lay open in a hut inhabited by a large fa mily, and yet nothing was purloined. The following incident, which he also mentions, is remarkable. A Ruffian of Tobolfki, in the courfe of a long journey, lodged one night in an Oftiac's hut, and the next day on the road miffed his purse with a hundred rubles. His landlord's fon, hunting at fome diftance from the hut, found the purfe, but left it there. By his father's order, he covered it with branches, to fecure it in cafe an owner should be found. After three months, the Ruffian returning, lodged with the fame Oftiac; and mentioning occafionally the lofs of his purse, the Oftiac, who at first did not recollect his face, cry'd out with joy, "Art thou the man who loft that purfe? my fon fhall go and fhow thee where it lies, that thou may'ft take it up with thine own hand." The Hottentots (a) have not the least notion of theft: tho' immoderately fond of tobacco and brandy, they are employ'd by the Dutch for tending warehouses full of these commodities. Here is an inftance of probity above temptation, even among favages

(a) Kolben.

in the firft ftage of focial life. Some individuals are more liberally endued than others with virtuous principles: may it not be thought, that in that refpect nature has been more kind to the Hottentots than to many other tribes? Spaniards, fettled on the fea-coaft of Chili, carry on a commerce with neighbouring favages, for bridles, fpurs, knives, and other manufactures of iron; and in return receive oxen, horses, and even children for flaves. A Spaniard carries his goods there; and after obtaining liberty to dispose of them, he moves about, and delivers his goods, without the leaft referve, to every one who bargains with him. When all is fold, he intimates his departure; and every purchaser hurries with his goods to him; and it is not known that any one Indian ever broke his engagement. They give him a guard to carry him fafe out of their territory, with all the flaves, horfes, and cattle he has purchased. The favages of Brazil are faithful to their promises, and to the treaties they make with the Portuguele. Upon fome occafions, they may be accused of error and wrong judgeVOL. IV.

ment,

ment, but never of injustice nor of duplicity.

While the earth was thinly peopled, plenty of food, procured by hunting and fishing, promoted population; but as population leffens the ftock of animal food, a favage nation, encreafing in numbers, muft fpread wider and wider for more game. Thus tribes, at firft widely feparated from each other, approach gradually till they become neighbours. Hence a new scene with refpect to morality. Differences about their hunting- fields, about their game, about perfonal injuries, multiply between neighbours; and every quarrel is blown into a flame, by the averfion men naturally have to ftrangers. Anger, hatred, and revenge, and revenge, now find vent, which formerly lay latent without an object: diffocial paffions prevail without control, because among favages morality is no match for them; and cruelty becomes predominant in the human race. Ancient history accordingly is full of enormous cruelties; witnefs the incurfions of the northern barbarians into the Roman empire; and the incurfions of Genhizcan and Tamerlane into the fer

tile countries of Afia, spreading destruction with fire and fword, and fparing neither man, woman, nor infant.

Malevolent paffions, acquiring ftrength by daily exercise against persons of a different tribe, came to be vented against perfons even of the fame tribe; and the privilege long enjoy'd by individuals of avenging the wrongs done to them, beftow'd irrefiftible force upon fuch paffions (a). The history of ancient Greece prefents nothing to the reader but ufurpations, affaffinations, and other horrid crimes. The names of many famous for wickedness, are still preserved; Atreus, for example, Eteocles, Alcmeon, Phedra, Clytemneftra. The ftory of Pelops and his defcendents, is a chain of criminal horrors: during that period, parricide and incest were ordinary incidents. Euripides represents Medea vowing revenge against her husband Jason, and laying a plot to poison him. Of that infamous plot the chorus exprefs their approbation, justifying every woman who, in like circumftances, acts the fame part.

(a) See Hiftorical Law-tracts, tract 1.

The frequent incurfions of northern barbarians into the Roman empire, fpred defolation and ruin through the whole. The Romans, from the highest polish degenerating into favages, affumed by degrees the cruel and bloody manners of their conquerors; and the conquerors and conquered, blended into one mafs, equalled the groffeft barbarians of ancient times in ignorance and brutality. Clovis, King of the Franks, even after his converfion to Christianity, affaffinated without remorfe his nearest kinfman. The children of Clodomir, ann. 530, were affaffinated by their two uncles. In the thirteenth century, Ezzelino de Aromano obtained the fovereignty of Padua, by maffacring 12,000 of his fellow-citizens. Galeas Sforza, Duke of Milan, was affaffinated ann. 1476 in the cathedral church of Milan, after the af faffins had put up their prayers for courage to perpetrate the deed. It is a fill ftronger proof how low morality was in those days, that the Pope himself, Sextus IV. attempted to affaffinate the two brothers, Laurent and Julien de Medicis; chufing the elevation of the hoft as a proper time, when the people would be busy about