348 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



The Celts were certainly a ve^y antient nation, more antient in 

 Europe than the Goths, who did not come to the northern parts of 

 Europe from the Tauric Cherfonefe, now called Crim Tartary, un- 

 der their leader Odin, till about the time of Julius Caefar. And, 

 they were a much more numerous nation than the Goths ; for they 

 inhabited all Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and a great part of Spain, and 

 alfo of Italy. I think, therefore, it is likely, that they got the lan- 

 guage of Egypt more early than the Goths or any other European 

 nation, except the Greeks, who, as I have juft now faid, learned the 

 Egyptian language from the Egyptian colonies that were fettled among 

 them. I think, too, it is probable, that, from the Celts, the language 

 of Egypt was propagated to maiiy other nations. This, I think, 

 Ivl. Bullet has made evident in his Celtic Dictionary, where he has 

 fhown, that the words of the Celtic ai'e likewife words of a won- 

 derful number of other languages, fuch as the Elebrew, Greek, 

 Latin, Gothic, German, Saxon, &c. And there is one word 

 he mentions, and a capital word in all languages, I mean the 

 name of Man, which he has iTiown to be a word, not only in 

 all the languages of Europe, but in the Perfian, the Turkiih, the 

 Mo"'ul languages, and even in the oldeft dialedt of Greek, I mean 

 the Latin, where one fhould hardly exped to find it. But it is 

 there not indeed by itfelf, but in compofition, in the word Mati- 

 clp'uini, which fignifes a man that is taken and made a flave of*. 

 And I think, it is likely, that the Celts muft have feen fome an- 

 tient Vv'riting of the Egyptian language, called by the name we ufe 

 to denote it, and which I underftand to be the name which the Bra- 

 mins give it, I mean Shanfcrit, which, in the dialed of the Celtic, 

 that is at this day fpoken in the Highlands of Scotland, denotes an- 

 tient ivriting. And as it is the name given by the Bramins to their 

 language, I am perfuaded it is an Egyptian vvord. 



Thus 



* See the Celiic Diftionsrv, torn.- 3- p." 133. 



