taken in connection with what has been advanced, fully assures us of the soundness of our decision.

4. Having, as far as our means and limits extend, settled the chronology of the early ages, we proceeded to investigate the intellectual character and learning of mankind during this period. In this pursuit, we first found reason to reject entirely the doctrines which certain philosophers have pro.nulgated, and which have obtained much popular support; namely, that mankind first arose into being in a state of ignorance and barbarism, and that speech and language were afterward and gradually acquired. We have shown that in this case reason and revelation unite to prove, on the contrary, that man was created in the divine image, in knowledge as well as in holiness; and that, although a measure of this intellectual power was lost in consequence of the fall, this could not have reduced Adam below the condition of his most favored descendants. It is therefore evident, that the earliest generations of mankind were as fully equal to their successors in the attributes of their minds, as they were in the form and physical structure of their bodies. The idiotic barbarism which has been ascribed to the first generations of mankind is as flatly opposed to reason and history as it is to revelation. And the dignity of primitive human nature is asserted and proved.

5. We have shown that alphabetical characters were in all probability in use from the beginning; that the traditions of all nations attest it, and that the most ancient records support the conclusion. We have also found corroborating evidence in the repeated allusions to an early literature, which are found in various nations, and proofs of the existence of which meet us in sacred and profane records. We have also seen that indications of the early existence of science are prevalent in all authentic accounts of the first ages, and that these are presented to our view in a manner which strikingly corroborates the Scriptural narrative of the deluge, and which in other respects accords with the entire history of the period.

6. It is an important consideration, that the results of the investiga tion perfectly harmonize. The chronology casts light upon the state of learning and science, and allows the admission of historic evidence which on any other theory would stand arrayed against it; while, on the other hand, the whole scope of our inquiries into the literature of the age confirms and establishes the chronology. When inquiries independently conducted produce these harmonious results, it is a circumstance which must greatly strengthen our confidence in the soundness of the principles upon which they have been conducted, and in the conclusions which have been elicited.

With the knowledge thus obtained, and guided by the chronology and estimate of learning which we have now laid down, we shall proceed to investigate the history and religion of this interesting period. We beg the reader to apply to every part of these efforts the criteria established in this Preliminary Dissertation, and hope the whole will be calculated to cast some light on an important portion of history.

EXPLANATION.-The dotted lines across both sections of the table mark the successive centuries of this period, each space between the lines representing one hundred years, beginning with the year of the deluge, according to the Hebrew, A. M. 1656, by the Septuagint, A. M. 2262. The perpendicular lines, which are connected together, represent the lives of the patriarchs whose names are on the left side of them, the length of the line being proportioned to the number of years the person lived; showing, not only the relative length of the patriarchs' lives, but also the period when each lived. The figures after the name give the entire length of life, except in the case of Noah and Shem: those uppermost to the right of the line give the period before, and those below the period after, the birth of the succeeding son. For example: According to the Hebrew, Reu was born in the early part of the second century after the deluge, and died in the latter part of the fourth; he lived 239 years, was thirty-two years old at the birth of Serug, and lived 207 years afterward. By the Septuagint the same patriarch was born in the latter part of the seventh century after the deluge, and died just at the close of the tenth, became the father of Serug at 132, lived 207 years afterward, and died aged 339 years. By the Hebrew, he was cotemporary with all the patriarchs from Noah to Abraham; according to the Septuagint, he was born just before the death of Salah, and died before the birth of Terah.