ORIGIN OF THE DRUIDS.

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a paper in the Asiatic researches, decidedly pronounces the Druids to have been a race of emegrated Indian philosophers, and Stonehenge to be evidently one of the Temples of Budha, (a) Mr. Morris, who considering the Budhists to have been a sect of the Brahmins, concludes the celebrated order of the Druids, anciently established in this country, were the immediate decendants of a tribe of Brahmins, situate in the high northern latitudes bordering on the vast range of Caucasus, that these, during a period of the Indian Empire, when its limits were most extended in Asia, mingling with the Celto Scythian tribes, who tenanted the immense deserts of Grand Tartary became gradually incorporated, though not confounded with that ancient nation, introduced among them the rites of the Brahminical religion, occasionally adopted those of the Scythians, and together with them, finally emigrated to the western regions of Europe. (b) Be this as it may, the connection of Druidism with the ancient creeds of religion and philosophy of the most polished nations, annihilates the accusation of barbarism so frequently, in ignorance of their real character, brought against them. Instead of being ignorant savages, we have reason to believe, as compared with the learned in other nations, they walked in the highest ranks of the republic of letters. Diogenes Laertius describes the Druids as holding the same place among the Gauls and Britons, with that of the philosophers among the Greeks; of the Magi, among the Persians; of the Gymnosophists, among the Indians; and of the Chaldeans, among the Assyrians. He refers also to Aristotle, in one of his works now lost, affirming that philosophy had not been taught to the Gauls by the Greeks, but had originated among the former, and from them had passed to the latter. The introduction into the Greek philosophy of the doctrine of the metempsychosis is commonly attributed to Pythagoras; and there are various passages in ancient authors, which make mention of, or allude to some connection between that philosopher and the Druids, it is quite certain that the doctrines of both were the same; and that Pythagoras, the ancient Grecian philosopher, derived his philosophy from the Druids. A report is preserved by Clement, of Alexandria, that Pythagoras in the course of his travels, studied under the Druids and Brahmins, (c)

CHAPTER XII.

If such be the admitted fact, this country claims a much remoter antiquity than is usually assigned to it. The statements of Cæsar concerning Britain, should be received with considerable caution and abatements, when he represents the Britons as being few, poor, and simi-cannibalized savages, which could not have been the case; for could he think to dazzle the eyes of his countrymen with the brilliancy of his achievements, and ultimately accomplish his designs against the liberty of Rome, by crushing a handful of wild bushmen and savages? If Britain was then so contemptibly weak as he represents it, what need could he have for his chosen legions; and how was it that he could only maintain himself upon the coasts, when he had a powerful army of thirty thousand men. The exportation of tin, having in a great measure ceased before this time, it is very probable that in a great measure the strength of Britain had fallen into decay when Cæsar landed on her shores; but the fact itself is evident, that though humbled and prostrate in the ashes of her former greatness, Britain, even in those days, must have had a numerous population within it, whose marshall valour and bravery were well understood and appreciated at Rome.

Long before the time of Julius Cæsar, Britain was well known to the ancient Greeks; Hecateus, Edoxus, Hipparchus, Erastosthenes, Polybus, Posidonius, not to speak of Dicearchus, and others, knew a great deal of truth concerning the British Islands, in consequence of the frequent navigations of the Greeks in these parts, after the way had been shown them by the Phoenician traders from Asia. Heroditus, 413 years B.C. affirms that his countrymen had their tin from hence, (a) and most of the Greek writers knew many more particulars concerning the British Islands, even the most remote and minute of them, than Cæsar himself, or any of the Latin historians who came after him, not excepting that instructive and judicious geographer, Strabo; for it is evident the later Greek authors were implicitly credited by the Roman writers, who themselves were not certain whether Britain was an island or not, though it was constantly affirmed and maintained to be so by the ancient Greeks. Pytheas, in his work, entitled, "The Tour of the Earth," before his contemporary, Timeas or Dicearchus wrote, or Erastothenes and Polybus, who followed each other, bearing similar testimony concerning

(a) Oute nessous oida Kassiteridas, eousas, ekton ho kassiteros, hemiaphoita, lib. 3, cap. 115.

PYTHEAS VISITS BRITAIN.

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Britain. Pytheas, to whom we have just referred, and also Euthymenes, were sent by the senate of Marseilles, a Greek colony, to make discoveries about 400 years B. C. The former to the north, and the latter to the south. Euthymenes sailed along the coast of Africa, passed the line, and Pytheas landed in Britain. Both the one and the other made such discoveries of the places they visited, as confirmed the ancient history concerning them. Nothing can be more correct than the several descriptions given us of these northern islands, by this ancient Greek philosopher. The temperature of the climate, the varying length of days and nights, the strange birds on the island, and the monstrous fishes of the northern ocean, are accurately described by him. He was the first to mention Thule, (a) meaning the utmost inhabited island beyond Britain, from which it is about six days sail, and near the frozen sea, which agrees with that we call Iceland; but Strabo, who wrote several ages afterwards, without ceremony, calls Pytheas a most lying fellow, (b) and denies that there was a Thule, which was or could be inhabited, though it has since been found that Pytheas was much more right than himself. The utmost island to the north, Strabo says is Ireland, which being situated beyond Britain is with difficulty inhabited, because of the cold, and all beyond that is uninhabitable. This of Ireland, north of Great Britain, whereas it is due west; scarcely habitable for the cold, when on the contrary it is one of the most mild, luxuriant, and delightful countries under heaven. These misrepresentations Strabo repeats in two or three places, from whence he draws this conclusion, that there is no Thule, since nothing is habitable beyond Ireland, which, according to him, is the most northerly part of the habitable earth. With this evidence before him, whether is the more accurate on this subject-the ancient Pytheas, who lived in the time of Alexander the Great, or Strabo, who wrote ages afterward, in the time of Augustus and Tiberius.

(a) Tul, an ancient language, signifies naked and bleak, a proper description of Iceland, which has neither tree nor shrub throughout the whole of its extent. Tuli, without any alteration, signifies the naked island. See O. Clery, in his vocabulary of obsolete words. (b) Strabo, lib. 1, p. 10, Ib. lib. 2, p, 124.

CHAPTER XIII.

We have already shown that before the time of the Romans, trade was carried on between this country and ancient Greece, and have rested this fact upon no equivocal authority; this at least carries our history back to the time of Alexander the Great. In furtherance of our object, it is necessary that we glance at the still more ancient commerce that was carried on between this country and the most remote nations of the east, through the means of the Phoenician navigators.

It would have been interesting to have traced the small beginning of British commerce, hidden as it is in the depths of ancient time, noticing its diversity and increasing magnitude, through successive ages down to the present day; but we must confine ourselves to a few brief remarks, which are necessary to subserve our present design.

The oldest notice, or at least the one professing to be derived from the oldest sources, which we have of the Phoenicians trade with Britain, is that contained in the narrative of the voyage of Himilco the Carthaginian navigator, which is given us by Festus, of Avienus. This voyage is supposed to have been performed about 1000 years before the commencement of our era. In the account which it gives, Britain is described as being rich in tin and lead; the people are spoken of as being numerous, high spirited and active, and eagerly devoted to trade. This was in the early part of the reign of Solomon, and the zinith of the ancient British commerce. It does not appear

that at this time, the British merchants had ever turned their attention to the advantages of navigation, though the ships of foreigners were constantly thronging their ports; which may perhaps be accounted for, by the evident fact, that having a monopoly in their articles of exportation, the trade of tin alone must have been to them a source of enormous wealth. Perhaps Himilco is not quite correct, in saying the Britons had no ships made of timber wherewith to make their voyages, but in a wonderful manner effected their way along the water in boats constructed of wickerwork, and covered with skins sowed together. Strabo also mentions the trade of the Phoenicians and other colonists with "Cassiteridas," signifying in Greek, the Tin Islands, which he describes as being ten in number, lying close to one another in the main ocean, north from Artabri. This trade was at the first exclusively in the hands of the Phænicians, who carefully concealed it from the rest of the world. The people wore black cloaks girt about their waist, which reached

TIN EXPORTED IN THE TIME OF MOSES.

41

to the ancles, and usually, when walking, had sticks in their hands, and their beards were unshaven; they had mines of tin and lead, and these metals, adds the historian, along with skins, they bartered with foreign merchants who resorted to them, in exchange for earthenware, salt, and articles of bronze. We might add the testimony of Aristotle, in support of our position concerning the Phoenician commerce with Britian, and by whom, he declares, Ireland to have been discovered in consequence. We have no account of tin having been produced in the early ages, in any other countries than Spain and Britain.

This metal was used in considerable quantities by the ancients, being the alloy with which, before they attained the art of giving a high degree of temperature to iron, they hardened copper, which is then strong, and will carry a very sharpe edge. Of this compound they made knives, axes, coulters, mattocks, spears, swords, and all the instruments of war.

The name given by the Greeks to this metallic compound was Calcus, and by the Romans, Aes. Both these words are very improperly translated brass, which is a composition of copper and zinc, but as calamine, the ore of zinc, is never mentioned by the old authors, it is the united opinion of the learned that zinc, and consequently brass, was then unknown as there has never been any of this metal found among the relics of antiquity. Copper and tin, which we call bronze, when ground, will take a high degree of polish, and of this metal their looking-glasses or mirrors were formerly made. Tin is supposed to have been used by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Syrians, in very early periods, in their processes for dying cloth, for which they were anciently so famous. (a) Solutions of tin in various acids are applied as mordants for fixing of colours in cloth at the present day. This article is mentioned as constituting part of the prey taken by the children of Israel, from the Midianites in the time of Moses, (b) so that this product of Britain was extensively dealt in as an article of commerce, at least 1400 years B. C, Many of the vessels and ornaments used in the erection of the temple of Solomon are said to be of brass, by which is understood a mixture of copper and tin, which we call bronze. Now when we call to mind that the principal workmen employed in the erection of this building, were sent by Hiram from Tyre, and particularly the founders of brass, (c) and that at that time Tyre was the emporium of British commerce, it amounts to almost a certainty, that thet in employed in making the vast quantity of brazen

(a) Exel. xxvii, 16-20.
G

(b) Numbers, xxxi, 22.

(c) 2 Chron. ii, 14.