general deluge; and it will be proved, by and by, that they had knowledge in metallurgy always among them, which was well known to fome of the most ancient authors.

Now, there is fomething very well worth confidering, in this matter; it is faid, that Cadmus brought fixteen letters only from Phenicia, and that others were added by Palamedes, &c. to fill the alphabet, as the Greek language has it now; it is, therefore, extremely remarkable, that the Magogian, or Irish alphabet confifts only of feventeen letters, to this day; which fo fully answers every purpose of expreffion in that language, that they have not yet found any neceffity to add new ones; which, at once, points out its originality and simplicity, in a manner hardly to be difputed; as it confifts of fewer letters than any other alphabet in the world; nor is it materially altered from its first state, so as to make any fenfible difference; which will appear by the table, where the alphabets of various ages will be exhibited, according to their seniority in that language; and farther explained in the sequel.

THERE are authors who think, that Palamedes invented the Greek letters; others give the invention to Linus, the preceptor of Hercules; and others, to Cecrops; and, as Cecrops was faid to be an Egyptian by birth, that he might have had the knowledge of letters from Mofes, who was about that time in Egypt; but it is easy to see, that there

is

very little affinity between the Hebrew and Greek alphabets; and it would even be abfurd to fuppofe, that there were no letters in Greece before the times of these persons ; who came late into the world, compared to the ancients,

or Aborigines, who were the Pelafgians all over that country: but it will be seen that the Greek alphabet had another source, and has a greater fimilarity with that of the Magogians and Gomerians, than with the Hebrew; but the latter have evidently preferved the fimplicity of theirs, as we have shewed before; fo they have the purity of their language, in their prefent receffes in Ireland and Scotland, in our own times, for the reafons often alledged before: and although the letters used by the most ancient Greeks, the Favonians, Elifbans, and other grandfons of Gomer, who were Pelafgians; and by the offspring of Magog, who were the Scythians and Pelafgians, and who often mingled with the Gomerians, were truely the ancient Pelafgian and Scythic letters; yet, upon the mixture of Phonicians and Egyptians with their offspring, in after-ages, their language began to be altered; and as that changed into the form it acquired, in which the first Greek authors wrote, they found themselves under a necessity of adding other letters, to answer the purposes of expression in the new mode, into which that mixed language was changed by their grammarians; for, in the ancient Javonian, or Ionian, they had no need of an additional character.

THIS opinion is pretty clearly evinced by Diodorus, in his third book, speaking of the Pelafgian and Phænician letters, where he says: "therefore the letters were called “Phænician, because they were transported from the Phœ"nicians; but as to the Pelafgians, who first used cha"racters (which were afterwards changed), these first were "called Pelafgian letters." This testimony, indeed, sufficiently fhews, at one view, the priority of the Pelafgian

letters,

letters, the gradual change of them, with the additional characters to them; and the curious coincidence of the fact of Fenius's having carried learning from Scythia into Shinar, and propagating it there; whence it gradually spread among the Phoenicians, long before Cadmus's leaving them, to go into Greece; but both Egyptians and Phoenicians had colonies fettled in the maritime places in Greece, before he arrived there, and the old language was much mutilated at his arrival: notwithstanding what is faid by several modern authors, that the Phenicians first invented and taught letters. But it is no difficult matter, to difcern great uncertainties among the Greeks concerning this fubject, and more modern authors have followed them; Pliny, who has collected from them all, gives his fentiment freely upon it, and fays: "As for letters, I "am of opinion, that they were in Affyria from the beginning; but fome think, and among them Gellius, that they were invented by Mercury, in Egypt; others, that they came first from Syria. Certainly Cadmus brought "fixteen with him from Phenicia into Greece, which are “ A, B, C, D, E, G, I, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, V; to "which, Palamedes, in the Trojan war, added the four "following, E, P, X; and, after him, Simonides Melitus "added four others, Z, H, Y, N; of all which letters, fays "he, we acknowledge the power, in our language. Ariftotle thinks there were anciently eighteen letters in the "Greek alphabet, which are, A, B, г, ▲, E, Z, H, K, A, M, “ N, O, II, ≥, Σ, T,V,Y, and that Epicharmus added ℗ and "X, rather than Palamedes. Anticlides fays, that one "Menon, in Egypt, had letters, which he invented fifteen

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years before the time of Phoronæus, the most ancient king of Greece; and endeavours to prove it by ancient "records and monuments; on the other hand, Epigenes,

an author of great credit, writes, that among the Baby«lonians, obfervations upon the ftars, for 720 years, were "found engraved upon tiles; and they who mention a "lefs time, as Berofus and Critodemus, fpeak of the fame "obfervations for 430 years; whereby it appears, that "letters were ever in ufe: but the firft people who "brought letters into Latium, were Pelafgians;" and of this there can be no doubt; for these people very soon fettled in the Eastern parts of Italy, even long before Deucalion's deluge; and were divided into different governments, called by several names, as Umbrians, &c. mentioned before; nor are there teftimonies wanting to fhew, that when these feveral colonies were fettled and increased, other Pelafgians invaded, and obtruded themselves upon the Umbrians, till they had fubverted their government; and thus, in fucceffive times, were flowing from Greece into Italy, according as their feats became uneasy to them, in their wars among themfelves, or from the incurfions of Egyptians, Phanicians, and other nations upon them.

THE above quotation from Pliny gives very strong teftimony of the use of alphabetical letters at all times, and confequently of the little appearance of truth in the affertion of Cadmus's having first invented them. Pliny fays first, that he is of opinion letters were in Affyria from the beginning; and no doubt they were, and that of two kinds: thofe among the iffue of Shem, the Hebrew alphabet; and those brought to Shinar by Fenius, the defcendant

fcendant of Magog, from Scythia, which was the Scythic alphabet; in which the Gomerian and Magogian language was wrote by Pelafgians and Scythians, and the other offfprings of Japhet. Gellius's opinion of Mercury's invention of letters in Egypt, is certainly of no weight; because the Hebrew language and letters went with Ham's family into that part of the world: and as to letters coming firft from Syria, nothing is more true, as to the Hebrew alphabet; becaufe they had always letters in Shem's family, and his defcendants, to our own times: and that and the adjacent countries were the firft feats of his people, and their iffue. Again, Epigenes, whom Pliny calls an author of very great credit, mentions a collection of obfervations upon the ftars for 720 years, wrote upon tiles; and this is corroborated by a like teftimony of Berofus and Critodemus, though for a lefs number of years. Pliny concludes this paffage, by faying, the Pelafgians were the firft that brought letters into Italy. Now, this people produced the first colonies that came into Italy, after the universal deluge; and their language and letters came with them; for it was allowed, by as good testimony as ancient authors can produce, that they had letters before Cadmus came into Greece, and he did not arrive there till fome ages after Deucalion's flood. Now, if Deucalion was cotemporary with Moses, who was born in 777 after the general deluge, Pliny moft certainly spoke truth; because Italy was every where well peopled before then, and the first Pelafgians paffed from Greece before the third century from Noah was ended: and this amounts to another strong argument to prove, that the Greek alphabet, as well as the Italian,

Z z 2