race through the wide space of the high heavens.

These ancient people of whom I shall now tell you lived in three
definite spots.

Two of these were found along the banks of vast rivers.

The third was situated on the shores of the Mediterranean.

The oldest center of civilization developed in the valley of the Nile,
in a country which was called Egypt.

The second was located in the fertile plains between two big rivers of
western Asia, to which the ancients gave the name of Mesopotamia.

The third one which you will find along the shore of the Mediterranean,
was inhabited by the Phoenicians, the earliest of all colonizers and by
the Jews who bestowed upon the rest of the world the main principles of
their moral laws.

This third center of civilization is known by its ancient Babylonian
name of Suri, or as we pronounce it, Syria.

The history of the people who lived in these regions covers more than
five thousand years.

It is a very, very complicated story.

I can not give you many details.