1. Joseph. c. 19. Tatian c. Græ COS. BOOK by an author both of some credit and antiquity, the true Berosus, not the counterfeit of Annius; whose vizard we shall have occasion to pull off afterwards. This Berosus was, as Josephus and Tatianus assure us, a priest of Belus, and a Babylonian born, but afterwards flourished in the isle of Cos, and was the first who brought the Chaldæan astroogy in request among the Greeks; in honour to whose name and memory the Athenians (who were never backward in applauding those who brought them the greatest news, especially if suitable to their former superstition) erected a statue for him, with a gilded tongue: a good emblem of his history, which made a fair and specious shew, but was not that within which it pretended to be; especially where he pretends to give an account of the most ancient times, and reckons up his two dynasties before the time of Belus: but of them afterwards. It cannot be denied but some fragments of his history, which have been preserved from ruin by the care and industry of Josephus, Tatianus, Eusebius, and others, have been very useful, not only for proving the truth of the history of Scripture to the Heathens, but also for illustrating some passages concerning the Babylonian empire: as Scaliger making Nabopolassar the father of Nebuchadonosor; of Append. ad which Scaliger hath fully spoken in his notes upon those fragments. 1. de Emen. Temp. V. Far be it from me to derogate any thing even from profane histories, where they do not interfere with the sacred history of Scripture; and it is certainly the best improvement of these to make them draw water to the sanctuary, and to serve as smaller stars to conduct us in our way, when we cannot enjoy the benefit of that greater light of sacred history. But that which I impeach these profane histories of, is only an insufficiency as to that account of ancient times; wherein they are so far from giving light to sacred records, that the design of setting of them up seems to be for casting a cloud upon them which may seem somewhat the more probable, in that those monstrous accounts of the Egyptian and Chaldæan Dynasties did never publicly appear in the world in the Greek tongue, till the time that our sacred records were translated into Greek at Alexandria. For till that time, when this authentic history of the world was drawn forth from its privacy and retirement into the public notice of the world, about the time of Ptolemæus Philadelphus, (being as it were locked up before among the Israelites at Judæa,) these vain pretenders to antiquity thought not themselves so much concerned to stand up CHAP. for the credit of their own nations; for till that time the III. credulous world, not being acquainted with any certain. report of the creation and propagation of the world, was apt to swallow any thing that was given forth by those who were had in so great esteem as the Chaldæan and the Egyptian priests were. Because it was supposed that those persons, who were freed from other avocations, had more leisure to enquire into these things; and because of their mysterious hiding what they had from the vulgar, they were presumed to have a great deal more than they had. But now, when the Sun of Righteousness was approaching this horizon of the world, and in order to that the sacred history, like the day-star, was to give the world notice of it, by which the former shadows and mists began to fly away, it concerned all those, whose interest lay in the former ignorance of mankind, as much as they could, to raise all their ignes fatui, and whatever might tend to obscure that approaching light, by invalidating the credit of that which came to bespeak its acceptance. It is very observable what gradations and steps there were in the world to the appearance of that grand light, which came down from heaven to direct us in our way thither; how the world, not long before, was awakened into a greater inquisitiveness than ever before; how knowledge grew into repute, and what methods divine Providence used to give the inquisitive world a taste of truth at present to stay their stomachs, and prepare them for that further discovery of it afterwards. In order to this, that nation of the Jews, which was an inclosed garden before, was now thrown open, and many of the plants removed, and set in foreign countries; not only in Babylon, (where, even after their return, we left three famous schools of learning, Sora, Pombeditha, and Neharda,) but in Egypt too, where multitudes of them, by Alexander's favour, were settled at Alexandria, where they had opportunity to season those two great fountains, whence the current of knowledge ran into the rest of the world. And now it was not in Jewry only that God was known; but he whose name was great in Israel did make way for the knowledge of himself among all the nations. of the earth. And that all-wise God, who directed the Magi by a star to Christ, making use of their former skill in astronomy to take notice of that star, which came now on a peculiar errand to them, to lead them to VI. I. BOOK their Saviour, (the great God descending so far to mankind, as to take advantage of particular inclinations, and to accommodate himself to them; for which purpose it is very observable that he appeared in another way to the wise men than to the poor shepherds,) the same God made use of the curiosity and inquisitiveness after knowledge, which was in Ptolemæus Philadelphus (which he V. Casaub. is so much applauded for by Athenæus and others) to ad Athe- bring to light the most advantageous knowledge which the world ever had before the coming of Christ in the flesh. And that great library of his erecting at Alexandria, did never deserve that title till it had lodged those sacred records; and then it did far better than the old one of Osymanduas, of which historians tell us this was the inscription, 'Iarpetov vuxus, The shop of the soul's physic. neum, l. v. 6.9. VII. But this being a matter of so much concernment in order to our better understanding the original of these vast accounts of time among the Chaldæans and Egyptians, and a subject not yet touched by any, we shall a little farther improve the probability of it, by taking a more particular account of the time when the Scriptures were first translated, and the occasion might thereby be given to these Egyptians and Chaldæans, to produce their fabulous account into the view of the world. Whether the Scriptures had been ever before translated into the Greek language, (though it be asserted by some ancient writers of the Church,) is very questionable, chiefly upon this account, that a sufficient reason cannot be assigned of undertaking a new translation at Alexandria, if there had been any extant before; especially if all those circumstances of that translation be true, which are commonly received and delivered down to us with almost an unanimous consent of the persons, who had greater advantages of knowing the certainty of such things, than we can have at this great distance of time. And therefore certainly every petty conjecture of some modern, though learned men, ought not to bear sway against so unanimous a tradition in a matter of fact, which cannot be capable of being proved but by the testimony of former ages. And it is somewhat strange that Diog. Lacr. the single testimony of one Hermippus, in Diogenes LaVit. Deme-ertius, (whose age and authority is somewhat doubtful,) trii. concerning only one particular referring to Demetrius Phalereus, should be thought of force enough among persons of judgment, as well as learning, to infringe the credibility of the whole story, delivered with so much CHAP. consent not only by Christian, but Jewish writers; the ILI. testimony of one of which, (every whit as considerable as Apud Eus. Hermippus,) viz. Aristobulus Judæus, a Peripatetical Præp. Ev. philosopher, in an epistle to Ptolemæus Philometor, doth plainly assert that, which was so much questioned, concerning Demetrius Phalereus. 1. xiii. c. 12. VIII. ad Num. But whatever the truth of all the particular circumstances be, which I here enquire not after, nor the authority of that Aristæus, from whom the story is received, nor whether this translation was made by Jews sent out of Judea, or by Jews residing at Alexandria, it sufficeth for our purpose, that this translation was made before either the Chaldæan Dynasties of Berosus, or the Egyptian of Manetho, were published to the world. In order to which, it is necessary to shew in what time this translation was effected; and herein that channel of tradition, which conveys the truth of the thing in one certain course, runs not with so even a stream concerning the exact time of it: all indeed agree that it was about the time of Ptolemæus Philadelphus, but in what years of his reign is very dubious. Joseph Scaliger, who hath troubled the waters so much concerning the particular circumstances of this trans- Scaliger lation, yet fully agrees that it was done in the time of Pto- Animad. lemæus Philadelphus; only he contends with Africanus, Eus. 1734. that it should be done in the 132d Olympiad, which is in the 33d year of Ptolemæus Philadelphus: but Eusebius and Jerom place it in the very beginning of his reign; which I think is far more probable, and that in the time when Ptolemæus Philadelphus reigned with his father Ptolemæus Lagi; for so it is most certain he did for two years before his father's death: by which means the great difficulty of Scaliger, concerning Demetrius Phalereus, is quite taken off; for Hermippus speaks nothing of Demetrius's being V. Scaliger. out of favour with Philadelphus during his father's life; ib. Theocr. but that upon his father's death he was banished by him, Idyl. 17. and died in his banishment; so that Demetrius might Just. 1. xvi. have the oversight of the library at Alexandria, and be Eus. Chro. the main instrument of promoting this translation; and Gr. yet those things be after true which Hermippus speaks, viz. when Ptolemæus Lagi, or Soter, was now dead. For it stands not to reason that during his father's life Philadelphus should discover his displeasure against Demetrius, it being conceived upon the advice given to his father for preferring the sons of Arsinoë to the crown Schol. ad BOOK before the son of Berenice. Most likely therefore it is 1. that this translation might be begun by the means of Demetrius Phalereus, in the time of Philadelphus's reigning with his father; but, it may be, not finished till after the death of Soter, when Philadelphus reigned alone. And by this now we can perfectly reconcile that difference which is among the Fathers, concerning the time when this translation was made; for Irenæus attributes it to the time of Ptolemæus Lagi; Clemens Alexandrinus questions whether in the time of Lagi or Philadelphus; the rest of the chorus carry it for Philadelphus: but the words of Anatolius in Eusebius cast it fully for both; for Euseb.Hist. there, speaking of Aristobulus, he saith, He was one of Eccl. 1. vii. the seventy who interpreted the Scriptures to Ptolemæus Ed. Cant. Philadelphus and his father, and dedicated his Commentaries upon the Law to both those kings. Hæc sane omnem Vossius de scrupulum eximunt, saith Vossius, upon producing this testimony, this puts it out of all doubt; and to the same purpose speaks the learned Jesuit Petavius, in his notes on Epiphanius. c. 32.p.369. Hist. Græc. lib. i. c. 12. Petav. ad IX. Having thus far cleared the time when the translation of the Scriptures into Greek was made, we shall find our conjecture much strengthened, by comparing this with the age of the forementioned historians, Manetho and Berosus. Manetho we have already made appear to have lived in the time of Ptolemæus Philadelphus; and that, saith Vossius, after the death of Soter. It is evident, from what remains of him in Eusebius's Chronica, that he not only flourished in the time of Philadelphus, but writ his history at the special command of Philadelphus, as manifestly appears by the remaining epistle of ManeEus. Chro. tho to him, still extant in Eusebius. This command of Gr. p. 6. Philadelphus might very probably be occasioned upon the view of that account which the holy Scriptures, being then translated into Greek, did give of the world, and the propagation of mankind; upon which, we cannot imagine but so inquisitive a person as Philadelphus would be very earnest to have his curiosity satisfied, as to what the Egyptian priests (who had boasted so much of antiquity) could produce to confront with the Scriptures. Whereupon the task was undertaken by this Manetho, High Priest of Heliopolis; whereby those things which the Egyptian priests had to that time kept secret in their cloisters, were now divulged and exposed to the judgment of the learned world; but what satisfaction they were |