Ancient history; or, The old states and empires

Front matter

X^ r

"JV r/

V

Preface

This work is designed for educational purposes, since there is still felt the need of some book, within moderate limits, which shall give a connected history of the ancient world, without encumberino: it with names and details of comparatively little importance.

The author, in cond^ensing; the last standard authorities pertaining to the Oriental monarchies, the Grecian States, and the Roman Empire from its foundation to its fall, has simply aimed to present the salient points — the most important events and characters of four thousand years.

The history of the Jewish nation has not been neglected, especially in its connection with the Oriental world. This" link is too impressive to iv PREFACE.

be omitted, altLougL drawn from tlie Bible, and, therefore, familiar. All history, secular and sacred, is alike the record of Divine Providence.

The author has carefully revised the first edition, and has changed the title from that of "Ancient States and Empires " to that of "Ancient History," as more simple. He hopes that this work, new in its arrangement and grouping, will prove useful to those for whom it is designed. It should be studied before "The Old Roman World," w^hich is a description merely of the ancient civilization.

Stamford, Augvst, 1810.

OOI^TEI^TS.

Chapter I. The Antediluvian World

PAGB

Creation — The Garden of Eden — Fall of Adam — Cain and Abel — The Deluge — Its Tradilions, 13

CHAPTER XL

POST-DILUVIAN HISTOUT TO THE CALL OF ABRAHAM.

Noah and his Sons — The Tower of Babel — Dispersion of the Descendants of Noah — Patriarchal Consutution, 19

CHAPTER HI.

THE HEBREW RACE TO THE SALE OP JOSEPH.

Abraham — Lot — Covenant with Abraham — Sodom — Isaac — Jacob — Esau — Laban — Joseph, 24

CHAPTER IV.

EGYPT AND THE PHARAOHS.

Geography of Ancient Egypt — Wonders — Dynasties — Ramesis 11. — Thebes — Religion and Manners of the Old Egyptians, 34

CHAPTER V.

THE JEWS TO THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN,

Elevation of Joseph — The Famine — Settlement of tlie Israelites in Egypt — Moses — The Exodu? — The Jewish Code — The Wilderness, 43

CHAPTER yi.

THE CONQUEST OP CANAAN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OP THE

KINGDOM OP DAVID.

PAGE

Joshua — The Canaanites — The Judges — Saiii-uel — The Philistines — Saul, 56

CHAPTER Yir.

THE JEWISH MONARCHY.

David — Solomon — Jerusalem — The Rebellion of the Ten Tribes — The Princes of the House of David — The Princes who reigned at Samaria — The Jewish Captivity, 62

CHAPTER YIII.

THE OLD CHALDEAN AND ASSTBIAN MONARCHIES.

Nineveh — Assyrian Kings — The Chaldteans — Babylon, 80

CHAPTER IX.

THE EMPIRE OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS.

Media — Median Princes — Lydian Mouarchs — The Persians — Zoroaster — Cyrus — Cambyses — Xerxes — Fall of the Monarchy, . . 88

CHAPTER X

ASIA MINOR AND PHCENICIA.

The various nations of Asia Minor — Lydians — Croesus — Phoenicians — Voyages and Colonies — Carthage, 100

CHAPTER XL

THE RULE OP THE HIGH PRIESTS, AND OF THE ASMONEAN AND IDUMEAN KINGS.

Jleturn of the Jews — Esther — Rebuilding of Jerusalem — Alexandria — The High Priests — The Asmonoan Princes — Herod and the Idumean Kings, 108

CHAPTER XII.

THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT.

Pontius Pilate — Herod Antipas — Agrippa — The Pharisees — The Saducees — The Essenes — Revolt of Jerusalem — Siege and Fall of Jerusalem, 128

Book II. The Grecian States

CHAPTER XIII.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ITS EARLY INHAB- ITANTS.

PAGB

Mountains — Rivers — National Productions — States — Cities — Early Inhabitants, 143

CHAPTER XIV.

THE LEGENDS OF ANCIENT GREECE.

Tlie Heroic Ages — Ancient Deities — Legends of Heroes— The Danaides — Hercules — The Argonauts — Pelope — Theseus — Cadmus — CEdipus — Priam — Helen — The Heraclidae — Early Kings, 155

CHAPTER XY.

STATES AND COLONIES TO THE PERSIAN WARS.

Lycurgus and Sparta — The Helots — Constitution of Sparta — Messenia — Corinth — Megara — Athens — Solon — His Legislation — Pisistratus — Boeotia — Phocis — Epirus — Ionian Cities, 177.

CHAPTER XYL

GRECIAN CIVILIZATION BEFORE THE PERSIAN "WARS.

Legislature — Amphyctionic Council — Delphic Oracle — Olympian Games — Pythian Games — Nemean and Isthmian Games — Temples — Political Rights — Commerce — Art, 195

CHAPTER XYIL

THE PERSIAN WAR.

Revolt of Ionian Cities — Their Conquest by the Persians — Darius — Invasion of Greece — Miltiades — Themistocles — Aristides — Marathon — Xerxes — His enormous Army — Thermopyhe — Leonidas — Salamis — Efiects of tlie Battle — Mardouius — Battle of Plataea — Battle of Mycali — Rivalry betvN^een Athens and Sparta, 205

CHAPTER XYIII.

THE AQE OF PERICLES.

TAGB

Rivalry between Athens and Sparta — Confederacj of Delos — Sparta — Rebellion of Helots — Girnon — Pericles — The Piraeus — The Long Walls of Athens — Aggrandizement of Athens — Democratic Power — Improvements of Athens — Literature and Art,. . 233

CHAPTER XIX.

THE PELOPONXESIAN WAR.

The Causes of the "War — Influence of Pericles — Warlike Preparations — Invasion of Attica — The various Campaigns — Plague of Athens — Athens sohcits Aid from Persia — Revolt of Mitylene

— Xicias — Alcibiades — Cleon — Attack of Megara — Battle of Pelium — Brasidas — Loss of AmpLipolis — Peace of ISTicias — Battle of Mantinaea — Invasion of Sicily — Syracuse — Gelo — Mismanagement of Nicias — Treason of Alcibiades — Lysander — Capture of the Athenian Fleet — Annihilation of Athenian Power — Triumph of Sparta — Consequences of the War, 250

CHAPTER XX.

MARCH OF CYRUS AND RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND.

Cyrus — Xenophon — Cyrus in Asia — Battle of Cunaxa — Retreat of the Greeks — Their Hardships and Success — Moral effect of , the Retreat, 294

CHAPTER XXL

THE LACEDEMONIAN EMPIRE.

Great Power of Sparta — Jealousy of Greece — Tyranny of Sparta

— Agesilaus — Alienation of Allies — Conspiracies against Sparta

— Revolt of Thebes — Battle of Coroneia — Decline of Sparta, 304

CHAPTER XXn.

THE REPUBLIC OF THEBES.

Thebes — Revolt from Sparta — Alliance with Athena — Epaminondas — Pelopldas — Attack of Thebes — Humiliation of Sparta — Tlie Invasion by Epaminondas — Dismemberment of Sparta — Theban Supremacy — Fate of Orchomenes — Battle of Mantinaea — Philip of Macedon, 315

CHAPTER XXIIL

DIONYSIUS OF SICILY.

PAGB

Carthagenian "War — Dionjsiiis — His great Success3S — Tmalcar — Invasion of Italy — Fate of Crotou — Dion — Dionysius 11. — Plato in Sicily — Dion Master of Syracuse — Timoleon — His Xoble Character. 333

CHAPTER XXI 7.

PHILIP OF ilACEDON.

Philip and Thebes — His Duplicity and Ambition — Social War — Demosthenes — Phocion — Conquest of Thessaly — Encroachments on Grecian Liberties — Siege of Periuthus — Alliance of Thebes and Athens — Fall of Thebes — Humiliation of Athens, 356

CHAPTER XXY.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

The Persian Empire — Alexander — Conquest of Greece — Alexander in Asia — Battle of the Granicus — Conquest of Asia Minor

— Battle of Issus — Siege of Tyre — Founding of Alexandria — Darius — Battle of Arbela — Conquest of Persia — Death of Clitus

— Invasion of India — Hephasstion and his funeral — Death of Alexander — Effects of his Conquests, 3t3

Book III. The R 2.1 A N Empire

CHAPTER XX VL

THE INFANCY OF ROME.

Foundation of Rome — Romulus — Nuraa — Successive Kings — Early Struggles of Plebeians — The Servian Constitution — Expulsion of the Kings — Early Civihzatiou of Rome, 398

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC TO THE INVASION OF THE GAULS.

Legends of Early Rome — The Heroic x\ge — Conflict between Patricians and Plebeians — Cliange in the Constitution — Republican Laws — Cincinnatus — The Decemvirs — Siege of Yeii — The Gauls — Sack of Rome 410

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE CONQUEST OF ITALY.

PAGE

The Samnite War — Subjection of Latium — Tarenteum — Pyrrhus —Subjection of Italy, 422

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE FIRST PUNIC WAR.

Causes of the "War — Sicily — Hioro — Carthage — Creation of a Roman Fleet — Battle of Mylaj — Regnilus — Hamilcar — Hasdrubal — Acquisition of Sicily, 429

CHAPTER XXX.

THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.

Hannibal — Fall of Saguntum — Invasion of Italy — Battle of the Thrasimene Lake — Scipio — Fabius — Battle of Canute — Revolt of Allies — AVisdom and Talent of Hannibal — Victories of Scipio — Siege of Syracuse — Scipio in Africa — Battle of Zama, 439

CHAPTER XXXI.

MACEDONIAN AND ASIATIC WARS.

Macedonia — -Philip — Achaean League — ludependence of Greece — Antiochus — Protectorate of Rome in Asia — Battle of Pydna — ^railius Paulus, 455

CHAPTER XXX I L

THE THIRD PUNIC WAR.

Massinassa — War against Carthage — Scipio — Siege of Carthage — Fall of Carthage — Eflfect of The Punic 'Wars — Great accession of Roman Territories, 4G4

CHAPTER XXXIII.

ROMAN CONQUESTS TO THE TIME OF THE GRACCni.

The Spanish Peninsula — War with the Spaniards — Scipio — War with Macedonia — War in Achaia — War in Asia, 473

CHAPTER XXXIV.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION AT THE CLOSE OP THE THIRD PUNIC AVAR.

The Aristocracy — The Provincial Governors — Festivals and Games — Cato — Change in the Constitntion — Agriculture — Commerce — Bluvery — Sraa 1 Farmers — Great Fortunes — Literature— Art, . . 478

CHAPTER XXXY.

PAGH THE REFORM MOVEMENT OF THE aRACCHI.

Evils of the Government — Tiberius G-racchus — His Reforms, and Death — Caius Gracchus — Attack on the Aristocracy — Success of Gracchus and Death, 488

CHAPTER XXXYI.

THE WAR WITH JUGURTHA AND THE CIMBRI.

The Numidian "War — Jugurtha — Mitelhis — Marius — The Cimbri — Invasion of Italy — The Victories of Mariu s, 499

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE SOCIAL WAR.

The Servile Classes — Insurrection — - Sulla — His Leg-islatioii, 501

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE MITHRIDATIO AND CIVIL WARS. MARIUS AND SULLA.

Mithridates — Pontus — Sulla; Battle of — Chseronia — Rising of Asia — Cinna — Civil "War — Dictatorship of Sulla— "Abdication of Sulla, 512

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ROME TO THE CIVIL WARS OF POMPEY AND C^SAR.

Reaction in favor of the Aristocracy — Pompey — The Servile War

— War with the Pirates — Second Mithridatic War — LucuUus — Porapey in the East -— Cicero — Catiline — = Cyssar, 520

CHAPTER XL.

THE CIVIL WARS BETWEEN POMPEY AND OJJSAR.

Rivalshlp between Csesar and Pompey — Military Preparations — War— Defeat of Pompey — Fhght and Death of Pompey — Consequences of the Battle of Pharsalia ■— Caesar in the East and West — His Dictatorship — - Triumphs — Death — Character, . , . . 534

CHAPTER XLI.

THE CIVIL WARS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OP C^SAR.

Antonius — Octavius — Lepidus — Brutus — Cassius — Cicero — The Triumvirate — Civil War— Battle of Philippi-- Battle of Actium

— Supremacy of Octavius, 5^^

CHAPTER XLIL

THE ROMAN EMPIEE ON THE ACCESSION OF AUGUSTUS.

PAGE

Extent the of Empire — Cities — Rome — Government — Army — Commerce — Literature — Art, 558

CHAPTER XLHI.

THE SIX C^SARS OF THE JULIAN LINE.

Augustus — Ministers — Campaign — Tiberius — Wars with the Germans — Germanieus — Caligula — Claudius — The Conquest of Britain — Messalina — Agrippina — Nero, 567

CHAPTER XLIY.

THE CLIMAX OF THE EMPIRE.

Galba — Yespasian — Titus — Domitian — Nerva — Trajan — Hadrian — Antonius Pius — Marcus Aarelius — Commodus, 595

CHAPTER XLY.

THE DECLINE OF THE EMPIEE.

Moral Corruption — Pertinax — Septiroius Severus — Caracalla — Elagabulus — Alexander Severus — Maxiraiu — Decius — Gailienus — Invasion of the Barbarians — Warlilie Emperors — Arrest of Ruin — Diocletian — Constantino — Division of the Empire, . . . 605

CHAPTER XLVI.

THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE.

Successors of Constantino — Theodosius — Irruption of Barbarians — The Goths — Alaric — Capture of Rome — The Yandals — Second Siege and Sack of Rome — The Huns — Fall of the Western Empire — Conclusion, 628

Book I . Chaftek I

THE Al^'TEDILUYIAN WOELD.

The history of this world begins, according to the chronology of Archbishop Ussher, which is generally received as convenient rather than probable, in the year 4004 before Christ. In six days God created light and darkness, day and night, the firmament and the continents in the midst ^j^^ ^^.^^^ of the waters, fruits, grain, and herbs, moon and '^^*^"* stars, fowl and fish, living creatures upon the face of the earth, and finally man, with dominion " over the fish of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and cattle, and all the earth, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." He created man in his ovv^i image, and blessed him with universal dominion. He formed him from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. On the seventh day, God rested from this vast work of creation, and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, as we suppose, for a day of solemn observance for all generations.

He then planted a garden eastward in Eden, with every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food, and r^^^ f^arden there placed man to dress and keep it. The orig- oi'^'^en. inal occupation of man, and his destined happiness, were thus centered in ao-ricultural labor.

14: The Antediluvian World. [Chap. I.

But man was alone ; so God caused a deep sleep to fall Adam and upou him, and took one of his ribs and made a ■^^®- woman. And Adam said, " this woman," which

the Lord had brought unto him, " is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh ; therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be one flesh." Thus marriage was instituted. We observe three divine institutions while man yet remained in a state of innocence and bliss — the Sabbath ; agricultural employment ; and marriage.

Adam and his wife lived, we know not how long, in the Primeval garden of Eden, with perfect innocence, bliss, and Paradise. dominion. They did not even know what sin was. There were no other conditions imposed upon them than they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which was in the midst of the garden — a pre-eminently goodly tree, " pleasant to the eyes, and one to be desired."

Where was this garden — this paradise — located ? This is a mooted question — difticult to be answered. It lay, thus Situation of f^^* ^^^^ know, at the head waters of four rivers, two Eden. ^^ which wcrc the Euphrates and the Tigris. We

infer thence, that it was situated among the mountains of Armenia, south of the Caucasus, subsequently the cradle of the noblest races of men, — a temperate region, in the latitude of Greece and Italy.

We suppose that the garden 'was beautiful and fruitful, Glory of beyond all subsequent experience — watered by Edeu. mists from the earth, and not by rains from the

clouds, ever fresh and green, while its two noble occupants lived upon its produce, directly communing with God, in whose image they were made, moral and spiritual — free from all sin and misery, and, as we may conjecture, conversant with truth in its loftiest forms.

But sin entered into the beautiful world that was made, and death by sin. This is the first recorded fact in human history, next to primeval innocence and happiness.

Chap, l.j The Garden of Eden. 15

The progenitors of the race were tempted, and did not resist the temptation. The form of it may have ^^e temi.tabeen allegorical and symbolic ; but, as recorded by ^^""• Moses, was yet a stupendous reality, especially in view of its consequences.

The tempter was the devil — the antagonist of God — the evil power of the world — the principle of evil — a

(-. . T n . . The Devil.

Satanic agency which Scripture, and all nations, m some form, have recognized. When rebellion against God began, we do not know ; but it certainly existed when Adam was placed in Eden.

The form which Satanic power assumed was a serpent — then the most subtle of the beasts of the field, and jji^ assumpwe may reasonably suppose, not merely subtle, but ^^.^m ^of ^ a attractive, graceful, beautiful, bewitching. serpent.

The first to feel its evil fascination was the woman, and she was induced to disobey what she knew to be a The disob©- direct command, by the desire of knowledge as well ev".^^ ^ as enjoyment of the appetite. She put trust in the serpent. She believed a lie. She was beguiled.

The man was not directly beguiled by the serpent. Why the serpent assailed woman rather than man, the The Fail of Scriptures do not say. The man yielded to his wife. " She gave him the fruit, and he did eat."

Immediately a great change came over both. Their eyes v>'ere opened. They felt shame and remorse, for they had sinned. They hid themselves from the presence of the Lord, and were afraid.

God pronounced the penalty — unto the woman, the pains and sorrows attending childbirth, and subserviency to her husband ; unto the man labor, toil, sorrow — the curse

' . ' ' . The penalty.

of the ground which he was to till — thorns and thistles — no rest, and food obtained only by the sweat of the brow ; and all these pains and labors were inflicted upon both until they should return to the dust from whence they were taken — an eternal decree, never abrogated, to last as long as man should till the earth, or woman bring forth children.

16 Tlie Antediluvian World. [Chap. I.

Thus came sin into the world, through the temptations of Introduction Satan and the weakness of man, witli the penalty oi sm. ^£ labor, pain, sorrow, and death.

Man was expelled from Paradise, and precluded from re- Expu'.sion entering it by the flaming sword of cherubim, until dise! ^' ^ the locality of Eden, by thorns and briars, and the deluge, was obliterated forever. And man and woman were sent out into the world to reap the fruit of their folly and sin, and to gain their subsistence in severe toil, and amid the accumulated evils which sin introduced.

The only mitigation of the sentence was the eternal enmity The mitiffa- between the -seed of the woman and the seed of the

tion of the . . n i •

punishment. Scrpcut, lu whicli the final victory should be given to the former. The rite of sacrifice was introduced as a type of the satisfaction for sin by the death of a substitute for the sinner ; and thus a hope of final forgiveness held out for sin. Meanwhile the miseries of life were alleviated by the fruits of labor, by industry.

Industry, then, became, on the expulsion from Eden, one Industry— of the final laws of human happiness on earth, f.'nd.imen- while the sacrificc held out hopes of eternal life by tions of life, the Substitution which the sacrifice typified — the Saviour who was in due time to appear.

With the expulsion from Eden came the sad conflicts of the race — conflicts with external wickedness — conflicts with the earth — conflicts with evil passions in a man's own soul.

The first conflict was between Cain, the husbandman, and ^ . , Abel, the shepherd ; the representatives of two

Cam and ' ^ ^. ^

Abel. great divisions of the human family in the early

ages. Cain killed Abel because the oifering of the latter was preferred to that of the former. The virtue of Abel was faith : the sin of Cain was jealousy, pride, resentment, and despair. The punishment of Cain was expulsion from his father's house, the further curse of the land for him^ and the hatred of the human family. He relinquished his occupation, became a wanderer, and gained a precarious support, while his descendants invented arts and built cities.

Chap. I.] The Deluge, 17

Eve bear another son — Seth, among whose descendants the worship of God was preserved for a long time; but the descendants of Seth intermarried finally with the descendants of Cain, from whom sprung a race of lawless men, The descendso that the earth was filled with violence. The antsofCain. material civilization which the descendants of Cain introduced did not preserve them from moral degeneracy. So great was the increasing wickedness, with the growth of the race, that " it repented the Lord that he had made man," and he resolved to destroy the whole race, with the exception of on6 religious family, and change the whole surface of the earth by a mighty flood, which should involve in destruction all animals and fowls of the air — all the antediluvian works of man. \

It is of no consequence to inquire whether the Deluge was universal or partial — whether it covered the whole

1 1 ••IT-' c An The deluge.

earth or the existmg habitations oi men. All were destroyed by it, except ISToah, and his wife, and his three sons, with their wives. The authenticity of the fact rests with Moses, and with him we are willing to leave it.

This dreadful catastrophe took place in the 600th year of Koah'S life, and 2349 years before Christ, when Theproba-

, -, ble condition

the world was 1655 years old, according to oftheante- Usshur, but much older according to Hale and world. other authorities — when more time had elapsed than from the Deluge to the reign of Solomon. And hence there more people destroyed, in all probability, than existed on the earth in the time of Solomon. And as men lived longer in those primeval times than subsequently, and were larger and stronger, " for there were giants in those days," and early invented tents, the harp, the organ, and were artificers in brass and iron, and built cities — as they were full of inventions as well as imaginations, it is not unreasonable to infer, though we can not know with certainty, that the antediluvian world was more splendid and luxurious than the world in the time of Solomon and Homer — the era of the Pyramids of Egypt.

18 TUe Antediluvian World. [Chap. i.

The art of building was certainly then carried to considerable perfection, for the ark, which Noah built, was four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five wide, and forty-five deep ; and was constructed so curiously as to hold specimens of all known animals and birds, with provisions for them for more than ten months.

This sacred ark or ship, built of gopher wood, floated on the world's waves, until, in the seventh month, it rested upon the mountains of Ararat. It was nearly a year before ]^oah ventured from the ark. His first act, after he issued forth, was to build an altar and offer sacrifice to the God who had preserved him and his family alone, of the human race. And the Lord was well pleased, and made a covenant The Divine with him that lie would never ao-ain send a like

covenant . ^ .

with Noah, destructiou upou the earth, and as a sign and seal of the covenant which he made with all flesh, he set his bow in the cloud. We hence infer that the primeval world was w^atered by mists from the earth, like the garden of Eden, and not by rains.

" The memory of the Deluge is preserved in the traditions The tradi- of nearly all nations, as well as in the narrative

tion of the "^ i i • i

dehige. of Moscs ; and most heathen mythologies have some

kind of sacred ark." Moreover, there are various geological phenomena in all parts of the world, which can not be accounted for on any other ground than some violent disruption produced by a universal Deluge. The Deluge itself can not be explained, although there are many ingenious theories to show it miglit be in accordance with natural causes. The Scriptures allude to it as a supernatural event, for an express end. When the supernatural power of God can be disproved, then it will be time to explain the Deluge by natural causes, or deny it altogether. The Christian world now accepts it as Moses narrates it.

CHAPTEE II.

POSTDILUVIAN HISTORY TO THE CALL OF ABEAHAM.— THE PATRIARCHAL CONSTITUTION, AND THE DIVISION OF NA- TIONS.

When ISToah and his family issued from the ark, they were blessed by God. They were promised a vast posterity, dominion over nature, and all animals for food, as well as the fruits of the earth. But new laws were imposed, against murder, and against the eating of blood. An authority was given to the magistrate to punish murder. TheNoacMc " Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall ^°^^' his blood be shed." This was not merely a penalty, but a prediction. The sacredness of life, and the punishment for murder are equally asserted, and asserted with peculiar emphasis. This may be said to be the N^oachic Code, afterward extended by Moses. From that day to this, murder has been accounted the greatest human crime, and has been the most severely punished. On the whole, this crime has been the rarest in the subsequent history of the world, although committed with awful frequency, but seldom till other crimes are exhausted. The sacredness of life is the greatest of human privileges.

The government was patriarchal. The head of a family had almost unlimited power. And this government was religions as well as civil. The head of the family was both priest and kins;. He erected altars and divided Patriarchal

•/'111 cnnstitu-

inheritances. He ruled his sons, even if they had tions. wives and children. And as the old patriarchs lived to a great age, their authority extended over several generations and great numbers of people.

20 Postdiluvian History to Abraham. [Chap. il.

ISToah. piirsiiecT the life of a husbandman, and planted vines,' probably like the antediluvians. Nor did he escape the shame of drunkenness, though we have no evidence it was an habitual sin.

From this sin and shame great consequences followed. Noah was indecently exposed. The second son made light of it ; the two others covered up the nakedness of their Consequen-' father. For this levity Ham was cursed in his of Noah. children. Canaan, his son, was decreed to be a servant of servants — the ancestor of the races afterward exterminated by the Jews. To Shem, for his piety, was given a special religious blessing. Through him all the nations of the earth were blessed. To Japhet was promised especial temporal prosperity, and a participation of the blessing of Shem. The European races are now reaping this prosperity, and the religious privileges of Christianity.

Four generations passed without any signal event. They all spoke the same language, and pursued the same avoca- Settiements tions. They lived in Armenia, but gradually

of his (ie- , ,. . ^

scendants. Spread ovcr the surrounding countries and especially toward the west and south. They journeyed to the land of Shinar, and dwelt on its fertile plains. This was the great level of Lower Mesopotamia, or Chaldea, watered by the Euphrates,

Here they built a city, and aspired to build a tower which The Tower should I'cach uiito the heavens. It was vanity of Babel. ^^^ pride which incited them, — also fear lest they should be scattered.

We read that Nimrod — one of the descendants of Ham — a mighty hunter, had migrated to this plain, and set up a kingdom at Babel — perhaps a revolt against patriarchal authority. Here was a crreat settlement^ — perhaps the central seat of the descendants of Noah, where Nimrod — the strongest man of his times — usurped dominion. Under his auspices the city was built — a stronghold from which he would defy all other powers. Perhaj)s here he

Chip, ti.] The Disjpersioii of Nations. 21

instituted idolatry, since a tower was also a temple. But, whether fear or ambition or idolatry prompted the building of Babel, it displeased the Lord.

The punishment which he inflicted upon the builders was confusion of tongues. The people could not understand each other, and were obliged to disperse. The tower was left unfinished. The Lord " scattered the people abroad upon the face of all the earth." Probably some remained at Babel, on the Euphrates — the forefathers of the Israelites when they dwelt in Chaldea. It is not probable The Confu-

• -, T fl-' 1 1 sion of

that every man spoke a dmerent language, but tongues. that there was a great division of language, corresponding with the great division of families, so that the posterity of Shem took one course, that of Japhet another, and that of Ham the third — dividing themselves into three separate nations, each speaking substantially the same tono-ue, afterward divided into different dialects from their peculiar circumstances.

Much learning and ingenuity have been expended in tracino; the different races and lano^uas^es of the earth to the grand confusion of Babel. But the subject is too Dhfersion complicated, and in the present state of science, ^ too unsatisfactory to make it expedient to pursue ethnological and philological inquiries in a work so limited as this. We refer students to Max Muller, and other authorities.

But that there was a great tripartite division of the human family can not be doubted. The descendants of Japhet occupied a great zone running from the high lands of Armenia to the southeast, into the table-lands of Iran, and to ISTorthern India, and to the v/est into Thrace, the Grecian peninsula, and Western Europe. And all the nations which subsequently sprung from the children of Japhet, spoke languages the roots of which bear a striking affinity. The settie- This can be proved. The descendants of Japhet, "hlUf^en^ ^Jf supposed to be the oldest son of Xoah, possessed "^''P^^*- the fairest lands of the world — most favorable to development and progress — most favorable to ultimate supremacy. They