archs, warriors, poets, philosophers, orators, statesmen, etc., at great length, they have deemed a knowledge of the country in which they lived, a matter of such small importance that they have excluded it from their pages. Concerning some countries, indeed, our knowledge, till of late, has been very imperfect, such information having formerly been deemed wholly unnecessary in the routine of a general education. Now, however, this knowledge is deemed desirable; and the researches of modern travellers have enabled us to present a concentrated view of the different countries to our readers. These subjects are here also rendered more interesting, by illustrations from the pages of ancient poets, which throw much light on the physical condition of a large portion of both Asia and Europe in their days. The geographical and topographical information is not confined to the particular countries in which the people lived whose history is recorded. It is of little avail to tell the reader that such an event happened in such a place, by name; the spot must be identified, and then it becomes associated in his mind as a reality. The title page states that this history is compiled from "Rollin, and other authentic sources, both Ancient and Modern." That portion which has been derived from Rollin, is entirely re-written: he was not sufficiently cautious on some points, and much additional information has been accumulated since his time, of which great use is made in this volume. The information derived from the other sources alluded to, may be termed two-fold, geographical and historical. Among the geographical authorities consulted, may be enumerated Ainsworth, Aristotle, Asiatic Researches, Bell, Bochart, Chardin, Clark, D'Anville, Dodwell, Frazer, Gell, Hanway, Hawkins, Herbelot, Herodotus, Holland, Hughes, Ker Porter, Kinnier, Laurent, Leake, Morier, Niebuhr, Pausanias, Pecchio, Pliny, Ptolemy, Rennel, Rich, Strabo, Tavernier, Waddington, Xenophon, etc etc. Among the historical authorities may be mentioned Bossuet, Diodorus, Gibbon, Gillies, Hales, Heeren, Henderson, Herodotus, Josephus, Keightly, Kitto, Malcolm, Mitford, Plutarch, Polybius, Prideaux, Raleigh, Rosen muller, Taylor, Thirlwall, Universal Ancient History, Wilkinson, Xenophon, etc. etc. Such is, briefly, the nature of the following pages. They are based upon the broad and solid foundations of Christianity, and they are sent forth into the world with prayer that the Divine blessing may rest upon them; that the Christian reader may find, in the perusal of them, his faith strengthened, and his soul animated, to pursue with alacrity his heavenly race; and that the infidel may be convinced that there is a God who ruleth in the earth. May this History prove what ancient history ought to be, the handmaid of religion! |