Retrospect of French Literature—Histery. 
seemed as if nature had not favoured 
this country with a happy position, a 
mild climate, and a fertile soil, but for 
the express purpose of attracting the at- 
tention of great conquerors, and serving 
as an arena, in which the most gigantic 
powers were to contend with each other. 
Not only does the history of Armenia 
instruct us concerning its own annals, 
but it also throws great light on the po- 
litical and military events, the civil and 
religious institutions, as well as the chro- 
nology, the geography, and the revolu- 
tions, of all the ancient nations of the 
East, from Cappadocia to the borders of 
the Caspian sea, and the Persian gilf. 
Armenia constantly kept up a connexion 
with the Assyrians, the Persians, the 
Parthians, the Scythians, and the Tar- 
tars. She always took either an active, 
or an indirect part, in all their great 
events, whether civil, military, or reli- 
gious. After their conversion to Chris- 
tianity, the Armenians translated into 
~ their own language, the Greek, Hebrew, 
Syrian, and Chaldean, works,’ which 
either directly or indirectly concerned 
the Christian religion. Far from follow- 
ing the instigations of a blind fanaticism, 
which aims at only having partisans, or 
victims, “the Aimenians demonstrated 
that their piety was more enlightehed 
than that of other nations of the East, 
who had embraced the same faith. Ac- 
cordingly, while Greece, Egypt, and 
Syria, prohibited and burnt the books of 
the Pagans, Armenia, on the contrary, 
successfully cultiyated literature, re- 
ceived into its bosom learned men of all 
religions, and encouraged versions of all 
their best books. This nation appeared 
more eager than ever to cultivate its 
taste for letters, and a great number of 
authors translated into its language, such 
as Homer in hexameter verse, Eusebius 
more complete than our edition in 
Greek and Latin; a Histery of the oman 
emperors, togethér with many other pre- 
cious writings in history, philosophy, me- 
dicine, astronomy, morals, and poetry, 
are proofs of this assertion. Perhaps 
among them we shall yet find many of 
those glorious monuments, the loss of 
which excites so much regret; and be it 
remembered, that there is no people, 
from the most western part of Asia to 
the Red Sea, who have produced so many 
eminent writers. It is true, that the 
Greeks of the Lower Empire, the Ara- 
bians, and the Persians, have also. pos- 
sessed a preat number of historians and 
geographers: but they are not on one 
Bond famous for their exactness, while on 
~Monrury Mac, No, 215. 
7? 
the other they have forgotten to enumerate 
many of the facts, we are so desirous of* 
becoming acquainted with. The Per- 
sians, more especially, on embracing the 
Mussulman faith, effected a revolution 
in their historical acquisitions; Greece 
and Palestine had already disfigured 
many ancient facts; while Arabia, so 
newly relinquishing the barbarous state 
into which it had been plunged, adopted 
indiscriminately the opinions of the Jews 
and Christians, out of which it cemposed 
a collection of allegories. Persia too, on 
disavowing its ancient opinions, com- 
posed a new historical code, equally ri- 
diculous and undigested: in fine, all 
these recently converted nations, finished 
by filling the pages of antiquity with those 
fictions produced by religious zeal. 
In order to judge of the importance 
of, and advantages which may be drawn 
from, the authors and literary records 
of Armenia, we have only to refer to the 
testimony of the learned, and respect~ 
able Abbé de Villefroi, who composed 
the Notice relative to the manuscripts in 
the royal library: “ The Armenian Ma- 
nuscripts,” says he, “present a new 
world of literature, into which no Euro- 
pean has as yet penetrated in such a 
manner, as to develope its riches to the 
eyes of the public. One will doubtless 
be agreeably surprised to know, that if 
there be any nation in the East, worthy 
of being known, it is the Armenian, 
Some will perhaps be astonished to 
learn, that Armenia was the most cele- 
brated school of literature in all Asia, 
during more than one thousand years: 
that is to say, from the year of Christ - 
440, to the capture of Constantinople in 
1455. I am bold enough to assert that 
there are centuries, such as the 9th, 
10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, when Ar- 
menia might have given lessons to a 
great portion of the earth; and that, du- 
ring thé whole of this time, it appearect 
to possess men celebrated in every spe- 
cies of erudition—poets, orators, philo- 
sophers, historians, astronomers, together 
with able translators, conversant in the 
Hebrew, Chaldean, Syrian, Arabian, 
Persian, Albanian, Greek, and Roman, 
languages. Their learned men, of 
course, produced versions of all that ap- 
peared curious in these tongues; and no 
sooner shall Armenia be fully discovered, 
than the gates of the East will be opened, 
and we shall behold a variety of wealth, 
which we dared not hitherto to hope 
for. Cardinal Richelieu would doubtless 
have been eager to do honour to his 
own administration, as well as to the 
43 reige 
