ANTIQUITIES. 



separated their antiquities into those 

 which relate to the ancient state of the 

 Christian church; and into whatever be- 

 longs to the ancient laws, ceremonies, 

 events, &c. that occur in the scriptures. 

 These, indeed, form a branch of ecclesi- 

 astical antiquities, and bear a near rela- 

 tion to the Jewish antiquities, concerning 1 

 which we have many respectable authori- 

 ties. There are persons who would de- 

 duce most of the heathen antiquities from 

 the manners and customs described in the 

 Bible ; while others, as Spencer, take the 

 opposite course, and deduce the antiqui- 

 ties of the Bible from those of heathenism. 

 Perhaps a middle course would be nearer 

 the truth, as it is absolutely necessary, in 

 interpreting scripture, to attend to the 

 heathen antiquities alluded to in them ; 

 and these not only such as are directly 

 aimed at or approved, but also such as are 

 purposely opposed. National antiquities 

 are those employed in tracing the origin, 

 ancient actions, usages, monuments, re- 

 mains, &c. of some nation or people : and 

 it may be observed, that almost every na- 

 tion lays claim to a greater degree of an- 

 tiquity than the rest of its neighbours. 

 The Scythians, the Phrygians, the Chal- 

 deans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, &c. 

 pretend each to have the honour of being 

 the first inhabitants of the earth : several 

 of these nations, lest they should be sur- 

 passed in their pretensions by any of the 

 rest, have traced up their origin to ages 

 long before the received account of the 

 creation. Hence the appellations, ''abori- 

 gines," " indigena," " temtgenar," " ante- 

 lunares," &c. 



The history and antiquities of nations 

 and societies have been objects of inquiry: 

 inasmuch as they enable the mind to se- 

 parate truth from falsehood, and tradition 

 from evidence ; to establish what had pro- 

 bability for its basis, or to explode what 

 rested only on the vanity of the inventors 

 and propagators : of this we have a strik- 

 ing instance in the Chaldeans, who pre- 

 tend to astronomical observations of nearly 

 500,000 years. They mention the king 

 who reigned over them at the time of the 

 deluge, and attribute to him several things 

 which we ascribe to Noah. The Chaldaic 

 antiquities of Berosus are, however, lost, 

 except a few fragments, which have been 

 collected by Joseph Scaliger and Fabri- 

 cius. To supply the chasm. A'miiis Viter- 

 bo, a Dominican monk, towards the close 

 of the 15th century, forgo d the work of 

 Berosus, which he puhl'.shi'd at Rome in 

 14'.'8. He went further, and produced a 

 supplement to Berosus; supposed to have 



been written by Manetho, containing de- 

 tails of what happened from the time of 

 JEgyptus, king bf Egypt, to the origin of 

 the Roman state. Unfortunately for the 

 credit of the industrious monk, Manotho 

 lived before Berosus, by which the fraud 

 was detected. 



The first traces of every history were 

 rude and imperfect, which renders the 

 office of the antiquarian of the utmost im- 

 portance to the faithful and diligent histo- 

 rian. Better methods of preserving facts 

 succeeded. The unchsiseled stone, or the 

 rudest hieroglyphic, accompanied the 

 songs of the bards, to perpetuate the 

 achievements of a whole nation, or a few 

 individuals ; till the use of letters, and the 

 complicated transactions, claims, and in- 

 terests of men, taught them to multiply 

 memorials, and draw them up with more 

 skill and accuracy. 



The history contained in the Old Tes- 

 tament is unquestionably the most ancient 

 well-authenticated collection of facts, that 

 has come down to the present times. 

 These records go much beyond the flood, 

 the boundary to the annals of every other 

 nation that Jays a just claim to credit. 

 The Jews, who are closely connected with 

 this part of history, trace back their an- 

 cestry to the common parents of the hu- 

 man race. The antiquities of this won- 

 derful nation have been treated of by nu- 

 merous writers, whose works are monu 

 ments of great learning and indefatigable 

 industry; and it will be admitted, that 

 the fate of a people scattered over the 

 globe, who have been subject to persecu- 

 tions, more or less severe, for so many 

 centuries, who have never amalgamated, 

 if we may so speak, with any other nation 

 underheaven, but have remained distinct, 

 for wise and important ends, cannot but 

 interest the curious inquirer. The history 

 of their origin, ordinances, and vicissi- 

 tudes, previously to the Christian atra, is 

 to be had in the Old Testament .- their 

 subsequent ruin and dispersion are pre- 

 dicted by Christ in the New Testament, 

 and treated of at large by Josephus, who 

 flourished at Rome under Vespasian, Ti- 

 tus, and Domitian, and who published his 

 great work on the Jewish Antiquities 

 during the life and reign of the latter. On 

 the same subject we have a multitude of 

 more modern writers, from Ugolinus* 

 Thesaurus, consisting of more than thir- 

 ty volumes folio, and comprising all the 

 best works written previously to the mid- 

 dle of the last century, to the octavos Dr. 

 Jennings evidently intended as a mere in- 

 troduction to the subject. The antiquities 



