ther the interruption of power, which happen'd in > this vaft empire, might poffibly give occafion to this difference of opinion, and may perhaps ferve in fome measure to reconcile it. 2. de cœlo. The hiftory of thofe early times is so obfcure, the monuments which convey it down to us fo full of disagreement among themselves, and the systems of the moderns upon that matter fo different from one another, that 'tis difficult to lay down any opinion about it, as certain and inconteftable. But where certainty is not to be had, I fuppofe a reasonable person will be fatisfied with probability; and, in my opinion, a man can hardly be deceived, if he makes the Affyrian empire equal in antiquity with the city of Babylon, its capital. Now we learn from the holy fcripture, that this was built by Nimrod, who certainly was a great conqueror, and in all appearance the first and most ancient that ever afpired ter that denomination. Porphyr. The Babylonians, as Callifthenes, a philofopher apud Sim-in Alexander's retinue, wrote to Aristotle, reckoned plic. in lib. themselves to be at least of 1903 years ftanding, when that prince enter'd triumphant into Babylon; which makes their origin reach back to the year of the world 1771, that is to fay, 115 years after the deluge. This computation comes within a few years of the time we fuppofe Nimrod to have founded that city. Indeed this teftimony of Callifthenes, as it does not agree with any other accounts of that matter, is not esteemed authentick by the learned; but the conformity we find between that and the holy fcriptures fhould make us regard it. 1 They that are curious to fee more of this matter may read the differtations of abbot Banier and Mr. Ferrel upon the Affyrian empire, in the Memoirs of the Academy of polite litera ture; for the first, see Tome 3d, and for the other, Tome 5. as alfo what father Tournemine has wrote upon this subject in his edition of Menochius. Upon Upon thefe grounds I think we may allow Nimrod to have been the founder of the firft Affyrian empire, which fubfifted with fome viciffitudes of extent and glory upwards of 1450 years, from the time of Nimrod to that of Sardanapalus, the laft king, that is to fay, from the year of the world 1800 to the year 3252 NIMROD. 1450 360 AN MUN. fore CHR. He is the fame with f Belus, who was afterwards 1800. Beworshipped as a god under that appellation. 2204. .. x. Gen. c. He was the fon of Chus, grandfon of Cham, and + Belus or great grandfon of Noah. He was, fays the fcrip- Baal figniture, a mighty hunter before the Lord. In applying himself to this laborious and dangerous exercife he had two things in view; the firft was, to gain the people's affection, by delivering them from the fury andread of wild beafts; the next was, to train up numbers of young people by this exercise of hunting to endure labour and hardship, to form them to the ufe of arins, to inure them to a kind of difcipline and obedience, that at a proper time, after they had been accustomed to his orders, and difciplined in arms, he might make ufe of them for other purposes more ferious than hunting. In ancient history we find fome footsteps remaining of this artifice of Nimrod, whom the writers have confounded with Ninus, his fon : For Diodo- Lib. 2. p. rus has these words; "Ninus, the moft ancient of 90. "the Affyrian kings mentioned in history, perform❝ed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike difpofition, and ambitious of glory, which is the "fruit of valour, he armed a confiderable number "of young men, that were brave and vigorous, Here I depart from the opinion of bifhop Ufher, my ordinary guide, with refpect to the duration of the Affyrian empire, which he fuppofes, with Hero dotus, to have lafted but 520 B 2 << like Ibid. Gen.x.ro. "like himself; trained them up a long time in la"borious exercises and hardfhips, and by that means "accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war pa "tiently, and to face dangers with courage and in"trepidity. What the fame author adds, that Ninus enter'd into an alliance with the king of the Arabs, and joined his forces with the others, is a piece of ancient tradition, which informs us, that the fons of Chus, and by confequence the brothers of Nimrod, all fettled themselves in Arabia, along the Perfian gulf, from Havila to the Ocean; and lived near enough their brother to lend him, or to receive, fuccours from him. And what the fame hiftorian further fays of Ninus, That he was the first king of the Affyrians, agrees exactly with what the Scripture fays of Nimrod, that he began to be mighty upon the earth; that is, he procured himself fettlements, built cities, fubdued his neighbours, united different people under one and the fame authority, by the band of the fame polity and the fame laws, and formed and moulded them altogether into one ftate; which for those early times was of a confiderable extent, tho' bounded by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; and which in fucceeding ages made new acquifitions by little and little, and at length extended its conquefts very far. The capital city of his kingdom, fays the fcripture, was Babylon. The greateft part of the prophane hiftorians afcribe the founding of Babylon to *Semiramis, the reft to Belus. 'Tis vifible that both the one and the other are mistaken, if they speak of the very first founding of that city; for it owes its beginning neither to Semiramis, nor to Nimrod, but to the foolish vanity of thofe perfons mentioned * Semiramis_eam condiderat, vel, ut plerique tradidere, Belus, cujus regia oftenditur. Q. Curt. lib. 5. c. 1. in fcripture, who defired to build a tower and a city, Gen.xi. 4. that should render their memory immortal. Jofephus relates, upon the teftimony of a Sibyl Hist. Jud. (which must have been very ancient, and whofe lib. 1. c.4. fictions cannot be imputed to the indifcreet zeal of any Chriftians) that the gods threw down the tower by an impetuous wind, or a violent hurricane. Had this been the cafe, Nimrod's temerity must have been still the greater, to rebuild a city and a tower, which God himself had overthrown with fuch marks of his displeasure. But the Scripture fays no fuch thing; and 'tis very probable, the building remained in the condition it was, when God put an end to the work by the confufion of languages; and that the tower confecrated to Belus, which is described by Herodotus, was this very tower, which Lib. 1. c. the fons of men pretended to raise to the clouds. 'Tis further probable, that this ridiculous defign being defeated by fuch an aftonishing prodigy, as none could be the author of but God himself, every body abandon'd the place, which had given him offence; and that Nimrod was the firft who encompaffed it afterwards with walls, fettled therein his friends and confederates, and fubdued those that lived. round about it, beginning his empire in that place, but not confining it to fo narrow a compass: Fuit principium regni ejus Babylon. The other cities, which the fcripture fpeaks of in the fame place, were in the land of Shinar, which was certainly the province, of which Babylon became the metropolis. 181. From this country he went into that which has the name of Affyria, and there built Niniveh: De terra Gen. x. illa egreffus eft Ajur, & ædificavit Niniven. This is 11. the fenfe in which many learned men understand the word Affur, looking upon it as the name of a province, and not of the firft man who poffeffed it; as if it were, egreffus eft in Affur, in Affyriam. And this feems to be the most natural conftruction, for many reasons not neceffary to be recited in this place, B 3 The Mic. v. 6. The country of Affyria in one of the prophets is defcribed by the particular character of being the land of Nimrod: Et pafcent terram Affur in gladio, & terram Nemrod in lanceis ejus; & liberabit ab Affur, cum venerit in terram noftram. It derived its name from Affur, the fon of Shem, who without doubt had fettled himself and family there, and was probably driven out, or brought under fubjection by the ufurper Nimrod. 12. This conqueror, having poffefs'd himself of the Gen.x.11, provinces of Affur, did not ravage them, like a tyrant, but filled them with cities, and made himself as much beloved by his new fubjects as he was by his Diod. 1. 2. old ones; so that the hiftorians, who have not exap. 90. mined into the bottom of this affair, have thought that he made ufe of the Affyrians to conquer the Babylonians. Among other cities he built one more large and magnificent than the reft, which he called Nineveh, from the name of his fon Ninus, in order to immortalize his memory. The fon in his turn, full of veneration for his father, was willing that they who had ferved him as their king fhould adore him as their god, and induce other nations to render him the fame worship. For it appears plainly, that Nimrod is the famous Belus of the Babylonians, the first king, whom the people deified for his great actions, and who fhewed others the way to that fort of immortality, which may refult from human accomplishments, I intend to speak of the mighty ftrength and greatnefs of the cities of Babylon and Niniveh, under the kings to whom their building is afcribed by prophane authors, because the scripture fays little or nothing on that fubject. This filence of fcripture, fo little fatisfactory to our curiofity, may become an inftructive leffon for our piety. The holy pen-man has placed Nimrod and Abraham, as it were, in one view before us; and feems to have put them fo near together on purpofe, that we fhould fee an example |