entertained by Helenus he received from him instructions how he should proceed in his voyage into Italy He departed and arrived at Drepanum in Sicily having happily past the coast of the Cyclopes where he saved a miserable fellow of the men of Vlysses left there behind by this vagabond and unfortunate Prince He passed also over-against the Promontories of Scylla and Caribdis without harm But this place was unfortunate unto him for there he lost his old Father Anchises who ended his days in a very decrepit age Acestes the Prince of the Country did comfort him by granting unto him all the assistance and favour that his dominions or abilities could afford And when Aeneas departed he furnished his ships with very good wine and all sorts of Provisions About this time Juno the sworn enemy of the Trojans sent to Aeolus the god of the winds to perswade him to let them flie out against Aeneas and his Fleet that it might be cast away He was reduc'd to the last extreamity by this Storm and had infallibly perish'd had not Neptunus been displeased because this tempest had happened without his privity or consent therefore he pacified the waves of the Sea and left the Fleet of Aeneas scattered upon the Coast of Africa near Carthage seven years after their depart from Troy At that time Elisa sirnamed Dido the Daughter of the King of Tyre the Widow of Sicheus had lately settled herself in Africa overagainst Drepanum in Sicily for when she saw her Husband murdered by Her wicked Brother Pigmalion who desired to get his riches into his possession and when she saw that he intended the same mischief to her she imbarked her self with all her riches which this Traitor had a design to take and sailed with them into Africa where for a vast sum of mony she bought from the Natives as much ground as she could compass with an Oxes hide to settle there her dwelling when she could obtain no more from them she caused the hide to be cut in very slender pieces so that they where able to compasse in a very large circuit of ground There she laid the Foundations of the City of Cartbage which was called at first Byâ—sa because of the Oxes hide Aeneas and all his men went to seek Protection from his Queen who received them very kindly She grew so amorous of Aeneas that she was willing to have made him her husband notwithstanding the resolution that she had formerly taken to marry none after Sicheus unto whom she had devoted her heart and affections when therefore Hiarbus King of Getulia her neighbour was a Suiter to her she sent him back with a flat denial and by that means procured unto herself his displeasure But when Aeneas had made some short stay in this place Jupiter dispatcht away a messenger unto him to command him to leave Africa and obey his Destinies that did call him into Italy Dido endeavoured in vain to stop him when therefore she saw him resolved to depart she loaded him with the curses and reproaches of a furious and despairing Lover then having caused a pile of wood to be erected she ascended upon it and kill'd her self with a sword prepared for that purpose Her body was burning in the sight of Aeneas when he was under sail Virgil relates the Story in this manner in the Fourth Book of the Aeneids after that in the First he had described that furious Storm that cast him after his depart from Sicily upon the coast of Africa where he was joyfully received by Dido In the second he relates unto this Queen the manner of the burning of Troy and in the Third Book he gives unto her an account of the several particulars that had happened unto him after his leaving of Troy until his first arrival into Sicily for the next year after he was forced by another tempest to put into Sicily when he had left Carthage At this time he paid unto the memory of his Father Anchises many funeral Rites celebrating several sorts of playes and combats upon his tomb Afterwards he left all the weak and decripit persons useless in war with Alcestes with the rest of his companions he passed into Italy He arrived very happily at Cumes where he visited the Sybil in her Cave that by her means he might go down into Hell and enter into the Elisian Fields to discourse with his Father and learn all the passages of his life and his future adventures He performed this Journey in the company of the Sybil having first found the golden branch which was at the entrance of Hell and which was to be presented by him to Proserpina At his return from Hell he puts again to Sea and sails with his Fleet to the mouth of the River of Tiber from thence he went to Laurentum to visit King Latinus who did command in that place This Prince received him with all expressions of kindness and when he understood the cause of his coming he promised to bestow upon him his onely Daughter Lavinia in marriage because he had been informed by the Oracle that the gods had designed her for this forrein Prince She had been nevertheless promised before to Turnus the King of the Rutuli and Amata the Queen her Mother the Wife of Latinus did mightily favour him This happy beginning did increase very much and raise the Spirits of Aeneas and caused him to forget all the miseries that he had endured in his long voyage of so many years But Juno was not a little displeased at his felicity therefore she sent for Alecto one of the furies of Hell to kindle a war and destroy the hopes of the Trojans Assoon as Turnus had understood these passages he gathered all his forces and those of his friends together to march against Aeneas and his Trojans But their number being few and not able to resist the god Tiberinus encouraged them when they were ready to faint away for fear and advised Aeneas to ascend higher up into the Country to the place where Rome was afterwards built to visit King Evander with whom he made a firm league and from whom he obtained succours which Pallas the only Son of this Prince was resolved to lead in Person to assist Aeneas He departed therefore with them to joyn with the Trojans whilest Aeneas accepting of a favourable opportunity that was there presented unto him to engage the Tyrrhenians in his party he departed into that Country to perswade them he found them all in arms against their King Mezentius who had committed most horrid cruelties for he did joyn and tie the living to the dead placing their mouths and all the foreparts of the bodies of the one against the same members of the other and did cause them to languish to death in this most cruel and loathsome manner The Army of Aeneas in his absence suffered many inconveniencie for Turnus had besieged them and his Subjects had burnt up their Ships which were afterwards turned by
His attendance were three frightful Spirits Apprehension Contention and Clamour Before him Fame full of Eyes Ears and Tongues did fly His Sister was Bellona that had usually a Bloody Whip in her hand He was said to be born in Thracia because the people of that Country did offer unto him Humane Sacrifices as other people did the Wolf the Vulture the Dog the Pye the Calf and the Horse He was mightily esteemed of the Romans because they held their beginning from him and gave out that Romulus was his Son Yet they would not suffer his Statues and Images to be raised in their City but caused them to stand without to intimate their inclination rather to Forreign then Civil War His Priests were named Salii because they did skip about his Altars that were erected under the same Roof as those of Venus to express the happy influences that the Stars Mars and Venus did poure upon us when they meet in the Nativity of Children Mavors sanguinea qui cuspide verberat urbes Et Venus humanas quae laxat in otia curas Aurati delubra tenent communia Templi The Poets take notice that Mars was released at the request of Neptunus when he was caught in Vulcans Bed with Venus for that old God did consider how it might be his own case to be surprised in the same manner CHAP. V. Of Apollo and of the Sun AT last Jupiter began to be weary of Juno and to desire change therefore to satisfie his appetite he cast his affections upon a certain Latona whom he entirely loved Juno was enraged when she heard of her Rivals happiness and sent against her a Serpent of a prodigious bigness named Python which was crept out of that filthy slime and matter that remained after the Deluge of Deucalion whereof we shall have occasion to speak hereafter And to the end that the poor Latona might not escape the fury of this Monster Juno had covenanted with the Earth to allow her no other retreat besides the Island of Delos which then was floting in the Aegean Sea and sunk under water Neptunus out of pity raised it up and fixed it in a place so that it might serve for a refuge and dwelling to this Exiled Creature when she was near the time of her Delivery Latona was there brought to Bed of Apollo and Diana upon the large leaf of a Palm-tree which by chance was found in that Desolate Island When Apollo came to be of years he remembred unto what shifts and extremity the Serpent Python had reduced his poor Mother therefore he kill'd him with his Bow and Arrows after a long and grievous fight during which these words Jo Paean were frequently heard From hence is derived the custome of singing and repeating these words in the publick Plays in the Triumphs and Victories After this happy Combat he begot a Son called Esculapius whom he committed to the Tuition of Chiron the Centaur to be brought up in the Mysteries of Physick whereof he was afterwards esteemed the God But Jupiter strook this Esculapius with his Thunderbolts because he restored to life Hyppolitus who had been torn in pieces by his own Chariot Horses when he fled from the fury of his Father as we shall see in the story of Theseus The death of Esculapius did not a little afflict Apollo and because he could not revenge himself upon Jupiter he kill'd the Cyclopes that had made the Thunderbolts with which his Son had been smitten Jupiter was highly incensed at him for this action and therefore banisht him out of Heaven and deprived him of the priviledges of his Divinity for a time Whiles he was thus banished and shut out of Heaven he endured a World of misery His poverty constrained him to go to the service of Admetus King of Thessaly to feed his sheep for a livelihood For that reason he was esteemed the God of Shepherds In this Quality they did offer unto him the Wolf the Enemy of the Sheep As he did one day keep his Cows Mercurius the God of Thieves stole from him one of the best and when he did complain of it and sought satisfaction the former Thief very subtilly stole from him his Quiver that hung upon his shoulders all which turned into sport and laughter The misery of Apollo could not hinder him from falling in love with a certain Daphne who would never consent unto his entreaties As she was one day running from his pursuits she was changed into a Laurel which therefore was consecrated unto Apollo But he met afterwards with a greater misfortune when he played with little Hyacinthus his Darling for while he was sporting with him by chance he strook him in such a manner that he died presently after The Earth was so much moved with compassion at this unhappy accident that she caused the Flower Hyacinthus a Violet to rise out of the drops of his Blood to perpetuate his Name to Posterity Apollo was in no small danger by this misfortune for some did concern themselves for the death of Hyacinthus seeking to revenge themselves upon him of whom being jealous he fled to the City of Troy where he met with Neptunus fallen also into the displeasure of Jupiter Both together seeing themselves reduced to extreme poverty in a strange Country far from their possessions resolved to enter themselves in the service of King Laomedon to help him to build his City They work't long for this ungrateful King but when they saw no hopes of the Reward promised to their labour they threatned to revenge themselves Neptunus with the swelling Waves of the Sea had almost drowned him and all his people and Apollo sent amongst them such a furious Pestilence that it left every where nothing but Desolation and Slaughter When Laomedon saw into what inconvenicies his perfidious dealing had brought him he consulted the Oracle that informed him that there was no other way to appease the displeasure of these angry Gods but by exposing every year a Virgin of Troy to be devoured by the Sea-Monsters The Lot fell at last upon the Kings Daughter Hesione but Hercules offered to deliver her and fight with the Sea-Monster if Laomedon would give him for the reward of his service the Horses begot of a Divine Seed which were then in his Stables at Troy The promise was made but perfidious Laomedon stood not to it when Hesione was set at liberty which so much incensed Hercules that he laid Siege to the City of Troy took and sackt it kill'd Laomedon and carried his Son into Captivity who was afterwards redeemed by the Trojans and for that cause was named Priamus as we shall see in the sequel of our discourse After all these misfortunes Apollo re-assumed again his Divinity and became one of the most noted of all the Gods not only by the great number of Oracles that he did give in several parts of the World but also by the several Functions and Offices that were
midst of the flames to be burned and consumed to ashes with him Evadne the Daughter of Iphys did love her Husband Capaneus so tenderly that she resolved to accompany him in death It is the custom of the Indians in Asia to this day to sacrifice and bury the dearest Wives of Princes with them for they believe the immortality of the Soul they send therefore such persons as have been dear unto them to serve them in another world and keep them company The Heathens did believe that Charon would never suffer such to pass into rest into the Elysian fields until their bodies or Reliques were buried in the earth In such a case they did fancy that the Souls were tossed up and down during the space of a hundred years upon the banks of the River Acheron over which they were to pass into Hell in Charons Boat as Virgil observes 6. Aeneid when Aeneas descended into Hell for the Sybil informs him of a wandring multitude of Souls Haec omnis quam cernis inops inhumataque turba est Portitor ille Charon hi quos vehit unda sepulti Nec ripas datur horrendas nec rauca fluenta Transportare prius quam sedibus ossa quierunt Centum errant annos volitantque haec littora circum Tum demum admissi stagna exoptata revisunt It was therefore esteemed a cruelty beyond expression to deny to the dead a burial for this cause all great Commanders were very careful after a battel to inter the bodies of their Souldiers that had lost their lives in their quarrels as we read in the Commentaries of Caesar and in Livius And Curtius observes how Alexander did encourage his men to fight for him after the Battel at the River Granicus by causing the Dead to be buried with solemnity and pomp and their Images to be erected as eternal Memorials of their Valour CHAP. XI Of Tantalus and of Pelops his Son VVHiles the Thebans and the men of Argos were at variance Tantalus and his Posterity were afflicted with many sensible evils The horrid impiety of this Prince was the cause of them for as he was one of the Sons of Jupiter the Gods at a certain time passing over the World did him the honour to lodge with him in his Palace Being therefore obliged to treat them at supper he caused the members of his Son Pelops to be cut in pieces and to be prepared for them to eat that he might try whether they would perceive it and whether they were really Gods Ceres was deceived at first for being extreme hungry she eat up one of the shoulders but the rest of the company did abominate this cruel Feast therefore in compassion of the young Prince they restored him to life again for Mercurius went down into Hell to fetch from thence his Soul and all his members were restored to him and established in their right place only in lieu of his shoulder which had been eaten they gave one of Ivory which had the virtue of healing all manner of diseases But Tantalus was punisht for his cruelty he was condemned to Hell to be there tortured with a continual appetite of hunger and thirst in the midst of waters and the plenty of all varieties that did fly from him when he did endeavour to catch at them as we have already said in the first Book His Daughter Niobe perisht also miserably because of her vanity and pride for having a great number of children she did prefer her self to Latona therefore Apollo and Diana destroyed all her Children with Arrows except one named Cloris which affliction cast her into a Consumption so that the regret and displeasure did dry her up From hence the Poets have taken occasion to say that she was changed into a Rock Pelops left Phrygia and departed into Greece to go to the Kingdom of Elis where he fell in love with Hippodamia the Daughter of Oenomaüs But this King having understood by the Oracles that his Son-in-law should be one day cause of his death he would never venture to give his Daughter to any man but upon this condition that he should first overcome him in a Chariot-Race or loose his life Pelops was not frighted with the danger therefore he undertook to run and that he might not miss of his purpose he won the Coach-man of Oenomaüs named Myrtilus with many golden promises and oblig'd him to disorder the Axle-tree of the Chariot in such a manner that it broke in the middle of the course The poor Oenomaüs fell to the ground and killed himself After his death Pelops took the Government of the Kingdom with his Daughter Hippodamia and in a short time he grew to be one of the most Illustrious Princes of his Age. From him the Peloponessus called now Morea is so named Nevertheless he was very unhappy in his Children Atreus and Thyestes although Agamemnon and Menelaus the Sons of Atreus were the most famous men of that time But these particulars we may take notice of in the following Chapters Tantalus the Son of Jupiter and of the Nymph Plote or as some say the Son of Aethon was married to Anthemoissa the Daughter of Lycus and as some do relate to Euryanissa the fair Daughter of Taygetes one of the Pleiades He had two Sons Broteas and Pelops and an only Girl called Niobe He is noted for his indiscretion in discourse for he revealed all the secrets of the Gods and for his unseasonable curiosity that moved him to an inhumane act massacred his own Son Pelops who was restored to life again and instead of a shoulder of flesh eaten by Ceres the Gods bestowed upon him an Ivory shoulder In remembrance of this favour all the Race of Pelops did bear an Ivory shoulder blazoned in their Coat of Arms. But Tantalus was sent down to Hell to be punisht with want and with the fear of a falling Rock that was placed over his head besides the Eumenides did continually wait upon him to disturb his quiet with their grim looks and fearful bawlings This intimates the grievous and troublesome estate of a Conscience wounded with a crying sin The Furies of Hell cannot be more unpleasant and their company bring more torment than a Soul awakened with the sense of a crime Pelops his Son is said to be a great Favourite of the Gods because he did excel in beauty and had served some of them in presenting unto them the Cup at a Supper therefore they restored him to life and when he desired Hippodamia in Marriage Neptunus furnisht him with four brave Horses and a Chariot to run for his Mistress with her cruel Father He was m re happy than the former Wiers by the treachery of Myrtilus the Coachman of Aenomaus for this Varlet being corrupted by the promises of Hippodamia who desired passionately Pelops for her Husband and by the perswasions of Pelops himself he betrayed his Masters life for which he was cursed by Oenomaus
first who built this City and who commanded there in Chief was Dardanius the Son of Electra and of Jupiter When he had kill'd his Brother Jasius he was forced to fly away and secure himself in Phrygia where he espoused the Daughter of King Teucer with whom he joyntly reigned in that Country which was sometimes named Tâ—ucria and sometimes Dardania The City of Troy did also bear the same name In the time that Moses left the leading of the People of Israel to Joshua about 700 years before the building of the City of Rome and 650 years after the first Foundations of the Assyrian Monarchy Dardanus left his Kingdom to his Son Erichthonius who begot Tros When he was possest of the Kingdom he called the City after his own name Troja and the Country round about was named Troas This Tros had several sons first Ganimedes who was ravisht by Jupiter Assaracus the Father of Capys of whom was Anchises the Favourite of Venus who had by him Aeneas born upon the banks of the River Simois But the chief of his Children and the Heir of his Crown was Ilus who gave unto the City of Troy the name of Ilium when he had mightily enriched it Laomedon succeeded Ilus his Father it was â—e that built the walls of the City of Troy by the assistance of Apollo and of Neptunus as we have noted in the fifth Chapter of the former Book He had promised unto them with an Oath a certain reward for their labour but he was so unworthy afterwards as to refuse it which caused them to afflict him with many diseases So that to satisfie them he was forced to expose his own Daughter Hesione to be devoured of the Sea-Monsters We have also taken notice how he treated with Hercules to deliver her from the danger and how he dealt treacherously also with him as he had done formerly with Neptunus and Apollo But it proved the cause of his ruine for Hercules gathered together the Forces of his Friends especially of Telamon the King of Salamis and the Father of Ajax and then besieged this Traytor Laomedon He put him to death and carried away all his wealth with Hesione his Daughter who was married to Telamon His Son also was taken and made prisoner but his Subjects redeemed him and therefore he was called Priam which in Greek signifies a Redeemed When Priam saw himself established in the Kingdom he began to enlarge his Dominions and to render the City of Troy far more famous than ever it was before for he rebuilt all the walls adorning them with Forts and Bastions which were then called Pergama His Wives name was Hecuba the Daughter of the King of Thracia she had by him several Children Hector Polites Deïphobe Helenus the Soothsayer Troïlus Paris and Polydorus Polyxene Cassandra and Creüsa were his Daughters His Court and Palace were full of pomp and glory and he lived in this prosperous estate many years But at last he was so unhappy as to behold with his own eyes the desolation and utter ruine of the City of Troy that lasted only three hundred years We shall see how this change came to pass Laomedon had eight Children 〈…〉 Daughters Lampus Clitio and 〈…〉 mentioned by Homerus 〈…〉 Priamus Antigone and 〈…〉 remarkable Their 〈…〉 perjury that when any of 〈…〉 faithful they are said to be 〈…〉 Laomedon Antigone had such a rare beauty that she preferred her self to Juno who changed her into a Stork Titonus was married to Aurora of whom the brave Champion of Aegypt Memnon was born Priam succeeded his Father Laomedon Of Hecuba he had nineteen Children Whiles he remained in peace and espoused not the quarrels of the Asian people against Greece he prospered and his Kingdom flourished mightily but when he engaged himself in the publick enmity of his Country and suffered Paris to affront the Grecians he brought upon himself and his Subjects utter ruine and destruction as Herodotus takes notice But of him hereafter CHAP. XIV Of Paris VVHen Hecuba was with-child of Paris called otherwise Alexander she dream't that she was bringing into the world a Firebrand that should kindle the flames of War in the Country and cause a general destruction in it For this cause as soon as he was born Priam delivered him into the hands of a Souldier named Archâ—laus that he might cast him away in the Woods to be devoured of the wild beasts and prevent the mischief that did threaten his Kingdom But the Mother seeing a Child so well shapt and beautiful she was moved with compassion for it therefore she caused it to be secretly nourished by Shepherds in Mount Ida. This mean Education did not take from him the generous qualities and inclinations which he had borrowed from his Illustrious Birth for in every occasion he did make a great Courage Prudence and Justice Virtues worthy of a Prince appear to the world So that Juno Pallas and Venus agreed to chuse him the sole Arbitrator and Judge of their Concerns in a difference between them This was the business At the Nuptials of Peleus and Thesis whiles these Goddesses were merry at the Feast the Goddess of Discord cast into the middle of the Company a Golden Apple with this Inscription For the fairest and most Beautiful Each of these did claim it as their own and because they could not agree they resolved to leave it to the judgment of Paris who was corrupted with the charms of Venus and with her promises for she had engaged to procure unto him the handsomest Lady of the World-Thus he despised the Riches of Juno the Wisdom of Pallas and pronounced his sentence in favour of Venus therefore he provoked the wrath of these Goddesses against himself and all his Nation After this in a Meeting he declared who he was for the Nobles and Gentry of the Country being assembled near the City to see the sport of Wrastling when every one did strive to express his strength and courage he did also go forth and laid upon the ground every one who ventured against him Hector the Son of Priam did try his strength and was also overcome But this disgrace so inrag'd him against Paris that he offered to kill him for he esteemed him no better than a Country Clown In his anger he had taken away his life had not Paris to prevent him shewn unto him certain small Jewels which Queen Hecuba his Mother had delivered to his Tutor and thereby declared unto him how he was his Brother King Priam that had admired his address and courage in the Combats was ravisht with joy to understand of the preservation of such an excellent Son therefore he imbrac't him brought him to his Palace and gave him a unto Train suitable to his quality for he had forgot how the Oracles had foretold that he was to be the cause of the ruine of the Kingdom and Country And because he was full of generosity and valour he could not
rest satisfied with the enjoyment of the pleasures of the Court Therefore he caused a Fleet of twenty Ships to be made ready to sail into Greece and to demand his Aunt Hesione carried away by Hercules and married to Telamon But his design was rather upon Helena the Sister of Castor and Pollux mentioned in the fourth Chapter and who had been given in Marriage to Menelaus King of Sparta a City in the Peloponnesus He set sail and landed at Sparta where Menelaus perswaded by the intrigues Venus who had put Paris upon this enterprise received him with all expressions of kindness and civility And when his affairs did require his presence in Crete he left him at his Palace in his absence But the affection of this King was requited with a most notable Treason for Paris having secretly made friendship with Helena when he saw such a favourable opportunity he departed with her into Asia and carried her to Troy although Herodotus saith the contrary But Dares and Dictys two Writers of that time who were present at the Siege of Troy do confirm this Relation King Priam was glad of this action not only because of the hard usage that he had received from the Greeks during his captivity amongst them and because they had cruelly spoiled this City in the Reign of his Father Laomedon but also because he did hope by this means to recover out of their hands his Sister Hesione It was the custom of the Heathens when any strange accident did happen to consult the Oracles and to enquire from them what to do When Priam understood his Wives dream he sent also to take advice from the Oracle who informed him that the Child would be the cause of the Countries ruine To prevent this mischief he was designed for the slaughter as soon as he should come into the world but Providence and his Mothers compassion saved him and sent him to Mount Ida to the Kings Shepherd where he was brought up as his Son He proved as valiant as he was handsome but vice overcame his generous disposition He had two sons by Aenone a Nympb of Mount Ida Daphnis and Ideas who were as obscure as their Father was famons He was at first Renowned for his Justice and civil behaviour but the pleasures of the Court and the sudden change of his condition altered his temper and carriage so that when Menelaus had received him with all expressions of kindness he rewarded him with ungratitude he debaucht his Queen rifled his Palace plundered the City of Argos and carried all away Captive with Helena and with her two Ladies of Honour Ethra and Pisadia The Greeks did revenge this affront and unjustice by a most bloody War in which almoâ—t all the Children of Priam were kill'd and Paris also was mortally wounded by Philoctetes with the venomous Arrows of Hercules which had been dipt in the blood of the Hydra in a single fight Oenone his first Wife laboured to cure him but all her endeavours were in vain After his death she had so much love for her unfaithful Husband as to cast her self in the flames which did consume his Body CHAP. XV. Of the Grecians Preparations against Troy AGamemnon the King of Mycene a Kingdom of the Peloponesus near Argos was mightily concerned for the disgrace of Menelaus because as we have said in the twelfth Chapter they were Brethren the sons of Atreus therefore they were named Atreiâ— This was the cause that oblig'd him to acquaint the Princes of Greece with this notable affront which all the Nations had received They all agreed to consult about this business in two general Assemblies which were to meet in Sparta and in Argos It was there resolv'd that they should join all their forces together under the leading of Agamemnon to revenge this disgrace and that they should oblige themselves solemnly by Oath not to forsake the war until the men of Troy would submit to Reason Some of them were unwilling to ingage themselves in this war Vlysses the Son of â—â—ertes and King of 〈◊〉 and of Dulichia two small Islands of the Ionian Sea was one of them He could scarce forsake his Dear Wife Penclope of whom he had a Son named Telemachus His tender affection for her was a tie sufficient to keep him at home For that reason he did counterfeit a Mad man ane did joyn two ridiculous creatures to a plow driving them upon the Sea-shore which he had sown with salt instead of corn But as he was both brave and wise in feats of war the Grecians would not depart without him Therefore Palamedes undertook to discover his Knavery by means of his young Son whom he had got out of the hands of Penclope for he laid him down in the way by which the plow was to pass when Vlysses perceiv'd it he turn'd a little aside for fear of touching the Babe by this means Palamedes discovered that he was mad but in appearance out of a design therefore he was forc'd to take another resolution Afterwards in the heat of the Siege of Troy he reveng'd himself upon Palamedes for this discovery producing supposed Letters from Priam against him to perswade the Greeks that he had a design to betray the Army therefore he was stoned by the Souldiers There was no small difficulty to get also Achilles the Son of Peleus and of the Goddesse Thetis The Destinies had publish't that Troy could never be taken without the assistance of this invincible Captain from his Infancy Thesis had put him in the hands of Patrocles his friend and kinsman that he might study under Chiron the Centaure a most accomplished person not only in Physick and in Musick but also in all other Sciences and Arts required to render a man fit for great undertakings Instead of milk and other ordinary food he did suffer him to eat nothing but the marrow of Lyons and of wild Beasts that the courage and strength of these Animals might by that means be nourished in him from hence it is according to the judgment of some that he is named Achilles because being fed in this manner without any common diet he had no Children Afterwards Thesis carried him into Hell to dip him in the River Styx that he might be invulnerable all over his body except his heel which she held in her hand and which was not dipt with all this precaution she could not be freed from apprehension when the Greek Princes were to meet at the Rendezvous of the Army Therefore she sent him to the Court of King Lycomides in the habit of a Girl whiles he did there live as a young Lady he fell in love with the fair Deianira of whom he had a Son named Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus notwithstanding Vlisses found him out for when he came to the Palace of Lycomedes carrying with him several pretty things for the young Ladies of the Court he had amongst them beautiful Armes of which Achilles being led
by nature took hold and so discovered himself when therefore he could not be freed from going with the rest to the War Thesis desired Vulcan to make him such defensive Armes as might not be pierced to render him more secure in the midst of dangers The Haven of Aulis in Beocia over against the Island of Euhoea now named Negrepont was the Rendezvous of all the Army but they were many years in preparing all things necessary for so great a design for the Fleet was no less than twelve or thirteen hundred Ships And at last there happened an unfortunate accident that put a stop to the Voyage Agamemnon the General of the Army had kill'd by chance when he was in Hunting a Doe belonging to Diana This Goddess to revenge her self caused a fearful Plague to spread in the Army and destroy great multitudes of Souldiers The Oracles informed them that there was no other way to stop the increasing Evil and to appease the Wrath of this Goddess but to spill upon the Altar the blood of Agamemnon Vlisses understanding the meaning of this Language employed his cunning to cause the Daughter of this unfortunate Prince by name Iphigenia to come into the Camp We may easily imagine in what affliction he was in to see his own Chi d whom he tenderly loved with an extreame affection to be led to the slaughter when the Throat of this Princess was ready to be â—ut Diana had pitty of her and of her Fathers grief and therefore she put in her place a she Goat to serve for a Victime and transported this young Lady into her Temple at Tauris in Scythia recommending her to the keeping of her great Priest Thoas and appointing her to wait upon her Altars After this all things succeeded well and the Voyage proved happy untill they arrived at Troy only Telephus King of Misia endeavoured to hinder their passage but he was soon put to flight being desperately wounded with the Lance of Achilles The Oracle informed him that the only means to appease his grief and the only remedy to his Wounds was to be sought from the Lance that had made them Therefore he laboured to ingratiate himself with Achill s who having been instructed by the great Physitian Chiron knew how to cure him he sent unto him a Remedy in which there was some of the rust of the Spere which had wounded him Herodotus informes us that this expedition against Troy did proceed from an old grudge that the Grecians had against the Asians People which did encourage them to offer affronts to one another This was the true cause of the Voyage of Hercules and of his fellow Worthies against Laomedon In revenge Paris stole away the Pearl of beauty from the Grecians They in requital did besiege and sack Troy Darius and Xerxes the two Emperours of Asia made an iâ—rode into Graecia to revenge the injuries received from the Inhabitants of his Kingdoms many excellent Commanders and stout Souldiers were met together in this Army of Greece Palamedes was famous for his inventions He was an expert Engineer a Learned Mathematician a witty Astrologer and a wise Councellor Philostrates ascribes to him the invention of money of Sun-dials of weights and measures and of many other useful things he was the Son of Nauplius Prince of Euboea mightily envied by Ulisses for whil'st he lived the latter had little respect shewed unto him by his calumnies he rendred him odious to Agamemnon and then in the absence of Achilles he caused him to be stoned to death and to be proclaimed that none should offer to bury him Achilles and Ajax notwithstanding this prohibition put him in the ground and for his sake would not assist the Graecians for a while Ulysses was the Son of Anticlia the Daughter of Antholycus when she was going to Prince Lacrtes to whom she had been promised in Marriage the famous Robber Sisyphus ravish't her and begot Ulysses as Ajax saith in the Metam of Ovid. l. 13. He was not willing to accompany the Greeks in this expedition because the Oracles had foretold unto him the dangers that he was to run and the dfficulty of a return Therefore he did prefer the company of his sweet Penelope to the glory of a famous Victory for which he was to pay so dear Achilles also fore-seeing that he should end his dayes before Troy hid himself in the Court of King Lycomedes in the Island of Sâ—yro But the latter was discovered by Ulysses as he had been by Palamedes Now the reason which did oblige the Grecians to get Achilles with them is because the Oracle had declared that it was impossible for them to overcome unless they had in their Army one of the race of Aeacides the Arrowes and Bowes of Hercules and unless they did get into their possession the Horses of Rhesus before they did drink of the River Scamander The Trojans had likewise three conditions proposed unto them upon which did depend the preservation of their City from ruine The first was the keeping of the Palladium or the Image of Pallas The next was the life of Troilus the Son of Priam. The last was whiles the Sepulcher of Laomedon did remain untoucht upon the Gate Scaea Troilus was kill'd by Achilles the Palladium was stolen by Ulysses and the Army of Rhesus defeated by Diomedes and Ulysses so that the Destinies had appointed the taking of Troy CHAP. XVI Of the Siege of the City of Troy VVHen the Greeks were set down before this strong Place they found a greater resistance than they had imagined King Priam had furnished himself with all things necessary for a long Siege and Memnon one of their best Commanders of his time had brought unto him valiant compagnies of Souldiers from the King of Assyria And Penthesilea Queen of the Amazons was already arrived with a powerful assistance Besides Rhesus King of Thracia and Sarpedon the Son of Jupiter King of Lycia were in their March with a design to joyn with him against â—he Greeks Also the men of Troy did repâ—sâ— a great deal of trust in their Palladium which was the Statue of Minerva fallen from Heaven and upon which all their fatallity 〈◊〉 the event of this War did depend for 〈◊〉 Oracles had Proclaimed that they 〈…〉 ver be overcome by their Enemies 〈…〉 could keep it amongst them The 〈…〉 since been said to the Romans 〈…〉 their Ancile a little Buckler 〈…〉 fell down from Heaven in the 〈…〉 Numâ— Pompilius But the greaâ—â—â—â—â—â—rt of the Gods were their enemies as Homerus informes us for when they were all met together before Jupiter to consult about this business they could never agree their Disputes were so hot that there was at first cause to imagine that they would end in a personal fight Apollo did oppose Neptunus Minerva was against Mars Diana against Juno Mercurius fell out with Latona and the God Scamander called otherwise Xanthus was against Vulcan Now this Scamander seeing
Jupiter into Nyniphs of the Sea at the request of the goddesse Cybele who had received them into her protection By this means the Trojans were forced to suffer many great evils and were reduced to many extremities But Aeneas came happily to their aid with a strong party of Tyrrhenians and Venus his Mother did maintain their interest with Jupiter against the rage and endeavours of Juno Besides she caused Vulcan to make such strong and sound Arms for Aeneas as did render him invincible in all encounters and entertain in his Soul a warlike and noble disposition for in his buckler were described all the glorious deeds and adventures of his successors in a most artificial and divine manner In this war a great deal of blood was shed on both sides Aeneas was never so much concerned as at the death of Nisus of Euryalus and afterwards of Pallas Evanders Son But he â—â—venged their deaths by the slaughter of the King Mezentius of Lausus his Son and of many others Camilla the Queen of the Volsci did mightily encourage and strengthen the Army of Turnus It is reported of her that she was as generous as a Lion and was so light footed that she did scarce touch the ground in running but an unhappy blow of a Lance took away her life in the heat of the fight Her fall did astonish all the Army of Turnus In this encounter Aeneas was wounded with an arrow but Venus did then apply the Herb Ditany so seasonably to his wound that it was cured in an instant Afterwards he did so effectually encourage his men that Turnus seeing no other remedy to his Affairs and Hopes that were almost lost he challenged him to fight in a single Combat to put an end by that means to their differences Aeneas was very joyful of this proposition therefore he encounters him hand to hand lays him upon the ground kills him After this victory he was married to Lavinia and took possession of the Kingdom of the Latineâ— He built and fortified the City of Lavinium which was not far distant from Laurentum Julus Ascanius his son succeeded him in this Kingdom and built the City of Alba sirnamed Longa because of its scituation the Inhabitants were called Albani that City was the Metropolis of the Latine people until the reign of Romulus who laid the foundations of the City of Rome and conquered all the Countrey round about it Tullius Hostilius the third King of the Romans pul'd down and leveled to the ground the walls of the city of Alba so that afterwards there remained no signs of it Before we finish this Story we must take notice that the truth is mingled with many fables for it is certain that Virgilius relates the adventures of Dido only as a pleasant fiction to adorn his Poem for Dido did live and Carthage was built two or three hundred years after the ruine of Troy CHAP. XXI Of several other famous Men frequently named in the Heathen Writers and not mentioned by Gautruchius I Wonder that in the last Chapter our learned Jesuit hath not mentioned a faithful companion of Aeneas who loved him so tenderly that he could never be separated from him but by death this name was Achates In all estates he did stick close to him and did accompany him in his greatest dangers therefore he is styled Fidus Achates by Virgil. Aristeus the Son of Apollo and of the Nymph Cyrene the Daughter of Peneus taught the use of honey and of oyl He was a famous Shepheard in his time a great admirer of the Nymph Eurydice whom he pursued to have taken but she ran away and was unfortunately wounded to death by a serpent in her flight therefore her comrades sought revenge upon Aristeus for her death by destroying his Bees in which he did delight The truth is he was a pious man and a great favorite of Jupiter from whom he obtained the Etesian winds to cool the immoderate heat of the summer Sun and to prevent the mischiefs which the Dog-star would cause in the hot Countreys without these favourable blasts Asopus was the Son of Jupiter who nevertheless committed incest with his Daughter Aegina for he ravisht her in the form of a flame of fire Their Father Asopus did hasten to her assistance but to little purpose for she proved with child of Aeacus and Jupiter for his impudency to offer to oppose him struck him dead with his thunder-bolts What lascivious what shameless gods did the Heathens adore the greatest promoters of incest of murder of villany c. Now this Asopus was a River not far from Thebs or rather a Prince who left his name to that River He had another Daughter named Plataea whom Jupiter pretended to advance into Junos place only to oblige her to seek his favour and be reconciled to him Canopus was the Pilot of the Ship which brought Menelaüs back towards Greece when a storm had forced him on the coast of Egypt after the ruine 〈◊〉 roy This Canopus went on shore and was â—tung to death by a Serpent but afterwards the Egyptian Priests having performed a seeming miracle with his statue they caused him to be worshiped as a god and gave his name to one of the stars of the firmament and to a famous Town of Egypt And hence it is that this Kingdom is called Terra Canopi and the people Gens Canopi His image was worshipped by the Egyptians although it was made as a dwarf with a great belly with short legs and a crooked neck Cephalus was married to Procris the Daughter of Hyphilus King of Athens Aiâ—rora was so fond of him that she carried him away with her but he would never consent to her lust because he kept for his wife an unparalleld constancy which caused her to send him home in a disguise to be an eye witness of his wifes ingratitude and unworthiness of his faithful love for he surprized her in dishonesty therefore he divorced her but he was afterwards reconciled to her again She grew in time as jealous of him because he was wont to rise betimes and recreate himself in the woods in hunting She followed him at last and hid her self in a bush to see if she could discover any female sex come near him When he in the pursuance of his sport saw a creature moving in the thicket he imagined it to be a wilde beast therefore he discharged out of his bowe a coupâ—â— of arrows and struck his unhappy wife 〈◊〉 he heart Erichtheus the Son of Pandion an Egyptian born settled in the Province of Attica in Greece and taught the ruder sort of people many things belonging to the worship of the gods He instituted the famous festival of Athens called Sacra Eleusina in honour of Proserpina as some do say The Athenians having chosen him their King Eumolpus Neptune's Son made war upon him but Erichtheus killed him for which cause this god was mightily offended and
Gods because the Gods went into Egypt to hide themselves in the shape of those things during the War of the Gyants The Romans by the Decrees of their Senat placed amongst the Gods many of their Caesars besides that infamous Varlet Antinoüs the Favourite of the Emperour Adrian To flatter and alleviate the grief of this Prince conceived for his death they perswaded him that Antinoüs was changed into a new Star which appeared about that time in the Heavens Therefore from hence we may conclude that these follies and impieties were not only amongst the silly Vulgar but also amongst the greatest Wits and Noblest men and that they were esteemed as Maxims of Religion in the most flourishing Empires and Commonwealths This blindness and excessive folly will appear more plainly unto us by that which we shall declare in the first Chapters of the next Book concerning the worship paid to the Heathen Idols 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The End of the Second Book The Third Book Of the Honours paid by the Heathens unto their Gods The PREFACF THE knowledge of a God doth necessarily require from us Obedience Worship and Respect which we are bound in Justice to render to him as to a being infinitely excelling all the rest and to whom we owe our selves and all our enjoyments From hence proceeds Religion which is the sublimest and most excellent of all the moral virtues It teacheth us how to adore our God with outward expressions of humility as well as with inward that we may acknowledge thereby his Sovereignty over us It teacheth us to make our addresses unto him by Prayer as to the first source from whence issue all our good things It teacheth us to publish his Praises to glorify his Greatness and offer unto him Sacrifices because he is the first principle and the last end of all his Creatures He is the absolute Lord of Life and Death It teacheth us also for these reasons to erect Temples and appoint Dayes to worship him that we might have both times and places to mind us of our obligations to him These duties we ought as his Servants and Vassals to perform with all diligence and delight But the Devils having banished from the world the true knowledge of God and established themselves in his room they obliged man kind to adore them and their Statues instead of God and usurped by that means all the Prerogatives and supreme Rights of the God-head For unto them all publick and private Prayers and Vows were directed for them the Temples and Altars were built and the Festival dayes the Sacrifices the publick Plays and such like Ceremonies were instituted as we shall see in this last Book of this Treatise Of the Honours rendred by the Heathens to their Gods CHAP. I. Of the Statues consecrated to the false Gods THE rarest and most eminent Qualities could never free man from the Power of Death that buries all things in eternal forgetfulness by the assistance of Time Therefore the Images and Statues have been invented to continue the Dead in our remembrance and to cause them to live amongst their Posteritie maugre Death and its tyranical Power These Images or Statues are visible expressions of Reverence And because they have a relation sometimes to Persons of Honour who have deserved from us our esteem they seem to demand some kind of respect and in process of time they do appear venerable Monuments of former Ages But the Honour done unto them is intended only to the Persons that they do represent Thus in the Church of Christ He is expressed unto us by Images to raise our mind to the contemplation of this Holy Saviour and to cause the ruder sort of People to learn the mysteries of his Life and Death But the Heathens did commit two grievous Sacriledges by erecting Statues to their Gods First They did acknowledge others besides the true God Almighty who only is worthy of our services and of the supreme religious respect Secondly They did esteem these material Statues as Gods and did Worship and Adore the Works of their hands For we must take notice that Idols properly are not Images of real things but of false Divinities or of such as were unjustly Honoured as Gods Therefore the Apostle informs us that an Idol is nothing which cannot be said of the Images of the Saints because they do express Persons that are really in being Besides we must observe that the Heathens did adore these very Idols as Divinities which was not only the mistake of the vulgar sort of men but of the Learned Some I confess of them did acknowledge the folly of such Practices This is confirmed unto us in many places of Holy Scripture in 14 of Wisdom and in the Psalms where David upbraids the Idolaters because they did worship the works of their own hands Gods that had Eyes and all the other members of the humane body but neither life nor action in them All the Prophets do agree to this and it was in this manner that the children of Israel did adore the Golden-Calf in the Wilderness and that the King of Babylon with all the Grandees of his Court did call upon Daniel to Worship the Idol of King Belus And for this cause S Paul in his Epistles labours to make his new Disciples understand the extraordinary favour which Christ had vouchsaved unto them to have withdrawn them from the service of the mute and insensible Idols The holy Fathers of the Church did often upbraid the Heathens that their Gods were for the most part nothing but Marble and Metal which Arnobius and manyother worthy Persons did acknowledge when they had embraced Christianity And Trismegistue also according to the saying of St. Austin did really believe that Idols were to be worshiped and sacrificed unto that Men might obtain favours from them and decline the Evils which might happen unto them We have taken notice of this passage to oppose it to the Doctrine of Calvin who teaches the contrary and who publishes to the world that the Romanists do Imitate the Heathens by Honouring Image of Jesus Christ for he supposeth that the Heathens did consider the Idols but as the naked representations of their Gods without any other respect We might here mention the most Famous Idols of Antiquity as the Colossus of Rhodes Diana of the Ephesians Minerva of Athens this last did bear in her Buckler the Image of the workman formed so artificially that it was not possible to remove or deface it without a visible prejudice to the whole Piece But as this discourse is not proper to our design I shall not insist upon it I cannot let this digression of the Jesuite pass without an Antidote He pleads for the worship of Images which he condemns in others Yet he labours to justify himself and his Religion from that foul crime of which the holy Prophets and