H.\SIS.\I>I;\'S ADVENT! 1:1: \n 



Thus, once more, we reach the conclusion that, 

 as a question of physical probability, there is no 

 ground for objecting to the reality of Hasisadra's 

 adventure. It would be unreasonable to doubt 

 that such a flood might have happened, and that 

 such a person might have escaped in the way 

 described, any time during the last 5000 years. 

 And if the postulate of loose thinkers in search of 

 scientific "confirmations" of questionable narra- 

 tives proof that an event may have happened is 

 evidence that it did happen is to be accepted, 

 surely Hasisadra's story is " confirmed by modem 

 scientific investigation " beyond all cavil. How- 

 ever, it may be well to pause before adopting tin's 

 conclusion, because the original story, of which I 

 have set forth only the broad outlines, contains a 

 great many statements which rest upon just the 

 same foundation as those cited, and yet are luuxllj 

 likely to meet with general acceptance. Th< 

 account of the circumstances which led up to th< 

 flood, of those under which Hasisadra's adventun 

 was made known to his descendant, of certaii 

 remarkable incidents before and after the flc 

 an- inseparably bound up with the details already 

 given. And I am unable to discover any justifi- 

 cation for arbitrarily picking out some of the* 

 and dubbing them historical verities, while rejecl 

 ing the rest as legendary fictions. They stand <>i 

 fall touvtlirr. 



Before ]>!>(<. dini: to the consideration of th< 



