of Atri returned. He therefore changed the phrase to one more consonant to European languages; and having probably asked his Pundit from what period the seven days commenced, he answered from the present day, the day of which he was treating, which denoted the beginning of the first day of Brahma, and first thousandth year of the world ; the first day of the creation. As we read" in the present day of Brahma the first created was named Swayambhava," and in other records " on the day of his creation, the first Menu was named Swayambhava, son of the Self-existing ;" whereas, introducing time, for day, made an alteration of 7 or 800 years in the date. For, from the present time, denoted from the period of the prophecy. Seven days from the present day, would have sounded inharmonious; to prevent which the alteration was doubtless made. The Sanscrit passage is literally as follows: "At the close of the sixth Menwantara the Deity being inclined to slumber, retired for the purpose of repose. During which the giant Hayagriva (or Satan) stole the Vedas. At this time Satyavatar ruled in Dravira, a maritime province south of Carnata." From this we learn, first, that the Hindus believe that the deluge was ordained in consequence of the Vedas being stolen (idolatry introduced), and that this change in religion occurred, when 426 years were passed: for

71×6=426; secondly, that Satyavatar was not intended for Noah; because the former was the ruler over a province, before the latter was born; and thirdly, that the prophecy was made by that divine Spirit (in the form of Buddha) who had previously infused a portion of his wisdom into other Avataras for the preservation of mankind, and now animated the body of their great prophet Parasa Rama. For the epoch of 426 years does not allude to the period when the prophecy was made, but to the return of Cain; and that he did return on, or about that year, is equally confirmed by the Hebrew and Chaldean historians. The Hindus are wonderfully correct in their mode of marking time, considering the first 500 years of every period, or millenary, as the day, and the remaining 500 as the night of Brahma: The deluge having commenced after 1500 years (the Purana says, during the sleep of Brahma the Vedas having been stolen A. M. 420) they express it by the Deity being inclined to slumber, his sleep not commencing, until after 500 years. The Purana next states the year in which the deluge would commence. "In seven days, O thou tamer of enemies, the three worlds will be plunged in an ocean of death." "When that period arrives, a miraculous vessel shall be sent for thy preservation." It proceeds to give directions relative to

the animals that were to be taken into the ark. This nearly corresponds with the Mosaic account. In the seventh chapter of Genesis, we read that the Lord appeared unto Noah, directing him to take into the ark provisions of every kind, and of every clean beast by seven, the male and his female; and of every unclean beast by pairs, for

yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights." If understood literally, these accounts equally tend to prove, that the Deity appeared, and gave these orders only seven days before the rain began to fall; which is a palpable absurdity. For it seems morally impossible, for eight persons, four of them women, to have conveyed into the ark during the short period of seven days provisions sufficient to feed so vast a number of animals for twelve months. The hay only, on a very moderate computation, could not have been less than three thousand tons, to say nothing of at least 1800 animals, as food for carnivorous beasts and birds. Now the Hindus do not understand the phrase seven days literally; but as prophetic of the number of years between the creation and the deluge; whilst the modern Hebrews, who considered them as seven days of twentyfour hours, qualify the expression, by expounding the 120 days in the third verse of the sixth chapter of Genesis, as denoting that the Almighty

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again gave notice of this event to Noah, 120 years before it occurred, for the purpose of giving him time to build the ark, and to make the necessary preparations. The text, according to my comprehension, does not admit of such interpretation. But if it did, it in no way obviates the objection; although it impeaches both the faith and obedience of Noah. First, as requiring an appearance of the Deity to confirm the prophecy and secondly, after such sign was given, as disobeying the order. For if we understand the text literally, nothing farther than preparing the ark was done, or thought of, seven days before the deluge. omniscient God could not have appeared seven days before the waters began to fall, for the express purpose of ordering the number of birds and beasts that were to be caught and taken into the ark, together with their food, &c. had the former order been complied with. But the text does not so imply. For to whatever the 120 years alluded, they were certainly a part of the prophecy made by Enoch, at least they bear the same date. The text is as follows, "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose."

"And the Lord said, my Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men*."

The latter part expresses the period when the Lord said, "Man's days shall be an hundred and twenty years;" for it particularizes the two races of giants; those days, when the prophecy was made, evidently alluding to the giants of the third generation of the race of Cain. It never has been disputed, that the children of men were the race of Cain, and the children of God the race of Seth. Accordingly the chapter commences by saying, in consequence of the return of this race, when men (the sons of Cain) began to multiply and had daughters, the sons of God (the family of Shem) seeing that the daughters of the race of Cain were more handsome than those of their own race, took wives therefrom. In consequence of which, and of other abominations, the deluge was foretold by the prophet Enoch; the 120 years being a part of the subject of that prophecy, and probably denoting, that as the impiety of man increased with his lengthened years, in the new world it should

Gen. vi. 1, 2, 3.