204 
favour of Almighty God, the Muffulmans 
experienced but little difficulty: © for, 
when the inhabitants beheld our troops, 
they were {mitten with fear, and fo affected 
by terror, that not one of them could 
fight, nor draw his knife; they were fo 
pufillanimous and contemptible, that noné 
could fummon up courage to ftand before 
us in battle ; and their prince fent a mef- 
fenger to us, and folicited peace.’ On 
hearing this, Ofman, the Commander of 
the Faithful, exclaimed—*‘ All this has 
proceeded from the grace of God, and 
from his mercy towards his fervants !° 
Then he caufed the fifth of the plunder 
of Cyprus, which had been fent to him, 
to he diftributed in fhares amongft the 
inhabitants of Medina, referving for him-. 
felf that beautiful damfel whom Moawyeh 
had prefented to him; but, as this cir- 
cumftance difpleafed his wife Nailah, and 
caufed great uneafinefs to her, he fent the 
damfel back to Moawyeh, who kept her 
in his houfe until the day of his death, but 
the bore not any children.” 
eR ree 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, if 
DE fe good as to inform, in any way 
B moft convenient for yourfeit, the 
writer in your Magazine for November, 
who figns himfelf a Lover of Hiftoric 
Truth, that I feel myfelf mdebted to him 
for his politenefs in the manner of ex- 
preffing his remarks on the Effay on the 
Character of Lear; and that if I have 
any opportunity by another edition, I. will 
duly confider, and endeavour to avail my- 
felf of, their juftnefs. I am, Sir, . 
Glafgow College: Your’s, &c. W. R. 
—ee eS 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
E are referred by Quintus Cur- 
VY tius to an old Perfian word. for 
the etymology of the Tigris, a celebrated 
river fo called; he fays, ‘‘ a celeritaie qua 
defluit,” &c. from the fwiftnefs with which 
it flows, ‘* Tigris fignifying an arrow’?— 
in modern Perfian, this word is foftened 
into fir, or feer, as it is pronounced (the 
Greek termination, (is) being omitted). 
The ancient (tigr) and the modein (tir) 
feems to have entered into the compofi- 
tion of many Pérfian prover names, as 
Tigranes, Tiridates, &c. But how is this 
etymology to be reconciled with the He- 
brew name of the river, mb24q (Diglai)? 
The firit letter prefents but little difficul- 
ty, fince dand ¢ are in all languages in- 
terchangeable, and letters of the fame or- 
gan. Now, as te the obftacle which oc- 
curs in the / of diglat, I think we mutt 
4 
Etymolcgy of Tigris Paffage of Dr. Hyde. 
/ " 
{April 1, 
confult the ancient Perfick, and we fhall 
find, according to Sir William Ouleley, ia 
his «© Odferwattons on fome Medals and 
Gems bearing Iluferiptions in the Paklucé 
Character,” (p.27 and.28), that the ler- 
ters Land R were indifcriminately ufed 
by the early Perfians, and that one charae- 
ter generally ferved for both. If we read 
the Hebrew word, therefore, Digrat,.we 
fhall vellore it perhaps to its Pertian deri- 
vation, and confirm the etymology of 
uintus Curtius, Ms Y¥. 
Marca 7, 1802. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SERG PK : 
HAT the adoration of the (un, which 
prevailed among the Peruvians long 
before the arrival of the Spaniards in Ame- 
rica, was borrowed from firangers. of dif- - 
tant nations with whom they held a com- 
mercial intercourfe, is the opinion of a 
moft learned fcholar, the celebrated Dr. 
Hyde, of Oxford, who in his ** Hifforia 
Religionis Veterum Perfarum,” (firtt edit. 
p. 123), fays, “* Now eff dubium quia olim 
Peni et Cananai,” &c. &c.—* It is @ 
matter beyond all doubt, that in former 
times the Phoenicians and Cananites failed’ 
to the Peruvian coaft, as I have proved 
from the Periplus of Hanno, and other aut 
thorities, in my notes to the Itizera 
Mundi. Befides, in the Greek Bible, we 
read that Solomon, with the affiftance of 
the Tyrians, procured the gold oapdixe, 
1. €. of the Peruvians, whence may be 
afcertained the more true punctuation of 
the Hebrew name D75."” ; 
Not having at hand either the Perzplus 
of Hanne, or the rabbinical work (Ltinera 
Mundt) avove-mentioned, I beg to learn 
from {ome of your ingenious correfpon- 
dents what has been done on this hint of 
Dr. Hyde, by himfelf or others. The 
Englith Bible (ii. Chronicles, chap. 3, 
ver. 6), reads the paflage in queftion 
thus—‘* And the gold was gold of Par- 
waim ; in the Latin Vulgate this proper 
name is not to be found—the verfe is ren- 
dered as follows—“* Strawvit quoque pavi- 
mecnium templt pretiofifime marmore decore 
molto.’ In the Greek Septuagint, we 
read as in the Eneglith, yevels re ex dapovipry 
which correfponds .to the Hebrew text 
roving ary, rendered by Montanus, aurum 
Parvaain. : 
It appears from the paffage in Dr. 
Hyde’s work, above quoted, that he would 
correct this pronunciation of the Hebrew. 
word, and call it Parouim or Peruim, a 
plural, which he would tranflate the Pe- 
TUCLIANS. I any, Sir, &c. P.@. 
feb, 24, 1802, : 
To 
