kind, present the wonderful spectacle of a race preserving its
nationality, its peculiarities of worship, of doctrine, and of literature.
Its history reaches back to an early period of the world, its code of laws
has been studied and imitated by the legislators of all ages and
countries, and its literary monuments surpass in originality, poetic
strength, and religious importance those of any other nation before the
Christian era.

The literature of the Hebrews may be divided into the four following
periods:--

The first, extending from remote antiquity to the time of David, 1010
B.C., includes all the records of patriarchal civilization transmitted by
tradition previous to the age of Moses, and contained in the Pentateuch or
five books attributed to him after he had delivered the people from the
bondage of Egypt.

The second period extends from the time of David to the death of Solomon,
1010-940 B.C., and to this are referred some of the Psalms, Joshua, the
Judges, and the Chronicles.

The third period extends from the death of Solomon to the return from the
Babylonian captivity, 940-532 B.C., and to this age belong the writings of
most of the Prophets, The Song of Solomon, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the
books of Samuel, of Kings, and of Ruth.

The fourth period extends from their return from the Babylonian Captivity
to the present time, and to this belong some of the Prophets, the
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, the final completion of the Psalms,
the Septuagint translation of the Bible, the writings of Josephus, of