Geologists, what shall I say to you, except to bid you shut up your stone books when you open your Bibles? We have examined five books; the following is an analysis of their contents:--Genesis relates the history of the world from its creation until the time of Abraham. This, according to some Biblical chronologists, takes in about 2,000 years, but these people do not reckon the seven days (?) in which the earth was made. After the time of Abraham, it confines itself to the Israelitish nation, whose history it continues to the time of Joseph, which, according to the same chronology, would bring us down to about a.m. 2369. From this history of the world, we can learn but little, except that religion must have commenced its tyrannical reign very early. This is proved by the general depravity of the people--a depravity often resulting from habits of superstition and ignorance. We gather the characters of the founders of the Jewish nation from Genesis, and we then wonder most profoundly. Incomprehensibility seems the proper attribute of Deity; the preference shown for the descendants of Abraham is, undoubtedly, a matter far beyond our comprehension. We can hardly understand in what points Abraham was superior to other human beings. His grandson, Jacob, seems to have been decidedly a great rascal, and his great grandchildren appear much worse than their father, but it might be that God chose them on account of their bad qualities so that the mystery might be more complete. {95} Exodus continues the history of the Jews, leaving the other nations unnoticed, except the unfortunate Egyptian nation, who suffered a series of terrible punishments at the hands of the Deity. We may here admire the mercy and loving kindness of the omnipotent and immutable Ruler of the universe, as shown in the history of the plagues and drownings of the Egyptians. This book brings down the history to about a.m. 2550. The chronologists slightly differ as to the exact date. Leviticus is limited almost wholly to legislative enactments. The purpose of many of the laws is not at all clear. No moral or physical evil is apparently likely to result from eating an eel, yet eels are prohibited as articles of food. The whole of Leviticus may be disregarded without loss in an historical point of view, and of its statutes we can but say, that many of them are better honoured by neglect than by observance.