opinion of some Writers was the same as Osiris the Father of Harpocrates Others represent him with a glittering head some have dress'd him in a Gown which hangs down to the heels carrying on his Head a branch of a Peach-tree which was a Tree consecrated to Harpocrates because the Fruit thereof resembles the Heart and its Leaves are like the Tongue as Plutarch has observed whereby old Writers signified the perfect correspondency that should be between the Tongue and the Heart Some others figure him with a particular Ornament on his Head having the badges of Harpocrates Cupid and Esculapius for he holds his Finger on his Mouth he carries Wings and a Quiver with Arrows and a Serpent twisted about a stick The union of Harpocrates with Cupid shews that Love must be secret and the union of Harpocrates with Aesculapius gives us to understand that a Physician must be discreet and not discover the secrets of his Patient The Pythagoreans made a Virtue of silence and the Romans a Goddess called Tacita as 't is related by Plutarch HARPIAE The Harpyes fabulous Birds only mentioned by Poets who describe them with the face of a Virgin and the rest of the body a Bird with crooked feet and hands Virgil's description of them runs thus in the third Book of his Aeneid v. 213. Quas dira Celaeno Harpyae colunt aliae ....... Tristius haud illis monstrum nec saevior ulla Pestis ira Deûm Stygüs sese extulit undis Virginei volucrum vultus foedissima ventris Proluvies uncaeque manus pallida semper Ora fame The truth of the Story is that Phineus King of Paeonia having lost his sight and his Sons being dead the Harpyes his Daughters were spending his Estate till Zethes and Calais his Neighbours Sons of Bordas drove these Ladies out of the City and re-establish'd Phineus in possession of his Estate HASTA signifies all kind of offensive Arms that have a long staff or handle as Pike Spear Javelin c. 'T was said in the Roman Law Hastae subjicere to signify thereby to confiscate or to sell by publick sale and sub hastâ venire to be sold by Auction for Romulus had order'd that this Pole should be set before the place where the confiscated Goods were sold HASTA PURA A Half-pike without Iron at the end us'd for a Scepter and a badge of Authority and not a Pike armed with Iron used in the war HEBDOMADA A Week the numof seven days Four Weeks make up a Month because of the four chief and more apparent Phasis of the changes of the Moon And as these four changes of the Moon are in a manner the space of seven days one from another 't is very likely that from thence the first Egyptians and Assyrians have taken occasion to divide time by intervals of seven days which therefore were called Weeks As for the Hebrews their way of reckoning the time by weeks has a most august Origine and the Law commanded them to forbear from all kind of work the seventh day to imprint in their memory the great Mystery of the Creation of the World in which God had wrought during six days and rested the seventh whereupon it was called the sabbath-Sabbath-day which in their Language signifies a day of rest The other days took their name from that day for the following day was called by the Jews prima Sabbati the first day of the Sabbath the next day the second of the Sabbath then the third and fourth c. till the sixth called otherwise Parasceve which signifies the day of preparation for the Sabbath This way of reckoning by Weeks was properly speaking used only by the Eastern Nations for the Greeks reckoned their days from ten to ten or by decads dividing each month in three parts the first part was reckoned from the beginning of the Month the second was the middle of the Month and the third was the rest of the Month from the middle to the end thereof And thus the Romans besides the division of the Month by Kalends Nones and Ides made use also of a political distribution of a series of eight days distributed from the beginning of the year to the end thereof The names of the days of the week used by the Primitive Christians were founded on a more holy principle viz. the resurrection of our Lord which has given the name of Dominica or the lord's-Lord's-day to the day called the Sabbath by the Jews And because they to shew their joy in the celebration of the Feast of Easter i. e. of the Resurrection were used to keep the whole week holy resting from all servile work which is called in Latin Periani therefore they called the day following immediately after the Holy Sunday Prima Feria and the second day Secunda Feria the third day Tertia Feria and so forth and from thence the days of all the weeks were afterwards improperly called Foriae in practice of the Church The Origine of the names commonly given to the days of the week being names of Divinities ador'd by superstitious Antiquity comes from a more remote principle for 't is likely that these names passed from the Assyrians to the Greeks and from the Greeks to the Christians And we may reasonably presume that the Chaldeans who were esteemed the first Men who addicted themselves to study Astronomy have also given the name of their Gods to the Planets or at least the same names which they have afterwards ascribed to the Gods whom they ador'd and that they might give more authority to that art which they profess and by which they foretold things to come by the observation of the Stars They attempted to ascribe them an absolute Empire over the nature of Men allowing to each of them several Offices and Employments to dispense good and evil and that lest that dreadful power which they ascribed to them should be kept in the only extent of their spheres they had very much enlarg'd the bounds of their Dominions submitting to them not only the several parts of the Earth and the Elements not only the Fortunes Inclination and Secrets of the most close Men overthrow of States Plagues Deluges and a thousand other things of that nature but endeavoured also to set them up for the absolute Masters of time allowing a Planet to preside over each year another to each month to each week each day each hour and perhaps to each moment From thence each day of the week has took the name of the Planet ruling over it and Monday which is in Latin dies Luna i. e. the day of the Moon was so called because the Moon presides that day dies Martis i. e. the day of Mars which was under the direction of Mars dies Mercurii ruled by Mercury dies Jovis under the conduct of Jupiter dies Veneris under the direction of Venus dies Saturni under that of Saturn dies Solis ruled by the Sun 'T is true that the order that the Planets
Temple to Jupiter Feretrius FERIAE Holy-days when People rested from labour from the Verb feriari i. e. to rest to cease from work for the Feriae of the Ancients were Festival-days Now the Church marks the days of the Week by the word Feria secunda feria tertia c. tho' these days are not Holy-days but working-working-days the occasion thereof was that the first Christians to shew their Joy at the celebrating of Easter were used to keep the whole Week holy and forbear from all servile work that they might give themselves wholly to the contemplation of the Mysteries contained therein wherefore they called the Sunday the first Holy-day the Monday the second Holy-day the Tuesday the third Holy-day and so forth and from thence the days of every week were afterwards called Feriae in the common Language of the Church tho' they are not to be kept Holy The Romans had two kinds of Feriae the publick Feriae common to all the People in general and the private Feriae which were only kept by some private Families The publick Feriae were four-fold Stativae unmoveable and Holy-days Imperativae commanded Conceptivae moveable Nundinae days for keeping Fairs Stativae Feriae were set Holy-days mark'd in the Calendar which always fell out upon the same day the three chiefest thereof were Agonalia Carmentalia and Lupercalia I shall give an account of them in their order Conceptivae were Holy-days appointed every Year upon uncertain days according to the Pontiffs will such were Feriae Latinae Paganales Sementinae and Compitales Imperativae commanded or extraordinary Holy-days kept according as the occasions of the Commonwealth required either to give thanks to the Gods for some extraordinary Favours or to pacific their Wrath and pray to them to keep the People from publick misfortunes Unto these kind of Holy-days the Processions Games Lectisternium or the Bed of the Gods may be referred Nundinae days for Fairs and extraordinary Markets Before Flavius made the Calendar publick the unmoveable Feasts were publish'd by the Curio's who waited the Nones of each Month upon the King of Sacrifices to know what Holy-days were to be kept that Month and then acquainted each Parish with the same And this was still practiced after the publishing of the Calendar As for the Ferae conceptivae and imperativae they were published in the publick places by a Herald in these words Lavatio Deûm Matris est hodie Jovis epulum cras est and the like And these Holy-days were so religiously kept that the opinion of the Pontiff Mutius Scaevola was says Macrobius that the breaking of a Holy-day was unpardonable unless Men had done it out of inadvertency and in this case they were acquitted by sacrificing a Hog FERIAE LATINAE The Latin Holyday Some Writers say that the Consuls Sp. Cassius and Posthumius Caminius instituted these Holy-days by a Treaty that they made with the Latius in the name of the Senate and the Roman People But Dionysius Hallicarnasseus and almost all the Writers tell us that Tarquinius Supurbus instituted them and that having overcome the Tuscans he made a league with the Latins and proposed them to build a Temple in common to Jupiter sirnamed Latialis where both Nations might meet every Year and offer Sacrifice for their common Conservation Wherefore they chose Mount Albanus as the center of these Nations to build there a Temple and instituted a yearly Sacrifice and a great Feast in common and among their Rejoycings they swore a mutual and eternal Friendship Each Town of both Latins and Romans provided a certain quantity of Meat Wine and Fruits for the Feast A white Bull was sacrificed in common and the Inhabitants of every Town carried home a piece thereof When this Ceremony was at first instituted it held but one day but after the Kings were expell'd out of Rome the People demanded that another day might be added to it afterwards the Senate added a third day a fourth and so on till they came to ten days After the Expulsion of Kings the Consuls appointed a time for the celebrating of this Feast during which the People left the guard of the City to a Governor called Praefectus Urbis While this Feast was celebrated on Mount Albanus there were Chariot-Races at the Capitol and the Conqueror was treated with a great draught of Wormwood-drink which is very wholsom as Pliny says Laâ—norum feriis quadrigae certant in Capitolio victorque absynthium bibit credo sanitatem praemio dari homorificè FERONIA A Goddess of the Woods and Orchards This Divinity took her name from the Town of Feronia scituated at the foot of Mount Soracte in Italy where a Wood and a Temple were consecrated to her 'T is said that the Town and the Wood having both taken fire whereupon the People carrying away the Statue of the Goddess the Wood grew green again Strabo relates that the Men who offered her Sacrifices walked bare-footed upon burning Coals without burning themselves She was honoured by freed-men as their Protectrefs because they received in her Temple the Cap that was the Token of their Liberty FESTUM and FESTA Holy-days The Romans kept many Feasts as it appears by their Calendar We shall speak of them according to their Alphabetick Order They were very careful of observing Feasts and during that time they did forbear to work Tibellus tells us that the Romans abstain from working upon the days of Expiations and Lustrations of the Fields Quisquis adest faveat fruges lustramus agros ...... Omnia sint operata Deo non audeat ulla Lanificam pensis imposuisse manum These words express the true end of ceasing from work to employ themselves to the service of the Gods and Religious Duties 'T is not certain if Plâ—â—ghmen rested from all kind of work during the Holy-days Virgil relates many exercises and other small things that Men were allowed to do in Holy-days Quippe etiam festis quaedam exercere diebus Fas jura sinunt Rivos deducere nulla Relligio vetuit segeti praetendere sepem Insidias avibus moliri incendere vepres Balantumque gregem fluvio mersare salubri Saepè oleo tardi costas agitator aselli Vilibus aut onerat ' pomis Georg. lib. 1. v. 270. as to make Drains to drain the water inclose a Field with Hedges laying snares for Birds set Thorns on fire wash a Flock in the River and load an Ass with Fruits These works were not disagreeable to the celebrating of the Holy-days And yet working was not left to the liberty or humours of Men's fancy but were regulated by the Laws and Ordinances of the Pontiffs who ruled matters of Religion They were so exact in keeping Holy-days that the following day was accounted a day of bad Omen to undertake any thing Wherefore the Romans and the Greeks have consecrated the next day after the Holy-days to the Genij or the dead And they were so careful of ceasing from work that the keeping of their
or Branches which met together in the Canal of the Aqua Julia one part of this Water was convey'd to the Country and the other to the City which was kept in fourteen Conservatories and distributed into the several Quarters of the City The fifth was that of Aqua Julia which M. Agrippa erected in the time of Augustus and to which in honour of it he gave his Name This Water was collected from many Sources into one great Water-house about six miles from Rome its Course extended to fifteen thousand paces and an half it pass'd through the Porta Esquilina and the Trophies of Marius and emptied it self into seventeen Cisterns for the Accommodation of the several Quarters of the City The sixth was that of Aqua Virginis so called because a young Maid first discover'd its Spring-head to the Souldiers when they were searching for Water as Frontinus tells us in his First Book of Aquaeducts This was also the work of Agrippa which he finished in one Year and about thirteen years after he had built the former It s Canal began about eight miles from Rome in the Territory of Tusculum near the Bridge Salaro and its Course extended to fourteen thousand one hundred and five paces It passed through the Campus Martius and emptied it self into many Cisterns for the convenience of the several Quarters of the City This Water to this day is still called Aqua Virginis and is the only ancient Aquaeduct that remains Pope Nicolas V. repair'd it The seventh Aquaeduct was that of a Lake called Alsietina four thousand paces distant from Rome and six miles to the right-hand from the Via Appia This was the Work of Augustus and from his Name it was called Via Augusta It served only to fill the Circas with Water for the Naumachiae or Sea-fights and for watering Gardens The eighth was begun by the Emperour Caligula but Death prevented his finishing it Claudius his Successor thought the Design was too brave to leave it imperfect Pliny never speaks of this Work but with great Admiration It convey'd the Water of two fine Springs call'd Caeruleus and Curtius which were in the Country of the Latins thirty eight thousand paces distant from Rome holding its Course for the space of forty six thousand paces in length through many Arches which terminate at last in the Porta Nevia and rise as high as Mount Aventine This Water was called Claudia from Claudius and was very good to drink The ninth was also begun by Caligula and finish'd by Claudius in the same year with the former It derives its Water from a place further off than any of the rest viz. at the distance of sixty two thousand paces from the City from a muddy River call'd Tiverone or Anio from which another Aquaeduct was formerly made and this latter is nam'd Anio Novus Claudius thought fit for purifying his thick and muddy Waters to make at the distance of four thousand paces from their first Rising a Pool or Pond wherein the Mud might settle to the bottom which was call'd Piscina Limaria but notwitstanding all this Precaution when the Rains fell the Water came to Rome very thick These two Works were worthy of a great Prince as well for the Height and Magnificence as for the excessive Expences that were laid out upon them which were found to amount according to the Computation of Vigenere to thirteen millions eight hundred seventy five thousand Crowns Vicit antecedentes Aquarum ductus neoâ—ssimum impendium oper iâ— inchoati à Caesare peracti à Claudio quippe à lapide quadragesimo ad eam excelsitatem ut in omnes Urbis montes levarentur c. These are the nine Aquaeducts which Frontinus treats of that had 13594 pipes which he calls Quinarios and were one inch in diameter and 3 in circumference The first Aquaeduct of the Aqua Appia had 694 pipes The Anio Vitus or the Teverone had 1981 That of the Aqua Martia had 1741 The Tepula had 445 The Julia 755 The Aqua Virgo 2504 The Alsietina 592 The Cloudia and Anio Novus 4882. Of all these Pipes there were only 10350 which convey'd Water for the City the rest were for the benefit of the Countrey There are also other Aquaeducts made at Rome since Frontinus's Time Pope Pius IV. built one in the Year 1563. which brought Water at eight miles distance from Rome between Tivoli and Praeneste 't is thought to be the ancient Alsietina Sixtus Quintus built an Aquaeduct of the Aqua Felix in the year of Grace 1581 as may appear by an Inscription engraven upon an Arch near the Gate of St. Laurence Sixtus V. Pont. Max. Ductum Aquae Felicis Rivo pass subterraneo Mil. XIII Substructione arcuata VII Suo Sumptu extruxit Anno Domini M. D. LXXXI Pontificatus I. Let us now see how the Partition and Distribution of these Waters was made into the several Quarters and private Houses There were in all Parts of the City Conservatories or Water houses which were called Dividicula or Castella into which the Waters emptied themselves and from which they were convey'd on both sides by Pipes Agrippa alone during his Edileship made an hundred and thirty of these Water-houses adorned with Statues and Pillars of Marble There were Over-seers appointed to whom the Care of them was committed who were called Castellani who distributed the Water by divers Conduits into several places of the City and even to private Houses and hindred any private Person from misapplying the Water to his own Use without Leave first had which was granted upon conditon of a certain Duty to be paid which was more or less according to the Quantity of Water any one had a mind to have Marlianus informs us That Agrippa was the first who invented this Partition of the Waters by Inches and Ounces as well for the Use of the Publick as of Private Persons The Revenue of these Waters according to the Computation of Vigenere amounted yearly to six millions two hundred and fifty thousand Crowns The Water which was not good to drink as that of Teverone emitted it self into Lakes and serv'd the Beasts to drink and to wash withal it was us'd also for Baths for dying and tanning of Hides for milling of Cloth and for representing the Naumachiae or Naval Fights in the Campus Martius And after they had serv'd for these several uses they were all gather'd together in the Cloacae or common Gutters and from thence emptied themselves into the Tiber. Nero after the Burning of Rome says Tacitus hinder'd private Persons from applying the publick Water to their own use as they had been accustomed to do made Conservatories which might serve for quenching Fires and appointed some Persons to look after them The Censors and after them the Aediles Curuli took care of the Aquaeducts and the Waters of Rome But under the Emperours Overseers were appointed who had under them many subordinate Officers who distributed them for use of the Publick and Private
us make our selves spoken of before we are separated one from another But the Lord came down to see the City and Tower which the Children of Men had built and said let us go down and confound their Language that they may not understand one another and from hence it was called Confusion This City thus named Confusion is Babylon and profane History much celebrates it by which it seems that the Giant Nimrod was the Founder of it This the Scripture had intimated before saying That Babylon was the Chief of his Kingdom although it was not come to that Point of Grandure which the Impiety and Pride of Men had determined to bring it Bodinus and Sabellicus confound it very unfitly with Susa and others with Bagdat or Bagdat or Bagadet in our times for the one was situate on the Banks of Euphrates and the other stands on the side of Tygris some Ruins of it are to be seen at this Day Forty Miles distant from this latter as the Authors who have seen it testify Josephus will have it that this Work was undertaken that they might have a Retreat from an other Flood if it should happen but that 's only the Imagination of this Author Some make Semiramis the Foundress of this City but she only increased and beautisied it having encompassed it with a Brick-wall cemented together with Slime after she had built several beautiful Aedifices with very pleasant Gardens in which she set on work more than 300000 Men for several Years BABYLONICI Babylonians a very voluptuous People who worshipped the Fire They washed their Bodies after their Death and wrapping them up in Cerecloth covered them over with Honey Ninus one of their Kings being slain in the Battel which he lost with Zoroastres King of the Bactrians was buried in a Tomb and Old Belus caused himself to be put after his Death into a glass Urn full of Oyl which he ordered to be inclosed in a Magnificent Monument BACCHANALIA Bacchanals celebrated in Honour of the God Bacchas and which were called Liberales or Orgiae or Dionysiaca The Orgiae Bacchanals Liberales and Dionysiaca are usually taken for the same but there was a difference between those Pagan Ceremonies for the Feasts of Liber or Libera were celebrated in Honour of Liber or Bacchus every Year on March the 17th when the Young Men between 16 and 17 Years Old put off their Garment bordered with Purple called Praetexta to take the Toga virilis from the Hands of the Praetor with a Surname which made them capable of going to the War and of the Offices of the Common-wealth But the Bacchanals were kept every Month and the Dionysiaca or Orgiae every Three Years which gave them the name of Trieterica Macrobius in the first Book of his Saturnalia Chapter 18. Having proved by good Reasons that Bacchus and Apollo are but one thing adds that the Bacchanals were celebrated every two Years upon Mount Parnassus dedicated to Apollo and the Muses where the Satyrs assisted Authors refer the Institution of the Feast of Bacchus to the Athenians which passed at first for very honest Plays and Metriments among the Pagans They carried a Barrel of Wine wound about with Vine-Branches loaded with Grapes They drew an Hee-Goat by the Horns to sacrifice him with a Basket full of Figs and Grapes having their Heads crowned with Vine Branches and the Bacchae which were the Priests of that God held in their Hands Staves twisted with Ivy dancing and wantonly playing in the Streets and crying Evobé that is to say an happy Life But these Feasts were in length of time changed into a licentious use of all Sorts of Debaucheries Varro tells us that in certain Places of Italy these Feasts of Liber or Bacchus were celebrated with such Liberty that they worshipped in Honour of him the Privy Members of a Man and that not in secret to preserve themselves from Disgrace but in publick to glory in their Wickedness for they placed them honourably upon a Chariot which they drove through the City after they had first carried it through the Country But at Lavinium there was a whole Month spent in the Feasts of Liber only during which time the greatest Filthinesses were acted till the Chariot had crossed the publick Place and was come to the House where it was appointed that the thing it carried should be put after which the most honest Matrons of the City was obliged to go and crown that infamous Depositum before the whole Multitude The Romans were not more moderate in these abominable Practices It was a certain Greek of a base Birth a Priest and Diviner skilful in the hidden Mysteries of these Sacrifices as Livy says who first settled this Feast in Tuscany and from thence it came to Rome A Company of married Women only met in the Night to celebrate those Mysteries of the God at first but a Woman named Paucula of Padua a Stage-Player by Profession admitted Girls and Boys of all Ages and conditions to them who in the darkness of the Night defiled themselves with all Sorts of Abominations and Lewdnesses but at last the Disorder and Looseness of these Feasts grew so high that the Consuls Spurius Posthumius Albinus and Quintus Martius Philippus made secret Enquiry into the Superstition of these Bacchanals which they performed in the Night with such abominable Lascivousness and utterly abolished them having found Seven Thousand Persons of that infamous Society Nevertheless part of those Superstitious Ceremonies were again established according to the Humour of those Times and an old Woman went about crowned with Ivy having a Company of other roaring Women to attend her who imitated her in her Gate and lascivious Postures who all cried out with a loud Voice Evohe She carried a Cake made with Honey of which she gave a Piece to every one she met The Athenians also celebrated a Feast to Bacchus during which the young Maids carried gilt Baskets full of Fruit and this Feast was called CANEPHORIA and the Maids CANEPHORAE from the two Greek Words which signify to carry a Basket The rerinthians put a Serpent into this Basket for the Celebration of their Mysterios dedicated to the Worship of Bacchus This is what Catullus would have us to understand by this Verse Pars obsâ—ura cavis celebrabant Orgia Cistis They had a Cover that they might preserve the Mysteries of Bacchus and hide them from the Eyes of those that were not initiated whom they treated as Profans BACCHAE Priestesses of Bacchus Menades Bassarides or Thyades the Ministers of the God Bacchus who celebrate his Orgiae or Mysteries The Bacchae which accompanyed the Troops of Bacchus took their Name from the Hebrew Word Baca which signifies to lament and howl for Lamentations Cryings and Howlings were very common in the Mysteries of Bacchus They were also called Thyades from the Hebrew word Thaha that is to say to cry and run up and down They are also named Mamallonides from the Hebrew
except at some religious Solemnity or in the Time of some publick Calamity for we learn from History that when the great Mother of the Gods was wash'd the People went in Procession barefooted and that the Roman Dames put off their Shoes at the Sacrifices of Vesta Tertullian relates that the Pagan Priests very often order'd Processions to be made barefooted in a Time of Drought Cùm tupet caelum aret annus nudipedalia denuntiantur The principal Roman Knights at the Death of Julius Caesar gathered up his Ashes and being clad in white Tunicks they walked barefoot to signifie at once both their Respect and Sorrow Lycurgus and the Lacedemonian young Men went always barefoot and the Aetolians and Hernicians a People of Italy had one Foot shod and the other naked as also the Magicians in their Magical Mysteries Virgil and Ovid tell us Vnum exuta pedem vinclis 4. Aeneid Horace speaking of Canidia that famous Magician acquaints us that she went barefooted Pedibus nudis passoque capillo CALCULUS this Latin Word signifies a Stone because the Ancients made use of little Flint-stones instead of Counters for reckoning up any Sums whether multiplied or divided in their Computations either in Astronomy or Geometry The Kings of Lacedemonia gave their Suffrages with Two small Stones and the Romans marked their fortunate Days with a white Stone and unfortunate with a black Stone Albo aut nigro notanda lapilio CALENDAE the Calends The Romans called the first Day of each Month by this Word which comes from the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 voco because reckoning their Months by the Moon there was a Priest appointed to observe the New Moon who having seen it immediately gave notice to him who presided over the Sacrifices and he presently called the People together in the Capitol and declared unto them how they must reckon the Days until the Nones pronouncing Five times this Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if they happen'd on the Fifth Day or Seven times if they happen'd on the Seventh Day These Calends or first Day of each Month were consecrated to Juno upon which Account she was surnam'd Calendaris Juno The Greeks had no Calends as the Romans had and therefore when one would signifie a Time that should never happen they made use of that Expression ad Graecas Calendas i. e. at latter Lammas or never Augustus was the first who brought this way of Speaking into Fashion as Suetonius relates upon the Occasion of certain Debtors who were become insolvent Cùm aliquis nunquam exsoluturos significare vult ad Calendas Graecas soluturos ait Instead of the Name of Calends the Geeeks made use of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. the Day of the New Moon which was the same thing with the Calends among the Romans as this Passage of Plutarch in the Life of Galba plainly proves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Calends of January were more considerable than the Calends of the other Months because they were particularly consecrated to Juno and the God Janus upon which Account the Romans then never fail'd to offer Vows and Sacrifices to these Two Deities and the People being clad in new Gowns went in Crouds to the Tarpeian Mount where Janus had an Altar Although the Calends of January was a Festival Day for them yet they did not fail then to begin any new Work every Man according to his Profession that they might never be idle the rest of the Year having begun it with Working The Magistrates entered upon their Office on this Day and Feasts were kept everywhere and Presents exchang'd between them in Token of Friendship The Feasts of the Calends says Matthew Balastris was kept on the first Day of January and there was great Rejoycing because the New Moon happen'd on that Day and it was commonly believ'd that if they diverted themselves well at the Beginning they should pass the whole Year the more merrily This Day brought no Sorrow to any but only to Debtors who were oblig'd to pay their Interest and Arrears upon which Account Horace calls them tristes Calendas CALENDARIUM a Calendar an Almanack which contains the Order of the Days Weeks and Months and shews the Festivals which happen during the Year The Roman People at first had no Calendar for it was only in the Hands of the Priests from whom they learned the Festivals and the other Solemnities of a civil Life They took great care to write down in it every Thing that happened each Year and marked moreover the Days on which there were Pleadings and on which there were none And therefore this Calendar was called Fastus or in the Plural Number Fasti and also Annales publici because in it were set down the most considerable Actions of the Great Men of the Commonwealth And from hence come these ordinary Forms of Speech Conscribere nomina fastis or Referre in fastos in annales publicos i. e. to transmit your Memory to Posterity Cn. Flavius Secretary to Appius Clandius gave the People a Calendar in Despite of the Priests and Senate Romulus was the first who divided Time by certain Marks to serve for the Use of the People that were subject to him and being much more skilful in Military Affairs than in Astronomy he made the Year commence with the Spring and gave it only Ten Months whereof the first was the Month of March and next after that was April May June Quintilis Sextilis September October November December He gave 31 Days to each of these Four Months March May Quintilis and October and only 30 to each of the other Six so that they made altogether 304 Days which was that Duration of Time wherein as he imagin'd the Sun run through all the differed Seasons of the Year as may be seen in the following Calender But as to the Division of Months into Calends Nones and Ides and the Manner of reckoning their Days see hereafter the Seventh Paragraph before the Calendar of Julius Caesar The CALENDAR of Romulus containing 10 MONTHS and consisting of 304 DAYS March April May. June Quintilis Sextilis September October November December 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 1. Kalend. 2. VI 2. IV 2. VI 2. IV 2. VI 2. IV 2. IV 2. VI 2. IV 2. IV 3. V 3. III 3. V 3. III 3. V 3. III 3. III 3. V 3. III 3. III 4. IV 4. Prid. 4. IV 4. Prid. 4. IV 4. Prid. 4. Prid. 4. IV 4. Prid. 4. Prid. 5. III 5. Non. 5. III 5. Non. 5. III 5. Non. 5. Non. 5. III 5. Non. 5. Non. 6. Prid. 6. VIII 6. Prid. 6. VIII 6. Prid. 6. VIII 6. VIII 6. Prid. 6. VIII 6. VIII 7. Non. 7. VII 7. Non. 7. VII 7. Non. 7. VII 7. VII 7. Non. 7. VII 7. VII 8. VIII 8. VI 8. VIII 8. VI 8. VIII 8. VI 8. VI 8. VIII 8. VL 8. VI 9. VII 9.
one Day to these Four Months April June September and November and so made them consist of 30 Days and to the Month of February he left 28 Days for the common Years and 29 for the Year called Bissextile that so there might be no Change made in the Ceremonies of the Sacrifices which were offered in this Month to the Infernal Gods As soon as these Things were thus order'd and Sosigenes had finished his Work the Emperor publish'd an Edict wherein he set forth the Reformation he had made of the Calendar and commanded it to be used through all the Roman Empire And because of the Negligence of those to whom the Care was committed of distributing the Intercalatory Months the Beginning of the Year was then found to anticipate its true Place 67 whole Days therefore this Time must be some way spent to restore the first Day of the next Year to its due Place at the Winter-â—oâ—stice and to this end Two Months were made of these 67 Days which were ordered to be intercalated between the Months of November and December from whence it came to pass that the Year of the Correction of the Calendar by Julius Caesar which was called the Julian Correction consisted of 15 Months and of 445 Days and upon this Account it was called the Year of Confusion because in it that great Number of Days was to be absorbed which brought so great Confusion into the Account of Time But to accommodate the Matter in some measure to the Genius of the Romans who had been so long accustomed to the Lunar Year the Emperor would not begin his Year precisely on the Day of the Winter solstice but only on the Day of the New-Moon which followed next after it which happened by Chance at the time of this Correction of the Calendar to be about Eight Days after the Solstice from hence it comes to pass that the Julian Year in all succeeding Times hath still preserved the same Beginning i. e. the first Day of January which is about Eight Days after the Solstice of Capricorn Julius Caesar drew a great deal of envy upon himself by this Correction of the Calendar of which we have an Instance in that picquant Raâ—llery of Cicero upon this Occasion One of his Friends discoursing with him happen'd to say that Lyra was to set to Morrow Cras Lyra occidit said he to whom Cicero immediately reported Nempe ex Edicto yes quoth he by vertue of an Edict Yet this did nowise hinder this Reformation from being generally received and observed after the Death of Caesar which happened the next Year after it And to give the greater Authority to this Usage it fell out also that Marcus Antonius in his Consulship order'd that the Month called Quintilis which was that in which Julius Caesar was born should bear his Name and for the Future be called Julius as it happened afterwards to the Month Sextilis to which was given the Name of Augustus both which Names are still continued down to our Time 'T is true the Priests by their Ignorance committed a considerable Error in the Observation of the first Years for not understanding this Intercalation of a Day was to be made every Four Years they thought that the Fourth Year was to be reckoned from that wherein the preceeding Intercalation was made and not from that which follow'd next after it by which means they left only Two common Years instead of Three between the Two Intercalary Years from whence it came to pass that they intercalated Twelve Days in the Space of 36 Years whereas Nine only should have been intercalated in that Space and so they put back the Beginning of the Year Three Days Which being observ'd by Augustus Successor to Julius Caesar he presently caused this Error to be amended by ordering that for the first Twelve Years no Intercalation should be made that by this means these Three superfluous Days might be absorbed and Things might be restored to their first Institution which continued eversince without any Interruption until the End of the last Age when some thought themselves oblig'd to take Pains in making another Correction of the Calendar Here follows the Copy of an ancient Roman Calendar which some curions Antiquaries have gathered together out of divers Monuments that it might be published There are Six different Columns in it the first contains the Letters which they called Nundinales the Second notes the Days which they called Easti Nefasti and Comittales which are also signified by Letters the Third contains the Number of Meto which is called the Golden Number the Fourth is for the Days in Order which are marked with Arabick Figures or Characters the Fifth divides the Month into Calends Nones and Ides according to the ancient Way of the Romans and the Sixth contains their Festivals and divers other Ceremonies of which we shall treat more largely hereafter In this Calendar to which we have given the Name of the Calendar of Julius Caesar although it appears to have been made since Augustus's Time is to be seen 1. The same Order and Succession of the Months which was instituted by Numa Pompilius and such as we have set down before 2. These Seven Months January March May Quintilis or July Sextilis or August October and Decembor have each of them 31 Days and these Four April June September and November have only 30 but February for the common Years has only 28 Days and for the Intercalary or Bissextile it has 29. 3. This Series of Eight Letters which we have called Literae Nundinales is continued without Interruption from the first to the last Day of the Year that there might always be one of them to signifie those Days of the Year on which those Meetings were held that were called by the Romans Nundinae and which returned every Ninth Day to the end that the Roman Citizens might come out of the Country to the City to be informed of what concerned either Religion or Government These Letters are so placed that if the Nundinal Day of the first Year was under the Letter A which is at the 1st the 9th the 17th the 25th of January c. the Letter of the Nundinal Day for the next Year must be D which is at the 5th the 13th the 21st of the same Month c. for the Letter A being found at the 27th of December if from this Day we reckon Eight Letters besides the Letters B C D E which remain after A in the Month of December we must take Four other Letters at the Beginning of January in the next Year A B C D and so the Letter D which is first found in the Month of January will be the 9th after the last A in the Month of December preceeding and consequently it will be the Nundinal Letter or that Letter which notes the Days set apart for these Meetings which may be also called by the Name of Faires or publick Markets Thus by the same way of
I think that these Chalcidica's were large and lofty Halls where Justice was administred erected at the End of their Palaces even with the Galleries through which they went out of one Room into another and where the 〈◊〉 leaders walked CHALDAEI the Chaldaeans a People of the greater Asia who above all others practised the Art of Astrology The Prophet Daniel was instructed by them They worshipped the Fire The Jews likewise affirm as Jerom says that these Words of Scripture which say that Abraham came out of Vr of the Chaldees shew that he was miraculously delivered out of the Fire into which the Chaldaeans had cast him because he refused to adore it 'T is credible that these Chaldaeans did worship the Sun and Stars which they looked upon as Eternal Fires and that in keeping a perpetual Fire burning upon their Altars they desired to keep and preserve a Resemblance of them continually before their Eyes CHAOS Confusion a Mixture of all the Elements which the Poets feign was from all Eternity before the Stars were placed in that Order in the which they now appear Manilius confesses that Hesiod makes the World to be produced out of this Chaos in his Theogonia where after he has pray'd the Muses to teach him what was the Original and Beginning of the Earth the Gods Rivers and Seas he brings in the Muses answering that Chaos was the first Being that the Earth followed then Hell and Love Darkness and Night came out of the Chaos and the Heaven and Day sprung out of the Bosom of Night Although this Chaos of Hesiod is very confused yet it is no hard thing to find that it is a counterfeit Description of that of Moses in Genesis The Chaos which was a confused Heap of all Things was before all other Beings in their proper and distinct Nature The Holy Spirit which rested upon the Chaos was that Love which Hesiod mentions The Darkness covered the Chaos and this is what the Poet calls Erebus and the Night for the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes from the Hebrew Harah which signifies Darkness The Day as well as the Heaven proceeded from the Chaos or the Earth because the Stars were really in the Chaos as were also the Heaven and Firmament before God took them out of it Hell also itself rose out of the Chaos and kept its Name for so Orpheus calls it in Ovid. Per chaos hoc ingens vastique silentia regni Metam 10. Oppian assures us that it was Jupiter that dwells in the Highest Heavens who raised all these Bodies and all the Parts of this vast Universe out of the confused Chaos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jupiter beate in te omnia ex te orta sunt We may explain that of Love which Oppian speaks of the Agreement of second Causes The Spirit which according to Moses animated the Waters of the Chaos and covered them in some measure according to the Hebrew Text to make them fruitful may be accounted for Love Diodorus Siculus mixing Fable History and Philosophy together makes the World to proceed from Chaos as also do Euripides and Plutarch Ovid among the Latin Poets speaks very distinctly of the Chaos which was before the Creation of the World Ante mare terras quod tegit omnia coelum Vnus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe Quem dixere Chaos rudis indigestaque moles Nec quidquam nisi pondus iners congestaque eodem Non benè junctarum discordia semina rerum Metam 1. He then observes that it was God who gave Order Distinction and Light to this dark Chaos We may say that this Poet follows Moses closely since he separates first the Heaven and Air from the Earth makes the Waters to fall into the hollow Places of the Earth out of which he causes Trees and Plants to spring after this he forms the Stars produces Fishes Fowls and the Beasts of the Earth and concludes his Six Days Work with the Creation of Man for Ovid exactly follows this Order in God's Works as they were all performed in the Six Days Lastly He describes the Creation of Man as the chief Piece of his Workmanship in whom he put some Rays of his Holiness Divinity Dominion and Sanctity yea his own Image that is to say an Understanding penetrating into Heavenly Truths and Eternal Love Sanctius his Animal mentisque capacius altae Deerat adhuc quod dominari in caeter a posset Natus homo est Sive hunc divino semine fecit Ille opifex rerum mundi melior is origo c .... Finxit in essigiem moderantum cunctae Deorum Pronaque cùm spectent animalia caetera terram Os homini sublime dedit caelumque tueri Jussit erectos ad sidera tollere vultus Metam 1. These Verses clearly express that the History of Genesis teaches that Man was created an holy and religious Creature with whom God conversed that he gave them Dominion over all the World being of a Divine Original animated by his Spirit honoured with his Image and governed by his Laws When Seneca in common Speech gives the Name of Chaos to Hell noctis aeternae chaos aversa Superis regna he shews us that that Part of the World still retains the Name of Chaos as having in it Darkness and Confusion of all Things CHARISTIA or DIES CHARAE COGNATIONIS The Kinsmens Feast This Feast was to be kept in the Month of February in the Rustick Calendar which still remains at Rome upon an ancient Marble but in Constantine's Time this Feast was called Charistia which signifies the same thing Valerius Maximus L. 2. C. 1. N. 8. teaches us what it was Our Ancestors says he appointed a solemn Feast which they called Charistia in which none met but Kinsmen and near Relations that if there were any Difference among them it might be ended most easily in the Mirth of a Feast Convivium etiam solemne majores instituerunt idque Charistia apellaverunt eui praeter cognatos assines nemo interponebatur ut si qua inter necessarios querela esset orta inter sacra mensae inter hilaritatem animorum fautoribus concordiae adhibitis tolleretur Ovid also may be consulted about this Day CHARITES See Carites CHARMIS a Physician of Marseilles who being ambitious to out-do others condemned warm Baths and bathed his sick Patients in cold Water even in the Winter CHARON See Caron CHARIBDIS a Gulph in the Sicilian Sea near Messina now called commonly Galofaro into which Ships being driven by Tempests are wrecked by the Rocks that lie hidden under Water which has given an occasion to the Poets to feign that Charybdis and Sylla were two terrible Sea Monsters which swallowed up Ships and that 2 Women having robbed Hercules of his Oxen were stricken with Thunder by Jupiter and changed into that Gulph which is scituated in one of the Streights upon the Coasts of Sicily The Hebrew Original of these two Names discovers plainly enough who
Temple to the Goddess Health having escap'd the danger that he had run at the coming of Vitellius DOMUS This word is commonly taken for all sorts of Houses either Magnificent or Ordinary but 't is often taken by Writers to intimate a fine House of some great Lord or Palaces of Princes as it appears by these Verses of Virgil speaking of the Palace of Dido At Domus Interior regali splendida luxu These great Houses were built with much Magnificence and were of a vast extent for they had many Courts Apartments Wings Cabinets Bagnio's Stoves and a great many fine Halls either to sit at Table or to transact matters of consequence Before these great Houses there was a large place or Porch where Clients and Persons giving attendance to great Men waited till it was day light to be admitted to make their Court 'T is to be supposed that this Porch was covered for the conveniency of Persons who were sometimes waiting very long before they were admitted There was a second part to these Houses called Cavum-Aedium or Cavaedium it was a great large Court inclosed with Rows of Houses The third part was cal'ed Atrium interius i. e. in general the whole inside of the House Virgil has took this word in Vitruvius's sense when he said Apparet Domus intus atria longa patescunt for 't is plain that Virgil means by the word Atria all that may be seen in the inside of a House when the Doors are opened There was a Porter waiting at the Atrium called Servus Atriensis Within this place there were many figures for the Romans who passionately loved Glory and Praises raised every where Trophies and Statues to leave Eternal Monuments of their great actions to posterity not only in the Provinces which they subdued to the Empire but also in publick places and their own palaces at Rome There were painted or engraven Battles Axes bundles of Rods and the other badges of the Offices that their Ancestors or themselves had possessed and Statues of Wax or Metal representing their Fathers in Basso relievo were set up in Niches of precious Wood or rare Marble The days of their solemn Feasts or their Triumphal Pomp these Niches were opened and the Figures crowned with Festoons and Garlands and carried about the Town When some persons of the Family died these Statues accompanied the Funeral Parade wherefore Pliny says that the whole Family was there present from the first to the last Besides there were great Galleries in these Houses adorned with Pillars and other works of Architecture and great Halls Closets for Conversation and Painting Libraries and Gardens neatly kept These Halls were built after the Corinthian or Aegyptian order The first Halls had but a row of Pillars set upon a Pedestal or on the Pavement and supported nothing but their Architrave and cornish of Joyners Work or Stud over which was the Ceiling in form of a Vault but the last Halls had Architraves upon Pillars and on the Architraves of the Ceilings made of pieces joined together which make an open'd Terras turning round about These Houses had many apartments some for men and others for women some for Dining-rooms called Triclinia others for Bed-chambers named Dormitoria and some others to lodge Strangers to whom they were obliged to be Hospitable Ancient Rome was so large that there were eight and forty thousand Houses standing by themselves being so many Insula and these Houses were very convenient because they had a light on every side and doors on the Streets and not exposed to the accidents of fire But this must be understood of Rome that was re-built by Nero after he had reduced it himself as 't is thought into ashes The Greeks built after another manner than the Romans for they had no Porch but from the first door they entred into a narrow passage on one side of it there were Stables and on the other there was the Porters Lodge at the end of this passage there was another door to enter into a Gallery supported with Pillars and this Gallery had Piazza's on three sides Within the Greek's houses there were great Halls for the Mistresses of the Family and their Servant Maids to Spin in in the Entry both on the right and left hand there were Chambers one was called Thalamus and the other Antithalamus Round about the Piazza's there were Dining-rooms Chambers and Wardrobes To this part of the House was joyned another part which was bigger and had very large Galleries with four Piazza's of the same heighth The finest Entries and most magnificent Doors were at this part of the House There were four great square Halls so large and spacious that they would easily hold four Tables with three Seats in form of Beds and leave room enough for the Servants and Gamesters They entertain'd in these Halls for 't was not the custom for women to sit amongst men On the right and the left of these Buildings there were small apartments and very convenient rooms to receive the chance Guests for among the Greeks wealthy and magnificent men kept apartments with all their conveniencies to receive persons who came far off to lodge at their Houses The custom was that after they had given them an entertainment the first day only they sent them afterwards every day some Present that they received from the Country as Chickens Eggs Pulse and Fruits and so the Travellers were lodged as they had been at their own House and might live in these apartments privately and in all liberty These apartments were paved with Mosaick or inlaid Work Pliny tells us that the Pavements that were painted and wrought with art come from the Greeks who called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These Pavements were in fashion at Rome during the time of Sylla who got one made at Praeneste in the Temple of Fortune This Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies only a Pavement of Stones but the Greeks meant by that word those Pavements made of small Stones of several colours inlaid into the Cement representing different Figures by the variety of their colours and order This Pavement was not only used for paving the Courts of Houses and the Halls but also in Chambers and wainscoting the Walls and these kind of Pavements were called Musaea Musia and Musiva because ingenious works were ascribed to the Muses and that the Muses and Sciences were thereby represented The word Mosaick is derived from the Latin word Musivum but not from Moses nor the Jews Here we must explain two difficulties viz. whether the Romans had formerly Chimneys and Privies in their Houses 'T is certain that in former ages men had Chimneys in their Kitchins but 't is doubtful whether they had any in their Chambers for their Chambers were warmed only by some Pipes that conveyed a warm vapour from a Fire made of a kind of Coals that burn without making any Smoak called by Suetonius Miseni Carbones Yet we read several things which seem
Holy-days was an imitation of the rest of the Sabbath commanded by the Law of God For the Greeks and the Romans kept some Holy-days during eight days together in imitation of the Hebrews and had also their eight and nine days of Devotion For Polybius tells us that to thank the Gods for a Victory obtain'd at Sea the Romans ordered to forbear from all kind of work for nine days together FIBULAE Buckles Clasps This Latin word generally taken signifies All sorts of work that joins two things together Fibula Architectonica that which in Architecture we call a Nail Peg Key and Ring and all that is made use of to join Beams together and other parts of Buildings In this sense Cesar makes use of this word in the description he has made of the Bridge that he built over the River Rhine Binis utrinque fibulis ab extremâ parte distinebantur In Anatomy Fibula is that we call a Cannel-bone Fibula in relation to Cloaths means Buckles and Clasps that keep close or tie up some part of our Cloaths The Greeks and Romans made use of them and often adorned them with precious stones Men and Women did wear them upon their Cloaths and Shoes and used them to keep up their Hairs aliqua fibula comam diffluentem colligans Fibula Gymnastica or Citharaedica used only by Musicians and Comoedians to keep close the prepuce of Children lest they should keep Women company and lose their voice as we learn of Celsus The same thing was used to Players upon the Stage to preserve their voice as 't is reported by Martial Menophili penem tam grandis fibula vostis An Ancient Interpreter of Juvenal observes upon this Verse of the sixth Satyr Nullius fibula durat Vocem vendentis praetoribus ...... Fibulam dicit circellos quos tragaedi sive comoedi in pene habent FICULNEA VIA The way or the Street of the Fig-tree at Rome called Momentania FICUS A Fig-tree Pliny affirms that the white Fig-tree is fortunate but on the contrary that which brings brownish Figs is fatal The Fig-tree called Ruminalis under which the Wolf suckled Remus and Romulus was at at Rome about the place of the Assemblies FIDES Faith A Goddess whom the Ancients honoured and plac'd in Heaven Livy relates that her Priests were cloathed with very white Linnen to shew the candour and sincerity of Faith She was represented by two Hands joined close together and sometimes with two little Images holding one another by the hand See Fidius Dionysius Hallicarnasseus tells us that Numa Pompilius was the first Man who built a Temple to publick Faith and instituted Sacrifices in honour of her at publick charges Her Priests or Flamines sacrificed to her without shedding of Blood cloathed with white Robes and drawn upon a Chariot holding their right hand open FIDIUS The Romans and the Sabins respected this God as the protector of the good Faith that should reign among them There was a Temple at Rome on Mount Quirinalis built to this God where his Feast was kept every year upon the Nones of June And his Image is still seen at Rome in an ancient Marble of three Figures which are under a kind of a Canopy Honour stands at the right under the figure of a middle aged Man Truth at the left represented like a Woman crowned with Laurel holding Honour by the Hand and Love is betwixt them both under the shape of a young Child with this Inscription Simulachrum Fidiī FLAMINIUS Sirnamed Quintius the Son of T. Flaminius whom Hannibal defeated near the Lake Trasymenes Being Consul he marched against the Inhabitants of Milan and routed them Then he made war against Philip King of Macedoniā and vanquish'd him in two pitch'd Battles and by this defeat restored Liberty to all the Cities of Greece that King Philip had made his Tributaries And being ready to engage the Enemy he received Orders from the Senate to return to Rome to quit his Consulate because of some formalities wanting at his Election but he put the Packet into his Bosom and did not open it till after he had obtained the Victory The Senate resented highly his contrivance and endeavoured to deprive him of the triumphal Entry but the People opposed them and allowed him the Triumph Wherefore this great General was attended in his Triumph by a Crowd of his fellow Citizens whom he had made free and followed his Triumphal Chariot with Acclamations which made the Glory of his Triumph shine the more Flaminius is not found among the Consuls neither in the Calendars of Rome nor in the Roman Chronicles The Senate doubtless deprived him of that Honour because he had not obeyed their Orders when he was called back to Rome FLAMEN and FLAMINES in the plural number Numa instituted these Priests of Jupiter Mars and Romulus or Quirinus to perform the Religious Service and called them Flamines Varro in his Book of the Latin Tongue tells us that the Antients had as many Flamines as Gods At first there was but one Flamen created who was called Flamen Dialis or the Priest of Jupiter then another was allowed to Mars called Flamen Martialis and a third to Quirinus or Romulus called Flamen Quirinalis Afterwards the number of Flamines was increased but yet the first were called Majores Plamines and were all of Patrician Families the others were called Minores Flamines and were of Plebeian Families There were likewise Flamines ordained for the Emperors after they were ranked among the Gods The Emperor Augustus had one called Flamen Augustalis The People assembled by Curii chose these Priests and often left their Election to the Pontiffs The High Priest consecrated them and they were under his subjection as to their Discipline Aulus Gellius relates the Ceremonies observed at their Consecration First the will of the Gods was consulted by Augurs about the Man who should be consecrated then the High Priest took him up from the hands of his Kindred and this was called capere Flaminem as we learn from Livy The Priests of Jupiter called Flamen Dialis was the chief of all And it must be observed that all these Priests were allowed to wear the Robe edged with Purple like great Magistrates to keep the Ivory Chair and to sit in the Senate They did wear a kind of a Cap or Hat that was particular to them And Varro tells us that they had the name Flamen because they wore a little Band of Thread about their Head Flamines dicti quòd filo caput cinctum habebant Servius mentions two kinds of Ornaments that the Flamines wore upon their Head one single for conveniency in the Summer viz. this little Band of Thread the other was the Hat which covered their Head during their Functions Verùm festis diebus filo deposito pilea necesse erat accipere Scaliger upon this Text of Varro has described the form of the Hat of the Flamines and tells us that it was called Flammeum that the Crown thereof was
a numeral Letter signifying one hundred This Letter was the only Vowel that was not mark'd over with the stroke of a Pen to shew that it was long as Scaurus himself testifies Notwithstanding to denote its quantity it was drawn in length a Letter bigger than the rest PIso VIvus AedIlis Wherefore of all the Letters the I was called long by Senecdoche And from thence comes that Stamphilus in Plautus's Aularium being resolv'd to hang himself says that he should make a long Letter of his Body Lipsius explains it thus and this explanation seems more likely than that of Lambinus who understands of it all kind of great Letters Lipsius says expresly that the I was double to make it long as the other Vowels and 't is the opinion of the most Learned tho' many Instances to the contrary might be found perhaps out of corruption as Divl Augusti in an Inscription in the time of Augustus Wherefore as the I by its length only was equivolent to a real ii i. e. that they should be mark'd in the Discourse as Manubjs instead of Manubiis Djs Manibus instead of Diis Manibus And from thence come the contractions that are common and allowed to Poets Dî instead of Dij urbem Patavî instead of Patavij But the Ancients noted also the quantity of this Letter by the Dipthong e◠as Victorinus says and it was the same thing to write Divl or Divei the I long and the ei having the same pronunciation or very like the same And this is testified by Priscian when he says that this was the only way to express the I long This pronunciation of ei was become so common amongst them that they us'd it even in short words which shews that it was not so much perhaps to note its quantity as a certain pronunciation more full and more pleasing Wherefore in old Books we find still Omneis not only instead of Omnes in the plural number but also instead of Omnis in the singular Wherefore Victorinus tells us that no way of Writing was controvers'd by the Ancients but this Lucilus and Varro made their endeavours to distinguish it setting a Rule to write the i alone in the singular and the ti in the plural number However Quintilian finds fault with this way of writing because says he 't is superfluous and too troublesome to those who begin to write From whence we may conclude that the pronunciation was alter'd and that there was no difference then between the ei and the i. This Letter I is also a Consonant and then its Character is lengthned downwards thus J. JACCHUS One of Bacchus's names from the Syriack word Janko or Jacco i. e. puer lactens and thus Bacchus was often represented And these words of Virgil Mystica Vannus Jacchi may be understood of Bacchus's Cradle Some Writers derive this word from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. to make a noise by crying to howl as the Bacchantes did at the Orgia or Feasts of Bacchus JANICULUM A Mountain beyond the Tiber where Janus settl'd himself and built a Fortress There Numa plac'd his Tomb and since Statius the Poet. The Country of Latium where Janus was honoured and where Janiculum was built which afterwards made a part of Rome was called by the Ancients OEnotria tellua i. e. the Wine 's Country JANUARIUS January This Month was not set down in the old Calendar of Romulus but was brought in by Numa who plac'd it at the Winter-Solstice in the room where Mars was before whom Romulus plac'd at the Vernal Equinox This Month was named Januarius in honour of Janus because the Romans had establish'd this God to preside at all beginnings and that the new Year began at this Month or because Janus being represented with two Faces to shew by that his singular prudence which considered both the time past and the time to come they thought fit to dedicate a Month to him which was at the end of the Year that was past and at the beginning of the Year to come And though the Calends or the first day of this Month was under the protection of Juno like other first days of the Months yet this was in a peculiar manner consecrated to Janus to whom they offered that day a Cake made of new Meal called Janualis and of new Salt The Frankincence and Wine presented to him were also new This day all Workmen began their works every one according to his Art and Trade and the Scholars did the like being perswaded that having thus begun the Year by working they should be diligent and laborious all the rest of that Year As we learn of Ovid in the first Book of his Fasti v. 165. Postea mirabar cur non sine litibus esset Prima dies Causam percipe Janus ait Tempora commissi nascentia rebus agendis Totus ab auspicio ne foret annus iners Quisque suas artes ob idem delibat agendo Nec plus quà m solitum testificatur opus The Consuls appointed for that Year took possession on that day of their Office and began the functions thereof especially since the Emperors and some time before during the Consulship of Quintus Fulvius Nobilior and Titus Annius Luscus in the Year of the foundation of Rome DCI Wherefore they went up to the Capitol attended by a great crowd of People all dressed with new Cloaths and there sacrificed to Jupiter Capitolinus two white Bulls that never were under the Yoke and spread perfumes and sweet smells in his Temple The Priests called Flamines together with the Consuls made vows while the Sacrifice was performing for the prosperity of the Empire and the safety of the Emperors having first taken the Oath of Allegiance and ratified all that they had done during the foregoing Year Likewise the other Magistrates and the People made the same Vows and took the Oath And Tacitus tells us in the sixteenth Book of his Annals that Trafea was impeached of having purposely absented himself from the Assemblies where the Magistrates took the solemn Oath and Vows were made for the safety of the Emperor Ovid in the first Book of his Fasti observes more distinctly all these Ceremonies Cernis odoratis ut luceat ignibus aether Et sonet accensis spica Cilissa focis Flamma nitore suo templorum verberat aurum Et tremulum summa spargit in aede jubar Vestibus intactis Tarpeias itur ad arces Et populus festo concolor ipse suo est Jamque novi praecunt fasces nova purpura fulget Et nova conspicuum pondera sentit ebur Colla rudes operum praebent ferienda juvenes Quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis This day the Romans laid down all animosity and were very careful to speak no word of ill Omen as we learn of Pliny Cautum erat apud Romanos ne quod mali ominis verbum Calendis Januariis efferretur Friends sent Presents that day one to another which were called
Strenae New Years-Gifts and this custom was first instituted by T. Tatius King of the Sabines after he had made his agreement with Romulus for 't is reported that to shew the esteem he had for those who had serv'd him in his Quarrel with the Romans he sent to every one of them at the beginning of the year a branch of Laurel taken out of the Grove of the Goddess Strenuae with a Compliment wishing them a happy Year 'T is thus related by Symmachus in the 10th Book Epist 28. to the Emperors Theodosius and Arcadius Strenuarum usus adolevit auctoritata Tatii Regis qui verbenas folicis arboris ex Luco Strenuae anni novi auspices primus accepit We will speak more at large of this word in its Alphabetick order The Romans above all things took care to be merry and divert themselves this first day being perswaded that all the rest of the year should be like that day thus much for the first day of January we come to the other days of this Month and the Holy-days kept therein The 2d day called by the Latins postridie Calendas or quarto Nonas the next day after the Calends or the fourth of the Nones was a pleading day but accounted fatal for the War called for that reason Dies ater a fatal day The 3d and the 4th were comitial days or days of Assembly The 5th which was the day of the Nones was a day for Pleading The 6th call'd the VIII of the Ides was esteem'd unlucky The 7th and the 8th were days of Assembly On the 7th the Romans solemniz'd the coming of Isis and the 8th was consecrated by the Athenians to Neptune On the 9th which is the V. of the Ides amongst the Latins they celebrated the Feast called Agonalia instituted by Numa Pompilius in honour of Janus and the King of Sacrifices sacrificed a Ram to Janus See Agonalia according to the Alphabetick order The 10th or the IV. of the Ides was a day divided in two thus mark'd in the old Calendar En and in the new Calendar media Hyems The 11th or the III. of the Ides was the Feast call'd Carmentalia in honour of the Goddess Carmenta Mother to Evander they offered her Sacrifices every year before noon wherefore that day is mark'd in the Calendar Nefastus primo to signify that it was not allowed to do any thing that morning This Sacrifice was offer'd in acknowledgment to this Goddess because she had foretold a great many things to the advantage of the Roman Empire The same day was celebrated the dedication of the Temple of Juturnus in the Field of Mars The 12th was a Meeting-day and some time this day they kept the Feast of Compitalia or Cross-ways The 13th or the day of Ides consecrated to Jupiter was mark'd in the Calendar by these Letters N. P. Nefastus prima parte diei which was only kept holy in the morning They sacrificed to her a Sheep called Ovis Idulis This day Caesar Octavius took the Name of Augustus by the advice of Munacius Plancus The 14th or the XIX of the Calends of February was express'd by these Letters EN in the Calendar to denote that it was divided half into a Festival and half into a day of Work The 15th or the XVIII of the Calends of February they solemniz'd for the second time the Feast called Carmentalia secunda or repetita relata in honour of Carmenta the Mother of Evander See below Carmentalia The 16th or the XVII of the Calends of February was the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple of Concord not that which the Praetor Manlius vowed and which Caius Attilius Duum-vir had dedicated nor that which the Secretary Flavius did likewise dedicate in Foro Vulcanis but of the great and magnificent Temple vowed and dedicated by Camillus and adorn'd by Livia Drusilla with a great many Statues and a noble Altar From the 16th to the Calends of February are the Comitial or Assembly-days if you except The 24th For that day the Feriae Sementinae were celebrated for the Sowing-time The 27th they kept the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux near the Lake called Juturna the Sister of Turnus The 29th there were Horse-Races called Equiria in the Field of Mars The 30th was the Feast of the Peace they sacrificed then a white Victim and burned abundance of Frankincense JANUS Writers don't agree upon the Etymology of the word Janus Some derive it from the Latin Verb ire or its Gerund eundo as if one said Eanus because God presided at the beginning of all undertakings wherefore the Preface of Prayers was directed to him by whom they had access to the other Gods and because the Doors of Houses are the entries through which one must pass to go into the most remote Apartments they were therefore called Januae from Janus and were dedicated to him This is reported by Tully in his Book De. Nat. Dcorum Cumque in omnibus rebus vim haberent maximam prima postrema principem in sacrificando Janum esse voluerunt quod ab eundo nomen est ductum ex quo transitiones perviae Jani foresque in liminibus profanarumae diuns Januae nominantur Vossius says that the word Janus seems to be derived from the Hebrew Jain i. e. Wine The birth and origine of Janns is no less controverted some tell us that Janus is the same as the World and the Sun others say that he is the same as Ogyges an ancient King who built Thebes fifteen hundred years before the foundation of Rome and some others as Ovid confound Janus with Noah and ascribe to him the glory of the origine of the World having been the only Man who saw the old and new World before and after the Deluge However the Authors who report that Noah divided all the Earth to his Sons after the Flood and gave Europe to Japhet for his share say more likely that Japhet was called Janus and settled himself in Italy where he taught a great many things very useful to Mankind Fabius Pictor reports that the ancient Tuscans learn'd to improve the Vine of him to sow Corn and to make Bread and that he also taught them to build Temples and Altars to the Gods for the Ancients to that time worshipped Gods only in Groves He was the first who consecrated the boundaries of Towns both without and within Wherefore when Romulus built Rome he sent for some Men out of Tuscany who observ'd exactly all the formalities and ceremonies they had learned of Janus for that purpose And to set up better the service of the Gods he drew Rituals and Formulars of Prayers to their honour wherefore the preface of Sacrifices was directed to him and he was the first called upon as a Being who presented their Prayers to the Gods and to whom the first libations of Wine and Wheat were offered 'T is reported that he was the Inventer of Locks and
The Daughters having performed his Command I went in eat and drank with him and then with all Submission entreated him to give me his Daughter Sephora to Wife which he promised to do provided I could bring to him a Rod which was in his Garden to which I agreed went to see for the Rod and when I found it I plucked it out of the Ground and carried it to him Jethro was surprized hereat and reflecting upon what I had done he cried out and said This is certainly that Prophet of whom the Seers of Israel have spoken who is to lay Egypt waste and to destroy its People and being thus possest he all in a Rage took me and threw me into a deep Pit that was in his Garden Sephora was not a little concerned at this Adventure no more than my self and she studied at the same time how she might save a Man's Life who had obliged her Hereupon she prayed her Father that he would let her tarry at home to look after the House and send her Sisters to the Fields to keep his Cattle Her Father in answer told her Daughter It shall be so that thy Sisters shall go and look after the Cattle but thou shalt tarry here and take Care of Matters at home Thus Sephora finding her self alone she fed me every Day with the daintiest Victuals and the same whereof her Father Jethro eat and that for Seven Years which was the time I tarried in the said Pit But at the End of that time Sephora spoke to her Father in this manner Father 'T is a long time since you have thrown into this Ditch that Egyptian who brought the Rod to you from the Place in the Garden wherein you had put it suffer now the Pit to be opened and let us see what will come of it for if he be dead let his Carcase be taken away that your House may not be polluted and if he be still alive he must be a holy Man Jethro made answer Daughter You have spoke well Can you still remember what his Name was Yes Father said she his Name was Moses the Son of Amram Jethro at the same time commanded the Pit to be opened and called me twice Moses Moses I answered him and presently he took me out kissed and told me Blessed be God who hath preserved thee for Seven Years in this Pit I bear him witness this Day that he has Power to kill and Power to make alive I will testifie aloud and every-where that thou art a right good Man that thou shalt one Day lay Egypt waste that thou art the Person who shall drown the Egyptians in the Sea and by thy means Pharaoh and his Army shall run the same Fate And at the same time he gave me Money and Sephora his Daughter to Wife Abarbinel a Jewish Doctor whose Works are highly esteemed by that People commenting upon the 2d Chapter of Exodus explains that History in this manner After Moses had been entertained by Jethro and that he came to know him to be a Man of much Understanding and deep Knowledge he was desirous to enter into a nearer and more particular Alliance with him because of the great Wisdom he had observed in his Conversation and gave his Consent he should live with him And this is that which Moses says in Exodus And Moses consented to live with Jethro not for the Love he bore to Sephora whom he married but because of Jetbro's Wisdom It is says he the Opinion of our Doctors since they say in the Commentary that the Rod of God was planted in the Garden and that no Man could pull it from thence but Moses and that for the said Reason he took Sephora to Wife for by it they meant the Tree of Life which was in the midst of the Garden that is the Wisdom of Moses upon the Account of which he was honoured with the Gift of Prophecy Jetbro gave also to Moses his Daughter Sephora to Wife by reason of his wondrous Wisdom Moses lead the People of God into the Wilderness and talked divers times with God He died upon Mount Nebo from whence God had shewed him the Land of Promise he being then 120 Years old The Pagans made him to be their Bacchus as you may see under that Word Numerinus says Plato and Pythagoras had drawn their Doctrine out of his Books and that the first of them was the Moses of Athens He is ancienter than all the Greek Writers and even than their Mercurius Trismegistus Tatian who was one of those Ancients that Apologized for the Christian Religion against the Persecutions of the first Centuries tell us That Moses was before the Heroes and even the Gods themselves of the Greeks and that the Grecians wrote nothing good but what they took from our Scriptures and that their Defign by partly corrupting them was no other than that themselves might be entituled Authors Theodoretus says Moses was ancienter by a Thousand Years than Orpheus and that he was like the Ocean or Head-spring of Theology from whence they took their Origin as so many Streams and whereunto the most ancient Philosophers had Recourse The Learned are agreed that the Two ancientest Writers of the World whose Writings are transmitted unto us are Moses and Homer and that Moses lived several Ages before the other Moses wrote much in Verse and in the Book of Numbers he has set down a Canaanitish Poet's Song of Victory MULCIBER one of the Names given to Vulcan being derived from Mulceo because the Fire softens and qualifies all Things MUNDUS PATENS The open World a Solemnity performed in a little Temple or Chappel that was of a round Form like the World and dedicated to Dis and the Infernal Gods it was opened but thrice a Year viz. on the Day after the Vulcanalia the 4th of October and the 7th of the Ides of November during which Days the Romans believed Hell was open wherefore they never offered Battle on those Days lifted no Soldiers never put out to Sea nor married according to Varro as Macrobius witnesses L. Saturn C. 16. Mundus cùm patet Deorum tristium atque Inferûm quasi janua patet proptereà non modò pralium committ◠verum etiam delectum rei militaris cansâ habere ac militem proficisci navem solvere uxorem ducere religiosum est MURTIA a Surname of Venus taken from the Myrtle-Tree which was consecrated to her She was formerly called Myrtea and corruptly Murtia Festus says there was a Temple built for the Goddess Murtia upon Mount Aventine as to a Goddess of Idleness who made People idle and lazy MUS a Rat Mouse the Phrygians held Rats in great Veneration according to Clemens Alexandrinus Polemo relates says he that the Trojans gave Religious Adoration to Rats which they called Smintheus because they once gnawed to pieces the Bow-strings of their Enemies and this was the Reason why they gave to Apollo the Epithet of Smyntheus And Straho speaking of the