160 Druidism in connection with Wiltshire. 
originally; for we learn that ‘they are a very ancient tribe,’ and 
are mentioned in the Institutes of Menu; and that their ancestor 
Zeus Cassios is supposed to have lived before the flood, and to have 
given name to the mountains he seized. Their station then is 
Caucasus. But when a considerable division of mankind withdrew 
to Shinar, they were accompanied by a certain proportion of 
C’hasyas or Chasdim, who being a superior caste, or inheriting 
stations of trust and dignity, that is priests, if not governors also, 
and out of which body the kings were elected, therefore the Baby- 
lonian kingdom is called the kingdom of the Chasdim or C’hasyas. 
**Somewhat of this distinction is connected with the Patriarch 
Abraham; we know he was of Kedem, not of Babylonia; yet Eu- 
sebius says, ‘Abraham was a Chaldean by descent.’ Admitting then 
the Chasdim to be descendants in the direct line of Shem, a priest 
himself, this branch of his posterity might retain their right to the 
priestly office transmitted from father to son, in succession, accord- 
ing to their custom.” 
In order to prove the resemblance between the Chaldean astro- 
logers and priesthood with the Druids of Europe, whom we shall 
hereafter consider, the following account of these ancient and 
priestly Literati from Diodorus Siculus,! quoted by Taylor, may 
not be uninteresting. 
“The Chaldeans are descended from the most ancient families of 
Babylon, and they have adopted a manner of life resembling that of 
the priests of Egypt. For in order to become more /earned, and more 
equal to the service of the Gods, they continually apply themselves 
to philosophy, and have procured above all a great reputation in 
astronomy. They study with great care the art of divination, 
They foretell the future, and believe themselves able to ward off 
evils, and to procure benefits by their expiations, by their sacri- 
fices, and by their enchantments. They have also experience in 
presages by the flight of birds, and are versed in the interpretation 
of dreams and prodigies. Besides this they consult the entrails 
of victims, and infer predictions which are considered as certain. 
Among the Chaldeans this philosophy remains constantly in the 
1 Tab, di, o. 21. 
