National Republican., 1880-12-25

ccndanis aud ainr Off as in n dim metaphor, the
seed OF woman bruisng the scrpcnl's head.
LES,oN lI.-\lmost Oll mythologicS look back to
golden age" but in our second lesson Is re.
| ycacd, what all modern onthrupnlugslS hold, that
our race had n very humble beginning, and has
arisen by painful stages TO its present cmincncc.
The latest investigations Of othnOlOgists even Of
those unirlcndy to Scripture, point TO n locality
not FAR from the mouth OF the Euphrate3 River rs
| the birthplace ofthc human race
LEssoN Iil.--ln the third lesson there are many
cnlgmos; narratives OF events which belong to
classes so unlike those with which we are familiar
that VIC have no hold for the appliance Of scientific
processes. With reference to the antiquity Of man,
the creation Of Eve the Macrobiaus or longlNed
mon, the order Of mechanic arts, and the posi-.
bility ofn pre-Adamic race there Is great 9hlft'
ing of ground, both on the part Of those who re.
p,ldlntc the Bible, and of those to whom II Is the
lamp OF God. The latest scientific investigator
who has written upon the material evidences re-
specting these subjects. Professor W. BOYD Dow.
kns, strcnuously maintains that the testimony Of
the existence Of tertiary man Is insufficient.
On the other hand our most learned orthodox
professors have come to recognize that many
theories formerly propoundcd rs iniallible must DO
revised. on all sides there seems to be u willing.
ness to adopt the motto of NJ dc Quorcinges, As
yet we do not know
LESSON Iv-The ethnographer finds among the
myths ormany peoples savage and civilized the
story Of universal deluge. To some Biblical
scholars these are the suryiyols by tradition of the
story Of the Noachic deluge.
The question ismnny sided. We have TO discuss
the crcdibility Of human traditions, and science
hasno knowledge of an universal dclugc destroying
simultaneously the animals and plants of the
globe within the human period These, repeat
are open questions, and the Bible student must ap-
proach them In the spirit Of the ancient Bcrcnns
who searched to see If these things were So
The events intervening between this lesson and
the next are sweeping generalization of the fam
lies of men living In lands known to the writer's of
Scripture in orderto set apart the seed of Abraham
There are two ways by which these chapters may
be studied profltsbly-the one Is to take the Ian
guugc of the chapters themselves and TO distribute
the tribes therein named over the lands assigned
to them the other, to study carefully the present
populations of the globe racaly and lngistically,
aud TO trace them backward to the common source
from which they nrc all derived. need not say
tonn intelligent company of sunday school teachers
that this Is now perhaps the most popular branch
ofhuman science, and that the activity in search
ing the records of our past history Is simply I'M.
prcccdcned.
We arc 100 near the beginning of scientific
treatment of the origin of races to decide how far
these two chapters of Genesis represent the present
populations of the world.
LESSON V-Sincc most of us were born the birth
disclosed the secrets of twenty-five centuries Here
arose throve, and declined the ancient monarches
of Chnldcu AsSyriu B,bylonia Media, Persia, the
Eastern Kingdom of Alcxandcrthc Great, SaSsania
and Parthia. few years ago British consular
agents, on their way from Constantinoplc to India,
time and again noticed huge mounds, like those In
our prairic Sutes rising above the plains along the
river and stopped TO gather here and
there curious, little dreaming of the wealth of
| history beneath. In 1919 scientific student
of history. Austin Henry Laynrd first conceived
that the ruins of Babylon, Nirsvah, and the
other famous cities Of this valley lay ontombed
beneath these mounds. Time would fail to tell
of the uninterrupted success which has crowned
the labors of the explorers in uncarthng these
| cities Babel, Accad Erech, Calneh. Babylon
| and Nincvch with their stores of Hydrologic, his
toric, artistic and domestic treasures stand re-
, vealed Tho library of the famous but ill.fated
Sardanapallls, filled with terra Gotta books, has
yielded up It's secrets, and the language Is so well
understood that the story of Abraham ana Lot is
invested with living interest.
Palestine exploration by scientific methods was
commenced by oWr countrymnn, DIR. Edward Rob
lnson in 1898. Since that time innumcrGblc tray.
clcrs have contributed their quotu-Tristam, For.
ter Strong, Lynch, Tobler, Ferguson, Plcro,ti,
Cathcrwood, Thomson, author of the "Land and
D the Book" and magnificent work Just issued by
the Harpers, entitled Southern Palestine and
Jerusalem" But it is to the Palestine exploration
fund originated by Miss Burdet,c Coutts, that we
are indebted for a systematic survey of the Holy
Land rc.edifying the ruins, building up the waste
places and repairing the damages occasioned BY
conflicts In land that has heard the war-trainp of
every historic nation. The study of the geology
botany, zoology, and meteorology of the Holy
Land has gone on parf passu with archaeological
researches.
The study of sociology by Sir Henry Maine, Nc.
} Lehman, Lubbock. Spencer Morgan, Wake, and
De Coulnnge among the tribes of mon now living
on the earth explains to us tho construction of the
patrarchal family, Comparing modern with an
tecedcnt times We are struck with the similarity OF
gentle and social organization to be found In the
same status of bnrbDrism or culture In various
cpoChs and under similar circumstances. In this
! eyer.changing humanity there seems to be genius
}. ofprogress and civilization that does not waycr,
but under the same external influences all over
| the earth adopts the same insrumcntalitics and
. processes. In the light of this comparative study
! slavery polygamy, pNtrarchy, family priesthood
and even war take their places as legitimate inst
[ tutions In the mosaic of human culture,
Lesson IX.-Tho location of the cities of the pnu
on the north instead Of on the south of the Dead
Sea Is one of the fruits Of careful research on the
= ground The same Investigation has demonstrated
that the Dead Sea Is Of all spots earth the best
D fitted gcologically for the cntombmcnt Of cities,
= LE,SoS XI--Thc scientific Investigations Of hui
man institutions and ofthe tribes surrounding Abra
ham have converted the sacrifice of Isaac from al
+ example of horrible cruelty into possible exam
pie of "thc universal desire to pe,.sc, propitlate
: or to communicate with the Powers above us by
surrendering some object near and dear to our
selves -
LESSON 1.-The life of Isaac binds together tho
historic peoples that had become dissoclated. lie
procurcs his wife from llurnn, where still SUR
= vive the family memories of Cr of the ChaldoeS
! his hcrdsmcn contend with the Philisncs OF
Canaauilish stock he quietly passes over the land
digging wells for Jacobs postcrity.
, LEssoN 1.-The same Investigations which have
!, Illuminated the social status of Abraham and the
patrlarchy also clearly show the nature of that
birthright which Eau sold to Jacob. ] refer moi
to the blessing of Abraham, but to the prcrogatveS
which the dying blessing conferred upon him as
+. the leader of his tribe,
/. LE5soSsY-lX,-liut the portion of our study dur
. ing the last six months with which tho coordiua'
tions of recent research nrc most numerous and
striking Is tlnt which relates to the land Of Egypt
y and the his tory Of Joseph,
The ancient commerce of the East concentrated
| in the valley of the Nile. Tho demand for her
, products was only oqualed by the extent aud d
A verslty of her own demands The qualification o
these wants was the impetus Of all that camel
traffic which skired the northern shore of Africa
= followed tho Nile valley from Ethiopia, aud poured
the wealth OF Arabia, Mcsopotamia and Armcniu
$ Into Egypt.
, The commencement Of the scientific exploration
of Egypt was In l7g9, during Napol0ons memorable
c campaign, when BOuChard, while digging In the
E Port st. Julian, discovered the Rosetta stone. II
4 was sent to England by W. H. Hamilton Ia 1902
{ afer It's inscriptions had been printed, In Cairo
This tablet Is Of black basal about three feet long
!. by two and half wide, and was erected in honor
mi.