posed the credit of their own fabrications; or that they were not so versed in the oriental languages, as to give to their forgeries this artful semblance of originality by an apparent variation from, and a substantial adherence to truth*. How the The substantial veracity of the landing of a Phoeniveracity of Irish annals cian colony in Ireland about this time can only be proveable. proved or disproved by external or internal evidence; either from the records or documents of other countries, or of the Irish. It cannot be disproved by any Phoenician records, because none have reached these latter times of more curious and scientific research. The ravages of time, waste, and barbarism, have probably long entombed all written monuments of Phoe nician, Carthagenian, and early Spanish and Moorish history. The Greeks knew little of their own history for several centuries after the Milesian period: the Romans still less of other nations, which they imitated the Greeks in calling barbarians. Julius Cæsar, after a lapse of above eleven centuries, is the first Roman who gives any account of either of the sister islands. No other western nations appear at that time to have had or retained the use of letters for any length of time, so as to have transmitted to posterity any written monument of their remote ancestors. The higher the anti In researches of this nature, it is an axiom, that the quity, the higher we run into antiquity, the more surely do we probability discover simplicity and truth. Noah and his sons were the depositaries of the general history of the pri greater the of truth. mitive or ante diluvian world, and of all the acquired knowledge, which could be useful to posterity. In their longevity they had the advantage of observation and experience; and we learn from the book of Job*, that even the oldest, and, perhaps, the most accomplished of the then existing generation, esteemed it their greatest wisdom to learn and retain the traditional knowledge of their ancestors, who had lived many days upon earth. The interlocutors, in this ancient dialogue, manifestly refer to some of the patriarchs then living, who had seen that length of days, which they were sensible no future generation would attain. "For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age (or ge. neration), and prepare thyself for the search of their fathers (for we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, seeing our days on earth are as a shadow). Shall they not teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their hearts?" c. viii. And "I will shew thee, hear me, and that which I have seen I will declare, which wise men have told me from their fathers (and have not hid it), unto whom alone the earth was given." If, then, the real or supposed predecessors of Moses thought so humbly of their own experience and knowledge, by reason of the abbreviation of the days of man upon earth, the summit of their pretensions being to retain what they had received from their longeval ancestors, does it not evidently follow, that the closer any institutions of go * Either the book of Job was written long before the days of Moses, or it was then written to represent scenes of a date much before his time. 斷 Pretensions to high an vour its claim. vernment and religion can be traced up to the patri- The exclusive claim, which Ireland sets up to the tiquity fa preservation of any historical monuments of her remote history, rather goes to prove, than disprove their genuine originality. The first presumption of a claim is, that it can be supported: we are enquiring into the manner, in which this can be substantiated. Language the pedigree Dr. Johnson says, language is the pedigree of naof nations. tions; and General Vallancey quotes the learned Ihre for insisting," that language is to be preferred even to the annals of remote time to prove the origin of a people, particularly of a migrating people." It would be presumptuous to attempt any thing like a philological disquisition into the origin and nature of a language without a competent knowledge of it. It must be admitted, that there does, at this hour, exist a language, called the Irish, in which very ancient poems and annals are written, which is perfectly intelligible to the natives, and other professed adepts * in it. That the Irish has close affinity with the Scotch Erse, or Gaelic language, and some, though more remote, analogy to the Welsh.and Cornish, and the Armoric or Bas Breton tongues, and is very dissimilar from the * Such as the learned Vallancey, and some, though very few, other antiquaries. Greek and Latin, and most of the modern languages is the old language, gian. Dr. Parsons says*, that having endeavoured to trace The Irish the languages of Europe to their sources, he thought Scythian he had discovered that, which was previous to the or PelasGreck tongue all over Asia Minor, Scythia, and Greece; and this was the Japhetan, called afterwards the Pelasgian, and then the Gomerian and Magogian, or Scythian language, which is now found only in Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and Wales. That great and learned Irish antiquary, Charles O'Connor, Esq. says, "After a succession of ages, the Scuits or Scots (x), migrated into Ireland, and became masters of it. These new comers are pointed out to us by the Senachies, under the appropriate names of * Pref. to Rem. of Japhet, p. xii. Dissertation on the Origin and Antiquities of the antient Scots, p.xxx. Gaidelians, Scuits and Phenians; appellations which denote a mixture of Celtes, Scythians, and Phoenicians in the part of the continent, from whence they arrived. The same Senachies have been equally positive in deriving the original of these strangers from the western parts of Spain, a country well known to be inhabited in early times by colonies of Celtes, Scythians, and Phoenicians. The number of Punic or Phoenician words discovered in the Irish tongue could not be borrowed from the Gauls or Britons, in whose countries the Phoenicians, or their younger sons the Carthagenians, made no settlements. The original language of Spain was Celtic most certainly. The Scythians, the most wandering people on earth, found their way into that country, and introduced a dialect, which had a near affinity with that they found before them; they might, therefore, with the greater facility, incorporate with the indigenous inhabitants. In these times incorporations were common between the Celtes and Scythians. The language of Ireland proves such an incorporation; for we find it to be what our old grammarians have termed it, a berla tepide, a mixed tongue, partly Celtic and partly Scythian, wherein we discover a number of Punic or Phoenician words. It was in Spain, and in no other country (European or Lybian), that such a mixture could take place; and we should on that score pronounce, that the origin of the speakers must be from Spain, though the Senachies should be silent or ignorant about it. Besides the use of Phoenician terms, this language bears other strong marks of a great degree of civilization among the people, who |