The Sacred Anthology (Oriental): A Book of Ethnical Scriptures

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES.

Lao-Tsze. B C. 604.

CHINESE.

Kung Foo-tsze (Confucius), b. в C. 551, d. 479. Three of the works associated with him are compiled from books of great antiquity. e.g., The Three Kings,' among the oldest of books. Chun-Tsien (Spring and Autumn') is his original work.

Mencius. d. B.C. 288, aged 84.

PARSÍ.

Zoroaster, or Zerdusht, supposed author of most of the hymns in the Zendavesta, lived certainly as early as B.C. 1200, and some (as Spiegel) think B.C. 2000. The books of the Avesta are not all of equal antiquity, but all previous to the time of Darius.

Dábistan, by Mohsan Fani. A.C. 17th.

Desátír, of uncertain authorship, and date early in Christian era. Mainyó-i-Khard ('Spirit of Wisdom'), of uncertain date, but written in one of the earlier centuries of the Christian era, probably the 6th.

The Book of Ardá Viráf. A.C. 1321.

HINDU,

Rig-Veda-Sanhita. B.C. 1500. Some of the hymns dated by Dr Haug B.C. 2400.

Manu. This lawgiver (who must not be confused with the Manu―i.e., Father of Man-in the Vedas) lived about B.C. 1200. The Code with which his name is identified grew in extent

until collected into a form somewhat like that which it bears

at present, probably about B.C. 4th century.

Rámáyana. Dated by Professor Weber of Berlin at the Christian era, but by native scholars ascribed to a much earlier period. Mahábhárāta. B.C. 2d century. (The Bhágavat-Gita is an episode of this work.)

Hitopadesa. This work is founded on the Pańkatantra Tales. The latter, though translated from the Sanskrit about A.C. 6th century, contains tales and maxims known to have existed B.C. 246, in Buddhist Canonical books.

Cúral. Tiruvalluva, the author of the first Book, lived about A.c. 3d or 4th century. His sayings were collected later, and most of the second Book belongs probably to a.c. 9th century.

Verses of Vémana. This author lived, probably, about A.c. 12th century. The verses seem to have been collected from time to

time, and to have appeared in their present shape about a.c. 17th century.

Puránas. Though containing myths, records, and hymns of much earlier date, these works were composed within a period stretching from A.c. 10th to 8th century.

Pattanathu. This poet lived in A.c. 10th century.

BUDDHIST.

Buddha (Gotáma) was born B.c. 622.

Játakas. Purporting to have been related by Buddha himself, but when written down doubtful. The following are doubtful :

Dhammapada. B.C. 246.

White Lotus of the Good Law.

A.C.

Wheel of the Law. B.C. 3d century.

Khuddaka Patha. B.C. 250.

Katha Chari. B.C. 3d century.

Mahávansi. About A.c. 477.

Rájá-Ratnacari. A.C. 16th century.

Rájá-Vali. A.C. 4th century.

HEBREW.

The Pentateuch. Date and authorship of the several books` uncertain.

The tendency of modern criticism is to the conclusion that a large number of very ancient fragments-historical, legendary,

and poetic-were sifted, fused, or, to use Ewald's expression, compounded, into the books which we now have. Genesis, B.O. 10th; Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 8th; Deuteronomy, 7th. The later Historical Books. There is reason to believe that these passed through a process similar to the above, and that, while preserving many earlier records, they were (with certain exceptions) put together at various periods between B.C. 800 and B.C. 550. The Books of Chronicles cannot be much, if any, earlier than B.C. 330, in their present form.

The Book of Job. Late in 6th century B.C. A version probably of a Persian form of a Brahmanical story of similar character. For accounts of the Indian Job, Hárictshándra, see Weber, Zeitschrift, vii.; Schlottman's Introduction to Job; Roberts' Oriental Illustrations.

The Book of Proverbs contains the proverbs and maxims of a nation, and dating them is out of the question; but there is reason to believe that a collection-much increased since

e-was made

early in the 10th century B.C. The first nine chapters indicate one author, perhaps Solomon.

The Book of Psalms contains, with hymns of immemorial antiquity, others that belong as late as the 5th or 4th centuries B.C. The Major Prophets. Approximate dates :-Isaiah, B.C. 8th; Jeremiah, B.C. 7-6th; Ezekiel, B.C. 6th centuries.

The Twelve Minor Prophets were combined into a single volume about B.C. 300.

The Septuagint Translation. B.C. 250.

Apocrypha. Approximate dates are:-Ecclesiasticus and Book of

Wisdom, B.C. 250-300; Esdras, the four books ranging from

B.C. 150-31 (the latter date plausibly identified by Gutschmid as that of the Fourth Book of Ezra, or Esdras).

The Books of the Talmud date from B.C. 220 to A.c. 200. The Codex was completed at the close of the 5th century. Perhaps in this connection it may be well to mention the half-mythical Egyptian priest Hermes Trismegistus, the works attributed to whom are apocryphal, but contain passages which cannot have been written far from the Christian era.

CHRISTIAN.

The periods to which the Four Gospels are to be referred are subjects of warm controversy. The results of modern criticism indicate that Mark-the most primitive-was, in its present form, com

posed early in the 2d century, and Matthew somewhat later in the same century. John is dated variously between the 1st century and a.c. 160; and Luke at a still later period. The Book of Revelation, the Book of Acts, and the Epistles of Paul, belong to the 1st century of the Christian era, and are th earliest Christian documents that we have.

The Epistles to the Colossians, Hebrews, and to Timothy, and those attributed to John, Peter, and Jude, are all of uncertain date and authorship. The Epistle of James is primitive. Other epistles attributed to Paul are probably by him, and earliest.

ARABIAN.

The Sabæan Books. The Arabs regard the Sabæans as an extinct tribe of their own race, Their scriptures are known only by two extracts from them, preserved by El Wardi, the Arabic writer,

in his History of the World,' and these books are assigned a date anterior to the Christian era.

Mohammed was born A.C. 570.

The Mishkát, or Traditional Anecdotes of and Discourses by Mohammed, run from the 6th to the 8th centuries.

Shems Almaali ascended the throne of Georgia in the latter part of the 7th century A.C.

Abou-Hanifah, A.C. 7th.

Alí 'bn Ahmed. d. about A.C. 900.

Ahmed ibn Soliman (called the Sabæan heretic). A.C. 10th.
Ibn el Wardi. A.C. 14th.

SCANDINAVIAN.

The Elder Edda. This consists of ancient ballads of extreme antiquity, collected by Sæmund, a Christian priest of Iceland, in the 11th century.

The Heimskringla (or 'Circle of the Earth'). An Icelandic book, written by Snorro Sturleson in the 13th century A.C., recording early traditions of the Sea-Kings, and of the introduction of Christianity into the North.