26 INTRODUCTION. 



allusions. And the spirit of sacred elqquence and poesy was 

 free to expatiate in the wide field of nature, that was open 

 and unoccupied before her. And almost every natural object, 

 in the firmament above, in the earth beneath, or in the mighty 

 waters, was made to contribute to her ends. With inimitable 

 skill, have the sacred penmen drawn the richest of imagery 

 and the happiest and most forcible illustrations, for their ' high 

 themes,' from these endless resources. The splendor of the 

 sun, the beauty of the stars, the genial influence of the clouds 

 and the dew, the fragrance of the violet, and the flavor of 

 fruit: the animal and vegetable kingdoms, in all their rich 

 variety ; everything animate and inanimate, that adorns and 

 enriches earth ; whatever gives interest and sublimity to the 

 mighty deep, either in the majesty of its angry mountain 

 wave, or in the mirror of its peaceful repose, are all brought 

 <o bear upon the object of the Poet and Prophet, in their 

 efforts to enlighten and to save the world. 



Hence it is, that an intimate and accurate acquaintance 

 with the natural history of the East, is so interesting and es- 

 sential to the intelligent reader of the Bible. 



It is not to be supposed that the sacred writers possessed, 

 in all respects, the same degree or kind of knowledge, that 

 we do, in the various departments of Science and Philosophy. 

 According to all the ordinary laws of the human mind, in ad- 

 vancing in knowledge and in skill in acquiring it, there must 

 have been very different degrees of information entertained, 

 at different periods, during the long course of 4000 years. In 

 all truth, except what is exclusively revealed from heaven, 

 the human mind makes progress. So that it is by no means 

 to be expected that, on all subjects of Natural Science, and in 

 .every instance, the sacred writers will accord, in their views, 

 with our modern philosophy. 



I cannot perhaps better illustrate this sentiment, than by 

 reference to the opinions of some of the sacred writers, at 

 least, respecting the form and structure of the earth. I am 

 indebted for the illustration to an eminent divine and biblical 

 student, to whom, I believe, it was suggested, in the course of 

 his own private reading and study of the Scriptures. Some 

 passages in the writings of Moses and David, and other inter- 

 mediate writers, favor the opinion, that they viewed the struc- 

 ture of the earth as follows : According to Acts vii. 22, c Mo- 

 ses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.' Of 

 f ccurse, it is not unirkety, that he embraced those views of 



