A. C. mous prince protected the Jews, and A. R. Ezr. vii. in his twentieth year, memorable for

viii.

Nehem.

ii.

its confequences, he permitted Nehe454 miah to rebuild Jerufalem with her 300 walls. This decree of Artaxerxes differs from that of Cyrus, in that Cyrus's related to the temple, and this was made for the city. At this decree, Dan. ix. forefeen by Daniel, and mentioned in

25.

his prophecy, the 490 years of his weeks commence. This important date has very folid foundations. The banishment of Themiftocles is placed by Eufebius's chronicle, in the last year of the 76th Olympiad, which anfwers to the 280th of Rome. Other chronologifts bring it a little farther down the difference is inconfiderable, and the circumftances of time confirm Eufebius's date. They are taken from Thucyd. Thucydides, a moft accurate hiftorian; b. 1. and this grave author, almost cotemporary, as well as fellow-citizen, with Themiftocles, makes him write his letter in the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes. Cornelius Nepos, an ancient and judicious, as well as elegant author, admits no doubt of this date. Nep. in after the authority of Thucydides; an argument fo much the more folid, that another author, ancienter ftill than Thucydides, entirely agrees with him.

Corn.

Themift.

And

A. C. And that is Charon of Lampfachus, A. R
Plut. in quoted by Plutarch; and Plutarch
Them. himself adds, that the annals, meaning

thofe of Perfia, are conformable to these
two authors. He does not, however,
follow them, but gives us no reason for
it; and the historians, who begin the
reign of Artaxerxes eight or nine years
later, are neither of that time, nor of
fo great authority. It appears there-
fore unquestionable, that its beginning
is to be placed towards the end of the
76th Olympiad, and near the 208th
year of Rome, whereby the twentieth
year of that prince muft fall towards
the end of the 81ft Olympiad, and
about Rome's 300th year. In fine,
those who caft the beginning of Artax-
erxes' reign lower, to reconcile authors,
are reduced to fuppofe, that his father
had, at least, affociated him in the king-
dom, when Themiftocles wrote his
letter; and which way ever it is, our
date is afcertained. This foundation
being laid, the reft of the computation
is eafy, which the fequel will make
evidently appear. After the decree of
Artaxerxes, the Jews laboured hard in-
rebuilding their city and its walls, as
Daniel had foretold. Nehemiah con- Dan. iz..
ducted the work with great prudence 25.
and refolution, amidst all the oppofiti-

on.

A. C. on made by the Samaritans, Arabians, A. R and Ammonites. The people strenuoufly exerted themselves, and Eliashib the high priest animated them by his example. Mean time the new magiftrates, that had been given to the Roman people, fomented the divifions of the city; and Rome, formed under kings, wanted the laws neceffary for the good conftitution of a commonwealth. The reputation of Greece, ftill more celebrated for its government than for its victories, moved the Romans to take from thence their pat452. tern. So they fent deputies to ftu- 302. dy the laws of the cities of Greece, and especially those of Athens, which were the most agreeable to the state of their 451. republic. Upon this model, ten abfo- 303. lute magiftrates, who were created the year after under the name of De

450. cemvirs, digefted the laws of the 304.. twelve tables, which are the foundation of the Roman law. The people, charmed with the equity with which they compofed them, fuffered them to ingrofs the fupreme power, which they 449. used in a tyrannical manner.

Great. 305.

commotions were now occafioned by
the incontinence of Appius Claudius,
one of the Decemvirs, and by the mur-
der of Virginia, whom her father chofe

rather

Neh. xiii.

Deut.

xxiii. 3.

A. C. rather to kill with his own hand, than A. R fuffer her to be prostituted to Appius's paffion. The blood of this fecond Lucretia rouzed the Roman people, and the Decemvirs were expelled. While the Roman laws were forming under the Decemvirs, Ezra, a doctor of the law, and Nehemiah, governor of God's people, newly re-established in Judea, were reforming abufes, and inforcing the obfervance of the law of Mofes by their example as well as authority. One of the principal articles of their reformation was, to oblige all the people, and particularly the priests, to put away the ftrange wives, whom they had married contrary to the law. Ezra put the facred: books into order, accurately revised them, and collected the ancient me-moirs of the people of God, to compofe the two books of the Paralipomena, or Chronicles, whereto he added the hiftory of his own time, which was finished by Nehemiah. Their books. conclude that long hiftory begun by Mofes, and uninterruptedly continued by fucceeding authors down to the rebuilding of Jerufalem. The reft of sacred history is not written in the fame order. While Ezra and Nehemiah were forming the laft part of that great

work,

A. C. work, Herodote, by profane authors A. R.
called the father of hiftory, began to
write. Thus the last authors of sacred
history coincide with the firft authors
of the Grecian hiftory; and when it
begins, that of the people of God, to
take it only from Abraham, included
already fifteen centuries. Herodote could
not make any mention of the Jews
in the history he has left us; and the
Grecians had no need to be informed
of any people but such as war, com-
merce, or renown made known to
them. Judea, which was beginning
⚫ with difficulty to rife from its ruins,
attracted no regard. It was in those
unhappy times that the Hebrew tongue
ceafed to be common. During the
captivity, and afterwards by the com-
merce the Jews were obliged to have
with the Chaldeans, they learned the
Chaldaic language, which was very
near a-kin to their own, and had al-
moft the fame idiom. For this reafon
they changed the ancient figure of the
Hebrew letters, and wrote the Hebrew
with Chaldaic characters, which were
more in use among them, and easier to
be formed. This change was easy be-
tween two neighbouring languages,
whose letters had the fame power, and
differed only in fhape. From that.time

we