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CONTENTS
OF
VOL. I.
BOOK I.
CHAP. I.
THE OBSCURITY AND DEFECT OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
I. II. III. IV. The knowledge of truth proved to be the most natural
perfection of the rational soul; V. Yet error often mistaken for
truth: the accounts of it. VI. Want of diligence in its search ;
VII. VIII. The mixture of truth and falsehood: thence comes ei-
ther rejecting truth for the error's sake, or embracing the error for
the truth's sake; IX. The first instanced in heathen philosophers,
XIII. The second in vulgar heathen. X. XI. XII. Of philosophi-
cal atheism, and the grounds of it. XIV. The history of antiquity
very obscure. XV. The question stated, where the true history of
ancient times is to be found? in heathen histories, or only in
Scripture? XVI. The want of credibility in heathen histories as-
serted and proved by the general defect for want of timely records
among heathen nations; the reason of it shewed from the first
plantations of the world. XVII. The manner of them discovered.
The original of civil government. XVIII. Of hieroglyphics.
XIX. The use of letters among the Greeks no older than Cadmus ;
XX. His time inquired into: no older than Joshua: XXI. The
learning brought into Greece by him. P. 1.
CHAP. II.
OF THE PHOENICIAN AND EGYPTIAN HISTORY.
I. The particular defect in the history of the most learned heathen
nations. II. First the Phoenicians. Of Sanchoniathon; his anti-
quity and fidelity. III. Of Jerom-baal, Baal-Berith. IV. The an-
tiquity of Tyre. Scaliger vindicated against Bochartus. V. Abi-
balus. VI. The vanity of Phoenician theology. VII. The imitation
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.
The antiquity of poetry.
Whence the poetical fa-
I. That manifested by three evident arguments of it. (1.) The fabu-
lousness of the poetical age of Greece.
II. Of Orpheus, and the ancient poets.
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.
1. 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.
..88.
THE UNCERTAIN EPOCHAS OF HEATHEN CHRONOLOGY.
I. An account of the defect of chronology in the eldest times. Of
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. From all
which the want of credibility in them as to an account of ancient
times is clearly demonstrated...
.107.
BOOK II.
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
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.
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