Note 1 — SOURCES OF ROMAN HISTORY.

The use of letters on the whole is very ancient. It has a threefold root:—in Egypt, (or perhaps in Æthiopia,) in Phœnicia, and in Babylon, all three of which are independent of each other. That in Europe writing is of more ancient date than the time in which we place Homer, is undeniable, as we have written monuments from such an early period, leaving, however, the question untouched, whether Homer had committed his lays to writing or not.