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other Rules, or Methods, by which to PREFACE. afcertain the precife Time of the new Moon, the High-Prieft, with his Officers and Servants, had faved themselves much Trouble and Labour, in their Endeavours to get the earliest Sight of her after the Change. For the antient Practice was, at the Time of the ending of the old Moon, and beginning of the new, to fend Men from the Tabernacle, or Temple, to climb the highest Hills, and Eminencies, on purpose to have a View of her fo foon as poffible after fhe was. come from her Conjunction with the Sun. And Devotions on this Occafion never began, till fome of these Meffengers had return'd, and made their Report that they had actually feen her. And Dr. Spencer hath fhewed that the Gentiles, as well as Jews, of old did generally begin their Months not from the actual Conjunction, but from the firft Phasis or Appearance of the new Moon; for which purpose they had Officers appointed to discover it as foon as poffible, and to notify it to their Superiors. Now it is fcarce credible, that they would have taken this Course on any other Account but their profeffed Ignorance of the precife Time of the Change. It may be juftly acknowledged, that when fuch a Practice hath for fome Ages

prevailed,

PREFACE. prevailed, it may be continued in Regard

to antient Cuftom; but it is not to be conceived that it fhould first be taken up on any other Foot, than want of Knowledge. It concerns all Nations to have their Years and Months, rightly calculated, at least, not to have any enormous Mistakes to prevail, fo far as they know how to prevent, or cure them. The Jews had their fpecial Reasons to be as nice and folicitous, in ftating the Course of their Years and Months; because their Feafts could not be observed in their proper Seafons, if there were any grofs Errors in their Calculations. And if the Egyptians had been expert in these Matters, the Jews could not have been at a Lofs in their Regulations of Time. For it is certain, that Mofes had all the Wisdom, and Learning, that they could communicate to him. And if Moses had ever been Mafter of this Art, he would undoubtedly have left fufficient Inftructions with the Priefts, and Levites, to continue their Periods and Succeffions of Time, in a juft Order. And though it pleafed God by fupernatural Means to teach Mofes the Art of Reading and Writing, that fo the great, and momentous Revelations made to him might be faithfully recorded for the Benefit of all future Generations; yet he did

not efteem the conftant keeping of their PREFACE. Feafts at the Times appointed to be a Thing of fo great Confequence. No Man of Sense will wonder that God made a plain Difference between the obferving of Days, and Times, and the Preservation of his own Laws and Promises given to his People, and therefore did not communicate to Mofes the Art of making a Perpetual Almanack; though he at the fame Time thought it worthy of his Care to enable him, by his own Direction, to be a Penman of his Word and Will. It may be added, that God forefaw, or actually knew, that the true Course of Time might be, and would gradually be dif covered by human Art and Industry: But he saw the Invention of Letters to be above the Reach of the Men of that Age, not much verfed in abftracted Speculations. And if he faw it poffible to be attained by Men of a brighter Genius, and better exercised in the Art of Thinking, in fome future Times; yet in Mercy he thought fit not to defer the bestowing on his People fo great a Privilege as this of Writing and Reading, especially because he had Laws of his own, now forthwith to be promulged amongst them. He knew they could not be faithfully preferved without Letters; and Letters could not be known, and brought into VOL. II,

Ufe,

PREFACE. Ufe, unless he himself, by fome fupernatural Means, would convey this Favour to them. And it is not in the Nature of Things probable, that they who could not certainly adjust the Number of Days and Hours in a Year, or in a Month, could ever, by the Dint of their own natural Parts, be able to express all articulate Sounds in fixed Characters, or that they who could not distinguish between the Beginning of one Year, or Month, and the End of another, could yet, without any Help from above, defign, in legible Characters, all the Variations and different Sounds of human Voice.

But the grand Objection remains ftill unanfwered, I mean, that Mofes no where exprefsly informs us, that Mankind, down to his Time, was without Letters; or that he himself first taught Men the Ufe of them, much less that he was instructed in this Art by God, or an Angel. My Answer to this will, I hope, fet this whole Matter in a true Light. And,

1. It is juft and rational to believe, that he who hath recorded the firft Shepherd, Mufician, and Artificer in Brafs and Iron, Gen. iv. 20---22. would not have neglected to tell us who was the firft Writer, if there had been any before himself. And though Mofes's Modesty restrained him from speaking large

ly,

ly, and in Words at length, of his being PREFACE. the Inftrument of conveying fo great a Benefit to the World; yet I am humbly of Opinion, that in the feveral Parts of his Hiftory he hath faid enough to let us know, that he was the first Master of this Art, and that he owed the Knowledge of it to divine Goodness.

2. I know not any juft Cause why the Law fhould be written by God, or by an Angel at his Command, except it were for want of a Man that could well perform this Part. This could give no Addition of Authority to the Law, efpecially after it had been published in that aftonishing, miraculous Manner at Mount Sinai. What was done there, was done in the Eyes and Ears of the whole Nation. But the Law was written by God, or his Angel, in Secret, without any one Witness, and could not therefore be intended to give any farther Testimony to what was written. The true writing of the Original was indeed perfectly adjusted, and precisely ascertained to all future Ages, by God's giving a Copy of it, as I may fay, under his own Hand. But this, I conceive, had been done altogether as effectually by God's dictating every Word to Mofes, and infpecting his Writing, and declaring the Authenticknefs of it, if Mofes had been capable of C 2 pera