NATIONS ADJACENT. 183 



cafTon, and which remained in his days, cut on tables of brafs, in 

 the temple oi Jupiter CapitoUnus, in the archives of the aediles. 



" The firft of thefe treaties was confirmed by oath in the 

 " following manner : The Cartbaginiar.i fwore by the gods of 

 " their country, and the Romans by a ftone, agreeably to an 

 " antient cuftom \ an<i by Mars Enyalius. The ceremony of 

 " fwearing by a ftone was thus performed v the perfon that was 

 ** appointed to this office, having firft foleranly attefted the 

 " publick faith for the due obfervance of the treaty, took in 

 " his hands a ftone, and pronounced the following w'ords — < If 

 " I fwear truly, may the gods be propitious to me : but if I 

 " think or adt any thing that is contrary to my oath, then let 

 " the reft enjoy in fafety their country, laws, pofiellions, houfe- 

 " hold gods, and fepulchres ; and let me alone be caft out from 

 " the fociety, as this ftane is now caft away.' At the fame time 

 ** he threw away the ftone*." 



The other cuftom was one of the earlieft date on this very Columns Me- 

 continent, that of preferving the memory of any remarkable 

 tran factions by pillars of ftone. Thus we find in Genefis^^ that 

 the treaty between Laban and Jacob was confirmed and per- 

 petuated by the eredion of a pillar and a heap of ftones. The 

 Chinefe embalTadors raifed two pillars on the fpot, to determine 

 the boundaries of the refpe(5live empires, and on them engraved 

 the treaty. 



It was the intention of the Rujftans to have made the JImur River Amur. 

 the hmits of their empire. This vaft river is formed originally 



• Hampton's Polybius, book iii. chap, iii. p. 2x4.. -f Chap. xxxi. v- 51. 



by 



