COSSACKS. 



261 



Plato supposed the world to be produced by the 

 Deity, uniting eternal immutable ideas, or forms, to 

 variable matter. 



Aristotle had no cosmogony, because he supposed 

 the world to be without beginning and without end. 



According to the Stoical doctrine, the divine nature 

 acting on matter, first produced moisture, and then 

 the other elements, which are reciprocally convertible. 

 See Shuckford's Connections ; Grotius De Veritul. Ite- 

 lig. Christ. 1. 1. ; Enfield's History of Philosophy ; and 

 the books already mentioned in this article, (g) 



COSSACKS, or Kozaks, a military nation inhabit- 

 ing the frontiers of the Russian empire, and constituting 

 its principal defence against the incursions of the Tar- 

 tars and other savage tribes. 



The origin of this people has never been completely 

 ascertained. Some maintain that they are of Polish ex- 

 traction, and that their language is a dialect of the Po- 

 lonese;* while others trace their emigration from the 

 country of Casachia, a part of the modern Circassia, ly- 

 ing in the vicinity of r lount Caucasus. This country is 

 distinctly mentioned by Constantine Porphyrogenetes, 

 and it is from hence that they are said to have derived 

 their name.f Their history, as given by themselves, fixes 

 their origin to be a mixture of Circassians and Greeks, 

 afterwards augmented by strangers from various na- 

 tions. According to their own account, their capital 

 was founded by refugees from Greece, who, having 

 been denied admission by the people of Azof, proceed- 

 ed up the river, and established a new settlement, to 

 which they gave the name of Tcherchaskoy, implying 

 " the small village of the Tcherchas," or according to 

 our orthography, Circassians, on whose frontier it was 

 situated, and by whom its population was soon increa- 

 sed. This colony was the original stem, from which 

 has sprung these innumerable hordes, which have now 

 penetrated into almost every division of the Russian 

 empire. The circumstance which has led to the erro- 

 neous notion that they are of Polish origin is thus given 

 by Dr Clarke. " Those of the Don relate, that a party 

 of Cossacks being engaged in their usual occupation of 

 hunting, near the range of Mount Caucasus, met a num- 

 ber of people, with whom they were unacquainted, go- 

 ing towards the East ; and having enquired who they 

 were, the strangers answered, that they were emigrants 

 from Poland, who had fled the oppression of their no- 

 bles, and were proceeding to Persia, to join the troops 

 of that country against the Turks. The Cossacks told 

 them that they might spare themselves the trouble of 

 so long a march in order to commit hostilities upon the 

 Turks, and persuaded them to return with them to the 

 town of Tcherchaskoy, where they would find an asy- 

 lum, and whence, in concert with them, they might at- 

 tack the fortress of Azof. Assisted by this reinforce- 

 ment, and with only four pieces of cannon, all the ar- 

 tillery they possessed at that time, they laid siege to 

 Azof, which fell into the hands of the combined 

 forces." This was their first appearance as a war- 

 like nation ; and to their success in this enterprize, 

 must be attributed that fondness for war, by which 

 they have been since so greatly distinguished. About 

 the middle of the tenth century, they were employ- 

 ed as mercenaries by the Greek emperor in his war 



Cossacks. 



against the Turks ; and in consideration of their impor- 

 tant services, he sent them with assurances of protec- 

 tion and recommendatory letters to the king of Poland. 

 They had early begun an intercourse with the people 

 of that country, and the frequent emigrations of the 

 Poles had added to their number and their strength. 

 It was indeed a law in their constitution, that whoso- 

 ever chose to settle among them, even their prisoners 

 of war, were admitted into all the privileges of citizen- 

 ship. Russians, Poles, Tartars, Circassians, Calmucks, 

 Armenians, Greeks, and Turks, were received without 

 distinction ; and thus the Cossack nation may be consi- 

 dered as a mixture of various tribes, united by a simila- 

 rity of disposition, and forming, by reason of their go- 

 vernment and manners, a distinct class in society. 

 They were first employed in the Russian armies in 

 1579; and, after the demolition of the Tartarian em- 

 pire, were appointed by the Russian government the 

 guardians of the new frontiers. They had certain lands 

 allotted to them for their support, and obtained a con- 

 stitution, which included various privileges unknown 

 to the other subjects of the Russian empire. Their 

 numbers, however, so rapidly increased, that they have 

 been compelled to seek for other settlements; and their 

 colonies extend from the banks of the Dnieper to the 

 remotest confines of Siberia. The Cossacks are in mo- 

 dern times known under various appellations, but of 

 these the Don Cossacks may be regarded as the princi- 

 pal stock ; and it is to them that we intend chiefly to 

 confine the present article, contenting ourselves with a 

 brief account of its different branches. 



The country of the Don Cossacks is bounded by the Soi | ancJ 

 governments of Saratof, Caucasus, Voronetz, and Eka- 3 

 terinoslaf ; and is upwards of 3600 square miles in ex- 

 tent. The soil is in general rich and fruitful, and well 

 adapted for agriculture or pasture. The immense 

 steppes which lie between the Don and the Danaetz, 

 present, in summer, one wild continued meadow, full 

 of flowers, and producing the richest herbage. But ma- 

 ny of these plains are desolate and untenanted, except 

 by beasts of prey. Cultivation is unpardonably ne- 

 glected ; the grass is allowed to rot upon the ground, 

 and the only appearance of culture is confined to the 

 banks of the rivers. The indolence and unsettled mi- 

 litary life of the Cossacks, indeed, preclude all hope that 

 they will ever take advantage of their fine situation, 

 and apply themselves to the labours of husbandry. The 

 want of towns, where they might convert their produce 

 into money, is also another very considerable obstacle 

 to every kind of agricultural improvement. Many of 

 them have farms on which they maintain from 50 to 

 200 horses, as many horned cattle, and several hundred" 

 sheep. But the principal branch of husbandry among 

 the more wealthy, is the cultivation of the vine. This, 

 however, is attended with some difficulty, as the vines 

 must be buried during the winter, to protect them from 

 the frost, and dug up in the spring. The vineyards are 

 chiefly planted on the southern declivity of the heights 

 and banks of the Don, in a marly and calcareous soil ; 

 and the grapes arrive very early at maturity. The wine 

 that is produced from them is sometimes uncommonly 

 good, resembling something between Burgundy and 

 Champagne, but in general it is very poor and tasteless. 



ricultuiea 



* Scherer Tableau de la Petite Rustic, torn. 1. 



■f Peyssonncl Observations Historiqucs, $c. sur les Peuples Bart ares, p. 125. Their name has given rise to many absurd etymolo- 

 gies. Some derive it from a Tartar word signifying an armed an; others from a PolUh word Cosa, implying a goat, either from 

 their nimbieness, or because they formerly wore the skins of that animal ; others from Kvssa, a small promontory ; and others from a 

 word signifying a Rover; but the most probable is that of Pevssomiel, given in the text. 



