to terminate in obscurity and nothing. A distinct apprehension of that system, demands a distinct apprehension of its first procession and succeeding progress; but, by fixing that first procession by a rule of hypothesis and not of reality, we adapt historical facts to an imaginary and not to a true scale of time. Such is the celebrated JULIAN PERIOD, invented by the learned Julius Scaliger in the sixteenth century; which was presently adopted by all the learned world, and still remains the most general scale to which the events of ancient history are referred. That eminent scholar conceived the idea, of multiplying into each other the numbers of the solar cycle, 28, of the lunar cycle, 19, and of the indiction, 15; which yielded him the number, 7980. Of this number, he made a scale of years; fixing the year of the Creation, to the year 533 of his scale. It is manifest, therefore, that the 532 years preceding the year assigned by him to the creation, are mere arithmetical fictions; having no more relation to reality, than the chaotic ages or epochas of Nature of the mineral geology. The mind, thus habituated to refer the course of time to an origin which has no reference to historical fact, but merely to the first term of an artificial arithmetical calculation; views it falsely in principle, and without any character of its true nature. Instead of tracing it to its real commencement, and perceiving both time and history to proceed from thence in parallel and equal courses, and with exact and perpetual

correspondence between all their parts, it is taught to leave history and creation behind, and to fix its view upon an imaginary point in unreality and non-existence. And, from thus considering time without any real origin, a notion of obscurity is necessarily excited, and combined with the notion of past time; and thus, man's artifice defeats the gracious purpose of God, which was, to impart to him a distinct and clear idea of the origin and progress of time.

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To recover the benefit thus wantonly lost, was the object of the meritorious labours, during thirty years, of a learned German of the middle of the last century; who was justly sensible, both of the evil of the prevailing system, and of the value of that which was so inconsiderately neglected. In introducing his new scheme, he thus expressed himself: Many, and almost innumerable, sys"tems of chronology are before the world, of which, if we may venture to speak the truth, "not one has hitherto been proposed which is "free from doubt and uncertainty; the reason of "which, is the want of a fundamental chronology, "in which the first year of the world and all "the succeeding years might be accurately described, according to the courses of the sun and 66 moon. This object, Scaliger proposed to attain by means of the Julian Period. But, since that "Period does not begin with the creation of "the world, but very long before it; since it does "not consist of complete solar years, but merely

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"of Julian years; and since it is not historical,

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but merely hypothetical; it is evident, that it "cannot serve for a basis of chronology. The contemplation of that Period, however, opened "to me an occasion of discerning a true funda"mental chronology, in the JUBILEAN PERIOD imparted by God Himself in the sacred Scripture. However surprising this may appear, it will "nevertheless be clearly demonstrated, in the following pages-that this Period begins with "the FIRST YEAR OF THE WORLD1; that it proceeds by the courses of the SUN and MOON; and, that, by means of EPACTS which it most accurately describes, it indicates the new and full moons through all the ages of the world; and therefore that it constitutes a FOUNDATION for "Universal Chronology."

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"As there is no Mosaical Astronomy, so there is no Mosaical "Geology:" observes, laconically, my reviewer of the British Critic. But, as we have seen that Moses has imparted to us geological facts to ground a geology, so do we see that he has imparted to us astronomical facts to ground an astronomy; and those facts are here carefully and skilfully employed for that purpose, by this upright Chronologist. A far abler reasoner falls into the same error: "Since the Sacred Books have "not communicated the principles of Astronomy or Chemistry, there was no reason to expect from them those of other departments of knowledge." (Ed. Rev. No. lxxvii. p. 196.) See, in the Introduction, the due distinction made, between a physical system or scientific physical principles, and grounding physical facts from which we are to deduce those principles.

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2" PRÆLUSIO CHRONOLOGIE FUNDAMENTALIS, &c., in CYCLO "IOBELEO BIBLICO detecta, et ad Chronologiam tam Sacram quam "Profanam applicata," à IOHANNE GEORGIO FRANK, &c. Goettinga, 1774. See Note [II.] On the Jubilean Period of FRANK.

Without pursuing, here, the details of this writer's curious and important undertaking; it is quite evident, that, whether our intellectual efforts may or may not be able to discover the relations of past events to those distinct characters of time, yet, time itself has ever proceeded with those distinct characters, and in the constant order here described by the learned and laborious German.

CHAPTER X.

LET us now review this "revealed history of the Creation," or of the mode of first formation, to which Bacon introduced us; with reference to the standard of Newton's conclusions on the one hand, and to the conclusions of the mineral geology on the other.

This history records; 1. That, all the first formations of mineral, of vegetable, and of animal matter, were severally effected, in order of succession, by a mode uninvestigable by any scheme or science of man, namely, the mode of CREATION by GOD. 2. That, each of those operations was immediate; the formations resulting at once, without any instrumental mediation, in full perfection for the ends which they were to serve, from the immediate exercise of the divine wisdom, will, and power. 3. That, although the Divine Intelligence thought fit to create and to set in order His first formations in successive moments of time, yet He produced them without any agency of time. 4. That, on the first day, by His Almighty Fiat," He caused all the first formations of the mineral matter of this globe, in one immediate simultaneous operation, imparting to it at the same moment its first diurnal revolution; in which operation, the solid body of the earth was perfectly constituted in