Part XIV.

The Chddaic!\^ Pbilcfofhy.
5
the Event foretold by the Eillar^ deceive him : for he led an Army of 50 Myriads againft Greece, zvhere he received a great Dtfeat^ and returning home^ died miferably^ being Murdered by hisoivn Son^ in the Jdight-time^ a-bed.
d Diod, 1. 2. To this Belus^ Semiramis his Daughter d ere- '
Tied a Temple in the middle of Babylon, which was exceeding high, and by the help thereof the Chaldeans, who addiHed themf elves there to Con¬ templation of the Stars, did exatlly obferve their Ri/ings and Settings.
. C H A P. V.
. Other Chaldean Thilojephers. '
FRom Zoroafter were derived the Chaldean Magi and Philofophers his Difciples •, a- a Lib. 35. mongft whom, a Ehny mentions one Azonaces •Mafter of Zoroafler, which doubtlefs muft have been meant of fome later Zoroafler, there being many of that name, aswelhewed formerly. b Loc. cit. By the fame b Author are mentioned of the Ancient Magi, Marmaridius a Babylonian, and Zarmoceniadas an Afjyrian of whom nothing Is left but their Marne s, no Monuments extant of them.
c Smd. To thefe add c Zoromafdres a Chaldean Ybilo-
Jbpher, who wrote Mathematicks and Bhyficks-, and Teucer a Babylonian, an ancient Author, who wrote concerning the Decanates.
^ jjl,^ The Mathematicians alfo, fa'^th d Strabo,
mention fome of thefe, as Cidenas, and Nabu- rianus, and Sudinus, and Seleucus of Seleucia a Chaldean, and many other Eminent Perfons.
CHAP. VI.
Of Berofus, who frjl introduced the Chaldaick Teaming into Greece.
AFter thefe flourifhed Berofus, or. as the Greeks call him which name
a fome interpret the Son of Qfeas : for as is ^ manifeft from Elias,'^^'2. with thoChaldees is the
* fame with ID in Syriach, vAxteiz^Bar-Ptolemeus, as if the Son of Ptolemy, Bar-Tmatus, and the like : Gorionides and other Rabbins call him , .. ...» Bar-Hofea, The Arabians Barafa fo Abena-
« Voff. de hift. ^ Barthius faith, that there are fome who af
Cri.’ lib.i.’c. fert him contemporary with Mofes, which Opi- 31* nion juftly he condemns as Ridiculous j dClaii-
d^dverfar.^i.y Verderius in his Cenfure upon the Annian Berofus affirms, he lived a little before the Reign of Alexander the Greats upon what Authority, I kn®w not. That he lived in the time of A- Icxander, we find in the Oration of Tatian againft the Gentiles ^ but the lame Tatian adds, he dedicated his Hiftory to that Antiochus, who was the third from Alexander. But neither is ePrapar.E- this Reading unqueftionable^ fov e Eufebius vtwg. /. 10. cites the fame place of Tatian thus, Berofus the Babylonian,?/*;^ oj Belus at Babylon, who lived in the time of Alexander, and dedicated to Antio¬ chus, the third after Seleucus, a Hiftory of the Chaldacans in three Books,and relates the Allions of their Kings, mentions one of them named Na-
buchodonofor, Cfc. Here we find txp %iAzvy.ov-, but in the Text of Tatian, p'-r dviiv after' ai- lexander. And indeed this Reading feerns moft ’ confonant to the Story. The next to Alexan¬ der was Seleucus Nicanor : the next to h\m,An- tiochus • The third, Antiochus who began his Reign 61 years after the Death of A. lexander : Now, it is poffible that Berejus at the time of Alexander^ taking Babylon might be thirty years old or lefs ^ and at the poth year, or fomewhat younger, might dedicate his Hi¬ ftory to Antiodms ©'-of. Or we may fay, that by Antiochus the third from Alexander is meant Antiochus reckoning Alexander mmTA
inclufively % one, Seleucus, the lecond Antio¬ chus the third-, to whom from the death (A Alexander are but 44 ybars; And in appro¬ ving this Account we may retain the Reading of Eufebius, fuppofing the firft to be' Seleucus, the fecond Antiochus x\\Qt\-[\id Antiochus
Oioi : Neither is this inconiiftent with Gefiers Tranflation of the Words of Tatian, yM 'Ari- as in Stephens Edition of Eu¬ febius OTt as in Tatian
himfelf, ^ui Alexandri letate vixit '\ which In¬ terpretation/ Onuphrius PanuiniisATo follows. / ub. dc Sib;i But confkiering thefe words’ more intently, it came into my Mind (faith Voffius) that it might better be rendred, qui Alexander £tatc natus eft, whereby all Icruple may be taken away, luppo- fing Berofus to have been born but two years before Alexander’s death ', by which account he muft have been but 64 years old when Antio¬ chus to whom he dedicated his Book, be¬ gan to Reign ; which way foever it is, Berofus Publifhed his Hiftory in the time of P t ole m ecus Phiadelphus ', for he Reigned 38 years, and in the fixth year of his Rein Antiochus Soter began to Reign in Syria in the 2 2d of Antiochus to one of ynhom Berofus dedicated his Book.
But by no means we can affent to the Learned g Conr adits Gefnerus, who by Alexander con- g'TunA. ceives to be meant not he who was firnamed the Great, Son o^ Philip, but Alexander who , fucceeded Demetrius Sgter, in the Kingdom of Syria,2.ndi was Succeeded by Demetrius Micanor by Antiochus underftanding Antiochus Sedetes who Reigned next after Demetrius Kicanor : for if it were fo, Berofus muft have been a whole Age later than Axanetho-, but Manetbo flouriftied under Philadelphus, (as Vojfius elle- where proves.) Philadelphus ASsA in the third year of the 133d Olympiad^ \m. Antiochus Sedetes invaded in the firft of the i doth Olympiad : How then could Berofus live lb late, who was a little precedent to Alanetho, as Syncellus exprelly affirms ?• Again, w’o may af lert the time of Berofus another way. \ h Pliny ^ faith, he gave account of 480 years, which doubtlels w^ere of Nabonaf 'ar: Now the oEvd- of NabonaJJ’ar began in the lecond year of the 8th Olympiad 3 from which if we reckon- 480, it will fall upon the latter end of Soter s
Reign wherefore Berofus dedicated his Book either to him or to Antiochus his Son.
Thele Arguments will not fuffer us to doubt of the time Berojus. _
This Berofus is mentioned by many of the An- cients i Vitruvius faith, he firft fettled in the y,^nAib. i. Ifland Coos, and there opened Learning, k Jo-
fepbus
The ChdUaicI^ Philojo^hy.