2 HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 



divided into numerous departments. Thus we have Universal, Particular, 

 and Special (Monographic) history ; and these again, according to the 

 subject under discussion, take the names of Church history. Political, or 

 Literary history. When the writer wishes to collect and arrange the 

 transactions in their proper order of succession, his work is called 

 Chronology ; and Synchronical history ranks the leading events of all 

 countries in parallel positions, in the order of their dates. To this class 

 belong " Historic Charts," " Streams of Time," &c. It is also divided into 

 Synthetic and Analytic. On the synthetic method are constructed such 

 histories as dispose in chronological order all events relating to a common 

 topic ; on the analytic, all the events are narrated together which have 

 reference to any object of importance. So far as the transactions of a 

 nation may illustrate its social condition, government, and constitution, their 

 treatment is called political history ; and when the discussion involves an 

 investigation of the character, development, and genius of a people, it is 

 called the history of civilization. In practice, however, this distinction 

 seldom appears, as both are usually combined in the same work. From this 

 w^hole subject, it will be seen that history derives important aid from 

 Geography, Chronology, and Statistics. 



On the score of time, history is usually divided into Ancient, Middle, 

 Modern, and Recent, and each of these again into several periods. 



Ancient history has two subdivisions : the Classic and the non-Classic 

 Ages, an arrangement which we have adopted both in the letter-press and 

 the plates. 



I. HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 



RUDE OR NON-CLASSIC AGES. 

 A. From Adam to Cyrus (until 560 B.C.). 



Over the origin of the world, no less than that of man himself, there rests 

 an impenetrable veil. Nevertheless, every nation in its primeval days 

 formed various views about it, which were rendered in different versions by 

 the philosophers, priests, and poets of a later day. Thus appear the myths 

 and legends describing the creation of the world and of man ; and although 

 these are strongly colored by the peculiarities of national character, yet they 

 bear more or less resemblance to one another, and are our only light to the 

 almost rayless past. 



The Jewish chronicles, which Christians implicitly follow, represent 

 Adam and Eve as the common ancestors of the human race. Their first 

 children were Cain and Abel. Cain, actuated by envy, murdered Abel, and 

 fled westward, where he somehow established a colony, and became the 

 father of a busy race of craftsmen and artificers. Thus Jabal was the father 

 of such as dwell in tents and raise cattle (nomades) ; Jubal was the inventor 

 of music ; Tubalcain was the first artificer in brass and iron ; Lamech was 

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