mentioned it just now.

But it is not fo eafy to account, why the posterity of the righteous SEM, that great example of filial reverence, became flaves to another branch of the family of HAM.

Ir would not be worth while to lengthen this tedious letter, by fetting down any more of the contents of the history of the bible. Your lordship may please to call the fubftance of it to your mind, and your native candor and love of truth will oblige you then to confefs, that these sacred books do not aim, in any part of them, at any thing like univerfal chronology and hiftory. They contain a very imperfect account of the Ifraelites themselves; of their fettlement in the land of promife, of which, by the way, they never had entire, and scarce ever peaceable poffeffion; of their divifions, apoftafies, repentances, relapfes, triumphs, and defeats, under the occafional government of their judges, and under that of their kings; of the Galilean and Samaritan captivities, into which they were carried by the kings of Affyria, and of that which was brought on the remnant of this people when the kingdom of Judah was destroyed by thofe princes who governed the empire founded on the union of Niniveh and Babylon. These things are all related, your

lord

lordship knows, in a very fummary and confufed manner: and we learn fo little of other nations by these accounts, that if we did not borrow fome light from the traditions of other nations, we fhould scarce understand them. One particular obfervation, and but one, I will make, to fhew what knowledge in the history of mankind, and in the computation of time, may be expected from thefe books. The Affyrians were their neighbours, powerful neighbours, with whom they had much and long to do. Of this empire therefore, if of any thing, we might hope to find fome fatisfactory accounts. What do we find? The fcripture takes no notice of any Affyrian kingdom, till juft before the time when prophane history makes that empire to end. Then we hear of PHUL, of TEGLATH-PHALASSER,who was perhaps the fame person, and of SALMANASER, who took Samaria in the twelfth of the aera of NABONASSER, that is, twelve years after the Affyrian empire was no more. SENACHERIB fucceeds to him, and ASSERHADDON to SENACHERIB. What shall we fay to this apparent contrariety? If the filence of the bible creates aftrong prefumption against the first, may not the filence of prophane authority create fome against the fecond Affyrian monarchs? The pains that are taken to perfuade, that

there

there is room enough between SARDANAPA LUS and CYRUs for the fecond, will not refolve the difficulty. Something much more plaufible may be faid, but even this will be hypothetical, and liable to great contradiction. So that, upon the whole matter, the scriptures are fo far from giving us light into general hiftory, that they encrease the obscurity even of those parts to which they have the nearest relation. We have therefore neither in prophane nor in facred authors fuch authentic, clear, diftinct, and full accounts of the originals of antient nations, and of the great events of thofe ages that are commonly called the firft ages, as deferve to go by the name of history, or as afford fufficient materials for chronology and history.

I MIGHT now proceed to obferve to your lordship how this has happened, not only by the neceffary confequences of human nature, and the ordinary courfe of human affairs, but by the policy, artifice, corruption, and folly of mankind. But this would be to heap digreffion upon digreffion, and to prefume too much on your patience. I fhall therefore content myself to apply these reflections on the state of antient history to the study of history, and to the method to be obferved in it; as foon as your lordship has rested yourself a little after reading, and I after writing fo long a letter.

OF

STUDY of HISTORY.

LETTER IV.

I. That there is in history fufficient authenticity to render it useful, notwithstanding all objections to the contrary.

II. Of the method and due reftrictions to be obferved in the ftudy of it.

WHE

HETHER the letter I now begin to write will be long or fhort, I know not: but I find my memory is refreshed, my imagination warmed, and matter flows in fo faft upon me, that I have not time to prefs it clofe. Since therefore you have provoked me to write, you must be content to take what follows.

I HAVE observed already that we are apt naturally to apply to ourselves what has happened to other men, and that examples take their force from hence; as well thofe which hiftory, as thofe which experience, offers to our reflection. What we do not believe to have happened therefore, we shall

not

not thus apply: and for want of the same application, fuch examples will not have the fame effect. Antient history, fuch antient history as I have described, is quite unfit therefore in this refpect to answer the ends that every reafonable man fhould propose to himself in this study; because fuch antient hiftory will never gain fufficient credit with any reasonable man. A tale well told, or a comedy or a tragedy well wrought up, may have a momentary effect upon the mind, by heating the imagination, furprizing the judgment, and affecting ftrongly the paffions. The Athenians are faid to have been tranfported into a kind martial phrenzy by the reprefentation of a tragedy of AESCHYLUS, and to have marched under this influence from the theatre to the plains of MARATHON. These momentary impreffions might be managed, for aught I know, in fuch manner as to contribute a little, by frequent repetitions of them, towards maintaining a kind of habitual contempt of folly, deteftation of vice, and admiration of virtue in well-policed commonwealths. But then these impreffions cannot be made, nor this little effect be wrought, unless the fables bear an appearance of truth. When they bear this appearance, reafon connives at the innocent fraud of imagination; reafon difpenfes,

in