between Syria and Egypt, where he built them a town, which, from the mutilation of its inhabitants, was called Rhinocolura.

A Memphite of ignoble extraction was exalted to the throne. The priests characterised him as a magician, and pretended that he could assume whatever form he pleased. His Egyptian name was Cetcs, which the Greeks rendered Proteus.

It was during his reign, that Paris and Helen were driven on the coasts of Egypt, in their passage to Troy, but when the Egyptian monarch understood the shameful breach of hospitality which the young stranger had committed, he ordered him to quit his do

minions.

LYDIA.

15. The history of the kings of LYDIA is very obscure. They were divided into three dynasties. 1. The Atydæ. 2. The Heraclidæ. 3. The Mermnadæ. The history of Atydæ is altogether fabulous. Argon was the first of the Heraclidæ, and Candaules the last. Argon reigned about 1223 years B. C. The Lydians are celebrated as merchants and traffickers.

§ Lydia is supposed to have been founded by Lud, son of Shem. It was, however, called Lydia, from Lydus, one of its kings. It was previously called Mæonia, from Mæon, also one of its kings. It was conquered at length by the descendants of Hercules.

Lydia Proper was, strictly speaking, at first only that part of Mæonia which was seated on the gean Sea; but when the Greeks or Ionians settled there, the ancient inhabitants were driven to the interior. The invaders named the sea coasts where they settled Ionia, after the country whence they had emigrated, or rather, whence they had been driven by the Heraclide; while the Lydians gave their name to the new countries in which they settled.

Long before the invasion of the Ionians, the natives of Lydia were devoted to commerce. The earliest instance on record of a gold and silver coinage is found in their history. They were also the first people who exhibited public sports.

era.

ITALY.

16. ITALY appears to have been inhabited at a remote So early as 1289 years B. C. we read of a king named Janus, who, having arrived from Thessaly, planted a colony on the river Tiber. Four sovereigns succeeded him in Latium; during the reign of the last of whom, viz. Latinus, arrived Æneas, the Trojan prince, in Italy. Æneas married Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, and succeeded him in the sovereignty. After Æneas there was a succession of kings to the time of Numitor, the grandfather of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

The history of these kings is, however, very obscure and confused, and very little dependence can be placed upon it. Of the numerous petty kingdoms of which Italy was composed, those of Etruria and Latium alone deserve attention. The Etruscans are thought to have been a very polished people. The inhabitants of Latium were the immediate ancestors of the Romans. A considerable part of Italy was doubtless peopled by the Greeks.

§ Italy, afterwards the seat of the Roman power, was peopled at an early era, though we cannot determine the particular point of time, with certainty as to the country at large. The colony on the Tiber, as we have seen, was settled nearly 13 centuries before Christ. There is every reason to believe that a part of Italy was inhabited by a refined and cultivated nation, many ages before the Roman name was known.

The Etruscans are justly considered as such a nation; a fact which is indicated by the monuments in the fine arts which they have left, and some of which exist to this day. Their alphabet, resembling the Phoenician, disposes us to believe them to have been of eastern origin.

Though many of the inhabitants of Italy originated from Greece and the east, yet a portion of them, it is believed, must have originated from the Celtic or Gomerian tribes of the north, who entered Italy from that quarter.*

The story of Latinus and Æneas is briefly as follows. At the time of the arrival of the latter in Italy, Latinus was engaged in a war with the Rutuli; and, on hearing of this arrival, he immediately marched towards the strangers, expecting to find an unprinci pled banditti.

But Eneas, though commanding a body of hardy veterans, held out the olive of peace. Latinus listened to his melancholy tale, and pitying the misfortunes of the Trojan exiles, assigned them a portion of land, on condition of their joining against the Rutuli.

Æneas eagerly embraced the offer, and performed such essential service in the cause of the Latins, that this monarch bestowed on him his only daughter, Lavinia, in marriage, with the right of suc cession to the crown.

Distinguished characters in Period IV.

1. Moses, the first Hebrew lawgiver and leader.

2. Joshua, a conqueror of Canaan, and pious military chieftain.

3. Orpheus, the father of poetry.

4. Musæus, a Greek poet.

5. Samson, a judge of Israel, and endowed with extraor dinary strength.

*See Edin. Rev. No. 80. Art. V.

6. Sanconiathon, a Phoenician, one of the earliest writers of history.

7. David, a king of Israel, a warrior and poet.

At

§ 1. Moses, when an infant, having been exposed on the brink of the river Nile, in an ark of bulrushes, the daughter of Pharaoh found the ark, saved the child, and had him educated as her own son. forty years of age, having renounced the honours of Pharaoh's court, he endeavoured to join his oppressed countrymen, but they would not receive him. After this, circumstances induced him to flee to the land of Midian, where he married, and enjoyed a retirement of 40 years.

At the end of this period, God appeared to him in the mount of Horeb, and ordered him to return to Egypt, with a commission to Pharaoh, respecting his release of the Israelites from bondage. He accomplished this object only after the infliction of ten severe and awful plagues upon that monarch and his people. At length God saw fit, through Moses, to destroy Pharaoh and the flower of his military force in the Red Sea.

From this period, Moses was employed in receiving the moral law from mount Sinai, in prescribing the form of the ceremonial worship of the Hebrews, in regulating their civil polity, in conducting their military operations, and in leading them through the wilderness of Sinai, in which they were doomed to wander during 40 years.

At the age of 120 he died on mount Nebo, in the land of Moab, having first taken a view of the promised land. This occurred 1451 years B. C. Moses was a man of eminent piety and wisdom.

2. Joshua was the successor of Moses, and led the Israelites into the promised land, over the river Jordan, whose waters divided to afford them a passage. The first city which he conquered was Jericho; this was followed by the speedy reduction of 30 others.

Having divided the land of Canaan among the ten tribes, Joshua died, aged 110, 1426 years B. C.

3. Orpheus was the son of Eager, or, as some say, of Apollo, by Calliope. The fictions of poetry have put into his hands a lyre, whose entrancing sounds stayed the courses of rivers, moved mountains, and subdued the ferocity of wild beasts. Doubtless the effects of his song, though not of such a nature, were considerable, in that rude and early age, on the minds of untutored barbarians.

By the power of his music, as fiction reports, he regained his wife, Eurydice, from the infernal regions, but lost her again in consequence of failing to comply with a certain condition, on which she was restored. The condition was, that he should not look behind to see her till he had come to the extremest borders of hell. Contrary to promise he did this, through the impatience of love, or by reason of forgetfulness, and she vanished from before his eyes. Orpheus, according to story, was one of the Argonauts; of which celebrated expedition he wrote a poetical account. This, however, is doubted; and the poems that pass under his name, are, with rea

son, ascribed to other and later writers. There is little cause to doubt that such a person as Orpheus existed, and that he was a great poet and musician. The period assigned for him is 1284 years B. C.

4. Musæus is supposed to have been a son or disciple of Linus or Orpheus, and to have lived about 1253 years before the christian era. None of his poems remain. A Musæus, who flourished in the 4th century, according to the judgment of most critics, wrote "The loves of Leander and Hero."

5. Samson was the son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan. As he was raised up to avenge the Israelites of their oppressors, he was endowed with extraordinary strength. On one occasion, he slew 1000 Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass. At various other times, he severely molested and distressed them.

At length he was, through stratagem, betrayed by Delilah, and de prived of his strength. It, however, soon returned; and he pulled down the temple of Dagon on the heads of his enemies, the Philistines, with whom he perished in the general ruin. Some parts of his character are very far from deserving imitation. His various exploits and follies are recorded, Judges xiv. xv. xvi. 6. Sanconiathon was born at Berytus, or, according to others, at Tyre. He flourished about 1040 years B. C. He wrote, in the language of his country, a history, in 9 books, in which he amply treated of the theology and antiquities of Phoenicia and the neighbouring places.

This history was translated into Greek by Philo, a native of Byb· lus, who lived in the reign of the emperor Adrian. Some few fragments of this Greek translation are extant. Some, however, suppose them to be spurious, while others maintain their authenticity.

7. David was the son of Jesse, and anointed king of Israel, while keeping his father's flocks, by Samuel, the prophet. He was a valiant, prosperous, and warlike prince, and raised himself and people to great eminence and renown. His name began to be known and celebrated, from the time that he slew Goliath, the giant. His military operations were planned with wisdom, and executed with vigour.

He was distinguished as a sacred poet and writer of psalms; no one in this department has ever equalled him. These inspired productions are marked by loftiness, vigour, and felicity of expression -abounding in the sublimest strains of devotion, and conveying the most important truths and instructions to the mind.

This pious prince was left to fall into scandalous sins, in a few instances, particularly in the seduction of Bathsheba, and the murder of Uriah, her husband; but he bitterly repented of them, and was restored to the divine favour. He died, 1015 years B. C., after a reign of 40 years.

PERIOD V.

The Period of Homer, extending from the dedication of Solomon's temple, 1004 years B. C., to the founding of Ronie, 752 years B. C.

ISRAELITES.

SECTION 1. From the accession of Solomon to the throne of the ISRAELITES, a period of profound peace and prosperity was enjoyed by that people throughout his reign. The most important undertaking of this monarch, was the building and dedication of the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem.

This magnificent structure was completed in seven years. The dedication was performed by the king, with the most solemn religious rites, in presence of all the elders of Israel, and the heads of the various tribes.

This prince exceeded in wisdom all who went before him; but, in his old age, he took many wives and concubines out of the idolatrous nations around him, who corrupted his heart. The Lord therefore declared, by the prophet Abijah, that he would divide the kingdom after his death, and give ten tribes to Jeroboam; which accordingly took place.

§ The temple at Jerusalem was a most sumptuous and costly edifice. The value of the materials, and the perfection of the workmanship, rank it among the most celebrated structures of antiquity. It was not very large, being little more than 90 feet in length, 30 in breadth, and 45 in height; but was finely proportioned, and, together with a grand porch, was splendidly ornamented.

Towards the close of his reign, as a punishment of his effeminacy and idolatry, the Lord stirred up certain adversaries against him; and, though the principal evil threatened against Israel, was not to occur during his day, yet he had the mortification of knowing that it would be inflicted under the administration of his son; and that his own conduct would be the procuring cause.

We cannot help believing that he repented of his awful defection from duty, though nothing in the Bible is recorded concerning this point; and all ought to be profited by the memorials which he has left of his wisdom, and general piety.

2. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, began to reign over the Israelites 975 years B. C. Having refused to lighten the yoke his father had imposed on his subjects, ten tribes revolted. and followed Jeroboam, an enterprising domestic of the king. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin alone remained