Chap. I. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 5-5 



one thing is evident, that either this French tranflation muft be a for- 

 gery, or Charlevoix muft be miltaken as to the numbers. That 

 Las Cafas was a man who would aver any thing that he knew to be 

 a falfehood, there is no reafon to believe. Charlevoix, indeed, fays, 

 in the paflage above quoted, that he was a man of a warm imagina- 

 tion and apt to exaggerate; yet, in another place *, he fays, he was 

 a man of found learning, folid judgment, and of heroic courage,, 

 which was not to be overcome by any difficulty. He engaged very 

 early in the caufe of the poor Indians; and made feveral voy.^ges on 

 their account to the Weft Indies, and from the Weft Indies back 

 again to Old Spain. Nor does it appear, that he could have had 

 any motive for all the toils and dangers he went through, except 

 the caufe of religion and humanity. His charadler, in his ov/n coun- 

 try, appears to have been very high, fnice he was fent back to the 

 Weft Indies with the honourable charaderof ProteSlor of the Indians f.. 

 I therefore think it is much more probable, that Charlevoix is mif- 

 taken, than Las Cafas, as to the numbers. At the fame time I 

 own, that, I think, it is impoffible that the numbers can be de- 

 pended upon as exa(5i:, but they muft have been either more or lefs.. 

 And though we are fure, that all thofe countries conquered by the. 

 Spaniards were fwarming with people, yet I incline to think that 

 the Biftiop, if we take the ftatement in the French tranflation of his 

 book, has exaggerated the numbers deftroyed by the Spaniards. 

 But, in one thing, I am perfuaded, he has not exaggerated that 

 50 millions were then the half of the human fpecies. Now if he 

 had made the number of Indians deftroyed to be no more than i c 

 millions, as Charlevoix appears to have underftood him, he could 

 not have faid that thefe were one half of the human fpecies. 



But fetting afide altogether Las Cafas's account of the matter, and 



taking 

 * Charlevoix, p. 333. f p. 341. 



