A New System | Page 4

by Mr. Bryant.
"The Sentiments of Philo Judæus concerning the [Greek: LOGOS], or
Word of God; together with large Extracts from his Writings, compared
with the Scriptures, on many other essential Doctrines of the Christian
Religion." Octavo, 1797.
"Dissertations on Balaam, Sampson, and Jonah," also, "Observations
on famous controverted Passages in Josephus and Justin Martyr," are
extremely curious, and such perhaps as only he could have written.
* * * * *
"The New System, or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology," here
presented to the public, is a literary phenomenon, which will remain the
admiration of scholars, as long as a curiosity after antiquity shall
continue to be a prevailing passion among mankind. Its author was
master of the profoundest erudition, and did not come behind the most
distinguished names of the last century, for their attention to the
minutest circumstance that might cast a ray of light upon the remotest
ages. Nothing in the antient Greek and Roman literature, however
recondite, or wherever dispersed, could escape his sagacity and patient
investigation. But we are not to confine our admiration of the work
before us to the deep erudition discoverable in it; this elaborate
production is equally distinguished for its ingenuity and novelty.
Departing with a boldness of genius from the systems of his
predecessors in the same walks of literature, he delights by his
ingenuity, while he astonishes by his courage, and surprises by his

novelty. In the last point of view, this work is indeed singularly striking;
it departs from the commonly-received systems, to a degree that has not
only never been attempted, but not even thought of by any men of
learning.
The subject, here undertaken by Mr. Bryant was one of uncommon
difficulty; one of the most abstruse and difficult which antiquity
presents to us; the information to be obtained concerning it must be
collected from a vast number of incidental passages, observations and
assertions scattered through antient authors, who being themselves but
imperfectly acquainted with their subject, it is next to impossible to
reconcile. This, however, our author has attempted; and though, in
doing this, the exuberances of fancy and imagination are conspicuous,
and some may entertain doubts, concerning the solidity of some of his
conjectures, yet, even such are forced to allow that many parts of the
author's scheme are probable, and deserving the highest attention.
His method of proceeding by etymology was not a little hazardous;
men of the greatest abilities have often failed in the use of it, while
those of weak judgment have, by their application of it, rendered it the
source of the greatest absurdities, and almost led the unthinking to
connect an idea of ridicule with the term itself. But the judicious use
which Mr. Bryant could make of this science is apparent in every part
of his work: he derives from it the greatest and only light which can be
cast upon some of his inquiries, and that in a way that will draw the
admiration of those who have a proper acquaintance with the subject;
that is, such as have a knowledge of the Oriental languages sufficient to
enable them to trace them through the Greek, Latin, and other tongues,
as they relate to the names of things, which in almost every country
carry evidence of their being derived from the East; from whence it is
certain mankind themselves are derived. The sagacity and diligence
with which our author has applied his helps obtained from the scattered
passages of antient authors and etymology, have enabled him to clear
up the history of the remotest ages, and to elucidate objects hitherto
surrounded with darkness and error. Upon the whole, it will be allowed
by all who are capable judges of the subject, that the plausibility of his
hypothesis is frequently apparent, his scheme great, and his discoveries

extraordinary.
Viro plusquàm octogenario, et Etonæ Matris Filiorum omnium
superstitum Ætate jam grandissimo, JACOBO BRYANT, S.
* * * * *
Nomen honorati sacrum mihi cùm sit amici, Charta sit hæc animi fida
ministra mei: Ne tamen incultis veniant commissa tabellis, Carminis
ingenuâ dicta laventur ope. Quem videt, è longá sobolem admirata
catervâ, Henrici[1] à superis lætiùs umbra plagis? Quem pueris
ubicunque suis monstrare priorem Principe alumnorum mater Etona
solet? Quem cupit eximiæ quisquis virtutis amator, Seriùs ætherei
regna subire poli? Blande Senex, quem Musa fovet, seu seria tractas,
Seu facili indulges quæ propiora joco; Promeritos liceat Vates tibi
condat honores, Et recolat vitæ præmia justa tuæ: Præparet haud quovis
lectas de flore corollas, Sed benè Nestoreis serta gerenda comis.
Scriptorum ex omni serie numeroque tuorum, Utilitas primo est
conspicienda loco: Gratia subsequitur; Sapientiaque atria pandit Ampla
tibi, ingeniis solùm ineunda piis. Asperitate carens, mores ut ubique
tueris! Si levis es, levitas ipsa docere solet. Quo studio errantes animos
in aperta reducis! Quo