Author: Making of America Project

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-01-08

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 9781334935657

Excerpt from The North-American Review and Miscellaneous Journal, 1816, Vol. 2 A curious instance of his rashness in denying any fact that makes against his theory, and positive manner of assu ring his readers that nothing of the kind existed, occurs in regard to the famous hieroglyphical inscription at Dighton, in Massachusetts. Permit me to undeceive you further about another fact, * equally false, to which the memoir of the French academician has given rise: it has been pub lished throughout Europe, that there had been found in the centre of new-england, a stone which contained an inscription in Thibetian characters, which is, as you know, the country where the Grand Lama resides. After hav ing procured all the information possible, about this pre 'tended monument, I can boldly assure you, that no in scription in any character whatever has ever been dis covered in the whole extent of America, from the country of the Esquimaux to the extremity of Terra del Fuego. This new-england rock is like the medal of Julius Cae sar, which was said to have been dug up among the sav ages called Cesareans, in the neighbourhood of Patagonia. From which you may judge to what degree they have dared to assert the most incredible things, to support the most absurd systems, ' This work of De Pan's discovers a good deal of research into the history of different nations, but the most perverse use is made of his materials, and his ignorance of the real character of the Indians is most profound. The work is written in a style of petulance and sarcasm, often adopted by those who have been called philosophers in modern times, though nothing can be more opposed to the true spirit of philosophy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.