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that central trading fpot of the world; the Magogians, who went by land, had no such advantage in their flights from their enemies; and, no doubt, lived all along in the fimple original manner, upon hunting and cattle, as we find people in the more remote Northern nations at this day, and indeed in every other unfrequented part of the world, where commerce was never introduced, nor incursions of strangers yet begun; whereas, those Magogians, who arrived in Ireland by fea, immediately from the Mediterranean, were versed in arms, had fublime notions of government and preferved their records by their bards and hiftorians, as the Gomerians did; but of this we shall fee more in the fequel. However, that it may not seem ftrange for either Gomerians or Scythians to fail to Britain or Ireland, it is pretty certain that the Greeks were very early well acquainted with both Britain and Ireland; for feveral ancient authors affert it: and Orpheus, or whoever wrote the Greek poem on the Argonautic expedition, fays, that Jason, who manned the ship Argos, failed to Ireland, and Adrianus Junius says the fame thing

in these lines:

"Illa ego fum Graiis, olim Glacialis Ierne

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“Dicta, et Jasonia puppis bene cognita nautis.' And Tacitus, in his Life of Julius Agricola, in fpeaking of Britain and Ireland, fays, that the harbours of Ireland were better known to the trading part of the world than thofe of Britain, on account of their commerce : "Solum "cœlumque et ingenia cultufque hominum, haud multum "a Britannia differunt; melius aditus, portufque per "commercia et negociatores cogniti."

Now

Now the Argonautic expedition is faid, by Chitraus, in his Chronologia Hiftoria Herodoti et Thucydidis, to have happened anno mundi

from which, if we substract

the years from the creation to the flood, the remainder will be

2737 1656

1081

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which is about the number of years from the flood to the beginning of the reign of the Milefians in Ireland; fo that if Jason did fail to Ireland, it must be soon after the establishment of the Milefians in that kingdom. Chitraus, p. 126. Yet, from a very remarkable passage in Diodorus, one would be induced to believe the early inhabitants of Greece were well acquainted with both Britain and Ireland. It is, however, fomething difficult to say which of these is meant by this author, or by a very ancient author, Hecatæus, whom he quotes, and who was a Pelafgian, or, in other words, was not an European Grecian. But furely no other island in the world can be meant than either Britain or Ireland, from the defcription of Diodorus: he fays, " that among the writers of antiquity, Hecateus and fome others, relate that there “is an island in the ocean, oppofite to Galle, or the Celta,

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not less than Sicily; which is inhabited by a people "called Hyperboreans, under the Arctic regions; so called, "because they are more remote than the north wind. It "is a very fertile place, for they have a harvest twice a

year; that they have a great foreft, and a noble temple, "where the men, many of whom are harpers, fing forth "the praises of Apollo; that they had a language proper "to themselves, or the Greek was their tongue; and "that

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"that they had a great regard for the Greeks, which friendship had been confirmed from ancient times, particularly with the Athenians and Delians; and that "fome of the Greeks came over to the Hyperboreans, and "made them rich prefents, infcribed with Greek letters: "and also that Abaris formerly went from thence into "Greece, to renew their ancient friendship with the "Delians." See Diod. lib. ii. towards the end.

IN this account, there is reason to believe Britain or Ireland to be the habitation of Hecateus's Hyperborei: both had temples for the worship of the gods, the vestiges of which are now remaining in both islands. The harp was the inftrument both of the ancient Britons and Irish, and is now used in both nations, and fcarce any where else, in our time. Both iflands are fertile, and are fituated in the ocean oppofite to the Galles, or Celts, and near the Arctic region; and many other accounts of the early correfpondence held between these islands and the inhabitants of Greece, are certainly corroborated by this. And if we add to thefe, that the harp was in fo much esteem in Ireland, that from their skill in playing upon it, and their great proficiency in mufic, they were called Citharedi, or Citharifte, and have, from ancient times, held it the chief enfign of their national arms. These are fufficient connotatives to point out who the Hyperboreans were; for no other iflands in the world can answer thefe characters of fituation, cuftoms, &c. but Britain and Ireland. This account alfo marks the country of that famous philofopher, Abaris, who is mentioned by feveral writers, of whom we shall fay fomething more hereafter.

THERE

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THERE is also another very remarkable paffage from Plutarch, in his treatife on mufic, which, in a great meafure, corroborates what Diodorus had delivered concerning the embaffy to the DELIANS by Abaris: he fays, "that "the presents that were fent to them from the Hyperbo"reans were accompanied with haut-boys, harps, and guitars;" and though the harp feems to have been the favourite inftrument with both Britons and Irish, yet they were performers upon various others, and faid by authors to be even the inventers of them; and befides the above, they used trumpets; of thefe, there were fome discovered in Ireland in digging, a few years ago, and fhewed at the Society of Antiquaries, of fine brafs, which were so curious, as to their form and great antiquity, that they were thought very worthy of being ingraved and defcribed among the works of that learned body. They were brought over, with fome other fpecimens of antiquity, by the late learned Dr. Pocock, Lord Bishop of Meath.

Cæfar and Tacitus think it very probable, that Britain had its firft inhabitants from Gaul, for no other reasons, but because of the propinquity of them to each other; and from the Galls having fent colonies into Italy, Spain, &c. concluding that therefore they muft alfo have peopled Britain. I will allow, that when the Galls came first into France, and had fpread themselves to the coafts, they might have had an intercourfe with those who inhabited this ifland before, and that they might reciprocally pafs over to each other: but, that the first people came into Britain from thence, can be no way allowed; not even though a great number of authors may have faid the fame

thing; founding their reafons upon the agreement of the manners and cuftoms of the inhabitants of both countries. Now there is no wonder in fuch agreement, because no one can deny that they were both colonies from the fame ftock, having undoubtedly language, manners and customs alike, as they were in fact all Celts: but if thofe authors had attended to the particular traffic carried on by the Greeks with the Caffiterides, for tin, lead, and copper, they would scarce have thought thus of the matter; befides, the learned Bochart seems to me to have absolutely mistaken the fact of the discovery of those ifles by the Phoenicians, and afterwards by the Greeks; whereas, we have better authority for reverfing this opinion, in Holy Writ. I have before fhewed, from the prophet Ezekiel, that Tarshish, part of the ifles of Elifba, afterwards called Greece, fold tin and lead to the merchants of Tyrus, and were therefore more likely to be the first discoverers of the Caffiterides, and that having in time found out the mines, invited their own brethren to come over for it; for it is not probable that the Phoenicians would have fuffered the Greeki to import tin and lead, and let these commodities be fold in their fairs, if they could have had it brought to them in their own fhips at the firft hand; and therefore I cannot help being of opinion, that the people of Tarshish, that is, the Pelafgians, difcovered and concealed these iflands from the Phenicians as long as they could, instead of the contrary; and that it was from thence the first people of the Gomerian race came into the Southern parts of Britain. The Greeks called the tin iflands, Caffiterides, and perhaps the Phenicians coming thither afterwards,

may

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