C 576 ] 

 CHAP. VI. 



NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. 

 SECTION I. 



Ark of Noah. 



I HE formation of this wonderful structure is undoubted in the 

 Jewish, Christian, and Mahommedan world : yet its dimensions far 

 f xceed any vessel of modern date of the most extensive range, and 

 appear to have been equally unrivalled in ancient times. 



There are nevertheless various difficulties which have been pro. 

 posed in regard to it among those by whom its existence has been 

 admitted. One question is as to the time employed by Noah in 

 building it Interpreters generally believe, that he was an hundred 

 and twenty years ; but some allow him only fifty. two years ; some 

 no more than seven or eight, and others still much less. The Ma. 

 hommedans say he had but two years allowed him for this work. 

 Another question is, what kind of wood is meant by gopher wood ? 

 Some think cedar, or box, others cypress, the pine, fir-tree, and 

 the turpentine tree. Pelletier prefers the opinion of those who 

 hold the aik made of cedar: the reasons are, the incorruptibility of 

 that wood ; the great plenty thereof in Asia, whence Herodotus 

 and Theophrastus relate, that the kings of Egypt and Syria built 

 whole fleets of it in lieu of deal: and the common tradition through, 

 out the East imports, that the ark is preserved entire to this day 

 on mount Ararat. 



The dimensions of the ark, as delivered by Moses, are three hun. 

 dred cubits in length, fifty in breadth, and thirty in height; which, 

 compared' with the great number of things it was to contain, .seem 

 to many to have been too scanty. And hence an argument has 

 been drawn against the authority of the relation. Celsus long ago 

 laughed at it, calling it xeJw/iv aXXoxo7ov, the absurd ark. This 

 difficulty is solved by Buteo and Kircher, who, supposing the com. 

 mon cubit of a foot and a half, prove geometrically, that the ark 

 was abundantly sufficient for all the animals supposed to be lodged 

 therein. The capacity of the ark will be doubled, if we admit, 

 with Cumberland, &c. that the Jewish cubit was 21.888 inches. 

 Snellius computes the ark to have been above half an acre in area. 

 Cuneus, and others, have also calculated the capacity of the ark. 

 Dr. Arbuthnot computes it to have been 81062 tuns. Father 



