After the death of Adam,* the Sethites retired from the plain where they had hitherto resided, to the mountains opposite paradise; and, for some time, continued to live in the fear of God, and to preserve the strictest rules of piety and virtue. In the course of time, the descendants of Cain, who were now become very numerous, spread themselves over all that part of the country which had been left by the Sethites, even to the confines of the mountains where Seth had fixed his abode'; and here they continued that abandoned course of life they had followed before their removal. By this close connexion, the Sethites had frequent opportunities of seeing the daughters of Cain, who being exceeding beautiful, they were so captivated with their charms, that they entered into nuptial alliances with them; and from this intercourse were born men of a very gigantic size, who were no less remarkable for their daring wickedness, than for their bold and adventurous undertakings. Thus did the example of the wicked family of Cain prevail, and, by degrees, destroy all the remains of religious duties in the posterity of Seth. The righteous Noah used his utmost efforts to convince them of the enormity of their conduct; but all his admonitions were in vain: the bent of their thoughts had taken another turn, and their whole study and contrivance was, how to gratify their inordinate passions. This universal depravity of mankind so offended the Almighty, that, as the sacred historian informs us, he "repented that he had made man on the earth" and, as a proper punishment for their offences, thought of destroying not only the whole of the human race (Noah and his family excepted), but also the brute creation, which he had formed for the use of ungrateful man. But before the Almighty fixed the resolution of executing his design, he thought proper to give one chance to the principal objects of his resentment, which was, that if, in the space of one hundred and twenty years, they should forsake their evil ways, repent, and reform, his mercy should be at liberty to interpose and reverse their doom. This he communicated to his servant Noah, who, for his great justice and piety, had found favor in his sight; and for which his family (consisting only of eight persons) were to be exempted from the general destruction." Notwithstanding the merciful and beneficent promises of the Almighty, yet such was the corrupt state of mankind at this time, and so lost were they to every sense of virtue, that they still prosecuted their vicious courses, and subjected themselves to the consequences of the divine displeasure. Finding, therefore, that all lenity and forbearance tended to no purpose, except to make them more bold and licentious, God at length made known to his servant Noah his awful determination of involving them, and the earth they inhabited, in one general destruction, by a flood of water. He likewise assured him that as he had, in a particular manner, testified his fidelity to his Maker, he would take care to preserve him and his family, together with such other creatures as were necessary for the restoration of their species from the general calamity. To effect this, he gave him orders to make an ark, or large vessel of gopher-wood, and, that it might be secured from the violence of the waves, to pitch it both within and without. The form and dimensions of this building are thus described by the sacred historian: "And this is the form which thou shalt make it of the length of the work shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, The sacred historian does not inform us at what exact period Adam paid the debt of nature, nor in what place his remains were deposited. The ancient Arabians tell us that he was buried at Hebron, in the cave of Machpelah, which Abraham, many ages after, bought for a burying-place for himself and family. They likewise say that when Adam found his end approaching, he called his son Seth, and the other branches of his numerous family, to whom he gave a strict charge that they should always live separate, and have no manner of intercourse with the impious family of the murderer Cain. + This expression must not be taken in the literal sense of the words, for God is not the son of man that he should repent; but it is a figurative expression, and adapted to our apprehensions. The meaning, therefore, is, that as all men were corrupt, and turning a deaf ear to his preacher Noah, the Almighty was determined to destroy man whom he had created. When we consider that and Aurapiacos have the same radical consonants, we are at once led to select a species of cypress as the "gopher-wood," or rather the gopher-tree in question. The wood of the cypress possesses an unrivalled fame for its durability, and its resistance to those injuries which are incident to other kinds of wood. The divine appointment had doubtless a reason founded in the nature of things, and no better reason can be found than the matchless excellence of the wood recommended. The compact and durable nature of the cypress rendered it peculiarly eligible for sacred purposes: hence we find it was employed in the construction of coffins among the Athenians, and mummy-cases among the Egyptians. The cupressus sempervirens, a straight and elegant tree of the cone-bearing family, seems therefore to have the best title to the credit of having furnished the material for the most important vessel that was ever constructed. and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it."* Having received these instructions from God, Noah, in obedience to the divine command, immediately set about the arduous work, which he finished, according to God's direction, seven days before the rain began to fall, having been encouraged so to do by an assurance from his Maker, that though he meant to destroy the world in general, yet he would establish his covenant with him. The ark being finished, the Almighty commanded Noah to take into it "every living thing of all flesh," both cattle and beasts of the field, birds and fowls of the air, and reptiles of all kinds; of the unclean only one pair each, but of the clean, seven pair. That he should likewise make a proper provision of food for the differ ent animals; and, having placed them in their respective apartments, should then enter the ark himself, taking with him his wife, together with his sons and their wives. All things being adjusted agreeably to the divine direction, Noah entered the ark, with his family, in the six hundredth year of his age; and on the seventeenth day of the second month (which was seven days after his entrance) the whole face of nature began to wear a gloomy aspect, and to appear as if the earth was to be finally dissolved, and all things return to their primitive chaos. The windows or cataracts of heaven were opened, and the earth was overspread with a dreadful inundation. In vain did sinful mortals seek for protection, or endeavor to shelter themselves from the common destruction; for mountains and valleys were soon alike, and every refuge was banished their sight. For forty days and nights did the rain continue to fall, without the least intermission; when at length the ark began to float, and, in process of time, was elevated above the highest mountains. A dismal scene now presented itself! the earth, with all its beautiful variety of nature and art, was no more! nothing appeared to the sight but a watery desert, abounding with wrecks of the once lovely creation.† The Almighty having thus avenged himself of a sinful world, and reflecting upon Noah, and the poor remains of his creatures in the ark, caused a drying north wind to arise, the flood-gates of heaven to be stopped, and the falling of the waters to cease; by which means the deluge began to abate, and the waters gradually subsiding, in process of time the earth again appeared. The first discovery Noah made of the cessation of the flood was, from the ark * There is much difference of opinion about the form of the ark. The common figures are given under the impression that it was intended to be adapted to progressive motion; whereas no other object was sought than to construct a vessel which should float for a given time upon the water. For this purpose it was not necessary to place the ark in a sort of boat, as in the common figures; and we may be content with the simple idea which the text gives, which is that of an enormous oblong box, or wooden house, divided into three stories, and apparently with a sloping roof. The most moderate statement of its dimensions makes the ark by far the largest of vessels ever made to float upon the water. As the measurements are given, the only doubt is as to which of the cubit measures used by the Hebrews is here intended. It seems that the standard of the original cubit was the length of a man's arm from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, or about eighteen inches. This was the common cubit; but there was also a sacred cubit, which some call a hand's breadth (three inches) larger than the common one; while others make the sacred cubit twice the length of the common. The probability is that there were two cubit measures beside the common; one being of twenty-one inches, and the other of three feet. Some writers add the geometrical cubit of nine feet. Shuckford says we must take the common or shortest cubit as that for the ark; and Dr. Hales, taking this advice, obtained the following result: "It must have been of the burden of 42,413 tons. A first-rate man-of-war is between 2,200 and 2,300 tons; and, consequently, the capacity or stowage of eighteen such ships, the largest in present use, and might carry 20,000 men, with provisions for six months, besides the weight of 1,800 cannon and all military stores. It was then by much the largest ship ever built." + The Deluge.-From the original by Nicholas Poussin.-Several great masters have treated this subject, but none of their productions have acquired the celebrity of our engraving, by Poussin. All others have chosen but partial scenes or episodes-either the beginning or the end-of this terrible infliction. Poussin alone has ventured to imbody the whole of this all-engulfing cateclysm, and show its frightful catastrophe: he alone has dared to render that tremendous sentence: "All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man." The air is laboring with the full-swollen clouds; the rain descends in torrents; the sun, obscured, throws but a dull and feeble light; the overwhelming floods have long confounded the hills with the plains, and already reached the summits of the highest mountains. The foaming waves in the centre of the awful scene, rolling in irresistible volumes, dash against the rock the frail bark of one who had vainly leaped thereon to find a refuge, and now raises his imploring hands to inexorable Heaven. In front a family are still struggling to escape their fate; while the ark floats away in the distance. Never was execution more adapted to its subject-abounding in gloomy and terrific images, presented with appalling truth. This chef d'œuvre was the last labor of Poussin: he finished it in 1664, at the age of 70, and died in the following year. But resting on the mountains of Ararat.* This was about the beginning of May, and about the middle of the following month the tops of the mountains appeared. Noah (who, no doubt, was glad to see the appearance of anything substantial after so long a confinement), wisely considering, that though the mountains were visible, the valleys might be yet overflowed, waited forty days longer before he attempted any further discovery. At the expiration of that time, opening the window of the ark, he let go a raven, supposing that the scent of dead bodies would allure him to fly a considerable distance. Encouraged by the absence of the raven for seven days, he let fly a dove, which, finding no resting-place, returned to its old habitation. Seven days after he sent out the same bird, which then returned with an olive-branch in its mouth, a happy certainty that the waters were removed from the place where the olive-tree stood. Still, however, determined not to be too hasty, he remained in the ark seven days more, when sending out the dove a third time, and she not returning, he concluded that the waters were entirely withdrawn. In consequence of this he made the necessary preparations for leaving the ark; but, mindful of God's directions, ventured not forth till fifty-five days after, in order that the earth might be properly dry for his reception. Having, at the expiration of that period, received God's positive command to leave the ark, he accordingly came out of it on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, bringing with him every creature that had been retained for replenishing the earth. Thus ended Noah's long and melancholy confinement, which, from the time of his entering the ark to that of his leaving it, amounted exactly to one solar year. The first thing Noah did, after quitting the ark, was to erect an altar, on which he offered sacrifices to God, for his great goodness in preserving him and his family from the general destruction. The Almighty, knowing the purity of Noah's intentions, was so well pleased with his conduct, that he gave him his divine assurance that he would never more 66 curse the ground for man's sake," nor should the earth ever be again destroyed by a general deluge. In confirmation of this, he appointed a bow to appear in the heavens as a token, and which was now to be the ratification of the truth of his promise. Having, by this divine promise, eased the mind of Noah, who was fearful of a second deluge, the Almighty, after blessing him and his sons, granted them many singular privileges, such as far exceeded those he had bestowed on our primitive parents. Before the flood, mankind had no other food than vegetables; but now the Almighty, after giving Noah and his sons the same dominion over the creation as he had done Adam, permitted them to kill any creatures they thought proper for food, only with this restriction, that they should not eat "the blood thereof." This restraint was certainly laid by God to prevent the shedding of human blood, against which he denounces the following sentence: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by It is generally admitted that the mountain on which the ark rested lies in Armenia; although there are some who contend that it must be sought in Cashgar, on the extension eastward of the great Caucasian chain. The investigations of recent Biblical critics have, however, tended to strengthen the original conviction in favor of the Armenian mountain. The particular mountain to which people of different nations and religions concur in awarding this distinction is situated in N. lat. 39° 30', and E. long. 44° 30', in the vast chain of Taurus, and nearly in the centre between the southern extremities of the Black and the Caspian seas. Its summit is elevated 17,260 feet above the level of the sea, and is always covered with snow, as indeed is the whole mountain, for three or four months in the year. It is a very grand object, being not merely a high summit in a chain of elevated mountains, but standing as it were apart and alone; the minor mountains, which seem to branch out from it and decline away in the distance, being so perfectly insignificant in comparison, that the sublime effect of this most magnificent mountain is not at all impaired, or its proportions hidden by them. This great mountain is separated into two heads, distin guished as the Great and Little Ararat, which perhaps accounts for the plural expression, "mountains,' of the text. The heads form distinct cones, separated by a wide chasm or glen, which renders the distance between the two peaks 12,000 yards. One of them is much smaller than the other, and forms a more regular and pointed cone: it is also much lower, and its summit is clear of snow in summer. The Armenians, who have many religious establishments in its vicinity, regard the mountain with intense veneration, and are firmly persuaded that the ark is still preserved on its summit. "I do set my bow in the cloud."-The rather equivocal sense of the word "set" in English has occa sioned a very mistaken impression, which has led to some cavils, which the use of the more proper word "appoint" would have prevented. As it stands, it has been understood to say that the rainbow was at this time first produced: whereas, as its appearance is occasioned by the immutable laws of refraction and reflection, as applied to the rays of the sun striking on drops of falling rain, we know that the phenomenon must have been occasionally exhibited from the beginning of the world, as at present constituted. Accordingly, the text says no more than that the rainbow was then appointed to be a token of the covenant between God and man. Our engraving is a view of MOUNT ARARAT, from the hills above Erivan, drawn by A. W. Calcatt, from a sketch made on the spot by J. Morier, Esq. |