*%H3AINfl3Wv ^OJITCHQ^ ^OJITVD-^ ijfe ^lOSANGEI^ ^OFCALIFOfy^ ^OF CMJFOfy, CP Or )NV-S01^ ^3AINn-3WV JO^ ^JOJITVD-JO )NIVER% ^IDS-ANGEIfj^. ^ )nvsoi^ v/smium yfc 0KALIF0% V 4r & -^ahvhhib^' y (9AHvaan^ BRARYfl/r ^HIBRARYtf/ ,\V\E-UNIVER% ^LOS-ANGELS :alifo% ■OF-CALIFOfy ^ Celtic Besearc^es, OX THE ORIGIN, TRADITIONS $ LANGUAGE, tot f OF T»E ANCIENT BRITONS; WITH SOME INTRODUCTORY SKETCHES, ON PRIMITIVE SOCIETY. BY EDWARD DAVIES, Citrate of Olveston, Gloucestershire, Jlon&on; PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY J. BOOTH, DUKE-STREET, PORTLAND-PLACE. 1804. o o C3 J» "PB 101 TO THE KING. 9 SIRE, Though your Majesty's permission has enabled me to approach your Throne, and pre- sent you with such a feeble tri- bute, as that of my, obscure., labours,, (in a path., which no flowers can adorn, or practical use recommend,) I tremble, when I contemplate the homeliness of the oblation itself. Disadvantages, personal to me, or incidental to the subject, had precluded the faintest hope of such an elevated honour. An humble, and contracted sphere, of occupations, and for- tune, has precluded me from a liberal access to books, or to men. The rude, though honest, Britons, of whose language I have traced the mysterious analogies, were placed, by the simple man- ners of the age, in which they lived, and of the circle, which they filled, at an awful distance from the attainments of their en- lightened progeny ; for whom have been reserved the felicities of your Majesty's reign, the moral influence of your domes- tic life, and the genial encou- ragements, conferred upon every liberal effort in the arts, by this, Augustan, age of Britain. tot The occult, and mystic lore of Druidism, though containing principles of inestimable value in the elements of language, was neither intended, nor calculated, for that general prevalence, and reception, which could alone have ascertained, and recorded, this branch of its oracles, with precision. Simplicity of manners, and superstitious credulity, which con- stituted the most prominent features of character in the vo- taries of that religion, obstructed the solution ot its riddles, and consigned its legendary tales to their fate,, as oracular mysteries, too deep to be fathomed* It became, therefore, a task of extreme difficulty,, at a distant period from those hints of science, to develop their scheme, and re* duce their principles into system. These difficulties, were heigh- tened, by an imperfect educa- tion — laborious duties — number- less adversities — habitual infirm- ities of constitution, — and, most but of all, a defect in the organs of sight. Be the fate of the Olveston Curate, what it may, it has one advantage at the bar of Critisism, under the auspices of this Reign ; That, benevolent, and merciful tribunal, is like your Courts of Justice; it hears, with patience, and with candour; it acquits with pleasure, and it condemns with pain. The Author's fate, will never affect the sentiments of it the Man . These, have been ever alive, and awake, to the most grateful impressions of your Majesty's paternal regard for ingenuous enterprize ; — for the interest of truth, and virtue ; — • for the sacred necessities of the poor, — and for the liberties of all. If sentiments like these,could be heightened, — personal grati- tude, for the condescension jwhich I have recently experienced, and which / dare not state in its Jiil I extent, would animate them, with new spirit. The example, however,, of such countenance, and protec- tion, to me, will, I trust, improve, by encouraging,, the culture of many other soils, more propitious to the seeds of learning, than mine, though visited by similar adversities. I am, Sire, Your Majesty's Devoted subject, and Servant, Edw, Davies. QLVESTON, FEB. 29, 1804. =a* preface* OF all human attainments, the art, which enables man to communicate his opinions, or his feelings, in the shape of oral, and written language, — is the most precious in its value. By the chain of this magical union, those are incorporated, whom the distance of time, and of scene, would else have separated ; — the early, and the recent ages, meet; — a barter of intellectual treasure is negociated, — and the O 7 civilized nations of the earth are like neighbour- ing families ; — in a word, all acquisitions to the use, and the ornament of the social world, are streams from this fountain. b tt preface. A regularity of structure, discernible in the ancient, and pure languages, demonstrates, that such an art, as that of writing, and speak- ing those languages, could not be indebted for its birth, to chance; — that it must have been formed by inferences of reasoning from objects of nature; — formed with simplicity, and calculated for precision. This volume attempts, not only to investi- gate those principles, but, in some degree, to ascertain the means by which they unfolded themselves into language, and supplied hints for their own visible shape, — in other words, for the invention of speech, as analyzed into a system. This art originated in the earliest ages of man. Its first, and simple essays, are lost in their antiquity. Upon a topic of such difficulty, and of such moment, in the history of man, even preface* Hi local facts, may be of some value to the his- torian, who fills a more ample space, in tlie extent of his views. The choice, there- fore, of the subject, requires no apology, or defence. The execution of the task is that, which alone deprecates tfre severities of cri- ticism. I was directed accidentally to this channel of literature, by circumstances, peculiar, and personal to me. A design to publish what I had written, was the result of no confidence in abilities, or attainments ; it was the effect of a more humble sentiment : I was per- suaded, that chance had thrown in my way, and that curiosity, exempt from all pre-con- ccption, (the bane of truth) had enabled me to discover a system elucidated by facts, and which the liberal scholar would, at least, rather examine with care, though laid before him by me, than consign it unexamined, at once, to oblivion. M Inclination, for which I cannot account, having disposed me to explore the few traces that are left us of the ancient Welsh, my at- tention was impelled, with slow, but accu- mulating force, to their singular doctrines upon the origin of speech, and the fundamental principles of language. I began to penetrate the mystic import of these oracles. But, re- collecting, where I found them, I was inclin- ed rather to believe it an antiquarian's whim, than a discovery of real use, in the pursuit of historical science. In 1797» I had occasion to make researches in the Irish language. Again, the same vision presented itself: I compared the notices, which I had previously obtained at home, with lights thrown upon them, by those collateral branches of the Celtic House ; — till I found myself in the habit of arranging a system, calculated for the double object of representing, by symbols the ideas, and the sounds. preface. . to I followed this clue, till I had, in some degree, unravelled that ancient scheme, by analogies, which appeared, upon repeated, and severe trials, to be founded in truth. Still I conceived the notion to be exclu- sively Celtic. In the first periods, therefore, and stages, of the analysis, I applied the several principles of speech to Celtic dialects alone. The result was gratifying to curiosity ; but it rested there. A perpetual jealousy against theoretical delusions, or partial experiments, determined me to enlarge the field of inquiry. It appeared improbable, that radical principles, of an art so general, should have been discovered originally by the Celtic race, whose knowledge of any letters at all, has been doubted by some of the modern critics in historical disquisition; — or that such a people, as they are in general described, should have been the selected guardians of those principles. W preface* I began to reason with myself thus : " A nation, comparatively rude, and sim- ple, may have preserved the outlines of two, or three, ancient, and primitive arts, with more precision than others, who were ambitious of innovations, and refinements. " But, if the system be a genuine relic of antiquity, it will abide the test of compa- rison. Traces of it will be found in other countries; — at least, those elements which are intimated by the symbols, will find correspond- ing affinities in the radical terms of other lan- guages, which are known to be ancient. The system of Celtic speech is too ingenious to have been struck out by the original contrivance, or local accidents of the Celtic race." I made an experiment upon the languages of Judea, — upon those of Greece, — and of Rome. preface, bit The result of that process will offer itself to the reader : upon me, it impressed conviction. My limited, and mutilated collection of books, would not enable me to extend the range any further, at present, or to be very curious in the choice of examples. But those, which I have selected, will afford an ample opportunity of deciding upon the measure of credit, which is due to my Celtic masters, and upon the authenticity of the collateral sup- port, which is given to them, by other nations. I have not strained any facts, to support a favourite hypothesis ; my own first impressions: have resigned themselves to the current* Their guide has been the disinterested aim of honest, and sober experiment. Their distrust of themselves has made them diligent in accrediting, as far as they could, all the incidental varieties of truth. Many are the revolutions, which, in their course, they have adopted, and sustained,. but preface* At last, they reached a kind of station, which commanded a fair view. They rested upon it, and were animated by the hope to remove, at a future period, the shadows, which impeded the view, and withheld, or inter- cepted a part of the scene. I am, therefore, to implore, that a dis- tinction may be kept in view by the reader, between those principles, which 1 have brought forward, and the mode of illustrating them, which is peculiar to me. The former, were no discoveries of mine. I have told my reader where he can find them, as well as myself. They are nothing like novelties, though for a time they have been forgotten, or overlooked. If my application of them will point out, from new sources of reasoning, their connection Avith historical truth, and with principles of nature, the intrinsic value of that result, will be the same, whether in tracing all the roots, and branches of their pedigree, my inferences preface. ijc have been sound, and legitimate, — or ill reason- ed ; my attentions, deep, — or superficial. I am not sure, whether I ought, upon the whole, to lament the obscurity of my path in the world, so far, as it has placed me at an humble distance from all intercourse with predecessors in the same line of pursuit. Not having pointed my researches at the original spring of written language, till at the recent, and casual impulse of the circum- stance above recited, in the Welsh manu- scripts, I had not even learnt the names of some very eminent critics, who have been occupied in a pursuit of the same, or similar topics. The ingenious works of Mr. Astle, Mr* Whiter, General Vallancey, Mr. Maurice, Mon- sieur de Gebelin, Monsieur des Brosses, Sec. &c. were laid before me, as novelties, for my enter- tainment, after the circulation of my first proposals. % preface* An earlier knowledge of these authors would have assisted me in adjusting my ar- guments, and propositions : it would have spared me the labour of some proofs built upon experiment, which employed a tedious length of time (though* ultimately, making no figure in the work) and would have been clear gain to me in perspicuity of arrange- ment ; — but it would have endangered my at- tentions to the main object. It might have seduced me, by the influence of learning, to borrow, or invent systems, when it was my humble office to develope, authenticate, and confirm the use of materials, constructed many ages ago. It is with infinite satisfaction, however, that I observe an occasional coincidence be- tween some of my notices, and those of the authors to whom I have adverted ; — because the force of truth could alone have led us to the same identical spot, by routes uncon- nected, as well as intricate. preface* jrt I was treating of arts, which are traced from the earliest ages of man. It was unavoidable, to make some reflections upon the character of society in those periods of the world. Perhaps there is no topic, upon which the moderns have shewn less of their accustomed liberality, or candour. They have taken their sketch of primitive, man, as they found him, at the dawn of pro- fane history, in the middle ages of the world ; that is, when the little States of Greece, of Italy, and of the adjacent regions, began to want elbow-room ; — when ambition had violated the good faith of prior establishment, or compact ; yet, before the palm of the victor had enabled governments to control their subjects, and before the law of nations had rooted their principles of mutual forbearance between the rights of the belligerant parties, at the end of their conflict. These, were, con- Xii preface. sequently, times of confusion, which de- graded the human character into a pestilent, and brutal spirit of rapine. But earlier, and Sacred history of the same noble creature, man, proves, to the most incredulous, that savage life is the child of accident, and has no filial marks of nature, as her parent. I hope the few sketches upon this topic, which I have thrown together, will contain materials, which have interest, as well as no- velty enough (I mean, in the notice of them) to 1 atone for their insertion* The short outline of the Celtce, and of their Druids, was neither intended, nor calculated for the purpose of adding to their fame, at the expence of their neighbours ; — but for the single object of marking some traditions re- specting their primitive character, which they had not, in fact, obliterated from their me- mory, or attention. preface* xiii The hypothesis, " that nations originated, not from colonies, but emigrating families," ap- pears to be warranted by the sacred historian. Perhaps what I have suggested, may prompt others* of more leisure, and of superior ta- lents, to divest themselves of national pre- judices, and then, to examine our interesting corner of ancient Europe with more accu- racy. The field is not so barren, or its fruit so harsh to the taste, as they have been too hastily described. Having thus engaged, and with no impro- vident haste, in what struck me, as a fair pur- suit of acquisition to literature, — unbiassed by antecedent speculations, — but unassisted by the labours of ingenious men, who had gone before me in a discussion of similar topics,— jtto preface* I circulated a short Prospectus in September, 1801. It was in the form of proposals, to lay before the Public (if I could reach that num- ber by subscription) Jive hundred copies of a single volume. No sooner were these proposals known, when I received unequivocal hints of that munificent, and perhaps unexampled, patron- age, which appears in the list annexed. — Amongst other disadvantages, which are in the company of these honours, it is, perhaps, the heaviest in its oppression of my feelings, that I cannot pay the sincere tribute of my thanks, in the detail which is due to them ; and that I must, with some few ex- ceptions, request the indulgence of delicate liberality, if I abstain from particulars, which, if enumerated, would not only seem an im- pertinence of tributary homage, but would, perhaps, be accused of pride, under the mask of gratitude. preface* #> Some, however, there are, who must for- give me, if I discriminate their signal fa- vours. Mr, Hardinge first exhorted me to publish a Literary Essay, — animated my labours, — and cherished them. He exerted his influence, early, and late, in my support, with such ar- dour, and with such effect, that I owe to him the most ample share of that countenance which graces the list of my Patrons. The impro- vidence (if such it must be deemed) of raising the Olveston Curate, from the dust of pro- vincial obscurity, into public notice, lies at his door. He has honoured me with his ad- vice, — he has furnished me with an ample variety of curious books, — and has enlightened me with most valuable hints, engrafted upon discoveries of his own. To the Bishop of Bath and Welis t my obli- gations are most interesting: His countenance to the work, and me, had value superior to any Ftoi preface. estimate. But, most of all, I thank him, and with an honest, though simple heart, for the testimony which he bore to my personal, and professional character. Other Prelates have not only distinguished me with patronage, communicated by their names, but have promoted my interest, and have sustained my hopes, by acts of benefi- cence, and by expressions of benevolence, ' which have entered into the heart, and have made impressions there, which never can be lost, or grow faint, as long as memory shall be firm upon her seat. ■ The Bishop of St. Asaph, upon his promotion to that See, left me as a kind of legacy to the Chapter at Westminster, who honoured me, at his request, with a distinguished mark of their encouragement. 1 must not here forget this Prelate's imme- diate predecessor, who conferred upon me preface* ;rtm the value of a subscription for ten sets, de- siring a single book in exchange for it. When the reader shall do me the honour to recollect who that Bishop was, perhaps the most learn- ed man of his age, he will forgive me the vanity of recording these attentions horn him. The Bishop of Chichester, though I was a perfect stranger to him, till he saw my letters to Mr. Hardinge, upon the subject of this Work, has not only encouraged me, but has expressed his opinion of me, in terms of such engaging politeness, and zeal for my interest,, that he has enhanced the value of his good offices to me, by the manner of representing his motive to them. The Bishop of Dromore, having seen one of those letters, adopted me, at once, into his confidence and regard, as if I had beer* long known to him, and almost as if I had borne a part with him in those masterly dis- cussions, which have acquired so eminent a lank in the literary world, both for them, and c jrtritt preface* for him. I have the happiness, in genera], to coincide with his opinions ; and I am ever proud of them, when they enable me to in- corporate them into my system. Few, in my humble views of men, were ever blessed with a more liberal mind in the pursuit of historical discoveries, or with a more discriminating power to appreciate their value. I must here add, the deep and permanent obligation, which I owe to the Bench of Pre- lates, collectively. Every one of whom, with- out a dissenting voice, in this, and many in the sister island, have countenanced my la- bours, either upon a general new of their object, or propitiated by the zeal of partial friends. When my (obscure) path, in the same pro- fession, which has elevated them, is contem- plated,this indulgence to me, is a mark of good- ness, which no words of mine can appreciate. That a general spirit of munificence, in a preface. jet? degree unexampled by other communities of public men, characterizes the East-India Com* pany, cannot appear new wherever the name, of Britain is known. The condescension of it in my favour, is indeed a powerful claim upon my personal feelings, (and those feelings will never abjure it) but it cannot heighten the habitual principles of attachment, which calls upon the votaries of science to revere, and love the men, whose public spirit has given a new, and brilliant hemisphere to the literary world. General Vallancey, whose ingenuity, and learning, have been of great use to me, though I do, by no means, adopt all his opinions — with a liberality of spirit, inseparable from those who are scholars, and gentlemen, has patronized me, without calculating whether I was friend, or adversary, to his- conjectures, or to his inferences. Mr, Astle> to whom I was under literary obligations (before I was honoured with his K.- At XT preface. personal notice) for the advantage of reading his able treatise on the Origin of Letters, was kind enough to exert himself in my favour, at an early period, and has warranted some of my opinions. Mr. Maurice, the justly-admired author of Indian Antiquities, approved my object, and conferred upon me, one of the noblest gifts, a copy of that inestimable work. Mr. Bryant, whose personal character is not inferior even to that of his literary fame- though I had an early intimation, that he held my Celtic ?nasters cheap, bestowed upon me his name, as one of my patrons ; a name, that will command the love, and veneration of the world, as long as the pure faith, which he has illustrated, shall continue to improve the head, and the heart of its professors. I deplore it as a misfortune, when draw- ing from the same well, I differ with him, in preface* %xi the analysis of those waters ; but I never shall cease to admire his talents, to venerate his learning, — or to esteem and love the unde- viating integrity of his principles, and of his life. The Society for Literary Funds, can receive no additional credit from one of the numerous individuals whom they have cherished and sustained in adversities, like those which have depressed me ; but the delicacy, as well as the munificence of their conduct by me, de- mands of me, as a debt of honour, which I cannot withhold, that I should mark to the world so beneficent a system of liberality as theirs. I have received, as an encourage- ment of this work, and of the writer, two successive donations from them, in actual payments, conferred upon me by the unani- mous vote of their committees, and recom- mended by the most obliging curtesy of man- ners, in their Secretary's letters to me. — Wherever that society is known, and where it*; good offices have been felt, in blessings tpi preface. upon those, whom fortune has wounded, the name of their Secretary, Mr. Yates, and the philanthropy of his mind, are familiar subjects of grateful attachment. The early and liberal patronage of Mr. and Mrs. Codrington, as well as the numerous acquisitions my List owes to them, are but links in a connected series of benefits, conferred upon me by them. After this ge- neral, and very inadequate acknowledgment, of them all, their details, however precious to me, will remain, where gratitude, not un-» worthy, I hope, even of their friendship, has implanted them. If good offices are to be measured by their critical, and seasonable help, as well as by their weight in themselves, what must be my obligations to Mr. Peach, of Tockington ? He knows to what I allude; and will give me some credit for sentiments, not injurious prefect* vnii to exertions, the noblest that friendship ever suggested. Mr. Theophilus Jones, of Brecon, my ge- nerous friend, and the best hearted of men, had, for a course of years, made it extremely difficult for me to say, for which of his af- fectionate boons to me I thanked him the most, and loved him the best. He has re- moved the difficulty ; for to him it is that I owe Mr. Hardinge's friendship. To rescue, in a word, that inestimable friend, be the fate of this Work adverse, or propitious, I shall contemplate with pride of independent joy, the intercourse with him, which my ex- periment, invited, and cherished, by his ge- nerous heart, has produced. I am now to represent (and what language can ever do my feelings justice ?) the obligations impressed upon me by Personages, who, in this point, as in every other, disclaim all tri- mto Preface. bute of gratitude for sentiments, which ha- bitually induce them to elevate their high station, by descending from it into all the charities of domestic life ; and by adorning it with a taste, as well as national regard, for the culture of letters. Commanded by them, to abstain from panegyric, I leave to their generous natures, the interpretation of my feelings ; — But I request that others, to whom I am indebted for the access of my name, and work, to such protectors, — will not be averse to the justice, which I owe to them. Here again, as at every turn, Mr. Hardinge presents himself. At his instance, the power- ful aid of minds, no less illustrious by their lives, than by their elevated rank, the Earl and Countess of Aylesbury, was exerted in my favour, and was propitious to me. They and Mr. Matthias, whose intellect is no less culti- vated and polished, than his mind is ho- nourable, and virtuous, must permit the hum- blest of the many, whom their good offices have blessed, but not the most ungrateful, to preface* rfb assure them, (and I cannot thank them better) that I had rather lose their good will to me, than forfeit the generous character of it by an illiberal action, or sentiment ; — that I have nothing in view but the improvement of know- ledge ; which is nothing, and, perhaps, worse than a feather, in the moral system of the world, if it is not sworn, and faithful to the. interest, and the honour of truth A LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THE FOLLOWING ESSAYS. HER MAJESTY. His Royal Highness the Prince ofJVales 10 Sets His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence 2 Sets His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent 2 Sets His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland 2 Sets Her Royal Highness the Dutchess of Gloucester 2 Sets His Highness Prince WilliamFrederick of Gloucester 2 Sets Her Highness Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester 2 Sets His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 Sets His Grace the Archbishop of York 2 Sets The Lord Chancellor 2 Sets Lord Ellenborough, Chief Justice of the King's Bench 2 Sets (The late) Lord Kenyon, (late) Chief Justice of the Kind's Bench 2 Sets Lord Alvanley, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 2 Sets The Archbishop of Dublin 2 Sets The Archbishop of Cashell 2 Sets' The Lord Chancellor of Ireland 2 Sete (The late) Lord Viscount Kilwarden, (late) Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland 2 Sets Lord .Norbury, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland 2 Sets Lord Viscount Avonmore, Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland 2 Sets The Duke of Somerset 2 Sets The Dnke of Richmond 2 Sets The Duke of Grafton 4 Sets (The late) Duke of Beaufort 2 Sets The Dutchess Dowager of Beaufort 2 Sets The Duke of Leeds 2 Sets The Duke and Dutchess of Devonshire 4 Sets The Duke of Marlborough 2 Sets The Duke of Rutland The Dutchess Dowager of Manchester The Dutchess Dowager of Dorset 2 Sets The Marquis of Lansdown 2 Sets The Marquis Cornwallis 2 Sets The Marquis of Hertford 4 Sets The Marquis of Bute 2 Sets The Marshioness Dowager of Downshire 4 Sets The Marquis and Marshioness of Thomond 2 Sets The Earl of Pembroke 2 Sets The Earl of Westmorland* The Earl of Sandwich 2 Sets The Earl of Carlisle 2 Sets Earl Berkeley 2 Sets The Earl of Oxford 2 Sets The Countess Dowager of Oxford 2 Sets The Earl of Bristol g>u&scrfl>et0. rtix The Earl of Dartmouth, &c. &c. &c, 2 Set* The Earl of Effingham The Earl of Essex 2 Sets The Countess Dowager Waldegrave The Earl of Egremont 2 Sets Earl Spencer 2 Sets The Countess Spencer The Countess Dowager Spencer The Earl and Countess of Aylesbury 2 Sets The Earl of Clarendon 2 Sets Earl Camden 2 Sets The Earl of St. Vincent, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets The Earl of Malmesbury 2 Sets The Earl of Romney 2 Sets The Countess Dowager of Clanbrasil 2 Sets The Earl of Moira 2 Sets The Earl of Mountnorris 2 Sets The Earl of Londonderry 2 Sets The Earl and Countess of Band on 4 Sets Lord Viscount Hereford 2 Sets Lord Viscount Kilwarden 2Sets- The Dowager Lady Dacre, of Belhouse, in Essex 2 Sets The Dowager Lady Dacre, of Lee, in Kent 2 Set* Lord Hobart, &c. &c. &c. Lord Pelham, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Lord Vernon 2 Sets Lord Hawke 2 Sets Lord Ducie 2 Sets Lord Brown low 2 Sets Lord Foley 2 Sets Lord Thurlow 2 Sets Lord and Lady Dynevor 4 Sets Lord Sherborne 2 Sets Lord Amherst $ Sets Lord Aukland, &c. &c. Slc Lady Clive 2 Sets The Dowager Lady Calthorpe 2 Sets Lord de Dunstanville 10 Sets Lord Glastonbury 2 Sets Lord Bolton 2 Sets Lord and Lady Sheffield 2 Sets Lord and Lady Milford 3 Sets The Dowager Lady Templetown Lord Macdonald Lord Mancaster 2 Sets Lord Teignmouth 2 Sets Lord Whitworth 2 Sets Lord de Blaquiere The Bishop of London 2 Sets The Bishop of Durham 2 Sets The Bishop of Winchester 2 Sets The Bishop of Bath and Wells 5 Sets (The late) Bishop of Bath and Wells 2 Sets The Bishop of Ely 2 Sets The Bishop of Worcester 2 Sets The Bishop of Hereford 2 Sets The late Bishop of Hereford 2 Sets The Bishop of Litchfield 2 Sets The Bishop of St. Asaph 2 Sets The late Bishop of St. Asaph 10 Sets The Bishop of Landaff 2 Sets The Bishop of Lincoln 2 Sets The Bishop of Salisbury 2 Sets The Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Rochester 2 Sets Srtbm&xt** rrri The Bishop of Gloucester 2 Sets The Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Peterborough 2 Sets The late Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Bristol 2 Sets The Bishop of Chichester 10 Sets The Bishop of Oxford 2 Sets The Bishop of Chester The late Bishop of St. David's The Bishop of Meath 2 Sets The Bishop of Limerick 2 Sets The Bishop of Dromore 5 Sets The Bishop of Elphin 2 Sets The Bishop of Down 2 Sets The Bishop of Waterford 2 Sets The Bishop of Cloyne 2 Sets The Bishop of Clogher 2 Sets Prince Bariatinsky., Great Portland-street 2 Sets Lady Frances Somerset 2 Sets Lord George Lennox <2 Sets The Earl of Euston 2 Sets Lord George H. Cavendish 2 Sets Lord Robert Spencer 2 Sets The Earl and Countess Temple 4 Sets Lord Henry Seymour 2 Sets Lord Robert Seymour 2 Sets Lady Caroline Herbert 2 Sets The Dowager Viscountess Fielding Lady Maria Waldegrave JiOrd Viscount Royston 2 Sets XXXii ifctttescrfterfii. Lord Viscount Althorpe ■ Lady Eleanor Butler, at the Cottage near Llangollen, in Denbighshire 2 Seta Lord Kirkwall Lady Elizabeth Pratt 2 Sets Lady Sarah Price, Saintfield, in the County of Down 2 Sets Lord Viscount Valentia 2 Sets Lord Viscount Castlereagh, See. &c. &c. 2 Sets Lord Viscount Bernard 2 Sets Lady Caroline Wood The Right Hon. Sir Wm. Grant, Master of the Rolls 2 Sets The Right Hon. Henry Addington, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets The Right Hon. Sir William Wynne, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets The Right Hon. Sir William Scott,&c. &c. &c. 2 Sets The Right Hon. Charles Yorke, Sec. &c. &c. - 2 Sets The Right Hon. William Windham 2 Sets The Right Hon. Charles Greville 2 Sets The Right Hon. John Charles Villiers 2 Sets The Right Hon. John Foster 2 Sets The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, &c. &c. &c. The Right Hon. Sir C. Morgan, &c. Sec. &c. 2 Sets The Right Hon. John H. Addington, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets The late Right Hon. Thomas Conolly 2 Sets The Right Hon. Maurice Fitzgerald, Knightof Kerry 2 Sets The Hon. and Rev. William Capel 2 Sets The Hon. George Villiers 2 Sets The Hon. John Ward The Hon. and Rev. Dr. Marsham 2 Sets The Hon. Henry Devereaux 2 Sets The Hon. Edward Lascelles The Hon. and Rev. Gerald Wellesley The Hon. Mr. and Lady Frances Morton 4 Sets The Hon. Captain Morton 2 Sets The Hon. Charles James Fox G Sets The Hon. W. H. Irby 2 Sets The Hon. John Peachey and Mrs. Peachey 2 Sets The Hon. Thomas Fitzwilliam 2 Sets The Hon. Walter Yelverton 2 Sets The Hon. Sir Rob. Graham, Baron of the Exchequer 2 Sets The Hon. Spencer Percival, &c. &c. &c. 10 Sets The Hon. Thomas M. Sutton, Esq. &c. &c. &c, 2 Sets George Hardinge, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 10 Sets Richard Richards, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Dr. Browne, Sec. &c. &c. Ireland The Dean and Chapter of Westminster 40 Seta The Dean of Canterbury 2 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Bristol 8 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Chichester 5 Sets The Dean of Ely 2 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Worcester 2 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Exeter The Dean and Chapter of Gloucester 4 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Hereford 3 Sets The Dean of Lincoln 2 Sets The Dean of Norwich 2 Sets The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 2 Sets The Dean of Peterborough 2 Sets The Dean of Salisbury 2 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Rochester 4 Sets The Dean and Chapter of Wells 4 Sets The Dean of Winchester 2 Sets The Dean of St. Asaph 4 Sets The Dean and Chapter of York 2 Sets The Dean of Carlisle d The Dean of Berry » Sets The Dean o£ Raphoe » Sets The Dean of Ardfert The Dean of Connor 3 Sets The Dean of Waterford 2 Sets The Dean of Kilaloe THE DIRECTORS OF THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY 40 Set9 The Master of Baliol College, Oxford 2 Sets The Warden of Merton College, Oxford 2 Sets The Rector of Exeter College 2 Sets The Provost of Oriel College 2 Sets The Provost of Queen's College, Oxford 2 Sets The Warden of New College 2 Sets The Warden of All Souls College, 2 Sets The President of Magdalen College, Oxford 2 Sets The President of Corpus Christi College, 2 Sets The President of Trinity College, Oxford The President of St. John's College, Oxford 2 Sets The Warden of Wadham College, 2 Sets The Master of Pembroke College, Oxford The Provost of Worcester College y Sets The Principal of Alban Hall The Regius Professor of Hebrew, in Oxford 2 Sets The Regius Professor of Modern History, in Oxford 2 Set* The Professor of Anglo-Saxon, in Oxford The Professor of Botany, in Oxford The Master of Peter-House, in Cambridge 2 Sets The Provost of King's College, Cambridge 2 Seta The Master of St. John's College, in Cambridge 2 Sets The Master of Trinity College, Cambridge ft Sets The Master of Emmanuel College 2 Sets The Regius Professor of Civil Law, in Cambridge 2 Seti The Public Orator, in Cambridge The Norrisian Professor of Divinity, in Cambridge The Casuistical Professor, Cambridge University College Library, in Oxford Corpus Christi College Library Oriel College Library The Public Library of Cambridge The Library of Jesus College, in Cambridge The Library of Emmanuel College King's College Library, Cambridge Trinity College Library, in Cambridge The Provost of Eton College . Q Sets. Eton College • 2 Sets The Fellows of Eton College 8 Sets The Masters of Eton School 2 Sets The late Upper Master of Westminster School 2 Set? The Provost of Trinity College, Dublin The Master of the Temple The Society of the Middle Temple The Master of the Charter House The Master of the Charter House School 2 Sets The Society for Literary Funds 20 Sets Dublin Library Society Cornwall County Library Worcester Library Bristol Library Frenchay Library, in Bristol Sunderland Subscription Library Book Society of Battle, in Sussex d 2 John Rutherforth Abdy, Esq. Albyns, nearEpping, in Essex Mrs. Abington Mr. Frederick Accura, Compton-street, Soho Samuel Acton, Esq. Pembridge, in the County of Hereford Mrs. Adair Dr. Adam, Edinburgh James Adams, Esq. M. P. &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Charles Adams, Esq. M. P. S Sets Mrs. Adams, Olveston John Adolphus, Esq. F. S. A. Warren Street Harland Ainsworth, Esq. Swansea Rev. Thomas Alban, Ludlow Rev. Charles Alcock, Prebendary of Chichester William Alexander, Esq. King's Counsel Grant Allen, Esq. Winchester-Street John Allen, Esq. Town Clerk, Dublin John Allen, Esq. South-Street, Finsbury-Square Henry Allen, Esq. Barrister at Law, of the Lodge, in the County of Brecon 2 Sets Rev. James Allen, Rector of Shobdon, in the County of Hereford Mrs. Altham, Weymouth-Strect Miss Andrews, of the Circulating Library, in Worcester Mrs. Apreece, Washingley Hall, Huntingdonshire ■Rev. William Armstrong, F. A. S. George Arnold, Esq. (late) of Halstead, near Seven oaks, in Kent Dr. Ash, M. D. Argyll-Street, 2 Sets Edward Ash, Esq. King's-Square, Bristol 3 Set£ Nathaniel Atcheson, Esq. F. A. S. Ely-Place John Atkinson, Esq. of Manchester Thomas A tk in son, Esq. of ditto Joseph Babhvgton, M, D. Ludlow Anthony Bacon, Esq. Newtown, near Newbury, in Berks - 2 Sets Matthew Baillie, M. D. 2 Sets Miss Joanna Baillie, Hampstead 2 Sets Edward Baker, Esq. Salisbury George Baker, Esq. Birmingham Rev. Mr. Baker 7 Set* Mr. R. Baker, Corpus Christi College, Oxford John Baldwin, Esq. Manchester Richard Baldwin, Esq, 8cc. St. Bartholomew's Hospital Benjamin Ball, Esq. Assistant Barrister for the County of Donegal 2 Sets Mr. Gowen Ball, Bristol Mr. Joseph Ball, London Mr. Richard Ball, Bridgewater Rev. Mr. Banister J. C. Banks, Esq. at the Charter-house Dr. Bardsley, M. D. Manchester 2 Sets Mr. John Barfield, Printer to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales 2 Sets Rev. Charles Barker, Canon Residentiary of Wells 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Barker, Chancellor of Christ College,Brecon R. P. Barlow, Esq. General Post Office Edward Barnard, Esq. Harefield-Grove, Middlesex Rev. Mr. Barnes, Christ Church, Oxford 2 Sets Dr. Barnett, M. D. Ludlow Denham Barons, Esq. Clapham Rev. Charles Brent Barry Thomas Barrow, jun. Esq. Barrister at Law, Inner Temple . The late Rev. Mr. Barton, late Chaplain to the J louse of Commons, &c. John Barton, Esq. Manchester 2 Sets Henry Barton, Esq. ditto 2 Sets Henry Barton, jun. Esq. ditto 2 Set& John Barton, Esq. Mrs. James Barton, Dean's Water, nearWinslow, in Cheshire 2 Sets John Basset, Esq. of Bolston, in Glamorganshire Rev. Mr. Basset, Vicar of Swansea Q Sets Rev. John Bastock, M. A. Liverpool Rev. Dr. Bathurst, Prebendary of Durham 2 Set* William Battersby, Esq. Berkeley Square, Bristol George Fleming Baxter, Esq. Mr. Beadford, Frenchay, Bristol Rev. Edwardes Beadon, North Stoneham, Essex C Sets Rev. Frederick Beadon, North Stoneham, Essex Rev. John Watson Beadon, Odiam, Hants John Bedford, Esq. Persfyore, Worcester Rev. Thomas Bedford, Rector of St. Helen's, Worcester Rev. Mr. Beecher, King's College, Cambridge Peter Begbie, Esq. New Bond-Street Adam Bell, Esq. Victualling Office, Deptford George Beltz, Esq. Herald's College John Bennett, Esq. Pythouse Rev. Mr. Berens, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Major-General and Mrs. Bernard % Sets Mr. Berrington, Attorney at Law, Swansea Mr. Berry, sen. Trinity College, Oxford Mr. Berry,jun. ditto Thomas Best, Esq. Boxley, near Maidstone 2 Sets Mr. James Best, Corpus Christi College, Oxford William Bethell, Esq. and Mrs. Bethel 1, Langton- Hall, Yorkshire *2 Sets R.Bevan, Esq. Barrister at Law, Boswell-Court, Lincoln's-Inn Rev. Mr. Bevan, Rector of Whitton 2 Sets Richard Bever, Esq. 3 Set* Ralph Bigland, Esq. Richmond, Herald Samuel Birch, Esq. Portland-Square, Bristol g>trtism&ers. wxif Rev. Mr. Birch, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Thomas Bird, Esq. Worcester Mr. Bird, Bookseller, Cardiff 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Bishop, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Rev. S. Blackall, Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Mr. J. P. Blackmore, West Bromwich William Blakeney, Esq. Rev. Robert Blakeney Mr. John Blew, Sheriff of the City of Worcester Rev. Mr. Bliss, Frampton Cotterell 2 Sets Mrs. Bliss Mrs. C. Bliss William Blizzard, F. A. S. 2 Sets Bendon Bload, Esq. of the County of Clare, in Ireland 2 Sets Rev. William Blundell, A. M. Dublin Rev. Thomas Blyth, Solyhull, Warwickshire Rev. Mr. Boardman, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Thomas Boddington, Esq. a Bank Director 2 Set9 John Bodenham, Esq. of the Grove, Radnorshire Hugh Bold, Esq. Barrister at Law, Brecon Thomas Bold, Esq. of ditto Cornelius Bolton, Esq. Waterford 2 Sets Mr. Bond, Brighthelmstone Henry Bonham, Esq. Thomas Bonville, Esq. St. James's-Square, Bristol 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Booker, Dudley, Warwickshire Mr. Booth, Bookseller, Corner of Duke and Dutchess-Street, Portland-Place 6 Sets Mr. George Booth, Great Portland-Street William Boscawen, Esq. 2 Sets William Spencer Boscawen, Esq. 2 Sets Rev. Jonathan Boucher, A. M. F. S. A. Vicar of Epsom Rev. Richard Bourne, A. M. Dublin Sir Charles W» R. Boughton, Bart. 2 Sets- Jrt ufescrflbers. John Bowdler, Esq. and Mrs. Bowdler 2 Set* Thomas Bowdler, Esq. of St. Boniface, in the Isle of Wight Mrs. Bowdler, of Bath William Bowdon, Esq. Union Court, Broad-Street William Bowdon, Esq. Marty-Melland, Devonshire Rev. W. L. Bowles, Donhead Thomas B. Brampston, Esq. M. P. Albemarle-Street Rev. John Brampston, Stone-Forest Hall, Essex Robert Bree, M. D. Birmingham Charles T. Brereton, Esq. Bristol Thomas Brice, Esq. Samuel Brice, Esq. Frenchay, Bristol Mr. Brydges, Corpus Christi College, Oxford George Bright, Esq. Richard Bright, Esq. Brisco, Esq. Trinity College, Cambridge Rev. William Bristow, Ireland John Britten, Esq. Wilderness-Row Theodore Henry Broadhead, Esq. Portland-Place Theodore Henry Broadhead, jun. Esq. Orchard-Street 2 Sets Rev. Anthony Bromley, Rector of St. Mildred, Poultry Henry Brockard, Esq. Camden-Street, Pancras Rev. Mr. Brooke, Exeter College, Oxford Rev. Thomas Brooke, Sodbury Mr. Richard Brooke Rev. Dr. Brooker, Dudley, Warwickshire Mr. Brotherton, Little Britain, Aldersgate-Street J. H. Browne, Esq. M. P. John Browne, Esq. Presteigne Thomas Browne, Esq. New Bridge-Street, Blackfriars 2 Sets. Timothy Browne, Esq. Camberwell Francis Browne, Esq. General Post-Office Mr. Browne, Attorney at Law, Cardiff Thomas Browne, Esq. Barrister at Law, Inner Temple g>tti»0crit»ers. jcli Rev. Mr. Browne, Corpus Christi, College, Oxford Crawfurd Bruce, Esq. M. P. Fitzroy-Square Rev. Dr. Bruce, Ireland Jacob Bryant, Esq. &c. &c. See. 2 Sets Mrs. Bryant, Bathwick Admiral Buckner, Chichester 2 Sets Miss Maria Budgen, Twickenham 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Bullock, Oriel College, Oxford Mr. Burch, Miniature Painter, Charlotte-Street, Rathbone-Place Sir James B. Burgess, Bart. 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Burgess, Rector of Winfirth-Newbnrgh, Dorsetshire Miss Burton, Christ Church, Oxford James C. Butson, Esq. Waterford 2 Sets Rev. J. M. Butt, Student of Christ Church Rev. Thomas Butt, Arley, Worcestershire Thomas Cabbell, Esq. Exeter College, Oxford Benjamin B. Cabbell, Esq. ditto Mrs. Cade, Sidcop, near Foot's Cray 2 Sets Messrs. Cadell and Davies, Booksellers, Strand 6 Sets Tho. Caldecot, Esq. Barrister at Law, Dartford, Kent 2 Sets Henry Callendar, Esq. Mr. Calley, Trinity College Colonel Campbell, New Cavendish-Street Dr. Cameron, M. D. Worcester Rev. Dr. Camplin, Vicar of All Saints, Bristol 2 Sets Colonel Capper, Cardiff 2 Sets John Carleton, Esq. Mountjoy-Square, Dublin John Carrington, Esq. Mile-End John Carstares, Esq. Stratford-Green, Essex David Cassidy, Esq. Upper Mary-le-bone-Street Miss Cartwright Rev. Dr.Casberd, Vicar of Peninark, &c. Glamorganshire jrttt ^ubsmfiers. Stephen Cave, Esq. Brunswick-Square, Bristol John Cave, Esq. George Chalmers, Esq. Q Sets The late Sir Robert Chambers, Chief Justice of India, Queen Ann-Street East Lady Chambers, of ditto Dr. Chambers, M. D. Worcester William Chapman, Esq. Newcastle-upon-Tyne Rev. R. Charleton, Vicar of Olveston 4 Sets Mrs. Charleton £ Sets Mrs. Charleton, College Green, Bristol R. Chearnley, Esq. Swansea Edmund Cheese, Esq. Kington, Herefordshire Mr. John Cheetham, Manchester Rev. Joseph Cheston, A. M. Gloucester George Children, Esq. Tunbridge, Kent 2 Sets Mrs. P. Cholmeley, Weymouth -Street Rev. Mr. Cholmeley, Magdalen College, Oxford James Christie, jun. Esq. Pall-Mali Robert Christie, Esq. Old- Jewry John Chughe, Esq. Gracechurch-Street Mr. John Church, Brecon Mr. Samuel Church, ditto Mr. Churchey, Attorney at Law, and his two Sons, Brecon, 3 Sets. Colonel Clark, 46th Regiment of Foot Mr. John Clark, Land Surveyor John Clark, M. D. Burlington-Street Anthony Clarke, Esq. Caroline-Place, Guildford-Street Mrs. Clarke, of the Hill, near Ross, Herefordshire Rev. Mr. Clayton, Fellow of Brazen Nose College, Oxford John Clements, Esq. Upper Grosvenor-Street 2 S#ts Rev. Allen ClifTe, Mathom, near Worcester Rev. Mr. Coates, Corpus Christi College, Oxford W. H. Coates, Esq. Surgeon, 5th D. G. Howland-Street Rev. Mr. Cockayne, Stapleton Sir Charles Codrington, Bart. C. Codrington, Esq. M. P. Dodington, 5 Sets Hon. Mrs. Codrington 5 S«ts Mrs. Codrington, Albemarle-Street Captain Codrington, Winchfield, Hants Rev. Francis Coke, Lower-Moor, Herefordshire Pennel Cole, Esq. Worcester Mrs. Cole, Wickham, Suffolk Miss Cole Charles Collins, Esq. Swansea Mr. Collinson, Queen's College, Oxford Thomas Collins, Esq. Berners-Street Lieutenant Colly, Royal Engineers, Tower Sir John Colpoys, &c. &c. &c. Benjamin Comberbatch, Esq. Worcester Rev. James Commeline, Gloucester Rev. Richard Constable, Prebendary of Chichester John Conyers, Esq. Mount-Street, Grosvenor-Square Rev. Edward Conyers, Epping, Essex Edward Cooke, Esq. Somerset-Street, Portman-Square Rev. Thomas Cooke, Rector of Wickwar John Cooke, Esq. Duke-Street, Portland-Place Rev. Richard Cooke Mr. Cooke, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Hector Cooksey, Esq. Presteigne Rev. Dr. Coombe, Prebendary of Canterbury Rev. Mr. Coplestone, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Thomas Copley, Esq. Neither-Hall, Doncaster Sir George Cornewall, Bart. M. P. 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Corser, Bridgnorth Sir Stephen Cotterell, See. 8cc. &c, Messrs, Cowley and Co. Booksellers, Bristol Samuel C. Cox, Esq. a Welsh Judge 2 Sets' Richard Cox, Esq. Quartly, Hants 4 Sets Rev. Mr. Coxe, &c. &c. &c. Bemerton, Wilts Rev. Mr. Coxe, Harley-Street Mr. Samuel Crane, Worcester Mr. Henry Craven, Trinity College, Oxford Richard Crawshay, Esq. Cyfartha, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Miss Creswell, Bath Mr. Creswell, Trinity College, Oxford Richard Croft, Esq. Old Burlington-Street 2 Sets Rev. John Crofts George Crooke, Esq. Kern shot-Park, Hants Mr. John B. Cross, King-Square, Bristol Mrs. dimming, Camden-Place, Bath 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Curteis, Vicar of Seven oaks, Kent Rev. Trotman Curties, Fellow of Corpus Christi College John C. Curwen, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Mrs. Cust, Grantham Dr. Dale, London Dr. Dalton, Camberwell Professor Dalzell, Edinburgh John Daniel, Esq. Mincing-Lane Mr. Darnell, Corpus Christi College, Oxford W. Y. Davenport, Esq. Davenport-House, Salop Rev. Richard Davies, Crickhowell, Breconshire Miss Davies Rev. Dr. Davies, Clifton Somerset Davies, Esq. Croft Castle, Herefordshire 2 Sets Henry Davies, Esq. Presteigne James Davies, Esq. Kington, Herefordshire Mr. John James Davies, Attorney at Law, Presteigne Captain Richard Davies. Crickhowell, Breconshire Rev. Richard Davies-, Vicar ofTetbury g>ufcscri&er0. jcfo Mrs. Davies, Badminton Mr. Davies, Rhisgog, Radnorshire 5 Sets Rev. William Davies, A.M. Vicar of Llangors D. Davies, Esq. Swansea 2 Sets William Davies, Esq. Cringell Mr. Edmund Davies, Rhisgog Rev. Richard Davies, Vicar of Brecon, &c. Rev. Richard Davies, jun. of ditto William Davies, Esq. Brecon Rev. John Davies, Vice Master of Trinity College,Cambridge Dr. Davies, M. D. Carmarthen Morgan Thomas Davies, Esq. Swansea Rev. Dr. Davies, Macclesfield Richard Hart Davis, Esq. Clifton Rev. Mr. Dean, Brazen Nose College, Oxford Martin Deane, M.D. Ludlow Rev. Mr. Deane, Dudmarton Joseph Denman, M. D. Bakewell, Derbyshire 2 Sets Dr. Denman, M. D. Old Burlington-Street 2 Sets Thomas Denman, Esq. Lincoln's-Inn 2 Sets Richard Deane, Esq. Winchelsea Mr. Deane, Trinity College Oxford Rev. Mr* Dennison William Desmond, Esq. New Palace Yard 2 Sets Sir John Dick, &c. &c. 8cc. Upper Harley-Street 2 Sets William L. Dilewyn, Esq. Rev. Mr. Dodd, Magdalen College, Cambridge Rev. P. Dodd, Camberwell Sir William Dolben, Bart. M. P. 2 Sets William Dolby, Esq, Brizes, Es*ex Robert Dolbyn, Esq. Recorder of W.aterford 2 Sets Andrew Douglas, Esq. Portland-Place Rev. Robert Douglas, Salop Rev. Dr. Dowdeswell Mr. John Dowding, Worcester Mrs. Dowell, Cote, near Bristol Richard Downes, Esq. Hereford John Dowse, Esq. Great James-Street, Bedford-Row' Rev. Matthew D'Oyley, Buxted, Sussex Sir Francis Drake, Bart. 2 Sets Francis Drake, Esq. John Drew, Esq. Chichester 2 Set* Driscot, Esq. Barrister at Law, Dublin £ Set* Rev. Dr. Drought, Bath Rev. J. Drought, A. M, Claines, near Worcester Simeon Droz, Esq. Portland-Place Rev. Dr. Hay Drummond, Canon of Christ Church Robert Duff, Esq. Finsbury-Square Jonathan Duncan, Esq. Governor of Bombay 2 Set* Christopher Dunkin, Esq. Southwark Rev. Dr. Duval, Canon of Windsor 2 Seta Mr. Samuel Dyer, Bristol Jeremiah Dyson, Esq. &c. &c. Sic. 2 Sets Thomas Eagle, Esq. Bristol Rev. Edward Earle, High Ongar, Essex Hinton East, Esq. Brazen Nose College, Oxford John F. Edgar, Esq. Bristol Edington, Esq. New Bond-Street Richard Edmonds, Esq. Exchequer Pleas Office The late Rev. Mr. Archdeacon Edwardes Samuel Edwards, Esq. Cotham Lodge Mr. Thomas Egerton, Bookseller, Whitehall 6 Seta Rev. Mr. Elgee, Rector of Wexford 2 Seta Rev. Dr. Elrington, Senior Fellow of Trinity College,Dublin Isaac Elton, Esq. Hill-House Edmund Estcourt, Esq. Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 2 Sets John Evaus, Esq. Byletts, Herefordshire g>u6sicri6ets. runt Mr. Hugh Evans, jun. Llandilo, Carmarthenshire Rev. Dr. Evans, Prebendary and Archdeacon of Norwich Hugh P. Evans, Esq. Noyadd, Radnorshire 2 Sets Rev. J. Evans, Vicar of Newport, Monmouthshire Robert Farquhar, Esq. Portland-Place William Fawkener, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 2 Set? Rev. James Fawcett, B. D. Norfolk Rev. Joseph F. Fearon, Prebendary of Chichester Ralph Fenwick, M. D. Durham Rev. Edmund Ferrers, Cheriton, Hants Mr. John Fewster, Surgeon, Thornbury William T. Fitzgerald, Esq. Thomas Fitzherbert, Esq. Portland-Place Robert Fleetwood, Esq. Victualling Office Joseph Fletcher, Esq. Great Ealing 2 Sets. Rev. John Foley, Newent, Gloucestershire Rev. Mr. Foote, Prebendary of Rochester Lady Ford, Oakedge, Shropshire 2 Set* Mr. H. F. Ford, Clifton Mr. William Ford, Manchester John Fordyce, Esq. Birchin-Lanc Rev. Dr. Fothergill, Tiverton 2 Sets B. Fountaine, Esq. Harford-Hall, Norfolk Rev. Mr. Foxcroft, Winterbourne Miss Foxcroft, Halstead, Yorkshire William Fowler, Esq. Chichester Thomas Hodges Fowler, Esq. Abbey Cum Hir, Rad- norshire 2 Set* Mrs. Fowler, of ditto 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Franklin, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Thomas Franklyn, Esq. Barrister at Law, Pwl-y-wrach Glamorganshire Rev. Peter A. Franquefort, Ireland 2 Sets jrtWtt g>ttf>0crtf>er& Captain Frederick, Glanark, near Crickhowell 2 Sets Francis Freeling, Esq. &c. &c. &c. General Post Office 2 Sets Rev. W. J. French, Bow- Mrs. Fryer, Wrexham 2 Sets John Fuller, Esq. M. P. Devonshire-Place 2 Sets Lady Furst, Hill-Court Messrs. Garaeau &Co. Booksellers, Albemarle-Street 12 Sets John W. Garbett, Esq. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Radnor Militia 2 Sets Christopher Gardiner, Esq. Minchin Hampton Rev. William Gamier, Prebendary of Winchester Rev. Thomas Gamier, Vicar of Froyle, Hants Rev. Mr. Gatehouse, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Admiral Gell, Crickhowell 2 Sets Peter Giles, Esq. F. R. S. Streatham, Surrey Mr. Girot Rev. Dr. Glasse, &c. &c. &c. George Glenny, Esq. Russel-Square Rev. Dr. Gooch, &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Goodall Rev. William Goodenough, Yate, Gloucestershire 2 Sets John Goodrich, Esq. Energlyn, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Rev. James Gordon, &c. Ireland 2 Sets George Gordon, Esq. Sydenham John Gordon, Esq. Donhead-Hall Robert Gordon, Esq. Lewston Charles Goring, Esq. 4 Sets. Charles Goring, Esq. Weston Park, Sussex William Goring, Esq. Great Portland-Street John Gosling, Esq. Upper Fitzroy-Street William Gosling, Esq. Somerset-Place Richard Gough, Esq. Enfield Mrs. Gough, Brianstone-Street, Poitman-Square Subscribers* jrttjr Rev. Mr. Graham, All Souls College, Oxford Rev. Dr. Graves, Trinity College, Dublin Rev. John Greig, White Waltham, Berks Thomas Green, Esq. Maryborough, Yorkshire John Lane Green, Esq. Mr. Hamilton Green, Parslow William Greenly, Esq. Titley-Court, Herefordshire Madame GrefFulhe, Portland-Place George De-Lyne Gregory, Esq. Hunger ford -Lodge, Lincolnshire Rev. Edward Gregory, Langar, Nottinghamshire Rev. David Griffith, Brecon John Griffith, Esq. 2 Sets Rev. Charles Griffith, Brecon Rev. James Griffith, University College, Oxford The late Mr. Philip Griffith, Merthir Tidvil, Glamor- ganshire 2 Sets Richard Griffith, Esq. Cardiff 2 Sets Grose, Esq. Shaw Grosett, Esq. Clifton Edward Grubb, Esq. Great Queen-Street, Lincoln's- Inn-Fields Mr. Edward Guest, Dudley Rev. Mr. Gutch, All Souls College, Oxford Mrs. Gwinnett, Penlyn Castle, Glamorganshire John Gwinnett, Esq. Common-Hill, Worcester Thynne H. Gwynne, Esq. Buckland, Breconshire 2 Sets J. H. M. Gwynne, Esq. Llanelveth, Radnorshire 2 Set* Rev. Mr. Haistone, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Mr. Hale, Christ Church Samuel C. Hall, Esq. St. John's College, Cambridge Rev. Dr. Hall, Canon of Christ Church 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Hall, Rector of Ard^liaw, Ireland 2 Sets e ^ubsmbcrs. Benjamin Hall, Esq. Barrister at Law 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Hallam, Canon of Windsor 2 Sets Rev. R. W. Haliifax, A. M. Standish, Gloucestershire Mr. Hamer, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Rev. Dr. Hamilton, Rector of St. Martin's Rev. Dr. R. Hamilton, Rector of St. Olave, Old-Jewry Hugh Hamilton, Esq. Clare-Street, Dublin Mrs. Henrietta Hanbury, Queen-Ann-Street, West 2 Sets Mrs. Frances Hanbury, Ditto 2 Sets Messrs. Hanwell and Parker, Booksellers, Oxford 2 Sets Mrs. Hardinge, Grove, Seven-Oaks, Kent Rev. Henry Hardinge, Rector of Stanhope, in the County of Durham 2 Sets Mr. Charles Hardinge, A. M. University College, Oxford < 2 Sets Captain George Nicholas Hardinge, of the Royal Navy 2 Sets Henry Hardinge, Esq. Lieutenant in the Army 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Hardwicke, Sopworth- House, Wiltshire 2 Sets James Hara, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Benjamin Harenc, Junior, Esq. Pembroke College, Cambridge 2 Sets John Harford, Esq. Bleize-Castle 2 Sets Francis Hargrave, Esq. Barrister at Law Rev. John Harley, Rector of Presteigne John Harman, Esq. Frederick-Place, Old-Jewry James Lloyd Harris, Esq. Kington, Herefordshire 2 Sets George Hartwell, Esq. 2 Sets John Harvey, Esq, Guildford-Street 2 Sets John Harvey, Esq. Portlaud-Place William Harvey, Esq. W'hite Fryar-Street, Dublin 2 Set* Rev. Mr. Harwell, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Roy. J. D. Haslewood, Devonshire-Street, Portland- Place §>tt&smfrer0. If James Haworth, M. D. &c. &c. Sec. LincolnVInn- Fields 2 Seta Rev. C. Haynes, Rector of Siston Mr. Haynes, St. Augustine's-Place, Bristol Sir Isaac Heard, Gaiter King at Arms 2 Sets The late Colonel Heathcote, Hereford Rev. Mr. Heathcote, Master of Hackney-School Ames Hellicar, Esq. Bath Mr. Ames Hellicar, Junior, Bristol Mr. G. Hellicar, Bristol Mr. Joseph Hellicar, Bristol Rev. Dr. Hemming, Hampton, Middlesex Rev. Mr. Henley, Howland-Street, Fitzroy-Square Rev. Edward Herbert, Archdeacon of Aghadoe, Ireland Rev. William Herringham, Chipping Ongar, Essex Mr. Thomas Hetling, Attorney at Law, Sodbury Mr. Thomas Hewitt, Manchester Rev. Dr. Hey, Passenham, Northamptonshire Mr. D. Higgs, Sodbury Mr. W. Higgs, St. Paul's, Bristol Sir Richard Hill, Bart. M. P. 2 Sets Charles Hill, Esq. Wick Joseph Hill, Esq. Saville-Row 2 Sets Rev. Averill Hill, Limerick Richard Hill, Esq. Cardiff 2 Sets J. Hinckley, Esq. F. S. A. Mr. Thomas Hindley, Manchester Rev. Mr. Hipgame, Jesus College, Cambridge Sir John Cox Hippesley, Bart. Lower Grosvenor- Street £ Sets. Rev. Joshua Hird, Fellow of King's College, Cam- bridge George Hoare, Esq. Jewell Office, Tower. Dr. Hobbes, M. D. Swansea lu ^ubsm&ers. Isaac Hobhouse, Esq. 6 Sets Samuel Hobson, Esq. Assistant Barrister for the County of Waterford 2 Sets Thomas Fowler Hodges, Esq.Abbey-Cwm-hir,Radnor 2 Sets Mr. Hoi borough, Tockington Mr. Robert Hole, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Samuel Homfray, Esq. Pendaran-Place, Glamor- ganshire 2 Sets Daniel Hopkins, Esq. Leadenhall-Street William Hooper, B. D. Fellow of University College, Oxford John Archer Houblon, Esq. Great Hallingbury, Essex Henry Howard, Esq. M.P. Thornbury Rev. Benjamin Howell, Rector of Boughwood Thomas Bridges Hughes, Esq. Barrister at Law 2 Sets Dr. Hughes, Jesus College, Oxford Mr. Hughes, Ditto Rev. John Hughes, Vicar of Pembroke The late Rev. Mr. Huish, Rector of Pembridge, Herefordshire 2 Sets Rev. John Huish, late of Ditto 2 Sets Rev. Francis Huish, Rector of Clisthydon, Devonshire 2 Sets John Huitson, Esq. Newman-Street J. Humphreys Esq. Barrister at Law, Llantrissent, Glamorganshire Miss Hunt, at Mrs. Bowdler's, Park-Street, Bath Pavid Hunter, Esq. Blackheath Rev. Mr. Huntley, Boxwell-Court 2 Sets Herbert Hurst, Esq. Gabalva, Glamorganshire Samuel Jackson, Esq. 2 Sets John Jackson, Esq. Manchester W. H. R.Jackson, Esq. Mall, Clifton, Sir Walter If. James, Bart. Devonshire-Place 3 Sets gwfiscrtfiers. Kit Richard James, Esq. Ightham, Sevenoaks, Kent 2 Sets Rev. Morgan James, Brecon 2 Sets Mr. James, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Thomas Jameson, Esq. Fire-Court Rev. Mr. James, Rector of Rememham, Berkshire John Jeffreys, Esq. Peckham John Jeffreys, Esq. Swansea John Jeffreys, Junior, Esq. Ditto Walter Jeffreys, Esq. Brecon Elias Jenkins, Esq. Neath Lewis Jenkins, Esq. Ditto 2 Sets Mr. John Jenkinson, Manchester Jtobert Jenner, . Esq. Wenvoe-Castle, Glamorgan- shire 6 Sets Rev. William Jephson, Camberwell Mr. D. Jephson, Ditto 2 Sets Mr. J. T. Jephson, West Bromwich, Warwickshire Sir Hugh Inglis, Bart. &c. 8cc. &c. 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Ingram, New College, Oxford Rev. P. Ingram, Stamford, Worcestershire Richard Ingram, Esq. Worcester Mr. Ingram, Trinity College, Oxford John Innes, Esq. 2 Sets Thomas Johnes, Esq. MP. 5 Sets Rev. Samuel Johnes, Vicar of Allhallows Barking 2 Sets Lieutenant General Johnson, Ireland 2 Sets Cuthbert Johnson, Esq. Swansea Richard Johnson, Esq. Stratford-Place Peter Johnson, Esq. Percy-Street Major Johnson, Swansea Benjamin Johnson, Esq. Barrister at Law J. Johnson, Esq. Mr. Johnstone, Ti nity College, Cambridge Thomas Tyrwhit Jones, Esq. M. P. Clarence Lodge lib §>ttf)0cri&ers* Henry Jones, Esq. Gravesend Daniel Jones, Esq. of Lan twit-Major, Glamorgan- shire 2 Seti John Jones, Esq. Cardiff-Arms 2 Sets John Jones, Esq. St. Helen's, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Harford Jones, Esq. Resident at Bagdad 2 Sets Theophilus Jones, Esq. Brecon 10 Sets Edward Jones, Esq. Llandovery, Carmarthenshire 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Jones, Redland 10 Sets Thomas Jones, Esq. Stapleton Rev. Richard Jones, Charfield 2 Sets Mr. Jones, A. B. St. John's College, Cambridge Rev. Thomas Jones, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Rev. Thomas Jones, Wickwar 2 Sets G. Jones, Esq. Swansea Rev. B. Jones, Swansea, Vicar of Cheriton, Hants Mr. John Jones, Neath Mr. John Jones, Surgeon, Ditto Mr. W. Jones, Attorney at Law, Swansea Mr. O. Jones, Thames-Street Mr. Edward Jones, Harpist of the Prince of Wales Rev. Ireland, Croydon, Surrey 2 Sets Elias Isaac, Esq. Worcester James Kearney, Esq. Garret's-Town, in the County of Cork. Miss Keenc, Bath 4 Sets Benjamin Keene, Esq.CharIes-Streer,Berkeley-Square 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Keet, Hatfield, Herts. William Kernys, Esq. Maindee, Monmouthshire Edward Kendal], Esq. Langattock Crickhowell 2 Sets Mr. Joseph Fr. de Kergariou deLaninouen Bretagne Rev. Mr. Kett, Trinity College, Oxford 2 Sets H&vib&txibtxs. Vo Henry Jarrett Key, Esq. Abchurch-Lane 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Keysall Mr. Kilpin Thomas King, Esq. Noke, Herefordshire Rev. Mr. King, Olveston o g^ Henry King, Esq. Bristol Rev. Mr. King, Brazen-Nose College, Oxford Colonel Kingscote, Kingscote James Kinnersley, Esq. Ludlow 2 Sets Lieutenant-Colonel William Kirkpatrick 2 Sets Richard Kirwan, Esq. F. R. S. Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq. Elton, near Ludlow 2 Sets Mr. William Knight, Park-Row, Bristol 2 Sets Henry Knight, Esq. Tythegstone, Glamorganshire JK.ev. Mr. Knottesford, Hadleigh, Suffolk 2 Sets James Lackington, Esq. 2 Sets Lieutenant-Colonel Lambard 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Lambert, Fellow of Trinity College Samuel Langford, Esq. Peckham Dr. Latham, &c. M. D. Bedford-Row 2 Sets James Law, Esq. Portland-Place Rev. Dr. Law, Archdeacon of Rochester Dr. Lawrence, M. D. Cambridge George Urquhart Lawtie, Esq. 53, Upper Mary-le-bone Street John Martin Leake, Esq, Harley-Street Edward Lee, Esq. M. P. ,2 Sets Capel Hanbury Leigh, Esq. Pontipool 2 Set* Mrs. Leigh, ditto 2 Sets Rev. Charles Lesley Captain Lewes, Brecon Militia Rev Richard Lewis, Limerick Rev. Lewis Lewis, Gwynfer, Carmarthenshire John Lewis, Esq. Byletts, Shropshire Rev. Mr. Lewis, Corsham David Lewis, Esq. Clan y Rhyd, Carmarthenshire Hugh Leycester, Esq. M. P. &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Mrs. Liell, Richmond, Surrey 2 Sets John Liptrap, Esq. Mile-End 2 Sets Rev. R. Litchford, Boothby-Pagnel, Lincolnshire Rev. William Llewellyn, Thornbury 2 Sets John Llewellin, Esq. Penllergare, Glamorganshire 2 Sets John Llewellin, Esq. of Welsh St. Donats, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Griffith Llewellin, Esq. Margam, Glamorganshire 2 Sets John Lloyd, Esq. Dinas, Breconshire 2 Sets Thomas Lloyd, Esq. Bronwydd, Cardiganshire John Lloyd, Esq. Aberannell, Breconshire David Lloyd, Esq. Brecon Rev. Evan Lloyd, Orsett, Essex Rev. Bartholomew Lloyd, Fellow of Trinity College Dublin Rev. William Lockton, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Rev. Dr. Lodge, Chancellor of Armagh 2 Sets Edward Long, Esq. Worcester Mr. Longfellow, Brecon Colonel Lorainc, Wey mouth-Street Rev. Verney Lovett, Vicar of Bandon, Ireland Jonathan Lovett, Esq. Deputy Persian Interpreter to the Government of Bombay Mrs. Lowe, Park-Street, Grosvenor-Square 2 Sets Richard Lowndes, Esq. Red-Lion-Square P. J. Luard, Esq. Worcester Rev. Dr. Ludlow, Sopworth Samuel Ludlow, Esq. Henrietta-Street, Covent-Garden Mr. Luffman, Geographer, Ball-Alley, Coleman-Stveef William Lukin, Esq. Royal Navy gat&scufcers* Mi Sir Stephen Lushington, Bart. M. P. &c. Upper Harley-Street Mr. Lury, Lower Hazel, Olveston Samuel Lysons, Esq. F. R. S. and F. S. A. Winslow Rev. Mr. Maber, Rector of Merthir Tidvill, Glamor- ganshire Dr. Macdonell, M. D. Ireland Colonel Mac Lachlan Donald Macleod, Esq. in Geannies 2 Sets John Macnamara, Esq. Langoed Castle,Breconshire 4 Sets Rev. Spencer Madan, Birmingham Rev. Mr. Madewell, in Scotland Rev. Dr. Magee, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin Samuel Manesty, Esq. Resident at Bussorah Sir William Manners, Bart. Oxford-Street 2 Sets John W. Mansfield, Esq. Swansea 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Mant, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Thomas Markham, Esq. Glamorganshire 2 Sets Rev. Herbert Marsh, B. D. Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge Rev. Mr. Marsh, Christ Church, Oxford Rev. Mr. Marshall, Lincoln College, Oxford Rev. Mr. Marshall, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Mr. Edward Marshall, Bradford, Wilts William Byam Martin, Esq. Portland-Place 2 Sets Mrs. Mathew, Rathbone-Place Thomas Matthias, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Rev. Thomas Maurice, Author of the Indian Antiquities Mr. Hugh Maurice, Thomas-Street, Bristol Mr. Joseph Maurice, Surgeon, Bristol Thomas Maybery, Esq. Brecon Peter Mellish, Esq. Brunswick-Square f Mtt &ufi0nftet& R. M. Mence, Esq. Worcester Rev. Benjamin Mence, Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford Richard Mence, Esq. Temple Thomas Meredith, Esq. Knighton, Radnorshire Thomas Meredith, Esq. Brecon Paul C. Methuen, Esq. Lower Grovesnor-Street 2 Set* Mr. Methuen, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Mr. Edward Miehal, Bradford, Wilts William Miller, Esq. Ozel worth Sir Francis Millman, Bart. M. D. John Miers, Esq. Cadoxton-Place, Glamorganshire Miss Millgrove, Thornbury William Minier, Esq. Adelphi-Terraee Mr. Minoch, Trinity College, Oxford Rev. John Mitchell, Fellow of Worcester College,- Oxford Mr. Mitford, Fellow of Oriel College, Ditto Mr. Hugh Moises, University College, Ditto William Moncriffe, M. D. Bristol Basil Montague, Esq. Paper Buildings, Inner Temple Dr. Moody, LL. D. Turnham-Green 2 Sets Abraham Moore, Esq. Barrister at Law Rev. James Moore, Wimbledon, Surrey Rev. Thomas Moore Mrs. Hannah More Charles Morgan, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Rev. William Morgan, Brecon Edward Morgan, Esq. Recorder of Brecon Edward Morgan, Esq. LI andaff 8 Sets Mr. Charles Morgan, Talgarth, Breconshire Mr. John Morgan, Brecon Mr. C. Morgan, St. Peter's College, Cambridge Jul o Mwrgwng. g>tt&scrtl)er& It? Rev. Dr. Morrice, Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel John Morris?, Esq. Clasemont, Glamorganshire Walter M. Mosely, Esq. Glasshampton, Worcestershire Michael Mosely, Esq. King's Bench Walks, Temple Rev. Dr. Moss, Prebendary of St. Paul's Rev. Mr. Moulding, Rector of Rotherham, Essex John Moultrie, Esq. Aston-Hall, near Shifnal, Shropshire Mr. Mount, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Abel Moysey, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 2 Sets Abel Moysey, Jun. Esq. Lineoln's-Inn Rev. Mr. Mulso, Abergavenny George J. Murphy, Esq. Mus. D. Dublin Sir John Macgregor Murray, Bart Sir John C. Musgrave, Bart. Portland-Place Rev. Dr. Myddleton, Rotherhilhe 2 Sew Rev. Mr. Myddleton, Ditto Rev. Slade Nash, near Worcester Richard Nelms, Esq. Bradley- House Rev. Mr. Neve, Vicar of Sodbury Rev. Mr. New, Vicar of St. Philip's, Bristol James Nibbs, Esq, Mrs. Nibbs Rev. Dr. Nicholas, Great Ealing 2 Sets William Nieholl, Esq. Barrister at Law, Great George-Street, Hanover-Square 2 Sets John Nichols, Esq. Red Lion-Passage, Fleet-Street Mr. Samuel Nicholson, Manchester Rev. Robert Nixon, A. M. Foot's Cray, Kent Robert Nixon, Esq. F. R. S. 2 Sets William Nodes, Esq. New Cavendish-Street Dr. Noehden, Eton College ix rnbsmbm. Major Noel, of the Worcester Militia George Norman, Esq. Bromley Common, Kent 2 Sets Rev. Francis North, Rector of St. Mary's, Southampton Messrs. North, Brecon Thomas Northmore, Esq. Bentinck-Street Mr. Norton, Bookseller, Bristol 6 Sets Rev. Mr. Nott, All Soul's College, Oxford Peter Nouailles, Jun. Esq. Greatness, near Sevenoaks, Kent 2 Sets Mrs. Nowell, Dorset-Street 2 Sets Mr. George Nutcombe, Priory, Warwickshire Silvester O'Hallaran, Esq. Limerick Rev. Mr. Oklnall, Rector of St. Nicholas, Worcester Mr. William Ogilvy, Bread-Street, Hull L. Oliver, Esq. late of Nook, in the County of Hants 2 Sets William Oram, Esq. Harley-Street Dowell O'Reilly, Esq. Dublin Mr. Ord, Trinity College, Oxford Sir William Ouseley, LL. D. &c. &c. &c. Ralph Ouseley, Esq. Limerick Gore Ouseley, Esq. East-Indies Thomas Owen, Esq. Carmarthenshire Rev. Mr. Owen, Clifton, Bristol Rev. John Owen, Archdeacon of Richmond Mr. William Owen, Author of the Welch Dictionary James Pain, Esq. Maidenhead 2 Set* Rev. Richard Palmer, Grantham Robert Pardoe, Jun. Esq. Bradley, Worcestershire The late Rev. Dr. Parker, Rector of St. James, Westminster 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Parker, Oxford g>u6scrtf)ers. Ijrt Thomas Parker, Esq. Worcester Rev. Mr. Parker, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford Mrs. Parry, Gressford Lodge, Denbighshire 2 Sets Sir William Paxton, Middleton Hall, Carmar- thenshire 2 Sets Charles Partridge, Esq. Bristol Mr. Pasquier, Gray's-Inn-Square Sir George O. Paul, Bart. Lower Grosvenor-Street 2 Sets Robert Paul, Esq. Assistant Barrister for the County of Waterford 2 Sets Samuel P. Peach, Esq. Tockington 4 Sets Mr. Pearce, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Miss Frances Pearson, Percy-Street Peter Peirson, Esq. Paper Buildings, Inner Temple The late Henry Cressett Pelham, Esq. Counde Hall, Shropshire 2 Sets Christopher R. Pemberton, M. D. Great George-Street, Hanover-Square Granville Penn, Esq. Secretary of State's Office 2 Sets John Penn, Esq. Spring-Garden 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Penny 2 Sets Mrs. Pennyman Sir William Pepys, Bart, a Master in Chancery 2 Sets Dr. Percival, Manchester Rev. Dr. Percy Rev. David Peter, Carmarthen Mr. Peters, Gower-Street Henry Peters, Esq. M. P. Park-Street, Grosvenor- Square Richard Mansell Phillipps, Esq. Sketty, Glamor- ganshire 2 Sets Mrs. Catharine Philipps, Hampton-Court Mrs. Joyce Philipps, Hampton Court Mrs. Jane Philipps, Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire John Philips, Esq. Llandilo, Carmarthen Rev. Luke Philips, Vicar of Grain, Kent John Philips, Esq. Fenchurch-Street Joseph Phillimore, Esq. Christ Church, Oxford William Phillimore, Esq. Barrister at Law John Phillips, Esq. Carmarthen Mr. Phillips, Frenchay, Bristol Humphry Phillpot, Esq. 2 Seta Mr. Phillott, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Kev. Bane Pliipps J. P. Picard, Esq. Rev. "William Pio;ott, Rector of Edsrmond Mr. Pigott, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Rev. Mr. Pinckney, Ditto John Pinkerton, Esq. Pimlico, &c. 8tc. &e. Mr. Player, Elberton Mr. John Player, Tockington, near Bristol Miss Player Miss Mary Player Rev. Henry Plimley, Rector of Shoreditch Rev. Mr. Plumbtree, Prebendary of Worcester Thomas Plumer, Esq. King's Counsel Miss P( lh ii, Chipstead, Sevenoaks William Pollock, Esq. Secretary of State's Office 2 Set* James Poole, Esq. Barrister at Law Thomas J . Powell, Esq. Berwick-House, Shropshire Joiin Kynaston Powell, Esq. M. P. Thomas H. Powell, Esq. Barrister at Law, Brecon 2 Sets Rev. Thomas Powell, Cantref Walter Powell, Esq. Brecon 2 Sets John Powell, Esq. Brecon 2 Sets Sir Gabriel and Lady Powell 2 Sets Thomas Jelf Powis, Esq. Berwick-House, Salop Rev. Mr. Poyntz, Rector of Tormartou Mr. Nathaniel Poyntz, Ditto Mr. Pratt Sir G. B. Prescott, Bart. Theobald's-Park, Herts. Rev. Dr. Prettyman, Prebendary of Norwich Rev. William Price, LL.D. Chaplain to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales Richard Price, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Mr. Rice Price, Surgeon, Hay, Breconshire 2 Sets Samuel Price, Esq. Coroner and Surgeon, Brecon Rev. J. Price, Trinity College, Oxford Theophilus Price, Esq. Harborne jNfjcholas Price, Esq. Saintfield, Downshire, Ireland John Price, Esq. Llandaff 2 Sets Roger Price, Esq. Castle Madoc, Breconshire Penry Price, Esq. Rhayader, Radnorshire Thomas Price, Esq. Builth, Breconshire Thomas Price, Esq. Birmingham John Prichard, Esq. Bridgend, Glamorganshire Mr. Thomas Prichard, Ross Mr. D. Prichard, Builth, Breconshire Mr. James Cooles Prichard Miss Pritchard, near Ambleside, Westmorland 2 Sets John Pritchard, Esq. Dolevelin, Radnorshire 2 Sets Charles Pritchard, Esq. Brecon Captain Puget, Royal Navy 2 Set* Lieutenant-General Sir James Pulteney, Bart. Henry James Pye, Esq. &c. &c. 2cc. Rev. Reginald Pyndar, Hadsor, near Worcester Jonathan Pytts, Esq. Alexander Raby, Esq. 2 Sets Rev Dr. Radcliffe, Prebendary of Canterbury R. Raikes, Esq. Gloucester Rev. Mr. Raikes, Ditto Rev. Dr. Raine, Charterhouse irito g>vtomibm. General Rainsford, &c. &c. &c. Soho-Square Rev. Charles J. Rainsford, Powick, near Worcester James Ramsden, Esq. of the College of Physician* Rev. Benson Ramsden, A. M. Rector of Stanbridge, Essex Rev. Mr. Randolph, Corpus Chiisti College, Oxford Joshua Reeves, Esq. Canterbury-Square John Reeves, Esq. James Rennell, Esq. &c. &c. &c. Suffolk-Street, Middlesex-Hospital Rev. J. H. Renouard, Trinity College, Cambridge Jacob Reynardson, Esq. Holly well, near Stamford William Reynolds, Esq. Colebrook-dale, Shropshire Mrs. William Richards, Cardiff Rev. Benjamin Richardson, Rector of Farley, Hun- gerford Rev. Mr. Richardson, Bennett College, Cambridge Mr. Richardson, Iron-Acton Samuel Richardson, Esq. Hensol, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Mr. Richardson, Druggist, Bristol Rev. Mr. Roberts, Cambridge Rev. Peter Roberts, Arundel-Street, Strand Edward Roberts, Esq. Little Ealing 2 Sets Mr. Roberts, Stoke's-Croft, Bristol Rev. J. R. Roberts, Great Portland-Street G. P. Rogers, Esq. Swansea Stephen Rollcston, Esq. Secretary of State's Office 2 Sets George Rolph, Esq. Thornbury Mr. Rolph, Surgeon, Peckham Samuel Romilly, Esq. King's Counsel Lieu tenant-General Rooke Thomas Rowerscroft, Esq. Broad-Street Rev. Mr. Rudd, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Dr. Ruddiman, Charlotte-Street, Portland-Place Sir William and Lady Rush, Wimbledon, Surrey 2 Sets Richard Rush worth, Esq. Manchester William Russell, Esq. Barrister at Law, Powick, near Worcester 2 Seta James J. Russell, Esq. Limerick John Salmon, Esq. Olveston, Gloucestershire Mr. Edward Salmon, Surgeon, Thornbury, Gloucestershire Rev. J. L. Salvador, Graf ton-Street, Piccadilly Sir Robert Salusbury, Bart. M. P. David Samuel, Esq. Bolston, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Mr. Sandford, Wimbledon, Surrey Rev. Charles Sandiford, Gloucester Mr. Sangar, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Rev. John Savage, Rector of Beverston Captain Saunders, Upton-Grove Joshua Saunders, Esq. Rev. Mr. Sayer, Bristol J. Sayer, Esq. Hallow-Park, near Worcester David Scott, Esq. Upper Harley-Street 2 Sets Mr. George Scott, Manchester Edward Seaty, Esq. Bridgewater Rev. Mr. John Sealy, Ditto Mr. Selwyn, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Mr. Serle, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford Richard Seymour, Esq. St. John's College, Oxford Mr. Seymour, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Rev. Joseph Shapland, A. M. Rector of St. Peter's, Worcester Miss Charlotte Shapland, Marshfield Rev. Thomas Shepherd, Limerick Mr. Shepherd Wotton-under-Edge John Sherborne, Esq. Hereford 2 Sets Rev. T. Shurry S Mr. Shute, Park-Street, Bristol James Sibbald, Esq. Upper Harley-Street 2 Sets Mr. Sibthorpe, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Radclitfe Sidebottom, Esq. 4 Sets G. Simcocks, Esq. Joseph Skey, M. D. Worcester Robert Slade, Esq. Doctor's Commons Rev. Dr. Small, Prebendary of Gloucester Charles Smith, Esq. M. P. Portland-Place 2 Set* Colonel Smith, See. &c. 2 Sets Rev. J. Smith, of St. John's College, Cambridge Ferdemmdo Smith, Esq. Barbourne, near Worcester Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, Groom of the Bedchamber to his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent Rev. J. G. Smith, Che-11-esworth, Suffolk, and Chaplaia to his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent Rev. Samuel Snead, Ludlow Rev. Tho. Sockett, Vicar of Omberslev; Worcestershire Henry Sockett, Esq. of Crickhowell, Brcconshire, Barrister at Law £ Sqts Mr. Songar, Trinity College, Oxford William Sotheby, Esq. William A. Sotheby, Esq. Robert Sparkes, Esq. Portland-Place Joseph Sparkes, Esq. Bridgenorth James Spencer, Esq. Hay, Breconshire John Spicer, Esq. George-Street, Hanover-Square Rev. Benjamin Spry, Bristol 2 Sefe» Miss Stanley, Court, near Wrexham Henry Stapleton, Esq. Richard J.Stark, Esq. Llangharn-Castlc, Carmarthen- shire Henry Stephens, Esq. Chevenage-House 10 Sets Francis Stephens, Esq. Ealing Z Sets William Stevens, Esq. Rev. John Stevens J. E. Stock, M.D. Bristol Mr. Stock, Wickwar, Gloucestershire 2 Sots Rev. J. B. Stone, Forest-Hall, Essex Rev. Mr. Stone, Brazen-Nose College, Oxford Mrs. Stoughton, Pontipool, Monmouthshire Hardinge Stracey, Esq. Upper Harley-Street 2 Sets Edward Stracey, Esq. Ditto q ^ e i s Edward Stracey, Jun. Esq. Fludyer-Street, Westminster 2 Sets Hardinge Stracey, Jun. Esq. LincolnVInr* 2 Sets Josiah Stracey, Esq. Berners-Street o Sets William Strode, Esq. Upper Brook-Street Mr. Strong, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Mr. John Sturge Mrs. Elizabeth Sturge Mr. Young Sturge, Westbury-upon-Trim Rev. Dr. Sturrock, Archdeacon of Armagh Mrs. Sullivan, Queen-Ann-Street East. R. J. Sullivan, Esq. Grafton-Street, Piccadilly 2 Sets John Suites, Esq. University College, Oxford John Swale, Esq. Mildenhall, Suffolk Rev. Mr. Swaine, Puckle-Church Rev. Joseph Sympson, Milton, Huntingdonshire Henry Tahourdin, Esq. Sydenham William Taitt, Esq. Cardiff 2 Sets Rev. William Talbot, Elmset, Suffolk Rev. Mr. Tavell, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Mr. Taunton, Corpus ; . hristi College, Oxford Rev. Dr. Thomas Taylor, LL. D. King's Chaplain Mr. Charles Taylor, Ludlow R. S. Taylor, Esq. Field-Court, Gray's-Ina Rev. Thomas Thirl wall, A. M. Lecturer of Stepney Dr. Thomas, M.D. of Kington, Herefordshire 2 Sets John Thomas, Esq. Llwydicoed, Carmarthenshire 2 Sets John Thomas, Esq. Cardiff 2 Sets Rev. Thomas Thomas, Fobbing, Essex Rev. John Thomas, Lucton, Herefordshire Rev. Mr. Thomas, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Mr. Rees Thomas, Swansea Mr. Nelson Thomas, Swansea Mr. Evan Thomas, Attorney at Law, Builth, Breconshire Mr. John Thomas, Langattock, Carmarthenshire Rev. Mr. Thomas, Kingswood, Wiltshire Rev. Nathaniel Thornbury, Rector of Avening Mr. Thornbury, Oriel College, Oxford Bache Thornhill, Esq. Stanton, Derbyshire 2 Sets Samuel Thornton, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Robert Thornton, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Henry Thornton, Esq. M. P. 2 Sets Gervas Thorpe, M. D. Ludlow Charles Thorpe, Esq. University College, Oxford Mr. Ticker, Manchester Dr. Tierney, Brighton William Tighe, Esq. Ennisteog, Ireland 2 Sets Rev. William Tindal, A. M. Chaplain of the Tower Mr. Tongar, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford Henry Tonge, Esq. Devonshire-Street, Portland-Place William N. Tonge, Esq. Olveston Charles Tottenham, Esq. University College* Oxford Charles Hanbury Tracey, Esq. Portland-Place The lion. Mrs. Hanbury Tracey, Ditto Edmund Traherne, Esq. Castella, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Rev. Dr. J rail William B. frevelyan, Esq. St. John's College, Cambridge >ufcsmfoers» W Lady Trigge, Saville-Row Captain Trigge, Gloucester Fiennes Trotman, Esq. Siston Court 2 Sets Mr. J. F.Tuffin, London Rev. Mr. Turner, Archdeacon of Taunton 2 Sets Edmund Turner, Esq. Sharon Turner, Esq. &lc. &c. &c. Fetherstone- Buildings, rioiborn 2 Sets Mr. Turner, St. John's College, Cambridge Rev. Mr. Turner, Oriel College, Oxford Dr. Turton, M. D. Physician to the King Dr. Turton, M. D. Swansea 2 Sets William Turton, Esq. Olveston Mr. Joseph Turton, attorney at Law, Olveston Mr. Zouch Turton, Attorney at Law, Chepstow 2 Sets Mrs. Turton, Swansea Miss Turton 2 Sets General Valleneey, &c &c &c. 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Valpy, Reading G. C. Vanderherst, Esq. Swansea Mrs. G. Vansittart, Bi»ham Abbey, Berks. 2 Sets John Vaughan, Esq. Golden-Grove, Carmarthenshire Mrs. Vaughan, Portman-Square The late Mrs. Vaughan, Twickenham Mr. Uphill, Bookseller, Bridge-Street, Covent- G aid en 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Vyse, Rector of Lambeth Robert Waddell, Esq. Daniel Wait, Jun. Esq. Thomas Walbeoffe, Esq. Pen-y-lau, Breconshirc James Wale, Esq. Belle Vue, Warwickshire William Wall, Esq. Worcester iw &\ibmtbtt8. Samuel Wall, Esq Ditto Mr.Walrond 2 Sets Mrs. Walrond 2 Sets Rev. Richard Ward,, Portman-Street Mrs. R. Ward, Hazle, Olveston Rev. Mr. Holt Waring Mr. Waring, Alton, Hampshire 2 Sets Rev. Francis Wane, Rector of Cheddon, Somerset- shire Henry Warre, Esq. Lincoln's-Inn William Warwick, Esq. Warwick-House, Herts. Rev. Thomas Watkins, Pennoyre-House, Breconshire Mrs. T. Watkins, Ditto Edward Watkins, Esq. Alveston, £ Sets Rev. Mr. Watkins, Corpus Christi College Mr. Watkins, Oriel College, Oxford I). P. Watts, Esq. Gower-Street 2 Sets George Watson, Esq. Deputy Teller of the Exchequer 2 Sets John Watson, Esq. Preston 2 Sets John Watson, Jun. Esq. Ditto Rev. James Way, Powick, near Worcester Mr. Webbe, Corpus Christi College, Oxford The late Samuel Wegge, Esq. 2 Sets Rev. Mr. Weldale, Brazen-Nose College, Oxford Rev. Thomas Wellings Richard Wellington, Esq. of the Hay, Breconshire Richard S. Wells, Esq. Ely-Place Edward West, Esq. Weyaiouth-Street Mrs. H. West Rev. Richard Wetherell, Westbury, Gloucestershire 2 Sets Joseph Whatley, Esq. Bristol Mr. Wheeler, Oriel College, Oxford Rev. Joseph Whitchurch, Redcliff-Street, Bristol Charles N. White, Esq. Portland-Place !ufiscri&er& Ijjct Rev. Mr. Whitear, Hastings Rev. Christopher Whitehead Rev. Walter Whiter, &c. &c. &c. Cambridge Rev. Dr. Whitfield, Rector of St. Margaret's, Lothbury 2 Sets Rev. Dr. Whitmore, Lawford, Essex John Whitmore, Esq. M. P. Old Jewry 2 Sets Mr. Whittingham, Corpus Christi College, Oxford G. D. Whittington, Esq. St. John's College, Cambridge William Whitworth, Esq. Corfihill Rev. J. W. Wickes, Caplain to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland 2 Sets- William Wilber force, Esq. M. P. 4 Sets Rev. Dr. Wilgres, Eltham Rev. John T. Wilgres, A. M. Trinity College, Cambridge Walter Wilkins, Esq. M. P. Maesllwch, Radnorshire 2 Sets Walter Wilkins, Jun. Esq. Ditto Thomas Wilkins, Esq. Brecon Jeffery Wilkins, Esq. Ditto William Wilkins, Esq. Ditto Rev. John Wilkins, Rector of Desserth, Radnorshire Sir Edward Williams, Bart. Clifton 2 Sets Rev. David Williams, Brecon Rev. John Williams, Ditto Rev. George Williams, Rector of Martin, near Worcester Henry Williams, Esq. Llangattock-Place, Breconshire R. R. Williams, Esq. 2 Sets Rev. George Williams, Limehouse, Middlesex Rev. Edward Williams, Stepney Mr. Williams, Trinity College, Oxford William Williams, Esq. Brecon William Williams, Jun. Esq. Ditto \xxii gttfcscrfiber& John Williams, Esq. Coroner and Surgeon, Brecon Mr. Williams, Corpus Christi College, Oxford Rev. Mr. Williams, Abergavenny John Williams, Esq. Cowbridge, Glamorganshire Mr. Williams, Oriel College, Oxford Mr. Williams, Bookseller, Strand 6 Sets Rev. Evan Williams, Clipstone, Northamptonshire 2 Seta Rev. Joseph Williams, Wickwar, Gloucestershire William Williams, Esq. Aberpergwm, Glamorganshire Rev. Edward Williams, Rector of Ufnngton, &c. Shropshire David Williams, Esq. 2 Set* David Williams, Esq. Brompton-Row Thomas Williams, Esq. Brecon The late Bloom Williams, Esq. Cardiff 2 Set* Thomas Williams, Esq. Cowbridge 2 Sets Robert Williams, Esq. Town-Clerk, Brecon Miss Willis 2 Sets John Wilmore, Esq. Worcester Edward Wilmot, Esq. Lansdowne-Grove, Bath Mr. Wilson, Lincoln Edward L. Wilson, Esq. Philip Wilson, M. D. Worcester Richard Wilson, Esq. &c. &c. Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 2 Set* Mr. John Wilton, Hazle, Olvcston Joseph Windham, Esq. F. S. A. &c. Portland-Place 2 Sets Sir Edward Wilmington, Bart. Stanford,Worcester- shire Colonel Wood, of the East Middlesex Militia Colonel Wood, late of Hereford William G. Wood, Esq. Devizes John Wood, Jun. Esq. Cardiff Colonel and Mrs. Woodburne 4 Sets Richard Wooddeson, Esq. Chancery- Lane, Barrister- at L;iw 2 Sets Subscribers. Irrut C.R.Woodward, Esq. Tetbury, Gloucestershire Rev. Mr. Woolcombe, Fellow of Oriel College,Oxford Lady Wrey, Bath 2 Set* Sir James Wright, Bart. Little Ealing 2 Sets Rev. Thomas Wright, A. M. Rector of Whitechapel Rev. T. Wright, F. S. A. Mr. William Wright, Park-Row 2 Sets Robert Wrixon, Esq. Tentham-Down, Glamorgan- shire 2 Sets Mrs. Wroughton, Bedford-Street, Bedford-Square George Wyatt, Esq. New Bridge-Street, Blackfriars Thomas Wyndham, Esq. M. P. Dunravon-Castle, Glamorganshire 2 Sets Sir William Wynne 2 Sds Robert Wynne, Esq. Garthowen, Denbighshire Mr. Wynniott, Trinity College, Oxford William Wynter, Esq. Brecon Rev. Robert Wynter, Rector of Penderin, Breconsliirf- Rev. Dr. Yate, Bromsberrow, Gloucestershire Rev. Mr. Yates, &e. Chaplain of Chelsea College Rev. John Yeatman, East-Brent Philip Yorke, Esq. Erthig, Denbighshire Mrs. Yorke, Ditto Captain Young, Worcester Militia Mr. William Young, Surgeon, Shiffnal, Shropshire Added since the foregoing ttas put ?» Press,. Sir James Duberly SKETCHES, THE STATE AND ATTAINMENTS $rimitfoe ^ocietg* i. The Importance of distinctly marking fundamental 'principles. w, HEN I entered upon a serious inquiry into some particulars respecting the original, and primitive inhabitants of these countries, I found my thoughts necessarily carried back towards their original state as a people, and conse- quently, towards the general attainments of human society, when mankind began to be formed into distinct nations. It became desirable, to distinguish those customs, arts, and stores of knowledge which the Cclta probably imported into their Western settlements, from those, which they must have acquired afterwards, by their own diligence, or by their intercourse with strangers. I could not proceed with satis- .faction, till my thoughts attained a certain degree of pre* A 2 cision as to these points. This appeared an essential ground- work of local inquiry: It may indeed be affirmed, that for the discussion of any difficult subject, certain bearings, and relative distances, to which the argument may be directed, and from which a chain of inferences maybe drawn, should be distinctly marked. For want of such leading objects, it has frequently happened, that propositions have been as- serted upon one set of principles, and have been denied upon another ; — so that historical truth has been left, after an elaborate discussion, enveloped in tenfold obscurity, or buried under amass of contending elements. It is true, that all deductions of argument are sometimes regarded, as more, or less conclusive, in proportion to their harmony, or disagreement, with some preconceived opinion. It cannot therefore be expected, that general assent must be the consequence of unfolding first principles ; but at least, by this means a charge of inconsistency may be avoided. That charge, I hope to obviate, by presenting a few sketches of my conceptions, relative to the attainments of primitive society, and by offering a few plain arguments in support of my opinion. In order to form this opinion, it was necessary . to enter into periods, far beyond the reach of profane history. The first point, that was to be settled, was the choice of the most faithful guides, through such remote regions. The poets, and mythological writers, of Greece, and Rome, have transmitted some interesting tales, respecting the most early times ; but these, are delivered in language highly figurative, and are mixed with so much allegory, or fable, that it seems hardly possible, to reduce them into fact. Hence the most learned, and sincere investigators of an r tiquity, arc far from being agreed in their interpretation of poetical traditions. And this is not to be wondered at : 3 for so hidden was the subject, even to the generality of the Greeks themselves, that we find those authors, who made it their business to elucidate mythological narration, two thou- sand years ago, perpetually amusing us with puerile con- ceits, or shifting the solution with a commodious plea of sacred mysteries. This darkness, and the uncertainty of poetical reports, the only ancient histories, which the Greeks, and Romans pos- sessed, induced their philosophers to reject it altogether, and frame new theories of their own, upon the original state of mankind. Amongst all the ancient professors of oracular wisdom, none carried their speculations upon this topic, so far, as that Sect, which denied the operation of the first intelligent causc > and the superintending energies of a Divine Providence, — ascribed the formation of all things to a fortuitous concourse of atoms, and consigned the government of the world into the hands of chance. The most connected of the details, which give us the opinions of the Epicureans, is contained in the learned, but most unphilosophical poem of Lucretius. From this, we may gather, that in that peculiar sect were men of genius, and, could we but grant then - fundamental prin- ciples, men of acute reasoning. According to their hypothesis, the first men, that were produced, were fit inhabitants of the world that existed only by accident. And they were above resting their specula- tions upon imagination alone: it was their ambition, to support them by data, when they could reach them, and such, as could best accommodate their atheistical pre- conceptions, A2 4 The condition of a few ancient hunters, who, as is usual in all newly inhabited countries, wandered amongst the woods, and were driven occasionally to extreme difficulties in pro- curing food, and lodging*, was brought forwards, and was obtruded, as the general picture of original society. They had observed, that in general, wherever the arts> and sciences had flourished, they had, for some ages, been slowly, and uniformly,accumulating their acquisitions ; from which they inferred, that their progress had observed the same line of march universally. They could not ascertain the time, nor the manner, in which man had begun hi§ /existence. They were supplied with no authentic history of his pri- mitive condition, and therefore, as their own scanty line of research carried them back far beyond the invention of many arts in the pale of their own district, into an age compara- tively barbarous, they concluded themselves warranted in imagining a period of indefinite extent, before the invention of any arts whatsoever, before human reason had made her successful exertions, and even before her light had begun its dawn in the mind of man. During this imaginary period, the race of mortals were described, as making slow, and painful progress, towards the verge of humanity ; as having, for a long series of ages, crept, and felt their way, through various degrees of savage life, before they emerged into a superior condition. Such was the hypothesis, opposed by these philosophers, to the few rays of early light, preserved by the poet, and recog- nized by the more temperate reason of other philosophers, who represented man, as originally distinguished from 5 other terrestrial animals, by his erect countenance, and his capacity for sublime contemplation — as formed of two dis- tinct parts, a governing, as well as immortal spirit, related, though inferior, to the Divine Creator, — and a passive body, which degraded him to the nature of brutes. But the hypothesis of the philosophers, obtained great popularity. It was not only received, as founded upon truth, during the most illustrious ages of Greek, and Roman learning, but it has also been adopted, and refined upon, by eminent writers of modern times. We have consequently been amused with strange, and monstrous tales of that mute, as well as ill-contrived quadruped, Man, — a being, who, for a series of ages, crawled upon the earth, before he began, occasionally, to assume an erect posture, and walk upon his hinder feet ; who afterwards made slow progress through the monkey, and the savage, accidentally acquired speech and reason; till at length, forming himself into a kind of terrestrial God, he established a dominion over his brethren of the forest. In. this country, there are perhaps few men who would not refuse to admit these notions in their full extent ; yet I believe, there are multitudes, whose imaginations are in- fluenced by them, in a certain degree. When they describe an original state of nature, an early age, or the first in- habitants of a country, they represent a condition of the most wretched barbarism. If, therefore, elaborate theory, or popular opinion, were to be received, as unerring guides, the points, now under con- sideration, or the original state of society, and the condition of those, who first inhabited the West of Europe, might soon be disposed of, by a few quotations fcomLucretius t and 6 Horace, a few scraps from the ancient Historians, Phi- losophers and Geographers, or from their disciples in modern days. But the connection of this hypothesis, in its mature state, with such atheistical, and most absurd principles, renders it, in all parts, highly suspicious. Recollecting the purposes for which J t was framed, we should be guilty of an unpar- donable negligence, to embrace it, without a jealous exa- mination. And it will not bear such a test. It is not only injurious to the honour of our nature, but is contradictory to the venerable remains of the ancient world, and the testimony of all our senses. Besides, we ought undoubtedly, in this point, as in every other, carefully to estimate all the facts, before we adopt any theories whatsoever. If authentic information can be obtained, it claims preference to the most flattering hypothesis, and the most acute inferences of abstract rea- soning. Where this rule is not observed, no wise man can acquiesce in opinions, merely because they have been popu- lar, and because they have been supported by favourite names, or by ingenious arguments. The original state of mankind, in the earliest ages, is avowedly one of those topics, upon which we have an oppor- tunity of examining well authenticated facts. By all those, who profess our Christian religion, it will readily be conceded, that, in one ancient volume, we are furnished with a correct epitome of the most ancient periods ; and the generality even of those philosophers who reject the writings of Moses, and the other books of the Old Testament, 7 as matter of religious faith, are yet candid enough to admit; that they contain the best, and most authentic accounts of* the first ages. The notices they give us of those ages, though 1 few, and short, are the most clear,' and comprehensive that can be imagined. In the following sheets I shall regard thes© venerable documents, in the light of authentic histories. My inferences, being-founded upon books which are universally read, and which, for many centuries, have employed the> united learning, and critical sagacity of the Christian world, may not offer much that is absolutely new; yet may be of some use, in directing the attention of my readers to those truths, which they profess to believe. II. Generalview of the first ages — primitive knowledge preserved, and communicated by Noah, and his sons. IN the book of Genesis, we have a consistent, and clear, though brief account, of mankind, in their primitive state, — of their disposition to acquire knowledge during the first ages, — and of their success in the pursuit. We are there informed, that the first man whom God created upon the earth, was far advanced above the condition of a dumb, and brutal savage ; — that he was not formed by his nature, to associate with inferior creatures, but for dominion overthem :— that no sooner did he come out of his Maker's hand, than he began to exercise his distinguishing endowment of reason, and ac- 8 quired the faculty of speech, as a medium for the expression of his perceptions, and ideas ; — that in the period of his inno- cence, and after his transgression, he employed his rational powers in the diligent prosecution of arts, which have, in all ages, been peculiar to civilized, and social life* The solitary savage> knows not what is meant, by dressing a garden,and keeping it ; the habit, and the talent, of tilling the ground, and eating bread by the sweat of his brozc, are things, of which he is neither skilled, nor studious. Of Adam's two elder sons, we find, that one was a tiller" of ground, the other a keeper of sheep; — and this, before the birth of Seth, or about a century after the human creation. This deserves notice. It proves, not only, that in this early age, men understood the comforts of life derived both from agriculture, and pasturage, calculating, how to enjoy the advantages arising from both ; but that also they pursued these advantages upon the most improved plan of civil so- ciety. They divided amongst individuals those cares, and occupations, that were conducive to the mutual benefit of all. Their attention was never distracted by a multitude of objects ; but was directed skilfully to one. The shepherd in that age did not overlook the necessary care of his flock, in his cul- tivation of the field ; nor the husbandman lose the season of tillage, when he guarded his flocks. This, demonstrates a vigorous effort of the reasoning powers, and the most luminous acquisitions of useful experience. Again : Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel, ofthejirstlings of hisfock. Here was no community of rights — no promiscuous plunder. Every man claimed, and was allowed, his property in that, which he had procured by his individual care, or labour: and 9 he had a right to -dispose of it, -within the regulations of Society. The epitome of primitive history, in the fourth chapter of Genesis, informs us of several eminent men amongst the descendants of Adam, down to the flood, who discovered and improved upon the first principles of such arts and* sciences as are conducive to the comfort and ornament of society. Nor was this all that they did. The antediluvian ages were evidently ages of application as well as of genius. Men i knowledge, whether of religion and morality, of the work* of nature, or of civil arts — not to the exertion of their own. genius, or to the succesful inquiry of any particular society, which had recently emerged from barbarism; but purely to the tradition of the patriarchs of the first age after thy flood. " For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age ; and prepare thyself for the search oUhcir fathers (for zee are but of yesterday, and know nothing, seeing our days on earth are as a shadow) [as nothing when compared to their years] shall they not teach thee and tell thee, and utter zvords out of their heart r" - ■— ■ Chap. viii. 12 ** I will ^hew thee, hear me, and tlxat which I have seen will I declare, which zcise men have told from their fathers (and have not hid it) unto zvhom alone the earth was given" Chap. xv. From these and similar passages, we must infer, that a general stock of knowledge had been treasured up by the great patriarchs, for the benefit of their posterity; and that good men amongst the descendants of Noah, for several generations, regarded it as their greatest wisdom to learn and attend to. these traditions of their fathers, who lived many days upon the earth,, We also learn that the rapid abridgment of the period of human life, which was not only recent but progressive in the time of Job, had struck the race of mortals with a consterna- tion which, for a while, checked the ardour of original inves- tigation, and damped the confidence of genius. The life of man still comprehended a space of, at least, two centuries ; yet men regarded themselves, when compared with the former age, but of yesterday. They could not extend the limits of knowledge, because their days on earth were as a shadow. — Ail they could pretend to was, to preserve those inestimable treasures which they had derived from happier times. 13 III. tklail of primitive traditions — Religioii and morality — Civil arts, and sciences Agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, natural history, computation of time, astronomy, geography, _LT may not be improper in this place to touch briefly upon some particulars of this valuable patrimony of the early ages. Of the state of religion and moral philosophy in the primi- tive world, we have no detailed information. \ et several very important circumstances may be collected from the books cited above, the latter of which I particularize on this- occasion,, because the notices contained in it are wholly independent of the Mosaic legation. These circumstances will, in a great measure, elucidate the notions entertained by mankind, as to these points/' before the promulgation of the Jewish law. It appears that at a very early period, the Divine will and purposes, and some of the essential truths of religion, were revealed to mankind in a more full and complete manner than they are expressly recorded to have been. In the old testament we have allusions to the immortality of the soul, the resurrection and the future judgment. Mo dirccl; revelation of these things is given by Moses, or in the writings of the prophets contained in that volume. They are spoken of rather as truths already known and admitted, upon the authority of a prior revelation. An obscure tradition of them was preserved both by the Jews and Gentiles, as may still be ascertained from the theolo- 1.4 gical systems of many nations ; but such a clear manifestation of them as might fully serve to animate hope, and enforce the practice of virtue, was reserved for HIM who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, and whose coining all the kindreds of the earth expected. Some communications upon these subjects must have been given to the primitive ages, together with the promise of a Redeemer. There were prophets and holy men long before the flood. God spake to our first parents. Enoch walked with God, or conducted himself agreeably to, some known, Divine law: And in the time of Enos, men began to invoke the sacred name. Of the nature and attributes of the Divine Being, the primitive world seem not to have possessed just and fixed conceptions. We are told that our first parents heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day — That it repented the Lord that he hud made man upon die earth, and it grieved him at his heart — That God Hooked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt — " And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and set whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me, and if not, / will knozc" This is speaking the language of men; but it is a language highly illustrative of the opinions and conceptions of the early ages: and it affords a proof, that in all ages the Almighty revealed himself in a manner which might be level to the capacities and comprehensions of men. A more spiritual and adequate revelation of his nature might, at this period, have been totally unintelligible, and consequently useless. Men could not conceive of the Almighty as being every where present, at the same instant, but as having the power to remove himself whither he pleased not as knowing all thing? 15 .throughout the immensity of space, but as capable of in- forming himself — not as executing his Divine will, by the immediate exertion of his own power, but as employing the .ministration of other spiritual beings whom they indifferently styled Angeh and Gods. Yet strictly speaking, mankind, in the primitive ages, uppear not to have been polytheists. They regarded One Being as supreme over all the world o*f spirits, acknowledging at the same time that there were other spirits, endowed with many of his attributes, though under his controul, and em- ployed m the execution of his commands. But in their forma of expression, at least, they were seldom careful to discrimi- nate between the One, Eternal, Universal Spirit and lus created ministers. This vague manner of speaking gradually led to great abuse; in the Gentile world; yet, occasionally, we find the nations acknowledging one supreme God, whose unity they per- ceived, under a great variety of symbols and allegoric*! characters. Men appear to have been early informed as to the difference ©f good and evil, and all- the great points of the moral law.—- God said to Cain, " If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" where the form of expression clearly intimates that Cain was previously acquainted with the rule and its sanction. The atrociousness of murder was understood amongst the descendants of Cain to the fifth generation, and the sentence pronounced upon him was not forgotten, as appears by Lamech's apology. By the express command of the Deity, murder was rendered a capital crime in the time of Noah. — The patriarchs, who were the priests as well as the supreim judges of their families, required the blood of die oilendcrsrus 16 forfeited by a Divine law. Hence, perhaps, originated the Gentile custom of sacrificing malefactors, and by a dreadful abuse, the abomination of offering the innocent. Decency of deportment, and the respect due to parents, were duties so sacred in the family of Noah, that we find the violation of them punished by the most solemn malediction. The general invectives pronounced against the wickedness and violence of the old world, sufficiently declare, that their practices were transgressions of some known law, and the nature of the charges alledged against them clearly intimates that this must have been the eternal and moral law. The primitive world had also several positive institutions, connected with religion and morality, which were afterwards revived and enforced by the law of Moses. The Sabbath, as appears from the history of the creation, was sanctified from the beginning. And though we discover no plain traces of its strict observance, before the reinforcement of the precept in the wilderness, yet we may collect from Noah's dividing of time into portions of seven days (Gen. viii. 10, 12) from the prevalence of the same custom amongst all nations, and from Laban's request (Gen. xxix. 27) " Fulfil her week", that the primitive world were acquainted with the reason of such a division. Marriage was instituted between our first parents : from that time it was esteemed sacred, and the abuse of it is re- corded with censure. Gen. vi. 2, 3. Sacrifices were appointed under some of the same forms which were prescribed by the Levitical law; and animals were discriminated into clean and unclean. Abel offered the firstlings of his flock and the^a* thereof: Noah builded an 17 altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every ckanfo&l and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. Even the consecration of tithes did not originate in the Levitical law. Melehisedec, as priest of the most high God, received from Abraham tithes of all. Jacob vows unto the Lord " Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Not that the tenth had not been previously devoted to the God whom men worshipped ; but because he now resolved that the Lord should be his God. Gen. xiv. 20. xxviii. 21, 22. This appears then, to have been a primitive and universal institution, and as such, it will best explain the charge al- ledgcd against Cain of not rightly dividing, as it is rendered by the Seventy. Thus we find many of the moral and ritual precepts of the law of Moses are only renewals of a primitive and universal law, which had been in force, amongst the descendants of Noah, at the time of the general allotment. Traces of such a law, and of such institutions have been remarked amongst several nations, long secluded from each other, and widely dispersed over the face of the earth — on the borders of Siberia, in China, Japan, Africa, Mexico, and the Islands of the Pacific ocean. Such vestiges have led pious travellers to a conclusion, that these several people must have had some unknown connection with the Jewish nation ; and unbelieving philosophers deduce from them a notion still more improbable — that similar jollies have been the spontaneous growth of various soils. Whereas in fuel, such resemblances are, for the most part,, only the / 18 remains of what was once common to the whole human race. They are part of the stores of the antediluvian world trans- nutted by the patriarchs to their posterity. Of the civil arts, and the sciences of the primitive world which were thus preserved and transmitted, I shall offer some slight extracts — the list may be abundantly enlarged by diligent research. 1. Agriculture and pasturage are recorded as occupations of the very first age : and these were, in a remarkable degree, the employments of Noah, Abraham, Job, and the other patriarchs in the ages which succeeded the flood. The im- mediate descendants of Noah, as well as of Cain, dwelt in tents and possessed cattle, 2. The firstborn of human parents was also the first builder of a city ; and the history of Babel affords a proof that the art of building was not forgotten. Noah must have been eminently skilled in this art, as well as in a multitude of others, which are necessarily subservient to it. The great patriarch received only a few general instructions as to the form and dimensions of the ark. From these he was enabled to construe!: that enormous fabric, with such firmness and compactness as to resist the waters of a deluge which over- whelmed the world. We have no authority to assert that the art of naval architecture was new, but whatever progress may have been made in it, this design was vast : it far ex- ceeded any thing that has been undertaken in the docks of modern Europe. It must therefore have called in a num- ber of useful arts which are not expressly recorded, but which were undoubtedly handed down to the next generation. 3. Some of the descendants of Cain, as I have already 19 remarked, invented metallurgy, and instructed artificers in Brass and Iron ; whilst others were cultivating the fine arts, and teaching men to handle the harp and the organ, both string and wind instruments. These arts were so far from being lost, that in the oldest picture of society after the deluge, we meet with " Bows of steel, and molten Mirrors," things which could never have existed, or have been rendered fit for use, without considerable skill in the tempering, com- pounding and polishing of metals. In the same book also, the harp and the organ, the identical kinds of instruments taught by Jubal, are repeatedly mentioned. Hence it appear? that not only such arts as were indispensably necessary, but even the ornamental arts of the antediluvians, were carefully preserved. 4. It has been noted that Noah wa9 acquainted with the distinction of animals into clean and unclean. And this distinction was known before the flood ; for it was the general rule by which he was to determine the number of each species to be admitted into the ark. Of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, he took unto him by sevens, or seven pairs of each sort ; and of the unclean, by single pairs. It is clear then that the primitive ages had made some progress in the study of natural history : they had had their Linnei and their BufFons ; for when an observance of the same distinction of clean and unclean animals is enjoined to the Israelites (Lev. xi) we find that it required and depended upon an ac- curate classification of the genera, agreeably to their several natural marks or characters. Thus quadrupeds were classed into 1. Those which were clovenfooted and chewed the cud. 2. Those which were clovenfooted and chewed not the cud r 3. Those which chewed the cud and were not clovenfooted. 4. Those which neither chewed the cud nor were cloven- footed. In like manner aquatic animals were distinguished n 2 20 into 1. Such as had fins and scales. 2. Such as had fins and no scales. 3. Such as had scales and no fins. - 4. Such as had neither fins nor scales. Til is classification may indeed appear rude and simple, When compared with the present systems ; but all I contend for is, that the primitive world had discovered the rudiments or first principles of the sciences, so far as to open the way for gradual improvement and more minute investigation, and that these rudiments were preserved by the family of Noah. Be- sides, as the preceding characteristics regarded only the ritual distinction of animals into clean and unclean, we are not, from hence, wan-anted to conclude, that a more elaborate discrimination of the genera and classes was unknown to the early ages. In the book of Job, we have observations upon the characters, dispositions and habits of several animals, such as the wild goat, the hind, the wild ass, the unicorn, the peacock, the stork, the ostrich, the horse, the hawk, the eagle, &c. and these observations are closely connected and intimately blended with those religious and moral sentiments which had constituted the wisdom of the former age. They must have descended together. And this may induce a belief that the study of nature had, in a peculiar degree, attracted the attention of the early generations. These studies must have embraced the vegetable as well as the animal kingdom. Our first parents remarked those trees which were pleasant to the sight, and those which were good for food. The first husbandmen must have regarded the difference between the, useful plants upon which they bestowed their labour, and the noxious ones which required to be eradicated. Their whole skill in these matters must have arisen from aclual obser- vation : there was no established practice to which they could refer. As Adam eat bread in the sweat of his brow, he must have studied the nature and proper culture of grain. And it 21 is probable that, not only the procuring of bread, but the planting of vineyards, arid tire preparation of fermented liquor were known long before the flood. At least, we find them practised soon afterwards, while Noah and his three sons as yet constituted but one family and dwelt in the same tent : and the planting of a vineyard by the great patriarch is simply recorded, -as a thing which belonged of course to the occu- pation of a husbandman. 5. The astronomical knowledge of the primitive ages and their computation of time have afforded matter for much debate. Some learned men are of opinion, that the annual period of the earth's revolution and the succession of the seasons experienced a great change at the time of the deluge. There are those who produce authorities to prove that the ancients calculated only by lunar months, while others con- tend that their years consisted of 360 days and no more. May I offer a few slight and general hints upon these sub- jects ? They are not the strictures of a man of science ; but such as they are, with undissembled diflidence they are addressed to the candid critic. The occupations of the antediluvians, their diligence in the pursuit of knowledge and their peculiar opportunities for repeated observation, forbid me to suppose that they could have been ignorant of the stated return of the seasons, and of the true annual period, whatever it was in their time. It seems to me that an addition of 5 days and G hours, to the former period of the earth's annual revolution, would have introduced great confusion into the whole solar system ; I therefore conclude that this period has remained the same from the creation. The promise made to ISoah " I will uol b 3 22 again curse the ground any more for man's sake While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" seems rather to imply the uninterrupted continuance of an order of things already known, than the commence- ment of a new and different order. Supposing that the course of nature was changed at the deluge, it must he obvious that neither lunar months nor the year of 360 days could have been adequate to the purposes of agriculture or of pasturage. They would by no means cor- respond with the stated returns of the seasons. They could not have been retained for half a century, without producing the greatest inconvenience, changing summer into winter, and suggesting the necessity of reformation, to a society in- finitely more rude than the family of Noah. How are we then to account for the lunar months and the year of 360 days which occur in ancient authors ? Some societies may have gradually sunk into such a state of rudeness, as to have little occasion for marking with pre- cision the length of the year, they may therefore have neglected and forgotten the science of their ancestors. But in many cases, it is probable that the scantiness or imper- fection of ancient documents may have betrayed us into some error upon this subject. A vague and familiar mode of expression, in which many people indulged themselves, may have occasioned a similar defect in those early authors we consult. Thus, for instance, we call four weeks a month and a year a twelvemonth. A month with us is a very vague term. It implies 4 weeks, a lunation, the ninth port of the time of gestation, a calendar month of various lengths, &c. Sec. We also compute the annual return of certain festivals, by the age of a certain moon. All this produces no. error nor con- fusion. But had such a seeming confusion, amongst any ancient people, fallen in the way of the Greek writers, what embarrassment would their slight and superficial accounts have occasioned to modern chronologers ? The vanity of several nations led them to ascribe to their own ancestors many of those inventions, and improvements in science, which were due to the primitive ages, and there- fore, to speak of a former state of rudeness, which in facl, had never existed amongst them as distinct people. The early ages in general must have been acquainted with the solar period, which alone could be of use in the compu- tation of years. For while we deny them this knowledge, it is yet granted that they had the use of cycles, by which their defective years were adjusted to the course of nature. If they knew the sum of 10, 30 or 60 years, could they have been ignorant of the extent of one ? That their years were so adjusted is evident ; for we find the same months con- stantly fall about the same season. Hesiod's description Mnva h Mvawjva, Sec. E?y. £. 322, can be applied only to the depth of winter, and therefore can have belonged only to years which, taken together, amounted to solar years. The Abib of Moses, or Month of Green Com, as the name im- plies, must have constantly returned after the vernal equinox, from the first time it received the name. And this name could not have been new. It Avas not Egyptian, but either Hebrew or Chaldaie ; the Israelites had therefore brought it with them into Egypt. It had been known in the time of Abraham. For on the 14th of this month the children of Israel came out of Egypt, and, on the se/fsamc day, 430 years before, their great ancestor, Abraham had begun his pere- 24 grination. The length of the solar year had then been known from the days of Shem, who survived the commence- ment of Abraham's sojourning about 75 years. Had this year been unknown; had the Epagones, or, even the Bissextile been omitted, the month of Green Corn must, during that period of 430 years, have sometimes fallen in the beginning, and sometimes in the depth of winter. The Egyptians claim the Epagones, and the accurate com- putation of time, as inventions of their own ancestors. This claim may be granted, if we take their own account of the inventor. The first Thoth, amongst other things, calculated the annual period. We learn from Manetho, the celebrated Egyptian* historian, who relates the genuine traditions of his nation, that this Thoth lived before the flood. For he left his discoveries engraved upon certain columns, in the sacred Dialect, and in Hieroglyphic Letters (where we may observe by the way that hieroglyphics, in any particular dialecl, where Hieroglyphics representing elementary sounds) and, after the deluge (another) Thoth (or philosopher) the son of Agathodemon (Osiris or Mizraim) transcribed these inscrip- tions into books, and placed them in the sanctuaries of the Egyptian temples. Apud Euseb. prop. Ez. L. 1. C. 9- What discoveries do the Egyptians boast of, which were not origi- nally derived from the Great Thoth ? Those ancestors of the Egyptians, who so eminently distinguished themselves, were then antediluvians, and consequently the common parents of all other nations. When strangers spoke of the deluge, the Greeks imme- diately thought of Deucalion's Hood, which they date in the Kith Century before Christ, but which, in fact, could have been no other than the flood of Noah. Thoth is said to have left 3G525 Jloll* of his discoveries. 25 by which the learned understand, periods of time which he had calculated. I find, by Philo Judseus, that the ancient Mystagogues regarded 100 as a perfeci number. As the parts which composed a perfect whole : or as the number of units which constituted a complete series. If we regard 100 parts as equal to a complete diurnal revolution, then 36.525 parts will amount to 36o days and 6 hours: or if 100 years con- stitute a perfect age, agreeably to Philo's application of the number in the case of Abraham, then 36525 will be the diurnal revolutions comprehended in that age. This I con- sider as a more simple method of accounting for the number of the Hermetic volumes, than by supposing a multiplication of cycles, which must imply much more than a true calcu- lation of the solar period. The Egyptians had years, as they are styled by the Greeks, of 6, 4, or 3 Months. They may have divided the annual Circle into seasons, by inscribing some of their geometrical figures, as the line or the triangle, or else the square, touching at the 4 cardinal points. Still the complete circle remained the same. Is there nothing in the old testament to confirm the antiquity of this computation and the use of the Epagones t Job speaks (Chap. iii. 6.) of days joined to the year, exclusive of the number of the months. The Epa- gones appear then to have been known, oat of Egypt, about the time when Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, and during the life of the great patriarchs. Let us consider Noah's year. In the history of the deluge Ave have 5 successive months consisting altogether of 150 days, or 30 days each. I cannot conceive how such months could have been formed upon any lunar observation. From the first day of the tenth month, we have an enumeration of 61 days, together witJi an unspecified period of time, before the commencement of the succeeding year. A complete year in Noah's days could 20 not then have consisted of fewer than 12 such months ©* 360 days. But if with the best copies of the 70, and with ^ome other versions of credit, we date the 6 1 days from the rirst of the Eleventh month, this point must be regarded as fully determined. There will be 12 months and a few days over, during which Noah waited for the return of the third dove, and before he removed the covering of the ark, on the first day of the Jirst month of the new year. And there is the greatest probability in favour of this reading. Noah already knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. The question was now, whether the Earth produced any diing, or whether the dove would be compelled by hunger to return to the ark. It is not to be supposed that after having, for some time, dispatched his weekly messenger*, Hie patriarch should now wait 29 days to make this experi- ment; 3 or 4 days must have been fully sufficient for the purpose. Would not these circumstances have pointed out some error in the text, had no ancient version suggested and authorized its correction ? Upon this authority we have 12 months of SO da} s days each, and the Epagones, or in all 360 days. But how are we to account for tlie number and the precise length of the months ? Perhaps something in the following manner. The first periodical phcenomenon which attracted the notice of our first parents was probably the re- appearance of the moon, after the change. The iteration of the seasons, and the periodical approach and retreat of the sun, with which the seasons were obviously connected, must have also presented themselves to observation. It couli} not but be desirable and useful to ascertain the period of these changes. The moon was resorted to, as the first means of computation, and 12 lunations were found to come round nearer to the same point, than any other number: Hence the twelve months. But these were very soon discovered to be too short. The object in view was to obtain a knowledge of the '27 return of the sun and the seasons. His course was then divided into 12 portions or signs, corresponding with the number of moons in the first computation. Each of these portions was found to consist of 30 days and a fraction ; but as it would be inconvenient to divide a day, the whole number was retained, and the surplus added to complete the year. The first idea of a year must have been that of the return of the sun and the seasons to the same point. And from the visible revolution of the sun, men must have first obtained months and years thus constructed. Hence the Hebrew term for a year rtttf implies an Iteration, Repetition, a Return to the same point. This could have been no other than the return of the sun and the seasons. The sun was the great luminary which, by his regular course amongst the other lights or stars, was appointed to measure years. Gen. i. 14, l6v If the moon was first resorted to for the purpose of measuring the sun's course, it was soon found inadequate to the purpose. Its revolution had no connection with the return of the seasons. It only served to suggest a division of the sun's course into 12 portions. In most nations, of winch any ancient records and traditions are preserved, we find that this division of the year, and the signs of the zodiac, by which it was marked, were known from remote ages. The discovery is claimed by several different nations, a circumstance which generally attends those inventions which were derived from the common parents of the nations. The history of the deluge is understood to be recorded in the names and delineations of some of the constellations. It is not improbable that the JNoachidce, assigned to them new names and representations, in order to commemorate this awful event, in the volume of the heavens, which would be open to their posterity, in every region of the earth. But with no postdeluvian nation can astronomical studies have origi- 28 »ated. Astronomical observations had been preserved at Babylon, for somewhat more than 19 centuries, before the conquest of that city by Alexander. They had therefore commenced from the very time when, agreeably to our chro- nology, the sons of men first began to dwell in the land of Shinar. Before their removal into that country, they could have had no observations calculated for the latitude of Babylon, and their date, from this very sera, absolutely proves that the science was not the discovery of the inhabitants, but that they brought it with them, from their former residence amongst the mountains of Ararat, where the antediluvian astronomy had already been adjusted to the circumstances of time and place. An investigation and discovery of the principles of the science must necessarily have preceded a series of just observations. The antiquity of this study may be inferred from the book of Job, where several stars and constellations are mentioned, in connection with observations upon the seasons, and as parts of the works of God, which had been pointed out by the search of tlie great fathers of the human race. The Mosaical years from the Creation cannot, one with another, have fallen much short of solar revolutions, which were evidently the measure of calculation in the time of Noah: for the age of this patriarch rather exceeds an avarage of the ages of his progenitors. From their common ancestors then, the several nations may have derived the rudiments of astronomy, and a pretty exact knowledge of the annual period. Different societies mav, for the regulations of festivals and for various purposes, have employed lunar calculations, and reckoned from the age of a. 29 moon which appeared after a certain equinox or solstice, or after the rising of a certain star; but such calculations were adjusted by cycles so as not materially to affecl; the truth of chronology. If we find a people acquainted only with lunar months, or only with years of 360 days, that people must have fallen, at some period, into a state of rudeness far below the standard of the primitive ages. G. A great philosopher of our own days accounts for the marine substances found in various parts of the earth, by supposing that, at the deluge, the primaeval continent sub- sided, and the bed of the old ocean heaved itself above the waters so as to constitute the present habitable world. This hypothesis may not be devoid of truth, yet 1 think it ought to be received with caution and great limitation. There can be no doubt that great local alterations took place when the foun- tains of the great deep were broken up. Yet it appears to me that the universal deluge was not so much dire&ed against the earth itself, as against the lives of its inhabitants, and that the general face of the globe, as to its grand features, was not materially changed. As to the marine substances, which are seldom entire, we must recollecl; that the great deep covered the earth at the time of the creation, and the waters may have begun to form the embryo of their productions, before they were wholly gathered together into one place. The impe- tuous currents of the deluge may have forced upward some of the younger fry, which partly came to maturity, in the shoal waters upon the sides of the mountains, during the continuance and gradual subsiding of the flood. And in other instances, the bursting of the internal abyss may have forced up moun- tains and large islands, from the bottom of the ocean, crowned with their unknown inhabitants. That the general face of the earth was not transformed, we 30 have several reasons to believe. We find traditions in many countries, that certain mountains, rivers, and even cities had survived the deluge, or, at least, that new cities were built upon the site of the old ones, and retained their names. What- ever credit may be given to the particulars of such traditions, their whole sum, and their great geographical extent, suffi- ciently declare the general opinion of antiquity upon this subject; and it is a subject, upon which it may be supposed, that some historical truth survived. Moses describes the branches of the river of Eden, which had existed from the Creation, by their names and courses, as known in his own time. No circumstance could possibly have constituted the identity of these rivers, but the identity of the country through which they flowed. It is evident then that the part of the old continent which formed the cradle of the human race, and the centre of antediluvian population, survived the deluge. Why should we think otherwise of those remote regions, which must have been less obnoxious to the Divine displeasure ? -* It appears that even the trees were not wholly eradicated, that their vegetative power was not destroyed, and that the productions of the earth were not re-created, but gradually recovered. For no sooner had the waters left the surface of the ground than the olive-trees began to put forth lea^es, " And the dove came to Noah in the Evening, and lo! in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off"." It must have been a leaf in full vegetation, otherwise it could not have been dis- tinguished from the leaf of a branch which had floated upon the waters. But though the dove found dry land, and trees producing leaves, she found as yet no proper sustenance, and therefore was compelled to return — a necessity to which she was not reduced at her next visit, when vegetation was further advanced. 31 It is not then improbable that many ruins of the works of men — such works as had been designed to outlive their antediluvian constructors, may have survived the deluge. — • Such remains may have suggested to Nimrod and his associates the idea of making brick, and erecting the tower of Babel. Without some leading hint, we can hardly conceive that mankind were then in an apt situation to embrace so vast * design. The mutual cohortations of the children of men — " Go to, let us make brick and burn them thoroughly," clearly imply that they were previously acquainted with the durable nature of brick, and with the method of preparing it. At any rate, large countries retained after the deluge the situation they had occupied before. They must have been recognized by Noah. And it appears in fact that, in after ages, the geography of the old world was not wholly forgotten. The site of Paradise is minutely described, by its relative position to certain streams that traversed well-known regions. The residence of Cain, in the land of Nod, on the East of Eden, a land known in the time of Moses, is pointed out; and the name and situation of his city, the oldest city in the world, are still upon record. Noah could not then have been igno- rant of the general extent and nature of the patrimony he left to his offspring. He must have had some knowledge of the face of the earth, as far as it had been known and inhabited before the flood. He had dwelt upon it for a space of six hundred years. He must have known how its various region^ were divided by seas, rivers and mountains. He must have heard something of the nature, temperature and extent of these regions. Accordingly he appears to have been aware of the disproportion of the lot assigned to Japheth, when he pro- phetically promises that " God shall enlarge him." Tn the days of Pel eg, who was born about a century after 32 die deluge and died ten years before Noah, we are told obliquely that the earth zcas divided. The manner in which this event is touched upon by Moses shews that the circum- stances of it were familiarly known in his time. But our accounts of it are rather scanty. In one other passage, the sacred historian alludes to the time, " When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance." From these passages we may collect that, by a Divine decree, there was a solemn division of the countries amongst the descendants of Noah. This division took place in the time of the great patriarch, and there can be no doubt but it was conducted under his inspection, and ascertained by lot, as we find a similar division of the land of Canaan amongst the Israelites. Throughout Gen. c. x. Moses is not speaking of a com- pulsory separation of families; but of a regular division of the earth amongst the Noachidae. " The sons of Japheth — By these were the isles of the gentiles divided, in thtii' hands. — The sons of Ham — in their countries and in their 7iations. — The sons of Shem — in their lands, after their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood." v. 2, o, 20, SI, 32. The name of Peleg gives occasion to specify the time, zchen the land was divided, not when the people were scattered abroad. . The narrative of this division is interrupted only by the incidental account of the rebellion and ambition of Nimrod, the subject of which is resumed and its consequences described chap. xi. If Nimrod's kingdom comprized the whole of mankind, their scattering abroad must have been, each into his land, agreeably to the previous division; but it is sufficiently evident that JNimrod's empire was not universal. — Ashur, iulam, Mizraim, Canaan, Gomer, Javan and many 33 others, certainly retired with, at least, part of their families. In a subsequent age we find amongst the children of Canaan many little settlements of Amakins or Giants. But that was not the general description of the Canaanites. They were not all Anakims. The language of the whole earth was confounded. Indivi- duals, perhaps of each family, experienced this confusion and afterwards carried it with them into all lands, whither they were dispersed. We say, the peace of all Europe is disturbed, when only the minds and actions of certain descriptions of men are irregularly affected. » The Heathens retained some traditions of such a distribu- tion. The Phoenician Historian says that Cronus (the Hus- bandman) bestowed upon Thoth the Kingdom of Egypt, and upon Minerva that of Attica. Hesiod speaks of a general as- signment by lot, to all the sons of Heaven and Earth, and adds that the Titans were permitted to enjoy their portion, according to the former distribution, which was made in the beginning. Theog. 390 — 425.* The very idea of Noah's dividing the land amongst his des- cendants, necessarily presupposes his knowledge of the land that was to be so divided. He must have described the several shares, their extent and boundaries, by certain names. And these, in general, could have been no other than the names by which the same regions, rivers and mountains had been already known to him, and consequently, which they had borne before the flood. Thus may we account for the identity of the names of several streams and mountains, in ancient * See manv and strong authorities for a general division by lot, Bryant'* Analyiis iii, 13. and Hdwdl's Uythol. Did. v. Earth. C 34 geography, from India to Britain, and from the Northern Ocean to the middle of Africa. The names must have been descriptive, in the primitive language, and several streams and mountains must have come under the same description. From the time of this general allotment, it seems to have been a common practice for men to distinguish themselves and their children by the name of their patrimony or estate. Hence Moses, in his genealogies of the early ages, frequently gives us the names of cities and districts, or names descriptive of local and relative situations, instead of the proper names of men. The declaration of this distribution seems to have been made after the human race had assembled in the land of Shimar (After Cronus came into the land of the South. Sanchon.) The founding of the kingdom of Nimrod, The Son of Rebellion, and the enterprize of those Children of men who joined his party, was in direct opposition to the Divine decree. It was lest they should be scattered abroad, or to prevent the execution of a purpose already known and declared; but not as yet carried into effect. The topic will be resumed in the course of my sketches. Ti On the Antiquity of writing. HERE can be little doubt that the primitive ages pos- sessed some means, beside oral tradition, of recording and perpetuating their several branches of knowledge, but re- specting the nature of these means, we are left somewhat in the dark. It is universally allowed that no human device could have answered this purpose better than alphabetical 35 writing. Were the early ages acquainted with an alphabet % This has been a great question. Amongst some ancient and modern nations, we find picture writing, hieroglyph ical re- presentations, or else arbitrary signs of ideas, employed as the general means of preserving memorials. But whether any of these are the remains of a primitive art, or the resources of those societies which had forgotten the accomplishments of their forefathers, is another question. Our lower order of me- chanics and labourers, who have never been taught to write, use a variety of marks and figures, to record their little trans- actions : And if one of these families were removed to a se- questered island, and excluded from other society, this would become their established mode of writing, though they were descended from a people who had the use of an alphabet. The sacred volume has given us no express information, relative to the antiquity of an alphabet. It has been the opi- nion of some eminent men, that this important expedient was Divinely communicated to Moses, when he received the tables of the law upon Mount Sinai. But it is clear from the testimony of Moses himself, that this opinion is erroneous. Of this, the following proofs have been urged ; and, for my own part, I cannot but regard them as incontrovertible.* Wc are informed (Ex. xvii.) that Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim, and was there overcome. And the Lord said unto Moses, " Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." As this record related exclusively to Amalek, it might be concluded that the command write this was given in Rephidim, immediately after the war, and before Israel had come near to Mount Sinai. * For several of these observations, I am indebted to Astle, on writing:-* JJut I quote from memory, B 2 36 But the context is decisive. Moses built an altar (in Rephi- dim) and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi ; for he said, " Because the Lord hath sworn, that the Lord will have war with Amalck, from generation to generation. Moses knew, therefore, what was meant by a Book, and was acquainted with the nature of Memorials, the art of Writing, and of Reading or rehearsing out of memorials, before the delivery of the sacred tables. Again (Ex. xxviii.) Moses is commanded to take two onyx stones and grave upon them the names of the children of Israel — " With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones, with the names of the children of Israel." In the same chapter, he is further commanded to engrave twelve stones, with the names of the children of Israel, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet. In these passages we have a constant reference to a well known art of engraving names upon signets ; and these engravings cannot be regarded as cyphers or mere hieroglyphical symbols; for (v. 36) we find another command to make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, " HOLINESS TO THE LORD." This cannot possibly mean any thing else than writing in Words and in Letters: and all these com- mands were given, before the first tables were delivered. It is then an indisputable fact, that books or memorials in writing, and consequently reading, were things well under- stood before the giving of the sacred tables. These tables certainly consisted of alphabetical writing, and the preceding inscriptions were undoubtedly of the same kind, and in the same character. Otherwise the introduction of a new and sacred mode of writing must soon have rendered the former, and less perfect mode obsolete ; and the names upon the gems and the golden plate must have become obscure and unintel- ligible. 37 But in this age, the art of writing could not have been a recent invention. The engraving of names upon signets is referred to, as a thing publicly known ; and surely, the first essays in writing had not been made in precious stones. — Signets were used by the Israelites before they went down into Egypt, and it is not improbable that they were inscribed. — Their inscriptions must have been in simple characters, adapted to the subject and the space which the gems afforded ; whereas the letters in general use in Egypt seem to have consisted of the representations of animals, and other producHons of nature. In some o*d Asiatic alphabets, we still discover letters in the figures of certain quadrupeds, and exactly similar to some of the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian obelisks. Such characters may have been liable to abuse, amongst a people so prone to idolatry as the Israelites were, and for this reason, it may have been commanded that the more simple alphabet of the en- graver of signets should be used in preference. In the book of Job, we find the antiquity of writing asserted in a manner no less positive. In one passage, that illustrious sufferer complains, " Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquity of my youth." In another, he exclaims, " Oh ! that my words were now written, Oh ! that they were printed in a book ! (stamped, as on the Babylonian bricks?) — that they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" Here writing is not spoken of as a new invention. It must have been an art long established, before its various forms, uses and properties could have been so well understood. In the time of Job, it was applied, as at present, to the taking of minutes of trivial circumstances or writing of bitter things; the recording of greater events in books, and the preserving a lasting memorial of what is very remarkable, in public inscriptions. It must have been one of those arts which are ascribed to the search of the fathers 38 of the human race. Had there been any just grounds for ascribing the invention to a Divine communication on Mount Sinai, it is impossible but that some notice would have been taken of so wonderful an event We should have had some hint of the Great lawgiver's instructions. Every circumstance of the giving of the law is minutely recorded, but not a word has been found to this purpose. On the contrary, the Israelites appear to have been readers in general. Each of the princes looks upon, and discriminates the rod which bore his own name (Numb, xvii.) Again : such a circumstance as the original communication of writing must have been notorious to the whole assembled nation. A thing so remarkable, and of such magnitude, could not have been forgotten. Some allusion to it, at least, would have occurred in the subsequent writings of the old tes- tament ; but nothing appears. The vanity of the more modern Jews would have disposed them to claim the discovery; but their traditions uniformly ascribe it to the first age of man. It may be demanded — How happens it, if the art of writing was really understood by the primitive ages, that Moses has not recorded the name of its inventor, amongst other antedi- luvian instructors? To this it may be answered, That the Mosaic history of the Antediluvians is a mere epitome. The historian records only the inventions of one family, that of Cain. His catalogue must have omitted many great arts which the Antediluvians possessed. Who was the first carpenter or the first weaver? Had the descendants of Cain actually invented writing, yet its progress to perfection, from its first simple rudiments, may have been so gradual, that Moses could not ascertain the name of its first inventor; and he records no invention, where 39 he has not an opportunity of adding this circumstance. His design seems to have been, not so much to mark the antiquity of the arts known in his time, as to preserve a memorial of eminent persons; more particularly in that family which was now wholly cut off, from the face of the earth. But why has not Moses mentioned, or alluded to ancient writings, in some passage of his history before the xvii. chap, of Exodus ? If it be certain that no such mention or allusion is made, it may be replied that the subject may not have come imme- diately in his way, and that it was not the custom of writers, far less ancient than Moses, to be minute in quoting their authorities. But we are not certain that Moses has not both alluded to, and expressly mentioned writings, of a date long prior to hi3 own time. In the historical part of the sacred scripture, we frequently find references to the authority of books which are no longer extaut. Such historial parts were therefore com- piled from the materials of earlier writers, and not communi- cated to the authors of the present volumes, by immediate inspi- ration. It is sufficient in this case to believe, that the Divine spirit directed the judgment of these authors, and disposed them to examine with diligence, and record nothing but the truth. The book of Genesis, if we except the account of the creation, consists of matter purely historical, or such as might have come within the compass of human research, and have been recorded in history. And Moses no where declares that he derived it from any other source. No part of it is intro- duced with the solemn form, " The Lord spake unto Moses," 40 We have it simply as a brief introduction to the history of the Israelites, and the promulgation of the law. Between the several portions of this introductory history, a considerable difference of style has been remarked. They differ in this iespe6t from each other, and from the usual style of Moses in his subsequent writings. In the several portions of this primitive history, the same events are recapitulated, to the same general effect, but with new and peculiar circumstances. This is a thing not usual in the original and entire composition of one author. It has rather the character of a collection of documents. The several portions are also distinguished by such appro- priate titles as, in any other volume of antiquity, would be ac- knowledged to point out the beginning of detached compo- sitions. Thus chap. i. and to v. 4, chap. ii. contains the history of the creation, and the institution of the sabbath. Then follows another brief history of the creation, the garden of Eden and the fall of man, with an exordium which intimates a distinct and independent composition. " These are the generations of the heaven and the earth," &c. This book- concludes with chap. iii. It is remarkable that the only term for the Divine Being, in the former of these portions, is Elohim, God, which is re- peated So times. In the latter portion, excepting in the conversation of Eve with the serpent, it is Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God, which is also repeated 20 times. In chap. iv. which contains the history of Cain and Abel, 41 and of the descendants of the former, the sacred name is Jehovah, without any variation, excepting once, in a speech of Eve. The use of these terms as here described is, I think, a pecu- liarity which could not well have happened, in the original and entire composition of one age, one country, and one man. For however the mysterious meaning of the terms themselves may be discriminated, yet Elohim iu the first chapter, and Jehovah Elohim, in the second and third, are evidently used in a synonymous sense, and precisely the same operations are ascribed to them. Chap. v. begins with an appropriate title, which more par- ticularly indicates a distinct and independent composition. — " This is the Book (or Record) of the generation of Adam." Here again, the history of the creation of man is briefly recited, as an introduction to this separate book, which is complete in its kind; for it begins from the creation and concludes with the birth of the sons of Noah. May it not be regarded as a transcript from an authentic genealogical table or pedigree, which had been regularly kept in the family of tliis patriarch . ? We have afterwards — " These are the generations of Noah" " These are the generations of the sons of Noah," &c. These things I cannot but consider as internal proofs, that Moses, has not only alluded to writings which existed before his own time, but has actually given us transcripts of some of the compositions of the primitive ages: and that the book of Genesis, like other historical parts of the scripture, consists in a great measure of compilations from more early documents. May not these several Books, which recapitulate the same events, and the matter of which has not been wholly forgotten 42 by the heathens, he regarded as so many primitive records, adding mutual strength to each other, and reflecting mutual light, in the same manner as the books of Kings and Chro- nicles, and the narratives of the four Evangelists ? If we duly consider the matter contained in the book of Genesis, I think we shall be led to conclude that much of it must necessarily have been collected from prior documents. For example (Gen. xxii. 20.) Abraham receives information respecting the family of his brother Nahor. No reason is given why it was told Abraham : nor does any thing imme- diately follow, as a consequence of such information. But as the account related to Abraham's family, we are left to conclude, that he recorded it; and, upon his authority, Moses preserves the record. He gives it not as a subject of revela- lation, nor as the result of his enquiry amongst the descendants of Nahor, nor yet does he content himself with registering the simple fact, but he tells us zohat had been told Abraliam at such a time. At a distance of 400 years, he transcribes the names of Nahor's eight sons in due order, with some particular circumstances respecting them, as it had been told Abraham, and therefore, as it must have been recorded in some memo- rials in Abraham's family. Moses must have possessed a very exact detail of the transactions of Abraham's time. Hence the circumstantial account of the expedition of the four kings, of that patriarch's treaties with the princes of the land in which he sojourned, of his sacrifices, and of the promises he received, and the allusion (Ex. xii.) to the year, the month, and the very day on which he began his peregrinations. In confirmation of the opinion advanced above, it may be observed, that history furnishes no instance of an exact chro- nology having been preserved, for a series of ages, by any people who were totally illiterate* Relative dates, and the ' 43 enumeration of months and days, Would soon become unma- nageable in oral tradition: and the precise length of mens' lives, and their age at the birth of their children, are circum- stances not likely to have been the subject of immediate revelation to Moses. Yet his history of the primitive world preserves an unbroken chain of chronology, from the creation. Sacred and profane writers have mentioned an ancient mode of recording facts by means of nails fixed in pieces of timber or notches cut in sticks ; but if these customs were capable of preserving historical facts, connected with their dates, for 25 centuries, we must regard them as, in some manner, equiva- lent to the use of letters ; and I trust I shall be able to prove in the ensuing essays, that this was the case. The enumeration of circumstances, in the history of the deluge, clearly points out the early use of letters, or of some- thing equivalent to letters. Here we have upon record, the particular month, and the day of the month, upon which the rain began — the number of days it continued — the period during which the eardi was covered — the day on which the ark first rested — on which the tops of the mountains were first seen — on which the face of the ground wasjirst observed to be dry, and on which Noah and his family descended from the ark, with several other particulars. Surely all this must have been collected from an exact register, kept at the time, and committed to writing, by those who were actually present. Would it not be detracting from the credit of the history to think otherwise? Here again, Moses records not the phamomena of the deluge, as simple facts, but he records them, as they had been teen and observed by Noah. He does not tell us upon 44 what day the mountains first emerged from the waters, but upon what day their tops were seen. We are informed indeed that " In the 601st year, on the first day of the first month, the waters were dried up from off the earth." But how was this known? The sacred historian informs us — On that day " Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold the face of the ground was dry." It is then recorded upon the authority of Noah's observation. I would remark another minute circumstance in this history, which tends forcibly to the same point. The waters are said to have prevailed 15 cubits upwards, and the mountains were covered. Now mountains are so various in their height, that, if by this passage we are simply to understand that the waters were 15 cubits higher than the mountains, it can mean nothing- The waters must have been much deeper, over the mountains of Ararat, before they could hade reached the top of the Alps. And the mountain where the ark rested could not have been an inaccessible peak; it must have afforded a practicable descent for man and beast. But let us recollect that the whole depth of the ark was 30 cubits. In order to give its motion a due steadiness on the flood, and at the same time, to afford a sufficient access of air to the middle and lower story, through the window that was in its side, we must suppose that, together with its freight, it drew about 15 cubits, or half its own depth, of water. Yet it was lifted up from the earth, it floated over the summits of the hills, without touching them, till the seventh month; when it indicated an abatement of the waters, by resting upon a mountain of Ararat: and this happened upwards of two months before the top of any other neighbouring mountain was seen. These circumstances must have been minutely observed bv Noah, and from them, he must have collected, 45 (hat the waters were 15 cubits deep over those mountains. Here then is one particular, in the history of the deluge, evidently derived from actual observation, and recorded to posterity by those who had remarked the circumstance upon the spot. If to all these presumptive arguments of the high antiquity of writing, we add, that the most ancient nations, in various parts of the world, those which were first regularly settled, and were most tenacious of their primitive customs and institutions, such as the Chaldeans, the Assyrians, the Egyp- tians, the Phrygians, the Pelasgi, the Indians and the Turdetani are found to have possessed the art of alphabetical writing : and that several of these societies regarded letters as coeval with the nation itself, if not with the human race, we shall have abundant reason to conclude, that letters were certainly known to mankind before the separation of families, and very probably before the deluge. We need not then pronounce the tradition of the Jews, respecting the learning of the primitive world, altogether vain and fanciful, nor the apostle unfounded in his quotation of the prophecy of Enoch,, the seventh from Adam. Picture-writing and arbitrary signs of ideas may have been the resource of societies which had forgotten the use of letters, or, in other nations, they may have been used toge- ther with letters, for compendium, for secrecy, for ostentation or ornament. We still retain their use in astronomy, algebra, numerals, marks of pauses or reference, and abun- dance of other instances. 46 v. Conditions of men in primitive society — The separation, of the Noachida. JL HE same hypothesis which regarded man, in his prw mitive and natural state, as placed extra civitatem, or in the condition of an unconnected savage, has furnished occasion to some late theorists to contend for the Rights of Man, to insist upon an equality of condition, and to assert the unlaw- fulness of every degree of authority, which has not been personally acknowledged or virtually conceded. I must confess myself not so much of a philosopher or politician as to perceive the principles upon which this doctrine can be, maintained. If all the children of nature have an equal claim to her bounty, then the brute creation, every thing that breathes, must be placed upon an equal footing with mankind. If a mere endowment with reason constitute a title to pre-eminence, then women and children must rank with men, not only in an equality of condition, but in an immunity from all controul which is not conceded, and in the right of delegating or exercising authority. If the prerogative of man be urged, upon the plea of superior mental powers, it must be recollected that men differ from each other, in this respect, no less than in the established. gradations of societv. 47 In vain should our theorists appeal to the precedent aud authority of history: for no such things as an equality of conditions, and an avowed equality of rights, can be traced, or even supposed to have existed in civil life. And even in the most savage nations, where society is not connected by any laws ihat extend beyond single families, excepting the law of custom, it will be found that, in those families, authority and subordination are understood and admitted. The same distinction obtains in respect of rights. The son who kills the bear or the seal, has a right to feast with his father upon the train; but the indolent brother, who refuses to join in the enterprize, has no claim to come in for his share of the spoil. This is exactly analogous to the distinction of rights, which is acknowledged in society, and it points out a necessary discrimination between social rights, and those which are properly natural. To those gilts which nature bestows in common to all her children, they have an equal right, such as breathing the vital air, seeing the light of the sun, or drinking of the current; but of such things as are either acquired or protected by social regulations, society must have a right to dispose, agreeably to its laws: And such laws necessarily suppose authority, and consequently the duty of submission; permission, and consequently the power of restraint; relative connections, and therefore, relative conditions. It follows then that, ever since mankind began to live in society, authority and subordination, agreeably to some certain rules, together with a variety of conditions, must have existed in the world. And this has been, according to the testimony of the sacred historian, from the day upon which God created man upon the earth. 48 When marriage was instituted between our first parents, a social and relative connection was formed. At this time indeed, there could be no great diversity of conditions; yet authority and subordination were established, not as the result of a deliberative compacl, but by a positive decree of God and nature. Eve submitted with affe6tion to the generous dominion of her husband. Adam possessed a like authority over his children. It was from under the protection of his parents, and from the society of his brothers and sisters who, by this time might be pretty numerous, that Cain was forced to retire, when he complained that his punishment was more than he could bear — because he was driven out from the face of the earth, and was doomed to be a fugitive and a wanderer. While the human race consisted but of one familr, the authority of the chief was necessarily only patriarchal, or con- fined to his own relations and descendants. Such was the case in the days of Adam and of JSoah. But the patriarch's power, from which there was no appeal, was not necessarily trans- mitted in the line of seniority. Several instances are recorded of the patriarchal privilege, to set aside the claim of primogeniture, to delegate his authority to either of his children and constitute him the chief among his brethren: And also to determine and declare the condition of the several branches of his descendants. Thus JSoah gave the chief blessing to Shem, his second son, and doomed the son of Ham to be servant of servants to his brethren. It may here be observed that, as Noah and his sons knew what was meant by a condition of servitude, they must have been acquainted with such a condition before the flood: And as the children of Ham were to serve the children of Shem add Japiieth, it is clear that Noah did not regard all authority unjust, which was not strictly patriarchal; when mankind 49 should have multiplied upon the earth, one family might exercise a lawful dominion over another family. This must have occurred to Noah, as a natural consequence of the pro- gressive state of society, and as a necessary repetition of what had taken place in the primitive world. . For great kingdoms and states appear to have heen fonned amongst the antediluvians. They had their heroes and their conquerors, for such I apprehend were the giants which were in the earth in those days, who became mighty men, which were of old men of renown. Moses has not thought proper to enlarge upon the renown of these mighties, yet his oblique manner of speaking plainly alludes to some known history of them. They are not reprehended for the possession but the abuse of power. The general history of the antediluvians had not then been totally lost. Several heathen nations retained some fragments of this history for many ages. The Greek and Roman mythologists give us details of the actions of certain giants before the flood, but the story is spoiled by embellishment. The genuine works of Berosus, as we are told by Syncellus, contained the reigns of ten kings of Chaldea before the flood. This was the exadl number of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah, both inclusive. Their residence seems to have been in the neighbourhood of the Euphrates. Nimrod, the mighty hunter, may then have done no new thing upon the earth, when he established a kingdom in Babylonia. The formation and maintaining of kingdoms and governments, whether good or bad, must suppose on the one hand, a diversity of conditions, and, on the other, a consi- derable progress in civilization, and the exercise of many arts, which could not but be useful and ornamental to society. 50 Upon the whole, we find that the ages from the creation, down to the deluge were not distinguished merely by the depravity of their morals, but also by their extensive acquisi- tions, in the various branches of useful knowledge, and by the first developement of the forms and conditions of social life ; and that the great patriarch of the new world took care to preserve the valuable attainments of former ages, and transmit them to his descendants, when the Most High divided to ■ the nations their inheritance. Which memorable event took place in his own days and under his inspection. It may be objected that, however general and successful the search of the antediluvians may have been ; yet Noah's information may not have been co-extensive, but confined to certain branches of knowledge. But will not a consideration o of the peculiar circumstances of this patriarch, in a great measure, over-rule the objection ? For 120 years before the flood, he had been apprized of the Almighty's purpose to destroy the old world, and to renovate the human race in his offspring. This must have induced him to employ much of this time in considering the acquisi- tions of the age, in acquainting himself with numberless particulars, which are not expressly recorded, in discrimi- nating between the good and the bad, and in treasuring up all the knowledge which could be of real value, and conducive to the well being of future generations. And after the great catastrophe of the primitive world, he must have used the must effectual means for the perpetuating of this knowledge amongst his posterity. Accordingly we find that, in the next succeeding age, there were wise men who made it their business to communicate the treasures of wisdom which they derived from their fathers — ■ 51 " Wliich wise men have told from their fathers (and have not hid it) unto whom alone the earth was given. 1 " Job viii. and xv. It appears then that, at no period from the creation to the distribution of the earth amongst the descendants of Noah, can savage life be regarded as the natural or the actual state of mankind. During this series of ages, the arts and occu- pations of civil life were regularly cultivated and advanced, and social, moral and religious obligations were generally understood, though not uniformly respected. These valuable acquisitions could not fail of being trans- mitted, by the fathers of the nations, to their respective families, which settled in the various regions of the earth. The early separation of mankind, and their distribution over the face of the globe, are events which have been refiedted upon by writers of more presumption than piety, and of more fancy than sound judgment. It has been asserted that such measures could serve no purpose but to prevent that mutual aid and comfort which men might otherwise have afforded each other. A Divine decree is entitled to our silent respect, though its wisdom and expediency be not obvious to human reason. But, in the present instance, they fully appear. It was surely designed in wisdom, that the whole human race should not be formed into one unweildy society, in which justice could never have been equally administered, nor the comforts of life duly secured. It was then expedient that, at some time or other, they should be divided. Could any time have been more happily chosen than the age of Noah . ? His dominion extended over the whole earth. His inheritance was, upon all accounts, too large to be formed into one empire, In his age all just authority was patriarchal 52 and this authority centred in himself. He was the common father of all his subjects. In no subsequent period, in the history of man, could this remarkable circumstance have occurred. At no subsequent period then could a general distribution of the earth, amongst the nations, have been conducted with equal propriety or with equal effect. And how was Noah to divide his offspring, if not, as nature itself had discriminated them, into distinct families? What could be more wise or more just than that he should invest every father with a patriarchal authority over his own house- hold, and thus give every rising society an opportunity to take possession of its allotted patrimony, as soon as it should become sufficiently numerous to contain social comfort within itself; while its children and its cattle were as yet easily removed, while it might easily be accommodated in the countries through which it had to pass, and before the beasts of the field were grealy multiplied? What could have been designed more wisely than to commit the forming and settling of every family to the im- mediate eye of a father, whose term of life and paternal care Avould be extended for a space of some centuries, whose occupation it would be to renew, in the succeeding gene- rations, the memory of the great events of history, and to instruct them in the useful knowledge which had been com- municated, and the moral precepts and religious doctrines which had been inculcated, by the common patriarch ? — Must not this have been the most effectual and ready method that could have been taken, to plant societies regularly formed, the arts of civil life, virtue, religion and morality in ever}- region of the earth ? When great multitudes of men are drawn together into 53 one vortex, it always happens that many of them pursue their private schemes and interests, hy means inconsistent with the good Of others. The laws of society are armed against such persons : they are expelled the conimunity, or else en- deavour, by flight, to escape a more severe punishment. Had it been designed that mankind should have continued in one body, and only extend their habitations as they wanted room? it must have followed, that the more orderly and best disposed would be the least likely to remove from the house and inheritance of their fathers. The abandoned and profligate only would be driven out from men, and uniting in the bands of wickedness, in the surrounding, unoccupied legions; thither they would cany no useful laws, no just subordination, no morality, no pure religion, no science, and no arts but such as might qualify them to offer or to repel force, and enable them to protedt themselves, in the exercise of rapine and violence. Such societies have indeed been formed, in various parts of the world, and have grown up into mighty nations of dreadful barbarians. At times, they have over-run the countries of their civilized neighbours, effacing in their course almost every trace of humanity. Had the civilized part of the species continued in one aggregate body, had none but the outcasts of society been separated from that body, the accumulated mass of such barbarians must, in a few ages, have become formidable to the globe, U vi 54 Of Kimrod's rebellion and apostacy — The confusion of tongues — The dispersion of the Giants. JL HE rebellion and apostacy of Nimrod and his adherents, and the subsequent confusion of tongues, and dispersion of the children of men from Babel, were undoubtedly events of considerable magnitude, in the early history of mankind. To these events the poets and mythological writers are full of allusion ; but the only plain details we have of them, are contained in Gen. x. v. 8 to 13. and xi. v. 1 to 10. From the former of these passages, we learn that Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, began to be a mighty one in the earth, and a mighty hunter before the Lord, or a violent persecutor ; and that he began to found a kingdom in Babel and the neigh- bouring country. From the latter passage, it may be colle6ted that many of the children of men entered into his design, aud began to build themselves a city and a tower, and to make themselves a name, for the express purpose of preventing the separation of families; but that this enterprize was offensive to the Lord, who therefore overthrew it by a miracle, confounded their language, and scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth. May I offer a few thoughts upon the nature and consequence of these events? Though I wish to form an accurate idea, how far the chain of primitive tradition was broken, and the plan of a regular distribution of the earth, amongst the descendants of Noah, disturbed by them; yet my sketches are nor designed to supersede the learned disquisitions which have 55 already appeared upon the subject. The candid critic will pardon them, if they furnish new and useful hints. The first thing to be considered is the extent of Nimrod's party. I think we may venture to assert that previous to the building of Babel, the human race, generally speaking, was collected }n Babylonia. For though the portion of Japheth find of Shem be alluded to, while the family of JNoah resided amongst the mountains of Ararat, where the great patriarch planted the vine and drank of its produce, yet an actual separation had not taken place, before they came to the plain of Shinar. It was there that an enterprize was set on foot, expressly to prevent that separation, which was understood to have been designed; though not as yet carried into effect — Jif s nce the impiety of the enterprize. It has been a popular opinion, that this confederacy at Babel embraced the whole of mankind, excepting perhaps one family, and consequently, that the whole earth was equally affected by the confusion of tongues, — that the primi- tive language, unless preserved in the family of Ileber, wa* now lost, and the primitive religion universally corrupted. — ■ And, in the promiscuous dispersion which followed, men have lost sight of a previous and regular allotment. But this opinion seems to have arisen from a bare conside- ration of the history of Babel, Gen. xi. without duly regarding its connection with the history of JNimrod and his kingdom, in the preceding chapter. In the account of the confusion and dispersion, Moses speaks in such general terms that, at first view, his language may appear to admit of no qualification. A little reflection, however, upon the subject, and a comparison oi the two 56 passages, amongst themselves, will discover that it both admits and requires a considerable limitation. For, in the first place, the confederacy was not headed by- Noah himself or by either of his sons or grandsons, but by a third in descent from Ham, under whom it cannot be supposed that, in an age, when patriarchal authority was acknowledged and respected, any of the elder branches would enlist them- selves. Neither Ham nor Cush nor either of his brethren could then have been amongst the subjects of Nimrod, or the Babylonian rebels. Nor did the patriarchs stand out alone. There were also families or societies of men, who had kept aloof. For the wickedness and persecution of Nimrod became proverbial, f nd continued so for many succeeding generations. " Wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.'* Now this proverb could not have been used amongst his own subjects and associates, who embraced his cause and assisted in his schemes; but in certain societies which had rejected his authority, and abhorred his conduct; and consequently became the objects of his rage. And many such societies there evidently were. For as Nimrod became a mighty hunter or persecutor before the Lord, he must previously have divested himself of all venera- tion for the Lord, and all submission to his authority. Amongst the partizans of Nimrod, there could have been no true piety. Yet in several parts of the country where Abraham sojourned, and in the family and amongst the friends of Job, we find righteous societies, who worshipped the true God. Their fathers had not been amongst the hunters before the Lord, or the apostates from the primitive religion. ,•> 7 Even in the house of Ham, the apostacy had not been general. Abraham had lately eome from Ur of the Chaldees, a, neighbourhood where the conduct of JNimrod and his associates could not have been forgotten. Upon his arrival in the land of Canaan, where some hords of the Giants were now settled amongst the inhabitants, he observed the same corruption of religion and morals, which had once prevailed at Babylon. It was therefore natural for him to conclude, that this degeneracy was become almost universal in the house of Ham. -Accordingly he imagined that the fear of God was not in Egypt or the land of the Philistines, as he approached the borders 'of those countries; but he was agreeably undeceived. Gen. xii. and xx. Pharaoh acknowledges the hand of the Lord, and the obligation of the moral law. Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, not only reveres the sacred name and acls with as much conscientious integrity as Noah himself could have done, but also appeals to the Almighty for the general uprightness of his people. " Loud, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation!" This nation must have conducted itself in a manner very different from other wicked nations, which the Lord had recently destroyed. The religion and morals then of the old Egyptians, and of their descendants the old Philistines, were not derived from the apostate race. They were hitherto patriarchal and pri- mitive, a certain proof that their fathers had not been confe- derates with JNimrod. 58 The prevalence of the name of Nimrod furnishes anothei argument against tha universality of his command. His own subjects could never have styled him, The Rebel, or Son of Rebellion. They seem to have called him by2 Baal, Belus, The Ruler ; the verb i?j/2 implying, To have or take possession of', or authority over a thing; to marry or appropriate - Parkhurst. The same term is used as an epithet for the objects of idolatrous worship, particularly the bun ; but we are not from hence to infer, that Nimrod and the Sun were regarded as the same person. The title of Ruler may have been coinmoa to them with many others. The general use of the name of Babel is another circum- stance, which forcibly argues the limitation of Nimrod's party. As the builders could not have distinguished t|ieir City by a term which had any reference to confusion, we need not regard Babel as a play upon the original name, or at all similar to it. i rather think this name is nearly preserved by Moses, and recognized in the language of mythology. The children of men said, Let us build *y# a city, and •TID a tower, and let us make us C3tt> a Name, or Renown. This was the order by which they ascended the climax of their ambition : but when they had attained the highest step, they must, from thence, have named their city. They must have called it CDI^ Shem, tne Same, or Renown. The other degrees would naturally be subjoined, to make out ita descrip- tion. Thus it became ^*TJO >y oitf "RENOWN, the city of the Tower." 59 Instead of Vud, the children of men may have employed "HOy, Amud, A Column or pillar, a term nearly synonimous with the former, and which is emphatically applied to The pillars of Heaven, or the Cones of mountains, and therefore was a very apt term to describe that tower, whose top might reach to Heaven. The name would then stand thus ~t)D}} *vy CDl^ Slum OirAmud. Hence perhaps the Semiramis, Semiramid-os of mythology, the name by which Ninus or the Ninevite, in a subsequent age, married, or, took possession o/' Babylon". If this conjecture be admitted, we may regard Kimrod and Babel as names which were imposed only by the enemies of this ambitious prince. And the prevalence of these names proves that his enemies were numerous. Are we then to conclude, that the associates of Nimrod consisted solely of his brethren and their children? This will by no means follow. For, had one family only formed a conspiracy, the express reason here assigned for their enterprize could not have applied. In that case, they could not have been forced upon the expedient of making themselves a name, " Lest they should be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth," for their destined habitation, as one family, must have been in some certain part of the earth, and in the neighbourhood of each other ; whereas, on the contrary, they clearly understood that it was intended, they should be separated from one another, to the most remote corners. And accordingly, we find that the Lord interposed his power, while they were yet in the prosecution of their design, beginning to build the city and the tower, and scattered them from thence upon the face of all the earth. In all probability, he scattered them into those several regions, which had been originally destined lor their respective habitations, and whither many of their obedient brethren iiad already repaired. 66 Again : the language of the whole earth had been one, i& the Ecra of the confusion : yet Moses speaks of the various tongues of the children of Shem and of Japheth, as well as of the descendants of Ham, at the time when they retired to their respective patrimonies. The progeny of the former patriarchs were not, therefore, wholly clear of the rebellion or of its punishment. The tradition of almost every country presents us with certain giants, exiles and wanderers, who intruded amongst the more regular and orderly inhabitants, and whose condition was at once the objecT; of pity and detestation. Upon the whole, it may be thought most agreeable to the Mosaic history, to universal tradition, and to truth itself, to conclude that some of the children of each of the three great patriarchs joined in the impious confederacy, and that other branches in each of these families, rejected the proposal. Nimrod's subjects then consisted not of families, but of individuals, of a certain temper and disposition. As his confederacy did not embrace the whole of mankind, there can be no reason to suppose that those who were not; concerned in it, immediately lost either their religion or their language, or any part of the valuable traditions of their fathers. Whatever may have been the extent of the Babylonian rebellion, it could not have overthrown the original plan of a regular allotment. It was itself overthrown by a miracle \ And the Almighty does not exert his miraculous power, to frustrate, but to enforce and accomplish the designs of his providence, and to bring to nought the counsels of wicked men. The miraculous interposition which now took place^ 61 must have been fully adequate to tlie purpose for which it was intended. It must have operated, as an effectual cor- rection, or as a signal punishment, which disposed the remains of the human race to comply with the Divine decree. Chronology has not expressly marked the aera of Nimrod's rebellion, or of the dispersion of his adherents. But as the immediate object of the former was to prevent the execution of a decree, whicli appears to have been published at the time of the birth of Peleg, we may conclude that it took place soon after that event. Nimrod might now be 60 or 65 years old, about the same age as Salah, his parallel in descent. If so, he was not in early youth, but in the prime of manhood. — For though the patriarchal age was hitherto of great extent, yet it appears that men soon came to maturity. In the first century after the deluge, they married and had children, generally about the age of thirty. The Samaritan copy regularly adds 100 years to the age of the patriarchs both before and after the flood, at the birth of their sons ; so that the birth of Peleg is removed to about 400 years after the deluge. Many learned men adopt this chro- nology, because it allows time for an increase of population, suitable to the great events of his time. May I offer a few remarks on this subject? 1 . Down to the death of Noah, Moses regularly gives the age of the father, at the birth of such a son, he adds the remaining years of his life, and then sums up the whole. — The constant change of this enumeration cannot have hap- pened through the mere inadvertency of transcribers. Some wilful and systematical corruption must be supposed, either in the Hebrew or Samaritan text, 62 2. Nothing of the kind has been laid to the charge of the Jews. The pious men who revised the sacred books after the captivity, certainly used the best copies that were to be found. Their transcripts were long preserved. The people after this period never relapsed into idolatry. Their numerous scribes must have detected error, and the mutual jealousy of their seels exposed corruption. Beside, the lawgiver of the house of Judah was under the care of a special providence till the Shiloh came, and our reliance upon the authority of the scriptures rests, in a great measure, upon the firm belief that they have not been wilfully corrupted. 3. The half pagan Samaritans, who rejected a great part of the sacred canon, may be supposed to have taken unwar- ranted liberties with the books they retained, in order to countenance their heathenish errors. And it was an error of the Heathens that during, the second or Silver age men remained with their ' mothers for 100 years, in a state of infancy, which was succeeded by a short and infirm period of manhood. Hesiod. E^y. x«t H/* oT. v. 129- How contrary is this to the purpose of Providence declared Gen. ix. 1.? 4. The very old and grey-headed friends of Job, about the time of Abraham, repeatedly speak of men of a former age (and whose term of life abundantly exceeded theirs) as still existing. This could not have been the case upon the Sama- ritan scheme of chronology ; but upon that of the Hebrew text, it was a certain truth. 5. As the Samaritan copy does not add to the number of generations, but only retards the population of mankind, I cannot perceive how its chronology would remove the objection respecting the age of Pcleg. If the race was prolific at the age of thirty, it must evidently have increased as much in 100 63 years as it would have done in 400, supposing men had no children till they were 130. <6. Observe the patriarchs from Arphaxad to Nahor according to the Hebrew text. The variety of their ages when they became parents is natural and probable, 35, 30, 34, 30, 32, 30, 29- Whereas the 135, 130, 134, 130, 132, 130, 129 of the Samaritan copy presents a monotony unprecedented in history, and highly improbable in itself. At the age of 60 or 65 Nimrod may have retained as much of the fire of 3'outh as would dispose him to undertake a great and daring enterpiize, and, at the same time, have acquired as much of the resolution and decision of manhood, as would enable him to persevere in it. At no period of his life could he have been better qualified to plan the city and kingdom of Babel. Those hardy adventurers, who gathered round him, may not indeed have been sufficiently numerous, immediately to accomplish the design ; but they ma}' have entered upon it with confidence, calculating upon the long prospect of their own lives, and the assistance of their children, who were continually multiplying. How far they had proceeded in their enterprize, and extended the limits of their kingdom, before the scheme was completely ruined, may be a difficult question to decide. The opinion that Nimrod was the builder of Nineveh, and the founder of the Assyrian empire, has antiquity on its side, and has been generally received. But I recollect no authority from the old testament which determines this point, and all that can be collected from heathen authors, respecting an event of such remote antiquity, may be regarded as doubtful. Even here Ninus is represented cs marrying not begetting Semiramis (54 — taking possessio?i of, not building Babylon. It is clear that the Babylonian and Assyrian kingdoms were originally two distinct things. The latter I think had not crossed the Hiddekcl or Tigris in the time of Moses, that river flowing JIDHp, before, or in front of it, and not toward the Ea&t, as it is in our translation. Its boundary then lay at a considerable distance from Babylon. I am aware that some translators of credit have rendered Gen. x. II. to this purpose — " And out of that country, he [Nimrod] went forth to Ashur, and built Nineveh, &c." But this seems to be nothing more than forcing the text, in order to support a pre-conceived hypothesis; for besides that the words require no such interpretation, it is pretty evident from the context, and the paragraph in the beginning of chap. xi. that Nimrod did not go forth at all out of Babylonia, before the catastrophe of his ambition. The children of men were still engaged in making themselves a name, and in building the city and tower of Babel : they were beginning to do this, at the time when the confusion of tongues took place, and it was in consequence of this event they left off to build the city. They had been hitherto engaged in the prosecution of their , original design at Babel, and had not yet completed it.-— It was there that the Lord confounded their language, and it was from thence that he scattered them. The whole of the confederate band must have been dispersed. Had a party been left behind undisturbed, they would soon have increased to a multitude, and might have prosecuted the work at their leisure: whereas on the contrary we are told that the design was wholly broken off. And they were not driven from Babylonia into Assyria, but dispersed into all the regions of the known world. It appears then, that Nimrod did not go forth before the 65 overthrow of his great enterprize, and, if he survived that event, we cannot suppose him afterwards in a condition to build great cities, and establish a powerful kingdom, when his subjects were now dispersed over the face of the earth. It is said indeed, that " The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad and Calneh in the land df Shinar ;" and it may be asked, Where was the sequel of his kingdom, if not in Assyria, namely Nineveh Calah, Resen, &c. as it follows in the next verses? But it must be observed, that Nimrod only began a kingdom: he did not complete his design. He only began to be a mighty one in the earth. — • Whatever meaning we attach to the word began or beginnings in one of these clauses, must be equally applicable to the other. I cannot but subscribe to the opinion of a most eminent writer of the present age, that Ashur who went forth out of the country of Shinar and built Nineveh, and actually founded the Assyrian kingdom, which, in time, extended itself into a vast empire, was the son of Shem of that name. — The land which Nimrod occupied was evidently in the midst of the portion of Shem. His other sons settled about the Tigris and Euphrates. Some short time after the general par- tition, Ashur may have begun to take possession of his lot, amongst his brethren ; but finding the country occupied by such powerful intruders, he may have been compelled to give way and fortify himself at a distance. If so, Nineveh was not built, nor the Assyrian empire founded by Nimrod, but rather because of Nimrod. The Assyrians, in after ages, extended their empire over Babylonia, and rebuilt, or enlarged and beautified tiie city of Confusion j but the nation which they found there, and which 66 still continued to inhabit the province, is always distinguished by sacred and profane authors from the proper Assyrians. Some faint vestiges of the history of this people, may per- haps guide us to the aera of the confusion and dispersion of the rebellious band. But let us first consider who they were. I am aware of an opinion which has been formed by a writer of the first eminence, from their local situation, and from circumstances, that Chus was the head of this family, and Isimrod their fust king. But when it is recollected how generally the Chaldeans have been claimed and admitted as the real ancestors of the Jewish nation, and that their descent from the house of Ham rests entirely upon circumstantial proof, I hope I may be pardoned for withholding my assent to this opinion. May we not gather from circumstances equally strong, that they were the genuine descendants of Shem, by the line of Arphaxad, and that they were not implicated in the confe- deracy under Isimrod, but preserved themselves a distinct people from the days of Peleg, when the earth was first divided ? It is admitted, upon all hands that, in the early ac;es, those names of men by which they were distinguished in history were relative or descriptive terms. They alluded to some peculiar situation, or some prominent circumstance, relating to the persons who bore them, or to their family. — They were not always the names which had been given in a state of infancy. Abraham, Sarah, and Israel are instances of the contrary. May we not then be permitted to make some u,se of historical twines, where historical detail is wanting? It 67 is granted that some of these titles, though they were histo- rical and relative, may admit of various interpretations, and that it is not easy, in all cases, to point out their precise meaning. The occasion of them is sometimes forgotten, and they are couched in a language that is not entirely preserved. But others are sufficiently clear, and we must be content to let the strong support the weak. One of the sons of Heher was named Peleg, because in his days the earth &as divided, or as it is elsewhere expressed, The Most High divided to the nations their inheritance. This division must have taken place at the time of Peleg's birth, for at no other period of his life can we conceive how he should have acquired a name from this circumstance. Peleg could not then have been at the head of a colony. In faclt, we find he was not. The chief of the family was his father Heber, who communicated a general name to all the Hebrews, or to several nations of his descendants. The name of Heber signifies, To cross over, or simply The opposite side. This name he seems to have acquired from the circumstance of his crossing over, with his family, to the East side of the Euphrates, from the tumultuous assembly of Nimrod, who had seated themselves on the Western bank where old Babylon is supposed to have stood. It is clear that the family of Heber dwelt on the East side of the Euphrates, in a narrow part of the country, between that river and the Tigris, and as Shem is said to be the father of all the children of Heber, or The other side, it should seem that none but his descendants removed thither or remained there. The first acquisition, which we read of, to the family of Hebe* was lieu, the son of Peleg. This name is interpreted by some A Friend or near neighbour. Heber may have con- trasted his own little society with the hostile rout beyond the r. 2 68 flood, and called them his friends or neighbours, and the land where he dwelt The land of Friends, or Friendland' In allusion to this circumstance, Peleg may have regarded his eldest son, as one added to the society of friends. But as the name may import A Shepherd or Feeder of Cattle, and as the Hebrews, whether in Mesopotamia, in the land of Canaan, or in Egypt, made pasturage their peculiar occupation, I conjecture that this is the meaning intended by the name of lyn, and that it intimates that the Hebrews immediately applied themselves to rural employments, and not to the building of cities. By his Greek name Yuyuv, this son of Peleg claims the country about the Tigris and Eu- phrates, E* to»« Ofto»j Payaw. Judith i, It is then pretty clear, that the family of Heber did not enrol itself under the banners of Nimrod, or assist him in the building of Babel and the other cities which constituted his kingdom. Neither did this family withdraw itself to a great distance, like that of Ashur. The Hebrews merely «tepped out of the way, and occupied the country beyond the stream. But in this country they were certainly the principal people. Reu or Ragau's name was communicated to the territory. — Both himself and his relations must then have been in pos- •ession of it. They must have maintained such possession, for his name continued there. And he left it to his posterity, for Ragau himself survived the birth of Abraham about 1 8 years, and we find that Ur, the centre of Chaldea, was the land of Abraham's nativity — there was his own couutry, his kindred and his father's house. When Abraham and Lot removed to Padan-Aram, still within the borders of Ragau, to a city which appears, by its 6 9 several names, to have belonged to Lot's father, and Abraham's grandfather, and was therefore part of the family estate ; Nahor, Abraham's elder brother, still continued at Ur of the Chaldees, his paternal home. Some of his children seem to have remained there after him, whilst others spread themselves over Padan-Aram, higher up between the streams, and still within the borders of Kagau. It is absolutely evident that the family of Heber did not reside in these countries, as depen- dants on any other family. Nahor was undoubtedly King of Chaldea and Padan-Aram. His consort is known to us simply by the name of n^tt, Milcah or the Queen. Amongst the children of Nahor and this Queen, we find liUi Chesed, the Chaldean, the founder or chief of that distinct family, and ^KlDp Kemuel, Established of God, the father of Aram, Patriarch or Prince of that nation which inhabited Padan-Aram, Aram Naharahn, or the- rich and extensive country of Mesopotamia* Laban the son of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, dwelt in this country, in the city of Haran, which is also called the city of Nahor, and amongst his brethren, whom he convoked upon the flight of Jacob- He had pastures of three days journey in extent, not in a strange land as a sojourner, but in his own land and that of his brethren. This Laban, in consequence of his belonging to the family of Kemuel, and of his residence in Padan-Aram is called >D")N the Aramite. I think it ought not to be translated Syrian, as by this term we generally un- derstand an inhabitant of Syria proper, and a descendant of Aram the son of Shem. We may hence perceive the greatness of the sacrifice which Abraham made to his faith, when he went out from his own Jand, not knowing whither he went, and became a E 3 70 sojourner; dwelling in tabernacles in a strange country. Ho submitted to a condition very different from that to which he was born. Yet we find this patriarch's high rank duly ac- knowledged by the Canaanites themselves, lie is styled My Lord, and a Mighty Prince, even by -the Princes of the Country, though he was but a stranger amongst them, and possessed not a foot of land. Kings go forth to meet him, attended by the first officers of their state, honour him as their equal in dignity, and conclude solemn treaties with him. It cannot be urged in objection, that the family of Hcber, as friends and associates of another people, who may be regarded as the proper Chaldeans, may have enjoyed peculiar immunities and privileges, and even have been included in the national name. Whatever the title T^D or nti'D may have originally im- ported, I think it can have nothing at all to do with Cush the son of Ham. It belongs exclusively to the line of Ar- phaxad, whose own name is a compound of ND""i and "Vi'D, and seems to imply a Healer or Restorer of -i&'D- It may have superseded the former name Cainan, which is retained in the Septuagint version, and therefore be nothing more than au epithet, which this patriarch acquired in the days of \\u manhood. As Nahor was about GO years older than Abraham, Ins son Chesed may have been about the same age as his uncle. The general opinion that this Chesod was the chief of the distinct family of the Chaldeans, acquires great support from his name, exactly copied from that of his great ancestor, who was still living at his birth, and exactly preserved in the Gentile name of the Chaldeans, the inhabitants of part of Nahor's kingdom. Why should this sou be emphatically /I styled the Chaldean, unless it was because Chaldea was his share, in the distribution of Nahor's inheritance among his children ? Those relations and descendants of Nahor who continued in this district, retained the name of DHZ"2, while those who settled in the portion of Kemuel, the father or prince of Aram, obtained that of D'0"IN. It appears to me that these Chaldeans, after the dispersion of ISimrod's party, and the overthrow of his kingdom, extended themselves over Babylonia. Hence authors derive the family of the Jews, sometimes from the Babylonians, and sometimes from the Chaldeans. Semiramis is a well-known mythological name of Babylon : And Steph. Byzant. V. U-Jxix, informs us from Alexander Polyhistor, that the Jews and Idumeans or Edomites were descended from the children of Semiramis. They were not descended from the first founders of Babylon; but from a people who were very early in possession of it: perhaps long before the birth of Chesed. The author of the book, De Mundo, which is ascribed to Philo, equally derives the race and the learning of the Jews from the ancient Chaldeans. All this coincides with the testimo^ nies of Moses and Joshua, and with the express declaration, Judith v. G. that the Jews were of the race of the Chaldeans. We learn from the two next verses, that some branches of the Chaldeans, or house of Ileber, rejected the corrupt worship of their fathers, and removed into Mesopotamia, which tl«cy go- verned for a long time. The more numerous branches, which still continued in their native country, were so far from wishing to detain them, that they thrust them forth from the presence of their gods. The ancient Chaldean? then were not descendants of Ham. 72 They were the children of Shem and of Arphaxad, and the genuine ancestors of the Jewish nation. These were the people who possessed that part of Chaldea, which lay between the rivers, from the time of the general allotment in the clays of Peleg; who afterwards, upon the destruction of Nimrod's kingdom, began to extend their dominion over Babylonia, and held it for man} r ages, till it was incorporated with the growing empire of Ashur. And these were the people who raised the fame of Babylon to such eminence in the annals of ancient lore. Whether this celebrated city was part of their intended patrimony or not, they seem to have been put in peaceable possession of it, in the days of Arphaxad, the restorer of the The names of the descendants of Shem, in the line down to Abraham, are evidently descriptive of the successive conditions of the Chaldean family. As it is probable that the precise meaning of these names is not always to be obtained from the Hebrew dialect, I could wish to see it investigated by a good general orientalist, a character to which I have no pretension. On the present occasion, I must content myself with setting them down in their order, together with those derivations and interpretations which are usually given, and adding a few conjectures. TiWDlN Arphaxad, from ND"i He healed, repaired, restored, consolidated, 3, an adverb of similitude, and litf Devastation, But as nwj thus derived, is not likely to have formed the name of a great people, may it not imply d according to, >T& the Almighty, the Disposer: intimating that they were the true possessors of the land by Divine appointment? Or else, it may come from 3 about, and TitfK or iitf the Stream, so as to be descriptive of their local situation. The initial n in Arphaxad, forms, the first person future, perhaps intimating that the name arose from a declaration made by this patriarch — " I will heal the true possessors — or — the dwellers about the stream." In the story of Judith, the same name is given to a king of the Medes, probably in allusion to the history of Arphaxad; as we find this prince had entered upon a similar design — to liberate the Chaldeans from under the Assyrian yoke. rr^>!£% Sal ah, He shot or cast; sent forth, sent away; a dart, a ?nissik weapon. *D#, Heber, he passed over; The opposite side. &2 Peleg^ He divided ; a stream. ty% Reu, Ragau, from njn He united ; fed ; a friend : Perhaps rather, A Shepherd, or feeder of flocks — the same as Hjn. Jlliy, Serug, from X~\V to be wreathed, twisted ; a weak ot tender branch. "l?riD Nahor: " it has some affinity to the Chald. root -nrt to liberate or set free." — G. Pasor. Perhaps its meaning may be intimated in the Heb. inj, *mrr3, Snorting, as of a war- horse, enraged and exulting. Job xxxix. £0. Jer. viii. 16. mn Terah, from nn Is spacious, refreshed; space, interstice, distance, braatb, spirit, 74 May I not be allowed to infer from this series that, about the time of Iteu's birth, Heber, who had passed over, or who occupied the opposite side of the stream, had colledted his friends and relatives in social union; or else, that the Hebrews had already betaken themselves to the peaceful occupation of shepherds— that about the time when Serug was born, Nimrod was extending his kingdom on both sides of the Euphrates^ and building Erech and Accad and Calneh, the outposts of his great city, and that, in consequence of this, the Hebrews now began to be perplexe d, weak, and afflicted? This must have been the time for Arphaxad, the great patriarch of the Hebrew family, to begin to exert himself — to form that resolution, make that declaration, and undertake that cnterprize which gave him the name of the Restorer of healer of the Q>~W2. This design he may have carried into effect, by forming a confederacy with his brethren, and attacking the subjects of Nimrod in open war. And it is pretty clear, from some allusions to this event, in the old testament, as well as from the general language of mythology, that the confusion of tongues was not the only means employed for the breaking up of the rebellious kingdom. The Lord confounded their language, and they left off to build the city : and then, the Lord scattered them from thence. In other passages of scripture, the Lord is said to have scattered his enemies, when he discomfitted them before the armies of his servants. The same external means seems to have been employed upon this occasion, accompanied perhaps with an awful conflict of the elements. It was in war that the Gods and sons of the Gods scattered the Giants, from the heap they were raising, or buried them under it,s ruins^ • ?5 The subjects of Nimrod included a great proportion of the ■ human race. They were strong and they were confident. — How greatly must their strength have been reduced, and their confidence damped, at the approach of battle, when an evil conscience, awakened by the voice of thunder, shook their inmost frames, and a supernatural panic convulsed the organs of speech, so that they could utter only unformed sounds, and communicate no idea to their comrades, but the general im- pression of horror aud dismay ! Salah, the son of Arphaxad, as his name imports, must have been an active warrior: and he was probably instrumental in liberating the afflicted Hebrews, or in pouring forth the torrent of indignation, about the time of the elder Nahor's birth, and in expelling the children of men from Babe], about 90 years after their great rebellion. They had already been there no inconsiderable time, if we recollect that they had not yet lost sight of their original design, that they had hitherto been employed in building the city, that they were but beginning to do this, and that the city which they were beginning to build must not be mistaken for Babylon tlie Great, such as it was in the days of Aebuchadnczzar. The early overthrow of ^Nimrod's power may be inferred from other circumstances. Moses names the iSoachicke who divided the land, After their nation';. In other words, he records only the names of the nations they ropectively planted. It should then seem that the house of Ileber, alter an interval of two or three generations, or about the space of a century, (by the scale in Gen. xi.) gained an ascendency over the house of Cush. In the 4th degree from JSoah we find, K2D and n'7'in Scba and Havila, sons of Cush, and in the .3th SHIP Sheba, his grandson; hut in the 7th degree, Shcba and Havila occur amongst the grandsons of Ileber.-— May we not infer that this family gained possession of the land which the others had occupied \ The Scholiast upon Apoll. Argonaut. L. iv. v. 320, remarks that Timonax (an old historian) in his first book ITe§« Z*t>5a>r, reckons 50 different nations of Scythae. The name then does riot belong to a certain family, but to a certain description of people who were dispersed over various regionSi St. Epiphanius says that the people who went under the general name of Scythae were those who ere<5ted the tower, and built Babel. Advers. Heres. p. 6. He adds that Scythism, or the dominion of this people, extended only to the time of Serug, and that from Serug to Abraham, and from thence to his own time, Hellenism of gentilism prevailed. lb. p. 9- The declension of this kingdom may again be inferred from the early aggrandizement of another family in the neigh- bourhood. About 300 years after the birth of Peleg, the king of Elam, or the South of Persia, peopled by the house of Shem, was the Great King. The kings of Shinar, Ellaser, and certain other nations were his allies, and probably his tributaries. The branches of his throne, passing directly over Shinar, extended 1000 miles to the West, into Arabia, Idumea and Canaan, where he had vassal princes, of the race of the dispersed Giants, whose rebellion he chastized, and whom either himself or his father must, in the first instance, have awed by authority, or reduced by force. A monarchy thus powerful could not have sprung up at- 77 once; it must have taken deep root in tlie East before it could acquire sufficient firmness to bear clown the weight of its adversaries, and it must have passed the Tigris and Euphrates some time before it could reach the banks of Jordan. The house of Shem had then prevailed over that of Cush^ before the days of Abraham. It may be a question of some importance whether the Eastern princes called TK-ins or Shepherd Kings who, according to Dr. Hales, Orient. Coll. v. iii. No. 2. began to govern Egypt 511 years before the Exode of the Israelites, were not the Satraps of the Elamite. Jerusalem which they are said to have built was very near, if not within, the provinces of Che- dorlaomer. Egypt was governed by a Shepherd about 430 years before the Exode. The king entreated Abraham well, and gave him Sheep, and Oxen, and He asses, and She asses and Camels. — Gen. xii. Kings display their munificence by bestowing estimable things, such as constitute the riches of their country. Before the descent of Jacob, some great revolution had taken place in the minds of the Egyptians. At that time they held shepherds in abomination. Perhaps they resented the ills they had lately suffered from them. The ancient books of the Hindus, have something very curious upon this subject. From the learned tract On tigyyt, by Lieut. Wilford. Asiat. Res. v. 3. Lond. Edit. 1801. I extract the following particulars. " It is related in the Padma-Puran, that Satyavrata, whostf miraculous preservation from a general deluge is told at length, in the Matsya, had three sons, the eldest of whom was naniad 7S Jyapeti, or Lord of the Earth. The others were C'harma and Sharma, which last words arc, in the vulgar dialects,, usually pronounced Cham and Sham; as we frequently hear Kishn for Crishna. The royal patriarch, for such is his character in the Purans, was particularly fond of Jyapeti, to whom he gave all the regions to the North of Himalaya, or the Snowy Mountains, which extend from sea to sea, and of which Caucasus is a part. To Sharma he allotted the countries to the South of these mountains. But he cursed C'harma ; because, when the old monarch was accidentally inebriated with a strong liquor made of fermented rice, C'harma laughed; and it was in consequence of his father's imprecation that he became a slave to the slaves of his brothers." p..'31C. " C'harma having laughed at his father — was nick-named Hasyasila, or the Laugher; and his descendants were called from him Hasyasilas in Sanscrit — By these descendants of C'harma they understand the African Negroes, whom they suppose to have been the first inhabitants of Abyssinia, and they place Abyssinia partly in the Dwipa (or countrv) of Cusiia." p. 330. We may collect from a variety of circumstances, that CusJia Dwip within) extends from the shore of the Mediter- ranean, and the mouths of the Nile, to Scrhind, on the borders of India, p. 301. Cusha-dwipa without is Abyssinia and Ethiopia: and the Brahmens account plausibly enough for its name, by asserting, that the descendants of Cusha being obliged to leave their native country, from them called C^sAa-dwipa within, migrated into Sauc'ha-dwip, and gave to their new settlement the name of their ancestor, p. 302. 79 Alt this remarkably coincides with the Mosaic history, and with the general opinion of Europe respecting the allotments of the Noachidse. By the geography of Cusha-dwip xaithin, it is evident that Cusha was no other than the Cush of Moses, the son of the mocker. The Brahmens finding him originally settled in the portion of Sharma or Shcm, seem to have mistaken him for a descendant of that patriarch, whose posterity they represent as emigrating into Egypt, Abyssinia and Ethiopia, after the building of Padoiamandira on the banks of the river Cumudvate, or the tower of Babel on the Euphrates. See p. 311, 313. They were acquainted with the portion of Shorn and the doom of Ham, but they had forgotten that the latter seized upon the portion of the former, which he was afterwards obliged to relinquish. Not only the name of Cush, but also that of his son Sheba, seems to have passed into Abyssinia. We learn from Bruce, that the Abyssinians positively claim the queen of Sheba (who visited Solomon) as their sovereign. But to return — • Moses speaks of the whole enterprize of the children of men, as a design which was ruined almost in embryo. Its fall could not then have been protracled long after the birth of the elder Nahor. Arphaxad was at this time 1Q1 years old, Salah 156, Heber 126, Peleg 92, lieu 02, and Serug 30. They may all have taken an active part in the Titanian war, and in the complete liberation of their friends, about the close of the second century alter the flood. From henceforth, the interpretation of names furnishes nUT in whatever degree the subjects of Nimrod may have contributed to the corrupting of the primitive religion of mankind, we cannot surelv ascribe to them the introduction of those numerous terms, both sacred and profane, which diffused themselves amongst a great variety of nations, pre- serving every where, either a striking similarity or an abso- lute identity of sound and sense. They cannot surely have been the authors of that general analogy which has been remarked and demonstrated, between the principles of all ancient languages. It is more reasonable to suppose, that these things are the remains of the one language of the whole earth; which was best preserved by the obedient families. And that centre of union which is frequently traced to the venerable language of the Pentateuch confirms the supposition. An identity of terms and principles could not have been communicated to the several nations, by that people who peculiarly lost the primitive language, and who retained not the use of one, language amongst themselves. That there are evident vestiges of such identity, has been abundantly proved. We can scarcely open a book, upon anr learned subject, in which they do not present themselves. 89 Such instances have furnished employment to numerous philologists, who have taken great pains to shew how the terms and idioms of one language are borrowed from those of another; as the English from the French, the French from the Latin, the Latin from the Greek, the Greek from the Phoenician or Egyptian, and perhaps these from the old Chaldaic. Were our ideas respecting the first settlement of the nations, and the nature of the universal language of Noah, more precise and consistent, it is probable that much of this affinity would be acknowledged to have existed in the original dialeclts of the respective countries and families, and to be immediately referable to their common source. That the language of Noah, which, for upwards of sixteen centuries, had kept pace with the numerous discoveries, rapid improvements, and expanding range of ideas, in the primitive world, cannot have been a rude and barren jargon, we have every reason to believe. Its compass must have been great, its principles duly ascertained, and its laws fixed and acknow- ledged. But as no language has retained the name of the Noachic or primitive, great doubts have arisen respecting it. The opinion most generally received is that which we have adopted from the Jews, namely, that the Hebrew language, in the state in which it is preserved in the Old Testament, was not only the language of Noah, but also of Adam. If this opinion be just, all further enquiry respecting the primitive state of language must be nugatory and vain. Of this language, the learned Parkhurst (Pief. to the Ileb. Lex.) pronounces as follows: 90 " The Hebrew language is the most simple and determinate, the most easy and natural of any that was spoken in the world. And what wonder, since it was certainly framed immediately by HIM, who not only formed the heart, and ear, and tongue of man, but also made die heavens and the earth, and all things therein:" I am sensible that a subject which connects itself with such ideas of sacredness, in the minds of many of the most pious, learned, and respectable characters, ought to be discussed with great delicacy and caution. But may I not venture to hint without risking the imputation of sacrjlege, or injuring the character of this most important language, that some erroneous conceptions respecting it have been long en- tertained ? The very ingenious gentleman, whose words I have quoted above, lias detected and exposed many such conceptions. It has been his labour to remove our superstitious preconcep- tions in favour of the Masoretic points — to dissipate the deceitful mist of Rabbinic prejudices — to introduce a new and rational division of the roots — and to shew that each Hebrew root has but one leading idea or meaning, taken from nature by our senses or feelings, zchich runs through all the branches and infections of it, however numerous or diversijied. Is it absolutely certain that none of the said mists of pre- judice still hang about the subject, and that we do not still entertain some notions respecting the Hebrew language, which are either erroneously conceived or weakly supported ? When I consider the leading ideas into which many of the roots are resolved, such as the must subtle aciions and pro- 91 perties of light, heat, air, spirit, attraction, motion of the heavenly bodies, &c. it occurs to me that, if the Hebrew language was at once delivered to Adam, he must either have possessed a language which he could not possibly have under- stood, or else he must have been minutely instructed in the most refined philosophy, and the most hidden secrets of nature: both which I think equally improbable. That any living language, whatsoever, should have re- mained in the same state, from the Creation, to the time of Moses, is a thing in itself of the utmost improbability. During this period of 2500 years, human society had undergone the greatest changes imaginable. It had begun in one simple, inexperienced family, whose ideas and knowledge of things, and consequently, whose occasion for a variety of words was daily progressive. It had afterwards expanded into large communities, and divided into powerful states, had been adorned by the acquisition of arts and sciences, and diversi- fied by the various habits, pursuits and situations of life. A second time it had been reduced to a single family, and a second time had enlarged itself, under the like variety of circumstances. Had no occasion occurred, during such an eventful interval, for the introduction of new terms and phrases, or the affixing new meanings to those already in use? Without a continual succession of miracles, it is impossible to imagine one vernacular idiom as still remaining, under these circumstances, unalterable in its structure, it* grammar, the mode of its pronunciation, and the extent of its vocabu- lary. Before we admit that any such thing actually hap- pened, it is but reasonable to examine the proofs upon which the fact is supposed to rest. 92 The strongest argument which I know, in favour of the incorruptibility of the Hebrew language, is drawn from the book of Genesis, where Moses intimates a derivation of the names of some persons and tilings, in the first ages, from Hebrew words. From hence, it has been inferred, that this language must have been used in the first ages, otherwise it could not have formed the basis of the said names. But the derivation of a few terms can only prove, at most, that the Hebrew retained the general principles of the primi- tive language. It does not follow that these principles had not been abundantly unfolded, and variously combined and diversified, during the progress of ages. The English language may furnish us with the true reason for many names and terms, in the old Gothic and Anglo-Saxon. Tims perhaps, the character of Lok the capricious god of the Goths is best explained by our familiar English Luck; yet, upon the whole, our present tongue is a very different thing from these ancient dialects. It may be urged further, that every name which admits of derivation, must originally have had a distinct meaning. It must bave been given for some particular reason. It could not have been a proper or absolute, but a relative or descrip- tive term: Not a name, but an epithet. And it is not only a natural and obvious, but a customary thing for an historian to translate the titles and epithets of men and things, into the language of his narrative. Moses perceived that the names of our first parents and of their descendants had their meaning, and were given for some certain reason. He may have judged it necessary that the meaning should be preserved and that the reason should appear. The names upon record may then be regarded as the Hebrew, rather than ae the primitive names. 93 But it is not necessary to suppose that the primitive names were changed by the great lawgiver. Unless we previously determine that language had been stationary, it must occur, that ancient and descriptive names had kept pace With die gradual changes of language, and had in many instances departed from their original form, long before his time. He wrote in the language of the people. The Old Testament furnishes many examples of changes in the orthography of names, correspondent to the usage of the time in which the author wrote. This argument, in favour of the immutability of the Hebrew, is therefore by no means conclusive. But zee have been accustomed to regard the Hebrew as a sacred, and conse- quently, as an incorruptible language. That sacredness of character, which this language really possesses, must have been derived purely from the circum- stance of its having been the vehicle of Divine communication. Before it became the language of prophecy and of the law, I can conceive of no inherent stamp of sacredness, with which it could have been distinguished. What idea can We form of this language being sacred per se ? It had not, surely, been the language of Angels, before the formation of man. It was nothing more than a medium for the expression of human ideas and perceptions, and for communicating information to human intellects. And why should one human language be in itself more sacred than another? Why should the primi- tive language, in this respect, be placed before the most modern . ? The sacred writers themselves appear not to have ascribed any peculiar sanctity to the Hebrew. They frequently employ Syriac and Chaldaic words, when they might have found 94 Hebrew terms which would have equally served their purpose. But they wrote to the people, and in the language of the people, either pure or mixed, as the age required. Were the Hebrew in its own peculiar nature, a sacred lan- guage, it must have been a kind of sacrilege to translate the scriptures into any other. In this light the modern Jews seem to have regarded it. They appoint an annual fast on account of the septuagint version. Had the seventy elders been pre- possessed with this notion, they would never have undertaken the task. Christians regard not the writings of the JSew Testament as less sacred, because the copy which they have of them is in the Greek language. The Law was given in the Hebrew tongue. This proves that, in the time of Moses, the Hebrew was the general language of the Israelites, to whom the law was particularly addressed ; but it proves nothing more. We are not to gather from hence, that this people had preserved the use of the original language of mankind, absolutely, in its primitive, and uncorrupted state — a thing which must have been impossible, without a miracle; and no reason can be assigned why a miracle should have been performed on. this occasion. Had it been necessary that the primitive language should have been preserved entire, by a Divine interposition, till the giving of the law; of how much greater importance must its future preservation have been, in order to ascertain the precise meaning; of the sacred oracles? Whereas we find that the Hebrew, from this period, lias been subject to the same vicis- situdes as ail other human languages, it was mixed with foreign terms and idioms, It sickened and expired 2000 95 years ago, and its tomb has for ages been enveloped with the mist of Rabbinic prejudices. The giving of the law in Hebrew, can therefore afford no support to the general persuasion of the Jews, that their ancestors alone preserved the original language of mankind, pure and uncorrupted. On what foundation then does 'this opinion rest? Heber, with his family, withdrew from the confederacy under Nimrod, and consequently escaped the punishment, which teas inficled upon the children of men, at Babel. This in the main may be granted. But was Heber the only one who withdrew? Ashur, Mizraim, and Canaan, and many others seem to have withdrawn still further. With whom did Noah and his sons reside? They were not surely amongst the subjects of Nimrod, and some of them, at least, survived the dispersion. And how does it appear that the Jews, in a peculiar, manner, preserved the language of Heber ? Abraham and the Israelites zocre the dirccl descendants of this patriarch, and were eminently styled Hebrews, both by themselves and by their neighbours. But it is clear they did not obtain this name, in consequence of their speaking any peculiar language, but merely because they were the children of Heber, or the descendants of a people known by the name of Hebrews. On the contrary, it seems most likely that its present name was communicated to this language, from the circumstance of its having been, adopted by one branch of the Hebrews, while, at the same 96 time, it was not the general dialect of the children of Heber, neither was it peculiar to his family. We have a complete demonstration, Gen. xxxi. 47. that the great stock of the family of Heber, which remained in Mesopotamia, spoke the Chaldaic, and not the Hebrew dialect. Laban, who had been brought up in the house of his fathers, denominates the heap of witness, certainly in his native tongue, Jegar Sahadutha, Nnnnttf "14*. This name is evidently composed of three Chaldaic words, "U> A heap, ■"initf A witness, and Dl or Knn An appointment. Had Moses literally transcribed all the words of Laban, he could not have furnished us with a more satisfactory proof of the language he used. Jacob, on the other hand, who had been born in a foreign country, and had lived there from his infancy, till he was upwards of seventy years of age, describes the same heap in a language different from that of his relations. He calls it *iy bl, using two Hebrew terms, one of which implies a heap, and the other a witness or testimony. The name is sy- nonymously recorded in both languages, and therefore, undoubtedly, in the languages which Laban and Jacob res- pectively used. The Hebrew was not then the general dialect of the children of Heber. And it is equally clear that it was not peculiar to his family. The prophet Isaiah, chap. xix. emphatically calls it the language of Canaan. In addition to this sacred testimony, we have the names of men and places amongst the old Canaanites, in the time of 97 Abraham, in pure Hebrew. We have Phoenician inscriptions, the fragment of the Punic language, in the Famulus of Plautus, and the remains of that language, in the Island of Malta, as undeniable proofs, that the Hebrew was the genuine language of the house of Canaan, which preserved it with little variation to a late age. This language could by no means have been communicated by Abraham, to the natives of the country. It is certain that he found it, and very probable that he learnt it there. In his conversation with the inhabitants, he must have used their language. It is easy and natural for a stranger to acquire the language of the people amongst whom he settles, especially if it differs from his own only as a dialect: But it is an absolute impossibility for several independent kingdoms, sud- denly to accommodate themselves to the dialect of a single sojourner: and the language of the old Canaanites, and of the posterity of Abraham, at least, the house of Jacob, was the same. The native tongue of Abraham must have been that which was spoken by his family, in Chaldea and Mesopotamia. The former name of this very patriarch seems to be referable to the Chaldaic no"> or KQ1, to be dejected or cast dozen, rather than to the Hebrew D"), Exalted, Loftj/\ He had been born in the declining years of his father. His lot was only that of a younger son. His own wire was barren and he had long been cast dozen, as to the hope of a progeny. He consequently seems to have been regarded in his native country as a drif branch. JNo separare patrimony had been assigned to him. His residence was in a city which had received the name of his brother Haran, This must have bepii an afflicting circumstance, hi an age when the sons g 08 regularly shared the paternal estate, and became the heads of families, and the chiefs of the little cities : and it seems to have weighed heavy upon Abraham's heart. " Lord God," says he, " what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless ! — Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in mine house is mine heir." He had hoped to become the father of a family; but from that hope he was cast down. To the mortifying epithet which reminded him of his affliction, his new Hebrew name, A father of Multitudes, which was con- ferred upon him several years after he had been in the land of Canaan, must have presented a very pleasing contrast. To the title of Exalted father, it would have been no contrast at all. If, then, the, Hebrew be the pure language of Noah, it must have been preserved to the time of Abraham, rather by the descendants of Canaan than by those of Heber. This will account for Jacob's using the Hebrew language, while Laban spoke the Chaldaic. The former had been educated in the land of Canaan, where he had lived to his seventy- seventh year. His father and his grandfather had been settled there for nearly two centuries. The language of that country must then have been the most familiar to his ear. — He was now returning thither, with his family, who would naturally adopt the same language, as a consequence of their residence amongst the natives. He therefore names the heap of witness, in the language which was most familiar to him- self, and most likely to be understood by his posterity, rather than in that of his Mesopotamian relations. He was right. — For the lan^uasre of the Canaanites became that of the Israelites. It appears then that the Jews are not justified in their pre- tensions to the peculiar preservation of the primitive language. 99 If we consider the history of this people, it will appear that, of all ancient families, they had the least chance to make good such pretensions. They could hardly have retained the uninterrupted use of any one language whatsoever. Abraham, at the head of his single houshold, emigrated out of Mesopotamia, where the Chaldaic dialect was certainly spoken by his famiiy. Both himself and his progeny sojourned for upwards of two centuries, generally, in the land of Canaan, where a dialecl; scarcely differing from the Hebrew of the Pentateuch, as certainly prevailed. There they fami- liarly conversed with the natives, and their conversation must have been in the language of the country. Jacob afterwards fled into Mesopotamia from the resentment of his brother. And he fled alone; for he tells us that he crossed Jordan only with his staff. In this country he re- mained about 20 years, where he married Chaldean or Aramean wives, and here his children were born and partly educated. These children could have heard the Hebrew only from their father's mouth, even if we suppose that he used it in conversing with them. Their mother tongue was the Chaldaic, the same which was spoken in the family of their grandfather Laban. Jacob, with his houshold, again returned into the land of Canaan. Here the young men married wives who spoke the Canaanitish language. So that when the whole family went down into Egypt, about 33 years after their return from Me- sopotamia, they must have carried with them both the Chaldaic language and that of Canaan. But as the latter was the dialecl: most familar to Jacob him- self, and perhaps the only dialect of the younger and more g 2 100 numerous branches, it prevailed over the other, became the general lansaiacre of these Hebrews, and at length, began to be distinguished by their name. During the former part of the two centuries that the Israelites remained in Egypt, they were appointed a residence and establishment, separate from the inhabitants of the Country. In this time their tribes became numerous. They expanded from a family into a nation. Their language ob- tained the stability of a national language, and from hence- forth they preserved it with considerable purity. But the condition to which they were at last reduced must have rendered it almost impossible for them to preserve it absolutely immaculate. New habits of life and new occupa- tions must have introduced new ideas, and demanded new terms, and those which were already current amongst the Egyptians would, in general, be employed on such occasions. Such innovations, together with the accidental changes that took place in the language of the Israelites and the Canaanites, during a separation of 250 years, must have produced some diversity of dialect ; but this was not so great that the two nations could not converse freely, without the assistance of interpreters, as appears from the private conference of the .-pies with the harlot liahab, Jos. ii. and from other passages in the book of Joshua. The Hebrew was then the language of the Canaanites, in the time of Abraham and of Moses. It remains to determine how far it may be regarded as that of Noah, and conse- quently, what claim it has to be made the universal stan- dard, by which the principles of all other languages must be- Iried. 101 Presuming from what I have already said, that I may venture to place the sacred character of this language upon a footing with that of the Greek of the New Testament, it follows, that we have the tacit consent of history to enter upon the enquiry I now suggest; though in the prosecution of it, we have only the direction of some leading circumstances. Under this guidance, I must, for the present, content myself with offering a few remarks. 1. The Hebrew language appears to have been already formed and fixed, when Abraham first went into the land of Canaan, about 325 years after the Birth of Peleg, and many years before the death of Shcm, and of the men of the first generations after the deluge. 2. At this time, it was not the language of the Canaanites only, but also, of other families in and about Palestine.— Thus the princes of the Philistines, the progeny of the first Egyptians, wesc saluted in pufe Hebrew, by the name of Abimelech, " My Father the King," and the chief captain of the host was called Phicol, The mouth of all, a most expressive title for a general commander. The formation of a language which was common to independent tribes, one proceeding from the North (from Sidon) and the other from the South (Egypt) could not have been recent. 3. Its general character must have been patriarchal. Ashur had withdrawn beyond the Tigris, at the time of the foundation, not the destruction of Nimrod's kingdom, and. therefore long before the confusion. Mizraim had founded an early kingdom in Egypt, whence the Philistine colon v.—-. The old Chaldeans had dwelt between the two rivers, from the days of Peleg. Canaan (the Xv« of Sanction, and his firsi Phoenician) seems, at the same time, to have withdrawn to o 3 102 Sidon, the seat of his first born, whence his progeny had spread themselves along the Phoenician coast, and Eastwards, to the banks of Jordan, before the time of .Abraham. The Western Svria and Arabia were also inhabited in very early times. These countries contained tribes which had been distindi:, from the age when the families had first divided ; yet the languages which were spoken in them had a great degree of affinity with each other. They were in facl, only dialects of one language, and that one could have been no other than that of the great patriarchs, who were still living when Abra- ham settled amongst the Canaanites. Neither of these primi- tive nations could have borrowed the rudiments of its vernacular dialect from another nation, which had settled at a distance. What they possessed in common must have been derived from the parent stock, and carried with the first families into their respective settlements. 4. The names of those heads of families amongst the Noachidae, which divided the kingdoms of the earth, or rather the gentile names of those tribes which were established during the second century after the deluge, are either terms of the Hebrew language or of cejtain kindred dialects. Yet they were the names by which the several nations distin- guished themselves, for they are generally recognized by the old geographers. The several nations then originally carried with them dialects, not greatly differing from the Hebrew. 5. Hence it undeniably follows, that the fundamental principles and general character of the patriarchal language of Noah must be preserved in the Hebrew language, and in those dialects which are connected with it. 6. The Hebrew was the language of an active, enter- [nizing people. During the nine centuries which intervened 103 between the deluge and the publication of the Pentateuch, this, as well as the sister dialects, must have undergone some accidental, and some necessary changes, and a considerable degree of artificial cultivation ; yet the simplicity and com- prehension of its principles, the regularity of its structure, and above all, the venerable and unrivalled antiquity of that volume in which it is preserved, seem to give it a decided superiority over cither of the others. We know what the Hebrew was 3300 years ago, and can make out its claim to an antiquity still higher. Though it cannot safely be pronounced to have been the primitive language, yet it must be received as a dialect of this language, and as a most respectable scale to appreciate the character of every dialect whatsoever. 7. From these observations may be demonstrated the absolute error of a general principle, laid down by some eminent philologists. It has been observed that the languages of savage nations generally consist of very long words and abound with vowels ; and hence it has been contended, that such was the original character of all languages. The Hebrew, Chaldaic, Syiiac and Arabic roots are remarkably simple, short, and strong. The long vocal terms of savages are not then characteristical of the infancy, but of the decay and ruin of language. Man was not naturally, nor originally a savacre. 104 VIII. Of the general stores which the nations carried to their respective settlements. JDUT to return to the sera of Nimrod's rebellion. When so great a part of the human race had conspired to resist the execution of the Divine mandate, we must suppose that the families who still respected the authority of the patriarch, began to repair towards their allotted habitations, under the direction of Noah, his sons and their obedient children. The fathers of families considered their respective portions of the earth as their proper estate, and the inheritance of their offspring : it must then have been a leading object with them to take personal charge of their lots. 1 hey were not sent forth to explore regions absolutely unknown and undiscovered. Noah and his sons must have had some knowledge of the regions of the earth, as far as they had been known and inhabited before the flood. In the aCt of partition after the flood, they must have described their boundaries. The patriarchs who took possession of the larger divisions must afterwards have assigned to their children their due proportions. So that in an age or two after the first partition, every region of the known world, winch was adapted to the support and comfort of human society, must have received that germe which gradually expanded into its primitive nation: and thus Spain, and even Britain were probably colonized by those who were born within a century of the delude. 105 Moses having enumerated the sons of Gomer and Javan, parallels in descent with Salah, who was born 37 years after the flood, adds as follows. " BY THESE were the Isles of the Gentiles DIVIDED— IN THELR LANDS— EVERY ONE after HIS TONGUE— AFTER THEIR FAMILIES — IN THELR NATIONS. If this be not a positive declara- tion that a regular and complete Division, agreeably to certain general rules, actually took place, in the time and under the direction of these patriarchs, I know not by what words such a fact could have been recorded. It would surely be absurd to explain it away by the incohe- rent scraps of Greek tradition, which generally confound the first settlement of the nations with the subsequent wanderings of the exiled Titans. And it need not be proved that societies thus planted and formed, whether in Britain or in Japan, must have carried with them the primitive history, the primitive religion, the institutions, customs, habits, opinions, arts and sciences of the patriarchal age, and the primitive language, with only such gradual variations as might be occasioned by local cir- cumstances. The founders of these societies had been trained up to the habits and comforts of social and civilized life. It must then have been ordered, that they should repair to their respective estates, with all those provisions by which such comforts were to be secured. Amongst other things they must have taken with them their stock of sheep and cattle and other domestic animals. Their removal then, though uninterrupted, must have been gradual. On the other hand, their unworthy brethren, the rebellious 106 giants who, sometime afterwards, were struck with astonish- ment at the sudden infliction of Divine vengeance, were driven forth from among men, and scattered into all lands, to the East, and North, and South, as well as to the West, must have fled in disorder and confusion. Their flocks and their herds could not have accompanied the tumultuous retreat of the 'wandering exiles. Their consequent indigence must have introduced all the wretched irregularities of savage life, and fitted them only for the occupation of hunters and robbers. A just abhorrence of the proverbial impiety of the great rebel, and an awful recollection of the signal punishment of his associates, would naturally dispose the fathers of the more regular societies, to preserve the sacred institutions of their ancestors, with the utmost care, and to fix the grand arcana of primitive wisdom upon a firm base. And to these ends, what could have been more conducive, than to constitute such regular Hierarchies, as ancient history describes in various parts of the earth — To make the wisest and most approved men, in every society, the instructors of the people, and the depositories of primitive tradition ? To such societies, the nations were indebted for those vestiges of early opinions and science which remained amongst them: while the societies themselves, after the various cor- ruptions of a long series of ages, were found to resemble each other, in the simplicity of their manners, their general doc- trines, their discipline, their customs and their learning; and in all these respects to have presented a striking picture of the age of Noah and his immediate descendants. They preserved an amiable medium between savage rude- ness and frivolous refinement. They regarded their institu- 107 tions as relics of the first ages, and uniformly deemed their mysteries too sacred, to be exposed in presence of such profane strangers as dwelt amongst them. This last trait in their character led to some serious ill con- sequences, but the abuse which crept into the system cannot impeach the wisdom of its original establishment. Wherever we recognize an establishment of this kind, in a primitive nation, we need not be over curious to determine by what people, or what family it may possibly have been introduced. Unless there be clear evidence to the contrary, we may fairly regard it as coeval with the nation itself. I may here take notice of a singularity that runs through the traditions of the gentile world, namely their nationality in primitive history. Whatever accounts are preserved of thq primitive ages, are made by every people to relate, almost exclusively, to their own country, and their own ancestors. — They must have been the original reporters, the egotists, of such tales. There was nothing foreign in their colouring. Thus, for instance, the history of the Deluge was almost universal. All nations give an account of the destruction of the old world by water, and of the preservation of a single family, in a boat or ark. Yet all of them make the boat to rest, upon some mountain, or on the bank of some river or lake, in their own territories, where some distinguished per- sonages, amongst their own ancestors, are put to land. A history thus circumstanced could not have been borrowed of strangers. The nations must have derived it, in a direct line, from their common parents. When this nationality is considered, we need not wonder 108 that so many people contend for the invention of those arts ■which were preserved from the first ages. They are all right : excepting that they mistake the common progenitors of man- kind for their own national ancestors; and of course, whatever is due to the former, is consigned, to the latter. But the very traditions themselves will furnish sufficient » a7r' auwo; ytyovoruv $cnnxu») of the most remote ancestors of the Phoeni- cians, converted these memorials into allegories, and blending them with natural phaenomena, delivered them to those who celebrate the orgies, and to the prophets who preside over the sacred mysteries. e genuine features of primayal 122 history, which they are known to have possessed. These are features marked, and clear enough, to point them out as a nation regularly constituted under the auspices of its pa- triarchs. They could not have originated in those fugitives who had been driven out from society, or have reached their Western destination, in the character of unconne&ed and unprincipled savages, The perplexity and scantiness of ancient evidence leave so much obscurity in the earliest account of nations, that, when the subject has been handled by men of consummate abilities and of accute research, the discussion has generally closed in doubt at the best. 1 must therefore bespeak the candour of my Readers, in their judgment of the outlines which I have endeavoured to trace, concerning the origin of the Celtae, and of the arguments which I offer in support of my opinion, that the fundamental principles of Druidkm accompanied that nation, from its very source. And I deem it a fortunate cir- cumstance, that my object and plan do not require of me to enter minutely, or deeply, into these topics. The Celtse, whether under that name, or called Cimmcrii t Galii, Briges, Brigantes; or known by other, and very nu- merous designations, appropriated either to the whole, or to ccitain branches of the nation, are described as an extensive and powerful Race, of Europe, and as constituting some of its riist inhabitants. The ancient Greeks appear to have placed them almost alone, in our western continent, winch they distinguished by their name. Ephorus dividing the world into foui parts, allotted the Western to the Celtas. titrau. L. i. 123 Ptolemy calls thai whole part of the world* which is com- monly known by the name of Europe, Celtica, or Ceito- Galatia. — Quadripart. L. ii. C. 2. The Celtae were then the principal Europeans known to the Greeks, exclusive of their own families. We must therefore inquire into the original population of Europe, in order to find out the parentage of the Celtae. And this appears to be delineated in the tenth chapter of Genesis, that fountain-head of universal geography. The sacred Penman enumerates those heads of separate families, amongst the Noachidce, by whom the Earth was divided, after the flood. He describes them by those names which the nations that sprung from them, or the countries they severally occupied, retained in his time. By those parts of the earth which he calls DMJH "N, or the Isles of the Gentiles, it is understood that he means Europe, and its adjacent Islands. These were divided by the Sons and Grandsons of Japheth, or rather by Gomer and Javan, and their sons — " In their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their Natio?is." This division must have been regularly conducted. It must have taken place in the time of the patriarchs here mentioned, for the act was theirs, and the nations retained their names to the time of Moses — nay many of them long afterwards, for we find them recognized by History and Geography. Javan is well known as the parent of the Greeks. From him the name lunq was applied anciently to all the several branches of that nation. It extended into Macedon and Thrace*. lumt; ckx'Kovj. lltyicb. V. Iwvs^. EtrjEixa'? h 'ci BaroftjOiTGrt; EXtoija; Iuvck; hiycvvi. Hesych. V. lavva. ITaiTaf EMxk*; Iaovfj 'oi Ba;€»gct tKcttovv, Sckol, in Achcrn. Aristopb-. 124 This family were not called Celta, nor Cimmefii. If Celtae were known, in part of their territories, by the names of T»T«vs f , Tnytmt* or natives of the land, they were still re- garded as intruders, and described as men of might, who retained possession rather by force, than by a lawful claim to it, and who were, upon that account, justly expelled. We must look then for the Celtae amongst the descendants of Gomer. The word IQJ implying tojinish, to come, or bring to an end or conclusion, may intimate the situation intended for the posterity of this patriarch, at the end of the Earth. A people named from Gomer would be D'IDJ or noj Gomerim or Gomeri, and it could be shewn, in a multitude of instances, that C or K in the Celtic, and other European languages, occupies the place of the Hebrew j. Cymri or Kimmerii may then be nothing more than Gomcrii. Were not the name of Celtae acknowledged by the people of Gaul, it might, with reasonable conjecture, be derived from rib"D, synonymous with lEU '■> rhl, A finishing, An End ; *rbl, Celtae, men of the extremity — 'o* w^aTa*. diet (Kilet) in the language of the Celtaj themselves, implies Extreme Corners or Retreats, and I think also, Northern regions. Be this, however, as it may, Josephus, who may be deemed an able critic in Hebrew geography, declares that those whom the Greeks called Gulatae or Celtae were descended from Gomer. We read of three sons who divided the patrimony of Gomer^ or of three nations which descended from him, namely Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. These of course were equally entitled to the name of Gomeritae. But as the Western, or our Celtae, appeal* to have been, one separated 125 nation, we must endeavour to discriminate their progenitor, amongst the sons of Gomer. The original seat of Ashkenaz appears to have been situated in Bithynia, which preserved his name to a late period of the Jewish annals. Riphath's patrimony is, at this da}-, acknowledged by the Jews, who call Germany by his name. It is probable this name originally applied to the Eastern division of that exten- sive region, which the ancients entitled Germany, as the part best known to the Israelites, an Asiatic people. And here some vestiges of it seem to be retained in the Carpathian riD^D mountains, and perhaps the Riphean hills, further Jvorth. Here then we may fix the seat of Riphath, whose descendants, in that situation, could not have been the Goths. They were not in possession of Germany, in the time of Moses* Riphath was probably the Sarmatian stock, which, at this day, continues to occupy that ground, a race which could not even be attacked without extreme temerity, an<$ whose land presented but little incitement to enterprise. That the Sarmatae held these territories before the aixsran- CO dizement of Gothic power, we have reason to conclude. . Whether some of their colonies had already crossed the Danube, and had carried their language into Illyricum or Pannonia may be more questionable. But the Wendi, or descendants from the ancient I ■tnedi, speak the Sarmatic language, at this very moment, though surrounded by Gothic nations. It is not pretended that, at any time, this handful of men penetrated into the possessions of the Goths, or ac- quired an establishment by victories. Conquerors take the best, the richest, the most accessible and the most open parts ef the district obtained, and there maintain a superiority of 126 power, i? they mean to hold what they have acquired. But the situation, as well as the condition, of this race, and their fir^t name, combine in proving them relics or' the former In- habitants, or aboriginal. The Snrmata then, or Sclavones^ were those whom the Goths found in the land of Riphath, or the Eastern division of ancient Germany, and the diversity of their language proves them no parents of the Western Celta?, though it has a degree of affinity with the Celtic, which intimates that, once they were contiguous- families. Togarmah is claimed as their patriarch by the inhabitants of those countries which lie between the Euxine or Caspian seas. This appears to be demonstrated, in a masterly paper, the work of Mr. Granville Penn, to which I refer my own Readers for the authorities*. From this country have sprung, as it is generally understood, the European Scythians, Goths or Germans. Perhaps they have nearly retained the name of their progenitor. 3 affixed, being equivalent to the prefix D, ?nD"l3j German, must be the same word as nDI-jri, Togarmah, perhaps from 0~\Z, to be bom/ or strong. It may at all events be safely concluded, from the language of this Race, that in Togarmah we have no parent of the Western Ce/ta. We must return then to Ashkenaz, whom Josephus calls A?3pa»«!*?, and the Greeks perhaps a?. His name is understood to keep possession of the Ascanian or Euxine sea, as well as of the nook which lies between thaUsea and the Propontis'j-. When Ashkenaz occupied this position, the * Oiient. Coll. v. 2. p. 143. i Ascania, a city of Troas. Stcph of Phrygia. Hesyck. A.canix insulae, before Troas. Plin. Ascanius sinus, by Nicea. Ascanius Lacus, between Phrygia and Mysia. Arrian. A river, and the whole district were known by that name. Strabo. who cites fiota Eaptionon— Mv;ot; -x%£ Jd*jiv Ajxaviiio, 127 Euxine bounded him on one hand, the family of Jatttit otl the other, Lud was placed in his rear and the Thracian Bosphorus in front. This nook was never intended for the inheritance of the Eldest branch of the Noachidae. It was a mere halting place upon the road. If the name of Ashkenazbe at all connected with the Celtic language, the first of its three syllables must be regarded only as a demonstrative article, or a particle in composition of a similar meaning to W>X, an individual of any kind, which is sometimes written JtfK, as in this name. And accordingly, the families descended from this patriarch seem to have dispensed at pleasure with that article. In this corner of Asia, we find the Heneti or Veneti, which, pronounced by a Celt would be Henet, Kyntt, or Gwaiet, well known tribes wherever the Celtcc are found. — The country of these Heneti or Veneti, seems to have been tire Uenydd, the origin, the source or the native region of the Celtaj. In the same district, we have the Can-Corns, and the Isles of the Kyanai. Upon the European side of the Propontis, in the Kingdom of Rhesus, a name which has frequently adorned the Throne of Siluria, and the songs of the Bards, the prefecture of Kanica is mentioned. Closely adjoining are the Ci-Cones, who fought with Ulysses and with his Greeks. Their territory was, at ancient periods, called Galaica, and in the time of Herodotus, Briantica*, or Gallic and Briganlic, the middle G being often melted and dropt in old names. This affords presumptive testimony, and strong of its kind, that the Ci-Cones (or hither Cones) were Gauls and Brigantes — the Gomerita? of whom the Western Celtic were formed. * Lib. 7. 107, 128 Perhaps Mythology may offer us some hints respecting the emigration of the Celtas to the West, which took place long before the commencement of profane history. The Centimani were ordered to depart from the neighbourhood of Thrace, into the lower regions. They obeyed the decree without resistance. Some time afterwards, their relations, the Qiants who had strengthened themselves in the country, were subdued in war, and compelled to follow them. E*«to»x s| ?^ Centi-. manus, or a man with a hundred hands, beheld at a distance, through the mist of antiquity, presents a monstrous figure, but the character was once new, and must have had some resem- blance in nature. I think these names were translated from the Celtic. Canllaw, in Welsh, from Cant, a hundred, and Llaw, a hand, signifies A Patron, Counsellor, or Advocate, The oldest political establishment known amongst the Celtae, was the Cantrev, or community of a hundred families. The Canlla7c, Centimanus, seems to have been the chief or patron of such a community. The subdued Titans were committed to the care of Centimani. This may imply no more than that they also were constituted into regular societies, and settled under similar chiefs of their own. But to return. As the Japetida divided the Isles of the Gentiles, in their lands, after their families, each of those families must have known its portion, to which it could plead a just claim. — Upon the arrival of the Couian or Kynetian family in Europe, they found the portion of Javan lying to the South, and reaching to the mountains of Thrace. Riphath was pitching his tents on the North of the Danube, about the Carpathian 129 hills. One branch of Togarmah's family seating itself on the banks of the Borysthenes (the nurse of Targitaus, or Thor- Gut, their great ancestor) and beginning to possess the inter- mediate region. The family of Ashkenaz did not find, in this neighbourhood, that ample patrimony which they could retain in peace, and leave to their children for ever. Their portion lay far to the West, and the way, as yet, was open for them to go in search of it. Part of them accordingly did set out upon that expe- dition. After they had reached their destined acquisitions, they still retained their generic name, for Herodotus* places the Cynetse in the Western extremities of Europe, beyond the Celtse. As the Danube rises in the country of the Celta, viewed by him, it is probable that lie means the Eastern Gauls; we must therefore look for his Cynet a, amongst the Western branches of the Celtcc. The name is acknowledged by the ancient Britons. Taliesin, a bard of the 6th century, in a poem which he addresses to Urien, prince of Reged, calls his countrymen Cj/H-wys, or Echen Gynizys — the nation of the Cyn-men. — • Cyn, in British, implying the first, the foremost part, regularly forms Cynet, for its plural, both in the Welsh and in the Armorican. It may be contracted familiarly to Cynt. Aneurim, Taliesin's contemporary, in the conclusion of his Gododin, distributes the Celtaj of the British Islands into " Ci/nt, a Gwyddil a Phrydin." The Cynt, the Irish and the North Britons, making the Cynt or Cynet, the first of the Celtic families. Amongst our old British Kings we find Cyndav, Cynetav, &c. * L. IV. 49. 1 130 From the descendants then of Ashktnat, in my opinion, sprung the original Cdt& of the West, who anciently possessed the whole of Gaul, the Islands of Britain, part of Germany, and part of Spain. But a considerable body of this people did not leave their Eastern possessions in peace. After the removal of the Centimani, these remains of the Celtas were distinguished by the name of Titans. They had perhaps been joined by the real Titanian Celttc, Celto-Scythff, or those branches of the Celtic family who had assisted in building the tower of Babel, and had been compelled, at the dispersion, to follow their brethren. They seem to have mustered a formidable power against those who deemed themselves the lawful possessors of Asia Propria, of Thrace and of Macedon*. The wars, in those countries, between the Gods and the Titans are themes of the ancient poets. The descriptions of them contain many particulars, borrowed from antecedent events and dates. They belong to the original dispersion of the Giants from Babel. But there is a degree of local con- sistency in the accounts, which compel me to infer, that a national history is at the bottom. And I am happy to find this, which has long been my opinion, confirmed by that of a writer and a critic whose learning and abilities cannot be enough admired. Mr. Penny has some excellent remarks upon " Those frag- * It was in the character of a Titan that Japctus " married Asia," or that, in other words, a branch of his family took possession of the fmall district, anciently known by that name, which comprehended little more than Phrygia, and a pait of Lydia. The first-born son of this marriage was Atlas, or the eldest branch of the family were Atlantes. Albs was the General of the Titan army against Jupiter. Hygia. Fab. l$o. ■t Oiicnt. Coll, v. J. p. a6j. 131 merits of tradition which connect the original occupants of Greece with the Celtic stock." He demonstrates that Celtic terms are still preserved in the Orphic Hymns, and quotes the following authorities, in which the Titans are acknowledged as the old Inhabitants, and which prove, that, in them, we find the parents of the Celtae. Titles, yanj? ft, *<*« ovgavov ayXctcc Tsxva, Hf*6Ts^«v tsTpoyorot tuctTt^wv. Orph. H. 3(5. 1. Titans, illustrious sons of Earth and Heav'n, Our Sires' Progenitors BugGa-guir,)!, xa.i KEATON xvxwsavTBs Apr.x, Q-^/iytvoi TtTJjvtj, u.Q fLatstfiov teryxTouvroi;, 'Puccrrw. Callim. H. in Del. 1^2. " Against the Greeks, then shall a future race Of Titans, pouring from the utmost West, Raise the barbaric sword and Celtic war." To this I may add, that the old poets regarded the Titans as the original and primitive race of mankind. Hence Orpheus says, E| v^euv y«§ vxuqx ? t»«s, cv Atfctr/?. tcX\ fzsi tov AtXccvtos w t'fflreptoffsij. L. 2. C. 4. 5> 11. And again — «? h *«» ik YwtgCo^ot;?, orgo? Ar^uvra. In searching for Atlas, Hercules proceeds through Illyricum to the River Eridanus, shaping his course towards the land of the Celta?, whom Heraclides of Pontus calls Hyperboreans. Plutarch, in Camitlo. Atlas was not then amongst the African but the Celtic Jjlu/i, Jjebici or Libici, a people of Gallia Transpadana, descendants of the Salui (Liv) perhaps of the S' Alpii, the 133 same as the Taurini, Cottii or Lef>ontii } in whose territory the Rhine sprung. The descendants of the Titan ian Japetidae may I think be recognized in the Waldenses, the Irish, and the Brigantes. — ■ Many proofs may be given that a Celtic dialecl, allied nearly to the Irish, once prevailed in Thrace. But I shall have oc- casion to resume that subject. In the mean time, I would offer a few remarks upon the Goths or Germans, who are sometimes confounded with our Celtaj, because they acquired possession of the same countries; but who were a different people, the conquerors of the Celtge, and eventually the Lords of all Western Europe. Mr. Pinkerton, who has made the history of this people the subjeel; of his research, delivers it as his opinion, that Asia gave them birth. To his learned Dissertation I request the attention of the reader, for proof that the Goths, the Gcfaj of Thrace, and Scythians of Little Tartary were the same. The Getaj were, to a late period, seated in a confined part of Thrace, where their manners, and their opinions distin- guished them from the other inhabitants. See Herod. L. IV. The appellation of Scythians, as used by the Greeks, throws little, if any light upon the origin of a people. Some authors distinguished fifty nations of that name*, many of * Timonax De Scythis. Ap. Scho). in Apoil. Argon. IV. v. 320. The Cimmerii, amongst others, were distinguished hy this name. K<^.f/,sgicH — To ZxvSmov £&<-.«. Kustath. In Dionys. v, 1G7. 1 3 134 whom perhaps were strangers to it. This was the case with our European Scythians. " They called themselves Scoloti, after one of their Kings; but the Greeks named them Scvthas. Herod. IV. 6. If, by the genuine Scythse, we are to understand, with some respectable writers, the old Giants of Babel, it is evident from the whole tenor of the Edda, that the Goths considered them- selves as a race perfectly distinct from them : with Giants, answering this description, their Gods and their Heroes were avowedly acquainted, but held them in such abhorrence, that it was deemed meritorious to violate solemn oaths, treaties and the sacred laws of hospitality, that favourite impulse of the nation, where a Giant was concerned, or secretly to murder him in cold blood. Perhaps the real Scythse, who were dispersed from Babel, over the face of the Earth, intermixed more or less with their relations, in every country ; but as the connection was gene- rally esteemed a disgrace, few nations would own it, or find them at home. They would rather seem to discover them, at a little distance, or amongst neighbours. The account which the Scoloti gave of their own origin, was, That when the country was yet uninhabited, one Targitaus son of the River Borysthenes ( L e. whose patrimony lay upon that River) settled there, and that they were descended from the younsrest of his three sons — that, of all nations, they were the most recent, and that not more than a thousand years had elapsed between the time of their founder Targitaus, and the expedition of Darius. Ilerod. IV. 3, 0'. We cannot much depend upon the accuracy of their chro- nology; but as they were fond of Glory, such a tale, related 135 by themselves,, must prove that no distinguished name was due to them, amongst the early nations of Europe. Their first establishment, however, in that country, seems to have been at least as early as they represented its date. — » Their peculiar custom of milking their mares, whish Herodotus describes with some Greek embellishments, gave them thet name of Hippc-molgi or Marc-milkers. They had also the Epithet of Galactophagi or Milk-eaters, because they agitated the milk, till it was churned or coagulated, and then eat the part that was concrete. lb. IV. 2. By these names, Homer describes them, as known in the age of the Trojan war. At the beginning of the 13th Iliad, Jupiter turns his eyes from the combatants before Troy. He views in succession, Thrace, the land of the Mysi (near the Danube) the Hippemolgi, illustrious Milk-eaters, and lastly, the Abii, or those of the Cimmerii, who dwelt bevond'them. As these countries lay in regular succession, upon the Eu- ropean side of the Euxine, the Hippemolgi, according to Homer's geography, were already seated near the Borysthenes, the nurse of their ancestor Targitaus, and in the ancient Scythia of Herodotus. But as yet they were neither a powerful nor an expensive race in Europe. The chief part of European Scythia had been possessed by the Cimmerii, and had been distinguished by their name. — - These Cimmerii were probably a devious branch of Ashkenaz, the parent stock. They possessed not only the celebrated Crimea and the neighbourhood of the Bosphorus, which preserves their name, but the land on the South of ancient Scythia, towards the Tvra and the Danube: Tor on the bank pf the Tyra, lay the monuments of the Cimmerii, who had 136 fallen in a political and great conflict, which had arisen in their territories*. From thence, and flying from the Scythians into Asia, the survivors took their course* to the Cimmerian Bosphorus. We have hut little account of the state of this people as a society, hut the defence of their country by walls, or a chain of ramparts, points them out as a race, comparatively civilized, and assiduously cultivating the arts of peace. The time they were dispossessed by the Scythians may be ascertained. A branch of this people who had occupied the Southern shore of the Caspian sea, being harassed by the Massa-Getse, retired across the Araxes and penetrated into the country of their European brethren. Upon the irrup- tion of this multitude, the Cimmerii were thrown into con- sternation. Their princes took up arms to defend their country; but the populace, who, perhaps, were held in the same estimation as in Gaul, thought it a country not worth a contest, and formed the resolution to emigrate. The debates iu their councils ended in a battle, and the Cimmerii were either beaten by the Scythae, or, as Herodotus relates it, their princes, and multitudes of their people fell by mutual wounds. The survivors, having buried their dead, on the banks of the Tyra, took their flight over the Cimmerian Bosphorus into Asia, and the Scythe took possession of the territories that were thus deserted. Unwilling, however, to part with so many vassals, they pursued the fugitives, but mistaking their way, they left Mount Caucasus upon the right, and, by a circuitous course, penetrated into Media. Falling upon the army of Deioees, King of the Medes, they obtained a complete victory over him, and their spoil was the Sovereignty of Asia, which they held for twenty-eight years. *Ib. IV. 11. 13; The unanimous voice of Chronologists, places that en"-a»c- ment, at the period of about 630 years before Christ. As to the other events, namely — the irruption of the Scythians — the battle — die flight of the Cimmerians, and pursuit of their enemies, they must in the course of things have followed in rapid succession. The Scythas cannot then have been completely invested with Cimmeria, the first considerable district which they held in Europe, before the middle of the seventh Century before Christ. Nor was it before the Scythians returned from Asia, that a formidable aspect could have been presented by them, in the Western continent. It appears that none but such as were disqualified by old age, or tender years, had been exempted from attendance upou the army. In the absence of the men, their women, whom they had left behind them, found it necessary to rein- force the population, by the intercourse of their blind slaves, the general condition oi a Scythian eaptive. By the offspring of that intercourse, the return of the Veterans from x^sia was resolutely opposed. No masters had been left at home to controul the licentiousness of the matrons, or to render the spurious race harmless in war. Till the return, therefore, of this arm}-, about 60Q years before Christ, the Scythian power could not have been felt in European states, beyond the territories of the Eastern Cimmerii. Even to the time of Herodotus, the Geta^ had been pent up in a corner of Thrace; and the whole district of the Scythas formed a square of about 500 miles every way, but indented 138 by the North West corner of the Euxine sea. It scarce extended its western course, beyond the boundaries of Little Tartary and Moldavia. They had not yet, in their progress, turned the corner of the Surmatae. It was not then, till after they had successfully derided the menaces of Darius, and baflled the accumulated force of the Persian Empire, that we find them beginning to meditate the sovereignty of Europe. The name of Asi or Asiatics, that honourable distinction of the Gothic heroes, in the North-west of Europe, was perhaps, rather a commemoration of the fame they had gained in the victory over Deioces, than of their Asiatic origin, which at least was more obscure, and of which their ancestors had preserved no tradition, when Herodotus wrote. The general tradition of a people is seldom to be wholly despised. If the Scythians represented themselves as natives of Little Tartary, their descendants, the Goths, boast of the acquisition of Germany, and the North West of Europe, by their victories over other tribes. Mallet's Northern Antiq. v. 1. chap. IV. The time when they first penetrated into these regions is not known ; but they date their decided superiority in them from the age of their invincible leader, Odin, whose expe- dition Torfceus and M. Mallet place about 70 years before Christ. lb. c. ii. 139 Sect. II. Antiquity of the Druidical order, amongst tlie Celt a — Sped tit ens of Druidical traditions preserved by the JVehh — Remarks upon them — The professors of Druidisnt anciently known by the name of JJyperboreans. X HE irruption of the Goths into the territories of the Western Celtse, being an event comparatively recent, could have had nothing to do with the national habits, or national institutes of the latter. We must therefore distinguish the Celtic establishment Druidism, from the Gothic mysticism. of the Edda, The order of Druids, under that name, do not appear to have been traced, or known, out of Gaul and the Islands of Britain. The name seems to have belonged exclusively to the British order, and to have extended only where that order was acknowledged. The original and primitive inhabitants of this Island, at some remote period of antiquity, revised and reformed their national institutes. Their priest or instructor had hitherto been simply named Cicyz or Guydd, as the term is retained by Taliesin— " Bum Gwydd yngwarthan." But it was deemed adviseable, to divide the sacred oilice between the national or superior priest, and a subordinate character, whose influence was more limited. From henceforth, the fanner became Der-uydd or Druid, which, in the language of the people to whom we owe the term, is a compound of Dar, Superior, and Gwydd, a Priest or Inspector: The fatter was Go-Kydd or Ovi/dd, a Subordinate Instructor; and was sometimes called Syrc or Sy-wydd, names familiar to the Bards, Tu/ioin and Aneurin. 140 These very terms, as well as Greeks and Romans could spell them, have been recognized by the oldest people and religion of Europe, and in that very country from whence the Celtae came. Kcmj; t£g£fj KccGugvv, « Ss Kaye,, Hesych. " Cotes, or according to some, Coes, a priest of the Cabiri." " Samothraces horum (penatium) antistites, Suos vocabant, qui postea, a Romanis, Salii appellati sunt." Servius, ad &n. ii. The name then of Druid was local, but the Religion had a very deep root- Indeed under this name, the influence and authority of the order once extended over the whole of Gaul. It covered this extent of territory, as one nation. The seat of general concourse and Great Sessioji, was fixed in what the Druids deemed a central spot* — a choice that would have been absurd, as well as inconvenient, if the institution had been confined to any particular district. These Druids themselves were Ccltce, of the Patriarchal or Equestrian order. Their disciples were nobilissimi Gentisf, Sons of the noblest families in the Nation. These alone could, in their turn, become teachers. The order did not then consist of Strangers, but of the most illustrious descent which the Celtce could boast. They were studious to confine their mysteries in the Celtic pale, where their opinions were respected, and exclude from them all but those who had been duly initiated. * Hi (Dnjidas) certo auni tempore, in fimbus Carnutum, quse regio totius Calliac media habctur, coksioest, in loco consecrato. Hue omnes undique, qui conuoveisids habent, conveniunt, eorumque decretis judiciisque parent. Bell. Gall. VI. 13. + Mela iii. 2. 141 In Caesar's time, the inhabitants of Gaul had been disturbed, in some degree, by the intercourse of strangers. Their sacred groves had been traversed and violated by feet, which they considered as profane. Druidism, therefore, was not so pure in that country as in Britain, the source of the reformed institution, and many sons of the nobles in Gaul were sent hither to finish their Education. De. Bell. Gall. L. VL When the Romans acquired a footing in Britain, they found the country possessed by two nations ; the Belgaj, originally Celt, and that their progenitors had been present with this nation from its very source. Thus, for instance, we are told by Caesar — " Galli se omites ab Dite patre prognatos pradicant, idque a Druidibw proditum dicunt." The Gauls affirm that Pluto or Dh was their common progenitor, and refer this account of themselves to the tradition of the Druids. Had the original Druids been any other than Celtoe or Gauls, they would rather have preserved the history or tradi- tion of their own origin. They could have given no account of the father of a nation whom they found, already formed. But this was a Celtic and national tradition, and such as could not have been preserved by strangers. Yet so much were the Druids interested in this account, that we tind them providing for its perpetuity by incorporating it with a national custom, and thus impressing upon the mass of the people, the memory of their descent — u ()/> cam causam, spatia omnia tempo r is, non numcro dierum scd noctium, finiunt: dies nutates, ct memiuni et annorum initia, sic observant, ut noctkm dies subscquatur." k 2 148 The custom of measuring periods, by the number of nights, in preference to that of days, may not have been peculiar to the Celtac: but the inference they drew from it is clear — - That in the I Vest their common ancestor found his portion assigned. In order to shew the nature and the authenticity of this account, respecting the origin of the Gauls, it will not be improper to observe, that, under the character of* Saturn, the heathens preserved the history of Noah. Saturn divided the world amongst his three sons. The eldest of these was J)is or Pluto, and for his share he had Europe — the Western or lower region. Thus he became the parent of the first Europeans, and consequently of the Gauls, This exactly falls into the Mosaic history. The whole Earth was divided between three sons of Noah. Japhcth, who was the eldest of them, inherited Europe, or the Isles of the Gentiles. He was therefore progenitor of the Gauls. Here we have a real history which the Druids, as Celta?, preserved, ever since the period of the primary allotment : and the device by which it was imprest, prevails amongst the Welsh to this day. They call a week, wyth-nos, Eight nights: a fortnight, pythezenos, Fifteen night s-^thnt is, they circum- scribe their periods by the night on which they commence and expire, according to the usage of the ancient Gauls. " But what — it may be asked — is the peculiar connection between the night and the portion of Dis r" I answer, that, as the whole of Europe lay directly west of 149 Asia, it was overshadowed by the darkness of the night, when the morning arose upon the Eastern habitations of the Noachidse : and the evening sun would appear to descend, in its progress towards the western continent, as to a lower sphere. Hence the portion of Japheth, or of Dis, obtained the description of a loxcer llegion — the land of Shades and of Night. Such was the land of the Cimcrii, the children of Dis. It has frequently been remarked, that, in the general mysticism of the Druids, and in many of their customs, there is close analogy to those of the Magi, the Brachmans, the Egyptian Priests, &,c. I do not deny the facl, but I conceive that these traits of analogy were impressed upon mankind, before the families of the Earth were divided. And I cannot but regret, that when pains have been taken, and Fancy called in, to shew what the Aborigines of Europe may have borrowed from the East, it has hardly been the object of a moment's attention, amongst the learned, in this peculiar class, to ascertaiu what those Europeans had of their own. — Many of the fundamental customs, and inveterate opinions oftheCeltoe, appear to have been once universal. I would not therefore, unless compelled by the unequivocal decree of historical proof, refer them to any particular source. And, as to their general mysticism, I have quoted already a well accredited fragment of Sanchoniathon, which contains the: elements of all the mystical theology in the ancient world. — it is there told us, that the History, Theology and Philosophi; of the first ages had been converted into mystic allegories, and this, at so early a period, that Isiris, or Mizraini, the Brother of Canaan, was amongst those who received them in that form. The Patriarchs of the other Nations, whether in the East or in the 1 If est, had an equal opportunity of doing the same. 150 But, if it must be insisted upon, that a chain of communi- cation united the Magi, Brachmans and our Druids, it must, I thinK, be a chain drawn through Asia Minor, and Thrace or Macedon, the countries through which the Celtai came, and in which tradition acknowledges the remains of their family and religion. The Druids are not represented as Inventors. They were the jealous preservers of early and primitive discipline, tradi- tions, doctrines, customs and opinions. Their method of instruction Mas by symbols and by enigmas, or dark allegories*, by ancient songs, and maxims orally delivered, and in private ; but which they deemed it unlawful to reduce into writing, or communicate out of their own palef . Of the lessons thus habitually, and by system, concealed, few specimens arc to be found in ancient authors. Mela, L. iii. c. 2. has preserved one of them. Vnum ex iis quas praecipiunt in vulgus offluxit ; Videlicet — " Ut forent ad bella meliores ; jeternas esse animas, vitamque alteram ad manes." One of their precepts has become public, namely, that which bids them remember — " to act bravely in war ; that souls are immortal, and there is another life after death." * Diog. Laert. L. C. Seg. 6. t Cas. Dc Bel. Gal. L. VI. Mela L. iii. 2. 151 Diog. Laevtius presents us with another. xxi fAyihv kxkov $gav t HXi UWPUXV CCqXUI. To worship the Gods, to do no evil, and to exercise fortitude. Both of these precepts are Triads; and we may hence con- jecture, that such was the general form of their moral and historical instructions. Ausonius, who respected, and seems occasionally to imitate the Bards of his country, has a whole poem of Triads. The philosophy, the comprehension and good sense of the sentences before us, are such as to inspire a wish, that we could obtain something more, from the hand of those masters. Amongst the descendants of those who were professors of Druidism, it would not be unreasonable to expeCt this gratifi- cation. A national institute, which had been so deeply rooted, was not likely to be obliterated from the memory and regard of the people. The interdict of Gallic Councils would, of itself, prove the lingering obstinacy of Druidism, amongst the people of Gaul, to the end of the sixth century — " Feneratores lapidum, accensores facularum, et excolentes sacra fontium el arborum, admonemus"* — Concil. Turon. A. D. 567. * See Borlase p. no, 121-2.. 152 Jn Britain, it continued longer still, as appears" from the Law of Canute — Prohibemus etiam serio — quod quis adoret Jgnem vel Fluvium, Torrens vel Saxa vel alicujus generis arbor um higna. — Wilkins, Leg. Aug. Sax. p. 134. These were not Roman or Gothic, but Celtic superstitions, of Druidism. He who is at all conversant with the remains of ancient IVehh literature, cannot be at a loss for the reason of these prohibitory Laws. Our oldest authors avow the most pious veneration for the Druids — give themselves credit, as initiated into their mysteries, and profess to deliver their genuine maxims and traditions. As Druidism had so many real, though concealed partizans, long after its public authority was abolished, may we not suppose, that some attempts would be made, when the use of the pen was no longer interdicted, to cherish and preserve its most valuable relics? This order, for instance, taught the people something of their own history. The conversion of the native to the Religion of Christ, could not have rendered that history uninteresting. The people would naturally wish to perpetuate some account of their ancient independence. Accordingly we find, amongst the oldest Welsh manuscripts, many his- torical notices upon the model of the Druidical Triads, and purporting to be the remains of Druidical ages. Their contents furnish, in my opinion, strong evidence in support of their authenticity. I cannot account for them at all upon other grounds. Many collections of these Triads arc preserved, at this day, in old copies upon vellum, 153 Four of these copies, beside transcripts upon paper, were collated for the Welsh Arch&ology. London. 1801. The old copies, now preserved, are not immediately taken from one, original collection. They vary in the selection, the number and the order of their Triads. But when the same Triad occurs, in different copies, it is given to the same effect and, generally, in the same words. We must not then look to known authors, for the origin of these records. Like the old histories of Greece, collected by Apollodorus, they must be carried further back, to remote periods and primitive traditions. I shall now lay before my Reader, a short selection, translated from a series, in the second volume of the Welsh Archaeology, p. 57. That series bears the following title. " These are Triads of the Island of Britain — that is to say, Triads of memorial and record, and the information of re- markable men or things, which have been in the Island of Britain ; and of the events which befel the Kace of the Cymry, from the age of ages." To the copy, from which a transcript was made for the London edition, the following note is annext. (Translation.) " These Triads were taken from the book of Caradoc of Nantsrarvan, and from the book of Jevan Brechva, by me, Thomas Jones of Tregaron — and these are all I could tret of Me three hundred — IGOI."* * Caradoc of Nantgarvan, or Llangarvan, abovementioned, as the copyist of one of Jones's original?, lived about the middle of the twelfth century.— 154 I. The three pillars of the Race of the Island of Britain. The first, Tin Gadarn, who first brought the Race of the Cymry into, the Island of Britain; and they came from the land of Hav called Defrobani [where Constantinople stands*|-] and they passed over MorTawch^ (the German ocean) to the Island of Britain, and to Llydaw§, where they remained. The second, Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mazcr, who first established regal government in the Island of Britain [Before this, there was no Equity but what was done by gentleness, nor any Law but that of force.] The third, Dyvnwal-Moelmud, who first discriminated the laws and ordinances, customs and privileges of the land and of the nation. [And for these reasons they were called the three pillars oi the nation of the Cymry.] (4) II. The three benevolent tribes of the Island of Britain. The first were the stock of the Cymry, who came, witli Hu Gadarn, into the Island of Britain: for He would not have lands by fighting and contention, but of Equity, and in peace. Jevan Brechva wrote a Compendium of the Welsh Annals down to 1150. N. B. The figures annext, refer to their order in the London edition. + The passages inclosed berween hooks appear to be comments upon the Origindl Triads, added by some ancient copyists. X The Coritani lay upon Mot Tatuch, it was therefore upon the East of Britain — ^ Letivia or Lexovia, the Water-side. This name is confined, at this day, to the description of Britany ; but it covered, anciently, the entire coast of Gaul. 155 The second were the race of the Lolegrwys*, who crane from the land of Gwas-gwyn, and were sprung from the primitive stock of the Cymry. The third were the Britons. They came from the land of Llydaw, and were also sprung from the primordial line of the Cymry. [And they are called the three peaceful tribes, because they came by mutual consent and permission, in peace and tran- quillity. — The three tribes descended from the primitive race of the Cymry, and the three were of one language and one speech. (5) III. Three tribes came, under protection, into the Island of Britain, and by the consent and permission of the nation of the Cymry, without weapon, without assault. The first was the tribe of the Caledonians, in the North. The second was the Gwyddelian Ilace, which are now in Alban (Scotland.) The third were the men of Galedin, who came in the naked ships (Canoes r) into the Isle of Wight, when their country was drowned f 3 and had lands assigned them by the Raee of the Cymry. * The dwellers about the Loire or Liger. Gwas-Gwyn or Gwas Gwynt the country of the Pencil, about the mouth ot the Lone, and not Vasconia.— » It was the rounttv to which thi Britons sent their fleet, in order to assist the Celts; of Gaul, their relations, against the arms of Csesar, Triad 14. t Strabo L. VII. speaks of the removal, and of the dispersion of the Cimbri, in consequence of an inundation. This tradition was preserved by the Curibri of the Cerhsonese; but the event mnst have happened when their ancestors dwelt in a low country. 156 [And they had neither privilege nor claim in the Island of Britain, but the land and protection that were granted, under specified limits. And it was decreed, That they should not enjoy the immunities of the native Cymry, before the ninth generation.] (6) IV. Three usurping tribes came into the Island of Britain, and never departed out of it. The first were the Coranicd, who came from the land of the Pwyl J. The second were the Gwyddelian Fichti, who came into Alban, over the sea of TJychlyn (Denmark.) The third were the Saxons. [The Coranicd are about the river H umber, and on the shore of Mo"r Tawch, and the Gwyddelian Fichti are in Alban, on the shore of the sea of Llychlyn. — The Coranied united with the Saxons; and being partly incorporated with them, deprived the Lloegrwys of their government, by wrong and oppression: and afterwards, they deprived the Race of the Cymry of their crown and sovereignty. All the Lloegrwys became Saxons §, except those who are found in Cornwall, and in the Commot of Carnoban, in Dcira and Bernicia. The primitive Race of the Cymry have kept their land and their language; but they have lost their sovereignty of the Island of Britain, through the treachery of the protected tribes, and the violence of the three usurping tribes,] (7) X i'i p. 78 ic is added— Ac or Asia pan hanoeddynt. And they originally came from Asia. Jones declared 200 years ago, that he copied the various readings rrcrn which ihis passage is taken, just as he found them, in a copy- that was more than 600 years old in his time. See W. Arch. v. 2. p. 80. §i, e. Adopted the Saxon language and manne.s. 157 * V. The three awful events of the Island of Britain. First, the bursting of the lake of waters, and the over- whelming of the face of all lands ; so that all mankind were drowned, excepting Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who escaped in a naked vessel (without sails) and of them the Island of Britain was re-peopled. The second was the consternation of the tempestuous fire, when the Earth split asunder, to Annwn (the lower region) and the greatest part of all living was consumed*. The third was the scorching summer, when the woods and plants were set on fire, by the intense heat of the Sun, and multitudes of men, and beasts and kinds of birds, and reptiles, and trees, and plants were irrecoverably lost. (\3) VI. The three chief master works of the Island of Britain. The ship of Nevi/dd Nav Neivion, which carried in it a male and a female of all living, when the lake of waters burst forth ; The drawing of the avanc to land out of the lake, by the branching oxen of llu Gadarn, so that the lake burst no more ; And the stones of Gwyddon Ganhebon, on which were read the arts and sciences of the world. (97) VII. The three great Regulators of the Island of Britain. * This conflict of the Elements probablv happened, when the Japetidas occupied the inflammable soil of Asia Prcpria. It is perhaps the event so awfully drscribed by Hesiod, Theog. 678, &c, and which cenmbuted not only to the defeat, bu: removal of the Titans, 158 Hu Gadarn, bringing the Race of the Cymry out of the land of Hav, which is called Defrobani, into the Island of Britain; Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mawr, establishing government and law over the Island of Britain; And Rhitta Gawr, who made himself a robe, of the beards of kings, whom he caused to be shaved (reduced to vassalage) for their oppressions, and contempt or justice. (54) VIII. The three happy controllers of the Island of Britain. Prydain, the son of Acdd-Mawr, suppressing the Dragon tyranny [This was a tyranny of pillage and contempt of Equity, that sprung up in the Island] Carador, the son of Bran, the son of Llyr, checking the oppression of the Caesars ; And Rhitta Gawr, controuling the tyranny and pillage of the tumultuary kings. (55) IX. The three benefactors of the Race of the Cymry, The first, Hu Gadarn, who first shewed the Rare of the Cymry the method of cultivating the ground, when they were in the land of liav [namely, where Constantinople now stands] before they came into the Island of Britain; Coll, the son of Coll-Frewi, who first brought wheat and barley into the Island of Britain, where, before, there had only been Oats and Rye; And Elldud the Knight [a holy man of Cor Dewdws] who improved the manner of cultivating the ground, taught the Cymry a better method than what had been known before., 159 and shewed them the art of plowing which now prevails. [For before the time of Elldud, land was cultivated only with a mattock and a spade, after the manner of the Gwyddelians.] -(56) X. The three primary Sages of the Race of the Cymry. Hu Gadarn, who first collected the race of the Cymry and disposed them into tribes; Dy vnwal-Moelmud, who first regulated the Laws, privileges and institutions of the country and nation ; And Tydain tad A wen, who first introduced order and method into the memorials and preservation of the Oral art (poetry) and its properties. And from that order, the privileges and methodical usages of the Bards and Bardism (Druidism) of the Island of Britain, were first devised. (57) XI. The three primary Bards of the Island of Britain. Plennydd, Alawn and Gwron. These were they who devised the privileges and usages, which belong to Bards and Bardism. [Yet there had been Bards and Bardism before: but they were not completely methodized, and they enjoyed neither privileges nor established customs, but what they obtained through gentleness and civility, and the protection of the country and the nation, before the tune of these three. Some say they were in the time of Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr, others, that they were in tiie time of his son, 160 Dyvnwal-Moelmud, whom some of the old books call Dy vn- \arth, the son of Prydain.] (58) XII. Tlie three Elementary masters of Poetry and Me- morial, of the Race of the Cymry. Gwyddon Ganhebon, the first man in the world who composed poetry ; Hu Gadarn, who first adapted poetry to the preservation of record and memorials; And Tydain Tad Awen, who first developed the art and structure of poetry, and the due disposition of thought. And, from the labours of these three personages, sprung Bards and Bardism, and the regulation of their privileges, and established discipline, by the three primary Bards, Plennydd, Alawn and Gwron. XIII. The three primary Baptized (or Christian) Bards. Merddin Emrys, Taliesin, the chief of the Bards, And Merddin, the son of Madawc Morvryn. XIV. The three mighty Labours of the Island of Britain. Erecting the stone of Ketti, Constructing the work of Emrys, And heaping the pile of Cyvrangon. 161 XV. The three happy astronomers (Seronyddion, So* ronides) of the Island of Britain. Idris Gator, Gzcyddion, the son of Don, And Gzeyn, the son of Nudd. [So great was their knowledge of the stars, and of their nature and situation, that they could foretel whatever might be desired to be known, to the day of doom.] (89) XVI. The three masters of mysterious and secret sci- ence, of the Island of Britain. Math, the son of Mathonwy, and he disclosed his secret to Gwyddion, the son of Don. Mengzv, the son of Teirgzvaedd, who taught his secret to Uthyr Bendragon. And Rhuddlzvm Gazer, and he learned his mystery of Eiddic ,G6r and Coll, the son of Coll Frezoi. (90) XVII. The three great modellers of the Island of Britain. Corvinwr, the bard of Ceri Hir, of Llyngtcyn, who first made a ship, with a sail and a helm, for the race of the Cyrnry. Mordial Gzcr Gzveilgi, the architect of Ceraint, the son of Greidial, who first taught the race of the Cyrnry, the work L 162 ©f stone and lime, [at the time when Alexander the Great was subduing the world.] And Coll, the son of Cyllin, [the son of Caradawc, the son of Bran,'] who first made a mill with a wheel, for the race of the Cymry. And these three were bards. (91) In these documents, as they now stand, some degree of confusion may be detected. It is the inevitable effect of transcript and comment, in ages, from which the key of the knowledge contained in them was, by the mysteries of time, withheld ; but, upon the whole, they appear to be genuine memorials of remote antiquity. From the personifications, which occur in several of them, it may be inferred, that something more is implied, than a series of historical events, and that frequently they consist of such allegories, or cenigmata, as Druids are known to have employed, in teaching their disciples. Thus the three primary bards, or Druids, Plennydd, Alazcn and Gwron, No. XI. are, in their literal import, light, harmony, and energy. In their national prepossession, they resemble the genuine traditions of many other primitive people. The patriarchy are made, almost exclusively, the fathers of the Cymry, and the general events of early ages, are consigned particularly, to the Island of Britain. This may be exemplified in the account of the deluge, INo. V, e: The waters burst forth- — all lands were covered — all 163 \ mankind were drowned, except only two persons, who escaped in a boat. Of them was repeopled the Island of Britai7i." Even the vessel, which carried a male and a female of all that lived, was, it seems, one of the master- works of the Island of Britain. This, which is contradictory to the more temperate ac- counts of the real progress made by the Cymry, illustrates the nostra-tism of all national traditions. The personage who survived the deluge, is called Dicy- van, or Droyvazcn, and his wife Dzeyvack — the godlike man and woman. His name, (No. VI.) is Nevydd Ndv Neivion — the celestial one, the Lord of the waters. Our old bards call him, Dylan ail Mor ; Dylan, or Dyglan, — son of the sea, from Dy-glaniazc, to land, or come to shore — whence per- haps, Dcu-calion. — Hu Gadarn, the mighty inspector, is a very high personage, and supreme agent in these Triads. He was the God of the Druid*. As such, he has always been acknowledged by the Welsh. A Christian bard thus marks the religion of his votaries, put in opposition to that of Christ.— " Two active impulses truly there are In the world, and their course is manifest: An impulse from Christ; joyful is the theme — Of a right tendency, an energetic principle. Another impulse there is (indiscreetly sung) Of falsehood, and base omens: This, has been obtained by the men of Hu, The usurping bards of Wales." !Te was not, however, without his pnrtizans long aftej? l 2 164 the introduction of Christianity. He is thus elevated, in the Orphic style, by Jolo Goch, the bard of Ozoen Glandwr. " Hu Gadarn, the sovereign, the ready protector, A king, distributing the wine, and the renown, The emperor of the land and the seas, .And the life of all in the world, was he. After the deluge, he held The strong beam'd plough, active and excellent: This did our Lord of stimulating genius, That he might shew* to the proud man, and to the humbly wise, The most approv'd art, with the faithful father." See 0. Diet. V. IIu. He is thus described by Rhys Brydydd, in the fifteenth century. " The smallest, if compared with small, Is the Mighty Hit, in the world's judgment, And he is the greatest, and Lord over us., And our God of mystery : Light is his course, and swift: A particle of lucid sunshine is his car: He is great on land and seas, The greatest whom I shall behold — Greater than the worlds — Let us beware Of mean indignity, to him who deals in bounty." See 0. Diet. V. Mymryn. Though IIu Gadarn primarily denoted the Supreme Being, I think his actions have a secondary reference to the history of Noah. The following particulars are told of him in the above cited selection. 1. His. branching, or elevated oxen, (perhaps his offer- 165- ing) at the deluge, drew the destroyer out of the water, so that the lake hurst forth no more. (No. VI.) H. He instructed the primitive race in the cultivation of the earth. (No. IX.) 3. He first collected and disposed them into various tribes. (No. X.) 4. He first gave laws, traditions, &c. or adapted verse to memorials. (No. XII.) 5. He first brought the Cymry into Britain and Gaul, because he would not have them possess lands, by war and contention ; but of right, and in peace. (No. II.) The account before us, of the settlements in Britain, gives precedency to the Cymry, who came from Gzclad yr Hav, called Defrobani. These, at present, are very obscure names ; but some commentator, at least, as old as the mid- dle of the twelfth century, explains them, and repeatedly, as meaning, " Where Constantinople noro stands" This comment would not have been made, without some autho- rity, and it belongs to an age which possessed many docu- ments, relating to the history of the Britons, which are no longer extant. Hav, in our old orthography, (as in Lib. Land.) would be Hum; it may import Hccmus, or Haemonia. Defrobani may either be Dy-vro-banau, the land of eminences, or high points, Thrace in general; or else Dyvro-Banny, the. land or vale of the Penem, Thessaly, Haemonia. I. have shewn 166 elsewhere, that our ancestors, the Celt a } in their line of march, traversed those regions. But though the Cymry remained some time in that country, where they began the tillage of the earth, (JNo. IX.) it was not their ultimate, their destined, and proper home. It was not a land they could possess, " of right, and in peace." That part of the family which first came to Gaul and Britain, in search of lasting possessions, probably withdrew towards the Danube, — ascended even to the source of that river, — and stretched over to the lihine ; which river some of them perhaps may have crossed, whilst others followed the main stream, to its mouth, upon the German Ocean, or Mor Tazvch. We are told (So. I.) that they came over that sea, to the Island of Britain, and Llydaw, or the coast of Gaul, where they remained. It appears then, by these documents, that Gaul and Britain were peopled, originally, by the same race, and about the same time. The extent of Britain being imperfectly known, when its coast was discovered, perhaps only a few of the Cymry volunteered themselves to settle there, and these, appear to have entered the country in detached, as well as little families, not under any one patriarch, of acknowledged authority; for Hu Gadam was only their figurative conductor, to their western settlement, and the Draig Ormes, or tumult of their leaders, threw them into confusion, till the arrival of ano- ther colony. These were the Lloegrroys, or those who dwelt upon the Loire. They came under the conduct of Prydain, the son of Aedd the Great, a prince of the chief branch of the Celta in the West. 167 I am very much deceived, if this Aedd was not the a^j of Greek mythology, the acknowledged patriarch of the Gauls, and he from whom the aiaottoi, JEdui, the first and principal race in Gaul, took their name.* Prydain, or Pryd, who came into this island, could not have been his immediate son, but a lineal representative, or descendant of Aides, Dis, or Japheth. The institution of British Druidism, having been com- pletely established, in the time of a sovereign, who was of the governing family in Gaul, (No. XI.) that circumstance may account for its favourable reception there. The Brython, who gave its (existing) name to this island, and to its inhabitants, according to some of these Triads, and the venerable Bede, — came from Llydaw; or, in other words, from Armorica. They were probably of Pryd's retinue; for he brought his fleet, and his Llogcrx-ys, " O Dir Gwas Gzvynt," from the land of the Veneti, or the mouth of the Loire, adjoining to Armorica — Gwas Groynt was the coun- try to which Britain sent its fleet, for the assistance of the Gauls, against the Romans. Compare Triad XIV. of the original series, with Cccsar, B. G. III. 8, 9. The Aedui and Veneti, or Aeddwys and Gwynet, were of * Docebat etiam ut Omni Tempore, totius Gallia: principatutn JEdui tenu» issent, Cas. B. G. I. 43. Summa auctoritas antiquitus erat in /Eduis. lb. VI. 12. Eo statu res erat, ut longt principes A'.dvi haberentur. Jb. Celtarum clarissimi Hedui. Met. III. 2. Divitiacus, prince oi' the JEdvi, had a sovereign principality in Britain, as well as in Gaul. See Borlase, p. 83, and his authorities. The British JEdvi, or Hedui, were in Samerscrtshire liic. Corinav. Stukcky. The Welsh denominate tins district, after the cradk of the Celtic nation, Cwlad yr Hue. 168 the same stock; for Gzvyn, the son of Nudd, or Nevi/dd, king of the lower regions, was the same personage with Aedd Mawr. These three colonies of the Cymry, arrived in Britain, before their divided families had forgotten their primitive tongue, or had lost the original and sound principle of just and peaceable possession. (No. II.) The account of Druidism, which these triads present, has evidently, a mixture of allegory, and it involves ideal, or my- thological characters. The following particulars, however, may be remarked, as worthy of notice, The Celta regarded the materials of this legendary system, as the relics of the first ages of mankind. Gzeyddon Ganhebon, was the first of the human race who composed poetry, (No. XII.) and he described, by engraving upon stones, the arts and sciences of the world. (No. VI,) This character, who forcibly reminds us of the inscribed pillars of Seth, Thoth, or Hermes, pre- ceded Hu Gadarn, zcho was present at the deluge — He took the Cymry under his protection — He taught the arts of peace, and principles of justice ; — He adapted poetry to me- morials and records. Tydain, or in more ancient orthography, Titain Tad Awen, Titan, the father of inspiration or genius, intro- duced order and method, into the poetry and memorials of the Cymry. 169 This personage, who is identified, by name, and charac- ter, with Titan, or Apollo, of the Orphic hymns, and of Greece, forms a connecting link, between the mythologies of eastern and western Europe. From the labours of those three masters, sprung British Druidism, with all its privileges, usages, and rules of dis- cipline. (No. X. XII.) In this island, was Druidism first regularly established, and in the time of princes, who are acknowledged as great legislators, and benefactors of their country. (No. I.) The names which honour them, are connected with mythology. Prydain, from Pryd, which is Time, Season, Due time — Beauty, Comeliness, and from Ain, a source or principle — seems to have been primarily designed as an epithet of the sun — Father of beauty, — and principle of the seasons. Prydain is the son of Aedd Mawr, the great a»£»$, fa- ther of the Aedui, and of the Gauls. The name of the other prince, Dyvnwal Moelmud, seems to be obliterated in the Celtic — "JD^D by ?H niay signify, the judge, presiding over instruction. His other name, Dyvn Varth ab. Prydain, is, the profound bard or priest, the son of Prydain. The occasion of the institution, may be collected from the great act of Prydain, in suppressing the dragon tyranny, or the turbulence and confusion which had ri.sen amongst the heads of families, (No. VIII.) and this 170 he effected, by investing a sacred order of men, from whose definitive sentence there was no appeal, with an authority and jurisdiction to determine all disputes ; or, in other words, by committing to the office of priesthood, the administra- tion of civil power. The leading principles, upon which these patriarchal sages began their functions, are highly laudable, if judgment is to be formed of them by the characters first put into the ju- dical chair. — " Plennydd," — " Alawn," — a " Gwron," — light, — harmony, — and energy, or virtue. — (It has the same relation to gzer, a man, as virtue has to vir.) " Plennydd" is, I think, a name of the that, under the two former, the Celts and Sarmatians are plainly designed; yet, when he contends that Arimaspians are a fabulous race, which never existed, who does not see that he is blinded with hypothesis? Why may not the ancient Finns and Laplanders have been intended by this term, which he himself interprets, from Herodotus, one- eyed, and supposes it was descriptive of some nation that excelled in archery, as closing one eye, for better aim? Tacitus expressly assures us, that the Finni were great ar- chers; and as it is observed in the following book, it is highly probable, that at some early period of time, both Finns and Laplanders possessed much larger and better tracts of country, than the northern desarts to which they are now confined. ^ The Sauromatce, and Arimaspians, were clearly inrra> bitants of eastern Europe, as they are described by Strabo; and the zcest has been assigned, by the oldest G re e k writers, to the Hyperboreans. Before the Goths penetrated into the M 178 nest, this was the land of the Celt a, whom we must endea- vour to identify in those ancient inhabitants of that region. • The name Hyperborei, has the import of Trans-Borcani, or men who lived beyond the north, who resided therefore, beyond certain districts, or nations to the north, well known to the ancient Greeks. Yet were they not within the arctic circle, or in the extremities of the north, as comparatively recent authors have supposed. For the wheaten strazo was indispensible in their sacred mysteries ; and this was no pro- duce of high latitudes. According to Herodotus, the wo- men of Thrace, and Poeonia, never made oblations to Diana, a divinity of the Hyperboreans, without recourse to this em- blem. From thence it may be inferred, that Hyperbo- reans, and the "inhabitants of these countries, were origi- nally the same. The father of history describes the sacred gifts of the Hy- perboreans, as having been sent from one people to another, in their way to Greece, aWvpena, or «&&/«»« w k«x«^>» tsv^n, covered or bound by a wheat straw. L. IV. 33. Perhaps ratified or confirmed by a wheat straw, in con- formity with an ancient custom, to which-an old bard alludes. — Oni 'mddyddan ychwaneg, Tor y gwelltyn ain dyn teg. " If she converses no more, break the straw with my fair pne." That is — break off all connection with her. If he that broke that straw dissolved a compact, he that gave, joined, or ex changed it, made or confirmed a covenant, which the Hyperboreans may have done, when they entrusted 179 their sacred gifts into the hand of strangers. It is in allusion to some habit of this kind, that we have stipulor from stipula ; and, perhaps, Foedus, foederis, from the Irish, Fodar, strazv. The ancient Britons, called Helmstraw, Cloig, from Clo, a lock, a conclusion, a confirmation. They had also Belys, from Beli, their Apollo. Beli seems to be derived from Balu, to shoot, spring, or issue forth. — Exas^oj. Herodotus having understood that it was the custom of the Hyperboreans, to deliver their sacred gifts into Scythian hands, for the purpose of better forwarding them into Greece, enquired from the Scoloti of Little Tartary, whom the Greeks of his age eminently termed Scythians, respect- ing the Hyperboreans. But neither could this branch of the Scythians, nor any of their neighbours, the Essedonts excepted, give the least account of them, and their trace of them, in his opinion, amounts to nothing. It therefore is clear, thatno such people resided in the North East of Europe. The Essedones, who had this imperfect knowledge of the Hyperboreans, were, probabty, an eastern branch of the people who used the war chariot, called Essedian, or Es- sedon ; and this was the national distinction of the Sigynx,* or the Celto Scythians, who occupied the South West of Germany, as it was also of their unquestioned Relations, the British Belga: which carries us to the North West from Greece, and at once into contact with Celts, who were professors of 'Druidism. And it was to the North West, from Greece, that we find the region of the Hyperboreans lay. * Herodot. L. V, 9. • M 3 180 In the time of Aristeas, (who wrote before Homer) the Hyperboreans dwelt upon the sea, beyond the Arimaspi, and their neighbours, the Essedones. Herod, iv. 13. Her- cules went from Greece, to the Hyperboreans, through II- lyrium, and by the river Eridanus, or Po. Apollod, L. ii. C 4. Posido7iius and Protarchus, placed them near the Alps. (Gale in Ant. Liberal, p. 144,) but they were not generally recognised on the south of these mountains, or very near them. After passing from one people to another, their gifts ar- rived far in the West, upon the Adriatic, from whence they were carried in the first period, or stage, of their pro- gress, to Dodona, but ultimately to Delos. Herod, iv. 33. They came, then, from the land of the Celta, whom Heraclides of Pontus calls Hyperboreans. Plutarch, in Camillo. It may be asked, how happens it, if the Hyperboreans were Celtic, that the Greeks did not generally recognise them all over Celtica ? It may be answered, that it seems they had conceived a peculiar character of this people, and which appears to have been correct, as bearing upon their primary families, or tribes ; but these, were followed by others, of a different cha- racter, and which materially changed the manners, previ- ously impressed. The original idea which had been formed of the nation, was not realized by the Greeks, till they reached the interior districts, in which the former inhabi- tants remained unmixed. 181 The most considerable of these has been described by HecateicSf and by other celebrated authors upon ancient tradition, cited by Diodorus Siculus. According to this ancient writer, the country of the Hy- perboreans, in his day, was a large and fruitful island, in the ocean, lying to the North, off the coast of Gallia Celtica. This description, which I shall presently adduce at large, can agree with no other spot but Britain. Heca- teus places the Island avTiw^av, opposite to, the coast of Celtica, without one intervening region : and should we seek it further North, a competent fertility of the land, and. the essential wheat strazv, will not be found. Neither in this Island, itself, nor in contiguous parts of Europe, can we find a religious order of ancient celebrity,* except our Druids, whose Theology conformed, in general, to that of Greeks and Romans, (Cces. B. G. vi. 17.) The religion of the Germans was perfectly dissimilar, (Ibid £ 1 .) besides, that, in that part of Europe, their establish- ments, were comparatively recent, and posterior to the ao;e of Hecateus. •©' Hence it should seem, the Hyperboreans, who brought their gifts to Apollo, in the Vale of Tempe, down to the last ages of Paganism, (JEl. Far. Hist. L. iii, C. 1.) were our Druids of Britain. But let us examine if their characters are incorporated. The chief outline of the Hyperborean ethics, was piety, inoffensive as well as peaceable conduct, and fortitude. The favorite maxim of Druids, who abstained from contest, and allayed every popular ferment, was, according to Diog. 182 Laert (already cited for another purpose,) To zvorship the Gods — to do no evil — and to exercise fortitude; or, as the original British runs — " Tri ehynnorion doethineb : ufudd- had i ddeddfau Duw; ymgais a lies dyn; a dioddef yn lew pob digwydd bywyd." " Three first principles of wisdom: Obedience to the laws of God ; concern for the good of mankind ; and brave- ly sustaining all the accidents of life." The sacred rites of the Delians, originated in the Hyper- boreans : Their virgins came to Delos, accompanied by their Gods. Herod, iv. 35. Tertius (Apollo) Jove et Latona natus, quern ex Hyper- boreis Delphos ferunt advenisse — Reliqui ( Apollines) omnes silentur, omnesque res aliorum gestae ad unum Joviset Latonse filium referuntur. Cic. de Nat. Deor. L. iii. The legitimate Apollo of Grecian worship is, therefore, an accredited Hyperborean. According to Gaulish tradition, in the time of Ccesar, Druidical discipline originated in Britain. The same ac- count is confirmed by the institutional Triads of that British order. " Yn ynys Prydain, y cafwyd Earddoniaeth gyntaf — am na chafwys un gwlad arall eriocd ddeall cyfiawn ar farddoniaeth — o ba wlad bynnag y bont, Beirdd with fraint a defod Beirdd ynys Prydain au gelwir." " Bardism, or Druidism, originated in Britain — pure Bardism was never well understood in other countries — of 183 whatever country they "may be, they are entitled Bards, ac- cording to the rights and the institutes of the Bards of the Island of Britain." Tydain, or Titain Tad Awen, Titan the Father of Genius^ the same as Apollo, is claimed as one of the Cymry, and as British. See above, (No. X. XII.) The Hyperboreans used the zcheat straw in the rites of Apollo and of Diana. The old Britons ascribed peculiar virtues and powers to this very symbol. " Gwrnerth Ergydlym a laddes yr arth mwyaf ac a welwyd erioed, a saeth zvellten." " The keen- darting Gwrnerth, (perhaps another title of Apollo) slew the largest bear that was ever seen, with an arrozv of straw*. W. Arch. V. 2. p. 68. The arrow which Abaris, the Hyperborean priest of Apollo, carried round the earth, fasting (Herod. L. iv. 36.) was probably of this kind. As the ancients often played upon words, particularly in their mystical accounts of things, outtos, derived from <>'«&/ to think or opine, may have conveyed the opinions, as well as the arrow of Abaris ; and by what Herodotus expresses, in the terms, o»&» o-iteo/xwo?, it may not have been originally meant, that he eat nothing, but that he made no provision for his journey, as Druids never did, regarding it us one of their sacred privileges, to find — " • Trwyddedogaeth ble'r elont." " maintenance wherever they went." [Institutional Triads, 184 It appears, from aeveral passages in Taliesin, that our Druids made use of straw-reeds, and the points, or spicula of certain trees, in all their sacred rites. Perhaps he alludes to the Dtlian gifts, in telling us — Bum ynghaer Fefenydd. (L. Felenydd.) Yt gryssynt wellt a gzvydd. W. Arch. V. I. p. 29, " I have been in the city of Bcknydd, whither the strazvs and sprigs were hastening." Pythagoras, whose philosophy bore a wonderful resem- blance to that of Druids, is represented expressly to have heard the Gauls and firachmans :* the former, as it should seem, in the person of Abaris, who delivered his arrow to him, in other words, made a covenant with him, and at the same time, instructed him in his doctrine. The philo-r sophy of Greece, originated in the Celta.f The name of Abaris belongs to the Cymry. aQ^\ — Ki^oi, uq t»h« - oles, or spheres. 1. Cylch y Ceugant, The circle of space, which none but God alone can pervade. 2. Cylch yr Abred, or, as the continental Cymry would say, — Aberes, " The circle of courses," which comprehended the material crea- tion, and the condition or state of humanity. 3. Cylch y Gwynfyd, the circle of happiness, which man would ulti- mately attain. But most of their philosophy respected the Abred, or the changes and revolutions to which nature and man were ex- posed. That circle of existence embraced their famous doc- trine of the Metempsychosis, which they reconciled with ap- parently ingenuous efforts, to the immortality, and the ul- timate felicity of the soul. The circle of Abred was that, in which man, with all the works of nature, began in the Great Deep, or in the lower state of existence. — It con- tained a mixture of good and evil. But man, endued with a power of choice, between the evil and the good, by the exercise of his religion — of the relative duties — of pure virtue and fortitude, could bring all the passions or propensities of his nature, to a just balance. This condition of man was termed, the point of liberty, — he passed from thence, through the gate of mortality, into the circle of happiness : no more the victim of adversity, want, or death. But if he permitted evil affections to govern and pre- dominate, such as pride, falsehood, or cruelty; that bias would sink him down from the circle of happiness. Death would return him to the circle of courses, allotting him a punishment, in due proportion to his jnoral turpitude. Here the soul was to do penance in ft beast, or in a reptile, 186 or in several of them successively. From this degradation it rose, at length, and reassumed the human form. Repeated probations and corrections would, ultimately, subdue all- evil propensities. The point of liberty would be attained, and the divine particle would be introduced, by death, to infinite happiness.* It has been a litigated question amongst the learned, whe- ther Pythagoras received the doctrine of the Metempsychosis from Druids, or communicated this doctrine to them. But as Greeks acknowledge that he was a disciple of the Celtic Sages — as it is avowed, that he received the arrow of Abaris, which had been carried round the world — evident allusions to the mystery of the Abred, which is the corner stone of Druidism, — and as Aristotle has owned, that phi- losophy did not emigrate from Greece to Gaul, but vice versa, I think it safer to conclude, that one individual foreigner borrowed from this national institute, than to conceive, that he should have communicated his own speculations, upon this very mystical topic of religion, to an order of men, who were always jealous of novelties. It may be added, that some of the very oldest Greek writers refer to similar opinions, as already established, and prevalent in the north west of Europe. * The triads from which this epitome is compiled, may be seen in the original-, and in its version. Ed. William's Poems, V. ii. P- 227. Of I he copy from which they are taken, that ingenious poet and writer gives the following account. " The triads that arc here selected, are from a manuscript collection, by Uyvtelyn Sion, a bard, of Glamorgan, about A. D. 1560. Of this manuscript, 1 have a transcript. The original is in the possession of Mr. Richard Bradford, of Bcttws, near Bridgend, in Glamorgan. This collection was made from va- rious manuscripts, of considerable, and some of great antiquity. These, and their author?, ;;re mentioned, and most, or all of them, are still extant." 187 Atlas, the son of Japetus, was an Hyperborean, — he was also, a neighbour of the Hesperides. It was, consequently, in the north zvest corner of the world, that he supported the heavens. It was in the same tract, that fountains, and the origin of the earth, of hell, of the sea, of the sidereal heaven, and of all things, were placed in the great deep. Hesiod. Theog. 736. It was here that Styx resided, in a magnificent house, composed of huge stones, connected, or covered at the top, (just in the style of our British monuments) and punished, even the Gods, by degrading them, for a time, to a lower state of existence, from whence they were to pass, through a variety of arduous probations, before they could recover their primitive divinity. It was here also, at the ends of the earth, in the islands of the blessed, and by the deep ocean, that Jupiter assigned, ■ as the reward of the just and the good, — as a recompence and crown to the heroes who had fallen before Thebes, and before Troy, — a residence of tranquillity, after death, in which the fertile soil produced its fruits, thrice every year. Hesiod. Egy. a. 155, to 171. These, must not only have been prevalent opinions, in the age of Hesiod, but must have been considered, by him, as maxims, rooted in the periods he describes. The road of the ancient Greeks, to the court of Pluto, to the land of just retribution, and therefore, the paradise and the hell of their mythology, pointed at the Islands of Britain. The country, it is true, as we find it, will not answer the description, either of wretchedness or felicity; but those pictures referred, in their colouring, to religious faith, and 188 they are verified in the different states of retribution, which Druidism conferred upon the virtues and vices of men. All that fair criticism demands, may be attested, and confirmed in the unequivocal remains of such monuments, and of such opinions, as the ancients ascribe to our distant progenitors. Upon the whole, then, I cannot but apply to our Druids of Britain, the description preserved by Diodorits Siculus, L. ii. C. 47, which I here insert, with a few remarks. Hecateus, and some others, who treat of ancient histories or traditions, give the following account. " Opposite to the coast of Gallia Celtica, there is an island in the ocean, — not smaller than Sicily, — lying to the north t — which is inhabited by the Hyperboreans, who are so named, because they dwell beyond the north wind. This island is of a happy temperature, rich in soil, and fruitful in every thing, yielding its produce twice in the year. u Tradition says, that Latona was born there, and for that reason, the inhabitants venerate Apollo, more than any other God. They are, in a manner, his priests, for they daily celebrate him with continual songs of praise, and pay him abundant honours. " In this island, there is a magnificent grove ti/xuo,\ (or j> r ecinct) of Apollo, and a remarkable temple, of a round form, adorned with many consecrated gifts. There is also a city sacred to the same God, most of the inhabi- tants of which are harpers, who continually ploy upon their harps in the temple, and sing hymn* to the God, extolling his actions. 189 ** The Hyperboreans use a peculiar dialect, and have a remarkable o»xiioT«Ta, attachment, to the Greeks, especially to the Athenians, and the Delians, deducing their friend- ship from remote periods. It is related, that some Greeks formerly visited the Hyperboreans, with whom they left consecrated gifts, of great value, and also that in ancient times, Abaris, coming from the Hyperboreans, into Greece, renewed their friendship, (yuyytvtw) family intercourse, with the Delians. ■ " It is also said, that, in this island, the moon appears very near to the earth, that certain eminences, of a terrestrial form, are plainly seen in it, that the God (Apollo) visits the island, once in a course of nineteen years, in which period, the stars complete their revolutions, and that for this reason, the Greeks distinguish the cycle of nineteen years, by the name of the great year. t{ During the season of his appearance, the God plays up- on the harp, and dances every night, from the vernal equi- nox, till the rising of the pleiades, pleased with his own successes. " The supreme authority, in that city, and sacred pre- cinct, is vested in those who are called Boreadce, being the descendants of Boreas, and their governments have been uninterruptedly transmitted in this line." ■ The topography of this island accords, precisely and ex- clusively, to the local position of Britain. Some have objected that the words, x*ra t«j «§xt^;, do not simply mean, lying towards the north, but imply a higher lati- tude, than that of Britain. But this island, viewed from the coast of Gaul, appears to be under the Bear, and the / r 190 same Diodorus; L. V. 21, when speaking expressly of Bri- tain, describes it as, W uvtw *w o.^.tov *ttyim>r. — Ipsi uitsiE subjectam. In the same chapter, he compares the island's form to that of Sicily ; he asserts that, in ancient periods, it had remained unmixed by foreign power, for nei- ther Bacchus, nor Hercules, nor any other hero or poten- tate of whom we have read, had molested it by war. He re- marks the simple manners, and singular integrity of the inhabitants : he adds, that their numerous princes generally cultivated peace amongst tliemselves. — These, are distin- guishing features of the Hyperboreans. Hecateus was unacquainted with an accurate and real survey of Britain, but he compares it, naturally and properly, to the largest island that was known to the Greeks. As the Celtic year began in July,* Britain may have been described as producing two harvests, one at the com- mencement, and the other, at the end of each year ; but, in the time of the Britons, its most important produce was pasture, and of this, it continues eminently to afford a second crop. The honour of Apollo is not forgotten, in the ancient monuments of the Cymry. The first name of Britain, after it was inhabited, was Vel ynys, the island of Bel. W. Arch. V. 2. P. 1. Belennydd or Plennydd, was a founder of Druid- ism, (No. XI.) It was afterwards called ynys prydain, the island of the regulator of seasons. IV. Arch. ubi. sup. See also a fragment of a Druidical prayer. W. Arch. V. 1. P. 73. * Pliny. L. XVI C. 44. The Welsh call this month Gorphenhav, the con* elusion of the summer, or year. 191 Llad yn eurgyrn, Eurgyrn yn Haw, Llaw yn ysci Ysci ym modrydav Fur iti iolav, Buddyg Vtli, A Manhogan Rhi Rhygeidwei deithi, Ynys Vel Veli. " The gift in the golden horn — the golden horn in the hand — the hand on the knife — the knife on the leader of the herd — sincerely I worship thee, Beli, giver of good, and Manhogan, the king, who preserves the honours of BEL, the Island of Beli." The sacred precinct, and the temple, in its ancient form, are to be seen, at this day, upon Salisbury plain. It was called (No. XIV.) Gwaith Emrys, or Emreis, the structure of the revolution, evidently that of the sun, for the name has been so contrived, that the letters which form it, when valued as the Celtic or Greek numerals, mark the day on which that revolution is completed, viz. v'8, /*40, ( 100, «i'8, ♦' 10, ?' 200 = 36"(). The account given of the inhabitants of the city of Apollo, might be deemed sufficient of itself to settle this point. We discover no considerable Druidical monument, where the language of Britain is preserved, without finding also, Tre V Beirdd, the town of the Bards, or a name of similar import, in its vicinity. The Bards were Priest and Poetv The Hattp was their inseparable attribute, and skill upon this instrument was an indispensible qualification for their office. 192 The ancient friendship and consanguinity of the Hyper* boreans and Greeks, are again, strong circumstances. TheCymry derive their Very origin from the neighbourhood of Greece, and they left, as they tell us, the country in peace. These Islanders, who can, I think, be no longer mistaken, claim Abaris as their countryman. The intercourse and friendship which he came to renew, refer to the first ages of Grecian history — to the days of Argis and Opis, of whom Greece received the Gods, and learnt the rites from the Hyperboreans. The notice which modern discovery has verified so amply, respecting the appearance of the moon, must be very in- teresting, in an ancient author, concerning any people what- soever. It seems to indicate the use of something like teles- copes; and whatever may have been intended by it, our triads mention Drych ab Cibddar, or Cilidazcr, the specu- lum of the son of pervading glance, or of the searcher of mystery, as one of the secrets of the Island of Britain. W. Arch. V. 2. It has been acknowledged, by ancient authors, that our Druids professed astronomy. This elevated science is posi- tively insisted upon, in those triads which I have selected. Learned men are of opinion that even the monuments of Druidism, in Britain, bear indisputable evidence of their proficiency in the science. The Greeks call the cycle, here mentioned, the me tonic, from the name of its publisher, about the eighty-fifth Olympiad; but Hesiod mentions the Annus Magnus, as known, long before his time, in the regions of Pluto. Theog. 799. The music, and the nightly dance of Apollo, were, per- 193 haps, pageants of Druidkal device, to celebrate the com- pletion of this period. Diodorus, and his authorities, did not regard the power and the institution of these priests as recent, but as what had continued, without interruption, in the descendants of Boreas. Our British name of Stonehenge, Gwaith Emiys, and the name of the neighbouring village, Ambresbury, connect this Boreas, with a character well known in Greek mythology. It has become a fashion, amongst the learned of this age, to derive all knowledge and religion, prevalent in the zaest of Europe, from Hercules. This opinion, appears to me, no less inconsistent with Grecian Mythology, than with Celtic Tradition. The errands of Hercules to the west, are not for the pur- pose of introducing to the natives, but for that of procuring from them, what was deemed valuable. It was to carry off the herds of Geryon — to rob the or- chard of the Hesjperidcs — or steal the guard of Pluto's gate. These tales, though literally fables, must have meant something : let us try if the two last cannot be explained by the mythologies of Britain. Hercules had the task of procuring three yellow apples, from the garden of the Hesperides. These apples wen; me- taphorical, and pointed at science, discipline, or mystery. N 194 The hero receives directions from Prometheus, how to ob* tain the fruit, namely, that he sh^d attend his brother Atlas, the Hyperborean, and get him to fetch it, out of the neighbouring garden of the Hesperides, Apollodor. L. h. C. 4. * It will be recollected, that Prometheus was one of the Iapetidce, and son, or native inhabitant, of Asia Propria, who had been expelled from thence to the neighbourhood of Mount Caucasus, in Asiatic Scythia, as Atlas himself had been driven from the same native spot, into the zcest of Europe. It appears from hence, to what family these apples belonged. We are informed, by our British triads, that the first name given to this island, before it was inhabited, was Clds Merdin, the garden of Merddin. IV. Arch. V. 2« P. 1. The name of Merddin has been conferred upon old bards, but is originally, a mythological term. His tzcin sister is Gwenddydd, or the morning star: He must have been himself some luminary, in a similar character. Merddin, if Mer-Din, be its root, is dweller of the sea; if Mer-daiu gives it birth, it is, the comely one of the sea. It implies, in either sense, the evening star, or Hesperus, the zcestern luminary. * Several of the ancients, who wrote after the Carthagenians had extended their voyages, describe the seat of Atlas and the Hesperides, as attached to Africa. It is very usual to distinguish newly discovered places, by familiar names. Thus vie have New England, in America; New Holland, and JVeto South Wales, amongst the Antipodes. Apollodorus, the accurate recorder of tradition, corrects the error. Atlas, and the gardens of the Hesperides, uerc not, as some represent them to Have been, in Lybiu ; but amongst the Hyperboreans. 195 The apple-trees and yellow apples of MerdduCs garden, that were given to him by his Lord, Gzvenddoleu ab Ceidio, the master of the fair bow, the son of preservation, are famous in British Mythology. In the W. Arch. V. 1, JP. 150, there is a mystical poem, given under the character, of Merddin, from which it appears, that, by these trees, and their fruit, the whole system of Druidical divination was implied and covered. The first pennill runs thus. " To no one has been shewn, in one season of twilight What Merddin received before he became old, Seven fair apple-trees,- and seven score, Of equal age, equal height, length, and size : One maid, with crisped locks, guards them — Olwedd is her name — of the form of light are her teeth." ■&' Ola, Olwen, or Olwedd is Venus. Were not those trees, constellations, and may not the apples have been stars, which after they were committed into the charge of the most pre- eminent in the order, could be discovered by none till Merddin, or Hesperus appeared? From hence it should seem, as if the golden apples, which Hercules procured from the garden of the Hesperides, pointed at the science of astronomical divination. The guard of Pluto 's-gate, or three headed Cerberus, may signify the mystical doctrines of the Hyperboreans, guarded by their three orders — their Druid, their Bard, and their Ovydd. And what renders this, not a little pro- bable is, that Kelb, or Keh, in many ancient languages, means a dog, and that, in British, the same word im- ports a mystery or science. 196 In the volume above cited, p. 45, an old Bard alludes, perhaps, to this enterprize of Hercules, whom, according to the doctrine of the Metempsyshosis, he supposes to have reappeared, in the person of Alexander. Rhyveddav na chiawr, &c. " I wonder it is not perceived, that Heaven had promised the Earth, a mighty chief, Alexander the Great, the Macedonian, " Ilewt/s, the iron genius, the renowned warrior, de^ scended into the deep. — Into the deep he went, to search for the mystery, (Kelv-yddyd). In quest of science, let his mind be importunate, let him proceed on his way, in the open air, between two grijfins, to catch a view. No view he obtained. — To grant such a present would not be meet. He saw the wonders of the superior race, in the fishy seas. — He obtained that portion of the world, which his mind had coveted, and, in the end, mercy from the God." If Prometheus, or the Iapetidce of Caucasus, could in- struct the Greeks how to obtain the desired fruit from the garden of the Hesperides, it may be suspected, that the mystical doctrines of the western creed were known to Asia. And something of this kind must be intimated by the tale of Abaris, who is allegorically represented, as hav- ing carried his arrow round the whole world. It appears, from Anton. Liberal. C. 20. (writing after Bogus, and Simmias Rhodius) that the inhabitants of Ba~ bylon, in. Mesopotamia, often visited the temple of Apollo, in the land of the Hyperboreans, during mythological 197 ages, and attempted, even to introduce their sacrifices, into their own country. An ingenious friend of mine suggested, that menw ab Teirgwaedd, or Menw of the three Feds, one of the mas- ters of the mysterious and secret science, amongst the Cymry, (No. XVI.) is the same character and personage with Menu, autlior of the Vedas, in the mythology of the Hindus. This conjecture seems to have much verisimilitude, and may be extended, perhaps, to Minos, King o/k^t, (which, in the old Cottian Celtic, is the earth,) who was constituted one of the judges in the court of Pluto. Menu, and Minos, may be referred, ultimately, to the patriarch Noah, whose decrees formed the basis of juris- prudence in the east and the west. If so, there was, at least, a connection between Druid- ism, and the religion of India ; and it may not be an im- probable conjecture, that it was by those Galatat, or Druids, under whom Pythagoras had studied, that he was recom- mended to the school of the Drachma/is. This idea of a mutual intercourse, between the Sages of the east and the zexst, is countenanced by Mr. Wilford ' s incomparable dissertation, upon I'gypt and the ISilc .■I si at. Rec. V. 3. That masterly writer informs us, that much intercourse once prevailed, between the territories of India, and cer- tain countries in the west. — That the old Indians were ac- quainted with our British Islands. wbi<'h thrir Luok< had set out upon that very design, with his attendant pilgrims, and had proceeded in iiis journey, as far as to Moscow. In the same volume, that luminary of science, public spirit and virtue, Sir William Jones, — " on the lunar year of the Hindus/* — tells us, that, " On the day of the conjunc- tion, obsequies are performed (as offerings) to the manes of the Pitris, or progenitors of the human race, to whom the darker fortnight is peculiarly sacred," — just as the night, or dark season is consecrated, in Druidical worship. On these passages I would remark. That the Pitris of the west, and these honours to them ; could not have sprung originally from India. From the earliest periods, their abode had been in the sacred Islands of the west, in which Islands, we find the Cymry, who emphatically call themselves the first, or the oldest race. . These Inlands could not have been consecrated by the Indians, ilud the mysteries of tiie Pitris originated zcith Hindus, their sacred abode would, unquestionably have been 199 fixed in a recess of their own country, to which an habi-. tual access would be competent, and of which their own tribes would be the political masters. Whereas, the Hindus could hold no communication with such oracles in the west , and, in a land of strangers, unless they took upon them- selves a toilsome pilgrimage, over half the globe, through many barbarous countries, which intervened, before they could reach the sacred Islands. This veneration, then, for the Pitris, and the usage of consulting them, were necessarily derived, by the Hindus, from the religion of that race, in whose land those conse- crated personages were acknowledged, uniformly, to have resided. And this, w r as the country of the same people, to whom the ancient poets of Greece and Rome, conducted their heroes, when they were to consult the manes of the dead. 200 Sect. III. Of the Coranied or first invaders of Britain* • — a discrimination of the Celtic dialects, with short re- marks on the general character of the Celtic language. o, UR British documents being found agreeable to the account which the oldest authors give of the Cymry, and of their institutions, I shall offer a few remarks upon the Coranied, whom they represent as the first hostile invaders ©f Britain. These were preceded by the Celyddon, Guyddyl and Gwyr Galtdin (No. III.) who arriving after the country had been settled, were admitted, under some restriction of privileges. It ap' r ^ irs to me, that the tribes here named, were still of Celtic origin, came from both banks of the Rhine, and were pratcursores of the Befga, who, at several distinct periods, obtained, and possessed, by force, great part of the island. These people, who make a considerable figure in the his- tory of Britain, are styled Coranied, o zc/ady pzcyl, and, in a passage already adduced, it is affirmed, that, originally, they came from Asia. Though Coranied bo their most general name in these triads, yet we often find one of this nation termed Caur, the giant, and this name, as often contracted into Cor 4 »1w-h. forms in it> plural, Coried, or Corioi*. 201 In the same district which the Coranied first occupied, vre also find the Coetanau, one of whose principal towns is called Llwyd Coit, or the fortress of the ^Qptii. This word, with our British article ys, forms Yscoit, or S"Coti. It may not be easy to determine, with precision, the sense of these very ancient names. Coranied may import shepherds; for Cor-lan is a sheepfold, and Cor-gi, a sheep dog, in Welsh, as Caor is a sheep, in Irish. Carer is a giant, or mighty mah : and Coetanau, or Cotti, seems to be derived from Coet, W. Cocrf. Arm. and Cm/7, Cornish, a, forest or rcood. The ancients describe a race of Shepherds, in primitive Europe — as Giants, who dwelt in the port's, n mountains. The country, which the Coranied occupied, is described, as having been, (Am), round the river Number, and upon the shore of Mor Tawch, the German Ocean. Iri these districts, their British names are preserved, by the old Geo- graphers, in the Coritani, Corii, Coitani, &c. But, according to ancient British accounts, their territory enlarged itself, beyond the local application of these names, and comprehended not only the inland regions, round the wide-spreading arms of the Number, but also much of the Eastern coast of England. And I have reason to believe, the account is just. When Casar arrived in Britain, the Aborigines were those of the interior parts, and of the Western coast. Their character, and their habits were different from those of the Other Britons, with whom Qatar fought. We are not ap- prised, and have no reason to conjecture, that he saw the inferior inhabitant 1 ?. The armies that opposed hiro, were 202 similar, in their general habits— in their military art, and resources, to each other, as they were also to the Belgai of Kent; thoiigh headed by a prince df the Cassii or Catti, of Herts and Middlesex, and though consisting, in part, of the Ceiri Magni, or I Ceni, of Norfolk, Suffolk, &c. The monuments we call Driiidical, must be appropriated, exclusively, to the Aborighics of the midland, and western divisions. They are found in such corners, and fastnesses, as have, in all ages, and countries, been the last retreat of the Conquered, and the last that are occupied by the victorious. — In Wales, and in Mona, they were used, and venerated, until the Aborigines were completely subjugated by Roman arms. In the central counties, and in the west, they per- petually occur, from Cornzcall to Cumberland : whereas, comparatively, few traces of them are discovered in the Eastern part of the Island, which therefore appears to have been occupied by those people who did not construct build- ings of this nature, and who obtained possession, before the Aborigines deeply impressed their character upon the soil. In that eastern division, besides the Corii, Coitani, &c. we find the race of Brigantcs. This name did not confine itself to the Comity of York. Galgacus, in Tacitus, ap- plies it, emphatically, to the Iceni, Ceni-magni, or Tigeni. They were probably, then, all of the same root, or stock. After the Iceni, in our maps, come Trinovantes, Cassii, or Cattii, Cattieu-Chlani, (clans or children of the Cat- ti,) 8cc. The very same descriptions of tribes, which are found in this part of England, frequently occur in Ireland, in Scot- land, and in the known possessions of British Belgct; but 203 scarce ever in Wales, or in those inland counties of England, which border upon that principality. Thus, in Ireland, we have Brigantes and Bilges, Cauci, S'Coti, Coriondi, Ven-Icnii and Damnii. In Scotland are found the Novantes, Damnii, Damnonii, Canta, Carini, Cattini, S'Coti Atta-Coti. The Caledonia Si/lva occurs in Scotland, Northampton- shire, and Sussex; and, I think, every where marks that people, in whose idiom Coilleadh is a forest, and Dun, or Dunadh (duny) a dwelling. The Damnii of Ireland, of Scotland, and of Devonshire, as well as about the wall of Severus, exemplify the same analogies. It- may be observed, in general, that although in the East of England the names of tribes, of rivers, of torcns, and of men, present the character of the Celtic language, yet they appertain to a dialect, which is nearer, in its approach to the Irish, than our old British appears to have been. I therefore think our Coranied, Coiti, Giants, 8cc. were branches of the same people, who obtained possession of Ireland and of Scotland, and whose language prevailed in these countries. Ccesar tells us, the invaders of this island retained the names of the continental tribes, from whom they liad sprung. This account he must have received from those Britons with whom he conversed, for, before he landed, he was ignorant of the country, and of its inhabitants. The Gau/s had been too jealous of his enterprize to afford him the least information. 204 The Coranied came into the Island of Britain, o TV lad y Pwyl, from the land of Pools, or of the Water. Thi6 name aptly describes Holland; and it is acknowledged, that by Celta: that very coast was inhabited, before the appulse of the Goths. In this neighbourhood we discover tribes, whose names have been retained in British Islands; such as the Cauci, who were also a people of Ireland, and, in Pliny s account, of the same nation as the Cimbri. To these ad- join Frisii, whom Whitaker, Baxter, and other authors of credit, consider as Britons. We have also Bructeri, in the same line of march, who, in the Irish language, are the Borderers. Baxter has proved, that, in general, the in- habitants of that neighbourhood were called Britanni. See the word in his British Glossary. If I may risk an opinion, our Coried, Cotti, and Giants, came into Britain, from this part of the continent. They constituted part of a race, which established themselves, more or less, in all the ample divisions of the Celtic terri- tories, though prevailing chiefly in Belgium, and about the Rhine; In their approach to the West, I consider them as a second wave, of the Cimmerian emigrants. I have already observed, that, although some of the Cymry left Asia Propria, Thrace, and Hamonia, in peace, carry- ing their peculiar customs with them, into these Western settlements, where they were known to the Greeks, in early times, — yet part of the family remained behind. The Ci-cojics, who were al.t. 205 the Cimmerian family, who crossed over, from Thrace into Asia, and assumed the name of Phryges, some time after the war of Troy, whenever that event happened. But long before Troy had acquired celebrity, Iapetus married, or took possession of Asia, where he generated a race of Titans, and those Titans, progenitors of Thracians and of Celta, contest- ed with Javan's posterity the possession of these countries ; raising the mountains, that is, their inhabitants, against the Greeks, or, in poetical description, against their Gods. Such of them as became partizans for the cause of Jupiter, were led by Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges — names which are evidently connected with a Cimmerian, or Celtic race, whether considered as designations of individual sove- reigns, or of tribes : in which last view of them, we may describe the Titajis in the terms Cotti, Briarei, and Gygii. In the civil war between Catsar and Pompey, Cottus, a king of Thrace, assisted the latter with five hundred horse. Dc. B. C. L. iii. In the same age, Cotus, or Cottus, was prince of an ancient, and of an honourable tribe, amongst the Mdui, the chief branch of all the Celtce. De. B. G. L. vii. This Titanic name had so far preserved its dignity in the region from which the Celta came, and also in that which constituted their final settlement. The name of Briareus may have been connected with Bria, or Briga, which, in Thrace, and all over Celtica, signified breastwork, or intrenchment, and hence, a fortified town. Breyr, pi. 1. Breyrau, i» Welsh, for a baron or nobleman— master of a fortress. Gyges was a name locally attached in that neighbour- hood. Homer mentions Tiyw >.n/>r, under the mountain 206 Tmolus, not far from Troy. II. ii. From the Gygii, Ire- land may have obtained the name Slyvytx, which Plutarch, one of the best G reek antiquaries, bestows Upon it. Perhaps the Ogygia of Homer, which lay in a remote part of the world, upon seas unknown, and was possessed by a daughter of Atlas, the Hyperborean, and general of the Titans, was in reality no other. The Titans, or Giants, were, after a long struggle, van- quished, and were driven to the West, into the regions of Pluto, the acknowledged progenitor of the Gauls. Thither they were attended by Cottus, Briareus, and Gijges, to whose charge they were committed ; that is, their chiefs, or their tribes, retained their names. This main contest, perhaps, originated in Asia, where the Titans were born — In the neighbourhood of Pallene, and of the mountains which covered the mouth of the Peneus, victory declared itself on the side of Jupiter, or his worshipers. — As part of the same people, even after the conclusion of the war, continued in the country, and re- tained their national descriptions, it would be difficult, at this period of time, exactly to ascertain the route of the retreating parties. Some of them perhaps may have traced the banks of the Peneus, upwards, through Thessaly, and into Epirus, from whence Hercules afterwards expelled the Celta, and substi- tuted a Corinthian colony in their place. Anton. Lib. C. 4. Many of them entered Italy. At Phlegra, in Cam- pania, they again made a powerful stand, and though sub- dued, their families remained in the country, for the Latin language must acknowledge its obligation to that of S'Coti, 207 and we find the Alpine Cotii, in the time of Augustus, occ/upied that very district, in which the language of S'Coti is still spoken with great purity. But coming towards the Pannonias, Jthcetia, and Vin- dtlicia, in our direct road towards the North Western Celtce, we fancy ourselves upon Scottish, or Irish ground. We must not look to their present inhabitants for the original or primary occupiers of these countries. No peo- ple, speaking half Gothic, and the other half Sclavonian, could have imposed such names as the following, which are chiefly Irish, and several of which occur in our British Islands. Cetius Mons. — Ir. Ceide, a hill, mountain. Albanus Mons. — Ir. Alb, Allan, a height, Albanach, Scotch, a Scotchman. Here dwelt the Coletiani — Caledonii. Gabhanodurum — Ir. Gabhan, a strong hold, inclosure, and Dur, zcater. Bragodurum — Ir. Braghadh, a breast, bank, and Dur. Ectodurum — Ir. Eachda Dur, clean, pure water. Ebodurum — Ir. Eban, Eab. mud, and Dur. Arlobriga—h. Ard, Art, high, Brcighe, breastwork. 208 Gesodunum — Ir. Gais, a torrent, and Dun, &fortre*s, from Dunam, to shut, barricade. Brixant.es, a people, Brigantes, and the town Brigan- tium — &c. &c. In the time of Herodotus, the Sigynee, a Thracian tribe,, whose customs, as far as they are described, correspond ex- actly to those of the Beiges in Britain, inhabited these countries. Their territories bordered upon the Veneti, on the Adriatic, and extended on the North of the Danube. L. Y. 9- Part of them were neighbours of the Ligurians, who called pedlars, Sigynes, perhaps as we now call them Scotch- men. These Western Sigynet, by their situation, must havt* been the Segusini, Cottii, or Waldenses. The country of the Sigynes, North of the Danube, according to Cttsar, De. B. G. VI. had been occupied, from remote periods, by the Voices Tectosages, who were Gauls, not Germans* These, must have been the same as the Sigynet of Herodotus, and they were the same as the old Belga — Voiced I'ectosages, primaevo nomine, Belgee. Anson. Voice, seems to come from the Gaulish Bolch, Volck, (W. Bulch) a pass or defile. They were also called, Are- eomici, Ar-Com-ec, a word of the very same grammatical structure as Armorcc, and meaning occupiers of the passes * Died. Sic. L. V. C. 31, places proper Celta in the intermediate space, between the Alps and the Pyrenees, whilst he extends the name of Galats: to those who dwelt htyond the limits of that Celtica, towards the South, near the Ocean, about the Hcrcynian mountain, and as far as the borders of Srythia (or of the real Goths.) He compares the manners of these Gauls, to rho>e of Britons, who inhabited the Island Iris, or Ireland. He identifies them with ancient Cimmerii. and the Cimbri of his own days; and, in the beginning of the next chapter, again comprehends them under the geaerul name •( Celt*. 209 or defiles. These were their names, amongst the Celt manners, language, as well as in every other character which marks unconnected nations. The families of the Goth are sufficiently ascertained : and the genius of his language is completely known, in its very numerous dialects. Those who occupied the interior of Gaul, distinguished themselves in their own language by the name of Celtce.f This name, then, when used with precision, means to de- scribe the people, of whom these Gauls constitute a part. * Cces. De. B. Gal. vi. 24. t Cx. but as the expressions, or marks of leading ideas; or as describing certain modes of existence, or of operation, which present themselves to our senses : and therefore, as agreeing, so far, in their nature, to the roots of the Hebrew, as they are developed by the learning, and genius of Parkhurst. Thus, for example, the Irish Ur, signifies, a covering over, a spreading upon. Hence it is transferred by them to a va- riety of objects, 8tc. in which this image presents itself; as mould, earth, fire, water, verdure, heath, evil, slaughter, brave, very, §c. The Welsh verb a, " zvill proceed " or, " go forth," — - 236 hence it signifies^ in a sister dialect — an ascent, hilt, pro- montory, wuiHj car, or chariot. This mode of appropriation, is natural. — If man invented language, or if he received such rudiments of speech as were conformable to the laws of his nature, his first efforts must have been, to describe things for which he had, as yet, no definite names, and which he only knew, by the impres- sion made upon his nerves and senses. Compounds, derivatives, and the accidents of Celtic words, are produced, not by the junction of unmeaning sounds, to the original term, but by incorporating with it, roots of a known value. 237 Sect. IV. Probability, resulting from the hints of clasr- steal zvriters, that our Druids were acquainted zcith let- ters. — National evidence of the Celtic tribes, upon this topic. — And first ; o/"Druidical Tokens, or Symbols. J.N order to obtain the accurate perception of the arts, amongst any ancient people, it is necessary to fix the at- tention, upon certain prominent objects, and consider them separately. I, therefore, propose, in this, and the follow- ing sections, to examine the Celtic pretensions to the know- ledge of letters, previous to the Roman intercourse; and, as well as I can, to ascertain the means they possessed, as well as the methods they used, for the purpose of conveying their ideas, to a distance of time, or place. No question, relating to this primitive nation, has been more eagerly discussed, or more unsatisfactorily determined. According to some antiquaries, these Druids, amongst those of the Celtic tribes, in which they obtained an establishment, had an alphabet, either peculiar to their countrymen, or else borrowed from the Phoenicians, or from Greek schools, at Marseilles ; whilst others positively deny, that our Druids, of these islands, had the use of letters, or any other me- dium, for the record of their facts, besides oral tradition^ or the songs of the Bards. For this diversity of opinion, it is easy to account. The learned can discover no books, nor inscribed monuments of the Celtcz, previous to the epoch of Christianity. They 238 take it for granted, that no ancient, authentic, and well- accredited accounts, remain amongst the descendants of this people ; they labour, therefore, to decide the question, by the single authorities of Greek, and Roman writers. These, furnish a few hints, upon the subject, which may serve as grounds of dispute ; but nothing clear, and positive enough, to silence contradiction. Writers, there- fore, decide this question, variously, according to their preconceptions respecting the Ctlta. When I again quote a few passages, which have been already adduced, and a few observations of my learned predecessors in this field, I must assume the liberty of con- sidering the literature of the Gaulish and British Druids, who composed but one body, as resting upon the same ground. And it is clear, to me, that Ceesar adverts to the Druids of both countries, in the following remarks : — Neque fas esse existimant ea [quge ad disciplinam perti- nentj litteris mandare quum, in reliquis fere rebus, pub- licis privatisque rationibus, Gr^ecis utantur litteris. Id mihi, duabus de causis, instituisse videntur ; quod neque in vulgum disciplinam efferri velint, neque eos qui discant, Uteris confisos, minus memories studere. B. Gal. L. vi. " Nor do they deem it lawful, to commit those things (which pertain to their discipline) to writing; though, generally, in other cases, and in their public, and private accounts, they use Greek letters." " They appear, to me, to have established this custom, 239 for two reasons ; because they would not have their secrets divulged, and because they would not have their disciples depend upon written documents, and neglect the exercise of memory." This passage furnishes no more proof, that the Druids were (even comparatively,) illiterate, than our prohibition of religious pictures, and images, which prevail in Roman Catholic Churches, can be received as proof, that we are (comparatively) ignorant of painting, or sculpture. Caesar's probable reasons, for a marked prohibition of letters in a certain case, forcibly argue, that our Druid was a master pf their import: and this prohibition, being an institute, or fundamental part of his law, evinces, that such knowledge was not recent. Nor is it asserted, that his order had Greek letters alone. The word fere, (generally,) appears to intimate the reverse. We, for example, generally use Roman letters ; but, on some occasions, we employ the national, and the old English characters. The Roman general wrote a dispatch to Cicero, (Quintus) in Greek, that his letter might not be intercepted, and by that event his enterprize discovered by the Nervii. Bel. Gal. L. v. And, I think, it was, principally, that circumstance, which induced Jos. Scaliger, to expunge the word " Gr&cis," in the passage above cited. But in this he took a wanton liberty with his text. The tablets of the Hehetii, a Gaulish people, were " Littcri? Greets confecta." May it not be supposed, that the Gauls generally, wrote £40 their own language in letters much resembling Greek, though not exactly the same; and that, whilst those Gauls, who attended the Roman army, were explaining the con- tents of the Helvetian tablets, Ccesar having the -curiosity, himself, to look at them, had remarked the affinity between Gaulish characters, and those of Greece. ■ . !i [y/l-j There are solid grounds for the inference, that, in Ca:sar f s age, the alphabets of these two nations were not exactly the same. Mr. Astle, (who has discussed the subject of ancient letters, with consummate ability) gives a series of Gaulish characters, which are somewhat similar to those of Greece. They were taken from the monumental inscription of Gordian, the messenger of the Gauls, who suffered mar- tyrdom, in the third century, with all his family. The author thus reports of them": " These ancient Gaulish characters were generally used, by that people, before the conquest of Gaul by Cccsar ; but after that period, the Roman letters were gradually introduced." Origin and progress of writing. P. 5(>, with reference to Nouveau Traitc de Diplom. V. i. P. 704. And again, P. 57- " The ancient Spaniards used let- ters, ttearly Greek, before their intercourse with the Ra- mans, which may be seen in A. T. de Dipl. V. i. P. 70j.' r See other authorities there cited. Astle. P. 86. The inhabitants of Gaul, and of Spain, had, therefore, letters, resembling those of Greece, previously to the inter- course with Rome ; and I would thence infer, that letter* 241 must have been, at least, in some degree, known to our British Druids, the avowed masters of the Gaulish order. This inference is counter-signed by positive credentials. I have already shown, that under the name of Hyper bo - ream, the older Greeks described the order of Druids, especially those of this island. And though I have not an opportunity of authenticating the passage, I confidently rely upon the evidence of the respectable writer above named, that " Plato, somewhere mentions Hyperborean letters, very different from Greek." Astle, P. 46. Whatever difference Plato may have remarked, between the letters of Greeks, and those of Druids, or Hyperbo- reans, it appears, that, in the time of this philosopher, they were so far dissimilar, as to constitute a distinct series h i Celt a, therefore, had not, recently, acquired the know- ledge of letters, from their Greek school at Marseilles. Some tribes of this nation must have possessed this know- ledge from remote antiquity. Strabo says, of the Turdi* tani, in Spain. — " These are the wisest amongst the Ibe- rians. They have letters, and written histories, of ancient transactions, and poems, and laws in verse, as they assert, six thousand years old." This people could not have been the descendants of the Phoenicians, who were obliged, about four hundred years before the time of Strabo, to employ a Carthagenian fleet, and army, for their protection, whilst they were building a single town in one of the Islands, near the shore. Had the letters of the Turditani, been Phoenician, they must have been so recognised, and claimed. They could o U2 not, in that case, have been the subject of national boast. The arrival of the Phoenician traders, upon the coast of Spain, though an ancient event, was in the reach of his- tory. The introduction of letters amongst the Turditani, — as appears from the exaggeration of their chronology, a little tempered and qualified, — was lost in its antiquity. When their " six thousand years" have been reduced within bounds of probability, it must be acknowledged, that at least they have claimed the use of letters, from the time when they first became a distinct society. They seem evi- dently to have branched from the Celtic stock. Mela, the geographer, born in the neighbourhood, and, therefore, no stranger to its inhabitants, omitting their name altogether, extends the Turduli over those regions, about the banks of the Anas, which Ptolemy, and some others, divide be- tween the Turduli, and the Turditani. This learned Spaniard, then, regarded them as one people, and he places their ancestors, or the Turduli veteres, in the middle of Jjusitania, a coast, as to which he affirms. — " Totam Celtici colunt." L. hi. 1. This people, then, had preserved very ancient letters, which belonged to the Celtic nation : and it has not, alto- gether, escaped the notice of the learned, that from remote antiquity, the Celta possessed letters, not very dissimilar to those of the ancient Greeks. Non desunt qui priscos Druidarum characteras, et elegantes, ct Gratis similes, fuisse credunt. Xenophonte, tiquidem, et Archilocho testibus, literarum Jiguree, quas, in Graeciam, e Phoenicia Cadmus intulit, Galaticis, quam Punicis site Phocniciis, similiores extitere." Bucher. Fro. p. 183# 243 " There are those who think the Druids had ancient cha- racters, which were both elegant, and similar to those of the Greeks. For according to the testimony of Xenophon, and Archilochus, the figures of those letters, which Cadmus brought out of Phoenicia into Greece, resembled Gaulish, rather than Punic, or Phoenician characters/' We cannot accuse either Xenophon, or Archilochus, of recording absolute nonsense. They must have meant, that the Gauls, or Celtce, from remote antiquity, even before the supposed aera of Cadmus, had possessed letters, that were similar to those which had been ascribed usually to that celebrated personage. There are some grounds, then, for the opinion, that the Celtce were acquainted with letters, long before the esta- blishment of the famous Greek school at Marseilles. The similarity of the two series, is a good argument of their common origin; but it furnishes no clue -for the dis- covery of their first proprietors. " Did the Celtce borrow letters from Greece? or Greece, from the Celtce? The invention of letters is concealed in the darkness of time. I, therefore, think it most reasonable to suppose, that both nations derived them from a common ancestor. Mr. Astle, having diligently weighed the opinions, and authorities, of his predecessors, declares — " It might be im- proper to assert, that letters were unknown before the de-« luge, recorded by Moses," P. 46. He observes, that — " Three opinions have prevailed, re- specting the origin of the Greek letters; the first, that CW-. 8 2 2U musxvas the inventor; the second attributes them to Cecropz; and the third, with more reason, to the Pelasgi." P. % 66, Note. This general name of Pelasgi, comprehended a very con- siderable part, of the early inhabitants of those countries, which Moses assigns, exclusively, to the lapetida. Their character seems to identify them with Titans of this fa- mily, the Celto-Scytha, or those* descendants of Japheth, who had been concerned in building the tower of Babel. The same idea is confirmed, by the names of several of their tribes; Thesproti, Caucones, Macarei, Aegeones, Cy- naethi, Titanes, fyc. Apollodor. L. iii. 8. Their families were, at an early period, spread over Greece, and several regions of Europe, or ancient Celtica ; and these families may, as far as the introduction of an al- phabet ca have depended upon them, have carried the same copy, wherever they went. Mr. Astle pronounces the Etruscan alphabets to be Pelasgian ; — he cites the authority of Herodotus, that a co- lony of these, went by sea, from Lydia, into Italy, under Tyrrhenus, and he dates this expedition, about A. M. 2011, or, 1993 years before Christ. P. 53. Taking this proposition, as I find it stated by him, I would remark, that such Pelasgi, as came into Europe from the shores of Asia Minor, in the time of those post diluvian patriarchs, by whom the earth was divided, — were, undoubtedly, Iapetidce, and probably, comprehended fa- milies, both of Gomer's, and of Javan's house, who had, thus far, an equal claim to the knowledge of letters. This little sketch may suffice, to shew the general pro- 245 bability, arising from ancient evidence,, and from the tes- timony of surviving monuments, that, western Celtce, and their Druids, were, from remote periods, acquainted with letters, (however they may have qualified, or prohibited, the use of them) and had an alphabet, similar to that of the an- cient Greeks, which yet, was not recently borrowed from that people, but sprung from a remote, and common origin to both nations. The following observations, drawn from sourses less ac- cessible to men of letters, will, perhaps, throw some new light, upon this interesting subject. It is a fact, generally known to those who are at all con- versant in the language, and the history, of the Welsh, — that some very old works of British Bards, are still extant, particularly those of Aneurin, Taliesin, and Ely zc arch Hen, who lived in the sixth century. See E. Elwycts Catalogue of British MSS. Archoeol. P. 254, Sec. — and Evans's Spe~ eimens, London, 1764. P. 54, 65, &c. These works possess all the internal, and the external marks of authenticity, that can, with reason be demanded. They agree with Saxon authors in their account of histo- rical facts, which the modern Welsh, without their aid, could never have reached. Their authors are mentioned in the oldest and best, copies of JSennius. Evans, P. 66. They are frequent objects of allusion, and are often quot- ed by their successors, in the times of the Welsh princes ; — - 246 many of them are still preserved, in copies, on vellum, from five hundred, to eight hundred years old. Llwyd. It is clear, from the testimony, and the general tone of these Bards, that the memory of Druids was neither ob- literated, nor lightly esteemed, amongst Britons .of their time. They not only declare, and profess, a veneration for the doctrine of those reverend sages, but avow their obli- gation to them for much of their own science. Taliesin, who is called the chief of the Bards, expressly declares himself to have been received into the order of Druids, and professes to inculcate several of their genuine doctrines. Many of his remaining poems treat largely on the metempsychosis, — the formation of the zoorld, and of man, — the nature, and first principles of things, — or other mysterious subjects, which have been ascribed, eminently, to the order of Druids. In the works of such Druidical disciples, it will not be unreasonable to expect more particular information re- specting the arts, or traditions, of the Druids, than such as can be obtained from Greek, and Roman, writers. Respecting the subject before us, it may be collected from. these documents, that our Druids possessed a general sys- tem of tokens, or symbols, which they not only used in their divinations, by lot, but applied, also, to the purpose of com- municating ideas, and thoughts. That system appears to have been formed upon the following principle. Discriminative characters, or properties, had been ob- served in particular species of trees, and plants. These were not of a kind, which demanded the eye of an expert na* 247 turalist, alone, to discover them; but which presented them- selves, obviously, to popular, notice and remark : such as, the expanding boughs, and leaves, of the oak, — the length and uprightness of the^r, — the quivering motion of the aspen leaf, — or the hollozcness of the reed. These obvious peculiarities, had suggested, naturally enough, to a simple race, distinct, though general ideas, of the respective trees, or plants, and had given them a na- tural hint of comparison, between other objects, and those plants, whenever the same general idea should present itself. Thus, of a man, who possessed an expanded mind, it would be said, — in perfect agreement with language of poe- try, at this day, — " He is an oak-"- — of another, who was liable to be intimidated, was irresolute, and wavering, " He is an aspen leaf;" — or, of a third, who was hollow, and de- ceitful, " He is a reed." Men, in progress of time, had proceeded so far, as to convey these general ideas, from one place to another, by means of a leaf, or sprig, of the characteristical tree, or by several of them, artificially combined. From such rude, and simple openings, evidently, arose that system of gene- ral symbols, which had been retained by our Druids, and which, at last, grew into a science of such importance, and of such comprehension, that our Bards of Druidism, vaunted themselves, not a little, upon their complete ac- quaintance with it, — emphatically denominating the appli- cation of its principles, rhhi, ox run, the secret, or mystery. This, profound, secret, they guarded, from the knowledge of the vulgar, with peculiar jealousy, and circumspection: 248 the 'formation, therefore, which they have left us, upon the subject, — though it ascertains the fact, that, unquestion- ab. . they possessed that system, — is not adequate, of itself, to he task, of developing its practical application. Their notices consist, only, of such mysterious hints, as Druids might have communicated safely to their disciples, during' the infant stages of their probation, and would re- quire a further explanation, after their admission. Thus, magnificently, Taliesin speaks of his attainments, in this deep science — Myvi yw Taliesin, Ben Beirdd y Gorllewin: Mi adwaen bob corsin, Yngpgov Gorddewin, IV. Arch. V. i. P. 34 " I am Taliesin, Chief of the Bards of the west; — ~ I am acquainted with every sprig, In the cave of the Arch-diviner." In another poem, entitled Angar Cyvyndawd, (Con- cordia discors) he makes a further boast of his very superior knowledge — Gogwn — Pwy amgyfrawd gwydd, O aches ammodydd: Gogwn da a drwg. Ibid P. 36. 249 " I know the intent of the trees, In the memorial # of compacts : I know good and evil." And again — Atwyn yd rannawd, Gwawd neu mevl, gogyfrawd, Aches gwydd Gwyddion — Gogwn i 'nevawd. a I know which was decreed, Praise, or disgrace, by the intention Of the memorial of the trees of the Sages — I understand my institute." Notwithstanding this occasional boast, of superior know- ledge, it may be collected from the following quotations, how little the Bards were disposed, or public spirited enough, to make strangers as wise as themselves. They are taken from the Gorxoynion, or Elucidators, a piece as- cribed to Llywarch Hen, who lived, as I have already ob- served, in the sixth century. This piece contains about one hundred lines, in such triplets, as we ascribe to the ages of Druidism, and it con- sists of hints, respecting the information, conveyed by the leaves, and sprigs, of certain trees, and plants. The sub- ject i3 confined here, to the use of those leaves, and sprigs, * This sense of Aches is become obsolete in Welsh ; the Cornish retains it, in the plural form. —Acheson, Memorials, Inscriptions. Pylat vynnus screfe a vewnas Crest acheson. " Pilate would write inscriptions of the life of Christ, " Dr. Pryce's Diet. 250 as lots, or as tokens : and the language has been so guarded, that, sometimes, the intended plant is only intimated, by an ambiguous periphrasis; thus, in the ii6th triplet — Gorwyn blaen brwyn-brigawg wydd, Pan dyner dan obenydd — Meddwi serchog syberw vydd.* " The top of the rush-sprigg'd tree, [the birch] declare*. "When drawn under the pillow — The mind of the affectionate will be liberal." 10th triplet. Gorwyn blaen derw, chwervv brig on, Cliweg evwr — " Chwerthiniad ton^ Ni chel grudd custudd calon." t( The top of the oak, the bitter sprig of the ash, And the sweet brakcweed declare — a broken laugh* The cheek will not conceal the anguish of the heart ." 22d triplet. Gorwyn blaen Celli, gogyhyd yswydd, Adail derw, dygaydyddf — A wel a gar gwyn ei vyd. " The top of hazels — privet of equal length, Tied up with oak leaves, declare — Happy is he who sees wJiom he loves." * W. Arch. V. i. P. 122. T Dyz>/diaw, to connect, or tic \ip together. 251 The other triplets proceed in the same character— The Bard is labouring, continually, to guard the main secret, agreeably to the injunction delivered, in the follow- ing mystical triplets, upon the same topic, and which have been regarded, as the oldest remains of the Welsh language, and as genuine relics of Druidical ages. Marchwiail bedw briglas A dyn yy nhroed o wanasj Nag addev rin i was. Marchwiail derw mwynllwyn A dyn vy nhroed o gadwyn — Nag addev rin i vorwyn. Marchwiail derw deilar A dyn vy nhroed o garchar — Nag addev rin i lavar, u The shoots of the green-topped birch Will draw my foot out of a snare : Reveal not the secret to a youth. The shoots of the kindly oak Will draw my foot out of a chain : Reveal not the secret to a maid. The shoots of the leafy oak Will draw my foot out of prison — Trust not the secret to thy voice." The above quotations may suffice to shew, that those Bards, who professed themselves the disciples of Druids, 252 assumed their knowledge in a systematical art, of collecting/ and communicating, certain ideas of things, and of their several relations, by the leaves, and sprigs, of particular trees, or plants ; and considered the perfect knowledge of this art, as a valuable accomplishment. To these authorities, I may add, that the Welsh, a people,- proverbially tenacious of their ancient customs, and of their traditions, have, to this day, preserved the vestiges of that system, though, it appears, they have quite forgotten the elements, or principles, upon which it was founded. Mr< Ozcen, in his Dictionary , of the Welsh language^ records the following fact, under the word; Bedte. — " The birch was an emblem of readiness, or complacency, in doing a kind act. If a young woman accepted of the ad- dresses of a lover, she gave him the birchen branch, mostly formed into a crown y but if he was rejected, she gave him a colleUi or hazel." And again, under Coll. — " There is an old custom, of presenting a forsaken lover with a stick, or twig of hazel, probably, in allusion to the double meaning of the wordy — loss, and the hazel." I am induced, by some hints, which occur in the old Bards, to conjecture, that, in those cases, where the use of common letters was prohibited, the ingenious Druids, having duly arranged their symbolical sprigs, knotted them up in strings, like those of the ancient Chinese, or the fa- mous quipos, of the Peruvians. Upon one of these ancient symbols, 1'aliesin says— 25 t> Gwern, blaen llin, A wnaent gyssevin — ■ (c The alders, at {he end of the line, JSegan the arrangement." In the Gorzcynion, quoted above, we find, — " The tops of the hazel, and the privet, of equal length, tied up with oak leaves" And in Buarth Beirdd, or the Circle of the Bards, the following remarkable passage occurs — Wyv llogell cerdd, wyv ll'eenydd : Carav y gorwydd a gorail clyd, A bardd a bryd, ni phryn ired. Nyt ev carav amrysoniad: A geibl celvydd ni meuedd medd. Madvvs myned i'r ymddiod, A chelvyddeid, am gelvyddyd, A chanclwm, cystwm Cyzslad.* i( I am the depository of song ; I am a man of letters : I love the sprigs, with their woven-tops secured, And the Bard who composes,without purchasing his liquor I love not him, — the framer of strife : He that reproaches the skilful, possesses no mead. It is time to go to the banquet, With the artists employed about their mystery, With a hundred knots, after the manner of our coun- trymen" — or " Of the Celtce" * W. Arch. V. i. P. 27 254 Sect. V, On the formation of an Alphabet, upon the principle of general Symbols. HAT such a system of symbols, conveyed, in its ori- ginal state, and primitive application, the ideas of things, and their several relations, has been shewn ; but it has not yet appeared, how it was connected with definite words, or with elementary sounds. Thus, by a leaf, or sprig of the oak, Druids, in the act of divination, may have collected, and communicated, (amongst others of the order,) an image of spreading, expansion, or unfolding : sprigs, or leaves of the asp, might present the image of removing, wavering, fluttering, or inconstancy ; but sym* bols like these, in the light we have hitherto contemplated them, may have had no affinities with one, more than another, of the synonymous terms, and may have had no relation to the elementary sounds of any term whatsoever. Thus far, then, a system of language by symbols, may have been totally different, in its nature, from alphabetical writing. It may have been purely hieroglyphical. But the art, as it may be ascertained, by the evidence of the same authors, did not rest here. The system, considered as Druidical, had attained such a degree of perfection, that the same hieroglyphical sprigs, were become the symbols of sounds, as well as of things, or of their several relations ; — and that even deline- ations of them had been constituted into a regular al- phabet. 255 This task, of improving, and of maturing a series of general tokens, into elementary letters, seems to have been an effort of invention, so far surpassing the degree of acumen, ascribed usually to a rude, and primitive race, that few, perhaps, will agree to its truth, upon any argu- ments, that fall short of demonstration. It might, perhaps, then, be more desirable, to rest the cause, upon evidence of the fact,' \ha.n to adduce reasons for its probability. The following observations, however, may serve to shew, that, at an early period of society, and amongst a people, who spoke a language, resembling the (radical) Celtic ; such an invention would have been more natural, and more obvious, than it could be, in the modern state of cultivated nations. Though the system of the Druidical symbols, as far as we have hitherto traced it, had no visible dependence on particular words ; yet, its general connection with language, was obvious, and was necessary. Let it be supposed, for instance, that a Druid had con- sulted his lots of magic, or had received intelligence, by means of the symbols, or tokens, respecting the intention of a General. Let it be demanded of him, what informa- tion he had collected, upon such an occasion, and he would naturally answer, in the terms of his language, -either by repeating the names of the lots, or symbols in due order ; as, the asp, the 'fir, the furze, the yew, and quicken tree ; or else, by reciting the characteristical ideas, under which these emblems were generally viewed; as, ic lie — proceeds — out of- — his place." Thus it is, that sym- 250 boh, like these branches of sprigs, may represent words, as well qs- ideas. But, as most languages have many synonymous terms, consisting of elementary sounds, very different from each other ; and, as the generality of the words are formed by combinations of several elementary sounds, it will be replied, that symbols, like these, could not have represented the simple elements of speech, in a manner so distinct, as to constitute the rudiments of an alphabet. The main force of this objection may, however, be a little broken, by a retrospect into those properties of the Celtic language, which are mentioned in Sect. III. and which, perhaps, characterized the original state of language in general. The radicals of this language are of the simplest nature imaginable. They consist either of single vowels, or of single consonants, connected with a vocal power. Before the birth of compounds, and of derivatives, the vocabulary of such a language, must, of course, have been circumscribed, within the narrowest limits, and, per- haps, it comprised no terms, that were properly synony- mous. Whenever the mind, therefore, discriminated an idea, the term, by which it was to be expressed, was limited and certain. The Celta regarded each of their elementary sounds, arti- culate, or vocal, as having a natural affinity, or correspon- dence, to some general image, or perception : and it was their opinion, that the name of the respective ideas could 25? Ibe so properly expressed by other sounds. Hence, the con* tinual effort of their Bards, to cherish, and perpetuate, the eharacteristical sounds, in their descriptions of strength, weakness, velocity, slowness, weight, smoothness, levity, as* perity, fyc. which the laws of their metre sometimes ren- dered a very arduous task. Of the extreme simplicity, which characterised the pri- mitive Celtic, I may offer an example, in the message which 1 have supposed — " He proceeds, out of his place," " E a 6 i le." Let us only imagine, that, a language of the people whoever they were, by whom the system of general sym- bols was first improved into alphabetical writing, retained these, or the like properties, and then, we shall bring tins most curious invention, within reach of human abilities. If the descriptive term, and the idea described, had a na- tural connexion, between each other, and, were mutually suggested, the symbol of the one, would, of course, become the symbol of the other. If primitive terms were so simple, as to consist of ele- mentary sounds, the symbols of those terms, would, at the same time, have typified the simple elements of language : and, consequently, the invention of hieroglyphics, or, of letters, whilst men spoke one simple language, must have been one, and the same thing; Leaving this topic at present, and at the mercy of criti- cism, I shall proceed, and give Taliesin's testimony, as to tht fact. Be it still remembered, however, that we mu*t K 258 not expect, here, a testimony, delivered in the language of an historian. The doctrine is taught by him, who is afraid of exposing his aweful mysteries, to the eyes of the vulgar, and profane. Amongst the remaining works of this Bard, there is an allegorical poem, of near two hundred and fifty lines, en- titled, Cad Goddeu, the battle of the trees, — or, of interi* tioris, designs, or, devices, — for the idiom of the language will bear either construction. The author begins, in hi* usual, (that is, in his mystic) strain, with a relation, as it should seem, at first view, of his own transmigrations, or of the various forms which he successively assumed. But the entire poem is an allegory: and from the general design, it may be collected, that, by these changes, the Bard means to delineate the ripening progress of art, science, or invention,, and the successive subjects of investigation. We may, therefore, consider him, as personifying science, or the inventive, and contemplative principle, when he says* — Bum yn Uiaws rhith. Cyn bum dyscyvrith, See. " I was in a multitude of shapes, Before I assumed a consistent form." Having enumerated about sixteen of these forms, he iays, in the twenty-third line. Bum Gwydd yngwarthan. " At last, I became trees," — or — " A sage." * W. Arch. V. i. P. 28. 359 The word gwydd, when plural, signifies frees; ifsingii* Jar, a sage, or philosopher. From this passage, it becomes the main business of the poem, though interspersed with mysterious hints, to describe the allegory of arming the symbolical trees, or plants, and bringing them out, in order of battle. The device is hot without sublimity, though of rather a wild and singular cast ; — but this poem is not the only piece, which touches upon the subject. There is an aenigmatical account, Of the same battle, in the first volume of the Welsh Archeology, P. 167, to which I refer the Reader for the original : the following is a literal translation. " The history of the battle of the trees" — " These are the versicles which were sung, at the battle of the trees, or, as others call it, the battle of Achren, [L Crann, a tree; whence, cranchar, a lot, or token, i.e. a tender tree, or sprig.'] It happened, on account of a white roebuck, and a whelp, which came from the lower region, and were taken by Amathaon," [from Math, kind, species, and honi, to discriminate,] " the son of Don," [genius.] u For this reason, Amathaon, the son of D6n, engaged with Arazvn," [eloquence, the faculty of speech,] (( king of the lower region." tf And there was a man, in the battle, who could not be Conquered, till his name was known : and, on the other side, there was a woman, called Achren, [a tree,] whose party could not be overcome, till her name was discovered. 260 And Gwiddion, [the philosopher, another name of Ama- thaon,~\ the son of Don, devised the name of the man, and sung these two versicles." te Surefooted is my steed, before the spur, — Thou, with the head of Olgen, save thyself by speedy flight. Bran, is thy name, thou with the fair locks." Rhag Prydein Wledig. Gweint veirch canholig Llynghesoedd meuedig: Gweint mil mawren, Arnaw yd oedd can pen, A chad erddygnawd, Dan von y tavawd; A chad arall y sydd, Yn ei wegilydd. " I am not lie who cannot sing 261 Of the conflict, small though I be, The conflict, in the engagement of the sprigs of trees, Before the ruler of Britain. The central steeds moved The freighted fleets — There moved a bold-spirited creature: Bearing a hundred heads, And a battle was contested, Under the root of his tongues: And another conflict there is, In the recesses of his heads" I know not what to make of the central steeds, and freighted fleets ; but, by the wonderful creature, with a hundred heads, I think it probable, that our British my- cologist, would mean to illustrate, or typify, the human race, divided into a multitude of its various families: the topography of battle, in the organs of speech, and in the seat of the understanding, clearly points out the nature of his allegory. The Bard now begins a description of this monster, which might remind us of the Typhon of the ancients, but the passage is evidently mutilated. — Llyfan du gavlaw, Cant ewin arnaw — Neidr vraith gribawg. " A black grasping toad, Armed with a hundred claws — A spotted and crested snake." Are not these the sordid, and the violent passions of 262 mankind, which obstruct the attainments, and progress, of science? They are, 1 think, resolved by some interpolator, into the sins, which occasion our punishment in the Jiesh. But, immediately, Taliesin, resumes his, Druidism, and proceeds with his allegory. — Bum ynghaer vevenydd (L. Velepydd) Yt gryssynt wellt a gwydd : Cenynt gerddorion, Erysynt cadvaon: Dadwyrain i vrython, A oreu Gwijddion. Gelwysid ar neivon, Hyd pan gwarettau, Y rhen rwy digonsai: As attebwy dovydd — - Trwy iaith ag elvydd — • Rhithwch rieddawg wydd^ Gantaw yn lluydd: A rhwystraw peblig Cad, ar Haw annevig. a I was in the city of Bevenydd, Whither the reeds, and trees, hastened. The masters of song will celebrate The wonders of the combatants. A re-exaltation to the mixt race Did the sages accomplish. They invoked the dweller of heaven, Till he, the supreme Ruler, Should succour those who had satisfied him. The great Regulator gave for answer — 263 Throughout language, and its elements, Delineate the commanding trees, In the capacity of warriors, And restrain the confusion Of battle, in the hand of the inexpert." Here, the Bard, unequivocally declares, the general nature of his great, and profound secret. The symbolical trees, or sprigs, were delineated, through language, and through its elements. He regards this device, as being so important in its use, that it proved a re-exaltation to the mixed race ; and so ingenious in its contrivance, that it could be ascribed, by him, to nothing less than a communication of the Supreme Being, in answer to the direct prayer of the sages. To this he subjoins ; Pan swynwyd * godau, Yg gobeith f an goddau, Dygyttoroynt godeu, O bedryddant danau— Cwyddynt amaerau. When the sprigs were marked, In the plane (or tablet) of devices, The sprigs uttered their voice, From the frame of distinct sounds— - Then ceased the doubtful conflict. * Swyn, perhaps from Syw, Magus, a sacred, mysterious, or magical character; a talisman, Swynuw, to delineate such characters; to preserve, or restore, by their nieans^to charm. The woids have an apparent affinity with t Go— baith, dim. of paith, a plune, 264 The Bard proceeds to describe the expedient of arming these trees, or plants, to the number of twenty-four or five ; to discriminate between their several dispositions, and the various talents they exerted ; to inform us, that some of them came forward voluntarily, and joined the battle, when others were armed with difficulty, and after a long interval. In this part of the piece, the metaphors are sometimes broken, so as to admit a few rays of light, between the chinks. The Bard is, at one moment, gravely engaged in- arming his trees; the next, he touches upon the subject, as a magical device,— a system of symbols, an invention of Gwyddion, or the Sages ; and he occasionally hints, that this invention, or device^ was of the highest antit quity. A'm swynwys sywydd Sywyddon, cyn byd. il I was marked by the Sage Of Sages, in the primitive world ." We have, afterwards, some account of the armies of ihesq vegetable leaders. Pedwar ugein cant A gweint, ar eu chwant : Nid ynt hyn, nid ynt iau No mi, yn eu banau. " Four-score hundred Arranged themselves, at their pleasure : They are neither older nor younger Than myself, in their articulations" 265 That these eight thousand are to be understood, a$ a definite, for the indefinite number of the words, in the language of the Sages, is rendered probable, by the remark, which the Bard makes, in the person of Science, concerning the equality of their age, and still more so, by what he adds, upon the device in general. Ev gwrith, ev dadwrith, Ev gwrith ieithoedd. (< It will form, it will decompose, It will form languages" What I have selected, from this curious allegory, may suffice to shew, that symbolical sprigs, of Druidism, were actually delineated, in a certain form, and were de- finitely arranged, in a certain order, to represent thefrst principles of language, or to constitute an alphabet. The fact will appear, still more clearly, from hints, which the same Taliesin gives elsewhere. Thus, in a poem, to the sons of Llj/r :— Bum ynghad goddeu, gan leu a Gwyddion, Wy a rithwys gwydd elvydd ag elestron*. " I was in the battle of devices, with the learned, and the Sages, Who delineated the element ary trees, and reeds." • W. Arch, V. i. P. 67, 266 The word lieu, which is here used as a name, signifies, to read, or explain. Again, in a poem, entitled, Priv gyvarch Taliesin, or The first Greeting of Taliesin : — , Neu vlaen gwydd falsum, Py estung mor grum, £*eu pet anatlon Yssid yn eu bon — Neu leu a Gwyddion, A vuant gelvyddon, Neu a roddant lyvron*. f* Or the points of the counterfeited trees, What is it they whisper so forcibly ,• Or zchat various breathings Are in their trunks? These are read by the Sages Who were versed in science, Or who delivered books." I need not multiply quotations, which all make to the same point. The passages I have already adduced, may be deemed sufficient, I should hope, to explain the senti- ments of the oldest British Bards, now extant, upon this topic ; namely, that our Druids possessed a kind of al- phabet, which, according to their tradition, and their doctrine, zcas formed upon the system of their sym- bolical sprigs, or hieroglyphics, cut, or delineated, in simple figures, and adapted, so as to represent the first * W. Arch. P. 33. 267 principles, or the elementary sounds, of their language. And this tradition did not become obsolete, immediately after the age of those Bards : for we find the word gwydd, or trees, used, long after their time, as a term appropriated for letters, and writing. Thus, Gwilym Ddu, as late as the year 1460. Llawer arver a orvydd Llun ei gorph, wrth ddarllein Gwydd. f { Many an attitude undergoes The form of his body, in reading the trees." Before I close this section, I would just observe, that {he Bards, uniformly ascribe that system of symbols, (whether considered as hieroglyphics, — as magic lots, or means of divination, — or as letters,) to the invention of the Sages, or Seers, — Gwyddion. The term Gzcyd, is equivalent, nearly, to that of Bardd, pne that makes conspicuous, or manifest ; priest, — philo- sopher, — teacher. The appropriation of this term, to denote a man of science, is of high antiquity, in the language of Britons; their Derwydd, or Druid, as it appears to me, being one of its derivatives. The word is not confined, however, to the Sages of Britain, for Ta lie sin says., in a poem, entitled, flanes, Taliesin ;— 268 Mi a vum yn y Llysdan, Cyn geni Gzoyddion. " I was in Lusitania, Before the birth of the Sagn.' 269 Sect. VI. Of the Druidical Letters. w E have hitherto traced only the general principle, upon which the symbols of Druidism were constructed, and the application of that principle, to the formation of an. alphabet. We have seen, however, nothing, as yet, of the number, the powers, or the characters, of their letters ; nor discriminated the individual kind of sprig, or symbol, by which either of the elementary sounds was represented. These particulars are as open to investigation, as those, which have been just explained ; but our intelligence respecting them, must be obtained from different sources. In the allegorical poem, quoted above, Taliesin has, in- deed, given us curious hints, upon this topic. At pre- sent, I shall defer enlarging upon them, as they are not clear enough to elucidate the whole plan. Druidical teachers, of the sixth century, guarded their secret with too much caution, to divulge their whole mys- teries in the ears of the uninitiated. But this great arcanum, as far as relates to that subject, has been laid open by their successors, and by their neighbours. As the mysterious doc- trines of Druidism, were held, by degrees, in less idola- trous veneration, the disclosure of their secrets began, by the same degrees, to be regarded as less profane : and there was an order of men still, who could have imparted much information respecting them. 270 The public have repeatedly been told, that the Druidicdt Bards left a regular chain of successors, in the Welsh mountains. These, are not, even still, entirely extinct. They even profess to have preserved the system of Bardism, or Druidism, entire, to this day. (See Owen's Introd. to LI. Hen. Ed; Williams's Lyric Poems. Fry's Pantog. P. 305, 306.) It will be recollected, that, by the term, Bards, the Welsh do not understand merely poets ; but persons regularly instructed in the institutes, and mysteries, of the original and primitive Britons. Respecting the complete preservation of this Druidical system, by the Bards, at this day, I neither affirm, nor deny any thing. I think it, however, a certain fact, that by them are preserved many relics, of high antiquity, and/ most probably, of the Druidical ages. Amongst other curious notices, they have received, and communicated, a series of letters, which they distinguish by the name of Coelbren y Beirdd, the billet of signs, of the Bards, or the Bardic alphabet. (Fry's Pantog. P. 305.) The word Coelbren, literally implies, the stick of omen } the token stick. In its plural, it is Coelbrtni, lots, of letters. Under the word Coelbren, Mr. Ozcen, m his Welsh Dictionary, thus delineates of the above-mentioned alphabet; " This was the original alphabet of the Britons, which was cut across the surface of a square piece of wood, being their way of writing ; which is still preserved by a few of the descendants of the Bards." And again, in his Introduction to LI. Hen, P. xl. " Their (the Bards) original alphabet 271 is still extant, which may be considered, as a very- great curiosity. It contains thirty-six letters, sixteen of which, are radical, and the rest, mutations of these." " It is singular, that the bardic alphabet should contain, all the Etruscan letters, without the least deviation of form> except four or five of the latter, that are Roman." It must be observed, that, for the purpose of convey- ing an idea, of some inflective sounds, in the Welsh language, these Bards made use of twenty-four muta- tions, or secondary characters $■ so that the whole series amounts to forty. But still, the number of the radi- cal letters, is unvaried, and the same principle is pre- served throughout, in forming the secondary powers, or inflections. In Fry's Pantographia, P. 307, we have the following account of the manner of using these characters, accom- panied with a most curious, engraved, specimen. " The ori- ginal manner of writing, amongst the ancient Britons, was> by cutting the letters, with a knife, upon sticks, which were, most commonly, squared, and sometimes formed into three sides: consequently, a single stick, contained either four, or three lines. (See Ezek. xxxvii. 16.) The squares were used for general subjects, and for stanzas, of four lines in poetry : the trilateral ones were adapted to triades, and tnglyn milwyr, or the triplet, and the warrior's verse. Se- veral sticks, with writing upon them, were put together, forming a kind of frame> which was called Peithynen, or Elucidator." — Peithynen imports any tablet, or small body, with a flat surface, more especially a brick, which, ancient authors inform us, was the material used, by the old Baby- lonians, for the record of their facts. 272 Mr. Owen says, further, in a waste leaf, prefixed to the second part of his Dictionary : " Each [of the Bardic letters'] had anciently a simple, appropriate, character, and name, having so much resemblance, in form, to those of the same class, as the analogy of sound pointed out their degree of affinity." The annexed plate contains a copy of this alphabet, in its due order, with the power of each letter, and the names of the radicals, as I was favoured with them, by the ingeni- ous antiquary last mentioned. Such are the omen sticks, tokens, lots, or letters, of the Bards. Let us only recollect the source, and the origin, of these characters, as before developed : that they were, in truth, only delineations of the symbolical sprigs, or Dru~ idical tokens, the tops of certain trees, and plants ; — I think, it will be acknowledged, that even their countenance carries the lines of honesty, and marks their genuine descent. Each of the radicals (except n perhaps) is the obvi- ous representation of a cutting of some sprig, and each of the derivatives is regularly formed, from its appropriate radical, by the addition of a bud, or shoot, or the junction of a piece of reed. And, in this coincidence of the characters with my con* ception of the Bardic symbols, there certainly was no collusion ; I had written up the two preceding sections, before I knew that such characters existed. When I communi- cated the substance of those two sections, to some friends, in 1793, i found that my ideas were new, to the best* informed Welshman. They had not minutely investigated 273 the extent, and various application of symbols, described by Taliesin, and by other ancient Bards. When I maintained, that the Celta, certainly possessed an alphabet, formed of a series of symbolical sprigs, I was told, that an original British alphabet, still preserved, would invalidate my opinion. This alphabet, I was ex- tremely desirous to see. My satisfaction was equal to my surprise, when Mr. Ozcen presented me with a com- plete copy of it, and when I contemplated the magical sprigs of the Druids, which I had rather wished, than en- couraged the hope, to discover* From what I have just observed, it must be evident, that the name of the particular tree, from which each of these characters was formed, is not likely to be obtained, front the mere tradition of the modem Wekh Bards t Those names, by which the radical consonants are dis- tinguished, in this alphabet, are only the simple ex- pressions of those marked, and specific ideas, which their emblematical parents, the sprigs, were supposed, severally, to typify. But all these diminutive names are neither more nor less, than radical words in the Celtic language, convey- in «• distinct and clear meanings. They are those nuclei, round which the Celtic prefixes, prepositions, or termi- nations, entwine themselves, in the formation of the longest compounds. And this proves, more fully, than by chains of abstract argument, the obvious practicability of devising such an alphabet, for a language, that arose out of such very simple elements, and principles. h lias already been remarked, that there were two obvi- s 274 cms methods of connecting Druidical symbols with Ian* guage, or of reducing the information, which they con- veyed, into words, and sentences. The first was, by repeating the names of the symbols themselves, in due order ; — and the second, by expressing only those characteristical ideas, under which they were severally viewed. Consequently, there must have been two sets of names of Druidical lots, or letters, equally ob- vious : the names of the trees, or sprigs, and the expressions of the intended ideas. Of the latter, we have a complete list, in the Bardic alphabet. To obtain a knowledge of the former, we must have recourse to a distinct branch of the old Celtee, whose language, and learning, have pursued a course, totally, independent of the Celta in South Britain, for a period, beyond the reach of history, and, certainly, as far back, as from the ages of Druidism. The antiquaries of Ireland, claim an alphabet of their own, which, in all its essential points, agrees to that of the Bards, in Britain. 1 . It was Druidical. 2. It was a magical alphabet, and used by those Druids, in tiieir divinations, and their decisions by lot. , 3. It consisted of the same, radical, sixteen letters, which formed the basis of the Druidical alphabet in Britain. 4. Each of these letters received its name, from some tree. 275 6r pfant, of d certain species, regarded as being in some view, or other, descriptive of its power : and these names are still retained; So far, the doctrine of British Druids is exact!// re- cognised, in the Western Island. The same, identical, system, is completely ascertained, and preserved. Yet, there are material circumstances, which point out a very ancient, and remote period) for the separation of these alphabets from each other. The two series of characters retain little, or no vestige of similarity : and the Irish, besides their cyphers, or secret alphabets, have three sets of characters, the most modern of which are, nearly the same as those on the grave-stone of Cadvan, prince of Nor'th Wales, who died about the year Gl6. Their order is also totally different. The Irish alphabet, begins with B, L, N, the radical consonants of Belin, the Apollo of the Celta. Roderick O'Flaherty, a learned Irish antiquary, of the seventeenth century, has collected, from some of the oldest monuments of literature in his country, the ancient names of the Irish letters, together with an exact register of the several trees, and plants, from which they were deno- minated. These curious particulars, he has recorded in his Ogygia, site rerum ILibernicarum Chrono/ogia ; and from this author, Ed. Llzcyd transcribes them, in their proper places, in his Dictionary of the Irish language. Mr. Lednich, in Ills Antiquities of Ireland (4to. Dublin,, s 2 276 1790,) describes three sets of characters, and as forming' three distinct alphabets. The first, and most ancient, is said to be named Bobeloth, from certain masters, who assisted in forming the Japhetian language ; but Mr. Ledzcich thinks, it is obviously deno- minated from Bobel, Loth, its two first letters, P. 98. I rather conjecture, it has its title from Bobo, or Bobe, mysterious, and lot, — a lot — a cutting. The second, an imperfect series, is called, Marcomannic Runes, and described as having agreed with the Runic, both in the shape, and the name. P. 97. The third, which is said to be, (no doubt,) the remains of an old magical alphabet, is called, Bethluisnion na ogma, or the alphabet of magical or mysterious letters, the first three of which are, Beth, Luis, Nion, whence it is named. P. 99- The following is the alphabet of Irish radicals, in their order, together with its names, and symbols, in O'Flalterty, ♦ CONSONANTS* Towers. Names. Symbols. B Beith The Birch L Luis The Quicken-tree N Nion The Ash F Fearn The Alder S Sail The Willow H Uath The Hawthorn V Duir The Oak T Tinne 277 Powers, c M G P K A O u E I Names, Symbols. Coll The Hazel Muin The Vine Gort The Ivy Pethboc Ruis The Elder-tree VOWELS. Ailm The Fir Onn Furze Ur Heath Eadha The Asp Idho The Yew-tree Let us connect these with Bardic radicals, and they will stand as follows, when reduced into the order of the Roman letters. Powers. British Karnes. Irish Names, and Symbolical Tree*. A A Ailm The Fir B Bi Berth The Birch C Ci Coll The Hazel D l)i Duir The Oak E E Eadha The Asp F Fi Fearn The Alder G Gi Gort The Ivy I I Idho The Yew L Li Luis The Quicken-tree M Mi Muin The Vine N Ni Nion The Ash O O Onn The Furze P Pi Pethboc Jl Ri Ttuis The Eldex 278 Toutn. British Names. Irish Naves, and Symbolical Trett. s Si Sail m TheWUJow T Ti Tinne (U V) Ur The Heath Now, I think it will no longer be disputed, that we per- ceive this most curious, and striking system, in all its partSj, proceeding, in due order, from its first, and rude, prin- ciples " of symbolical rodsj or sprigs, to the complete for- mation of an alphabet, which nearly corresponds, in the number, and power, of its letters, to the oldest European alphabets. We thus discover, that the Celtas of the British Islands, were not only acquainted with letters, but also derived the art of writing, from its remotest fountains, in a channel more clear and systematical, than could even be conceived by their polished neigh- bours. In order to give my readers a more compendious view of their doctrine, upon this topic, I shall briefly recapitulate the substance of the evidence, adduced in the sections pre- ceding, and of my reasoning upon it. 1. Certain obvious, and characteristical, properties, and appearances, in particular kinds of trees, and plants, were Contemplated, by a simple, and primitive race. As these appearances presented themselves under distinct, though general ideas, they naturally suggested the hint of repre- senting, and communicating, such ideas, by means of the leaves, ox sprigs, of the respective plants. Hence originated the custom of using emblematical rods, or sprigs. In the further progress of this custom, a definite number of plants, of the most common growth, was gradually select- 279 ed, and agreed upon, for the purpose of transmitting general information, with system, and precision. 2. The ideas of things, and of their several relations, being expressed, in the language of that people, by the simplest of all the terms that could be uttered, and the ideas of things, and of the terms, by which they are usually expressed, naturally connecting themselves in the mind, the symbols of things, obviously became the symbols of their names, or of the terms, by which the respective ideas were described. And of the peculiar simplicity of the language, it would be a consequence, to find, that such, and the same symbols, would, of course, represent the simplest of their syllables, or elementary sounds. When several of these minute radicals were joined, so to form 9. sentence, or a compound word, which originally were the same thing, a constant practice of connecting the sym- bols of the several parts, and of arranging them, in their due order, must have obviously suggested itself. ,3. When sprigs of the several trees could not be readily obtained, for the conveyance of information, the most obvious expedient was, to delineate, upon smooth surfaces, and characteristical representations of the kinds required, which could not be mistaken for those of another species. 4. The peculiar convenience of this expedient soon ap-» peared, and suggested a farther hint, for making such re- presentations more commodious, and better adapted, amongst other of its uses, to dispatch, by fixing upon certain com- pendious drafts, so as by one of them to represent sprigs of the oak, by another, sprigs of the birch, &c. These drafts had still a general resemblance of sprigs ; and, though 280 they no longer presented the obvious character of the several species, yet their value was readily appreciated, throughout the society which had established them, and they became as current as the original sprigs themselves. If Druids after this art was known, continued the use of the natural symbols, it must have been for the purposfe of secrecy, or a display of mystery, or from a superstitious veneration for the customs of antiquity. 5. For perpetuating this important art, and in order to facilitate its communication, it was found necessaiy to arrange the characters in a certain order, and preserve their several names. The or der might have been the mere sport of local fancy. The names were, either simple expressions of the ideas, conveyed by the several characters, as in the Bardic alphabet of Britain ; or else, the names of the natural symbols, which the characters represented, as in the Beth" luisnion, or alphabet of the ancient Irish. It appears, from quotations, in former sections, that our Druids did retain the original, and primitive use of sprigs, for certain purposes, though versed in the nature of letters. These purposes, as I have already hinted, were, probably, communications amongst themselves, and pertaining to their interior doctrines, or discipline, which they deemed it unlawful to tcrite ;— or connected with divination by lots. This last use of the sprigs, is inti- mated still in the terms, by which the Celtic dialects dis- tinguish their letters. Thus, in Irish, Feadka, trees, also letters, whence feadham, I relate, or rehearse : Cranchar, a lot, properly, a tender tree, or shoot, fiom crann, a tree, and car, tender. **t 281 Welsh — Gwydd, trees, also letters, Coclbrem, letters, lots, — literally, omen, or token sticks. Cornish — Prat, a tree, a stick, a lot ; — " Because, by sticks, the Druids divined." Borlase. Whilst these Druids regarded the several sticks, or sprigs, as complete symbols, in themselves, it would have bee* superfluous, to inscribe them with characters, which, at most, could only have been of synonymous import. It is probable, however, that sometimes the old Celta dispensed with such an original primitive use of their lots, and inscribed the symbolical characters, upon cuttings of any one tree, as we find this habit prevalent in some of the Germans, their neighbours, who also had their Barditus, Barddas, or Bardic institutions. Their manner of djvining by lots, is thus described by Tacitus, De moribus Germ, and translated by Dr. Borlase ; ^ " They cut a rod, or twig, taken from a fruitbearing tree, into little short sticks, or tallies ; and, having distin- guished them one from the other, by certain marks, lay them, without any order, as they chance to fall, on a white garment. Then comes the priest of the state, if the con- sultation be at the request of die public, but if it be a matter of private curiosity, the master of the family may serve well enough, and, having prayed to the gods, looking up to heaven, he takes up each billet, or stick, three times, and draws his interpretation from the marks before impressed on them. If these marks intimate a prohibition to proceed, there is no further inquiry made that day concerning that 282 particular affair ; but, if they have full authority to go on, they then proceed to the auspicia, or divining from birds." Antiq. of Cornwall, P. 139- I would just observe, in this place, that, in the course of my essay, no labour of mine has aimed at the support of any one preconceived hypothesis, My opinion is not what I brought with me, to the research, but what has been the result of inquiries. It was gradually formed, and was impressed^ by the force of evidence. I aim at no conceit of invention. My utmost pretension is, to re-discover what has been long concealed, by collecting facts, which, for many centuries, have been preserved in an insulated state. In every period and stage of the disquisition, I have adduced what appears to me competent evidence. My witnesses tpo, (so far from having been capable of collusion,) were not conscious of each other's existence ; yet, their testimony so well con- nects, appears so consistent with itself, in its various parts, and in the general sum? that I cannot hesitate in concluding— it is the evidence of truth. 283 Sect. VII. Of the Antiquity of the Druidical Alphabet, iVJLUST it, then, be admitted, as an historical truth, that, at some remote, and obscure, period of the Celtic annals, ]the Druids devised such a system of symbolical sprigs, as has been now described, improved it, and refined upon it, so as to complete the invention of an original al- phabet? — That they effected all this, by the means of some favourable properties in their own language, and by the repeated exertions of their own genius, independent of extraneous aid, or primitive tradition ? — This will, by no means, follow as a consequence. From all the information we have acquired, respecting the Druids, it appears to have been their main business, to cherish^ and preserve, more than to improve. They are every where represented, as extremely tenacious of long-established cus-r toms ; but never as inventors of new arts. We hear much of their traditions, but nothing of their disco- veries. Whilst they regarded, with superstitious respect, their venerable traditions of antiquity, so jealous were they of in- novations, that they had scarce the courage to extend the limits of science, or of moral philosophy ; much less did they evince an ambition to keep any pace, in refinement, with polished neighbours. The subjects of their discussion were few, but elevated ; their manner of treating them, solemn, and mysterious. The whole institution carried strong features of primitive ages. From these considerations, I am disposed, religiously, to adopt their own tradition, that *■■ 284 tne ground work of Druidism had been, at least, coeval ta the Celtic nation. If this be admitted, it will not seem im- probable, that the general principles of their symbolical alphabet, together with all the radicals of the language, upon which it was founded, were not the invention of the Druids, as a national order of men, but were preserved by them, from that period, when the families of the earth were divided. That the Druids did in fact preserve the memory of re- markable things, from this remote age, I have already- shewn, and as the Druids, — indeed the Celta, in general, are represented, not as an inventive people, but as extremely tenacious of old customs, it may be well presumed, that this curious system, which unites their hieroglyphics, and their letters, had been formed, as to its general principles, before their migration out of Asia, — and that the Dmids either preserved it, as they found it, or else acted upon an established principle, in accommodating the symbols to their own circumstances, and their own situation. And this will appear to be confirmed, not in theory alone, but, in fact, if attention is given, to the Druidical account* of the invention, and so as to compare the system, in its pro- gressive stages, with those analogies, which may be traced, in very ancient periods, and in countries, where the influence of the Gaulish, and British, Druids, as a loca} order, could not have operated. The former of those topics I shall touch upon, in this present section. In Talicsin's account of the invention of the system, there are mythological allusions, that would require considerable depth of learning, and more habits of leisure than mine to elucidate. I shall only endeavour to represent a few par* 285 liculars, which may serve to point out opinion, and re- commend the whole, to the notice of the antiquary. As the Druidical Bard ascribes the perfection of the art> to the Gzcyddion, or Syzcyddion, Sages, or Magicians, in general ; so, in particular, he tells us, that Math, kind, or nature, first created it, out of nine principles, or elements, one of which was, Frzcyth Duzv Dechrau, the fruit of the primceval God. The same Math, is allowed to have had much to do, in maturing the plan. — A'm swynysei Math, Cyn bum diaered. " Math had mysteriously marked me, Before [ became immortal." This Math, I take, to have been the universal genius of nature, which discriminated all things, according to their various kinds, or species, — the same, perhaps, as the Meth, of the Egyptians, and the Mutk, of the Orphic Bards, which was, of all kinds, and the author of all thi?igs. Orph. Hymn. 31- And again — K«t Mr,T»? wpuro? ymrtiie. Orph. Frag. 6 The Bard proceeds — A'm swynwys i wyddion Mawr, nwr o Brython — 286 "v " I was mysteriously traced by the great Sages j In the tower of the mixed race." O bump pumhwnt celvyddon, Athrawon, ail Math, Pan yr ymddygaid, A'm swynwys i wledig, Pan vu led losgedig. " Out of the multitude of arts, Of the teachers, children of Math, or nature, When the removal took place> I was marked by the chief* Whilst he was half parched with fire." The last quotations appear to imply, that the art had been practised at Babel, and that it was preserved, at the dis^ persion; but its original invention, according to British tradition, was still more remote: for the Bard immedi- ately adds. — A'm swynwys i Sywydd Sywedydd, cyn byd, Pan vei gennyv vi vot, Pan vei vaint byd, hardd, Bardd budd an gnawd, A'r wawd y tueddav A draetho tavawd: " I was marked by the Sage Of Sages, in the primitive world, At which time I had a being ; When the inhabitants of the world were in dignity: It was my custom to befriend the Bard, 287 And I dispose the song of praise Which the tongue utters." We are then told— Neu bum yn ysgor, Gan Ddylan ail Mor, Ynghylcheddj ymhervedd, Rhwng deulin teyrnedd, Yn deu wayw anchwant, O nev pan doethant, Yn annwvn lliveiriant. " Truly I was in the bark, With Dylan, the son of the sea, Embraced in the centre, Between the royal knees, When the floods came, Like the rushing of the hostile spear, From heaven, to the great deep." } In another passage of the same poem, the Bard call* this system — Mwyav tair argyvryd, A chweris ym myd ; Ac un a dderyw, O* ystyr Dilyw. " The greatest of the three mental exertions That disported in the world ; * PL o/Ystir. 288 And the one which was Amongst the stores of tlie Deluge." Hence, it is sufficiently clear, that those Bards, who professed themselves Druids, did not claim, for their or- der, the invention of the system, or its application to the construction of an alphabet. They acknowledge that it was anciently known, in other countries, and that it had been handed down, from the ages beyond the flood, as a treasure of the greatest importance to mankind. Let us, then, inquire briefly, what analogies, with such tnay be traced in ancient history. 289 Sect. VIII. Of general Analogies betzceen the System of Druidical Symbols, considered as a Method of writing} and the similar Practice of other Nations. w. E learn, from sacred, and profane history, thaty as it was a very general practice of the ancients, to re- present, and convey their ideas, by means of symbols, taken from stores of nature ; so there was no custom* either more anciently, or more generally established, than to employ trees, plants, and their various parts, for this purpose. And for that custom, some very natural reasons may be adduced, in addition to those which arise from its peculiar convenience. In the infancy of the human race, trees, in the gar- den of Eden, were divinely pointed out, as emblematical of the most aweful ideas — life and happiness, or death and misery. The abuse which Adam committed, of these consecrated symbols, and its dreadful consequence, to his early descen- dants, must have made a forcible impression upon their minds : and must have suggested the hint, of recourse to the use of trees, not only in the figurative descriptions of speech, but in the representation of things, and their se- veral relations, by visible signs. And the same idea, that would be impressed upon such as were present, by the act of pointing at a tree, T 290 might be conveyed, with precision, to a distance, by a cha- racteristic al part of the same, or a similar tree. Agreeably to this notion, the token of reconciliation, which Noeik received in the ark, was, an olive leaf, and which the venerable patriarch seems to have regarded, as a symbol of sacred import, conveying an idea of more than simply the fact, that trees ingeneral had begun to shoot afresh. It might be expected, that we should, only discover slight vestiges of symbols, like these in the history of the Israelites, as this people were, in great measure, with- held from the use of such implements, in order- to guard against their falling into that idolatrous abuse of them, which prevailed amongst their neighbours: yet there are several figurative expressions, and plain allusions, in the Old Testament, which intimate their general acquaintance, with something of this kind. The father of that nation says, " Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fiuitful bough, h\ a well, whose branches run over the wall." Gen. xlix. 22. The Patriarch's idea would have been as clear, had he placed the bough, in the situation he describes, or had represented these images in a picture, and said, — " This is Joseph." And his manner of expres- sion plainly alludes to such a custom* The Lord said unto Jeremiah, — " What hast thou seen?" " I see a rod of an almond tree." " Thou hast seen zcell ; for 1 will hasten my word to perform it." Jer. i. 11, 12. Here the rod of an almond tree must be regarded, as an acknowledged, and well known symbol, of hastening, or speed ; for the accomplishment of the divine purpose, with 291 speed, is to correspond with such an intimation given by the symbol. See also the apologue of Jotham, Judges ix. where the olive tree, the jig tree, the vine, and bramble, are described, as the symbols of things ; observe also the apologue of Jehoash. II. Kingsxiv. 9' From these, and similar passages, it may be inferred, that certain trees, and rods, or staves, or branches, taken from them, were considered as means of information, or as the symbols of distinct ideas : and therefore, they were constituted the general badges of certain offices, especially such as implied a sacredness of character. Hence the sceptres of kings, the rods of priests, ambassadors, and magistrates, — the rod of Moses, of Aaron, of the Bgi/p* tian magicians, &.c. These rode were considered, not only as the emblems of power, and of authority, but as the immediate means of executing them. The rod of Moses, is called the rod of God, and the Al- mighty tells him : — " Thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, and therewith thou shalt do signs." Accordingly, we find Aaron lifting up his rod over the river, and it became blood ; Moses, lifting up his rod over the sea, and it was divided ; — Elisha, giving his staff to Gehazi, to lay- on the face of a dead child, that he might revive. So generally was the emblematical use of a rod, or staff, admitted, that the words themselves became synony- mous to poKer, commission, a message, a sentence, and the like. And removing, or breaking the rod, or staff, implied, that authority was abrogated, and power destroyed, T g 292 Thus, in Psalm ex. (t The Lord shall send the rod of thy power out of Si&n ; — be thou ruler even in the midst among thine enemies." Here the rod clearly implies a commission ; as, in Micah vi. Q, k imports a decree. " Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." Again : — <( The Lord shall take away the staff — the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient," &c. Isaiah iii. 1, 2. f< The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers." " Moab is spoiled ; and all ye that are about him, be- moan him, and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod ! " # These forms of expression must have alluded, neces- sarily, to some established customs, — they must be referred indispensibly to some primitive system, which regarded rods, branches, and staves, as the symbols of certain ideas, and as the vehicles of messages, commissions, or the like. So far the customs of the old Asiatics corresponded in their prevalence to those of Druids, in Europe. To this extent, the device was innocent, but the heathens of Asia, as well as those of Europe, seem to have abused it, for the purpose of divination, as we may collect from the following passages. " My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff * The wands, carried by Officers of State at our Court, and at this very time, adopted, originally, upon the same principle. 293 declareth unto tliem." — u They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks, and poplars, and elms, because the shadow thereof is good" Hos. iv. 12,13. Again, — Isaiah xix. 11 to 15. The prophet speaks of the wise men of Egypt being deceived in their divinations, and declares, — " Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head, or tail, branch, or rush, may do." Here is a manifest allusion, not merely to the im- plements of writing, or of the geometrician; but, evi- dently, to a superstitious practice, in which rush, and branch were employed. Ezekiel terminates his climax of abominations by these words : — " Lo ! they put the branch to their nose !'* Ch. viii. 17. Upon the whole, then, some general, but evident ana- logies to the symbolical system thus intimated, may be found in the sacred records, and carried back to very an- cient periods. There was another ancient custom amongst the Asiatics, which approaches to an identity with our Druidical, and German method of divining by lots, as described by Tacitus, and quoted above. This practice was called, by the Greeks, Rhabdomantia, or JBelomantia, divination by rods, or by arrows, either the one or the other being used for this pur- pose, as it might be most convenient. But, in this appli- cation, the rods, or the arrows, were marked, or inscribed, like the German lots : they were no longer viewed, in themselves, as symbols of the distinct ideas. 294 " The King of Babylon stood — to use divination ; he made his arrows bright ; he consulted with images ; he looked in the liver." Ezek. xxi. 21. On this passage, Jerom observes, that there was a method of divination, by marking, or inscribing arrows, with every one's name, and mixing then in the quiver, to see whose arrow would come out first, or what city should be first attacked. To this fallacious decision, the prophet alludes, in the ISth verse of the same chapter : — " Because it is a trial : and what if the sword contemn even the rod ?" This inscription of rods appears to have been a refinement upon the earliest, or primitive custom, and seems to have been introduced, when the symbolical species could not be readily obtained. But the custom was not modern ; it was known to the Israelites in the days of Moses, and, perhaps, • long before. " Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod, according to the house of their fathers, of all the princes, according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods : write thou every man's name upon his rod." These were laid up for the decision of an im- portant question. They were not, in this instance, drawn as lots, — for the Lord himself decided by a miracle. But the general practice appears to have been adopted fa- miliarly, in cases of decision, or in the assignment of por- tions by lot. Hence rod, lot, portion, or inheritance, are used for synonymous terms. " The Lord's portion is his people : Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." Dent, xxxii. (J. " Remember thy congregation, which thou hast pur- chased of old ; the rod of thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed." Psalm lxxiv. 2. 295 "* Israel is the rod of his inheritance." Jer. li. 19. " The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous." Psalm cxxv. 3. In allusion to this use of inscribed rods, whatever was assigned by lot, or devised by compact, was represented as passing under the rod. " And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord." Lev. xxvii. 32. " And I will cause you to pass under the rod ; and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant." Ezek. xx. 37. The same prophet (chap, xxxvii. 16 to 20) particularly describes the use of such rods, or billets, in forming cove- nants: he undoubtedly delineates the popular, and the esta- blished mode of using them ; for the intention is, by fa- miliar, and by intelligible signs, to represent, for instruc- tion, to the Jezoish people, the ceremony of making a solemn covenant. " Take thou one stick, and write upon it,ybr Judah, and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his com- panions ; and join them, one to another, into one stick, and they shall become one, in thine hand. Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord : Behold, I will take the stick of Ephraim, &c. and will put him with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand : and the sticks whereon thou writest, shall be one in thine HAND, BEFORE THEIR EYES." This usage was nearly the same as that of British Bards, in the construction of their Peithi/nen, already described, except that, upon solemn, and religious occasions, the lat- 296 ter used the rods, uninscribed, regarding them, in their specific characters, as the symbols of ideas. When rods, or billets, were used, amongst the Jews, in the assignment of inheritance, in confirmation of pur- chase, or in other compacts, they were, perhaps, attested, and laid up for memorials, that, in case of dispute, there might be an appeal to the voucher : This appears to be implied, in the expression of the Psalmist — " Thou shalt maintain my lot" Breaking the rod, or staff, seems, also, to have been the general mode of dissolving compacts. See Zech. xi. 7, 10, 11. " And I took my st off, even beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant, which I made with all the people"*. Perhaps I may have dwelt rather tediously upon this part of my subject. The design was, to shew, from the sacred records, that vestiges of a system, resembling that which Druids possessed, are traced amongst other nations, with whom that Celtic order had no apparent connection ; and, consequently, that our Druids were not the original contrivers, but merely the religious preservers of the system, If traditions, and customs, of Pagan Europe are ex- amined, something of the same kind will be discovered, as traces of a system, which contemplated particular species of trees, and plants, as being symbols of distinct * When the Lord High Steward, upon trials in the House of Peers, dissolves Ji)s commission, he notifies the event, by the act of taking the wand into his hand, and breaking it. 297 ideas. This, was indeed so ancient, that Greeks, who had not preserved any unbroken chain of primitive traditions, refer us back for its origin, from one stage to another, till we get beyond the verge of their history, and their fables, or even the original structure of their lan- guage. The following particulars are so generally known, that it will be sufficient, barely to mention them. 1 . Not only, in general, trees were esteemed sacred ; but a particular species of tree, was consecrated separately to each individual god, or, more properly, in other words, it was regarded as a symbol of the deity, considered in one of his distinct operations, or characters. For the polytheism of the ancients appears, in great measure, to have arisen from the use of descriptive, and relative terms, as well as from the application of types and symbols, to the object of pointing out the relations between God and man, in the works of nature. Amidst all the confusion, intro- duced by this practice, the unity of the divine Being was a favourite principle, not forgotten, or overlooked. Thus, an old poet has declared : A§t£uk, n£ ' iKxteyos AwoTO-wv ElS 0EOS EETIN. " Pluto, Proserpine, Ceres, Venus, Cupid, Triton, JNereus, Tethys, and Neptune ; Hermes, Vulcan, Pan, Jupiter, Juno, Diana, and Apollo, is one god." 298 The same doctrine is taught in the hymns, ascribed by historians to Orpheus. The several forms, and the titles, under which this one God was worshipped, — acknowledged, and properly implied, his relative characters ; and of these characters, the several trees, or plants, consecrated, i« those ages, to him, were considered as the symbols. 2. Branches of trees, and of plants, were formed into garlands, and crowns, to be worn upon solemn occasions ; they were not indiscriminately used, but every particular species was appropriated, by a definite usage, to its peculiar occasion. 3. Rods, or staves, or branches of trees, were carried in the hand, or borne before persons, in certain offices, or characters, and these were not borrowed from any one tree indiscriminately. It was thought of importance, to select branches of a certain species, for each appropriate claim. All these things must have had reference to a system, which recognised a correspondence, between the cha- racters of the several plants, and the several purposes to which they were adapted, or the ideas they were to convey. But either Greeks, and Romans, had lost the original principles of the system in the mazes of antiquity, — or the selection was made by an order of men, who con- cealed the general system upon which they acted, and pro- hibited the disclosure of their mysteries, by solemn oaths, and curses. The poets, and the historians, were either uninitiated, or abhorred sacrilege ; we have, therefore, no satisfactory 299 accounts from them. All the information we have ob- tained, amounts to little more than vague c&njecture, or mythological fiction. We see the symbolical system of the ancients only in its exterior application ; we see a certain species of crowns, and rods, used upon particular occasions ; we see particular Gods venerated under the symbols of their appropriate plants, or trees ; and the learned content them- selves by remarking, in general, as follows : — Primis wor- talibus maximus erat honos arboribus : nam et pro Deorum imaginibus, imo magis, pro ipsis Diis, c^lebantur. Hinc forsan est, quod, non modo, si?igulis Diis, singula, essent arbores, verum etiam, singulis arboribus, sua Nympha, quas A§«aSa$ et 'A/Aa^Da^a? superstitiosa antiquitas appellavit." Bax. Gloss. Antiq. Rom. v. Arbor. But, as the super- stition of these ancients, respecting trees, bore a marked and striking analogy to the system of Druidical symbols, we may conclude that it was of the same nature, and sprung originally from the same fountain. This analogy may be observed in the terms of Greek and Roman languages: but, as these terms are more ancient than grammars of those languages, which are extant, a latitude must be allowed in the derivation of them. Thus a^vccs may be derived from 3jw$ arbor, and from au, spiro, sono, loquor : for even the terminations of nouns were originally expressive terms. Dryades, and Hamadryades, then, may, in the sacred colleges, have indicated nothing more than the voices and consonancies of trees, or specific ideas, which those trees were severally to represent, in the symbolical system. This notion of them is corroborated, and strongly, supported by a passage, quoted above. " The points of* the counterfeited trees : what is it they whisper so forcibly ? or, what breathings 300 are in their trunks? These are read by the sages, who were versed in science, and who delivered books." And this hypothesis, perhaps, will help us to assign the reason, for the following derivations of KXo^j?, a rod, shoot, or tender branch, which forcibly point out the uses to which those branches were applied. KXa&w, I speak. From the materials of which a hedge is composed, it is called, kx>j&j{, hence xXn^m, a good omen, Yhr^ontppcu, I prophecy, divine, or take an omen. Let us recollect, that sprigs of the Druids were called Coelbreni, omen sticks, — were equally used, for the purpose of divination by lot, and of representing sounds, or words, — and were said, therefore, to speak. As the Hebrew language, and each of the Celtic dialects, use the same term for a lot, and for a rod, or stick, it may be conjectured, that xXa^o? or xM^ a rod, and xXn^ a lot, were originally but one term, in Greek, perhaps, xX»o£<> ? , — for Cledr, in Welsh, has the sense of rods for watling. Again : from xAaJc?, the Meenades, or priestesses of Bacchus, were denominated K.;\aW?. They were esteemed prophetesses, and probably used the symbolical sprigs, or lots, as means of divination, like their neighbours, the Germans, and the Celt(B. The Greeks, who were not in the secret of these Thracian ladies, mistaking their general name, for a derivative, sprung from the word p,«iw>pa», represented them as mad, or furious, whereas, they were properly Mwxhs, declarers, or, indicators. The name comes from the general European term, Men, 301 which, in present Irish, is mein ; in Welsh, myn, mens, — will, pleasure, mind, meaning, — and, by way of eminence, the celestial mind. The same word seems to be the root of (Greek) pjvw, indico, significo, mentem ostendo : /*»»*) Luna, indicatrix, scil. temporum : pm«{, Odium, — mentis vis, &c. To this xXaoo?, and its derivatives, may be subjoined the old Latin word, rudis, a rod, whence we have rudi- mentum, an element, ox first principle; erudio, eruditio, cruditus, &e. The most ancient method of using letters, in Greece and Italy, seems to have been, by cutting them across laths, or splinters of wood, like inscribed sticks of Ezekiel, and the peithynen of British Bards. Pliny says, " table books of wood were in use before the time of Homer," and refers us, for proof, to the following words, in the Iliad, concerning Bellerophon. • Ilogty o oyt ?»)/x«Ta Xvyex, Plutarch, and Diog. Laert. inform us, that the laws of Solon were inscribed on tables of wood, and A. Gellius says of them : — In legibus Solonis, illis antiquissimiss, quce, Athtnis, axibus ligneis incisce, erant." Lib. II. C. xii. I think Hesiod has a covered allusion to this very custom. The Muses had inspired him with a voice that was divine, so 302 that he could sing of things past, or to come, and they com* manded him to celebrate the race of the immortal gods. At the same time, they gave him a staff, a branch of green laurel, to cut, or sliave, and mark. Theog. V. 30. This must have been a an implement for inscribing, and recording the subject of his inspiration ; otherwise his amusement must have been very ill-timed. The characters, in the oldest part of the Amyclean record., —which may be regarded as the most ancient specimen of Greek writing, that is known, — consist of strait lines, and of angles; they were, therefore, evidently adapted for the purpose of cutting over plain surfaces. The same is to be observed of the oldest Italian letters. See No. I. and II. of the inscriptions, copied hy Mr. Byres, from the sepulchral grottos at Cornet o, the ancient Tar- quinii. Gent. Mag. June 1779. A similar method of writing prevailed amongst the bar- barous nations of Europe. The Scythians conveyed their ideas, by marking, or cutting, certain figures, and a variety of lines, upon splinters, or billets of w r ood. EfWAflMVov 'a. eSeAsy, aJa>>.» tuac kxi tzo^vnin y^a/^uiija, fsfuara syy^apam?, r ; 7oi tyyXv plane tree, does not occur amongst these; yet it may have been hieroglyphic, or the symbol of an idea. Parkhurst extracts the term from my, ore, — to discover, display, and rUD, mene, — to distinguish, count, — make a distine* tion of parts. As the sprig readily suggested the name of the tree, may not that symbol have intimated a wish, that the cattle would be coloured with distinct parts, or become spotted, and speckled. The characters on the Babylonian bricks, lately published by Dr. Hager, were not, perhaps, intended, originally, to represent nails. Their component parts are not unlike the points of sprigs, and prickles of thorns, plucked from their branches. When I saw them first, they reminded me of an obscure passage in Herodotus, respecting the builders of that celebrated city. a»» Tpi»>xo*T« $opv» , Jod, Ivy; ®, Teth, the mulberry tree; D. Samech, the apple tree; D, Pe, the cedar; 1, Resh, the pine, fyc" Pref* P. 59, 60. This opinion, is not grounded Upon British, or upon Irish, traditiorti 3. The following quotations, convey the same idea, re- specting the origin of letters. " Fructiferarnm arborum plantatio, hieroglyphic^, in divinis Uteris, accipitur pro diseiplind doctorum." Hesyak Pierius. v 306 Kircher) thus translates an explanation of the tree of knowledge, by a Chaldean Rabbi, named Naham — " Arbor magna, in medio paradisi, cujus rami, dic- tion es, ulterius, in eamos parvos, et folia, quje sunt literje, extenduntur."—" The great tree in the midst of Paradise, the sprigs, and leaves of which, were letters, and the branches, words." " Theut, a Gratis, trismegistus appellatus est — Hune asserunt authores, jEgyptiis prafuisse , eisque leges, ac lite" ras tradidisse ; liter arum vero cJiaracteres in animantium, arborumque FiGURis instituisse." Eli. Sched. P. 109. Prof. P. Q0 X &c. 4. The General gives the following metaphors, from the Hebrew, and Chaldaic, which make, forcibly, to the same point. yy, Ets, a tree : the root, says Bate, signifies, to take, or give instruction. D"D, Kerem, a vine, a vineyard; — a study, a school, a college. Ch. WW, Sharask, Radix, — Thema, vox primitiva, unde voces derivata?, instar ramorum expulluiant. Ifeb. *]>$&, Saiph, a branch; — a thought, — (Robertson) Saiph, Ramus; — Cogitatio; — ramos amputare. — Thorn. Heb. and Ch. no?, Zamar, to prune;— to sing a song. — The Arabs changed M into B, whence Zabar, putaxit. vitem; — intelligentia, liber, scripsit, scriptura. S(>7 • 'tffl&f Shilah, P/'Optfgo,— -dicitur deplanta< dirbofc mitientt ramos: in Kal, usurpatum reperio, defalce; de libra, de cpistola. ~\tt, Gizar, Secure; radix; syllaba; litcrarum com- prehensio. KJYittf, Shut a, lined) otdo, stylus, modus et nsus loquendi, structure! tferborum : Syr, Shit a, Fit is; Shutct, fructus ar+ boris ; — verbum, sermo. — Shita, Virgula, arbor; phrasis t versus libri. D f p, Kis, ligjium; ]pp, Kisctn, folium arboris; -rtETD'p Kistor, — Scriba, notarius> mi', Yoreh, a shoot; instruction. 101D, Pora, Ramus fwcundus; — Libcllus. "D, Bar, de ramis vitis fceamda, Ezck. xvii. 6. et de loquela hurnana — Gusset. In fine, mii', Soah, to study, is derived from iTltfj Stall, a tree ; and from "iV, yor, the shoot, or branch— H V, — yara f to teach. Metaphors in Arabic. The ancient Arabs, said, proverbially, — " I know the wood of the tree, before the fruit is ripened."—" I know his genius, as soon as he speaks." Alarn, science, learning ; — the cypress tree. V 2 308 ' Ttsnif, a. tree, putting forth leaves ; — invention, compo- sition, publishing a book. Werck, species arboris; — qui scripsit ; folium arboris; — -scriptura. Fann, ramus; — modus et ratio orationis; pars artis vel doctrina : Fanun, Rami; — Scientia. Talua,Jiorere, gem- mare capit arbor; — cognovit, consideravit, anirnum advertit ad rem. Even the Chinese use the same metaphor, si, a tree, (siah, Vkald.) is the key, or the radix of su, a man of erudition ; of sai, learning, zvisdom, a master of arts, a mandarine, — • and of su ; a book. — Pref. P. 60 — 66. For a more ample catalogue of such authorities, and me- taphors, a fuller -account of them, and a demonstration of their connection with traditions, and the language of the Irish, I refer my readers to this curious publication. The extracts I have now made, in addition to what I have stated before, may suffice, to shew, that a derivation of alphabetical characters, from sprigs^ and leaves, of trees, and plants, was not the solitary conceit of a Celtic ancestor; but the genuine relic of ancient, and, perhaps, universally accredited system. We can trace, uniformly, in the figures of speech, in the terms, the customs, traditions, and superstitions of antiquity, (both in sacred and profane writers,) the vestiges of symbols, adopted from various kinds of trees, and communicating ideas, by parts of those trees. We find, that rods, and sprigs, in some way, or another, have represented the first principles of speech, learning, and science. Though we cannot always connect the symbolical sprig with its oppra- 309 priate letter, it is, perhaps, because the alphabets, appa- rently founded upon that system, such as the Pelasgw, and Etruscan, were become obsolete, before the time of those authors who now remain. The obscure hints upon this topic, seem explained b ythe symbols called Druidical, and so called, not because Druids invented,, hat singly, because they cherished and preserved them. Amongst other nations, the dispersed 1 and scattered mem- bers of the system appear, as fragments of high antiquity, in terms, customs, and superstitions; but its fundamental principles of remote antiquity, were either forgotten, or locked up, amongst the mysteries of the sacred orders. The secrets of the Magi, the Orpheans, the Priests of the Cabiri, and of Egypt, perished with each of their institutions. We' cannot, therefore, expect, from Greece, and Rome, and much less from the sacred volume, a complete elucidation of their arcana. But, abating for some instances of local im- provements, and corruptions, we may at once pronounce Druids to have been of the same class. The discipline they enforced, the sciences they taught, and the opinions they inculcated, were, in general, the same. The- source, from whence they had professed, uniformly, to have derived them, was the same ; viz. from the ship of Dylan, the son of the sea, who survived, with his single family, when the world was drowned. Some vestiges of these Druidical institutions, with some fragments of their traditions, together with songs of those Bards, who immediately succeeded them, and who professed Themselves, with pride, their disciples, have survived, even to this day. From these, we have enabled ourselves to 310 investigate the real principles of their symtyls, and, con- sequently, ta explain the mysterious hints of antiquity. As we proceed m comparing the letters, which aro*& from that series of natural symbols, with letters of other ancient nations, I think, it will further appear, that, not- withstanding the diversity of characters, of names, and of series, in the alphabets now extant, the original invention of all those letters, was the same ; and equally founded, upon a system of hieroglyphics, or symbols,, taken from the ap- pearances, and stores of nature. 311 Sect. IX. That all Letters have proceeded from one original Invention. 'o' X? OR the purpose of elucidating this fact, it may not be improper to inquire, in the first place, into the analogy that appears between the letters of the Celta, and those of their neighbours, the Germans; who, as it is known, lay claim to an alphabet of their own. The invention of their letters, has, indeed, been ascribed, by some authors, to a Bishop of the Goths, in the fourth century ; but that, is a palpable mistake. The Runic alphabet was, unquestion- ably, known to the German tribes, in the ages of Pa- ganism, as appears, from numberless inscriptions upoa. rocks, (that primitive kind of records) all over the north. And, it is remarkable, that, upon the introduction of Christianity into those regions, the ancient alphabet had been so far from being deemed the invention of a Bishop, that it was reprobated as magical, and profane, so that- even the use of it was discontinued. The only possible grounds for such an opinion, and for the consequent pro- hibition of the Runes, must have been, that such letters had been employed in the Pagan customs of divination, and sorcery. The Germans are known to have used characters for these purposes, and the Runic ones acquired an ill fame in con- sequence of their profanation. The Runes were, there- fore, those very notce, or marks, which Tacitus describes the Germans to have inscribed upon their magic lots^ 312 Mr. Sammes, Brit. Antiq. P. 439* gives the following account of the abuse of these letters, and of their disgrace. " The Runic characters were made use of by Woden, not only for inscriptions, but for magical charms, and im- precations : and for this reason, after the faith of Christ was received, the Runic characters began to grow so far out of credit, that many, spurred on with too much zeal, not only destroyed such bewitching fooleries, where they found them, but burnt, without distinction, all sorts of books written in that letter, and defaced monuments, and old inscriptions, for no other reason, but because they bore the character. Yet, nevertheless, the dotage of the vul- gar, on these uncouth letters, and the opinion, they con- tained in them a certain power, and energy (which appre- hension yet remaineth, among the simple, in their charms, to this day) maintained its ground, so long after Chris,, tianity itself, that Locccnius witnesseth, Sigfrid, an English bishop, thought it necessary to have them altered, which he did by the assistance of the Pope, who utterly banished them from Swedeland, in the. year 1050, and substituted the Latin character in their room. The same usage they found in Spain, under Alphonsus, King of Castile, and Navar, in the year 1086, and were, at last, finally condemned in the council of Tholoun, in the year 1116." The arrangement of the Runic alphabet, was different from that of the Irish, or the Bardic ; but this difference, may have arisen from some local conceit, of either nation. The Runes had also peculiar names, -which, undoubtedly^ had their meanings, in the dialect which first imposed them; as P, Fei ; 0, Oys ; R 3 Ridhur ; I, lis; S, $0,1$ T, Tyr, &c. 313 Notwithstanding these marks of distinction, there are known circumstances, which point out the extreme proba- bility of their affinities, and close relations to the Celta. The general term, by which we distinguish the northern alphabet, is Run. This term, Sir H. Spelman, as well as other learned men, traces to the Saxon, Rune, which imports a mystery, or hidden thing. The Celtan call their system of symbols, Run, and Rhin, which, in the Irish, and Welsh languages, have precisely the same import. Though one, and the same power, be not constantly repre- sented by a similar character, in both alphabets, yet, the series of Runic, and Bardic characters, taken altogether, have an astonishing resemblance, between each other, and, in the various copies of Runes, taken from old inscriptions, cha- racters appear, which are exactly the same as in the Bardic alphabet. In those instances, wherein the Runic letters differ from the Bardic, the former still appear like sketches of the sprigs of trees, either single, or combined : and the terms, by which the Gothic nations describe their letters, suggest the idea, that they were so understood. Thus, an alpha- betic character in Saxon, or old English, was called boc~ stave, a book-staff. Versteg. Chap. vii. Sammes, P. 441, quotes Runic verses, which he thus translates, " Thou knowest the Runes, and loose charac- ters, radna stafli," rod slaves, or letters, Sic. And again, P. 443, he thus translates a quotation from the J^ddq. : — " That, 12, I know, if I see on the top of wood, 314 (tre) a ghost walking, so I cut it out, and receive it in the Run, that the man shall come, and speak with me." From the identity of the general name, by which the Celtic, and Runic letters are distinguished ; from the iden- tity of the radical number in both, (sixteen) and the general agreement of their powers ; from the identity of the uses to which they were applied, the similarity of several charac- ters, together with a common tradition, that all of them originated from staves, rods, or sprigs, cut from the tops of trees — a fair conclusion may be formed, that both alpha- bets, were grafts of the same root, or sprung from the same stock, and were devised upon the same plan, or system. Yet, we must not suppose, that characters of Ger- man Runic, were borrowed from Druids of Gaul, and Britain. They were used by Gothic tribes, as appears from the language of all Runic inscriptions : " The Northern Goths held their letters in the highest reverence, ■ — -ascribed the invention of them to their chief deity — and attributed even to the letters themselves, supernatural virtues." A veneration so bigotted, and superstitious, demons -rates, that such letters as these, must, have belonged, with shades of difference, to the same people, from remote periods of antiquity. Their ancient custom of divination was con- nected with the use of them, and they had not the faintest hints of tradition, that ever they had borrowed them from any other nation. Their invention was, at least, ascribed by them to their chief deity, and the founder of their family. The exclusive property of a Runic alphabet, is awarded, in a manner, to the Germans, by the Cclta themselves. The old Irish had a series of characters, which they called Marcomannic Runes. The Marcotnanni, who were the sub- 315 jects of Ariovistus, in Cesar's time, were in the -habit of divining by lots. (De Bell Gall. i. 53.) They were of course in possession of the not a, or characters, employed in that practice; and the Irish would not have called them Marcomannic, had they been altogether the same as the national characters of the Celta. We may, therefore, consider the Runic letters of the north, as only different sketches, or draughts, of the sym- bolical sprigs, acknowledged by the Celta, and we may infer, as, I think, we must, that both nations, with some accidental changes, derived the system from their common ancestors. The northern copy is not so uniform, and sim- ple, as the Bardic ; but, at the same time, it presents marked and venerable features of antiquity, which are verified by the oldest inscriptions of Greece, and Italy. Let me now investigate the affinity between the Celtic letters, and those of Greece, or of Rome. But I must premise a little historical epitome of their alphabets, as far as my information extends. Ancient authors tell us of two distinct alphabets, which, in different ages, were known to the inhabitants of Greece. The oldest of these was called the Pelasgic, the Attic, the Argive, or the Ar- cadian, from the several people, by whom it had been em- ployed. It appears to have been the same as the Etruscan, or old Italian, alphabet, which also was called Arcadian, because it was brought, as they said, out of Arcadia into Latiumj by Evander. The Pelasgi, from whom this alphabet receives its fa- miliar title, were some of the most ancient inhabitants of Greece : but the name was not confined by historians to that country, nor is it accurately known how for it extended, or whence it arose. Learned men have ob- 316 served a similarity between this word, and the Hebrew DU/D, Pelegim, and have supposed it of the same import* The dividers, or divided. If this, be founded in truth, we may regard it as a general name, for those descendants of Japheth, who divided the isles of the Gentiles. Be that, however, as it may, the Pelasgi seem to have brought their letters with them into Europe, upon their first migration : for Eustathius, a writer of no mean credit, in his commentary on the second Iliad, V. 841, assigns it, as one reason, why the Pelasgi were -called Atoj, Divine, because they alone, of all the Greeks, preserved the use of letters after the deluge. But, the use of the Pelasgic letters was not confined to the proper Greeks, any more than the name of Pelasgi; for Orpheus, and Linus, or the priests of Thrace, are said to have employed them in their writings. Dio. Sic. L. III. The Pelasgic, in its original form, may, therefore, be regarded as the general alphabet of the frst European na- tions, and as coeval to the nations themselves. Conse- quently, the Attic letters, which unquestionably were the same as the former, have been uniformly interpreted by lexicographers, as meaning, A^aia, riaX»»«, E7r^a> 5 -j», the old, primitive, native letters of t/ie country* From the same old stock sprung, also, the first letters of the Romans. They were called Etruscan, and were allowed to be the same as the Pelasgic. Pliny says: — " Vetustior autem urbc in Vaticano ilcx,in> qua Titulus, areis Uteris Hetruscis, religione arborem,jast turn, dignam esse signijicavit" 317 Divn. Mai. L. IV. speaking of the column, upon which Servins Tullus caused his laws to be written, says, that the same column remained even to his time, in the temple of Diana, inscribed with letters, which Greece anciently used, namely, the Pelasgic. The other Greek alphabet, and which remains in use, had the several names of Ionian, Phoenician, Cadmean, or Molian : and it is represented, as having been imported into Boeotia, by an Asiatic colony, about 1500 years before Christ. The Greeks call the conducter of this colony Cadmus, and the people, who composed it, Phaniciatis ; but, under the former name, we may, perhaps, more pro- perly understand a people, called Cadmians, from their former place of residence. That such a colony did, in fact, arrive, and wrought a memorable change in the alphabet of Greece, are facts, attested with so general a voice of antiquity, as to admit of no debate. But, of whom this colony consisted, and from whence it came, are circum- stances less evident. The territory of the Tyrians, and Sidonians, was called Phoenicia by the later Greeks. It was the district best known to them by that name, and the most celebrated country, to which the name was applied. Consequently, ancient authors have acquiesced in the opinion, that a Theban colony came from the Tyrian coast. To this opinion, several of the learned moderns have subscribed, and have concluded these emigrants to have sprung from the race of the Canaanites. But, though, it has been a general persuasion, it has not been universally admitted. 318 Baxter, in his letter to Mr. Gardiner, calls Cadmus, a Carian; and adds, — " It is a grand, though an ancient mistake, that the old e mxjs were Tyrians." Reliq. Bax, P. 415. Had this learned antiquary assigned his reasons for the above assertion, his opinion might have had a more able support than my pen can furnish. However, as I rather adopt his faith on this point, I shall offer the following^ circumstances to my readers. The name, Phoenicia, which, perhaps, was Greek, and which imported nothing more than a district, abounding with palm trees, was not applied exclusively to the territories of the Tyrians, and Sidonians, or old Canaanites, which, in the time of Moses, and of Cadmus, reached no further Northward, than to Sidon, upon the sea coast. There were other districts of that name. There were two mountainous tracts, in the neighbourhood of each other, placed in the confines of Ionia, and Caria : Ptolemy calls one of them Cadmus, and the other Phoenix. The inhabitants of these tracts were, therefore, Cadmians, and Phoenicians : The contiguity of their native residence, may have afforded them an opportunity of joining in the same expedition. The dialect of Thebans, the names of their towns, and of their oldest princes, do not appear to have had more affinity with Tyrian, Syriac, or Hebrew, than languages of other Greek states. The Boeotian was a genuine branch of the Ionian language, which had been established in 319 districts, where Cadmus, and bis Phoenicians, never ob- tained a footing. The Tyrians, and SidoJiians, did not claim the colo- lization of Baiotia ; but> in conjunction with other Asiatic people, called its inhabitants, as well as those of the other Greek states, by the generic term of lones, or Iaones — ■ the sons of Javan. 'Evmmu(; ot ' » Ba^Ca^oi rovt; *EAX»)va^ \u*t<; \iyovra? E*X>j»«s I«o»ej '01 Ba^Sago* ty.txKaw. Schol. ad Acarn. Aristoph. E«ot teat tqv<; &gax.iz<;, y.a.i A^ocuvq, x«» BOIflTOYS, Ifc«? ixa^otc. Hesych. V. Iwvff. . It appears, then, that Boeotians, or Cadmus, and his Phoenicians, were considered as lones, and of the same origin as the other Greeks. The letters, introduced Into Europe, by these emigrants, are uniformly called Ionian. They were the same as those used by the Asiatic Ionians, or the Tarshish of ilfoses. Pliny asserts, that a tacit consent of yiations, introduced the general use of Ionian letters. This can only mean the Cadmian, or new Greek characters, which became preva-* lent, in succession, to the Pelasgic, and Etruscan. The letters of Cadmus have more similarity of character to the Pelasgic, or primitive letters of the Europeans, as they appear on the Eugubian tables, than to any copies of the Samaritan, or of the 'Parian letters, now extant. From these premises, I think, a fair inference may re- sult, that Cadmus, and his Phoenicians, were natives of tUe country about Mount Cadmus, and Mount Phanix, 320 —that his, and their letters, were those of the Ionidns, of descendants from Javan, who had hitherto remained in Asia. The difference between these letters, and the Pe-» lasgic, in all probability, arose from gradual operations of time, or from studied refinements, during the separation of the kindred families* It may be asked, in objection, — if the colonist, who occupied B&otia, was actually Ionian, why do we not find him distinguished by that name, in preference to the term Phoenician ? It may be answered, that, in early ages, the name of Ionians was applied so generally to ail Greeks, that it would have conveyed no distinct idea of a particular dis- trict, or family ; whereas, the names of Moufit Cadmus, and Mount Phoenix, were of limited appropriation, which at once pointed out the origin, as well as the native spot of the new-comers. It may, further, be remarked, that Eu- ropean Greeks, of later times, in consequence of some jealousies between the two countries, disliked the name of Iones, avoided the use of it, and were unwilling to be Called by it. *CH fAEf *v» oXXot Ione$, kat aS»)"«*o», t^yo* roviopx ov Csi/ta/Asyot luvti; xEKXrjsSai. Herodot. L. I. Some learned men, taking it for granted, that Cadmus was a Syro-Phoznician, have laboured the point of ex- plaining, how the letters of Cadmus may have been formed^ upon the old Samaritan, and have insisted upon it, that all the names of these letters are mere imitations of the Hebrew. It is not, by me, denied, that a remote affinity may be discovered, between the two alphabets. They both de- scended, in my opinion, from one source, and, there- fore, may have retained a degree of resemblance to each 321 other. But the alphabet of Cadmus does not appear to have been taken from the Hcbrczc, or from any other > which corresponded with it. In the time of Moses, who was cotemporary with Cadmus, the Hebrews had already twenty-two potestates, or letters ; the alphabet of Cadmus was, as yetj in a more primitive, and simple state, consist- ing only of sixteen letters; That names of Greek letters are mere imitations of the sounds, formed by the Hebrew names, or by the Tyrian, is a very disputable point. It appears to me, that most of them are old, and genuine, Greek words, conveying similar ideas to those of the corresponding names in the Hebrew t and retaining a similarity of sound, only so far as the two languages had a radical connection between each other. I shall endeavour to render this proposition more clear in the sequel. But the identity between some, at least, of the Ionian characters, and the Pelasgian, or Etruscan, of the Eugubian tables, and the similarity of others, demonstrate, that both of these two alphabets have sprung from the same fountain. And, it should seem, that a change was not introduced at once, but gradually effected. In the celebrated Sigean in- scription, we discover nearly equal resemblances of the Pelasgian letters, and the Ionian : it was, therefore, en- graved, at a time, when the former were beginning to yield with reluctance, and the latter were insinuating themselves into their place. But it would be easier to demonstrate the original identity of these alphabets, than to point out, with distinct ac- curacy, the changes introduced by the Ionium. x. 322 They do not seem to have augmented the number of the letters. Only sixteen .are ascribed to Cadmus. The same number is claimed by the old Latins, by the old Germans, — ■ by the Irish, — and British Bards. We have not, perhaps, adequate remains of old inscrip- tions, to ascertain the exact compass of the Pelasgian, or the Etruscan alphabet, which, there are some authors, who confine to so few as twelve, or thirteen powers ; but it is probable, that, like the Latin, — as well as other Old Eu-> ropean alphabets, which are better known, — it amounted, in truth, to sixteen. Diodorus informs us, that Cadmus did not originally in- vent, but only changed, the figures of the letters. Yet, from other circumstances, it appears probable, that the Greeks of Europe were also indebted equally to those Thcbans, for a new arrangement of their tetters, and for a new series of names. The order of the Ionian alphabet, accords much better to that of the Hebrew, and of the western Asiaties in gene- ral, than Runic, Irish, or the Bardic ; which latter, in all other respects, appears to have been a very near ally to the Pelasgian, or Etruscan. As to the names, though I have already shewn, that letters had, anciently, two sets of them, — specific, or the idea expressed by the poxcer,-— and hieroglyphic, or symboli- cal ; yet, we may suppose, that, in every particular state, one series of the two was more familiarly used than the other, and that one series only was retained, when the hierogli/phical origin of letters was forgotten. The scries, by which the Ionian letters, and the Hebrew, as well MS tis the old Irish, are distinguished, is clearly the hictoglif* phicat. It is formed by names, which are given to certain productions of art, or of nature. , That Pelasgians, and the Tuscans, on the contrary, used the simple, and specific names, — like our Druids of Britain, — is probable, from the general affinity of their alphabets, and, still more so, from the following circumstance* The old Latins, and the Romans, in the first ages of the city, as I have already shewn, used the Pclasgian, or Etruscan characters. These were> I think, the Latin let- ters ; — whose texture, Pliny says, resembled those which Greece had anciently used. They were laid aside, gradually, for the admission of a series, much the same as the Ionian. But the Romans neither adopted, nor imitated the names of the Ionian letters. They used the simple, and mono- syllabic names, which are to this day retained. (1 It cannot be conceived, that, when they altered their characters, they originally devised that series of names, They must have preserved the names of their old letters, and, therefore, of the Pelasgia)i,ov the Etruscan characters. These names have, indeed, been deemed utterly destitute of meaning, by scholars, who would search for them in the Hebrew, or Greek, or modern Latin tongue. But it appears to me a certain fact, that, at least, the latter of these languages was chiefly formed out of a dialect, very ancient, and very similar to that of the Cotii, or Waldenscs, and S'coti, or Ccltcc of Ireland, in which, a multitude of its roots may even still be found. In this, and some other Celtic dialects, the names of the Roman letters, are all significant, and characteristical terms. They are full of meaning. They x 2 324 arc, also, clearly re-echoed, in the names which are given ta the lots of Druidism, or the omen sticks of Britain. We may venture, then, to assert, that, whilst the Romans imitated the arrangement? and characters, of the Ionian alphabet, they cherished, and preserved, for the most part, the simple, and the original names of their national letters ; viz. the Arcadian, or Pelasgian, of Evander, the same as the Etruscan, the Celtic, and primitive letters of Europe. With such names, perhaps, all nations had been once ac- quainted. Even the Hebrew alphabet is not without simple names, corresponding to the marked, and specific ones of the Pelasgian, or Bardic alphabet ; as He, in the Pe- lasgian, or Bardic, E, which denotes, in Celtic, that person, that thing, as the Hebrew, NTT ; Pe, — in the Bardic, Pi, — a l-eafc, or sharp point, — as the Hebrew nD. The names of some letters, in the modern Greek alpha- bet, .prove, that this people had known letters of different powers, distinguished by simple names. Y must have been called Upsilon, slender U, in contradiction to that broad 17, which is found in the Roman, the Pelasgian, the Irish, *he Bardic, and the Runic alphabets ; — but not in the Ionian. So again : removing from Epsilon, Upsilon, Omicron, and Omega, the epithet Psilon, Micron, and Mega, which constitute no part of the real names, we discover the sim- ple enuntiations of the vocal powers, — -E, O, V, as in the Pelasgian, Roman, and Bardic alphabets. It remains, to shew the correspondence of the Pelasgian, its well as the Ionian, with Druidical alphabets, as far as may demonstrate their common origin. 325 A comparison between the names and characters, of al- most every power, in the Bardic, and Pelasgian, would, of itself, terminate all debate respecting their original iden- tity. Such is their similarity, that it could not well have been produced without an actual intercourse between the several people, by whom those powers were used. That intercourse is acknowledged also to have taken place. The Hyperboreans (or Druids) repaired regularly to the banks of the Peneus, in Thessalu, to worship their Deity, Apollo. JElian. Far. Hist. L. III. C. i. We may hazard, without fear, the conjecture, that votaries, like these, carried with them a knowledge of Druidical sym- bols, or lots, wherever they went. Yet it may not follow, or admit of proof, that, of course, they introduced them into the heart of Greece. Their creed of religion must have had some analogy to that of the people, in whose temples they worshipped. The Pelasgian priest of the Cabiri, as well as our Draids, professed a vigilant care of primitive opinions, and of primitive institutes, — derived, and well au- thenticated, from the ark. Even their name could, with some probability, be well traced in the Celtic; for cabar, is a confederacy ; — cabartlia, united ; — cabhair, kelp, aid; cabhair-am, I help, assist, relieve. Skaw. Be that, as it may, we can have no doubt that Pelasgian priests used Pelasgian letters. The use of these Pelasgian letters has been ascribed expressly to the Bard, or priest of Thrace. Diodorus, L. III. observes, that Linus zcrotc a history of the acts of the elder Dionu- sjis, and other mythological tracts, in Pelasgian letters, and that Orpheus made use of the same. o 96 Under the name of Orpheus, the faneiful Greeks appear to have described an ancient order of Priests, called 0r~ pheans, who dealt in symbols, and who traversed great part of the habitable earth, to instruct the world in divine mys- teries. They were not only poets, and skilled in harmony, but theologists, and prophets ; they were also very knowing in medicine, — and in the history of the heavens. Orpheus, ill HolweFs Mi/thol, Diet. Thrace appears to have borrowed from them, one principal doctrine of Druidism, which prevailed as late as the time of Mela, the geographer, not as the dogma of a solitary philosopher, but as a national persuasion. " Alii redituras put ant animus obeuntium ; — alii, et&inon redeant nan extingui tamen, sed ad beatiora transire. L. II. C. ii. Our Druids taught, that souls, after being purified by their transmigration, attained a condition of endless felicity. In short, it appears, — from the whole account which has been traced of this order, — that Orpheans were Druids, or Druids Orpheans. Both orders having sprung from one stocky they were, perhaps, in their uncorrupted state, equally the repositories of primitive arts, and primitive opinions. These orders, in various countries, appear to have had not only a marked and general resemblance, but also a more familiar intercourse, and a more actual communication^ than has been commonly supposed. The dance of trees, to the music of the Orphean harp, may have been an allegory, of the same import, as Talk'* . .Plate n.Pagcyii t a u e Avnnrro ^••^>:kK|:n/. ^4

in No. VI. Thus it appears, that the draught of the Bardic, and Ionian letters, was, originally, the same, and that, accord- ing to the authority, cited by Bucher, Cadmus's let- ters resembled the Gaulish, more than Punic, or Phaiui- cian. Similar characters had anciently been used in Greece, 330 Thrace,. Italy, and other countries ; but Xenophon, and Archilochus, named them after the people, by whom they were still retained. The systematical correspondence of the characters in the Bardic, with a general principle, — as well as the evi- dence of ancient inscriptions, — gives the palm of antiquity in their favour, and the decision is further supported by a very marked feature. Several Greek, and Roman characters, do not correspond with Celtic radicals, but with some of their derivatives, or mutations. Thus, No. VII. from the Celtic B, comes its de- rivative Bh, or V, by a shoot, in addition to its primitive, as observed before: hence were formed Greek, and Roman B, by curving the shoots. From the Celtic C. (K) comes ch guttural, by affixing a reed, and this is precisely the K of Greece. From the Celtic D, comes Dh, (as Th in that) by affixing a reed, as before ; hence the Greek a, and the Roman D, by curving the angular line. From the Celtic E, comes e, hence the ancient 3 reversed, of Greece, and of Italy, by opening the angles, and by adding a shoot. From P, comes Ph, or F, by the addition of a shoot, as before, — hence the Roman F, and JEolic digamma, as it has been called. From the same P, comes the mutation Ph, by affixing a reed, and hence our present Greek n. From the evidence, adduced in this work, I hope it is made clear, that the old alphabets, which I have now com- pared, were originally one and the same, which had been imported into Europe, by several of the emigrating fa- milies, who had settled in this western continent ; — that our Druids, and Bards of the Celtcc, preserved an authen- tic, and respectable copy of this general alphabet, and that 331 principles, upon Which it was constructed, were known in primitive ages, before the nations were separated. It must, then, be inferred, that such principles Were known to the ancestors of the Chaldeans, — the Israelites, — and the Phoenicians. As far as any thing can be demon- strated, by the terms, and metaphors of language, the fact has been ascertained. May I, therefore, hope to be indulged, in a short search, after some links of original union, between the European alphabets, and these of the western Asiatic ? But first, I would observe, that long before the date of any legible inscription, which has reached our age, the Asiatics had begun to enlarge the range of the fancy, to improve, or diversify the arts, and materially to extend the limits of science. The paintings of their figurative language had also ac- quired a magnificence, which the earlier nations of Europe could never have attained. As a necessary consequence of this, it might be expected, that our oldest copies of their alphabets would be more copious, in the number of their letters, and more complex in their principles, than alphabets, traced from our more simple ancestors. Accordingly, we find the Hebrew alphabet, in the time of Moses, already possessed of tzecnty-two powers, when the European, for a long time after, had but sixteen, at the most, and, perhaps, only thirteen. 332 The learned have generally regarded the names of the Hebrew letters, which corresponded with Chaldean, and Phoenician, as terms of significance, conveying ideas, not only of the characters themselves, and of their elementary powers, but also of certain productions in the field of na- ture or of art ; as aleph, an ox ; — beth, a home ; — gimel, a, camel ; — daleth, a door, &c. And it has been the opinion of some very eminent scholars, that characters of these letters were, originally, intended for sketches of those ob- jects, (or of their characteristical parts,) after which they were named. Of the original characters in the Hebrew letters, we cannot speak positively. The Chaldaic square characters were preceded by the old Samaritan, and, in some copies of this alphabet, we discover such plain drafts of certain quadrupeds, advancing, and retreating, that the design cannot be mistaken. See the Jod, and Tsade, Duret. P. 324 ; Le Clebert, P. 517 ; Fry's Pantog. P. 219. The opinion, therefore, that the old Asiatic letters were drafts of certain objects, cannot be entirely fanciful ; and the inference will be, that such letters possessed, in part, at least, the nature of hieroglyphics, or general symbols, like those of the Celta, ; — and were intended, equally io convey certain ideas, besides their elementary powers in lanc:uaG;e. But, though each of the Chaldaic, Samaritan, or Phac- riician characters, may have originally represented some object, yet no copy of them, which is known at present, enables us to say that all of them can be described, or un- derstood, as representing objects of any one class. They arc not uniform drafts of animals, — of plants,— ox of pro- 333 Auctions by art, They are of a mixed nature, and can- not be, with precision, traced from any one homogeneous plan, or system. May it not be, then, presumed, that Asiatics not only had augmented the number of their letters, but also had made some innovations in the series of primitive symbols ? Of their ancient knowledge in symbolical leaves, and sprigs, — the terms, and metaphors of their languages give most un- equivocal evidence, and proof. The names of the Hebrew, and Chaldaic letters evidently connect their alphabets, with Greek, ana! with Irish; as, Aleph Alpha Ailim Beth Beta Beith Heth Eta Eadha Tod Iota Idho Nun Nun Nioti Resh Rho Ruis, &c Are the Irish names, then, to be descendants from the Hebrew ? — By no means. They are borrowed from no foreign language. The words are purely Irish, and are taken from one homogeneous series of symbolical plants. As for the Hebrew names, they are intelligible terms in the Hebrew language. They point out very different ob- jects, from those, which are pointed out by similar, and cor- responding names, in the Irish ; but this difference, may be solved, upon a fundamental principle of language. All names, described, originally, a particular mode of existing, or of acting. 334 They conveyed the leading ideas, which may generally be collected from their verbs : and, when appropriated, so as to denote things, impressed those leading ideas, respecting the several objects to which they were applied. It will be shewn, hereafter, that, upon this principle, the Irish names unite with corresponding terms, in Hebrew, and Greek. This union of the import, conveyed by similar sounds, in the names of the letters, demonstrates to me the original identity of the languages, and of the conceptions entertained by the several nations, respecting their ele- mentary characters, or symbols of sounds. The various applications of the Asiatic terms, may have supplied them with an opportunity of selecting a more or- namental series for their symbols. In support of that system, which is formed of sprigs, it must, however, be observed, that it is more simple, and more harmonious, in its parts, than we can allow that of the Chaldeans, or Hebrews to be, which is prompted by the characters, and fche received interpretation of the names which arc given to their letters. It must also have been. wore ancient. "Whatever cause introduced the other series, it must have operated at a more advanced period of society, when men were already in the habit of delineating, or engraving their symbols, not of applying them in their natural state, For, it is evident, that Asiatic symbols were not adapted, originally, to the same primitive mode of application, as the symbols, that were Druidical. The Sage of Draidism could express, or convey his ideas, by a mere sprig of the fir, the birch, the ivy, and the oak, arranged upon a, string. A Chaldean, or the an- cient Hebrew, could not, so conveniently, do the same, 335 by the head of an ox, — the end of a house, the head, or neck of a camel,- — and the leaf, or screen of a door. This, more costly, and magnificent, series, was impracticable, without recourse to delineation, or the art of engraving,-^ a comparatively modern, and recent practice. It was designed, originally, for delineation ; and having been suggested, by the various applications of terms, in. some ancient dialect, it was probably adopted, for the pur- pose of decorating public edifices, with inscriptions of sculpture. It appears, then, to have been an ambitious refinement, upon a simple, and primitive system, which has evident vestiges of it, in the terms, and the metaphors of the East- ern languages themselves. But, if the series of symbols was changed, — its mode of application improved, — and scale enlarged ; yet, the art of writing amongst the nations, appears to have sprung, and flowed from one source. The sipnbols, and letters, which are locally used, have more analogy to each other, than such as can be attributed, with justice, or common sense, to mere chance. This analogy points out an original identity in the art of writing, in whatever stage of rudeness, or per- fection, we now find it ; and further demonstrates, that it is not the work of independent genius in various countries, but the remains of a general system. At the same time, there is, on the other hand, so much local peculiarity in the elements of this art, and in the manner of using them. that we cannot suppose it was borrowed from any one pco- 'pie, after its attainment of perfect maturity. The inference, from the whole, is, manifest, and clear, that 336 in simple rudiments, this important art existed amongst the common parents of mankind, — and, from them, it came to the several families of the earth. When the first prin- ciples of it were known, different countries may have made their separate improvements upon them, or may have, occasionally, availed themselves of those, which had been modelled by their neighbours. As the most ancient people of Europe were less ambi- tious of improvement, and were more studious of pre- serving, unimpaired, what they possessed, than Asia's more celebrated inhabitants; — as the alphabet of Druidism, which is related nearly to the Pelasgian, or Etruscan, is, in its fundamental principles, in its radical characters, in its primitive use, and in all its properties, more simple, and more homotonous, than we find those of the Oriental na- tions, who were, confessedly, the first that innovated upon these primitive arts ; — I can scarce hesitate in yielding to the force of such evidence, and concluding, that our an- cestors, in the western continent, have presented us with a most authentic transcript of the general alphabet employed by the Noachidce. It will be said, that arts, like these, travelled from the East. — This I am ready to concede. They came from that country, which was the cradle of the nations. I have not ascribed the invcntioii of written speech to the IVest. tn this particular instance, I ask no more than credit for a genera/ maxim : — that, whatever ancient arts have been retained by a people, comparatively simple, and uncultivated, have been subject, necessarily, to fewer * changes, than arc made in the seats of luxury and refinement. ,\nd these, who may disallow my inferences, will be ready to 337 admit that Asiatics were the first who extended the limits of the arts and sciences, derived from the family of Noah, and, through them, from the antediluvians. They were, therefore, the first who innovated on primitive systems, and who obliterated that impression of respect, which the in- stitutes of their fathers claimed, in honour to their anti- quity. Our very learning has led us into error, upon the sub- jects of ancient history. It has tempted us to look for the rudiments of the arts, at those, to whom we are onjy in- debted, for improvements, and for alterations. Whilst the sacred orders of men, amongst the less re- fined states of Europe, revered, and carefully cherished, the usages of the early ages, Greece, more polished, and, the Romans, from them, eagerly embraced the improve- ments, and the innovations of Asiatic refinement, — gave com- plete credence to the idle boast of their vanity, — and made it an honour, to borrow of nations, who vaunted of an antiquity, far beyond the real epoch of the world's creation : — they despised, they neglected, and almost forgot those primitive institutions, and simple rudiments of science, which had been the just pride of their own progenitors. With antiquities of their own country, these more cele- brate^ nations, in the meridian of their learning, and power, were but little acquainted. To the Phoenicians, and Egyptians, their acknowledgments were certainly due, for enlarging their sphere of knowledge; but their gratitude ex- ceeded all modest bounds. They began, by degrees, to regard' their instructors, as the original inventors of arts, and the first communicators of science. Modem Europe, in like v 33a manner, indebted, as it is, to the arts, and muses, of Greece, and Rome, for much of its learning, has too im- plicitly adopted their opinions. It may be expected, that I should here take some notice of two species, in written language, which have generally been considered, as totally distinct from the use of ele- mentary alphabets. I mean, the Chinese characters, and the Egyptian hieroglyphics. I hope that my short remarks upon these topics, which have neither been the subject of my immediate studies, nor have much connection with my general plan, will be accepted with candour, as mere grounds of conjecture. The characters of the Chinese have no elementary con» nection with a language of that people, — and books, writ- ten in these characters, may be read in several languages. Their appearance has impressed me with a notion, that, ori- ginally, they were nothing but monograms of a poly- syllabic language, very different from that of the Chinese, and that the keys, or radical parts of these characters, which constantly preserve a relation to the same leading ideas, whatever adventitious touches they have adopted, were rnonograms of primitive words, which admit of prepositions, of terminations, and of other words, in composition. The Chinese, as I learn from Dr. Hager, have preserved some remains, and much tradition, of an earlier series in characters more complex, representing natural, or artificial objects, ljke the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. The people, who supplied their monograms; may have had letters, designed after such objects, — as in the old Samaria tan alphabet, already mentioned. S39 When I recollect the original scheme upon which let- ters were formed, — the early/ and primitive nature of their characters, viewed as drafts of certain things, — and the general ideas conveyed by their names, — it occurs to me, that, in their first conceptions, they must have approached the description of hieroglyphics. On the other hand, I cannot help imagining, that Egyptian hieroglyphics must have possessed analogy to the nature of letters ; that, in other words, they were sym- bols of ideas, connected with elementary sounds, or with primitive, and simple terms of the Egyptian language, and that elaborate sculptures on the monuments of Egypt, were not occasioned by the rudeness of her priest, in the art of writing, but rather by ostentatious parade, and pretence of mystery. Apuleius, Mctam. L. II. speaking of his initiation into the mysteries of Isis, informs us, " that he, (the hiero- phant) drew out certain books, from the repositories of the sanctuary, which contained the words of the sacred for- mula^ compendiously expressed, partly by figures of animals, and partly by certain marks, or notes, intricately knotted, revolving in the manner of a wheel, and crowded together, and curled inward, like the tendrils of a vine, so as to hide THE MEANING FROM THE CURIOSITY OF THE PROFANE." This, was not their practice, for want of the knowledge of letters, but was their studied perversion of the alphabet, in its proper, and simple use. The letters of the ancient Egyptiatis, like those of the Hebn&s, and of several other nations, may have been distiy- 340 guished by names, which, primarily, expressed leading ideas, and, at the same time, were appropriated also to a variety of objects, in which those leading ideas presented themselves. In this case, the term could be represented, by the figure of either of the objects to which it was applied. Let us, for example, suppose, that the letter B was called Bai, and that such a term primarily imported, being, or existing* We are told, that Bai, was the Egyptian denomination for a branch of the palm-tree, and that this tree was an~ ciently regarded as an'emblem of being, existence, or im- mortality. Again : — Tlorapollo says, " Bai, signified a hawk, the soul, and the zcind [anima] ; therefore, the Egyptians used the haiok, as a symbol for the soul," The word is written Bais, in the Nomcnclatura Egyptiaco — Arabica, published by Kircher. Dr. Woide follows Kir- cher; but, in the Lexicon Coptico-Gr&cum, in the Biblio- theque du Roi, at Paris, we find, &**, Bai, species aliqua accipitrum ; and the same occurs in Cctiius, L. IV. C. 16. Opinantur Egyptii animal conceptum esse cor; qua. ra tione, cum accipitris nomine indicari animam putcnt ; illam, vocabulo gentilitio, £<*«#, Bai-eth nuncupant, quod animam signat et cor: siquidem, Bai y anima est ; eth t verb, cor." Gen. VaUency. Mon. at Lush. Transact, of the R. I. Acad. 1788. . dehneation of a sprig of the palm-tree, or of the hawk's 341 figure might, then be used, indifferently, to represent the term Bai, its leading image, — and its various appropriations ; — In writing the Egyptian language, either of these figures might represent the letter B, vhich was known by the same description. The Hebrew particle 3, denotes presence, or existence, in any given time, place, or condition, — and the name of the letter, rva, signifies a. house, abode, or place of being, unless it be formed out of a more ancient, and simple term, — O, Bi, or Bai. The Greeks called the palm-branch, b«wv, or b^ki and But*, or b«it«, (the letter B) preserves the sound of the Hebrew Beth, or the Egyptian Bai ; but the idea of the name, in Greek, may be collected from &-£«»-04>, to confirm, establish, or place in a permanent state of existence. The Latins called this letter Be, nearly the simple name of the Bai, or symbolical palm-branch. And Be, in the Celtic, conveys the same leading idea of existence. Irish, Be, is the term for life ; Cornish, signifies Be, am, art, is, — cxisterit. The country of the t)ruids produced no palm-trees* In order, therefore, to make their system entire, and preserve it, they found it necessary to substitute another plant, for this ancient emblem of being, or immortality. They fixed upon the birch. Perhaps it was a supposed coincidence of character, be- tween this tree and the palm, that gave occasion to its Latin name, Betula, q. d. the little B*>, or B*nr. 342 In the Celtic of Ireland, the birch is called beith, which equally signifies being, essence, existence. It seems to be connected with Ir. Both, Bothan ; W. Bwth, (pi. Byth) a hut, cottage ; Booth, a place of abode, or being, equiva- lent in its meaning, to the Hebrew no. ... In Welsh, Byth also signifies, for ever,, eternity. ,; ' : The birch, therefore, in the Celtic language, being distin- guished by a term, which, primaril}*, imports, being, or exist- ence, was constituted the symbol of the term, and of the idea which it conveyed. It also became the symbol of the letter B, represented by a sprig of this plant ; — and the reason was clearly this, — that the power of that letter, connected with its vocal breathing, conveyed the same general idea as Beith, by which the birch was delineated. In the Bardic alphabet, this letter is called Bi, which, in Irish, implies the sense of the Latin fuit ; in Welsh, that of the Latin erit : in both languages, it is the root of the essential verb, to Be. Recollecting these principles of the symbolical system, we may infer, that, in the rude, and primitive language, Bi, Be, or Bai, and even the very power of B, when incor- porated in the simple terms of the first ages, was to con- vey the idea of being, or existence, — and that, in the dialects which came, as branches, from that language, its derivatives rvi, Bam*, B«». : , Beith, Both, Bictk, Byth, &c. became terms appropriate for place of being — for the self-propagating birch, — for the immortal palm, — for an eternal duration, &.c. Such terms, and the general idea which they attracted, might be represented, with equal propriety, by the sketch 243 of a house, — as in the Hebrew 1, — by the palm-branch of the Egyptians, — or by their figure of a hawk, — by the birch-sprig of Druidical symbols, — by a draught of that sprig, — as in the Bardic alphabet, — or, indeed, by objects in general, viewed, 'under the same character, and expressed by the same, or a congenial term. Thus, different objectSj in different countries, might become the symbols of the same idea, and of the same elementary sound, — the hieroglyphics of Egypt may have been connected with Egyptian letters, — just as Druidical symbols were connected with Celtic language. The Egyptia?i priest, either from vanity,— or supersti* tion,— <-or to restore the veil of mystery which the popular use of letters had, in part, removed, may have devised a new and magnificent series of symbols, founded upon the same principle as that of the simple, and primitive charac- ters, — hut which could only be read, where his language was understood. If I have touched upon these abstruse topics, it has been so briefly, that 1 may, perhaps, be pardoned by the liberal, and benevolent criii''. ESSJtY ■ OS TIIS CELTIC LANGUAGE: JN WHICH ITS RADICAL PRINCIPLES, ARE APPRECIATED AND COMPARED WITH PRIMITIVES, AND SIMPLE TERMS, IN HEBREW, GREEK, and LATIN. S47 Sect. I. — Subject proposed. On the principle of natural expression, or the relation bekveeti certain sounds, and certain ideas. XN the former essay, I gave my opinion, supported by the evidence upon which it was formed, that an order known by the name of Druids, to the latest period of their esta- blishment, preserved a respectable copy of an alphabet, which the earliest of those tribes, which had settled in Europe, brought with them out of Asia. I also explained the account, which those Druids left in Britain, respecting the original, and fundamental principles of this alphabet. I added, that a similar account is partly recognised by other primitive nations. But the importance of the discovery is not limited only to these facts. It acquires its principal value, from the opportunity it affords, of illustrating an ancient system in philology : viz. That each of the elementary sounds in lan- guage, naturally describes a distinct image, or perception of the mind, and that language raws, originally, formed, by following nature as the guide, in adapting sounds like these, to their several, and respective occasions. That such Druidical symbols, — and the series of letters, which arose from them, — were intended, both to support that system, and explain its principles in detail, — appears, by the following testimonies. 1. Taliesin says, — with a reference to the whole device of the symbols, — 348 A'm swynysci Math, Cyn bum diacred. ** I had been marked by Kind, Before I became immortal." And again : — " The points of the mimic trees, what do they whisper so forcibly, and what breathings are in their roots ? — These are read by the sages." In another place : — When the removal took place, I was marked by the chief, amongst the multitude of the arts of the sages, — imitators of nature." If nature marked, or pointed out the several plants, a§ appropriate symbols of speech, and of its elements; — if to them she assigned the office, and province of composing, and of dualizing languages, it is evident, that every element of language, was understood, in those days, to have a distinct character, marked, and fixed by nature. Upon this ground, the same Bard separately describes the genius, disposition, or action of the symbols, — evidently implying the force,, or the import, which their correspond- ing powers were understood then to possess, in the forma- tion of language. 2. Trees, and plants, that are selected as the symbols, — present obvious, and very natural characters : they suggest the same ideas, which are marked in the descriptions of the Bard. 3. The names, by which these plants, — considered as the symbols, — are distinguished in the Irish language, — are 349 Calculated for the impression of these ideas, in. the most forcible manner. 4. The simple names of the Bardic letters, or counter- feited sprigs, are amongst the most important, as well as discriminate roots of the Welsh, and the Irish languages. They are at the head of numerous families; — they confirm the descriptions of Taliesin, — the hints presented by the natural characters of those plants, — and the import of the Irish names. 5. The application of that system is to be supported by evidence, taken from other languages, in which no collusion can be suspected. 6. The 7iames of the Roma7i letters, are terms of known value, in the "language of the Celta,— and of an import simi- lar to the names of the Bardic letters Many also of Greek, and nost of the Hebrezc, or Chaldaic letters, have expli- cable names, which may be referred, with ease, to certain verbs, expressing parallel ideus to the names for the corres- ponding letters, and symbols of the Celtce. A manifest in- timation, that one, and the same identical system was known, and was taught, not only in Greece, or in Italy, but in Syrick, and Chaldca, 7. An application of these principles, and system, to the radical terms of the Celtic, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew language, is found, in most instances, truly to dejine their meaning, so as to ascertain the original principles, from which these languages arose, and prove that the system is net founded upon ancient opinion alone, — but upon truth. 350 To explain, — and verify, these "particulars, will be the busi- ness of the following essay. In a former part of this woi k, I enumerated some pro- perties of the Celtic language, which point out the general practicability of constructing an elementary alphabet upon a system of general symbols. In other words, I remarked the paucity, and the extreme simplicity of radical zoords ; — the general, as well as the obvious ideas conveyed by them — and the acknowledgment of a natural affinity be- tween the simple elements of language, and the ideas they were to convey. The two former particulars, I shall have occasion to ex- emplify in the sequel of the essay ; — but, singly, to the latter, I appropriate the remainder of this present section, — because some ancient schools, and modern writers, have denied the existence of any such principle, as natural expression, or the relation between ideas, and sounds. In the few books, which accident has thrown in my way, the negative has been supported by the following arguments. 1. It has been observed, as a datum, that, nations, different in language, describe the same object by different words, and by different elements of sound. It has been further contended, — that no such diversity could have taken place, had language, in general, been formed upon a uatural ana- logy, between ideas, and sounds. 2. It has been additionally observed, — that mankind, and a certain species of birds, are capable of learning foreign 35 1 sounds, and foreign terms, by imitation; but that such attainments are acquired with extreme difficulty. Hence, it has been concluded, rather hastily, that sounds, being purely imitative, and being acquired by the ear, our several voices, and their several articulations can have no primary, or natural connection with appropriate ideas ; — that primi- tive man could have had no impulse to express a distinct perception of the mind, by one articulate sound, more than by another ; that, consequently, the rudiments of language must have been arbitrary, selected by chance, and fixed by compact alone. 3. From this mode of reasoning, an hypothesis arose, that man was, originally, destitute of all speech, and that he laboured, for a series of ages, to acquire the difficult art of articulation, which he collected, by degrees, from the voices of certain animals, and from the sounds that bodies pro- duced, in motion, or in collision. 4. To confirm this hypothesis, I have seen it urged, that, even at this day, there are several nations of savages, or of men in a wild state of nature, who have not learnt the power to articulate. In order to make an end of the debate, by indisputable facts, the particular case of two savage men, has been pro- duced, and strenuously insisted upon. One such being was found, in a forest of Saxony, another, in a deserted wood in France. They were so remote from acquisition, or natural speech, that, after they were introduced into society, they could not even be taught the power to articulate. " Shall it be, after this, pretended, that man, found in a state of nature, had any language at all !" 352 5. Remarks, not unlike these, have been extended even to the feathered race. I have read, that a male bird has taken a convenient station, before the nest, in full view of the young brood, having purposed teaching them his power of song, by lessons, adapted partly to their several capacities, and partly to their degrees of application ; — that, in general, the talents of the young birds open, at a very tender age ; but that, if they be" removed from the nest im- mediately after they are hatched, they never acquire the song of the parent at all. This has furnished an argument, that even the songs of birds, are not inspired by natural instinct, but acquired by the ear alone, and by observation Upon the manner in which the sounds are produced. These are the chief arguments against natural expression, which occur to my recollection. I shall offer something in reply to them all. The various terms, by which the different languages ex- press the same thing, may be partly solved, by the different modes of inflection, of composition, or of contraction ; which custom has introduced into local dialects, and by which, the same radical word has been so diversified, that its identity cannot be immediately recognised. I shall give an instance of this, in the term for my mother's son. Lat. frater ; Ital. fratello ; French, frere ; Eng. bro- ther; Germ, bruder; Gueld. bruyr ; Be/g. broeder ; Goth. brothar ; Dan. Brodre ; Szved. broder ; Welsh, brawd ; Corn, bredar; Armor, breur,- Irish, brathair ; Manks, breyr ; Russ. brate ; Sclav, and Pol. brat ; Dalmat. brath ; Lusat. bradt ; Bohcm. bradr. This term undergoes twenty changes, corresponding to 353 the genius of the several dialects ; yet, it preserves, through- out, evident vestiges of some one original word. Not presuming to determine what that wOrd is, or was, I shall only observe, that in more than one Celtic dialect, bru, sig- nifies a zcomb ; Ad, — iteration, repetition of the same ; and ur, — a man. Bruad, then, is an offspring, or produce of the same zvomb ; and bruadur, a man, produced by the same womb. But, according to my cdnception of the subject, a more fruitful source of the diversity in terms, must be explored in the original nature of all terms, which is relative, or de- scriptive,— not fixed, or absolute. And, for this reason it is, that, not only a difference of dialects, but one, and the same, dialect, may have great variety of names for the same thing ; when it may be viewed under a variety of relative characters. Thus, a son, in Irish, is called mac, which is a nursling, from the word macam, I sustain, or support. This is equivalent, in its meaning, to the Latin alumnus: bar, a shoot, or offspring ; propago : ore, a germ, or seed ; progenies: luan, a small one, from lu, small; parvulus : nion, an image, or likeness, &c» Had five distinct families, been separated from the Irish nation, — had they colonised as many desart islands, in which their posterity retained only one of these terms, and applied it in the same absolute manner as we do the word son, — it is evident, that, in this instance, the new in- habitants would no longer be able to recognise the relative, or descriptive, nature of these words, — or the original iden- tity of their several dialects. This example is not singular. In the same language, 354 there are ten words for a boy ; — upwards of twenty, for a kill, or mountain ; — and as great a variety, for almost every object, which an unrefined people, were likely to have con- templated ; but each of them describes a distinct relation, or character, of that which it names. We cannot, therefore, adduce the diversity of terms, as an argument against the first principle of natural expression, and the original identity of languages, — till we have con- sidered these terms, in the relative, and the descriptive capacity, not in the fixed, and the absolute. That mankind have an -aptitude, and favourite impulse, to learn sounds by the ear, is readily admitted. It is a sub- ject of daily observation. The infant thus acquires the language of its nurse, as the youth does that of the fo- reigner. The dialect of a nation thus becomes general, throughout the several families. It is further admitted, that a mode of articulation, which is acquired by the infant, appears, for ever afterwards, the most natural, and the most easy to us ; whilst the sound* taught at a more advanced age, are practised with com- parative difficulty. By the ear, and frequent efforts, some have learned : — • utter sounds with ease, and fluency, that would be found impracticable, upon the first attempt. — Some kinds of birds, on the contrary, have imitated the songs of the other spe- cies, or the articulation of the human voice. 355 But this does not militate against my first principle, which is, that we have an original propensity, born zcith us, to express, and commimicate, certain perceptions, or ideas, by appropriate sounds: — that such perceptions, and sounds, have, therefore, a natural relation between each other. This propensity may have been guide enough to the an- cestors of the race, in the formation of their simple voca- bulary ; and that it was, in fact, I think, is demonstrable. The operation of this principle is perceptible still, in the simple, and primitive terms, of most languages; and, as far as we can ascertain the local inflections, combinations, in contraction, we can, so far, trace its vestiges, into the main body of languages. The voice of nature has not been entirely silenced, or su- perseded, by imitative accomplishments. Would Signor Rossignol wish to communicate an idea, to his audience, he would immediately, and at once, drop the language of the nighti?igale, or blackbird, and have recourse to that of the society, in which he is placed. Should he have broken his fiddle, or torn his ruffle, he would, probably, discard the foreign language, and would bewail his misfortune, in his native dialect. Were the same person affected with surprise, grossly affronted, or exposed, on a sudden, to violent pain : — were the boy that prepares his negus, to have spilt some of the boiling water upon his foot, he would, in a moment, quit the Italian, would forget all his learn- ing, and would express his agonies, in the language of na- ture, that is, in such tones, interjections, or exclamations, as would be equally understood, by the whole species. 556 This language of nature, we daily distinguish, in the tones, and warbles of the infant, expressing its various per- ceptions, or emotions, before it has learned either to imi- tate, or comprehend the import of our terms. We also perceive it, in the tones, and in the exclamations, which passion, or any violent impulse extorts, from the deaf, and the dumb. From a misconception of principles, respecting the ori- ginal nature of language, mistaken opinions have arisen, concerning its introduction into society. If mankind had no predisposing impulse, to communicate their perceptions of things, and of their several relations, by natural, and by oral signs; — if they could have possessed no rudiments of language, till they had agreed upon certain arbitrary terms ; • — till they had even digested these terms, into noun, verb, and particle, with all the accompaniments of number, de- clension, tense, mood, and person ; were this true, it is equally certain, that such creatures must not only have "re- mained, for ages, without the use of speech: they must have continued so, to this day, and forever. Could we ad- mit the possibility, that men should acquire the faculty of speech, by mere compact, or studied mechanism; why must it be supposed, they had recourse to the voices of ani- mals, or the sounds of inanimate things? " Because, we are told, it is by no means natural for man to articulate : it is an art zchich he acquires tcith dij- ficultij, and imitation alone" But, as brutes are thus elevated into the first masters of language, let us ask, who taught the first lion to roar, the first bull to bellow, and the first lark to dng? shall it be said, that God, or nature, endowed the first generation of 357 brutes, with all their various languages, impressed an apti- tude upon them, to utter certain perceptions, by their cor- responding sounds, and that he denied all such predisposing aptitudes to man alone ? Something of this kind seems to be intimated, when I am told, that nations of savages, or of men in a state of nature, have not yet surmounted the difficulty of pronounc- ing several consonants. However conclusive such an ar- gument may appear, to some philosophers, I confess, that for one, I cannot perceive its force, or grant the assump- tion, that savage life, is a natural state, or, that extreme depravity, and the ultimate perfection of the human crea- ture, can be one and the same thing. A natural state is that which affords the best and fairest opportunity, for a display of the discriminative character, of this or that species : and the characteristic of man, is reason, or com- mon sense. The condition, which affords the best and fair- est opportunity for the exercise of this endowment, is the natural and perfect state of man. Examine that plant! — it grows in its proper soil, and congenial aspect. There it will be found in its natural state. From that state, it may be equally removed, if pampered in a hot-bed, or starved in a cold steril earth. So man departs as widely from his nature, by the path of rudeness and brutality, as by that of luxury and refinement. His intellectual, and his organic faculties, may be infinitely debased, below the intention and standard of nature. If this be the situation of savages, I can acknowledge no more force, in the argument before us, than in that of a philonher, who should reason with me thus. " Infants, who have not acquired the power of erecting themselves, and some cripples,, who have lost that power, crawl upo* 358 their hands and feet; therefore it cannot he natural for man to be upright. But, as great stress has been laid upon the case of two savages, — the Saxon, and French, it may not be improper to bestow some attention upon their story, They are described as having been deserted, in the forests, by some accident, in their earliest infancy. When found, they had almost attained manhood. They had lived unconnected with so- ciety, and consequently, had formed their habits, with a perfect independence of its controul. They were taught, — by their masters, — to sit, stand, and walk upon two feet; but their favorite gait, was quadrupedal. They could nei- ther speak, at first, nor be taught, afterwards, to articulate. Hence it has been inferred, that man can have no primitive language, and that all articulation is, with difficulty ac- quired, even by the ear. If the facts, as they are stated, are true, the conse- quences, drawn from them, will not follow. An unpro- tected infant, exposed alone to the horrors of a forest, could only have acquired sufficient language, to express the ideas, which arose from his insulated situation. What could the wretched being have to utter, more than a pierc- ing cry of distress, groans of anguish, or screams of terror, and growls of rage ? Even these, he had no opportunity, and, therefore, could have had no incitement, ever to com- municate amongst others of his own species. When deprived of his usual range, and confined amongst men, he had still his inveterate, and savage, habits about him, which it was im- possible for him to overcome. He could not, therefore, have been disposed, by habits, to acquire the language of society. His case must have been widely different, from fhat of the first parents, whose dawn of existence was in 359 the society of each other, in the enjoyment of happiness, in the full possession of all their bodily, and of all their intel- lectual, faculties, unexercised, indeed, but mature, and per- fect, and with every possible aptitude for exercise. They were endowed with a native impulse, which directed all their powers to their proper end, — and tney had .no savage habits to overcome. Such a distinction ought, unquestionably, to be made, could we give implicit, and full, credence to the facts, re-r lated of these two savages. But these facts demand a very serious reconsideration. Common sense has a voice, more persuasive than is that of a hundred philosophers. In this instance, do we not hear it rebuke us, for drawing such nu- gatory inferences, from absolute impossibilities? Is it not the post ulatum, a ridiculous absurdity, that an infant, de- serted in a German, or French forest, before it acquired any ideas of articulation, and consequently, before it could walk, or stand upon its feet, ever did, or ever could support its own existence , ? But did not a she zcolf condescend once to -nurse Romulus, and Remus? might not a she zcolf have kill&d the mother of this child, and then have taken com- passion upon the helpless orphan? Let one absurdity be al- lowed the commodious privilege of resting upon another ! yet, in a very few months, the milk of the wolf must have dried up, and the foster child have been abandoned, by force, to the necessity of* providing for its own sustenance, was the infant then, arrived at a competent age, to follow the oc^ cupation of its nurse, to hunt for its daily food, and brave the horrors of the approaching winter? As all this appears to me an utter impossibility, I suppose, that, if there be not some philosophical fraud in their history, these two savages, notwithstanding their near approach to the human form, were half brutes, the offspring of abomination. In 360 their habits, they seem to have resembled the ape, more than human creatures. The observation i of the fact, that a parent bird instructs the nestlings how to sing, is elegant, and ingenious. I would, by no means, dispute its authenticity ; yet I cannot admit of the consequences which have been drawn from it, in their full extent. It proves only, that particular modifica- tions of sound, are most readily acquired by the ear, and by observing the manner in which they are produced. It will not follow, that such are the only sources of the vocal expression, either in the human, or brute creation. Some indisputable testimonies of the reverse, may be adduced. A cock, hatched under a duck, crows like his father. Ducks, hatched under a hen, spontaneously acquire the voices, as well as the habits of their own species. A cuckoo, hatched in the nest of a hedge-sparrow, will disregard the language, and the habits of his nurse, but will attach himself to those of his parasitical parents. A lamb, taken from the body of its dying mother, and uniformly nursed by the hand, will yet bleat like another lamb. Though voices of animals be circumscribed within a narrow compass, yet they have some variety of tones> and sounds, by which they express, and communicate, amongst others of their own kind, the perceptions of anger, plea- sure, fear, confidence, z&ant, satisfaction, &c. And it is evident, from the foregoing instances, that they acquire names of this kind spontaneously, or from an impulse of nature, without effort, or imitation. In like manner, an infant, almost as soon as it is born, begins to express its feelings, in the language of nature, 361 without having heard the similar cry of another child, and, in a few months, long before it has made any efforts, to learn, or imitate, the language of social compact, it can inform an attentive nurse, by its tones, and warblings, whether it is angry, or pleased, in pain, or at ease. It is, therefore, clear, that an utterance of particular sounds, adapted, by their nature, to their proper occasions, whether, by the human, or brute creation, is not invaria- bly, acquired by the ear, and produced by an imitation of similar tones ; but may arise, from certain aptitudes, which God, by the laws of nature, has implanted in the several de- scriptions of his creatures, for the communication of their perceptions amongst one another. Were it practicable to seclude a couple of children, — as an Egyptian tyrant is said to have done, — without suffering them to hear the voice of man, or animal, it cannot be doubted, but they would acquire the use of oral signs, which they would mutually understand. It is not pretended, by me, that Hebrew would be their lan- guage, — as it has been imagined by some ; — but they would surely acquire a few simple notes, to express, intelligibly, the general sensation excited in them, b}- objects that pre- sented themselves, or by emotions of their own minds. Could their lives be kept up to nine centuries, — like those of the first linguist,— r-they would unavoidably extend their vocabulary, and would improve their grammar, so far as to have a copious provision of definite, and proper terms, for the most familiar objects, and a power to communicate jdeas of the most obvious forms in existence, or in actions; 363 and from such rudiments, a language, of considerable compass, would arise, in a few generations. In such a tongue, mutual compact would obviously have much to do ; but it; ground-work would be laid, in the natu- ral, and the untaught, principle, which disposes men, and brutes, to utter their voices, in certain tones, or modifica- tions, analogous to their various perceptions, and emotions. The operation of this principle, upon the human voice, may, at once, be perceived. Joy, fear, pain, love, anger, and all the passions, have their appropriate, and sponta- neous tones, which are discriminately comprehended, not only by persons of a different language, but, in some de- gree, by the intellect of brutes. Our dogs, and horses, know, by cur tones, whether we are angry, or satisfied, menace, or applaud, — check, or encourage them. It will, perhaps, be conceded, that our spontaneous tones arc naturally expressive, — and that properties of the vowels, are evidently connected with them. But, it will be urged, that no such impulse extends to the arti- culation of the consonant. There are many, who will not either discard, or abjure, the opinion, that every new articu- lation is artificial, and of difficult acquisition. To this oracle, I think, we may oppose an argument of considerable weight, as drawn from the general perception of an affinity, between one sound, and one sense, in com- positions, both ancient, and modern. « In all ages, and countries, men of an accurate ear, and a fine taste, — whether learned, or illiterate, — have acknow- 363 ledged, and felt, such an affinity, in the works of their poets, and orators. It must, in truth, be perceived, in fact, by those who deny it in theory. Of this correspondence, — the most admired, and sagacious critics upon Homer, Virgil, Milton, and many others, furnish us with copious examples. They all acknowledge it, as a source of beauty, and of energy, in the works of these masters, — though few of them have carried their speculations so far, as to develop the element, or principle, from which it arises. It cannot be ascribed, implicitly, or entirely, to an arti- ficial arrangement of dactyls, and spondees ; for it will frequently burst upon us, in the midst of a line, consisting of pure Iambics. It is perceived in prose compositions, and in single words. It must, therefore, be rooted in the powers of the letters, — in the choice of elementary sounds, which have some peculiarity of relation to the intended idea. And, if a combination of sounds, possesses a de- scriptive energy, the elements, and principles of descrip- tion must exist, in the individual sounds. A multiplica- tion of mere cyphers, never can produce an efficient sum. The perception of such relations, is not an artificial sense, resulting from the labours of critics, and of rhetoricians. I never yet knew that schoolboy, who possessed one spark of genius, that was not immediately roused, by the ma- gical power of descriptive sounds, in reading Ovid, or 364 Virgil, and who did not, by the animated efforts of his voice, mark himself a native critic. He that lias any taste for composition in his own tongue, perceives the natural expression of sweetness, or asperity, delicacy, or sublimity, in hearing a just recital of any verses, in a foreign language. This perception of correspond- ence, between sounds, and ideas,— -which is the same, in the learned, and illiterate,— must be natural, and spon- taneous. That arrangement, and movement, have great effect in displaying the power of sound, is very certain ; but they are not equal to all that is required. A line, in which the powers of E, I, B, L, N, are predominate, can, by no management of" the C this principle has, for many centuries, been overlooked, and its traces, have, in some degree, been obliterated. In- flections, — mutations,— and other novel terms, have re- ceived the sanction of custom, and the authority of gram- marians, without the least practical reference to the voice of nature. Still the vital principle itself is perceived, and is acknowledged by authors, and by readers who are blessed with an accuracy of taste. It may be remarked, in the un- solicited expressions, which accompany our natural efforts, or emotions, — and in the radical words of most languages* The opinion which I have thus maintained, has nothing at all new in it. The very same doctrine appears to have been the general persuasion of remote antiquity, and was never shaken, till the history of man was abused by fable, and their maxims confused by philosophical quibbles, The Egyptians are acknowledged by all to have carried minute inquiry, founded on experiments, to as high a pitch, as any inhabitants of the ancient world* Amongst them, an original formation of language, from spontaneous, and from natural sounds, was received as a general axiom, from which there could be no appeal. This appears, from an experiment, made, by a king of Egypt, for the purpose of determining the comparative antiquity of the nation he governed. Two infants, who, from the birth, had not bien suffered once to hear the voice of man, at the end of two years, uttered spontaneously a term, which, in Phrygian, signified bread. From this incident, the Egyptians concluded, that Phrygian was the most an- cient language. a a 370 Whatever objections may be urged against the mechanism, of the term Bex, and the abstract idea of bread, the ex- periment, as it was conducted, and as it was determined, proves, at least, the established opinion of the Egyptians, upon this topic, — that an original, or primary language of man was founded in spontaneous expressions, and that a people, who were the most ancient, or unmixed, would retain such a language. This, too, was the persuasion of the Platonic school : and it was known to the Romans. P. Nigidius, a cele- brated grammarian, — regarded natural expression as the root of language. That information we owe to A. Gellius, L. X. C. iv.. where, after giving several examples, the author adds, — " Ita, in his vocibus, quasi Gestus quidam oris, et spiritits naturalis est. Eadem ratio est, in Gratis quoque vocibus, quam esse in nostris animadvert imns." Amongst the moderns, many learned men, who distin- guished themselves, by their deep researches into the origin of language, have acknowledged, and main- tained principles of natural expression : particularly Da Brosses, in his Traitc de la Formation Mechanique des Langues, — and JVailis, in his Grammar of the English Language. From the whole of these premises, I would infer, that' our primitive order of Druids, and their successors, the Bards of Britain, are not chargeable with absurdity, iiv retaining this, with many other persuasions of antiquity, — in laying down this principle of natural, spontaneous, or descriptive expression, and in maintaining, that first rudi- 371 ments of language neither consisted of terms, arbitrarily imposed, nor of such, as were the result of studious observ- ation, and philosophical inquiries, but of such, as arose, from laws better ascertained, and more universal, — the lazes of nature itself. The formation of language, considered in the abstract, is a surprising phenomenon. It will, however, appear ac* countable, if not obvious, by admitting the operation of this principle. But, without any such principle in our nature, the acquisition of speech must have been impossible to man* Till we have recourse to this principle, etymology will rest upon nothing. We may unravel compounds, or derivatives, till we arrive at certain terms, which are enigma- tical, and whose precise, or primary import, cannot be sa- tisfactorily explained. But, let us once admit natural expression, etymology will then, like every other legitimate science, rest upon a solid ground. We shall be guided through all the various inflections of language, back to nature itself; to that pri- mordial impression, made, by the hand of the first mover, and, consequently, as far as true philosophy durst advance. As the various passions, movements, and perceptions of the mind, without study, or forethought, predispose the hu- man frame, to assume their peculiar attitudes, and impress upon the countenance, their peculiar character, which com- municates very distinct ideas to the beholder ; so they dispose the organs of speech, to assume their peculiar attitudes, productive, necessarily, of corresponding sounds, and arti- A a 2 372 dilations, which, in like manner, naturally communicate very distinct ideas to 1 the hearer. And, though such a natural character of sounds be de- faced, and weakened, by the refinement, or the corruption of language, yet is it not obliterated. The organs of speech, in many instances, can still point out a relation be- tween the ideas we are desirous to express, and corresponding sounds, which areas fairly subjects of discrimination to the philologist, as the external characters of the passions are t» the painter. 373 Sect. II. On the formation of language. Nature of the primitive language. O the preceding disquisition, upon the nature of ele- mentary sounds, I shall add a few thoughts respecting the formation of speech, the nature of primitive language, and the sense, in which it may be said even still to exist. That wonderful phenomenon, in the history of 'man, the organization of language, has attracted the notice of the learned, and the ingenious. It has given birth to various hypotheses, which are supported by an elaborate profusion of reading, and by acute observations. There are some, for instance, who regarding language as entirely of human invention, suppose, as I have already re- marked, that man borrowed his vocal, and articulate sounds, from various animals, and from the noise of inanimate things. — For this reason, they tell us, the letters, which are the symbols of those sounds, derive their names, and cha- racters, from the things, to which we owe their several powers*. This opinion I have already discussed, and, I hope, refuted. Many, of great learning, on the other hand, maintain, that the Hebrew, or some very similar language, was communicated by inspiration to our first parents, complete, in all its parts. * See HeKj. Box. P. 401. 374 A third class, take a middle course between these two opinions, and contend, that man was impressed with an aptitude by nature, to mark, and report express ideas, and perceptions, by appropriate sounds ; but that he was left en- tirely to his own choice, in the application of these principles, as in the natural use of his hands, feet, or any other organs. To this opinion, I rather assent; though, perhaps, there may be something peculiar in my view of the subject, and my plan of reasoning upon it. But, lest I should wander in theory, I will first con- sider the fact, as recorded by a writer, whose periods never drop idly from his pen. In the very compendious account of the first age, where nothing is admitted that js not of the highest importance, Moses thus details the origin of language. " And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone ; I will make him an help meet for him. And, out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam, to see what he would call them. And, whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ; but for Adam, there was not found an help meet for him." Gen, ii. 18, &c. It was undoubtedly intended, that this passage should be received, in the obvious, and plain sense of the narrative y with all its attendant circumstances. The first thing to be remarked is, the time when Adam 375 began to form his language. It was before the creation of Eve, whilst, as yet, there was not found an help meet for the man. There could not, consequently, have been a tacit compact in the first rudiments of speech. It is pre-supposed, that Adam had a disposition to try and exercise his oral powers. The creatures were not brought to him, to see whether he would name them, or notj but to see zchat he would call them. He had, then, a disposition to call them by some names. That such names had not been communiated previously to him, is evident. The creatures were brought to the man, to see what he would call them. Adam gave them names ; and, whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that w'as the name thereof The man is repeatedly represented, as a. free agent, in the choice of his terms, and the historian seems to have taken particular care, that it should be so understood. His maker had implanted principles in the man, which the occasion called forth into action, as his own feelings prompted, or his judgment prescribed. It may have been rendered necessary to be thus particular in the record, for the purpose of obviating some ancient superstition, respect- ing a sacred language. Adam's motive, to exercise his organs of speech, upon the present occasion, is intimated, by other parts of the narrative, to have been the implanted love of so- ciety. " It is not good that man should be alone," &c. When the man saw creatures, endowed, like himself, 376 both with life, and voluntary motion, pass in review before him, the social character of his disposition prompted him to attract their attention, by visible, and by audible signs; — he carried his efforts of this kind so far, as to call each of them, by appropriate names ; but their inferior powers, after all, had left the conviction, that he had not amongst them, a meet associate. Thus far we are guided by the sacred historian ; but now the difficulty commences — what kind of names could have been given, by a man, who was not previously fur- nished with a language, — and, in what sense could these names have been appropriate ? They could not have been mere combinations of element-, tary sounds, conceived at random, and accidentally dis- tributed, one to the elephant, another to the lion, a third, given to the coze, and a fourth to the sheep. Though Adam should have modulated his inexperienced organs, and so as to utter a multitude of such fortuitous combinations, yet they would have been sounds without meaning. They could have left no distinct impressions upon his own mind, nor could they aptly communicate such impression to others. They would, therefore, have been forgotten, soon after they had been imposed. Neither could the names, given by Adam, have been sci- entific, and classical terms of a zoologist. He was neither an expert linguist, nor any thing like a natural historian,. The animals presented, were such as he had never seen, and of whom he had never heard. He had experience of no other kinds, to which they might be compared. He knew absolutely nothing of them beyond the ideas, under whi,cl\ 377 they had presented themselves to his mind, at the moment, through the medium of the senses. And, as the human race, as yet, centered in himself, alone, the design of his words must have been rather to express, than to communicate. These names must, then, have been simply descriptive terms for obvious, and general ideas, excited immediately, and suited, naturally, to the inexperience of the nomenclator. He could have struck out no abstract ideas of any animal whatsoever ; but he could observe their several motions, their comparative bulk, or littleness, — their gentle, or awe- ful aspects, — their pleasing, or disagreeable shapes; and, for these obvious perceptions, nature itself could supply him with descriptive terms. Those terms would not only attach themselves to the memory, but would present apposite ideas, or images, to those who might afterwards hear them. Of some animals, he may have imitated the voices, and such imitations might become their names. But this rule could not have been general. We may, therefore, contemplate primitive man, as prompt- ed by the innate predilection of taste for social enjoyments, to detain, in his company, those living creatures, which had ahead v received their being. 'n' To attract their notice, and conciliate their good will, he addressed himself to them, severally, by descriptive gestures. These efforts called forth the hitherto, latent powers of his nature. The organs of speech, moved in unison, and produced their corresponding articulations, unless where this * exertion was saved by a simple 378 repetition of the voices which they uttered : and thus it was that the names of the familiar objects were acquired, and the solid ground-work of human language, laid upon the basis of natural principles. At the moment that human society commenced, man was already in possession of language, which, therefore, could not possibly have originated in a tacit compact : though it be admitted, that a compact of this, or of a similar nature, has much to do, in regulating the copious dialects of cultivated life. From these dialects, the original speech of man's first parents must have differed widely, in its com- pass, and structure. Language being only a medium for the expression, and communication of human ideas, and sensations, can be no further necessary, than as it is conducive to these ends. And as all human societies, however simple, and rude, possess language enough to communicate their usual range of ideas, — but no more, — we may, of course, presume that such was the case with Adam. The compass of his language could only have been com- mensurate with his occasions for speech. His memory can- not have been encumhcrd with a multitude of terms, to which he could attach no meaning. To what kind of terms could his inexperience have attached meanings ? It is not pretended that he was instructed in philosophical mysteries. He could, then, have had no terms which primarily expressed any sci- entific, or philosophical ideas. The numerous arts of civil life were yet undiscovered. The various occupations, and employments of men, in so- ciety, which might have demanded their several terms, and phrases, were, not as yet, known. There were no public 379 transactions, — no traffic between man and man, — no ac- counts of things, or events, — remote in time, or in place, — no traditions of customs, and of usages, upon which our first parents could have discoursed. Without ideas of such things, they could not have devised proper terms to express them ; nor could such terms have been divinely communicated ; for the Almighty never taught man to utter unmeaning words. They were surrounded by the works of nature, but with none of them, could they have been further acquainted, than as they perceived them by their senses. Whatever intellectual powers enriched their capacity, their knowledge, —as human beings, must have been the child of experience, and its growth must have been gradual. The original speech of mankind must, therefore, have been extremely simple. It must have been limited, exclu-* sively, to a few terms, and of these, to such as primarily expressed the most obvious ideas, or sensations. Its words must have been of the simplest kind. Sounds naturally expressing ideas, men would first under- stand the power of simple tones, before they began to fonn artificial combinations. The fundamental truth of this reasoning, is attested by the original structure of all the languages that are known. All the native terms of the most copious amongst them, may be reduced, perhaps, to less than a thousand primitive terms, of the most obvious import,- and the simplest form. The more ancient, and pure any language is, the fewer, and the more simple arc its primitives. It is therefore evident, that, although some dialects have in- dulged in partial contractions, the general progress has been 380 from the paucity, and simplicity of terms, to copiousness^ and artificial combination. A curious problem would still remain, as to the manner, in which the first class of terms conveyed information ; or the rank which they would claim to hold, in the modern grammar. The ancients, in general, regarded verbs, as the roots, or primitives of language ; but most of our modern philolo- gists, declare themselves in favour of nouns, as the basis of human language. And, in the passage I have quoted above, Moses gives no hints of any human words, that were prior to the names of animals. It cannot be imagined, that first essays in language could possess any thing so artificial as our verbs. Men could not, at once, have modified their words, by discriminating all the times, and circumstances, of being, or acting. Yet their nouns must have been something more than such arbi- trary terms, as might name, without describing their appropriate objects. Man had erected a shed, as a defence from the sun, and rain, before the orders of architecture were known ; and he had begun speech, before principles of grammar were developed. His first words*, probably, would not have admitted of an arrangement, under our classes. They had more general properties, and carried nearly the sense of the verbal, or participial nouns. They presented an image of a thing, by its mode of existence, or operation. They marked the form, or 381 the relation, by which the object had presented itself to the senses. From terms, descriptive thus of leading ideas, the dis~ criminate classes of the words, in organized language, would flow ; and without multiplying, or diversifying terms, the acquisition of substantives, of adjectives, verbs, or participles, would become naturally obvious. The same descriptive term would suit its meaning to the occasion, and would assume the character of a noun, or a verb, as the circumstances would require. For example, the simple articulation Ke, produced na- turally, and spontaneously, by an effort, either to catch, touch, or hold, would naturally describe an object, which had been observed in these actions, and would thus become the name of that which catches, — a dog ; that which touches, — a point ; or that which holds, — a cup. When spoken of an object, it would as obviously signify, to catch, — touch. or — hold. It would again express the qualities of catch- ing, touching, or holding ; and, lastly, the abstract idea* of a catch, — a touch, — -ahold. So Pe, which is produced by an effort of pushing, or pro- truding, would naturally express, the pusher, — to push,— pushing, — protrusion. This mode of application would pro- duce no embarrassment in the hearer. The English word, shot, in its various connections, is a substantive, an adjective, a verb, and a participle : yet its meaning is always under- stood. And, that such a leading proposition is true, in fact, as well as in theory, languages, as ae find them, after their terms have been indefinitely diversified, by art, or tacit agreement,, furnish abundant proof. That I may not collect 382 instances from the modern dialects, — let me only observe, that in Hebrew, the same term, is generally both a noun, and a verb ; as in these examples, fl'fT Hie, to live ;-=»-an a nimal ', — life. r>$h Leke, to take, receive; — a prison; — & pair of tongs, or forceps ; — a taking ; — learning. 12]} Hober, to passovcr ;— a boat ; — a passage ; — beyond. bsy Hopl, to lift up; — a tower; — haughty ; Sec. A language, of such extreme simplicity could not fail of presenting sufficient hints, for gradual organization of a more precise dialect, as the advancing state of society should render it necessary ; — whilst, in the mean time, this primitive tongue must have answered all the exigencies of an infant race. Let us put the case, that Adam the first man would in- form his new-created bride, of the elephant. The cha- racter which he had already described in this animal, in the act of naming him, was, probably, his enormous bulk. This description he is now to repeat. Being an inexpert orator, he would not trust entirely, and exclusively, to the powers of his voice. His arms would be elevated, and spread abroad, — in order to intimate the comprehension of gigantic space. This descriptive gesture would be aided by an immediate,, and spontaneous inflation of his cheeks, till his breath would find a passage through his nostrils. This natural description of a huge bulk would produce the sound J?, — M; and that sound, rendered articulate by the intervention of a vowel, 383 would describe bulkiness, and might be appropriated most happily, to the elephant, or great beast. He would speak next of the horse, whom he had, per- haps, named, by describing his quick, and his energetic mo- tion. The idea might be painted by a rapid movement of the hand, and a sudden hissing effusion of his breath, like an impetuous utterance of the syllable soos. This being the Hebrew name of the horse, appears to be intended as a description of his velocity ; — for it is applied also to the swallow, and to a kind of night-moth, which is said to be agility itself. Our great progenitor might add an account of some ani- mals, by imitating their voices, calling the cow, Moo, and the sheep, or lambs, Ba. He may have described the dove, by fluttering his hand, so as to intimate the act of the wing in flight, and by repeating the syllable, Toor, toor. He now walks forth, accompanied by the mother of mankind, The elephant presents his enormous bulk ; — the horse flies over the field ; the hem, and the soos are soon, and readily distinguished. They are saluted by the cozv, the sheep, and the dove : the Moo, the Ba, and the Toor, are immediately recognised. How great must have been their joy, to find themselves in possession of a social lan- guage ! These atoms of the simplest words are given, merely to illustrate my conceptions, respecting primitive names ; that is, to show, how they had sprung from nature, and in what manner they described certain states, or actions. The words acquired by onomatopecia, are not exceptions. They are 384 not absolute, but merely descriptive terms. They paint th~ action of the voice. By the likeness preserved in this oral picture, the Moo, the Ba, and the Toor are distinguished. They are the- mooing, the baing, and the tooring animals. This view of the subject, as I have already hinted, appears to account best for the formation of language, and for the acquisition of its two principal parts, nouns, and verbs. The term, unconsciously generated by the effort it means to describe, naturally, and obviously pointed out the par- ticular thing, and its mode of existence, — or the agent, and the nature of his action. Nouns, and verbs were produced at a birth. I deprecate the imputation of impiety, for supposing that man was not furnished with language at his creation. Would it have been a more stupendous miracle, or greater mercy, to constitute a language for man, — than to endow him with requisite powers, and with pre-disposition, to make one for himself ? Had primitive language been of divine origin, man would have been under the sacrilegious necessity of mutilating, or altering it, every day. No language could have accom- modated itself, exempted from those changes, to the con- ditions of society, for which man was designed. Some- thing would be superfluous, or something deficient. Even the lano-uasre of the Old Testament, contains a multitude of terms, in acceptations, which Adam, during the first years of his life, could not possibly have understood. — How could he then have preserved their meaning ? The language of our first parents must have been simple, when compared with Hebrew, as that venerable 385 tongue is, compared with ours. But language could hot long have been confined within such narrow limits. Being Cnce put in motion, its use, and properties once under- stood, it easily kept pace with social progress. The intellectual exertions of the first ages, were both rapid, and various. And, as no society of men has beeri found iii the possession of knowledge, without adequate means for its mutual communication, we may Conclude, that primitive language soon became rich, and compre- hensive. It may be further observed, that men soon divided into distinct societies, in which they pursued various occupa- tions, and acquired various branches of knowledge. They had, consequently, various occasions to call forth oral powers. These must have produced local terms, local idioms, and local acceptations of common terms. Various dialects must, therefore, have existed before the flood. One alone of these was preserved, by the single house, dr tribe, that survived the catastrophe : the whole earth was again of one language, and of one speech, whilst its in- habitants formed but one society. But, no sooner were they separated from each other, and placed tinder a variety of local circumstances, than the same causes, which had ope- rated before, and which must always operate, began to ge- nerate similar effects. Without calling before us, the miraculous confusion which affected great part of the human species, it is obvious that some changes, from the universal root, must have presented themselves immediately upon the division of the families. sb 386 New objects, and their new circumstances, appeared. These must have been described by new terms, and phrases, or else, by new appropriations of old ones. The foundation of dialects was laid again. The nations, by degrees, became settled in their peculiar dwellings, occupations, and habits of life. The objects, which had been at first new, became familiar. The popu- lar usages, to which necessity, or accident, had given birth, began to acquire prescriptive authority, in all com- munities, were to be regarded as the legitimate standards of propriety, and were established by general rules. The lan- guages acquired their discriminative character, and compa- rative stability. But still, they were nothing more than dialects of the mo- ther tongue. There were local modes of oral delivery, terms of expression, combinations, and applications of terms; but the fundamental principles were universal. Each colony had planted its own slip of the parent tree, in its new pa- trimony. These offsets assumed, of course, different shapes, and flourished, more, or less, according to the soil, the aspect, climate, or skill, of each planter, and the labour of his cultivation. Some put forth more luxuriant branches than others ; but the leaves, and fruit they bore, were still of the same class, and species. Let us examine the natural characters of this plant, in some of those peculiar specimens, which have neither been pampered by excess of culture, nor starved by extreme neglect. 387 The very ancient language of the Chinese is comprised, at this day, in a few simple monosyllables, which are equally nouns, and verbs. They form no compounds, and they admit of no unmeaning prefixes, or terminations. The signs of cases, numbers, voices, moods, tenses, and per- sons, are distinct words of known value. By their ar- rangement, and by certain variations, in the tones of the voice, these few, simple terms, can serve the purpose of a copious, and precise language. The sam-2 articulate sound appears to convey but one leading idea, throughout the several tones of it. Thus Fu, primarily, signifies covering, which idea is thus diversified by the accents : — Fu, a husband ; Fu, to help, or protect ; Fu, a tozen ; Fu, a father ; Fu, to con- ceal, or cover. Dr. Hager's Element. Char. Other ancient languages border upon this degree of simpli- city. All the native terms of the Welsh, and of the Irish, are fairly reducible to three or four hundred monosyllabic roots, of the simplest form, frequently both nouns, and verbs. Critics in the Hcbrczo language, have declared their opinion, that all its roots were originally monosyllabic* ; and that " each Hebrew root has but one leading idea, or mean- is b 2 * Pleraeque Hebrtzorum voces, ab exordio, monosylktbae, plurium postea syl- labarum l'uere, vel additis participiorum increments, vei airixis, Niphal, Hiphal, vel aliis augincutis inutilibus. Thorn. Gtoss. Univ ad voc. p|*7}. Certum est linguas omnes, quciimonosyllabis constant, esse casteris antiquiores. ■—Sultnasius, dc Ling Ihilcn. P. 390. 388 iftg, taken from nature, by our senses, or feelings, which runs through all the branches, and deflections of it, however numerous, and diversified." Parkhurst. The nouns of several languages are not declined at all. The cases are distinguished by terms of known value. Verbs are varied, in their moods, and their tenses, by auxiliaries, And in their persons, by pronouns out of composition, whilst the term, that simply describes the action, or state, remains unmoved. Those prefixes, and final terminations, which abound in some languages, are, in many instances, evident remains, or corruptions, of distinct, and significant words, or terms. Thus prefixes, and suffixes, which distinguish the persons, and the teases, of the Hebrew verb, are acknowledged to be certain parts of their primitive pronouns. Something of this kind, agreeably to the laws of general grammar, must be supposed in all such instances. Men could never have agreed to vary the known meaning of a word, in a determinate, and regular manner, by adding t« it sounds, to which they attached no meaning at all. Are we not warranted in concluding, that the parent of those languages, which retain the characters here described, Was founded in &fezv simple terms, descriptive either of lead- ing ideas, or obvious perceptions, and so constructed, as to serve the purposes, equally, of nouns, and verbs ? That it made no variance of its nouns, and verbs, by the help of unmeaning prefixes, — of insertions, — and of ter- minations, but singly by the application of other terms,which, however simple, had their known, and perceptible import. Q 89 And that, if it formed compound words, it must have pre- served their several parts entire and perfectly distinct, so as to be immediately reducible to their primitives, as in the English words, pen-knife, horse-man : instead of rendering them obscure by contraction, or corrupt pronunciation ; as lovely, for love-like ; worship, for worth-shape ; bosn, for boatswain ; or huzzif, for house-wife ? It cannot, perhaps, be ascertained, in what instances we have preserved the actual terms of the universal language ; but if it should be competent for us to ascertain the value of its elementary sounds, and the rules, by which those elements were combined, wc may regard its principles as fairly re- stored. The individual problems, which Euclid solved amongst his friends, are unknown ; but, understanding the definite properties of his figures, and made once intimately ac- quainted with his elements, we may be sure of determining,, as this great geometrician would have done, upon similar, occasions. 390 Sect. III. Of the material accidents and changes which have affected elementary sounds, and characters, in pri- mitive words. B, 'EFORE I attempt an explanation of the several names of the letters, and consider the force of their several, and respective, elementary sounds, in the formation of language, I think it necessary to take some notice, of the more general accidents, and changes in utterance, and in or- thography. In subjects that are so complex, exceptions, and ano- malies must be supposed : but we may observe, in most of the dialects, whilst undergoing the operation of culture, and refinement, a general progress, from simplicity of terms, to artificial combination, and from strength, or energy of sounds, to delicacy, and softness. This progress must have begun, long before the complete formation of those languages, which come under our notice. When men first communicated their thoughts to each other, by such tones, and articulations, as were produced naturally, and spontaneously, by their various perceptions, and emotions, accompanied with strong gestures, their elementary sounds were probably few ; but they must have been the most energetic, and, therefore, the most perfect, as well as distinct, of their kind. Those obscure, and short breathings, which merely serve to assist articulation, and which are neglected, in the or- 391 thography of the old Asiatic languages, must be degraded from the rank of elements. But, it is probable, that, in the infancy of language, the textual vowels, intended for de- scription, were generally uttered with strong aspiration. This energetic utterance has adhered so closely to the Hebrew vowels, that several grammarians have, since the introduction of points, regarded them as consonants. In Greek, the aspiration is the constant attendant of the initial Y, and, frequently, of the other initial vowels. The case was the same in the old Latin — " H, literam, sive illam, spiritum, magis quam literam, dici oportet, in- serebant vetercs nostri, plerisque vocibus verborum firman- dis, roborandisque, ut sonuseorumessetvividior, vegetiorque." A. Cell xl 3. Every noun, and verb, in the Welsh language, that be- gins with a vowel, has that vowel regularly aspirated, after certain pronouns; as Arghcydd, a lord; Ei Hargluydd, her lord; Eu Hargluydd, their lord; Achuh, to save; Ei Hachuby to save her ; Eu Haehub, to save them. The Irish also aspirate the initial vowels of their nouns feminine, after the article na ; and their initial vowels, in general, admit of the aspiration, in certain positions, re- gulated bv the grammar. c From this general consent of old languages, it may be inferred, that man's first efforts to express, by vocal signs., were attended with strong, and forcible aspirations. These primary vowel-tones appear, from a comparison of 392 their symbols, in the oldest alphabets, to have only been five, each produced, in its peculiar seat of utterance. Per-* haps they were nearly as follows : — A, as Ha, in half ; or A, in father, uttered from our throat, without contraction of the tongue, or lips. JS, somewhat broader than hea, in heat, or ea, in beat, from the root of the palate, by a contraction of the tongue in that part. I, as the pronoun he, or ee, in meet, — rfrom the fore part of the palate, by keeping the tongue nearly in contact, and thrusting it forwards. O, as ho, in hold, or the interjection O, — from the lips,, by forming them into a round orifice, thrusting them for-: wards, and retracting the tongue. U, as hoo, in hoot, or 0> in move, resulted from the con* cave sound of the whole mouth, by a retraction of the tongue, and an elevation of the cheeks, and lips, in which the latter were almost closed. Amongst these volatile elements of language, great changes have been introduced. Their powers have so much varied, as to have been mistaken for each other : and or- thography, which, in all countries, creeps but slowly after the mode of utterance, has frequently substituted one vocal symbol for the other. The variations from the vowels qf primitive words, in the formation of Greek verbs, for instance, are so numerous, that it would be difficult, if not impracticable, to reduce them into any system. But, with such changes, 1 have little to do in my essay: for my business only is with primitive terms, which; in general, 393 may have received their present form, before the terms of languages, and the accidents of terms, became so numerous, as to render anomalous changes necessary, for the sake of distinction. In the fundamentals of speech, we may expect, naturally, to find the changes of the vowels more simple, and less irre- gular. But here, it must be owned, we have no op- portunity of detecting those changes, but on grounds of general analogy. The first change that took place was, probably, an occasional omission of the aspirate. Primitive man uttered simple, but energetic terms, ac- companied with strong gestures. The frequent repetitions of these, upon similar occasions, must have given them a known, and a current value. It became, therefore, no longer necessary, to impress the idea, by the emphasis of the voice, and of the gesture : it might be sufficiently intimated, by a bare repetition of the term itself. Practice introduced ease of expression ; and the indulgence of ease is natural to man. It Avas found practicable to speak intelligibly, not only without violent gesture, but without an intense exertion of breath ; con- sequently, the aspiration of the vowels might be occa- sionally omitted. And we find this omission still gains ground, more and more, as men study the softness, and delicacy of language. Some centuries ago, the Italians frequently sounded the 394 aspirate H : at present, "they hardly know what is meant by it. Thus Hd, He, Hi, 116, Hu, became a, e, i, 6, u ; but this change occasioned little, or no confusion in language. The vowels retained their essential powers, in utter- ance, and their proper symbols in orthography. Other innovations were gradually introduced, which ren- dered the natural expression of the vocal sound less per- ceptible. The general progress from energy to delicacy, and from the latter to indolence, in place of the primi- tive open A, substituted the power of the slender English A* This power, the ancient Hebrezcs, perhaps, represented by n ; but, as in most alphabets, it wants an appropriate character, it has been generally represented by E. Thus, in Latin, Ago forms Egi, and several compounds change A into E. The same change regularly takes place in the Welsh language. E was also reduced, occasionally, to the more delicate and slender sound of 1, (ec.) Hence, the Latin verbs, Egeo, Teneo, Emo, &.c. in their compounds, regularly take I, in the place of E. And, as A was mutable into E, and E into /, so the power of the first of these vowels was reduced frequently to that of /. In Latin, there arc not fewer than about twenty simple verbs, which as often as they are compounded, regularly change A into 1. I, as ee, being, in its own nature, the most slender sound we can utter, has retained its place, and its power, more generally than the others. 395 'By neglecting to form the orifice of the lips, with due rotundity, the power of was reduced into an obscure sound, like that of Ho, in honey, or of 0, in come ; consequent- ly, it was often confounded with U, both in delivery, andin orthography; as custom had reduced that vowel also, to the same obscure sound, by neglecting to put the lips near enough together. U was often reduced into a more slender sound, approach- ing that of 2, or ee ; but still retaining, in some degree, its natural hollow tone. This power, the Greeks represented by r ; and the Welsh, in their popular orthography, by the single U. The simi- larity of this tone to that of I, has given the Welsh, and the Greeks, frequent occasion to confound it with I. The Roman U, often corresponded with Y, (Greek) and the single U of the Welsh. *5* Their best authors, at an age, in which oral delinquency would have been intolerable, wrote Sulla, or Sijlla, Lubet, or Libet, Optumus, or Optimus, and umus, or imus, in the termination of all superlatives. 1, was the general centre of the vowels, to which they all tended, when they left their proper sphere. A negligent utterance, would, sometimes, reduce either of the vowels into the obscure sound of 0, in come. Thus, in English, altar, alter, bird, come, sum ; and, in Welsh, A, E, 0, and U, are, in certain situations, mu- table into Y, which represents this obscure sound. Such innovations, whether introduced by either refine- 396 merit, or by negligence, have proved injurious, by con- founding powers, which ought invariably to have been dis- tinct, and by weakening the force of natural expression ; but we must take these things as we find them. The following table presents a general view of the changes I have remarked. {"' Primitive Aspirate. E "{ lie Hee Ho U \ Hoo Soft Breathing. ea . ee oo Mutation. He, Hi e, i . . Hi . . . Ho . . . 6 . . . . "r .... 'f .... Obscure Utterance. Ho Ho H6 Ho Ho, as in honey ; o, as o in come. Of the consonants, those arc the most forcibly descriptive, and best accommodated by their natural tones to the language 397 of gesture, which require a perfect contact of the organs of speech, at the point of articulation, and the energetic im* pulse of breath: But of these, one only can be ever pro- duced, in any one part of the mouth. These were, there- fore, primitives, necessarily. P was a labial primitive ; — it was produced by a contact of the lips, and a forcible impulse of breath. Twas a dental primitive, and formed by a contact of the tip of the tongue, with the roots of the upper teeth. , or F; B and M, to V; T to or Th; D to Dh; C to x or Ch, guttural, &c. These, which I would call secondary co?isona?its, may be deemed of considerable antiquity. They are admitted, in the utterance of the oldest languages that now remain, if our mode of delivering them can be depended upon ; but, their introduction, must have been posterior to the inven- tion of writing. In most of the old alphabets, we find, that some, or all of them, want their appropriate characters. Not one of them is acknowledged, amongst the sixteen ancient letters of the Greeks: — 0, $, and X, are late addi- tions, to the alphabet of that people. As the Asiatics took the lead, in the augmentation of their alphabets, we find some of the secondary powers, or aspirates, amongst the series of letters, in which the law of Moses was written; as, D, ID, and f; but before the in- troduction of points, they had no appropriate character for the sound of F or Ph, Bh or V, Dh } &c. If the Masoretce mark their primitive mute, with a point, and if they distinguish the aspirate, or secondary power, by the simple character, this can prove nothing. The old letters had no points at all. The new mode of discrimination was arbitrary ; or, at best, could only resolve itself into the taste of a corrupt age. Th« change of primitive articulations by the consonants 400 nitherto remarked, had their use, in supplying copious ma- terials, for the construction of language, and in affording an opportunity, for the discrimination of terms. As the se- condary powers were easily referable to their primitives^ no confusion could arise from their use. But the love of ease is too prone to degenerate into vicious indolence. The organs of speech, were suffered, occasionally, to hang back, so far from the point of con-*, tact, that they could no longer vibrate a distinct intimation of the intended power. Only a kind of obscurely vocal, or liquid sound was produced ; or breath escaped, either in total silence, or with a mere aspiration. Thus, in pronouncing B, or M, the lips are brought into complete contact. If the contact be imperfect, these powers change to V : if the lips rest further apart, these powers vanish, in the obscure U, which is not heard, when mixed with other sounds, in rapid utterance. Let us proceed, in like manner, with the other articu- lations, but still preserving a due stress of breathing; it will be found that P first changes into F, and then II; T into Tk, and II ; D into Dh, and a soft breathing; N into a soft breathing; S into Sh, and H; Z into Zh (like S in mea- sure) and into a soft breathing ; 'R into II ; R into a soft breathing; ( L into //; L into a soft breathing; C into Ch or y, and into //,- G into Gh, and Y, and then into a soft breathing. This careless mode of utterance, which may be called the solution of sounds, has occasioned confusion of elemen- tary powers, which ought uniformly to be distinct; as the obscure U, for B and ill, and Y for G. It has also made the aspirate //, a common representative of several articu- 401 lations, and has rendered others totally silent. Hence, many letters, in all the living dialects, which formerly were pronounced, as well as written, have now lost their power. Such letters, orthography often rejects, as expletive, and su- perfluous, to the detriment of etymology. The reduction of the consonants to a mere breathing, whether soft, or aspirate, may be termed an evanescence of the power. It is a disease, which particularly affects the language of a people during their descent into the vale of savage life, in which they daily find less occasion for co- pious expressions, for neatness and for precision of speech. c c 402 The following scheme presents a general view of primitive articulations, with inflections, and changes, above, enumerated. s CO 8 ■fc* ft} JO > I GO «5 R o &0 Si <3 Labial . . . PJ Dental . . .' T J Sub-dental . SJ Gingival. . . 'h) I Palatal . . . '11 5 Guttural . . C < F V . . 1 Th 2Dh Sh . 4Zh U. . B . . . M . D . . . N. . Z L . . . R . . . Ch % 5 Gh Y . G . . . Ng- 1. As in thing. 2. As th, in that. 3. As .$'_, in reason, 4. As S, in measure. 5. Northumbrian Hurl. 403 Thus, we find an uniform progress, from strength, and energy, to softness, and tenuity of sound, and, from distinct precision, to indolent obscurity. Men. being determined not to take too much pains to speak, contracted a habit of not taking sufficient pains to speak distinctly. The indulgence of ease, leads naturally to listless indolence- till it ends in slovenly negligence. For the satisfaction of those who have not considered this topic, it may not be improper to add some proofs, that changes like these have actually taken place, in the manner here described. In the Cambro-British, there are several mutations of the letters, which are perfectly regular, throughout the whole of the language. They have been reduced into a system, from remote antiquity ; good writers, and speakers, make no deviation from them, for the perspicuity of speech de- pends upon a due regard to them, and they all follow the order I have delineated. A changes into E, Ei, and Y; E into/, Ei, Y; into Y; W (the broad U) into U (y) and Y; P into F, M, B; B into M, V ; D into IV, Dh ; C into G, Ch ; G into Ng, and a soft breathing; 'L into L; 'R into li ; and TV into Th, Nh, and D. All these changes are constantly recognised by the usage, and grammar of this one Celtic dialect; and, if the col- lateral dialects be compared with each other, we shall find the mutations extend, as far as the length of the preceding scale. In the Irish language, P is mutable into Ph ; T into c c 2 404 Tk ; D into Dh ; S into Sh ; C into Ch ; and G into Gk : and, according to the mode of pronouncing them at pre- sent, these derivative secondary powers for the most part have degenerated, either into simple aspiration, — an ob- scure Y, — or total silence. The eld Celtic 'Lam, a hand — is, in Irish, pronounced Lav, and in Welsh, 'Law. 'Lamin, a blade, is, in JVelsh, 'Lavin, in Irish, La'nn. Aman, or Amon, a river, in Irish, is pronounced Avan ; in Welsh, Avon ; in Cornish, Auon; and in Manks, A' on. The same observations may be abundantly exemplified, by the result of comparing the oral, and written languages, in most countries, especially, accompanied by recourse to the old orthographies. Another irregularity of oral language, which has often affected orthography, maybe termed contraction, or the act cf compounding two elementary sounds into one. In this kind of anomaly, the organs of speech are not pro- perly adjusted, so as to utter the two elementary sounds, in succession, but are placed in some intermediate situation, which produces a power, partaking of both. This has fre- quently happened, in the vowels, which, at first, were all distinct in their sound, and belonged exclusively to their dif- ferent syllables. When contracted into diphthongs, one (or both) of them, loses generally something of its proper sound; or else they are both uttered as one power, dif- ferent from that of their primary effect. Thu? ai, were contracted into an open and broad e, some- what like the English a, in mane : This contraction, the Romans frequently represented by a single c, and the Greeks 405 by i}. That this was the genuine power of n, appears, by their mode of spelling the sound uttered by their bleating sheep — which is B« ; for, I presume, it will be granted, that sheep speak their Greek at this day, just as they did two thousand years ago. The long i of the Romans, except where it is long by position, is generally a contraction of ei. Qui is Quei ; and Virtuti, Firtutei, on the sarcophagus of C. L. Scipio Barbatus. Si was anciently Sei ; She, Seive ; Captivi, Capteivei, Sec. This- contraction is, therefore, pronounced, by the En- glish, more accurately than by the Italiatis, and French. SD, or DS, have been thus contracted, by neglecting to put the tip of the tongue, successively, in contact with the tipper, and lower teeth, and suffering it to rest in the intermediate space, which, together with a soft breathing of D, produces a sound not unlike Z. In like manner, St, or Ts, were contracted into a power, approaching to S, hard, and strong, or Ss, but some- what more lisping, and obscure. This contraction, was, perhaps, what the Ilebrc&s ex- pressed by their y. Such a method of contracting the elements of language, has produced confusion. Such composite powers fre- quently want their appropriate characters. Hence, the necessity of using the symbols of pure sounds, occasionally, to represent something different from what they were de- signed, originally, to denote. 406 Those which 1 have now remarked, are, perhaps, the chief accidents which have affected the delivery, and orthography of primitive, or simple terms. They have altered the elementary sounds of many terms, and, conse- quently, the letters, or symbols of those sounds : for, or- thography too often connives at oral delinquency. These changes in language, orally delivered, and written, may present great obstacles to the complete analysis of original words, and the discovery of their natural ex- pression. But, it does not follow, that, because there are diffi- culties, nothing should be attempted, or that, because there are such anomalies, no regularity can be ever traced. Let us only find the direction of the current, however devious the channel, it will furnish a clue for the discovery of its own source. In this investigation, the following observations may be of use. The first principles of a language are to be examined in its most natural, and simple terms ; from which terms, all declinable terminations are to be removed. In order to express distinctly the indefinite variety of ideas, gradually unfolded by the social progress, it was found expedient, in early periods, to combine with a leading term, some other, of an equally simple na- ture, and thus to extend, qualify, diversify, or confine the. meaning. These adventitious terms are now found, in the shape of 407 initial, ox final letters, adhering so closely to their princi- pals, that generally they have been regarded as inseparable parts. By analogical comparison, however, it may be discover- ed, that the same terms, with different initial, ovjinal let- ters, still convey similar ideas ; and that the initials had, originally, the force of articles, prepositions, or adverbs, and thejinal letters, that of terminative nouns, adjectives, participles, etc. This being recollected, it will be evident, that any individual people, or different nations, may have compounded their terms variously, or have used very different prefixes, insertions, and jinal letters, yet, may not' be chargeable, with a total confusion of primitive terms. 408 Sect. IV. On the names, and natural expressions of the vowels. JL NOW proceed to explain the several names of the let- ters., and to investigate their force and import, in the for- mation of language. And first of the Vowels. A. 1. Primitive power. As Ha, m half or as «, in father. 2. Mechanical formation. This power is uttered, by opening the lips, and the interior part of the mouth, mo- derately, and evenly, and breathing firmly, freely, and steadily, from the larynx, whilst the tongue rests, in its aatural situation, at the bottom of the mouth. 3. By this oral gesture, and this open, uninterrupted sound, men may be coneeived, naturally, and spontaneously, to have expressed the ideas of a tendency forwards — positive continuance, in a uniform state, whether of motion, of ac- tion, or of rest. 4. Its name, in the Druidical alphabet, and its force, in the structure of the Celtic language. The specific name of this letter is, simply, the repetition of its power, A ; but this sound, in the Celtic language, constitutes a complete and eharacteristical term, conveying 409 the general idea of proceeding, going forth, tending for- wards — a positive agency, or state; as appears, by the following appropriations. Welsh, A, will go, or proceed forth. It must be re- membered, that, in this dialect, the third person, future, is the root of the verb. This is also the case, in the Cor- 7iish, where A has the same meaning; as, My a, I will go; Ty a, thou zcilt go. In Irish, A is a substantive, with the following appro- priations: A, a car, or chariot; a promontory; a hill; an. ascent. — What goes, proceeds, or terids forzcards, or up- wards; for, in most languages, the ideas of ascending, and of being conspicuous, are connected with those of proceed- ing, and standing forth : so, on the contrary, terms which imply a retrograde motion, or a negative tendency, are, also, frequently used, to signify descent, concealment, or ob- scurity. A has many other several meanings, but all of them di- rect and positive. When placed between the nominative case, and the verb, in either of the Celtic dialects, it has the force of the personal and relative pronouns combined, as Mi a av, " I am he who will proceed." After the verb, it has the same force, in the objective case, Gzvnav a wnelwyv, " I will do that which I will do." In this po- sition, it also points out the instrument, or cause; as, Lladdwyd a chleddyv, tc He was killed with a sword." In Welsh, A is a conjunction, and, also, both; and, in Irish, a demonstrative article — still conveying a positive, and a direct meaning. 5. In the Latin and Greek languages, the same principle 410 is traced. This element has, evidently, a similar force, in some of their most primitive terms, to that which has been remarked in Celtic. Thus A-io, I affirm, or declare, A-u, Alzcays, forever, continually. A-u, I breathe forth; I speak, or declare. By the admission of different initials, each of which will be shewn hereafter, to have its appropriate meaning, thi* verb forms several compounds, which are generally ranked amongst primitives. Though modified, agreeably to the nature of their several initials, they all convey the leading idea of issuing, or putting forth, a. direct and positive ten- dency ; as, B-aw, I go, ox proceed forth. I-aa, I am born, I come forth ; I bring forth. E-scu, I permit, I let go. 7.-0LU), I live, I thrive, I go on. B-xu), I gaze forwards. K-ctu, I kindle — cause to move forth. a-clu, I see, I desire — tend forwards. M-K4.-, \ earnestly desire. 411 N-«w, \JIozq — proceed forth. T'ctu, whence T««« (Eustath) I extend. *•«*>, I shine forth, I affirm, or declare. 6. The symbolical plant, which represented this power, was the fr-tree, whose remarkable length and straitness, are eminently characteristical of continuance, uniformity, a direct tendency, a positive state, or proceeding. The JriiA name of this tree, and, consequently, of the letter, is Ailm, or Ailim, which may be thus derived. Ail, he hath desired, or willed. It is to be observed, that, in this dialect, the third person preterite, is the root of the verb. Ail, signifies the will, desire, or disposition, to any thing; also a prominent point: — what tends, or proceeds forwards. The final m, or im, in this, and many other words, seems to be from the old Celtic Em, He, — that, which, — equivalent to o;, the Greek relative, and termination of nouns: so that the whole name, Ailim, implies, that which proceeds forth, or tends forwards. Al, in old Welsh, signifies will go or proceed, whence the subjunctive, El, still in use, and Em is written, ev, or ef In the orthography of the Welsh Bible, the name would be Alef, very similar to that of the Hebrew x. In Cad Goddau, the allegorical poem, already men- tioned, Taliesin speaks thus of the fr-tree, the symbol of this power. 412 Fenidwydd, ynghyntedd, Cadeir gyngwrysedd, O mi goreu ardderchedd, Ger bron teyrnedd. " The fir-tree,, in the porch, " In the seat of the leader of enterprrze, " Where he acquired renown, " In the presence of princes.' 1 Here the bard seats this power, in the front of the series, and recognises his office as a leader. 7. The Greek and Hebrew names of this letter present similar ideas. A*p* must be nearly related to ax?», honour, precedence ; Axq>u, I discover, take the lead, or teach a new art ; A*ip«c white, clear — what stands forth, or is conspicuous. *)bn, Aleph, to direct, guide, teach ; a director, leader. — Parkhurst. As the Hebrezcs were careful to distinguish this, and their other letters, by names of known, and of definite import, it may be presumed that they were aware of some adequate reason, for such an accurate distinction. The most obvious reason must be, that, in the structure of their language, the power of each letter was perceived to have a force, ana- logous to the meaning of the name assigned to it. We might, therefore, expect, that Aleph had something of a positive, demonstrative, or intensive quality — that it tended and directed forwards, or enhanced the meaning of the powers, with which it stood connected. And such a qualit) 41 O is, I think, very perceptible, in several terms of the Hebrew language. To those who are critically acquainted with it, I recom- mend such instances as the following. 12 Bed, alone, single , simple : "HN Abed, to perish — to be simplified, or decomposed. nn Bene, to build : MiN Abtn, a masoiUs level ; a. stone — an implement, or ma- tcrial for building — what serves to carry on the design. W> Ish, is, are; WH, Aish, a man, an individual. That which is. rrDT Deme, to think, to resemble ; D*fX, Adam, Man ; he who was peculiarly endowed with the faculty of thinking — and who was formed, in the like- ness, or resemblance of his maker. Thus N, prefixed to nouns or verbs, does not invert, but rather enhances and confirms the idea, expressed by the other elements, having the meaning of the preposition to, and the relative he who, — that which, Sec. The middle x conveys the idea of proceeding — or tending forwards; as, in bed, one, only, alone — the idea of these elements is rather negative. *?S3 Bad, to explain, declare; a spring — by the intro- 414 duction of K, the idea becomes positive, and tends forwards nna gee, to repair, cure, restore to its former state ; n*U Gae, to increase, to be lifted up ; proud, mi Dede, to go softly, TiHl, D'de, to fly swiftly ; a, vulture. :n> Jbeb, to cry out, with terror, or abhorrence. 3X» Jab, to desiYe earnestly, to /ong ybr. nV# Shle, to be quiet, free, careless. /Niy SAa/, to asA*, require, demand. N.B. In expressing the Hebrew words by Roman letters, I follow Parkhurst, except that I represent n by he, or eh, not by a simple aspirate — e, or a, is sometimes inserted, to assist the articulation. E. 1. As Ilea, in heat, or as Ea, in beat. 2. Let this power be uttered immediately after, or alter- nately, with an open A, and it will be found, that all the organs of speech retain the same position, except that your tongue is now bent forcibly towards the root of the palate, as if it were intended, by nature, to arrest, or check the egress, and free passage of breath. 3. It is, therefore, an evident contrast of tones, and of sounds,, to these above intimated, and should convey ideas, diame- trically opposite. Instead of representing uniform, and free continuance of motion, ox agency, a direct, and positive state, or tendency i it seems, naturally, to express a sudden 415 check, motion, or act interrupted, or broken, an indirect, perverted, or negative state, or tendency. 4. Its Bardic name is E, and the force of the vowel, in the Celtic language, is opposed constantly to that of A. In Irish, it forms an adjective, importing negative qualities alone, such as lean, thin, miserable. In the same dialect, a bird is named E-an, perhaps, from its Jlitting, unsteady motion. In all the dialects, it implies a segregated indivi- dual, or thing, or an indefinite agent, such as it, before English impersonals. E, prefixed, in every instance, unless where it is a mutation of A, is a complete negative, or pri- vative, and perverts the meaning of the simple word ; as, JV. Aug. strait, narrozo, confined, whence Anghcn, distress, need, necessity; Angau, death, (as, in Latin, angor, angulus, &c.) but E-ang, wide, spacious, ample : tingu, to coop up, confine; E-angu, to set at large: Ovn, fear; E-ovn, bold, intrepid. So in Irish, Ce, dark, con- cealed; E-ce, clear, manifest: Dearbh, sure, certain; E-dearbh, false, wrong, uncertain — and so on, through the language. It mav hence be gathered, that primary ideas, expressed by E, in the old Celtic, were those of a sudden check, an in- terrupted, or broken act, an indirect, perverted state, or ten- dency, and, therefore, negation, segregation, or privation. 5. The same appears to have been its import, in the formation of the Latin and Greek languages. Hence, Gr. E. adv. of complaining — woe! alas! H. adv. of doubting, or hesitation, or, either. Lat. E, prep, of re- moval, and privative particle, as in e-?iodus. In both lan- guages, E, with divers initials, retains the same negative, privative, and restrictive qualities; as the Latin adv. nc, 416 and the Greek v t , in composition; p?, adv. prohibitory; de, re, se, &c. privative, or segregative particles. E, in Latin, is sometimes an intensive prefix ; as in e-durus ; but here, it must be regarded as a mutation of A. E&>, in Greek, has anomalous meanings; probably, because, in the confusion of vowels, in that language, it is put for other verbs : as, for Aw, to go on, to be, or continue, and for i«, to send to, or place. Ew, may primarily have implied, to. move, remove, take. The common, and, comparatively, modern Greek, often substitutes i or r, for the a of the old Doric ; and, on the contrary, a for the v of the Doric ; it or « of the Ionic, and f of the JEolic. The cause of this anomaly, was, that, in the rapidity of utterance, «, e, and n, were often reduced into an obscure sound, which had no appropriate character, and w r as, therefore, variously represented. However this may have been, I think, general analogy will warrant the con- clusion, that the Greek a. privative, was a substitution for * or ». The positive element a, still retains its intensive, or augmentative force, as the initial of several words, and it is not probable, that the same power was employed, originally, to express ideas diametrically opposite. The same kind of substitution has gained admittance in the Welsh language, and, I think, for the same reason. We now use the negative particles ad, am, av, an, for the f.d, em, en, of our oldest manuscripts. The Lat. prep, a, ah, was probably Ap or aw:, which is Lest explained by the Celtic, ap-o, springing from or cut of. 6- The symbol, or the representative of this power, was the 417 asp, or white poplar. The quivering leaves of this tree very aptly represent an interrupted, broken motion, or action—* ftn indirect, perverted state, or tendency,, The Irish name of this tree, and of the letter, is Eddha. From Ad, one and the same, comes Adh, a laxo, felicity > prosperity — what is positive and established — also^ Jit, or apt to do any thing. By prefixing the negative E, the word becomes Eadh, unestablished, indirect, unapt, inconstant^ undetermined. It is sometimes called Ebhadh, which amounts to the same thing. Eb, without absque, and adh, as before. Of this symbol, Taliesin allegorically remarks. Gwiwydd gorthorad, Gorthorysid ynghad. " The asp was broken; " Itwascwf off, in the conflict." This is an evident hint, at the inefficient, broken, inter- rupted, nature of this element. ♦ 7. The Greek E, when deprived of its epithet, retains only the simple name of the Bardic, and Etruscan letter. HTa seems to have conveyed an idea of privation, frustration, restriction, &c. Restore the derivative S, to its primativer, and rrra. must be a strainer, whence v>$tv, i$tfr, to stuain liquor — r$-u per coium mittere Et=,-, in vain, come* near to this name. t> d 418 It has already been observed, that the primitive vowels were strongly aspirated, and that this aspiration, has adhered so closely to the Hebrew vowels, as to occasion the mistake of them for consonants: yet, I think, we can safely pro- nounce n to have been originally a symbol of the power, E, He, or Hih. And the name it bears seems to imply, that it was acknowledged to have the same general force, in the structure of the oriental tongues, which it discovers, in those of Europe. nn Iltth, terror, dread, aversion. nm Hcthe, to take azcay, remove, burn, dissolve. nm Ilcthclh, to break, frighten, discourage, descend. And as the force of K, in Hebrew words, corresponds to the import of its name, so does that of rr, in an eminent and peculiar degree. As an initial, it is an absolute nega- tive, or privative. It perverts the general import of the elements, with which it is connected ; changes positive ideas into negative, and negative into positive. I offer the follow- ing examples. pa Beq, to lay waste, empty ; p2n Ilebeq, to fold, embrace. "O Ber, to separate, cleanse, char out , "On Heber, to associate, join. i*3 Bash, to fade, be abashed, Jtcglcct ; £'2/7 HebasrK to hind, gird, heal, govern. 419 *tt Ger, to rtmove, pluck away; •un Heger, to gird, strengthen ; a girdle. p? Zeq, to melt, dissolve, separate ; p;n Hezeq, to lay hold, be strong. nti'D Peshe, to spread, diffuse over ; it'Dn Hepesh, to strip, divest. Di Rab, to multiply, be great; l"in Herab, to ravage, destroy, dry up, waste* nbtf Sbele, to he free, quiet, secure ; b'ZTI Heshel, to defeat, break, fatigue. TVW Shere, to tin tfe, send forth; ntrn Hesber, to bind, condense, constipate A similar contrast, between the words which begin with n, and those which have not that letter, may be regularly observed, throughout the language. The negative, or pri- vative import of n is perceptible, though, perhaps, not so invariably and obviously, in other situations ; as, r\b2 Bele, to mix, mingle ; bm Belli, to nauseate, retch. H32 Bene, to build, compose ; \ni Behn, to try, examine, prove, take apart. m Ge, to heal, close; 03 Geh, to break, burst forth. D d2 420 So, in the third order. n2f Zene, to incircle, unfold, gird round; mr Zeneb, to cast off, remove, put away. It is clear, then, that this letter has, in the Hebrew lan- guage, a discriminate force, which is. clearly marked by its name, and that, in all respects, it is analogous to the Celtic E. This furnishes an argument, that the a privative of the Greeks, as was intimated above, is, in fact, a substitution for i or v. As A was regularly mutable into E, in the old European languages, so, I think, it evident, that, the Hebrew n was intended, as a mutation of n. K or n is often used indifferently, at the end of words; as, NtDn or ni33, Beta, or Bete, to speak, ND1 or m*7, Deka, or Deke, to smite, bruise, NIDD or nDO, Meta, or Mete (chald) to come, xr\8 or nnx, Atha or Athe, to come. These two forms could not have been coexistent from the beginning. One of them must be regarded as a mutation of the other; and general analogy points out n, as the muta- tion of x. N or n final, has been regarded as equivalent to the re* petition of the second radical; n cannot, therefore, have the negative quality of n, but must be of the same nature as x. Tt has the force of that power. It is a demonstrative 421 particle, and, as an initial, it confirms the meaning of the other elements; as, "p Dek, to bruise; -pri Edek, to bruise, crush. PDD Peke, and -fDn to change, overthrow. Itsname is related to the Chald. adv. Nn Ea, Lo, Behold, and to the Heb. personal, N»n Eia, he, she, that, this, both which may be referred to the verb n>n Eie, to be, to come to pass. I. 1. As the English pronoun, He, or ee, in meet. 2. In uttering this tone, or sound, the tongue is thrust for- wards, till it rests against the lower teeth, at the same time, it closes the whole interior of the mouth, except a confined and a direct passage for breath, along the middle of the palate. 3. By this oral gesture, and the sound it produces, might be naturally described, the application or direction of a tiling, to hsproper object or place. A being, or becoming, appropriate or internal — what approaches, is applicable, subservient, inherent, See. 4. The Bards named this letter, by the mere repetition of its power, which, in Welsh, implies into, to, for, toicards, pertaining to; as,/ fordd, into a road; I ddyn, to or for a man; I lawr, tozvards the flat surface — downwards; Mae J mi, there is pertaining to me^ When used without an external object of direction, it refers to solf; as nid av i, I will not go, as to myself; mi ddywedais i, I said myself 422 In Irish, I signifies, an art or science — skill or knowledge, that is appropriated and inherent, and applicable to its proper purpose; an island — that is, internal, or encom- passed (land) ; lore, inward. 5. The same force of this power appears in the Greek n>, whence «a and »*)/>«, to send, to place ; and in its derivative, »o?, a missile weapon, an arrow, or a spear, which is directed to a certain object. It seems to have the same meaning, as a prefix; as, t-awny, to send to, shoot at, »-«xxo>, to send, to aim at. But what more decidedly marks its force, in this language, is the circumstance of its forming the termination of the dative case singular, in all the various declensions of substantives, adjectives, pronouns, and participles, of what- ever gender : and its returning again, in the same case, in the plural, either alone, or accompanied by the emphatic ?, or ». When it is recollected, that the termination of cases, were originally separable terms, importing relative ideas, it must appear, that the framers of the Greek lan- guage regarded /, in the same light that our Celta did, as implying an appropriation, application, or direction, to a certain object- — into, to, for, towards, pertaining to. The preceding observation may be extended to most of the Latin declensions. 6. The symbol of I was the yew tree, the peculiar use of which, iri the construction of the bow, sufficiently cha- racterizes the force and the import of this element. The name is Idho, perhaps from Id, direct, upright, just — ■ ceitainty and precision. Idh implies use, fruition, appro- priation, and Idho, in Welsh, to him, to or for it. Of this symbolical tree, Taliesin says, in the allegorical poem, quoted above — 423 Gwrthodi gwrthodes, Ercill o tylles, l'an goreu gormes, Ym mhlymnwyd maes, Gorwythawg Gyw-wydfl. " Disdaining those who avoided him, And transpiercing others, When he made his inroad, In the strife of the field, Was the fiercely-impelling yew.'* 7. i«t«, according to Ilesych, implies a prominent point. It may signify direction to a thing, from »« to send : or rather, admitting the general force of the element, let us prefix it to w$eo>, anciently, wrxu, and we shall have »*»raw, to push forwards, to thrust into, exactly corresponding to the Celtic idea, and almost a synonym of the Hebrew T, or m» Id, or Ide, to cast, or shoot at. This verb also implies, to praise, to love, to confess; which have no other perceptible affinity, with the former appropriations, than that they denote actions, peculiarly directed to a discriminate object. But we must regard T, Id, a hand, as the Hebrew repre- sentative of this power ; for, in the Ethiopic alphabet,- it is called p>, Imen, the right hand. The force of », in the Ilebrezc language, may be inferred from its use, in forming the future, or approaching tense of all verbs — in forming appellative and proper names, where it denotes the application or inherency of a certain quality — ■ in pointing out the effect, or consequence of the participle active, when inserted after the first radical, as from nn 424 Rueh, breathing, rv*l Odour or exhalation : — in importing the effect, or consequence of the participle passive, when inserted after the second radical ; as from *mp Ketsur, cut down, "Wfp Ketsir, harvest; and from its being the cha- racteristic of the conjugation Hiphil, which imports to cause to do, or implies an especial direction, or application of the agent, or subject, to the action or intent of the verb, O. i. As Ho, in hold, or as o, in go. 2. In uttering this power, alternately with the preceding', it may be observed, that the organs of speech entirely re» verse their position. The tongue which, in pronouncing ee, advanced to the teeth, almost closed up the mouth, and confined the breath to a direct and narrow passage, is now retracted, retires from the palate, and leaves the way open. The lips, at the same time, are forcibly projected outwards, with a large and circular opening. The whole mouth is adjusted, as nature itself would dis- pose it, for the act of vomiting, or casting forth. 3. By this gesture, and its correspondent sound, an ides, diametrically opposed to that of 7, or ee, would be sponta- neously expressed — a casting, yielding, ox putting forth — an emanation, or projection, from a certain thing ; instead of application, direction, or relation, to a peculiar object. 4. The porcer of this letter, which constitutes its Bardic name, has appropriations in the Celtic, exactly contrasted to those of 1 ; as, IV, I, to, for, towards, into, pertaining 425 to ; O, in all the dialects of, from, out of, resulting from. Irish, I, internal skill, or knowledge ; low, flat, inward— O, an auricle, or ear, an event — what projects, proceeds, or einanatcsfrom. I-ar, the west, in-going (of the sun) O-ar, the east, out-going; also, invoice, effusion of sound. These examples may suffice, to ascertain the fact, that o, in the Celtic, expresses the general idea of casti?ig, yield- ing, or putting forth — emanation or projection from a thins:. 5. In the same light, this power seems to have heen re- garded, by the first framcrs of the Latin and Greek lan- guages. I give the following examples. O-men, properly, a voice — effusion of sound — ft Voces hominum qua? vocant omina." Cic. 0» y.-n, a way, path ; voice, singing. O-dor, 0^-^, o^-y.n, scent — issuing from, fi«, the border of a garment — what extends from — n-«- Ot>«?, an ear, or auricle — what projects or extends from — whence, Ou-«mo ? , Orph. extreme, ultimate, il-ov, Ov-um, an egg, — what is yielded, or put forth. 0-«f, Ov-is, a she ep — what goes forth from the fold. This meaning of the word, may be inferred, from its synonym, ir.-o£aTo», tx. Tjvo et £a»w. A sheep, in Irish, is Oi, in the old Celtic, it seems to have been O, whence the Welsh, O-en, the Cornish and Jrmonian, 0-an : and the Irish u-an,coi- 426 ruptly for O-an, a lamb, q. d. a little sheep. An and en are diminutive terminations, sufficiently known. 6. This power was represented by two several symbolical plants; and consequently, had two symbolical names, which shews that the Cettce varied their symbols, for local con- venience. At the same time, the nature of these symbols indicates their scrupulous adherence to the original idea, The most general symbol was the furze. The sharp prickles of this plant characterize the force of this oral sound, as they are not determined to any certain direction, but diverge and radiate every way, from the stem. It* name is Onn, or Oin. On, and Oin, import any thing lent, also, gain profit — what is yielded forth, what emanates or results from any thing. Onn, a stone, or a point of a rock — saxum; ahorse — what projects, or springs forth. The other symbol was the spindle tree, or prick-wood. Irs name is Oir, which also signifies an issuing forth, as in Oir-thir, the east — the land of the out going — Or and Oir, imply a voice ; an extreme border or edge — w^iat issues ox projects from. Of the furze, Taliesin, says — Eithin ni bu vad, Er hynny gvverinad. i( The furze did not do well, Nevertheless let it spread abroad:* 7. The Greek names of o and n, when stript of thea 1 427 epithets, px^ov and pyx, amount to nothing more than the simple Bardic name of this element. The Hebrew y has been regarded as a consonant, repre- senting the sound of ng, gn, &c. and it has been variously rendered, in proper names, by the translators of the Bible into Greek. It may hence be conjectured, that it generally retained a strong aspiration, and that its vocal power was obscurely uttered, during the latter ages of the Jewish nation. There are, however, grammarians who acknowledge it, as a vowel, equivalent to o, and this opinion is confirmed, by its place in the alphabet, and by the frequent representation of it, in proper names, by that letter. Its name yy, Oin, which implies a spring, ox fountain, affords a stronger proof of its real identity with the Celtic O : for no object in nature can be more characteristical of casting, yielding, or putting forth — emanation, or projec- tion. In De Gebelins Monde Primitif, there is a Phoenician inscription, in which this letter seems to be in- tended, as an image of the sun. It is a circle, encompassed with rays. In order to discover the force of y, in the structure of Hebrew terms, I would first oiler a lew instances, in which it stands contrasted with the positive N. 3N Ab, a father, author, cause ; "2'j Ob, a cloud, a beam — obstruction put forth. ins Abed, to perish — cease from exertion; Tliy Obed, to serve, till, labour — put forth, exertion, 428 The same contrast returns in, bftH Amel, to perish, languish ; bDy Omel, to labour, exert, »K Ai, an Island — retired place ; »y a heap — prominent. *)^N Aleph, to direct, guide, teach ; *}by Olep, to cover, conceal — put away, direction. i~m Arb, to lie in ambush — meditate injury, to view; 3"iy Orb, to become surety — protect from injury; to darken — remove from view. The contrast between K and y, in these and similar in- stances, is sufficiently obvious. The former leads on and accompanies the force of the other elements, whether po- sitive or negative; the latter puts away, puts forth from, or out of. The same property of the initial y may be perceived,, where it is not opposed to N ; as, nt32 Bete, to be confident, rash; EDy Obet, to borrozv tipon pledge. mn Bcre, to cleanse, purify ; ~oy Ober, to pass over, die — clear out — depart, pr Zeq, to strain, separate, melt; piy Ozeq, to fence round— fix, confirm. run Retse, to accept, delight in : to run; )>-))? Orets, to dismay, terrify } bruise, break to pieces* 429 The middle y is generally found in verbs, which imply a requiring from, & putting forth, or issuing from, or out of, excepting where it is connected with powers, which, of themselves, import such actions ; as, HJD Boe, to seek, require from; to boil up — issue forth, Byn Bot, to kick. no Bith, a house, abode, settlement: njO Both, to frighten, disturb — drive from. •]jN Zok, to cut of, Djtt Zom, fury, rage, rjyr Zop, to rage, to be furious. pytO Toe, to seduce — lead from. ny Joe, to remove, sweep away. HDD Kese, to include, contain, D>3 Kis, &bag ; DID Kos, to be enraged — incontinent. t -iyD Sor, to be violent, tumultuous; a storm, whirlwind* ny^Tsoe, to spread, stretch out — wander. *7^2f Tsod, to go, proceed, march — depart. \f/T£ Tson, to remote— depart. pyjf Tsoq, to cry aloud, exclaim — put forth the voice. rjjn Hop, to drop, distil — run out. 430 SNA Thab, to king ft*; nyn, Thob, to loathe, abominate. ?nn Thue, to mark, Izntit; nyn Thoe, to err, go astray. As there are more frequent duplicates of the third radical than of any other, it might be conjectured, that it is less essential, in fixing, or determining, the import of the word ; yet, in this situation, y, of, from, out of, preserves its entire force ; as, ma Gede, to penetrate, dUt; y-p, to cut off, cut away from. nu Gue, to form into a body, >u Gui, a nation; yu Guo, to die, expire — go out. mt Zue, a store-house, granary — secure place; ytt Zuo, to move, remove. rU' Ige, to afflict, grieve; JU* Igo, labour exertion. Tirb Lethe, a wardrobe, a repository; yrb Letho, to pull out, break. 213 Nub, to blossom, germinate ; 2/33 Nebo, to gush out, be ejected, thrown off, i*»3 Nue, to dwell; jft3 Nuo, to wander, move. H33 Nese, to try, prove; yD3 l$Qso f tojcnirney, depart. *7'0 Pid, ccinrnity ; ;*73 Pedo, to deliver, extricate. 431 HID Pre, to increase, bear fruit; no Pri, fruit; JHD Pro, to make bare, strip off', HtfD Peshe, to spread, diffuse, grow ; yii'DPesho, to rebel, transgress; go away. 3p Kab, a measure, nip Kabe, a receptacle; yap Kabo, to pierce, bereave, rob, spoil. ^Hp Kel, to assemble, gather together; ybp Kelo, to sling, a slinger, carver, graver — throwing, cutting out. Such examples regularly occur, to the end of the alphabet. U. 1. As IIoo, in hoof, or as oo, in food. 2. In uttering this sound, the organs of speech arc nearly in the same situation as they were in o, excepting that the lips are not so forcibly projected, are nearly closed, and somewhat raised from the exterior gums, so as to form the whole mouth into a complete cavern, with a low entrance, through which the breath reverberates, with a hollow sound. 3. There is, therefore, a specific difference between the powers of o and u. The former expresses an emanation, or projection; the latter naturally describes a circumfusion, an envelope, or loose covering, consequently inside holloti- nrss, capacity, or paie.tr ability. 452 4. The Bardic name is o(t, or re), which, rtt present, con- stitutes no complete term, in the Celtic language. I must here remark, that there seems to be some error, in the con- ception of our late Bards, respecting this vocal power. They regard it riot as a primitive, but as an inflection or derivative of o ; yet it is distinguished in their alphabet, by a simple character, the general criterion of their radical letters, whilst the character of o is an evident compound of their a and broad u ; and the Welsh language, in more than a thousand instances, regularly contracts arc into o. The broad u, on the other hand, has frequently usurped the province of the ancient o, to the detriment of etymology. Notwithstanding this irregularity, the genuine force and import of u may be distinguished, in a multitude of very simple terms. Thus, in Welsh — Hu, an overlooker, or guardian : Hud, illusion : Hudd, a covert, shade : Hun, a mantling, or covering : Hug, a coat, loose gown: Hul, a cover, coverlet: Hun, a fit of sleep, slumber: Hzcv, a hood, or ebzel: Hws, a coveri?ig } housing, horsecloth. U, or W, retains its peculiar force, with different initials and finals; as, Bw, an overseer: Bzal, a round, hollow body : Bzcr, an enclosure : Bwt, a hole, concavity ; Czs, concavity : Czcb, concavity, a cup : Czech, any round hollow vessel, a boat : Czcd, a bag, pouch: Cudd, darkness, gloojti : Cwv, rising over, compressing : Czvll, the stomach: Czz-m, a hollow, shelter: Czcr, a border, nook: Cwt, a cot, sty: Da, black : Dwb, mortar, plaster. 433 Fu, a veiling over : Fu-ant, disguise : Fug, delusion^ dis* guise, #c. to the end of* the alphabet. So, in Irish, uagh, a grave, den, cave: Um, about, sur- rounding : urnha, a, cave, & hollow i Corn. U-ag, W. Gwag, empty, hollow, &c. These words possess no elementary power, in common, but u, or w, yet the idea of circumfusion, enveloping, covering, or hollozcness, uniformly pervades them all. It consequently appears, that such are the general expressions of this hotlozo sound, in the Celtic language* 5. And it had evidently the same force, in the Latin and Greek. Hence 'vu>, to rain, to circumfusc, or sprinkle over^ wu, (from a, priv. andNw) to dry, or parch up — to deprive of moisture ; x$-vu, to draic zcater, 8tc. Water being a most penetrable substance, and very apt by its nature, to overwhelm, or diffuse itself about other bodies, has appropriated many terms which, primarily, implied cir- cumfusion, covering, hollozcness, &c. in general; as, \&-ui, 'vj-oq, 'v§-x$ water ; hu-mor, s'ud-or, n-dus, (p. nidus) Sec. 'fs (V»;) s'us, a swine — delighting in mire, or moisture. Yet several compounds, or derivatives of \* The names of r\>2, Bith, and b^t*, are similar to the Celtic Beith, in their orthography, and, perhaps, in their primary import. The force of n, in designing a limit, or inclosurc, will be shewn hereafter ; and, therefore, DO, a house, or abode, may be defined a limit, ox place of being? 443 or existing. B»t«, B«ra, or Br,rx, in old Greek, may have been the same as Bk>t», life, and yet have had a retrospect to b*k, or b«it«, the palm branch. Pronounced as K, or as C in come. This articulation is made, by fixing the root of the tongue, firmly, against the root of the palate, so as, entirely, to fill, and close up the interior part of the mouth, till breath forces its way with strong impulse. It has already been shewn, that such an oral gesture, and its correspondent sound, attend of course any efforts to hold, or contain, a large mass with both arms, and also to catch, reach, or touch a distant object. This tone, therefore, is not limited to the expression of one simple idea ; but naturally describes a holding, contain- ing, or comprehending — a reaching, touching, or catching — • attaining to, or apprehending. Its name, in the lots of Druidism is Ci (Ki) The term, in Irish, imports to perceive, or apprehend, to tee ; to lament, or feel the touch of woe. Ci-azv, in Welsh, is to perceive, comprehend, or ap~ prehend. (< Rhyveddav na chi-awr." Tal. " I wonder it is not perceived." 444 The root Ci, then, signifies, will perceive, comprehend, or apprehend. Hence, in Welsh, Cornish, and Armorican, a dog, is called Ci, from the quickness of his senses, or from his use in catching and holding. The symbol of this power was the Hazel, a tree which collects its fruit into clusters, holds it in a deep calix, and finally, shuts it up, in an impervious case, or shell. Its name, in Irish and Welsh, is Coll, which, in the former dialect, signifies a head, also the end of a thing; hertce, coll means loss, destruction — ending, or conclusion. Col, in Welsh, signifies a projecting body, a sharp hillock, or peak ; a promontory ; a sting, or point. But, agreeably to the genius of the Celtic language, col, or coll, may be regarded as mutations of cul, or czcll, which are highly characteristic of the hazel, and of the import of this elementary sound. I. Cul, custody ; a chariot; a cover: Culla, a hood, or cover — W. Cwll, the stomach — receiver ; also, the head, whence Ciocczoll, (Czed-cwll) a cap, or bonnet, q. d. lieadcase. Hebrew b)J Cul, to comprehend, contain, include, Of this symbol, Taliesin pertinently says — Collwydd, barnyssid Eiryv t\y argyfryd. " Hazel, it might be deemed, Thy comprehensions are numerous/ 5 445 The name of Kximx, was, probably, equivalent to jta^, a bending round, an inclosing, or to aa^a, a chest, coffer, box, capsa. X»had a similar meaning : %\%, a lurking hole, a receptacle, from yiao (p. x^u) to //o/rf, contain : Eustath. Nearly allied to these, and to each other, were the Caph and the Koph of the Hebrew : H'DD Caphe, to curve, inflect, whence fp Ctf/?, the hollow of any thing, a cm/?, vessel of capacity ; pi. D>D3 Caphim, caves, caverns, receptacles. rpp Kup, to surround, encompass. We may, then, regard C, Q, K, X, 3 and p, as originally one element, expressing the general ideas of containing, or comprehending, and touching, attaining to, or apprehending. D. The articulation of this letter, before a vowel, is formed, and uttered, by closing the edges of the tongue to the upper gums, throughout their whole extent, and suddenly laying it open, either wholly or in part, according to the nature of the vowel. Before e and i, only the tip requires to be removed; but before the broad vowels, the separation must be complete. In describing, by gesture, and communicating an idea of expansion, or unfolding; the hands are brought close to- gether, and laid flat, and then suddenly spread, or ex- panded different ways. A natural aptitude, to express ide.'s by the voice, would spontaneously dispose the organs of speech, at the same instant, to mimic this gesture, the 446 necessary consequence of which would be the utterance of the power, D, accompanied by some vocal sound. We may, therefore, consider this power, as descriptive, naturally, of expanding, spreading, unfolding, laying open, distribution, or division. Its Bardic name is Di, which, at present, is used, in the Welsh language, only as a privative prefix ; as, achates, a cause, di-achaxos, causeless — separate from a cause: Achles, succour, di-achles, unsuccoured — separate from succour, &c. Di had anciently other appropriations. It was a term for the Deity, instead of which we now have Dai, the disposer, the distributer. Di, also, implied day, as it still does, in the Armorican. Dia, in Irish, signifies God; day — what unfolds, lays open. >*7, Di, in Chaldaic, signifies the Omnipotent, as it also does in Hebrew, with the relative ii» prefixed. It was therefore an epithet of the Divine Being, in the early aws. The symbol of D was the expatisive oak. Its name was Duir, which may be a compound of Du, spreading over, and air, he arose. This derivation is confirmed by the JVelsh Dunjr, a rising and expanding — the dawning of light : Dzcyre, to rise into viezo, expand, open, unfold. An old Bard says, of the blade of corn — " JDevvr egin drn/reoedd yn das." N, Al-e, to hozcl, swear — send forth wind. AA-a6jiA»», I wander, move about loosely — vagor. AXi,?, a court, open space : aa««, warmth, heat of the sun — \ subtle effusion. Welsh, Armor. Al-an, breath — vapour. Al, and, by mutation, El, an angel, spirit — evanescent being. Irish, Al, nurture; he hath Jiourished — hence, Latin, Alo, I administer nurture — which diffuses itself through the whole frame. The symbol of this power was the Quickbeam; the pe- culiar quality of this tree, which entitled it in that spirit of ana- logy, to such a distinction, was, perhaps, its flexibility, or lax texture. Its name is Luis, which also implies drink— fluid ; an effusion of herbs, or weeds; an open hand. The term is, perhaps, a compound of Lu, and the substantive verb Is F f 2 452 Xjti } — small, light, thin, swift. Lua, water, thin glid- ing fluid. W. Llwr/s, a shedding, pouring forth. The Welsh call the Quickbeam, Cerddin, a plural form of Cardden, — rehat goes away, vanishes. Of this symbol, and of the willow, which is the symbol of s t Taliesin, only, says — Helyg a cherddin Buant hwyr ir vyddyn. " The Willozcs and Quickbeams, Came late into the army." ActyOa, probably, had the same general import as, Dor. >MuGahoY, a skiff, or light, gliding vessel, or x«/xtt«?, "Kapncdx, a torch, or lamp — pouring forth a subtle diffusion. The Latin verb Lambo, seems best to express the force of this element. mb Lamed, the Hebrew name of L, signifies^ to learn, or teach — perhaps, to lay open. M. The most natural and obvious gesture, to intimate, that one substance is entirely shut up, inclosed and comprehended another, must have been, to form both hands into cuplike figures, and placing one upon the other, present them to notice, with significant looks, or nods of the h«ad. As it was intended that man should learn to communicate his ideas, by the voice; the organs of speech would join voluntarily, in these efforts to describe. The lips would close together, the cheeks would swell moderately, into the imita- 453 tion of capacity, and breath would endeavour to attract notice, by sounding the power of M, through the nostrils. Were a dumb person to point at a chest, or vessel, and then repeat his descriptive gesture, it would, in general, be at- tended with such a descriptive sound : and we should readily comprehend his meaning, that the chesty or vessel, con- tained something. M is, therefore, a natural expression of comprehending, including, embracing, or surrounding. Its Bardic name was Mi, which appears anciently to have signified any thing that includes, or comprehends ; as, the bed of a river, in Llyn-vi, Tei-vi, Dy-vi, &c. The Welsh v, is a mutation of M, or B. Min (mi-in) the edge, or bank of a river, an edge, the lip, the mouth. Mid, an in- closure, a vessel of capacity; Midd, an inclosed place, &c. But the general import of the term will appear, more clearly, from the Irish. Mi, a mouth — what comprehends, contains. Mi-ach, a bag, or budget — including, containing* Mi-adh, honour, ornament — what surrounds. Mi-an, mind, will, desire, purpose, intent.. Mi-anach, ore; comprehending in itself. Mi-as, a dish, charger, &c The Romans called this letter Em, for Am : See under L. Hebrew dk, Am, a mother, containing within herself, e?ji- 454 bracing. Latin 4- Am, a mother, whence Amita. " Am, praepositio luquelaris significat circum." Festus. The an- cients said Am urbem, for circum urbtm, — and the like. Hama, a leather bucket ; a hook. Hamus, a hook; ring; kitchen bason — surrounding — containing: Ambo,both; a. pulpit; a cup — comprehending. Am-o, I love, cherish — embrace with desire. Ambio, (am-bi) to court — be compassing, &c. Greek, A/*«, together with — comprehending. A/**«§a, an aqueduct, sewer — surrounding channel. A/x.-a|o, a chariot : hpAv%, t\pot, a cup. Ap-n, a sickle — going round, whence ot-^xu, I reap. Ap-tpi, about, round-about : u.p-$u, both, Sic. Welsh, Am, about, round about. It has this meaning out of composition, and prefixed to some hundreds of words. + dm, (a'v) a river. 4- Ham, (Lib. Land.) summer, season. Cornish, Am, an embrace : ambos, a covenant, contract. Irish, Am, time, season, convenience/ — what comprehends — hence, T'cn/p-us. 455 Ama, a horse collar. Amh, a Jishing net; the ocean— whence the dim : am-an, amh-ain, a river, 8cc. The symbol of this power was the vine, which winds round, and embraces its supporter, and is the mother of the most generous of liquors. Its name is Muin, which signifies also, the neck, the back — pliable parts — he hath taught, or instructed — made to comprehend. Muin-tir, comprehension of the land— people, men, pa- rents, family, clan, tribe. Muin-eog, enjoyment, possession. Welsh, Mzvyn, the ore of any metal ; also, enjoyment, possession, use, &c. The meaning of the Greek Mo is sufficiently obvious, from pvu, to shut up, close the lips, or eyelids; /xvs«, to initiate, introduce to the sacred mysteries : ^%o?, an inward recess, &c. The Hebrew name D'ft Mini, signifies water, which the ancients regarded as the mother of all things, comprehend- ing their first principles. See Gen. i. The Britons, having, probably, no vines before the com- ing of the Romans, changed this symbol for the raspberry tree, of which Taliesin, says — 456 Avanwydd gwneithyt, Ni gorau emwyt, Er amgelwch bywyd. (C The raspberry tree caused, That the best of things should be tasted, For the protection of life." N. When we put forth the hand, or extend the finger, to discriminate a simple, or minute object, the eye is naturally directed the same way: we look stedfastly at that which we wish another to observe. 1 he tongue, at the same instant, spontaneously mimics the action of the hand and the eye, by thrusting forward its point, in the same direction, till it rests against the upper gums. The breath, being denied a passage through the mouth, tends towards the same spot, through the nostrils, with the sound of n, or Hn, This sound is, then, a natural interjection for look! lo there ! and it is as naturally answered by M, or 11m — I observe, or comprehend. May we not, then, pronounce, that the power n, is a na- tural expression of an object, subject, tiling produced, or new — discriminated, or simplified — the selfsame, simple, small? Its Bardic name is N7. The most general appropriation of this term is, as a negative, not : but this is, by the same- kind of figure which produced b'axx^tx, from eA^»;to?, minime from miminus, and the French nebulise, point and pas; from nouns of a confined meaning. 457 Ni signified a particular thing; as in Taliesins, Ni gorau h the best thing. In composition, it still implies a particular, an identical thing, or subject ; as, Dyrys, intricate, perplexed ; Dyrys- ni, intricacy, perplexity — the intricate self. The true import of this simple term appears, more clearly, in the Irish. Ni, he hath made, formed, produced. Ni, a thing — the subject formed, or produced. Nigh, a, daughter; Nia, a sister's son. W. Nith, a niece ; Nai, a nephezv — progeny in the family. W. Nyth: Corn. 4, Nid : Armor. Neith: I. Nead (p. ni-ad) Nidus, a nest — a new construction, or constructioti for young, progeny, as no^nt, now:, a nest, a young bird, from no<;,?iezv, fresh, young, &c. The Romans called this letter En, and they used the in- terjection En! Lo ! Behold! in pointing out, or discrimi- nating. The Irish say, Enne, for an-ni, Lo! Behold the thing* W. Ena, there, lo there! Gr. if, one, the same, the individual things-there, the point, of place, or time, 458 Chald. |H En, behold! Heb. H3H Ene, here J there! be- hold! but in all these instances, E is a mutation of A: whence, we may observe, that these mutations began to take place very early, and became widely extended. The original An, is still to be traced — Heb. \n An, when, •where — point of time, or place. n3K Ane, to give cause, or occasion; to produce ; to happen. Gr. a» if, granting that; una singly, one, by one ; through — from one to one, ccva., aw, upwards, rising into view — ana, I make, 'perform, produce, obtain. Lat. An? an ne? that thing! that particular? 1. C. An, the one — discriminating, simplifying. W. Han, that proceeds from, is produced, new, discri- minate — prep. /Vow, out of. Hanvod (han-bod) to be derived from, to become existent. Han has the same meaning — simple origination, in a multitude of compounds. See Owens Diet. The symbol of this power was the ash, the material, of which the spears, missile weapons, and other implements of the Celta were made. This circumstance may, perhaps, account for its being selected, on this occasion, and its ob- taining the name of nion, from ni, a thing formed, or pro- duced, and On, gain, acquisition. Nion, also, implies a daughter, thing produced; a letter; a wave; a spot, a speck, a point, (whence nion-ach, spotted, forked, or pointed) — discriminate, marked object. Also, prey, booty — acquisition — Ision-am, to get booty — rem facere. The idea offered by the Greek Kv } is of the same class. 459 Nv, wv, now, new, present, at this point of time — It admits the articles, and has, therefore, the construction of a noun — the present, the particular, or the point — the new — what just presents itself — the object, or subject of consideration. Hence, wos a bride, a daughter-in-law — the new, the lately made, ox acquired: w^n, a bride, an. insect, in its incipient state — (wv-(pstu, wv-D, pi, a mouth, face, edge, or point — prominent, projecting. B'D Pirn, fat, fatness — protuberant, convex. The name of this letter, in the Irish alphabet, is peth-boc. As this language is rather deficient in radicals, under p, peth is not to be found, without having recourse to the sister dialects. In Cornish, pethav signifies, I am,hence peth, (w. andc.) a thing — what is, essence, being. Peth, conveys, therefore, the same idea as beith, the Irish name of B, to be, being, essence, what is: so that the discriminative title of this let- ter must depend upon boc, which signifies — he hath szvelled, he hath budded, or sprung. A buck, or he-goat, is named boc, in allusion to his projecting horns, or his bounding motion. Peth-boc, then, implies a thing szvelling out, or springing forth, what is prominent, protuberant, or jutting forwards. The symbol of this power is not named. The Ui-rvi, pinus, or pine, which occurs in TaliesirCs catalogue, seems referable top. Of this the Bard observes, Morawg a Moryd Fawydd fyniesyd. " The mariner and the sea vessel, The pine propelled" I regard F, merely as a mutation of P. In the Hebrew and the ancient Greek alphabet, this power had no appropriate character, and those which it has at present, in the Bardic, and the Roman alphabet, clearly 462 point out its origin. P was anciently written, both in Greece and Italy, as the present capital gamma, or else with an acute angle, as in the Bardic alphabet. The JEolic digamma, or F, is, therefore, nothing more than the ancient p, with a simple dash, or mark of derivation added to it. The Bards called it Fi, and the Greek name *», is the same : Fi, in Welsh, signifies the act of casting off*, putting forth: Fy (fi) aptness to move, or impel: it is used as a prefix, in the composition of words denoting agency, or cause. Owen's Diet. Irish, Fi, anger, indignation — bursting forth. Fiac-ail, a tooth — penetrating point. Fi-adh, a. putting forth, a relating. Gr. $vu, to generate, produce, put forth, bring forth, to be born, or come forth, is a corruption of q^, Lut. Jio; for we have still n Risk. nttD, Reshe, to have power, or force — a poison, prevailing by force — to be poor — stript, reduced by force. U,'K"\, Rash, the head, superior, chief beginning; a ruler; a capital, or deadly poison — prior, superior, forcibly pre- valent. Syr. >\L'n, Rishi, chief, excellent — Arab. R'dis, a prince, chief S. When we design to point out some particular object, in a private manner, so as not to attract general observation, the finger is not immediately directed to it, but held low, and pointed towards the ground. The countenance inclines downwards; the eye is directed below the object itself, and shaded by the eyebrow. The same kind of action is copied spontaneously, by the imitative organs of speech. The point of the tongue drops downwards, and rests against the lower teeth. The upper teeth close over it, as it were, to conceal the unavowed design ; and the low, insinuating, hissing sound of S, is produced. This power, is, therefore, naturally descriptive of secret discrimination, insinuation, a private marking, and dis- tinguishing. Consequently, it expresses those ideas of a thing, with which such observation is generally made. These may sometimes be connected with awe, and respect; h\it, more generally, with contempt, scorn, or some insidious 467 design. Its expressions ought to be segregate, apart, distant, posterior, inferior, lozo, little, mean, and the like. Its Bardic name is Si, which, in Welsh, implies a hissing expression of contempt. Si-arad, or Si-arawd, prating, backbiting: from Si, and arawd, speech, eloquence: Si- brwd, a lozo murmur, or whisper, from Si, and Brud, an account, & chronicle. I. Si, ultimate, distant; whence, Sia, the remotest, farthest from you. Si-ar, the west, backwards, behind, awry. Si-air, aside; Si-dean, infamy; from Si and Dean, colour, appearance; Si-ona, delay, being behind; Si-omach, — a fox — plotting in the rear. Os, above, over, upon; Si-os, down, below. Amor. Si-gea, to sit, lark; Si-oul, silent. The Romans called this letter Es, for As, which signi- fies one, a simple thing, a simple whole, segregated and discriminated from others. Gr. As-GoM, UfGoMi;, soot, ashes, &c. off-cast. A?-»s, dross, dregs, mud, dirt, sediment. Chald. KltfN, Ash-ia, foundations — under-part, Heh. ?R, Az, then — distant point of time. ]1H, Azu, to weigh, discriminate ; the ear. "£K, Ash, f. re — what separates, simplifi&s. c g 2 468 W. As, a small, simple, separate thing; m\. unity, a whisper : As-edd, a slicing, cutting off. C. As, to undergo, suffer. I. As, from, out of — separate; milk — what is separated. As, a shoe, placed under — a foundation. As, also implies fire — what separates, or simplifies ; whence, As-am, I kindlt ■afire — a separation ; as in As-aidh, rebellion, revolt ; As- aitigham, I abandon, evacuate.: As-anta, sedition, &c. In this language, the termination As, like the Latin Tas, implies a discriminate state, or condition. The symbol of this power was the low, stooping ztiltow, which bends under every opposition, and which formed the foundation, or ground-work of the Celtic coracles. Its name is sail, which also signifies a beam; a heel — foundation, or underpart; a guard — who tacitly observes at a distance. Sail-spiorad, a genius, or guardian spirit. With these are connected sail, salann, sal, salt — the searcher. W. sail, a foundation, ground-work. The meaning of ^y^a. may be perceived in uyxv, I am silent, I conceal, dissemble, vyy, silence, secretly, privately. "pD Samech, to sustain, cr support — to undergo, to be placed beneath, as a foundation. The present Greek and Hebrew alphabets contain some derivatives from this power ; as, Zr.rx, the seeker, searcher : Zwrtv, I seek, search, investigate, follozo after. 469 Si, the corroder, detractor; $tu, fw, I shave, plane, scrape — take from, detract. \t Zain, Chald. species, sort — separate, discriminate: nJJ> Zene, to partake of— take from. ]'& Shin, the marker — pointer. \&, a tooth, a sharp point. \Y& Shenen, to, whet, sharpe?i. XXD Shena, to hate. The mechanism, and the natural properties of this power, have been already explained. It describes tension, drawing, or straining, in whatever manner. Extension, stretching, or drazcing out. Inten- sion, or drawing to a point, drawing tight, or close. Draw- ing a line, or bound round any thing — conjining, straitening, limiting, circ umscribing. Its Bardic name is TV, the meaning of which may be perceived in Tid (ti-ad), a chain; Tid-aic, to tether, tie, or confine with a line, chain, &c. Irish Ti, To, unto; tending to a point: design, intention; he, — he zcho, — him that — limiting the agent, or subject. Ti-mhor, the Great He — the- supreme Being. (I have observed that the Celtic representation of Jupiter was the trunk of qjiuge oak, with two branches suspended from the top, presenting the character, and distinguished by the name of Tat;) Ti-as, d.tide; tigh, contendit — he went, came debated, strove. 470 Ti-me, heat, warmth — tenseness: Ti-atan, Tithin, the $u?i — intense, powerful. Gr. TVi>, I honour, esteem, estimate, weight consider, punish, avenge, mulct, or fine. I attend to; hence, Tt-^ honour, praise, price, punishment, revenge, ox satisfaction — attention, a reaching, or extending to. Timeo, I fear, apprehend, stand in awe. The symbol of this power is not named ; but it was pro- bably the sacred oak, as I have already suggested. Its Irish name is Tinne, which also signifies a chain — instrument of drawing, or binding. Teann-am, or Tinn-im, I strain, press, bind strait, embrace. W. Tynnu (Armor. Tenna) to draw, strain, stretch; tj/im, strait, tight, tense, stretched, strained. In Greek, Tav, has the same identical meaning; for it must be referred to ran, whence, ruva, I stretch, strain, draw. The Greeks may have had such a verb as ravu, of the same import as ran, rama nwu, extendo, intendo, contendo. The Hebrew name rvD Teth, is a verbal noun from niD, Tue, to spin— also, thread, a line, &c. drawing, stretching ; whence, TMD2, to tend, extend, stretch. Gvra, as well as Svm, a waiting woman, may be derived From B u, I run, strain; also, place, constitute — circum- aeribe with a line, or limit, in Tau, has the same import. i. 1 Tue. 'O mark; to //m?7, or circumscribe. • HNn jfaej «/7, tiind, circumscribe — confine within a //we. t comprehension of the sounds of D and V, the 471 Hcbrezc formed another derivative power, H, which com-, prises the force of its two compounding elements — an indirect, or secret drazoing, bounding, or coiifining. *V£ Tsed, aside, lateral extent: m2f Tsctdc, to bind in-, directly, or secretly, with a net, a snare, 8cc. Having now, to the best of my abilities, accounted for the names and symbols of the elementary powers in speech, I would pause for a moment, and make a few general reflections. 1. It must, I think, have occurred, that our primitive ancestors, were particularly careful, to distinguish each of their letters by a descriptive term — by a term, which, not only described the letter, and its elementary power, but had also a definite, and familiar import of its own. 2. This designation appears in several countries, in se- veral languages, and amongst nations who seem never to have studied in one common school. It cannot, then, be ascribed either to local fancy, or to the humour of any whimsical grammarian, and which became prevalent after the nations, with all their languages, were separated; — but it, must have been founded upon some primitive, and general reason. 3. The names by which the several nations distinguished any individual power, are differently formed, according to the genius of each particular language and people; yet they amount uniformly to the same thing, or communicate the same prominent idea* These names must, therefore, have been adjusted after the languages became distinct : because every nation e&- 472 presses the same leading image, by a term of its own vernacular dialect. But, as the several nations act upon, the same principle, this adjustment must have taken place, not only when the reason for such an accurate, and clear designation was generally understood, but also, when the separate families had the same invariable notice of that reason. 4. A due attention to the nature and meaning of the se- veral names for each letter, and of the words connected with them, will, I think, explain the reason for that pre- cision which appears in the choice of those names; which reason w r as this — In those primitive ages, it was acknow- ledged, as a fundamental principle, that each of the ele- mentary sounds had a discriminate import, and force, in the super-structure of language ; and as the different languages of the nations were, hitherto, regarded as dialects of the mother tongue, the same principle was admitted still. 5. My endeavours to ascertain this principle of natural expression, may suffice to shew, in general, that there is a relation between certain sounds, and certain ideas of things; and may also induce a conclusion, that a choice of elemen- tary powers, in the formation of primitive terms, was con- formable to the acknowledgment of this relation. (5. If these premises are granted, we may venture to affirm, that, in the symbols, and the descriptive names of elementary powers, we are still presented with an authentic system of the etymology, as well as grammar, which go- verned the most ancient, and primitive language of the world-, 473 Sect. VI. The import of sounds that bear the simplest combinations, deduced from the force of the elements that form them — exemplified in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Celtic terms. — Conclusion, H .AVING been guided thus far in my research, by in- ference from authorities, and facts, I may conclude that analogy between the sound and the sense, has not confined itself to those terms, which are immediately connected with names of the elementary powers; but was carried, accord- ing to some general system, into the main body of pri- mitive language ; from whence it has descended into the several dialects, in which it can still be discovered, in some degree, by a due investigation of the system. As the most obvious, and concise method of ascertaining the regular application of this principle, — 1 shall mark each, of the consonants, connected successively with the several vowels; and then combine the force of the elements/ already developed, with all the simplicity, as well as all the accuracy, which the subject admits. To each of these combinations, I shall add a few examples of simple, and primitive terms, in those languages which I compare, to- gether with received approbations of each — I shall ul- timately submit the consequence of this analysis to ths judgment of my readers. The character, and the antiquity of the Hebrew, entitle that language to superior deference in such a comparison; 474 but there seems to be a difficulty in trying it by a scale, better calculated for the European languages. The textual, or the written vowels of this tongue, are such, only, as contribute something to the import of its terms ; whilst those vocal breathings, which merely facilitate the ut- terance, are left at random, to the chance of being supplied, as local, or temporary usage may direct. But the terms of the western languages, consist, either of the vowels alone, or else, of regular combinations, which unite the vowels, and the consonants: — their orthography may, therefore, acknowledge vocal powers, which are merely auxiliaries to the voice. With an humble reliance upon the candour of my judges, in weighing these differences, I commit the cause to their decision. AB, HAB, AV, IIAV. It appears, from what has been observed upon the mu- tations of elementary sounds, that these four syllables may be regarded as perfectly synonymous, or, as constituting but one root — and primitive term. The nature of its elements has been explained. A,- the first in order, expresses direct tendency, positive agency, perseverance, augment, &c. B imports being, existence^ — what is, — in a definite state, or condition. Ab should, therefore, signify, conducive to existence — a cause; tending to establish; progressive mode of being,, and the like. 475 In the languages which I have compared, it has the fol- lowing appropriate senses. Heb. 2K Ab, a father, the author, the origin; verdure, or youthful vigour, which imports a tendency to a mature state. i"QN Abe, he willed, he desired. Gr. "a6-«; (Dor. p. \A?) therefore «£w, I grow towards manhood, or maturity. Lat. Av-us, an ancestor; a father, (whence, avunculus, q. avusculus) — cause of being. Av-co, I covet, desire — wish the existence of a thing to me : habeo, I possess — there positively is to me. Welsh. Ab, aptness to any thing: Av, progressive, or augmentative state — the superlative form of adjectives. Irish. Ab, a lord, a father; Aba, a father, a cause: Abh-ar, a cause, or motive. Armor. Ab-tc, a cause, or occasion. BA, VA. The elements are the same as in the former, but the order is reversed : so that, instead of conducive, or tending to the existence, wc have being directly progressive — an effect — what is coming, or going forth. Heb. iO, Ba, he came, advanced,, zcent — was progressive. 476 Gi\ Ba-u (whence Gxivu) I go, proceed : £ a -» f , a branch — thing proceeding forth. Lai. 4- Bado (whence Badisso) vado, I go, walk, am progressive. Irish. Ba, good, fruit, or profit arising from any thing: death — going forth. EB, HEB, EV, HEV. Privation, negation, or the removal of being : a negative, a retiring condition. Heb. TOTi, Heb-e, he hid, lay hid : N3n, Heb-a, he hid himself: nrirr, Heb-eb, he hid entirely. Lat. Heb-eo, to be dw//, sluggish — to exist negatively. Welsh. Eb, a withdrawing, retiring. Welsh. Corn. Armor. — Heb, without, absque. BE, VE. It must he observed, once for all, that E is often sub- joined to a consonant, in the languages of Europe, as a mere auxiliary to the voice, without affecting the import, and force of the articulation: where it retains its proper import, after B, it should import, existence removed, diminished, put away, &c. Heb. bni, Beh-l, he nauseated, loathed, detested. Lat. Ft, negative particle, as in vecors } 8cc, 477 Teho, to carry forth ; Velo, to veil, hide ; Veneo, to be sold, alienated ; Veto, to forbid, &c. Irish. Be, Be-an, a woman, one of the smaller sex: Be-ag, little. Armor. Be-gat, (q. d. small piece) a bit, morsel, IB, IV, HIB, HIV. Pointing to a being or condition: approaching: meet, subservient, applying to existence. Heb. 31>, Ib-b, he cried out — applied for help, or com- passion: n»K, A-ib, to be an enemy — disposed to seek the life. Gr. i£ seems to imply a suction of water, &,c. whence •£-£»)?, a plug ; i£-k, Ibis, a stork, or snipe, feeding itself by suction — bibulous. Lat. Ib-i, there — the very spot to which I point. Sibi, to himself, or themselves. B'ibo, I drink, imbibe. Welsh, yv, \., lb, he will drink, or imbibe. Cet ib-en med nouel. u Let heroes drink mead together." E.Lloyd, p. 221. 478 Hiv, a skin— adhering, applying to the body. Irish. lbh,you — beings pointed to. Ibh, he hath imbibed; a drinking. The imbibing of liquids is subservient to being, both in animals, and vege- tables. Armor. Ib-oudn, to graft — put into; Ib-ouden, & graft. BI, VI. Being inherent, appropriated. — See examples above, under B. OB, OV, HOB, HOV. The emanating, projecting, extending, or putting forth of an existence, or condition. Heb. ny Ob, a beam, a cloud : my Ob-e, he was thick, gross; he became bulky. Eny, Ob-et, he lent ; a pledge : 12$, Ob-er, he passed over, &c. Gr. cS-sTw?, a spit — extending forth: «£-« (vox Lacon.) a tribe, or clan — issuing forth. Lat. Ob, for, on account of. Obba, a bottle, or jug, with a great belly. Ob-eo, I die — go forth. Welsh. Ob, a rising, spelling, or throwing out. 479 Hob, apt to rise, throw, or swell out — a swine — a mea- sure of capacity. Hob-el, a shaft, or arrow. Irish. Ob, he hath disowned, rejected, put forth — Ob- ann, quick, rash. Obh, the point of a sword. Ob-air (Corn, and Armor. Ob-er) work, labour, exertion. BO, VO. Being projective — issuing, or szaelling out; putting, or put forth. Heb. nyn, Bo-e, to gush out, as water. 3H3, Ne-bo, to be tlirozcn off, or out, ejected, emitted; to gush out, spring forth. Gr. Be-:?, Bo-?, an ox — an animal furnished with project- ing horns ; and, when wild, disposed to use them offensively. Lat. Bo-a, a pimple, disease ; a kind of serpent Vo-mo, to vomit, eject : J omer, a plowshare. Welsh. Bo, a bugbear, terrifier; Bud (bo-ad,) a kite. Bog, a swelling, rising : W. A. Boch. C. Boh, a check. Irish. Bo, an ox, or cow. Boc, he hath budded, swelled, sprung. The same word implies a buck, a he goat, in Irish and Cornish. L 1, (bo-ad), membrum virile. Corn. Bo-an, an ox. Bom, a smith's sledge. 480 Armor. Bo-as, custom, fashion : Boc-an, a plague, pes- tilence : Bom } a bank, or causeway. UB, UV, HUB, HUV» A covering, overshadowing, being, or -UaU. — See un- der U. BU, VU. Being over; covering. Sometimes covering itself, hiding. Gr. Bv-u, I shut up, cover: &/-«?, Bubo, an owl — being in cover: £fg-?«, a hide, or skin: £u->>j, steeped, covered barley. Lat. Buc-ca, the hollow part of the cheek: Bulla, a great head of a nail ; a seal ; a bubble of water. Welsh. Budd, (Bu-add), superiority , advantage. Irish. Bu-adh, superiority: Bu-aidh, victory: Bu-al, water, overwhelming fluid. AC, ACH. It must be recollected, that the power of C, implies capacity, inclusion, or comprehension; and also, reaching, touching, or apprehension. Though these ideas, in their primary import, be nearly related to each other, yet, in practical application, they separate widely. Comprehension, and apprehension, are almost synonymous; but capacity, or concavity, seem* very remote from a point, or acutencss. 481 Ac, should signify, 1. Tending to hold, contain, or com- piehend: 2. Tending to reach, touch, penetrate, apprehend. Heb. "|N Ah, indeed, surely, particle of comprehension, or apprehension. Gr. 1. Ay.-o<;, a cure, a closing: ux-rv, a shore, or bank: «%->», chaff, or husks : cc^u^, (vox persica), a corn measure — closing, including: also, «%-&> (i pro a), I have, or possess. 2. Ax-»j, an edge, or point : uy-yw, a point : a.*-m, a dart : «X~oj, grief, &,c. Tending to touch, or penetrate. Lat. 1. Ac, and, indeed: oc-ns, chaff: s'ae-er, devoted: fac-eo, 1 conceal — tending to include, or contain. 2. Ac-us, a needle : ac-uo, I sharpen : ac-ies, an edge : ac-or, sharpness, See. — tending to touch, or penetrate. . Welsh. 1 . Ac, also, likewise : ach, a relation, stem, pedi- gree : — inclusion, comprehension. 2. line, a cut, hack. Corn. IJacho, cruel — louchi/ig, penetrating. Irish. 1. Ac, a sun; a withholding : ach-a, a mound, hank: ach-adh, an enclosure: ac-or, avarice, retention. Ach, joined to nouns, forms adjectives of appropriation, and signifies having, or possessing (unde iyu q r) 2. Ac-ar, sour, sharp: ach, a. skirmish: ac-ais, poison: aclCt, danger, peril ; a nail, a claw — lending to tuuch, or penetrate. Hh 482 CA. Comprehending, or apprehending positively. Gr. K«», and, also : *<* {« (**«) capio, capax sum. Lat. Capio, I contain, fake, catch. The Greeks begin the names of several measures of ca- pacity, with *«, and the Latins, with ca. Welsh. Ca, re ill get, have; & keep, hold, he. Ca-ad, a getting, having, holding: Ca-t, a hedge; ew- closure; garland — adj. enclosed, shut: Ca-u, to shut, en~ close: adj. shut. Irish. Ca, cai, a house. I. A. Ca-f, a hedge, a feasts C. W. A. Ca-er, a city— fortified place. C. Ca-id, W. Caeth, a bondman — AfW, confined. EC, ECH. Negatively holding, comprehending, or touching. lleb. rorr, TIek-e, he gaped, opened the mouth ; nailed in expectation. Gr. e*, ex, om£ o/*: ma.^, far off, distant. Lat. iSVco, I cm?, cwf q/T, seier. 483 Welsh. Ech, signifies, will lose, relinquish. " Tudvwlch Hir ech, y dir ae drevydd." Aneurin. " Tudvwlch Hir will lose his land, and his towns." Irish. Ec, in the beginning of words is privative. Reach, he passed by, avoided. CE, CHE. Compreheytsion, or touch, removed, diminished, taken away. Chald. rn, Kelt, to spit out. Heb. "7TO, Ke-d, to cut off, remove, take away, hide. 1LTTD, Ke-sh, to fail, be wanting. Gr. Kt-u, to split, tear open, bum : xt-v, to pour out, dissolve. Lat. Ce-do, to yield, give place. Irish. Ce, night, dark: ce-as, obscurity, sadness. Ce-ad, leave, permission. IC, ICH. Pointing to a comprehension, or hold. Directing to a point. Meet fur, approaching to a comprehension, or touch. h h 2 484 Heb. np» Ik-e, to yield obedience, submit. Gr. \y.-M,to come, approach: ix-*»o?, meet , proper: wvrwt a petitioner. Lat. Ic-Oj I strike, ratify; Icere fcedus. — Cicer. Hie, — this person, ot thing: Hie, here, in this place, or time — directing to a point. Welsh. Ic, pointed, touching: Ic-wr, 'x-wj, a sharp, penetrating humour. Irish. Ic, a cure, remedy — meet to close, or heal. Ioc (ic) payment : S'ic, s 'ioc, frost ; the groin — closing, holding. CI, CHI, Holding, or comprehending; touching, or apprehending — intrinsically. Heb. >D, Ki, for, because, therefore, seeing that. Gr. K.wv, a column, or pillar — holding, touching inter- nally : u-x* u > I discover, obtain. Lat. Ci-o, Ci-eo, to incite — cause internal perception . S'ei-o, I know, comprehend: Ci-tra, Cis, on this side — comprehended within. Welsh. Ci, will perceive, apprehend, comprehend : hence, W. C. A. Ci, adog: Ci, drj/ghin, the weather's eye. Rhyveddav na chi-awr. Taliesiu. 485 fc / wander it is not pei'ceived." Irish. Ci, he hath seen : ci-m, I see, apprehend, perceive. Ci, a husband: ci-al, sense, or meaning. OC, OCH. The extending, putting forth, of a comprehension, or touch. Protuberance ; a projecting points Ileb. npjf, Ok-e, a battlement — outward fence. Gr. Ojk oya., hugely, abundantly. 0%-£&>, I carry forth: t>^-oq, a cer;*, or chariot: ox-ir.q, a channel, water course — comprehending, or containing, and carrying forth. Lat. Oc-ca, a harrow — with projecting points. S'oc-ius, a companion: s'ocio, to unite f associate — ex.- /n/d, a comprehension. Welsh. Oc-yr, usury, profit. Irish. Oc, a poe£ — a setter forth. Oc-aid, business, occasion: oc-ar, oc-as, interest, usury, annual rent. S'och-ar, profit, emolument. I. A. >S"oc; C. S'och, a plow-share. CO, Comprehension, or touch — projecting, swelling out, issue- ing, or put forth. 486 Heb. >\>Xp, Koko, a marking, or stigmatizing. Gr. Ko-»k>?, common, general: w^n, co-ma, hair : xo-v, to educate: to cast up a mound: %u-u, to excite to wrath: X c ->*> anger, &c. Lat. Co, com, or con, in composition — mutual, general, altogether, &c. Co, coim, con, in Irish, and Cy, cyv, cyn, in Welsh, (O being regularly changed into Y) are applied in the same manner. Co-mes, a companion ; copia, plenty, power, liberty. Welsh. Co-ed, C. A. co-at, wood, trees. W. C. Cov, memory. W. Col, any projecting body; a sharp hillock, apeak, a promontory ; a. sting; the beard of com. Irish. Cob, plenty : Cobh, Cod, victory, triumph: Co- dul, friendship, amity; kinsfolk, relations; an assembly, ox convention :. from Co, and Dal, a share, ox portion. UC, UCH. A covering, hold, or touch — reaching over. Heb. "pir, Sh-uc, he hedged; a fence, or enclosure. pill', Sh-uk, he overflowed, he coveted i a. skin. Gr. S'txr, the fig tree. Welsh, t <•//, orcr: ucho, uchod, above, covering: huch, * cover, ox pt Hick : hwch, a ship ; a coffer. 487 Irish. Uc-aire, a napper offrize, a fuller. Uch'd, the breast, bosom : S'uch-adh, a wave, evapora- tion : uachdar, the top, surface, cream, summit. Closing over: touching the surface.. Heb. ip, Ku, a measuring line* Gr. Kv-a, to carry in the womb : x v ' u » *° pour over. Lat. Cu-do, a cap: cu-pa, a cup; cura, cave: cu-tis r a skin, Irish. Cu-a, flesh: cu-ach, a bozvl, a n/p,*. he hath folded: cu-an, a 6ay, haven: cu-as, a tm>e; cu-im, a sA?/rf, covert. Welsh. Cw, dear, beloved — embraced, &.c. Cudd, a hiding place, a hoard: cw, czvb, czvp, a ci/p r cwch, any round vessel: czvd, a itfg, sacA', pouch: cwdd, a concavity, shelter, &c. &c. Corn. Cu-as, a shower: cusc (W. cwsg), sleep: cu- tha, to cover, hide, keep close. Armor. C« z, secret, hidden : cuz, cuza, to hide, cover. AD, ADH, HAD, HADII. Tending to expand, unfold, spread, distribute, divide. 488 Heb. yA, Ad, a vapour, exhalation. pfN, Ad-en, a hinge: "VfK,, Ad-er, to become magni- ficent, pompous, glorious — to expand. Gr. a} u, I satiate, Jill: aX-w, I please, satisfy: cto-r,-,, abundantly. Lat. Ad, augment, in comp. as ad-umo. Welsh. Ad-av, a pinion, an open hand. Ad-ain, a wing : Ad-en, a tcing, a j£w ; the spoke of a wheel : Had, seed — expanding, unfolding: Ad-wy, a pass, or opening. Irish. Ad, renter — spreading element: Ad-a, victory: adh, felicity, prosperity ; a laze : Adh-as, good, abundance* Armor. Ad-a, to seed : Had-u, to sozc. Corn. Ad-en, the leaf of a book — unfolding. PA. Expanding, infolding, spreading, distributing, or divid- ing, positively. Heb. nKT, Da-e, to spread the wings, fty suiftlu ; hence, a vulture, or kite. Gr. a«.-u\ to learn, (untold) divide; kindle, (cause to spread). 489 Lat. Do (da-o), with its frequentive, Da-to, to give, of distribute, Welsh. Da, good, a. good; zcealth, stock. Irish. Da, (W. Da-u, A. Da-ou) two, the first dis- tributive, or divisible number : 4- Da, good : Da-igh, to give, gra>it, distribute. Corn. Da, good, a good; evident , plain — unfolded. ED, EDH, HED, HEDH. Negatively expanding, unfolding, spreading, distribut- ing, or dividing. Heb. 7T\n, Hed-e, to be sharp, narrow, or close, as the edge of a weapon. *7ns I-ed, to unite, make one — negatively unfold, or distribute. Gr. &-u, Ed-o, I eat, corrode, consume. Lat. S'ed, but : s'edeo, I sit, subside : s'-edo, I allay. Welsh. Ed-xci, to consume, decay, wither: Edd, ft moment, instant : Hidd, peace, a state of rest. Irish. .Erf, he caught, took, received: private property; gain, cattle, Sec. Ed-can, a receptacle. 490 DE. An expanse, spread, distribution, or division — with- drawn, taken away, or separated. Heb. nn"7, De-e, to drive away, thrust forth. *TTi, De-i, a. fall, a stumbling. mi, N-de, to impel, force off, thrust, strike. Gr. At~u, to bind, or chain ; to be compelled — to have freedom removed: h-\$u, to fear — to shrink: h-tXv, after- noon, fa 11 of the day. Lat. De, from out of— part removed : De-beo, I am bound, or obliged. Welsh. De, to part from, to be separate; to be proper, or peculiar. Corn. De, A. Dt'ch, yesterday — space withdrazcn. Irish. De, from whence, therefore — separation: De-adh, duty, obligation. ID. Pointing to an expanse, unfolding, distribution, or division. Heb. "p, Id, a hand, means, pozcer, dominion, a tract, a portion, &c. n*7>, /d-e, to shoot, or cas£ g^ to praise — «w, or distribute to ; to confess, or unfold. 491 Gr. i2-tu } I see, discover : 3-ia, idea, perception, discri- mination. Lat. Id-oneus, meet, convenient, sufficient. Welsh. Id, stretched, or extended to: Idd, to,for s to- wards, unto : Hyd, length, duration, to, as far as, until. Irish. Id, use, fruition ; good, just, meet : Idh, a wreath a chain for the neck ; a ring. Expanding, unfolding, distributing, or dividing, inter- nally, or intrinsically. — See under D. od, omi, HOD. Extending, enlarging, putting forth an expanse, or distribution. Heb. 1$, Od, to be beyond, beside, further, additional — yet, moreover, again, until; futurity, eternity; to bear witness; to put on, or adorn. Gr. O^-oi, a zcay, a road, a journey. oSy*,, odor, a smell, or perfume. Welsh. Od, excellent, choice; the falling snow: od-i, to snow. Hod-i, to shoot out as com, to ear. Irish. Odh, music, the point of a spear ; a stranger. 492 DO. An expanse, distribution, or division — extending, put forth. Heb. ]}7, Do, knowledge* yy, I-do, to know, to re- gard, to punish i to perceive with the outward senses. Gr. Ao-w/to give, present, distribute. Au-pv, a, present. Lat. Do-no, donum ; Doto, dos — distribution. Welsh. Do, it is true, yes. Do-di, to place, appoint, give. Irish. Do, to, two, therefore. Armor. Do-e, God:* Do-are, news: Do-ar, the earth. Do-en, to bear fruit, bring forth. UD, HUD. Covering, and expanding, unfolding, distributing, or dividing. Heb. 1)H, A-ud, a firebrand. "Tin, E-ud, the beaming forth of light ; majesty, glory, honour; a vehement noise, or sound. Or. v$-u, to celebrate, sing: v$-up, water — overwhelming, and spreading fluid. Lat. Ud-o, a loose outer garment ; S'udor, sweat, sur- rounding moisture. 493 Welsh. Hud, illusion, fascination ; a secret, or occult science : Hudd, shade, gloom. DU. Expanding, spreading over. Distributive superiority. Heb. *7Hj Du-d, beloved; an uncle; a basket: JH, Du-n, to judge. m*7j Du-e, languor, faintness. Gr. Au-», destruction, desolation. $v-w, $v-u, I put on, spread over me. ^-yaf*«t, I am able, superior to. Lat. Du-co, I lead, preside over. — Dux, a leader, a chief; Du-mus, a bush, a grove. Welsh, (and A.) Du, black, gloomy, overspread. — Dure, God : Dzcv, moving, gliding over ; a bird. Irish. Du, ink, a law ; ordinance; duty; office; a land, or country ; a village. Corn. Du, God ; a day ; a side, or border. Duf. (W. Dug) a leader. See primitives in i 7 , under P, 494 AG, HAG. Tending to grasp, adhere, cohere, collect, compensate. Heb. *13X, Ag-er, to gather, collect. Gr. Ay-u, I lead, bring together, earn/ : uy-t^u, I gather* collect. ay-r>\i), a herd, Jlock, collection : uy-a* t a con- flict ; assembly. Lat. Ag-o, I do, take in hand: Ag-men, an army, crowd, herd, Jlock — assemblage. Welsh. Ag, with, having, holding .- W. and C. ag, and : Ag-aws, Ag-os, near, proximate. Corn. Ag-os, a neighbour. Irish. Ag, with, at: Ag-as, and Ag-an, precious, dear: Ag-ag, a settlement, habitation: A gh, good for- tune ; an ox (gregarious animal), a conflict, a buttle, congressus. GA. Grasping, adhering, cohering, collecting, or compensating positively — what is grasped, Sec. Heb. nJU, Ga-e, to increase, lift up, arise; pride; proud. Gr. Tx-a, to beget; to be born, to contain; to rejoice: ycc-tu, to boast, to be proud. >«-««, riches, treasure, accu- mulation, (a Persian word), ya-ptu, to marry. 495 Welsh. Get, an angle — the junction of two lines : Ga- vael, a hold, grasp. Corn. Ga, lift up, stand. Irish. Ga, a spear, javelin — what is grasped. Gabh, take, receive, hold: Gach, (Ga-ach) every — collective particle. EG, HEG. Negatively grasping, adhering, cohering, collecting, or compensating. Heb. run, Heg-e, to turn round, stagger, dance; a cleft, a hole lin, Heg-eg, to dance round and round: Xin, Heg-a, commotion, circumagitation. Gr. Eyu;u, to arcake, to rouse from the grasp of sleep. Lat. Eg-eo, to be destitute : S'egnis, slothful — negatively adhesive. Welsh. Eg, open, plain, opened — with many com- pounds. Eg-azcr, to open, widen : Eg-in, the blade of corn — opening of the seed. Heg-yl, a leg, shank. Irish. Eag, death. Eag and. Eg, in composition,^- leaving, quitting, &c. Armor. Heg-ea, to shake, toss: Eg-eri, to open. Corn. Eg-ery, to open : Eg-erys, opened. 496 GE. A grasp, adhesion, cohesion, or collection, removed, taken away, separated. Heb. ru, Ge, to break, burst forth; bring, or thrust forth. nj3, N-g?} to push, strike with horns. Gr. Tt-vix, a generation, progeny : yv^, a gift — what h put forth. Lat. Ge-mo, to utter groam : Gem/no, to bud, or sprout ; Genero, to beget — put forth. Welsh. Gen, an opening, a mouth: W. C. A. Gen, the chin — projecting point, W. Ge-ni, C. Gc-ny, to come forth, be born. Irish. Ge, who? what'? either — particle of doubting. Ge-ac, spending, scattering : Ge-ac-ach, a spendthrift : Ge-ag, he budded, a branch ; Ge-in, he generated ; an offspring : Gein-eadh, a generation— springing forth. t IG, HIG. Pointing to a grasp, Sec. Disposed to grasp, adhere, cohere, or collect. Heb. r,y, Ig~ e > t0 afflict, oppress — grasp, squeeze. Gr. iy-»:*, the groin: \y-\u%\, 1 approach — come into con- tact : ' crtyrvu, I suppress, conceal. 497 Lat. Ig-nis, fire, grasping element. Ig-itur, therefore quasi ab igior, teneor. S'ignum, a sign, mark, standard. Irish. Igh, a ring — grasping round ; tallow — accumu- lating matter. Corn. Ig, a hook. Armor. Ig-uen, a flesh-hook. GL Grasping, adhering, cohering, collecting — intrinsically f internally. — See examples under G. OG, HOG. Projecting, extending, put forth from a grasp, cohesion^ or collection. Heb. ruy, Og-e, a cake. Gr. Oy-ao-, swelling, pride ; a mass, mound ; eminence Oy^of, a furrow, road. Irish. Og, young, the young — springing forth. Og-an, a bough, branch — perhaps the true etymology of their ogam, or tree alphabet. Ogh, the ear. Welsh. Og - , a harrow; young. J l 498 GO. A grasp, adhesion, cohesion, collection extended, pro- jecting, put forth, or yielded up. Heb. yj, Go, to expire : yx, I-go, to labour, exert. yj|J, N-go, to touch, Wound, reach, smite. Gr. To-ne, an encbantor. yo-w, a knee — projecting joint. Welsh. Go, an approach, reaching towards: Gob, a heap, mound. Go-byr, a compensation, reward. Irish. Go, the sea; a spear; to, unto, until; sign of the optative mood. Gob, a bill, beak, snout : Gob-am, I bud, sprout forth. A, Go, ferment, leaven. UG, HUG. A covering grasp, adhesion, cohesion, eollection, #i\ ly-m, whole, entire. Welsh, llvg, a coat, a loose gown. Hug, a hook, a bending over. Coin. Ug, upon* 499 Irish. Ug-a, choice, election : Ugh, an egg. Ugh-aim, horse harness, trappings. GU. . Grasping and covering. Adhering, cohering to the sur- face. Accumulating from without. Heb. «, Gu, a body, a society : *M, Gai, a multitude, nation, people. Chald. nu, Gu-e, elevation, pride. Gr. Tv-x, a trench with high edges, a fenced road. rv-oXo*, a cavity, the hollow of the hand. yt>-«»», ropes, sails. Lat. Gu-la, the gullet, gluttony : Gu-mia, a glutton, gluttony: Gum-mi, gum. Gur-ges, a whirlpool, gulf; glutton, &c. Welsh. Gzo-ach, a cavity, cell. Gw-c, a web : Gw-r, a husband. Armor. Gue-a, to weave: Gue-at, a web. Corn. Gu, a reward, desert. Irish. Gu, a lie : Gu-as, peril, danger. I x 2 500 AL, HAL. Tending to a gliding motion, dissolution, emptiness, open* ness, laxity, smoothness. — See examples under L. LA. Positively — gliding, dissolving, empty, open, lax, or smooth. Heb. nh, La, no, not, without, nub, La-e, to faint; to be weary, spent. Gr. Act-u, I see — I enjoy — it is open to me : I am will- ing — ^ive loose to. T^x'oq, the common people — dissolute mobility. hx-yuv, the flank — lax part. Lat. La -h or*, I slide, glide: I^am-lo, I lick — glide over : La-vo, I wash, dissolve. Lae-vis, smooth, sleek. Welsh. Lht, expanding, opening, light, clear : Lla-c, a quick sand ; slack, loose, lax. Lla-char, a gleam, gleaming. Lla-es, slack, loose, remiss : Lla-ith, moist, wet — solution, effusion : Lla-eth, (C. La-it, I. La-it h) milk, a liquid. Irish. La, a day, day — light, open ; also, water — whence La-bheir, a laver, ewer, from La, and Beir, he brought, carried. I^t-g, weak, faint, feeble, hollow. * The opposite meaning of Labor, work, toil, may be accounted for, by conceiving the root to be Ab, to cause, or produce effects. L'abor, 501 EL, HEL. Negatively gliding, dissolving, or loosing : privation of emptiness, openness, laxity, smoothness. Heb. rbu, Ilel-e, to wound, pierce; be in labour, or violent pain ; to violate, profane. br\>, I-el, to stay, wait, be firm.. h\11, N-el, to inherit, take, receive, possess. / Gr. Ex-y, I take, catch : t\-u%, booty, a catching, taking: «x-Jo/x«i, I desire, covet: e^-nu, I draw: tX-ccvu, Dor* I take, lead away : r ; Vos, a nail, bolt, fastener. Lat. Helluo, a glutton, greedy person. Welsh. Ilel, a gathering, collecting, taking, seeking — with many compounds : El-azcr, (C. El-ar, I. El-eath- rain) a bier, feretrum* W. C. A. Elin, an elbow — -juncture. Corn. El, he can, is able : IIelh-ia x to hunt : Hclh-iat^ pursuit, a hunter v Armor. El-guez, the chin, q. d. face-angle. Irish. Ell,* a string, latchet, thong — fastener ; a battle, engagement; hazard, danger: Eall, a trial, proof: El~ ton, steep, uphill. • ~ ■ — — — — — m M * Hence B'ellum, Du-ellum, B'ellua, &c. 503 LE. Solution, looseness, emptiness, oporness, laxity, smoothness, withdrawn, removed. Heb. rtnb, Le-e, to be vigorous, fresh, green. >nb, Le-i, the jaw-bone — holder. Gr. Ai-tx, a prey, capture : hvruru, I catch, get booty, y^n-px, purpose, intent, courage, valour, rigour of mind ; ^u/A-jaa, an assumption : te-uv, a lion, clevourer. Lat. Le-go, I gather, choose : Le-na, a bawd : Le-no. a pimp, catcher. Welsh. Lie (C. Le, A. Le'ch), a place, receptacle, re- pository : Lle-u, to place, fix, set, lay. Lle-w, a lion ; Llew-a, to eat : Lies (lie-as) advantage, profit, gain — what is taken, or received. • Corn. Le-al, true, trusty, firm : Le-as, sufficient, meet. Le-ana, to fill : Len, full ; faithful, trusty. 1. Le, with, having : Le-an, he adhered, followed^ imitated, pursued; Le-as, profit: Le-atha, gain. IL, HIL. Pointing to, approaching dissolution, emptiness, openness, laxity, smoothness. ■ Heb. hb', III, to cry out ; Yell — unless perhaps from the sound. 503 Gr. \K-aoi, to be propitious^ mild. *x-£<>o a hole, cavity: A-t/ ? , mud, dirt— solution of earth. Lat. Il-e, the flank — lax, soft part. Iiil-um, a mere nothing. Welsh. Ilil, a particle, piece, fragment— issue, off- spring. i7, a ferment, resolution, decomposition : 111, a separate particle. Irish. i7, in composition, variety, ' diversity of parts: Il-e, a multitude, diversity, difference : Il-eaeh, dung, dirt. LI. Gliding, dissolving, loose, empty, open, lax, smooth — ■ intrinsically, internally. — See under L.. OL, HOL. The emanating, extending, putting forth of solution, operi^ ncss, laxity, or smoothness, 8cc. Ileb. nVy, Ol-e, to mount, ascend as a vapour — a burnt offering, bp, 01, upon, over, &c. ty>, I-ol, profit, advantage. Gr. Otfvvu, to destroy ; loose, ox-o?, whole, entire. Lat. Ol-eo, to smell, to yield a smell : Ol-or, a strong smell : Ol-irn, long since ; hereafter* 504 Welsh. 01, a track ; the hinder part ; the rear. Hot, to fetch. W. A. Holl, all, the whole. Irish. 01, a drinking, drink : Ol-an, wool : Oil, great, grand. N. B. O, — of, from, out of, — has sometimes the force of a privative, but more frequently it implies an emanaticn^ extent, production. LO. A gliding motion, solution, openness, laxity, smoothness t emanating, extending, put forth. Heb. yb, Lo, to lick, absorb. Gr. Ao-vu, to wash : *o-»yo f , destruction ; *o-*p?, pesti- lence, contagion. Welsh. Llo-er (C. Lo-er, A. Lo-ar), the moon. Irish. Lo, water ; a lock of wool ; a day. Armor. Lo-a, a spoon : Lo-va, to row : Lo-ui, to wax mouldy : Lo-us, vile, filthy. Corn. Lo, a pool ; standing water ; a spoon : Lo-ob t slime ; sludge. 505 UL, HUL. A covering solution, or loose substance, &c. or covering solution, laxity, smoothness. Heb. >bn, N-Ul-i, a dunghill ; to defile. P. Gr. 'r*.-*, a wood, or forest. Lat. Ul-igo, moisture, ooziness-: Ul-cus, a boil, or sore ; Ul-va, sea grass : Ull-iis, any one. Welsh. Hul, a cover, or mat. Irish. Ul-achd, colour, dye : Ul-cha, a beard : Ull-a x a burying ground. LU. A gliding motion, solution, laxity, &c. covering, or over* whelming — gliding, diffusing itself on the surface. IJeb. lb, Lu, would ! O that — particle of wishing. Gr. Av-yn, obscurity, darkness : Xu-^a, dirt, filth : Au-p^ contagion, destruction, Lu-cs. hv-a, to loose. Lat. Lu-cus, a grove — loose, hollow cover. Lu-ceo, to shine, give light — diffuse a loose, subtle maU {er over the surface, whence Lux — Lu-men. Luo, to pay, expiate, wash : La-turn, clay, mire* 506 Welsh. Liu, an army, multitude : Llu-g, light, the dawn ; a plague, pestilence — subtle, diffusion over — Llu-n, form shape, figure, outward appearance : Llw-ch, an ex- panse of water ; also dust, a cloud of dust. Irish. Luj small, light, quick — flying, gliding over the surface : jLtt-a, water : Lu-ath, ashes. Armors Lu-ia, to mix, compound. AM, HAM. Tending to embrace, comprehend, surround. See examples under M. MA. Embracing, comprehending positively — what is embraced, or comprehended. Ileal substance. Heb. rtND, Ma-e, a hundred — comprehensive number. TND, Ma-d, might, greatness, copiousness; very much, hugely. Gr. M«-4>, I greatly covet — embrace with desire: M«, sheep, substance — a Phrygian term, f*a-yo ? , a sage, man of science — a Persian word. //*-*«, hugely, abundantly : px, and its mutation pv, in the termination of words — com- prehending, containing, substance, 8cc. Lat. Ma-ter, materia— comprehending the substance: so magnus, magis, malo, manus, &c. • Welsh, Ma, a place, space, state : Mad, good, benefit. 507 A. Mat, good, wealth, riches. W. Ma-e, C. Ma, it is, there is. W. Ma-er, a superintendant. W. C. A. Ma-es, a field. W. A. Ma-eth, nourishment. W. Ma-int, magnitude, quantity : Ma-ith, large, huge. Ma-nu, to prosper, thrive. W. C. A. Mam. a mother. C. Ma-er, much : ma-ge, wonderous : ma-n, to will, do* sire : ma-ne, enough, Irish. Ma, magh, a field : Ma-is, a sheep, a mass : Ma- ith, good, excellent. Mam, strength, might, power; a mountain. EM, HEM. Negatively comprehending, or embracing — privation of substance — simp licity, sma llness. Heb. nnn, Ilem-e, to be hot : heat, wrath, fury — incon- tinence; a wall, or separation — parting oft", nftn, J/em- ct h, acrid, corroding poison. DTO, N-ern, he repented. Gr. ip-w, I vomit : -n^-vu, I lean, fall : ip-tw, S'cmi, half. Lat. Em-o, I buy; that is, take from, extricate from the former possessor — whence, Ex-imo, to deliver, release: per-imo, to cut-off; ad-imo, to take away, &c. Welsh. 4. Em, ev, he, this—a simple object. Em, a rarity, scarce, or small thing. Em-id, rare, unique : Em- ig, a toy, little jewel. 508 . Corn. Hem, Armor. Hema, this. ME. Embrace, comprehension, substance withdrawn, removed* Heb. nnD, Me-e, to wipe off, blot out, put away. TTD, Me-i, an engine to batter and destroy walls. Gr. Mu, no, not: pi-wv t smaller. /*£-»?«, I part, divide; am deprived. Lat. Me-o, to go, glide away, flow out, waste. Mc-io, urinam reddo. Me-to, to reap, cutoff — remove substance: Me-tuo, to dread. Welsh. Me-di, to reap : Me-thu, to fail, decay, perish. Me-itin, a moment; while, past. Irish. Me-ath, he failed; a decay: Me-abhal, shame, deceit : Mt-as, a pair of shears ; fruit removed from the tree ; an orphan — cutting, cut off. IM, HIM. Pointing to an embrace, comprehension, or substance — . meet, disposed to embrace, or comprehend. Heb. D>, Im, the sea. D»0», Imim, days, a year; giants. P. C, Im, termination of the noun masculine, in the plural, or comprehensive number. \Q> 3 Im-an, the right hand* 509 Gr. ip-etA, a thong, or latchet : »«-*, a garment, cover- ing : t/A-sijj^ desire, covet. Lat. lm-agd, an image. Im-itor, I imitate ; Jm-o, rather, more than ; Imus, with the Celtic article is prefixed, forms the superlative termination, utmost, extreme, Welsh. Hiv, 4> Him, a skin, surface. Irish. Im, about, surrounding ; butter. lom-ad, Im-ad, much, many, plenty, a multitude. Im-eal, (W. ym-yl) a border, brim, coast. MI. Embracing, comprehending, intrinsically. Substance ap~ propriated. — See under M. OM, HOM. The extending, juttting forth of an embrace, comprc* hension, or substance. Heb. Dj>, Om, a people, multitude, swarm ; with, to- gether with. ' D>>3, N-om, to be sweet, pleasant ; sweetness. Gr. Oja-vv^, I swear: o/a-jXo.-, an assembly, multitude. C/ x-c?, like, equal. Lat. Om-entum, the caul of the bowels. Om-nis, all,, every one. Hom-o, man, rational being. £10 Irish. Om/i-an, froth, syllabub; terror, Om-na, an oak ; a spear, or lance. JVelsh. HoVj hanging over, intimidating. MO. An embracing, or comprehending, and extending, or carry- ing forth. — Comprehension, matter, substance, emanating, projecting, put forth. Heb. >yD, Mo-i, the bowels. Gr. Mo-yo;, iM-h<;, fAO-Xe*, p.«-Xo<, labour, trouble, war, bat- 'tle. fto-Too a bandage for wounds. Lat. Mo~veo, to move, remove. Mo-dus, mos, a manner, custom. Mo-ks, a mass : 4- Mo-erus, a wall. Mo-enia, walls of a city. Welsh. Mo, more : Mod, a circle, enclosure. Mo-dur, a protector, a sovereign. Modd, a mode, manner, custom. Mo-es, general conduct, behaviour. Irish. Mo, a man : Mo, Mo-a, greater, greatest : Modh, a manner, fashion ; work. 511 UM, HUM. A circumfusive embrace, or comprehension. A coverin* substance, or matter. Heb. Din, E-um, multitude, tumult, trouble : DV, I-vm t day. 013, N-um, slumber ; to dose. Gr. Y/A-tiF, a membrane, or s-kin. »*-«){, Hymnus, a song of praise. Lat. Um-bo, the boss of a shield: Um-bra, a shadow; Hum-or, moisture : Ilam-o, to bury : S'um*o, I take, re- ceive — embrace and cover. Shim-en, the pap, or udder. Welsh. Huv, a mantle, cover. Hum, a racket, bat. TIzcv, a hood, cowl. Irish. Urn, about, surrounding, covering; with, to- gether with. Vmh-a, a cave, den : Um-ar, a trough, vessel. MU. Conqirehending and covering : substance, ur matter which covers, diffuses itself round. Sometimes — substance, co- vering itself , or Zihich is covered ,• as, Heb. mD, Mu-e, marrow, brain. 512 Gr. Mt>-«, to shut, close, cover: pv-tu, to initiate into mysteries : ^-Jaw, to moisten : pv-hn, a mill, covering mass. Lat. Mu-cor, mouldiness ; mu-nio, to enclose, fortify ; murus, a wall, &c. Welsh. Mu, a large measure of liquids: Mw, a sur- rounding substance : Mwd, an arch, or vaulted roof. Mwg, smoke. Mwy, A. Mui, more, greater, larger. Irish. Mu-adhy a cloud ; noble, great, good : Mu-al, a top, summit. Corn. Mu f much : Mui, great. AN, HAN. Tending to produce, discriminate, or simplify. — See examples under N. NA. Producing, discriminating, simplifying — in a positive manner : or, what is produced, simplified. [ Heb. K3, Na, now — the present point. Gr. Na-o?, a temple : va-vg, a ship — a fabric — thing formed or produced : hence, w-»«, I inhabit — occupy a fabric : Mi, verily, certainly, Nae, particle of discrimination. Lat. Nac-vas, a natural mark : Na-vo, I do, make, pro- 513 tiuce : Na-vis, a ship : Na-scor, (q. incept, from Na-or) I am born, produced, come forth: Na-tura, nature; the producer. Welsh. Na-zvs, nature — the producer : Na-v, the creator : Na-in, a grandmother (I. a mother), which pro- duces. Na-ddu, to cut into form. Irish. Na-e, a man, individual : Na-duir, nature : Na- vidhe, an infant : Na-oi, (W. 4- Naw) a ship. Mai ymsawd yn llyn heb naze. Tal. (< Like contending in the water without a ship." EN, HEN. Negatively new, or present. Not produced, discriminated, or simplified. Heb. run, Hen-e, to compass, close, shut up ; a cell. Gi". Ey, in, within — not produced, or brought forth: e»-S>o?, noon — point of receding. Lat. S' 'en-ex, an old person : S'enesco, I begin to decay. Welsh. C. Hen, old, decaying: En, in composition, in, within : Corn. Armor. En, in : En-a, there, therein. Armor. En-e, the soul — internal, invisible principle. Irish. En, in composition, In: S'ean, old; he declined, refused : S'en, a net. k k 514 NE. A production, discriminate tiling, perception — removed, or withdrawn. Heb. nrt3, Ne-e, to rest, cease from motion, or action; also, to lead forth. Gr. Nej in comp. negat. Lat. Ne, not, neither : Ne-co, I slay, cut off: Ne-go, I deny, refuse. Welsh. Ne, not; Ne-mawr, not, much. Ne-b, no one ; any one — indiscriminately. Corn. Ne, no, nor, not: Ne-glnj, to deny. IN, HIN. Pointing to a discriminate, or simple object. Aptitude to produce, discriminate, simplify. Heb. X\V, In-e, to press, squeeze out. \», I-in, wine — produced by pressing. Gr. ic, a fibre — simple substance : »v-a, that, for, to the end that — conj. causal: %vem, iw», to empty, cleanse — bring forth the contents : »>-*,-, a son, infant, grandson ; m~n } a daughter ; »»-»o?, a colt, foal — thing produced. Lat. S'in-cerus, sincere simple : S'ingulus, one by one — ■ discriminate!)'. 515 Welsh. Hin, season, weather, state of the air. Irish. In, fit, proper for any thing: a country: Inn, & wave. In, Ion, in composition, fitness, meekness, aptitude. NI. The act, or subject of producing, discriminating, simplify- ing. — See under N. ON, HON. The extending, projecting, emanating, putting forth of a production, a discriminate, or simple object. He]), nty, On-e, to act upon another person, or thing ; to effect ; produce effects upon. \:y, On-n, a cloud. Gr. (>-«£, a dream, vision: o-rp, I help, profit, reprove: •v-opct, a name, fame, renown: e»-«|, a naih Lat. On-us, a burden — lifted and carried forth. Ilon-or, honour, distinction. Welsh. Ilon-i, to make manifest, publish : On, a spear, lance — the ash. Irish. On, gain, advantage; a loan; blame: Onn, a stone, a horse — springing forth. Corn, II- emanating, extending, put forth. Heb. y3, to move remove — go forth ; a wanderer. Gr. No-po?, a law, custom: »o-o ; , a mind, thought, memory. Lat. No-vi, 1 know, discriminate : No-men, a name, fame : No-ta, a mark : No-vo, to produce, make new ; No-vus, new. Welsh. No, than: Nod, a characteristic, token, mark. No-eth, (A. No-az, C. No-ath,) naked, bare, open. I. No-tha, discovered. Corn. No-va, to make, produce : Now, a noise : No-i, a nephew: No-it, a niece: No-ar, the earth: No-den, thread. Irish. No, New. No-dam, I understand. No-is, a cus- tom, manner, behaviour; noble, excellent. UN, HUN. Covering, embracing, a thing produced, or a simple, di$~ criminate thing. Covering discrimination. Ileb. pn, E-un, sufficiency, substance, wealth* Gr. KVkk, a plowshare — covering the seed. 517 Lat. Un-us, one : Un-da, a wave. "Welsh. Un, one, the same : Un-aw, to unite. Hun, self — the same person, or thing; alone; Hwn, this one. W. C. A. Hun, sleep, a nap of sleep. Corn. Un, one, a, an. Armor. Un, the same : Un-o, to unite : Un-an, one. NU. Discriminating and covering. The simple discriminate thing, or point which the attention covers, or rests upon. See examples under iV» AP, HAP, AF, HAF. Tending to a prominence, or convex — to a pushing, springing, or putting forth. Heb. *]N, Ap, the nose, face ; fire ; wrath, fury — cer- tainly, apparently. f|DK, Ap-ap, to flow, rush upon, with force and violence. Gr. a«7-« 7 e, forth ! away with it ! ap-age ! a*r-o, from, forth of — %'us-^'jc,, a father, natural source, or spring : «mx-^, a boy, girl — • springing up. I na-»w, I strike, smite : &a~yc<;, a mount, hill, prominence. TlciTvc, a father — putting forth. The same idea presents itself in Latin, Pan-do, Pa-teo, Pa-ter, Pa-vo, Fa-ber, Fu-cio, Fa-cics, Fa-ma, See. Fa- ha, W. Fa, beams — prominent, convex, pods. Welsh. Fa-zc, honour, credit : Fa-rcd, prosperity : Pa- tch, all, every one: W. Pa, what — C. when, what — A. 519 seeing that, whereas. W. A. Pa-un, a peacock. W. Paxcen, A. Pau, a paw. Armor. Pant, enough, abundance. EP, HEP, EF, HEF. Negatively prominent , convex, pushing, springing, or put~ ting forth. Heb. f]n, Hep, secure, covered. TiDn, Ilep-e, to cover, overlay; a covering; a secret chamber ; a bed chamber. fjrn, Jlep-cp, to cover, shelter entirely. HDn, llep-a, to conceal, secrete. Gr. Eet-«, tur-opzi, I follow, come after, Ezs-tt, after, since — posteriority. Lat. S'ep-io, I enclose : S'epes, a hedge. Welsh. Hep, a nodding, slumbering: C. A. Hep, with- out. C. Epk-an, June — point of the sun's receding. Armor. Ep-at, a stopping, staying. PE, FE. Prominence, projection, a push, or spring, rest rained, Kith- drazai, removed ; but in many instances, the force of P. 520 remains undiminished, so that Pe signifies projecting, pushing, extending, springing forth. — See the note un- der Be. Heb. HD, Peh, seems to imply a covering, spreading over — hence, a thin plate, or overlay ; a net, or snare ; a governor, or controller. nD3, N-peh, to blow, blast, pant for breath. Welsh. Pe, if. Corn. Pe, what. Armor. Pe, or, what ? particles, expressing condition, doubting, or hesitation. Irish. Pe, a hedge, pound, pinfold ; park, or enclosure ; a gage, or rod, to measure graves ; under. IP, HIP, IF, HIF. Pointing to a prominence, projection, or spring. Meet, or disposed to project, spring, or push forth. Heb. nD>, Ip-c, beautiful, fair, slightly, DD>, Ip-eth, a prodigy, sign. Gr. iv-Koc, a horse : i^-w, to hurt, injure : perhaps, let fly at; whence, »w-Ta/*a», I fly; tDy, Op-i, the shoots and foliage of a tree. Gr. Ow-ajo), I pursue, urge : ow-u, a peep-hole : awn;, re- venge, divine vengeance. cym-Tu), I see, behold : o-fy, the eye, view ; a voice, singing. Ov.-o*;, sap, juice — pushing forwards. 522 *$-*;, a serpent, snake — darting forth. Lat. Op-era, Op-us, work, labour, exertion, Sic, Op-is, Ops, Opes, power, might, dominion, help, strength, forces, riches, Sec. Op-to, I wish, desire. Welsh. Of-er, tools, instruments. ro, ro. Prominence, convexity, a push, or spring — extended, put forth. Heb. j/'D'j I-po, to radiate, irradiate, beam forth ; lustre. J/DN, A-po, a viper. npD, Po-e, to cry, shriek out. Gr. Uo-a, grass, pasture — springing forth : >au-^ W) n beard : p-Qr,, hair, mane. TTo-iso;, I make, produce. <$u-,ri, a voice : f^, a thief; a speculator : -»?, strife, division. Lat. Iler-i, yesterday : S'er-o, late, too late. S'er-po, I creep: S'er-vio, I serve, am in subjection; Err-o, I wander, mistake. Welsh. Her, provocation, defiance. MY. A. Er, from, since. 527 A. Err-es, a flat, floor. Irish. Err, the tail, end. Ear, he refused. Ear-adk, fear, mistrust. Ear-ais, the end; Ear-ball, the tail; Ear-aid, Err-aid, error. RE, RHE. Firmness, force, superiority , prevalence, removed. — Forci- bly moving off — broken, separated, reverted, iterated. Heb. m>, I-re, a moon, month — division, or iteration. Gr. Pe-v, I pour out, flow, vanish. p»j-u«, a thing, deed, word — -separate subject. pys-w, I break, tear asunder. Lat. Re, in comp. &, im- petuosity, bent of the mind : op-o$ } a mountain : '«§-&?, a limit, boundary : o^-u, I excite, rouse, 8cc. Lat. Or-a, a coast, border — utmost extent. Or-ior, I arise, begin, spring, or shoot forth, &c. Welsh. Or, a limit, boundary, coast, margin ; prep. or, out of the — Or-aw, to utter; send forth. l 1 530 Hor, bulky, round. Irish. Or, a voice, a sound ; border, coast. RO. Firmness, force, prevalence, extending, put forth. — Forci- bly, eminently extending. — See examples under R. UR, HUR. Covering eminently, or forcibly . — See under U. RU. Forcibly overwhelming. Eminently covering. Prevailing over. Heb. nn, Ru-e, to enebriate; overcome with liquor; to drench, soak ; idolatry. Gr. Pv-a, to draw along; to flow ; to protest. Lat. Ru-o, to rush over, or upon the surface. Ru-beo, to blush, redden : Ru-bus, a bush, bramble : Ru-ga, a wrinkle, fold : Ru-ma, the cud ; a pap : Ru-men, the cud ; belly, paunch. Ru-mor, rumour, report, fame. Corn. Ru, a street, covered way: Ru-an, a river: Ru-id, a net : Ruse, a rind, or bark : Rug, a king. 531 Armor. Ru, a street : Rusqueen, a rind, or bark. Welsh. Rhxcd, rust. Rhwg, a rough outer garment. Rhwyd, a net : Rhwyv, a king. Irish. Ru, a secret, or mystery. AS, HAS. Tending to mark, or distinguish — a discriminate object — a whole. — See examples under S. SA. Marking, distinguishing positively. Heb. HND, Sa-e, to measure, mete; a measure of ca- pacity. KDND, Sa-sa, to measure exactly. Gr. £»-&>, I preserve whole, or entire. rct-tpn, manifest, open, certain — marked. Lat. Sa-gio, to perceive quickly, discriminate ; smell out : whence Sagax, and Sa-ga, a subtle woman, witch — marker. Sa-pio, to savour, taste, know — discriminate : Sa-ne, evidently, truly, discriminately. Irish, -b'a, self. i. 1 2 532 Welsh. Sa-tr, an architect, marker, artist. ES, HES. Negatively discriminating, or pointing out — unfixing — removing a distinct object. Heb. nDn, Hes-e y to hide, cover. TiZTl, TIesh-e, to hurry, to be confounded. n?rr, Hcz-e, to comprehend, enclose ; a compact, Gr. Eo-V, I eat, devour, corrode. Htt'u*, less, smaller. Lat. Es, thou eatest, devourest, corrodest. Jles-ternus, yesterday — time removed. Irish. Es, in comp. forsaking, leaving; as Reim, a road,, Es-reim-each, deviating. Ess. death, a ship — departure, departing. Welsh. Es, divergency, departure, separation. SE, ZE. Discriminately removing, or removed. Segregated, de- pressed. Heb. nr, Ze, to be loosed from, withdrawn, separated, 533 DPID, Se-e, to sweep, scrape,, tear off. nnti', She-e, to bend down, stoop, couch, crouch linZ', Shc-ch, to prostrate oneself. Gr. "Li-Qu, to adore, bow down ai-iu, to shake, remove, move. fy-a, to boil, spring forth separate. Lat. Se, in comp. separately, apart ; half; privation. Se-co, to cut, divide : Se-mi, half, Se-rum, whey — separating from. Irish. Se, he, it, him. Corn. Se, she, her; a seat. Welsh. 4- Se, that — that particular. IS, HIS. Pointing to discrimination, or distinction ; to a founder tion, or first principle. The marking. Heb. w>, Ish, Is, are. Gr. i ? , a fibre: «-»/*«, I know, discern. Lat. Is, the same ; Is-ce, even he. 534 Welsh. Ys,±Is, nee, certainly; a demonstrative par- ticle. Is, below, under, inferior. Is-el, Amor. Is-el, Corn. Is-al, low, humble. Irish. Is. The substantive verb — is, am. Is, under — fundamental. SI. Discrimination, distinction; internal, or lozo situation, &c. — See under S. OS, HOS, OZ. Projecting, extending, putting, or coming forth dis- criminatdy . Heb. py, Os, to trample upon — project, or rise over. iiy, Osh, to make, form, fashion, perform; to bear, or produce fruit. Gr. ck, who. c;?-«, a voice, fame, report. o{~a, to cast a smell. cf-o?, a branch ; a champion. 5S5 Lat. Os, the mouth, face, countenance, speech. Os-cen, a foreboding bird. Os-tium, a door ; the mouth of a river. Welsh. Os, that tends from, out, or forward ; that tend* to increase ; an increment. O. D. Irish. Os, above, over, upon; a. deer. SO. Discriminately extending, projecting, enlarged, put forth* Heb. ny?, Zo-e, to move, remove, shake. y?yr, Zo-zo, to put into violent motion. nj/D, So-e, impetus, impulse. yD3, N-so, to move, be removed ; to journey. y&, Sho, to look, have regard. Gr. Zo-w, w-u, to chase, put to flight. ro-Gw, to expel, put forth. eu-pz, a body : tDN, At-in, a cord, rope — implement of drawing. nnN, Atli-e, to approach — draw towards. 538 Gr. At-«£, (At, Lat.) but — particle of limiting. Welsh. At, to, towards — approaching. Irish. At, a swelling — tension. At-a, At-an, a cap, garland. Corn. At-is, persuasion, advice. TA. Extending, straining, drawing, circumscribing, positively. Heb. NtDND, Ta-ta, to sweep — draw forth. nan, Tha-e, to limit — circumscribe with lines. HD, Tha, a chamber. Gr. Ta-w, r*-£u, I draw, strain, extend. •tan-cp, I set in order — draw out in ranks. T«-e?s, a peacock — displaying his plumage. Lat. Ta-beo, to be ex-hausted. Ta-bula, a table, plank — extended surface. Ta-pes, tx-icK, tapestry. Irish. Ta, is, am. 539 Welsh. Ta-er, importunate, urgent. Corn. Potent, powerful — exerting. W. C. A. Tan, fire. ET, HET. Negatively drazeing, straining, limiting, or circum- scribing with a line. Privation of tension. Heb. NBn, Het-a, to miss ; deviate from the line.- Parkhurst. Gr. Et-», moreover — besides: tr-t^s, another. it-yx;, tr-uigos, a companion — additional. Lat. Et, and, moreover, besides — not limiting. Irish. Et, in comp. privation. Welsh. Et-to, yet, still, moreover — besides. Eth-u, to go, depart, vanish. Het-ys, a short space \ an instant. Corn. Eth, he went, departed, vanished. Eth-om, want, need. Ileth-as, a carrying away. 540 TE. Tension removed. Drawing away, &c. Heb. tllD, to plaster, daub with mortar, fyc. but fre- quently it has the contrary meaning. — See the note under Be$ IT, HIT. Aptitude to draw, strain, stretch — pointing to a straight line. Heb. 2ID% It-b, to be good, right, &c, Gr. It-^, bold, rash — going straight forwards,, ir-vq, the rim of a wheel — uniformly binding. i§-vs, straight, direct — impetuosity. &-va, I proceed straight forwards — I rush with impet* uosity. Lat. It-a, in like manner — directly so,. It-em, likewise. It-e r, a road, journey, way — direction. Jt-io, It-us, a going forwards. Irish. It-e, a wing, Jin — equally stretching, moving forth : It-e, in like manner. 541 Welsh. Ith, C. It, Hit. I. Ith, Corn, wheat, rye, &c. — growing straight, direct. TI. Drawing to. Having the property of drawing, stretching, binding, &c. — See under T. OT, HOT. Forth-drawing, or straining. Outzcardly stretching, er binding. Heb. Dy, Ot, to fly swiftly ; rush forth ; spread a gar- ment over. r\y, Oth, time, season, opportunity ; to pervert, distort — draw aside, or awry. Gr. oS-w, to move, remove. o$-on?, a sail, a linen cloth — stretched out. «S-£w, to drive, thrust forth. Welsh. Oth, exterior, extreme. Irish. Ot-ar, labour, exertion. Of-ir, a ridge jutting into the sea. 542 TO. Drawing, stretching, straining forth — binding, or strutt- ing outwardly. Heb. njtfD, To-e, to wander, go astray. nyn, Tho-e, to err, wander, go astray. VD^D, Tho-tho, to err greatly, or repeatedly. Gr. Gal, I run : 0o-os, swift. Qa-vssii, I cry out ; rush with impetuous rage. to|ov, a bow — straining, and casting forth. Lat. To-mex, to-mix, a cord. Ton-sa, the blade of an oar. Torrens, a torrent ; rash, violent, headlong. Corn. Tof, I go, stretch forth. W. C. To, A. To-en, thatch, tile, &c. — stretching binding outwardly. W. To-es, A. To-as, Dough — heaving, swelling out. Irish. Toi, a bearing, birth. 543 UT, HUT. A cover, stretching, extending, or binding. Gr. Yt-»o», a swelling ; a fungus, 8cc. Lat. Ut-er, a bladder, bag, bottle. Uter-us, the womb. Irish. Uth, an udder, dug. Corn. Ut, Uth, a swelling : Iluth-a, to cover. Huth-y, to lift up, exalt. Uth-ic, Uthy, huge, very great. TU. Drawing, stretching, extending over. Heb. HID, Tue, to spin — what is spun. mn, Tku-e, to mark, limit, circumscribe. — Draw the line over. Gr. Dor. Tv, Lat. Tu, thou — the person over whom I extend the hand, or the eye. Tj-^an-a:, Ty-rannus, a king : rvq-w, a fort, bulwark- defence, protection. fii-EV.*, a whirlwind : Gs-Axx-., a sack, or pouch : £)--May the conviction of this affinity between us all, dispose the human race to mutual offices of eharity »nd forbearance ! APPENDIX. X. HAVE, in tlie pages now closed, and at the mercy of the reader, prompted some arguments in support of an opinion, that, in reality, and in tact, the celebrated Hyper- boreans of antiquity were professors of Druidism, in its earliest, and least-adulterated state. It must not, however, be dissembled, that M. Mallet, in his Northern AntiquitieSy and that other very eminent writers have contemplated the subject in a different view. They regard the character of Boreas, the father of the Hyperborean priesthood, as identified, in the Bore of Gothic mythology, and from this position have argued, that, in the Runic Edda, we discover the religious tracts, and system of those Boreadca. In addition to the reasons which I have already given, for dissenting from that hy- pothesis, I beg leave to suggest the following remarks. The Gothic system places the age of Bore at some remote period, before the creation of man, or of the visible world. His character has no analogy to that of Boreas, who, together with his brethren, has been represented as a dwarf, and the offspring of a comparatively recent period. 550 Should I be called upon to adduce, from our British vocabulary, those identical words, which, in Greek, hav been rendered Boreas, and Boreadcc, I could answer, that, of Celtic mythology, we know but little. But the language at least of that race will afford a per- tinent similitude of terms, from which I shall extract, or select a few, without presuming to decide upon their claims. From Bard, the character in which Druidism originated, the system was called Barddas, and the most familiar term for Druid in their Triads, was Mub Bardd, a son of the Bard. Por-Jas, or Borias, is Lord of the pervading blast, or of inspiration. As Bar, whence Bardd is derived, sig- nifies a relatively high situation. Ar-varydd, may equally import Chief Bard, or Druid, or Hyperborean. So, in Irish, the North being regarded as the highest region, has the name of Tuath, or Tuadh ; but the term also indicates fame, renown, a lordship, dominion, &c f Hence, Ard-Tuathacli is literally Hyperborean, or su* perior lord, and regulator. The fanciful, and careless Greeks, as it has often hap^ pened, may have translated a Celtic term in the wrong acceptation, and this be mislead into the corollary, that Hyperboreans were those who resided beyond the north zvind, or under the very pole. The cotemporaries of Ilerodotushnd a confused idea, that Hyperboreans were to be found somewhere upon the 551 northern confines of Europe, and of Asia. The notion. may have arisen from a mistake of the nama, as relative to mere Greece : or, their tradition may have sprang from , the period at which the Cimmerii, were the most remote, in that line of direction, who were known to the Helladians. The diligent, and curious DiodoruSy when he describes the North-zvest of Asia, merely hints at this vague opi- nion. He discards it, as unworthy of a comment, and places the Hyperboreans where they had been found by respectable writers of more authentic tradition, and who-v had written expressly upon the subject ; — namely, in the large island upon the ocean, lying north from the coast of Gaul. They must have been, therefore, known in that situation many centuries before the time of Diodorus*. If this account be compared with Runic tradition, it will appear that Hyperboreans were no worshippers of Odin. In the Edda of Snorro, the whole fabric is built upon the illusions practised on Gylfe, King of Sweden. This prince lived at the time of Odin's expedition, which Torfaus and Mallet place about seventy years before Christ. We find him a perfect stranger to the gods, and * After the 'Roman conquest of South Britain, many of the venerahle Druid* retired from that region to the Hebrides, in which islands their monuments are Still extant. And the sea that surrounds them is called the Hyperborean ocean. by Vtoktmj. Lib. II. C. ii. So abo Claudian, speaking of Theodosius, the Elder, says— Scortumque vago mucrone sccutus, Fre^jit Hyperboicus, rciuis audacious,- andas. 552 the religion " of the new-comers from Asia" till he un- dertook a journey to Asgard for information. It was, therefore, clearly the opinion of the writer, who compiled the Edda, that the gods, and the religion which he de- scribes, did not anciently belong to the north-west of Eu- rope, but were imported recently out of Asia. It was the most prominent characteristic of the Hyper- boreans, that they never molested their neighbours. They made no conquest, — they displaced no other tribes, or nations, — they were the aboriginal possessors of the land which they occupied : whereas the Goths represent them- selves, and have been represented by others, not as the first inhabitants, but as the conquerors of those north- western regions, in which they established their tenets of religion. The Runic Scalds preserve traditions of a more ancient religion, which prevailed in those very countries, and winch embraced the system of transmigration. The manners of a people always bear analogy to their sentiments of religion. That of the Goths, was calculated with peculiar address, to inspire active heroism, and mili- tary enterprise. It was, therefore, absolutely incompatible with Hyperborean zealots, who placed their heroism in passive courage, and patient forbearance. Odin, or either of his relations, could never have been a god of their creed. Their whole history declares, that none of them could have b.en enrolled under the banner of iS The terrible and 553 severe God ; the father of slaughter ; the God that car- rieth desolation, and fire ; the active, and roaring deity, who givtth victory, and reviveth courage in the conflict, who nameth such as are to die." N. Ant. V. I. C. vi. The Hyperboreans must rather have acknowledged a leader, similar, and congenialto Hu Gadarn, the peaceful ploughman, the explorer of unoccupied regions, whose at- tributes I have already described, and who seems to be the Hercules of the Gauls, mentioned by Lucia n. Ogmius (Sulcius) from Oypoq, a furrow, seems to be an evident Grtek version of his epithet Arddwr; Corn. Ardhur, a ploughman. I think, a candid, and skilful investigation of the literary vestiges, left us by the ancient Britons, would furnish irresistible evidence of the identity between Druids, and Hyperboreans. I shall only offer one specimen, extracted from a poem, entitled Angar Cyvyndated. JV. Arch. V. i. P. 34. It must be, however, premised, that British historians often borrowed names from their national religion. Caw, and Angar, in this mystical piece, are not referable to the ^family of Geraint ab Erbiti, Prince of Devon. They are evidently mythological characters. Caw, imports a band, what goes round, or encloses; Hence, a Bard, or Druid, who had completed his in- itiation, and was admitted into all the elevated, and hal- 554 lowed privileges of the order, — had the title of Bardd Caw, or Cewydd, (perhaps the same as Ko»»is.) Angar, which Mr. Owen interprets, receptacle of heat, may come from Angu, to comprise, contain. Be that as it may, he is here styled third of the equal judges. He was therefore the same personage as Tydain Tad Azcen — Titan, the father of inspiration, — or Apollo, who is third of the chief regulators, and third generator of Bardic lore. W. A. V. ii. P. 67 and 71. But what is most remarkable in this poem, is the cha- racter of Lldd, benefit ; or Lladon, beneficent, who seems to be identified by name, parentage, and office, with La- tojia, the mother of the Hyperborean Apollo. Llad was Uck Llyn Llathrawd — Daughter of the Fluid of Splendour i — and again, she is called Lladon vercU Lliant (Caw) Laton, daughter of the zcater of Cazc. Latona was the daughter of 4>oiCu — Splendour, and of Kan*. Apollodor. L. I. C. ii. Lladon was Priestess of Angar — (Apollo) in the origin of land, or primitive age. Latona was mother of the Hyperborean Apollo ; but this can only mean that she was the first, or cfoV/'Priestess of Apollo, in some national temple, or grove, and, in the- Amy clean Record, we find the term M>jTn§ thus appropriated,, from as;e to as;e. 555 Angae, of the Social Union. " A Bard is present. No man can recite his song, though lie begin when it is concluded, unless he be a Si/uedt/dd, (soothsayer.) " Let the srenerous ones disown me — let there be none to honour me with a present : yet Taliesin* declares, it was a day of irradiation, when Cian (the Percipient) sung the praise of Lliaws. " Be it proclaimed — then was the dissolution of Avagddaf*. With skill he brought to light inestimable principles. " Gicion (the scientific) and the mysterious birds, dis- closed what proved the dead to be living, though he be divested of power. * Taliesin implies, radiant front, or luminous head. This was either a title of dignity in Druidicul establishments, or else, the system of transmigration re- cognised a distinguished, and primitive soul, in a succession of corporeal dwellings. For Taliesin, like Orpheus of old, was conversant with a variety of ages. The Bard of Urien, in the sixth century, is well known. In the fourth ceDtury, Taliesin sung the elegy of Cunedda, the son of ILdeyrn, from whom he had received personal favours. W* Arch. V. i. P. ?i. Taliesin accompanied Bran, Nanawydun, &c. in the first century. See Mr. Turner's Vindication, P. 284. Talleshtf the son of Cyridwen, the first woman, was born in the year when the cauldron of Awtn, a Gwybodau— Genius, and Science, was first prepared. IV. Arch. V. i. P 17. The Sages, and Heroes of Druidism, were happily circumstanced What compliment could equal that of being discovered thus to }>e the same personage who had already enjoyed a thousand years of renown, or had signalised himself on a thousand occasions ? Observations like these, may f.xtend their analogy to other characters, mentioned in the Mystical Poems and Tales. i Avagjldu — nursling, or accumulation <]f darkness, perhaps, mental dqrkncx* 556 " Then men caused their furnaces * to boil without water, and prepared their solid substance, to endure for the age of ages. " The progress has been, traced from the deep promulgator of song ; and, truly, it was Angar, of the Social Union, who first instituted the custom. So much of the national song your tongue has retained. Why will ye not recite the story of Llad, the daughter of the fluid of Brightness/ (the theme of every one's rhapsody +) ? " In that theme I shall be found expert. He (Angar)was a profound judge. He came, after his periodical custom, third of the judges of equal rank. For threescore years did he maintain a connection with the earth, in the water of Caw, with the populace, in the first origin of lands. A hundred attendants sung around; a hundred chiefs in- voked him with vows. When it was that they departed, or when they approached, it was with a hundred minstrels, and this vaticination was delivered by Ladon%, the daugh- ter of the stream, who was but little desirous of gold, and silver. — " Every living man who departs from him, with blood on the bosom (sprinkled with sacrificial blood, after the accredited custom of the Celta) has a claim to be men- tioned with distinguished praise." " I am Taliesin. I will record a true string, which shall remain to the end, as a pattern to Elfin (the spirit). * Tlic furnaces of renovation. See Mr. Turner's Vindication, P. 283. i It appears by the rhyme, that this is either spurious, or corrupted. * l.laddan, in the London edition, is Lladdon in Mr. Walter's copy. In o\J MSS. we should have had Lladon, or Laton. For bych, in the next line, Mr. U '$ copy has bychan, which the measure proves to be right. 557 t( A royal tribute of gold, duly counted, may be abhorred ; because perjury and treachery are odious. I seek not to procure advantage, by undermining the laws of our song. No one shall discover the secret which is committed to me by a brother, a man of wisdom, eminently skilled in the studies of the Sywedydd. Concerning the bird of wrath*, concerning the resolvent f — concerning the changes of the describer of man, and concerning men well versed in our hymns. It is the mystery of the god, who has appreciated the desert of the transgression of Bardism, which he gave, together with its secret, the Awen, not to be di- vulged. " And seven score personifications pertain to the Awen : — in the deep, which is void of wrath — in the deep, where extreme indignation dwells— in the deep, beneath the ele- ments — and in the sky, above the elements. " There is, who knows that state of pensive meditation, which is better than cheerfulness. I know the laws of the endowments of the Alien, when they stream forth — con- cerning the secrets of the understanding — concerning the blessed days, or gods (Diau) — concerning an inoffensive course of life — concerning the ages of deliverance — con- cerning that which beseems princes, and the duration of their bliss, — and concerning the analogy of things on the face of the earth." — QwyXh, and EdruyXh, b&ern to be texnn of augury- t Two lia*» which, interruj* the sense are here, omitted as spurious, 558 It appears, that the Welsh are not the only tribe who have preserved vestiges, like these, of the ancient western religion. I have already hazarded an opinion, that the Armorican tongue has lineally descended from the Celtic of Gaul, and that our Druidism flourished in Britany to a late period. Since my Essays were printed, I have met with the fol* lowing particulars : — M. Le Brigant — Obs. Fund, sur les Langues — Patisy 1787* contends, that the Armorican is the genuine Celtic of ancient Gaul, and but very little, if at all, affected by the sister dialect of British emigrants. vv La Tour D 'Auvergne Corret, has, I think, absolutely demonstrated this fact, in "his Origines Gauloises — Ilam- bourgy 1801 ; — a book, which merits the peculiar attention of Celtic antiquaries. The ingenious, and Well-informed writer of the Voyage dans le Finistere, in 179-i et HQo, not only recognises the same opinion, but takes notice of Druidical customsy traditions, and superstitions, in that district, which to this very day, have repelled the eradicating efforts of the Catholic clergy. To these Druids, and their Bards, he confidently ascribes mythological tales of the country, and exhibits a curious specimen in eight pages, upon the - following subject. V. i. P. IJ'2. "The young son of a Prince, of St. Pol de Leon, whilst he wanders alone upon the sea shore, is overtaken by % tempest. He repairs for shelter to a cavern, which prove* 559 to be inhabited by the Goddess of Nature. Her head is covered with stars. The signs of the Zodiac constitute the ornaments of her golden girdle. " Her unruly sons, the tempestuous wind*, enter the recess. The child's limbs become rigid with a mortal cold; he is covered by water. But repose is not made for these demons. " When they rush forth, the Goddess takes the amiable boy upon her knees, and covers him with her robes. Na- ture's spoiled child, the lovely Zephyr, makes his ap- pearance. The young Prince is committed into his care. He is divested of his earthly envelope, his terrestrial senses are at once refined, and he is borne aloft ia the air. " In the course of his journey, he makes discoveries of signal importance. The clouds are composed of the souls of men, which have lately quitted the earth. They fly over the heads of armies. Their influence inspires courage, or strikes terror. " These are they, who, in the obscurity of the night, and amongst silent forests, terrify mortals with long-continued bowlings, with apparitions, and luminous phantoms. Par- ticipating as yet of terrestrial affections, they mix them- selves into the passions of men. Their agency is perceived in dreams, and in panic terrors. " In vain they endeavour to soar above the atmosphere: an irresistible force— a 'wall of sapphire, impedes their 560 wing towards the purer spheres, which roll in the immensity of space. te As soon as a new body is formed, they enter it with im- patience, inhabit, and give it animation. Not having attained that purity zvhich unites them to the sun, the genius of their system, they wander in the forms of the various animals, which people the air, the earth, and the seas. . " The Prince is carried up into the vortex of the moon. Here, millions of souls traverse vast plains of ice, where they lose all perception, but that of simple existence. They forget the course of adventures in which they have been engaged, and which they are now to recommence. On long tubes of darkness, caused by an eclipse, they re- turn to the earth. They are revived by a particle of light from the sun, whose emanations quicken all sublunary things. They begin anew the career of life. " Towards the disk of the sun, the young Prince ap- proaches, at first, with awful dread ; but presently, with inconceivable rapture, and delight. This glorious body consists of an assemblage of pure souls, swimming in an ocean of bliss. It is the abode of the blessed — of the sages — of the friends of mankind. " The happy souls, when thrice purified in the sun, ascend to a succession of still higher spheres, from whence they can no more descend, to traverse the circle of those globes and stars, which float in a less pure atmosphere. 561 I will not assert that none of the embellishments in this fragment are modern. Yet, as the national tales, of which it furnishes a specimen, must have originated in some national superstition, I would remark, as a curious phe- nomenon, that, in its great outlines, it corresponds exactly to the doctrine of the oldest Welsh documents, and the cha- racter of Druidism, described by the ancients. Souls, tvhich are sullied with earthly impurities, are to be refined, by repeated changes and probations ; till the last stain of evil is worn away, and they are ultimately ripened for immortal bliss in a higher sphere. This is neither Gothic, nor Roman ; — it is Druidical. At no period, since the ages of Druidism, have the Welsh, and the Armoricans ever studied, in one common school, at which mystical doctrines, like these, were taught. Must it not follow, that both nations derived them from their ancestors — the Priests of the Groves? THE END. PRINTED BY J. B.1EF1ELI>, WARDOUR-STRKST. INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES* % A, A, natural expression of that vocal power 408 Ab, hab, av, hav, primitives, 474 Abaris, a Druid, 184 — his country ascer- tained from ancient writers, 189 Ac, ach, primitives. 480 Ad, adh, had, hadh, primitives, 487 Aedh, the Dis of the ancient Gauls, 167 Af, haf, primitives, 517 Ag, Hag, primitives, 496 Al, hal, primitives, 500 Alphabet of the Bards, 254— the same as the Etruscan, 271 — upon what prin- ciples founded, 278 — how copied from nature, 328 Alphabets of trees, acknowledged by the Arabians, Hebrews and Chaldeans, 305, &c. — inferred from metaphors, 306 Alphabets of the nations sprung from one origin, 335 Am, ham, primitives, 506 An, han, primitives, 512 Analogy between the Bardic and Greek letters, 329 Annwn, the deep, or lower regions, 175 Antediluvian, astronomy and chronology, 21, 28 Antediluvians, their advantages in the acquisition of experience, 9 Ap, hap, primitives, 517 Apollo, worshipped in Britain, 190 Ar, har, primitives, 524 Armorican language, related to the Welsh and Cornish, 220 — its dialec- tical difference from the Welsh existed in the age of Caesar, 221 — a test of Celtic dialects, 222 Articulate sounds have their appropriate force in expressing ideas, 364 Arts cultivated by the Antediluvians, 9 As, has, primitives, 531 At, hat, primitives,- 537 Authority and subordination essential to civil society, 46 Authority, patriarchal, 48 B. B, natural expression of that articulate power, 441 Ba, Va — primitives, 475 Babylonians, visited Stonehenge, 196 Bards, Ancient British, 245 — disciples of the Druids, 246 — profess druidism, 152, 309 — preserve druidical tradition , 152, 270 Be, ve, primitives, 476 Belgae of Britain, whence, SOS, &c— Celta?, for the most part, 229 Bi, vi, primitives, 478 Boreadai, name of the Druids, 189 Britain, probably colonized by a patri- arch, who was born in the first postdi- luvian century ; that is, about 500 years after the deluge, or in the age of Abraham, 104, &c. — the early his- tory of, an important study, 117 Britons, from Armorica, 167 — traded with Spain in their own vessels, 228 Bryant, objections to his opinion of the aggrandisement of Nimrod's party, and of the house of Ham, 115 Bu, vu, primitives, 480 C, natural expression of that articulate power, 443 Ca, primitive, 482 Cad Goddeu, a mystical poem, 258 Cadmus, a Carian, 317 — his letters, £6. &c. Ce, che, primitives, 483 Celtae, state of society amongst them, 118 — Noachidas, 121— * primitive inha- bitants of great part of Europe, 122 — descendants of Gomer, 123 — and, pro- bably, of Ashkenaz, 127 — the Hy- perboreans of early authors, 176 — two principal branches of, 211 Celtic language, distinguished from the Gothic, 215 — essential to druidism, 218 — fixed and establislied by druid- ism, 223 — preserved in Armorica to 2 INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES. the close of the fourth century, and probably to this day, 219, &c. — dia- lects and character of, 224 — remains of a peculiar dialect of, 213 — general characteristics of, 234 — simplicity of its primitives, 256 Chaldeans, who they were, 66, 80 — suc- ceeded the subjects of Nirarod in Ba- bylonia, 75 Changes in the elementary sounds of language, 393, &c. Characteristics of primitive language, 386 Chinese characters, 338 Chronology, vindication of the Hebrew, 61 Ci, chl, primitives, 484 Cimmerii, Celiac, their ancient territory, 135 — ancient inhabitants of Thrace, 144 Civil arts of the first ages, transmitted to the Noachidae, 18 Civil life cultivated in the first age, 8 Classification of consonant powers, 396 Co, cho, primitives, 485 Coelbreni, bardic lots, or letters, 270 Colonies which settled in ancient Britain, 153, &c. Confusion of tongues, its probable sera, 79 Connection between primitive letters and hieroglyphics, 340 Consonants, examples of their natural expression, 365, 440 — classes of, 396 — table of mutations, 402 Coranied, Coritani, Corii, Coitani, an- cient colonists of Britain, 200, 201— a Belgic race, 202, 208, &c— came from the neighbourhood of the Rhine, 204 — spoke a language similar to the Irish, 203. Cu, primitive, 487 Cy mry, ancient Britons, came from Thrace or Thessaly, 165 D, natural expression of that articulate power, 445 Da, primitive, 488 * De, primitive, 490 Deluge, local and national traditions of it, from the Noahchidje, 107— British traditions of it, 157 Di, primitive, 491 Dialects, why various, 353 — their origin, 385 Diluvian patriarch, his various titles in British tradition, 163 Divination by rods, 293 Do, primitive, 492 Druids, their rank, studies and office, 119 — their name extended only to Gaul and Britain, originally pertained to the latter, 139 — Celtae, and not stran- gers, 140, 147 — the grounds of their system co-eval with the Celtic nation, 147 — retained some principles of the patriarchal religion, 119 — their simila- rity to the Magi, Brachmans, &c. 120 — this similarity derived from the pa- rent stock, 121, 149 — celebrated the mysteries of the dead, 142, 187 — ac- knowledged one God, 120 — See this opinion qualified, Myth, and Ritts of the British Druids. Sect. 2. — retired into Mona, from the Romans, 141 — not inventors of arts, but preservers of ancient lore, 150 — how to be estimated in a political view, 172 — summary of their system, 135 Druids acquainted with letters, 238, 242 — preserved an alphabet, 283, 309 — similar to the Orphic priests, 326 Druidical alphabet referred, by tradition, to tiie age of the deluge, 287 Druidism, traditional founders of, 160 — its original design, 170 — corrupted be- fore the age of Caesar, 171— preserved in Armorica, 218 — not originating from the Phoenicians, 229 — lingered in Gaul to the sixth century, and in Britain to the reign of Canute, 151 Du, primitive, 493 E E, natural expression of that vocal power* 414 , Eb, heb, ev, hev, primitives, 476 Ec, ech, primitives, 482 Ed, edh, hed, hedh, primitives, 489 Eg, heg, primitives, 495 El, hel, primitives, 501 Em, hem, primitives, 508 En, hen, primitives, 513 Ep, hep, ef, hef, primitives, 519 Equality of condition, not recognized by the primitive ages, 46, 48 Er, her, primitives, 526 Es, lies, primitives, 532 Et, her, primitives, 539 F, derivative of P, its natural expression, 462 Formation of language, 373, &c. G, natural expression of, 448 Ga, primitive, 494 — Ge, primitive, 496 INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES, Gentilism, whence it arose, 85 Geography of the primitive ages, 29,31,33 Gesture connected with articulation, 366 Gi, primitive, 497 Giants, how described by ancient tradi- tion, 80 Go, primitive, 498 Gomer, the nations that sprung from his three sons, 125 Gorwynion, a mistical poem, 249 Goths, some hints on the subject of, 133, &c. J Gu, primitive, 499 Gwydion ab Don, the British Hermes, 168, 174 Gwyn ab Nudd, the British Pluto, 174 H Hebrew, whether the primitive language, 89 — why a sacred language, 93 — not the general language of the children of Heber, nor peculiar to his family, 96 — spoken by the Canaanites, 97, 100 — the principal dialect of the primitive language, 101, &c. Hercules, mythological tales which bring him into contact with the Celtaa, 193 Hewys, a mythological character, 196 Hieroglyphics partook ol the nature of letter-, 339 Hu, the traditional patriarch and con- ductor of the cymry, 154, 158 — the first husbandman, 158 — the god of the Druids, 163 — identified with the patri- arch Noaii, and the sun, 164 — oxen of, 157 Hyperboreans of the early authors, Cel- tae, 178 — not Scythians, nor inhabitants of the north-east, 179 — dwelt in the north-west, 180 — Britain, chiei seat of, 181, 188 — the same as the Druids, 181, 549 — traditions, which are referred to them, preserved in Britain, 554 Hyperborean temple of Apollo visited by the Babylonians, 196 I, natural expression of that vocal power, 421 3b, hib, iv, hiv, primitives, 477 Ic, ich, primitives, 483 Id, primitive, 490 Idris, a mythological character, 161, 173 Ig, hig, primitives, 496 II, hil, primitives, 502 Im, him, primitives, 508 In, hin, primitives, 514 Indian tradition of the Noachidae, 197. it appears that this tale has been cor~ rupted and interpolated, q. what is its real state in the ancient books '{ Ip, hip, if, hif, primitives, 520 lr, hir, primitives, 522 Irish names of places, in Rhaitia and Vindelicia, 207 Irish language allied to Asiatic dialects, but radically Celtic, 224 — the dialect of the ancient Belgse, 229 — a chief di- alect of the Celtic, 231 — its defects, 232 — its excellencies, 233 Irish letters, 274, &c. — names of, similar to those of the Hebrew letters, 333 Is, his, primitives, 533 It, hit, primitives, 540 L, natural expression of, 449 La, primitive, 500 Language, vestiges of the primitive, 88— whether the Hebrew be the primitive, 89 — first principles of, founded in na- ture, 367 — opinions relative to the first principles of, 373 — Mosaic account of its origin, 374 — nature of the first ru- diments of, 376, &c. Languages of Savages, no test of the pri- mitive, 103 — of the Noachidae, dialects of the primitive, 386 Le, primitive, 502 Letters, whether known to the Celtae, 237 — of the Druids, resembled the Greek, 240 — of the Hyperboreans, 241 — of the Turditani, 241 — not Phoenician, 242 — of the Bards, distinguished bj primitive Celtic names, 273 Letters bardic, with their appropriafe names and symbols, 277 — compared with the Runic, 311 — bardic and Ru- nic from the same origin, 314 — bardic, compared with the Greek and Roman, 315, &c. — of Cadmus, 317 — Irish, pre- serve the names of the symbolical trees, 274: — Greek, their names, 321 — num- ber of radical, in old alphabets, 322 — names of the Roman, probably, Pelas- gic, significant in the Celtic, 323 — of the ancient Gauls, 327 — Hebrew, their names, 33* — Asiatic, sketches of na- tural or artificial objects, 332 — Irish, their names similar to the Hebrew, yet native terms, 333 — originally hiero- glyphical, 339 — ancient method of using, 301 Li, primitive, 503 — Lo, primitive, 504 Lots of the Bards, 246 — of the Germans, 281 Lu, primitive, 505 INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES. M M, natural expression of, 452 Ma, primitive, 506 Man, his original state, 3 — ascertained by the sacred scriptures, 6 — from the beginning, a social and rational crea- ture, 7 — in the first age, exercised the arts of civil life, and enjo3 r ed pro- perty, 8 Magic of the Druids, 161 Math, the Mttis of antiquity, 285 Me, primitive, 508 Menw of the Britons, the patriarch Noah, 197 Mi, primitive, 509 Misseltoe of the oak, sacred to Proser- pine, 144 Mo, primitive, 510 Monuments of druidical superstition, 146, 160 — constructed upon astrono- mical principles, 192 — pertained chief- ly to the Aborigines, 202 Moral law, known to the primitive world, 15 Mu, primitive, 511 Mutations of consonants, 402 — of vocal and articulate sounds in the Celtic dialects, 403 Mystical rites, their origin, and mis- chievous consequences, 109, 112, &c. Mythological tale of the Armoricans, 558 Mythology of Britain connected with that of Greece, 176 N N, natural expression of, 456 Na, primitive, 512 Natural expression of articulate sounds, 347, &c. — taught by the Bards, and recognized by several ancient nations, *348, &c. — objections to, 350 — answer- ed, 352 — a subject of general percep- tion, 362 — acknowledged by ancient and modern writers, 370 — a principle necessary to the formation of lan- guage, 371 — exemplified in consonant powers, 365— ^-exemplified in the vow- els, 408, &c. Natural history of the Antediluvians, 19 Natural state of man, 357 Ne, primitive, 514— Ni, primitive, 515 Nimrod, his kingdom not universal, 32, 55, — his rebellion and apostacy, 54 — ■ his subjects comprised individuals of divers families, 59 — not the founder of the Assyrian empire, 63 — his king- dom early overthrown, and succeeded by thatofE!aro>76 No, primitive, 516 Noachidre profited by the experience of the Antediiuviaus, 10 — their wisdom venerated in the age of Job, and de- veloped in his book, 11 — their patri- mony assigned to them in the age of Noah, 32 — and by lot, 33 — early se- paration of, ordered by a wise de- cree, 51 — evils that must have resulted from their continuing under one go- vernment, 53 — settle in their respec- tive portions, 104 — state of society, in the new colonies of, 106 — carried the institutions of the patriarch into their respective patrimonies, 106 — degene- racy of their decendants accounted for, 113 Noah and his descendants preserved the discoveries of the first ages, 50 Nu, primitive, 517 O 0, natural expression of, 424 Ob, hob, ov, hov, primitives, 478 Oc, och, primitives, 485 Od, odh, hod, primitives, 491 Og, hog, primitives, 497 Ogygia, whether it meant Ireland ? 206 01, ho), primitives, 503 — Om, hom, pri- mitives, 509 On, lion, primitives, 515 — Op, hop, of, hof, primitives, 521 Or, hor, primitives, 529 Original language, Egyptian experiment for its discover}', 369 Original terms, of what class ? 380 Orphic rites prevalent amongst the Cim- merii, 145 Os, hos, oz, primitives, 534 — Ot, hot, primitives, 541 P, natural expression of, 459 Pa, fa, primitives, 518 Patriarchal authority, 48 Pe, fe, primitives, 519 Pelasgi, 244 Pelasgic letters, 315 — the same as the bardic, 325 — first published by the Thracian Bards, 327 Philosophers atheistical, regarded man as originally a savage, 3 — modern, adopt their hypothesis, 5 — religious, acknowledged the original dignity of human nature, 4 Phoenicians left no considerable colonies in the British Islands, 226 Pi, fi, primitives, 521 INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES. Plenydd, a title of the sun, 170 Po, to, primitives, 522 Power, civil, its exercise lawful : its a- buse unlawful, 49 Piimitive language, its general charac- ter, 373, &c. — its characteristics, 386 — how far preserved, 389 — its pro- gressive stages, 384, &c. Primitive vowels, 392 Primitive words, examples, 367 Progress of language, 390 Property, its nature ascertained in the first age, 8 Prydain, a title of the sun, 169 Pu, fu, primitives, 524 R R, natural expression of, 463 Ra, rha, primitives, 525 Re, rhe, primitives, 527 Religion of the primitive ages, 14 — re- tained in some districts to the age of Abraham, 57 Reliques of Druidism, preserved in the Welsh language, 222 Ri, rhi, primitives, 529 Rights of man, modern doctrine of, founded in Atheism, 46 Ro, rho, primitives, 530 Rod and staff, symbolical, 291, &c. Rods of priests and other officers, 291 — abused by the heathens, 292 — joined, in making covenants, 295 — broken, in dissolving covenants, 296 — used mys- tically by Jacob, 303 Ru, rhu, primitives, 530 Runic characters, 311, &c. S, natural expression of, 466 Sa, primitive, 531 Sacrifice instituted in the first age, 16 Sauchoniathon's Phoenician traditions, 109 Saronides, what they were, 161 Saturn, his character allusive to Noah, 148 Satyavrata, 77 Savage life, its origin accounted for, 84 — diffused into various regions, by the fugitives from Babel, 106 — not the natural state of man, 357 Scythae, not powerful in Europe, till the sixth century before Christ, 139 Se, ze, primitives, 532 Shepherd kings of Egypt, 77 Si, primitive, 534 Simplicity of the primitive language, 076, &c. So, primitive, 535 Society primitive, civil, not savage, 46, 50 Sounds naturally expressive, 256, 348, 360 State of nature, scriptural account of it, 10 — distinguished from the savag* state, 357, &c. Story of two savages, 358 Su, primitive, 536 Sui, priests of the Penates, in Sarao* thrace, 140 Symbolical sprigs employed, to express the elements of language, 162, 246, &c. — modern remains of their use, 252 — arranged and confined by knots, 253— adapted to the formation of an alphabet, 254 — uttered distinct sounds, 263 — read by those who delivered books, 266 — derived from an ancient and general system, 289 — the basis of the Runic characters, 313 — their sys- tem comparatively simple, 334 Symbolical trees known to Adam, Noah, Jacob, and the Jews, 289, &c. Syw, an appellative of a Druid, 139 T T, natural expression of, 469 Ta, primitive, 538 Taliesin, a Druid, 216 Te, primitive, 540 Ti, primitive, 541 Tithes prior to the Levitical law, 17 To, primitive, 542 Tradition, the only ancient history of Greece and Rome, 2 — superseded by philosophical speculation, 3 — of tli* primitive ages, appropriated by dif- ferent nations, 108, 112 Traditions of the Druids, 147 — of the deluge, locally- appropriated, 162 Trees sacred to particular gods, 299 — symbolical, 296, &c. Triads of the Druids, recorded by an- cient authors, 150 — Welsh, contain druidical tradition, 152 — specimen? of the Welsh, 153 — enigmatical and mythological, 162, 168 Tu, primitive, 143 Tydain Tad Awen, the solar divinity, 159, 169 U U, natural expression of, 431 Ub, hub, uv, huv, primitives, 480 Uc, uch, primitives, 486 Udj hud, primitives, 19 i 6 INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES. Vegetation gradually recovered after the deluge, 30 Ug, hug, primitives, 493 UI, hul, primitives, 505 Um, hum, primitives, 511 Un, hun, primitives, 516 V«wels primitive, 391, &c. — mutations of, 394, 396 Up, hup, uf, huf, primitives, 523 Ur, hur, primitives, 530 Us, hus, primitives, 536 Ur, hut, primitives, 513 W Waldensic language, 225 Welsh, its importance in Celtic literal ture, 222 Writing, antiquity of the art of, 34, 45 — older than the tables of the decalogue, 35, &c. — known to the Noachidap, and probably to the antediluvians, 37 Writings of the primitive ages, probably, quoted by Moses, 39 Y Year of the primitive ages, 22, &c. END OF INDEX TO CELTIC RESEARCHES. London: Printed by J. Bartield, 91, Wardour-Street. UJNi\ ~ CALIFORNIA i ! \ i' LOS ANGELES LIBRARY ££* BIE'J It University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. * HI Form I. 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