the first hundred and seventy years, they built temples, indeed, and other sacred domes, but jilaced in them no figure of any kind; persuaded that it is impious to repre- sent things divine by what is perishable, and that we can have con- ception of God but by the understanding. His sacrifices, too, resembled the Pythagorean worship ; for they were without any effusion of blood, consisting chiefly of flour, libations of wine, and other very simple and unexpensive things." — Plutarch, in Vita NumcR. From this it appears that the absence of image- worship at Roma arose from elevated views of the divine nature; that the several deities worshipped were regarded more as separate attributes than as truly divine personalities ; and that there is every probability tliat these views extended as wide as the influence of the Etruscan faith. The degeneracy of image- worship was brought into Rome by LuciiS Tarquin, who introduced figures in human form as objects of adoration. The reinark of Plutarch, as to there being no bloody sacrifices at Rome in the time of JNuma, must be taken with some limitation: for the offerings of a bull, a sheep, and a pig were coeval with the foundation of Rome, and were used under the sway of all her Latin and Sabine kings. It was probably only meant to intimate that Numa did not introduce any new sacrifices of this kind, notwith- standing his extensive additions to the ritual code in other respects. The first Tarquinian dynasty is only remarkable, in respect of religion, for the glimpse which it affords of che story of the Sibylline Books. The account of the circumstance is as follows : — An old woman presented herself before the king, and offered to sell him nine books for three hundred pieces of gold. Being repulsed, she went away, burnt three, and, returning, demanded the same price for the six which remained. Being again refused, she burnt three more, and demanded the same sum for the remaining three, threatening to destroy those, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 473 unless the money was paid. Struck with her manner, the king repented, and purchased the books; after which the prophetess vanished. The reign of Servius Tullius exhibits the further progress of change 'in the primitive elements of the national faith. We find that at this period the simple Etruscan triad had sunk into oblivion, and the idea was only retained in giving the designation of " the triune Jupiter" to the great god whom the Tuscans and Albans united to worship, both at Alba and Laurentum. It is further observable, that in the space of a little more than a century, which elapsed from the death of Numa to that of Servius, the progress of image-making and of respect for images was such, that at the latter period there was an image of the reigning monarch, made of wood and richly gilt, standing in one of the temples of Fortune in the city of Rome. It would be vain to attempt to trace in detail the further change and extension of the religion of Rome. That state having entered on a career of conquest, every new province increased the number of national divinities, and added to the common stock of mythologic fable and religious doctrines, until at length, when the Roman power became paramount throughout Egypt, the north of Africa, and a great part of Asia, the religion of the Romans was, in the widest sense, the religion of the world. In treating on this subject, we must of course limit our consideration to that aggregate of religious elements which had become recognised by the state, in the imperial city, as the national religion. Of this it will be our endeavour to convey some idea. But the subject is full of difficulty, — not only from the immensity of its range, and from the fact that ■ the Romans themselves never reduced their religion to a system, — but also because the information actually procurable can only be collected in detached fragments, and is but seldom found connected with any recognition of real religious principle or truth. In proceeding to sketch the principal elements of this religion, it will be necessary, as in other instances, to commence with its the- ology. But this at once presents to our consideration a range of poly- theism beyond anything witnessed in any other nation of the world. The Romans divided their deities, as they did their senators, into several sections or classes. The first or highest rank of divinities were called dii majorum gentium. These were the great celestial gods : they were twelve in number. Of these, 1. The first and chief was Jupiter ; 2. His wife and sister, Juno ; 3. Minbkva or Pal- las; 4. Vesta; 5. Cekbs; 6. Neptune; 7. Venus; 8. Vul- CANUS; 9. Mars; 10. Mercurius; 11. Apollo; 12. Diana. 474 THE GENTILE NATIONS. These are generally given with the genealogy according to the Greek system of mythology ; but it is very certain that this hypoth- esis neither explains the origin of these deities, nor the opinions of the Romans on that subject. Jupitee is set down as the son of Saturn and Rhea, and is said to have been born and educated in Crete, where he dethroned his father, and divided his kingdom with his brothers. But nothing is more certain than that the Roman Jupiter had his origin in the Tina of the Etruscans, sometimes wor- shipped as the triune Jupiter, and evidently the patriarchal deity of Etruria. Juno, according to the faith of ancient Rome, was merely a female impersonation of the attributes of Jupiter. It does not appear that those from whom the Romans received the elements of their religious system had any deity corresponding to Minerva ; so that this divinity was probably imported from Greece. Vesta was an Etruscan goddess, patroness of the sacred fire. Ceres is identical with the Greek goddess Demeter. Neptune seems to be equally an importation from Greece; and Venus is another of the same class. There is not the slightest trace of any such licentious impersonation in the Etrurian Pantheon. The Roman original VuiCANUS was Sethlans, the Etruscan god who gave protection against fire and other cognate evils. Mars, the martial deity, was worshipped by the Etruscans as Janus, and by the Sabines under the name Quirinus. These appear to have been united by the Romans, and adored under the name of Mars, to whom were ascribed the attributes and origin of the Greek Ares. Mercurius was the Greek Hermes. Apollo was introduced from Greece. Diana, as a goddess, was common to the Sabines and Latins ; but, after the introduction of Greek manners, the worship of this divinity was associated with the mythological account of the Greek Artemis, as a female impersonation of the attributes of Apollo. These twelve constituted the principal deities of Rome : they were in fact the great gods of the nation, during the later period of its history. They were also called dii consentes, — an epithet which seems to cast light on the origin of Etruscan polytheism. The ter^n is supposed to be derived from the verb conso, that is, consulo, and to have been originally applied to the twelve Etruscan deities who formed the council of the supreme god. It seems, therefore, that the notion of a council subservient to the will of the great god hav- ing obtained currency, the supposed members of this body were, in process of time, worshipped as divine, and termed dii consentes, — a term which was afterward applied to the twelve superior deities of Rome. The first ruling power ascribed by the Etruscans to these deities, was the government of the world and of time ; a fact which THE GENTILE NATIONS. 475 perhaps accounts for the attributes ascribed to the Roman deities in after-times. The Roman gods of the second section were termed dii selecti, and were eight in number: — 1. Satubnus, the god of time; 2. Janus, the god of the year, who presided over the gates of heaven; 3. Rhea, the wife of Saturn, who was also called Ops, Cybele, Magna Mater, (fcc. ; 4. Pluto, brother of Jupiter, and sovereign of the infernal regions ; 5. Bacchus, the god of wine ; 6. Sol, the Sun, who was sometimes regarded as identical with Apollo, and at others as of totally different origin ; 7. Luna, a female imperson- ation of the moon, the daughter of Hyperion, and sister of Sol; 8. G-ENius, the tutelary god supposed to preside over and protect an individual, from. his birth to the end of his life. It will be necessary to remark further on this section of Roman theology. Saturn, although generally identified with the family of Olympus, was an Etruscan deity. Janus, who is here set over the year and the gates of heaven, was originally the Etruscan god of war ; and hence, although, after the Romans conformed to the Greek mythology, Janus is superseded by Mars as the deity of war, and retires to the more peaceful presidency of roHing time, he is still, in accordance with his primitive character, so far recognised as con- cerned in the peaceful or warlike condition of the nation, that his temple was open in time of war, and shut during the season of peace. Rhea was generally described as a pregnant matron ; but, in the later portion of Roman history, she was worshipped under the name of Cybele, and was represented by the figure of a cubical block of stone, which was brought with great pomp from Pessinus in Phrygia to Rome during the second Punic war. Pluto was the brother of Jupiter, and husband of Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, whom he carried off, as she was gathering flowers on the plains of Sicily. Associated with this infernal deity were other divinities of an inferior rank, such as the Fates or Destinies, — Olotho, Lachesis, and Atropos; the Furies, — Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megsera, represented with wings, and snakes twisted in their hair, holding in their hands a torch and a whip to torment the wicked; Mors, "Death," and Somnus, "Sleep;" and others of less note. Bacchus, the son of Jupiter and Semele, was attended by Silenus, his nurse and preceptor, and by Bacchanals and Satyrs. Priapus, the god of gardens, whose worship was celebrated by emblems of the most gross indecency, was the son of Bacchus and Venus. Sol, " the Sun," was painted in a juvenile form, attended by the HorcB, or four Seasons, — Ver, "the Spring;" jEstas, "the Summer;" 476 THE SENTILB NATIONS. Auctumnus, "the Autumn;" and Hiems, "the Winter." Ltjna, " the Moon," is represented as the sister of Sol. Genius, the demon or protecting god, was at first regarded as a tutelary spirit, which was supposed to preside over and to direct the actions of each individual. Some, indeed, held that there were two such, — one good and the other bad, — attending each person through- out his whole life ; so that under this term we have a multitude of spiritual existences. Although, in the early ages, these spirits were regarded only as subordinate ministers of the gods, they were at length elevated to be the objects of adoration, had altars and statues reared to them, and extensively received divine honour. Of the same kind as the Genii were the Lares and Penates, house- hold gods who presided over families. These have frequently been confounded, as if they were identical ; but this is an error. The Lares were human spirits, who were at first treated with reverence, and afterward received adoration, either from members of their family, — and, as such, were called Lares domestici, — or, on the con- trary, from the people, who awarded them national honour for their noble and patriotic conduct : these latter were consequently desig- nated Lares publici. The name Lar is Etruscan, and signifies " lord," " king," or " hero." The Lares were, therefore, the honoured or deified spirits of men who, after their death, were, either from fraternal regard or patriotic gratitude, revered or worshipped. The Penates, however, were divine, and must be regarded strictly as household gods. Although sometimes spoken of as sustaining the same character, the Lares and Penates differed in this important particular : — there was never but one Lar revered in one family, — the hero-deity of the family ; while the Penates are almost always spoken of in the plural, there being several deities revered as the guiding and protecting gods of the house. We have next in order to mention the third section of Roman deities, — the dii minorum gentium., or inferior gods. These were of various kinds, and ranged over so wide an expanse of imaginative creation, that only a few of the most prominent can have individual notice. The first portion of these were the dii indigetes, or heroes who had been raised to the rank of deities. Hercules may be named as one of the first of this class. His name, character, and labours are well known, and require no par- ticular elucidation. Castor and Pollux, sons of Jupiter and Leda ; MnesiS, sometimes called Jupiter Indiges; and Romulus Quirinus, with a host besides, belong to this class. Indeed, during the later ages of Roman history, it was regarded as a usual and necessary THE GENTILE NATIONS. 477 compliment to an emperor, to declare him a god immediately on his death. Another section of the dii indigetes were termed Semones, proba- bly from Semi-homines. Among these were Pan, the god of shep- herds, and inventor of the flute, represented with horns and goat's feet ; Faunus and Sylvanus ; Vertumnus, an old Etruscan deity, who presided over the change of seasons and merchandise ; Pomona, the wife of Vertumnus, the goddess of gardens and fruits ; Flora, goddess of flowers ; Terminus, an Etruscan deity, the god of boun- daries, whose temple was always open at the top; Pales, a deity who presided over flocks and herds ; Hymen, the god of marriage ; and Laverna, the patroness of thieves. It is, indeed, difficult and unnecessary to enumerate all these imaginative creations. Respite from business was adored as a deity ; bad smells, — common sewers, — were each represented in this, section of divinities. Here, also, the Nymphs, who presided over every part of the earth, are found. Every river had its presiding deity, and the head or source of each was particularly sacred. Mountains and woods were equally favoured. The judges of hell also belong to the Semones. The Romans worshipped in the same category all the virtues and affections of the mind, — Piety, Faith, Hope, Fortune, Fame; and even bodily dis- eases, such as Fever, &c., were adored as divine. It is scarcely possible to conceive of a more widely spread polytheism than this ; which reached to such an extent that, notwithstanding the immense population of the imperial capital in the season of its glory, it was said that the gods were in Rome more numerous than men. We proceed to notice, in the next place, the several orders of sacred persons, or ministers of religion, who were appointed to con- duct the services of this religion. Here it may be observed, as a preliminary remark, that in Rome there was no holy caste. No man, however elevated the religious office or appointment which he held, was thereby precluded from pursuing the ordinary avocations of life. The chief of the augurs, or the first priest of the nation, might at the same time be a soldier, an advocate in courts of law, or fill any other public or private office. It should be further noticed that the priesthood of Rome was of two kinds, — the first being common to all deities, and the other being limited to the service of some particular divinity. The superior priests of Rome were called pontifices ; those of a more ordinary character, sacerdotes. The origin of the word pontifex is extremely doubtful. The most probable solution is that it is formed from pons and facere, (in the 478 THE GENTILE NATIONS. signification of the Greek pe^eiv, " to perform a sacrifice,") and that it consequently signifies " the priests who performed sacrifices upon the bridge." The ancient sacrifice to which this alludes was that of thirty men, or in later ages images of men, which were cast from the sacred or Sublician bridge, just after the vernal equinox, on the Ides of May. (Dionysius Halicarnasseus, lib. i, cap. 38.) These sacred officers were the most illustrious among the great colleges of the priests. There can be no doubt that the institution had an Etruscan origin. The first time we hear of it in Roman history is in the reign of Numa, who, having built the Pons Sub- licius across the Tiber, appointed ^jonii/Jces to take charge of it, and to ofier annual sacrifices there. At first there were four pontifices, Numa being the first, or pontifex maximus, and Marcius, one of the noblest of the Sabines, being one of the other four. JFor a long time after the institution of this order, when one of the pontiffs died, (for the office was always conferred for life,) the remaining pontifices filled up the vacancy. In 300 B. C, the Ogulnian law raised the number of pontifices to eight besides the pontifex maxi- mus, four of whom were plebeians. This number was continued until the dictator Sylla raised the number to fifteen, and Julius Ceesar afterward to sixteen. In both these changes the pontifex maximus is included in the number. The vocation of the pontifices is explicitly stated by Dionysius and Livy. It was their duty to act as judges in all matters pertain- ing to religion, whether private men, magistrates, or ministers of the gods were concerned. The first pontifices received a code of written laws from Numa. What was not thus exacted for every religious ceremonial, the pontifices had to supply. They had to inquire into the conduct of all persons to whom the performance of any sacrifice or religious service was intrusted. The priesthood, of every order or kind, were subject to their authority. Besides which, they were the teachers of religious law, and the interpreters of everything con- nected with the ceremonial service of the gods. They had also to take cognizance of all disobedience of religious rule, and inflict such punishment as they might think fit. They were accordingly called "teachers," "ministers," "guardians," and "interpreters, of holy things." — Dionysius Halicarnasseus, lib. ii, cap. 73; Livy, lib. i, cap. 20. In the execution of this important range of duties, the pontiffs were entirely independent, and were not responsible either to the senate or to the people. The original sacred laws of Numa, having received considerable additions, were in process of time published, — at least, such parts of them as related to ritual law. At first, the pontifex maximus. THE GENTILE XATIONS. 479 although, like the other members of the college, he might hold any civil or railitary employment, was not allowed to leave Italy : but P. Lioinius Crassus violated this usage; and his example was fre- quently followed with impunity, as by Julius Csesar when he went to his province of Gaul. The great body of the Roman priesthood may be considered under two distinct heads, — the first including, besides the pontifices, the augurs and the fetiales ; the second, the flamines. The augurs were in Etruria called auspices, or haruspices. This, as we have seen, was an Etruscan institution, and in Rome was coeval with the first reign. Romulus appointed three augurs; Servius Tullius added one more; the tribunes increased the number to nine, and Sylla to fifteen. The practice continued long after the introduction of Christianity, and was with difficulty set aside by the influence of the gospel. The duty of the augurs was to ascertain and make known the will of the gods, mainly for the purposes of state, or the direction of national affairs. The several augurs formed together a separate sacred college, under the presidence of the chief augur, who was called magister coUegii. The augur usually made his observations at midnight, or during twilight. Taking his station on an elevated place, he offered up sacrifice and prayer, and then sat down with his head covered, and his face turned toward the east. Then he fixed his mind on the space, before he decided on the limits within which he would look for the expected signification of the divine will. This was gathered, according to their belief and practice, from five several sources : — 1. Thunder, lightning, meteors, comets, &c. ; 2. The chirp- ing or flying of birds ; 3. The manner in which the sacred chickens took or refused their food; 4. The peculiar appearance of certain animals; 5. Sundry other particulars, termed dira. They were directed in the performance of their duties by a threefold body of law and instruction : 1. The formularies and traditions of the col- lege, which in ancient times met on the Nones of every month; 2. The Augurales Libri, which were regarded as divinely-authorized directions for this sacred service ; 3. The Cnmmentarii Augurum, such as those of Messala and of Appius Claudius Pulcher. These were studied as the best directions which the researches of wise men could afford for the proper discharge of these duties. The power of the augurs with regard to these supposed manifesta- tions of the divine will went far beyond that of the highest civil magistrates. The first had the power to interdict any public pro- cedure by declaring the auspices to be unfavourable ; the latter could only do so by giving previous notice of their intention. The influ- 480 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ence of the augurs was greatest in the early ages of Roman history. In later times, the power of the tribunes frequently interfered with their authority ; and in many other respects the augurs were coerced by the civil power. The fetiales composed another sacred college, which was estab- lished on an Etruscan basis, and acted as protectors of the public faith. In Rome, as before in Btruria, this section of the priesthood was charged with the duty of conducting a kind of religious negotia- tion prior to any declaration of war. This was done just in the same manner as that previously described as obtaining among the Tuscans. The presence of ^e fetiales was so indispensable in the ratification of a treaty of peace, that, on the termination of the second Punic war, fetiales were sent over to Africa, who carried with them their own verbence, and their own flint-stones, for smiting the victim to be sacrificed. These several kinds of priests were not devoted to any particular deity, but were common to all the gods, and consequently stood con- nected with the whole range of the national faith, and identified with all its wide scope of worship and ceremonial service. On the contrary, the flamens were priests individually devoted to the service of some particular divinity. The name was given them from a cap, or fillet, which they wore on their head. The principal of these were the following : — 1. Flamen Dialis, " priest of Jupiter." This order was first appointed by Numa; but the priests were afterward elected to ofiSce by the people ; after which they were solemnly inaugurated, and admitted to the performance of sacred functions, by the pontifex maximus. The flamen of Jupiter held an ofiSce of great dignity, but one associated with many inconvenient restrictions. He was not allowed to ride on horseback, nor to stay one night without the city, nor to take an oath, nor to wear a ring. He was forbidden to touch, or to name, a dog, a she-goat, ivy, beans, or raw flesh ; with many other restrictions of an equally incomprehensible kind. The regulations respecting the Jiaminica, or flamen's wife, were no less stringent. He was required to wed a virgin according to the most sacred rites of religion ; and he was not allowed to marry a second time : consequently, as the assistance of the fiaminica was essential to the proper performance of some parts of the flamen's religious duties, on the death of his wife he was obliged to resign his oflice. 2. Flamines Salii were priests similar to the preceding, but devoted to the service and worship of Mars. They were twelve in number, and were instituted by Numa. They received this name 1 ecause they were accustomed, in some of the sacred services, to go THE GENTILE NATIONS. 4S1 through the streets of the city dancing, dressed in an embroidered tunic, bound with a brazen belt, having on their head a cap rising to a considerable height in the form of a cone, with sword, spear, and one of the ancilia, or shields of Mars. They used to go to the capitol, through the forum and other public parts of the city, sing- ing sacred songs as they went. The most solemn procession of the Salii was on the first of March, in commemoration of the time when the sacred shield was said 'to have fallen from heaven in the reign of Numa. No one could be admitted into the order of the Salii, unless he were a native of the place, free-born, and one whose father and mother were alive. After the close of their solemn procession, the Salii had a splendid entertainment prepared for them. Tullus Hostilius doubled the number of these priests. 3 Flamines Luperci were the priests of Pan, and so called because they were supposed to protect the sheep from wolves. Hence the place where thisdeity was worshipped was called iMjoercci, and his fes- tival Lupercalia, celebrated in February ; at which time the Luperci ran up and down the city with only a goat- skin about their waists, and thongs of the same in their hands, with which they struck those whom they met, especially married women, who were supposed there- by to be rendered prolific. There were three companies of Luperci, two of them of very ancient origin, named Fabiani and Quintiliana; and, in more recent times, the third was added in honour of Julius Csesar. The first chief-priest of this section was Marc Antony ; and it was while acting in that capacity at the Lupercalia, that he went almost naked into the Forum Julii, and, having delivered an address to the people, tendered to Cuesar a golden crown. The Luperci were one of the most ancient orders of priests, it being said that they were instituted by Evander. The flamens of these three orders were also selected from Patricians. At first they were appointed by Numa; but afterward they were elected by the people. It is supposed that the pontifex maximus, when there was a vacancy, selected three persons, of whom the people chose one. 4. The fourth order of flamens were called Politii and Pinarii, and were priests of Hercules. These are also said to have been instituted by Evander. They jointly conducted the worship of Hercules for a long time, until the Pinarii, by either the advice or the authority of Appius Claudius, delegated their ministry to public slaves, soon after which the whole race became extinct. 5. Flamines Galli were the priests of Cybele, Mother of the Gods. They were so called because they were all mutilated. They used to carry the image of Cybele through the streets of the 31 482 THE GENTILE NATIONS. city, imitating the actions and gestures of madmen, rolling their heads and beating their breasts to the music of the flute, and making a great noise with drums and cymbals. Sometimes they would gash their flesh, and utter dreadful predictions. The rites of Oybele were characterized by gross indecency. The last sacred class which it will be necessary to mention, as devoted to the worship and service of a particular deity, is the Vestal virgins. Their original appointment and vocation have been already noticed : they were priestesses of Vesta. At first they were nominated by the king ; but, after the subversion of royalty, on the occasion of a vacancy, the pontifex maximus selected twenty girls, between the age of six and sixteen ; and from these one was chosen by lot to the vacant oflSce of Vestal. It was the duty of the Vestals to keep the sacred fire always burning, watching it alternately day and night. Whoever allowed it to go out was scourged; and the extinguishing of the fire was esteemed a great public calamity, and could only be expiated by extraordinary sacrifices. The fire, after being extinguished, was lit from the sun's rays, as it always was on the first of March in each year. The senior or principal of the virgins was called Vestalis maxima ; and to her care it is supposed the Palladium was con- fided. The sacred rites of the goddess were wholly performed by the Vestals ; and their prayers and invocations were always regarded as having eflScient influence with the gods. When a Vestal violated her vow of chastity, she was tried by the pontifices, and, being convicted, was buried alive with due funeral solemnities. Her paramour, if discovered, was scourged to death. These were the ministers of the national faith who held a leading position in the metropolis, and were consequently regarded as pos- sessing an important religious character. But, necessary as it is to understand their office and duty, it is even more important to have a clear idea of the means adopted to pervade the public mind throughout the land with religious sentiments, and to direct them in their worship. In this respect the religion of Rome, from the foundation of the city, presents an aspect of peculiar importance. Here, as in many other instances, Romulus, adopting an Etruscan institution, — by which, under the laws of Tages, the people and ta-- litory of Etruria were re^^ularly divided into tribes and ciiricv, — first parted his citizens into three tribes, and then each tribe into ten curia, — thus separating the people into thirty sections. Having done this, we are told that "he divided the land into thirty equal portions, and gave one of them to each airia, having first set apart as much of it as was sufficient for the sacrifices and temples, and THE GENTILE NATIONS. 483 also reserved some part of the land for the use of the public." — Dionysius Halicarnasseus, lib. ii, cap. 7. This series of divisions of both the land and the people was not made merely for civil or political purposes, but also with a view to the establishment of eflBcient religious institutions. Indeed, Romu- lus is celebrated as being without an equal in his care for the religion of his people. " No man can name," says the author of the " Roman Antiquities," " any newly-built city in which so many priests and ministers of the gods were ordained from the beginning : for, without mentioning those who were invested with family priesthoods, three- score were appointed in his reign to perform divine service, both in the tribes and the curia. Whereas others generally make choice of such as are to preside over religious matters in a mean and in- considerate manner; some thinking fit to make public sale of this honour, others disposing of it by lot ; he would not suifer the priest- hood to be either venal or distributed by lot; but made a law, that each curia should choose two persons, both above fifty years of age, of distinguished birth and virtue, competent fortune, and without any bodily defect. These were not to enjoy their honours during any limited time; but for life, freed from military employments by their age, and from the cares of civil government by this law." — Dio- nysius Halicarnasseus, lib. ii, cap. 21. It is scarcely possible to overrate the importance of this statement. We have here, at the very outset of Roman history, a geographical division of that country, and two ministers of religion placed in special charge of the religious interests of the people of each dis- trict. It must be freely admitted that this usage was adopted from Etruria ; but whencesoever it was derived, is it not the first time we ever meet with a territorial appointment of ministers of religion? Here we have unquestionably the origin of parishes and of a paro- chial clergy. Nowhere else, either among the Hebrews or the Gen- tiles, do we find anything approaching to this geographical division of the people into religious cures. It does not appear that these priests, or, in fact, those of any other order, received any regular stipend for the performance of their religious functions. It rather seems that the honour and the status thus obtained, were regarded as a sufiicient remuneration. Romulus is said to have set apart sufficient land to provide for the sacrifices and sacred rites which were enjoined; and Livy also states that Numa, who appointed the greatest number of priests and sacrifices, provided a fund for defraying these expenses. But this outlay, except in the case of the Vestal virgins, who had a regular salary, must not be taken to include anything more than the repairs of the 484 THE GENTILE NATIONS. temples, and the cost of sacrificial animals. In later times, indeed the priests claimed exemption from the payment of taxes, and the pontifices and augurs for a while enjoyed this privilege; but at length they ■were compelled to forego it. Augustus increased both the honour and the emoluments of the priests. It seems to be ascertained that everything necessary to the respectable maintenance of religious institutions was provided, but that the private fortune of the men elected to the priesthood rendered their having a salary unnecessary. There can be little doubt that the wages of the ser- vants and assistants who waited on the temple, and the cost of sac- rifices, were defrayed out of the public funds. We have next to direct attention to the sacred places and rites of the Roman religion. Even in the early portions of Roman history, we frequently hear of the worship of numerous deities ; while, in much later times, we are informed of temples being erected to these same gods ; and the information is given in a manner which leads to the impression that no temple had previously been erected to these divinities. The solution of this apparent difficulty is probably found in the fact that, adopting nearly the terms of Greece with her religious ideas, the Romans called any place set apart for the sacred service of religion a "temple," even although it contained nothing more than an en- closed space and a simple altar. This, in fact, seems to have been the primitive idea. For " temple," Latin, templvm, comes from the Greek rifievoc;, from reiivu, " to cut off;" templum, according to Servius, being any place which was circumscribed and separated by the augurs from the rest of the land by a certain solemn formula. So that, in the sense of the early Romans, a temple was not an ecclesiastical building, but a consecrated place, whether containing a building or not. The act of consecration by the augurs was, in fact, the great essential necessary to constitute a place sacred. The Roman temples in later times were built in the Greek style; the entrance being, if possible, toward the west, while the statue of the deity was always placed in the interior opposite the entrance. It was also regarded as an important point, when practicable, to have the entrance to the temple by the side of a street or road ; so that passers-by, without being diverted from their course, could offer their salutations to the god. The worship of the Romans consisted chiefly in prayers, vows, and sacrifices. Prayer was essential to every act of worship ; and the order of words employed in the supplications to deity was regarded as of the utmost importance. These forms of prayer varied, of course, with THE GENTILE NATIONS. 485 the nature of the sacrifice. The great importance attached to pre- cision in the forms of speech used in prayer, is supposed to have given rise to the notion, that some special virtue pervaded certain collocations of language ; and hence sprung belief in the efficacy of charms and incantations. Those who prayed stood usually with their heads covered, looking toward the east. A priest pronounced the words before them : they often touched the altars, or the knees of the images of the gods, turning themselves round in a circle toward the right, sometimes putting their right hand to their mouth, and not unfrequently prostrating themselves on the ground. Vows were presented to the gods by the ancient Romans with the same solemnity. In the hope of obtaining some desired good, they vowed temples, games, sacrifices, gifts, a certain part of the plunder of a city, and also what was called ver sacrum, that is, all the cattle which were produced from the first of March to the end of April. Among the Samnites, men were included in the things vowed. Sometimes they used to write their vows on paper or waxen tablets, to seal them up, and fasten them with wax to the images of the gods ; that being supposed to be the seat of mercy. Thanksgivings used always to be offered up to the gods for benefits received, and upon all fortunate events. It was believed that the gods, after remarkable success, used to send on men, through the agency of Nemesis, a reverse of fortune ; to avoid which, it is said, Augustus, influenced by a dream, was in the habit of begging alms of the people once a year, in the hope that this feigned humiliation and adversity would satisfy the resentment of the malign goddess, and ward off real distress. There was one peculiar manner in which the Romans testified their gratitude to the gods for any signal deliverance or special vic- tory. When the senate decreed a lecHsternium, as this service was called, tables were provided, which were covered with the choicest viands, as prepared for a sumptuous feast. Around these tables the images of the gods and goddesses, removed from their pedestals, and reclining on couches, were placed, as if enjoying a repast. The splendid triumph of Cicero over the conspiracy of Catiline was honoured with a public thanksgiving of this kind, — the only instance, as that great orator used to boast, of its having been conferred on a person without his having laid aside his robe of peace. The most important part of worship consisted in sacrifice ; and it was always necessary that those who offered it should be chaste and pure ; that they should previously bathe, be dressed in white robes, and be crowned with the leaves of that tree which was thought most acceptable to the god whom they worshipped. It was essential 486 THE GENTILE NATIONS. that the animal should be without spot and blemish, one never yoked, but chosen from among a flock or herd approved by the priests, and marked with chalk. It was then adorned with fillets, ribbons, crowns, and gilded horns. When these necessary preparations had been made, the victim was led to the altar by the assistants of the priests, called the popcB, with their clothes tucked up, and naked to the waist. The animal was conducted by a rope, which was not to be drawn tight, since it was necessary, as far as possible, for it to appear to come willingly, and not by force, which was always regarded as a bad oinen. For the same reason it was allowed to stand loose before the altar ; and if it ran away, it was regarded as a most calamitous circumstance. These preparations having been made, and silence commanded, bran and meal, mixed with salt, were sprinkled on the head of the animal, and frankincense and wine were poured between its horns, — the priest first tasting the wine himself and giving it to those near- est him to taste it also. This was called the "libation.'' The priest then plucked a few hairs from between the horns of the victim, and threw them into the fire. This being done, the animal was struck with an axe or mall, by the order of the priest ; the assist- ant asking, Agone 1 " Shall I do it T to which the priest replied, Hoc age, " So do." The victim was then stabbed with knives ; and the blood, being caught in goblets, was poured on the altar. It was then flayed ; and the carcass sometimes was wholly consumed with fire : the sacrifice was then called holocaustum. Usually, however, only a part was burnt, and the remainder divided between the priest and the person providing the animal. Upon this division of the sacrificed animal, the haruspices inspected the entrails, of which the liver was the most prominent element, and supposed to afford the most certain omens of future events. If the signs were favourable, then it was said that an acceptable sacrifice had been offered to God: if the contrary, then another animal was offered ; and so sometimes several creatures were devoted before the desired appearances were realized. After this inspection, the part of the sacrifice which was devoted to the god was sprinkled with meal, wine, and frankin- cense, and burnt on the altar. When the sacrifice was finished, the priest, having again washed and prayed, formally dismissed the assembly. ' At the close of the sacrifice followed a feast. If the rite was a public one, the feast was provided by the epidoiics, who were-ofiicers specially appointed to prepare banquets given in honour of the gods. In private sacrifices the person offering feasted with his friends on the parts assigned them. The victims offered to the celestial gods THE GENTILE NATIONS. 487 were generally white ; their neck was bent upward, and the knife was applied from above, the blood being afterward sprinkled on the altar. On the contrary, the animals sacrificed to the infernal deities were black, their heads were bent downward, the knife was applied from beneath, and the blood was poured into a ditch. There was a corresponding difference in the dress and demeanour of the persons offering. Those who presented a sacrifice to the celestial gods came dressed in white, having bathed the whole body : they made libations by tossing the liquor out of the cup, and prayed with their hands raised to heaven. Those who sacrificed to the infernal gods were dressed in black, only sprinkled their bodies with water, made liba- tions by turning the hand, threw the cup into the fire, and prayed with their palms turned downward, and striking the ground with their feet. The ancient Romans sometimes offered human sacrifices. By a law enacted by Romulus, which has been called lex perditionis, persons guilty of certain crimes, such as treachery or sedition, were devoted to Pluto and the infernal gods, and, in consequence, any one might kill them with impunity. Afterward a dictator, consul, or praetor, might devote, not only himself, but any one of a particular legion which was composed entirely of Romans, and slay him as an expiatory victim. It seems that, in the early ages of Rome, human sacrifices were ottered annually. Pliny mentions a law made A. U. 0. 657, for prohibiting this horrid practice ; but it is reasonably believed that this enactment referred only to private and magical rites ; for fifty years after the enactment mentioned by Pliny, in the time of Julius Caesar, two men were slain and sacrificed with the usual solemnities in the Campus Martins, by the poritifices and flamen of Mars. And, as a proof that this savage practice was not renounced in the most glorious period of Roman history, it may be stated, that Augustus, after having compelled L. Antonius to sur- render to Perusia, ordered four hundred senators and equites, who had supported Antony, to be sacrificed as victims at the altar of Julius Offisar, on the Ides of March, A. U. C. 713. It will be necessary here to refer to some of the Roman festivals, as they were intimately connected with religion, and exerted a verj' considerable influence on the manners and morals of the people. Our notice, however, will only extend to three of the principal of these, — the Lupercalia, the Bacchanalia, and the Safurnalia. The Lupercaha was a festival appointed to the honour of the Lycian Pan, and was celebrated in Rome on the fifteenth day of February. It was one of the most ancient Roman feasts, and was celebrated on the spot where Romulus and Remus were supposed to have been suckled by the she- wolf ; and where a temple was erected. 488 THE GENTILE NATIONS. and a grove planted, in honour of this deity. The entire proceed- ings of this festival derived their character from the fact, that they were appointed in honour of Pan as the deity presiding over fer- tility. On this occasion goats and young dogs were sacrificed, and two noble youths selected, to whose foreheads the blood of these victims was applied, and afterward wiped ofif with soft wool dipped in milk ; during which process the youths were required to laugh. After the sacrifice, the Luperci partook of a meal, and were plenti- fully supplied with wine. They then cut the skins of the sacrificed animals into pieces; some of which they tied around their bodies, and the others they used as thongs. They then ran naked through the streets of the city, touching or striking all whom they met in their way. Women rather sought than avoided these blows, as they were supposed to promote fertility, and to diminish the pains of child-bearing. The grossest impurity was practised in connexion with these rites in Egypt ; and even in Rome they were promotive of vile indecency, and were sometimes connected with displays of shocking depravity. The Bacchanalia was not, properly speaking, a Roman festival established by law, although it evidently sustained that character, and produced the same effects as if it had been so authorized. It was, in fact, an adaptation of the mysteries of Dionysus, or Bacchus, to Rome. It is said that they were introduced into Italy at an early period; although, from the assertion of Livy, it would seem that they were not known at Rome until a later date, and that even then their celebration was kept a profound secret. When, however, we state the nature and frequency of these orgies, this account will be received with great suspicion. The Bacchanalia were celebrated, at first, three days in every year, and that in the day-time, when women only were admitted, and matrons performed the necessary priestly ofiBces ; until, at length, Paculla Minia, a Campanian matron, being priestess, professed to have received a mission from the god, by which she was charged to alter the time of celebration from throe days in the year to five days in the month, and also to allow men to be initiated and to celebrate these orgies at night-time. Thenceforward, accord- ing to Livy, these rites became scenes of the most abominable pro- ceedings, of which the licentious intercourse between the sexes was the least evil. In fact, the account of the Roman author is filled with sickening details of the most revolting and abandoned villany. (Hist., lib. xxxix, cap. 9-17.) How seven thousand persons (for that is the number stated) could be initiated into a fraternity of this kind, and hold nocturnal meetings monthly, five nights in succession, without the knowledge of the public authorities, seems incredible. THE SENTILB NATIONS. 489 When these orgies viere denounced by the senate, B. C. 186, it is said that Rome was almost deserted, — so many persons, feeling themselves implicated in those proceedings, sought safety in flight. From this period these practices were forbidden by explicit law, except in case of special application to the senate. The Liberalia was devised as a. pure and innocent festival in honour of Bacchus, instead of that which had been abolished : but there is reason to fear that the new institution soon sunk into all the abominations of the old one; for St. Augustine denounces the extreme licentiousness of this festival in his day. (De Civitate Dei, lib. vii, cap. 21.) The SaLurnalia was a festival to Saturnus, to whom was attrib- uted the introduction of agriculture and the arts of civilized life into Italy. The whole of the month of December was regarded as consecrated to this deity : but the feast was at first celebrated dur- ing one day, was afterward extended to three, and again by Caligula to five. During- the period assigned to this festival, universal feast- ing and merriment prevailed ; no public business was transacted ; the law-courts were closed; the schools kept holiday; to commence war was impious; to punish a criminal involved pollution. The scourge kept for the punishment of slaves was, during this time, locked up under the seal of the master. All distinction between master and slave was laid aside : even public gambling was allowed by the sediles ; and presents were generally interchanged between friends. In fact, many of the circumstances attendant on the Italian Carnival, and on the Popish mode of celebrating Christmas, are evidently borrowed from the Roman Saturnalia. It now becomes necessary to take a general view of this great ecclesiastical establishment, in connexion with its theology, doc- trines, and rites, for the purpose of forming some definite opinion of its moral and religious results upon the nation at large. It is but just to admit, that we find in ancient Rome an ecclesi- astical institution which, for breadth of range, combined influence, power, and completeness of detail, has no parallel in the ancient Gentile world. The political isolation of the several Grecian states, to a great extent, destroyed the unity of the national religious estab- lishments, by introducing not only division, but diversity. In Rome, on the contrary, the very reverse was the case. Small in the begin- ning as were the- Roman population and territory, the daring energy of that state went forward in a continued career of aggression and extension, until the world lay prostrate at the feet of the proud republic. Remarkable as this extensive range of conquest is, it is equally so that, while islands and continents submitted to the Ro- man power, the imperial government maintained, throughout, the 490 THE GENTILE NATIONS. paramount influence of the seat of rule, and, the identity and unity of its religious system. Aggregating to itself, with equal facility, territorial dominion and religious elements, grasping at the same moment the kingdoms and the gods of the conquered, the whole was still Rome, and all its adjuncts Roman. Whether in Greece or Judea, Egypt or Britain, the highest attainable civil privilege was, to be a citizen of Rome. So, when Greece, Egypt, and Phenicia had extended the Pantheon of Rome by the addition of their divini- ties, the religion of Rome was as united as before. The imperial state, exercising an irresistible power, moulded all these additions into the Roman character, and fully fused them into the great body of its ecclesiastical economy. Looking at the external structure of this religious system, we can scarcely find anything of the kind more grand or complete: — the poritifices, headed by the pontifex maximus ; the augurs, by the chief augur ; the flamens of the superior triad of deities, and of the other gods and goddesses. When we contemplate these, composed of the aristocracy of the power, intellect, wealth, and genius of Rome, — supplemented by a weighty and influential parochial clergy, spread over the whole extent of Italy, and laying hold on the man- ners, judgment, and sympathy of the people in every locality, — we have brought under review a mighty ecclesiastical agency. And when it is further considered that all the elements and powers of this system were identified with the imperial government, — that the martial prowess of Rome looked to her religion for guidance, direc- tion, and support, — that the national councils were always held in the presence, and subject to the interposition, of the highest minis- ters of the national faith, — that the sacred persons, rites, and usages, throughout the land, were recognised by the jurisprudence of the state, and incorporated into the entire policy of the empire : — when all this is considered, it will appear that the ecclesiastical institu- tions of Rome were designed and carried into effect on a scale of grandeur and completeness commensurate with the colossal power and extent of that mighty empire. Nor can it be denied that these religious arrangements, and this system of ecclesiastical order, answered, to a great extent, the in- tended object. Under these influences, the Romans became a very religious people. No aifair of state was prosecuted, no enterprise entered upon, without a diligent inquiry as to the divine will respect- ing it. No private individual of repute would build a house, take a journey, or enter upon any important business, without sacrifice and prayer. Religion, in fact, was continually recognised in all public and private affairs. The nation had its temples, deities, and state THE GENTILE NATIONS. 491 hierarchy. No oflSce could be filled without the aid and action of a minister of religion. Nor was this practical piety confined to public affairs : on the contrary, it pervaded the community ; every family had its gods, every house possessed its Lar and Penates. Marriage was contracted with religious services; every social and relative change and incident brought the parties into connexion with relig- ious rites ; and at death the funeral solemnities were equally asso- ciated with sacred ceremonies. There is another important fact which deserves to be fully recog- nised and carefully considered in a review of the religion of Rome. That religion was, as we have seen, based on many pure and sound doctrines of patriarchal faith. It may be regarded as an undoubted fact, that the religion introduced into ancient Etruria taught the existence of one supreme God, insisted on the doctrine of his provi- dential government of the world, recognised the influence and power of his Spirit on the mind and circumstances of man, admitted the immortality of the soul, and, to a considerable extent at least, indi- cated the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments. It was, therefore, the every- day doctrine of this people, that the divine will is the only proper rule of action; and that every one, both in his private and in his public capacity, is bound to act in obedience to the will of God. Rome was founded, and its institutions established, under the per- vading influence of these doctrines : and, as a proof that Romulus, Numa, and their successors adhered to the spirit of these truths, it must be remembered that, for about one hundred and fifty years after the foundation of the city, no image-worship was seen within its walls. Still the question returns upon us, — What was the result of the operation of such circumstances and doctrines upon the mind of the Roman people, after their career of military conquest had filled them with affluence and the pride of power? In other words. What was the real religious condition of Rome when, sitting as a queen among the nations, she had appropriated to herself the wealth of many peoples, as well as the learning, refinement, and genius of Greece ? It is feared that a clear and candid solution of this question will communicate most humiliating information. First, in regard of theology, what did the Romans know and believe respecting the divine nature and government ? It will be obvious, that we must here discriminate between the learned and the ignorant, — the philos- ophers and the educated classes of society, and those who had no information on these important subjects, beyond what was afforded 492 THE GENTILE NATIONS. by the traditions floating in public report and the tales of the poets. Of the latter we can say but little : they either believed the fictions of Ovid and Virgil, and the corresponding legends, which had been handed down from antiquity, or they did not. If they did, what notion could they have of God? or, rather, of the endless variety of gods? To believe in the universal pantheism of Roman legends and Latin poetry, would be to entertain such notions of the divine nature as must inevitably prevent the mind from realizing any sound opinion respecting the nature, government, providence, or attributes of Deity: while, on the other hand, to disbelieve these, was to sink into all the darkness and absurdity of atheism : for they had access to no further information, nor any means of obtaining additional enlightenment. This, it must be admitted, presents a deplorable picture of the great mass of the Roman people. If anything on earth deserves the name of superstition, it is a steady attention to religious requirement in utter ignorance of God. This was the con- dition of the Romans. With a host of deities, a regularly consti- tuted hierarchy, countless temples, multifarious rites, and general devotion, the people had no accurate knowledge of God, or, rather, were utterly ignorant of his nature and attributes. But it may be supposed that the learned and philosophical portion of the Roman people must at least have had some tolerably clear conceptions of the divine nature, and a reasonable faith in the good- ness and power of God. It is an unquestionable fact, that such knowledge and aflSance are very generally ascribed to them by the educated classes in our own country. It is of importance, therefore, that we obtain a solution of this difficulty, and ascertain what were the views entertained on this subject by the best-informed among the Romans in the later period of their history. Fortunately we have ample means for the prosecution of this inquiry. On no por- tion of the religion of the ancient world have we such full and satis- factory information as on this. Cicero, who held for a long time one of the most important offices in the ancient Romish hierarchy, as being the chief of the augurs, and who was evidently one of the best-informed men of his age, has written copiously on the subject under discussion, and thus placed in our hands the knowledge so much needed. It will be necessary to sketch an outline of the works referred to, and then to give the substance of the information which they com- municate. Cicero treats of this subject in three works, which appear to have been designed as a series of treatises on theology. The first is entitled De Natura Deorum, " Of the Nature of the Gods ;" the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 493 second, De Divinatione, " Concerning Divination ;" and the third, De Fato, " On Fate." In the first of these Cicero introduces three eminent philosophers, Tvho argue at great length the subject indicated by the title. The weighty matter is discussed in a brilliant series of addresses. Vel- leius opens the debate. ,He gives a brief but forcible- review of the leading philosophers, beginning with Thales ; proceeds to enumerate the schemes and creeds of twenty-seven of the most prominent teach- ers of different ages and countries ; and then exhibits and lauds the system of Epicurus, because, as he contends, that philosopher placed the existence of the gods on its proper foundation, — the belief im- planted by nature in the hearts of mankind ; and, secondly, because he rightly pronounced their attributes to be hftppiness, immortality, apathy ; representing them as " doing nothing, feeling nothing from without, rejoicing in their own wisdom and virtue, and being, although of mighty power,, and infinite in their nature, as numerous as men." — De Natura Deorum, lib. i, cap. 19. Cotta, who was pontifex maximus at the time, ij next introduced, as representing the New Academy. He forcibly assails every part of the system advocated by the preceding speaker ; shows " that the reasons assigned by Epicurus for the existence of the gods are utterly inadequate; secondly, that, granting their existence, nothing can be less dignified than the forms and attributes ascribed to them ; and, thirdly, grant- ing these forms and qualities, nothing more absurd than that men should render homage or feel gratitude to those from whom they have not received, and do not hope to receive, any benefits." The second book contains an investigation of the subject by Bal- bus. By him the matter is divided into four sections : 1. The exist- ence of gods ; 2. Their nature ; 3. Their government of the world ; 4. Their watchful care of mankind, or providence. The existence of gods he advocates from the universal belief of mankind, — the well- authenticated accounts of their appearances on earth, — from prophecies, presentiments, omens, and auguries, — from the evident proofs of design, and of the adaptation of means to a beneficial end, in the arrangements of the material world, — from the nature of man himself and his mental constitution, — from certain physical con- siderations, which tend clearly and unequivocally to the establish- ment of a system of pantheism, — and from the gradual upward progression in the works of creation, from plants to animals, and from the lower animals to man ; which leads us to infer that the series ascends from man to beings absolutely perfect. In treating of the nature of the gods, the pantheistic principle is again broadly asserted: — God is the universe, and the universe is God; whence 494 THE GENTILE NATIONS. is derived the conclusion, that the deity must be spherical in form, because the sphere is the most perfect of figures. But while the universe is God as a whole, it contains among its parts many gods, among the number of whom are the heavenly bodies. Then follows a curious digression on the origin of the Greek and Roman Pantheon, and on the causes which led men to commit the folly of picturing to themselves gods differing in shape, in age, and in apparel, of assign- ing to them the relationships of domestic life, and of ascribing to them the desires and passions by which mortals are agitated. Lastly, the government and providence of the gods is deduced from three considerations : — 1 . from their existence ; which being granted, it necessarily follows that they must rule the world. 2. From the admitted truth, that sftl things are subject to the laws of nature ; but nature, when properly defined and understood, is another name for God. 3. From the beauty, harmony, wisdom, and benevolence manifested in the works of creation. This last section is handled with great skill and effect : the absuirdity of the doctrine which taught that the world Avas produced by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, is forcibly exposed. The whole is wound up by demonstrating that all things serviceable to man were made for his use ; and that the deity watches over the safety and welfare, not only of the whole human race collectively, but of every individual member of the family. In the third book, Cotta resumes the discourse, for the purpose, not of absolutely demolishing what has been advanced by Balbus, but of setting forth, after the manner of the sceptics, that the reason- ings employed by the last speaker were unsatisfactory, and not cal- culated to produce conviction. The second work, De Dlvinatione, was intended as a continuation of the treatise on the nature of the gods, out of which the inquiry naturally arises. It exhibits the conflicting opinions of the Stoics and the Academy upon the reality of the science of divination, and the degree of confidence which ought to be reposed in its professors. In the first book Q. Cicero defends the doctrine of the Stoics. He divides divination into two branches, — the divination of nature, and the divination of art. To the first he ascribes dreams, inward pres- ages and presentiments, and the ecstatic frenzy, during -which the mind inspired by a god discerns the secrets of the future, and pours forth its conceptions in prophetic words. In the second are compre- hended the indications yielded by the entrails of the slaughtered victim ; by the flight, the cries, and the feeding of birds ; by thundm- and lightning, by lots, by astrology, and by all those strange sights and sounds which were regarded as the shadoAvs cast before by co'ii- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 495 ing events; Numerous examples are adduced to establish the cer- tainty of the various methods, cases of failure being explained away by supposing an error in the interpretation of the sign, while the truth of the general principles is confirmed by an appeal to the con- curring belief of philosophers, poets, and mankind at large. Hence it is maintained that we are justified in concluding that the future is revealed to us both from within and from without, and that the information proceeds from the gods, from fate, or from nature. In the second book of this work, Cicero himself adduces the argu- ments of Carneades, who held that divination was altogether a delu- sion, and that the knowledge which it pretends to convey, if real, would be a curse, rather than a blessing, to men. He then proceeds to confute each of the propositions enunciated by the preceding speaker, and finishes by urging the necessity of upholding and extending the influence of true religion, and of waging a vigorous war in every quarter against superstition in every form. In the third of the works referred to, De Fato, it seems to have been the object of the eloquent author to give a review of the opin- ions entertained by the chief philosophic sects upon fate, or destiny, and the compatibility of the doctrine of predestination with free- will ; in which the most prominent place is assigned to the Stoics, — who maintained that fate, or destiny, was the great ruling power of the universe, the Xoyog, or anima mundi; in other words, the divine essence, from which all impulses were derived ; — and to the Aca- demics, who conceived that the movements of the mind were volun- tary, and independent of, or, at least, not necessarily subject to, external control.* It is scarcely possible to overrate the importance of these works in assisting us to form a just estimate of the theology of heathen Rome. We have here brought under our inspection all that the most profound learning, exalted genius, and devoted research of imperial Rome could discover respecting the gods which it wor- shipped, and the sacred services in which it took a part, as the most essential elements of the national faith. And to what does all this amount? What is the substantial information thus obtained? We learn, indeed, that the philosophy of Greece had been imported into Rome, and that its results abundantly justify the estimate given of its influence in a preceding chapter. But, in respect of the theology of Rome, we find that the doctrines of Epicurus had obtained such an ascendency over the Roman mind, that an advocate of this sys- tem is put forth by Cicero as one of the most prominent representa- ' See a very able analysis of the works of Cicero in Db. Whjuam Smith's " Dictionary of Greek and Komaa Biography and Mythology," to which we have been indebted. 496 THE GENTILE NATIONS. tives of the national religion: and this advocate maintains, "that the gods must be acknowledged to be of human form ; yet that form is not body, but something like body ; nor does it contain blood, but something like blood." — De Natura Deorum, lib.' i, cap. 18. He ridicules the idea of providence, as entailing too much labour on God, insisting on the dogma, that ease is essential to happiness; and he sneers at divine oversight and government, saying : " You have imposed on us an eternal Master, whom we must dread day and night. For who can be free from fear of a Deity who foresees, regards, and animadverts on everything ; one who thinks all things his own; a curious, ever-busy God?" — Idem, cap. 20. He closes, exulting in a host of gods who take no thought of men : " Epicurus, having freed us from these terrors, and restored us to liberty, we have no dread of those beings, whom we have reason to think en- tirely free from all trouble themselves, and who do not impose any on others." — Ibid. From this near approach to atheism, we turn to the doctrines of the Stoics, as advocated by Balbus : and what does he give us, instead of this inert Epicurean deity? He, indeed, insists upon divine providence and government; but when we come to look at the deity who governs, we are told that, " as the idea we have of the deity comprehends two things, — the one, that he is animated; the other, that nothing in nature exceeds him, — I do not see anything more consistent with this idea than to attribute mind and divinity to the world, the most excellent of all beings. Nor is it to be doubted that whatever has life, sense, reason, and understanding, must excel that which is destitute of them. It follows, then, that the world has life, sense, reason, and understanding, and is conse- quently a deity." — De Natura Deorum, lib. ii, cap. 17. But, although the world is a god, it is not the only one. The philosopher proceeds : " I cannot, therefore, conceive, that this constant course of the planets, — this just agreement in their various motions, through all eternity, — can be preserved without a mind, reason, and con- sideration ; and since we perceive them in the stars, we cannot but place them in the rank of the gods." This applies to the planets ; but of the fixed stars he adds: "The fixed stars have their own sphere, separate and free from any conjunction with the sky. Their perpetual courses, with that admirable and incredible constancy, so plainly declare a divine power and mind to be in them, that he who cannot perceive their divinity must be incapable of perception." — Ibid., cap. 21. Our limits forbid further quotations : these simple facts are suf- ficient for our purpose. They inform us, that a man of the most THE GENTILE NATIONS. 497 eminent station, learning, ■wisdom, and genius, while Julius Cassar held the reins of empire, devoted himself of set purpose to present to the world a fair exhibition of the opinions entertained by his coun trymen on the most important and difficult of all subjects, — the nature and attributes of God. And what are the great results of this inquiry ? After the most profound and extensive research, it comes to this, — that Cicero could find nothing better than the ab- stract, inert divinity of Epicurus, or the wild pantheism of Zeno, to exhibit as the theology of Rome at the dawn of the Augustan era. It is true that Cotta, the pontifex maximus, is introduced as one of the interlocutors ; but he advocates no system : he demolishes the arguments of the Epicurean, and doubts the conclusions of the Stoic, but he has nothing better to give. Let the reader mark with care the inevitable conclusion to which these facts conduct us. They show, first, that the great system of religion — sustained as it was by gorgeous temples, and elevated hierarchy, a countless priesthood, continually recurring solemn rites and ceremonies— was virtually repudiated by the intelligent,, the learned, and the cultivated classes throughout the land. They saw, they sanctioned, they sustained a gorgeous system of faith as an engine of government, and for political purposes; while they did not really believe in a single divinity whom they taught the people to worship, and whom they pretended themselves to worship. But in what respect were these educated and elevated classes better informed than the ignorant and deluded masses upon whom they looked down ? In no respect whatever. The deity of Epicu- rus, or the conception of Zeno, was no more an object of rational worship than the Capitoline Jupiter. It must be added, that the manner in which Cicero presents the subject to our view, suggests even a darker shade than has been yet expressed. I allude to the general prevalence of doubt as to all these doctrines. On every hand a wide-spreading scepticism prevailed; and Rome, when at the zenith of her glory, was rapidly gliding into the darkness of atheism. What a fearful commentary does this aflford to the asser- tion of the apostle respecting this people ! " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Rom. i, 2-2. The primitive theology of Rome contained, with some admixture of error, much patriarchal truth. But, elevated to the highest point of wealth and power, and possessing every means of acquiring information, instead of humbly tracing out these simple truths, and adhering to them as grand way- marks in their theological researches, they fell into the snare which had ruined Greece : — they idolized human intellect. They adopted, with great zest, the various systems of Grecian philosophy. The 32 498 THE GENTILE NATIONS. result we have seen : theology became a subject (jf human specula- tion ; and thus, with the highest professions of wisdom, they descended to the folly of worshipping the world, the stars, the universe, as divine. Our reference to other religious doctrines shall be brief: for, with such theological doctrines, or to speak more correctly, with such entire absence of sound theological knowledge, it is very evident there can be no hope of finding clear views on any religious subject. But it becomes important that we ascertain what were the opinions entertained by the Roman people respecting the immortality of the soul, and future rewards and punishments. On this, as on the former subject, it is easy to say what were the opinions of the ignorant and uneducated. It is admitted on all hands, that the fables and legends which were the staple of the poets floated on the public mind, and gave them the only ideas they entertained as to religion. If the Roman populace, therefore, believed these, they would look forward to Tartarus and the Elysian Fields as the future habitations of departed spirits ; and a more gloomy and less influential result than that which would thus be obtained, can scarcely be imagined. For, while the punishments of Tartarus were everlast- ing, the pleasures of Elysium were terminated by the drinking of the waters of Lethe ; after which the spirit, perfectly oblivious of all past events, returned to this world to inhabit another body. And as, in a continual recurrence of trials and temptations, it may be supposed that the spirit would in some one instance fail, there seemed no ra- tional ground of expectation for any, but that they would ultimately terminate their career in Tartarean misery and darkness. But the extent to which this view of future existence would influ- ence the public mind, must be measured by the hold which it had on the judgment and feeling of the people. And this would be greatly affected by the opinions entertained by the upper and educated classes of society. It is not difficult to state their views on this subject. A passag6 in Cicero's Oration for Cluentius casts important light on them. Referring to the fables of the poets, he says, " If these are false, as all men see they are, what has death deprived him of, besides a sense of pain?"* It is clear from this statement, 1. That the fables of the poets constituted the only foundation accessible to the Romans for a belief in future rewards and punishments. For the entire scope of the writer's argument is this, — that if there is no ° The passage in the original is : Nam nunc quidem, quid tandem illt mali mora atUdit ? Nitii forte ineptiia ac /abidin ducimur, ut existimemua ilhim apud inferos impio- rirai supplicia perfey re, i{c. Quce si falsa sunt, id quod omnbs intblliount, quid ei (on- dem aliud mors cripuit prat&r sensum doloris ? THE GENTILE NATIONS. 499 future punishment, then death can only deprive us of all sense of pain, and not inflict any. And to the fables of the poets he refers, as the only authority on the subject. If these are false, then he concludes, as of unavoidable necessity, that death is a prelude to no painful infliction. So that, according to this high authority, those who by education or intellect were raised above a belief in these fables, together with all those who by ignorance or scepticism were strangers to their influence, had no idea of future existence, and simply regarded death as a release from the ills of life. But, 2. Cicero in this passage intimates that this was the general con- dition of his countrymen : " If these are false, — as all men see they are, — then death can do nothing but afford relief from a sense of pain." Lest the reader should feel a difficulty in concluding that the great body of the Roman people were thus ignorant of all the restraints and motives afforded by the doctrine of a future life, I adduce fur- ther and, I think, conclusive evidence. In the debate in the senate on the punishment to be inflicted on the criminals convicted of being concerned in the conspiracy of Catiline, Julius Csesar argued against the infliction of capital punishment. In the course of his argument he boldly advanced the Epicurean dogma, " that death was no evil, as they who inflicted it for a punishment imagined ;" and thence proceeded to insist on the doctrines of that sect respecting the mor- tality of the soul. Now, when Cato and Cicero, who were on the other side, came to reply to this speech, how did they meet this pro- fane dogma ? Here, in a challenge so publicly and prominently put forth, was a fine opportunity for these able and eloquent men to uphold their own immediate opinions on this subject, and the inter- ests of morality at the same time. How did they answer this ? They did not venture to vindicate a state of future rewards and punishments either by urging the doctrines of any philosophical sect, or by appealing to the judgment of their country. Their only resource was the replication, that " the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments was delivered to them from their ances- tors." This most illogical reply, as Bishop Warburton observes, is a sufficient proof that there was not in the recognised philosophy of Home any clear assertion of a future life; so that the licentious dogma of Oossar could only be met by a reference to doctrines prev- alent in ancient times. Nothing can more clearly illustrate the real state of the case can this. Rome had enjoyed clear views on this subject; the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments had made a prominent element in the national faith : but while this knowledge yet remained on record as an historical fact, to be ap- 500 THE GENTILE NATIONS. pealed to by Cicero, it had passed away from the public mind. Wild speculation and Grecian philosophy had united their influence to obliterate the truth; and Romans in the time of Caesar saw, feared, hoped for nothing beyond the grave. What were the consequences of this fearful change on the morals and social life of this mighty and talented people, neither our limits nor our inclination allow us fully to detail. Without the knowledge of God and of a future life, man sunk to the level of a brute, or was only distinguished from mere animal nature by an intellectual power which enabled him to develop his impurity into an almost infinite range of vice and folly. The inspired apostle, describing the moral condition of the Roman people, has placed on the sacred record a passage which so fully exhibits the depths of impurity into which they sunk after having renounced God, that it is seldom read, and it is to be lamented that its reading should be necessary. Yet such glitter and gaudy colour- ing has been thrown over the moral condition of Rome by its acknowledged patronage of elegance and art, and possession of wealth and power, that it becomes needful to state enough to justify the strong language of the apostle. This is also necessary, since it will show that the inevitable consequences of apostasy from God, combined with unlimited idolatry, are in fact a surrender of the human mind, individually and collectively, not only to the operation of the vilest human passions, but also to the uncontrolled dominion of Satanic power ; and this notwithstanding the utmost influence of science, civilization, and martial prowess. The first result of this general impiety that will be noticed, was the efifect produced on the family economy of Rome. The education and cultivation of the female mind was almost universally neglected. And this can scarcely be regretted, as the Roman lady did not require cultivation for the part she had to act. The wife was placed completely in the power of her husband : he could divorce her at will, or, without that formality, lend her to a friend, receive her back for a while, and then hand her to another. Such, in fact, was the absence of interest and affection, in their proper sense, between husband and wife, that the copious language of Rome had no word to express jealousy. These facts are important: they lie at the foundation of all the bonds of society,— all the fabric of morals. This unnatural and irreligious character of matrimonial life was productive of an extensive system of adopting children, — a practice which showed the weakness of the parental affections, and led to other extensive evils. Not the least of these ills was slavery, which, although not occa- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 501 sioned by these vicious domestic arrangements, was greatly aggra- vated by them. This political vice did in Eome most extensively what it must always do to a certain extent, — it demoralized society. The number of slaves in Rome was so great that, when debating the propriety of enacting a peculiar dress by which slaves might be known, the senate rejected the proposition, lest the badge, if adopt- ed, should make the slaves aware of their number and their power. Slaves at Rome must, in fact, have made a large portion of the pop- ulation. An individual sometimes held above four thousand ; it was by no means uncommon for one person to have two hundred; and it seems to have been a conventional rule, that a person was regarded as having no claims to gentility, unless he had at least ten slaves. These persons could not marry, nor hold property, and were, in fact, notwithstanding much legislation on the subject, in the absolute power of their owners. And, perhaps, in no age or country was this power used with more barbarous cruelty. The whip which was generally employed for their punishment (horrihile flagellum) is described as a terrible instrument. It had several thongs, firmly fastened to a strong handle : each of the thongs was weighted with pieces of bone or bronze throughout most of their length, and some- times terminated with hooks, and were therefore significantly called "scorpions." The application of this to the naked back of the sufferer lacerated the flesh fearfully, and sometimes occasioned death. These inflictions were as frequent as they were severe ; so much so, indeed, that it was common for a slave to be nicknamed according to the kind of flogging, or other punishment, to which he had been subjected. The cruelty of Vedius Pollio in throwing slaves into his fish- ponds to be devoured is well known, and often cited in proof of the barbarities exercised by the Romans toward their slaves. But the motives which induced this abominable conduct are not so generally understood. It was not to feed his fishes, — nor merely to inflict the punishment of death upon culprits, — that this course was adopted ; but rather to gratify an exquisite taste for a peculiar mode of inflict- ing torment. I will give the account in a literal translation of the words of Pliny : " He caused certain slaves, condemned to die, to be put into the stews where these lampreys or mursenes were kept, to be eaten and devoured by them : not that there were not wild beasts enough upon the land for this feat, but because he took pleasure to behold a man torn and plucked to pieces all at once, which pleasant sight he could not see by any other beast upon the land." — Hist. Nat., lib. ix, cap. 23. Is it possible to conceive of a more diabolical passion than this ? It might be supposed that to see a fellow-crea- 502 THE GENTILE NATIONS. ture lashed to death, or torn limb from limb by wild beasts in the amphitheatre, would be a sufficient gratification for any savage ; but this did not meet the cultivated taste for a sight of mortal agony, which animated the refined Roman in the days of Augustus : he must see every part of the victim simultaneously assailed, and the flesh rent from the whole body at the same moment. To gratify this horrid taste, a naked slave was occasionally thrown into his fish-ponds, when the ravenous lampreys would instantly fasten on every part of the body, and, by devouring the flesh of the devoted wretch, gratify the fiendish passion of his inhuman master. Nor did female slaves fare better at the hands of their mistresses. Their being punished severely, and even flogged to death, became so frequent, that laws were at length enacted to prevent these atrocities. It will, however, sufficiently indicate the feelings which influenced Roman ladies, and the treatment which those unfortunate females received, who were entirely subject to their will, to state that the poets represent it as the common practice for the mistress to sit at her toilet to have her hair dressed, with instruments of punishment at her side ; and for the female slave charged with performing this office, to be made to strip quite naked above the waist before com- mencing the operation, so that any fault, delay, or mistake in the process, might be instantly punished with stripes, inflicted by leather or twisted parchment scourges on the naked shoulders or bosom of the slave. (Ovid, Artis Aman., lib. iii, 239, 240; Martial, lib. ii, epig. 66 ; Juvenal, lib. vi, 498, (fcc.) If it be necessary to add aught more to show the want of moral feeling and prevalent cruelty which imbued the Roman institutions under the first emperors, it may be supplied by the manner in which the children of Sejanus were treated after the death of their father. This man was the favourite minister of the Emperor Tiberius. After revelling in the pomp and power, scarcely less than imperial, with which his master endowed him, he was suspected, and, by a sudden and artful stroke of policy of the same sovereign, charged with high treason, and strangled in prison. His two children, a boy and a girl, although too young to partake of their father's crimes, were, on his account, also doomed to die. But what was called "the religion" of Rome forbade the execution of a virgin: so the child was first ravished in prison, and then brother and sister were put to death, and their bodies, after being dragged by hooks through the streets of the city, were cast into the Tiber. This took place dur- ing the life of our Saviour, and not long before his crucifixion. But the culminating point of Roman iniquity and pollution is found in that abominable licentiousness so forcibly described by the THE GENTILE NATIONS. 503 apostle. The Roman laws of marriage afforded no guarantee of per- manent union. The sacred tie might be dissolved at the whim or caprice of either party ; which in practice gave a licence to libertin- ism in men, and also produced its effects on the female character. This was stimulated by their religion. Little attention was paid to the true character of deity ; but the incest and amours of the objects of worship were gloated over with fatal avidity. Numerous services of religion also strengthened this vicious bias. Laws had, indeed, been made to check vice in females; but then a married woman might avert the effect of all these by appearing before the sediles, and registering herself as a common prostitute. This was actually done ; and it was not until a married lady of rank publicly appeared, tendered her name for registration, and claimed the legal privilege of living a life of debauchery, that the senate interposed to check this almost universal abomination. But then the new-made law was no protest against the immorality of prostitution, but simply a declaration that "no woman whose grandfather, father, or husband, was a Roman knight, should make her person venal." — Tacitus, Annal., lib. ii, cap. 85. We shall suflBciently exhibit the awful ex- tent of Roman licentiousness by giving the sentiments of two of their most eminent men. Cato, the stern moralist, encouraged young men to licentiousness, provided they abstained from adul- tery ; and Cicero, chief of the augurs of Rome, thus pleads, — that " to find fault with meretricious amours, was an extraordinary sever- ity, abhorrent not only from the licentiousness of that age, but from the customs and constitutions of their ancestors;" adding, "When was not this done? When was it found fault with"? When was it not allowed? Can the time be named when the practice which is now lawful was not accounted so?" — Cicero, Oral, pro M- Ccelio, cap. 20. But, according to the apostle and to fact, merely gross licentious^ ness did not constitute the reigning sin, the deadly plague-spot of Roman manners. A lower deep, in fact, the lowest depth of infa- mous and unnatural lust, fearfully prevailed ; but on this most disa- greeable subject a few words must suflSce. It must, then, be stated that slave boys were reared for the express. purpose of unnatural impurity, and that handsome ones sold at most enormous prices. So prevalent, indeed, was this detestable vice, that Cotta, who was pontifex maximus, and is introduced by Cicero as one of the ablest debaters on the nature of the gods, voluntarily, and without any reason for doing so, in that very debate admits himself to be guilty of this iniquity, and speaks of other eminent men as doing the same, as though it called forth neither shame nor remorse. But the 504 THE GENTILE NATIONS. language which most fully proclaims the unbounded range of this turpitude throughout Roman society, comes from the lips of Epic- tetus. That philosopher, contemplating the character of Socrates, breaks forth into the following eulogy : " Go to Socrates : — consider what a victory he was conscious of obtaiaing ! What an Olympic prize! so that, by Heaven, one might justly salute him, 'Hail! incredibly great, universal victor!'" — Epictetus, Diss., lib. ii, cap. xviii, sect. 4. Now what had the Grecian sage done to call forth this extravagant laudation? Will the reader believe it? — he had remained in the same room with the young and beautiful Alcibiades without committing the vilest iniquity which could disgrace human nature. How common — how all but universal — must this vile con- duct have been among the Roman people, to have made a single act of continence the theme of such extravagant praise ! Dark and terrible, therefore, as St. Paul's picture of Roman society confessedly is, it is not, and scarcely could be, beyond the reality. God and his truth had been renounced, and Satan reigned in all the plenitude of his power. Religion, in its wide range of operation, became an instrument of evil; religious rites and cere- monies sunk into agencies promotive of vice ; men of notoriously abandoned character filled the highest places in the priesthood : and thus, in the midst of unbounded power and wealth, — while Livy and Plutarch wrote history, Cicero fascinated the world by his oratory, and Virgil and Horace charmed all by the sweetness of their num- bers, — Satanic influence prevailed; vice triumphed, and preyed so destructively on the vitals of the state, that an eminent living writer observes, " Such a state of society already trembled on the verge of dissolution ; and reflecting men must have shuddered at the frailness of the bands which still held it together." — Merivale's Fall of the Roman Republic, vol. i, p. 228. Truly, "the world by wisdom knew not God." THE GENTILE NATIONS. 505 CHAPTER XIII. A GENERAL REVIEW OF THE HISTORY AND RELIGION OF THE GENTILE NATIONS. Mistaken Notions respecting the Accordanoe of ancient History with Holy Scripture — The elevation of Man in his primitive State — Bemarkable Corroboration of Scripture by Facts- in Ancient History — Gentile Religion an important Development of Mosaic Teaching — It contains wonderful Eevelations of the Power and Providence of God — Ancient History, as a Fulfilment of Prophecy, a ren^rkable Attestation of revealed Truth — Relation of Revelation to the Teaching of Science — The Testimony of ancient History in Respect of Religion in remarkable Accordance with the Bible — ^Proofs of the Existence and Power of Satanic Influence — Infinite Absurdity of Idolatry — ^Yet it was universal — ^False Theories devised for the Purpose of accounting for the Existence of Idolatry, considered and refuted — Satanic Aggression on the Purposes of God and Happiness of Man — The Deluge one of its Results — Corruption of the patriarchal Faith — Attempt to frustrate the divinely-appointed Dispersion — Miraculously defeated — The Call of Abraham, and Election of the Hebrew People, still further show the Violence of Satanic Aggression on the Purpose of God — The Succession of great ruling Empires displays the Power of diabolical Influence — ^The World prepared for the Introduction of the ICingdom of God. The history of the ancient heathen nations has been generally- regarded as entirely separate from and unconnected with the Hebrew people and the Old Testament Scriptures; and, being investigated, especially in their most ancient periods, by the unaided light of their own imperfect records and legends, has not unfrequently been placed in an attitude hostile to the explicit declarations of revealed truth. This seems to have produced an opinion which, if not often avowed, has nevertheless obtained extensive currency and influence, — namely, that the whole experience, knowledge, and power of the Gentile world, prior to the birth of Christ, must be regarded as totally isolated from the Bible, if, indeed, it does not stand out in open protest against its teaching. In some works of great talent and learning, efforts have been made to disseminate such views : but- even where nothing of this kind is discernible, the history, chronology, learning, and prowess of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and other ancient nations, are spoken of as though they had nothing in common with the Hebrews, and consequently as if the truth of revelation had no bearing or relation whatever to them. The collection of facts, both historical and religious, furnished in this work, will, it is hoped, form an effectual antidote to this preva- 506 THE GENTILE NATIONS. lent error. The history of the great primitive and powerful nations has been carried up, in this and a preceding volume, to immediate proximity with the dispersion of the Noachic tribes, as described in the Book of Genesis ; and it has been clearly and fully shown, that, instead of these peoples having subsisted throughout lengthened periods, which bid defiance to any reconcilement with Scripture chronology, they are all found to have arisen from patriarchs named by Moses as descendants of Noah, their lineage and posterity being thus fully identified with the sacred record. This result, it should be observed, has not been obtained by a forced application of the text of Scripture to these national histories, but has been mainly elicited from the ancient and incorruptible monuments of those nations. The pictorial Rterature extant on the monuments of Egypt, and the disinterred sculptures of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, have been carefully studied ; and found to teach lessons of history, religion, manners, and morals, in perfect harmony with, and in strong corroboration of, the Scriptural account. Nor must it be overlooked, in the consideration of this subject, that, brief as our sketches of national history confessedly and necessarily are, they are not merely one-sided selections of matter, but impartial condensations of national annals. No facts of an opposite tendency have been ignored; nor can any arrangement of authorized data set aside or neutralize the effect of the account which has been here given. What, then, is the general view which has been obtained of the history of these Gentile nations ? It has been found that, instead of the speculation being true, which obtained so much favour some time ago, — that man began his career in barbarism, and gradually worked his way, through succes- sive ages of toilsome effort, to an acquaintance with the useful arts, moral comfort, and intellectual dignity, — the earliest ages of every primitive nation display a state of intelligence and civilization. We have also found, in many points of conformity and agreement between the annals of these ancient nations and the Hebrew Scrip- tures, unmistakable proofs of the authenticity and integrity of the Bible, Who can read the Mosaic account of the descent of Abraham to the country of Ham, and that of the sojourn of Jacob and his descendants there, — and compare the institutions, usages, national laws, habits of thought, and conventional arrangements which they exhibit with the disclosures of the hieroglyphics, and the revelations afforded by the picture- sculptures of the Egyptian tombs, — without being compelled to believe that he is pondering over truthful col- lateral accounts of the same people 1 Let any candid person carefully look at the representation of brick-making by captives on the tomb of THE OENTILB NATIONS. 507 Rek-share ; and then, reading the Mosaic account of the Hebrews under their taskmasters, and observing the physiognomy of even a modern Jew, let him say if he has not before him a most striking pictorial illustration of the historical fact. The record of the triumph of Shishak, still extant on the external wall of the hypostyle-hall at Karnak, where the "king of Judah" is read among the names of those subdued by the prowess of the con- queror, is another proof of the same fact. Nor are the omissions of reference to Palestine on Egyptian monuments less in point than those existing records. Although the several tribes which inhabited that country prior to its invasion by Joshua, are frequently found figuring on Egyptian monuments before that time; yet, from the period when the Hebrews possessed themselves of the land, nothing of the kind occurs, until we meet with the triumph of Shishak over the king of Judah in the days of Rehoboam. Facts like these, while they attest the verity of Hebrew history, equally show the truthful accordance of it with a sound interpretation of heathen annals, and the suppression of truth in the latter. Sennacherib's account of his wars with Hezekiah, and the auto- biography of the martial career of Darius on the Sacred Rock at Behistun, might be referred to, as similar striking examples of the concurrence and truth of these collateral histories ; but we prefer here to dwell more particularly on those which identify the origin, institutions, and usages of the primitive nations, with the early his- tory of the postdiluvian world according to the inspired record. We may first refer to the similarity of names, which, to the extent it is known to have existed, cannot have been accidental. In Assyria, for instance, we not only find the Scriptural names of the patriarch Asshur on the sculptures, as giving a designation to the whole land, it being thence called " the country of Asshur ;" but this father of the race stands before us, in these exhumed sculptures, as the deified hero of the people, and, as such, worshipped as " Asshur, the king of the circle of the great gods." — Layard's Nineveh and Baylon, pp. 629, 637. We have a similar case at Babylon. The name of Nimrod is as current in native history and legend, as in the pages of Scrip- ture. Berosus, from the preserved records of that city at the time of Alexander, speaks of him as the first king of the country. His figure stands in majestic attitude on the walls of the royal palace at Khorsabad. The Birs-Nimroud evidently derives its appellation from the same source. In fact, the name of this great usurper and arch-apostate is alike imprinted on the soil of his country, and embedded in all the traditions and legends of its inhabitants to the present day. 508 THE GENTILE NATIONS. But the most elaborate and decisive evidence that the Mosaic account of the origin of nations is the only true one, is found in the fact, that undoubted reference to the scenes of Paradise, to the incidents of man's primeval history, and to the circumstances con- nected with the Deluge, enter into, and form the more prominent elements of, the religion of the early era of these primitive nations. To cite these instances in detail, would be to re- write a great part of some of the preceding chapters. In respect of Paradise, we have not only the perpetuation of the thing, but even the name, in its application to the sacred park-like grounds which surrounded the palace- temples of the eastern kings; while the water flowing from the threshold, and meandering through the garden, — the trees which grew in it, and which, represented in gorgeous sculpture, adorned the interior of the sacred place, — the cherubic figures which stood at every doorway, and elaborately ornamented all its parts, — with the serpent-form, as the type of dominion and sovereign sway, — all attest the undoubted origin of the people, and the foundation of their civil and religious polity, to be a striking confirmation of the teach- ing of Moses, and of the general tenor of the word of God. On this point I am bold to say, that the history and religion of the primitive nations, as detailed in this volume, taken in connexion with what was adduced in a preceding one of a cognate character, so fully accord with the statements of Scripture, and are of such a peculiar nature, entering into the vital elements of the constitution of nations, and affecting the most sacred verities of their faith, that the early Gentile nations thus stand before the mind as a grand development of Mosaic teaching, and present to us a wide range of important and undoubted facts, which are utterly irreconcilable with any other account of the origin and early history of mankind : so that, setting aside Hebrew history altogether, the Gentile nations alone, fairly considered, from an irrefragable confirmation of the verity of Holy iScripture. But this is not all. The Bible not only extorts this evidence of its truth from the most remote and the darkest period of Gentile history: it brings us in contact with displays of divine power, in respect of several of those nations, of a kind equally remarkable. Who can estimate the effects which the plagues and the Exodus pro- duced in Egypt? It is admitted that these events are not named in Egyptian monuments : — it is not likely that such a national humiliation would be thus recorded: — but they are clearly recog- nised as a part of Egyptian history by Manetho, as well as preserved in the traditions of other countries. The punishment of Nebuchad- nezzar by the immediate power of Jehovah, is another instance, anci THE GENTILE NATIONS. 509 one clearly referred to in Babylonish annals. The defeat of Sen- nacherib in his attempt to capture Jerusalem, must have been known by him to be of God. Perhaps sculptured monument was never charged with a heathen testimony to the interposition and power of Jehovah, more important as an attestation of revealed truth, than when the Assyrian workman received the dictation of his proud sovereign, and chiselled in the enduring slab the weighty words, " Hezekiah King of Judah did not submit to my yoke ; but I left to him Jerusalem his capital, and some of the inferior towns around it." It can scarcely be doubted that the predictions respecting Cyrus^ brought him equally into contact with the divine word, and the infinite wisdom and power of God. Thus, to each of the old mighty nations of the world did Jehovah gloriously reveal himself, while they stood in all the pride of their power, and in possession of their wide range of dominion ; showing himself to be the only true God, whose will no earthly potentate could successfully resist : and — for this is important to our argument — ample evidence of the certainty of such interposition remains to the present time. More than this : not only do the early history and religion of these nations accord with Scriptural truth ; not only does their meridian splendour stand associated with miraculous interposition ; but God in his wisdom adopted a course of action and plan of government which brought Greece and Rome equally within the range of his influence, and completed the manifestation of his providence to the Gentile world. How glorious is the prospect! See the sacred seer of God standing before Nebuchadnezzar, or placing on record his wondrous revelations in the palace of Shushan. See him pointing out, with a ray of heavenly light, the fate of empires, the destiny of nations, from the day in which he speaks, through future ages. Recognising all the glory and power of Babylon, the revealed pre- science passes on, and treats it as an extinct thing. Persia rises in her strength, symbolized by animal forms and the silver portion of the great image, until it also has accomplished its destiny, and the heraldic representation of the nation — the ram — is trodden down by the rough goat of Grecia, and the Macedonian conqueror rules the world. The prescience of God falters not after revealing the grand contingencies of two hundred and fifty years : onward the prophet leads: the great horn of this power, "the first king," is broken. His empire is divided into four less powerful states ; but they exist only for a while : the prophet points out in the distance the rising power of Rome, shows its diversity from the other kingdoms by its republican form of government, exhibits its want of unity in conse- quence of consular rule and intestine division, even indicates the 510 THE GENTILE NATIONS. means resorted to in vain for removing this evil by intermarriages between the families of the chiefs and the heads of factions ; and, above all, he predicts the iron power of this martial people, which breaks in pieces and bruises all other nations, and spreads its colos- sal rule throughout the world. And then, as if to place before man- kind the grand object of this providential arrangement, this succes- sion of empires, this overruling and governing of heavenly power, it is written, " In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : it shall stand forever.'' The sacred record is, therefore, seen to lead us back to the dawn- ing day of time, — to read to us an outline of man's primitive history, — to inform us respecting the wonderful influences to which he was subjected, and their great results in his character and history. We then turn from this teaching to the legends, records, and sculptures of these ancient nations, and find everywhere undoubted proofs exhibited by them in facts, doctrines, systems, and ceremonies, which must have been derived from the circumstances which the Bible records. The inspired volume conducts us to each of these ancient kingdoms, and asserts, that in them God wonderfully inter- posed, by revealing his omnipotent power and omniscient wisdom, in support of his own truth : afld we find even these humiliating events recognised in their national histories, and proved by col- lateral facts. Again, we see divine truth taking its stand amid all the splendour and power of the first great monarchy, and predicting its fate, and the rise, character, progress, power, and destiny of every other great nation until the advent of the kingdom of God. We go to the histories of these empires, and we find these wonderful prophe- cies true to the letter in every instance, and so exactly exhibiting the wonderful changes, revolutions, and conquests which took place during this period, as to form an accurate outline of its general his- tory. • We direct attention to this for the purpose of showing the remarka- ble accordance between the sacred record and profane history, and of proving that the origin, progress, and fate of ancient nations har- monize with the teaching, and both corroborate and illustrate the history, contained in the sacred pages of the Bible. But we do more than this. Finding in the Bible the germs of every heathen institution, — seeing here the truth, which is found perverted and distorted into frightful forms in their mythologies, — discovering his- tory which is the parent of all theirs, and which accords with it in every essential element, — we are bold to claim for the Bible a power to afford men some information respecting the ancient Gentile THE GENTILE NATIONS. 511 nations. We fearlessly assert that no man, whatever his learning, or intellectual power, or station may be, when speaking of ancient history, has any right to ignore the Bible. But it is confidently urged, that the information afiforded by the Scriptures on subjects of science is incomplete; and'that therefore we are not to go to their pages for instruction respecting astronomy, geology, or even chronology. To a certain extent this is freely admitted, and no man of information will go to the Bible hoping to find an authorized catalogue of the dynasties of Egypt, or a list of the kings of Assyria. But men of science must not presume on the ignorance of devout students of the sacred volume, so far as to hope to lead them, for this reason, to the wild inference, that what the Bible says on these subjects is false, or undeserving of attention. It is freely and fully admitted that the Bible does not afford a com- plete system of chronology ; and it may be difficult to pronounce with certainty which of the three systems, founded on its different versions, is undoubtedly correct. Our opinion, and the reasons on which it is based, have been elsewhere given. But, however this may be, there is a range within which, if the Bible is true, the truth must be found. A shorter period than the Hebrew numbers, or a longer one than those of the Septuagint, cannot accord with Scrip- ture teaching ; and men cannot travel beyond these limits without impugning the integrity of revealed truth. But we have sketched the history of these ancient nations to ascer- tain, not so much their political and civil, as their religious, condi- tion. And what has been the result of our researches in this respect t Man is found everywhere in possession of important elements of truth. In fact, if one undoubted conclusion more than another is clearly deduced by our researches into the primitive history of man, it is that, instead of being a stranger to revelation, man derived his knowledge of civil, relative, and religious duty immediately from God. The circumstances respecting his food and clothing, and the means of providing them, — the sacred institution of marriage and its obligations,— the truth relating to Deity, and the manner of serving him, — must all have been subjects of revelation. Hence, we everywhere find man in possession of a substratum, of divine truth, forming the basis or platform on which all his individual hopes and motives to action rest, and affording the great principle which holds him in civil society, — relationship to his fellows. Another general axiom may be propounded. Men everywhere are found to be the subjects of divine influence. This is, indeed, one of the most remarkable features in the condition of mankind. The influence of God upon the mind, circumstances, and destiny of man 512 THE GENTILE NATIONS. was everywhere fully admitted, — at least, until in the latter ages, under the teaching of a false philosophy, atheism and scepticism began to obtain in Greece. Nothing is more manifest than this : we find it in Homer and Virgil, — in the autobiographies and bulle- tins of Divanubara, Sardanapalus, and Sennacherib, — in the sacred inscriptions of the Persian kings, as well as in the native records of those of Egypt. It was in this manner, more especially, that when God, " in times past, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good;" (Acts xiv, 16, 17 ;) from which it must not be supposed that unaided human nature was left to draw the inference of God and his goodness ; but rather that his Spirit taught them by his internal operation on their mind. Hence it is said that they were " without excuse, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them ; FOR God hath showed it unto them." Rom. i, 19, 20. Destitute of outward teaching, they had more ample spiritual in- fluence. The nature of man, however, was so corrupt, that, whatever might be the case in individual instances, for the purpose of enlightening and renewing men in general the means were insufficient to the end. It is true that, under these circumstances, human nature flourished, and the natural powers of man were cultivated and adorned; so that military prowess, intellectual culture, works of genius, and every branch of science, elegance, and art, attained perfection. But then man's moral and spiritual condition was one of darkness, degrada- tion, and ruin. And this, notwithstanding the ordinary influences of the Spirit were sometimes seconded by marvellous interpositions from heaven. Thus Egypt was favoured with the miracles of Moses ; Nineveh, with the preaching of Jonah ; Babylon, with the prophecies of Daniel, and the miracle of the three Hebrew youths ; Jledia, with the deliverance of Daniel from the den of lions ; Persia, with the revelations respecting Cyrus ; and Greece and Italy, with the preach- ing of Pythagoras and other philosophers. Yet, amid so much divine influence, acting on this human greatness, man descended into moral ruin. Why was this ? It was because there was an agent at work more potent for evil than human infirmity, or even human depravity. If this had not been the case, — if man in moral degradation and spiritual ruin had, untouched by other influence, resisted the merciful impulses of Heaven, and resolved to the utmost to gratify his base and wicked propensities, — we might expect to find him wallowing in sensuality and licentiousness : he might riot in rapine and blood ; deceit, lying, pride, passion, malignity, and violence, might be expected to pollute, THE GENTILE NATIONS. 513 disorder, and spread misery and guilt over mankind : but it is not easy to conceive that mere humanity would have devised such an aggression on the honour due only to God, and at the same time involving its own most extreme degradation, as is found to exist in the practice of idolatry. There is something so opposed to all rea- son, so very absurd, in the idea that any natural object, or product of human art or labour, can be divine, or that there can be a plural- ity of divinities, that the existence or prevalence of such opinions in the ancient world has been generally regarded as an inexplicable enigma. Hence writers have contented themselves with giving a history and description of this great moral aberration, and its re- sults, rather than attempted to account for its origin. One talented author, whose recent production is before us, specu- lates in this manner : " Man feels himself small and weak amid the forces of nature : he sees a power in operation which even the wisest cannot combat ; and the more ignorant, the more brutalized he is, the more he feels his utter helplessness. But the wise man investi- gates causes, finds that the greater the force, the less it is visible and tangible ; and therefore soon arrives at the conviction that the Great First Cause must be still more remote from the grasp of the senses. The philosopher of all ages, as far as we can trace back with any certainty, has been a pure theist. Such was Zoroaster among the Persians ; such were the great founders of the Greek philosophy ; and such were the patriarchs described in the Hebrew records. But the ignorant man, unable to follow the steps of the philosopher, but equally sensible of the presence of a superior power, looks only to the force in action, whatever it may be, and holds that to be divine ; for, to the ignorant man, whatever or who- ever is stronger or wiser than himself is an object of veneration." We should feel much disposed to question the last-mentioned premiss, — that " to the ignorant man, whatever or whoever is stronger or wiser than himself, is an object of veneration." It ap- pears equally probable, and even more so, that it, or he, would be an object of envy. But not to dwell on this objection, — does not this theory of the origin of idolatry assume a startling aspect from the fact, that it would lead to the impression that all the wise and en- lightened of mankind — those who, from their endowments and posi- tion, have always been the leaders of the public mind — are guided and led by the ignorant and the obscure ? Such a proposition seems utterly incredible. Here are the wise, the cultivated, the influential, with right and truth on their side; and here are the ignorant and vulgar, who have adopted a monstrous and ridiculous absurdity : yet it is supposed that the latter induced 33 514 THE GENTILE NATIONS. the former to adopt their views ; or, at least, that, against the opinion and influence of the wise and great- minded, a grand system of doc- trines, rites, and usages was brought into operation, in every part of the world, among every people. It may be regarded as bold to say that such an hypothesis involves a positive impossibility : but we do not shrink from asserting that such a mighty and universal revolu- tion was never known to result from such influence. This, however, is not the principal objection which we have to urge against this scheme. In common with all the theories of its class, it overlooks the most important body of facts relating to primeval history. Yet it is a great advance on the theories of the cognate schools of the last century ; it does not place the first race of mankind among the brutes, but allows them to have been culti- vated, civilized, and rational ; yet it leaves them- utterly without religion. Now-we take leave to say, this was never the condition of any human community; and we challenge an investigation into all history for the decision of the question. A civilized community, composed, on the one hand, of cultivated intellectual philosophers, and, on the other, of sober, thoughtful, ignorant men, altogether without religious views, practices, or opinions, but setting itself, in its various individuals, according to their respective information and powers of mind, to excogitate some definite idea of Deity, — one class coming to the conclusion that God is one invisible and mighty being ; the other, that the powers of nature, in all their wide vari- ety, are to be reverenced as divine, — this, I say, has no countenance in actual fact ; nothing approximating thereto has ever been seen in history ; and it can only exist in the dreamy speculations of those who prefer to give prominence to the wildest vagaries, rather than submit to receive substantial information from the word of God. No! the truth is, that man entered on his career of existence more fully identified and imbued with religious truth, and duty, and priv- ilege, than with aught else. And after his terrible fall, instead of having the elements of religion diminished in number, or removed further from him, he became still more intimately associated with them. Then the promise and great purposes of redemption were brought under his notice, and urged on his attention and observance with redoubled force. He had before this time learned, by bitter experience, the existence, subtilty, and power of his adversary the devil ; and had been taught to apprehend somewhat of the spiritual and endless ruin to which he stood exposed. He was informed of the new relation of the woman, as the predicted mother of the great Deliverei- — of the promised Son, who was to endure suffering, and finally to bruise the head of the serpent. With the tree of life, and THE GENTILE NATIONS. 515 ■with whatever of a sacramental character was connected with it, he was well acquainted ; and the tree of knowledge, with the dire con- sequences of eating its forbidden fruit, -would, be fully present to his mind. Then he would understand the promise of redemption, as it aflfected individual man in that day, on which Abel exercised faith, and 'secured salvation; and the newly-appointed means of access unto God,— the infolding fire, the cherubim, and the sacrifice, — all these religiou's elements were known to the first race of men ; and no believer in the verity of Holy Scripture can doubt that these had a hold on the human mind, far beyond any ordinary fact or communicated truth. These had all been ingrafted on human his- tory, and embedded in the memory, judgment, and feelings of man, amid the pressure of the most fearful calamity that affected our nature, in connexion with the most wondrous revelations of God, and the mightiest efforts and triumphs of the powers of darkness. It is equally clear that the immediate survivors of the Flood, in commencing their new course of life and action, as the fathers of a new world, and the progenitors of a new population, would have all these religious realities impressed anew on their minds in the most weighty and affecting manner. That this was so, — that they lived in the memories of their descendants, influenced their character and conduct, gave a tone to their views, were immortalized in their in- stitutions, and referred to in their most solemn traditions, sacred persons, and sacred places, until long after the establishment of idolatry, — is proved most incontestably by the records, religions, and undoubted remains of the most ancient heathen nations. It is demonstrable, therefore, that idolatry did not arise out of such a state of society, and in such a manner, as is supposed by the author whom we have quoted; and it seems to be scarcely less than demonstrable, that it arose as a perversion of truth under the immediate agency and influence of Satanic power. The origin of idolatry, indeed, forms the most prominent result of that great and continued antagonism between truth and error, spiritual light and spiritual darkness, which is discerned in every part of the history of mankind in pre-Christian times. With our views of this con- flict and its results, — ranging as the subject does over the times and persons whose history and religion have been treated of in the present and the preceding volumes of this work, — our labours may very suitably be brought to a conclusion. That human history commenced as the battle-field of these antagonistic powers is an established fact, to which every believer in the Bible will yield a ready assent. Man and the partner of his life, in pristine purity, innocence, and peace, enjoying hallowed in- 516 THE GENTILE NATIONS. tercourse with God, lived in Paradise. Here they were assailed by a spiritual adversary, who is spoken of in the sacred record as the " old serpent, — the devil." By his subtilty they were seduced from their allegiance, and plunged into sin ; by which act man's innocent and peaceful condition was terminated. We here state most explictly, that this portion of the holy record is understood by us as a detail of certain matter of fact. It is no figurative, imaginative, or enigmatical account, but a plain narration of history. As it has to do with, and to speak of spiritual beings, whose attributes, appearances, and volitions must be expressed with some measure of accommodation, when described in the language of men, it may not, perhaps, be wise in us to scrutinize too critically the import of such phrases as, " The voice of the Lord walking in the garden," and, " The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman," in regard of the exact appearances which they represent : but that they truly speak of the presence of the Lord Jehovah, and of Satan, no doubt whatever is entertained ; and the effect of their communica- tion and influence on the human mind is, of course, regarded by us as unquestionably real. No sooner had this fearful aggression on human happiness suc- ceeded, than the predetermined and prepared scheme of redemp- tion was propounded. The man and woman are punished, yet are cheered by a glorious promise : Satan is assured that his victory, although giving him a short-lived power to inflict suffering on human nature, shall certainly issue in his own preeminent abasement and misery. The leading elements of the new economy, in so far as they re- ferred to the instruction, faith, and practice of mankind, were then propounded. Man, removed from the tree of life, to which, in his new relative position as a sinner, he could no longer have access, is made acquainted with a new way of approach unto God, — by the cherubic emblems, the Shekinah, and animal sacrifice. Under this teaching, and in this practice, the first pair proceeded, until their children attained maturity, and their two sons had. on their own account, and according to their own mind and judgment, to approach God in worship. Here again we see the aggressions of Satan, and the gracious influence of the Spirit of God. Abel, coming in the appointed way with his mind spiritually enlightened, offered his sacrifice in faith, and by that faith found sahation. Cain, led away by the wicked one, rejected the appointed oblation, and would do no more than present a thank-offering. His offering was rejected; and the result is well known. Enraged at his rejec- THE GENTILE NATIONS. 517 tion, still further urged on by the influence which he had followed, he killed his pious brother. Although we have in this period but few historic incidents, we must take these as types of the history of the time. Other men grew up; and while some were obedient, many rejected the influence of Heaven, and followed that which was in more accordance with their own corrupt hearts. At length one appeared who was fully devoted to God. So entirely did he subject his heart to divine guidance, that he is said to have " walked with God." But the brief notice of this holy man does not seem to be recorded so much to make us acquainted with his character, as to show the results of this spiritual antagonism at that day. Men now became to a great extent ungodly : their ungodly deeds were mani- fest and general. They had gone beyond this : their conversation was not only wicked, but directed against God ; they made " hard speeches against him." Jude 15. Enoch endeavoured to stem this torrent. He proclaimed the truth; he denounced the evil conduct and language which prevailed ; and he predicted a future judgment, when the Lord should come to punish sinners. As if to give the highest sanction to such a character, and the fullest attestation to such a proclamation of truth, this saint of God was removed directly to glory. Onward rolled the course of time, until another model of right- eousness and faith was presented in the person of Noah. But, by this time, Satanic influence had so affected the world's population, that God announced his purpose to destroy mankind by a Flood. Noah was commanded to prepare an ark to save his house: he entered upon the arduous task, and, during the one hundred and twenty years this wonderful structure was being raised, he ceased not to preach the truth, and warn the surrounding multitude of their danger. But, unchecked in their career of sin, they went on, until the day that he entered his appointed refuge : no further respite was granted; the Flood came, and the population of the world was destroyed. Who can contemplate this event without seeing in it a fearful result of this spiritual antagonism ? Satan tempts ; yet God reigns. Men sin ; but God will punish. The continued success of the de- stroyer is cut short by this terrible judgment; while the signal fidelity of Noah is honoured by signal and miraculous preservation. Under the smile and benediction of Heaven, the redeemed family commence their new career. But here again Satanic guile and power are felt. Whatever may be the precise meaning of the lan- guage which describes that dark day in the life of the arkite patri- arch, there can be no doubt of its recording a successful Satanic 518 THE fiENTILB NATIONS. aggression. Nothing short of this could have called forth such a malediction as Noah pronounced on that occasion. It seems, from a general review of the whole narrative, that the antediluvian population of the world lived in one general body, and, as far as can be ascertained, without the institution of any regular government, subject simply to the effect of communicated truth and spiritual influence. In those circumstances, "men loved darkness rather than light ;" evil passions and desires engendered evil actions ; and " the earth was filled with violence," until universal depravity ensued. It appears from several passages in Holy Scripture, and from the traditions of the ancient world, that it pleased God to command a totally different general economy for the new world. As soon as a sufficient population was provided, it was divinely ap- pointed that the several tribes and families should separate, and' travel to the geographical districts which had been assigned them, (Deut. xxxii, 8,) and which they were respectively called to occupy, under the direction of their hereditary chiefs. In accordance with this providential arrangement, the family of Noah dwelt in the neighbourhood of Ararat for some centuries, until, having sufficiently increased, they appear to have journeyed to Shinar, as a more eligi- ble locality for the appointed separation. Prior to this, there is every reason for believing that important innovations had been effected in the faith of this united body. Rep- resentations of paradisiacal scenes and figures had been made, and incorporated into the place and manner of patriarchal worship; while influential notions had been entertained respecting the prom- ised Incarnate Seed, and his appearing in a priestly and regal char- acter among men ; and a religious veneration was cultivated for the first Great Father and his three sons, who were regarded as reap- pearing in the arkite patriarch and his three sons. These, with many other errors in doctrine and practice, seem to have been induced by the active agency of the evil one, prior to the arrival of the human host at Shinar. There a grand aggression was made on the preordained purpose of God. Nimrod, the son of Gush, stirred up by the spiritual ad- versary, arose in proud rebellion against Heaven, and succeeded in persuading the multitude to set aside the idea of dispersion, and to locate in those plains, and to build a capital and a tower, which should perpetuate their unity, and be the centre of their location. There appears from Scripture and ancient tradition abundant reason for concluding that Nimrod induced the people to adopt this course, by putting himself forth as the Promised Seed, and, as such, entitled to rule over the whole race of mankind. In this assumption, as in THE GENTILE NATIONS. 519 Other instances, the Satanic aggression only professed to aim at an alteration in respect of one part of the divine appointment : govern- ment was to be established, and professedly by divine authority ; but the Dispersion was to be prevented. It pleased Jehovah by a miraculous interposition to defeat this Satanic opposition: and the manner, brief as it is, in which this interposition was put forth, seems to indicate that it was done by some peculiar manifestation of the Holy Trinity, — perhaps similar to that which we find made to Abraham when Sodom was destroyed. " Let us go down," said the Lord, " and confound their language :" and thus the Dispersion was enforced, and the several tribes, miracu- lously prevented from acting in concert, went forth to occupy their respective territories. Still Nimrod and his adherents continued at Babel, and there established a kingdom, dispossessing Asshur; to whom, of right, that territory belonged, and who, in consequence, went forth and built Nineveh on the River Tigris, and there founded a sovereignty. But the divine purpose was not only infringed by the disobedience of JSIimrod in remaining at Babel, — it was in great measure neutral- ized by the corruptions in religion which had been previously dis- seminated, and which, carried into every quarter, produced one wide-spread range of wicked idolatry. By a subtilty and energy which Satan alone could infuse, all the religious promises, circum- stances, and facts, connected with God's revelations to man and with man's early history, were so systematically perverted, that they de- throned and dishonoured God, filled man with A'ain imaginations and proud assumptions, and virtually handed over the several sec- tions of the human family to the overwhelming power of Satanic error. It is a circumstance strikingly illustrative of the mighty in- fluence which gave this profane conceit energy and power, that we find all the most ancient kingdoms of the earth fully adopting it, and, indeed, making it the basis of their political constitutions. J^ot only so, but the plan, as it appears to have been originally sketched, is enlarged and rendered practicable; so that, when the several primitive seats of human settlement were covered with national in- stitutions, everywhere idolatry prevailed. Although, in every in- stance, one common family type is discernible in this false religion in all places, this was filled up and modified into an almost infinite variety of detail : and, as if to show forth the real author of this foul dishonour to God, and wickedness and folly in man, everywhere the serpent-form was made a special object of adoration, and worshipped as the symbol of power and dominion. To rear up a standard of truth in opposition to this aggressive 520 THE GENTILE NATIONS. error, Jehovah selected a pious individual, and called him out of the very centre of this idolatrous population. Abraham obeyed, and went forth, receiving great promises and wonderful spiritual instruc- tion from God. He journeyed far into the west, went down even into Egypt, and everywhere raised an altar to the true God, and worshipped him alone. To him the promise of an Incarnate Re- deemer, from his own seed, was made; and a covenant of mercy was established with him, that he should be the progenitor of this great Saviour. Isaac and Jacob followed in the same footsteps: heirs of the same promise, they, too, maintained fidelity to God, and each received fuller assurance of the coming of the Promised Seed. The descendants of the latter patriarch, after having suffered grievous persecution in Egypt, were delivered by the mighty power of God. Here commenced a great and prolonged struggle between the powers of darkness and the Spirit of God. Here, for the first time on record, did the energy of Satan dare avowedly to meet, and endeavour to match, the might of the Omnipotent. The issue cov- ered the gods of Egypt with shame, infiicted grievous calamity on that unhappy country, and wrought out a wondrous deliverance for Israel. This people, now a mighty host, are taken under the special care of Jehovah. They are miraculously fed in the desert; water is brought for them from the granite rocks of Sinai. There also they receive a religious economy, an ecclesiastical system, and a political and moral code of laws, immediately from Heaven. In- deed, God not only made wonderful revelations of himself to the Hebrews in the communication of this system, but actually came down and dwelt among them in the form of a visible glory in the ' holy tabernacle. By these means he led them forty years through the wilderness, and at length brought them into the land whicli he had promised to their fathers. In this career of mercy, the power of the evil one was frequently and fully apparent. Even while Moses was in the mount receiving the law from 'God, Aaron was led to make a golden image for the people to worship ; and afterward, so rebellious had they become, that it seemed impossible to keep them from returning to Egypt, — a folly from which they were prevented only by special revelations of the Spirit of God given to seventy prophets, whose spiritual ministry seems to have met the case. When the children of Israel were located in Canaan, this dia- bolical aggression was renewed with fearful effect. The Hebrews, who had been, by promise, prophecy, and miracle, wonderfully raised up to bear before all the world a testimony for God against idola- try, themselves plunged into the vile practice to a great extent. THE GBNXILE NATIONS. 621 Throughout the rule of the Judges, their history is one continued series of idolatrous apostasy, and repentance under the pressure of galling affliction. At length, by the instrumentality of Samuel and David, the evil seemed to be extirpated. Piety and prosperity reigned in Jerusalem ; the Hebrew people rose to the highest pitch of national greatness. God gloriously manifested his presence among them ; and the victory over Satanic influence seemed to be complete. Yet when the religion of God appeared to be most secure, it was successfully assailed in what might have been thought its strongest fortress. Solomon, the favoured of the Lord, sunk into sensuality and pride, thence into licentiousness, and at length into idolatry. From this period, that foul sin was a plague-spot which destroyed the vitals of Hebrew weal. From the time when the kingdom of Israel was formed, its policy directly tended to the promotion of idolatry. This evil influence was not allowed to reign unchecked : the demon destroyer was frequently arrested in his fatal progress by divine interposition. This was in general most efficiently accom- plished by the ministry of inspired prophets. On one occasion particularly these antagonistic powers seemed fairly brought into collision, and nothing human could present a more noble aspect than the intrepid Elijah confronting the four hundred prophets of Baal, and challenging the devotion of Israel for Jehovah as the only true God. The triumphant issue is well known ; but it failed to destroy the evil. Onward rolled the fatal influence of the prince of dark- ness : Israel became incorrigibly idolatrous, and was destroyed. Judah, still enlightened by a glorious succession of prophets, and held in check by the divinely-appointed services of the temple, fell by slower degrees ; — but it did fall. Although Satanic influence was repelled by numerous interpositions, and checked by several reform- ations of religion, all these agencies offered a vain resistance to its action on the corruption and depravity of the human mind. The people, as a body, (for we do not at all in this review refer to indi- vidual faith or conduct,) gradually became pervaded by this delu- sion ; their princes took the lead in the fearful apostasy ; and even the priesthood became corrupt ; until, at length, when the prescience of God revealed the secrets of the sanctuary to the prophet Ezekiel, every form of idolatry, with its foolish and filthy objects of adora- tion, in all their multitudinous detail, was found depicted on the walls of the chambers, even in the sanctuary of Jehovah! This appears to have been the culminating point of diabolical ascend- ency. The glorious Shekinah would no longer occupy a temple where Satan had his seat, and so abandoned the sanctuary to its 522 THE GENTILE NATIONS. fate. The terrible catastrophe came : Jerusalem, " the city of David," " the holy city," was polluted, destroyed, and trodden down by the heathen. The temple, which had been filled with the divine glory, and whose sacred sanctuary had for centuries been irradiated with the glorious Shekinah of God, was burned with fire. Ichabod was engraven on every Hebrew institution, and the success of the destroyer seemed complete, in blotting from the earth such an illus- trious witness for the truth and power of God as the Hebrew faith and temple-service had been. It is difScult to conceive of a more completely successful aggres- sion on a divinely-appointed economy than that which is here pre- sented to the mind, — not only as it respected the Hebrew Church itself, but also in its bearing on the covenant-mercy of God, and the great scheme of redemption. All the promises and prophecies which had been given subsequent to the Deluge respecting the great Redeemer, his work, and kingdom, and glorious salvation, had identified these with the Abrahamic covenant, and the house of David, and Mount Zion. The Hebrew sacred service had been instituted with evident and marked typical allusion to the appointed Saviour. Indeed, the entire political arrangements, the origin and succession of the royal family of Judah, with the whole Mosaic ecclesiastical and religious appointments among the people, seemed designed to prepare the way for Messiah, and to unite their various agencies into one complete pledge and precursor of his coming. And yet in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subversion of the throne of David, all these foreshadowings perished, and not a visible type remained; not an element was left of this elaborate and com- plete typical economy, to adumbrate the promise of redemption. But although Satan seemed to have fully accomplished his pur- pose, it was soon manifest that the grand scheme of redemption rested not on the obedience of man, but on the unchangeable faith- fulness of God. Never did the world witness more glorious revela- tions of Jehovah in support of his Church and his truth, than when his faithful remnant were captives, hanging their harps on the wil- lows of Babylon : never were more wonderful attestations given to the promise of redemption, or more gracious displays of the divine prescience afforded, than there. So gloriously, indeed, did Jehovah work, that before a century had passed away the Hebrews were again located in their own land, worshipping again on the sacred mount, in a newly-erected temple, with the city of Jerusalem and their general polity in progress to entire restoration. But while the goodness and power of God had thus wrought deliverance for his captive people, the power of the wicked one was THE GENTILE NATIONS. 523 being mightily exerted in the Gentile world. Idolatry became every- where fully established. Babylon, intensely devoted to this Satanic superstition, passed away : Persia arose to rule the nations ; but it was under the same malign influence. The king there, too, was worshipped as divine; and although the good Spirit had given a large communication of truth, it was so completely overlaid with the profane assumption of king and priests, that the people were left blindly to worship the sun, or the sacred fire. Greece then arose to exercise supremacy over the world, and pre- sented a marked display of the continued collision between these antagonistic powers. Highly endowed with intellectual might, richly favoured with divine influence, possessing every element of human greatness in most abundant measure, Greece was unfaithful to the light of truth and the influence of God. " Sin reigned .unto death ;" a low, corrupt, sensual, and debased idolatry prevailed; until the reasoning mind turned away in disgust, and disowned even the exist- ence of God. Rome was but an unworthy representation of Greece. Starting on her career of progress with much of truth and divine teaching, Rome became infinitely corrupt. Her idolatry was as vast in its range and as vile as was possible. Never rising so high in intellect, or genius, or art, as Greece, Rome plunged deeper, if it could be, in infamous impurity, until the inspired apostle declares, " God gave them up." Thus Satan reigned, during successive centuries grasp- ing authority over the physical nature of man ; (Acts xix ;) directing and endowing the human mind, until, notwithstanding the possession of boundless power and immense learning, human nature in Rome sunk to the lowest level of infamous degradation, so that it may be questioned whether in any part of the world it can now be found so very vile. So vast, indeed, was the acquired influence and power of Satan, that he ostentatiously challenges universal sovereignty over the world, and, exhibiting " all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," he proudly tells even the Son of God, " All this power and glory is delivered unto me." Luke iv, 5, 6. But does the reader ask, "What has become of the restored Hebrews ? those for whom Jehovah had done so much, and to whom he had given the most precious of his gifts, — the word of God V Alas! they no longer bear an efficient testimony for God. They renounced the spirituality of his covenant ; they made even " the law of God of none effect by their traditions;" they perverted the promises of redemption ; they, while still professing to acknowledge and worship God, exhibited, with a few solitary exceptions, as fearful an instance of the triumph of Satanic guile over saving truth as 524 THE GENTILE NATIONS. any other people. Hence, over them also Satan exercises a fearful power, and reigns as " the god of this world." Thus we see the human family, after so much revelation of truth and mercy, so large an amount of divine influence and divine inter- position, proving the depth of human depravity by showing the inefficacy of all these means, not for individual salvation, — that these means could and did accomplish, — but to rear up and maintain in the world a living, conquering, enduring church, which should per- manently exhibit the power, the purity, and the truth of God. For the accomplishment of this grand result, the world was driven to the last great crowning promise of grace, — the establishment of the kingdom of God. For this it panted, as in agony, under the tyrant power of the destroyer. And the introduction of this glorious dispensation,, by the manifestation of the Son of God, broke the power of Satan, brought in everlasting righteousness, and opened a fountain of mercy, which shall flow on until the whole earth is filled with his glory. Amen. APPENDIX. ■^ Note 1, page 18. — Antediluvian Idolatry. The idolatry of the antediluvians is not only taught in the traditions preserved by Maimonides ; " the Assumption of Enoch " also says, that this patriarch " prejudged both the worshippers and makers of idols and images, in his com- minatiou against them." The apocryphal character of this book is fully admit- ted ; but it must be remembered that it was regarded by TertuUian with so much respect, that he thought it, with other authorities extant in his time, decisive on the subject of which this passage speaks. In addition to this, we must call attention to the interpretation, given in a preceding volume, of Gen. iv, 26. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 164^167.) In connexion with the observations referred to, it may be remarked that this text was not read by the Hebrew scribes, " Men profanely calling on the name of the Lord," as Kimchi and other Hebrew scribes render it, — with which reading the Jerusalem Targum agrees : SIT Sin " That was the age in the days of which they began to err, and made themselves idols," ("(iStS idola, errores,) " and called their idols by the name of the word of the Lord." (See Paulus Pagius in loc. Owen On Images, p. 21.) An argument to the same effect has been drawn from the language used by Moses, when writing on the subject of antediluvian wickedness. In Gen. vi, 12, we are told, " God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt" (nfiniCJ). The same term is used in this and the following verse three times to specify the evil of this age. It is worthy of observation, that Moses in many other places uses this word as descriptive of idolatrous practices. When speaking of the defection of the people in the case of the golden calf, he says, using the same word, " They have corrupted themselves." Exod. xxxii, 7. It is again used in the same sense, Deut. iv, 25 : " And shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image." Deut. xxxi, 29, and xxxii, 5, may be also cited as additional instances ; thus affording strong presumptive evidence that the great corruption of the antediluvian age consisted of idolatry. This conclusion is supported by Arabian traditions. The Koran makes the existence of antediluvian idolatry an article of faith. Chapter Ixxi. It is taught that in the days of Noah five false deities — Wadd, Sowa, Yaghuth, Yauk, and Nesr — were generally adored, and that this wickedness occasioned the Deluge. (See also Sale's Preliminary Dissertation, sect. I.) Nor must it be forgotten that the earliest Gentile writer, Sanchoniatho, details various particulars which unite to sustain the authority of these traditions. He ascribes the introduction of the worship of the sun to the second generation, intimating that Cain himself indulged in this practice. Of the fifth generation from the first man this writer says, They " consecrated two pillars to fire and wind, and worshipped them, and poured out upon them the blood of the wild 626 APPENDIX. beasts taken in hunting : and wlien these men were dead, those that remained consecrated to them rods, and worshipped the pillars, and held anniversary feasts in honour of them." Again, in the eighth generation we are told that Chysor, who during his life had " exercised himself in words, and charms, and divinations," was after his death " worshipped as a god." Thus does every available source of information confirm the opinion that idolatry was introduced before the Flood. Note 2, page 20. — Was the Doctrine of the Trinity knovm to the early Patriarchs 1 There is scarely any question which can be propounded respecting the religion of mankind in remote antiquity of more deep and general interest and import- ance than this. Reference has already been made to this subject, (Patriarchal Age, pp. 266-272,) when reasons were assigned for believing that the assertion of this doctrine having been held by the disciples of Plato, is not to be relied upon, and that the notions which prevailed among the Platonists arose rather from the prevalence of idolatrous triads among heathen nations than from " any divinely revealed knowledge of the true nature of the divine hypostasis." Thus far a careful and extended subsequent examination of the subject has served to confirm the views previously advanced. If, however, this language is construed not merely to apply to the origination of the Platonic dogmas, but to deny the fact of any divinely revealed knowledge on this doctrine having been communi- cated to the early patriarchs, then I must be allowed to say that in this sense it does not express the opinions which a careful and more mature investigation of the evidence bearing on this subject has fully established in my mind. On the contrary, there does not at present occur to me any reasonable cause for doubt that the doctrine of the Trinity made one of the important religious revelations to the first men, and that it, in connexion with the doctrine of the incarnation, (respecting which also some knowledge was communicated,) led to the worship of human nature, and the adoration of the three sons of each great father as a sacred triad. This gave a distinctive colouring to the whole system of heathen idolatry. It must not, however, from thence be inferred that Plato possessed a knowledge of this doctrine. This philosopher, in fact, never taught the exist- ence of " three subsistences in one divine essence." Consequently Cudworth is compelled to say, " We freely acknowledge, that as this Divine Cabala was but little understood by many of those who entertained it among the Pagans, so was it by divers of them much depraved and adulterated also. For, first, the Pagans universally called their trinity ' a trinity of gods,' — tov lipCirov, tov Sevrepov, and TplTov iJeov, ' the first, the second,' and the ' third god ;' as the more philo- sephical among them called it also ' a trinity of causes,' and ' a trinity of prin- ciples,' and sometimes ' a trinity of opificers.' Thus is this cabala of the trinity styled in Proclus, ri tuv rpiuv i?e(jv TTapddoai^, ' the tradition of the three gods.' " — Inielteclual System, vol. ii, p. 314. If, therefore, we apply the results of modern research into oriental countries and religious doctrines to the data collected by Cudworth, the rseult will be, that, instead of believing with that eminent man that " this mystery was gradually imparted to the world, and that first but sparingly to the Hebrews themselves, either in their written or oral cabala" — Intellectual System, vol. ii, p. 314 — we shall find reason for concluding that some distinct intimation of the triune nature was given to man at the beginning, — a knowledge which was maintained in the Hebrew Church, increased by successive revelation, and finally APPENDIX. 527 perfected by the discoveries of the gospel : while, on the other hand, the Gen- tiles, although receiving the tradition, prior to the general Dispersion, with sufficient distinctness to impress a character upon all their idolatrous systems, nevertheless in process of time lost sight of the true nature of the doctrine, and at the period of the birth of Christ were destitute of all sound knowledge on the subject. It is too much to ask the reader to receive our ipse dixit on this important case ; nor will space allow our citing the wide range of evidence which has led us to this conclusion. In these circumstances a very brief abstract must be supplied. The learned Dr. AUix has elaborately argued, (Reflections, chap, xviii,) that Moses, in the Book of Genesis, mentioned nothing but what was then generally known. If this proposition had been satisfactorily established, the case would have been settled, as it is an undoubted fact that Moses in this book uses lan- guage which clearly teaches a plurality of persons in the Divine Nature ; and, when the promise of the incarnation, and the mention of the " Word of the Lord " as a person, are considered, is such as could scarcely be used by those who were ignorant of the doctrine of the Trinity. But even if this proposition is not fully sustained, there yet remains sufficient evidence that some important measure of knowledge on this subject was communicated, either to the first man, (which is most probable,) or to the early patriarchs. This will be seen if it be remembered that there exists ample reason for believing that Moses compiled the beginning of the Book of Genesis from pre- existent records ; (Patriarchal Age, pp. 67-70 ;) and that these contain the allusions to a divine plurality to which reference has been made. The knowl- edge of this doctrine which these passages display cannot, therefore, be ascribed to revelations made to Moses, but to some age long prior to the date of his writ- ing. But then it must be recollected that Moses, while writing for the purpose of rooting out of the minds of men all notion of polytheism, yet transcribes these singular solecisms in language, " In the beginning'' Qinis* !*13 (bara Elohim) " the Gods created." He might have said, Jehovah bara, or Eloah bara, and thus have used a singular noun as the name of Deity. Instead of this, however, he transcribes this plural appellation of God thirty times in the history of the Creation. But then this plural noun is used in connexion with (bara) a singular verb, thus clearly indicating that this divine plurality is one God. Nor is it to be supposed that this was =■■ peculiarity of manner or style of writing used by Moses ; for in other places he uses the singular Eloah, (Deut. xxxii, 15, 17,) and frequently connects the plural Elohim with plural verbs and adjectives. Gen. XX, 13, &c. ; XXXV, 10, &c. This conclusion is supported, and the knowledge of the triune personalities rendered still more probable, by the language used in other parts of the Book of Genesis. We are told (xv, 1) " that ' the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram ; I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.' Here the Word of the Lord is the speaker : ' The Word came, saying.' A mere word may be spoken or said ; but a personal Word only can say, ' I am thy shield.' The pronoun ' I ' refers to the whole phrase, ' The Word of Jehovah ;' and if a personal Word be not understood, no person at all is mentioned by whom this message is conveyed, and whom Abram, in reply, invokes as ' Lord God.' " — Watson's Institutes, vol. i, p. 663. Again, Gen. xix, 24 : " Then the Lord " {Jehovah) " rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord " (Jehovah) " out of heaven." We have here the visible Jehovah, who had talked with Abraham, raining the storm of vengeance from 528 APPENDIX. another Jehovah, out of heaven, and who was therefore inrisihle. Thus two Jehovahs are expressly mentioned : " The Loed rained from the Lokd." This language proves that a plurality of persons in the Deity was known to the writer of the Book of Genesis : and that one of them held the peculiar relation or title of " the Word of Jehovah :" and the manner in which this information is communicated demonstrates that the persons spoken of, who lived long before Moses, were familiar with this language. As decisive evidence on this latter point we may refer to the words used by Abraham to the king of Gerar : " When God caused me to wander," &c. Gen. xx, 13. In the original it is, " When " STliH (Elohim) " the Gods caused," &c. Jacob uses similar language. Gen. xxxv, 7 : " Jacob built an altar, and called the place " isi;-ni3 ^K "El-Beth-el, because there God" in the original, Cilbs Elohim, " Gods ") " appeared unto him." These passages, regarded in their connexion and scope, will be sufficient to prove that a Trinity, or at least a plurality, of persons in the Deity was known to the early patriarchs, and probably even from the beginning. The opinions formed under the guidance of this evidence are greatly strengthened by the fact that important information was communi- cated to the first pair immediately after the Fall respecting the incarnation and redemption through a Mediator : and throughout all ancient idolatry we find this information blended with ideas of a Trinity, forming the leading elements of every system. It is, indeed, " generally agreed among divines that Adam in the state of perfection knew God in Trinity and Unity." — De Gol's Vindication, page 105. Epiphanius is most positive on this point ; and Jerome, Justin, Irenaeus, Tertul- lian, and many others, entertained and defended the same opinion. It therefore seems reasonable to conclude, that some knowledge of a Trinity was communi- cated to the early patriarchs, and probably to Adam, either in his state of inno- cence, or immediately after the Fall. Note 3, page 20. — The Worship of Man. Few perversions of the truth by the corrupt imagination of fallen man are more strange, in their nature and results, than that of worshipping some of his own race. That an intelligent and rational creature should ascribe divine honour and power to one of the same species seems an unaccountable folly. Yet when it is examined, like every other wicked aberration of the human mind, it is found to arise from a perversion of truth. The revelations of Paradise, in their use or abuse, coloured and formed the religious doctrines of mankind in all after-ages. The primitive promise, that the Seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, was evidently understood, not only so far as to form a solid foundation for human hope, but also to some extent as it respected the means by which the deliverance was to be effected. On one particular there can be no doubt, namely, that the promised Redeemer would be an incarnation of Deity. It is difficult to conceive how such an idea as this could have obtained a place in the human mind, had it not been revealed. This topic has not received the attention which it merits. An incorporation of the divine with human nature ! All analogy and all reason are against it. Yet we iind this notion not simply propounded by any particular class of philosophers, but generally pervading the heathen world. It is, however, the manner and connexion in which this singular sentiment is found among all heathen nations which so lucidly indicates its origin. In a APPENDIX. 520 preceding volume, the principal sacred persons of heathen mythology are clearly identified with traditions of Paradise. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 132, 133.) But If Apollo, Chrishna, Hercules,^ Orpheus, Thor, and others, derived their religious and mythological character from corrupted private tradition, how clearly this shows that we have here the leading idea of the adoration of human nature ! In all these instances it was believed that a union of the divine and the human natures existed ; a union the most intimate and natural which the perverted reason of man could comprehend. On this basis was reared every kind of pro- fane presumption, political and religious. Alexander, when greatly pressed for time, thought it expedient to traverse Egypt, and cross the desert, in order to have his divine paternity attested by the oracle, — believing this necessary to his success ; while to this day the head of the Scythian Church claims the character of God incarnate. Numerous examples of a similar kind, in every age and country, might be adduced, (Patriarchal Age, pp. 331-333,) showing that the original and ruling idea in all this assumption was the promised Incarnation. It seemed, indeed, to have been an admitted fact, that a claim to the character of the Incarnate One was essential alike to universal sovereignty and human adoration. The sovereigns of Babylon united both these claims, and led the way in this career of insane folly and awful guilt. Hence the word of inspiration has said, " Babylon is a golden cup. The Gentiles have drunk thereof. Therefore are the Gentiles mad." Nor is it wonderful that such notions should have pervaded the heathen world, when we find the expectation of the Incarnation so strongly asserted by our first parents, and remember that, under Satanic influence, almost every element of primitive truth was perverted in heathen idolatry. It may be doubted whether we attach suiEcient importance to the perfect humanity which was evinced in the earliest manifestations of the Word of God. The text, (Gen. iii, 8,) " And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden," is rendered by the Targumists, "They heard the Word of the Lord God walking ;" and the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the beginning of the next verse, "The Word of the Lord called unto Adam." The Word therefore that called, was the Word or voice that walked. Vox enim res est ilia, de qud dicilur, quod ambulaverit in horto. Maim., Mor. Nevoch., par. 1, cap. 24. See also Tzeror Ham- mar, sect. Beresh, apud Owen, Exerc. x, in Heb. vi,l. The gloss of this last work is perfectly unequivocal : " They heard his voice walking." Now this clearly shows that the Divine Word came to the first pair immediately after their sin, possessing the attributes of Godhead for judgment and punishment, and at the same time appearing as a man. So fully was this the cage that the sound of his footsteps first terrified the culprits, and they fled. (Faber's Eight Dis., vol. i, p. 28.) Eve made a singular confession of her expectation of this Incarnate One, when, on the birth of her firstborn, she exclaimed, " I have gotten that man which is Jehovah the Lord." Gen. iv, 1. Here, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, " the mother shows her apprehension of the promise : ' For,' said she, ' I have obtained the Lord to become man.' "—.Works, vol. ii, p. 12. "And it is very remark- able that Adam did not call his wife Chava, or Eve, 'the Mother of all living,' till after he had received the promise of the Messiah. Before, he called her Lscha, ' Woman ;' but when God had assured him of a Saviour, a Deliverer, then he calls her Eve, or ' Life ;' for so the LXX. rendered it: Kat ina'XEcsev 'ASa/i TO &vo/ia Tijc ymaixog avrov, Zuij. And why so ? Why must she be called ' Life ' 34 530 APPENDIX. ■who was the introducer of death ?" Evidently in reference to the Seed of the woman who should give life to the world. As the Word of the Lord appeared in Paradise as a man, so he came to Abrar ham as a man ; so he wrestled with Jacoh as a .man. Upon which a learned author remarks : " In each case, we may observe the Angel of Jehovah, appear- ing indeed in the form of a man, but yet, though he is usually spoken of as sent by Jehovah, declared to be the God Jehovah himself. By way of cutting oif all occasion of dispute, it may be proper to remark, that the human figure which was thus exhibited, was no mere aerial phantom, but a substantial body pro- vided with the same organs that our bodies are. The Man-Jehovah, who con- versed with Abraham, suffered his feet to be washed by that patriarch, and literally ate of the butter, and the milk, and the calf, which was set before him, — the Man-Jehovah, who wrestled with Jacob, was palpable to the touch." — Faier's Eight Dis., vol. i, p. 34. It was under the influence of such facts that the ancients formed their ideas of the expected incarnation. These impressions, which were perpetuated in the early ages of the world, at once predisposed men to acknowledge and adore deified humanity, and afforded opportunity for presumptuous and ambitious individuals to claim this divine character, and to demand this adoration. (De Gol's Vindication, p. 108.) Note 4, page 54. — The Geography and Population of Egypt. Of all the countries which have obtained political power and importance, Egypt seems the most peculiar in situation and geographical outline. Extend- ing southward from the Mediterranean where the Nile falls into the sea, follow- ing the course of that river, Egypt reaches to Philse, in the Cataracts of E'Sooan or Syene, a length of aboat five hundred miles. This was the extent of the country according to Strabo ; and it has the advantage of having been oracularly decided by the high-priest at the temple of Ammon. (Herodotus, Euterpe, cap. 18.) The breadth is very unequal. At the coast what may be properly called Egypt is about one hundred and fifty miles wide ; but this part, which includes the Delta, diminishes in breadth, until, reduced to the Valley of the Nile, it becomes very narrow. Wilkinson has computed Lower Egypt, including the irrigated land on each side of the Delta, as containing four thousand five hundred square miles, although the whole arable land of Egypt Proper does not much exceed two thousand two hundred and twenty-five square miles. The Valley of the Nile, formed by a narrow slip of laud on each side of the river, and bounded either by rocky mountains or sandy deserts, is about eight or ten miles in average width, as nearly as such an irregular outline can be estimated. Besides this, there are many spots between the rocky hills suitable for cultiva- tion, which would greatly add to the capability of the country to provide for a large population, especially in Upper Egypt. The Oases have also been some- times included : but there is no evidence to show that they were occupied by the Egyptians in ancient time. It is not easy to determine the complexion of the population. They were cer- tainly not negroes, although, from the proximity of Nubia, there is no doubt that intermarriages frequently took place between the two nations. One of the early sovereigns of Egypt, Amenophis I., is accompanied on the sculptures with two wives, one of whom is always represented black. If the skin of the mummy retains its original colour, the question of complexion would be easily settled : but we do not, know what effect embalming and the lapse of centuries have had APPENDIX. 531 in this respect. It is a singular fact that on the exterior cases, as in the ancient paintings, the men are represented of a red-brown and the Women of a green- yellow. But this, as Kenrick obserTes, must be conventional. The real colour was probably brown with a tinge of red. It is dilficult to speak with accuracy as to the number of inhabitants who were found in Egypt, since it is not always possible to ascertain whether ancient writers refer to Egypt Proper, or' to the entire territory which at the time was brought under subjection to the Egyptian government. Theocritus reckons the number of Egyptian towns as thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty- nine ; but then he includes in his calculation Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Arabia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Caira, and Lycia, which were at that period subject to Ptolemy Philadelphus. Herodotus gives no precise information on the subject. Diodorus states the population of ancient Egypt to have reached seven millions ; but the text is obscure, as it is doubtful whether he intended to say that it continued so large to his own time, or was reduced to half the number. Josephus reckoned the Valley of the Nile to contain seven millions in the time of Vespasian, besides the population of Alexandria, which would make three hundred thousand more. Tacitus informs us that when Germanious visited Egypt, he was told by a priest at Thebes, that this city formerly contained within its walls seven hundred thousand fighting men. But this probably applied to the whole country, and the passage is so understood by Kenrick. It is possible, however, that the population of Egypt may have been overrated on account of the number and magnitude of the public works which were exe- cuted in this country. The ability to construct these buildings would depend not upon the number of men in the country, but rather upon the proportion of time which each individual would require to provide for his own subsistence and that of his family : and it is very probable that the necessary provision for individual existence could be procured with more ease in Egypt than in any country of the ancient world. Diodorus says, " It costs not a parent, to bring up a child to man's estate, above twenty drachmas," which sum amounts to about twelve shillings and sixpence. Some writers have supposed that Diodorus meant the annual expense ; but even then the necessaries of life must have been exceedingly cheap. Probably Egypt in her greatest glory might have contained about eight millions. This estimate of population would justify the apprehension which was felt from the rapid increase of the Israelites. It has been shown, in a preceding volume, that the Hebrews at the Exodus were probably far above three millions. Such a number of persons, rendered enemies by oppression, at one extremity of a kingdom five hundred miles long, would give great reason for apprehension : hence the bloody measure adopted to check their increase. (Diodorus Siculus, lib. i, cap. 80 ; Tacitus Ann., lib. ii, cap. 60 ; Kenrick's Ancient Egypt, vol. i, chap, viii; Wilkinson, vol. i, p. 217 ; Hamilton's .Sgypti- aca ; D'Anville's Ancient Geography, &c.) Note B, page 67. — The Chronology of Ancient Egypt. It is not intended here to go into any critical analysis of those pretensions tc remote antiquity which appear to have been either designedly or iguorantly made by the Egyptian priesthood, and which have been urged in modern times, as placing Egyptian history in opposition to revealed truth. What was thought necessary on this subject was said in the first part of this work. (The Patri- 532 APPENDIX. arclial Age.) And although, since the publication of that volume, a continental scholar has laboured to sustain the cause of Egyptian antiquity against the Bible, it is believed that a dispassionate consideration of a few simple facts will be sufficient to vindicate revealed truth. When it is considered that we have the works of no Egyptian author preserved to our day ; that the fragments of Manetho were written B. C. 260 ; that the dynasties prior to the eighteenth are in some instances known to be contemporaneous ; that even in respect to the eighteenth dynasty, the best Egyptian scholars are disputing as to its chrono- logical position, differing in opinion to the extent of two or three centuries ; and that the first event in Egyptian history which certainly synchronizes with that of any neighbouring nation, is the invasion of Judea by Shishak, B. C. 974 : — I say, when all these admitted facts are considered, it may be safely asserted, that no reasonable claim can be raised, from such materials as exist, respecting early Egyptian history, of any weight against the explicit testimony of Moses, even if we receive Mm only in the character of an authentic uninspired histo- rian. If Herodotus, or any other heathen author, had given the world as explicit an account of the origin of nations, and fixed as accurately the generor tion in which it took place, as Moses has done, the question would be regarded as settled ; but the pride of man will not submit to the teaching of God. If, however, any further evidence of the truth of Mosaic teaching respecting this country is required, it may be found in the remarkable agreement which sub- sists between it and the history of Egypt, when the latter is adjusted on sound chronological principles. With the eighteenth dynasty we enter upon the most flourishing era of Egyptian greatness ; and at the invasion of Judea, B. C. 974, we have a sure test of Egyptian chronology, as that event unquestionably took place in the early part of the reign of Shishak. Besides these points, the expulsion of the Shepherd-kings, and the Exodus of the Israelites, must be recognised. It is no more possible to ignore these facts, than it is to ignore the Roman invasion or the Norman conquest of Britain ; and, admitting them, they must more or less influence any arrangement of Egyptian dynasties. In fact, as Jlr. Cory says, " the great problem of Egyptian chronology is, to find the position of the eight- eenth dynasty. But in doing this, any attention to Holy Scripture is constantly open to censure as unscientific and unphilosophical ; although it cannot be denied, that neither Egypt nor any other ancient nation has given' us a chro- nology so consecutive, intelligible, and authentic as the Bible. It is thus that Eusebius is reflected on for attempting to reduce the chronology of other nations to the standard of the Jews." It will be necessary briefly to give an outline of the facts. Manetho was high-priest of the temple of Isis at Sebennytus in Lower Egypt about 284 B. C. He was well versed in Greek learning, and cer- tainly had access to all the literary treasures of Egypt then extant. He wrote a History of Egypt in three volumes, in each of which he gave in detail the dynasties of the kings of whom the history treated. The work itself lias per- ished, but the lists have been handed down to us in a tabular form. It is uncertain whether Manetho wrote them in this manner, or whether they were extracted by Christian writers from the body of the work, and arranged by them in their present form. This work, by the confession of the author, was not only derived partly from the sacred books, but also in part from popular tradilion. The first Christian author who treated of Manetho's History was Julius, a native of Africa, bishop of Nioopolis, commonly called Julius Africauus. He APPENDIX. 533 wrote early in the third century, and seems to have aimed at exhibiting the connexion which had subsisted between the histories of the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and the Jews. His works are also lost, except a few fragments. About one hundred years later Eusebius followed Afrioanus. His was a more comprehensive work, although similar in object to that of his predecessor. Five hundred years after the time of Eusebius, George the Scyncellus, a Byzantine monk, wrote a general Chronology, which has come down to us in almost a perfect state. This, together with an Armenian copy of Eusebius, is the only means we at present possess of examining the dynasties of Manetho. Eusebius, as has been already intimated, has been censured because he regarded Scrip- tural chronology as a standard, and endeavoured to bring that of Egypt into agreement with it : and it has been alleged that " this could be effected on no sound principles ;— that he appears not to have scrupled at arbitrary and even unfair expedients to attain this end." — Kenrich's Ancient Egypt, vol. ii, p. 91. But when we inquire into the gravamen of this heavy charge, it is found to be this : — Eusebius regards some of the early dynasties as reigning contemporane- ously in particular nomes. And this, we are told, is of " no authority," and countenanced by " no other ancient author." [Ibid., pp. 96, 97.) But what is the fact ? In 184:9 a European scholar, writing from Egypt, and verifying his state- ments by actual inspection of the monuments, before he transmitted them to Europe, avers, that he has found actual proof that two or more of these dynas- ties existed at the same time. (K. S. Pole's Horse ^Egyptiacse. See Literary Gazette for 1829, p. 262.) The limits of this note do not admit the production of this proof in detail ; but it is amply sufScient to justify the conduct of Eusebius. For the purpose, then, of testing the accuracy of this author, I take his num- bers entire. The eighteenth dynasty, as corrected by the old chronicle, lasted three hundred and forty-eight years ; and in the chronicle of Eusebius, after the ninth sovereign there is a note to this effect : " Under him Moses led the Jews in their Exodus from Egypt." " If, then, this dynasty were arranged on this prin- ciple, and it were admitted that Amosis, after having expelled the Shepherd- kings, reigned twenty-five years before the commencement of the eighteenth dynasty, the early chronology of Egypt would stand as follows : — B. 0. Expulsion of Shepherd-kings by Amosis 1845 He reigned afterward twenty-five years. Commencement. of eighteenth dynasty at his death 1820 Continued three hundred and forty-eight years. Commencement of nineteenth dynasty 1472 Lasted one hundred and eighty-seven years. Twentieth dynasty began 1285 Duration one hundred and seventy-eight years. Twenty-first dynasty began 1107 Continued one hundred and thirty years. Twenty-second dynasty began 977 The first sovereign of this dynasty was Sesonchis, — the Shishak of Scripture ; and, according to this scheme, he invaded Judea in the third year of his reign, B. C. 974. Besides this, other important requirements are met by tliis adjust- ment. The Arundelian Marbles state the fall of Troy to have taken place B. C. 118l, and Pliny asserts that a Barneses then reigned in Egypt. Such was the fact at that period, according to the preceding reckoning. The Exodus took 534 APPENDIX. place, according to Russel and the chronology adopted in this work, B. C. 1608 ; and by the above plan Aohenchases, the son of Horns, died in thaj; year. Again : there is a monumental sculpture, representing the Israelites under their task- masters making bricks, in the reign of Thothmosis IIL According to the scheme I have adopted, this would take place about one hundred and fifteen years before the Exodus : and as the Israelites had been long oppressed before the birth of Moses, — so long, indeed, that it became evident that their numbers rapidly increased, notwithstanding their oppression, and the savage measure of destroy- ing the male infants was adopted in consequence, — and the Exodus took place in the eightieth year of Moses, this is also a corroborating incident. Further : the date of Joseph's going down into Egypt falls in the early part of the reign of Amosis, after the expulsion of the Shepherds, and the descent of Jacob, three years before the death of this Pharaoh. In this instance, also, the Scriptural account which supposes the prince who made Joseph governor to be the same who received his patriarchal father, is justified. And, lastly, this arrangement places the accession of the eighteenth dynasty only two years later than the time fixed by ChampoUion Figeac from independent astronomical and historical data, which date is also supported by the authority of Mr. Osbum. It would display a childish affectation to rest upon any exactitude of date to a year or two in a case of this kind ; but confidence may certainly be challenged for this scheme, on the ground of its general accordance with historical and Scriptural fact, while it does not appear to be open to any serious objection. Nor is it unworthy of observation that other schemes of chronological arrange- ment either altogether overlook the date of the Exodus, or place it in circum- stances atlogether irreconcilable with the Scripture narrative and with the facts of the case. (Kenrick's Ancient Egypt ; Cory's Chronological Inquiry ; Wilkin- son's Ancient Egyptians ; Horse .ffigyptiacse ; Literary Gazette for 1829; Osbum's Ancient Egypt, and his Egypt : her Testimony to the Truth.) Note 6, page 66. — The Monumental Names of Kings. In the oldest monuments, as those of the Pyramids and tombs of Gizeh, the names of Egyptian kings are enclosed in oval shields or rings, and each king has only one. The characters included in the oval are phonetic, and express the name of the king as it was then pronounced. In later times, that is, in the eighteenth and succeeding dynasties, each king has usually two such shields or oval rings. Over the first there are generally delineated the figure of a bee, and a branch of a plant ; over the second, a vulpauser, and the disk of the sun, which are read, " Son of the Sun." Where two shields are found, it is generally admitted that the second contains the proper name of the prince in phonetic characters. As to the contents of the first of these rings, there has been some little difference of opinion. ChampoUion considered these signs as symbolical titles ; but perhaps Osbum has caught the correct idea, in regarding them as the inaugural and distinctive title assumed by each king on his accession to the throne. The name found in the second ring is that which corresponds to the lists of Manetho. (Kenrick's Ancient Egypt ; Osburn's Egypt : her Testimony to the Truth.) APPENDIX. 536 Note 7, page 65. — Sir Gardiner Wilkinson on the Date of the Exodus. Nothing seems more extraordinary than the opinions expressed by this learned Egyptologist on this subject. He maintains that the Exodus took place during the reign of Thothmosis IIL, although he confesses that if it did, it must have been in the early part of his reign. Without raising any question as to the date of this event, which of itself would be sufficient to refute this notion, or refer- ring to the general interpretation of Biblical critics, that the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt at the time of the Exodus was destroyed with his army in the Red Sea, — which will by most persons be regarded as a fatal objection to this learned writer's theory, — I rest simply on the undoubted fact, that the deliverance of Israel, and the consequent plagues of Egypt, arose out of a controversy which Jehovah had with the idolatry of Egypt; and that the result was a great pun- ishment of that proud and wiclsed kingdom. This was notorious for ages, — was patent to the world. Hence the prophet asked so confidently, " Art thou not he which smote Rahab, and wounded the dragon ?" Can it, then, be believed, as Sir J. G. Wilkinson teaches, that the Exodus occurred just as Egypt was rising to its greatest glory; that this event released Egypt from inconvenience, and increased her strength ? Surely this is impossible ! The Exodus, with its precursory plagues, must have been a fearful infliction on this land, and could not have occurred just prior to a series of unexampled triumphs and national Note 8, page 70. — The Providential Preparation for the Israelitish Invasion of Canaan. When the host of Israel encamped at Kadesh-Barnea, and spies were sent to ascertain the condition of the people occupying the laud of Canaan, their fenced cities and martial power overwhelmed the feeble faith of the Hebrews, and they said, " We were in our own sight as grasshoppers ; and so we were in their sight." Thus the purpose of God, that they should at that time take possession of the land, was frustrated, and the conquest of Canaan delayed more than thirty-eight years. To insure the accomplishment of this purpose at that period, two measures were devised, and carried into execution, both displaying marvellous condescen- sion and mercy. In order to teach Israel to rely more fully on Jehovah, and to have confidence in the word of his power, they were led through the wilderness during this long period, and had, on many most critical occasions, to obtain de- liverance from ruin by a sole and simple trust in the promise of God. On the other hand, the nations of Palestine, so proud in their martial glory, were at the same time assailed in successive campaigns by Sethos and his son Rameses II. with all the military force of Egypt ; so that many of their strongest fortresses were destroyed, and their military power greatly diminished. By these means the Lord graciously paved the way for the accomplishment of his purposes, — the judicial destruction of the Canaanitish nations, and the establishment of Israel as a separate and independent nation. Note 9, page 71. — The Martial Career of Sesostris. Mr. Osburn — a scholar whose immense learning, especially in respect of Egyptology, coupled, as it is, with a deep religious reverence for Scripture 536 APPENDIX. truth, entitles Mm to great deference and respect — has here advanced a scheme which, after the most careful investigation, appears open to insuperahle objec- tions "with regard to his view of the route of this monarch, and the scene of his conquests. Mr, Oshurn, guided by his reading of the hieroglyphic sculptures, supposes the Egyptian army, after the reduction of Punon, to go northward by the Wady-el-Erabah, expelling the Arvadites and Jebusites ; and that they then embarked on the Dead Sea, probably in the ships of the Arvadites. Having reached the southern end of the sea, it is said, " the hieroglyphics seem to indicate that the march of Sesostris lay through the countries of the Jebusites and Hittites." Having, in fact, sailed from the south of the Dead Sea to the north, he is considered to have made a double, and returned southward again to Hadessah, which is supposed to lie near Jerusalem. This city he captured ; and the conquest is spoken of as the most glorious event of the war. Having effected this object, he is supposed to have gone north again, to embark on the Dead Sea, and thus to return to Egypt. The following appear to be serious and valid objections to this scheme : — 1. It is a notorious fact, attested not only by all ancient history, but also by recent Assyrian discovery, that long before the days of Sesostris the kings of Egypt had extended their conquests to the borders of Assyria ; and that Sesostris is both by Egyptian monuments and general history regarded as equal, if not superior, to any of his predecessors. 2. The Shetin with whom Sesostris fought the great battle of this campaign, and whose subjec- tion was his greatest triumph, are always on the monuments associated with Naharina, or Mesopotamia, and are so mentioned on the Assyrian Obelisk. 3. The manner in which both the monuments and the Greek writers speak of the passage of Sesostris through Canaan, forbids the opinion that this was the great scene of the war. On the monuments the king is described as forcing his passage through the country ; and Herodotus speaks of it as if he molested none but those who opposed him. Mr. Osburn, also, distinctly says, " It is sufficiently apparent that nothing of great importance took place during the progress of Sesostris to the land of the Shetin ;" and certainly this was not in Palestine. i. It seems altogether incredible that the Egyptian king should find a fleet able to transport his army on the Dead Sea. Who ever heard of ships on that sea ? This fleet, too, belonged to his enemies, who are supposed in each instance to have made a peace with him, just exactly in time to place their fleet at his disposal. For these reasons I feel compelled to differ in opinion from such an accomplished scholar as Mr. Osburn, and to lay down in the text a different and, as I believe, a, more probable route for this conqueror. (Osburn's Egypt: her Testimony to the Truth ; Kenrick's Egypt under the Pharaohs, vol. ii, pp. 260, 278, 288 ; Papers by Mr. Birch on Egyptian Obelisks, in the Transactions of the lloyal Society of Literature, New Series.) Note 10, page 76. — The Cruelty exhibited in Egyptian Sculptures. The importance of Egyptian sculptures to any extensive acquaintance with the early history of the country is universally acknowledged ; but it is not so generally known as it should be upon what principles these representations, so far as relates to warlike triumphs, are constructed, nor the cruel and sanguinary spirit which pervades them. The walls of the temples and palaces which are covered with these immense pictures are often sixty to eighty feet high, and from six hundred to eight hun- dred feet long. A general rule may be laid down in respeet of those which refer APPENDIX. 537 to military affairs. The first scene usually depicted is tlie tattle and the Tictory The conqueror, who is always one of the Pharaohs, is represented of gigantic stature, accompanied by as many of his warriors as can be introduced. These are pictured as slaughtering multitudes of their enemies, trampling upon the fallen, driving over heaps of slain, taking and sacking their strong-holds, and leading off male and female captives. This exhibition, which represents slaught- ering rather than fighting, is sufiioiently coarse in its sanguinary character. The next scene is the repose after victory. The conqueror sits in his chariot, and calls upon his troops to rejoice ; while the prisoners are brought bound to his feet, and the number of the enemy which have been slain ere estimated by the number of their right hands which have been cut oflf, brought to the soverei^, and counted over in his presence. The next scene is laid in Egypt, and in the temple where the picture is found. Here the conqueror offers to the gods the spoils which he has obtained, and drags to their feet long lines of captives. These are represented nearly naked, tied together by one cord, which passes round the necks of all of them. As if this did not iufliot sufficient degradation and suffering, their arms are bound in a variety of ways, all calculated to produce intense agony. In fact, this is done in a manner which plainly denotes an intention to inflict torture ; — as if, says a learned writer, " the cries of the wretched sufferers formed an im- portant accessory to the diabolical ceremony." Then we must not forget the common pictorial appendage to almost every one of these representations, and which may be regarded as the title-page or table of contents — or even as both combined — of the entire picture. In this part, one or more of each of the conquered nations or tribes is placed in a kneeling posture in a circular form, as if tied to a stake in the centre ; while a gigantic figure of the king gathers a portion of the hair of each into his left hand, and destroys them with a scimitar or club, which he brandishes in his right hand. The atrocious cruelty thus exhibited is magnified by other representations. When Sethos, who reigned next after the Exodus, is represented as returning to Egypt ia triumph from his wars in Canaan, he is seen seated in his chariot, leading in four separate cords as many strings of captives from the vanquished tribes, whose arms are tied into forms which must have given exquisite torture. Two of them, chiefs, have had their hands cut off ; while three heads, reeking in gore, are suspended about the chariot ; — a representation by no means uncom- mon in the sculptures of Egypt. When the great Sesostris is depicted as returning in triumph to Egypt from his wars, not only is he accompanied by the usual strings of captives bound in the most unmerciful manner, but three of the chiefs of the vanquished tribes are represented suspended beneath the axle of his chariot, in a posture of the greatest pain and utmost degradation. It is, therefore, certain that the art, science, philosophy, and religion of the Egyptians, in all their combined influence upon their great monarchs, failed to inspire even common humanity, or to save them from the most enormous and detestable acts of cold-blooded cruelty : and what gives the deepest stain to their national morals is, that they did not hesitate to record and emblazon this diabol- ical torture in connexion with their noblest triumphs. Note 11, page 125. — The Fulfilment of sacred Prophecy in the History of Egypt. Prophecy I. — The first of these wonderful manifestations of the divine pre- science respecting this nation, taking them in the order of their fulfilment, was 538 APPENDIX. the interpretation given by Joseph to the dreams of Pharaoh ; from which he foretold the seven years of plenty, and the subsequent seven years of famine. Gen. xli. These predictions were literally verified : and all the extraordinary operations of these fourteen years must have made known to the people at large the power of Jehovah, and have challenged the recognition of all Egypt, as a standing proof of the infinite prescience of the God of the Hebrews. Peopheot II we have in the divine declaration given to Abraham : " Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they shall aflict them four hundred years ; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge : and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Gen. xv, 13-16. The long and painful bondage of Israel, and their triumphant Exodus, won- derfully fulfilled these prophecies. Peophecy III refers to the signal defeat of Pharaoh-neoho at Carohemiah. A more spirited and graphic picture can scarcely be found than that which is given by Jeremiah (chap, xxvi, 1-12) of the martial parade of Egypt in this campaign, and of its total failure. Our sketch of Egyptian history shows how exactly this prediction came to pass. Pkophect IV. — We have here an important class of predictions, which foretold the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. "When Jeremiah was forcibly carried Into Egypt after the rebellious Jews had slain Gedaliah, the word of the Lord came unto him ; and having, in obedience to the divine command, hidden great stones in the approach to the royal residence at Tahpanhes in the sight of the men of Judah, he said, " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the King of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid ; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them." Jer. xliii, 10. Again : the prophet, having, as above, predicted the defeat of Pharaoh at Carchemish, adds : " The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt." Chap, xlvi, 13-16. Ezekiel iterates the same predictions. Far away in the east, on the banks of the Chebar, he declared, " Thus saith the Lord God, I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon. He and his people wi'li him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land." Ezek. XXX, 10, II.' The same prophet, also, by divine command, announces in express terms the singular fact, that the spoil of the land should recompense the Babylonish army for their long and unproductive siege and ruin of Tyre. Chap, x.xix, 18, 19. Of the manner and extent in which these prophecies were fulfilled, we have but slender information ; but the fact is unquestionable. Berosus declares that Nebuchadrezzar, as soon as he h:ij received intelligence of his father's death, set in order the affairs of Egypt, and hastily crossed the desert to Babylon ; (Cory's Fragments, p. 39 ;) clearly implying that Nebuchadnezz.>ir had obtained the government of that country prior to this period. Megasthenes, also, expressly affirms that this Chaldean warrior conquered the greatest part of Africa ; and it is evident that no conquests could at that time have been madf in Africa, except through Egypt. On this point the testimony of Josephus is decisive. He says, " Nebuchadnezzar, having subdued Coele-Syria, waged w.-ir against the Ammonites and Moabites : and, having conquered them, he invaded Egypt, slow the king who then reigned, and appointed another." — APPENDIX. 539 Josephus's Antiquities, book x, chap, ix, sec. 7. Thus were these prophecies also fulfilled. Pbopheoy V exhibits several important particulars. Isaiah xix. First, it is foretold that great and ruinous discords and civil dissensions shall arise. Secondly, a complete conquest of the country is predicted, -which is to be effected by a very fierce and cruel warrior, who should be peculiarly severe against the idols of Egypt. Thirdly, an extensive introduction and establishment of the worship of Jehovah in the land of Egypt are set forth. See, on the first point, verse 2 : " And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians : and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour ; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom." This discord was uncommon in Egypt. Usually they were a united people : but here, not only was it predicted that they should come extensively into warlike collision with each other, but, even in Egypt, kingdom is to be arrayed against kingdom. Yet this description was verified to the letter, under the twenty-sixth dynasty, when the country was parcelled out between twelve different kings ; and again, after a bloody war, united into one sovereignty. The chronological relation of these civil wars is no less remarkable than the fact of their existence. This dynasty, in precise agree- ment with the prophecy, is followed by the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses. Of this the prophet speaks thus : " And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord ; and a fierce king shall rule over them." Isa. xix, 4. This was abundantly fulfilled in the entire success and atrocious cruelties of Cambyses. But this conquest was predicted to stand associated with a terrible aggression on the idols of Egypt : " Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also destroy the idols, and 1 will cause their images to cease out of Noph." Ezek. xxx, 13. Our history of the Persian invasion has shown how fiercely Cambyses carried into effect these threatenings. He slew Apis, burnt and demolished their temples, and to a great extent proscribed the religion of Egypt. Lastly, these predictions speak of the introduction of the Hebrew religion into Egypt. It has been already shown that this actually took place. ("Hebrew People," p. 460.) It is a most remarkable fapt, that all the old powerful mon- archies were thus placed in immediate proximity with revealed truth and the pure worship of Jehovah: — ^Babylon, Persia, and Media were thus favoured, through the deportation of the Hebrews into these countries, — and Egypt, through the permission to erect a temple for the celebration of Hebrew worship, and through the authorized translation and circulation of the Old Testament in the Greek language. Pkopheot VI is a general prediction, which, for breadth of meaning and extent of application, has but few parallels even in sacred prophecy. Ezekiel declared, "They shall be there a base kiiigdom. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms ; neithei*shall it exalt itself any more above the nations : for I will , diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations." Ezek. xxix, 14, 15. Again he says, " I will make her rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of tlie wicked : and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers : and theee shall be no more a puince of the land of Egypt." Chap, xxx, 12, 13. How wonderful is this prophetic revelation ! Egypt, the proud, the martial, the wealthy nation ! Egypt, renowned for her wisdom, her commerce, her legislar tion !, Egypt is to become the basest of nations, — ^is to exercise no longer dominion over other nations : and, stranger still, there is no longer to be a prince of the land of Egypt ! It is to be sold, with all it contains, into the hand of strangers. 540 APPENDIX. But how do the facts, detailed by authentic history, and which even at this moment exist, agree with these strange prophecies ? The only reply which can be given to this inquiry is, The accordance is perfect. These revelations were uttered about 680 B. C. In 625 B. C. Cambyses con- quered the whole country, and brought it into, entire subjection to Persia. Thus it remained, with the exception of some brief intervals, in which an effort was made to recover its independence, until again fully subjugated by Darius Ochus. It was afterward seized by Alexander, and continued under his government until his death, when it passed to the Ptolemies, — a succession of Grecian rulers. The Romans followed, and made it a part of that great empire. Thus it remained, until about A. D. 641, when it was subdued by the Saracens. It afterward passed under the power of the Mamelukes, and is now governed by a Turkish viceroy. Here, then, is the fact, that a country possessing the finest geograph- ical position in the world, has for the last 2,200 years been in uninterrupted subjection to foreign government, and that government frequently conducted by slaves, as in the case of the Mamelukes, and administered with the utmost tyranny and rapacity. Thus has Egypt been sold to strangers, and become the basest of nations ; nor, during this lengthened period, has a really native prince filled the throne of Egypt. Our limits only allow the citation of one more instance : — Peophecy VII. — This class refers to the total ruin and desolation of the land. Ezekiel, speaking in the name of the Lord, said, " I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt ; and I will cut off the mul- titude of No. And I will set fire in Egypt. Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. The young men of Aven-" (Heliopolis) " and of Pi-beseth " (Pelusium) " shall fall by the sword : and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt. And they shall know that I am the Lord." Ezek. xxx, 13-19. Again, we find it said, " The waters shall fail from the sea, and the rivers shall be wasted and dried up, and they shall turn the rivers far away ; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up ; the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reed by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and shall not be." Isaiah xix, 6-7. "I will make the rivers dry; and I will make the laud waste." Ezek. xxx, 12. In this summary of universal ruin and desolation, we have three prominent particulars set forth : — I. The total ruin of the great and ancient cities of Egypt. And here let it be observed that no other nation ever employed such a massivg and durable style of architecture as the Egyptians did. Tet, in defiance of all that human art and energy could accomplish, the Scriptures are in this instance fully verified. I ' cannot do better than give the following passage in proof : " Though Herodotus numbered the cities of Egypt by thousands, yet all those which existed in the days of the prophets have long been in ruins. Egypt, of old exceedingly rich and populous, is now — except where still partially watered by the Nile, and cultivated— bare and depopulated. Its two great cities, Cairo and Alexandria, are bordered by the desert. And, with the exception of Eosetta and Damietta, and a few miserable villages, not a single town is to be met with, in traversing Lower Egypt from Alexandria to El-Arish, or from one extremity to the other. APPENDIX. 541 Thebes, once famed for its hundred gates, may be called, from the magnificence of its remains, ' The Metropolis of Ruins.' The mummies so abundant at Mem- phis remain, though the city has perished. Heliopolis has now a single ererit obelisk, to tell that the mounds around it were once the City of the Sun. At Bubastis, the Pi-beseth of Scripture, are lofty mounds and some remains of the ancient city of Pasht. A single street, with its central square, of the city of Alexandria, built after the era of the prophets, occupied a greater space than the modem city ; while a small fishing-village, built of. mud and brick, is the only representation of the royal Zoan !" — Dr. Keith's Evidence of Prophecy, p. 378. 2. These predictions announce a great alteration in the geographical confor- mation of the country. And this, too, is exactly verified. So greatly are the extent and course, even of branches of the Nile, altered, that an ancient bed now dry is shown at a distance of eighty miles from the nearest branches of that river. The Pelusiao branch of the Nile, once so famous, is now choked up. In fact, to a great extent, " the land is waste, and everything is withered, where the rivers have been turned far away, and the brooks are emptied and dried up." 3. It is predicted that these changes shall have a ruinous effect upon several articles of commerce, and especially on the paper reed. This is most precisely fulfilled. The papyrus, which for centuries afforded, not merely the best, but almost the only material suitable for writing, and which accordingly constituted a royal monopoly of great value, has become utterly useless. So minute and exact has been the fulfilment of the divine word in every particular respecting this ancient and wonderful country ! Note 12, page 128. — The progressive Development of this Idolatry. That the religion of Egypt, while it remained in all its gr^at principles essentially the same, was marked in its details by progressive development. Is proved by a careful inquiry into any part of this remarkable system. On this subject Mr. Kenrick says : " Herodotus observes that ' all the Egyp- tians do not worship the same gods in a similar manner, except Isis and Obibis, the latter of whom is said to be Dionusos ; these all worship in a similar manner.' His words do not imply that there was a diversity of belief, but of worship, manifesting itself in the sacrifice of certain animals in some of the nomes, which in others were held sacred to particular gods, and therefore never used for vic- tims." The learned author proceeds to show that this difference did not arise, as has been supposed, from the fact that Osiris and Isis were national deities, and others merely local ones. This notion, he asserts, " is not warranted " by the words of the father of history ; but that this difl'erence of worship was rather to be attributed to " the later origin of the Osirian worship, which was diffused from some one point, with a rapid development and a uniform system.'' —Egypt, vol. i, p. 398. Another evidence of this development is found in the introducion of the deity Serapis. The historical account of this event states that the first Ptolemy brought from Sinope in Pontus a statue of Jupiter Dis. On its arrival in Egypt, the famous Manetho, the high-priest of Sebennytus, not wishing to refuse com- pliance with the king's command, nor to admit a foreign deity into an Egyptian temple, pronounced the image to be the statue of Serapis. It seems evident from this, that Serapis was a deity previously known in Egypt. But as it is not 542 APPENDIX. found on any monument of the era of the Pharaohs, it could not have been one of the gods of primitive times. It is further observahle that this Osirian worship, which was introduced in the medisaval period of Egyptian history, stood intimately connected with the Syrian myth of Thammus and Adonis ; and as both exhibit the same " fundamental idea of the suffering, dying, and resuscitated god," it becomes a question whether we are to regard this simply as a result of primitive tradition, or whether the light of subsequent revelation was used to embody a more perfect exhibition of suffering divinity. However this may be, it serves to show the development of this idolatrous system. This is further seen in the following extract from a letter, which was some time since placed in my hands, by a learned, talented, and pious lady, long resident in Egypt, She says : " Among the tombs we entered belonging to the early pyramidal group, although curious and diligent in search, we could not find an instance of idolatrous worship ; not even an image of Ptha or Vulcan, nor of Apis, nor of Lhem, nor any of the primitive gods of the Egyptians. Amun or the Ram, Thoth or the Ibis, were not to be found ; neither Mnevis or the Calf, nor Athor or the Cow. No form or similitude occurred to indicate that they were deified. In fact no object met our eye that could in the slightest way offend against the second commandment, — much less those compound bestial forms which so deform the temples and tombs of the later dynasties in Upper Egypt. The multiplied trinities of Egypt were not to be found in the sepulchres of the earliest race of the Pharaohs. Osiris, Isis, and Horns, with the rest of the vast hierarchy subsequently worshipped by this wisest of nations, were no- where to be seen. We carefully sought for some clew to identify the worship of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and subsequent dynasties with the era of the pyra- mids, but found none." It seems therefore certain that the pernicious errors which the apostasy at Shinar engendered, and shed forth to poison the nations, were not for a very considerable time so fully carried out to their final consequences as to parade a visible and tangible idolatry before the eyes of the Egyptian public. Note 13, page 129. — The Changes made in the Egyptian Triad. In no instance are identity of principle, and external titular change and expansion, more observable than in the multiplicity of the Egyptian triads. On this point I cannot do better than quote Mr. Osburn : " The primary form, or antitype, of the entire mythology, is a triad of divinities composed of Amoux the father, Moht the mother, and Chons the infant son. This triad passes through an immense number of intermediate triads, until it reaches the earth, where, under the forms of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, it becomes incarnate. But a curious device exhibits the unity and identity of the whole of this circle of monadic triads. Horus, the lowest link, returns upward under a new emana- tion, Amoun Ilor, and assumes the Amonian title, husband of his mother. Isis is blended with Mout, and their son Malouli is invested with the attributes of Chons, the infant son in the first triad. " The triads intermediate to these two extremes presided over, and were wor- shipped in, the several nomes, or provinces, into which Egypt was anciently divided. Sevek-ra-Hathor, the Egyptian Venus, and Chons-Hor form the triple divinity of the Ombitio norae. That of the nome of Edfou, or Apollinopolis, was Har-hat, (the thrice great Hermes,) Hathor, and Harsout-tho (Horus the sus- APPENDIX. 543 tainer of the world.) The triad adored at Esne was Kneph, Neith, and the young god Hake, under the form of an infant ; at Hermonthis, as Mouthou, Ritho, and Harphre ; while at Thebes, the ecclesiastical capital of Egypt, the deity mani- fested himself under his primary and proper form of Amon-ra, Neith, and Chons. Thus each of the nomes into which Egypt was divided had its own religion," and exhibited a, separate triad under different names, and, in some instances, with different attributes. And thus we have before us a proof, that the essential principle of the system was invariably maintained, while in names and details changes and adaptations to circumstances are constantly found. (Antiquities of Egypt, pp. 136, 137.) Note 14, page 149. — Glass sent as an Article of Tribute from Assyria and Babylon to Egypt. The fact mentioned in the text was regarded by the learned translator as so strange and improbable, that he marked the term " glass " with a note of inter- rogation between brackets [?] to indicate his doubt of its accuracy. Subsequent discoveries have done much to remove this apparent improba- bility. At the recent meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sir David Brewster said, " he had to bring before the section an object of so incredible a nature, that nothing short of the strongest evidence was necessary to render the statement at all probable : — it was no less than the find- ing in the treasure-house at Nineveh of a rock crystal lens, where it had for centuries lain entombed in the ruins of that once magnificent city." After giving the exact size of this curious article, and describing its state. Sir David concluded by expressing his opinion that this should " not be looked on as an ornament, but a true optical lens." Sir David then proceeded to exhibit some specimens of decomposed glass found in the same ruins, and expressed himself as prepared to describe the process of decomposition ; he having directed his attention to the subject some years ago, on the occasion of having found a piece of decomposed glass at St. Leonard's. Thus the fact of the manufacture and use of glass by the ancient Assyrians is clearly established. Note 15, page 149. — The Army sent from Assyria, under the Command of Memnon, to assist Priam during the Trojan War. This statement has afforded matter for much cavil and disputation, although it appears to be sustained by as ample an .amount of evidence as can be expected to be adduced in respect of an era of such remote antiquity, and in connexion with events which, on the whole, rest on a very slender historical basis. It may first be noted, that Herodotus states that the reason why the Trojan war was regarded as an aggression on the rulers of Asia was, because the whole of Asia was considered as one country, while Greece and every other part of Europe were regarded as entirely separate and unconnected with it. (Clio cap. 4.) This statement, coming from such an authority, renders the allegation, that Memnon was sent by the Assyrian Court with an army to aid Priam, much less improbable than it would otherwise appear to be. But, on the other side of the argument, great stress has been laid on the silence of Homer, who, in his enumeration of the Trojan forces and their allies, makes no mention of Memnon, or his Assyrian contingent. It does not, however, seem reasonable to construe this omission, in a catalogue made at a certain period 544 APPENDIX. of the war, into an argument of suiEcient weight to rebut a positive statement avowedly copied by Ctesias from the national records ; especially as Homer in the Odyssey not only mentions the presence of Memnon in the war, but says that he killed Antiloohus, the son of Nestor. (Odyssey, iv, 250.) This, however, is not the only evidence to the truth of this statement. Polyg- notus, who flourished as a first-rate painter in Greece, about 440 B. C, depicted, on the walls of the Hall of Strangers at Delphi, the capture of Troy. In this great work of art, with most of the heroes of the Trojan war, we find Memnon, who is painted with his hand resting on the shoulder of Sarpedon, another emi- nent ally of Priam. Near Memnon was delineated an Ethiopian boy, because all tradition represents Memnon as an Ethiopian. Pausanias reconciles the tra- dition with the statement of Ctesias, by saying that, although an Ethiopian by descent, Slemnon did not go to Troy from Ethiopia, but from Susa in Persia. And, to complete the chain of evidence, Diodorus Siculus fully adopts the state- ment of Ctesias, and asserts that Memnon was sent on that service by Teutames, King of Assyi-ia ; and that he was the son of Tithon, Governor of Persia, and marched from Susiana, his father's province, with ten thousand Ethiopians, as many Persians, and two hundred chariots. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the reception of this account has arisen from the confounding of this Memnon with the eminent man of that name who erected several palaces, called Memnonia, at Thebes, Abydos, &c., and whose statue is at present in the British Museum. If, however, the plausible conjecture of Jackson be admitted, namely, that the great Memnon was ancestor of Tithonus, — prefect of Persia under Teutames, — who named his son after his eminent progenitor, the whole entangled mass of tradition is unravelled, and all cause for scepticism appears to be removed. (Russel's Connexion, vol. ii, p. 536 ; Jackson's Antiqui- ties, vol. i, p. 252, note ; Pausanias, Phocis, cap. xxxi. ; Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii, cap. 2.) Note 16, page 150. — The remarkable Means by which the Reading of ancient Monu- mental Inscriptions has been recovered. The statement in the text, that, to this extent at least, the magnitude of the curse of Babel has wrought its cure, is fully borne out. It may be necessary to inform some readers how this has been efl^ected. The knowledge of the hiero- glyphics of Egypt which we now possess is mainly attributable to the famous Eosetta Stone. This is a block of dark-coloured granite, which was found in Egypt by the savans who accompanied Napoleon in his great expedition to that country. Perceiving that it contained an hieroglyphic inscription, together with another in the Egyptian enchoral character, and a third in Greek, they attached great importance to the acqviisition, and proposed to send it to France. Mean- time, however, the victory of the Nile, and the surrender of Alexandria to the British army, placed this precious relic in the hands of Mr. Hamilton, author of the JEgijjitiaca, by whom it was sent to England ; and thus this curious block of granite was transferred to the British Museum. It immediately attracted attention ; and, on the obvious principle of proceed- ing from the known to the unknown, the Greek inscription was translated, when, to the astonishment of the translator, the last clause was found to run thus ; " This decree shall be inscribed on «■ tablet of hard stone, in. the sacred, the vernacular, and in the Greek character.'' It was thus made known, that these three inscriptions contained the same subject-matter : and from this hint the APPENDIX. 545 perseverance and talent of Dr. Young and others elicited a, key to the hiero- glyphical records of Egypt. The same thing substantially took place with respect to the monuments of Assyria. They were found to be almost always trilingual and triliteral : that U, they were on the same monument engraved in three different languages, each language having its own peculiar alphabet. The object of this was, of course, to make the inscription intelligible to the individuals of different races, to whom these several alphabets and languages were familiar. Just as, in the present day, advertisements, and even the names of streets, in the city of Brussels, are posted or painted in French and Dutch ; and just as now a governor of Bagdad would have to publish a proclamation in Persian, Turkish, and Arabic ; so, in the days of Cyrus and Darius, the same course was pursued. And as the Greek translation on the Rosetta Stone, by giving a known exponent of every hiero- glyphic which it contained, led to the decipherment of these obscure symbols ; so the Persian text of these trilingual inscriptions has enabled genius and industry to obtain a tolerable acquaintance with the recondite matter veiled under the pre- viously unknown arrow-headed, or cunneiform characters of ancient Assyria. Thus the extensive multiplication of languages has afforded means of decipher- ing unknown inscriptions, which could not have been obtained, had this variety of language been less abundantly diffused. Note 17, page 150. — The peculiar Difficulty of identifying Assyrian proper Names. No portion of the vast range of inquiry opened up to us by the discovery of the ancient Assyrian sculptures is more interesting than the attempt to identify these exhumed revelations with persons and things previously known to us through .the medium of sacred or profane history. The temptation is, indeed, almost irresistible to endeavour to fix on certain portions of personal or national history from the monuments, and to regard these as identical with the sovereigns spoken of in Scripture, or mentioned by ancient historians. But perhaps nothing is more detrimental to the cause of truth and sound learning than a hasty yield- ing to this impulse. It is sufficient to deter any from this course, to know that Mr. Rawlinson, after a most elaborate and successful investigation of the subject, confidently asserts, that " beyond, however, a, mere string of titles difficult to understand, and possessing probably, if understood, but little interest, we know nothing of those kings forming the early Assyrian succession but the names." This is sufficiently discouraging, but is rendered much more so by what follows: "When I say, too, that we know the names, I merely mean that such names are recognisable wherever they occur : their definite phonetic rendering or pronunci- ation is a matter of exceeding difficulty, nay, as I think, of impossibility ; for, strange as it may appear, I am convinced that the early Assyrians did not dis- tinguish their proper names by the sound, but by the sense ; and that it was thus allowable, in alluding to a king by name, to employ synonymes to any extent, whether those synonymes were terms indifferently employed to denote the same deity, or whether they were different words used to express the same idea." In all probability, we have an instance of this in the alteration of the names of Daniel and his three companions. The new appellatioiis stated to have been given to these four persons, seem to convey essentially the same sense as their proper names, having in every instance the title of a Babylonish deity, instead of the Hebrew word used to designate God, combined with some other terms which appear to express a similar sense to the parallel words in the original names. 35 546 APPENI IX. In such circumstances, nothing but clear and invincible evidence will justify any identification of the names of the monuments with Scriptural or historical kings. (Kawlinsou On the Inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia, in the Journal of the Koyal Asiatic Society, vol. xii.) Note 18, page 150. — The proper chronological Succession of the Reigns exhibited in the Assyrian Sculptures. In making the statement in the text, confirming the superior antiquity of the Nimrud sculptures, I am aware that I place myself in opposition to the opinions which Mr. Bonomi has advanced in a learned and very useful work on the same subject. 1 do so advisedly, believing that he has reasoned from false premises in the argument to which I refer. (Nineveh and its Palaces, pp. 302-304.) The most weighty of the arguments advanced in his work for the superior antiquity of Khorsabad, are based upon the general idea, that the arts of social life, deliuear tion, sculpture, &c., were rough, and coarse, and rude, in the early portions of history ; but that they gradually advanced here, as they did in Rome and Greece, until they attained perfection. I regard this notion as altogether fallacious. I am of opinion that the earliest ages of the really primitive nations (that is, those founded soon after the Dispersion, and whose founders had not sunk into barbar- ism by a long course of wandering and unsettled life) will be invariably found highly cultivated. It was so in Egypt and Assyria : and this fact is in striking accordance with Scripture. In a question of this kind, however, I would not rely on any general induc- tion — much less on a mere opinion of my own. I cite in proof of my views the following judgment of a competent authority. Dr. Layard: "It is impossible to examine the monuments of Assyria without being convinced, that the people who raised them had acquired a skill in sculpture and painting, and a knowledge of design and even composition, indicating an advanced state of civilization. It is very remarkable, that the most ancient ruins show this knoudedge in the greatest per- fection attained by the .Assyrians. The bas-relief representing the lion-hunt, now in the British Museum, is a good illustration of the earliest school of Assyrian art yet known. It far exceeds the sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik, or the later palaces of Nimroud, in the vigour of the treatment, the elegance of the forms, and in what the French aptly term mouvement. At the same time it is eminently distinguished from them by the evident attempt at composition — by the artistical arrangement of the groups. The sculptors who worked at Khorsabad and Kouyunjik had perhaps acquired more skill in handling their tools. Their work is frequently superior to that of the earlier artists in delicacy of execution — in the details of the figures, for instance — and in the boldness of the relief; but the slightest acquaintance with Assyrian monuments will show, that they were greatly inferior to their ancestors in the higher branches of art, in the treatment of a subject, and in beauty and variety of form. This decline of art, after sud- denly attaining its greatest perfection in its earliest stage, is a fact presented by almost every people, ancient and modern, with which we are acquainted. In Egypt the most ancient monuments display the purest forms, and the most ele- gant decorations. A rapid retrogression, after a certain period, is apparent; and the state of art serves to indicate approximately the epoch of most of her remains." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, pp. 280, 281. APPENDIX. 547 Note 19, page 162. — The chronological Position of the lower Line of Asiyrian Kings, and their Relation to the Median Revolt. The only authority worthy of reliance who has furnished us with a list of Assyrian kings is Ctesias, who, whatever be his defects as an author, in this instance merely acted as a transcriber of public records which were fully open to his investigation. His list has been adopted in this work, and it terminates with Thonos Concoleros, who ceased to reign B. C. 821. Besides this line of Assyrian kings, Ctesias gives a list of the kings of Media, nineinnumber, whose united sovereignty extended from the former epoch, B.C. 821, until after the capture of Nineveh, and the destruction of the Assyrian empire, B. C. 606. As it is a well-known fact, that during this latter period the Modes revolted, and declared themselves independent of. Assyria, many authors have hastily inferred that Thonos Concoleros was the Sardanapalus who reigned when Nineveh was taken by the united forces of Media and Babylon. The learned KoUin, following Diodorus, has fallen into this error, in common with many others. He makes Arbaces, the first Median king in the list of Ctesias, take and destroy Nineveh, and give liberty and independence to the Medes. (Ancient History, vol. i, p. 280. 8vo.) JBut all this is in opposition to the fact, that Nineveh subsisted as an empire, in all its power and dignity, and with sway over Media, long after this date. In fact, all its aggression on Israel and Judah, its conquest of the former, and cruel deportation of the Ten Tribes to the mountains of Media, took place subsequently to the time of Arbaces. It is, indeed, certain that the Assyrian empire was not dissolved, nor the Median kingdom separated from it, until a considerable period after the reign of Thonos. To say nothing of the doubtful course to which this hypothesis in other respects leads, (such as two destructions of Nineveh, under two kings with similar names, by the same nations, at times far removed from each other,) it is altogether inadmissible. Russel has, I think, solved this problem, by suggesting that Arbaces, a Mede by birth or ofiSce, succeeded to the throne of Nineveh, not by the subversion of the empire and the destruction of the city, but by securing to himself the reins of government, as they fell from the hands of Thonos Concoleros, and that he in fact was a Median sovereign on the imperial throne. This supposition reconciles all the otherwise conflicting elements of the history of this portion of the Assyrian annals, — accounts for the rising power and mar- tial glory which the kings of Assyria who are mentioned in Scripture displayed, — and unites the otherwise conflicting statements of Herodotus and Ctesias into one homogeneous narrative. There was enough to justify this conjecture of Russel in the fragments of his- tory which lay open to him ; but these are strikingly corroborated in an import- ant particular by the monumental inscriptions. From these Layard concludes that he has ascertained the existence of " two distinct periods of Assyrian history ;" that the people inhabiting the country at those periods were of different races, or that, by intermixture with foreigners, great change had taken place in their language, religion, and customs ; and that this alteration took place between the building of the palaces of Nimroud and the erection of those of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik. (Layard's Nineveh, vol. ii, p. 232.) Kawlinson, too, thus speaks on this interesting point: "Owing to domestio 548 APPENDIX. troubles, or to foreign invasion, there appears after this king (Adrammelech 11.) to have heen an interruption of the royal line ; and in the interval which elapsed before the succession was restored, a very considerable change may be shown to have taken place in the manners and cuatoms of the inhabitants of the country. So complete, indeed, does the social revolution appear to Mr. Layard, that ho conjectures a new race to have peopled the country, or, at any rate, a new dynasty, with a, new religion, to have acquired the kingdom. On this point, however, I am not altogether of Mr. Layard's opinion. I am willing to admit an interreg- num; and I think it even probable, as the king who restored the empire is entirely silent as to his genealogy, that he was not a member of the Old Imperial family in the line of distinct descent : but at the same time I feel pretty certain, that no very long period of time could have elapsed between Evechius II. and the builder of Khorsabad." — Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xii, p. 449. Thus remarkably do the inscriptions confirm this induction from history. Thus do Eawlinson and Russel, each studying his own distinct source of information, pronounce in favour of these separate and succeeding dynasties. And what is equally remarkable, both of these scholars identify this second line of kings with the sovereigns of Assyria of whom we read in Holy Scripture. ■ The establishment of a Median ruler, in the person of Arbaces, on the imperial throne, may therefore be received as an undoubted fact. But further difSculties meet us in respect of the succeeding reigns. It seems equally certain from the concurring testimony of the numerous sculptures of Khorsabad and Kouyunjik that the founder of the former city had been an officer of the palace, in no way related to the imperial line of kings, but who succeeded in seating himself on the throne, and bequeathing the government of the empire to his son Sennacherib. The difficulty of the ease is, properly to adjust the intermediate reigns. We know, from the express teaching of Scripture, that certain kings ruled over Assyria at given times ; and, even setting aside the authority of its inspiration, the sacred record has in so many instances been abundantly confirmed by the sculptures, that its testimony cannot be doubted. But while we know that these kings reigned, we neither know their lineage, nor even the names by which they were distinguished in their own country. While, therefore, the Scriptures record facts, they do not afford sufficient information to solve the difficulty. I am fully satisfied that we must wait further revelations from the historic treasure-houses of the Assyrian mounds. But until this additional light shines upon the subject, the conjecture of Mr. Samuel Sharpe appears to meet the requirements of the case better than any other I have seen or can devise, — namely, that " after the death of Arbaces the Mede, the Assyrians were able to make themselves again independent." — Bono- mi's Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 69. On this principle our Chronological Table is founded, and the history of the several reigns written : and thus, while the upper and lower lines of Assyrian kings occupy their unquestionable position, the reigns of Pul and Tiglath-Pileser harmonize fully with the teaching of sacred and profane history. It may indeed be objected to this scheme, that the list given by Ctesias of the successors of Arbaces is hereby repudiated. It is not so. It is probable that these really or professedly remained kings of Media. Indeed, this hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the fact, that Dejoces, who led what was, properly speak- ing, the Median revolt, and asserted the independence of that kingdom, with his successors, is placed in the list as succeeding Arbaces, although none of them, before Cyaxares, ruled over Assyria. It can scarcely be doubted that when the APPENDIX. 549 Modes obtained the ascendency under the last-named king, they had the names of those who had ruled in Media from the time of Arbaoea entered on the records as imperial monarchs. Note 20, page 166. — Evidence of Sargina's Wars with Egypt, and the Kind of Tribute sent thence to .Assyria. There is nothing in the term Rabek which would lead an English reader to suppose it to be in any way connected with Egypt ; and yet the explanation which Colonel Rawlinsou gives in a very few words, renders this connexion scarcely open to question. That the Ra-bek of the inscriptions must repre- sent On or Heliopolis, is rendered almost certain by the name of the Syrian Heliopolis, which was vernacularly termed Baal-bek, the Phenician Baal being exactly equivalent to the Egyptian Rd or " the Sun." On the subject of the animals received from Egypt in tribute, — " horses and camels," — ^the latter is evidently a doubtful translation, and may refer either to camels, elephants, or any other large animal. But it is strange to find the learned translator of the inscriptions doubt the exportation of horses from Egypt, when we know that one hundred and fifty years before this time Egypt was the great mart whence Solomon procured these animals in abundance. 1 Kings x, 28. (Rawlinson on the Inscriptions of Babylonia and Assyria, in the Journal of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, vol. sii, pp. 4:62, 463.) Note 21, page 179.— The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Assyria. This kingdom was the subject of numerous predictions, peculiarly explicit in their language, and equally so in the manner of their accomplishment. We shall give a brief summary of the principal of these. Peopheoy I. respects the Kenites and their captivity by the Assyrians : " And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said. Strong is thy dwell- ing-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless, the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive." Num. xxiv, 21, 22. This prediction was uttered by Balaam just before the people of Israel crossed the Jor- dan. About 1568 B. C, eight hundred years afterward, this prediction was veri- fied ; and, stranger still, two thousand five hundred years after that, Assyrian sculptures are dug from ruined cities, which spread before our eyes the manner in which this prediction was accomplished, and the agency by which it was effected ! The peculiar j uxtaposition in which this prophecy stands, is worthy of notice. Balaam had just said, " Amalek was the first of the nations ; but his latter end shall be that he perish forever ;" while the Kenite was to be wasted, until carried into captivity by the Assyrian. Now, these tribes dwelt in imme- diate proximity to each other ; and there seemed every human probability that they would share the same fate. Yet, on the contrary, when Saul went to de- stroy the Amalekites, he issued this proclamation to the Kenites : "Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy, you with them. — So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites ;" (I Sam. xv, 6 ;) and Amalek was destroyed. The Kenites remained subject to the terms of the prophecy. They were wasted by several incursions and attacks, until at length, in the third year of the reign of Sennacherib, they were completely reduced, and carried captives to Assyria. Colonel Rawlinson declares, " The transportation of the Kenites to Assyria — is duly related in the inscriptions." — Outlines of Assyrian History. Pbopheoy n. The predictions respecting Sennacherib. — This remarkable mani- 550 APPENDIX. festation of divine prescience and power was given through the prophet Isaiah. Tlie Assyrians having completely subverted the kingdom of Israel, and carried the Ten Tribes into captivity, Sennacherib marched into Judea in all the pride of his power ; and, having taken most of the strong cities of Judah and the principal fortified towns of the Philistines, regardless of the immense sum which Hezekiah had given him as the purchase of his favour and peace, he sent his of5cers to Jerusalem, demanding, in the most insulting and profane terms, the instant submission of the Hebrew king and his capital. Hezekiah imme- diately preferred his earnest prayer to Jehovah, and Isaiah was commissioned to give him an answer in the following terms : " Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assy- ria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria : this is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him ; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed; and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he re- turn, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord." Isa. xxxvii, 6, 7, 21-23, 28, 29, 33, 34. Let the reader mark the tone of unqualified assurance which pervades this address, and remember that the person spoken to was virtually the master of the world. All the east had submitted to his power: Egypt trembled at his approach, as he ranged like a destroying lion over Syria and Palestine, while the Hebrew king and God's sacred seer were shut up in Jerusalem. Let this be noticed, and prophecy will stand before us in all the power and sublimity of divine truth. It will not be necessary to go into any detailed proof of the fulfilment of this prophecy : that has been sufficiently done in the history itself. But it may be de- sirable to point out some of the most important particulars in this wonderful case. 1. The extended terms of the prediction clearly prove its divine origin. If the strongest possible confidence in the resources of Hezekiah, and in the impregna- bility of Jerusalem, had induced the prophet to indulge in the bitter irony which he penned, he would certainly have confined himself to the safety of the city. But he said, "He shall not shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it." Isa. xxxvii, 33. Now no confidence in the strength of the fortifications of Jerusalem would have justified, or could have called forth, this language. As nothing but the power of God could have prevented the fierce Assyrian from doing this, so nothing but the prescience of God could have dic- tated the declaration. Yet all was exactly fulfilled. 2. Attention is called to the manner in which Jehovah declares, that he will lead away the haughty warrior from the accomplishment of his purpose : "I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back." Verso 29. This must not be read as more poetic imagery. It was the barbarous APPENDIX. 5^1 usage of this age for a conciueror who had suhdued a rebellious vassal king or chief, to insert a ring in the upper lip or nose of the wretched captive, and, fast- ening a cord to this ring, to lead him about according to his pleasure in this state of suffering and degradation. To this custom the terms of the text refer ; — and how exactly were they fulfilled ! Surely no captive' thus brutally treated ever suffered more than this proud king, when, after the loss of his great army, he returned to his capital, and inscribed upon the imperishable record which we can now read, " But I left to him [Hezekiah] Jerusalem, and some of the inferior toums around it." 3. The entire prophecy was fulfilled. He heard a rumour of the approach of the Egyptian army, and marched to meet it. The Egyptians retreated : he pur- sued, until in the desert the blast of God came over his huge host, and they be- came dead corpses. (Hebrew People, p. 679.) He returned to his own land, as had been foretold ; and there, where it might least be expected, according to the exact terms of the prophecy, he perished by the sword. Who can trace such won- derful developments without feeling himself brought into contact with the arm of Him who reigns in heaven, and doth what he will among the nations of the earth? Prophecy III. The predictions respecting the destruction of Nineveh. — On this particular we might quote the whole book of the prophet Nahum, which, in a style as pure as its spirit is earnest and well sustained, breathes, from begin- ning to end, the doom of this great capital. We notice a few points : — 1. The cause of its ruin. This was twofold. (1.) Its idolatry : " Out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image : I will make thy grave ; for thou art vile." Na- hum i, 14. (2.) Its cruelty and injustice: "Woe to the bloody city ! it is all full of lies and robbery ; the prey departeth not." Nahum iii, 1. A glance at the history of this country in any age, or under any reign, wilt prove this fact. Its idolatry was imprinted on all the usages of society, strongly impregnated the entire national policy, and so fully entered into individual affairs, that scarcely a man could be found whose name did not exhibit the ap- pellation of one or more of the national idol deities. The cruelty and injustice of Assyria were as patent as its idolatry. Every nation and city and people were regarded as lawful objects of plunder and rapine. To assail a, weaker power, rob them of their goods and wealth, and carry all who did not perish in war into captivity, was the ordinary course of Assyrian policy toward every sur- rounding country. The terms of the divine accusation against this people are, therefore, fully borne out by the facts given in their history. 2. The positive terms in which the ruin of this city was foretold. "The burden of Nineveh. — God is jealous, the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power." Nahum i, 1-3. " Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts ; — and it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Kineveh is laid waste : who will bemoan her ; whence shall I seek comforters for thee ? There is no healing of thy bruise ; thy wound is grievous : all that hear the account of thee shall clap their hands over thee : for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually ?" Chap, iii, 5, 7, 19. Thus spoke Nahum, and thus declared the purpose of Jehovah to destroy this proud and wicked people. Nothing can be more explicit than the assertion that these events were not to arise as ordinary operations of human policy, but by 552 APPENDIX. tlie immediate interposition of divine power. The terms, " The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power," may have a pointed reference to the readiness with which he turned aside the threatened punishment on account of the humiliation of the people on the preaching of Jonah. In all probability, it was afterward urged that Jonah's prediction would never have been fulfilled, if no repentance or humiliation had taken place. To rebut this, God admits his slowness to pun- ish, and at the same time asserts his infinite power: and the whole issue of the prediction stands out, in all its details, an abiding proof of the verity and accom- plishment of this divinely-declared purpose. 3. We call attention to the predictions which specify the agency by which all this ruin should be effected. Here we have several particulars to notice, inas- much as there are several agents distinctly specified. (1.) Water is spoken of as the first and prominent agent : " With an over- running flood shall the Lord make an utter end of the place thereof." Nahum i, 8. "The gates of the river shall be opened, and the palace shall be dis- solved." Chap, ii, 6. This was verified to the letter : for the history states that the combined armies of Media and Babylon had invested the place two years, and were still unable to take it, until the Tigris, swollen by unusual floods, washed down many furlongs of the wall, and threw the city open to its enemies. What makes this the more remarkable is the fact, that the king of Nineveh is asserted to have relied on a prediction that the city should not be taken until the river became its enemy. This suggests an interesting inquiry : Did the Hebrew prophets communicate the subject of their predictions to those heathen nations which were affected by their inspired revelations? And was the prophecy of Nahum the prediction referred to, as giving confidence to the king of Nineveh ? (2.) Secondly, a noble array of martial prowess is spoken of, as engaged in war against Nineveh and spoiling it : " He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face : the shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet : the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparer tion. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways : they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the light- Tiings. — Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste : and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and the faces of them all gather blackness." Nahum ii. The history shows that the array of the besiegers, the attack, and ruin of the city by the Medes and Babylonians, perfectly aooomplished these graphic predictions. (3.) Fire is also spoken of as one of the agents employed in the consummation lof this ruin : " The gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. — There shall the fire devour thee." Chap, iii, 13,15. The history states that this was also accomplished; the king himself, with his concubines and treasures, being burnt in the centre of his palace. Besides, the fact of an extensive conflagration is proved by Mr. Layard's first iliscoveries among the ruins of this ancient (fity. He says : " AVe came almost immediately to a wall, bearing inscriptions in the same character as those already described ; but the slabs had evidently been exposed to intense heat, were cracked in every part, and, reduced to lime, threatened to fall to pieces as soon as uncov- ered." — Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i, p. 27. We see, therefore, that the manner of the ruin of Nineveh was thus exactly described by the prophet. APPENDIX. 553 Prophecy IV. — We here refer to those prophecies which speak of the total and irrecoverable ruin of the city and empire. Several passages in the Book of Nahum, many of which have been already referred to, are explicit on this point : " With an overrunning ilood He will make an utter end of the place thereof. — Thus shall they be cut down. — The palace shall be dissolved. — She is empty, and void, and waste. — -All they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste. — There is no healing of thy bruise." Thus, under the plenary influence of the Divine Spirit, Nahum wrote, while Nineveh sat as a queen among cities, and Assyria was the most potent empire on earth. Some time afterward Zephaniah, with equal point and power, foretold the doom of this proud nation : — " The Lord will stretch forth his hand against the north, And will destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh A desolation, a dry place like the desert : , And the flocks shall lie down in the midst of her ; And every kind of wild heaat, the pelican, And the porcupine, shall lodge in her carved doors ; Their cry shall resound in the windows ; The raven shall be found in the porch. For he hath laid bare her cedar-work. Is this the joyous city ? that sat in security ; That said in her heart, lam, and, There ia none ' Besicte me f How is she become a desolation ! A place for wild beasts to couch in I Every passenger shall hiss at her, and shake his hand !" Dr. Halos's Translation. Can anything be more explicit, pointed, or full, than these predictions ? A ruin, entire, universal, perpetual ! And it should be observed that a doom like this is not the usual fate of cities and nations. One or two, specially marked out by God's providence, have met this fate ; but their number is' very small. Yet, against all probability, these express revelations of the Holy Spirit were com- pletely verified. Zephaniah prophesied about 640 B. C. ; in 606 B. C. Nineveh was destroyed : and so perfect, so utter were its abandonment and ruin, that it never in any measure recovered from its fall ; but continued to moulder in solemn silence, until in a short time its site became unknown, and for two thou- sand years it has lain in thorough desolation. Note 22, page 182. — The Era of Nabonasaar. The origin of this era is thus represented by Syncellus, from the accounts of Poly^istor and Berosus, the earliest writers extant on Chaldsan history and antiquities : " Nabonassar, (King of Babylon,) having collected the acts of his predecessors, destroyed them, in order that the reigns of the Chaldsean kings might be made as from himself." If this statement may be relied on, it at the same time accounts for the absence of all definite information respecting the preceding reigns, and shows the lax manner in which the progress of events had hitherto been recorded. Note 23, page 184. — Probable State of the Political Relation of Babylon to Assyria, prior to the Reign of Nabopolassar. All the accounts which have reached us concerning these countries, tend to perplex and confuse the mind in respect to this question. 554 APPENDIX. The chronicles of the imperial state, as given from the sculptures in the last chapter, clearly prove that the paramount power of Assyria was maintained by periodical -visitations of an overwhelming military force. No political organizar tion had been introduced, by which the different nations were placed in social proximity with, and assimilated to, each other. Kings ruled by sufferance in all the conquered countries ; and while they paid the required tribute, and evinced a suitable respect for the supreme governor, they appear to have been allowed to govern their respective countries in their own way. Babylon must have stood in the first rank of all these conquered nations dependent on Assyria. Its revenues were calculated at one-third of those of the whole Persian empire : and the exceeding fertility of the soil, combined with the situation, wealth, apd importance of the city, fully justifies this estimate. (Ho- rodotus, Clio, cap. 192 ; Niebuhr's Lectures on Ancient History, vol. i, pp. 107, 108.) To retain the ascendency over this country, great efforts would be made ; while at the same time a kingdom possessed of such resources must have had ample means of asserting its independence, except when coerced by the united power of the other parts of the empire. As this could only be done on particular occa^ sions, and subject to frequent interruption, throughout the period of her nominal subjection to Assyria, Babylon would frequently, and sometimes for a long period together, be really independent. Note 24, page 188. — The Punishment of Zedekiah. The remarkable and apparently conflicting prophecies delivered to Zedekiah have seemed very enigmatical to general readers, and have afforded to ignorant critics some imaginary ground for cavil. Jeremiah had told the king that he should surely be taken prisoner ; that his eyes should see the king of Babylon ; and that he should be carried captive to Babylon, and should die there, not with the sword, but in peace, and with the burnings (or mode of interment) of his fathers, the kings of Judah : (Jer. xxxii, 4, 5 ; xxxiv, 3-5 :) while Ezekiel had with equal explicitness declared, that he should be brought captive to Babylon, yet should not see it, though he should die there. Ezek. xii, 13. So far from these predictions being contrary the one to the other, they were sufficient, if properly considered in relation to the usages of the Assyrians and Babylonians, to have indicated the fate to which the faithless king would be subjected in consequence of his apostasy and pierjury. Although there can be no doubt that Zedekiah was well informed on the sub- ject, it is only lately that the punishment usually inflicted on rebellious vassal kings has been brought before our own observation. Among the recent discover- ies in Assyria we have a sculptured slab, taken from the ruins of Khorsabad. In the centre of this there is represented the figure of the great king ; and before him are three persons, the foremost of whom is on his knees imploring mercy, and the two others are standing in an humble posture. The king holds in his left hand three cords, which are fastened at the other end to three rings, which are severally inserted into the undor-lips of fliese three captives. The cords attached to the standing figures are held loosely; but that fastened to the ring in the lip of the kneeling figure is drawn tight : by which means his face is brought nearly into a horizontal position ; and while he is held iu this posture, with his hand raised supplicating mercy, the king, with his right hand, is delib- erately thrusting the point of a spear into the eye of the wretched sufferer. (Bouomi's Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 169.) APPENDIX. 555 It was thus, there can be little doubt, that the last king of Judah was presented to the king of Babylon at Biblah ; and thus that he received that punishment which, in so remarkable a manner, verified the apparently conflicting prophecies which had been delivered by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Note 25, page 189. — The Median Princess whom Nebuchadnezzar married, — the Queen Nitocris. This wonderful female was daughter of Cyaxares, the King of Media, who, in conjunction with Nabopolassar, destroyed Nineveh. As she was alive at the death of Belshazzar her grandson, it is probable that she was betrothed to Nebuchadnezzar when a child. She is celebrated in all ancient history for the vigoiir of her intellect, and the number and magnitude of the works which she accomplished for the improvement and defence of Babylon. She perfected the works begun by her husband, and executed many others of a stupendous nature, especially the alteration of the course of the Euphrates, which she changed so as to make it offer great obstacles to any military operations against the city. Evil- Merodach was her son ; and it is probable that the queen-mother directed many of the operations of the government during his reign. But the stormy period which elapsed from the death of Nebuchadnezzar to that of Belshazzar, must have afforded ample scope for the talents of such a cel- ebrated queen : and the position in which she appears at the awful moment when the hand-writing on the wall could not be read by the wise men, clearly shows that on every emergency, even when far advanced in age, Nitocris was always ready to interpose her counsel and advice. (Clinton's Fasti Hellenici, vol. i, p. 278 ; Ancient Universal History, vol. iii, p. 434 ; Herodotus, Clio, cap. 185-188.) Note 26, page 190. — The Magnitude and Splendour of Babylon. The accounts which have been given of the size and magnificence of this city will naturally be received with caution : yet enough appears to be undoubtedly true to excite astonishment and admiration. Babylon was laid out and built upon a perfect plan. Considering that this was the first seat of the postdiluvian population, and the site of their first monarchy, this fact argues the advanced civilization of mankind in that age, and clearly indicates that the barbarism and ignorance which afterward became so general, did not result from the original condition of human nature, but was produced by the divisions, the journeying, and the difficulties which many sections of mankind had to contend with, before they reached the destination which Providence assigned them. The city of Babylon was a perfect square. Each of its sides was fifteen miles long: its comp.ass was, therefore, sixty miles, and the extent of ground included within the exterior line of walls two hundred and twenty-five square miles. It stood on a level plain. The River Euphrates, passing through the middle of the city, divided it into two equal parts, parallelograms in figure. The walls were built of bricks, cemented with bifumen. Outside the outer wall was a deep broad ditch, lined with a brick wall on each side, and filled with water ; over which were bridges, to afford access to the several gates. The walls were eighty-seven feet thick, and three hundred and fifty feet high. In these walls every side had twenty-five gates, which led to as many streets. These ran in a straight line quite through the city, at right angles to each other : so that Babylon contained fifty streets, each fifteen miles long, and about one hundred and fifty feet broad. 556 APPENDIX. The intersection of these streets divided the city into a great numher of squares, ■which were built on the four sides, leaving the inner parts of the squares for courts, yards, and gardens. On each side of the river were quays, enclosed from the city with high walls. In these, at the end of each street, were gates of brass, and from them steps descending to the river. Spanning this river, and forming a communication between the two parts of the city, was a bridge of very elegant construction, thirty feet wide. There were two palaces, one on each side of the river, of great size and splendour. These communicated with each other by a subterranean passage, tunnelled under the bed of the river. Of the wonderful pensile gardens mention has been already made. The gates of the city were of very massy and splendid manufacture, and were constructed of brass. The temple of Belus was one of the most wonderful ornaments of this city. At its foundation, according to Herodotus, it stood on a square furlong. Boohart is of opinion, that it occupied the same site and foundation as the primitive tower, begun before the confusion of tongues. It had eight stories, approached by stairs, or an inclined plane, on the outside. In each of these stories were many large rooms with arched roofs, supported by pillars. Above the whole stood a tower, on the top of which was an observatory for astronomical pur- poses. The accounts of the ancients respecting the great extent of this city were formerly discredited : they are, however, fully sustained by modem investigation and research. But there is one observation necessary, in explanation. It does not appear that the whole of this plan was filled up. Much of the ground laid out for building was unoccupied, even in the days of its greatest glory. Quintus Curtius tells us, that when Alexander took Babylon, a large portion of the space within the walls was ploughed and sown : and there is reason for believing that such was always the case. There was, indeed, even with some deduction, space enough left for streets and palaces to form one of the largest and most populous cities of the world. (Niebuhr's Lectures on Ancient History, vol. i, pp. '26, 27 ; Ancient Universal History, vol. iii, p. 42i; Hales's Chronology, vol. i, p. 468; Herodotus, Clio.) Note 27, page 198. — The chronological Succession of Babylonian Kings after Nehuchadnezxar. As this is the question of Babylonian history, it is thought necessary to add to what has been already advanced on the subject in a preceding volume. (Hebrew People, p. 582.) The point at issue is just this, — Was Babylon taken by Cyrus at the death of Belshazzar, or seventeen years after that event? It might be safely said, that the learning and talent of modern times had decided upon giving a. verdict in favour of the latter proposition, had not Fyues Clinton dissented, and placed the weight of his authority on the side of the former one. This renders it more necessary to investigate the subject at greater length, especially as this learned writer has failed to produce conviction in our mind in favour of his con- clusions. Clinton observes, " The sum of the whole is this : If we adopt the system of Jackson and Hales, we suppose Herodotus and Xeuophon to be both in error, iu order to sustain the credit of Berosus and Megasthenes ; and we obtain a result not very conformable to the tenor of Scripture. If we adopt the arrange- ment founded upon Josephus, we sacrifice the account of Berosus as erroneous, but we find the narratives of Herodotus and Xenophon perfectly consistent with each other and with Scripture. I have therefore no hesitation in adhering to this arrangement, as the least beset with diificulties, and in sacrificing Berosus APPENDIX. 557 rather than Herodotus and Xenophon." — Fasti Hellenici, vol. ii, p. 373. To this judgment I demur, and think an examination of the points so prominently set forth by the learned writer will plaoe the reader in possession of satisfactory information on the subject. The limits of a note will not allow an extended dis- cussion; but I will first inquire, whether " the narratives of Herodotus and Xenophon" are " perfectly consistent with ea«h other and with Scripture." It is notorious that these historians are eminently diverse in their history of Cyrus. Herodotus describes this prince as exposed to death in his infancy. In consequence of the superstitious fears of his grandfather ; and alleges that the person who preserved him was compelled to eat the flesh of his own murdered son, in punish- ment for ha-ving saved him. (Clio, cap. 119.) Xenophon, on the other hand, states that this same grandfather carefully and kindly brought up Cyrus. (Cyropaedia, lib. i, cap. 4.) Herodotus relates that Cyrus invaded Media, defeated and deposed his grandfather, and kept him in prison until he died. (Clio, cap. 130.) Xenophon, on the contrary, says, that his grandfather always patronized him, and added a Median force to the Persian troops under the command of Cyrus, and employed him in a war against Armenia. (Cyrop., lib. ii, cap. 3, 4.) These, it will be seen, are not unimportant incidents, but facts of such magnitude as to aifeot the structure of the entire history. But I attach even more importance to the allegation, that these writers per- fectly agree with Scripture. Is this the case ? Holy Scripture states, that, on the death of Belshazzar, the kingdom of Babylon was to pass to " the Modes and Persians." Dan. v, 28. How does this agree with Herodotus, who asserts that, long before the capture of Babylon, Media was subdued by Cyrus ? Daniel afiirms that, on the death of Belshazzar, Darius the Medias took the kingdom ; when, according to the Halicarnassean historian, at this time there was no king in Mediiv, but a deposed captive in a prison. How, according to Herodotus, are the reign of Darius, and the affecting circumstances in which Daniel was placed, to be accounted for? Clinton supposes the two years of Darius to be included in the reign of Cyrus: (Fasti, vol. ii, p. 369:) but, according to Herodotus, there was no such king ; Cyrus was himself the sovereign. Nor do I think that Xenophon comes much nearer the Scripture account. Is there anything in the Cyropsedia of this learned Greek to warrant the supposi- tion, that, on the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, Cyaxares of Media assumed any power or authority over the conquered country ? According to Daniel, this Median king took the kingdom. Let any one carefully peruse the last chapter of book vii, and chapters 1-4 of book viii, of Xenophon's " Institution of Cyrus," and judge whether his account is at all compatible with the supposition of a Median king administering the government of a great empire, and ruling over Babylon. Ac- cording to Xenophon, Cyrus, on the conquest of Babylon, stayed there a consider- able time ; and there and then he assumed the state and conduct of a king ; and in that city he remained, until he had made a settlement of his empire ; nor was it until he thought that his affairs were well settled in Babylon that he ventured to leave it, and then it was not to visit Media, but Persia ! It is, indeed said that when Cyrus entered the Median territory, " he turned off to visit Cyaxares." But does this language indicate that Cyaxares was regarded as the paramount sovereign, and Cyrus his commander-in-chief ? On the contrary, Cyrus told him " that there were domestics and palaces set apart for him in Babylon, that, when he went thither, he might have what was his own to come to." Is this the lan- guage of a general to his sovereign ? Nor does anything take place in this inteiv view incompatible with the meeting of two independent sovereigns. How, then 558 APPENDIX. it can be said that there is such an accordance between these authors and Scrip- ture, I cannot understand. But then we are told, that the result obtained by adopting Berosus and Megas- thenes is " not very conformable to the tenor of Scripture." Far be it from me to disguise the difiBoulties of this very intricate portion of history. I think I have already shown, that just thus much may be predicated of the accounts of Herodotus and Xenophon. Then this becomes the question: "Which has the greatest measure of conformity to Scripture ?" I will enable the reader to decide. The account of Berosus is as follows : " Nebuchadnezzar died after he had reigned forty-three years ; whereupon his son, Evil-Merodachus, succeeded him in his kingdom. His government, however, was conducted in an illegal and improper manner, and he fell a victim to a conspiracy which was formed against his life by Neriglissooras, his sister's husband, after he had reigned about two years. " Upon his death Neriglissooras, the chief of the conspirators, obtained posses- sion of the kingdom, and reigned four years. " He was succeeded by his son Laborosaarchodus, who was but a child and reigned nine months. For his misconduct he was seized by conspirators, and put to death by torture. " After his death, the conspirators assembled, and by eomtaon consent placed the crown upon the head of Nabonnedus, a man of Babylon, and one of the leaders of the insurrection. It was in his reign that the walls of the city of Babylon, which defend the banks of the river, were curiously built with burnt brick and bitumen. " In the seventeenth year of the reign of Nabonnedus, Cyrus came out of Persia with a great army ; and, having conquered all the rest of Asia, advanced hastily into the country of Babylonia. As soon as Nabonnedus perceived that he was advancing to attack him, he assembled his forces, and opposed him ; but was defeated, and fled with a few of his adherents, and was shut up in the city of Borsippus. Upon this Cyrus took Babylon, and gave orders that the outer walls should be demolished, because the city appeared of such strength as to render a siege almost impracticable. From thence he marched to Borsippus, to besiege Nabonnedus ; but Nabonnedus delivered himself into his hands without holding out the place. He was therefore kindly treated by Cyrus, who provided him with an establishment in Carmania, but sent him out of Babylonia. Nabonnedus accord- ingly spent the remainder of his life in that country, where he died."— Jbscpftus Contra jlpionem, lib. i, cap. 20; Euseiius, Prop. Evang., lib. ix. The brief account supplied by Jlegasthenes, and preserved by Abydenus, is to the same effect. It states that Nebuchadnezzar " was succeeded by his son Evil- Maluruchus, who was slain by his kinsman Neriglisares : and Neriglisares left Labassoarasous his son : and when he also had suffered death by violence, they crowned Nabonnidoohus, who had no connexion with the royal family ; and in his reign Cyrus took Babylon, and granted him principality in Carmania." — Cory's Fragments, p. 46. We have in these accounts an outline of history, which I do not say perfectly accords with Scripture, since the Book of Daniel speaks of the third year of Bel- shazzar, while one of these annalists gives him a reign of less than one year : but they nevertheless exhibit a general agreement with the Bible. Here the Baby- lonian monarchy is, according to the explicit terms of Scripture, limited to Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Then Darius succeeds, with Nabon- nedus as his vassal : and if we admit the statement of Herodotus as to the con- quest of Media by Cyrus, (and if we do not we destroy the authority of the APPENDIX. 559 father of history in respect of this case,) then the conquest of Media by Cynis would, by the subjection of his lord paramount, release Nabonuedus from his allegiance, and make him independent. Nor are the other objections, urged against this view, of more weight. The surmise, that the dynasty of Nebuchad- nezzar should continue seventy years, is groundless. The diflBculty of interposing a reign of seventeen years between Darius the Mede and Cyrus, is not insuper- able. According to our scheme, Darius was acknowledged the supreme sovereign at the death of Belshazzar, and Nabonnedus hia vassal. This relation was con- tinued down to the conqiiest of Media. Daniel at £cbatana would, therefore, see nothing interposed between the Median sovereignty and Cyrus. If I were disposed to take any liberty with the tables, I should feel inclined to add two years to the reign of Belshazzar, thus bringing it up to the Scriptural number, — a course which the account of Berosus would seem to justify ; since, as it is asserted that he was slain for misgovernment, it can scarcely be believed that he exposed himself to this violence in a reign of nine months. This emen- dation would conform the chronology to the sum of these reigns given in the Astronomical Canon and to Scripture. As, however, it would betray a silly affectation to attempt extreme accuracy in the dates of such a period of history, I have followed Hales and Jackson in the length of these reigns. Undue stress has been laid on the authority of Josephus. It is, indeed, true that he calls Nabonnedus " Baltaser," and ascribes to him the events of the fearful night when the miraculous hand wrote on the wall. But then, in other respects, the Jewish historian is incorrect and contradictory. He makes the reign of Evil-Merodach eighteen years, and that of Neriglissar forty years. He says that the former was the son, the latter the grandson, of Nebuchadnezzar, and that Labosoardochus was the great-grandson of that king. He does not state whether Labynetus was of this line, or otherwise. But this is decidedly at variance with Scripture, which expressly limits the Babylonish sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Jer. xxvii, 7. Besides this, Jose- phus makes the capture of Babylon to follow Belshazzar's feast at some distance of time. His words are : " Now, after a little ivhile, both himself and the city were taken by Cyrus." — Antiquities, book x, chap, ii, sec. 4. It is observable, ho does not say that he was slain ; while the Scriptures tell us that it was in the same night that the catastrophe happened. Again : having given, in his work against Apion, the account which I have quoted from Berosus, in which Nabon- nedus is said to have been taken at Borsippus, and sent to spend the residue of his life in Carmania, Josephus adds; "These accounts agree with the true history in our books." — Contra Jlpion., lib. i, cap. 21. It is, therefore, scarcely fair to place Josephus in direct antagonism to the statement of Berosus. But if Herodotus and Josephus are, to a great extent, reconciled with Berosus, Xenophon remains opposed to him. I would seriously ask, however. Is this a great objection? I am free to confess that I attach just the same amount of importance to it, as if it were urged that a statement in any of Sir Walter Scott's novels contravened Robertson and Hume. That I may not be accused of a hasty judgment, I will give the opinion of a competent judge respecting the historical credit due to this author. The Abbe Millot says on this subject : " Who, then, is to be believed ? Xenophon's Cyropsedia is plainly the work of a philosopher rather than a historian, a kind of moral and political romance. Is it not singu lar, that people will expect to find truth with certainty in a work which is inter- woven with fables? After the learned Freret I must add, that Xenophon's con- formity with the Scripture is imaginary." — Gen, Hist., vol. i, p. 92. Indeed, 560 APPENDIX. Xenophon, by a passage in his Anabasis, confirms the statement of Herodotus respecting the conquest of Media by Cyrus the Great, and therefore entirely destroys the authority of his Cyropsedia. Our limits forbid the production of further evidence. But it is necessary to observe the difference between the weight of the authorities who are adopted, and of those whom we repudiate. Berosus and Megasthenes wrote from the authentic annals found in the archives at Babylon ; while Herodotus set down what he could collect as a traveller, and was, in consequence, often misled by popular reports : which was the case in respect of this portion of history ; for he linew nothing of Evil-Merodach or Neriglissar, and made Labynetus the son of Nebuchadnezzar. (Clio, cap. 187, 188.) Now, it is perfectly true, as Clinton observes, that despots might tamper with and falsify the records of preceding reigns : and it is to this cause probably that we should attribute some of the chronological difficulties which beset these subjects. But, admitting all this, these annals must, after all, contain a broad substratum of fact, which commends them to our regard as the safest general guides. Much might be added here as to the views taken by eminent critics and chro- nologers on these points ; such as that Scaliger and Petavius both thought that Laborosarchod was Belshazzar. Ancient Christian writers generally seemed to regard Neriglissar as the Belshazzar of Daniel. This was the opinion of Euse- bius, Cedrenus, Sulpicius Severus, Zonaras, and Syncellus. These are followed by Dr. Hales. But this scheme, although it obviates some difiiculties, departs more from the accounts given by the ancient annalists ; although, in common with that which I have adopted, it recognises the reign of Darius before the taking of Babylon, which I regard as the master-truth to be maintained throughout this very intricate part of history. It is not, however, by minute chronological criticisms, so much as by a comparison of the histories of Babylon, Media, and Persia during this period, that a sound judgment can be formed ; and I hope a reference to the chapters on these several monarchies will exhibit so much harmony of historical statement as to induce a general reception of the views which I advocate. Note 28, page 200. — The Geography of Sorsippa, where Labynetus took Refuge. Niebuhr, and several other authors, have spoken of this place, as if it had been a sacred city not far from Babylon, — perhaps misled into this notion by the phraseology of Berosus. Dr. Hales, however, conjectured that this Borsippa, where Labynetus took refuge after the capture of Babylon, was no other than the fortified citadel of that city. This opinion appears to be amply confirmed by the researches of recent explo- rers and travellers. Those who ha^ve paid particular attention to the Assyrian and Chaldaean ruins, are, I believe, unanimous in the opinion, that the Birs Kim- roud is the remains of this Borsippa. And this appears to be confirmed by all travellers. Buckingham says, while inspecting this identical ruin : " I inquired particularly after the ruined site called Brousa, or Boursa, by the natives, and supposed to mark the place of the ancient Borasippa of Strabo, the Barsita of Ptolemy, and the Byrsia of Justin, — the place to which Alexander retired when he was warned by the Chaldeans not to enter Babylon by the east. Near as this place was to us, however, and commonly as it was thought to be known among the people of the country, there was but one of all our party who did not absolutely deny its existence, contending that Boursa, or Birs, were but different APPENDIX. 561 ways of pronouncing the same word, which was no other than the name of the place on which we stood." From this statement I am inclined to conclude, that Dr. Hales is perfectly correct in his conjecture, that Labynetus took refuge in his fortified palace-temple, called Borsippa, at Babylon, which was regarded as the citadel of the place, being strongly fortified ; and that modern authors have been led into an error, confounding this fortress with a small city in the neigh- bourhood. (Bickingham's Travels in Mesopotamia, p. 476 ; Hales's Analysis of Ancient Chronology, vol. i, p. 458, and vol. iv, p. 98.) Note 29, page 200. — The Fulfilment of Sacred Prophecy in the History of Babylon. The predictions respecting this kingdom and city are equally remarkable for their great number, peculiar point and perspicuity, and wide range of applica- tion. It will be necessary to notice them under several heads. I. Predictions respecting the exaltation and power of Babylon, delivered when it was a skate dependent on Assyria. Isaiah speaks of the early weakness and obscurity of this people : " Behold the land of the Chaldseans : this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness : they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof" Isa. xxiii, 13. Yet, while it lay in this state of obscu- rity and vassalage, the divinely-illuminated seer realizes all the abundant wealth and military glory which it afterward acquired, and calls Babylon " the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," (xiii, 19,) "the golden city,'' (xiv, 4,) " the lady of kingdoms." (xlvii, 6.) Even the vain confidence of Babylon, and her inordinate pride in vast military power, are at this early day graphically portrayed : " virgin daughter of Babylon, — thou saidst, I shall be a lady forever. I am, and none else besides me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children." Isa. xlvii, 1, 7, 8. What can surpass the point and power of these prophecies ? n. Prophetic declarations that Nebuchadnezzar should possess unlimited power over the nations of Western Asia. In the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, while he was yet struggling to consolidate his kingdom, and to cooperate with the Modes in the subversion and division of the Assyrian empire, Jeremiah thus wrote : " Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Because ye have not heard my words. Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment ; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. — For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me ; Take the wine-cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me : to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them u, desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse : as it is this day ; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and 36 562 APPENDIX. all Lis people ; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Vz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Am- mon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all tha kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zim*, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth : and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Ye shall certainly drink." Jer. xxv, 8-11, 15-28. Again : " In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah," or of Zedekiah, (for the text is doubtful,) this same prophet declared to the ambassadors of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Tyre, " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel : Thus shall ye say unto your masters ; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant ; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come : and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand." Jer. xxvii, 4-8. False prophets, indeed, endeavoured to counteract the effect of these prophecies : " And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying. Thus saith the Lord ; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.'' .Jer. xxviii, 11. But the falsehood was soon repelled with terrible effect : " For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ; and they shall serve him : and I have giyen him the beasts of the field also. Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet. Hear now, Hananiah ; the Lord hath not sent thee ; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth : this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month." Verses 14-17. The entire history shows how fully these predictions, in all their detail, were fulfilled. III. We refer to that range of symbolical imagery by which the position and power of Babylon, as a universal monarchy, were set forth. It may, indeed, be objected, that in respect of this nation these were scarcely prophetic, as they were all enunciated after the rise of Babylon into power. But even then it must be admitted that they were all of them predictive of the decline of this power. They all stand as the first term of a series, — the first link of a chain : their APPENDIX. 563 jaxtaposition with the prophetic announcement of a succeeding monarchy, there- fore, clearly invests them here with a predictive character. The first of these is " the head of gold " of the great image which Nebuchad- nezzar saw in his dream. Each part of this predictive figure has received the most careful and critical attention ; hut I am not sure that the unity of the whole has been sufficiently noticed. Here, indeed, in the person and power of Nebuchadnezzar, we see this " head of gold." Yet is this but the first element in a grand series of providential evolutions, which are all ultimately to be crowned with the fulness of the glory of the kingdom of God. Dan. ii. The next announcement of a similar kind is that in which the four great monarchies are represented as four great beasts, of which " the first was like a lion, and had eagles' wings." Until recently, this seemed to be altogether an arbitrary representation of Babylonia. We now know, from its being an exact description of the most remarkable colossal sculptured figures found in the ruined palaces of this country, that it sets forth a most notable national type or emblem. In fact, no one who has seen those gigantic sculptures in the museums of London or Paris, will doubt for a moment that these words set forth the kingdom and power of Nebuchadnezzar in that day, as clearly as the most careful account of the royal arms of England would at this time represent our own monarchy. IV. We refer to the prophecies which relate to the termination of this king- dom, and the destruction of its power. While the prophecies of Isaiah respecting the rise of this kingdom are so remarkable, Jeremiah with equal explicitness foretells her ruin : " I will punish the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. . For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also : and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands." Jer. xxv, 12-14. "For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her ; from thence she shall be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man ; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her shall be satisfied, sailh the Lord. Your mother shall be sore confounded ; she that bare you shall be ashamed : behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate : every one that goeth by Babylon shall be aston- ished, and hiss at all her plagues." Jer. 1, 9, 10, 12, 13. "The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not : say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodaoh is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein : they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast." Jer. 1, 1-3. v. It will be desirable to notice some of the peculiarities of the ruin of Baby- lon which were prophetically set forth. 1. The manner of its first capture by Cyrus was exactly described by Isaiah, and even the name of the conqueror was given : " Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before 564 APPENDIX. him ; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates ; and the gates shall not he shut ; I will go hefore thee, and make the crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder 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." Isa. xlv, 1-3. And, as if to point out precisely the diversion of the Euphrates from its bed, the expression is used, " That saith to the deep. Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers." Isa. xliv, 27. Thus did Jehovah declare, nearly two hundred years before the event occurred, that he would neu- tralize all the efforts which the sovereigns of Babylon had made to render the river a defence to the city. It was also predicted that the city should be taken by surprise during a festival : "I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, Babylon, and thou wast not aware : thou art found, and also caught." Jer. 1, 24. " And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her cap- tains, and her rulers, and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts." Jer. li, 67. These scriptures were so exactly fulfilled, that Herodotus says : " They who lived in the extremities were made prisoners before any alarm was com- municated to the centre of the place. It was a day of festivity among them ; and while the citizens were engaged in dance and merriment, Babylon was for the first time thus taken." — Clio, cap. xci. Thus exactly does the prophecy ac- cord with the history. 2. The remnant of the Hebrews were charged by Jehovah to leave Babylon, that they might not be involved in its ruin ; " Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing." Isa. xlviii, 20. " Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks. For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man ; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord." Jer. 1, 8-10. 3. The melancholy consequences to the city of its second siege under Darius. — Of the city that said, " I shall not sit as »■ widow, neither shall I know the loss of children," the prophet of God declared, " These two things shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood ; they shall come upon thee in their perfection." Isa. xlvii, 9. The manner in which this was fulfilled is marvellous. Herodotus says, that when Darius invested the place, determined to husband their provisions, " they took this measure, — excepting their mothers, every man chose from his family the female whom he liked best: the remainder were all of them assembled together and strangled. Their reserve of one woman was to bake their bread ; the rest were destroyed, to prevent a famine." — Thalia, cap. cl. Thus did " the loss of children and widow- hood " come on them in all their " perfection in one day." VI. We notice some of the prophecies which declared the full and final ruin of Babylon. " Come down, and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground." Isa. xlvii, 1. "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to genera^ tion : neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there ; neither shall the shepherds APPENDIX. 565 make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall he full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild heasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces : and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isa. xiii, 19-22. " I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. 1 will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water : and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts." Isa. xiv, 22, 23. " Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate : every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken ! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations ! Call together the archers against Babylon : all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about ; let none thereof escape : recom- pense her according to her work : according to all that she hath done, do unto her : for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein : and it shall be no more inhabited forever ; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neigbouring cities thereof, saith the Lord ; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.'' Jer. 1, 13, 23, 29, 39, 40. " thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations ; but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord. And the land shall tremble and sor- row : for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. The sea is come up upon Babylon : she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby." Jer. li, 13, 26, 29, 37, 42, 43. The vast range of prophecy concerning this nation and city has compelled us to make a selection — and, considering their number, a very brief selection — from these predictions. But suf&eient has been adduced to show to the most sceptical mind that Jehovah reigns in heaven, and rules among all the nations of the earth. We see here proofs of every kind, that the rise, progress, power, con- quests, decline, fall, and final ruin of this proud nation, were all the results of divine appointment ; that, arising out of ten thsusand operations of the human mind, purely contingent in their character, the whole series of Babylonish his- tory which resulted from these was, nevertheless, in strict accordance with the announced purposes of Heaven, and thus attested, at every stage of its progress,, the infinite providence of the eternal Jehovah. Note 30, page 213. — The Testimony of Herodotus respecting the Temple of Mylitta at Babylon. Much cavil has been raised against this statement of the Father of History ; some arguing on the general ground of its improbability : and even Dr. Layard throws doubts on it, because we find no indecent symbols on the Assyrian or Babylonish inscriptions. The judicious remarks of Larcher on the place afford 566 APPENDIX. an ample reply to all this scepticism : " If this custom be hostile to morals, it is no less at variance with modern usages. But that circumstance does not consti- tute a reason for reproaching Herodotus as a promulgator of falsehood. This author had heen to Babylon, and had been an ocular witness of it. Jeremiah had, a century before, spoken of it. Strabo, who is as faithful an historian as he is an exact geographer, has subsequently mentioned it ; and it would be rather presuming, were we, two thousand years afterward, to insinuate a doubt as to the fact. But to proceed to some details. " I have obserTod, in the course of these Notes, that the temples of the ancients were not like ours. They comprised courts, groves, pieces of water, sometimes pieces of cultivated land for the support of the priests, and, lastly, the temple properly so called, into which no one but the priest could enter. The whole was enclosed by a wall, and was termed ' the sacred place.' " This brings me to an objection raised by Yoltaire, who remarks, ' It must certainly have been a rare festival, to see crowds flock together to have inter- course before the altar with the principal ladies of the city.' " To this it may be answered, 1. It appears from Herodotus, that the women did not wait in the temple properly so called. 2. Our historian has himself anticipated the objection of Voltaire, by saying that the men took out of the consecrated precinct the women that pleased them. Strabo afSrms the same thing : ' He has commerce with her, after having taken her out of the sacred enclosure.' " ' But,' continues Voltaire, ' can so infamous a practice have formed part of the civil policy of any people ? Could the magistrates of one of the greatest cities in the world have maintained such a regulation ? Could the husbands have consented to the prostitution of their wives ? That cannot be true which is contrary to nature.' " This shameful practice was, in all probability, established among the Baby- lonians before they became a civilized people. It became afterward a point of their religion. The magistrates, as superstitious as the rabble, would have esteemed it a crime to abolish it : and the less credulous among them were doubtless restrained from an expression of their opinion by the force of popular prejudice. " Voltaire proceeds to insist on the jealousy of the oriental nations : but to this it may be answered in his own words, ' Superstition reconciles all sorts of contradictions.' " Jeremiah clearly enough alludes to this custom in the letter which he writes to the Jews, who were about to be led captive to Babylon. Baruch vi, 42, 43. By these women encircled with cords, we may understand those who, as Herodo- tus relates, sat in the alleys of the sacred precinct, enclosed with cords ; or per- haps the prophet meant to say, that their heads were bound with cords, as both Strabo and Herodotus assert. " But, however this may be, I know of no historical fact that appears better established, or which we have less reason to doubt." — Lurcher's Notes on Herod- otus, vol. i, pp. 245, 246. Note 31, page 216. — What was the true Principle and Meaning of Sabaean Worship ? It is not an easy matter to arrive at a clear and distinct idea of the purpose and intention of those who introduced, and continued to practise, the worship of APPENDIX 507 the heavenly bodies. If the opinion of Mr. Faber, quoted in the text, may be depended on, the case is sufficiently intelligible. The quotation from Maimonides, however, given in another volume, (Patriarchal Age, p. 235,) would lead to a different conclusion ; namely, that God had created the heavenly bodies, to act as his agents or ministers in the government of the world ; and that hence they were regarded with idolatrous devotion ; — the error of Sabseanism being, according to this theory, the attributing to the agent or minister the posses- sion of intelligent and independent powers, which reside alone in the great Creator. In deciding this question, however, we must not forget that the Chaldseans, who are ever celebrated for the worship of the heavenly bodies, are equally famous for their knowledge and practice of astrology ; and that this was made by them the means of unravelling mysteries, and of foretelling future events. This science, therefore, in its profession, would be a fathoming of those powers with which the heavenly bodies were supposed to be invested ; and the power of so calculating the result of their combined influences as to be able to penetrate the secrets of their government, and thus to elicit a knowledge of future events. It is probable that both these solutions hold good in respect of different cases. In respect of Assyria and Babylon, we incline to the opinion that both of these were combined in the formation of their system of the worship of the heavenly bodies, and of astrology. But whether Mr. Faber has subceeded in detecting and explaining the causes which led to the origination of astrology, or otherwise, it is certain that his representation accords with the latest inanifestation of it. In the last days of Paganism it was currently believed that the heavenly bodies were animated and directed by certain deified mortals. Even Philo ventured to adopt a philosophical notion almost amounting to this ; and Origen was induced to assent to his opinion. (Faber's Origin of Pagan Idolatry, vol. i, p. 32, and note.) Note 32, page 216. — The Assyrian Triad. Much additional information may be expected on this recondite subject, when we come to investigate the religion of the Persians. They adopted and expanded the same symbol; and as they unquestionably received it from their more ancient neighbours, the Assyrians, and have left us much more ample accounts respecting their religious rites than that people, we may calculate on receiving through them further light on the subject. But it seems certain, that the earliest Gentile fragments which we possess contain allusions to the elements found in this symbol. We are told in the remains of Sanohoniatho which have been preserved by Eusebius, that " before these things the god Tauutus, having portrayed Ouranus, represented also the countenances of the gods Cronus and Dagon, and the sacred characters of the elements. 'He contrived also for Cronus the ensign of his royal power, having four eyes in the parts before, and in the parts behind, two of them closing as in sleep ; and upon the shoulders four wings, two in the act of flying, and two reposing as at rest. And the symbol of Cronus, while he slept, was watching, and reposed while he was awake. And in like manner with respect to the wings, — that he was flying while he rested ; yet rested while he flew. But for the other gods, there were two wings only to each upon his shoulders, to intimate that they flew under the control of Cronus ; and there were 'also two wings upon the head — the one as a symbol of the intellectual part, the mind, and the other for the senses." — P, cep. Evang., lib. i, cap. 10. This ancient extract renders it certain that it had become usual to 5C8 APPENDIX. depict emblematic represeHtations of the deities ; and tliat Cronus, or Time, was more particularly and prominently set forth in connexion with expanded wings. Note 33, page 218. — The Cherubim of Ezekiel, and their Relation to the compound Figures of the Assyrian Sculptures. The hypothesis of Dr. Layard — that Ezekiel, being well acquainted with the Assyrian figures, chose these forms for the purpose of presenting an imagery familiar to his fellow-captives in Assyria — is so very extravagant, that it calls for special notice. In the first place, it is by no means certain that either Ezekiel, or the other Jew- ish captives, were well acquainted with the gorgeous sculptures found in the royal palaces of the great cities of Assyria. They were located, it is true, on the river Chebar, (now Khaboor,) which runs through the western part of Mesopotamia, and falls into the Euphrates at Karkisia, the Carchemish of Holy Scripture. Nineveh, then in ruins, was one hundred English miles distant, and Babylon above three hundred. It is true that, in the country towns, there might have been imitations of these figures on a smaller scale : but certainly the fact is not so clear as to allow of its being made the foundation of an argument. But, however this may be, the hypothesis alluded to is utterly untenable ; for neither Ezekiel nor the other prophets composed their sublime discourses in a, spirit of cool, calculating accommodation to the circumstances and views of those to whom they were immediately addressed ; but rather, borne along by the Holy Ghost, they spake as they were moved by that divine agent. (Hebrew People, p. 586.) And in this particular instance such was peculiarly the case. The prophet opens his book abruptly with the declaration: "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God." Surely one who has done so much toward the eluci- dation of sacred history as Dr. Layard, does not mean to say that this is mere poetic imagery, carefully contrived previously in the mind of the prophet, and specially adapted to the case of those by whom he was surrounded. And this is the manner, — or, if possible, with increased solemnity and the assertion of more special revelation — in which the prophet records the account of his vision : " The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest : and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. And I looked, and, behold, u, whirlwind came out of the north," &c. Ezek. i, 1-4. Then follows the account of the cherubic appearances. Afterward the prophet states that " he was carried in the visions of God to Jerusalem," and that there he saw the same glorious appearances which he had seen on the banks of the Chebar. In the process of the wonderful revelations that followed, Ezekiel, who, as a priest, must have been well .acquainted with the interior of the Hebrew temple, and consequently with the form of the cherubic figures, says, " I knew that they were the chembims." Ezek. A, 20. It is clear, then, from the whole scope of the subject, that the forms presented to the eye of the prophet were the results of pure revelation ; that he knew they were cherubim, from their identity with the figures seen in the temple ; and that their resemblance to the Assyrian sculptures could only arise out of the likeness of both to the primitive Edenic cherubim, the form of which had been preserved throughout the patriarchal age. APPENDIX. 569 Note 34, page 220. — Imitations of Paradise attached to the royal Palaces of the Assyrian Kings. It has been already shown that the different ancient Gentile nations, when scattered over the face of the earth, appointed and preserved, in connexion with their temples or sacred places, gardens, with two trees in the midst, and having a river frequently, divided into four streams, in imitation, or as memorials, of the primitive Paradise. (Patriarchal Age, pp. 129-131.) And if (as we know to have been the case) this was done in Spain, Epirus, Campania, and other places far remote from the seat of the earliest postdiluvian population ; what may be expected from those who, locating at Shinar, or settling on the banks of the Tigris, would have no temptation — scarcely, indeed, the opportunity — to throw off the recollections and associations arising out of the primitive history of man- kind, which had been instilled into their minds by the patriarchs ? To say the least of these facts, they lead us to expect to find some paradisiacal enclosures in Chaldsea and As.syria, rather than the reverse. This expectation is justified by the statement in the text. But it is important that the certainty of the allusive or memorial character of these paradises should be fully estab- lished. I will attempt this as fully as the limits of a note will allow. In the first instance, we may direct attention to the name given to these places, Paradise. This is not a native Greek term for " garden, shrubbery, or park." It is of oriental origin ; and, as far as I can learn, was introduced into Grecian literature by Xenophon, who mentioned it as the name applied to the grounds attached to the residence of the Persian king. " Here Cyrus had a palace, and a large paradise, full of wild beasts, which he hunted on horseback, when he wished to exercise both himself and his horses. And the river Mseander flows through the midst of the paradise ; the springs of it come out of the palace, and it flows through the city of Celsense." Was this done without design ? The palace built near the fountain which fed the river, and flowed from the residence of the king into the midst of the paradise, and from thence into the city : — is there not here a studied imitation of the Garden of Eden ? Had Ezekiel any reference to these local paradises, when he said to the king of Tyre ? — •" Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God." Ezek. xxviii, 12, 13. Or had the prophet reference to the primitive para- dise, and to the imitations of It remaining in the land of his captivity, when he gave his beautiful description of the river of God, which flowed from the right side of the altar, and "issued out from under the threshold" of the temple ; as the river flowed from the sacred residence of the oriental monarch to irrigate his paradise, and thence ran through the city ? Ezek. xlvii, 1. The Greek word "[iapaSewoc, " Paradise," comes from an oriental root, proba- bly the Persic. But an equivalent Hebrew term is found in several texts in the Old Testament. Nehem. ii, 8 ; Eccles. ii, 5 ; Canticles iv, 13. In the first of these passages it is rendered, in our authorized version, " forests :" in the two following, " orchards." Thus stood the case in a philological point of view, when the translation of the Seventy was begun. These men, fully versed in Hebrew literature and oriental learning, and possessing a perfect acquaintance with Greek, proceeded to render the sense of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek tongue, and came in due course to the text which states that " the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. In what terms do they give this passage ? They had the Greek word, Kfiiroc, " a garden or plantation," — which had 'been in use by their best writers 570 APPENDIX. from the days of Homer, — and other cognate expressions. Not one of them, how- ever, is employed to designate in the Greek language the primitiTS Paradise ; but, on the contrary, the newly imported word from Persia, or that used so sparingly by the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures, rendered into Greek letters, is adopted and employed for this purpose. ' This in itself is a curious and im- portant philological fact. But the extraordinary aspect of the case does not terminate here. This is the word used by our Redeemer to denote the separate abode of happy redeemed spirits. Luke xxiii, 43. The inspired apostle employed this term to designate that state of glory in the third heaven, to which his rapt spirit was taken by the mighty power of God : and, what is still more remarkable, the same word is em- ployed in the Apocalypse to set forth that glorious antitype of the earthly Eden, where the true and spiritual " tree of life " stands " in the midst of the para- dise of God." Rev. ii, 7. I do not wish to attach undue importance to any isolated fact, much less to any opinion of my own. But I submit it to the serious judgment of every one who holds the inspired character of Holy Scripture, whether the plain statement of facts given above does not clearly identify the royal garden-like enclosures of eastern monarchs as memorial imitations of the primitive Paradise ? On what other prin- ciple can the Septuagint use of the term, and the New Testament adoption of it, be accounted for ? — to say nothing of its obviously intentional similarity in every essential feature. In the absence of direct proof, I scarcely think it possible to obtain stronger inferential evidence. Note 35, page 232. — Babyhn the Type of Papal Antichrist. In the Apocalypse we have the following scriptures : " And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." Rev. xvi, 19. " I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomi- nations and filthiness of her fornication : and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE JIOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." Rev. xvii, 3-6. " I saw an- other angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Rev. xviii, 1,2. " And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying. Thus with violence shall that preat city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Verse 21. These predictions, taken in connexion with the general scope of the book, clearly refer to the great antichristian heresy introduced and maintained by the Roman Popedom. Eiforts have, indeed, been made to apply these passages to Pagan Rome, and to other heathen states : but these have signally failed. In addition to the arguments which have been generally used to rebut such allega- tions, it may be conclusively observed, that the charge against this Babylon is not idolatry, or cruel persecution, merely. This might have been alleged against APPENDIX. 511 other heathen nations, as against Pagan Rome. The great allegation here is whoredom, fornication : the state arraigned is the Mother of Harlots. Now, in the spiritual sense in which these terms are used in the prophetic Scriptures, they simply mean apostasy. Moab and Ammon, Tyre, Egypt, and Damascus, were threatened and doomed to ruin by the Old Testament prophets ; but they were not charged with spiritual whoredom ; and for this obvious reason, — they were not by peculiar religious privilege called into a special covenant relation to Jehovah. These did not, therefore, avow their devotedness, and pledge their fealty to him, as their spiritual Lord. But Judah and Israel, who were espoused unto the Lord, and afterward relapsed into idolatry, are charged in the Scrip- tures with spiritual adultery in the strongest terms. , It is so here. The language quoted amounts clearly to a charge of the most vile and aggravated apostasy. The question to be settled, then, does not so much respect the means and extent to which Papal Rome has exposed herself to the imputation of this character, and its consequent malediction ; but is rather, — What was there so peculiar in ancient Babylon, that it, above every other heathen nation, was made a standing type of the great New Testament apostasy ? I will endeavour to answer this inquiry, and thus afford a brief comparison of the Old and the New Testament Babylon. 1. The apostasy at Shinar began with a profession of advancing religion, and was carried out by a most careful attention to all the rites, sacred things, and consecrated practices of that dispensation. The first clause of this statement has been sufficiently established in the Pre- liminary Dissertation : the second and third are manifest from the whole scope of this religion. Let the reader consider how exact and comprehensive the attention to primitive history and early religion must have been, when its results were so permanently impressed on the faith and practice of Assyria and Babylon for twenty centuries. Sacred places, persons, and things, — Paradise, with the tree of life, and all their accompanying emblems, — the cherubic figures, in end- less variety, — were all carefully treasured up as the means of spreading before the public eye the elements of religion. Was not this eminently the case with the Papal apostasy ? Here is the same attention to external things, the same veneration for ancient emblems, the same visible and tangible religious materiel. 2. The apostasy at ancient Babylon was established by the union in one person of the religious and political government of the country, with a claim to extend its power throughout the world. This was unquestionably the fact. It stands attested by every page of Assyrian and Chaldean history. The palace-temples, or temple-palaces, — ^the ordinances of government, — and the cool and familiar manner in which projects for the invasion of peaceful and unoffending nations were put forth, and executed, — all show that this claim to politico-religious universal dominion was not an accident sometimes ocijurring, but a ruling characteristic of this government. It is so at Rome. Earthly government and religious supremacy centre in one mind : although Christ said, '■ My liingdom is not of this world," the Papacy unites both. And if this political rule is not felt throughout the whole world, it is well known that the hinderance does not arise from the limitation of pontiff pretension, but from what is called "the heresy and disobedience of unfaithful states." 3. The grand element in the apostasy of Babylon was the claim to divinity which was set up by the king, as the promised incarnate Seed. 572 APPENDIX. This fact is fully attested, so far as the claim to divinity is concerned. The manner in which the claim to identity with the Divine Son was put forth is not so fully explained. In the case of one king of Babylon, it was undoubtedly unqualified and, absolute. Probably, in other instances, it was a claim to be the vicegerent, or earthly representative, of this divine person. We have this, too, at Rome. According to Papal language, God upon earth sits enthroned at the Vatican. Divine powers are professedly exercised, and divine acts are there ostensibly performed. Our limits compel us to great brevity. But we may ask with confidence, — Do the extensive range of history, the world-wide geography of earth, afford another such parallel ? Other nations have followed Babylon : other Churches have, in the most unaccountable manner, imitated Rome : but these two powers stand out as the bold and daring originators of parallel apostasies, which, in their respective times, have perverted truth, propagated error, and cursed the world with persecution and bloodshed, beyond any other evil known to mankind. Here they stand, type and antitype, as pencilled out by the revelation of God, — alike in sin, — to be alike in ruin. Note 36, page 245. — The Time of Anarchy, and the Accession of Dejoces. The chronology of this nation, from the period of its revolt, is universally allowed to be one of the most obscure and perplexing to be found in history. It is clea,r that the revolt of Media could not have taken place before 711 B. C. On the other hand, it is an admitted fact that Xerxes ascended the throne B. C. 486 ; and that there were at least eight reigns from the accession of Dejoces to that of the sou of Darius, and that these occupied at least two hundred and sixteen years : so that the accession of Dejoces cannot be brought lower than 701 B. C. The entire margin for discrepancy or discussion is thus reduced to ten years. One important element in the adjustment of the chronology of these reigns ap- pears to have been generally overlooked, — namely, the period which elapsed from the beginning of the revolt to the reign of Dejoces. Clinton very properly states, " Herodotus, indeed, implies an interval of some space between the revolt of the Medes, and the election of Dejoces to be king." — Fasti Uellenici, vol. i, p. 1'59. But this learned author is clearly unwarranted in the assertion, that "these anni a&aaOievToi could not have been prior to the fifty-three years of Dejoces." The contrary is as cleary implied by the ancient historian, as is the interval itself. He says, " The Medes .first of all revolted from their authority," (the Assyrians,) " and contended with such obstinate bravery against their masters that they were ultimately successful, and exchanged servitude for freedom. Other nations soon followed their example, who, after living for a time under the protection of their own laws, were again deprived of their freedom on the following occasion. There was a man among the Medes of the name of Dejoces, of great reputation for his wisdom," &o. — Clio, cap. 96, 96. It cannot, therefore, be reasonably sup- posed that the time of the struggle for liberty, and the period in which it was enjoyed, can be included in the reign of the man who is said by the writer to have again deprived them of their liberty. I have therefore placed the begin- ning of the revolt B. C. 710, allowing nine years to elapse from thence to the ac- cession of Dejoces. This arrangement will place the subsequent reigns in perfect accordance with the well-ascertained dates which follow. APPENDIX. 573 Note 37, page 247. — The Period of Scythian Domination over Asia. This has generally been set down at twenty-eight years, on the authority of a passage in Herodotus. (Melpomene, cap. 41.) But that appears to be a very un- reasonable length of time. After so many years, they would certainly have set- tled in some district; It is, therefore, much more probable that Trogus and Jus- tin are correct, who limit the period to eight years, and who most likely obtained a knowledge of the true period from Ctesias. This term also agrees much better with the incident recorded by Herodotus as the principal element in the story. He says that, during the absence of the Scythians in Syria, their wives had associated with their slaves ; and that, on the return of the Scythian army, the fruit of this intercourse, now grown to manhood, appeared in arms to oppose its entry. Having sustained some skir- mishes with spirit, they felt prepared to continue the contest; until one of the Scythians advised that they should lay aside their arms, and approach their op- ponents with horsewhips; saying, "While they see us with arms, they think themselves our equals in birth and importance : but as soon as they shall per- ceive the whips in our hands, they will be impressed with a sense of their servile condition, and resist no longer." They did so, and their opponents fled before them. Now this romantic account might be applicable to slaves cohabiting with their mistresses for a few years, but seems to be incredible when applied to men who had grown up to manhood in freedom. In fact, other passages in our author clearly point out the shorter number to be the correct one ; which is also adopted and ably defended by Jackson. (Chron. Antiq., vol. i, p. 341, note.) Note 38, page 248. — Chronology of the Eclipse of Thales. There has been much mistake and confusion introduced into the accounts gen- erally given of this Lydian war. It has been stated that this war arose out of the massacre and expulsion of the Scythians from Media ; that it was terminated by the occurrence of the total eclipse, which had been predicted by Thales, ex- actly as the armies began to engage in a great and final struggle ; and that, im- mediately afterward, the siege of Nineveh was renewed, and the city taken, B. C. 606. The first of these statements, relating to the origin of the war, is undoubtedly founded in fact: but the order of events subsequently needs correction. ]>r. Hales has fully proved that the eclipse predicted by Thales could not have oc- curred earlier than B. C. 603. (Analysis of Ancient Chronology, vol. i, p. 76.) The battle which was terminated by it inust, in consequence, have taken place after the fall of the Assyrian capital. It seems certain, therefore, that after the Lydian war had begun, Cyaxeres, having formed an alliance with Nabopolassar king of Babylon, suspended its op- erations, and resumed the siege of Nineveh ; and, having succeeded in effecting the ruin of that city, afterward prosecuted his warlike enterprise against Lydia, which led to the remarkable circumstances mentioned in the text. Note 39, page 249. — Who was the "Darius the Mede" of the Booh of Daniel? In the history of a nation which filled a very brief space in story, but which nevertheless abounds in historical and chronological difficulties, this is after all the great difficulty. On its solution hinges the entire arrangement of the reigns, and the judgment to be formed of some of the most important dates of the pe- 574 APPENDIX. riod. The question simply is, whether Astyages was the last king of Media, who was deposed by Cyrus ; or whether he was succeeded on the Median throne by a son, Cyaxares II., who was "Darius the Mede," and ruled two years in Bab- ylon after the death of Belshazzar. This, like many other difficulties of this his- tory, arises out of the discrepancy which exists between the statements of Hero- dotus and Xenophon, — or rather from the interpretation which learned moderns have put on the words of these authors. Herodotus states that Cyrus invaded Media, defeated and deposed his grandfather, and kept him in prison until his death ; and that this took place long before the capture of Babylon. (Clio, cap. 130.) According to the Father of History, therefore, Astyages was the last king of the Modes, and there is no room for any other Darius ; while, according to Xenophon, when Cyrus took Babylon, his uncle Cyaxares H., son of Astyages, reigned in Media. It is therefore contended on the one hand by the authors of the " Universal History," Dr. Hales, Dr. Prideaux, and Rollin, that Astyages was succeeded by a son, Cyaxares II., who was the Darius of the Book of Daniel; while the Abbe Millot, Lempriere, Jackson, Malcolmn, and Dr. Russel hold that Astyages was the last Median sovereign, and in consequence the person spoken of as " Darius the Mede " by the Hebrew prophet. I have been compelled to adopt the last-mentioned theory, both from its general accordance with the scope of history, and the evidence by which it is supported. On the first head, the reader will form the best opinion by a comparison of the several chapters bearing on the history of this age. In respect of the authority of the conflicting authors, it may be safely affirmed in the language of the Abb6 Millot, that Xenophon's Cyropsedia is plainly the work of a philosopher rather than of an historian, — a kind of moral and political romance : and even his Cyro- psedia is invalidated (in regard of this subject) by his history of the Expedition of Cyrus the Younger, where he says that the great Cyrus got possession of the empire of Media by gaining a victory over his grandfather Astyages, — a state- ment in accordance with the histories of Herodotus and Ctesias. (General His- tory, vol i, p. 92.) Clinton coincides in this judgment, declaring, " In the narra- tive of Xenophon, where historical facts are mingled with romance, the true chronology of the reign of Astyages is not observed." — Fasti HelUnici, vol. i, p. 263, note i. 'i'he indefatigable Jackson has, however, placed before us a condensation of the evidence on this subject, which must be conclusive : " No ancient historian or Greek writer, besides Xenophon, whose credit is questioned by Plato and Cicero, appears to have known anything of this Cyaxares : and all agree that Asty- ages was the last king of the Modes, who i^as dethroned by Cyrus, and succeeded by him in the Median kingdom : so that We may conclude that the second Cyaxares is a merely fictitious king, and that Darius the Mede was another person. Herodotus says that Astyages left no son ; and Ctesias agreed with Herodotus, that Astyages was not succeeded in the Median kingdom by a son, but was conquered and deprived of his kingdom by Cyrus: nor does even Xeno- phon say that Cyaxares ever reigned at Babylon ; so that, by even Xenophon's account, Cyaxares could not be Darius the Mede. The ancient Jewish History of Bel and the Dragon, says, that Cyrus succeeded Astyages, and jEschylus makes Cyrus the third king from that king of the Medes who took Susa, and conquered Persia ; and he was Cyaxares the father of Astyages ; and so Cyrus must succeed Astyages in the Persian and Median kingdoms. Dionysius of Hali- camassus says, that the Median kingdom was destroyed under the fourth king: the four kings were Dejooes, Phraortes, Cyaxares, and Astyages : so he knew APPENDIX. 575 nothing of the second Cyaxares. Dinon in his Persic History related, that Cyrus made war upon Astyages. Diodorus' says, that Cyrus conquered and deposed Astyages. Plato and Aristotle agree in the same relation : and so do Strabo and others, and with them Africanus, Eusebius, and other Christian writers. Lastly, it was foretold by Jeremiah, (chap, xxv, 25,) that the Median kingdom should be destroyed before the fall of the Babylonian empire ; but which was not true if Cyaxares, son of Astyages, was king of Media when Babylon was' taken by Cyrus ; and it is certain that the Modes were never conquered unless by Cyrus, when he dethroned Astyages; and all historians agree that this was several years before the taking of Babylon. It is, therefore, clear and undoubted, that the Cyaxares of Xenophori was not Darius the Mede, nor king of Media." — Chron. Anliq., vol. i, pp. 411, 412. It may be necessary to add, that the term "Darius" was not a Median proper name, but a title, Darawesh, " King." As used by the prophet Daniel, therefore, it simply means "the king of Media." It is a singular fact, that the oldest extant coins, Darics, which are supposed to have been made in the reign of the last king of Media, bear a name precisely similar to that of our principal gold coinage. They were from the royal title called Darics, which is exactly equiva- lent, in derivation and import, to our term " sovereigns." Note 40, page 249. — The Fulfilment of sacred Prophecy in the History of Media. As Media, in its individual nationality, had but little intercourse with the Hebrew people, it is not reasonable to expect a large amount of predictions in Holy Scripture relating to this nation. Accordingly, we find a few, and but a few, prophecies of this class. Yet even these are worthy of attention, as show- ing the perfection of the providential government of Jehovah, and the extent to which, in that age, his will was revealed to mankind through his holy prophets. I. We have a prediction that, to some extent. Media would be brought into subjection or subserviency to Babylon. This could not have been expected. Media took the lead in the subversion of the Assyrian empire. Babylon was, indeed, associated with Media ; but the Chaldseans had never, like the Medes, dared alone to meet the full power of the imperial state. Yet when the Lord so fully proclaims the ascendency to which he has appointed Nebuchadnezzar, and directs the prophet to give the cup of his fury to all the surrounding nations, that they may drink, and serve the king of Babylon, — among those enumerated we find " the kings of the Medes." Jer. XXV, 23. ^ We have no precise information respecting the conquest of Media by Babylon under ffebuchadnezzar ; but we know that he subdued Persia, which had been subject to Media. In fact, during the supremacy of the great Babylonian con- queror, we hear nothing of Media in history. It perhaps owed its exemption from a harsher fateto the fact, that Nebuchadnezzar's wife was sister of the king of Media. It is, however, certain, that this kingdom was by Nebuchadnezzar not only checked in its career of conquest, but stripped of its tributary states, and shut up within the limits of its own territory, in timid and servile inaction, during the period referred to by the prophecy, — which thus received an ample accomplishment. II. It was predicted, nevertheless, that Media should assist in the ruin of Babylon. Isaiah said when denouncing, in the name of the Lord, the burden of Babylon, " Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them :" and again, " Go 576 APPENDIX. up, Elam; besiege, Media." Isa. xil, 17; xxi, 2. And Jeremiah, in the name of Jehovah, calls this nation to this duty : " Make bright the arrows ; gather the shields : the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes : for his device is against Babylon to destroy it ; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple." These predictions also were exactly fulfilled. Cyrus, having conquered Media, before he took Babylon, associated Persia (or Elam) and Media in the enterprise of investing and subduing it. In fact, it was by the discipline and bravery of the Medes, united with the Persians, that both Cyrus and Darius took Babylon. III. Again, Media is designated by the prophet as one of the elements con- stituting the second great universal empire. Hence the angel said to Daniel, " The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia," Dan. viii, 20 : so that, according to the laws of Divine Providence, Media and Persia stood associated as integral elements of this great empire, even to the time when it was assailed and subdued by " the king of Greece." Consequently all the prophecies referring to the rise, progress, and power of this second king- dom — such as that respecting " the breast and arms of silver " of the great image, and the second beast like a bear — had a distinct and explicit reference to Media in common with Persia — although it has been thought best to defer a special citation of them to the next chapter. Note 41, page 255. — The personal History of Cyrus. The personal history of this conqueror is involved in much obscurity. Reasons have been already given for distrusting the statements of Xenophon ; but it does not follow from thence, that we can fully rely upon Herodotus. As hinted in the text, there is much, in the account of Cyrus given even by this writer, which appears to be romantic, and, without good evidence to the contrary, would be set down as the result of his imagination. It is, however, true, that we have the means of comparing the account of the Greek Father of History with a native author, who had access to the same records or traditions ; and the similarity in their statements is such, as to leave no doubt whatever of their general accuracy, as respects the prominent events recorded. Herodotus wrote about 456 B. C. He had not the advantage of a residence in Persia ; and it can scarcely be believed that he understood any oriental language. He was, however, an intelligent, persevering, and learned traveller, who visited various countries for the purpose of collecting information for the composition of a general history. He had a great advantage in respect of the date of his inquiries. He was at Babylon about seventy-five years after Cyrus had ceased to reign over that country. It could not, therefore, be very difficult for such a man, in such a city, so soon after the death of a mighty conqueror, and the founder of an empire, to have collected some authentic information respecting the principal events in the life of Cyrus. On the other hand, Firdusi was a native Persian, a poet of remarkable genius and learning, who wrote in A. D. 1009, about 1445 years after Herodotus. Having displayed uncommon powers, while residing in his native village of Shadab, he was summoned to the court of Ghazni, where, at the command of the great Sultan Mahmud, he composed in verse his famous work of Shah Nameh, which has been preserved, and is to this day read by all well-educated Persians with equal admiration for the recondite information which it communicates, and the bril- liant poetry and purity of language in which its narrative is conveyed. APPENDIX. 5i, In tliis work we have a poetical history of the kings of Persia, from Kaiomarp, the first sovereign, to the conquest of the nation by the Mohammedan powers. In such circumstances, and writing under such auspices, the writer would have access to all available sources of information. We know that records of every particular relating to the Persian sovereigns were carefully preserved. Esther X, 2. Whether these remained to the time of Firdusi may be doubted ; but, at all events, being a native of the country and a perfect master of its language, he would have every advantage in acquiring a knowledge of the early history and antiquities of his nation; and it is strongly asserted by all Persian bio- graphers, that Mahmud placed in the hands of the poet the ancient chronicles of the kings of Persia, and that from these he collected materials for his great work. Whatever opinion may be formed as to the truth of these allegations, we have to compare the story of Herodotus with that which is collected from the poetry of Firdusi. There can be no doubt that the reader will agree with the learned author who has collected the prominent points common to both in the following judgment: "It is utterly incredible, that two different princes of Persia should each have been bom in a foreign and hostile territory; should each have been doomed to death in his infancy by his maternal grandfather, in consequence of portentous dreams, real or invented ; should each have been saved by the remorse of his destined murderers; and should each, after a similar education among herdsmen, as the son of a herdsman, have found means to revisit his paternal kingdom, and, having delivered it, after a long and triumphant war, from the tyrant who had invaded it, should have restored it to the summit of power and magnificence." — 5m- William Jones's Works, vol. iii, p. 106. In all these essential particulars the statements of Herodotus and Firdusi agree, — an agreement which, considering the different circumstances and eras of the authors, is suflicient to prove that here is a substratum of facts which may be relied on as the basis of an authentic history of Cyrus. Respecting the other point of difference, namely, whether Cyrus conquered Media, and forcibly deposed Astyages, according to Herodotus, — or lived in har- mony with him, and succeeded to his throne on his death, agreeably to Xeuophon's Cyropsedia, — there can scarcely be a question ; for, first, the Father of History is in this instance not only supported by Plato, Aristotle, Isoorates, Anaximenes, Dinon, and Amyntas, but even Xenophon's own Anabasis may be quoted in contradiction of his Cyropaedia. In the former work, speaking of the city Larissa, he observes, " This city, when besieged by the king of Persia, when the Persians were wresting the empire from the Medes," &c. : and, again, when speaking of the city of Mespila, and its extraordinary fortifications, he states that " here Media, the king's consort, is said to have taken refuge when the Medes were deprived of the empire by the Persians." — Snabasis, lib. iii, cap. 4. Now as it is certain that Cyrus was the person who raised the Persians to supremacy over Media, these statements are directly contrary to the romantic statement of the Cyropaedia, where, without any struggle or contest, Cyrus is represented as living in perfect harmony with his grandfather Astyages, King of Media, and quietly succeeding to his kingdom on the death of his uncle, Cyaxares. Note 42, page 260. — Was Cyrus made acquainted with the Prophecies of Daniel ? We have given in the text prima facie evidence that Daniel would make Cyrus acquainted with those wonderful revelations which God had given to the world 31 578 APPENDIX. through him respecting the succession of the four great empires that were appointed to exercise universal rule, before the introduction of the kingdom of God. Many collateral proofs might be found in the history of this monarch confirmatory of this view ; but attention will here be confined to two ; namely, the inscription on his tomb, and his edict in favour of the Jews. " Pliny notices the tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae in Persia. Arrian and Strabo describe it ; and they agree with Curtius that Alexander offered funeral honours to his shade there ; that he opened the tomb, and found, not the treasures he expected, but a rotten shield, two Scythian bows, and a Persian scimitar. And Plutarch records the following inscription thereon, in his Life of Alex- ander : ' man, whoever thou art, and whenever thou comest, (for come I know thou wilt,) I am Cyrus, the founder of the Persian empire. Envy me not the little earth that covers my bones.' " — Hales's Ancient Chronology, vol. iv, p. 102. It may be observed here, that the fact of the tomb of Cyrus being found in this identical spot cannot be open to doubt. I presume, no statement supported by the unanimous testimony of Pliny, Arrian, Strabo, Curtius, and Plutarch, would be questioned by any person at all competent to give an opinion on such a subject as this. Then comes the inscription. What does it mean ? Who is the person addressed, and addressed, too, as having the power of depriving the occupant of the tomb of earth to cover his bones ; and whose coming is spoken of as such an established certainty ? Plutarch says that "Alexander was much affected at these words. Which placed before him in so strong a light the uncer- tainty and vicissitude of things." This might be the best solution which the lieathen biographer could offer respecting the emotion of Alexander. But to the person who has carefully studied the predictions of Daniel, and to the great Macedonian who had these prophecies read to him by the high-priest at Jerusa- lem, would the words of the inscription appear to indicate not uncertainty, but rather the certainty of the divine appointment, — the obvious and undoubted opera- tion of a supreme over-ruling Providence, before whose power all earthly poten- tates are as nothing. In short, no pointed sense, no worthy meaning, can be given to this inscrip- tion, except we suppose Cyrus to have been informed of the succession of the four great empires, and the consequent subversion of Persia by Greece. Then, we see who is addressed by him as the man certainly coming : then the ref- erence to his power is intelligible. In fact, on this principle of interpretation, the inscription is worthy of Cyrus ; and the emotion of the conqueror, worthy of Alexander. The edict issued in favour of the Hebrews is a similar proof of the acquaint- ance of Cyrus with these predictions. In the first instance, we cannot bring ourselves to believe that the language of this edict ran in the usual terms of the royal Persian proclamations, namely, " By the grace of Ormuzd." Ezra would never have rendered such a phrase by the terms " the Jehovah God of heaven." In fact, he never could have rendered such words into " Jehovah God of Israel." It would be impossible for any Hebrew — not to say, a pious and inspired priest — thus to prostitute the most glorious and ineflFable name of the Eternal. Besides, it has been shown that the Ilubrow name of God was recognised as a divine appellation both at Ninevcli and Babylon, and it would undoubtedly be so like- wise in Persia. We have, therefore, in this passage precisely the same recognition of the true God as we find extorted from Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. iii, 28 ; iv, 37. And it APPENDIX. 579 seems certain that this was done by the same means, — namely, a communication. of those glorious revelations ■which God had made to Daniel respecting the provi- dential appointment of a succession of great empires to rule over the world ; accompanied, there can be no doubt, by those parts of Isaiah's prophecies in which Cyrus was pointed out by name, long before he Was born, as a chosen instrument for the accomplishment of the divine purpose. The mind loves to dwell on the intercourse between the martial Persian — with the world lying at his feet and waiting his commands — and the aged prophet, who had taught Nebuchadnezzar, and warned Belshazzar, and received from the all-prescient Jehovah an outline of the world's destiny, from the day of Jerusa- lem's ruin to the end of time. When will history be fairly and fully studied in the light of revealed truth ? Note 43, page 262. — The successful Opposition of the Governors of Syria and others to the Building of Jerusalem, and the Evidence thereby afforded of the Integrity and Perfection of the national Records at the Court of Persia. The correspondence on this subject preserved by Josephus is important, not only as casting light on the position and difScultios of the pions Hebrews during the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, but also as evincing the completeness with which historic registers were kept at the court of Persia. The Jewish historian says : " But when Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, had taken the kingdom, the gov- ernors in Syria, and Phenicia, and in the countries of Ammon, and Moab, and Samaria, wrote an epistle to Cambyses, whose contents were as follows : ' To our lord, Cambyses : we thy servants, Rathumus the historiographer, and Semel- lius the scribe, and the rest that are thy judges in Syria and Phenicia, send greeting. It is fit, king, that thou shouldst know, that those Jews which were carried to Babylon are come into our country, and are building that rebellious and wicked city and its market-places, and setting up its walls, and raising up the temple. Know, therefore, that when these things are finished, they will not be willing to pay tribute, nor will they submit to thy commands, but will resist kings, and will choose rather to rule over others, than be ruled over themselves. We, therefore, thought it proper to write to thee, king, while the works abont the temple are going on so fast, and not to overlook this matter, that thou may- est search into the books of thy fathers : for thou wilt find in them, that the Jews have been rebels, and enemies to kings, as hath their city been also, which, for that reason, hath been till now laid waste. We thought proper also to inform thee of this matter, because thou mayest perhaps be otherwise ignorant of it, — that if this city be once inhabited, and be entirely encompassed with walls, thou wilt be excluded from thy passage to Coele-Syria and Phenicia.' " 2. When Cambyses had read the epistle, being naturally wicked, he was irritated at what they told him : and wrote back to thera as follows : ' Cambyses, the king, to Rathumus the historiographer, to Beeltethmus, to Semellius the scribe, and the rest that are in commission, and dwelling in Samaria and Pheni- cia, after this manner : I have read the epistle that was sent from you ; and I gave order that the books of my forefathers should be searched into ; and it is there found that this city has always been an enemy to kings, and its inhabitants have raised seditions and wars. We also are sensible that their kings have been powerful and tyrannical, and have exacted tribnte of Coele-Syria and Phenicia. Wherefore I give order, that the Jews shall not be permitted to build that city, lest such mischief as they used to bring upon kings be greatly augmented.' 580 APPENDIX. When this epistle was read, Eathumus, and Semellius the scribe, and their asso- ciates, got suddenly on horseback, and made haste to Jerusalem : they also brought a great company with them, and forbade the Jews to build the city and the temple. Accordingly these works were hindered from going on till the second year of the reign of Darius, for nine years more : for Cambyses reigned six years, and within that time overthrew Egypt ; and when he was come back, he died at Damascus." — Antiquities, book xi, chap, ii, sec. 1, 2. Josephus evidently attaches greater effect to this correspondence than it merits ; for it is clear that this is the interference referred to by Ezra ; (chap, iv, 6 ;) and there caB be little doubt that it availed during the reign of Cam- byses. But the same sacred writer distinctly refers to other efforts to stay the proceedings of the Hebrews, which were made in the following reign ; and a letter of the opponents is given by him at length, addressed not to " Ahasuerus," as Cambyses is called by Ezra, but to " Artaxerxes," who must have been Smerdis the Magian. Either, therefore, Josephus has misstated the case in refer- ring the correspondence which took place with Smerdis to the preceding sover- eign ; or, which scarcely seems probable, such communications took place in both reigns, one being cited by the historian, and the other by the sacred writer. It cannot be doubted that by " Ahasuerus " Ezra means Cambyses, as he imme- diately followed Cyrus ; and it seems equally certain that Artaxerxes was the Magian, he having preceded Darius, — all four being specifically spoken of by the sacred scribe. But the correspondence, as given both in the Scriptures and by the historian, affords important information respecting the national records. The complain- ants appeal to these in proof of the independence, valour, and determined spirit of the Hebrews, in their previous history. Now, Jerusalem was destroyed before Persia had existence as a paramount state. Indeed, whatever records had been made of the resistance of the kingdom of Judah to the imperial power must at latest have been made at Babylon. But the seat of empire had been removed from this city to Ecbatana in Media, and again from Ecbatana to Susa in Persia : and yet so carefully had the imperial archives been transferred and pre- served, that the sovereign, on an appeal from a distant province, could instantly ascertain its character previously to its being subdued by the imperial power. This fact speaks volumes as to the means which Berosus, Ctesias, Firdusi, and others, who in their respective ages had access to these records, would have of collecting authentic facts respecting the early times of the empire. Note 44, page 266. — The Deliberations of the Conspirators as to the future Govern ment of Persia, and the Appointment of Darius Hystaspes to be King. It is curious to find, in the deliberations of these seven Persian nobles, every kind of government advocated which has obtained among men. According to Herodotus, Otanes argued in favour of democracy, as zealously as could any American of modern times, and testified the sincerity of his address by with- drawing altogether from any claim to govern, when he found that none of his companions shared his sentiments. Megabyzus advocated an oligarchy, and strongly urged the propriety of intrusting the ruling power to a select number of individuals eminent for their talents and virtues. Darius, on the other hand, argued in favour of monarchy ; and adduced various reasons for maintaining the same kind of government which had previously existed in the country. It cannot escape observation, that although the advocates for these different APPENDIX. 581 kinds of government seem to have been fully conversant with all the argu- ments since urged in favour of these several schemes of national polity, not one of them appears to have had the remotest idea of that happy blending of each which is so directly adapted to neutralize their respective evil tendencies, and to elicit the good qualities of all ; as is seen in the constitutional govern- ments of modern times. The result was, that of the seven, four were in favour of monarchy, two of oligarchy, and one of democracy. It was therefore decided that monarchy should be continued, and that one of the seven should be the first king. Having pre- viously made sundry regulations, conferring special privilege on Otanes, as the first instigator of the measures taken against the impostor Smerdis, and on the members of their own body, " they agreed to meet on horseback at sunrise in the vicinity of the city, and to make him king whose horse should neigh first. Darius had a groom, whose name was (Bbares, a man of considerable ingenuity, for whom on his return he immediately sent. ' OEbares,' said he, ' it is deter- mined that we are to meet at sunrise on horseback, and that he among us shall be king whose horse shall first neigh. Whatever acuteness you have, exert it on this occasion, that no one but myself may attain this honour.' ' Sir,' replied CEbares, ' if your being king or not depend on what you say, be not afraid. I have a kind of charm, which will prevent any one's being preferred to yourself.' ' Whatever,' replied Darius, ' this charm may be, it must be applied without delay, as the morning will decide the matter.' (Ebares, therefore, as soon as the evening came, conducted to the place before the city a mare, having previously ordered Dariua's horse to be taken there. " The next morning, as soon as it was light, the six Persians assembled, as had been agreed, on horseback. After riding up and down at the place appoint- ed, they came at length to the spot where, on the preceding evening, the mare had been brought : here the horse of Darius instantly began to neigh, which, though the sky was remarkably clear, was immediately succeeded by thunder and lightning. The heavens thus seemed to favour, and, indeed, to act in con- cert with, Darius. Immediately the other noblemen dismounted, ajid, falling at his feet, hailed him king." Such is the account given by Herodotus of the election of Darius to the sover- eignty of Persia. (Thalia, cap. 80-84.) The truth of this statement is attested by an equestrian statue, on which was placed an inscription celebrating his ele- vation to the throne, and containing the name of the groom and also of the horse. Note 45, page 272. — The Succession of Xerxes to the Throne of Persia. The account given in the text is taken from Herodotus. Plutarch and Justin give a different version of the case, which, as being received by the emperor Ju- lian as authentic, is worthy of notice. According to this statement, the case was not decided by Darius ; but on his death both brothers claimed the sovereignty, and each was supported by numerous friends. Pending the settlement of this question, Ariamenes (called by Herodotus Artobazaues) went into Media, but not in a hostile manner. While he was there, Xerxes assumed the crown and robes of royalty. But on the return of his brother he put these off, and sent him presents, with a friendly message to this effect : " Thus your brother Xerxes hon- ours you ; and if the Persians should declare me king, I will place you next to myself." Ariamenes replied, " I accept your gifts, but presume that I am enti- tled to the throne of Persia. Yet for my brothers I shall have posts of distinc- tion, and for Xerxes the first." 582 APPENDIX. On the day fixed for the determination of the right to the crown, the Persians appointed Artabanus, the brother of Darius, to make the decision. Xerxes ex- cepted to this, and preferred leaving it to the popular will : but his mother re- proved him for the objection, and he withdrew it. Artabanus then, after re- viewing the conflicting claims of the candidates, decided in favour of Xerxes ; upon which Ariamenes rose up immediately, did homage to his brother, and placed him on the throne. Note 46, page 273. — The Behistun Inscriptions, containing Darius's own Account of his Wars. The following Inscriptions possess great interest, as being to some extent an autobiography of Darius HystaspiS. Reference will be made to their contents mainly in the chapter treating of the Keligion of Persia : but the reader will find, that besides the light which they throw on Persian theology, they present some historical notices of importance, such, for instance, as the claim of Darius to the crown of Persia on hereditary grounds, which will be recognised as a cu- rious piece of state-policy. " 1. I am Darius the great king, the king of kings, the king of Persia, the king of (the dependent) provinces, the son of Hystaspes, the grandson of Arsames the AchEemenian. "2. Says Darius the king: — My father was Hystaspes ; of Hystaspes the fa- ther was Arsames ; of Arsames the father was Ariyaramnes ; of Ariyaramnes the father was Teispes ; of Teispes the father was Achaemenes. " 3. Says Darius the king : — On that account we have been called Achsemenians ; from antiquity we have been unsubdued ; (or, we have descended ;) from anti- quity those of our race have been kings. " i. Says Darius the king: — There are eight of my race who have been kings before me ; I am the ninth : for a very long time we have been kings. " 6. Says Darius the king : — By the grace of Ormazd I am (I have become) king ; Ormazd has granted me the empire. " 6. Says Darius the king : — These are the countries which have fallen into my hands : — by the grace of Ormazd I have become king of them : — Persia, Susiana, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt; those which are of the sea, Sparta and Ionia; Armenia, Cappadooia, Parthia, Zarangia, Aria, Chorasmia, Bactria, Sog- diana, the Saose, the Sattagydes, Arachosia, and the Mecians ; the total amount being twenty-one (twenty-three ?) countries. " 7. Says Darius the king : — These are the countries which have come to me ; by the grace of Ormazd they have become subject to me ; they have brought tri- bute to me. That which has been said unto them by me, both by night and by day, it has been performed by them. " 8. Says Darius the king : — Within these countries whoever was of the true faith, him have I cherished and protected ; whoever was a heretic, him I have rooted out entirely. By the grace of Ormazd these countries, therefore, being given to me, have rejoiced. As to them it has been said by me. Thus has it been done by them. " 9. Says Darius the king : — Ormazd has granted me the empire. Ormazd has brought help to me until I have gained this empire. By the grace of Ormazd I hold this empire. " 10. Says Darius the king : — This (or the following) (is) what was done by APPENDIX. 583 me, before I teoame king. He who was named Cambyses, (Kabujiya,) the son of Cyrus, of our race, he was here king before me. There was of that Cambyses a brother named Bartius ; he was of the same father and mother as Cambyses. Cambyses slew this Bartius. When Cambyses slew that Bartius, the troubles of the state ceased which Bartius had excited. (?) Then Cambyses proceeded to Egypt. When Cambyses had gone to Egypt, the state became heretical; then the lie became abounding in the land, both in Persia and in Media, and in the other provinces. " 11. Says Darius the king: — Afterward there was a certain man, a Magian, named Gomates. He arose from Pissiachid4, the mountains named Arakadres ; from thence, on the fourteenth day of the month Viyakhna, then it was, as he arose, to the state he thus falsely declared : ' I am Bartius, the son of Cyrus, the brother of Cambyses.' Then the whole state became rebellious ; from Cambyses it went over to that (Bartius), both Persia and Media, and the other provinces. He seized the empire ; on the ninth day of the month Garmapada, then it was he thus seized the empire. Afterward Cambyses, unable to endure his (misfor- tunes), died. " 12. Says Darius the king : — That crown, or empire, of which Gomates, the Magian, dispossessed Cambyses, that crown had been in our family from the olden time. After Gomates the Magian had dispossessed Cambyses of Persia and Media and the dependent provinces, he did according to his desire, — he became king. " 13. Says Darius the king : — There was not a man, neither Persian, nor Jledian, nor any one of our family, who would dispossess of the empire that Gomites the Magian. The state feared to resist him. He would frequently address the state, which knew the old Bartius ; for that reason he would adress the state, saying, 'Beware lest it regard me as if I were not Bartius the son of Cyrus.' There was not one bold enough to oppose him ; every one was standing obediently around Gomates the Magian, until I arrived. Then I abode in the worship of Ormazd ; Ormazd brought help to me. On the tenth day of the month Bagay4- dish, then it was, with the men who were my well-wishers, I slew that Gom&tes the Magian, and the chief men who were his followers. The fort named Siktak- hotes, in the district of Media named Nissea, there I slew him ; I dispossessed him of the empire. By the grace of Ormazd I became king ; Ormazd granted me the sceptre. " 14. Says Darius the king : — The crown that had been wrested from our race, that I recovered ; I established it firmly, as in the days of old ; this I did. The rites which Gemotes the Magian had introduced, I prohibited. I re-instituted for the state the sacred chants and (sacrificial) worship, and confided them to the families which Gomites the Magian had deprived of those offices. I firmly estab- lished the kingdom, both Persia and Media, and the other provinces, as in the days of old ; thus I restored that which had been taken away. By the grace of Ormazd I did this. I laboured until I had firmly established our family as in the days of old. I laboured, by the grace of Ormazd, (in order) that Gomates the Magian might not supersede our family. " 15. Says Darius the king : — This is that which I did after that I became king. " 16. Says Darius the king : — When I had slain Gomates the Magian, then a certain man, named Atrines, the son of Opadarmes, he arose ; to the state of Susiana he thus said ; ' I am king of Susiana.' Then the people of Susiana became rebellious ; they went over to that Atrines ; he became king of Susiana. 584 APPENDIX. And a certain man, a Babylonian, named Natitabirus, the son of ^na..., he arose. The state of Babylonia he thus falsely addressed : ' I am Nabokhodrossor, the son of Nabonidus.' Then the entire Babylonian state went over to that Natitabirus. Babylon became rebellious. He (Natitabirus) seized the government of Babylonia. " 17. Says Darius the king : — Then I sent to Sueiana ; that Atrines was brought to me a prisoner. I slew him. " 18. Says Darius the king : — Then I proceeded to Babylon (marching) against that Natitabirus, who was called Nabokhodrossor. The forces of Natitabirus held the Tigris ; there they had come, and they had boats. Then I placed a de- tachment on rafts ; I brought the enemy into difSculty ; I assaulted the enemy's position. Ormazd brought help to me ; by the grace of Ormazd I succeeded in passing the Tigris. Then I entirely defeated the army of that Natitabirus. On the twenty-seventh day of the month of Atriydta, then it was that we thus fought. " 19. Says Darius the king :— Then I marched against Babylon. When I arrived near Babylon, the city named Zfi.zS.na upon the Euphrates, there that Natitabirus, who was called Nabokhodrossor, came with a force before me, offer- ing battle. Then we fought a battle. Ormazd brought help to me : by the grace of Ormazd, I entirely defeated the force of Natitabirus. The enemy was driven into the water; the water destroyed them. On the second day of the month Anamaka, then it was that we thus fought the battle." [End of column I, which extends to ninety-six lines, and the writing of which is generally in good preservation.] " 1. Says Darius the king : — Then Natitabirus, with the horsemen who were faithful to him, fled to Babylon. Then I proceeded to Babylon ; I took Babylon, and seized that Natitabirus. Afterward I slew that Natitabirus at Babylon. " 2. Says Darius the king : — While I was at Babylon, these are the countries which revolted against me : Persia, Susiana, Media, Assyria, Armenia, Parthia, Margiana, Sattagydia, and Sacia. " 3. Says Darius the king : — A certain man, named Martins, the son of Sisicres; a city of Persia, named Cyganaca, there he dwelt ; he rose up ; to the state of Susiana he thus said : ' I am Omanes, the king of Susiaua.' " 4. Says Darius the king : — Upon this (?) I was moving a little way in the direction of Susiana : then the Susians, fearing (?) from me, seized that Wartius, who was their chief, and they slew him. (?) " 5. Says Darius the king : — A certain man named Phraortes, a Median, he rose up; to the state of Media he thus said: I am Xathrites, of the race of Cyaxares.' Then the Median forces, which were at home, (?) revolted against me. They went over to that Phraortes ; he became king of Media. " 6. Says Darius the king : — The army of Persians and Modes that was with me (on service) that remained faithful to me. Then I sent forth these troops. Hydarnes by name, a Persian, one of my subjects, him I appointed their leader. I thus addressed them : ' Happiness attend ye ; smite that Median state which does not acknowledge me.' Then that Hydarnes marched with his army. When he reached Media, a city of Media, named Jla..., there he engaged the Modes. He who was leader of the Medcs could not at all resist him. (?) Ormazd brought help to me ; by the grace of Ormazd, the troops of Hydarnes entirely -e held, — ■■ part in the lesser mysteries, and were therefore called mystce. As these successively passed the barrier which excluded the rejected applicants, their ears were saluted by the sweetest sounds of music and song. Following on by the narrow path, they soon emerged to an open space, where stood a beautiful marble altar, on which lay a slaughtered pregnant sow, — the symbol of fruitfulness and parturition, — the appointed sacrifice to Demeter. This animal had been slain, and lay on the altar consuming with fire, and covered with fragrant herbs. A troop of virgins danced around the altar ; while the chief priestess, habited in gorgeous attire, scattered showers of holy water over the crowds of worshippers. Here, amid the smoke of the victim, and the rolling peals of music, a hymn in sweetest strains was chanted to Demeter, while every heart seemed excited to enthusiasm, as libations of wine were poured on the consuming victim. Engaged in this service of sacrifice and song, the multitude lingered, until the shades of evening gathered over the scene, and each individual prepared to enter upon the nocturnal service, which was at once invested in their thoughts, feelings, and expectations, with the most holy awe and sacred solemnity. Removing from their dress all the appendages suitable to the joyous employments of the morning, with their feet covered with sandals of skins instead of shoes, each 40 626 APPENDIX. passed under the gloomy portal of the sacred temple ; and, as he dipped his hand into the bowl of holy water at the entrance, and endeavoured to throw his vision into the darkness of the interior, a shudder of involuntary horror pervaded each individual. Some hesitated a, moment ; but, gathering strength for the grand occasion, one after another passed into the sacred sanctuary. At first nothing was seen, — intense darkness reigned ; and nothing was heard but the footsteps on the floor. After proceeding a short distance, some glimmer- ing rays of light were observed ; but these were scarcely sufficient to afford any idea of the character of the structure. It seemed rather an excavation than a building ; green moisture dripped from the walls ; an earthy smell affected the atmosphere ; creatures like bats or winged lizards flitted to and fro, and some- times struck the body of the person to be initiated. On each side of this gloomy place were arranged what appeared to be all kinds of beasts, remarkable for excessive ugliness of form, or repulsiveness of manner ; while, to add to the horror inspired by these appearances, every conceivable discordant sound echoed in constant succession through the vaulted temple. At one time shrieks were heard ; these would be succeeded by yells as of derision ; then would come the most strange combination of disagreeable animal sounds ; and amid the whole it seemed as if illusory phantoms incessantly glided about. At length all this ceased, and the novice seemed impelled forward through an aperture, which led into an enormous building. Here were pillars of vast height and size, supporting a concave roof, the interior of which was striped with bur- nished metal, and adorned with stars and constellations of polished copper. In the far interior of this vast building, the smouldering embers of an almost con- sumed sacrifice still glowed on the altar, and, when fanned by the breeze, would emit a transient flame, which gave a momentary illumination to the whole struc- ture. By this means the mysta discovered that they stood in the great temple of Demeter. In the centre was the colossal statue of the goddess ; around it the worshippers gathered, and knelt in silent awe. Dimly visible amid the gloom were perceived the figures of the sacred servants of this sanctuary, — the torch- bearer, with his flambeaux, — the sacred herald, in armour, — the altar-priest, habited in white ; while, high above all his assistants, distinguished as much by his lofty bearing as by the elevation of his stature, stood the great hiero- phant, — the revealer of secrets, — the chief priest of Demeter, — the holiest person in the consecrated assembly. Besides these, other officers and magistrates appeared, engaged in their several peculiar duties, as the expiring flame shot up from the altar ; and as it died away, the whole was enveloped in thickest darkness. As soon as this took place, the sacred herald sent his voice through the build- ing, in the loud arid earnest inquiry, " Who is here 1" To which the crowd, in a subdued tone, said in reply, " Many, and good." The hierophant immediately added, " Let us pray." No sooner were these words uttered, than a noise like that of a great hurricane shook the building ; the floor trembled, as if in agony ; the people staggered with overwhelming dread. A silence, like that of death, succeeds for a moment : again the building trembles ; thunder rolls in fearful clamour above ; vivid lightnings shoot through the fane, and play among the gigantic columns. Amid this unearthly clamour, yells and bowlings are heard ; and phantom forms of every classic apparition appear in all their savage de- formity, — Briareus with his hundred hands, the Centaurs, Hydra, the skeleton of Gyges, the Diros, Gorgon, and Cerberus ; while the Chimsera vomits flaming poison, a id Jlinotaur wildly tramples in every direction. APPENDIX. 627 Terrible, however, as were these scenes, they were but preludes to what fol- lowed. While the crowd stood trembling, the floor divided ; a chasm yawned at the feet of the awe-stricken worshippers, revealing all the sights and scenes of the infernal regions. Deep in the vast profound are seen the waters of Phlege- thon, washing the foundations of a tower of steel, — the palace of Pluto. There Tisiphone and Rhadamanthus are seen dispensing judgment and ministering punishment to the lost in Tartarus. Here are discernible Cocytus, Lethe, Aohe- rou,^nd Styx. Charon is seen in his boat ; and Pluto, with all the pomp of infernal dominion ; and Persephone, as beautiful as when taken from the side of her mother. Thus the multitude, from the edge of the yawning gulf, realized all that their religion had taught, — that their poets had sung, — that their minds had conceived, — of the unseen world, and all its horrors : and while they gazed again and again, the thunders again rolled, the building shook, the disparted floor closed, and all was silence and darkness. A second time the voice of the hierophant was heard, proclaiming, "Let us pray ;" and on the utterance of these magic words, another change comes over the place. The darkness is removed : the gorgeous building is gloriously irradi- ated with the richest sunlight : from tempestuous night they are translated into a serene and brilliant day. It was at this time that the principal revelations were made to the votaries of Demeter. Here the great divinities were revealed to the spectators, surrounded with a divine radiance, and invested with surpass- ing glory. Jupiter, Apollo, Neptune, Mars, Mercury, Vulcan, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Demeter, Venus, and Vesta, were seen, each attended by symbols of their power, and visible exponents of their attributes. After these deities had passed in panoramic vision before the crowd, while they stood enraptured at the celes- tial sight, other inferior deities followed, — the Naiads, Potamides, Oreads, Bac- chus, Cupid, and Aurora. During the progress of the visions, revelations were made respecting these divinities, the exact purport of which must always be matter of conjecture. But whether this was eulogistic or derogatory to the char- acters of these deities, — as the learned have argued on both sides, — it cannot be doubted that it was strongly in support of the great system of national idol- atry which these rites tended so greatly to consolidate and conserve. After this was exhibited the story of Demeter and Persephone. Then followed strains of the sweetest music ; after which the hierophant ascended a rostrum in front of the pedestal, and read from a sacred book what is supposed to have been con- densed, and given at least in substance, by Virgil, as follows ; — "Know first, that heaven, and earth's compacted frame. And flowing waters, and the starry flame. And both the radiant lights, one common soul Inspires, and feeds, and animates the whole. This active mind, infused through all the space. Unites and mingles with the mighty mass. Hence men and beasts the breath of life obtain ; And birds of air, and monsters of the main. The' ethereal vigour is in all the same. And every sold is fiU'd with equal flame ; As much as earthy limbs, and gross allay Of mortal members, subject to'decay. Blunt not the beams of heaven and edge of day. From this coarse mixture of terrestrial parts. Desire and fear, by turns possess their hearts ; 628 APPENDIX. And grief, and joy : nor can tlie grovelling mind. In the dark dungeon of the limbs confined, Assert its native skies, or own its heavenly kind. Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains ; But long-contracted filth ev'n in the soul remains : The relics of inveterate vice they wear ; And spots of sin obscene in every face appear. For this are various penances enjoin'd ; And some are hung to bleach, upon the wind ; Some plunged in waters, others purged in fires, Till all the dregs are drain'd, and all the rust expires. All have their manee, and those manea bear : The few so cleansed to the' abodes repair. And breathe, in ample fields, the soft Elysian air. Then are they happy, when by length of time The scurf is worn away of each committed crime. No speck is left of their habitual stains : But the pure ether of the soul remains. But when a thousand rolling years are past, (So long their punishments and penance last,; "Whole droves of minds are, by the driving god, Compell'd to drink the deep Lethsean flood ; In large forgetful draughts to steep the cares Of their past labours and their irksome years : That, unremembering of its former pain, The soul may suffer mortal flesh again." Mneid, lib. vi, 724^-751, Sryden'a Trans. While the people listened in wonder to these revelations, the surrounding sun- light passed away ; darkness and thunder succeeded, until, amid its fearful din and the rumbling earthquake, the hierophant gave the word, " Depart ;" when they emerged from the grand portal by which they had entered, and found it early morning, with the dew hanging on the green leaves around them. On no subject connected with the religion of Greece has more labour or more learning been employed than on this ; and the above is the substance of what has been thus elicited. Our limits forbid extended comment on a subject so tempt- ing to speculation. Thus much is clear, — that, whatever science and scenery might have done here, or whether anything beyond physical agency was called into requisition, or otherwise, it was found necessary to forbid all discussion of the subject on pain of death. No one was permitted to speak of what took place within the sacred enclosure ; and we are told that, as certainly as this law was violated, the body of the criminal might be seen, soon after, hanging dead from one of the neighbouring pinnacles, with an announcement stating that the dead man had perished for divulging the mysterious secrets of the celebration. For an able, accurate, and eloquent account of the subject sketched in this note, see Blackwood's Magazine, February, 1853 ; to which we have been to some extent indebted. Note 71, page 398. — The Doctrines of Plato respecting the Soul and its Transmi- gration. Plato appears to have taken up, and given the sanction of his great name and character to, a notion which prevailed in the most ancient times among the Greeks ; namely, that man had two souls : one, the seat and residence of animal APPENDIX. 629 life, the senses and desires, sentient; the other, partaking of reason and intelli- gence, or rational : the latter, of divine origin, and therefore immortal ; the former, of a far inferior nature, and consequently not incapable of utterly per ishing. The first was the part which is spoken of as made of the ethereal sub- stance of which the soul of the world is composed ; the second, as the immortal emanation from Deity. The opinion received all kinds of modification from the allegorizing tendencies of the poets, and was entertained by the common people in connexion with many gross additions and corruptions. It is these semi-spiritual and semi-corporeal souls which assume the human figure, and render the departed visible as shades in the regions of Pluto's reign. But one of the most curious results of this doctrine is, the notion that vice de- formed, discoloured, and disfigured this external sentient soul, and philosophy and virtue purified and cleansed it. Plutarch states this doctrine : " But the scars and seams remain from the several vices, in some greater, in some less. Now behold those various and diversified colours of souls. The dark and squalid are the taint of illiberality and avarice ; the blood-red and fiery, of cruelty and barbarity ; the green, of intemperance in pleasures ; the violet-coloured and livid, like the ink of the cuttle-fish, of envy and malignity. For there the wick- edness of the soul, influenced by the passions, and influencing the body, produces the colours : here it is the end of purification and punishment. When these colours are thoroughly purged away, the soul becomes bright and unsullied." See a poetic version of this in Vikgil, ^neid, lib. vi, 736, quoted in the preced- ing pages. Plato fully adopts and uses this doctrine. It is on this ground that he says, "The bodies of the dead, (that is, their outer or more corporeal souls,) we must suppose, are rightly called ' images.' " — De Legibus, 11. Plato also agrees with Plutarch in respect of the judgment of the soul : "All things are visible in the soul when it is denuded of the body, both those of nature, and the affections which a man has implanted in the soul by the pursuit of each particular object. When they come, therefore, before the judge, he inspects the soul of each, but knows not to whom it belongs ; but oftentimes, taking that of the great and potent king, (of the Persians,) he finds no soundness in it, but sees it lashed all over, and full of scars, through perjuries and injustice, such as the practice of each vice has impressed upon the soul, and all made crooked by falsehood and vanity." — Gorgias, These marks of sin it was the province and power of phi- losophy to remove : hence we read a description by Lucian of the final judgment of !>. philosopher, a cobbler, and a tyrant. The philosopher being first placed naked before Rhadamanthus, he is considered to be pure, but nevertheless has three or four marks of healed ulcers ; and, on seeing these, the judge asks how he had managed to efface the imprints of crime. To this he replies, " Having been formerly depraved and wicked through ignorance, and by that means marked with many spots, as soon as I began to philosophize, I gradually wiped away all stains from the soul." The cobbler is found pure and free from spots. But when the tyrant is stripped, the judge says, "Why, really, this man is all over livid and spotted ; nay, is rather black with spots." Plato, in accordance with all this, observes, "The judge, therefore, having inspected the soul so affected, straightway commits it with ignominy into custo- dy, where it is to undergo the merited punishment." But this sage clearly teaches that this punishment is intended to be meliorative; hence he adds, " Those who profit by the punishment they suffer, both among gods and men, are such as have committed remediable sins ; who are benefitted by pains and tor- 630 APPENDIX. ments both here and in Orcus ; for it is impossible otherwise to be freed from injustice. But whoever are guilty of the worst of crimes, and by reason of such crimes become incurable, of these examples are made, and they no longer are benefitted themselves, as being incurable : but others are benefitted, who behold them suffering for their sins the greatest, and most painful, and most frightful punishments for everlasting, and held up there, in their prison in hell, as exam- ples, and spectacles, and warnings, to the unjust that from time to time come thither." A peculiar feature in this system was the energetic virtue of philosophy. It not only purged away sin, but insured- consummate blessedness. Hence Plato says, " Those who are found to have lived a preeminently pious and holy life, being freed and released from terrestrial places, as from a prison, ascend upward into a pure habitation, and dwell above the earth ; and among these whoever have been siffficiently purified by philosophy, live altogether without bodies hereafter, aad obtain habitations even more beautiful than the others."' — Phcedo. That is, those who are thus purified lose altogether the lower sentient soul, and live ever- lastingly in the bliss of perfect intellectuality. To this effect is another passage of our author : " No one is allowed to enter into the family of the gods (after death) but the lover of learning alone, who has devoted himself to philosophy, and died perfectly pure."— iiid. A part of this remedial punishment was believed to arise from the location of the soul in successive human and animal bodies. But with regard to this doc- trine there was an important difference between Pythagoras and Plato. The former thought that the successive transition of the soul into other bodies was physical and necessary, and exclusive of all moral designation whatsoever. But Plato, on the contrary, taught that " these changes and transmissions were the purgations of impure minds, unfit, by reason of the pollutions they had contract- ed, to reascend to the place from whence they came, and rejoin that substance from whence they were discerped; and consequently that pure, immaculate souls were exempt from this transmigration." Note 72, page 408. — The Credibility of the earliest Roman Historians. In the investigation of history, two opposite errors must be steadily avoided, if we would arrive at a clear and trustworthy knowledge of facts. These are, — general scepticism, on the one hand, — and an indiscriminate reception of reports, on the other. These errors are not imaginary, but have been actually adopted and acted on to a great extent. We have Seen the most undoubted historical facts cavilled at and questioned, while the most extravagant legends and idle tales have been received as authentic history. In order to our maintaining the safe via media, in respect of the early Eomau historians, it will be necessary to inquire into their means of obtaining accurate information, and their ability and disposition to make an honest and intelligent use of what they secured. This investigation need not be a very extended one. Livy, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, are the only ancient writers who pretend to give detailed and connected histories of the early ages of Rome. Plutarch, in his biographies of Eomulus, Numa, Publicola, Coriolanus, Caraillus, and Pyrrhus, affords some information respecting particular periods ; while Polybius and Cic- ero give incidental notices of independent and isolated facts. No other author, living at a period when authentic information was accessible, has handed down his productions to posterity. Of course, poets have been excluded in this sum- APPENDIX. 631 mary, as the nature of their productions prevents our relyiug on them for sober historical detail. Let us first examine the claims of Livy. He wrote during the reign of Augus- tus, nearly three hundred years after the close of the period whose annals we question: and this period, be it remembered, ranged over five preceding cen- turies. Livy must therefore have collected the materials for his history from the several sources of information to which he had access. These were four in number : — the works of preceding authors ; inscriptions remaining on ancient monuments ; the genealogical records of private families ; and, probably, some public registers preserved in the care of officers of state. From such documents this celebrated writer must have gathered his information ; and the credibility of his history must depend on the judgment and discretion with which he made his selection. But he has unfortunately left us no means of judging on this head, inasmuch as he very seldom informs his reader whence he has obtained his information, or on what authority he relies. Our limits forbid an extended examination of the use which Livy made of these several sources of knowledge, as indicated by his works ; but it may be briefly observed that Fabius, the most ancient writer and his favourite authority,, is very slightingly spoken of by Polybius. Nor does Livy appear to have exer- cised a sounder judgment in regard to the quoting of other authors. From in- scriptions and monuments he could not have obtained much information ; the oasualities to which Rome was frequently exposed, and the burning of the capi- tol, must have greatly limited his resources of this kind. Family records are not unfrequently of the greatest assistance to the historian. But then they can only be useful Trhen faithfully drawn up and honestly guarded. Unfortunately there is ample evidence that family vanity had corrupted these records, so as to ascribe exploits and honours entirely fictitious to their ancestors. There is too much reason for believing that even public documents were corrupted from the same motive. BTor have we any proof that Livy made the best use of the slender materials that lay within his reach. On the contrary, it is evident that, instead of com- pensating for the scarcity of information by caution in arriving at conclusions,, and brevity in the detail of particular incidents, his history is as replete with minute particulars and full-length speeches, as if he had been writing an auto- biography, and describing events which came under his personal observation. Nor does he afford better evidence of possessing any correct acquaintance with the state of his country in the early period of its history. Upon the whole, I quite agree in the judgment which an able writer has pro- nounced on this subject : " Considering, then, the deficiency of all good materials, the very iudiiferent character of those which were in his power, and the instances given of his own ignorance, carelessness, and deviation from truth in points of importance, it is not too much to assert, that Livy's evidence, as far as con- cerns the first ten books of his History, is altogether unworthy of credit. Many of the facts reported by him may be true, and many are probable ; but we have no right to admit them as real occurrences on his authority. The story of many well-written novels is highly probable, yet we do not the less regard it as a fiction ; and the narrative of Livy, even where its internal evidence is most in its favour, is so destitute of external evidence, that although we would not assert that it is everywhere false, we should act unwisely were we anywhere to argue upon it as if it were true." — Encyclopmiia Metropolitana, art "Credibility of early Roman History." 632 APPENDIX. DioNYSius OF Halioaenassus standa next to Livy as an historian of ancient Rome, and was contemporary with him. His means of information would, there- fore, he the same : it will, then, only be necessary to notice his individual abili- ties. And in this respect we certainly cannot iind in him anything of a more trustworthy character than was discovered in Livy. DiODORUS evinces even greater prolixity, pretending to furnish the minutest details respecting the most remote and obscure periods of history ; while his judgment and opinions on subjects that are well known, — such as his criticism ou Thuoydides, — are even ridiculously absurd ; and he confidently quotes authors whom other writers of credit speak of as notoriously untrustworthy. Indeed, Diodorus, as an historian, scarcely equals Livy, whose authority has been found open to very serious exception. Plutauoh lived more than a hundred years after these two authors, and was consequently so much further removed from the sources of original information. He appears to have been equally ready with them to adopt and propagate cur- rent reports, however distored by personal prejudice, or suggested by national ambition. Reasoning here from the known to the unknown, we can have no confidence in his statements. For, in the compilation of his Grecian biographies, he has certainly used in common the best and the worst authorities, without exercising any sound judgment or careful discrimination, PoLYjsrus presents to the mind a totally diff'erent character. Few historical works, of either ancient or modern times, will bear a comparison with his. He prosecuted his preparatory studies with great energy and perseverance. He col- lected with the utmost care the best accounts of the events which he intended to narrate ; investigated with laborious ardour the nature of the Roman constitu- tion, that he might be able to understand its early history; and made long and dangerous voyages and travels, that he might have the best means of knowing the countries of which he had to write. And, above all, he is allowed to have excelled in the greatest of all qualities, — truthfulness. He did not, like many others, write merely to amuse his readers by the strangeness of his facts, or to fascinate them by the elegance of his diction, but to instruct them in the com- munication of a true exhibition of past history ; that a knowledge of the future, and those lessons of practical wisdom which its exigencies required, might thence be deduced. Yet, notwithstanding these great qualities, we cannot expect from Polybius anything like a complete exhibition of early Roman history. He was a foreigner, and was in consequence placed at very considerable disadvan- tage on that account. But, what is of much greater importance, he does not pro- fess to narrate the events of the early ages of Rome. Of his own time, and the age immediately preceding, he has written ably and fully ; but of the antique era of Roman history he only spoke briefly and incidentally. He cannot, there- fore, be relied on as furnishing a full and connected account of this period, although in several instances his sagacity and veracity have corrected the popu- lar legendary reports, which earlier and less scrupulous authors incorporated into their narratives. As an instance, reference may be made to the heroism of Horatius Codes, recorded by Polybius, lib. vi, cap. 55, and Livy, lib. ii, cap. 10. The former describes this hero as keeping the enemy in check, until the bridge was broken ii. i, iii LEVITICUS. 23,24 ii, 7 iii, 11 ii, 15-20 ii, 34-44 ii, 29 91 30 56 35 36 37 44 46 23 469 29 47 48 50 56 220 58 94 59 60 61 64 116 62 466 63 103 146 107 466 96 116 66 67 18 111 112 111 Chapter. Terse. NUMBERS. XI xii xiii xvi XX xxi XXIV XXV xxvii xxviii xxxiii IV xi xvi xvii xxxii xxxui xxxiv xiu xviii XI xiii xvi xviii XX 4.. 2,3,7, 8 12, 16, 16, 21, 23.. 1 '. 27,28,33 2,3,6-7 28-30 9-12 4, 6 13 28, 29 21, 22 4 16,17 11,12 41 DEUTERONOMY. ToL Page, ii, 99 ii, 246 ii, 70 11, ii) ' ii, ii, ii. ii- ii. i. iii. ii, ii. 16 16, 17. 21 2-5 16, 17., 4 4-26 .. 26 16, 17 . 43 pasnm . 10 JOSHUA. 9-11. 3-5 ... 1-6. 1,2.. 1 14... JUDGES. 1,2.. 7 7 12.... 1 2 24 34 9-11 19, 20 3 5, 6, 19, 20.. 27,28 71 73 ■ 75 76 77 79 79 67 649 81 83 ii, 113 u, 79 ii, 64 11. 279 I, 130 11, 92 ii. 220 1. 29 u, 183 1, 16 11. 92 i. 30 11. 108 1. 91 11. 97 ii, 126 ii, 50 ii, 129 ii, 131 ii, 134 ii, 138 ii, 243 ii, 92 ii, 142 ii. 232 11. 235 11. 147 ii, 147 11. 149 11. 160 11. 160 11. 164 11. 156 u. 169 11. 233 11. 243 INDEX TO SCRIPTURES ILLUSTRATED. 647 Ghipter, Verse, 1 SAMUEL. Vol. ii, T vi vii ix X xii XV xvi six zxiii y ■vii z xiv zix zx viu ix xu xiv XV xvii xix xxi xxii vm ix xiii xiv xvi xvii xviii 7-10 13 10 ii, 18,19 ii, 21 ii, 1, 2 ii, 13 i, 1 ii, 26,27 ii, 12 ii, 28 ii, 6,11 i, 1,2 ii, 24 ii, 16-19 ii, 2 SA^IUEL. 19. 6... 2... 32.. 43.. 25. 1 KINGS. 15 28. 12-60 17, 18 26-28 6,7 16-19 28 28,29 4 27,28 31-38 38 28,29 6 22-24 17 1 10, 14, 18.. 19,23 7,8 2 KINGS. 9... 31.. 7... 24. 7., 11, ii, ii, ii, iii, 15-18 ii, 4 iii, 4 ii, 32-35 iii, 1 il, 161 224 167 244 168 244 224 172 173 173 177 224 177 180 181 ii. 187 ii, 95 ii, 189 ii. 192 u. 194 11, 244 197 206 268 212 214 216 220 220 84 269 222 222 271 273 275 303 276 279 283 286 286 290 277 293 295 164 330 89 332 226 383 1 CHRONICLES. Chapter. Verae. V vi XV xvi XXI xxviii VI vii viii ix X xi xiv xvii XX xxi xxiv XXV xxvi xxviii xxxii xxxiii 1,2. 31-48. 2-15 ... 1 39 40 1 12 VI vii Xll xiii V vi vii ix xiii xiv XV 2 CHRONICLES. 7-10 11-14 1-42 1 17,18 1-9 26 4, 10, 11... 16,17 3,4 6 10, 13-19., 35-37 11 18 27 16 20 31 11 12 14 EZRA. 1-12.. 23.... NEHEMIAH. 29 82, 35, 36 . 27-43 4, 6 JOB. 8,9.... 4 15-21.. 17 4-10... 16 10-16., Vol Page. ii, 243 ii, 244 ii, 244 ii, 246 ii, 244 ii, 244 ii, 403 ii, 208 ii, 206 ii, 249 ii, 268 ii, 250 ii, 217 ii, 217 ii, 220 ii, 224 ii, 273 ii, 306 ii, 810 ii, 311 ii, 287 ii, 316 ii, 318 ii, 324 ii, 828 ii, 330 iii, 188 Hi, 176.. ii, 337 ii, 839 iii, 268 ii, 369 ii, 372 ii, 372 ii, 373 ii, 372 ii, 873 357 404 402 400 489 485 414 400 411 412 426. 648 INDEX TO SCRIPTURES ILLUSTRATED. Chapter. Verae. xvi 12-14 . xviii xix JOB. XX xxi xxiii xxvi xxvii xxviii xxxi 23,24 23-27 24 28-30 10 6, 22, 26., 7,8 22 13, 14., 26, 27.. 28 23, 24., 24 xxxviii 4-11 ... XXXlll xxxiii PSALMS. XXXIV Ivi lix 5,6 6 22 10-13., 16,17., Ixxviii 60, 67. ex 1 ISAIAH. Til viii ix xiii XXI xxiii xxxvii xll xliv 29. 5... 14. 19.. 17 19-22 13,14 22,23 2-4 5-7 2 13 6, 7, 21-23, 28, 29, 33,34 21-23 24,28 xlv xlvii liv Ixiii 27 1-3 1 1-5 1, 5, 7, 8.. 1 9 9, 10 JEREMIAH. 16, 18, 19.. 12 Vol. Page. 490 491 65 409 489 412 416 401 499 401 486 413 356 98 414 416 408 122 149 254 254 254 244 463 i, 129 ii, 331 ii, 329 iii, 382 ii, 463 iii, 576 iii, 565 i, 334 iii, 565 iii, 539 iii, 540 iii, 676 iii, 561 iii, 550 iii, 50 ii, 360 iii, 594 iii, 664 iii, 664 iii, 694 ii, 360 iii, 561 iii, 564 i, 296 ii, 97 ii, 381 ii, 243 JEREMIAH. Chapter. Verse. Vol xxiii 18 i, XXV 8-11 iii, 18,26.. iii, 26 iii, xxvi 1-12 iii, xxvii 4-8 iii, 6-8 iii, xxviii 11 iii, xxxii 4 ii, xxxiv 3 ii, xliii 10 iii, xliv 17-25 iii, xlvi 13 iii, xlviii 45,46 i, 1 8-10 iii, 24 iii, U 57 :. iii, 7,17 iii, 13, 26, 29, 37, 42, 43 iii, 27 i, EZEKIEL. viii 7 ii, X 4,19 ii, 20 i, xi 22,23 ii, xiv 14,20 i, XX 7, 8 ii, xxviii 13,14 i, xxix 14,15 iii, 18,19 iu, 18-20 iii, XXX 10,11 Iii, 13 ui, 13-19 ui, xxxviii 2, 15 i, DANIEL. i 1 ii, 17-20 ii, ii 28-45 ii, 31-45 iii, 33, 34, 41-45 iii, 39 iii, iii 4,5 iii, iv 7, 8, 19,' 20 iii, 25,30 iii, V 25-28 ii, 31 iii, vi 5 ii, vii 5,20 iii, 6 iii, 9,10 i, viii 5-7 iii, xi 2 iii H ii, Feee. 427 562 187 575 538 187 562 194 662 345 345 638 213 638 67 664 564 564 19 566 303 383 386 146 386 296 92 148 639 538 98 538 539 640 348 349 352 362 353 663 638 593 619 228 640 229 367 198 358 693 619 427 694 274 415 INDEX TO JOEL. Chapter. Verse. ii 28-32 AMOS. ix 11, 12 MICAH. V 6 NAHUM. i 8 ii 6,7 iii 13-15 ZEPHANIAH. xi 13-15 HAGGAI. i 6,8-11 ii 7,9 ZECHARIAH. iii 8,9 tI 12 MALACHI. i 11 iii 1 iv 5 MATTHEW. xii 42 xxii 42, 46 xxiv 37,39 LUKE. iii 35,36 xi 31 xvii 26,27.; JOHN, vi 61,63-55 ACTS. iii 21 vii 2-4 SCRIPTURES ILLUSTRATED. ACTS. Chapter. Verse. vii 22 XV 16, 17 xvi 16 649 Vol. ii, '3T2 1, 30 i, 846 iii, iii, iii, 652 662 562 iii, 553 iii, ii, 268 471 ii, ii, 461 462 ii, ii, ii, 462 462 462 ii, ii, i, 216 470 296 i, ii, i, 22 216 296 i 227 i, i, 216 370 IV xiii xvil 1 CORINTHIAKS. Vol. ii, ^Ts 1, 30 i. 131 viii 10 i, 224 GALATLANS. 17., 23 EPHESIANS. 2 1 THESSALONLA.NS. 15-17 HEBREWS. 12 5 4 4, 5... 6 7 8-10.. xUi 10., 1 PETER. 10-12. i, 32 202 105 202 30 166 90 197 297 405 26 226 i, 416 2 PETER. 5 2-13. 8 JUDE. 14 14,16 REVELATION. 6-11., 8 6 xviii 3., I, 248 I, 29 1, 97 ii, 474 I, 66 m, 143 i. 146 1, 202 i, 327 111, 19 111, 19 41« GENERAL INDEX. Mron, appointed high-priest, ii, 106- his death, 79. AhimdecK, king in Sheohem, ii, 162. ■Abraham, history of, \ 369-387 — the promises made to him, ii, 14. Absalom, his rebellion, ii, 192 — is defeat- ed and slain, 193 — his treason, 654. Achan, his sin and punishment, ii, 129. ^neas, legend of, iii, 633. Ahab, his reign over Israel, ii, 278 — his death, and the fulfilment of Elijah's prophecy, 287. Ahaz succeeds to the throne of Judah, ii, 328 — Isaiah's mission to him, 329 — his inveterate idolatry, 330 — mighty prophetic influence employed to sustain true religion during his reign, 330. Ahaziah succeeds his father Jehoram as king of Israel, ii, 316. Ai, the city of, taken, ii, 130. Alba, legend of, iii, 634. Alcimus, the apostate high-priest, his remarkable death, ii, 430. Alexander the Great, his visit to Jeru- salem, where he is informed of the prophecies of Daniel, ii, 409. Alexander Janneus succeeds to the He- brew throne, ii, 442— saved from ruin by Cleopatra of Egypt, 443 — defeated by the combined Pharisees and Syr- ians, 444 — recovers his strength, and completely destroys the rebellious ■Pharisees, 445. Alexandra reigns queen in Jerusalem, ii, 446. Alphabet, its origin discussed, i, 46, et seq. — early traditions respecting it, 64 — proof of the early knowledge of an, 58 — Hartwell Home's opinion of, 69. ^mafetecs, Israelites' conflict with, ii, 61 — their origin, 619. Amaziah, King of Judah, invading Is- rael, is defeated and taken prisoner, ii, 294 — ^reigns over Judah, 320. Ammonites tyrannize over Israel, ii, 163. Amon reigns over Judah, ii, 338. Amorites resist Israel, and are destroyed ii, 80 — two tribes expelled by hornets 646. Amos prophecies, 296. Amphictyonic Council, the, iii, 616. Animal figures, the compound, of As- syria, derived from the cherubim, iii, 218. Animals, miraculously led into the ark, i, 250 — ^worship of, according to Diod- orus, iii, 23. Anointing of kings, public and private, ii, 651. Antediluvians, first generation, i, 159 — second, 162— third, 163— fourth,163— fifth, 167— sixth, 168— seventh, 168— eighth, 177— ninth, 180— tenth, 180 — their religion not destitute of law or revealed truth, 196 — were ac- quainted with the being and govern- ment of God, 197 — and the fall and depravity of man, 197 — had the means of believing on a promised Redeemer, and offered sacrifices typ- ical of his death, 199 — ^believed in a state of future existence, 210 — ^pos- sessed divine laws, 215 — observed the Sabbath, 220 — intellectual character of, 228-231 — addition to their history from the Targums, 233. Antigonus placed on the Hebrew throne by an anti-Roman party, ii, 455, Antiochus proscribes the Hebrew faith, and persecutes the faithful to death, ii, 421. Antipater, his origin and character, ii, 448 — he supports Hyroauus, 448 — rules under the nominal direction of Hyroanus, and extricates Caesar from great peril in Egypt, 463. Antony, Marc, appointed executor of Julius CsBsar's will, iii, 452 — seduced by Cleopatra, 454— is defeated, and kills himself, 457. Apostasy of the Hebrews, cause of na- tional ruin, ii, 393. Apparition of Samuel, ii, 562. 652 GENERAL INDEX. ■Ararat, the ark rested on, i, 300 — its geography, 302. Architectural skill of the patriarchal age, i, 602. jlreopagus, the j udioial court of, iii, 617. Argonautic expedition, the, iii, 603. Aristobulus wrests the government from his mother, whom he imprisons and starves to death, ii, 441 — defeats his brother Hyrcanus, and becomes king of the Hebrews, 447. Aristotle, his character and doctrine, iii, 399. ■Ark of God, taken by the Philistines, ii, 163 — wonders wrought before it in Philistia, 167 — restored to the Israel- ites, 167 — but not returned to the tabernacle, 243. Ark of Noah, strange opinions held re- specting, i, 246 — a wonderful struc- ture, 247. Army, first standing, of Rome, iii, 636. Artaxerxes, inscription relating to his I'eign, iii, 692. Asa reigns over Judah, ii, 306 — effects a religious reformation, 307 — induces the Syrians to invade Israel, 308 — is reproved by a prophet, whom he casts into prison, 309 — the burning for, 387. Assarac, the great national idol deity of Assyria, iii, 217. Asshur, his deification in Assyria, im- portance of, iii, 211. Assyria, foundation of the kingdom of, i, 435— early history of, 437, 441— the king of, at the instigation of Ahaz, invades Israel, ii, 299 — connexion of sacred history with the history of, 678 — army of, miraculously destroyed, 579 — early intercourse with Egypt, iii, 149 — history of, 160 — important aid afforded by recovered sculptures of, 160 — commencement of connected history, 161 — Sardanapalus, his reign and exploits, 161 — account furnished by the Obelisk, 164 — termination of the old line of kings, 162 — Arbaces, a Mede, ascends the throne, 162 — reigns of Pul and Tiglath-Pileser, 163 — Rawlinson's arrangement of the sculptures which refer to the later period, 164 — Sargon (of Isaiah) his reign, 165 — account of it from the sculptures, 166 — Sennacherib, account of his reign from the sculptures, 168 — his own account of his campaign against Hezekiah, 171 — Esarhaddon, his reign, 172 — conquers Israel, and carries the Ten Tribes into captivity, 176 — Nabuchodonosor, his reign, 176 — Sarao, his reign, 178 — assailed by the Medes, 178 — subdued by the Medes and Babylonians, 179 — mling element of its religion, 241 — pecu- liar difficulty of deciphering proper names, 645. Assyrian sculpture, chronological suc- cession of kings, iii, 546. Assyrians invade Judah under Holofer- nes, ii, 338 — the general slain by Judith, and the army routed, 338. Astronomical science, early knowledge of, in China, i,' 76 — Persia, 76 — Chal- dea, 76 — Bailly's and Brewster's opin- ion of the early existence of, 77, 78 — general view of the evidence respect- ing the early knowledge of, 80, 81. Athaliah, daughter of Jezebel, reigns wickedly in Judah, ii, 316 — is slain, 317. Athens, the rebuilding of, iii, 618. Atonement, great day of, ii, 109 — neces- sity for, believed by the later He- brews, 488. Augustus, left heir to his uncle Julius Csesar, iii, 462 — elected consul, 463 — with Antony defeats Brutus and Cas- sius at Philippi, 454 — supreme sover- eign of the Roman empire, 457. B BaaUpeor, plague at, ii, 81. Baasha, his reign over Israel, ii, 276. Babel, kingdom of Nimrod at, i, 431. Babylon, kings of, succeeding Nimrod, i, 431 — history of, possesses special interest, iii, 181 — subject to Assyria, 182 — Nabonassar, king of, his reign, 182 — Nadius, Chinzirus, Porus, and Jugaeus successively reign, 182 — Mar- docempadus reigns, and resists As- syria, 183 — again subdued by Assyria, 184 — Nabopolassar king, 184 — in con- junction with the Medes, takes Nin- eveh, 184 — Nebuchadneziar king, 186 — his reign, 186-196 — Evil-Merodach king, 196 — favours the captive king of Judah, 196 — Neriglissar, having slain Evil-Merodach, succeeds him, 197 — Laborosarchod, the Belshazzar of Daniel, king, 197 — his cruelty, pro- fane feast, and death, 19S — becomes subject to Media, 199 — Labynetus, the governor, revolts, but is subdued, and the city taken by Cyrus, 200 — probable state of political relation to Assyria before the reign of Nabo- polassar, 653 — its magnitude and splendour, 656 — chronological succes- sion of kings after Nebuchadnezzar, 566 — fulfilment of sacred prophecy in the history of, 661 — the type of Papal Antichrist, 670. GENERAL INDEX. 653 Bacchanalia, infamous rites of, iii, 488. Balaam, his conduct, ii, 81. Barak defeats Sisera, King of Canaan, ii, 148. Bel, the Belus of Assyria, iii, 211 — of Babylon, 213. Belshuzzar's feast and death, ii, 367 — his case more particularly consider- ed, 682. ■ Benhadad invades Israel, and is mirac- ulously repulsed, ii, 284— besieges Sa^ maria, and reduces it to great straits ; but his army, by the interposition of God, is dispersed, 288 — in his sick- ness consults the prophet Elisha, 290. Bethel taken, ii, 133. Beth-shemesh, sin and punishment at, ii, 546. Bondage of the Israelites in Egypt, ii, 70. Books, Chaldsean traditions of the early existence of, i, 71 — Persian, 71 — In- dian, 72. Borrowing by the Israelites from the Egyptians, ii, 614. Borsippa, where Labynetus took refuge, its geography, iii, 660. Bows, made of steel or brass, mentioned in Job, i, 489. Ccesar, Julius, policy of, in Egypt and Judea, ii, 453 — subdues Gaul, iii, 447 — marches on Eome in defiance of the senate, 448 — defeats Pompey, and becomes master of the Boman em- pire, 449 — is adored at Rome as a demi-god, 450 — is assassinated, 451 — his vast designs, 452. Caleb, his faithful conduct as one of the spies, ii, 74 — his brave behaviour, 142. Calf, the golden, of Aaron, ii, 35 — no- ble and pious conduct of Moses re- specting, 65. Camillus delivers Rome from the Gauls, and restores the city, iii, 418. Camp, order of the Israelites in their, ii, 68 — ^described, 87. Canaan, promised to Abraham, ii, 14 — to Isaac, 22 — to Jacob, 46 — thirty-one kingdoms of, subdued, 133 — provi- dential preparation for Israelitish in- vasion of, iii, 536. Caravans in use in the time of Abra- ham, i, 484. Carchemish, route of Pharaoh-Neflho to, ii, 581. Carthage, first war of Rome with, iii, 420— destroyed, 435. Chaldaan oracles, the information they afford, iii, 207. Cherubic elements, foundation of animal worship, iii, 24 — figures of, origin of animal worship in Egypt, 132. Cherubim in Paradise, nature of, i, 143 ; ii, 529 — of Ezekiel, their relation to Assyrian sculpture, iii, 668. China, early history of, i, 442 — religion of, 447. Chronological arrangement of Nebu- chadnezzar's dreams, ii, 582. Chronological position of the lower line . of Assyrian kings, iii, 547. Chronological table of Egyptian history, iii, 126 — Assyrian, 180 — Babylonian, 201— Median, 260— Persian, 286— Grecian, 369 — Boman, 458. Chronology, importance of a knowledge of, i, 12 — of the early ages, discuss- ed, 13 — of the Israelites' sojourn in Egypt, ii, 615— of the Judges, 164— of the Hebrew monarchy, 270 — of Hebrew history during the Captivity, 376— of Hebrew history from restorar tion to independence, 433 — from in- dependence to time of Christ, 459 — of the deliverance of Jerusalem by Judith, 580— of Daniel, 687. Chushan-Rishaihaim, tyranny and defeat of, ii, 146. Cicero, his exposition of Roman theolo- gy, iii, 494. Circumcision, its divine appointment, ii, 509. Civilization of first early population of the world, 191, 192. Clothing, moral effect of its origin, i, 162. Cloudy pillar, wonderful effect of the, ii, 47. Coins of Simon Maccabeus, ii, 596. Commerce, extensive range of ancient, i, 492. Commercial voyages, early date of Phe- nician, i, 493 — policy of Solomon, ef- fect of, on the conduct of Egypt toward Israel, ii, 660. Confusion of Tongues, the Mosaic account of, i, 337 — the Scriptural account con- firmed by learned investigation, 338 — a great miracle, 344. Cosmogony of the Phenicians from San- choniatho, i, 109 — of the Chaldseans, by Berosus, 110 — the Hindus, 111 — Persia, 112 — Pythagoras, 116 — Ovid, 117 — review of the Gentile account of, in comparison with the Mosaic, 118. Council of God, i, 426. Creation, sublimity of, i, 89 — not known by reason, but by revelation, 90 — importance of the knowledge of, 91 — geological and Scriptural accounts of, considered, 97 — state of the case, 97 — Mosaic narration of, considered, 100. 654 GENERAL INDEX. Cyrus, Isaiah's prophecy concerning, ii, 359 — his tomb, important inscription on, 363 — his proclamation of Hebrew emancipation, 363 — personal history of, iii, 576— was he acquainted with Daniel's prophecy ? 677. D Daniel carried to Babylon, and enrolled among the Magi, ii, 352 — propheti- cally declares and explains Nebu- chadnezzar's dream, 352^made chief of the Magi and governor of Babylon, 363 — delivered from the den of lions, 358 — his notation of prophetic time, 590. Danites, the, prepare the way for idolar try, ii, 232. Darius Hystaspia, his own account of his wars, iii, 682. Darius the Mede, who was he ? iii, 573. David, anointed king, ii, 178 — builds a tabernacle on Mount Zion for wor- ship, and places the ark there, 244 — his religious conduct and experi- ence, 253 — kills Goliah, 179 — made king of Judah and Israel, 185 — takes Jerusalem, and makes it his capital, 186 — prosecutes extensive and suc- cessful wars, 188 — is guilty of mur- der and adultery, 190 — is convinced, and repents, 191 — sins by numbering the people, 195 — greatness of, display- ed in his final arrangements, 198— difBoulties in the Scripture narrative of his entrance on public life, 651. Deborah, prophetess and judge, ii, 148 — her noble ode, 238. Decalogue, proper division of, ii, 527. Deity, neither the unity nor the purity of, shown by idolatry, iii, 29 — lan- guage used by the Hebrews when speaking of, ii, 579. Dejoces, his accession to the Median throne, iii, 572. Deluge, history of the, i, 241 — a punish- ment for sin, 212 — not to be repeated, 399 — Scripture narrative of, explain- ed, 242 — peculiar circumstances which preceded it, 251 — objection to the Scriptural account of, considered, 254 — its universality proved, 266 — philosophical refutation of objections, 260— heathen traditions respecting, 267 — commemorated in the heathen world, 272 — Chaldasan tradition of, 275— Greek, 276— Aparaoen medal, 278— Hindu traditions, 279-284— Chinese, 285 — Persian, 285 — Egyp- tian, 286— Edda, of the, 286— Jewish, 287 — modern traditions found in heathen nations: Peruvians, 289 — Cuba, 290— Brazil, 290— Otaheite, 291 — ^Britain, 291, 292 — manner of its infliction intended to teach the future races of mankind, 298. Demon agency, the means by which the magicians of Egypt wrought wonders, ii, 612. Dictatorship, origin and character of, among the Komans, iii, 636. Dispersion, history of the, i, 324 — the earth, by divine appointment, divided among the sons of Noah, 322 — Scrip- tural account of, attested by heathen traditions, 326— the location of the several tribes, 344 — date of the, 479. Division of Canaan among the tribes, ii, 138 — of the Hebrew kingdom, divine purpose in, 670. Divine influence essential to religious prosperity, ii, 240. E Edomites refuse to allow the Israelites to pass through their territory, ii, 78. Eglon slain by Ehud, ii, 147. Egypt, early history of, i, 458, 469 — religion of, 470-477 — the Israelites' sojourn in, ii, 28 — ^monumental proof of, 47 — ^its history, iii, 53 — ^was a na- tion, not an empire, 54 — ^has not left materials for a complete history, 54 — outline of its early state, 56 — ^Eigh- teenth Dynasty of, its government, 68 — advanced state of the arts, 59 — warlike operations of Thothmosis HI., 64 — exodus of Israelites from, 69 — Bamses III. ascends the throne, 70 — his successful martial career, 71 — combination of elegance and excessive cruelty, 76 — Nineteenth Dynasty : Rameses, monumental record respect- ing, 78 — Twentieth Dynasty, 79 — Twenty-first Dynasty, 81 — Tanis or Zoan, 81 — contemporary with David and Solomon, 82 — Twenty-second Dy- nasty, 84 — Judea invaded by Shishak, 84 — Twenty-third Dynasty, 86— Twenty-fourth, 87— Twenty-fifth, 88 — Ethiopian power paramount, 89 — Twenty-sixth Dynasty, 91 — The Dode- carchy, 91 — Psammetichus, 92 — Pha- raoh-Necho defeats Josiah, and exer- cises the power of appointing a king at Jerusalem,95 — architectural works of great splendour built, 101 — Twenty- seventh Dynasty, or rule of Persian kings, 103 — cruelty of Cambyses, 104 — visit of Herodotus, 107 — Twenty- eighth Dynasty, native rule, 107 — Twenty-ninth, native kings, 108 — Thirtieth Dynasty, native kings, 108 — Thirty-first, Persian kings. 111— GENBEAL INDEX. 655 Thirty-second, Macedonians, 111 — Al- exandria built. 111 — Thirty-third Dy- nasty, the Ptolemies, 112 — wise goT- ernment of Ptolemy Soter, 113 — a Ro- man province, 125 — great degeneracy of, under the later Ptolemies, 121 — its geography and population, 680 — chronology of its ancient history, 531 — monumental names of its kings,.634. Egyptian idolatry, progressive develop- ment of, iii, sil. Egyptian sculptures, cruelty exhibited on, iii, 536. Elah, his reign over Israel, ii, 277. Eleusinian mysteries, nocturnal scenes of, iii, 625. Eli judges Israel, ii, 160 — his history, 161. Elijah prophecies, ii, 279 — his letter to Jehoram, 677 — his conduct and mira- cle at Carmel, 282 — anoints Hazael king of Damascus, and Jehu to suc- ceed to the throne of Israel, 283. Elim, Israelites arrive at, ii, 57. Elisha enters upon the prophetic office, U, 287. Empires, their origin, i, 481. Enoch, history and prophecy of, i, 171 — piety and end of, 237. Epicurus, his character and doctrines, iii, 401. Esau sells his birthright, ii, 510. Essenes, the origin and character of the sect, ii? 486 — were they Christians ? 605. Esther, queen of Persia, ii, 375. Etruscan origin of Eomau power and civilization, iii, 636. Etruscans, primitive, iii, 460 — ancient faith of, 460— theology of, 462— re- ligious doctrines of, 467. EvU-Merodach succeeds to the throne of Babylon, ii, 366 — king of Babyloii, iii, 196. Exodus, wonderful character of the, ii, 46 — knowledge and effect of, on sur- rounding nations, 60 — Sir Gardiner Wilkinson on the date of the, iii, 536. Faber, the E«v. G. S., his account of the origin of idoljitry, iii, 22. Faith of the Hebrews, violent aggres- sion on, by Nebuchadnezzar, ii, 396. Fall oj^ man. Scriptural account of, i, 142 — Hindu tradition respecting, 136 — ^Persian, 136— religious conse- quences of, 149 — direct agency of Satan in respect of, 165. Fetichism, unscripturally and absurdly called " the original religion of man- kind," iii, 17. Fire-worship, Assyrian, iii, 234 — origin of, 599. Fohee, first sovereign of China, whether the same as Noah, i, 480. Future judgment, believed in Assyria, iii, 240 — rewards and punishments according to Zoroaster, 600. Future rewards and punishments, why mention of them omitted by Moses in the law, ii, 85. Future state of existence believed by the postdiluvian patriarchs, i, 412. G Gauls, the, sack Ecme, iii, 417. Gedaliah appointed governor of-Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem, ii, 350. Gems and precious stones in use in Job's time, i, 487. Geographical extent of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, ii, 574. Geography, knowledge of, in patriarchal times, i, 499. Geologists, their objections to the De- luge met, i, 294. Giants, meaning of the term in Genesis, i, 166, 187. Gibeonites, their craft and doom, ii, 131 — their case investigated, 142 — their slaughter and its punishment, 564. Gideon, his call and conduct, ii, 149 — his call clearly shown to be of God, 234— following the example of, 234— his ephod, 663. Glass sent as tribute from Assyria and Babylon to Egypt, iii, 643. God, manifestation of, in the Mosaic dispensation, ii, 96. Goliath, his profane challenge and death, ii, 179. Goodness, compassion, and love of God, believed by postdiluvian patriarchs, i, 403. Gracchus, Gains, his public conduct and death, iii, 437. Gracchus, Tiberius, his reforms, iii, 436 — ^his death, 436. Greece, history of, iii, 313 — wonderful character of, 314 — geographical out- line of, 315 — patriarchal origin of, 317 — ^Pelasgians and Hellenes, 317 — traditional period, 319 — peculiar state of Greece, 320 — in early times divid- ed into many and dependent states, religiously united, 320 — institutions of Lycurgus at Sparta, 323 — of Solon at Athens, 326 — ^the Solonian code in abeyance at Athens while Pisistratus reigned, 329 — ^laws of Solon restored, 330— condition of the states and col- 656 GENERAL INDEX. onies of, 331 — first Persian invasion defeated, 336 — second, also, at Mara- thon, 338 — third, of Xerxes, vast preparation for, 339 — completely re- pulsed, 34i — rapid progress of useful and elegant arts, 346 — gained much aid from foreign countries, 346 — in- tellectual elevation of Athens, 347— first Peloponnesian war, 347 — Athe- nian armament against Sicily totally destroyed, 348 — second Peloponnesian war, 349 — Athens subdued, 3-1:9 — martial power of Thebes, 351 — Philip of Macedon makes himself supreme in Greece, 353 — Alexander succeeds his father at Macedon, 364 — invades Asia, 364 — establishes a mighty em- pire, and dies, 354 — Antipater rules in Greece, 365 — Cassander succeeds to the government, 366 — the Achsean League under Aratus, 357 — the Ro- mans establish their dominion, and make Greece a Roman province, 358. Greek language, prevalence of, ii, 692. Groves, sacred, what, ii, 680. H Hailstones, miraculous shower of, ii, 541. Handicraft arts brought to great perfec- tion in patriarchal times, i, 492. Hannibal invades Italy, iii, 425. Hazael becomes king of Syria, as pre- dicted by Elisha, ii, 290 — his case considered, 573. Heathens, a knowledge of their religion essential to a sound acquaintance with their history, iii, 15 — religion of, not an error, but the work of Satan, iii, 16 — history and religion of the an- cient nations of, 508. Heber, house of, ii, 546. Hebrew community in Egypt, ii, 593. Hebrew monarchy, general views of, at the death of David, ii, 199. Hebrev) people, remarkable historical account of their origin, ii, 14 — their views of Deity, 266 — ^immortality of the soul, 267^faith, peculiar attesta- tion to the truth of, 661 — hyssop, fig- urative import of, 670 — several de- portations to Babylon, 349 — regain their independence, 432 — their gov- ernment, horrid wickedness of, 442 — the later, the views they entertained of the promised Redeemer, 463 — the effect of their views of the Deity on the doctrine of redemption, 468. Hebrew religion, historical sketch of, from the time of Israel to Christ, ii, 477 — dispensation given of, 493 — re- ligion an important development of divine government, . 494 — a remedial agency, 498— means for carrying out the purposes of redemption, 502. Heraclidce, return of the, iii, 612. Herodotus, value of his testimony re- specting the temple of Mylitta, iii, 565. Herod made king of Judea by the sen- ate of Rome, ii, 545 — endeavours to extirpate, the Asmonean family, 456 — is favoured by Augustus, 457 — reigns with great cruelty, 457— do- mestic cruelty and misery of, 458. Hezekiah ascends the throne of Judah, ii, 331 — labours to abolish idolatry, and refuses to pay tribute to A ssyria, 332 — his sickness, prayer, and re- covery, 333 — his vanity, and its pun- ishment, 335. Hieroglyphics, subsequent to alphabet writing, i, 52, 53. High places, sacred, their origin and character investigated, ii, 674. History of the Hebrews, peculiar relig- ious character of, ii, 571. Hosea prophesies, ii, 296. Hoshea kills Pekahiah, and reigns over Israel, ii, 299.' Human nature, deification of, a ruling element of heathenism, iii, 22 — had its origin in the promised incarna- tion, iii, 529. Hunting, referred to by Job, i, 491. Hyrcanus succeeds his mother Alexan- dra as king at Jerusalem.^i, 447. I Idolatry, antediluvian, i, 234 ; iii, 525 — vast extent of, introduced into the Hebrew temple, ii, 383 — its author and character, iii, 17 — must have arisen before the Dispersion, 18 — postdiluvian, the place of its origin, and principal seat, 19 — in Egypt, an- titype of its mythology, 22 — univer- sal, established in the world, 25 — a grand effort to neutralize the scheme of redemption, 26 — its ruling agency, 26 — affords man no knowledge, 2-8 — reduced to an established form, 205 — important pass;ige respecting pro- gress of, 206 — of Assyria and Baby- lon, arose out of patriarchal trutli and Edenic representation, directed by him who, as king, aspired to be God, 231 — exhibits a gratl^al, but great, deterioration in the objects of worship, 232 — false notions of its origin confuted, 513. Idumeans subdued, circumcised, and united with the Hebrews, ii, 440. Immanuel promised, ii, 578. Intellectual character of the patriarchal GENERAL INDEX. 657 age, fairly represented in the Book of Job, i, 501. Isaac, history of, i, 392 — the blessing of, ii,6]0. Isaiah, his prophetic ministrations, ii, 327. Ishmael, history of, i, 392. Israel and Syria combine to destroy the house of David, ii, 298. Israelites, national career of, to their passage through the Red Sea, ii, 52 — infidelity of, at Kadesh-Barnea, 74 — their flagrant rebellion, 74— unfaith- ful conduct of, 143 — lapse into idola- try, 143, 235— number of, who left Egypt, 514 — their claims to Canaan, 640— taught and trained by God 662. Jabal and Jubal, their works, i, 177. Tabin tyrannizes over Israel, ii, 147. Jacob, his personal history, ii, 19, 28 — pottage of, 609 — his wrestling with the angel, 511. Jair, judge of Israel, ii, 153. Jason purchases the high priesthood, but is deposed and banished, ii, 417 — labours to set aside the Mosaic in- stitutions, and to introduce heathen practices and games, 419. Jehoahaz reigns in Israel, ii, 293 — reigns over Judah, 343. Johoiachin succeeds to- the throne of .Tudah, and is led into captiyity by Nebuchadnezzar, ii, 344. Jehoiakim reigns over Judah, and be- comes tributary to Babylon, ii, 344. Jehoram succeeds to the throne of Isra- el, ii, 287 — succeeds his father as king of Judah, 315 — his cruel fratri- cide, 316 — enforces the practice of idolatry, 315 — warned and threats ened, and miserably dies as predict- ed, 316. Jehoshaphat forms an alliance with Ahab, ii, 286 — ascends the throne of Judah, 310 — his religious reforma- tion, and system of treating the peo- ple, 310 — defeats his enemies, 313. Jehovah, who appeared to the patriarchs a divine person and the promised Messiah, i, 420, 425. Jehu rebels, kills Jehoram, and reigns in Israel, ii, 291 — by craft destroys the supporters of idolatry in Israel, 292. Jephthah, his history, ii, 164 — his vows, 239— his daughter, 665. Jericho rebuilt by Hiel, ii, 279 — the malediction of Joshua, and its accom- plishment in Hiel, 672. Jeroboam, king of Israel, his banish- 42 ment, ii, 223 — becomes king of Israel, 22^ — his reign over Israel, 271 — his religious unfaithfulness, 272 — the worship which he establishes, 274 — miraculously afiiioted and restored, 275 — his sin considered, 671. Jerusalem visited with pestilence, ii, 196 — its ruin removed much error from the Hebrew mind, 388 — sacked by Ptol- emy, who carries one hundred thou- sand captives to Egypt, 411 — stormed by Antiochus, and subjected to horri- ble cruelty, 420 — ^besieged by Anti ochus Sidetes, 439 — taken by' Herod, aided by a Roman army, 456 — taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, iii, 189. Jesus Christ condemned to die, not for claiming Messiahship,. but for assert- ing his divinity, ii, 471. Jethro, his suggestion for i\e organiza- tion and government of the Israelites adopted, ii, 68 — his visit to Moses, 620. Jezebel causes the murder of Naboth, ii, 286 — her death, and the fulfilment of prophecy therein, 291. Joab, his daring energy sustains David, ii, 195. Joash succeeds his father as king of Israel, ii, 294 — reigns piously over Israel, 317. Job, history of, i, 351, 363— Book of, 364, 368. John Hyroanus, alienated from the Pharisees, and favours the Saddu- cees, ii, 440 — subdues the Idumeans, and, on their being circumcised, in- corporates them with the Hebrews, 440 — dying, bequeaths the govern- ment to his wife, 441. Jonah prophesies, ii, 293 — his mission to Nineveh, iii, 236 — its great result, 238. Jonathan, his love for David, ii, 181. Jones, Sir William, on the Confusion of Tongues, i, 339. Joseph, his personal history, ii, 27. Josephus, his testimony, ii, 591. Joshua succeeds to the government of Israel, ii, 126 — leads the Israelites over Jordan, 127 — favored with an extraordinary divine revelation, 128. Josiah, king of Judah, ii, 338 — his re- formation of religion, 341 — resists the progress of the king of Egypt through his dominions, and is slain in battle, 342. Jotham reigns over Judah, ii, 327. Jubilee, year of, ii, 113. Judah, kingdom of, religious character of, ii, 302 — relapses into idolatry, 658 GENERAL INDEX. 303— inyaded by Egypt, 304— this event commemorated on Egyptian monuments, 305 — placed in danger by an alliance with Israel, 312 — threatened by Moab and Ammon, 313 — spoiled by the Philistines and Arsr bians, 316 — almost wholly devoted to idolatry, 326 — total subversion of the kingdom, 345 — the survivors led into captivity, 345 — religious view of the ruin of, 378. Judas Maccabeas, his splendid military career, ii, 424 — effects an alliance with-Rome, 429 — falls in battle, and is succeeded by his brother Jonathan, 429— character of, 429. Judea, virtually a Koman province, ii, 460. Judges, their character and power, ii, 146 — extent of their authority, 146. Judgment, future, how represented in the religion of Egypt, iii, 139. Jugurtha, his character and conduct, iii, 438. Julius Caesar. See CiESAK. Kadesh-Barnea, Israelites at, ii, 71 — ^its geography, 621. Karaites, the sect of, ii, 604. King, the Israelites demand a, ii, 170. Kings of Assyria, regarded as divine, iii, 224 — identical with the Sacred Son, 225-227— this proved, 227-230 —Babylon, 229— Persia, 291. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, their re- bellion, ii, 75. J^amech, his history, i, 168. Languages, three primitive- families of, i, 339. Law, the given, ii, 64. Legendary history of Rome, general view of, iii, 701. JJterature, the religious, of the He- brews, ii, 697. Longevity of early races of mankind proved, i, 184-186. Lnpcrcalia, infamous rites of, iii, 487. M Marrdonia subdued by the Romans, iii, 4;i3. Magi, originally a Median tribe, iii, 290, Magicians of Egypt, real wonders wrought by them, ii, 511. Makkedah, Joshua's victory at, over the five kings, ii, 132. Man, his origin, according to the Chal- Joeans, i, 120 — Hindus, 121 — Scandi- navians, Romans, and Holy Scripture, 122 — his primitive condition, accord- ing to Scripture, 122 — Jewish tradi- tion, 123 — Mohammedan, 124 — the Hindus, 124 — the ancient Persians, 124 — Egyptians, 126 — elevated condi- tion of the first, even after the fall, 160 — his original condition, iii, 18 — the worship of, 628. Manasseh reigns over Judah, ii, 336 — his apostacy and cruelty, 336 — is car- ried into captivity, repents, and is restored, 337. Manna given to the Israelites, ii, 68 — a miracle, 618. Manoah visited by an angel, ii, 155. Marah, Israelites arrive at, ii, 66 — ^heal- ing the waters of, 616 — laws given at, 617. Marius appointed consul, iii, 440 — and Sylla, their rival factions introduce great disorders at Rome, 444. Marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter, ii, 666. Material elements, worship of, intro- duced, iii, 26. Mattathias, his noble resistance of the Antiochian persecution, ii, 422. Medes, their origin and history, iii, 243 — their early character, 244r— Dejoces raised to the throne, 246— Phraortes, his reign, 246 — is slain in battle, 246 — Cyaxares succeeds to the throne, 247- — forms an alliance with Babylon, 248 — the united army destroys Nine- veh, 248 — Astyages reigns in Media, 249— is subdued by Cyrus, 260. Menahem defeats and kills Shallum, and reigns over Israel, ii, 297. Menelaus outbids Jason, and thus ob- tains the high priesthood, in which office he promotes heathenish prac- tices still further than his predeces- sors, ii, 418. Messiah, a clear apprehension of the prophecies respecting, necessary to a just knowledge of Hebrew faith, ii, 390 — teaching of the Old Testament respecting, 468 — notwithstanding the explicit teaching of the Old Testa- ment, the later Hebrews did not be- lieve the divinity of, 469 — Scripture proof of this, 470. Metals, working in, common in the days of Job, i, 486. Micah, his innovation in worship, ii, 143 — how far it was corrupt, doubt- ful, 233. Midianites, their tyranny over Israel, ii, 149. Mining, remarkable description of, by Job, i, 486. GENERAL INDEX. 659 Miracle of Joshua, the sun standing still, ii, 642. Miracles which preceded the Exodus, ii, 32. Miriam and Aaron resist Moses, ii, 71 — her character, 622. Mithridatea makes war on Rome, iii, 441. Mizpeh, great meeting of Israelites at, ii, 168. Moab, the plains of, ii, 622. Moloch, sacrifice of children to, ii, 677. Monarchy, cause of the Hebrew, ii, 549. Money, in use in patriarchal times, i, 488. Monumental inscriptions of Assyria, the, iii, 164 — remarkable means by which their reading has been effected, 644. Morals of ancient Egypt, iii, 134 — of Assyria, 240. Morison, his " Religious History of Man," quoted, i, 43. Mortgage pillars in Greece, iii, 617. Mosaic economy, effect of, ii, 124 — laws, harmony of, 635. Moses, his history, ii, 33 — his meekness, 621— born, iii, 68. Murmuring of the Israelites for flesh, ii, 69. Musical instruments used by the ante- diluvians, i, 177. Mylitttt, a Babylonian goddess, abomiua^ tions connected with the worship of, iii, 212. Mysteries, the heathen, Warburton's views of, iii, 33 — refuted by Lelaud, 34 — conflicting opinions respecting, 35 — their origin, object, and charac- ter, 39, et seq. — essential requisites to their celebration, 43 — sacred in Greece, 388. N Nabonassar, Era of, iii, 553 — his reign over Babylon, 182. Nudab and Abihu, their rebellion and punishment, ii, 67. Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigns over Israel, ii, 276. Nahash, his cruel threat, ii, 650. Nakor, account of, i, 368. Nebuchadnezzar, his impious arrogance, i, 334 — destroys Jerusalem, ii, 349 — his golden image, 364— terrible in- fliction on, 355 — rationale of, 586 — reduces Palestine during his father's life, iii, 186— succeeds to the throne of his father, 186 — carries away the Hebrews captive, 187 — takes .Jerusa- lem, and .destroys it, 188 — takes Tyre, 189 — greatly improves and beautifies Babylon, 190 — his dream of the great image, 190 — his golden image, 192 — his dream of the great tree, 194 — its prophetic interpretation and fulfil- ment, 195 — his death, 196 — his pun- ishment, and its design, 229 — effect of this on the national religion, 239. Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem as govern- or, ii, 371 — renews the observance of th? Sabbath, 373. New moons, reverence for, ii, 113. Nimrod, his daring rebellion, i, 328— his profane assumption of religious character, 333 — his kingdom at Ba- bel, 431. Nisroch, the deified Asshur, iii, 211. Nitocris, the Median princess whom Nebuchadnezzar married, iii, 556. Noah, prophetic import of his name, i, 240 — his mission and ministry, 248 — revelation made to him after the Deluge, 306 — God's covenant with, 306 — his prophecy, and strange cir- cumstances connected therewith, ex- amined, 309 — died in Armenia, 320. Numa, King of Rome, his reign, iii, 411. Numbering the people, ii, 525 — sin of, 666. Obadiah, his faithful conduct, ii, 281, Omnipotence of Deity, known and be- lieved by the postdiluvian patri- archs, i, 400. Omniscience, equally recognised, i, 401. Omri, his reign over Israel, ii, 278 — -the statutes of, 572. Onias, the deposed high-priest, murder- ed at Antioch, ii, 419. Ophir, geography of, and trade with, ii, 558. Oracles of Greece, iii, 385 — of the hea- then, considered, 44— rabsurd objection to their supernatural character, 45 — evidence to show they were some- times attended by demon agency, 46 — result of the inquiry respecting, 60. Ostracism, banishment by, iii, 617. Othniel judges Israel, ii, 146. Paradise, heathen reference to the events of, i, 129-133 — geographical position of, 141 — imitated in the tow- ers and high places of the heathen, 336 — imitation of, in the grounds surrounding the palace-temples of the East, iii, 221 — the subject further discussed, 669. Parochial priests, origin of, iii, 483. Passover, the, instituted, ii, 45 — ^feast of, 112. . Patriarchal age, general view of the his- tory and religion of, i, 505-522 — place of worship, ii, 625. 660 SBNERAL INDEX. Patriarchs, postdiluvian, history of, to Arphaxad, i, 316 — Canaan, 318 — Salah, 319 — history of, from Disper- sion to the death of Isaac, 361-397. Pekahiah reigns over Israel, ii,' 298. Pekah kills I'ekahiah, and reigns lu his stead, ii, 298. Persecutions, wonderful issue of Nebu- chadnezzar's, ii, 398. Persia, early history of, i, 449' — religion of, 456 — history of, resumed, iii, 251 — peculiar interest of, 252 — Rawah obtains independence of, 252 — annals of early reigns, 253 — Cyrus, his early history, 255 — his successful war of independence, 256 — continued career of success, 268 — his conduct to the Hebrews, 259 — allows their return to Palestine, 261— his death, 262— Cam- byses. King of Persia and Media, 262 — invades and subdues Egypt, 263 — cruelty and death, 265 — Smerdis the Magian reigns, and is slain, 266 — Darius Hystaspis reigns, 266 — pro- motes the building of Jerusalem, 268 — Babylon revolts, and is subdued, 269 — Darius resolves to invade Greece, 271 — inscription at Behistun, 273 — Xerxes invades Greece, 274 — his forces entirely defeated, 276 — his diar bolical conduct, 277 — Artaxerxes, King of Persia, 278 — marries Esther the Jewess, 278 — Xerxes II. is king, and slain, 279 — Darius Ochus secures the crown, 280 — ^demoralized state of the government and court, '280 — Ar- taxerxes III. obtains the throne, 233 — Darius Codomannus loses his em- pire by the invasion of Alexander, 284 — deliberation as to mode of gov- ernment, 680 — succession of Xerxes to the throne of, 681 — the religion of, 287— difficulty of the subject, 2SS— essentially the same in its foundation as the Assyrian, 288 — divinity of the king fully maintained, 291 — in other respects similar to the Assyrian, 291 — doctrines held respecting the su- preme God, 294 — Ahriman, his ma^ lignity and power, 296 — origin of the sun and iire-worship, 298 — antago- nism of Ormuzd and Ahriman, 300 — account of creation analogous to the Mosaic, 301 — nature of the human soul, 302 — universal restoration, even of devils, 304 — priesthood, 305 — their profane claims, 309 — festivals, 306 — morals, 307 — merit, 309 — general ob- servations on, 311 — probable theology before Zoroaster, 696 — predicted in- vasion of Persia by Greece, 619. Pharisees and Sadduoees become rival sects, ii, 440 — origin and character of the sect, 479. Philistines oppress Israel, ii, 153 — de- feat the Israelites, 162 — miracfllously defeated at Mizpeh, 169. Philosophy, irreligious result of the Grecian systems of, iii, 403. Plagues of Egypt : water turned into blood, ii, 38— frogs, 38— lice, 39— flies, 40 — murrain, 41 — boils, 41 — thunder and fire, 42 — locusts, 43 — darkness, and death of the first-born, 46. Plato, his character, iii, 397 — doctrines, 399. Poetry, beautiful specimen of, in the Song of Moses, ii, 50. Poisoned arrows in use in Job's time, i, 489. Pompey interferes in the affairs of Ju- dea, ii, 449 — storms Jerusalem, and appoints Hyrcanus high-priest, 460 — his military success, iii, 446 — rupture with Csesar, 447 — his defeat and death, 449. Poor, the oppressive laws of Eome re- specting the, iii, 637. Population, progress of, among ante- diluvians, i, 182 — entire postdiluvian, journeyed to Shinar, 326 — early post- diljivian, 313. Prayer, how practised by the Hebrews, ii, 486. Preaching of Ezra, ii, 475 — before and after the time of Ezra, 475. Priest, the special appointment of Aaron to the ofiice of, ii, 105 — Jonathan the high, kills his brother in the court of the temple, 407. Priesthood, the patriarchal, ii, 523 — the Levitical, 633 — of Rome, iii, 47 S. Profane identification of Jehovah with idolatry, iii, 30. Prophecy of Ahijah, ii, 222 — of Isaiah respecting Cyrus, 369 — of Daniel con- cerning the restoration of the He- brews, 360— of Ezekiel, 361— of Jere- miah on the doom of Jerusalem, 382 — of Ezekiel on the apostasy of Ju- dah, 382 — its effect on the Hebrew faith, 391 — of the four empires in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, 399 — uf the precise time of Messiah's coming, and its object, 400 — when were the books of sacred, written and collooted? o8.'> — the Hebrews returned from captiv- ity, and had their religious economy reconstructed, under the immediate direction of, 460 — of Haggai and Zechariah, 461— of JIalaohi, 462— the divine intention of, frustrated by tradition, 606 — fulfilment of, in the history of Egypt, iii, 537 — Assyria, GENERAL INDEX. 661 649— Babylon, 561 — Media, 675— Persia, 592— Greece, 'Big- Rome, 638 — wonderful Influence of, on the poli- cy of Judea, toward the neighbouring nations, 187. Prophets, schools of the, ii, 170 — sons of the, 566— of Greece, iii, 381— Gen- tile, divine inspiration of, 622. Providence, views entertained of, by the post diluvianpatriarohs, i, 406 — views of the Egyptians on, iii, 143. Punic war, the second, iii, 425. Q Quails given to the Israelites, ii, 71 — the wonder explained, 517. R Rainbow, conjecture as to its origin, i, 308— deified, 308. Rationalistic interpretation, its absurd- ity, ii, 99. Redeemer, the promised, believed in by the postdiluvian patriarchs, i, 408. Redemption, primitive promise of, how understood, i, 156. Red Sea divided for the Israelites, ii, 49. Rehoboam succeeds his father as king of the Hebrews, and by his folly alien- ates the Ten Tribes, ii, 224 — his con- duct considered, 570. Religion of the antediluvians, i, 862, 404 — of the early period of the prim- itive nations, 431-478 — of the post- diluvian patriarchs, 398-430 — of the Hebrews in the wilderness, ii, 89-124 — while in Egypt, 92-96 — important extent and peculiar nature of, 228 — undoubted evidence of its truth, 229 — of Judah, mighty agencies employ- ed to sustain it during Hezekiah's reign, 334 — of the Gentiles, its gen- eral uniformity accounted for, iii, 19 — promised elements of patriarchal, 20— perverted to idolatrous purposes, 21 — of Egypt, general view of, 145 — general view of the progress of its declension, 204. Religious institutions, similarity be- tween Hebrew and heathen, account- ed for, ii, 526 — doctrines believed in the latter period of Hebrew history, 463. Repentance recognised as a doctrine of the Hebrew faith, ii, 487. Rephidim, Israelites at, ii, 60. Restoration of the Hebrews to their own land, of vast importance as fulfilment of prophecy, ii, 406. Revelations, special divine, given to He- brew captives, ii, 394. Roclc, the, smitten at Horeb, ii, 519. Rod of Moses, miracle of, before Phara^ oh, ii, 37. Rome, legendary history of, iii, 407 — the rising power of, 419. Roman historians, the early, credibility of, iii, 630. Roman religion complete as an ecclesias- tical system, iii, 490 — ^its theology in later periods of its history, 492 — its effect on female treatment and man- ners, 500 — countenanced intolerable cruelty, 501 — sanctioned the vilest licentiousness, 503 — did not prevent the most unnatural impurity, 503. Romans, their early religion, iii, 470 — had no images of God in the time of Numa, 472 — their sacred places, 484 — worship and sacrifice, 485 — offered human sacrifices, 487. Romulus, his public character, iii, 409 — religious education of, 470 — and Re- mus, legend of, 634. Route of the Israelites from Egypt, ii, 615. S Sabbath, the, ii, 113. Sabbatical Year, ii, 113 — computation of, 663. Sabean worship, its true principle, iii, 666. Sacrifice, divinely appointed, i, 201 — nature of Jewish, 223 — flesh of, the only animal food eaten before the Flood, 273, et seq. — under the Hebrew law, propitiatory, ii, 261. Sacrifices, human, of the Egyptians, ii, 514. Sadducees, the origin and character of the sect, ii, 483. Samaritans, the sect of, ii, 595 — violent party contest between, and the He- brews in Egypt, 596. Samson, his history, ii, 156. Samuel, his birth and character, ii, 161 — his judicial circuit, 548 — recognised as the prophet and judge, 166^thc instrument of a great religious refor- mation, 168. Sanhedrim, origin of, ii, 692. Sargina's wars with Egypt, and the tribute he received thence, iii, 549. Satan of the Book of Job, i, 427 — knowledge of the Hebrews respecting, increased during the Captivity, ii, 403— proof of, 690. Satanic energy, certain presence of, in Grecian soothsaying and oracles, iii, 624. Saturnalia, Roman festival of, iii, 489. Saul, made king of the Hebrews, ii, 173 — defeats and ie'itToya the Am 662 GENERAL INDEX. monites, 174 — defeats the Philistines and Amalekites, 176 — transgresses the divine command, 177 — jealous of David, 180 — iieroely persecutes Mm, 181 — and his sons defeated and slain, 18i. Scales, alleged discovery of the use of, i, 483. Schools of the prophets, ii, 548. Science of patriarchal times, i, 601. Scipio invades Africa, iii, 429. Scriptures, the, ought to be regarded by historians, iii, 610. Scythian domination in Asia, period of, iii, 573. Semiramis dei^ed, iii, 212. Sennacherib, his profane and insolent menace, ii, 334. Septuagint, in some instances corrects the Hebrew, i, 29 — chronological tes- timonies in favour of, 38 — version, made by order of Ptolemy Philadel- phus, u, 412. Serpent, regarded in ancient tradition as the cause of the Flood, i, 138 — worship of, 139, 140 — miracle of Moses's rod and Egyptian magicians, ii, 37 — fiery plague of serpents, 79 — the brazen serpent, 522 — the form in which Satan seduced mankind into sin, universally worshipped, iii, 27 — in Egypt, symbol of dominion, 130 — sacred in Assyria, 224. Serug, history of, i, 368. Sesostris, his martial career, iii, 535. Shallum kills Zechariah, king of Israel, and reigns, ii, 297. Shamgar, his exploits, ii, 147. Sheba, its geography, ii, 659. Shekinah, the, ii, 531 — of God abandons the temple, ii, 386. Sibylline Books, iii, 472. Silk, alleged discovery of its use, i, 483. Simon the Just, high-priest, ii, 412. Simon Maccabeus, recognised as sover- eign prince of Judea, ii, 433 — invest- ed with sovereign power by the peo- ple, 437 — with two of his sons, base- ly assassinated, 439. Socrates, the Grecian philosopher, iii, 393 — demon of, its nature, 396. Solomon ascends the throne, ii, 204 — his wisdom, 206 — builds the temple, 205 — prosecutes other extensive works, 210 — his commercial policy, 211. — his magnificence and religious declension, 220— his idolatry and lienth, 223— his piety and inspiration, 2Vd. Soul, immortality of, believed in Assy- ria, iii, 216 — the, and its transmigra- tion, doctrines of, 628. Spies sent to survey Canaan, ii, 73 — their evil report, 73. Spiritual religion of patriarchs, reason why not more fully recorded by Mo- ses, ii, 560. Succoth, halting of the Israelites at, ii, 47. Synagogues, worship of the later He- brews in, ii, 476 — their origin, 261, 569. Syria, goTemors of, oppose the rebuild- ing of Jerusalem, iii, 579. Tabernacle of Moses, contributions to- ward, ii, 66 — erected, 67^ — described, 99 — filled with the divine glory or Shekinah, 103 — important advantages of this manifestation, 103 — Mosaic, 628 — of David, manner of worship in, 246 — typical importance of, 567 — im- portance of its worship to Hebrew religion, 477. Tabernacles, feast of, ii. 111. Tages, religious lawgiver of Etruria, iii, 461 — institutions of, 466. Tarpeia, legend of, iii, 635. Tarquinius, Lucius, King of Rome, his origin, iii, 413. Tarshish, and its ships, ii, 556. Temple, the, glorious revelation of God on consecrating, ii, 249 — building of the second, commenced, 366 — Samari- tans oppose its progress, 366 — iin- ished, 367 — Hebrew worship of the, 472. Temples, were the royal palaces of the east such ? iii, 223. Terah, account of, i, 369. Teraphim, Laban's, ii, 610 — the, 563. Theban legends, the, iii, 606. Theocracy, the Hebrew, ii, 116. Thcogony, the Grecian, iii, 621. Theology of Egypt, iii, 133 — of Assyria and Babylon, 208 — outline of, from Col. Rawlinson, 208 — Dr. Layard's views respecting, 211 — of Greece, 362 —of Rome, 474. Tliree Hebrew youths, the, nobly refuse to worship the great image, are cast into the fiery furnace, and delivered, iii, 193 — religious effect of this divine interposition, 193. Tola, judge, ii, 162. Tradition, fatal effects of its adoption on Hebrew faith, ii, 491 — unfounded claims of the Mishmaic, 601 — patri- archal, special providential provision for perpetuating, iii, 235. Transmigration of souls, how represent- ed in Egypt, iii, 142. Tree of life, i, 142. GENERAL INDEX. 663 Trees, creation of, i, 104. Triad of Zoroaster, i, 268 — of Egypt, sometimes refers to Noah and his sons, 269 — but more generally to the promised Incarnation, iii, 129 — changes made in, 542 — the Assyrian, 667 — its symbol disappears in the later times, 234 — its nature and ori- gin, 216 — importance of, 217. Trinity, the doctrine of the, whether known to Plato, i, 266 — to what ex- tent understood and believed by the later Hebrews, ii, 464 — opinions of ' Philo respecting the, 464 — Targum of Onkelos on, 466 — Abraham under- stood the doctrine of, 467 — was the doctrine of, known to the patriarchs ? iii, 526 — symbol of, in Assyria, 206. Trojan wars, the, iii, 609. Trumpets, feast of, ii, 11 3. Typical character of Mosaic economy, u, 123. U Urim and Thummim, ii, 107, 533. Uzziah reigns over Judah, ii, 321 — his improvements in exigencies of war, 392 — ^his profane attempt to invade the priest's office punished with lep- rosy, 323. Valerius, King of Rome, his reign, iii, 415. Vestal virgins, the, Etruscan, iii, 463. W War reduced to a science in the time of Job, i, 490 — with Benjamin, chro- nology of, ii, 145 — of six years between the factious Pharisees and the govern- ment, 444. Wise men of Greece, the Seven, iii, 615. Worship, patriarchal, place of, ii, 525 — idolatrous, its vain and corrupt char- acter, iii, 32— of Greece, 377. Writing, the art of, essential to civiliza- tion, i, 46 — early origin of, 49 — by the early patriarchs, 61, 65 — among the antediluvians, 62 — employed to give an account of the Flood, 63 — first mention of, in the Scriptures, 64 — probably used by Noah, 66 — Jews had traditions respecting its antiqui- ty, 68. Xerxes, did Jews fight in his army? iii, 590 — inscriptions relating to his reign, 591 — curious mode of counting his army, 618. Zechariah reigns in Israel, ii, 297. Zechariah, the high-priest, martyred at Jerusalem, ii, 319. Zedekiah placed on the throne of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, ii, 344 — rebels, is subdued, and, having his eyes put out, is led away captive, 345 — his punishment, iii, 654. Zeno, his character and doctrines, iii, 400. Zerah, his invasion of Judah defeated, ii, 307. ZJmj-i, his reign over Israel, ii, 277. 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It is fresh from teenth century developed itself. the pen of an American writer, and written By the braveiy of the Keformers we from an American standpoint. learn to be bold for God, by their heroic The reader will find here, in condensed deaths we learn to die, and by their and graphic language, the grand facts of preaching we leam to preach with fresh the Lutheran period which it is important zeal and fervor, to know, and minor details of great inter- A MISSIONARY AMONG CANNIBALS; Or, the Life of John Hunt, who was eminently successful in converting the people of Fiji from Cannibalism to Christianity. By George Stringer Rowb. 12mo. Price SO 66 This volume is commended to the ouryoung people imbibe the spirit of John Church as especially adapted to promote Hunt, the harvest of the world would the growth of deep, earnest, and aelf-sacri- never be permitted to perish for lack of lioin'g piety, and also of the most heroic abundant reapers. Let this memoir there- type of the missionary spirit. It hrings fore be freely circulated among our fam- nut in strong relief tbe spiritual life of a ilies and Sunday-schools, and the cause very holy man, whose soul grew into the of our great Master and Teacher can hardly maturity of the grace of entire sanotifica- fail of being greatly promoted, tiou amid the severe literary and physical A book of great facts. Surely the Gos- toils, and the peculiar dangers of a mis- pel is the power of Goi unto salvation, sionary's life in a land of cannibals. Could CAELTON & PORTEE'S PUBLICATIONS, 200 Mulberry-street, New York. Stevens's History of Methodism. The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century, called Methodism, considered in its Different Denominational Forms, and its Re- lations to British and American Protestantism. By Abel Stevens, LL.D. Volume I. From the Origin of Methodism to the Death of Whitefield. Large 12mo., pp. 480. Price $1 00 A oharming work — full of thrilling facts, combined and stated in the most interest- ing manner. The work has been read and highly indorsed by the most distinguished iiuthors. One says, "It is wonderfully readable ;" and another, "I have been inter- ested beyond measure." It will be a standard for all Methodists for all time to come, and will be read by thousands ofChristians of other denominations. It contains a" new steel engraving of Eev. John Wesley, the best ever seen in this country. The volumes which are to follow will be put up in the same style, so that those who get the whole will have uniform sets, though they buy but one volume at a time. Heroes of Methodism. Containing Sketches of Eminent Methodist Ministers, and Characteristic Anecdotes of their Personal History By Rev. J. B. Wakeley. With Portraits of Bishops Asbury, Coke, and M*Kendree. 13mo., pp. 470. Price $1 00 Morocco 2 00 lAfe-like and interesting sketches of early Methodist preachers, their toils, hard- fihips, and achievements, interspersed with anecdotes lively and entertaining. I have just linished the perusal of the book. It vfill repay the reader for his outlay of money and time. The title of the book may be regarded as suj6Bciently quaint, not to say imposing, to be applied to ministers of a Master who declared, " My kingdom is not of this v?orld;" but when it is seen how many fugitive incidents characteristic of the men of the times the writer has thus embodied, and thus given them form and permanence, it ought to be acknowled^'ed that the readers of early Methodist story have been brought under obligation to Mr, Wakeley for so readable a book. Procure and read it. It will be entertaining and edifying. — B. Waugh, Bishop of M.E. Church- Heroines of Methodism ; Or, Pen and Ink Sketches of the Mothers and Daughters of the Church. By Rev. Geokge Coles. 12mo., pp. 336. Price $0 90 Ministering Children. A Story showing how even a Child may be as a Ministering Angel of Love to the Poor and Sorrowful. Large 16mo., pp. 542. Price $0 90 — Illiistrated edition, gilt edges 126 Morocco, gilt 2 00 This is one of the most moving narrations in the whole list of our publications. Its sale in England has reached Forty Thousand copies. The illustrated edition contains more than a dozen superb cuts on plate paper. What must I do to be Saved ? By Jesse T. Peck, D.D. 18mo,| pp. 192. Price $0 36 A new revival book, written by request, designed to awaken the sinner, guide the penitent to Christ, and establish the young convert. NEW BOOKS JUST PUBLISHED BY CAELTON & PORTER, 200 Mulberry-street, New York. A ISW^ PE0:N; OUlirOIK'G BIBLE, In which all the proper names are divided and accented as they should be pronounfied, and a copious and original selection of References and numerous Marginal Readings are given, together with Introductions to each Book, and numerous Tables and Maps. Boyal octavo. Price from $2 60 to $7 oa This is the onit one in print of the kind, embracing new and improved maps, new BEFEBENOEs, and muoh instruction necessaiy to a right understanduig of the Scrip- tures — ^proper names dwided and accented as they are to be pronoimc^. SKETCHES OF ISTEW EK'GLAIOD DIYIDS'ES. By Rev. D. Sheeman. 12mo. Price, $1 00. Giving true and interesting biographical sketches of the fcllowiM; distinguished divines : John Cotton, Eiohard Mather, Eoger 'Williams, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, Eleazer Mather, John Warham, Jesse Lee, Jonathan Edwards, Ehiah Hed- ding, Timothy Dwight, Wilbur Fisk, Ezra Stiles, Lemuel Haynes, BUly Hibbard, Timothy Merritt, Jonathan D. Bridge, Nathaniel Emmons, Joshua Crowell, George Pickering, Stephen Olin. THE OHEISTLAN" LAWTEE: Being a Portraiture of the Life and Oharaoter of Wuxiam Geoeob Bakeb. 12mo. Price, $1 00. This is a well-written memoir, and deserves to be generally read. A good hoUday gift-book for our legal friends. LIFE OF DE. ADAM OLAHKE. By Rev. J. W. Ethbkidgb, M.A. With a Portrait. 12mo. Price, $1 00. The volume contains about five hundred pages, and is ornamented with an excellent likeness of its distinguished subject. No one can understand folly the great commen- tator and the secret of his greatness without reading this book. It should be bought and read through the whole Church, and through the whole community. The book should be in every library, public and private. The doctor belonged to the whole world. THE IMMOETALITT OF THE SOUL And the Final Condition of the Wicked carefblly considered. By Rev. ROBEET W. LAHDIS. , 12mo. Price, $1 26. Here is a volume at once OBmoAi., oleae, oalm, and ooKvufonfo. There is no hurling of anathemas, no bandying of epithets, not even the curled lip so common in superior criticism. The gentlemanly author has canvassed the entibe QtrESTiON oabe- FULLT AND OAHDiDLY, and the result is this able and complete hand-book on the subject." — The Delamarean. " It is a work that will repay the most careful study ^ on account of the leammg and profound thought it displays, as well as of its intrmsie importance." ^Daily AdvertUer. " As a whole, it is worthy of high peaisb."— iK T. EiangeUst. CAELTON & POETER'S PUBLICATIONS, 200 Mulberry-street, New York. Harmony of the Divine Dispensations. Harmony of the Divine Dispensations. Being a Series of Discourses on Se- lect Portions of Holy Scripture, designed to show the ^'pirituality, Efficacy, and Harmony of the Divine Revelations made to Mankind from the Be- ginning. With Notes, Critical, Historical, and Explanatory. By George Smith, F. A. S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, of the Royal Society of Literature, Fellow of the Genealogical and Historical Society, etc., etc. 8vo.,pp. 319. Sheep. SI 50 — Half calf 2 00 This is a new work, being reprinted from the London edition to correspond with the "Patriarchal Age," "Hebrew People," and "Gentile Nations," by the same distin- guished author. ^ It will be sold in connection with the others, or separately. It is a profound work, and will have a large sale. Hibbard on the Psalms. The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, with Historical Introductions, and a General Introduction to the whole Book. By F. G. Hibbard. 8vo.,pp.589. Muslin $2 00 Half Morocco 2 50 Morocco 5 00 This book occupies an importaut place in Biblical interpretation, and is a valuable contribution to Biblical literature. The design of this work, lately issued by the Northern Methodist Book Concern, is to bring the reader into complete sympathy with the writers of the Psalms. Hence they are chronologically arranged and grouped ; and the introduction to each Psalm, or to each group, enables the reader to understand fully the occasion of their utterance. The design seems happily accomplished. There is also a general Introducton, embrac- ing discussions on various interesting topics ; but we have not yet been able to give it a thorough examination. The book will be useful, both to preachers and to devout readers.' — Southern Christian Advocate. This is really a splendid book in every sense of the word. The mechanical execution is in the best style of Carlton & Porter, which is recommendation enough for any book, so far as "extei'nals" are concerned. And the soul of the book is far more precious than the body. The talented author has undertaken to place the reader in intimate sym- pathy with the writer of each particular Psalm, by giving a history of the circumstances under which it was written, fciuch an effort, if successful, will do more toward a correct understanding of the Psalms, and toward awakening an interest in the subject, than all the commentaries that have been written. The author, we rejoice to know, contem- plates a similar work in relation to the Prophecies of the Old Testament. This method of arriving at the meaning of the sacred writers must commend itself to every man's judgment. The work must have, and deservea to have an immense circulation. We thank the author, and we thank God for such a book. — Wtstern Christian Advomte. Lady Huntingdon Portrayed. Including Brief Sketches of some of her Friends and Co-laborers. By the Author of " The Missionary Teacher," " Sketches of Mission Life," etc. large 16mo., pp. 319. Muslin $0 75 Morocco 1 76 The Living Way; Or, Suggestions and Counsels concerning some of the Privileges and Duties of the Christian Life. By Kev. John Atkinson. 16mo., pp. 139. Price...' $0 40 CARLTON & POETER'S PUBLICATIONS, 200 Mulberry-street, New York. Compendium of Methodism. A Compendium of Methodism : embracing the History and Present Condition of its various Branches in all Countries ; with a Defense of its Doctrinal, Governmental, and Prudential Peculiarities. By Kev. James Porter, D.D. Fifteenth edition, revised. 12mo., pp. 601. Price SI 00 This work has received universal favor. The facts that our bishops have put it in the course of study for local preachers, and that it has been translated into the German and Scandinavian languages, commend it to the confidence of all Methodists. Its peculiar advantages are, 1. That It gives a connected history of Methodism fi-om the beginning in all countries, and in all its denominations. 2. That it shows our doctrinal agreements and disagreements with other sects. 3. That it exhibits the different systems of church government in the world, and the relative merits of each. 4. That it explains and defends all oar prudential means of grace and other neculiarities as no other book, does. It is a whole library in one volume, and is a labor- saving as well as a money-saving production. Its importance to preachers and others is indi- cated by the following testimonials : It is, in fact, a digest of Methodism. The arrangement and execution of the several parts are admirable. The style is a model of perspicuity, ease, and vigor; and in point of condensa- tion, the volume is literally crowded with important matter. We have hardly seen as great compactness without confusion, or an equal number of pages from which so few could be elim- inated without detriment. But what is far more Important than the mode of composition is the spirit which pervades the work. The author writes with that candid discrimination so essential to the proper discussion of the topics which he handles. — Ed. of North. Adv. This work is a valuable acquisition to our Church literature. It embodies much important information, arranged in a natural and convenient 'form, and affords a good general outline of Methodism. It is a work of much merit. I do cheerfully commend it, as a whole, to the favor- able consideration of our friends and the public generally. — T. Morris, Bishop of M. E. Church. I like the book much. It will do good. Our people and friends ought to read and study it thoroughly. It furnishes a satisfactory answer to the petty objections urged against the Methodists by a set of ecclesiastical croakers with which we are everywhere beset. One gen- tleman, whom I let have a copy, after reading it cai-efuUy, remarked, "It is the book needed ; I would not take twenty dollars for my copy if I could not obtain another." — Ebv. Justin Spaulding. I have just finished the reading of this book, and I wish to express my decided approbation of it. It should he a family took, a Sunday-school book, and I would add especially, a text-hook ' for all candidates for the ministry.— S. T. Peck, D.D. The work throughout is not a criticism on Methodist usages, but a statement and defense of them. As such, we trust it will meet with the wide circulation it deserves, both in and out of the Ch\xr