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INTRODUCTION.

TH

HE Irish Manufcripts contain a more perfect account of the emigrations of the Armenian-Scythians, or Perfians, &c. from the banks of the Caspian and Euxine Seas to Perfia; to the Iflands of the Mediterranean, to Africa, to Spain, and to the Britannic Ifles, than any history hitherto known.

The detail of thefe emigrations perfectly correspond with the Punic Annals, tranflated out of the books of King Hiemfal's library for Salluft; they agree with the traditions of the Breberi, alias Showah, alias Amazing's, (a) of the Mountains of Barbary, even in the name of their leader; they agree with the most ancient Armenian Hiftory, written by Mofes Choronenfis (b), in names and facts, and with the ancient history of the Perfians; and, laftly, they correspond with the most authentick Spanish Hiftorians.

Confequently, these Mff. cannot be the forgeries of Irish Monks of the 9th and 10th centuries, as has been afferted by fome modern writers too hastily.

Many of these Mff. were collected into one volume, written in the Irish language, by Father Jeoff Keating. A tranflation of this work into English appeared many years ago, under the title of Keating's Hiftory of Ireland.

The Tranflator, entirely ignorant of ancient Geography, has given this hiftory, an, nglish drefs, fo ridiculous, as to become the laughing-stock of every reader.

(a) See fome curious accounts of this people at the end of chap. 4th. (b) An author of the fifth century.

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The Euxine Sea, of the original, becomes the Baltic in the tranflation; the Ifland of Sicily, Gothland; Gadiz is France; and Frange, or Farangah, (as the Arabs write it) that is, Turqueftan, alías Touran, is tranflated into Gaul.

Thefe blunders gave room to a modern author (c) to obferve, that the Irish historians jumped from the Baltic to the Nile, and from the Nile to the Baltic, as easy as a man steps over a gutter. He fhould have learned the language of the original before he had ventured to criticife.

Thus has the Irish history been looked upon as the most fabulous of all hiftories, and on that account unworthy of attention.

If fable in ancient history is made the criterion of its validity, we must explode that of all other nations, except the Jews. The Arab writers have met with a good reception in the learned world, yet their works are full of fabulous narrations, wonders and incredibilities: they not only deal in fictions, but difcover a most remarkable ignorance in Chronology. Yet thefe faults have not fo far prejudiced the learned against them, as to think them in no particular deferving of eredit. The Authors of the English Univerfal Hiftory declare the ignorance of the Arabian writers, in chronology, even when they treat of Events that happened not many centuries before the Hejra And Niebuhr who lately travelled in Arabia, with advantages that fall to the fhare of few of our modern travellers (being both a scholar and a philofophet) informs us, that the Arabs were utterly ignorant of the ancient history of their own country.

The Greeks, to whom we are much indebted, are still more fabulous: they knew little of the Geography of the Globe; and the Romans lefs. To ufe the expreffion of a learned Orientalift (d), they were like a fine luftre in a large hall they might diffufe their rays a great way

(c) The writer of the Southern Tour in Ireland.

(d) Richardfon's Differtation on Eastern Lang, p. 291..

around:

around: but they could not illuminate all the extremi ties: they could not throw light into every dark recefs.

"Herodotus, the oldeft. Greek hiftorian, knew no thing of Britain; and the Phenicians, who traded hither for tin in the earliest times, always concealed the name of the place, in order the better to secure fo gainful a trade to themselves, calling it the Caffiterides, or Tin Islands, without any other designation.

"The Britons themselves, from their firft plantation here under the Tyrian Hercules, by Phenicians from the Red Sea and Arabia, had been fecluded many ages from the rest of the world; and as this plantation took place before Gaul was peopled, there was therefore the lefs chance of their learning from the reft of the world, any thing more than what they happened to have brought over with them." (e)-We cannot agree with the Doctor, that our Scythian Pheni were in poffeffion of the Britan. nic Iles before Gaul was peopled. The Irish history declares these islands were inhabited when they arrived here, and confequently Gaul was alfo, from whence the first inhabitants paffed over to Britain.

The judicious Quintilian thought he paffed not too fevere a cenfure when he wrote, Græcis hiftoricis plerumque poetica fimilem effe licentiam. And Strabo is yet more fevere. Though the Greek hiftorians have pretended "to give a history of Cyrus, and his particular wars with "those who were called Meffageta: yet nothing precise " and fatisfactory could ever be obtained: not even in "refpect to the war. There is the fame uncertainty "with regard to the ancient hiftory of the Perfians, as "well as that of the Medes and Syrians: we can meet "with little that can be deemed authentic, on account "of the weakness of those who wrote, and their uniform " love of fable. For finding that writers, who profef"fedly deal in fiction without any pretenfions to truth, "were regarded: they thought that they fhould make "their writings equally acceptable, if in the fyftem of "their history they were to introduce circumstances

(e) Dr. Stukely's Memoir to Soc, Antiq. Dec. 3d, 1761.

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"which they had neither feen, nor heard, nor received "upon the authority of another perfon: proceeding "merely upon this principle, that they should be mont "likely to please people's fancy, by having recourse to "what was marvellous and new. On this account we 66 may more fafely trust to Hefiod and Homer, when they "prefent us with a lift of demigods and heroes, and even "to the tragic poets, than to Сtefias, Herodotus, Hella"nicus, and writers of that clafs. Even the generality "of hiftorians who write about Alexander are not safely "to be trusted: for they speak with great confidence, relying upon the glory of the monarch whom they ce"lebrate, and the remoteness of the countries in which "he was engaged; even at the extremities of Afia, at a 66 great distance from us, and our concerns. This ren"ders them very fecure; for what is referred to a dif"tance is difficult to be confuted. (f)"

46

In another place Strabo goes on in the fame ftrain. "The writers, who must neceffarily be appealed to, "were in continual oppofition, and contradicted one another. "And how could it be otherwise? for if they erred fo "fhamefully when they had ocular proof, how could "they speak with certainty, where they were lead by "hearsay?" (g)

The Grecians, fays Mr. Bryant, were grofsly igno rant in respect to foreign events, they were a bigotted people, highly prejudiced in their own favour; and fo devoted to idle tradition, that no arguments could wean them of their folly. (h)

After fuch a weight of evidence, fays Mr. Richardson, is there great prefumption in fuppofing, amidst fo much error, fome amendment poffible? Can there be any impropriety in the enquiry, how far the records, and the hiftorians of a people might, in refpect to their own annals, correct the mistakes and the fictions of strangers? Or, can there be much harm, in directing, if possible,

(f) Strabo, Lib. ii. p. 774

(g) Lib. xv. p. 1006.

(h) Mythology, vol. I. p. 100. and 143.

the

the attention of ingenious and learned travellers to the discovery of fuch ancient materials, as might tend either to authenticate, or to confute the hiftorians of more modern times (i)? How flender, indeed, were the best pretenfions of the Greeks to any real knowledge of the hif tory, language, or manners of ancient Perfia! Xenophon and Ctefias were amongst the few who could have even an opportunity of confulting authentic records; yet, by a fingular fatality, there are not two productions of antiquity more questioned than the Cyropaedia of Xenophon, and the Annals of Ctefias.

Notwithstanding the fentiments of Plato and Cicero, the Cyropædia has been followed, as an authentic hiftory, by Africanus, Jofephus, Ufher, Prideaux. And the authors of the Universal History confider its authority as far preferable to that of Herodotus. Scaliger, Erafmus, and many others, look upon it, on the contrary, as a mere collection of figments. Dr. Jackfon, declaring it to be more feigned than real, fays, it has mifled every "writer who has attempted to follow it." The Doctor, at the same time, styles Herodotus the most accurate and faithful hiftorian, and confiders Ctefias in a very different light from the learned in general. To Ctefias, on the other hand, Sir I. Newton pays small regard; but to Herodotus, notwithstanding the anathema of Strabo, he looks up with high refpect. He calls him, after Cicero, the Father of History, and endeavours to reconcile with him every point of early chronology. When fuch men differ, who can decide (k) ?-Ubi tanta eft contentio, ibi vel nullam vel incertam effe veritatem. (1)

Yet, as St. Paul said in another cafe, I think we may fay in this, That God hath not left us without a witness, but hath given us certain notes and marks, if we were fo diligent as to mark them, whereby we may easily point out the original habitations of the first colonies of mankind. Among the various expedients by which learned

(i) Differt. p. 396.
(k) Ib. p. 300.
(1) Voffius.

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