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and from the Hindoo Koosh are said to have spread themselves to the east and the west, as parental to the Chinese, the Japanese, the northern Asiatic, the Ethiopian proper and the Indo European races, languages and civilizations, than they are in the portrayal of the recorded beliefs of those peoples in their very ancient books concerning their cosmogonies, origines and foretimes.

My knowledge from long experience of the great desire men have for the possession of this knowledge, pure and simple, and my belief that this knowledge will by comparison of it with the Hebrew records help to a knowledge of the truth, as properly apprehended in the Scriptures, has shown me the expediency if not the necessity of placing this treatise in my cosmical system of works, thus to afford to the people an opportunity to exercise their judgment on the data themselves.

ST. LOUIS, 1889.

R. S.

THE CHALDAEAN AND HEBREW ORIGINES.

THE TRADITIONS OF THE BABYLONIANS Regarding thE GENESIS OF THE HUMAN RACE, AND THE FORETIMES OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE, AS ACCORDING TO BEROSUS.

(Translation from the Greek and Latin.)

Eusebius and Syncellus, following Alexander Polyhistor, have left us the following from the First Book of the Babylonian History of Berosus.

"Berosus relates, in his First Book of Babylonian History, that he, a contemporary of Alexander, son of Philip (King of Macedon) had copied the codes of very many authors, which had been preserved with great care at Babylon for 215,000 years before his time: That in those books were contained the reckoning of the times, and, likewise, written histories of heaven and earth and sea, and of the primal origins of things, as well as of the kings and of their individual acts."

"And, indeed, firstly, he says, the Kingdom of Babylon is situated near the river Tigris, but that the river Euphrates, flows through it; and that there grows wild, in the country, wheat and barley, lentils and vetches and sesame. More overin the marshes and reedy bottoms, adjacent to its rivers, certain edible roots are produced, which have the strength of barley bread and to which the name of Gongis has been given. Finally, there are there produced palm and apple and other fruit trees of many kinds and fishes as well as fowls, which pertain to both wood and marsh. A far off part of that kingdom is arid and noticeably destitute of vegetation,

while the part which is situated in the opposite direction from Arabia is mountainous and abounds in fruits."

"Now, in that city, Babylon, there are occupied, in various ways, an immense medley of men of different races, who, forsooth, constitute its population, and, without order or restraint, lead such a luxurious life as pertains to a long established, beastly custom of theirs."

"And he relates that in the first year (i.e., of the recorded history) there emerged from the Red Sea and passed into the bounds of the Babylonians a certain horrid beast, which had the name of Oannes and which Appollodorus also mentions in his history. This monster, was, indeed, a fish as to his whole body, but under his fish's head, he had another head and in his lower parts he had feet after the similitude of a man's while also his voice gave the impression of the human; the outlines of his appearance are preserved to this day.

"This monster, he said, was occupied in the day time among the people and partook of no food: He taught them letters and various kinds of arts, descriptions of cities, structures of temples, knowledge of justice and the doctrine which pertained to the regulating of boundaries: Moreover, he instructed them as to seeds and the gathering in of fruits and indeed as to all things which directly pertain to a mundane society, so that since that time no one has discovered anything extraordinary as to fruit.

"Moreover, at about the time of sunset this monster, Oannes, plunged again, unaccompanied, into the deep and passed the night in the immense sea and so led a kind of amphibious life. After that, other monsters similar to the first came forth, concerning which he promises to relate in the history of the kings. And, besides, he says, Oannes wrote concerning the origin of the kings and the public government and taught language and industry to men.

"A time, said he, was when this universal orb was occupied with darkness and water: and in these elements sprung up marvelous animals, apparently possessing a double nature. For two-winged men were produced and some also with four wings and two faces; and some indeed having only one body but two heads thereon, the same person being both male and female, and having the generative organs also double. There were also other men which had goat's thighs, with a horned head; others again with horse's hoofs;

others finally with the hind parts those of a horse but the anterior parts human, which have the form of hippocentaurs.

"Bulls, he said, were created with human heads and dogs with a four fold body having the tails projecting from the haunches, like as fishes; horses, moreover, with dog's heads and men and other animals with the heads of horses, as well as human forms with the hind parts of fishes: a multiplicity of other animals, moreover, having the form of dragons; finally fishes similar to sirens, and reptiles and fishes and other wild animals in wondrous variety differing from each other, whose images accurately depicted are preserved in the temple of Belus. Now, there governed all these a woman, whose name was Homoroka; but in the Chaldaean language it was Thalath, while in the Greek it is interpreted Calatra which means the sea, and by an equal authority Zenn, i.e. the moon," the Mylitta of the Tyrians.

"And when all those things were mingled together, Belus supervening cut the woman in two in the middle, out of one half of whom be made the earth, out of the other the heaven, all living things which had been in her being thus made to disappear.

As concerning the nature of those things, he says, they were so related allegorically: And, indeed, at what time all these things were in a state of moisture and there existed nothing there excepting animals, that God cut off his own head and the blood thence flowing having become commixed with the earth, the other Gods created therefrom men, who for this reason were not only endowed with intelligence but participated in the Divine Mind,

"Let this be as it may, they say Belus, whom the Greeks call Zeus (but the Armenians Aramazd) having cut off the darkness separated the earth from the heaven and arranged the world beautifully; but the living creatures not being able to bear the force of the light, died. Then Belus, when he saw the region deserted, yet fruitful, commanded some of the Gods to bring the earth into a cultivable state and to form men with the other living beings and brutes which were able to bear the light out of the blood which flowed from bis own decapitated head. Belus created, likewise, the stars and the sun and moon and the five wandering stars ( i.e., the five planets).

These things Alexander Polyhistor, being the witness, Berosus related in his First Book,

2. Concerning Things before the Deluge from the Second Book of Berosus.

(Eusebius Chron. Lib. I, Cap. I. ex-interpete-Armenio.)

Translation from the Latin.

"(These things indeed Berosus narrated in his First Book; but in the Second, he reviews the kings one after another. As he says himself Nabonnassar was at that time king. And, indeed, he collected diligently the names of the kings; although he recites no work peculiarly theirs, perhaps because there was nothing he deemed necessary to be remembered. From him only, therefore, is it permitted us to draw the series of the Kings.) In this way, then he begins his narration, as Appollodorus says: namely, that the first king that reigned was Alorus, a Chaldaean from the city of Babylon. He possessed the government during ten Sari. Farther, he concludes a Sarus as consisting of 3600 years. He adds, also, I know not exactly what the Neri and Sossi are; but, says he, a Nerus consists of 600, a sossus of sixty years. Thus does he, after the manner of the ancients, compute the years.

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Having premised so much he goes farther and enumerates the kings of the Assyrians singly in their order: Ten (kings) there were, forsooth, from Alorus, the first king, to and including Xisuthrus, under whom, he says, that great primeval deluge took place, which Moses, also, commemorates. Now, the sum of the periods, he says, in which these kings reigned is 120 Sari, namely 432,000 years. Again in well chosen words he writes as follows: Alorus, says he, having died, his son, Alaparus, reigned three Sari. After Alaparus, Almelon, a Chaldaean, from the city of Pantibiblos, reigned thirteen Sari. To Almelon succeeded Ammenon, likewise a Chaldaean from the city of Pantibiblos, who reigned twelve Sari. In his age a certain wild animal, whose name was Idotion, emerged from the Red Sea, of a mixed form of man and fish. Hence Amegalarus from Pantibiblos reigned eighteen Sari. After him reigned Daonus, a shepherd from Pantibiblos, who, even himself, possessed the government ten Sari. In this man's reign there emerged again from the Red Sea four monsters having the same form, namely, of man and fish. After these things reigned Edoranchus, from Pantobiblos eighteen Sari. In that time there appeared from the Red Sea a certain other wonder, similar to a fish and a man, whose name was Odacon. Of the sum of those things, said he,

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