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.