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SECTION I.

Of his faying in chapter thirty-fourth of the Philofophy of Hiftory, that the fecond temple is reprefented in the book of Efdras, to have had only three rows of rough ftone.

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SAYS Mr. Voltaire, in his Philofophy of Hiftory, chap. thirty-fourth, We learn in the book of Efdras, that the walls of the second temple had only 'three rows of rough ftone, and that the rest was ' of wood only. It was rather a barn than a temple.'

Now fuch indeed was the order about building it in Cyrus's decree, according to the copy thereof, which was recovered upon fearch through the repofitories at the royal palace, in the province of the Medes, as the Vulgate version relates it, Ezra, vi. 4.

That there be three rows of unpolished ftones.' And fuch alfo was the execution of the work by the Jews, according to the information, which it makes to have been sent to the Perfian monarch Darius by Tatnai, and other enemies, when they folicited him to ftop the progrefs of it, Ezra, v. 8. Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is ⚫ built with unpolished ftone.' But, mean as the fecond temple was in comparifon of Solomon's, has the Vulgate verfion reafon on its fide here? By no means; In this representation, it differs from all interpreters. For the Septuagint have in the latter paffage, choice + ftones, and in the former, ftrong, that + Εκλεκτοις, κραταίοις,

Page 162.

is, ponderous and maffive ftones. Bochart ‡ turns the term, marble ftones, adding that Jarchi, Kimchi, Aruch, Elias, and other Jewish Doctors, after the Talmudifts, put the fame meaning on the original.

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The Syriac tranflation again, with the tranflations of Junius and Tremellius, of the Zurich divines, of Caftalio, of Pifcator, and of Munster, make it, very large or heavy stones, as ours hath, great ftones; while *Jofephus, who does not tranfcribe the letter of the adverfaries of his nation into his Antiquities, but only the imperial edict, calls them, well polished or well fmoothed ftones, and the author of the apocryphal book of Ezra fays, The wall was of hewed ftones, of great coft or expence.' The truth is, the Chaldee vocable here leads us to think of stones fo vaft in fize, and enormous in magnitude, that it behoved to roll rather than carry them, conformably to the acceptation of the fame word in the Hebrew tongue. At the fame time, if we have regard to the use of the root ghelal, which answers it in the Arabic language, we may suppose it denotes stones, excellent for their nature and kind, and not merely for their bulk or quantity, by Sconfequence, ftones of high price and value. Eftius therefore, a Romish divine, as much interested as he was, for the honour of his church, to maintain the Vulgate version, renounces it

Hierozoicon, par. 2. lib. 6. cap. 16.
Antiq. 11. 4. 6. Eu eswr.

+ Cap. 6. 9. Δια λιθων ξυςων πολυτελων.

To this purpose the learned Michaelis explains it in his notes; while it is remarked in the margent of our Bibles, that the Chaldee galelim, denotes ftones of rolling,

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here, and obferves upon Ezra, v. 8. That || the word in the original does not fignify, unpolished, but great either in dimenfion, or in coft.' And Houbigant, Sa priest of the fame communion, hesitates not to render it, huge ftones. So much is Voltaire's ridicule here, of this temple's being more like a barn from its rough ftones, built upon the fingularity of the Vulgate version, and a fingularity without any good foundation; perhaps even owing to the mistake of a tranfcriber.

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Of his representing in chapter fortieth of the fame, and in other pieces, that Mofes commanded the Levites to kill twenty-three thousand, on occafion of the golden calf.

IN chapter fortieth, however, he hath committed a ftill worse fault. For he reprefents Mofes to command the Levites, to maffacre indifcriminately their brothers, to the number of twenty-three thoufand, to screen his own brother, who ought rather ' to have died, than made a golden calf to be adored, And, ftrange to relate, his brother is after this fhameful action created high-pontiff, and thirty ⚫ three thousand men are maffacred.' And afterwards,

Vid. Pol. Synopf. in loc.

Vid. Houbigant in loc. who at the fame time expreffes his aftonishment, that Le Clerc fhould make it, fquare ftones, forafmuch as the verb which conveys the idea of turning over, would rather suggest a round, than any angular or cornered form.

Phil. of History, page 186, 187.

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in the next chapter, when he gives a fummary of the Jews exterminated by their own brothers, or by the order of God himself, he says, The Levites af⚫ter the adoration of the golden calf, caft in a mould by Mofes's brother, maffacred twenty-three thoufand Jews.' In his Philofophical Dictionary alfo, he introduces learned men making an objection to thofe, who hold Mofes to have been the author of the Pentateuch, from this I ftory, Thefe murmuring Jews might have faid to Mofes-Inftead of punish'ing your worthlefs brother for the golden calf, and fetting it up for us to worship it, you make him our high-priest, and order your Levites to flay * " twenty-three thousand of your people; Would our 'fathers have tamely fuffered this?'

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But what reafon has he for affirming, that twentythree thousand were flain? For as to his making them thirty-three thousand in one claufe of the paffage firft quoted, I fuppofe this to be an accidental error of the pen or prefs, as it fwells the number ten thousand beyond what it stands in his own account

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+ Page 194.

Page 293, Article, Moses.

The fame account he gives of their number too in his Treatife of Toleration, chap. 12. page 153. where he fays, Many deceived by ⚫ the goodness and humanity of their heart, cannot believe that Mofes slaughtered three and twenty thousand fouls, to expiate this crime,' viz. of worshipping the calf. And what a pity Mr. Voltaire, by this, and many other inftances of affectation to misrepresent and ridicule the facred books, particularly thofe of the Old Teftament, fhould have difparaged this work, which otherwife might have procured him lafting honour, as a noble diffuafive from religious perfecution! How hath he, by these fallies of profane wit, filled a great number with prejudices against the principle of forbearance he aims to inculcate, who but for them might have become profelytes to it!

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of the order there, and of the execution in other
places. There is truly no ground for calling them
twenty-three thousand at all, but the Vulgate tranf-
lation. For the Hebrew text reprefents only three
thousand to have been killed, Exod. xxxii. 17.‘Mo-,
❝fes faid unto the fons of Levi, thus fayeth the Lord
God of Ifrael, put every man his sword by his fide,
? and go in and out from gate to gate through the
camp, and flay every man his brother, and every
man his companion, and every man his neighbour;
and the children of Levi did according to the word
' of Mofes, and there fell of the people that day about
three thousand men.' And in this number of the
flain, whom Le Clerc, and other commentators reckon
to have been the advisers and leaders in that defection
from the pure worship of Jehovah, by fetting up the
calf as his fymbol, the Samaritan copy, Chaldee,
Greek, Syriac, Arabic, and all verfions, do agree, ex-
cept the Vulgate, or such as may have transcribed it.
Philo moreover, who was contemporary with our
Saviour and his apoftles, makes three thousand only
to have loft their lives upon that offence; The Le-
vites, fays he, receiving the charge moft readily,
because they were difpleafed almost from the mo-
'ment they knew the tranfgreffion was committed,
'kill in a hafty (or brisk and youthful) manner three
' thousand of them, who were a little before most be-
'loved by them.' As to Jofephus, he makes no men-
tion of the extent of the havock at all, having omitted
the idolatry which gave rife to it, like fome other in-
stances of base and difhonourable behaviour, in the

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* Vid. De Vita Mofis, lib. 3. pag. 679. Par. Edit. 1640.—araya Ивибо εις τρισχιλιες των προ μικρό φιλτάτων.

ράσιν

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