All ages have had a great esteem and veneration for antiquity ; and the most ancient, not only of men, hut of families, cities, and countries, have ever been accounted the most honourable. Hence arises a rivalry among na tions, as among families, to arrogate to themselves the honour of carrying their origin to a remoter age than that of any other people. Almost wpiery ancient tribe, whose first original was not satisfactorily ascertained, pretended to have been of an equal duration with the earth itself. The Egyptians, Scythians, and Phrygians, all fancied themselves to be the first race of mankind ; and the same kind of vanity held among several of the nations of Greece. The Arcadians boasted that they were vrpo7i,„gat, or older than the moon ; and the Athe nians gave out, that they were produced at the same time with the sun, as Menander the rhetorician testifies. This singular people assumed to themselves the honour able appellation (for so they thought it) of Av7e;xAdytc, or sprung from their native soil ; in allusion to the an dent opinion, that, in the beginning of the world, men, like plants, in consequence of a wonderful prolific vir tue, with which the earth was then endowed, sprung full-formed from her womb. It was in allusion to this assumed origin, that the Athenians called themselves or grasshoppers; because these insects were believed to be ynycvas, or generated out of the ground ; and some of them wore grasshoppers of gold, binding them in their hair, as badges of honour, and marks to distinguish them from others of later duration, and less noble extraction.
The claims of the ancient Chaldcans, and of the mo dern Indians and Chinese, are well known to have been equally strenuous for this interminably remote antiquity. In the case of these nations, as well as of the ancient Egyptians, this circumstance has given rise to the in vention of various fictitious periods of time, of immense length ; during which it was pretended, that certain great revolutions took place, of which accounts are fa bricated ; and certain astronomical observations were made, of which the dates are delivered without scruple. The antiquarian is called upon to be strictly on his guard against these absurd claims, which may be said to be common to all mankind ; and which are the more diffi cult to confute in a satisfactory manner, on account of the darkness of the ages in which such traditions take their rise, and the want of all authentic records con cerning the manner in which the greatest part of the regions of the world have been peopled. That the most skilful antiquarians of our own times may sensibly profit by this caution, will no doubt be granted by any one, who shall impartially examine the hypotheses, which have at different times been proposed, to account for the peopling of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and various other countries, in which the author of the hypothesis feels in himself a national interest, respecting the peo ple about which he writes.
Of the facility with which historians adopt these ex cessive claims to antiquity, even where they have no national bias, the following are a few examples. Porn ponius, in following the hints of Hcrodotus, reckons 330 Egyptian kings previous to Amasis ; and allows to the world a duration of 13,000 years. Diodorus Siculus places between the first Egyptian king, and the expe dition of Alexander the Great, an interval of 23,000 years. Diogenes Laertius does not scruple to double
this period. When Alexander entered Egypt, the priests proved to him, by their sacred histories, that the king dom of Persia, which he had just conquered ; and that of Macedonia, to which he had succeeded by birth, had each endured for 8000 years. It is, however, demon strated by the best historians and chronologists, that the Persian empire existed only 300 years, and the Ma cedonian about 500 Our readers will easily be able to supply examples of a similar credulity, or proneness to exaggeration, in modern antiquarians.
The study of antiquities illustrates and explains a number of modern usages, and superstitious observances, which could not otherwise be understood. Many of the popular superstitions among the people of Britain are found to be remnants of the superstitious rites prevalent among Pagan nations, and particularly among those where the influence of the Druids prevailed ; and it is only by examining into the particular rites and articles of faith of these idolaters, that any can be thrown upon some of the most common superstitious observances of the populace. The singular practice which prevails in this country, of celebrating the first of April, by imposing on the credulity of our neigh bours, or by " making April fools," is called, is found also to prevail in India, where it is called the Hull, and is celebrated at the end of March, generally on the last day. But it is at this period of the year that the sun enters ?ries, and the astronomical year com mences. The hull was, therefore, an astronomical fes tival, probably in part also religious, as the season of the winter solstice has now become with us, from the adap tation of the calendar to our theological system. In the festivities with which the common people still celebrate their Christmas, there arc pretty evident remains of druidical superstition. We know, that in ancient times, the chief druid, attended by crowds of the people, went into the woods, in the night of the winter solstice, and, with a golden sickle, cut a branch of the mislctoe of the oak, called ghiah in Celtic, and carried it in triumph to the sacred grove. The people cut for themselves, and carried home a similar prize, consecrated by the druid. At present, the pews of our churches, and even the chambers of our cottages, are ornamented with this plant at Christmas. But in France, a century and a half ago, there were still more perceptible traces of the dru idical superstition : A man, whimsically apparelled, fol lowed by a train of monks, demanding money, set out for the woods, bawling " Au qui menez-le roi le vent." At the same time, people in disguise, (guisards,) forced into the houses, playing antic tricks, and bullying the inhabitants for money and victuals. This practice, how ever, was forbidden by Louis XIV., on account of thc riots -which it occasioned ; but it is not difficult to tract in it the origin of our Scottish guisarts, as well as of the term hogmenay; by which the Scotch distinguish the last day of the year. In a similar way, the Scottish Bel men and Halloweven superstitions have been satisfacto rily deduced from druidical observances. While in the generally prevalent prejudice of the inauspiciousness of Friday, we find a remnant of the doctrine of unlucky days, so common among the Greeks and Romans.