and poisonous. Consequently the longevity of the antediluvians cannot be justly attributed to the second cause given. 9. As to the opinion, that the long lives of those men were but natural consequences of the peculiar strength of their stamina, or first principles of their bodily constitutions, we are willing to receive it as a concurrent though not an adequate cause; for Shem, who received his birth before the deluge, and possessed all the virtues of the antediluvian constitution, fell short of the age of his forefathers by three hundred years, because the greatest part of his life was passed after his egression from the ark.

10. From these considerations, therefore, we are inclined to impute this longevity rather to the salubrious constitution of the antediluvian air, than to any other cause; and upon the supposition that this air became contaminated and unwholesome after the flood, it will appear consistent that the pristine crasis of the human body should have been gradually broken; and that the life of man should consequently have been shortened, in successive ages, to the present common standard.

11. Whether men were permitted to regale on the flesh of animals before the flood, is a question that has been long and frequently controverted. Those who imagine it was unlawful before that period, found their opinion upon God's assigning vegetables for food to man and beasts at the creation; and upon the express permission which Noah received, to eat flesh after the deluge ;-and those who entertain a contrary opinion, imagine that animal food was included in the general grant of dominion given to Adam, over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and every living thing that moved upon the earth; and indeed this supposition receives a great degree of strength from the fact, that beasts were divided into clean and unclean before the flood; and that animals were then also sacrificed to the Deity.

12. With regard to commerce, it was, in all probability, carried on with greater facility before the flood, than after

What objection to the supposition of its being caused by natural vigor of constitution?-If neither of these can be considered an adequate cause of their longevity, to what more probable cause can we assign it?-Were men permitted before the flood to feed on the flesh of animals?-What reason can be given against it ?-What reason can be given in favor of the supposition?

wards; as there was but one language in the world. Yet it is evident they had no idea of navigation, and of extending their trade to remote parts, by the assistance of any kind of vessels; or otherwise some families might certainly have escaped the flood besides the patriarch Noah. Indeed it is sufficiently obvious, that commerce, however it might be conducted, was not as necessary at that time as it has been since, not only because the wants of men have been greatly increased, in proportion to the injury which the earth and its various productions received from the overwhelming flood that was brought upon it; but also because they resided together in greater numbers, and could easily obtain every article they desired, by bartering with their nearest neighbors.

THE WORLD CONTEMPLATED AT A

DISTANCE.

'Tis pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat
To peep at such a world; to see the stir
Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd;
To hear the roar she sends through all her gates
At a safe distance, where the dying sound
Falls a soft murmur on th' uninjur'd ear.
Thus sitting, and surveying thus at ease
The globe and its concerns, I seem advanc'd
To some secure and more than mortal height,
That liberates and exempts me from them all.
It turns submitted to my view, turns round
With all its generations; I behold

The tumult and am still. The sound of war
Has lost its terrors ere it reaches me;
Grieves, but alarms me not. I mourn the pride
And avarice that make man a wolf to man ;
Fear the faint echo of those brazen throats
By which he speaks the language of his heart,
And sigh, but never tremble at the sound.
He travels and expatiates; as the bee

Is it supposed that the antediluvians were acquainted with ship navigation, as we are?-Can a particular reason be assigned against the supposition, and what is it?

From flower to flower, so he from land to land;
The manners, customs, policy, of all,

Pay contribution to the store he gleans;
He sucks intelligence in every clime,
And spreads the honey of his deep research
At his return-a rich repast for me.
He travels, and I too. I tread his deck,
Ascend his topmast, through his peering eyes
Discover countries, with a kindred heart
Suffer his woes, and share in his escapes;
While fancy, like the finger of a clock,
Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

1. It is not, in the least, to be doubted, that Noah and his amily, for some years after the flood, continued to reside in the neighborhood of the mountains of Armenia, where the ark had rested. But his descendants, in course of time, having a numerous progeny, the greater part of them quitted this place, and, directing their course eastward, came at length to the plains of Shinar, on the banks of the river Euphrates. Attracted by the convenience of its situation, and the natural fertility of the soil, they resolved not to proceed any further, but to make this their fixed place of residence. 2. Having formed this resolution, in order to render themselves famous to future generations, they determined to erect a city, and in the city a building of such stupendous height as should be the wonder of the world. Their principal motives in doing this, were, it is supposed, to keep themselves together, in one body, that by their mutual strength and councils, as the world increased, they might bring others under their subjection, and thereby become masters of the universe.

3. The idea of the intended tower gave them the most singular satisfaction, and the novelty of the design induced

Is it supposed that Noah and his family continued any time near the place where the ark had rested?-Where did they go, on leaving this place?-In what way did they become determined to distinguish themselves, on settling in the plains of Shinar?