traditions to writing. This was also the cafe in the Scythian defcendants of Japhet, Magog's iffue, &c. in the Northern quarters; for, in the Irish annals, many things appear which were coeval with these accounts of Gomer's offspring. It was his iffue that over-run Greece, of whom we are now treating, and which the Greek historians knew little or nothing of in those early times, no more than of many paffages and transactions that happened by incurfions made from about Thrace, and other places north of Greece, by the early Magogians, or Scythians, long before Abraham's time, perfectly agreeing with Holy Writ.

Ir appears, from the fame author, that the Pelafgi lived in Hæmonia, after their removing from Argos, fix generations more, and were there driven out of that country, and scattered into several other neighbouring parts by the Leleges and Curetes, under the conduct of Deucalion.

Now the most ancient method of computing was by generations, and there were twelve generations between the first settling of Argos, by the Pelafgians, and their being driven out of Hamonia by Deucalion; and as Mofes and this prince are thought to have been cotemporaries, it is easy to see that these twelve generations included several hundred years, about 360; for the calculation of which, I refer the reader to bishop Cumberland; and that the Pelafgi were the Gomerians, comprehending the Jonians from Javan, the Elifbans from Elifba, his fons, and fo on of the reft who first peopled the ifles of Elisha, or Greece; and confequently that Jon, the grandfon of

Deuca

Deucalion, was not in Greece, till after the death of both Abraham and Deucalion, or about that time.

Now it cannot be doubted, from the nature of things, that the Pelafgians, or Gomerians, founded their governments in Greece, as early as the iffue of Shem and Ham did in the places to which they migrated, the former in the Eastern parts, and the latter in Africa, as Egypt, Ethiopia, &c. and also at the fame time that Magog, Gomer's brother, with Mefbech and Tubal, founded theirs northward; and it is very clear that they spoke the language of their father in every part of Greece and Scythia, down to the time that Deucalion drove thofe Pelafgians out of Hæmonia, after having been fettled there for fix generations.

Ir farther appears, from Dion. Halic. that the Tyrseni, who settled near the Pelafgi, were a different people, and defcended from the iffue of Shem, or Ham, having their own language and customs; and that the people, afterwards called Crotoniata, and Placiani, were fprung from the Pelafgi, ftill retaining the language of their fathers, which they, in a very fingular manner, preserved wherefoever they were driven; even on the fide of the Helefpont; which gave occafion to the mixed Greeks, mentioned before, to call them Barbari, because, by this time, the first: dialect, of what constituted the Greek language, was formed, and being composed of the original Gomerian, or Pelafgian, and the intruded tongues of the Phenicians and Egyptians, as hinted before, differed as much from this first language, as our English tongue does, at this time, from the Saxon, Latin, or any other of those of

which it is compofed. Nor had they any more right to count the first a barbarous language, than we have to call the Saxon by that ignominious name.

THESE things are confirmed by the most anthentic authors, of the greatest antiquity; and it is evident, as a proof of what I have now faid, from Herodotus, that the Athenians were a Pelasgic nation, and had a language before they became Helenes, and changed it into the Greek tongue, which he called barbarous.

In comparing fome of these things cited from Dion. Halic. with the words of Herodotus, in his Clio, we may observe, among other things, that probably some Pelafgians paffed into Greece from about the Helefpont, where the former author fays they dwelt; and, in fome time, paffed into Italy, leaving fome of their people about Placia and Scylacis, retaining their own original language at the time that Herodotus wrote: But that those who went into Italy, in time, learned other languages among the colonies into which they were dispersed. However, it is allowed that the numerous Crotoniate still spoke their own ancient language to the time of Herodotus. And Dion. Halic. teftifies, that it was not long before his time, they became changed into a Roman colony; and Herodotus openly declares, that the language of the Pelafgians was an established. tongue, both before and after the time of Deucalion..

THE authorities are many that prove the antiquity of the Pelafgi, both the Sicyonians and Ægialenfes, &c. and these are not only from the pagan authors, but also many of the fathers, who themselves had authorities before them,

which were long since lost; and these are enumerated by · bishop Cumberlaud, whofe lights, thrown upon the dark paffages of remote antiquity, fhine very bright in all his fuggeftions; to which I refer the reader; but in order to do him due honour, and greatly to affift my own plan, I cannot omit transcribing from him a paffage or two more, both interesting and very remarkable:

"THE Grecians (says he) that knew there was a king"dom, in their country, of these Pelafgi Ægialenfes, cotemporary with that of the Affyrians, under Ninus, "would have taken it ill, if the Chriftians had not taken "notice of it in their chronologies; especially confidering, that though it was but a small kingdom at first, yet "it spread itself by the Pelafgi afterwards into Theffaly "and Macedonia, and from thence grew into a great empire, by the conquefts of Alexander; not to mention "that the Pelafgi had also a great interest, in process of time, in Italy, and confequently in the Roman empire." THESE anecdotes, I hope, are fufficient to corroborate my opinion of the origin of the people and languages of Europe; and to ftrengthen the chain I have formed in this little work, that leads to the true knowledge of their progrefs. I fhall only add to this chapter, from this fame reverend author, fo often mentioned, fome of the names of the principal patriarchs of Moses, as they were called by the Greeks, when they were deified by their fucceffors, as well as of fome of their wives and daughters, who were celebrated as deities alfo by the first idolaters, the Egyptians, which will ftill add to the due comprehenfion of feveral parts of this history.

WHILE the people, who were descended from Japhet and Shem, were enjoying the bleffings conferred on them by their father, in fpreading themselves over those countries already mentioned, and perfevering in the patriarchal worship of the TRUE GOD; the children of Ham, the Canaanites, were reviving the most rank idolatry, which had made fo much progress in the world, from Cain down to the deluge; and which confifted chiefly in deifying their ancestors, and offering them divine worship. And this came to be so much increased by the time that Egypt and Phœnicia were well established into kingdoms and governments, that wherever the people of these two parts of the world had any influence, their gods became numerous, and their temples many and magnificent. They had lost all that heavenly influence, which the great BEING is pleased to confer on those who are his true worshippers ; and were abandoned to their own wicked imaginations, making gods for themselves, and then foolishly adoring them. They envied the fons of Japhet and Shem, and opposed their religion to that of these patriarchs, and while the former were migrating to greater and greater distances northward and weftward, in the enjoyment of the pure worship of God, the Phenicians and Egyptians were invading the Pelafgi, from whom their brethren went, and, by degrees, introduced their fuperftitions, either by force or ftratagem, to the intire fubverfion of the patriarchal fyftem in Greece; and therefore they gradually came to idolize their fathers, even up to Japhet, and built temples to them also. But the true worship was brought to Britain and Ireland by the Gomerians and Magogians, as