A Letter from Mr William Baxter to Dr Hans Sloane, R. S. Secr. Containing an Account of a Book Intituled, Archaeologia Britannica, Giving Some Account Additional to What Has Hitherto Been Publish'd, of the Languages, Histories and Customs of the Original Inhabitants of Great Britain: From Collections and Observations in Travels through Wales, Cornwal, Bas Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland, By Edward Lhuyd, M. A. of Jesus College, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Vol. I. Containing; I. A Comparative Etymology; or; Remarks on the Alteration of Languages. 2. A Latin Celtick Dictionary: Or, a Vocabulary of the Original Languages of Britain and Ireland. 3. An Armoric Grammar. 4. An Armoric English Vocabulary. 5. Some Welsh Words Omitted in Dr Davies's Dictionary. 6. A Cornish Grammar. 7. A Catalogue of British Manuscripts. 8. An Essay towards a British Etymologicon. 9. A Brief Introduction to the Irish or Ancient Scotish Language. 10. An Irish-English Dictionary. Oxford, Printed at the Theatre for the Author, MDCCVII. And Delivered at the Ashmolean Museum

VIII. A Letter from Mr William Baxter to Dr Hans Sloane, R.S. Secr. containing an Account of a Book Intituled, Archaeologia Britannica, giving some account Additional to what has hitherto been Publish'd, of the Languages, Histories and Customs of the Original Inhabitants of Great Britain: From Collections and Observations in Travels through Wales, Cornwal, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland, By Edward Lhuyd, M.A. of Jesus College, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Vol. I. Containing; 1. A Comparative Etymology; or; Remarks on the Alteration of Languages. 2. A Latin-Celtick Dictionary: or, a Vocabulary of the Original Languages of Britain and Ireland. 3. An Armoric Grammar. 4. An Armoric-English Vocabulary. 5. Some Welsh Words omitted in Dr Davies's Dictionary. 6. A Cornish Grammar. 7. A Catalogue of British Manuscripts. 8. An Essay towards a British Etymologicon. 9. A brief Introduction to the Irish or Ancient Scottish Language. 10. An Irish-English Dictionary. Oxford, Printed at the Theatre for the Author, MDCCVII. And delivered at the Ashmolean Museum. I have carefully perus'd this First Volume of Mr Lhuyd's Archaeologia Britannica, or Glossography; and am bold to say that nothing in this kind has appeared in Publick, within my knowledge, this Century to be compared unto it; whether we consider the Elaborateness of the Work, the Skill and Judgment of the Compiler, or the usefulness of it to illustrate the most Ancient part of our History; and trace out the Original Inhabitants, and Brigantic and Belgic Colonies: Similitude of Languages, and of Rites and Religious Opinions, being by that great Author of Historiography, Herodotus Halicarnassensis, deservedly accounted the most established Rules for such Discoveries. The Ingenious and Learned Author has very candidly and truly represented his own undertaking in his English Preface, and in that curious Letter written to my Lord Bishop of Hereford; to which I refer you. In his British Epistle to his own Country-men, he delivers his very weighty Reasons for altering the Vulgar Alphabet of the Welsh; and justifies it from the Authority of Ancient MSS. and Inscriptions upon Stones in several parts of our Country. Next he Learnedly refutes the Opinion of the Saxons receiving their Alphabet from Austin the Monk, and shews that the same Characters are still extant on the Tomb-Stone of Kaduan King of Guynedd in the Church call'd Lhan Gadwaladar in the Isle of Anglesey, who was one of the British Princes in that Famous Battle of Ban-gor-is-y-coed fought against those Saxons whom Austin had influenced to Massacre the British Monks. Indeed all the Sepulchral Inscriptions in Mr Camden's Britania abundantly prove the use of the Roman Alphabet in this Noble Province, from whence the Ancient British or (as now commonly call'd) Saxon, and Irish Alphabets are very small Deviations, unavoidly introduced by Time and the Arbitrary use of Writing. What he next proceeds to, seems much more owing to his Modesty than of any real necessity: I mean his excusing the time he employ'd in this great Undertaking; for that may well seem to any Judicious and Impartial Peruser, to have rather been the product of an Age than of those few Years since his return from his Travels. What he says for putting those Four Languages into one Book is very reasonable; in regard gard none of these very Antient Dialects can be adjusted, but by being compared with the others. The Scotish Language (which by a large List of words in the Basque and Irish is here sufficiently demonstrated to be a branch of the Old Spanish) he shews to be intermixt with the Ancient Gwydheleg or British-Irish; as also that these Gwydelians were the most Ancient Colonies of Galls here, and probably forced by the Ancestors of the Britans into Scotland and Ireland; the Picts being by the British Writers term'd Guydhyll Fichtied; and Irish words such as Uyflg, Ban, Lhuch, Drim, &c. still continuing to be Names of British Rivers and Mountains: as also numbers of words (such as Corlan, Blith and the like) in the present British, whose Etymologies are only found in the Gwydelian or Irish Dialect, now disguised by the Scotic. This Gwydelian Tongue he Learnedly proves from Ancient Celtic words, and Names of Places in the Roman Geography, to have been also the Language of Gaul. For my own part, I must confess, I look upon our British (the Origin whereof he defers till another occasion) to be a Branch of that Antient Belgic, that was spoken by the Galli Senones, who possess'd all the lower parts of Germany, until the Invasion of the Kimerian Saxons or Kimbrians from the Palus Maeotis, whence our Celto-Scythe, or present Germans, of which see Posidonius in Strabo. Lastly, he does not only prove by the Authority of the Triades, (a small British Tract written according to the Judgment of that most Learned Antiquary Mr Robert Vaughan of Hengurt about a Thousand Years ago) that there was a very numerous Colony made in very early Times out of Great Britain into Vasconia; but also confirms by a large Catalogue of British words in the present Gasgoin, the mixture of both People, even there as well as in Ireland. His Comparative Etymology is so Methodically, Artfully, and Judiciously digested, so admirably projected by the best Canons as well of Critique Critique as of Grammar, that it recommends its self prima Facie to the nicest Palate, and sufficiently provides it self against disingenuous Cavillers. His Harmonicon in Latin, British and Irish is a Noble Promptuarium of all the British Dialects; a Work of much Labour and Judgment, and which cannot but be acceptable to the Curious in Foreign Countries. It were indeed to be wish'd the whole were translated into Latin; Scholars abroad having generally a greater Curiosity this way than as yet we seem to have in England. Father Julian Manoir's Armoric Grammar is a valuable Curiosity, and illustrates the Work; It having scarce been ever heard of in our Country; and the Armoric Dictionary added to it, supplies in a great measure the defect of the Cornish one promised in the next Volume. In the Cornish Grammar our Judicious Author seems to excel himself. You have there the History of our British Alphabets nicely and accurately handled, with a very Curious and Diverting variety of things. You have also a considerable Supplement to Dr Davies's Learned Dictionary. He has infinitely obliged the Ancient Britans of Cornwal by preserving their Language to Posterity, when just expiring. I cannot omit saying thus much of that Noble Dialect of the British; that it appears as capable of Artful Management and Grammar Rules, as the most refined Languages: Indeed the Celtic Tongues in general seem to have been very Anciently refined, and I question not the truth of what is hinted in that incomparable Letter of our Author to the Lord Bishop of Hereford, that they were the very Ground-work of Greek and Latin Grammars; not only the Cantabrian or Scotic part of our Irish, but even the Noble Teutonic Dialects themselves so Learnedly recommended by the incomparable Dr Hicks in his late Thesaurus, seeming but defective if compar'd as to Art and Variety with our British. The Learned World will therefore the less wonder if Father Molloy was able to perform so little of the Grammarian's part in his *Irish Grammar*. The Declensions of Nouns and Pronouns I must own to be mostly upon the *British* Plan; but the Verb, which is the Ground-work or Basis of every regular Tongue, seems, as in all uncultivated Languages, wild and unaccountable. In the Catalogue of *British MSS.* our Author has consulted the Reader's time by composing it in the Order of Alphabet, with Abbreviations directing to the Studies where they may be seen at present; and also his advantage by distinguishing always betwixt Tracts and single Papers, and betwixt perfect Treatises and imperfect; giving a more particular account of such pieces as seem to deserve it, and dismissing the useless Poets of the two last Centuries with only the bare mentioning them. Nor has he shew'd more Industry and Judgment in this and the other Titles of this Work than has been (for the extent of it) successfully imitated by his Ingenious Fellow-Traveller Mr Parry in his Excellent Essay towards a *British Etymologicon*, where he has Modestly parallel'd the greatest part of the British Radicals with those words that seem'd agreeable therewith in any other Language; without pretending to determine the point of Precedency as to Antiquity, which has been too much the boldness of the late Learned Monsieur Pezron, and indeed of most other Etymologists. The *Irish Focloir* or Dictionary so industriously compiled by our Learned Antiquary, and supply'd with a large Appendix of omitted words from Scotland and Ireland, cannot (besides the great Service it must needs contribute to the Inhabitants of those Countries) but be judged of considerable use to Criticks in the *British* and *Celtic*; The *Guydhelian* part of that Language, being that which was spoken by the most Ancient Colony of the Celts in this Island, and consequently containing the Etymologies of vast Numbers of British Derivations and Compounds otherwise not to be accounted for. The singular Generosity of those amongst the Nobility and Gentry who have so liberally contributed to the Expences of the Author's Travels, in order to qualify him for so uncommon an Undertaking, has (as you know very well) besides their Names prefix'd to this Volume, been gratefully acknowledg'd in the Preface of a Latin Book publish'd during his Travels. Nor can indeed so laudable an Act be ever too much celebrated, there being no other Method of rendering one capable of such a Task, but those Travels through the remotest parts of Britain and Ireland, which he has upon that Encouragement so successfully perform'd. One would think that in this Learned and Curious Age nothing need be urg'd as to the usefulness of preserving in Writing these Original Languages of Britain and Ireland. But yet so subject is Humane Nature to prejudice, and so apt to entertain the easie Humour of Jestling, rather than that more Thoughtful one of considering Subjects, and examining them; that I find a great many Gentlemen, otherwise very sensible and Ingenious, are at a loss herein. The use of committing to Writing these now almost Antiquated Languages is what the Author has truly hinted in his Dedication and Prefaces: Namely the tracing out of the Original Inhabitants of these parts of Europe; The Interpretation of the Names of Persons and Places in the Roman History and Geography, not only of Gaul, Britain and Ireland, but in a great measure also of Italy and Spain; The Improvement of such Works of Learned and deservedly Eminent Men as the Etymological Dictionaries of Vossius and Menage; the explaining such passages in the Greek and Latin Writers as relate to the Rites and Manners of the Gauls, Britains, &c. by a diligent perusal of the Ancient Poets, and such others of the Oldest Writers as are extant in these Languages. As for such as shall answer, that tho all this should be granted, yet still these are but trifling and useless less Disquisitions; 'tis plain they speak so unlike Scholars, as not to require any further Reply. I cannot conclude without taking Notice of one Calumny that has been whisper'd about by Men of Passion or Intrigue, viz. That this Book is design'd to serve a certain Interest. I therefore think myself oblig'd in Justice, to certify to the Publick, that after a careful perusal of all the Parts of this Work, I cannot discern a Syllable anywhere that in the least tends to favour any Party, or is any way concern'd in any National Distinction; and that the Author everywhere discovers himself a Man of Candor and above Partiality. I have not, I confess, had the Happiness of a Personal Acquaintance with him, but I presume I may, as our Bless'd Saviour directs, Judge of a Tree by its Fruit. LONDON Printed for Benj. Walford, Printer to the Royal Society, at the Prince's Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard. 1707.