146 GEOLOGY AND HISTORY 



Babylonian legend for reasons of a most unscientific 

 character, actually condemning the perfectly natural 

 and clear Biblical story as artificial and due to a recent 

 emendation. He says : ' When the story passed over 

 to the Hebrews, the name of the swallow has dis- 

 appeared/ and 'it is only from the Babylonian 

 narrative that the selection of the different birds 

 becomes clear/ This little disquisition of Schrader 

 is, indeed, one of the most amusing instances of that 

 inversion of sound criticism which results when un- 

 scientific commentators tamper with the plain state- 

 ments of truthful and observant witnesses. 



The uncertainty indicated by the mission of the 

 birds seems to have continued from the first day of 

 the tenth to the first day of the first month, when 

 Noah at length ventured to remove the covering of 

 the ark and inspect the condition of the surrounding 

 country, now abandoned by the waters, but not 

 thoroughly dried for some time longer. Still, so timid 

 was the patriarch that he did not dare without a 

 special command to leave his place of safety. I am 

 aware that if the two alleged documents are arbitrarily 

 separated it is possible to see here some apparent 

 contradiction in dates ; but this is not necessary if 

 we leave them in their original relation. 1 



It will be observed that a narrative such as that 

 summarised above bears unmistakably stamped upon 

 it the characteristics of the testimony of an eye-witness. 

 By whomsoever reduced to writing and finally edited, 



* See Green, Hebraica t l.c 



