DROS.

ANTEO- and Antaopolis was the chief city of the first, and a POLIS. bishopric. It had a noble temple in honour of Antæus, the portico of which remains. The columns were 30 ANTAN- feet long, and five wide. The colours of the ceiling, which was painted azure and gold, retain their original beauty. It is now occupied by the Turks as a stable for their herds, and there is a wretched town built on the site of the old one, called Gana el Rebire. SAVARY's Travels, vol. i. p. 560.

ANTEUS, in Fabulous History, a giant of Libya, the son of Terra and Neptune. He affirmed that he would build a temple in honour of his father with the skulls of his antagonists, whom he had defeated, in consequence of his prodigious strength, in wrestling. In a combat with Hercules, the latter had the advantage; but his mother communicated fresh vigour to Antæus whenever he touched her, which Hercules perceiving, raised him completely from the ground, and encircling him in his arms, crushed him to death. STAT. vi., Juv. iii. 88.

ANTAG'ONY, n.

ANTAGONIST, ANTAGONIS TICK.

AVTI, against, contrary to; and Aywvia, agony. See AGONY.

Struggle against, opposition, resistance.

An apostate idolater, whether husband or wife seducing, was to die by the decree of God, Deut. xiii. 6, 9. that marriage therefore God himself disjoins: for others born idolaters, the moral reason of their dangerous keeping, and the incommunicable antagony that is between Christ and Belial, will be sufficient to enforce the commandment of those two inspired reformers Ezra and Nehemiah, to put an idolater away, as well under the gospel.

Milton's Doc. and Dis. of Divorce.

Fair daughter, and thou son and grandchild both,
High proof ye now have given to be the race

Of Satan (for I glory in the name,
Antagonist of Heaven's Almighty King.)

Milton's Par. Lost, book x.

As the controversies on every subject grew daily warmer, men united themselves more intimately with their friends, and separated themselves wider from their antagonists.

Humes' History of England.
PRAC. His valour will take cold, put on your doublet.
COм. His valour will keep cold, you are deceived;

And relish much the sweeter in our ears;
It may be too, in the ordinance of nature,
Their valours are not yet so combatant.
Or truly antagonistic, as to fight.

Ben Jonson's Mag. Lady, act iii. sc. 4.

Sir Francis Bacon observes, that a well written book, compared with its rivals and antagonists, is like Moses' serpent, that immediately swallowed up and devoured those of the Egyptians. Spectator, No. 10. ANTAGONIST MUSCLES (from av, against, and aywricw, I contend), in Anatomy, are muscles which operate in direct opposition to each other.

ANTALKALINES, in Medicine, remedies which are made use of in order to neutralize alkalis.

ANTANACLASIS, in Rhetoric, (from av, against; and åvarλúw, reverberor, I reverberate, strike again,) a repetition of the same word, in a different signification, as, "Let the dead bury their dead." "Live while you live, the epicure will say." It also means a return to the same matter, at the conclusion of a long parenthesis.

ANTANDROS, APOLLONIA, Assos, CIMMERIS, or EDONIS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Troas, in Asia Minor. According to Strabo, it was the arsenal of the Cimmerians for upwards of a century. Near this place, after the destruction of Troy, Eneas built

ANTA

his fleet. Servius affirms that the people of Andros, ANTAN during their revolt, were driven from that island, and DROS. built Antandros. In its vicinity is Alexandria, the hill where Paris is supposed to have sat and adjusted the VARE difference between the three contending goddesses respecting their pre-eminence in beauty. Some authors fix a town of this name at the bottom of Mount Ida, and give its name to a chain of mountains, extending from Troy to the sea coast.

ANTARCTICK, adj.} Art, against, and Aperor,

ARC'TICK.

the Bear.

Some pious drops the restless vagrants shed,
And now afresh their wing'd effusion spread;
Askance, or cross the broad Pacific deep,
Obliquely north the floating squadrons sweep;
Still arctic ply to reach the frozen pole,
Now hurry'd on Sarmatian tempests roll.

Brooke's Univ. Beauty, book iv. ANTARCTIC POLE, in Geography (of avri, contra, and прkтos, ursa, bear,) being opposite to the arctic pole, denotes the opposite end of the earth's axis, or the south pole. The stars near this pole are not visible in our horizon.

The ANTARCTIC CIRCLE is one of the smaller circles of the sphere, parallel to the equator, and distant from the south pole 23o, 30′.

ANTARES, in Astronomy, the Scorpion's heart, a fixed star of the first magnitude, in the constellation of Scorpio. See ASTRONOMY, Div. ii.

ANTATO, or ANTALOSE, a town of Abyssinia, capital of the province of Enderta, and containing about 10,000 inhabitants. It is but a poor place, as far as relates to its houses, which are mere tents; but is the residence of the Ras, whose palace is respectable.

of

ANTAVARE, or ANTAVARTS, in Geography, a province of the island of Madagascar, lying in S. lat. 21°, 80'; and bounded by the province and cape Manousi. It is well cultivated, and produces a vast quantity of rice; which, were it not for the natural unhealthiness of the climate, would prove an invaluable article of commerce. Bananas, honey, sugar canes, and yams, may be added to the natural productions of Antavare. The slave trade is still exercised here in all its cruelty; and the unfortunate victims are principally brought from the island of Comorro. The river Mananzari, which rises in the mountains of Ambohitsmene, runs through the province in a S. E. direction.

ANTAXIMES, a province on the S. E. coast of Madagascar, which was formerly much resorted to by Europeans, but has of late been neglected by them, on account of the badness of the roadstead. Antaximes is watered by a great many fine streams; but the inland navigation is hazardous. The principal productions are rice and cattle; and the country is said to be more free from marshes than most other parts of Madagascar.

ANTE, or ENTE, in Heraldry, pieces engrafted into each other, in the manner of dove-tails, swallow-tails, or the like.

ANTEAMBULONES, in Antiquity, state servants employed to walk first to clear the way for persons of rank.

ANTECEDE', v. ANTECE DENCE, ANTECEDENCY, ANTECE DENT, n. ANTECEDENT, adj. ANTECEDAN'EOUS, ANTECES'SOR,

Ante, before, and cedo, to go.

To go before, in space or time. The more common verb is, to precede.

You saye that euery côposicion geueth a new right and taketh away the aunciēt tytle, yet you sayd before yt this coposicion neither geueth nor can geue any right, whiche cöclusion is manifestly repugnant to the antecedent, therfore you must be answered thus, if nothynge be geuen, nothynge is taken away.

Hall. Kyng Henry V. fo. 73.

And th antecedent shall you fynde as true when you rede ouer my letter as himself can not say nay, but that the consecusyon is formal. Sir Thos. More's Workes, fo. 1115. c. 2. Wherfore Lowys, kynge of Fraunce, desyrous of that prouynce, whiche of late dayes belonged to his antecessours and progenytours, sought besely the wayes and meanes to haue this childe Richarde vnder his tuyssion and gydynge. Fabyan, p. 187.

Such things as do not at all depend upon external circumstances neither, nor are caused by things natural anteceding, but by some supernatural power; I say, when such future events as these are foretold, and accordingly come to pass, this can be ascribed to no other but such a Being as comprehends, sways, and governs all; and is, by a peculiar priviledge, or prerogative, of its own nature, Omniscient. Cudworth's Intellectual System.

After the child hath learned perfectly the eight parts of speech, let him then learn the right joining together of substantives with adjectives, the noun with the verb, the relative with the antecedent, Ascham's School-master.

I have proved from Scriptu, e, and because I have attested it with the Catholick testimony of the primitive fathers, calling Episcopacie, the Apostolate, and bishops successors of St. Peter in particular; and of all the Apostles in general in their ordinarie offices in which they were superiour to the LXXII. the antecessors of the Presbyterate. Taylor's Episopacy Asserted.

Many tribes of animals, acknowledged to be all of the same species, derive from nature a much more remarkable distinction of genius, than what, antecedent to custom and education, appears to take place among men. Smith's Wealth of Nations.

Where antecedents, concomitauts, and consequents, causes and effects, signs, and things signified, subjects and adjuncts are necessarily connected with each other, we may infer the causes from the effects, and effects from causes, the antecedents from the conse

quents, as well as consequents from antecedents, &c.; and thereby be pretty certain of many things both past, present, and to come. Watts's Logick.

The salvation of men by the coming of Christ, is and ought to be ascribed primarily to the antecedent love and original essential goodness of the Fatlier Almighty. Clarke's Sermons.

When we were enemies [saith St. Paul], we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son: Wh n we were enemies, that implies

God antecedently to any man's conversion to have been appeased, ANTEand become favourably disposed toward all men.

Barrow's Sermons. He [Lord Coventry] ended his days in Durham-house, in the Strand, near London, on the 14th Jan. in sixteen hundred thirty and nine, and was buried in the church of Crome D'abitot, on the first of March following, after he had enjoyed the dignity of lord keeper about 15 years, if it be not more proper to say, that dignity had enjoyed him so long. His front and presence did bespeak a venerable regard not inferior to any of his antecessors.

Wood's Athen. Oxon. ANTECEDENTAL CALCULUS. See ANTECEDENTAL ANALYSIS.

ANTECEDENTIA, in Astronomy. A planet is said to move in antecedentia when it appears to proceed westward, contrary to the usual course or order of the signs, as from Taurus to Aries; and it is said to move in consequentia, when it proceeds forward or eastward from Aries towards Taurus.

ANTECURSORES, in Antiquity, a party of horse. sent before an army to select the best roads, fix upon a place for encamping, and gain any intelligence that might be useful.

AN'TEDATE, v. AN'TEDATE, n.

DATE.

}

Ante, before, and datum, given; from do, to give. See

That must fall on us.

Massinger's Duke of Milan, act i. sc. 3. Ignorantly thankful creature! thou begg'st in such a way, that by what would appear an antedated gratitude, if it were not a designless action, the manner of thy petitioning, beforehand, rewards the grant of thy request. Boyle's Occasional Reflections, sec. 1. ref. 1.

He [Mr. Murray] got a warrant to be an earl, which was signed at Newcastle. Yet he got the king to antedate it, as if it had been signed at Oxford, to get the precedence of some whom he hated; but he did not pass it under the great seal during that king's life: but did it after his death: so his warrant, not being passed, died with the king. Burnet's own Times.

Andromache! my soul's far better part,
Why with untimely sorrows heaves thy heart?
No hostile hand can antedate my doom,
"Till fate condemns me to the silent tomb,
Fix'd is the term of all the race of earth.

Pope. Iliad 6th, v. 624. ANTEDATE, in Commerce, is to date letters, or a bill or note, prior to the actual transaction taking place, which is sometimes of serious consequence to business. In France, it was once customary to endorse bills of exchange merely with a name on the back, so that they could be antedated at pleasure, which caused much inconvenience in case of failures, and was put an end to in 1683, by the regulations for commerce, which enacted, that signatures without dates on the back of bills of exchange, should not be considered as orders; and antedates are liable to the same punishment as forgeries.

ANTEDATE, is also used in Law, to express a false date prior to the real one being affixed to a bond, writing, act, deed, or bill.

CEDE.

ANTEDATE.

ANTEDI

LUVIAN.

Sacrifices.

ANTEDILUVIAN, n. ANTEDILUVIAN, adj. ANTELU CAN. their signification.

Ante is used in composition with many common words, without altering

Ante, before, and diluvium, a deluge, from diluo, to wash away.

Before the flood, or deluge.

Ante, before, and luceo, to shine, to be light.
Before the light of day.

When the day of desolation shall come upon the city and temple

of Jerusalem, the inhabitants will be as thoughtless and unconcerned, and as unprepared for it, as the antediluvians were for the flood in the days of Noah.

Porteus's Lectures.

The si iners of the antediluvian world, abusing the long space of one hundred and twenty years which he allowed for their repentance, perished at the end of it without mercy. Id.

ANTEDILUVIANS (of ante, before, and diluvium, a deluge), the general name that has been given in history to that portion of mankind which existed before the Noachian flood. In our Historical Division, vol. ix. p. 1, &c. we have given the only authentic chain of events belonging to this period, from the Mosaic narrative. A few particulars illustrative of the religion, polity, longevity, and chronology of the Antediluvian world, may not be unacceptable to the reader in this place, and will enable us to notice some of the more recent contributions to this obscure part of human history.

The religion of the Antediluvians can, at no period, be regarded as purely natural, or that of unassisted reason. Although it soon presented the same important distinction between that which was revealed, or preserved in its revealed state, and that which was corrupted by tradition, which has been seen in the history of all succeeding ages, it supplies no proof of the existence of any true religion amongst men, which was not of divine origin, and sustained by the observance of God's own appointed means. If the ritual of the true religion was at this time simple, so is that of the far more perfect dispensation of Christianity. On the other hand, though "violence" and evil passions abounded amongst the degraded Cainites, and finally produced universal corruption, we have no authenticated instances of idolatry before the flood.

Upon the principle that all is vain worship which God has not enjoined (Mark vii. v.7), many learned men have contended that the account of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, furnishes strong proof of the divine institution of that rite. It is certain, that it contains the only formal instance of Antediluvian worship; and the conduct of Abel is brought forward as having evinced his faith in God, '&c. Heb. xi. 4, in which place he is said to have offered "a more excellent," or, according to Wickliffe's Testament, which correctly expresses the original phrase, "a much more sacrifice" (or much more of a sacrifice) than Cain. Warburton, with his characteristic warmth for his own hypothesis, has remarked, that the two principal observances of the Jewish ritual, being those of the sabbath and the sacrifices, as the sacred

historian is careful to impress us with the divine origin ANTED!of the former, so he would unquestionably have re- LUVIAN corded that of the latter, had it been equally a fact. To this it has been well replied, that the one is, perhaps, as explicitly recorded as the other. That God Sabbath. rested from the work of creation on the seventh day, and blessed or hallowed it, is the reason for its observance, assigned Exod. xx. 11.; and that God in some peculiar, but well known way (probably by fire from the shekinah which hovered over Eden), blessed, and "had respect" unto the offering of Abel, is as distinctly said. But nowhere have we any express command, for the posterity of Adam to observe the seventh day as holy until the Mosaic law was given; nor have we, on the other hand, any thing like those traces of its continued observance which we have of the practice and acceptability of sacrificial rites. Kennicott and others, after Fagius, contend that in the opening of the history of Cain and Abel's sacrifices, 'D' XPD ought not to be rendered generally "in process of time," but " at the appointed time or season." (See this subject very fully pursued by Dr. Magee, in his 2d volume of discourses on the Scripture Doctrines of "Atonement and Sacrifice.")

That the sabbath was observed by the pious Antediluvians, we think is clear, from the familiarity with which it is introduced into the Jewish law, and the incontrovertible circumstance of a septennial division of time having obtained over various ancient nations, totally unconnected with the Jews, and coeval with them in their origin as nations. Thus there appear to have been appointed means and appointed times of divine worship.

Perhaps also we have a pretty clear indication of the " presence of the Lord," being more distinctly manifested in some particular place or places than others, in the lamentation of Cain, and the remark of the sacred historian, Gen. iv. 16; while the fact noticed at the end of the same chapter, "Then began men to call themselves by the name of Jehovah," would argue both a social and public profession of their reli- Social r gion. But Maimonides, and some other critics, consi- ligion. der this to have been a profane calling on the Lord.

The civil polity, or government of the Antediluvian Civil polity world, appears to have been, in the first instance, purely patriarchal, or under the dominion of the respective fathers of its different tribes; so far, at least, as any public government can be supposed to have been exercised before any notions of separate property could have been entertained, or any other social distinctions were in existence, than those which arose out of the greater manual strength or skill. And these distinctions, in the aggregate of numerous families, would be pretty well equalized. The longevity of this period, too, would strengthen the ties of kindred, and the claims of this kind of authority. To be an outcast or vagabond from such society, we see was a formidable part of Cain's punishment. But the "mighty ones," or tyrants, that are stated to have arisen in the latter part of the Antediluvian history, hastened

Arts.

ANTEDI- on the work of sin and slavery, until the Judge of all LUVIAN. the earth interfered in the awful visitation of the flood. There seems to be no correct idea of these "men of renown' afforded us in the common translation of the Bible (Gen. vi. 4, 5), although Moses appears to be anxious to give us a correct impression of their character, by the several epithets under which he names them. 1. ' Nephalim-naphal - fallen ones; apostates from the true religion: yavres, according to the LXX, literally earth-born. 2. D'a Gibborim-gabar-victorious, heroes or conquerors, 3. Dwn wis-men of name; deriving surnames from their unworthy deeds; men not content with the simple "family distinctions of their ancestors. These are represented as "filling the earth with violence," and greatly instrumental in the final ruin of their race. The attainments of the Antediluvians in the arts, appear to have been considerable. The smelting of metals is mentioned, and a sort of community (as we understand the sacred historian), who, in the time of Tubal-Cain, the seventh in descent from Adam, were artificers in brass and iron (Gen. iv. 22.) At the same period, and in the same family, we read of a remarkable proficiency in the science of music, and the terms used are probably generic; the one which we render "harp," meaning all stringed instruments, and the other rendered "organ," all wind instruments. Cain himself is said to have built a city, which he named after his son; and, as he had been peculiarly "cursed" in his former occupation, on account of the murder of Abel, though we can form no notion of the dimensions of this place, it is not improbable, that an aversion to agricultural pursuits would partly impel him to cultivate the other arts and attainments for which his family so soon became noted. Josephus has some learned fabling on the skill of Seth in the science of astronomy; hieroglyphic pillars of his erection being, as that historian states, extant in his own time. Certain it is, that of all the sciences, astronomy appears to have been early known in great perfection. The astrology of the Chaldeans was the daughter of the true science, we cannot doubt, if its other parent were superstition; and the Hindoo observations which have been recently known to us, argue a considerable and very early acquaintance with the heavens. The most unequivocal proof, however, of the state of Antediluvian science, is found in the celebrated work of Noah, the building of the ark. This vessel, reckoning 18 inches only to the cubit, by which it is described (it has been conjectured by some authors, as we have seen, vol. ix. p. 8, to have been equal to 22 inches), would be of the enormous burden of 42,413 tons, equal to about the burden of 18 of our first-rate men-of-war. Now, though the command to construct such a vessel in the heart of a continent might well be, as it was, divine, and some directions were appended to the command respecting its size and structure, we apprehend that no person who has not been professionally accustomed to shipbuilding, in our own times, would very successfully engage in the task of the patriarch, upon his instructions; and we have no reason to suppose there was any thing supernatural in his skill. In this vessel, as well as the vast and minute' of the mechanism, several other sciences would naturally be called for, to ventilate, enlighten, and render it manageable. Whether the term translated' window,' do not refer to some luminous

VOL. XVII.

or transparent substance, the learned are by no means ANTEDIagreed. The ark, it must be remembered, rode the LUVIAN. most awful storm the world ever knew, and though divinely guarded, it is perfectly analogous to the ways of God to suppose that the builder was left to develope all his own judgment and resources by way of foresight and prudent care.

Of the manners of the Antediluvians we have various Manners. pictures in Scripture, and in the traditions of the east; concurring only in the original and universal happiness of the early period of their history, and in the general licentiousness that ultimately prevailed. We have seen, however, the awful instance of human depravity exhibited at a very early period of Antediluvian history, in the murder of Abel by his brother Cain; after which, a sense of what was right amongst men, seems to have been feared by him equally, perhaps more, than his malediction from God. "Every one that findeth me," says he bitterly," shall slay me." The same mixed scene continues to be exhibited to us in Seripture. Lamech, the fifth in descent from him, introduces polygamy; and his whole character is, at least, as questionable as that extensive ancient and modern custom has been pernicious to human happiness. But his grandson dwelling in tents, and surrounded by a class of successful shepherds or agriculturists, devoted to those pursuits that Cain at first abandoned, and cheered by the musical inventions of their family, is at least a relieving picture; the progress of the useful arts would extract many a thorn from their lot, and in their direct application to the implements of husbandry, peculiarly relieve their circumstances as connected both with the curse of Cain's and Adam's sin. We find the posterity of Seth remembering the latter at a much later period, Gen. v. 29, and anticipating the talents of Noah, with a view perhaps to similar objects.

The greatest moral fact in the history of Antediluvian Final cormanners, has excited much controversy among biblical ruption. critics. It is that recorded, Gen. vi. 1, 2. After tracing the posterity of Cain to Lamech (Gen. iv.), the historian abandons that line of the family of Adam, and details in the next chapter the children of his third son Seth to Noah. Thus completing as much of the literal history of this period, as God thought proper to perpetuate, he enters at once upon the moral history of the later ages, in the circumstance alluded to. "The sons of God," mentioned in this text, were thought by the fathers, almost unanimously, to intend either angels or the demons of the heathen world (see the article ANGELS in this division), who were represented by Socrates as the fathers of the heroes (apud Platon. Cratyl.) and as "all of them born from love either of a god with a mortal woman, or of mortal men with goddesses." What the priests had thus introduced into the grossest parts of the pagan system, and the philosophers were prepared to support and justify, the Jews, in later ages, it is well known, endeavoured to prove consistent with the Mosaic account; and the fathers rather exceeded than came behind them in this disposition. Later writers, among whom is the learned Dr. Wall, have imagined, that when men began to multiply on the earth, the chief men took wives of all the handsome poor women that they chose," and "powerful men," having " unlawful intercourse with inferior women," the children of this illicit commerce were the heroes and gods of antiquity! Most modern critics

4 0

ANTEDI- concur in understanding the passage in question to deLUVIAN. scribe a gradual degeneracy of the pious race of Seth arising from their matrimonial connections with the family of Cain, or with the profane part of mankind, and thus derive a useful but neglected lesson to the church and the world. From this period, the decline of religion and virtue was awfully accelerated-the corruption was universal as it was individual and almost without exception: it appears to us to have been peculiarly of a sensual character, "they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, to the day that Noah entered into the ark." And the principal cause of this degeneracy was the wrong exercise of their own choice. " They took them wives, of all which they chose." Idolatry and more refined rebellion against God seem to have been the offspring of the greater maturity of the world. Eutychius perpetuates several traditions of the grossness of Antediluvian licentiousness. The longevity of the Antediluvians has excited some attention of late years, in connection with the question of the population and chronology of the world at this period. We have noticed an absurd attempt to consider the scriptural year to have been lunar and not solar in another part of this work (Hist. Div. vol. ix, p. 7) -whatever they were, and we see no reason to doubt their being of the ordinary length,* they were prolonged to our feeble race throughout the Antediluvian history in undecaying and remarkable vigour; for while Adam, who introduces this period of human history, died at 930, Noah, who closes it, reached 950 years! There can be no question that this great peculiarity of those times bore materially on the first benediction of mankind (Gen. i. 28), on the transmission of knowledge of every kind, and on the strength of the social union.

Longevity.

Transmis

That the transmission of knowledge would be matesion of rially aided by such extraordinary longevity, may be knowledge. made to appear very distinctly in considering the probable channels of sacred knowledge throughout the Antediluvian period, and to the times of Moses, the first sacred historian. Taking the ordinary calculation of the Bible chronology, Adam, who died in the year of the world 930, would be contemporary with Lamech, the father of Noah, fifty-six years; and Shem, the son of Noah, would be contemporary with Isaac fifty years. Isaac was contemporary with Levi fifty-three years (dying at 188, in the year of the world 2288), and Levi, probably the longest-lived of Jacob's sons, was the great grandfather of Moses. Thus, through the whole period of Antediluvian history, whatever knowledge was communicated to our first parents, would have to travel but through one single person, Lamech, to Noah.

Population.

Burnet, in his Theory of the Earth,' has supposed that the first human pair might have "left, at the end of 100 years, or of the first century, ten pair of breeders (which is no hard supposition, he says), and there would arise from these, in 150 years, a greater number than the earth was capable of; allowing every pair to multiply in the same decuple proportion that the first pair did." He finally, therefore, suggests a quadruple multiplication only, and then exhibits the following table of increase during the sixteen centuries which, according to Archbishop Usher's Chronology, preceded the flood,

*This is well ascertained by Dr. Hales, and others, to have been reckoned at 360 days in all parts of the ancient world,

This is one of the most moderate calculations that has ever been made on the subject of the population of the world at the period of the deluge, and yet is far above the highest calculation of the present number of mankind, which has never, we believe, been supposed to exceed from 800 to 1,000 millions. But what could the learned author mean by the first pair having "left" only ten pair of marriageable persons at the end of the first century; and by omitting all their other children? Adam lived, as we have seen, nearly a thousand years; and other of the Antediluvian patriarchs had children, at regular intervals, after the age of 500; we can hardly, therefore, suppose the first parents of mankind to have had children only during so short a period of their lives. This consideration alone alters the whole basis of his reckoning. Wharton and Cockburn have entered into similar calculations, widely differing in their result but with so many essential data wholly wanting, as 1. A settled epoch at which the deluge took place. 2. A knowledge of the periods of puberty, gestation, and nursing among the Antediluvians. 4. The proportion of habitable land to water on the globe, and the general condition of the earth's surface before the deluge; we apprehend that all such estimates must be too vague for any scientific or useful purpose. We particularly observe, that all the calculators in question are continually adjusting their results by a comparison with the present condition and resources of the globe; and abandon the most characteristic parts of their theory to arrive at some probable number.

It may be worth remarking, that the accuracy of the Chronology common epoch of the deluge, upon which every calculation of the final number of the Antediluvian world must first be formed, has been thrown of late into at least still greater doubt than ever, by the laborious work of Dr. HALES, on Chronology. Having produced 120 different opinions respecting the epoch of the Mosaic cosmogony, and reviewed the most celebrated systems of chronology, ancient and modern, this author finally suggests the year B. c. 5411, as the period of the formation of the world; and that of B. C. 3155, as the epoch of the deluge. The authors of the Universal History had previously rejected the Usherian period, and preferred that of the Samaritan Hebrew text, which adds 650 years to the common date; but the principal opinions brought together by Dr. Hales, in the following table, will be seen to differ in their extremes almost to the amount of the entire æra of the Antediluvian world according to that date.