pleasure, is alfo fent in its centuplicate form, to wifh any one a hundred pleafures. number 18,000 has not added of his own (as I much fufpect) the word (each) chacun; for no Chinese fabulous chronology that I have feen records fuch an age-But I could overlook the above ftupidity of Dr. Hager, he not being fufficiently acquainted with the English language, as he confeffes in his preface, if the fame page L did not contain a blunder of Chinese literature fill more grofs, by confounding the antient with the modern characters, and attributing to the latter that variety of forms which only belongs to the former.-The length of this Letter prevents me from entering upon this fubject, which will appear with greater propriety in my next, where I thall treat of the modern characters; and there the reader will fee with what audacity this blundering Doctor fupports his impenetrable ignorance, by making learned men appear as abettors and accomplices of his intolerable effrontery, by means of inGdiously mutilating and disfiguring quo tutions, and thus clothing his afinine jtupidity with the lion's Jkin.—I cannot, however, ditinis the fubject of antient characters, without promiting the reader additional obfercations at the end of this Letter, to fet forth in its true light the unparalleled ignorance concerning them, betrayed by Dr. Hager in a PROSPECTUS. I must not omit observing, that we meet in the Chiese chronologies (wo characters alluding to the reign of these first imaginary monarchs which have a great resemblance of sound and gure (a very uncommon case, indeed, in the Chinese language; though Dr. Hager, ibid., will have it to be very common), but are very different in their signification; I mean the characters Ko, each, and Ho, together, which is even pronounced Ko. These may have bn easily mistaken by the Chinese printers and engravers, or the European tanslators, who may have given the authers a meaning very contrary to their intention. 福 Fo (v), happinefs, fent to friends and others, to wish them a hundred happineffes. The above mentioned learned Emperor Lim-ti, however, left a memorable and permanent indication to pofterity of the preference which fome of the eight files of antient characters deferved above all others; nor did he neglect to fet forth the fuperiority which the modern Kiai-xu (see above,; 376) merited over them all, by cauling the five Chinese facred books, called Kim (w), to be engraven on fortyfix large marble flabs, in the ftyles Ta-chuen, Siao-chuen, and Li-xu, as well as in the moft claffical antient and modern ones, Ko-ten and Kiai-xu: (fee Mailla in the Chou king, by Mr. De Guignes, p. 393): there were expofed by his order to the public view on as many marble pedeftals before the South Gate of the Imperial College, A.C. 175. (See Mailla, tom. III, p. 499, of the Hiftory mentioned in Note c). Although all historians illa obferves, that he was not able mention this circumftance, F. Mato get information if any of these (v) The roader muit obferve, taat the fame character Fo is fometimes written only in one large form, in the modern Kui-xu, by the emperors of Chira, on fuperb alker theets, ornamented with the imperial dragons, and is then one of the higheft honoars they can' below to pretent any one with this character. The reader will find a curious anecdote concerning this letter Fo in the Lettres édifiantes, Rec. XXII. p. 284. (w) Thofe defrous of knowing more fully the contents of chefe facred books, or Kim, of the Chinete, muft confult the often quoted Mémoires-lee the Index, Vo X, at the word King. But others, unwilling to attempt the perufal of that vaft chaos of good and bad, may form fome idea of thete books by reading the account given of them in the Chou-king, published by De Guignes, as quoted above. monuments are now extant, or where preferved. As there is nothing, perhaps, more memorable, in the hiftory of the whole world, than this effort of imperial munificence towards propagating, and almoft eternizing the foundeft principles of morality and literature, deprived as I am of the text of the Annals, of which I have juft quoted the verfion by F. Mailla, I will, at leaft, prefent your readers, Mr. Editor, with the text of a chronological work in my poffeffion, entitled Kia çu-hoeiki [fee Fourm. Gram. Sin., p. 493], where the author thus briefly records this glorious hiftorical fact under the eighth year of Lim-ti. Another literary anecdote is related by Relandius, concerning the high eftimation the above antient ftyles of writing have enjoyed, and ftill retain [fee Diflertat. Mifcellan., vol. III, p. 118], where he mentions that an imprifoned iterato wrote an elegant compofition, confifting of one thousand characters, written in fix different ftyles, and containing, as it were, a Compendium Natura, as he fays, which was Tai being a title given to emperors and their families, by the Vth rule of the Lo xu it fignifies imperial.-Hio means fcience; and by the VIth rule of the fame it is ufed for sollege, where science is taught. See p. 233. entitled Cien-çu-ven, or compofition of a thoufand characters [fee Fourm. Gram. Sin., p. 363]. The fuperior taste and accuracy of this performance obtained him the Emperor's pardon, and he was fet at liberty. I have by me feveral editions of this fingular performance; and I muft not omit obferving, what neither Relandius nor Fourmont have done; that, to my great aftonishment, every character is different, and no one occurs twice. A fingular edition of mine exhibits this work in five styles, and not in fix, as Relandius fays, which are all the abovementioned, with the excep tion of the Ko-teu, for which the Cao-çu is fubftituted. This famous work ferves as an elementary and claffical book to the youth of China; it contains not only the moft neceffary characters, but alfo fuch ones as exhibit a great variety of forms, fa as to render it impoflible that any other compound character fhould be found of great importance that is not manitefily compofed of fome of the most confpicuous groups to be met with in the Çien-cu-ven. How then could that helluo-librorum FOURMONT not have read the above quoted page of Relandius, and how could he give us fuch an inapplicable account of this work, as he does at page 363-Non omnia poffumus omnes. I shall now, Mr. Editor, conclude this long Letter with laying before your readers a fpecimen of the antient and modern ftyles of writing now in general ufe in China, according to the above account; but thofe who may not reft fatisfied with a fingle character of each forţ muft feek for more in the Philofophical Tranfactions, vol. LIX, or in the Lettre de Fékin. As to the Ta-chuen, the plate Vth, of the 32 fpecimens published in the Monument of Yu, will anfwer that purpofe. (See alfo Note o.). [To be concluded in our nexts] ANSWERS TO THE HISTORICAL years from the birth of Chrift. On AND PHILOSOPHICAL QUES- QUEST. I. Which are the moft important epochs between the flood and the erecting of the tent in the wilderness by Mofes for the worfhip of the one and only true God? Thefe epochs are, the difperfion of mankind, the birth of Abraham, the birth of Ifaac, the change in the state of Egypt by Jofeph, and the birth of Mofes. The first epoch, or the difperfion of mankind, happened about one hundred years after the flood, or in the year 1757 from the creation of the world confequently this date may be easily remembered. The flood came on in the year 1756 from the creation; and Noah came out of the ark in the year 1757 from the creation. About thirty years after the difperfion, Nimrod the rebel is fuppofed to have laid the foundation of the first imperial government in the world at Babylon. The fecond epoch mentioned is of high importance, both with refpect to the advantages derived from it in general by mankind, and by the affiftance it affords us in all chronological refearches. Abraham was born in the year 2008 after the creation, and confequently his birth very nearly divides the time between the creation and the birth of our Saviour. It is not improbable, that, if our accounts of preceding times were more accu-, rate, we should find that the interval of time between the birth of Chrift and the creation is accurately divided by the birth of Abraham. The third epoch mentioned is affumed in preference to others, as the birth of Jacob, the fale of Jofeph, or the journey of Jacob's family into Egypt, becaufe it is easily remembered, and from it we can eafily refer to other events. It happened nearly 300 years from the birth of Abraham, and about 1700 thefe dates we care expect the utmost accuracy; but Jofeph is fuppofed, in the year 1702 before Chrift, to have fold out corn to the famified Egyptians for the fee fimple of their lands, which he reftored to them again, on condition that they fhould be fubject to an annual tax exactly double of the tax, or tithe, which is paid to the clergy in this country. This tax was referved for the expences of government, the clergy of Egypt having their own lands referved to them, which were not affected by the general tax. The fourth epoch is the birth of Mofes; of importance, as he may be confidered as the founder of the Jewish polity; and it may be remembered from its being about eighty years from the fetting up of the tent for the worship of one God, in oppofition to the idolatrous worship of the nations around, where more perfons than one were worshipped as gods. The birth of Mofes took place in the year before Chrift 1571. Subordinate to thefe epochs are, the birth of Ifaac, one hundred years after the birth of Abraham; the birth of Jacob, fixty years after. that of Ifaac, or a hundred and fixty years after that of Abraham; the birth of Jofeph in the ninetyfirst year of his father Jacob's age, or two hundred and fifty-one years after the birth of Abraham. Many uncertain epochs take their rife in thefe periods; as, the cftablishment of the Chinefe monarchy, about three hundred and fifty years after the flood; the expulfion of the Hycfes, or King Shepherds, from Egypt, about five hundred and twenty years after the flood; the origin of the Athenian government, about eight hundred years after the flood: but thefe things, as well as every thing relative to profane hiftory, are wrapped up in fo much obfcurity, as to the precife time when they happened, that little dependance can be placed on the information conveyed to us by profane hiftorians, or the polithed writers of Greece, who found themfelves loft when they attempted to give an account of any thing before the establishment of the Ifraelites in Palestine. Quest. II. To what reflections do thefe epochs give rife? Our chief attention in the above periods must be drawn to Abraham, the greatest man affuredly that lived in thofe times, and one of the greateft men that have ever appeared upon the earth. At his birth idolatry had taken poffeflion of mankind, probably introduced by Nimrod, the author of arbitrary government and of perfonal flavery. The previous difpertion of mankind prevented the forms of idolatry from being the fame, and of courte would, in procets of time, lead fome to fee the exceffes into which a departure from the worthip of the only Perfon, whom gratitude and affection would lead them, it might be thought, to have adored: but it is certain that all nations were infected with folly; and, unlefs means had been devifed by Providence for our relief, we might at this very day have been bowing down to all the vain conceits of man's imagination. By the call of Abraham, one family at leaft was preferved from the prevailing folly of the times: a check was oppofed to the moft ruinous fcheme that could have been devifed for debating human nature. The chains of arbitrary power are fufliciently galling; but when the mind as well as the body is enslaved, when the priest adds his vain terrors to thofe of the tyrant, the subject, enflaved to both thefe powers, is reduced below the level of the brute. He is taught to defpife his own reafon, to detett every one who would raife him from the duft, teach him his rue dignity, and lead him to that manly characler which ennobles his fpecies. The call of Abraham was the great barrier to fuperftition and ty ranny. Ile left family, friends, and country; he taught his own household the worship of the Perfon whom he adored; and received, the covenant from him, that his family fhould poflefs the land in which he was a stranger. Yet this, event was not to take place till diftant period, that the world, wandering in its own imagination, might not only reap the confequences of its folly, fee how inadequate its own powers are to extricate itself, but be prepared for the great changes that were to be effected by the chofen people. Again the family of Abraham was permitted to fink into the utmoft diftrefs, that the promifes made by God to their progenitor fhould be fulfilled not by their efforts, but by his power; that no excufe thould be left to mankind for perfifting in the folly which led them inevitably to their own deftruction. Another remarkable circumftance attending thefe epochs, is the extrene deficiency of every heathen record relative to the affairs of the times. The Chinese monuments are the only veftiges of deep refearch: the fabulous age of Greece fcarcely dates its origin fo early. They who pretended to fpring from the earth can give no account at what time this fabled event took place: while in facred hiftory we fee the regular genealogy, from the first man to persons of the higheft note in the hiftory of mankind. All the traditions of the east look to Abraham as a moft fplendid chieftain, and take plea fure in tracing their origin up to him; and much of the mythology of Greece took its rife from perverted accounts of facts in the time of his not very remote defcendants. The hiftory, however, of the fir two thousand years of the world is Contained in a few pages; for Abraham could neither read nor write, yet he poffeffed thofe faculties of the heart which merited him the title of the Friend of God. Quest. III. Which are the most important epochs between the invation of this kingdom by William the Norman and the prefent times? In this period are three great epochs, which every Englishman should make the daily object of his reflection. The firit is the figning of magna charta; the fecond, the abolition of the power of the pope in this kingdom; and the third, the revolution. The first event took place in the reign of John, a weak Prince, and a tyrant, who first debafed himself fo low as to do homage to the Pope for his kingdom; and then, to fecure the fidelity of the barons, was compelled to lign what is called magna charta, or the great charter, by which his power was greatly limited, and fome general principles were acknowledged, which may be confidered as the foundation of English liberty. John fucceeded to the crown in the year 1199; of courfe the round numbers 1200, ferve as a landmark in our hiftory, by which we are led to one of its most important features. The King figned this charter at Runnymede, or the mead of council, a meadow between Staines and Windfor, on which place it was intended fome years ago to erect a pillar in honour of this great event. The fecond event happened in the reign of Henry VIII; and as the end of the century preceding his reign was marked by great events, the date 1500 may be confidered as the epoch beit calculated to fix in the mind this and other important tranfactions. At the clofe of the fifteenth century, namely, in the year 1492, America was difcovered; and fome years before, the Portuguefe had doubled the Cape of Good Hope, thereby opening a way to the insatiable avarice of Europe to plunder the weak inhabitants of Hindooftan, and to bring back in return those means of corruption which would be a greater vengeance than the injured fufferers could take on their oppreffers. The reformation began in Germany in the year 1517, and affords a melancholy proof of the difficulty of making reafonable beings employ their faculties in the correcting of prejudice, or the difcovery of truth. The Germans, in fome parts, got rid of the power of the pope; but their defcendants became as bigotted to the names of Luther and Calvin, as their predecellors had been to the fee of Rome. The papal authority remained firm in England for fome years after the blow had been truck again it in Germany. Henry VIII was vain enough to write a book in its favour, and to receive from the fee of Rome the empty and falfe title of Founder of the Faith. His paffions, however, were beneficial to his country; for being thwarted by the papiits, and artfully inflamed by the proteftants, they led him to act that part in England to which Luther had been inftigated by more zeal for his order, and the love of gain and preeminence. In the year 1733, the King divorced his wife, and was in confequence excommunicated by the Pope; and, in revenge, thook off the bafe yoke under which he and his fathers had groaned, abolished the power of the Pope, and turned out of the country eremites and friars, white, black, and grey, with all their trumpery cowls, hoods, and habits; their reliques, beads, indulgences, difpenfes, pardons, bulls. The third event, the revolution, as it is called by way of diftinétion, happened fo near our own times, that every child is taught, and propo taught, to reverence the name, |