same time. Some have supposed that the science of astronomy was cultivated by the Antediluvians; but this opinion has no solid foundation;-and the erroneous opinions of those who have attributed various books to the patriarchs, Adam, Seth, and Enos, are too absurd to merit a serious refutation.

5. The antediluvian world is supposed to have been exceedingly different from that which we now inhabit, and to have been stocked with a greater number of inhabitants than the present earth is capable of containing; and indeed this idea seems tolerably well founded, when we consider the surprising length of men's lives previous to the deluge, and the numerous generations that were then contemporary.

6. Various causes have been assigned by different authors for this longevity; some imputing it to the sobriety of the Antediluvians, and the extreme simplicity of their diet-others supposing that it resulted from the peculiar excellence of the plants, herbs, and fruits, that were first appointed for the subsistence of the human race and others asserting that it was the natural consequence of a strong and vigorous constitution.

7. Each of these opinions may be considered as partaking of the truth, though, in reality, they will not bear the test of strict examination; for if we readily admit the idea, that some, or even many, of the Antediluvians were remarkable on account of their temperance and simplicity, we must of necessity acknowledge, that the majority of them were strangers to these virtues, and especially at a time when they are said to have been eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the flood came and swallowed them up.

8. With respect to the wholesome or nutritious virtues of the vegetable world, it may be justly supposed that they were less degenerated in those days than in the present yet, it must at the same time be remembered, that sin had entered into the world; God had inflicted a curse upon the ground for man's sake; and agricultural labour was even then as réquisite as it is now. We are not therefore to imagine that the natural world exhibited that brilliancy of beauty, that abundant fer

tility, and that unspotted purity, at the time to which we advert, that literally glowed upon the whole, and pervaded each constituent part, when first createdwhen man, the image of his Creator, roved unconscious of sin or shame, amidst the matchless delights of Eden; rejoiced in the friendship of his God; and viewed with guileless raptures the subjugated tribes of inferior animals. Then, indeed, we may naturally suppose, that every pendent fruit which decorated the verdant branches, or swept the embroidered ground, was indeed replete with flavour and nutrition; that every blade of grass possessed inherent virtues; and that every plant of the earth was, in the language of its Creator, very good. But no sooner had Adam transgressed the divine command, and forfeited his own innocence, than creation began to languish beneath the influence of the curse; and many of the plants became useless, while others were rendered disgusting and poisonous. Consequently the longevity of the Antediluvians cannot be justly attributed to the second cause given.

9. As to the opinion, that the long lives of those men were but natural consequences of the peculiar strength of their stamina, or first principles of their bodily constitutions, we are willing to receive it as a concurrent though not an adequate cause; for Shem, who received his birth before the deluge, and possessed all the virtues of the antediluvian constitution, fell short of the age of his forefathers by three hundred years, because the greatest part of his life was passed after his egression from the ark.

10. From these considerations, therefore, we are inclined to impute this longevity rather to the salubrious constitution of the antediluvian air, than to any other cause; and upon the supposition that this air became contaminated and unwholesome after the flood, it will appear consistent that the pristine crasis of the human body should have been gradually broken; and that the life of man should consequently have been shortened, in successive ages, to the present common standard.

11. Whether men were permitted to regale on the Besh of animals before the flood, is a question that has

been long and frequently controverted. Those who imagine it was unlawful before that period, found their opinion upon God's assigning vegetables for food to man and beasts at the creation; and upon the express permission which Noah received, to eat flesh after the deluge; and those who entertain a contrary opinion, imagine that animal food was included in the general grant of dominion given to Adam, over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the, air, and every living thing that moved upon the earth; and indeed this supposition receives a great degree of strength from the fact, that beasts were divided into clean and unclean before the flood; and that animals were then also sacrificed to the Deity.

12. With regard to commerce, it was, in all probability, carried on with greater facility before the flood, than afterwards; as there was but one language in the world. Yet it is evident they had no idea of navigation, and of extending their trade to remote parts, by the assistance of any kind of vessels; or otherwise some families might certainly have escaped the flood besides the patriarch Noah. Indeed it is sufficiently obvious, that commerce however it might be conducted, was not as necessary at that time as it has been since, not only because the wants of men have been greatly increased, in proportion to the injury which the earth and its various productions received from the overwhelming flood that was brought upon it; but also because they resided together in greater numbers, and could easily obtain every article they desired, by bartering with their nearest neighbours.

QUESTIONS.

1. Is much known of the religion, policy, arts and sciences of the antediluvians?-2. What can be affirmed of their religious rites?-3. What is probable as to their government?-4. When did they attain to the art of working metal ?-5. Did they become acquainted with music, and when?-6. Is it supposed that the antediluvian world was different from what the world now is? -7. What circumstance renders this supposition probable ?8. What three reasons have been assigned for the longevity of the antediluvians? 9. What objection is there to its being owing to their temperance and simplicity ?-10. What objection is there to its being caused by the peculiar excellence of their

plants, herbs, and fruits?-11. And what objection to the supposition of its being caused by natural vigour of constitution?12. If neither of these can be considered an adequate cause of their longevity, to what more probable cause can we assign it?-13. Were men permitted before the flood to feed on the flesh of animals?-14. What reason can be given in favour of the supposition?-15. And what reason can be given against it?-16. Is it supposed that the antediluvians were acquainted with ship navigation, as we are '—17. Can a particular reason be assigned against the supposition, and what is it?

THE WORLD

CONTEMPLATED AT A DISTANCE.

"Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat
To peep at such a world; to see the stir
Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd;
To hear the roar she sends through all her gates
At a safe distance, where the dying sound
Falls a soft murmur on th' uninjur'd ear.
Thus sitting, and surveying thus at ease
The globe and its concerns, I seem advanc'd
To some secure and more than mortal height,
That liberates and exempts me from them all.
It turns submitted to my view, turns round
With all its generations; I behold

The tumult and am still. The sound of war
Has lost its terrours ere it reaches me;

Grieves, but alarms me not. I mourn the pride
And avarice that make man a wolf to man;
Hear the faint echo of those brazen throats
By which he speaks the language of his heart,
And sigh, but never tremble at the sound.
He travels and expatiates; as the bee
From flower to flower, so he from land to land;
The manners, customs, policy, of all,
Pay contribution to the store he gleans;
He sucks intelligence in every clime,
And spreads the honey of his deep research
At his return-a rich repast for me.

He travels, and I too. I tread his deck,
Ascend his topmast, through his peering eyes
Discover countries, with a kindred heart
Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes;
While fancy, like the finger of a clock,
Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

1. Ir is not, in the least, to be doubted, that Noah and his family, for some years after the flood, continued to reside in the neighborhood of the mountains of Armenia, where the ark had rested. But his descendants, in course of time, having a numerous progeny, the greater part of them quitted this place, and, directing their Course eastward, came at length to the plains of Shinar, on the banks of the river Euphrates. Attracted by the convenience of its situation, and the natural fertility of the soil, they resolved not to proceed any further, but to make this their fixed place of residence.

2. Having formed this resolution, in order to render themselves famous to future generations, they determined to erect a city, and in the city a building of such stupendous height as should be the wonder of the world. Their principal motives in doing this, were, it is supposed, to keep themselves together, in one body, that by their mutual strength and councils, as the world increased, they might bring others under their subjection, and thereby become masters of the universe.

3. The idea of the intended tower gave them the most singular satisfaction, and the novelty of the design induced them to enter upon its construction with the greatest alacrity. One inconvenience, however, arose, of which they were not at first apprised, namely, there being no stone in the country with which to build it. But this defect was soon supplied by the nature of the soil, which being clayey, they soon converted into bricks, and cemented them together with a pitchy substance, called bitumen, the country producing that article in great abundance.