ANTICL'-ITY OF Wf'ITtNG, 369 



a Phpnician of Tyre, and excellently versed in all ancient learning, 

 He says*, that ^anooniarho of Byrvtus related, in his history, the 

 Jewish aflfa'rs with ereat veracity: (hat h<; dedicated his work to 

 King Abifoalust and his history was allowed to be true, both by 

 the king, and by tho.se who were appointed by him to examine it. 



This most ancient profane historian expressly relates, that let. 

 ters were first invented in Phenicia, by Taaut, who lived in that 

 country in the twelfth and thirteenthgenerations after the creation J. 

 44 Misor was the son of Hamyn. The sou of Misor was Taaut, 

 " who invented the first letters for writing." The Egyptians call 

 him Tooth ; the Alexandrians Thoyth, and the Greeks, Hermes, 

 or Mercury. 



Sanconiatlio is said to have derived his first bonM^of the Orijii 

 of Gods and Men, from writings ascribed to Taaut the first Hermes ; 

 he makes Protogouus the first man, and JKon, or life, the first wo. 

 man ; of Protogonus and yEon were begot two children Genus and 

 Genea, who dwelt in Phenicia, and in time of a drought, prayed to 

 the Sun, and worshipped him, as the only God and Lord of heaven. 

 From these two persons Taaut is lineally descended, as we have just 

 mentioned (in note ^ ) ; this author carries the worship of the Sun 

 to the second man of human race. Philo observes, that the Greeks 

 damned most of Sanconiatho's history of the gods to themselves, 

 to which they added many pleasing fables. Hence it was, saith he, 

 that Hesiod, and the itinerary poets, sung about in their poems, 

 genf-rations of gods and battles of giants and Titans ; and men being 

 accustomed from their infancy to hear nothing but these fictions, 



* See Kusebius Prasparat. Kvang. lib. i. c. 9, p. 30, &c. 

 f Kin^ Atiihnliiii began to reign one thousand seventy-three years before 

 Chri>t ; he was the father of Hiram, who was Solomon's ally* 

 f The gem-nlrgy of Taaut, as given by Sancouiatho : 



1 Protoeonus, > Hvp-uranius, or Memruinus, 9Asrovenis$ (Noah), 



2 Genus, 6 . \grru-, 10 Amy n, (Hamyn, or Ham) 



3 Ur, Phos, 7 Chrj>or, 11 Misor, or Miiraim, 

 4C.-K.Mii., STechniles, 1* Taaut. 



This author makes mankind live in Phenicia; and pl.i< e Hypsuranius at Tyre. 

 The plan of the history is quite different from that of Moses, and seems to be 

 jjroui'ded upon a very different tradition relating to the first ages. Some writers 

 have atirmptfd to prove the works of this author spuriou ; but tfvir argument* 

 are so frivolous that th.-y scarcely deserve an answer. 8ft- many curious par- 

 ticulars concerning the author and hi* writings, in the Univ. fli-t. v.il. i pre- 

 face, p. 10, and p. S3, 181, 187, 189, 3<M, o :KO ; vol. vi. p -3 ; vol. x\iii. p. 

 12, note I). And Ja< ksun * Chronol. Antiq. v.l. iii. p 5 tu 37. 



VOL. VI. 1 B 



