STUDY VIII. 165 



his immortal Work, I believe it to be falfified in 

 the paflage where he is made toreafon as an atheift. 

 All his commentators agree in thinking, that no 

 one Author has fuffered more from the unfaithful- 

 nefs of tranfcribers, than he has done ; and this 

 to fuch a degree, that copies of his Natural Hif- 

 tory exift, in which there are whole chapters en- 

 tirely different. Confult, among others, what 

 Mathiola fays on the fubjeél, in his commentaries 

 on Diojcorides. I fliall here take occafion to ob- 

 ferve, that the Writings of the Ancients, on their 

 way to us, have pafled through more than one 

 unfaithful language, and what is much worfe, 

 through more than one fufpicious hand. They 

 have met with the fateof their monuments, among 

 which their temples have been moft of all degrad- 

 ed. Their books have, in like manner, been mu- 

 tilated chiefly in thofe paflages which are favour- 

 able to religion, or the reverfc. An inftance of 

 this we have, in the tranfcription of Cicero's Trea- 

 tife on the Nature of the Godsy in which the objec- 

 tions againft Providence are omitted. 



Montagne upbraids the firft Chriflians with hav- 

 ing fuppreffed, on account of four or five articles 

 which contradiâed their creed, a part of the 

 Works of Cornelius Tacitus, " though," fays he, 

 *' the Emperor Tcicittis, his relation, had, by ex- 



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