A. M. 1556. A. C. 2349; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 2256. A. C. 3155. GEN. CH. vi. 12. TO ix. 20. eight, situated at the foot of the mountain Al-Judi, was ❘ of it. 2 For they tell us of one traveller, a person built, we are told, in memory of the eight persons who singular piety, who endeavoured to do it, and had came out of the ark; and formerly there was a monas-advanced as far as the middle of the mountain; when, tery, called the monastery of the ark, upon the Curdu being thirsty and wanting water, he put up a prayer to mountains, where the Nestorians used to celebrate a fes- God, who caused a fountain to spring out of the ground tival, on the very spot where they supposed the ark for him, and so saved his life; but at the same time, he stopped; but in the year of Christ 776, that monastery heard a voice, saying, ' Let none be so bold as to go up was destroyed by lightning, together with the church, and to the top of this mountain.' a numerous congregation in it; and since that time, the credit of this tradition has in some measure declined, and given place to another, which at present prevails. we How difficult the ascent of this mountain is (without any particular revelation) we may inform ourselves from the following account which Mr Tournefort gives of it. "About two o'clock in the afternoon," says he, began to ascend the mountain Ararat, but not without difficulty. We were forced to climb up in loose sand, where we saw nothing but juniper and goats-thorn. The mountain, which lies south and south-south-east from Eimiadzim, or the three churches, is one of the most sad and disagreeable sights upon earth; for there are neither trees nor shrubs upon it, nor any convents of religious, either Armenians or Franks. All the monasteries are in the plain, nor can I think the place inhabitable, in any part, because the soil of the mountain is loose, and most of it covered with snow. 2. This opinion places mount Ararat towards the middle of Armenia, near the river Araxes, or Aras, above 280 miles distant from Al-Judi, to the north-east. St Jerome seems to have been the first who hath given us an account of this tradition. "Ararat, says he, is a champaign country, incredibly fertile,through which the Araxes flows at the foot of mount Taurus, which extends so far; so, that by the mountains of Ararat, whereon the ark rested, we are not to unders' and the mountains of Armenia in general, but the highest mountains of Taurus, which overlook the plains of Ararat." Since his time, its situation in this place has been remarked by several other writers; and all the travellers into these places now make mention of no other mount Ararat than what the Armenians call Masis, (from Amasia, the third successor of Haikh, the founder of their nation,) and what the Mahometans do sometimes name Agri-dagh, that is, the heavy or great mountain, and sometimes Parmak-continually flying from one side to the other, has dagh, the Finger-mountain, alluding to its appearance; for as it is straight, very steep, and stands by itself, it seems to resemble a finger, when held up. The mount Ararat, which the Armenians, as we said, call Masis, and sometimes Mesesoussar, (because the ark was stopped there when the waters of the flood began to abate,) stands about twelve leagues to the east (or rather south-east) of Erivan, (a small city seated in the upper Armenia, four leagues from Aras, or Araxes, and ten to the north-west of Nakschivan; which, because nak, in Armenian, signifies a ship, and schivan, stopped or settled, is supposed to have its name from the same occasion. This mountain is encompassed by several little hills, and on the top of them are found many ruins, which are thought to have been the buildings of the first men, who might fear, for some time, to go down into the plains. It stands by itself in the form of a sugar-loaf, in the midst of one of the greatest plains that is to be seen, and separated from the other mountains of Armenia, which make a long chain. It consists of two hills, whereof the less is more sharp and pointed; but the larger (which is that of the ark) lies north-east of it, and rears its head far above the neighbouring mountains. It seems so high and big indeed, that when the air is clear, it does not appear to be above two leagues from Erivan, and yet may be seen some four or five days' journey off'; but from the middle to the top, it is always covered with snow, and for the space of three or four months in the year, has its upper part commonly hid in the clouds. The Armenians have a tradition, that on the summit of this mountain there is still a considerable part of the ark remaining, but that it is impossible to get up to the top Isaiah xxxvii. "From the top of a great abyss, (as dreadful an hole as ever was seen,) opposite to the village of Akurlu, (from whence we came), there continually fall down rocks of a blackish hard stone, which make a terrible resound. This, and the noise of the crows that are something in it very frightful; and to form any notion of the place, you must imagine one of the highest moun. tains in the world opening its bosom, only to show one of the most horrid spectacles that can be thought of. No living animals are to be seen but at the bottom, and towards the middle of the mountain. They who occupy the lowest region, are poor shepherds and scabby flocks. The second region is possessed by crows and tigers, which passed by, not without giving us some dread and uneasiness. All the rest of it, that is, half of it, has been covered with snow ever since the ark rested there, || and these snows are covered half the year with very thick clouds. "Notwithstanding the amazement which this frightful solitude cast us into, we endeavoured to find out the monastery we were told of, and inquired whether there were any religious in caverns. The notion they have in the country, that the ark rested here, and the veneration which all the Armenians have for this mountain, (for they kiss the earth as soon as they see it, and repeat certain prayers after they have made the sign of the cross), have made many imagine, that it must be filled with religious. However, they assured us that there was only one forsaken convent at the foot of the gulf: that there was no fountain throughout the whole mount; and that we could not go in a whole day to the snow, and down again to the bottom of the abyss; that the shepherds often lost their way; and that we might judge what a miserable place it was, from the necessity they were under to dig the earth from time to time, to find a spring of water for themselves and their flocks; and in short, that it would be folly to proceed on our way, "La Boulaye's Voyages. See his Voyages into the Levant, Letter VII. A. M. 1656. A. C. 2349; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 2256. A. C. 3155. GEN. CH. vi. 12. TO ix. 20. because they were satisfied our legs would fail us; nor "When we considered what the shepherds had told us, we advised with our guides; and they, good men, unwilling to expose themselves to the danger of dying for thirst, and having no curiosity, at the expense of their legs, to measure the height of the mountain, were at first of the same sentiments with the shepherds; but afterwards concluded, that we might go to certain rocks, which were more prominent and visible than the rest, and so return by night to the place where we were; and with that resolution we went to rest. In the morning, after that we had ate and drunk very plentifully, we began to travel towards the first ridge of rocks, with one bottle of water, which, to ease ourselves, we carried by turns; but notwithstanding we had made pitchers of our bellies, in two hours' time they were quite dried up; and as water shook in a bottle is no very pleasant liquor, our hopes were, that when we came to the snow, we should eat some of it to quench our thirst. "It must be acknowledged, that the sight is very much deceived when we stand at the bottom, and guess at the height of a mountain; and especially, when it must be ascended through sands as troublesome as the Syrtes of Africa. It is impossible to take one firm step upon the sands of mount Ararat; in many places, instead of ascending, we were obliged to go back again | to the middle of the mountain; and, in order to continue our course, to wind sometimes to the right, and sometimes to the left. "To avoid these sands, which fatigued us most intolerably, we made our way to the great rocks, which were heaped upon one another. We passed under them, as through caverns, and were sheltered from all the injuries of the weather, except cold, which was here so keen and intense, that we were forced to leave the place, and come into a very troublesome way, full of large stones, such as masons make use of in building, and were forced to leap from stone to stone, till I, for my part, was heartily weary, and began to sit down, and repose myself a little, as the rest of the company did. "After we had rested ourselves, we came about noon to a place which afforded us a more pleasing prospect. We imagined ourselves so near, that we could have even touched the snow (we thought) with our teeth; but our joy lasted not long; for what we had taken for snow, proved only a chalk-rock, which hid from our sight a tract of land above two hours' journey distant from the snow, and which seemed to have a new kind of pavement, made of small pieces of stones broken off by the frost, and whose edges were as sharp as flints. Our guides told us, that their feet were quite bare, and that ours in a short time would be so too; that it grew late, and we should certainly lose ourselves in the night, or break our necks in the dark, unless we would choose to sit down, and so become a prey to the tigers. All this seemed very feasible; and therefore we assured them, that we would go no farther than the heap of snow, which we showed them, and which, at that distance, appeared hardly bigger than a cake; but when we came to it, we found it more than we had occasion for; the heap was above thirty paces in diameter. We every one eat 1 I have made my quotation from this learned botanist and most accurate traveller the longer, not only because it gives us a full idea of the mountain, so far as he ascended, but some distrust likewise of the veracity of a certain Dutch voyager, who seems to assure us, that he went five days' journey up mount Ararat to see a Romish hermit; that he passed through three regions of the clouds, the first dark and thick, the next cold and full of snow, and the third colder still; that he advanced five miles every day, and when he came to the place where the hermit had his cell, he breathed a very serene and temperate air; that the hermit told him, he had perceived neither wind nor rain all the five and twenty years that he had dwelt there; and that on the top of the mountain there still reigned a greater tranquillity, which was a means to preserve the ark without decay or putrefaction. There is one objection which may be made to all that we have said concerning the situation of this famous mountain, and that is,-Whereas the sons of Noah, when they quitted the country where the ark rested, are said to 2 journey from the east into the land of Shinar,' it is plain, that if they removed from any part of Armenia, they must have gone from the north or north-west; but this we shall take occasion to examine when we come to treat of their migration. In the mean time, it is worthy of our observation, and some argument of our being in the right, that the situation of Ararat, as we have supposed it, whether it be mount Masis, or the mountain of Curdu, was very convenient for the journey of the sons of Noah, because the distance is not very great, and the descent 3 Struy's Voyages, c. 17. * Universal History, b. 1. 2 Gen. xi. 2. A. M. 1656. A. C. 2319; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 2256. A. C. 3155. GEN. CH. vi. 12. TO ix. 20. bics, to distil fresh water for the use of man and beast; and their heights to give a descent to those streams which run gently, like so many veins of the microcosm, to be more beneficial to the creation." easy, especially from the latter, into the plains of Meso- | midst of the continent, might serve, as it were, for alempotamia, whereof Shinar is a part. Nor should we forget, that the neighbourhood, which the sacred history, by this means, preserves between the land of Eden, where man was created; that of Ararat, where the remains of mankind were saved; and that of Shinar, where they fixed the centre of their plantations, is much more natural, and seems to have a better face and appearance of truth, than to place these scenes at so vast a distance, as some commentators have done. One inquiry more, not concerning mount Ararat only, but every other mountain that is dispersed over the whole earth, is this,-Whether they were in being before the induction of the flood? The ingenious author of the Theory, so often quoted, is clearly of opinion, that the face of the earth, before the deluge, was smooth, regular, and uniform, without mountains, and without a sea; and that the rocks and mountains which every where now appear, were made by the violent concussions which then happened, and are indeed nothing else but the ruins and fragments of the old world. But all this is confuted by the testimony of Divine Wisdom, who declaring her own pre-existence, I was set up from everlasting,' says she, from the beginning, or ever the earth was; when there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth; while as yet God had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.' So that, according to this declaration, not only the fountains of waters which we see upon the face of the earth, but even mountains (which some have accounted its greatest deformities) and all hills, were part of the original creation, and contemporary with the first foundations of the earth; and though a deluge can scarce be supposed to overspread the globe, without making some transmutation in it, yet that it could not shock the pillars of the round world, or cause a total dissolution in nature, we have the same divine testimony assuring us, that at the time of the first creation, God laid the foundation of the earth so sure, that it should not be removed for ever.' It is a groundless imagination, then, to ascribe the origin of mountains and other lofty eminences to a certain disruption of the earth in the time of the deluge; when God, from the very first beginning, designed them for such excellent purposes. For, besides that several of these rocks and mountains (as well as the broad sea) are really an awful sight, and fill the mind with just notions of God's tremendous majesty, which a small river or a smooth surface does not do so well; and besides, that they yield food for several animals formed by nature to live upon them, and supply us from without with many wholesome plants, and from within with many useful metals; by condensing the vapours, and so producing rain, fountains, and rivers, they give the very plains and valleys themselves the fertility which they boast of. For this seems to be the design of hills, (says a learned inquirer into the original of springs and fountains,) "That their ridges, being placed through the "Nay, we may appeal to the sense of mankind, whether a land of hills and dales has not more pleasure and beauty both, than any uniform flat, which then only affords delight when it is viewed from the top of an hill. For what were the Tempe of Thessaly, so celebrated in ancient story for their unparalleled pleasantness, but a vale divided by a river, and terminated with hills ? are not all the descriptions of poets embellished with such ideas, when they would represent any places of superlative delight, any blissful seats of the muses and nymphs, any sacred habitations of gods and goddesses? They will never admit that a wild flat can be pleasant, no not in the a Elysian fields: they too must be diversified. Swelling descents and declining valleys are their chief beauties; nor can they imagine even paradise a place of pleasure, or heaven itself to be heaven without them. So that such a place as our present earth is, distinguished into mountains, rivers, vales, and hills, must, even in point of pleasure, claim a pre-eminence before any other, that, presenting us with no more than a single scene, and, in one continued plain superficies, must of necessity pall the prospect. But then, if we consider farther the riches that are reposited in these mountains, the gold and precious stones, the coal, the lead, the tin, and other valuable minerals that are dug out of their bowels, all useful in their kinds, and fitted for the accommodation of human life, we shall be apt to overlook the fantastical pleasantness of a smooth outside, and to think with Moses, the man of God, that Blessed of the Lord is any land for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills.' 64 CHAP. V.-Of Mount Ararat. (CONTINUED BY THE EDITOR.) THE following interesting account of Mount Ararat is taken from the description of the recent journey of Professor Parrot to that mountain. "Ararat has borne this name for 3300 years: we find it mentioned in the most ancient of books, the History of the Creation, by Moses, who says, 'the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.' In other passages of the Old Testament, written several centuries later, in Isaiah xxxvii. 38., 2 Kings xix. 37., we find mention of a land of Ararat, but in Jeremiah li. 27., of a kingdom of Ararat; and the very credible Armenian writer, Moses of Chorene, states that this name was borne by a Bentley's Sermons at Boyle's Lect. • Deut. xxxiii. 13, 15. a But father Anchises 'midst a valley greenClimb that ridge-a rising ground he gains. b Flowers worthy of paradise, which not wise art, In beds and curious knots, but nature's boon, Pour'd forth profuse, on hills, and dale, and plain. e For earth hath this variety from heaven Of pleasure, situate on hill or dale.-Milton's Paradise Lost, b. i. A. M. 1656. A. C. 2349; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 2256. A. C. 3155. GEN. CH. vi, 12. TO ix. 20. whole country, and that it was so called after an old "The mountains of Ararat rise at the southern extremity of a plain, which the Araxes traverses in a considerable bend, and which is about 50 worsts in breadth, and more than 100 in length. Ararat consists of two mountains, namely, the Great Ararat, and its immediate neighbour, the Little Ararat, the former lying to the north-west, the latter to the south-east, their summits ten wersts and a half apart from each other in a right line, and the base of both mountains united by a broad level valley. This is occupied by the herdsmen for the pasturage of their flocks, and was formerly used as a safe retreat by the predatory Koords, by which they were enabled to keep up an easy and safe communication between the northern and southern provinces. "The summit of the Great Ararat is situated in 39° 42′ north latitude, and 61° 55′ east longitude from Ferro; its perpendicular height is 16,254 Paris feet, or nearly five wersts above the level of the sea, and 13,530 Paris feet, or rather more than four wersts, above the plain of the Araxes. The north-eastern declivity of the mountain may be estimated at twenty, its north-western at thirty wersts in length. In the former we recognise, at some distance, the deep black chasm, which many have compared to an extinct crater, but which has always appeared to me to resemble a cleft, as if the mountains had once been split from above. From the summit, for about one werst in a perpendicular, or four wersts in an oblique direction, it is covered with a mantle of eternal snow and ice, the lower edge of which is indented according to the elevation or depression of the ground. This is the hoary head of Ararat. The Little Ararat lies in 39° 59′ north latitude, 62° 2′ east longitude from Ferro. Its summit is elevated 12,284 Paris feet, above the level of the sea. "The impression which the sight of Ararat makes on every one whose mind is capable of comprehending the stuper dous works of the Creator, is awful and mysteri | ous, and many a sensitive and intelligent traveller has endeavoured, with glowing pen and skilful pencil, to describe this impression; and in the feeling, that no description, no delineation, can come up to the sublime object before him, every one who has made such an attempt, must certainly have experienced how difficult it is to avoid, both in language and in sketching, everything that is poetical in expression or exaggerated in form, and to keep strictly within the bounds of the truth. "All the Armenians are firmly persuaded that Noah's ark exists to the present day on the summit of Mount Ararat, and that in order to preserve it, no person is permitted to approach it. We learn the grounds of this tradition from the Armenian chronicles in the legend of a monk of the name of James, who was afterwards patriarch of Nisibis, and a contemporary and relative of St Gregory. It is said that this monk, in order to settle the disputes which had arisen respecting the credibility of the sacred books, especially with reference to their account of Noah, resolved to ascend to the top of Ararat to convince himself of the existence of the ark. At the declivity of the mountain, however, he had several times fallen asleep from exhaustion, and found on awaking that he had been unconsciously carried down to the point from which he first set out. God at length had compassion on his unwearied though fruitless exertions, and during his sleep sent an angel with the message, that his exertions were unavailing, as the summit was inaccessible, but as a reward for his indefatigable zeal, he sent him a piece of the ark, the very same which is now preserved as the most valuable relic in the cathedral of Etschmiadsin. The belief in the impossibility of ascending Mount Ararat has, in consequence of this tradition, which is sanctioned by the church, almost become an article of faith, which an Armenian would not renounce even if he were placed in his own proper person upon the sunimit of the mountain." On the 27th of September, O. S., 1829, this intrepid traveller stood on the summit of Mount Ararat. We have lately received an account of an ascent of Mount Ararat, in the middle of August, 1834, accomplished by a Mr Antonomoff, a young man holding an office in Armenia, who was induced to make the attempt partly to satisfy his own curiosity, and partly out of regard for the reputation of professor Parrot; whose having actually reached the summit of the mountain is still obstinately denied, particularly by the inmates of the convent, who fancy that the truth would lower the opinion of the people with regard to the sanctity of their mountain. Mr Antonomoff succeeded in reaching the summit; the large cross set up by Mr Parrot was nearly covered with snow; the smaller cross planted on the suminit was not to be found, and was probably buried in the snow. One of his guides, who had also accompanied Mr Parrot, showed him the spot where it had been set up. He asked some persons to look while he was at the top, and try if they could see him. On his coming down, however, nobody would admit having seen him there; they all affirmed that to reach the summit was impossible; and though he and his guides agreed, the magistrates of the village refused not only to give him a certificate of his having ascended the mountain, but even of his guides having declared that he had done so. THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK II. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THINGS FROM THe flood tO THE CALL OF ABRAHAM, IN ALL 426 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS.-ACCORDING TO DR HALES 1007 YEARS. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. THE great object of the Sacred Historian, is to furnish a brief historical survey of the gradual discovery of the plan of redeeming mercy. We must bear this in mind in order to account for his brevity in regard to many things, and his silence in respect to others. He notices those facts and events which bear on his design; and for this reason he hastens forward from Noah to Abraham, the great progenitor of the Messiah. it was like the light of the moon and stars, a dim light in comparison of the light of the sun: It had no glory by reason of the glory that excelleth.' With these views, we proceed to the interesting details recorded in the following book. SECT. I. Noah to his death. A. M. 1657, A. C. 2347; or, according to Hales, A. M. 2257. A. C. $154. Ir may perhaps be thought a little strange, that Noah, By many successive works and dispensations of God, CHAP. I.-The Remainder of what is recorded of all tending to one great end and effect, all united as the several parts of a scheme, and altogether making up one great work, was the most High unfolding the plan of redemption, and preparing the way for its full accomplishment by the atoning sacrifice of the Redeemer. Like a house or temple that is building; first the workmen are sent forth, then the materials are gathered, then the ground fitted, then the foundation is laid, then the superstructure is erected, one part after another, till at length the top stone is laid, and all is finished. The great works of God in the world during the whole space of time from the fall to the coming of Christ, were all preparatory to this. There were many great changes and revolutions in the world, and they were all, only the turning of the wheels of Providence in order to this, to make way for the coming of Christ, and what he was to do in the world. They all pointed hither, and all issued here. Hither tended especially all God's great works towards his church. The various dispensations under which the church was placed, were to prepare the way for his coming. God wrought many lesser saluta-out mount Ararat in another place. They suppose, that it tions and deliverances for his people before the coming of the Great Deliverer. These salvations were all but so many images and forerunners of the great salvation which Christ was to work out for his people. All anterior revelations were only so many forerunners and comets of the great light that he should bring, who came to be the light of the world. That whole space of time, was, as it were, the time of night, wherein the church of God was not indeed wholly without light; but was Caucasus, not far from China, where the Ark rested, and near which Noah settled, when he came out of it; that only part of his descendants travelled into Shinar, the remainder continued with him; and that the reason, why Moses mentions neither him, nor them, is, because Dr Alix's Reflect, on the Books of the Holy Scripture; Whiston's Chronology of the Old Testament; Shuckford's Con nection, and Bedford's Scripture Chronology. |