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T

CHA P. X.

Conclufion.

HE reader is now in poffeffion of the history

of Ireland, as collected from ancient records by Keating: The author of this vindication has made no addition to the original Keating except fuch paffages he had paffed over; as in the chapter of the Tuatha-Dadann, because that paffage is a proof that the Omanite Scythians were well acquainted with, and mixed with the Touranian or Tranfoxane Scythians, and called them by the Persian name, viz. Touran, and in the chapter Milefius, it is evident, that they knew them by the Arabian name alfo, viz. Frange or Farangah.

There are many ancient records unnoticed by Keating, ftill worthy of being known: the hiftorical events are detailed in various manners; names and anecdotes are interfperfed, that would tend to fupport the general history. If all these were collected and translated by a judicious hand, they might throw great lights on the ancient hif tories of the Eaft and of the West.

In the course of this work, the reader will observe that no pofitive references have been drawn from Etymology; it has only been admitted when accompanied with hiftorical evidences, or ancient authorities, or fupported by other concurrent circumstances; in fuch cafes, the light afforded by Etymology, is not to be rejected.

The Irish history is uniform throughout: it bears no affinity with that of any of the Celtic nations; it differs from that of the Walsh or Britons, as much as the languages of the two people do at this day.

day. It differs from that of the Goths or Teutones in every particular. Here we hear nothing of Odin or his fon Skiold, yet Odin is faid by Mon. Mallet, to have been the fupreme God of the Scythians a). The Diar or priefts of Odin, do indeed bear fome affinity in name with the Draci of Ireland and the Daru of the Perfian Ghebres: and Oide in the Irish fignifies a teacher, from whence probably Odin derived his name: but the Diar or Drottar of Odin, were Lay-Lords as well as priests, an order of men unknown to the Pagan Irifh.

It has been eroneoufly afferted by Lhuyd and others, that there is a real affinity between the languages of the Irifh and Walfh, that they are in great part radically the fame. Lhuyd has fhewn that many names of places in South Britain and in Wales, the meaning of which is loft in the Welch language, can only be explained from words now extant in the Irifh or Erfe, and confeffes, that he is of opinion the Irifh did inhabit Britain before the Walth; that they were the old original Celts, and that the Cymri or Welfh, were another and different race of Celts, a branch of the Celtic Cimbri, who fucceeded the other and drove them northward but this is mere conjecture. The ingenious and accurate tranflator of Mallet has collated fpecimens of the Pater Nofter in all the Celtic and Gothic dialects; and after many learned obfervations on thefe dialects, he acknowledges,

(a) Northern Antiq. p. 60. Mallet was mifled by the Byzantine hiftorians who have confounded the Goths, Hunns, &c. with the Scythians, as we have fhewn in a former part of this work.

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that he cannot think the Irish and the Walsh equally derived from one common Celtic stock; at least not in the fame uniform manner as any two branches of the Gothic: Scarce any resemblance appears between them, fays he, fo that if the learned will have them to be ftreams from one common fountain, it must be allowed, that one or both of them have been greatly polluted in their course, and received large inlets from fome other channel (b). The hiftory before us has fhewn, that they were originally drawn from one fountain head; this was the point du partage, (the Caspian fea) the streams from it flowed in directions diametrically oppofite, and did not unite till they met in the Weft of Europe (c).

We have taken upon us to fay, that our Magogian Scythians were the original Phænicians-it will be asked, where are the remains of the fine arts of the Phænicians to be met with in this country-where are the temples, the colonades, &c.? -to this I anfwer, that the Greeks confounded the Phænicians with the Canaanites; and that our Scythians were the carriers of their merchandize, their navigators; were acknowledged as fubjects, but never admitted a fhare in the government, or to the rank of Nobleffe. They had the ufe of letters, a knowledge of aftronomy, of marine astronomy in particular, and of navigation; but had no knowledge of the fine arts, their religion forbid it. If the King of Great Britain was to fend

(b) Northern Antiquities. Tranflator's preface, p. xli. (c) The Liber Lecanus calls the defcendants of Fenius, Feinoice muirituadh. Fenicians of the Northera fea, (i. e, the Cafpian fea).

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his whole navy to North America, with orders never to return, would the fettlements formed by our admirals or captains, or by their crews, ever produce an elegant piece of architecture; yet every private man on board had feen St. Pauls, and Whitehall: could they form a column, or mould a cornice?

The Phænicians fent a numerous colony to Gaul: Where are the Tyrian or Sidonian monuments of grandeur to be found in that country? yet the Gauls learned the terms of ftate, and of the military art from the Phænicians, and adopted them. Hence Bochart has been misled, to think that the language of the Gauls had a great affinity with the Tyrian, (i. e. Canaanitish) but all those words, produced by Bochart, are as much Irish as Canaanitifh; yet no language differed more in fyntax than the Phænician Irish or BerlaPheni and the Canaanitifh. The Dictionaries of the old Irish are almoft the Dictionaries of the Chaldee Arabic and old Perfic, but the grammar differs very widely.

When the Scythians divided from the Perfians, and fettled in Touran, they did not cultivate architecture and build magnificent temples as the Perfians. did; yet thofe Touranian Scythians were a lettered people, as early as their brethren of Perfia. The Scythians retained, as long as poffible, the Patriarchal mode of worshipping the deity in open air, and of facrificing to him on altars of ftone, where the chiffel had made no impreffion, furrounded by pillars of unwrought ftones. The Perfians adopted the worship of fire in towers, and with sword in hand obliged our Scythians their ancient brethren to accept of this mode of wor

fhip (d). We accordingly find the fire tower in Ireland, and under the Perfian name of Aphrin. We find the names of the Persian Priests of the Ghebres, ftill exifting in the Irish language; we find the Perfian history, (fabulous or real) to be the history of the ancient Irish: can there be more required?

But our Scythians mixed with the Chaldæans and Canaanites, and from them formed a mixed religion; we according find all the fuperftitious terms of both Chaldæans and Canaanites, in divination, &c. &c. exifting at this day in the Irish language. We find alfo the Chaldæan names of their priests had once been common to the Irish: Thefe fhall be the fubject of the next chapter. Were thefe terms and names common to any of the Celtic nations? No! if they can be traced in the Celts or Goths, I will acknowledge myself to have been in the wrong-and the Irish history to be an impofition: but I fhall expect fomething more than argument to convince me of the error: fome productions of words or paffages from the

(d) Porro ex Shahriftani & Xenophonte & Herodoto conftat tam Perfas quam Scythas Sabias Solis cultores, & ignem facrum fervaffe ante tempora Zoroaftris. At cum ille novos ritus inftitueret, & ejus fuafu plurima Pyræa extruens Gushtafp, ad novos iftos ritus amicé invitaret vicinum Ts Turan feu Scythiæ orientalis Regem Arjafp (the Irish Eochadh Aincheann) ifte pro vetere religione Zelotes plané fuccenfuit, & propterea alterum bello invadens dicta Pyrea diruit, & folo æquavit, ad tales in Religione innovationes a Guthtafpe invitari renuens. Donec tanden victor evadens Gufhtafp, ea rurfus inftauravit, ut Megjdi (Aphrin) Hiftoricus Perfa in Guftafpis vita multis tradit.—A Scythis etiam feu Tartaris ignis hodie (ut & olim habetur facer : at non pari rituum apparatu fervatur. Hyde, Hift. Rel. Vet. Perf. p. 19.

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