“The first [man], in the opinion of the Egyptians, was Hephestus, (afterwards the god Phtha,) who is also celebrated among them as the inventor of fire.
From him proceeded Helius (Ra, another god) ; afterwards Agathodemon ; then, Kronos, (Seb, another god) ; then Osiris ; then came Typhon, the brother of Osiris ;
then came Horus, the son of Osiris by Isis, his wife.
These were the first who reigned amongst the Egyptians. Down to Bydis the royal authority was transmitted successively in uninterrupted series during 13,900 years.
After the gods, heroes reigned for 1,255
years ;
then, again, other kings reigned 1,817 years;
then thirty other Memphite kings for 1,790 years ;
then ten other Thinite kings 350 years.
A dynasty of ghosts
and heroes then followed, during 5,813 years,” making a grand total of twenty-four thousand, nine hundred and twenty-five years—of Egyptian history;
and yet Egypt was but a baby nation compared to others, and its civilization quite imperfect contrasted with civilizations that were cotangent and contemporaneous with it.
Bunsen’s deductions, in brief, are as follows :
Bunsen’s Deductions
In “Pre-Adamite Man,” Paschal Beverly Randolph discusses the deductions of Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen regarding the ancient history and chronology of human civilization. Bunsen’s work is referenced to provide a historical framework that supports Randolph’s thesis of a pre-Adamite human existence. Here are the key points and deductions made by Bunsen as highlighted in the book:
Historical Primeval World
- Creation to Flood (B.C. 20,000 – 10,000):
- First Age of the World: Bunsen places the creation and the early primeval world in a timeframe that spans from 20,000 to 10,000 BCE.
- First Period (Formation and Deposit of Sinism, B.C. 20,000 – 15,000):
- Primitive language development, characterized by a rising or falling cadence and accompanied by pure pictorial writing. Every syllable was a word, and every word a full substantive one, representable by a picture.
- The deposit of this language took place in Northern China (Shensi), in the region of the Hoango River’s source.
- The earliest polarization of religious consciousness, worshiping the cosmos and the soul or personality. Objective worship was directed towards the firmament; subjective worship towards the souls of parents or the divine manifestation in the family.
- Second Period (Formation and Deposit of Primitive Turanism, B.C. 15,000 – 14,000):
- Eastern Polarization of Sinism:
- The development of a pure agglutinative language, forming polysyllabic words through accent unity.
- The emergence of particles, words that were no longer fully substantive, denoting mutual relations of persons and things, and eventually complete parts of speech.
- This stage of language development was deposited in Tibet (Botya language), marking the germination of mythology through the substantiation of inanimate things and properties.
- Third Period (Formation and Deposit of Primitive Arianism, B.C. 14,000 – 13,000):
- Western Polarization of Sinism:
- The development of inflectional language, characterized by the incorporation of multiple meanings into single words and complex sentence structures.
- Deposit of this language in Iran (Zarathustra’s Arianism), emphasizing a more profound mythological and religious framework.
Implications of Bunsen’s Chronology
- Extended Timelines: Bunsen’s chronology extends the timeline of human history far beyond the traditional biblical narrative. His deductions place significant historical events and developments thousands of years before the commonly accepted dates.
- Cultural and Linguistic Evolution: The detailed account of language and religious evolution supports the notion of advanced human civilizations existing long before the historically accepted periods.
- Comparative Analysis: Bunsen’s deductions align with findings from various ancient cultures, suggesting a broad and interconnected early human history.
Here is the quoted passage regarding Bunsen’s deductions from “Pre-Adamite Man” by Paschal Beverly Randolph:
“Bunsen’s deductions, in brief, are as follows :—
“First Age of the World. The Historical Primeval World. Creation to Flood. B. c. 20,000 —10,000.
“First Period. Formation and Deposit of Sinism. B. c. 20,000—15,000.
“Primitive language, spoken with rising or falling cadence ; elucidated by gesture; accompanied by pure pictorial writing; every syllable a word, every word a full substantive one, representable by a picture.
“Deposit of this language in Northern China (Shensi), in the country of the source of the Hoango (Sinism).
“The earliest polarization of religious consciousness ; Kosmos or Universe, and the Soul or Personality. Objective worship, the firmament; subjective worship, the Souls of parents, or the Manifestation of the Divine in the Family.
“Second Period. Formation and Deposit of Primitive Turanism ; the Eastern Polarization of Sinism. B. c. 15,000—14,000.
“Pure agglutinative language ; formation of polysyllabic words by means of the unity of accent.
“Origin of particles, words no longer substantive and full, but denoting the mutual relation of persons and things ; finally, of complete parts of speech.
“Deposit of this stage of formation in Thibet (Botiya language). Germ of mythology in the substantiation of inanimate things and properties.
“Third Period. Formation and Deposit of Primitive Arianism; the Western Polarization of Sinism. B. c. 14,000—13,000.
“Development of inflectional language, characterized by the incorporation of multiple meanings into single words and complex sentence structures.
“Deposit of this language in Iran (Zarathustra’s Arianism), emphasizing a more profound mythological and religious framework.”
This passage outlines Bunsen’s chronological framework and highlights the significant periods of language and cultural development according to his research
