5^ UNIVERSAL ERUDITION. 



ment of mankind, to treat them all as dupes or 

 impoftors ; and it would be an injury offered to 

 public integrity, were we to doubt the veracity 

 of authors univerfally efleemed, and of facts that 

 are in themfelves right worthy of belief. It 

 would be even a kind of infatuation to doubt 

 that there have been fuch cities as Athens, Spar- 

 ta, Rome, Carthage, &c. or that Xerxes reigned 

 in Perfia, and Auguftus in Rome; whether Han- 

 nibal ever was in Italy ; or, that the emperor 

 Conftantine built Conltantinople, &c. The una- 

 nimous teftimony of the mod refpectable hifto- 

 rians will not admit any douht of thefe matters. 

 When an hiftorian is allowed to be completely 

 able to judge of an event, and to have no intent 

 of deceiving by his relation, his teftimony is irre- 

 cufable. But to avoid the danger of adopting 

 error for truth, and to be fatisfied of a fact that 

 appears doubtful in hiftory, we may make ufe of 

 the four following rules, as they are founded in 

 reafon. 



i. We ought to pay a particular regard to the 

 teflimonies of thofe who wrote at the fame time 

 the events happened, and that have not been 

 contradicted by any cotemporary author of 

 known authority. Who can doubt, for exam- 

 ple, of the truth of the facts related by admiral 

 Anfon, in the hiflory of his voyage round the 

 world ? The admiral faw all the facts there 

 mentioned with his own ey^s, and publifhed his 

 book when two hundred companions of his voy- 

 age 



