158 THEOPHILUS G. PINCHES, LL.D., M.E.A.S., ON THE FLOOD. 



attributable to the same personage, then the God who sent the 

 Flood was also the God who prepared Noah for it. This is 

 naturally a most important point in the parallel with the account 

 of the flood in Genesis. I am not sure that I was right with regard 

 to the rendering "pilot" — the word used (malahu) might just as 

 well be translated " sailor " ; but the argument is nearly as strong, 

 and shows that the Babylonian mind ran, as the Rev. J. Tuckwell 

 has indicated, upon things maritime. 



The question of the date of these legends of the Flood is of 

 considerable importance. Father Scheil's fragment shows that that 

 document at least is as early as 1800 B.C., and the date of this 

 cannot be disputed. Also it is worthy of note, that the story itself 

 must be earlier — perhaps much earlier — than the dates of the docu- 

 ments which have come down to us. 



In answer to Miss O'Reilly's question, "Are the gods the 

 angels'?" I fear the answer must be in the negative. To the 

 Babylonians the gods were not angels. All the gods — or, at least, 

 the principal gods — were identified in some way or other with 

 Merodach. Thus, the Moongod (Sin) was Merodach the illuminator 

 of the night ; Enlil was Merodach of lordship and dominion, etc. 



As to the possibility that Gilgames was a mythical character, 

 Mr. Maunder has already answered this question from the astro- 

 nomical point of view. There are inscriptions, moreover, which 

 refer to him as a real historical character, as the legend of the hero 

 implies. Coming to the universality of the Flood, I remember reading 

 as a boy a reference (I think it was in an edition of Goldsmith's 

 Natural History) to this catastrophe, and the difficulty felt of finding 

 enough water to cover all the earth. With regard to this it was 

 stated (I believe by the editor, in a footnote) that a certain scientist 

 had found enough, and more than enough, in the tail of a comet I 

 Either in this same or in some other work the author (or editor) did 

 not think it needful to assume that the Flood covered the whole 

 earth. All that the account in Genesis implies was, that it extended 

 as far as Noah himself could see. 



In conclusion, I thank you not only for the attention and interest 

 which you have shown in the subject of my lecture, but also for the 

 cordial vote of thanks which has been so heartily proposed and 

 carried. It is gratifying to feel that one's efibrts are appreciated. 



