Berith. IV. The Antiquity of Tyre. Scaliger vindicated

against Bochartus. V. Abibalus. VI. The Vanity of Phoeni-

cian Theology. VII. The Imitation of it by the Gnostics.

VIII. Of the Egyptian History. IX. The Antiquity and Au-

thority of Hermes Trismegistus. X. Of his Inscriptions on

Pillars, transcribed by Manetho. XI. His Fabulousness thence

discovered. Terra Seriadica. XII. Of Seth's Pillars in Jose-

phus; and an Account whence they were taken.

CHAP. III.

Of the Chaldæan History.

Page 23.

I. The Contest of Antiquity among Heathen Nations, and the ways

of deciding it. II. Of the Chaldæan Astrology, and the Founda-

tion of Judicial Astrology. III. Of the Zabii, their Founder,

who they were; no other than the old Chaldees. IV. Of Berosus

and his History. V. An Account of the fabulous Dynasties of

Berosus and Manetho; VI. From the Translation of the Scrip-

ture-history into Greek, in the Time of Ptolemy. VII. Of that

Translation, and the Time of it. VIII. Of Demetrius Phale-

reus. Scaliger's Arguments answered. IX. Manetho writ after

the Septuagint, proved against Kircher; his Arguments an-

swered. Of Rabbinical and Arabic Authors, and their little

Credit in Matter of History. X. The Time of Berosus enquired

into; his Writing contemporary with Philadelphus. Page 37.

I. That manifested by three evident arguments of it. (1.) The

Fabulousness of the poetical age of Greece. The Antiquity of

Poetry. II. Of Orpheus and the ancient Poets. Whence the

poetical Fables borrowed. III. The Advancement of Poetry and

Idolatry together in Greece. IV. The different Censures of

Strabo and Eratosthenes, concerning the poetical Age of

Greece; and the Reasons of them. V. (2.) The oldest Histo-

rians of Greece are of suspected Credit. Of Damastes, Aristeus,

and others; VI. Of most of their oldest Historians we have no-

thing left but their Names; of others only the Subjects they

treated of, and some Fragments. VIII. (3.) Those that are

extant either confess their ignorance of eldest Times, or plainly

discover it. Of the first Sort are Thucydides and Plutarch.

IX. Several Evidences of the Grecians' Ignorance of the true

Original of Nations. X. Of Herodotus and his Mistakes.

XI. The Greeks' Ignorance in Geography discovered; and thence

their Insufficiency as to an Account of Ancient History.

CHAP. V.

Page 51.

The general Uncertainty of Heathen Chronology.

1. The Want of Credibility in Heathen History further proved,

from the Uncertainty and Confusion in their Accounts of ancient

Times. That discovered by the uncertain Form of their Years.

II. An Enquiry into the different Forms of the Egyptian Years;

the first of thirty Days. III. The second of four Months; of

both Instances given in the Egyptian History. IV. Of the

Chaldæan Accounts, and the first Dynasties mentioned by Be-

rosus, how they may be reduced to Probability. V. Of the

Egyptian Dynasties of Manetho. Reasons of accounting them

fabulous, because not attested by any credible Authority, and re-

jected by the best Historians. VI. The opinion of Scaliger and

Vossius, concerning their being contemporary, propounded, VII.

and rejected, with Reasons against it. VIII. Of the ancient Di-

vision of Egypt into Nomi or Provinces, and the Number of

them, against Vossius and Kircher.
Page 66.

CHAP. VI.

The uncertain Epochas of Heathen Chronology.

The

1. An Account of the Defect of Chronology in the eldest Times.

Of the solar Year among the Egyptians; the Original of the

Epacts; the Antiquity of Intercalation among them. Of the

several Canicular Years: the Difference between Scaliger and Pe-

tavius considered. The certain Epochas of the Egyptian History

no older than Nabonassar. II. Of the Grecian Accounts.

Fabulousness of the heroical Age of Greece. III. Of the ancient

Grecian Kingdoms. The Beginning of the Olympiads. IV.

The uncertain Origins of the Western Nations. Of the Latin

Dynasties. The different Palilia of Rome. The uncertain

Reckoning ab Urbe condita. V. Of Impostures as to ancient

Histories. Of Annius, VI. Inghiramius, and others.
VII. Of

the Characters used by Heathen Priests. VIII. No sacred Cha-

racters among the Jews. IX. The Partiality and Inconsistency

of Heathen Histories with each other. From all which the Want

of Credibility in them as to an Account of ancient Times is

clearly demonstrated.

Page 80.

BOOK II.

CHAP. I.

The Certainty of the Writings of Moses.

In order to the proving the Truth of Scripture-history, several Hy-

potheses laid down. I. The first concerns the Reasonableness of

preserving the ancient History of the World in some certain Re-

cords, from the Importance of the Things, II. and the Incon-

veniences of mere Tradition or constant Revelation. III. The

second concerns the Certainty that the Records under Moses's

Name were undoubtedly his. The Certainty of a Matter of Fact

enquired into in general, and proved as to this Particular, IV. by

universal Consent, V. and settling a Commonwealth upon his

Laws. VI, VII. The Impossibility of an Impostor as to the

Writings of Moses demonstrated. The Pleas to the contrary

largely answered.

CHAP. II.

Page 96.

Moses's certain Knowledge of what he writ.

1. The third Hypothesis concerns the Certainty of the Matter of

Moses's History; that gradually proved: First, Moses's Know-

ledge cleared, by his Education, and Experience, and certain In-

formation. II His Education in the Wisdom of Egypt; what

that was.
III. The old Egyptian Learning enquired into; IV.

The Conveniences for it. V. Of the Egyptian Priests. Moses

reckoned among them for his Knowledge. VI. The mathe-

matical, natural, divine, and moral learning of Egypt. VII.

Their political Wisdom most considerable. VIII. The Advan-

tage of Moses above the Greek Philosophers, as to Wisdom and

Reason. Moses himself an Eye-witness of most of his History.

IX. The certain uninterrupted Tradition of the other Part

among the Jews, manifested by rational Evidence.

CHAP. III.

Moses's Fidelity and Integrity proved.

Page 107.

I. Moses considered as an Historian, and as a Lawgiver; his Fi-

delity in both proved; clear Evidences that he had no intent to

deceive in his History, Freedom from private Interest, Impar-

tiality in his Relations, Plainness and Perspicuity of Stile. II.

As a Lawgiver, he came armed with Divine Authority, which

being the main Thing, is fixed on to be fully proved from his Ac-

tions and Writings. III. The Power of Miracles the great Evi-

dence of Divine Revelation. Two grand Questions propounded.

In what Cases Miracles may be expected, and how known to be

true. No Necessity of a constant Power of Miracles in a Church:

IV. Two Cases alone wherein they may be expected. When any

Thing comes as a Law from God, and when a Divine Law is to

be repealed. The Necessity of Miracles in those Cases as an Evi-

dence of Divine Revelation asserted. V, VI, VII. Objections

answered. No use of Miracles when the Doctrine is settled, and

owned by Miracles by the first Revelation. No Need of Miracles

in Reformation of a Church.
Page 122.

CHAP. IV.

The Fidelity of the Prophets succeeding Moses.

I. An Order of Prophets to succeed Moses, by God's own Appoint-

ment in the Law of Moses. II. The Schools of the Prophets;

III. The Original and Institution of them. IV. The Cities of

the Levites. The Occasion of their first Institution. V. The

Places of the Schools of the Prophets, and the Tendency of the

Institution there to a prophetical Office. VI. Of the Music used

in the Schools of the Prophets. VII. The Roman Assamenta,

and the Greek Hymns in their solemn Worship. VIII. The

two Sorts of Prophets among the Jews, lieger and extraordinary.

Ordinary Prophets taken out of the Schools, proved by Amos

and Saul.
Page 135.

CHAP. V.

The Trial of the Prophetical Doctrine.

II.

1. Rules of trying Prophets established in the Law of Moses.

The Punishment of Pretenders. The several Sorts of false

Prophets. The Case of the Prophet at Bethel discussed. III.

The Trial of false Prophets belonging to the great Sanhedrin.

IV. The particular Rules whereby the Doctrine of Prophets was

judged. The proper Notion of a Prophet not foretelling future

Contingencies, but having immediate Divine Revelation. V.

Several Principles laid down for clearing the Doctrine of the

Prophets. 1. That immediate Dictates of natural Light are

not to be the Measure of Divine Revelation. Several Grounds

for Divine Revelation from natural Light. VI. 2. Whatever is

directly repugnant to the Dictates of Nature, cannot be of Di-

vine Revelation. VII. 3. No Divine Revelation doth contradict

a Divine positive Law, without sufficient Evidence of God's In-

tention to repeal that Law. VIII. 4. Divine Revelation in

the Prophets was not to be measured by the Words of the Law,

but by the Intention and Reason of it. The prophetical Office a

Kind of Chancery to the Law of Moses.

CHAP. VI.

Page 149.

The Trial of Prophetical Predictions and Miracles.

1. The great Difficulty of trying the Truth of prophetical Predio

tions from Jer. xviii, 7, 8. &c. Some general Hypotheses premised

for the clearing of it. II. The first concerns the Grounds why

Predictions are accounted an Evidence of Divine Revelation.

Three Consectaries drawn thence. III. The second, the Manner

of God's Revelation of his Will to the Minds of the Prophets.

Of the several Degrees of Prophecy. IV. The third is, that God

did not always reveal the internal Purposes of his Will unto

the true Prophets. V. The Grand Question propounded, How it

may be known when Predictions express God's Decrees, and when

only the Series of Causes? For the first, several Rules laid down.

1. When the Prediction is confirmed by a present Miracle.

2. When the Things foretold exceed the Probability of second

Causes. VI. 3. When confirmed by God's Oath. VII. 4.

When the Blessings foretold are purely spiritual. VIII. Three

Rules for interpreting the Prophecies which respect the State of

Things under the Gospel. IX. When all circumstances are

foretold. 6. When many Prophets in several Ages agree in the

same Predictions. X. Predictions do not express God's unalter-

able Purposes, when they only contain Comminations of Judg-

ments, or are Predictions of temporal Blessings. XI. The Case

of the Ninevites, Hezekiah, and others, opened. XII, XIII.

Of Repentance in God, what it implies. XIV. The Jewish Ob-

jections about Predictions of temporal Blessings answered. XV.

In what Cases Miracles were expected from the Prophets: when

they were to confirm the Truth of their Religion. Instanced in

the Prophet at Bethel, Elijah, Elisha, and Moses himself;

XVI. whose Divine Authority that it was proved by Miracles, is

demonstrated against the modern Jews, and their Pretences

answered.
Page 160.

CHAP. VII.

The Eternity of the Law of Moses discussed.

1. The second Case wherein Miracles may be expected; when a