131 



pened 5169 years before the birth of Christ, according to 

 Jackson's chronology, (which I adopt); therefore, the Caly- 

 ougham commenced sixty-seven years after the Flood; 

 find the observations, on which it was grounded, com- 

 iriencedll33 years before the Flood: which agrees re- 

 markably well with the tradition of the Jews ; for Josephus 

 e|ipressly mentions, that the children of Seth addicted 

 themselves to astronomy before the Flood.* 



The learned Professor farther adds, that the construction 

 of thesp tables implies a great knowledge of geometry, 

 arithmetic, and even of the theoretic parts of astronomy.; 

 that those who framed them must have possessed a cal- 

 culus equivalent to trigonometry; and that, upon the 

 whole, it appears there existed, at that jieriod, a body of 

 science really astonishing. 



That such a body of science could exist, and be com- 

 municated to subsequent ages, without the art of writing, 

 is incredible: yet these tables afford a sufficient proof, 

 that astronomical science, at least, had so descended, and 

 ^ere, consequently, written. It may also be inferred, that 

 alphabetic writing had been known before the Flood; for 

 the Sanscrit writing, in which these tables exist, is alpha- 

 bietic 5 arid, into, this; their original language was soon tran- 

 -slated. , Moses. iilso informs us, that a written account (or 

 rather history) of the descendants of Adam existed; fi-oni 

 this he transcribed, in the fifth chaj^tcr of Genesis, the 

 ;,,;; i> 2 naiiies 



^ Antiq. Lib. I. cap. ii. 



