ANCIENT HISTORY. 35 



feeing it forms the bafis of their religion, it me- 

 rits likcwife a peculiar regard by all mankind, 

 confidering it merely as profane annals, i . Be- 

 caufe it carries with it the marks of veracity, 

 while the ancient hiftory of other nations, efpe- 

 cially during the firft ages> is manifeftly nothing 

 more than a collection of fables. 2. Becaufe it 

 contains a chronological fuccefilon of events, al- 

 moft without interruption, which we do not find 

 in any other hiftory , as we fhall fee further on. 

 .And 3. Becaufe it forms a general fcale, a com- 

 mon meafure of chronology for all other hifto- 

 ries , for, without this, we Ihould not find in 

 any of them any meafure of time, nor any cer- 

 cpoch - y all ancient hiftory would be a mere 

 chaos, impoflible to be reduced into any form : 

 a region covered with impenetrable darknefs. 



VII. This hiftory, which, on more than one 

 account, defcrves the title of facred, admits of 

 many divifions, of which we (hall here mention 

 two only, and thcfe appear to us natural, and 

 remarkable by the importance of their epochs. 

 For, in the firft place, we may confider the 

 under four kinds of governments ^ as, 



1. The patriarchal, under 22 patriarchs. 



2. The judiciary, under 22 judges. 



3. The royal, under 22 kings. 



4. The laccrdotal, under 22 pontiffs; among 

 n Ionic have born the title of kings, as Aril- 



tobulus, Alexander, Hircan, Antipatcr, Herod, 



The 



