Mouths But Jupiter with Mercury's assistance defeated them in the Phlegrean Fields in Thessalia and amongst others punished severely Typheus laying whole Sicily over his Body and Mount Oeta over his Head After this famous Victory Jupiter made War against Tyrants and protected Men in trouble whereby he got a great name For he governed his Dominions by good and just Laws and shared his Kingdoms with his Brethren giving the Empire of the Sea and Rivers to Neptune the Government of Subterraneous places to Pluto and kept for himself the Empire of Heaven with the general Government of all that is done upon the Earth according to the Fable The truth is that Jupiter possessed himself of the Empire of the East and left the command in the West to Pluto and to Neptune the Government of the Seas And tho' the name of Jupiter was granted to these three Brothers yet it was with this difference that the name of Jupiter absolutely taken signifies the King of Heaven also called Supremus Rex hominum atque Deorum but some Epithet is always added when that name is bestowed upon the two other for when they speak of Pluto he is called Jupiter Infimus or Stygius and Neptune is sirnamed Jupiter Medius The Philosophers who have Physically Interpreted this Jupiter by a natural Cause understand by him the highest Region of the Air where the Elementary Fire is placed and the Fire it self which warming the inferiour Air attributed to Juno is able to produce all things Others have taken this Jupiter for the Air in all its extent from whence comes this way of speaking Sub Dio i. e. under Jupiter or in the Air for the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Genitive whereof is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Jupiter Wherefore Horace says Manet sub Jove frigido he is exposed to the Air. Lactantius reports That Jupiter was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because he was the eldest of Saturn's Sons then living his eldest Brothers having been all devoured by their Father Quod primus ex liberis Saturni maribus vixerit And that Euhemerus of Messina in Peloponnesus has written his History as well as that of the other Gods taken out of the ancient Titles and Inscriptions he found in the Temples that Ennius translated that History into Latin and that these Histories are true tho adorned with new inventions of Poets That Jupiter reigned on Mount Olympus the name whereof is sometimes given to Heaven because of his heighth wherefore Poets fancied that he was King of Heaven That he gave the Government of the Sea and some Islands in the neighbourhood of his Dominions to Neptune which gave occasion to Poets to represent Neptune as the King of the Seas That in fine Jupiter died and was buried as Lucian and Euhemeris report in Crete with this Inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jupiter Saturni At last Lactantius says that Jupiter having travelled over all Provinces and gained the Friendship of all Princes perswaded them to build him Temples after his departure in token of Hospitality Every Nation had their Jupiter called by several names but the Greeks and Romans called the Soveraign God of each Nation by the name of Jupiter Pliny speaking of the God of the Ethiopians in Africa called Assabi nus says that he was esteemed to be Jupiter Osiris The most famous King of Egypt ranked in the number of Gods was also known by the name of Jupiter as 't is recorded by Diodorus Siculus The Phaenicians had their Belus or the Sun whom the Greeks called Jupiter as Eusebius reports Dagon the God of the Phaenicians of the City of Axotus was called by the Husbandmen Jupiter because he had taught them how to manure the ground and cultivate Wheat Dagon quod frumentum aratrum invenisset nuncupatus est Jupiter Aratrius Jupiter the Son of Neptune was a God of the Sidonians called Maritimus because this people was wholly given to Navigation Stephanus assures us that the same who was called Marnas at Gaza was named Jupiter at Crete for Marnas or Maranasin in the Phaenician Language signify King of men There was a Jupiter Belus amongst the Babylonians and a Jupiter Indiges amongst the Latins which shews that what Varro affirms as Tertullian relates in his Apologetick is true that there were three hundred Jupiters i. e. three hundred Kings and King's Fathers who called themselves Jupiter to immortalize their name and obtain Divine honours Notwithstanding it must be granted that the Jupiter of Crete the Father of Minos was one of the most famous and most ancient Jupiters of the West Callimachus the Poet and his Scholiasts have written that Minos having been buried in that Island with this Inscription that he was the Son of Jupiter the name of Minos was put out and that of Jupiter left Wherefore the Inhabitants of Crete said that they had the Sepulcher of Jupiter The Dactyli of Mount Ida the Curetes and Corybants were ascribed to this Jupiter because they had taken care of his Education Jupiter Ammon was also very famous and was represented with a Ram's-head because of his intricate Oracles if we believe Servius Herodotus gives us a better reason for the same when he says that the Ammonites had that worship from the Egyptians who inhabited the City of Thebes where Jupiter was represented with a Ram's-head Jupiter Ammon was a King of Egypt rank'd by the Egyptians in the number of Gods and adored in the most remote Provinces Diodorus Siculus reporting the tradition of the Inhabitants of Libya gives us a quite different account of him which yet comes to the same for he says that Jupiter Ammon was a great King who after his death was reckoned a fabulous God and a Chimerical Oracle This Historian mentions still another Writer more ancient than himself who wrote that Ammon reigned in Libya and married Rhea the Daughter of Caelus Sister to Saturn and other Titans and that Rhea being divorced she married Saturn and induced him to make War against Ammon whom he vanquished and forced him to make his escape by Sea and retired to Crete where he possessed himself of the Kingdom Then the same Author tells us that Dionysius having conquered Egypt established young Jupiter King of that Country and gave him Olympius to be his Governour from whence Jupiter was named Olympius Strabo writes that the Arabians had also their Jupiter however this Jupiter was but one of their Kings as it appears not only because he was associated with Bacchus but also by the undertaking of Alexander For this Prince being acquainted that the Arabians honoured but two Divinities Jupiter and Bacchus resolved to subdue them that he might be their God amongst them Poets tell us that Jupiter married several Wives and even Juno his Sister according to the Assyrian and Persian Fashion and that being a fruitful Lover he begat a great many Children both legitimate and natural turning himself sometimes into
as they had been used to do and submitted to the Intercalation of a Day once every Four Years 'T is true the Observation of the Julian Calendar brought no other Alteration into these Countries but each of them still retain'd the free Use of their own Customs and Traditions for Divine Worship Thus the Jews continued in the ancient Observation of the Law without changing any thing as to their Sabbath Festivals or Ceremonies and herein the other Nations of the World did imitate them although they were subject to the Roman Empire The primitive Christians made use of the Division of Tune according to the Custom of the Romans to whose Power they were subject except such Customs as were peculiar to the City of Rome or savoured of their blind Superstition and Idolatry They kept therefore the same Names of the Months the same Number of their Days the same Division of these Days into Calends Nones and Ides and the same Intercalation of a Day every Four Years in the Year which was called Bissextile or Leap-year They left out the Nundinal Letters which were used in the Calendar of the Romans and in their stead placed other Letters to signifie every holy Sunday throughout the Year They took no Notice of their Dies Fasti Nefasti or Comitiales because they were employ'd only for some Uses peculiar to they City of Rome but they rejected with Abhorrence the Festivals and Games of the Romans as being Ceremonies consecrated to the Devil and in their stead introduced the Feasts and Ceremonies of the true Religion CALIGA a Boot or Buskin a sort of Shoes that were worn by a common Roman Soldier in time of War from whence the Word Caligatus comes to signifie a common Soldier And thus we must understand that Passage of Suetonius in the Life of Augustus Coronas murales sape etiam caligatis tribuit that he often gave the Mural Coronet to common Soldiers who first scal'd the Walls of the Enemies Cities and also that Proverb which Seneca uses speaking of Marius that from a common Soldier he arrived at the Consulship à caligâ ad consulatum pervenisse Thus Agrippina caused her Son Caius to be nam'd Caligula because he being born in the Army she caused him to wear these Buskins like a common Soldier to gain their Good-will by this Complaisance These sort of Shoes came up as high as the Middle of the Leg and had at the Top the Figure of the Head of a Lion or Leopard or only of the Muzzle of these Animals It was garnish'd with little Nails of Iron and sometimes even of Gold and Silver and had a Sole of Wood. There was a Fund set apart for providing these Nails for the Soldiers which was called Clavarium and the Officers that distributed it were called Clavarii of which Number was the Father of Suetonius The Soldiers did very often desire of the Emperors the Clavarium i. e. the Money of this Fund for buying Nails to adorn their Shoes so they did of Vitellius according to the Relation of Tacitus in L. 3. of his History Justin tells us that all the Soldiers of Antiochus's Army caused their Buskins to be adorn'd with Nails of God Argenti certè aurique tantùm ut etiam gregarii milites caligas auro suffigerent CALIGULA CAIUS the Fourth Roman Emperor the Son of Germanicus and Agrippina he succeeded Tiberius in the Empire He was surnamed Caligula from the Military Shoes which his Mother caused him to wear in the Army and which were called Caliga He had an ill-shaped Body a small Neck a large Forehead and slender Legs he affected sometimes says Suetonius to put on a terrible Countenance to strike a Dread into the Minds of those who came near him his Chin turned up which was a Sign of Cruelty but he would put on a modest Look which was only a Copy of his Countenance says Tacitus to cover his naked Designs He gave an Example of all sorts of Vices and committed the most enormous Crimes He endeavoured to gain the Good-will of the People by Largesses and Shows of extraordinary Expence and Magnificence He caused a Bridge to be built upon the Sea a Mile long with Moles upon which he erected Towers and built Houses out of a foolish and ridiculous Fancy that by this means he had subdued this Element He caused many of the Statues of the Gods to be maimed breaking off their Heads that he might place his own in the Room of them In fine he was a Monster of Cruelty and Prodigality His own Servants killed him after he had reigned Four Years CALLIOPE who was the Mother of Orpheus and the first of the Nine Muses according to the Poets who presided over Harmony and the Hymns made in Honour of the Gods CALLISTO the Daughter of Lycaon King of Arcadia and a Nymph of Diana who suffered her self to be debauched by Jupiter whereupon the Goddess being angry chang'd her into a Bear But afterwards her Lover placed her in the Heavens and this is that Constellation which is called the Great Bear CALUMNIA Calumny of which the Athenians made a Deity and to which they built a Temple Lucian has given us an Emblem of Calumny in a Dialogue under the same Title Apelles says he being accused by a Painter jealous of his Glory that he had conspired against Ptolomy and caused the Revolt of Tyre and the taking of Pelusium and being acquitted from this Accusation by one of the Painter's Accomplices Ptolomy was so sensibly touched with Sorrow for what was done that he gave Apelles 100 Talents and deliver'd up the Accuser into his Hands to do with him as he should think fit Apelles therefore to be revenged on Calumny which had done him such an ill turn made the following Picture He painted a Prince with large Ears as commonly Midas's are painted sitting upon a Throne encompassed with Suspicion and Ignorance and while he is in this State he reaches out his Hand a great Way off to Calumny which advances towards him having a Face very bright and sparkling with extraordinary Charms and Enticements She holds in her Left-hand a sorch and with the other drags an innocent young Man by the Hair who holds up his Hands to Heaven and implores its Assistance Before her marches Envy with a pale Face and squinting Eyes which set off and dress up Calumny to make her the more acceptable After her comes Repentance under the Figure of a Lady in Mourning-Habit with her Garments rent which turns her Head towards Truth who weeps for Sorrow and Shame CALYPSO was one of the Nymphs the Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys She reigned in the Isle of Ogygia where she entertain'd Vlysses kindly when he was cast upon it by a Storm They lived together for Seven Years in great Privacy But Vlysses at last forsook it and preferred his own Country and his dear Penelopy to his new Mistress Lucian in L. 2. of his true History says That as he was going
and the Praises they deserved for them CERASTIS the Isle of Cyprus it was anciently inhabited by a very cruel People which Venus changed into Bulls as Ovid say in his Tenth Book of his Metamorphosis Cerastis signifies in Greek bearing Horns and this Isle was so called from the great Number of Mountains in it whose Tops something resembled Horns CERBERUS Pluto's Dog who had Three Heads and as many Necks The Poets feign him to be the Keeper of the Gate of Pluto's Palace in Hell and suppose him to be produced from the Giant Typho and Echidna He was bound in Chains by Hercules and brought out of Hell as Homer says CERCYON the Arcadian a famous Robber who infested all the Country of Attica with his Robberies and Murders and forcing all Travellers to fight with him and then killed them when he had conquered them Theseus slew him in the City Eleusina Ovid Lib. 7. Metamorph. CEREALIA CEREALES LUDI Feasts and Plays appointed in Honour of Ceres Memmius Aedilis Curulis was the first Institutor of these Feasts as appears on a Medal on which is the Effigies of Ceres holding in one Hand Three Ears of Corn and in the other a Torch and having her Left-Foot upon a Serpent with this Inscription Memmius Aedilis Cerealia priâ—â—s fecit The Athenians long before had kept Feast to her which they called Thesmophoria Eleusia upon this Occasion Ceres searching all Places for her Daughter Proserpina came to Eleusina where she undertook to be the Nurse of Triptolemus the Son of King Elusius and when he was grown up she taught him the Art of sowing Corn and making Bread In Requital for so great a Benefit he appointed her a Feast and Priests called Eumolpides from his Son Eumolpus Crowns of Flowers were not used in this Feast but of Myrtle and Ivy because Proserpina was stolen while she was gathering of Flowers they carried light Torches calling Proserpina with a loud Voice as Ceres had done when she was searching for her upon Mount Ida. The Priests of this Goddess were called Taciti Mystae because they might not discover their Religious Rites The Sacrifice offered to her was without Wine as we learn from Plautus in his Aulularia Act 11. Scen. VI. Staph. Cererine mi Strobile has sunt facturi nuptias Strob. Quî Staph. Quia temeti nihil aliatum est Sta. Are you celebrating the Marriage of Ceres Strob. Why ask you that Staph. Because you have brought no Wine Yet Cato seems to affirm the Contrary and will have Wine to be used in the Sacrifices of Ceres Postea Cereri exta vinum dato Lambinus is much perplexed with these Two Authorities opposite one to the other and to free himself flies to the Distinction of the Greeks and Romans and says that the Greek Women sacrificed without Wine but the Romans used it Yet Plautus who was a Roman is against offering Wine to Ceres After the Sacrifice was over they made a magnificent Feast where every one diverted themselves as far as was convenient in seeing the Sports of Fencers and Horse-races over which the Aediles presided Nevertheless the Roman Women being cloathed in White expressed the Sorrow and Complaints of Ceres's Mourning for the taking away of her Daughter Proserpina holding Torches in their Hands CERES the Daughter of Saturn and Rhea Varro says that Ceres was so named from the Word Geres because she bore all sorts of Fruits quae quòd gerit fruges Ceres Others derive her Name from creare because she raised Fruits Vossius thinks that the Name Ceres comes from the Hebrew Word cheres that is to say arare In Scripture we meet with the Word Geres to signifie the Fruits of the Earth from whence comes the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is one of the Names of the Earth in Hesychius 'T is probable that from this Hebrew Word Geres and the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Name of Ceres is derived Ceres is called the Law-giver legifera because before Men had the Use of Corn they lived upon Acorns in the Woods without Law or Government but after Corn was found out they divided and tilled the Land which was the Original of Government and Laws as Servius assures us Leges Ceres dicitur invenisse nam sacra ipsius Thesmophoria id est legum latio vocantur sed hoc ideò fingitur quia ante frumentum inventum à Cerere passim homines sine lege vagabantur Quae feritas interrupta est postquam ex agrorum discretione nata sunt jura Ceres was the Mother of Proserpina and yet both of them are the Earth Rhea is the Mother of Ceres and yet neither of them are any thing but the Earth Truths are real and natural but Genealogies are poetical and figurative Some consider the Earth in diverse Respects and will have Rhea to be the Globe of the Earth Ceres the Surface which is sown and reaped and Proserpina is the Hemisphere of our Antipodes This is the Opinion of Vossius Diodorus Siculus relates that the Aegyptians from Tradition believe that Isis is the same with Ceres who found out Tillage and the Use of Corn and published most just Laws from whence she became an Aegyptian Goddess But because he could not quite conceal the Truth he owns that it was Erectitheus who sailed out of Aegypt into Greece with a great Quantity of Corn to relieve it in a Time of Famine and the Grecians in Requital of so great a Benefit made him their King and he appointed the Rites of â—eres at Athens according to the Usages and Ceremonies of Aegypt This Historian says also in the same Place that the coming of Ceres to Athens was nothing but the Transportation of Corn from Aegypt into Greece Deam illo tempore in Atticam venisse traditur quo fruges ejus nomine insignes Athen is sunt importatae quarum semina tum Cereris beneficio quasi denuò reperta videantur There is the same Reason to believe that the Wandering of Ceres through all the World was nothing else but the Transportation and Giving of Corn to all the World either the first time when it was first sown or in Process of time when Famine had made the Land barren For if there were some Places which imparted their Corn to other Countries and by Consequence were affirmed in a Poetick Stile to be the Country of Ceres they were without doubt Aegypt and Sicily but chiefly Aegypt because of the Over-flowing of the Nile The true History thereof is this that Isis Queen of Aegypt is the same with Ceres and that she communicated Corn and the Art of Tillage to other Parts of the Earth Finally in Confirmation of what has been said the same Author adds that the Ceremonies and Antiquites of the Aegyptians are alike I pass over other Places in the same Author where he endeavours to answer the Reasons which Sicily Attica and the Isle of Crete and Aegypt had produced to
his life at the request of the People speaking thus to him Live thou Fabius said he to him more glorious in this universal Love that the Roman people shews thee than the Victory which thou hast obtained over the Enemy And grant the Gods that thy bad Example be not prejudicial to the State C. FABRICIUS LUSCUS Who was sent against Pyrrhus This Enemy of the Roman People attempted to bribe the Loyalty of Fabricius and made him very advantageous Proposals but Fabricius being a generous Roman though needy stood always firm to his Country Then Pyrrhus's Physician came secretly to him and proffered him his Service to poyson his Master but this Proposal struck him with such horror that he sent back this perfidious Servant to Pyrrhus who admiring the generosity of the Consul set at liberty all the Roman Prisoners taken at the defeat of Livinius And Fabricius also sent back all the Prisoners who were taken from Pyrrhus's Army The Nations called Bruti and Lucani having besieged Turinum in Calabria Fabricius marched directly to them to force them to raise the Siege but while he was considering which way he should attack the Enemy in their Intrenchments a young man appear'd at the head of the Legions with a Ladder in his Hand encouraging the Soldiers to scale the Rampart whereupon the Soldiers followed him without the order of their General took the Rampart by storm and drove away the Enemy After the Victory the Consul being inform'd of what had been done sent to look for this unknown Man to honour his Valour but he could never be found Whereupon the Romans fancied that Mars himself had assisted them After the death of this great Man his Daughters were married at the charges of the Common wealth because he was poor FABULA A Fable Aphthonius the Sophist says that the Poets were Authors of the Fable which is a Story made on purpose to instruct Men being an Image fit to represent the Truth The Fable is called Sybiritica Ciliciana and Cypriana from the several Countries of the Men who were the Inventers thereof The Historians having no other aim but the Instruction of Men thought that the Fable was very fit to teach not only young Men but also to instruct all sorts of Persons who being always Men have also during all the time of their Life some remainders of Infancy and will have Instruction it self be a diversion to them Wherefore when the Authors of the Fable related Histories or unfolded the Mysteries of Nature or taught moral Precepts they intermixed always something of the Fable with the Truth Plutarch has bestowed the whole beginning of his Treatise of the manner of reading Poets to shew that the Fable was very conducible to the instruction of Men both young and old when 't is handled to the purpose Clement of Alexandria observes that this way of folding and unfolding the Truth with Fables is very proper to awake and whet the Wit and inflame Men with the love of Divine and Moral Truth Plutarch tells us that the Egyptians wrapped up the Mysteries of their Philosophy in Fables and Riddles and had Sphinxes at the Gates of their Temples to unfold them and that the Pythagoreans understood the Unity by the name of Apollo and the number two by the name of Diana the number seven by that of Minerva and the Figure Cube by Neptune to shew that the Fables were the Images of the Philosophical Truths that were of great moment amongst the Egyptians and Pythagoreans Salustius the Philosopher says that the Fables have somewhat of Divine because they are made use of by Poets who are animated with a divine Spirit and by the Philosophers the Pontiffs and the Gods themselves in their Oracles That the first use of Fables is to awake the mind and raise it to the unfolding of the meaning thereof and he compares the Fable to the Divinity who exposes some of his Excellencies to the sight of all Men and keeps some others hid which are discover'd but by Contemplation Then this Philosopher distinguishes many kinds of Fables some that have relation to the Divinity as when Saturn devoured his Children the meaning thereof is that God who is the supream Intelligence keeps in his bosom all his operations Some others are concerning Nature as when Saturn i. e. Time devours all his Productions and Temporal Natures The others belong to the Soul who gets into herself all her operations like Saturn And the fourth kind of Fables concerns the Body wherefore the Egyptians said that Saturn was the Element of the Water In fine there are mixt Fables made up of the foregoing We must not look upon Poets as upon meer Tale-bearers but as Historians who adorned the ground of their History with many pleasant Fictions to render it more diverting to the Reader And 't is a false prejudice to think that Poetical Narrations have nothing of Truth Learned Men assert the contrary opinion for 't is upon a solid ground of a true History that Poets have wrapped up in their Poems some Stories that were not true but likely Polybius Strabo and many other Historians affirm that the ground of the Iliad and Odysses of Homer is a true History appearing to be so by the Ancient Historians Poets have intermixt the Fable with the Truth to adorn their Narrations and yet this ornament it self is grounded upon some Truth The most remarkable Writers who have handled moral Fables and introduced Beasts and Trees speaking were Aesop among the Greeks and Phaedrus among the Latins Philostratus in his Image of the Fables relates in what manner Aesop received of Mercury the Gist of writing Fables Aesop says he being a Shepherd was often feeding his Flocks near a Temple of Mercury wherein he entered sometimes and offered to the God some Milk Hony-combs and Flowers earnestly begging of him some Beams of Wisdom Many others met also in the same Temple to the same purpose and made him considerable Presents Mercury to express them his gratitude for their Piety bestowed upon them the gifts of Sciences some of them he endowed with the gift of Astrology others with Eloquence and some others with the gift of Poesy and Musick But he forgot Aesop Yet having a mind to reward him he granted him the gift of writing Fables because he remembred that being still in his Cradle on the Mount Olympus the Hours who nursed him up told him the Fable of an Ox that had spoke to a Man and had inclined him to desire the Oxen of the Sun Phaedrus in the third Book of his Fables dedicated to Utychius speaks thus Now I will declare in few words to what purpose Fables were invented Man being in slavery and dependency because he durst not utter his Mind made use of these fabulous Narrations to declare the thoughts and agitations of his Soul and secured himself from Calumny with these pleasant Stories FABULINUS The little God Fabulinus to whom Men offered Sacrifices when their Children began to
in respect to us The West of the Summer is that Point of the Horizon where the Sun sets when 't is in the Tropick of Cancer the West of the Winter is that where the Son sets when 't is in the Tropick of Capricorn and this happens when the Sun comes to the Points of the Solstices each of them is 23 Degrees and an half distant from the true Point of the West OCEANUS the Ocean is that main Sea which surrounds all the Earth this Name if we believe Hesychius comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was the old Name thereof and 't is very likely proceeded from that Hebrew Word Choug or Houg that signifies a Circle because it goes round the Earth This Word Houg is in Scripture often to be met with in this Sence or if you will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of the Swiftness of its Motion Homer in his Iliads makes Oceanus to be the Father of the Gods and Tethys their Mother 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Opinion may have had its Origin from that Text in Genesis where the Chaos seems to be represented like unto the Confusion of the Waters before God reduced them into order and made a Distinction between them In this Sence the Ocean and Tethys that is that Abyss which comprehended the Heavens and the Earth as an immense Quantity of Waters before the same were separated by the Distribution made of the Chaos this Abyss I say might be called the Father and Mother of all the great Bodies of which Nature was composed and which bore the Name of Gods among the Heathens And where Plato says that Oceanus was begotten of Caelum and Tethys he means nothing else but the Ocean that was separated from the Heavens and the Earth as it was upon the Reduction of the Chaos into order The innumerable Multitude of Petty Deities that preside over the Waters whether they be Fountains Lakes Rivers or Seas might very well be the Occasion of giving unto the Ocean the Quality of the Father of the Gods But in the main this vast Number of Water-Gods and their Genealogy signifies no more than the Distribution of the Waters of the Ocean which is done throughout all the Earth and which by its Vapours or Subterranean Conduits supplies all Fountains Lakes and Rivers insomuch that 't is nothing but the Element of Water and the Ocean that is continually animated by the Soul of the Universe which makes its Divinity according to the Language of the Heathens Virgil in his Georgicks sacrificed to the Ocean Oceano libemus ait And he brings in Aeneas sacrificing a Bull to the Gods of the Sea Justine relates that when Alexander had subdued and passed thro' Asia as far as the Ocean he offered Sacrifice and pray'd him to grant him an happy Return into Greece Oceano libamina dedit prosperum in patriam reditum precatus Diodorus Siculus says that the Ancients gave the Name of Ocean to Moisture or the Liquid Element which is as it were the Nutriment and consequently the Mother of all Things and that this is the Meaning of the Verse before cited out of Homer and to clear the Thing fully we may add what he says elsewhere concerning Jupiter and the other Gods or Stars that they went to Oceanus Habitation to be entertained at a great Feast by him Diodorus has said Oceanus and Tethys were the Nutriment of all Things and Macrobius explains this Feasting of the Gods at Oceanus his House by the Vapours of the Sea wherewith the Stars were nourish'd and whereof they stood in need for the Qualifying of their Heat significans bauriri de bumore allmenta sideribus This was an Opinion commonly entertained by a great many of the Ancient Fathers of the Church who gave a Literal Explication of the Waters which in Scripture are placed above the Firmament and believed there was a great Quantity of Water above the Region of the fixed Stars to allay the Heat of those Coelestial Fires and hinder them from burning the World Tho' this Idea may seem odd yet 't is certain the same is very agreeable to Truth if it be cosidered that the Stars being fiery Globes of an incredible Bigness as well as the Sun it was requisite to separate them from each other by very great Spaces filled with Air and some Liquid Matter wherewith to allay their Heat and make them more tollerable which in their own Natures were combustible but 't is no great Matter if the Name of Air or Water has been given to this Liquid Substance wherein as I may say all these Globes or Luminaries such as the Stars are or dark Bodies as the Planets and Earth do swim Eusebius gives us the Words of Porphyrie who applies the Fable of the Poets in this Case entirely to the Coelestial or Elementary Bodies and who says that the Ocean was of a Liquid Nature in general that Tethys was the Symbol thereof that Achelous was drinkable Water Neptune the Sea-water that by Amphitrite was meant such Waters as are the Principle of Generation Lastly That the Nymphs and Nereides were such particular Waters as are either sweet or salt OCTAVIUS CAESAR surnamed AUGUSTUS See Augustus OCTOBER the Month of October being the 8th Month of the Year in Romulus his Calender and 10th in that of Numa has always retained its first Name in spight of all the different Names the Senate and Roman Emperors would have given it For the Senate ordered that this Month should be called Faustinus in Honour of Faustina the Wife of Antoninus the Emperor Commodus would have had it bear the Name of Invictus and Domitian made it be called Domitianus according to his own Name This Month was under the Protection of Mars On the 4th Day of it was celebrated the Solemnity of Mundus Patens See Mundus Patens On the 12th an Altar was dedicated to Fortune entituled Fortunae Reduci to flatter Augustus at his Return to Rome after he had pacified Sicily Greece Syria Asia and Parthia On the 13th was kept the Feast of Fountains called Fontinalia 15th they sacrificed a Horse to Mars called October equus 19th was celebrated the Feast called Armilustrium in the Armies 28th and following Days the Plays of Victory were performed which Sylla instituted Towards the End of the Month the Vortumnalia and Sarmatian Games were celebrated OCTOBER EQUUS an Horse which was sacrificed to Mars in the Month of October there was then a Race run with Chariots drawn each by 2 Horses and he that run quickest was sacrificed to Mars Plutarch gives Two Reasons for this Ceremony the first was to punish the Horse for the Taking of Troy the second because the Horse was a Martial Creature and ought to be offered in Sacrifice to the God of War OCULARIA Spectacles it s not believed that Spectacles were known to the Ancient Greek and Latin Poets for it would be very strange if they had had any knowledge
imitate every thing so admirably well that he feemed to be the very Thing which he imitated which was the Occasion of the Fable Herodotus does not doubt but that Proteus was an Egyptian King and Deity He says 't was he that received Paris and Helen with their Treasures and who kept Helen during the Seige of Troy and restored her to Menelaus when after the Destruction of that City the Greeks came to know that Helen had never been there Diodorus Siculus agrees with him as to the Reign of Proteus in Egypt during the Siege of Troy but he says that the Greek Fable concerning the Transformations of Proteus took its Origin from the different Habits which the said King affected to wear above other Kings of Egypt he one while putting on a Lion's Skin another while he drest himself like a Bull or Dragon and carried Trees sometimes by way of Ornaments sometimes Fire or Perfume which made the Greeks say they were so many different Shapes which he was metamorphosed into and as this King was much addicted to Astrology they feigned also that he foretold Things to come Lucian in his Dialogue of the Sea-Gods makes Proteus and Menelaus speak thus Menel I do not admire Proteus that a Sea-God as you are should transform your self into Water or even into a Plant but to become Fire that I cannot understand to be turned into a Lion may be better allowed of Prot. Menelaus 't is true Men. I know it very well for I am a Witness of it my self But to be plain with you I believe there is a Cheat in it and that you are only a meer Juggler Prot. What Cheat can there be in such things as are so manifest and certain St. Augustine by the â—xample of Proteus his Fable shews that the Poets ought not to be rejected by the Lovers of true Philosophy for the Proteus of the Poets was an excellent Representation of Truth which escapes from us and disguises her self after a thousand different ways by being concealed under false Appearances from which it cannot be separated without great Difficulty But at length after these Obstructions she discovers unto us her Beauty and Solidity that we may afterwards relish the Sweetness of her Orpheus called him the Principle of all Things and the Ancientest of all the Gods and says he keeps the Keys of Nature The Romans named him Vertumnus because of the Variety of Shapes which he assumed He was beloved by the Goddess Pomona PROTESILAUS the Son of Iphiclus and Laodamia's Husband a Grecian Prince who wakilled by Hector at the Siege of Troy as he was coming out of his Ship Lucian in his Dialogues of the Dead makes Protesilaus Pluto and Proserpina talk after this manner Prot. Ah! Pluto and you the Daughter of Ceres do not reject the Prayers of a Lover Pluto Who are you that talk thus Prot. The Chief of the Grecians that died at the Siege of Troy Pluto And what would you have Prot. Leave to go upon Earth a little while Pluto They are the same Requests as all the Dead make but not one obtains them Prot. 'T is not a Desire of Life that makes me speak but the Passion I have to see my Mistress whom I left in her Nuptial Chamber and hasted away to go along with the Greeians and was so unhappy as to be killed by Hector as I was coming ashoar The Love which I have for that fair Creature gives me no rest and I would desire leave once more to spend a Moment with her Pluto Have not you drunk of the Waters of Lethe as others have done Prot. I have but the Disease was too strong for the Remedy Pluto She will not be long before she comes and so spare you the Pains of going to seek her Prot. I have not Patience to tarry Pluto you know the Impatience of Lovers for your self has formerly been in Love Plut. What good will it do you to see her again for a Moment and then lose her for ever Prot. Perhaps I may perswade her to come along with me and so I shall thereby increase thine Empire with one Ghost more Pluto That 's not just Protesilaus and 't is never granted Prot. 'T is because you do not recollect your self better for you did restore his Euridice to Orpheus and Alcesta to Hercules who was my Relation Pluto Would you appear before her in this Condition which will make her die for very fear And do you think that she will mind you or be able to know you Proserpina Let us do him this Favour Pluto and command Mercury to carry him up and when he comes upon the Earth to strike him with his Rod that he may assume his former Shape and become such an one as he was when he went out of her â—uptial Chamber Pluto Since Proserpina will have it I give my Consent Mercury take him and conduct him thither but let him remember that there is but one Day allowed him to tarry They sacrificed to him in Chersonesus according to the Testimony of Lucian himself in his Dialogue of the Assembly of the Gods PROVIDENTIA Providence which the Ancients made to be a Deity as Cicero says 〈◊〉 Nat. Deor. They pictured her like a Roman Lady holding a Scepter in one Hand and with the o her seemed to point at a Globe that was at her Feet intimating that she governed all the World like the good Mother of a Family The Emperor Titus caused her to be graven with the Helm of a Ship and a Globe in her Hands Maximianus represented her by Two Ladies holding Ears of Corn in their Hands with this Inscription Providentia Deorum Quies Augustorum Alexander Severus describes her under the Form of a Goddess holding an Horn of Plenty and having a Vessel full of Ears of Corn at her Feet The Symbol of Providence was an Ant holding Three Ear of Corn in her Mouth PRYTANEUM was a Place in Athens where the Magistrates administred Justice and where those who had done some signal Services for the Commonwealth were maintained at the Publick Charges PSECADES Chamber Maids who perfomed their Mistresses Heads with some Liquid Perfumes which they poured Drop by Drop upon them For the Word Psecas comes from the Greek Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to drop PSYCHE The Amours of Cupid and Psyche are known to every Body Apuleius and Fulgentius give very pleasant Descriptions of them We have a Picture wherein this Marriage is represented and where Cupid walks on Psyche's Right Hand with his Head vailed his Face uncovered and in his Hand a Turtle-Dove which was the usual Symbol of Conjugal Love and Psyche who was by his Side is vailed from Head to Foot this being the Custom among the Ancients for People that went to be married and especially for those of the Female Sex These Two Lovers are fastned together with a strong Chain to in timate there is no stronger nor more durable Union than that of Marriage
complain'd of this to Jupiter who struck Aesculapius with a Thunder-bolt Apollo reveng'd his Death upon the Cyclopes who made his Thunder-bolts and kill'd them with his Arrows Jupiter punish'd Apollo by condemning him to feed Admetus's Flocks Pliny affirms that there was no other knowledg of Physick at the Siege of Troy but only to cure Wounds and after that it was neglected until the Peloponnesian War for then it was that Hippocrates as 't is said compos'd his Treatises of Physick from the Inscriptions in the Temple of Aesculapius where Persons were oblig'd by a Law to set down all the Remedies which the sick had us'd with success for their Cure He adds That the antient Romans rejected all Physicians and therefore the Temple of Aesculapius was plac'd without the City tho 't is more probable to think that it was rather done to signifie that the Country-Air is purer and better for recovery of Health The reason why the Romans built a Temple to Aesculapius in an Island of the Tiber near to Rome as it is related by Aurelius Victor in his Book of Illustrious Men was The Romans says he at a time when the Plague rag'd at Rome and the places round about it consulted the Oracle which gave them this Answer That if they would be freed from it they should fetch the God Aesculapius from Epidaurus Whereupon they sent thither Ten Deputies the chief whereof was Quintus Ogulnius who arriving at the City went immediately to pay their Respects and Adorations to Aesculapius but at the same time while they were admiring his Statue which was of extraordinary bigness they saw a great Serpent come out of a Vault near the Idol which imprinted upon the minds of all Men a profound Veneration rather than any Terror It pass'd through the midst of the City across the Streets and went directly to the Ship that waited for the Romans where it posted it self in the Cabin of Ogulnius The Romans being astonish'd at this sudden and happy success of their Voyage sail'd away presently to carry off the God and arriv'd safe at the Port of Antium where they made some stay during which time the Serpent crawl'd a-shoar and went into a neighbouring Temple dedicated to Aesculapius Some days after it return'd to the Ship again and continu'd there till the Ship in its course arriv'd at the Tiber But when they were come overagainst Rome this sacred Serpent quitted the Ship and retir'd into a neighbouring Island where the Romans took care to build a Temple for it and then immediately the Plague ceased Pausanias relates a Story something like this in his Corinthiaca where he tells us That Nicagora the Mother of Agasicles and Wife of Echetion brought along with her from Epidaurus Aesculapius under the figure of a living Serpent in a Litter drawn with two Mules as far as the City of Sicyona where she was born Philostratus adds That he had read somewhere that this Serpent was formerly kept by Aesculapius under Mount Pelion when he was a young Man Lucian in his Dialogue entituled Alexander or The false Prophet discovers to us what gave occasion to represent Aesculapius under the figure of a Serpent He says then That the false Prophet Alexander having associated himself with a Byzantine Analist call'd Cocconas they went together into Bithynia where they observ'd that great Serpents were kept so tame that they suck'd the Breasts of Women and playd with Children without doing them any hurt from whence doubtless comes the Fable of Olympius who is said to lye in Bed with a Serpent They bought therefore one of the largest and fairest of 'em which is the Source and Original of the Serpent of Aesculapius and made choice of Paphlagonia where the Spirits of Men are more dull and superstitious as a fit place to set up for cheating the People and venting their Impostures Alexander therefore having a long head of Hair well comb'd and clad in a Cloak of purple strip'd with white which was couer'd over with a Surplice holding in his hand a Faulchion like Perseus from whom he said he was descended by the Mothers side hid some Plates of Brass in an old Temple of Apollo which is at Calcedonia and wrote upon them That Aesculapius would quickly come with his Father Apollo to settle his abode in this place But withal he so order'd the matter by his Tricks that these Plates should be found out and presently the News of them was spread over all Pontus and Bithynia insomuch that the Inhabitants decreed a Temple to be built for these Gods and begun to dig the Foundations of it Our Prophet transported himself in the Night-time to the place where they were digging the Foundations of the Temple and having found there some Spring or at least some Rain-water he hid in it a Birds Egg wherein he had inclos'd a very little Serpent which was newly hatch'd The next day very early in the morning he came into the Market-place stark naked having only a gilded Girdle about him to cover his Nakedness and holding his Faulchion in his hand he mounted upon an Altar and began to hold forth to the People saying That this place was happy for being honour'd with the Birth of a God At these words the whole City which had flock'd together to see this Sight became very attentive and fell a-making Vows and saying Prayers while he was pronouncing some barbarous words in the Jewish or Phoenitian Language After this he ran to the place where he had hid his Birds Egg and going into the Water he fell a-singing the Praises of Apollo and Aesculapius and invited the latter to descend and shew himself visibly among Men At the speaking of these words he dip'd a Cup into the Water and drew out of it that mysterious Egg which held a God inclosed in it and while he had it in his hand he told the People That it contain'd Aesculapius The People being very attentive to behold this wonderful Mystery he broke the Egg and out came the little Serpent that was lodg'd in it which twin'd round about his Fingers And immediately the Air was fill'd with Shouts of Joy which were intermix'd with Blessings and Praises one desired Health of the God and another Honour and Riches In the mean time our Impostor return'd to his Lodging very joyful holding in his hand Aesculapius born of an Egg and not of a Crow as was said of him in former times who was the Son of Coronis which signifies a Crow and he shut himself up in the House with him until the God was become a great one and one day when all Paphlagonia came flocking about him he sate upon a Bed in his Prophetick Habit and holding that Serpent in his Bosom which he had brought from Macedonia he shew'd him to the People folding about his Neck and drawing after him a long Tail so prodigious was his bigness This Truth is also confirm'd by many Medals coin'd by the Emperors and the People
upon which Aesculapius is represented like a great Serpent The First is the Reverse of a Brass Medal of Antoninus Pius coin'd by the Inhabitants of Aboniteichos whose Tail made many Foldings and which without doubt was the Figure of that of Alexander the Impostor since these two words are added to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Glycon of the Aboniteichites i. e. the Inhabitants of that City of Paphlagonia which is call'd Aboniteichos or the Castle of Abonus By this Medal we learn that the true Name which Alexander gave to Aesculapius when he return'd to the World under the form of a Serpent was Glycon which comes from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as to say Sweet and beneficial to Mankind We have seen also this God represented in the Medals of the Nicomedians having the Body of a Serpent and the Head of a Man with this Inscription upon a Marble CNEUS GNAVIUS Philonimus consecrated this Marble in testimony of his Thankfulness to Aesculapius the Conserver and Preserver of Mankind and to Health which the Greeks call Hygia and the Latines Salus which they say was the Daughter of Aesculapius She is there represented as giving him something to eat or drink and holding in her Left-hand a lighted Torch We have also a Medal of Antoninus Pius whereon is engraven Two Serpents with the Name of Aboniteichites whereof the one is biting the Head of the other to signifie that Apollo the God of Physick communicated his Knowledg to his Son Aesculapius and also a Medal of the same Emperor which represents the Arrival of Aesculapius at Rome in an Island of the Tiber under the shape of a Serpent as Aurelius Victor has inform'd us The first Inventer of Physick according to the opinion of the Greeks and Romans was Apollo the Father of Aesculapius as we learn from Ovid in these Verses wherein he brings in Apollo thus speaking Inventum Medicina meum est opiferque per orbem Dicor herbarum est subjecta potentia nobis Metam l. 1. v. 521. And thus the first God which Hippocrates taught his Scholars to swear by was Apollo the Physician and then after that they swore by Aesculapius Hygia and Panacaea Yet Hyginus the enfranchis'd Slave says that Apollo was only the Inventer of Medicines for the Eyes and that Chiron was the Author of Chirurgery and Aesculapius of that sort of Physick which is call'd the Clinica i. e. which teaches how to visit and treat the sick which are confin'd to their Bed tho Lucian tells us that he set up an Apothecaries Shop at Pergamus but this looks like a piece of Railery of this Satyrist There are also antient Medals of Brass and Silver done by the Family of the Acilii with the Head of Aesculapius crown'd with a Laurel on one side either because he was the Son of Apollo to whom that Tree was consecrated or because it supplies Medicines for the Cure of Wounds Albricius describes Aesculapius in the habit of a Physician with a long Beard of massy Gold which Dionysius the Tyrant of Syracuse took away from him alledging in Railery that it did not become the Son to be represented with a Beard since his Father Apollo who was much older than he had none In this figure Aesculapius holds his Beard with his right-hand as if he were in a profound study and in his left-hand a Staff about which a Serpent is twining the Serpent intimates to us that Diseases with respect to Physicians are like a Serpent which casts off its old Skin because Physicians are to free the Sick from Diseases and Infirmties and make them healthful and vigorous another reason why this Animal is consecrated to the God of Physick is because the Serpent being the Emblem of Prudence it signifies that this Virtue is more especially requisite for a Physician Pliny thinks that the Serpent was dedicated to Aesculapius because there are some Salts extracted from this Animal which are Ingredients in many Medicines that are necessary for the Preservation of Life the Staff was likewise given to him to signifie that those persons who are raised up from a sick Bed had need manage themselves well to prevent a Relapse or rather because Physick is the Comfort and Staff of Life this Staff had Knots in it to signifie the Difficulty of this Art and that it was not easie to cure Diseases AES a Metal which was found in the Bowels of the Earth whereof Money was antiently made which gives me occasion to speak of several kinds of Money and their use 'T is certain that at first People traffick'd one with another by Exchanges of Commodities which their own Country produc'd for those of Forein Countries But the Difficulty they found in ballancing these Exchange put them upon the Invention of Money made of Metal or other Materials according to the Diversity of Countries The Lacedemonians had no other Mony but little round pieces or Ingots of red Iron which had been quench'd in Vinegar Caesar in his Commentaries lib. 7. says that in England there was no other Money but what was made of Copper and Lead together with some Buttons and Rings of Iron which they weigh'd Authors are very much divided about the Invention and antient Use of Money Some think that it is not very antient and these ground their Opinion upon the Authority of Homer who says Iliad lib. 7. the Greeks bought the Wine which was brought to them in Ships from Lemnos by giving in exchange for it Copper Iron Skins of Beasts Cattel and sometimes Slaves This Opinion is also confirm'd by another Passage in Iliad lib. 6. where the Poet relates that Glaucus exchang'd his Armour of Gold which was reckon'd to be worth an hundred Oxen for that of Diomedes which was only of Brass But Pollux lib. 9. c. 7. understands by these Oxen not any living Animals but pieces of Money on which was stampt the figure of an Ox. which is justify'd by the Authority of Plutarch in the Apothegms of Agesilus who complains that he was driven out of Asia by thirty thousand Men of the King of Persia's which were arm'd with Bows and Arrows by which he meant so many pieces of Gold call'd Daricks which were stampt with an Archer Others on the contrary will have it that Money made of Metal has been used in all times from the beginning of Mankind This Opinion they build on a passage in Josephus in his tenth Book Of the Jewish Antiquities where he makes Cain the Inventor of it and says that he increas'd his Riches by the Mony which he amass'd from all parts In the twentieth Chapter of Genesis 't is observ'd that Abimelech made a Present to Abraham of a thousand pieces of Silver Ecce mille argenteos dedi fratri tuo And the Sons of Jacob carried pieces of Silver into Egypt to buy Corn with during the Famine for the Scripture tells us that Joseph their Brother order'd the Silver to be