Pleasant ways in science / by Richard A. Proctor.

  • Richard Anthony Proctor
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Pleasant ways in science / by Richard A. Proctor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    avoid, as his desire was first to obtain the recognition of the evidence without prejudice. It might certainly have inter- fered to some degree with the unprejudiced recognition of the evidence of the tablets if it had been maintained by him, and still more if he had demonstrated, that the Babylonian is the earlier version. For the account in the book of Genesis, coming thus to be regarded as merely an expurgated version of a narrative originally containing much fabulous matter, and not a little that is monstrous and preposterous, would certainly not have been presented to us in quite that aspect in which it had long been regarded by theologians. But although Mr. Smith states that he placed the various dates as low as he fairly could, considering the evidence,— nay, that he aimed to do this rather than to establish any system of chronology,—there can be no mistake about the relative antiquity which he in reality assigns to the Babylonian inscriptions. He states, indeed, that every copy of the Genesis legends belongs to the reign of Assurbanipal, who reigned over Assyria B.C. 670. But it is acknowledged on all hands that the tablets are not the originals, but are only copies from earlier texts. The Assyrians acknowledge themselves that this literature was borrowed from Babylonian sources, and of course it is to Babylonia we have to look to ascertain the approximate dates of the original documents The difficulty, he proceeds, is increased by the following^ considerations : it appears that at an early period in Baby- lonian history a great literary development took place, and numerous works were produced which embodied the pre- vailing myths, religion, and science of that day. Written, many of them, in a noble style of poetry on one side, or registering the highest efforts of their science on the other, these texts became the standards for Babylonian Hterature, and later generations were content to copy these writings instead of making new works for themselves. Clay, the material on which they were written, was every\vhere abundant, copies were multiplied, and by the veneration in which they were held these texts fixed and stereotyped the