Retrospect of French 
asserts that Japhet was the father of 
all the eminent nations, particularly 
of the Gauls, who took the name of 
Gomerians from his son, which they 
afterwards changed for that of Sacques, 
and Normades, who, dividing’ them- 
selves into two bands, one of these 
passed into Armenia and Cappadocia, 
and thence into Phrygia under Acmon, 
where they assumed the appellation of 
Titans. This Acmon was father of 
Uram, who by his wife Titia, had Sa- 
turn, father of Jupiter and Dis: Ju- 
piter began his reign a little time after 
the time of Abraham, and as his do- 
minions were very extensive, he gave 
the more southern portion, such as 
Spain, Gaul, and perhaps Great Bri- 
tain, to his brother Dis, whence the 
Gauls, termed by Callemach as the de- 
scendants of the Titans, glory in trac- 
ing their origin. : 
M. Martin, the third author alluded 
to above, conjectures that the Romans 
having considered Pluto asa term cor- 
respondent to father, were tempted to 
believe that the Di of the ~Gauls, 
whence they pretended 10 be descend- 
ed, and the Dis Puler of Rome were 
exactly the same. It is his own opi- 
nion, however, ‘** that it was Mer- 
cury from whom the Gauls pretended 
to be sprung: this theory is founded 
on Teulales, thename of that divinity, 
which in the Celtic signifies the father 
of a people. Teutates or :Theutates, 
was then the chief whence they be- 
lieved themselves to be descended, and 
in whom they found at once ihe stem 
of their genealogical tree, and the 
source of that blood which circulated 
in their veins.’’ 
M. Boullemier, on his part, is in- 
clined to think, that the Celtic term 
De, Di, Dis, isa primitive and radical 
expression, and that nearly all nations 
have adopted it in the same significa. 
tion. “It is the 7% of the Chinese, 
the Dios or Thevs of the Greeks, the 
Deus of the Latins. Iam much mis- 
taken, observes Bochart, if the Dis 
Pater of Cesar, is not the Diespiter or 
Jupiter of the Romans, which is prov- 
ed from the Greek Dios, or the He. 
brew Diow;* and I myself allow, that 
Di might have served in Gaul as a 
general term for the Supreme Being. 
The worship of the Gauls,” (adds he) 
“‘ sprung from a pure source, and the 
ob TENEE SUT OT FOREN UMN SEP TET 
* Geogr, Sacr. 
Literature—History. 683 
tradition of their real origin from Japhet 
the sou of Noah, may have heen pre- - 
served by the Druids, who alone pos- 
sessed the key to the mysteries of re- 
ligion, while Cesar merely expressed 
himself in conformity to popular no- 
tions. Although the multitude were 
insensibly led by the example of their 
neighbours to adorea plurality of gods, 
yet the Druids constantly taught a 
more noble faith : that of one only crea- 
tor of the Universe. 
“« It is in consequence of their origin 
also, that our ancestors counted by 
nights and not by days: such was the 
custom of the Hebrews, and all other 
ancient nations, with the exception of 
the Babylonians, who only reckoned 
by lunar months. The Romans them- 
selves commenced their days at mid- 
night; the ancient Germans and the 
first Anglo-Saxons reekoned in the 
same manner as the Gauls, which is 
followed by the Arabians at the pre- 
sent moment. 
‘“¢ Cesar therefore is mistaken, when 
he asserts that the reckoning by nights 
was acompliment to Pluto, and he is 
equally in the wrong, to have consi- 
dered Di in.any other light than that 
of a Supreme Berna. ; 
‘Notice sur quelques Manuscrits,’’&c. 
Notice relative to some Historical Ma- 
nuscripts of Jean Benard concerning 
the English, French, Flemings, &c. by 
the Abbé Mercier ae Saint Leger. 
We are informed by the learned 
Abbé Mercier de St. Leger, that the 
manuscripts in question were written 
on paper in-1572, and that they con- 
sisted of a folio of 576 pages: the 
following is the title, “ Sommairés | 
Recueils des Querelles & Pretentions 
anciemnes des Auglois contre les Fran. 
cois, des Alliances générales & parti- 
culieres entre Jes Anglois & les 
Hanouyers, Flamans, Bourguignons et 
autres contre les Francois, &c.” Par 
Jean Benard, 
This is a work at once scarce and 
curious, being only mentioned in the 
new editions of the ** Bibliotheque ‘His- 
torique de la France.” The fathers 
L’Abbé and Montfaucon take'no notice 
of it atall in their hbrary of manu- 
scripts. The execution is admirable, 
and the ornaments consist both of 
gold and colours, Onthe back of the 
binding we find the cypher L. B. and 
it has every appearance of being an 
original, ‘4 : 
