Monuments
The Lord thy God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
from generation to generation, even upon all that hate him, and showing
a multitude of mercies unto them that keep his Commandments.
1. WHENSOEVER the Lord thy God manifests himself unto thee in majesty and might, or walketh with thee, and revealeth unto thee wisdom and knowledge, thou shalt erect unto him pillars, tablets and enduring monuments, and make inscriptions upon them; and shalt write and inscribe thereon his dealings with thee, his blessings and mercies, and his great power and glory, which he hath revealed unto thee; that it may remain a witness to the generations to come; and that they may know that thy God is God, and there is none else.1
91 words,
420 letters.
2. Thou shalt preserve the memory of the chosen of God, who have been faithful in their ministry, and in the calling whereunto the Lord thy God hath called them, fresh with thy children, and thy children’s children.
37 words,
170 letters.
[1 Gen. xxviii, 16-18. Josh. iv, 3, 9, 20, 21. viii, 32. Jasher ii, 13. Josephus Ant. B. 1, ch. ii, 3.
[Page 111]
3. Thou shalt build monuments to their memory, and erect pillars and tablets, and inscribe their praises, their works, their faith and their sufferings thereon; and when thou beholdest their monuments, thou shalt remember them, and talk of their righteousness, and teach thy children to walk in their righteous ways.
49 words,
256 letters.
4. When God giveth thee a victory over thy enemies, thou shalt commemorate it with monuments and inscriptions.
17 words,
89 letters.
5. But over the graves of persecutors and blasphemers, and they who shed the blood of the innocent, and at the places of their abominations shalt thou pile rough stones, with muttered curses, against the day of the resurrection of damnation.
40 words,
194 letters.
6. And thou shalt teach thy children to add a stone to the pile as they pass by, and to curse him that removes the stones, and cleaves unto their wickedness.
30 words,
122 letters.
Total—6 sec., 264 words, 1,251 letters.
1. The Scriptures mention but a few instances of the erection of monuments, to preserve the memory of the revelations of God’s majesty and mercy. But those there mentioned were of an early date, and show that the Law was kept in the beginning.
2. It is worthy of note that travellers find many ancient monuments in the land of Canaan, of Israelite origin, and
[Page 112]
prophetick ages, which are nowhere spoken of in the Bible.
3. But that country has so often changed masters; so often been desolated by destructive and long continued wars, that many of its monuments have been destroyed; others lost; and such a multitude of false tales put affoat in regard to them, that little is now known of the genuine Israelite monuments.
4. The best known ancient nations, whose books are lost, are Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea, whose histories have been preserved by their monuments; and their claim to ancient renown, which tradition had preserved, but books ignored, has been recently fully vindicated.
5. The universal practice of erecting monuments, in all the early nations, was the result of Law, not caprice. All Archaiologists concur in this, that as their knowledge of God diminished their monuments became inferiour, till, with the loss of true religion altogether, the construction of monuments was, to a great extent, abandoned. Instead of monuments, they then erected statues, and, forgetting the living God, worshipped them as gods.
6. The expense of constructing enduring monuments is not great. The most valuable material should not be sought for, as it is more likely to be demolished for new structures; but rather that which, after being demolished, will be of little or no value.
7. For common monuments, brick, laid in strong mortar, is preferable. The brick should be made of different sizes, with every one a letter sunk into the end, and laid up in order, as type are set.
8. In this style of building the side of every structure of brick could, with little expense, be made a monument, covered with records; and as the brick would be of little value
[Page 113]
for any new structure, these works would seldom be demolished.
9. To make the temptation to demolish them less, the whole interiour mass might well be constructed of gravel and rough stones, mixed with lime and sand, which would very soon harden, and become massive stone.
10. It would be preferable to impress the letters into the brick, rather than emboss them, because they would be more durable; but either style could with propriety be adopted, in interiour tablets, properly protected from weather.
11. In this style of building the walls of houses should be divided in pannels, and each pannel filled with an inscription, beginning a little above the earth’s surface, and placing each line above the last, in succession, as each is below the last in the pages of a book.
12. Or, a draught might be made of each pannel, with its proper inscription, with regard to the size of the letter bricks, and by that they could be laid up so as to read from top to bottom, in the usual style.
13. As these monuments would be valuable as structures, and nearly valueless as materials for future structures, they would be most likely to be permanent.
14. But in the construction of them, some events might well be briefly commemorated on a single brick, and occasionally a brick be laid with the inscribed side within the wall, so that no process of destruction would blot out its testimony, short of tearing the monuments down to the foundation, and breaking up each brick.
15. Such monuments would withstand the elements as long as any other material, and could be constructed without difficulty, in most countries. When made of pressed brick, they would present a fine appearance.
from generation to generation, even upon all that hate him, and showing
a multitude of mercies unto them that keep his Commandments.
1. WHENSOEVER the Lord thy God manifests himself unto thee in majesty and might, or walketh with thee, and revealeth unto thee wisdom and knowledge, thou shalt erect unto him pillars, tablets and enduring monuments, and make inscriptions upon them; and shalt write and inscribe thereon his dealings with thee, his blessings and mercies, and his great power and glory, which he hath revealed unto thee; that it may remain a witness to the generations to come; and that they may know that thy God is God, and there is none else.1
91 words,
420 letters.
2. Thou shalt preserve the memory of the chosen of God, who have been faithful in their ministry, and in the calling whereunto the Lord thy God hath called them, fresh with thy children, and thy children’s children.
37 words,
170 letters.
[1 Gen. xxviii, 16-18. Josh. iv, 3, 9, 20, 21. viii, 32. Jasher ii, 13. Josephus Ant. B. 1, ch. ii, 3.
[Page 111]
3. Thou shalt build monuments to their memory, and erect pillars and tablets, and inscribe their praises, their works, their faith and their sufferings thereon; and when thou beholdest their monuments, thou shalt remember them, and talk of their righteousness, and teach thy children to walk in their righteous ways.
49 words,
256 letters.
4. When God giveth thee a victory over thy enemies, thou shalt commemorate it with monuments and inscriptions.
17 words,
89 letters.
5. But over the graves of persecutors and blasphemers, and they who shed the blood of the innocent, and at the places of their abominations shalt thou pile rough stones, with muttered curses, against the day of the resurrection of damnation.
40 words,
194 letters.
6. And thou shalt teach thy children to add a stone to the pile as they pass by, and to curse him that removes the stones, and cleaves unto their wickedness.
30 words,
122 letters.
Total—6 sec., 264 words, 1,251 letters.
1. The Scriptures mention but a few instances of the erection of monuments, to preserve the memory of the revelations of God’s majesty and mercy. But those there mentioned were of an early date, and show that the Law was kept in the beginning.
2. It is worthy of note that travellers find many ancient monuments in the land of Canaan, of Israelite origin, and
[Page 112]
prophetick ages, which are nowhere spoken of in the Bible.
3. But that country has so often changed masters; so often been desolated by destructive and long continued wars, that many of its monuments have been destroyed; others lost; and such a multitude of false tales put affoat in regard to them, that little is now known of the genuine Israelite monuments.
4. The best known ancient nations, whose books are lost, are Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea, whose histories have been preserved by their monuments; and their claim to ancient renown, which tradition had preserved, but books ignored, has been recently fully vindicated.
5. The universal practice of erecting monuments, in all the early nations, was the result of Law, not caprice. All Archaiologists concur in this, that as their knowledge of God diminished their monuments became inferiour, till, with the loss of true religion altogether, the construction of monuments was, to a great extent, abandoned. Instead of monuments, they then erected statues, and, forgetting the living God, worshipped them as gods.
6. The expense of constructing enduring monuments is not great. The most valuable material should not be sought for, as it is more likely to be demolished for new structures; but rather that which, after being demolished, will be of little or no value.
7. For common monuments, brick, laid in strong mortar, is preferable. The brick should be made of different sizes, with every one a letter sunk into the end, and laid up in order, as type are set.
8. In this style of building the side of every structure of brick could, with little expense, be made a monument, covered with records; and as the brick would be of little value
[Page 113]
for any new structure, these works would seldom be demolished.
9. To make the temptation to demolish them less, the whole interiour mass might well be constructed of gravel and rough stones, mixed with lime and sand, which would very soon harden, and become massive stone.
10. It would be preferable to impress the letters into the brick, rather than emboss them, because they would be more durable; but either style could with propriety be adopted, in interiour tablets, properly protected from weather.
11. In this style of building the walls of houses should be divided in pannels, and each pannel filled with an inscription, beginning a little above the earth’s surface, and placing each line above the last, in succession, as each is below the last in the pages of a book.
12. Or, a draught might be made of each pannel, with its proper inscription, with regard to the size of the letter bricks, and by that they could be laid up so as to read from top to bottom, in the usual style.
13. As these monuments would be valuable as structures, and nearly valueless as materials for future structures, they would be most likely to be permanent.
14. But in the construction of them, some events might well be briefly commemorated on a single brick, and occasionally a brick be laid with the inscribed side within the wall, so that no process of destruction would blot out its testimony, short of tearing the monuments down to the foundation, and breaking up each brick.
15. Such monuments would withstand the elements as long as any other material, and could be constructed without difficulty, in most countries. When made of pressed brick, they would present a fine appearance.