The story of our world is a story that is still very imperfectly known. A couple of hundred years ago men possessed the history of little more than the last three thousand years. What happened before that time was a matter of legend and speculation. Over a large part of the civilized world it was believed and taught that world had been created suddenly in 4004 B.C., though authorities differed as to whether this had occurred in the spring or autumn of that year.