In proportion as every family increased, by the birth of children, and their marrying into other families, they extended their little domain, and formed, by insensible degrees, towns and cities. From these different views, and others of the like nature, arose the peculiar customs of nations, as well as their rights, which are infinitely various,

These societies, growing in process of time very numerous, and the families being divided into several branches, each of which had its head, whose different interests and characters might interrupt the general tranquillity; it was neces sary to intrust one person with the government of the whole, in order to unite all these chiefs or heads under a single authority, and to maintain the public peace by a uniform administration. The idea which men still retained of the paternal government, and the happy effects they had experienced from it, prompted them to choose from among their wisest and most virtuous men, bim in whom they had observed the most tender and fatherly disposition. Neither ambition nor cabal had the least share in this choice; probity alone, and the reputation of virtue and equity, decided on these occasions, and gave the preference to the most worthy.*

To heighten the lustre of their newly acquired dignity, and enable them the better to put the laws in execution, as well as to devote themselves entirely to the public good, to defend the state against the invasions of their neighbours, and the factions of discontented citizens, the title of king was bestowed upon them, a throne was erected, and a sceptre put into their hands; homage was paid them, officers were assigned, and guards appointed for the security of their persons; tributes were granted; they were invested with full powers to administer justice, and for this purpose were armed with a sword, in order to restrain injustice, and punish crimes.

At first, every city had its particular king, who, being more solicitous to preserve his dominion than to enlarge it, confined his ambition within the limits of his native country. But the almost unavoidable feuds which break out between neighbours, jealousy against a more powerful king, the turbulent and restless spirit of a prince, his martial disposition, or thirst of aggrandizing himself, and displaying his abilities, gave rise to wars which frequently ended in the entire subjection of the vanquished, whose cities were by that means possessed by the victor, and insensibly increased his dominions. Thus, a first victory paving a way to a second, and making a prince more powerful and enterprising, several cities and provinces were united under one monarch, and formed kingdoms of a greater or less extent, according to the degree of ardour with which the victor had pushed his conquests.

The ambition of some of these princes being too vast to confine itself within a single kingdom, it broke over all bounds, and spread universally like a torrent, or the ocean; swallowed up kingdoms and nations; and gloried in depriving princes of their dominions who had not done them the least injury; in carrying fire and sword into the most remote countries, and in leaving, every where, bloody traces of their progress! Such was the origin of those famous empires which included a great part of the world.

Princes made various uses of victory, according to the diversity of their dispositions or interests. Some considering themselves as absolute masters of the conquered, and imagining they were sufficiently indulgent in sparing their lives, bereaved them as well as their children, of their possessions, their country, and their liberty; subjected them to a most severe captivity; employed then in those arts which are necessary for the support of life, in the lowest and most servile offices of the house, in the painful toils of the field; and frequently forced them, by the most inhuman treatment, to dig in mines, and ran

* Quos ad fastigium hujus majestatis non ambitio popularis, sed spectata inter bonos moderatio provehe bat. Justin. l. i. c. 1.

↑ Fines imperii tueri magis quam proferre mos erat. Intra suam cuique patriam regna finiebantur.-Justin. 1. i. c. 1.

Domitis proximis, cum accessione virium fortior ad alios transiret, et proxima quæque victoria instrumeatuin sequentis esset, totius orientis populos subegit. Justin. ibid B

sack the bowels of the earth, merely to satiate their avarice; and hence man kind were divided into freemen and slaves, masters and bondmen.

Others introduced the custom of transporting whole nations into new coun tries, where they settled them, and gave them lands to cultivate.

Other princes, again, of more gentle dispositions, contented themselves with only obliging the vanquished nations to purchase their liberties, and the enjoyInent of their laws and privileges, by annual tributes laid on them for that purpose; and sometimes they would suffer kings to sit peaceably on their thrones, upon condition of their paying them some kind of homage.

But such of these monarchs as were the wisest and ablest politicians, thought it glorious to establish a kind of equality between the nations newly conquered and their other subjects, granting the former almost all the rights and privi leges which the others enjoyed. And by this means a great number of nations, that were spread over different and far distant countries, constituted, in some measure, but one city, at least but one people.

Thus I have given a general and concise idea of mankind, from the earliest monuments which history has preserved on this subject, the particulars whereof I shall endeavour to relate, in treating of each empire and nation. I shall not touch upon the history of the Jews nor that of the Romans. I begin with the Egyptians and Carthaginians, because the former are of very great antiquity, and as the history of both is less blended with that of other nations; whereas those of other states are more interwoven, and sometimes succeed one another.

REFLECTIONS ON THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF GOVERNMENTS.

THE multiplicity of governments established among the different nations of whom I am to treat, exhibits, at first view, to the eye and to the understanding, a spectacle highly worthy our attention, and shows the astonishing variety which the sovereign of the world has constituted in the empires that divide it, by the diversity of inclinations and manners observable in each of those nations. We herein perceive the characteristic of the Deity, who, ever resembling himself in all the works of his creation, takes a pleasure to paint and display therein, under a thousand shapes, an infinite wisdom, by a wonderful fertility, and an admirable simplicity: a wisdom that can form a single work, and compose a whole, perfectly regular, from all the different parts of the universe, and all the productions of nature, notwithstanding the infinite manner in which they are multiplied and diversified.

In the East, the form of government that prevails is the monarchical; which being attended with a majestic pomp, and a haughtiness almost inseparable from supreme authority, naturally tends to exact a more distinguished respect, and a more entire submission, from those in subjection to its power. When we consider Greece, one would be apt to conclude, that liberty and a republican spirit had breathed themselves into every part of that country, and had inspired almost all the different people who inhabited it with a violent desire of independence; diversified, however, under various kinds of government, but all equally abhorrent of subjection and slavery. In one part of Greece the supreme power is lodged in the people, and is what we call a democracy; in another, it is vested in the assembly of wise men, and those advanced in years, to which the name of aristocracy is given; in a third republic, the government is lodged in a small number of select and powerful persons and is called oligarchy; in others, again, it is a mixture of all these parts, or of several of them, and sometimes even of regal power.

It is manifest, that this variety of governments, which all tend to the same point, though by different ways, contributes very much to the beauty of the universe; and that it can proceed from no other being than Him who governs it with infinite wisdom, and who diffuses universally an order and symmetry, the effect of which is to unite the several parts together, and by that means to form one work of the whole. For although in this diversity of governments,

some are better than others, we nevertheless may very justly affirm, that there is no power but of God; and that the powers that be are ordained of God.* But neither every use that is made of this power, nor every means for the attainment of it, are from God, though every power be of him: and when we see these governments degenerating sometimes to violence, factions, despotic sway, and tyranny, it is wholly to the passions of mankind that we must ascribe those irregularities, which are directly opposite to the primitive institution of states, and which a superior wisdom afterward reduces to order, always making them contribute to the execution of his designs, full of equity and justice.

This scene or spectacle, as I before observed, highly deserves our attention and admiration, and will display itself gradually, in proportion as I advance in relating the ancient history, of which it seems to me to form an essential part. It is with the view of making the reader attentive to this object, that I think it incumbent on me to add to the account of facts and events, what regards the manners and customs of nations; because these show their genius and character, which we may call, in some measure, the soul of history. For to take notice only of eras and events, and confine our curiosity and researches to them, would be imitating the imprudence of a traveller, who, in visiting many countries, should content himself with knowing their exact distance from each other, and consider only the situation of the several places, the manner of building, and the dresses of the people, without giving himself the least trouble to converse with the inhabitants, in order to inform himself of their genius, manners, disposition, laws, and governments. Homer, whose design was to give, in the person of Ulysses, a model of a wise and intelligent traveller, tells us, at the very opening of his Odyssey, that his hero informed himself very exactly of the manners and customs of the several people whose cities he visited; in which he ought to be imitated by every person who applies himself to the study of history.

A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF ASIA.

As Asia will hereafter be the principal scene of the history we are now entering upon, it may not be improper to give the reader such a general idea of it, as may communicate some knowledge of its most considerable provinces and cities.

The northern and eastern parts of Asia are less known in ancient history. To the north are ASIATIC SARMATIA and ASIATIC SCYTHIA, which answer to Tartary.

Sarmatia is situated between the river Tanais, which divides Europe and Asia, and the river Rha or Volga. Scythia is divided into two parts; the one on this, the other on the other side of mount Imaus. The nations of Scythia bes! known to us are the Sace and the Massageta.

The most eastern parts are, SERICA, Cathay; SINARUM REGIO, China; and INDIA. This last country was better known anciently than the two former. It was divided into two parts; the one on this side the river Gunges, included between that river and the Indus, which now composes the dominions of the Great Mogul; the other part was that on the other side of the Ganges.

The remaining part of Asia, of which much greater mention is made in history, may be divided into five or six parts, taking it from east to west.

I. The GREATER ASIA, which begins at the river Indus. The chief provinces are, GEDROSIA, CARMANIA, ARACHOSIA, DRANGIANA, BACTRIANA, the capital of which was Bactria; SOGDIANA, MARGIANA, HYRCANIA, near the Caspian sea; PARTHIA, MEDIA, the city Ecbatana: PERSIA, the cities of Persepolis and Elymais; SUSIANA, the city of Susa; ASSYRIA, the city of Nineveh, situated on the river Tigris; MESOPOTAMIA, between the Euphrates and Tigris; BABYLONIA, the city of Babylon on the river Euphrates.

Rom. xiii. 1.

II. ASIA BETWEEN THE PONTUS EUXINUS AND THE CASPIAN SEA. Therem we may distinguish four provinces. 1. COLCHIS, the river Phasis, and mount Caucasus. 2. IBERIA. 3. ALBANIA; which two last-mentioned provinces now form part of Georgia. 4. The greater ARMENIA. This is separated from the lesser by the Euphrates; from Mesopotamia by mount Taurus; and from Assyria by mount Niphates. Its cities are Artaxata and Tigranocerta; and the river Araxes runs through it.

III. ASIA MINOR. This may be divided into four or five parts, according to the different situation of its provinces.

1. Northward, on the shore of the Pontus Euxinus; PONTUS, under three different names. Its cities are Trapezus, not far from which are the people called Chalybes or Chaldai: Themiscyra, a city on the river Thermodoon, famous for having been the abode of the Amazons. PAPHLAGONIA, BITHYNIA; the cities of which are, Nicia, Prusa, Nicomedia, Chalcedon, opposite to Constantinople, and Heraclea.

2. Westward, going down by the shores of the Egean sea; MYSIA, of which there are two. The LESSER, in which stood Cyzicus, Lampsacus, Parium, Abydos opposite to Sestos, from which it is separated only by the Dardanelles; Dardanum, Sigæum, Ilion, or Troy; and almost on the opposite side, the little island of Tenedos. The rivers are the Arsepe, the Granicus, and the Simois. Mount Ida. This region is sometimes called Phrygia Minor, of which Troas part.

is

THE GREATER MYSIA. Antandros, Trajanopolis, Adramyttium, Pergamus. Opposite to this Mysia is the island of LESBOS; the cities of which are, Methymna, where the celebrated Arion was born; and Mitylene, which has given to the whole island its modern name, Metelin.

EOLIA. Elea, Cuma, Phocæc.

IONIA. Smyrna, Clazomena, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Miletus.

CARIA. Laodicea, Antiochia, Magnesia, Alabanda. The river Maander. DORIS. Halicarnassus, Cnidos.

Opposite to these four last countries are the islands CHIOS, SAMOS, PATMOS, Cos; and lower towards the south, Rhodes.

3. Southward, along the Mediterranean :

LYCIA. The cities of which arc, Telmessus, Patara. The river Xanthus. Here begins mount Taurus, which runs the whole length of Asia, and assumes different names, according to the several countries through which it passes. PAMPHYLIA. Perga, Aspendus, Sida.

CILICIA. Seleucia, Corycium, Tarsus, on the river Cydnus. Opposite to Cilicia is the island of Cyprus. The cities are, Salamis, Amathus, and Paphos. 4. Along the banks of the Euphrates, going up northward:

THE LESSER ARMENIA. Comana, Arabyza, Melitene, Satala. The river Melas, which empties itself into the Euphrates.

5. Inlands:

CAPPADOCIA. The cities of which are, Neocæsarea, Comana, Pontica, Sebastia, Sebastopolis, Diocæsarea, Cæsarea, otherwise called Mazaca, and Tyana. LYCAONIA and ISAURIA. Iconium, Isauria.

PISIDIA. Seleucia, and Antiochia of Pisidia.

LYDIA. Its cities are, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia. The rivers are, Caystrus, and Hermus, into which the Pactolus empties itself. Mount Spylus and Tmolus.

PHRYGIA MAJOR. Synnada, Apamia.

IV. SYRIA, now named Suria, called under the Roman emperors, the East, the chief provinces of which are,

1. PALESTINE, by which name is sometimes understood all Judea. Its cities are, Jerusalem, Samaria, and Cæsarea Palestina. The river Jordan waters it. The name of Palestine is also given to the land of Canaan, which extended

.

along the Mediterranean; the chief cities of which are Gaza, Ascalon, Azotus, Accaron, and Gath.

2. PHŒNICIA, whose cities are, Ptolemais, Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus. Its mountains, Libanus and Anti-Libanus.

3. SYRIA, properly so called, or ANTIOCHENA; the cities whereof are, Antiochia, Apamia, Laodicea, and Seleucia.

4. COMAGENA. The city of Samosata.

5. CELOSYRIA. The cities are, Zeugma, Thapsacus, Palmyra, and Damas

cus.

V. ARABIA PETREA. Its cities are, Petra and Bostra. Mount Casius. DESERTA. FELIX.

OF RELIGION.

It is observable, that in all ages and regions, the several nations of the world; however various and opposite in their characters, inclinations, and manners, have always united in one essential point; the inherent opinion of an adoration due to a supreme Being, and of external methods necessary to evince such a belief. Into whatever country we cast our eyes, we find priests, altars, sacrifices, festivals, religious ceremonies, temples, or places consecrated to religious wor ship. In every people we discover a reverence and awe of the divinity; a homage and honour paid to him; and an open profession of an entire dependence upon him in all their undertakings and necessities, in all their adversities and langers. Incapable of themselves to penetrate futurity, and to ascertain events in their own favour, we find them intent upon consulting the divinity by oracles, and by other methods of a like nature; and to merit his protection by prayers, vows, and offerings. It is by the same supreme authority they believe the most solemn treaties are rendered inviolable. It is this that gives sanction to their oaths; and, to it by imprecations is referred the punishment of such crimes and enormities as escape the knowledge and power of men. On their private occasions, voyages, journeys, marriages, diseases, the divinity is stil invoked. With him their every repast begins and ends. No war is declared, no battle fought, no enterprise formed, without his aid being first implored; to which the glory of the success is constantly ascribed by public acts of thanksgiving, and by the oblation of the most precious of the spoils, which they never fail to set apart as the indispensable right of the divinity.

They never vary in regard to the foundation of this belief. If some few persons, depraved by false philosophy, presume from time to time to rise up against this doctrine, they are immediately disclaimed by the public voice. They continue singular and alone, without making parties, or forming sects; the whole weight of the public authority falls upon them; a price is set upon their heads; while they are universally regarded as execrable persons, the bane of civil society, with whom it is criminal to have any kind of commerce. So general, so uniform, so perpetual a consent of all the nations of the universe, which neither the prejudice of the passions, the false reasoning of some philosophers, nor the authority and example of certain princes, have ever been able to weaken or vary, can proceed only from a first principle, which pervades the nature of man; from an inherent sense implanted in his heart by the Author of his being, and from an original tradition as ancient as the world itself. Such were the source and origin of the religion of the ancients; truly worthy of man, had he been capable of persisting in the purity and simplicity of these first principles: but the errors of the mind and the vices of the heart, those sad effects of the corruption of human nature, have strangely disfigured their original beauty. There are still some faint rays, some brilliant sparks of light, which a general depravity has not been able utterly to extinguish; but they are incapable of dispelling the profound darkness of the gloom which prevails almost universally, and presents nothing to view but absurdities, follies, extravagancies, licentiousness, and disorder; in a word, a hideous chaos of frantic excesses and enormous vices.