An attempt towards an explanation of the theology and mythology of the antient pagans. The first part by John Turner. Turner, John, b. 1649 or 50. 1687 Approx. 455 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 156 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2012-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 2). A63902 Wing T3302 ESTC R23755 07892547 ocm 07892547 40306

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A63902) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 40306) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1216:22) An attempt towards an explanation of the theology and mythology of the antient pagans. The first part by John Turner. Turner, John, b. 1649 or 50. [14], 284, [8] p. Printed by H. Hills Jun. for Walter Kettleby, London : 1687. Errata: p. [292] Running title: Notes. Includes index. Reproduction of original in the British Library.

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eng Paganism -- Theology -- Early works to 1800. Christianity and other religions. -- Paganism -- Early works to 1800. 2020-09-21 Content of 'availability' element changed when EEBO Phase 2 texts came into the public domain 2011-11 Assigned for keying and markup 2011-11 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2012-03 Sampled and proofread 2012-03 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2012-05 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

AN ATTEMPT TOWARDS AN EXPLANATION OF THE THEOLOGY AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE Antient Pagans. The Firſt Part. By John Turner Hoſpitaler of St. Thomas Southwark.

Licenſed,

Aug. 29th. 1687. Rob. Midgley.

London, Printed by H. Hills Jun. for Walter Kittleby at the Biſhops-Head in St. Pauls-Church-Yard. 1687.

To the Right Honorable George Lord Jeffreys, Baron of Wem, Lord High Chancellor of England, and one of the Lords of His Maſties moſt Honorable Privy Council, &c. My Lord,

WHEN I had written that diſſertation which is now abroad, upon that Text of Deuteronomy c. 25. 5. which I preſumed humbly Boaz and Ruth. to Dedicate to your Lordſhip; there were ſome Things in it which I had thoughts to illuſtrate, and others which I found it neceſſary to amend, and this I queſtioned not to do in a Sheet or two of Paper at the fartheſt, and ſo to Print it together with the other as an Appendix to it; but it ſo hapned, that ſtepping out of my way before I was aware, I found my ſelf of a ſuddain entangled in a Labyrinth ſo lovely and delightful, ſo full of fragrant Flowers and pleaſant Fruits, that as it was difficult in it ſelf to find the way back again from whence I came, in a Maze whoſe Paths were ſo numerous and ſo winding, ſo I had as little inclination as ability to be diſintangled, and would almoſt as ſoon have ſought the way out of Paradiſe, as out of that Orchard, that Garden, that Shady Grove, and Flowery Mead of Antiquity in which I had ſo fortunately loſt my ſelf, a place whoſe Clime was as happy and as ſweet as that of the Golden Age, whoſe Banks were waſh'd with Rivers of Milk and Honey, leſs terrible and more fruitful than Tigris and Euphrates, with which the Old Seat of Innocence was ſurrounded.

For in the Mythology of the Anti nts, there is every thing to be met with, which either Ambition or Appetite can deſire; we walk and divert our ſelves in the Heſperian Gardens, and pull the delicious Apples of Alcinous; we ſit down as gueſts at the Aetherial Banquets, and purchaſe to our ſelves the Golden Fleece, more pretious and more worthy of a toilſom Voyage than the Wrecks of Spain, and in the Wealthy Streams of Tagus and of Ganges, we find our ſelves refreſh'd and rich together.

Beſides that, in the Theology of the Ancient Pagans, which is combined and twiſted with the other, being all of it envelop'd and obſcur'd in Fables; we are ſurpriſed with a noble and comprehenſive Proſpect of the Philoſophy of thoſe early Times; for when all is done, the Religion of the Pagans was little elſe but the Phyſiology of Ancient Days, or of the more knowing Architects of Religious Worſhip, who wrapt up their Opinions concerning the Omniſcient, omnipotent and omnipreſent Numen, in the covert of Shadows and Hieroglyphic Fables, which putting on ſeveral Perſons, Names, Appearances and Shapes, according to the ſeveral Powers, Attributes, Reſpects and Operations of that one ſupream and independent Being, with Relation to the Ʋniverſe which is govern'd by him, became at leng h by the ignorance of the Vulgar, who could not ſee Juno ſtanding behind the Cloud, but worſhip'd the Cloud it ſelf inſtead of Juno, ſo many ſenſible and material Objects of ſtupid Adoration; and this is that which the Apoſtle charges them with, That they changed the Truth of God into a lie, and worſhipped and ſerved the Creature more than the Creator. But yet, my Lord, it cannot be deny'd, notwithſtanding the abuſe to which theſe things are ſubject, but that there is an excellent and an wholſom uſe to be made, even of the Dotage and Superſtition of thoſe deluded Mortals, whom we ought rather to pity than deſpiſe, in a juſt Deference, though to miſtaken Antiquity; and in conſideration that we ow our Knowledge, though not to their Miſtakes, to their Perſons, to which we are indebted for our own; for even they that rail moſt againſt Heathens and Idolaters, are after all their Piqueantry deſcended from them, and ow the power of blackning their Memories to themſelves; their Vertues ought to be ſtrow'd with Commendation upon their Graves, their Vices and Imperfections, like the Nakedneſs of Noah, ought not by us their Sons with too much raſhneſs and petulance to be revealed; and for their Future State, though the ſame Practices that they were guilty of, would undoubtedly be damnable in us after a clearer Light and a better Information; yet the condition of a pious and exemplary Heathen, wanting the means and opportunities of Conviction, and living up in his human Converſation to the Principles of natural Religion, do's not ſeem to be ſo very deſperate, as ſome Men of narrow Sentiments are pleaſed to make it; and it ſeems to me that St. Paul was of this mind, when he ſaid, That when the Gentiles which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, theſe having not the Law are a Law unto themſelves, which ſhew the work of the Law written in their Hearts, their Conſcience alſo bearing witneſs, and their Thoughts the mean while accuſing or elſe excuſing one another.

But whatever may be ſaid of the Vail and Cloud it ſelf, which the Heathens for the moſt part ignorantly worſhipped inſtead of the divine Subſtance that lay hidden under it, yet it cannot be deny'd to be an uſeful Operation, to take off the Scales from off the Gentiles Eyes; it muſt after all be granted to be a noble, and an excellent Employment, if it prove Succeſsful, to pry within this aged and venerable Vail, and look through the Symbol and Hieroglyphic Emblem, into the Subſtance and the Truth of Things; the effect of which Enquiry will be this, that it will appear that even the Pagans themſelves, thoſe I mean, that contrived and molded their Religion; the Prieſts, and Poets, and Philoſophers of the Heathen World, had a juſt and true Notion of the divine Being, and of the way and means by which his Nature ſhould be worſhip'd and his Anger appeas'd, as appears by their Sacrifices, their Ceremonies and Luſtrations, which were all or moſt of them Symbolical Adumbrations of the infinite Obligations we have contracted to him, of the Cleanneſs, Purity, Ʋprightneſs and Integrity, which he expects in his Worſhip and in the Conduct of our Lives, and of that awful Humility, devout Submiſſion, and moſt unfeigned Repentance, with which we ought to be acted and affected, when we look backward upon our Sins and Follies, or forwards upon his pure, unſpotted and untainted Nature, which is of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity, and cannot converſe with unrepenting Sinners, continuing in a State of Impenitence and Obduration.

It is at once a pleaſant and a profitable Contemplation, when we converſe either with Eaſtern Sages, or with the Mythology of the Greeks and Latins, which was borrowed from them in a great meaſure at leaſt, to think how the Principles of Vertue and good Life, as in the Symbols of Pythagoras, and in many of the Rites and Myſteries of the Gentil Worſhip, notwithſtanding the Heat of the reſpective Climates, were muffled and folded up in multiplicity of Garments, and in ſo great variety of Shadows and Diſguizes; and yet through all theſe Coverings by their own native Brightneſs, they ſhould compel and force their Paſſage into the Eyes and Heart of every competent Enquirer, and make themſelves ſtill more glorious, more powerful and attractive, more beautiful and bright, for being thus induſtriouſly darkned and concealed.

If Antiquity with too profuſe a Veneration, exalted good Men, or Men that were uſeful and ſerviceable to their Country by great Benefactions, or by the invention of profitable Arts, into the Rank and Dignity of Gods, and paid them a Worſhip ſuitable to that Opinion, yet this hinders not but we may reap advantage, even from the Superſtition and Ignorance of our blind Forefathers, and though we do not adore them as Divinities; yet we may bleſs their Memories, and pay that Reverence which is juſtly due to the Aſhes of Heroes and Illuſtrious Perſons, and we may lay them before us, as Copies and Examples to imitate and tranſcribe as far as we are able, and as often as opportunity preſents it ſelf.

Neither would the Antients have been ſo much to blame, that they divided and parcel'd the Omnipreſent Numen into ſo great variety of Names and Notions, according to the ſeveral relations and reſpects which that Omnipreſence bears to ſeveral and diſtant parts of the Creation, as that in the Heavens they called him Jupiter and Minerva, Ceres and Ops upon the ſurface of the Earth and underneath it, Pluto and Proſerpina, in the Sea Neptune, upon the Shore Priapus, and in the Port Portunus and Palaemon, but that it gave occaſion to the Vulgar ſort, who could not diſcern the Philoſophy of theſe things to look upon them, becauſe of their ſeveral Names, and of the ſeveral Rites and Ceremonies uſed in their Worſhip, as ſo many diſtinct and independent Beings, to each of which they aſcribed a Divinity by it ſelf, in which if I am not very much miſtaken, the true Myſtery of moſt of the Pagan Idolatry conſiſted.

That which I now preſent your Lordſhip with, is but one Part in four of that which I deſign; the next will be a compleat Diatriba by it ſelf of the Perſian, Aegyptian, Aſſyrian, and Chaldean Deities, which with a great deal more, is now already finiſh'd from my hands, and ſhall very ſoon be publiſh'd to the World, if this which I now put abroad ſhall meet with that Encouragement and Acceptance which I hope it will; and the reaſon why I broke off here, was only, that not intending any ſuch thing at firſt, but only to write a Sheet or two by way of Notes upon the former Treatiſe; I had not affixt the Numbers upon the top of the Pages, which I foreſaw would create diſorder and confuſion to my Reader, and beſides, it look'd ridiculous to call that Notes upon a former Treatiſe which had no manner of connexion with it.

I hope without Vanity, I may pretend to have made much greater Diſcoveries than any Man in this kind hath done before me, and ſome of them I would by no means exchange or part with, or loſe the juſt Glory of having found them out, to be thought or to have been the Author of the beſt Book that ever I read in my life; and if any Man ſhall ask why at every turn I am thus importunate and troubleſom to your Lordſhip? I Anſwer, Becauſe I am indebted to your Lordſhips Goodneſs, for the leiſure of compoſing all that I have written, and for my Subſiſtence it ſelf, and therefore the Fruit of my leiſure returns from whence it came, by a reaſon not unlike to that, for which Heaven claims the Sacrifice and Adoration of Men. That God would continue to bleſs and ſhine upon your Lordſhip, and to proſper you in all your Ways, and return your Favors and Kindneſſes to me a thouſand fold into your own Boſom, is the moſt affectionate and aſſiduous Prayer of,

My Lord, Your Lordſhips moſt Humble, Obedient, and for ever moſt obliged Servant, John Turner.
Advertiſement.

THE Reader is humbly deſired to page his Book, and correct the Errata as they are ſet down, or cauſe it to be done, before he begins to peruſe it.

NOTES.

PAge 4. Since men did Sacrifice Animals before the Floud,) this is denyed by Grotius in his Notes upon Gen. 4. 4. who ſaith there was no other Sacrifice of Animals before the Floud, then only an Offering of their Wool and Milk; but becauſe in ſome obſervations of my own, which I made long ſince at the Univerſity, as I read along upon the Old Teſtament, I have among other things ſubſtantially Confuted this Opinion of Grotius, who is likewiſe followed in it by the late Reverend and Learned Dr. Outram in his Book De Sacrifici is, therefore I ſhall ſet down what I have written, as I find it upon Gen. 4. 4. Obtulit de primogenitis gregis ſui & de adipibus eorum) dura ſunt omnia & violenta in Interpretatione Grotianâ, qui primogenita gregis de lanâ, adipes de lacte intelligit. Mechelbehen, ex adipibus eorum, quorum verò? primogenitorum nempè, quorum ſuprà meminerat; igitur ſi per adipes, lac intelligi debeat, per primogenita, lana, erit Mechelbehen. Ex lactibus lanae, quo quid abſurdius? verum quae tandem ratio impulit Grotium ut hujuſeemodi interpretamenta confingeret? audi eum cauſae ſuae patrocinantem, Cum nihil, inquit, deo ſacrari ſoleat, niſi quod in uſu ſit hominum, animantibus autem veſci ante diluvium, ut probabilior fert ſententia, permiſſum non fuérit, dici poſſet oblatam lanam ac lac ping iſſimum, quod hic cheleb vocetur, nam cheleb per 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 tranftulere 70. Gen. 18. 8. &c. vetuſtiſſimum autem morem fuiſſe lanam & lac offerendi ex multis hiſtoriis docet Porphyrius, haec ille. ſed retorqueri poteſt argumentum, cum nihil Deo ſacrari ſoleat niſi quod in uſu ſit hominum, homines autem veſtibus ex Lanâ contextis nondum uterentur, ſequitur lanam ab Abele oblatam non fuiſſe, legimus autem pelles & tergora ferarum prima veſtimenta fuiſſe (cothnoth hor Gen. 3. 21.) pelles autem animalium ex quibus veſtes primitùs confectae fuerunt, ex iis ſolummodò aut certè potiſſimum detractae ſunt, quae venatione capiebantur, à quo cenſu oves tam longè removentur, quam quod longiſſimè.

Quod ſi concedamus etiam pellibus ovinis uſos antiquiſſimos mortales, quid inde ſequitur, niſi quod oves jure excoriari poterant & pelles ab iifdem inuſus humanos; deo permittente detrahi? poterant igitur in hoc caſu etiam, jure occidi, nam excoriari animalia ſine certiſſimâ morte non poſſunt, denique ſi occidi poſſent, idque ut uſibus humanis intervirent, ſequitur, etiam ipſo Grotio fatente, potuiſſe etiam in ſacrificiis ritè Deo offerri.

Si quis hic interroget, quare animali tunc temporis ad veſtitum occidi poterant, non item ad eſum, reſponſio in promptu eſt, nempe, quod in initiis rerum, ſi tanta animantium copia, quanta humano generi paſcendo ſuffeciſſet, fuiſſet interempta, defeciſſent untique in ipſo mundi exordio, pleraeque omnes animantium ſpecies; de veſtitu autem alia res eſt, qui ſemel & ex unius animantis tergore confectus, etiam per plures annos perdurat, & arcet caeli inclementiam.

Lana autem, inquiet fortaſſe Grotius, quando ſimul cùm pellibus ovinis fuerit detracta, quid impedit, quo minus ritè potuit offerri? reſpondeo, primum, à poſſe ad eſſe non valet conſequentia, deinde ſi hoc de lanâ concedimus, certè idem in pelle, cujus praecipuus in veſtibus uſus fuit, cùm nondum panni conficiendi artes invenirentur, multò magis valebit, at pellis omninò eximi non potuit, ſine interitu animalis, & occiſio animalis ad uſus quomodocunque humanos, dat jus ad ſacrificium.

Si dicas haec tergora morticinorum animantium fuiſſe, conſideres, velim, hoc genus pro immundo habitum, fuiſſe, hanc autem mundorum, immundorumque animantium diſtinctionem, etiam ante Moſaicam legem extitiſſe, liquet ex diluvii hiſtoriâ, neque mihi dubium videtur, quin mundities & immundities utriuſque temporis Noachici dico & Mofaici, eandem rationem habuerit, ut ità eadem animantia in utroque intervallo aut munda aut immunda haberentur, id quod ex ſymbolicis iſtius munditiei rationibus, (non enim arbitraria res fuit) de quibus nos alibi fuſiùs egimus, amplius conſtabit. Utrum autem iſta diſtinctio à Noacho primum inceperit, cùm de eo nihil in ſacris literis diſertim affirmetur, pro certo ſtatui non poteſt; eſt autem ea probabilior ſententia quae antiquiorem facit, cùm de mundis & immundis animalibus, tanquam de rê antè notâ mentio fiat; cumque animalia utriuſque generis hic non ſigillatim percenſeantur, ut in Moſaicâ utriuſque partitione videre eſt, ſed tantum de ejuſmodi animantibus in genere praecipitur, ex mundis ſeptena, ex immundis bina arcam eſſe intromittenda, vero ſimile eſt Noachum tunc temporis à Deo particulatim edoctum non fu ſſe, ſed recurriſſe potius ad praeſtitutas & praecognitas iſtius immunditiae leges.

Sed & alia quaedam porrò reſtant dicenda, quae opinioni Grotianae non minus fortiter adverſantur, ea breviter attingam, ait ſacra Pagina Abelem obtuliſſe Mebecoroth Tſono, oumechelbehen, Mebechoroth genere faeminino, quia, ſcilicet, hic moc in ſacrificiis erat, ut faeminae potiſſimùm, utpote nitidiores delicatioreſque aris admoverentur, quo nihil apertius opinionem illam laneam impugnat, neque clarius oſtendit moris hujus ſummam antiquitatem, Itidem mechelbehen legitur cüm affixo faeminino, cüm adipibus iſtarum primogenitarum, igitur ſi bechoroch ſunt animalia, chelbehen erunt adipes iſtorum animalium quod ſi utrumque ſumatur, pro eo quod optimum eſt, aut pulcherrimum, aut pinguiſſimum, ſicut Grotio viſum eſt, idem erit, eodemque omninò recidet ac ſi dixiſſes, optimum optimi, pulcherrimum pulcherrimi, quod cùm niſi valde impropriâ locutione dici non poſſit, cumque obſtet conjunctio copulativa, quae diſtinguere videtur inter becoroth & chelbehen, hoc eſt, ſi Grotio credimus, inter idem & idem, quod eſt abſurdum, omninö concludimus conträ Hugonum Grotium, virum alias longë doctiſſimum, hunc locum de veris animalibus intelligi debere.

Quibus accedit, quod manifeſtum ſit, ſacrificari à Noacho caeptum eſſe, tum de pecuino, ſum de volucrum genere, Geneſeos c. 8. priuſquam illi carnium eſus permitteretur; quod factum eſt initio, c. 9. quod ſi quis eum ideò ſacrificâſſe exiſtimet, quod jam certò ſciret, ſe etiam ex animalibus divino permiſſu propediem veſciturum, adeoque deo patri benigniſſimo, qua ſi primitias novae menſae obtuliſſe, aut ſi quis fortè pertenderit, Noachum, anteà quam hoc ſacrum ſecerit, paſtum carnibus fuiſſe, neque res eo, quo geſtae ſunt, ordine narrari, id quod ſcriptoribus ſacris non inſolens eſſe congnoſcimus; utcunque haec praecarië dicantur, & homines cauſae ſuae metuentes prodant, tamen cùm poſſint fortaſſe vera eſſe, de his ſerram contentionis nolumus cùm quoquam reciprocare.

Page 15. And the Lord ſaid, my ſpirit ſhall not always ſtrive with man) that the Floud was brought upon the Old World, for their many and great ſins, and particularly for that of inceſtuous conjunctions, is beyond diſpute, but whether God did then really ſhorten the days of Man, or whether it be only ſpoken, as ſeveral other things in the Old Teſtament, are in complyance with vulgar Tradition and Opinion, or what other poſſible Interpretation theſe words are naturally capable of receiving, I ſhall enquire more largely in another place.

Page 33. We have two known inſtances in the Ancient Roman Storie) this power of Fathers over their Children by the Old Roman Law, ſo as to put them to death if they pleaſed, is mentioned and referred to by Conſtantine C. Th. l. 4. tit. 8. l. 2. Libertati à Majoribus tantum impenſum eſt, ut patribus quibus jus vitae in liberos, neciſque poteſtas permiſſa eſt, &c. v. D. Gothofred ib

Page 44. That very fact being made death afterwards by the Law of Moſes) this was my opinion when I writ it, and I have ſtill a ſtrong impreſſion that it is true, though I cannot find it, however the inference which I make from it is clear from many other inſtances which I have mentioned.

Page 63. Neither was this all, but the Husband was an abſolute Lord over his Wife, and the Wife was in the nature of a Servant to her Husband) The dominion of Husbands over their Wives by the Antient Laws of Rome, which in this particular were Copied from the Eaſt, is thus expreſſed by A. Gellius out of an Oration of M. Cato noct. Att. l. 10. c. 23. Imperium, quod videtur, habet. That is, the Husband hath as much Power, as he pleaſeth over his Wife; and then it follows, Si quid perversè tetrèque factum eſt à muliere, multatur, ſi vinum bibit, ſi cùm alieno viro probri quid fecit, condemnatur. And then it follows as another great inſtance of this Arbitrary power of Husbands over their Wives, that if the Husband had committed Adultery, which is the higheſt violation of conjugal Duty, he could not be toucht, but if the Wife were guilty of the ſame, it was in the Husbands power to kill her with impunity with his own hands, and without ſo much as bringing her to a Tryal, ſuppoſing that he caught her in the very Fact, for which his word muſt in this caſe be taken. The words of Cato are, In Adulterio uxorem tuam ſi deprehendiſſes, ſine judicio impunè necares; illa te, ſi adulterares, digito non auderet contingere, neque jus eſt.

Page 88. Yet ſo as he was only to enjoy it till the ſaid Year of Jubilee, &c.) that is, In caſe he did not Marry the Woman to raiſe up Seed to the deceaſed, otherwiſe, notwithſtanding there was another nearer in Blood, he was to enjoy it for ever, if not in himſelf, yet at leaſt in his Heir begotten by him in his deceaſed Kinſmans ſtead, and in the deſcendants from him, or other collateral Relations enjoying in his Right and Title for ever.

Page 92. That it hath never been broken down without the diſgrace and infamy of thoſe, &c.) See Tacitus and Suetonius in the Life of Claudius, where they ſpeak of that Emperours Marriage to Agrippina.

Page 100, 101. They have their name from Oblivion, as Men have theirs from Remembrance) The Women are called in Hebrew Naſhim, from a word that ſignifies to forget, the Men Zecarim, from another that ſignifies to remember.

Page 104. Which name is from habad, ſervivit, and was given him, as I conceive, &c.) this reaſon may very well be allowed, notwithſtanding another which I have given in my diſcourſe of the Meſſias c. 1. for they are not inconſiſtent together.

Page 109, 110. Joſephus tells you it was any of the Kindred) Our Cuſtom of Appeals in caſe of Murther, ſeems to have been taken from this Law among the Jews, though whether through ignorance or inadvertency or for what reaſon I know not, there are ſeveral remarkable differences betwixt the Jewiſh Law and Ours; for by Their Law it was only involuntary ſlaughter, in which the revenger of Blood had any thing to do, in Ours it is only wilfull Murther, in Theirs the Wife could not revenge in this manner the death of her Husband, but it was to be done by the Heir Male, who had the firſt right of vengeance, and there were beſides two or three further removed in the paternal conſanguinity, who had the right of revenging the death of their Kinſman wherever they ſhould meet the Man that had ſlain him, and other differences there are which it is needleſs to inſiſt upon, but yet, as I have ſaid, I am ſtill of opinion that one of theſe Laws was taken from the other.

Page 117. Out of Judea) or rather out of Aegypt, for in Judea this Law was now Antiquated and aboliſhed—

Page 117. Quod poſt illorum mortem manſiſſe virgines dicebantur) This plainly ſhows the Aegyptian Cuſtom to have depended upon the ſame reaſon with the Jewiſh, only in the word virgines which is unqueſtionably to be underſtood in this Law of Zeno's in the ſtricteſt ſenſe, as appears by the next words, Arbitrati ſcilicet (quod certis legum conditoribus placuit) cùm corpore non convenerint, nuptias non videri re eſſe contractas; there ſeems to be a miſtake, for by the Jewiſh Law the obligation to this ſort of Marriages remained in caſe the deceaſed had left no Male Iſſue behind him, notwithſtanding there were Female, as I have proved, beſides theſe words cùm corpore non convenerint, do plainly ſhew the Roman Emperor, when he made this Law was utterly unacquainted with the Jewiſh Cuſtom, for by the Moſaic Law though they had cohabited never ſo long together, yet in defect of Male Iſſue, the next of Kin was obliged to propagate inſtead of the deceaſed, and yet that expreſſion quod certis legum conditoribus placuit, may and I believe does as much refer to the Jewiſh Lawgivers as the Aegyptian, ſo that upon the whole matter I am inclined to believe, if you are not otherwiſe ſatisfied with what I have written, p. 118. that the Aegyptians who ſeem to have continued this practice long after it was antiquated and aboliſhed among the Jews, impoſing upon the ignorance of the Romans, alledged, in their own excuſe that they were Virgins whom they Married, but meant nothing elſe by that word, but only that they had not had Iſſue, or Heritable Iſſue by their former Husbands, and the Romans ſeem only to have imitated them thus far, but this excuſe would not be taken to juſtifie a practice which was ſo inceſtuous by the Roman Laws.

Page 135. Numb. 27. 8. If a Man die have no Son, &c.) in the Hebrew it is ou ben een lo, which are the very words uſed Deut. 25. 5. and in this place of numbers there is no queſtion, but the word ben is to be underſtood ſtrictly, of the Male Iſſue, for it follows, then he ſhall cauſe his Inheritance to paſs unto his Daughter, ſo that the words being exactly the ſame in both places, this, beſides other Arguments which I have produced, is ſtill the ſtronger ſign that my Interpretation is right, when I expound the place of Deuteronomy after ſuch a manner, as to reſtrain it to the Male Iſſue.—

Page 151. Somewhat of a priviledge in it, by inheriting the double Portion) or rather in this caſe the whole Eſtate, which was to deſcend to the Heir of the vicarious Bed, and in the mean time to be enjoyed by the Levir himſelf.

Page 179. I ſhall give almoſt innumerable Inſtances of this agreement) It appears in the proceſs of this Diſcourſe, that I have already given ſo many of the agreement of the Romans with the Eaſt, both as to their Manners and Language, that it can be no longer doubted that the one people, were at leaſt in part, a Colony from the other, and that they derived a great part of their Language and of their Rites and Ceremonies from them, ſo that though this be a ſubject capable of great improvement and of being illuſtrated by many more inſtances then I have produced, or then it is perhaps poſſible for any one Man to think of, yet ſince I deſigned no more then only to ſhow, what I have ſufficiently done already, that the Romans were certainly a Colony from the Eaſt, I think I am excuſed from any further diſcharge of that obligation, which in this Paragraph I have lay'd upon my ſelf.—

Page 180. If their Prieſts and their Sacrifices both name and thing) beſides what I have ſaid afterwards, about this very thing in the account which I give of Numa and his Laws, and of the Rites and Ceremonies introduced by him into the Religious Worſhip of the Romans, the very Name of Pontifex, is not à ponte faciendo, a moſt ridiculous Etymology in my opinion, which hath nothing but likeneſs of ſound to juſtifie it ſelf, but it is pure Hebrew, and is as much by the Interpoſition of a Digamma and the changing of a Tſade or a ſhin into the Latin x, as phoneh eth hets or phoneh eth eſh. he that lays the Wood in order, and prepares the Fire for the Sacrifice, which was one part of the Prieſtly Office, as the ſprinkling of Blood was another, and both of theſe Abraham is deſcribed as doing, with relation to his Son Iſaac, Gen. 22. 6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt Offering and laid it upon Iſaac his Son, and he took the Fire in his hand and a Knife, and they went both of them together. and again, v. 9. And they came to the place which God had told him of, and Abraham built an Altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Iſaac his Son, and laid him on the Altar upon the wood. Of the inſertion of the Aeolique Digamma in the Roman words derived from the Eaſt, I have given ſeveral other inſtances towards the concluſion of this work, and of the changing of the ſhin into an x, though that and the change of a Tſade into the ſame, be ſo natural that nothing can be more, yet I will give ſome other inſtances, from ſhiſh is the Latin ſex, and from Reiſh is the Latin rex, which latter word though it be not extant any where in the Bible, yet that there was formerly ſuch an Hebrew word, may be ſeen from the words reſhith, and riſhon derived from it, and this very word is ſtill to be ſeen in the moſt Ancient of the Rabbinical writings, ſo for example, what the N. T. calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that the Ancient Jews called Reſh Gabbaei, as Caninius de loc. diffic. N. T. and Hottinger in his Exercit. Antimorin. have obſerved. See alſo, B •• lex. Talmud. in voce. the Algerines at 〈◊〉 day call their chief Magiſtrate by the Name of the Raes, and the Turks have alſo an Officer among them. whom they call Riſeffendi, mingling an Hebrew word and the corruption of a Greek together, it being as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and what the Hebrews call Reſh, that the Arabians call Rebis, by the Interpoſition of a Digamma, and by the ſame Analogy from the Hebrew din or doun ſignifying Judgment, is the Turkiſh and Algerine Divan, for a Conſiſtory or place of Judgment, and by leaving out the n corruptly (to mention that by the way) the Tunitines call their chief Magiſtrate the Dey, that is, the Judge, as the Carthaginians of Old called him ſuffetes from the Hebrew ſhophet, ſignifying the ſame. Laſtly, As a ſhin ſo alſo a ſamech a letter of much the ſame ſound and nature, is by the Latins changed into an x, as from nous, fugit, is the Latin nox, becauſe then all things vaniſh and diſappear.

This for the Prieſts, then for the Sacrifices, that which was called the mola among the Romans was fron the Hebrew melach ſignifying Salt, as by the ſame Analogy form the Hebrew keren is the Latin cornu, from the Hebrew Bier ſignifying a Ditch or Well, is by a reduplication the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying Slime or Dirt, and from the Hebrew Hen, ſignifying Grace or Comelineſs, not only the Latin Venus by changing the h into v conſonant or Aeolique Digamma as Heinſius in his Ariſtarchus hath with great probability obſerved, but alſo benus and bene, and benignus, and bonus. The Romans indeed in latter time not knowing the true ſignification of their own word, gave it the needleſs Epithet of Salſa, which it included in it ſelf before, as likewiſe the publick and ſolemn convention upon the calends of their Months they called Curia Kalabra, though the Hebrew word Kahal, which is a part of the compoſition of Kalabra included the ſignification of Curia within it ſelf, as I have ſhown in another part of this Diſcourſe. Further, the Sacrifice, was called ſometimes victima and ſometimes Hoſtia, victima though it be not an Hebrew word, yet it includes an imitation of an Hebrew Cuſtom) for victima is quaſi vittima à vinciendo, whence alſo the Latin vitta is derived, becauſe the Sacrifice was firſt bound and laid upon the Altar, before the Throat was cut, as in that paſſage of Geneſis concerning Iſaac, part of which hath been already repeated, v. 22. v. 9, 10. And Abraham built an Altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound bound Iſaac his Son, and laid him upon the Altar, upon the wood, and Abraham ſtretched forth his hand and took the Knife to ſlay his Son. And to this it was that David alluded when he ſaid Pſalm 118. 27. bind the Sacrifice with Cords, even unto the Horns of the Altar. as for hoſtia, the very name is Hebrew, it is without queſtion from the Hebrew word haſah, which I have ſhown in theſe papers ſometimes to have a ſacrificial meaning, and in that ſenſe the Latin facio by the help of a Digamma is derived from it, and thence it was that Hoſtis in its firſt and pureſt ſignification did not ſignifie an Enemy, but a Pledge or Pawn which was given for the performance of conditions, and thence hoſtimentum, hoſtire, and redhoſtire are derived, but becauſe ſuch pledges were given out of the Enemies Country, and out of their number, therefore by degrees it came conſequently to ſignifie an Enemy, but its direct and primary ſignification is a Pawn or Pledge, as every Sacrifice is in the ſtead of him for whom it is Offered up, and theſe hoſtes, otherwiſe called in Latin obſides, were to be hoſtiae in the proper ſenſe, that is, they were to be ſlain and put to death, which is the ſignification of haſah in Hebrew and of mactare in Latin, if the conditions ſtipulated were not performed.

Page 183. As appears from the Books of Daniel and Eſther, &c. and alſo from thoſe of Ezra and Nehemiah) I cannot altogether excuſe this from error, however it is true of the Books of Daniel and Ezra, that they have a great deal of Chalday in them, but the name of Eſther is Chalday, though the Book be not, and ſo is the name of Nehemiahs Office, who was made Governour of his own Country under the name of Tirſhatha.

Page 200. To whom e're it be long, I ſhall give another opportunity) this refers to the Sermon before Sir P. W. as it is long ſince Printed with additions, and I think I may pretend in what I have ſaid in that Diſcourſe and in the Preface, to have clearly repreſented all the natural reaſons upon which the preſent excellent eſtabliſhment may defend it ſelf, and though I do not ſay they are the only Arguments, yet without them all other Arguments ſignifie very little, and they of themſelves without any addition of Authorities and Traditions, though they are alſo of our ſide, are ſufficient to defend us againſt all the reaſon of our Adverſaries, though not againſt their prejudices or their malice, the firſt of which ſeems utterly incapable of conviction, and the ſecond will never acknowledge it, let it be never ſo plain.—

Page 210. But of this and other matters of a reſembling nature I have diſcourſed more largely, &c.) in my middle way betwixt neceſſity and freedom.

Page 228. I do therefore diſown and recant thoſe reaſons, &c.) this referrs to a part of thoſe papers in the Additions to the Sermon before Sir P. W. which, for the reaſons I have already Publiſht, I thought it but juſt and neceſſary to ſuppreſs; and ſo does that paſſage alſo a little before being, p. 226, 227. and their name put into Greek is not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as I have elſewhere obſerved againſt Joſeph Scaliger—and the Book of Scaliger, which I referr to is his Elenchus Trihereſii, written againſt the Jeſuit Nicholas Serarius.

Page 230. And though theſe reaſons are ſufficient to prevail with me to retract that opinion, &c.) this is alſo referred to ſome part of the forementioned papers which I thought it requiſite to ſuppreſs.—

Page 267. If the Nones were quintanae fell upon the fourteenth, but if they were ſeptimanae upon the ſixteenth day of the Month) this is a miſtake, I ſhould have ſaid, the thirteenth and the fifteenth.

Page 286. Who were uſed to abuſe the Jews for their abſtinence from Swines fleſh) as in that of Juvenal ſpeaking of Judea.

Obſervant ubifeſta mero pede ſabbata Reges, Et vetus indulget ſenibus clementia Porris.

And in another place of the Jews he ſays, Nec diſtare putant humanâ carne ſuillam.

And Petronius repreſents them as worſhiping of Swine, out of a miſtake in the true reaſon of their abſtinence, which was becauſe they thought them unclean.

Judaeus licet & Porcinum Numen adoret.

Page 309. Which was nothing elſe, but aliquid extrà & intrà muros, &c.) ſo the Pomaeria are deſcribed by the Roman Authors, and ſo it was certainly among the Jews, as appears by comparing the 4th. and 5th. verſes of the 35th. of Numbers together. For v. 4. it is ſaid, The Suburbs of the Cities which ye. ſhall give unto the Levites, ſhall reach from the Wall of the City and outward a thouſand Cubits. but v. 5. Ye ſhall meaſure from without the City on the Eaſt-ſide two thouſand Cubits, and on the Southſide two thouſands Cubits, and on the Weſtſide two thouſand Cubits, and on the Northſide two thouſand Cubits, and the City ſhall be in the middeſt, this ſhall be to them the Suburbs of the Cities. now there is no poſſible way to reconcile theſe two verſes together, which are otherwiſe contradictory, notwithſtanding they immediately follow one another, but by ſaying that the Firſt of theſe places, is to be underſtood only of the Suburb or pomaerium without the Wall, but the other of both together, of the empty ſpace with in the Wall, as well as without, and the City was to be in the middeſt, that is, in the middeſt of the inward pomaerium, for that which the Hebrews call hir, and we render City, does not begin with the Wall, but the Houſes, and there are many places ſo called in the Old Teſtament which had no Walls at all, or in the Scripture Language, which were not fenced Cities, as the Levitical, all of them were, and ſo were the fitter for that uſe, to which I have conjectured Jeroboam to have put them, but then, if this way of reconciliation be admitted, as I think it is highly reaſonable, then the Seventy are not to be excuſed, who have put down 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , two thouſand Cubits in both places, which I believe them to have done out of ignorance, as thinking there was a contradiction in the place, and not underſtanding the nature of the Suburbs in thoſe times, which were ſo exactly anſwered by the pomaeria among the Romans, which were two fold, there was pomaerium poſt muros, that is, the outward pomaerium, and there was murus poſt pomaerium, that is to ſay the inward, and this Livy makes to be the Etymon of the place in theſe words: Pomaerium, verbi vim ſolam intuentes eſt locus, quem in condeudis urbi bus quondam Hetruſci, quà murum ducturi erant, certis circà terminis inauguratò conſecrabant; ut neque interiore parte aedificia maenibus continuarentur, quae nunc vulgò etiam conjungunt, & extrinſecus puri aliquid ab humano cultu pateret ſoli. hoc ſpatium quod neque habitari neque arari fas erat, non magis quod poſt murum eſſet, quam quod murus poſt id, pomaerium Romani appellarunt. And perhaps there is another Etymology more natural then this, and which will anſwer both of theſe ſignifications, and denote both ſorts of the ancient pomaerium, and that is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for what the common Greek calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that the Dorique calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from whence is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , anp 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and other words of the like nature, to be met with in our Lexicons, and taken, as I ſuppoſe, out of the Dorique writers of the Italique or Pythagorean ſect, and this way, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is any Addition or Appendix, whether within or without the Walls of a City, that is, it is the pomaerium indifferently in both ſenſe.

Page 310. Which the Latins call otherwiſe tabanus) from tabes, becauſe they breed in the faintly and Autumnal time of the Year, or from the Hebrew teben ſignifying ſtraw or reeds, becauſe they are chiefly found in locis arundineis & Vliginoſis.—

Page 311. I could ſhow the ſame of the reſt of the Roman Hills, &c.) I dare ſcarce undertake for them all, but there is one more notwithſtanding, which I have not mentioned, and which I take to be of Eaſtern Origination, and that is the mons Aventinus, whieh I take to be from the Chalday Aben, ſignifying a Stone, the place where Jupiter Lapis, as Agellius tells us they had ſuch a Deity and they were uſed to ſwear by him, was worſhipped among the Romans. For in many of theſe caſes b and v conſonant are the ſame, as may be ſeen in a thouſand inſtances in the ancient gloſſaries, but it ſhall be ſufficient to inſtance in another word of Hebrew or Oriental growth tranſlated into Latin, that is, the Hebrew ab, whence by the addition of a Roman termination is the Latin Avus, ſignifying a progenitor or forefather, for that is its firſt and true ſignification, though the uſe of the Latin ſpeech have reſtrained it to him, whom we call the Grandfather, and this is plainly the ſenſe of proavus, being from the Latin pro with the Hebrew ab, and ſignifying in general a progenitor or Forefather, as in that known place of Ovid Genus & proavos & quae non fecimus ipſi, Vix ea noſtra voco but yet in this word we have a manifeſt inſtoance of the ignorance of the Romans in the Antiquities and true Etymologies of their own Language, for avunculus which is from avus, and conſequently from ab, is not the Ʋncle by the Father, but the Mother's ſide.

Ib. which is derived from the Hebrew Joreſh, ſignifying an Inheritance) Joreſh does not ſignifie the Inheritance, but the heir in ſtrictneſs of ſpeech, but yet even this way the Etymon holds very well, for the principle is as it were the Heir or Landlord to whom the intereſt is due, or if you would rather it ave from Shoreſh, ſignifying a Root, from whence the intereſt ſprouts out and grows, it is all one to me, only this latter Etymon, though in ſenſe it have ſcarce any advantage, yet in ſound it is more natural then the other.

Page 312. Faenus is hanouſh) from thence is alſo the Latin pignus, and by omitting the laſt letter (as from the Hebrew routs is the Latin ruo) is the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the Latin paena, and the Engliſh pawn, all theſe words implying an exchange or penalty, or barter of one thing for another, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and therefore eaſily convertible into one another.

Page 319. What the Latins call quintus when it is a praenomen, that the Greeks call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , an Author of this name is cited by the Old Scholiaſt upon Homer, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ad Il. n. 214. and this no doubt was a Roman Author though writing in Greek and his Latin name was Quintus.

Page 322. Are by Catullus Epigr. 17. called ſaliſubſuli) I deny not but the Etymology à ſaliendo was the ancient, and indeed the only received one among the Romans, and to this Catullus himſelf alludes, in the Epigram cited, ad Coloniam; his words are, O Colonia, quae cupis ponte ludere longo Et ſalire paratum habes And a little after. Sic tibi bonus ex tuâ pons libidine fiat, In quo vel ſali ſubſuli ſacra ſuſcipiunto. And Varro l. 4. de l. 1. ſalii à ſaltando quod facere in comilio in ſacris quotannis & ſolent & debent. But I only argue from the repetition of the ſame word, which to me is very uncouth and ſcarce to be mached in all the Latin Tongue, or perhaps in any other, to which it is to be added that Mars himſelf, who according to Macrobius was the ſame with the Sun was anciently called ſalſubſulus, as appears by this fragment of Pacuvius concerning him Pro imperio ſic ſaliſubſulus voſtro excubet. Quod procul dubiò eſt, ſaith Scaliger, ex fine prologi cujuſdam ut illud Plautinum, Ʋt vos item aliàs, pariter nunc voc Mars adjuvet.

Page 323. Lou parothka, or Lou parothk) from the Hebrew pharah without all queſtion, is the Latin pario, and partus.

Page 326. Whe have not only the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but ſometimes by the Eliſion and omiſſion of the quieſcent, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) of this there is alſo another example very plain, but yet never taken notice of hitherto by any, and that is in Acheron, which the common Etymològiſts, for want of ſomething to ſay, are uſed to derive from a privative and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but the word, by their leave, is pure Hebrew, and ſignifies the ſtate after this life, for achar is poſt, and acharon, poſterius, poſtremum, and by the Eliſion of Aleph is the word charon, which is the name of the Ferryman in the Poets, who was to waft men over into that ſtate, not from the ſame 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as it were by an Antiphraſis, a very cold interpretation, though I perceive Apulejus was of this opinion; his words are theſe in Apol. pro Aemiliano, where he tells us that Charon had likewiſe another name, and that was Mezentius, igitur agnomenta ei duo indita, Charon, ob oris & animi duritatem, & alterum quod libentius audit, ob deorum contemptum, Mezentius. which latter name of his is likewiſe as plainly Hebrew as the other, from the verb, maas, ſprevit, contempſit, from whence maaſan or meeſan or ſome ſuch word, ſignifying contemptor, as from the Chalday Tirgem, is Drogermau for an Interpreter, from the Hebrew ſhallem, the Turkiſh muſleman, for a Perfect or Faithful perſon, from Aram Arman for an Aſſyrian, whence Armenus, and Armenia. So that theſe things do ſtrengthen and and confirm one another; upon this occaſion, I will mention another of thoſe names by which the future ſtate was anciently expreſſed by the Poets, and that is Cocytus, which the Grammarians would have to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying to bewail and lament, but I had rather have it from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by which word in the Greek Anthology our See my Diſcourſe of the true time of our Saviours Paſſover. Anceſtours or Progenitors are denoted, as much as to ſay, the place or ſeat whether our Forefathers are gone, and from this word, if I am not miſtaken, is the other derived, becauſe of mens mourning and lamentation for the dead, and for their Parents eſpecially, to whom the moſt Solemn and Religious juſta were performed, neither does it ſignifie any thing in this caſe that the one of theſe words is ſpelt by an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the other by an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for nothing is more ordinary then for long and ſhort Vowells to be exchanged into one another, as theſe two Vowells are changed the ſhort into the long, in all the verbs that begin with an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in the preter tence, and in all the Tences and Participles where the Augment is inſerted, and in all the compoſitions of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the ſame is to be found, as in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the like, and if you would have a particular reaſon, why it is ſo here, I anſwer it is in compliance with the nature of the voces fictitiae that the ſound may in ſome meaſure repreſent the ſignification, the long Vowel being naturally more mournful and pathetical then the ſhort; and if my opinion may be taken as to the derivation of this word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , I wou'd have that to be no leſs of Eaſtern origination then the other two words that have been newly mentioned, to which purpoſe it is to be noted that of Ancient time there were two proper names, viz. Og and Agag, which I take to be the ſame, that is, the one to be only a reduplication of the other, though the latter be ſpelt with an Aleph, the former with an Haiin, for theſe two letters are, as to their poteſtas much what the ſame, as I have ſhewn already by the ſeptuagint, in their rendition of proper names, taking no notice of the latter of theſe, ſometimes, as if it were perfectly a quieſcent letter, and thus in the pure Hebrew, haphar, and ephar, the former by an Haiin, the latter by an Aleph are the ſame, though the former be uſually tranſlated, pulvis, the latter cinis, which are much what the ſame, and they are exactly ſynonymous and expreſſive of one another, Gen. 18. 27. where they are both uſed, And Abraham anſwered and ſaid, behold now, I have taken upon me to ſpeak unto the Lord, which am but duſt and aſhes, in the Original it is haphar veepher and in the Seventy 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the latter of theſe words is rendred by the Seventy, Job 2. 8. by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a Dunghill, a ſignification coming much nigher to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 then 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the former is tranſlated by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Gen. 13. 16. and 28. 14. and by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Num. 19. 17. ſo that it is plain theſe words are ſynonymous and expreſſive of each other, to all which it is to be added that Ophir, which is by an Aleph, and which, as I have obſerved, is the name of Africa in Scripture, was ſo called becauſe of the drowth and duſtineſs of the place, by reaſon of the heat of the climate, which is the confeſſed ſignification of haphar, by an haiin.

So that it being now clear that Og and Agag are poſſibly, and may be very probably the ſame name, the one being only a repetition, reduplication or ingemination of the other, I proceed from hence to obſerve that from the firſt of theſe names, by which the King of Baſhan, conquered by Joſhua is called, the name Ochus which belonged to one of the Perſian Kings is derived, of whom mention is made by Diodorus l. 17. Aelian. var. Hiſt. l. 6. c. 8. v. Lloyd. lex. Geog. & Poet. in Ogyges. and Juſtim. l. 10. and from the other Ogyges, an Ancient King of Thebes, and if we may believe others, the firſt King of Athens, as alſo of Aegypt, Boeotia, and Lycia had their names, and indeed any ancient thing or perſon was of Old expreſt and repreſented by this name, as Heſychius interprets the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 derived from it, by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and with him Suidas, the Etymologer and Euſtathius agree, and ſo Nicander uſes it in Theriacis 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Where the Scholiaſt interprets it after the ſame manner, or rather more Emphatically, for he makes the name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 it ſelf to be as much as others mean by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 derived from it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , all which may be excellently parallel'd and explained out of Num. 24. 7. in the benedictory Parable of Balaam, He (Jacob) ſhall poure out the water out of his buckets, and his ſeed ſhall be in many waters, and his King ſhall be higher then Agag, and his Kingdom ſhall be exalted: Now there is no mention of any Agag before this, and yet if I am not very much deceived, this is a prophetick compariſon of Saul, who was to be the firſt King of Iſrael, and was a tall and comely perſon, with another Ancient King of great renown and fame in thoſe times, and who probably lived before the Floud, being a Perſon of a Gigantick ſtature, for the Scripture tells us Gen. 6. 4. that there were Gyants in thoſe days and he probability, as being the talleſt, biggeſt and moſt Gigantick was their King, according to that known ſaying, which was Anciently the great rule of Elective Kingdoms, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And God complying with this humour of mankind, that prevailed then ſo much in the World, was pleaſed to appoint Saul to be their firſt King; of whom it is ſaid, 1 Sam. 9. 2. that from his ſhoulders upward he was higher then any of the People, which conjecture if it be admitted as true, as it muſt be acknowledged not to be improbable, then it will follow that the Ogygian Floud, and the Floud of Noah are the ſame, notwithſtanding that the generality of Chronologers have placed them at ſo great a diſtance from one another, but the Hiſtory of thoſe times being ſo very confuſed and imperfect, we are not obliged by their Authority ſo much, as to neglect other reaſons that offer themſelves, but it is in this as in many other things, that are perplext, uncertain and obſcure that he is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And ſtill further to confirm this, it is to be obſerved, that notwithſtanding ſome have made the deluge of Oggges to have been only a ſmall and inconſiderable inundation of Attica or ſome one ſingle Country, yet Nonnus in his Dionyſiaca makes it to have been univerſal. where ſpeaking of the Ogygian Floud he ſaith l. 3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Secondly, Juſtin Martyr expreſly puts Inachus and Ogyges as cotemporary together. in orat ad Gentiles. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . now this Inachus is without queſtion the ſame with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Noah, and though they are both made by the ſame Iuſtin Martyr and others to have been contemporary with Moſes, yet this proceeded only from this, that there is ſuch a perſon as Agag, whom they thought and not without reaſon, to have been the ſame with Ogyges mentioned in the Moſaic writings, as I have ſhewn, but does it follow from thence, that they were cotemporary together? or will it not follow by the ſame way of arguing, that Moſes was cotemporary with Adam, and with the Creation it ſelf? or is it not more likely that Balaam in his benedictory Prophecy, referred to ſome perſon, well known, of Ancient times, by which both Balak and the Iſraelites might take an eſtimate of that happineſs which was afterwards to attend the latter of theſe? Thirdly, When it is Prophecyed of Saul by Balaam, that he ſhould be higher then Agag, this, as I have ſaid referrs to the great bulk and and ſtature of the Autidiluvian mortals, and is another argument that Agag and Ogyges are the ſame, and thence i was that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Greek did not only ſignifie that which was Antient, but alſo that which was monſtrous for its bulk and greatneſs, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by the latter of which words Suidas hath interpreted it, and Heliodorus uſes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for a man of an extraordinary ſize and ſtature, and Heſiod 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſpeaking concerning Styx in his Theogonie,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

For the ſame that Homer calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Il. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And in another place where Achilles ſwears by his Scepter, that is, by Juſtice, and by God the Fountain of it, he concludes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Fourthly as it is now plain, why ſo many writers after one another, being led away by the miſtake of the Firſt whom they followed, have placed Ogyges in the time of Moſes, ſo it is no leſs plain why they made him King of Attica, and why the Floud of Ogyges was by them ſuppoſed only to have overflown that province. For Attica, as I have ſhown p. 354. of this Treatiſe was ſo called from the Hebrew hathik, ſignifying Ancient, and the Inhabitants that came thither from the Eaſt, were called by an Hebrew name hathikin, or the Ancient people, by which it came to paſs that the Greeks having a Tradition that the Floud of Ogyges happened among the hattikim, or, as they would call it, according to their own way of termination the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , this gave occaſion to all that fable, that Ogyges was an Ancient Athenian King and that the Floud in his time, happened in the Province or Territory of Attica where he Reigned.

Fifthly, If we lay both theſe Graecian Traditions together, that Ogyges lived in the time of Moſes, and that he Reigned over Attica in that Age, the latter of which miſtakes I have now diſcovered upon what reaſon it depended, and the firſt as I have ſaid, (that is, that which I have mentioned firſt, for it is the latter in order of time) is owing to this that there is ſuch a perſon as Agag or Ogyges mentioned in the Moſaick writings, I ſay, if we compare theſe things together, they will ſufficiently betray and expoſe one another, for it is ridiculous to think that Balaam referred to any ſuch King of Attica, a place with which neither Balack nor the Iſraelites had at that time any Correſpondence, much leſs was he ſo amous and well known among them, that the King of Iſrael who was to come many Ages after, ſhould be Proverbially compared to him, and that it ſhould be ſaid of him, that he ſhould be higher then Agag, and that his Kingdom ſhould be exalted, as if Attica, a ſmall and inconſiderable ſpot of Ground, had been ſome vaſt and Formidable Empire; nay, I dare vouch for moſt, if not all the Jews now living, or that have lived ever ſince this Story was firſt broached, that they are and have been ignorant, of any ſuch Athenian King, and ſo at this rate this Prophecy would not have been only obſcure and unintelligible when it was firſt uttered, but would remain to this day among the number of thoſe difficulties, that are to be explained at the coming of Elias.

If it be urged that Balaam in this Prophecy referred to Agag the King of the Amalekites, who was afterwards Conquered by Saul, I anſwer, that I do believe Balaam in part to have referred to this, for Agag was a Succeſſor, though at a great diſtance, of Balack, and Ruled over the ſame Country that the other did, and it was in requital of the injuries done by Balak, that this overthrow fell upon the Amalekites in the days of Saul, 1. Sam. 15. 2, 3, Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, I remember that which Amalek did to Iſrael, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Aegypt; now go, and ſmite Amalek, and utterly deſtroy all that they have, and ſpare them not, but ſlay both Man and Woman, Infant and Suckling, Ox and Sheep, Camel and Aſs. But yet I ſay, that this, though it was a partial fulfilling of this Proyhecy, yet it is not all that proſperity and increaſe of honour and power, which is ſhadowed out under it, Firſt, becauſe Agag in compariſon, was but an inconſiderable Prince, and the Iſraelites when they came out of Aegypt, though nothing ſo ſtrong as in the time of Saul, were more then a match for the Moabites and Amalekites, at that time, wherefore it is ſaid, Num. 22. v. 3, 4, 5. that, Moab was ſore afraid of the People: and Moab was diſtreſſed becauſe of the Children of Iſrael, and Moab ſaid unto the Elders of Midian, now ſhall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the Ox licketh up the Graſs of the Field. and v. 5, 6. the words of Balak in his Meſſage to Balaam, are, Behold, there is a People come out from Aegypt: behold, they cover the face of the Earth, and they abide over againſt me, come now therefore I pray thee, curſe me this People, for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I ſhall prevail, that we may ſmite them, and that I may drive them out of the Land; for I wot, that he whom thou bleſſeſt, is bleſſed, and he whom thou curſeſt, is curſed. So that deſpairing of any ſucceſs againſt them, by a fair Battel, he was forced to make uſe of Sorceries and Enchantments, but it proved in the event, as Balaam himſelf expreſſes it, that there was no Enchantment againſt Jacob, neither any divination againſt Iſrael. And if they were ſo little able to reſiſt them then, what ſhall we think after ſo many ſeveral ſucceeding generations, when the Children of Iſrael were for number more Formidable, for ſtrength more United, and when the Government was ſettled upon a certain, and as it then appeared, an Hereditary foundation, the Kingdom being eſtabliſhed in the line and perſon of Saul? Or how could that be thought ſo great an acceſſion to the Iſraelitiſh power and Kingdom; as that it ſhould deſerve ſo lofty and magnificent a Prediction as this ſeems to be, being uttered with all the rapture and extaſie of a Prophetick ſpirit) to be wholly taken up, and utterly exhauſted in the narrow and trivial Contemplation of it? Secondly, When it is ſaid of Saul that he ſhould be higher then Agag, there is no queſtion, as I have ſaid, a manifeſt alluſion here made to the Tallneſs and Comelineſs of the perſon of Saul, and therefore if this Agag who lived in his time, were only pointed at, it would have required ſuch another deſcription of his perſon alſo, that ſo the completion of this Prophecy might the more clearly and manifeſtly appear, for to ſay, that Saul ſhould be higher then a Dwarf, or then a perſon of ordinary Stature, was certainly no ſuch magnificent repreſentation of his perſon, as to deſerve a Prophecy at ſo great a diſtance of time, to be beſtowed upon it, but now Agag is no where deſcribed after this manner, (though I deny not but being King, if the Kingdom of Moab were Elective, he might probably be Taller then the uſual ſort of People, for the reaſon already mentioned, and perhaps for this reaſon, for the Comelineſs of his Perſon, and the Majeſty of his Character, he was ſpared by Saul when the reſt of the Amalekites were deſtroyed) and this is another indication that ſome other beſides him, is in this place likewiſe to be underſtood.

Thirdly, In the Book of Eſther the Story is Famous concerning Haman the Son of Hammedatha, who is frequently called the Agagite, c. 3. 1, 8. c. 8. 3, 5. c. 9. 24. in the firſtof which places for they have omitted the mention of it, looking upon the repetition to be needleſs, in the reſt) the preſent Copies of the Seventy have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but if we conſider how Religiouſly carefull, the Jews have always been in the preſervation of their Copies, from all kind of corruption beyond the Greeks, or any other nation, how often it is repeated in the Hebrew, whereas it is but once mentioned in the Greek, how much more likely it is that a corruption ſhould ſteal into one place, then into four; and again how unlikely it is, that a corruption ſhould be ſo conſtant and every where the ſame, in four ſeveral places; all this will be ſufficient to perſuade us, that we are not in this place and conſequently in all the reſt, to correct the Hebrew from the Seventy, but the Seventy from the Hebrew. Wherefore inſtead of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , I read 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for Og, and Gog and Agag are the ſame, and ſo Num. 24. 7. where it is in the Hebrew, vejarim meagag malco. His King ſhall be higher then Agag. There the Seventy render it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Kingdom of Gog ſhall be exalted, where though they appear to have followed another reading then the Hebrew Copies do at preſent, and a reading certainly much inferiour to it, or rather directly oppoſite to the ſenſe of the place, yet thus much is certain, that what the Hebrew calls Agag, they have rendred by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , taking no notice of the Guttural as in the inſtances already produced.

Haman the Agagite, is as much as Haman that was deſcended of Agag, not that Agag who together with his whole Family, and conſequently his poſterity too, was deſtroyed and cut off by Saul and Samuel; but ſome other, and I chuſe to Interpret it of this Antidiluvian Agag or Ogyges, and that this is ſpoken of him to make him appear the more Illuſtrious, that ſo his fall in the ſequel of the Story might be the more remarkable and ſignal, and if you ſay that he alſo periſhed together with all his Family and dependents in the Floud, and therefore could leave no poſterity behind him, I grant, (upon ſuppoſition that he is not the ſame perſon with Noah) that this is very true, but yet the Greeks had a Tradition among them, which, without queſtion, they received from the Eaſt, that Ogyges eſcaped in the Deluge, that happened in his time, for ſo Africanus in Euſebius ſpeaking of that Ogyges, (or as he calls him 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from whom the firſt deluge took Euſeb. praep. evang. l. 10. its name, ſaith that he was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſaved, when others generally periſhed in the waters; ſo that by this Tradition he is confounded with Noah, who did really make his eſcape; but there is a Teſtimony of Cedrenus which makes him to have periſhed, and this depended upon a Tradition that made Ogyges to be a diſtinct perſon from Noah who was ſaved; by all which it appears, that the Hiſtory concerning him is, as I have already ſaid, and proved, very obſcure, confuſed and uncertain, partly by the corruption of the Tradition it ſelf, to which all Antiquity is unavoidably ſubject, and partly by the miſtakes and Anachroniſmes of the Greeks, the cauſes of which I have already partly repreſented, the words of Cedrenus are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, in the time of Moſes there was a certain great or Gigantick man, of the ſeed of Japheth, who being a native of Attica, reigned over it for the ſpace of thirty and two Years, his name was Ogygus, and in his time happened that Floud, which was peculiar to Attica, in which himſelf periſhed, and all that province was drowned; in which words there is nothing at all true, as I think I have already made it appear, by diſcovering the grounds of the miſtakes in them, but only that there was ſuch a man, as Ogygus or Ogyges, that he was a great or Gigantick perſon, and that a great Floud happened in his time, only when he ſaith that this Gigantick Ogygus was of the ſeed of Japheth, there ſeems in this alſo, as well as in what hath been ſaid concerning his being King of Attica and co-temporary with Moſes, to be a ſtricture of truth in the corruption it ſelf, for in the firſt place the Scripture ſpeaking of the men that lived before the Floud, ſaith expreſly, that there were Gyants in thoſe days, Gen. 6. 4. and again in the Relation of the lewdneſs of thoſe times, which drew down the Deluge afterwards upon them; it ſaith, that the Sons of God, ſaw the Daughters of Men lb. v. 2. that they were fair, in the Hebrew it is chi toboth hennab, that they were goodly or had a goodly aſpect, and the ſenſe would have been the ſame, if it had ſaid, chi japhoth hennah, that they were fair, as our Tranſlation renders it; wherefore ſince by the Sons of God are underſtood the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Sons of the Great men or Princes of thoſe times, who did what they pleaſed without Controll, as ſome of the Ancient Interpreters have rendred it; Ogyges at this rate will be a Prince deſcended of one of thoſe Japhoth, thoſe fair ones, to whom the Sons of God went in, and begat Sons and Daughters upon them, and this is all that was at the bottom of that miſtake of the Greeks, that Ogygus was deſcended of the Family of Japheth; to confirm which yet further, it is to be obſerved, that Scripture ſtories delivered down by Tradition in the Eaſt from thence, yet were not always delivered in Scripture words, but only in words of a like ſignification, or words relating to the circumſtances of the Story, as I have elſewhere obſerved out Diſcourſe of the Tetragrammaton and alſo in that of the Meſſias, c. 1. of Bochartus, who took his hint from ſanchuniathon that Sarah in the Eaſtern Tradition was called Annobret, becauſe ſhe was paſt the time of Child-bearing, and Iſaac 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Jachid, becauſe he was the only Son, and the like: ſo that Japhoth, being perfectly ſynonymous to Toboth, and indeed more properly ſignifying beauty, then the other, here is all that can be deſired to make it at leaſt a tollerable conjecture.

Again, as from Agag is Ogyges, ſo from Gog, by the Eliſion of the Guttural is Gyges, both of them the ſame perſon, as I will now prove, and as Cedrenus ſaith of Ogygus, that he was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a great or Gigantick perſon, ſo Ovid repreſents the Ancient Gyges, for there were ſeveral afterwards of the name, in his fourth De Triſtibus Eleg. 7.

Credam prius ora Meduſae Gorgonis anguineis cincta fuiſſe comis. Et canes utero ſub virginis; eſſe Chimaeram A truce quae flammis ſeparet angue leam, Quadrupedeſque homines cum pectore pectora junctos, Tergeminum que virum, tergeminum que canem, Sphinga que & harpyias, ſerpentipedeſ que Gigantes, Centimanum que Gygen, ſemibovem que virum, Haec ego cuncta prius, quàm te, cariſſime, credam Mutatum & curam depoſuiſſe mei.

Where though he reckons all theſe as ſo many impoſſibilities and figments of Antiquity, yet there is no queſtion but in all or moſt of them, there was a ground of v. Pale phat. in opuſculo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . truth, though miſerably adulterated and diſguiſed by the vanity or ignorance of the Greeks; particularly, as to Gyges, when he calls him Centimanum hundred handed, it may very well be Interpreted of the extent of his power, or the fierceneſs and violence of his Reign, and what he adds afterwards in the next words ſemibovemque virum, halfe man, half Ox, may refer to the brutiſh and belluine manners of the Antiduilvian times, or rather it belongs not to Gyges at all, but to the Fabulous of Minotaur of Crete. But not to Argue from bare poſſibilities, that is, from things that are very uncertain; there is a place of Tully in his, 3d. De Officiis that will fully make it out, that Gyges and Ogyges, and that the Ogygian and the Noachic Deluge are exactly the ſame, his words are theſe: Hinc ille Gyges inducitur à Platone, qui cùm terra deceſſiſſet magnis quibuſdam imbribus, in illum hiatum deſcendit, aeneumque equum (ut ferunt fabulae) animadvertit, cujus in lateribus fores eſſent; quibus apertis mortui vidit corpus magnitudine inuſitatâ, annulumque aureum in digito, quem ut detraxit, ipſe induit, (erat autem Regius Paſtor) tunc in concilium paſtorum ſe recepit, ibi cùm palam ejus annuli ad palmam converterat, à nullo videbatur, ipſe autemomnia videbat, idem rurſus videbatur, cum in lucem annulum inverterat, itaque hâc opportunitate annuli uſus, reginae ſtuprum intulit: eâque adjutrice, regem dominum interemit, ſuſtulit quos obſtare arbitrabatur: nec in his eum quiſquam facinoribus potuit videre, ſic repentè annuli beneficio Rex exortus eſt Lydiae. I do not ſay that there was not a certain Gyges King of Lydia, for it is certain there was, nothing is more known in the Grecian ſtory then this, and it is concerning him the Epigrammatiſt ſpoke when he ſaid,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Anthol. l. 1. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And in another Epigramme in the ſame Anthology, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. But I ſay that here are two Gyges's plainly confounded together, the Ancient Gyges or antidiluvian Ogyges, with the Lydian King, and beſides, abundance of Fable into the bargain, for it is plain in the beginning of this Story, he ſpeaks of a certain Gyges, in whoſe time a great Floud happened, cùm terra magnts imbribus deceſſiſſet, which anſwers exactly to the Moſaic deſcription of the Floud of Noah, in which the rains from Heaven were accompanied with Chaſmes and Ruptures of the Earth, Gen. 7. 11. In the ſix hundreth year of Noah's life, in the ſecond month, the ſeventh day of the month, the ſame day were all the fountains of the great Deep broken up, and the windows of Heaven were opened. For the Story of the ring it is all of it Fabulous, but yet ſo, as the very Fable it ſelfe diſcovers the truth, and ſhows the Story to have travelled into Greece from the Eaſt, for it proceeded only from a different underſtanding of the ſame word, which two differences were afterwards put together and jumbled into the ſame Story, for tabah ſignifies to be immerſt or drown'd in Hebrew, and the ſame word with the addition only of an he, which can hardly be diſtinguiſhed in pronunciation ſignifies, a ring, and by this means it happened that the Floud, and the Ring came both into the ſame Story, but for the inprovements that are built upon this foundation, I am not bound to give an account of them, for the progreſs of Fables, and oftentimes their riſe too, is owing to nothing but impudence on the one hand, and credulity on the other.

For the brazen horſe which this Citation ſpeaks of, it is no other then the Ark of Noah; and whoever it was that brought this Story into Greece, made Noah and Gyges or Ogyges to be the ſame perſon, as it is indifferent to me whether they be or no, only this in the general I contend for, that the Floud of Noah and the Deluge of Ogyges are the ſame; but now to make this out, that the brazen Horſe in this Fable, is the ſame with Noah's Ark in the reality, and truth of the Hiſtory it ſelf, it is to be conſidered what he ſays of the brazen Horſe, that it had fores in lateribus, doores in the ſides, for thus the Ark it ſelf is deſcribed Gen. 6. 16. where God gives inſtructions to Noah concerning the faſhion of it—A window ſhalt thou make to the Ark, and in a cubit ſhalt thou finiſh it above, and the door of the Ark ſhalt thou ſet in the ſide thereof, with lower, ſecond, and third ſtories ſhalt thou make it.

Secondly, When it is ſaid, quibus apertis vidit corpus magnitidine inuſitatâ, that, opening the doors of this houſe, he ſaw in it the body of a man of an extraordinary bulk, this is alſo literally true if you do but invert, and turn it the other way, not that opening the doors of this horſe he ſaw the body within, but that opening the door or window of the Ark, he ſaw the ſame without it, as Noah certainly, did when the waters were dried up, ſee many ſuch bodies of Gigantick ſtature, according to the ſize and proportion of thoſe times, lying upon the Ground, and the very mention of this corpus magnitudine inuſitatâ, ſhews this Deluge to have been very Ancient, when the ſize of men was much greater, then any the Greek Hiſtories, if they will ſpeak truth, can give us an account of, as found among themſelves.

Laſtly, The reaſon why this corrupt and interpolated ſtory calls the Ark a brazen horſe, is this, in Hebrew Tſi ſignifies a Ship, and ſous perhaps alſo ſis, for jod and vau, in Chalday and Hebrew at leaſt, which is no great difference, are actually exchanged into one another, ſignifies an horſe, and ſis at this day among the Turks, is the word for a Groom, or one that looks after horſes, to which if we add the conſideration of that Wood, of which the Ark was built, the whole myſtery will quickly be explain'd, it was hatſei gopher, gopher wood, that is, Wood daub'd over and covered with pitch, as all Ships uſe to be; the whole verſe in Hebrew runs thus, hatſei gopher tahaſeh otſoh, vecapharta otſah mibaith onmichouts bacopher, where gopher, and copher are without quſtion the ſame, as appears by the word, gaphrith which hath the ſignification of copher, and is as much as pix bitumen, ſulphur, the caph being exchanged into a gimel, a letter very nigh of kin to it, as from the Hebrew gamal, is the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the Latin camelus, and copher did not only ſignifie pitch, or any ſuch bituminous matter or ſubſtance, but it is alſo uſed for a certain ſweet ſmelling Flower, Cant. 1. 14. &c. 4. 14. which the Greek Interpreters in the firſt of theſe places render by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the Latins from the Greek call cyprus, whence becauſe of the abundance and plenty of this ſort of Flower that is to be found in it, the Iſland of Cyprus took its name, as Euſtathius and Stephanus are of opinion, and as the Iſland took its name from the Flower, ſo there is a certain ſort of Braſs, which took its name from the Iſland, which is called in Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in Latin Cuprum or aes Cyprium, or as we call it in our Language, Copper, and the Hebrews without queſtion, as they did the Cyprian Flower, and the Iſland that took its name from it, ſo they would alſo have called that ſort of Mettal which took its name from the Iſland by the name of Copher, but whether they did or no, it was obvious for the Greeks when they underſtood that the Ark was made of a certain ſubſtance which had the Epithet of Copher, to interpret it of that which in their Language they called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , this being the nigheſt in ſound to it, and they not underſtanding the true ſignification of the Hebrew word, which was the true reaſon of this adulteration of the ſtory; and this it ſelf was enough without any likeneſs in ſound as to the words by which an Horſe and a Ship are denoted, though they are at no great diſtance from one another, to make the ſtory paſs among the Greeks rather with the circumſtance of an Horſe, then a Ship, becauſe a brazen Ship was impoſſible to conceive, and the ſtory of the Trojan horſe, which was of very great antiquity among them, was a thing that might poſſibly give credit and authority to this legend alſo, by their reſemblance one to another.

To conclude, as from Agag, is Ogyges, and from Gog by the Eliſion of the guttural Gyges, ſo from the name Gyges, is the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the Latin Gigas; and to return to that which gave occaſion to all this, from the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by the Eliſion of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which anſwers to the Hebrew quieſcent, and is actually cut off in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and by changing the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 into 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , of which ſort of permutation inſtances have been already produced, is the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the Anthology, for Anceſtors or Progenitors, whence the word Cocytus, is derived, and made to ſignifie the Region of the dead, which I look upon as no far ſecht Etymology, neither as I preſume, will any man elſe, who hath been converſant about ſuch matters; though I perceive Claudian was of another mind, and therefore I am not ſollicitous about, where in alluſion to the Grammarian Etymology from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 he ſays, l. 2. in Rufinum Eſt locus infauſtis quo conciliantur in unum Cocytos Pblegethon que vadis, inamaenus uter que Alveus, hic volvit lachrymas, hic igne redundat. and ſuch another paſſage there is in his 2d. De raptu Proſerpinae: but whether this conjecture will be admitted or no, yet I am willing to hope that what I have offered in my way to it, will not be unacceptable to learned Men, and becauſe it muſt needs be no inconſiderable advantage to the credit and authority of the Sacred Volume, if I can ſhew of Deucalions Floud, as well as I have done of that of Ogyges that it was the ſame with Noahs, becauſe by this means there will be a ſtrong current of antiquity, and an unanimous conſent of ſacred and profane Authors together, for the aſſerting the truth of ſuch an univerſal deluge, as we by the Scriptures are taught to believe, therefore before I leave this matter, I will endeavour to ſhew the ſame of Deucalion that I have done of Ogyges, viz. that his Floud and Noahs were the ſame. And I begin with the words of our Country-man Mr. Lloyd, the late learned Reviſor and Completor of Charles Stephans his Geographical and Poetical Dictionary, whoſe words under the word Deucalion are very remarkable and ſufficient of themſelves to demonſtrate all that I intend, they are theſe: Haec fabula Poetica, ſub verborum & nominum involucris veram univerſalis diluvii à Moſe Dei ſervo deſcriptam hiſtoriam propoſuit, & artibus Satanae factum eſt, ut quaecunque in ſacrâ hiſtoriâ occurrerent, Ethnicorum figmentis in fabellas verterentur: Apud Lucianum libello de v. etiam H. Grot. de v. R. C. l. 1. qui integrum Luciani locum exſcripſit. Deâ Syriâ extat locus, ex quo manifeſtum eſt per diluvium Deucalionis intelligi, non inundationem illam quâ olim Graecia abſorpta eſt, ſed diluvium univerſale quod fuit Noae temporibus. Quinetiam Plutarchus libello de animalium induſtriâ, ſcribit columbam ex arcâ Deucalionis emiſſam attuliſſe indicium recedentis diluvii. Secondly, The old Scholiaſt upon Homer citeing Apollodorus for his Author, tells us that when Ad Il. •• . 10. Jupiter had reſolved to deſtroy the Brazen Age or Generation of Men, Deucalion by the council and inſtigation of Prometheus built an Ark, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he calls it, which word by the Addition of Al the Arabian prefix, I take to be plainly from the Hebrew Aron ſignifying an Ark, and this confirms what I have ſaid, that Scripture Traditions, that is, Traditions that were got into the Heathen World, and were derived from thence, were frequently delivered in other words then thoſe by which the Scripture expreſſes them; Now theſe two things are certain, that Noah built an Ark, and that he did it by the expreſs Command of God himſelf, after he had taken a reſolution to deſtroy the Old World, Gen. 6. 13, 14. And God ſaid unto Noah the end of all fleſh is come before me, for the Earth is filled with violence through them; and behold I will deſtroy them with the Earth, make thee an Ark of Gopherwood. And when Deucalion in the Fable is ſaid to have done this by the inſtigation of Prometheus ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) Prometheus is that name of God by which his providence and wiſdom is denoted, and that ſometimes in the Heathen Mythology, however diſguiſed and adulterated with inconſiſtent and ridiculous Fables, Prometheus was no other then the Supreme Numen, appears by this, that the ſame things are attributed to him, which are aſcribed to God in Scripture, as his ſtealing fire from Heaven to animate his firſt man, which is an argument that he himſelf was before him and conſequently was no mortal, is a Fable ſtolen, with reverence be it ſpoken, out of the Hiſtory of the Creation, where God is ſaid to have breath'd the niſhmath chajim, the breath of life into Adam, and ſo likewiſe his making the firſt man of the duſt of the Earth, of which all the Ancient Poets are ſo full, is manifeſtly Tranſcribed from the ſame Original. Laſtly, The Fable of the Vulture or Eagle perpetually knawing upon his Liver, without being ever able to devour it, which the Poets, not underſtanding the Hierogliphick Myſteries of the Eaſt, from whence this Fable was derived, have repreſented as done by way of puniſhment inflicted upon him, was only an Hieroglyphical or Symbolical adumbration of the Eternity of the Divine Nature, and of its neceſſary or ſelf exiſtence; for this Vultur or Eagle, is Time, which is as it were, perpetually preying upon the Eternal nature, without being ever able to conſume it, and that this is ſo, appears very plainly by Heſiods deſcription of the thing, who tells us, that matters were ſo ordered, that whatſoever the Eagle ate in the day-time, was repaired in the night, where ſpeaking concerning this Hieroglyphick Eagle, he ſays,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But what Heſiod calls an Eagle, Petronius will have to be a Vultur, in Hendecaſyllabo. v. etiam Fulgent. in mythol. Cur Vultur Jecur ultimum pererrat, Et pectus trahit intimaſque Fibras? And the meaning of Heſiod, when he ſays that reparation was made in the night, for what was conſumed in the day, is to be explained by the courſe of the Sun, which ſets out freſh and luſty every mornning, and is, as the Pſaimiſt excellently words it, as a Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber, and rejoyceth as a ſtrong Man to run a race, but when he is got to his Meridian he begins to decline, he is firſt, as it were, hot and fiery, and then, having ſpent his vigor, languiſhing and faint, till the day is concluded by the night, and time it ſelf ſeems to be at an end; but the next morning theſe decays and wearineſſes are again repayred, and he ſets out as freſh and vigorous as ever, which is a very plain and natural explication of this place of Heſiod, and ſhowes Prometheus to have been the ſame with the Sun, who was worſhipped by all the Idolatrous Nations for the Supreme Numen, no wonder therefore, if what is aſcribed to the true God in Scripture, be in the fabulous antiquity attributed to Prometheus.

And by this diſcription of Prometheus (which I confeſs ſuppoſes the Eternity of this Univerſe, as it is now ordered and framed, at leaſt à parte poſt, but that is not to the purpoſe) we ſee what notion the Ancients had of Eternity, namely that it was not a ſtanding or quieſcent, but a ſucceſſive duration, notwithſtanding that our Schoolmen will not hear of any ſuch thing, and as they thought of duration that it was ſucceſſive, ſo of the Divine Nature, they had always an opinion that he was an extended ſubſtance, till Plato and Ariſtotle and other Scholaſticks began by ſubtleties while they pretended, and perhaps really deſigned to aſſert and vindicate the Divine exiſtence, to rob him of his Divine Amplitude and Omnipreſent extention, and by ſubtleties diſpute him into nothing.

Furthermore, As the gnawing of the Eagle or Vultur ſignifyed, without queſtion, the ſucceſſion of an Eternal duration, ſo the Pillar to which Prometheus was tied, ſignified the ſtability, the ſtrength and laſtingneſs, and never failing Eternity of that ſucceſſion, and the Cords or Bands with which he was tied to it, was the Immortality or permanency of the Divine Nature, which is commenſurate with, and cloſely linked to, the utmoſt poſſibility of the moſt unbounded, unfathomable, and bottomleſs duration; and the Mountain Caucaſus upon which the Poets feigned him to lie bound, is another indication that by Prometheus they underſtood the Sun, by reaſon of the great, and as it is uſually repreſented the Fabulous height of that Mountain, which was ſo great that Philoſtratus in his Second De Vitâ Apollonii, hath had the impudence to report that the top of it does, as it were, paſs through the Sun, and ſeems to divide it into two parts.

I will not deny that I have a ſhrew'd ſuſpition, that it was the opinion of the ancient World as farr as from the firſt beginning of Idolatry, (when men began to worſhip the hoſt of Heaven) which is very ancient, that all vitality and life, nay, ſo much as thought and ſpeculation themſelves, were owing to the heat and influence of the Sun, and that this was their meaning when they talked of Prometheus his ſtealing fire from Heaven, which was that divinae aurae particula, or in the Language of the Scripture that Niſhmath chajim, that breath of life, by which the firſt Mortals were inſpired, and which hath been ſince propagated by generation, and in this opinion they were confirmed by a tradition which they had, which was afterwards tranſmitted in writing to poſterity by Moſes, that God made the World in ſix days, which they ſo interpreted, by diſtinguiſhing the day and night from one another, as indeed hereb does properly ſignifie that time, when things are mixt and confounded, and cannot be diſtinguiſht from one another, ſo that it is impoſſible to work any longer, I ſay, they ſo interpreted theſe ſix days work, as if in the night the Opificer had reſted (as he did afterwards upon the ſeventh day) which was always thought to be the Suns method, to work in the day and to repoſe and cool himſelf in his Weſtern bed at night, until at length the Antipodes were diſcovered, and that opinion vaniſht, together with the errour by which it was occaſioned, not that they looked upon all things to have come by chance as the Democriticks and Epicureans afterwards did, for this in compariſon was but a modern error, but they had a notion of the Sun and the Stars, that they were wiſe and underſtanding beings, and that they did not only ſee all things that happened upon Earth, but that they did alſo order and diſpoſe them by wiſe See Dr. More in his immortality of the Soul, and myſtery of Godlineſs, and in his defence against Butler. and prudent meaſures; but this is nothing to us, we are no farther obliged by Antiquity, then Antiquity it ſelf ſhall appear conſonant to ſound and impartial reaſon; we know for certain that the Stars are more ignorant than any of their worſhippers ever were or could be, and that what reaſon and underſtanding they have not in themſelves, they cannot poſſibly communicate to us, we know there is an older Shemeſh, from S ameſh miniſtrare.— Antiquity than this, which makes the Sun, as his name imports, to be no more than a Servant, and that he and the Stars were appointed for nothing elſe, then only to be for ſignes, and for ſeaſons, and for days, and for years, which expreſſions in the Moſaic writings derived from the Cabbala of Diſcourſe of the true time of our Saviours Paſſover. much Ancienter times, though they might poſſibly be Interpreted in favour of Aſtrology, as I have elſewhere noted; yet it is enough that their moſt plain, obvious, and eaſie ſenſe is not this, and that we are aſſured from other conſiderations, that Aſtrology is as vain as the pretenders to it, and that the predicting tribe are now themſelves of opinion that the Sun and the Stars are ſtark blind, in the middeſt of all the wonderful diſcoveries, which they have made by their light; but enough of this, t is ſufficient that I have diſcovered who Prometheus was, that he was the Sun, who was worſhipped by Idolatrous Antiquity as the Supreme Numen, and that by his impulſe and council, Deucalion was perſwaded to build him an Ark, as Noah did by the Command of God, ſo that theſe things have a perfect reſemblance, and hitherto there is a very fair correſpondence of the Stories of Deucalion and Noah with one another.

Nay, in the Third place, there is not only mention made in the profane Antiquity of Deucalions Ark, but alſo of the mountain upon which it reſted, as the Scripture tells us it reſted upon the Mountain of Ararat, for ſo Juvenal ſpeaks,

Deucalion, Nimbis tollentibus aequor, Navigio montem aſcendit, ſorteſque popoſcit, Paulatimque animâ caluerunt mollia ſaxa, Et maribus nudas oſtendit Pyrrha puellas.

Fourthly, What Juvenal ſpeaks in the latter part of this citation, which is more or leſs inſiſted upon by almoſt all the Poets, that Deucalion and Pyrrha by caſting Stones behind them, produced a new generation for the repairing of Mankind, the meaning of this is thus to be interpreted, Eben is 〈◊〉 and Aben is Filius, both of them conſiſting of exactly the ſame Letters, and both of them derived from the ſame Root, banah, which is indifferently applyed in Hebrew to building and generation, which gave occaſion to the Tradition, that they begat or produced Children by caſting of Stones, for Children and Stones are both of them in the plural called Abanim; and from hence, becauſe of the likeneſs or rather ſameneſs of theſe two words, Ben or Aben and Eben, proceeded that ſaying of our Saviour, which it is probable was taken from ſome proverbial ſpeech among the Jews, expreſſing the extent and largeneſs of the Divine Power, to which nothing is inacceſſible or impracticable, which does not imply a contradiction to be done, Matth. 3. 9. Think not to ſay within your ſelves, we have Abraham for our Father, for I ſay unto you that God is able of theſe Stones to raiſe up Children unto Abraham,

For if it be true that the Goſpel of St. Matthew was Originally written in Hebrew, an v. Euſeb. Hist. Eccles. 3. 24. & 5. 10. ut & Hieron. catal. ſcript. Eccles. opinion which hath not wanted good Authority in Antiquity to vouch it, and there are Hebrew Copies of it extant at this day, then the beauty of this ſentence conſiſted in this, that banim and abanim chimed to one another, by a Figure in Rhetorick which the Greeks call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the Latins adnominatio, and to which the Hebrews are wonderfully addicted, as in that place of Geneſis concerning the Ark, which hath been already produced, hatſei gopher tahaſeh othah, vecaphartu othah mibaith oumichouts bachopher, but more eſpecially in another, where the chiming is admirable to conſider, he that ſpilleth Mans Blood, by Man ſhall his Blood be ſpilt, in the Hebrew it is, ſhophek dam haadam baadam damo jiſhaphek. And the attending with good heed and judgment to this one thing, that is, to the different acceptation of words, which, being altogether the ſame or very like in ſound, have yet notwithſtanding divers ſignifications, will certainly explain many things in the Heathen Mythology, which are not yet underſtood for want of this one obſervation.

Fifthly, The Scholiaſt upon Homer does not only ſay, as Iuvenal does that the Ark being carryed upon the Water, reſted at laſt upon the top of a Mountain, and he names Parnaſſus, according to the ignorance or vanity of the Greeks, who applyed the Antiquities of others to themſelves, as hath been ſeen already in the Story of Ogyges, and is ſtill further exemplified in this of Deucalion, but he expreſſes the time of its toſſing and fluctuation upon the Waters, after ſuch a manner as gives us to perceive, from whence the relation was Originally taken, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for nine days and as many nights. I know the Scripture tells us that it rained upon the Earth in the times of Noah's Floud, for fourty days and fourty nights, and that the Ark was floting upon the Waters for a much longer ſpace of time than that alſo; but that which I take notice of, is the manner of expreſſion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , nine days and nine nights, as the Scripture ſaith, fourty days and fourty nights, which is plainly an Oriental mode of expreſſion, and the one is borrowed from the other, for the Greek Language would have expreſſed all this by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 with them generally ſignifying the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or the whole circuit of twenty four hours, unleſs when the day and night are oppoſed to one another, as in the citation of Heſiod above produced, or ſometimes where the ſenſe does manifeſtly reſtrain it to the continuance of the Sun above the Horizon, and for the difference of the numbers, it is nothing to the purpoſe, for the numbers being uſually expreſſed not by words at length, but Numeral Letters, it is obvious for any man to perceive how prone theſe things are to corruption, ſince the alteration of a Letter makes a change in the Number, and by conſequence a corruption in the Story, and ſometimes corruptions proceed by ſeveral ſteps, which it is impoſſible for us to trace, only in the Story which is left us, if there be ſtill remaining a ſtricture of true and genuine Antiquity, this is a greater argument that the Story in its Original is not fabulous, then the deviations from that Original pattern, by ignorance or time are, that it is

Sixthly, The firſt thing which Apollodorus in the Scholiaſt makes Deucalion to have done, after the Waters were dryed up and he came out of his Ark, is to pay his thanks for his deliverance by a Sacrifice to the Author of it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſaith he, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 where 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is Jupiter, or God that. had diſſipated and driven away the Waters, from the face of the Earth; and this was the firſt thing that Noah did, after he came out of his Ark, when the Waters were dryed up, Gen. 8. 20. he builded an Altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean Beaſt, and of every clean Fowl, and offered burnt Offerings on the Altar.

But Seventhly, There is ſtill another place of the ſame Scholiaſt upon Homer, which is more to the purpoſe, then, or at leaſt as much as, all that hath been already ſpoken, it is upon Il. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 233, 234.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .—

Upon which place the Scholiaſt puts this queſtion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, What is the ſtory of this Dodonean Jupiter, and what is the place from whence he received this name; to which queſtion he returns this anſwer, alledging Thraſibulus for his Author, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, Deucalion after the Floud which happened in his time, having got ſafe upon the firm Land of Epirus, preached, or rather Prophecyed in or by an Oak, and by the admonition or Counſel of an Oraculous Dove, having gathered together ſuch as were ſaved from the Floud, made them to inhabit together in a certain Place or Country, which from Jupiter and Dodone, one of the Sea Nymphs, or one of the Daughters of Oceanus, they called Dodone; in which words there are ſeveral things very worthy of remark, Firſt, if we admit a very ſmall Anachroniſm in the Greek Story, as I ſhall ſhew manifeſtly there is another very great one by and by, then it is true of Noah, what Thraſybulus in this Relation aſcribes to Deucalion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that he Preached or Prophecyed by or under an Oak or Tree, not after the Flood, as this Story would have it, but before it, for ſo St. Peter expreſly calls him, a Preacher of Righteouſneſs, 2 Pet. 2. 5. and in the Firſt Epiſtle, c. 3. 19, 20. ſpeaking of the Spirit of Chriſt, he ſays, by which (Spirit) alſo he went and Preached unto the Spirits in See my Diſcourſe of the Meſſias, c. 1. Priſon, which ſometime were diſobedient, when once the long ſuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, when the Ark was a preparing; which words are to be underſtood of Noah Preaching by the Spirit of Chriſt, to the Spirits in Priſon, that is, not which were ſo then, but were ſo for their diſobedience when this Epiſtle was Written, and long before it, and continue ſo ſtill, and the Subject of all his Sermons was, to preach Repentance and Obedience to them, to tell them roundly of their Enormities and to forewarn them of that univerſal Deſtruction by a deluge of Waters, which without a ſpeedy and hearty Reformation, would certainly overtake them; this it is certain he did before the Flood, and this is properly 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , it is to Prophecy, being Acted and Poſſeſſed by a Divine, or reputedly Divine Spirit, which the Ancient Mortals uſed to do with ſo much Zeal, and ſo Enthuſiaſtick, and Rapturous a concern, that they differed little as to outward appearance from downright Bedlams and Madmen, as the young Prophet was accounted who came by Commiſſion from Eliſha to Anoint Jehu, 2 Kings 9. 11. where one of the Captains of the Hoſt puts this Queſtion, Wherefore came this Mad fellow to thee? and it is certain that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Greek, which is the moſt Ancient name of a Prophet or inſpired perſon, is from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 inſanio, and the Ancient Prieſteſſes of Bacchus, were for the ſame reaſon called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and ſuch ſort of Perſons in the Latin Authors, are called Lymphatici, Ceriti (that is, acti à cerere) Furore, vel aeſtro perciti, and by the Greeks, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the like; and this perhaps may be a good account, why Noah was not believed when he foretold the Deluge to the old World, becauſe they looked upon him rather under the notion of a Madman than a Prophet.

But yet I do not ſo wholly confine the Prophetick Spirit of Noah to the times before the Flood, as to affirm it afterwards to have ceaſed, for there is no doubt but he continued to Preach the ſame Doctrine to his Children and Deſcendants after the Flood, which he did to the reſt of the World before it, that unleſs they continued: See my Diſcourſe of the Meſſias, c. 1. ſtedfaſt in their Obedience to God, or at leaſt heartily Repented of all their wilful Declenſions and Deviations from it, and actually entered upon a new and a better courſe of life, they muſt expect, though not the ſame, for God had promiſed that he would not Drown the World any more, yet equally terrible and ſevere Judgments to light upon themſelves, to which it is to be added, that in the 9th. of Gen. upon occaſion of Cham's diſreſpectful and undutiful behaviour towards him, in not covering his Nakedneſs, we find him Actually in a Prophetick Fit, v. 24, 25, 26, 27. And Noah awoke from his Wine, and knew (by that Prophetick Spirit, wherewith he was then Acted) what his younger Son had done unto him, and he ſaid, Curſed be Canaan, a Servant of Servants ſhall he be unto his Brethren, and he ſaid bleſſed be the Lord God of Shem and Canaan ſhall be his Servant; God ſhall enlarge Japhet and he ſhall dwell in the Tents of Shem, and Canaan ſhall be his Servant. It is true therefore that Noah was a Prophet, that is, a Preacher of Righteouſneſs, and praemoniſher of things to come, both before and after the Flood, ſo that here is nothing but what is very agreeable to the account of Deucalion given by Thraſybulus, and though it be true that the great and principal part of his Prophetick Miniſtry was tranſacted in the times before the Flood, yet, for ought I know, this Author when he affirms him likewiſe to have Prophecyed after it, might referr among other things to this particular Story, wherein Cham is prophetically blaſted and accurſed, and Sem and Japhet are pronounced bleſſed.

For Secondly, Which is the ſecond thing obſervable in the Words of the Scholiaſt, it is not only ſaid in general of Deucalion, that he was a Propbet, but that he did 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Prophecy by or under ſome Oak, or other tall and ſpreading Tree, for the Text tells us that this thing happened while Noah was in his Tent, Gen. 9. 20, 21. Noah began to be an Husbandman, and he planted a Vineyard, and he drank of the Wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his Tent, Now it is to be obſerved that the firſt Mortals were uſed to pitch their Tents in Shady and Woody places, for the greater Warmth and Shelter, as Juvenal ſpeaks of the Reign of Saturn and the Golden Age, Sylveſtrem montana torum cùm ſterneret uxor Frondibus & culmo.—

And Macrobius ſpeaking of the moſt Ancient times, deſcribes them thus, Cùm rudes primum homines & incuriâ ſylveſtri non multum à ferarum aſperitate diſſimiles meminerit vel fabuletur antiquitas, nec hunc eis, quo nunc utimur, victum fuiſſe, ſed glande prius & baccis altos, ſerò ſperâſſe de ſulcis alimoniam—but what is ſtill more to the purpoſe it is ſaid of Abraham, Gen. 13. 18. that he removed his Tent and came and dwelt in the Plain, of Mamre; where the Seventy have it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and again, c. 14. 13. ſpeaking of the ſame Perſon, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and c. 18. 1. we find him to have had Communion with God, as Deucalion is ſaid to have Prophecyed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the words are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in all which places if we couſider the Antiquity and unqueſtionable skill of the Seventy Interpreters above all others that have ever appeared, their conſtancy in the rendition of this word, and that in all theſe places the word occurs in the Plural Number, Beelonei Mamre, it will be more rational for us to follow their example, than that of the Rabbinical and other Modern Expoſitors, and to Interpret the word rather of Trees than of Plains, and that which led them into the miſtake was this, they thought the Prepoſition Beth, could not be rendered by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , anſwering to the Latin propè or juxtà, as the Seventy have done, but only by the Prepoſition in, which would indeed have made the place abſurd, as if the Tent of Abraham wherein he and his numerous Family had their Habitation, were pitched in the hollow of a Tree. Elan in Chalday, is rendred by the Rabbinical Interpreters themſelves by Arbor, and the ſame without queſtion is the ſignification of Elon in Hebrew, not for any Tree in general, but more eſpecially the Oak, under which as being the talleſt, thickeſt, moſt ſpreading and moſt durable, and laſting Tree of any other, the Ancients ſeem moſt frequently to have performed their Religious Acts of Sacrifice, Incenſe, and Adoration, as Pliny ſpeaking expreſly of the Druids, who derived it without queſtion from ſome other people more Ancient than themſelves, ſayes L. 16. c. 44. Roborum eligunt lucos nec ulla ſacra ſine eâ fronde conficiunt, and from thence the Luci in Latin had their name à lucendo, from the Light and Blaze which the Sacrifices afforded. Elon therefore is from El Deus, as much as to ſay the Tree of God, as Alah which is rendred by execratus eſt, juravit, adjuravit, is from the ſame root, and is as much as to Swear by God, and to call down the Divine Vengeance in Caſe of Perjury and falſe Swearing, and hence it is that the Oak among the Greeks and Romans was arbor Jovi ſacra, Dedicated and devoted to the Service of God, as the Holly ſeems to have been of later times and from thence it had its name, Alah & Elah being nownes, are alſo rendred by Quercus, and from the latter in the Plural is found Elim, which differs but very little in ſound from Elohim, and does very ſtrongly patronize this conjecture. being as much as to ſay ſacra arbor, and the confounding of theſe three following wordstogether, and miſtaking the one for the other, El, and Elon and heljon, which is the Name of God in the Story of Melchiſedeck, gave occaſion to the Fable that Mankind, whom the Scripture truly aſſerts to have been firſt made and brought into being by God, had their firſt Original from the heart of Oaks cleft in ſunder, according to that paſſage in the Anthology which I have already pointed at, and will now cite, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And Juvenal ſpeaks alſo to the ſame purpoſe Quippe aliter tunc or be novo caelo que recenti Vivebant bomines, qui rupto robore nati, Compoſitique luto, nullos habuere parentes. Where when he ſays that they were luto compoſiti, the Original of this is well enough known, and hath been already accounted for, and for the other though perfect nonſenſe and plainly inconſiſtent with what follows, that they were luto compoſiti, yet thus they received it from Graecia mendax, the great depraver of all Hiſtory, and who was her ſelf as often deceived as ſhe impoſed upon others, as in this and other inſtances which I have produced: to conclude this matter from the Hebrew Elon or Elan, by the Addition of a b or g, as from the Latin uro is buſtum, is the common Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Aeolick 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the Latin glans, ſignifying an Acorn or the Fruit of the Oak.

Thirdly, As a third obſervable from theſe words of the Scholiaſt upon Homer, or of Thraſybulus from whom he borrows them, it is to be obſerved, that he alſo takes notice of the Dove or Pigeon, which was ſo remarkable a circumſtance in the Hiſtory of the Flood, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. that by the Oracle or indication of a Dove he ſetled a Colony, and together with thoſe others that had eſcaped the Deluge took up his Habitation in a certain place, which from Jupiter and Dodona one of the Sea Nymphs, or one of the Daughters of Oceanus he called Dodona: now this Oracle of the Dove is nothing elſe, but that Noah made uſe of this Animal, to know whether or no, and when and how far the Waters were abated, firſt he ſent out a Raven from which he had no intelligence, becauſe it returned no more, for it is ſaid that it went forth to and fro, until the Waters were dried up from off the Earth, Gen. 8. 7. not but that the Waters muſt at that time be ſuppoſed to have been actually abated, unleſs we ſhould ſuppoſe this Raven to have been always upon the Wing for ſo many days together, which is utterly impoſſible and abſurd to imagine, but it is the Nature of this Bird to Perch and Rooſt upon the tops of Trees, which by this Story it is plain, began in ſome places to diſcover themſelves above the Waters, but this Doves and Pigeons will not do, and therefore to know whether the Waters were any where ſo abated, as that the dry Land began to appear, the Dove was a more proper Meſſenger than the Raven, wherefore it is ſaid, v. 8, 9. that he ſent forth a Dove from him to ſee if the Waters were abated from off the face of the Ground, but the Dove found no reſt for the ſole of her Foot, and ſhe returned unto him into the Ark; and v. 10, 11. and he ſtayed yet other ſeven days, and again, he ſent forth the Dove out of the Ark, and the Dove came into him in the Evening, and lo, in her mouth was an Olive-leafe pluckt off, ſo Noah knew that the Waters were abated from off the Earth, becauſe the Olive was a Tree of no conſiderable height, and the Dove a ſort of Bird that is not found to Perch or reſt it ſelf upon any ſort of Tree, from which two things compared together he gueſſed that the Ground was ſomewhere dry. Laſtly, v. 12. He ſtayed yet other ſeven days, and ſent forth the Dove which returned not again unto him any more; by which Noah underſtood now, that the Ground was dry, as before, and that the Dove had not only a place for the ſole of her Foot, but alſo met with Food and ſubſiſtence abroad; and therefore it is immediately ſubjoyned, v. 13. That Noah removed the covering of the Ark, and behold the face of the Ground was dry, and this I think does as plainly confirm and explain the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Oracle of Deucalions Dove, which taught him when and where to come out of his Ark, and betake himſelf again to the dry Land, as it is poſſible for any two agreeing Stories in Antiquity, to explain, confirm or vindicate one another.

But Fourthly, The fourth thing to be obſerved from theſe words, is that Deucalion called this place, where he and the reſt that had eſcaped came out of the Ark, and as it ſeems pitched a Tent and took their Abode, at leaſt for ſome certain time, in it, by the Name of Dodona, which Dodona, if we can give a clear and intelligible account, who or what it was, or why ſo called, this will give new light to the Story of Deucalion, and may perhaps confirm what I have now ſo often aſſerted, that he and Noah were the ſame: the Scholiaſt here tells us, the place was ſo called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from Jupiter and Dodona, but why from Jupiter I pray? when Dodone is ſufficient, for there is the whole name of the one in the other, ſo that if this pretended Nymph gave name to the place, there is no need of Jupite or any other to help her in it, ſince the names of the Place and the Nymph, are both of them exactly and to a Letter the ſame; but here we ſee a manifeſt inſtance of the Ignorance of the Greeks, and of their corrupting the Traditions of the Eaſt, for want of underſtanding the Language in which they were delivered, for it is true, as the Greeks did ſtill retain a ſmattering of the buſineſs, that Dodona was ſo called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , not from the word, but the perſon ſo called, who is in Hebrew called Adonai, and by the Carthaginians or Phaenicians Donai, as I have proved elſewhere from that ſalutation of Plautus in his Penulus Diſcourſe of the Tetragrammaton. Avo Donni, and from thence by a reduplication is Dodone, for a place Dedicated to the Worſhip of Jupiter, or of the Supreme God, as from the Hebrew Tor is the Latin Turtur, and this is certain that the firſt thing Noah did after he came to Land, was to do Sacrifice, and uſually ſuch places by vertue of any Sacrifice at any time Offered, retained their name and Conſecration for ever after; ſo Jacob when he Conſecrated Bethel by pouring Oyl upon the Stone which he had uſed for his Pillow, the Conſecration ſeems to have remained for ever, for ſo the words of Jacob ſeem to entimate, Gen. 28. 22. This Stone which I have ſet up for a Pillar ſhall be God's houſe: and of all that thou ſhalt give me, I will ſurely give the tenth unto thee, and the ſame is to be ſeen in the Hiſtory of Abraham, of whom it is ſaid, Gen. 12. 8. that, he removed from thence, (viz. from the plain of In Hebrew it is Elon Moreh, and the 70. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which confirms what I have ſaid above that the Ancients uſed to pitch their Tents in Shady and Woody places. Moreh, v. 6.) unto a Mountain on the Eaſt of Bethel, and pitched his Tent, having Bethel on the Weſt, and Hai on the Eaſt: and there builded he an Altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him, and again, c. 13. v. 3, 4. and he (Abraham) went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, unto the place where his Tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the Altar which he had made there at the firſt: and there Abraham called on the Name of the Lord, by which it is plain that this place being once ſet apart by Abraham for the performance of Religious Worſhip, retained its former Sanctity without any new Conſecration, and was choſen above all others thereabouts, for the exerciſe of Religious Duties, by virtue and in right of its former ſeparation: and uſually at the time of any ſuch Conſecration, the place received ſome Name or other intimating the occaſion of it, and ſignifying that peculiar manifeſtation of the Divine Favour and Preſence, which God was pleaſed at that time to afford: ſo Abraham called the Altar which he built and the place in which it ſtood, Gen. 22. 14. (upon which his Son Iſaac was to have been Sacrificed) Jehovahjireh, and Moſes upon Gods promiſe to deſtroy and root out Amalek, Exod. 17. v. 14, 15. built an Altar and called the name of it Jehovah niſſi, for he ſaid, v. 16. becauſe the Lord hath Sworn, that the Lord will have War with Amalek from generation to generation, and Gideon upon the Angel of the Lord ſaluting him, and ſaying, peace be unto thee, Jud. 6. 23. and ſo removing the conſternation he was in v. 22. Alaſs O Lord God, for becauſe I have ſeen an Angel of the Lord face to face (therefore I ſhall ſurely die) built an Altar in the ſame place unto the Lord, v. 24. and called it Jehovah-ſhalom, and the Text goes on to tell us, unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites, he does not mean that the place ſtands ſtill where it was, which it will certainly do as long as the World endures, but that the Altar was ſtill to be ſeen at the time when that Book was Written, and that the memory of what had happened was carryed on by Tradition to ſucceeding Generations.

Wherefore the Altar which Noah built and the Sacrifice which he Offered upon it, being perhaps upon the moſt memorable occaſion that ever any Sacrifice was offered upon, a Sacrifice of Thankfulneſs and an Altar of Praiſe not only for the deliverance of Eight perſons from the Deluge, but for the continuance and preſervation of Mankind, for the hopes of a new World, and a People to come, in the room of thoſe Nations that had been deſtroy'd, and being in its ſelf ſo large and ſo magnificent a Sacrifice, a Sacrifice of every clean Beaſt and Fowl that had entred into the Ark, in both of theſe reſpects it deſerved the the moſt particular and ſignal commemoration, and the place where this Solemnity was performed, was without queſtion Famous through the Eaſt, and could not but be perpetuated by ſome name or other, expreſſing the occaſion and meaning of its Conſecration, and this as I have ſaid might be Dodone or Dodonai by reaſon of its being ſet apart to the Service and Worſhip of the Supreme Numen, by whom both the Flood was brought upon the Earth, and the deliverance of Noah, his Family and poſterity from it was graciouſly contrived, but this if it do not fully expreſs the whole thing, as indeed I think it will not, yet there is another Etymology yet behind, which is both more expreſſive, and more natural than the former, when the Sacrifice of clean Beaſts and Fowls had been Offered upon the Altar, it is ſaid, Gen. 9. 21. that the Lord ſmelt a ſweet ſavor, and the Lord ſaid in his heart, I will not again curſe the Ground any more for Mans ſake, &c. ſo that Dodone is plainly as much as Doddonai, beloved of God, as this place above all others might well deſerve to be called, in which God accepted ſo graciouſly the firſt Sacrifice after the Flood, and was reconciled to Mankind upon it.

I am not poſitive that it was called thus by Noah himſelf, it is enough if it had any other Name of an aequipollent or Synonymous notion, as Jacobs Gal heed, and the Chaldeans Jegar ſahadutha were the ſame; as the Phaenician Annobret, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 were the ſame with Sarah and Iſaac among the Hebrews, and the Name of this Altar might poſſibly be Jehovah ſhalom, as that of Gideon was called, or Jehovah Jariach, the Lord ſmelt, meaning what follows, eth riach hanichach, a ſweet ſavor, or a ſmell of reſt, with alluſion to the Name of Noah, and this by the Phaenicians might be called by the Eliſion of the Aleph out of Adonai, according to their Cuſtom, (which is ſtill a further confirmation of my Etymology of he Chaldean Saroas) Doddonai, that is, From haſor by the Eliſion of the guttural. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , beloved of God. But yet the Phaenicians, though they did ſometimes curtail the Hebrew Adon, or Adonac, yet this was not perpetual among them, ſometimes they pronounced it at length, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 From 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the Latiu ſtella qu. ſterula. and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Greek are the ſame, and ſo Heſychius explains it without the omiſſion of the Guttural as a Phaenician word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and from thence without queſtion the Greeks received as well the Name as Worſhip of Adonis. again, I deny not that there was ſuch a place in Epirus as Dodone, only I ſay it was a Colony of Phaenicians, and was built in memory of that deliverance from the univerſal deluge which happened in the time of Noah or Deucalion, and had its name from that other Dodona or Doddonai which Noah himſelf conſecrated by erecting an Altar, and Offering Sacrifice upon it, immediately upon his coming out of the Ark, as York and Boſton in New-England are ſo called in remembrance and imitation of the ſame Names and places here at home, and for the proof of this, it is ſufficient to conſider, Firſt, That Bochartus a Man of ſingular knowledge in this ſort of Antiquities, tells us expreſly that the Iſlands adjacent to the main Land of Epirus were Anciently Planted and Inhabited by Phaenicians, and therefore it is very likely the diſtance being ſo very ſmall, that they Landed upon the continent likewiſe. Secondly, that the Scholiaſt ſo often cited, tells us, that the place took its name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; now I have ſhown plainly that it cannot poſſibly be from both of theſe, and I conceive that there is no way poſſible, by which it can appear to have taken its Name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but that which I have aſſigned and laid down. Thirdly, As it cannot be deny'd that this is an Etymology ſo natural, that nothing can be more, ſo it is to be conſidered, that not only the Phaenicians, but the Greeks themſelves do ſometimes for better ſound ſake, where the article being a Vowel immediately precedes it as in the Carthaginian ſalutation Avo Donni, contract and cut off the firſt Letter of Adonis, only upon this account, to make ſome amends for it, they change the preceding ſhort Vowel into a long, as in that of Theocritus. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Fourthly, as another indication that this Dodona had its Name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as the Scholiaſt expreſſes it, we find no mention of Dodona in Antiquity, but there is a connexion of Jupiter together with it, ſometimes Dodona is made to be a Perſon, and then ſhe is the Daughter of Jupiter and Europa, ſometimes it is a City of Chaonia in Epirus, and then we are told, that the place was Conſecrated to Jupiter, and that there was a Wood hard by it which conſiſted all of Oaks, which was Jupiters Tree, as hath been already proved and explained, and Herodotus hath delivered it as the report of Antiquity, that in this Wood there was a ſort of Oraculous or Prophetick Pigeons or Doves, which though he explains by ſaying, that in Theſſaly they were uſed Anciently to call Soothſaying or cunning Women by the Name of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , yet, not to queſtion the matter of fact, which it is no great ſin to do, in an unlikely tale of Herodotus his telling, who does not always tell truth, notwithſtanding that no Man can boaſt more of his ſincerity than he does, I appeal to any Man whether this does not look like a very cold and jejune Interpretation, or whether it be not more likely, eſpecially conſidering what hath been ſaid already, concerning the Dove of Noah and Ducalion, that this is only a traditionary relick of the Ark, and of the Dove that was ſent forth from it, which Ark was probably built of Oak (for the Gopher Wood in the Hebrew is indifferent to any ſort of Pitched Wood •• ſſ. de 0. Interp. whatſoever, and the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of the Seventy after all that Iſaac Voſſius hath offered concerning it; may be explained of any ſort of plained Wood whatſoever, which is by that means made quadrangular) the Oak by its natural ſtrength and firmneſs being the moſt likely to reſiſt the violence of the Waves, and to remain afterwards for the longeſt interval of time, as a monument of the deluge and the deliverance of Noah and his Family from it, and as the Ship was probably built of Oak, ſo the Dove that was in it, though it was not really Oraculous or Prophetick, yet it might well enough give occaſion to ſuch a Tradition among the Greeks, and perhaps even among the Eaſterlings themſelves, at a conſiderable diſtance of place and time from the Ark, for the reaſons already explained.

Fifthly, As a Fourth indication of the ſame thing, that Dodone was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in that ſenſe which I have explained, and that it was not a Greek, but an Exotick and an Eaſtern Name, I obſerve that the Scboliaſt ſaith of her, that ſhe was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , one of the Sea Nymphs, or one of the Daughters of the Ocean, which is not inconſiſtent with what was ſaid before, that ſhe was the Daughter of Jupiter too, but only the meaning is, that this Name Travelled by Sea into Greece, as all things that came that way, before the Art of Navigation was known, and when the Sea was thought to be the boundary of Nature, (as Seneca expreſſes it upon occaſion of Alexanders deliberating with himſelf Swaſer. 1. and his confidents that were about him, whether he ſhould put to Sea or no) were thought and ſaid to be born or bred of the Sea, and in this ſenſe Clymene the ſuppoſed Wife of Japetus is by, Heſiod in See upon that paſſage of Apollodorus, l. 2. c. 1. concerning Inachus that the was the Son of Oceanus and Tethys, our Learned Dr. Gale ath this obſervation hoc ideo finxerunt Greci quoniam navi in Pelopanneſum venit— his Theogonie called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, born or bred of, or belonging to the Ocean,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

For I ſhall ſhow by and by, what in the Mythology of the Ancients was meant by Clymene, and that this very word and the whole ſtory concerning Japetus and Clymene is of Eaſtern Growth.

Sixthly, as the Sixth and Laſt obſervable from theſe words of Thraſybulas in the Scholiaſt upon Homer, I would have it taken notice of, that when he ſaith of Ducalion, that he did after the Floud 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , this muſt not be underſtood of any Tree whatſoever, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in its moſt Ancient and proper ſenſe is indifferent to any, as appears by the compounds 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in all which words that part of the compoſition, which is taken from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is indifferent to any kind of Tree whatſoever, but it is to be interpreted of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is the Interpretation of the Hebrew Alah or Elon, and is as much as to ſay the Tree of God, or the Oak under which the moſt Ancient of the Patriarchs were uſed to pitch their Tents, and though I am not ſolicitous, whether this prophetick Miniſtry of Deucalion be in the reality of the thing, placed before or after the Floud, knowing how ſubject and prone the Greeks are in matters of ſo remote Antiquity to miſtakes and Anachroniſms concerning them, and though it may be ſaid, that all the taller and more ſpreading ſort of Trees were deſtroyed and rooted up by the violence of the Waters, which in a great meaſure I acknowledge to be true, yet it may be conſidered on the ſide of the Scholiaſt, that there are ſome exceptions of neceſſity to be admitted, from what hath been ſaid above concerning the Ravens not returning to the Ark; that the Oak, by reaſon of its natural firmneſs and large ſpreading Root, was perhaps the fitteſt to withſtand the force of this univerſal deluge; that the preſſure of the Water was lateral and in a manner equal on all ſides, as Mr. Boyle hath obſerved and proved in his Hydroſtaticks, of common Waters not determined any whither in a certain Stream or Channel, ſo that this may ſeem rather to have ſerved to uphold and keep ſtedfaſt the Trees which it met with, than to have deſtroyed or thrown them down, were it not that by the continual poaching and ſoaking of the Water into the Earth, their Roots would be ſo looſened, as that then their own weight, or preponderancy one way more than the other, may be thought ſufficient to overturn them and throw them down; But to this it may be Anſwered, ſuppoſing ſo violent a Wind to be added to this cauſe, that the Roots of a Tree may be very much looſened and weakened, before this effect will follow; that in ſuch tall and maſſy Trees they uſually deſcend deeper than any Rain Water can reach, ſo as to poach or looſen the Earth to any conſiderable degree; that it is not unreaſonable to believe that the Earth at ſome conſiderable depth, might be rather hardened and rendred more cloſe and firm by the weight of the incumbent Waters, than any way ſok'd or looſened by it, as freſh Water is ſometimes found at the bottom of the Sea, the reaſon of which, our ingenious Mr. Hook in his Micrography imputes to this, that by reaſon of the great weight of the ſuperincumbent Water, the Salt particles are ſqueezed upwards, and the pure aqueous parts are brought ſo cloſe together, that they cannot receive or imbibe into themſelves the Saline any longer, and if this be the caſe of Water it ſelf, a thing ſo fluid and ſo porous as that is, it muſt be much, more true of the Earth, which by reaſon of its comparative ſolidity is more ſuſceptible of ſuch a preſſure, than any Water can be, and in experience it appears, that places which are known to have been recovered out of the Water, ſuch as a great part of Holland and the Fenny parts of England are, are uſually plain and flat, becauſe of this preſſure of the Water, which was once equal and of long continuance over the whole ſurface, and this made Antiquity believe that Aegypt it ſelf, as large a Tract of Ground as it is, was once recovered out of the Water, or at leaſt was forſaken by it, becauſe of its flat and equal Soil: not that I believe the force of any Floud to be ſuch, as that it ſhall turn a Mountainous Country into a plain, but it is ſufficient in general to obſerve from what hath been ſaid, that in ſo great a preſſure of Waters, the Earth at leaſt at ſome conſiderable depth, would rather be hardened, than any way looſned by it, and perhaps. in ſuch prodigious ſhowers as thoſe were, by which the univerſal Deluge was occaſioned, deſcending with a violence ſo great and ſo equal together, it might ſo compreſs and harden the Earth in ſome places, where no ſubterraneous Ebullitions met with the Rain that deſcended from above, which they neither did nor could do equally in all places, that the Waters might not perhaps penetrate ſo farr, as in ſhowers that are more gentle, if they be but conſtant and of long continuance.

To all which it is to be added, that it is certain that Noah pitched his firſt Tent there where the Ark it ſelf reſted, and where he came out of it, when the Waters were aſſwaged, and this was upon the Mountains of Ararat, upon the top of which the Waters could not have any thing near ſo much force, as in the Plains underneath, where there was a ſo much greater weight of ſuperincumbent Waters, beſides that it was ſo much the longer before theſe places were overflown, and in proportion to their height they were ſo much the ſooner dry, than other places, neither could the Waters fall with ſo great force upon them, as upon the plain and level Country, becauſe their journy of deſcent is comparatively ſo ſmall, which the longer it is, ſo much the greater is the weight of the deſcending body, ſo that if what I have offered above, concerning the Waters hardening rather than ſoftening the Earth, may be admitted, it will hold alſo here though in a leſs proportion, and if it will not, as I think there is no reaſon why it ſhould be rejected, then whatever force there was in the Waters on the Level for the deſtruction and overthrow of all Trees, or other obſtacles that they met with in their way, was for the reaſons juſt now mentioned infinitely leſs upon the tops of Mountains, beſides that when it ſaid Gen. 8. 1. That God made a Wind to paſs upon the Earth and the Waters aſſwaged, this Wind, as it muſt be acknowledged by its determination one way, to have deſtroyed the equality of the lateral preſſure of the Waters, and as ſuch to have been a natural cauſe of overturning every thing that came in its way, ſo it had probably but little force upon the tops of Mountains, the Wind it ſelf being occaſioned by thoſe Watery exhalations, which were firſt exhaled from the top of the watry ſurface, and by conſequence made the depth leſs to the Fathom of the Mountains themſelves, and left that Wind leſs force to act upon them, for the Floud never roſe higher than Fifteen Cubits above the tops of the higheſt Mountains, and it is probable did not continue long at that high Water mark, ſo that that which was a prodigious Deluge, in reſpect of the whole Earth, was little more than an ordinary Floud in reſpect of the higheſt Mountains, and particularly thoſe of Ararat upon which the Ark reſted almoſt Three Months before the tops of the other Mountains were ſeen, and almoſt Five Months before the Ground was wholly dry, and that Noah did firſt pitch his Tent upon a Mountain, and particularly upon that of Ararat, is plain from this, not only that the Ancient Patriarchs and firſt Mortals were uſed to Inhabit upon ſuch Mountainous places, for the convenience of Divine Worſhip, becauſe in theſe they uſed to offer their Sacrifice and to pay their Devotions, but alſo becauſe till Men began to cohabit in larger communities, theſe were the places, of greateſt ſecurity from the wild Beaſts and from one another, and of the fartheſt proſpect to diſcover an approaching danger, but after the Floud, there were theſe Two particular reaſons why Noah ſhould chuſe ſuch a place for his firſt Habitation, Firſt, Becauſe it was moſt wholeſome, conſidering the Damps which the Earth had contracted by ſo long an inundation: and Secondly, Becauſe, otherwiſe we muſt ſuppoſe Noah not to have ſtirred out of his Ark for Two Months and an half after ſhe ſtruck upon the Land, and by conſeqence to have deferred his thank offering for ſo long a ſpace of time, which without ingratitude he could not do, and therefore it is not reaſonable to ſuppoſe it; to conclude, the Trees upon the tops of Mountains, and particularly upon thoſe of Ararat, which are repreſented as the higheſt of all, did therefore ſtand more firmly than in the places underneath, becauſe thoſe Mountains themſelves intercepting and interrupting the paſſage of the Waters, might cauſe either a ſwiſter Current, or an Eddy and violent return of thoſe Waters upon themſelves in the intermediate ſpaces, and ſo Homer deſcribes Oaks upon the top of Mountains, as ſtanding the firmeſt of any other Il. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

But as I ſaid before, ſo I ſay ſtill, I am not ſollicitous for the credit of Thraſybulus as to this particular, whether John a Nokes or Deucalion, who is ſaid to have Prophecyed by or under a Tree, where he pitched his Tent, did this before or after the Floud, though after it there is this further to be ſaid for the credit of this Tradition, that it is probable there were ſcarce any Trees left, but upon the tops of Mountains, and that as the Plains were unwholeſome, and for a while uninhabitable for the reaſon already mentioned, ſo the tops of Mountains would have been too bleak and piercing, without ſome ſhade to protect them againſt the ſharpneſs of the Weather: and thus much upon occaſion of this paſſage of Thraſybulus produced by the Scholiaſt upon Homer, and for that other cited out of Apollodorus, P. 22, 23. ed. Paris. 1675. it is ſtill extant with ſome very inconſiderable verbal alteration in Apollodorus his Bibliocheca.

But there are ſtill Two other reſemblances remaining betwixt Deucalion and Noah, which I have not yet mentioned, the Firſt is this, the Scripture ſaith of Noah, Gen. 6. 9. Noah was a juſt Man and perfect in his Generation, and Noah walked with God, and ſo Ovid ſaith of Deucalion and Pyrrha his Wife, Non illo melior quiſquam nec amantior equi, Metam. l. 1. Vir fuit aut illâ reverentior ulla Deorum. And with theſe Two Lucian exactly agrees T. 2. p. 883. ed. Solmurii, 1619. in his De Deâ Syriâ, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, Deucalion was the only perſon that was left to the ſecond Generation or the Generation after the Floud, for the ſake of his piety and his wiſdom, and then deſcribing the manner of his deliverance, he does it almoſt in ſuch terms, as if he had tranſcribed it from the Original of Moſes himſelf, in theſe words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, the manner of Deucalions eſcape was this, he betook himſelf to a large Ark or Ship which he had, and cauſed his Women & Children to do the ſame, and he was followed by Hogs, and Horſes, and Lyons, and Serpents, and all other Animals that breed and feed upon the Earth, which entred into his Ark two by two, and he received them all, who did him no hurt, laying by their fierce and Savage nature, and maintaining an entire friendſhip both with him and one another, ſo that they all Sailed in the ſame Ark together, ſo long as the Waters prevailed. This is what the Greeks have recorded concerning Deucalion, where when he ſays that all Animals entered into the Ark by two's, the thing ſpeaks for it ſelf, and tells us undenyably from whence the Greeks received their Tradition, and when he takes no notice of the Seavens which is the number of each ſpecies of the clean Beaſts and Birds that entred into the Ark, it was manifeſtly for this and no other reaſon, that the Greeks had no ſuch diſtinction amongſt them of clean and unclean in the ſeveral ſpecies, and that the propagation of them was all that they regarded in this Tradition concerning the Floud, now this was common to the clean with the unclean Animals themſelves, that Two of them only were preſerved meerly upon account of propagation, if nothing elſe had been to be conſidered, but the odd one of each kind was to be for a Sacrifice, as it afterwards proved, when Noah came out of the Ark, and the other Four were added in regard of the great conſumption and expence which there was to be afterwards of the clean ſpecies, as well for Sacrifice as Food for ever, not but that in reality the Greeks had ſuch a diſtinction of clean and unclean among them, for we do not find that the unclean kind were uſed in the Sacrifice and very rarely in the Food of any nation, as I have obſerved already, in the beginning of this Treatiſe, but I ſay, they did not attend to this diſtinction, neither had they any ſuch expreſs and explicit partition among them.

Further Lucian, as well as Thraſybulus Jaiim is vinu •• and jonak in Hebrew is columba, which likeneſs of ſound made ſome attribute the Dove to Pachus. and others, makes mention of the Dove, with reference to the Floud, though he ſeems not to have underſtood it himſelf, p. 903. ib. where ſpeaking of a certain Image or Statue he ſays 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . and the reaſon he gives why ſome attribute this Image to Semiramis is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 becauſe Semiramis was Worſhipped in the form of a Dove, but it is manifeſt that this reaſon belongs to Deucalion as well as her, and that it was the Dove made it ſuſpected to be Deucalions Image.

Again, It is further obſervable in Lucian, what he ſays concerning the manner of the Floud it ſelf, which agrees very well with the Moſaic deſcription, and with the ſtory of Gyges above mentioned out of Cicero, and by him Tranſcribed out of Plato in his 2d. De Rep. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 p. 882. ib. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, the Earth guſhed out with abundance of Water, and great Rains deſcended from above, as alſo great Rivers or currents from the higher Grounds, and the Sea overflowed its banks, till all things were covered and immerſt in Water; and all that Generation was deſtroyed. The ſame character of a Good and Virtuous perſon which Ovid and Lucian have given of Deucalion, is likewiſe allow'd him by Apollonius the writer of the Argonauticks, who gives him the Title of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and ſays other things concerning him which do ſufficiently ſhow that Epithet to have been his due. l. 3.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Where wen he ſays that Deucalion was the firſt that built Cities and Temples, and that he was the firſt Monarch, this muſt be underſtood of the Period after the Floud, for there were Kings and Cities, and the true God, to ſay nothing of Idolatry, was Worſhipped by Adam, by Cain and Abel, by Seth and Enos, and others before it, but all that Period, though it were not utterly forgotten by the Greeks, yet it ſhall be very clear before I have done, that they had but a very obſcure remembrance of it.

Plato in his deſcription of the many Flouds which from time to time were ſuppoſed by the Greeks Anciently to have happened, affirms every Floud to have wiped away the memory of all things that were before it, there being only left a few v. Plat. in Critiâ. p. 1100, 1101. & in l. 3. de leg. ſtatimi ab initio. & Euſeb. ex Platone. praep. Evang. l. 12. c. 15. Mountainous and Barbarous People, ignorant of all things even before the Floud, and ſo taken up with the cares and the neceſſities of life after it, that they had no time to look back into former Ages, nor any means to preſerve thoſe few Traditions which were left among them, and this he makes to be the reaſon why Arts and Sciences had made ſo ſmall a progreſs in his time, and why the Hiſtory of former Ages extended to no higher Antiquity than it did; but herein was Plato manifeſtly deceived that he did not perceive at this rate, if only the Inhabitants of Mountains, or thoſe that could get thither upon the ſurpriſe of a Floud coming upon them, eſcaped, that very many Species of Animals muſt have periſhed, being bred and overtaken by the Floud in the Plains below, ſo that unleſs we ſuppoſe the Earth after every Deluge to have been ſo prolifick, that it could produce all the ſeveral ſpecies anew, which yet, as abſurd as it is, I perceive Plato ſometimes to have done, and then there would be no need, to ſalve the credit of an univerſal Deluge, for any to be ſaved upon the tops of Mountains, ſince mankind and all other Species might by this expedient be repaired without it, there is no other way to Salve it, but by ſuppoſing ſuch an Ark or Ship, as the Scripture, and from thence ſeveral profane Authors have done, whether ſome of each Species might betake themſelves and be reſerved for the repleniſhing a new World, and therefore when Lucian, who ſpeaks expreſly of the Ark, and of all the ſeveral Species entring into it, ſpeaks afterwards of a Tradition, as if Men in the time of Deucalions Floud, had ſaved themſelves upon the tops of Mountains, and upon the top Branches of the talleſt Trees, where, if they could be ſaved from the Deluge, they would have been ſure to have ſtarved with hunger, he ſubjoyns immediately 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ib. p. 899. theſe things are altogether incredible to me.

But yet notwithſtanding, thus much of Plato is agreeable to truth, that after any ſuch univerſal Deluge, and by conſequence after that of Noah too, partly for want of any ſtanding Monuments to preſerve Tradition, and partly by reaſon thoſe that eſcaped muſt needs be wholly taken up in the cares and neceſſary incumbrances of Life, which muſt needs lie heavy upon them, where there are ſo few, though in a world well Peopled there are many that have plenty and eaſe, that the memory of the Antidiluvian perſons, and things, muſt be almoſt utterly extinct, and that the Tradition concerning them muſt needs be very uncertain and obſcure, and therefore it is no wonder to find Deucalion, that is indeed Noah, though Apollonius ſpeaks of him as a Native of Theſſaly, according to the uſual vanity of the Greeks, who aſcribed all theſe things to themſelves, repreſented as the firſt perſon that built Cities and Altars, the firſt head of civil ſociety and inventour of Political Adminiſtration, that is, he was the firſt that was ſo after the Floud, of which Period the Greeks had a more certain and particular knowledge than of that before it, though at other times we find ſome little ſparks and ſtrictures among them, even of the Antidiluvian interval likewiſe.

Further though Plato were miſtaken as to the manner of the preſervation of Mankind from the Floud, and though he is very uncertain as to the number of thoſe univerſal Flouds that had hapened before his time, for one while he ſays acco d ng to Antient Tradition, according to the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 De Leg. l. 3. init. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that many ſuch univerſal calamities had happened to mankind, by Deluges and Plagues, wherein a very ſmall and inconſiderable remnant eſcaped to repair the loſs, and propagate themſelves to after Ages, another while he is very particular and preciſe in the buſineſs, and tells us Deucalions was the Fourth ſuch univerſal Deluge that had happened, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 In Critiâ p. 1102. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 there being Three other fatal Deluges before that of Deucalion. And at others, he ſeems inclinable to believe that Mankind and the World had no beginning at all, ſo that theſe things might very well have happened though at a good diſtance from one another, yet a prodigious number of times, for ſo he ſpeaks in the Perſon of an Athenian whom he introduces. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 L. b. De Leg. p. 875. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, that it becomes every Man to know, that either Mankind had never any beginning nor ſhall have end, or at leaſt that its Original is at ſo vaſt a diſtance, that it is impoſſible to trace it to its firſt beginning. Yet notwithſtanding all this ſtrange variety, there is in the mideſt of it ſtill a conſtant acknowledgment of ſuch a thing as an univerſal Deluge, and that not founded only upon Fancy or Opinion or Philoſophical conjecture but upon the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , upon Ancient Tradition, which if you compare with theſe Two things, Firſt the improbability, if not utter impoſſibility of Plato's expedient to Salve and account for the reparation of Mankind and of all other Animals after ſuch an univerſal Deluge; and Secondly, if you conſider, that even in Plato himſelf there is no Hiſtorical certainty, no particular account of any univerſal Deluge, but that which happened in Deucalion's Unleſs it be that of Gyges mentioned out of him by Cicero, which I take to be the ſame with it. time, whom, I think, I have ſufficiently proved to be the ſame with Noah, all this is no leſs than a manifeſt atteſtation to the truth of the Moſaic account, and the very Deviations from it, do but ſerve to confirm and ſtrengthen it the more.

With Apollonius, Ovid, and Lucian, Homer alſo agrees in his Character of Deucalion, for he gives him the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Il. v. where Idomeneus addreſſing himſelf to Deiphobus, thus deſcribes Deucalions Genealogy and his own,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Which place of Homer I have therefore cited thus largely, that I may take notice of the differing accounts which Homer and other Genealogiſts have given us of the pedigree of Deucalion, and that I may reconcile them together. Homer makes him to be the Son of Minos, but others of Prometheus, which Two, though the Names be different, are the ſame perſons. Prometheus is, as I have already proved in the Heathen Mythology no other than God himſelf, or it is that partial conſideration of the Divine Nature, which is taken from his Providence and Wiſdom, whereby he foreſees and orders all things, both in Heaven and Earth, and ſo is Minos; only the one of them is the Greek Name by which that Wiſdome was ſignified, the other the Hebrew or Oriental, for Minos is from Min ſpecies, or from Manah numeravit, and thence alſo is the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , (for the Mother of the Muſes) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for a certain Coin which in Latin is called Mina and the Latin Minerva for the Goddeſs of knowledge and Patroneſs of all the liberal and ingenious Arts, becauſe all knowledge is a ſort of remembrance a kind of Calculating or computation, a diſtinguiſhing of thoſe things whoſe Natures are diſtinguiſht, and a ſorting thoſe things and notions into the ſame claſſis, which have an agreement or reſemblance with each other. From the ſame root is likewiſe the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , becauſe all Numeration proceeds by Ʋnites, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is not as the Grammarians uſually expound it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ira menſtrua, or Lunatica, a Lunatic Madneſs and Phrenzy, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Luna which See more of theſe derivatives in my diſcourſe of the true time of our Saviours Paſſover. is from the Hebrew Manah numeravit, this being the Ancient way of meaſuring Time, by the motion of the Moon, and as from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo alſo from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 it ſelf, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying ſuch a Madneſs as is Govern'd and influenced by certain Periods and ſeaſons of the Moon.

For this reaſon, Becauſe his Name includes Knowledge, Diſtinction and Judgment, Minos is made by the Poets the Judge of the infernal ſhades, that is, the great and juſt diſpenſer of Rewards and Puniſhments after this life; and Claudian, though ignorant of any Oriental Language, yet gives him his Character from the diſtinction which he makes betwixt the innocent and guilty, as if he had alluded to the Etymon which I have given from Min ſpecies or Manah numeravit., in the Second in Eutropium.

Quaeſitor in alto Conſpicuus ſolio pertentat crimina Minos, Et Juſtis dirimit ſontes.

Neither is it at all repugnant to what hath been ſaid, that he is made by the Poets, to be the Son of Jupiter, as Minerva is his Daughter, which does not hinder them from being Jupiter or the Supream Numen himſelf under that partial conſideration which I have mentioned, for all the attributes may in ſome ſenſe be ſaid, to be the Sons and Daughters, that is, they are the conſtant, natural and inſeparable effects, properties, and emanations of the Divine ſubſtance. Neither am I ignorant that the Scholiaſt upon Apollonius makes the Son of Minos and the Son of Prometheus to be Two different and diſtinct Perſons from one another, where, upon the place lately produced out of that Poet, he tells us, there were Four ſeveral Perſons that went by this Name of Deucalion, and I ſhall prove by and by that there were a great many more. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, there is alſo another Deucalion (beſides the Son of Prometheus) of whom Hellanicus makes mention, and another the Son of Minos mentioned by Pherecydes, and a Fourth the Son of Abas of whom Ariſtippus ſpeaks in his Arcadica. And Apollodorus alſo mentions theſe Two as diſtinct, as may appear by comparing l. 1. c. 7. and l. 3. c. 2. of his Bibliotheca together; but even according to this account, by which one of the Deucalions is made the Son of Minos, that Deucalion will have lived in the Age immediately preceding the Trojan War, for Idomeneus his Son was preſent at it, and if we conſider, that that is the higheſt diſtance of time of which the Greeks afford us any tolerable account according to that of Lucretius, Cur antè bellum Thebanum & funera Trojae, Non alias alii quo que res cecinere Poetae? If we conſider that both of theſe lie at the very furtheſt end of the Greek Antiquity, though if they be the ſame with Noah, they muſt in reality have lived before this Period alſo, if we conſider that the Names of Minos and Pometheus, as I have proved, have both of them exactly the ſame ſenſe and ſignification, the one being only a Tranſlation of the other, and if to all this we add the great confuſion of the Greek Chronology in thoſe Ancient times, from all this I leave it to the Judgment of Learned and Judicious Men, whether my conjecture do not yet ſtand upon a tolerable Foundation, and ſuch as is at leaſt as firm, as can be expected or hoped for in theſe matters.

But Secondly, The Second and Laſt remaining reſemblance, which I ſhall mention betwixt Noah and Deucalion, is, that the Flouds which happened in their times are ſaid to have been ſent as a particular judgment for the ſins and enormities of that Age, which ſuffered by them. This is plainly the Language of Moſes himſelf, Gen. 6. v. 5, 6, 7. And God ſaw that the Wickedneſs of Man was great in the Earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his Heart was only evil continually, and it repented the Lord, that he had made Man on the Earth and it grieved him at his Heart, and the Lord ſaid I will deſtroy Man whom I have Created, from the Face of the Earth, both Man and Beaſt, and the creeping thing and the Fowles of the Air: for it repenteth me that I have made them. And juſt thus Ovid deſcribes the time immediately preceding Deucalions Floud, where Jupiter ſpeaking of the Cruelty and Inhumanity of Lycaon and his Family and dependants, he does it after ſuch a manner, as to involve the whole World more or leſs in the Guilt of thoſe Crimes of which Lycaon was accuſed.

Contigerat noſtras infamia temporis aures: Metam. 1. Quam cupiens falſam ſummo delabor olympo, Et deus humanâ luſtro ſub imagine terras. Longa mora eſt, quantum noxae ſit abique repertum Enumerare, minor fuit ipſa infamia vero.

And a little after having ſpoken of the deſtruction of Lycaon and his Houſe, he adds,

Occidit una domus, ſed non domus una perire Digna fuit, quà terra patet fera regnat Erynnys. In facinus jurâſſe putes, dent ocyus omnes Quas meruere pati, ſic ſtat ſententia, paenas.

And then follows the ſtory of Deucalion's Floud.

Apollodorus calls the Generation that was deſtroyed by the Floud 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Brazen Age implying their degeneracy from the purer times of Gold and Silver which were the Two firſt Periods, of human Life upon the Earth, the Firſt of which was abſolutely, and the Second comparatively innocent, with reſpect to the Brazen and Iron interval that followed after; the ſame Apollodorus in another place, though he ſeem to attribute that Apollod. Biblioth. l. 3. p. 187, 188, 189. ed Paris, 1675. judicial inundation to the Wickedneſs of that Age wherein it came to paſs, and places it as Ovid does in Lycaons times, yet he rather blames the Sons of Lycaon than himſelf, and ſaith that it was in the Reign of Nyctimus the only Son of Fifty that was ſpared, in which this Deluge happened, and that it was their extream Wickedneſs and Inhumanity that was the Cauſe of it, and the Reign of this Nyctimas over the Arcadians, if we will believe him in another place, was contemporary with that of Cranaus the Son of Cecrops, over Athens, for ſo ſpeaking of Cranaus he tells us, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 p. 225. ib. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . in whoſe time it is ſaid, the Floud of Deucalion happened.

Lucian alſo ſpeaking of the manners of thoſe Men who lived immediately before De Deâ Syr. p. 882. the Floud, ſays, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. that is, it is reported concerning thoſe Men that lived in that Age when Deucalions Floud fell out, that they were a ſort of Arbitrary Men, inured to all manner of violence and rapine, whoſe will was their Law and their only meaſure of Juſtice, that they neither kept Oaths nor were Hoſpitable to Strangers, nor merciful to the ſuppliant and the afflicted, for which things ſake a great and dreadful calamity befel them, the Earth immediately guſhed out with abundance of Water, &c.

Laſtly, Suidas ſpeaking of Cecrops the Suid. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Ancient Athenian King, who firſt introduced Marriage among them, whereas before there was nothing but promiſcuous Luſt, aſſignes this reaſon of that Law of Cecrops, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 This was done by Cecrops being an Aegyptian, and being skilled in the Laws of Vulcan or Hephaeſtus one of the Kings of Aegypt, and being of Opinion that the Deluge with which Attica was overwhelmed, was inflicted by way of Judgment upon them, for the ſake of that Promiſcuous Luſt of which they were guilty; which anſwers exactly to that which is ſpoken of the Antidiluvian Mortals, Gen. 6. 2. that the Sons of God ſaw the Daughters of Men that they were fair, and they took them Wives of all which they choſe. which words in the beginning of this Treatiſe I have explained of inceſtuous conjunctions, which alſo were practiſed in Attica before the time of Cecrops, if this ſtory be true, and which, though in themſelves they were very heinous, as being flattly repugnant to the great Law of Nature, which is the intereſt and welfare of Mankind, yet the Text tells us, at leaſt according to our Tranſlation, that they took them Wives, which implies a ſtate of Marriage in oppoſition to promiſcuous Luſt, but yet this was not inconſiſtent, otherwiſe than de jure, either with Polygamy on the one hand, or with Fornication, Adultery, or Arbitrary divorce on the other.

If we Interpret Naſhim by Wives, as our Interpreters do, and underſtand it ſo, as we do uſually that Engliſh word, then all thoſe inſerences hold good which I have made from the place, but if we expound it of Women in general, as the Word will very well bear that Interpretation, and indeed this is the moſt proper and familiar notion of it, then this Anſwers exactly to this place of Suidas and ſhews without diſpute, that one of thoſe ſinsfor which Noahs Floud was brought upon the World, was the uſe of a wandring and promiſcuous Luſt, without diſtinction of property on the one hand, or of affinity or conſanguinity on the other. Only thus much muſt be confeſſed, that the Floud to which Suidas in this place refers was not that of Deucalion but Ogyges, the latter of which, or rather the firſt in order of time, the Greek Writers are generally uſed to confine to the Province of Attica, and the other to that of Theſſaly, but I have affirmed both of theſe to be the ſame, and if the reaſons I have given for it may be allowed, this place of Suidas will belong to Deucalion, as well as any of the other that have been produced, though Suidas meant it only of Ogyges as diſtinct from him, and to ſhow once for all how very uncertain the Greeks are as to the time wherein Ogyges lived. There is a place in Euſebius which from the Authority of Philochorus affirms all the pretended ſucceſſors of Ogyges in the domimion of Attica to have been meer figments and impoſtures of Antiquity, and that no ſuch real Perſons were ever in being. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Euſeb. praep. Evarg. l. 10. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, neither Actaeus nor any other of thoſe feigned Perſons who are pretended to have been ſucceſſors to Ogygus, had ever yet ſo much as a being in nature, if we will believe Philochorus; now it is very ſtrange they ſhould be ſo clear, or may be ſo ſafely rely'd upon as to the Age of Ogyges and yet be ſo much in the dark, as to his immediate ſucceſſor and thoſe that afterwards ſucceeded him, who came proportionably nearer and nearer to the time of their Hiſtorians themſelves; beſides, that the only reaſon why the more Modern of the Greek Hiſtorians, ſince Chriſtianity was introduced, have placed Ogyges in the time of Moſes, is to be taken from the mention of Agag in the Prophecy of Balaam, as I have already conjectured, is undenyably plain from this, that Euſebius does not only ſpeak of him as contemporary with Moſes, but places him exactly in that part of it, when Moſes was upon his journey out of Aegypt, which does ſo accurately and ſo patly ſuit with the mention of Agag in the Prophecy of Balaam, which was uttered at that very time, that nothing can do more. And this is a new confirmation that the Floud of Noah and Ogyges were the ſame, being brought upon the World for the very ſame cauſe and reaſon and not only ſo, but this is alſo a new and clear indication, that this Floud being confined by the Greeks to the Province of Attica, we are to underſtand by this, as I have ſaid, no more but that it happened among the Hathikim, the Ancient Inhabitants and People of the World, from whence alſo the Attici had their name, as being a Colony from the Eaſt of great Antiquity in Greece. And for a further proof of the ſolidity of this conceit, I will here produce another Inſtance or two by which it ſhall be plainly confirmed. Juſtin the Epitomator of Trogus ſaith of the Athenians, Soli enim Athenienſes praeterquam incremento, etiam origine gloriantur: quippe non advenae neque paſſim collecta populi colluvies originem urbi debit, ſed in eodem nati ſolo quod incolunt, & quae illis ſedes, eadem origo eſt. that is, that they were not like other Nations, Strangers, and Colonies from another Country, but that their firſt Anceſtours were born of the Earth, and ſprung up in that Country where they and their Poſterity have ever ſince dwelt: and the very ſame thing is aſſirmed of them by Plato, where ſpeaking of Attica. he uſes theſe words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 In mene eno. p. 518. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, another juſt commendation of Attica is this, that at that time when all the reſt of the Earth brought forth all manner of living Creatures, as well Wild Beaſts, as Tame, or Beaſts of paſture, then Attica Barren of any ſuch productions, choſe Man out of all the Creatures to be her offspring, a Creature far more Noble and Excellent than any of the reſt, and to whom Juſtice and Religion do peculiarly belong. Not that in reality the Province of Attica did ever yield ſuch a Crop as Plato and Juſtin and others have recorded, but that this was the firſt Original of Mankind, the Hathikin, the firſt and moſt Ancient Mortals were born after this manner. For this was the Greek Tradition concerning the firſt Mortals, that they were born out of the Earth, as appears by another paſſage of the ſame Plato; where Socrates ſpeaking of thoſe early times thus enquires of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or ſtranger another perſon in the Dialogue concerning them. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; that is, what ſort of Generation was there Plat. in Politic. p. 537. then, O Stranger, of Animals, and after what manner were they produced from one another, to which he returns this Anſwer, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, it is manifeſt, O Socrates, that in that ſtate of things, Animals were not born by generation of one another. That brood of Creatures, which we have juſt now affirmed to have ſprung out of the Earth, returning to the Earth again from whence it came, ſprung up anew from thence again, as it hath been delivered down by Tradition to us from our Eldeſt Anceſtours, who bordered upon that primitive ſtate, and were the firſt Inhabitants of this, and we believe theſe things upon the credit of their teſtimony, though there be ſome ſo raſh now a days, as to reject them for Fabulous and Romantick. What that primitive ſtate or revolution of things, which he ſpeaks of, is I ſhall explain more largely by and by, but now I go on to obſerve that this Tradition, which the Greeks had of Men at Firſt being produced from the Earth, though it were miſerably Corrupted and Adulterated, as appears by this that they confined it only to Attica, and that one whole Age or Revolution or Period of time was ſpent in this ſort of aequivocal production, without any proper or univocal Generation all this while, yet that in its Original it was an Eaſtern Tradition, and conſequently that by the Attici we are not to underſtand the People of that particular province among the Greeks, but in general the Hathikin, that is, the Ancient and firſt Mortals, though this was more than the latter Greeks themſelves underſtood I will now prove from another paſſage of the ſame Plato; where ſpeaking in a Fabulous manner, for he himſelf calls it a Fable, though there were more truth in it then he was aware of, he ſays, Firſt concerning the production of all other Animals beſides Man. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Protag. p. 223, 224., that is, there was a time when the Gods were, but none of the mortal Species were yet produced into being, but when the fatal or predetermin'd time came that they alſo ſhould be produced, then the Gods formed them within the Earth, by mingling Earth and Fire together, and whatſoever elſe is capable of a vital union with thoſe Two, and having ſpoken after this manner of the Creation and Production of all other Animals, he ſpeaks of that of Man laſt of all, as the Scripture does, which ſhowes undenyably from whence this Tradition among the Greeks was derived, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ib. p. 224. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 at length the fatal or praeappointed time was come, wherein Man alſo from the Earth was to be brought to light. to all which it is to be added that in his Critias he deſcribes the primitive ſtate of innocency before the Fall, juſt after ſuch a manner, as if he had received it, not from Moſes himſelf, but at ſome diſtance, from others that had, for it is not delivered without ſomething of corruption, though theſe Three things are ſtill very plain in his account, Firſt, That Man was made after the Image of God, as the Scripture expreſſion is, and Secondly, That the meaning of this Image was a kind of participation of the Divine Nature, partly by all the inward habits and outward effects of Righteouſneſs and true Holyneſs, as the Apoſtle hath explained it, and partly by a marvellous rectitude of underſtanding as well as will. His words are theſe, deſcribing that ſtate of primitive ſimplicity in the perſons of his Athenians, that is again the Hathikin, the Ancient and firſt Mortals, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Plat. in Critiâ. p. 1108. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. that is, for many Generations, ſo long as the nature or life of God continued powerful and prevalent among them, they were Obedient to Laws, and had an affectionate and warm ſenſe of the Divinity to which they were nighly related. Their ſentiments were true and generous, they converſed with one another, and they encountered all the diverſities of Fortune, with meekneſs and humility, and with a wiſe and ſteady temper, they deſpiſed every thing beſides (or in compariſon of) virtue, and had a very little eſteem for preſent things, they looked upon Gold and Silver and other poſſeſſions under the notion of a burthen, they uſed a very ſparing and temperate Diet, and were not ſubject to be deceived and blinded by the Fumes of Wine. In another place as the Scripture ſaith of our Firſt Parents, Gen. 2. 25. that they were both naked, the Man and his Wife and were not aſhamed. So Plato ſaith alſo of the Firſt Mortals, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Politic. p. 537. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, for the moſt part they were naked and without any covering, expoſed to the open Air, and living ſub Dio. And Laſtly in another place, he ſaith they abſtained from all manner of Fleſh, as the Scripture intimates the Firſt Mortals till after the Floud to have done, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 L. 6. de Leg. p. 875. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Leg. Fortè 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Mallem, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . & ſtatim, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, it is familiar even to this day in ſome places for Men to Sacrifice one another; but formerly we have heard they were ſo far from it, that we of Athens particularly (for it is an Athenian that ſpeaks) did not hold it Lawful ſo much as to taſt of the Fleſh of an Ox, and our Sacrifices to the Gods were not made with Animals, but Cakes and Fruits ſprinkled with Honey, and other ſuch like pure oblations, but thoſe firſt Mortals abſtained wholly from Fleſh, as thinking it a ſin to eat it, or to defile the Altars of the Gods with Blood: they lived a ſort of Orphick lives, as they are called, enjoying and feeding upon all things whatſoever they pleaſed, that were void of Life, and abſtaining Religiouſly from every animated or living ſubſtance.

Where, when he attributes this peculiarly to the Ancient Athenians, this is again to be underſtood of the Hathikin, that is the Ancient or Antidiluvian Mortals, and when he calls this ſort of diet, the Orphick life, it is to be noted that Giants in Scripture ſuch as the Antidiluvian Mortals, who abſtained from Fleſh, are generally reckoned to have been, are called Rephaim, to which it is but adding an Aleph at the beginning, and we have all but the Greek termination of Orpheus, and this Aleph is indifferently either added or ſubſtracted in very many words, as Ram and Aram are the ſame, and ſo Heſychius interprets, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is the ſignification of Ram in Hebrew, and Armenia was ſo called, not only from Aram its firſt ſuppoſed planter, but alſo with reſpect to its high ſituation, and to the Mountains of Ararat or the Gordiaean and other Mountains to be met with in it, ſo alſo Shur and Aſhur are the ſame, as hath been already declared, and Dam which ſignifies Blood, is but a contraction of Adam, which hath the ſignification of Red and So alſo from the Hebrew Arbah ſignifying Four, is the adjective Rebihi and other words by the ejection of the Aleph. from the Hebrew Mar by the addition of the ſame Aleph, the Latins have made their Adjective Amarus, and the Derivatives from it, ſo that according to this Etymology the Orphick Diet, will be the Diet of the Rephaim, or Antidiluvian Mortals, which was altogether upon vegetables without the uſe of Fleſh, which does not appear to have been permitted in Food, till after the Floud was over or otherwiſe it is literally true, at leaſt the Poets have told us ſo, that the Ancient and ſo much celebrated Orpheus did abſtain from Fleſh himſelf, and exhorted all his Followers and Diſciples to do the ſame, according to that of Horace,

Sylveſtres homines ſacer interpreſque Deorum Hor. de Art. Poetic. ad Piſones. Caedibus & victu Faedo deterruit Orpheus, Dictus ob hoc lenire tigres, rabidoſque leones.

But then if it be asked who this Orpheus was? this is an hard Queſtion, which hath very often baffled the Endeavours of Learned Men, Gerhard Voſſius after Tully, who cites Ariſtotle for his Author is of opinion that there never was any ſuch determinate perſon G. Voſſ. de orig. & progr. Idololat. l. 3. c. 44. & de art. poet. nat. & conſtit. p. 78, 79. who was called by this Name, and he ſaith further that it is only the general Name of a wiſe or ſage and skillful Perſon in the Language of the Phoenicians, becauſe Arifa in Arabick ſignifies to know, and Arif a Man of knowledg and learning, and Tatianus ſaith Exreſly that the Ancient Verſes v. loc. Tatiani apud Voſſ. p. 78. ubi ſupra. which went under his Name, were not really his, no more then the Golden ones of Pythagoras are thought to be, but that they were compiled and put together by Onomacritus the Athenian, and nothing is more certain than that the Argonauticks, which at this day go under his Name, however very Ancient, are yet notwithſtanding, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , counterfeit and ſurreptitious things, whoſe true Authors Name is unknown. I agree perfectly with Voſſius as to the Etymology, and I had that which was Equivalent to it in my mind, before I met with his conjecture, and beſides I am certain that I have light upon the true Myſtery of this Ancient Orpheus, which is this;

The Arabick Arifa by the addition of an Aleph, is from the Hebrew Rapha Sanavit, ſo that, it ſignifies moſt properly a Man skillful in Herbs, or in the practice of Phyſick, or a good Phyſician or an Healing or Sanative Perſon: and ſo this Orpheus is the ſame with Apollo, who is Herbarum pater & Deus, and is withal the God of Knowledg and Wiſdom, the Sun, as hath been ſaid, being looked upon by all the Pagan World as the Supream Numen, and skill in Herbs or the knowledge of Nature, being in good earneſt an argument of the greateſt and trueſt Wiſdom, and he was made by Antiquity to preſide over Herbs, becauſe the vegetable World is ripened and concocted by his Beams, and all the ſeveral Species are fitted for that uſe, to which they are appointed and ordained by Nature; therefore Orpheus as well as Apollo was made by Macrob. l. 1. c. 19. Lyra Apollinis chordarum ſeptem, tot caeleſtium ſphaerarum motus praeſtat intelligi, quibus ſolem moderatorem natura conſtituit. Antiquity to preſide over Muſick, as well as Medicine, becauſe of the regularity of the Suns motion, the conſtant returns of Day and Night and of the ſeaſons of the Year, and becauſe all things are ſo tempered and poiſed by his influence, that Nature goes on in a conſtant and ſteady courſe, keeping a perpetual harmony and agreement with her ſelf in the preſervation of the ſeveral Species, and for that Fable of Orpheus that he drew Stones and Trees after him by the Charms of his Muſick, this is partly that they are generated by his influence, and that they flouriſh and proſper under it, and partly that Cities are built, and all the great Monuments of Art and Induſtry are reared by his light, ſo that in this ſenſe alſo he may be ſaid to draw Stones and Trees after him for the Building of Cities, becauſe when he is once ſet, the Work of the day ceaſes together with him, as alſo to make To this purpoſe it is very appoſite what Macrobius ſaith, l. 1. c. 17. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 cognominaverunt (Antiqui) non ex officio paſtorali & Fabulâ, per quam fingitur Admeti regis Pecora paviſſe, ſed quia ſol paſcit omnia quae terra progene rat, unde non unius geueris ſed omnium pecorum paſtor canitur, &c. Bears and Tygers and Wolves and other the moſt fierce Animals to dance after him, becauſe all the Animal World does, as it were, bask it ſelf in his kindly heat, and does rejoyce and is glad in his Beams, whereas in the night they either ſleep or howle and are diſturbed with a melancholy ſenſe of the abſence of their Friend and Benefactor, and to ſhow this yet the more plainly, the very ſame things are attributed to Amphion, for Orpheus and Amphion are the ſame, but you will ſay how comes the Sun to be called Amphion? to which the Anſwer is eaſie, it is not as the Grammarians triflingly ſuppoſe, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but yet it is true that Amphion is a Greek name of the Sun, as Orpheus is an Hebrew or Oriental, and his name is plainly 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he that So alſo he is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by the Poets as well Latin as Greek, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . goes about, or fetches a perpetual Circuit as the Sun ſeems to do, and was believed to do according to the moſt Antient Aſtronomical Doctrine, and the contraction of the two ſhort Vowels into one, is the true reaſon that the penultima of this word is long in all the Poets, ſo that here is all the Analogy that can be required.

According to this Etymology, which is without queſtion the true one, the Orphick life, is the dyet upon Herbs, becauſe though all things are warmed and cheriſhed by the Sun, and all things are nouriſhed and ſuſtained by his Beams; yet in a more Apollo is ſaid more particularly to preſide over Herbs, becauſe they lie more open to his view, not Cloyſtered up in Dens or Caves or Houſes, or ſhaded and concealed from his piercing Beams by the ſhelter of Woods, and becauſe the Animal World, though it could not endure his total extinction yet it does more eaſily brook his abſence, than the Fields and Flowers can do, which are in a manner dead all the Winter, and depend wholly upon his warmth and influence for their appearance above Ground. particular manner he was by Antiquity ſuppoſed to preſide over Herbs, or the Orphick life is the moſt Ancient and Primitive way of Feeding, which comes to the ſame thing, becauſe of the great Antiquity of the Fable of Orpheus, which was ſo very great that the Greeks themſelves were ſtrangers to its meaning, as I think hath been abundantly manifeſted, from what hath been ſaid concerning him and Amphion.

But though the Greeks did not underſtand that Orpheus and the Sun were the ſame, yet from the Fabulous account which they give of his Birth, it is plain they had once ſuch a Tradition though afterwards they loſt it, Apollonius the Writer of the Argonauticks puts him down firſt in the Catalogue of thoſe Ancient Heroes that were ſo famous in the Graecian Story for that expedition, and makes him to have been the Son of Oeagrus and Calliope, l. 1. v. 23, 24, 25.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 v. Etiam Orphea 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or, in fine Argonaut. quae ſub ejus nomine circumferuntur, & Plat. in ſympoſio, & Apollod. Biblioth. l. 1. c. 3. & 9. ut & ipſum Apollon. ib. l. 4. v. 1193, 1194. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Now this Oeagrus and the Sun are the ſame, for as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or rather, as it ſhould be written, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 haſta, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are the ſame, as much as to ſay, venator haſtatus, ſo is Oeagrus, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſolus, with the Addition of the ſame Word and Signification, as much as to ſay venator ſolitarius, as Hunting is aſcribed to Apollo, as much as Wiſdom, or Medecine, or Poetry, or Muſick, Macrob. l. 1. c. 17. Sagittarum autem nomine, non niſi radiorum Jactus oſtenditur; qui tun longiſſimi intelliguntur, quo tempore altiſſimus ſol diebus longiſſimis ſolſtitio aeſtivo conficit annuum curſum, inde 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 dictus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , è longiſſimo altiſſimoque radios in terram uſque demittens. becauſe of the ſwiftneſs of his Courſe, and becauſe his Rayes are as ſo many Darts or Javelins by which he ſhoots from Heaven to the Earth, and therefore in the Greek Poets he hath the Epithets of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and he is ſaid to Hunt alone becauſe all the Stars are extinguiſht by his Preſence, and nothing does or can appear but himſelf: ſo that there was no real difference, though Pherecydes, in the Scholiaſt upon the place of Apollonius laſt cited, thought there was, betwixt Oeagrus and Apollo, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Pherecydes ſaith that, Orpheus according to Aſclepiades was the Son of Apollo and Calliope, but according to others of Oeagrus and Polymnia, for this Oeagrus and Apollo are the ſame, and that he is ſaid to be the Son of Apollo, though indeed he were the very ſame perſon with him, it is in no other ſenſe, then that the Attributes, as I have ſaid already, may not improperly be called the Sons or Daughters of the Divine Subſtance, and Medecine is but one of thoſe perfections for which Apollo was Celebrated by the Ancient Poets, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Greek Termination 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 very frequently denoting a perſon, being as much as And by this name the veſtal Virgins of old were uſed to invoke him. Apollo Medice, Apollo P an. Macrob. l. 1. c. 17. ib. paulò ſuprà hinc eſt quod eidem attribuitur medendi poteſtas: quia temperatus ſolis calor morb rum omnium fuga est. Medicus or Sanator: neither are we to wonder at all that Orpheus is placed ſo low by the Writer of the Argonauticks, as the expedition which he Celebrates in his Poem, for it is a vanity to think that all his Heroes were contemporary, but he amarſſes together all the great names of Antiquity, of which Orpheus was the chief, to make his Catalogues the more auguſt and ſplended, and to adorne the drapery of his Poem; for it is a great miſtake to think that the Ancient Poets were any exact obſervers of Chronology, but they frequently not only out of miſtake, but de ſigne, to grace and embelliſh their performance, brought the greateſt Names together out of all quarters and times, without any regard to truth, which is not the virtue of a Poet, and this was the true reaſon why their Hiſtorians were in many things guilty of ſuch groſs and palpable impoſtures, becauſe they took their meaſures from the Poets, as if Poetry and truth, that is, any other than a truth of Nature, a truth of Emblem or Hierogliphick meaning, a truth and juſtice or natural probability of Action, a truth of order and decency and proper circumſtance, had any relation or affinity together.

It is the more ſuſpicious concerning Orpheus, that Apollonius was guilty of a deſigned error, if we may call that an error or miſtake which a Man does knowingly commit, becauſe he places him the very firſt, as indeed he was the firſt and greateſt Heroe in Antiquity, and Celebrated under divers Names by all the Ancient Poets, Philoſophers and Prieſts; and it is not very remote from this buſineſs, what Voſſius obſerves concerning the crowding the Hiſtories of divers Perſons into the Character of one; to make him appear the more Honourable and renowned, Veterum mos erat, quo G. Voſſ. de orig. & progr. Idololat. l. 1. c. 19. magis ad mirandae eſſent virtutes eorum, quos in Deos retuliſſent, varios eximiae virtut is in unum conflare, unique omnium geſta attribuere, quod difficile non erat in rebus ab aetate ſuâ remotis, & geſt is in terris longè diſſitis.

To all that it is to be added, that Linus alſo, another pretended Poet of the remoteſt Antiquity, is by Apollodorus ſaid to have been the Son of the Oeager or Oeagrus, though he tells us in the ſame place, notwithſtanding he was really the Son of Oeagrus, yet he was reputed the Son of Apollo, and paſſed for ſuch by common fame, his words are, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Biblioth. l. 1. c. 3. So the Scholiaſt upon Homer ad Il. Z. 155. ſays of Belle prophon, that he was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by nature and in truth the Son of Neptune, but by common fame of Glauens, and other inſtances there are very obvious to be met with. for this is the meaning of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that he was the Son of Apollo by common fame, notwithſtanding that he was really the Son of Oeager, not as the Tranſlator hath very unskilfully rendred it, qui & patrem habuiſſe Apollinem dicitur, but the whole place ought to have been rendred thus, Calliopes & Oeagri filius reâpſe Linus fuit, quem vulgi tamen rumor perhibet Apoll ne prognatum, and this is alſo to be applied 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to Orpheus himſelf, of whom it is immediately ſaid, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that he alſo was the real Son of Oeager, though the pretended of Apollo, but Apollodorus is out, as well as his Tranſlator, for Orpheus and Linus are the ſame with one another, and the ſame with Oeager and Apollo themſelves, between whom there is no difference at all, and Virgil no contemptible Author in theſe matters, makes Linus to have been really the Son of Apollo, at v. de Pirithoo ſchol. ad odyſſ. 〈◊〉 . 304. leaſt as much as Calliope was Orpheus his Mother, and they ſay the Mother's is the ſurer ſide.

Non me carminibus vincet nec Thracius Virgil. Eclog. 4. Orpheus, Nec Linus, huic mater quamvis at que huic pater adſit, Orphei Calliopea, Lino formoſus Apollo.

Voſſius gives it as his Judgment, that there De art. Poet. nat. & conſt. p. 78. was no ſuch Perſon as the Ancient Linus nor Muſaeus neither, no more than there was a certain and determinate Orpbeus, and he makes the ſignification of Linus to be only general, ſignifying a Writer of Mournful or Elegiack Verſes, becauſe Telounah in Hebrew ſignifies Murmuring and as he ſays Lamentation, though of this latter ſignification I doubt it would have puzled him to produce an inſtance, but in the truth of the thing Linus, who according to the Mythologers and the Poets, was the Son of Oeagrus or Apollo and Calliope, is in reality no other than Apollo or the Sun himſelf, and he hath his name from his brightneſs, which is the ſignification of Linus or Lunus, as Heſychius Interprets it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and thence the Latin v. Aegid. Menag. in D. La rt. Luna is derived, as Learned Men have already obſerved, for theſe Vowells are eaſily and familiarly changed into one another, as from the Common Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or as the Greeks themſelves would pronounce it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is the Jonique 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and from the oblique caſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the Latin unus, and our very Engliſh word Sun, hath its name and So from the Latin Lux or Luceo is the Engliſh Lict or Light, and from the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or the Latin Nox Noctis is the Engliſh Night. ſignification from Shining, and yet might he well be called the Son of Apollo, though he were indeed no other than Apollo or the Sun himſelf, becauſe Light is an attribute or perfection of the Sun, and the Sun is juſtly called the Father of Light.

Further yet; Orpheus is ſometimes ſaid to be the Son of Calliope, as others of Polymnia, of Calliope, becauſe being the Father and Preſident of Muſick, as the Sun was thought by the Ancients for the reaſons already declared, the congruity of the Fable did require, that he ſhould be deſcended from a mother carrying Harmony in her Name, and becauſe the Ancients uſually Sung to the Ha p, which was the inſtrument of Orpheus, adding inſtrumental Muſick to Vocal, to this when it is well performed is ſaid to be done 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the Language of Homer, where ſpeaking of the Feaſt of the Gods he ſays.

—— 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Il. 〈◊〉 . propè. fin. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And as he was ſaid to be the Son of Calliope with reſpect to the harmony and ſweetneſs of his Muſick, ſo of Polymnia too with reſpect to the ſubject matter of his Poetical Song, (for Apollo was the Patron of Poetry as well as Muſick) which is ſuppoſed to be a lofty and magnificent commemoration of gallant Perſons and Deeds, the proper ſubject of an Epick or Heroick Poet, ſo that Calliope and Polymnia are indeed the ſame, and ſo are all the Muſes, the Daughters of Polymnia or Poeſie in the general, expreſſing only the different accompliſhments of a complete and univerſal Poet, though perhaps Herodotus when he called the Books of his Hiſtory by their names might look upon them as real perſons diſtinguiſht from each other.

And as Orpheus was the ſame with Apollo or the Sun, ſo was Eurydice his ſuppoſed Wife, no other than the Moon, whom Orpheus is ſaid to have followed to the Shades below, and to have obtained leave of Pluto for her return from thence; though for a Fabulous reaſon, which the Poets give us, ſhe was afterwards remanded, by which nothing elſe is meant but the perpetual courſe of riſing and ſetting of thoſe Two Heavenly Bodies, and their ſeemingly perpetual purſuit of one another, which is yet further confirmed by the Diſeaſe of which Eurydice is ſaid to have Dyed, that is, by the bite of a Serpent, which is nothing elſe but the Moons Diurnal motion, the Serpent in the Eaſt being an The Serpent of Epidaurus under which form Apollo or Aeſculapius (for theſe are both the ſame) was Worſhipped both in Peloponeſus and Rome was but an Eaſtern Hieroglyphick of time, which is meaſured principally by the Suns motion. Macrob. v. l. 1. c. 20. initio. Emblem of time, and every entire revolution of any Heavenly Body, being compared to a Serpent biting it ſelf by the Tayl, becauſe every Circle ends where it begins, and as ſoon as the Arch which is deſcribed by it, returns to the ſame point from whence it ſet out, the circumference is complete, and one entire revolution is at an end. She is called Eurydice as much as to ſay latè jura dans, becauſe the Moon hath the Government of the Night, and this Government in Scripture is called Memlecheth, her Kingdom or Dominion, Gen. 1. 16. and for the ſame reaſon the Sun is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in a citation that ſhall be hereafter produced, becauſe the Care and Government of the Day is committed to him.

Having ſaid thus much upon occaſion of the laſt mentioned place of Plato, where he ſpeaks of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Orphick or Orphaick life, which I have ſhown to have conſiſted in abſtinence from Fleſh, I cannot but obſerve one thing more in it, which to me ſeems to have been a great miſtake and a manifeſt corruption of the primitive Tradition, and that is, that he makes their Sacrifices as well as their Diet to have conſiſted only in incruentis, and that they thought it a very great offence 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to defile the Altars of the Gods with Bloud, for beſides what hath been ſaid already in Anſwer to Grotius his conceit concerning the Sacrifice of Abel, it is to be conſidered, that there were Two main reaſons of all Sacrifice, the Firſt was Thanksgiving for the Goods and Comforts of Life, of which a part was to be offered up by way of humble Acknowledgment to the Author of them, and theſe indeed were for the moſt part dona incruenta, ſo long as Mankind continued to abſtain from Fleſh, theſe were for the moſt part, though the Sacrifice of Abel himſelf was not ſo, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as Plato calls them, chaſt and pure Oblations, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Cakes and Fruits beſprinkled with Honey, which belonged manifeſtly to the Genus Euchariſticum, and were offered up by way of Thankſgiving, or in way of faederal Communication, with a reconciled and propitiated Numen. But there was alſo the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or expiatorium, there were Sacrifices offered by way of expiation or Attonement, which were always without Queſtion Bloudy Sacrifices or Sacrifices of Animals ſlain before the Altar or upon it, whoſe Bloud was ſhed by way of commutation, inſtead of that of the Offender himſelf, which, though I do not ſay, is depended upon a Law of Nature, for then it could never have been diſpenſed with, yet nothing is more certain than that it was the general practice of the World, before the delivery of the Law of Moſes, and a Cuſtom whoſe beginning cannot be aſſigned any otherwiſe than by ſaying, that it ſeems moſt probable to have began immediately after the Fall, and to have been as old as Sin it ſelf, which gave the firſt riſe and occaſion to it. Upon the whole matter I leave it to be conſidered, whether the reaſons I have given, as well in this place, as in what hath been ſaid above upon another occaſion, are not ſufficient to weigh againſt the Authority of Porphyrie and Plato, and thoſe who eſteeming ſuch Authority more ſacred than that of the Scripture it ſelf, have ſtrained the one ſo miſerably to make it comply with the other.

To confirm which yet further, it is to be conſidered, what is reported of Pythagoras, by thoſe that have wrote concerning him, that having found out the demonſtration of that propoſition in Euclid, that in a reclangular Triangle, the ſquare of the Subtender is equal to the ſquare of the two other ſides, he is ſaid by way of Thankfulneſs for ſo important a diſcovery, as he eſteemed it, to have offered up an Hecatomb to the Gods, notwithſtanding that he and his Diſciples abſtained from all manner of Fleſh in their Food, and this, if admitted for truth, as I think it was never yet called in Queſtion, is a plain inſtance of the uſe of Animals in Sacrifice, among thoſe very People who did Religiouſly abſtain from them in their Food, for as for thoſe who would have this paſſage in the Life of that Phyloſopher, to be ſo underſtood, as if it were an Hecatomb of Meal or fine Flower molded into the ſhape of ſo many Animals as the Hecatomb conſiſted of, which the Greek Grammarians tell us were Twenty five in Number, and that where there were not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , there was no Hecatomb, properly ſo called, they are to be heard, Firſt becauſe the Imitation of Animals in Flower and Paſt, would not in reaſon be acceptable in Sacrifice, ſo long as the Animals themſelves were prohibited to be put to any ſuch uſe, for all imitation in Religious Worſhip, does certainly ſuppoſe the thing ſo imitated to be at leaſtwiſe Lawful, otherwiſe it is rather to be interpreted as an affront, than an acceptable ſervice, or a proper Act of Worſhip and Adoration. Secondly, I challenge any Man to ſhow me one inſtance beſides the thing in Queſtion, which is but to begg inſtead of proving, where the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in any Greek writer, is uſed for any inanimate oblation, But yet after v. D. Galaeam in not. ad Apollod. p. 85. v. etiam & Meurs. de Reg. Athen. l. 1. & Scal. ad Euſeb. Chron. l. 1. . 26. all, I acknowledge that in the account which the Antients give of Cecrops, who is by them ſuppoſed to have been the firſt King of Athens, one thing which they ſay of him is, that he forbad all Animal Sacrifices whatſoever, and I do not wholly deny, which it would be abſurd for me to do, unleſs by a particular induction of all Ages and Nations I could prove my aſſertion, that there was never any Nation or People among whom the cruenta Sacrificia were unlawful, only I ſay, that, generally ſpeaking, they were in uſe before the Floud, and that it is moſt reaſonable to believe they were as Old at leaſt as the Sacrifice of Abel, for of Adam we do not read that he ever offered up any Sacrifice at all, and if we ſpeak of Adam in his firſt and Innocent eſtate, it is very true of him that he did not Sacrifice by way of expiation, becauſe there was no need, there being no ſuch thing as Sin yet ſtirring in the World, and explatory Sacrifices were, as I conceive, the only Animal Sacrifices in uſe before the Floud; ſo that if Cecrops and Adam were the ſame perſons, as I do verily believe them to have been, then it is no wonder to find it recorded by the Ancients in the account which they give of him, that he forbad the uſe of Animals in Sacrifice, which Tradition of theirs aroſe only from hence, that in the ſtate of Innocence ſuch ſort of Sacrifices did not yet obtain.

Now that Cecrops and Adam were the ſame, I can make it very probable from ſeveral conſiderations, Firſt as to the Etymology of his Name, I make account that as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 with the addition of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by a very ordinary and uſuall way of reduplication in the Greek Tongue, as in our Lexicons may be ſeen; where we have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a verb from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . And ſo the ſignification of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 will be as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the And Cecropia is the hidden Land, or the Land of Paradiſe, whoſe ſituation is not known.— hidden, that is, the Ancient King of Athens, or he, in the Language of Seneca, cujus origo ultrà memoriam jacet. Secondly, He is called the Firſt King of Athens, that is, as I interpret it, according to what hath been frequently inculcated already, the firſt King among the Ancients, or the firſt King in Antiquity, which is as agreeable to Adam, as can be imagin'd, he being the firſt Father and Monarch of Mankind. Thirdly, Though by ſome of the Greek Writers he be repreſented as an Athenian, yet by the Scholiaſt upon Ariſtophanes, by Cedrenus, and Euſebius, by Suidas, by John and Iſaac Tzetzes, and among the Latins by Papinius Statius he is repreſented v. Lloyd. lex. Geogr. p. 256, 257. & Jo. Scal. in Euſeb. Chron. p. 26. as an Aegyptian, that is, an Eaſterling, For of this extent is the ſenſe of the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in many of the Greek Writers, who, for want of particular knowledge in the Eaſt, are by no means accurate in their relations concerning it. Fourthly, He is repreſented as living before Deucalion, that is, as I interpret it, before Noah, ſo Juſtin ſaith of the Athenians, Antè Deucalionis tempora Juſtin. l. 2. regem habuere Cecropem. And Apollodorus reckons the Floud of Deucalion to have Apollod. Biblioth. l. 3. p. 225. happened in the time of Cranaus who was the ſecond from Cecrops, ſo that there is as much agreement between theſe things as can be expected in ſo great confuſion of the Graecian account of time, for in ſtrictneſs of Chronology, according to the account of Moſes which is the only true one, Adam was Ten Generations before Noah.

And this account of Apollodorus placing Deucalion in the next Generation to Cecrops, is the leaſt to be regarded, becauſe the profane Writers themſelves do not all of them concur with him, for Juſtin makes the Floud to have happened in the time of Amphitryon, whom Apollodorus calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , who was the Succeſſor of Cranaus and the Third from Cecrops, his words are theſe in the place laſt cited out of him, huic (Cecropi) ſucceſſit Cranaus, cujus filia Athis regioni nomen dedit, poſt hunc Amphitryon regnavit, qui primus Minerte urbem ſacravit, & nomen civitati Athenas dedit. hujus temporibus aquarum illuvies majorem partem Graeciae abſumpſit, ſuperfuere quos refugia montjum receperunt, aut ad Regem Theſſaliae Deucalionem ratibus vecti ſunt, à quo proptereà genus humanum conditum dicitur. Fifthly, This Cecrops by the Generality of Greek Authors is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by Ovid, Geminus and by Juſtin, biformis, of which there are Two reaſons aſſigned, Firſt that upwards he had the ſhape of a Man, but downwards of a Serpent, and in this ſenſe the And ſo they are alſo called by the Schol. upon H mer. ad dyſſ. 〈◊〉 . 304. Centaurs are ſomewhere called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by Apollodorus, though at preſent I cannot bring the place to my remembrance, which ſome do ſo interpret, as if this Cecrops at firſt had been a good and Gracious Prince, but afterwards degenerated into a Tyrant, but Plutarch. de Ser. num. vindict. Plutarch for I know not what reaſon, will have the clean contrary of this to have been repreſented by it; Demosth. in Orat. fun. Demoſthenes will have it refer to the Gigantick ſtature of thoſe firſt Mortals, and to be as much as if the Ancients had told us more plainly, that he had the knowledge or wiſdom of a Man, added to the ſtrength and power of ſome pernicious Dragon, or deſtructive Serpent. But I am very much miſtaken, or nothing of all this is a true account of the matter, but if we would explain it, as it ought to be explained we muſt ſeek for its meaning in the Sacred ſtory.

The true account of ancient this Story is this, Cecrops was the firſt Man, and his being made up, after a Monſtrous manner, as the Fabulous antiquity hath repreſented him, of the parts of a Man and a Serpent or Dragon put together, was to ſignifie the Two Natures in Man, the one of which is the rational or intellectual, the other the animal, ſerpentine or ſenſual, expoſed to Luſts and Paſſions and Temptations, which are therefore compared to a Serpent, becauſe of their winding and inſinuating-Nature; or elſe the Man and the Serpent, are to ſignifie the Two ſeveral ſtates and conditions of Life in which our Firſt Parent was ſucceſſively engaged. The Firſt is the State of Innocence and ſimplicity, the purely humane and intellectual State, undefiled and uncorrupted by any Indiſcretion, Luſt, or Paſſion, being at a perfect Friendſhip with, and having a perfect Dominion and Maſtery of it ſelf, and injoying a free and happy intercourſe with that ſelf-originated Mind and Will, which comprehends within it ſelf the whole Extent and Latitude of truth, and is the Eternal and Immutable Standard, of all kind of Moral rectitude and virtue. The Second, or the Serpentine Eſtate, is the State of Degeneracy from that happy condition, by the Temptations of the Serpent, that is, by the ſuggeſtions of the lower Life, which did more eaſily inſinuate themſelves by the Miniſtry of a Woman, whom the Devil made uſe of upon this occaſion, as being by reaſon of the weakneſs of her Sex, the fitteſt to be firſt Tampered with and wrought upon her ſelf, and afterwards the fitteſt Inſtrument to convey the Poyſon of her own deluſions into the mind of her Husband, and theſe, whether ſuggeſtions of the lower and ſenſual Life in our ſelves, or temptations of the Devil from without, are repreſented, as I have ſaid, in the Ancient Story, which I take it for granted in the Scripture it ſelf, is partly Hieroglyphical, under the type and ſhadow of a Serpent, becauſe of their winding and inſinuating Nature.—

And both of theſe Interpretations agree excellently well, with that particular deſcription which the Ancients have left us of their Cecrops, in whom they place the Humane Nature uppermoſt, and the Serpentine beneath, for in the Firſt of my Interpretations the Humane or Intellectual Life or Nature, is uppermoſt not only in dignity but in place too, with reſpect to the ſenſual or concupiſcible, which keeps its reſidence and performs its operations below, beſides that the rational Nature was intended to be the guide and counſellor of the other, and is therefore by the Greeks called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to keep it within its due bounds and meaſures: and in the other Interpretation, there is as exact an agreement of the Fable to the truth, as in this, for the State of Innocency was in order of time, before that of degeneracy and declenſion from it. And thus Cecrops is deſcribed by Nonnus, Dionyſ. l. 41. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And by Ariſtophanes in Veſpis. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,

Where the Scholiaſt thus Gloſſes upon the place, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, the Ancients ſay that Cecrops had Two Natures, his lower parts being made after the faſhion of a Serpent.

The Second reaſon aſſigned by Authors of this Name of Cecrops, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is that he was the firſt that inſtituted Matrimony or conjugal Obligation between Man and Wife, Athenaeus, Deipnos. l. 13. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Juſtin l. 2. part of which words have been already produced, Ante Deucalionis tempora (Athenienſes Regem habuere Cecropem, quem, ut omnis Fabuloſa eſt Antiquitas biformém prodidere, quia primus marem Faeminae matrimonio junxit. Syrianus in Hermogenem: v. etiam Eaſtath. ad Il. 〈◊〉 & w. & Iſaac Tyeſty. in in Lycophr. p. 24. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Nonnus ubi ſupra.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Than all which teſtimonies I think there neither is, nor can be any thing more ſuitable to the caſe of our Firſt Parent in the ſacred Story, who was without all queſtion the very firſt by whom the Matrimonial band was tyed, only whereas in the Citation of Athenaeus, it is ſet forth that before the time of Cecrops, Copulation was promiſcuous and the uſe of Women common, which implies as if there had been ſeveral Generations before him, ſo that at this rate he could not be the firſt Man. This is no more then Suidas alſo ſaith concerning him, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Suid in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 —that is, at that time (in the time of the Judges, when he makes Prometheus to have lived) Cecrops ſirnamed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Reigned in Athens, he was ſo called according to ſome, becauſe of the bulk and bigneſs of his Body, or rather as others would have it, becauſe of a Law which he Enacted, that Women, being yet virgins, ſhould be diſpoſed of to one Man only, and for this reaſon he called them 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or ſponſae (quod eſſent uni viro 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſive deſponſatae) whereas before, Copulation was brutal and every Woman was common to all without diſtinction, being no Mans Wife, but proſtituting her Chaſtity to every one as it happened, ſo that no one could tell whoſe Child it was that was at any time Born——and a little after he gives the reaſon why Ceorops made this Law, in words that have been already produced 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . This Cecrops d •• as being by Birth an Aegyptian, and being acquainted with the Laws of Hephaeſtus or Vulcan, an Aegyptian King, and he ſaid moreover that it was for this promiſcuous and brutal uſe of Venery, that Attica in the time of Ogyges was overwhelmed with Waters, which words, though, as I have ſaid already, they may be, and they are a very great confirmation to the truth of that opinion which I have endeavoured to aſſert, that Noah and Ogyges were really the ſame, becauſe the Floud, which is ſaid to have happened in their times, is in profane and ſacred Writers ſo plainly imputed to the ſame reaſon, the great Debauchery and Senſuality which then Reigned among Men, and particularly to the uſe of Belluine Conjunctions and promiſcuous Copulations, without diſtinction of property, conſanguinity or any other Relation, yet ſo farr as Cecrops is concerned, nothing hinders but there may be an Anachroniſme committed by the Greeks, or a confounding of Two Times and Stories together, for I am inclinable to believe that what I have already offered, beſides what I have ſtill further to ſuggeſt, concerning Cecrops his being the ſame with Adam, will be of greater weight with any conſidering Man to prove them to have been the ſame, than the Two laſt Teſtimonies of Athenaeus and Suidas put together will be to part them in ſunder from each other.

To which purpoſe it is ſtill further to be obſerv'd, that theſe Ancient writers ſpeak not only of Deucalions Floud, which they make to have happened after the time of Cecrops, and of that of Ogyges, which according to them was before it, but we have alſo an account of a Floud which happened in the time of Cecrops himſelf, by which all Attica was overflown, the occaſion this: There was a controverſie betwixt Neptune and Minerva to whoſe Patronage or Guardianſhip the City of Athens ſhould belong, which being referred to a Counſel of the Gods, being Twelve in Number to determine, the verdict by the Teſtimony of Cecrops was given in favour of Minerva againſt the other, at which Apollodorus tells us, Apollod. Biblioth. l. 3. p. 222. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Neptune being very angry overflowed the Thriaſian Field, and laid all Attica under Water. The Moral of which Fable is this: Attica is the Ancient or newly created Earth, Athena or Minerva is, as I ſhall ſhew more largely by and by, the Aetherial or ſubtle matter of the univerſe, and Neptune is the Element of Water, or all kind of M iſt and Watry ſubſtance here below, and theſe Two, the Aether and the Water contended together, to which of them the Fertility and Fruitfulneſs of the Earth was chiefly due, which being referred to the deciſion of Cecrops or the reaſonable Nature, he gives Judgment in favour of Minerva or the Aetherial matter, which is the great principle of Life and Vegetation in the Univerſe, and which though, in the productions of this lower World, it make uſe of the Moiſt and Watry Subſtance as its Inſtrument in all its operations, yet is that ſubſtance Phlegmy and unactive, having nothing vital or operative in it ſelf, any otherwiſe than as it is actuated and impregnated by the fruitful and enlivening influences of the Aetherial or Heavenly matter, and then he adds, without any ſtrict and ſacred regard to truth, but minding only to fill up the outward form and Scheſmatiſm of the Fable, that Neptune being angry at this determination, overflow'd the Thriaſian Field, &c. by which nothing elſe is meant than that Neptune or the Watry ſubſtance of the Univerſe, does ſtill continue, though in an inferior and ſubſervient way, to be aiding and aſſiſting to the Aetherial matter in all its Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral productions. And this is the meaning of what the ſame Apollodorus tells us Biblioth. l. 3. c. 13. in the beginning of the ſame Chapter, that when this contention firſt aroſe between Neptune and Minerva, Neptune making the firſt tryal of his skill, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and ſtriking with his Trident upon the middle of the Acropolis or higheſt eminence of the City of Athens, he made that Water to guſh out, which (continuing to after Generations) was (in the time of Apollodorus, who was himſelf an Athenian) called Erectheis, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , terra, becauſe it was forced out of the Earth, by the ſtroke of Neptunes Trident, and this is nothing elſe but a Mythological deſcription of the Eruption of Fountains and Rivers and other ſubterraneous Waters, which being kept in, without having any vent, were Anciently looked upon as one of the cauſes of Earthquakes, and thence Neptune had his A. Gell. Noct. A t. l. 2. c. 28. Epithets of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Agellius. Quaenam elſe cauſa videatur, quamobrem terrae tremores fiant, non modò his communibus hominum ſenſibus opinionibuſque compertum non eſt, ſed nè inter Phyſicas quidem Philoſophias ſatis conſtitit, ventorum nè vi accidant ſpecus hiatuſque terrae ſubeuntium, an aquarum ſubter, in terrarum cavis undantium fluctibus pulſibuſque, ità uti videntur exiſtimâſſe antiquiſſimi Graecorum, qui Neptunum 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 appellaverunt.

But after Neptune had made this effort to obtain the Dominion of Athens, then it came to Minerva's turn to ſhew what ſhe could do, and the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Apollod. ib., taking Cecrops to witneſs of the feat ſhe was about to perform, produced that Olive-tree, which to the time of Apollodorus remained in Pandroſium: that is, it was firſt neceſſary that Neptune or the Watry Element ſhould moyſten and prepare the Ground, before Minerva or the Aetherial, could impregnate it and make it Fruitful, according to that paſſage of Moſes in the Book of Geneſis, Gen. 2. 5, 6. where ſuch another Deluge as this of Cecrops, that is, not a waſting and deſtructive, but a prolifick and impregnating Deluge is deſcribed, and a Deluge not occaſioned by Rain, but by the Ebullition of ſubterraneous Waters. And every Plant of the Field before it was in the Earth, and every Herb of the Field before it grew; for the Lord God had not cauſed it to Rain upon the Earth, and there was not a Man to Till the Ground, but there went up a miſt from the Earth and Watred the whole Face of the Ground. Furthermore though this Aetherial ſubſtance be the cauſe and principle of all manner of Fruitfulneſs and Plenty, yet the Olive is here only inſtanced in, as being ſo Fat and Rich a production, that it is a fit emblem of Fruitfulneſs in the general conſidered, or elſe the Olive being Anciently looked upon as a Symbol of Peace, is fitly aſcribed to Minerva or the Aetherial matter, which being pure and ſimple, and ſeparated from the Vapours and Exhalations of this Atmoſphere, by which all Storms and Tempeſts are occaſioned, is the ſeat and region of reſt and Peace, as Homer deſcribes the region upon the top of Olympus, which was thought to carry its Head above the Clouds,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Hom. edyſſ. Z. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Neither is it any wonder to hear Apollodorus ſpeaking of this contention between Neptune and Minerva, as if it had been a literal and real Emulation between Two Divine Perſons, and ſaying that the Olivetree which Minerva upon that occaſion had produced, was even in his time to be ſeen in Pandroſium, and that the Water which Neptunes Trident had at that time forced out of the Earth, much after the ſame manner, as the Rod of Moſes is recorded in Sacred Story to have done out of the Rock, continued ſtill to be a Monument of what had happened even in his Days, for nothing is more certain than that the Ancient Greeks, as far off and farther than the time of Apollodorus, did not underſtand their own Mythology, which had been delivered down by Tradition to them from their Fathers, which was the reaſon they underſtood many things, in a literal and not unfrequently, in an abſurd and impoſſible ſenſe, which had a very natural and eaſie, however Myſtical and Hieroglyphick meaning, and ſo Apollonius ſpeaks of Orpheus his drawing Trees and Rivers after him, which I have ſhewn plainly in what ſenſe it is to be underſtood, and that by the Antient Orpheus nothing but the Sun is or can poſſibly be conceived to be meant, as of a thing that was really and literally performed, and directs us to a place where ſome of thoſe Trees were Anciently to be ſeen,

Apallon. Argon. l. 1. v. 26. &c. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

There is alſo a Third reaſon of this ſirname 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 given to Cecrops, which the Ancients have mentioned, but ſuch a reaſon it is, as I ſcarce thought worth ſetting down, being manifeſtly nothing to the purpoſe, and that is, that being an Aegyptian born, and coming afterwards into Greece, he came by this means to be Maſter of Two Languages, the Aegyptian and the Greek, as if 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Two Languages, and Two Natures were the ſame. Euſebius, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Euſeb. Chron. l. 1. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . And to the ſame purpoſe Suidas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Suid. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 v. eund. etiam in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ubi alias quaſdam cauſas 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 adducit, ſed meo judicio futiles & inept as. v. etiam de his omnibus Phavorin. in voce. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But in the Sixth place, to evidence yet ſtill more clearly how contradictory to themſelves the Ancients are in their account of time, when they make Cecrops to have Reigned after the Ogygian Floud, it is to be conſidered what Hyginus hath reported concerning his Genealogy; that he had to his Mother the Earth, and to his Hygin. Fab. 48. collat. cum Fab. 158. Father Vulcan: nay not only Hyginus but Antroninus Liberalis, the Author of the Metamorphoſes calls him expreſly 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Cecrops the Son of the Earth. Nothing Anton. lib. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . c. 6. initio. can Anſwer more exactly to the Story of Adam, than this account of Antiquity, which makes Cecrops to have been the Son of the Earth, and by his being alſo the Son of Vulcan, nothing elſe is meant, but that he was alſo the Son of God, or of the Sun who was Worſhipped as the Supream Numen by the Ancient Heathens, for Vulcan and the Sun are the ſame, who had not his Name, as is commonly thought, from Tubal Cain in Geneſis, to whom Moſes in the ſame place gives this character, that he was an inſtructor of every Artificer in Braſs and Iron, which added to the likeneſs of the ſound, created this conceit that Tubalcain and Vulcan were the ſame, but Vulcan with the Addition of an Aeolique Digamma is El Kanna. Deus Zelotypus, as God is expreſly called Exod. 20. 5. And Fire and Jealouſie are frequently in Scripture compared together, ſo that from hence, without queſtion, from the Hebrew Kanna, is the Latin Candeo, Candens, Candidus, Candor, (all which words do ſignifie, firſt and moſt properly the colour of a glowing Iron or Furnace in their utmoſt extremity of heat) from thence alſo are the Nounes Candela, and cicindela, and the Verb excandeſco, with its derivative excandeſcentia, as alſo the compounds incendo, ſuccendo, ſuccenſus, ſuccenſeo, and as by the Latins he is called Vulcanus, ſo by the Greeks Hephaeſtus, that is, ab eſhta, the Father of Fire, as Bochartus before me hath obſerved, though he apply it only to the Fire of Smiths Forges or other Culinary or Artificial Fires, of which Vulcan was thought to be the inventor, but in truth Vulcan is the Element of Fire, and more particularly the body of the Sun it ſelf, to which all our ſublunary Fires, whether Artificial or Natural or of what kind ſoever do ow their being and their propagation, and which though fed and ſupported by groſſer Fewel, yet are they kindled and ventilated by the ſubtle matter, which having its chief reſidence in the body of the Sun, is yet notwithſtanding plentifully diffuſed through the whole Creation, and by the ſame Analogy, Aeſculapius or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is another name of the Sun, is as much as Eſhel ab, the Father of the Fields, or the God of Herbs, becauſe all vegetation is owing to his influence, and I have already obſerved in Diſcourſe of the Tetragrammaton. other Papers, that See the Etymons of Plato, Chryſippus, Speuſippus, Chanthes and others in Macr bius, which are all of them very frigid and plainly f oliſh, as the Greeks ar uſually in all their Etymologies, Macrob. Saturn. l. 〈◊〉 . c. 17. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is as much as ab helion or pater excelſus, and Priapus, as much as Pri ab, or pater fructuum, both of which are but Two other Names of the ſame multifarious and Polyonymous Numen. Beſides that Vulcan and the Sun are the ſame, will appear not only from the Etymology of this word it ſelf in Latin and of Hephaeſtus in Greek, but alſo from the Fable of his being thrown down from Heaven by Jupiter, or by the univerſal Nature, or that Divine providence and Eternal wiſdom to which the Fabrick and contrivance of this World is owing, and therefore Homer meaſures his fall by the motion of the Sun, with whom he firſt ſets out in the Morning, and with whom in the Evening he ends his courſe, as much as to ſay, that theſe Two motions, the motion of Vulcan and of the Sun are the ſame, being ſo exactly agreeable to one another, for thus Vulcan ſpeaks to his Mother in Homer, perſwading her to be quiet, when Jupiter, whoſe Power is irreſiſtible, was angry, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

And then it follows ſoon after,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

But in the Hymn to Apollo which is aſcribed, among others, to Homer, it is Juno her ſelf, not Jupiter, who is ſaid to have caſt him down, which though it be a new Argument, beſides the Authority of Athenaeus, whom I remember ſomewhere to have called the Legitimacy of theſe Hymns into Queſtion, that the Author of the Hymns is not the ſame with the writer of the Ilias and the Odyſes, yet it is out of all diſpute that theſe Hymns are very Ancient, and in this very paſſage in the Hymn to Apollo, Vulcan is made to have fallen into the lap of Thetis who took care of him, which is no more than a Poetical deſcription of the ſetting of the Sun, who is by the Poets ſuppoſed to refreſh himſelf and his weary Horſes every Night in the Ocean. It is Juno her ſelf that ſpeaks.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

With ſo long a fall as this it ſo happened, as well it might, that Vulcan was miſerably lamed, as Lucian hath expreſly obſerved, Lu i n. D ••• de Sa rif. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which lameneſs of his was nothing elſe but a Poetical deſcription of the inequality of the Days and Nights according to the different ſeaſons of the Year, and different periods of the Suns motion; and all this I hope, may paſs for as tolerable an account who Vulcan was, and for as good a proof, that Intell. Syſt. c. 4. p. 489, 490. by him the Sun or the Supream Numen was Anciently underſtood, as that which the Author of the Intellectual Syſtem hath given us, a Man that hath heaped a great many Authorities together to very little purpoſe, and is nothing but meer induſtry without a Genius in any thing of this Nature, though in the Preface to his work he pretends great familiarity with Philological Learning; and yet to prevent Jealouſy he declares, as his manner is, in Proclamation ſtile, that for our parts, we neither call Philoſophy nor yet Philology our Miſtreſs; but it ſeems they are both of them kind Friends at a need, for we ſerve our ſelves of either as occaſion requireth, and perhaps it is true of them, with relation to his Worſhip, what Agamemnon ſaid of his Charming Chryſeis,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

But it does not follow that the kindneſs is equal on all ſides, for I doubt Philology is coy, though the Doctor be willing, and it is uſually ſeen in Miſſes and ſuch kind of Harlotry Creatures, that they are but the more ſhy for being Courted ſo much, however it is ill done to make his Boaſt in Print of a fair Ladies kindneſs, and worſe to repreſent her as a common Jilt, that is ready upon every occaſion; ſo that the Doctor muſt not hereafter think it ſtrange or unjuſt, if Philology, who after all his braggs was never half ſo inward with him, as he is pleaſed to pretend, be now more cautious, more ſullen and reſerv'd, than ever ſhe was before.

Furthermore, as by Vulcan it is manifeſt beyond contradiction, that the Sun is to be underſtood in the Mythology of the Ancients, ſo alſo the Cyclops who are by the Poets fained to be his Miniſters in the forming of the Thunder and Lightening, will admit of no other meaning or interpretation, being nothing elſe but partial effects, attributes and conſiderations of the ſame ſuppoſedly Supream Numen. For the Sun in the Greek Poets by reaſon of his raiſing thoſe exhalations from whence the Clouds, Rain, Snow, Winds, Hail, Thunder and Lightning, and ſuch like meteors are formed, hath the Epithets of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and by the Latins for the ſame reaſon he is called Altitonans, Altiſonus, and Tonans, and becauſe of the great noiſes, and terrible eruptions of the Furnaces of Aetna, and Veſuvius, therefore by the Poets he was wittily repreſented as forming his Thunder there. For this reaſon it was that Vulcan, though he were indeed nothing elſe but the Supream Numen, in the ſenſe of the Ancients, who eſteemed the Sun as ſuch, yet conſidering him as the Author and maker of the Thunder, he is repreſented as the Son of Jupiter, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Juno; of Jupiter, becauſe Jupiter as I ſhall prove is the ſame with the Sun, by whom Cic. de. N. D. inter pl res Vulcanos tertium numerat filium Jovis ac Junonis, qui Lemni fabric traditur praefuiſſe. v. & vet. Schol. in Hom. Il. 〈◊〉 . v. 609. all exhalations and meteors are raiſed, and of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Juno, becauſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the Region of the Aire or Atmoſphere, within which compaſs the Thunder is confined, and to whoſe reſiſtance it owes the double terror of its noiſe and flaſhing. The very Name Cyclops is a ſufficient argument, who it was that was meant by it, for the Cyclops were ſo called from their being ſuppoſed to have one circular or orbicular Eye in the middeſt of their Forehead, as the Sun is a Circular or Orbicular luminary in the middeſt of Heaven, which may not unjuſtly be called the Forehead of the Ʋniverſe, as being to ſenſe the higheſt and moſt elevated part of it, ſo Heſiod deſcribes the Cyclops in his Theogony,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And to this purpoſe it is that Macrobius produces a fragment of an Ancient Greek Writer, wherein the Sun is expreſly called Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 23. See alſo the anſwer of Serapis in the Oracle to Nicocreon the King of Cyprus, where repreſenting himſelf as the univerſal omnipreſent Numen, he calls the Sun 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , his bright or refulgent Eye. ib. 2. 20. in Fine—v. etiam c. 21. ib. p. 256, 257. ed Lug. Pat. 1628. Cic. de Divin. p. 449. ed Lond. 1681. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Eye of Jupiter, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Where by Jupiter the Aether or the Azure Sky is to be underſtood, of whom the Sun is here called the Eye, for this was one ſenſe in which the Name Jupiter was taken, though at others it were reſtrained only to ſignifie the body of the Sun, becauſe the ſubtle matter in that Heavenly Luminary, and that which is diſperſed abroad through the large and ſpacious Regions of the Aether, differ only in degree, that is, in greater or leſſer proportions of purity and tenuity from one another, and this according to the ſenſe of the Ancients themſelves, as appears by a fragment of Tully cited by himſelf in his Book De Divinatione,

Principio, Aetherio flammatus Jupiter igni Vertitur, ac totum colluſtrat lumine mundum, Menteque Divinâ caelum terraſque peteſſit; Quae penitus ſenſus hominum vitaſque retentat, Aetheris aeternis ſepta atque incluſa cavernis.

And that the Aether it ſelf is ſometimes expreſly called by the Name of Jupiter, we have the Authority of the ſame Tully for it, who cites a fragment of Ennius to this purpoſe,

Adſpice hoc ſublime candens, quem invocant omnes Jovem.

And alſo of Euripides which he thus Tranſlates. ic. de 〈◊〉 . D. p. 420, 421. edit ut ſupr —adde ••• am loc. Macrobii l. 1. c. 18. Phyſici 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , quia ſolem mundi mentem eſſe dixerunt, mundus autem vocatu caelum quod appel ant Jovem, unde Aratus de caelo dicturus, ai 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 id ib. c. 21. ſolem Jovis (i. e. Aetheris) oculam appellat antiquitas.

Vides ſublime fuſum, immoderatum Aethera, Qui tenero terram circumjectu amplectitur, Hunc ſummum habeto Divûm: hunc perhibeto Jovem.

The Cyclops therefore, that is, the Eyes of the Ʋniverſe, are the ſame with the Sun, who is expreſly ſo called, and for their different Names, Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon, they are all but ſo many partial conſiderations of the ſame Numen, conſidered as employed in forming the Thunder, the laſt of them denoting the manual operation which was ſuppoſed to be performed upon a Fabulous Anvil in the Cavernes of Aetna and other places of Sicily, and the Two firſt of them ſignifing the Two different effects, the one of Noiſe or Thunder, the other of Lightning, conſequent upon the operation, and therefore it is obſervable that Claudian, having firſt named Mulciber, that is, Vulcan himſelf, to whom he aſcribes the formation of Thunder, which Mulciber, is as much as Melec Abir, the Potent or Powerful King, as the Sun in the ſenſe of the Ancients did very well deſerve to be called, being by them looked upon as the Supream Numen, he then deſcribes his Three Miniſters, that are ſuppoſed to be aſſiſtant to him in his operation, as it were dividing the Genus into the ſeveral Species of which it conſiſted, in his Third Book De conſulatu Honorii.

—Vobis jam Mulciber arma v. Etiam Virgil. Aeneid. l. 8: Praeparat, & ſiculâ Cyclops incude laborat: Brontes innumeris exaſperat aegida ſignis: Altum fulmineà criſpare in Caſſide conum Feſtinat Steropes, nectit Thoraca Pyracmon, Ignifluiſque gemit Lipare fumoſa cavernis.

Neither is it any wonder to find the opera fabrilia, all kinds of working in Iron, Braſs or Steel, or any other hard Metal aſcribed to Vulcan, as well as the making of Thunder; becauſe Vulcan as I have ſaid, being the Sun or the Element of Fire, whatever works are performed by Fire, are rightly aſcribed to him as their cauſe, and therefore all ſorts of Weapons whatever are by Juvenal called Arma Vulcania,

Malo pater tibi ſit Therſites, dummodo tu ſis Juv. ſat. 8. Aeacidae ſimilis Vulcania que Arma capeſſas, Quam te Therſitae ſimilem producat Achilles.

Nay, not only ſo, but becauſe of the Analogy and reſemblance which all the Works of Art have to one another, as to the skill and contrivance by which they are effected at leaſt, though not as to the materials of which they conſiſt, therefore all ſuch Works are ſometimes attributed by the Poets to Vulcan, as the ſeveral Houſes and Apartments of the Gods in Homer are, though ſuch do not uſe to be built of Iron or Braſs or any other Metal, but by this was only meant that the Sun according to the Ancient Doctrine, was the great Architect and Demiurgick nature by which all the Symmetry of the Univerſe was contrived.

Hom. Il. 〈◊〉 . 605, &c. ſpeaking of the Gods after revelling all Day, going to their ſeveral apartments at Night.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c.

In which words there are Two things eſpecially to be remarked, Firſt as to the Feaſt of the Gods, of which theſe words of Homer give us the concluſion, by conducting them all home to their ſeveral apartments at Night, nothing elſe is meant by it, but that the Ancient Poets looked upon the greateſt part of their reputed Gods, as the Epicureans, and Stoicks afterwards determined, to be nothing elſe but ſo many ſeveral concretions of Aetherial matter animated with a mind or underſtanding, which while the Sun is up, who was ſuppoſed at Night to repoſe himſelf in the Sea, doe all of them bask themſelves and rejoyce in his preſence, with which all the Animal World is always infinitely pleaſed and delighted, but in his abſence they are Sad and Melancholy, and betake themſelves, as it were, to forgetfulneſs and ſleep; this is the meaning of Juno, that is, the Aire or Atmoſpherical region receiving a chearful Cup from the hands of Vulcan, that is, the Sun, by which the Atmoſphere is rarified and warmed, and all its numerous Inhabitants are wonderfully delighted and refreſht, and of the ſame Vulcan's Miniſtring to the reſt of the Gods, that is, to all other Animated Aetherial concretions, who are repreſented as full of Jolitry and Laughter, wanting neither Mirth nor Muſick, nor good Cheer, all which cannot be better repreſented than in the words of Homer himſelf.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Il. 〈◊〉 . 595. &c. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

The Second thing obſervable from the words of Homer above cited is the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 given to Vulcan in that and other places of that Poet, which word the Scholiaſt renders by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which muſt not be ſo underſtood, as if he were lame of both Feet at once, but, as I have ſaid, by Vulcan's being Lame, the inequality of the Days and Nights in ſeveral places, according to the various reſpects and diſtances of the Sun is to be underſtood, ſo that this Lameneſs is not of both Feet at once, but of each at different times and ſeaſons, that Leg of Vulcan which is the ſhorteſt in Winter, being in Summer the longeſt with reſpect to the ſame place. Wherefore 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 might have been better Interpreted by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 utroque pede malè affectus, which is true of both Feet at once, with reſpect to their diſproportion, though the ſhort one be only properly ſaid to be Lame, or if you will, he may be ſaid to be Lame on both Feet, becauſe this inequality of Days and Nights, conſidered at equal diſtances on both ſides of the Aequator, makes the one Foot as much too long, as the other is too ſhort, and the Sun according to this Mythological way of ſpeaking, can no where be ſaid to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , perfect in his Limbs, upright and ſteady in his motion, but where and when the Days and Nights are equal.

But to theſe Two things there is alſo a Third to be added, which comes now into my mind, and that is, that in this place of Homer, he is not only called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in which compoſition the Prepoſition 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in conjunction with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , denotes the equal ſplendor and glory of the rayes of the Sun, by which he is, on all ſides environed and encompaſſed.

〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉

So true is it what Macrobius tells us, Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 17. ſpeaking in the perſon of Vettius Praetextatus, who thus replies upon his friend Avienus demanding of him ſome rational account of the ſeveral Names by which Apollo or the Sun was called in the Mythology of the Ancient Heathens, Cave aeſtimes, mi Aviene, Poetarum gregem cùm de Diis Fabulantur, non ab Adytis plerumque Philoſophiae ſemina mutuari, Have a care, Avienus, whatſoever you do, that you be not guilty of ſo great a miſtake, as to think the Poets did not conſult Nature in the Fables which they made concerning the Gods, or that they did not borrow the Firſt Seeds and Principles of all their Mythology from the depths of Philoſophy and from the inmoſt receſſes of Phyſiological Learning. And whoever he is that goes about to explain the Myſteries of the Heathen Fabulous Antiquity without this clue of Nature for his guide, will not only looſe his time and labour, but alſo run himſelf into new and inextricable difficulties, inſtead of explaining or interpreting the old.

Again, as the Cyclops were nothing elſe, as hath been ſhewn, but ſo many Poetical deſcriptions and adumbrations of the Sun, ſo the Shield or Target of Minerva, which by Greek and Latin Authors is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Aegis, and which the Scholiaſt upon Homer ſomewhere calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a piece of Armour of Vulcans making, is nothing elſe but another ſuch Poetical deſcription and Hieroglyphick adumbration of the ſame thing, for firſt of all, this Shield is attributed to Jupiter, and thence it is that in the Greek Poets he hath the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 beſtow'd upon him, to this belongs that place of Virgil Aeneid. 8.

——Arcades ipſum Credunt ſe vidiſſe Jovem, cùm ſaepe nigrantem Aegida concuteret, dextrâ nimboſque cieret.

Where by nigrantem Aegida nothing elſe is meant but the Sun himſelf wrapt up and darkned in Clouds, as appears by the words immediately following, nimboſque c eret; and by Jupiter in this place, not the Sun, but the whole Aether or Sky is underſtood as in the Inſtances already produced. But at other times by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Jupiter, nothing elſe but the Sun is meant, as appears by thoſe Epithets given to him in Homer, of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , all which Epithets are manifeſtly belonging to the Sun, to whoſe exhaling and attracting virtue both the Thunder and the Clouds are owing; and in this ſenſe alſo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is to be underſtood when the ſame Poet calls him 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he being the Principal Inhabitant and as it were Lord of the Aether, and therefore this Epithet or Character, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , belongs in a more peculiar and eminent manner to him, eſpecially conſidering that ſo long as he continues above the Horizon, the Stars are all ſunk into their ſockets, and ſeem to be utterly extinguiſht and put out, ſo that he hath all the Aether to himſelf, and there is no other Luminary to be ſeen in all that vaſt Region of ſubtle matter but he, though ſometimes this Character is likewiſe given to the Earth, which is as manifeſtly, as ſenſibly, and to ſenſe more conſtantly, an Inhabitant of the Aether than he, as in that of Euripides produced by Macrobius, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 23. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And the drift of that Chapter where this paſſage of Euripides is alledged, is to prove that Jupiter and the Sun are the ſame, which is that which I am now about, and in favour of this opinion, he cites that paſſage of Homer at the latter end of is Firſt Iliad,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

The Interpretation of which place in him is very ingenious, but it being long, I ſhall not Tranſcribe it, the thing it ſelf that Jupiter and the Sun are ſometimes the ſame, being already ſufficiently clear, and to this place of Homer he adds another of Plato from his Timaeus where the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 cannot poſſibly bear any other ſignification. In this ſenſe the word Jupiter is plainly to be underſtood in that of Ovid in his Faſti, Vendicat Auſonias Junonis cura Kalendas, Idibus alba Jovi grandior agna cadit.

Where Juno is the Moon, the Wife of Jupiter, and the Queen of Heaven, to whom the Patronage of the Calends belonged, they being computed from her Renovation, at leaſt Antiently they were ſo, before the Intercalary Days were added to the Roman Month, though Juno or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſometimes ſignifies more than this, it ſignifies not only the Moon, but all the ſublunary Region, or more particularly the Atmoſphere, which we Inhabit, which is the reaſon of the frequent quarrels that happen in the Poets betwixt Jupiter and Juno, becauſe Juno is the Region of Clouds, and Storms, and Tempeſts, by which Jupiter, that is, the Liquid Aether, in which the Atmoſphere ſwims, is, as it were, ruffled and diſcompoſed, and by which the Sun is frequently darkned and obſcured. And as Juno in this place of Ovid is the Moon, ſo is Jupiter the Sun, to whoſe illumination the Ides, that is, the Full Moon is owing, and therefore to him they then Sacrificed a White Lamb, whoſe Whiteneſs was an Emblem of the Day of which the Sun is Lord and Maſter, and for the ſame reaſon the Flamen Dialis, or Prieſt of Jupiter was uſed to wear a White Hat; they are the words of Varro cited by Agellius, who alſo confirms this obſervation of the White Sacrifices being Offered to Jupiter. Is ſolus Agel. Noct. Att. l. 10. c. 15. (Flamen Dialis) album habet galerum; vel quod maximus eſt, vel quod Jovi immolata hoſtia alba fieri oporteat. And what theſe Authors ſay of Jupiter, that Macrobius affirms of Apollo, that he alſo was appeaſed and Worſhipped with White Sacrifices; where ſpeaking of the firſt riſe of the Ludi Apollinares among the Romans, he ſays, Decemviris praeceptum eſt, ut Graeco Macrob Sa urnal. l. 1. c. 17. ritu hiſce hoſtiis ſacrum ſacerent, Apollini ove aurato & capris duabus albis auratis, Latonae bove feminâ auratâ. and to all this we may add that of Orpheus produced by Macrobius, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . And that of the Oracle of Clarius Apollo in the ſame Author, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . But when it is further ſaid in that place of Homer, which Macrobius alledging Cornificius for his Voucher in it applies to the Sun, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . That all the Gods followed him, by this, ſaith Macrobius, Sidera intelliguntur; quae cum eo ad occaſus ortuſque quotidiano impetu caeli feruntur, eodemque aluntur humore. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 enim dicunt ſidera & ſtellas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , id eſt; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , quod ſemper incurſu ſint, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . where to paſs by his Etymologies, which I matter not, having aſſigned, as I am verily perſwaded, See my diſcourſe of the Tetragrammaton. a much better my ſelf, yet here is a plain confirmation of what I have ſo lately aſſerted, that by the Gods in the place of Homer, the Aetherial concretions of ſubtle matter, whether they be Stars, or other to us inviſible conſiſtencies are to be underſtood, and ſo alſo in the place of Plato produced by Macrobius out of the Timaeus, as nothing elſe but the Sun can poſſibly be underſtood by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as hath been already declared, ſo it is every whit as clear that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he means nothing but the Stars; his words are theſe, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, Jupiter the great Captain of the Heavenly hoſt, ſitting in, and driving himſelf his flying Chariot or Caleſh, leads the Eternal Dance or March of Heaven, ordering and diſpoſing all things as ſeems beſt to himſelf, and being followed by an Army or Hoſt of Gods and Daemons. where it is not only moſt evident what Macrobius immediately ſubjoynes: His verbis magnum in caelo ducem ſolem vult ſub appellatione Jovis intelligi, alato curru velocitatem ſideris monſtrans. But it is every whit as undenyable that the Gods and Daemons that follow him, can be nothing but the Stars, and other ſubtle concretions of Caeleſtial Bodies, and the expreſſion is remarkable, and is another inſtance how converſant Plato was in the Eaſtern Learning, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is plainly the Language of the Scripture it ſelf, Gen. 2. 1. The Heavens and the Earth were finiſhed and all the Hoſt of them. in the Hebrew, col Tſebaam. the Seventy, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . but it would be more exactly rendred in the Language of Plato 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , all their Army; though 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 be here intended by the Seventy to ſignifie the order of an Army in their March, which is otherwiſe more properly, as well in March as in Battalia called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the Art of doing it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and many other places of Scripture there are that are too numerous to bear a repetition, and too well known to need it, wherein the Sun Moon, and Stars are called the Hoſt of Heaven, but all that I take notice from it is that the Phraſe of Plato is of Eaſtern growth, and that this is a new confirmation that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Stars are to be underſtood; but yet notwithſtanding it is not without ſomething of impropriety that the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are here joyned together by Plato, as if they were the ſame thing, for as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the Language of theſe Ancient Writers did properly fignifie an Aetherial ſubſtance endued with life a d underſtanding, ſo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is an Aerial, whoſe place of abode is much inferior to the other, being in the Air or Atmoſphere, and parts nearer adjoyning and bordering to the Earth, and therefore Poſſidonius in Macrobius endeavours to excuſe it, by ſuppoſing that even the Daemons have ſomething of the Aether mixt and incorporated into their Airy Vehicles, though not ſo pure, or of ſo fine a conſiſtence, or in ſo great a proportion; the words of Macrobius are, Nomen autem Demonum cùm Deorum appellatione conjungit; aut quia Dii ſunt 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , id eſt, ſcientes futuri, aut ut Poſſidonius ſcribit in libris quibus titulus eſt 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quia ex Aetheriâ ſubſtantiâ parta atque diviſa qualitas illis eſt. And then follow ſome very ſilly Etymologies which I think much to Tranſcribe; this which hath been already mentioned by Macrobius, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , being certainly falſe, though I perceive the Greeks are generally very fond of it, for want of ſufficient skill in their own Language. For 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is qu. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 terra, as v. noſ. ſuprâ p. 366. ut & in diatribâ de Tetragrammato. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the ſame with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is otherwiſe called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 terra, is as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſignifying properly the rent of Land, the Land being conſidered as the Principle and the Rent as the Ʋſe accuring from it, and other inſtances there are which it is needleſs to mention; to conclude this matter, the ſame ſort of beings are otherwiſe called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Heroes, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which is the region of the Air to which they are confined, and Heſiod deſcribing them gives them expreſly this Character, that they are clothed with Airy Vehicles, and that at all times and in all places, they are perpetually hovering about the Earth, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And ſo alſo Apollonius deſcribes the Nereides or Sea Nymphs, which are converſant in and about the Water, as theſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are about the Land, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , like to or Clothed with Vehicles of Air, as being moſt ſuitable and congenerous to the Region of the Atmoſphere to which they are confined.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Apollon. Argonau . l. 4. v. 945, &c. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And theſe Demons or Nymphs whether by Land or Sea, were not ſuppoſed to wander all about by perpetual long Journies and uncertain motions, but were fixed and determined to a certain place, and were as certain inhabitants of it, as the Men of any Town or City are known to be, and therefore the ſame Apollonius calls them 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the inhabiting Daemons; where taking his leave of the Iſland of Electra, which the Ib. l. 1. v. 919, &c. Scholiaſt Interprets of Samothrace, and ſpeaking of the Religious Myſteries there in uſe, he ſays,

—— 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And ſuch Daemons as theſe by the Latins, are ſometimes called Penates, perhaps from the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , (as Pampinus is thought to be from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and pubes from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) and by the Greeks otherwiſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and G. J. Voſſ. de permut. lit. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; and beſides theſe there were alſo the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the underground or ſubterraneous Daemons, as the other with reſpect to the whole Earth, not reguarding any particular place, to which they belonged were called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and theſe as well as the other were Aerial Daemons too, having Bodies or Vehicles made of the ſubterraneous Vapour, or of the Element of Tartarus which was ſuppoſed to be of an Aerial conſiſtence, but withal Dark, Gloomy, and Stagnant, never refined or rarified by the preſence of the Sun, or any other Heavenly body, and this was the true notion of Tarratus, it was a Dark and Gloomy Hemiſphere on the other ſide of the Earth, of an 〈◊〉 conſiſtence, which is the reaſon Homer expreſly gives it the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the im •• iration of unfortunate and tormented 〈◊〉 , and of equal capacity and extent with this enlightened Hemiſphere which we Inhabit. This is plainly and undeniably the ſenſe of Homers words where he gives us a deſcription of it, in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . where Jupiter ſeverely threatening any of the Gods that without his conſent or privity ſhould offer to aſſiſt or take part either with the Greeks or Trojans, ſays,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And that this is indeed the true meaning of Tartarus in the ſenſe of the Ancients, is not only plain from the words themſelves, but is ſtill further vouched by the opinion of the Scholiaſt concerning them, which is expreſſed in theſe following words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, By this the Poet ſignifies that the World is a Sphere, of which the Earth is the Centre, and that the ſtrait lines drawn from it on both ſides from the circumference are equal. And again, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, As the Heaen or the upper Hemiſphere is divided into Three parts or regions, there is the regio of Aire, extending to the Clouds, and that of Aether to the Stars, and then the Starry Region it ſelf, ſo it is alſo in the ſubterraneous ſpace, firſt there is the body of the Earth it ſelf, and then there is Hades, (which this Author makes to be as it were the Atmoſphere to the neither Surface of the Earth,) and all behind is Tartarus.

Moreover Macrobius having alledged that place of Homer concerning Jupiters going to Supper in the Ocean, to prove that Jupiter and the Sun are the ſame, which is alſo ſtill further confirmed by what he ſaith of the Aſſyrians that they Worſhipped the Sun, ſub nomine Jovis calling him by the Name of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and at the end of the ſame Chapter by a paſſage cited out of the Orphaick Verſes, wherein Jupiter, Bacchus, and the Sun are affirmed to be the ſame, and he is alſo expreſly affirmed to be the Father and maker of all things, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Yet as hath been ſhewn already, he does not ſo obſtinately ſtick to his ſenſe of the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as to reſtrain it wholly within that compaſs, and to allow it no other ſignification, for in that fragment which he produces out of ſome Ancient Writer, whoſe name he hath not acquainted us with,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

It is manifeſt that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 not the Sun it ſelf, but the whole Aether is to be underſtood, of which the Sun is here called the Eye, and in this ſenſe it was that the Sun is called the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Shield of Jupiter, taking Jupiter for the Aether, and this Aegis or Shield, was ſaid to be made of the Skin of the capra Amalthea, or Amalthean Goat, which was only a Symbolical or Aenigmatical deſCription of the Aether, which is, as I have ſaid, the cauſe of all plenty and fruitfulneſs in the Univerſe, for the Goat by reaſon of its Milk, and of the delicacy and nutritive Nature of its Fleſh, and of the uſefulneſs of its Skin and Hair for Clothing, was a very proper Emblem of Plenty, and the Addition of Amalthea to it makes it more, for Male in Hebrew ſignifies plenum eſſe, and millah or millath is plenitudo, and from thence there is no Queſtion but the word Amalthea is derived, and the true meaning of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or copiae cornu, after all the Fabulous repreſentations of the Greeks and Latins concerning it, is nothing elſe but a ray of the Sun, which rayes diffuſe Plenty and Fruitfulneſs whereſoever they come, for Keren in Hebrew ſignifies an Horn, and perhaps it might alſo ſignifie, though we have no ſuch ſignification now extent in our Bibles, a ray of the Sun, for Karan derived from it, ſignifies lucere, and thence the Greeks uſed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for the ſame thing, though this ſignification was afterwards loſt in a Fable, and they were ignorant, as of the Original of many other things which they borrowed from the Eaſt, ſo alſo of this; but to make it ſtill more evident that by the capra Amalthea, the Aether is to be underſtood, and conſequently that by that Shield which was made of her Skin we are to underſtand the Sun, I will here produce a fragment of the Orphaick Verſes cited by Saturn. l. 1. c. 18. Macrobius, where he ſpeaks as that Author words it, De ornatu veſtituque ſolis in ſacris Liberalibus, which will put the matter out of Queſtion, for there among other Ornaments of the Sun, he aſſigns him as a Garment, the Skin of a ſpotted Deer, which for all the reaſons above mentioned, may be as proper an Emblem of Plenty as the other, and over and above by reaſon of the nimbleneſs and agility of both theſe Animals, the reſtleſs Activity and Swiftneſs of the ſubtle matter of the Heavens might be ſignified, the words of the real or pretended Orpheus are,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

That is, that the Sun was firſt to be Clothed with a Vail of a Purple, or Azure or Flame colour, like to his bright and ſplendid rayes and over that to wear the broad and motley Skin of an Hind or Deer full of Spots on the Right Shoulder, which he tells us in the very next words was, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

An Imitation or Emblem of the Stars and the Heavens.

This Shield of his, Jupiter is afterwards ſaid to have given to Minerva, upon which ſhe clapped the Head of Meduſa, otherwiſe called the Gorgon's Head, which whoever beheld was immediately petrifi'd or converted into Stone, and this Shield of Jupiter or Minerva thus ordered and circumſtanced according to this latter deſcription, is thus repreſented and ſet forth by Virgil in the Eighth of his Aeneids,

Aegidaque horrificam turbatae Palladis arma, Certatim ſquamis ſerpentum auro que polibant, Connexoſ que angues, ipſum que in pectore Divae Gorgona, deſecto vertentem lumina collo.

The meaning of all which, which is without controverſie to be Interpreted in a Phyſiological way, is this, Minerva is the ſame with Jupiter, as that word is ſometimes taken, that is, the ſame with the Aether or ſubtle matter of the Heavens, and in this I perceive all the expoſitors are generally agreed, though I owe not mine own opinion to any of them, which is the greater Argument of its truth, when I concur ſo exactly with them without conſulting any of them before hand. But yet I wonder how it came to paſs, that the Learned writer of the intellectual Syſtem, who ſeems to be extravagantly fond at every turn of a Trinity, notwithſtanding, as I have proved elſewhere, he hath made it his buſineſs to undermine and overthrow it, ſhould in Minerva ſmell a Second Hypoſtaſis, and out of her in conjunction with Jupiter and Juno, ſhould be able to make out ſo plainly and ſo fully that the Romans had a Trinity, though he has none. The Firſt Intell. System. p. 451. of theſe Divine Hypoſtaſes called Jove, being the fountain of the Godhead, and the Second of them called by the Latins, Minerva (which as Varro Interprets, was that wherein Ideae & exempla rerum, the Ideas and firſt exemplars or patterns of things were contained) fitly expreſſing the Divine Logos, and the Third Juno, called amor ac delicium Jovis, well enough Anſwering, as De Theol. Gent. l. 8. c. 12. Voſſius thinks, to the Divine Spirit.

For if Jupiter and Minerva are both of them exactly the ſame, then they cannot make Two ſeveral and diſtinct Hypoſtaſes in the pretended Trinity of Pagan Rome, a thing ſo utterly fantaſtick, and depending upon no Ground or Colour, or ſo much as ſhadow of reaſon, that this alone might be enough to blaſt the Reputation of any leſs Celebrated Author, but aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus, it is the priviledge of great Men to doat when they pleaſe.

It is true indeed St. Auſtin makes a manifeſt diſtinction betwixt Jupiter and Minerva, repreſenting Minerva as the uppermoſt, and Jupiter as the inferior and lower St. Aug. de Civ. D. l. 4. c. 10. part of the Aether, in theſe words, Si Aetheris partem ſuperiorem Minerva tenere dicitur & hâc occaſione fingere poetas, quod de Jovis capite nata ſit, cur non ergo ipſa potius deorum Regina deputatur, quod ſit Jove ſuperior? but I ſhall prove by and by, that in this notion St. Auſtin and thoſe from whom he had it were palpably miſtaken, however if it be admitted for true, and if we ſuppoſe alſo, what hath been already proved, and what Cicero and St. Auſtin v. Loc. Augustini & Ciceronis cit. Intel Syst. p. 493. do alſo expreſly affirm, that by Juno the Aire or Atmoſphere is to be underſtood, from hence there reſults a Trinity not of Divine perſons, but a Manichean compoſition of intergral parts, which I hope, the Doctor upon ſecond thoughts, will not maintain to be good Chriſtian Doctrine, and I am ſure the Romans never drea •• of Ib. p. 151. any ſuch thing But when he is pleaſed to tell us out of Varro, that Minerva was that wherein Ideae & exempla rerum, The Ideas and firſt exemplars and patterns of things were contained. This agrees exactly well with that notion of Minerva which I pretend to eſtabliſh; and that is, that by Minerva nothing elſe is meant, but the ſubtle matter in general, which I have already ſhe 〈◊〉 to be ſometimes the meaning of Jupiter in Mythological Writers, and in which the firſt Ideas and patterns of things may very reaſonably ſeem to have been drawn, as I See my Epiſt Ded, before the Diſcourſe of the Meſſias; 〈◊〉 144, 145, 146. have elſewhere more largely repreſented, and am very glad after having formerly alledged the Authority of Seneca, to find alſo ſo great a Man as Varro, who was thought by Cicero, a very good Judge to deſerve the Name of Doct •• ſimus Romanorum, ſo favourable and propitious to my opinion.

But this will be further made out by conſidering firſt the Epithet which is in Homer given to Minerva, of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and ſecondly, the Name by which the Greeks are uſed to call her, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . For the Firſt, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is as much as caeſios, or caeruleos oculos habens, which refers to the A ure colour of the S y, or Aether which will be ſtill more clear, by reflecting upon ſome other Epithets, which are beſtowed upon other perſonated parts of the Univerſe by Homer, and which are all to be Interpreted in a Phyſiological way, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Juno, that is, the Aire or Atmoſphaerical Region, is by the ſame Poet called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , white Elbow'd, or white Armed, not only becauſe this is in it ſelf a beauty, and therefore is in general aſcribed to any fair and Beautiful Woman, but alſo becauſe the appearance of the Aire in a fair and ſerene Day is white, and if we compare the whole Univerſe, as Homer does in theſe Epithets to an Organized body, Minerva is the Eye, as being the uppermoſt, and the ſeat and Region of the Stars, and Juno is the Hand or Arme, being ſeated betwixt the Head and the Foot, and Thetis or the Sea, being lowermoſt, is the Foot, from whence ſhe hath the Epithet in Homer of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or Silver footed, and the Earth in Heſiod is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or broad Breaſted, not ſo much by reaſon of its Situation in the Univerſe, conſidered as Organical, as for another Phyſiological reaſon, becauſe the Earth is the Dea Multimammia of Antiquity, ſhe that gives Food and nouriſhment to all things, and who e Breaſts are, as it were ſucked, by all the Animal World.

Further, Juno is not only called in Homer, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but alſo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 I do not meddle, that not being to be expounded to any Phyſiological meaning, but being only the general Epithet of a grave and venerable Matron. The Firſt of theſe Two Epithets is given her, not only becauſe in general, large Eyes were, as they are ſtill, accounted a Beauty in Greece, which is the uſe of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in compoſition to ſignifie largeneſs and exceſs, as in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but alſo becauſe the Sun and Moon in their riſing and ſetting by the refraction of the Atmoſphere appear uſually larger than at other times, or if this will not paſs, as I am not very much concerned whether it do or no, yet 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 does certainly refer to the ſetting Sun, when the Sky by refraction uſually appears redder than at other times, and for the ſame reaſon becauſe of the more than uſual redneſs of the Suns appearance at his riſing, the Morning in Homer, that is that part of the Atmoſphere which borders neareſt upon the riſing Sun, is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 roſie Fingered, for if the Atmoſphere, as hath been ſhewn, be compared to the Arme of the Univerſe conſidered as Organical, then the Horizon is the Finger of that Arme. Now that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſitting or lying upon a Golden Couch or Seat, is the Phyſiological Epithet of the Atmoſphere next adjoyning to the ſetting Sun, will appear from the place of Homer where it is uſed, at the end of his firſt Iliad,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And for the ſame reaſon the Morning ſeaſon in Latin is called Aurora, qu. aurea Hora, according to the common Etymon, which when I compare it with this Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 given to Juno in Homer, I believe to be the true one, from the more than ordinary brightneſs and refulgency of the Atmoſphere at that time. From this place of Homer there are alſo two other things to be obſerved, Firſt, That by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is manifeſtly underſtood the Sun, to whom he gives the Epithets of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And ſo it is alſo no leſs clearly to be underſtood in another place already cited, though that reflection were not made upon it. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

For that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , cannot refer to the Aether which is every where preſent, in which ſenſe it was that Aratus ſaid,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

It muſt therefore refer to the Sun, who is the great and diſtant inhabitant of the Aether and who was Worſhipped by antiquity under a Thouſand names as the Supream Numen.

Secondly, From this place of Homer we may obſerve one of thoſe reaſons, for which Antiquity made Juno or the Atmoſphere to be the Wife of Jupiter or the Sun, becauſe ſhe lies by him every Night, as Juno in this place of Homer is repreſented to do, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But there is alſo another reaſon of this Fiction among the Ancients, and that is, that the Region within the Atmoſphere is the Region and Seat of Generation, in which becauſe the Suns influence hath ſo great and principal a ſhare, and the Atmoſphere is ſo neceſſary, as well to the production, as ſuſtentation and maintenance of thoſe Animals, that are to be met with in it, therefore Jupiter is ſaid to be the Husband of Juno, who accordingly ſetteth out every Morning, freſh and luſty as a Bridegroom, and rejoyceth as a Gyant to run his courſe.

And as theſe are the Phyſiological Epithets of the ſeveral parts of the Univerſe conſidered aſunder, ſo all of them conſidered together at one view, are called ſometimes Pan, at others Proteus, Thetis, and Jupiter. Pan is the Ʋniverſal nature conſidered together, as it were, in a lump, without diſtinction of parts. Proteus is the ſame nature differently modified, and putting on ſeveral ſhapes in ſeveral parts and Species of the Univerſe; ſo Homer ſaith of him Odyſſ. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . in theſe words,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And the ſame things are affirmed of him by Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and Silius Italicus, whoſe Teſtimonies it is needleſs to inſert, all which is very wiſely and skilfully accommodated by Orpheus in his Hymns to the Ʋniverſal nature, putting on, as I have ſaid, ſeveral ſhapes and colours, and appearances in ſeveral parts and Species of the World; his words are as follows,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

The ſame is alſo the true Interpretation of Thetis, how that ſhe might avoid the Marriage of Peleus, (And in another place the ſame Apollodorus ſhe is ſaid to have done the ſame to avoid the congreſſion of Jupiter himſelf, his words are, l. 1. c. 3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .) diſdaining as it ſeems, to ſubmit to any mortal Embraces, is ſaid to have concealed her ſelf under ſeveral ſhapes, as of Fire and Water, and different ſorts of Animals, they are the words of Apollodorus, l. 3. c. 12. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . that is, There are ſome ſay that Thetis being 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 H 〈◊〉 unde •• Juno. the Air being in 〈◊〉 tion ſuperiour to the Wa er, by which the Communication of Jupiter or the pure Aether was intercepted.—v. Natal. Com. Mythol. l. 8. c. 2. bred up by Juno, would by no means 〈◊〉 perſwaded to the enjoyment of Jupiter, at which Jupiter being very angry was reſolved to Marry her to a Mortal, wherefore Pe eus being inſtructed by Chiron how to catch her, and wacthing her narrowly through all her ſhapes, at length apprehends her, for ſhe was ſometimes hid in the appearance of Fire, ſometimes in that of Water, and at others in that of ſome Animal or other, but Peleus never left her till ſhe returned to her own proper ſhape again, which was that of a fair Nymph or Goddeſs of the Sea. This is the ſenſe of what Apulejus ſaith concerning the Goddeſs Iſis, whom he repreſents, though Macrobius ſomewhere Interprets it only of the Earth, as another Name or Emblem of the Univerſal Nature. Cujus Numen unicum, multiformi Apul. M tam. l. 12. ſpecie, ritu vario, nomine multijugo otus veneratur orbis, whoſe ſingle (but Univerſal and Omnipreſent Deity) is worſhipped by the whole World, in ſeveral ſhapes and ſpecies, by ſeveral Names, and after ſeveral manners. Laſtly, the Univerſal Nature is ſometimes repreſented, as changing it ſelf into all ſhapes and appearances under the Name and Perſon of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Jupiter; as in theſe paſſages of Aeſchylus in the Grotian excerpta.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And again,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But yet it is in different ſenſes that the Univerſal Nature is repreſented by the Ancients under theſe Three Names of Proteus, Thetis, and Jupiter. It is called Proteus, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as being the Firſt cauſe of all things, for which reaſon it was that Orpheus in the Verſes above cited, alluding to his Name gives 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, in the ſenſe of that Ancient Poet, not firſt Begotten, but firſt Exiſting and in this ſenſe he is ſaid to put on ſeveral ſhapes, as diſplaying himſelf in ſeveral effects of his Wiſdom, Power, and Goodneſs, and as many ſuch effects as there are, more numberleſs than the Stars of Heaven, or the Sands of the Sea ſhore, which all of them put together make but a ſmall and inconſiderable parcel of this immenſe diverſity, ſo many are the ſhapes, colours, appearances and forms of this Mythological Proteus.

Again, When the Catholick or Univerſal Nature is ſhadowed out under the Name of Thetis, who is repreſented as putting on ſo many ſeveral ſhapes and appear ances, Thetis in this caſe does not ſignifie as in the other of Proteus, the efficient cauſe or the cauſa per quam, but the cauſa ex quâ or the cauſa materialis, the Ʋniverſal Maſs out of which this vaſt diverſity of Innumerable Kinds and Species was formed, for Thetis is the Feminine of the Aegyptian or Alexandrian 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or as Euſebius frequently expreſſes it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , all which are from the Hebrew Tohu, a word by which in the Moſaick account of the Creation and Origin of things, the chaos or Univerſal Maſs is denoted, which 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as I have ſaid (Diſcourſe of Tetragram. ) elſewhere, is nothing elſe but choſhek, or darkneſs becauſe it is ſaid in that ſtate of things that there was choſhek hal phnei Tehom, darkneſs upon the face of the Abyſs. And therefore in a fragment of Ariſtophanes preſerved by Lucian and by Suidas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are made in a manner Synonymous to one another,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And a little after he gives 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , where ſpeaking of Love, he ſays,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

For as chaos is from choſhek, ſignifying darkneſs, ſo does hereb ſignifie that confuſion and blindneſs which is occaſioned by it, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as it ſeems to me, is from nous, fugit, becauſe all things then vaniſh and diſappear. But at other times the Greeks not underſtanding the true meaning and original of theſe words, and having by length of time, and by Poetical ſophiſtications corrupted the Tradition, which was, as it is repreſented in the writings of Moſes, that there was once a time when this beautiful Fabrick and Structure of the Univerſe was a ruinous and confuſed heap, overwhelmed with darkneſs and inanimate ſilence, they made theſe ſeveral words which ſignifie the ſame thing, to be as it were perſons deſcending from each other, as Heſiod tells us that Chaos begat Erebus and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and Erebus in conjunction together, begat between them the Aether and the Day, which is nothing elſe but a plain Interpolation of the ſacred Story, which makes the Night always as being prior to it in order of time, to preceed the Day, and makes the Day or the Light to have reſulted, from the ſeparation of the ſubtle parts of the Chaos from the more groſs and heavy; the words of Heſiod in his Theogonie are,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And ſuch another place as this is that of L. 3. de N. D. Cicero, where after other diſcourſe the connexion of which it is needleſs here to reguard, ſpeaking of Saturne, he ſays, Qui ſi eſt Deus, patrem quoque ejus Caelum eſſe Deum confitendum eſt. Quod ſi ità eſt, Caeli quoque parentes Dii habendi ſunt, Aether & Dies, eorumque fratres & ſorores: qui à Genealogis antiquis ſic nominantur, Anor, Dolus, Metus, Labor, Invidentia, Fatum, Senectus, Mors, Tenebrae, Miſeria, Querela, Gratia, Fraus, Pertinacia, Parcae, Heſperides, Somnia: quos omnes Erebo & Nocte natos ferunt. The true meaning of which, to put this Mythological and Myſtical way of talking into a plainer dreſs, is this, that night and darkneſs as the Moſaick account does ſufficiently aſſure us, was Superiour or antecedent to light or day that out of the Dark and Gloomy Chaos, the more ſubtle and volatil particles being ſeparated, the Aether or the Day began to appear, and that the Brothers and Siſters, that is, the Companions, the Objects, the perpetual entertainment of both Day and Night are all theſe paſſions and accidents of Life, Amor Dolus, Metus, Labor, &c. or in the language of Juvenal,

Quicquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas,

Gundia, diſcurſus.

Further that by Thetis we are to underſtand the Univerſal and primigenial Maſs, and that it is no other than the Aegyptian Thoth or the Tohu, will be ſtill more clear by reflecting upon Tethys, which differs only by a Metatheſis from the other, or rather by the change of of an aſpirate for a lene in both places, than which there is no ſort of permutation more familiar or more eaſie, and that Tethys is the ſame with Toth or Thoth or Tohu, I prove very plainly from this, that at ſometimes in Ancient Writers it is taken for the Earth in oppoſition to the Sea, as in that of Homer, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Hom. Il. 〈◊〉 . 201, 302.

And ſo alſo in theſe places of Heſiod in his Theogonie,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Heſiod. Theog. p. 258. de Heins. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

And again,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ib. p. 262, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

And ſo alſo the old Scholiaſt upon the place of Homer expounds it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Homer calls the Earth Tethys as being the Tithene, that is, the Nurſe and Foſtermother of all things, that are born or bred upon it, or out of it. Which place of the Scholiaſt is Tranſcribed by Suidas, and the Etymologiſt ſays thus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . which is the ſame thing.

And ſometimes again it is taken no leſs plainly for the Sea in diſtinction from the Earth, as in that of Suidas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for which he produces this fragment of ſome Ancient Greek Poet, or Epigrammatiſt, where it can be taken for nothing elſe,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Videtur hoc quicquid eſt fragmenti decerptum ex veteri quodam Epigrammate 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

So it is alſo expounded by the Etymologiſt, though the place is corrupt, and I will take this occaſion to mend it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 where it is manifeſt that after 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , we muſt inſert, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , otherwiſe from what went before, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 was as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , it is a falſe inference, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. that is, For Water nouriſheth and feedeth all things, or elſe Tethys is taken for the Water, becauſe ſhe is the Miſtreſs or Goddeſs of the moiſt or Watery ſubſtance, by which all things are nouriſhed.

Laſtly, In this ſenſe likewiſe Lucian p. 1050. edit, ut ſuprà plainly takes it in his Tragopodagra, where he alſo alludes to the Etymon of Tithene, which ſeems to have been very generally received among the Greeks,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

In the Latin Poets it is evermore taken in this latter ſenſe, without any one exception that I know of, unleſs it be theſe Two places of Ovid, both of them to be met with in the Fifth of his Faſti,

Duxerat Oceanus quondam Titanida Tethyn.

Qui terram liquidis, quà patet, ambit aquis.

And again a little after,

Pars Bacchum nutriſſe putant: pars credidit eſſe

Tethyos has neptes Oceanique ſenis.

In both of which places Tethys is the Earth, as in the places of Homer and Heſiod above produced. But otherwiſe it is univerſally taken for the Sea or the Watery ſubſtance, as in that of Virgil, Georg. 1.

Teque ſibi generum Tethys emat omnibus undis.

And Lucan, l. 1. Tethyos unda vagae. And l. 6.

Aut vaga cùm Tethys, Rutupinaque littora fervent.

And Silius Italicus. l. 3.

—Luna immiſſis percaerula bigis, Fertque refert que fretum, ſequitur que reciproca Tethys.

Now the true reaſon why Tethys in theſe Ancient Writers is taken ſometimes for the Earth, and at others for the Sea, is becauſe the Hebrew Tohu, or the Aegyptian Thoth from whence it was derived, did ſignifie both of theſe together, the Primigenial Maſs being deſcribed by Moſes as overflown with Water, and as conſiſting of a poachy mixture of Earth and Water together, and any otherwiſe than this it is almoſt impoſſible to conceive, how the ſame word, in the uſage and cuſtom of the ſame Language, ſhould come to fignifie Two things of a Nature ſo different from each other, as Earth and Water.

From whence it was that the Ancient Greeks were uſed to aſcribe the Original of all their Gods, that is, all whether Aetherial or Aerial animated concretions ſometimes, to the chaos, or cohſhek, that is, the univerſal Maſs, where the Aerial, Aetherial, Terreſtrial and Aqueous parts were all of them jumbled in confuſion together, and wrapt up in horrid ſilence and darkneſs, they not only affirming that Chaos was the Firſt and Ancienteſt of all the Gods, as he muſt needs be, if he were the Source and Fountain of them all, according to that known Fragment of Epicharmus,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But expreſly aſſerting that all the Gods were derived from thence, ſo Orpheus ſpeaks in his Hymn of the Night,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Where 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is manifeſtly the ſame with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and confirms what I have already ſaid more than once, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and choſhek are the ſame, and there is no other poſſible Etymology that I can think of, of this word, unleſs it be from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as if it were as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which are both of them defective, the firſt in Analogy, though not in Propriety of ſignification, but the latter in both of theſe reſpects, and that the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of Orpheus is exactly the ſame with what other Authors call the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , may be proved by comparing this Orphaick fragment, with another of Ariſtophanes, part of which hath been already produced, where having firſt ſaid that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Love in conjunction with Chaos, produced the race of Mankind and firſt brought it to light, he then goes on to ſay further, that there were no Gods neither, that is, no Aetherial or Aerial Animated and intelligent concretions, till the ſame Love, by which we are to underſtand, though Ariſtophanes himſelf does not ſeem to have done it, the Supream Numen, or Ʋniverſal Mind endued with infinite goodneſs as well as power, produced and begat them out of the ſame Chaos,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And whereas, I have ſaid above that Ariſtophanes makes all theſe words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to be in a manner Synonymous to one another, it is as much as the thing will bear, or rather I find my ſelf obliged to retract that opinion, becauſe in the words immediately following he makes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Love, though very abſurdly, being as it is, a principle of underſtanding and goodneſs, to have been the offspring of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and Erebus, and that by this the ſeparation of the Heterogeneous parts of the Univerſe was made, which turns exactly to the ſame account, with what hath been above produced out of Heſiod and Tully, which ſhowes plainly, notwithſtanding that the Ancient Greeks were beholden for all theſe things to the Eaſt, their very 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Love, being nothing elſe but a Tranſlation of the Hebrew Rouach with its Epithet Merachepheth in the Writings of Moſes, as well as their Chaos, their Erebus, and their Nox, have been all of them ſhown to be owing to the ſame fountain; yet that they did not underſtand their own Traditions, and were ignorant from whence they had them.

Furthermore, Ovid likewiſe as well as Epicharmus affirms Chaos to have been the Ancienteſt and Firſt of all the Gods, where ſpeaking of Janus, whom in the foregoing Treatiſe, I have ſhewn to be the ſame with Time, which is meaſured by certain ſhanoth or reiterated and repeated Periods of duration, Janus thus ſpeaks concerning himſelf, Fast. l. 1. Me Chaos Antiqui (nam ſum res priſca) vocabant Accipe quam longi temporis acta canam.

And if he be the Ancienteſt of all the Gods, as time is coextended to Eternity it ſelf, then it follows plainly according to the ſenſe of the Ancients, who confounded time, and the Chaos, whoſe duration was meaſured by it, together, that all other things whether Gods or Men, or of what other ſort or kind ſoever, muſt have a dependance upon him as their firſt cauſe and principle of exiſtence, ſo that it is no wonder to hear the ſame Ovid ſoon after aſcribing omnipotence to his Chaos or Janus, for this is one ſenſe of his words, Quicquid ubique vides, caelum, mare, nubila, terras, Omnia ſunt noſtrâ cláuſa patentque manu.

And again a little after that,

Praeſideo foribus caeli cum mitibus horis Et redit officio Jupiter itque meo.

Though I confeſs there is alſo another ſenſe of theſe words; in the former diſtich, that, time is the meaſure of all things as to their duration, and in what ſenſe they may be ſaid to be ſhut and opened by him ſhall be hereafter explained. In the Second, that time is meaſured and diſtinguiſhed by certain ſeaſons ſilently and inſenſibly gliding away, Praeſideo foribus caeli cum mitibus horis

And that Jupiter or the Sun by whom theſe ſeaſons are diſtinguiſhed, is the Miniſter, and is, as it were, ſent every day and hour upon the errant of time, Et redit officio Jupiter itque meo.

Which is another confirmation of what hath been already ſufficiently proved, that Jupiter among the Latins, as well as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 among the Greeks, was frequently taken for the body of the Sun.

To conclude this diſcourſe concerning ſome of the Ancients making Chaos to have been the firſt ſource and Origin of all things; notwithſtanding the great ſimilitude or rather ſameneſs of ſound, between the Hebrew Hereb and the Greek Erebus, yet when we conſider that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in theſe Authors ſignified the moſt perfect, the moſt black, and pitchy Darkneſs, whence it had the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 aſſigned by them as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is for the ſame reaſon called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or black, whereas Hereb ſignifies rather the Twilight or crepuſculum than the Night, which is moſt properly in Hebrew called Lajelah; this might be enough to ſhake the ſolidity of this Etymon, not withſtandit hath been ſo generally received by Learned Men, eſpecially when we conſider that when the Paſſover is commanded to be Killed ben haharbaim between the Two Evenings, one of thoſe Evenings begins immediately after Twelve a Clock, upon the firſt declenſion of the Sun towards the Horizon, and the other at Six in the Afternoon, which, at ſometimes of the Year eſpecially, is ſufficiently light; were it not in behalf of this Etymon to be conſidered, Firſt, That though Hereb do ſometimes ſignifie the firſt declenſion of the Sun, and the firſt approach of that which we are uſed to call the Evening, yet that ſometimes Hereb was taken for the whole Night, appears by the general diviſion of the whole 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Geneſis into Hereb and Boker, the Evening and the Morning, which are ſaid to have been the Firſt, the Second and the Third Day, and ſo on, by which it is manifeſt, that as by Boker or Morning in this diviſion of the Day, we are to underſtand all the time of the Suns continuance above the Horizon, ſo by the Hereb or Evening, the whole time of his continuance under it, is to be underſtood; and this appears further by the Name of Horeb derived from it, by which word the Hebrews are uſed to ſignifie a Crow from its blackneſs, and from hence perhaps is the Latin orbus, and orbo, and orbitas, becauſe perſons in this circumſtance and condition were uſed to put on Mourning or Black, though the Romans did not attend to any ſuch Etymology.

But admitting that Hereb does indeed ſignifie not the pich Darkneſs, but the doubtful crepuſculum, or the glimmering Twilight, yet this will well enough comport with the true and genuin notion of Erebus, though the Greeks and Latins did not underſtand it, for in the Chaos the Aetherial and Volatil and the more groſs and heavy parts lay mixt and jumbled in great confuſion and diſorder together, which Volatil parts neither were, nor could be ſo wholly ſeparated and disjoyned from each other, but that getting ſometimes together, as it happened, by raſh and uncertain motions, and in uncertain quantities and proportions, they did all on their parts, which was requiſite to produce that, which we call a Twilight, had there been then any Animal in being, or any Eye rightly Organized and prepared to diſcern it, or to be duly moved and affected by it, but it was ſuch a Twilight as by the uncertain motion of the other fluid matter of a more groſs and faeculent conſiſtence, would ever and anon be extinguiſht and oppreſt, and by as uncertain cauſes revive and blaze out again, like a Candle juſt upon the point of going out in the Socket, which is in a manner extinguiſht, and then of a ſudden recruits, and ſhines out again with a freſh and Strugling Light, according as the Tallow aſcending too powerfully into the Wick, is too hard for the Aetherial matter, or as that Aetherial matter very nigh extinguiſht and expelled, returns with new force, and by attenuating and rarifying that Floud of moyſture, turns it into nouriſhment and fewel for the Flame, inſtead of deſtroying and oppreſſing it, as before—

At other times thoſe Ancient Writers aſſigned the Original of all things, as well Gods, as Men, and all other Animated concretions and ſubſtances whatever, not to the Chaos at large, but to the Moiſt and Watery part of it, as the Scripture makes the firſt ſeparation of the diſordered and confuſed parts of the Maſs, and the firſt vital impreſſions communicated to the matter, to have happened from the Spirit v. Intell. Syſt. p. 123, 124. of Gods moving upon the face of the Waters, whence Thales, and after him Anaxagoras derived their opinion, who affirmed the firſt principle of all things to have been Water, Animated and Enlivened by a Mind or Soul, running through and coextended to it, and to this we muſt refer that Verſe of Homer, which hath been already produced, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Upon which place the Scholiaſt makes this obſervation, that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , we muſt underſtand 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Father of the Gods. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . becauſe ſome Phyſiologers have repreſented Water as the Firſt Element, from which the other Three were derived, whence Pindar ſaid, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that Water was the beſt, as being the Firſt of all things. This was the true reaſon why Venus, who is by the Greeks upon that account called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 was ſuppoſed to be born of the Spume of the Sea, for by Venus nothing elſe was meant but the prolifick Life and Power of the Univerſe, which by theſe Antient Phyſiologers was ſuppoſed to ariſe out of the Watery ſubſtance or the Fluid matter, which they looked upon to be the firſt ſource and principle of Generation and Vegetation in the World, and ſo alſo Priapus whoſe exceſſive great Pudendum was but an Emblem of the plaſtick Virtue, or Generative power of Nature, was not only worſhipped in Fields and Gardens, (whence I have conjectured his Etymology to be pri ab, the Father of Fruits, as all the productions of Nature may in ſome ſenſe be called, which I take to be much more Natural than thoſe Etymologies which the Scholiaſt upon Theocritus hath preſented us withal, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . both which are manifeſtly very frigid and farfecht Interpretations) but alſo in Ports and by the Sea ſide, whence by the Greek Epigrammatiſts he had the Epithets given him, of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and v. Dempſter in Roſin. l. 2. c. 20. ut & Voſſ. de Idolol. l. 2. c. 7. Nat. Com. l. 5. c. 20. p. 521. fuit Portus Priapi nomine propè Dardaniam, & urbs ad mare ſita, quibus in locis eximiè Priapus celebratur. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the like, examples of which have been collected out of the Anthology by Dempſter upon Roſinus, which was but another Hieroglyphick adumbration of this Ancient Tradition, that all things did at firſt ariſe and ſpring from the Water.

Further yet, Venus, who at ſome times was ſaid to be born out of the Water, and for that reaſon was called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , was at others affirmed to have been born at Cyprus, and from thence had the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as Jupiter was fabled to be born at Crete, and Apollo at Delos, all Three of them Iſlands encompaſſed by, and as it were, riſing out of the Water, which was but another Emblematical repreſentation of the ſame thing that Venus or the prolifick Nature, was born of the Moiſt and Watery Subſtance, or that all things ſprang from thence, and that Apollo and Jupiter, by both of which the Sun is underſtood, or the Aetherial matter of the Heavens, were made what they are, by the ſeparation of thoſe ſubtle particles, of which they conſiſt, from the Moiſt and Watery Subſtance of the Abyſs or Chaos, which was overwhelmed with Waters; and for the ſame reaſon Priapus whom I have affirmed to be another Emblem of the Prolifick power of Nature, (and thence it was that an Aſs was uſed to be Sacrificed to him, as being furniſhed with Genitals of a more than ordinary ſize), was ſaid to have been born at Lampſacus or Lampſacum on the bank of the Helleſpont, and by the Waters ſide, but for Priapus being the Son of Bacchus and Venus which is another thing that Nat. Com. ubi ſuprà. Alii Priapum, Bachi & Veneris filium fuiſſe crediderunt, quia vinum propter calorem excitet libidinem. is Fabled concerning him, nothing elſe is meant by it, but that Concupiſence is provoked by Wine.

This notion ſeems ſomewhat to be favoured by Macrobius, though the ſenſe of his words be not altogether the ſame, where ſpeaking of Apollo and Diana, who were both of them by the Poets feigned to be born at Delos, he ſays, proptereà in inſulâ Macrob. Saturn. l. 1. c. 17. dicuntur nati, quod ex mari nobis oriri videntur, that is, Apollo and Diana, or the Sun and Moon, are therefore ſaid to have been born in an Iſland, becauſe they ſeem, to ſenſe, to riſe out of the Sea, but as for what follows, though it be ingenious, Macrob. ubi ſuprà. yet I cannot altogether acquieſce in it, Haec inſula ideo Delos vocatur, quia ortus & quaſi partus luminum omnia facit 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , id eſt, aperta, clareſcere; much leſs can Lloyd. Lex. Georg. & Poet. p. 354. 2. in voce. I ſatisfie my ſelf with the reaſon given by others, that Delos was, Sic dicta 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , quod cùm antà mari tecta eſſet, Latonae locum ad pariendum quaerenti, repentè ſe oſtenderit, nor with Bochartus his account neither, who would have it be from the Syriack, Dachal, Timor, for this far fetcht reaſon becauſe there is a Poet that tells us, though that Poet himſelf or at leaſt the perſon whom he repreſents were mightily miſtaken, that Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor.—

But the true meaning of Delos is this, Delos is truly and properly the Sun it ſelf, for this is properly the ſignification of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Greek, it is titio, torris, lampas, to which ſort of things the Sun and Moon, by reaſon of their bright and ſhining Nature, were Anciently compared, and like to this it is, that the Sun, Moon, and Stars in the firſt of Geneſis are called Meoroth, Luminaria, or Lucernae, Lights or Lamps, as the ſame word is plainly uſed Exod. 25. 6. and c. 35. 8. they being compared metaphorically to Candles or Lamps, becauſe of their ſhining and enlightning Nature, and from hence it was that the Vrim which ſeems to have been nothing elſe but a certain light ſhining and diſplaying it ſelf upon certain emergent occaſions on the Breſtplate of the High Prieſt, is by the Seventy rendered by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as much as to ſay, Luminaria, Num. 27. 21. and 1 Sam. 28. 6. which thing being ſeriouſly conſidered and reflected upon, will confirm what I have ſaid concerning Vulcan, that his true Etymology is as much as El Kanna or Deus Zelotypus, becauſe of the Metaphorical likeneſs and reſemblance betwixt Fire and Jealouſie or Indignation, for ſo it is alſo in Greek, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are the ſame, as what the common Greek calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that in the Aeolian dialect is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the common 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the Aeolique 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and Priſcian v. Voſſ. de permut. lit. ſub literâ Z. ſaith that Mezentius was by the Ancient Latins called Medentius, and the ſame may be ſeen likewiſe in the formation of tenſes out of one into another, as from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from whence are the Nouns 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and the Latin Odor, and Laſtly that the Zeta does manifeſtly and undenyably contain in it the poteſtas of Delta or d, which makes them the more eaſily convertible into each other, may be ſeen in all thoſe permutations in the ſeveral dialects, wherein, beſides what hath been already repreſented, it is ſometimes changed into dd, ſometimes into ds, and at others into ſd, inſtances of which as they are obvious to all that have been converſant in the Greek Poets, ſo there are many of them collected ready at hand by Voſſius in his little but excellent Tract De Permutatione Literarum.

To this purpoſe it is, that not only in Scripture, but even in Profane Greek Authors Jealouſie and Fire are compared together, and Plato gives 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Epithet Plat. in Leg. of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Jealouſie or Indignation burning like Fire, or that breaths and belches it out, and Plutarch hath ſuch an expreſſion Plut. in Antonio. as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for the vehement, or excandeſcent ſtate of a Glowing Fire.

This notion that Delos is nothing elſe in its firſt and moſt proper ſignification but a name of the Sun, though afterwards it came alſo to ſignifie the Iſland where he N. C. Mythol. l. 5. c. 20. p. 521. was worſhipped, as Natalis Comes obſerves a Port and a City to have been called Priapus, becauſe Priapus was worſhipped in them, will be ſtill more clear by conſidering two things: Firſt, That Delos was Antiently and Primitively repreſented as a Floating Iſland, which is plainly the caſe of the Sun and Moon, which to ſight are as two Floating Iſlands or Homogeneous, Tracts and Continents of Light and Fire, ſwimming as it were in the Ocean of the Aether; and whereas, after the Birth of Apollo and Diana, the Iſland of Delos, the Terreſtrial one, I mean, in the Aegean Sea, is ſaid to have reſted, whereas before it floated to and fro: This may poſſibly have depended either, Firſt, upon a corruption of the Antient Tradition; for in the beginning of Things, the whole Maſs of Earth may be ſaid to have been as it were one Floating Iſland, ſwimming in the Waters, and ſcarce emerging out of them, which when the Sun and Moon and other Stars were created, that is, when the Aetherial Parts were ſeparated from the more Groſs and Heavy, and when the Watery were derived into their proper Cavities, Receptacles and Channels, and the Moiſture of the Earth began to be dryed up by the warmth and influence of the Sun, did now begin to ceaſe floating and poaching any longer, and was, as we call it, terrafirma, firm and uſeful Land, and conſidering the Sun as the Supream Numen, as the moſt Ancient Idolaters unqueſtionably did, the whole Earth is his Delos, or his Temple where he is Worſhipped, an Iſland ſtanding in the fluid Aether, to outward ſenſe and vulgar opinion immoveable, though in reality, if we give credit to the beſt Aſtronomers, ſtill floating as before, though not by ſuch ſlippery and uncertain motions; Or elſe it happened thus: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as I have ſaid, was an ancient Name of the Sun, being no other, as I conceive, than a Greek corruption of the Hebrew El, from whence is the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and thence every thing that was either Fire or Light, or had a Metaphorical Reſemblance to them, was called by the Names of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , but this Name in proceſs of Time being loſt among the Greeks, only remaining ſtill in the Name of this Iſland, which had been given it from the Worſhip of Delus or the Sun, it ſo happened by the miſtake and ignorance of the Greeks, that what was attributed in the Cabbaliſtical and Arcane Language of Antiquity to their Delus or the Sun, viz, that he was as a

A ſecond Conſideration, by which this notion of the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that it Anciently, or at leaſt in a Cabaliſtical and Hieroglyphic way, ſignified the Sun, may be confirmed, is this, That in thoſe Sacra or Ceremonies or Religious Rites which were inſtituted in honor of Minerva, Vulcan, and Prometheus, there were among other things, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, Religious Votaries, running with Flambeaus or Torches in their Hands. So Natalis Comes obſerves out of Pauſanias N. C. Mythol. l. 4. c. 6. p. 314, 315. concerning Prometheus, Scriptum eſt à Pauſa •• in Atticis non ſolum aram illi (Promethei) fuiſſe erectam in Academiâ, ſed etiam Lampadipherorum curſùs certamen inde incepiſſe, qui in urbem accenſas faces decurrentes deferebant, in quo certamine ſtudebant ut accenſae faces ſervarentur, nam cujus fax extincta fuiſſet, is victoriam ſuccedenti concedebat, atque hic eodem modo ſequenti, ſi ſua extingueretur, & reliqui eodem ordine, quod ſi nemo accenſam facem, tuliſſet, palma in medio relinquebatur, atque haec fiebant in honorem Promethei, quod is omnium artium fontem & autorem ignem putabatur inveniſſe, &c. And a little after what he here attributes peculiarly to Prometheus, he aſcribes in common with him to Minerva and Vulcan likewiſe, where he puts this Queſtion, Quid vero ſignificant Ib. p. 323. Lampadophoria, quae in honorem Minervae, Vulcanique, & Promethei celebrabantur, in quibus curſores accenſis facibus currebant? Which he thus reſolves into a Moral meaning, Nihil aliud ſanè quàm univerſum praeſentis vitae curſum eſſe nobis moleſtiarum atque curarum plenum, quae ubi ceſſaverint, à cùrſu ipſius vitae ceſſandum eſt, & ſuccedentibus lampades, lites, morbi, calamitates, animorumque ſollicitudines in manus tradendae; atque, ut ſummatim colligam ſignificare voluerunt per haec ſapientes maximam eſſe vitae praeſentis perturbationem, avaritiam cuncta recta ſubvertere: viris bonis eſſe ſemper adverſus difficultates pugnandum, omnem mortalium vitam eſſe curarum plenam, neque ulli ſperandam eſſe quietem dum vivimus. Where, though I will not deny that this Ceremony among the Ancients was ſignificative of the Succeſſion of the Human, or in general of the Animal Life, or of the departure of one Generation to make way for another; the Lamps being ſo many Emblems of the flamma vitalis, and their ſucceſſive extinction of the frailty and ſhort duration of this mortal Life, as is ſufficiently evident from the alluſion of Lucretius, which had a reſpect to this Rite among the Ancients. Tanquam curſores vitalem lampada tradunt.

Yet as for the account which our Mythologiſt here gives, that it was an Emblem of the trouble and vexation to which Human Life is expoſed; I can by no means bring my ſelf to think that this is a kindly and natural Interpretation; and then when it is ſaid, that this Ceremony was performed in honor of Vulcan, Minerva, and Prometheus, certainly there muſt ſomething more lie hid under this, which neither he nor I have yet explained, and it was this, That as the ſucceſſive extinction of the Lamps and Torches, did ſignifie the ſucceſſive Courſes and ſtated Periods of Life, which are extinguiſh'd at a certain time, and as it were rekindled and renewed by an everlaſting Courſe of Generation, ſo that theſe Lights and Torches were kindled and lighted up in Honor of theſe ſuppoſedly divine Perſons; it had this ſignification, that all kind of Animal Vitality here below, was in the Opinion of thoſe Times and Places where this cuſtom was uſed, nothing but a ray of Heavenly Light or Aetherial Influence from above. For Minerva, as I have ſaid and proved already, and ſhall do ſtill further by and by, is nothing elſe but the Aetherial Matter, and Vulcan and Prometheus were but two Names of the Sun, which is ſometimes repreſented as the Shield of Minerva, being exactly of the ſame ſort of fluid and Aetherial Subſtance, only differing in greater degrees of Purity and Tenuity, and in greater ſwiftneſs, agitation and motion from the common Aether; ſo that thoſe Torches had a twofold reſpect, the Firſt lookt downwards upon the Animal World, whoſe ſhort continuance upon the Stage of Life, was ſignified by their ſwift Motion and ſucceſſive Extinction in the hands of the Curſores that held them; the other upwards, towards the Aetherial Matter, and more particularly towards the Sun himſelf, the Father and Fountain of Light, and, as it was then believed, of all kind of Vitality, all Senſe and Life, which was looked upon as it were, but as ſo many temporary Candles, enlightned and ſet a burning for a while by the everlaſting Lamp of Heaven, the Sun, and propagated ſucceſſively by the means of Generation, as Candles and Torches upon the point of being extinguiſh'd, may yet give new Light to others like themſelves, that ſhall burn for another ſuch Period or interval of Time, as they themſelves had laſted; and if theſe Torches in this Hieroglyphic Pageantry of the Ancients, did ſignifie and repreſent the Sun, why then might not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is the proper word, to ſignifie ſuch a Flambeau or Torch in the Arcane uſage of Hieroglyphic Speech, equally denote and ſignifie the ſame?

From this that hath been obſerved concerning the Lampadophoria, that they were Celebrated equally in honor of Pallas, Vulcan, and Prometheus, compared with the explication of thoſe Names which hath been already given; we may be ſtill further convinced that Prometheus and Vulcan are the ſame with the Sun, and by conſequence with one another. Which is ſtill further confirmed from what the Scholiaſt upon Sophocles reports, That they had all Three of them one common Altar in the Temple of Pallas at Athens, as I find it taken notice out of him, Firſt by N. Comes, and after him by our Learned Countryman Doctor Gale, in his Notes upon Apollodorus, and this certainly is a ſhrew'd Argument, that they are all of them either exactly the ſame, or at leaſt very nearly related to one another; the firſt of which is the caſe of Prometheus and Vulcan, with relation to one another; the other of Pallas, with reſpect to the other Two.

Furthermore, It is obſervable to this purpoſe, Apollod. Biblioth. l. 1. c. 3. p 10. what Apollodorus reports, that when Jupiters Head was in Labor with Minerva, Vulcan, as ſome ſay, and as others, Prometheus cleft it with an Ax or Hatchet, by that means to facilitate and expedite the Birth, (Such another Error as this it ſeems to have been, by which Pallas and Minerva have been by ſome Authors, and particularly by Apollodorus himſelf, diſtinguiſht from one another, though they are really and in truth the ſame. v. Apollod. Bibl. l. 3. & N. Com. Mythol. l. 4. c. 5. p. 296.— which difference of report in divers and diſagreeing Authors aroſe only from this, that they did not underſtand Prometheus and Vulcan to be the ſame; and this was the reaſon that Lyſimachides, an Ancient Greek Writer, cited by Natalis Comes, makes Prometheus to have been Senior to Vulcan, not underſtanding what I have endeavoured to prove, that they were indeed the ſame; nor conſidering, that notwithſtanding the ſameneſs of the Perſons, yet as to the Names by which this Indentity was differently expreſt, Vulcan as being the Eaſtern Name, was much the Senior to Prometheus.

Now the true explication of this Fable in Apollodorus, that Vulcan or Prometheus cleft the Head of Jupiter, to make a more eaſie paſſage for the Birth of Pallas, is this, Jupiter in this caſe is the whole Aether, whoſe Head is the Body of the Sun, whoſe Rayes are here compared to Axes or Hatchets, by which the Aether is pierced and cleft, as to our outward ſenſe it ſeems to be; and that from this cleaving, Pallas was born, the meaning is no other than this, that the Sun or the Rayes of the Sun, do at leaſt enliven and invigorate, if not create and cauſe that agility and motion, which is to be found in Pallas or Jupiter; or the wide, ſpacious Aether, whoſe Parts all about, though they are of a finer conſiſtence and more agil Nature, than thoſe of which this Earth and its Atmoſphere is compoſed, yet they themſelves, as they are nearer to the Sun, or at a farther diſtance from it, ſo they partake more or leſs of that Influence, that Warmth and Heat, and briskneſs of Activity and Motion, which is communicated and imparted by him, as may be ſeen by that part of the Aether, which being mingled and interſperſed with this Atmoſphere which we inhabit, is in the Winter comparatively ſtagnant, to what it is found by Experience to be in the Summer ſeaſon, when the Sun ſhines upon us with a directer Influence, and with Rayes more piercing and vigorous than at other times.

Laſtly, This was the reaſon, why, when other of the Poets make the firſt Man to have been formed out of the Earth by Prometheus, Heſiod aſcribes the ſame effect to Vulcan, becauſe they are indeed both of them the ſame, the ſame with the Sun, and with one another; the words of Heſiod in his 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Which Grotius hath thus Tranſlated.

Mulciberumque moras Jubet omnes ſolvere & undas.

Commiſcere ſolo, atque humanam imponere vocem.

Though this indeed be ſpoken of Heſiod, not of the makeing or animating Mankind by Prometheus, but of the forming of Pandora by Vulcan, which Pandora is nothing elſe but a Mythological Emblem of our Firſt Parent Eve, or of the miſchiefs that are brought upon Mankind by the Charms and Enticements of Women, and her being Grot. de. v. R. G. l. 1. p. 63. ed. Amſtel. 1674. form'd out of Earth and Water by Prometheus, and that animated with Celeſtial Fire, ſhews that Vulcan and Prometheus are the ſame, though in this Story of Heſiod they are Mythologically oppos'd to one another.

And particularly as to Prometheus himſelf, and what hath been ſaid above concerning him, as to the gnawing Vultur or Eagle perpetually preying upon his Heart or Liver, which was repaired every Night proportionably to what it was ſpent and waſted in the Day, which, as I have ſaid, cannot bear any natural Interpretation, than only by explaining it of the diurnal courſe and motion of the Sun; this Story is related, and with the ſame circumſtance that Heſiod and Petronius above v. Phavor. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 & Apollod. l. 1. c. 7. p. 22. alledged have done it, of the Nightly renewal of the conſumed Heart or Liver, by Pherecydes in Phavorinus, and by Apollodorus in his Bibliotheca.

I cannot forbear upon this occaſion to confirm likewiſe another Notion, though of the ſame nature with this, which in what hath been ſaid above, I have endeavored to eſtabliſh, viz. That the Ancient Orpheus was the ſame with the Sun, by a place of Lactantius, never yet taken notice of that I know of, to this purpoſe,—where ſpeaking of the Angels and Miniſtring Spirits, which are employed upon ſeveral occaſions by the Supream and Governing Mind of the Univerſe, an Opinion which not only Judaiſm and Chriſtianity, but alſo the Ancient Heathen Philoſophy and Theology hath favored, he ſaith, Si eos (Gentiles,) multitudo delectat, non duodecim dicimus, nec trecentos Sexaginta quinque, ut Orpheus, ſed innumerabiles, & arguimus eorum errores in diverſnm, qui tam paucos putant. The reaſon of which diviſion of their Angels or Miniſtring Spirits among the Pagans, ſometimes into Twelve, and at others Three hundred ſixty five, was this, That the Sun was looked upon by them as the Supream Numen, and his annual Motion through the Zodiac, is either divided into Twelve Parts or Sections, which we call Months, over every one of which a particular Tutelar Genius or Subminiſtring Spirit was ſuppoſed to preſide, or elſe into Three hundred ſixty five, which are called Days, which ſpace of Time being ſpent by the Sun in his motion; his annual Period is compleat, and he returns again to the ſame point of the Zodiac from whence he ſet out ſo long ago, and every one of theſe Days too, which are all of them owing to the influence of the Sun, and are meaſured by his motion, for Dies is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , had likewiſe in the opinion of ſome of the Ancients a particular Genius or Tutelar and Guardian Spirit preſiding over it, and performing ſuch Offices as the great Author and Finiſher of the Day, thought it fit and neceſſary to appoint; but when this Opinion is aſcribed by Lactantius to Orpheus as the Author, I rather think him to have been the Subject of it, and that the geniun Tradition was this, That Orpheus, that is, the Sun, was looked upon by the Ancients, as having Three hundred and ſixty five Miniſtring Spirits about him, according to the number of the Days of the Year, both becauſe this Opinion which depended upon the proneneſs of Antiquity to Superſtition, who never thought they had Gods and Demons enough, do's not ſeem to have been ſo particular as Lactantius makes it, and becauſe Orpheus was certainly a name of the Sun, as I have proved already; and this corrupted Tradition in Lactantius ſeems to have been another inſtance of it, and becauſe Cenſorinus obſerves the Ancient Aegyptian or Eaſtern ſolar Year to have conſiſted of Three hundred ſixty five Days without any intercalation, which is the number here aſſigned.

To put an end to this Diſcourſe concerning the Ocean or the Water, being the firſt Cauſe and Principle of all things, as well Gods as Men, and all other whether animate or inanimate corporeal Subſtances whatſoever, by this was meant as I conceive firſt of all, not ſo much that common Water, ſuch as we are uſed to call by that Name, was really and ſolely the firſt Cauſe and Principle of all things, but only as Plato expreſſes it in his Theaetaetus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that all things were begotten by fluidity and motion, that is, according to the preſent Sentiments of the Corpuſcularians, that all the ſeveral Differences, Qualities, Appearances, and various Modifications to be met with in the material World, were but the effects of Motion or Fluidity, variouſly proportion'd order'd and diſpoſed; for this is the true and firſt meaning of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , it is the fluid Matter from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying volatil, or ſwift, and from the ſame Greek word is the Latin Aqua and Aquila, ſo called from the ſwiftneſs of its Flight and Motion, and Aquilo for the Northwind, for the ſame reaſon, which is called in Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , anſwering exactly to, or rather being exactly the ſame with the Hebrew Boreach, from Barach, Fugit, as Daniel Heinſius in his Ariſtarchus hath before me obſerved. And from the ſame Greek Root is alſo the Latin Acus, and Acuo, and Acies, becauſe things that are ſharp and have an Edge paſs with more eaſe and ſwiftneſs, and cut their way with greater ſpeed and diſpatch through all obſtacles and impediments that they meet with, and thence Acies in the Metaphorical Senſe, ſignifies ſharpneſs or quickneſs, or ſubtlety and minute perſpicacity of ſight, becauſe they whoſe Eyes are thus happily diſpoſed, do eaſily, and clearly, and ſwiftly, or quickly diſcern things that are removed at a great diſtance from them, and for the ſame reaſon it ſignifies alſo the diſpoſition and order of an Army drawn up in Battalia, that is, firſt and moſt properly, as I conceive, the Cuneus or the Phalanx, where the whole Body is terminated on all ſides by an Angle or an Edge; and ſo alſo Acumen has not only its proper and firſt Senſe, to ſignifie a material Edge or ſharpneſs, but alſo its Metaphorical or Derivative, to denote the intellectual quickneſs or ſharpneſs of the Mind, by which it do's, as it were, cut its way through the greateſt difficulties and abſtrucſities of Nature, and overtake by a ſwift, an eaſie, and a ſteady ſlight, thoſe Things and Notions that are the moſt coy and loath to be diſcovered, or that eſcape and baffle the purſuit of common Apprehenſions by too great diſtance or too nimble flight. Laſtly, To ſhew the Analogy of the word, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in this ſenſe, which I have explained it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by the ſame way of derivation is from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as much as to ſay the Region of Rain, whence alſo Orion was feighned to have his Name, as being the cauſe of Tempeſts, and particularly of great Flouds and Inundations, which by the Poets was variouſly ſignified under the covert of Fables; and thence alſo the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Julius Pollux are the ſame with what Phyſicians and Anatomiſts otherwiſe call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and this Etymology, to any Man that ſhall conſider it, is certainly preferrable to any other that hath hitherto been ſtarted, as may be ſeen by comparing the Etymologies of St. Ambroſe, Ariſtotle, and Philo, which may be found in any Lexicon, together with this; not that I would confine the ſignification of the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to the Region of the Atmoſphere, within which compaſs the Clouds and Rain are contained, but it is enough that the moſt remote Antiquity looked upon the Clouds, as at a far greater diſtance than we do; and therefore the Pſalmiſt makes the Clouds to be, as it were, the more peculiar and Beatifical Seat of him who is Omnipreſent, which is otherwiſe uſually confined to the higheſt and moſt exalted Regions of the Aether, when he affirms of God, as he do's ſometimes, that he maketh the Clouds his Chariot, and that he rideth upon the Wings of the Wind, or elſe it might happen that the whole Aether might be call'd by the Name of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , becauſe the Ancient Mortals that firſt call'd it by this Name, did not underſtand the Philoſophy of Exhalations, but thought all Rain was diſpenſed from the Treaſury of Waters above the Firmament, as it is called in the Firſt of Geneſis, not according to the truth and reality of Things, but according to vulgar Opinion, with which the Language of the Scripture, though of divine Inſpiration, do's not diſdain ſometimes in pity to human Infirmity to comply, as where it intimates the Earth to ſtand ſtill, the Moon to be a great Light, and the •• ixt Stars comparatively little; but if we Tranſlate the Hebrew Rakiah, not by Firmamentum, as the vulgar Latin hath done, by a falſe Tranſlation of the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or the Region of the Stars, but only by expanſum, a ſeeming empty ſpace, in which we walk and breath in this ſublunary Region, it will not imply that there is indeed any ſuch celeſtial Treaſury of Water beyond the Atmoſphere or the Region of the Clouds.

This Notion of Thetis being nothing elſe but the Tohu or Ʋniverſal Maſs, beſides what hath been already produced to that purpoſe, will receive further confirmation, by reflecting a little upon the meaning and derivation of theſe three words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Titan, and Tithonus: I begin with the Firſt, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a word which occurs in Homer Il. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 747.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , where the Old Scholiaſt interprets 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo alſo Euſtathius upon the ſame place, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , we are to underſtand a certain ſort of Oyſter, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſignifies the Earth, and Shell Fiſh, by reaſon of the hardneſs of that Shell wherewith they are incompaſſed, are of a more earthy Nature, than any other ſort of Fiſh a, a, a, ſo Suidas expreſly interprets it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . whatſoever; but it had been better to derive it from (a) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in its double capacity, as it ſignifies both (a) Earth and (a) Water, becauſe, by reaſon of the hardneſs of their Shell, and the ſoftneſs or fluidity of their inward Pulp and Subſtance, and of their living in, and being nouriſh'd by the Water; they are of a middle Nature betwixt theſe two, which was the Caſe of the Tohu or Primigenial Maſs, called by Heſychius with a very little alteration 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for ſo he expounds 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifies a ſort of Oyſter or Shell Fiſh, and it is alſo the Slime or Dirt which Rivers in their Courſe throw off upon their Banks, which is as exactly as can be the ſignification of the Hebrew Tohu, which was a thin ſubſtance of Earth and Water together; and this is a further confirmation, that by Tethys in the Mythology of the Ancients, the Ʋniverſal or Primigenial Maſs was denoted, and likewiſe explains the reaſon of thoſe Expoſitions which we find in Suidas; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and preſently after, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , they taking their ſignification from the Tohu or Primigenial Maſs, which was the Mother, or Grandmother, and Firſt Parent of all Things, and an Aunt is ſo like a Mother, ſo nearly related by Blood, and uſually by Affection, and by all Offices of Parental kindneſs, that it is no wonder to find 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſo very little different in their Signification; and the ſame may be ſaid of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which are all of them owing to the ſame Root, the Earth or Globe of Earth and Water, in which all ſublunary Animals are bred and nouriſh'd being truly ſtiled the Nurſe, as well as Parent of all her productions, and the Analogy of Tithene, comes nigh to that of Tithonus, of which I ſhall ſpeak in the third place.

But Secondly, The word Titan alſo being from the ſame Root of Thoth, or Tohu, is another confirmation of the truth of what I have ſaid concerning Thetis, that by her was ſignified the Tohu, or the Ʋniverſal and Primigenial Maſs, for all theſe Names being probably derived from the ſame Root, and anſwering ſo well as they do in their Hiſtory to the ſame Etymology, give natural ſtrength and confirmation to each other. Titan ſignifies properly a Son of the Earth, or of the Tohu, and ſo the Sun is called in the firſt place, according to that of Ovid in his Metamorphoſes. Nnllus adhuc mundo praebebat lumina Titan.

And in Juvenal, Prometheus whom I have more than once affirmed to be the ſame with the Sun, is called by this Name, E meliore luto finxit praecordia Titan.

And ſo alſo in Sophocles, out of whom this citation is produced by N. Comes, N. C. Myth. L. 2. c. 4. p. 150. though he do's not make this uſe of it. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And not only the Sun was called Titan, but the Stars likewiſe by the Latin Poets are ſometimes called Aſtra Titania, as in that of Virgil in the ſixth of his Ae eid.

Principio caelum & terras campoſque liquentes, Lucentemque Globum Lunae, Titaniaque Aſtra Spiritus intus alit, totamque, infuſa per artus, Mens agitat molem, & magno ſe corpore miſcet.

The reaſon of which was either that the fluid Matter of the Aether, of which the Sun and Stars conſiſt, was once jumbled together with the reſt of the Chaos, and was ſeparated from it, which was, as it were, its Birth out of the Womb of the Chaos, or the Tohu, or elſe that they ſeem all of them, as often as they Emerge above our Horizon, to riſe out of the Earth or Sea, as if they ſprang from thence as Flowers do out of a Bed, or from their ſeveral Principles and Seeds, and as often as they ſet and were ſubmerſt again under it; this was looked upon by the Ancients as their return to their Mother, (there being according to them but one enlightned Hemiſphere, as hath been already declared,) to ſuck her Breaſts of Conſolation, and to refreſh and cool themſelves in the Bath of the Ocean, after the Fatigue of a long and toilſom Journey.

Neither can there be any other reaſon but this aſſigned, why the Earth ſhould be called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by the Greek Poets, as well as the Sun was called Titan, and the Stars Titania; for certainly the Sun, and Stars, and the Earth, any otherwiſe than ſome ſuch way as this, are not any whit of kin to one another, and yet this is the Name of the Earth in the Etymologer, who hath theſe remarkable words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, that ſome called the whole Earth by this Name, and ſome only the ſingle Province of Attica, both of which were in the right, for the whole Maſs of Earth, and Water, and Aether, mingled together, was called Thoth or Tohu, and this was the true Name of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, not the ſingle Province of Attica, as the Etymologer himſelf underſtood his own words, but the Ancient Earth or Primigenial Maſs, which was the Cabbaliſtical or Traditionary ſignification of Attica and Attici, as hath been already frequently declared, though the latter Greeks themſelves did not underſtand it. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , when it is the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or the Earth, either ſignifies, that the Earth was a part of the Tohu or Ʋniverſal Maſs, as indeed it is the moſt confuſed and Heterogeneous part of it, Tohu and Bohu being Names in Hebrew, that ſeem to ſignifie diſorder and confuſion, or that the Earth was the Mother of the Titans, which is the ſame thing; by the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 nothing elſe being meant, but thoſe Winds and Vapours which are exhaled from the Earth, or the Tohu, or being kept up and pent in ſubterraneous Caverns, are the natural cauſes of Earthquakes, and Volcano's, and ſuch like Eruptions of ſubterraneous Vapours; ſo the word is explained by Euſtathius upon Homer, with whom the Author of the Allegories upon Heſiod agrees, Alleg. in Heſiod. p. 244. Ed. Heins. in theſe words, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, they are called Titans, for as much as they diſpenſe and are the Authors and Occaſions of Damage and Detriment to Men; for by Earthquakes Houſes are overturned, and the Earth is broken up or cleft in ſunder, and Men are overwhelmed and immerſt in Waters, and many other Calamities there are that happen upon the ſame account; and as I have ſaid formerly of Juno, that the reaſon of the many Quarrels that happen between her and Jupiter in the Poets, is to be taken without all queſtion, from the Phiſiology or natural Philoſophy of the Ancients, Juno being the Air or Atmoſphere, or the Region of Storms and Tempeſts, by which Jupiter or the pure Aether is troubled and diſturbed; the ſame is true likewiſe of the Wars betwixt the Titans or the Giants, that is, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Sons of the Earth and the Gods, for by the Gods was meant, as hath been already obſerved from Plato and Macrobius, the Sun and Stars, the pure Aether, and all ſorts of Aetherial Concretions, which Aether by the Titans, that is, by Storms and Tempeſts, is, as it were, aſſaulted and invaded, and a War ſeems to be threatned againſt the Sun and the Stars themſelves, to which purpoſe it is remarkable what the Etymologer ſaith, in the words immediately following thoſe I have laſt produced out of him. I will repeat thoſe words again, that you may ſee the connexion: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, that the Earth was called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from Titanus, one of the Titans, who of all the number was the only Perſon that did not make War againſt the Gods; which, though it be plainly falſe and clean contrary to the truth, yet by what we may learn from this place, what I have ſaid already may be confirmed: It is falſe that the Earth was called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from Titanus, for by Titanus or Titan, as hath been ſhewed already, was meant the Sun, and he was ſo called from the Tohu, or the Earth, not the Earth ſo called from him, the reaſon of which hath been already explained; and whereas, I have ſaid, that the Earth in a Mythological way, may be ſaid ſo often to be the Mother of Titan, or the Sun, as often as he Emerges above the ſenſible Horizon, and ſeems as it were, to be renewed and born again; this ſeems to be confirmed by a Paſſage of Aeſchylus concerning Prometheus, who is the Eſchyl. ed. Stanl. p. 26. ſame with Titan or the Sun; in his Prometheus Vinctus, which I will here produce, it is Prometheus himſelf that ſpeaks, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

Which is thus rendred by the Learned Interpreter.

Sed mihi mater, non ſemel tantum, Themis,

Quae & terra (multarum appellationum una forma.)

Ʋt res eventura eſſet, praedixerat.

Where if we refer 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , non ſemel tantum, to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Mater, the ſenſe is according to what I have ſaid, that Prometheus or Titan was born of the Earth more than once, and ſo he muſt needs, if he be born every day; but if we refer thoſe words to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or praedixerat, then it bears clear another ſenſe, which I need not explain; and to any Man that underſtands the Greek Language, and conſiders the order of the words, both theſe Interpretations are ſo natural, that I know not which to prefer, only 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , being nigher in place to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , then to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , this if any thing, may ſeem to favor the former Interpretation, for, I confeſs, to me, the Conſtruction ſeems equally natural both ways, and therefore I ſhall determin for neither.

But there is one thing ſomewhat ſtrange in this place of Aeſchylus, which I cannot paſs by without ſome notice, and that is, that he calls the Earth by the Name of Themis. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

For they interpret that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as if it had been ſaid, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and ſo our Learned Stanly Tranſlates it, Quae & terra, and ſo the Scholiaſt 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , my Mother is equally called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and it is a ſign it is really ſo, becauſe of the ſingular Verb, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which belongs to them both, and ſhould have been put in the plural Number, had theſe two been ſeveral and diſtinct from one another, beſides that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is a Parentheſis that would in this place be impertinent, and would ſignifie juſt nothing; upon ſuppoſition that theſe two, the Earth and Themis were not the fame, and were not intended by theſe very words to be declared as ſuch. Laſtly, This is put out of all doubt by a place of John Tzetzes upon Heſiod, which I will tranſcribe Io. Tzetzes in Heſiod. p. 26. 1. ed. Heins. hither, and it is concerning Prometheus, that he ſpeaks, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (Legendum 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. that is, Prometheus is either taken in a more groſs and practical ſenſe, for one that tamed and humaniz'd Men, and made them from barbarous to become courteous and civil, or elſe more ſpiritually or ſpeculatively; Prometheus, is Human Providence and Foreſight, the Son of Japetus, or inward Ratiocinatian; and of Clymene, that is, outward, ſenſible and practical Wiſdom; for Themis or the Earth, is the Mother of the Elementary Prometheus, that is, as I conceive of Prometheus in the firſt ſenſe, otherwiſe I know not what he means, is, though I rely not much upon his Allegorical Interpretations, having ſhewn, as I think, that the Phyſiological is more natural, and certainly the only true Interpretation of Prometheus, as hath been already largely proved, but all that I obſerve is, that he makes Themis and the Earth to have been the ſame, which though it ſtartled me at firſt, yet now I think I have found the reaſon of it, and the reaſon is Hieroglyphical, and this it is: Tamam or Tam in Hebrew, has the ſignification of Ʋprightneſs and Integrity, and Themis among the Ancients was the Goddeſs or Preſident of Iuſtice, of which the Earth, by reaſon of its antiently ſuppoſed Stability and Permanency, (while the Air, the Water, the Aether, and all the heavenly Bodies were thought to be always in perpetual motion,) was a very natural and proper Symbol; for it is the nature of Error and Falſhood, which proceeds by no certain Rule, to be Fleeting and Inconſtant, but Juſtice and Integrity are always the ſame, conſtant, and ſteady, and immovable, as the Foundations of the Earth were ſuppoſed to be

But to return to the Etymologiſt, he tells us, as hath been already obſerved, that the Titans were ſo called, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from Titanus, one of the Titans, who, it ſeems, was the only Perſon among them, that did not make War againſt the Gods, where it is ridiculous to ſay, that the Titans were ſo called from Titanus, one of the Titans; for if he himſelf were one of the number, and if it be asked why he was ſo called? All the reaſon that this place will afford, will be, that he took his Name from himſelf; but when he ſays that he was the only Perſon of all the Titans, that did not make War upon the Gods; from this there are two things to be obſerved, Firſt, That there was ſuch a War betwixt the Titans and the Gods, as the Poets have deſcribed; and Secondly, We have here a very broad intimation what kind of War that was; for if by Titan or Titanus, be meant the Sun, as I have already declared, then he could not be one of thoſe Titans that were engaged in this Rebellion, becauſe it was indeed made againſt himſelf, and againſt the pure Aether; and the Stars that Inhabit it by the rarified and exalted Vapours and Exhalations, which this Earth and its Atmoſphaere affords, and that Titan was antiently one of the Names of the Sun: Beſides the Teſtimonies already produced, I will here alledge a Fragment of Orpheus, produced by the Writer of the Allegories upon Heſiod, wherein Titan, Hyperion, Phoſphorus, Paean and Zeus, are all of them V. Alleg. in Heſiod, in Theog. p. 268. 1. v. et H. Steph. in Theſauro L. G. Vol. 3. p. 1580. repreſented as one and the ſame.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

But when the Etymologer tells us, that this Titan or Titanus was the only Perſon of all the Titans that did not make War upon the Gods; this is another palpable miſtake of his, or of the Author, whoever he be, from whom he borrows it; for I have ſhewn that all the Stars, againſt whom this War was made, as well as againſt the Sun, are called actually by the Poets Aſtra Titania, and might as well have been called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Titanes, as the Sun, for the reaſons already given, and the Greek Proverb 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which is proverbially uſed for ſharpneſs of Sight, may refer as well to the Stars as the Sun, they all being ſuppoſed to have a piercing Eyſight, and to diſcern all things that were Tranſacted upon Earth, though this indeed did more peculiarly and eminently belong to the Sun; and this was one reaſon, beſides what hath been already ſaid of the Serpents biting it ſelf by the Tail, why the Sun was antiently Worſhiped in the Form of a Serpent? Becauſe this ſort of Animals is found to be endued with ſo ſharp, and vigorous, and piercing a Sight; and from this it was that the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the Latin Draco, took their Names from the Aoriſt of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying to ſee which is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and quickneſs of Sight is peculiarly attributed by Horace to the Epidaurian Serpent, which was the ſame with the Sun.

Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis, Cur in amicorum vitiis tam cernis acutum Quam aut Aquila aut Serpens Epidaurius?

And this was the reaſon why the Eagle above all other Birds, was dedicated to the Honor and Service of the Sun, not only becauſe of the ſwiftneſs and loftineſs of its Flight and Motion, but alſo becauſe of the extream ſharpneſs and piercingneſs of its Sight.

But beſides all this, not only the Sun is called Titan, and the Stars Titania, but alſo the Moon by Nicander, in Theriacis is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in theſe words,

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .—

Where 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is rightly interpreted by the Scholiaſt upon the place of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or Diana, or the Moon, but not for the reaſon which the ſame Scholiaſt aſſigns, becauſe Diana was the Daughter of Caeus, the Titan and Latona; but becauſe all the Stars are rightly called Titans, as ariſing from the Tohu or the Earth, or from the Primigenial Maſs, from whence they were ſeparated and disjoyned in the beginning of Things, and aſſigned each of them to the ſeveral Orbs and Regions which they now inhabit; or elſe according to the Scholiaſt himſelf, if ſhe be called the Daughter of Caeus the Titan and Latona, it is only for this reaſon, Becauſe Caeus the Titan, was but one of the Names of the Earth, as Latona was another, though here they are put both together, as different and diſtinct; the Form and Faſhion of the Fable requiring it, there being no Generation without a Male and a Female; and this together with that Notion which I have endeavored to eſtabliſh, that the Stars were called Titans, becauſe of their ſeparation in the beginning of Things from the Primigenial Maſs, may be excellently confirmed by a Paſſage of Macrobius, concerning Latona and Apollo, which is very well worth ſetting down. Saturnal. L. 1. c. 17. which is very well worth ſetting down. Latonae Apollinem Dianam que pariturae Juno dicitur obſtetiſſe, ſed ubi quando que partus effuſus eſt, draconem ferunt, qui 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 vocitabatur, invaſiſſe cunas Deorum; Apollinem que in primâ infantiâ ſagittis belluam confeciſſe. Quod ità intelligendum naturalis ratio demonſtrat, nam que poſt Chaos, ubi primùm cepit confuſa deformitas in rerum Formas & in Elementa niteſcere, terra que adhuc humida ſubſtantiâ molli at que inſtabili ſede nutaret, convaleſcente paulatim aetherio calore, atque inde ſeminibus in eam igneis defluentibus haec ſidera edita eſſe creduntur, & ſolem quidem maximâ vi caloris in ſuperna raptum, lunam verò humidiore & velut Faemineo ſexu, naturali quodam preſſam tepore inferiora tenuiſſe; tanquam ille magis ſubſtantiâ patris conſtet, haec matris, ſiquidem Latonam Phyſici volunt terram videri; cui diu intervenit Juno, nè numina quae diximus ederentur; hoc eſt, aer qui tunc humidus adhuc graviſ que obſtabat Aetheri, nè fulgor luminum per humoſi aeris denſitatem, tanquam è cujuſdam partûs progreſſione, fulgeret. And with this Notion of Latona, that nothing elſe was meant by her but the Earth; it agrees very well that Ovid in the Sixth of his Metamorphoſes, gives her alſo the Epithet of Titanis, which we have ſeen above by the ſame Poet in his Faſti, to have been beſtowed upon Tethys for the ſame reaſon, becauſe Tethys and the Earth, or the Primigenial Maſs, were the ſame. The words of Ovid are, Genitam Titanida Caeo Latonam.—

Where he makes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by a K, is the ſame with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which is as much 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Earth See what follows preſently concerning 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Caeus to be the Father of Latona, as others repreſent him as her Husband; but, as I have ſaid, when theſe things are ſtript of their Mythological diſguiſe, I rather conceive them both to have been the ſame.

Furthermore, not only the Moon is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as hath been ſhewed by this laſt produced Teſtimony of Nicander, but alſo the Sun and all the Planets in common are ſometimes found to be called by the ſame Name, as appears by a Teſtimony of Euſebius Euſeb. praep. Evang. L. 1 . in his Evangelical Preparation, which I will here ſet down, his words are theſe, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, that Cronus and Aſtarte had ſeven Daughters called Titanides or Artemides, in which citation by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is meant Time, according to that of Macrobius. Saturnus ipſe qui Auctor eſt temporum, & Saturnal, L. 1. c. 22. ſo alſo Dionys, Halicarnaſs, Anti que Rom. L. 1. ſpeaking of Saturn, ſays, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 v. & Macrob. bi ſuprà. c. 8 ut & Arnob. L. 3. & Ib. Elmenhorſt. p. 120. ideò à Graecis immutatâ litera 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quaſi 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 vocatur; and by Aſtarte, If I am not miſtaken the Aetherial Region is ſignified, or the Body of the Aether, of whoſe Subſtance the Planets, whoſe opaque and gloomy Conſiſtence, was not ſo antiently diſcovered and reflected upon, were thought to be compoſed, the Stars differing, as I have ſaid, from the reſt of the Aether, only in greater degrees of Motion and Fluidity; but yet I am not ignorant that there are other, and thoſe very different Interpretations of Aſtarte: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . I am of Opinion that Aſtarte is the ſame with the Moon, ſaith Lucian in his de Deâ Syriâ, and ſo I conceive it is to be underſtood in that place of the Kings, L. 1. c. 11. v. 5. Where it is ſaid of Solomon, that he went after Aſhtoreth the Goddeſs of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. For there is nothing more certain than that by Moloc and Milcom, the Sun was underſtood, to whom, as to the Supream Lord and Sovereign of all things, the Ancient Heathens gave the Title of King, which is the true ſignification of theſe two words, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , two Names of the Sun, have both of the Epithet of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Homer; and therefore it is the more probable, ſince Moloc is ſo plainly the Sun, that Aſhtoreth, which the ſeventy Interpreters in this place, have rendred by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is the Moon, as Lucian would have it; but it is eaſie to diſcern, that this Interpretation will not at all comport with this place of Euſebius, and therefore another muſt be ſought for, and another Interpretation of Aſtarte, if I am not very much miſtaken, is, that it ſignifies any Star in general, as when it is ſaid of the Children of Iſrael, Iud. 2. 13. That they forſook the Lord, and ſerved Baal and Aſhtaroth; which the ſeventy have rendred by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Where Baal without all queſtion is the Sun, (as alſo Chemoſh of the Moabites was but a corruption of the Hebrew Shemeſh,) he being in the Opinion of his Worſhipers, the Supream Lord and Governor of all Things, and the Aſhtaroth or the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , are the Stars or the Hoſt of Heaven. For Eſther in Chalday, ſignifies a Star, and thence with the Addition of Shour, which ſignifies to contemplate; Zoroaſter is ſuppoſed to have had his Name from his Study of Aſtronomy, or his Contemplation of the Stars; and there is no difference between theſe words, Eſther, and Aſhtoreth, or Aſhtaroth, but that the firſt of them is written with an Aleph, the two latter with an Hajin, but the Poteſtas of theſe two Letters is much what the ſame, being both of them in a manner perfectly quieſcent; and of this, as I conceive, we have an inſtance in Baal himſelf, the ſecond Syllable of which begins with an Hajin, anſwering to the Hebrew Aleph. For El or Al with an Aleph, was the Eaſtern Name of God, and by this the Pagans called the Sun, and from it are derived the Latin Sol, and the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo that Baal was nothing elſe but the Acclamation of the Pagans wellcoming, ſaluting, and adoring the Morning Sun, with this Ingemination frequently, and joyfully, and loudly repeated, Ba Al, Ba Al, that is, Dominus venit, Dominus venit, as one of the ancient forms of Excommunication was called Maranatha, or Dominus venit, with joy to his faithful Worſhipers and Servants, and to the deſtruction and exciſion of his Enemies; and this heavy ſort of Excommunication, is otherwiſe called by the Hebrews, Chereth or Exciſion; and by the Aſſyrians, or Syrochaldaeans Shamta, as much as to ſay, Shem Atha, or Nomen venit, underſtanding by Shem or Nomen, very frequently in the Rabbinical Language, the Nomen 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the moſt Sacred and Eſſential Name of God, and from thence proceeded that Rabbinical Effatum, Hou Shmo, Veſhmo Hou. He is his Name, and his Name is He; alluding to the conſtant practice and cuſtom of the Rabbius, who almoſt every where call God by the Name of Haſhem, or the Name. And ſuch another Acclamation as this, was that of Lea , when ſhe was ſafely delivered of her Son Gad, Bagad, a Troop cometh, where the Aleph is left out in the Maſorethical Bibles, as well as in the inſtance of Bahal, and perhaps there being two Alephs in theſe two words, Ba and Al, an Hajin which is a Letter, ſomewhat the harder and harſher of the two, was the moſt proper to expreſs the Coalition of them both, running and diſſolving into one another; and if from this morning ſalutation of the Riſing Sun, he came at laſt to be called by the Name of Bahal, which ſeems to me a very natural Conjecture; then the Sun being the Sovereign and Lord of all in the ſenſe of the Ancient Pagans, and this Dominion of his being properly expreſt and denoted in the latter part of his Name, This gives an eaſie account of all thoſe Expoſitions which we meet with in our Lexicons, and how they came to ſignifie what they do; ſuch as Bahal, Dominari, Maritum, (hoc eſt, Dominum uxoris) eſſe. Bohel, Conjux, Maritus, and Bahal Dominus; Maritus, Conjux, and Bahala Domina. But neither will this way of explaining the word Aſtarte, afford a genuin Interpretation of this place of Euſebius, as may be eaſily diſcerned by any one that ſhall apply the one to the other: It is neceſſary therefore that we interpret Aſtarte in this place, either of the Aether or Starry Region in general, of whoſe Subſtance the Stars and the very Planets themſelves, in this remote Antiquity were ſuppoſed to be made; or that we take refuge in the Expoſition of Suidas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Aſtarte is the ſame that the Greeks call Venus, which if we underſtand, not of the Star or Planet of Venus, but of the Ʋniverſal Nature, as I have already explained it, then the ſenſe of this place of Euſebius, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , will be this, that there was a time when thoſe ſeven Titanides or Artemides, that is, as I interpret it, the ſeven Planets were not, but that in time they were produced by the Ʋniverſal Nature, or Demiurgique Power of the Univerſe, and they are called Titanides, becauſe of their ſeparation from the Tohu, or of their daily emerging above the Horizon, and ſeeming as it were to ſpring out of the Earth; and for that other Name of Artemides, though the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in the common uſage of the Greek Language, be peculiar to Diana or the Moon; yet if that Etymon of this word, which I have elſewhere given, be true, as I do verily believe it is, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is ſo called, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , becauſe the Moon in its Paſſage cuts and divides the Air or Aether, in ſo much, that to ſenſe, in a Moonſhiny Night it ſeems to make holes in the Clouds, and as it were to force its Paſſage through them, though indeed her Orb be far ſuperior to the higheſt Clouds; then this belongs equally to all the Planets, for they do all by their Motion divide and cut the Aether in their Paſſage through it; but becauſe this was moſt plainly and ſenſibly the Caſe of the Moon, and becauſe the Region of the Clouds or the Atmoſphaere through which ſhe ſeems to paſs, is that which is moſt properly called the Airy Region, in oppoſition to the pure Aether above it, which is of a iner Conſiſtence; therefore the Name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in the common uſage of the Greek Language, was more peculiarly attributed to the Moon.

And becauſe I have ſaid above concerning Venus or the Ʋniverſally Prolifique and Architectionique Nature, that the reaſon why ſhe was ſaid at ſometimes to be born from the Sea, and at others in an Iſland, as likewiſe Jupiter and Apollo were, and Priapus by the Sea-ſide, was to ſignifie that Opinion which the Ancients received by Tradition, that all things at firſt ſprang out of the Waters, or out of that Chaos or Primigen al Maſs, which was overwhelmed with them. This Notion may be ſtill further confirmed by reflecting upon the Worſhip of Derceto or Atergatis, for they are both conceived to have been the ſame, whoſe Statue and Image among the Aſſyrians had the upper Parts of a beautiful Woman, but from the Thighs downwards, ſhe had the Appearance of a larger ſort of Fiſh; for this Atergatis was no other than the Prolifique or Demiurgique Nature of the Ʋniverſe; and the Beauty of her upper Part, was to denote that exquiſite ſymmetry and proportion of the Ʋniverſe, which was of her contrivance; the lower which had the reſemblance of a Fiſh, was to ſignifie from whence this Digeſtion and Separation was made, which had afterwards ſo beautiful and lovely an Appearance, viz. out of the Chaos or that Maſs of Waters, with which the confuſed Seeds and Principles of Things were Anciently and Originally over whelmed; and that this Adargatis was no other than the Ʋniverſal Nature, called at other times Pan, and Venus, and Priapus, and Proteus, and Thetis, and Tethys, and Jupiter, and Iſis; and if there be any other Names by which the ſame thing is expreſt, is evident from a Paſſage of Macrobius, where he expreſly makes her, if not to be all in all, yet at leaſt to be that Maſs of Earth and Water, which perhaps was another reaſon of her Amphibious Image, from whence the Separation Saturn. L. 1. c. 23. was Originally made. His words are theſe, where ſpeaking of the Sun, he ſays, Accipe quid Aſſyrii de Solis potentiâ opinentur. Deo enim quem ſummum maximum que venerantur, Adad nomen dederunt, ejus nominis interpretatio ſignificat, Idem quod Hebreum Echad vel Achad. unus, hunc ergo ut potentiſſimum adorant Deum. Sed ſubjungunt eidem Deam nomine Adargatin, omnem que poteſtatem cunctarum rerum his duobus attribuunt, Solem terram que intelligentes, nec multitudine nominum enuntiantes diverſam eorum per omnes ſpecies poteſtatem, ſed Argumentis, quibus ornantur, ſignificantes multiplicem praeſtantiam duplicis numinis. Ipſa autem Argumenta Sol s rationem loquuntur. Nam que ſimulachrum Adad inſig e cernitur radiis inclinatis. Quibus monſtratur vim Caeli in Radiis eſſe Solis, qui demittuntur in terram. Adargatis ſimulachrum ſurſum Verſum reclinatis Radiis inſigne eſt; monſtrando Radiorum vi ſuperne miſſorum, enaſci quaecun que terra progenerat. Sub eodem ſimulachro ſpecies leonum ſunt, eâdem ratione terram eſſe monſtrantes, quâ Phryges inxere matrem Deûm, id eſt, terram leonibus vehi. But now if Adargatis, according to Macrobius himſelf, be the ſame with the Mater Deûm, the Mother of the Gods, then is ſhe neither the Earth nor the Sun, in diſtinction from each other; but both of theſe and all things elſe together, ſhe is the Mother of the Gods, that is, the Primigenial Maſs from whence the Separation of Aetherial and Starry Concretions was made, which are here called Gods; and the Beauty of her upper Parts conſidered together, with the deformity of thoſe underneath, was but a ſymbolical Confuſion of the Efficient and the Material Cauſe together. To the firſt of which the Symmetry of the World was owing; and the latter, that is, the Fiſh or the Maſs of Waters, or the Chaos covered with them, out of which the Separation was made, ſuppli'd the great Artificer with ſubject Matter for his great Skill and Wiſdom, to exerciſe and to exert it ſelf upon. And ſo alſo it is in the Fable of Proteus, for he is properly the Efficient Cauſe, as is plainly diſcernible in his Name; but yet when the Poets repreſent him as a Sea God, this was only for that reaſon, becauſe all things were Originally ſuppoſed to have ſprung out of the Waters, and was a plain confuſion of the Efficient and the Material Cauſe together.

So likewiſe in the Story of Iſis, whoſe ſignification is by Macrobius confined to V Macrob. Satur. L. 1. c. 20. in fine. t & c. 21. circà Med. Cap. the Earth, or to the Natura rerum ſubjace s Soli, which he confirms by this obſervation, Hinc eſt quod continuatis uberibus corpus Deae omne denſetur, quod terrae vel rerrum Naturae altu nutritur Ʋniverſitas. And this was the reaſon why Iſis or Io, by the Egyptians, was Worſhiped in the Form of an Ox; that Animal among them being a Symbolical Emblem of that Fruitfulneſs and Plenty which the And to which the Ox contributes by its Labor in the Field, and which is fed and ſuſtained, as all other Animals are by its productions. Earth produces, as appears by the fat and lean Kine in Pharaoh's Dream, which was interpreted by Joſeph, of the Barrenneſs and Fertility of the Earth; and perhaps from that Interpretation of his, this Symboliſm which had divine Authority to make it Sacred, began, as perhaps alſo the Worſhip of Apis, which with a little mutation, was as much as Alphis, from the Hebrew Eleph, ſignifying an Ox; and thence alſo was the Greek and Latin Elephas, and Elephantus, as being looked upon only as a larger ſort of Ox or Bufaloe in the Eaſt.

But this is further confirmed by what Macrobius ſaith in another place, where among other Arguments, by which he learnedly and plainly proves, that Mercury and the Sun were ſometimes antiently taken for the ſame, he uſes this,

Argiphontes praetereà cognominatur, Macrob. Satur. L. 1. c. 19 (Mercurius) non quod Argum peremerit, quem ferunt per ambitum capitis multorum Oculorum luminibus ornatum, cuſtodiſſe Junonis Imperio Inachi filiam Io ejus deae pellicem converſam in bovis Formam: Sed ſub hujus modi Fabulâ Argus eſt Caelum ſtellarum luce diſtinctum; quibus ineſſe quaedam ſpecies Caeleſtium videtur Oculorum. Caelum autem Argum vocitari placuit à candore & velocitate, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , & videtur terram deſuper obſervare, quam Aegyptii Hieroglyphicis literis c m ſignare volunt, ponunt bovis Figuram; is ergo ambitus Caeli, ſtellarum luminibus ornatus, tunc aeſtimatur enectus à Mercurio, cum Sol diurno tempore obſcurando ſidera, velut enecat, vi luminis ſui conſpectum eorum auferendo mortalibus.

But yet there are ſome that will needs Intel. Syſt. c. 4. p. 350. falſly marked 410. have Iſis to be the Supream Numen, or the Eternal and Omnipreſent Mind, by whoſe Providence all things are forecaſt and contrived, and by his Power and Will concurring, reduced into Act, to which purpoſe they alledge the Capuan Inſcription.

TIBI. ƲNA. QƲAE. ES. OMNIA. DEA. ISIS.

But by their leave, this do's not prove any more than that by this Iſis, was meant the Ʋniverſal Matter or Primigenial Maſs, which in ſome ſenſe may be ſaid to be una or one, conſidered all together, and omnia or all, with reſpect to the infinite variety of the material or aſpectable World, which is all of it compoſed out of ſeveral Modifications of this Primigenial Maſs. And ſo alſo Thetis in what hath been ſaid before; which is ſometimes taken ſtrictly for the Watery Maſs, or the Genius, Nymph, or Daemon appertaining to it, is alſo, and that moſt properly, as hath been ſhewed, taken for the whole Chaos or Ʋniverſal Maſs, conſiſting of Earth and Water; and She was therefore by the Greek and Latin Poets, appropriated to the Water, becauſe the Chaos was antiently over whelmed with them; and all things were ſuppoſed, in the beginning of Things, to have ariſen and ſprung from thence; and the Earth and Water having at firſt been mingled together, and never yet ſo wholly ſeparated, but that they are ſtill contiguous, ſo that they ſtill contribute each of them their quota or proportion, to the making up an entire Globe; and that they are ſtill not only by Showrs, but by ſubterraneous Springs, and by the ſecret Paſſages both of the Seas and Rivers into the Caverns of the Earth, incorporated into one another; And laſtly, Being of a weight and conſiſtence, not ſo much differing as is uſually ſuppoſed, which is the reaſon the ſame Station in the Univerſe is aſſigned them; for all theſe Reaſons, it is almoſt indifferent whether you ſay that all things ſprang at firſt from the Earth, which is called Iſis, or from the Sea, which the Poets call Thetis, or from both of theſe, as Homer do's, when he makes the Ocean to have been the Father, and the Earth the Mother of all the Gods, that is, of all kind of Starry or Aetherial Concretions, of a more fine, and minute Conſiſtence, which were at firſt mingled and jumbled with theſe groſſer Parts, and in proceſs of Time were ſeparated from them.

Neither am I at all moved from my Sentiments by the Authority of Plutarch, who, Intel. Syſt. p 349. falſly marked 409. as the ſame learned Writer tells us, affirms that Iſis and Neith, were really one and the ſame God among the Egyptians, and therefore the Temple of Neith or Minerva at Sais, is called by him, (that is, Plutarch,) the Temple of Iſis. For that the Aegyptian Neith or Neithas, the Latin Minerva, and the Greek Pallas or Athena are the ſame, is that which I ſhould have eaſily granted, and this Learned Author himſelf hath ſufficiently proved it. Firſt, From the Teſtimony of Proclus upon the Timaeus, who ſaith that the Grecian Athens and the Egyptian Sais had but one and the ſame Tutelar preſiding over it. Secondly, By comparing a place of Athenagoras, and another of Jamblichus together, the former of which interprets 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or Minerva, to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that Wiſdom or Providence which pervades or paſſes through all things; and the latter ſaith of the Aegyptian Deity, that it was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Name of a God penetrating and inſinuating himſelf through the whole World; to which he adds likewiſe a Paſſage of Horapollo, who ſaith of God according to the Aegyptians, That he was a Spirit diffuſing it ſelf through the World, and intimately pervading all things; that is, both the Egyptians by their Neith or Neithas, the Latins by their Minerva, and the Greeks by their Pallas and their Athene, underſtood an Omnipreſent divine Mind or Ʋnderſtanding united to a certain Subtle or Aetherial Matter, of which it makes great uſe in its external Operations. Thirdly, He proves the ſame by comparing the Inſcription upon the Temple of Sais, concerning Neith or Neithas, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . I am all that was, is, and ſhall be, and my Peplum or Vail no mortal hath ever yet uncovered, with a place of Servius concerning Minerva. Peplum eſt propriè palla picta Feminea Minervae conſecrata; in both which places the Peplum or Vail is the ſubtle Matter of the Ʋniverſe, which was looked upon as the Cloathing or Body of the Deity; as in what hath been ſaid above, it was called the Skin of the Amalthean Goat, the Reaſons of which have been already aſſigned, and Pherecydes by another word, but ſtill pointing and aiming at the ſame Notion, that the Aether was the Garment or Covering, or Body of the Divinity, calls it the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or Cloak of Jupiter.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

That is, Jupiter makes himſelf a large and beautiful Cloak, and in it he Paints or Weaves the Ocean, and the Habitations thereof, that is, the Iſlands, and the greater Continents that are to be met with in it; and ſo the ſenſe of this Egyptian Monument, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . And my Vail no mortal Man hath ever uncovered, will be this, My Vail it ſelf which is, as it were, my Body compoſed of Subtle and Aetherial Matter; this, as being a ſenſible Object, you may behold with mortal and material Eyes, but my immortal and immaterial Part in which my Underſtanding, my Will, my Power, my Goodneſs, my Juſtice, and all my Perfections and Attributes reſide; this no mortal, no material Eye can ſee, nor any finite Underſtanding comprehend; ſo then, this being the true Notion of Neith or Minerva, that it is the Subtle or Aetherial Matter of the Univerſe, actuated and animated by a divine Mind, very different from the dull, ſtupid, groſs and unactive Earth; it would be very ſtrange if Iſis, who is without queſtion, the ſame with the Earth, ſhould be the ſame with Neith or Minerva alſo; beſides, that when Pherecydes compares this Globe of Earth and Water, with its Ornaments of Trees, Flowers, and Inhabitants, to the Painting or Weaving of a Device upon a Garment, or to the Badge upon it, and if we conſider the infinite diſproportion which there is betwixt this little inconſiderable Maſs, and the vaſt Circumference of the ſpacious Aether, we may as well ſay, not only that a Watermans, a Porters, or a Bedles Badge, is the Coat or Cloak upon which it is found; but that even a Button or Shoulderknot upon a Coat, are the Coat or Garment it ſelf upon which it is worn, as that Neith, or Minerva, and Iſis, are the ſame.

But, becauſe the Authority of Plutarch, which is deſervedly Great, is not for that reaſon ſlightly to be rejected, therefore I ſhall ſhew that he is not ſo much to be reli'd upon in theſe Matters, by conſidering and expoſing ſome other of his Aegyptian Miſtakes: Of Serapis, he ſays that he was ſo called from the Egyptian word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which he renders by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſignifying a Feaſt of Joy and Gladneſs for the return of the Sun out of the Winter Signs, to bring a new Spring, a new Summer, new Plenty, and a new Harveſt into Egypt, and thus much is true. Firſt, That 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 might very well ſignifie this in the Egyptian Language, which was very nigh of kin to the Hebrew. For in Hebrew Shour is Cantavit, Cecinit, and Shir is Canticum, and the Song of Solomon is called in Hebrew by the Name of Shir ha ſhirim, the Song of Songs, and Songs were always a principal Expreſſion of the Joy and Gladneſs of ſuch Feſtival Solemnities.

Secondly, It is true that there was ſuch a Feaſt as he ſpeaks of, which Macrobius calls Hilaria, and points us to the very day upon which it was uſed to be Celebrated in theſe words, where ſpeaking of the Names and Ceremonies belonging to the Sun among the Phrygians, Aegyptians and others, he ſays, Praecipuam autem Solis in his Ceremoniis verti rationem, hinc etiam poteſt colligi, quod ritu eorum (Aegyptiorum) catabaſi finit â ſimulatione que luctûs peractâ, celebratur laetitiae exordium ad octavum Kalendas Aprilis, quem diem Hilaria appellant, quo primum tempore Sol diem longiorem nocte protendit. And what he means by the Catabaſis or Deſcent of the Sun, he ſufficiently explains in ſeveral places of this Chapter, where he divides the Signs af the Zodiac into Superiora and Inferiora, by the former underſtanding the Summer, and by the latter the Winter Signs of every reſpective place; ſo in the beginning of the Chapter, Sol annuo greſſu per duodecim ſignorum ordinem pergens, partem quo que Hemiſpherii inferioris ingreditur, quia de duodecim ſignis Zodiaci ſex Superiora, ſex Inferiora cenſentur; and again a little after, Cum Solemerſit ab Inferioribus partibus terrae, vernaliſ que aequinoctii tranſgreditur fines augendo diem tunc eſt & Venus laeta, &c. And other Expreſſions there are to the ſame purpoſe, which it is needleſs to Tranſcribe.

But now in the firſt place, This Etymon from the Egyptian 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or the Hebrew Shir, by the Addition of an Aleph, which I have ſhewn already to be indifferently added or omitted, in the inſtances of Aram, Armenia, Aſſyria, Acheron, Orpheus, and others, had been a much more tolerable account of Oſiris than Serapis.

Secondly, It would be a puzling Queſtion, if Plutarch had been alive, and a Man ſhould have put it to him, why had he not his Name from Grief as well as Joy? or indeed rather from the former than the latter. For they mourned for his abſence ſix Months together; but this Feſtivity which was called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , was as hath been proved, but of one days continuance.

Thirdly, The Aegyptians did not rejoyce for the return of the Sun, under the name of Serapis, but Oſiris, as is evident from Macrobius, who tells us expreſly, that the Phrygians performed this Ceremony to A •• imes, and the Aegyptians to Oſiris; for ſo having ſaid what was laſt before cited concerning the Phrygians wellcoming their Attines, by which Name they call the Sun; after a ſix Months Period of Lamentation, he adds, Idem ſub diverſis nominibus Religionis effectus eſt apud Aegyptios cum Iſis Oſirin luget; where, what he ſays, ſub diverſis nominibus, is not ſo to be underſtood, as if the Aegyptians in the performance of this Religious Cuſtom, were uſed to invoke the Sun by divers Names, who in the Celebration of this Myſtery was never called by any other Name than Oſiris, according to that of the Satyriſt. Exclamare libet populus quod clamat Oſiri Invento.

But only that whereas, the Phrygians welcomed the returning Sun under the name of Attines, and the Earth was repreſented as mourning for his abſence, under the Name of Mater Deûm; the Aegyptians meaning the ſame thing, and uſing the ſame Ceremony, and at the ſame time that the Phrygians did, yet had different Names for the Objects of their Devotion, calling the Earth Iſis, and the Sun Oſiris.

Laſtly, The true and unqueſtionable Etymology of Serapis, is from the Hebrew Saraph, ſignifying to burn, in which all the Radicals of this Name Serapis, are evidently contained, and the ſcortching Heat and fiery Nature of the Sun, is alſo very aptly expreſt and ſignified by it, and from hence the Seraphim had their Names, being not Aerial Demons, but an Order of Spirits, whoſe Vehicles were of an Aetherial Conſiſtence, conſiſting of igneous or lucid Parts, as the Cherub at the Entrance of Paradiſe, is deſcribed, holding a Flaming Sword in his hand; and according to what the Pſalmiſt ſaith of God in a very known place, That he maketh his Angels Spirits, and his Miniſters a Flame of Fire.

Secondly, Another inſtance which I ſhall give of Plutarchs unskilfulneſs in theſe Matters, ſhall be taken from what he ſaith concerning Oſiris; of which he gives two ſeveral Interpretations, Firſt, That it is as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; Os, as he ſays, among the Aegyptians, De Iſ. & Oſir. ſignifying many, and Irin an Eye. Secondly, That it is as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , an active and beneficent Power; and in another place, it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , The firſt and higheſt of all things, the ſame with the Tagathon or ſupream Good; which is alſo confirmed by a Paſſage of Jamblichus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , V. Intel. Syſ. p 151 falſly marked 411. that the ſupream Numen from its beneficent Nature, or from its Attribute of Goodneſs, is called Oſiris. Now in the firſt place, it may ſeem very ſtrange that the ſame word in the ſame Language, ſhould ſignifie two things ſo different from one another, as that which hath many Eyes, and that which hath abundance of goodneſs and beneficence in its Nature, though indeed in a ſymbolical way ſuch a thing might be, in as much as many Eyes may be a pretty natural ſymbol of Care and Circumſpection, but then this Care ſo far as it depends upon this Symbol, is perfectly indifferent either to Good or Evil, and there is no reaſon why it ſhould be reſtrained to one, rather than the other, for Watchfulneſs and Circumſpection may be to bad purpoſes as well as to good. But Secondly, If by Oſiris be meant the Sun, as there is no manner of queſtion but that was the meaning, why ſhould he be called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , who had but one Eye, as hath been already diſcourſed in what hath been ſaid above concerning the Cyclops, nay, whoſe Hieroglyphic and Symbol was not many Eyes, as this Interpretation of Plutarch may ſeem to inſinuate but one, they are the expreſs words of Macrob. concerning him. Satur. l. 1. c. 21. Oſirin Aegyp ut Solem eſſe aſſerant, quotiens Hieroglyphicis literis ſuis exprimere volunt, inſculpunt ſceptrum, n que eo ſpeciem oculi exprimunt, & hoc ſigno Oſirin monſtrant; ſignificantes hunc Deum Solem eſſe, regali que poteſtate ſu limem cuncta deſpicere: Quia Solem Jovis, (i. e. Aetheris,) oculum app llat antiquitas. Thirdly, It is to be obſerved, that there was antiently a very great Affinity betwixt the Aegyptian, Chaldean, Perſian, and Hebrew Tongues. Now there is nothing in Hebrew to make up the Name of Oſiris, that ſignifies either 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . For taking for granted what Plutarch tells us that Irin in the Aegyptian, ſignifies an Eye, which I believe to have been a miſtake, and that this Irin of his was nothing but a corruption of the Hebrew Hajin, which ſignifies an Eye, but will not do his buſineſs for want of an there is no word in Hebrew that comes any thing nigh the other part of the compoſition, unleſs it be Hatſam, multum, numerorum eſſe, and at that rate it ſhould be Otſ ••• ris, not Oſiris, without the Eliſion of the M. which is in this caſe very uncouth and hard; or from Phouſh, Abundare, Augeſcere, Multiplicare, and ſo it ſhould be Phoſiris; beſides, that theſe two Significations aſſigned by Plutarch, are therefore inconſiſtent with each other, becauſe the former of them ſuppoſes the word Oſiris to be a compound, but the latter a ſimple, as ſhall be hereafter declared; in the mean time, to ſhew the validity of this Argument, which is drawn from the great likeneſs of the Aegyptian and Hebrew, and other Oriental T ng es. I will inſtance in all the Perſian and Aegyptian Gods that came to my mind, moſt of which were but ſo many Names of the Sun, and ſhew plainly that they are all of them as to their ſignification agreeable to the Hebrew, though as to their particular Application to the Sun or the Earth, they were peculiar to the Perſian or Aegyptian Soil.

FINIS.
The INDEX. A. APpeals in caſe of Murther in the Law of England taken, though imperfectly from a cuſtom of like Nature among the Jews. p. 9. 10. Aſtarte, Aſhtoreth, Aſhtaroth. See the various acceptations, from p. 263 to 269. Aegyptians, the Law of the Leviratus obtained among them. p. 10. 11. Aegypt. why ſuppoſed antiently to have been recovered out of the Water. p. 93. Avus. Avunculus from the Hebrew. Ab. p. 24. Aventinus Mons, whence ſo called. p. 23. Acheron, what and whence ſo called. p. 27. Armenus, Armenia, whence ſo called. p. 28. v. & p. 126. Aleph and Hajin, Hebrew Letters of much the ſame poteſtas. p. 29. 30. Agag v. Og, Agagite v. Haman. Attica, what it ſignifies in the antient Mythology, and why? p. 36. See alſo from p. 119. to p. 126. in which much of the Scripture Hiſtory is vindicated and confirmed. Aſtrology, its riſe and vanity. p. 61. 62. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , v. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Alah, ſee Elon, Adonis, from the Hebrew or Phaenician Adon, or Adonai. p. 85. Amarus, from the Hebrew Mar, by the addition of an Aleph. p. 127. Amphion, a Name of the Sun. p. 130, 131. Apollo, why ſaid to preſide over Herbs? And why over Muſick and Medicine? from p. 129, to 131. Why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. p. 133. Apollo, whence ſo called, p. 164. Why appeaſed with white Sacrifices. p. 18 . Why born in Delos. p. 224, 225. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Minervae ſcutum, the Body of the Sun, as Minerva her ſelf was the whole Aether. p. 194, to 197. Aurora, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Why ſo called. p. 199, 200. qu. aurea hora. p. 200. Aqua, Aquila, Aquilo, Acus, Acuo, Acies, Acumen, whence and what. p. 242, 243. Atergatis, v. Derceto. B. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , from the Hebrew Bier. p. 16. Benus, Benè, Benignus, Bonus, whence. p. 16. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . emendati. p. 41, 42. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Glans, whence. p. 77. Brontes, the ſame with the Sun. p. 172. Bachus, a Name of the Sun. p. 191. Boreas, from the Hebrew, Barach. p. 243. Baal, the ſame with the Sun. p. 265. whence ſo called. p. 266, 267. Bohel, Bahala. ib. C. Cornu, from the Hebrew Keren. Kalabra, curia Kalabra, why ſo called. p. 16. Charon, whence ſo called p. 27. Cocytus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 28. 29, 30. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Cam lus, from the Hebrew Gamal. p. 52. Ceritus, actus à Cerere, Lymphatious p. 70. Cecrops, the firſt King of Athens, according to the Greeks, who did not underſtand their own Mythology. The ſame with Adam, and why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Geminus, Biformis, ſee largely from p. 145, to 163. Candeo, Candens, Candidus, Candor, Candela, Cicindela, Excandeſco, ncendo, Succendo, Succenſus, Succenſeo, all from the Hebrew Kanna, Zelotypum eſſe, Zelo Flagrare. p. 163. Cyclops, the Cyclops, the ſame with the Sun, being but three ſeveral partial conſiderations of his Influence and Vertue, from p. 168, to 173. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Aether, and why ſo called. p. 192. to 194. Chaos, from the Hebrew Choſhek; and from Chaos were deſcended Erebus, Nox, Aether, Dies, Amor, Dolus, Metus, Labor, &c. and the meaning of all this from p. 207. to 209. the Etymon defended, and Chaos ſhewn according to ſome of the Antients, to have been the Original and Sourſe of all things, as well Gods as Men. p. 215. to 222. Caeus the Titan, the ſame with the Earth. p. 261. v. p. 263. Chemoſh, of the Moabites, the ſame with the Sun. p. 265. D. Divan, vox Turcica, what and whence. p 15. Dey, the chief Magiſtrate of Tunis, why ſo called. p. 15. Drogerman interpres, vox Turcica, unde. p. 28. Deucalion, his Flood, the ſame with Noahs, from p. 54, to 117. &c. See Pyrrha. Divine Nature, v. Eternity. Dodona, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the place where the Ark reſted, and where Noah offered his firſt Sacrifice, as is probably made out, and a probable reaſon from Etymology aſſigned, from p. 79, to 90. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , its moſt antient and proper ſenſe. p. 90. Dam, Sanguis, why in Hebrew ſo called. p. 126, 127. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Aerial Demons, hovering about the Earth. p. 186. by Plato taken for the Aetherial alſo. p. 184, to 186. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 p. 188. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a Name of the Sun. p. 191. Diana, why ſaid to be born in Delos. p. 224, 225. Delus, a Name of the Sun, p. 226. to p. 235. The whole Earth in ſome ſenſe may be called Delos. p. 230. as well as that particular Iſland where Apollo was Worſhiped and ſaid to be Born. ib. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , whence derived. ib. Dies, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 241. Draco, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 259. Derceto, the Tohu or Univerſal Maſs; ſometimes it ſeems to comprehend the efficient and material Cauſe together, her Statute explained. p. 270. to 273. E. Eternity, ſucceſſive according to Antiquity, and the divine Nature extended. p. 59 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , uſually ſignfies the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 66. Elon, Elan, Alah, Helion, an account given of the Fable of Mens being Born, ex rupto robore, from p. 74. to 77. Eurydice, a Name of the Moon, and why ſo called? And the Fable concerning Her and Orpheus explained. p. 139, 140. Eurymedon, a Name of the Sun. p. 140. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſee Juno. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſee Aurora. Erebus, from the Hebrew Hereb, and that Etymon defended. p. 219. to 222. Expanſum, v. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Eagles, why dedicated to the Honor and Service of the Sun. p. 260. F. Fathers, their power abſolute ever their Children, as well by the Roman as the Jewiſh Law. p. 7. Facio, for Macto, whence. p. 17. Flamen Dialis, wore a white Hat, and why. p. 182. Firmamentum, v. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . G. Gyges, the ſame with Ogyges. p. 46. why Centimanus, and why Semibos. p. 47. his Ring and Brazen Horſe explained. p. 47, 48, 49 to 53. The Deſcription of Gyges his Flood, very agreeable to that of Noah, ib. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Gigas, whence ſo called. p. 53. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Glans, v. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . H. Husbands, their Power abſolute over their Wives as well by the Roman as the Jewiſh Law. p. 7, 8. Haſah, in Hebrew what, and Hoſtia, Hoſtis, Hoſtimentum, Hoſtire, whence. p. 17. Hir, in Hebrew what. p. 21. Haman, the Agagite, and why ſo called. v. p. 41. &c. Hereb in Hebrew, what. p. 61. Helion, ſee Elon. Hephaeſtus, ab Eſhta, a Name of Vulcan, the ſame with the Sun. p. 163, 164. I. Jupiter, Lapis, where probably worſhiped. p. 23. Inachus, the ſame with Noah, p. 34. Jupiter, the ſame with the Sun. p. 169. or with the pure Aether. p. 171 which two things are likewiſe largely proved in ſeveral other places, ſee particularly p. 191. &c. why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 169. why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 179. p. 191, &c. why' 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 180. Why appeaſed with the Sacrifice of a white Lamb upon the Ides of every Mouth. p. 182. ſee Juno. Jupiter, a Name of the Univerſal Nature, or of the Univerſal Efficient Cauſe in Conjunction with the Material. p. 204, 205. Why born at Crete. p. 224, 225. Juno, the Atmoſphere or the Airy Region. p. 169. v. p. 175. ſometimes taken for the Moon. p. 181. The Quarrels between Her and Jupiter, in the Poets Phyſiologically ſolved. p. 182. why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . by Homer. p. 198. to 202. why ſaid to be the Wife of Jupiter. p. 201. 202. Iſis, the Maſs of Earth and Water, or the paſſive Principle of Nature. p. 204. v. & p. 273. to 275. Why worſhiped in the form of an Ox. p. 273. L. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , what and whence. p. 55, 56. Linus, a Name of the Sun, from p. 135, to 138. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a Feaſt in honor of Minerva, Vulcan and Prometheus, what it meant. from p. 229 to 235. Latona, a Name of the Earth. p. 261, 262, 263. M. Mola, from the Hebrew Melach, Sal, p. 15, 16. Mezentius, from the Hebrew Maas ſprevit. p. 27, 28. Muſleman, Fidelis, Perfectus, vox Turcica, unde. p. 28. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 70. v. & p. 109. Minos, a Name of the ſupream Numen, the ſame in ſignification with Prometheus, and the Father of Deucalion, as the other was; ſee this largely inſiſted upon, and Objections anſwered; and the true Etymon of Minos aſſigned, from p. 108, to 112. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Mina, Minerva, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 108, 109. Minerva, ſee Neptune, her Aegis. or Shield, or Target, the ſame with the Body of the Sun. p. 179. why called by Homer 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 197, 198. the ſame with the Aetherial or Subtle Matter of the Univerſe. ib. ſee alſo p. 231, 232, 233, 234. ſee Pallas. Mulciber, Melec Abir, the ſame with Vulcan and the Sun. p. 173. Mythology of Antiquity to be Phyſiologically explained, according to the Opinion of Praetextatus i Macrobius. p. 178. Maranatha, whence ſo called. p. 266. N. Nox, from the Hebrew Nous, Fugit, p. 15. Noah, ſee Ogyges, and Inachus, and Deucalion. Neptune, the watry Subſtance of the Univerſe. p. 155, 156. Why called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 157, 158. The Contention between him and Minerva, in Apollodorus explained, and Objections anſwered, from p. 155, to 161. Neith. p. 276. O. Og, Ochus, Agag, Ogyges, from p. 29, to 31. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 31. & 35. Ogyges and Noahs Flood, the ſame. p. 33, &c. Ogyges and Inachus, the ſame with one another, and with Noah. p. 34. Ogygus or Ogyges, why ſaid by Cedrenus to be of the Seed of Japheth. p. 44, 45. ſee Gyges. v. & p. 117, 118. Orpheus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in Plato, what. p. 126, 127, 131. Orpheus, the ſame with the Sun, proved largely from p. 127, to 130. The Fables concerning him explained. ib. and p. 138, 139, 140. v. & p. 239, 240, 241. Oeager or Oeagrus, the ſame with the Sun. p. 132, 133. Oceanus, whence ſo called. p. 242. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Orion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , what and whence. p. 244. P. Pontifex, whence. p. 13, 14. Pomerium, what and why ſo called. p. 22. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , for, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 22. Proavus, whence. p. 24. Pignus, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Paena, Pawn, whence. p. 25. Pario, Partus, whence. p. 27. Prometheus, the ſupream Nature, and the ſame with the Sun amongſt the antient Greeks, proved largely from p. 56, to 63. ſee alſo from p. 229, to p. 235. ſee Pallas. v. p. 248, 249. Pyrrha, the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha explained, and a way found out to explain many other things in the Fabulous Antiquity that lie as yet undiſcover'd, from p. 63, to 65. Places dedicated to the ſervice and honor of God, were uſed to retain their Sanctity for a long time, from p. 81, to 85. Priapus, a Name of the Sun, whence ſo called, p. 164. Why painted and graven with a great Pudendum? Why worſhiped by the Sea-ſide, and called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. Why Sacrificed to with an Aſs? Why ſaid to be born at Lampſacum? from p. 224, 225. Pyracmion, the ſame with the Sun. p. 172. Pan, the Univerſal Nature. p. 202. Proteus, the Univerſal Nature, in what ſenſe. p. 202, 203, 205. A confuſion of the efficient and material Cauſe of the World. p. 272, 273. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as much as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Primus Exiſtens, in a Fragment of Orpheus. p. 205. Priapus, why feigned by ſome to be the Son of Bachus and Venus. p. 225. a Port and a City ſo called from the Worſhip of Priapus in them. p. 229. Pallas, ſee Minerva, born of Jupiters Head cleft in ſunder by Vulcan or Prometheus, the meaning of that Fable. p. 236, 237. Phoſphorus, ſee Titan, Paean, ſo Titan, Pandora, the ſame with our Firſt Mother Eve; the Fable concerning her explained. p. 238, 239. R. Romans, a Colony from the Eaſt. p. 12, 13. Rex, unde. p. 14. Reſh Gabbaci. p. 15. Riſeffendi, Turcica vox, unde. p. 15. Rebis, vox Arabica, quid. p. 15. Redhoſtire, what, and whence. p. 17. Ruo, whence. p. 25. Rakia, v. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . S. Sacrifices of Animals before the Flood, from p. 1. to p. 6. ſee alſo from p. 141, to 145. Sex. unde. p. 14. Suffetes, vox Punica, quid. p. 15. Stella, qu. Sterula, from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 85. Steropes, the ſame with the Sun. p. 172. Sun, The Sun according to the Antients, the Fountain of Vitality, the Author and Sourſe of Animality or Life. p. 60, &c. and in many other places more particularly from p. 233, to 236, &c. Why worſhipped in the form of a Serpent. p. 259. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Firmamentum, Rakiah, Expanſum, Vulgatus interpres notatus. p. 245, 246. Shamta, what and whence. p. 266. T. Tabanus, whence. p. 23. Turtur, from the Hebrew Tor, p. 80. Tubalcain, not the ſame with Vulcan. p. 163. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Stars or lucid Bodies of an Aetherial Conſiſtence. p. 183, to p. 185. Tartarus, the ſituation and extent of it. p. 189, 190. Thetis, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , why ſo called. p. 198. The Name of the Tohu or Univerſal material Nature. p. 205, 206. which is afterwards largely proved.—VVhy appropriated to the watery part of the Univerſe. p. 275, 276. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . what. p. 206. Tethys, the ſame with Tohu or the Primigenial Maſs, p. 209, to 214. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , what and whence ſo called. p. 246, to 248. Titan, for the Sun, Aſtra Titania. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Earth. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Vapours and Exhalations. The VVar betwixt the Titans and the Gods explained. p. 248, to 253. Titan, Hyperion, Phoſporus, Paean, Zeus, all of them the ſame. p. 258. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . what. p. 259. Themis, why taken for the Earth. p. 254, to 257. Titan, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Moon, p. 260. the Sun and all the Planets called by this Name. p. 263, &c. V. Venus, whence. p. 16. Victima, whence. p. 16. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a Name of the Sun. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as Amphion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 131. ſee Titan. Vulcan, whence ſo called. p. 163, 227. a Name of the Sun, and ſome Fables concerning him explained, from p. 163, to 167, VVhy ſaid to be the Son of Jupiter and Juno. p. 169. VVhy all VVorkmanſhip as well in VVood as Iron, was by the Poets attributed to Vulcan. p. 173, 174. Arma Vulcania. ib. Vulcan, why made to wait at the Feaſt of the Gods. p. 175, 176. VVhy called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and why 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 176, 177. ſee alſo concerning the Lampadophoria, from. p. 229, to 235. ſee Pallas. W. Water, the firſt Principle of all things, according to Thales, Anaxagoras, and others. p. 222, &c. Venus, why ſaid to be born of the ſpum of the Sea, and for that reaſon called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; why ſaid by others to be born in an Iſland, and thence called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 223, 224. Z. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , ſo Jupiter and Titan. Zoroaſter, whence ſo called. p. 265.
ERRATA.

Page. 6. line 5. for ſum read tum. p. 25. l. 20 r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 26. l. 7, r. comitio. p. 33. l. 19. r. Ogyges. p. 35. l. 10. r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 47. l. 10. r. Dele, of. p. 64. l. 1. for Capius r. Lapis. p. 67. l. 21. r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 p. 78. l. 12. r. ſo as. p. 85. l. 10. r. Saros, and in the Margin Haſar. ib. l. 21. Adonai. p. 89. l. 10. r. as a fifth, and in the Margin r. Suaſor 1. p. 90. in the Margin, l. 1. r. ſo, l. 8. r. that he. p. 92. l. 8. r. no violent VVind. p. 101. in the Margin, l. 1. r. Jaiin. l. 3. Jonah. l. ult. Bachus. p. 132. in the Margin, r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 132. l. 19. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . l. 20. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 136. in the Margin, l. 3, 4. Bellerophon. l. . 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . p. 138. l. 17. r. at others. l. 27. r. ſo this. p. 142. l. 13. r. it depended. p. 143. l. 9. r. rectangular. l. ult. r. are not to be heard. p. 14. l. 2. for leaſt, r. leſs. l. 22. r. Minervae. p. 148. l. 26. r. this antient. p. 158. l. 14. r. and ſhe. p. 203. l. 14. r. who that. in the Margin ib. r. of the ſame, &c. p, 264. l. 24. Dele, of.

Other Errata there are, and ſome of theſe of lit •• e conſequence, which are left to the correction of judicious Readers.