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and denominated either from their primitiva ancestor, or 

 from their mode of living, their situation, or s-ome other pe- 

 culiarity. Different tribes coalescing either by conquest, or 

 from various causes which need not be here examined, formed, 

 in process of time, petty principalities, kingdoms or empires ; 

 I shall call them barbarian for reasons that will soon be seen. 

 Of those that occupied Upper Asia, or settled in Europe, 

 .some were prevented by the sterility of the soil, or the diffi- 

 culty of clearing it of immense forests, from cultivating the 

 spots they occupied. Thus the knowledge of agriculture 

 was gradually lost; but the various contrivances for sub- 

 duing wild animals and catching fish being of constant and 

 indispensable use were universally retained. Of these va- 

 grant families, tribes and even principalities or kingdoms 

 were formed after some ages. 



A partial patriarchal government seems to have subsisted 

 during several ages among the descendants of 5e?«; nay it 

 exists at this day among the Bedouin Arabs, and other tribes 

 of that singular people : as it was the primordial state of 

 mankind, and as some accidents relative to it have been 

 transmitted to us, which occurred in the most ancient times 

 of which history gives us any account, I shall now examine 

 l"- what degree of happiness or misery these events seem to 

 indicate to have been the result of this ancient patriarchal 



L 2 government 



