of it by the Gnostics. VIII. Of the Egyptian history. IX. The

antiquity and authority of Hermes Trismegistus. X. Of his in-

scriptions on pillars, transcribed by Manetho. XI. His fabulous-

ness thence discovered. Terra Seriadica. XII. Of Seth's pillars

in Josephus; and an account whence they were taken

CHAP. III.

OF THE CHALDEAN HISTORY.

.....30.

I. The contest of antiquity among heathen nations, and the ways of

deciding it. II. Of the Chaldæan astrology, and the foundation of

judicial astrology. III. Of the Zabii, their founder, who they were;

no other than the old Chaldees. IV. Of Berosus and his history.

V. An account of the fabulous dynasties of Berosus and Manetho;

VI. From the translation of the Scripture-history into Greek, in

the time of Ptolemy. VII. Of that translation, and the time of

it. VIII. Of Demetrius Phalereus. Scaliger's arguments answered.

IX. Manetho writ after the Septuagint, proved against Kircher;

his arguments answered. Of Rabbinical and Arabic authors, and

their little credit in matter of history. X. The time of Berosus

inquired into; his writing contemporary with Philadelphus.. 49.

CHAP. IV.

THE DEFECT OF THE GRECIAN HISTORY.

I. That manifested by three evident arguments of it. (1.) The fabu-

lousness of the poetical age of Greece. The antiquity of poetry.

II. Of Orpheus, and the ancient poets. Whence the poetical fa-

bles borrowed. III. The advancement of poetry and idolatry to-

gether in Greece. IV. The different censures of Strabo and Era-

tosthenes, concerning the poetical age of Greece; and the reasons

of them. V. (2.) The oldest historians of Greece are of suspected

credit. Of Damastes, Aristeus, and others; VI. Of most of their

oldest historians we have nothing left but their names; of others

only the subjects they treated of, and some fragments. VII. The

highest antipuity of the Greeks not much older than Cyrus or Cam-

byses. VIII. (3.) Those that are extant either confess their igno-

rance of elder times, or plainly discover it. Of the first sort are

Thucydides and Plutarch. IX. Several evidences of the Grecians'

ignorance of the true original of nations. X. Of Herodotus and

his mistakes. XI. The Greeks' ignorance in geography discover-

ed; and thence their insufficiency as to an account of ancient his-

tory

68.

CHAP. V.

THE GENERAL UNCERTAINTY OF HEATHEN CHRONOLOGY.

I. The want of credibility in heathen history further proved, from the

uncertainty and confusion in their accounts of ancient times.

That discovered by the uncertain form of their years. II. An in-

quiry into the different forms of the Egyptian years; the first of

thirty days. III. The second of four months; of both instances

given in the Egyptian history. IV. Of the Chaldæan accounts,

and the first dynasties mentioned by Berosus, how they may be re-

duced to probability. V. Of the Egyptian dynasties of Manetho.

Reasons of accounting them fabulous, because not attested by any

credible authority, and rejected by the best historians. VI. The

opinion of Scaliger and Vossius, concerning their being contem-

porary, propounded, VII. and rejected, with reasons against it.

VIII. Of the ancient division of Egypt into nomi or provinces, and

the number of them, against Vossius and Kircher..

CHAP. VI.

THE UNCERTAIN EPOCHAS OF HEATHEN CHRONOLOGY.

.88.

Of

I. An account of the defect of chronology in the eldest times.

the solar year among the Egyptians; the original of the epacts;

the antiquity of intercalation among them. Of the several cani-

cular years; the difference between Scaliger and Petavius con-

sidered. The certain epochas of the Egyptian history no older

than Nabonassar. II. Of the Grecian accounts. The fabulous-

ness of the heroical age of Greece. III. Of the ancient Grecian

kingdoms. The beginning of the Olympiads. IV. The uncertain

origins of the Western nations. Of the Latin dynasties. The dif-

ferent palilia of Rome. The uncertain reckoning ab urbe condita.

V. Of impostures as to ancient histories. Of Annius, VI. Inghira-

mius, and others. VII. Of the characters used by heathen priests.

VIII. No sacred characters among the Jews. IX. The partiality

and inconsistency of heathen histories with each other.

which the want of credibility in them as to an account of ancient

times is clearly demonstrated...

From all

107.

BOOK II.

CHAP. I.

THE CERTAINTY OF THE WRITINGS OF MOSES.

In order to the proving the truth of Scripture-history, several hypo-

theses laid down. I. The first concerns the reasonableness of pre-

serving the ancient history of the world in some certain records,

from the importance of the things; II. and the inconveniences of

mere tradition or constant revelation. III. The second concerns

the certainty that the records under Moses's name were undoubt-

edly his. The certainty of a matter of fact inquired into in gene-

ral, and proved as to this particular, IV. by universal consent, V.

and settling a commonwealth upon his laws. VI, VII. The im-

possibility of an impostor as to the writings of Moses demonstrated.

The pleas to the contrary largely answered

CHAP. II.

MOSES'S CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT HE WRIT.

128.

I. The third hypothesis concerns the certainty of the matter of Mo-

ses's history; that gradually proved: First, Moses's knowledge

cleared, by his education, and experience, and certain information.

II. His education in the wisdom of Egypt; what that was. III. The

old Egyptian learning inquired into; IV. The conveniences for

it. V. Of the Egyptian priests. Moses reckoned among them for

his knowledge. VI. The mathematical, natural, divine, and mo-

ral learning of Egypt. VII. Their political wisdom most consi-

derable. VIII. The advantage of Moses above the Greek philo-

sophers, as to wisdom and reason. Moses himself an eyewitness

of most of his history: IX. The certain uninterrrupted tradition of

the other part among the Jews, manifested by rational evi-

dence...
143.

CHAP. III.

MOSES'S FIDELITY AND INTEGRITY PROved.

I. Moses considered as an historian, and as a lawgiver; his fidelity

in both proved; clear evidences that he had no intent to deceive

in his history, freedom from private interest, impartiality in his re-

lations, plainness and perspicuity of style. II. As a lawgiver, he

came armed with Divine authority, which being the main thing, is

fixed on to be fully proved from his actions and writings. III. The

power of miracles the great evidence of Divine revelation. Two

grand questions propounded. In what cases miracles may be ex-

pected, and how known to be true. No necessity of a constant

power of miracles in a church: IV. Two cases alone wherein they

may be expected. When any thing comes as a law from God,

and when a Divine law is to be repealed. The necessity of mira-

cles in those cases as an evidence of Divine revelation asserted.

V, VI, VII. Objections answered. No use of miracles when the

doctrine is settled, and owned by miracles by the first revelation.

No need of miracles in reformation of a church
163.

CHAP. IV.

THE FIDELITY OF THE PROPHETS SUCCEEDING MOSES.

I. An order of prophets to succeed Moses, by God's own appoint-

ment in the law of Moses. II. The schools of the prophets;

III. The original and institution of them. IV. The cities of the

Levites. The occasion of their first institution. V. The places

of the schools of the prophets, and the tendency of the institution

there to a prophetical office. VI. Of the music used in the schools

of the prophets. VII. The Roman Assamenta, and the Greek

hymns in their solemn worship. VIII. The two sorts of prophets

among the Jews, lieger and extraordinary. Ordinary prophets taken

out of the schools, proved by Amos and Saul..

CHAP. V.

THE TRIAL OF THE PROPHETICAL DOCTRINE.

181.

I. Rules of trying prophets established in the law of Moses.

II. The punishment of pretenders. The several sorts of false pro-

phets. The case of the prophet at Bethel discussed. III. The

trial of false prophets belonging to the great sanhedrin. IV. The

particular rules whereby the doctrine of prophets was judged.

The proper notion of a prophet not foretelling future contingencies,

but having immediate Divine revelation. V. Several principles

laid down for clearing the doctrine of the prophets. 1. That im-

mediate dictates of natural light are not to be the measure of

Divine revelation. Several grounds for Divine revelation from na-

Whatever is directly repugnant to the dictates

of nature cannot be of Divine revelation. VII. 3. No Divine reve-

tural light. VI.

2.

lation doth contradict a Divine positive law, without sufficient evi-

dence of God's intention to repeal that law. VIII. 4. Divine

revelation in the prophets was not to be measured by the words

of the law, but by the intention and reason of it. The propheti-

cal office a kind of chancery to the law of Moses

CHAP. VI.

200.

THE TRIAL OF PROPHETICAL PREDICTIONS AND MIRACLES.

I. The great difficulty of trying the truth of prophetical predictions

from Jer. xviii. 7. 8, &c. Some general hypotheses premised for

the clearing of it. II. The first concerns the grounds why pre-

dictions are accounted an evidence of Divine revelation. Three

consectaries drawn thence. III. The second, the manner of God's

revelation of his will to the minds of the prophets. Of the several

degrees of prophecy. IV. The third is, that God did not always

reveal the internal purposes of his will unto the true prophets.

V. The grand question propounded, How it may be known when

predictions express God's decrees, and when only the series of

causes? For the first, several rules laid down. 1. When the

prediction is confirmed by a present miracle. 2. When the things

foretold exceed the probability of second causes. VI. 3. When

confirmed by God's oath. VII. 4. When the blessings foretold

are purely spiritual. VIII. Three rules for interpreting the pro-

phecies which respect the state of things under the Gospel.

IX. 5. When all circumstances are foretold. 6. When many pro-

phets in several ages agree in the same predictions. X. Predic-

tions do not express God's unalterable purposes, when they only

contain comminations of judgments, or are predictions of temporal

blessings. XI. The case of the Ninevites, Hezekiah, and others,

opened. XII, XIII. Of repentance in God, what it implies.

XIV. The Jewish objections about predictions of temporal bless-

ings answered. XV. In what cases miracles were expected from

the prophets when they were to confirm the truth of their reli-

gion. Instanced in the prophet at Bethel, Elijah, Elisha, and

Moses himself; XVI. whose Divine authority that it was proved

by miracles, is demonstrated against the modern Jews, and their

pretences answered

...

CHAP. VII.

THE ETERNITY OF THE LAW OF MOSES DISCUSSED

.215.

I. The second case wherein miracles may be expected; when a Di-