Where is "sham science" (Phases, p. 138) really found in this case? As regards the difficulty of supposing that the law had been so neglected that the king's attention had not been turned to it, it is really none at all. Sixty-seven years had elapsed, during fifty-seven of which all fear of Jehovah had been wholly cast off- a captivity had taken place, and all was confusion and ruin-the house of God neglected, and out of repair. Persecution had raged; the images of idolatrous groves had been brought into the temple itself, and idolatry and neglect of Jehovah filled the land. That the scriptures were neglected, and not known to the young king, is not surprising. He may have known there was such a thing generally, yet never have examined it so as to see the condition Israel was in.