Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n
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A36242
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A discourse concerning Sanchoniathon's Phœnician history by Henry Dodwell ...
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Dodwell, Henry, 1641-1711.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing D1806; ESTC R3930
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62,318
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128
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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For this seems to have been the Notion of that Sacred term 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it is used in the counterfeit Writings of Mercury whom this Author follows and the Pen-men of the New-Testament and other such Writers of that Age for the Revelation of Mysteries I suppose from that Literal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and withdrawing of the Vail before the Shrine of the Image by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were in the ordinary course of Initiation to be used to those who were brought into the dark Adyta and initiated in the higher sort of Initiation called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These therefore I suspect to have been pretended for the Authors of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to which this Author pretended as has already been observed Wherein if I be not mistaken it will then be further suspicious that these Authors themselves did not so discover them as to make them common to the prophane Vulgar but only so as to retrieve the Traditions of the Priests which had probably by that time quite miscarried afterthy had been so long reserved in their Brests and intrusted only to Oral-Tradition For if these discoveries had been designed for the Vulgar the Writings which contained them would not have been styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the proper term for Mystical Writings nor confined to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by that means rendred inaccessible to uninitiated Persons as they are supposed to have been Besides that by the present extant Epistle of Ammon it appears that the Ammonians must not have been for divulging their Mysteries § XLIII AND in giving this account how all that had before him written on this Subject might have been mistaken he at the same time secured his own Authority from the like Exceptions For having pretended before that Taautus had written his Books clear from those Mythologies and Allegories wherein they had been involved by the Priests and were afterwards again involved till they were a second time unriddled by Surmubelus and Thuro and having made his Sanchoniathon derive his Information immediately both from Taautus's own Books and from the Books of those Expositors who afterwards retrieved his way of speaking clearly without Allegories He had hereby secured himself of two things of great moment for recommending his Credit One was that his Informations were derived from clear and unobscured Originals not from Allegorical and Second-hand accounts from them who had no mind to be understood by those to whom they communicated their Mysteries Another was that even for those Originals themselves he did not depend on a single Authority The consent of the Writings of Mercury with those of the Ammonians were to be mutual attestations of the Sincerity of each at least would be pleaded as such by him that neither the Original Writings of Taautus nor those retrievements from the Ammonians might seem suspitious of being the Fictions of those who first produced them For having pretended them to be from distant Writers and distant places and Sacred inaccessible Records it would be pretended that there could not have been that Communication between them as to make them able to agree in Forgeries Yet was not this excluding of Allegories to be understood so as if he had avoided all Fables but particularly with respect to the Stoical way whether by them derived to the later Aegyptians or borrowed from them That was to Allegorize their first Histories into a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Systeme of Natural Philosophy to make Jupiter signifie the Aether Juno the Air Vesta the Earth Neptune the Sea c. and so to Allegorize the History of the Actions of those Persons into a History of Nature as if indeed there had never been such Actions or Persons but only that the several Elements of Nature had been Mystically represented by such Names and the Phaenomena of Nature had by a Poetical Prosopopoeia been turned into a Romance That these were indeed the Allegories designed by Philo Byblius appears by these words of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And what with graceful mixtures of Poetical fancy in the most Antient Writers of their First Originals who were generally Poets what with that delight of the Antients in Parables and in vesting their Parables with Historical and likely Circumstances what with that ordinary Method of these Mystical Writers who usually made way for their Allegories by catching at little occasions of confuting the Historical Truth of what they designed to Allegorize wherein we see them imitated by Philo Origen and the other Antients who first began to practice this way with the Scriptures I say with all these wayes they made it indeed seem likely if not concerning all that was said of those Persons yet concerning many of them that they were not so much as designed for Historical Truths but only for Allegorical Representation Yet these not being distinguishable from their designed Histories at least not in later times after the obliteration of the Original Traditions and being withall delivered on the same Authority which delivered the designed Histories must therefore render all their Histories liable to just Suspicion § XLIV NOR does it seem to have been the way of Allegorizing only that Philo found fault with in the Greek Writers and that uncertainty of their Histories which necessarily followed thereupon but also the indecorousness of their Allegories to their Deities which the Epicureans and Jews before but now in Philo's time the Christians had lately made great advantage of for exposing the received Religions When he makes Anobret designed the same with Sarah an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The very name of Nymph is Allegorical and in the Philosophical Allegories of a peculiar signification This therefore Philo takes particular notice of that from these Allegories of the Phoenician Priests the Greeks had taken occasion to set up those which were so very offensive and gave so great advantage to their common Adversaries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These were the Allegories so much decryed not only by Adversaries but disowned by the Philosophers generally and such generally as with any judgment undertook the defence of the received Religions That the Gods should have a beginning and be Born by the Conjunction of Males and Females like other Mortals this he means by their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they should be molested by Wars and reduced to so great extremities as the Fablers pretended in the Wars with the Giants and Typhon and Euceladus and the Titans those were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they should Emasculate one another as Saturn is pretended to have served Ouranus and Jupiter his Father Saturn those are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here meant These the wisest Men looked on not only as corruptions of their Histories but as reproaches to their Gods and Religions Plato disowned them