diately occupied by those to whom they were allotted. The different persons, amongst whom the distribution of the earth was made, then resided in Asia; thence of course were the first post-diluvian emigrations into the isles of the Gentiles. Any vessels then arriving in the Atlantic, would naturally fall upon Irelaud sooner than upon Great Britain, which, barring the authority of the Irish annals, renders it probable that Ireland was peopled before England. There is no other disproof of this assertion, than the suggestion or argument of the pyrrhonites in matter of Irish history, that the inhabitants of Gaul seeing Britain from the headlands of the Gallic Menapii (the districts of Calais and Bologne), passed over in boats or rafts, and when they had peopled and cultivated this island, and travelled so far north-west as to arrive at that promontory of Scotland nearest to Ireland, (Port Patrick whence Ireland in a fair day may be easily seen) they thence, in like manner, at a distant period traversed this passage which was shorter. This must have happened after a long space of time, which would be requisite for the first emigrants from Gaul to people, occupy, and cultivate the southern part of this island; for it is to be presumed, that the more northern position, the less fertile soil, and the worse climate would not have attracted those early settlers to the extremities of the inferior parts of the island, till the thickness of population, and the insufficiency of the soil to answer their wants, drove out the needy and young adventurers in search of new places of residence.

31. As the authenticity of that portion only of the ancient history of Ireland falls under our investigation which traces the origin and descent of the Milesian race of sovereigns; and the Irish annals inform us, that upon their arrival in the island, about thirteen hundred years before the birth of Christ, they found it peopled and cultivated, and that conversation and treaties passed between the new adventurers and the then natives of the soil without interpreters, there appears sufficient probability, that the first post-diluvian possessors of the island had emigrated from the same race or family, (and, therefore, had a common language) as the adventurous colony of Milesius. As far as the Irish annalists agree with the inspired writer of Genesis, their ve racity will not be questioned, whether the annals were the fabrication of the monkish impostors of the ninth century, according to the disciples of modern pyrrhonism, or the genuine documents of the old phylleas or senachies.

Their

account of the first adventurers of the Milesian colonies and the native settlers destroys not itself by any inconsistency or intrinsic evidence, if there be a probability of a colony of the same race of men with the Milesian having settled before them in that island. Looking to the general substance of truth, we pretend not fastidiously to adhere to particular dates, names, places, or circumstances.

32. We have observed that the annalists say, that about a hundred and forty years after the deluge, Adhua landed in Ireland, and returned to the person who sent him, who was a grandson of Belus: and that afterwards different adventurers sailed to and occupied the island. We believe from the sacred text, that about one hundred and forty years after the deluge, the common language of man was confused on the plains of Shinar, that the isles of the Gentiles were divided by or amongst the sons of Japhet, and that the Lord scattered them from that place, (viz. the vale Shinar in Usia, where Babylon stood) abroad upon the face of all the earth; that the beginning of Nemrod's kingdom was Babylon. In confirmation of the consistency of the Irish ante-milesian annals, comes in the authority of Joseph the Jew, who has left us a more explicit account of this very early age of man than that of Moses. "From that time forward (by reason of the diversity of tongues) they dispersed themselves into divers countries, and planted colonies in all places; and occupied those places, whither God or their good fortune had conducted them; so that both the sea coasts and the middle land were replenished with inhabitants. Some there were also who, passing the sea in ships and vessels, first peopled the islands." If Ireland then, one of the largest islands of Europe, were peopled soon after the diversity of tongues, there can be no inconsistency or repugnance in their annalists reporting, at the distance of some centuries, the intercourse which the latter had with the descendants of the former adventurers to that island. Having, as it is hoped, cleared the Milesian story of this

Ant. c. vi. However this author may, in compliment to the Roman emperor, have endeavoured to loosen the credit of some of the miracles of the old testament, we must consider whatever additional circumstances he recounts of the early founders of nations, which illustrate rather than contradict the sacred text, to have been the genuine tradition of the Jewish nation at that time; and which he would not have published, unless he had given credit to them himself. He was a man of erudition, criticism, eloquence, and policy.

preliminary charge of inconsistency, by reason of its reference to an earlier population, we proceed to examine the authenticity of the general substance of the annals themselves.

33. It would exceed the intent of this dissertation, to pass in review the several judgments of the historical critics, who have entered the lists with strong pretensions to the palm. Of the whole sceptic tribe, Dr. Ledwich appears prominently conspicuous for his assurance, great contempt and coarse abuse of his antagonist. His opposition, like that of his leaders and followers, rests upon general declamation. Such claims of antiquity and pretensions to authenticity are but specious delusions and vagaries of the human mind; and "wherever they are retained, that people may be pronounced credulous and ignorant.' General assertion is to be denied not answered. The more especially when the whole system of this pyrrhonism is founded upon a general dictum of a stranger both to their language and country. "Nennius' judgment of this fiction," say the sceptics, "is decisive, when he declares, that there was no sure history of the origin of the Irish." "Nulla tamen certa historia originis Scotorum reperitur." This is a mere declaration that he knew of no authentic written history which gave an account of their origin; it is no denial that proofs or documents of it existed. Supposing, however, that Nennius, in the year 858, when he was supposed to have completed his work, which he brings no lower than Vortigern, A. D. 473, knew of no history of Ireland then written, does it follow that none could or ever would be written? More plausibly might it be inferred that every thing which Nennius wrote about the Britons was mere fiction, because in the same

* Led. Ant. p. 2.

+ Nen. p. 102, Ed. Bert. It could hardly be unknown to Dr. Ledwich, that this insertion is supposed to be an interpolation, and as such is comprised in brackets by Mr. Bertram, the learned editor of Nennius. The impartial reader will consider that Nennius, who was no Irishman, and wrote about the year 858; i. e. 950 years ago, must have had better grounds than the fictions of monks, and such idle dreamers, to repeat three several times in his work the positive fact, that Ireland was peopled by a colony from Spain, c. 6. Novissimè venerunt Scotia partibus Hispaniæ ad Hybernian. Et postea venerunt tres filii cujusdam militis Hispaniæ cum Chiulis. Venerunt paulatim a partibus Hispuniæ et tenuerunt regiones plurimas. He wrote some hundred years before Gerald Barry had traduced the Irish nation, and when Ireland, being an independent kingdom, held out no temptation to a British writer to suppress or disguise the truth of his history.

same work he says, that in his time the Britons had not one writer of their history, because they were then illiterate, and even the learned men of their island committed not the remembrance of events to books.* Ere, however, we enter upon the immediate defence of the ancient history of the Irish, it will not be foreign from the purpose to remark, that Dr. Ledwich has not scrupled to admit that "Ireland, in the sixth and succeeding centuries, possessed a literary reputation, which is proved by indisputable evidence."+

34. The first substantial fact to be proved in this controversy is, that the Milesian colonists were descended from Magog, one of the seven sons of Japhet, mentioned by Moses, although the sacred annalist have not given us the name of any one of his sons, as he did the sons of some of his brothers; and that Magog and his sons were the founders of the Scythian nation. This position of the Irish annalists is most pointedly confirmed by the words of the Jewish historian, which place so much of it out of the imputation of fiction, as brings the Scythians from Magog. In speaking of the peopling of the world after the diversity of tongues and the consequent apportionment of the earth amongst the grand-children and great-grand children of Noah, he says that Magog established a colony, and that the people were from him called Magogians, and by themselves Scythians.

35. The chronologers, bards, or ministrels of Ireland have sometimes called their ancestors Pani, Phæni, or Phænicians, which may, at the first blush, import a contradiction. Some

Quia nullam peritiam habuerunt, neque ullam commemorationem posuerunt in libris doctores illius insula Brittanniæ. Nen. Hist. apud Bertram, Hauneæ 1757. He being our first British historian, might thus have as effectually overset the whole substance of English history. + Led. Ant. 2.

From the rapid increase of population in the first ages after the deluge it is evident, that Moses, in his account of the genealogy of some of Noah's descendants, has omitted to mention far the greater number of them in the third and fourth degrees. More circumstances are evidently omitted than recorded by the sacred penman. It follows not, that facts omitted by Moses could not be preserved and handed down to posterity by other means. The Irish annalist gives the names of three sons of Magog, viz. Baath, Jobbath, and Fa thoeta; and Keating, p. 29, gives these names from the book of Invasions, " upon whose authority," says he, "we may depend; for the whole account is faithfully collected and transcribed from the most valuable and authentic chronicles of the Irish affairs, particularly from that choice volume, called the book of Dhroma Sneachta, or the white book, that was written before St. Patrick first arrived in Ireland to propagate christianity in that country." § Jos. 1. i. c. vii.

authors have enumerated fifty different settlements, or subdivisions, or colonies of the great Scythian nation or tribe.* They occasionally assumed this denomination from Fenius, or Feniusa Farsa, a Scythian prince, the grandson of Magog, whom they represent as a most wise, virtuous, and particularly learned prince, that established seminaries for the instruction of youth in the Hebrew and other languages, and to whom they attribute the invention of letters.†

36. His son Niul, during his father's life, went into Egypt, where he married a daughter of Pharao, who gave him a district on the borders of the Red sea, and that Niul rendered the Israelites great services, by supplying them with provisions, when they were led through the Red sea from Caperchiroth. Upon Niul's expressing his apprehension‡ of the vengeance of his father-in-law, Moses offered him a settlement with his own people in the land to which he was leading them. The offer was declined; but by the advice of Moses, the annalists tell us, that Niul seized some vessels then lying off the harbour, and moved lower down the Red sea with the principal part of his family, until the fate of Pharao and his host became known. He then returned home, where he died respected both by the Egyptians and strangers. His grandson Sru was afterwards forced to flee from that territory by a descendant of Pharao, who threatened to revenge himself upon these settlers for their ancestors having favoured the escape of his enemies, and been accessary

*Such was the consequence of the Scythian establishment, that the period of time between the flood and the commencement of the Grecian history, was called the Scythian age. It continued down to the time of the Roman emperors to be considered a high honour to trace descent from them, as appears by the eulogy which Justin made of them. He wrote under Antoninus Pius, and, asja Roman, was little disposed to commend those whom it was the arrogant fashion of that nation to deem barbarians. "The Scythians themselves always remained either free from the attacks of foreign powers, or unsubdued by them; they drove Darius, the Persian monarch, out of Sythia by an ignominious flight. They killed Cyrus and his whole army. They fought with like success against Zopyron, one of Alexander's generals, and destroyed him and all his forces. They had heard indeed of the arms of the Romans, but had never felt them."

+ Porphyry, according to Eusebius, makes Sanchoniathe writing his Phoenician history 800 years before the siege of Troy, (De Prep, Evang. 1. x. c. 3.) So inaccurate was this heathen Greek in his chronology.

Herodotus informs us, that the Phoenicians, who furnished Xerxes with 300 vessels, had a tradition, that their ancestors had formerly inhabited the coasts of the Red sea, 1. vii. c. 89.