History of the Hebrew Commonwealth

hold the test of further critical investigation, it will not be strange; for what history, so various and important as this, has been composed at any time, except under special Divine guidance, of which it could be said, that it contained no mistakes? If the writer has committed mistakes, he has, at least, furnished his readers with references to such sources as may enable them to make the requisite corrections. And this is all that we can reasonably ask of any writer who has bestowed as much labour and time on a work which he publishes as he could possibly bestow.

I would urge it upon every theological student, in a particular manner, to make himself familiar with this work throughout. It is impossible that he should not reap the benefit of such an acquisition.

could not be separated from his work without more labour than it would cost to write a new history. The second destruction of the Jews under Adrian, about half a century after the first, was more dreadful than the first; and it makes a crisis in their history, to which a student naturally wishes to come before he stops in his investigations. On this account the Appendix is desirable. The account, also, of the subsequent dispersions of the Jews, which is superadded, will be found to be useful.

In regard to the Translation. It was undertaken by MR. STOWE, at my request; and it is performed in a manner which entirely satisfies me, and which, I hope, will satisfy the public.

I shall merely add the expression of my earnest hope and wish, that MR. STOWE may find his labours acceptable to the public; and that this book, on which he has expended so much time and pains, may prove to be as useful and important as those have deemed it who have been concerned with bringing it before the world in its present form.

In regard to the Appendix, it may be said that it fills up a chasm in the history of the Jews which it is desirable to have supplied. Basnage is a discursive, loose writer, as to style; but on the whole a sober-minded man, and by no means destitute of critical ability. One might well spare the putid fables and stories of Rabbins ANDOVER, THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, which he has so copiously inserted; but they

Nov. 7, 1828.

M. STUART.

ADVERTISEMENT.

It is the duty of a translator, to give a faithful representation of his author's meaning, without violating the purity of his own language. In executing the following work, I have uniformly endeavoured to make this principle my guide; but I have found it more difficult to adhere to it, than I supposed it would be before I commenced the task. There is such a total diversity in the whole mode of constructing sentences, in the German and English languages, that it is no easy achievement for a translator to do justice to himself, and at the same time, remain faithful to his original. I hope, however, I can venture to say, that I have not failed, in any important instance, to give a true expression of my author's meaning; but I must leave the reader to judge how far I have succeeded in preserving the purity of the English language.

In the course of the work, a few slight alterations were deemed expedient, which may be seen and appreciated by those who will take the trouble to compare the translation with the original. Most of the references to Scripture have been re-examined, and numerous errors in them corrected; and the same has been done in regard to references to the classics, so far as I could have access to the proper editions. In the original, these references are all intermingled with the text; but in the translation, they have been reI moved to the end of each section,* in order to prevent the interruption occasioned by the former

In this edition these references have been restored to their former places.-ENG. ED.

method. To assist the reader in the investigation of the prophecies of the Old Testament, I have taken pains to prepare an Index of all those illustrated in this book.

The translation of Jahn was nearly through the press, when Professor Stuart suggested the propriety of continuing the narrative down to the reign of Adrian. This seemed necessary to a complete view of the history of the Hebrews, as that was the time when their national existence actually terminated. It was, therefore, my earnest wish to continue the history; but my health being then so much reduced that I could not undertake the task myself, I requested a friend to furnish me with a translation of that part of Basnage's "Histoire des Juifs," which relates to this period. The result of his labours will be seen in the Appendix.

I cannot conclude without expressing my obligations to Professor Stuart for the interest which he has taken in this work, and for the encouragement which he has afforded me in the execution of it.

I would also cheerfully acknowledge the assistance which I have received from Professor Gibbs of New Haven, whose judicious and welltimed criticisms enabled me to correct many errors and supply several deficiencies, in the first sheets of the translation.

CALVIN E. STOWE.

ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Nov. 7, 1828.