The genuine history of the Britons asserted against Mr. Macpherson ...

268 THE GENUINE HISTORY OF
P. 147. " The Belgic nations, who tranfmi-
" grated into South Britain before the defcent of
'* Julius Ciefar, retained the name of thofe com-
^^ munities on the continent from which they re-
" fpeftively derived their blood. The auxiliaries
** of Vortigern preferred long their original
** name of Saxons, and the Scots who fpeak the
" Galic language have no other name for Eng-
* land or its inhabitants than Saflbn and SaiTon-
** ich. But if the antient Scots have preferved
" among them the true name of the Englilh, for
" fo many ages after it had been difufed by that
" nation itfelf, it is much more likely that they
" mull have retailed ;heit' own indigenous
" name '."
This is alfo one of the " decifive" and " con-
" clufive" arguments, that are to " quaih for ever"
the Iriih derivation of the Scots. And in the
margin it is called the " fecond proof," But in
the clofe of the argument, when Mr. Macpher-
fon deduces his inference from it, it amounts,
according to his own reprefentation, to a mere
likelihood or probability.—We are told in proof
the firfl:, that the ufe of the name of Alba and
^ So Sir George Mackenzie derives Albanach from Albic)!,
bccaafe the Highlanders call the Englifli SafTcnach, p. 387.
Albanich