40 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
Christian must be traced directly to the Babylonian in preference to 
the Hebrew—so called. As we peruse the evidence here brought 
forward we are certainly less inclined to accord to the Jew the 
exclusive claim to his having laid the foundation of our religion. 
Beneath the mounds of Eski Harran (unexplored) there must be 
the remains of the famous temple, adds the author. Perhaps there 
still lies perdu, amid the debris of that ancient fane, the record of 
~ Abraham and his fellow colonists from ‘‘ Ur of the Chaldees.” We 
have here a clue to the early history of the Chosen People. For 
example, writes the Kaiser, the act of the giving of the law on 
Mount Sinai can only symbolically be regarded as inspired by God, 
inasmuch as Moses was obliged to resort to the revival of laws 
which perhaps had long been known. Possibly they originated in 
the codex of Hammurabi. The writer doubts if His Majesty’s 
explanation would be considered satisfactory by any of his German | 
subjects who dare to think for themselves. Few may be found to 
dispute his assertion. This form (¢. ¢., the Old Testament) will 
certainly undergo considerable alteration under the influence of 
research and ofinscription. The writer does not know what grounds 
the Kaiser had for stating the Chaldean king Hammurabi was the 
friend of Abraham. I have carefully examined the extracts in my 
possession, and can find nothing regarding the departure of a por- 
tion of the Chaldean people quitting the country. 
We learn from one of the leading English daily papers the 
recent Babylonian discoveries have created an extraordinary sensa- 
tion in church circles in France. One of the best known and 
eloquent theologians there (the Abbe Loisy) published a work a 
short time since entitled “‘ I’ Evangela et L’Eglise.” Those who are 
in a position to know declare that two-thirds of the younger clergy . 
are on the side of the Abbe. It is also known that some of the 
French—the most able and learned bishops—are strongly in favor 
of freedom for historical research and investigation into the origin 
of the Bible and Christianity. Our Vienna correspondent, writes 
the Abbe, recently published a second work entitled ‘“‘ Antour @’ un 
Petite Liver.” He denies the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, 
criticizes the value of. the first chapter of Genesis, attributes an 
Assyrian origin to the accounts of the Flood and the Fall, declares 
the books of Daniel and Ezra to be apocryphal, and denies that St. 
