The Deluge

After "man's shameful fall," the earth began to be populated at a very

rapid rate. "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were

fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. . . . . There

were giants in the earth in those days,[19:2] and also . . . mighty

men . . . men of renown."



But these "giants" and "mighty men" were very wicked, "and God saw the

wickedness of man . . . and it repented the Lord that he had made man

upon the earth,[19:3] and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord

said; I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth,

both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air,

for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the

eyes of the Lord (for) Noah was a just man . . . and walked with God.

. . . And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me,

for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will

destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood, rooms

shalt thou make in the ark, (and) a window shalt thou make to the ark;

. . . . And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth,

to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven,

and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee shall I

establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy

sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives, with thee. And of every living

thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark,

to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls

after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping

thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come in to

thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is

eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for

thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded

him."[20:1]



When the ark was finished, the Lord said unto Noah:



"Come thou and all thy house into the ark. . . . Of every clean

beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his

female; and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and

his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and

the female."[20:2]



Here, again, as in the Eden myth, there is a contradiction. We have

seen that the Lord told Noah to bring into the ark "of every living

thing, of all flesh, two of every sort," and now that the ark is

finished, we are told that he said to him: "Of every clean beast thou

shalt take to thee by sevens," and, "of fowls also of the air by

sevens." This is owing to the story having been written by two

different writers--the Jehovistic, and the Elohistic--one of which took

from, and added to the narrative of the other.[20:3] The account goes on

to say, that:



"Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives

with him, into the ark. . . . Of clean beasts, and of beasts

that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing

that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two,

unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had

commanded Noah."[20:4]



We see, then, that Noah took into the ark of all kinds of beasts, of

fowls, and of every thing that creepeth, two of every sort, and that

this was "as God had commanded Noah." This clearly shows that the

writer of these words knew nothing of the command to take in clean

beasts, and fowls of the air, by sevens. We are further assured,

that, "Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him."



After Noah and his family, and every beast after his kind, and all the

cattle after their kind, the fowls of the air, and every creeping thing,

had entered the ark, the Lord shut them in. Then "were all the fountains

of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. . . . .

And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the hills,

that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upwards

did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh

died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of

beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and

every man. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in

the ark."[21:1] The object of the flood was now accomplished, "all

flesh died that moved upon the earth." The Lord, therefore, "made a

wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged. The fountains of

the deep, and the windows of heaven, were stopped, and the rain from

heaven was restrained. And the waters decreased continually. . . . . And

it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window

of the ark, which he had made. And he sent forth a raven, which went

forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. He

also sent forth a dove, . . . but the dove found no rest for the sole of

her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark." . . .



At the end of seven days he again "sent forth the dove out of the ark,

and the dove came in to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth was an

olive leaf, plucked off."



At the end of another seven days, he again "sent forth the dove, which

returned not again to him any more."



And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the

month, upon the mountains of Ararat. Then Noah and his wife, and his

sons, and his sons' wives, and every living thing that was in the ark,

went forth out of the ark. "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord,

. . . and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a

sweet savour, and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the

ground any more for man's sake."[21:2]



We shall now see that there is scarcely any considerable race of men

among whom there does not exist, in some form, the tradition of a great

deluge, which destroyed all the human race, except their own

progenitors.



The first of these which we shall notice, and the one with which the

Hebrew agrees most closely, having been copied from it,[22:1] is the

Chaldean, as given by Berosus, the Chaldean historian.[22:2] It is as

follows:



"After the death of Ardates (the ninth king of the Chaldeans),

his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari. In his time

happened a great deluge, the history of which is thus

described: The deity Cronos appeared to him (Xisuthrus) in a

vision, and warned him that upon the fifteenth day of the

month Desius there would be a flood, by which mankind would be

destroyed. He therefore enjoined him to write a history of the

beginning, procedure, and conclusion of all things, and to

bury it in the City of the Sun at Sippara; and to build a

vessel, and take with him into it his friends and relations,

and to convey on board everything necessary to sustain life,

together with all the different animals, both birds and

quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deep. Having

asked the deity whither he was to sail, he was answered: 'To

the Gods;' upon which he offered up a prayer for the good of

mankind. He then obeyed the divine admonition, and built a

vessel five stadia in length, and two in breadth. Into this he

put everything which he had prepared, and last of all conveyed

into it his wife, his children, and his friends. After the

flood had been upon the earth, and was in time abated,

Xisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel; which not finding

any food, nor any place whereupon they might rest their feet,

returned to him again. After an interval of some days, he sent

them forth a second time; and they now returned with their

feet tinged with mud. He made a trial a third time with these

birds; but they returned to him no more: from whence he judged

that the surface of the earth had appeared above the waters.

He therefore made an opening in the vessel, and upon looking

out found that it was stranded upon the side of some mountain;

upon which he immediately quitted it with his wife, his

daughter, and the pilot. Xisuthrus then paid his adoration to

the earth, and, having constructed an altar, offered

sacrifices to the gods."[22:3]



This account, given by Berosus, which agrees in almost every particular

with that found in Genesis, and with that found by George Smith of the

British Museum on terra cotta tablets in Assyria, is nevertheless

different in some respects. But, says Mr. Smith:



"When we consider the difference between the two countries of

Palestine and Babylonia, these variations do not appear

greater than we should expect. . . . It was only natural that, in

relating the same stories, each nation should color them in

accordance with its own ideas, and stress would naturally in

each case be laid upon points with which they were familiar.

Thus we should expect beforehand that there would be

differences in the narrative such as we actually find, and we

may also notice that the cuneiform account does not always

coincide even with the account of the same events given by

Berosus from Chaldean sources."[23:1]



The most important points are the same however, i. e., in both cases

the virtuous man is informed by the Lord that a flood is about to take

place, which would destroy mankind. In both cases they are commanded

to build a vessel or ark, to enter it with their families, and to take

in beasts, birds, and everything that creepeth, also to provide

themselves with food. In both cases they send out a bird from the ark

three times--the third time it failed to return. In both cases they

land on a mountain, and upon leaving the ark they offer up a sacrifice

to the gods. Xisuthrus was the tenth king,[23:2] and Noah the tenth

patriarch.[23:3] Xisuthrus had three sons (Zerovanos, Titan and

Japetosthes),[23:4] and Noah had three sons (Shem, Ham and

Japhet).[23:5]



As Cory remarks in his "Ancient Fragments," the history of the flood, as

given by Berosus, so remarkably corresponds with the Biblical account of

the Noachian Deluge, that no one can doubt that both proceeded from one

source--they are evidently transcriptions, except the names, from some

ancient document.[23:6]



This legend became known to the Jews from Chaldean sources,[23:7] it was

not known in the country (Egypt) out of which they evidently came.[23:8]

Egyptian history, it is said, had gone on uninterrupted for ten

thousand years before the time assigned for the birth of Jesus.[24:1]

And it is known as absolute fact that the land of Egypt was never

visited by other than its annual beneficent overflow of the river

Nile.[24:2] The Egyptian Bible, which is by far the most ancient of all

holy books[24:3], knew nothing of the Deluge.[24:4] The Phra (or

Pharaoh) Khoufou-Cheops was building his pyramid, according to Egyptian

chronicle, when the whole world was under the waters of a universal

deluge, according to the Hebrew chronicle.[24:5] A number of other

nations of antiquity are found destitute of any story of a flood,[24:6]

which they certainly would have had if a universal deluge had ever

happened. Whether this legend is of high antiquity in India has even

been doubted by distinguished scholars.[24:7]



The Hindoo legend of the Deluge is as follows:



"Many ages after the creation of the world, Brahma resolved to

destroy it with a deluge, on account of the wickedness of the

people. There lived at that time a pious man named

Satyavrata, and as the lord of the universe loved this pious

man, and wished to preserve him from the sea of destruction

which was to appear on account of the depravity of the age, he

appeared before him in the form of Vishnu (the Preserver)

and said: In seven days from the present time . . . the

worlds will be plunged in an ocean of death, but in the midst

of the destroying waves, a large vessel, sent by me for thy

use, shall stand before thee. Then shalt thou take all

medicinal herbs, all the variety of feeds, and, accompanied by

seven saints, encircled by pairs of all brute animals,

thou shalt enter the spacious ark, and continue in it, secure

from the flood, on one immense ocean without light, except the

radiance of thy holy companions. When the ship shall be

agitated by an impetuous wind, thou shalt fasten it with a

large sea-serpent on my horn; for I will be near thee (in

the form of a fish), drawing the vessel, with thee and thy

attendants. I will remain on the ocean, O chief of men, until

a night of Brahma shall be completely ended. Thou shalt then

know my true greatness, rightly named the Supreme Godhead; by

my favor, all thy questions shall be answered, and thy mind

abundantly instructed."



Being thus directed, Satyavrata humbly waited for the time which the

ruler of our senses had appointed. It was not long, however, before the

sea, overwhelming its shores, began to deluge the whole earth, and it

was soon perceived to be augmented by showers from immense clouds. He,

still meditating on the commands of the Lord, saw a vessel advancing,

and entered it with the saints, after having carried into effect the

instructions which had been given him.



Vishnu then appeared before them, in the form of a fish, as he had

said, and Satyavrata fastened a cable to his horn.



The deluge in time abated, and Satyavrata, instructed in all divine and

human knowledge, was appointed, by the favor of Vishnu, the Seventh

Menu. After coming forth from the ark he offers up a sacrifice to

Brahma.[25:1]



The ancient temples of Hindostan contain representations of Vishnu

sustaining the earth while overwhelmed by the waters of the deluge. A

rainbow is seen on the surface of the subsiding waters.[25:2]



The Chinese believe the earth to have been at one time covered with

water, which they described as flowing abundantly and then subsiding.

This great flood divided the higher from the lower age of man. It

happened during the reign of Yaou. This inundation, which is termed

hung-shwuy (great water), almost ruined the country, and is spoken of

by Chinese writers with sentiments of horror. The Shoo-King, one of

their sacred books, describes the waters as reaching to the tops of some

of the mountains, covering the hills, and expanding as wide as the vault

of heaven.[25:3]



The Parsees say that by the temptation of the evil spirit men became

wicked, and God destroyed them with a deluge, except a few, from whom

the world was peopled anew.[25:4]



In the Zend-Avesta, the oldest sacred book of the Persians, of whom

the Parsees are direct descendants, there are sixteen countries spoken

of as having been given by Ormuzd, the Good Deity, for the Aryans to

live in; and these countries are described as a land of delight, which

was turned by Ahriman, the Evil Deity, into a land of death and cold,

partly, it is said, by a great flood, which is described as being like

Noah's flood recorded in the Book of Genesis.[26:1]



The ancient Greeks had records of a flood which destroyed nearly the

whole human race.[26:2] The story is as follows:



"From his throne in the high Olympos, Zeus looked down on the

children of men, and saw that everywhere they followed only

their lusts, and cared nothing for right or for law. And ever,

as their hearts waxed grosser in their wickedness, they

devised for themselves new rites to appease the anger of the

gods, till the whole earth was filled with blood. Far away in

the hidden glens of the Arcadian hills the sons of Lykaon

feasted and spake proud words against the majesty of Zeus, and

Zeus himself came down from his throne to see their way and

their doings. . . . Then Zeus returned to his home on Olympos,

and he gave the word that a flood of waters should be let

loose upon the earth, that the sons of men might die for their

great wickedness. So the west wind rose in its might, and the

dark rain-clouds veiled the whole heaven, for the winds of the

north which drive away the mists and vapors were shut up in

their prison house. On hill and valley burst the merciless

rain, and the rivers, loosened from their courses, rushed over

the whole plains and up the mountain-side. From his home on

the highlands of Phthia, Deukalion looked forth on the angry

sky, and, when he saw the waters swelling in the valleys

beneath, he called Pyrrha, his wife, and said to her: 'The

time has come of which my father, the wise Prometheus,

forewarned me. Make ready, therefore, the ark which I have

built, and place in it all that we may need for food while the

flood of waters is out upon the earth.' . . . Then Pyrrha

hastened to make all things ready, and they waited till the

waters rose up to the highlands of Phthia and floated away the

ark of Deukalion. The fishes swam amidst the old elm-groves,

and twined amongst the gnarled boughs on the oaks, while on

the face of the waters were tossed the bodies of men; and

Deukalion looked on the dead faces of stalwart warriors, of

maidens, and of babes, as they rose and fell upon the heavy

waves."



When the flood began to abate, the ark rested on Mount Parnassus, and

Deucalion, with his wife Pyrrha, stepped forth upon the desolate earth.

They then immediately constructed an altar, and offered up thanks to

Zeus, the mighty being who sent the flood and saved them from its

waters.[26:3]



According to Ovid (a Grecian writer born 43 B. C.), Deucalion does not

venture out of the ark until a dove which he sent out returns to him

with an olive branch.[26:4]



It was at one time extensively believed, even by intelligent scholars,

that the myth of Deucalion was a corrupted tradition of the Noachian

deluge, but this untenable opinion is now all but universally

abandoned.[27:1]



The legend was found in the West among the Kelts. They believed that a

great deluge overwhelmed the world and drowned all men except Drayan and

Droyvach, who escaped in a boat, and colonized Britain. This boat was

supposed to have been built by the "Heavenly Lord," and it received into

it a pair of every kind of beasts.[27:2]



The ancient Scandinavians had their legend of a deluge. The Edda

describes this deluge, from which only one man escapes, with his family,

by means of a bark.[27:3] It was also found among the ancient Mexicans.

They believed that a man named Coxcox, and his wife, survived the

deluge. Lord Kingsborough, speaking of this legend,[27:4] informs us

that the person who answered to Noah entered the ark with six others;

and that the story of sending birds out of the ark, &c., is the same in

general character with that of the Bible.



* * * * *



Dr. Brinton also speaks of the Mexican tradition.[27:5] They had not

only the story of sending out the bird, but related that the ark

landed on a mountain. The tradition of a deluge was also found among

the Brazilians, and among many Indian tribes.[27:6] The mountain upon

which the ark is supposed to have rested, was pointed to by the

residents in nearly every quarter of the globe. The mountain-chain of

Ararat was considered to be--by the Chaldeans and Hebrews--the place

where the ark landed. The Greeks pointed to Mount Parnassus; the

Hindoos to the Himalayas; and in Armenia numberless heights were

pointed out with becoming reverence, as those on which the few survivors

of the dreadful scenes of the deluge were preserved. On the Red River

(in America), near the village of the Caddoes, there was an eminence to

which the Indian tribes for a great distance around paid devout homage.

The Cerro Naztarny on the Rio Grande, the peak of Old Zuni in New

Mexico, that of Colhuacan on the Pacific coast, Mount Apoala in Upper

Mixteca, and Mount Neba in the province of Guaymi, are some of many

elevations asserted by the neighboring nations to have been places of

refuge for their ancestors when the fountains of the great deep broke

forth.



The question now may naturally be asked, How could such a story have

originated unless there was some foundation for it?



In answer to this question we will say that we do not think such a story

could have originated without some foundation for it, and that most, if

not all, legends, have a basis of truth underlying the fabulous,

although not always discernible. This story may have an astronomical

basis, as some suppose,[28:1] or it may not. At any rate, it would be

very easy to transmit by memory the fact of the sinking of an

island, or that of an earthquake, or a great flood, caused by

overflows of rivers, &c., which, in the course of time, would be added

to, and enlarged upon, and, in this way, made into quite a lengthy tale.

According to one of the most ancient accounts of the deluge, we are told

that at that time "the forest trees were dashed against each other;"

"the mountains were involved with smoke and flame;" that there was

"fire, and smoke, and wind, which ascended in thick clouds replete with

lightning." "The roaring of the ocean, whilst violently agitated with

the whirling of the mountains, was like the bellowing of a mighty cloud,

&c."[28:2]



A violent earthquake, with eruptions from volcanic mountains, and the

sinking of land into the sea, would evidently produce such a scene as

this. We know that at one period in the earth's history, such scenes

must have been of frequent occurrence. The science of geology

demonstrates this fact to us. Local deluges were of frequent

occurrence, and that some persons may have been saved on one, or perhaps

many, such occasions, by means of a raft or boat, and that they may have

sought refuge on an eminence, or mountain, does not seem at all

improbable.



During the Champlain period in the history of the world--which came

after the Glacial period--the climate became warmer, the continents

sank, and there were, consequently, continued local floods which must

have destroyed considerable animal life, including man. The foundation

of the deluge myth may have been laid at this time.



Some may suppose that this is dating the history of man too far back,

making his history too remote; but such is not the case. There is every

reason to believe that man existed for ages before the Glacial epoch.

It must not be supposed that we have yet found remains of the earliest

human beings; there is evidence, however, that man existed during the

Pliocene, if not during the Miocene periods, when hoofed quadrupeds,

and Proboscidians abounded, human remains and implements having been

found mingled with remains of these animals.[29:1]



Charles Darwin believed that the animal called man, might have been

properly called by that name at an epoch as remote as the Eocene

period.[29:2] Man had probably lost his hairy covering by that time, and

had begun to look human.



Prof. Draper, speaking of the antiquity of man, says:



"So far as investigations have gone, they indisputably refer

the existence of man to a date remote from us by many

hundreds of thousands of years," and that, "it is difficult

to assign a shorter date from the last glaciation of Europe

than a quarter of a million of years, and human existence

antedates that."[29:3]



Again he says:



"Recent researches give reason to believe that, under low and

base grades, the existence of man can be traced back into the

Tertiary times. He was contemporary with the Southern

Elephant, the Rhinoceros-leptorhinus, the great Hippopotamus,

perhaps even in the Miocene, contemporary with the

Mastodon."[29:4]



Prof. Huxley closes his "Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature," by

saying:



"Where must we look for primeval man? Was the oldest Homo

Sapiens Pliocene or Miocene, or yet more ancient? . . .

If any form of the doctrine of progressive development is

correct, we must extend by long epochs the most liberal

estimate that has yet been made of the antiquity of

man."[30:1]



Prof. Oscar Paschel, in his work on "Mankind," speaking of the deposits

of human remains which have been discovered in caves, mingled with the

bones of wild animals, says:



"The examination of one of these caves at Brixham, by a

geologist as trustworthy as Dr. Falconer, convinced the

specialists of Great Britain, as early as 1858, that man was a

contemporary of the Mammoth, the Woolly Rhinoceros, the

Cave-lion, the Cave-hyena, the Cave-bear, and therefore of

the Mammalia of the Geological period antecedent to our

own."[30:2]



The positive evidence of man's existence during the Tertiary period,

are facts which must firmly convince every one--who is willing to be

convinced--of the great antiquity of man. We might multiply our

authorities, but deem it unnecessary.



The observation of shells, corals, and other remains of aquatic

animals, in places above the level of the sea, and even on high

mountains, may have given rise to legends of a great flood.



Fossils found imbedded in high ground have been appealed to, both in

ancient and modern times, both by savage and civilized man, as evidence

in support of their traditions of a flood; and, moreover, the argument,

apparently unconnected with any tradition, is to be found, that because

there are marine fossils in places away from the sea, therefore the sea

must once have been there.



It is only quite recently that the presence of fossil shells, &c., on

high mountains, has been abandoned as evidence of the Noachic flood.



Mr. Tylor tells us that in the ninth edition of "Horne's Introduction to

the Scriptures," published in 1846, the evidence of fossils is

confidently held to prove the universality of the Deluge; but the

argument disappears from the next edition, published ten years

later.[30:3]



Besides fossil remains of aquatic animals, boats have been found on

tops of mountains.[30:4] A discovery of this kind may have given rise to

the story of an ark having been made in which to preserve the favored

ones from the waters, and of its landing on a mountain.[30:5]



Before closing this chapter, it may be well to notice a striking

incident in the legend we have been treating, i. e., the frequent

occurrence of the number seven in the narrative. For instance: the

Lord commands Noah to take into the ark clean beasts by sevens, and

fowls also by sevens, and tells him that in seven days he will cause

it to rain upon the earth. We are also told that the ark rested in the

seventh month, and the seventeenth day of the month, upon the

mountains of Ararat. After sending the dove out of the ark the first

time, Noah waited seven days before sending it out again. After

sending the dove out the second time, "he stayed yet another seven

days" ere he again sent forth the dove.



This coincidence arises from the mystic power attached to the number

seven, derived from its frequent occurrence in astrology.



We find that in all religions of antiquity the number seven--which

applied to the sun, moon and the five planets known to the

ancients--is a sacred number, represented in all kinds and sorts of

forms;[31:1] for instance: The candlestick with seven branches in the

temple of Jerusalem. The seven inclosures of the temple. The seven

doors of the cave of Mithras. The seven stories of the tower of

Babylon.[31:2] The seven gates of Thebes.[31:3] The flute of seven

pipes generally put into the hand of the god Pan. The lyre of seven

strings touched by Apollo. The book of "Fate," composed of seven

books. The seven prophetic rings of the Brahmans.[31:4] The seven

stones--consecrated to the seven planets--in Laconia.[31:5] The

division into seven castes adopted by the Egyptians and Indians. The

seven idols of the Bonzes. The seven altars of the monument of

Mithras. The seven great spirits invoked by the Persians. The seven

archangels of the Chaldeans. The seven archangels of the Jews.[31:6]



The seven days in the week.[32:1] The seven sacraments of the

Christians. The seven wicked spirits of the Babylonians. The

sprinkling of blood seven times upon the altars of the Egyptians. The

seven mortal sins of the Egyptians. The hymn of seven vowels chanted

by the Egyptian priests.[32:2] The seven branches of the Assyrian

"Tree of Life." Agni, the Hindoo god, is represented with seven arms.

Sura's[32:3] horse was represented with seven heads. Seven churches

are spoken of in the Apocalypse. Balaam builded seven altars, and

offered seven bullocks and seven rams on each altar. Pharaoh saw

seven kine, &c., in his dream. The "Priest of Midian" had seven

daughters. Jacob served seven years. Before Jericho seven priests

bare seven horns. Samson was bound with seven green withes, and his

marriage feast lasted seven days, &c., &c. We might continue with as

much more, but enough has been shown to verify the statement that, "in

all religions of antiquity, the number SEVEN is a sacred number."





FOOTNOTES:



[19:1] See "The Deluge in the Light of Modern Science," by Prof. Wm.

Denton: J. P. Mendum, Boston.



[19:2] "There were giants in the earth in those days." It is a

scientific fact that most races of men, in former ages, instead of being

larger, were smaller than at the present time. There is hardly a

suit of armor in the Tower of London, or in the old castles, that is

large enough for the average Englishman of to-day to put on. Man has

grown in stature as well as intellect, and there is no proof

whatever--in fact, the opposite is certain--that there ever was a race

of what might properly be called giants, inhabiting the earth. Fossil

remains of large animals having been found by primitive man, and a

legend invented to account for them, it would naturally be that: "There

were giants in the earth in those days." As an illustration we may

mention the story, recorded by the traveller James Orton, we believe (in

"The Andes and the Amazon"), that, near Punin, in South America, was

found the remains of an extinct species of the horse, the mastodon, and

other large animals. This discovery was made, owing to the assurance of

the natives that giants at one time had lived in that country, and

that they had seen their remains at this certain place. Many legends

have had a similar origin. But the originals of all the Ogres and

Giants to be found in the mythology of almost all nations of

antiquity, are the famous Hindoo demons, the Rakshasas of our Aryan

ancestors. The Rakshasas were very terrible creatures indeed, and in the

minds of many people, in India, are so still. Their natural form, so the

stories say, is that of huge, unshapely giants, like clouds, with

hair and beard of the color of the red lightning. This description

explains their origin. They are the dark, wicked and cruel clouds,

personified.



[19:3] "And it repented the Lord that he had made man." (Gen. iv.)

"God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he

should repent." (Numb. xxiii. 19.)



[20:1] Gen. iv.



[20:2] Gen. vi. 1-3.



[20:3] See chapter xi.



[20:4] The image of Osiris of Egypt was by the priests shut up in a

sacred ark on the 17th of Athyr (Nov. 13th), the very day and month on

which Noah is said to have entered his ark, (See Bonwick's Egyptian

Belief, p. 165, and Bunsen's Angel Messiah, p. 22.)



[21:1] Gen. vi.



[21:2] Gen. viii.



[22:1] See chapter xi.



[22:2] Josephus, the Jewish historian, speaking of the flood of Noah

(Antiq. bk. 1, ch. iii.), says: "All the writers of the Babylonian

histories make mention of this flood and this ark."



[22:3] Quoted by George Smith: Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 43-44;

see also, The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 211; Dunlap's Spirit

Hist. p. 138; Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 61, et seq. for similar

accounts.



[23:1] Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 285, 286.



[23:2] Volney: New Researches, p. 119; Chaldean Acct. of Genesis, p.

290; Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. p. 417, and Dunlap's Spirit Hist. p. 277.



[23:3] Ibid.



[23:4] Legends of the Patriarchs, pp. 109, 110.



[23:5] Gen. vi. 8.



[23:6] The Hindoo ark-preserved Menu had three sons; Sama, Cama, and

Pra-Japati. (Faber: Orig. Pagan Idol.) The Bhattias, who live between

Delli and the Panjab, insist that they are descended from a certain king

called Salivahana, who had three sons, Bhat, Maha and Thamaz. (Col.

Wilford, in vol. ix. Asiatic Researches.) The Iranian hero Thraetona had

three sons. The Iranian Sethite Lamech had three sons, and Hellen,

the son of Deucalion, during whose time the flood is said to have

happened, had three sons. (Bunsen: The Angel-Messiah, pp. 70, 71.) All

the ancient nations of Europe also describe their origin from the

three sons of some king or patriarch. The Germans said that Mannus

(son of the god Tuisco) had three sons, who were the original

ancestors of the three principal nations of Germany. The Scythians said

that Targytagus, the founder of their nation, had three sons, from

whom they were descended. A tradition among the Romans was that the

Cyclop Polyphemus had by Galatea three sons. Saturn had three sons,

Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto; and Hesiod speaks of the three sons which

sprung from the marriage of heaven and earth. (See Mallet's Northern

Antiquities, p. 509.)



[23:7] See chap. xi.



[23:8] "It is of no slight moment that the Egyptians, with whom the

Hebrews are represented as in earliest and closest intercourse, had no

traditions of a flood, while the Babylonian and Hellenic tales bear a

strong resemblance in many points to the narrative in Genesis." (Rev.

George W. Cox: Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 340. See also Owen: Man's

Earliest History, p. 28, and ch. xi. this work.)



[24:1] See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 198, and Knight's Ancient Art and

Mythology, p. 107. "Plato was told that Egypt had hymns dating back ten

thousand years before his time." (Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 185.)

Plato lived 429 B. C. Herodotus relates that the priests of Egypt

informed him that from the first king to the present priest of Vulcan

who last reigned, were three hundred forty and one generations of men,

and during these generations there were the same number of chief priests

and kings. "Now (says he) three hundred generations are equal to ten

thousand years, for three generations of men are one hundred years; and

the forty-one remaining generations that were over the three hundred,

make one thousand three hundred and forty years," making eleven

thousand three hundred and forty years. "Conducting me into the

interior of an edifice that was spacious, and showing me wooden

colossuses to the number I have mentioned, they reckoned them up; for

every high priest places an image of himself there during his life-time;

the priests, therefore, reckoning them and showing them to me, pointed

out that each was the son of his own father; going through them all,

from the image of him who died last until they had pointed them all

out." (Herodotus, book ii. chs. 142, 143.) The discovery of mummies of

royal and priestly personages, made at Deir-el-Bahari (Aug., 1881), near

Thebes, in Egypt, would seem to confirm this statement made by

Herodotus. Of the thirty-nine mummies discovered, one--that of King

Raskenen--is about three thousand seven hundred years old. (See a Cairo

[Aug. 8th,] Letter to the London Times.)



[24:2] Owen: Man's Earliest History, p. 28.



[24:3] Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 185.



[24:4] Ibid. p. 411.



[24:5] Owen: Man's Earliest History, pp. 27, 28.



[24:6] Goldzhier: Hebrew Mytho. p. 319.



[24:7] Ibid. p. 320.



[25:1] Translated from the Bhagavat by Sir Wm. Jones, and published in

the first volume of the "Asiatic Researches," p. 230, et seq. See also

Maurice: Ind. Ant. ii. 277, et seq., and Prof. Max Mueller's Hist.

Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 425, et seq.



[25:2] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 55.



[25:3] See Thornton's Hist. China, vol. i. p. 30, Prog. Relig. Ideas,

vol. i. p. 205, and Priestley, p. 41.



[25:4] Priestley, p. 42.



[26:1] Bunce: Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning, p. 18.



[26:2] The oldest Greek mythology, however, has no such idea; it

cannot be proved to have been known to the Greeks earlier than the 6th

century B. C. (See Goldzhier: Hebrew Mytho., p. 319.) This could not

have been the case had there ever been a universal deluge.



[26:3] Tales of Ancient Greece, pp. 72-74. "Apollodorus--a Grecian

mythologist, born 140 B. C.,--having mentioned Deucalion consigned to

the ark, takes notice, upon his quitting it, of his offering up an

immediate sacrifice to God." (Chambers' Encyclo., art, Deluge.)



[26:4] In Lundy's Monumental Christianity (p. 209, Fig. 137) may be seen

a representation of Deucalion and Pyrrha landing from the ark. A dove

and olive branch are depicted in the scene.



[27:1] Chambers' Encyclo., art. Deucalion.



[27:2] Baring-Gould: Legends of the Patriarchs, p. 114. See also Myths

of the British Druids, p. 95.



[27:3] See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 99.



[27:4] Mex. Antiq. vol. viii.



[27:5] Myths of the New World, pp. 203, 204.



[27:6] See Squire: Serpent Symbol, pp. 189, 190.



[28:1] Count de Volney says: "The Deluge mentioned by Jews, Chaldeans,

Greeks and Indians, as having destroyed the world, are one and the same

physico-astronomical event which is still repeated every year," and

that "all those personages that figure in the Deluge of Noah and

Xisuthrus, are still in the celestial sphere. It was a real picture of

the calendar." (Researches in Ancient Hist., p. 124.) It was on the same

day that Noah is said to have shut himself up in the ark, that the

priests of Egypt shut up in their sacred coffer or ark the image of

Osiris, a personification of the Sun. This was on the 17th of the month

Athor, in which the Sun enters the Scorpion. (See Kenrick's Egypt, vol.

i. p. 410.) The history of Noah also corresponds, in some respects, with

that of Bacchus, another personification of the Sun.



[28:2] See Maurice's Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 268.



[29:1] "In America, along with the bones of the Mastodon imbedded in

the alluvium of the Bourbense, were found arrow heads and other traces

of the savages who had killed this member of an order no longer

represented in that part of the world." (Herbert Spencer: Principles of

Sociology, vol. i. p. 17.)



[29:2] Darwin: Descent of Man, p. 156. We think it may not be out of

place to insert here what might properly be called: "The Drama of

Life," which is as follows:



Act i. Azoic: Conflict of Inorganic Forces.

Act ii. Paleozoic: Age of Invertebrates.

{ Scene i. Eozoic: Enter Protozoans and Protophytes.

{ " ii. Silurian: Enter the Army of Invertebrates.

Primary { " iii. Devonian: Enter Fishes.

{ " iv. Carboniferous: (Age of Coal Plants) Enter

First Air breathers.

Act iii. Mesozoic: Enter Reptiles.

{ Scene i. Triassic: Enter Batrachians.

Secondary { " ii. Jurassic: Enter huge Reptiles of Sea, Land

{ and Air.

{ " iii. Cretaceous: (Age of Chalk) Enter Ammonites.

Act iv. Cenozoic: (Age of Mammals.)

{ Scene i. Eocene: Enter Marine Mammals, and probably

{ Man.

Tertiary { " ii. Miocene: Enter Hoofed Quadrupeds.

{ " iii. Pliocene: Enter Proboscidians and Edentates.

Act v. Post Tertiary: Positive Age of Man.

{ Scene i. Glacial: Ice and Drift Periods.

{ " ii. Champlain: Sinking Continents; Warmer;

{ Tropical Animals go North.

Post Tertiary { " iii. Terrace: Rising Continents; Colder.

{ " iv. Present: Enter Science, Iconoclasts, &c., &c.



[29:3] Draper: Religion and Science, p. 199.



[29:4] Ibid. pp. 195, 196.



[30:1] Huxley: Man's Place in Nature, p. 184.



[30:2] Paschel: Races of Man, p. 36.



[30:3] Tylor: Early History of Mankind, p. 328.



[30:4] Ibid. pp. 329, 330



[30:5] We know that many legends have originated in this way. For

example, Dr. Robinson, in his "Travels in Palestine" (ii. 586), mentions

a tradition that a city had once stood in a desert between Petra and

Hebron, the people of which had perished for their vices, and been

converted into stone. Mr. Seetzen, who went to the spot, found no traces

of ruins, but a number of stony concretions, resembling in form and size

the human head. They had been ignorantly supposed to be petrified

heads, and a legend framed to account for their owners suffering so

terrible a fate. Another illustration is as follows:--The Kamchadals

believe that volcanic mountains are the abode of devils, who, after they

have cooked their meals, fling the fire-brands out of the chimney. Being

asked what these devils eat, they said "whales." Here we see, first,

a story invented to account for the volcanic eruptions from the

mountains; and, second, a story invented to account for the remains

of whales found on the mountains. The savages knew that this was

true, "because their old people had said so, and believed it

themselves." (Related by Mr. Tylor, in his "Early History of Mankind,"

p. 326.)



[31:1] "Everything of importance was calculated by, and fitted into,

this number (SEVEN) by the Aryan philosophers,--ideas as well as

localities." (Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 407).



[31:2] Each one being consecrated to a planet. First, to Saturn;

second, to Jupiter; third, to Mars; fourth, to the Sun; fifth, to Venus;

sixth, to Mercury; seventh, to the Moon. (The Pentateuch Examined, vol.

iv. p. 269. See also The Angel Messiah, p. 106.)



[31:3] Each of which had the name of a planet.



[31:4] On each of which the name of a planet was engraved.



[31:5] "There was to be seen in Laconia, seven columns erected in

honor of the seven planets." (Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p.

34.)



[31:6] "The Jews believed that the Throne of Jehovah was surrounded by

his seven high chiefs: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, &c." (Bible

for Learners, vol. iii. p. 46.)



[32:1] Each one being consecrated to a planet, and the Sun and Moon.

Sunday, "Dies Solis," sacred to the SUN. Monday, "Dies Lunae," sacred

to the MOON. Tuesday, sacred to Tuiso or MARS. Wednesday, sacred to Odin

or Woden, and to MERCURY. Thursday, sacred to Thor and others. Friday,

sacred to Freia and VENUS. Saturday, sacred to SATURN. "The (ancient)

Egyptians assigned a day of the week to the SUN, MOON, and five planets,

and the number SEVEN was held there in great reverence." (Kenrick:

Egypt, i. 238.)



[32:2] "The Egyptian priests chanted the seven vowels as a hymn

addressed to Serapis." (The Rosicrucians, p. 143.)



[32:3] Sura: the Sun-god of the Hindoos.