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In effect, the Antiquities of the northern kingdoms are fo con- futed, that it is almoft irnpoflible to diftinguifh truth from fable. The firft hiftbrians of thefe as of other countries were poets, who cmbellifhed their writings with allegories and fi- gures, which pofterity has ftnce taken for facts ; hence the Danes treat thofe things as fabulous which the Swedes hold for incbnteftable truths \ and the Norwegians, equally jealous of both nations, queftion the truth of what is advanced by both. Mem. de Trev. 1711. p. 1200. feq. There are e. gr. three different fy {terns of Danifh Antiqui- ties ; the firft fuppoles Danus the founder of the kingdom and nation ; the fecond takes things up higher, and goes back to Noah's ark ; fuppofing that Gomer, grandfon of Japhet came by fea into Europe, and traverling Scytbia fettled in Den- mark ; the third keeps a medium between the other two. Mem. de Trev. 1719. p. 125.
The Biitifh Antiquities before Casfar's invafion are utterly du- bious, not to fay fabulous. Old chronicles fpeak of Samo- thes, the fon of Japhet, as the founder of the Britifli mo- narchy ; Albion a defcendant of Cham invaded it three hun- dred years after ; and about 600 years after this, Brute grand- fon of jEneas came and took pofleffion of the ifland in the year of the world 2880, giving it die name which it ftill re- tained when Caefar made his attempt \ This is Jeffrey of Monmouth's fyftem of the Antiquities of the Britifh nation, which the generality of our hiftorians admit for want of a bet- ter. It has been defended by A. Thomfon of Queen's college, in the preface to his Englifti tranfiation of that wri- ter'. — [ h V. Ouvr. des Scav. Juin. 1706. p. 258. ' Ox. 1718. 8°. V. Nouv. Liter. 1718. p. 167. feq.] M. de Pouilly has fhewn that the Roman Antiquities for the firft 400 years of that ftate are at leaft extremely uncertain. Metji. Acad. Infcript. T. 8. p. 21.
Dionyfms HalicarnafTeus has traced the Roman Antiquities, Jofephus the Jewilh Antiquities, Berofus the Chaldaic Anti- quities^ Sanconiathon the Phoenician Antiquities, Manetho and Marfham the Egyptian Antiquities.
Dionyfms gave his book the title of Roman Antiquities, on account of the curious enquiries he had made concerning the origin of the Romans, by tracing them back to the remoteft ages. For fidelity as well as inftruction he is generally preferred toLivy ; his accounts are more ample, and his fails defcribed with more particulars ; he gives a full idea of the Roman ceremonies, the worfhip of their gods, facrifices, manners, cuftoms, difcipline, policy, courts, laws, &c. V.Mem, de Trev. 1722. p. 555. feq. Jour, des Scav. T. 72. p. 118. feq. But the queftion is, upon what authority? See Mem. Acad. Infer, loc, cit. There are two French tranflations of the book ; one by father Le Jay k , a Jefuit, which is elegant indeed, but complained of as too / free, and often departing from the precife fenfe of the author ; the other more literal and exact by M. Bel- lengar ' doctor of the Sorbonne. — [ k Par. 1724. 4 . 2 Vol. V. Jour, des Scav. T. 74. p. 304. Mem. de Trev. 1723. Bibl. Franc. T. 1. p. 284. 'Par. 1723. 4 . 2 Vol. Jour. des Scav. T. 74. p. 426.]
The Phoenician Antiquities of Sanconiathon are preferved in part by Eufebius. We have an Englifti tranfiation of Sanco- niathon, with notes by bifhop Cumberland, and a continua- tion from the canon of Eratofthenes. Lond. 1720. 8°. V. Mem. Liter, de la Gr. Bret. T. 8. p. 371. feq. The Chaldaic Antiquities of Berofus are loft, except a few fragments which have been collected by Jof. Scaliger, and fince more fully by Fabricius m . Annius of Viterbo, a Domi- nican Monk, towards the clofe of the 15th century, would not fuft'er us to want fuch a treafure, but ofKdoufly went to work, and forged a Berofus out of his own brain, which he publifhed at Rome in 1498 n - The Monk went further; and from the fame mint foon after produced Manetho's fup- plement to Berofus, from the time of /Egyptus king of Egypt to the origin of the Roman ftate. The mifchief is Manetho lived before Berofus ; this amchronifm alone had fufiiced to betray the cheat.— [ m V. Bibl. Grasc. 1. 6. c. 12. n. 9. n Id. ibid, necnon. in Bibl. Lat. 1. 4. c. 13. n. 5.] To the fame clafs of fuppofititious Antiquities belong the He- trurian, Antiqultates Hetrufca, pretended to have been found by Scornelli near Volaterra, and publifhed in 1636 by Cur- tius Inghiramus, who is generally fuppofed to have been the forger of them. A great number of fictitious names of antient authors are cited in this book to give the better face to the cheat ; but the ftile betrayed it. Allattus and Ernftius early detected the impofture. Fabric. Bibl. Lat. 1. 4. c. 13. n. 3. Antiquity is more peculiarly ufed to denote the ceremo- nies, cuftoms, and ufages which obtained in antient times, either with regard to perfons, places, or things. Antiquities, in this fenfe, are ufually divided into facred, political, military, literary, and domefltc; fometimes only into civil and ecclefiaftical. Academical Antiquities, the origins, ufages, &c. of the antient academies, fchools, colleges, and other literary focie- ties. Thefe bear a near relation to fcholaftic Antiquities, and make a branch or divifion of literary Antiquities, Herm. Conringius has given a body of academical Antiquities % Urfi- nus a treatife of the fcholaftical Antiquities of the Hebrews p. — [° De Antiquitatibus Academ. Diilertationes fex Helmji, 3
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1651. 4 . Supplement. Kxtuad. Helmjt. 1674.4°. V Thiir- man. Bibl. Acad. p. 4. feq. P G. Urfmi, Antiquities He- braic* Scholaftico- Academics, Hafn. 1697. 4 . V. Nouv Liter. Lubec. 1698. p. 57;] Apojlolical Antiquities, the acts, monuments, fete, of the firft planters of chriftianity. See Apostle, Cycl. and Suppl. Dr. Cave has publifhed a treatife of apoftolical Antiquities^ Antiquitates Apoftolica, or the lives, ads, &c. of the apo- ftles, evangeiifts, & e . Lond. 1674. Fol. 1684. and 1686. an extraa of it may befeen in Kuji. Bibl. Nouv. Lihror. 1698. p. 191. feq. Biblical Antiquities, the notices of antient laws, ceremo- nies, events, &c. occuring in the fcriptures. Thefe make a branch of ecclefiaftical Antiquities, and bear a near relation to the Jewifh, &c. Antiquities. Some pretend to deduce moftof the heathen Antiquities from the bible ; others as Spencer, &c. take the contrary courfe, and deduce the Antiquities of the bible from thofe of hea- thenifm.
To interpret fcripture it is abfolutely necefiary regard be had to the heathen Antiquities alluded to in them, and thefe not only fuch as are directly aimed at, or approved, but alfo fuch as are purpofcly oppofed. Thus Maimonides conceives the rites of the Zabii very beneficial for giving light to many pofitive Levitical precepts, which now for want of them ieem ftrange and impertinent ; and it would doubtlefs have much contributed to the clear diftinction of the moral and judicial laws, to have known all the ceremonies of the Chal- dean and Phoenician idolatry. V. Dodwel, Lett, of Advice 2. p. 196. feq.
Philo Judsus among the antients, and Quenfted, Moncaeus, Calmet, &c. among the moderns, have publifhed treatifes exprefs concerning the Antiquities of the bible. Chriftian Antiquities; thofe which relate to the antient ftate of the Chriftian church.
Thefe are the fame with what we otherwife call ecclefiaftical Antiquities.
The Magdeburg Centuries are looked upon by proteftants as a library of Chriftian Antiquites.
Mr. Bingham has publifhed a learned fyftem of Chriftian Antiquities. Civil Antiquities, all that belong not to the head of ecck-
fiajiical. Evangelical Antiquities amount to much the fame with
thofe otherwife called apoflolical. Literary Antiquities, thofe relating the matters of learning and ftudy, e. gr. fchools, academies, fciences, doctors, de- greesj profeflbrs, difciples, recitations, ftudies, books, paper, writing, pen, ink, copift, bookfeller, library, letter, hiero- glyphic, note, abbreviature, printing, &c. National Antiquities, thofe employed in tracing the origin, antient actions, ufages, monuments, remains, isfc. of fome nation or people. Parochial Antiquities, thofe confined to the limits of one or more parifhes, and converfant chiefly in what relates to its tithes, revenues, &c, of the churches.
Dr. Kennet has publifhed a learned and curious work under the title of parochial Antiquities, attempted in the hiftory of Ambrofden and Burchefter, and other adjacent parts in the counties of Oxford and Bucks. Oxf. 1695. 4 . V. Phil. Tranf. N°. 220. p. 259. Political Antiquities, thofe relating to the origins of flares, governments, magiftrates, and laws.
Under thefe come the confideration of the antient common- wealths, empires, monarchies, councils, fenates, inaugura- tions, enfigns, crowns, fcepters, nobility, plebeians, Haves, dignities, titles, rewards, punifhments, revenues, tithes, weights, meafures, fairs, markets, fales, ufury, teftaments, burials, coins, and the like. Sacred Antiquities, thofe relating to the religious worfhip, difcipline, and belief of antient times and people. Fabric. Bibl, Antiq. c. 8.
Thefe may be fubdivided, into Heathen, Chriftian, and Ma- hometan, &c.
Reland has a treatife exprefs on the facred Antiquities of the Jews; Struvius on thofe of the Romans; Lakemacber on thofe of the Greeks; and Stillingfleet on thofe of the Britifh churches. Fabiicius has given two plans of a Thefaurus, or body of An- tiquities ; the one of Hebrew Antiquities, after the manner of Gracilis and Gronovius ; the other of ecclefiaftical Anti- quities, divided into twelve books. He gives the names and titles of 156 authors to be included in the firft, and 101 au- thors for the fecond. Jour, des Scav. T. 42. p. 533. Gronovius has given a collection of the chief writers on the Greek Antiquities, Roufe % Pfeiffer b , Bos c , and bifhop Potter d , have given fhorter fyftems; the laft is the beft efteemed : tho' found too fhort by fome in what relates to the religion, the gods, vows, and temples of Greece. To fupply this deficiency, Lakemacher' Greek profeftor atHelmftadt, has given us a treatife of the facred Antiquities of Greece, and feems further to promife the civil, military, domeftic, and literary Antiquities of Greece, in the fame manner ; what he has already given is very exact.— [ a Archsologia Attica 1637. and 1671. 4 . V. Fabric. Bibl. Antiq. c. 2. p. 35. Wood,
Ath.
