The word of the Lord carries its own evidence with it. In vain have men ar mpted to counterfat it. "They may coupees the earth with their knowledge, and look through the regions of space by their inventions, but drath tenches them their frailty, and time covere their glory, The book of Monnon, an a revelation from God, possesses some adventage oner the old scriptures it has not been tinetuned by the ador of man, with bete and thete in labe word to supply doficiencies.-- It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlesmed man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spoctacles-(known, perhaps, in cient days "Temphim, or Urim and Thummin) and while it unfolds the history of the first in- habitabts that settled this continent, it, at the same time, brings a oneness to scrip te like the days of the apostles; and opens and explaine tho prophecies, that a child may understand the meaning of many of them, and shows how the Lord will gather his saints, even the chaldren of farel, that have been seattered over the fee of the earth, more than two thousand yours, in these last days, to the place of the nime of the Lord of boats, the mount Zion. It may be well to state, that the people of God, in ancient days, secording to the scounts of men, kept their sacred records on plates of gold, and those of lees con- quence on plates of briss, copper, wood, Ace, see Inhu's biblien archeology, Jo- his, and others, These plates wore generally made from the sixteenth to the thirty second part of an inch thick (of motil) sod something like six by eight inch- en ayaare, and fastened at the bock with throe rings through which n rod was put to carry them, or hang them. The word of the Lord, the history of the doings of he children of God, and their genealogy wis engraved in a nice workmanlice nun- ner, upon them, in Hebrew, reformed Ezyphan, Sce. Buch was the condition of the plates, from which came the book of Moron. Axmay be seenby an allision in the book of Ethet, all that wis on them is not tronalded; wherefore, as they ane cred, when the book of Monion was translated from them, they wete again hid up to the Lord, to come forth agin in his own dae time. The Ark of the cor munt contrining the sacred stone tables, was hid up to the Lond, in the ense where Moses climbed up to view the heritage of God, and was not to come forth till God received his people again into mercy, when all thean things and the clood wholl retum, and the glory of God whill feat upon his temple The prescot generation zoat with events. The poople of God ought to lift up their hearts and rejoice dat they live in this
94 § 87. MATERIALS AND INSTRUMENTS OF WRITING. scriptions, which were designed to last the longest, 1 Macc. 8: 22. 14: 20—27. 3. Stones or rocks, upon which public laws, ete. were written. Sometimes the letters engraved were filled up with lime, Exod. 24: 12. 31: 18. 32: 19. 34: 1 et seg. Deut. 27: 1—9. comp. Josh. 8: 32 et seq. Job 19: 24. 4. Tiles. The inscriptions were made upon the tiles first, and afterwards they were baked in the fire. They are yet to be found in the ruins of Babylon; others of later origin are to be found in many countries in the East. 5. The sand of the earth, in which the children in India to this day learn the art of writing, and in which Archimedes himself delin- eated his mathematical figures, comp. John 8: 1—8. If in Ezekiel 3: 1, and in Revelation 10: 9, we are informed that books were eaten, we must remember, that the descriptions are figurative, and that they were eaten in vision; and consequently are not at liberty to draw the conclusion from these passages, that any substance was used as ma- terials for writing upon, which was at the same time used for food. The, representations alluded to are symbolic, introduced to denote a communication or revelation from God. INSTRUMENTS USED IN WRITING. The instrument, commonly used for this purpose, was the style, Heb. D77, up. 1. When it was necessary to write upon hard ma- terials, as tables of stone and ass, the style was made of iron, and sometimes tipped with diamond, Jer. 17: 1. 2. The letters were formed upon tablets of wood, (when they were covered with wax,) with a style sharpened at one end, broad and smooth at the other; by means of which, the letters, when badly written, might be rubbed out and the wax smoothed down. Wax, however, was but rarely used for the purpose of covering writing- tables in such warm regions. When this was not the case, the let- ters were painted on the wood with a black tincture or ink. 3. On linen, cotton cloth, paper, skins, and parchment, the let- ters were painted with a very small brush, Heb. perhaps wang, afterwards with a reed, which was split. The orientals use this elegant instrument to the present day instead of a pen. The knife, with which the reed was split, was called mpion man, Jer. 36: 23. § 88. RESPECTING BOOKS. 95 Ink called in7, is spoken of in Num. 5: 23, as well known and common, comp. Jer. 36: 18, and was prepared in various ways, which are related by Pliny, XVI. 6. XXX. 25. The most simple, and consequently the most ancient method of preparation, was a mixture of water with coals broken to pieces, or with soot, with an addition of gum. The ancients used other tinctures also; particularly, if we may credit Cicero de Nat. Deor. II. 20. and Persius III. 11, the ink extracted from the cuttle fish, rhen, although their assertion is in opposition to Pliny. The Hebrews went so far as to write their sacred books in gold, as we may learn from Josephus, Antig. XII. 2, 11, compared with Pliny, XXXIII. 40. Books, (which are mentioned as very well known as early as Job 19: 23. Num. 21: 14. Exod. 17: 14) were written most an- ciently on skins, on linen, on cotton cloth, and the reed papyrus; and subsequently on parchment. The leaves were written over in small columns, called nimby, Jer. 36: 23. If the book were large, it was of course formed of a number of skins, of a number of pieces of linen or cotton cloth, or of papyrus, or parchment, connected together. The leaves were rarely written over on both sides, Ezek. 2: 9. Zech. 5: 1. Whether the lines were written Bovstpoon- Sóv, as in the Sigean inscription, and in the Etruscan inscriptions, might yet be determined, if the stones mentioned Josh. 8: 32, could be found. The question, whether there was any space between the words, has been discussed in my Introduction to the Old Testament, T. V. p. 1. § 98. Books being written upon very flexible materials, were rolled round a stick; and, if they were very long, round two, from the two extremities. The reader unrolled the book to the place which he wanted, vanzius zò Bißtion, and rolled it up again when he had read it, arúğas to BeBtion, Luke 4: 17—20; whence the name marg a volume, or thing rolled up, Ps. 40: 7. Isa. 34: 4. Ezek. 2: 9. 2 Kings 19: 14. Ezra 6: 2. The leaves thus rolled round the stick, which has been mentioned, and bound with a string, could be easily sealed, Isa. 29: 11. Dan. 12: 4. Rev. 5: 1. 6: 7. Those books, which were inscribed on tablets of wood, lead,
96 $ 90. ON POETRY. brass. or ivory, were connected together by rings at the back, through which a rod was passed to carry them by. NoTe.—The orientals appear to take a pleasure in giving tropical or enigmatical titles to their books. The titles prefixed to the fifty- sixth, sixtieth, and eightieth psalms, appear to be of this description. And there can be no doubt, that David's elegy upon Saul and Jona- than, 1 Sam. 1: 18, is called nup or the bow, in conformity with this peculiarity of taste.
the laws; and he gave command, that every body who came on other occasions should be sent away, which was a thing surprising, and what he did not use to do; for those that were drawn thither upon such occasions used to come to him on the fifth day, but ambassadors at the month's end. But when he had sent those away, he waited for these that were sent by Eleazar; but as the old men came in with the presents, which the high priest had given them to bring to the king, and with the membranes, upon which they had their laws written in golden letters371 he put questions to them concerning those books; and when they had taken off the covers wherein they were wrapt up, they showed him the membranes. So the king stood admiring the thinness of those membranes, and the exactness of the junctures, which could not be perceived; (so exactly were they connected one with another;) and this he did for a considerable time. He then said that he returned them thanks for coming to him, and still greater thanks to him that sent them; and, above all, to that God whose laws they ap- peared to be. Then did the elders, and those that were present with them, cry out with one voice, and wished all happiness to the king. Upon which he fell into tears by the violence of the pleasure he had, it being natural to men to afford the same indications in great joy that they do under sorrows. And when he had bid them deliver the books to those that were appointed to receive them, he saluted the men, and said that it was but just to discourse, in the first place, of the errand they were sent about, and then to address himself to themselves. He promised, however, that he would make this day on which they came to him remarkable and eminent every year through the whole course of his life; for their coming to him, and the victory which he gained over Antigonus by sea, proved to be on the very same day. He also gave orders that they should sup with him; and gave it in charge that they should have excellent lodgings provided for them in the upper part of the city. 12. Now he that was appointed to take care of the reception of strangers, Nicanor by name, called for Dorotheus, whose duty it was to make provision for them, and bid him prepare for every one of them what should be requisite for their diet and way of living; which thing was ordered by the king after this manner: he took care that those that belonged to every city, which did not use the same way of living, that all things should be prepared for them according to the custom of those that came to him, that, being feasted according to the usual method of their own way of living, they might be the better pleased, and might not be uneasy at any thing done to them from which they were naturally averse. And this was now done in the case of these men by Dorotheus, who was put into this office because of his great skill in such matters belonging to common life; for he took care of all such matters as concerned the reception of strangers, and appointed them double seats for them to sit on, according as the king had commanded him to do; for he had commanded that half 371 The Talmudists say, that it is not lawful to write the law in letters of gold, contrary to this certain and very ancient example. See Hudson's and Reland's notes here. 630
