have been as unwise, as it would have been impossible, at the time, to have entered upon long philosophical disquisitions, as a necessary defence, for the deviations from the common opinion of the people addressed. But what I am about to propose to you now is widely different. I allude to the historical records of Moses, a history as free from conformity to the prejudices of the people to whom it was delivered, as the whole scheme of the Bible is opposed to the opinions of a giddy world: a history of such commanding importance, that, if it be not duly appreciated, the main pillar of Christianity is shaken, and the whole building must fall to the ground.

But, if the chronology of Moses were found to be inaccurate, would that materially affect the other records he has given, in the first three chapters of Genesis, when he has not specified the period of the occurrence of events?

In exact proportion, as the detached parts of the edifice are secure, will the fabric stand. It is hard to say how weak, how imbecile, how inactive, how full of wounds, of distortions, of infirmities, of detestable vices, and of littleness of intellect, the human frame may be, and yet retain the appellation, man; but this we know, that the Being, whom we recognise with delight, in whose appropriation of the title, we glory, is one destitute of all these deteriorating

considerations. So of the Bible, it is hard to say, what we might resign, in how many minute circumstances it might err, and yet continue our infallible guide of faith and practice; but the Christian, clasping the Bible to his grateful heart, had rather, with a well-earned confidence, exclaim, " Thy word is truth."

Am I then to understand, that you wish me to accept of the Mosaic history as perfectly correct?

Yes; for, though it differs materially from the boasted computations of the Chinese, the Persians, and the Hindoos, yet their statements must only be regarded as the romantic dreams of astronomical mythology. And many of their assertions are so obviously false, as to defeat their own object. The Hindoos assert, that the Saturnian age consisted of seven hundred, and twenty thousand years. The Egyptians, but little behind them in arrogant pretensions, were detected, when Alexander entered Egypt with his victorious army; for they not only kept records of their own antiquity, but those of other nations also, and among the rest those of the Macedonian empire. This they represented as having existed eight thousand years, while Alexander well knew, that it had not existed quite five centuries. If they would thus augment the records of another nation, what would they do with regard to their own?

But I have heard much respecting the antiquity of the Chinese: perhaps before we proceed further, you can show me, that their immense calculations are not inconsistent with the history, and chronology, of the Scriptures?

I will give you an illustration. The Chinese have ever made a point of inserting in their calendars remarkable eclipses, or conjunctions of the planets, together with the name of the emperor, in whose reign they were observed. To the events they have also affixed their own dates. A very singular conjunction of the sun, and moon, and several planets, is recorded in their annals, as having taken place almost at the very commencement of their remote history. The justly famed Cassini, to ascertain the fact, calculated back, and decisively proved that such an extraordinary conjunction did actually happen in China, on February 26th, two thousand and twelve years before Christ. This falls four hundred years after the flood, a little after the birth of Abraham. Hence, their pretensions to antiquity, beyond the period assigned by Moses, for the existence of an ancient nation, are unfounded. And the fact is, that all the accounts, respecting the number of years which ancient empires are said to have flourished, must be unintelligible to us, because among the ancients the meaning of the term year, so exceedingly varied.

I am now fully prepared to receive any histo

rical assertion made by Moses. Will any thing, which he says, confirm the assertion, that astronomy was first studied in Chaldea?

Moses says, "The ark rested upon the mountain of Ararat." You will observe the use I make of this information. Mount Ararat, is situated between the Euxine, and Caspian seas. The statements of modern travellers illustrate the fact recorded in the fifth verse: read it, my child.

"And the waters decreased continually, until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seent."

That is, the tops of Mount Ararat were seen; for they inform us, that this one mountain, with two summits, when compared with Mount Taurus and the Caucasus, is of extraordinary height. Now, read from the fourteenth to the nineteenth verse.

"And in the second month, on the seven-andtwentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing or all flesh, both fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth,

* Genesis, viii. 4.

+ Genesis, viii. 5.

and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth after their kind, went forth out of the

ark."

The first observation I make is, that the reserved family would certainly reside, in the neighbourhood of these mountains for many years. But we find, that with revolving periods of time, the impression, made on their minds by the scenes they had witnessed, wore away; and we read," they journeyed from the east*."

For how long a period do you think they dwelt in the neighbourhood of the place, where the ark rested?

About 140 years: and my second observation is, that they could not have been idle during that period.

No; I think not so long as that.

The record we have of them does not convey this idea. The very next words after we are told, "Noah came out of the ark, &c." present us with a scene of active piety. "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." No; idle, they could not be, I cannot conceive a state of mind more enviable than that, which the rescued family must have experienced. All * Genesis, xi. 3.

N