^82 On the Origin and 



vemments would ba varioufl/ arranged for the happinefs or mifery of the 

 governed, according to their own virtue and wifdom, or depravity and 

 fully ; fo that, in lefs than three thoufand years, the world would exhibit 

 the fame appearances, which we may a£tually obferve on it in the age of 

 the great Arabian importer- 



On that part of it, to which our united refearches are generally confined',. 

 we fee, jive races of men peculiarly diftinguifhed, in the time ofMuHAMMED, 

 for their multitude and extent of dominion ; but we have reduced them to 

 three, becaufe we can difcover no more, that effentially differ in language, re- 

 ligion, manners, and other known characteriflicks : now thofe three races, 

 how varloufly foever they may at prefent be difperfed and intermixed, mufl 

 (if the preceding conclufions be jullly drawn) have migrated originally from 

 a central country, to find which is the problem propofed for folution. Suppofe 

 it folved ; and give any arbitrary name to that centre : let it, if you pleafe, 

 be Iran. The three primitive languages, therefore, mull at firft have been 

 concentrated in Iran, and there only in fact, we fee traces of them in the 

 earlielt historical age y but, for the fake of greater precifion, conceive the 

 whole empire of Iran with all its mountains and valleys, plains and rivers, to 

 be every way infinitely diminifhed > the firft winding courfes, therefore, of all 

 the nations proceeding from it by land and nearly at the fame time, will be 

 little right lines, but without interfections, becaufe thofe courfes could not 

 have thwarted and croffed one another : if then you. confider the feats of all 

 the migrating nations as points in a furrounding figure, you will perceive, that 

 the feveral rays, diverging from Iran, may be drawn to them without any in- 

 terferon $ but this will not happen, if you afiume as a centre Arabia, or 

 Egypt; India, Tartary, or China: it follows, that Iran, or Perjia (I contend 

 for the meanings not the name J was the central country, which we fought. 



