New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-11-19


CbalJran Assyran and other legends when
modern research has brought to light Inc ia.'"y
of Abraham carried these ancient raolt'ois '''i
Ur of the Chaldeos into Palestine. Nhoie' .nen' 70
the inspiraton-the divine element-ln 'ne D'oi''''
uarratyes7 We will let the learned autho' a."
swer thc question for himself: -, Whore
But II this is so. shall perhaps pc nS", ,Sc writer's
then do yon find the divine psnpepmanra help by
which, Christian. you inuai pti,,olv new spirit
been guided Whgo norrnon even though the forn OF
il NAV have remained in almost every ho anne mar
ratiyc and in II the same episodes succeed one ~
In like manners and yet one woliu w I'M ,at,rr dfcr-
cot INC cxubernnt polythcism which encllmpeIs I'M
stories among the Chald@hns mas DEN ,iin What
formery EXPRESSED naturalistc conception, OF The
grossness here becomes the CARP Oh no orier The
essential features of the of the tradition nav
preserved and yet between me b9u Of one OF the
hooks of Chaldaa there is all the VI nr hccn
most tremendous revolutions which have ever i oc
effected in human beliefs Hereih, heino tr1nsposcd
Others may seek explain this by te slnp nysef do
progress Of the conscience oi hui.e nra in
not hesitate to lind In IL the effect OF hfnre the
tcrvention Of divine Providence anu pronhe %"
God who inspired the Law and Ihe Ioi"'' hn-
That is to say the narratives In the carrier on"p
ters of Genesis are the ancient Semitic tra.'''Un'
.o hoi,oo If tbe Israslites IN common with other
nations Of the same stock; These traditions cU"-
tain historic truth which, as to its FORM iooWS 'n0
law of historical traditions among mankind gehoi
aIIv The ueculiarity in the case of the lsraeCcs
that these stories which constitute the earieS' "nU
best knowledge accessible to the Seihltlc iaco o.
pnrged of pulytheistIc elements ana sre hi'uV A.
vehicle for conveying into the feDre" '","u ".
truest and loftcst conceptions oil uou' anu VI lo
and religious truth i'll general VINO" '
capable of receiving. Since theolos'shs '"""o Wy
.ra;r ,irds m accent the teaching of geology they
hair at
-, Tho frat chanter of Genesis, and have sought 10
= - ,.rosnondence between the days OF
crcotion and the successive geological eras' " i"
i;,s tb,t mn safe theory can he arrived at con-
earning the narrative of Creation in Oeness WIN
80, an ,ronirv into other narratives which clo>eB
tolLw II This the work of Lenormant underIahc''
And instead of seeking to work out an ingenious
| ndocrtalling" process by which geology ana uenc-
ss are made to match one another, ike the phI'9
of wooden puzzle map, the au' hor li'o' "
broader theory and one apparently more III heeP'ns
with the ascortained facts relative TO the or "''
+or.,,ission Of the Semitic traditions. The flTst
Sin ths CLerubm and tho Revolving S"oiu' tuo
Fratricidc and the Foundation OF the FIRST ClIS'
the Sethites and the Cantes the len AntediluVlan
patriarchs the Children OF God and the Daughters
of Men. and the Delugc are the partIcul"r
tonic. Tn connection with each OF these
dite and exhaustive statement of the col
lateral traditions from heathen sources, ana
collection of all the archeologcal information that
can throw any light on the Genesis narratives IL
is impossible to follow the author in these interest
il % discussions His conclusions ARE cautiously yet
frankly announced. They assert historical
karnel for most of the stories. but allow much TO
u the human element. the influence OF oral trans
mission and of the imagination especially upoh-tno
form. but to some extent also upon the contents.
of those venerable fragments which have traVeleu
down from boar Antiquity. As to the Delu2e lie
aiirms that tradition everywhere 20 exact ana
80 concordant cannot possibly be referred to an lu-
aginary myth" It must be the "reminiscences OF an
actual and terrible event which could never Dc Or-
gotten 1t took place near the primitive cradle OF
mankind" There arc three great races which have
inherited the traditon-lhOse whose ethnc hllatlon
ia given III the tenth chapter OF Genesls. Yet the
event had more restricted photographic and geo
graphical character than the reader OF Genesis
would suppose. As to the longevity OF the patrl-
archs before the flood LenOrmant comedies that
neither Of the ancient texts is trustworthy on this
point They differ IS well known, from one an
other He remarks:
ItIs probable in fact it certain that the Biblical
numbers for the antediluyian period must have pos
seSseq eyciIc cDnlt t egIdS VIA 6 o ~,
cosmogonv 1t would not be possible to accept with any
cirOnOlCdc revelation OF divine origin
specially the revelation OF chronology the true text OF
which is unknown 20 us, which comes handed down 70
lis i'm "A sngunry corrupted state with variations which
mass far beyond all ordinary limits in similar The
figures Genesis must consequently be considered from
purely human standpoint. like those of any other book
weighed in the balance OF criticism And. more
over however remarkable may have been the memory OF
the ancents during those ages when they ana not is YET
possess the art OF writing II Is impossible 10 imagine that
they could have preserved 50 exact record OF the age OF
IN first men. at epoch too when human speech did
even possess termnOlOgy TO express consider
able lapse OF time.
Ii remains for us to observe that the translation
of this volume is well executed. The labor of tho
Editor Professor Brown. is OF that unobrusive
kind which will be appreciated best by scholars
It involves, however, not only the careful eXamina
ton of many books III different languages, but also
the reconsideration of Hebrew, Aes7Ian and other
Oriental teIts,-a task requiring accurate learning
The work is highly creditable TO the Editor, who
has enriched the edition with his scholarly cOrrec
tions and explanations The work is one which de-
serves to he studied by all students of ancient his
tory and in particular. by ministers of the Gospel
whose office requires them to interpret the Scrip
tnres, and who ought not to be ignorant of the
latest and most interesting contributions OF science
TO the elucIdatOn of the sacred volume.
N..fI