they went pretty long journeys, which they often do, to invade their enemies, they found it too troublesome to carry the heads, and therefore thought the fcalps, of as many as they killed, as fufficient a teftimony of their fervices, as if they had brought the intire heads.

BUT to return; in confidering the Septuagint tranflation of Ezekiel's word's: "the chief prince of Mefbech "and Tubal," which is the common tranflation; fome light might be thrown upon the origin of the Ruffians and Mofchovites, from that sentence; for, according to these Seventy interpreters, it runs thus: "the chief prince of Rofb, Mefbech and Tubal." Because, fay the authors of the Universal history, in the neck of land between the Euxine and Cafpian Seas, there formerly dwelt two forts of people, the one called Rofci, on the river Cyrus, or rather on the Ros, Ras, or Aras, called by the Greeks Araxes; the other called Mofchici, inhabiting a long chain of mountains, ftretching along the North-west part of Armenia, and feparating it from Colchis and Iberia. From which two people migrating, or driven over Caucafus, it is fuppofed the Ruffians and Mofchovites are defcended. And Jofephus informs us, that Iberia was first inhabited by Tubal, who, with his brother Mefbech, was fubject to Magog, and greatly corroborates that tranflation of the Septuagint, for the iffue of Mefbech and Tubal are by them rendered Mofchi and Iberians.

THESE were the parts to which they first migrated from Armenia after the flood, from whence they overfpread the north quarters of Scythia; and as neighbouring nations will adopt fuch manners and cuftoms from

each other as feem best to them; fo, according to Strabo, in after-ages, thofe inhabitants of Iberia, long after Scythia was overfpread by the Magogians, Moschici, and the offsprings of these descendants of Tubal, who lived in the low fertile country, understood agriculture very well, and were a most induftrious people, following the Medes and Armenians in their manners, customs and dress; whereas, those who dwelt in the mountainous parts were barbarous and favage, and in their manners and customs bore a great resemblance to the Scythians and Sarmatians.

WHATSOEVER pains therefore may be taken in examining the most authentic authors, who have, in the earliest

ages, taken up the history of these Northern people, and how fcrupulously foever discussed, we may venture to say, that no other refult can be deduced from a due confideration of them, than this: that the offspring of Japhet's fons, Magog, Mefbech and Tubal, peopled all the Scythian territories; and, confequently, as appears by an affinity derivative of their names, produced the Moguls, Mofchovites and Tartars. Mogli, fhortened from Magogli, are the fons of Magog. Mofchi, from Mefhech; as it is generally agreed by authors, from Herodotus and the Scriptures; and the people called Tibereni, from Tubal. If this last should be thought a forced derivation, we must confider that the Greeks, as I have before hinted, had a very good hand at changing the names of persons and things; we muft obferve that Tubal, in the Hebrew, was called Tubar, and Tibar by the Greeks, which the Septuagint translation warrants and supports; and, from Strabo and others, the country of the Tibareni was called Tibar and Tubar.

Innumerable mutilations of this kind, in the Greek, are familiar to every one who has any knowledge of that language, for which they were charged and blamed by authors of credit.

THE traces are also strong from Tubal, in other places; for the river Tobol, and the city Tobolfchi, feem, with great probability, to have derived their names from that patriarch.

It would protract this work to an immoderate length, if we were to enumerate the great variety of the Scythian nations, under their feveral denominations and leaders; for they were exceedingly numerous. We shall therefore mention but a few of them, who made not only much noise, but great havock, by the overflowing colonies, making inroads amongst other people round about them.

;

I MEAN those called Geta, who were in after-ages called Goths; for these were the fathers of the Goths; and had a more rapid increase, and fent out from themselves more fwarms, from time to time, than any others of the Scythian tribes. There was a very good reason for this they allowed every man as many wives as he chose to take, and having therefore many children in every family, and growing too numerous to dwell among one another, they followed the cuftom of the patriarchs, in fending away their children, when grown to man's estate, to seek new habitations; fome of which went on to places not inhabited, whilst others forced themselves upon neighbouring people, and fettled their colonies by force of

arms.

K 2

THEY

THEY were called Getes from Getar, to hurt or injure, in the very ancient Scythian, now the Irish or Scotish language; because they were furious in their invafions of their neighbours; and they retained that name a long time in the country they inhabited, from whence their fwarms went forth, and were not called Goths till they made the famous eruption into the empire, or not long before. The old inhabitants of the ifles of Elifba, or Greece, called them by this name; that is, the ancient Greeks or Jonians, whom we have mentioned, and shall call them Pelafgians hereafter; for it was they that gave them that name, being a word of their own language; because while some of them were driving towards Scandinavia very rapidly, others were intruding themselves upon the inhabitants of those ifles, and were ever injurious and troublesome to the iffue of Gomar's fons afterwards; and this was the first mixture made between the Magogians or Scythians, and the Gomerians, by the former's migrating fouthward; for they were very early inhabitants of that part of Scythia called Afiatic Sarmatia, after the flood, and were defcended from one of the fons of Mefbech. This country took in the ancient Taurica Cherfonefus, with all that tract between the Palus Maotis and the Euxine Sea; from whence it is very certain, that they also drove in among the defcendants of Afkenaz, eldest fon of Gomer, whofe first habitation and fettlement feems to have been near the Euxine Sea, as is before hinted.

ALL authors agree, that the Getes and Goths were the fame people; for they called them indifferently Getes, Goths and Scythians; which, by general confent, makes

them

them all the Scythian, or, in other words, the Magogian race. Mela fays, that the countries mentioned above, were inhabited by one and the fame people, whatever different names they may have been known by; and Strabo affirms, that the Iftrians, Decians, Mæfians and Thracians spoke the fame language, and that they confequently were the fame people. The Thracians fprung from Tiras, one of Gomer's fons, and as they spoke the fame language with those nations mentioned, who were Scythians, there can be no better proof that the iffue of both Gomer and Magog, and all those of the other fons of Japhet and their iffue, fpoke the fame language, both before and after the difperfion. Other authors, as Procopius and Ammianus Marfelinus, fay, that there were feveral nations of Goths, fome being called Sauromate, others Melancleni, and fome Getes; but that these nations differed only in name; and the latter, speaking of the Goths, fays: that they inhabited Thrace, Mefia and Decia; and were sprung from the fierce nations that dwelt before in thofe countries, that is, from the Getes. That these and the Goths were one people, and not different nations living in the fame country, as Cluverius has it, the authors of the Univerfal Hiftory give very good proofs of, from other fenfible reafons, befides thefe undoubted authorities from eminent hiftorians; whofe words, on this matter, are as follows: See vol. xix. p. 258. "If we compare the accounts "which the ancients give us of the manners of the Getes,

we shall find them intirely agreeable to those of the "more modern writers, describing the customs and man"ners of the Goths. Their language was likewife the

"fame,