left a Serpent biting its own Tail SECT II. His Family and Actions M. IT is indeed Saturn the Son of Terra or Vesta and Coelum Caelus or Coelius â—in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who was the Son of AEther and Dies and the Antientest of all the Gods This Coelum according to the Story married his own Daughter Vesta and begat many Children of her the most eminent of whose was Saturn whose Brothers were the Cyclopes Oceanus Titan the Centimani and divers others and Sisters Ceres Tethys and Ops or Rhea which he afterwards married The Sisters perswaded their Mother Vesta to exclude Titan or Titanus the eldest Son and to appoint Saturn Heir of his Father's Kingdom When Titan saw the fixed Resolution of his Mother and Sisters he would not strive against the Stream but voluntarily quitted his Right and transferr'd it upon Saturn under Condition that he should not bring up any Male Children that so after Saturn's Death the Kingdom should return to the Children of Titan. P. Did Saturn accept that Condition M. He not only accepted but very sincerely kept it whilst he could for at last his Design was prevented For when his Wife Ops perceived that her Husband devoured all her Male Children when she brought forth the Twins Iupiter and Iuno she sent only Iuno to him but sent Iupiter to be nursed in Mount Ida by the Curetes and Corybantes Priestesses of Cybele who by the noise of the Cymbals and Drums which they used in the Sacrifices might hinder Saturn from hearing the crys of Iupiter By the same Trick she also saved Neptune and Pluto from her devouring Husband P. Was this Artifice ever discovered to Saturn M. Yes and he demanded the Boy of Ops. But Ops lapp'd up a Stone in Swadling Cloaths and delivered that to her Husband to be devoured instead of Iupiter who swallowed it down in a moment P. What did Titan do when he saw himself cheated and the Agreement between him and Saturn broken M. To revenge the Injury done to him he raised Forces and brought them against Saturn and made both him and Rhea Prisoners and bound them and shut them up together in Hell Tartarus where they lay till Iupiter after a few years overcame the Titans and set his Father and Mother again at Liberty P. I suppose that Saturn remembred this Kindness and favoured Iupiter afterwards M. On the contrary he strove to take away his Life because he heard by an Oracle that he should be driven out of his Kingdom by a Son As in reality he was afterwards For Iupiter deposed him from the Throne and expelled him the Kingdom because he formed Conspiracies against him Besides this when he found Saturn almost Drunk with Mead he bound him and gelded him as Saturn had gelt his Father Coelum before with his Sickle P. And whither did Saturn go after he had lost his Kingdom M. Into Italy which was heretofore called Saturnia from him He lived there with King Ianus and that part of Italy in which he lay hid was afterwards called Latium and the People Latinus à latendo as Ovid observes Fast. l. 1. Inde diu Genti mansit Saturnia nomen Dicta fuit Latium terra latente Deo That Country long Saturnia became While Latium from his lying hid had Name King Ianus made Saturn Partner of his Kingdom whereby Saturn reduced the wild People who wandered up and down before like Beasts to civil Society and joined them to each other as it were in Chains of Brass that is by the Brass Money which he invented and therefore on one side of the Money was stamped a Ship because Saturn came thither in a Ship and on the other side was stamped a Ianus Bifrons says Ovid in Fast. l. 1. At bona posteritas puppim signavit in aere Hospitis adventum testificata Dei A Ship by th' following Age was stampt on Coin To shew they once a God did entertain But altho' the Money was Brass yet this was the Golden Age in which Saturn lived when as the Poets who magnify the happiness of that Age would persuade us the Earth without the Labour of Plowing and Sowing brought forth its Fruits and all things were common to all there were no Differences nor Contentions amongst any for every thing happened according to every Body's mind This Virgil hath elegantly described Aen. l. 8. Primum ab aethereo venit Saturnus Olympo Arma Iovis fugiens regnis exul ademptis Is genus indocile ac dispersum montibus abtis Composuit legesque dedit Latiumque vocari Maluit his quoniam latuisset tuâ—us in oris Aureaque ut perhibent illo sub rege fruere Saecula sic placida populos in pace regebat Flying Jove's Anger Saturn to this Coast From Heav'n first came Coelestial Kingdoms lost He from high Mountains the rude People draws And taught them both Civility and Laws Then Latium stil'd the Country since it held Hâ—m safe from all his Enemies conceal'd That was the Golden Age in which he reign'd Because in Peace his Kingdoms were maintain'd Ovid says of the same Age Amor. l. 3. Signabat nullo limite fossor humum The Delver made nor mound nor balk Which Virgil hath expressed almost in the same words 1. Georg. Nec signare quidem aut partiri limite campum Fas erat Around the Earth the Land-marks then to fix Was held a Crime SECT III. Name of Saturn MAny derive the Name Saturn or Saturnus as they pronounced it antiently 1. From Satu Sowing as Portunus is derived from Portu and Neptunus from Nuptu because he first taught the Art of Sowing and Tilling the Ground in Italy and therefore he was esteemed the God of Husbandry and called by the Romans Stercutius because he first fatned the Earth with Dung He is therefore painted with a Sickle with which the Meadows are mowed and the Corn is cut dow This Sickle called in Greek Drepanon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was thrown into a City of Sicily thence called Drepanum now Trapano But some say that this City was named from that Sickle which Ceres had from Vulcan and gave the Titans when she taught them to mow But others say the Town had its Name because it was crooked and hollow like a Sickle In deed Sicily is so fruitful in Corn and Pasture that the Poets justly imagined that the Sickle was kept there 2. Again Saturnus is derived à Saturnandâ— quasi saturet populos annona as tho' he fills the Bellies of the People with Provision as hiâ— Wife was called Ops quod esurientibus opem ferat because she helps the hungry Or quòd ipsâ— saturetur annis quos devorat that he is satisfied with the years that he devours for Saturn and Time are the same 3. Or thirdly Saturnus quasi Sator 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentis sator because he creates Sense and Understanding in the
other part is like a Fish His two Feet are like the fore-Feet of a Horse his Tail is cleft and crooked like a half Moon and his Hair resembles Wild Parsly Two Princes of Parnassus Virgil and Ovid give these descriptions of him Vir. Aen. 10. Hunc vehit immanis Triton caerula concha Exterrens freta cui laterum tenus hispida nanti Frons hominem praefert in pristim desinit alvâ—â— Spurnea semifero sub pectore murmurat unda This mighty Triton bore frighting the Tides With his shrill Trump his Face and hairy Sides Above presents a Man a Whale the rest And foamy Waves resound beneath his Breast The other in Metam lib. 1. Caeruleum Tritona vocat conchaque sonanti Inspirare jubet fluctusque flumina signo Iam revocare dato Cava buccina sumitur illi Tortilis in latum qua turbine crescit ab imo Buccina quae medio concepit ubi aëra ponto Littora voce replet sub utroque jacentia Phoebo Old Triton rising from the deep he spies Whose shoulders rob'd with native purple rise And bids him his loud sounding shell inspire And give the Floods a signal to retire He his wreath'd Trumpet takes as giv'n in charge That from the turning bottom grows more large This when the Namen o'er the Ocean sounds The East and West from shore to shore abounds Ocâ—anus another of the Sea-Gods was the Son of Coelum and Vesta who by the Antients was called the Father not only of all the Rivers but of the Animals and of the very Gods themselves for they imagined that all the things in Nature took their beginning from him It is said he begot of his Wife Tethys three thousand Sons The most eminent whereof were Nereus who was nursed and educated by the Waves and afterwards dwelt in the Aegean Sea and became a famous Prophesier He begot 50 Daughters by his Wife Doris which Nymphs were called after their Fathers name Nereides Palaemon and his Mother Ino for this reason were made Sea-Deities Ino's Husband Athamas was distracted and tore his Son Learchus into pieces and dashed him against the Wall Ino saw this and feared lest the same fate should come upon her self and her other Son Melicerta wherefore she took her Son and with him threw her self into the Sea where they were made Sea-Deities nothing perished in the Waters but their Names for their former Names were lost in the Waves and they found new ones She was called Leucothea and he Palaemon by the Greeks and Portumnus by the Latins Glaucus the Fisherman became a Sea God by a more pleasant way For when he pulled the Fish which he had caught out of his Nets and laid them on the shore he observed that by touching a certain Herb the Fish recovered their strength and leapt again in the Water He wondred at so strange an Effect and had a desire to tast this Herb when he had tasted it he followed his Fish and leaping into the Water became a God of the Sea Ovid. Metam l. 13. Strabo To these we may add the Story of Canopus a God of the Aegyptians who by the help of Water gained a memorable Victory over the God of the Chaldeans when these two Nations contended about the Power and Superiority of their Gods the Priests consented to bring the two Gods together that they might decide their Controversie the Chaldaeans brought the God Ignis Fire and the Aegyptians brought Canopus they set the two Gods near one another to Fight Canopus's Belly was a great Pitcher filled with water and full of holes but so stopped with Wax that no body could discern them When the Fight began Fire the God of the Chaldaeans melted the Wax which stopped the holes so that Canopus with rage and violence assaulted him with streams of water and totally extinguished vanquished and overcame him Ruffin l. 11. c. 26. CHAP. III. SECT I. The Monsters of the Sea The Syrens THERE were three Syrens whose Parentage is uncertain tho' some say that they were the Off-spring of Achelous the River and Melpomene the Muse they had the Faces of Women but the Bodies of flying Fish they dwelt near the Promontory Peloris in Sicily now called Capo di Faro or in the Islands called Sirenussae which are situated in the extream parts of Italy according to Strabo Where with the sweetness of their Singing they drew all the Men to them that sailed by those Coasts and when by their Charms they brought upon them a deep sleep they drown'd them in the Sea and afterwards took them out and devoured them Their names were Parthenope who died at Naples for which reason that City was formerly called Parthenope Ligea and Leuâ—osia That their Charms might be easilier received and make the greater impression on the minds of the hearers they used musical Instruments with their Voices and adapted the Matter of their Songs to the temper and inclinations of the hearers With some Songs they inticed the Ambitious with others the Voluptuous and with other Songs they drew on the Covetous to their destruction Ovid says of these Syrens De Arte Amand. lib. 3. Monstra Maris Syrenes erant quae voce canora Quaslibet admissas detinure rates Syrens were once Sea Monsters mere decoys Trapanning Seamen with their tuneful voice P. What then Could no Passengers ever escape this Plague M. History mentions two only who escaped Ulysses and Orpheus â— The first was forewarned of the danger of their Charming Voices by Circe wherefore he stopped the Ears of his Companions with Wax and was fast bound himself to the Mast of the Ship by which means he safely passed the fatal Coasts But Orpheus overcame them in their own Art and evaded the temptations of their murdering Musick by playing upon his Harp and singing the praises of the Gods so well that he outdid the Syrens The Fates had ordained that the Syrens should live till some body who passed by heard them sing and yet escaped alive when therefore they saw themselves overcome they grew desperate and precipitated themselves into the Seaâ— and were turned into Stones Some write that they were formerly Virgins Proserpina's Companions they sought every where for her when she was stoln away by Pluto and when they could not find her they were so grieved that they cast themselves into the Sea and from that time were changed into Sea-Monsters Others add that by Iuno's persuasion they contended in Musick with the Muses who overcame them and to punish their rashness cut off their Wings with which they afterwads made for themselves Garlands P. What did the Poets signifie by this Fiction M. That the minds of Men as Cicero says are deposed from their proper Seats and States by the allurements of pleasure It corrupts them There is not a more deadly plague in nature to mankind than it Whoever addicts himself altogether to pleasure loses
then going to Thebes he overcame Sphinx and for his reward he married Iocasta who was his Mother of which he was ignorant he had by her two Sons Eteocles and Polynices and two Daughters Antigone and Ismena When afterwards he found by clear proof that he had killed his Father and married his Mother he was seized with so great madness that he pulled out his own Eyes and had killed himself if his Daughter Antigone who led him about after he was blind had not hindred him Eteocles and Polynices the Sons of Oedipus and Iocasta succeeded their Father in the Government they reigned a Year apiece in their turns Eteocles reigned the first Year and then refused to admit his Brother Polynices to the Throne Whereupon a War arose and the two Brothers in a Duel killed each other Their Enmity survived their Bodies for when their two Bodies were placed on the same Pile to be burnt by the same Fire the Flames refused to unite but divided themselves into two parts CHAP. XII The Elysium THere is a place in the Kingdom below abounding with pleasure and delights which is called the Elysium from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 solutione because thither the souls of the good come corporeis solutae vinculis after they are loosed from the Chains of the Body when they have been purged from the light offences that they have contracted in this World Aeneas received this description from one of the Inhabitants of this place Virg. Aen. 6. Quisque suos patimur manes exinde per amplum Mittimur Elysium pauci laeta arva tenemus All suffer for themselves few to the vast And gladsome fields of fair Elysium hast Those Fields afterwards are describ'd thus by the same Poet. Ibid. Devenere locos laetos amoena vireta Fortunatorum nemorum sedesque beatas Largior hic campos aether lumine vestit Purpureo solemque suum sua sydera norunt This done they came to Seats of joy and rest Groves happy Maâ—sions of the ever blest Which larger Skies cloath with a Purple Grey New Stars attending their own God of day CHAP. XIII The River Lethe THere is a River in Hell called Lethe from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Forgetfulness For if any body drinks this water he immediately forgets all things past So that when the Souls of the Pious have spent many Ages in the Elysian Fields they drink the Water of Lethe and are believed to pass into new Bodies and return into the World again And it is necessary that they forget both the pleasures that they have received in Elysium and the miseries that they did heretofore endure in this life that they may willingly return into this miserable life again Virg. Aen. 6. Animae quibus altera fato Corpora debentur Lethaei ad fluminis undam Securos latices longa oblivia potant Souls that by Fate Are doom'd to take new shapes at Lethe's Brink Quaff secure Draughts and long Oblivion drink These Souls went out from Elysium by that Ivory Gate which you see painted in the lower part of this Wall And if you please we will go out thro' this Gate and leave these infernal Regions to view more beautiful tho' not less ridiculous Images of the other Gods PART V. Of the Dii Minorum Gentium or the Subordinate Deities CHAP. I. The Penates NOW Palaeophilus let us view the fifth division of this Fabulous Pantheon in which are contained the Dii Minorum Gentium or the Subordinate Deities which are otherwise called Semones Minuti Plebeii and Patellarii They are painted without confusion in very good order and very distinctly if we consider how infinite the number of them was It is plain that the Romans had almost as many Gods as there are things And indeed how great is the number of Gods who preside over inconsiderable things since there are three Gods to keep one Door first the God Forculus looks after the Door the Goddess Cardua after the Hinges and Limentinus after the Threshold I shall consider only those lightly who assist or any ways preserve Mankind from their Birth to their Death The Penates derive their name from Penus Provision est enim omne quo vescuntur homines penus says Tully for all that that men eat is included in the name of Penus Or perhaps quod penitus insident because they are placed in the most inward and secret parts of Heaven where they reign says Varro and thence are called by the Poets penetrales and the place where their Images were kept was called Penetrale Yet we neither know their number nor the names of them tho' both our Lives and our Understandings are owing to them for they entirely govern us by their reason their heat and their spirit The antient Hertrusci called them Consentes and Complices supposing that they be Iupiter's Counsellors and the chief of the Gods And many reckon Iupiter himself together with Iuno and Minerva among the Penates But I shall speak something more clearly in this matter There were three orders of the Dii Penates 1 Those who governed Kingdoms and Provinces and were absolutely and solely called Penates 2. Those who presided over Cities only and these were called Patrii Penates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Gods of the Country of whom Aeneas speaks in Virgil Tu genitor cape sacra manu Patriosque Penates You Father of our holy things take care And of our Country-Godlings These were also called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Great Gods 3. Those who presided over particular Houses and were called Penates parvi of whom the Poets make frequent mention and particularly Virgil where he speaks of the fifty servant-Maids whose business it was to look after the Victuals flammis adolere Penates Aen. 1. And in another place he says sparsos fraterna caede Penates Again it is observable that by the word Penates is oftentimes signified the Houses themselves in which these Gods were worshipped As when it is said in Virgil Aen. 8. Nostris succede Penatibus hospes and when Tully says exterminare aliquem à suis penatibus Diis or liberos pellere domo ac prohibere Penatibus In which Sentences Penates has the same signification with Domus Timaeus and from him Dionysius says that these Penates had no proper Shape or Figure but were Wooden or Brazen Rods shaped somewhat like Trumpets But it is also thought by others that they had the shape of Young men with Spears which they held apart from one another CHAP. II. The Lares THE Lares were the issue of the stoln Embraces of Mercury with the Nymph Lara for when by her prating she had discovered some of Iupiter's Amours He was enraged â—nd cut out her Tongue and banished her to â—he Stygian Lake It was Mercury's Office to convey her thither in the Journey he ravished her Ovid. Fast. l. 2. Fitque gravis Geminosque parit qui
her Mouth therefore the Weasel brings forth her Young at her Mouth with great pain and anguish As for the Labours of Hercules I must confess that they were more than twelve tho those especially are called Hercules's Labours if you please we will continue our account of him thus XIII The enormous Giant Antaeus who was above sixty four Cubits high He was barbarous to all Strangers for he forced them to wrestle with him and then choaked them Hercules threw this Giant down thrice and perceived that he recovered new strength as oft as he touched the ground wherefore he lifted him in his Arms from the ground and pinched and squeezed him till he burst and died XIV Busiris the Tyrant used to sacrifice all the Strangers which he caught to his Father Neptune till Hercules sacrificed both him and his Son upon the same Altars XV. He killed the Giants Albion and Bergion who intended to stop his Journey And when in the fight his Arrows were consumed so that he wanted Arms he prayed to Iupiter and obtained from him a shower of Stones with which he defeated and put to flight his Adversaries This they say happened in that part of France which was antiently called Gallia Narbonensis which place is still called Campus Lapideus the Stony Plain Mela. XVI When Atlas was weary and sunk under his burden Hercules took the Heavens upon his own Shoulders XVII He overcame the Robber Cacus who spit Fire and strangled him XVIII He shot the Eagle with an Arrow that devoured the Liver of Prometheus while he lay chained to the Rock XIX He slew Theodamas the Father of Hylas because he denied to give him Victuals but he took Hylas with him and was very kind to him XX. He delivered Hesione the Daughter of Laomedon King of Troy from the Whale to which Sea-Monster she was exposed in this manner He raised on a sudden a Bank in the place where Hesione was to be devoured by the Whale and stood himself armed before it And when the Whale came gaping and seeking his prey Hercules leapt into his Mouth and sliding down into his Belly he spent three days in tearing the Monsters Belly but at length he burst through safe and lost his Hair Laomedon after this broke his word and refused to give Hercules the reward which he had promised wherefore he took by force and pillaged the City Troy giving to Telamon who first mounted the Walls the Lady Hesione as a part of the Booty XXI He overcame Achelous the Son of Oceanus and Terra in a Duel they fought for Deianira who was betrothed to them both altho Achelous first turned himself into a Serpent and afterwards into a Bull. For Hercules plucked one of the Bulls Horns off which obliged him to yield He purchased his Horn again giving Hercules Amalthaea's Horn. This is the meaning of the Story Achelous is a River of Greece whose course turns and winds like a Serpent its Stream is so rapid that it makes Furrows wheresoe'er it flows and the noise of its waters resembles the roaring of a Bull and indeed it is a common thing among the Poets to compare a rapid River to a Bull This River divided itself into two Streams but Hercules with Banks forced it into one Channel that is he broke off one of the Horns or Streams The Lands being thus drained became mighty fertile so that Hercules is said to have received the Horn of Plenty Deianira was the Daughter of Oeneus King of AEtolia Hercules carried hâ—r to be Married and they came to a River which stopped their Journey but the Centaur Nessus freely proffered to carry Deianira over upon his Back In the mean time Hercules swam over the River When she came on the farther side of the River Nessus endeavoured to ravish her which Hercules observing while he swam and being enraged at the impudence of the Monster shot him with an Arrow and killed him when Nessus was dying he gave Deianira his bloody Coat and told her that if any Husband wore that Coat he would never follow unlawful Amours The credulous Lady accepted the Present and not long after experimented the virtue of it far otherwise than she expected For the unconquerable Hercules who had hitherto surmounted so many and so great Labours was at length broken by the Charms and overcome by the Pleasures of Omphale the Queen of Lydia He served her and changed the Club which he always carried with him into a Distaff and his Arrows into a Spindle He fell also in love with Iole the Daughter of Eurytus King of Oechalia to that degree that he was miserably ruined These things made his Wife Deianira mighty uneasie so that she desiring to turn him from the love of his Mistresses sent him Nessus's Coat which he put on when he went to Sacrifice but it drove him into such a Distraction that he burnt himself upon the Pile that he had raised and after his death was accounted among the number of the Gods CHAP. II. JASON JASON the Son of AEson King of Thessalia and Alcimede was an Infant when his Father died so that his Uncle Pelias administred the Government when he came to Age he demanded possession of the Crown as being next Heir But Pelias advised and incouraged him to go to Colchis under a pretence of gaining the Golden Fleece from thence but in reality to kill him with the labour and danger of the Journey P. What Golden Fleece was that M. It was the Hide of a Ram a white or purple Colour This Ram was given to Phryxus the Son of Athamas and Nephele by his Mother Phryxus and his Sister Helle fearing the design of their Step-Mother Ino got upon the back of this Ram intending to save themselves by flight But while they were swimming over the narrowest part of Pontus an Arm of the Sea Helle was so affrighted at the tossing of the Waves that she fell down from whence that Sea hath been called the Hellespont ever since from her Name Phryxus was carried over safe and betook himself to AEta the King of Colchis a Country of Asia near the Pontus where he was kindly received and sacrificed the Ram to Iupiter or to Mars who afterwards placed it among the Constellations Only his Hide or Fleece was hung up in a Grove that was Sacred to Mars it was called the Golden Fleece because it was of a Golden Colour It was guarded by Bulls who breathed forth Fire from their Nostrils and a vast and watchful Dragon since it was a Sacred and Divine Pledge and a Relique of the greatest Importance P. Did Iason carry away that Fleece M. Yes He went on board a Ship called Argus for it was built by a Work-man of that Name And being inflamed with the desire of honour he chuses forty nine Noble Companions who from the Ship were
the Arabick Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chadam to serve or from the Phoenician Word Chadmel Gods Servant or Minister sacer 3. He attended upon dying Persons to unloose their Souls from the Chains of the Body and carry them to Hell he also revived and placed into new bodies those Souls which had completed their full time in the Elysian Fields All which things Virgil does almost comprise in these Verses Aeneid l. 4. Dixerat Ille patris magni parere parabat Imperio primum pedibus talaria nectit Aurea quae sublimem alis sive aequora supra Seu terram rapido pariter cum flamine portant Tum virgam capit hac animas ille evocat Orco Pallentes alias sub tristia Tartara mittit Dat somnos adimitque lumina morte resignat About his Father's business Hermès goes And first he buckles on his golden shooes With which being wing'd o'r sea and land he flies A swift wind counterpoising through the Skies Then takes his charming Wand whose power pale Ghosts Calls up or drives to miserable coasts Gives or breaks sleep and seals up dying eyes Og His remarkable Qualities were likewise many 1. They say that he was the Inventor of Letters this is certain he excelled in Eloquence and the Art of Speaking well insomuch that the Greeks called him Hermes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from interpreting or explaining and therefore he is accounted the God of the Rhetoricians and Orators 2. He is reported to have been the Inventor of Contracts Weights and Measures and to have taught the Art of Buying Selling and Trafficking first and to have received the Name of Mercury from Merces or Mercium cura his understanding of Merchandize Hence he is accounted the God of the Merchants and the God of Gain so that all unexpected Gain and Treasure that comes of a sudden is from him called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. In the Art of Thieving he certainly excelled all the Sharpers that ever were or will be for he is the very Prince and God of Thieves On that day in which he was born he stole away some Cattel from King Admetus's Herd altho Apollo was Keeper of them who complained much of the Theft and bent his Bow against him but in the mean time Mercury stole even his Arrows from him Whilst he was yet an Infant and entertain'd by Vulcan he stole his Tools from him He took away by stealth Venus's Girdler whilst she embraced him and Iupiter's Scepter he design'd to steal the Thunder too but he was afraid lest it should burn him 4. He was mighty skilful in making Peace and for that reason was sometimes painted with Chains of Gold flowing from his mouth with which he link'd together the Minds of those that heard him And he not only pacifi'd Mortal men but also the immortal Gods of Heaven and Hell for whenever they quarrell'd amongst themselves he composed their differences as Ovid says lib. 5. Fast. Pacis armorum superis imisque Deorum Arbiter alato qui pede carpit iter Thee Wing foot all the Gods both high and low The Arbiter of Peace and War allow And Claudian de raptu Proserp Atlantis Tegaee Nepos commune profundis Et superis Numen qui fas per limen utrumque Solus habes geminoque facis compendia mundo Fair Maias son whose pow'r alone dos reach beach High Heavens bright Towers and Hells dusky Aâ—ommoâ— God to both dost both the Worlds appease And this Pacificatory Faculty of his is signified by the Rod that he holds in his Hand which Apollo heretofore gave him for he had given Apollo an Harp This Rod had a wonderful faculty of deciding all Controversies This Virtue was first discovered by Mercury who seeing two Serpents fighting as he travelled he put his Rod between them and reconciled them presently and they mutually embraced each other and stuck to the Rod which is called Caduceus and from hence all Ambassadors sent to make Peace are called Caduâ—eatores for as Wars were denounced by Feciales so they were ended by Caduceatores SECT II. Actions of Mercury P. ARE any of his Actions recorded in History M. Yes several but such as in my Judgment do not much deserve to be remembred However the following Account is most remarkable He had a Son by his Sister Venus called Hermaphroditus i. e. Mercuric-Venus for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Mercury and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Venus Salmacâ— a Nymph lived in the Woods in which he often hunted she loved this Youth extravagantly who was very beautiful but a great Woman hater She often tempted the young man but was as often repulsed yet she did not despair She lay in Ambush at a Fountain where he usually came to bath and when he was in the water she also leapt in to him but neither so could she overcome his extraordinary Modesty Whereupon it is said she prayed to the Gods above that the Bodies of both might become one which was granted Hermaphroditus was amazed when he saw this change of his Body and desired that for his comfort some other Persons might be like him He obtained his request for whosoever washed himself in that Fountain called Salmacis in the Country Caria became an Hermaphrodite and was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 androgynos that is had both Sexes Ovid. Met. l. 4. I was unwilling to omit the following Story A Herdsman whose name was Battus saw Mercury stealing Admetus's Cows from Apollo their Keeper When Mercury perceived that his Theft was discovered he went to Battus and desired that he would say nothing and gave him a delicate Cow Battus promised Mercury that he might try his fidelity came in another shape to him and asked him about the Cows whether he saw them or knew the place where the Thief carried them Battus denied it but the God prest him hard and promised that he would give him both a Bull and a Cow if he would discover With the Promise he was overcome whereupon Mercury was enraged and laying aside his Disguise turn'd him into a Stone call'd Index as Ovid relates so prettily in Verse that I cannot but recite them At Battus postquam est merces geminata sub illisâ— Montibus inquit erant erant sub montibus illis Risit Atlantiades me mihi perfide prodis Me mihi prodis ait perjuraque pectora a vertit In durum silicem qui nunc quoque dicitur Index Battus upon the double proffer tells him there Beneath those hills beneath those hills they were Then Hermes laughing loud what knave I say Me to my self to my self me betray Then to a Touchstone turn'd his perjur'd breast Whose Nature now is in that Name exprest The Antients used to set up Statues called Indices where the Roads crossed each other because with an Arm and a Finger held out they indicated the way to this or that placeâ— The Romans placed Statues in all Publick
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the Hill or Mount of Mars was a place at Athens in which when Mars was accused of Murther and Incest as tho he had kild Halirothius Neptunes Son and debauch'd his Daughter Alcippa he was forced to defend himself in a Tryal before Twelve Gods and was acquitted by Six Voices from which time that place became a Court wherein were tryed Capital Causes and the things belonging to Religion The Areopagitae were the Judges whose Integrity and good Credit was so great that no Person could be admitted into their Society unless when he deliver'd in publick an Account of all his Life past he was found in every part thereof blameless And that the Lawyers who pleaded might not blind the Eyes of the Judges by the Charms of Eloquence they were obliged to plead their Causes without any Ornament of Speech if they did otherwise they were immediately commanded to be silent And lest they should be moved to Compassion by seeing the miserable Condition of the Prisoners they gave Sentence in the dark without Lights not by Words but in a Paper whence arose the Proverb of Areopagita taciturnior one that speaks little or nothing His Name Gradivus comes à gradiendo from marching or from brandishing the Spear which in Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is called Quirinus from Curis or Quiris signifying a Spear whence comes Securis quasi Semicuris a piece of a Spear And this Name was afterward attributed to Romulus because he was esteemed the Son of Mars from whom the Romans were called Quirites Gravidus is the Name of Mars when he rages and Quirinus when he is quiet And accordingly there were two Temples at Rome dedicated to him one within the City which was dedicated to Mars Quirinus the Keeper of the Cities Peace the other without the City near the Gate to Mars Gradivus the Warriour and the Defender of the City against all outward Enemies The antient Latins applyed to him the Title of Salisubsulus or Dancer from salio because his Temper is very inconstant and uncertain inclining sometimes to this side and sometimes to that in Wars whence we say Martem belli communem esse that the issue of Battels is uncertain and the Chance dubious But we must not think that Mars is the only God of War for Bellona Victoria Sol Luna and Pluto use to be reckoned in the number of Martial Deities It was usual with the Lacedemonians to shackle the Feet of the Image of Mars that he should not fly from them and amongst the Romans the Priests Salii were instituted to look after the Sacrifices of Mars and go about the City dancing with their Shields He was called Enyalius from Enyo id est Bellona and by other the like Names but it is not worth my time to insist upon them longer SECT III. Actions of Mars IT is strange that the Poets relate only one Action of this terrible God which deserved to be concealed in darkness if the light of the Sun had not discovered it and if a good Kernel was not contained in a bad Shell Every body knows the Story of Mars and Venus's Adultery from whence Hermione a Tutelar Deity according to Plutarch was born thus Ovid says Fabula narratur toto notissima coelo Mulciberis capti Marsque Venusque dolis The Tale is told thro Heav'n far and wide How Mars and Venus were by Vulcan ty'd When Sol discovered them both he told it to Vulcan Venus's Husband who thereupon made a Net of Iron whose links were so small and slender that it was invisible and spread it over the Bed of Venus By and by the Lovers return to their Sport and were caught in the Net Vulcan calls all the Gods together to the Shew who jeered them extremely After they had long been exposed to the Jests and the Hisses of the Company Vulcan at the request of Neptune unlooses their Chains and gives them their Liberty But Alectryon Mars's Favourite suffered the Punishment that his Crime deserved because when he was appointed to watch he fell asleep and so gave Sol an opportunity to slip into the Chamber Therefore Mars changed him into a Cock a Bird of his own Name in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which to this day is so mindful of his old Fault that he constantly gives notice of the Approach of the Sun by his Crowing SECT IV. The Signification of the foregoing Fable LET us explain this Fable Indeed when a Venus is married to a Vulcan that is a very handsom Lady to a very ugly Man it is a great occasion of Adultery But neither can that Dishonesty nor any other escape the knowledge of the Sun of Righteousness although it be done in the obscurest Darkness though it be with the utmost care guarded by the trustiest Pimps in the World tho they be committed in the privatest Retirement and concealed with the greatest aâ—â— they will all at one time be exposed to both the Infernal and Celestial Regions in the brightest Light when the Offenders shall be set in the midst bound by the Chains of their Consciences by that faln Vulcan who is the Instrument of the Terrors of the true Iupiter and then they shall hear and suffer the Sentence that was formerly threatned to David in this Life Thou didst this thing secretly but I will raise up evil against thee in the sight of all Israel and before the Sun 2 Sam. 12. 12. But let us return again to Mars or rather to the Son of Mars Tereus who learnt Wickedness from his Fathers Example as a bad Father makes a bad Child says the Proverb SECT V. The Story of Tereus the Son of Mars TEreus was the Son of Mars begotten of the Nymph Bistonis He married Progne the Daughter of Pandion King of Athens when he himself was King of Thrace This Progne had a Sister called Philomela a Virgin in Modesty and Beauty inferior to none She lived with her Father at Athens Progne being desirous to see her Sister asked Tereus to fetch Philomela to her he comply'd and went to Athens and brought Philomela with her Fathers leave to Progne Upon this Occasion Tereus falls in love with Philomela to distraction and as they travell'd together because she refused him he overpower'd her and cut out her Tongue and threw her into a Goal And returning afterwards to his Wife pretended with the greatest Assurance that Philomela died in her Journey and that his Story might appear true he shed many Tears and put on Mourning But Philomela though she was dumb found out a way to tell her Sister the villany of Tereus Grande doloris Ingenium est miserisque venit solertia rebus Desire of Vengeance makes th' Invention quick When miserable help with craft we seek She describes the Story of the Violences which she had received from Tereus as well as she could in Embroidery and sends the Work folded
it is full of tempestuous desires and stormy disappointments how many Vessels have beed shipwreck'd there how many Goods lost What destructions not only of Mens Estates but of the Understandings also have happened here Instances of which every body who is not blind has observed 6. Consider the Adulteries Rapes Incests of which Venus is accused and you will find whitherward her Beauty tends Those are the Precipices into which that Ignis fatuâ—s in her Eyes betrays its Admirers Tho her Face appears pure and cool as the Ice it creates a Passion both impure and hot as Fire From that stream of sparkling Fire which comes from her Eyes are engendred Clouds of dark and hellish Impurity and black mists of Lust. Thus by a strange contradiction many are blinded by others Eyes and find Tumults raised in their breasts from the calm serenity of anothers looks grow pale at the redness in their Cheeks loose their own Beauty in admiring the Beauty of others and grow immodest by loving their Modesty P. How far I prithee will the Fervour and the flowing Tide of your Wit and Fancy carry you The Beauty of this Goddess I see hath raised your Admiration M. My Choler rather But however you do well in stopping me She hath detained us longer than I expected Tho' not without Reason because she is one of the greatest of all the Goddesses The rest are less illustrious and will by no means detain us so long CHAP. XIII SECT I. LATONA LAtona whom you see standing next to Venus was the Daughter of Phoebe and Coeus the Titan. She was so beautiful a Lady that Iupiter fell in love with her and deflowred her when Iuno perceived that she was big with Child by him she cast her out of Heaven to the Earth and obliged Terra by an Oath not to give her any where a habitation to bring forth in and besides she set the Serpent Python upon her to persecute her all over the World Iuno however was disappointed in every thing for the Island Delos received Latona where under a Palm or an Olive-Tree she brought forth Diana who as soon as she was born performed the Office of a Midwife to her Mother and brought Apollo into the world P. But if Terra swore that she would allow no place to Latona how could she bring forth in Delos M Very well For they say that that Island heretofore floated in the Sea and was then hid under the Waters when Terra took her Oath but emerged afterwards by the Order of Neptune and became fix'd and immoveable for Latona's use from which time it was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conspicua because it was now visible like other places P. But why did the Island Delos emerge for Latona's use M. That is not strange For this Island was Sister to Latona some say that her name formerly was Asteria whom Iupiter loved and courted but she was converted into an Island but others report that she was converted into a Quail and flew into this Island which was therefore amongst other Names called Ortygia from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Quail Niobe's Pride and the Barbarity of the Country-men of Lycia encrease the Fame of this Goddess Niobe was the Daughter of Tantalus and the Wife of Amphion King of Thebes She was so blessed with all the gifts of Nature and Fortune her happiness was so great that she could not bear it wherefore puffed up with Pride and full of Self-conceit she began to despise Latona and to esteem her self greater than her saying Major sum quam cui possit fortuna nocere Multaque ut eripiat multò mihi plura relinquet In quancunque domus adverti lumina partem Immensae spectantur opes Accedit eodem Digna Deo facies Huc natas adjice septem Et totidem Iuvenes mox Generosque Nurusq Quaerite nunc habeat quam nostra superbia causam My state too great for fortune to bereave Tho much she ravish she much more must leave Throughout my Court behold in every place Infinite Riches add to this a Face Worthy a Goddess Then to crown my Ioys Seven beauteous Daughters and as many Boys All these by marriage to be multiply'd Behold have we not reason for our Pride For she had brought to her Husband seven Sons and as many Daughters who were all very ingenious and very handsom But her mad Pride deprived her of all the Blessings which she possessed in a short time and reduced her from the Heighth of good Fortune to the lowest degree of Misery For when Latona saw her self so despised and her Sacrifices disturbed by Niobe she left it to Apollo and Diana to punish the Injury that was offered to their Mother Immediately they two go with their Quivers well filled with Arrows to Niobe's House where first they kill the Sons then the Daughters and next the Father in the sight of Niobe who by that means Orba resedit Exanimes inter natos natasque virumque Diriguitque malis She by her Husband Sons and Daughters sits A childless Widow waxing stiff with woes Till at length she was turned into Marble which because of this misfortune sheds many Tears to this day The Rusticks of the Country Lycia in Asia did also experience the Anger of Latona with their Ruine for when she wandered in the Fields very big with Twins the heat of the Weather and the toil of her Journey brought such a Drought upon her that she almost fainted for Thirst. At last she discovered a Spring in the Bottom of the Valley she ran to it with great Joy and fell on her Knees gelidos potura liquores The neighbouring Country-men seeing her forbade her tho she begged of them leave to drink in this manner Quid prohibetis aquas usus communis aquarum est Quas tamen ut detis supplex peto Non ego nostros Abluere hic artus lassataque membra parabam Sed relevare sitim Caret os humore loquentis Et fauces arent vixque est via vocis in illis Haustus aquae mihi Nectar erit vitamque fatebor Accepisse Quem non blanda Deae potuissent verba movere Hi tamen orantem perstant prohibere minasque Ni procul abscedat convitiaque insuper addunt Nec satis est ipsos etiam pedibusque manuque Turbavere lacus imoque è gurgite mollem Huc illuc limum saltu movere maligno Why hinder you said she The use of Water that to all is free The Sun Air Water Nature did not frame Peculiar a publick Gift I claim Yet humbly I intreat it not to drench My weary limbs but killing thirst to quench My tongue wants moisture and my jaws are dry Scarce is there way for speech For drink I die Water to me were Nectar If I live 'T is by your favour With whom would not such gentle words prevail But they persisting to prohibit rail The place with threats command her to
him in such a Condition Eclog. 6. Silenum pueri somno videre jacentem Inflatum hesterno venas ut semper Iaccho Serta procul tantum capiti delapsa jacebant Et gravis attrita pendebat Cantharus ansa The Boys in 's Cave Silenus sleeping found With last night's Bacchus swell'd his usual guise Far from his Head his faln off Garland lies By a worn Handle hung his heavy Can. Cantharus is a sort of a Cup that Bacchus used When Silenus was drunk he carried a Staff by which he governed his stumbling steps as Ovid remarks Met. l. 4. Quique senex ferula titubantes ebrius artus Sustinet pando non fortiter haeret asello His Staff does hardly keep him on his legs When mounted on his Ass see how he swags In another place Ovid hath this Distich l. 2. de Arte Am. Ebrius ecce senex pando delapsus asello Clamarunt Satyri surge age surge pater Th' old Soker's drunk from 's Ass h'as got a fall Rowze Daddy rowze again the Satyrs bawl You must know the Satyrs esteemed Silenus as their Father and when they became old they were call'd Sileni too And concerning Silenus's Ass they say that he was translated into Heaven and placed among the Stars because in the Gyants War Silenus rode on him and helped Iupiter very much Arat. But when Silenus once was taken and asked Quidnam esset hominibus optimum What was the best thing that could befal men He was silent a long time and then answered Omnibus esse optimum non nasci natos quam citissimè interire It is best for all never to be born but being born to die very quickly Plut. in Consol. Apoll. Which Expression Pliny repeats almost in the same words Multi extitere qui non nasci optimum censerent aut quam citissime aboleri In Praef. l. 7. CHAP. XIV The SATYRS BEhold look Those are Satyrs who dance in lascivious Motions and Postures under the shade of that tall spreading Oak they have Heads armed with Horns and Goats Feet and Legs crooked Hands rough hairy Bodies and Tails not much shorter than Horses Tails There is no Animal in Nature more salacious and libidinous than these Gods Their Name itself is derived from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 veretrum Pausanias proves it by an Instance of some Mariners who were drove upon a Desart Island by a Storm and saw themselves surrounded with a flock of Satyrs the Seamen were frighted and betook themselves again to their Ships and the Satyrs left the Men but they seized the Women and committed all manner of wickedness with them CHAP. XV. The FAUNS THE Fauni which you see joyned with the Satyri differ from them in Name only at least they are not unlike them in their looks For they have Hoofs and Horns and are crowned with the Branches of the Pine When they meet drunken Persons they stupifie them they say with their looks alone The Boors of the Country call them Dii Agrestes the Rural Gods and pay them the more Respect because they armed with Horns and Nails and painted in terrible Shapes Faunus or Fatuellus as he is otherwise called was the Son of Picus King of the Latins His Wife and Sister both was Fauna or Fatua a prophetical Lady whom himself first Consecrated And the Story says that this Faunus was the Father and Prince of the other Fauni and the Satyrs The Name is derived from fando or vaticinando whence Fatui signifies both Persons that speak rashly and inconsiderately and Enthusiasts Because they who prophesie deliver the Mind and Will of another and speak things which themselves many times do not understand CHAP. XVI PRIAPUS P. HA What means that Naked God with his Sickle behind the Trunk of that Tree What makes him hide the half of his Body so M. The Painter was modest and therefore painted but half of him because he is an unhandsome and obscene Deity His Name is Priapus I am ashamed to tell the Story of him he is so very filthy And therefore I shall say only that he was the Son of Venus and Bacchus born at Lampsacus where his Mother hating his deformity and the disproportion of his Members rejected him Yet he pleased the Women of Lampsacus insomuch that their Husbands banished him from the City till by the Oracles command he was recalled and made God of the Gardens and crowned with Garden Herbs He carries a Sickle in his Hand to cut off from the Trees all superfluous Boughs and to drive away Thieves and Beasts and mischievous Birds from whence he is called Avistupor Therefore his Image is usually placed in Gardens as Tibullus intimates in these Verses Pomosisque ruber custos ponatur in hortis Arceat ut salva falce Priapus aves With th' swarthy guardian God your Orchards grace With his stiff Sickle he the Birds will chase And Virgil. Georg. lib. 4. Et custos furum atque avium cum falce saligna Hellespontiaci servet tutela Priapi where the Poet gives him the Epithet Hellespontiacus because the City Lampsacus was situated upon the Hellespont But Horace relates this Office of Priapus ingeniously where he brings in Priapus speaking thus of himself Sat. 8. Olim truncus eram ficulnus inutile lignum Cum faber incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum Maluâ—t esse Deum Deus inde ego furum aviumque Maxima formido Long time I lay a useless piece of Wood Till Artists doubtful for what the Log was good A Stool or God resolv'd to make a God So I was made my Form the Log receives A mighty Terror I to Birds and Thieves They say that this was the occasion of the Deformity of this God when Iuno saw Venus big with Child she was jealous and therefore under pretence of assisting her in her Labour she spitefully misus'd her so that the young Child was spoil'd and deform'd and from his deformity was call'd Priaâ—us and Phallus and Fascinum all which three names savour of Obscenity tho by some he is call'd Bonus Daemon or Genius Indeed Iuno's touch was not necessary to make the Child monstrous for what Off-spring can we expect from a Sot and a Whore CHAP. XVII ARISTAEUS HE is called Aristaeus whom you see busied in that Nursery of Olives supporting and improving the Trees He is employed in drawing Oil from the Olive which Art he first invented He also found out the use of Honey and therefore you see some rows of Bee-hives near him For which two profitable Inventions the Antients paid him Divine Honours He was otherwise called Nomius and Agraeus and was the Son of Apollo by Cyrene or as Cicero says the Son of Liber Pater educated by the Nymphs and taught by them the Art of making Oil Honey and Cheese He fell in love with Eurydice the Wife of Orpheus and pursued her into a Wood where a Serpent stung her so that she died the
that he might have a passage out of the Cave and from thence he was believed to be the Son of the Earth Iuno afterwards persuaded this Giant to accuse Latona of Adultery whereupon Iupiter struck him with Thunder down into Hell And there he lies stretched out and covers nine Acres of Ground with his Body a Vulture continually gnaws his Liver which grows again every Month. Virgil describes him in the same manner Aen. 6. Necnon Tityum Terrae omniparentis alumnum Cernere erat cui tota novem per jugera corpus Porrigitur rostroque immanis vultur adunco Immortale jecur tundens foecundaque poenis Viscera rimaturque epulis habitatque sub alto Pectore nec fibris requies datur ulla renatis Th' All-parent Earth's huge Off-spring I beheld Tityus whose Body nine whole Acres fill'd Where a huge Vulture with a crooked Bill Liâ—s tearing his immortal Liver still And Dainties searching dwells upon his Breast Nor grants to his renewing Bowels rest To these we may add the Titans the Sons of Terra and Coelum The Chief of whom was Titanus Saturn's elder Brother who made War against Iupiter because Iupiter usurp'd that Kingdom which was due to him by hereditary right In this War Titan and his Party were beaten and afterwards cast down into Hell SECT III. Other Famous Offenders PHlegyas King of the Lapithae in Thessalia was the Father of the Nymph Coronis and when he heard that Apollo had debauch'd his Daughter he went in anger and fired the Temple of Apollo at Delphi For which the God shot him through the Body with an Arrow and ordained him this punishment a great Stone hangs over his Head which he imagines every moment will fall down and crush him in pieces Thus he sits perpetually fearing what will never come to pass which make him frequently cry out Virg. Aen. 6. Discite justitiam montii non temnere Divos Learn Iustice hence and don 't despise the Gods Ixion was the Son of this Phlegyas He killed his own Sister and obtained his Pardon from the Gods who advanced him to Heaven his Prosperity made him wanton so that he attempted to violate Iuno It was told to Iupiter who sent a Cloud in the shape of Iuno which the deceived Lover embraced and from thence those Monsters the Centaurs were born Whereupon he was thrown down to the Earth again where because he boasted every where that he knew the Queen of the Gods he was struck with Thunder down into Hell and tied fast to a Wheel which turns about â—ontinually Salmoneus King of Elis whose ambition was not satisfied with an earthly Crown for he desired Divine Honours and that the People might esteem him a God he built a brazen Bridge over the City and drove his Chariot over it imitating by this noise Iupiter's Thunder he threw down lighted Torches and those who were struck by them were taken and killed Iupiter would not suffer so great insolence wherefore he threw the proud Man head-long out of his Stage into Hell where I saw him says he in Virgil Aen. 6. Vidi crudeles dantem Salmonea poenas Dum flammas Iovis sonitus imitatur Olympi I saw Salmoneus as he tortur'd sate Who Lightning could and Thunder imitate Sisyphus was a famous Robber killed by Theseus He is condemned in Hell to roll a great non exsuperabile saxum and an insuperable stone to the top of a high Hill and as oft as the Stone almost touches the top of the Mountain it slides down again The Belides fifty Virgins Sisters so called from their Grandfather Belus named also Danaïdes from their Father Danaus who married them to the fifty Sons of his Brother The Oracle foretold that Danaus should be slain by his Son-in-Law wherefore he commanded his Daughters to provide Daggers and on their Wedding Nights to kill all their Husbands All the Daughters performed their Promises and killed their Husbands but Hypermnestra spared Lynceus her Husband who afterwards killed Danaus and took his Kingdom This great Impiety was thus punished they are condemned to draw water out of a deep Well and fill a Tub that like a Sieve is full of holes The water runs out of the Tub as fast as it is put in so that they are tormented with an unprofitable labour without end Thus Ovid says of them Met. l. 4. Assiduas repetunt quas perdunt Belides undas They hourly fetch the Water that they spill Tantalus is another remarkable Criminal he was the Son of Iupiter by the Nymph Plota He invited all the Gods to a Feast to get a plain and clear proof of their Divinity when they came he killed and quartered his own Son Pelops and boiled him and set the joyntâ— before them to eat All the Gods abstained from such horrid Diet except Ceres who eat one of the Child's Shoulders Afterwards the Gods sent Mercury to re-cal him to Life and gave him an Ivory Shoulder instead of the Shoulder which Ceres had eaten This Pelops was the Husband of Hippodamia of whom Atreus and Thyestes were born The latter whereof was banished because he corrupted his Brother Atreus's Wife and when he was re-called from thence he eat up those Children that he had by her For Atreus killed them and brought them in Dishes to the Table where he and Thyestes Dined together It is said that the Sun was not able to endure so horrible a sight but turned his Course back again to the East But as Tantalus's Crime was greater so was his Punishment For he is tormented with eternal Hunger and Thirst in the midst of Plenty both of Meat and Drink For he stands in water up to the Lips but cannot drink it and Meat is placed just by his Mouth which he cannot take hold on Besides Virg. Aen. 6. Hunc super atra silex jamjam lapsura cadentique Imminet assimilis A huge Stone Ready to drop hangs o'er his cursed head The former part of his punishment is thus expressed by Ovid. Quaerit aquas in aquis poma fugacia captas Tantalus hoc illi garrula lingua dedit Half drown'd he thirsts the dangling apples swing From 's gaping chops This comes of pratling For they say he divulged the secrets of the Gods unto Men. Now this Fable of Tantalus represents to us the condition of a Miser who in the midst of plenty suffers want and wants as much the things which he hath as those which he has not As Horace rightly says where he ridicules the covetous man thus Serm. lib. 1. Tantalus à labris sitiens fugientia captat Flumina Quid rides mutato nomine de te Fabula narratur Tho' Tantalus you 've heard do stand chin-deep In water yet he cannot get a sip At which you smile now all on 't would be true Were the name chang'd and the tale told of you CHAP. XI Monsters of Hell THere are many strange Pictures of these infernal Monsters but
the Enemy These Female Warriours by their frequent excursions became possessors of a great part of Asia when Hercules accompanied with Theseus made War upon them and defeated them and taking Hippolyte their Queen Prisoner gave her to Wife to Theseus Theseus had by Hippolyte his Son Hippolytus who was very beautiful and mightily addicted to Hunting and a remarkable lover of Chastity For when Phaedra his Stepmother the Daughter of King Minos whom Theseus had preferred to her Sister Ariadne solicited him to commit wickedness when he was grown a Man he refused to comply which repulse provoked her so much that when her Husband returned she accused him wrongfully as if he had offered to ravish her Theseus gives Ear to the wicked Woman and believes her untruth against his Son Hippolytus who perceiving it fled away in his Chariot In his flight he met several monstrous Sea-Calfs which frighted his Horses so that they threw him out of the Seat his Feet were entangled in the Harness and he was dragged through the Thickets of a Wood and torn to pieces miserably AEsculapius afterwards at the request of Diana restored him to life again But he however left Greece and came into Italy where changing his name he called himself Virbius quod vir bis fuisset because he had been a Man twice Phaedra was gnawn with the stings of her Conscience and hanged her self And not long after Theseus being banished from his Country ended an illustrious life with an obscure death CHAP. IV. CASTOR and POLLUX P. WHO are those two handsom beautiful young Men that ride upon white Horses M. They are two Twin-brothers the Sons of Iupiter and Leda their Names Castor and Pollux P. What Leda was that M. The Wife of Tyndarus King of Laconia whom Iupiter lov'd and could not succeed in his Amour till he changed himself into a Swan which Swan was afterwards made a Constellation In this form he gained the mutual love of Leda by the sweetness of his singing and flying into her Bosom as it were that he might secure himself from the violence of an Eagle which pursued him He enjoyed her tho' she was then big with Child by her Husband Leda brought forth two Eggs which were hatched and produced the two Twin-Brothers which you see P. You mean that one came out of one Egg and the other out of the other Egg. M. Out of the Egg which Leda had conceived by Iupiter came Castor and Pollux who sprang from Divine Seed and were therefore immortal But out of the other which she conceived by Tyndarus her Husband came Helena and Clytemnestra who were mortal because they were begotten by a mortal Father Yet Castor and Pollux are frequently called Tyndaridae by the Poets as Helena is also called Tyndaris from that King Tyndarus P. What memorable Actions did Castor and Pollux do M. They both accompanied Iason when he failed to Colchis and when they returned from thence recovered their Sister Helena from Theseus who had stol'n her by overcoming the Athenians that fought for him to whom their Clemency and Humanity was so great after the defeat that the Athenians called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sons of Iupiter from whence white Lambs were offered upon their Altars But although they were both born at the same birth and as some think out of the same Egg yet their Dispositions were different For says Horace Serm. 2. 1. Castor gaudet equis Ovo prognatus eodem Pugnis quot capitum vivunt totidem studiorum Millia Pollux on foot on Horseback Castor fights As many men so many their delights P. What end had they M. Castor being as some say a mortal Person was killed by Lynceus Whereupon his Brother Pollux prayed Iupiter to restore him to Life again and confer an Immortality upon him But this could not be granted However he obtained leave to divide his Immortality betwixt himself and his Brother Castor And thence it came to pass that they lived afterwards by turns every other day or as others say every other fortnight according to that of the Poet. Vir. Aen. 6. Sic fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit Itque reditque viam Thus Pollux fetch'd his Brother from the dead And the same dolorous way to ' and fro did tread After the death of Castor a kind of a Pyrrhice or a Dance in Armour was instituted to his honour which was performed by young Men Armed and called Castoreum Tripudium Castor's dance At length they both were translated into the Heavens and made a Constellation which is still called Gemini And when one of them rises the other sets Sailors esteem these Stars lucky and prosperous to them because when the Argonauts were driven by a violent Tempest two lambent Flames setled upon the Heads of Castor and Pollux and a Calm immediately ensued and from thence a Vertue more than humane was thought to be lodged in these Youths Whensoever these Fires appeared afterwards they were called Castor and Pollux If but one Fire appeared they called it Helena and it was esteemed fatal and destructive to Mariners There was a famous Temple dedicated to Castor and Pollux in the Forum at Rome for it was believed that in the dangerous Battle of the Romans with the Latins they assisted the Romans riding upon white Horses From hence comes that Adverb of Swearing which Women only use AEcastor whereas the Men Swore only by Hercules after these manners quasi per aedem Castoris by the Temple of Castor Hercule Hercle Hercules Mehercules and Mehercule but the Oath AEdepol per aedem Pollâ—cis by the Temple of Pollux was used by both Men and Women P. But what became of Clytemnestra M. Clytemnestra was married to Agamemnon whom after his return from the Siege of Trâ—y she killed by the help of AEgisthus with whom in the interim she had lived in Adultery She attempted also to kill his Son Orestes which she had done if his Sister Electra had not delivered him at the very point of destruction sending him privately to Strophius King of Phâ—cis where after he had lived twelve years he returned to his own Country and slew Clytemnestra and AEgisthus both He killed also Pyrrhus in the Temple of Apollo because he had taken to himself Hermione the Daughter of Menclaus who was first betrothed to Orestes wherefore the Furies tormented him nâ—ither could he obtain deliverance from them till he had expâ—ated his wickedness at the Altar of Diana Taurica whither he was conducted by â—yâ—ades his Friend perpetual Companion and Partner in all his dangers Whose Friendships was so close and sacred that either of them would die for the other P. Who was that Diana Taurica M. The Goddess Diana that was worshipped in Taurica Chersonesus or Cherronesus a Peninsula so called from the Tauri an antient People of Scythia Europaea This Goddess was worshipped with
humane Victims the lives and the blood of Men were sacrificed to her when Orestes came thither Iphigenia his Sister the Daughter of Agamemnon was Priestess to Diana Taurica she was made Priestess upon the following occasion Agamemnon King of the Argivi who was by the common consent of the Grecians appointed General in their expedition against Troy and who as I said before after the War was ended and Troy taken was killed when he returned home by his own Wife Clytemnestra this Agamemnon killed a Deer by chance in the Country of Aulis which belonged to Diana the Goddess was angry and caused such a calm that for want of Wind the Grecian Ships bound for Troy were fixed and unmovable Hereupon they consulted the Soothsayers who answered that they must satisfie the Winds and Diana with some of the blood of Agamemnon Wherefore Vlysses was forthwith sent to bring away Iphigenia the Daughter of Agamemnon from her Mother by a trick under pretence of marrying her to Achilles And whilst the young Lady stood at the Altar to be sacrificed the Goddess pitied her and substituted a Hind in her stead and sent her into the Taurica Chersonesus where by the order of King Thyas she was set over those Sacrifices of the Goddess which were solemnized with human Blood And when Orestes was brought hither by the Inhabitants to be sacrificed he was known and preserved by his Sister After which Thyas was killed and the Image of Diana carried away which lay hid amongst a Bundle of Sticks from whence she was called Fascelis from Fascis a Bundle CHAP. V. PERSEUS PErseus was the Son of Iupiter by Danae the Daughter of Acrisius who was shut up by her Father in a very strong Tower where no Man could come to her because her Father had been told by an Oracle that he should be killed by his own Grandchild But nothing is impregnable to Love For Iupiter by changing himself into a Shower of Gold descended through the Tyles into the Ladies Bosom and who would refuse to open it to a Shower of that Value and when he had enjoyed her he left her with a full purse and a big belly Horace tells the Story ingeniously thus Carm. l. 3. 16. Inclusam Danaen turris ahenea Robustaeque fores vigilum canum Tristes excubiae munierant satis Nocturnis ab adulteris Si non Acrisium virginis abditae Custodem pavidum Iupiter Venus Risissent fore enim tutum iter patens Converso in pretium Deo A brazen Tower vast Doors and wakeful Curs One would have thought enough to be To have secur'd from sly Adulterers The fair imprison'd Maiden Danae But th' Project Jove and Venus smile to see And laugh the jealous Dad to scorn What can resist a lustful Deity That for a bout to Gold will turn As soon as Acrisius had heard that his Daughter had brought a Son he ordered that she and the infant should be shut up in a Chest and thrown into the Sea where a Fisherman found them and took them out and presented them to King Pilumnus who married Danae and brought up her Son whom he called Perseus Perseus when he was grown a Man received from Mercury a Sithe of Adamant and wings which he fixed to his feet Pluto gave him a Helmet and Minerva a Shield of Brass that was so bright that it reflected the Images of things like a Looking-glass First he delivered Andromeda the Daughter of Cepheus King of AEthiopia when she was bound by the Nymphs to a Rock to be devoured by a Sea-monster because her Mother proudly preferred her Beauty to theirs and when he had delivered her he took her to Wife After which both the Mother Cassiope or Cassiopeia and the Daughter and the Son-in-law were placed amongst the Celestial Constellations His next Expedition was against the Gorgons of whom we have spoken before he encountred with Medusa their Princess Snakes supplied the place of hair on her head he saw the Image of her head by the brightness of his shield and by the favourable assistance of Pallas he struck it off and afterwards fixed it upon his shield and by shewing it he afterwards turned many Persons into Stone Atlas was turned by the sight of it into the Mountain in Mauritania of that name because he rudely refused to entertain Perseus When Medusa's Head was cut off the Horse Pegasus sprang from the Blood which was shed on the ground he is so called from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fountain because he was born near the fountains of the Sea This Horse had Wings and flying over the Mountain Helicon he struck it with his Hoof and opened a Fountain which they called in Greek Hippocrene and in Latin Caballinus that is the Horses Fountain But afterwards while he drank at the Fountain Pyrene in Corinth when Bellerophon prepared for his expedition against the Chimaera he was by him taken and kept Bellerophon or Bellerophontes was first called Hipponomus ab equis fraeno regendis because he first taught the Art of governing Horses with a Bridle But when he had killed Bellerus a King of Corinth he was afterwards called Bellerophontes This Bellerophon the Son of Glaucus King of Ephyra was equally beautiful and virtuous he resisted all the temptations whereby Sthenoboea the Wife of Praetus enticed him to commit adultery his denyal provoked her so that in revenge she accused the innocent Stranger to her Husband Praetus however would not violate the Laws of Hospitality with the Blood of Bellerophon but sent him into Lycia to his Father-in-law Iobates with Letters which desired him to punish Bellerophon as his crime deserved Iobates read the Letters and sent him to fight against the Solymi that he might be killed in the battle But he easily vanquished them and in many other Dangers to which he was exposed he always came off Conqueror At last he was sent to kill the Chimaera which he honourably undertook and performed when he had procured the Horse Pegasus by the Help of Neptune Wherefore Iobates admired the Bravery of the Youth and gave him one of his Daughters to Wife allotting him also a part of his Kingdom Sthenobaea killed her self when she heard this This happy success so transported Bellerophon that he endeavoured to flie upon Pegasus to Heaven for which Iupiter striking him with madness he fell from the Horse into a Field called Alcius campus from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 erro fugio because in that place Bellerophon wandred up and down blind to the end of his life But Pegasus was reposed amongst the Stars Some say that this was the occasion of the Fable of the Chimaera There was a famous Pyrat who used to sail in a Ship in whose Prow was painted a Lyon in the Stern a Dragon and in the body of the Ship a Goat was described and this Pyrate was killed by Bellerophon in a
Long-Boat that was called Pegasus From the Letters which Bellerophon carried to Iobates comes the Proverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bellerophontis literae when any one carries Letters which he imagines are wrote in his Favour when they are sent to procure his Ruin And such Letters are generally called Literae Vriae the Letters of Vriah CHAP. VI. AESCULAPIUS M. WHY are you so silent Palaeophilus What employs your thoughts so long P. I am viewing that bearded old Man that leans upon his joynted Cane and is adorned with a Crown of Laurel and encompassed about with Dogs Pray Sir tell me his Name who he is and what are his Excellencies M. It is AEsculapius the God of the Physicians and Physick and the Son of Apollo by the Nymph Coronis He improved the Art of Physick which was before little understood and for that reason they accounted him a God Apollo shot the Nymph his Mother when she was with Child of him because she admitted the Embraces of another young Man after he had enjoy'd her But he repented after he had killed her and opened her Body and took out the Child alive and delivered him to be Educated by a Physician Chiron who taught him his own Art the Youth made so great progress in it that because he restored Health to the Sick and Safety to those whose Condition was desperate he was thought to have a Power of recalling the dead to life again Whence Pluto the King of Hell complained to Iupiter very much that his Revenue was diminished and his Subjects taken from him by the means of AEsculapius and at length by his perswasion Iupiter killed him with a stroke of his Thunder He wears a Crown of Lawrel because that Tree is Powerful in Curing many Diseases by the Knots in his Staff is signified the difficulty of the Study of Physick He hath Dogs painted about him and Dogs in his Temple because many believed that he was born of uncertain Parents and exposed and afterwards nourished by a Bitch Others say that a Goat which was pursued by a Dog gave suck to the forsaken Infant and that the Shepherds saw a lambent Flame playing about his Head which was the Prognostication of his future Divinity So that the Cyrenians used to offer a Goat to him in their Sacrifices either because he was nourished by a Goat as was said or because a Goat is always in a Fever and therefore a Goats Constitution is very contrary to Health Plato says that they used to Sacrifice Dunghil-cocks to him which is the most vigilant of all Birds for of the Virtues principally wakefulness is necessary to a Physician P. Where was he particularly worshipt M. At Epidaurus first where he was born afterwards at Rome because when he was sent for thither he delivered the City from a dreadful Pestilence For which reason a Temple was dedicated to him in an Island in the Mouth of the Tiber where he was Worshipped under the Form of a great Serpent for when the Romans came to Epidaurus to transport the God from thence a great Serpent entred into their Ship they believed it was Aesculapius and brought it to Rome with them Others tell the Story thus When the Romans were received by the People of Epidaurus with all kindness and were carried into the Temple of Aesculapius the Serpent under whose Image they Worshipped that God went voluntarily into the Ship of the Romans I can tell you nothing of the Children of Aesculapius except their Names He had two Sons called Machaon and Podalirius both famous Physicians who followed Agamemnon the General of the Grecians to the Trojan War and were very serviceable amongst the Soldiers And two Daughters Hygeia or Sanitas tho' some think this was not his Daughter but his Wife and Iaso from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sanare P. Is there nothing remarkable concerning his Master Chiron M. Since you ask I will tell you that he was a Centaur and the Son of Saturn and Phillyra for when Saturn embraced that Nymph he suddenly changed himself into a Horse because his Wife Ops came in Phillyra was with Child by him and brought forth a Creature in its upper parts like a Man in his lower parts like a Horse and called it Chiron who when he grew up betook himself into the Woods and there learning the Virtues of Herbs he became a most excellent Physician For his Skill in Physick and for his other Virtues which were many he was appointed Tutor to Achilles And taught Aesculapius Physick At last when he was looking upon Hercules's Arrows one of them dipped in the poysonous blood of the Lernaean Hydra fell upon his Foot and gave him a wound that was incurable and pains that were intolerable insomuch that he desired to die but could not because he was born of two immortal Parents Therefore at length the Gods translated him into the Firmament where he now remains the Sign of Sagittarius in the Zodiac CHAP. VII PROMETHEUS PRometheus the Son of Iapetus and the Father of Deucalion was the first as we find in History that formed a Man out of Clay which he did with such Art and Skill that Minerva was amazed and profered to procure any thing from Heaven which would any ways compleat his Works Prometheus answered that he did not know what in Heaven would be useful to him since he had never seen Heaven Therefore Minerva carried him up to Heaven and shewed him all that there was to be seen He observed that the heat of the Sun would be very useful in animating the Men which he had formed wherefore he lighted the Stick by the Wheel of the Sun's Chariot and carried it lighted with him to the Earth This Theft displeased Iupiter so much that he sent Pandora into the World to Prometheus with a Box which was filled with all sorts of Evils But Prometheus fearing and suspecting the Matter refused to accept it but his brother Epimetheus was not cautious For he took it and opened it and all the Evils that were in it flew abroad amongst Mankind When he perceived what he had done he immediately shut the Box again and by good fortune hindred Hope from flying away which stuck to the bottom of the Box. You may remember how sweetly Horace speaks of this Theft of Prometheus Carm. l. 1. Audax Iapeti genus Ignem fraude malâ gentibus intulit Post ignem aethereâ domo Subductum macies nova febrium Terris incubuit cohors First Heav'nly Fire by Japhet's daring Son By stealth from the bright Axis was brought down Hence unknown Fevers and new Plagues took Rise With which the Gods the frighted Earth chastise Iupiter punished Prometheus in this manner He commanded Mercury to bind him to the Mountain Caucasus And then he sent an Eagle to him there which continually gnawed his Liver Yet some say
him Nimbosus Orion and the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek signifies turbo concito moveo and some think that Orion is derived from thence CHAP. XIII Osiris Apis and Serapis THese are three different Names of one and the same God therefore they are not to be separated in our discourse Osiris was the Son of Iupiter by Niobe the Daughter of Phoroneus He Reigned King of the Argives many years But he was stirred up by the desire of Glory to leave his Kingdom to his Brother Aegialus wherefore he sailed into Egypt to seek a new Name and new Kingdoms there The Egyptians were not so much overcome by his Arms as obliged to him by his Courtesies and great Kindnesses towards them After which he married Io the Daughter of Inachus whom Iupiter formerly turned into a Cow as we said above but when by her Distractions she was driven into Egypt her former shape was again restored and she married Osiris and taught the Egyptians Letters Wherefore both she and Osiris her Husband attained to divine Honours and were thought immortal by that People But Osiris shewed that he was mortal for he was killed by his Brother Triphon Io afterwards called Isis sought him a great while and when she had found him at last in a Chest she laid him in a Monument in an Island near to Memphis which Island is encompassed by that sad and fatal Lake the Styx And because when she sought him she had used Dogs who by their excellent virtue of smelling might discover where he was hid thence the ancient Custom came that Dogs went first in an anniversary Procession in honour of Isis. And the People Carefully and Religiously Worshipped a God with Dogs Head called Anubis which God the Poets commonly call latratorem semicanem Deum semihominemque canem Barker a God half a Dog a Dog half a Man He is also called Hermanubis because his Sagacity is so great that some think him to be the same with Mercury But let us return to Osiris and Isis. After the Body of Osiris was interred there appeared to the Egyptians a stately beautiful Ox The Egyptians thought that it was Osiris wherefore they worshipped it and called it Apis which in the Egyptian Language signifies an Ox. But because his Body after his death was found shut up in a Chest which in Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 loculus he was afterwards from thence called Sorapis and by the change of a Letter Serapis as we shall see more clearly and particularly by and by when I have observed that Plutarch says that Osiris was thought to be the Sun his Name comes from Os which in the Egyptian Language signifies much and iris an Eye and his Image was a Scepter in the top of which was plac'd an Eye So that Osiris signifies the same as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many eyed which agrees very well to the Sun who seems to have so many Eyes as he hath Rays by which he sees and makes all things visible Some say that Isis is Pallas others Terra others Ceres and many the Moon for she 〈◊〉 painted sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cornigera with horns as the Moon is in the increase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nigris vestibus induta in black Garments because the Moon shines in the night In her right Hand she held a Cymbal in her left a Bucket Her Head was Crowned with the Feathers of a Vultur for among the Egyptians that Bird is sacred to Iuno And therefore they adorned the tops of their Porches with the Feathers of a Vultur The Priests of Isis called after her own Name Isiaci abstained from the flesh of Swine and Sheep they used no Salt to their Meat least they should violate their Chastity They shaved their Heads they wore paper Shooes and a linen Vest because Isis first taught the use of Flax from whence she is called Linigera and also Inachis from Inachus her Father By the Name of Isis is usually understood Wisdom Sapientia Aud accordingly upon the Pavement of her Temple there was this Inscription Plut. de Isid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ego sum quicquid fuit est erit nec meum peplum mortalium quisquam retexit I am every thing that hath been and is and shall be nor hath any mortal opened my Veil By the means of this Isis Iphis a young Lady of Crete the Daughter of Lygdus and Telethusa was changed into a Man if we may believe Ovid in Met. l. 9. that ingenious contriver of Fables For when Lygdus went a Journey he commanded his Wife who was then big with Child that if she brought a Daughter she should expose her Telethusa brought indeed a Daughter but was very unwilling to lose her Child Therefore she drest it in a Boys Habit and called it Iphis which is a common name to Boys and Girls The Father returned from his Journey and believed both his Wife and his Daughter who Personated a Son and as soon as she was marriageable her Father who still thought that she was a Man Married her to the Beautiful Ianthe They go to the Temple to Celebrate the Marriage The Mother was mightily concerned and when they went she begged the favourable Assistance of Isis who heard her Prayers and changed the Virgin Iphis into a most beautiful young Man Now let us come to Serapis and Apis again Tho' Serapis of whose Name we gave the Etymology before was the God of the Egyptians yet he was worshipped at Greece and especially at Athens and also at Rome Amongst different Nations he had different Names for he was called sometimes Iupiter Ammon sometimes Pluto Bacchus Aesculapius and sometimes Osiris His Name was reckoned abominable by the Grecians for all Names of seven Letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are by them esteemed infamous Some say that Ptolomy the Son of Lagus procured the Effigies of him at Pontus from the King of Sinope and dedicated a magnificent Temple to him at Alexandriâ—â— Eusebius in Prap. Evang. l. 4. calls him the Prince of the evil Demons A Flasket was placed upon his Head and near him lay a Creature with three Heads a Dog 's a Wolfs and a Lyon's between them A Snake with his fold encompassed them whose Head hung down unto the God's right Hand which bridled the terrible Monster There was besides almost in all the Temples where Serapis and Isis were worshipped an Image which pressed its Lip with its Finger Varro says that the meaning of this was that no one should dare to say that these Gods had been Men formerly And the Laws inflicted death upon him who said that Serapis was once a mortal Man Apis of whom we spake something above was King of the Argivi says S. Augustine de Civit Dei lib. 18. And being transported from thence into Egypt he became Serapis or the greatest of all the