The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-04-02
0rigin of the World.


The lecture of DIR. Kohler before the
Sunday Lecture Society, published in
full in the Tribune of the 18th inst,
presented complete record of the dis
coveries of George Smith, the Assyrian
explorer, as far rs they were then known
on this side of the water The lecturer
sketched the story of the discovery OF the
great library of Sardanapalus, almost the
last of the Assyrian Kings, who lived
thirty centuries ago. This monarch
collected not only the writings OF his day,
but had traaslations made of Chaldaic
records, running back to 1000 Il. g., or
very nearly to the date ascribed by the
Jewish Scriptural chronology to the
creation of the world. The books of
this library were brick tablets, marked
with wedge-shaped letters, which were
first deciphered by the German Grote-
fend, the English Rawlinson, and the
Hebrew Oppert. The tablets contain
historical records, poems, private letters,
contracts, magic formulas, grammars,
dictionaries, astronomical statements,
etc. Two years ago, George Smith
found on fragment of burnt clay the
story of the Deluge. He has since
pushed his researches and TRANSACTIONS
steadily. The last foreign mail before
DIR. Kohler spoke brought news of the
discovery of the legend of the Tower of
Babel.
Three days before the lecture was de-
livered here, the London Telegraph (of
March A. published letter from George
Smith, containing an account of the most
remarkable discovery yet. 1t is the story
of the Creation and the Fall, much older
than the Jewish record, and fuller than
that given therein.
1t is well known that the Book of
Genesis contains two independent ac-
counts of the Creation. The two are
curiously intermixed throughout the
story Cain and Able figure in one, and
are wholly ignored in the other. In one
the earth is covered with water at the be-
ginning. In the other there is no water
at all at that time. 1t was long since as
serted that the second of these accounts
was of Oriental origin, and was borrowed
by the writer or writers of the Penta-
touch from the Chaldean or other
sources. This assertion seems to be
sustained by Mr.. Smiths last /" find"
The story told by the tablets is, in
brief, this There was once only chaos.
Out of the universal confusion came
monsters. The supreme power of chaos
was female named Tisalat Tiamat.
Satan rides i'll Il chariot to attack the
Lord of heaven. Lightning plays around
him, and he Ihurls thunderbolts at his
foe, who is defeated Subordinate gods
create the world by stages, rs in the
Pentateuch. At last, man is created.
He is free from sin and endowed with
speech. He yields to temptation and
the Deity curses him.
This imperfect account corresponds
closely with the Mosaic narrative. Mr.
Smith has only partially translated the
tablets of this series, and expects to find
"A record rs long as that of Genesis, but
much fuller in details. His letter will
rejoice Draper, who declares, in his late
work on "The Conflict Between Reli-
gion and Science" that the Jews learned
during their captivity at Babylon the le
gends which were afterward used in the
composition of Genesis. All classes of
Christians will take a keen interest in
George Smiths farther discoveries. 1t is
scarcely necessary to remind any faint
hearted neophyte that the morality and
the history of the Bible are two indie
pendent things, and that the destruction
of the whole of the Old Testament chro-
nology would not impair the morality
which is the essence of the Bible and of
Christianity. Chicago Tribune.