﻿40 THE FIFTH DISCOURSE! 



some tribes of wandering Tartars had real skill in ap- 

 plying herbs and minerals to the purposes of medi- 

 cine, and pretended to skill in magic ; but the gene- 

 ral character of tfeeir nation seems to have been this : 

 They were professed hunters or fishers, dwelling on 

 that account in forests or near great rivers, under huts 

 or rude tents, or in waggons drawn by their cattle 

 from station to station ; they were dexterous archers, 

 excellent horsemen, bold combatants, appearing often 

 to flee in disorder for the sake of renewing their attack 

 with advantages; drinking the milk of mares, and 

 eating the flesh of colts ; and thus in many respects 

 resembling the old Arabs, but in nothing more than 

 in their love of intoxicating liquors, and in nothing 

 less than in a taste for poetry and the improvement 

 of their language. 



Thus has it been proved, and, in my humble opi- 

 nion, beyond controversy, that the far greater part of 

 Asia has been peopled and immemorially possessed by 

 three considerable nations, whom, for want of better 

 names, we may call Hindus ■, Arahs, and Tartars: 

 each of them divided and subdivided into an infinite 

 number of branches, and all of them so different in 

 form and features, language, manners, and religion, 

 that,, if they sprang originally from a common root, 

 they must have been separated for ages. Whether more 

 than three primitive stocks can be found, or, in other 

 words, whether the Chinese, Japanese, and Persians, 

 are entirely distinct from them, or formed by their in- 

 termixture, I shall hereafter, if your indulgence to me 

 continue, diligently inquire. To what conclusions 

 these inquiries will lead, I cannot yet clearly discern; 

 hut, if they lead to truth, we shall not regret our 

 journey through this dark region of ancient history, 

 in which, while we proceed step by step, and follow 

 ever}' glimmering of certain light that presents itself, 



