dem virginem, equo mari fabricando invigilare decuiffe, quis putat et incredibile prorfus! Quamobrem exiltimo veram equae lectionem paflim reftituendam, nifi ubi forte, metri caufa, equum potius quam equam, genus pro fexu, dixit Maro. Vale! dum hæc paucula corriges, majus opus moveo. An An ESSAY of the learned MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS, concerning the ORIGIN of SCIENCES. Written to the most learned Dr A from the deferts of Nubia. F. R. S. MONG all the enquiries which have been purfued by the curious and inquifitive, there is none more worthy the fearch of a learned head, than the fource from whence we derive those arts and fciences, which raife us fo far above the vulgar, the countries in which they rofe, and the channels by which they have been conveyed. As thofe, who first brought them amongst us, attained them by travelling into the remoteft parts of the earth, I may boast of fome advantages by the fame means; fince I write this from the defarts of Ethiopia, from thofe plains of fand, which have buried the pride of invading armies, with my foot perhaps at this inftant ten fathom over the grave of Cambyfes; a folitude to which neither Pythagoras nor Apollonius ever penetrated. It is univerfally agreed, that arts and fciences were derived to us from the Egyptians and Indians; but from whom they first received them, is yet a fecret. The highest period of time, to which the learned attempt to trace them, is the beginning of the Affyrian monarchy, when their inventors were worshipped as gods. It is therefore neceffary to go backward into times even more remote, and to gain fome knowledge of their biftory, from whatever dark and broken hints may any way be found in ancient authors concerning them. Nor Troy nor Thebes were the first of empires; we have mention, though not histories, of an earlier warlike people called the Pygmæans. I cannot but perfuade my felf, from thofe accounts in Homer *, Aristotle, and others, * II. iii. Hom. of of their history, wars, and revolutions, and from the ve ry air in which thofe authors fpeak of them as of things known, that they were then a part of the study of the learned. And though all we directly hear is of their military atchievments, in the brave defence of their country from the annual invafions of a powerful enemy, yet I cannot doubt, but that they excelled as much in the arts of peaceful government; though there remain no traces of their civil inftitutions. Empires as great have been fwallowed up in the wreck of time, and fuch fudden pe riods have been put to them, as occafion a total ignorance of their story. And if I fhould conjecture, that the like happened to this nation from a general extirpation of the people by thofe flocks of nonftrous birds, wherewith antiquity agrees they were continually infefted; it ought not to feem more incredible, than that one of the Baleares was wafted by rabbits, Smynthe by mice *, and of late Bermudas almoft depopulated by rats +. No thing is more natural to imagine, than that the few fur vivors of that empire retired into the depths of their de farts, where they lived undisturbed, till they were found out by Ofiris, in his travels to inftruct mankind. He met," fays Diodorus ‡," in Æthiopia a fort of "little fatyrs, who were hairy one half of their body, "and whofe leader Pan accompanied him in his expedi"tion for the civilizing of mankind." Now, of this great perfonage Pan, we have a very particular defcription in the antient writers; who unanimoufly agree to repres fent him fhaggy-bearded, hairy all over, half a man and half a beaft, and walking erect with a staff, (the pofture in which his race do to this day appear among us.) And fince the chief thing to which he applied himself, was the civilizing of mankind, it should feem, that the firft principles of fcience must be received from that nation, to which the gods were, by Homer, faid to refort twelve days every year for the converfation of its wife and juft inhabitants. If from Egypt we proceed to take a view of India, we fhall find, that their knowledge also derived itself from Euftathius in Hon. Il. 1. + Speede, in Bermudas. [ II, i. the the fame fource. To that country did thefe noble creatures accompany Bacchus in his expedition under the conduct of Silenus, who is alfo defcribed to us with the fame marks and qualifications. "Mankind is ignorant, faith Diodorus," whence Silenus derived his birth, through "his great antiquity; but he had a tail on his lions, as "likewife had all his progeny in fign of their defcent." Here then they fettled a colony, which to this day fubfifts with the fame tails. From this time they seem to have communicated themselves only to thofe men, who retired from the converfe of their own fpecies to a more uninterrupted life of contemplation. I am much inclined to believe, that in the midst of thofe folitudes they inftituted the fo much celebrated order of Gymnofophifts. For, whoever obferves the scene and manner of their life, will eafily find them to have imitated' with all exactnels imaginable the manners and customs of their masters and instructors. They are faid to dwell in the thickest woods, to go naked, to fuffer their bodies to be over-run with hair, and their nails to grow to a prodigious length. Plutarch fays t," they eat what they could get in the "fields, their drink was water, and their bed made of "leaves or mofs." And Herodotus tells us, that they efteemed it a great exploit to kill very many ants or creeping things. Hence we fee, that the two nations which contend for the origin of learning, are the fame that have ever most abounded with this ingenious race. Though they have contested, which was firft bleft with the rife of science, yet have they confpired in being grateful to their conmon mafters. Egypt is well known to have worshipped them of old in their own images; and India may be credibly fuppofed to have done the fame, from that adoration which they paid in latter times to the tooth of one of thele hairy philofophers; in juft gratitude, as it should feem, to the mouth, from which they received their knowledge. Pals we now over into Greece: where we find Orphe *Diod. Lib. iii. c. 69. + Plutarch in his Orat. on Alexander's fortune. Herodot. lib. i.. us returning out of Ægypt, with the fame intent as Ofiris and Bacchus made their expeditions. From this period it was, that Greece first heard the name of fatyrs, or owned them for femidei. And hence it is furely reafonable to conclude, that he brought fome of this wonderful fpecies along with him, who allo had a leader of the line of Pan, of the fame name, and exprefly called king by Theocritus*. If thus much be allowed, we cafily account for two of the strangeft reports in all antiquity. One is that of the beafts following the mufic of Orpheus ; ́ which has been interpreted of his taming favage tempers, but will thus have a literal application. The other, which we most infilt upon, is the fabulous ftory of the gods compreffing women in woods under beftial appearances; which will be folved by the love thefe fages are known to bear to the females of our kind. I am fenfible it may be objected, that they are faid to have been compreffed in the fhape of different animals; but to this we answer, that women under fuch apprehenfions hardly know what fhape they have to deal with. From what has been laft faid, it is highly credib'e, that to this antient and generous race the world is indebted, if not for the heroes, at least for the acuteft wits of antiquity. One of the most remarkable inftances, is that great mimic genius, Elop †, for whofe extraction from thefe fylveftres homines we may gather an argument from Planudes, who fays, that fop fignifies the fame thing as Ethiop, the original nation of our people. For a fecond argument we may offer the defcription of his perfon, which was fhort, deformed, and almost savage; infomuch that he might have lived in the woods, had not the benevolence of his temper made him rather adapt himself to our manners, and come to court in wearing ap parel. The third proof is his acute and fatyrical wit; and lafly, his great knowledge in the nature of beasts, together with the natural pleafure he took to fpeak of them upon all occafions. The next inftance I fhall produce is Socrates. First, it was a tradition, that he was of an uncommon birth from * Пav Ava, Theocr. Id. i. + Vit. Efop. initio. the |