558 
DISSERTATION, Sec. 
" The Patriarch Alphonso Mendez also thus speaks of them, and 
his authority is of great weight, considering that he retained these 
opinions after his expulsion from the country : * They are wonder- 
fully affected towards divine matters ; and have, from the time of 
the Apostles, amid the darkness of the Gentiles and Mahomedans, 
kept alive a spark of faith and of the Christian name. Above all 
things they are inclined to reading and knowledge. As to what 
belongs to their disposition, I can generally say, that the more noble 
land cultivated among them do not yield to Europeans, and that 
those of the lower order far excel our common people; so that 
there is scarcely one among them who can be called stupid and 
foolish,' kc. 
" Poncet, whose fidelity as a traveller must ever rank him high, 
(p. 2,42,) bears witness to their piety, attention to the duties of their 
religion, and their singular moderation with regard to others dif- 
fering from them in point of doctrine. In addition to these, my own 
observations tend fully to corroborate what I have here quoted. I 
believe them in general to be possessed of most excellent inclina- 
tions, with great quickness of understanding, and an anxious desire 
of improvement ; and I am fully persuaded that there is no part of 
the world where European influence might be exerted with more 
Jjeneficial effects than in Abyssinia.'* 
mmy salt. 
