A dissertation on the origin and progress of the Scythians or Goths. Being an introduction to the ancient and modern history of Europe / By John Pinkerton.
- John Pinkerton
- Date:
- 1787
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A dissertation on the origin and progress of the Scythians or Goths. Being an introduction to the ancient and modern history of Europe / By John Pinkerton. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![the period that delivered all kingdoms from the dominion of one ; we execrate our progenitors, to whom we are indebted for all our prefent happi- nefs ! We look on the Goths as enemies of fcience, without once refleding that wifdom is at any time fuperior to fcience; and that the Goths only de- fpifed the fcience prevalent on the decline of Rome, which was folly, and is regarded as fuch by us at prefent. How different was the opinion entertained of the Goths by the Greeks and Romans! What ap- plaufe of the juftice, of the fortitude, of the tern- perance, of the wifdom, of the Scythians, in the Grecian page, from Herodotus to the lateft period ! What applaufe of the fame virtues of the fame people, under the names of Scythians or Goths, in the Roman works, even after they had feized the Roman empire! Let us attend to the laft a little, as more immediately concerning us . and that we may know how fhockingly we err in our puerile difefteem of our fathers. Read Auguftin de Civitate Dei, lib. 1. capp. i, et ]. on their cle- mency; andIII. 29. where he fays that the Goths on taking Rome fpared fo many of the fena- tors that it is more a wonder that they flew fome. Orofius, lib. VII. tells, that, tho defirous of prey, they abftained from blood ; and c. ult. calls Alaric ‘ the mildefl: of kings.’ See the whole fifth and feventh books of Salvianus ds Gubernaiione Dei. Hear Theodoric, the Gothic king himfelf, dic- tating to his fecretary Calfiodorus, Eptjl. lib. II. 2^5 and you hear the voice of fuch kings as render themfelves](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28754529_0016.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
