Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Upon The Antiquity Of The Arabians, Their Language And Letters, And The Origin Of The Chinese A^'D Their Empire.
Tyre ; ancl Apollonius of the same place gave an account of the writings of Zeno . Their fine linen , their purple , and their glass , were superior to those of any other people ; ancl their extraordinary skill in architecture and other arts were such , that whatever was elegant or pleasing , whether in buildings , apparel , vessels , or toys , was distinguished by the epithet of Tyrian or Sidonian . Sanconiatho says that the Phoenicians made ships of burdenin which
, they sailed , in the time of Saturn , or Cronus ; and Dionysius says , this nation were the first who ventured to sea in them , for they were the greatest commercial people of all antiquity , and engrossed all the commerce of the western world . This very early and high degree of civilization justly entitles them to urge the strongest pretensions to the first use of the alphabetic characters . The Chaldaic letters are derived from the ancient Hebrewor
Sama-, ritan , which are the same , or nearly so , with the old Phoenician . The prophet Ezra is supposed to have exchanged the old Hebrew characters for the more beautiful and commodious Chaldee , which are still in use . After the flood , all mankind lived in Chaldea , till the days of Peleg . The Tower of Babel , ancl the city of Babylon , were in the nrovince
which is called Erica Arabia . Abraham did not retire from Ur , in Chaldea , to settle at Haran , in Canaan , until he was upwards of seventy years old . Berosus , the most ancient Chaldean historian , was born , as he tells us himself , during the minority of Alexander the Great . He wrote , in three books , the Chaldean and Babylonish history , and the substance of the fragments of these writings are still remaining , which comprehended also that of the Medes . He does not , however , mention
that the Chaldeans were the inventors of letters , nor did he give credence to the idea . Josephus maintains , though without sufficient evidence , that the Egyptians were ignorant of the sciences of arithmetic and astronomy before they were instructed b y Abraham , and it is probable that thc relation of the Jewish historian may have induced many succeeding writers to attribute the invention of letters to that celebrated patriarch . However , it is certain that the Syrian language was a distinct tongue in the days of Jacob ; it was also the dialect of Mesopotamia and Chaldea .
As to the arts and learning of the Syrians , they were by some anciently joined with the Phoenicians as the first inventors of letters ; certain it is that they yielded to no nation in human knowledge and skill in the fine arts . Besides , from their happy situation , they may almost be said to have been in the centre of the old world , ancl in the zenith of their empire they enriched themselves with the spoils , tribute , and commerce of the surrounding countries , far and near ; and eventually
attained to a great pitch of splendour and magnificence , which are the greatest encouragers of ingenuity and industry . The altar at Damascus , which so astonished and charmed Ahaz , king of Judah , serves as a noble specimen of the skill of the artificers . Their language , which is pretended , nay , even believed , to have been the vernacular of all the oriental tongues , was divided into three dialects . First , the Aramean ; used in Mesopotamia and bthe inhabitants of Roha or
y Edessa , of Harram , and the outer Syria . Secondly , the dialect of Palestine ; spoken by the inhabitants of Damascus , Mount Libanus , and the inner Syria . Thirdly , the Chaldee or Nabathean dialect ; the most unpolished of the three , and spoken in the mountainous parts of Assyria and the villages of Irac or Babylonia . Their letters are of two
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Upon The Antiquity Of The Arabians, Their Language And Letters, And The Origin Of The Chinese A^'D Their Empire.
Tyre ; ancl Apollonius of the same place gave an account of the writings of Zeno . Their fine linen , their purple , and their glass , were superior to those of any other people ; ancl their extraordinary skill in architecture and other arts were such , that whatever was elegant or pleasing , whether in buildings , apparel , vessels , or toys , was distinguished by the epithet of Tyrian or Sidonian . Sanconiatho says that the Phoenicians made ships of burdenin which
, they sailed , in the time of Saturn , or Cronus ; and Dionysius says , this nation were the first who ventured to sea in them , for they were the greatest commercial people of all antiquity , and engrossed all the commerce of the western world . This very early and high degree of civilization justly entitles them to urge the strongest pretensions to the first use of the alphabetic characters . The Chaldaic letters are derived from the ancient Hebrewor
Sama-, ritan , which are the same , or nearly so , with the old Phoenician . The prophet Ezra is supposed to have exchanged the old Hebrew characters for the more beautiful and commodious Chaldee , which are still in use . After the flood , all mankind lived in Chaldea , till the days of Peleg . The Tower of Babel , ancl the city of Babylon , were in the nrovince
which is called Erica Arabia . Abraham did not retire from Ur , in Chaldea , to settle at Haran , in Canaan , until he was upwards of seventy years old . Berosus , the most ancient Chaldean historian , was born , as he tells us himself , during the minority of Alexander the Great . He wrote , in three books , the Chaldean and Babylonish history , and the substance of the fragments of these writings are still remaining , which comprehended also that of the Medes . He does not , however , mention
that the Chaldeans were the inventors of letters , nor did he give credence to the idea . Josephus maintains , though without sufficient evidence , that the Egyptians were ignorant of the sciences of arithmetic and astronomy before they were instructed b y Abraham , and it is probable that thc relation of the Jewish historian may have induced many succeeding writers to attribute the invention of letters to that celebrated patriarch . However , it is certain that the Syrian language was a distinct tongue in the days of Jacob ; it was also the dialect of Mesopotamia and Chaldea .
As to the arts and learning of the Syrians , they were by some anciently joined with the Phoenicians as the first inventors of letters ; certain it is that they yielded to no nation in human knowledge and skill in the fine arts . Besides , from their happy situation , they may almost be said to have been in the centre of the old world , ancl in the zenith of their empire they enriched themselves with the spoils , tribute , and commerce of the surrounding countries , far and near ; and eventually
attained to a great pitch of splendour and magnificence , which are the greatest encouragers of ingenuity and industry . The altar at Damascus , which so astonished and charmed Ahaz , king of Judah , serves as a noble specimen of the skill of the artificers . Their language , which is pretended , nay , even believed , to have been the vernacular of all the oriental tongues , was divided into three dialects . First , the Aramean ; used in Mesopotamia and bthe inhabitants of Roha or
y Edessa , of Harram , and the outer Syria . Secondly , the dialect of Palestine ; spoken by the inhabitants of Damascus , Mount Libanus , and the inner Syria . Thirdly , the Chaldee or Nabathean dialect ; the most unpolished of the three , and spoken in the mountainous parts of Assyria and the villages of Irac or Babylonia . Their letters are of two