GRECIAN WRITERS.
Reading edition
Ενθα πυλαι νυκτος τε, και ηματος, εισι κελευθων.——Parmenides.
Πρωτος δ' αρχαιων επεων τεχνωσατ' αοιδαν.
It may appear strange to make use of the mistakes of any people for a foundation to build upon: yet through these failures my system will be in some degree supported: at least from a detection of these errors, I hope to obtain much light. For, as the Grecian writers have preserved a kind of uniformity in their mistakes, and there appears plainly a rule and method of deviation, it will be very possible, when this method is well known, to decypher what is covertly alluded to; and by these means arrive at the truth. If the openings in the wood or labyrinth are only as chance allotted, we may be for ever bewildered: but if they are made with design, and some method be discernible, this circumstance, if attended to, will serve for a clue, and lead us through the maze. If we once know that what the Greeks, in their mythology, styled a wolf, was the Sun; that by a dog was meant a prince, or Deity; that by bees was signified an order of priests; these terms, however misapplied, can no more mislead us in writing, than their resemblances in sculpture would a native of Egypt, if they were used for emblems on stone.
What has been wanting in the natives of Greece, has been greatly supplied by writers of that nation from other countries, who lived in after-times. Of these the principal have been mentioned; and many others might be added, who were men of integrity and learning. They were fond of knowledge, and obtained a deep insight into antiquity: and, what is of the greatest consequence, they were attached to the truth. They may sometimes have been mistaken in their judgment: they may also have been deceived: but still truth was the scope at which they aimed. They have accordingly transmitted to us many valuable remains, which, but for them, had been buried in oblivion. There are likewise many pagan authors, to whom we are greatly indebted; but especially to Strabo and Pausanias; who in their different departments have afforded wonderful light. Nor must we omit Josephus of Judea; whose treatise against Apion must be esteemed of inestimable value: indeed, all his writings are of consequence, if read with a proper allowance.
I have mentioned, that it is my purpose to give a history of the first ages; and to shew the origin of many nations, whose descent has been mistaken; or else totally unknown. I shall speak particularly of one great family, which diffused itself over many parts of the earth; from whom the rites and mysteries, and almost the whole science of the Gentile world, were borrowed. But as I venture in an unbeaten track, and in a waste, which has been little frequented; I shall first take upon me to treat of things near at hand, before I advance to remoter discoveries. I shall therefore speak of those rites and customs, and of the nations, where they prevailed; as I shall by these means be led insensibly to the discovery of the people, from whom they were derived. By a similarity of customs, as well as by the same religious terms, observable in different countries, it will be easy to shew a relation, which subsisted between such people, however widely dispersed. They will be found to have been colonies of the same family; and to have come ultimately from the same place. As my course will be in great measure an uphill labour, I shall proceed in the manner which I have mentioned; continually enlarging my prospect, till I arrive at the point I aim at.
It may be proper to mention to the reader that the following treatises were not written in the order in which they now stand; but just as the subject-matter presented itself before me. As many, which were first composed, will occur last, I have been forced to anticipate some of the arguments, as well as quotations, which they contained, according as I found it expedient. Hence there will be some few instances of repetition, which however I hope will not give any great disgust: as what is repeated, was so interwoven in the argument, that I could not well disengage it from the text, where it occurs a second time.
There will also be found some instances, where I differ from myself, and go contrary to positions in a former treatise. These are very few, and of no great moment; being such as would probably escape the reader's notice. But I think it more ingenuous, and indeed my strict duty, to own my mistakes, and point them out, rather than to pass them over in silence, or idly to defend them.