[ 23 ] 



" by the degree of corruption of the langraje *." To thefe 

 authorities we will add a few more of equal weight : " cognitio 

 " linguarum gentium orttim & profapiam docet, indicatqiie, ut et 

 " folum et genus vita: mutaverint monftrat f-" This author 

 goes fo fir as to fiy, that language is to be preferred even to the 

 annals of remote times, to prove the origin of a people, parti- 

 cularly of an emigrating people, fuch as the Scythian anceftors 

 of the Irifla are known to have been : " Veftigia migrationum 

 " gentium quibuflibet faftis certius prodit," or as he more 

 ftrongly expreffes it in his own language, " fom nationers flyt- 

 " toringar ar, ofta lemnar siikrare underriittelfer, an alia fagor 

 " och hifhorier." " Linguarum cognatio cognationis gentium 

 " prsecipuum, certiofimumque ai-gumentum efl %" 



On thefe great authorities we reft, to prove that the ancient 

 hiftory of the primitive inhabitants of this ifland is founded in 

 truth ; for if they had not had an intercourfe in former days 

 with the PhcEnicians, Egyptians and Pei-fians, how is it poffible 

 fo many hundreds of words; fo many idioms of fpeech, fo 

 many technical terms in the arts of thofe ages, could have been 

 introduced into the old Irifh dialedl ? terms not to be met with 

 in the dialedl of any other northern or weflern nation. What 

 people,- the Egyptians and Irifh excepted, named the harp or mufic 

 or))ij. ouini, Irifh Aine. i. e. Oirfideadh, i. e. mufic, a mufical 



* LeEiures on Hijiory and General Policy, Part. ii. Left. viii. 



f The very learned Ihp.e in his Lexicon Lapponicum, Pref. p. xxxiii. 



\ Sheringham. • ^ 



( P ) inflrtiment';". 



