GERMANY. 



with confl.itutional bravery, wliich is the refult of nerves 

 and fpirits. " In hos artiis, (fays Tacitus, Germania, iii. 

 20.) in hxc corpora, (jure niiramiir, e'ccrcfcunt." The fe- 

 verity of a winter campaign, that chilled tiie courage of the 

 Roman troops, was fcarccdy felt by thofe hardy children of 

 the north, who, in their turn, were unable to refill the 

 fumnicr heats, and diilblved away in languor and ficknefs, 

 under the beam;; of an Italian fun. 



As to the origin of the Germans, although we cannot al- 

 low with Tacitus, that they were " Indigenjc,'' or natives of 

 the foil, yet we mull admit that ancient Germany was not 

 peopled by any foreign colonics, already formed into a politi- 

 cal fociety ; but the name and nation received their exiilence, 

 as we have already obferved in the beginning of this article, 

 from the gradual union of fome wandering barbarians, pro- 

 bably of the fame nation with the Celta; and Gauls, and 

 both, perhaps, defcended from the ancient Gonierians, or 

 defcendants of Gomel", the elded fon of Japhet. {See Dis- 

 persion <;/ Mrtw/v'/^/. ) The Germans, however, were very 

 •much intermixed with the old Scythians and Sarmatians, on 

 that fide which joined their territories, and particularly be- 

 tween the two great rivers, Rhine and Danube ; and they, 

 •without doubt, had adopted many of their cuiloms, as well 

 as intermingled fome portion of their language with their 

 .own ; but in all other parts of Germany, we find fuch an 

 exail conformity in their religion, laws, cuftOms and lan- 

 guage, as affords a very ftrong prefumption that they were 

 defcended from the fame ancient (lock with the Celt^ or 

 Gauls, and tliat they came by gradual and fucceffive migra- 

 tions from A fia. (See Cklt.^:.) How this country came 

 to be denominated Germany, and whence its inhabitants de- 

 rived the appellation of Germans, it is not eafy to determine. 

 The mod probable conjeAure is, that they were fo called, 

 either from their affinity to the Celtes, or from the Celtic 

 words " ghar man," a warlike man ; but this was not their 

 •orir.'inal name, any more than the appellations of " Teutonea' ' 

 or " AUemanni," by which, as we have already obferved, 

 they were occalionaliy denominated. This name was of a 

 more modern date, a^id feems to have had its rife on the 

 •other fide of the Rhine, when the Cendrufi, Eburones, 

 Cserafi, and Pa;mani croifed that river, after the example of 

 fome others of their countrvmen, and fettled in Gaul. Thefe, 

 it feems, were the firft to whom the appellation of Germans 

 was given, and wjiich, tJicrefore, extended no farther than 

 the Rhenilh (liore on the Gallic lide, but foon after paffcd 

 over to the other, and became common to other people of 

 the fame language asd cuiloms, till at length it became the 

 general name ef the whole nation, and the country was 

 called fro'T. thera Germania or Germany. 



Whatever nrmy be fcippofed to be the remote origin of the 

 German 5, they appear to have been in a favage and unci- 

 ■^^vilized (late ob their firfl fettlement in this country. The 

 ■account given of the country itfelf by Caefar and Tacitus is 

 fo unfavourable, that it feems to be almoll incredible, that a 

 'brave nation, for Inch we muft allow the ancient Germans 

 •to have been, would have been contented to remain in it, 

 when they were deftitute of neither ftrength nor courage to 

 have forced their way into others more pleafant and fruitful. 

 Thefe ancient hillorians defcribe it as wholly barren and un- 

 cultivated ; and even its variety of foil and climate added 

 to the horror of it, from the dreadful forells, putrid and in- 

 lalubrious bogs, the inclemency of its winds, dampncfs of 

 its fcas, lakes, and rivers, and fterility of its foil. The unci- 

 vilized itate of the ancient Germans may be inferred from 

 -the account given of them by Tacitus ; for in his time they 

 •were unacquainted with the ufe of letters (German, ii. 19); 

 and tlic ufe of letters is tlie principal circumilance that dillin- 



guiflies a civilized people from a lierJ of fafages incapable 

 of knowledge or reflection. 



Of the ufeful and agreeable arts of life the ancient Ger- 

 mans were wretchedly deftitute. Modern Germany is faid 

 to contain about 2,300 walled towns, whereas, in a much 

 wider extent of country, the geographer Ptolemy cotdd dif- 

 cover no more than ninety places, which he decorates with 

 the name of cities, though, according to our ideas, they 

 would not deferve that fplendid title. We can only fuppofe 

 tliem to have been rude fortifications, conftrutlcd in the cen- 

 tre of the woods, and defigned to iecure the women, 

 children, and cattle, whiUl the warriors of the tribe Biarchcd 

 out to repel a fudden invafion. Such is the account given 

 of them by Cxfar ; and Tacitus aflerts that the ancient 

 Germans had no cities. Even in their hamlets or villages 

 they did not build their houfes contiguous to each other. 

 They confidered it as a badge of fervitude to be obliged to 

 dwell in a city furrounded with walls. Each barbarian fixed 

 his independent dwelling on the fpot to wliich a plain, a 

 wood, or a dream of frefli water had induced him to give the 

 preference. Neitlier ftone, nor brick, nor tiles, were em- 

 ployed in thefe flight habitations. They were, mdeed, no 

 more than low huts of a circular figure, built of rough tim- 

 ber, thatched with draw, and pierced at the top to leave a 

 free paflage for the fmoke. That they confidered cities as 

 places of confinement rather than of fecurity, appears from the 

 following circumftance : when one of their tribes had diaken 

 off the Roman yoke, their countrymen required of tliem, as 

 an evidence of their having recovered liberty, to demolifli the 

 walls of the towns which the Rom.ans had built in their 

 country. The Romans built feveral cities of note on the 

 banks of the Rhine. But in all the vad countries from that 

 river to the coads of the Baltic, there was hardly one city 

 previous to the ninth century of the Chriftian era. 



In the mod inclement winter, the hardy German was fa- 

 tisfied with a fcanty garment made of the fliin of fome ani- 

 mal. The natives, who dwelt towards the north, clothed 

 thenifelves with furs ; and the women manufaftured for their 

 own uie a coarfe kind of linen. The game of various forts, 

 with which the foreds of Germany were plentifully docked, 

 fupplied its inhabitants with food and exercife. Their mon- 

 drous herds of cattle, lefs remarkable for their beauty than 

 for their utility, formed the principal article of their wealth. 

 A fmall quantity of corn was the only produce exafted 

 from the earth. The ufe of orchards, or artificial meadows, 

 was unknown to the Germans ; nor can we expeft any im- 

 provements in agriculture from a people, whofe property 

 every year experienced a general change by a new divifioK 

 of the arable lands, and who, in that drange operation, 

 avoided difputes, by fuftering a great part of their terri- 

 tory to lie wade and without tillage. Gold, filver, and 

 iron, were extremely fcarce in Germany. Its barbarous in- 

 habitants wanted both flvill and patience to inveftigate thofe 

 rich veins of filver, which have fo liberally rewarded the at- 

 tention of the princes of Brunfwick and Saxony. Although 

 the various tranfacfions of peace and war had introduced 

 lome Roman coins (chiefly filver) among the borderers of 

 the Rhine and Danube ; yet the more didant tribes were 

 abfolutely unacquainted with the ufe of money, carried on 

 their limited traffic by the exchange of commodities, and 

 prized their rude earthen veffels as- of equal value with tlie 

 iilver vafes, the prefents 6f Rome to their princes and am- 

 balFadors. If we contemplate a favage aation in any part 

 of the globe, a fupine indolence and a careleffnefs of fu- 

 turity will be found to conditute their general cliarader. 

 This was decidedly the cafe with refpett to the ancient Ger- 

 mans. The care of the houfe and family^ the n.anagement 

 4 oi 



