HINDU ASTRONOMICAL TABLES.

197

eminent lovers of science, that they were connected in a most extraordinary manner with the science of astronomy. It fell indeed to the lot of so celebrated a man as Professor Playfair, to give a false celebrity to the Hindu astronomical tables, in a dissertation read before the Royal Society at Edinburgh, in 1788:—he announced the following conclusions. "On the grounds which have now been explained the following general conclusions appear to be established. The observations on which the astronomy of India is founded, were made more than 3,000 years before the Christian era," (consequently more than 650 years before the Deluge, according to the Hebrew chronology), "and in particular the places of the sun and moon at the Kali yug," (the age of misfortune, 3102 B. C.) 66 were determined by actual observation.” Other conclusions of the same learned person would carry back the time of these observations to 4,300 years before the Christian era.

But these conclusions were afterwards proved to be altogether fallacious by the two celebrated French philosophers, Laplace and Delambre, who, giving more credit to M. Bentley's conclusion, that they had only been calculated backward, and were therefore comparatively modern', may be said to have totally overruled the decisions of the Scottish professor, and done much to prove, as Dr. Ure has observed, that the opinion entertained by the Hindus of their great antiquity, is "founded in vanity, ignorance, and credulity." Cuvier himself, speaking of Bailly's system, says, "The whole of this system, invented with so much labour, falls to the ground of

1 About 1281 of the Christian era.

198

BACKWARD CALCULATIONS.

itself, now that it is proved that this epoch has been adopted but of late, from calculations made backwards, and even false in their results '." Though M. Bailly did certainly rely too much on the proficiency of the Hindus in the science of astronomy, we are still indebted to him for his great attention to the artificial chronology of ancient times, and the very ingenious manner in which he was able to detect a very extraordinary agreement between not only all the ancient accounts, Phoenician, Egyptian, Chaldean, and Hebrew, but with the more recently discovered annals of China and India, thereby supplying us with ample reasons to conclude that (to use his own words) they were all derived from one source; in fact, it seems almost impossible to resist the conclusion that the traditions concerning the true chronology of the world, ante-diluvian and post-diluvian, were the foundation of all the extravagant computations of the ancients; that they have preserved what is true 2, in forms more artificial than could possibly be consistent with any real history whatsoever. That in most, if not in all instances, they have carried them back beyond the

1 Theory of the Earth, with Professor Jameson's Illustrations, 5th edit. 1827. To this edition, as well as the fourth, the learned editor was able to add two learned discussions by Cuvier, on the newness of the present continents, as confirmed by the history of nations; and on the proofs regarding the antiquity of nations alleged to be contained in their astronomical and other monuments.

2 "Is it possible," says M. Cuvier, "that mere accident should afford so striking a result as to unite the traditional origin of the Assyrian, Indian, and Chinese monarchies to the same epoch of about 4,000 years from the present time?—could the ideas of nations, who possessed almost no mutual affinities,-whose language, religion, and laws, had nothing. in common, could they conspire to one point, did not truth bring them together?" The remark will apply to an abundance of similar

cases.

CHRONOLOGICAL Riddles.

199

Mosaic era of the creation, through what M. Bailly calls, le goût du merveilleux," or perhaps in the way of rivalry, of which they have all been accused; that many are entirely astronomical, and as Mr. Bryant long ago very judiciously observed of Manetho's famous cycle of 36,525 years', belong rather to an ephemeris, than to true history.

We may now, then, reasonably conclude, that the Bible history and chronology stand perfectly secure from all future disturbance from other histories, and other computations of time. History, indeed, there is none to be found; the very extravagant computations of ancient nations have in nothing so much failed as in the total absence of all support, from any credible records of human transactions, while the computations themselves have been so sifted, and examined, as to turn out to be little better than chronological or astronomical riddles. The solution of which, though not very pleasant reading, from the incumbrance of figures, exhibits such a series of unexpected coincidences, and curious combinations of numbers, as not entirely to be passed over, in a work particularly designed to establish the exclusive credibility of the sacred records, in point both of history and chronology, and on the authority more immediately of Moses and St. Paul. I will be as brief as possible.

Four hundred and thirty-two thousand years ap

1 Jamblichus tells us, the writings of Hermas amounted to this very number of 36,525 books.

This is admirably shown by the President Goguet, in his well known work on the origin of arts and sciences; where he justly observes, that the absurd pretensions to an immense antiquity, founded on fabulous chronicles, were, in the case of the Egyptians particularly, almost turned into ridicule by Cicero, Diodorus, Aristotle, Plutarch, and Varro.

3 See Parts I. and II.

200

KEY TO NUMERICAL MYSTERIES.

pears to be a particular computation of ancient times. I have spoken of the Hindu ages; eighteen in all, but only the four last judged to be worthy of any Four hundred and thirty-two thousand

attention. years is the amount of the last or current age. Now in the Chinese annals the kings of heaven and the kings of earth are said to have reigned exactly 432,000 years; which we have shown to be the amount of the fourth or last Indian age; but this number of years, multiplied by seven (the days in a week), produce 3,034,000 days, which is exactly the number of days in the first two Indian ages, and which M. Bailly found to agree with the two first Chinese races of Tien-hoang, and Ti-hoang, and the Dives of the Persians; while the third Chinese race of Gin-hoang agrees with the third Hindu age, and with the Peris of the Persians. Lastly, the 120 Chaldean Sari of Berosus, (who preceded St. Paul by nearly three centuries), at 3,600 years to a Saros, amount also to 432,000 years, thus agreeing both with the Chinese and Hindus, but apparently in a most arbitrary man

ner.

In Dr. Hales's Chronology, however, we have a key given us to unlock these numerical mysteries. The period of 432,000 years, he shows to have been produced by the multiplication of the two factors, 18 and 24,000 into each other, of which 18 was the Chaldean Saros, and 24,000 the Annus Magnus, or grand revolution of the orb of the fixed stars, at fiftyfour seconds a year.

PART VI.

I HOPE it will have appeared, from the foregoing parts of this work, that my chief motive for writing it has been, not to decry science as science, much less to check the course of experimental philosophy, justly so called, and for the progress and promotion of which, I could feel as anxious as Bacon himself, but to put unphilosophical readers on their guard against any disturbance of their faith in the Holy Scriptures. Certain recent discoveries of organized bodies in our strata, having been supposed to indicate not only a succession of terrestrial revolutions, during an immeasurable amount of time 1, but the absolute creation and existence of numberless living beings, judged to have occupied the earth and waters, and even to have become extinct, before our own race was brought upon the stage; thereby manifestly appearing to establish, as a discovery of modern science, the strong fact, that, as far as the earth is concerned, the Hebrew records are likely to mislead us; if they have not indeed already misled or confounded many heedless persons, to the great impediment and hindrance of the favourite science of geology".

I have therefore endeavoured in the first place to give an account of the history of man distinct from

1 See Sir Charles Bell's Bridgewater Treatise, p. 106.

2 Lyell.