Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	world_n	worship_n	writer_n	28	3	7.3023	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42508	The poetical histories being a compleat collection of all the stories necessary for a perfect understanding of the Greek and Latine poets and other ancient authors / written originally in French, by the learned Jesuite, P. Galtruchius ; now Englisht and enricht with observations concerning the gods worshipped by our ancestors in this island, by the Phœnicians, and Syrians in Asia ... ; unto which are added two treatises, one of the curiosities of old Rome, and of the difficult names relating to the affairs of that city, the other containing the most remarkable hieroglyphicks of Ægypt, by Marius d'Assigny ...; Histoire poétique pour l'intelligence des poéts. English	Gautruche, Pierre, 1602-1681.; D'Assigny, Marius, 1643-1717.	1671 (1671)	Wing G384; ESTC R15913	274,012	534

Graecia where he fixed but I cannot imagine how Noah unto whom some do attribute the names of Janus Saturnus Gallus Vertumnus Oenetrius c. should leave his Vineyards and Plantations in Asia to seek others in Italy unless he had been forced out of his Habitation by his Sons which is not likely Therefore as Javan first planted in Graecia and established Religion there we must imagine after the confusion of Babel some did settle in Italy and appoint the Worship of the true God for several antient writers do assure us that the first Men of the world had neither Images nor Statues nor any visible representation to adore In process of time it is likely Religion was neglected in Italy by the Parents who did rather mind their worldly affairs than the eternal concern of their Childrens Souls when the Countrey was peopled with Inhabitants Saturnus arrived out of Crete and taught the People a Religion suitable to the weakness of their Capacities and the ignorance in which he found them The Posterity of Ham that planted in Egypt and Africa first brought in the corruptions of Idolatry as we may read in Herodotus from thence the ignorant Phoenicians borrowed them and recommended them to the Greeks who taught them to the Romans and so they spread by degrees all over the world Evander is said to be the first who established a Priestly Order in Italy Afterwards Aeneas Romulus and Numa Pompilius did increase the number of Religious men according to the number of the Gods whom they did worship When Rome was in its Zenith of Glory and Power these were the Names and Offices of their Priests I shall not mention the Corybantes the Lupercales the Vestal Virgins and those that are named before Petitij Pinarij were the Priests of Hercules so named of two old men called Petitius and Pinarius who were the first who entred into the Office Titij Sodales were Priests of Apollo as Farnabius upon Lucan imagines they were properly Soothsayers who did foretel from the motion of certain Birds the events of the time to come as may appear by Tacit. Annal. lib. 1. There were several sorts of Flamines the chief was that of Jupiter called Dialis who had many extraordinary priviledges and a great power in the City The next was Flamen Martialis of Mars who was to be of the Family of the Senators as Volcanalis was of a Plebeian race Every God had a Flamen or Chief Priest in process of time ae Salij were the Priests of Mars their Governour was named Magister Saliorum Duumviri and Decemviri were those that did keep the Books of Sybilla Cumana in a Chest of Stone in the Capitol when they were burnt with the Temple These Men were continued and increased to fifteen therefore they were called Quindecemviri It did belong to their Office to oelebrate the Secular Solemnities Epulones Were the Overseers of all sacred Banquets appointed by the Pontifices Camilli Camillae were under Officers in the Sacrifices Aeditumus or Aedituus is He that kept the Temples and the Keys in his possession Popae are the under Officers who did tie the Beasts in the Sacrifices They were called also Victimarij Praeficae are the Women that were hired to weep for the dead Vespa and Vespillo was he that did place the Vrns or Ashes of the dead in the ground Pater Patratus the chief of the Feciales did declare the War by casting upon the Land of the Enemy a Lance bloody at the end Therefore Ovid lib. 6. Fast Hinc solet hasta manu belli praenuncia mitti In Regem Gentes cum placet arma capi The Colledge of Chief Priests was over all the rest Their Pontifex maximus the first of their Order was created by the People until the time of the Emperors then this Title was annexed to the Chief Magistracy When the Emperors became Christians they were called Pontifices maximi nntil the time of Gratianus as Zofimus informs us This Order was not subject to any Magistrate they did command over all the Priests and did appoint the Ceremonies belonging to the worship of the Gods The Books of the Sybils so often mentioned in the Authors were Three She was a Prophetess who dwelt in a Cave near Cumes in Italy far from all acquaintance and society of Men. When she had composed nine Books of the time to come she brought them to Tarquinius Priscus to be sold and asks about three hundred pounds for them which he refused to give she burnt three of the Books and required yet the same price but the King would not disburse so much she went away and burnt three more and then returned to demand the same rate for her Books which when the King had well considered by the advice of his Soothsayers be gave her the money In all difficult occasions these Books were examined by the order of the Senate We have yet some fragments of this Sybil gathered out of several writers There are nine or ten Sybils in all They did Prophesy concerning Christ so plainly that we have cause to suspect the Greek Verses that bear their name to be written after our Saviours Death There have been Sybilla Persica Lybica mentioned by Euripid. Delphica Cumana Erythraea Samia Tyburtina Hellespontica Phrygia and Cumaea CHAP. V. Of the Festival dayes that were appointed in Honour of the Gods THE Festival Solemnities of the Heathens were suitable to their belief and fancy of the Gods and the Ceremonies that they used were nothing but expressions of things proper to the Divinity whose Festivals they did keep As we have already taken notice when we have spoken of Cybele and of Bacchus In the Festival of Ceres her Worshippers did run up and down with lighted Torches in their hands because that she did in this manner run about the world after her Daughter Proserpina to seek her out The Inhabitants of Eleusis in Greece appointed this Ceremony that was to be acted only by Women who did in the Temple of Ceres commit a thousand shameful pranks And because Ceres did not reveal her secrets nor discover her design until she had heard of her Daughters welfare it was not lawful to declare what was acted in her Temple during the Festival We cannot without blushing speak of the liberty that the Roman Dames did take in the Festivals of Venus and Priapus In some places on the dayes consecrated to Pallas the Goddess of War the Damsels were commanded to meet together and fight one against another until some did fall dead to the ground At Rome in the Festival of the Lupercals the Priests did run naked about the streets with Goat skins in their hands because heretofore the Romans did happily recover their Beasts when they did run in this manner after them who had driven them away whiles they were sacrificing to the God Pan whose Priests were named Luperci from the place