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Parker, Camden, Sir Robert Cotton, Stowe, and others. Application was made in 1589 to Queen Elizabeth for a charter, and house in which they might hold their meetings, erect a library, &c. But the death of the sovereign put an end to the design. In 1717, this society was revived again, and has continued without interruption; and at present, it is in a very flourishing state, consisting of learned men in every rank of life. The society was incorporated in 1751 and began to publish an account of its discoveries in 1770, under the title of "Archologia:" fifteen volumes in quarto are already published.

ANTIQUITIES, a term implying all testimonies, or authentic accounts, that have come down to us of ancient nations. According to Lord Bacon, antiquities may be considered as the wrecks of history, or such particulars as industrious and learned persons have collected from genealogies, inscriptions, monuments, coins, names, etymologies, archives, instruments, fragments of history, &c. in this sense the study of antiquities leads us to inquire into the origin and early epochas of every nation and people, whether ancient or modern. Hence the study of antiquities, as a science, has become, in almost every civilized country, an interesting pursuit to men of leisure and curiosity. By many persons it has been sufficient to investigate the ancient remains of Greece and Rome; but others, who have taken a more enlarged, and, what we deem, a more proper view of the subject, include in the science the antiquities of the Jews, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and, in short, all those principal nations mentioned in ancient history. Our view of the subject must necessarily be contracted, and the most we can aim at is, to excite a laudable curiosity in the young, and to direct them to objects that may engage their attention, and to the authors most likely to furnish information under the several heads of inquiry and research.

This study has for its chief objects the ceremonies, customs, and usages which obtained in ancient times, either with regard to persons, places, or things. Writers have accordingly divided antiquities into civil and ecclesiastical: including under the former head whatever relates to political, military, literary, and domestic concerns; and under the latter, the subjects connected with religion, as the worship, discipline, and faith of ancient times and people. Christians have usually separated their antiquities into

those which relate to the ancient state of the Christian church; and into whatever belongs to the ancient laws, ceremonies, events, &c. that occur in the scriptures. These, indeed, form a branch of ecclesiastical antiquities, and bear a near relation to the Jewish antiquities, concerning which we have many respectable authorities, There are persons who would deduce most of the heathen antiquities from the manners and customs described in the Bible; while others, as Spencer, take the opposite course, and deduce the antiquities of the Bible from those of heathenism. Perhaps a middle course would be nearer the truth, as it is absolutely necessary, in interpreting scripture, to attend to the heathen antiquities alluded to in them; and these not only such as are directly aimed at or approved, but also such as are purposely opposed. National antiquities are those employed in tracing the origin, ancient actions, usages, monuments, remains, &c. of some nation or people and it may be observed, that almost every nation lays claim to a greater degree of antiquity than the rest of its neighbours. The Scythians, the Phrygians, the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, &c. pretend each to have the honour of being the first inhabitants of the earth: several of these nations, lest they should be surpassed in their pretensions by any of the rest, have traced up their origin to ages long before the received account of the creation. Hence the appellations "aborigines," " ""indigenæ," "terrægenæ," "3.66 antelunares," &c.

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The history and antiquities of nations and societies have been objects of inquiry, inasmuch as they enable the mind to separate truth from falsehood, and tradition from evidence, to establish what had probability for its basis, or to explode what rested only on the vanity of the inventors and propagators: of this we have a striking instance in the Chaldeans, who pretend to astronomical observations of nearly 500,000 years. They mention the king who reigned over them at the time of the deluge, and attribute to him several things which we ascribe to Noah. The Chaldaic antiquities of Berosus are, however, lost, except a few fragments which have been collected by Joseph Scaliger, and Fabricius. To supply the chasm, Annius Viterbo, a Dominican monk, towards the close of the 15th century, forged the work of Berosus, which he published at Rome in 1498. He went farther, and produced a supplement to Be

rosus, supposed to have been written by Manetho, containing details of what happened from the time of Egyptus, king of Egypt, to the origin of the Roman state. Unfortunately for the credit of the industrious monk, Manetho lived before Berosus, by which the fraud was detected.

The first traces of every history were rude and imperfect, which renders the of fice of the antiquarian of the utmost importance to the faithful and diligent historian. Better methods of preserving facts succeeded. The unchisseled stone, or the rudest hieroglyphic, accompanied the songs of the bards to perpetuate the achievements of a whole nation, or a few individuals; till the use of letters, and the complicated transactions, claims, and interests of men taught them to multiply memorials, and draw them up with more skill and accuracy.

The history contained in the Old Testament is unquestionably the most ancient, well-authenticated collection of facts, that has come down to the present times. These records go much beyond the flood, the boundary to the annals of every other nation that lays a just claim to credit. The Jews, who are closely connected with this part of history, trace back their ancestry to the common parents of the human race. The antiquities of this wonderful nation have been treated of by numerous writers, whose works are monuments of great learning and indefatigable industry; and it will Le admitted, that the fate of a people scattered over the globe, who have been subject to persecutions, more or less severe, for so many centuries; who have never amalgamated, if we may so speak, with any other nation under heaven, but have remained distinct, for wise and important ends, cannot but interest the curious inquirer. The history of their origin, ordinances, and vicissitudes, previously to the Christian æra, is to be had in the Old Testament: their subsequent ruin and dispersion are predicted by Christ in the New Testament, and treated of at large by Josephus, who flourished at Rome under Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, and who published his great work on the Jewish Antiquities during the life and reign of the latter. On the same subject we have a multitude of more modern writers from Ugolinus' Thesaurus, consisting of more than thirty volumes folio, and comprising all the best works written previously to the middle of the last century, to the octavos Dr. Jennings evidently intended as a mere introduction to the subject. The

antiquities of the Jews are supposed to be connected with those of Egypt, since Moses, their great lawgiver, was educated in the schools of Egyptian learning, and was deeply conversant in all their sciences. Many of the metaphors and other allusions found in the first five books of the Bible are supposed to have some reference to the symbols of the Egyptian priests. If we were, therefore, able to come at a faithful account of the antiquities of Egypt we might hope to attain an illustration of many things which are still obscure and dark belonging to the Jewish economy, both civil and sacred. Of Egypt, alas! once renowned for its laws, the commerce of her cities, the grandeur of her buildings, and the fertility of territory, little is left to gratify the laudable curiosity of moderns. Those who have spent much time and labour in appreciating the worth and merits of the ancients, admit that the earliest nations of the world were fed with the produce of Egyptian soil, and enriched with the wealth and wisdom obtained in that portion of Africa. Upper Egypt furnished the materials of marble and porphyry, with which the most stupendous works of art were reared and to Hermes Trismegistus, or, as he is sometimes called, Thoth, are ascribed, among the Egyptians, the inventions of chief use in human life. Their priests maintained that from the hieroglyphic characters upon the pillars which he erected, and the sacred books, all the philosophy and learning of the world has been derived.

Egypt seems itself to have been indebted for its original population to the northern parts of Arabia and Syria, the Egyptians and Abyssinians having been always wholly distinct from the native natious of Africa. The Copts, or original inhabitants, it has been observed by travellers, have no resemblance whatever of the negro features or form; but a strong likeness may be traced between the make of the visage in the modern Copts, and that presented in the ancient mummies, paintings, and statues. Their complexion, like that of the Arabs, is of a dusky brown. It is represented of the same colour in the paintings which may be seen in the tombs of Thebes. The chief antiquities are the pyramids, and the tombs near Thebes, recently disclosed, with many ruins of temples, and other remains of ancient cities. Dr. White, in the "Egyptiaca," a work which contains much valuable in

formation on the subject, says, the celebrated column ascribed to Pompey, ornamented a space opposite to the temple of Serapis, in which was a great public library. Besides the ancient remains already noticed, we may mention the colossal sphynx; Cleopatra's needle; the marble sarcophagus reputed to be Alexander's tomb; and the triple inscription from Rosetta, in the hieroglyphic, the vernacular Egyptian, and the Greek characters. The writers on Egyptian antiquities are very numerous. Among the ancients may be noted Herodotus, Pausanias, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Plutarch. Herodotus, Thales, and Pythagoras, were initiated into all the mysteries of the Egyptian priests. The mythology of the country is fully explained in Joblonski's "Pantheon Egyptiacum." On the Egypt of modern times we have the works of Pocock, Niebuhr, Sonnini, and Denon, which may be consulted with advantage. Greaves and Nordon have written on the pyramids, and the mummies are described by the celebrated Kircher.

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The illustration of the antiquities of India is more difficult, but discoveries are still making in that vast extent of country. To that great patriot, philosopher, and legislator, Sir William Jones, we are greatly indebted for much valuable information on this subject. Mr. Halhed, indeed, in 1776, gave the first specimen which appeared of the early wisdom of the Indians, and their extensive skill in jurisprudence. In the year 1785, the Bhagvat Geeta was edited by Mr. Wilkins. The theological and metaphysical doctrines of this work were represented to be of the profoundest kind, and it was said to contain all the grand mysteries of the Hindoo religion, and laid claim to the antiquity of 4,000 years. works of high reputation have succeeded, among these are the "Indian Antiquities,” by Maurice, which have, in a great measure, cleared the ground for the student, and given him a sort of clue for farther investigations. By his labours, the ancient geographical divisions of India, according to the classical writers of Greece and Rome, and of Hindostan, according to the Hindoos themselves, are reconciled; the analogies of the Brahmanic with other systems of theology considered; and the grand code of civil laws, the original form of government, and the literature of Hindostan, are compared with the laws, government, and literature of Persia, Egypt, and Greece. From Sir William Jones's papers published in the se

veral volumes of the "Asiatic Researches," much solid information on Indian antiquities may be had in a short compass. By that great man, whose loss cannot be sufficiently lamented, a society was formed for inquiring into the history, antiquities, arts, sciences, and literature of Asia. Having founded the institution, he gave it celebrity by his own admirable discourses; of these the first was on the orthography of Asiatic words in Roman letters, a want of attention to which had occasioned much confusion in history and geography. Not contented with pointing out radical defects, he proposed a system, which was useful to the learned, and essential to the progress of the student. His other dissertations, to which the reader may be referred, were all in a greater or less degree, connected with the antiquities of India. By India is meant the whole extent of country in which the primitive religion and language of the Hindoos prevail at this day, and in which the Nægari letters are still used with more or less deviation from their original form. Its inhabitants have no resemblance either in their figure or manners to any of the nations contiguous to them. Their sources of wealth are still abundant. In their manufactures of cotton they surpass the other nations of the world; and though now degenerate and abased, there remains enough to show, that in some early age they were well-versed in arts and arms, happy in government, wise in legislation, and eminent in various branches of knowledge.

In this place we may briefly notice the Sanscrit language, which, whatever may be its antiquity, is of a very singular structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more refined than either, yet bearing to both a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident. Of their philosophy it has been observed, that in the more retired scenes, in groves, and in seminaries of learning, we may perceive the Brahmans and the Sarmanas of Clemens disputing in the forms of logic, or discoursing on the vanity of human enjoyments, on the immortality of the soul, her emanation from the eternal mind, her debasement, wanderings, and final union with her source.

The ancient monuments of Hindostan are very numerous, and of various descriptions, exclusive of the tombs and other editices of the Mahometan conquerors. Some of the most remarkable are excavated temples,

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statues, relievos, &c. in an island near Bombay; but the most magnificent and extensive are near the town of Ellora, about two hundred miles east of Bombay. The latter are minutely described and illustrated with plates in the sixth volume of the Asiatic Researches. The idols represented seem clearly to belong to the present mythology of Hindostan; but at what period these edifices were modelled, whether three hundred or three thousand years ago, cannot be easily ascertained. Several ancient grants of land, some coins, and seals, have also been found, which, however, do not greatly correspond with the exaggerated ideas entertained concerning the early civilisation of this renowned country; while the Egyptian pyramids, temples, and obelisks, strongly confirm the accounts preserved by ancient historians. Though the mythology of the Hindoos may pretend to great antiquity, yet their present form of religion is supposed to vary considerably from the ancient. It is inferred that while the religion of Boodha, still retained by the Birmans and other adjacent nations, was the real ancient system of Hindostan, the religion of the Hindoos is artfully interwoven with the common offices of life; and the different casts are supposed to originate from Brahma, the immediate agent of creation under the Supreme Power.

The remains of architecture and sculpture seem to prove an early connection between India and Africa. Of the ancient arts and manufactures little is known, excepting the labours of the Indian loom and needle. The Hindoos are said to have boasted of three inventions, viz. the method of instruction by 66 apologues,' "the decimal scale," and "the game of chess."

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Of the antiquities of Greece and Rome much has been written that merits the attention of the student in literature: these are subjects in which every well educated youth is made conversant at an early period. They are taught in all our classical schools, as necessary to the elucidation of those works that are read in the attainment of the ancient languages. Potter on the Greek Antiquities, and Kennet and Adams on those of Roman, are familiar to every ear: in their kind they are truly respectable, though they may be regarded only as elementary treatises, calculated rather to excite a taste for the study, than to satisfy the inquirer in pursuit of knowledge.

The first accounts of Greece are derived from ages long before the common use of

letters in the country, so that it is difficult to distinguish where fable concludes, and real history begins. From the Phoenician and Egyptian colonies the Greeks first received the culture of humanity. By the Phoeni cians they were instructed in trade, navigation, and the use of letters; and by the Egyptians in civil wisdom, the politer sciences, and religious mysteries. The antiquities of such a country, which became in after ages so illustrious in the annals of mankind, cannot fail to have excited a considerable degree of interest in every age: they have accordingly been carefully and minutely investigated by writers celebrated alike for their erudition and industry. Of these we can enumerate but a small portion in comparison of the many that have treated on the subject. Bishop Potter, to whom we have already referred, Bos, and others, have drawn up systems or abridgments of the whole, or at least of whatever relates to the religion, the gods, the vows, and the temples of Greece: on the public weal and magistracy, Stephanus aud Van Dale are well worthy of notice: on the laws and punishments of Greece, we have Meursins and Petit: on military concerns, Arrian and Ælian are well known: on their gymnastic art and exercises, Joubert and Faber may be mentioned: on the theatres and scenic exhibitions, Scaliger and the abbe Barthelemy have written: besides these, we have many writers on their entertainments, on their marriages, the education of their children, and their funeral ceremonies. The best relics which display the former splendor of the Grecian states, have been preserved by Stuart in his Athens: in the Ionian Antiquities, and in the Voyage Pittoresque de la Greece. The finest specimens of its sculpture in this country, are to be found among the Townley marbles: and of its coinage in the cabinet of Dr. Hunter.

It may be worthy of notice, in connection with the antiquities of Greece, that the ancient monuments of European Turkey now exceed in number and importance those of any other conntry. The remains of ancient Athens, in particular, formerly the chosen seat of the arts, have attracted the attention of many travellers, and have accordingly been frequently described with accuracy and taste. The church dedicated to the Divine Wisdom, usually denominated in the page of history Sancta Sophia, is a venerable monument of antiquity, and has been preserved from the sixth century, when it was built by Justinian, to the present period. The

architecture is very inferior to that of the classical period, yet by those who have witnessed it, we are told the effect is grand and impressive, and the cupola is admired as a bold and skilful effort of the art, while the seeming weight is diminished by the lightness of the materials, being bricks formed of a particular clay that will float in the water. The interior is adorned with columns of various and very beautiful descriptions, viz. the Phrygian purple, the Spartan green, the red and white Canan, and many others. To this may be added, that the French have recently discovered the remains of an ancient sea-port belonging to Sparta, near a promontory, which projects from the south of the Morea, and we are informed that the antiquities of that part now styled Albania, still present an extensive field of research to the student in this department of science.

"Nothing" says Dr. Adams, in the preface to his Roman Antiquities, "has more engaged the attention of literary men than to trace from ancient monuments the institutions and laws, the religion, the manners and customs of the Romans, under the general name of Roman Antiquities. This branch of knowledge," continues he, "is not only curious in itself, but absolutely necessary for the understanding the classics, and for reading with advantage the history of that celebrated people. It is particularly necessary for such as prosecute the study of the civil law. Scarcely on any subject have more books been written, and many of them by persons of distinguished abilities." We may, as a guide to the student, enumerate the writers from whom Dr. Adams chiefly compiled his own work, as these will be the best authorities for those persons who would enter deeply into the study. To Manutius, Brissonius, and Middleton, he was indebted for his facts relating to the business of the senate: to Pignorius, on slaves: to Lidonius and Grucchius, Manutius, Huber, Gravina, Merula, Heineccius, for what relates to the assemblies of the people, the rights of citizens, the laws and judicial proceedings: with respect to the duties and privileges of magistrates, the art of war, the shows of the circus, and the feats of gladiators, he had recourse to Lipsius:-to Sheffer he applied for information on naval affairs, and car. riages: to Kermannus, on funerals: to Arbuthnot, on coins: to Donatus, on the city: to Turnebus, Salmasius, Grævius, Gronovius, Montfaucon, Gesner, and others, upon different subjects scattered through his VOL. I.

work. To these may be added one of the oldest authors on the subject. viz. Dionysius Halicarnasseus, who traced the origin of the Romans, with great fidelity, back to the remotest ages. His accounts are generally preferred to those of Livy, because they are more ample, and his facts are described with more particulars; and on the ceremonies, worship, sacrifices, manners, customs, discipline, policy, courts, laws, &c. he is perhaps the most authentic writer.

These, and other authors that might be cited, have chiefly confined their account to Rome, properly so called, we might digress, and notice the antiquities of those states, both in Europe and other parts of the globe, which were held under the domi. nion of the Roman power; but this would lead us into a very wide field: we shall, however, in the connection notice those belonging to Spain, which was 500 years under the Roman power.

Spain was originally peopled by the Africans and German Gauls: it then became the prey of the Carthaginians: to these succeeded the Romans. It was afterwards held successively in subjection by the Vandals, the Visigoths, and the Arabs or Moors.

Of the first of these epochs few remains exist, excepting some tumuli, and other rude monuments. Nor are there any certain relics of the Carthaginians in Spain but coins, which have been found in considerable numbers. The Roman antiquities are numerous, of which, however, we shall notice but few. The aqueduct at Segovia is a noble edifice, consisting of 159 arches, extending about 740 yards, and is rather more than 94 feet in height where it crosses the valley. Morviedo, the ancient Saguntum, and Tarragona, the ancient Tarraco, afford many curious remains of antiquity. The theatre is capable of receiving 10,000 people, and is hewn out of a solid rock, the labour of which was less than might at first be expected, as the Spanish rocks are generally calcareous, or of gypsum. The Visigoth kings have left few relics except their coins, which are struck in gold, a metal at that period unknown to the other European mints. Numerous and splendid are the monuments of the Moors in Spain. The mosque at Cordova is one of the chief; this surprizes travellers with the multitude of its columns, which are said to be 800. The Christian antiquities here, as in other places, are churches, castles, and monasteries.

The antiquities of Portugal consist also

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