137 



he was deceived, for he had often to depend upon what has been called 

 "the muddy stream of tradition." This may account for the discrepancies 

 to be found in the accounts of the siege of Babylon as given by Herodotus 

 and Daniel. It seems impossible to reconcile the statements of Herodotus 

 respecting Babylonian history with those of Xenophon, still less those of both 

 Greek writers with those of the Babylonian priest and historian, Berosus. 

 It was once esteemed a probability that the account of Berosus, as to 

 "Nabonnidus," joint-sovereign with Belshazzar, was accurate. I think this 

 probability has been made a certainty by the recently-discovered monumental 

 inscriptions. Similarly, after two thousand years, Daniel's solitary testimony 

 respecting Belshazzar has been confirmed. The hearsay of Herodotus and 

 the historical novel of Xenophon are now entitled to less weight than the 

 corrected statement of the prophet. The papers read before the Victoria 

 Institute corroborate the following assertion in the notes to the Speaker's 

 Bible. On every page of Daniel undesigned coincidences with the now 

 known external features of the age and localities in which the book was 

 written and the prophet lived are to be found. "Incidental touches, 

 delicate shades of expression, statements otherwise unintelligible, indicate the 

 hand of one bred and resident in courts and among men with whom the 

 monuments have made us familiar." We are certainly much indebted to 

 Mr. Boscawen for the interesting account he has given us of the capture of 

 Babylon, and for having identified not merely the capture, but the dates 

 connected with it. Such minute coincidences as those he has pointed out 

 to us carry with them almost the force of demonstration. As a matter of fact, 

 we do possess some of the literary remains of this time. Sir H. Layard has 

 given it as his opinion, founded on the imagery employed therein, that the 

 " Book of Barach " was written about this time. The history of Tobit, too, 

 shows the literary power that was being developed in those days. It shows the 

 power of genius and that ability to write novels and romances, which proved 

 that the Jewish people were developing higher talent than they had done in 

 former times ; and I am of opinion that the Jews benefited by being 

 carried away to Babylon. The Targums show that the activity of 

 the Jews was very great in literature. A cursory consideration of the 

 books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel would lead us to the same conclusion. Jere- 

 miah's advice was that captives should marry and acquire land, and act in 

 an orderly manner, and they accepted that advice and acted upon it. They 

 were not slaves, they were colonists, and some of them were given 

 the highest offices in the State, as, for instance, Daniel and the Hebrew 

 children, and Ezra and Nehemiah. In Ezekiel we find a higher degree of 

 polish than in Jeremiah. He is very particular about details, and a very 

 painstaking writer. I can scarcely hope we shall find many more literary 

 relics of the Jews, because most of the inscriptions seem to have been 

 of a public character. 



Mr. Boscawen. — We have got about 22,000 private inscriptions in the 

 British Museum. They are mostly private contracts of various characters, 

 and there are a few Jewish names in them. We get the names of Baruch 



L 2 



