INTRODUCTION.

THE artist who excels in sculpture or painting," says a living genius, "must be altogether animated or inspired with one great and in-dwelling idea, which occupies his whole soul." If this be true as regards the artist, the same intensity and individuality of sentiment and conception, must belong in general to every man whose mind is voluntarily devoted to mental labour. The author or the artist may be more or less elevated; but the same individuality of feeling, and the same individuality of pursuit, are peculiar to both. And, even in the humblest sphere of literature, there will be found a central point, round which either the feelings of the heart or the intellect of the man continually revolve; to which all other occupations are made subordinate, and of which the "writings wherein he embodies his spirit, are but the ministers, interpreters, and tools."

It is the consciousness of this sentiment, less vividly felt, indeed, than the author whom we have quoted has expressed it, which must form our apology for the compilation of an abbreviated history of the empire of Assyria. Whatever stands connected with the volume of inspiration-the centre round which the Christian's thoughts revolve-or with the divine administration of providence, whether in the earlier or later ages of the world, presents subjects of most interesting

investigation to the pious stulent and that book which is the perpetual fountain of his hopes, con¬ì tains within itself, the elements of the history of so many nations, that there is a kind of necessity! laid a upon him to examine all other annals, before he can arrive at the complete elucidation of [obło jects which, in their nature, possess an eternal and exhaustless interest.lt ni izraqib risdt

To the Christian accustomed to the continual contemplation of eternity as the object of his de sire the end of his being the destiny of his spirit the past, however remote, assumes à near, ness and proximity, which, in comparison of othe eternal future, is as nothing. He delights to res cur to the earliest operations of God in provis dence, and wonders at that sleepless eye which watched over all the doings of the nighty and the merciless of old; and, adores that great Beingi who, in the exercise of supreme rule, "gave Is, rael for a spoil, and Jacob to the robbers," but who also brought again their captivity as streams in the south." teor quo fomos i bazene -But we shall not here anticipate the reflections which will naturally boccur in the course of cour narrative, further than to say, that it is as the fate of Israel and Judah stands connected with the Assyrian empire, that we have chosen this portion sofsancient history as a fit subject for the instruction of our young readers.We have no claim to any preference for our little work, over sthose authors from whom othe facts it contains -have been derived, except an endeavours to pretent them in a more popular form, divested of

many of the technicalities of antiquarianismitandi freed from the various reasonings and inductions with which more dignified historians necessarily loait their learned lucubrations.li eroiton yasm oz 9The captivity of the Jews, in the earlier period! of their history, illustrates the doctrines of the dovenant of grace as pointedly and explicitly as their dispersion, in the later period of their exis tence, illustrates the truth of divine prophecy. And the same sentiments of inconsolable sorrow for their banishment to Babylon, and absence from Jerusalem, which were felt in the days of Jecomias and Zedekiah, are still characteristic of the nation, in an exile, which, in comparison of the seventy years captivity, has been as seventy times seven.! It is this hereditary and eternal devotion of heart towards his native country, which has given to the Jew, in every stage of his wretch edness, a sublimity of moral feeling, that even in his lowest depths has still made him exalted!ostT

It has been said, that the Roman people pos sessed in common, one great and magnificent idea which stamped upon all their writings something of the grandeur and dignity of the subject; and that this one idea was the majesty of Rome,

for ever remarkable for the universal Idominion with which she ruled the world. But thoughwe concede to the Romans this perpetual adulation of their country this unceasingo idolatry of her power and glory, we cannot permit them to boast of an exclusive patriotism! The veneration of the eternal city," as it has been impiously denominated, has passed away in her degradation} while

a people who made nobsuelt presumptuous prez telisions to the dominion of the whole world, still say, after many a century of exile, dfforget thee, O Jerusalem But the supposition is incredible to The thought is insupportable nend

There was another cityson the earth that sonde boasted as splendid an empire as the later mistress of the world,- as wide a sway, as mighty a dominion and, though not one vestige of her literature or her arts are visible or intelligible to man, the history of her achievements is still extant and as in her pride, voluptuousness, and idolatry, she symbolizes with catholic Rome, her fate may teach a monitory lesson,that the same moral elements will eventually issue ling the same irremediable ruin, eh or oldean food ovad

This city so long forgotten, was by her own mighty monarch denominated the great Babylon, built for the glory of his kingdom, and the hon our of his majesty. The Jewish prophets des signated her as the golden eity-the lady of kingdoms the glory of kingdoms the beauty of the Chaldee's excellency. And, while Hebrew poetry has apostrophised or depicted her ruler un→ der every figure of power, and majesty and splen dour, and terrorit has also portrayed him by many a similitude of inimitable beauty:“ Be hold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature, and his top was among the thick boughs. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their

young, and under his shadow dwelt all, great un, tions. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide thim: the fir-trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut-trees were not like his branches, not any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty."

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From the testimony of Scripture alone, there fore, had history been altogether silent on the subject, there can no reasonable doubt be enter tained of the magnificence and magnitude of the Assyrian dominion. As an empire, she ruled over the whole extent of Asia from the Mediter ranean to the Indus; and over Egypt from Migdol to Syene. And though geographers have defined the limits of some of her provinces, they have been unable to define the boundaries of her wide extended rule.

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The details of the stupendous works for which Babylon was celebrated, have been either cousidered as greatly exaggerated, or as altogether fabulous. On this subject, though we would not presume to hazard any new theory, we may be permitted simply to express our opinion. We conceive that the objection generally made to the truth of these details, contains in itself the only legitimate reason for believing them, namely, the nearness of their erection to the era of the deluge. For is it not probable that the inhabit tants of the antideluvian world, whose separate existences tardily evolved through the days and years of many a century, would necessarily engage in works of gigantic and colossal magnitude, to occupy the time and attention of a period of