We are informed by Aristotle, that the people of Crete were divided into castes, after the manner of the Egyptians, by the laws of Minos. Saxe a, V VW ads vowels rivers ragomn rot; air croXirvia; 'Amapa an, kr at/ 5n5 565ar xwerc mares yen raw iroXis, sag ro Aniep.os Ingo, soar, mar ro rearysr Arran. vs yaf Ex,: row Itorov in star Sur ra rs wags ray Rom.
Ta asv as air Arytnrrov, Zaersasgroc, 4; fads, irriv ,opa0srs ..stony Mao as ra ow Koros. Polit. vii. 1.
It is worthy of observation, that certain vestiges at least of that ancient institution are still visible in Egypt. " La distinction par families," says General Reynier (De t Eppte, p. 56), " se retrouve encore dans les villes exercise des arts et metiers est he ieditaire le file invite lea procedes de son pere, et ne les perfectionne pas." We have a remarkable paisage to prove, that, among the ancient Persians, the same division into castes existed which now has place among the Hin doos. In the Zendavesta, as translated by M. Anque til Duperron, it is said : " Ormusd declared, There are three measures (literally weights, i.e. tests, rules) of conduct, four states, and five places of dignity. The states are, that of the priest; that of the sol dier ; that of the husbandman, the source of riches ; and that of the artisan or labourer."" We are told," says Sir John Malcolm (Hut. of Persia, i. 205), "f that Jemsheed divided his subjects into four classes, and that he allotted to each a separate and fixed sta tion in life ; which seems to imply that the condition of the ancient Persians was like that of the modern Hindoos ; and that the extraordinary institution of ,cast, which now exists in India, was once known in Persia." Sir John proceeds to state some reasons which induce him to doubt the reality of the fact ; in not one of which, however, there is a particle of weight. .
Sir John quotes, and translates for us a passage from Strabo, which asserts that a similar institution existed in Iberia. " Four, kinds or classes of people inhabited that country. From what they consider the first class, they appoint their kings according to nearness of kindred and seniority ; these administer justice, and head their armies : The second is of priests,, who take charge of their political rights with respect to their neighbours : The third of soldiers and husbandmen : The fourth of the people in ge neral, who are slaves of the king, and perform every Menial office." This account of the distinctions of the castes is evidently incorrect, and by a man who was not well informed. The fact of the Iberians being distributed in a remarkable and uncommon manner, he knew ; otherwise there would have been tip occasion to single out the fact, in the description of this particular people. He knew also that they were divided into four principal classes. With re.' gard to the matters of detail, however, his words bear internal evidence that either his information had been vague and inaccurate, or that his recollection had become so.
From a dissertation of Mr Joinville, on the reli gion and manners of the people of Ceylon, (Anat. Researches, vii. 430.) we find that there is Lfficient evidence to prove the existence of a similar institu tion, anciently, among the Buddhists of Ceylon; and by consequence to infer it, among the other Budd. hosts, spread over so large a portion of Asia.
After this evidence of the general diffusion of the institution of castes, in the rude ages of the world, especially in Asia, there is a temptation, from the following passage of Herodotus, (Lib. I. cap. 1014
to infer its existence among the Medea, at the cam. mencement of the monarchy. Er, do Mahn %Xi yaws, Brow, narraxam, AhOrror, mop.
There is nothing in the serves passage which sees the meaning of the word yisim ; and 'the names, it is plain, are words of the ancient Median language. But we know that the Mayo, were the priests; and hence there is reason to conclude, that the also are names of classes and professions; is other words, of hereditary castes.
The institution of castes may be traced in place with which we are more intimately connected. Mr Millar, to whom the world is indebted for almostthe first lessons which it received, in tracing the facts history up to the general laws of the human mind, has called our attention to the fact, that in the an cient condition of our Saxon ancestors, they were divided into four great classes : 1. The artificers and tradesmen ; 2. the husbandmen ; 3. those who ex ercised the honourable profession of arms; and 4. the clergy. Mr Millar adds, (Hist. View of the English Gov. B. i. ch. " From the natural course of things, it should seem, that, in every coun try, where religion has had so much influence on introduce a great body of ecclesiastics, the people, upon the first advances made in agriculture and is ' manufactures, are usually distributed into the same number of classes or orders. This distribution kn. cordingly to be found, not only in all the Europa' nations, formed upon the ruins of the Boman Em pire ; but, in other ages, and in very distant parts of the globe. The ancient inhabitants of Egypt are said to have been divided into the clergy, the a' tary people, the husbandmen, and the artificers. The establishment of the four great castes, in the country of Indostan, is precisely of the same nature." Human nature is very uniform in the phenomena which it exhibits. The new world displays a strik ing resemblance to the old. The same stage of so ciety presents nearly the same results. There reason to conclude, that something which resembled the institution of castes existed among the ancient inhabitants of Peru and Mexico. The Count Carlii the celebrated author of the Lettres when treating (Lett. xiii. and xiv.) of the laws dile Peruvians says " Les furent distribute es classes ou tnbus. Il n'etoit pas permit, Di Par marriage, ni par changement d'habitatioa, de cop' 4 fondre une classe avec rautre : car la loi defendoit ' de se marier dans une autre famille que celle d'ou l'on sortoit. N'oublions pas le soin qu'on avoit de )'education des entails. C'etoit toujours le pere qui elevoit son file. L'education consistoit it apprendre aux enfans r6turiers le metier que cheque pere de famille exercoit," &c. We are informed by Clavigero (Hist. of Mexico, B. iv. § 5.), that " the sons in general learned the trades of their fathers, and embraced their professions ; thus they perpe tuated the arts in families, to the advantage of the state." Such is the extent to which this institution has existed on the surface of the globe. We shall next endeavour to ascertain the state and condition of the human mind, to which it may be considered as owing its origin.