A N T I Q U I T I E S. 



367 



•redulity, a pure and elevated phi- 

 Icfsophy, and instructive intimations 

 •f moral import. 



The scrolls of the Papyrus, hard 

 and resembling rolls of portable 

 soup, particularly struck us ; four 

 or five have been explicated by an 

 elaborate process r but, instead of 

 the lost ar4d regretted books of 

 Livy and Tacitus, they unfold a 

 dr)' treatise on the Epicurean philo- 

 sophy ; a work or two on morality 

 and rhetoric ; and a dissertation on 

 music, by Philodemus, containing, 

 as some say, a vindication of the 

 arithmetical proportions, in confu- 

 tation of the system of Aristoxenus, 

 or, as others state, some reflections 

 on the bad effects of music in a re- 

 public. Two only of these works 

 have, I believe, yet been published. 

 A third tieatise is $oon to appear, 

 and the examiners will, I hope, 

 persevere till we recover some of 

 the works of which we regret the 

 loss, and some of equal value with 

 those which we possess. 



Letter from Robert Viwghan, the 

 celebrated Welch antiquary, to arch' 

 h'lshup Usher. 



To the most reverend James Usher, 

 archbishop of /irmagh. 



Reverend father, 



IN pTformance of yo«r request 

 and my promise, have at last 

 sent you the annals of Wales, as, out 

 of the ancient copy which you saw 

 with me, I did faithfully translate 

 them into the English tongue, as 

 near as 1 could, word by word ; 

 U'herein (knowing my wfakness) I 

 laboured not so much to reiidcr a 

 •weet harmony ol speech, as the 



plain and simple phrase of that age 

 wherein it was written, which I 

 thought would please you best, 

 though haply with others it will not 

 so well relish. Be pleased to receive 

 it as a token from him who honours 

 your worth. As you read it, I pray 

 you correct it, for I know it hath 

 need. There was a leaf wanting in 

 my book ; which defect (viz. from 

 900 to ann. 950), and some passages 

 besides, I was fain to make up out 

 of other ancient copies, whereof 

 though we have many in Wales, yet 

 but few that agree verbatim with one 

 another. And I believe some mis- 

 takings will be found in the times 

 of some transactions in this book, if 

 they be narrowly examined, as ia 

 the Tery frontispiece of tliis auth»3r 

 we find. 



In most copies we find that Cad- 

 walader v/ent to Rome anno 680, or 

 the year after, as it is in my copy; 

 nevertheless, it is confessed and 

 granted by all of them, that the 

 great mortality happened in that 

 year that he went to Rome ; but I 

 find no mention of any great morta- 

 lity of people that happened about 

 anno 680, and therefore I think it 

 not very hkely that Cadwalader's 

 going to Rome was deferred to that 

 year. Moreover, venerable Uede, 

 and other ancient writers, do afiirm, 

 and the great mortality fell about 

 GG't, about the 22d year ef king; 

 Ossvi's reign over Northumberland) 

 in whose time Cadvvalader lived asid 

 reigned, as is manifest from the 

 tract which is added to some copies 

 of Ncnnius (if I may give credit to 

 that corrupt copy of it which I have) 

 in the words following: " Osguid, 

 filius Edclfrid, rcgnavit 28 ann. et 

 sex mensibuf, dum ipse n-gnabat, 

 venit mortalitas homiiium, Cutg-ua- 

 later regnante apud Biittones, post 



patrem 



