TheTYG MI ES of the Ancients. 2 7 



Text faith, none of the Neighbourhood did. And becaufe the Nubs 

 are Troglodytes, that therefore they muft be Pygmies, is no Argument at 

 all. For Troglodytes here is ufed as an AdJeSive ; and there is a fort of 

 Sparrow which is called P<?//er Troglodytes. Not but that in Africa xhtXQ 

 was a Nation oi Men called Troglodytes, but quite different from our 

 TjgKiies. How far Bochartus may be in the right, in gueffing the Lakes 

 of the Nile (whereabout Arrflotle places the Pygmies') to be the Fountains 

 of thtKwtx Ajiaboras, which in his defcription, and likewife the AL/), 

 he places in the Country of the AvalUj; , near the Mojjylon Emporium ^ I 

 (hall not enquire. This I am certain of, he mifreprefents ArUiotk where 

 he tells us Cf), ^tamvk in ea fabula hoc faltem verum ejjh ajferat Philofo" 

 phus, PiiJJUos Homines in iis lock degere : for as I have already obferved 5 

 Arijiotle 'mtha.t Text faith nothing at all of their being Men: the con- 

 trary rather might be thence inferred, that they were Brutes. And Bo- 

 chart's Trandation, as well as Gaza's is faulty here, and by no means to 

 be allowed, viz. Z)t aiunt, genus ibi parvnm eli tarn Hominum, quamE- 

 qnori/m :,wh\ch. had Bochart/0 confidered,he would not have been fofond 

 it may be of his Nub<e. And if theN^S^o; Ylvyf.uxi'oi in Hefychius are fuch 

 Pygmies as Bochartus makes his Niibis; ^los tamen abfit tit futemusflatiira. 

 fnijjk Ciibitali, it will not do our bufinefs at all ; and neither Homer ska- 

 thority, nor Arijiotk's does him any Service. 



But this Fable of Men Pygmies has not only obtained amongn: the 

 Greeks and Indian Hiftorians : the Arabians likewife tell much fuch Sto- 

 ries of them, as the fame learned Bochartus informs us. I will give his 

 Latin Trandation of one of them, which he has printed in Arabick^ al- 

 fo : Arabes idem (faith (g) Bochartus) referunt ex cujufdam GxxcwXxjide, 

 qui Jacobo Ifaaci^fZ/V, Sigarienfi/fr/»r ita narrajfe. Navigabam aliquando 

 in mart Zingltano, (^ impulit me ventus in quandam Infulam. In ciijus 

 Oppidum cum devenijem, reperi Incohfs Cnbitalk ejffejiatur£, & plerofque Co- 

 clites. Riorum multitttdo in me congregata me deduxit ad Regem fuum. 

 J^Jjit k, ut Captivus detinerer -^^ in quandam Cave£ Jpeciem conjeElus fum , 

 eos autem aliquando ad helium inflrui cum viderem, dixerunt Hojiem immi- 

 nere, (d^ fore ut propediem ingrueret. Nee multo poji Gruum exercitus in 

 eos infurrexit. Atque ideo erant Coclites, quod eorum oculos ha confodijjent. 

 Atque Ego, virga ajfumpta, in eos impstumfeci, & ilU avolarunt atque au- 

 fugeruntx, oh quodfacinus in honore fai apud ilios. This Author,it feems, 

 reprefents them under the fame Misfortune with the Poet, who firft men- 

 tioned them, as being blind, by having their Eyes peck'd out by their 

 cruel Enemies. Such an Accident poffibly might happen now and then, 

 in thefc bloody Engagements, tho* I wonder the Indian Hijiorians have 

 not taken notice of it. However the Pygmies (hewed themfelves grate- 

 ful to their Deliverer, in heaping Honours on him. One would guefs, 



{() Boclmti Mknxsniars Pojlerior, lib. i. cap. 1 1. p. 7^. (g) Bocbartm iJ/</.p. m. 77. 



"^ ^ ' E for 



