The Progress of Ethnology

51

Bulletin de la Société de Géographie, 1846. Extrait d'une description de l'archipel des îles Solo, p. 311.

52

Bulletin de la Société de Géographie, for 1846, p. 365.

53

Physical description of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land.

54

Address of Lord Colchester to Count Strzelecki on presenting him with the medal.

55

Discoveries in Australia, vol. 1. p. 252.

56

p. 394.

57

vol. 2. p. 10.

58

London Athenæum, July 25, 1846. Ibid. Aug. 8, 1846.

59

Report of Dr. Leichardt's Expedition, Simmonds' Colonial Magazine, vol. 2, 1845.

60

London Athenæum. Nov. 3, 1846.

61

Simmond's Colonial Magazine, Nov. 1846.

62

Herodotus, in speaking of the subjugation of Lycia, by Cyrus and Harpagus, says; "When Harpagus led his army towards Xanthus, the Lycians boldly advanced to meet him, and, though inferior in numbers, behaved with the greatest bravery. Being defeated and pursued into their city, they collected their wives, children and valuable effects, into the citadel, and there consumed the whole in one immense fire… Of those who now inhabit Lycia, calling themselves Xanthians, the whole are foreigners, eighty families excepted." —Clio, 176. See also Clio, 171-173.

Herodotus further states that the Lycians originated from the Cretans, a branch of the Hellenic race; and Strabo, in a fragment preserved from Ephorus, states that the Lycians were a people of Greek origin, who had settled in the country previously occupied by the barbarous tribes of Mylians and Solymi.

Homer briefly alludes to the Lycians, who, at the siege of Troy, assisted the Trojans under certain rulers whose names are mentioned. —Iliad, b. v. and xii.

63

Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. Vol. IX.

64

Ibid. Vol. XV. p. 104.

65

Wellsted's Travels in Arabia, Vol. I. p. 92.

66

Particulars read to the meeting of Royal Geographical Society of London, November 9, 1846. – London Ath.

67

Les Steppes de la mer Caspienne, le Caucase, la Crimée et la Russie méridionale; voyage Pittoresque, Historique et Scientifique; par X. Hommaire de Hell. 3 vols. royal 8vo. and folio atlas of Plates. Paris, 1845.

68

I feel warranted in going back and tracing the progress of these discoveries, as so little is known of it by English readers. The translation of Grotefend's essay in Heeren's Researches, was the only accessible original treatise on the subject, until the recent publications of Major Rawlinson and Prof. Westergaard. In Germany, much has been written and some in France. These papers are chiefly in antiquarian or philological Transactions and are scarcely known here. A full account of the discovery in question, of its progress and present state, seems therefore necessary.

69

Grotefend's Essay on the cuneiform inscriptions, in Heeren's Asiatic Nations. Vol. II. p. 334.

70

The Zendavesta is one of the most ancient as well as remarkable books that has come down to us from the East. It was first made known in Europe in the year 1762, by Anquetil du Perron, who brought it from Surat in India, whither he went expressly to search for the ancient books of the East. He spent many years (seventeen it is said) in making a translation, which he accompanied with valuable notes, illustrative of the doctrines of Zoroaster, and in elucidation of the Zend language, in which this book was written. A great sensation was produced in Europe among the learned at the appearance of the work. Examined as a monument of the ancient religion and literature of the Persians, it was differently appreciated by them. Sir William Jones[113 - Sir William Jones's Works. Vol. X. p. 403.] and others, not only questioned its authenticity, but denounced the translator in very harsh terms. But later writers, among these some of the most distinguished philologists of Europe, are willing to let it rank among the earliest books of the East, and as entitled to an antiquity at least six centuries anterior to the Christian era.

The Zendavesta (from zend living, and avesta word, i. e. "the living word") consists of a series of liturgic services for various occasions, and bears the same reference to the books of Zoroaster that our breviaries and common-prayer books do to the Bible. It embraces five books. 1. The Izechné, "elevation of the soul, praise, devotion;" 2. the Vispered, "the chiefs of the beings there named;" 3. the Vendidad, which is considered as the foundation of the law; 4. the Yeshts Sades, or "a collection of compositions and of fragments;" 5. the book Siroz, "thirty days," containing praises addressed to the Genius of each day; and which is a sort of liturgical calendar.[114 - See note to the "Dabistan." Pub. for the Oriental Translations Fund. Vol. I. p. 225.]

The doctrines inculcated in the Zendavesta are "the existence of a great first principle. Time without beginning and without end. This incomprehensible being is the author of the two great active powers of the universe – Ormuzd the principle of all good, and Ahriman the principle of all evil. Ormuzd is the first creative agent produced by the Self-Existent. He is perfectly pure, intelligent, just, powerful, active, benevolent, – in a word, the precise image of the Element; the centre and author of the perfections of all nature." Ahriman is the opposite of this. He is occupied in perverting and corrupting every thing good; he is the source of misery and evil. "Ordained to create and govern the universe, Ormuzd received the Word, which in his mouth became an instrument of infinite power and fruitfulness."[115 - Frazer's History of Persia. p. 150-157.]

"The first created man was composed of the four elements, – fire, air, water, and earth. "Ormuzd to this perishable frame added an immortal spirit, and the being was complete." The soul of man consists of separate parts, each having peculiar offices. "1. The principle of sensation. 2. The principle of intelligence. 3. The principle of practical judgment. 4. The principle of conscience. 5. The principle of animal life." After death, "the principle of animal life mingles with the winds," the body being regarded as a mere instrument in the power of the will. The first three are accountable for the deeds of the body, and are examined at the day of judgment. "This law or religion is still professed by the descendants of the Persians, who, conquered by the Mohammedans, have not submitted to the Koran; they partly inhabit Kirman and partly the western coast of India, to the north and south of Surat."[116 - Note to the "Dabistan." Vol. 1. p. 222. by its editor, A. Troyer.] The traces which are apparent in the Zendavesta of Hindoo superstitions, indicate that its author borrowed from the sacred books of India, while its sublime doctrines evidently point to the Pentateuch.

Mr. Eugene Burnouf is now publishing at Paris a new translation of the Zendavesta from a Sanscrit version under the title of "Commentaire sur le Yaçna," in which he has embodied a vast deal of oriental learning, illustrative of the geography, history, religion and language of ancient Persia. The first volume was published in 1833.

71

The modern title of the sovereign of Persia, Shah, is at once recognised in the ancient name Kshe or Ksha of the monuments.

72

Mémoire sur deux Inscriptions cuneiforms, trouvées près d'Hamadan. Paris, 1836.