Chap II
The Original of Religions
The religion religion most ancient and most generally received
religion of the heathens by the nations in the first ages was that of worshipping
the Pyrethæa Prytanea or Vestal Temples. This was spread over
all nations until the first memory of things. Cecrops
began his reign over
Israel yethe Israelites came out of Egypt & before that time his reign
the Greeks had Pyrethæa Prytanea in all their cities as you may
understand out of Thucydi by yethe passages newly cited out of
Thucydides Halicarnasseus & Plutarch. There was one Pryrethræumæum in y every city
placed in yethe principal part of yethe city in wchwhich yethe Co And this And in the Prytaneum
was yethe Court in wchwhich where the Council or Senate of yethe city
met. For it was yethe office of yethe Chief Magistrate had
the charge of performed yethe holy rites. as the Sanedrim did in the Temple of the Iews. ffor the performance of
holy rites belonged to yethe chief Magistrates of yethe City & the King was Pontifex maximus as appears by the instances of Melchizedeck, Abraham, Ninus, the Kings of Egypt & Athens & yethe Roman Emperors
The like custome was in the cities of Italy be
fore yethe founding of Rome as you have heard above.
Dionysius Dionysius Halicarnasseus tells us that tthat that yethe ancestors of Romulus brought the fire vestal frōom Troy wchwhich was destroyed above 400 years before yethe building of Rome, & then he adds .. Publici foci ædem solent omnes in potissima urbis
parte statuere – Romulus per singulas curias focum
dicavit ubi curiales rem divinam facerent, eisqꝫque sacris
præfecit curiones iuxta morem qui adhuc servatur in
antiquissimis Græcorum urbibus. In his enim prytanæa
sunt quæ vocantur sacrata sunt et ad summum
magistratum cura eorum pertinet. Dionys. Halicarn. l. 2.
The worshipping of Images came into Italy after
the reign of Numa, that of Vesta was in use long
before for Dionysius Halicarnasseus tells us ytthat yethe Latines had an old Vestal Temple
at Alba long before yethe founding of Rome & that above
400 years before: Nor was this the Ancestors of Ro
mulus brought the sacred fire from Troy. And even long
before this the Vestal fire was used in yethe cities of Italy. For Myrsilus LesbiusLesbius lib. de Orig. Italiæ & Tyrrhenorum. tells how the Tyrrheni
the times of yethe golden age & then adds. Producunt quoqꝫque
suæ vetustatis vestigia multa ut Deus ritus mores,
literas, leges. Quæ profecto omnia congruunt his quæ
probatiores Græci historici scribunt tradunt. Scribunt enim2 enim solos Tyrrhenos in Italia vetustissimos esse qui neqꝫque
ab alijs pendent origine, neqꝫque ut cæteri, convenæ et advenæ,
sed propria regione esse oriundos quando quidem vetustissimis
differunt Dijs & moribus, nedum ab alijs Italiæ populis sed
proximis Phaliscis a tergo, quos intermedij jacent. Nam
cunctis Tuscis Dij Deæqꝫque sunt Iupiter & Iuno: soli Tyr
rheni colunt Ianum et Vestam quos lingua sua vocant
Ianum Vadymona et Labith Horchiam. Ipsi quoqꝫque Roma
ni fatentur Hetruscos esse vetustissimos & aureo sæculo
natos a quibus aras, ritus, divinationes, colonias & disci
plinas habuit prisca Italia, ut initio sumpto a prima
eorum tetrapoli Hetruria
cos cognominant. So then the Hetrusci were the first
who peopled Italy & from in from the beginning they propagated
wthwith their colonies the religion of the religion of yethe Vestal fire. In like
manner the Egyptians seem to have used this worship
from yethe beginning. Infinitum And that the Latines with all Italy received not this religion from Troy but had it originally from yethe Hetr. I gather also from hence that in all their sacrifices when the sacrifice was ready aa Serv. Æn lib 1 v.292 Ovid Marob. Saturn. l 1. c. 9. Ovid. Fast lib 1. v. 140 & l. 6 v. 308. the Priest laying his hands upon the altar rehearsed certain prayers ‡ ‡ unto the God Ianus and the Goddess vVesta because the Romans were per
swaded that wthwithout their intercession they might not have access to
the other Gods. This distinction conjunction of Ianus & Vesta & distinction of them
from the adventitious Gods shews that these two were the native ones.
In Ianus their fath common father its probable they worshipped their common father as the supreme
God (Ιαω-Noah, or Iah-No) in Vesta the frame of Nature. [ffor
Ianus has all the characters of Noah & though Saturn be made contemporary
to Ianus yet whilst yethe first first ancient inhabitants of Italy did not worship Saturn with Ianus
him, I conclude that he and Saturn were but two names of Noah split into two
persons after ytthat his worship by the name of Ianus was established. ffor had they been two men
they would have been both worshipped apart distinctly distinctly severally & alike.] And
Dionysius Halicarnasseus reports that yethe ancient Italians sacrificed men to Saturn till Hercules
(who was older than Æneas) came into Italy & abolished yethe custome & instituted th yethe con
secration of the pure fruits of sacrifices in a pure fire. And that he might not seem to abolish their religi
on he instituted ordeined that they sacrificed yethe statues of men after the very same manner
that they sacrificed men before. The Priests therefore & Vestal Virgins who keep the sacred fire &
the Pretors and citizens after when the
as they did men before. Thus far Dionysius. So then these sacrifices with the Vestal fire were in use from the days of Hercules with images of men, & before with reall men.
In like manner the Egyptians seem to have
used this worship from yethe beginning. Infinitum plane
videtur fluxisse tempus ex quo genus hominum longe
sapientissimum, ut loquitur Theophrastus, & sanctissi
mam illam a Nilo conditam regionem incolens, ἐ᾽
ἑστίας ad ignem vestalem sacra Dijs cœlestibus facere
cœpit – Nam Dijs etiam ignem conservabant suis in
templis immortalem quod ijsdem simillimus esse vi
deretur. Hæc Theophrastus adpud Euseb. Præp. Evang. l. 1. c. 9. And to the same purpose aa Apud Euseb. Præp. Evang. l. 3. c. 4. Porphyrius. Aquam autem [Ægyptij] et ignem elementorum optima [Ægyptij] divinis honoribus tanquam præcipuas salutis nostræ causas prosequuntur. Atque hæc in ipsis quoqꝫque templis ostendunt, cum in sacra Serapidis æde reseranda solemnis expiationis ritus igne simul et aqua in hodiernum usqꝫque diem peragi consueverint ipso nimirum Præcentore aquam libantes ignemqꝫque præferente dum ad Templi vestibulum patria Ægyptiorum lingua Deum exuscitat. The same custome ✝ ✝ The same custome obteined in Lybia. For Iarbas son king of the Getuli neare when Carthage was newly built,
Templa Iovi centrum latis immania regnis et Iovi
Centum aras posuit, vigilemqꝫque sacraverat ignem
Excubias divûm æternas: as Virgil sings.Ænid. l 4. vers. 200.
And Silius writesSil. lib. 3. that there was a perpetual fire kept in yethe temple of Hercules at Gades.
So interpreters by yethe Chamanim of ytthat c wchwhich God threatened to destroy out of Israel Levit. 26.30, understand the pyrethæa prytanea of yethe eastern neighbouring nations wchwhich the Israelites should introduce into Iudæa their Land, & therefore theese Pryrethæaytanea were used in yethe Cities of Canaan & Syria before dthe days of Moses. These Pyrethæa tThe Eastern nations used to place them on the tops of mountains & therencefore they are in scripture frequently called high places. ✝ When Abraham – – – When Abraham came staid & dwelt into any place its said he built an altear there unto the Lord & when Isaac buidwelt an altar at Beersheba he built an altar there. The meaning is that they made a Prytaneum for the worship of their family. For when Iacob went & dwelt at Bethel he not only built an altar there but dedicated the tenth of all he had to yethe service of God. And therefore that altar was to his family what a temple was afterwards to a City. So when we find several altars at once in Israel as ther in Samuels days when there was one at Mizpeh, another at Gilgal, another at Bethlehem, another at Ramah, wchwhich was built by Samuel, another in Gibsah wchwhich was built by Saul & continued till Solomon's reign & is called a great high place: it is to be understood that these altars so long as a fire was kept burning on them (wchwhich seems to have been till the captivity of the ten tribes) were of yethe same nature wthwith the Prytanea of other nations. And of the same kind were the high places built by wchwhich Solomon built to Ashteroth & Milcom & Chemosh & Molech & the rest of his fals Gods for all his wives wchwhich burnt incense & sacrificed unto their Gods. I do not say that they kept the fire constantly upon the alteraltar, but where they did not they kept it in some new sacred place neare the altar whence they carried it to the altar as often as they would sacrifice.
The Chaldeans & Assyrians & Chaldeans had a notion that these Prryethræatanea were used in their nations from yethe beginning being derived from Noah & Nimrod. For HestiæusHest. apud Iosephum Antiq. l. 1. c. 5. makes them refer it to yethe age of Noah. ffor they Aiunt Sacerdotes, cladis ejus [i.e Dilmij qua Turris Babylonica eversa fuit et gentes dispersæ] superstites, Enyelij Iovis sacra ferentes in Senaar Babyloniæ pervenisse. x And so And x And the Chronicon Alexandrinum makes Nimrod yethe author of it among yethe Assyrians. derives it from to them from Nimrod. Nemrodo cognomen Nini imposuerunt. Hic pro Deo ignem coli docuit. Hestiæus scripta apud Iosephum Antiq aa lib. 1. de Claud. Stilic. Claudian tells us telling us how a league was made after yethe manner of the Babylonians, saith saith.
Thuris adoratæ cumulis et messe Sabæa
Pacem conciliant aræ, Penitralibus Ignem
Sacratum rapuere adytis, rituqꝫque juvencos
Chaldæo stravere Magi. Rex ipse nutantem
Inclinat dextra pateram, secretaqꝫque Beli
Et vaga testatur volventem sidera Mithram
✝✝ Isid. l. 14 Origin. c. 3. Isidorus reports writes that Nimrod toughttaught yethe Per after yethe confusion of languages toughttaught yethe Persians to worship yethe fire, & much more did he teach Colophonius the Phœnician used this worship stirring yethe floods of yethe Persians Colophonius the Phœnician PoetColophonius apud Athenæum l. 12 reprehends Ninos because he did not according to the law at his initiation that stir this fire with rods to nourish & kindle it
Ὀυ παρὰ Μάγοισι Πυρ ἱερὸν ἀνέστησε,
Ὥσπερ νόμος, ῾ράβδοισι του θεου ψαύων
Certainly Abraham when he went three days journey with Isaac his son carried fire wthwith him for yethe offering sacrifice & therefore kept yethe sacred fire wthwith in his family for sacrificing & by consequence brought it wthwith him from Vr of the Chaldees. So then yethe perpetual fire instituted by Moses in the Tabernacle I well might say that yethe Iews are in yethe right when they understand this fire was no new thing. By Nergal the God of the Cuthæ or inhabitants of Susiana is usually understood the fire of their Prytanea. And where aa lib. 1. c 26. Pliny mentions the Orchæni as the third doctrine of the Chaldæans # ffrom ור comes fire comes Horchia the old Hetruscan name of Vesta & Orchoeni the Vestal Chaldæan name of yethe Vestal Priests oriental name of the Vestal Chaldæans. For the Hetruscan language (as ee Vossius de Orig. Idolo. l. 2. c. 57. p. 622. Vossius notes) borrowed almost all the sacred names of sacred things from the Syrians. the name borrowed from ור fire shews that it consisted in the usage of ceremonies & management of the sacred fire. The Iews have take Vr for of yethe Chaldees from whence Abraham fled to be this very fire, as if Abraham fled from from the Chaldeans to avoyd yethe Cha Chaldean their worship .of this fire of their Pyrethæa I will not say that they are in yethe right but I theiris tradition is true but it shews at least that the use of this fire among these nations was according to their tradition of yethe Iews very ancient. Certainly Abraham when he went three days journey to sacrifice his son, carried fire with him for yethe sacrifice & therefore kept yethe a sacred fire in his family for sacrificing & by consequence brought it wthwith him from Vr of the Chaldees For whenever he built an staid in any place he built an altar there. So then the cause perpetual sac fire institu appointed by Moses in the Tabernacle & Temple instituted by Moses was no new thing of the Iews, & yethe interdicting yethe use of strange fire there was no new thing.
That the Persians worshipped yethe kept worshipped in in Pyrethæa is so well known that I need say nothing of it. Persæ saith P Persæ, saith Strabo,Strabo. l 15. p 732, 733 nec statuas nec aras erigunt, sacrificant in loco excelso. Cœlum Iovem putant. Colunt Solem quem Mithram putant. – In Cappadocia (etenim maxima est ibi magorum multitudo qui Pyrethi vocantur & multa Persicorum Deorum templa) non cultro sed stipite quodam sacrificia mactant, tanquam malleo verberantes. Sunt autem Pyrethæa septa quædam ingentia in quorum medio aræ ara est. In ea Magi & cinerem multum & ignem perennem servant, & eò quotidie ingressi, imprecationes faciunt per horam ante ignem, virgarum fasciculum tenentes. Ista nos vidimus.
And Theodoret. l. 5. Hist. eccl. c. 39. The temples consecrated to fire are by the Persians called Pyræa. ffor they account fire to be God. And Lucian (in Iove Tragado) that yethePersians sacrifice to fire.
And Suidas, that Heraclitus ruined the cities & overthrew the Prytaneayræa of the Persians. Thus far Strabo. Herodotus saith they had neither statues nor Temples, that is no other Temples then these open pyrethæa. By this simplicity of their worship & by their not receiving the worship of Images nor the Gods of the Assyrians & other neighbouring nations, I conclude that they received not their Pyrethæa from yethe Assyrians but had them from the beginning in their several cities. And yethe same thing is to be understood of yethe Medes for Clemens Alexandrinus joyns them wthwith yethe Persians in this worship.
The same wpworship was used anciently also by the Medes the Macedonians & other Sarmatic nations more Northern nations. So Clemens.Clemens in Protreptice p 43 Persarum autem ignem Magi ignem coluerunt et multi ex ijs qui Asiam incolunt. Quinetiam Macedones ut ait Diogenes in primo Persicorum. Ne Sauromatis recenseum, quos refert Nymphodorus in libro de legibus Barbaricis ignem colere, aut Persas aut Medos3 Medos aut Magos. Hos autem dicit Dinon sacrificare sola Deorum simulachræ retentes Amongst these Sarmatick nations yethe Goths are to be recconed. For Diodorus Apud Getas Zamolxis τὴν κοινὴν Ηστιαν communem Vestam legum auctorem suarum finxisse perhibetur aa Diod. l. 1. p. 84. Edit Hanoviæ 1604.. So Diodorus tells us. In England He calls her κοινὴν in opposition to the private Vestal temples in the several δημοι So bb in Melpom Herodotus of the Scythians: Deos autem Solos hos acant Vestam quidem præcipue, postea Iovem ac Tellurem Tellurem Iovis uxorem existimantes.
In England neare Salisbury there is a piece of antiquity called Stonehenge, of made of very great stones & called Sto called Stonehenge, compassed wthwith two rows of very great stones) Tis an area compassed wthwith two rows of very great stones & seems to be an ancient Pyrethæum. Tis said there are two or three some pieces of antiquity of yethe same form & structure in Denmark. In Ireland one of these fires was conserved by yethe Moncks of Kildare under the name of Brigets fire till of late years & yethe Cænobium was called the house of fire. Silius tells us that tans. for they had yethe The same worship was in use also among yethe Tartars as William de Rubruquis & Iohn Plancarpinius inform us.Rubruq. cap. 3. Plancarp. cap. 3. And the aa Vide Rog. Ian. reserat. p. 69, 72. & in nuptijs p. 95 & 474 Indians still keep this sacred fire & call it Homan. And bb Vide Vossium Orig. Idol. l. 2. c. 64. Benjamin Tudensis found this fire worshipped in in Chenerag certain Islands of yethe East Indies called wchwhich Benjamin Tudensis he calls Chenerag. The nations worshipped this fire yethe same fire b as Benjamin relates And travellors relate the same thing of China.
✝ In England neare Salisbury there is a piece of antiquity called Stonehenge wchwhich seems to be an ancient Pyrethæarytanæum. For it is an area compassed wthwith two circular row circularly wthwith two rows of very great stones & seems to be an ancient Pyræum wthwith passages on all sides for people to go in and out at. Tis said th that there are some pieces of antiquity of the same kind form & structure in Denmark. For its to be conceived that the Vestal Temples of all nations as well as of the Medes & Persians were at first nothing more then open round areas wthwith a fire in yethe middle, till towns & cities united under one city & common councils & built them more sumptuously. In Ireland one of these fires was conserved till of late years by the Moncks of Kildare under yethe name of Brigets fire & yethe Cænobium was called the house of fire. The same worship was in use also till among the Tartars, as William de Rubruquis & Iohn Plancarpinius inform us.Rubruq. cap. 3 Plancarp. cap. 3 And yethe tt Vide Rog. Ian. reserat. p. 69, 72. & in nuptijs p 85, 474. Indians still keep this sacred fire & call it Homan. vv Vide Vossium Orig. Idol. l. 2. c 64. Benjamin Tudensis found the s thise same fire worshipped by in yethe certain Ilslands of yethe East Indies wchwhich he calls Chener Chenerag. And travellours report the same thing of China ‡ ‡ And travellors report the same thing of China. And bb apud Euseb. Prep. Evang. l. 6. c. 10 p 274d & 275a. Bardasanes the a Syrian who lived in the reign of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, writes that amongst the Seres (or inhabitants of China) the worship of Images was then prohibited by a law & that in all that very large region there was not a Temple to be seen. Whence I seem to gather that the Chineses till those days had only open Prytanea without houses such as were in use among the Medes or Persians. And the same seems to be true of the Bactri old & ancintancient Indians & Bactrians. For the same c c ib. Bardasanes tells us that that though some Indians worshipped Idols & were vicious yet the Brachmans who were th very numerous in India & Bactria absteined from yethe worship of Idols & lived virtuously προσέχοντες τω θεω. Some tell us that Zoroaster from whome the Persians had their sacra, was king of Bactria & for this assertion there could have been no pretence had not the old religion of yethe Brachmans been yethe same wthwith that of yethe Persians.
And in general the the worsh Vestal worship was of old so common and universal that aa Diodor. l. 4. p. 336. it was part of the ancient Theology of the ancient inhabitantinhabitants of the Island Crete that Vesta found out the building of houses & for this benefit almost all men placed her in their houses & vouchsafed her honours & sacrifices. And indeed it seems to me that Temples in all nations had their original from yethe Prytaneaanea. For when several citi cities uniting under one common council let their proper fires go out: their Temples still continuing seem to have given a beginning to such Temples as were wthwithout a fire. And therefore the Medes & Persians who united wthwithout a common standing Council T temples in other nations had their original fire Prytanea. For had no other Temples ynthan the Prytanea. So then this religion of conserving a sacred fire for yethe use of Sacrifices seems to have been as well the most universal as yethe most ancient of all religions & to have spread into all nations before other religions took place. There are many instances of other nations receiving this other religions after this but none (that I know) of any nations receiving this after any other Nor did any other religion wchwhich sprang up later become so general as this. See yethe backside. And tho divers fals others sprang up after it yet this f kept the precedency as an argument mark of its primogeniture & birthright. ffor bb lib. 17 Strabo tells us that when yethe Persians sacrificed to any God they first prayed to the fire. And Servius in illud 1 Æn. Cana Fides et Vesta: Vestam religionem dicit, quia nullum sacrificium sine igne est, ipsaqꝫque in omnibus invocantur, & aa Oratione de Haruspicum responsis Tully: Quod sacrificium tam vetustum quam hoc [Vestalium] quod a Regibus æquale huic urbi accepimus? And cc lib. 2 Aristocritus: that Of all things which were sacrificed the first fruits were offered to Vesta, & this by yethe concession he represents was granted her ofby Iupiter in the silver age, so that it was yethe law of Nations. Whence that of dd in Vespis Aristophenes
ἀλλ᾽ ἱνα
Ἀφ᾽ Ἑστίας ἁρχόμενος ἐπιτρίψω τινά
A Vesta incipiens ut contundam quempiam.
So bb in Melpomene Herodotus tells us of the Scythians that they worship first Vesta & then Iupiter & yethe other Gods. And hence And hence I gather these things.
ffirst that this was the religion was of Noah & from him spread into all nations at yethe first peopling of the earth. For when so soon as Noah used sacrifices by fire Gen. came out of yethe Ark he4 he built an altar & offered burtburnt offerings of all the every clean Beasts & fowls every clean ffowl unto yethe Lord. Gen. 8 & therefore yethe religion of sacrificing by fire was in use before yethe flood. ffor it seems to have been yethe religion of Cain & Abel when they offered the first fruits of their corn & heards, & therefore to have been the religion instituted by God in the beginning. And as they distinguished beasts & ffowls into clean & unclean that is into such as were consecrated or set apart for sacrifices & into others wchwhich were rejected as an abomination: so 'tis reasonable to beleive that they sacrificed also wthwith a consecrated fire & in a consecrated place, & accounted it as abomi irreligious to use sacrifice wthwith strange or prophane fire as to sacrifice an unclean Beast. And therefore as Noah when he went into yethe Arck provided for sacrifices by taking in wthwith him a greater number of Clean Beasts & clean ffowls than of unclean ones: so no doubt for yethe same end he took in wthwith him also yethe sacred fire wthwith wchwhich he was to offer them. And afterwards as aa See above Noah & his sons carried wthwith theirm yethe sacred fire & from thence from yethe Mountain Ararat Tower of Babylon into yethe land of Shinar as was mentioned above, & Abraham carried it wthwith him to offer Isaac & Æneas carried it wthwith him from Troy & the ancient Kings of Greece & Persia bb Quintus Curtius l. 3. p. Alexander ab Alexandro l. 1. c. 37. Ammian. Marcelin lib. 23, p. carried it along wthwith them into the field when they went to make war: so the sons of Noah when they went from him into their several countries took this fire along wthwith them, the sacred fire & each of their several families & the like was done by their sons & grandsons as oft as they went wthwith their families to live at any considerable distance from one another in a distinct gover polity. & that And by by this means I conceive it came to pass ytthat the sacred fire at yethe first plantation of yethe earth was to be found in every City, as an essential part of the government. ffor in yethe first ages when yethe whole world was distinguished into as many kingdoms as cities, I understand not how this religion could one and the same religion could so soon spread into them all had it not been propagated wthwith mankind in yethe beginning. The Mahometan religion was sp tho spread by conquest is not yet grown so universal, the Christian tho spread by yethe divine assistance & at length backt by yethe Roman Empire is less general universal then yethe Mahometan. The scrificingsacrificing by a sacred fire would be now more hard to propagate then these & yet was spread wthwithout conquest into all yethe world wthwithout conquest so early ytthat there is no memory of its original in any kingdom nation, notwithstanding that yethe world then consisted of as many kingdoms as cities, wchwhich must make a new religion very hard to be spread. By what name the first. ♁
Secondly I gather that yethe sacrificing clean birds & beasts by a consecrated fire in a consecrated place was yethe true religion till yethe nations corrupted it. For it was yethe religion of Noah, & tis not to be doubted but that yethe religion wchwhich Noah propagated down to his posterity was the true religion. According to yethe5 yethe first constitution of things, every Pr yethe Father of every family did yethe office of yethe Priest. No doubt When Noah & his three sons came out of yethe Ark, no doubt it was Noah ytthat sacrificed. Abraham was Priest as well as Prince. ffor he built an AlterAltar, laid yethe wood went alone to sacrifice Isaac & took yethe knife to do it Gen. 22.5. Melchisedeck was both king of Salem & Priest of the high most high God, that is, according to yethe received religion received from Noah & still till then conserved pure in some of yethe cities kingdoms of Canaan. And according to yethe same religion the care of yethe Pyræa Prytanea in yethe cities of Greece belonged in yethe first an first ages to yethe chief magistrate of yethe city as you heard above, & therefore the Court in which the Elders of yethe City sat in Council was in yethe Pyræum Prytanæum. And hence it was that yethe Roman Emperors were Pontifices maximsmaximi & in Egypt where all the people were divided into three sorts, the Priests, the Soldiers & artificers, the Priests were the nobility & if one of the military order was made king he was presently instructed & initiated by the Priests in their sacra. So also when Christ is called a Priest after yethe order of Melchisedeck yethe sense is that he is a Priest of a higher order then was Aaron, that is a King as well as a Priest. By what name &c. See yethe page above sheet above See yethe next sheet. By what name the first nations called yethe God of nature is uncertain. No doubt they had names for him, & as yethe Platonists from his nature called him ὁ ὤν so they might call him by names of like signification in their language, ffor wchwhich I rather think that yethe names ἰαω, & such such as were Iah & Iehova among the Iews ffor I rather think that his name Iuba or ιουβα amongst amonst the ancient Carthaginians Mauri Moores, Iovis or Ιου-piter among yethe Latines & Phrygians, ἰαὼ & ιαοὺ among yethe Greeks ἰα Χους among the Arabians or Chaldeans & Ιευὼ among the Phœnicians ‡ ‡ & ἰα or ἰαὼ or ἰουὰ (if Ἰακχος & Bacchus may come from ἰαὼ Chus & ἰουὰ Chus) as Dionysus does from D Διὸ-Nysus) ἰὰ, or ἰαὼ or ἰουὰ among the eastern more eastern nations, And so also might some names taken from his might be brrowedborrowed &c & ἰα or ἰαὼ (if Ιακχος come from ιαω-Χους) among the Arabians & Chaldeans, might be borrowed as well from yethe Noah & his sons as from Moses (at least by some of the nations) as from Moses: especially since Noah calls God by this name Gen. 9.26. And so also might some names taken from his power & dominion, as those of Lord & King Creator, ffather, Lord & King be given him in yethe firs before the flood.
Thirdly I gather from hence ytthat the religion wchwhich Moses propagated down to his posterity taught yethe Iews was the true religion no other then yethe religion of Noah purged from the superstitio corruptions of yethe nations. ffor Dr Spencer has shewn ytthat Moses retained all yethe religion of yethe Egyptians concerning yethe worship of yethe true God; & rejected only what belonged to yethe worship of their fals Gods Osyris, Isis the Sun Planets & Elements, Isis Iupiter Hammon, Osyris, Isis, Orus & yethe & yethe rest, & that yethe Iewish worship of Mosaical religion concerning yethe true God conteins little else besides what was then in use amongst the nations Egyptians. And if so, then its' certain that yethe old religion of the Egyptians was yethe true religion & retained tho corrupted before the age of Moses by the mixture of the worship of fals Gods wthwith that of yethe true one: & by consequence yethe religion of yethe Iews was no other then that of Noah propagated down in Egypt till yethe age of Moses. And that this is so appears further by yethe consent of yethe religions ffor both consisted in of Noah and Moses. For in both there was kept a perpetual sacred fire in a consecrated place for sacrifices. And as And as there was but one fire Pyræum Prytaneum or Temple in The yethe kingdom of yethe Iews so in the first kingdoms of the Nations so there was but one fire in a kingdom. When the first heathens every city was a kingdom there was a fire Pyræum Prytaneum in every City. When many cities united under one common council & thereby grew into one kingdom, there was a Pyræum in yethe chief City where yethe Council met a Prytaneum of a nobler structure common to all yethe cities & yethe private Pryræumtanea in time grew out of use. Thus it happened in Greece, Italy, Egypt & perhaps in divers other countrys: but where the cities grew in one kingdome under a king without a common council & by consequence wthwithout a commōon Pyræūum there the Pyræa continued in their several cities, & this was the case of the kingdome of the Medes & Persians. The distinction of birds & beasts into clean & unclean & appointing only yethe first for sacrifices & prohibiting the eating blood & things strangled was as old as Noah, & the offering the first-born of the flocks & the first fruits of yethe ground & prohibiting the eating blood & things strangled was as old as Cain & Abel. ‡ ‡ & continued in the Prytanea. ffor in all sacrifices the first fruits there was nothing eat or drunk whether Beasts fruits or wines aa Plin. l. 18. c. 2 till the Priests had offered the primiæ or first fruits & those were all offered to Vesta. Nothing was sacrificed to any God No bb Homerus in Hymno feast was celebrated where they did not first offer wine to Vesta. No sacrifice was made to any God where Vesta the primitiæ were not offered to her. And therefore they feign that this law was made at her request by Iupiter in the silver age. When the Titans, saith cc apud Natalem Comit. l. 8. c. 19 Aristocritus, were ejected & Iupiter took yethe kingdom, he granted Vesta her request of having what she would. She first requested first virginity & then that men should offer to her yethe first fruits of all things wchwhich were sacrificed. And so it was thenceforth made a law in sacred things that of all things wchwhich were offered sacrificed they should first offer the firsfirst fruits to Vesta. The meaning is that Iupiter Belus then set apart yethe first fruits to yethe Vestal fire, as dd Fast. l. 3. prope finem. Ovid thus sings
Ante tuos ortus aræ sine honore fuerunt
Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis #
# Te memorant, Gange totoqꝫque Oriente subacto,
Primitias magno reposuisse Iovi.
Cinnama tu primus, captivaqꝫque thura dedisti,
Deqꝫque triumphato viscera tosta bove.
Nomine ab autoris ducunt libamina nomen;
Libaqꝫque, quod sanctis pars datur inde focis. The use of salt
The use of salt in all sacrifices as it was commanded by Moses (Levit. 2.13.) so it use was generally used by yethe heathens. For Pythagoras in Symbolis tells us that salt enjoyn præscribes that salt be used in all sacrifices & oblations & Numa an hundred years before instituted this rite according to yethe doctrine of yethe Hetruscans. aAnd Pliny lib. 31 cap.7 testifies this practice. Maxime autem in sacris intelligitur salis authoritas quando nulla conficiuntur sine mola salsa. And Plato in Timæo that salt according to yethe law of yethe divine worship is a sacrum very grateful to yethe Gods: whence he calls it θεοφιλὲς σωμα & thence also Homer calls it divine. The erecting altars of unhewn stones seems to be conserved by Moses in memory of6 of yethe first Altars, when yethe use of iron was not yet known to shape them. Such Altars once consecrated no doubt continued in use long after the working of iron was known & thereby became a president. The ancient nations built the aa See Schedius de Dijs Germanis cap 30. & Natalis Comes front of their Temples toward yethe East & therefore Moses in doing so followed their example retained yethe religion of his ancestors. The placing yethe fire in the common center of the court Priests Court & of yethe outward court or court of yethe people I speak of Ezekiel in the Tabernacle & in Solomons Temple [& the framing yethe Tabernacle & Temple so as to make it a symbol of the world] is a part of also of yethe religion wchwhich yethe nations received from Noach. ffor they placed yethe fire in yethe middle of yethe Pyr Pyrethæa Prytanea. The paying of tenths to the Priests was the also yethe religion of the nations before the days of Moses. ffor Abraham did it to Melchizedeck & Iacob did it at Bethel & there are ✝✝ Vide Droughteium in Analectis sacris ad Gen XIV.20, [a Clerico citatis p. 9.] et Goodwini Arch. Attic. l. 2. c. 9. p. 59, 60. Euseb. Præp. Evang. l. 4. c. 16. p. 159. Macrob. Saturn. l. 3. c. 1 Clemens Alexand. Strom. l. 1. p. 349a Dionys Halicarn. l. 1 p 8, 18. Diodor l. 4 p 228. instances of its being done by yethe Heathens to Iupiter, Apollo & Hercules. And lastly as the Tabernacle was contrived by Moses to be a symbol of yethe heavens (as StSaint Paul & Iosephus teach,) so were yethe Prytanæa amongst yethe nations. And as the Tabernacle was a symbol of the heavens, so were the Prytanæa of yethe Nations amongst yethe nations. The whole heavens they recconed to yethebe yethe true & real Temple of God & therefore that a Prytanæum might deserve yethe name of his Temple they formed it according to yethe contrived it so framed it so as most fitly to as that it might in the fittest manner to represent the whole systeme of the heavens. A point of religion then wchwhich nothing can be more rational. Vniversus mundus Dei templum vocatur a Cicerone propter illos qui æstimant nihil aliud esse Deum nisi cœlum ipsum. Quicquid humano subjicitur aspectui templum ejus vocavit qui sola mente concipitur, ut qui hæc veneratur ut templa, cultum tamen maximum debeat conditori, sciatqꝫque quisquis in usum templi hujus inducitur ritu sibi vivendum sacerdotis. Macrob. l. 1 c. 14. From this comparison the center fire in the center of middle of yethe Prytaneum was taken for a symbol of yethe center of yethe world, & thence yethe generality of yethe Latines took Vesta for yethe earth So Dionysius Halicarnassaarnasseus l 2 Antiq. Dionys. Halyc. l. 2. Antiq Vestæ autem dicatum esse Ignem putant quod cum Dea hæc sit Terra mediumqꝫque teneat mundi locum, ignes illos in sublimi ex sese accendat. But Numa, who instituted yethe Vestal Temple of Vesta those who placed yethe Sun in yethe center & particularly Numa & the Persian magi made this fire a symbol of the Sun. So Florus:Florus cap. 2 Imprimis [Numa] focum Vestæ virginibus colendum dedit ut ad simulachrum cœlestium siderum custos imperij flamma vigilaret. And Plutarch:Plutarch in Numa. Ferunt Numam ædem Vestæ sacro igni orbicularem circumjecisse ut ibi asservaretur, adumbrans non effigiem terræ sed quasi ea Vesta sit sed universi mundi cujus in medio ignis sedem locant Pythagorei eamqꝫque Vestam nominant & unitatem. Terram vero non putant immobilem neqꝫque mediam orbis regionem tenere sed esse in gyrum circa ignem suspensam. Plutarch mentions also this sanction 7 sanction of Numa. Circumagas te dum Deos adoras, sedeas cum adoraveris, & then subjoyns Conversio adorantium simulachrum orbis mundi dicitur. so Pliny.b. l. 28. c. 1 In adorando dextram ad osculum referrimus totumqꝫque corpus circumagimus, quod in lævum fuisse Galli religiosius credunt. Which is as much as, He who ador worships, by turning about, becomes a symbol of yethe earth. Whence yethe Greeks called a man Microcosmus And this the Greeks intimated by also signified by calling a man Microcosmus Whence yethe Greeks called a man microcosmus. So then twas one designe of the true sy The same custome is mentioned also by bb. Nat. Hist. l. 28 c. 1. Pliny. In adorando dextram ad osculum referimus totumqꝫque corpus circumagimus, quod in lævum fuisse Galli rectius credunt.
So then twas one designe of yethe true systeme of yethe first institution of yethe true religion to propose to mankind by yethe frame of yethe ancient Temples, the study of the frame of the world as the true Temple of yethe living great God they worshipped. And therefore the Priests ought above all men to be w thence it was ytthat yethe Priests anciently were above other men well skilled in yethe knowledge of yethe true frame of Nature & accounted it a great part of their Theology. Amongst yethe Persians yethe Priests were yethe Magi or wise men: amongst yethe Babylonians yethe Priests were yethe Chaldæans skilled in Astronomy & all sorts of their learning of that nation & when yethe Greeks travelled into Egypt to learn Astronomy & Philosophy they went to yethe Priests. S The learning of yethe Indians lay in yethe Brachmans who were their Priests, that of yethe Persians in yethe Magi who were their Priests, that of yethe Babylonians in yethe Chaldeans who were their Priests. & They studied nature & the stars very studied much the Astronomy & Nature very much And if when yethe Greeks travelled into Egypt for to learn astronomy & philosophy they went to yethe Priests. And what there was of yethe true knowledge of Nature amongst yethe Greeks lay chiefly in yethe brest of some of their Priests In mysterijs Græcis, saith Clemens,Clemens Strom l. 5. p 582 primo loco sunt expiationes, ut et lavacrum apud exteros: post has sunt mysteria parva, quæ fundamentum habent aliquod habent doctrinæ et præparationis ad futura. Magna autem mysteria sunt versantur circa universum. Non amplius dicendūum est sed inspicienda et animo comprehendenda rerum natura. And so Seneca: Seneca Ep. 90Eleusinia initiamenta sunt per quæ non municipale sacrum sed ingens omnium Deorum templum, Mundus iste reseratur: Cujus vera simulachra verasqꝫque facies cernendas mentibus protulit. Nam ad spectacula tam magna habes est visus est. So then the first religion was the most rational of all others till the nations corrupted it. ffor there is no way (wthwithout revelation) to come to yethe knowledge of a Deity but by the frame of Nature. 8
Now the corruption of this religion I take to have been after this manner. ffirst yethe frame of yethe heavens consisting of Sun Moon & Stars being represented by in the Prytanæa as yethe real temple of the Deity men were led by degrees to pay a veneration to these sensible objects & began at length to worship them as the visible seats of divinity. ffor tis agreed that Idolatry began in yethe worship of the heavenly bodies And because yethe sacred fire was a type of yethe Sun & all the elements are parts of that universe wchwhich is yethe temple of God they soon began to have these also in veneration. For tis agreed that Idolatry began in yethe worship of yethe heavenly bodies & elements. This aa Euseb. Præp. Evang. l. 1. c. 6. & c 9. & l. 3. c. 4 Eusebius tells us out of the Phœnician & other records & Porphyry confirms it, & the bb Wisdom c. 13. v. 1, 2 book of wisdom confirms it. Surely saith he vain are all men by nature & could not out of yethe good things that are seen know him that is, neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the workmaster: but deemed either fire or wind or the swift air or yethe circle of yethe heavens stars or yethe violent water or the lights of heaven to be the Gods wchwhich Govern the world. And hence Moses interdicts yethe bb Iob. 31.26. worship of yethe Sun moon & stars & Iob when he would purge himself from idolatry, saith. If I beheld yethe Sun when it shined or yethe Moon walking in brightness: & my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: this also were an iniquity to be punished by the Iudge for I should have denyed mythe god that is above. Now thise kind of worship of these bodies being more plausible then that of yethe dea & dead men & statues, mankind was more prone to it & therefore it spread further. ffor yethe Persians as Herodotus affirms worshipped the Sun & Moon & whole circle of yethe heavens calling them Iove but were averse from yethe worship of dead men & statues. & For the Hetrusci received the worshipped of yethe Goddess Vesta but received not yethe rest of yethe Heathen Gods except Ianus their first father. Some think that from Chamanim the eastern name of the Prytanæa as among yethe c cam Chamanim was the or Homa as yethe or as yethe Indians called them, Homam came the name of the Persian God Amanus or Omanus ffor tis written both ways. The Albani, saith Strabo, worshipped Iupiter the Sun & Moon & accounted it wickedness to regard dead men, & yethe the Germans, as Cæsar writes, worshipped Deorum numero eos solos ducunt quos vident Solem et Lunam Vulcanum et Lunam reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt. So Plato in Cratylo of yethe ancient Greeks Qui9
Qui Græciam primi incoluere, ij videntur mihi, ut nunc metiam barbari multi alios nullos agnovisse Deos præter visibiles et sensibiles illos Solem Lunam Terram Stellas et Cœlum. Quos cum perpetuò in orbem currere animadverterent appellarent Θεοὺς a θέω quod currere significat. Deinde cum Dij alij invisibiles introducerentur his etiam nomen receptum imponerent. Amongst yethe many barbarous nations wchwhich Plato saith in his age had received no other Gods besides those visible ones of yethe Sun, Moon, Earth, Stars & heavens are to be recconed yethe Persians For as d as Herodotus tells us ytthat they worshipped yethe Sun & Moon & circle of yethe heavens calling them Iupiter, but regarded not dead men nor used statues. Their God Amanus or Omanus, as some think, had his name from yethe Chamanim or Pyrytanæa called Chamanim by yethe Phœnicians Hebrews & HOomam by yethe Indians. And so from אש הא that domus ignis came yethe Goddess or rather from אש טא came Es-ta came ἑστια domus ignis came probably came ἑστια & from אפה אש הא Ephe-es-ta Comus Comus or Coqua domus ignis came the God Ηφαιστος or Vulcan, & yethe Goddess vVesta & from אפה אש Ephe-es came Opas dd Cicero de Nat. Deor. lib. 3. the Egyptian name of Vulcan ☉. ☉ For Euripidesa in Medea gives the name of εστία Εστία to yethe prytaneum or house & bb apud Natal. Com. l. 8. c. 19 Pollux tells us that yethe altar on wchwhich yethe vestal fire was kept was also called by the same name, & yethe Prytaneum wchwhich continued till of late in Ireland was by yethe natives called the house of fire. cc supra. Cænobium at Kildare where one of these fires was till of late conserved was called by yethe natives called the house of fire. The worshipping therefore of these fals Gods & Goddesses in yethe Prytanea was yethe first & most generall corruption of yethe primitive religion: but yethe grossest corruption was by introducing yethe worship of dead men & statues, & yethe original of this seems to be as follows.
The first ages &c See yethe back side
The f The first ages studying to honour their ancestors, imposed yethe their names of yethe first men upon yethe Stars & Elements & countries & Cities & rivers & Mountains & represented them by various hieglyphicalhieroglyphical figures wthwith wings like angels to denote yethe motions of yethe stars & allotted several figures to the their animals to be their symbols. an Ox to Osiris a Ram to Iupiter Hammon a dog to Mercury, &c & by this means their names being preserved grew into more & more veneration. At length they feigned their names souls or spirits or of yethe men wthwith their qualities to be translated into yethe stars & ytthat yethe stars by means of these thus animat that by them they shone & moved & ytthat by yethe these spirits or intelligences wthwith wchwhich yethe stars were animated & shone & moved in their courses & understood all things below [& were endued wthwith various qualities. Saturn a planet unfor The Planet Saturn Mars influencesd wars & is a misfortune because yethe man was a warrior & mischievous the Planet Venus governed love love & & lust becaus yethe woman was am beautiful & amorous, the Planet Mercury respected commerce & learning & pu is variable, putting on yethe qualities of all yethe Planets wthwith wchwhich he is joyned, because yethe man was an artist crafty & knowing & given o flatt & suited himself to all occasions, & so of yethe rest. skilfull & crafty & changeable & so of yethe rest. And hence when] the sun wthwith the soul of Orus the pleiades wthwith yethe souls of yethe as yethe sun wthwith yethe soul of Orus, the planet Saturn wthwith yethe Soul of the man Saturn, yethe pleiades & hyades wthwith yethe souls of yethe daughters of Atlas the earth with the soul of Isis, & so of yethe rest. And now the stars & now the Planets And this soulle of the earth many accounted the greatest of Deities & called it the soul of the world. And to to make theise hypotheseis the more plausible they feigned that the Planets Stars by vertue of theseir souls were endued wthwith yethe qualities of yethe men & according to those qualities governed the world. Saturn The Planet of Mars influenced wars & misfortune because the Man was a malevolent warrier: & that of Venus governed love & lust because yethe woman was beautiful & amorous: ytthat of Mercury ruled commerse & learning & was variable because the man was skilfull, & crafty crafty & versatil, & so of the rest. And according then to these the ki the kidds & constellations of starrs of Orion presaged created storms because the men to whom they were dedicated were great warriors, & so those of the hyades caused rain because the weep weomen died weeping., & so of yethe rest. And by meanes of these fictions the souls of yethe men dead grew into veneration wthwith yethe stars & by as many as received this kind of theology were taken for yethe Gods wchwhich governed the world.
And whats And now, as yethe nature of Mankind is prone to supersitionsuperstition & they began to honour pay respect to these Gods in their Prytanea or temples together wthwith yethe true God & at length to honour them wthwith sacrifices & to them apply honour ymthem wthwith yethe worship of yethe true God by sacrifices & to colour over this worship by worship applying yethe worship & worship name of yethe true God Iah ἰαω Iehova, ἰαὼ ἐυω ιούὰ, Iehova Ieho Iuba ἰου-πατὴρ I that is Iehova Iupiter to them. calling For Ham, they called Iupiter Hammon . Chus or Belus they called Iupiter Casius & ἰαὼ Χους, or ἰακχος & ἰουὰ Χοὺς or Bacchus or Iupiter & Belus they called Iupiter Belus, & Baalsemen or dominus Cœlorum, & Iupiter Olympus & Iupiter εωφάλιος & Noah they called Iah-Noah or Ianus. & Mizraim Iah ἰουα Siris or Osiris, for He is that Iupiter who begat Mercury of Maia (who in yethe singular number is Masar, & Sor or Siris whence whence he names Sirius to his star, Siris to yethe river Nile wchwhich was consecrated to him & to they called ιαω Siris or Osiris: ffor he is that Iupiter who begat Mercury of Maia & the name in yethe singular number is & Misraim is a dual fr or in Masor, derived from Sar or Siris whence yethe Egyptian names Cala-Siris, Peto-Siris
Sar-Apis, stella the star Syrius & the name Siris of yethe river Nile wchwhich star & river were dedicated to him. in composition & Ιαω Χους Oracle calls him Ιαω Chus & Ἰουὰ Chus whence & thence Ἰακχος & Bacchus & Iupiter Serapis as he is called in old inscriptions & Iupiter Aratrius & Iupiter Stygius & Iupiter Ægyp (for Serapis is Pluto) & Iupiter Ægyptius as he is worshipped in yethe river Nile wchwhich was the river Styx of yethe Poets. This is that Iupiter who begat Mercury of Maia the daughter of Atlas.
These things were first done by the Egyptians who also instituted annual solemnities in honour of their first parents King & Queen Osiris & Isis & thereby perpetuated their memory & soon brought it into great veneration. In like manner when Chus had wthwith his sons had conquered yethe eastern countries, in memory of their victory they instituted an annual triumph wchwhich was afterwards called the Bacchanalia ofr feast of Bacchus & by this annual solemnity the memory of Chus soon & Nimrod grew into so great honour wthwith theiris posterity that they soon began to honour theim in their Temples Prytanea or Temples & joyn theim with yethe true God Iehova or as the Greeks pronounced it ἰαὼ or Ἰου-piter that is Iehova, in their sacrifices: calling theim Iupiter Belus, Iupiter pp Pausan. in Corinth. Milichius or Melech & ἰαὼ Χοὺς, or Ιακχος Iupiter ἐκυάλιος, Iupiter Αρειος & ιαὼ Χους or Ιακχος, Iupiter Chus for Ιακχος is ιαω Χους. ffor Dionysus is Iupiter Nisus & Ιακχος is ιαω Χους. & Dionysus that is Iupiter gg Nysæus erat nomen Bacchus ab monte urbe Nysa ubi educatūum ferunt. Diodorus l. 1. p. 23.d. Nysus, Iupiter Chus or ἰάωaa Apud Macrobium Saturn. l. 1. c. 13 as the Oracle calls Bacchus whence the names ιαω Χους & ἰουα Χους whence ιαωχ & Ιἀκχος that is Ἰαω-Χους & Bacchus that is Ἰουὰ-Χοὺς, Iehova Chus or Iu-piter Chus. The same was done by the Egyptians to their Gods Osiris Ham & Osiris. whom ffor him they called Iupiter Serapis Iup (as is to be seen in old inscriptions) & Iupiter bb Macrob. Saturn. l. 1 c. 23 Heliopolitanus & Iupiter Aratrius & Iupiter Stygius (for Serapis is Pluto) & Iupiter Ægyptius as he is worshipped in yethe river. & perhaps Osiris (being a word formed of Siris by yethe Greeks) comes from ιαὼ-Siris. So also introducing the worship of Ham into their Prytanea they called him Iupiter Hammon. And after the example of these
This worship being once thus set up in Egypt & in the East was soon spread into Greece & other countries by their colonies of the Egyptians dd Diodor. l. 1. p. 26.a which were very many – & the commerce wchwhich yethe nations had wthwith one another being first brought into Greece by Cecrops an Egyptian & into Italy by ff Ovid. Fast l 5. u 91 et sequ. Evander a Grecian.. And whilst it created in yethe Egyptians & eastern people an honour ytthat for their kings as being descended from yethe Gods & tended to yethe establishment & enlargment of the Regal authority & dominion it was not only promoted by those Kings but also greedyily received by others kings. Hence the Phœnicians worshipped their father by the name of Iupiter Thalassisius & Diamichius or Iupiter machinator & so Arcas becambecame the Iupiter of the Arcadians worshiped Iupi made Arcus their Iupiter & Amphitrus the Iupiter of the the Thebans Amphitrus their & the Pelasgi Lycaon theirs calling him Iupiter Lycæus & Lycaon the Iupiter Licæus of the Pelasgi. Nor was And divers other nations made Iupiter their ancestor so that ee in Messenacis prope finem. Pausanias saith Longum esset & difficile populos enumerare qui Iovem apud se natum affirmant. Nor was there any ancient kingdom there any ancient Kingdom who derived not their its Kings from some of the Gods or other. Yea so far did the superstition of yethe people prevail, that gave they honoured their living kings & Princes with Divine titles calling them Θεοείδους, Ἰσόθεους, Αντίθεους, θείους & Δίους as you may see in Homer & others. ② Nor did they refuse them the title of Iupiters himself. For Isacius tells us: Δίας ὀι παλαιοι πάντας ἐκάλουν τοὺς βασιλεις, Ioves reges omnes vocarunt antiqui The ancients called all kings Iupiters. & aa in varia historia Zezes: τοὺς βασιλεις δὲ ἀνέλαθε Δίας ἐκάλουν πάντες, anciently they called all kings Iupiters. ① And so in yethe East the names of Kings & great men were had usually the names of their Gods cAdad Assyrijs erat Deus . Macrob Saturn. l 1. c 2 Adad Bel, Bal or Pul, Nebo, Asser or Ezer, Adoni, Melech annexed to them, wchwhich testimon as the gries for as in the names of Hadad-ezer Nebα-chadon-Asser, Nebo-pol-asser Tislath-pul-assar, Assar-haddon, Assar-adoni-pol (or that is or Sardana-palus) Naba Nabon-asser, Haddad-assar (or Hadadazer,) Nebu-asser-addon (or Nebuzaradon,) Shar-ezer, Adra-melech, Abi-bal, Itho-bal & so in Carthage Asdrubal, Hanna-bal. And after death to augment & perpetuate their honour, it grew in fashion to consecrate them (as was usually done to yethe Roman Emperors) & from that time they were accounted Divi. Thus was yethe world soon soon filled with Gods. Gods.
The men had most in honour in all nations were yethe first fathers of those nations, that is, & those were yethe men who lived in yethe four first ages., therefore accounted yethe ages of yethe Gods ffor the kingdoms of those who lived afterwards were too small to make them considerable. & the In yethe first These are therefore yethe ages of yethe Gods ffor yethe The Gods were all of ymthem akin to one another & there lived at yethe same time In yethe third age. The Go We are therefore to These were therefore yethe men whom yethe nations Deified. For the Gods lived all at yethe same time & were akin to one another being fathers & sons, brothers & sisters, husbands & wives.. Saturn was the first lived in yethe first age Iupiter in yethe second & their sons & grandsons in the third & fourth & these were all yethe Gods. Now for these Gods we are to look into Egypt. ffor yethe Herod tells us that Lucian tells Herodotus a Greek & Lucian an Assyrian tell usHerod l Lucian in Dea Syria. that yethe Egyptians were yethe first who worshipped these Gods & set up their images & propagated their names & worship & starres to yethe Chaldæans, Assyrians & Greeks. And this is most evident by the names of their cities ffor saith Diodorus ex omnibus orbis Provincijs in sola Ægypto multæ sunt urbes ab antiquis Dijs ut Iove, Sole, Herme, Apolline, Pane, Eilithyia, alijsqꝫque pluribus conditæ. The Gods were therefore yethe founders of their Cities & by consequence yethe first inhabitants of Egypt. ffor the Cities use to beare yethe names of their founders, And & hence 'tis10 'tis not likely that the Egyptians would call their cities by the names of forreigners. This is also confirmed by yethe war of yethe Gods. ffor yethe Gods were all together in Egypt when the Giants made war upon them. So then we are to look for yethe Gods in the family of Ham. He is the Egyptiāan Iupiter & therefore his father Noah is their Satturn & his as was said above & his sons & grandsons are yethe rest of the Gods.
For the reign of Saturn in yethe golden age began wthwith mankind.
Ὡς ὁμόθεν γεγάασι Θεὸι &c
Vt simul nati sunt Dij, mortalesqꝫque homines
Aureum quidem primum genus. Hesiod.
Whence Saturn is called by Orpheus παγγενέτωρ & γενάρχης, & his wife μητὴρ μέντε θεων ἠδὲ θνητων ἀνθρώπων. And as Noah was yethe first husbandman & became drunken so in memory thereof Saturn was painted wthwith a sith & his feaste the Saturnalia celebrated wthwith drunkenness revelling & feasting revelling & drunkenness.
When yethe family of Noah grew too great to live quietly together it's to be conceived that he sent his two younger sons from him & stayed ytthat hamHam went wthwith his family into Egypt. So aa Plato in Phædra Plato speaking of Thoth saith Erat tunc totius Ægypti rex ✝✝ read Chamus Thamus in magna superioris regionis urbe quam Græci vocant Thebas Ægyptias: ipsum appellant Deum Hammonem. Hence Whence Ægypts in scripture called yethe land of Ham was anciently called Chemia as Plutarch writes, & in scripture yethe land of Ham.
After Ham had governed his pe family during till they became too numerous to live together, tis to be presumed that he sent his three younger sons from him, Misrai seating Misraim above Thebes to spread southward, Phut on yethe east western side of Nile to spread into Afric & Canaan oin yethe lower Egypt to spread into Canaan Phœnicia Ph Syria, & retaining his eldest son Chus in his own seat on yethe east of Nile Arabian side of Nile to spread thence into Arabia. For this I seem to gather out of Diodorus Osyris, saith he, rebus Ægypti constitutis & totitustotius regni administrationem Isidi uxori in manus tradita consiliarium ei Mercurium adjunxit quod prudentia cæteros antestaret omnes. Imperatorem vero ditioni quam reliquit Herculem genere propinquum cunctisqꝫque ob fortitudinem & corporis robur suspiciendum at tractibus qui ad Phœniciam inclinant & locis maritimis Busirin Æthiopiæ [occidentali] et Libyæ Antæum curatores dedit. Tum ipse iter suscepit fratre [vel potius filio] comitatus quem Græci Apollinem vocant. In