The Young-students-library containing extracts and abridgments of the most valuable books printed in England, and in the forreign journals, from the year sixty five, to this time : to which is added a new essay upon all sorts of learning ... / by the Athenian Society ; also, a large alphabetical table, comprehending the contents of this volume, and of all the Athenian Mercuries and supplements, etc., printed in the year 1691.

Seldeni Otia Theologica, &c. at Amsterdam: in quatuor Libris.

THis Work is very Curious, and very a∣greeable to those that don't care for the trouble of gathering dispers'd Materi∣als together: The Author, who is very Learned, and has read much, spares them the trouble, and gives them his Opinion, as well as that of many others upon a great Number of Critical Questions in Di∣vinity. Thus I ought to call the Subject of this great Treatise: For altho' he there explains some places of Divinity generally receiv'd, he does it not after the way of the Schools; he very ingeniously discourses upon sacred and prophane Antiquity: Be∣sides that, the generality of the Examina∣tions entirely respect certain Persons, or matters of Fact, which the Scripture speaks of, or of certain things which are different from common receiv'd Notions in Divini∣ty.

As to what regards the Sentiments of the Author, we ought to acknowledge this on his behalf, that he proposes them with much modesty, and makes use of that ho∣nest liberty which Men of Learning may safely do.

He is very exact in citing those that he borrows any thing from, and desires the Reader not to take this exactness as an Ostentation of his Learning, which certain∣ly is a better way than barely to cite such Authors as are serviceable to him.

He divides his Work into four Parts, which in all contain forty one Dissertati∣ons, in each of which many different Sub∣jects are Treated on, as happens in Persons who know much, or who wou'd divert the Reader with variety of Objects. We shou'd almost make a Book it self, if we shou'd speak to every one of the Dissertations: It shall suffice to give the Analysis of the first; where it is examined who was the first Writer, and a Judgment may be made of the rest by this Piece.

The first thing this Author does, is to relate the Dispute formerly rais'd amongst the Doctors, concerning the Prophecy of Enoch, which the Apostle St. Iude makes mention of: Some said this Patriarch's Pro∣phecy was committed to Writing, others maintain the contrary; many Fathers, and especially St. Augustin, was of the first Opi∣nion, they often spoke of the Book of Enoch: Some have made no difficulty to hold it as Canonical, and wou'd prove by it that the Angels begat the Giants, by the Commerce they had with Women. There are some which say the Prophecy of Enoch contained four thousand and eighty two Lines, and that it spoke of all that shou'd happen to the Posterity of the Patriarchs, of the Crimes and Chastisements of the Iews, of the Death that they shou'd make the Messiah suffer, of their being dispersed through all the World, and of the second Coming of Jesus Christ to judge Mankind. They also pretended they found many Ma∣thematical Opinions, and that Noah had taken a great deal of Care to secure this Work in the Ark.

After that the Author relates also many more ridiculous Fancies; some have said that the Angel Raziel, Tutor to Adam, gave him a Book containing all Sciences, and that after he was put out of the Garden of Eden he had it again, suffering him to touch it at his humble Entreaties. Others say that Adam did not receive this Book 'till after he had sinned, then having be∣sought God Almighty to grant him some

small Consolation in the unhappy State he had reduced himself to; they say, that three days after he had thus begg'd of God, the Angel Raziel brought him a Book, which discovered to him all the Secrets of Na∣ture, the Power how to Command both good and bad Angels, and the four parts of the Earth, of Interpreting Dreams and Prodigies, and foretelling whatsoever was to happen in the time to come: They say also that this Book pass'd from Father to Son, 'till it fell into the Hands of Solomon, and that it gave to this learned Prince the Virtue of Building the Temple, by means of the Worm Zamir, without making use of any Instrument of Iron.

Mr. Selden afterwards speaks of those two Celebrated Pillars that some say the Suc∣cessors of Seth built, to engrave upon them the Discoveries that they made in the Sci∣ences. He also speaks of the suppositious Books of Enoch and Noah, that Postulus forg'd in the last Age; of the Book that Philo makes mention of as Abraham's, which was Translated from Hebrew into Latin by Ritangelius; of the Book that is entituled The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the Fable of the Rabbini, who said God writ his Law two thousand Years before the Creation of the World: He might have added to all these Fabulous Works, the Testament of Iacob, the Ladder of Ia∣cob, (which was a Book very much esteem'd amongst certain Hereticks call'd Ebionites) the Books of Enoch upon the Elements, and some other Philosophical Subjects; those of Noah upon the Mathematicks, and Sacred Ceremonies; those that they attri∣buted to Abraham teaching Philosophy in the Valley of Mamre to those he lead a∣gainst the five Kings that had taken Lot his Nephew Prisoner. Father Kircher says, that the Abyssins pretended to have all these Books, and a great Number of others, in the Library of the Monastery of the Holy Cross upon Mount Amara, and that the Queen of Sheba received them as a Present from Solomon. They pretend more∣over, that she Composed many Books that they have in the same Library, and that she had a Son born by Solomon, who was Prince Melilech, that had also Compos'd many Books they had in the same place. Those who cannot get the Works of Fa∣ther Kircher, may find what I have said, in a Treatise of Bibliotheques publish'd 1680. If the Abyssines had only said that Solomon gave many Books to the Queen of Sheba, and that he lay with her, they wou'd have said nothing so very improbable; for a Prince so Learned as he was, and which is more, an Author of such a multitude of Books, wou'd not without doubt, send a∣way a Princess so Curious as the Queen, without giving her a Copy of his Works, and some other rare Treatises: Besides, he hated not the Sex, and perhaps she was touched with the same desire, and a long time after that obliged the Queen of the Amazon•• to make a Visit to Alexander. And it is apparent enough that Solomon had as much Complaisance as the King of Mace∣don: But these are things which are so in∣significant, that all the World may be permitted to believe what they please of it.

The Author then considers the Vanity of the Egyptians, who gave 100000 Years Antiquity to their Writings, and sends us to St. Augustin, who refutes them in his eighteenth Book of the City of God, the 29th. Chapter. He relates what was said of Zoroaster, concerning the making of a Book entituled The Similitude, which was edged with Gold, and required for a Co∣vering twelve hundred and sixty Oxes Hides; some think this Zoroaster was Cham the Son of Noah. He omits not that it was said of Trismegistus, that he had Com∣posed twenty five thousand Volumes, or else thirty six thousand five hundred and twenty five; and that the Science of the Egyptians, in which Moses was so well Vers'd, was contained in this great Num∣ber of Books, and that Moses himself took some thoughts from 'em to insert in the Pentateuch. He forgets not likewise to speak of the Sybil, Daughter (or rather Daughter-in-Law) to Noah, nor the Book of Iob, according to some writ before Mo∣ses; for there are some which pretend that Moses found it perfect at Iethro's his Fa∣ther-in-Law, in the Land of Midian, and thinking it proper to Comfort the Israe∣lites in their Misery, he took it with him into Egypt to show it them. Mr. Huet dissents from this Opinion, and believes only that Moses Composed the History of Iob during the Servitude of his Brethren, to the end to propose to them a great Ex∣ample of Patience and Hope.

After all these ridiculous and fabulous Traditions, the Author concludes that there is great probability that the Custom of writing Books was in use before Moses's time, but nevertheless that the Pentateuch is the most Ancient of all Canonical Books, and even of all Books whatsoever that are now extant. He maintains that the Pro∣phecy of Enoch was not written, and that St. Iude had no knowledge of it, only by inspiration; that the Book that formerly bore the Name of this Patriarch, was made by some Cheat, and that St. Augustin did not well consider the Text of the Apostle, since he makes him say that Enoch writ Prophecies. He makes the same Judgment of the other Works that go under the Name of the Patriarchs: As to the two Pil∣lars of the Descendants from Seth, he is of their Opinion who conclude it to be one of the oversights of Iosephus; he also takes occasion by this to reproach him with ha∣ving corrupted the sense of a Passage of Moses to flatter the Idolaters; 'tis where he * 1.1 says that Mo∣ses forbid the speaking ill of the Gods of other Nations, and the de∣stroying their Temples. As to what con∣cerns Zoroaster, the Author says that we

have no certainty, and after having rela∣ted a long passage of Mr. Huet's, who believ∣ed he should find Moses not only in Zoro∣aster, but also in all the false Gods, and in all the first Heathen Poets, he gives his own Judgment upon this Opinion with much equity. He shows after that by a Passage of Eusebius's, that Moses having lived in the time of Cecrops, the first King of the Athenians, he was before the most ancient Greek Poets, Orpheus, Linus and Museus, and gives the Reason why some maintain∣ed that Cecrops and Moses was the same Person. He says also, that nothing cer∣tain can be established concerning the Hi∣story of Mercurius Trismegis••us••. He gives the Title of some of his Works which Cle∣ment of Alexandria has spoken on, and sends us to Causabon, where we may see that instead of Moses's Copying any thing from the Egyptians, it must be confess'd that all the wise Heathens have borrow∣ed something from him: The Work that he cites of Causabon's is the 10th. Ar∣ticle of the Exercitations against the Annals of Baronius; Causabon justifies that the Pi∣mander of Trismegistus was writ since the Apostles time, by one that was half Chri∣stian and half Platonick. In ••••ne, Mr. Sel∣den observes, that that Treatise of Origen's is a suppositious Work, which says the Book of Iob was found in the House of Moses's Father-in-law. Our Author refutes those that believed Iob was the same with Iobab, in the 36th. Chapter of Genesis, who was the great Grand-son of Esau: He does not believe Iob Composed his History him∣self, because it is writ in Verse, and he does not disapprove the Opinion of Mr. Huet upon it, who says that Moses having Collected divers Memoirs which were in Manuscript, concerning the Life of Iob, and heard upon that the Relation of many Persons, composed a Work with all these Materials. We shall hardly give Credit to this Proof that the Author makes use of; for altho' he had a very great reason to say, that a Man in such Afflictions as Iob was, cou'd not entertain his Friends in Verse, yet a Poetical Discourse is as likely on this oc∣casion as in those that are recited in Tra∣gedies, or sung in Opera's; yet it is not im∣probable that Iob himself, after his Affairs were re-established, might give the Histo∣ry of his Misfortunes in Verse. This is an Abridgment of Mr. Selden's first Dissertati∣on, which is about eighteen Pages.

In the second he examines whether Mo∣ses was the Author of the Pentateuch, and answers in the affirmative, and refutes the Objections of Spinoza. He thinks it very unadvised that some writ in Dutch against this impious Author; because, says he, this wou'd make us fear, that the Curiosity of the People wou'd be stirr'd up, if these Disputes were manag'd in a Language that they understood not.

I believe that our Author speaks prin∣cipally in respect to the Philosophical Works of Spinoza; many think it strange that some Learned Men have not solidly refuted them; but others on the contrary say, that it's better to make no Answer to 'em at all in any Tongue, least a Man in∣differently Vers'd in the Sciences should op∣pose him, and not know how to refute what he undertakes; or if it be an ingenious Man, by discovering this Doctrine he wou'd render it more dangerous; because all those that have the impertinent Vanity to desire to pass for followers of Spinoza, altho' they understand him as little as they do Arabick, will become in effect what they have yet only the Name of, if these impieties are made more easie to be apprehended. It is better therefore to suffer them to conti∣nue in that impenetrable darkness which the Author has left them in, and not to seek any other Antidote than their own Obscu∣rity. Mr. Selden also makes many remarks upon the Critical History of the Old Te∣stament: Least the Extract should be too long, I shall content my self with speaking of these things, and make an end after ha∣ving observ'd the chief Subjects of the o∣ther Dissertations. There is one touching Pre-Adamites, another of Self-Love; ore upon the Waters of Jealousie, which gives him occasion to speak of many Proofs of Chastity us'd in divers places: One upon the 18th. Verse of the 23d. Chapter of Deu∣teronomy, where God forbids the offering the Hire of an Harlot or Price of a Dog: One upon the White Stone that Jesus Christ pro∣mises in the Apocalypse to those that shall overcome: One upon the Thorn that St. Paul felt in the Flesh; another upon the Terrestrial Paradice: One upon the Fratri∣cide of Cain: One upon Polygamy: One upon Iudas Iscariot, in which the Author de∣claring for the Opinion of Priceus, incurrs the Censure of Mr. Gronovius: One upon Excommunication; another upon the Pri∣viledges of those that the Jews call'd Zelo∣ta's, who in certain Cases might unreveng'd kill in cool Blood, upon which the Author speaks very finely according to Selden: One upon the Divinity of the Book of Est∣her: One upon Eunuchs: One upon God∣fathers; another upon the Obligation of an Oath, &c. As Mr. Selden adds to each of his Questions whatsoever he has met with that is Curious, we may very well believe that there is a very fine Mixture. The Dis∣sertation about the White Stone ends with reflections upon the Philosophers Stone, be∣cause some Philosophers have said that this White Stone was nothing else but that great Work. He relates a pleasant Story upon Pope Leo X. A certain Chymist presented him with a Stone, whereby he pretended he had ••ound out the manner of making Gold, in expectation of receiving a magnificent Reward from him: the Pope sent him a great empty Purse, with this Message, That since he knew how to make Gold, he had no need of any thing else but a place to put it in. The Dissertation upon Self-Love speaks of a Book of the famous Madam Schurman, entituled 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, where she gives the reason of her

retreat, and of her joyning her self to the Schism of Labbidia.

All those who have heard of the extraor∣dinary Qualities of this Gentlewoman, know not that she dy'd a Schismatick; the World takes occasion from thence, and some other examples, to insult over all Learned Wo∣men; the least thing that they can say of them is, that they have lost their Wits: The truth is, this can only be said of 'em, because People generally love 'em better when they have had a trifling Education, since such Women are more easily mortify'd than others.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Autiquit. Iud. l. 4. cap. ult.