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ZfifoJlt*U~ jtix 



THE 

I ALPHEUS FELCH HISTORICAL LIBRARY 



BEQUEATHED 

TO THE 



\ 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 

BY THE 

HON. ALPHEUS FELGH. 



1SOO. 



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J 



T 













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y 



tREA T I SE 

ON THE bj&Ju 



Study of antiquities 

AS THE COMMENT ART 

TO HISTORICAL LEARNING, 

Sketching out 

A GENERAL LINE OF RESEARCH; 

Alfo Marking and Explaining 

SOME OF THE DESIDERATA. 

With an APPENDIX, 

vN° I. On the Elements of Speach. 
N° IT. On the Origin of Written Language, 

Picture, Hieroglyphic, and Elementary-writing, 
N° III. On the Ships pf the Ancients. 
N2 IV. On the Chariots of the Ancients. 

By TY f O W N A L L. 



"Or*** <?v *f*\v?ai oTo; rs Ifh arcOlx r* yina two fAtstv t« *} 
ran avrav o£X* v » ^ craAtr <rv>QtT>xi «ri, *} o"uyjt^»G^j»tra<rfl»r 

Archytas de Sapientia, Lib. I. quoted by Jamblicus. 



LONDON, 

. Printed for J, D O D S L E Y, in Pall-Mall. 
&f,DC£.LXXXil. 




TQ 

^RESIDENT, COVNCIL, AND FELLOWS 

OF 

THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, 

THE FOLLOWING TREATISE 

IS, 

AS A TESTIMONY OF RESPECT 

TO THAT LEARNED BODY, 

ADDRESSED AND DEDICATED 
BY 

T. POWNALL 



I » ] '• 



CONTENTS, 



Page. 

x That the Society of Antiquaries is pe- 
culiarly, by the nature of it'$ efta- 
bUihsnept and inftitufions, adapted for 
the inveftigatioti of ancient learning; 
and for that knowledge of antiquities 
whiph may become the ground of the 
Hjftoria propria et jujla* 

% Is one of the moft ufeful Literary EJta* 
blijhmznts which have been made in 
this country ; is not only a repertory of 
the colIe&iQns of Antiquarian Infor- 
mation, bqt a&uates a principle which 
hath a tendency tp reftore and re-edify 
hiflor/ from the ruins amidft which 
it lies* 

3 The two errors of the falfe antiquary 
marked ; jft, That of forming too 
haftily vifionary fyftems ; and 2dly, 
That of making endlefs and ufelefs 
colle&ions of relics arid . fragments, 
without Icope or view to any pne 
|>oiat, 

b 4 To 



W CO NT ENTS, 

Page. ^ 
4 To explain the Principle of this branck 
of learning ; the Principle on which 
the fociety is fuppofed to aft ; and the 
End towards which the inquiries and 
labours of the Society ought to be di- 
re&ed ; is the /cope of this treat ife ; it 
marks in its courfe fome of the <De- 
Jiderata in this branch of learning* 

5 Two concurrent lines of ftudy, that 

of hiftory, properly fo called, both of 
nature and man; and that experi- 
mental hiftory of the extending and 
advancing powers of man, as they 
are elicited by the varying and en- 
dreafing wants of his being. - 

6 That there is, as it were, a golden 

chain defcending from heaven, by 
which all things are linked together 
in a general fyftem; and that man 
hath powers to trace back the links of 
this chain up to the primary principles 
of this fyftem; and that the ftudy 
of antiquities fhould be purfued -in 
this fpirit of philofophy ; and the 
knowledge acquired thereby Applied 
as the commentary tf hiftory.. 

7 — 43 • The work then commences* in 
the fpirit of this philofophy, and in 
the line of the rule here layed down, 

with 



CON.TJN.tJS *U 

Page. ^ 

with an Anaiyfis vftbe powers 6f Enun- 
ciation and the Elements of Speech, 
and endeavours to mark, both in rea- 
soning and by example, the ufe which 
the truly philofophic Antiquary may 
make in the refolution and compel 
fition of theftr. powers and elements, 
to the in veftigation of ancient hiiWy. 
This part refers to \N° I. of the Ap- 
pendix, which,. is a treatife written 
exprefsly on this fubjedt ; it goes to 
an inquiry into the powers and a£ts 
of vocal and articulated enunciation 
as they exift in. the nature of man, 
and . as the principles thereof are to 
be found in all languages : this the 
true ground of Antiquarian Etymology, 
which, without it, will ever be the 
mere ringing changes on one's own 
ideas, and a wretched punning* Under 
this head the language of men as 
fpoken in the times of the kingdom 
of Troy, the language of ancient 
Greece before the arrival of the Hel* 
lenifts, and the language of ancient 
Europe in general, are confidered and 
compared. 

43 — 51. The Treatife then proceeds, by 

the fame principles, and in the fame 

line, to inquire into and explain the 

b x various 



via CONTENTS. 

Page. m > 

various efforts and inventions which 
men in all ages and countries have 
made to mark for diftant places and 
times, the in vifible transient exprsffion 
of ideas* which fpeech can only give 

.- at the prcfent time and place. This 
part goes in general to an inquiry inta 
the origin of Pi£lure-wrtittfg i into 

; that jwhich is commonly cailed Hiero- 
glyphics, and into the nature of the 
Elementary ) Or what is vulgarly 
called Alphabetical writing; ihows 
how thefe ill their reciprocal ufe and 
interpretation have given occafion to 
the deforming the true and direct re- 
prefentation of t&e human Being and - 
Ufe ; and how by a phitofophk re- 

; folution of the modes of the defor- 

; raataoi 1, joined tocombination <Jf fuch 
fragments of fe&s as remain amidft 
the ruins -of hiftory, the Antiquary 
may elicit truth otat of &ble, attd re- 
form aird re-edify ancient hiftory to 
fome femblance at leaf): of the fkte of 
things in fa£, which it reprefents. 
This part refers for a more particular 
account of thefe points of antiquity 
to N° II. of the Appendix, which is 
a Treatife on this fubje& in detail* 



CONTENT 5. k 

Page. 

j*~*,53* Hiftory compared to a (hip failing 

. down the tide of Time, fraught with 

; every thing ufeful to be known, but 

whicj* hath fuffcred fliip-wreck ; the 

method of the ftudy of Antiquities 

-explained by alhifions to this fimiie. 

54*^55* The folly of merely making col- 
lections of Antiquities, compared with 
the right way of Colle&ing and af- • 
forting the difcoveries of particulars 
which the Antiquary may make, fo as 
by an indu&ion of thefe particulars to 
lead to fome combination of the ge- 
neral fyfiena of h&. 

56^*57* Man is a finite Being circum- 

> feribed in hss natural wants ; although 

noteafily defined and circumscribed 

- in his artificial wants; yet his im- 
proved refburces* being proportioned 
.and adequate to thefe, in the various 
progreffions and revolutions of his 
. eiiflfence, the line of inveftigation into 
the one is marked by the knowledge 
of the other, fo that the ftudy of 
.antiquities, here in this branch, is. 
not a bouadlefs purfuit but is defined 
both in mode and extent* This ex- 
plained 4 by a reference to thecloath- 
<mg*fi*ttted to the fame kind of limbs 
.. ..iix.tlhe fame animals in all ages, and 
b3 to 



i .CONTENTS. 

Page. 

to the inftruments ufed by all people, 
being fimilar as fuited to like hands 
and like ad ions, let imagination or 
caprice try never fo much to vary 
them. > v 

58 This Theorem applied to ifhow that 

there may be an ascertained line of 
developing the fabulous, and refolving 
the mythic parts of Hiftory, fo far 
as they refpedk the accounts of the 
,firft advancing ftages of human civi 7 
lization. 

59 By a careful analyfis of human na- 

ture, and by a combination from 
analogy of fuch broken account^ as 
the (hip- wreck of Hiftory affords, a 
description, almoft hiftorkv of the 
progrefs and firft ftages of human 
life may be compofed ; fuch as fhall 
give a juft reprefentation of the ge- 
neral courfe of events. 

6t This exemplified in the fabulous ac- 
counts given of the fettlements made 
in the JEgean and Euxine Seas, and 
coafts thereof by the Phoenicians, 
Egyptians, and Hellenifts. 

66 An idea, profefledly an imperfeft one, 
thrown out of the commerce of the 
Euxine and Weftern ports of the 
Mediterranean Seas ; the Chittim and 

■ Tar. 



CONTENTS. xi 

Page. 

Tarfliifh of the ancients ; and a wifh 
expreffed, that Mr. Clarke, author of 
the Treatife on Roman, Saxon, and 
, Englifh Coins, would fupply the 
Defideratum in this branch uf hiftoric 
learning as to the one ; and that Mr. 
Bryant would turn his thoughts to 
the other. 
69 When the hiftory of thofe parts and 
periods are once developed of their 
myfterious garb, we fhall receive very 
different accounts from what the de- 
formed and abufed fables now hold 
forth ; this exemplified by an un- 
ravelled account of the fettlements 
and exclulite commerce of the ty clops 
and their courts of admiralty. 

73 Ancient Hiftory compared to a deformed 

fiflure, and the philofophic reftau- 
ration of it, to the mathematic mir- 
rour, which will reifleft fuch deformed 
picture in its true proportions and 
contours, tanauam ihfpeculo. 

The treatife next proceeds to con- 
fider the mode in which the philo- 
fophic antiquary may conduft his 
commentary on the Hijioria propria 
et jujla. '• 

74 A knowledge of the component parts 

and living fyftem of the human com- 
b 4 munity, 



*U C O N ? £ N t s. 

Page. 

ttaihity, i ft in Sdciety, and idly un- 
der Government, without which, 
Hiftory will be but a ftory of a crea* 
ture little kndWn to us, ftated as a 
Defideratum. Here the Antiquary, 
Whofe Commentary gi^s the. know- 
ledge of this pfoaeis of the human 
Being, becomes the interpreter, who 
jreftders hijidry tnteltigibte y and mkkes 
it become experimental knowledge. This 
knowledge aldne can explain thofe 
vkijjituitines rerum etfundamenta Pru- 
Xehti'^ which Lord Verulam ftates 
as the proper fruit of hi&oric learn- 
ing. This exemplified by different 
inftanCes in hiftory j in "the cafe of 
the Roman iubje&, as taken from his 
civil rights^ and fubje£ted to military 
ifhperiumi in the cafe of the ftatc 
'and progrefs of the Grecian com* 
muhity lit the time of the Trojan 
war, as explained by Thucydides ; 
the ftate or the Egyptian commu- 
nity ; thfet of the Jews*, and that of 
the Ph'fibnicians. 
89 Thefe preparatory and explanatory in- 
ftances lead to the application of this 
Theorem, to the ftatihg of the fyf- 
tem of xneafures planned by Alex- 
ander, wh& was the firft prince-ftatef- 

man 



, CONTENTS. xSi 

Page* 

man who combined iipon iyftem the 
intereft and powers of commerce, 
with the operations of polity. 

96 An a&ual knowledge ((uch on which 

experience may be founded) of the 
ancient commerce of the Eaft, of 
Perfia, and of India, wanted. It is 
from the local knowledge of fcientific 
mercantile men alone, who have lived 
in and had experience of thofe re- 
gions, that the world can expedl 
pra&ical information on this fubje&. 

97 The Treatife here clofes its obler- 

vations on the nature of the com- 
munity, and of commerce, as the 
fource of wealth and power to it ; 
and proceeds to the confideration of 
the neceffity of underftanding the 
channels in which certain portions of 
this wealth, as the revenues of the 

joi ftate, ran. This line of refearch, 
illuftrated by a fummary defcription 
of t he Roman Revenues and meafures 
of finance. v 

1 16 The Treatife next proceeds to con- 
fider the a&ual mechanical force of 
the community of the ancients in 
fotae inftarices not hitherto adequately 
explained, not precifely underftood. 
The firfl inftance is, that of our want 

ef 



xW C-ONTE.NTg. 

Page. 

of information as to the Jhips of war 
of the ancients, their Triremes, *j>ua- 
driremes, and §>uinquer ernes. The dif- 
coveiy and learned defcription of thefe 
matters made and given by General 
Melville, here firft published, whofe 
Memoire on the fubjedt in N° III. of 

*J20 the Appendix is referred to. The 
fecond ipftance is that of the military 
Chariot of the ancients ; a particular 
Treatiie on this fubjeft is given and 
referred to in N° IV. of the Appendix. 

122 Of the chronology of the Ancients 
and its defeats, on which a comparifbn 
of the Mythick or Fabulous, and of 
the Hiftoric Narratives of the An- 
cients, is offered to obfervation. While 

j&4 on one hand the defefts of hiftory, 
which pretends to give the attual ftate 
of fa& and deed, in the trpe order of 
time, arranged, fixed, and afcertained by 
epochs, which it neither does nor can 
fo give for certain, are confidered ; the 
Mythic or Fabulous Hijiory is ftated on 
the other as giving a general reprefen- 
tat ion of the general courft of events, and 
not a particular narrative of a particular 
train of fadls. In that view, the latter 
is ftated as giving fufficient knowledge 
to all the purpoies of experience and 

ufe, 



CON T.ENT;S, ; jnr 

Page. 

ufe, equally as well as that which 
affumes and pretends to give an a&usii/ 
ftate of fa£t and deed. From this 
opinion a rule is laid down* that 
while on one Band we Jhould not refufe 
all hifioric faith to what is reprefenUd 
. only in fable ; Jo on the other extream 
we muji not receive that as biftoric 
narrative of aStual faSts and events \ 
which is only nprefentation in apologue 
and tnuthos of the general fate and 
courje of events in the hi/lory of man 
and nature. 

j 24 This doflrine exemplified firft; by 
ah explanation of the fabulous hi£ 
tory of the Argonautic expedition. 

128—144. And fecondly, by a philofophic 
commentary on the Antidiluvian hif- 
tory, which the books of Mofes give, 
confidered as an apologue. 

145 This rule further applied to thofe 
Fables which feem to veil the know* 
ledge of the ufe of the polarity of 
the magnatic arrow, as known to 
and ufed by the ancients in their 
navigation. 

SND OF THE FIRST PA*T. 

A P P E N? 



w 



*vi COKTENf-S. 



A P ? .1 . N D I X. 

....:. N° L . : 

Analysis of the elements of ipeech, as ap- 
plicable to Etymplogy in tjie ihidy of 
Aatkjuitiefc 

N'lL 

A Tre&tife on pi&ure- writing ' hiero- 
glyphick and elementary writing, (hew- 
ing how the firfl arofe from nature, the 
fecopd irom art ; with an illuftration of 
the effe&s which thefe have had on the 
deviations and, mutations of language ; 
Sn a letter to Tho. Aftle; Efq. utt. 25,* 

f Read at theSodety of Antiquaries, London, 
Jau* r8, 1^81^ 

- : "ft* III. 

1 Mtittttire. — Beitog A ftmrra«ve of the iu- 
veftigaWons and difocnreiies made on the 
fubjefl: of the Trireme*, ^jfadriremes, 
and QuinqueremeSt of the Antients, of 
the nature. of Jlowrgalleiy, : of the poft- 
ing the rowers, and of the mode by 
which thefe veffels were rowed, by Lieu- 

*• * • * tenant 



. tenant General M*l? W» . ;Con),moni- 

iXffe^itia oh the 'atitienfc Chanptj 'the 
' . exerciie of it fa the ! frc< ; ! arid: tfe f 'ajp 
* plication of it tbieal fervicfelih Mr."- : : 

■ ":". • ' . : ) r •.•■:.'! '. . . ■•:• i-.;.f! l</, v*:., "r 

PA RT SECOND;:- 

. The observation* on the $u&y tf'An*. 
tiquities, *j /& commentary of mjUry . now 
paflfes from that period which is ,jca#ed 
Ancient Hiftory^to a fuqceedic^ period^ • 
wherein <? new race of men invafjed the cul* 
tured world, and overwhelmed^ as with a 
deluge, its civilization* 
c The fpirk and chara&er of tfrefe fwo 
periods compared. 

. The fads of this general revolution }t\ 
the inhabitancy, the occupaucy, au4 go* 
vermnent of the world, are inde$<J gene* 
rally and incidentally told by the Greek and 
Roman writers of hiftory; but as/tfa; 
Sources and firft courfes of th^fe ppopl^ 
lay beyond the bifioric horizon y as $h$ 
events were prior to the chroncdcg^c canojj 
«(f Jnftory ; and the crifis of thefe eveotf 
H<tt wfthm the fcope of the philo^phy of 
\ :....w..., *■ * Wxeie 



thefe' writers, - this ^revolution hath bfcert 
rather, looked up to 'With aftonifhment ahd 
wonder, than in vefligated and explained. 

The Philofophic Antiquary will, as the 
commentator on "hiftoi-y, examine and 
thence explain this ? in a more detailed and- 
circumftantial jnaixner^ ,than : tjpe hiftonan 
may perhiaps thii^ rieceflary. He will, 
from the fragments of fa&s, as they lye 
fcattered am:dft the mafs of hiftoric ruins, 
or buried and 'dve*grbv?n by the weeds of 
fable, fo combine the accounts of this 
great fcvent as to Wcdmpbfe them intofome 
fembknce of ^ttoe original fa&. 

The Treatife, after given the rule,' pro- 
ceieds to the application : of it, by ah at-* 
tempt to defcribe the circumftamJes and 
preparatory events, which led to this re- 
volution of the world. 

The HiJioYtc Horizon defined in its 
northern, limits, with reference to the 
Cimri, Cimbri, Cimmerians, or Hyper- 
boreans, who are fabuloufly defcribed int 
ancient hiftory to have had their dwelling 
beyond the bounds of the earthy beyond chaos, 
in Tartarosj as alfo to the Teyts or Titans, 
the Teuts or Dteutfch, whofe habitancy 
and the proceffion of whofe generations 
were bounded by this horizon not beyond 
but on the extrcam borders of the earth. The 
accounts given by FJefiod of this firft kt- 
*"•"■ habitancy 



habitancy are . explained aricfc ihewn to ; 
coincide with thofe given by our HSw 
Hiftory. .' * :;. 

The Cyiftri traced in the proceffions of 
their generations and habitancy (beyond 
the boundary of the hiftoric horizon} from 
this Moeotic Lake, to the Cimbric; Ifles of 
the Baltic, and to the Weftera files and* 
coafts of Europe. 
, The Teuts in like manner traced along 
the extremities of this horizon to the coafts 
of the Baltic, the Saxon fliores, and into 
the Britilh ifles. 

The terminations Ingii Aity Ait* or 
Mtt<£% Ones or Fones; explained, as they 
enter into the compofition of moft of the 
names of both thefe people. 

The Treatife then proceeds to (ketch and 
draw out the lines in which the hiftory 
of the firft inhabitants, the proceffion of 
their generations, and the final fettlement 
of them as nations fhould be inveftigatecj. 

The nature of their fituation, and ;of 
the circumftauce, of the regions in which 
they dwelt, and which they occupied, de- 
fcribed. The forming caufe of thefe people 
becoming finally a great naval powtr, 
hence derived and explained in its prin- 
ciples. 

The Cimbric Cherfonefus, lhewn to 
haw been an ifland, and the Low Coun- 
tries, 



xx C'OcN ft t N T S. 

tries, now dalled Flanders, to have been 
Sea, with fomc exceptions of flooded 
marfhes and iflands. 

That tfac finhabitamts of thefe regions 
tare fifliermen, marine navigators, rovers, 
and pirates, i 

The nature of this ancient mode of life 
defcribed as to its fpirir, charter, 1 and 
naval operations, 

Thefe Vies*, Wiggs, Wiggans, and Vi- 
canders (afterwards called Pi&s), defcribed 
in their rpving excursions, in their colo* 
nial fettlements, and in their conquefts. 
- Concurrent with this, an account is 
given of the fuppofed Srft original, and 
aext of the earlieft adventitious inhabitants 
of Britain ; of the Cymri, the Cotti, At- 
tacotti, and Efcotti, ?s found therein ; alfo 
t)f the Cekas and Belgae. 

Hence a ipore particular account of the 
$£kions, operations, and fettlements, of the 
Vies, Vickanders, or Pi&s, in Scotland, 
: in the eaftern and fbuthern ides and coafts 
of Britain; and on the coafts of Normandy 
and Aquitaine, where they wei^mthfe 
earlieft times under the name Cyct'haid, 
Cyn-ait, or as Herodotus wrke6 it Kunak*. 

The manner, and. line marked out in 
which the origin, progreffion, amplifi- 
cation, and eftiblifhment, of the great 
-jkokthsiln navax ?owjlr, may he invef- 
,-.; tigated; 



CONTENTS. xxi 

tigated; according to which rule, an Eflay 
towards its hiftory, from the earlieft times 
to the period when it was advanced, fo . as. 
to come forward and difpute the empire of 
the world with Rome, is inferted. 

The terreftrial lines in which the pro- 
ceflions in generation and habitancy of 
the Teuts or Teyts, of the Celts or Gauls; 
may be inveftigated, are marked. In the 
courfe of drawing which, an account is 
given of thofe two fraternal branches of 
the fons of Cottus, Gott-Teus, or Teu- 
baal, the fon of Japetus or Japhet, as they 
became in procefs of time the fettled inha- 
bitants of Gaul and Germany, as nations. 

The firft inhabitants of Europe and of 
the Weftern part of Afia, as deriving from 
Gomef and Magog, the two fons of Ja- 
pett^s, and their fons Madai, Tubal, and 
Javan, particularly defcribed : herein of 
the TrVim, the Ach-aians, the Tr'achs 
or Thraces, D'achs or Daci and Davi. 
The Getae, Teuts or Dteutfch, the Celtae 
and their proceffions, as Galli and Gall- 
aitae ; ./Eoalians, or Gaeoi. This account 
clofes with an etymology, different from 
what hath been hitherto given, of the ap- 
pellatives German and Celt, as becoming 
national names. 

From the refearch who thefe people 

were, the treatife proceeds to mark the 

c line 



xxii CONTENTS. 

line in which the inveftigatiori into what 
they were fhould train ; that this ought , 
to be purfued by a line .wherein principles 
and fa&s combine. The exemplification 
and application of this mode of fludying 
this part of ancient hiftory : and firft of 
the Sylvan Life inhabiting and occupying 
the earth in its natural and original ftate — • 
of the Foreft-hunter, the nature of his 
occupancy and population—- of the Marine- 
hunter, or Fifherman and Navigator, of 
his occupancy and population — of the 
fcites, circumftances and principles which 
give fource to population — of the ad- 
vancing, Jiationary, and declining Jiate of 
population in the different nations at dif- 
ferent periods, as thefe circumftances and 
thefe principles operate : Herein of the 
temporary plethorijm of populoufnefs in cer- 
tain periods of the progreffion of. civili- 
zation ; as alfo of the flu&uatiori of in- 
habitancy and dominion in the early ages 
of the world in confequence thereof. 

The temporary Plethorijm of the northern 
people who invaded and over- ran the Ro- 
man empire, explained from thefe prin- 
ciples by fa£ts. The ftate of their com- 
munity explained, from whence is de- 
rived the reafon why they were enabled to 
bring into the field fuch multitudes be- 
yond any proportion of numbers which . 

fettled 



CONTENTS. xxiii 

fettled and compleatly civilized nations 
could bring there. 

The eafe with which they could migrate 
in a body, as a whole nation, explained 
from the principle, which they invariably 
and unalterably adhered to, that of not 
becoming fettled landworkers ; the operation 
and effect of this principle in the nature 
of their inhabitancy, and in the forms of 
their landed occupancy; their mode of life 
and character, their community an army, 
their inhabitancy a campaign ; and their 
movements made by a fyftem of camps. — 
Their habitual experimental knowledge in 
the fupply of a moving body, their know- 
ledge and pra&ice in the Res Frumentana, 
and Res Portoria. 

This again more particularly exemplified 
by the routs they took by fea and up the 
great navigable rivers ; the ufe they made 
of the naval power eftablifhed in the parts 
they came from or pafled through. 

As this treatife hath above explained 
and defcribed the naval afcendant power 
which exifted in the Baltic, on the Saxon 
fhores, and in the weftern ocean ; it now 
proceeds to defcribe that which exifted in 
the Euxine Sea, and on the rivers which 
run into it ; as alfo that on the Ifter or 
Danube. The nature of the avenues an4 
water-carriage of the Rhine and Danube 
c z as 



xxiv CONTENTS. 

as leading to the very gates of Italy ex- 
plained. 

The relative numbers and force of the 
invading nations, and that of the empire 
of Rome, as they met on the frontiers, 
put in apportion, by a comparifon of the 
nature of a loco-motive community, not 
yet divided into all thofe branches of 
labour, employ, and fervice, which form 
the members of a perfectly civilized conir 
inunity of fettled inhabitants. 

Of the nature of the line of the Roman 
frontiers and its defence ; compared with 
the nature of the attacks which it had to 
refift. 

The effect of dividing the fervices and 
commands : The efFe£t of removing the ' 
ieat of empire from Rome to Byzantium, 
called Constantinople. 

This fubjecl explained by an exami- 
nation of the fyftem of dominions and 
frontiers, adopted and formed by the ex- 
perience and prudence of Auguftus. The 
effect which the empire experienced when 
the emperors quitted this fyftem ; this 
exemplified by an explanation of, and a 
criticilm upon the third ode % of the third 
book of Horace. 

The conclusion of this Antiquarian 
Commentary on this great Revolution, Jo 
far as rejpects the caujes of it. 

The 



C O N T E.NT.SL X x\r 

The fame confidered in its effeSis as it 
operated in the fucceeding period of the 
world, to the eftablifhment of a new 
fyftem of occupancy, polity, and govern- 
ment. Herein of the feudal Jidte of pro- 
perty in land, and of the military Jlate of 
fervice in the perfon ; as a fundamental 
eftablifhmerit of the new Imperium. 

That the fpirit of the government, thus 
wholly military, confidered the political 
conftitution of the ftate, and the admi- 
niftration thereof merely as (Economical ; 
and had therefore no conception that it 
was of any import, or any ways neceflary, 
that the political ftate (hould be co-exten- 
five or co-exiftent with the fupream imperial 
command of the fovereign. 

This principle explained as the fource of 
the various Curiae, Jurifdi&ions, Laws, 
Cuftoms, and even Governments, which 
exifted in eodem Imperio at the fame time, 
independent of each other, and paramont 
within their refpe&ive jurifdi&ions, as po- 
litical ftates in their political oeconomy. 

After having thus Iketched out the line ' 
of revifion by which the great revolution 
of the inhabitancy and ftate of Europe 
may be inveftigated, as to the eftablifh- 
ment of the new fyftem which hath from 
that period actuated it, the treatife pro- 
ceeds to ihew how the Antiquary of each 

country 



xxvi CONTENTS. 

country may take his own peculiar courfe 
of inquiry into the ancient ftate of his 
own nation and community, by what 
means and by what modes of inhabitancy, 
cultivation, and property, it was poflfefled, 
by the feveral fucceffive people who dwelt 
in it ; as alfo what form the community 
and government took under each ; in what 
ftate thofe inhabitants, who are commonly 
and vulgarly called the original inhabitants, 
pofiefled and cultivated it; how they lived, 
and under what forms, and by what means, 
under the Romans, the Danes, Saxons, 
Normans ; how and by what ways and 
means their conftitutions of government 
took each in their refpe&ive form thefe 
fucceflions of revolutions ; how their man- 
ners and cuftoms. 

All this applied to the Antiquities of 
Britain and England efpecially. 



PART 



CONTEN T S, xxvii 

PART THE THIRD. 

Inventarhim opum humanarum quo ex- 
cipiantur et breviter enumerentur omnia 
horninum bona et fortunae (five fint ex frw> 
tibus et proventibus naturae, five artis) quae 
jam habentur et quibus hominies fruantur, 
adjeftis iis, quae olirn innotuifle conftat, 
nunc autem perierunt, &c. Bacon de 
Augment. Scient. Lib* IIL c. 5* 

Herein of the Antiquities of Ahftra:iSfc 
Science;, of Arts, neceflary or ornamental 
in thofe articles by which Man is lodged, 
cloathed, or fed. The commercial, me- 
chanical, and agricultural Antiquary. 



N. B. I give here the contents of the 
whole work as finifhed ; although the pub- 
lication of the fecond and third parts is 
deferred. It is deferred, as my Bookfeller 
doubts whether a work written on fubje£ts 
of this nature, by a perfon of no literary 
chara&er, will become an article of fale 
fufficient to pay the coft of publiftiing, al- 
though, as I never take any money from a 
Bookfeller, the copy cofts him nothing. 

3 The 



[ xxviii ] 



The Reader is defired.to correct, previous "to reading 
the work, the following Errata, which efcaped the 
Author's notice in the courfe of correcting the prefs, 
a talk he is not much ufed to. 



lege reprehenfione 

dele not 

after the word it, a full flop 

after the word ufed, put a full ftop» 

after the word of infert the 

after the word of infert the 

read Neptunia 

for evacuation lege excavation 

from the word voire dele e 

dele £/* 

lege complaints 

after the word 0/ infert the 

dele tfgtt/tf 

for almoft lege utmoft 

for Paulus lege Ptf/#$ 

for 4J«0*/ te Fabricus lege j^«0 f* Fabricius 

for ultiaa lege ultima 

for f even lege »/«* 

after the word y#?.r put a $ 



page 


line 


7 


24 


8 


*3 


*s 


22 


36 


26 


39 


18 


3* 


4 


33 


2 3 


54 


11 


55 


9 


60 


28 


79 


11 


88 


H 




20 


94 


ult 


95 


1 


in 


9 




14 


120 


10 


*3$ 


*9 



( i ) 



t iM f i H 



tfti * he 



fcf UDY of ANTi<iurTIES; &c; 

HE Society of Antiquaries, a body 
of men fenowir ig,. fome fronr fearn*' 
ing, others from experience, in all the 
feveral branches of the hiftory of maty, 
bnd of the world his habitation, is, by 
the confpiriiig information, and mtltual 
communications of its members, as alfo by 
its being a Repertory of their collective 
learning arid difcbveries, peculiarly adapt- 
ed to inftitute and build up that Hi/loria 
propria et juftaj which the Lord Veru-; 
lam does hold to be alone a£tual andr 
ffa&rck knowledge.' 

B ; I hate 



I have always confidered this Society in 
its inftitution as one of the moft ufeful 
literary Eftablifhments which have been 
made in this cpuntry; as promoting, and 
encouraging true and ufeful learning ; as 
aiding and conducing the refearches 
thereof to teal and.. practical knowledge; 
the knowledge of our country ; of our na- 
tiqn ; of its a&ual hiflory ; of its laws and 
rights ; of its civ$ conftitutMMi : As alfo by a 
hrftory of the proceffion of the encreafing 
wants, and elicited refources of man, lead- 
ing to an Experience, applicable in prac- 
tice to the /fate of the fyftem in which he 
is placed ;<jjj$ding by experience of what 
has been under various circumftances at- 
tempted, of what under various circum- 
ftances hath been the efFedt of fuch at- 
tempts, to information of what may and 
can, or what cannot, be done with his 
varied and erititeafed powers in the varied 
•.and" extended t!ircuitiftances of his beuisf. 



*&• 



Whefct I coniider this Society as a Cor- 
poration, I fuppofe it to have been in its 
inftitution fomething beyond that of a 
mere Repertory,, I look to fbme plaftick 
principle, force tendency to affort as well 
as to colleft ; fome recognizing principle 
which may reform as wellias revive fome 
of the multitude of materials which are 

every 



( 3 ) ; 

fevcry day brought to the mafs of oilt 
dilcoverieSj with a view to the reftoring 
irom its ruins, and re-edifying * that an- 
cient Strudture of which auf numberlefs 
fcolle&ions are but the feliqueS and dif«* 
ferfed fragments* 

Did We folldw the feduafonS 6( farte?, 
and quitting the fober fteps of experience* 
haftily adopt fyfterti; and then from a dotage 
tin otrr own phantoms, dMs fuch fjftem 
-Out in the rags and remnants of antiqui- 
ty, We fliould Only make work to mock 
Otirfelves : or were we on the other hand 
t6 perfevefe in rriaking unmeaning endlefs 
fcolle&ions without feope or view, we 
fhould be the dupes of 6tfr own futility/ 
and become iri either eafe ridiculous. 
The'upftart fungus of fyftem is poifon td 
the mind ; and an unnutWtive mafs of 
learning may dreafe and indulge a falfe 
appetite* but never can feed the mind* 
TlgXv[jLcidia> voov £x $i$&<rz$t *. AH the 
learning in the world, if it ftdps fhorf 
and" refts on particulars, never will be- 
come knowledge. Td avoid then thefe 
•extreams of felf-delufioh on one hand* 
or of the falfe conceptions of barren folly 
on the other* we fhould keep our minds 

* Heraclitus. 

B i conftaiitljr 



( 4 ) 

constantly fixed on the Principle ami 
End of oar inftitution. 

To analyfe and explain this principle? 
to defcribe that line of refeareh which 
leads to jthls end y and* in the way, to 
point out fome of the Dejiderata of this 
branch of learning, is the purport of this 
Treatife* 

The ftudy of the fyftem of the humaa 
being; and of the ftate of nature, of 
which that being is a part ; is the bu- 
finefs and duty of him who is to move 
and a£t in it. If he would have a real and: 
practical knowledge of it, he muft fearcb 
and examine, not only the prefent ftate 
of nature, the aftual and immediate ftate 
of his local or temporary Situation; but 
penetrate with philosophic patience and 
inquifition into ancient hiftory y ubi ef 
Hominum et Natura res gejla et f acinars 
memorantur. 

He fhould examine and analyfe this 
fyftem, like a great machine in all its 
parts, powers,, operations, and relations : 
he muft endeavour to. trace its nature iu 
every period of its progreflive exiftencev 
ar.d compare all with the prefent ftate of 
it. " Dijfuik enim ejl in Philofophia 



( 5 ) 

** pane a ejfe ei nata^ cut non funt aut 
* c plura aut omnia *." Nor muft this 
.analyfis be made from any theoretick ab- 
ftraft view of things in general ; but -by 
clofcly following ftep by ftep the path in 
which nature afting leads; and by a ft rift 
indu&ion of her laws as found in her ac- 
tions, " Omnes enim artes aliter ab iis 
" traStuntur qui eas ad ujum transferunt, 
" aliter ab iis qui ipfarum artium tradla- • 
• M tu dele&ati nihil in vita funt aliud 
*' afturi" In this linex)f refearch qpndu&ed 
by this principle, .he may hope to arrive 
3t the true end of learnings the know- 

LEPGE OF THE SYSTEM OF HIS EXIST- 
ENCE ; AND AT EXPERIENCE IN THE USE 
AND APPLICATION OF HIS POvVERS TO THE 
RIGHT POSSESSION AND ENJOYMENT OF 
IT. 

There are two concurrent lines, in 
which this knowledge may be traced. 
The firft \% that of hiftory properly fo 
called, the other an experimental hiftory 
of the varying and encreafing wants, and 
of the refourges and various contrivances 
and inventions of map ; as thefe have from 
time to time been called forth by the dif- 
ferent wants of the varying fituations of 
Jiis being. This fecoqd line of refeargh 

* Cic. Tufc. Quaft. 1. ii. § I. 

B 3 " is 



( f •■) 

is to be purfued by forming what the lor4 
Verulam calls " Javentariupi opum. hu* 
* 4 manafum/' 

If there was no ground as a ba(i$ for 
thefe experiments iii aflbrting the fcatter*- 
ed fragments and reliques of antiquity 
to a Reinftauration of (at leaft) the know- 
ledge of the fyftem to which they be- 
longed ; the labours of learning would be 
but the building (as our proverb exprefles 
it) caftles in the air : if there was no cer-r 
tain decided and defined courfe in the 
movements and operations of nature, all 
theory on which thefe experiments could 
• be inftituted, would originate in caprice, 
and muft end in empiricifm : but there 
is in nature, a fyftem by which every 
being is defined in its own 'effence, and 
Jn its relative exiftence; by which that 
being hath a certain energy and defined 
extent of power, by which the dire&ion, 
which thofe powers in motion take, is 
determined. This fyftem confifts of 3 
feries of caufes and*effe£ts, linked toge- 
ther by that golden chain which defqends. 
from heaven. If then this fyftem exift§ 
by fuch a feries in nature, there muft be 
in the power of man a clue, by which 
reafon in the patient fpirit of inyeftigatiou 
jiiay retrace back the lji}k$ of this chain 
3 tQ 



( 7 )-. 

t :> the primary* if not the very firft prin- " 
ciples on which the whole depends. 

I will commence my application of 
this theorem with the firft obje£t of in- 
veftigation that muft occur to the Anti- 
quary in his refearches into the hiftoric 
traces of the human being. I fhall apply 
it to that fpecies of hiftory which may be 
elicited by a truely philofophic etumo- 
logy, and a fcientific examination of the 
various modes of enunciation, by which 
the primary elements of fpeech became 
fo infle&ed as to form various dialefts of 
the fame language, and fo devious as to 
create various derivative languages. 

44 Humaml voce nihil majus varjum, 
44 hujus tamen difcfimkia in fingulis per- 
44 fonis facile internofcimus. Nihil majus 
44 varium qu&m foni artieulati, verba 
44 fcilicet, Via tamen inita eft earn re- 
44 ducendi.ad paucas litteras alphabeti *. 
44 In fonis quaedam eft antiquitatis Veritas 
44 quamneque confuetudine diverfam, ne- 
44 que rerephenfione nullam, neque vo- 
44 luntate noftril tranflatitiam efficere pof- 
44 fumus +" 

* Bacon de Augfti. Scicnt. 

f Sir T. Smith de vera pronunciatione Lingp» 
Grsecae* 1542. 

B4 The 



( 8.) 

The line of this refearch may be con? 
du&ed by an analyfis of the powers o^ 
articulation in man, deriving from the 
varying form and texture of the organs of 
fpeech. The peculiar jointing and mov- 
ing mufcles of the human limbs deci- 
sively determine the fpecific inflection of 
thofe limbs ; all the movements and at-, 
titudes therefore of all men in the world 
muft be generically the fame 1 : Particular 
n?odes pf exertion, caprices, and fafhions, 
and divers habits and cuftoms, may create 
fome perfbnal, profeflional, or even na- 
tional peculiarities ; yet all are reducible, 
by a knowledge of the conftru&ion of the 
machine, to the movements and attitudes 
ef the one defined animal man. The va- 
riant enunciation of the elementary founds 
of fpeech may feem almoft infinite and 
infer u table, not only as it arifes amongft 
various races of men ; but alfb in the fame 
race of men at different peripds of time, 
and even in the f^me individual, but they 
are not fo, nor will be found to be fo 
when examined, either by the nature or, 
the exercife of the organs which found 
{hem : various and alrpoft difcrepant as the 
pronunciation of the fame language may 
found, fpoken in different periods of time. 
In various climates, and under divers ha- 
bits; different as the different founds yfed 

by 



( 9 ) 

£y- the various inhabitants of this earth, 
may feem : yet when the powters of emm* 
ciation, as they exift and are capable of 
being exerted, are analyfed, they will be 
found all to be ponfihed to, gnd circum- 
fcribed within, the fame elements of 
fpeech; and thefe elements alfo, how- 
ever infinite the words of fpeech may 
feem, when refolved into their primary 
and indivifible founds of voice, will be 
found not to exceed iixteen. I fhall not 
here enter further into the a&ual analyfis 
of this fubjeft ; as No. L of the appen- 
dix is an exprefs treatife of this fubjed, 
considered as one of the defiderata in the 
fludy of antiquities. I (hall only obferve 
that this method of refolution and com- 
pofition of the elements of fpeech did 
a&ually lead in the Sixteenth century to 
many difcoveries in the etymon and ortho- 
graphy of the dead languages. The truely 
philofophic etymologifts have, in many 
instances, ' traced back the deviations in 
different diale&s of the fame language, 
and the variations of different languages, 
through fources which lay almoft buried 
under the ruines of time, fo as to dif- 
■ pover the original root whence all deriv- 
ed. The difcoveries made by thefe meri- 
torious labours in this line of refearch have 
|ed to the elucidation of the hiftory of 

maa 



( . «* > 

mm in Gfa^yrpoUits eflentjal to that, his- 
tory ; tQ tfe§ ^fcectpining .aji.4 i^ntifyiQg 
the people, *h$ perfons, the country* 
nfthich wgre the objects of the narrative. 
Thia philofophift etymology may tend to 
e^plaii* many cirqumftapces of the cuf- 
topas, policy, and deeds of thefe people, 
jpay in many cafes elucidate the geography 
and even chronology of thofe countries^ 

An attentive inveftigation, by this mode 
of refolution and composition, of the dif- 
ferent manner in which different nations 
pronounce reciprocally the words of each 
the other's language ; repeated experiments 
by the ear, made on the peculiarities 
which each hath in founding the palatin 
elements of fpeech, with a varying guttural 
catch of the voice* and in giving various 
afpirations, by which they furcharge the 
dental, lingual, and labial elements ; will 
eliqite-and elucidate many curious matters 
which (hall continually arife to light by 
thefe experiments fo condufted. 

The Principle, indifpenfably to be ob r 
ferved, and never to be departed from in 
this mode of refearch, is, that the refo- 
lution and compofition be conduced; in. a- 
conftant reference of the Jlock and branchft: 
(if I may fo exprefs myfelf.) of the \^ord[ 

under 



. 5 ' ■ > 

under examination to tin roots, of the Ian* 
gijage, tp which the word originally be*" 
longed. The' firft ftep therefore is qare* 
fully both by internal and. external evi- 
dence to enquire, whether the word or 
name is a native of, or foreign to, the 
language in which it is found % J whether 
technical, and fpoken as foreign ; whether 
adopted, and tranflatitious ; of whether 
derived through the ordinary generation 
of languages peculiar to each race of men, 
and naturalized ; whether the thing, place, 
qr perfon, which the word exprefles, be 
foreign or domeftic ; if foreign, whether 
the name be fuch, as the language, in 
which the word is found, would invent to 
defcribe fuch thing, place, ot perfon by ; 
or whether it is the word by which the 
nation in which the object exifts doth in 
its own proper language exprefs it : if the 
objeft is domeftick, whether the word be 
defcnptive, or appellative ; if io, whether 
the word, expreffing the defcription or 
appellation, be found amongft, or was 
ever known to, the lAguage of the country 

* Plato, in the Dialogue called Cratul us, fpeaking of the 
etymology of 'he word n^, ignis, lays, that being, as he 
apprehends, a barbarous or Phrygian u ord, he Ihall not 
attempt theanalyfc.of it by Grecian element?, and then 
lays down this rrle, which 1 hce memiop.. E? tj; £jto» 

TetUTa xotra rr,\ EA*imx»,y $a.yr,v 4* io»xoto;$ xa^i, Zb\\<* p.ri 
xar mm* ii 5$ to «»/*a tvyyjLm oi, oIc-Ga cr* a^ojo* ar. 

or 



* > 



V 



.v ■' * *•*• ***** 

.X * * v „ V * 



or 



— ~r *x 



.( '3 ) 

as can be formed from concurrent &tU 
dences and analogy. Without a conftant 
attention, referring alternately to both 
thefe evidences, where they are to be had ; 
and without a more than ordinary atten- 
tion, watching with a jealous eye over our 
imagination where we muft proceed only 
by the one line of evidence ; the Anti- 
quary will become a mere futile punfter, 
ringing changes with fyllables on the 
tinckling carillon of his own fancy. But 
as the deviations of language do not, fo 
neither does not the labour of analysing 
them end here. ' Knowledge of the an- 
cient flate of things comes to us, com- 
municated by language written and ndt 
fppken. It is not fufficient that the An- 
tiquary be converfant with the nature o( 
the variations of the elements enounced, 
but a very attentive obfervation, how dif- 
ferent nations or tribes, or even indi- 
viduals in different climes, and at different 
periods of their progrefs in civilization, 
apply and ufe the lame fyftem of ele- 
mentary characters to e^prefs that which 
is meant to be the fame found. No two 
perfons receive exaftly the fame impreflion 
from the fame colour, nor will any twb 
(if they are to exprefs that from memory) 
cxprefs with a pencil the fame preeife ton of 
colour i no two perfons hearing the fame 

fbund^ 



( 14 } 

found, of a word ftrahge to themr, will 
receive the fame imprcffion, or imitate it 
by the fame enunciation j much lefs will 
they, if they are of a different nation, 
having a different language, write it down 
in the fame maimer. When the elements 
of fpeech, fufcharged with the guttural 
catch of the voice, or with the a/pirates^ 
as the lingual dental, and labial elements 
are affe&ed by them, come to be written 
d6wn, accordingly as the more or lefs at- 
tentive habit of the ear catches the found, 
and according to the idea which each na- 
tion hath of the powers of the elementary 
chara&er, by which they mean to exprefs 
that found ; the words thus written, and 
thus compofed, undergo fuch metamor- 
phofes as to retain fcarce any of that out-* 
ward ffcrm with which their fpirit was 
originally, cloathed ; befides* there is hi 
every particular race of people ibme pe- 
culiarities of enunciation, which another 
people or nation are not capable of ex* 
prefling precifely, for which peculiar tond 
they always fubftittite fome other tone* 
fomewhat (according to their own ear 
and expreffiort) fimilar : For example, 
" the American Indians," (fpeaking of my 
own knowledge, I fpeak particulaily of" 
the five natiohs, and by way of con- 
firmation,, write, from the teftimoay of one' 

whof 



< *5 ) 

ywho perfectly lmderftood ]their affairs *) 
«*have no labi^k in thek : language, nor 
^ Q311 they .perfectly prono\apce : 3 word 
" Wherein there is# labial,- apd when one 
" endeavours to teach them thefe words, 
" they fay th^jr, think it ri#c$ousto fliut 
^ their Kps c tq fpeak. -Their language 
** ^teuads.j^tKgutturals, and ftrong af- 
" pgratiojis^' To the famejjQjnt^" The 
44 Chine^? &ys. Pallas +,_ in, his Journal 
through Sibepaj ." are not -able to pro- 
** npunce i )fc ; /but inftpad of it r make 
" ufe of L; and when two confonants 
m " come toffet Jjer, which fre<jia§ntly; occurs 
"** in the Kuffiam knguga* they divide 
** them by the interpolation of a vowel/* 
On the contrary, the Northern Girfceks 
, g^lieratty : Wp r *ed between two vowels their 
_<iiganMm n ivk; order to aid them in dx- 
, ppeding, thofe. emollient founds of the 
iHjbre ibutljern Hellbn*fts f which, fcb#r 
ijgroiTer rigid' organs of fpeech Couid «W: 
.WfitL expreia wkhout it, Mr. Bayer* ii 
his Mufeum Sinicum (fays Mr* Cox), 
gives feveral curious inftaacefs fcf tfefc Chi- 

* Lieutenant Governor Coldem 
' f Not^avrng&e bdok by me, I fcfce my account Irom 
Mr. Cox's account of the Ruffian Difcoveries, in which he 
infertf a Hiftory of the Tranfaelions and Gommeifce be- 
tween the Ruffians and Chinefe, a work containing tifeany 
curious matters collected with great judgment, and ex- 
plained with learning. 

, nefe 



( K ) 

hcfd mode of articulating thofe founds 
Ivhich they have not in their own lan- 
guatgfc; for mfldncS, they change B> t)f 
R, X Z, into P, T, L; S &. 



t*or Crux 
Baptizo - 
Gardinalis 


they fa^ Culufu.' 
• - - Pap&ifb^ 
- - Kia-uMi-na4i-fuV 


Spirittts 
Adam ■* 


- - - Su-pj-li-ti-fu. j 
-* - *\Vit-tam. 


. Eve -- - 
Chrifttis< 


• - - Ki-li-iu-tu-fii; 



* H Mot eft corpus meum^Hoke J nge- 
-&tu? a>ulpufu mevum;" 

Frbn* the uncertain aricf undefined idea', 
Which each nation , or each tribe, hath of 
the powers aind combination of the 6l6- 
ntentary ehara&ersj fohie ufe ciie, aria 
feme another of the feme, or €veh diff 
fetent dafles, in their writings when all 
mean to exprefs one and the fame found i 
fbme even ufe particular marks, which are' 
not defined letters^ peculiar tor themfelves^ 
ib order to exprefs their peculiar guttural 
catchy or the afpiralions, witli which they 

* Here \* the initial, and f here the interpbfed digarnrria. 

J G in the two inilances muft be only the mark of? 
the digamma, and not a conformant, and muft be pronounced' 
as Y.' as when the Englifh in Vorklhire fa^ Yate for Gate; 



( '7 ) 

furcharge their enunciation. I have my- 
felf been an ear-witnefs to the matters 
here ftated. When prefent at the treaties 
or conferences with the Indians of North 
America, I haveobferved that every feveral 
interpreter has received a very different im- 
preflion of the found uttered by the Indian 
ipeaking; and hath alfo ufed a different 
mode or expreffing the fame name, wheat 
endeavburing to enounce the fame found. 
The found that ftruck my ear did alfo 
feem, at the fanie time, very different 
from the tone feemingly imprefled on the 
ear of the interpreter, or exprefled by 
him ; and if I had endeavoured to enounce 
what the Indian uttered, I fhould have 
exprefled it very differently from what the 
faid interpreter did : fo that the fame name 
or word becomes, when thus transferred 
from one lauguage to another, quite a 
different thing. But when thefe words, 
thus differently received by different ears, 
and thus differently exprefled, come to be 
written down, the confufion redoubles in 
perplexity : when however one is once ap- 
prised of the fa6t, that thefe Indians ufe 
no labial elements of fpeech, and that they 
exprefs a greater variety in the ufe of the 
digamma, and in the ajpirats than the 
Europeans know ; and that the Europeans 
C do 



( «8 ) 

do fubftitute, in order to exprefs thefe pe- 
culiar founds, each nation very different 
letters, to exprefs the fame word, which 
yet do not really exprefs them.; one can- 
not but fee how the barbarifms muft mul- 
tiply upon each other. One can however 
obferve that there is generally a kind of 
uniformity in thefe deviations, both in the 
impreffions received, and in the peculiar 
utterance and. writing of each nation. 
To mark this fpecifically is the indifpen- 
fable duty of the philofophic Antiquary 
in his operation of etymology. Analyiing 
hence any name or word, according to 
the peculiar texture of thofe fubftituted 
elements of the language, wherein the 
word is received; and recompofing it again 
according to the peculiarities of the lan- 
guage to which it originally belonged ; 
iuch words may generally be reftored to 
their original etymon. 

May I here be permitted to fuggeft an 
idea which in the courfe of the experience 
ahove-mentioned has often ftruck me ? 
My idea is, that the diverging of the 
human fpeech into various languages hath 
arifen more often, and gone into greater 
diverfities, fince the invention of elemen- 
tary writing, than from any other caufe 

whatever- 



( »* ) 

Whatever. I think that the fimilarity 
Ivhich muft, as an a&ual fad, be fup- 
J>ofed to exift in the languages of different 
people, who underftood one another prior 
to any account which hiftory gives of the 
Vulgate ufe of letters ; and the great dis- 
crepancy which we know did adtually 
exift in the languages of thefe fame na- 
tions after the vulgate ufe of letters, is a 
proof of this* 

If the various languages of the antient 
world were in this line of refearch, by 
this refolution and compofition, recipro- 
cally compared, at or about that period 
when civilization began to fru&uate in an 
exuberance of population ; when the civi- 
lized were ifluing forth colonies in va- 
rious emigrations* and forming various 
Settlements, amongft the yet uncivilized 
natives of tYizJylvan world : If this analylis 
at every ftep it took looked to the hiftory 
of thole times, although exprefled in me- 
taphorical piftures, although cloathed in 
fables, and thofe fables afterwards de- 
formed by filly devices of mythology »; many 
very interefting fa&s in the Hiftory of 
Man would be brought to light, which 
have long lyen and muft lie buried under 
the ruins that the devastation of their 
C i' wars 



( *•■ ) 

wars and pluhderings haye, made over the 
whole face of the earth. 

* ■ •"• * ' * . '. '. ' 

I may here, referring to : an incontro- 
vertible proof in an illuftrious example^ 
affert, that fuch a line. of. refearch, con- 
duced by fuch philoibphick etymology* 
will lead to fuch difcoveries ; for in Mr. 
Bryant's analyfis it hath in fad; done fa 
His very fuperior literature, led 'by un^- 
common ingenuity, hath through the 
foufees of ancient learning, opened, as it 
were, the fountains of aatient knowledge.; 
difpelled that more than Egyptian dark- 
neis, under which the learned themfelves 
have been, fq long loft. He hath given 
fuch elucidation to the clouded hiftory of 
the ancient world, that it fhould feem, 
that truth, like the fun r * is beginning 
now to rife on our hemifphere. . The 
more however that I hope from this ,firft 
day-fpring, the more anxioufly do I fear*, 
left any intervening medium fhould over- 
caft the dawn. I fee no cloud, no fpot„ 
in our horizon, that can obftru5l\. and 
yet there is lbme thing that feems dif- 
pofed to rejrati and may pervert thefe rays 
of opening light. It were much to be. 
wifhed, that in the ufe and application of 
his learning to his argument, he. would 
attentively re-examine whether there be 

not 



,( .« ) 

c nbt . fome 'fefraSiohs caufing fome aber- 
rations' from the ftrift right line of de- 
,'mbnftraCioii. ,'Whfr.e any thing has come 
^fo near perfe&ioh in its way, thofe; who 

admire.it, cafinQt 'jiut 'wife it to be, if 

poflible, abfojutfely ' fo.' 

. If by this'hicideof refolution and com- 
position of language, cond\ji<9ted by thefe 
philofbjphic principles^ the feveraTihdividual 
., Literati were fevjerally to purfue the ety- 
mology, of tfrofe languages, which they 
areiiioft converfa.nt in^ and if univer- 
sally the Literati, in different p'arts of the 
world/ were by; some established So- 
ciety reciprocally to communicate to 
' qach other the 'modes of their refearches, 
/ the Ihftitution : and iffue of their experi- 
' rnents, and the'refult in their difcoveries ; 
there would he found a much greater 
analogy, * and a much nearer agnation, 
amongft the different languages in the 
world, than their firft appearances offer : 
fuch an agnation at leaft.as, fairly traced, 
would by degrees tend to remove that al- 
moft infurmountable difficulty, which lies 
in the way of learning. ' " The variety of 
languages through which that way leads to 
knowledge? Although an univerfal philo- 
sophic language, is rather to be wifhed than 
pbtained ; and, if obtained, would be 
C 3 found 



46 



■ ( M ) 

found not to be retained unchangeable; 
although I have not, in what I here write, 
the leaft reference to any, fuch idea, 4 yetf 
think fuch a general knowledge of terras 
and names, in the various languages of the 
earth, might be obtained i as that *' " 'afij\ 
" might more immediately apply to 
u things, whereas now a great part of our; 
" time is fpent in words, and that 'with 
" fo little advantage, that we often blunt 
the edge of bur understanding by deal- 
ing with fuch rough and unpleafant 
" tools." As Cicerp. ; fays of Memory, 
that it is of two forts, the one more, 
adapted to receive and retain the im- 
preffion of words ; the other that* of 
things + : So are the minds of men 
thus differently formed, or thus differently: 
trained, that thofe who have exercifeci 
themfelves in, and devoted their ftudies to, 
the purfuit of things,, are feldom fo at- 
tentive to word§, as to -become gcx)d lin- 
guifts : and on the contrary, thofe who 
have kept their minds amufed and exer- 
cifed within the cjaffic pale of words, and 

* Baker's Reflexions on Learning. 

f Lucuilus habuit divinam quahdani memoriam return, 
verborum majorem Hortenfius : fed quo plus in negotiis 
gerendis, res quam verba prafunt, haec crat memoria ilia 
prseftajitior. •'*. ' J ' ' >: 

corn- 



( *3 
eorapofitions of language, are Jfelcbm much 
COnverfant with that philofphy which 
looks to thingsi. A phthjbphic PoJygktt, 
Jlibnned by means of fuch intercourfe -and 
communication of the Learned in divers 
nations, might thus he eftablifhed. Such a 
Polyglott, examined '-. by refolutioa and 
compofition of the:Jterms:atxd their com* 
ponent elements, in the correfponding 
words :of each language r fby fiair reference 
to the^fdrms and tcnae^ Twhich chefe .dta- 
ments either alone or in compofition, 
take/ in the fafhion or habits peculiar to 
the enunciation or oithcgrahy of each 
language: ; by a fedulous and cautious en- 
quiry through means of fuch an 4fta- 
bltfhed communication: inta the* external 
pircumftances Which might originally 
gaufepr afterwards afFe& thefe terms,* as 
names or appellatives given or aflumed ; 
fuch a Polyglott I fay might greatly clear 
the path of learning, and rencfer mojfe 
pra&icable the pafs to knowledge,' ,aiid 
anfwer all the prai&ical purpofesirof ah 
universal philofophic language. .1 vhave 
been informed that there was,, bufr*>finbe 
dead, , a learned edctefiaftical Regular in 
Italy or Germany* who, on the' bafis.bf 
his own (ingle . learning and informatiori, 
\vith undaunted .courage and indefatigable 
; C 4 per- 



( *4 ) 

perfeverahce, had laboured in a line of re- 
search, into all the languages of the 
world, foiriewhat fimilar to what is here 
rfuggefted. If my information be right, 
and there now exift any relicks of thefe 
meritorious labours, they ought not to be 
iecreted^or negledted * or loft to the world; if 
they were fuch as the accounts given repre- 
lent them to have been, they might bjp 
made the groundwork of fuch a lettered 
eftabliflbment as I have prefumed to form 
an idea of. There are many learned men 
now living, peculiarly trained in their eru- 
dition to become members of fuch a cof~ 
refponding fociety. Lieutenant - colonel 
Vallency,Mr. Bryant, Mr. Richardfon, the 
Profeflbr at Gottingen, Mr. Gebelin, Mr. 
Pallas, and the learned members of the 
fociety at Peterfburg, have fhewn in their 
works, and by what they fingly have done, 
whaf might be done .by fuch la Society. 
Labourers are not wanting ; the harveft is 
abundant : and this* period, in which the 
feveral great nations of Europe are aflidu- 
bufly inveftigating the various regions of 
this our planet, and the various people who 
inhabit it, feems to be the feafon, when 
the gathering into ftores for ufe, the 
fruits of thefe labours, ihould be begun, 
at leaft fliould be thought on. 

From 



.( *5 ) 

■•■■"> From whtt4tffc fallen in the 1 way of 
a\^6fyclup^dd_*wfoiy reading, fuch as 
the writer of th& p&per, whtf> is neither 
lettered nor l&fri&d* in liis detached 
hoiits of leifiilfc lias been capable of pur- 
firing* I am -convinced that a certain 
degree of agnation may be traced between 
the ' languages' of the north-estftem and 
Chihefe Tartars ^khthe Wcfflrern Indians 
ti£ North America ; thatt a : very xlofe ag- 
nation between the languages of the 
ancient northern nations of Europe, with 
the Greeks and Latins, would arife and 
perpetually occur in every line of this 
refear$h. • ''' .-'::::.'. i 

The earlieft reference that can be made 
to that ftate of Civilization -which gave 
foutce ■ to the ahtient . governments of 
Europe, commences- at that period, whin 
a race of ftrangers, advanced - to* a degree 
of civilization and itriproverhent in the 
arts, either as an emigrating tribe, or as 
a colony of adventurers, firft fettled in 
Phrygia amongft a people then living the 
fyivan-hunting, or roving paftoral life. * 
Thefe ftrangers, either from an affump- 
tion of the title taken up of themfelves, 

or 



or * receiving it from the fervility of a bar-? 
3piwu»]^&^^ or 

dfrota Xtraft&tion ro£j* j^iMfli£, -aisaqr 
-fcg'quitfe A difFeret^rj fcg^ ^j^^^d 
10fPf*:3Ofc Gotfs. ,T^tyr^^hpji\iQ';j^]^\' 

jfixed to it hek-Jiabita^k^f, -..a^ji .-, whence : qi 
joouriVfiiDfe>^vit Society^ ; <>ver the&ciyii 
tfcKriet^ifee^^iftal^fti^ I^ity,: 4 8fl[d bfi- 
acanre* 7 their;Kiags a#$ Jpoyernorsy ^Whq 
■iibis:: latev were, - wjiethqr.an . emigrating 
♦Tarta* tribe* or whether. 3 Synw^qr 
.Egyptian Colony, -.j» not as yet beyond 
;conttcwer£y.. fettfe&j JWhft thfc ^people 
; uteres amofcgft whom, thsfogods fettled, 
may, I think, be fairly deduced, by a-, re- 
ference to their language in the manner 
fabovefuggsfted^ Hemcr, <vho writes of 
*tfoqfe tiroes, tells us,, that the names of 
-perfona,:, things, -and feme animals* were 
rdiffcrenfciijaihe languagje. of the gpds froa* 
thofe iwawsL-bjr which : the race, of men 
called the fame thing*- . la the coujrfe of 
■his popm Jje takes pecafioa in two or three 
(inftaftced to mentioa both names, which 
:<a)ch cefjpe&ively ufed, whether thdfe gods, 
«,fpeaking.in cornrnon ufe the fame lan- 

.* Thus. Caliban in Shakefgear makes the drunken 
*TrincaIb his god. 

That's a brave god, and bears celeftial liquor ! 
Haft thou not dropt from heaven ? 

guage, 



( *7 ) 
guage as the people, had (as the Indians of 
.Nor&^qprin' hayej. 4 comciUlanguagc 
^efpn^.ffQm mat which was in common 
wiwifS*^ k^S Qf a .deferent; jn$e 
v & e £lW^ diflfcippt.Jw- 

guage, is not clear. The language fp<&fen 
by men, their fubjedts, was the fame in 
3fhfygia']aqd Thracu^ aodr L telieyfcjori- 

guage^vas jnay be leaned frfigrf^fim-' 
cifick •wor.ijte . ,mentipn^4;a3 pec^liar\jbp.^it 
language Ti:; Homer j^ys, that t^fliaf^ei- 
lativel^ yiwch.Bria.reus (fo ail^Tby;tJle 
gods) w^fy nailed by men, was Aigeot*; 
now^^jfvWeJIh %nifies;tfre. Qwfti, 
an appellative exa&ly fuifced to the^jcha- 
ra£ter, refid^nce, and particular power*, .of 
^this gre^t : officer, jwhgf, fiiperfeded: Nep- 
iaine.. r .H^.iays, that: -the.. river tutUed-by 
the : gpd$y^nthus : ,,.waf called, by. nien 
'Scamander : now, .cammendwr means 
crooked or winding water, an exadk de- 
fcriptive apj^Uatiyp^f this winding river 
full of wrtices. . Jjt ^ common with the 
Welfli hi. many ..ipftances to prefix the 
particle ys to ? ifl<u}y words. Prefix: now 
fhis; tq f^mfpenckpr^, and pronounce it, 'no 
uncompwn.-way, aft we pronounce efquire, 
and ypi^Jiavc *lk(itnmendwr. 

' /;r. -, ,.,-.-. . Homer 



( ±8 :) 

0"*'*»* n »'*» .\'«i > < * I '»■"•» * ' ' " •■!tl S 




•&Jy^Mrd. TheP fed^freXVe^rffes" iny 



xii a.": --L •••■' rvr ;''-'> : H. r '' 




-&Vii^ly/Bat^~^w Beffi fti<Weltfi J is 

hWi- thfc .plural v'Salb&i&tyuifS&ffiaax. 

; fey%%ehferical- flaW' ^rKilePdfirf gW«r- 3n 

, aasring it Ka»J • t^refeYo 'We&IH ftory 

-ofrtfr being a fc^i1^-pac^6f!#^afrts, 

who 'taptife there forfaerly _*a trade ■"' lyith 

thrs foreign people.' < r Hbt&pfo\BJ&ys;ihat 

v the> ^iyiiibtiF in- piffctffe^ Writing* Tor -~mer- 

' chants ! trading In- forei^tt-p^rt^ 'vSas the 

^Mvi»T»»y--&c' : haMrey^''\. ' . : " n: " jr ; X;::! ; f ""'' 

; ' •"', * . . . « .. » M l c,">.' r ■ 

.' ' J .1 f\ • * < 

• * ' r * ■ " 

• •^Hbrncr in hi^ OHyfiee g&eir t^ c iiame 
■■<jf 4- medicinal plarft as callecFTiy t%gods 
•MoM. i: He does riot mention gijy x f ajftin6l 
n'anieby whieh 'men. called it. Moft likely 
the^ adbpted the name when tftey learnt 
and adopted the iufe of it, fo^aVto call it 
by the fame. There was a' fecret in ga- 
thering this plant known only to the gods; 

and 



C ^ > • 

and the eoitotaentatbrs c fay it is ah jfflgyp* 
tian plant ;■'* Its -root f j^» : blacky 1>tit" its* 
head or flower as white as milk. Now, 
Moli fignifies in Welfti a white fcurf, 
efpeciially; about theses.- I could not 
biit mintio'rithis laftef inftince, though, ta 
fay the truth, I repafe'ttcft rriuch tipbn : it. 

Plato difcourfing oi etymology, 1 • iiv his 
Cratylus, f&fs, ButhoW (hall; wefefblve, 
or to ^hat'^hall We- r refer, thofe Wrds 
which are barbariaii ;" as the word : Uvp, 
for inftaiice, which h Phrygian, r We 
fhall be all' wrong if we refolve this to 
Grecian elements. Tlvp then fignifying 
fire, is a barbarous word, or of the lan- 
guage of the race of men. Now, the 
language which has this! word with the 
II afpirated, is the language of north of 
Europe, univerfally for Fuer in German ; 
and Fir ift jBwedifh is fire. 

We all know that the region which 
was vulgarly and by relative appellation 
called Theflaly, was originally named 
Aimoriia [Dionyf. llalicarm, lib. I.] Now 
&6TJu\tK- or @&tIci\i$ 9 " and <£>s<r<rc6Xtc& 9 are 
the fam&* but T ? uat'dale in the Celtic 
means, relatively fpeaking, northern dif- 
tri&. Will any one deny that ©arJasA/a 
and T'uWalia* are <h«' fame* So much 

for 



( ■ * ? 

for the language* of ineri$ in contradi* 
ftin&ion to the language of the gods. 

In like manne* many of the ftaiftes and 
appellatives given tp the heroes a&iftg at 
the fiege of Ilium may be traced dlre&ly 
to their Celtic etymon* 

EteCWs fbn wa$ called by; a c^mpli- 
Wtitary appellation in Hellenic* 'AffcmZi 
which Plato fays, is fynonynxnjs t<> that of* 
He£tor, to the meaning of which latter 
name, Homer almoft always adds, , 

Chog yap iQVTo "l\iov ' Ext up — 
or G*^ yup <r<piv epuco woXug xj T.*t%£a ^a#/»a * 
who alone was the .city's defence ; or who 
alone was the defence of the purtain, as 
modern engineers would exprefs, T $!p* 
ftaKpa. *Epvfiou is cuftodio Protego, &c. and 
"Epjpa is munimentum, praefidium. In 
this fenfe in general the word is always 
taken, and in particular is applied to mi* 
litary ideas, as for instance, ^capcactg are 
called in Xenophon's Cyri P«d. ip/iure* 
crco^KTouv applied to the defences of a 
town, it exprefsly means a tower or ttfr* 
ret (or that projecting defence called by 
modern engineers a haftkm)* Thus Xano* 
phon in his Hellenics mentions "E^* 
THX*&v}*£i and rmq woXs<nv sgVfjwt]o& wip* 

6*KKo{}cu ; fomewhere in Hom«r f but, I 

do 



4o not juft recolle£ where, it i& iaid T*i»t 
f $>>V Tlvpyor cc7rc!>\tT0i £cc. which is a me- 
taphor direft to my analyfis. Plato, as 
above, {peaking of word He^or fays, 
AoKGipoi thto mrapotvrXiio'iM r) Mat, t$? Ago* 

6 yap *AfVccM% . x i "ExTwp %V$w . t* tccvt$p 
(TUftcdm fiatriXiXK aplpoTMpa two* ra cvo^uru 
iipwg toujtov cyfiuvt u SciL *Aqiip7roXt$» Th6 
etymon of the name Aftyanax is plain in 
the Hellenic language : But Pkto, though . 
he fays that He£tor means the fkme thing, 
does not . attempt its etymology. H6 
certainly thought it to be (as he fays of 
the "word Tlvp) of barbarous original ; had 
he underftood the Celtic, the language of 
njen, the etymology would have been 
equally plain to the idea of his com- 
mentary. Sciz. Ach^Twr. populi,. feu tri- 
buum, prefidium. 
> 

Paris is in the Hellenic language called 
Alexander, which is Pr aefidium Hominum, 
Priam from wptu^vm protego. 
■ oq <r<ptv ccfJLWto 
' Hpup ccvayycaXov 
me;ans the fame thing ; and coines from 
the fame roots in the Celtic, and is of 
the fame compound, SgIz. Bri* Primus 
Honor-dignitas, &c. and AiXiWU-OrAmwg 
to defend ; and means in the compound 

the 



( 3± > 

the principal or fupream defender. There 
is a peculiar coincidence in matter of faft* 
with this notion, that is,'that Priaf or Parif 
is the Welfh (or Celtic) pronunciation of 
Priam, fo that we fee thefe royal titles* 
though feemingly different words, have all 
the fame meaning, and are, as Plato fays, 
fynonymous. Infteadof ufing as we do 
George the firft, George the fecond, the 
third, and lb on ; the richnefs of their 
language enabled them to diftinguifh the 
perlons of the royal family, although 
having the fame or fynonymous jtW/A/x* 
evepajet, by differently exprefled appel- 
lations* 

The country or region, which was the 
fcene of this decifive war, is always called 
by its Celtic. name. Tre-oim, which fig- 
nifies the habitation or fettlements of the 
Oi'm or Ovim, or Goujim and Magoujim, 
for fo thefe people were called ; a?c& or ey 9 
ia or ea, are terminations, when added 
to a name, that means country. The 
etymon then flood thus, Tr'6-ia. 

Ilium fignifies in the Hellenic language, 
the holy dwelling, or holy city, upov nf]o~ 
Xisfyov, .-and "iXtog Ypij, or HX— -£lov, juft as 
Beth-el, God's Temple. And the city is 

generally 



( 33 ) 
geiiei'aiiy called by it's Hellenic flaQto'iAiif 
or "iXtov* 

Tpoirjg i'tpov liJbXiiQ^ivr^ 
% 
It waa faid to be built by Neptune ; d 
great naval commander, a god j and to be 
facred to 'Ha r, R\to$, or Apollo : and from 
the coiicourfe of commercial people of 
different nations reliding or trading here* 
it was defcribed by Homer as UoXig ^oiroov 

When 1 firft Wrote this, I had faid, that 
this city was a/ways called by its Hel- 
lenick name^ Ilios ; but mentioning it td 
Mn Bryant, he reminded me of two places 
in Homer, where the city is called Troia *+ 
''TtyiKuXog Tpofrj. I do therefore, in tran-« 
fcribing this, ufe the exprefliofi generally* 
Ruicus is of the fame opinion as Mr. 
Bryant, that Ilium tneant fpeeially th<S 
tower or citadel, while Troia was the 
liame of the city* 

^— ^— ceciditqufc fuperbiini 
illiilm, et omiiifc hiimo fumat Neptuhi* 'lYojai 

Per Iiliumj arx; per Trojam, urbs fignifieatur f. 

But this diftiti£t:ion does not appear to 
ipe, to be well founded; tfeq -direft eon- 

* Lib. XVI. v. 68> and L. XXI. v. 544; 
•f* Not. ad Virg. Lib. HI. v. 3, 

t> trary 



( 34 ) 

trary fa<5t fecms to refult from the expfef* 
lions ultd. However the city might on 
•Jbme occaiions, and by fon.e fpeakers, be 
called the city of Troja, as Tpotyg woXtg^ or 
Tpuav zro\t$ 9 as in the Odyfley, Lib. IV yet * 
I lion was the city, and fo it was generally 
called, while the region was called Troja. 
Homer, (in Lib. XX. Iliad) fpeaking of 
the origin of llion, fays, 

- * , • Aufavov av TzrijtoTQv rexfjo VBQsXij'yspttct Ztvg 1 

KritnTi Aotp^uvti/jv lirei xttw H I\iog igij 
\ 't> meSitp mtTrl\i$Oj wcXig pzpcxoov dvOpoorrtav* 

Here llion is expreflly called the city, 
inhabited by men of various langua- 
ges* The capital of Troy, before the 
building of Ilios, was tip in the high- 
lands near mount Idae ; but Ilios, built as 
a commercial city, was built in the plain ; 
iza.TMiifi'y} 5/7, (pa^sv sx roov vyyXcoy Big [teyoi ^ 

XUKOV tjB6iO)f 9 \XtOV B7TI Xo$OV TWCL OVK \j\\>y]X0V* 

(Plato de Legibus, Lib. III.) In the fame 
book, 'a little further on, he expreflly di-* 
ftinguifhes the region Troja from the city 
llion by their Ipecific names, Of the 
region, he lays, Tpofav amg'ocjov lirolmeavi 
ozkcc bt'hi Txrv psivuvjeg. They kept the region 
Troja under a ftate of devaftation for ten 
-yeaf s together : but of llion he fayo, p 
"Vaiov 17tg\k>(>k€7to ; the city was blockaded* 
Herodotus alio (Lib. L § 5.) calls the 

taking 



. (-35 > ; ./. 

taking of the city y 'ix/* aXua-ii, and plainly 
rpecines the city, Hitim to be diftin<ft 
from the country (Lib; II. § n 8.), where 

he fays IxBetv fih -yap Is £>;V Tibxpfi* 

Tfjv 'EXX^v DT^at^v* lK&u<rub $1 eg yvjv £> 
IfyvdsT&M tj)V ^pojr^V, Ttipiwew eg to *IX/w 
'A/?'**?* That Ilium did not mean the 
fcitadel is as clear as larigtiage and defcrip- 
tion of cirfcumftances can make sii^y thing 
fo * v Hedldr is faid to Jiave taken his 
poiition f 'l^/» iTfOTrii^iiGi. If the city had 
been taken; ana the citadel wa? fjtill de- 
fended by He<9or, this would have been 
proper; btlt he flood before the qty. The 
great riches of the populous city Ilium are 
lpokeii of 



— ~ — - so c<ru (potifiir 



This exprefilofl is proper for a great 
fcity; but riot fbf a citadel: 

Bvtt to proceed with fufthef hiftanceS 
bf this language . of. men fpoken in thefe 
parts. The Pelafgic Temple* built 
amdngft thefe fyivan inhabitants of Epi-' 
his; was called by the people^ amongff 
whom it w c as built, tne Oracle Dodona, 
ivhich in Welch is literally Dwtodewini 
food's Oracle. The priefts were Called 

* Lib. XV, v. 66. 

D % Selloi. 



( 3« ) 

Selloi. Now Sellwr is in Welch one 
that feeth things at A diflance. Calidonia, 
Calddun, DuncaldjGwaltdun, The Wolds, 
or wooded hills, is a name found in every 
part of Europe, from eaft to weft ; and 
it is rerftarkable, that in the wefternmoft 
point of England, and in the mountains 
of Ciliciai, there ihould have been two 
caftles of the fame name, Pendennis; 
that in Cornwall now exifts ; that in Ci- 
licia is mentioned by Cicero. I mention 
thefe things, not as fadts eftablifhing 
proof, but as inftances of the ufe of 
reafoning from the agnation of languages. 
And may we not here venture to fuggeft, 
without being liable to the imputation of 
whim, that as far as it appears from thefe 
words, fpecifiec|rfas peculiar to the lan- 
guage of the people, which are now found 
living, the Celtic language was the lan- 
guage of thofe fylvan people, then called 
Coilte, Coitse, Ki ric^, Gualtae, or Gallatae, 
meaning Woldfmen, and afterwards in the 
weft of Europe called Celtae and Galli ? 
There are many arguments which arife 
from geography and hiftory, which fup- 
port this' idea. -. 

Reafoning on the fame principles, and 

by the fame etymological deduction, may 

I not acknowledge an agnation, to a cer- 

\ tain 



( 37 ) 
tain degree, between the language of the 
Indians of North America and that of 
the Tartars of the north-eaftern parts of 
Afia, when I find them ufing the fame 
kind of prefixes and affixes in compound, 
to defcribe the relatives and circumftances 
of perfons, places, and things ; when I 
find the one and the other ufing the fame 
or fimilar appellatives, in many cafes the 
feme words, and in the numerals fome 
words too fimilar, and too fimilarly fol* 
lowing in their feries to be, imputed to ac- 
cident ? May I '.not impute this coinci* 
dence to fome agnation in the language 
of thefe different people? But when I 
view them both of the fame copper-co- 
loured tint, both having the fame texture 
of hair, both of the fame model of fcull, 
I cannot even doubt of the agnation in 
the race alfo. 

Both the Tartars and Indians, when 
they mean to fpeak of a people as to their 
tribe or nation, compound their name with 
the word ach, ack, acha, or ,aga, which 
people of different countries and climates, 
from an aimoft impoffibility of {bunding 
the guttural exa&ly alike by organs of a 
different texture, pronounce vtfry differ* 
ently ; fome founding it ax, others aga, 
agua, others aks, iki. When the Europeans 
endeavour to pronounce or write the Tar- 
D 3 tar 



( 3» ) 

tar names of their tribes, they {pell them, 
Qfti-ack, Budzi-acki, Coff-ack, and Crofs- 
aqui, Carakelp-ikj, Calm-ucks, Com-uks^ 
Perm^-iki, &p. The European interpreters 
jn America (generally pedling traders, very 
illiterate and ignor^) when they at- 
tempt to exprefs the Indian pronunciation 
either in fpeech or writing, make alfo va- 
rious terminations pf the fame wo^d. 'Saki f 
Siffis-aki, Meflis-agaes, Sen-aga, or Sen- 
;ake, Ononda'-agaes, £ayug'-agaes. Cany? 
img'-agaes, Aban-aquis, Aban-ikis, Che- 
rekees, or Chara-agaes, which the Spa- 
niards pronounce Cheri~aguas, Wliat in 
copying the Tartar yrord is written, Sayotfy 
a- hunter in Europe, is by the Frepch 
in North America written Sieux. I muft 
pbferye en pajfant, that ach in Welch &n<j 
Irifti iignifies tribe, race, or people? 

* Ski written yaripufly, as fkoi and fkoia» 
(ki and &ie, lkaia and ikaja, when affixecj 
at the end of a Tartar wor^J, Iignifies the* 
area or diftrift fo called. To quote examples 
pf this wovld be endleis ; the reader needs 
only to throw his eye on any map o| 
Siberia or Tartary ; Iki in the Indian Ian-? 
guage varioufly pronounced, and written 
by our interpreters, as (key, ikpag, (kaid, 
fcot, fcut, affixed tq ends of words, ha§ 

* Thus 5£y in Englifli does not mean the firmament, the 
heavens; but the appanfe^thc <;eicilial horizon. 

the 



( 59 ) 

the fame meaning; rpultjtude of inftances 
of which the reader wjU find in any map 
of North America, 

The Tartars, originally call Oiim, Qjim, 
Ouim, Gojem ; Tjeuda?, Tjeutae, ufe par- . 
tides of words, which, prefixed to the ■ 
names of places and people, fignify relative 
politions, as, on thisjide, or m the ether fide % 
over ;, beyond, alfo a particle which feems 
to fignify under, or below. Thefe particle's 
are. ma, mai, maje, or maeft ; es or elk ; 
and ja ; as Ma-gougi, Igougi, and la* 
gougi, Schin, Maeichin, Zchin, Scheudi, 
Ja-dfceudi, and Ma-dfcudi. The Indians 
of North America have the fame prefixes, 
with this obfervable circumftance, that in 
pronouncing the es or elk, they acconir 
pany the enunciation with the motion of 
the hand from them ; in enouncing the 
mai, with a motion towards them, 
Whether the Tartars aid their fpeech ii* 
like manner .with adion I know npt. Ta 
give one or two inftances rather as, e^t 
planation than proof, we have ieen above 
that ack, aks, aqui, or aga, means in the 
Indian language, tribe or race. Now, theln- 
dians, by adding *sk, 's, and ma to this word*, 
exprefs the remote or hither tribes ; 'f-aks 
means the firft, and maflafaki the fecond ; 
both which relative appellation? are found 
D 4 amongft 



x 



( 4* ) 

pmongft the Weftern Indians. Oghneght* 
Js a pine-tree, Oghneght'ada is a country 
of pine-wood, 'Sk-oghneght'ada is the 
Country beyond, or on the Qther fide of 
the pine-wood ; hence comes the name of 
the town ot\ the Mohawks river in New 
York* called Shene&ady 5 but to mark; 
the power of this affixed particle the 
ftronger, it is to be ohferved, that when 
an Indian at Skene&ady fpeaks of Albany, 
he calls Albany 'Skoghneght'ada. Cani-' 
^deri is a lake, .Caniaderi-ada is the coun-s 
try of Lakes, 'Scaniad-eri-ada is tbe region 
beyond the country pf Lakes. Watchufet, 
or Watfhufed, is a great mountain, fa 
called, in New England, The country 
next the fea, when the firft fettlers fought 
the name of it, was called Maefkhuted, 
Maef-tchufet, Maflatchufet. The names of 
that tribe of the five nation Indians, who are 
byEnglifh and Dutch in New England 
and New York called Mahawk and Ma- 
quas, is Can-yongwe^aga, the people who 
are at the head of men \ but the appel-? 
lative given to them by the River and 
New England Indians, was Ma-aga or 
Ma-aqua, and Ma-ach\ which fignifies the 
hithermoft tribe, or that tribe of the Five 
Nations which was neareft to them ; and 
\n the like manner, the tribe whofe a&ual 
appellative was ffqnojiteoftana * aga, fig-? 

nifytng 



( 4i ) 
nifying the tribe which lives on, or over, 
the great high mountain, or on the height 
of. the Jand, called by the French Tfonou- 
tuans, and by the Englifh and Dutch vul- 
garly Senekaes, is fo called by the relative 
appellative 'Sen-agaes, or the furthermoft 
tribe. 

In like manner t confidering the inde- 
iined impreffion which the founds by 
which the name of the Tartars were ori- 
ginally expreffed, and the vague ufe made 
of the elementary chara&ers by thole wh? 
fjrft wrote them, O'im, Ojim, Ogim, 
Ovim, Goigim, Tjeudim, or Tjeudae, and 
Tjeutae. I fee the very Tartar name in 
the word Tjetae, Tjeutae. To this apply- 
ing the prefixed particles exa&ly and pre- 
cifely as before, I find the 'Stjeuthae, Mais- 
Tjeuthae, the Scythae, and Maflageta?, 
the yonder and the hither Getae, Goethae, 
or Jeuts. And to go one ftep further. in 
this explanation, when I find the Getae 
written by the Greeks Kstisis, and by the 
Hebrews, Chittim, or Chedirn ; and then 
fee the name of the people of Mecedonia, 
written MukstJsic ; I do not hefitate to 
analyfe this word Ma-chedim, or Ma-cer 
dom, the hither Chedim or Chitting 
There is another very Angular circum* 
ftance of fimilarity between the napies 

of 



( 4* )■ 

of the numerals of the Weftefn Indian* 
of North America, the Chipouaes, an4 
thafe of the Northern Tartars of ^amf* 
chatfkL 

Indian J Tartar 

One Pefkick Innep 

. Two Neech ' Neach. . > 

Three Nizouy Nioch 

Four j Ni-annin Nizach ' 

The lingular circumftance, which ftrikes 
me, is, that of the unit feeming in both 
to belong to a different feries from thofe 
of the two, three, and four, and in both 
changing to words beginning with Nipr 
Nee, inftances which I defire may be 
underftood to be adduced as examples or 
illuftratibns, not proofs. I think the ufe that 
1 he truly Analy tick etymology (not the Syn** 
thetick one taught to fchool-boys) may be 
of to the philofophick Antiquary, wilfc evi- 
dently appear. I have prefumed to point 
out the nature of the refolution and com- 
pofition by which this analylis fhould pro- 
ceed, js depending on an experimental 
knowledge of the efforts and operations of 
the organs of fpeech, articulating the ele- 
ments of words according to the internal 
qonftitution or external circumftances by 
which they are affe&ed in different coun- 
tries and climates^ and, at different periods 

of 



(.43.) 
pf civilization. I have alfo prefumed to 
fugged -an idea pf a method by which this 
truly analy tick etymology may be con-, 
fdu&ed to general purpofes of knowledge, 
by fuch a comparative polyglott of the* 
ferms and names of things in different 
nations, as fhall anfwer to the purpofes of 
that great desideratum^ aji umverfal Jan- ' 
guage of pbilofophy. 

Another, and indeed the next branch in 
frhe analyfi$ of the philofophic Antiquary 
goes into the inquiry after the various 
methods by which men in the early 
periods of their civilization, aimed to fix 
pie fleeting expreffions of fpee'ch in per- 
manent palpable lymbols, that (houid re- 
main under the eye. This refearch will 
(hew, that the firft efforts which merji 
have made in ail countries to mark for 
fliftant places and times, the invitible^ trail- 
{ient expreflion of ideas which ipeech gives 
. at the prefent time and place, have been 
(exerted l>y making general portraits of 
the ideas, not by dttailed c araSters of the 
elements of fpeech, compounded into pictures 
tf words* 

The writing of all people in their firft 
pfforts has been invariably a picture re- 
prefeiitatipn of Time ; of the ieaibns ; of 

- Coiicomi- 



( 44 ) 

concomitant circumftances of the feafons, 
expreffed by various pictures of the fun, 
moon, and ftars, of birds of paflage, of 
the animals peculiarly attendant on times 
of inundation, or drought ; by various 
plants ; and by many other objefts. When 
they endeavoured to fix a record of perfons, 
things, and a&ions, exhibiting to the cor- 
poreal eye pifturefque allufions to thofe 
conceptions, which could be feen only by 
the mind's eye ; they then (imply and fta- 
turally tranflated and drew inpiSiures the 
metaphors and fymbolick charafters, which 
in their language, they uied to exprefs • 
their ideas by. A&ions they exprefled 
by the inftruments ufed in exerting 
thofe a&ions : And the terriper or deligns 
of thofe adtions, or actors, by pi&ures 
of animals, in whom decidedly this or" 
that temper was fuppofed to predo- 
minate. 

I proceed no further here in this re- 
fearch ; as I have in a traft expreflly written 
to explain the origin, nature, and inter- 
pretation, of pi£ture-writing *, and here- 
unto annexed, gone into a fail exami- 
nation of it. I will therefore beg leave to 
refer the fociety to that traft, and will 

* Appendix, No. II. 

pre- 



- ( 45 ) 

proceed to explain the \ife which I think 
may be derived from thus confidering the 
pi&ure-writings of the ancients, com- 
monly called Hicroglyphieks. It appears 
to me, that if the Antiquary would hope 
to colleft any information from thefe an- 
cient infcriptions, he fhould, inftead of • 
fearching amongft the Stoicks, the latter 
Piatonifts-, and the Trifmegiftic Philo- 
fophers, for myitioal allegories, arid di- 
vine romances, 'endeavour to colleft all 
the collateral accounts which are any 
where to be met with of the civil and 
natural hiftory of thofe countries, where 
any of thofe pidture- writings do remain ; 
as alfo (if it were poflible to find fuch) 
to fearch out the gradations of the feveral 
ftages of the community in its civili- 
zation ; the progrefs of the clearing and 
cultivating the land, and particularly the 
ftate of its cultivation and produce ; the- 
inftruments of hulbandry, the n^achines 
and tools of the arts;' the weapons of 
their military, and navy, the enfigns of 
office ; their mode of numeration, Weight 
and meafure ; their opinions, external ' 
farms, and ceremonies of religion, with 
utenfils and inftruments ufed 'in their - 
lifes; and where it is pbffible the turn and 
phrafe of their language. If the Anti- 
quary could obtain any a&ual information 

< in 



in thefe particulars, and fhould then go id 
the reading this pidttire writing, without, 
any previous prejudice or impreffibn of 
their containing abftrtife and myftick 
do&rines, he would moft likely find theia 
infcriptidns to be plain and fober records? 
of the hifrory cff the cduntry or people i 
or regifters of the ftate df it, or regulations} 
refpe£ting it ; or memorials dedicated M 
the honour of fbme king, containing the 
ftate of his adnainiftration, and the hiftbry 
of his a&ions, thus held forth to the ad- 
ftiiration of the people in the vulgate 
p'tfture-writlng \ or rolls of the publid 
tevenues, aiid payhients to be; made fefc 
down in numbers^ weighty and meafure. 
Kircher, and all the Trilmegiftick do&ors,* 
dtfwn from Jambllehus, copying the whim- 
lies or defigned perverfions of the Pla- 
tonifts, halve not only made fuch unin- 
telligible ftufF of thefe inscriptions asf 
hobody ever could be, or ever was; fatii- 
fied with j but have created even a defpair 
In the learned of .eyef finding out any in- 
terpretation at all, if thefe inferiptioni 
ire to be ftill viewed asf the images of aii 
intellectual fyftefti 6f hicompreheMible? 
inyfteries; As thfcfe learned romancers 
have had their full fcope of experiments^, 
ivhich have ended in the abortion of 
phantoqii if meri will at length venture tof 



( 47 ) 

think for themfelves oil fads as they 
come before them ; they will find that all 
this contemptible fluff, about which fb 
toany bulky books have been made, be* 
gaix with the philofophers who wiflied to 
throw a ye?/ of Phyfalogy over mere fables, 
which fuperftition had fan&ified ; and 
hath been derived down from them, and 
from no where elfe. 

That the Egyptians had in their pi&are* 
writings fymbols by which to exprefs 
their ideas of the Supreme Being, and 
of the various manifestations of his Pro- 
vidence, is certain, as well as thofe of 
any other idea ; and the images and idols 
of thofe ideas led both to the grofs and 
the myjiick idolatry, and were perhaps in 
j^Egypt the caufe of it : but that all their 
inicriptions were facred, and cabaliftick 
icripture of their religion, and nothing 
elfe, was an After-thought of later phi- 
lofophers, in order to cover the groflhefs 
of thqir idolatry by a veil of phyfiology. 

One inftance will, as I think, who 
venture to think for myfelf, be fufficient 
to the purpofe. Let any man of fenfe 2nd 
learning read Kircher's interpretations of 
the Obelilk which he calls the Pamphylian 
Obelifk* and be willing to believe all that 

Kitfehe* 



( 4§ ) 

Kircher makes out. I will defy any fucll 
man,- unlefs he be predetermined, to reft 
fatisfied; or to think he has learnt any 
thing, even one fKxiple idea, from all that 
is thus interpreted* ' But even if hefhould 
affect, becaufe he would be thought learn- 
ed, and in the fecret, to fay that he is 
much informed, and has acquired know- 
ledge from what is interpreted ; I fhould 
then hope to be taught from iuch learn- 
ing and knowledge what all thofe ele- 
mentary characters and lineal diagrams 
mean to exprefs, which Kircher has palled 
by unnoticed, as though making no part 
of the infcriber's intention. If none of 
thefe learned men can fatisfy me, as I 
know none that can, or that hath at- 
tempted it ; and if 1 then look upon thefe 
infcriptions, and compare the figures and 
diagrams with things 4 fimilar, which 
have been in ule amongfl men in. other 
parts of the world ; I fee clearly in fome 
parts, elements or letters ; I lee numerals-, 
and combined numeration ; I fee meaiureft 
of weight, capacity, and cxtoniion ; and 
I fee. thefe numbers applied to the nrim* 
kferihg thofe meafures, and fee them va* 
iiouflv combined, and repeatedly occur* 
iiig ni thefe combinations. When with 
thefe ideas* I view at the top of the- 
pbelilk the enthroned figure fitting and 

receiving 



( 49 ) 

receiving the offerings frorti perils ap- 
pearing to be of the different clafles of^ 
fubjefts ; as priefts, foldiers, &c. I cannot 
confide'r the whole of this Obelifk other 
than a mere regifter, or record, of the na- 
ture, force, revenues, and regulations of 
the king there, in his, fcveral capacities * 
reprefented on the feveral iides of it. I 
cannot but fee that each fide refpe&s each 
refpe&ive order or clafs of the fiibjefts of 
the kingdom. When I look to the un- 
doubted and decided fymbol of the fu- 
prerrie, eternal, univerfal, intelledhial, fifft 
caufe, at the top of the Obelifk, over his 
head, and view this king and his fubje&s, 
by one fuperfcribed and comprehending- 
line, collected into one group, or as one 
objeft under the providential care or in- 
fluence of this firft cauf$, I cannot but 
confider this record and regifter as ^lean- 
ing to give and to hold forth the moft 
eflential true principle of all juft and right 
government, as fubfifting under God and 
. his Providence. * And when I fee the 
fymbol of the vivifying Spirit of this 
material world, attendant on a crowned 
hawk, at the head of the record or re- 
gifter, I cannot but remark how decidedly 
this marks the derivation of this animating 
Jfpirit into the a£tual exercife of the govern- 
ment itfelf, of which the following in- 
E fciption 



£ sP •} 

fcription. is the record. In order to give 
my idea of thefe-ehara&ers and. diagrams, 
which 1. fuppofe to be, fome of them ele- 
ments or [letters \ others to be numerals ; 
and % 'oy. their combinations various nume- 
rations ; alfo of the others, which I fup-f 
pofe to be meqfures of weighty capacity + 
end extenJion r which alfo are yarioufly 
combined^ and which alfo, tqgetbler with 
the numerals, form again various combi- 
nations ; I beg leave to refer to the draw- 
ings which I have annexed to the Treatife* 
N°: II. of the Appendix. As I have made 
ib fr£e with the interpretation given by 
others, and even with: thofe of learned 
men,. I do with the fame freedom acknow- 
ledge, that I giye this : of mine as a mere 
experimental effay in the application of the 
principles above fta ted, and not as a mat- 
ter either proved* or capable of proof ; 
fully however as capable of proof, as any 
of ther old adopted interpretations : capable 
of proof * by analogy to fimilar. things 
dually exifting, and n^t from the after*- 
> thoughts of myfticpriefts and philosophers, 
snaking, comments of perverfion, pqt in- 
terpretation, I fiiid myfelf howeyer, flip- 
ported in my manner of interpretation by 
the fimilar Interpretation which Herma- 

* vrdcif if; Appendix; : \ ^ 



f 



j>ion (as qttoted by AmmianusMarcellinus) 
gave of the Obdlifk in the great Circus. 
There is bn each fide* or face of this- Obe- 
lifk, a mitred perfort, fitting on a throne* 
tvith a peffon: > <fcf inferior fubjedl-rank 
kneeling before him, and ftretching forth 
his hands, as in the a&ion of offering; 
And Henmapiorc begins his interpretation 
juftas I have doiie.< 

The things here iilfcribed are what we 
havt* given to the king Rameftes, &e. 

As the language of men in the firft 
gradations of their civilization is all me- 
taphor and fimile, and the writing of the 
fame, in their progreffive advances, is all 
* pifhire and painting ; fo the memorials 
and hiftory of thofe times muft of eourfe 
be mere allegory and fable* If now the 
Unprejudiced Antiquary will here confider 
things to be as what they adhially are, and 
muft have been; if he will conduft his 
fefearch into the interpretation of the 
Ancient fabulous hiftory, as originally, and 
fiitiply the pi6tures of a rude people*; he may 
irrive at very diftin<3t accounts of the firft 
ages of civilization ; of the eftablifhment 
of government; of the progrefs of Com- 
merce ; of the fettlement of colonies, and 
E a of 



( 5* ) 

of the caufes and effe&s of piracies and 
wars. I mean to be underftood as fpeak- 
ing here of the accounts of the fcite 
and .circumftances of the people ; of the 
fpirit and nature of the times; and of the 
various- revolutions amongft mankind in 
thefe their tirft progreffions, although per- 
haps not of the aftuai perfons and a&ors 
in this drajna, which by the bye is of 
very little ufe, except to aid and fix the 
memory. 

Hiftory hath been compared to a great 
fMp floating down the tide of Time, 
fraught and replete with the precious 
cargo of knowledge; but if this repre- 
fentation of hiftory be true, and if ever 
fuch a (hip was fo freighted, unhappily it 
hath never reached thele our ports. The 
veflel has fuffered Ihipwreck ; and the 
valuable ftores, which it is faid to have 
contained, are funk and overwhelmed 
under the waves of deep oblivion. Some 
fragments of its bill of lading have come to 
hand; fome'parts of the drifted wreck have 
by the tide been thrown upon our coafts ; 
ibme buoyant parcels of the cargo have 
been found jfloating on the iurface ; and 
fome even valuable articles have been 
fiflied up out of the wreck : but none fuf* 
ficient as yet, to give a clear and precife 

idea 



( S3 ) . 

idea of the veflel which was freighted for 
us ; nor of the cargo which was meant to 
have fupplied the wants of this knowledge. 
Here then the ftudies and refearches of 
the Antiquary come in aid ; it is his office 
to collect all the fragments he can find 
drifted on the wide ocean ; to dive for* and 
to filh up from the wreck, every thing that 
can be recovered : And finally, when that 
can be <Hone, to affort all thefe together 
by various repeated experiments, led on 
by what their matter and forms promife, 
fo as to form ibme theory at leaft of the 
fyftem of which they were parts. If he 
be but a fuperficial, or a hafty theorift, h6 
will ijioft likely be miftaken ; yet the cor- 
rection of his miftakes may lead to better 
knowledge. If future difcoveries evince, 
that even thofe conje&ures which were 
formed under the moft patient and philo- 
fophick temper of inveftigation, are wrong; 
the corre&ion of the error will at leait 
have been a ftep in the gradation up to 
knowledge. It is by theie collections of 
the multitudes of parts and parcels ; and 
by the thoufand varied experiments in 
aflbrting them ; that the ftudy of Antiqui- 
ties is in a gradual, although perhaps flow 
approximation to knowledge. To make 
cumbrous collections of numberiefs par- 
ticulars, merely becaufe they are frag- 
£ 3 ments ; 



( 54 •) 

ments ; .and to admire, them merely a? 
they are antique ; is not the fpirit of ah- 
tient learning, but ' the mpre do^tipg" of 
fupefarinuation. It is not the truer religious 
ftudy of antiquities* ttut a devoUoft foi; 
reticles : It may make us enthufiafts, Fa- 
natic triflers, or dupes ? but caq, jieyer/adr 
miniiler .real and fober knpwledge . to pur 
tiriderfUnding. Great .and ' pietltoripu^ 
pains are taken to coUctt every ipec^nxe^ 
of antiquity which a riles by the ey^uatipn 
of the riiined Hercutaiieum" and l^orxipem 
Wheii'tpe true fpirit of the "Antiquary pre- 
fides jpver thefe work & ""the refearche? are 
concjfu&'ed by fyftems that leadvtp kjjow-j 
ledge; when that *is abfecit, the^rue.xulgar 
idea pf making Cofhfiiorif 'of* Jtgitqtiities 
leads to examples pf genuine abfurdity^ 
like the following, which I was told as ^ 
fad *. In the courfe of their works the 
labourers met with an infcription> the let- 
ters of which were brafs fixed in marble ; 
thefe brazen letters they carefully picked 
put of the. marble, put them into a bafket, 
find in that ftate they remain deppfited in 
the king's library, as examples pf curious 
antiquity, in hopeful expectation of th? 
return of fome Sibyl, who, reftpring the 

* I do not make myfelf anfwerable for the fa&, but re- 
fer td tfce ftory asan illuliration'or' that ricikutous fearch 
into antiquities which 1 mean to reprobate. 

* . . ' ' ..,-..*. letters, 



( 55 ) 
letters, like her diffipated leaves, to then 
order, may give the fenfe of the in- 
fcription, which was: forgotten to be no; 
ticed at the firft difcovery* Should the 
wreck of an ancient fliip ever be*difcovered> 
a collection of a multitude of it£ timbers, 
knees, ribs, beams, standards, fragments 
of mafts and yards, bolts, planks, add 
blocks, would be une chofe a voire, and 
would make the learned as well 'as 'the 
unlearned ftare and wonder : but the eye 
tff knowledge would find no reft nor fa* 
tisfa&ion there. Where the truly 'learned 
Antiquary (by: an analyfis of the firft 
principles of naval architecture, and by 
tracing thefe principles in all poffibte 
combinations which the materials admit 
of) attempts various experiments of 
combining thefe fragments into fome 
form, which, as parts, correfporad to fome 
ivhole * — there arifes the true fpirit <rf 
antiquarian learning ; there begfosgdnuuH* 
and ufeful knowledge. If Was in- this ge* 
nuine temper of experimental tfeafoningj 
that the fpirit and genius of the Romans* 
analysing the principles of ftaval attfhi- 
te&ure, and con^feinkig the -fragments of 
a Wrecked galley caft upon their (hore, 

* Vide below the example givefl fcom>genaffil Meiville'i 
fearing and feie^e.0^ xbis vary pom*, . . , . r . - . . *. 

E 4 com* 



( 56 ) 

commenced with fuch fuccefs and glory 
their naval power. As of the example in 
fa&, which the reafoning on the foregoing 
metaphor had. led us to; fo by the like 
^nalyfis, and combination, may the re? 
piain§ of every branch of antiquity be 
reftored* at leaft to fome fembknce of its 
prigiqal; . . 

• Man is a being finite and circumfcribed 
in his natural wants and deiires, and in 
his powers, which are however always 
proportionable to the fupply of thefe wants. 
View^ him in the various progreflions and 
revolutions of his being, through the con? 
jtinued encreafing feries of his artificial 
wants, and of his improved refources ; ftill 
his fcite and circumftances mark the firft, 
and the limitation of his powers make 
iiQt the enquiry after the fecond a bound? 
lefs purfuit. Thofe, who in different ages 
have reviewed this being in different re- 
gions, under different habits and modes of 
}ife, know how little he is able to vary, 
}iow little to expand his powers. Being 
the fame kind of hunter, or herdfman in 
fylvan life, through all ages and countries 
of the like circumftanees ; he becomes, 
when he quits that life, the fame kind 
of landworker ; the fame kind of fubjeft 
pf fpejety ; the fame warrior ; in every 



X "57 D 
age and region under the like circunv- 
nances. Could we have a veftiary of ^all 
the cloaths of every country, in all pe* 
riods of its cultivation, we might at firft 
be ftruck with the variety of appearandes; 
but a ferious attention would find little 
difference in all this variety of forms, ex- 
cept what heat or cold, wet Or dry, called 
forth. Whenever we have been able to 
compare the domeftic utenfils and inftru- 
ments which real ufe hath given invention 
to, how little do they vary ! They are 
almoft the fame with every kind of people. 
However much the warrior has endeavoured 
to add terror to his force, in the inven- 
tion of new ways of murdering, yet how 
little hath he been able to vary thefe in- 
ventions ! The inftruments of war, as of 
like ufe in like hands, are fimilar, and 
fcarcely varied, in any the moft differing 
nations. Nay, where vanity has grown 
wild in fancy, and racked invention to 
produce a motley frippery of ornament, 
the ornaments of all nations, from the 
favage to the moft refined, are much the 
fame * f 

* See the various fpecimens of utenfils, habits, weapons, 
&c. of favages, in Sir Afhton Lever's Mufceum ; and cor * 
pare thofe in the light of ufe and in their eflential circum- 
stances, with the higheft refinements of the mod civilized 
nations, and you will find that (hey fcarcely differ. 

6 It 



I 5* ) 



• ■*■> 



i ; It As/riCffl* principles -which,. candu# this 
r©affotifcig;:th^ : I venture to deduce the fyU 
fehvi&g theorems. Thfrt even where h if tory 
Jiat. fjafFere4 fihipwfeck^ i as the allufion 
abovfe ideifcribes, .- and 4 where only ar few 
jreliquos and fragments, buoyed up in 
fabU* and mythology* have cx)me.do^vn 
ito our age ;. : yet where thofe fragment* 
roafklthe particular ftate in the progrefs of 
human life which they refer to, I fay, 
reafoning from the analogous fimilarity 
of map j much more even of hiftorick de* 
firription' of that .ftate can be formed 
from thefe broken deformed materials, 
• thart the firft fuperficial glance of undif- 
cerning literature would imagine* What 
cat* .he the events: of the fylvan life, 
whether it is carried on by clans of 
hunters, or hordes of herdfmen ? The 
firft may make war upon the beafts of the 
foreft, or quarrel with their neighbour 
hunters about their game or their hunt. 
The fecond may endeavour to drive the 
beafts of prey from their quarter?, or 
quarrel with like herdfmen about pa& 
ture and water, or about their cattle, 
which havei ftrayed, or have been ftolen. 
This is but a fingle jlrama, and has 
bfien a£led over and over a thoufand times, 



( 5* ) . 

ia different periods ^d regions of , jchf 
world.; ->Ehs ^ftjwili w ar f . a$« tfray bavq 
been laied tq hunt* by jpftvert ftrafcaggm, to 
utter /extirpation, . : T?hjg/ecoad /:j wUl fr by 
Qpeii'r&^% attejiipt; toTkive jtfa^r]^??^, 
a3,they :i feav€.beeaufed to-drive.^gir herds, 
tyit t&eii; war, will <^;;i^ncgqQgugii : and 
fettleraGUt. • Tfei^weliavfe knoyrp>i and 
4o k$$Wi . to .be . jhej - eafe, * wh?*ever : we 
Ji&^ ; be^abk ,4Qtfr»qeftbe Jiiftcjry/pf any 
iuch r Datioiv .*»> £*ph ftated progre&.Qf its 
)jtemg, r , : If i;tbferefqre i( any fragments and 
relicke,of antiquity . point to thi6 period in 
the prpgreffiori qf human life, iye qajinot 
Jte.much at a lofs. how to recompofc 
thefe into the fyftem, of which tfyey are 
parts.- . If in very;antient books, r as thofe 
of; fjefiqd, Hqmejr, . and, Hsrtxjotus, we 
read a£tual portrayed defections of this 
life; if we trace, although in fables, 
draughts of the.hjftory of fmall companies 
pf wandering hunters and navigators, car- 
rying, all the lineaments of that portait, 
we; cannot be totally without a line, by 
which to finifh the imperfect fketch from 
point to ppint, : as; the fcatrered fragments 
lead. By a carefut janaiyfis therefore of 
imjpian nature, ;aad by a combination from 
analogy of fuch Jbjroken accounts as the 

ihipwreck of hifory affords; a d$fcription t 
'"■•■' ] had 



( to > 

I had almoft faid an hiftoric defcription, 
of that firft, original ftate of thp human 
life, which we infoiently call favage, and 
even rtany footftep traces of their mo- 
tions and a&ions, to all the purpofes of 
ufeful knowledge, may, by the truly 
philofophic Antiquary, be obtained. If 
We read in never fuch obfcure frag* 
xnents, and but in fables, accounts of man 
quitting his woods, and beginning to till 
the earth, cleared of its original vegeta- 
tion ; if we read of the individual thus 
become afixt Being, and, by intercommu- 
nion of mutual wants, coalefcing into So* 
crety; and of that fociety, by the progrefs 
of human nature, forming into an or- 
ganized body ; a very few traces of that 
procefs will lead to a juft idea of the 
whole operation. 

Knowing fronv fa& how thinly fcat- 
tered through the woods and wildernels 
- the individuals of the fylvan life always 
are and muft be: with what fuperabundant 
population the firft fru&uation of an ad- 
vancing fociety is loaded ; and that the 
furplus parts of this plethoric body always 
have and muft emigrate, going into the bor- 
ders of and amongft the riide inhabitants 
of the yet uncultured world ; fometimes 

as 



( 6, ) 

as armies, fometimes as merchants, fbme- 
times as colonizing fettlers ; knowing, I 
fay, this to have been in fa& th* invariable 
hiftory, and the repeated drama of the 
early ftages of life, we can be at no lofs 
to underftand, although it is recorded by 
pi&uros, and told in fables, the com- 
mencement of hiftory in the fabulous 
ages, at the commencement of civiliza- 
tion in the countries bordering on the 
Mediterranean and Euxine Seas. Thefe 
fables reprefent gods and heroes as going 
forth from fettled civilized ftates, to 
travel about the fylvan world, either with 
armies as deftroyers, or with colonies as 
benefactors of mankind.; in one cafe, re- 
ducing the poor aborigines to (laves; af- 
fuming to be of a fuperior race of beings ; 
calling themfelves gods, and becoming 
real tyrants : in the other, like the Su- 
preme Being himfelf, inftru&ing them in 
all the arts of cultured life, and commu- 
nicating the benefits of it to them ; the 
culture of bread-corn, of the grape, of 
the olive, of the propagation of the fruits, 
legumes, and efculent roots, of the earth ; 
the propagation and nature^ the life and 
fervice, of the domiciliated animals; the 
communion of fociety, the prote&ion of 
government. Although this is told in -al- 
legories 



legpne^tnd fables,,: although the foppery 
Of the Je^rped working upon the homely 
tiiFuepf thofe early ages may, have em-* 
bipidered it ,wjth, ; fyftems of mythology f 
and finally pf V pbyjhlogy ; yet whoever 
giyes unprejudiced attention to, and views 
with> untainted feye, : the fafts which form 
the; fond of th^fe fables, and compares 
, th^W^ in the tri^q fpirif of analogy* with 
ths accuftomed add ;kho wn courfe of thd 
hurptftti fyftetn, ma/ draw a very ftrong 
likeaefs, if not. aft aftual portrait, of the? 
hiftoryitfelf* : : 

When 1 read of the Jirji voyages into 
the iEgean, Engine, and Mediterranean 
Seas^ made by the various adventurers 
who wfera afterwards, although perhaps 
of- different nations, certainly living hi 
very diftant periods, tied up together in 
that bjftoric bundle, called -the Argos* 
canonized as a figa in the heavens, and 
who were called Argonauts; whether 
that fable be meanfrrto defcribe the pro* 
greffive voyages of a nation (as Mr. Bryant 
frppofes), or whether the aft ions of a par-* 
ticular band, or a feries of adventurers J 
whether the pefrfonages there chara&erifed 
Wer$ Greeks, or (as I rather believe) Egyp- 
tian*, 9* Syrians, makes no .difference? 

when 



< Jfe ) 

when I read this, and compare it witfi 
the. voyage of Columbus and other Ad- 
venturers to the New World, I am at 
ho lofs to undcrftand the nature of the 
adventures, as well as of m$ny parte 
of; it. - When I reaa, although, in fables,' 
of the Egyptians, Edomitcs^' and Ty- 
nans, fettling on the coafts,, and in th* 
Iflands of the Mgpzfi Sea, and 'of their 
pafllingthe Bofpborijs, and forming various 
icttlements in the Euxine Sea, particularly 
their great Settlement at Colchis : when I 
read this, and compare it with the voyages, 
adventures, and fettlements of the Por~ 
tuguefc in Afia, and then purfue.the ufe 
of all this by a detail of their trade, I am 
&t no. more lofs to comprehend the for- 
mer, though told in fables of goldeij 
fleeces and golden apples, than of the 
latter, delivered in fober historic journals. 
When I read of the travels and conquefta 
of Ofiris, Bacchus, Sefoftris, &c. and the 
Various Hercules, and fuch like perfonifie^ 
characters, and compare this with fimitar 
travels, voyages, adventures, and conqueft, 
pf ; Cortes, Piz^rro, and ottfer Spaniards 
how is it pofliblenpt to fee the real hit* 
t^ry through the. veil, of metaphofs and 
allegories, which have transform^ i%\n*& 

Fable? 

. . . When 



( <H ) 

When I read of a fet of foreign adven* 
turers making fettlements in the iflands', 
and on the coafts of the ^Egean ; of fettlers 
coming from fome country advanced in 
civilization to a country wherein the in- 
habitants ftill lived the fylvan and paf- 
toral life: when I read of thefe calling 
themfelves gods, children of the fun* or 
Hell6noi, taking the lead and government 
of men; when I find thefe gods and their 
fons fettled in different parts, in Phrygia 
on one fide, and in Greece on the other 
(become in the courfe of their tranfa&ions 
different and rival powers with different 
interefts) quarrelling with each other; 
when I read this, and compare it by ana- 
logy of fafts, which we know have ac- 
tually happened ; with what the Spaniards 
amongft themfelves, and the Europeans 
amongft one another, have done in their 
fettlements in the Eaft and Weft Indies ; 
I am at no lofs in underftanding the fa£ts 
of the War of the gods ', nor why Neptune, 
or rather Pofeidon, took the oppofite fide 
againft Jupiter ; he was at the head of a 
feparate intereft, and had been fuperfeded 
iu his command of the u#£gean by the 
nomination of Briareus * to that command- 

* Iliad, B. I. vcr. 40 f. 

"Of 



• ( 6} } 

Neptune had built Ilium near the mouth 
faf the Bofphorus; Which might command 
the exclufive navigation of the Euxine* 
and fuppcfrt his intereft aittongft the 
northern people there ; but he was de- 
ceived in the effeft ; he got a quarrel with 
the Trojane, and he loft his intereft and 
office at Jupiter's court: And had become 
the avowed enemy of Ilium* the building 
of which was his own plan and meafure. 
In the next generation, when thofe gods 
had left the earth, this Iiiurti became (as 
Carthage was to Rome) a rival objeft to 
Greece that muft be deftroyed; it was 
that which had robbed them of, and 
held them excluded from, their deareft and 
moft beneficial connexions of commerce. 
The Greeks carried their point, and for 
ages after, efpecially the Athenians, fup- 
ported oil this bafis of the commerce of 
the Euxine Sea, their government, riches, 
and power. The conftant and invariable 
meafure of the Athenians, to maintain a 
commanding (if not an exclufive) intereft 
in thefe regions of this fea, and the va- 
rious attempts of other powers, Grecian 
as well as Afiatic, to wreft this from them/ 
or at leaft to fhare it with them on equal 
terms, became the repeated occafion, and 
F certainly 



i 66 ) 

certainly the decifive point of the future; 
wars which they were engaged in. 

A knowledge of the naturd and extent 
of this Euxine commerce and navigation* 
adequate to its importance, and to the 
effects of its operation, is no wh$re ftated 
in ancient hiftory ; and yet information 
on this important point would prove the 
beft comment ?nd : guide to the knowledge 
of fome of the q>pft interefting parts of 
the Hiftory of the Greeks and Afiatics. 
There are many fragments and fcattered 
parts of fuch information, which He de- 
tached ; many other parts interwoven as 
mere circumftances in affairs of another 
nature ; many that might be fairly de-? 
duced ; and many that would give and 
receive reciprocal illuftration to and 'from 
piatters they are conne&ed with. Here 
opens a path of curious and interefting re- 
search to the learned philofophick Anti- 
quary. The hiftory of antient commerce, 
written by MonfieurHuet, bifhop of Av«r 
ranches, treats of this generally, and in- 
deed but Superficially ; but from what 
the very ingenious and learned, Mr, 
Clarke *, in his Treatife on the Roman, 

* Re&or of Buxtcd, and chancellor and refidenuary of 
the church of ChichdUfr, Printed for Bovvycr, 1767. 

6 Englifh, 



( «7 ) 

Englifh, and Saxon coins, has in part, 
and merely as a collateral argument, ex- 
plained on this fubjedt ; H^ has not only 
fliown the importance of it to the know- 
ledge of Ancient Hiftory, but has in 
great meafure by his learning and know- 
ledge fupplied this interefting Defide- 
ratutn. . He has done fo much, in fo clear 
and diftinft a line of demonftration, that 
there is no one, who has read the few pages 
which he has written on this fubje£, but 
muft wifh that the fame ingenuity, the. 
fame learning, the fame knowledge, was 
engaged to write a fpecial treatife on 
it ; from the firft Egyptian or Syrian 
trade and fettlements, to the breaking up 
of it by the Roman, arms ; and the final 
deftru&ion of it by the recoil of the 
deluge of northern people who over- 
whelmed all. Thefc regions, and thefe 
commercial fettlements, were the Chittim 
of Sidon and Tyre ; the America of the 
ancient commerce : .the merchants carried 
thither all the fame fort of wrought goods 
and articles *of improved civilization and 
manufadtures as the Europeans carry now 
tx> America ; and brought from thence, in 
the rough, lumber, efpecially fhip timber, 
paltry, furrs, wool, thread, yarn, corn m 
immenfe quantities, and flaves. One can- 
not but wifh alfo, that Mr. Bryant would 
F 2 employ 



( 68 ,) 

employ his great talents, and litera- 
ture, to a like explanation of the weftern 
regions of the Mediterranean and At- 
lantick; This was early diftinguifhed by 
being called, in the triple divifion erf Sa* 
turn's empire, the diftrift of Dis y orPlutqi 
the God of Riches. This was the other 
great commercial region of the Ancients, 
the Tarfhifti of the Phoenicians and Tyre. 
No man has read mere; or with mpre 
precifion in the ancient accounts of thefe 
matters; no man is a better judge of 
them; and furely there is no literary or 
perhaps no praftical ufeful point of know- 
ledge to which his literary refearches 
could be more beneficially directed. The 
principal exports from hence were filver, 
tin, and moft other minerals and metals ; 
timber, corn, oil, fome; butter, wax, pitch, 
and tar, faffron, the ocres, and wool. The 
people who fettled and poffeffed thefe' 
regions; employed a multitude of (hipping; 
and fettled many rich and flourifhing co- 
lonies, as well many entrepots, and out 
diftant fa&oriest; and held alltheffe fettle- 
ments and this commerce as exclufive 
againft all ftrangers : I believe alfo it will 
be found, that many of their regular 
priefls, the Magi or Gours, did (as the 
regulars of modern times and religions 
have done) fettle miflioris amongft the 

natives 



< 69 ) 

li^yes m thefe moft diftant parts. The 
oHgin'al Druids (however their fiicceflbrs 
lri&y have become corrupted) will, lam 
perTwaded, . turn out to be thofe very 
priefts; .eftablifhing juft fuch mtffions, on 
exa&Iy' the $im<r principles, as the jefuits 
havedoh^ih Paraguay, under; a like, hier- 
archy. 

Whfen this J fu bje& comes once to bfe 
confidered as the exertions and trailfa&ions 
oF-mau (always the like being in like cir- 
curriftances"), all the metamorphofic fables 
of the Ancients turning policied and com- 
mercial people - into horrid and favage 
monfters, will, like clouds before the fun, 
difpel and evaporate before the light of 
truth. We (hall hear no more of a great 
and fcientifick people ' employing the fu- 
periority of th^ir knowledge in catching 
men as their food; no more of beautiful 
accomplifhed women employing the magic 
of their charms to entrap men, to eat 
them; no more of a race of innocuous 
fhepherds and goat-herds who expreflly 
lived oh milk and cheefe, the produce of 
their 'flocks, being delighted with the 
venifon of human flcfh. We fhall fee all 
thefe iperverted and exaggerated traditions 
(paffing from the accounts of the very 
interlopers and pirate's, againft whom 
F 3 their 



*!*•> ~ ***T*iu 



( 7° ) 

their laws were m^de and executed), ex* 
plained from the plain fimple ftate of tfye 
exclufive pqjfejfions and commerce, which 
thefe people, as colonizing nations do at 
prefent, affumed and maintained : many 
of the ftories, told as the cruelties of fa- 
vages, will turn out to be the ieVerities 
and the rigid executions of the courts 
of juftice, which thefe people ere&ed at 
their maritime ftations. to try offences 
committed againft this their eftablifhment; 
and to punifti pirates, to whom they gave 
no quarter, as the common enemies of 
the communion of mankind ; as wretches, 

* * qui fublafis commerces, rapto foedere 

* generis humani, fie maria bello, quafi 

* tempeftate pracludunt.' I could here, 
myfelf, prove (I think beyond contra- 
diction) in fome of the ftrongeft cafes, 
which feem to bear the hardeft on thefe 
people, I mean in the cafe of the Cyclops, 
of Minos and Rhadamanthus, That al- 
though they fufFered no ftrangers to come 
within their fettlements, and puniflied all 
fuch as they found interloping there ; yet 
they made a diftin&ion in the cafe, whether 
fuch came with defign to trade ; or. were 
driven thither by accident ; and more ef- 
pecially between thefe and direct pirates. 

* L, Ann, Florus, Lib, III, c. 6. 

This 



( n ) 

This appears from the inquifition taken 
by the Cyclops on Ulyflfes: and his aflb- 
ciates * ; 

*£l \i Tyoi 9 ring sgi} tt&Obv w\e7<& 9 vfyot KtXivdcc ; 
*HtV KCttk tarfifypl rj fluty iVuag uXXij&b; 
^Otcire Aiii'gypsgvirep uXot rot r uXoyvjact 
Tux*; wupQifiBvot, kcckov ecXXoticviroTcri (pepovjegi 

pThefe diftin&ions in the cafe of the pri* 
fbners are here formed ; and even, as will be 
feen afterwards, diminutions as grounds of 
mercy are fuggefted by this horrid, pro- 
fane, blafpheming favage Canabal, as he 
is called. Where, fays he, have you 
ftationed your naval armament that brought 
you here ? is it on or beyond the borders 
of thefe regions, or is it within our pre- 
cin&s + ? 

AXXu uoi ii(p oirfi BQ/Bg loov BVBoysa vija; 

H wis in ttrx ot ' Tir lS> 1 5 fXP* 09 * 0( PP X «***>• 

Could they have proved that they had 
not entered the precin&s of his jurifdi&km 
with armed force, he here feems to lay 
the ground for their acquittal : But if 
there was no diftin&idn made in the cafe 
of ftrangers found within their fettle- 
xnents, there is neither ufe nor common 
fenfe in the queftions alked. 

* Odyff, Lib. IX. t H>M* - 

F4 Although 



< n ) 

:, r "•'-••■■ " • ' ■-..•! r 

• Although "* Minos ; was r?prefeftted< b^ 
thofe ancient rovers and pirates as a man *\ 
c&7rou$€ulog 9 - xtxXvnagi .QctvXoa 'and th^t he -f % 
was TVgavviKas, &a7o$ ^ fefffioXoyog, although 
Rhadamanthus, whom he appointe4 as 
judge hi his courts, there hel<} 

— ■ durijjima regng\ 

•and was hard and feyere, even to cruelty.; 
yet Homer and Plato both bear teftimbny, 
that every thing which Divine Wifddm, 
God-like Benevolence, aildthe clecireft and 
pureft Juftice could give to man, was thp 
charadler of Minos, the paftor, prote&or, 
and governor of his people : and that the 
other was a wile and juft judge :— and iee 
from Thucydides the ^efFe& of thefe efta- 
blifhments; made by Minos J. "He 
* 4 formed a navy, and cleared the fea of 
" pirates ; -he expelled the robbers out of 
" the iflands, and fettled colonies of in- 
-* 4 dufttious people in their room; fo that 
** the feas wefce open and free to com* 
i 1 mdrce, the people could become -fet tiers 
"* 4 and 'dwell with lafety ; and became 
> 4 rich and happy/' 

v.).I£ithis mode of investigation and con- 
sequent explanation off this lubjeft be pui> 

• Platonis Minos. f Strabpnis, L. X. 

J Lib. I. ' ■ 

-•Y/diiilA fyecj 



( 73 ) 
feed by fuch analogy as compares man; 
Jiis being,, and anions (fuch a* we have 
dually known; him to be) with' what he 
«nay fairly * |pe" fupppfed to have been • in 
jhofe times, altl^ugh'- deformed- arid xriifc 
reprefented in fables, even truths ufeful to 

/nankind may ire: elicited, xxut of them/ 

r ■ - 

* r . i \ . » .-, ' t --/•»-...•'•.-*■ • *-» 

-r.;There are rules in jth6 faLepcJe:6f optica^ 
by which thejiri&& of a pi&urte.miy be £o 
•idrariyn,.asthat^, although they, *'giire Tevery 
^oiat-of that v picture, the bearing of each 
point (hall be fo diftra£fced, and the tout- 
\0fifmblebQ &L deformed, as notito retain 
.the leafi femblanccof the original draught; 
this deformed pi&ure may howeyier, be re- 
formed to its original draught', by being 
jfeen in a mirrour peculiarly, by the fame 
jules of fcience, .conftru&ed" to refleft 
back thefe lines; reduced to their proper 
fraiteSy and ; theie proportions • to their juft 
•correfpondence. ; Juft fo (with alliifion to 
this mathematick iadt) I confider the his- 
toric fables, the.pi&ures of the early ages 
of the world. The pi&ure has been de- 
formed in all its traites and proportions ; but 
jf the truly philofophic Antiquary can by 
analogy, and fair comparifon of that Being 
which m^n always has been, find out the 
pxdde qf the deformation, he will be at 
pp lofs \n applying thp ffientifick mir- 

- >pyr. 



( 74 )■■ 
rour, by which this picture fhall be tan- 
fuafo in fpeculot refle&ed back, reformed 
in all its out-lines and relations, to all th6 
purpofes of ufeful experience, the duly end 
of real and a&ual hiftory. ' '■ ,y * 

We will next:,, leaving the fabulws, 
proceed to confider the nlode of the philo- 
Jbphic Antiquary's refearch into that pe- 
riod of hiftory whereof (the materials 
being fuppofed to be ihtire, and the order 
;and feries . of the fafts in fome meafure 
-preserved) the narrative is fuppofed to bo 
;the aftuaL portrait of the tilings and times 
which it reprefents, and is therefore called 
and underftood to be the ju/l and true 
bijlory. When I confider that he, who 
writes profeffedly to give fuch information 
df the ftate and a&ions of the human life 
and fyftem as (hall enable us to form that 
knowlege of it, which is experience* 
ihould not only tell us what has been 
done (as chronicles and registers do), but 
fliould mark to us how the agent was 
able to do it, how it was done, and what 
was the efFeft : I fay, when I confider 
hiftorical knowledge in this light, yet find 
that he who writes of ancient times, long 
paffedy knows not often the bow, and that 
he who writes of the living times, as they 
are paffing, heeds notthefow, but goes 

on 



( *5 ) 

on aft > of courfe ; I feel that I want feme- 
thing ;fnore to raife my learning up to 
knowiedge^ The hiftorian, either totally 
igBorAntq^^rlivkigamidil the ordinary 
iBoveme^tt, and \mder the constant and 
iip?ch*»*?k. influence of the fprings and 
ptrii)?ipl^ tvhicbv as things of courfe, 
Qpqr^te* oa, the hunarin afibdns, does no 
mWQr&mkdt neceflary, or even proper, to 
,&&$&! and: ioaark-the ftate, organization, 
.and prpoefs of ;.lte community' whole 
4di<Stftith&& deforifaing, than he would 
■thi»k ittiaeceffary to gitfe ant analytic :de- 
4cfi^tfl3ii;€if his watch, in order by it to 
rtell, yon, what die hour^.of the, day was ; 
^iSr^flS^ibeing to relate the operations of 
.$hej$H^tfie» not (he composition and re- 
\fo)M$iv!X of its powers. He fuppofes the 
kowwJ^lgQiof this to have been acquired 
injrpm^ tether line of learning, or to lead 
to Other purpofes, or: to. be obvious in every 
courfe, and open to every eye. While we 
fee palpably^ the organization of the com- 
munity, the particular ftate of its procefs ; 
ip.^opg as we feel the impulfe of the prin- 
ciples by, which it is influenced; and are 
jekheff/ a&ually or fcientifically mixed in 
with tb& cjreumftances . amidft which it 
operates ;.ib far the narrative may be per- 
fectly intelligible : but it may fo happen, 
that the hiftory of the fadts may remain, 

when 



( 7<5 ) 
wfaeii the pKlKriplbs (hall Ti&tfi fcgafed td 
tcperatq*'; ; ■ whenv ■'•the' 1 particuiaf iiftaSe : of 
-aiia&ts whkrh c8iied-^tb : thof^3«l&riFC«s- 9 
^frontwrhenoe partlcifjffr ffowefis, % a&s^ aftd 
Irights, .i are ~>deriVed, ! > (ball ■ no < kmger- ttfgfe 
liheii^demands'j whern* the *nahn<ei«s arid 
t oti$!oms.faavea£ed awaj^.and: a^TMferty 
cfcrgotten, : lli&hifb^fchetiy tfiriutf r:fHftt 
ccnnmarent, which Jsjhe living iiiiftriisrs aifd 
^afiiveTcdrama gi«; ftjjalk "fe«tor^ : \ifelefif f 
and unintelligible^ T&e 'aftiwi*'8itd Gpe- 
jfatioas; ;appeamt>g riuhgrounded 5 --foall-' be- 
come inapplicable ; sad; the ftibft ufeful 
arts and beft exerted powers - &6nA"4-'Waf*- 
ton vrafte^ pf xapricei. c I dar^vfa^o^fery 
one who reads can* here . recoll^-fiiany 
things, many, aftion^y m*t^oj)^tionl, 
which appear fo tobimyiwhish ?&*&xtid 
not have .be£n fo.» Here thetf;J?hfc ^'Anti- 
quary becomes that Interpreter '-tyuwhorn 
hiftory is rendered intelligible 5 &&i&rties 
that Commentator by whom alone<'^ can 
be conduced to \ife- f atid ji radical know- 
ledge. The Antiquary lets before our 
eyes, and puts into oiir hands,- in/. 4' -Way 
that the hiftorian does not, every com- 
ponent part and whole frarifen of the 
adling fyftem. He makes his rfcfeide* live 
as it were in the times, and thfoti£h the 
Scenes he defcribcS : Animum in Jcriben&o 



( 77 X 

ad prateriti* \etrahife y \ efive/uti antiqUuM 
facer c fkagni Utiqtte tdbirhttjudicii eft*. ; 

. The-Atttigjiary will fo defcribe thS 
community; whofe 4dtg are the fubjedt of 
hiftory* in the fche and citeumftances of 
the cobnay- which it inhabits, in its mode 
of pofleffing* and in its manner of living 
on it ; he will give a detail of its want's; 
and of its refources, both in nature and 
art; he Will fo defcribc the component 
and afting parts, fo mark its organization, 
its vegetative and animal proceffion, its 
growth, its utmoft perfeft ftate ; and its 
decay, its defers, its difeafes, and all the 
accidents which give occafion to the work- 
ing of its natural or violent deceafe ; that 
every fpring and movement, every acci- 
dent, aft, and operation, the caufe, the 
reafon, the end and effed of all, will be 
equally known to the reader, as though 
he was living amidft them, and under 
their influence. Without this knowledge 
we may read hiftory, but it will be the 
ftory of a creature little known to us. 
We have all read the Perfian, ^Egyptian, 
Grecian, and Roman Hiftory ; but will 
the belt verfed in thefe matters fatisfy 
himfelf that he has any fuch habile idea 

* Bacon dc Augm. Lib. II. c. j. 

of 



>< f 8 :> 

of either of thefe people and their fyftera, 
as above retired ? will he, wjien I afk for 
information, be able to tell precifely what 
wis the ftate,; ivhpt the fupply and con- 
traption of fhis ftate, while their labour 
was confined fotaly* or principally, to the 
earth? why filch ,3fid ; foch pofleffions of 
lands, waters, and things, became neceffary 
to them ? how they occupied and maintain- 
ed them? how the interior fprings, and 
exterior momenta arofe and a&ed under 
thefe circumft^nees ? how they were able 
to put themfellves into fuch form as to 
a£l towards obje&s ab extra? how under 
thefe forms the diftrihution of powers 
and duties amongft the individuals in the 
communities of Greece, but of Rome 
more efpecially* were made, and yet the 
political liberty of the ftate,. and the per- 
gonal freedom of the individual, preferved ? 
how citizens of equal* rank and liberties, 
entitled to equal choice in a fhare of the 
civil government, could (having been either 
drawn out by lot, or prefled, to bear arms 
as privates) be continued during long 
wars, and retained for a feries of years 
under the defpotifm of the military Impe* 
riutn % confiftent with that liberty of the 
ftate, and that freedom of the citizen, 
confiftent with the avowed rotation of 
ele&ion to civil offices open to all ? how 

they 



( 79 ) 

they could be thus fecluded from their 
rights and excluded fo* long from re-en* 
teiipg into their civil order? will any 
hiftory explain this to me ? I know now 
that does. I loojc to the learning of the 
Antiquary for this information, but as yet 
I know none that gives it. There are 
many ^fiances in the Roman hiftory of 
the people and the foldiers revoking againft 
this unequal grievance. To quiet conv 
plains on this head the fcnate was forced 
fp early as [U. C. 246.] the Etruscan war, 
to liberate the Plebeians from paying the 
Portoria and tribute, in confideratio& of 
their perfonal fervices *. " The rich, 
*' who were able to bear this burthen of 
" taxes, fliould pay their contributions in 
" this form ; while the people who were 
" poor, (hquld be confidered as paying 
" their fhare by bringing up children who 
** were to ferve the ftate." This is the 
only paflage which I can recolle£t, which 
looks liks an explanation of this difficulty : 
and yet this was only a partial and tem- 
porary drifting off the complaint (blandi? 
menta Plebi per id tempus ab fenatu data J > 
for we find again the Portoria and vefti- 
galia in collection! A pay or fubfiftance 

* Ut dirires conferrent, qui oncri ferendo effort, pau- 
peres fatis ftipendii pendere, fi libeios educarent. 

Tit. Li*, lib. II. § 9. 

given 



( &° ) 

given to the foldiers was afterwards efta* 
bliflied ; this and the ftate, of dependency 
to which the pedple were reduced by their 
debts alid general poverty, feems to be a 
reafon of the claim to their perfonal 
feryice, as private foldiers, being lub- 
mitted to. The difficulty however of re- 
conciling this military imperium with 
the freedom of the citizen, and the liberty 
of the conftitution, ftill preffes. There are 
many other curious difquifitions which 
arife in this branch of learning : as, how 
thol^e communities divided into thofe who 
labour on the earth, into thofe whofe 
labour is employed on the produce of the 
earth, thofe who adminifter the civil 
powers of the community, thofe who are 
either permanently or occafionally fet apart 
for the defence of the community; 
how, after the community is fb divided, 
thofe, who do not produce what can be 
eaten, are fed ; how the furplus produce 
of labour which can be of no ufe to the 
community can be exchanged for what is 
of ufe ; how this leads to commerce ; how 
commerce extending the communion, en- 
creafes, by its paval adventitious members, 
the power of the ftate; without fome 
degree, of this information of the com- 
munities and growing ftates of the ancient 
world, we may read and learn a great 

deal 



( 8i ) 

deal, but fhall know very little ; we (hall 
continue reading about a creature that we 
do not underftand the nature or conftitu- 
tution of; we (hall neither conceive the 
fprings, the means, nor the ends of its' 
a&ions J we fhall neither fee the purport of 
the wars, nor the reafqns of the foederal 
connexions it may make, nor the grounds 
on which it flood by means of them. 
We may travel in hiftory for ages through 
many regions, but it will be always as in 
a thick fog. We may fee in fucceffive 
fteps the groups of thofe figures and fa£ls 
only which are immediately local and 
temporary ; but the enfemble of the piece 
will be hid from us and unintelligible. 
We mufthere have recourfe to the learned 
Antiquary ; the light of his difcoveries 
muft difpei the cloud; when it does fo, the 
profpeft willopen upon the minis eye in all 
its extent, in true perfpe&ive, and cloathed 
in all its genuine colours. The obje&s 
and figures in the piece will be feen in 
their proper bearings and proportions; afyf- 
tem as pervading the whole will be feen in 
the defign ; the connexion between caufes 
and efFe&s will be feen hi the execution ; 
and hiftory may thus become experimental 
knowledge. 

O If 



( **. y 

If I kflbw the ftate of the produce of 
a community, either by grazing, tillage* 
hunts, fifheries^ or mkies ; and the ftate 
of its* manufa&ures as framed upon this* 
produce ; the divifion of the individuals of 
the community into hufbandmen anct 
manufacturers ; the refpe&ive proportion 
of thefe ; the furplus* labour employee}, 
'and the furplus ftock of labour created ; 
whether this continues to circulate as a 
living or is ftored as, a dead ftock ; I fhall 
be able to eftimate the internal capabilities 
©f that community, its happinefs, its 
wealth, and its power of exttemal exertion* 
This information is ftot found colle&ed in 
any hfllory; and yet the being poflefled 
ef it is neceffary to a real knowledge of 
the a&ions of that .political being, whether 
prince or ffeate, whifcb one is reading of.> 
The Antiquary colledting and combining 
many of thefe fcattered and negle£tec£ 
fe&s* which, feparate as they lie, are not 
either relevent or applicable, will give me 
*this information. Hiftory is in general 
only the recital of the brutal part of man V 
lyftem, his . robberies, plundfcrings, and* 
wars, mixed with fome temporary inter*-- 
vals of neceffary truce called peace ; which 
lafts no longer than till the power of War 
4 has* 



( «3 ) 

Jias acquired fome frefli ftrength, or new 
toeans of exerting itfelf again. Two o£ 
the principal drifts of true experimental 
hiftory fhotild be pointed to give its infor- 
inatign* and lay, as in a map, before the 
foind's feye, the vicijjitudmes rerum, and the 
fundamenta prudential Yet the narrative 
of hiftory feldam eiiters into thefe minutix. 
So far from giving the changes and revo- 
lutions of wings, it does not (generally 
fpeaking) give the a&ual ftate of them at 
any oue tinie : inftead of pointing otit the 
fundamenta prudentia, it feldom enters into 
the rationale. It is employed to invent 
tnyfterious reafons for what was 'mere 
}>affion, and to give an air of policy to 
the violences of man j to paint their ope- 
rations, to trace their courfe, or to ftate 
the effect, as. a&s of glory which form the 
ftatefman and the hero. It is the pomp and 
circumftance of a<9ion, not the principle 
of the reafoning part, that is the general 
objeft of the hiftorical drama. An analytic 
hiftory of the progrefs, growth, expanfion, 
and decay, of the civil cotrimunity, m 
whatever external form it exifts, can alone 
explain the viciffitudines rerum y or trace the 
fundamenta prudentike. The very creaturer 
whole actions we view, is, without this 
knowledge, a creature quite unknown to 
tts ; Could I have.any idea of man, feeing 
G 2 only 



< 8 * ) 

only a picture of him as a fprawling 
child, or in the helplefs decrepitude of 
age ? Could I have any idea of the pro- 
greffive ftate of his being ; of the ne- 
ceffity of attentive nurture to his' ehild- 
hood ; of the neceflity of fupport arid aid 
to his old age ; if I faw, at one view only* 
the portrait of his manhood ? As of man, 
fo of the human community, thus fuper- 
ficially or partially feen, I ffinuld neither 
fee the different wants in the different 
ftates of its being, nor have experience of 
the fupplies which fhould correfpond to 
. thofe wants; nor of the fources which 
might produce thofe fupplies. If this 
point of knowledge (I mean the analytic 
hijiory of the human community) be a 
JDejidtratum in the hiftoric line of learn- 
ing (as to me it feems to be), what a 
glorious and extenfive field is here open 
to the learned Antiquary to fpatiate in ! 

The vegetative fyftem of the commu- 
nity (if I may fo exprefs myfelf ), the in- 
ternal living and growing part of its beingv 
may be compared to the roots of a tree, 
which fupport the prefent plant, and are 
continually, though unfeen, extending 
the means and maintenance of its future 
expanfion in its branches. If the roots are 
not extended in the earth below, the 
7 branches 



( *5 ) 

branches can never extend their growth 
above. A furplus and colleftive flock, 
created by agriculture and manufa&ures, 
can alone give a&ivity of power to numbers 
of people in any degree : but commerce 
alone is that vegetative fyftem of the com- 
munity, that can give a permanent fburce 
to this a&ivity : a knowledge then of the 
commercial movements, operations, and 
powers of the ancient communities, feems 
abfblutely neceflary to any one who would 
underftand the a&ions of thofe commu- 
nities. In order to explain myfelf, when 
I refer to the ufe that this knowledge 
would be of, I will illuftrate thefe fug- 
geftions with an example or two. 

Does it not appear unaccounted for, and 
unaccountable, that after the Grecians had 
pofleffion of the Trojan port and ftation ; 
after they had driven the Trojans out of 
the field, had laid liege to Ilium, and had 
an army numerous enough to have made 
a perfeft blockade ; that the Trojans and 
all their auxiliaries maintained their fup- 
ply, and continued in this ftate of re- 
iiftance for ten years, without a dearth or 
famine making any part of the diftrefs 
which they laboured under. Thucydides, 
who is our Antiquary here, explains this 
fa£t. Giving fome prefatory account of 
G 3 the 



( 86 ) 

the antiquities of his country, and of the 
ancient ftate of it ; he fpeaks to this very 
point of the ftate of the community ; of 
the nature of the fupply ; and pf that 
part of the people whpfe labour wa$ ne- 
ceffary to produce that fupply. The di- 
vilipn of the people into hufbandmen, and 
feparate manufacturers of the ftock of thp 
produce, w^6 npt yet made, fo that theye 
was neither a fuperfluous ftock of labour, 
or of hands, which could be fpared for 
war, in fuqh manner as that the fupply 
could be continued and kept up. 

There were, he fays, men enough in 
the country j and though the ftates fent 
out above one hundred tjioufand menr, 
they could (he fays) haye fent out many 
more, could they have created a furplus 
fupply for this number, whjle thefe hands 
became thus unproductive pf their own 
fupply, being filled with arms and em- 
ployed in war. Not much more than a 
third qf thefe, who formed this armament, 
> could be reckoned upon as effective in the 
. lines. One part, he fays, was employed 
pn the Cherfpnefus, to raife and maintain 
a fupply for the army ; another was em- 
ployed in their (hipping, and as marines^ 
to colledl fupplies by trade, or plunder, as 
they cpuld. Th«s the blockade was not 

only 



( «7 ) 

(©nly incompleat, but the Grecians wert 
at times fb weakened with thefe detach- 
ments, as well as by death and ficknefs, 
£hat the Trojans «rere able to reprefs them 
tack within their janes, and even to befiege 
them there, in their turn. 

That jtihe .iE^rptians, <m the other 
hand, had in the moft early periods a 
iuperfluous ftock of JTupply equal to the 
Support of multitudes #f unpnadudis^e 
hands, the jere&ion of their pyramids, 
fobelifks, and other great works of archi- 
tecture, is a proofs but it is a melancholy 
proof at the fame time of the perverfion 
of the produ6&ve powers -of man in foeiety, 
when we fee fo much labour, which, by 
a right turn of the wealth and induftrious 
. ?enterprize of a populous community might 
iiave produced and advanced the tftafce 
of happinefs to mankind, thrown away, 
and wafted in works which now remain 
only monuments of the defective ftate of 
their politicaltoeconomy. However {taking 
things as they clearly were and muft be) 
thefe monuments bear everlafting tefti- 
mony to the goodnefs of the hearts of 
•thofe minifters, or thofe kings, who did 
thus employ the fuperfluous idle hands, 
and iuperabundant ftock" *©f fupply, which 
the fertility of jthe country gave, in works 
G 4 ojf 



('88 ) 

of harmlefs parade and vanity : inftead of 
being actuated by the common ardent am- 
bition of tyraftts to employ them in the " 
deftru&ion of the human fpecies. 

Let the ftudent in hiftory confider again, 
in ^ different view of things, the nature 
of the ftate of the Hebrews, prior to the 
time of David and Solomon ; and the 
growing extent of the wealth and power 
of that ftate, when (under the govern- 
ment of thofe enterprizing - princes) they 
got pofleffion of the Red Sea ; aftuated 
its navigation ; and profited of the cir- 
cuitous commerce of the Arabian and 
Perfian Gulfs, and of Indian Seas. Let 
him view them emerging, as it were by 
magick, from an inconiiderable inland 
ftate, to a commercial naval and powerful 
empire ; and how again upon the lofs of 
this they funk as fuddenly again to their 
original littlenefs. 

When, in another inftance, he fees how 
a collection of merchants (one can fcarce 
call that community a nation, or its civil 
corporation, a ftate, I mean the Phoe- 
' picians), fet down on the line of inter- 
pourie between the great trade of the eaft 
and that of the weft, and a&uating the, 
movements of this combined commerce, 

foou 



( * 9 ) 

fbon acquired an afcendency in and took 
the lead of the interefts and powers of the 
then great world, he will no longer 
wonder at the effeflr, he may derive know- 
ledge from experience in the caufe. He 
will fee the fameeffeft conne&ed with the 
fame caufe ill the eftabliftiment of the 
power of the Hanfeatic league in Europe. 
If confidering this and purfuing this line 
of refearch, and examining it by this train 
of reafoning, the learned Antiquary will 
review the plan, and fyftem of meafures, 
which formed the conduft of Alexander, 
truly called the Great, the ufe and impor- 
tance of this information^ in this branch 
of learning, will appear ftill more evident. 

It will be feen that this great prince and 
his council perfectly underftood the ope* 
rations and effedb of this fyftem, as it lay 
in nature ; as it was interwoven into the 
affairs of man ; and as it nurtured, ani- 
mated, and actuated, the interefts and 
powers of ftates ; as alfo how this might 
be wrought to conipire to the eftabiifh- 
ment of an univerfal empire of the world. 
His knowledge of the real weaknefs which 
there was in the impofing grandeur of 
thofe ftates that he a£ed againft, led him 
to the conqueft of them. His conquefts 
led to aflured knowledge on experience of 

the 



( 9<> ) 

the powers whereon theft ftates ihould 
have been founded. His progrefs, fuccefl^ 
ful as it mtift be, being guided by fyftem, 
founded in a&ual truth, opened to him 
every ftep he took, and every day which 
rofe, more and more extended views of 
the expanded intercourfe of commerce as 
it a&ually moved and a&ed ; and of the 
univerfal communion to which it was 
capable of being extended ; all confpiring 
to one great Lead, which, while it was fup* 
plied by the commerce, might a& with the 
paval power of the whole world. 

This great prince was the firjl Jlatefinan 
who from fyftem in knowlege, founded on 
a&ual experience of the movements and 
tranfa&ions of men, in the various lines 
of trade, combined the intcrejts and powers 
of commerce with the operations of polity \ 
fo as hy the true attractive fpirit of 
-communion, as it a£ts in nature, to form 
that organifed imperium, whence com* 
mand and government would, through 
the laws pf nature, derive upon all the 
communities who became parts of this 
combination, and who moved within the 
fphere of this attra&ion. Having united 
the naval power of Greece, raifed and 
maintained by the afcendent commerce of 
the Euxine and ./Egean Seas; he fooa 

drew 



( 9» ) 

/drew the nayal interefts pf the Ionian* 
within tfye orbit of his revolving powers, 
And thefe combined did, as they muft in 
the natural courfe of things, create a 
center to which the .commerce of Tyre 
muft become fecondajy and fubordinate. 
In thi§ natural progrefs of his fyftem, 
^Tyre muft, as it did, fall under his do- 
minion. The merchants of Tyre had t 
£&uated and commanded, what the ftatef- 
men of Perfia fhould have done as an 
effential part of their political fyftem, the 
commerce of the Indies. This coming 
under the command of Alexander, Perfia 
became nothing in the fcale againft the 
afcendentand predominant power of this 
great ftatefman and warriour. The fteps 
which led to, and effe&ed this conqueft, 
/did, as in a courfe of experiments, mark 
out to his genius a fyftematic knowledge 
of the bafis whereon this Perfian empire 
fhould have been fet and would have ftood, 
and whereon a great empiire might bp 
formed and founded. 

His fixing on the fpot, whereon to build 
Alexandria, as the center of commercial 
fyftem, and making that, perhaps,, the 
only fpot on the globe tQ which all the 
three great departments of the commerce 
jof the amjiept world could have mutual, 
* com- 



( 9* ) 

commercial, and even naval communi- 
cation ; to which the dire&ions of all 
their reciprocal lines of movement might 
concenter ; and in which all their inter- 
woven interefts might combine : His fix- 
ing upon this fpot ; and forming and efta- 

-.blifhing this glorious fyftem of commerce 
thereon ; and uniting this fyftem to the 
constitution of his Imperium^ had this effect 
in all his meafures, that while he was the 
aftuating foul, the circulation of commerce 
(like the circulation of the blood in man) 
was the life of the whole. The forming 
fuch a fyftem of communion as the bafis, 
k and the building his fuperftru&ure of go- 
vernment thereon ; diftinguifhes this great 
prince from all other heroes the conquerors, 
in order to be the tyrants of men : while 
inftead of being the mere conqueror, a&ing 
with the brutal force of man, to deftrudtion ; 
He (I had almoft faid) like a divinity a&u- 

.ated, and adted with, the powers of nature 
to the eftablifliment of nature's fyftem in 
communion. It was on this fyftem, and by 
a linked progreflion of meafures founded 
thereon, that he made fuch inquifition 
and fearch into all the fources and chan- 
nels of the trade of the Indian feas and 
regions : that upon the refult of his dif- 
coveries he eftablifhed that great Eaflern 
branch of the commerce of the world ; 

and 



( 93 ) 

and that he interwove and combined this 
at one center of attra&ion with the trade 
of the north. This center to which all 
confpired ; and from which power thus 
colle&ed diverged to all parts' of the com- 
mercial hemisphere, was Alexandria in 
jEgypt. Thofe extenfive plans were, how- 
ever, but links of the chain, but parts 
of his general fyftem. While by the 
entrepots, which he created and fixed be- 
tween ^Egypt and the Eaft; by the trading 
fettlements which he eftablifhed in the 
Eaft, under the proteftion of his arms ; 
by the fa&ories which he advanced in 
every remote fource under the cover oif 
his outpofts ; while by thefe meafures this 
great machine was getting into motion' 
and beginning to adt ; He was forming 
the plan of drawing the late Tyrian and 
remaining Carthaginian Commerce of the 
Weji into the fame vortex. 

Having put his meafures refpe&ing 
commerce and the naval power into 
execution, he defigned, when the opera- 
tions of thefe meafures had brought for- 
ward and prepared events for it, the in- 
vafion of Carthage and its fettlements. 
A&ing by an afcendent fortune, and be- 
come predominant, he muft in all human 
probability have fucceeded. 

Such 



/ 



( 94 J 

Sudi were his affured fte|>s, that thfe 
trade alfo, connected at the root, deriv- 
ing its houriture from the fame fources, 
fextending its branches interwoven over 
the fame regions* moving within the 
fame circulation, muft have come wrthiii 
the fphere 6f the fame attraction;- muft 
gravitate to aftd revolve about the fame 
center ; and become thus a part within* 
the univerfal fyftem or a very fubordinate 
and fecondary fyftem of itfelf ab extra; 
In either cafe, the trade of the Cartha- 
ginians muft hava been impoverished,- 
their naval power weakened and reduced,* 
and the dominion itfelf fuccumb to the 
univerfal Imperium of this great states- 
man frince. Sed Diis allter vifum. Her 
died j and the foul^ which was tne center 
of vitality, and the fpring of a&ion t& 
this fyftem, departing, the unity of the 
fyftem was broken ; feparation, like ano- 
ther confufion of Babel reverfed the 
whole. 

Looking then up to this great com-* 
mercial triangular pyramid* as k wqjilcf 
have ftood on a bafe, one point of which 
j*oje£fced beyond the Straights of the Me* 
Jkerranean on the ive/}> while another 
advanced to the almoft bounds of the 

Euxine 



( 95 ) ^ 

Euxine andt Paulus Maeotis on the north,, 
and the third ta the remoteft regions of 
India eaft; looking up to this great colojfat 
fyftem of empire thus founded on com- 
merce ; and feeing what the city of Rome 
was at that time* fighting for the very 
fcite of its future empire, on its own nar- 
row world Italy, not only furrounded but 
hemmed in by warlike, jealous, and hoftile 
neighbours on all fides ; one may, without 
incurring much the imputation of pre- 
emption, decide upon the {peculation* 
which Titus Livrus, lib. IX. § 17. in- 
stitutes and difcufles on this curious qucf- 
tion — ^uinam eventus Romanis rebus* fi 
cum Alexandro bellatumforet* futurus erit. 
The hiftoriaii's reafons are thofe of a good 
citizen, and an ingenious advocate in the* 
cafe : but his fpeculation does not feem tcr 
have comprehended the whole cafe ; and 
his reafons feem to have reverfed the 
courfe of the meafures which he was exa- 
mining, fpeaking of the meafures of 
monarchs like Alexander, he fays, Domini 
rerum temporumque trabmt confiliis cun8a, % 
nonfequuntur; whereas the very fpirit of the 
tfaeafures and fyflem, planned and purfued 
by this great prmce, were di^efltly the 
feverfe * v He did not, as mere. Quixote. ad< 

* Se, quae concilia magi 3 res dent hominibus, quam ho- 
j&inet rebus? ea ant&temgui pcKtyatura, non pnccepturum* 

TiuLiv.iib. 21. § 38, 

venturers- 



( 96 *) 

Venturefes in politicks do, labour to make 
occafions, but as all truly great Geniufes 
do, feize and profit of times and occa- 
Cons : He did not by force attempt to 
command nature, but by courage and 
wifdom to follow her to execute her com- 
mands. Had he lived to have put in exe- 
cution thofe meafures which he had in 
contemplation ; and had the train of thofe 
meafures once brought him into the field 
with Rome ; the fyftem of that ftate, then 
in its infancy, muft have fuccumbed to 
the power of Nature, and the fpirit of 
Alexander, which combined were in the 
afcendent. 

But to return. Having mentioned what 
appears to me, to have been begun, or to 
have been in part done, and what is ftill 
wanting of refearch into the great northern 
and weftern courfes of the ancient com- 
mercial world : It cannot but occur to 
the Society and to the Reader of this 
paper, how much is alfo wanting of infor- 
tnation in that extenfive multifarious and 
rich commerce of the ancient Eaft Indies, 
Monfieur de Huet has entered intQ the 
difquifition of this branch more in detail 
and with more precifion than in other 
parts, and, as his extenfive reading and 
great ingenuity enabled him, has gone 

x great 



( 97 ) 

great lengths in this inquiry ; but there 
aVe many- materials which afford ftill 
further information ; and much remains 
tp be as yet explained. This inquiry h.aa 
much to tempt the curiofity of the learned 
Antiquary, and much to .exercile his in* 
jgenuity. It feems to me, that the An- 
tiquary, who can alone undertake this 
reiearch with fucCefs, and to effect, muft 
be fome one who is perfe& mafter . of the 
eafterh languages ; who is, from a cburfe 
of . experience, acquainted with thole 
Countries* thole people, their manners and 
habits ;, and finally one who has been a 
pra&teal merchant, pr connected with 
iuch. There are many ingenious, learned t 
fcientifick, mercantile men, who live, or 
have lived in, and had experience of, thefe 
regions ; atid it is from the learning and 
experience qf fuch alone, that the world 
may expe& knowledge on this fubjedt. 

Clofing here oiy obfervations on the 
nature .of commerce, as the fource of 
wealth and power to the community, we 
are naturally led to confider thofe du&s 
and channels, derived through which a 
certain pprfion of the produce of this 
ibtrrce is, «s it were, fecreted from the 
general circulation, and converted into re- 
venue of {he ftate. 

H The 



( 9« ) 

9 * The ordinary ftudenfs in hiftory read, 
lis of matters of courfe, of the wars of 
nations, and of the conquefts of the hero ' 
&£ the ftory ; of the marches and mul- 
titudes of the armifcs*, and of the activity of 
the general ; with as much feope of ima- 
gination, as the pen -can with eafe. mul* 
tiply numbers, of annihilate fpace : But 
if the ftudent by reading hiftory means to 
acquire a real knowledge, founded in ex- 
perience and applicable to pra&ice, and 
not to colle& a fet of crude and inappli- 
cable ideas merely as a fupply to-the fhin* 
ing in conversion ; he fhould direft his re* 
fearches into the attual ftate of the fources 
Which create and ftiaintain this power 
tof afting ; he fhouty know the nature of 
the fupply, and thtf form and extent of 
thfr revenues, of th^ political Being whofe- 
a&itens \\t is ftudyi/ig, Very few. Writers 
have pointed out, and fewer readers con- 
fidered, thofe pr^vioii* requifites. They 
find no occafidn for, and k> no difficulty 
in the matter of fupply; and yet it i£ 
an abfervation not more fhrewdly con- 
ceivedthan furely grounded which Sancho 
Paunch makes, that he was. always 
. ftruck with admiration of the vigour* ac- 
ti*ity^and adventuring fpirit of the heroes* 
yet following them care&Uy* hi their 
*•• *' . r: .• •■* marches 



• ( 99 ) 

marches and excursions, as he never could 
find tvher e they dined or. fupped, or took 
their reft, he did ahvays fuppofe that 
thefe fuperior Beings had no occafton for 
> . thefe neceflaries, without which men of 
the ordinary race could not get on : under 
this fdlution he could eafily give his faith 
. and affent to all the marvellous, on which 
otherwife he fhould have entertained 
fome fmall dotibt. Men mull eat, and 
food is not to be had without the means 
of colle&hig it, as Cicero fays in a letter 
to AtticuS *, Res frumentaria nullo modo 
admhuftrari fine vedtigalibus poteft ; and 
in a letter to Brutus obferves +, Maximus 
autem (nifi me forte fallit) in republica 
nodus eft inopia rei pecuniariae; and we 
find the Scipios in the career of their 
Vi&ories in Spain, writing to the Senate J f 
" Pecuniam in ftipehdium veftimentaquq 
u et frumenturti exercitui, et fociis na- 
cik valibus Omnia, depfle; ab Roma mit- 
iC tendam efle nee aliter aut exercitum ■ 
• c aut provinciam fetineri pofle." Without 
fome >account therefore of the Revenue* 
of the ftates whofe aftions we read of in 
ancient hiftory, we (hall be very little 
able to judge 6f the competency of the 

* Epifh ad Att. Lib. IX. Ep. IX. 

+ Ep. VIII. 

% Tit. Lir. lib. XXIII. $ 4B. 

JJ % flat* 



( ioo 3 
ftate to the meafures reprefented ; or of 
the means proportioned to the ends pro- 
pofed by that aftor whole hiftory.we are 
reading. 

We can never form any judgement of 
the reafons of ftate in the conduct of that 
government, nor be able to diftinguifh the 
probable from the improbable, the poftible 
from the impoffible, the competent from 
the incompetent; we fhall never be able 
to compare the combination of wealth 
and power in one nation, with that of 
another ; nor ever to form any judgement 
but from event, nor to know the real 
nature of that event neither* 

Here the learning of the Antiquary 
muft lend his aid to knowledge : his eru- 
dition collects, and his knowledge aflbrts, 
the many fcattered particulars which lie 
referred to paflantly in the various his- 
tories of Antiquity, 'and form for the 
ftudent fuch a fyftem, as~tnay enable him 
to become in great meafure ' cognifant of 
thefe neceflary matters. *ifhere has been 
much induftry and profound learning em- 
ployed by the Antiquaries on this fub- 
j*£t ; and yet, in all which has been col- 
lected and tompofed in thefe matters of 
finance, a certain want of official expe- 
rience 



C. 101 ) 

Hence in the detail of the colle&ion, and 
in the application of the revenue to the 
Service in . practice, has occafioned an un- 
avoidable defe£k, which will only be per- 
ceived when it comes to be applied to ope- 
ration in theeffeft; and will therefore 
only be perceived by thofe who read, and 
ftudy what they read, for the purpofe of 
colle&ing experience : then is it that we 
<ind the difference between the blooms of 
learning, and that fruit-bearing fcience 
•which mufl have a fource of knowledge 
of jprinciples at the rotft. 

- In order to explain and illuftrate what 
I think is here required, I will, by way of 
^nftance, attempt to give an account, from 
what may be picked out of the Roman 
authors, of the nature of the revenues and 
treafury bufinefs of the Roman State* 

The eftablifhment of the civil government 
in the early periods of the Roman people; 
under the kings as well as under the 
confulsj required very little expence : here 
perfonal fervice was the principal tax, 
which power and honor fully recompenfed. 
' When the military ejtablijhment, as the 
conduft of the wars grew every day more 
expenfive, required the fupport of a re- 
venue ; the Plebeians complained of the 
H 3 iue- 



< -m ) 

£naqu£lilty and injuftice arifiag from the 
demand made upon them for taxes, while 
the demand upon their perfonal fervice m 
the arrpy, taking from them thofe means' 
of labpvir which was their fupport, ren* 
dered them incapable of paying thofe taxes:' 
they were accordingly excufed from pay* 
jjng the tribute out this ground,. " Pau+ 
* 4 per0>Jatls Jiipendli. pendere Ji libera* tdu* 
** parent." The expences, however, of 
a growing ftate, involved in various? ; wars* 
and various foederal negotiations and cooA 
ne&ions, was obliged to maintain various, 
ordinary eftablifhments, and repeatedly in-* 
cutrcd various extraordinary expencea To 
a ftate, in thefe circumftances, a ^perma* 
pent and regular revenue became neceffary* 
jmd tajce? were therefore neteffarily* im* 
jpofed and levied, Thefe, in the times of 
monarchy > were impaled by the kings^ 
and in the times of the Republick by the 
Confuls (perhaps in fenate) by the Centers* 
or the Di&ators, as the cafe flood and re^ 
quired. I have ventured to fay this, aU 
though I know that it is a point by no 
paeans fettled amongft the Antiquaries; 
whether it was tmpofed by the fupream 
magistrate alone, or by him in fenate, or 
whether it originated in a Senatus-eon* 
fultum, or in a Plehifcitum, or whether 
it was originated by the Senate and ena£ed 

* juffu 



c J V> . .. . . 

^juflu pofmli.' I take 'my ; g?pitntl 3 Tbr 
this affertiort fronr fals c^rfaih fad :;*j Jffiiit 
the kings had th£T jtewer of lrtiTOlkig 
taxes, and on .the Revolution, at thte'ei- 
pulfion of the fengs ? : Liy^r infohtf? t»s** f 
Libert at is autem oYtgintth %de magis, quia 
annuttm ityperium confulareJaSum ejt r quant 
* quod; dimtnutum quicquam fit ex rigia pq<* 
te/fate. /This groutfd criri be made gpoji By 
Various inftances which taight be addiiced ; 
but with which, as I am "not here writing 
expreflly on the fubjeft of the Rqfifian 
finances^ I will not trouble the foqety, 
nor the reader ; I only fuggefl what ap- 
pears to me wanting, and what, I .think 
might be explained* 

The fpirit and reafoning, by wlxj^ch tftsje 
taxes were laid, took their courfe in the 
two following lines. The Triiutim was 
impofed upon property, real and perfQnal, 
or faculty, in proportion., as rated' iti the 
Cenfus. V 'l c 

The VeHigaUa^ of .which the Porforta 
were the chief clafs, were impofed /<$ t^e 
produce of the lands, goods, aijKL cveny 
article of fale, iti their paflage to and m 



♦ T. Lir.ll. §25. 

H'4 Vhelr 



j^'- 7 - 



, ( "4 > 

tjejr f Je, at. market ; thefe were the * w- 
-Cffiity*. or fjvs p$r qentum, and the * cen- 

tejinia t or one per. centum; this kind of 
;/excife at different periods, and on various 
• qcc&{}qxi$j were extended to numberlefs 
{ ^ftd + nam?lefs articles* 

The neceflity of impofing and cplle&ing 
,ifom jh^ ipitizens of Rome the J Tri6utum 9 
/wa^.fliperfqded by the depofit of treafilce 
\ placed at the bank: upon the conqueft of 
: ^4cedonia : the. reft cpntinued as branches 
J of$he revenue, QCfUefted. as the" vc&igal 

f dpmeiiWum-. V f '' 

1 • ■ ' - 

„f • r . * , . ...... 

* Thefe branches of the excife, pot only chilled before 

the regulations made in them, by Auguftus; but were paid 

Italy, and were a vc&igal Aomefticum, as Cicero calls 

'^ejft £t.;feejDa,to me. *tije*efore f • that* Mr. 'Gibbon is 

fc fnilfakeji wfyeh "ne Tuppofes ' that Augufius firft impofed 

"{Jktmldh Rofakh-Citiifcri*, who had been exempted from 

l anv l^nd<it/cotftYibuubVnboye a century and a half. Au- 

1 cuftuAma^e.matiy regulations in them, and feveral extca* 

♦ BonP©T'*fiem. r ■ \ ■'.■"■' : ■ 

x :!1j- JGkbkteflribettemitoim. the nafty and infamous nature 

©flthem. 

J Cicero in his Offices, Lib. II. § 22. mentions this <f 
the Iributum. But when Mr. Gibbon fays, chap^ VL 
v*Vth*iHe Roman j>eop)*Avaxfor- ever delivered from the 
"» .weight; of. *(&€** hi anupunces as of the genus, what 
Cicetb only faid of that * fpecies the I'ributum. When the 
Tnutinoufcf^tfit of the people, at the crifxs of the breaking 
Up !o£.tbe,*epubiick t called (or releafe from the portorki, 
and' to "have a dlvifion of the Ager Cam pan us, Cicero, writ- 
ing a long letter to Atticus on the fubje& (Lib. II. Ep. 16 ) 
fays, Portoriis Italia: fublaris,«agro campano divilb, quod 
yec^igai fupereft domefticuni prater vicefimaf 

- v - Befictes 



( *<?5 ) 

Befides thefe, the Roman government 
derived a revenue from a landed property, 
which it held as tke demefnes of the Jiaie. 
As the Romans Conquered the nations of 
Italy, and of the world, they generally 
referved fome of the arable and pafture, 
and other cultivated lands, to be held by 
the government as the landed eftate of 
the Republick, the produce or profits of 
which were the publick revenue. The 
government* let them to farmers for a cer- 
tain ftipulated rent; when fo let, they were 
called Jiipendarii: It let the arable to 
Aratores, tillage hufbandmen, and received 
tithes + of the produce in kind, or in fuch 
manner and by fuch compofition as the 
Ajatores could make with the Tithingmen 
pr Decuman i. Thefe lands were called 
Agri Decumani. Oil and wine alio, as the 
produce of the oliveyard and vineyard, 
$il\& z vefligal in.? given proportion. I 
dpubt whether I may call it a tithe, as I 
find that hort-yards and gardens paid but 
a fifth. There was alfoeven in the Decume 
fome diftin&ion made between the great 

* The doing this was called, the Lccr.tio Pfccdiorum 
Rufticorum. Liv. Lib. XLV. § iff, 

J Tidies were of old a financial eftablifhment of Sicily, 
er its own kings, and I believe of many other ftatcs 
alfo, prior to the adoption of them by the Romans, as one 
of their ways and means, 

and 



X -.1*6 ) 

and fmall torn or grain ; the government 
alfo, to feeure its fupplies in the refrumeb- 
Jarid, made further conditions -of pre- 
emption at an affized price. r ' ' '\ 

Thfe revenue of the Pafcua, the pafture 
land, was 'raifed by taking in cattle to 
graze, adjoifted at a certain Local to, or 
contra& rate per h^ad, for the \grazing. 
The lifts taken by the publicarn^of tHe 
number of cattle, &c. adjoifteif by the 
graziers, the paftores, Was called the Serif- 

■ tura^ whence this branch of revenue took 

•this name. 

»'■.«-' • 

* Thefe were the modes of "railing the 
ordinary- revenue* from the tkn&ed de- 

:tnefnes of the ftate ; but the gbvwrintefit, 

?in cafes of emergent difficulty, had Extra- 
ordinary ways an^d means of raifinj^miMiery 

lupot* the capital by fate of themv Witfx 
equity of redemption^- When the gbvetti- 
ment could repay the money. 3 '■'- '■■' 

The revenues *- raifed upon the pro- 
vinces in general was a vefligal cerium im- 
pofitum quod Jiipendarium dieitur ; on the 
contrary, omnis ager Sicilia chitatum Je- 
cumanus eft, with the exception of five or 

* Cicero in Verrem. A&io sda. lib. III. § 6. 

feven 



( *i«7 ) 
feven tides, whifeh were free and had im- 
munity from the tithes. 

r Th* mines ware another fburce and 
branch of revenue,; the government kept 
thefe in their own hands, and worked them 
i>y their (laves and convifted criminals, 
tinder the infpe&ion of their own officers V 
thdfe'were called the Metalla. 

The eolle&ion of thefe ordinary branches 
of the rfevenue were generally farmed out 
to companies of bankers, to Societates, or 
Socii SCripturce, &rc. who agreed for them 
•at a ftipulated Lrtatio, or contract price, 
;by which meatls the inCdme revenue be- 
tam*»cbnftaMt arid Uniform. Thefe foae- 
fates, or companies of bankers, were alfb 
of great ufe to the government, by ad- 
vancing money on 4oan in cafes of .emer- 
gency, as will be feen. 

Befides the ordinary branches of re- 
Venue by the Tribututn, the Veftigalia, and 
the Met 'alia , the goverment in cafes of 
emergency did fometimes call on the 
patriotifm of the people to contribute to 
the neceflities df the ftate, in proportion 
to their love for their country, and to 
their abilities in affifting it ; this, which 
we #iould name a Benevolence, was called 

Tributum 



( ~**8 ) 

¥rifai£utH_ fXemtrarium) quando populus m 
ararium^ quod ha fruit 9 aetuUt\ a curious 
precedent of this in the fecond Punic war 
may -be read in Tit.Liv. JLib* XXVI, §.36, 
and in Floras, Lib. IV. cap, 6. § 24, 25,; 

Afiptheii extraordinary method of raifing 
jthe^cujrgnt fupply was by l<)a# on >the 
public credit, borrowed on fuch conditions 
as the government could make at the time 
.witji the SocietatiS) > or compariies of fir- 
mer s general. This req uired an a& of the 
fenate. -The fpllowingis the precedent in 
V. Q. 537. * * At jhe end of fumrner, the 
Sqpios wrojte ^n acepyjit of their jfuc- 
ceflTes in Spain ; \>u£ added, that money 
for thfi pay, cloathing, and fupplies of 
the army i was .waiting, and for the 
focial fleets every thing. As to the pay, 
ttieyjvyould mabgge jQ«af range that;upon 
the fpot, but if money wa$ r not {ent 
from Rome to defray the other charges, 
neither the army nof the province, cbuld 
be retained. Thefe letters being read in 
the fenate, there was not one of the 
whole body who did not allow that 
what was flatedwas true, and that what 
was required was ji»ft,: but thei* conr 
iidering on one hartd what great fupplies 

* Tit, Liv. Lib. XXIU. § *g, 49, 

« the 



( IQ 9 ) 

* the Macedonian war, (hould it come 

* forward, would call for ; and .on the 
4 other, the defic^ncies of. the treafury f 
the fen ate came to this refolution,."That 
••. unleis the government could raife the 
44 fupplies on credit, they could not be 
44 raifed on the current revenues of the 
44 ftate." 

44 That therefore Fulvius (hould go to 
f4 the public aflembly of the people, and 
44 , ftate to them the public neceffities, and 
44 exhort thofe who had made their for- 
* c tunes by contradts and the public farms, 
44 that they (hould advance by loan to 
44 the government, for a time, fome part 
44 of thefe fortunes which they had made 
44 under its adminiftration, which monies 
44 fo advanced (hould be repaid to them 
44 out pf the firft furplus balances which 

were depofited in the treafury." 



u 



4 The praetor fixed a day for making 

* this contract, and on the day fo fixed 
4 three companies,, of. twenty-one each, 

* .offered the loan on two conditions ; 
4 . i ft. That. they (hould be exempt from 
4 military fervice. 2d. That the things 
4 they fent fhould be infured by the go- 

* vemment againft the 'danger of the leas. 

* and of the enemy. 



( 111 ) 

iffue to the iervice by ,cafh, or by align- 
ment, in payment, or by impreft upon 
account j and the keeping of the accounts 
of the whole ; were of their departments N 
Whether this department in the whole, 
or in part, and in what parts, was con- 
ducted by a concurrent jurifdi£tion with 
(it was certainly under the control of) 
the fenate, is not a matter decided., atjeair 
as far as my information goes : there are 
clearly fome matters, and were fome times, 
in which the fenate interpofed its au- 
thority. The vote of the fenate in the 
cafe of the loan above-mentioned, and the 
fettlement of the ftipendium of Mace- 
donia, the arangements made in the col- 
lection of the Ve£tigalia and the Tributum, 
by a refolve of the fenate, is another. It 
i'eems that this might have been left to the 
executive officers ; " taraen infenatu quoque 
" agitata eft fumma conjiliorum ut inch oat a 
U omnia legati ab domo ferre ad imperatoret 
«< pcjjint * " 

The actual collection of thefe revenues 
were by the hands of the Publicani, or 
of the Farmers-general in right of their 
locationes or contracts ; and the distribution 

* Vide T. Livium. Lib. XLV, § 18. The detail of rhefe 
arangements are worthy the attention of the learned An- 
tiqiury. 

x by 



( M3 } - 

by the hands of deputy pay-mafters, civil 
and' military.. \ 

By the account which I have here given 
of the jevenues and finances of Rome 
(defefitive as this? maybe) will be feen 
how much ftill le£s is known of this life- 
blood of other ftates. I could have drawn 
out this matter iilto a greater detail of par* 
ticulars, and have compofed thefe par- 
ticulars into a more full ^nd perfect de«* 
fcription of this point of antiquity, had I, 
meant here to have, written an exprefs 
treatifc ou this fubjedt : what I have done 
is only to give one example of the do&rijie 
1 laid down ; and to fuggeft to the Anti* 
quary hbw much ftill remains to be done 
in this line of refearch, as it concerns 
the hiftpry of every ftate and nation which 
forms ' any of thefe dramatis perfonae of 
ancient hiftory. When we come to thofe 
periods which form the beginnings of the 
modern hiftory, the neceffity of an exa* 
initiation into and a knowledge of the 
ftate and nature of the fupply of thofe 
communities; who, like fucceeding waves, 
made that inundation \frhich deluged the 
old world, will appear ftill clearer; as 
without fuch knowledge every part of 
that period of hiftory is inexplicable and 
incredible, 

I This 



( «4- 1 

This account of the fyftem of the Ro- 
man revenue explains the encreafing fa- 
culty and capacities of that ftate, fore- 
running its exertions, in fuch manner as 
rendered it competent to all the enter- 
prifes that it engaged in. 

The nature of thifr fyftem, fo working 
at the rcot, as to become a fburce to real 
greatnefs and amplitude of ftate, when 
united by a pervading and afcendant fpirit, 
points out at the fame time how liable the 
republick was to (eparation of parts and 
diffolution of fyftem, when the lofs of 
manners, the fever of fa&ion, or thfr 
gangreen of corruption, once feize4 the 
people, and a defedt of vital union took 
place in the government. 

At the fame time alfo that this account of 
the Bank of Depo/ite 9 which is here given, 
ihows in reafbning and in fa£t the inex- 
hauftible refources of the republick, it 
explains the means by which Julius Cacfar 
was enabled to carry forward his plans 
of war and government, when he took 
pofleflion of it. He had, as di&ator, an 
oftenfible right to the cuftody and com- 
mand of this, and under pretext of this 

often- 



( »5 ) 

©fteftiibleVhe by force, of arms feizecl if, 
and ufed k. . - *'•- :? *■' 

• \Fttrth^i r fr^tM«4lateof the financial 
fy&Qgi nfcty he fefcfc how: the power of the 
Fktriciahs as confute,, praetors, cerifors, 
and di£tew>rs, and* of the fenate, was 
fb\lnde& W real influence* ."■ •• 



And from the detail of the latided 
branches of this revenue, the motives both 
real and pretended, both constitutional knd 
faftiotisi which urged; the quarrels betvreeii 
the Patricians and the people on the fub* 
je& of the Agrarian, laws, may be ex* 
plained. . - 

From the natttw- of that branch of 
revenue* the tytbes^ which arofe from the 
agru decuman? ; and by an inquiry how 
this branch was transferred to the Ghrifc 
tian Church on its political eftablifhment* 
may-bc'difcovered, I fhould gtrefs y the 
true* origin of fytheSj as they in fa£fc came 
to the church, which will alfo^ explain at 
the fame time, the reafbn why there were 
no *y thes in Italy : the lands there: were 
held by a different te»ure. 

Thefe are forne .of the ufcs .of this 

branch of learning; but ev*ery day's ex- 

l 2 perience 



( «« ) 

jperfe&Ce la reading would pfefeat ©on* 
than memory will thus fuggeft, 

' As tkwoi thzjmw of power » .the 
ftltffc, «*wh yst is wintkig to aa explicit 
.freGfcel fctKwtedge* applicable to fc#fr 
mid ?vsnts # oi \m>*8**l Iiwm. in M» 
operations of th^ miUtary ^us^blilhnMnt/W 
a body. I am here {peaking in general* 
joot^f any puti^tttate* 

Repeated accounts are given b ancient 
kiftory of thfc i^avalt power of various na- 
tions; and of the fueceffive dominion 
which thefe nation* held over: the fea* 
We read of their trading voyages* and of 
their naval enterprizes and wars : many 
tceatifes have been written m the nature 
of their fhippbg;; but a& the wsiijtefs, bow* 
ever learned in colle&iag* aqd. aecurate-and 
ingenious, m explaining, the quotation* 
which paflantly mention thefe matters, as 
when 1 nagntitei profeflbr Schefffer* na one 
will doubt ; yet not having heen canver- 
fent by pra&ice, or experienced in voyages 
at &a 5 in the etije&s of winds and waves* 
*ad in the manoeuvres and working of a 
yeflel either by feik or oars, ;thei* ac* 
counta have beea fuch as are inapplicable 
either to the composition or operations of 
naval mechanic!^ NotwithfUnding all 
. - . . . that 



X *h ) 

that has been written on the fubje& of 
their Jhips of war, 6f their bimmes; and 
Tftitusfctlis, the learning has remained in- 
applicable,* and knowledge of thfe fubje£ 
^l d$ierntum % tmtil general Mel ville ap- 
plied his extenfive arid vfery accurate learn- 
ing, in the line of pra£tical analyfis, to the 
inmtutmg an experiment of the &&. The 
model in large, which, as an examplar, 
he Vety obligingly fhtftved to me, together 
vfatfiiome of our fociety, was fo adapted 
to the art of rowing, and to the pro- 
long the ef]fe& confiSent with the power 
of : man; was fo guarded in the manner 
of fecuring the aars; againfl: any accident 
which might arrive by the power 6f the • 
winds ana waves, or be adduced by the 
attacks of an eneifty ; and was withal fb 
fimple (as all things which are meant for 
ufe at fea mufi: be), and finally fo exaftljr 
fimilar, in the frame and conftru&ion of 
the rowing-gallery t to the models which 
are to be feen ia medals and baflb releivo's ; 
that one may venture to fay, that when- , 
ever he fhall pleafe to communicate and 
ptfbltfh to the world his difcoveries on this 
fubjeft, they will come, forward with fuch 
clear demonftration that the fubje&-matter 
will be no longer a puzzle nor the know- 
ledge of it a defideratum. 

I 3 Having, 



( ***,") 
be foaoewhat longer than thofe below (and 
that but a little lo), yet yary little would 
he added to the weight of them : fey this 
c6nfj£ra£Hon of the gallery, fey this position 
of the oar-port*, and by this dire&ion «>F 
the oars in rowing*, the oars Woiild pro* 
je6t very little,' if dpy tiling/' beyond the 
projection of the -gallery, spd that pro* 
je*9tion y even in a quinquerejnis ? ricpA not 
x>e more thau feven feet and a half. From 
this account of the pqfition and dire&io$ 
©f the oars, jt may 7 be f<?en, that when 
they were laid with the feather horizon^ 
tally clofe back-up ta the under fide of 
the gallery, they would avoid the ftrokeS 
of the waves, and were defended by the 
gallery from any attack that the gn^my 
might meditate againft them. But I beg 
to refer the Society and the Reader to the 
General's own narrative, where he will 
£nd every thing exa£Uy, minutely, and 
fully explained, frQm the qrignaj invefti- 
gatipn up to the firft djfeovery. 

That peculiar fpecies of cavalry, the " 
military chariot, was another method, 
which the Antients* efpeciaiiy the na- 
tions in the eaft, h#l °f applying force m 
war- Without a diftin& knowledge of" 
this machine, of the method of harnefling 
the horfes to it. of the manlier in which 
." 4' " - . the 



theitattfiours rode and ^&ed ih ; tHfehiy and 
of the 'application of this equipage to their 
exefcife in their t cburfes, and. to . their 
ac&iaFfexertioria atid evolutions in itallitaty 
aflfcioti hi the field, all 1 the accounts of, or 
yeferenfcp to, either the one or the other 
tritrflf be mere confiifion and inejtpKcabfe. 
Mkirjr years ago, I drew up for ray <torn 
icrft, in toy ftudies, an explanation of this 
matter j. I gave a copy of it tp rtly friend 
Mr. Berenger, to publish in hifc Treatlfe 
on Hbrfcmanfhip *, and it was printed 
in that work, I have reyifed the original 
and made fome additions to it, and now 
tfrre it here as N e IV. in the Appendix. 
This containing, as the writer of this 
paper has been m?de Jtp believe, a diftinft 
and compleat apcoiint of this piece of An- 
tiauity ; I (hall enter here np further on 
this fubjeft, but beg to refer the Society 
jihd the Reader to that Treatife. 

I have faid pothing in this my exami- 
nation of the line, ip which I think the 

* The Htftory am} An rf HoHem*nfliip, by R. Berenger, 
t 4(q; Gentleman of the Horfe to George III* King of Great 
flrkain. London, printed for Davies and Cadet!, 1771. 

A work wherein the Author has combined an art in 
which he excells* with fo much erudition, and claffic 
Jukjw ledge, in which he w eminent, that cannot but ad- 
irtinifter plea la re, information, and ufe, to the lovers of 
jphat noble art u* particular, and to learned men in general. 
° ftudy 



( ,!*** \) 

#udy. of r Antiquities fliou][<i be dirked, as 

toih?, ART. OF CHROtfOMXGY * y JN£ : tbc 

Metfiofa ofefojjing Ma&s according in : Series 
and P plods ^ under which, in tte later 
times of ancient, biftoiy,.Jtlie niemoriak 
of Events were fupppfed to 1^, mpre-or 
lpfs r accurately recorded* It hath .always 
appeared to me that there never was mpch 
pare .taken, or any a$ual precision ob- 
served, ifi ^marking, thip times of events 
(even in; \ he cpurfe of their arifing an$ 
paffing), according to any of thofe notices 
of thfc . ooncomitant /phenomena of .the 
heavens, hy which timejtfelf is.meafured. 
IvHave always .fxmn<J that the defe&ivg 
ilate of the aftroqorpy of the Ancients 
Jias been an infuperable. bar tp hiftoric 
learning,, when it hath attempted to trace 
b^ck :th# ipfies^of anc'^nj. $fts\to {heir 
true i perjffdsj ' Seyer^ 'fcar^cd Antiquajrks 
have endeavoured to fupply tnis defidpatum 
in our learning ; but thofe who Know the 
. moft of it* kipw beft, its incertainty #nd 
.deficieBcy..T ; .My conviSion of the incer- 
tainty of chronology has wrought my 
mind to very great indigence in diftin- 
guiftiing between the fads of thofe periods 
called Hjjlorick, and thofe called My thick* 

* Chronologic genus artem flatiiimns non fcientiam; 
fcieatia finis eft chronologic idcirco genus effe, nequit, 

' & Without 



I !*3 ;) 

Without being concerned what the real 
mn^es pf. the perj[qns t were, pr.who they 
y^4 w^° formed," \\^k dramatis perjgna: 
wii^butmuch coring wh^Lt were ,thie per 
fiods of the drama ; lean ftudy the char 
ra&ev operation, and efle$ of if, to all 
jhe pUfpqfes pf experience and ufe, In the 
rnythick full as well a? in the bifiarick nar- 
rative ; and I verily believe, that there is 
often as true 3 reprefeutation of the general 
#ate iq. the Mytbojfzs in the hiftory, which 
pretend? to give the particular narrative of 
fa&s. The only difference lies here, that 
where the perfons and a&ions of the hi£- 
jtorick period are piaffed under feries, hav- 
ing reference to ppochas, prefupppfed to 
have a fixed period, aijd keeping a kind 
of cJ(irphologick order, the hiftory fb 
piaffed under chrpnplogy, become? a to- 
pical mufeum to my memory; and a kind 
pf cfyarf to njty courfe in reafoning oh 
them. This is the difference and no other 
that , the aflronpmer makes, to aid his 
memory and reafoning, between the ftars 
which are clafled into copfteilatipns, an$l 
the unplaffed ftars. 

To explain what is here affijjned, I 
will give an inftance in fa£t of this matter 
yvhich this adduced fimile has brought tp 
my memory. 

When 



( £|2 4 \ 

; fyterftha jEgyptia^s firftfoiM tte 
map, ^jpiAure-defdiptioii of tta'cefeftial 
fohere,. it was done 1>y cJafling ; tfie fixed 
itars into certain groups, called conftek 
latibils ; J' ahd then, circamfcribbg thefe 
to gtrtiped within a line including that 
^iwup* they drew the contour of this line 
io as to: rorm fbme imaginary pi&ure of 
fomieperfon, inftrtjtrient, animal, m#hinte t 
l &c. according to the tuftom of ,pi&ure- 
writing in JEgypt, Arabia, Ethiopia, and 
Ch'aldea, One gtflip'ot cOnftellation of 
ftars fiiggefted to thfe imagination of the 
aftrotiomy-painter the idea of a (hip, to 
which the firft defigridr; or fome future 
copyifts, gave the name Argo, or Ark ; 
within the contoiir of this pi&ure of the 
fhip, many bright fhr$ were included, 
to thefe ftars, he, or others after him, 
gave (in merpory of their labours and 
merits) the names of the feveral great 
navigators or leaders of colonies then re- 
membred and renowned in the world. One 
may fuppofe, that lorne Grecian having' 
feeh this pi&ure, and havjng learnt the 
ftories of the voyages and adventures of 
each of thefe canonized navigators, and 
finding all, as it were, embarked on board 
this one fhip, made out, or perhaps had it fb 
pxplained to hixn, a poetic hiftory of the 

whole, 



( m ) 

wholc^ »s compriibd in one commoii joint 
voyage*: After aflL the perplexities about 
the chronology, gwgraphy > and aftroDomyi 
of his fancied expedition* which according 
to the common account muft neceflarily be 
inextricable, I cannotbiit feel fatbfied^ that 
this conje&ure of mine fuggefts a. natural 
account of it. Although, ' however, this is 
not an adually hiftondfc faft, although it 
neither is nor can be claffed according to 
any one period, or any feries of times* yet I 
can pick out of it as much information of 
the nature and hiftory of the navigation, 
commerce, and fettlements of the ancients 
referred to in it, fcparating the fadb, and 
giving each to its proper a&or, jufl? as if 
this Argo was a compilation and collection 
(like Purchafe's Pilgrimages, or Dr. Camp* 
bell's Lives of our Admirals) of the voy- 
ages and adventures ot each individual 
navigator;, juft as if it gave an actual and 
true narrative. Although the expedition it- 
felf cannot be true, as related ; yet, gene* 
rally fpeaking, the particular adventure* 
mentioned in it, if referred each to the ia- 
divicfual who performed them, are fo : and 
from the traces to be found (as Strabo 
fays, in his ift book, pages 21. 45. and 
elfewhere) in different parts of the world 
of thefe adventures^ they may fairly be 
laid to be fa£h. From this pi&ure^hinory, 
. . .. or 



( U6 ) 

or fable, thus underftood, many very' oi* 
rious trmtes of the navigation, and ever! 
inland commerce of the ancients, may be 
elicited and drawn to light. 

I cannot but think that many of the 
fe&s and things recorded in the pi&ure* 
writing, and the fables of Mythic hiftory, 
if confidered in this view of clafled and 
conftellated memoirs of the general afts 
of the race of men in their general ope- 
rations, and not as adtual narratives of 
arranged chronology, might be explained, 
as forming a hiftory little ihort in point 
of life to thofe narratives in the early 
periods of hiftory, which though con- 
fidered as clafled in chronological order for 
method fake, are not yet to be depended 
upon as clafled in the adtual period and 
feries of true time. 

I do not fay this in difcredit of the ufe 
of chronology; on the contrary, I. think 
that a certain degree of dependence on its 
authority even in the earlieft periods may 
be formed : but I wifh by the comparifon 
of the little difference that there is be- 
tween the chronology of the clafled tra- 
ditions of the mod early hiftoric, and of 
the pi&ure records of the mythic, to fug- 
geft how ufeful a work it might be to 

learning, 



( 127 ) 

learning, and how far from imtira&fcable 
it is, to unveil the pi&ure records of their 
fable, and to trariftate them into bifioric 
representations ofjhe general operations of 
Man in his bufinefs of this world. 

The moft truly learned and grave writers 
amongft the ancients, underftood the 
mythic hiftoryto be daffed representations 
of the general ftate and a&ions of man, 
copied {as Plato fays) from the metaphoric 
language, in which the traditions were 
tranfmitted,into pifture- writing and fables. 
I find myfelf fupported in this notion by 
a man of great learning and real know- 
ledge, and I affume authority from this 
fupport, I mean Mr. Wise. He is not only 
of this opinion, but I find fince the firft 
writing of this, from an ingenious work * 
of his, which was recommended to me^ 
that he had aftually entered upon the re* 
fearch with great fuccefs, and to every 
ufe and e{Fe£t of the chronologic claffing 
qf thofe hiftories which my moft fanguine 
wifhes went to. If, with the great learn- 
ing which he poflefled, he had found 
leifure to follow thofe rays of light of 
which he hath juft fhown a gleam, he 
would have difpelled from falfe learning 

• The Hiftory and Chronology of the Fabulous Ages, 
Oxford, 1764. 

that 



( 12$ ) 

that darknefs yifible* which has hitherto 
ferved only to deform and mifreprelent 
eveiy obje<3: of knowledge* 

Monfieur Gebilin's Monde Prmittfeti* 
ters expfeflly into this line of refearch with 
the very fpirit of analytic inveftigation, 
aided jby extenfive and greatly varied eru- 
dition : fuch talents promife great matters 
of information on this fubjeft ; and in 
in many parts the work makes good thofe 
promifes: I have my doubts about fomer 
othen. parts ; yet feel rather difpofed to 
fubferibe to his ingenuity and great learn^ 
tog-. 

One general caution muft conftantly be 
€>bfervea in this mode of reafoning, that 
while on one hand we do not refiife all hif- 
toric faith to what is reprefented only in 
fable; we do not, in the other extreme, re* 
ceive that as hijlaric narrative of atfual 
eventrm particular, which is only repre/en* 
lotion in apologue and myites of the general 
Jlate andcourje ofewnts in the hijlory of man'* 
I have iiluftrated the rule in the former 
•part of this proportion by examples taken 
from profane hiftory ; I will endeavour 
alfo to explain this latter by fome diftant 
fuggefiions of the nature of this in the 
earheft pafts of divine hiftorv. 

If 



( "9 ) 

If the Antiquary^ as fbme grave ancl 
ferious Divines have done, was thus to con* 
iider the Antidiluvian hiftory, which the 
books of Mofes give,! as an Apologub ex- 
hibiting, the general train of natural and 
human events^ doffed under mythic repre* 
fentations, inftead of taking it as an Mf* 
fork narrative of particular events:^ placed 
in the a&ual periods of their exiftence, 
and arranged in the real feries of true 
time ; he would obviate all thefe objec- 
tions which arife to the hiftoric part* and 
might (how, that, taken in that view, it 
gives a much more accurate account of 
nature, of man, and of the divine dik 
penfatibns ; and in every point comes up 
more fully and comprehend vely to the 
purpofe for which it feems to have been 
written, than under any idea of recording 
particulars as a hiftory. 

This purpofe is, in a kind of preface to 
* code of laws by which the inmttrtion of 
a theocracy is eftablifhed, to give fuch a 
general account of the origin of things 
and of man ; of his deviations from the 
end of his being by various corruptions*; 
and of his Fall from Innocence to fuch a 
ftateof fin and punifliment, as requires the 
offering of faorifices of expiation of his 

K guilt, 



( 13° ) 

guilt, and of deprecation of his punifh- 
Inent ; perpetually *epeated until fame 
one general full and fufficient expiation 
fhould be finally made and accepted ; alfo 
of offerings for the ranfom of fouls, and 
of atonement for crimes. This ihftitution 
macje various regulations in the animal 
oeconomy, not fo r&uch from any foun- 
dation which they had in nature, as being 
conftant outward pledges of inward obe- 
bience to, and faith in,, the divine regimen. 
One branch prefcribed regulations and 
diftin&ions refpe&ing food, deriving from 
pofitive inftitution and command. Another 
branch of thefe laws meant to give ope- 
ration to, and to maintain, that exclusive 
principle of generation, by which this 
race* chqfen for fpecial ends of providence, 
were to be kept feparate from the race of 
ijian in common. A third branch con- 
tained the eftablifhment of 4 fyitem of 
facrifices fuited to this theology ; and of 
ceremonies attendant : on this particular 
ftate of the individual and community. 

This book commences with an account 
of the origin of things, which rightly 
underftood, is the moft truely and ftri&ly 
philofophic account which ever hats, been 
given, or is at prefent any where ^extant. 
The prefent enlightened, ftate- qf phito- 
- • ■ a fophy 



( ** ) 

fophy Cm tieither reprobate hot alter any 
thing in it. It does only confirm it. 

: Wh^n this book (peaks of the origin of 
the world* it does not go beyond the 
hounds of human knowledge into meta* 
phyficks ; it does not attempt to defcribe 
that a£t of the Creator which fuppofes the 
bringing of Nothing into Being, which is 
nonfenfe in terms, and Contradicts what 
it predicates ; but in the pureft light of 
wifdom, and in the moft refined fenti* 
ments of fublimity, writes, GoD said* 
let it be ; and it wAs. This com* 
prchenfive expreffion communicates, with- 
out prefuming at defined terms* the inde- 
fined prae-exirtence of thesupREAM first 
cause, when matter did nof exift ; &nd 
alfb the commencement of the exiftence 
of matter by the will, and at the command 
of this first cause aSling by that wilL 

This account of a vifible world does not 
prefume to afcend above what is feen. It 
takes up the account of the origin of 
things at that ftate, to which philofophic 
analyfis can, in its higheft range attain. 
It divides its account into the four clafles 
of exiftence, the origin of the planetary , 
and terreftrial fyftem ; the origin of animal 
life; and the origin of man. This is 
K % fuppofed 



( ?3 2 ;■) 

fuppofed to proceed by fix diftin£fc period^ 
called metaphorically Daies (for they can- 
not actually be defcribed as fuch before 
that ftate of things exifted, which divides 
time into night and day). Thefb periods 
on the whole are arranged rather to fuit 
the clafles of creation, than the order of 
time ; yet under each clafs they follow 
the order of the procefs of nature, in what 
may be called the order of time. 

As light or heat is vifibly the firft ma- 
terial inftrumental caufe and fupport of 
the ftate and being of the fyftem, the 
creation of light is reprefented as the firft 
procefs. God faid, Let there be light , and 
there was light. This is the firjl Period. 

Experience of exifting fa£ts, the phi-* 
lofophic inveftigatioji of the powers of 
nature, and the operation of thofe powers 
on matter, confpire to prove, that the 
globe in its original ftate was a moift lump 
of mud, a chaos in which the terreftrial 
elements were all in an indifcrete mafs of 
confuled matter. The Mofaic account of 
this earth being brought into its prefent 
fyftem of being commences from this 
ftate : The earth was without form, and 
the Spirit of God moved upon the face 
of the waters, and dire&ed the effects pf 

light 



C l 33>) 
light or heat to operate upon it. The firft 
tnt& or procefs of this operation, which 
is reprefepted as the fecond period of cre- 
ation* is the feparating of the expanjive *■ 
liquid, the unfixing, the elaftic fluid, the 
air (the caufe and food of all life), from 
the waters which ftill covered the face of 
the whole earth ; and God Jaid, let there 
be expanjion in the midfi of the waters , and 
let it divide the waters from the waters ; 
Jiere comes in concurrent in the order of 
time, and the procefs of nature; the firft 
procefs of the third clafs, that is, the 
production of aquatic animal life : And the 
waters brought forth abundantly. That 
this globe was once in this ftate, an uni- 
verffl habitation for aquatic life, appears 
from the ftill vifible traces and confe- 
quences of this ftate. The fhells, the 
ikeletons, and other exuviae of animals, of 
aquatic life, are found in every part of the 
globe in the dee^eft vallies, and on the top 
of the higheft mountains, even in the 
' bowels of the earth. That they fhould be 
fo found every where, and more efpecially 
on the tops of mountains, is fo far from 
extraordinary, that it is a natural conco? 
mitaut circumftance of this ftate. 

* Liquidum Caelum. Oid. 

K 3 That 



( .*& J 

That the frmclfks nf Vegetative life ft*H$ex| 
before the eartK was r&$tfced to that fot rx^ 
which made it a proper nidus for thi6 
vegetables themfelves cxrtniftg into ljffe^ 
dire&ly fald *, arid that the fame cafe 
t<Sok place with refpe& to animal life, friaj* 
fairly be deduced from thfe wholfc tenor of 
the accoutflt; namely, that the pla#icl£ 
fond of their qdtporal Methaqifm wtt Uv 
like manner prepared before it was raiffe^ 
Jike xx)2Xi Out of the duft of the earth, • 

That the eonftant operation and un<4 
Sealing effoft pf light and heat produces ^ 
continually entreating exhalation and ex-: 
iiccatjgivof this globe, fo that the terref- 
| rial parts of this globe perpetually gain 
upon the aqueous, has been proved by 
the greateft philofophers ; I need not men-? 
tion Sir Ifaap Newtotl at the head of thefe. 
That internal inflammations and explqfions 
in the bdwels of the esrtfh are, and have 
been at all times, for myriad? of ages 
back,, constantly making alteration^ and 
inequalities on the furface of it, is equally 
frue and ft&, feen \\\ the effedt. Thefe 
fecondary e&ufes op^atiftg- inftrumentally 
^S the a& of the Creator, would form this 

f Genefis, chap, II, v ( J* r 

third 



( *3S ) 

third perhd of the Genefis, and throw 
the earth into fuch form, that the waters 
would be gathered together into one place, 
and the dryland nztmd appear. The mo- 
ment that the dry-land was thus become 
a nidus for the vegetative life ; The plants 
and every hefb of thfe field *, the fond of 
whofe exiftence had been before prepared 
and madfe,' would noW vegetate, and the 
earth Wotild of coatfe bring forth grafs 
and herb yielding feed, and the fruit-tree, 
and every tree of the field, which is re- 
prefented as the third period. Under , this 
ftate of the globe, the fecond and third 
procefs tif the third clafs would in thfc 
courfe of nature and the order of time, 
come into concurrent effeft ; that is, th6 
fowls that fwim on the rivers, lakes, arid 
feas that fly in the air, and live On the 
face of the earth ; every living thing after 
its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and 
the beaft of the earth, would be brought 
forth to a life prepared for them, from a 
nidus which the Creator had animated. 
This is reprefented as the fifth period* 

The giving fyftem to the fecoftd clafs 
of the' Gbd's work comes forward in this 
apologue, not as a narrative in the order 

.-* * Genefis,- chap* II. Vcr. t. -■• " 

K 4 •■■'■-•■' of 



( !3«.) 

of time, but as the fourth period . ac* 
Cording to the general claffing of the 
barts of creation. This period does not 
igejn to reprefent the creation of the plane- 
tary fyftero, but as describing the effed of 
the rotation of the earth round its axis, by 
^vhich <fay and night were divided, by which 
the greater light ruled the day, and the lefler 
Jight ruled thp n;ght ; by which the lights 
in the firrparnent 7 became Jigns tp days, 
jnonths, apd years, and the variety of 
fotfons, and by which they were produced. 

When the whole fyftem, thus far per- 
fected, wag prepared for man, Gpd formed 
man of the dujl of the ground^ and breathed 
into his nojlrlls fhe breath of life, by whifh 
he became a living foul, after God's own 
impge u This is the fixih, and lafi period 
pf the creation, A feventh period is that 
in which God is fajd to have refted from 
his work, and which period he is reprer 
fen ted as having therefore bleffed and 
fan£tiiied. The account of the fane? 
jifying the: feventh day as a fabbath, can- 
not be meant as a narrative of fa&, which 
infpirp^ truth relies <?x biftory 7 hecaufe it 
is cqntradi&ed by a different fa& in a difr 
ferent f feafon given from the fame au- 
thority 

* In this day, thou fl^lt do no work: that thy maq 
fflyaj}f, &c. may reft as ^yclj as thou* Remember that 

thoij 



thority, for . God's fandlifyingth^ fabbath, 
or feventh day *. It is an application of 
tl^e apologue in. this panfc as it is made 
to apply in every other part, to the theo- 
cratic institution of the Israelites. 

When thefe days are underftopd to be 
periods f and not days, as they are vulgarly 
conceived andtranflated; when undemood 
to be clafled rather according to the parts of 
the general iyftem, than placed hiftorically 
in the. order of time ; the Antiquary wiu 
find this Mofaic account of the Genefis of 
the world confirmed by the fa&s and phe- 
nomena which exift in every part of the 
fyftem of the earth and heavens. Nor i£ 
this truly philofophic account involved in 
any fuch childifh, filly, ignorant notion as 
fjie giving fo fhort a fpace of time to the 
exiftepce of this globe, as it muft be con- 
fined tOa if it literally began not more 
than a week before that period whereat 
pur apcounts or hiftory of man commence. 
The author of this book never meant, 
and does not here or elfewhere give any 
fuch idea : The ipirit of wifdom and truth 
which dire&ed this account is raifed above 

thou waft a feryant in the land of Egypt, and that the 
Lord thy God brought thee out thence ; therefore the Lord 
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day. 
f Deut, chap, v. v. 14. 

J all 



iiitxxti VtMr' txkpMtfdffic. ttuff. v'Thrs 
i&ftK/'kiid'fflitf jViteiii of the fteavens, to^r 
We fi^df dfflf hefett gofng'ott, iri thfe 
"pfote^f %6 d|>efdti8n^ 3nd laws of iia- 
ture (call«f J hete' the a&s of creation) for 
myriads of agjes, which the Mofaic accounts 
^videif ilitcr fix pefiOc^. T 6 this adddunt 
itie- iriterfiai ftrfetlrft. of the earth itielf 
: bears ] 2 ti$dtitt6VettMe 'feVidehcg. , 1 db 
;firang% : mifta^ all teafomng, afid all fcafe 
#f ideas, 1 if' thi§' refefeti6e to the Hate of 
/fiiis eaftfr, afcfd o^this^fyfterii fo explained, 
is not* the fceft corfitfithfory to the Mofaic 
Genefis : aiid if" the flibiirhe idea of it will 
not he the more elevated, and thfe divine 

S'hflofophic 'truth of it the more demon* 
rably confirmed thereby. 

If the Antiquary fliouid be allotted to 
proceed in this line of explanation of the 
Mofaic antidiluvian hiftory, as an apofogub; 
he wbiild certainly find that the fecoftd and 
third chapters of this book mean to de- 
fcribe the two ftates ih which man hath 
lived upon this earth, concurrent witfr the 
account* of the progrefs of his depravation 
and corruption, aria the : Attendant puriiih- 
ment thereof, all accommodated in the 
moral of the Mythos to the Jewifli infti- 
tution. He . is j fi^ft " j: reprefented in his 
'fylvan ftate, which is r^pfefented as a ftate 

of 



( '39 ) 

<>f perfe&ion and innocence, living in- the 
garden of the world, on the fpofttart^tti 
Fruits and herbs of; it, Which were given 
to Mm for food. The Mode 1 of his life i$ 
ireprefented is reebigted byfome jffcfitiv* 
eomrn^ids of God refpe8.\ng the diftinc- 
Itiohfc Of this food. There Was One tree* 
M? tt&iflin&tokdge tf good and wSr// the 
fruit of- Whieh he Was forbidden to'taile. 

This is fc rtythic%v&b {& * fymbol not tin* 
fcnbWn tii the Egyptians) representing in 
th£ luxwiatifcy of i^jjtfandhes, th6 wild* 
nefs of mens opinion ; and by its tempt- 
ing but poifonous fruit, the mifchievous 
efre&s of being fedufced by the Vanity of 
fklfe ieafhingj to betaftne wife above the 
Jtetidfi prepared foir Us* 

His quitting this &ate m which he was 
toriginally placed* his growing too wife, 
jri his own conceit, for fuch a confined 
fituafcidtV his being terttpted to views of a 
iptbre enlarged fyftem by a more expanded 
(cope of his capacity ; his fubftituting the 
wtific&l fyftem of the land-worker, and 
(polling a good world, as the Indians ot 
America deieribe the clearing it to be ; his 
Incoming a member of fociety ; the fub* 

- ; t Vide tfqrden, plate LVIII. 



t w ) 

^-?fc^vtf/Q;of,goy^rpiiient; is finely re- 
jjfpfeat^S as hii-jeating^f this fruit of the 
^f^*f 3 fcjwwie%^QfigPpd an<j $vil ; and 
th&fom ft?t^,^tfe4; ! Qf the lar*|-Worker, 
is;.;r^fefented aB ;uader, a curie* and is 
npadslfche .punijChm^ftt of his difpbeying a 
^^$iv#;6om;i>an& :IlThi$ aecQ^MV, taking 
*IKiisv?'v^g{ieral ^clafied reprefeflf^tiw, , not 
ag$##§fic narrative -Js- 3 tru&rliiftpry of 
the ftate and progrefs of man's being on 
&&*\h:*M$ tky& t#4i & with • infinite; ad- 
id^efe.:Bftsde- Relevant to the maintenance 
df r ;^V:^wK.9.^ l^^ktion in the theo- 
cracy .1 ^; : ; -.••'.- 

- W ! h«r) -in the' courfe of thfe mythic 
hlftory,, -this ; fecond . ftate of man is de- 
fcribed, as his havipg the thoughts of his 
heart on evil only ; of the wickednefs of 
man beirtg continually great, and againft 
the order; and fpirit of God's government ; 
hQv.ij? alj : this corruption accounted for? 
It is ftated as arifing from a fuppofed crime 
committed agaiflft £ ppfitive regulation re^ 
fpcding marriage relevant to a like regu- 
lation of the institution of the theocracy, 
by which the- children of Ifrael were for- 
biddeji, to intermarry with the daughters 
of men. out of their own nation. Thi? 
crime, an artificial one, made Jo only by 
injlitutiotiy .which inftkution did not, exift 

at 



( 'Hi ) 
at that time,' is reprinted as the c&ufe 
of all the evil, as the thing in the tfh^ri 
race of men which God reprobated, which 
grieved him at his heart, on which it re- 
pented him that he had made man, and 
on which he refolved to deftroy him from 
off the face of the earth. The crime did 
not only not exift at that time, but as far 
as the account in this book goes, the a£t 
could not exift ; as there was at that time 
no fuch Reparation of the human being as 
that of the fons of God and the daughters 
of men, either made, or fuppofed to take 
place : The Antiquary therefore will not 
fuppofe that this is meant to be fiated as 
a narrative of a fa£t ; but as the mythos of 
the apologue out of which the moral was 
to arife and apply : As the prefent ftate of 
the world is reprefented as having by re- 
novation arifen from the deftru&ion of a 
former one, deftroyed by an univerfai 
deluge brought on as a judgement upon a 
former race of men in confequence of their 
crimes, and total corruption ; the leading 
caufe of that corruption, and the fpe- 
cifick crime which is fuppofed to be 
J>uni(hed with fuch exemplary feverity 
of Divine Juftice, is that fpecifick a€t of 
marrying the daughters of ftrangers con- 
trary to the exprefs prohibition of a fun- 
damental law of the ftate, the commiffion 

of 



( M* ) 

of which would diflblve and totajly break 
up the exclufive eftablifhment of the com- 
munity chofen, fele&ed and fet apart from 
the reft of human race. 

The confidering the prefent ftate of 
the world as fuffering the execution of 
a puniihment infli&ed by the Divine 
Judgement for the commiflion of a crime 
which totally countera&ed and perverted 
the original ftate of it, a ftate originally 
happy, is not only an example holden 
forth of God's Juftice a£ing by an 
extraordinary Providence, but is, to the 
faithful under this inftitution of the 
theocracy, the plaineft and moft intel- 
ligible account of the Origin of Evil both 
natural and moral, that is any where ex- 
tant, without being perplexed and involve^ 
in any of thofe metaphyfical difficulties 
which every philofcphic account conftantly 
leads to. 

In like manner the underftanding that 
prohibition which, after the Fall of man, 
was given againft his eating of the Tree of 
Life, as a veiled mythic part cf his apo- 
Ipgue ; not as if it was actually fuppoied* 
that the accretion of any matter, efpe- 
cially of divilible matter, taken and f$<^ 
cjretft&as food, could in ja£l give immor- 
tality 



i U3 )■ 
taUty to, the immtterHtl lndiyi£hie ftfl of 
muh to the living {px£ which -was, after 
God's image ; Ef^'Qoiy relieves thea$cp»nt 
from hiftorical si\d oa-torai difficulties, but 
gives, in the prdcifel^ne 0f analogy to the 
tohoW the beft. soramentary to it, 4 
Tree here, as in the :fonner cafe $f the STw 
0/^/fo knowledge of Gw4 a$4)Evi/ 9 is # 
fpnbol of man's knowledge heaftchiug fcy 
various dedu&ions and producing fruit, 
and may fairly be fuppofed to mean hew 
the knowledge or do&rine of immortality, 
of life in a future ftate, the belief of which 
expreffly countera&s the principles, the doc- 
trine, and fpirit of an inftitutiqn of *theo? . 
cracy, where all rewards and punifhments, 
to the reftoration, prote&ion, arid aftablifh- 
ment of right, were under an extraordinary 
providence confined within the verge of the 
prefent #ate, and prefent life. AU thefe 
metaphyfical difqjuifitions therefore into 
the immateriality and immortality of the 
foul, all thofe branchings, of reafcidtag 
which produced the fruit of a belief of a 
future life* and of a future ftate of re- 
wards and punishments,, were to be moft 
ftri&ly guarded againft, the mind was pro- 
hibited from tafting this Tree of Life. 

Thefe inftances of crimes and punish- 
ments, taken as tha narratives of aftualljr 

. ,. exifting 



( *44 ) 

ciiftfog fa&s; thefe cfeferiptions 6f ^the 
ftate of man ; thefe prohibitions litterally 
underftood* are furrounded with iniiu*» 
merable and inextricable difficulties both 
as to the fafts, the philosophic do&rines* 
and the general groUftds of morality and 
juftice. But taken together with the 
whole of the antidiluvian hiftory, as parts 
of an apologue explained as above, the 
whole gives a real pi&ure of the general 
progrefs of the ftate of man ; of his par- 
ticular ftate under the inftitution of the 
theocracy ; and is made lelavent to the 
whole code of laws, to which this book 
is a preface, 

I (hall here clofe my review of ancient 
hiftory ; and of the duty of the Antiquary 
as its commentator ; with the examples as 
above, taken from divine and prophane 
hiftory, which I think prove, that thefe 
hiftories will be beft underftood when on 
one hand all idea of fa£t is not excluded 
from what may be told in fable ; and on 
the other, when that which is plainly 
written as mutbos, giving a general repre- 
fentation, not a particular narrative, is not 
takjn as a ftate, or matter of fa<£t Tamen 
normul/i i/tt\Tite 9 (fay eth Cicero) faciunt im- 
perii e qui in ijio opufcu/o 9 non ut a poeta $ fed 
ut £ tejle, veritatem exigant *. The ad- 

* Cicero de legibus, lib. I. $ i . 

ducing 



dutiag fheft two particular 'inftapce^ 'gives;' 
(ih example) explanation and proof, that 
although * many things in the manner* and 
on xht face of the Muthos may appear fic- 
ticious and impoflible ; yet when' read aright 
by rtjqfe; + <* m&o under/land a proverb, and 
** the mferpretation thereof y-wSo d'fcemthe 
u wofdrbf-the wife tirM tbeir darkfayiti&s" 
they \vill be foimd to ebntain $e/teralTruiBs 
'which lead to 1 real mdeffeSllvelmo^kdgei . ; 
- -'ft is 'arhfojt- nonlerife '• to fuppdfe, : tpat a 
vdyajge : of - !&ch importance as . the, Argp-< 
hautic expedition is repfefented. to be,' 
Ihould have, been undertaken as a mere 
piratical enterprize to fteal a Fleece hoyr* 
ever precious j but when it is underftood 
in theiiiterpretation as an expedition formed 
by the Greeks, in which the firft heroes 
of their country are fuppofedto have been 
engaged, againft a commercial eftablifh- 
ment and colony of the Phoenicians or 
Egyptians, : in order to obtain pofleffion of 
that important trade of the Eux'rne ; then 
there appears neaping, good fenfe, and 
political wifdom in that part of the fiary. 

It is iippoflible that the fame crew, in 
the fame (hip, and in the courfe of the 

fup-4, t&s Iro^la^m Strabo, lib. i.p. 6*. 
* - f Proverbs, chap, u v. 6. 



Heaqs of the Danube* pafs the, Alps^, carry 

tjiis Qiip and their; bopty over the portage 

&om the waters of pit Paiiube to the 

waters which run into the Mediterranean* 

and defcending by the navigation, of thefe 

into that Sea; and at the fame time be faid + 

to have paffed up the Tanaw, then ove* 

t^he l^nd to the heads of the, rivers which 

interlock with this, ^4^e^i dpwnthefe 

ifiversinto the Paltic $f^.ffon} wji^uce 

by the weftern ocean, and the $treight$ 

of Gades, into the Mediterranean §ea. But 

\vhen tliis Fable is ip. its interpretation un* 

jierftood, as I have ftated it, to be an 

hiftorical map of Comfner^e % ip which the 

fourjes of thefe two routs nyert principal 

channehy the whole becomes pljun and 

adual information. 

That % Hercules fliould fail through 
the fea to the moft weftern bounds of 

* Vide StrabQ, tib*iv. p ? 177, et lib. vvp. 305. 

ir/>yoi$ K; favor ?»cL «jt . Hcwt. htbivraAecf xaS' trip «*a%» 
«*0Ta/u£ tw ovatf f%oy)o$ i »? top 'ClKtavot xulotTrXivo-cu «r$o$ rw 
Sfadaaar atro ft r «» uqtup It) rhtjvcruf j/LUfjua^peup w Tv* 
*Xwf<*f if tvvvifAVPf x*« ^ww y9P0fA49*{ Ta&etjup tlf rvt xaS 9 

Diodorus Sic. lib. xr. c. iv. p. 1 80. 
t Apollodoras Paryalis, and Pherecydes, quoted by Ma- 
crobius Satutoai. h t. c« 21* Alfe/SmHit , &c. 

Europe 



e H7 ) 

Europe in a cuf* : That AbAris (hould 
intake hi& jonruey frorrt the north of Europe 
to Magna Grecia conveyed upon and guided 
in his courfesyby an arro^;That the ships 
of Alcinous *f fhould be animated, and 
moreover infpired with a knowledge of 
their coude ; is in the oyyert meaning; of 
the literal account inpotflprehenfible Ro- 
mance : But if the Aotiquary* pojfejfedof 
the j aft, 

That the power of the magnet to attract 
iron ; 

To attra& arid repell it alternately ; 

To communicate this virtue to iron itfelf ; 
was known to the ancients ; fhould by an 
indu&ion and combination of fubfequent 
fragments of fadls as they lye fcattered in 
the ruins, or veiled, and hid under the 
myfteries of ancient learning, fhould be 
able to colleft, which I think may be done ; 
that its- Pttarity alfc was known to the 

* Jamhlicus. 

Ofya <ri t*> iriuirvcri rifbo^op tract $%e&\ N5e(* 

1 dvretl *aot<n fovfxura icj $%jt*a% dirfyvv t 
Kai ircc flan iatxai voXlai xj v'v»a<; ay*?f 

Homcri OdyfT. lib. viii* 
TiTvc-KOfAucu figolfies being di reded as ah arron ; or as 

by an arrow. 

%if t, *J ra^iX* KixAXvfxptvat. The fight of the hravens and 

placet of the ftars was not wanted by fliips, which had this 

guidance. 

. ,l \[ ■; K 2 ancient 



( 148 ) 

ancient navigators, and guarded by them 
as a moft profound fecret ; as alfo, that the 
knowledge of this came from the * north, 
and that when the magnetic needle was 
firft ufed, it was in the fhape of an arrow, 
which it retains to this day ; then thefe 
Fables will, in their interpretation, open to 
us an important fa& that will explain many 
things m the commercial hiftory of the 
Antients. 

* Where it 1s called Lode/tone, or the PiUtftone. 

Sucio-Gothic Ditf. of to?** 



END Of FART THE FIRST* 



:-i.'. ; 1 APPEN, 



( H9 ) 

APPENDIX. 

N°I. 

Analyfis of the Elements of Speech > t a* 
applicable to Etymology,, in the Judy tf 
Antiquities* 



M- 



AN is endued with a power of ex- 
preffing, or {if I may io fay) taking 
ofF copies of the fenfations, reflexions, and 
reafonings, which reiide and pafs in his 
mind : and of communicating thefe to his 
fellows by arbitrary vocal founds, which 
have no natural connexion with, no not 
the moft diftant fimilitude to things they 
reprefent, This effeft of Ipeech is fe urn- 
verfal, and ieems lb natural in its opera- 
tion, that to the unthinking unphilofophic 
obferver, the conne&ion betwixt thought 
and fpeech will appear mechanical; and 
indeed nature fo works in us, that the 
a& of the fpeaker, and the efFeft produced 
in the hearer, feem as though matters had 
been all thus arranged by nature. Speech 
is by the Naturalifts faid to be the peculiar 
perogative of man; but I apprehend that 
this do&rine fayors more of the pride of 
K 3 man, 



( }5? ) ^ 

man, than of the humble fpirit pf phi- 
lofophy and truth, I fee, to my own 
CQi)Vifti(Hi, that ajl" animals, each in their 
fpecies, harve the means of communicating 
with each other in all the degrees, and to 
all the purpofes, neceflary to their ftate of 
being, analogous to what we call fpeech. 
m Beftiae ipfae quendam quafi fiiodum lo~ 
qu^ndi inter fe habent, ut quofdam motus 
affe&uum fibi mutuo reprefqataat. 

I will aot» i» tbi* place, and at this 

Jime, enter into that qucftion. I cannot, 
lowevc.r, tut wtfh for the fake of nierey, 
that we thought more highly of the 
wretched brutes that have fallem under our 
power, than we dp. If we would exercife 
jbmewhat lefs.pf. tyranny, and fbmewhat 
ipore of q\it reasoning and morality up- 
wards them,, \yp (hould fee m^ny things in 
. theqi that defeivs oiir pity; we (hould 
difcem in thetp many trattes of reafoning, 
tybiwring to ^ndsrftand us, when the 
quarrel betweeii. the man and beafi arifes 
'from the in (pleat ignorance of man. V^e 
(hovtld receive perhaps fome itjipreffions of 
the patient-enduring, noble* generous^ 
courageous, and even grateful temper, in 
them : aod we (hould have the pleafure of 

• Sir T. Smith. 

t)e r«£ta et emendata Linguae Grace Pronunciations et 
tloguae Auglicau*ScripiioL€, 1568. % 

: l c '• • ' -• receiving 



< i$i ) 

receiving meritorious as well as beneficial 
fervices from them. 

Various as all the languages of the world 
may feem ; and infinite as the words of 
thofe languages maybe: yet are they all 
compounded of and refolveable into a very 
defined and fmall number of a£fcs of the 
voice. 

The inventing of characters to exprefc 
the elements of fpeech, and render it vi- 
fible to the eye, when th^ analyfis has once 
led to them, is pot a matter of great dif- 
ficulty ; but the being able to inuitute the 
analyfis, by which this knowledge was firft 
elicited out of the infinity of founds, was 
a real difficulty, that feems, even now it 
js known, wonderful, and above the com- 
mon range of human ynderftanding. 

I have heard of many letter'd and learn- 
ed men who have reafoned and written 
difcourfes on this fubje&; but as it has not 
fallen in my way to fee their books ; 
nor to my leifure to have read many 
fhat I have feen ; nor to my good fortune 
to receive much fatisfa&ion from what I 
have read ; I was ied, in my lonely and 
leifure hours, fpent where I had not accefe 
\o books, to read nature on (his fubjeft, 
K 4 by 



( H% } • 

by experiments on the articulation d£ thfc 
voice, plotted and fet down at the tiind. 
.What therefore, when I was in America, 
I did attempt to do for my own life on my 
own ground (endeavouring to fettle fom£ 
etymon of the Indian Words) I will novCr 
Venture upon revifal to cohimunicate to 
the public. As Idonot fet ihyfelf up for, 
nor aim at the chara&er of a fcholar, I 
tan have ho vanity, in this,. I rifque the 
being thoiight prefumptuous ; but as J 
think my mode of analyfis may chance to 
lead to fomething better, I will rifque this. 
That the reader, however, may not enter- 
tain a prejudice th^t ail which I attempted 
was mere empiricifm without fome foun- 
dation in nature, or conduced without 
any reference to the laws and rules of phi- 
losophy, I will beg to commence my 
analyfis by the account which Plato gives 
(•in his Dialogue Philebus) of the fuppofed 
analyfis by Which Theuth arrived at the 
knowledge of the elements of fpeech when 
he is faid to have invented elementary 
letters. — " Whether the ihvehtibn of 
" writing by elementary letters derived 
" immediately from fome god, Orwhethe* 
** mediately through fotrie clivine in- 
" fpired perfon, as Theuth is amongft 
*' the Egyptians faid to be ; the follow- 
ed kig feerri to be the human means ufed. 
' " " " He 



( *S3 ) 
t€ He firft applied his mind to the infinity 
* " of vocal founds, in the complex mul* 
" titudes. Heathen began to diftinguifli 
u thefe into fimple vocals and articulations 
" of found. He found thefe to be con- 
" tained in a definite number. He next 
" entered iiito a ftirther diftin&ion of 
" thefe, into unVocal and inarticulate. 
" And then when by his mode of refo- 
" lution thus conduced, through the vo- 
" cales and articulate, the un vocal and 
" inarticulate, and the mixt or interme- 
" diate, he arrived it thofe ultimate founds 
A<< and articulations which could bfe no 
" further divided* he not only perceived 
€i that they were definite in their genus 
" and fpecies, but in their number. He de- 
" fined the number of each, and called 
" thefe Zroixel* or elements, and inveiited 
" appofite V^ufifiura, figns or chara&ers to 
" exprefs them. Out of this he formed* 
" the art of writing *." 

* As I have given above a free interpretation of this 
paffage, I here infert the original. ^vetSn $*fr»* ohrMgcw 

Aiytnflv, ©it/6 Tiya t«to» yifiaGflu X/y^r, o; Vf £toc t» QwiifUt 
h rji avtipu Kxla*on<Ttp ov% u Syla, <x\Xa wXtW xj vaXiy rrtf* 
<f «m /*i> «> 00«yfcff Ji (jLtlaxpvlct t»»os ; pidpcy &' tiys xaj Ttrruf 




auWf 



fuilrnw Tift*** iTifWy{«T9 vrfovtiVM. 

.According 



( }S9 ) 
man, than of the humble fpirit pf phi- 
lofophy and truth. I fee, to my own 
co^VifticHi, that alT animals, each in their 
fpecies, hafve the means of communicating 
with each other in all the degrees, and to 
all the purpofes, neceflary to their ftate of 
being, analogous to what we call fpeech. 
* Beftiae ipfae quendam quafi modum io~ 
qu^ndi inter fe habent, ut quofdam motus" 
affe&uum fibi mutuo reprefeptaat. 

I will not, i» tbi* place, and at this 
time, enter Into that queftiqn. 1 cannot, 
lipwev.ejr t . hut wi(h for the fake of rnerey, 
that we thought more highly of the 
wretched brutes that have fallen under our 
power, than we dp. If we would exercift 
fo'mewhat lefs of tyranny, and fomewhat 
more of ppr reasoning and morality to- 
wards them* we fl}ould fee mgny things in 
.them that deferv? our pity; y^e (houkl 
difcfcru in them many trait es of reafoning, 
tybjbyrjuig to ^hdsrftand us, when the 
quarrel between, the man and beaft arifes 
from .the infpleat ignorance of man. \ye 
ihc>v*Jd receive perhaps foroe impreflions of 
the patient-enduring, noble, generous^ 
courageous, and evsn grateful temper, in 
them : a$d we fhould have the pleafure of 

' * Sir T, Smith. 

bercdi ct emendata Linguae Gracx Pronunciations et 
Uoguae Anglkau* ScriptloLe. 1568, % 

!;l " c ' f : receiving 



{ 1*1 ) 

receiving meritorious as well as beneficial 
fervices from them. 

Various as ail the languages of the world 
may feem ; and infinite as the words of 
thofe languages may be: yet are they all 
compounded of and refolveable into a very 
defined and fmalj number of a£fcs of the 
voice. 

The inventing of characters to exprefc 
the elements of fpeech, and render it vi- 
sible to the eye, when th^ analyfis has once 
led to them, is pot a matter of great dif- 
ficulty ; but the being able to inuitute the 
analyfis, by which this knowledge was firft 
elicited out of the infinity of founds, was 
a real difficulty, that feems, even now it 
\s known, wonderful, and above the com- 
mon range of human ynderftanding. 

I have heard of many letter'd and learn- 
ed men who have reafoned and written 
difcourfes on this fubje&; but as it has not 
fallen in my way to fee their hooks ; 
nor to my leifure to have read many 
fhat I have feen ; nor to my good fortune 
to receive much fatisfa&jon from what I 
have read ; I was led, in my lonely and 
leifure hours, fpent where I had not accefs 
jfo books, to read nature on this fubjeft, 
K 4 by 



* ' ( 156 ) • 

of the middle of the tongue, produced 
L. Tbefe three are the only articulations 
which the tongue in this j>afs of the found 
can make,* 

The next pafs at which the air is formed 
into articulated found, is, as it goes forth 
between the end of the tongue and the 
teeth or gums. Here again the air being 
checked by the application of the tongue 
to the teeth or gums, and then by a fud- 
den ftrofce of feparation being let to pafs 
forth articulated, forms the two elements 
D and T ; the firft by an application of 
the tongue laid broad to, the fecond by a 
more pointed application and ftroke, at 
feparation. 

As the air at its laft pafs goes forth by 
the lips, thefe organs give it two articulated 
founds, which fortn the two dements B 
and P. Here, as before, the air is checked 
by a clofing of the lips, and particularly 
preffing the nib of the upper lip againfl: 
the under, fo as by a ftroke at the &pa* 
ration to let the air pafs articulated into 
B and P; the firft by a parallel equal 
opening, the fecond by a more angular of 
pointed opening. 

There remain ftill two other elemental 
fcynds of ypice, which can not properly 

be 



(»57) 

be faid to pafs out at the month, for they 
are articulated and founded, the firft with 
lips a&ually fliut, and the fecond clearly 
in and through the nofe. In founding M, 
the air is ftopt abfolutely by the (hutting 
of the lips, and is returned up into the 
iiofe. In articulating N, the lips are not 
a&ually clofed, but the air articulated into 
found is returned back through the nofe. 
The firft two may be called 
guttural, or rather for distinc- 
tion fake, as will be feen pre- 
a fently, I (hould wifli to call 

them glottal G. K. 

becaufe I fpeak of the guttural 
catch befides 
3 The three next lingual — S. R, L* 
2 The two next dental — D. T. , 
i The two next labial — B. P. 
% The- two next nafaL ~- M, N. 

ii articulated founds. 

Not any one of thefe elements can be 

"pronounced without fome oral intonation 

annexed to the articulation. Each can be 

pronounced with five different fueh oral 

founds annexed, but with five only and 

no more ; all equally can have five oral 

founds annexed, but they are yet the fame 

five orals annexed in the fame manner. 

Thefe oral elements can be founded as 

parts 



jjlrts ef fpdech when feparated froril tohafr 
I call the articujated elementary founds* 
The ptherp, without an annexion of fome 
pfc thefe orals are not founds, but rather- 
fchd articulated vehicles of founds* Ana* 
lyfis then leads to experiments unadfe of 
the voice as to thefe orals, feparately by 
l&etttfelves, and conjunctly with all the 
articulations ; and the refult is tha,t there 
are but fivfe ultimately diftinct intonations 
of voice- in fpeach, A * pronounced in 
the opening of the mouth by an elevation 
of the roof and an angular elevation* of 
the upper lip ; U by a lowering fomewhat 
of the under jaw, and an angular projection 
of the under lip : E by a parallel opening 
x>f die mouth and turvilineal contraction 
of the under lip, O by an oval or circular 
opening of the mouth and lips, and I hy 
a fimple perpendicular ftroke of the jaws 
in the enunciation of it, 

Ichefe Jixteen elements of fpeecb are all 
into which vocal found can be ultimately 
xefblved ; and more are not neceflary no* 
ate found as ultimate elements in anV 
language; the five Nation-Indiana of North 
America do in no cafe ufe the lips in fpeak- 
ing; There cannot be therefore, nor are 
any labials in that language. 

*Vide Plate I> in Appendix, No II. 

Thefe 



Tkefe JndivUibte elements neither a« 
pqr «n be pro&ounced differently (what- 
ever ,atani#ers they may bear which dif-i 
gyife* them,) from the ultimate skmentvjf 
articulated found into which the found of 
*U U«guage$ ipay be refblved* 

^ Allure, however, by diffei^nt languages, 
and by the fame language fpoken under 
different climates; yafioufly furchargsdt 
eiphpr by 4 guttural catch of the wicf^ a* 
they pafs, the glottis ; or by various afpir 
ratiqns as they pafs off after their ajticu* 
ljatiqft;,or (a3 in the fpecial cajfe of Maud 
N) a?e followed by a rebound <?f found* 
, the confeqjjet^ge- of the form- ;which/ the 
organs had taken in articulating them. 

T 

Sir, T\ Smyth %§» tha£ eaqH. natWnor 
jr^ce o% petfpk hath, each its, peculiar founds, 
w&tch eaph reciprocally sannpt pronounce 
$*a<§tly. . And'.thafc therefore. tfeer$ (hould 
be di^reirt k<<fws,toi r^fefantttl&fe£i)un<fo. 
I£ by Jetf«^ ^ hf r$ meaiftt qhana&ers, the 
qpwlyfioi} is, feirly drawn ; bu* unle& l*e 
'$jjft pioves. that thffe, differing fcuacte ane 
qftimate indivifijble elemenfls, $hey do uqt 
r^^re. difFerejit^meAtaryl6t6^$^ 1# Upon 
^^swnation (a* will be feen here&JiUft) 
*h$y will all: prova to. be th$ faj»# /*}*- 
mentary founds which all men ufe, htft 

fur- 



, (urcharged with a guttural catch or an 
afpirationj or other mingled adjunct jghich 
can be divided from them. Now thefe 
peculiar enunciations of the elements of 
Ipeech furch^ged with thefe adjiirift or 
mixed compounds, arife frorn different 
forms and t textures of the organs of fpeech, 
and thefe forms or textures arife from dif- 
ferent habits of life, or the effe&s of dif* 
ferent climates. Thefe guttural catches 
or hanging of the voice about the glottis, 
thefe afpirations furcharged upon,, or 
mudyly mixt with the elementary founds, 
are chiefly found in early barbarous times, 
and in northern climates, and many ' of 
them by degrees wear out of ufe. 

In the glottals, beirjg guttural, this 
catch of the voice became what was pro- 
perly called the Digamma, as having by 
the catch or hanging of the voice the 
efle£, in pronunciation, of a double G or 
K. In the Unguals this furcharge in dif- 
ferent nations always proceeded the R : 
Added a hoarfe furcharge, a- thick breath* 
ing rather than a found to S : and doubled 
I^r, with a hoarfenefs comiiig betwixt 
(fomething like but not F.) which no 
people, that I know, can pronounce but the 
Welch, as they do when they pronunc^ 



[ i'6i 3 
" The dentals are in like manner feme* 
times fur-»cliarged with this noarfe afpi- 
*ation, fometinies with a' kind 6f,muddy 
diflblvent in the various pronunciations of 
J5h iand Th. The Englifti pronunciation 
*Kprefles this, which. I do not knpW to 
defejfibe, but -have given exafnples of in. 
pages ■ 1-65 and 1 66. 

The labials are alfo liable to the fame, 
-as in the instances of -B' and Vaw or ev ; 
and P or 'Phi, Fi, or iph and ef. 

As the lips are clofe (hut at the articu- 
lating and pronouncing M ; when they 
open, after if it is enounced, theyfeemto 
giVel and add to it the rebound of B or P 
'mute, and thus we Engtffti in many cafes 
pronounce it, as thumb and comb; #s 
J Avamp, from the old word fwamixr ; where, 
as^Ihre in his preface to his Dictionary 
<fays, P additur a fine. 

The found of N, in pronunciation,' can 

-icarce go off with a rebound of the voice 

in a ton fomething like to g or k adjunct ; 

the French pronunciation hath this very 

ftrong; 

; The ancient Helienifts had not originally 

many of tbefe furcharged adjun&s in their 

L enunci- 



:;[ J6z ] 

enunciation, and ufed but one. borrowed 
chara&er tjp expref$ them all, the-cha*- 
ra&er/ JF, F, the jEolic di-gatnma. It 
partook of H, F, V, G, J, Y and our W 
founded ou 9 juft as the iurcharge, at the 
time, and in the cafe, happened to be 
initial or final; mixt with and adjunft 
to confonants; or inferted between two 
vowels, 

Dionyfius ttalicarnaflus * mentions not 
only the form but the power of .the di- 
gamma> which he fays was a charafter 
refembling the double [r], gamma, as F; 
and had a found when prefixed to a vowel 
beginning a word, fomething like ou : He 
then gives an example or two. Speak- 
ing of . the low fwampy places which 
the Aborigines in Italy afligned to the 
Pelafgoi upon a treaty with them, he fays 
thofe places had rol iroXXcc l\caloc^ which, 
according to the ancient pronunciation, 
were called SsXia, Wallia, Felia, or Velia, 
or Vallies : Thus oTxog $ written Fo7xo$, was 
pronounced Vicos, or Wicos, the radix is 
Wic. 

tup otcfxalvt, ofroa-ejt al appeal awo (puvrjvluv iyutio ttih ov av\- 
X»ft» in roxticj ypatpopiugr* tSto ^ ijy unrip y^oifMfjLa $ir]aif Wt 
jm*9 oflr,* §7k£vyvvfAi90v raT( wX«y*aif §1$ F*\tvn, k) faiva^ td 
/»*«#( *£ F x9 *'f *} 0O ^ r«iavra. 

Lib, I. Antiq, Rom. Edit. Sylburgii, p. i6. 

When 



( i6 3 >; 

Wheii J inaftei-rtjiii?s thefe Hellenifts 
began to aiialyfe their language with fome 
fcientific attention, they invented Cha'racS 
ters to expfefS fprtie of thefe mixed founds, 
as x* Q* Q* -4** %> & ^d fo refined the reft, 
as that the-^Eolic digamma Ceafed to be of 
ufe or in pra&ice with them. 

What I have faid muft depend upon 
fa£t in fuch inftances as the learned reader 
(hall meet with. I, antirtlearned labourer, 
will give fome examples, of proofs, of 
what I here venture to aflert. To begin 
with the gutturals of the glottal elements. 
Both G and K are furcharged frequently 
with a catch or hard breathing, which 
the ancients either fuppofed to be a hang- 
ing or catch of the voice, and therefore 
exprefled by a Di-gamma or an afperate, 
and fuppofed an h to be the adjunct of this 
furcharged pronunciation, in the firfl: cafe 
they ufed the F or F ; in in the latter T of 
Gh and % or Kh and double F or fF. 

The furcharge in the pronunciation of 
the Linguals R, L, and S, was various, 
as' £ p, or Fj, or Bf, or Hj. L was 
doubled and had the digamma under the 
found -of F interwoven as L F L. S l&d'H 
or rather ch adjunct to it, but in iny 
opinion, formed on repeated experiments, 
' ■ . . La and 



and in the opinion of a much f hettejr judge 
than ipe, I mean ..tjhej very IcjjrjfteicL Sjr T\ 
Smyth, neither ^a&m tngli{b, nor ch as 
in German, ahfwer fcW found pF £& 
The open g, of y, the true dir gamma, is 
what here makes the proper adjunct. Ne- 
que fonus ille [inquit Smythws t de re&H 
et emendata Ling. AngT. p'rohiin^et fcript.*] 
quern nos proferimus dum Mam (i. e. She) 
ai*t\ fraxinum (Ve. Afh^ idicimw, r refte, 
" per , 3ft? et ./$#, cqnfcnbitur* ^ec ; ienina ' 
Verus et gejiuinus fpnus utriufveV literae 
auditur. nam defit r$ S ferpentihtis ille 
fibilius,^t t£ h grandis et violentus afeiatus* 
Sed. quidarn intermedius ti mixtus fanuf 
perfentitur. Vide autem quantum a vulgp 
opinione differt judicium meum, et ut 
Intelligas clarius quod volo, primum fona 
Slud quod apyd nos [viz. Anglos] inferflus 
appellator, Hell, ferva fpnum hunc inte- 
grum et prepone x, s-h$lL Ita fona quo4 
jappellimus hall et prepone s. s-hall. V ides 
hon fonari illud quod nos cpncham noftra 
vocamiis lingud, nee quod eft futuri tem- 
:poris lignum noilrate. At nunc e contra 
fona quod nos noftnllingud ejulare dictmjiSj * 
fcil fell, et idem quod de canibus dicitur 
ITaul, et prepone s. fervando femper pri- 
ofpm fbnum, ut unam tantum iyllabara 
jaciendo, et inveriies /yell et Jyall. Quaero 
.npjac abs te, mi , Quinte, uter ion us pro- 
\ •-... pinquidr 



( 1*5 3 

J)inquior el quem pronunciamus cum vo? 
umus dicere anglice concham [Shell! et 
fignum teraporis futuris [flball]. w Profe&a 
haec pofterior per S et Y— -In the examples 
which IJhall give prefently,. the reader 
will have frequent occafiou to obferve that 
Y (open G as I call it) founded as we 
Englifh found it, occurs more often as the 
true found of the di-gamma than any 
other. 

In like manner the two dental elements 
D and T are liable to be, and are a&ually, 
forchaged with an adjunct found, which 
is commonly fuppofed to be a mere af- 
perate, and fuppofed alfb to be exprefled 
by b 9 as Dh and Th. And the Greeks, 
as is fuppofed about the time of the Trojaa 
war, invented the character and 0, to 
mark the expreffian of this mixed found 
Th. But no chara&er was, as I under- 
ftand, ever ufed to mark the furcharged D, 
or Dh. And yet after all, this 6 does not 
fully anfwer with precision to the cafe in 
which it is applied. T with the afpirate h 
rfdjunft to it, has a very different found 
from the ^t* and the &jt#, both which 
gire not only different from it, but from 
each other. I will give examples of this 
from our Englifh, Saxon, or Deutfch 
language, which I may fairly do, as it will 
L 3 appear 



( I** ) 

appear that thefe derivatives obferyed an<J 
preferved tbe orign^l pronunciation ; when 
I fay that b as tHe afpirate is adjunSi to 
the d or t, I follow; the expreffion of my 
learned njafter; non dicimus permifceri 
literas, fed adjungi ; now that h thus ad- 
junct to d* or t, does not give the very 
different mixt founds which we perceive in 
the words, Ta'en, Thane, Than. Tea, 
The, Thief. Tye, Thigh, Thin, Thine, 
Thy. Taw, Thaw, Though. Turn, (the 
Latin wprcj) Thumb,Thus ; Tun , Thunder, 
nor eitjier pf them ; try it by my matter's 
refplution and cpmppfition, found firft e, 
then h he, then adjoint to this the diftindt 
found of /, preferring the unity of the 
fyllable and your ear will receive t'-he, and 
fo of the reft; but if defirous to proceed 
further, you would wifh by this means, 
by this T and h adjunct, to exprefs the 
two very different founds which Th has 
in the article The, and in the word Thief; 
tills adjoining of h either to T or D will 
never do it. This is a peculiar permixt 
jound, which I beljeye will appear the 
Greeks never had in ufe or any notion of, 
nor the northern people whofe language 
they originally fpoke, foy by the words 
in German which are clearly Greek, the 
found is Th and D'h. 

Ana- 



( i6 7 ) 

Analogous to what occurs in thefe, a like 
furcharge operates on the two labials B and 
P; and here again the nore of afpiration, 
or the general mark of the digamma 
varioufly founded, is fuppofed to ferve for 
the peculiar expreffion. P is muddied into 
Ph or F, and B into Vau or W. 

This digamma bearing the femblance of 
Gor r, at the beginning of words was emol- 
liated into Y and W, and often in the 
latter end of words into Y, W, or fF, — 
thus 'Apw made both warr and guerre ; 
dag, day ; o&p, eight, eiyht ; daughter, 
dawter ; laugh, laff. This digamma with 
the femblance of G between two vowels is 
feldom pronounced as G hard, but as open 
G, or Y, or as V, or as H, of all which 
there are examples in the fame word 
pronounced in different languages, 

I have faid, and upon repeated tryals I 
am perfuaded to adhere to my opinion, 
that there are but fixteen ultimate indi- 
vifible elements of fpeech within the 
power of mankind ; for although, from the 
various ufe and texture of their organs of 
fpeech, they may afpirate, confuie, or 
furcharge thefe ; yet whatever founds they 
enounce, fuch ftill remain divifible to thofe 
yltirnate elements. The variety qf dialers 
L 4 and 



and languages, howevei*, arife; frohi the 
i£tei;changable yrfe.6f the den&p&ts pf the 
fame organ of fpeech, from (the, niucmg 06 
them with each othej",, and from the Iur- ; 
charging them with the Various mode? of 
^fpiration. Thus qne race or natiop of 
people is inclined to. ufe Giiiftead of I£; 
or K inftead of G ; D inftead of T ; or 
T inftead of P ; B inftead of P; or P &* 
fteadof B, ■ > 

By an attentive examination of the: 
peculiarities in enunciation which eapfe 
people have, in the one way or the btherj* 
by a fair reciprocal analyfis of thj* agnate* 
words they reciprocally ufe, I think a 
much greater agnation may be foiind 
amongft all the languages in the northern 
hemifphere of our globe, and much more, 
philofophic derivation of thefe from fome 
other languages may be deduced than is 
pommonly thought to etfift. \ 

This fort of analyfis* this refofation and 
compofition of language into its elements, uni* 
verjally purfued to its etymon* feems to me 
the duty of the antiquary* and itiould give 
great light to thefludyjf antiquities. 

From the following lift of Words, which 
| write down more as examples to illpftrate* 

thai} 



tfelrtM t&!imb*rp 6# proof, wiM be faen 
how the tto«H which are tfoertfel ilrfePted, 
alt(h«^i Uhey featfsa &emj *0 have thtf> 
ktft fiflsiBtucW, -yet prb*e to be- the very* 
fame words fpoken with thtf fame dte* 
ments differently aerated* < vtmt, or 
forctottged tfith adjufcd* founds^ The 
reader is defired to recolleft the ideae given 
of the Varib\fsfon4S 6f the digamma, and 
of the afpirate Th and Dh, ai*iaf G f and 
what I call 0{ferf O of Y, wrt& more par«^ 
jtittuiar attent&h.* ] 

At* 9 m* E*, Ey, ill figtlify in fh$ir ter- 
mination landed ooumry ; attd pronounced 
#i,th the guttutel catch becoflo^ ry «id rw. 
"Eof, ver. with the digamftia Y, is year J 
£**, gramen with the a{pirate, is bay. 
' 1!™, tvith the afpirate, is in Swedifh, 
Thit, with *he digamma Y in Englift, 

is ydt. - ^ 

A&X*s verfutus, with th6 digatnma W f 
is Wyley. 

*Arjp muft have been fbmetimes pro- 
nounced With a digamma, inferted between 
the two V6wels, whence it produced 
Ae(th)er, iEther; -we fhall fneet with 
more examples of the fame. ■ 

*Api^, Mars, with the digamma W, is 
^yar; with the digamma G/is 'guerre. 

^ * I believt 



( *70 X 

I belfevfc it will be foumkthaf G was.by 
different n&ions, anciept as. well as mo-; 
dern, coihmonjy pronounced as I and Y,; 
or open G, as I call it, and fometimes W$ : 
and foroetime$ K. 

• r^u^Genu, K'nee. . 

Tvhw :» vafculum militate viaticum, 
Wallet. 

Vipecvo == Gws, Yheran, Swedifh; or He- 
ron, Engliflu -. 

• Tawota c fecere curfum tortuofum, to 
yaw,' faid of a fhip, when £he runs a tor- 
tuous courfe. 

- rft«y=:f\iggfundium te&i, Joj/i. 
rivetov ■» mentum, Djjp or G6/». 
tefo* s= cojligere, Gerp^n, Jegen. Old 
Engli(h, //£,. now lay. J.; •. 

.In like spanner, thofe word? whifh are 
in Swedjfh,. written and pronounced^ with' 
GorJ, are in the Englifti derivatives writ;* 
^ep and pronounoed as with Y, being fo 
founded in the original. 



Swedifh. 


Englifh. 


Gabb == irrifiQ 


Yabb or Yapp 


Garn = lana 


Yarn 


Gule = flavus 


Yellow 


Jii = tu 


You 


Yein = Ferrurp 


Ir'n 


Jo = imo 


Yan, Yea, or Yes 




, J«l 



( m ) 

Jul *= NatiykasChriiJiY^ 
Jull = Cimba / Yaul 
Junker = Juvenis Younker. 

, Hj is the afpirated /', which theEngJifli 
pronounce as with a mijte y after H. 

Swedifli.. Englifh. 

Hjelp r . Hyelp . 

Hjetyn Helm 

Hjert IJeart 

Hjord JFIerd 

Hjul Wheel. 

Whenever in foreign wprds Q or Gh 
termines, we foften this by opening G to 
Y, as in the common termination Lig, we 
open it to Ley; Laugh, Cough, we pro- 
noun.ce Laffand CofF; Daughter, Dawter, 
and fo on. Dock, T'hough ; Tag, Day ; 
Wag, 'Way. 

When the G as a digamma is inferted 
between two vowels, 1 believe it is always 
opened, as Vo(g)el, Fo-el, Fowl. When 
one fees that oeil and oculus are agnate 
words, fignifying the fame thing, one 
cannot doubt but that o-eil was pronounced 
with an inferted digamma like vogel, or 
like the Swedifli Bagel, foftened by the 
Englifh into Ha'yel, now fpelt Haile ; as 

thus, 



t 7*. i . 

' thus, o(g)eil f and'izi'faft we &id It lb in- 

the word ogle. , 

/ ' • ■ . * * 

The Greek c PiW makes the Latin 
T'ra^are and the German D*ra(g)en, and 
i the Englifh draw or drew. 

Now c Pvaf was Certainly afpirated, and 
had in pronunciation a digamma, which 
was neither a determinate h nor £— take 
the open g or y, and the derivation, or 
rather agnation, is clear in all the"' Ian* 
guages. 

Our anceftors the Saxons had a peculiar 
method of pronouncing the afpirated D 
and T, in a way in which the original 
found was well nigh loft. Although we are 
in common taught to think that in thefe 
we ufe the true Greek pronunciation of 
the 0, I am apt to fufpeft we are miftaken, 
and that 6 was fcarce ever pronounced as 
We ufe it ; for initance, Qzog made DVus, 
or T'eus, and not Theus." So the name 
of the Ptfnic city which the Romans wrote 
Carthago, was Keir-Dagon, or Thagon 
the City of Dagon, in the fame manner as 
Betb-Dagon, the Temple of Dagon is 
written by the Greeks, Byjayuv and Ifyfl- 
fyyoov. i Maccabees, c. x. v. 83. 

*Aya6Qg 



t m ) 

*A&itklkf makes got or god* and not goth* 

^(^»:Fera Silyeftrifl,. makes T'hier and 
Deer, pot Theer. , ,.,;' A 

€k$« Oftium, makes T'hu'r and Door, 
notThooV. 

Sfiivn Ceena, ;epalwn*.-!— P3wn*,.&iB&er, 
and not thinner,. , ; ; [. .i ;. 

e««tt< ojwrace,t— T'be&enj T*&*en,; ptr 

tQdoi. , .;-;.. . •„.:■.: ....> ;_';;.;;;/. .. 

^ e«f|»«i».avdere., SaHQii*I?fi#reto..£nglB%, 

Dare.' \ -:• ■'.■• •- •• *-, 'c 

.-..The Teuts ato^ys^fa pe©nGunced;.Th 
aadlj)!), and therobf^rving; thi^ '^Harrty 1 
fc«twjxt-them a^d theOrieeks vwU t rfejq*Uift 
many mattery. ,pf {&yt^tegyAif::; f\., 

jt; ,43erman. . SutedHht t .dniEncWfh. 

„;, Jt'haJ .;, .WW; . .^iBafe- • 

......TjlbMi . ..; jttogg ■-:.»: .i-MiJD*w«. .-•■• 

-, J{i pallet ; ; jftaJKet .. :.. i Dolke ' : 

* The fame a. tie oU Grede : &&/ iU Sw &&S. 

Din 





( m ) 




! I.'.'"" - 


■ S -Difl -;'.•;■•■•••' 


'TU(j 


T'huii3er 


Dteiii&r ' 


Thunder 


T'hon 


•V . 


'.''Ton -;■•-'■ 


" :" t • • > , : 


■ ' • iv.' r* r * .. - .* . 


a-Soum! 



In fiket »' Manner we find the' fame wbrd 
fignifying the fame thing originally, toth 
in Greek smd'GAtaaafe, the one fpelt with 
the dental T, the other with the dental D. 
Tm^h^-^E)ji^ r r'tM6' Aibto f;^ fp 
n#liip 9 QaOnpi ipoken Vadher or Fatbfrv ; - L 



i ^In like m&ttner n*r&Yfirom irccreutaice- 




wfiT£ffiv) afpbaited ■■^4$^ 9 feutbet. 



TE^takfo n<* $^b£that • Boog Irom 
€£$ was ironounced Wfati an inserted di- 
gamma* When we find it in Latin Bovis, 
and ift Ktench Beu$3afc| in Engti&^lu- 
ral Beeves. So*0&v-Oi&£» Drr Bentky in 
a note, ad Lib. 23. Q&£lorat. fays, r TAi; per 
digamma,jEolicunj, e/ ¥^, Silva.t. jnp 

The JEolians were {arid t£ prefix S be- 
fore P. t)f this we nave feverd itfftances 
in illuftwion In thfc^ftiodern a#rthern 
languagest 'PuTijp, i/BoikL Bp ut?£, Fraenum, 
a -dt/V^ or Bridle* •:..;?.• • t " 



(( V$ ;) 

■ and. l^EkUic^.B/xvxof, a Break or Breach. 

Alio P«pof, /Eolic, B^a'p 9 ?* a Bramble. 
*Pvx£, Mol\c t B/>u«£, Rivus, a Broo^. 

> . • 

Here follow three inftances of B afpi- 
rated into Vaw.; in the firft inftance fpelt 
by. Pf ; in the fecondby V, ; in the third 
f and v. I , • :-.: 

; B«A*s, Tellum fegitta. Pfeil^ an arrow. 
, Bpl, a particle fignifying exceeding, but 
. chiefly, as prefixty/ hence very. 

teijren, linquene. . Saxon, Lifan. Englifh, 
to leave. ; . -•".. _ 

Inftances of the digamma founding as 
our W, or the Saxon ft 
"Clovj Ta&um, won. to wonn, to dwell. 
"Oaf, Mulier, Whore. 
"O\og 9 totum. Whole. 
*Ov, neuter of %$. One, founded Wane. 
OIkos Wic. 

Olvog, vinum, Wine, and in Welfh; 
Gwine. 

# T^, Wafler, and Water. 

V TA^, 'TAaAj?. Silva & locus Silveftris. 
We ? l. Weald. 

*T$ecu & v<pi. Woof and weave. 

In the word KoTXoc, as ufed by the 
Engliih in the word agnate with it, there 

remains 



"1 



•tf V* )) 

remains the guttural catch frefope? the 
afperate^ tlie iwrtb^Ww^r^uGci^ticMi ^for a 
- hole, is a hoil, with fomething of a^iich, 
asGhoJL ." - .■•" -' -''v^ :V ■». : ■ ''■;••' 

From thefe Principles of Refolution and 

-Qwipofitim -applied td'^-the dkJtofHt* of 

-fpcech, as Jihave ventured to ipfly l AeB»; 

;and from the /eWie^tt^les; which r,i\a$o 

do not pretend to be a linguift, •h<&3'>a&- 

jdueed; (LtkinV*the learned >^fcti^uaW-4vho 

;is a lmguift, o* ^thtfrfe^'-f^ohi^rt^ 

fponding Society asrf'Jiave ventured id^fttg- 

<geft ttHe .idea *Qf, 4C&ul&^t&tt ^IfoWifli a 

philofophic Polyglott that would • tifte $11 

the ufes of an univerfal language, and, 

zw\&£li&txj£ better <#foftc£ui&ce» -would be 

practicable and practical; •*-' • .. /. v > 



■:•";/ 



.;v/ 



>>!* 



T 



i 



( *77 ) 

No IL - 

A Treatife on PiSiure Writings Hieroglyphic 
and Elementary Writing, Jhewing how 
the fir ft arofe from Nature* the fecond 
from Art ; with an Illuftration of the 
EffeSts which thefe have had on the De- 
viations and Mutations of Language, in a 
Letter to Thomas AJik, Efqy08.2$,ijj%. 

"Read at the Society of Antiquaries, Jan. 18, 1781, 

SIR, 

AS you acquainted me, that you was 
employed in making a colle&ion of 
Specimens and Exemplars of all the va- 
rious modes of writing pra&ifed by various 
nations, from the earlieft to the prefent 
time ; that you fhould * publifh thefe in 

drawings, 

* This colle&iofi is to confift of Specimens of the Phoe- 
nician, Chaldee, Hebrew, 'Etrufcan, Greek, Ofcian, Ro- 
man, Gaelic, Welfti, Irifb, Gothic, Iflandic, and Anglo- 
Saxon Writing, taken from original MSS* and other an- 
cient Documents now preferved in public Repositories, and 
private- Collections : in the courfe of which is to be illus- 
trated by examples from fimilar materials, The progrefs 
pf writing in Italy, in France, in Germany, The progrefs 
of the Saxon and Norman writing in England, as alio of the 
■ writing in the Englijb Language, from the earlieli times to 
the reign of queen Elizabeth, with fpecimens of the char- 
M ters 



( i 7 8 ) 

drawings, copied per faSlum Jimlle ; that 
^ you fhould accompany this with obferva • 
tions on each, and with a Treatife on the 
whole, in which you fhould be naturally led 
by. your fubjeft to take fome notice of the 
origin of Writing ; and recolle&ing fome 
opinions of mine, contained in a paper 
, read about three or four years ago at the 
Society of Antiquaries, you defired I would 
look it out and let you have it : it is with 
the greateft readinefs and pleafure that I 
comply with your requeft, and fend you 
the following Treatife, ' a new draughr, 
extra&ed chiefly from that paper. 

A knowledge of the methods by which 
mankind * in primitive times realized by 
vifible images their ideas ; fo as to place 
them under the eye, and to fix them per- 
manent in time, is a fource of curious in- 
veftigation to the Antiquary. 

The firft efforts which men of all races, 
and in all countries, have made to this 

ters of each fovereign, fivm William I. to Henry VIII. 
As Mr. AiVe has a peculiar turn for, and gieat info:matioit 
in this branch or learning"; as he has one of the beft pri- 
vate Collections of theie materials ; and as being keeper of 
the Records, an<V w * r h Mr. Topham, has the care and 
cuiiody of the State Papers ; there is no perfon can hava 
greater opportunities; the expectations of the world muft 
therefore be raifed for this publication. 

purpofe, 



[ *>9 J 

purpofe, have been made, not as the ele- 
mentary writing is, by pictures of their 
words) but by portraits of their ideas, and 
alfo (as well as they could defcribe them, 
by figns and metaphors) of the circum- 
. fiances, relations, aftions, and effedts, pro* 
duced and iuffered in all combinations, juft 
as they lay conceived in the mind. The 
very language of thefe unlettered people is 
condufted by metaphors and allegory ; the 
tranfcript therefore into viliblc ideas could 
be nothing but the pictures of thefe 
images. This reafoning is derived from 
fad ; let us fee how the fa£t ftands. 

The Amtrican Indians do thus in fa&. 
When they would defcribe their nation, 
their country, time, and the feafons ; 
a&ions of any kind, journeys by land, or 
t>y water ; war and its operations and glory t 
peace and its bleffings ; planting or hunt- 
ing ; they draw or paint fome vilible cha- 
.ra&eriftic objedts. They ufe, to defignate 
their tribe or nation, fom& fixt fymbol, 
generally taken from fome animal, whofe 
a&s are defcriptive of the particular cha- 
racter which they aflume or afcribe to their 
tribe, their race, or nation; fome vifible 
known mark, chara&eriftic of the fort of 
region which their country is. Time they 
defcribe by the picture of the fun or 
moon or ftars : The Seafons by that of a 
M 2 tree 



( 'i8o ) 

tree in leaf ; the fall by a tree without leaf. 
As their journeys are moftly made along 
the rivers, they generally defcribe their 
journeys or excurfions by a conoe ; not but 
they do fometimes, to exprefs travelling 
by land, draw a * foot ; or, if by land in 
winter, a fnow-(hoe. War they commonly 
exprefs by the hatchet or " fcull-breaker : 
Enemies killed by fcalps, prifoners taken by 
withies or bands : hunting by the animals 
of the chace : The making peace by the 
burying of the hatchet, and a ftate of 
peace by any thing which denotes their 
planting ground, as a wigwam and corn. 
They afcribe chara&ers to animals, ac- 
cording to their fpeeific nature ; and, to 
defcribe the characters of men or nations, 
they give the portrait of thofe animals 
whom they fuppofe as of notoriety to have 
fuch charafters. 

Thus, the names given to remarkable 
charafters have always this reference ; one 
is called the eagle ; another the wolf, the 
fox, the tortoife, the bear, the ferpent, the 
beaver ; they make reference alfo to ina- 
nimate vifible obje&s, as, the fwift arrow, 
light, &c. &c. and thefe animals or vi* 
fible objefts become the pifture-name of 
fuch perfon ; of all which I have known 
h>ftance$. Thofe circumftances, and that 
general ftate of things (to exprefs which 

* The ./Egyptians do cxa&ty the fame, 



( i8i ) 

m fpeech they have no general and com- 
plex words), they defcribe by reference 
to vifible images, bearing fome ideal 
fimilitude of, or allufion to fuch. The 
refolve, or a& of going to war* thejr 
exprefs by the phrafe of " taking up the 
44 hatchet *, oi Jlr iking with the hatchet ;° 
the termination of war, by " burying the 
44 hatchet % " a breach of peace, or a re- 
newal of war, by " digging up the hatchet 
" that was buryed;" a ft ate of peace » f by 
44 a tree in its full vegetation, giving 
44 fhelter, and bearing fruit ;" the a& of 
condolence, by " wiping off the tears from 
44 the eyes ;" an a£t of reparation (with 
them always preceded by the a£t of con- 
dolence) is exprefled by " wajhing off the 
44 bloody and by pre fen ting prefents to heal 
y i4 the wound ;" a£ts of oblivion, by the 
44 covering the actions with a blanket ;" a&$ 
of explanation, by " prefents, to wipe the 
44 film off the eyes" Nor, are thefe a£ts 
confined to the ideal metaphor only, they 
are always accompanied by the prefent of 
a blanket, linen, or w r ampum, where- 
with fuch a& is fuppofed to be performed. 
In what I have here referred to, I fpeak of 
things of common notoriety, as generally 
and univerfally occurring in their treaties. 

* This means ia general the (cull-breaker. The French 
tranflate it Caile-tete ; our interpreters tranflate it hatchet, 
as that inftrument is now ufed for that weapon. 

M 3 When 



( i«» ) 

When they would write this, or re- 
prefent it to the eye, what can their 
writing be but theie images forming a 
pifture ? Exa&ly in this manner, in the 
pi&ure-hiftory of the Indians of Mexico, 
publifhed by Purchas, you will fee the 
ftate of the iettlement of a town or diftrift 
reprefented by a tree ; and the redu&ion of 
that fettlement by force of arms to a fub-< 
je& ftate, by that tree being cut half 
through. The number of notches in that 
principal cut either fignifies the number 
of ftrokes which it fufrered before it was 
reduced to that ftate, or elfe the proportion 
of tribute it. was under that ftate obliged 
to pay. There is one inftance where the 
tree is cut quite up by the roots ; ahd one 
inftance wherein the fymbol of fp^ech, by 
thereprefentation of the tongue(as tkus<^), 
Is given to a tree half cut through ; by 
which I underftand, that the pidhire- 
fymbol means to exprefs a furrender on ca- 
pitulation. 

Yon alfo fee under the fame metapho- 
rical conception, in Plate LVIIL of Nor- 
den's Travels, a pifture-repreientation of 
a treaty, on a fragment of a very lingular 
Bas-relief, exprefled by two perfons ne- 
gotiating by mutual reference to a tree that 
fhnds between them, on which tree is 
hung a tablet of an oval form, with the 

"' ' - ele- 



r ««* i 

elementary chara&ers on it, as In plate C. 
%• 3* By thefe inftances the reafoning 
and example come hand in hand to the 
dedu&ion of the fa£t. Obferve here, that 
the courfe of the writing is in the perpen- 
dicular line, and I think fhould be read 
upwards, 

In like manner fonje allegorick piftnre 
of this very kind would beft, at leaft very 
fufficiently and compleatly, exprefs the 
.metaphorical reprefentation given by the 
KenundUoni, or Five-nation confederacy, 
of their original ftate of alliance With the 
Dutch and Englifti, This original and 
firft intercourfe which they had with us 
Europeans, they exprefs in their language ' 
by " the arrival of a great canoe on their 
44 /hdres, or on the bank of fome river" 
The firft a£t of their friendship they ex- 
prefs by " the tying this canoe fqfe and 
44 fecure to a tree on the jhore or banks." 
This ideal tree they call the tree of peace, 
protection, friendfnip, happinefs, &c. In 
their tranfa£tions and treaties they ufe a 
multitude of variations of this apologue. 
They call the ligature, by which the canoe 
is tyed, a chain. Good faith is exprefled 
by " the chain being kept bright ; ' and 
the contrary by 44 this chain contrasting 
44 fome fiain or ruji ;" a renewal of this 
old friendfhip by* 44 brightening and clean- 
ty4 "ing 



r *4 j 

'* ing tbh chain? This chain was at firft, 
as I have faid, fuppofed to be fattened to 
feme tree on the banks : Afterwards, as 
this alliance extended itfelf more and more 
into the concerns and interests of the 
gauntry, they exprefled this cjreumftance 
by faying, " they had planted the tree of 
44 peace further back into the country? 
When they would esprefs a more folid per- 
petuity of pea r ce, they then marked that, 
by faying, they would " mpke the chain 
** fajl to fome mountain in # the country. 
Finally, wher\ this alliance became ge- 
neral and national^ they then expreffed this 
ftate of it, by faying, " that they bad 
c< lengthened this chain, and had carried it 
" up to their great douncil-houfe at Onon^ 
" daga 9 where they had made it fajl? This 
is invariably, in their language, the pi&ure 
of thek ideas of the original friendship and 
alliance with the Putch and Englifli. Any 
new treaties fet on foot with the Ey- 
rppeans, after they were fettled in the 
country, they exprefled by "fixing a place 
«* where tkey jhould light afire" always to* 
be kept alive, not an adtual, but meta- 
phorical or allegorical fire. All the changes, 
accidents, interruptions, &c. of this uate 
of union and communion are exprefled by 
the care taken in preferving this fire ; by 
its burning bright, or by its being neglected 

and 



( i«S ) 

and becoming fmoaky and (mothered. And 
if they do ever renounce that particular 
treaty or ftate of union and communion, 
they exprefs it by " putting out the fire" 
I heard at the treaty at Albany, in 1754, 
the great * Tianhoga ufe this expreffion 
to the Dutch Commiflioners at Albany, 
when he, on the part of the Five Nations, 
refufed any more to treat with them. The 
Indians have in general fome ftfange 
myftick, but undefined f notion of the 
pervading fpirit of fire ; and a communi- 
cation of, or communion in, this fpirit, 
amongft parties contraftipg, is with them 
the moil folemn facrament, of the higheft 
form. Thus, the fmoaking one common 
pipe of tobacco, fo that all the contracting > 
parties become participants of the fame 
fire, is one of the moft facred a&s of 
Faith pledged. The pipe ufed on this* 
opcafion is not a common one, but one 
p/epared for the purpofe, painted and or- 
namented always with feathers, and ge- 
nerally with embroidery of porcupine- 
quills. It is called the Calumet, and is, 
lodged by the propofing party with the 

* Vulgarly called, by a Chriftian name, HenJcrick* . 

f One fees this undefined idea well ckpifted in the fpe- 
rimen of Indian pidture-writing given by Dr. Robertfon, 
viz. an undefined, unfinifbed, imperfect figure, exifting 
amidil flames : the hand (marking effed !) is drawn diftin&ly, 
the reft indiilindr. 

party 



( *8'6 ) 

party agreeing, as the moft foleiim record 
of that treaty fo made and concluded. 
This calumet is to be kept ready for fmoak- 
ing upon any- future ufe made of, or any 
reference had to, that treaty. The Indians 
are very attentive to preferve this; but 
w;e, who call ourfelves -civilized, never 
think more of it. And it is generally 
giv.en away as a curiofity to fome perfon 
or other. I had one of thefe calumets, 
which was thus lodged with my friend 
Sir William Joh,nfon, on a very folemn 
treaty with fome of the weftern v Indians | 
it was given to me after his death; he 
KKmld not have parted with it. Efteeming 
it a Angular curiofity, perhaps unique in 
this county, 1 gave it to Mr. Horace 
Walpole, and I fuppofe it is in his cabinet 
at Strawberry Hill. Again : as every a& 
of communication, and every proportion 
made, is pledged by fome token given * 
which token generally was Wampum^ 
Beaver •, Blankets, or Deer-Jkins, &c. &c and 
as the importance of the propofition is efti T 
mated by the value of the token attending » 
it, fo a ftring, or two or more firings, or 
a belt of wampum, exprefles the lefler or 
greater importance of the propofition made, 
or aft done. On fome very important pc- 
caf.ons, thefe belts of wampum had fome 
device woven in them. The great belt of 
wampum, given by the Britiih Com- 

miflioners 



( **7 ) 

miffioners of Eleven Provinces, met at 
Albany in 1754, to the Five Nations, was 
near a fathom long, and about a hand's 
breadth. At one end 'were the figures of 
eleven men, hand in hand ; on the other, 
live men alio hand in hand. Thefe two 
groups were conne&ed by a line reprefent- 
ing a Belt of Treaty, I prepared and di- 
re&cd the defign of this belt. The Indians 
were much pleafed with this attention to 
their manners ; and this belt( I dare fay) is 
kept at this day very facred in the Council- 
Houfe at Onondaga, as a record of that 
great treaty, and renewal of alliance. 
• I>et any one recur back to the meta- - 
phoric and allegbrick deicriptive images by 
which thefe people thus in their language 
and rcprefentative aftions exprefs ideas for 
which they have no general words ; and 
let him then fet about to reprefent them 
by writing to the eye ; whoever does 
i'o, will naturally write their hijiory by a 
jeries of pictures* which will better ex- 
prefs the ideas in which it is conveyed, 
than any elementary writing whatfbever 
could do, was he arrived at the ufe of 
fuch. This ftate of the matter is con- 
firmed by a curious fa£. In the fpecimen 
of the copy of American pi&ure-writing 
given by Dr. Robertfon, in his Hiftory ot 
America, you will fee many of thefe po- 
rtions verified ; particularly, you will fee 
- two 



( iM ) 

two warriors holdiiig a belt, and nego^ 
tilting. In another place, two warriors 
offering prefents to a third warrior. In 
another part you will lee a fymbol of the 
fpirit of fire, defcribed by an undefined 
image/ rotinded with rays or flames. In 
another part is the War-kettle boiling, 
with the fpalping-knife laid acrofs it, and 
a warrior performing fome ceremony be- 
fore it. In the fpecimens publifh?d by 
Purchas, you may read (if I may fo expreis 
myfelf) many others. I have feen on 
deer-lkins, and on Indian powder-horns, 
inftances of this mode of pi&ure- writing* 
I have been told of the fame fort of pic- 
ture-writing on the bark of trees, par- 
ticularly the birch-tree, a tree ufed much 
by them for various domeftick and field 
purpdfes, and with which alfo, in general, 
they make their canoes. I do not recolleft; 
myfelf to have feen any of thefe, at leaft 
not fo as to have been ftruck with them ; 
but I have been told of them by Sir William 
Johnfon ; and I will give you teftimony 
from another perfon, who was perfedt 
mafter of the Indian affairs ; I mean the 
late lieutenant governor Colden. Speaking 
of the Indian .cuftom, of their having a 
rendezvous, where the warriors aflembled 
before they went out to war, he relates, 
<c thatbefore they go from this place *, they. 

* f&\A K of the Five Nations. Introduction, p. 7, 8. 

' * „ " always 



( »8 9 ) 

" always peel a large piece of bark from 
44 fome great tree. They commonly chufe 
44 an oak as moft lafting ; upon the fmooth 
44 fide of, this, they with their red paint 
44 draw the picture of one or more canoes, 
44 as going from home with a number of 
44 men in them paddling, according to the 
44 number that go upon the expedition. 
44 They then paint the image of fome ani- 
44 mal, as a deer, or fox, the emblem of 
44 the nation againft which the expedition 
44 is defigried, at the head of the canoe ." 
I think Mr. Colden muft have forgot to 
mention the painting alfb of an emblem* 
both of the nation and tribe of the Indians, 
who are engaged in the expedition, as well 
as the caftle or Hame^ from whence they 
go forth ; this they never omit. He goes 
on t " After the expedition is over, they 
44 ftopat the fame place in their return* 
44 and then continue the picture by a 
44 defcription of the. event of the expe- 
44 dition ; in this part the canoes are 
44 turned towards the Ca/lle. The number 
44 of the enemy killed is reprefented by 
44 fcalps painted black ; and the number 
44 of priioners, by a number of ftrokeo re- 
44 prefenting withies; thefe being the 
44 bonces in which they bind them. Thefe 
44 in their painting, he fays, look like pot- 
44 hooks. Thefe trees (or rather rolls of 
€i of bark), are the. annals or trophies of 
4 44 the 



( *9<* ) ' 

44 the Five Nations, I have feeh, fays he* 
44 many of them ; and by thehi, and their 
44 war fongs, they prefer ve the hiftory of* 
44 their great achievements.'* I remeriiber 
to have heard the following ftory of aiio- 
ther fort of pifture-writing. One of our 
miffionaries making a progrefs in eftablifh- 
ing the divine do&rines of the Golpel 
amongft fome tribes of Indians, acquired 
thereby great influence amongft them* 
The Sachem, who was at the head of thole 
tribes, found his power decline as that of 1 
the miflionary arofe. He grevfr jealous of* 
but was not able to oppofe, the influence 
which thefe do&rines carried with them. 
He fought therefore to create an influence 
of the fame kind. He retired for fome 
time into the woods, and thence brought 
forth amongft the Indians a beggarly im- 
pofture in pidure- writing delineated on a 
deer's fkin ; he pretended that this was 
dictated at leaft, if not drawn, by the 
Great Spirit. Towards one edge of this 
pi&ure- writing were defcribed, by various 
groups of Europeans and Indians, all the 
evils and grievances which the Indians 
had incurred and fufFered by their Euro- 
pean connexions. In one part there were 
Europeans with furveying inftruments, 
meafuring out all their laiids ; in another 
they were cutting down the trees ; in ano- 
ther, breaking m> the beaver-dams ; in 
5 another, 



< »9i ) 

another, deftroying and driving all their 
game ; while the Indians, pent up in a 
corner, were ftarving. In the middle of 
the lkin;was pi&ured a great lake; and 
divers groups of Europeans and Indians 
paddling acrdfs it; the Europeans and thofe 
Indians who were embarked in the fame 
canoes with them were overfet and drown- 
ing ; the Indians who kept to themfelves 
in their own canoes were reprefented as 
making a fafe paflage. On the further fide- 
of this lake was a fine wooded country, 
full of deer and beavers, which Indians 
were hunting; while their wives and 
children were planting maize, in peace* 
I have heard that he explained this lake as 
the paflage to a future life on the other 
fide. The Indians who adhered to their 
national principle, and who-ftood unaltered 
bv converlion, and maintained the irftereft 
of their tribes, were reprefented as pafling 
over this with fafety and fuccefs to. the 
'Scaniaderiada, a country, on the further 
fide this lake, which contained every good 
thing that gave plenty and happinefs to 
the Indian Being, So far as this ftorv 
goes to an inftance of pifture- writing, I 
here quote it : but thinking it, at the time 
when I was firit told of it, a piece of 
trumpery fluff, I took little notice of it, fo 
as not to remember exattly amongft what 
tribe of Indians this happened -, yet> as well* 

as 



( *9* ) 
as I can recolle&, I think it was fonte of 
the tribes on the Delaware or Sufquehana 
rivers. 

Pi&ure- writing of this fameT nature, 
and fome feemingly to the very fame pur- 
port, may be feen in feveral examples 
given by * Van Strahlenberg, as exifting 
amongft the Tartars. 

Thefe Tartar infcriptions are alfb fo 
cxa&ly fimilar to fome found in Arabia 
(as given by Nieuhburg), that one might 
almoft fay they were drawn by the fame 
hand. 

I do not recollect any mention of, or 
reference to, any letters or writing in 
Homer; but of hiftories defcribed by 
pidtures there are numberlefs inftances in 
Kapeftry, in inlaid work, in engraving and 
carving. 

Whoever examines the fpecimen of 
pl&ure- writing, as pra&ifed amongft the 
Egyptians, and commonly called hiero- 
glyphics ; and comes fairly and foberly to 
the reading of them, without pre-conceived 
notions of their myfterious meaning, and 
takes them as he finds them, mere pi&ures 
of birds, beafts, fifli, reptiles, and infe&s, 
Portraits of >the limbs, members, and 

• Defcription of N. E. parts of Europe and Tartary. 

various 



r 

various parts of the human body; alfb of 
the : hjutriaii body ijfelf in various attitudes 
of reft and a&ioji; i draughts of various 
inftruments, tools* weapons, enfigns ; 
numerals and meafures ; alfo characters of 
elementary writing mixed with them; he, I 
fay, that examines tftefe pi&ures* will per- 
ceive at firft view* that they relate merely 
to human affairs : that they are either * 
hiftorical memorials ; .or regifter tables of 
the fl&te • of provinces* of their lands, 
people, fpreeS, produce and revenues ; or 
calendars of their feafojis, &c, expreffed by 
fymbolic characters, determined in their 
form by law, from the earlieft ufe of 
them, as will be {ten prefently -f\ 

• " They ufe typical figures in the likenefs 
" of all forts of anitaals; the limbs and 
" members of the human body ; weapons, 

* What I here fay from Conjecture of the ./Egyptian 
Pi&ure-writing, I can aflTert literally as a fad: of the 
Mexican Picture-writing, which is in three parts, I. Hif- 
torical Records. II. Regifter Tables. III. Oecono- 
mical regulations* Religious and military Inftitutions. " 
Purchas, L. v. c. 7. § iii. 

•J* Taj ftcf rv7ru; lir^yii uvrui o^ofc*,' £«oif «rav1oTo&itV, xj. 
«X£OT*}£»oii; ocv^ojfruvy «T» $t ogyatOK fxec\^ct thUohkoTs' « ycci> Ik ?%$ 
Tuv <rt/XX«€«v cvvStcrtas y ygct[AualiKY) 'STag avToTj Toy Cxoxti/ugfoy 
*o/o» MirrMuW »X\' ix. inQxc-ivsrv* fAi\ayp»(fo(tipwt *J META- 
4>OPAE (inn* cvir t \favi*ws> &c. Diodor. Sic. lib. iii. p. 

N " iuftru- 



( *94 ) 

44 inftruments, and efjpecially mechanic 
44 tools; their writing is not formed by 
44 pi&ures of words, and combinations of 
44 fyllables ; but by pi&ure-tranflations of 
f 4 the metaphors in which their language 
44 natujrally flows.** " They draw (fays 
Diodorus, going on with the fame ac- 
count) " a hawk for inftance, a crocodile, 
44 or a ferpent, parts and members of the 
44 human body. The hawk, as fuppofed 
44 to be the fwifteft of all birds * is made 
44 the fymbol of Velocity. The fenfe then 
44 is thus transferred by thefe written me* 
44 tapBors; to every thing which has any 
44 reference to velocity, nearly as well as 
44 if it was fpoken indirect terms. The 
44 crocodile is made the fymbol of every 
44 thing which is evil. The eye repre- 
44 fents watchful guard, andjuftice." [I 
might here add, and is therefore trans- 
ferred by metaphor, fbme time with the 
addition of a fcepter, to reprefent human 
government and Divine Providence.] 
* 4 The drawing the right hand open, with, 
44 the fingers extended *, fignifies the fupply 
44 of human life ; the left hand doled fig- 
nifies care and cuftody of the goods of 
life. The like reasoning does in like 

* Shakcfpear ufes the fame metaphor : . 
He'had an eye for pity, and a band . 
Open as day for melting charity. 

44 manner 



*< 



• ( *9i ) 

" manner trahflate from the ptfrtriits of 
M all other parts" of the body, and from 
" all fpecies of inftruments, fools, arid 
u weapons." To th:s account I riiay ven- 
ture to add, that iitider the head of oftum 
rexlciriic&i Sec. comfc fch6 reprefetttation, by 
thefe metaphors, of every fpecies of office; 
difHn&ion of civil claffes ; and of every 
occupatioh Under thfefe: likfewife nubae- 
ration and meafure, as applied to length, 
fpace, weight, and capacity, in every 
article to which numeration or meafure is 
applicable. As the mouth is that part by 
which fpeech i$ effe&ed, lineal portraits 
of the mouth, in the various forms it takes 
in £nunfciation, are ufed (as to me appears) 
to mark the various elements of lpeech^ 
which character I call oral *. As the 
firft mode of numeration with all people 
is by the fingers, fo we find a fyftem 
of numeral chara&ers exprefely . formed 
on this idea +• But they had other 
methods alfb of numeration, fpecimens 
of which are fdund on every hieror 
glyphick infeription. It is not only true, 
that the ./Egyptians ufed elementary writ- 
ing, but they had two forts of thefe 
elements. Thofe which took their form 
and chara&ef from the mouth, I have, for 
diftindtion fake, called oral. The* Other, 

*. Vide Plate D. + Vide Plate C. Part II. 

N 2 which 



( *9* ) 

which I conceive to be the fecrete cypher, 
I Wave, for diftin&ion fake, determined to 
call the Ogmian (the fecrete writing of 
the Druids was fo called). See fpecimens 
of this in the upper part of drawing C, as 
copied from hieroglyphic infcriptions. 

God, the Supream Being, is pi&ured by the 
only two following fymbols invariably the 
fame ; firft, by a winged globe, or circle, 
Jignifying infinity, unity, activity, and 
omniprefence : fecondly, by a globe or 
circle, through which a ferpent, the fym- 
bol of life, is paffant, jignifying the crea- 
tive, and plajtick mantfe/iation of the frjl< 
\cauje, animating and governing the ma- 
terial world. 

The precife form of all thefe typical 
char afters, however they may differ in 
ibme unavoidable deviations of execution^ 
were originally (when firft ufed in public 
infcriptions) fixed and determined by uni- 
Verfal concurrence. Since that, they are 
by. the laws confidered as thus fixt, and 
are required to be fo portraied as they were 
drawn "when firft fettled, neither better 
nor worie. Hence that uniformity ob- 
fervable in all the multitude of exemplars 
which "are found in various parts, and are 
fuppofed to have been written in very 
. diftant 



( *97 r ) 
diftant periods. Plato, in his fecond dia- 
logue on laws, confirms and explains this 
point '*. a Thefe types and figures, be they 
fuch as they are, and whatever they are, 
they are formed on the bafis of an inftitu- 
tionof the government of iEgypt, which 
dire&s that no fculptor, painter, or ftatuary, 
fhall, under any idea of improvement, 
or on any pretence whatever, prefume to 
innovate in thefe determined forms, or to 
introduce any other than the conftitu- 
tional ones of his country. Hence it is, 
as you obferve, that thofe, forms and 
figures, which were formed or painted 
hundreds of ages paft, be they what 
they may, are exa£Uy the forms . and 
figures, neither better nor worfe, which 
are fculptured and painted at this day." 

Referring to this prefatory explanation, 
I will firfl lay before the fociety a colle&ion 
of thefe defined and prefcrtbed chara£lers y 
which repeatedly occur without variation 

* T«|ajxEvoi $i ravra aria sr»> *J oVeu aria, aniQwav h 
ToTq Uf>Qk? Kf tcra^a tclvtx »jc i|?v «ti (Jwyofcpoi? tfTf »XXok ore* 
ayyuxo^a, *J oto* cctix aT«^ya§»/Ia» xa»yoT£/u,sr», ov$ tTtHoui a\\' 
aria % to. uralpioc" v$l »•£>» E$ir»9 out' jy t«tok, ovt h fxeauti ov^- 
wavy* 2*oflr£» 1 tvptanq aurofit ra. f/,vjnoro» trt,q ytf^ocfxfxtta,, q t«- 
TWUf/.iy<x (y* cog etto; i»Vf»r fAVgtoro*, uW* oilus) tw> wr hitfjaaf 
ynpivm ovrt ti xaXXwa, out' a\<rx%» tJp avrw it n^vqy aieu^' 
yavpiw Plato de Legibus, lib. ii. p. 789. 

N 3 -in 



( i?« ) 

in n\oft or; all of the exemplars of ./Egyp- 
tian pifture* writing. See* Plate A. In 
the Plate B, I have clafjfed fome of . 
thefe under the feveral heads to which £ 
fuppofe them irefpe&ively to belongs ac- 
cording 'to what I collect from Diodorus 
and Plato. In Plate G are given the 
numerals as formed from the fingers an4 
hands, according to the opinion of rierius* 

If now common fenfe, led by thefe 
examples, will examine any of the Egyp- 
tian pi&ure-written infcriptions,, confider- 
ing them, a£ what they are, the moft an- 
cient exemplars ; as the efforts of man in 
the earlieft, if not the firft, periods of his 
progreffive civilization, to exprefs ^nd 
communicate his ideas by vifible types ; as 
writing by pictures, the very pi£iure-lan- 
guage which he [poke % fuch common-fenfe 
will b? more likely to develope the mean- 
ing of thefe things called hieroglyphics, 
thaA refined learning will be by following 
the myftic after-thoughts of learned My£ 
tagogues, gleaned up from phyfiologick 
philofophfers. 

The metaphoric fymbols exprefled ift, 
pidures, are the firft efforts of a rude not. 
the ftudied devices of a learned people: 
they are drawn thus not to veil and to 

conceal^ 



( l 99 ) 
conceal, but reprefent to the vulgar eye 
fchofe ideas which they wifh publickly by a 
publick inscription, to communicate and 
record. 

This is the vulgate writing of all people 
in the firft periods of their civilization. 
Such hath invariably been the firft efforts 
to form memorials, records, and. regifters. § 
This cannot be otherwife, for it is neither 
jnore nor lefs than the reflefted image of 
the * metaphors and fimilies by which 
they fpoke. Language is local, and but of 
the moment ; when it was meant to com- 
municate to perfons diftant in place, or to 
future periods diftant in time ; fixt per- 
manent, palpable and portable, images of 
thole ideas became neceflary. Such before 
the invention of elementary types were 
the ^Egyptian pi&ure-writing, commonly 
called Hieroglyphics. 

I have therefore always thought, and 
am convinced, that we miftake the j^Egyp- 
tian accounts, when we call thefe pidture- 
records, written on their obelifks, and 
other public monuments, Hieroglypbicks. 
If we mean thereby that they contain the 
fecret myfteries of their religion, and con- 
ceive them to be myfterious fymbols of 

* Diod. as above. 

N 4 mythology 



'( 2 ?° y 

mythology and divinity. The real hierp-f 
glyphick* the facred and fecrete writings 
the I'epog \oyd$ 9 and I'epct ypocfi^ioLTu^ the «7ro- 
. %% vQcl yfdcfjifjLocTa, was elementary , or. what 
we vulgarly call, Alphabetick. Whatever 
chance, or Interpofition of wifdom, or 
whatever analyfis by reafqning, may have 
led to the ufe of letters, it is certain, tha£ 
they have no apparent connexion with 
the ideas which they are meant to exprefs ; 
and until the latent rationale of thefe ele- 
ments are taught, the writing muft remain 
an impenetrable fecret. ' This mode of 
writing by letters, invented by ftiidy, and 
applied to learning, and ufed by legif- 
lators, ftatefmen, and priefts, became, and 
was truly the fecrete, and* facred writing, 
the a7roKpv$a % uja ygctyfjiocTcc, and Hiero^ 
glyphigks,' of thofe abftrufe and refined 
Truths, of which, while they meant to 
convey the knowledge to the learned, they 
thus kept it fecreted from the people at 
large. * The pi£tu re- writing, exhibiting 
xvpoXoyiqus, the a&ual portraits or types 
of the ideas meant to be conveyed to the 
people, remained the vulgate. When firfl, 
and by what error, this vulgate pi&ure- 
writing was fuppofed to be the H/ero- 
glypbicks, in the fenfe above defcribed, I 
know not ; one has but to read the ex- 
planations which the: moft ingenious #rid 
1 * learned 



( w ) 

learned are able to give * of it under this 
idea, t9 be convinced of the abfurdjty of 
fjie opinion. Horapollo, Pierius, and Kir- 
cher that learned myftigogue, give ample 
proof, that it is fo. The great learning 
of the one, and the ingenuity of the others, 
are merely exerted to befool one's under- 
ftanding. 

I read in direct terms in Herodotus, that 
theologick theorems, expreflive of the 
abftrufe nature of the inyifible fpirit, and 
unity, were written in the I'epp,- the a>Vo- 
Ttfnxpa yfu^fiotru in the facred and! fecrete 
letters. And I find further, that the Egyp- 
tians had two forts of the elementary 
writing, one of which they called the 
Sacred, the other the Demotick or Civil. 
At the fame time I do find, in fome ex- 
prefs and pofitive inftances, that thefe 
facred waitings were the elementary or 
alphabetic writing, being exprefsly faid to 
be writtqp from the right hand to thq 
left, a circumftance not predicable of pic- 
tures. Herodotus, giving an account of 
one of the ftatues of Sefoftris, in Ionia, 
fays, that on a line, drawn from one 
fhoulder to the other, were written thefe 
words (in the facred letters of Egypt )> " I 
V obtained this region by the ftrength of 
" thefe arms." 

There 



( *d* ) 

There is at this day, or at leaft was 
when Van Strahlenberg was in Tartary, 
an Bermetick figure, or Terminus, on the 
back of which, like on that of Sefoftris, 
there is an infcription in three lines, writ«- 
ten in elementary chara&ers, of which he 
has given an engraving. It is to be ob- 
ferved, at the fame time, that the general 
run of the Tartar infcriptions is in the 
mlgate pi&ure-wrrting. Herodotus alfo 
mentions an infcription on the pyramid of 
Afychin, and gives a tranfcript of it, faid 
exprefsly to be written in letters. And 
again, .'Re mentions an emblematic ftatue 
of iEphalftus, with a label, feywhu wp. 
ft»Tw rd,h 9 exprefling m letters thefe 
words, " Whoever looks to me, let him be 
" a thorough Religion'tft" Diodorus Si- 
culus alfo mentions an infcription on a 
, rock in the mountain Bagiftan, infcribed 
by Semiramis* Zvpiotg yfJfipcxriv. But with- 
out going to books, recording inftances of 
infcriptions written &a $oix*m<> or in ele- 
mentary letters, we need only refer to' the 
obelifks, and other monuments now exift- 
ing, where thefe are actually extant, I 
have made a eolle&ion of fome of thefe, 
"* both oral and ogmtan, which you fee in 
the annexed drawings, C. and' D. What 
has led to the idfea and . opinion that this 
Pi&ure-writing contained the myftick and 

hidden 



( 2o 3 ) 

hidden (bene of their religion, philofophy, 
and politicks, has been the mythologick 
and allegorick explanation given to things, 
which the people, from repeated afts of 
veneration, had infenfibly been led to 
make objects of adoration. The legiflators, 
priefts, and philofophers, feeing that the 
unveiling of the fubjeft, as mere matter 
of record and human hiftory, after they 
had been made obje&s of myftery and ado- 
ration, would deftroy all myftery, and all 
power, took up the people's adopted pre- 
judices, and grafted thereon Fables. of 
Gods and Heroes, and formed an eftablifhed 
Syftem of Mythology. As the world, in its 
progrefs of civilization, grew more inqui- 
fitive and wifer, thefe Fables in their turn 
became too grofs to bear in- their diredt 
fenfe, the light of common fenfe. The 
legiflators and priefts began thenfirjt to re* 
folve all, by myftical Enigmas, into a 
Syftem ofPbyfiology, expreflive of the Being, 
Attributes, Manifeftations, and Operations 
of the firft aftive caufe of all things, a<9> 
ipg on inert and paffive matter. . The Pla- 
tonifts, and more efpecially the Stoicks, 
were the firft authors of thefe divine Ro- 
mances. Chryfippus *, in libro fecundo, 
vult Orphei, Mufei, Hefiodi, Homeri, 
fabellas accommodare ad ea, quae ipfe, in 
* Cic. dc Nat. Deor. lib, I, fe£h 15. 

libra 



( 2 °4 .3 
libro primo de diis immortalibus, dixerat : 
Ut etiam yeterrimi Poetae, qui hac ne juf- 
picati quidam junt, Stoici fuiffe videantur. 
Quern Diogenes Babylonius confequens, in 
,eo libro, qui infcribituf de Minerva, par- 
turn Jovrs, originerhque, virginis, adpby- 
Jiologiam traducens^ disjungit a fabula. 

When thefe Pi£ture-writings, at firft 
mere human records of the affairs of man, 
exprefled by e&ypes, delineated from the 
metaphorick and allegorick phrafes of 
the very language which theyfpoke, were 
firft wrought into Fables of Mythology \ and 
by after refinements, into divine romances 
of PhyJiology\ it was natural they ihould, 
by thofe who thus explained them, be 
called the Hieroglyphicks, or facred Writ- 
ings. Whereas, in faft, they were ori- 
ginally only the vulgate ; while the ele*- 
mentary and letter-writing were the jW 
it, dnoxpitpx ypxfzjjLcZa mentioned by Hero*. 
dotus, and Diodorus Siculus. 

• That there were letters in ufe prior to 
the time generally afhgned to them ; and 
that they exifted amongft a people; from 
whom, thofe who were called the inven-' 
tors of them, learnt them ; may be 
affumed as a clear and decided fa6t, on .-the* 
teftimony of Diodorus Siculus *. The^ 

• * Lib. V. fol. $^0. 

ele- 



£ **- ); 

elementary writing hy letters, he- fays; wto 
known, as: being amongft the Syrians; 
that the Mu/h however invented thpzn. 
Now* it i$. very natujral for a Greek writer, 
or >a~ {Grecian tranfcriber, if r he had met 
with , the word Mof&r *, to convert it to 
Mufis. From Mojisit is moft. likely the 
Syrians received their knowledge of letters ; 
be tfrjt as it may, Diodorusi fays, that 
from the Syrians the Phoenicians \ received 
this invention and practice ; that the Phoe- • 
nicians, making Jome alterations in the 
'forms of the chara&ers^ wheft they com- 
municated them to the Europeans/ they 
were' called Phoenician. Me fays, in -f* 
another place, that' the letters- were at fir ft 
called ki Greece Phoenician ;* -But that 
being adopted by- the Pelafgi, tKey were 
after that called' Pelafgic; arid ; that thd 
Thracian Poets wrote* in thefe letters. -7 
That there -ivere'- letters amongft "the Sy- 
rians, as'-here mentioriedj- in a period prioi 4 
to what is 'heard of them aiiiotogft thfef 
Phoenicians, appears- from the* ftory of 
Semirarriis,' ordering an infcnpffon""£o"be 
engraved on fom'e rocks of the 'mbuntains 
Bagiftoii. -ZiipfotG r^d^xttiv. 1 ; The ^tefti- 
mony of this ftory to the eafly -exiftexlctf 

* So called from Mos tvatfer, referring; to the *c ir- 
enmftance of. his being foufccTchere. " .-.•;*'— . 

•j- Lib. iii. fol. 201. • 

" ' of 



* 



( 206 ) 

of Syriac. letters, is equally of force^ 
whether the ftory of Semirartiis be true or 
not. The reference to Syriac characters is 
rather a ftronger proof of the a&tial exif* 
tenCe of fuch letters then in life, if the 
ftory of that particular ufe of them fhould 
not be true ; for then it appears, that the 
known and undoubted fail of the exiftence 
of Syriac characters is referred to, in order 
to give fupport to a fabulous tradition of 
Semiramis, &tid her infcription. 

The Egyptians had letters prior to the 
ere&ion of the obelilks, and of two if not 
three forts (befides their pi&ure-writing)< 
They ufed, fays Herodotus *, two forts of 
letters, the one they called the Hiera, or 
Sacred, the other Demotica, or Civil; 
which alfb he contrafts with the elemen- 
tary writing of the Greeks, when he fays, 
that the Egyptian letters were written 
from the right to the left ; whereas the 
Greeks, on the contrary, wrote from the 
left to the right. The invention of this 
elementary writing is referred to the very 
earlieft periods of their hiftpry, as it is 
afcribed to Phiot, Thoth, or Taut, tg efyt 
tip tm ?oi%/Hiav y(>cc<p7Jv. 

Clemens Alexandrinus, who muft have 
underftood this matter, living on the fpot, 

* Lib, ii. c. 36. 

gives 



( 207 ) 

giyas $n explicit account of it in the fifth 
book of his Str&mata *, of which I venture 
to give the following transition; 44 Ttliofe 
" who receive their education amongft 
44 the Egyptians, learn in the firft place 
44 the tnethod' of th£ Egyptian eleipehtary 
44 writing, or letters, which is called the 
** ' tbjft'Qlaty writing : Secondly, the facer- 
<*- Wtaly which the hierographifts, the 
* 4 prieft-fcribes ufe : Laftly, as the" per- 
fc feeing of this part of education,, the 
44 Hieragfapbics. This confifts of two 
44 methdds ; the one is written by ele- 
44 ments in direfl: terms; the other is 
** fymbolic : The fymbolic may again be 
44 divided iiito two kinds; the firft is a 
pi&ure or dire& portrait of the matter 
or thing intended to be defcribed ; the 
fecoad is written by metaphorical re- 
- prefentations. This is fbmetimes allfc- 
" gorized by Enigmas." If my trans- 
lation be juft, it describes the fa& as it will 
be found to have exifted. It defcribes 
firft- tHfe two gerierical diftin&ions ; the 
writing by elements or letters,, and the 



£4 



CX 




«£J<xgi; &\7myofMrm x»*i r*i«j Iny^. Clemens Alex; Libl j. 

■ -4 ' pifture.- . 



( *b'9 ) 

^id'ure-writing^ ^nd. next f he, thpe^pecles 
of eadi^genusV Firft^ the lyir^iig: for 
coinmrnpn bufinefs (fhe _ dpraptici a§; He-i 
roddtus causjitK n'extt^e.cqwfjt-J^pd^ that 
which " "the facerdotal \ Scribes -tiled ; . ^nd 
laftly/!that which' was ufed in tHe.facred 
engraved inscriptions, which is t$.'\be feen 
to this day on tho bbejifques, and. otner 
public records; ■ Tl^e fft-ft, the Symbolic, 
was applied, f iii a&uaXportraits of thp^hing 
Jo be defcr^d^.'tho^con'd vfcd, Jas t?Vata 
expreflqs if, 'metaphor^ for defections ; 
the Third, ! whicfi allegorized th^fe,pi#yjre& 
into aehigmas, which the original w^t^rs^. 
ne jfuj^icatt quldemfunty \ have already. 
Explained,- as, the ..iiiere rphyfiplogic com- 
liiehtanesy ' the divine romances, T . of , the. 
learned . priefts : the, pi&ure-writing was* 
but of two kinds,- the-Portfait and ir !3ymr. 
bdlic. *" ' " * " 



U VITI :k - :...;. 'j'iKJ 



The parted authors differ much, about 

•- 1 '/P* J * TV "ttfr U > 1 "L " 'L*. 




\Ahge 

qti#te£ jBf £ ; a$jl given"! i^";Xxplipati ve traiif- m 
latioiiVbyt *amy apprehenfion (and there- 
fore! give it} the abbyfe .fi^pIe^^jKd/fiterar 

. * , De qtyf Tfcp ,"diyi ' C jefa fnis Jj^tigufti' & caixipi Maxttt , 
rifdcribus nuper erato Commentarius, 1756. Cap. v.j 
p* 16. ' • ^ 

2 tranf- 



ttanflation precisely gives the fa£t. Several 
of the letters of the, firft i pedes of the 
elementary writing, may, I fhould guefs, 
be found mixed amongft the Coptic v\x\r 
gate. Jf there, w$re : any of thefe, facer- 
dotal books, regifters, or records, which 
feverai authors mention as written on 
tablets of wood, , ftones, pr tiles, or in 
volumes of papyrus i . and as kept.facred 
and fecrete-, in the adyta of their temples, 
there might be hop^s. of recovering forne 
fpecimens of thefe hierographick elements. 
The elements of the hieroglyphick writ- 
ing, ftill remain in full perfe&ion oit the 
obelilks, and every other Egyptian iqfcrip- 
tion y to point out which fa£t is one of the 
principal purports of this paper. Both 
the fpecies of the pifture- writing may alfo 
be eafily diftinguifhed, as feparately ufed, 
each to its own particular purpofe, and in 
its own particular ufe. In plates B, C,aftdD, 
I have endeavoured to clafs the two fpecies 
of the portrait and fymbolick writing. 

Dr. Warburton was the firft: writer who 
clearly and explicitly explained the nature 
of this pi&ure-writing, as the natural firft 
efforts of writing; calculated to commits 
nicate^ not to conceal. He has by clofe and 
clear reafoning on the evidence, which 
his learning iupplied, decidedly proved 
O this 



( 210 ) 

this 'proportion* As> my ideas hbwevei', 
on this fubjeft, although they ran nearly 
parallel to his, do not altogether coincide 
with them, and, from the opportunities 
which I have had of confidering thig 
pra&ice in fa#, go fomewhat further in 
explanation of it, as alfo differ fomewhat 
on the point of the coeval exiftence and 
ufe of the elementary writing, together 
with the pi&ure in the earlieft times, 
which he has not touched upon ; I (hall 
here continue my own plan. 

Herodotus * in Euterpe, chapter 125, 
mentions-, that an account on record was 
written on one of the pyramids in the 
^Egyptian letters ; of the amount of the ex- 
pence in radices, onions and garlick, for 
the workmen employed in building it. 

If the picture inscriptions found on the 
obelifks, and on the walls and gates of 
the okieft temples, and on the bafes of 
ftatues, are fuppofed to be the oldefl: lpt> 
cimens now remaining, as undoubtedly 
they are, of this method, the reader will 
find the elementary letters always mixed 
with it. 1 have endeavoured in plate D to 
clafs thefe elements, or cotyjlot, to their 

* Stfr.piifiQH ,o*« *.£anfjt.dcc<>v Alvi.rlivv h : -f, lU^a/uud* &ao> jig 

ipeei- 



, ... . , ( »' ') 

Ipecifick enunciation. I have in thfe fame 
alfo given fome inftances of thefe elements 
appearing plainly to be joined in words. 
In plate C* part III. fig. 3. I have given 
an^ exemplar, from a yery curious hiero- 
glyphic infcriptiort taken frpm Nordeq, 
Opiate LV1II* wherein the cqurfe of the 
letters and heading is in the perpendicular 
line, anil think upwards, as the tree grows. 
Ana ifl figures 1 and 2 of part III. in the 
jgjtte plate, I have gone further, and give 
Wo exemplars of adVualJy legible wprds in 
Etrufcan titters, exaBly the Jame as the 
letters or "eJernents found on the /Egyptian 
'infer* jpt ions. Montfaucon, book IV. c. 9, 
plate 3$ ? £nghfh edit, exhibits a Rpman 
'affis with a janus bifrons on one fide, and 
'a cluftott rhe reverfe, with aij infpription * f 
written in letters e'xa&ly the fame a$ thofe 
found oil the bbelifks and other Egyptian 
inferiptions, Montfaucon thinks it not 
intelli'gi'ble, but fay s at the fame time, that 
P. de Molines reads it from the right to 
the left Ofieela. 

< 

In the third volume of the Supplement, 

B. IV. c. £. P^ ate 69. Englifh edit, h<? 

giVes a f quincunx belpnging to the king's 

jcabiuet, which he fays, 4 * has an Etrujcan 

* Vide plated, part III. fig. 2. 
f Plate C. part III. fig. 1. 

0? * ; %voni 



( «* ) 

" word round it, which I cannot read" 
This is plainly likewife read from right to 
left, Odieia ; here again, I may affert that 
every Iptter in this . infcription may be 
found amongft the hieroglyphicks. 

It is certain, that in the books afcribed 
td Mofes, reference is made to hiftpries 
prior to the writing of thofe books. A 
learned and very ingenious \yriter, in a 
book * printed and publifhed at Bruxels 
in 1753, avec privilege % et approbation , has 
difcriminated, and arranged the feveral 
memoirs from which the book of Genefis 
Was, as he fuppofes, litterally tranfcribed. 
The arguments by which he fupports this 
opinion are ftriking, if not convincing, 
taken from the repetitions, and diflocated 
anachronifms ; from the fpecific ufe of the 
word Elohim in one of thefe, and the fpe- 
cific ufe of the word Jehovah in another, 
as applied to exprefs the Supreme Being* 
Having difcriminated thefe feveral Me- 
moirs, he compofes and arranges the whole 
of the book of Genefis into four columns, 
in which each narrative is kept'feparate, 
and yet fb, as to ft&nd ranged in the ferie9 

* Such is the title page ; but I have been informed, 
that this was fo far from true, that, inftead of being 
printed at, Bruxclles, under the licence and approbation 
of the government of that country, it was actually 
fecretly printed at Paris* 

Of 



( **3 ) 

of order* and in the place where it was 
inferted. By thefe means he accounts for 
all the repetitions, the derangements of 
the Narration, and the anachronifrns 
which havfe been made matters of objec- 
tion againft this book. By an attempt to 
prove, that the word Elobim was the only 
word ufed by the Patriarchs ; and that 
the word Jehovah was never applied till 
ufed by Mofes; he lftews, how all the 
difficulties, arifing as objfc&ions from the 
refpedtive ufe of thefe two words, are re- 
moved; by referring the firft to the ancient 
Memoirs of the Patriarchs, and the latter 
fo the compofitions of Mofes ; he adduces 
many learned proofs, that writing by 
letters was in ufe and pf#£ice before th$ 
time of Mofes. I could -not avoid giving 
here this adcotint of this very curious book j 
but the only ufe 1 make of it is in con- 
firmation of what 1 think a fa&, that 
writing by elementary chara&ers oi* letter^ 
was a practice in iEgypt prior to the time 
pf Mofes, At the fame time, however^ 
that T da not think that Mofes was the in- 
ventor of writing by letters ; I think the 
ftate of the fa£t is, that he, from the prin-r 
ciples, and nature of his Divine Legifla ? 
tion, forbidding all pi&ure-writing,* firft 
lendered thefe y hitherto fecrete elements of 
yvriting, the vulgate. 

9 3 Mofes 



( 3*4 ) 
Mofes, who toa^ Intimately inftru£te4 
in the* learning of the: Egyptians, muft 
perfe&ly have understood all thefe different 
methods of writing; and having feen how 
the pi&u re- writing ip procefs "of time led 
both to the.grofs and the myftick idolatry, 
qxprefsly and abfolutely^ forbad the/ ufe of 
it, arid was the first .'Man, of. this our 

WORLD, WHO USED THE ELEMENTARY 
OR ALPHABETICK WRITING AS THE VULr 

gate writing. Eroni t;he* Hebrews it 
ipon fpread amorigft. the Syrian nation^ 
bordering on then*; and froni thefe the 
Phetiicians foori after learnt it, arid' com* 
municated it t;o the people of: Europe an'4 
Africa, with whofri they had commerce i 
and thus the ufe of the elementary cha-^ 
ra&ers fpread over the' whole civilized part 
of our hemifph^re. The' progreffiVe Copy- 
ing, by other. nations," of the firft elements 
ufed by the Hebrews, is vfery minutely fcnd 
diftindtly explained by Pi*. Bernard, in his. 
table of Alphabets, • re-publiflied by 'Dr.* 
Morton. • l 

As X have* in my account given above, 
explained, how. firft the pifture-writihgf 
arofe into ufe; and as 1 have here fuggeftedl 
how^ from whence* and by whom, the 
elementary, or alphabetic writing (having 
been amongft the Egyptians long the* 
• ■*' • \. . fecret 



( *]S } 

(ecret and facred writing) was brought for** 
jvard into vulgate yfe ; it may perhaps 
neither be difagrpeable, nor irrelevant to 
the purpofe of this letter, to add an ex- 
planation, according to' my ideas of the 
prigin pf letters, and to give the reafons, 
as they appear to me, of the forms whicl} 
were given to thefe letters* 

When I firft * difcbvefed (I belieye I 
was the firft difcoverer pf it) the infcrip- 
jtion in the caemetery of the great tnjh 
Pyramid or barrow at New-Grange, I ex- 
amined every ajphabet and fpecimen of 
elementary writing which 1 could meet 
with, under trial to find out fomething 
explanatory of jtt Thofe which I did fin a 
fimilajr tQ it (allowing for imperfections of 
execution) -did convince rpe that the cha- 
racters were numerals in Phoenician or 
Ethiopian clenjents \ and that the infcripr 
tion, now part of the materials only of 
which this barrow was formed, is a ^frag- 
ment belonging to fomething much older 
than the barrow. In the courfe of this 
fearch amongft the Egyptian hiero- 
glyphics, as they are palled, I faw, or 
thought I faw, lineal portraits of the 

* Vide the Memoirs of tfce Society of Antiquaries 
at London, Vol. II. p. 258. 

Q 4 forms 



forms which I ; had obferved (as may fcef 
rd&d in N° 1.) the organs of fpeech to take 
in the enunciation or the vowels, and in 
the combined a£t of articulation. '■ I exa- 
mined thefe by comparifon of thp aft of 
enunciation and articulation, in repeated 
experiments, copying, lineally, and (if t 
may fay fo) literally,' the forriVs' whifch 
the organs of fpeech. take hi thefe : a£ts : 
then comparing thefe With the\yarious' ele- 
mentary characters 'as I did arid do ftilt 
conqehre therp to be, which ire inter^iixedt 
in all the fpec^metis df ^Egyptian mfcrip- 
trbns, .t found Iii. Kirchfer, Fococl?, Nop- 
den, Moliritf^u^0ii/(ai^ I find firice iii 
Ntetibilrji). lineal .^fcj&ira&ers (intirely un- 
notiiecj by thofe'^hb- pretend to explain 
the hieroglyphics) ' whiclx cbrrefponded 
exaftly to the experiments which I had 
madic. : Compaf^ therefore firft the draw- 
ings fti the plate ; (t)) with the defcriptioii 

' *' There is a very' Angular arid curious' fpecimen of 

citefne)ntfc*y writing in plate- 28, No 6*. of the The*. 

iaui^isU.Hieroglyj^iicof9rr\ & Mufeo- JoianmY Georgfi 
Hcre\vart, ab Hogenberg,, $607. I have not found 
this iq any other colle^ion of hieroglyphics; and as the 

"bookiva very fcarte one, 'l have given a topy of thia 
ia plate: D. Several 1 of ifite.cW*/fari ale etfa&ly the 
fame as thofcrepeatedly found on Egyptian irifcriptions, 
except; ane, which; I find in . a Ohinefer vocabulary, or 
word-book, and have therefore jait in Jpfote C. part IIJ. 
CJupefe column. 

' of 



©f the forms of tRe mojatfi In pronouncingr 
the vcWelsk A may* be 'd'efcribed as formed 
by an elevation of the upper "part of the 
moutEv arid upper lif ^ fomewhat angujarj 
the p'ojnt of \tnfe io^e ^jmearing, y orU 
founded ew is' eixprefled 'tod :; m&y fefe de- 




undePtrti ^me^^t^%<*dJ n Eqf : s by k 
paralM'opbn^ a curr; 

♦ilifaiajr cont^diAKitf of t^^riae^.Hri. 
OWl*'^^ #^vaf 

be deftrl^d b$ ^imrlitiH (feY^rtik*ei 
f^ntelar^' 1 ^ Mf anH^s^WitR4he 

ffttke" 6f the iMF jm in' ttici*hc!tfg that 
intonation or vowel. As to the vawatibtl^ 
arifing from the different dwellings of {he 
voice on the broad or minced Au and aa 9 
on the' long 6f fhort E, I v .O, or V; 
tfik't does not enter into the an^lyfis of the 
firft elements to which the indivifible 
founds aire reducible. Examine next the 
iihd&t or literal chara&fers which I have 
. colle&ed together in plate D, and which' 
cHardEfter&Ifuppofe to be soi%<hc*i elements 
or ygdfjLpuTu, and which beingftfppofcd by 
me to be lineal reprefentations of the 
forms and a&ox&bf the organs of fpeech, 
I call Oral. ' : - - 

: * : J I have 



, I have further ^ventured to fet fbme of 
thefe, elementary chara&ers arranged in a 
fine with fome of. the known and decided 
letters of. tbe v apcient jriphahets; not that 
J d^r$ pfefump to fty tha§t thefe fa ar- 
ranged ara rj decidedly this or that letter^ 
but tnerdy to, put tneni forward by fug- 
gefiion^to.t;te^more at:c\ira]t;e examination 
of literal an$ kfrne&^^ uii- 

derftand the^ --an^Je^ e^ftexn languages: 
The reatqns fpf my l^^r^rpging them 

Jo this! §jtj thai; letter i^^ye fimply an4 
qlely from m^idpa jitf Jtr^w qbrrefponding 
more brl^-t^Vipfn^^Q^l forms ^Ijiifcfr I 
Jpij 1 i^ ;^y .pKperiraent$ c(e%;ied,: «$*, »£ 
^e;r rtw.ce^ntihg t^-.^&tfi of t^ pr- 
'^sV.ftt^fp^ch ^enpunplng , this cfr that 



niL r — 




*n pjatp ; Q, * part X . r J; call thef^Qg^*/*, 
from theif being pred£bly : the fame; ; as the 
fecretexharaaers lufeJrf by the ancient Iriih, 
and caljed :fcy them the Ogham x which 
<polqne! Vallency nas, by a combination of 
erudition and knowledge peculiarly his 
own, fq accurately ejfpIainetL _. 

Whatever was the real name in the 
Egyptian language of the author of the Art 

of 



{ 219 ) 
pf Writing, he is called differently by the 

gjople of nations foreign to ^Egypt ;. the 
reeks call hmv Thoth and Teute; the 
ancieft* f porthe^n^people of Europe- called 
him Ogham orOc&~am 9 that is, great Hani, 
rendered by the Iiatins Ogmius. As J am 
feth^r ^ifpofed -to believe this -to' come 
npaifefcto the K^Lnatae of the' Jterfoh al* 
Juded to in this hiftouy, I have J ciafllfed the 
elementary characters qf this feprete; writ- 
ing thp Ogmian.-. v \ -.:, ,„-,., 

; Coloiiel Vallency acquaints; 951c, that 
Jje, haf found a defcription of the Ogham 
given, in, Irilh verfe in the aptient, bard's 
primiere; and that the courfeof -.tjbprWfitr. 
jng is in the perpendicular line'; I hav©jfug* 

fef^ed to him an opinion, that if fo, itjhould 
e read upwards, as in addition we read 
the Arabic figures ; which matter had be- 
fore ftruck nqe as appearing to be the cafe , 
of the Egyptian-writing, in . majiy \n-> 
dances ; it lis a certain fadt that lhei£gyp* 
tians obTerved a different arrangement in 
writing the letters from that which the 
(Grecians ufed. Herodotus fays, that they 
Wrote, as he conceived * it, from the right 
to the' left ; while the Egyptians affirmed 
that^ although it was the reverfe of the 
Grecian method, yet it was from the left 
to the right; I know no 'way of fteenng 
*" : ' v " ' ' betwixt; 



betwixt thefe two contradictory opinions,- 
but in the perpendicular line, which, as^I 
, fay, Jpems to be the order , of ranging thb 
elementary, chara&ers, itv.&yeral inffrnqes 
in the exemplars, give&byr£ifchei*, Poqfcck* 
Norden , t Nieuburh* and Mountfaucon f J 
throvy, this out, however, ? iperely for fugr 
gsftioja to>x*minatiQiB> >; ; j ; \,i i . : 

This paper only rinean s to adduce feme 
probable account of that analyfis* whfeh 
gave to the firft written elements that pe- 
culiar fbrto which they feem to have ori- 
ginally taken. It m&ft# alfoi to ekplam 
tfeolfe^ reiforis by referehfc* to thofe forms 
•as n*i*t ansongft Egyptian hieroglyphic or 
pi&ure inferiptions now exifting. 

Not being my felf. of literature equal tcr 
the tafk, this little treafife wifhes to excite 
and call forth the induftry and ingenuity 
of thtffe learned men pho are to make the 
esrperijiient whether the orginal Egyptian 
efement&ty writing may not be found out, 
2nd to ftate the Want of information in 
this point as a dejtderatum. 

As this art of writing by elements, al- 
moft as foon as it was known, and ufed as 
the vulgate writing of one nation, became 
the vulgate writing of the nations adjoin^ 
ing, and fpread . itfelf over the whole* 
northern and weftern civilized part of the; 

iEgean 



C 221 3 

JEgean hemifphere, it feems ftrange, and 
until explained, almoft unaccountable, that 
it ihould remain fo long fecrete in JEgypt* 
that people continuing, even after it was 
Vulgate elfewhere, to ufe thp pi&ure* 
writing as their vulgate. 

A very curious paflage in Platp, written 
«xpreffly in resolution of this queftion, net 
only fully explains the reafon, but will 
fuggeft to the* attentive and philofbphic 
antiquary many other ideas worthy his 
rooft diligent refearch on this fubjeft. 

Thoth or Phioth, who is defcribed as 
the author of many difcoveries and inven- 
tions ufeful to 'mankind, never relied of 
ftopt until he had brought them to that 
perfe&ion which rendered then* fit for 
practical application to ufe ; when he had 
carried any of his difcoveries or inventions 
to that point, he laid them before Thana 
[Cham or Ham] who was at that time 
king of all ^Egypt^ and held his refidence 
at Thebes. The fble point of view in 
which this wife king confidered them was 
their applicablenefs and utility to the good 
of man. Thofe which upon mature de- 
liberation and examination were proved 
capable of good ufe, he ordered to be 
communicated to his fubje&s, that they 

(houkl 



{ in y 

(hould be inftru&ed in thefe arts : Thb/e^ 
of whofe beneficial ufe he did not receive 
uncontrovertible proof, he reje&ed, and 
prohibited from being communicated to 
vulgate ufe. " If I was (faith Socrates iii 
Plato) to difcufs all the arguments on 
all the irts and inventions thus ex* 
anjined, I fhould engage myfelf in A 
long and tedious difquilition ; but oil 
the fubjedt of the invention of written 
elements, the following is the fubftancg 
of what I heard in iEgypt. When Thoth 
came to the explanation of the ufe of 
this invention* This learning (rSrd 
to fjutdypot) fays Thoth, O king, will 
render your Egyptians wifer, and of 
more retentive and decifive memory t 
The lgiig examining this invention ori 
thefe two points, anfwered, — My moft 
ingenious and inventive Thoth, we ard 
fb formed, that one man is more pecii- x 
liafly apt and a&ive in the invention of 
arts and works, while another is betted 
Calculated to judge what benefit oii 
damage may derive from the application 
of them tp life, You tlie father of thi* 
invention of lettefs, have been led by 
your benevolende to conceive of their 
ufe contrary to what would prove the 

* Iri Phxdro ftatohisi 



( **3 ) 

u fad in pra&ice. This written teaming 
** from an inacuracy and relaxnefs in the 
« 6 application of memory *, which \vould 
" be a natural confequence'pf it, would 
€A be more likely to produce bblivjoir or a 
" ceflation of the aft of memory, than aid 
**■ and ftrcngthen it. For the mind trufting 
*' to thefe alien types exifting externally, 
" would be lefs careful to fix and re- 
*' member the real ideas internally. You 
** may therefore be faid to have invented 
** a proper remedy for records, but no aid 
*' or benefit to the application or exercife 
** of memory. 



u Upon the other point of this inven- 
tion being a vehicle of wifdom or know, 
ledge, I am afraid it would be more 
likely to communicate and convey down 
" to your difciples, opinions in learning 
*' rather than truth in knowledge, Fctr the& 
difciples being by the means of this ve- 
hicle, in a fituation to receive communi- 
cation of many matters without the fu* 






<t 



46 



* Caefar fpeaking (Lib. vi. § 14, de Bello Galiico) of 
the Druids prohibiting their (cholars from committing their 
learning and ilo&rines to writing, although in all other 
matters they applied writing in common u(e f gives the very 
fame reafon for it. Id mint duabus de caufis inllituifle f U 
dentur; quod neque in yulgus difciplinam efferri telintf 
aeque eos qui difcunt, lireris connfot minus memorial 
ilurferc, quod fere plerifque accidie, ut prefdto litcrarum* 
* dijigeptiaip in perdifcendo, ac memoriam remittant. 

" printe/iding 



U peqntendipg and: guiding hand of in* 
" -ftru&iqn ; they, that is the bulk of them, 
** woujjd fancy themfelves to have acquired 
" a juft conception of many things, and 
" to have knowledge, where they have 
" wholly mifconceived and are intirely ig- 
" norant; ai>d will become the more obfti- 
" nate and impra&ical as. they will J>e mere 
€i opinionifts infteadof wife *." Thu§ far 
is Socrates. in Plato fuppofed to give la 
this hifioric narrative the a&ual jreafbns 
adduced by Tham or Ham ;. he may how- 
ever, truly be fuppofed to give the general 
reafons afligned by the politicians of EgypJt 
for not fufrering the elementary writing 
to be in ufe, and for continuing the pi&ure 
writing fo long after the elementary, was 
become the vulgate in every other country. 
Thefe reafons derive from deeper fources 

•50' &syg)<xi a,irt>$i>ccffQcti « \6yog woA&s «» tin hixQup' *£«-{»}* 
A bcl roTi yy*wMa%t «y. Tfirft & f Barikm T^Ma'Sti/ua (s(J)tj • 
••SO') eifytSiifiis rus Alyvifl'ms *} jWftoMittfTfftfc wa^i*' prop** 
<ri yaf kJ cq$i<x<; Qq+paxci tv^Mn* O &' zlvu, 2 ti^vikutoIe 6i£Q' 
"AXXo; fto ti^io ^Wlcs m rife t^**^ aXXe; £i «p7vA* r*/ t^ip 
poTfai @\a£ti$ rr *} jtofXiU; tom; piXXoio-t %^o*fi«*t xj ror Eu, 
warif «y yiap/uU&rw, &' tvn/iouf v&wrlof iftre;, J £t/»a1a». T£t« 
•y«f r*» pcMim XiMtiv /**» i» 4*%*% «r«ft|f », fAfff/*** apifciWtfe 
« ti £»* wiru 7£«$K e{*0t» it*' «AXo}pi«y ri/ftw , tx t y^oftcy auru; , 
i<p* avrut arafUfunocrxopfrtf;, uxAti jtfltyttK «**' vTOfAfneivs $*£• 
paxoy iSgt;. £o$fa»f £• to*$ paOirarc &£ay tot aX^Oiia* woft£f»(* 
•pXwcda* xai cm yvafxitQi anv J^a%»<, •»*»y>*/*«M$ «?»«* &£«-» 
«gy ayyvftiyi;, «s iiri to «rA*0of 9 3r1f;, .*£ ^aXtvoi {vM»Va»° Ae£o- 
#•$01 TtyiMTtt ArC cof iJv. * Piatonil Ph»drm • 

5 of 



fiofyn^rpdftayi (ttkittgrinYatthe i&fcft^iitfp 
dte^ondaiioncqf itheir-fcligiops eftahUftk- 
ment) than will perhaps ftrike any of us 
moderns, j wfe'ofe pifej^mceS *un a contrary- 
way v to aa extreme in communication of 
the -a'rt or rdadmg and writing. After this, 
Socrates goes on to give his' own reafons, 
derived from the principle univerfally 
adopted by the aticieAt philofophers and 
politicks,, that the higher parts of know* 
ledge/ °ditfitJf -toi philofophy or politics, ' 
>^fh6n made- 1 vulgate^ " are : mtift ; likely to 
r i& 'hiifttoderftood, - and.- to , be pervertdfl. 
When thofe things which raa^ be fpoken 
• japehijv-ana thdfe which cannot with 
.^fetyteiyiiirl^ately fpafcsn, -are communi- 
:c^tedt in (jbmmon to all indifferently, to 
v. thofe who 'know, and fco thofe whofare no 
.proper judges ; confuGon- Certainly, if not 
. idaflgety muft be the confequence, Thefe 
•■ fefitimetits of Plato, if ht may be* fup- 
pofed»td- ttnderftand the,lfubjc&i : do not 
'I only pipve the fatt; tbattibe pifture*wtit- 
I ixg was<[the vutgattilim^gypt ; but alfo 
give the4 grounds on Which the wifdorm 
; of the'JEgyptians alwtys kept a fierce 
-elementary writing for* the communication 
of thofe things which were, fit only for 
the efoterick knowledge Of the few, white 



C t*6 ) 

for pttblib communication thejr continued 
^ nfe die piiSure- writing as the vulgate. 

I Hay* toeWwui to Ibc; .- ! 

'..-,, ' &arc& ij8, 1781* 

«■; Sltuie this paper barfi becnrj jcad at the 
Society of Antiquaries* I heard of a book, 
iayiq£ iti down.asavpofitibh,: thit rperferis 
born deaf might riot only underftand thofe 

-vrho fpoke to thicmt, but otright in their 
turn acquire a certain ufe of* fpeech* from 
a decided knowledge of theibrms of the 
mouth and actions of the: tongue, which 
are to be difcerned by the e§re*. and to be 
learnt without the ufe of Hae ear. This 
book is' titled, Aljfliabeti vere naturalis 
Hebraici breviffitn^Dfelihealfo^quae fimul 

v meChodum f^paditat- juxta quern, qui 
furdi nati' font; &crm£tkmari poffint ; ut 
non faltem ^ot'1<bquentesintdligaht, fed 
et* ipfi ad feriXKMii* ufum perveniant \t- 

~ in lucem edita. • 1V : 

"■'-.,•■ Par F. M. R ab Kfelmont. .. 

" -Typis AbrahamiLi&tenthaleri, A.D. 1667. 
5 Being. 



< **7 ) ' 
: fchig told that this book cxplame^ tht 
forifratioa of elementary chara&efs of 
writing, fpiri the forms. of the mouth, and 
the a&s_ of the organs of fpeech, much in 
tim ien3fie,way;a«' l : had vdone^ I was very 
<kfif ov& cH& iceiftg it ;'>itl was in the <pof 
fcffiori;<tf /a fridnd,; of' whom I borrowed 
j&d bat .fowid myfelf difippointed *. : The 
atithor.'fuppofes. (as'if the tohgue was. the 
only a&ing organ which articulated into 
rations) that the letters or elementary 
ch vafhjri muft originally have taken their 
form in, the facred writing of the Hebrews, 
from the inflexions and contortions of the 
tonguev'in refpe&ivtely ptonouncing each 
element. Thefe, fays he, indeed, doi no 
longer cxiflv and. therefore he finds hin> 
ielf a£ full liberty to fbrga, and does form, 
bi$ viibal vifionary fpeech* his vox piSla 
.ftora ; imaginary inflexions, and \ contor- 
tions of the tongue,, which taken in pro- 
file, gives the forms of his alphabet. In 

*~ Sadra fc*i|Stijra Hebritorum atiquam habuit' cum 

. lingua fcumff* rootibus fimilitudinem. . • • Fix .fitita 

fie primitus 1 inftituta eff, u; ficut loquendi organa in- 

ttrnurn aoimi charadtercm auribut, ira ilia eimdem per 

. loqtwndi orgnna >cftpr tffum ocxAM fubjiriar.;- Primarium 

aux^fcKjupndUrganon lingua eft,c cujiis vario cpotu 

atqile, aliifu loqueft pntur, Qy Merge, fi lpqijela-pin- 

gen^atft, atin4 plngi potferirquato varia ejufdefa mbtio 

at coj^gufatid* : .' .' . 'iteiri «WUm fiterarW ; 'fiiuf* 

; jmi ampW Jo ytfv fipt < 3p# J#iJ*Q*,. ;.;;.. i 

Pa * the 



( ss8 ;) 

the ifirfl place, there arfc near two-jhirets o£ 
the letters which- are* not articulated* by 
the tongue* la the next, places as thefe 
ibnms ■ of • the tongue do only give' thfe 
fhapes of his iUppofecl letters wheft it is 
feen in profile^ I;: do rcpti conceive how 
thefe forms are to? be rendered^vififeteyiun- 
rlefs thfe Speaker [hath, 1 not figuratively, btat 
literally, - a lanibom. yaw, ' : or. urtlefs ? the 
cheek is cut away to lay it open by a 
ieftiou; ;and~ in* fa£t, in the> fpecirhens 
which he -gives .of' thefe his letters, he 
.gives the drawing of a man's head ifa':di{- 
ie&ed. He gives, however* fome drawings 
of the openings of ! the mouth i ia : front, 
as in the aft of pronuhciaftioiii which ^ are 
nearly \ the fame Jis ; I : have given x>f the 
.mouth enouncing the. voWels ^ bathe dbtfs 
not define rthefe^^rrwrto thofe^^bcifick 
adrs.. I could iiot^hut ; think righti too&kfe 
■notice of -this matter in this p6ftfcri|*t.>Jt 



< Feb. 2*1782, havingheard of thfe Rev. 

Mr/ Woi.de, under .whofe cate.the.Pxford 

edition of LabrQze f s Leidcon . 4^gyptxacp- 

Latiniim. ex Veteri* illius Hnguse monu,- 

mentis, <&L& Wa&publifhed: who alfo^b- 

"liftied SchoJtzV wgto*4ti<» f M'£>y$%\2&^l 

a I badrtfeij .day r tbe pfeafufe b£ -fyey^ixfa 

I experienced- ill 4iim ; that < opennsfs a#id 

* ^ liberality 



( *\> ) 

liberality.* of- cctaji^ai^rtlon whfclvji&av 
©#erh:es *dl iwn:of;r^lrl^rniflg; : J3^rgifr fc 
plained to 'joae the: hiftpry and nature, of 
thefe .wor^,\ ; whichr.-arer;COi>fined t<* *fae 
*x>dern ^Egyptian? la*igMgev ufuall;^ called 
the Koptifj or }rmr]m i he explained tQjwe 
a matter very little known, but of . lyhieh' 
he is perfe& mafter, the . diale& of Upper 
iEgypt, called by . Jablonfk, the S#bidic % 
but which he more properly calls the 
Thebaic: he is of opinion, and hopes ta 
prove, that, although the writing com- 
monly called the Coptic is mixt, especially 
fince the time of the Ptolemies, with 
Greek letters ; yet there are even in ~ the 
moft corrupt fome, and in the higher 
manufcripts many, letters which were ori- 
ginally ufed in the epiftolographick writing 
of the ancient ^Egyptians ; that th?re are 
numbers of words, efpecially in the The- 
baic dialedt, which are pure /Egyptian. 
Animated by a genuine ardor in the pur* 
fuit of knowledge derived from very un- ' 
common learning in this branch of fcience ; 
conducted by particular information in the 
hiftory of.thefe refeairches and difcqyeritfsi 
and aflifted by very extenfive communi- 
cations on. the fubjeft,. he.is in purfuit. of 
the revival or reftoratipn of the knowledge 
■of the ^Egyptian 'language ; and if he. is 
Supported and affifted as he ought to bo, 



( «3* ) 

it may not be defptiiredof : h*' alfo com* 
mimicatedto mc a littld difiirtation, which 
he is Writing, on" the ./Egyptian language, 
the fecohd feftion of which/ not yet 
6nifte^ f goes to t^e ancient language an4 
bieroglyphicks, I communicated to him 
the tables wherein I -have delineate! the 
fymbols and elements found in the hiero- 
glyphick infciotions. He is clearly of 
opinion with this paper, that the element 
tary writing ftands- in the iufcriptions on 
the obelisks and other regains of iEgyp- 
tian antiquity : hfc has not yet gone into 
the anjriylis of that fubje£ ; whenever he 
doe?, that end, which 1, through defi- 
ciency in a knowledge of the oriental 
languages, jpuft have defpaircd of, his ac- 
quaintance with theih, corhbined with his 
fpecial knowledge of the iEgyptian manu* 
fcwpts, may hope to attain. If the few 
ttncdqhe&ed words and names ill fpelt, 
and, deformed with prefixed and termi- 
nating additions, (hould luckily contain 
all or molt of the elements, -they may be 
picked out fp as to became a key to decy* 
phering the ancient infcriptions. IVhat I 
have aone in commencement of this dif* 
'covery % goej but to a few \ and thefe are 
deicribed by guefs and conjecture on com- 
parifon, rather than in any certain line 
Of ^lalyfis. The want of information in 

1*t 



( *l* ) 

the /Egyptian language and Jacred Writing 
k fo great a defeSt and desideratum in 
learning, that making, as I do in the 
teeatife to which this paper is an appen- 
dix, a.jreview of the itudy of antiquities, 
its defiderata and difcoveries, I could not 
avoid taking this notice of Mr. Woide's 
very learned and laborious refearches,* 
.which promife fo fair for difcoveries in 
this point. Whenever he (hall publifli his 
learned Piflertatiqn on the Egyptian 
JLanguage, the world iyill fee much lead- 
ing matter ; their curiofity muft be raifed 
in expectation 'of it, and I hope their in- 
duftry and exertion will be excited in pro- 
portion, to affift in the purfuit. 



Since , the paper above was read at the 
Society of Antiquaries, I received a letter 
from Mr. Rafpe, expreffing a deiire to com- 
municate fome ideas which he had con- 
ceived on this fubjeft of the hieroglyphics, 
as alio his views in a projedt he had formed, 
could he be enabled to effe& it, of going 
to iEgypt to inveftigate thefe matters on 
the fpot. I have feen him on this fubje&, 
and, as far as I am a judge, his ideas have 
a much more conformable analogy to the 
nature of pi&ure-writing, refined to a 
P 4 fymbollc 



c m ) 

Jyniiolic tranfcript of mythdbjgical vdoc- 
ttfiries;~and bids feirer^ if this'be the right 
idea of the right lifttt^ito^glvefexpUcatioii 
of this involved myftical ftibje&y than any 
thing which I haVe read or heard from 
others.-' "• • V; *' ' *'" "'•■"■ • 



i .. 



- The hieroglyphick writings ' according 
tb his fcherre df it^ ih the i^l^m^nts -and 
compofitiori of which he includes both the 
pi&ures and lineal diagrams Unitedly, h 
wke Algebra^* fymhiic written language ^ 
•containing, and expreffive of the general 
terms of ~abftra& propofitioiis, whofe re* 
-lations are marked by lineal fignsy ' 

To give fome Iketch of what I mean, 
when 1 explain Mr. Rafpe's idea by com- 

- paring it to Algebraic writing; I Will qiiote 
"'Mr J Prbfeflbr Saunderfon*s Ddfinition' &f 

Algebra, that it is " T'be Art of computing 
■f 1 by Symbols,*' alfo Sir Ifaac Newton's 
expreflion, where he fpeaks of the alge- 
braic language ; " e fermone Latino vel 
" alioquovis, in quo problema prop&nitttr, 
" tranflatio fiat in fermonem (fi M loquaJ-) 
• u algebraicum, hoc eft, in charaSeres ^11 
apti funt ut ooftrbs de quantitation *v- 
lationibus conceptus defignent," 

-. *: This 






< n* ) 

Jf^^4i h^e -ado^d of coafidgruyk ttte 

fte&lfc and. dxi^^^h^:of^^ r ^uJ^ 
^^Tp^Ufe-wnti»g ; ; a*. ufed:.fc : pth^ 
na6ou^; : and iij.^pf^^ -^mott ^ifV,.*np de? 
mentary writing, ufed a^thfj^^t^^ntr 
ing ; in which I think f'have (hewn that 
fome of the letters may be afcertained by 
comparifon with the decided elements of 
writing, or letters of other languages. 
Mr. Rafpe's opinion, however, if purlued 
to its full extent of refinement,, may, for 
aught I know, fuit the abftrufenefs of this 
./Egyptian learning better than mine ; and 
1 wifh that this learned and very ingenious, 
but very unfortunate and diftreffed man, 
was enabled by the affiftance of the ge- 
nerous to purfue this refearch ; as alfq 
many others, in which he hath made great 
progrefs ; particularly his analyfis and ex- 
plication of our Doms Day book. I wifli 
that by fome method of fubfeription he 
could be engaged and fupported in carry- 
ing into execution a work for which his 
practical knowledge in the Saxon, Deutfch* 
French, and Englifh languages, as well 
3s hie general grammatical learning, pecu- 
liarly fits him; viz. an etymological 
Dictionary of our language, ihowing its 

agnation 



( m ) 

teftitioo with, and its derivation from, 
me original general language pf northern 
$uiope ; as alfo its deviations and -dialed* 
is they vife in part from variations' in 
pronunciations, and in part from the vague 
and indecifive ufe of the elementary dna* 
ra£tas fo writing. : . 



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Memoir*. — Being a Narrative of the In* 
ve/iigations and Difcoveries made on the 
Subject of the Triremes, Quadriremes, 
and Quinqueremes, of the Ancients, of 
the Nature of Row-Gallery, of tie poking 
the rowers, and of the mode by which 
tbeje Veffels were rowed 7 by Lieutenant 
General Melvill. Communicated to 
Governor. Pownajll, May 15, 1781. 



THIS narrative ftates, that the Ge- 
neral, while in the Weft Indies, fe- 
verai years ago, had many repeated dif- 
cuffions with the -officers of the navy on 
the &bje& of the ancient War-gallies, par- 
ticularly refpetfing the manner of their 
being rowed, that he fouud the officers 
unanimoufly of opinion, that the Triremes^ 
the Qtfadriremes, and the Quinqueremes y 
could never be fo conftru&ed bs to admit 
of more than one row, bank, or tire, of 
oars on each fide,, as in the Mediterranean 

Sallies now in ufe ; and that if the con- 
traction of the veflel , could be made to 
gdmit more, that it would be impracticable, 

nay 



< *& ) 

nay impoffible", for more than one row to 
work at one time: That the difficulty, not 
to be overcome, aftife , from the impra&i- 
cability of the angle of the pofition of 
the oar, and from the length fuch oar muft 
htfye.in &nj**iow except -tfaafc whoie porfe 
fox *be r -oars .were atV th& firft practical 
height from* the: ..water: That ^therefore 
thefe yeflels of. war,:havi&g,. acoo.oding. to 
thi& QotktfV. but arte xoW. of" oars on each 
fele % muft. have. received their name from 
their fcavingj three, four, five, or more 
rowers pofted to each; oar.; "The General, 
cfeffcrring, to the pra&cai .knowledge 1 of 
thefe profeffional gentlemen, formed his 
opinion upon their authority, that this 
nxjift Ji jive .been the cafe. He feti himself 
to inveftigatethe fubjeft for confirmation 
of this opinion, on faft, as he ihouldifind 
that f&dfc to turn outinihe.defcriptions of 
fea fights* and '.-qf; other naval tranfa&ians, 
as QV$n by the ancient authors, particu- 
larly Polybm?,; Caviar, Liyy, and : Florus, 
jThe iifije of; this refearch obliged* him. to 
f relinqui(h. his opinion, which he had taken 
-up upon; authority as above ; the defcrip- 
■tjons, ; accounts, and fads, in thefe an- 
chors* evinced .moft; eyidently that.theUs 
^rirctne^ <%$ ad V ir ernes ,• -^ulnauer ernes ^ &c. 
c were relpe&ively fo denominated* frota 
the .ttu^w. oi jpw% ;l>anks t or :tk&:o£ 
u... 3 * oars > 



fohe^iWer<<oif Wrf n p'ifed : ft 

. eacH . otf : '• 6n' Lr W cdfctrarV; $/ 'atereft 
'th^fe^|o^'.V9 n ^cJikea f By W rbWei: 

evi&flt ^VetltfRikd^^^^ 
teiM#: W a^fafW^vrotf^fdA 
SMartouid Wtto*; tofcifc ; an^p6fitXjtr x 6f .rlife 
irbwerS, m whaf'ilMbeeh the" ; rtufiljrt5f rff 





"jfehiame's of mo^emwriters i\foicH ; hfeifaaft 
jtertifedj . to ifi%*r3bie' iiVcottv^hip^. 




'AiSipper tires. eVfeu.of ^a'drirtmeil'im 
"%*tfij[tieremes (pot itffpeak of Jb^fe ghilid 




%aif >£rfb't to db?tftftl v e^h i; 6th# && 
•;impofeb1e :"• th"e. ^re&t. fjiace"' \*Wh v 5i|y 
•x#3ft 3 haVe" occupied Afettis %tbmp^Me 
wttK alf ideal bftrtvif'krfehiteS ifK' to aVttld 




dag* 

to, 



r 



to, or fat upon tht : fiMa^ or feats, clofe 
%o t^.ypn^tjides,. itfh^the gajjsy had 
^.t6A%; motion, %*ns , to he what 
neifoef J^c prmcipl^.rior the pfl^iq? of 
^ec^ai^s could a^naifc TJCh^o^eAjcui of 
thefp difficulties had* bal&sL aJC the!; en- 
deavours at folution, which had Been^uied 
by many very ingenious and* learned 
writers, for fome centuries pair, In their 
experiments . to determine what wq$ the 
true arrangement oj rwierf in the antitnt 
gallieu Mortified with, thefe difappqitft- 
ments in this line of his refeaj-chjfes, ,aijji 
deipairing of all hfrpeS r of obtaining an 
"explanation from thefe /authorities*, he. re- 
vived to try what hi could dtfby jt^e 
unj>rejudg;ed ufe of hi^ own reafon*. a k- 
fource which he had availed himfdifj p£ in 
his inveftigation oijbmc other desiDE&ata 
.refpe&iog the ancients. He therefore fet 
himfelf - W confider what mull, have been 
the chief objeft of the' Ancients in raiting 
their war-gall:es from out row oi gars on 
gach fide, as they appear to h*vc at firft 
only had, up to 2, 3, .4v5> W*d mote 
Tows. It occurred to hjun f ,tha{ it <tauft 
have been mainly for the. fake- of rapidity 
in their movements ; and that, to obtain 
this purpofe, the indifpcnlable rcfjpifxtcs 
. were, that thp arrang^mpnt of the rowers 
withm each fide ought ^0 have be^.&ch, 

as 



attq admit, of ^liegte^teft puc^^er poffibl^; 
that they {hp^lcjl , iiave been fo placed as 

Jjfcould be enaJ?le4 rj to row to jgSp teff af* 
va f ritf*ge ; pd that their oars feVeo for the 
higheiV tires hqtn . in . rei(pe&! te leagth an^l 
weight fhould ^e.fuifecienttj: '^ab^gpble : 

mediately reiuked.to him,iwhicB7wa& that 
. , (qjr ir combination ,, oj ; tiwo opuquit fgs. D?- 
, *^£0< tW^galie^^^y^ a rqwVrs^allcfy 'rp^ 

waw* ^ona a i^s 
^aJbc^ v »,cjig^ with 
rc^'of horizohjai 

* Wj^eu^t^ '^c obliquely upwards frota 
thp bottom of this gallery, againft this 
obliquely projecting part of the ftcle, with 
up mpre fpate betwixt them in ail direc- 
tions, than ftjould be found neceffary for 
theiree movement of men when rowing 
together, a ,£>uincunx 9 , or, chequer - order 
would be formed With all the above-men- 
tioned reqmfites^ to the higheft degree of 

' advantage, which could co-exift confident 
with each other. This would alfo at the 
fame time , free frapa all the pppofite 
difficulties, infilrarajble as was proved, 
until this conflruaion was inpgbed, which 

, from a defeat in the principle ,of inquiry, 
^ad not been fuccefsfully combined by 



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3 the' VoivcKT on ! cath "to tff W3jf£#MP$» 



'g 



in': if, .'befidcs 120 . 

model had* been yie\*fed: byjnmy perfbns 



s Atf ,c tne anfettt W^B& :OWli. 
<Vitf, '•aftBFthiii ^fcS^t^arf'^W.^t 
r ;£l6afart;Mfift, tB&f ]fi*fli? p£ ' thtf obfciiVeft 
1 jpa^a^s"%ii'*naVir^ni&tteft, ^wfifth %f<|re 
*}ha& nor'^Hittle puzzled him, tfielre'fibw 

become 



C 241 ) 

bepome bdth intelligible and entertaining 
to hirp. That in Italy, where he travelled 
in 1775 and 1776, he. found none of the 
.Literati and Antiquaries (with whom he 
Conv^rfed) acquainted with this fubjed, 
nor indeed with ^ny other naval or jnili- 
.tary points of antiquity, however learned 
and ingenious fqme of them fhewed 
Jthemfeives to be in other branches of an- 
cient literature. He conceived, that their 
want of fuccefs in difcovering the true 
conftru&ion of the ancient row gallies had 
not only been owing, in a great degree* 
.to the want of tifing a proper principle of 
inveftigation, together with their igno- 
rance about (hipping and fea matters in 
general ; but likewife to the form of their 
owri gallies, fo often before their eyes, and 
having only one row of oars on each fide ; 
and alio to the imperfe&nefs of many of the 
coarfe BaJJi Reliev/, and fmall coins, bear- 
ing images of fmall row gallies, but with- 
out fhewing clearly either the obliquity of 
the fides, or the feparation of the oars 
from them ; which would indeed have 
been an exceeding difficult work at firft, and 
much too nice to have remained to this day. 
On feveral pieces of fculpture however, par- 
ticularly at Rome, he found the figures 
of r.ow gallies, or parts of them, with 
the oars reprefented as coming down from 
(3 * oar 



'( M2 ) 

oar holes difpofed chequenvife. In the 
Capo di Monte Palace at Naples, he not 
only faw, on the reverfe of a large Medag- 
lione of the emperor Gordianus, the figure 
of a Triremis with three rows each of 14 
or 15 oars, very diftinguifhably, iflbing 
chequerwife from an oblique fide, accord- 
ing to the model he had before cohftru&ed ; 
but he alfo obferved, in the king's cof- 
le&ion of ancient paintings on pieces of 
Stucco or plaifter, at Portici (which had 
been brought from Pompeii) the figures of 
feveral row gallics, one or two of which, 
by prefenting the ftern part, fliewed both 
the obliquity of the fides and the rows of 
oars reaching to the water, in the fame 
manner as in the model above-mentioned- 



No IV- 



( 243 J 

N°IV. 

t)iJfertation on the ancient Chariot; the 
Exertife of it in the Race ; and the 
application of it to real Service in War,' 

Thomas Pownall to Richard Berenger. 

*HpiHE defcriptions of the Military 
X Chariot , which one meets with in 
the ancient poets and hiftorians, referring 
to a thing of common ufe and notoriety, 
might indeed become* to thofe who were 
converfant with the thing itfelf, fuffi- 
ciently explanatory of the peculiar ufes, 
properties, and a&jons fpecified; but, to 
ateader, in thefe diftant days, when the 
thing no longer exifts, they are too vague 
and obfcure, not to want a regular, full, 
and diftinft explanation. 

In iearching thnWgh the fcholiafts and 
annotators, we find nothing precife and 
fatisfaftory ; and the drawings from coins 
land marbles leave us equally uninformed 
as to particulars. Thefe feldom mark any 
particulars of the harnefs or carriage, or 
of the manner of joining the horfes to if; 
•:.* QjJ It 



( 2 44 ) 
It was not the intention of the artifts, 
who wrought thefe defigns, to mark the 
detail It was fufficient that they charac- 
terifed the fpecific a&ion meant to be ex- 
hibited. Befides this, their inattention in 
thefe general defigns to the minute rules 
of perfpe&ive added confufion to inde- 
cifion. 

In confequence of this ftate.of darknefs 
and doubt, I put together, on a few fheets 
of paper, all the paflages which .in the 
courfe of readiixg had occurred to me on 
this fubjeft, with fuch remarks as the pre- 
fent moment fuggefted : and I did it with 
a view of trying how they might elucidate 
each other ; and as I foon fpund> as further 
opportunities occurred to me, that there 
Were feveral marbles and coins which 
afforded fpecimens of parts, fQtne in one 
particular, fome in another, of this ftib- 
je&, I formed the defign of comparing 
the defcriptions in thefe paflages with fuch 
reprefentations of this equipage as I might 
hereafter meet with in coing or marbles, 
or drawings made from them. 

: The refult of this inveftigajtion enabled 
me to draw ujx fuch a particular detail of 
this military equipage, as left me in 1191 
difficulty .of yifderftanding any defcription 

or 



( Hi. ) 
or narrative which I met with of the uft 
or application of the chariot, either ia 
war, or in the race. . • . , 

In treating the fubjeft, I fhall avoid that 
parade of literature, which crouds the 
margin with quotations, and fhall confine 
myfelf folely to the refult of my in* 
quiries, referring, in my affertions, to fuch 
authorities only, and in my defcriptions to 
fuch paffages only, as 1 are abfolutely ne* 
ceflary to the explanation. 

The ancient military chariot had but 
two Wheels. The height or diameter of 
thefe, in no inftance that I have met with, 
exceeded the height of a man's knee. 
There are fome inftances of thefe wheels 
being of one plain difc, firmly compared 
with iron ; but the common form was 
fuch as our wheels of the prefent day 
bear, having fometimes four, fometimes 
fix, and feldom more than eight fpokes or 
radii ; the fellies being armed or flioed 
with brafs. 

The ufual length of the Axel-tree was 
feven feet * in carriages of burden, as 
well, as in thofe of war, drawn by one 

* Hefiod. 

QL 3 7 ok e 



( 24 6 ) 

yoke or pair of horfes. When there were 
more horfes abreaft, the axle extended to 
the extreme breadth of the; whole: rank, or 
at leaft to the interval between the outfide 
horfe, and that next to him. There is a 
particular defcription of this matter in the 
Military Chariot, defcribed by Xenophon *: 
" They had ftrong compa& wheels that 
" could not eafily be broken, and long 
" axle-trees which would not be liable to 
*' an overturn." This dimeniion of the 
wheels, and this length of the axle-tree, 
accounts for every action of the chariot, 
which would be otherwife inexplicable; 
namely, the driving in full career upon all 
kinds of ground, over heaps of arms and 
flaughtered bodies, without being expofed 
to (otherwife a common accident) an over- 
turn. It is from this length that we meet 
with defcriptions of the -f- axle groaning 
under the weight of two fuperior heroes. 
It is this length of the axle which allows 
room for fuch a breadth in the car, as 
gives fpace for a warrior to (land and aft 
on either fide the driver. . But this matter 
is put out of difpute by the examples to 
be found in the ancient coins and marbles ; 
you there fee the wheel on the fame per- 
fpe&ive bafe with the outfide horfe. The 

* Xcnophon Cyropced. lib. yi. 17. 
f Iliad, v. 838. •' 

head 



( 2 47 ) 
head of the axle was capped with a nut 
or box, to fecure the wheel upon it, which 
gut was ufually in the form of a Lion's or 
Leopard's head. 

Tht Temo, or pole, called by the Greeks 
*Pvf*os *, was fixed to the axle-tree, and 
tied to it by two ftrengthening cheek- 
pieces, as at c in fig. B, which 1 have taken 
from profeflbr Scheffer de Re Vehicular! ; 
this form is confirmed by feveral paflages 
defcribing it. The end next to the axle- 
tree is therefore called the furca, or, in 
Greek, Zt^v^ and 1>tt\hj ZvXqv. The other 
end, which lay upon the yoke, was called 
(zk(>os +, and by Curtius, fummus temo ; 
that the temo was inferted into the axle- 
tree, is plain from Ovid J defcribing the 
wreck of Phaeton's chariot ; 

Illic frana jacent, illic temone revulfus^ 

The body of the chariot was fixed upon 
this part where the axis and the temo 
united, and fo ftrongly were all compared 
together, that while we frequently read of 
the yoke's being torn off from the temo by 
the . violence of accidents, yet we never 

* Iliad, v. 729. f Ibid, 

% Mctamorph. lib. Hi. 

Q^4 meet 



C *4* ) 

meet with an account of the temo ' being 
wrenched off frorri the axis, except in the 
one inftante of the chariot of the fuiV 
driven by Phaeton. 

At the other end, -there was either a 
hole through the- folid body* of the pole 
(or a ring affixed to it) through which a 
pin (fet ereft in the middle of the yoke) 
pafled in the harhefling the horfes by this 
yoke to the chariot, as will be* feen pre- 
iqntly. This hole or ring, (b ill fig. B,) 
is called by Homer, Iliad xxiv. 272, xp.-xw; 
In the original ufe of thefe chariots, each 
pair or yoke of horfes were harneffed to 
the chariot by a feparate temo or pole — 
When there were one pair — there was 
only^ one temo. — When two or more yoke, 
two or more poles. In the firft cafe, the 
temo was fixed in the middle of the axis 
as before-mentioned ; in the fecond cafe, 
the two temoqes were fo fixed as to leave 
two fourths of the whole length between 
them, and one fourth towards each end of 
the axis. There is in one of Mr. Ha- 
milton's drawings from the ancient Tufcan 
urns and vafes, Plate 130, vol. L an ex- 
aniple of this cafe, where each temo forms 
each fide of the frame of the body of the 
chariot. When there were three pair or 
yoke of horfes abreaft, of which alfo there 

are 



are inftances in the antique marbles; ; &£; 
there is fuppofed to be three temones : you 
will in Xenophon .read of Tslpapvpog Ik 
Ifoftdv txjto, and Qxjainjjtos. But yoii riiuft 
not underftand that in .all thefe instances, 
and in all cafes,: the feveral yokes, or pair, 
were abreaft ; iii feme inftances, thejr 
were a-head of each other, with a temone 
perpetuo. The length of 'the temo was 
accommodated to the length of the horfes, 
leaving no more fpace between the hind 
quarters of the horie and chariot, than was 
fiifficient for the horfe to move his hind 
legs clear of the carriage. 

The Carriage thus defcribed, the Body 
of the chariot comeS next under confi* 
deration : in the firft place, it is clear that 
in the military equipage the body was not 
a feparate diftinft part moveable, but fix^d, 
and a&ually a part of the whole com- 
posed together infeparably, as is above 
faid of the example in Mr. Hamilton's 
draWiftgs. The body of the, chariots of 
ftate and parade Were moveable, fo as they 
Were taken o^ffrdm the carriage and let 
carefully by, when not in ufe, and only 
put on and hung by braces, when wanted 
for ufe, as we read r of Priam's chariot iit 
the 24th book of the Iliad. Th$ carriage 
is there called apa$<x, y and the body vrefpivOcc. 

All 



( *5° ) 
AH thofe chariots which we read of in 
Koraer* as being fb occafionally hung oa 
upon, or with braces, are of that fort ; 
but in the military chariot, the body and 
the carriage were but different parts of the 
fame, one infeparate compared whole* 
We find that, when Pallas returned from 
the engagement, the body of her chariot 
k not taken off from, the carriage, but the 
whole citpoLTu fet up inclining againir the 
wall *•■- When Jupiter returns from the 
battle to Olympus, the whole ocp/xara is fct 
-upon a bafe or altar. Whereas Priam's 
chariqt is an example of the firft fort, as is 
that of Juiio mentioned in the fifth book 
6f the Iliad ; where, being a ftate or pa- 
rade chariot, it is faid of the body, called 
#<Pf<*, that 

Braces of gold fufpend the moving Throne. 

The carriage is there called o;gcc. Although 
thefe parade chariots might be fo hung 
upon braces, and fixed occafionally on the, 
carriage ; yet thofe uied in war, and in the; 
race, could not have flood the violent 
fhocks to which they muft have been 
liable, if they were not firmly compacted 
and fixed ; and they appear fo to be in all 
the examplars which I have feen. 

* Iliad, lib* viii. 

Mr. 



c: *s* ) 

Mr. Profeffor Seheffer has defcribed the 
parts of the body of the chariot with the 
exa£nefs of a mechanic, yet he has not 
touched upon the article of the hanging or 
% bracing it upon the carriage : nor has he 
taken any notice of the difference above 
defcribed, between the Parade chariot thus 
braced on , and the Military chariot. The 
form of the body of the chariot is fo well 
known, that it would be a mere wafte of 
words to defcribe it, and a needlefs ex- 
pehce to give a drawing of it. 1 will only 
obferve, that the front of the body was 
made breaft high, and rounded like a 
fhield, fo as to anfwer to the driver the 
purpofe of that defence, and was for that 
reaibn called *<rnrili<rxi\i or the fhield part. 
The fides of the chariot (loped away back- 
wards almoft to the bottom, or floor of 
the body, but differently, and by various 
lines in different bodies. The hinder part 
was open, and although not higher from 
the ground than the height of a man's 
leg, yet there was fomething of a ftep to 
it called zrjeQvu.* Whether the body of 
the chariot was extended in breadth to the 
full extent of the axle-tree, is no where 
fpecified ; I think that in no cafe it ex- 
tended further than to the interval between 
the two putermoft horfes. However, from 
the ufe made of it in adlual fervice, it 

mufl 



( 2 5 2 ) : 

muA have been of a breadth fufficient'to 
allow the officer to ftand either on the 
right or left of the driver* as the nature 
of the fervice fhould require : on the coins 
and marbles we find the officer fometimes 
on the right* fometimes on the left : in 
the impreffion of a coin given by Schefferj 
the officer is pn the left hand ; in a baflb 
releivo in the church of St. Felix at Spa- 
latro, as publifhed . by Mr. Adams, the 
officer is on the right. 

The? bodies Hyper teria or Cap/as, ufed 
in the race, were merely adapted to the 
carrying one perfon ; the difference of 
thefe are plainly difcernable in the various 
defcriptions . of them. There is in fome 
of the exemplars of the chariots in the 
race, an appearance of the charioteer's 
being bound or braced in by a belt, or 
fomething like it, which may perhaps 
have been of ufe in that cafe ; and indeed 
f&me of the accidents which we read of 
in the race, feem to confirm this fuppo- 
fition. But this could not be the cafe in 
military fervice, for neither the afrions 
nor the accidents in battle, fo frequently 
defcribed,- could have been fo performed, 
or have fo happened, if the charioteer, or 
officer ferying in the chatiot, were fo tied 
in. I refer to fuch a&ions and accidents* 

3 as 



C 353 ) 

as the officers difmounting and remounting, 
and tumbling headlong to the ground put 
t)f the chariot when flain. 

The next confideration will be to ex- 
amine the harnefs of the horfes, and the 
banner of tackling them to the yoke, and 
of fixing the Tokz to the famo of the car* 
riage. The Only parts of harnefs which 
I have met with in reading, or feen in 
drawings, are the collar and body- girth : 
the one called \Wo^vol * ; the other Mcto-Ka- 
Xiwpig. The Lepadna, or Collar, was a 
thick broad leathern belt, confiding to all 
appearance of feveral folds ftuck together, 
and bound at the edges ; fo cut and fhaped 
as to fit the neck and breaft, without pref- 
iing or pinching in one part more than 
in another, when buttoned on. This 
collar, and the manner of buttoning it, 
may be feen in the drawing, {Fig. C a,) 
taken partly from the horfes over the great 
gate of St. Mark's church at Venice, and 
partly from a baflb relievo in the temple 
of Jupiter at Spalatro. The fame collar, 
with fcarce the leaft change of form, may 
be feen in numberlefs examples, although 
tiot perhaps with the fame diflin&nefs. 

* Iliad, v. 729, 

The 



C 2*4 > 

The body-girth, or Majkaljfterts^ (Pig, 
C fa) was alfo a broad leathern belt ; this 
alfo may be feen in almoft every exemplar 
cf the chariot and horfes. 

Both thefe were fixed to the yoke which 
lay upon the withers (F. C : c), bound 
to it by the fubjugia or jugalia lor a. The 
collar was more particularly applied in 
drawing, the latter in keeping fteady, and 
flopping the carriage. From the manner 
in which the horfes were harnefied to th6 
yoke, no other tackling was neceflary, 
or ever ufed, unlefs fome trappings or 
ornamental additions ; but, ftrittly Ipeak- 
ing, the collar, girth, lora jugalia, and 
yoke, were all the harnefs properly fo 
called* 

The yoke or jugum was of wood, of a 
length fufficient to reach from the withers 
of one horfe to thofe of the other, leaving 
a proper diftance between them for the 
temo. It was of fuch a breadth, and fo 
curved and hollowed in its form, fig. A, e t e % 
that the refpeftive ends which refted on 
the Ao<pof> or withers of each horfe, might 
* lie there with eafe to the horfe, and 
with fecurity to the carriage. Each end 

• v See fig. E. 

of 



( MS ) 

of the yoke was varioufly carved and oN 
namented. The middle part of this yoke 
was fo curved, -fig. A d y and hollowed, as 
to receive (the oexfog) the end of the temo, 
which was laid upoa it. In the middle 
of which concavity a pin or peg called by 
Homfer * $?&>£, jig. A a y was fixed eredfc, 
fo as to pafs through either the folid body 
of the head of the temo, or through a 
ring called by Hotner xpixo^ affixed to the 
end of it. I have taken notice. of this 
hole or ring in fpeaking of the temo^ 
When the temo was affixed as above to 
the yoke, it was fattened and bound to it 
by the long leather thong called Z$vyc- 
focpos, or mejfabos. The length being ge- 
nerally betwixt fifteen and eighteen feet ; 
that mentioned by Homer is nine cubits, 
or thirteen feet and a half. This thong 
was of crude or white leather, in order 
that it might be more pliant in its liga- 
tures. That thefe ligatures might be le- 
cured againft flipping or giving way, the 
yoke had three or more grooves, Jig. A cc, 
or niches cut in it, called optpaXot, in which 
this thong is. funk in the tying -f-. There 
were alfo affixed upon the yoke, hooks or 
rings, (Fig. A bibb) called owes, through 



* Iliad, xxiv. 

f Ibid. v. 269. EJ oUiKfaiTH agtipef. 



which, 



( #0 I 

which, f^ys Evftathiug* the * reins which 
guided the horfes were pafled. T^te draw- 
ing in, the plate will beft defcribe this 
jugujn, for every part of which there is 
fiifficient authority even in this pafTage: 
alone of Homer. .The method of har- 
# neffing the jug^l hof fes was as follows i 
The charioteer firft put on uppn the horfes 
the lepadna or collar, and the malkalifteri^ 
pr body-girth. They then laid the yoke 
acrofs their necks -upon the Ippfro^ or 
withers, where it was tyed to the lepadna 
and malkalifteris by the jugalia lora -f* 
He then brought them thus yoked to tfre 
chariot, and laid the pole of fhe . charipf 
ppon the yoke, paffing the eftor through 
the krikos, the hole or ring at the end of 
it, after which he bound (Fig. DJ both 
firmly together, tying them trebly or threes 
.fold J on each fide, (Fig* C dj* After 

* Amongft the Florentine gems, Vol. II. Clafs. 2d; 
Table 26. No I. is the Achilles in ptaeHum revertens ; 
in this representation are feen the foxif* or rings, 
through, which the reins ran, exactly as. I have drawn 
them. 

f It appears from Homer, in the paflage above cited, 
that this was done in the ftable before the ]iigum was 
fixed to the temo ; but theufual way was, after having 
hajnefled the horfes, to tye the jugum to the temp, 
and then bring the horfes to the jugum thus fixed, and 
tackle them to the jugum* 

1 Homer. 

Which 



< *S7 ) 

which the reins, coming from the horfes* 
head, were pafled through the rings 
fixed upon the yoke *. In a baflb relievo 
on a fepulchral urn* exhibited in Pira- 
nefi, there is ?n exemplar of the aft of 
harneffing the horfes to the jugum. If the 
reader is curious . enough to turn , to the 
paflage above cited from Homer, of which 
I have made fo much ufe in this defcrip- 
tion, as alfo to that in the fifth book of 
the Iliad, v. 719, — and to refer his eyes 
to the + many examples which he may fee 
in drawings from antiquities (many very 
fine examples of which he may fee in Mr. 
Adam's drawings from the remains at 
Spalatro ; two in the compartments of the 
frize of the terriple of Jupiter, and one in 
a baflb relievo in the church of St. Felix), 
he will find every thing moft minutely 
confirmed, which I have above delcribed : 
he will lee from this defcription of the 
harneffing the horfes to the chariot, the 
reafbn why no traces or harnefs, according 
to our idea of fuch,'are ever feen, and why 
even the pole or temo is fcarce, if ever, 
fcen J. — This defcription of the manner . 

* *HvU *ftf«' IxffBA. Homer, Book V. v. $83. 

+ Vide plate 43 and 117, of ancient monuments, 
publimed by Abbe Winkelman ; thefe I have fcen fincc 
jhe firft publication of the above. 

X Sec fig.-E. 

R of 



% 



( 2 5 8 ) 

of afxing the yoke to the temo or pole* 
and of harnefling the horfes to the yoke, 
will explain every paflage that occurs iri 
common reading, fo far as relates to the 
.bijugse, or chariots drawn by a pair, or one 
yoke of horfes. 

Before I proceed to the more mixed 
kind of equipage, I will juft mark, as I 
pafs, that the ancients fometime ufed car- 
riages drawn by one horfe, which had 
fhafts as our prefent common carts have $ 
which (hafts were tackled to the collar or 
Lepadna, in the fame manner as at thb 
day ; how the weight of the fhafts and 
carriage were fupported, I have no where 
feen or read. The only inftance which I • 
remember, at prefent, to have feen of this 
fort of carriage, does not particularize the 
manner in which this weight was born. 
The reader wilj find the inftance which I 
refer to in one of the paintings found at 
Herculaneum ; it reprefents a grotefque, or 
emblematic carriage, being one of thofe 
fingle cars drawn by a hawk or parrot, 
and driven by a grafshopper. > Here, as in 
the drawing from the Tufcan vafes, the 
fide pieces of the floor or Tovog of the 
body of the chariot continued make the 
fhafts. 

It 



It has been remarked above, that the 
indents, in the moft early ufe of the 
Chariots, ufed as nlany poles as they had 
yokes, or pairs of horfes in the carriage 
abreaft ; but this was not always fp, fo* 
we read in Homer, in the cafe of Achilles 9 * 
chariot, of an additional extrajugal hoffe $ 
as alfo in that of Priam's chariot* of two 
extrajugal hdrfes; I (hall therefore pro- 
ceed to defcribe the manner in which they 
harneffed thofe extrajugal horfes* when 
they ufed one or two additional harneffed 
in this manrier. It was very fimple, and 
will therefore be the more eafily explained 
and underftood: It appears that the an- 
cients wifely ftudied, ill thefe armaments^ 
to avoid every unneceffary matter that 
might become the occafion of embarrafli 
ment or entanglement in thg'eiecutidn* 

As to the harriefs of thi$ extrajugal 
horfe, it does not appear that any other 
was ufed (as indeed not heceflary) thaii 
the lepadna or collar. For this ho'tlfe bore 
ho part of the weight of the chariot, nor 
Was he in any way concerned in flopping 
it, but fimply for drawing ; and he drew 
by a trace called apir^ov, inftead of a pole* 
This ufiTTfov is feen, befides the teuio, iri 
plate: 136, of voL I. of the drawings of 
Mr. Hamilton's Tufcaa vafes. This trace 
R 2 was 



( 260 ) % 

was extended, between /the jugal hdrfe 
and extrajugal horfe,. from the U^o^oc to 
the axis, it wilt appear that this pareoria 
was not attached to the yoke, but was 
(imply a trace by which the collar of the 
extrajugal horfe (called therefore Ilu^o^y 
was joined to that of the jacxt jugal horfe. 

. In the inftance of three horfes harnefled 
to the chaript of Achilles, • lent' to Pa* 
trocluS) we read that after jiutomeddn had 
harnefled the two immortal fteedsj Zanthos 
and Balios* under the yoke, he harnefled 
Pedafos by the ria^/*, ! or extrajugal 
traces. This extrajugal horfe was called, 
from this particular harnefs, Tlapycpo^ or* 
from the long trace by which he drew^ 
called Ztt(>a 9 Z&fa&o;* or X^u(po^og y ' which 
the Latins tranflated funalisi 

Theeffe<3 of the accidents which be- 
fell this horfe, as defcribed by Homer* 
proves that this horfe was not harnefled 
to the yoke. He fays, that upon this 
horfe's being wounded and falling down 
dead, the jugal horfes were diftra&ed, or 
drawn afunder as far as the yoke would 
permit > witfraut breaking, for although 
the yoke creeked with this ftrefs upon it, 
it was not broken, nor were either of the 
horfes feparated from it* The coupling 

: . reins f 



! 



< 2«I -) 

reins, called by Virgil, cohcordia freka, 
were confounded and entangled. But the 
moment that this extrajugal horfe was 
feparated by cutting the trace, the jugal 
pair flood again in their due order, arid the 
reins were righted. If the, traces, by which 
(his extrajugal horfe was fattened had been 
any way tackled to the yoke, he muft, by 
his falling, have pulled both the horfesi 
the fame way, r and not afunder ; but by 
~ is pulling them afunder, it is clear that 
e was joined by the harnefs to the horfe, 
and not to the yoke* as I have above de- 
scribed, drawing by a trace which pafled 
between this outfide horfe and the jugal 
horfe to which he was tied *. This again 
accounts for our not feeing in the draw- 
ings even the body-girth, or aay drawing 
trace on the outfide horfe of the quadriga , 
in thofe cafes where extrajugal horfes were 
tifed. 

Neftor aMb had an extrajugal horfe in 
his chariot, which Paris killed ; and being 
41a in, the old man, in like manner, dii- 
£0£umbered his equipage of him, by cut* 
ling the Partoria. 

* See fig. F.: 

R 3 The 



[ 2*2 1 

The defcription of this one extrajugal 
hprfe ferves likewife for the other on thq 
pther hand, as that was infirely fimilar f 

This defcription of thefe .extrajugal 
Tiorfes will anfwer to the explaining every 
9&ion or evolution of the chariot, both \n 
battle and in the race. 

With refpeft to the harnefling four 
horfes abreaft, the two on the outfide 
plight be extrajuga! ; but I am convinced 
(efpecially as I read it in Xenophon) that 
when more pairs were put abreaft, each 
pair had a temo or pole ; and a peculiar fort 
of carriage for carrying great burthens is 
a&ually fo defcribed; but the q\ladrigae f 
which were moft in ufe, were certainly 
moft commonly drawn with a pair of jugal 
horfes, and a pair of extrajugal horfe$ 
coupled on each fide. The bufinefs of 
guiding, keeping fteady, and flopping the 
fcarriage, depended chiefly on the jugal 
pair ; that of wheeling up each extreme 
axle depended on the ftrength and aftivijy 
of the refpe&ive outfide extrajugal horfe| • 
{is will be feen prefently, 

, The conftru&ipn and the compofitipt^ 
of this equipage of the Bijuga, the Trig*, 
>ad Quadriga, being thus defcribed, the 

exercife 



( **3 ) 

exercife of thefe in the games, and the 
application of them to fervice in war, is 
the next point to be inquired into. This 
inquiry will ftill more illuftrate the matter. 

The whole of this is contained in one 
line in Homer : 

which Mr. Pope tranflates thus : 

Pradtis'd alike to tur/i, to flop, to chace, 
To dare the (hock, or urge the rapid race. 

If we view this line in the light of fcience, 
we fhall find that it does very minutely 
defcribe every manoeuvre ufed in the evo- 
lutions of the chariot, the advancing and 
retreating, and thofe fudden rapid wheel- 
ings to the right or left, by which they 
make their almoft irrefiftible attacks ; 
which motion, as I (hall afterwards ex- 
plain it, is appropriated, of very ancient 
time, to the movements of the knights in 
the game of chefs. 

+ In gyrum grejfus magno tmpete lutiat 
Curvatos, 

* Iliad viii. 107. 

* Yidae Sacchia Ludus. 

R 4 The 



( 2«4 ) 

The great excellence and perfe&ion of 
this manege was firft * fo-to, bit the horfes, 
that their necks might be pliable and obe- 
dient to the. reins : the next coufifted in 
teaching the horfes to move by fuch *f 
meafured fteps, that the whole equipage, 
when two, four, or fix, were joined to- 
gether, might move as one body with- 
out confuiion : Thirdly, to train them, 
to run with velocity, and to inure them 
to courage and hafdinefs, in either attack- 
ing by an impetuous fhoek, or in receiving 
firmly the attack. The laft was in dreffing 
them to execute the various evolutions of 
wheeling with docility, a&ivity, and ve- 
locity : in fhort, fays Xenophon, to do all^ 
other things which they would have oc- 
cafion to perform in a&ual fervice, to run 
» over all kind of ground, to ftretch up the 
ileepeft afcents, and to rufh down the 
fliarpeft declivities. 

The chief excellence in driving was 
Jleadinefsj fo as to proceed whether mov- 
ing in the right or curve line, in one uni- 
form direction, and not to and fro by a 
vacillating and finuous motion. But the 

* Xenophon, 

f Which you fee defcribed in all the ancient coin% 
and baflb relievos* 

great 



[ *«5 1 
g r eat excellence] of the horfes, as well as 
the higheft Ikill of the driver, was called 
forth, in performing the wheelings to au 
cxadl given curve, under full fpeed. 

TJie. chariot race was infti'tuted for the 
exercife of this military skill, to encourage 
and afford opportunities of difplaying it ; 
and was fo regulated as to require the beft 
horfes, the higheft finifhed manege, and 
the moft perfect skill iji driving. To 
complete • the noble competitors in this 
moft difficult manpeuvre of the wheeling, 

• the courfe W4S always fo laid out, that the 
race depended chiefly on the performing 

- this difficult evolution. He that will read 
with the eye of fcience old Neftor's ad- 
vice to his fon in the Iliad, Book XXIIL 
t. 306, will -need no other explication of. 
this ^natter* 

The courfe was generally of that length 
that the race was finifhed by going once 
round ; although fometimes, in the more 
confined circus, the chariot went four 
times round, . making feven wheeling^, 
reckoning thofe round both termini taken 
together. The route of the race was from 
the right wheeling to the left, round the 
extreme meta or terminus, and then re- 
turning back to the fame ground, fo as 

that 



( *66 y 

that the meta or terminus fronj which 
they fet out ihould be upon their right ; 
and, if the courfe confift?d of more rounds 
than one, then wheeling to the right round 
this meta, and fo alternately in a line, 
jnaking the "Arabic figure of 8. Now 
four rounds thus performed will make juft 
feven wheelings. I am confeious that this 
opinion is pew ; but being perfuaded that 
I am grounded both in the nature of the 
Jthing, and by fufficient authority, as will 
be feen prefently, I venture to give it out. 

According to the opinion commonly re* 
ceived of the chariot race, that the comt 
petitors darted from the right of the bar- 
rier, and wheeling to the left round the 
meta, always went the fame way, always 
wheeling to the left in every circuit, what- 
ever the number of rounds were, there 
Strifes a moft inexplicable injujiice^ as to any 
phance that the merit of fwiftnefs in the 
horfes, or of flcill in the driver could have, 
except what they derived from their place 
upon the right or Jeft, which mere lot 
gave them. For when there were fronj 
ten chariots to forty at fometimes, all ar- 
ranged abreaft at the barrier ; that upon 
. the left, and that upon the right, would 
pun courfes of very different lengths, in 



( *67 

the proportion of the leffer pr larger 
circle that their lot deftined them tp. 

The explication of this difficulty giver* 
by Mr. Weft, in his difcourfe on the 
Olympic games, only adds confufion to it f 
The whole skill and courage of the cha- 
rioteers were (he fays) employed to obtain 
the point of advantage at the wheeling/ 
and he defcribes them in this attempt all 
driving foul of one another, by directions 
all converging to this point ; this, I fay, 
-may add to the confufion, but does not 
relieve the difficulty, for ftill the chariot, 
which was placed upon the right of all, 
had, in this firft attempt, the hypothenufe, 
or longeft fide of the triangle to run, 
while the chariot upon the left had only 
pne of the Legs of the fame right-angled 
triangle, and fo the reft in gradation ; and 
what a fcene of unavoidable inextricable 
wreck muft all thefe chariots rufliing to- 
gether, in converging lines, have made ! 
This feems fo abfurd, that one cannot but 
reject it at firft fight, from the nature of 
the thing itfelf. But this attempt of run- 
ning foul on one another, and eroding 
upon each other, is contrary to fa8t y is 
contrary to the laws of the courfe, which 
forbad ail fraud, all crqffmg or jojiling^ as 
pyr modern peers term jit. And we find 

in 



( 2 68 ) 

in the 23d book of Homer's Iliad, that 
jintihtkus was deprived of the prize he 
claimed (which prize was given to Mene^ 
laus) becaufe he (Antilochus) had crofled 
upon, and attempted to run foul of the 
chariot of Menelaus. 

All this perplexity is relieved, and the 
difficulty cleared up, by the explication 
which^I have given above: for by that 
route oF the race, he that wis outermoft 
at the fetting off, returning to the fame 
ground With the ftarting-poft upon the, 
right, would be innermoft at the coming 
in ; and if the race confifted of more 
circuits than one, the. competitors w;ould 
be alternately outermoft arid innermoft at 
each alternate wheeling. So that he who 
ran the Jargeft circle in the firft circuit, 
would run the lefler in the fecond r and 
vice verfd. 

Whoever will read the account of the 
chariot race in the Eleflra of Sophocles, 
and will particularly attend to the nature 
of the accident which happened between 
£he Thracian and Libyan cars ; and to 
the fajal one which befel Orefles at the 
clofe of the race, will be confirmed in 
this opinion. The narrative tells us, That 
the qharktfs having fioifhed the third 

circuit* 



( **9 ) 

circuit, and running the fourth, fome of 
them had made the fqventb wheeling, ancf 
were got again into the ftraight right line, 
at that moment of time the JEnian char 
rioteer coming up to the Meta, in or near 
the point where the route of the courfe 
muft cnofs ; and his horfes, hard of mouth, v 
breakiiig from him, fwerved and run foul, 
with their front direct, upon otre of the 
Libyan chariots. This is an accident that 
could not happen, if the returning line 
did not crofs upon the outgoing line, by 
the chariots running the courie in the 
figure of eight. . But the circumftances of 
the difafter of the car of Oreftes put the 
matter out of all doubt, 

The narrative proceeds, and fays, That 
this acddeot between, the Libyan and 
j^Enian chariots drew after it an almoft 
general wreck of the chariots then running.. 
But that the (kilful Athenian, who was 
laft but one, oblerying his time, bore to 
the right out of the courie, and fo avoided 
them. That Oreftes, who lay by in the 
race, as having harfes of that rating way* 
of going, that he -depended upon the pufti 
at the laft for his fuccefs ; finding that 
now was the time to make his pufh, bore 
ftill more to the right, in order to pafs the 
Athenian; and, for thia .purpoify having 

given. 



( */<> ) 

given the left-hand rein to his horfes, raort 
unfortunately run with the end of his 
axle-tree again ft the Terminus, at the com- 
ing in. Now unlefs this terminus had 
been upon his right at the; coming in, this 
accident thus defcribed could not have 
, happened ; but being upon the right, every 
previous accident naturally leads to it. 

However, aa the route of the race ge- 
nerally confided but of one long courfe, 
returning again to the ftarting-poft, the 
only wheeling performed in it was to the 
left ; but to make that matter even and 
fair, the chariots came in upon the left of 
the ftarting-poft, as above defcribed ; fo 
that thofe who were Qutermoft at the 
wheeling round the meta, ,and had there 
the difadvantage, were innermoft at the 
coming in, and had that difadvantage made 
up to them* 

As in thefe courfes of one circuit, which 
tvere the moft common, the only wheel- 
ing performed was to the left round the 
meta * ; the horfe of the higheft vigour* 
find greateft velocity was harneffed extra- 
jugal upon the right ; and for the like 
feafon, the beft maneged aftd moft ffc&ilef 

^ • Vide Sthdkft. in Aatijoffe Sophoclii. 

horft 



< *7* ) 

liorfe * was harnefled extrajugal on the 
left, becaufe the firft was to bring round 
the chariot in the a£t of wheeling, and the 
latter to maintain a kind of equably mov- 
ing fulcrujm, upon which the whole mcf- 
tion of the wheeling depended; fo that 
each -had his perfe&ion, and each was firft 
and moft excellent in his refpeftive pro- 
perty ; the attending to which diftin&ion 
might have cleared Scheffer's difficulties. 
The horfes of the quadrigae were ge- 
nerally, though not without exception, 
mentioned in the following order. Firft, 
the extrajugal on the right : Second, the 
extrajugal on the left. Third, the jugal 
on the right. Fourth, the jugal on the 
left. I mention this, as it will be ne- 
ceflary to explain fome terms which the 
reader will meet -with in Homer, in £0- 
pbockiy and in fqyeral of the other elaffics. 

Let the reader be led next, by this in- 
quiry, into the application of this equi- 
page; thus compofed, and thus exercifed 
to adtual fervice in war ; he will find thefe 
chariots a&ing as diftinft (ingle bodies, in 
rufhing upon and breaking the ranks of 
the infantry, fometimes by a dire£t per- 
pendicular attack upon the front, but more 

* Vide Sophoclis Elc&ram* 

6 com- 



Cotximoniy by wheeling fuddetily tor the 
tight or left, and bearing down iti a tranf- 
Verfe line along the front, fo as to elude the 
points of the enemy's fpears advanced in 
front. He will find them fometimes flop- 
ping fhort upon a fudden halt, and ftand* 
mg unmoved ; while the officer, who was 
carried in them, jumps down upon the 
ground, and puts lAmfelf at the head of 
the infantry ^ or engages in (ingle combat. 
At other times he will find them coming 
(hort about, and retreating. He will find 
them, upon other occafions, afting in a 
compact corps, formed into a rank intire^ 
in order to bresk the enemy's front, and 
then, by their various evolution?, making 
way for the infantry to pafs up to a&ion ; 
at other times he will find them drawn up 
in a body upon the wings, and fometimes 
as a corps de refer ve in fitke rear. In fhort, 
if we confider thefe chariots, trained as 
they were with fuch skill and difcipline, 
and exercifed to fuch great perfe&ion, in 
wheeling to right and left with fudden and 
impetuous velocity, we (hall eafily per- 
ceive how every evolution of the cavalry 
might be performed in the fame manner 
as the modern cavalry perform the mo- 
dern evolutions of wheeling by fours; 
as alio, how they might change their 

fronts, 



cm > 

fronts* teCofoe themfelves into lefler 
bodies, and unite again into one. I could 
quote mftances of all thefe manoeuvres, 
but I think it Will be more pleating 
to the reader to apply thefe obfervations 
himfelf to the many inftances which 
he will meet with in the courfe of his 
ftudics. 

Various were the methods taken and 
pra&ifed to evade this attack, which could 
not he reftfted by the .. infantry, fuch as 
wheeling back, and opening to the right 
and left ; but the only one I fhall take 
notice of is the manoeuvre mentioned by 
Polytenus * in his Stfatagemata. He fays 
that Alexander, having learned that the 
Thracians had a powerful body of this 
chariot cavalry, trained his Macedonians to 
couch upon the ground, and with their 
fliields thrown over them to form a teftudo, 
over which the chariots of the enemy 
might pafs without effedh 

As the Britifh ifland was, in the very 
early ages of antiquity, planted by colonies' 
from the great commercial nations in the 
taftern parts of the Mediterranean lea ; io 
the learning and arts of thefe po!i(hcd 

* Lib* IV, c. iii. § j j, 

S people 



( 274 ) 

people were planted in this land. The afto« 
nifhing monuments of the Druids, who 
were the priefts of thofe colonies, /are 
proofs of a knowledge in mechanics, which 
we of this enlightened day only wonder 
at, but are at a lofs to account for. This 
ufe of the chariots pra&ifed by the Afi- 
atics and Libyans, was the peculiar art 
of war in which the Britons excelled, and 
was peculiar to them. Although thefe 
colonies, and indeed almoft the remem- 
brance of them, had been in the time of 
Julius Caefar overwhelmed by the bar- 
barifm of the natives, and of other un- 
cultivated people who ^ad tranfmigrated 
from the continent of Europe ; yet this 
peculiar Afiatic art of war, the fame as 
that ufed at the fiege of Troy, continued 
to be ufed even fo late* as the time of his 
invafion, by the then inhabitants : in this 
manege we find they excelled, to a very 
high degree of perfedtion. Diodorm fays 
exprefsly, that they ufed chariots in war 
e:*a£Hy in the fame manner as the heroes 
in the Trojan war * are faid to have ufed 
them. They ufed the fame method of 
forming the line of battle, the fame 
method of attack, and particularly that of 
the tranjverfe attack^ which is what Cicero, 

* Lil. Y, 

ill 



( *7S ) 

in the 6th cpiftle of his 7th book, refers 
to, in the caution he gives Trebatius to 
guard againft thefe fudden unexpected mo- 
tions. The Britifh order of battle, which 
Caefar defcribes in the 24th chapter of his 
4th book of the Gallic war, Concilio Ro- 
manorum cognito y premifo e quit at u et efedariis 
quo plerumque genere in praliis uti confue- 
verant 9 reliquis copiis confecuti funt, is ex- 
actly the fame as that formed by the Greeks 
defcribed in Iliad IV. I could quote other 
parages to the fame purpofe, but this is 
fufficient. 

As this was the peculiar art of war 
amongft the ancient inhabitants of this 
country, fo had they the fame folemn 
races, to train and exercife their youth to 
this difcipline, and to maintain tnp fame 
honour towards thofe who excelled in it. 
There are, to this day, remaining in Eng- 
land fome veftiges of the Cur/us in which 
they ran thefe races ; which races being 
attendants on the folemn meetings of re- 
ligion, the curfus were near their temples. 
The moft remarkable is that nfear Stone- 
henge, which is a long traft of ground, 
about 356 feet (or 200 Druid cubits) wide, 
and better than a mile and three quarters 
(or 6060 Druid cubits) in length, enclofed 
quite round with a bank of earth, ftretch- 
S 2 ing 



( *7« ) 

Ing dirc&ly caft and weft. The goal and 
career are at the eaft end. The goal is a 
high bank pf earth, raifed with a flope 
inwards, whereon the judges are fuppofed 
to have fat. The lirie of this bank is 
north and fouth, direfijy acrefs the curfus, 
beginning from the fouth bank of the 
curfus,. not reaching quite to the north, 
but leaving a fpace there for the chariots 
to pafs to the career, between this goal and 
the north bank, or fide of the curfus. The 
mete are twp tumuli, or little barrows, at 
the weft end of the curfus : 

Some tomb, perhaps of old, the dead to graced 
Or tfyea, as qow K the limit pS a xact> 

Pope's Hop*** 

as old Neftor defcribes the n*c&* 4$ the 
curfus pu the plains before T*ay« 

From the very fote and form of this 
hippodrome, or curfus, my conje&ure, as 
to the manner in which the race was per* 
formed, is confirmed in fadt. Here we 
fee that the chariots fet opt from the car- 
eer, on the right (or northward) of the 
goal, and ran to the weft end I whence, 
^heeling to the left round the metae, they 
returned again eaft ward, and muft pafs 
•again to the northward, or left pf the goal, 

keep* 



( *77 ) 

Iwjepiag it on their right in their coming 
in to the career, at the end of the race, as 
I have before explained thfe race mentioned 
in Sophocles. 

Deftor Stukeley, not adverting to this 
route of the race, but feeing that it muft 
end to the aarthward of the goal, at the 
eaft end, has been led to imagine, con- 
trary to the fa6b.-.of* oonftant pra&ice, that 
the chariots »ia irom the eaft along the 
fouthern fide, and then wheeling to the 
right, north *hout the metae, returned on 
the north fide, and fo ended to the north- 
ward of the goaL But the explanation 
which I have given is agreeable to practice, 
and confirmed # by this exifting fadt. 

The hyppodromes, or curfus, were call* 
ed, in the language of the country, rhe- 
dagua ; the racer rbedagwr, and the car- 
riage, as we find, rbtda. 

One of thefe hippodromes, about half 
a mile to the fouthward of Leicefter, re- 
tains ftill, under the various corruptions 
of fpeaking and writing, the old name 
Rhedagua ; in the corrupted one, Rawdikes* 

Do&or Stukeley fays, there is another 

of thefe near Dorchefter : another on the 

7 banks 



( *7* ) ' 

banks of the river Lowther, by Perith h\ 
Cumberland; and another in the valley 
juft without the town of Royfton* 

Such were the equeftrian fports of the 
ancient Britons, who even in their Paftimes 
encouraged a warlike fpirit and emulation, 
and advanced the public welfare ; for by 
making pleafure fubfervient to fcience,an4 
confiiering the race only as an exhibition 
of military flrill, they dignified the fport, 
and made their cavalry no lefs the delight 
and ornament of peace, than the fupport 
and tenor of war. 



THE END* £ *