_There are as many minds as men, about the originall of the people of_ America _and of the first Inhabitants of the new World, and of the_ West Indyes; _for how many men soever they were or are, they came of those two_, Adam, _and_ Eve; _and consequently of_ Noah, _after the Flood, but that new World doth seem wholly separated from the old, therefore it must be that some did passe thither out of one (at least) of the three parts of the world sc._ Europe, Asia, _and_ Africa; _but the doubt is, what people were those, and out of what place they went. Truly, the truth of that must be gathered, partly out of the ancient Hystories, and partly from conjectures; as their Habit, their Language, their Manners, which yet doe vary according to mens dispositions; so that it is hard to finde out the certainty. Almost all who have viewed those Countryes, with great diligence, have been of different judgements: Some would have the praise of finding out_ America, _to be due to the_ Carthaginians, _others to the_ Phenicians, _or the_ Canaanites; _others to the_ Indians, _or people of_ China; _others to them of_ Norway, _others to the Inhabitants of the_ Atlantick Islands, _others to the_ Tartarians, _others to the ten Tribes. Indeed, every one grounds his opinion not upon probable arguments, but high conjectures, as will appeare farther by this Booke. But I having curiously examined what ever hath hitherto been writ upon this subject doe finde no opinion more probable, nor agreeable to reason, then that of our_ Montezinus, _who saith, that the first inhabitants of_ America, _were the ten Tribes of the_ Israelites, _whom the_ Tartarians _conquered, and drove away; who after that (as God would have it) hid themselves behind the Mountaines_ Cordilleræ. _I also shew, that as they were not driven out at once from their Country, so also they were scattered into divers Provinces, sc. into_ America, _into_ Tartary, _into_ China, _into_ Media, _to the Sabbaticall River, and into_ Æthiopia. _I prove that the ten Tribes never returned to the second Temple, that they yet keepe the Law of_ Moses, _and our sacred Rites; and at last shall return into their Land, with the two Tribes_, Judah, _and_ Benjamin; _and shall be governed by one Prince, who is_ Messiah _the Son of_ David; _and without doubt that time is near, which I make appear by divers things; where, Reader, thou shalt finde divers Histories worthy of memory, and many Prophesies of the old Prophets opened with much study, and care. I willingly leave it to the judgement of the godly, and learned, what happy worth there is in this my Book, and what my own Nation owes me for my paines: It is called_, The Hope of Israel; _which name is taken from_ Jerem. 14.8. _O the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof. For the scope of this Discourse is, to show, that the hope in which we live, of the comming of the Messiah is of a future, difficult, but infallible good, because it is grounded upon the absolute