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A new edition of Toland's History of the druids: - Free History Ebooks

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.NOTES. 413Pompeius might be <strong>of</strong> service to him; and were he to comesweating and panting into court with this dead Roman historiaaon his back, and otFerhim as a witness, would not he be consf»d«red as a madman ? Now, I appeal to all <strong>the</strong> world, if it is notas ridiculous to endeavour to elicitevidence from a dead work^as from a dead man.The next evidences adduced are two reverendbishops, Epiphanius and Eusebius, who, so far from being<strong>of</strong> any service to him, do not even mention Vexores, or indeedin <strong>the</strong> remotest degree allude to him. The sum total <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>irevidence is, that in <strong>the</strong>ir days <strong>the</strong>re was a religious error in <strong>the</strong>church named Scythism.The last pro<strong>of</strong> is an extract from <strong>the</strong>Chronicon Paschale, p. 23, which also reckons Scythism one <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> religious errors <strong>the</strong>n prevalent.Let us now see <strong>the</strong> amount<strong>of</strong> this ewdence.The first is a dead tuork^ which can prove nothing;<strong>the</strong> next two bishops, who know nothing at all about <strong>the</strong>matter; and as to <strong>the</strong> Chronicon Paschale, its evidence coincidesexactly with that <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bishops.The point to be proved was,that Vexores^ king <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Egyptians, was defeated by <strong>the</strong> Scytki^ans ^QQO years before <strong>the</strong> Christian ara^ or, (according to scrip.ture chronology), l^i^ ijears before <strong>the</strong> deluge.The amount <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> pro<strong>of</strong> Is, that in <strong>the</strong> early Christian churches^ <strong>the</strong>re toas ane?Tor or heresy named Scythism. Yet on this single passage <strong>of</strong>Justin,clearly overturned by <strong>the</strong> evidence <strong>of</strong> scripture chrono^logj'", and contradicted by every pr<strong>of</strong>ane author who has writtenon <strong>the</strong> subject, has Mr. Pinkarton founded his favourite <strong>the</strong>ory;and on this fictitious twig, on which no Celt would risk his cat,fhis grave and formal advocate for religious orthodoxy and historictruth, sits perched, bearing (like ano<strong>the</strong>r Adas) on illsshoulders <strong>the</strong> gigantic weight <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> whole Gothic system.Having, after this arduous struggleagainst truth and heaven,seated hisred-kaired friends on <strong>the</strong> throne <strong>of</strong> Asia, 1312 yearsbefore <strong>the</strong>. deluge, one would be apt to suppose that his laboursh^A been sufficiently Herculean, and that he would now sitdown happy and contented. Vain thought! ! ! All that is yetp

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