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In the same way an ox changed from ｛illust｝ into ｛illust。｝
and a fish changed from ｛illust。｝ into ｛illust。｝ The sun
was originally a plain circle ｛illust。｝ and became ｛illust。｝
If we were using the Sumerian script today we would make an
｛illust。｝ look like ｛illust。｝。 This system of writing down our
ideas looks rather complicated but for more than thirty centuries
it was used by the Sumerians and the Babylonians and
the Assyrians and the Persians and all the different races
which forced their way into the fertile valley。
The story of Mesopotamia is one of endless warfare and
conquest。 First the Sumerians came from the North。 They
were a white People who had lived in the mountains。 They
had been accustomed to worship their Gods on the tops of
hills。 After they had entered the plain they constructed artificial
little hills on top of which they built their altars。 They
did not know how to build stairs and they therefore surrounded
their towers with sloping galleries。 Our engineers
have borrowed this idea； as you may see in our big railroad
stations where ascending galleries lead from one floor to another。
We may have borrowed other ideas from the Sumerians
but we do not know it。 The Sumerians were entirely ab…
sorbed by those races that entered the fertile valley at a later
date。 Their towers however still stand amidst the ruins of
Mesopotamia。 The Jews saw them when they went into exile
in the land of Babylon and they called them towers of BabIlli；
or towers of Babel。
In the fortieth century before our era； the Sumerians had
entered Mesopotamia。 They were soon afterwards over…
powered by the Akkadians； one of the many tribes from the
desert of Arabia who speak a common dialect and who are
known as the ‘‘Semites；'' because in the olden days people believed
them to be the direct descendants of Shem； one of the
three sons of Noah。 A thousand years later； the Akkadians
were forced to submit to the rule of the Amorites； another
Semitic desert tribe whose great King Hammurabi built himself
a magnificent palace in the holy city of Babylon and who
gave his people a set of laws which made the Babylonian state
the best administered empire of the ancient world。 Next the
Hittites； whom you will also meet in the Old Testament； over…
ran the Fertile Valley and destroyed whatever they could not
carry away。 They in turn were vanquished by the followers
of the great desert God； Ashur； who called themselves Assyrians
and who made the city of Nineveh the center of a vast
and terrible empire which conquered all of western Asia and
Egypt and gathered taxes from countless subject races until
the end of the seventh century before the birth of Christ when
the Chaldeans； also a Semitic tribe； re…established Babylon and
made that city the most important capital of that day。
Nebuchadnezzar； the best known of their Kings； encouraged
the study of science； and our modern knowledge of astronomy
and mathematics is all based upon certain first principles which
were discovered by the Chaldeans。 In the year 538 B。C。 a
crude tribe of Persian shepherds invaded this old land and
overthrew the empire of the Chaldeans。 Two hundred years
later； they in turn were overthrown by Alexander the Great；
who turned the Fertile Valley； the old melting…pot of so many
Semitic races； into a Greek province。 Next came the Romans
and after the Romans； the Turks； and Mesopotamia； the second
centre of the world's civilisation； became a vast wilderness
where huge mounds of earth told a story of ancient glory。
MOSES
THE STORY OF MOSES； THE LEADER OF THE
JEWISH PEOPLE
SOME time during the twentieth century before our era；
a small and unimportant tribe of Semitic shepherds had left
its old home； which was situated in the land of Ur on the mouth
of the Euphrates； and had tried to find new pastures within
the domain of the Kings of Babylonia。 They had been driven
away by the royal soldiers and they had moved westward
looking for a little piece of unoccupied territory where they
might set up their tents。
This tribe of shepherds was known as the Hebrews or； as
we call them； the Jews。 They had wandered far and wide；
and after many years of dreary peregrinations they had been
given shelter in Egypt。 For more than five centuries they
had dwelt among the Egyptians and when their adopted country
had been overrun by the Hyksos marauders （as I told
you in the story of Egypt） they had managed to make themselves
useful to the foreign invader and had been left in the
undisturbed possession of their grazing fields。 But after a
long war of independence the Egyptians had driven the
Hyksos out of the valley of the Nile and then the Jews had
come upon evil times for they had been degraded to the rank
of common slaves and they had been forced to work on the
royal roads and on the Pyramids。 And as the frontiers were
guarded by the Egyptian soldiers it had been impossible for
the Jews to escape。
After many years of suffering they were saved from their
miserable fate by a young Jew； called Moses； who for a long
time had dwelt in the desert and there had learned to appreciate
the simple virtues of his earliest ancestors； who had kept
away from cities and city…life and had refused to let themselves
be corrupted by the ease and the luxury of a foreign
civilisation。
Moses decided to bring his people back to a love of the ways
of the patriarchs。 He succeeded in evading the Egyptian
troops that were sent after him and led his fellow tribesmen
into the heart of the plain at the foot of Mount Sinai。 During
his long and lonely life in the desert； he had learned to
revere the strength of the great God of the Thunder and the
Storm； who ruled the high heavens and upon whom the shepherds
depended for life and light and breath。 This God； one
of the many divinities who were widely worshipped in western
Asia； was called Jehovah； and through the teaching of Moses；
he became the sole Master of the Hebrew race。
One day； Moses disappeared from the camp of the Jews。
It was whispered that he had gone away carrying two tablets
of rough…hewn stone。 That afternoon； the top of the mountain
was lost to sight。 The darkness of a terrible storm hid it from
the eye of man。 But when Moses returned； behold！ there stood
engraved upon the tablets the words which Jehovah had spoken
unto the people of Israel amidst the crash of his thunder and
the blinding flashes of his lightning。 And from that moment；
Jehovah was recognised by all the Jews as the Highest Master
of their Fate； the only True God； who had taught them how
to live holy lives when he bade them to follow the wise lessons
of his Ten Commandments。
They followed Moses when he bade them continue their
journey through the desert。 They obeyed him when he told
them what to eat and drink and what to avoid that they might
keep well in the hot climate。 And finally after many years of
wanderin