als.
In other respects the Babylonian narrative either adds to the Mosaic
account, as in its description of the monsters and their destruction, or
clothes in mythic language, that could never have been understood
literally, the truth which in Scripture is put forth with severe
simplicity. The cleaving of the woman Thalatth in twain, and the
beheading of Belus, are embellishments of this latter character; they are
plainly and evidently mythological; nor can we suppose them to have been
at any time regarded as facts. The existence of the monsters, on the
other hand, may well have been an actual belief. All men are prone to
believe in such marvels; and it is quite possible, as Niebuhr supposes,
that some discoveries of the remains of mammoths and other monstrous
forms embedded in the crust of the earth, may have given definiteness and
prominency to the Chaldaean notions on this subject.

Besides their correct notions on the subject of creation, the primitive
Chaldaeans seem also to have been aware of the general destruction of
mankind, on account of their wickedness, by a Flood; and of the
rebellious attempt which was made soon after the Flood to concentrate
themselves in one place, instead of obeying the command to "replenish the
earth" an attempt which was thwarted by means of the confusion of their
speech. The Chaldaean legends embodying these primitive traditions were
as follows:--

"God appeared to Xisuthrus (Noah) in a dream, and warned him that on the
fifteenth day of the month Daesius, mankind would be destroyed by a
deluge. He bade him bury in Sippara, the City of the Sun, the extant
writings, first and last; and build a ship, and enter therein with his
family and his close friends; and furnish it with meat and drink; and
place on board winged fowl, and four-footed beasts of the earth; and when
all was ready, set sail. Xisuthrus asked 'Whither he was to sail?' and
was told, 'To the gods, with a prayer that it might fare well with
mankind.' Then Xisuthrus was not disobedient to the vision, but built a
ship five furlongs (3125 feet) in length, and two furlongs (1250 feet) in
breadth; and collected all that had been commanded him, and put his wife
and children and close friends on board. The flood came; and as soon as
it ceased, Xisuthrus let loose some birds, which, finding neither food
nor a place where they could rest, came back to the ark. After some days
he again sent out the birds, which again returne