342 



SGIENGE, 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 89. 



times. The crowd loses all judgment in 

 wonder and admiration. 



A true flood panic occurred in the time of 

 Charlemagne. Stofller, a celebrated astron- 

 omer and professor of mathematics at Tii- 

 bingen, found, as the result of abstruse cal- 

 culation, that the earth would be destroyed 

 by a flood in 1524. The news spread rap- 

 idly and filled Europe with alarm. In Tou- 

 louse an ark was built by advice of the 

 professor of canonical law to rescue at least 

 a part of the people. Indeed, in our own 

 days. Prof. Eudolph Falb and similar 

 prophets announce a new flood in the year 

 A. D, 7132.* And Falb has by his unveri- 

 fied earthquake predictions caused panics in 

 Athens and Valparaiso. 



It is the western migration of this ancient 

 story that is noteworthy, and its associa- 

 tion with the punishment of sin by the re- 

 ligious genius of the Hebrews which has 

 made it world-wide. Such myths of obser- 

 vation, dependent on local floods or the 

 suggestion of fossils, are most widely spread, 

 and they find place in cosmogonic myths — 

 explanations of the origin of land and sea j 

 national myths — explanations of the origin 

 of peoples ; and myths of destruction of 

 land or people, with or without the idea of 

 punishment for sin. 



They are wanting among the Africans and 

 in Australia and Oceania according to Len- 

 ormant ; more accurately among the Pap- 

 uans of Oceania, for the Feejee Islanders 

 kept great canoes on the hill-tops for refuge 

 when the flood should return. 



In China the great Cyclopedia (2357 B. 

 C.) says : " The waters of the flood are de- 

 structive in their inundation. In their 

 wide extent they surround the mountains, 

 overtop the hills, threaten the heaven with 

 their waters, so that the common folk is 

 dissatisfied and complains. Where is the 

 able man who will undertake to control 

 the evil. Kwan tries nine years, Yu eight 



* Schmidt, loc. cit., p. 61. 



years. He completes great works, cuts 

 away woods, controls the streams, dykes 

 them and opens out their mouths. He 

 feeds the people." 



This refers to the ' Curse of China, ' the 

 Yang-ze-Kiang, which flows sometimes into 

 the Gulf of Pechili north of the promontory 

 of Shantung, sometimes to the south of the 

 Yellow Sea. 



Our own Indians gave Catlin 160 flood 

 myths. The dog of the Cherokees is well 

 known. On Cundinamarca in Mexico there 

 were four destructions : of famine, per- 

 sonified by giants ; of fire, by birds ; of 

 wind, by monkeys ; of water, by fishes. 



The Quiches of Guatemala say : As the 

 gods had created animals who do not speak 

 or worship the gods and had made men 

 from clay who could not turn their heads — 

 who could speak indeed, but not under- 

 stand anything — they destroyed their im- 

 perfect work b}^ a flood. 



A second race of mankind was created, 

 the male of wood, the woman of resin, but 

 it was not thankful to the gods. The gods 

 rained burning pitch on the earth, and sent 

 an earthquake, destroying all but a few, 

 who became monkeys. A third attempt 

 succeeded so well that the gods themselves 

 were terrified at the perfection of their work, 

 and took from them some of their good 

 qualities, and the normal man resulted.* 



The Arawaks of British Guiana and Ven- 

 ezuela were for their sins twice destroyed — 

 once by flood, and once by flre, and only 

 the good and wise were saved. 



The flood is a perennial blessing in 

 Egypt, and when the Greeks told the 

 priests of the deluge of Deucalion they 

 said, ' Egypt has been spared this.' 



There is an inscription on the walls of 

 the tomb of Seti-on, in Thebes, 1350 B. C. 

 The sun-god, Ra, is wroth with mankind, 

 and the council of the gods decree its doom. 

 Hathor, queen of the gods, does the work, 



* Schmidt, ' Sintflut, ' 57. 



