Histoire des Celtes

and plausibility in the conjectures to which I am sometimes obliged to resort. I do not doubt, however, that several faults have escaped me, some through inadvertence, others because it is difficult not to be mistaken sometimes, especially when one walks in a neglected path filled with brushwood. I will see with very great pleasure if I am corrected in the same manner that I correct others. Far from fearing criticism, I desire it, because it will be proof of the attention with which my work has been read. I will never regard it as severe, provided it can serve to lead me back to the truth.

Regarding the Plan of this work, I have tried to avoid repetitions and to place the subjects in a natural order. I speak first of the origin of the Celts, the regions they anciently occupied, the different names they have borne, and the ancient language of these peoples. This first book will perhaps not be the least curious. I believe I have proved there that the greatest part of Europe was formerly inhabited only by one and the same people.

In the following books, I treat the manners and customs of the Celts. I consider them as men, as members of a family, of a religion, and of a state. I relate to each of these headings everything that may have some direct or indirect connection to it. I then pass to the migrations and wars of the Celts which preceded the taking of Rome by the Gauls. In this last book, I subject myself to chronological order as much as the distance and obscurity of the centuries contained in this interval have permitted. If it pleases God to preserve my life, I will continue this general history of the Celts until the time when it begins to divide into several

branches, to then confine myself solely to the History of Germany.

Furthermore, so that one can verify the citations found in this work, I join here a Table of the authors I have consulted and the editions I have used. Passages from Greek authors are cited in Latin for the convenience of the reader. But I have taken care to review and rectify the translation, and I cite the actual words of the authors when they are subject to different interpretations.

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