published in London in 1630. The writer of this has has feen a copy of the edition of 1630, and made extracts from it. The work, which is now scarce, was dedicated by Lord to the Arch Bishop of Canterbury. We know that the Jews were carried captives into Babylon, by Nebuchadnezar, and remained in captivity several years, when they were liberated by Cyrus, king of Perfia. During their captivity they would have had an opportunity of acquiring some knowledge of the cofmogony of the Persians, or at least of getting some ideas how to fabricate one to put at the head of their own hiltory after their return from captivity. This will account for the sause, for some cause there must have been, that no mention nor reference is made to the cosmogony in Genesis in any of the books of the bible, supposed to have been written before the captivity, nor is the name of Adam to be found in any of those books. The Books of Chronicles were written after the return of the Jews from captivity, for the third chapter of the first book gives a lift of all the Jewish kings from David to Zedekiah, who was carried captive to Babylon, and to four generations beyond the time of Zedekiah. In the first verse of the first chapter of this book the name of Adam is mentioned, but not in any book in the bible, written before that time, nor could it be, for Adam and Eve are names taken from the cofmogony of the Persians.. Henry Lord, in his book, written from Surat, and dedi cated, as I have already faid, to the Arch-Bishop of Can. terbury, says that in the Perfian cofmogony of the name of the first man was Adamob and of the woman Hevah. From hence comes the Adam and Eve of the book of Genefis. In the cosmogony of India, of which I shall speak in a future number, the name of the first man was Pourous, and of the woman Parcoutce. We wantaknowledge of the Sanfcrit language of India to understand the meaning of the names, and I mentioned it in this place, only In an English edition of the Bible, in 1583, the first woman is called Hevah. to show that it is from the cosmogony of Perfia rather than that of India that the cofmogony in Genesis has been fabricated by the Jews, who returned from captivity by the liberality of Cyrus, King of Perfia. There is, however, reason to conclude, on the authority of Sir William Jones, who resided feveral years in India, that these names were very expressive in the language to which they belonged, for in speaking of this language he says (fee the Afiatic researches) "The Sanscrit language, whatever be "its antiquity, is of wonderful structure; it is more per"fect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and " more exquifitely refined than either." These hints, which are intended to be continued, will serve to shew that a fociety for enquiring into the ancient state of the world, and the state of ancient history, fo far as history is connected with systems of religion ancient and modern, may become a useful and instructive institu tion. There is good reason to believe we have been in great error, with respect to the antiquity of the Bible, as well as imposed upon by its contents. Truth ought to be the object of every man; for without truth there can be no real happiness to a thoughtful mind, nor any assurance of happiness hereafter. It is the duty of man to obtain all the knowledge he can and then make the best use of it. T. P. Profession of Faith from Rousseau, continued. Of what hurt is the wickedness of a Cataline to me? Am I afraid of falling a victim to his villainy? Wherefore, then, do I look upon him with the same horror as if he was my contemporary? We do not hate the wicked only because their vices are hurtful, but also because they are wicked. EL We are not only defirous of happiness for ourselves, but also of the happiness of others; and when that hapto piness does not diminish ours, it necessarily increases ital In a word, we cannot help sympathizing with the unfortunate, and always fuffer when we witness their mifeny. The most perverse natures cannot be altogether divested of this sympathy; though we fee it frequently make them : act in contradiction to themselves. The robber who strips the passenger on the highway, will frequently diftri. bute his spoils, to cover the nakedness of the poor, and the most barbarous assassin may be induced humanely to support a man falling into a fit. We hear daily of the cries of remorse, and the goadings of confcience for fecret crimes; and see remarkable in stances of their frequently bringing them to light. Alas! who is a total stranger to this importunate voice? We fpeak of it from experience, and would be glad to filence so difagreeable a monitor. But let us be obedient to Nature; we know that her government is ever mild and gracious; and that nothing is more agreeable than that teftimony of a good confcience, which ever follows our observance of her laws. The wicked man is afraid of, and shuns himself; he turns his eyes on every fide, in search of objects to amuse him; without an opportunity for fatire and raillery, he would be always fad: his only pleasure lies in mockery and infult. To be continued. Our Subscribers in the city of New-York, who have not made their second half year's payment, will oblige the Editor by doing it as foon as poffible. Subscribers in Orange County will please to pay to Doctor Hedges; those in Dutchess County to Mr. Rufus Spalding, Rhinebeck; those in Philadelphia to Mr. Ifaac Hall, corner of Vine and Front-street; those in every other part of the country will please to transmit their several dues by post, or otherwise as may be most convenient. *** A Discourse on the baneful effects of ancient superstition, will be delivered by the Editor, to-morrow evening at 8 o'clock, at Shepherd's Long-Room, No. 11, George's-street. New-York: Published every Saturday, by ELIHU PALMER, No. 26, Chatham-street. Price Two Dollars per ann. paid in advance. PROSPECT; or, View of the Moral World. SATURDAY, July 28, 1804. Errors of date-In No.'s 31, 32, for June read July... No. 34. Comments upon the Sacred Writings of the Jews and Christians. Exodus Chapter 12. ( T HIS chapter contains an account of a strange insti tution called the Passover, in the establishment of which the Jewish God appears in his usual defective character with circumscribed powers, and like finite beings standing in need of hints and tokens of recollection to enable him to perform his duty. The blood was sprinkled upon the posts of the doors to mark a distinction between the objects of his mercy and the objects of his vengeance. Does any believer in revelation imagine that fuch previous arrangements were necessary to guide the destroying footsteps of the most high? If so they must have as poor an opinion of the powers of their God as they have of their own, and in such case divinity dwindles into manhood, and the character of genuine Theifm is lost in the imperfections of human nature. The first exceptionable particular contained in this chapter is in these words, verse 10th. "And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire." Such a foolish contradiction upon a trifling subject would not be worth notice, were it not that every absurdity proves want of divinity and shews that this book is an imposition upon the world. In the first place, of the lambs or goats which they cooked, they were to let nothing remain; in the next place what did remain they were to burn with fire. Now the great question to believers is this, how much of a thing remains where nothing remains ? 1 Solve this and ye shall be called great mathematicians and Philosophers. It is however holy writ, and as fuch we have no reason to expect either correctness or confistency. In the 23d verse of this chap, ter there is mention made of that mark of recollection of which we have already spoken, and which was to serve as a direction to the Jewish God in his intended flaughter. " And when he feeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two fide-posts the Lord will pass over the door." Fine representation this of infinite wisdom; worthy of ignorance to propagate and superstition to believe! After God had drowned the world, he fet a rainbow in the cloud to remind him that he ought not do the like thing again. Here he orders blood to be sprinkled upon the doors to prevent mistakes, and guard the lives of his chosen people against the vengeance that awaited their enemies. Such ideas and defcriptions of divine power must have originated in days of darkness and of fuperftition; they stamp with ignorance and with infamy any book in which they are found, and they will become hereafter, to the reflecting mind of man, perpetual mementoes against superstition, and religious folly of every kind whatever. It appears by the 29th verse of this chapter, that God once more stretcheth forth his all destroying hand against the Royal Tyrant of Egypt, and smiteth the first born from monarch on his throne down to the captive in the dungeon. In the 5th verse of the preceding chapter, this favage flaughter of children is predicted. "And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that fitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid servant that is behind the mill." Who this maid was behind the mill nobody knows; were it not that her first-born also was included in the bloody decree, it might be presumed that she was one of Mofes's Iweethearts, or that she was another female character similar to the Virgin Mary, with charms to command celestial attachment, and excite the amorous overtures of the Jewish Jupiter himself. Be this as it may, the account shows to what contemptible particulars this book defcends. What has a girl fitting with her baby behind a mill to do with divine revelation? Perhaps it was a type or shadow of fomething to come, and if fo, the wifdom of Christian comentators will be abundantly competent to a fatisfactory expofition. But it is much more important for believers to explain the reasons of Jehovah's conduct, |