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scendants of this people, and St. Jerom, above 600 years after the time of which we are now speaking, declared, that they continued to speak the same language he had heard at Treves.

The remainder of those who continued in Thrace engaged afterwards in a war with Antigonus Gonatas, who reigned in Macedonia, and most of them were then destroyed. Those few who escaped either passed into Asia, and rejoined their countrymen in Galatia, or dispersed themselves into other regions, where no farther mention is made of them. In this manner ended that terrible inundation of Barbarians, after they had threatened Macedonia and all Greece with entire destruction.

a After the death of Sosthenes, who defeated the Gauls and reigned for some time in Macedonia, Antiochus, the son of Seleucus Nicator, and Antigonus Gonotas, the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, formed pretensions to that crown, which their fathers had enjoyed, one after the other. Antigonus, who, after the fatal expedition of his father into Asia, had reigned ten years in Greece, finding the state of his affairs more favourable than those of his competitor, was the first who ascended the throne, but each of them raised great armies, and contracted powerful alliances, the one to support himself in his new conquest, and the other to dispossess him. Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, having espoused the party of Antigonus on this occasion, Antiochus, when he was preparing to enter Macedonia, was unwilling to leave so powerful an enemy in his rear. Instead, therefore, of passing the Hellespont, he suddenly poured his troops into Bithynia, which then became the theatre of the war. The forces were at first so equal, that neither party would presume to attack the other, and continued for some time in that state of inaction; during which a treaty was concerted, in consequence of which Antigonus espoused Phila, the daughter of Stratonice and Seleucus, and Antiochus resigned to him his pretensions to the throne of Macedonia. In this manner he remained in peaceable possession of it, and transmitted it to his posterity, who enjoyed it for several generations, to the time of Perseus, the last of this race, who was defeated by Paulus Emilius, and divested of his dominions, which the Ranans, a few years after, formed into a province of the empire.

Antiochus, having thus disengaged himself from this war, marched against the Gauls, who, after settling in the land granted them by Nicomedes, were continually making incursions on all sides, by which they extremely incommoded a A. M. 378. Ant. J. C. 276. Memnon. apud Phot, c. xix.

A. M. 3729. Ant. J. C. 275.

their neighbours. Antiochus defeated them with great slaughter, and delivered the country from their oppression. This action acquired him the title of Soter, which signifies a deliverer.

SECT. VI.

Ptolemy Philadelphus causes the books of the Holy Scriptures to be translated into Greek.

a The tumult of the wars, which a diversity of interests had kindled among the successors of Alexander, throughout the whole extent of their territories, did not prevent Ptolemy Philadelphus from devoting his utmost attention to the noble library which he had founded in Alexandria, and wherein he deposited the most valuable and curious books he was capable of collecting from all parts of the world. This prince, being informed that the Jews possessed a work which contained the law of Moses, and the history of that people, was desirous of having it translated out of the Hebrew language into the Greek, in order to enrich his library with that performance. To accomplish this design, it became necessary for him to address himself to the high-priest of the Jewish nation; but the affair happened to be attended with great difficulty. There was at that time a very considerable number of Jews in Egypt, who had been reduced to a state of slavery, by Ptolemy Soter, during the invasions of Judea in his time; and it was represented to the king, that there would be no probability of obtaining from that people either a copy or a faithful translation of their law, while he suffered such a number of their countrymen to continue in their present servitude. Ptolemy, who always acted with the utmost generosity, and was extremely solicitous to enlarge his library, did not hesitate a moment, but issued a decree for restoring all the Jewish slaves in his dominions to their full liberty, with orders to his treasurer to pay 20 drachmas a head to their masters, for their ransom. The sum expended on this occasion amounted to 400 talents; which make it evident that 120,000 Jews recovered their freedom by this bounteous proceeding. The king then gave orders for discharging the children born in slavery, with their nothers, and the sum employed for this purpose amounted to above half the former.

These advantageous preliminaries gave Ptolemy hopes that he should easily obtain his request from the high-priest, whose name was Eleazer. He had sent ambassadors to that pontiff, with a very obliging letter on his part, accompanied

a A. M. 3727. Ant. J. C. 277.

€ About 60,000 pounds.

è About ten shillings.

with magnificent presents. The ambassadors were received at Jerusalem with all imaginable honours, and the king's request was granted with the greatest joy. Upon which they returned to Alexandria with an authentic copy of the Mo saic law, written in letters of gold, and given them by the high-priest himself, with six elders of each tribe, that is to say, 72 in the whole; and they were authorised to translate that copy into the Greek language.

The king was desirous of seeing these deputies, and proposed to each of them a different question, in order to make a trial of their capacity. He was satisfied with their answers, in which great wisdom appeared, and loaded them with.presents, and other marks of friendship. The elders were then conducted to the isle of Pharos, and lodged in a house prepared for their reception, where they were plentifully supplied with all necessary accommodations. They applied themselves to their work without losing time, and in 72 days completed the volume which is commonly called the Septuagint version a. The whole was afterwards read and approved in the presence of the king, who particularly admired the wisdom of the laws of Moses, and dismissed the 72 deputies with extremely magnificent presents; part of which were for themselves, others for the high-priest, and the remainder for the temple. Expenses of this nature, though very considerable, never ruin a state, and do a prince great honour.

The author from whom these facts are extracted is Aristæas, who represents himself as one of the officers of the guard to Ptolemy Philadelphus. He adds a number of other circumstances, which I have omitted, because they seem more improbable than those I have inserted. It is pretended that the writers, whether Jews, as Aristobulus, Philo and Josephus; or Christians, as Justin, Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, Hilary, Austin, and some others; who have employed their pens on the subject of the Septuagint version, have founded all their relations on the mere veracity of Aristaas, when the work that bears his name is thought to be a spurious piece. Some of these authors have added circumstances which are generally disbelieved, because they have too much of the marvellous in them. Philo declares, that, though their translations were made in separate apartments, yet not the least difference, either in the sense, or in the mode of expression which they used, was to be found, but that, on the contrary, they every where coincided, even to a single word; from whence he concludes, that these persons were not mere translators, but men inspired by the Spirit of

It is called the Septuagint for the sake of the round number 70, but the sa cred books were translated by 72 persons. b Philo de vita Mosis, I. ii. p. 65%.

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God, who guided them on that occasion, and dictated the whole to them, even to the minutest word. Justin, and, after him, the other Fathers already mentioned, suppose that each of the 72 interpreters performed his version in a separate cell, without the least correspondence with each other, and yet that all their translations were perfectly conformable to each other in every particular.

I have frequently declared my resolution not to enter into any historical disquisitions of this nature, which require much time and learning, and would, therefore, call off my attention too long from my principal object. The reader may consult the learned Prideaux, who has treated this subject at large. All that can be depended upon, and which no one has thought fit to contest, is, that a translation of the sacred books from the Hebrew into the Greek was made in Egypt, in the time of the Ptolemies; that we have this translation still extant, and that it is the same which was used in the time of our blessed Saviour, as most of the passages in the original Greek, cited by the sacred writers of the New Testament from the Old, are to be found verbatim in this version. It still subsists, and continues to be used in the oriental churches; as it also was by those in the primitive ages, among whom it passed for a canonical translation.

This version, therefore, which rendered the Scriptures of the Old Testament intelligible to a vast number of people, became one of the most considerable fruits of the Grecian conquests; and was evidently comprehended in the design which God had in view, when he delivered up all the East to the Greeks, and supported them in those regions, notwithstanding their divisions and jealousies, their wars, and the frequent revolutions that happened among them. In this manner did God prepare the way for the preaching, of the gospel, which was then approaching, and facilitate the union of so many nations of different languages and manners into one society, and the same worship and doctrines, by the instrumentality of the finest, most copious, and correct, language that was ever spoken in the world, and which became common to all the countries that were conquered by Alexander.

SECT. VII.

The various expeditions of Pyrrhus. He is slain at the siege of Argos.

• Pyrrhus, when he returned into Epirus, after he had en-. tirely abandoned Macedonia, might have passed his days in tranquillity among his subjects, and enjoyed the sweets of peace, by governing his people agreeably to the rules of jusa Plut. in Pyrrh. p. 390-397. Fausan. 1. i. p. 21, 22. Justin. l. xviii. c. 1, 2.

tice. But a disposition so active and impetuous as his own, in conjunction with a restless and ardent ambition, was incapable of being at rest itself, or suffering others to be so. This indisposition of mind was, in reality, a raging fever, which knew no intermission. In a word, he grew insupportable to himself, and was continually flying from himself in pursuit of foreign objects, and in following from country to country a felicity no where to be found. He therefore seized, with joy, the first opportunity that offered for plunging himself into new engagements.

a The inhabitants of Tarentum were then at war with the Romans; and, their own country not furnishing them with generals of sufficient abilities to oppose such formidable enemies, they turned their eyes toward Epirus, and despatched ambassadors thither, not only from themselves, but from all the Greeks in Italy, with magnificent presents for Pyrrhus. They had orders to tell him, that they only wanted a leader of experience and reputation; that they had a competent number of good troops, and, by only assembling the forces of the Lucanians, Messapians, Samnites, and Tarentines, were in a condition to bring an army of 20,000 horse and 350,000 foot into the field. The joy with which Pyrrhus received a proposal, so agreeable to his disposition and so conformable to his character, may be easily imagined. The Epirots, by his example, conceived a warm desire and violent passion for this war.

A Thessalian, named Cineas, was then at the court of Pyrrhus. He was a man of great judgment, and having been the disciple of Demosthenes, was distinguished from all the orators of that time, not only for coming the nearest to the force and eloquence of that great master, but for having been most successful in deriving, from so excellent a school, the solid principles and truest maxims of sound policy. This person was much attached to Pyrrhus, who had employed him on embassies to several cities with whom he had negotiations to transact. Cineas, through the whole course of these employments, confirmed, by his conduct, the truth of this expression of Euripides, "that the eloquence of an enemy is no less prevalent than his sword." And Pyrrhus accordingly declared, that he had gained more cities by the eloquence of Cineas than he could possibly have conquered by the force of arms. For this reason he entertained the greatest esteem for him, conferred many honours upon him, and employed him in the most important affairs. A man of this character is always an inestimable treasure, and would constitute the happiness of a prince and his people, were his counsels admitted to take place.

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a A. M. 3724. Ant. J. C. 280:

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