Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1830-01-22
NO. rs.

4
Antediluvian Antiquities. Fragments Of
the Age of Methuselah, Translated by
an American Traveller in the East.
VolI.
HE announcement ofthis singular va.
iume, which has been before the public for
several weeks. was regarded, by many pen
pie as mere piece Of badiaagc They
supposed that the prospectus was intend.,1
cd to amuse few individuals who would
understand the joke, and laugh at the
weakness OF such as should give credence
to the assertions of this ANONYMOUS ira
Weller in the East" He had avowed his
design OF publishing book IN an expen-
slve style, and of giving away the profits,
whhe he was not to be known as having
any hand in the affair These cireum-
stances had certainly an appearance Of
oddity about them, when we consider that
the present age has not been partic ulary
remarkaN e for literary productions dis
seminated without the hope of money or of
,ame, or some other equivalent for the la
Dor bestowed OIL them.
Since the printing of this first volume
OF Antedllurian Antiquities, it has occur
RED TO some that the writer had studied the
Jewish authors, both scriptural and apoc-
ryPhai, until he had caught something of
their spirit, and with the help of lis own
imagination, worked up some vague Rab-
lolnlcal traditions into a tale of the world
before the floor. The pledge however
which the writer gives us,-"the sacred
honour OF translator, that these
fragments are the genuine remains of an
oil ms own brain, ought perhaps to out
weigh such doubts, and incline us to the
cpinlon that they are in truth what they
purport TO be. One circumstance worthy
( OF remark in connection with this subject
Is that the translator" as he styles him
sell, has not exhibited the original of
which his work is a version. We presume
OF course that they are not to be found a.
mong the books of Adam, Enoch and No
ah, though they do smack a little of the
esssuce OF that collection Of 44ancient. ann.
cryphal literature. Our traveller speaks
OF Inc discovery of these fragments cs a
recent thing, and evidently wishes it to be
understood that they have been BROUGHT
to lille by himself; and indeed there
is every reason to believe that DURING his
residence in the East, he met with Some
rare hebrew manuscripts, which he has
here given 10 the world. If this be the
case he is in error not to have told lis in
what manner they came into his possession
and what are the proofs which lead him
SO confidently to assert their authenticitv
lae volume Is made up of epistles and
disconnected portions of history. These
present picture and, whether a correcr
one or not, certainly very pleasant pic.
ture, of the manners, philosophy and noe.
try OF the antcdiluviaDs, with dialouoes
between Adam and Eve, and other inoen-
ultIes, parts of which with all our disno-
sltion to rely upon the word of the trans.
lator, we cannot help suspectng him NJ
having invented, or at any rate strongly
colored.
From the wine press of Kaldu.
/. a. N. NJ: Is. 1852.
uzAH. the son : of Z zephnah
In the epistle that l wrote to thee r,,,
the 10Th day Of the seventh new moon in
the year 1859, told thee that I had writ
ten a chronicle ofthe first wars amono an
children ofme In the year of tho O. sn'
alton one thousand and 6eteen Pbars
than, the chiefof the Am-OIam oa,hor
ed together the chiefs of the tribes Of ~.
people, and commap.d ed them 70 cha
captains o, thousaD DIS and captains of hun
| dLeds. and captai..- of 6fties. and ca,ta:.
OF tens and when they had chosen th sa'nS
nc 'o'h'''anoeu the captains to teach tben,,
the use OF the bow, and the arrow nns
Tue e|ofu' and me spear, and the iaveI;r,
anu 'he other instruments of brass 49,,
lIon' winch mad been invented by Tuhai
yam tue instructor of every arti6cer -
prass ana iron. And he said mt
chiefs 0fthe tribes, and unto ali the noo 'ne
Deiold, there Is come unto us YOUNG ma,
rom the west, and he has told me ,ha.
shepherd ofthe land of Zahab Will 10y
fed his flock upon the mountain ofGoh no
ah, beheld little could arising On, ~ "
sea OF Suphah, like the eye of the camel
and II grew and became great and
black could, and overspread the skv a,d
prevented the shining of the SIM al
darkened the windows Of heaven and -
ARMAMENT became dark with thick clonds
and with the violent wind, and there canoa
much rain: and the mountain was shaken
arIVer came down the side of the NOM,
tam, aud the river became sea in tho
plan OF the valley, and the white flock Of
the shepherd was carried away BY the
tempest, as the army Of the locasts is car
led away by the suLh wind and driven into
the great water Of the north. The shep-
herd wos thrown upon high rock in the
valley, and upon the next day escaped
upon great sycamore tree that was torn
mp Ivy the wind and foated upon the wa
ters When tho tempest was over and
lone, and the waters were in part dried