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but as meer fables. Laftly, before the AbyfTjnians 

 could have paffed to America, they muft have ta- 

 ken their departure from the wefterri coaft of Africk; 

 and Laet is confident, that the dominions of the 

 king of Ethiopia do not extend, ib far that way. 

 In the mean time, it is certain, from the accounts 

 of the Portuguefe, that the king of Benin had his 

 crown of the emperor of AbyfTinia. 



Laet fays but little of the manner in which Gro- 

 tius imagines South-America has been peopled by 

 the inhabitants of thofe countries, which lie to the 

 foirhward of the Streights of Magellan ; he is fa- 

 tisfied with obferving that they are only iflands, be- 

 yond which, as far as Terra A u oralis, there is no- 

 thing but an immenfe extent of ocean : that we are 

 not as yet well acquainted with what lies between 

 that country and New Guinea, and that all the 

 fouthern American nations, not excepting thofe un- 

 der the dominion of the incas of Peru, fpoke an 

 infinite variety of different languages. The reafons 

 on which Grotius eftablifhes the Chinefe original of 

 the Peruvians, appear no lefs frivolous to this 

 critick. 



In the firft place, fays he, the character of the 

 two nations and their tafle for the arts are extremely 

 different. In the fecond place no one has ever faid 

 that the Chinefe pay any religious adoration to the 

 fun j and were this even granted, that worfhip is 

 common to fo many nations, that no arguments 

 could be drawn from hence of any weight in the 

 prefent queftion. It is true, that the incas of Peru, 

 as well as the Chinefe emperors, called themfelves 

 the defendants of the Sun \ but how many other 

 princes have either ufurped themfelves, or received 

 that tide from their fubje&s : Did not the Mexicans 



give 



