View of th e
g^feat Wall.
fe te d throtighbub ih a Donarse o f fifteen hundred miles*;
fot of that leirgthwas th eb ou n da ly line 'between the
d^iliied G h te s e , and-1 f evtral wstfesfi? •»Tiartete tribes.
IJptm-iuch barriers,
the fate of nations in actteljwar. A superior- a rm p is
always found «> overtime every species nf-defeasce;
ftbfbMSeatkai is im p r e g n a b le fet-fortresses d e la y ‘the
pfogfessdFsfn enemy. ^They preseswd a .»mh*iyifiwm
beifeg surprised b y 3A'bidden ihvasifoi) and1 fortified
walls protracted adwg a %nnmfe^jiine, ie ry e a s n -prD'
tectibn SgainSisufMen and unexpected inroads, nr .the
pdrttdl Attacks ^ individual plundeFers .in fee midst of
p e a k . Thu^tbeiRomans,';dmwerer :bjavemnd warlike,
erected ^several such tam e rs upeiViiized'Pids,
Whenevm,^ndtie®,dn:snnbuii advanced
state o f society as to be engaged in the eukivatean iofithe
Soil; hasirappened to-be -in themeigfaboiarhoodn^peopfe
o f mere' htinteil, %ho may foenconsideredjas: partaking,
themselves! -of the tmtufe'ofbeaste'ofipreys. the r fan owfe s
fkquentlyhadkooitt^e toJttetke'ction? o f strong ramparts
against the perpetual devastations ofth e latter..- ^Several
•here misedfot this purposedm Egypt,tin Syri^dn Media ;
etoe'to’ th^ieastwardiof'the'Gaspian sea,‘by-a ssroeessoriof
Alexander, and^nediierimthe.countryofisTamerkne; the
two last intended, - like - the rGHinese walfiagainsthordos
o f rowing Tartars. It ■ Is - probable that most of', these--answered
for adiine che’^drf<5r1which>*h0ywereerected;
and | ^ r h a p s (Utttil the^ircumstanees-whidh tcalkd'-for
such a$eparation between neighbouring., states had-them-
sekl^pinaasyi to^xi^npEhempuOryipf, the« ispreserved
among-the goreatest'monuments of.ifeum-amenterpri-ze-jw.yei
aBrfpfsthetn united, wsdieife theydbe'^onsSclered ah to the
coup try dyep.which tftfgy'were oartidd‘|<jind
whkrh^tHeyi.wpne meant3to%w|q^ct, or f a s»i|jb,s|he ‘ qn anfeity
ofjaaatcrids employed in theiEU^IIruction,.q^bjb»labour
r^quisite> to.oj^came.the .difficulties of situation, werb
nottefflaakto the Chinese. wall.alone. It has likewise far
exceeded Aem.m duration,.asweikas in solidity. Many
of the inn^r and weaker appepdages^to this great* rampart
hft^jindeed^yield^d to the -efiectS’of titae,i.ahd! aBe. moul-
;9te©P'g^®*jdecayi; <and nthersihare undergone repair; .but
l^nEkiSeeans in most places to have been built
withpidegreejokcate and architectural skill, which, with-
out,.any »subsequent attention QiUadditioh, -have prefeked
itjentiredotLabout two thousansdyears|g and if appears^ajli-
jno&t as little liable to .injury as the rookynnd mountain-
pitfebMiwarks which nature .itself bad raised '%’etweOri
Tartary and Ghana,
, The periodvofithe.first erection of any,artificial barrier
b#t?yefto thmeiiwo countries is not:pa«ticularly »afefee'r^
tainedfbut thatof its campfotion is ’an histoi'fel^fet-’aS
authentic as any.of 'thds^iw.hichj tl|e|iannals-of apeiciit
kingdoms.have transmitted to posterity. -.From fchzjjtftp©-!
rfod, .about three!centuries.befote the]»Christian era,Ahe
transactions^ef the .Ghineseiempifre have been regularly-,
and withoustjaaydntemeningiohasm, ieilorded, ibbth in