rs very early: but it will appear upon inquiry to have been a
groundless notion. Those of the antients, who considered the matter more
carefully, have made no scruple to set aside their [553]pretensions.
Josephus in particular takes notice of their early claim; but cannot allow
it: [554]_They_, says this learned historian, _who would carry the
introduction of letters among the Greeks the highest, very gravely tell us,
that they were brought over by the Phenicians, and Cadmus. Yet, after all,
they cannot produce a single specimen either from their sacred writings, or
from their popular records, which savours of that antiquity_. Theophilus
takes notice of these difficulties; and shews that all the obscurity, with
which the history of Hellas is clouded, arose from this deficiency of
letters. He complains, _that the [555]Hellenes had lost sight of the truth;
and could not recollect any genuine history. The reason of this is obvious:
for they came late to the knowledge of letters in comparison of other
nations. This they confess, by attributing the invention of them to people
prior to themselves; either to the Chaldeans, or the Egyptians: or else to
the Phenicians. Another cause of failure, which relates to their theology,
and still greatly prevails, is owing to their not making a proper
disquisition about the true object of worship: but amusing themselves with
idle, and unprofitable speculations_.

Notwithstanding this deficiency, they pretended to give a list of Argive
princes, of which twenty preceded the war of [556]Troy. But what is more
extraordinary, they boasted of a series of twenty-six Kings at Sicyon,
comprehending a space of one thousand years, all which kings were before
the time of [557]Theseus and the Argonauts. Among those, who have given the
list of the Argive kings, is [558]Tatianus Assyrius, who advises every
person of sense, when he meets with these high pretensions, to consider
attentively, _that there was not a single voucher, not even a tradition of
any record, to authenticate these histories: for even Cadmus was many ages
after_. It is certain, that the Helladians had no tendency to learning,
till they were awakened by the Asiatic Greeks: and it was even then some
time before letters were in general use; or any histories, or even records
attempted. For if letters had been current, and the materials for writing
obvious, and in common use, how comes it that we have not one specimen
older than the reign of