78 



her 3011 Isniad. Hence Jacob, the last of these ancient Jia- 

 triarclis, told Pharaoh that he had led an unhappy life. 



Jacob and his family passed into Egypt, where they were 

 soon after enslaved. The conteniporar\' patriarchal fami!ies> 

 descendants of Sem, (with the exception of those that passed 

 into Arabia,) as those of Lot and Bathuel, were overwhelmed 

 by the neighbouring barbarian states, and incorporated with 

 them. The want of union was a radical defect in the patri- 

 archal families. 



A nominal or 7nock patriarchal government still exists in 

 China, infinitely more imperfect thai, the ancient, and con- 

 sequently productive of much more misery. The ancient 

 patriarchs had no family to attend to but their own, to 

 whose interests thev could not be insensible, and to the ma- 

 nagenient of whose concerns they were fully competent. But 

 the pretended patriarch or emperor governs iiumerous and 

 extensive provinces, containing some millions of families, of 

 which he is the absolute despot, to whose welfare it is im- 

 possible his individual inspection should extend. Yet he is 

 considered as the common father of his people, and exorcises 

 over them the same authority as the father of a family over 

 his particular household, and is thus placed over all earthly 

 controul. Conformably to this system, the governor of a 

 province is considered as the father of that province, and the 

 head of any office or department is supposed to preside over 



it 



