Chap. ill. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 259 



Diodorus, who lived much about the ttme of Auguftus, he tells 

 us that the numbers there were greatly decreafed. 



There is another country adjoining to Italy, very much greater 

 than Sicily, and greater than even Italy, which was once fwarming 

 with people; I mean Gaul. This nation firft overflowed into Italy, 

 as was natural, being a country only divided from it by a rid"-e of 

 hills; and there they poiTefled themfelves of a great trad: of country, 

 which, from them, was called Cifalpine Gaul, After that they fent 

 out colonies to different parts of Europe, and even into Aha in great 

 numbers, as I have already mentioned *. But a little before the 

 coming of our Saviour, they had been conquered by Julius Csefar: 

 And a moll: bloody conqueft it was; for Plutarch, in his life of Ca^- 

 far, computes that he killed a million of men, and made prifoners 

 of another million f. Indeed, from Casfar's own account of 

 his wars in Gaul, it is evident that he mufl: have deftroyed a o-reat 

 number of people in that country: And a great and warlike na- 

 tion, in the neighbourhood of Gaul, I mean the Helvetii, he may 

 be faid to have almoft exterminated ; for he gives us the number 

 of the Helvetii, taken from written records, that they themfelves 

 made when they left their country, which, as I have faid, the 

 whole people did, men, women, and children, after deftroying their 

 towns, villages, and even fmgle detached houfes J. The whole num- 

 ber, of this vv'onderful emigration, was 368,000, of which no more 

 than 110,000 returned home §. In ihort, it appears, that every 

 'country, which the Romans conquered, was more or lefs depopulat- 

 ed by them; and, indeed, it is to me evident, that the tendencv of all 

 great empires is to diminifli the number of inhabitants in the coun- 

 tries where they are eflablifhed. 1 am, therefore, perfuaded, that, 



K k 2 before 



* Page 244. 



+ See p. 73. and following of "The Diflertatlon on the Numbers of Mankind'' 

 referred to, or p- 755 of this vol. 



% Lib. 1. Dc Belio GallkOf Cap. 29. § See p. 7.^6, 



