thing is exprest is evident from a Passage of Macrobius where he expresly makes her if not to be all in all yet at least to be that Mass of Earth and Water which perhaps was another reason of her Amphibious Image from whence the Separation Saturn L. 1. c. 23. was Originally made His words are these where speaking of the Sun he says Accipe quid Assyrii de Solis potentiâ opinentur Deo enim quem summum maximumque venerantur Adad nomen dederunt ejus nominis interpretatio significat a Idem quod Hebreum Echad vel Achad unus hunc ergo ut potentissimum adorant Deum Sed subjungunt eidem Deam nomine Adargatin omnemque potestatem cunctarum rerum his duobus attribuunt Solem terramque intelligentes nec multitudine nominum enuntiantes diversam eorum per omnes species potestatem sed Argumentis quibus ornantur significantes multiplicem praestantiam duplicis numinis Ipsa autem Argumenta Solâ—s rationem loquuntur Namque simulachrum Adad insigâ—e cernitur radiis inclinatis Quibus monstratur vim Caeli in Radiis esse Solis qui demittuntur in terram Adargatis simulachrum sursum Versum reclinatis Radiis insigne est monstrando Radiorum vi superne missorum enasci quaecunque terra progenerat Sub eodem simulachro species leonum sunt eâdem ratione terram esse monstrantes quâ Phryges â—inxere matrem Deûm id est terram leonibus vehi But now if Adargatis according to Macrobius himself be the same with the Mater Deûm the Mother of the Gods then is she neither the Earth nor the Sun in distinction from each other but both of these and all things else together she is the Mother of the Gods that is the Primigenial Mass from whence the Separation of Aetherial and Starry Concretions was made which are here called Gods and the Beauty of her upper Parts considered together with the deformity of those underneath was but a symbolical Confusion of the Efficient and the Material Cause together To the first of which the Symmetry of the World was owing and the latter that is the Fish or the Mass of Waters or the Chaos covered with them out of which the Separation was made suppli'd the great Artificer with subject Matter for his great Skill and Wisdom to exercise and to exert it self upon And so also it is in the Fable of Proteus for he is properly the Efficient Cause as is plainly discernible in his Name but yet when the Poets represent him as a Sea God this was only for that reason because all things were Originally supposed to have sprung out of the Waters and was a plain confusion of the Efficient and the Material Cause together So likewise in the Story of Isis whose signification is by Macrobius confined to V Macrob. Satur. L. 1. c. 20. in fine â—t c. 21. circà Med. Cap. the Earth or to the Natura rerum subjaceâ—s Soli which he confirms by this observation Hinc est quod continuatis uberibus corpus Deae omne densetur quod terrae vel rerrum Naturae altu nutritur Vniversitas And this was the reason why Isis or Io by the Egyptians was Worshiped in the Form of an Ox that Animal among them being a Symbolical Emblem of that Fruitfulness and Plenty which the a And to which the Ox contributes by its Labor in the Field and which is fed and sustained as all other Animals are by its productions Earth produces as appears by the fat and lean Kine in Pharaoh's Dream which was interpreted by Joseph of the Barrenness and Fertility of the Earth and perhaps from that Interpretation of his this Symbolism which had divine Authority to make it Sacred began as perhaps also the Worship of Apis which with a little mutation was as much as Alphis from the Hebrew Eleph signifying an Ox and thence also was the Greek and Latin Elephas and Elephantus as being looked upon only as a larger sort of Ox or Bufaloe in the East But this is further confirmed by what Macrobius saith in another place where among other Arguments by which he learnedly and plainly proves that Mercury and the Sun were sometimes antiently taken for the same he uses this Argiphontes praetereà cognominatur Macrob. Satur. L. 1. c. 19 Mercurius non quod Argum peremerit quem ferunt per ambitum capitis multorum Oculorum luminibus ornatum custodisse Junonis Imperio Inachi filiam Io ejus deae pellicem conversam in bovis Formam Sed sub hujus modi Fabulâ Argus est Caelum stellarum luce distinctum quibus inesse quaedam species Caelestium videtur Oculorum Caelum autem Argum vocitari placuit à candore velocitate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 videtur terram desuper observare quam Aegyptii Hieroglyphicis literis câ—m signare volunt ponunt bovis Figuram is ergo ambitus Caeli stellarum luminibus ornatus tunc aestimatur enectus à Mercurio cum Sol diurno tempore obscurando sidera velut enecat vi luminis sui conspectum eorum auferendo mortalibus But yet there are some that will needs Intel. Syst c. 4. p. 350. falsly marked 410. have Isis to be the Supream Numen or the Eternal and Omnipresent Mind by whose Providence all things are forecast and contrived and by his Power and Will concurring reduced into Act to which purpose they alledge the Capuan Inscription TIBI VNA QVAE ES. OMNIA DEA ISIS But by their leave this do's not prove any more than that by this Isis was meant the Vniversal Matter or Primigenial Mass which in some sense may be said to be una or one considered all together and omnia or all with respect to the infinite variety of the material or aspectable World which is all of it composed out of several Modifications of this Primigenial Mass And so also Thetis in what hath been said before which is sometimes taken strictly for the Watery Mass or the Genius Nymph or Daemon appertaining to it is also and that most properly as hath been shewed taken for the whole Chaos or Vniversal Mass consisting of Earth and Water and She was therefore by the Greek and Latin Poets appropriated to the Water because the Chaos was antiently over whelmed with them and all things were supposed in the beginning of Things to have arisen and sprung from thence and the Earth and Water having at first been mingled together and never yet so wholly separated but that they are still contiguous so that they still contribute each of them their quota or proportion to the making up an entire Globe and that they are still not only by Showrs but by subterraneous Springs and by the secret Passages both of the Seas and Rivers into the Caverns of the Earth incorporated into one another And lastly Being of a weight and consistence not so much differing as is usually supposed which is the reason the same Station in the
in its most Ancient and proper sense is indifferent to any as appears by the compounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all which words that part of the composition which is taken from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is indifferent to any kind of Tree whatsoever but it is to be interpreted of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the Interpretation of the Hebrew Alah or Elon and is as much as to say the Tree of God or the Oak under which the most Ancient of the Patriarchs were used to pitch their Tents and though I am not solicitous whether this prophetick Ministry of Deucalion be in the reality of the thing placed before or after the Floud knowing how subject and prone the Greeks are in matters of so remote Antiquity to mistakes and Anachronisms concerning them and though it may be said that all the taller and more spreading sort of Trees were destroyed and rooted up by the violence of the Waters which in a great measure I acknowledge to be true yet it may be considered on the side of the Scholiast that there are some exceptions of necessity to be admitted from what hath been said above concerning the Ravens not returning to the Ark that the Oak by reason of its natural firmness and large spreading Root was perhaps the fittest to withstand the force of this universal deluge that the pressure of the Water was lateral and in a manner equal on all sides as Mr. Boyle hath observed and proved in his Hydrostaticks of common Waters not determined any whither in a certain Stream or Channel so that this may seem rather to have served to uphold and keep stedfast the Trees which it met with than to have destroyed or thrown them down were it not that by the continual poaching and soaking of the Water into the Earth their Roots would be so loosened as that then their own weight or preponderancy one way more than the other may be thought sufficient to overturn them and throw them down But to this it may be Answered supposing so violent a Wind to be added to this cause that the Roots of a Tree may be very much loosened and weakened before this effect will follow that in such tall and massy Trees they usually descend deeper than any Rain Water can reach so as to poach or loosen the Earth to any considerable degree that it is not unreasonable to believe that the Earth at some considerable depth might be rather hardened and rendred more close and firm by the weight of the incumbent Waters than any way sok'd or loosened by it as fresh Water is sometimes found at the bottom of the Sea the reason of which our ingenious Mr. Hook in his Micrography imputes to this that by reason of the great weight of the superincumbent Water the Salt particles are squeezed upwards and the pure aqueous parts are brought so close together that they cannot receive or imbibe into themselves the Saline any longer and if this be the case of Water it self a thing so fluid and so porous as that is it must be much more true of the Earth which by reason of its comparative solidity is more susceptible of such a pressure than any Water can be and in experience it appears that places which are known to have been recovered out of the Water such as a great part of Holland and the Fenny parts of England are are usually plain and flat because of this pressure of the Water which was once equal and of long continuance over the whole surface and this made Antiquity believe that Aegypt it self as large a Tract of Ground as it is was once recovered out of the Water or at least was forsaken by it because of its flat and equal Soil not that I believe the force of any Floud to be such as that it shall turn a Mountainous Country into a plain but it is sufficient in general to observe from what hath been said that in so great a pressure of Waters the Earth at least at some considerable depth would rather be hardened than any way loosned by it and perhaps in such prodigious showers as those were by which the universal Deluge was occasioned descending with a violence so great and so equal together it might so compress and harden the Earth in some places where no subterraneous Ebullitions met with the Rain that descended from above which they neither did nor could do equally in all places that the Waters might not perhaps penetrate so farr as in showers that are more gentle if they be but constant and of long continuance To all which it is to be added that it is certain that Noah pitched his first Tent there where the Ark it self rested and where he came out of it when the Waters were asswaged and this was upon the Mountains of Ararat upon the top of which the Waters could not have any thing near so much force as in the Plains underneath where there was a so much greater weight of superincumbent Waters besides that it was so much the longer before these places were overflown and in proportion to their height they were so much the sooner dry than other places neither could the Waters fall with so great force upon them as upon the plain and level Country because their journy of descent is comparatively so small which the longer it is so much the greater is the weight of the descending body so that if what I have offered above concerning the Waters hardening rather than softening the Earth may be admitted it will hold also here though in a less proportion and if it will not as I think there is no reason why it should be rejected then whatever force there was in the Waters on the Level for the destruction and overthrow of all Trees or other obstacles that they met with in their way was for the reasons just now mentioned infinitely less upon the tops of Mountains besides that when it said Gen. 8. 1. That God made a Wind to pass upon the Earth and the Waters asswaged this Wind as it must be acknowledged by its determination one way to have destroyed the equality of the lateral pressure of the Waters and as such to have been a natural cause of overturning every thing that came in its way so it had probably but little force upon the tops of Mountains the Wind it self being occasioned by those Watery exhalations which were first exhaled from the top of the watry surface and by consequence made the depth less to the Fathom of the Mountains themselves and left that Wind less force to act upon them for the Floud never rose higher than Fifteen Cubits above the tops of the highest Mountains and it is probable did not continue long at that high Water mark so that that which was a prodigious Deluge in respect of the whole Earth was little more than an ordinary Floud in respect of the highest Mountains and particularly those of
of Water and great Rains descended from above as also great Rivers or currents from the higher Grounds and the Sea overflowed its banks till all things were covered and immerst in Water and all that Generation was destroyed The same character of a Good and Virtuous person which Ovid and Lucian have given of Deucalion is likewise allow'd him by Apollonius the writer of the Argonauticks who gives him the Title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and says other things concerning him which do sufficiently show that Epithet to have been his due l. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where wen he says that Deucalion was the first that built Cities and Temples and that he was the first Monarch this must be understood of the Period after the Floud for there were Kings and Cities and the true God to say nothing of Idolatry was Worshipped by Adam by Cain and Abel by Seth and Enos and others before it but all that Period though it were not utterly forgotten by the Greeks yet it shall be very clear before I have done that they had but a very obscure remembrance of it Plato in his description of the many Flouds which from time to time were supposed by the Greeks Anciently to have happened affirms every Floud to have wiped away the memory of all things that were before it there being only left a few v. Plat. in Critiâ p. 1100 1101. in l. 3. de leg statimi ab initio Euseb ex Platone praep Evang l. 12. c. 15. Mountainous and Barbarous People ignorant of all things even before the Floud and so taken up with the cares and the necessities of life after it that they had no time to look back into former Ages nor any means to preserve those few Traditions which were left among them and this he makes to be the reason why Arts and Sciences had made so small a progress in his time and why the History of former Ages extended to no higher Antiquity than it did but herein was Plato manifestly deceived that he did not perceive at this rate if only the Inhabitants of Mountains or those that could get thither upon the surprise of a Floud coming upon them escaped that very many Species of Animals must have perished being bred and overtaken by the Floud in the Plains below so that unless we suppose the Earth after every Deluge to have been so prolifick that it could produce all the several species anew which yet as absurd as it is I perceive Plato sometimes to have done and then there would be no need to salve the credit of an universal Deluge for any to be saved upon the tops of Mountains since mankind and all other Species might by this expedient be repaired without it there is no other way to Salve it but by supposing such an Ark or Ship as the Scripture and from thence several profane Authors have done whether some of each Species might betake themselves and be reserved for the replenishing a new World and therefore when Lucian who speaks expresly of the Ark and of all the several Species entring into it speaks afterwards of a Tradition as if Men in the time of Deucalions Floud had saved themselves upon the tops of Mountains and upon the top Branches of the tallest Trees where if they could be saved from the Deluge they would have been sure to have starved with hunger he subjoyns immediately 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ib. p. 899. these things are altogether incredible to me But yet notwithstanding thus much of Plato is agreeable to truth that after any such universal Deluge and by consequence after that of Noah too partly for want of any standing Monuments to preserve Tradition and partly by reason those that escaped must needs be wholly taken up in the cares and necessary incumbrances of Life which must needs lie heavy upon them where there are so few though in a world well Peopled there are many that have plenty and ease that the memory of the Antidiluvian persons and things must be almost utterly extinct and that the Tradition concerning them must needs be very uncertain and obscure and therefore it is no wonder to find Deucalion that is indeed Noah though Apollonius speaks of him as a Native of Thessaly according to the usual vanity of the Greeks who ascribed all these things to themselves represented as the first person that built Cities and Altars the first head of civil society and inventour of Political Administration that is he was the first that was so after the Floud of which Period the Greeks had a more certain and particular knowledge than of that before it though at other times we find some little sparks and strictures among them even of the Antidiluvian interval likewise Further though Plato were mistaken as to the manner of the preservation of Mankind from the Floud and though he is very uncertain as to the number of those universal Flouds that had hapened before his time for one while he says accoâ—dâ—ng to Antient Tradition according to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Leg. l. 3. init 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that many such universal calamities had happened to mankind by Deluges and Plagues wherein a very small and inconsiderable remnant escaped to repair the loss and propagate themselves to after Ages another while he is very particular and precise in the business and tells us Deucalions was the Fourth such universal Deluge that had happened 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In Critiâ p. 1102. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there being Three other fatal Deluges before that of Deucalion And at others he seems inclinable to believe that Mankind and the World had no beginning at all so that these things might very well have happened though at a good distance from one another yet a prodigious number of times for so he speaks in the Person of an Athenian whom he introduces 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. b. De Leg. p. 875. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that it becomes every Man to know that either Mankind had never any beginning nor shall have end or at least that its Original is at so vast a distance that it is impossible to trace it to its first beginning Yet notwithstanding all this strange variety there is in the midest of it still a constant acknowledgment of such a thing as an universal Deluge and that not founded only upon Fancy or Opinion or Philosophical conjecture but upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon Ancient Tradition which if you compare with these Two things First the improbability if not utter impossibility of Plato's expedient to Salve and account for the reparation of Mankind and of all other Animals after such an universal Deluge and Secondly if you consider that even in Plato himself there is no Historical certainty no particular account of any universal Deluge
with a fresh and Strugling Light according as the Tallow ascending too powerfully into the Wick is too hard for the Aetherial matter or as that Aetherial matter very nigh extinguisht and expelled returns with new force and by attenuating and rarifying that Floud of moysture turns it into nourishment and fewel for the Flame instead of destroying and oppressing it as before At other times those Ancient Writers assigned the Original of all things as well Gods as Men and all other Animated concretions and substances whatever not to the Chaos at large but to the Moist and Watery part of it as the Scripture makes the first separation of the disordered and confused parts of the Mass and the first vital impressions communicated to the matter to have happened from the Spirit v. Intell. Syst p. 123 124. of Gods moving upon the face of the Waters whence Thales and after him Anaxagoras derived their opinion who affirmed the first principle of all things to have been Water Animated and Enlivened by a Mind or Soul running through and coextended to it and to this we must refer that Verse of Homer which hath been already produced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Upon which place the Scholiast makes this observation that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we must understand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Father of the Gods. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because some Physiologers have represented Water as the First Element from which the other Three were derived whence Pindar said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Water was the best as being the First of all things This was the true reason why Venus who is by the Greeks upon that account called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was supposed to be born of the Spume of the Sea for by Venus nothing else was meant but the prolifick Life and Power of the Universe which by these Antient Physiologers was supposed to arise out of the Watery substance or the Fluid matter which they looked upon to be the first source and principle of Generation and Vegetation in the World and so also Priapus whose excessive great Pudendum was but an Emblem of the plastick Virtue or Generative power of Nature was not only worshipped in Fields and Gardens whence I have conjectured his Etymology to be pri ab the Father of Fruits as all the productions of Nature may in some sense be called which I take to be much more Natural than those Etymologies which the Scholiast upon Theocritus hath presented us withal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both which are manifestly very frigid and farfecht Interpretations but also in Ports and by the Sea side whence by the Greek Epigrammatists he had the Epithets given him of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and v. Dempster in Rosin l. 2. c. 20. ut Voss de Idolol l. 2. c. 7. Nat. Com. l. 5. c. 20. p. 521. fuit Portus Priapi nomine propè Dardaniam urbs ad mare sita quibus in locis eximiè Priapus celebratur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the like examples of which have been collected out of the Anthology by Dempster upon Rosinus which was but another Hieroglyphick adumbration of this Ancient Tradition that all things did at first arise and spring from the Water Further yet Venus who at some times was said to be born out of the Water and for that reason was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was at others affirmed to have been born at Cyprus and from thence had the Epithet of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Jupiter was fabled to be born at Crete and Apollo at Delos all Three of them Islands encompassed by and as it were rising out of the Water which was but another Emblematical representation of the same thing that Venus or the prolifick Nature was born of the Moist and Watery Substance or that all things sprang from thence and that Apollo and Jupiter by both of which the Sun is understood or the Aetherial matter of the Heavens were made what they are by the separation of those subtle particles of which they consist from the Moist and Watery Substance of the Abyss or Chaos which was overwhelmed with Waters and for the same reason Priapus whom I have affirmed to be another Emblem of the Prolifick power of Nature and thence it was that an Ass was used to be Sacrificed to him as being furnished with Genitals of a more than ordinary size was said to have been born at Lampsacus or Lampsacum on the bank of the Hellespont and by the Waters side but for Priapus being the Son of Bacchus and Venus which is another thing that Nat. Com. ubi suprà Alii Priapum Bachi Veneris filium fuisse crediderunt quia vinum propter calorem excitet libidinem is Fabled concerning him nothing else is meant by it but that Concupisence is provoked by Wine This notion seems somewhat to be favoured by Macrobius though the sense of his words be not altogether the same where speaking of Apollo and Diana who were both of them by the Poets feigned to be born at Delos he says proptereà in insulâ Macrob. Saturn l. 1. c. 17. dicuntur nati quod ex mari nobis oriri videntur that is Apollo and Diana or the Sun and Moon are therefore said to have been born in an Island because they seem to sense to rise out of the Sea but as for what follows though it be ingenious Macrob. ubi suprà yet I cannot altogether acquiesce in it Haec insula ideo Delos vocatur quia ortus quasi partus luminum omnia facit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est aperta clarescere much less can Lloyd Lex Georg. Poet. p. 354. 2. in voce I satisfie my self with the reason given by others that Delos was Sic dicta 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod cùm antà mari tecta esset Latonae locum ad pariendum quaerenti repentè se ostenderit nor with Bochartus his account neither who would have it be from the Syriack Dachal Timor for this far fetcht reason because there is a Poet that tells us though that Poet himself or at least the person whom he represents were mightily mistaken that Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor But the true meaning of Delos is this Delos is truly and properly the Sun it self for this is properly the signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek it is titio torris lampas to which sort of things the Sun and Moon by reason of their bright and shining Nature were Anciently compared and like to this it is that the Sun Moon and Stars in the first of Genesis are called Meoroth Luminaria or Lucernae Lights or Lamps as the same word is plainly used Exod. 25. 6. and c. 35. 8. they being compared metaphorically to Candles or Lamps because of their shining and enlightning Nature and from hence it
terminated on all sides by an Angle or an Edge and so also Acumen has not only its proper and first Sense to signifie a material Edge or sharpness but also its Metaphorical or Derivative to denote the intellectual quickness or sharpness of the Mind by which it do's as it were cut its way through the greatest difficulties and abstrucsities of Nature and overtake by a swift an easie and a steady slight those Things and Notions that are the most coy and loath to be discovered or that escape and baffle the pursuit of common Apprehensions by too great distance or too nimble flight Lastly To shew the Analogy of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this sense which I have explained it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the same way of derivation is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as much as to say the Region of Rain whence also Orion was feighned to have his Name as being the cause of Tempests and particularly of great Flouds and Inundations which by the Poets was variously signified under the covert of Fables and thence also the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Julius Pollux are the same with what Physicians and Anatomists otherwise call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and this Etymology to any Man that shall consider it is certainly preferrable to any other that hath hitherto been started as may be seen by comparing the Etymologies of St. Ambrose Aristotle and Philo which may be found in any Lexicon together with this not that I would confine the signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Region of the Atmosphere within which compass the Clouds and Rain are contained but it is enough that the most remote Antiquity looked upon the Clouds as at a far greater distance than we do and therefore the Psalmist makes the Clouds to be as it were the more peculiar and Beatifical Seat of him who is Omnipresent which is otherwise usually confined to the highest and most exalted Regions of the Aether when he affirms of God as he do's sometimes that he maketh the Clouds his Chariot and that he rideth upon the Wings of the Wind or else it might happen that the whole Aether might be call'd by the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because the Ancient Mortals that first call'd it by this Name did not understand the Philosophy of Exhalations but thought all Rain was dispensed from the Treasury of Waters above the Firmament as it is called in the First of Genesis not according to the truth and reality of Things but according to vulgar Opinion with which the Language of the Scripture though of divine Inspiration do's not disdain sometimes in pity to human Infirmity to comply as where it intimates the Earth to stand still the Moon to be a great Light and the â—â—ixt Stars comparatively little but if we Translate the Hebrew Rakiah not by Firmamentum as the vulgar Latin hath done by a false Translation of the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Region of the Stars but only by expansum a seeming empty space in which we walk and breath in this sublunary Region it will not imply that there is indeed any such celestial Treasury of Water beyond the Atmosphere or the Region of the Clouds This Notion of Thetis being nothing else but the Tohu or Vniversal Mass besides what hath been already produced to that purpose will receive further confirmation by reflecting a little upon the meaning and derivation of these three words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Titan and Tithonus I begin with the First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word which occurs in Homer Il. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 747. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the Old Scholiast interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so also Eustathius upon the same place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are to understand a certain sort of Oyster for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the Earth and Shell Fish by reason of the hardness of that Shell wherewith they are incompassed are of a more earthy Nature than any other sort of Fish a a a so Suidas expresly interprets it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whatsoever but it had been better to derive it from a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in its double capacity as it signifies both a Earth and a Water because by reason of the hardness of their Shell and the softness or fluidity of their inward Pulp and Substance and of their living in and being nourish'd by the Water they are of a middle Nature betwixt these two which was the Case of the Tohu or Primigenial Mass called by Hesychius with a very little alteration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for so he expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a sort of Oyster or Shell Fish and it is also the Slime or Dirt which Rivers in their Course throw off upon their Banks which is as exactly as can be the signification of the Hebrew Tohu which was a thin substance of Earth and Water together and this is a further confirmation that by Tethys in the Mythology of the Ancients the Vniversal or Primigenial Mass was denoted and likewise explains the reason of those Expositions which we find in Suidas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and presently after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they taking their signification from the Tohu or Primigenial Mass which was the Mother or Grandmother and First Parent of all Things and an Aunt is so like a Mother so nearly related by Blood and usually by Affection and by all Offices of Parental kindness that it is no wonder to find 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so very little different in their Signification and the same may be said of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are all of them owing to the same Root the Earth or Globe of Earth and Water in which all sublunary Animals are bred and nourish'd being truly stiled the Nurse as well as Parent of all her productions and the Analogy of Tithene comes nigh to that of Tithonus of which I shall speak in the third place But Secondly The word Titan also being from the same Root of Thoth or Tohu is another confirmation of the truth of what I have said concerning Thetis that by her was signified the Tohu or the Vniversal and Primigenial Mass for all these Names being probably derived from the same Root and answering so well as they do in their History to the same Etymology give natural strength and confirmation to each other Titan signifies properly a Son of the Earth or of the Tohu and so the Sun is called in the first place according to that of Ovid in his Metamorphoses Nnllus adhuc mundo praebebat lumina Titan. And in Juvenal Prometheus
Esther in Chalday signifies a Star and thence with the Addition of Shour which signifies to contemplate Zoroaster is supposed to have had his Name from his Study of Astronomy or his Contemplation of the Stars and there is no difference between these words Esther and Ashtoreth or Ashtaroth but that the first of them is written with an Aleph the two latter with an Hajin but the Potestas of these two Letters is much what the same being both of them in a manner perfectly quiescent and of this as I conceive we have an instance in Baal himself the second Syllable of which begins with an Hajin answering to the Hebrew Aleph For El or Al with an Aleph was the Eastern Name of God and by this the Pagans called the Sun and from it are derived the Latin Sol and the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that Baal was nothing else but the Acclamation of the Pagans wellcoming saluting and adoring the Morning Sun with this Ingemination frequently and joyfully and loudly repeated Ba Al Ba Al that is Dominus venit Dominus venit as one of the ancient forms of Excommunication was called Maranatha or Dominus venit with joy to his faithful Worshipers and Servants and to the destruction and excision of his Enemies and this heavy sort of Excommunication is otherwise called by the Hebrews Chereth or Excision and by the Assyrians or Syrochaldaeans Shamta as much as to say Shem Atha or Nomen venit understanding by Shem or Nomen very frequently in the Rabbinical Language the Nomen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the most Sacred and Essential Name of God and from thence proceeded that Rabbinical Effatum Hou Shmo Veshmo Hou He is his Name and his Name is He alluding to the constant practice and custom of the Rabbius who almost every where call God by the Name of Hashem or the Name And such another Acclamation as this was that of Leaâ— when she was safely delivered of her Son Gad Bagad a Troop cometh where the Aleph is left out in the Masorethical Bibles as well as in the instance of Bahal and perhaps there being two Alephs in these two words Ba and Al an Hajin which is a Letter somewhat the harder and harsher of the two was the most proper to express the Coalition of them both running and dissolving into one another and if from this morning salutation of the Rising Sun he came at last to be called by the Name of Bahal which seems to me a very natural Conjecture then the Sun being the Sovereign and Lord of all in the sense of the Ancient Pagans and this Dominion of his being properly exprest and denoted in the latter part of his Name This gives an easie account of all those Expositions which we meet with in our Lexicons and how they came to signifie what they do such as Bahal Dominari Maritum hoc est Dominum uxoris esse Bohel Conjux Maritus and Bahal Dominus Maritus Conjux and Bahala Domina But neither will this way of explaining the word Astarte afford a genuin Interpretation of this place of Eusebius as may be easily discerned by any one that shall apply the one to the other It is necessary therefore that we interpret Astarte in this place either of the Aether or Starry Region in general of whose Substance the Stars and the very Planets themselves in this remote Antiquity were supposed to be made or that we take refuge in the Exposition of Suidas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Astarte is the same that the Greeks call Venus which if we understand not of the Star or Planet of Venus but of the Vniversal Nature as I have already explained it then the sense of this place of Eusebius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will be this that there was a time when those seven Titanides or Artemides that is as I interpret it the seven Planets were not but that in time they were produced by the Vniversal Nature or Demiurgique Power of the Universe and they are called Titanides because of their separation from the Tohu or of their daily emerging above the Horizon and seeming as it were to spring out of the Earth and for that other Name of Artemides though the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the common usage of the Greek Language be peculiar to Diana or the Moon yet if that Etymon of this word which I have elsewhere given be true as I do verily believe it is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is so called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because the Moon in its Passage cuts and divides the Air or Aether in so much that to sense in a Moonshiny Night it seems to make holes in the Clouds and as it were to force its Passage through them though indeed her Orb be far superior to the highest Clouds then this belongs equally to all the Planets for they do all by their Motion divide and cut the Aether in their Passage through it but because this was most plainly and sensibly the Case of the Moon and because the Region of the Clouds or the Atmosphaere through which she seems to pass is that which is most properly called the Airy Region in opposition to the pure Aether above it which is of a â—iner Consistence therefore the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the common usage of the Greek Language was more peculiarly attributed to the Moon And because I have said above concerning Venus or the Vniversally Prolifique and Architectionique Nature that the reason why she was said at sometimes to be born from the Sea and at others in an Island as likewise Jupiter and Apollo were and Priapus by the Sea-side was to signifie that Opinion which the Ancients received by Tradition that all things at first sprang out of the Waters or out of that Chaos or Primigenâ—al Mass which was overwhelmed with them This Notion may be still further confirmed by reflecting upon the Worship of Derceto or Atergatis for they are both conceived to have been the same whose Statue and Image among the Assyrians had the upper Parts of a beautiful Woman but from the Thighs downwards she had the Appearance of a larger sort of Fish for this Atergatis was no other than the Prolifique or Demiurgique Nature of the Vniverse and the Beauty of her upper Part was to denote that exquisite symmetry and proportion of the Vniverse which was of her contrivance the lower which had the resemblance of a Fish was to signifie from whence this Digestion and Separation was made which had afterwards so beautiful and lovely an Appearance viz. out of the Chaos or that Mass of Waters with which the confused Seeds and Principles of Things were Anciently and Originally over whelmed and that this Adargatis was no other than the Vniversal Nature called at other times Pan and Venus and Priapus and Proteus and Thetis and Tethys and Jupiter and Isis and if there be any other Names by which the same
places see particularly p. 191. c. why called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 169. why called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 179. p. 191 c. why ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 180. Why appeased with the Sacrifice of a white Lamb upon the Ides of every Mouth p. 182. see Juno Jupiter a Name of the Universal Nature or of the Universal Efficient Cause in Conjunction with the Material p. 204 205. Why born at Crete p. 224 225. Juno the Atmosphere or the Airy Region p. 169. v. p. 175. sometimes taken for the Moon p. 181. The Quarrels between Her and Jupiter in the Poets Physiologically solved p. 182. why called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Homer p. 198. to 202. why said to be the Wife of Jupiter p. 201. 202. Isis the Mass of Earth and Water or the passive Principle of Nature p. 204. v. p. 273. to 275. Why worshiped in the form of an Ox. p. 273. L. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what and whence p. 55 56. Linus a Name of the Sun from p. 135 to 138. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Feast in honor of Minerva Vulcan and Prometheus what it meant from p. 229 to 235. Latona a Name of the Earth p. 261 262 263. M. Mola from the Hebrew Melach Sal p. 15 16. Mezentius from the Hebrew Maas sprevit p. 27 28. Musleman Fidelis Perfectus vox Turcica unde p. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 70. v. p. 109. Minos a Name of the supream Numen the same in signification with Prometheus and the Father of Deucalion as the other was see this largely insisted upon and Objections answered and the true Etymon of Minos assigned from p. 108 to 112. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mina Minerva 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 108 109. Minerva see Neptune her Aegis or Shield or Target the same with the Body of the Sun. p. 179. why called by Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 197 198. the same with the Aetherial or Subtle Matter of the Universe ib. see also p. 231 232 233 234. see Pallas Mulciber Melec Abir the same with Vulcan and the Sun. p. 173. Mythology of Antiquity to be Physiologically explained according to the Opinion of Praetextatus iâ— Macrobius p. 178. Maranatha whence so called p. 266. N. Nox from the Hebrew Nous Fugit p. 15. Noah see Ogyges and Inachus and Deucalion Neptune the watry Substance of the Universe p. 155 156. Why called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 157 158. The Contention between him and Minerva in Apollodorus explained and Objections answered from p. 155 to 161. Neith p. 276. O. Og Ochus Agag Ogyges from p. 29 to 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 31. 35. Ogyges and Noahs Flood the same p. 33 c. Ogyges and Inachus the same with one another and with Noah p. 34. Ogygus or Ogyges why said by Cedrenus to be of the Seed of Japheth p. 44 45. see Gyges v. p. 117 118. Orpheus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Plato what p. 126 127 131. Orpheus the same with the Sun proved largely from p. 127 to 130. The Fables concerning him explained ib. and p. 138 139 140. v. p. 239 240 241. Oeager or Oeagrus the same with the Sun. p. 132 133. Oceanus whence so called p. 242. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what and whence p. 244. P. Pontifex whence p. 13 14. Pomerium what and why so called p. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 22. Proavus whence p. 24. Pignus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Paena Pawn whence p. 25. Pario Partus whence p. 27. Prometheus the supream Nature and the same with the Sun amongst the antient Greeks proved largely from p. 56 to 63. see also from p. 229 to p. 235. see Pallas v. p. 248 249. Pyrrha the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha explained and a way found out to explain many other things in the Fabulous Antiquity that lie as yet undiscover'd from p. 63 to 65. Places dedicated to the service and honor of God were used to retain their Sanctity for a long time from p. 81 to 85. Priapus a Name of the Sun whence so called p. 164. Why painted and graven with a great Pudendum Why worshiped by the Sea-side and called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Why Sacrificed to with an Ass Why said to be born at Lampsacum from p. 224 225. Pyracmion the same with the Sun. p. 172. Pan the Universal Nature p. 202. Proteus the Universal Nature in what sense p. 202 203 205. A confusion of the efficient and material Cause of the World. p. 272 273. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Primus Existens in a Fragment of Orpheus p. 205. Priapus why feigned by some to be the Son of Bachus and Venus p. 225. a Port and a City so called from the Worship of Priapus in them p. 229. Pallas see Minerva born of Jupiters Head cleft in sunder by Vulcan or Prometheus the meaning of that Fable p. 236 237. Phosphorus see Titan Paean so Titan Pandora the same with our First Mother Eve the Fable concerning her explained p. 238 239. R. Romans a Colony from the East p. 12 13. Rex unde p. 14. Resh Gabbaci p. 15. Riseffendi Turcica vox unde p. 15. Rebis vox Arabica quid p. 15. Redhostire what and whence p. 17. Ruo whence p. 25. Rakia v. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Sacrifices of Animals before the Flood from p. 1. to p. 6. see also from p. 141 to 145. Sex. unde p. 14. Suffetes vox Punica quid p. 15. Stella qu. Sterula from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 85. Steropes the same with the Sun. p. 172. Sun The Sun according to the Antients the Fountain of Vitality the Author and Sourse of Animality or Life p. 60 c. and in many other places more particularly from p. 233 to 236 c. Why worshipped in the form of a Serpent p. 259. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Firmamentum Rakiah Expansum Vulgatus interpres notatus p. 245 246. Shamta what and whence p. 266. T. Tabanus whence p. 23. Turtur from the Hebrew Tor p. 80. Tubalcain not the same with Vulcan p. 163. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Stars or lucid Bodies of an Aetherial Consistence p. 183 to p. 185. Tartarus the situation and extent of it p. 189 190. Thetis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 why so called p. 198. The Name of the Tohu or Universal material Nature p. 205 206. which is afterwards largely proved VVhy appropriated to the watery part of the Universe p. 275 276. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what p. 206. Tethys the same with Tohu or the Primigenial Mass p. 209 to 214. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what and whence so called p. 246 to 248. Titan for the Sun Astra Titania 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vapours and Exhalations The VVar betwixt the Titans and the Gods explained p. 248 to 253. Titan Hyperion Phosporus Paean Zeus all of them the same p. 258. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what p. 259. Themis why taken for the Earth p. 254 to 257. Titan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Moon p. 260. the Sun and all the Planets called by this Name p. 263 c. V. Venus whence p. 16. Victima whence p. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Name of the Sun. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Amphion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 131. see Titan. Vulcan whence so called p. 163 227. a Name of the Sun and some Fables concerning him explained from p. 163 to 167 VVhy said to be the Son of Jupiter and Juno p. 169. VVhy all VVorkmanship as well in VVood as Iron was by the Poets attributed to Vulcan p. 173 174. Arma Vulcania ib. Vulcan why made to wait at the Feast of the Gods. p. 175 176. VVhy called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 176 177. see also concerning the Lampadophoria from p. 229 to 235. see Pallas W. Water the first Principle of all things according to Thales Anaxagoras and others p. 222 c. Venus why said to be born of the spumâ— of the Sea and for that reason called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 why said by others to be born in an Island and thence called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 223 224. Z. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so Jupiter and Titan. Zoroaster whence so called p. 265. ERRATA Page 6. line 5. for sum read tum p. 25. l. 20 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 26. l. 7 r. comitio p. 33. l. 19. r. Ogyges p. 35. l. 10. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 47. l. 10. r. Dele of p. 64. l. 1. for Capius r. Lapis p. 67. l. 21. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 78. l. 12. r. so as p. 85. l. 10. r. Saros and in the Margin Hasar ib. l. 21. Adonai p. 89. l. 10. r. as a fifth and in the Margin r. Suasor 1. p. 90. in the Margin l. 1. r. so l. 8. r. that he p. 92. l. 8. r. no violent VVind p. 101. in the Margin l. 1. r. Jaiin l. 3. Jonah l. ult Bachus p. 132. in the Margin r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 132. l. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 136. in the Margin l. 3 4. Bellerophon l. ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 138. l. 17. r. at others l. 27. r. so this p. 142. l. 13. r. it depended p. 143. l. 9. r. rectangular l. ult r. are not to be heard p. 14. l. 2. for least r. less l. 22. r. Minervae p. 148. l. 26. r. this antient p. 158. l. 14. r. and she p. 203. l. 14. r. who that in the Margin ib. r. of the same c. p 264. l. 24. Dele of Other Errata there are and some of these of litâ—â—e consequence which are left to the correction of judicious Readers