The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-10-05
THE WORLD AFTER THE
FLOOD.

Among all its other achievements, it
was reserved for the nineteenth century
to write the history of the lost nations of
antiquity-save in so far as glimpses of
them had been preserved in the inspired
records of the Hebrews. Except few
vague traditions, or testimonies that were
not trusted, we did not, until recently,
know anything of the worlds history
back of the beginnings of Greece and
Rome. Even the Trojan War, COM
paratively recent date in view of modern
discoveries, had been almost resolved into
myth, and warlike nations which in their
day We're among the "powers," as they
say now in Europe, although they were
often mentioned in the Bible, were hard
ly credited with real existence by pro-
fame historians. 1t was only in the Bible
that we read of the Midianite, whose hab-
ltatlons have recently been traced in the
Slnaitic peninsula; it was only there that
we read of the Moabite and the Amorite
and the Philistine; it was there that we
saw the early power and splendor of an
Gent Sidon and Tyre. 1t was there that
we encountered the full blaze of civiliza
ton in Egypt in the days of Abraham;
1T was there that we read of Ur of the
Chaldees, and Babel, and Erech, and
Accad, and Calneh at date so remote
that it seemed almost to touch the flood.
1t Is not an exaggeration, we think, to
say that these historical illusions in the
book of Genesis, and even Exodus, were
received by great many historical crit
les with the same spirit of scepticism that
the Robertson-Smith school now bestow
upon the story of the Flood and the Gar
den of Eden. U.s.
But Egyptology has now become
great science; the early history of Egypt
is In great measure restored, and the
mass of materials collected by the Lep-
siuses, the De Rouges, the Wilkinsons,
the Mariettes, the Brugsches, has served
to illustrate the minute accuracy and
fidelity of the Biblical picture of the mon
archy of the Pharaohs.
We mentioned some short time since
that two very important discoveries had
very recently been made in the Nile Val
ley-one in some hitherto unexplored
pyramids Of the date of the sixth dynasty,
near Saqqarah, and the other in cave
near Thebes. 1t is believed that when
the inscriptions and papyri connected
with these discoveries are deciphered,
important information will be obtained
with regard to the earliest and the mid
die periods of Egyptian history.
We have now to chronicle very i'm
portant discovery in the Tigro- Euphrates
valley. Mr.. Hormuzd Rassam, melted
by discoveries made in 1874 by the Arab
brick-diggers of Hillah, was induced to
dig into the mound called Jumjuna C"the
skull }, and his excavations have revealed
the fact that it is the site. of the great
clearinghouse or commercial emporium
of the Babylonians. The tablets found
by the Arabs in 1874-5, which were
purchased by the British Museum, have
been read, and it appears that for a long
period the family of Benz Egibi were the
great commercial house Of Babylon, and
we find in the mound of Jumiuna the
records Of all their monetary transac-
tions. We ascertain how the revenue
was raised by duties levied on land, on
crops Of dates and corn, on cattle, by i'm
ports for the use of the canals and the
public roads. Mr. Rassam has, however,
made other discoveries not exceeded in
importance even by these. He has found
in the ruins of the Babylonian palaces
" historical inscriptions Of Nebuchadnez-
Ear, a valuable pr6ei8 of the history of
the last days Of the Babylonian empire,
extending from the seventh year Of Ma
bonidus to the fall Of the city before the
hosts OF Cyrus, a royal record Of the Per-
sian c6nqueror, and, lastly, an inscribed
record Of the last great victor who en-
tered Babylon, Alexander the Great"
In the large mound, on the north of
the ruins Of Babylon, called by the ma