A New System | Page 4

curious, and such perhaps as only he could have written.
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"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 plusqu��m octogenario, et Eton? Matris Filiorum omnium superstitum ?tate jam grandissimo, JACOBO BRYANT, S.
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Nomen honorati sacrum mihi c��m sit amici, Charta sit h?c animi fida ministra mei: Ne tamen incultis veniant commissa tabellis, Carminis ingenua dicta laventur ope. Quem videt, �� long�� sobolem admirata caterva, Henrici[1] �� superis l?ti��s umbra plagis? Quem pueris ubicunque suis monstrare priorem Principe alumnorum mater Etona solet? Quem cupit eximi? quisquis virtutis amator, Seri��s ?therei regna subire poli? Blande Senex, quem Musa fovet, seu seria tractas, Seu facili indulges qu? propiora joco; Promeritos liceat Vates tibi condat honores, Et recolat vit? pr?mia justa tu?: Pr?paret haud quovis lectas de flore corollas, Sed ben�� Nestoreis serta gerenda comis. Scriptorum ex omni serie numeroque tuorum, Utilitas primo est conspicienda loco: Gratia subsequitur; Sapientiaque atria pandit Ampla tibi, ingeniis sol��m ineunda piis. Asperitate carens, mores ut ubique tueris! Si levis es, levitas ipsa docere solet. Quo studio errantes animos in aperta reducis! Quo sensu dubios, qua gravitate mones! Si fontes aperire novos, et acumine docto Elicere in scriptis qu? latuere sacris, Seu Verum �� fictis juvet extricare libellis, Historica et tenebris reddere lumen ope, Aspice conspicuo l?tentur ut omnia coelo, Et referent nitidum solque jubarque diem! Centauri, Lapith?que, et Tantalus, atque Prometheus, Et Nephele, veluti nube soluta sua,-- Hi pereunt omnes; alterque laboribus ipse Conficis