STUDY OF HISTORY. (Continued from Page 109.) THE firft fettlements of the children of Noah is a fubject which is very apt to lead thofe who inveftigate it, into conjectures, chiefly derived from the fimilitude of names; a guide too deceitful to be trusted to fo far, as it has been by fome, who, in fuch an undertaking, have fought out the names of all the nations, countries, rivers, mountains, and cities, that bore but the fighteft affinity to thofe of the founders of the nations they were at a lofs for. Others, have therefore, taken the precaution to lay down fome rules for the more fure proceeding in this inquiry, and which may be reduced to two; first, to follow chiefly the account given by Mofes, affifted by the light which may be had from profane authors; fecondly, to feek for the original plantations in an orderly difpofition, looking for the families where we find the nation, and for the nations where we find the families: but the notion which has been entertained by many, that thofe nations whofe families are named by Mofes are moftly to be fought for in the neighbourhood of Judæa, is too objectionable to be admitted as a rule; for it was plainly the defign of that hiftorian to give us an account of the original of all nations in the world, as far as he had any knowledge of their extent. Therefore, as the fettlements of the different nations, and their derivations from Shem and Ham, are to be found only in the fcripture, and the exact boundaries of them impoffible to settle, nothing could be faid of them but what the reader may there fatisfy himself of; it is therefore from Gomer and his brother Magog that we can begin with any degree of precision. As the Gomerians bent their courfe towards Europe, the defcendants of Magog moved towards Mofcovy and Tartary, as we shall fee, as far as the borders of Cathai: thus was all Europe, and the far greater part of Afia, peopled by thefe two brothers; Europe almost wholly by the Celtes or Gomerians, and Afia by the offspring of Magog, or the Scythians. A. C. 1096. Jofephus in his hiftory pofitively afferts, that Gomer, the eldest fon of Japhet, was the father of the Gomerites, called by the Greeks, Galatians, who were the Gauls of Afia Minor, inhabiting part of Phrygia*. Of this opinion is the learned Bochart, in which he is followed by authors of great note. And if it be right, thofe who derive the Cimmerians or Cimbri from Gomer, have fome grounds for it; the Cimmerians feeming to be the fame people with the Gauls or Celtes, under a different name: and it is obfervable, that the Welsh, who are defcended from the Gauls, ftill call themselves Kumero, or Cymro and Cumeri. The authority of Jofephus in this point has been univerfally received, both by antient fathers and modern authors, when he affirms the Celtes or Gauls to be defcended from Gomer, and the Scythians from Magog, his next brother; for, independent of the Jewish hiftorian, we have this proof, that notwithstanding all the various denominations the Gomerians have undergone, and which feem rather to have been given to them by other nations than affumed by themfelves, they have ftill preferved their original name of Gomro, or Cymro, retaining it to this day, in all thofe countries where the Celtic or Gomerian language is preferved, which is therefore called Gomeraeg, or Cymbraeg; that is, the language of Gomer: and that the old Celtic or old German language, is almoft the fame that is ftill preferved by the Welth, has been fo fully proved by numberlefs antiquarians, that it will be fufficient to refer the reader to them; and that it was univerfally spoken through Europe, is no lefs plain from the fame authors; and it is to be obferved, that even the Galatians, who were fettled in Leffer Afia fo many centuries before, are affirmed by St. Jerome to have fpoke the fame language with the inhabitants of the province of Treves, which was not confined to Treves, but common to Gaul and Germany. A farther corroboration we have from Cluverius, who proves that the antient Celtic nation, which, according to him, included the regions of Illyria, Germany, Gallia, Spain, the Britannic and other northern ifles, did all fpeak the fame language. As the respective tribes of these two brothers, Gomer and Magog, began to fpread, thofe of Gomer may be reafonably fuppofed to have extended themfelves towards the north-weft, and thofe of Magog towards the north-eaft, into both Scythias, where we find the name of Mogli, which was that of the antient Mofcovites and Tartarians, and feems only a corruption of Magogli, or the fons of Magog. On the parting of thefe two bodies, the Gomerians, who had taken the left, infenfibly fpread themselves weftwards, towards Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, and fo quite up to Spain, and it was not till after their fettling in Europe that they changed their name to Celtes: and the names of Cymerians and Cymbrians, which feem only a corruption of Gomerians, was given to none of the Lluid. Father Pezron. Lewis. + Cam. Brit. Joach. Perion. Orig. ling. Celt. Brierw. Inq. in Orig. ling. Lluydd Davis & Robert. Grammer. Antiq. Germ. L. i. C. 6. Celtes but thofe who inhabited the more northern regions of Europe, above the Euxine fea and the north of the Danube. Thus that part of Germany now known by the name of Holftein was called Cymbria Kerfonefus. The furprising resemblance between the languages fpoken by all the above mentioned nations, particularly between our Welsh and the old Celtic, is a strong prefumption in favour of the mode in which we have here endeavoured to account for the origin of the European nations, being as a fact granted, but which cannot be accounted for but on the fuppofition of a caufe fo extremely antecedent; the mode of proof above alluded to, that of a collateral evidence from exiting facts, as the confequences of previous events. Refpecting the geography of the antient Celtes, it is not eafy to fix the exact boundaries which divided them from the European Scythians: it will be neceffary only to observe, that they extended from the Danube, their fuppofed boundaries, to the fartheft part of Spain and Portugal. They were bounded on the fouth by the Mediterranean fea, and on the weft and north-weft by the western and northern ocean; for it is probable they did not advance towards Sweden and the other more northern regions till they found themselves. too ftraitened in the more pleasant climates of the fouth, which did not happen, in all likelihood, till fome centuries after their migration into Europe: it is however certain, that, in the time of Julius Cæfar, not only they, but also the northern islands of Britain, Ireland, and even Iceland, formed part of Celtic Gallia. Celtic Gallia. Accordingly Clu verius, though he reduces its extent within narrower bounds than Ortelius, yet proves it to have contained the countries of Gaul, Illyricum, now Croatia and Dalmatia, Germany, Spain, and the British islands; and adds, that they had all the fame language, though fplit into various dialects, and formed but one large nation, though divided, in procefs of time, into feveral different ftates, under various forms of government*. Though our information refpecting the antiquity of the Celtes feems pretty well founded, and fupported by fufficient evidence of its exceeding greatly that of the Egyptians, Phrygians, and even the Scythians, it must be owned that our knowledge of their government, laws, and hiftory, falls vaftly fhort of what we are in poffeffion of respect ing the two firfl of the three laft mentioned nations; perhaps as much owing to the flownefs and length of time in their migration into Europe, as to the deficiency of records refpecting them. The religion of the Celtes was very like that of the Scythians; that is, they neither built temples, nor erected ftatues to the Deity; which they efteemed fo derogatory to him, that they even demolished them whereever they could, planting large fpacious groves inftead of them, which being open at the top and fides, were, in their opinion, more acceptable to the divine and unconfined Being whom they adored in this respect, their religion feems to have been just and praife-worthy at the firft, and not unlike that of the Perfians, and difciples of Zoroafter: they only differed from them in making the oak, instead of fire, the emblem of the Deity; in chufing of that tree, above all others, to plant their groves with, and attributing feveral fupernatural virtues both to its wood, leaves, fruit, and mifeltoe, all which were made ufe of in their facrifices, and other parts of their worship: this was alfo the practice of the Gauls and Germans on each fide of the Rhine; but after they had adopted the idolatrous fuper Antiq. Germ, L. i, C. 2. Vol. I. ftition of the Romans and other nations, and the apotheofis of their heroes and princes, they worshipped much after the fame manner. Jupiter under the name of Taran, which in the Celtic fignifies thunder; Mercury alfo, and Mars, with the rest of thofe deities, were admitted, though fubordinate to the fupreme one. The character given of the Celtes by antient authors, is that of extreme love of liberty, which made them prefer the worst deaths to an ignominious flavery, and which was no lefs common with the women than the men : their faithfulness and love of juftice, their extraordinary hofpitality, which obliged them to keep open houfe for all ftrangers, their conjugal fidelity, refpect to their parents, princes, and chiefs, are also highly spoken of, as alfo their unanimity, courage, and hardinefs, under all difficulties; but among their vices are mentioned, cruelty, particularly in refpect of human facrifices, fuperftition, extravagance in feafting, contempt of learning, drunkennefs, and ferocity; though these characters, fo very much the reverfe of the former, were rather more justly to be attributed to the Gauls. Of the Gauls. THE Gauls, being really the fame people with the Celtes, retained their primitive name of Gomerai, as thofe do who ftill keep up their antient language in its purity, efpecially the northern Welth: other names they were known by, fuch as they either affumed upon fome particular occafions, or fuch as other nations gave them. Of the first kind were thofe which are of Celtic extraction, as Celt and Gaul, which fignity brave and warlike; Armoric, maritime. Of the latter kind were the names of Belgia, Aquitania, and Galia Propria, which Cæfar gave to the three different parts he Kk diftinguished all Gaul into. When the Gauls fpread wider from each other, their original tongue branched out into different dialects, and confequently the appellations affumed by the various ftates became extremely numerous, which when a farther alteration in their language took place, changed into thofe they are now known by. Extent of Gaul. We have feen that the antient Celtes were in poffeffion of the greateft part of Europe: there is fcarce a province or part of it, in which they have not left fome evident monument of themfelves, either in the names of cities, towns, cantons, or of rivers, lakes, and mountains; notwithstanding which, it muft not be fuppofed they were all of the fame Celtic extract who inhabited thofe parts of Europe, either towards the fea fide, as Spain, Portugal, and the coafts of the Mediterranean, or towards the north-eaft, where they feem to have been fo blended with the Scythians and Sarmatians, that it is impoffible to affert their boundaries on that fide; all that can be concluded on is, that the Celtes or Gauls plainly appear to have been the firft that peopled that country. This obfervation leads to a folution of a queftion which may here be made; viz. how, as the Celtes or Gauls formed the greater part of all the Europeans, any part of Europe in particular, as Gallia, or France, came to be more eminently the feat of the Gauls? But when we confider that the first fettlers, as was obferved before, were al ways inclined to advance into the more fertile country, as well as more hofpitable climate, the more northern and Scythian people, in their encroachments, with greater eafe drove them ftill farther; and if it fhould have been a fact (what has been fuppofed, from the Greek writers calling Spain Inga, Iberia,) the weft: thefe were the limits of [To be continued.] THREE DAYS AT POTZDAM. (Continued from page 112.) Ifland of Potzdam. THE district and the town of Potzdam are fituated at the conflux of the rivers Havel and Nuth. The former of these rivers derives its fource from the north, in the territory of Mecklenburg Strelitz; whence, flowing in a direct fouthern courfe, it washes the banks of Oranienbourg, Spandau, and Potzdam, and continues its courfe to Havelberg, where it falls into the Elbe. The Nuth, rifing in the Electorate of Saxony, takes a northern courfe till it meets the Havel at Potzdam, where they mingle their ftreams, and, loft in the majestic Elbe, rush together into the German ocean. Various canals and lakes, deduced from the Havel and the Nuth, contribute with thofe united rivers to form an island of four German leagues, or about twenty-two Englifh miles in circuit, denominated the Werder, or Foreland, of Potzdam; in which is fituated the town of that name, with feven large villages, out-works, mills, &c. It may not be improper to fay a few words of this island before we proceed to the town of Potzdam. The diftrict, infulated by the Havel and its branches, as above mentioned, is connected with the main land by fix bridges in different parts. The fite of the country, though ftill flat and fandy, is how ever fuperior to that of Berlin, where the river Spree always reminds one of the " rura, quæ Liris quieta "Mordet aquâ taciturnus amnis ;" which with a flight alteration we fhall render by "Realms, where the lazy Spree with lin"g'ring train "Frets a ftill courfe along the fandy plain." Not fo the Havel:-generally dilated to a confiderable breadth, fometimes more contracted, but always brifk and clear, her lively current interfects and animates the face of the country. Nor is the landfcape undiverfified by the hillocks, if we may not call fome of them hills, rifing in fucceffion, prettily wooded with birch, pines, oaks, cedar, firs, elms, and other trees of fine growth; glens covered with coloured broom and heath, and matted with aromatic herbs; meadows of rich pafture, fields abounding with grain of all forts, beside vineyards and orchards, diverfify the face of the little ifland of Potzdam. The Havel is fo wide in one part, that a village, called Werder, rifes from the middle of it, and forms a picturefque object, by reafon of its infulated fituation. This village contains two hundred and eighteen dwelling houfes, and a thousand and twenty-five inhabitants, confifting of the invalid companies of the King's own Guards, with their families. A bridge over the Havel connects the inland with the main land; and at the foot of it upwards of two hundred and eighty vineyards, belonging to the village of Werder, and planted fo long ago as in the thirteenth century, extend along the banks of the river. The vintage produces annually eight hundred pipes of good wine. The abundance of vineyards in Germany, the produce of which affords a kind of wine fo very wholefome, and fo much liked by the English, has often induced me to wonder that no one ever attempted to cultivate the growth of that kind of grape in this country. The climate of many of thofe parts of Germany where the fine Rhenish and other grape arrives at fuch perfection being the fame precifely as that of many parts of England, it thould feem that, unless the nature of the air in this country, more humid than that of the continent, be found unfavourable to producing the proper quality in the juice, the propagating that kind of grape here might be attended with equal fuccefs of vintage. The Town of Potzdam. POTZDAM, formerly called in the Vandal tongue Pozdupimi, which fignifies "fituated amidft oaks," was originally built by the Vandals. It is not eafy to imagine a more ftriking and pleafing appearance than that which Potzdam affords. The town, which is very extentive, is built with the greatest exactness and fymmetry; the streets, long and fpacious, are formed by regular rows of houses of even height and projection, fronted with white |