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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.
~2**2**fi^~2**fi**^^.^~A-Z^^~^±^^
J
T
•"-
.«♦"
»s
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
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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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( »!t )
teftttibo with, and its derivation from,
tire original general language pf northern
$uiope ; as alfo its deviations and -dferie&t
as they arife in part from variations in
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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
fc*M
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* £ *