An inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of America / By John Delafield, Jr. With an appendix, containing notes, and 'A view of the causes of the superiority of the men of the Northern over those of the Southern Hemisphere', by James Lakey.

  • John Delafield
Date:
1839
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of America / By John Delafield, Jr. With an appendix, containing notes, and 'A view of the causes of the superiority of the men of the Northern over those of the Southern Hemisphere', by James Lakey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of the history of that country, but which, it is conceded, may be thought episodical by the reader. As, however, it leads to very curious results, not entirely unconnected with the subject, it may prove interesting and perhaps novel to some readers. There were no less than three exodi from Egypt. The first was the one just named, viz: the expulsion of two hundred and forty thousand Cuthites by Halisphragmuthosis; this occurred about two hundred years before the entrance of the Israelitish shepherds into Egypt. The second exodus was that of this once holy people, under the guidance of the Almighty, through his' servant Moses, the account of which we have in profane history, substantiated in the minutest particulars by the sacred writings given us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which protected and preserved the race. But the third is not so generally known. We propose to give a statement thereof, and show the authority on which it rests. The author deems it necessary this should be kept in view, in order to prevent doubt as to the course taken by the first emigrants from Egypt. It is doubtless familiar to the reader that Cadmus is said to have introduced the elements of writing into Greece; that the very language of that country, oral as well as scriptural, owes its origin to the ancient language of the Pclasgic race; and that their mythology had its birth-place in Egypt. A valuable work, investigating the traces of the descendants of Japhet, by James Parsons, M. D., London, published in 1767, gives us much light on this last exodus, and very clearly points out the progress of their migration through Greece, westward to Spain, and northward to the mountains of Wales, and the plains of Ireland. The results he has arrived at are fully confirmed by comparative philology, and by a study of the manners and customs of the Druidical race. We have shown that one of the “ sons,” or descendants of Nimrod [or “ Belus”] was named Nilus, and from him the river took its appellation. This Nilus, a direct descendant of Belus, is said to have been the son of Finiusa,* who was king over a band of the Scythians which hovered in the vicinity of their ancient dwelling-places in Shinar. With this monarch, we commence the narrative of the events to which * From this prince the name Phoenicia took its rise, and his descendants, under the guidance of Cadmus, were called Phoenicians.