Note 386 — Chapter VII · OBERON

“The Berbers, their language, and their books ought to be fully explored and studied. Archæology and linguistic science have lavished enthusiastic and toilsome study on subjects much less worthy of attention, for these Berbers present the remains of a great civilisation, much older than Rome or Hellas, and of one of the most important peoples of antiquity. Here are ‘ruins’ more promising, and, in certain respects, more important, than the buried ruins of Nineveh; but they have failed to get proper attention, partly because a false chronology has made it impossible to see their meaning and comprehend their importance. The Berbers represent ancient communities whose importance was beginning to decline before Rome appeared, and which were probably contemporary with ancient Chaldea and the old monarchy of Egypt.”—Baldwin, J. D., Prehistoric Nations, p. 340.