•x*. versity of Caj ►outhern Regil Library Facil 3fc Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES , yf . f. Tte^ >.w.bTv that the /Egyptians were not circumcised at the time when that prophet lived, viz. 630 or 6"40 years before Christ, which was not 200 years before Herodotus flourished and wrote his history. b 3 learned 6 E U T E R P E., learned it, and that too in modern times, frorn the Colchians. These are the only people who use circumcision, and who use it precisely like the ^Egyptians. As this practice can be traced both in iEgypt and ^Ethiopia to the remotest antiquity, it is not possible to say who first introduced it. The ^Egyptians certainly communicated it to the other nations by means of their commercial in- tercourse. The Phoenicians, who are connected with Greece, do not any longer imitate the ^Egyptians in this particular, their male children not being circumcised. CV. But the Colchians have another mark of resemblance to the ^Egyptians. Their manufac- ture of linen l85 is alike, and peculiar to those two nations ; ,5 * Syrians of Palestine.]— Mr. Gibbon takes the oppor- tunity of this passage to make it appear, that under the As- syrian and Persian monarchies, the Jews languished for many ages the most despised portion of their slaves. " Hero- dotus," says the English historian, « who visited Asia whilst it obeyed the Persian empire, slightly mentions the Jews of Palestine." But this seems to be a partial quotation ; for taking into consideration the whole of the context, Hero- dotus seems precluded from mentioning the Syrians of Pa- lestine in this place otherwise than slightly. — T. It is indeed certain that Herodotus could know nothing of the Jews, for it is utterly impossible that they should con- fess that they borrowed the rite of circumcision from the /Egyptians. 123 Manufacture of linen.]— Ses chapter xxxvii. of this book.— T. To which may be added the following remark from Har- roer, vol. ii. p. 349. As EUTERPE. ? nations ; they have similar manners, and the same language, The linen which comes from Colchis the Greeks call Sardonian l86 ; the linen of iEgypt, iEgyptian. As for the linen yarn mentioned in Scripture, it is still, according to Norden, one of the principal of their mer- chandises, and is sent away in prodigious quantities along with unmanufactured flax and cotton spun. To which I would add this remark of Sanutus, who lived about 400 years ago, that though Christian countries abounded in his time in flax, yet the goodness of the .Egyptian was such that it was dispersed all about, even into the West; for the same reason, without doubt, the Jews, Hittites, and Syrians an- ciently purchased the linen yarn of this country, though they had flax growing in their own. 186 Sardonian.] — In the original, for "Zx^ovmov, Larcher recommends the reading of E^oi«niy.oi>, which he justifies by saying that Sardis was a far more proper and convenient market for this kind of linen than Sardinia. This latter country in ancient times had the character of being remarkably unhealthy. " Remember," says Cicero, writing to his brother, " though in perfect health, you are in Sardinia." Martial also, J\ T ullo fata loco possis excludere, cum mors Venerit, in medio Tibure, Sardinia est. This country also gave rise to many peculiar phrases : ,Sardi venales, Risus Sardonicus, Sardonia tinctura, &c. The first is differently explained ; Cicero, applying it to Gracchus, who after the capture of Sardinia wasted much time in sell- ing his prisoners, makes it to signify any matter tediously protracted. Others, applying it to the Asiatic Sardis, make it signify persons who are venal. The Sardonic laugh is that beneath which the severest uneasiness is concealed. " Sardinia," says Solinus, " produces a herb which has this U 4 singular » EUTERPE. C VI. The greater part of the pillars which Se- sostris erected in the places which he conquered, are no longer to be found. Some of them I my- self have seen in Palestine of Syria, with the pri- vate members of a woman, and with the inscrip- tions which I have before mentioned. In Ionia there are two figures of this king, formed out of a rock; one is in the road from Ephesu's to Pho- crea, the other betwixt Sardis and Smyrna. Both * of them represent a man, five palms in height ; the right hand holds a javelin, the left a bow ; the rest of the armour is partly /Egyptian and partly ./Ethiopian. Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, singular property, that whilst it destroys whoever eats it, it so contracts the features, and in particular of the mouth, into a grin, as to make the sufferer appear to die laughing." Of this herb, Solinus relates other strange properties. Sar- dinia was also famous for a very beautiful colour, whence Sardonia tinctura was made to signify a modest blush. See Pliny, Solinus, Hoffman, 6cc. Larcher observes that Mingrelia, the antient Colchis, is still famous for such manufacture of linen. The linen of /Egypt is thus mentioned in Ezekiel, c. xxvii. v. 7. Fine linen, with broidered work from /Egypt, was that which thou spreadest forth to be, thy sail. .Again, in Proverbs, c. vii. v. l6. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of /Egypt. * Either no travellers have taken the rout from Phoca?a to Ephesus, and from Sardis to Smyrna, or they have ne- glected to inquire whether any traces of these stupendous statues are yet visible. EUTERPE. 9 shoulder, there is this inscription in the sacred characters of TEgypt, " I conquered this country by the force of my arms *." Who the person here represented is, or of what country, is not speci- fied ; both are told elsewhere. Some have been induced, on examination, to pronounce this to be the figure of Menmon, but they must certainly be mistaken. CVII. The same priests informed me that Se- sostris returned to /Egypt with an immense num- ber of captives, of the different nations which he had conquered. On his arrival at the Pelusian Daphne, his brother, to whom he had confided the government in his absence, invited him and his family to take up their abode with him; which when they had done, he surrounded their apartments with combustibles, and set fire to the building l87 . As soon as Sesostris discovered the villainy, he deliberated with his wife, who hap- * The following line from Claudian appears, says Larcher, to be a translation of this passage of Herodotus : Ast ego quns terras humeris pontumque subegi. 137 Set fire to the building.'] — Diodorus Siculus relates the matter differently. The brother of Sesostris made him and his attendants drunk, and in the night set tire to his apart- ment. The guards, being intoxicated, were unable to assist their master ; but Sesostris, imploring the interposition of tHe jjods, fortunately escaped. He expressed his gratitude to the deities in gei I, and to Vulcan in particular, to whose kindness principally he thought himself indebted. — T. pencd io EUTERPE. pened to be with him, what measures to pursue ; she advised him to place two of their six children across the parts which were burning, that they might serve as a bridge for the preservation of themselves and of the rest. This Sesostris exe- cuted : two of the children consequently pe- rished, the remainder were saved with their father. CVIII, Sesostris did not omit to avenge him- self on his brother : on his return to iEgypt, he employed the captives of the different nations he bad vanquished, to collect those immense stones which were employed in the temple of Vulcan. They were also compelled to make those vast and numerous canals lS8 by which iEgypt is in- tersected. |3S Numerous canals,]-*— Probably one reason why Sesostris opened canals, was to prevent these hurtful inundations, as well as to convey water to those places where they might think proper to have villages built, and to water the lands, more conveniently, at such times as the waters might retire early; for they might find by experience, after the canals, were opened, that, instead of apprehending inundations, they had greater reason, as at present, to fear a want of water. — . Pococke. There are still eighty canals in TEgypt like rivers, several of which are twenty, thirty, and forty leagues in length. — Sarary. The same author adds, that the chain-buckets used in .'Egypt to disperse the water over the high lands gave to Ar- chimedes, during his voyage in IEgypt, the idea of his inge- nious screw, which is still in use. * A country EUTERPE. ii tersected. In consequence of their involuntary labours, iEgypt, which was before conveniently adapted to those who travelled on horseback or in carriages, became unfit for both. The canals occur A country where nothing is so seldom met with as a spring, and where rain is an extraordinary phenomenon, could only have been fertilized by the Nile. Accordingly from times of the most remote antiquity, fourscore consi- derable canals were digged at the entrance of the kingdom, "beside a great number of small ones, which distributed these waters all over ./Egypt. — Rai/na/. The following note, abridged, from Larcher, is highly honourable to him : Sesostris, says Volney, lived before Moses, and, according to Herodotus, cut so many canals in ./Egypt, that it became impossible to travel in chariots. The Bible, therefore, must relate a fable, for it says that Pharaoh pursued the Israelites in six hundred chariots. Unluckily for Volney, replies Larcher, the first assertion is not true. The passage of the Red Sea took place one hundred and seventy-five years before the time of Sesostris. This miracle took place in the year 3183, of the Julian pe- riod, 1531 years before our aera. Sesostris mounted the throne in the year 3358, of the Julian year, which is 1356 years before our rera. Volney should have remembered that he was a candidate for a prize at the Academy of Belles Lettres, on a subject relating to chronology. His memoir was indignantly re- jected, as indeed it deserved. I advise him to study chro- nology, or rather never again to write on subjects connected with it. I have much satisfaction in introducing the above casti- gation of an author, whose bold assertions and fallacious reasonings have done so much mischief to the public, parti- cularly from a pen so well qualified to detect and expose his errors and falshoods. iz EUTERPE. occur so often, and in so many winding direo tions, that to travel on horseback is disagreeable, l)n t in carriages impossible. The prince however Mas influenced by a patriotic motive : before his time those who inhabited the inland parts of the country, at a distance from the river, on the ebb- ing of the Nile suffered great distress from the want of water, of which they had none but from muddy wells. CIX. The same authority informed me, that Sesostris made a regular distribution of the lands of iEgypt. He assigned to each ./Egyptian a square piece of ground ; and his revenues were drawn from the rent, which every individual an- nually paid him. Whoever was a sufferer by the inundation of the Nile, was permitted to make the king acquainted with his loss. Certain officers were appointed to inquire into the parti- culars of the .injury, that no man might be taxed beyond his ability. It may not be improbable to suppose that this was the origin of geometry 189 , and that the Greeks learned it from hence. As 139 Origin tf geometry.] — The natives of Thebes, above all others, were renowned for their great wisdom. Their im- provements in geometry are thought to have been owing to the nature of their country ; for, the land of ^gypt being annually overflowed, and all property confounded, they were obliged upon the retreat of the waters to have recourse to geometrical decision, in order* to determine the limits of their possessions^ — Bryant. to EUTERPE. 13 to the pole, the gnomon I9 °, and the division of the day' 91 into twelve parts, the Greeks re- ceived them from the Babylonians. 190 The pole, the gnomon.]— The text is a literal translation of the original, to which as it stands it will not be very easy to annex any meaning. My own opinion, from reflecting on the context, is, that it signifies a dial with its index. Wes- seling, in his note on this passage, informs us from Pollux, that many considered ttoaov and apoMyw as synonymous ex- pressions. Scaliger is of the same opinion, to which Wes- seling himself accedes. Salmasius thinks differently, and says of this particular passage, ne hoc quidem quidquam ad horologiorum usum facit. Larcher's interpretation seems far-fetched. " lie," says the learned Frenchman, " who wishes to form a solar quadrant must necessarily know the altitude of the pole." — When it is considered that the more ancient dials were divided by the .first twelve letters of the alphabet, 1 cannot help adhering to the interpretation I have given of it. — T. 191 Division of the day.."] — From this passage it appears, that in the time of Herodotus the day was divided into twelve parts : at the same time we may not conclude, with Leo Allatius, and Wesseling, that to these twelve parts the name of hours was given. It is by no means certain when the twenty-four parts of the day were first distinguished by the name oi hours, but it was doubtless very late; and the passages cited from Anacreon and Xenophon to prove the contrary ought not to be interpreted by what we call hours. The passage in Anacreon, ^g-owkhqh: nob' upa.it;, means nothing more than the middle of the night. Nuktcj cty.oXyZ. in Homer, whirl; signifies an advanced time of the night, » explained by the Scholiast » m iJ.eo-owx.Tiu vpa, the very ex- pression of Anacreon. The passage from Xenophon is nol more decisive. — Larcher. Upon tins subject we have the following curious note in the Voyage du Jeune Anaeharsis: — Of the dials of the an- cients we may form some idea from the following example:'" Palladius Rutilius, who lived about the fifth century, and wh» 14 EUTERPE. CX. Except Sesostris, no monarch of iEgypt was ever master of ^Ethiopia. This prince placed as a monument ,91 some marble statues before the temple of Vulcan * : two of these were thirty cubits who has left us a treatise on agriculture, has put at the end of every month a table, in which one sees the correspondence of the divisions of the day to the different lengths of the shadow of the gnomon. It must be observed in the first place, that this correspondence is the same in the months equally distant from the solstice. January and December, February and November, &c. Secondly, that the length of the shadow is the same for the hours equalty distant from the mid-day point. The following is the table for January : Hours. Feet. I. and XI. - - - 29 II. and X. >_-]() III. and IX. - - - 15 IV. and VIII. - 12 V. and VII. - - - 10 VI. - - 9 This dial seems to have been adapted for the climate of Rome. • Similar dials were constructed for the climate of Athens. 192 Placed as a monument.] — Larcher, in his version, adds in this place, " to commemorate the danger he had es- caped." The text will not justify this version, though the learned Frenchman's opinion, that this is the implied mean- ing, rests on the positive assertion of Diodorus Siculus, who, relating the fact of the statues circumstantiall} 7 , adds that they were erected by Sesostris in gratitude to Vulcan, by whose interposition he escaped the treachery of his brother. —T. * One of the trophies brought by our victorious army from iEgypt, is the fist of a colossean statue. It was found by the French in the ruins of Memphis, and very possibly belonged to a statue of Vulcan. E U T E R P E. 15 cubits in height, and represented him and his queen ; four others, of twenty cubits each, re- presented his four children. A long time after- wards, Darius king of Persia was desirous of placing before these a statue of himself' 93 , but the high priest of Vulcan violently opposed it, urging that the actions of Darius were far less splendid than those of the ^Egyptian Scsostris. This latter prince had vanquished as many na- tions as Darius, and had also subdued the Scy- thians, who had never yielded to the arms of Darius. Therefore, says he, it can never be just to place before the statues of Sesostris, the figure of a prince, whose exploits have not been equally illustrious. They told me that Darius forgave this remonstrance 59+ . 193 A statue of himself.'] — After a series of ages, when -ZEgypt was reduced under the power of Persia, Darius, the father of Xerxes, was desirous of placing an image of himself at Memphis, before the statue of Scsostris. This was stre- nuously opposed by the chief priest, in an assembly of his order, -who asserted that the acts of Darius had not yet sur- passed those of Sesostris. The king did not take this free- dom amiss, but was rather pleased with it; saying, that if he lived as long as Sesostris, he would endeavour to equal him. — Diodorus Sicultis. 194 Forgave, this remonstrance.] — It does not however ap- pear from hence that Darius was ever in /Egypt. The re- sistaiice of the chief priest might probably be told him, and he might forgive it. It appears by a passage in Aristotle, that Darius attacked and conquered this country ; if so, the priest of Vulcan might personally oppose Darius. The au- thority of Aristotle is of no weight, compared with that of our 16 EUTERPE. CXI. On the death of Sesostris, his son Pfig- ron ,9S , as the priests informed me, succeeded to his throne. This prince undertook no military expedition ; but by the action I am going to relate, he lost the use of his eyes : — When the Nile was at its extreme height of eighteen cubits, and had overflowed the fields, a sudden wind arose, which made the waters impetuously swell. At this juncture the prince hurled a javelin into the vortex of the stream : he was in a moment deprived of sight, and continued blind for the space of ten years ; in the eleventh, an oracle was communicated to him from Butos, intimating that the period of his punishment was expired, and that he should recover his sight, by washing his eyes with the urine of a woman, who had never known any man but her husband. Pheron first made the experiment with the urine of his own wife, and when this did not succeed, he ap- plied that of other women indiscriminately. Hav- ing at length recovered his sight, he assembled all the women, except her whose urine had re- moved our historian ; and probably, in that writer, instead of Darius we should read Xerxes. — Lurcher. If Darius Hystaspes be intended, this prince certainly was in JEyypt, in the army of Cambyses, but I believe not whilst a king. 195 Pheron.} — This prince is supposed to be the first Egyptian Pharaoh; but this must be erroneous, for the Israelites were oppressed by Pharaoh one hundred and seventy years before this reign. EUTERPE. 17 moved his calamity, in a city which is to this day called Erythrebolos' 96 ; all these, with the town itselfj he destroyed by fire, but he married the female who had deserved his gratitude. On his recovery he sent magnificent presents to all the more celebrated temples ; to that of the sun he sent two obelisks, too remarkable to be un- noticed; each was formed of one solid stone, one hundred cubits high, and eight broad. CXII. The successor of Pheron, as the same priests informed me, was a citizen of Memphis, whose name in the Greek tongue was Proteus I9? . His 190 Eri/threbolos.~\ — Diodorus Siculus calls this place He- liopolis; and says that the woman, through whose means Pheron was cured of his blindness, was the wife of a gar- dener. This certainly proves that great corruption of manners prevailed at this time in /Egypt, and Larcher judiciously refers, at this passage, to the precaution taken by Abraham on entering this country. See Genesis, c. xii. v. 11. The profligacy also of the wife of Potiphar towards Joseph, affords a similar testimony.— T. ly7 Proteus."] — Proteus was an .Egyptian title of the deity, under which he was worshipped, both in the Pharos and at aphis. He Was the same as Osiris and Canopus, and particularly the god of mariners, who confined his depart- ment to the sea. From hence I think, we may unravel the mystery about the pilot of Menelaus, who is said to have . named Canopus, and to have given name to the prin- cipal sea-port in /Egvpt. — Bryant. Vol. II. C Scylax IB EUTERPE. His shrine is still to be seen at Memphis ; it is situated -to the south of the temple of Vulcan, and is very magnificently decorated. The Phoe- nicians of Tyre dwell in its vicinity, and indeed the whole of the place, is denominated the Ty- rian camp. In this spot, consecrated to Proteus, there is also a small temple, dedicated to Venus the Stranger ,9S : this Venus I conjecture is no other Scylax speaks of Cfinopus as if he seriously thought the island was denominated from the pilot of Menelaus. No antique figure has yet been met with of Proteus : upon this circumstance Mr. Spence remarks, that his character was far more manageable for poets, than for sculptors or painters. The former might very well describe all the va- riety of shapes that he could put, on, and point out the transition from one to the other, but the artists must have been content to shew him either in his own natural shape, or in some one alone of all his various forms. Of this deity the best description is given in the Georgics of Virgil. — T. It is remarkable, that if we were to write the ./Egyptian name,of Proteus, as given by the Greeks, in Phoenician cha- racters, we should make use of the same letters we pro- nounce Pharao ; the final o in the Hebrew is an //, which at the end of words frequently becomes r. — Vuhcy. ,y3 Venus the St ranger.] — It is doubtless this Venus to whom Horace alludes in the following verses : Oh quee beatarn diva teuesCyprum, et Memphim carentem Sithonia nive Regina. Strabo also speaks of this temple, and tells us that some be- lieved it dedicated to the moon. — T. The EUTERPE. 19 other than Helen, the daughter of Tyndaris, be- cause she, I was told, resided for some time at the court of Proteus, and because this building is dedicated to Venus the Stranger; no other temple of Venus is distinguished by this ap- pellation. CXIII. To my inquiries on the subject f " of Helen, these priests answered as follows : Paris having carried off Helen from Sparta, was re- turning home, but meeting with contrary winds in The ancients had very little scruple or delicacy in build- ing temples to their favourite beauties, simply adding Venus to their names. Thus in /Egypt there was a temple at Alexandria to Venus Belestria, Belestria being the name of a slave of great beauty, the favourite of an ^Egyptian prince. Venus Arsinoe was somewhat similar. — T. 159 Inquiries on the subject.] — Upon no subject, ancient or modern, have writers been more divided, than about the precise period of the Trojan war. Larcher, after discussing this matter very fully, in his Essay on Chronology, is of opi- nion, and his arguments appear to me at least, satisfactory, that it took place 1263 years before the vulgar aara. — T. Since the publication of the first edition of this work, our countryman, Bryant, has produced a learned and elaborate work, to prove that the Trojan war never took place. This ha's of course led to a number of profound and critical investigation's on the subject, in which the weight of argu- iin nt and evidence appears to be against Bryant. I rather wonder that Lurcher lias taken no notice of BryantV work. C 2 20 EUTERPE. in the iEgean, he was driven into the ^Egyptian sea. As the winds continued unfavourable, he proceeded to iEgypt, and was driven to the Ca- nopian mouth of the Nile, and to Tarichea : in this place was a temple of Hercules, which still remains ; if any slave fled to this for refuge, and in testimony of his consecrating himself to the service of the god, submitted to be marked with certain sacred characters, no one was suffered to molest him. This custom has been strictly ob- served, from its first institution to the present period. The servants of Paris, aware of the pri- vileges of this temple, fled thither from their mas- ter, and with the view of injuring Paris, became the suppliants of the divinity. They published many accusations against their master, disclosing the whole affair of Helen, and the wrong done to Menelaus : this they did, not only in the pre- sence of the priests, but also before Thonis 20 °, the governor of the district. 200 Thonis."} — Some writers pretend that Thonis was prince , of the Canopian mouth of the Nile, and that he was the inventor of medicine in JEgypt. Before he saw Helen he treated Menelaus with great respect; when he had seen her he made his court to her, and even endeavoured to violate her person: Menelaus on hearing this put him to death. The city of Thonis, and Thoth, the first ^Egyptian month, take their names from him. This narrative seems less probable than that of Hero- ,dotus: Theth, or the Mercury of the ./Egyptians, was much more ancient. — Larcher. EUTERPE. 21 CXIV. Thonis instantly dispatched a messen- ger to Memphis, with orders to say thus to Pro- teus : " There is arrived here a Trojan, who has perpetrated an atrocious crime in Greece ; he has seduced the wife of his host, and has carried her away, with a great quantity of treasure ; ad- verse winds have forced him hither ; shall I suffer him to depart without molestation, or shall I seize his person and property?" The answer which Proteus sent was thus conceived : " Who- ever that man is who has violated the rights of hospitality, seize and bring him before me, that I may examine him." CXV. Thonis upon this seized Paris, and de- taining his vessels, instantly sent him to Proteus, with Helen i01 and all his wealth : on their arrival, Proteus enquired of Paris who he was, and whence he came : Paris faithfully related the name of his family and country, and from whence he last set sail. But when Proteus proceeded to make en- quiries concerning Helen, and how he obtained possession of her person, Paris hesitated in his '■ 0l This incident of the detention of Helen by Proteus, is the argument of one of the tragedies of Euripides. The poet supposes that Helen never was at Troy, but that Paris carried thither a cloud in her form :— On the drath of Proteus, his son Theaclymenus prepared to make Helen his wife; at this juncture Menelaus was driven on the coast, saw Helen again, and with her concerted and accomplished their return to Greece,-*-! 7 . c 3 answers; 22 EUTERPE answers; his slaves who had deserted, him, ex- plained and proved the particulars of his guilt ; in consequence of which Proteus made this de- termination : " If. I did not esteem it a very heinous crime to put any stranger to death, whom unfavourable winds have driven to my coast, I would assuredly, thou most abandoned man, avenge that Greek whose hospitality thou hast treacherously violated. Thou hast not only seduced his wife, but, having violently taken her away, still criminally detainest her ; and, as if this were not enough, thou hast robbed and plundered him ! But as I can by no means pre- vail upon myself to put a stranger to death, I shall suffer you to depart ; the woman and your wealth I shall detain, till the Greek himself thinks proper to demand her.-— Do you and your com- panions depart within three days from my coasts, or expect to be treated as enemies." CXVI. 'Thus, according to the narrative of the priests, did Helen come to the court of Pro- teus. I conceive that this circumstance could not be unknown to Homer ; but as he thought it less ornamental to his poem, he forbore to use it. That he actually did know it, is evident from that part of the Iliad, where he describes the voyage of Paris ; this evidence he has no where retracted. He informs us, that Paris, after va- rious wanderings, at length Arrived at Sidon, in Phoenicia ; E U T E R P E. 23 Phoenicia; it is in the Bravery of Diomed loi ; the passage is this : There lay the vestures of no vulgar art, Sidonian maids embroider'd every part; When from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore, With Helen touching on the Tyrian shore. II. vi. 390. He again introduces this subject in the Odyssey : These drugs, so friendly to the joys of life, Bright Helen learn'd from Thone's imperial wife : Who sway'd the sceptre where prolific Nile With various simples clothes the fatten'd soil, With wholesome herbage mixM, the direful bane Of vegetable venom taints the plain. Od. iv. 315. 201 Bravery of Dionied.] — The different parts of Homer's poems were known anciently by names taken from the sub- jects treated in them : — Thus the fifth book of the Iliad was called the Bravery ofDiomed ; and in like manner the eleventh the Bravery of Agamemnon ; the tenth the Night-watch, or the Death of Do/on, fyc.; all of which titles are prefixed to the respective books in Clarke's and other editions from Eu- stathius: — See also yElian, Var. Hist. Book xiii. c. 14. This division was more ancient than that into books, and there- fore does not always coincide with it: thus the second Iliad lias two names, the Dream or the Trial, and the Catalogue ; whereas four or five books of the Odyssey are supposed to be comprized under the name of the Story of Alcinous. Valcnaer erroneously supposed this to be a later division of the grammarians, and therefore endeavoured to explain away the expression of Herodotus, which evidently refers to it. — T. c 4 Menelaus £4 EUTERPE. Menelaus also says thus to Telemachus : Long on the ^Egyptian coast by calms confin'd, Heaven to my fleet refas'd a prosperous wind ; No vows had we prefer'd, no victim slain, For this the gods each favouring gale restrain. Od. iv. 473. In these passages, Homer confesses himself ac- quainted with the voyage of Paris to iEgypt ; for Syria borders upon iEgypt, and the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon belongs, inhabit part of Syria. CXVII. The last passage of these, confirms sufficiently the argument, which may be deduced from the former, that the Cyprian verses 2 ° 3 were 203 Cyprian verses,] — On the subject of these verses the following sentence occurs in Athenreus. " The person who composed the Cyprian verses, whether he was some Cyprian or Stasinus, or by whatever name he chooses to be distinguished," &c. From which it appears, that Athenaeus had no idea of their being written by Homer. But we are told by ALlian, in his Various History, that Homer certainly did compose these verses, and gave them as a marriage portion with his daughter. — See JElian, Book ix. chap. 15, in the note to which, this subject is amply dis- cussed. — T. The subject of this poem was the Trojan war, after the birth of Helen. Venus caused this princess to be born, that she might be able to promise Paris an accomplished beauty; to this Jupiter, by the advice of Momus, had consented, in order to destroy the human race again by the war of Troy, which was to take place on her account. As the author of this poem refers all the events of this war to Venus, goddess Of Cyprus, the work was called by her name. " It is evi- dent," says M. Larcher in continuation, " that Herodotus would have told the name of the author, had he known it." *"* never EUTERPE. i o never written by Homer. These relate that Paris, in company with Helen, assisted by a favourable wind and sea, passed in three days from Sparta to Troy; on the contrary, it is asserted in the Iliad, that Paris, after carrying away Helen, wandered about to various places. But enough of Homer and the Cyprian verses. CXVIII. On my desiring to know of the same priests whether what ihe Greeks affirm concern- ing Troy, was true or false, they told me the fol- lowing particulars, which they assured me they received from Menelaus himself. After the loss of Helen, the Greeks assembled in great numbers at Teucris, to assist Menelaus ; they disem- barked and encamped : they then dispatched ambassadors to Troy, whom Menelaus himself accompanied. On their arrival, they made a formal demand of Helen, and of the wealth which Paris had at the same time clandestinely taken, as well as general satisfaction for the in- jury. The Trojans then and afterwards uni- formly persisted in declaring, that they had among them, neither the person nor the wealth of Helen, but that both were in iEgypt ; and they thought it hard that they should be made I ible for what Proteus king of iEgypt certainly possessed. The Greeks, believing them- selves deluded, laid siege to Troy, and perse# vered till they took it. But when Helen was not to be found in the captured town, and the same assertions <20 EUTERPE. assertions concerning her were continued, they at length obtained credit, and Menelaus himself was dispatched to Proteus. CXIX. As soon as he arrived in /Egypt he proceeded up the Nile to Memphis. On his re- lating the object of his journey, he was honourably entertained ; Helen, who had been treated with respect, was restored to him, and with her, all his treasures. Inattentive to these acts of kind- ness, Menelaus perpetrated a great enormity against the ^Egyptians : the winds preventing his departure, he took two children 204 of the people of the country, and with great barbarity offered - c4 Two children.'] — This was doubtless to appease the winds. This kind of sacrifice was frequent in Greece, but detestable in ^Egypt. Sanguine placastis ventos et virgine ctesa. — Virgil. See Book vii. chap. 191. — Larcher. In the early times of all religions, when nations were yet barbarous and savage, there was ever an aptness or tendency towards the dark part of superstition, which among many other horrors produced that of human sacrifice. — Lord Shaftesbury. Lord S. might, and would, if he had been honest, have excepted the Jewish religion. That the custom of human sacrifice, alike cruel and ab- surd, gives way but very slowly to the voice of nature and of reason, is evident from its having been practised at so late a period by the enlightened people of Greece. Porphyry %lbO informs us, that even in his time, who lived 233 years after the Christian au-a, human sacrifices were common in Arcadia and at Carthage. — T. them EUTERPE. 27 them in sacrifice. As soon as the circumstance was known, universal indignation was excited against him, and he was pursued ; but he fled by sea into Africa, and the ^Egyptians could trace him no further. Of the above facts, some they knew, as having happened among themselves, and others were the result of much diligent inquiry. CXX. This intelligence concerning Helen, I received from the iEgyptian priests, to which I am inclined to add, as my opinion, that if Helen had been actually in Troy, they would certainly have restored her to the Greeks, with or without • the consent of Paris. Priam and his connections could never have been so infatuated, as to en- danger the preservation of themselves and their children, merely that Paris might enjoy Helen ; but even if such had been their determination at first, still after having lost, in their different con- tests with the Greeks, many of their countrymen, and among these, if the poets may be believed, several of their kinefs own sons, I cannot imagine but that Priam, even if he had married her him- self, would have restored Helen, if no other means had existed of averting these calamities. "We may add to this, that Paris was not the imme- diate heir to the crown, for Hector was his su- perior both in age and valour: Paris, therefore, could not have possessed any remarkable influ- ence 28 EUTERPE. ence in the state, neither would Hector have countenanced the misconduct of his brother, from which he himself, and the rest of his countrymen, had experienced so many and such great cala- mities. But the restoration of Helen was not in their power, and the Greeks placed no depen- dence on their asse tions, which were indisputably true ; but all this, with the subsequent destruction of Troy, might be ordained by Providence, to in- struct mankind that the gods proportioned pu- nishments to crimes. 1 CXXI. The same instructors farther told me, that Proteus was succeeded by Rhampsinitus i0S : he built the west entrance of the temple of Vul- can ; in the same situation lie also erected two statues, twenty-five cubits in height. That which faces the north the ^Egyptians call summer, the one to the south winter : this latter is treated with no manner of respect, but they worship the former, and make offerings before it. This prince possessed such abundance of wealth, that far from surpassing, none of his successors ever equalled him in affluence. For the security of his riches, he constructed a stone edifice, con- 405 Rhamp.sihitus.] — Diodorus Siculus calls him Rhemphis, lie greatly oppressed his subjects by his avarice and ex- tortions: he amassed in gold and silver four hundred thou- sand talents ; a most incredible sum. — Larcher. nected EUTERPE. o 9 nectcd with his palace by a wall. The man whom he employed zo °, with a dishonest view, so artfully disposed one of the stones, that two or even one person might remove it from its place. In this building, when completed, the king de- posited his treasures. Some time afterwards, the artist found his end approaching; and having two sons, he called them both before him, and informed them in what manner, with a view to their future emolument and prosperity, he had built the king's treasury. He then explained the particular circumstance and situation of the stone, gave them minutely its dimensions, by observance of which, they might become the managers of the kind's richer On the d atb of the father, the sons were not long before they availed themselves of their secret. Under the advantage of the night, they visited the building, discovered and removed the stone, and carried away with them a large sum of money. As soon as the king en- tered the apartment, he saw the vessels which contained his money materially diminished : he was astonished beyond measure, for as the seals were unbroken, and every entrance properly se- cured, he could not possibly direct his suspicion against any one. This was several times re- 206 The man whom he employed.] — Pausauias relates a similar fable of Trophonius, whose cave became so famous. — Lar- rhcr peated ; 30 E U T E R P E. peated ; the thieves continued their visits, and the king as regularly saw his money decrease. To effect a discovery, he ordered some traps to be placed round the vessels which contained his riches. The robbers came as before ; one of them proceeding as usual directly to the vessels, was caught in the snare : as soon as he was sen- sible of his situation, he called his brother, and acquainted him with it ; he withal intreated him to cut off his head without a moment's delay, as the only means of preventing his own detection and consequent loss of life ; he approved and obeyed his advice, and replacing properly the stone, he returned home with the head of his brother. As soon as it was light the kino; en- tered the apartment, and seeing the body secured in the snare without a head, the building in no part disturbed, nor the smallest appearance of any one having been there, he was more asto- nished than ever. In this perplexity lie com- manded the body to be hanged from the wall, and having stationed guards on the spot, he di- rected them to seize and bring before him who- ever should discover any symptoms of compas- sion or sorrow at sight of the deceased. The mother being much exasperated at this exposure of her son, threatened the surviving brother, that if he did not contrive and execute some means of removing the body, she would immediately go to the king, and disclose all the circumstances of the E U T E R P E. 31 the robbery. The young man in vain endea- voured to alter the woman's determination ; he therefore put in practice the following expe- dient : — He got together some asses, which he loaded with flasks of wine; he then drove them near the place where the guards were stationed to watch the body of his brother ; as soon as he ap- proached, he secretly removed the pegs from the mouths of two or three of the skins, and when he saw the wine running about, he began to beat his head, and to cry out vehemently, with much pretended confusion and distress. The soldiers, perceiving the accident, instantly ran with vessels, and such wine as they were able to catch they considered as so much gain to them- selves. At first, with great apparent anger, he reproached and abused them, but he gradually listened to their endeavours to console and pa- cify him : he then proceeded at leisure to turn his asses out of the road, and to secure his flasks. lie soon entered into conversation with the guards, and affecting ro be pleased with the drollery of one of them, he gave them a flask of Mine; they accordingly sat down to drink, and insisted upon his bearing them company: he complied with their solicitations, and a second flask Mas presently the effect of their civility to him. The wine had soon its effect, the guards became exceedingly drunk, and fell fast asleep ; . under the advantage of the night the voung man took 32 EUTERPE. took down the body of his brother, and in deri- sion shaved # the right cheeks of the guards ; he placed the body on one of the asses, and re- turned home, having thus satisfied his mother. When the king heard of what had happened, he was enraged beyond measure; but still deter- mined on the detection of the criminal, he con- trived * This, as Larcher observes, was, throughout the East, considered as the greatest mark of ignominy and contempt that could possibly be imposed upon a man. Hanun, King of the Ammonites, shaved the messengers of David by way of contempt, and sent them away. See 2 Sam. c. x. v. 4, 5. Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, be- cause the men were greatly ashamed : and the king said, tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. In this place Larcher makes a false reference, namely, to the second Book of Kings, instead of the second Book of Samuel.' See also 1 Chronicles c. xix. v. 4. See also a very strong parabolical expression in Isaiah, c. vii. v. 20. " In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet, and it shall also consume the beard." Consult Bishop Lowth on this passage. The expression denotes the utter devastation of the coun- try from one end to the other, and the plundering of the people from the highest to the lowest. To pluck a man's beard in the East is the highest mark of insult which can be shewn. " I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." Isaiah, c. 1. v. 6". A fine EUTERPE. 33 trived this, which to me seems a most impro- bable l0? part of the story : — He commanded his daughter to prostitute her person indiscrimi- nately to every comer, upon condition that, before enjoyment, each should tell her the most artful as well as the most wicked thing he had ever done; if any one should disclose the cir- cumstance Of Avhich he wished to be informed, she was to seize him, and prevent his escape. The daughter obeyed the injunction of her father ; the thief, knowing what was intended, prepared still farther to disappoint and deceive the king. He cut off the arm near the shoulder from his brother's recently dead body, and, concealing it under his cloak, he visited the king's daughter : when he was asked the same question as the rest, he A fine beard is still held in great veneration in all Eastern countries ; and inferiors sometimes kiss the beards of their superiors, but it is a great indignity to touch it, unless with reverence. Thcvenot informs us that it is customary among the Turks to swear by the beard. Shylock, in the Merchant of Venice, complains of the indignity offered him in this respect: You that did void your rheum upon my beard, And foot me as you spurn a stranger eur. *° 7 Most improbable, ,] — Herodotus, we may perceive from this passage, did not implicitly credit all the priests told him. Many other passages occur in the process of tbe work, to prove that our historian was by no means so cr«- «iulous as lias been generally imagined. — La re her. Vol. II. D 34 EUTERPE. he replied, " That the most wicked thing he had ever done was the cutting off the head of his brother, who Avas caught in a snare in the king's treasury ; the most artful thing, was his making the guards drunk, and by that means effecting the removal of his brother's body." On hearing this, she endeavoured to apprehend him, but he, favoured by the night, put out to her the dead arm, which she seizing was thus deluded, whilst he made his escape. On hearing this also, the king was equally astonished at the art and auda- city of the man ; he was afterwards induced to make a proclamation through the different parts of his dominions, that if the offender would ap- pear before him, he would not only pardon but liberally reward him. The thief, trusting to his word, appeared ; Rhampsinitus was delighted with the man, and, thinking his ingenuity beyond all parallel, gave him his daughter. The king conceived the /Egyptians superior in subtlety to all the world", but he thought this man superior even to the /Egyptians. CXXII. After this event, they told me that the same kin Ceres.]— In the Greek, Dcmcter. " The /Egyptians," says Diodorus Siculus, " rated the earth as the common womb of all things, Meter, which the Greeksj.by an easy ad- dition, afterwards altered to Demeter." — T. 210 Alternately icon and lost.] — Valcnaer informs us in a note, that this circumstance of playing at dice with Ceres, and alternately conquering and being conquered, has been ingeniously explained to mean no more, quam Cererem almam et fautricem vel vicissim inimicam experiri, to find agricultural experiments sometimes successful and sometimes otherwise. I think there was probably something also alle- gorical and mysterious in the story — possibly there might be in this feast something similar to the Elcusinian mysteries; the particular mention of Ceres suggests that opinion. — T. It should be added that Valcnaer refers the alternate vic- tory and defeat of Rhampsinitus and Ceres to the years of plenty and scarcity under Pharaoh. JD 2 36 EUTERPE. incident, was the occasion of this feast, I will not take upon me to determine. The ministers of this solemnity have a vest woven within the space of the day ; this is worn by a priest whose eyes are covered with a bandage. They conduct him to the path which leads to the temple of Ceres, and there leave him. They assert, that two wolves meet the priest thus blinded, and lead him to the temple, though at the distance of twenty stadia from the city, and afterwards conduct him back again to the place where they found him. CXXIII. Every reader must determine for himself with respect to the credibility of what I have related ; for my own part I heard these things from the ^Egyptians, and think it neces- sary to transcribe the result of my inquiries. The ^Egyptians esteem Ceres and Bacchus as the great deities of the realms below ; they are also the first of mankind who have defended the immortality of the soul z ". They believe, that on the axx Immortality of the soul.] — The doctrine of the resur- rection was first entertained by the /Egyptians ; and their mummies were embalmed, their pyramids were constructed, to preserve the ancient mansion of the soul during a period of three, thousand years. But the attempt is partial and unavailing; and it is with a more philosophic spirit that Mahomet relies on the omnipotence of the Creator, whose word can reanimate the breathless clay, and collect the in- numerable atoms that no longer retain their form or sub- stance. The intermediate state of the soul it is hard to decide ; and those who most firmly believe her immaterial nature EUTERPE. 37 the dissolution of the body the soul immediately enters some other animal, and that, after using as vehicles nature are at a loss to understand how she can think or act without the agency of the organs of sense. — Gibbon. The Platonic doctrine esteemed the body a kind of prison with respect to the soul. Somewhat similar to this was the opinion of the Marcionites, who called the death of the body the resurrection of the soul.— 2'. The soul, by reason of its anxiety and impotence, being unable to stand by itself, wanders up and down to seek out consolations, hopes, and foundations, to which she adheres and fixes. But 'tis wonderful to observe how short the most constant and obstinate maintainers of this just and clear persuasion of the immortality of the soul do fall, and how weak their arguments are when they go about to prove it by human reason. — Montaigne. To enumerate the various opinions which have prevailed concerning the soul of man, would be an undertaking alike arduous and unprofitable. Some of the ancients considered it as part of the substance of God ; the doctrine of the pro- pagation of souls prevailed, according to Bayle, or rather subsisted, to a very late period of the Christian a?ra: Aver- hoes affirmed its mortality, and most of the pagan philoso- phers believed it to be material ; but the arguments for its immortality, which are afforded us in the word of God, at the same time animate our piety and satisfy our reason. — T. What Gibbon says about Mahomet is as artful as it is absurd. lie wants his readers to believe that Mahomet was the ingenious author of a regular and wtll-contrived system : whereas the truth is, that Mahomet had no contrivance or invention whatever; he borrowed every thing, and invented nothing; nor can he at all pretend to any original ideas on the immortality of the soul, the belief of which had been re- ceived and established many centuries before him. Bruce observes that the scarabanis was not considered by the ./Egyptians as an emblem of the immortality of the soul, D 3 or 38 EUTERPE. vehicles every species of terrestrial, aquatic, and winged creatures, it finally enters a second time into a human body. They affirm that it under- goes all these changes in the space of three thou- sand years. This opinion some amongst the Greeks ZI * have at different periods of time adopted or its resurrection, " neither of which were at that time in contemplation." Larcher, who is somewhat too eager on all occasions to censure Bruce, observes on this passage, that it would be easy to prove that the ^Egyptians always entertained a belief of the soul's immortality. Brace's expression is not quite perspicuous ; and it may be doubted whether Larcher's translation of it conveys the meaning which the author intended. Larcher renders it, " L'Immortalite n'etoit point encore l'objet des reflexions des hommes." It is Larcher's opinion, that the doctrine of the soul's im- mortality degenerated by degrees into that of the transmi- gration of souls ; that the Indians caught this latter opi- nion ; but that Osiris, and Sesostris, who subdued the Indians, brought it back again into /Egypt. The learned Frenchman remarks, that the immortality of the soul was from a very early period known to the Greeks, and that the compositions of Homer evidently presume this. According to Cicero, Pherecydes of Syros was the first who supported this doc- trine. Pherecydes Syrius primus dixit animos esse hominum sem- piternos. 2i2 Some amongst the Greeks.] — He doubtless means to speak of Pherecydes of Syros, and Pythagoras. — Larcher. Pherecydes was the disciple of Pitiacus, and the master of Pythagoras, and also of Thales the Milesian. He lived in the time of Servius Tullius, and, as Cicero tells us, primum dixit animos hominum esse sempiternos, first taught that the souls of men were immortal. His life is given at some length by Diogenes Laerlius. — T. EUTERPE. 39 adopted as their own ; but I shall not, though I am able, specify their names. CXXIV. I was also informed by the same priests, that, till the reign of Rhampsinitus, iEgypt was not only remarkable for its abundance, but for its excellent laws. Cheops, who succeeded this prince, degenerated into the extremest pro- fligacy of conduct Zl \ He barred the avenues to every 113 Profligacy of conduct. ,] — It is not easy to see what could induce M. de Pauw to attempt the vindication of this prince, and to reject as fabulous what Herodotus relates of his des- potism, as if this were not the infirmity of these princes, and as if they did not all endeavour to establish it within their - dominions. -/Egypt enjoyed good laws at the first, they were observed during some ages, and the people were consequently happy; but their princes endeavoured to free themselves from the restraints imposed upon them, and by degrees they succeeded. M. de Voltaire was justified in considering the construction of the pyramids as a proof of the slavery of the ./Egyptians; and it is with much justice he remarks, that it would not be possible to compel the English to erect similar masses, who are faf more powerful than the ^Egyptians at that time were. This is perfectly true, and M. de Pauw, in attacking Voltaire, has wandered from the question. He ought to have proved, that the kings of England were really able to compel their subjects to raise similar monuments, as Herodotus positively asserts of the princes of ;Egypt. He ought, I say, to have proved this, and not to have advanced that the cultivation of their lands cost the English nine times more labour than it docs in ./Egypt ; and that their marine in one year occasions the destruction of more people than the construction of all the pyramids would have done in a long scries if ages. M. de Pauw would not see that a spirit of ambition, D 4 a desire 40 EUTERPE. every temple, and forbad the ^Egyptians to offer sacrifices ; he proceeded next to make them labour servilely for himself. Some he compelled to hew stones in the quarries of the Arabian mountains, and drag them to the banks of the Nile * ; others were appointed to receive them in vessels, and transport a desire of wealth, &c. induce the English eagerly to under- take the most laborious enterprizes; that they are not obliged to do this; and in one word, that it is optional with them; on the contrary, the ./Egyptians were compelled by their sovereigns to labours the most painful, humiliating, and ser- vile.— Larc/ier. * Dr. Shaw does not believe that the stones employed in the pyramids were brought from Arabia. Notwithstanding, says he, the great extravagance and surprizing undertakings of the ./Egyptian kings, it doth not seem probable that they would have been at the vast labour and expence of bringing materials from so great a distance, when they might have been supplied from the very places where they were to em? ploy them. Now the stone, which makes the bulk and out- side of all these pyramids, is of the same nature and con- texture, hath the like accidents and appearances of spars, fossil shells, cerulean substances, &c. as are common to the mountains of Libya. In like manner Joseph's Well, the quarries of Irouel near Cairo, the catacombs of Sahara, the Sphinx, and the chambers that are cut out of the natural rock on the East and West side of these pyramids, do all of them discover the specific marks and characteristics of the pyramidal stones, and, as far as I could perceive, were not to be distinguished from them. The pyramidal stones, therer fore, were in all probability taken from this neighbour- hood ; nay, perhaps they were those very stones that had been dug away to give the Sphinx and the chambers their proper views and elevations. Shaw, p. 416. EUTERPE. 4i transport them to a mountain of Libya. For this service an hundred thousand men were em- ployed, who were relieved every three months. Ten years were consumed in the hard labour of forming the road, through which these stones were to be drawn ; a work, in my estimation, of no less fatigue and difficulty than the pyramid itself i,+ . This causeway 11S is five stadia in length, forty 4,4 The pyramid itself.]-— For the satisfaction of the English reader, I shall in few words enumerate the different uses for which the learned have supposed the pyramids to have been erected. Some have imagined that, by the hieroglyphics in- scribed on their external surface, the ./Egyptians wished to convey to the remotest posterity their. national history, as well as their improvements in science and the arts. This, however ingenious, seems but little probable; for the inge* nuity which was equal to contrive, and the industry which persevered to execute, structures like the pyramids, could not but foresee that, however the buildings themselves might from their solidity and form defy the effects of time, the out- ward surface, in such a situation and climate, could not be proportionably permanent; add to this, that the hierogly- phics were a sacred language, and, obscure in themselves, and revealed but to a select number, might to posterity afford opportunity of ingenious conjecture, but were a very inadecmate vehicle of historical facts. Others have believed the pyramids intended merely as observatories to extend philosophic and astronomical know- ledge ; but in defence of this opinion little can be said : the adjacent country is a flat and even surface; buildings, therefore, of such a height, were both absurd and unne- cessary; besides that, for such a purpose, it would have been very preposterous to have constructed such a number of costly and massy piles, differing so little in altitude. To * ,s For this note, see page 43. 42 EUTERPE. forty cubits wide, and its extreme height thirty- two cubits, the whole is of polished marble, adorned To tliis may be added, that it does not appear, from an examination of the pyramids, that access to the summit was ever practicable, during their perfect state. By some they have been considered as repositories for corn, erected by Joseph, and called the granaries of Pha- raoh. The argument against this is very convincing, and is afforded us by Pliny. " In the building of the largest of the pyramids, 366,000 men," says he, " were employed twenty years together/' This, therefore, will be found but ill to correspond with the Scriptural history of Joseph. The years of plenty which he foretold were only seven; which fact is of itself a sufficient answer to the above. It remains, therefore, to mention the more popular and the more probable opinion, which is, that they were intended for the sepulchres of the Egyptian monarchs. Instead of useful works, like nature, great, Enormous cruel wonders crush'd the land, And round a tyrant's tomb, who none deserv'd, For one vile carcass perish'd countless lives. — Thomson. When we consider the leligious prejudices of the Egyp- tians, their opinion concerning the soul, the pride, the despotism, and the magnificence of their ancient princes, together with the modern discoveries with respect to the interior of these enormous piles, there seems to remain but little occasion for argument, or reason for doubt. The following is from Mr. Wilford, Asiatic Res. vol. iii. p. 439- On my describing the great Egyptian pyramid to several very learned Brahmins, they declared it at once to have been a temple; and one of them asked if it had not a com- munication underground with the river Cali (Nile) ; when I answered that such a passage was mentioned as having ex- isted, and that a well was at this day to be seen; they una- 1 nimouslv EUTERPE. 43 adorned with the figures of animals. Ten years, as I remarked, were exhausted in forming this causeway, liimously agreed that it was a place appropriated to the worship of Padma Devi, and that the supposed tomb was a trough which on certain festivals her priests used to fill with the sacred water and Lotos flowers. What Pliny says of the labyrinth is applicable also to the pyramid; some in- sisted that it was the palace of a certain king, some that it had been the tomb of Moeris, and others, that it was built for the purpose of holy rites ; a diversity of opinion among the Greeks, which shows how little we can rely on them; and, in truth, their pride made them in general very careless and superficial inquirers into the antiquities and literature of other nations. Whatever attention the foregoing part of this observation may deserve, the conclusion is too hasty. With what truth can it be said that Herodotus was a superficial observer, who travelled to so many places for the sake of information and knowledge ? Did not Plato and many others of the most accomplished Greeks do the same? Indeed the contrary of this assertion is the fact. The more ingenious of the Greeks were distinguished by their ardour for science, and the inde- fatigable pains which they took to obtain it. 21 s Causeway.] — The stones might be conveyed by the canal that runs about two miles north of the pyramids, and from thence part of the way by this extraordinary cause- way. For at this time there is a causeway from that part, extending about a thousand yards in length, and twenty feet wide, built of hewn stone. The length of it agreeing so well with the account of Herodotus, is a strong confirmation that this causeway has been kept up ever since, though some of the materials of it may have been changed, all being now- built with free-stone. It is strengthened on each side with semicircular buttresses, about fourteen feet diameter, and thirty feet apart; there are sixty -one of these buttresses, be- ginning 44 EUTERPE. causeway, not to mention the time employed in the vaults* 16 of the hill*' 7 upon which the pyra- mids are erected. These he intended as a place of burial for himself, and were in an island which he formed by introducing the waters of the Nile *. The ginning from the north. Sixty feet farther it turns to the west for a little way, then there is a bridge of about twelve arches, twenty feet wide, built on piers that are ten feet wide. Above one hundred yards farther there is such another bridge, beyond which the causeway continues about one hundred yards to the south, ending about a mile from the pyramids, where the ground is higher. The country over which the causeway is built, being low, and the water lying on it a great while, seems to be the reason for build- ing this causeway at first, and continuing to keep it in repair. — Pococke. The two bridges described by Pococke are also mentioned particularly by Norden. The two travellers differ essentially in the dimensions which they give of the bridges they seve- rally measured ; which induces M. Larcher reasonably to suppose that Pococke described one bridge, and Norden the other.— 7'. * 16 Vaults.] — The second pyramid has a fosse cut in the rock to the north and west of it, which is about ninet}' feet wide, and thirty feet deep. There are small apartments cut from it into the rock, &c. 2,7 The hill, ,] — The pyramids are not situated in plains, but upon the rock that is at the foot of the high mountains which accompany the Nile in its course, and which make the separation betwixt /Egypt and Libya. It may have fourscore feet of perpendicular elevation above the horizon of the ground, that is always overflowed by the Nile. It is a Danish league in circumference. — Norden. * No writer or traveller has made any mention of this canal, which is again spoken of in chapter 127; not even Diodorus Siculus. See Grobert, p. 25. - EUTERPE. 43 The pyramid itself was a work of twenty years : it is of a square form ; every front is eight ple- thra 2l8 long, and as many in height ; the stones very **■ Eight plethra.] — To this day the dimensions of the great pyramid are. problematical. Since the time of Hero- dotus, many travellers and men of learning have measured it; and the difference of their calculations, far from remo- ving, have but augmented doubt. I will give you a table of their admeasurements, which at least will serve to prove how difficult it is to come at truth. Height of the Width of great pyramid. one side. Ancients. Feet. Feet. Herodotus ... S00 800 Strabo - - - - 625 ------- 6*00 Diodorus - - - 6*00 some inches - - - 700 Pliny 70S Moderns. Le Brun - - - - 6l6" ------- 704 Prosp. Alpinus - - 625 ------- 750 Thevenot - - - 520 - - 6l2 Niebuhr - - - - 440 - - - r - - - 710 Greaves - - - - 444 ------- 648 Number of the layers or steps. Greaves - - - 207 Maillet - - - 20S Albert Lewenstein 260 Pococke - - - 212 Belon - - - - 250 Thevenot - - - 208 To me it seems evident that Greaves and Niebuhr are prodigiously deceived in the perpendicular height of the great pyramid. All travellers agree it contains at least two hundred and seven layers, which layers are from four to two feet high. The highest are at the base, and they decrease insensibly to the top. I measured several, which were more than 46 EUTERPE. very skilfully cemented, and none of them of less dimensions than thirty feet. CXXV. The ascent of the pyramid was re- gularly graduated by what some call steps, and others altars *. Having finished the first flight, they than three feet high, and I found none that were less than two ; therefore the least mean height that can be allowed them is two feet and a half, which, according to the calcu- lation of Greaves himself, who counted two hundred and seven, will give live hundred and seventeen feet six inches in perpendicular height. — Salary. See the conclusion of this book for farther remarks on the pyramids. * Shaw takes occasion from this passage to intimate his opinion that the original design of the pyramids never was completed. " Neither does it appear that either this or any other of the three greater pyramids was ever finished. For the stones in the entrance into the greatest being placed arcrnvise, and at a greater height than seems necessary for so small a pas- sage ; there being also a large space left on each side of it, by discontinuing several of the parallel rows of steps, which, in other places, run quite round the pyramid ; these circum- stances, I say, in the architecture of this building, seem to point out to us some further design, and that originally there might have been intended a large and magnificent portico. Neither were the steps, or tittle altars, as Herodotus calls them, to remain in the same condition they have been in from the earliest records of Time : for these were all of them to be filled up in such a manner with prismatical stones, that each side of the pyramid, as in that of Cestius, at Rome, was to be smooth and upon a plane. Now nothing of this kind appears to have been ever attempted in the lesser or greater of these pyramids (the latter of which wants likewise a great part EUTERPE. 47 they elevated the stones to the second by the aid of machines 219 constructed of short pieces of wood ; from the second, by a similar engine, they were part of the pointy where this filling up was most probably to commence) ; but in the second, commonly called Chephrcn's pyramids, which may hint to us what was intended in them all, we see near a quarter of the whole pile very beautifully filled up, and ending at the top like the point of a diamond. These stones, agreeable perhaps to the depth of the strata from whence they were hewn, are from five to thirty feet long, and from three to four feet high. Yet notwithstand- ing the weight and massiveness of the greatest part of them, they have all been laid in mortar, which at present is easily crumbled to powder, though originally perhaps it might be of greater tenacity, as the composition of it seems to be the same with that of Barbary." z ' 9 Aid of machines.] — Mr. Greaves thinks that this ac- count of Herodotus is full of difficulty. " How, in erecting and placing so many machines, charged with such massy stones, and those continually passing over the lower de- grees, could it be avoided, but that they must either unsettle them, or endanger the breaking of some portions of them ? Which mutilations would have been like scars in the face of so magnificent a building." I own that I am of a different opinion from Mr. Greaves ; for such massy stones as Herodotus has described would not be discomposed by an engine resting upon them, and which, by the account of Herodotus, I take to be only the pulley. The account that Diodorus gives of raising the stones by imaginary ^paTsjn (heaps of earth) engines not being then, as he supposes, invented, is too absurd to take notice ol. And the description that Herodotus has given, notwithstand- ing all the objections that have been raised to it, and which have arisen principally from misrepresenting him, appears to me very clear and sensible. — Dr. Templemaris Notes to Nordem 48 EUTERPE, were raised to the third, and so on to the sum- mit. Thus there were as many machines as there were regular divisions in the ascent of the pyra- mid, though in fact there might only be one, which, being easily manageable, might be removed from one range of the building to another, as often as occasion made it necessary : both modes have been told me, and I know not which best deserves credit. The summit of the pyramid was first of all finished" 8 ; descending thence, they regularly completed the whole. Upon the out- side were inscribed, in ^Egyptian characters *", the various sums of money expended, in the pro- gress of the work, for the radishes, onions, and garlic i - 1 ° First of all finished.] — The word in the text is {|E7ro»y y 9ij, which Larcher has rendered, " On commenca revetir et per- fectionner." Great doubts have arisen amongst travellers and the learned, whether the pyramid was coated or not. Pliny tells us, that at Busiris lived people who had the agility to mount to the top of the pyramid. If it was graduated by steps, little agility would be requisite to do this ; if regu- larly coated it is hard to conceive how any agility could accomplish it. Norden says, that there is not the least mark to be per- ceived to prove that the pyramid has been coated by marble. Savary is of a contrary opinion : " That it was coated," says he, " is an incontestable fact, proved by the remains of mortar, still found in several parts of the steps, mixed with fragments of white marble." Upon the whole, it seems more reasonable to conclude that it was coated. — T, zzl JEgyptian char act e/ - s.]— Probably in common charac- ters, and not in hieroglyphics. — Larcher. EUTERPE. 49 garlic consumed by the artificers. This, as I well remember, my interpreter informed me, amounted to no less a sum than one thousand six hundred talents. If this be true, how much more must it have necessarily cost for iron tools, food, and clothes for the workmen, particularly when we consider the length of time they were employed on the building itself, adding what was spent in the hewing and conveyance of the stones, and the construction of the subterraneous apartments ? CXXVI. Cheops having exhausted his wealth, was so flagitious, that he prostituted his daughter 2 ", commanding her to make the most of her person. She complied with her father's injunctions, but I was not told what sum she thus procured, at the same time she took care to perpetuate the me- mory of herself; with which view she solicited every one of her lovers to present her with a stone. With these it is reported the middle of the three pyramids" 5 , fronting the larger one, was a** Prostituted his daughter.] — This account of the king's prostituting his daughter has been thought so full of horror, that many have doubted the truth of it ; but we have had in our own country an instance of as detestable a crime in a husband's prostituting his wife merely from an unnatural passion. — See State Trials, the Case of Mervin Lord Audley. 223 The middle of the three pyramids.] — The acts of mag- nificence which the courtesans of antiquity were enabled to accomplish from the produce o; their charms, almost exceed Vol. II. E belief. 50 EUTERPE. was constructed, the elevation of which on eacb side is one hundred and fifty feet. CXXVII. According to the ^Egyptians, this Cheops reigned fifty years. His brother Che- phren 2i4 , succeeded to his throne, and adopted a similar conduct. He also built a pyramid, but this was less than his brother's, for I measured them both ; it has no subterraneous chambers, nor any channel for the admission of the Nile, which in the other pyramid surrounds an island, where the body of Cheops is said to be deposited "*. Of this latter pyramid, the first ascent is entirely of belief. It is told of Lamia, the charming mistress of De- metrius Poliorcetes, that she erected at Sicyon a portico, so beautiful and superb, that an author named Polemo wrote a book to describe it. — See Athenccus, and the Letters of Al- ciphron. — T. *** His brother Chephreii.] — Diodorus Siculus remarks, that some authors are of opinion, that it was not his brother who succeeded him, but his son Chabryis, or Chabryen. Probably, says M. Larcher, the same word differently written. ii5 Is said to be deposit ed.~\ — The kings designed these py- ramids for their sepulchres, yet it happened that their remains were not here deposited. The people were so exasperated against them, by the severe labours they had been compelled to endure, and were so enraged at the op- pressive cruelty of their princes, that they threatened to take their bodies from their tombs, and cast them to the dogs. Both of them, therefore, when dying, ordered their relations to bury them in some secret place. — Diodorm Siculus. EUTERPE. 5i of ^Ethiopian marble * of divers colours, but it is not so high as the larger pyramid, near which it stands, by forty feet. This Chephren reigned fifty-six years ; the pyramid he built stands on the same hill with that erected by his brother : the hill itself is near one hundred feet high)'. CXXVIII. Thus for the space of one hun- dred and six years the ^Egyptians were exposed to every species of oppression and calamity, not having in all this period, permission to worship in their temples. They have so extreme an aversion for the memory of these two monarchs, that they are not very willing to mention their names" 6 . They call their pyramids by the name of * Larcher thinks this was the stone which Pliny calls pyropoecilos, that is granite, and might, the learned French- man is of opinion, be brought from Syene, which being on the borders of /Ethiopia, might, in less accurate language, ha- termed ./Ethiopia itself. f Herodote accuse 100 pieds environ pour 1'elevation du rocher. M. Norden, c. 3. Mais aucun de ces auteuia n'indique le point duquel il est parti pour apprecier cette hauteur. Le defaut d'evaluer a l'ceeil des dimensions dont la verification etait difficile, parait avoir ete de tous les tems : c'est, a man avis un des motifs des contradictions que l'on rencontre dans differens ouvrages. Jai cru que le niveau des eaux indiquant le point le plus bas, il fullait niveler depuis le canal jusqu'au bas de l'arrete N. E. du Cheops. — G ratio t. ii6 Mention (/air names.] — Part of the punishment an- nexed in France to high-treason, and other enormous offences, was the irrevocable extinction of the family name of the convicted persons.. E 2 This 52 E U T E R F E. of the shepherd Philitis 117 , who at that time fed his cattle in those places. This is probably the reason, observes M. Larcher, why historians are so much divided in opinion concerning the names of the princes who erected the pyramids. This seems a proper place to do an act of justice to our countryman Shaw. In his remarks on this passage of Herodotus, Shaw says, Herodotus indeed, who has preserved these reports, doth not give much credit to them, which his French translator has thus ignorantly rendered : — " II faut avouer cepenclant que Herodote qui nous a transmis to us ces beaux contes ne merite pas d'etre era a cet regard." Shaw says no such thing; he is, however, evidently mistaken, when he says that of the two great pyramids, Cheops erected the first, and the daughter of Cheops the second. According to Herodotus, Cheops constructed the first, Chephren the second, and My- cerinus the third. That which the daughter of Cheops built was opposite to the first and largest, and in the middle between the two others. 127 Philitis.'] — Some of the pyramids in /Egypt were styled the pyramids of the shepherd Philitis, and were said to have been built by people whom the ./Egyptians held in abomi- nation ; from whence we may form a judgment of the per- sons by whom these edifices were erected. Many hills and places of reputed sanctity were denominated from shep- herds. Caucasus, in the vicinity of Colchis, had its name conferred by Jupiter, in memory of Caucasus, a shepherd. Mount Cithaeron, in Boeotia, was called Asterius, but re- ceived the former name from one Cithaeron, a shepherd, sup- posed to have been there slain. — Bryant. The shepherds alluded to were probably the Israelites. See some acute remarks on the superstitions and ignorance of the ancient ^Egyptians in the time of Herodotus, in Gil- ford's excellent translation of Juvenal, p. 471, 2, 3. Qui de iis scripserunt, says Pliny, speaking of the pyra- mids, sunt Herodotus, Euhemerus, Duris Samius, Arista- goras, Dionysius, Artemidorus, Alexander Polyhistor, Buto- nides, EUTERPE. 53 CXXIX. Mycerinus, the son of Cheops, suc- ceeded Chephren: as he evidently disapproved of his father's conduct, he commanded the tem- ples to be opened, and the people, who had been reduced to the extrcmest affliction, were again permitted to offer sacrifice, at the shrines of their gods. He excelled all that went before him, in his administration of justice. The /Egyptians re- vere his memory beyond that of all his prede- cessors, not only for the equity of his deci- sions " 8 , but because, if complaint was ever made of his conduct as a judge, he condescended to remove and redress the injury" 9 . Whilst Myce- rinus thus distinguished himself by his exem- plary conduct to his subjects, he lost his daughter and only child, the first misfortune he expe- rienced. Her death excessively afflicted him; and wishing; to honour her funeral with more than ordinary splendour, he enclosed her body in aides, A'ntisthenes, Demetrius, Demeteles, Apion. Inter eos omnes non constat a quibus facta; suit, justissimo -ca.su obli- terans tantce vanitatis auctoribus. 228 Equity of his decisions.] — It appears, as well from this paragraph as the remainder of the chapter, that the kings administered justice to their subjects in person. It is not, therefore, very easy to see what could induce M. Pauw to assert that the sovereigns of JEgypt had not the power of d< ciding in any civil cause. — hardier. 119 Redress the injury.} — Diodorus Siculus relates the same fact; and says, that he expended large sums of money in Making compensation to such as he thought injured byjudi- tial decisions.— T. 54 EUTERPE. in an heifer i3 ° made of wood, and richly orna- mented with gold 131 . i3 ° In an heifer.] — The Patrica were not only rites of Mi- thres, but also of Osiris, who was in reality the same deity. We have a curious inscription to this purpose, and a repre- sentation which was first exhibited by the learned John Price, in his observations upon Apuleius. It is copied from an original which he saw at Venice, and there is an engraving from it in the edition of Herodotus by Gronovius, as well as in that by Wesseling, but about the purport of it they are strangely mistaken. They suppose it to relate to a daughter of Mycerinus, the son of Cheops. She died, it seems, and her father was so affected with her death, that he made a bull of wood, which he gilt, and in it interred his daughter. Herodotus says that he saw the bull of Mycerinus, and that it alluded to this history. But notwithstanding the authority of this great author, we may be assured, that it was an em- blematical representation, and an image of the sacred bull, Apis and Mnevis. — Bryant. Larcher is very severe on Mr. Bryant for his mistake about the print abovementioned. But after all there is nothing but the cow, the cloth over her, and the incense burning before her, that has the smallest reference to the story of the daughter of Mycerinus ; nor is it easy to see how the inscrip- tion can be applied to it. If it represents an /Egyptian cere- mony, it is more natural to assign it to that of the month Athyr, mentioned by Plutarch. How Larcher found out that this print represents a cow, and not a bull, does not appear. Besides all this, Herodotus does not say that he saw either bull or heifer. He says, indeed, that it remained to his time, but that he relates only what he was told. 231 Gold.] — The prophet Isaiah threatening the people of Israel for their blind confidence in ./Egypt, says, " Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornaments of thy molten images of gold." Winkelmann, speaking of the antiquity of art in JEgypt, says, " Les figures taillees originairement en bois, et les statues jettees en fonte, ont.toutes leur denomination particuliere dans la langue Hebraique : par la suite des tems les premieres furent dorees ou revalues de lames d'or." — T, EUTERPE. 55 CXXX. This heifer was not buried ; it re- 'mained even to my time, in the palace of Sais, placed in a superb hall. Every day, costly aro- matics were burnt before it, and every night it was splendidly illuminated ; in an adjoining apart- ment are deposited statues of the different con- cubines of Mycerinus, as the priests of Sais in- formed me. These are to the number of twentv, they are colossal figures, made of wood, and in a naked state, but what women they .are intended to represent, I presume not to say : I merely relate what I was told. CXXXI. Of this heifer, and these colossal figures, there are some who speak thus : Myce- rinus, they say, conceived an unnatural passion for his daughter, and offered violence to her per- son. She having, in the anguish of her mind, stranded herself, her father buried her in the manner we have described. The mother cut off the hands of those female attendants, who as- sisted the king in his designs upon his daughter, and therefore these figures are marked by the same imperfections, as distinguished the persons they represent, when alive. The whole of this story 231 , and that in particular which relates to the i3 - The whole of this story.] — In the old version of Hero- dotus before quoted, this passage is rendered thus : " But this is as true as the man in the'moone, for that a man with E 4 hdlfe 56 EUTERPE. the hands of these figures, to me seems very pre- posterous. I myself saw the hands lying on the ground, merely, as I thought, from the effect of time. CXXXII. The body of this heifer is covered with a purple cloth 233 , whilst the head and neck are very richly gilt : betwixt the horns there is a golden star; it is made to recline on its knees, and is about the size of a large cow. Every year it is brought from its apartment ; at the period when the ./Egyptians flagellate themselves in ho- nour of a certain god, whom it does not become me to name, this heifer is produced to the light : it was the request, they say, of the dying princess to her father, that she might once every year behold the sun. CXXXIII. Mycerinus after the loss of his daughter, met with a second calamity ; an oracle from the city Butos informed him that he should live halfe an eye may clearely perceive that their hands fel off for very age, by reason that the wood, through long conti- nuance of time, was spaked and perished." — Herodotus his second Booke e/itituled Euterpe. * 3J With a -purple cloth.] — " The ^Egyptians," says Plu- tarch, " have a custom in the month Athyr, of ornamenting a golden image of a bull, which they cover with a black robe of the finest linen. This they do in commemoration of Isis, and her grief for the loss of Orus." EUTERPE. 57 live six years, but die in the seventh ; the intel- ligence astonished him, and he sent a message in return to reproach the goddess*'* with injustice; for that his father and his uncle, who had been injurious to mankind, and impious to the gods, had enjoyed each a length of life of which he was to be deprived, who was distinguished for his piety. The reply of the oracle told him, that his early death* was the consequence of the conduct for which he commended himself; he had not fulfilled the purpose of the fates, who had de- creed that for the space of one hundred and fifty years iEgypt should be oppressed ; of which de- termination the two preceding monarchs had been aware, but he had not. As soon as Mycerinus knew that his destiny was immutable, he caused an immense number of lamps to be made, by the light of which, when evening approached, he passed his hours in the festivity of the banquet ZJS : he frequented by day and by night the groves and streams, and whatever places he thought product- ive of delight: by this method of changing night into *3* j> yepyoach the goddess.] — Instead of to 0ew Yalcnaer proposes to read rij Giu: " No god," says he, " had an oracle at Butos, but the goddess called by the Greeks Latona, the nurse of Apollo the son of Ibis, who had an oracle at Butos held in the highest estimation." — T, * lie could not be very young; he was probably born some years before the death of his aged parent, and that was fifty-seven years before he began to reign. 235 Of the l)(i)!(juct.]— .i'.lian records many examples similar \.o this of Mycerinus, in his Various History, book u. chap.41. 58 EUTERPE. into day, and apparently multiplying his six years into twelve, he thought to convict the oracle of falsehood. CXXXIV. This prince also built a pyra- mid * 2j6 , but it was not by twenty feet so high as his father's ; it was a regular square on every side, three hundred feet in height, and as far as the middle of ^Ethiopian stone. Some of the Greeks erroneously believe this to have been erected * This pyramid of Mycerinus, as well as that of Che- phrens, could not possibly be built for sepulchres. It is evident that no passage was left to enter them, which was not the case with the great pyramid ; and there is no tradi- tion when they were erected by pious successors over the tombs of their. ancestors. i3r ' Built a pyramid.] — " If," says Diodorus Siculus, speak- ing of this pyramid, " it is less in size and extent than the others, it is superior to them in the costliness of the mate- rials, and excellence of the workmanship." — T. To the East of it is the third pyramid, said to be built by Mycerinus. 'Herodotus speaks of it as three hundred feet square. I measured it at the top, fourteen feet on the North side, and twelve on the East, and counting seventy-eight steps, at one foot nine inches broad, it amounts to about the number of feet. Our author affirms that it was built half way up with ^Ethiopian marble, that is cased with it. Dio- dorus mentions fifteen tier, so that computing each tier on the outside to be five feet deep, as I found them, that will amount to seventy-five feet, which answers within six feet of the height, computed at one hundred and fifty-six feet, supposing the steps to be two feet high. On this account Strabo says it was as expensive a work as the others. All round it are remains of the granite it was adorned with, which has been pulled down, and great part of it carried away. — Pococke. v. i. p. 47. EUTERPE. 59 erected by Rhodopis 137 the courtesan, but they do not seem to me even to know who this Rho- dopis was; if they had, they never could have ascribed to her the building of a pyramid, pro- duced at the expense of several thousand ta- lents** 38 : besides this, Rhodopis lived at a dif- ferent * Yet Herodotus tells a similar story of the daughter of Cheops. 137 Rhodopis.] — The following account of this Rhodopis is from Strabo. It is said that this pyramid was erected by the lovers of Rhodopis, by Sappho called Doricha: she was the mistress of her brother Charaxus, who carried to Naucratis, Lesbian wine, in which article he dealt ; others call her Rhodope. It is reported of her, that one day when she was in the bath, an eagle snatched one of her slippers from an attendant, and carried it to Memphis. The king was then sitting in his tri- bunal; the eagle, settling above his head, let fall the slipper into his bosom : the prince, astonished at this singular event, and at the smallness of the slipper, ordered a search to be made through the country for the female to whom it be- longed. Having found her at Naucratis, she was presented to the king, who made her his wife: when she died she was buried in the manner we have described. Diodorus Siculus says, that this pyramid was believed to have be< n erected to the memory of Rhodopis, at the ex- pense of some governors who had been her admirers. Perizonius, in his notes on ./Elian, says, that there were two of this name ; one a courtesan, who afterwards became the v ifc of Psammitichus ; the other the fellow-slave of /Esop, who lived in the time of Amasis ; but Larcher satisfactorily shews that Perizonius was mistaken. — T. 138 Several thousand talents.'] — Demetrius Poliorcetes com- pelled the Athenians to raise fo him immediately the sum of two hundred and fifty talents, which he sent to his mistress 3 Lamia, 60 EUTERPE. ferent period, in the time, not of Mycerinus, but Amasis, and many years after the monarchs who erected the pyramids. Rhodopis was born in Thrace, the slave of Iadmon, the son of He- pha?stopolis the Samian : she was the fellow-ser- vant of i&sop, who wrote fables a39 , and was also the Lamia, saying it was for soap, When I inform the reader that she spent this immense sum in a feast given to her lord, what is here related of Rhodopis may seem less incre- dible.— T. z3 ° JEsop, u-ho wrote fables.'] — This name is so familiar, that it may at first sight seem superfluous and inconsistent to say any thing on the subject ; but possibly every English reader may not know, that the fables which go under his name were certainly not of his composition; indeed but little concerning him can be ascertained as fact. Plutarch assures us, that Croesus sent iEsop to the oracle of Delphi ; that /Esop and Solon were together at the court of Croesus ; that the inhabitants of Delphi put him to death, and afterwards made atonement to his memory: and finally, that Socrates versified his fables. Plato, who would not admit Homer into his commonwealth, gave iEsop an honourable place in them, at least such is the expression of Fontaine. It remains to do away one absurd and vulgar prejudice concerning him. Modern painters and artists have often thought proper to represent Bacchus as a gross, vulgar, and bloated personage; on the contrary, all the ancient poets and artists represented him as a youth of most exquisite beauty. A similar error has prevailed with respect to vEsop ; that it is an error, Bentley's reasoning must satisfac- torily prove to whoever gives it the attention which it merits. " In Plato's feast," says he, " they are very merry upon Socrates' face, which resembled old Silenus. iEsop was one of the guests, but nobody presumes to jest on his ugli- ness." Philostratus has given, in two books, a description of EUTERPE. 61 the slave of Iaclmon ; all which may be thus easily proved : The Delphians, in compliance with the directions of the oracle, had desired pub- licly to know, if any one required atonement to be made for the death of /Esop ; but none ap- peared to do this, except a grandson of Iadmon, bearing the same name. O CXXXV. Rhodopiswas first carried to -Egypt by Xanthus of Samos, whose view was to make money of a gallery of pictures; one is Msop, with a chorus of animals about him ; he is painted smiling and looking thoughtfully on the ground, but not a word on his de- formity : the Athenians erected a statue in his honour. Sen Phcedrus's Fab. 1. 11. iEsopo ingentem statuam posuere Attici Servumque collocarunt aeterna in vasi Patere honoris scirent ut cunctis viam Nee gencri tribui sed virtuti gloriam. If he had been deformed, continues Bentley, a statue had been no more than a monument of his ugliness, it would have been kinder to his memory to have let it alone. But after all, the strongest argument to prove that he was not of a disagreeable form, is that he must have been sold into Samos by a trader in slaves. It is well known that the people bought up the most handsome youths they could procure. If we may judge of him from his companion and contubernalis, we must believe him a comely person. Rho- dopis was the greatest beauty of her age, even to a proverb— ccrruvd opoioc. xj PoOoj7tk; v> kol\vi. The compilers ot the Encyclopaedia Britannica have given into the vulgar error, and scruple not to pronounce /Esop a person of striking deformity. — T. 62 EUTERPE. money by her person. Her liberty was purchased for an immense sum by Charaxus 24 ° of Mytilene, son of Scamandronymus, and brother of Sappho the poetess', thus becoming free, she afterwards continued in iEgypt, where her beauty procured her considerable wealth, though by no means adequate to the construction of such a pyramid ; the tenth part of her riches, whoever pleases may even now ascertain, and they will not be found so great as has been represented. Wishing to perpetuate her name in Greece, she contrived what had never before been imagined, as an offering for the Delphic temple : she ordered a tenth part of her property to be expended in making a number of iron spits, each large enough to roast an ox ; they were sent to Delphi, where they a4 ° Charaxus.] — Sappho had two other brothers, Eurvgius and Larychus, or rather Larichus, as it is written in Athe- nseus, the Dorians being partial to terminations in ic/ios. — ■ Larcher. Athenceus asserts, that the courtesan of Naucratis, beloved by Charaxus, and satirised by Sappho, was called Dorica. The same author adds, that Herodotus calls her Rhodopis from ignorance ; but the opinion of Herodotus is confirmed by Strabo. — Larcher. See Athenasus, 1. 12, c. 7. Naucratis produced many celebrated courtesans, and of great beauty. Among these was Dorica, whom Sappho re- prehends in some satirical verses, because being beloved Kv Charaxus, her brother, who had visited Naucratis on some commercial business, she extorted a great deal of money from him. EUTERPE. 63 they are now to be seen 141 behind the altar pre- sented by the Chians. The courtesans of Nau- cratis i4 * are generally beautiful ; she of whom we speak, was so universally celebrated that her name is familiar to every Greek. There was also another courtesan, named Archidice 145 , well known in Greece, though of less repute than Rhodopis. 141 Where they are now to be seen.] — They were not to be seen in the time of Plutarch; in his tract assigning the rea- sons why the Pythian ceased to deliver her oracles in verse, Brasidias, whose office it was to shew the curiosities of the place, points out the place where they formerly stood. — T. 242i The courtesans of Naucratis.] — " Howbeit such arrant honest women as are fishe for everye man, have in no place the like credite as in the city of Naucrates. Forsomuch as this stalant of whom we speake, had her fame so bruted in all places, as almost there was none in Greece that had not heard of the fame of Rhodope ; after whome there sprang up also another as good as ever ambled, by name Archidice, &c." — Herodotus his second booke, entituled Euterpe. 143 Archidice.] — Of this courtesan the following anecdote is related by iElian : She demanded a great sum of money of a young man who loved her ; the bargain broke off, and the lover withdrew re infecta : he dreamed in the night that he lay with the woman, which cured his passion. Archi- dice, on learning this, pretended that the young man oua,ht to pay her, and summoned him before the judges: the judge ordered the man to put the sum of money required,' into a purse, and to move it so that its shadow might fall on Ar- chidice ; his meaning was, that the young man's pleasure was but the shadow of a real one. The celebrated Lamia con- demned this decision as unjust; the shadow of the purse, she observed, had not cured the courtesan's passion for the money, whereas the dream had cured the young man's pas- sion for the woman. 64 EUTERPE. Rhodopis. Charaxus, after giving Rhodopis her liberty, returned to Mytilene, this woman was severely handled by Sappho in some satirical verses : — but enough has been said on the subject of Rhodopis. CXXXVI. After Mycerinus, as the priests informed me, Asychis reigned in iEgypt; he erected the east entrance to the temple of Vulcan, which is far the greatest and most magnificent. Each of the above-mentioned vestibules is ele- gantly adorned with figures well carved, and other ornaments of buildings, but this is superior to them all. In this reign, when commerce was checked and injured from the extreme want of money, an ordinance passed, that any one might borrow money, giving the body of his father as a pledge : by this law the sepulchre of the debtor became in the power of the creditor ; for if the debt was not discharged he could neither be buried with his family, nor in any other vault, nor was he suffered to inter one of his de- scendants*. This prince, desirous of surpass- ing all his predecessors, left as a monument of his fame a pyramid of brick, with this inscrip- tion on a piece of marble. — " Do not disparage my * The laws of England allow the arrest of a person's dead body till his debts are paid ; this mentioned by Herodotus is the first example perhaps on record of such a custom, EUTERPE. 65 " my worth by comparing me to those pyramids " composed of stone ; I am as much superior to " them, as Jove is to the rest of the deities ; I a am formed of bricks 24f , which were made of " mud adhering to poles drawn from the bottom " of the lake." — This was the most memorable of this kind's actions. CXXXVII. He was succeeded by an inha- bitant of Anysis, whose name was Anysis, and **' Formed of bricks.] — Mr. Greaves asserts, that all the pyramids were made of stone, of course he did not pene- trate Far enough into /Egypt to see the one here mentioned; it is situated about four leagues from Cairo, and is noticed both by Norden and Pococke. — T. As to .what concerns the works on which the Israelites were employed in .Egypt, I admit that I have not been able to find any ruins of bricks burnt in the fire. There is in- deed a wall of that kind which is sunk very deep in the ground, and is very long, near to the pyramids, and adjoin- ing to the bridges of the Saracens, that are situated in the plain ; but it appears too modern to think that the bricks of which it is formed were made by the Israelites. All that 1 have seen elsewhere of brick building, is composed of the large kind of bricks hardened in the sun, such as those of the brick pyramid. — Norden. The nature of the bricks made by the Israelites may be easily understood; they were unburnt bricks, of which straw made a part of.the composition. Such have been seen from Ancient Babylon; one of this description is preserved in the British Museum. They are every where to be seen in hot climates. Such could not be burnt without consuming the straw, which would involve an absurdity. The brick hi the British Museum, brought from the site of ancient Babylon, is evidently sun-dried. It is of a friable nature, and pieces of broken reeds are clearly to be seen. Vol, II, F who 60 E U T E 11 P E. who was blind. In his reign, Sabacus '^ 6 king of JEthiopia overran ^Egypt with a numerous army ; Anysis fled to the morasses, and saved his life ; but Sabacus continued master of iEgypt for the space of fifty years. Whilst he retained his au- thority, he made it a rule not to punish any crime with death, but according to the magnitude of the offence he condemned the criminal to raise the ground near the place to which he be- longed ; by which means the situation of the different cities became more and more elevated : they were somewhat raised under the reign of Sesostris by the digging of the canals, but they became still more so under the reign of the ^Ethi- opian. This was the case with all the cities of ^Egypt, but more particularly with the city of Bubastis *. There is in this city a temple, which well 146 Sabacus.] — This event happened in the beginning of the reign of Ilezekiah. Prideaux, on the authority of Syn- cellus, says he took Bocchoris, and burnt him alive ; but it is more generally believed that Bocchoris was anterior to Sabacus: this last is the person mentioned in the book of Kings, by the name of So.— T. * Bubastis.] — The reader will do well to consult the French Memoires sur L'iEgypte, (vol. i. p. 215, et seq.) for the description of the ruins of the Temple of Bubastis, or Bastus, now called in the Vernacular tongue, Thai Baslah. It is wonderful how very minutely the description given by the French travellers corresponds with this of Herodotus, exhibiting another most striking instance of his veracity and accuracy. The ruins of the temple are of granite, and form, as the French writer expresses himself, a school of ^Egyptian architecture. The position of Bubastis being found, gives us EUTERPE. 67 well deserves our attention ; there may be others larger as well as more splendid, but none which have a more delightful situation. Bubastis in Qreek is synonymous with Artemis or Diana 147 . CXXXVIII. This temple, taking away the entrance, forms an island ; two branches of the Nile meet at the entrance of the temple, and then separating, flow on each side entirely round it; each of these branches is one hundred feet wide, and regularly shaded with trees ; the ves- tibule is fortv cubits high, and ornamented with various figures, none of which are less than six cubits. The temple is in the centre of the town, and is in every part a conspicuous object; its situation has never been altered, though every other part of the city has been elevated ; a wall ornamented with sculpture surrounds the build- ing; in the interior part, a grove of lofty trees shades us a point in the course of the old Pelusiac branch of the Nile, and this has been expressed by Major Renhel in the corrected map of /Egypt, which by hia kind permission ac- companies this work. 147 Artemis or Diana.] — Bubastis was a virgin, presided at childbirths, and was the symbol of the moon. This re- semblance with their Diana caused the Greeks to name ba- the Diana of the /Egyptians : yet the similitude was far from perfect, for with the latter she was not the eoddess of the mountains, the woods, and the chase. (58 EUTERPE. shades the temple, in the centre of which is the statue of the goddess : the length and breadth of the temple each way, is one stadium. There is a paved way which leads through the public square of the city, from the entrance of this temple to that of Mercury 248 , which is about thirty stadia in length. 2+15 Mercury.] — The ^Egyptian Mercury was named Thoth or Theuth. Thoth with the /Egyptians was the inventor of the sciences; and as Mercury with the Greeks presided over the sciences, this last people called Thoth in their tongue by the name of Hermes or Mercury : they had also given the name of Mercury to Anubis, on account of some fancied similitude betwixt those deities. " It is not," says Plutarch, " a dog properly so called, which they revere under the name of Mercury, it is his vigilance and fidelity, the instinct which teaches him to distinguish a friend from an enemy, that which (to use the expression of Plato) makes this animal a suitable emblem to the god, the" immediate patron of reason." Servius on Virgil has a remark to the same effect. — La rch er. TJiis deity also with the Romans was esteemed the patron of arts, and the protector of learned men. See the ode addressed to him by Horace, beginning with Mercuri, (nam te docilis magistro Movit Amphion lapides canendo,) Tuque testudo, resonare septem Callida nervis, &c. Where he is not only represented as the patron, but the teacher of music. Learned men also were called Viri Mercurials. Nisi Faunus ictum Dcxtra levasset, Mercurialium Custos virorum, — Horace. T. EUTERPE. 69 CXXXIX. The deliverance of /Egypt from the ./Ethiopian was, as" they told me, effected by a vision, which induced him to leave the country : a person appeared to him in a dream, advising him to assemble all the priests of iEgypt, and afterwards cut them in pieces. This vision to him seemed to demonstrate, that in consequence of some act of impiety, which he was thus tempted to perpetrate, his ruin was at hand, from Heaven or from man. Determined not to do this deed, he conceived it more prudent to withdraw him- self; particularly as the time of his reigning over iEgypt was, according to the declarations of the oracles, now to terminate. During his former residence in ^Ethiopia, the oracles of his coun- try 2,49 had told him, that he should reign fifty years over iEgypt: this period being accom- plished, he was so terrified by the vision, that he voluntarily withdrew himself, CXL. Immediately on his departure* 10 from /Egypt, the blind prince quitted his place of re- fuge, and resumed the government: he had re- sided 149 The oracles of his country.] — The oracles in ^Ethiopia were the oracles of Jupiter. — T. a, ° On his departure.] — Diodorus Siculus says, that after the departure of Sabacus there was an anarchy of two years, which was succeeded by the reign of twelve kings, who at their joint expence constructed the labyrinth. F 3 ;o EUTERPE. sided for the period of fifty years in a solitary island, which he himself had formed of ashes and of earth. He directed those ^Egyptians who fre- quented his neighbourhood for the purpose of disposing of their corn, to bring with them, un- known to their ^Ethiopian master, ashes for his use. Amyrtaeus was the first person who dis^ covered this island, which all the princes who reigned during the space of five hundred years ZS1 before Amyrtasus, were unable to do : it is called Elbo *, and is on each side ten stadia in length. CXLI. The successor of this prince was Sethos, a priest of Vulcan z$z ; he treated the military of .Egypt 251 Five hundred years,]— N. Larcher says that the term of seven hundred is a mistake, and crept into the manuf- script of Herodotus from a confusion of the numeral letters by copyists. The remark is as old as Perizonius, and ac- counted for by Bouhier. I ha\e accordingly, on their joint authority, altered the reading from seven to five hundred, which indeed is also more consistent with probability. The El in this word, as well as in others which occur, seems to indicate that these were Arabic names, and that the El is the article. *5* Priest of Vulcan.] — The following account is given by M. Larcher, from Plato, Plutarch, and Diodorus Siculus. A prince cannot reign in /Egypt if he be ignorant of sacred affairs. It an individual of any other class comes acci- dentally to the crown, he must be immediately admitted of the sacerdotal order. " The kings," says Plutarch, " must be either of the order of priests or soldiers, these two classes being distinguished, the one by their wisdom, the other by their EUTERPE. 71 iEgypt with extreme contempt, and as if be had no occasion for their services. Anions; other in- dignities, he deprived them of their arura3 zs? , or fields of fifty feet square, which, by way of re- ward, his predecessors had given to each soldier : the result was, that when Sennacherib, king of Arabia and Assyria, attacked iEgypt with a mighty army, the warriors, whom he had thus treated, refused to assist him. In this perplexity the priest retired to the shrine of his god, before which he lamented his danger and misfortunes : here he sunk into a profound sleep, and his deity promised their valour." — When they have chosen a warrior for king, he is instantly admitted into the order of priests, who in- struct him in their mysterious philosophy. The priests may censure the prince, give him advice, and regulate his ac- tions. By them is fixed the time when he may walk, bathe, or visit his wife. " Such privileges as the above," says M. Larcher, " must necessarily inspire them with contempt for the rest of the nation, and must have excited a spirit of disgust in a people not blinded by superstition." Sethos however experienced how dangerous it was to follow the maxims of the priesthood only. aS3 Amrcc.] — Arura is a Greek word, which signifies lite- rally a field ploughed for corn, and is sometimes used for the corn itself. It was also an Egyptian measure. " y£gypt," says Strabo, " was divided into prefectures, which again were divided into Toparchice, and these into other portions, the smallest of which were termed ufti^cci." Suidas says it was a measure of fifty feet : from this word is derived artum, aro, txc— Sec Hoffman on this ■word. F 4 n EUTERPE. promised him in a dream, that if he marched to meet the Assyrians he should experience no in- jury, for that he would furnish him with assistance, The vision inspired him with confidence ; he put himself at the head of his adherents, and marched to Pelusium, the entrance of /Egypt; not a soldier accompanied the party, which was entirely com- posed of tradesmen 254 and artizans. On their arrival at Pelusium, so immense a number of mice 1SS infested by night the enemy's camp, that their 25 * Tradesmen.] — The /Egyptians were divided into three classes; those of rank, who, with the priests, occupied the most distinguished honours of the state; the military, who were also husbandmen ; and artizans, who exercised the meaner employments. The above is from Diodorus Siculu^, who speaks probably of the three principal divisions : He* rodotus mentions seven classes.— Lurcher. 251 Immense a number of mice.] — The Babylonish Talmud hath it, that this destruction upon the army of the Assyrfans was executed by lightning, and some of the Targums are quoted for saying the same thing : but it seemeth most likely, that it was effected by bringing on them the hot wind, which is frequent in those parts, and often when it lights among a multitude destroys great numbers of them in a moment, as it frequently happens in those vast caravans of the Maho- metans who go their annual pilgrimages to Mecca; and the words of Isaiah, which threatened Sennacherib with a blast that God would send upon him, seem to denote this thing. Herodotus gives us some kind of a disguised account of this deliverance from the Assyrians, in a fabulous appli- cation of it to the city of Pelusium, instead of Jerusalem, and to Sethos the /Egyptian, instead of Hezekiah. It is particularly to be remarked, that Herodotus calls the lung of Assyria Sennacherib, as the Scriptures do, and the time EUTERPE. 75 their quivers and bows, together with what se* cured their shields to their arms, were gnawed in pieces. In the morning the Arabians, finding themselves without arms, fled in confusion, and lost great numbers of their men. There is now to be seen in the temple of Vulcan, a marble statue of this king, having a mouse in his hand, and time in both doth also well agree ; which plainly shows that it is the same fact that is referred to by Herodotus, although much disguised in the relation; which may be easily ac- counted for, when we consider that it comes to us through the hands of such as had the greatest aversion both to the nation and to the religion of the Jews, and therefore would relate nothing in such a manner as would give reputation to cither. — Prideaux's Connection. M. Lurcher, in a note of five pages on the above, says little more than our countryman, except that he adopts, with respect to the destruction of the army of Sennacherib, the opinion of Josephus, whose words are these; " Sennacherib, on Ins return from the /Egyptian war, found his army, which he had left under Rabshakeh, almost quite destroyed by a judicial pestilence, which swept away, in officers and common soldiers, the first night they sat down before the city, one hundred eighty-five thousand men." In his first edition, Larcher adopted the opinion of Jo- sephus, that this destruction of Sennacherib's army was occa- sioned by a judicial pestilence; but in his second he retracts this, and considers it as erroneous, and for these reasons : there are no stagnant waters in the neighbourhood of Pelu^ sium, and consequently no putrid exhalations to corrupt the air, or injure the health of the Assyrians. But suppose there had, how could these have effected the destruction of one hundred and eighty-five thousand meivin the space of three days. This could only have been by a miracle not less than that recorded in Scripture. Thus, Larcher pertinently ob- serves, in order to detract from Scripture, men, without per reiving it, fall into the most disgusting absurdities. 74 EUTERPE. and with this inscription: "Whoever thou art, " learn, from my fortune, to reverence the gods." CXLII. Thus, according to the information of the .Egyptians and their priests, from the first king to this last, who was priest of Vulcan^ a period of three hundred and forty-one gene- rations had passed, in which there had been as many high priests, and the same number of kings. Three generations are equal to one hundred years, and therefore three hundred generations are the same as ten thousand years; the forty- one generations that remain, make one thousand three hundred and forty years. During the above space of eleven thousand three hundred and forty years, they assert that no divinity appeared in a human form; but they do not say the same of the time anterior to this account, or of that of the kings who reigned afterwards. During the above period of time the sun, they told me, had four times * deviated from his ordinary course, having twice risen where he uniformly goes down, and twice gone down where he uniformly rises. This however had produced no alteration in the climate of iEgypt; the fruits of the earth, and the phenomena of the Nile, had always been the same, * After examining the different attempts to explain this story of the sun's changing his place four times, Larcher cuts the knot by representing this as an extravagant rodo- montade of the priests. 1 The EUTERPE, 75 same, nor had any extraordinary or fatal diseases occurred. CXLIII. When the historian Hecatreus zs6 was at Thebes, he recited to the priests of Jupiter the particulars 7 - 1 f The Greeks had a fabulous tradition of the same kind. Plato relates, that under the reign of Atreus, the sun and stars changed their situation in the heavens. And if to those ^Egyptian wizards old, Which in star rede were wont have best insight. Faith may be given, it is by them told That since the time they first took the sun's height. Four times his place he shifted hath in sight, And twice hath risen where he now doth west, And wested twice where he ought rise aright. Spenser, book v. stanz. 8. 466 When the historian Ilecafceus.'] — Athenzeus relates the same circumstance as from Hecatoaus, which may serve to confirm the assertion of Porphyry, that Herodotus took great part of bis second book, with very slight alteration, from Hecataeus. If this fact be once allowed, Herodotus will lose the character that he has long supported, of an honest man, and a faithful historian. But it appears from Athena?us himself, that the work which in later ages passed under the name of Hecataeus the Milesian, was not univer- sally acknowledged for genuine ; and Callimachus, who em- ployed much of his time and pains in distinguishing genuine from spurious authors, attributes the supposed work of He- cataeus to another and a later writer. But what is perhaps even a stronger proof in our author's favour, is that he is never charged with the crime of theft by Plutarch, whose knowledge of this plagiarism, if it had ever existed, cannot be questioned, when we consider his extensive and accurate learning; and whose zeal to discover it cannot be doubted, when we reflect that he has written a treatise expressly to prove 7G EUTERPE. particulars of his descent, and endeavoured to prove that he was the sixteenth in a right line from some god. But they did to him what they afterwards did to me, who had said nothing on the suhject of my family. They introduced me into a spacious temple, and displayed to me a number of figures in wood ; this number I have before specified, for every high priest places here, during prove the malignity of Herodotus, though in fact it only proves his own. Could Plutarch miss such an opportunity of taxing Herodotus? Could he have failed of saying, that this historian was at once, so malicious and so ungrateful as to speak with disrespect and contempt of the author to whom he was obliged for a considerable portion of his own history ? Our materials for an account of Hecataeus are at best but scanty. He was a native of Miletus, and son of one /Egi- sander ; he was one of the very first writers of prose, with Cadmus and Pherecydes of Scyros. Salmasius contends that he was older than Pherecydes, but younger than Eu- melus. The most ample account of him is found in Vossius. He certainly wrote a book of genealogies; and the sentence with which he commences his history is preserved in Deme- trius Phalereus : it is to this effect, " What follows is the recital of llecatams of Miletus; I write what seerrjs to me to be true. The Greeks in my opinion have related many things contradictory and ridiculous." The /Egyptian priests absolutely denied to Hecatasus the possibility of a human being's descent from a god. Bergier 'had connected this sentence with the declaration of the same priests to Herodotus, that no divinity appeared in a human form for a specified number of years. Larcher not attend- ing to this, blames Bergier, as if the other passage did not, occur in Herodotus. — T. EUTERPE. 7t during his life, a wooden figure of himself. The pries Is enumerated them before me, and proved, as they ascended from the last to the first, that the son followed the father in regular succession. When Hecataeus, in the explanation of his genea- logy, ascended regularly, and traced his descent in the sixteenth line from a god, they opposed a similar mode of reasoning to his, and absolutely denied the possibility of a human being's descent from a god. They informed him that each of these colossal figures was a Piromis* 57 , descended from 217 Piromis.] — There are many strange, and contradictory opinions about this passage, which, if I do not deceive my- self, is very plain, and the purport of it this : — " After the fabulous accounts, there had been an uninterrupted suc- cession of Piromis after Piromis, and the /Egyptians re- ferred none of these to the dynasties of either the gods or heroes, who were supposed to have first possessed the country." — From hence I think it is manifest that Piromis signifies a man. — Bryant. M. Lacroze observes, that Brama, which the Indians of ■Malabar pronounce Biroumas, in the Sanscreet or sacred language of India, signifies the same as Piromis: and that Pirimia, in the language of the inhabitants of Ceylon, means also at this day a man. Quaere, is this coincidence the effect of chance, or of the conquests of Sesostris, who left colonics in various parts of Asia? — Lurcher. If it were admitted that /Egypt was colonized from India, every difficulty of this kind vanishes at once. J. archer either did not think of this mode of solving it, or distrusted the feet. Nothing certainly appears more absurd than this double line of priests and kings, who each reigned for thirty- three years, fcr three hundred and forty-one - us. It 78 EUTERPE. from a Piromis ; and they further asserted, that without any variation this had uniformly occurred to the number of the three hundred and forty- one, but in this whole series there was no refe- rence either to a god or a hero. Piromis in the /Egyptian language means one " beautiful and good." CXLIV. From these priests I learned, that the individuals whom these figures represented, so far from possessing any divine attributes, had all been what I have described. But in the times which preceded, immortal beings 258 had reigned in It is hardly possible that Herodotus should have been mistaken in his explanation of this word. We have a suffi- cient number of examples in our own language what variation of meaning, words undergo by the process of time. Thus, from the Saxon gode, good, we have God; the original meaning of man was sin. See Casaubon's remarks on this circumstance. In the old Saxon manuscripts these words good and evil, Avhen they signify God and man, are distin- guished by a particular accent. If the reader wishes to see more on this subject, he may consult Casaubon de Lingua Anglica Vetere, p. 23o\ 258 Immortal beings.] — M. Larcher says, that all govern- ments were at first theocratic, and afterwards became mo- narchic and democratic. In the theocratic form the priests governed alone, who also preserved a considerable influence in monarchies and republics. What prevents our supposing that iligypt was governed many thousand years by priests ; and that this government, in reality theocratic, was named from EUTERPE. 79 in JEgypt, that they had communication with men, and had uniformly one superior; that Orus 1S9 , whom the Greeks call Apollo, was the last of these ; he was the son of Osiris, and, after he had expelled Typhon* 60 , himself succeeded to the from that deity to whom the high priest who enjoyed tha sovereign authority attached himself? In all this, Larchcr is wrong, and ought to be corrected. The first governments were patriarchal, then monarchical. The conclusion of the learned Frenchman's remark is absurd enough. -/Egypt was governed by kings in the time of Moses : the high antiquity of .Egypt is still among the pre- vailin" cant of infidels. Larcher should have reconsidered this note. 459 Orut.] — According to Plutarch, the .Egyptians held two principles, one good, the other evil. The good principle consisted of three persons, father, mother, and son; Osiris was the father, Isis the mother, and Orus the son. The bad principle was Tvphon: Osiris, strictly speaking, was syno- nymous with reason; Tvphon the passions, uXoyos, withe ul reason. — T. 20 '' Typ/ion.] — Tvphon, as the principle of evil* was ahvava inclined to it; all bad passions, diseases, tempests, and earthquakes, were imputed to him. Like the untutored In- dians and savages, the ^Egyptians paid adoration to Typhou from fear ; they consecrated to him the hippopotamos, the crocodile, and the ass. According to .Tablonski, the word Typhon is derived from Thcu a wind, and phou pernicious. To Osiris is ascribed the introduction of the vine ; " and where," says Mr. Bryant, " that was not adapted to the soil, he showed the people the way to make wine of barley." — T. The Greeks considered Osiris the same person as Bacchus, because they discovered a great resemblance between the tables related of Bacchus and the traditions of the .Egyptians concerning 80 EUTERPE. the throne ; it is also to be observed, that in the Greek tongue Osiris is synonymous with Bacchus. CXLV. The Greeks consider Hercules, Bac- chus, and Pan, as the youngest of their deities; but /Egypt esteems Pan as the most ancient of the gods, and even of those eight 161 who are ac- counted the first. Hercules was among those of the second rank in point of antiquity, and one of those concerning Osiris. Learned men of modern times have believed that Isuren, one of the three divinities to whom the Indians now pay adoration, is the ancient Osiris, but this remains to be proved. — Larcher. The three Indian deities are Brama, Vishnou, and Seeva ; where Larcher found Isuren, I cannot imagine. 3.61 E Ten of those eight."] — The ark, according to the tra- ditions of the Gentile world, was prophetic, and was looked upon as a kind of temple or place of residence of the Deity. In the compass of eight persons it comprehended all man- kind ; which eight persons were thought to be so highly favoured by Heaven, that they were looked up to by their posterity with great reverence, and came at last to he re- puted deities. Hence in the ancient mythology of iEgypt there were precisely eight gods; of these the sun was chief, and was said to have reigned first. Some made Hephaistus the first king of that country ; whilst others supposed it to have been Pan. There is no real inconsistency in these accounts ; they were all three titles of the same deity, the Sun. — Errant. Herodotus says, eight of the first sort ; he also tells, us that Orus, the Apollo of the Greeks, was the last god that reigned : what then can Mr. Bryant mean by saying he waa the first ? EUTERPE. 81 those called the twelve gods. Bacchus was of the third rank, and among those whom the twelve produced. I have before specified the number of years which the ^Egyptians reckon from the time of Hercules to the reign of Amasis : from the time of Pan a still more distant period is reckoned ; from Bacchus, the youngest of all, to the time of Amasis, is a period, they say, of fif- teen thousand years. On this subject the iEgyp- tians have no doubts, for they profess to have always computed the years, and to have kept written accounts of them with the minutest ac- curacy. From Bacchus, who is said to be the son of Semele, the daughter of Cadmus i6a , to the present time, is one thousand six hundred years ; from Hercules, the reputed son of Alc- mena, is nine hundred years; and from Pan, whom the Greeks call the son of Penelope and Mercury, is eight hundred years, before which time was the Trojan war. CXLYI. Upon this subject I have given my own opinion, leaving it to my readers to deter- rCz Daughter of CadmztS.] — The son of Cadmus is sup- posed to hive lived at the time of the Trojan war; his daughter Serhele is said t« have been sixteen hundred years before Herodotus, h\ that writer's own account: — She was at this rate prior to the foundation of Argos, and many cen- turies before her father, near a thousand years before her brother. — Bryant, Vol. II. G mine 82 EUTERPE. mine for themselves. If these deities had been known in Greece, and then grown old, like Her- cules the son of Amphitryon, Bacchus the son of Semele, and Pan the son of Penelope, it might have been asserted of them, that although mor- tals, they possessed the names of those deities known in Greece in the times which preceded. The Greeks affirm of Bacchus, that as soon as he was born l6? Jove inclosed him in his thigh, and carried him to Nysa*, a town of ^Ethiopia bevond 163 As soon as he teas bom.] — Upon this subject I have somewhere met an opinion to the following effect : When the ancients spoke of the nativity of their gods, we are to, understand the time in which their worship was first intro- duced ; when mention is made of their marriage, reference is to be made to the time when the worship of one was com- bined with that of another. Some of the ancients speak of the tombs of their gods, and that of Jupiter in Crete was notorious, the solution of which is, that the gods sometimes appeared on earth, and after residing for a time amongst men, returned k) their native skies : the period of their re- turn was that of their supposed deaths. The following remark is found in Cicero's Tusculan Ques- tions: " Ipsi illi majorum gentium dii qui habentur hinc a nobis in ccelum profecti reperiuntur/' — The gods of the, po- pular religions were all but deceased mortals advanced from earth to heaven. — T. * Diodorus Siculus makes the same remark, and adds, that from this circumstance he derived his name of Dio- nusos, from his father, and the place where he was brought . "p. There were places of this name in Arabia, Cappadocia, Caria, India, and Lydia. EUTERPE. 83 beyond ./Egypt: with regard to the nativity of Pan they have no tradition among them; from all which, I am convinced, that these deities were the last known among the Greeks, and that they date the period of their nativity from the precise time that their names came amongst them ; — the ^Egyptians are of the same opinion. CXLVII. I shall now give some account of the internal history of iEgypt ; to what I learned from the natives themselves, and the information of strangers, I shall add what I myself beheld. At the death of their sovereign, the priest of Vulcan, the ^Egyptians recovered their freedom . but as they could not live without kings, they chose twelve, among whom they divided the dif- ferent districts of /Egypt. These princes con- nected themselves with each other by intermar- riages, engaging solemnly to promote their com- mon interest, and never to engage in any acts of separate polic}^ The principal motive of their union was to guard against the declaration of an oracle, which had said, that whoever among them should offer in the temple of Vulcan a libation from a brazen vessel, should be sole sovereign of iEgypt; and it is to be remembered that they assembled indifferently in every temple. CXLVIII. It was the resolution of them all, to leave behind them a common monument of g Seven classes.]— I have remarked on this subject, chap, cxli. from Diodorus, that the division of the ^Egyptians was in fact but into three classes, the last of which was subdi- vided into others. The Indians are divided into four principal casts, each of which is again subdivided ;— Bramins, the military, labourers, and artizans.- —T. It is observable of the Iberians, that they were divided into different casts, each of which had its proper function. The rank and office of every tribe were hereditary and un- changeable. This rule of invariable distinction prevailed n0« where pise except in India and in iEgypt.-— Bryant* EUTERPE. 109 litary, herdsmen, swineherds, tradesmen, inter- preters, and pilots. They take their names from their professions. iEgypt is divided into pro- vinces, and the soldiers, from those which they inhabit, are called Calasiries and Hermotybies. CLXV. The Hermotybian district contains Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, Papremis, the island of Prosopis, and part of Natho ; which places, at the highest calculation, furnish one hundred and sixty thousand Hermotybians. These, avoiding all mercantile employments, follow the profes- sion of arms 19 °. *9o Profession of arms.] — With the following remark of M. Larcher, the heart of every Englishman must he in unison. To hear a native of France avow an abhorrence of despotism, and a warm attachment to liberty, has been a most unusual circumstance. On the subject of standing armies, nothing, perhaps, has been written with greater energy and effect than by Mr. Moyle. " Every country," says M. Larcher, " which encourages a standing army of foreigners, and where the profession of arms is the road to the highest honours, is either enslaved, or on the point of being so. Foreign soldiers in arms, are never so much the defenders of the citizens, as the attend- ants of the despot. Patriotism, that passion of elevated souls, which prompts us to noble actions, weakens and ex- pires. The interest which forms an union betwixt the prince and his subjects, ceases to be the same, and the real defence of the state can no longer be vigorous. Of this, iEgypt is a proof: its despots, not satisfied with the national troops, always ready for service, had recourse to foreign merce- naries. They were depressed, and passed with little diffi- culty no EUTERPE. CLXVI. The Calasirians inhabit Thebes, Bu- bastis, Apthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennis, Athribis, Pharbcethis, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anysis, and My- cephoris, which is an island opposite to Bubastis. In their most perfect state of population, these places furnish' two hundred and fifty thousand men. Neither must these follow mechanic em- ployments, but the son regularly succeeds the father * 91 in a military life. culty under the dominion of the Persians, afterwards under that of Greece and of Rome, of the Mamelukes, and the Turks. The tyrant could not be loved by his slaves, and without the love of his subjects, the prince totters on his throne, and is ready to fall when he thinks his situation the most secure." " Amongst men," says ^Eschines, " there are three sorts of governments, monarchic, oligarchic, and republican. Mo- narchies and oligarchies are governed by the caprice of those who have the management of affairs, republics by esta- blished laws. Know then, O Athenians ! that a free peo- ple preserve their liberty and lives by the laws, monarchies and oligarchies by tyranny and a standing army." To the above, I cannot resist the inclination I have to add from Mr. Moyle the underwritten : " The Israelites, Athenians, Corinthians, Achaians, La- cedaemonians, Thebans, Samnites, and Romans, none of them, when they kept their liberty, were ever known to main- tain any soldier in constant pay within their cities, or ever suffered any of their subjects to make war their profession, well knowing that the sword and sovereignty always march hand in hand."—? 7 . 291 Regularly succeeds the father.] — We know very well, that nothing is more injurious to the police or municipal constitution of any city or colony, than the forcing of a par- ticular EUTERPE. in CLXVII. I am not able to decide whether the Greeks borrowed this last-mentioned custom from ticular trade; nothing more dangerous than the over-peo- pling any manufacture, or multiplying the traders and dealers, .of whatever vocation, beyond their natural proportion, and the public demand. Now it happened of old in /Egypt, the mother land of superstition, that the sons of certain artists were by law obliged always to follow the same calling with their father.— See Lord Shaftesbury's Miscellaneous Reflections. Before the invention of letters, mankind may be said to have been perpetually in their infancy, as the arts of one age or country generally died with their possessors ; whence arose the policy which still continues in Indostan, of obli- ging the son to practise the profession of his father.— See notes to a poem called The Loves of the Plants, p. 58. The resemblance between the ancient ^Egyptians and the Hindoos is manifest from various circumstances. The fol- lowing extract is from Robertson's Disquisition on India: The whole body of the people was divided into four orders, or casts. The members of the first, deemed the most sacred, had it for their province, to study the principles of religion, to perform its functions, and to cultivate the sciences ; they were the priests, the instructors, and philosophers of the nation. The members of the second order were entrusted with the government and defence of the state: in peace, they were its rulers and magistrates ; in war, they were the generals who commanded its armies, and the soldiers who fought its battle.-;. The third was composed of husbandmen and merchants ; and the fourth of artisans, labourers, and servants. None of these can ever quit his own cast, or be admitted into another. The station of every individual is unalterably fixed, his destiny is irrevocable, and the walk of life is marked out, from which he must never deviate. This line of separation is not only established by civil authority, but confirmed and sanctioned by religion; and each order, or 112 EUTERPE. from the ^Egyptians, for I have also seen it ob- served in various parts of Thrace, Scythia, Per- sia, and Lydia. It seems, indeed, to be an esta- blished prejudice, even among nations the least refined, to consider mechanics and their de- scendants in the lowest rank of citizens, and to esteem those as the most noble who were of no profession, annexing the highest degrees of ho- nour to the exercise of arms. This idea prevails throughout Greece, but more particularly at La- cedaemon ; the Corinthians, however, do not hold mechanics in disesteem, CLXVIII. The soldiers and the priests are' the only ranks in iEgypt which are honourably distinguished ; these each of them receive from the public a portion of ground of twelve arurae, free from all taxes. Each arura contains art hundred ^Egyptian cubits *, which are the same aS or cast, is said to have proceeded from the Divinity in such a different manner, that to mingle and confound them would- be deemed an act of most daring impiety. Nor is it be- tween the four different tribes alone that such inseparable barriers are fixed; the members of each cast adhere inva- riably to the profession of their forefathers. From gene- ration to generation the same families have followed, and will always continue to follow, one uniform line of life. * But the cuLit itself, or peek (snjvwj), as it is stiil called, has not continued the same; for Herodotus acquaints us, that in his time the ^Egyptian peek, or cubit, was the same with EUTERPE. 113 as so many cubits of Samos. Besides this, the military enjoy, in their turns, other advantages : one thousand Calasirians and as many Hermoty- bians are every year on duty as the king's guards ; whilst on this service, in addition to their assign- ments of land, each man has a daily allowance of five pounds of bread, two of beef, with four arusteres * 91 of wine. CLXIX. Apries with his auxiliaries, and Ama- sis at the head of the Egyptians, met and fought at Momemphis. The mercenaries displayed great valour, but, being much inferior in number, were ultimately defeated. Apries is said to have en- tertained with the Samian, which, being no other than the common Grecian or Attic cubit, contained very little more than a foot and a half of English measure. Three or four centuries afterwards, when the famous statue of the Nile, that is still preserved at Rome, was made, the cubit seems to have' been, a little more or less, twenty inches; for of that height, ac- cording to the exactest measure that could be taken, are the sixteen little children that are placed upon it, which, ac- cording to Philostratus and Pliny, represented so many cubits. The present cubit is still greater, though it Avill be difficult to determine the precise length of it; and, indeed, with regard to the measures of the Arabians, as well as of some other nations, we have very few accounts or standards we can trust to.— Shaw. 29% Arusteres.] — llesychius makes the word upvi-yg syno- nymous with y.oTvhn, which is a measure somewhat less than a pint. — T. Vol. II. J 114 E U T E 11 P E. tertained so high an opinion of, the permanence of his authority, that he conceived it not to be in the power even of a deity to dethrone him. lie was, however, conquered and taken prisoner ; after his captivity he was conducted to Sais, to what was formerly his own, but then the palace of Amasis. He was here confined for some time, and treated by Amasis with much kindness and attention. But the ^Egyptians soon began to re- proach him for preserving a person who was their common enemy, and he was induced to deliver up Apries to their power. They strangled 293 , and afterwards buried him in the tomb of his ancestors, which stands in the temple of Minerva, on 483 They strangled, fyc] — It is to this prince, whom, as I before mentioned, the Scriptures denote by the name of Pharaoh Hophra, that the following passages allude : " The land of /Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord : because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. " Behold, therefore, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of /Egypt utterly waste and desolate." Ezekiel, xxix. 9, 10. " Thus saith the Lord, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, king of .Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life." Jeremiah, xliv. 30. See also Jeremiah, xliii. xliv. xlv. Ezekiel, xxix. xxx. xxxi. xxxii. In the person of Apries all these prophecies were accomplished. See also Prideuux Connect, i. 39. — T. " Apryes was perswaded that neither God nor the divell coulde havejoynted his nose, of the empyre," — Herodotus hk second booke, entituled Euterpe: EUTERPE. 115 On the left side of the vestibule. In this temple the inhabitants of Sais buried all the princes who were of their province, but the tomb of Amasis is more remote from the buildihg, than that of Apries and his ancestors. 'to' CLXX. In the area before this temple, is a large marble chamber*, magnificently adorned with obelisks, in the shape of palm-trees, with various other ornaments ; in this chamber is a nich with two doors, and here his body was placed. They have also at Sais the tomb of a certain personage, whom I do not think myself permitted to name. It is behind the temple of Minerva, and is continued the whole length of the wall of that building. Around this are many large obelisks, near which is a lake, whose banks are * This is one of the most difficult passages in Herodotus ; h, as il -perplexed Valeuaer, Toup, and Lurcher, may well be supposed to have tormented me. The following e from Pococke seems to be as illus- trative of the meaning of Herodotus, as any thing I could possibly oiler. The most extraordinary catacombs are towards the further end, and may be reckoned among the finest that have been discovered, being beautiful rooms cut out of a rock, and niches in many of them, so as to deposit the bodies in, adorned with a sort of Doric pilasters on each side. The round room, and that leading to it, are very beautiful, and so are the four rooms with niches, I a fie? EUTERPE. are lined with stone ; it is of a circular form, and, as I should think, as large as that of Delos, which is called Trochoeides. CLXXI. Upon this lake are represented by night the accidents which happened to him whom I dare not name : the ^Egyptians call them their mysteries i ' 4 '. Concerning these, at the same time that I confess myself sufficiently informed, I feel myself compelled to be silent. Of the cere- monies also in honour of Ceres, which the Greeks call Thesmophoria* 9 *, I may not venture to speak, further * 9+ Their mysteries.]-— I low very sacred the ancients deemed their mysteries, appears from the following passage of Apol- lonius Rhodius: To Samothrace, Electra's isle, they steer, That there initiated in rites divine Safe might they sail the navigable brine. "But, muse, presume not of those rites to tell : Farewell, dread isle, dire deities, farewell ! Let not my verse those mysteries explain, To name is impious, to reveal profane. i9S TJiesmophoria.] — These mysteries were celebrated at stated seasons of the year, with solemn shows, and a great pomp of machinery, which drew a mighty concourse to them from all countries. L. Crassus, the great orator, happened to come two days after they were over, and would gladly have persuaded the magistrates to renew them; but not being able to prevail, left the city in disgust. This shews how cautious they were of making them too cheap. The shows are supposed to have represented heaven, hell, ely- * sium, EUTERPE. 117 further than the obligations of religion will allow me. They were brought from iEgypt by the daughters of Danaus, and by them revealed to the Pelasgian women. But when the tranquil- lity of the Peloponnese was disturbed by the Dorians, and the ancient inhabitants expelled, these sium, purgatory, and all that related to the future state of the dead : being contrived to inculcate more sensibly, and exemplify the doctrines delivered to the initiated. As they were a proper subject for poetry, so they are frequently alluded to by the ancient poets. This confirms also the probability of that ingenious comment which the author of the Divine Legation has given in the sixth book of the iEneid, where Virgil, as he observes, in describing the de- scent into hell, is but tracing out in their genuine order the several scenes of the Eleusinian shows. — Middlctoiis Life of Cicero. These feasts were celebrated in honour of Ceres, with re- spect to her character as a lawgiver and agriculturist: Prima Ceres unco glebam dimovit aratro ; Prima dedit fruges, alimentaque mitiaterris; Prima dedit leges. Cereris sumus omnia munus. ©£a-//,oj, according to Ilesychius, signifies a divine law, i/ ^ej fiaoj. The men were not allowed to be present, and only women of superior rank. The sacred books were carried by virgins. According to Ovid, they continued nine days, during which time the women had no connection with their husbands. Festa pise Cereris celebrabant annua matres Ilia, quibus nivea velata? corpora veste Primitias frugum dant spicea serta suarum : Perque novem noctes Venerem tactusque viriles In vetitis numerant. — I 3 us E U T E II p 1. these rites were insensibly neglected or forgotten. The Arcadians, who retained their original ha- bitations, were the only people who preserved them. CLXXII. Such being the fate of Apries, Amasis, who was oT the city of Siuph, in the dis- trict of Sais, succeeded to the throne. At the commencement of his reign, the ^Egyptians, re- membering his plebeian origin 2 ° 6 , 'held him in contempt ; but his mild conduct and political sagacity afterwards conciliated their affection. Among other valuables which he possessed, was a gold vessel, in which he and his guests were ac- customed to spit, make water, arid wash their feet : of the materials of this he made a statue of some god, which he placed in the most conspi- cuous part of the city. The /Egyptians assem- bling before it, paid it divine honours : on hear- ing which, the king called them together, and informed them that the image they thus venerated was made of a vessel of gold, which he and they had formerly used for the most unseemly pur- poses, He afterwards explained to them the similar 493 Pleoeian origin.] — We are told in Athenaeus, that the rise of Amasis was owing to his having presented Apries on his birth-day with a beautiful chaplet of flowers. The king was so delighted with this mark of his attention, that he invited him to the feast, and received him amongst the num- ber of his friends. — T. EUTERPE. 119 similar circumstances of his own fortune, who, though formerly a plebeian, was now their sove- reign, and entitled to their reverence. By such means he secured their attachment, as well as their submissive obedience to his authority. CLXXIII. The same prince thus regulated his time : from the dawn of the day to such time as the public square of the city was filled with people, he gave audience to whoever required it. The rest of the day he spent at the table; where he drank, laughed, and diverted himself with his guests, indulging in every species of licentious conversation. Upon this conduct some of his friends remonstrated: — " Sir," they observed, " do you not dishonour your rank by these ex- " cessive and unbecoming levities ? From your " awful throne you ought to employ yourself in " the administration of public affairs, and by " such conduct increase the dignity of your " name, and the veneration of your subjects. " Your present life is most unworthy of a king." *' They," replied Amasis, " who have a bow*, " bend 'this is a proverbial expression to be found almost in all u ages. Plutarch has almost verbatim the same saying, in his tract on, Whether the Government ought to be in the Hand's ol an old Man — to^ov piv, asQxjiv, nnTtn/o[Aii/o» (nyvvran. I 4 The ft it it ii tt 120 EUTERPE. " bend it only at the time they want it; when " not in use, they suffer it to be relaxed; it " would otherwise break, and not be of service when exigence required. It is precisely the same with a man; if, without some intervals of amusement, he applied himself constantly to serious pursuits, he would imperceptibly lose his vigour both of mind and body. It is il the conviction of this truth which influences " me in the division of my time." CLXXIV. It is asserted of this Amasis, that whilst he was in a private condition he avoided every serious avocation, and gave himself entirely up to drinking and jollity. If at any time he wanted money for his expensive pleasures, he had recourse to robbery. By those who sus- pected him as the author of their loss, he was frequently, on his protesting himself innocent, carried before the oracle, by which he was fre- quently condemned, and as often acquitted. As soon as he obtained the supreme authority, such deities as had pronounced him innocent, he treated with the greatest contumely, neglecting their tem- ples, and never offering them either presents or sacrifice ; The Italian expression is : L'Arco si rompe se sta troppo teso. Arcus nimis intensus, rumpitur. Ray has it ;— A bow long bent, at last waxeth weak. EUTERPE. 121 eacrifice ; this he did by way of testifying his disr like of their false declarations. Such, however, as decided on his guilt, in testimony of their truth and justice he reverenced, as true gods, with every mark of honour and esteem. CLXXV. This prince erected at Sais, in ho- nour of Minerva, a magnificent portico, exceed- ing every thing of the kind in size and grandeur. The stones of which it was composed, were of a very uncommon size and quality, and decorated with a number of colossal statues and andro- sphynges * 97 of enormous magnitude. To repair this a " 7 Androsphynges.] — This was a monstrous figure, with the body of a lion, and face of a man. The artists of /Egypt, however, commonly represented the sphinx with the body of a lion, and the face of a young woman. These were generally placed at the entrance of temples, to serve as a type of the amigmatic nature of the ./Egyptian theology. — Larcker. " Lts sphinx des /Egypliens ont les deux sexes, c'est a dire, qu'ils sont femelles par devant, ayaut une tete de fern me, & males derriere, ou les testicules sont apparantes. C'est une remarque personne n'avoit encore faite: " U rcsulte de 1'inspection de quelques monumens que les artistes Grecs donnoient aussi des natures composees a pes etres mixtes, et qu'ils faisoient meme des sphinx barbus eomme le prouve un bas relief en tcrre cuite, conserve a la fainchina. Lorsque Herodote nomine les sphinx des an- drosphynges, il a voulu designer par cette expression la du- plicite de leur sexe. Les sphinx qui sont aux quatre faces and greatly distinguished by his mental as well as military accomplishments. This person beino;, for I know not what reason, incensed against Amasis, fled in a vessel from jEgypt, to have a conference with Carnbyses. As he possessed great influence among the auxiliaries, and was perfectly M. Larcher enumerates, from Athenseus, various and de- structive wars which had originated on account of women ; lie adds, what a number of illustrious families had, from a similar cause, been utterly extinguished. The impression of this idea, added to the vexations which he had himself ex- perienced in domestic life, probably extorted from our great poet, Milton, the following energetic lines : Oh, why did God, Creator wise, that peopled highest heaven With spirits masculine, create at last This novelty on earth, this fair defect Of nature, and not fill the world at once With men as angels, without feminine, Or find some other way to generate Mankind ? This mischief bad not then befall'n, And more that shall befall, innumerable disturbances en earth through female snares! — T, THALIA. 139 perfectly acquainted with the affairs of JEgypt, Amasis ordered him to be rigorously pursued, and for this purpose, equipped, under the care of the most faithful of his eunuchs, a three-banked galley. The pursuit was successful, and Phanes was taken in Lydia, but he was not carried back to JEgypt, for he circumvented his guards, and by making them drunk effected his escape. He fled instantly to Persia: Cambyses was then medi- tating the expedition against iEgypt, but was de- terred by the difficulty of marching an army over the deserts, where so little water was to be pro- cured. Phanes explained to the king all the con- cerns of Amasis; and to obviate the above dif- ficulty, advised him to send and ask of the king of the Arabs, a safe passage through his terri- tories. V. This is indeed the only avenue by which ./Egypt can possibly be entered. The whole country, from Phoenicia to Cadytis # , a city which belongs to the Syrians of Palestine f , and in my opinion * I have in another place supposed this place to be Jeru- salem. Wesselius thinks not; but my opinion is confirmed by Major Itennel, who gives it as his opinion, that Cadytis is synonymous with Al Kads, which means the holy. See Jlcnnel, p. 6*83. f What the Greeks called Palestine, was by the Arabians named Falastin, which certainly is the Philistine of Sacred ipture. 14© THALIA. opinion equal to Sardis, together with all the commercial towns as far as Jenysus 6 , belong to the Arabians. This is also the case with that space of land which extends from the Syrian Jenysus to the lake of Serbonis, from the vicinity of which, mount Casius 7 stretches to the sea. At this lake, where, as was reported, Typhon was concealed, iEgypt commences. This tract, which comprehends c Jenysus.~\ — Stephanus Byzantinus calls this city Inys, (for that is manifestly the name he gives it, if we take away the Greek termination) : but Herodotus, from whom he bor- rows, renders it Jenis. It would have been more truly rendered Dorice Janis, for that was nearer to the real name. The historian, however, points it out plainly by saying, that it was three days journey from mount Casius, and that the whole way was through the Arabian desert. — Bryant. Mr. Bryant is certainly mistaken with respect to the situ- ation of this place. It was an Arabian town, on this side lake Serbonis compared with Syria, on the other compared with /Egypt. When Herodotus says that this place was three days journey from mount Casius, he must be understood as speaking of the Syrian side ; if otherwise, Cambyses could not have been so embarrassed from want of water, &c. — See Larcher farther on this subject. Jenysus is recognized in the Khan Jones of Thevenot and others, and also in D'Anville. The lake Sarbonis, like the Natron lake, appears to be filled up with sand. 7 Mount Casius, .] — This place is now called by seamen mount Tenere ; here anciently was a temple sacred to Ju- piter Casius ; in this mountain also was Pompey the Great buried, as some affirm, being murdered at its foot. This, however, is not true ; his body was burnt on the shore by one of his freedmen, with the planks of an old fishing-boat, and his ashes, being conveyed to Rome, were deposited pri- vately by his wife Cornelia in a vault of his Alban villa.— Sue Middleton's Life of Cicero. — T„ THALIA. i4i comprehends the city Jenysus, mount Casius, and the lake of Serbonis, is of no trifling extent: it is a three days journey over a very dry and parched desert. VI. I shall now explain what is known to very few of those who travel into iEgypt by sea. Twice in every year there are exported from different parts of Greece to iEgypt, and from Phoenicia in particular, wine secured in earthen jars, not one of which jars is afterwards to be seen. I shall describe to what purpose they are applied : the principal magistrate of every town is obliged to collect all the earthen vessels imported to the place where he resides, and send them to Mem- phis. The Memphians fill them with water 8 , and afterwards 8 With water.] — The water of the Nile never becomes im- pure, whether reserved at home, or exported abroad. On. board the vessels which pass from /Egypt to Italy, the water, which remains at the end of the voyage, is good, whilst what they happen to take in during their voyage cor- rupts. The .Egyptians are the only people we kuow who preserve this water in jars, as others do wine. They keep it • iree or four years, and sometimes longer, and the age oj this water is with them an increase of its value, as the age of wine is elsewhere. — Aristides Orat. jEgyptiac. Modern writers and travellers are agreed about the ex- cellence of the water of the Nile ; but the above assertion, with respect to its keeping, wants to be corroborated. Much the same, however, is said, and universally by "mariners, re- specting the water of the Thames. We 142 T H A L I A. afterwards transport thern to the Syrian deserts. Thus all the earthen vessels carried into iEgypt, and there carefully collected, are continually added to those already in Syria. VII. Such are the means which the Persians have constantly adopted to provide themselves with water in these deserts, from the time that they were first masters of iEgypt. But as, at the time of which I speak, they had not this resource, Cambyses listened to the advice of his Halicar- nassian guest, and solicited of the Arabian prince a safe passage through his territories ; which was granted, after mutual promises of friendship, VIII. These are the ceremonies which the Ara- bians observe when they make alliances, of which no people in the world are more tenacious 9 . On these We learn from Diodorus Siculus, b. xix. c. 6, that the people whom he calls Nabatheans preserved rain-water in vessels of earth. These were deposited beneath the earth, and considered as a reservoir from which the water wanted for common use was taken. 9 Tenacious.] — How faithful the Arabs are at this day, when they have pledged themselves to be so, is a topic of admiration and of praise with all modern travellers. They who once put themselves under their protection have no- thing afterwards to fear ; for their word is sacred. Singular as the mode here described of forming alliances may appear to an English reader, that of taking an oath by putting the 3 hand T H A L I A. 143 the.se occasions some one connected with both parties stands betwixt them, and with a sharp stone opens a vein of the hand, near the middle finger, of those who are about to contract. He then takes a piece of the vest of each person, and dips it in their blood, with which he stains several stones purposely placed in the midst of the as- sembly, invoking, during the process, Bacchus ■and Urania. When this is finished, he who soli- cits the compact to be made, pledges his friends for the sincerity of his engagements to the stranger or citizen, or whoever it may happen to be ; and all of them conceive an indispensable necessity to exist, of performing what they promise. Bac- chus and Urania are the only deities whom they venerate. They cut off their hair, round their temples, from the supposition that Bacchus wore his hand under the thigh, in use amongst the patriarchs, was surely not less so. " Abraham said unto the eldest servant of his house that ruled Qver all that he had ; Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh." Gen. xxiv. '2. — T. The following interesting anecdote is from Denon: A French officer had been several months prisoner to a chief of the Arabs, whose camp was surprized in the night by our cavalry, and who had barely time to escape, his tents, cattle, and provisions having fallen into our hands. On the following clay, fugitive, solitary, and without any resources, he drew from his pocket a cake, and, presenting the half of it. to his prisoner, said to him, " I do not know when we shall have any more food: but I shall not be accused of having refused to share n.y last morsel with one whom I esteem as my friend." 144 T H A L I A. his in that form ; hiin they call Urotalt ; Urania has the name of Alilat 10 . IX. When the Arabian prince had made an alliance with the messengers of Cambyses, he or- dered all his camels to be laden with camel-skins filled with water, and to be driven to the deserts, there to wait the arrival of Cambyses and his army: Of this incident, the above seems to me the more probable narrative. There is also another, which however I may disbelieve, I think I ought not to omit. In Arabia is a large river called Corys, which loses itself in the Red Sea: from this river, the Arabian is said to have formed a canal of the skins of oxen and other animals sewed together, which was continued to the above-mentioned deserts, where he also sunk a number of cisterns to receive the water so intro- duced. From the river to the desert is a journey of twelve days ; and they say that the water was conducted by three distinct canals into as many different places *. 10 Alilat.] — According to Selden, in his treatise De Diis Syris, the Mitra of the Persians is the same with the Alitta or Alilat of the Arabians. In this term Alilat we doubtless recognize the Allah of the modern Arabians. * This last account exceeds all possibility of belief. The first drinkable water between the desert here mentioned, and /Egypt, is at Salahiah. This, therefore, is the key of ./Egypt on this side, and here, of course, the French esta- blished a military post. We have yet to learn what arrange- ments were made by Bonaparte to obtain water in crossing the desert. But the task must be much easier from the side of ./Egypt, than from that of Syria. THALIA. 145 X. At the Pelusian mouth of the Nile, Psam- menitus, the son of Amasis, was encamped, and expected Cambyses in arms. Amasis himself, after a reign of forty-four years, died before Cambyses had advanced to iEgypt, and during the whole enjoyment of his power, he expe- rienced no extraordinary calamity. At his death his body was embalmed, and deposited in a se- pulchre which he had erected for himself in the temple of Minerva". During the reign of his son Psammenitus, iEgypt beheld a most re- markable prodigy ; there was rain at the /Egyp- tian Thebes, a circumstance which never hap- pened before, and which, as the Thebans them- selves assert, has never occurred since. In the higher parts of iEgypt it never rains, but at that period we read it rained at Thebes in distinct drops I2 . 11 Temple of Minerva.] — Minerva is not expressed in the original text, but it was evident that it is in the temple of Minerva, from chap, clxix. of the second book. — T. lz In distinct drops.] — Herodotus is perhaps thus parti- cular, to distinguish rain from mist. Denon, when in the neighbourhood of Lycopolis, thus ex- presses himself: We found several roads marked out, which convinced us that they might with a very little expense be made excel- lent, and most completely durable, in a country like this, where neither rain or frost are ever seen. It is a little remarkable that all the mention which Hero- dotus makes of the ancient Thebes, is in this passage, and in this slight manner. In book ii. chap. xv. he informs us that all ."Egypt was formerly called Thebes. — 7'. Vol. II. L 146 THALIA. XL The Persians having passed the deserts, fixed their camp opposite to the ./Egyptians, as if with the design of offering them battle. The Greeks and Carians, who were the confederates of the Egyptians, to shew their resentment against Phanes, for introducing a foreign army against iEgypt, adopted this expedient : they brought his sons, whom he had left behind, into the camp, and in a conspicuous place, and in the sight of their father, they put them one by one to death upon a vessel brought thither for that purpose. When they had done this, they filled the vase which had received the blood with wine and water; having drank which 15 , all the auxiliaries 13 Haling drank ulnc/i.] — They probably swore at the same time to avenge the treason of Phanes, or perish. The blood of an human victim mixed with wine accompanied the most solemn forms of execration among the ancients. Catiline made use of this superstition to blind his adherents to se- cresy : " He carried round," says Sallust, " the blood of an human victim, mixed with wine; and when all had tasted it, after a set form of execration (sicut in solennibus sacris fieri consuevit) he imparted his design." — T. Xenophon describes the ceremonies observed by the Greeks and Persians on their agreeing to become allies and friends. They sacrificed a boar, a bull, a wolf, and a ram; they mixed their blood together in the hollow part of a shield, after which the Persians dipped a spear into it, and the Greeks a sword. See the Anabasis, b. ii. A very extraor- dinary form of oath is described in Ysbrant Ide's Voyage from Russia to China. Arriving among the Tungusian Tar- tars. THALIA. 147 auxiliaries immediately engaged the enemy. The battle was obstinately disputed, but after consi- derable loss on both sides, the ./Egyptians fled. XII. By the people inhabiting the place where this battle was fought, a very surprizing thing was pointed out to my attention. The bones of those who fell in the engagement were soon after- wards collected, and separated into two distinct heaps. It was observed of the Persians, that their heads were so extremely soft as to yield to the slight impression even of a pebble ; those of the ^Egyptians, on the contrary, were so firm, that the blow of a large stone could hardly break them. tars, two of them fell out, when one of them accused the other before the magistrate of having angered his deceased brother to death. The waywode (magistrate) asked the ac- cuser if he would, according to the Tungusian custom, put the accused to his oath ? To this he answered in the af- firmative. The accused then took a live dog, laid him on the ground, and with a knife stuck him into the body, just finder his left foot, and immediately applied his mouth to the wound, and sucked out the dog's blood, as long as he could get any. He then lifted him up, laid him on his shoulders, and clapped his mouth again to the wound, to suck the remaining blood. This is the greatest oath, and most solemn mode of confirmation among these people. It is a very curious circumstance, that among so many nations of the world, divided by distance, and contrasted in other respects by manners, the spilling of blood should be thought an indispensable act in confirmation of an oath. — T. L 2 148 T II A L I A. them. The reason which they gave for this was very satisfactory — the ^Egyptians from a very early age shave their heads ' 4 , which by being con- stantly exposed to the action of the sun, become firm and hard; this treatment also prevents bald- ness, very few instances of which are ever to be seen in iEgypt. Why the skulls of the Persians are so soft may be explained from their being from their infancy accustomed to shelter them from the sun, bv the constant use of turbans. I made the very same remark at Papremis, after examining the bones of those who, under the conduct of Achsemenes I? , son of Darius, were defeated by Inards the African. XIII. The Egyptians after their defeat fled in great disorder to Memphis. Cambyses dis- patched 14 Shave their heads.] — The same custom still subsists: I have seen every where the children of the common people* whether running in the fields, assembled round the villages, or swimming in the waters, with their heads shaved and bare. Let us but imagine the hardness a skull must acquire thus exposed to the scorching sun, and we shall not be as- tonished at the remark of Herodotus. — Satan/. ' 15 Aeliamenes.] — Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus say, that it was Achamienes, the brother of Xerxes, and uncle of Artaxerxes, the same who before had the government of •Egypt in the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, that had the conduct of this war; but herein they were deceived by the similitude of names; for it appears by Ctesias, that he was the son of Hamestris, whom Artaxerxes sent with his army into Maypt.-*~Prideai (C tt u taining my alliance ; neither do you speak the " truth, who, to facilitate the unjust designs of your master, are come to examine the state of my dominions : if he were influenced by prin- ciples of integrity, he would be satisfied with his own, and not covet the possessions of u another ; nor would he attempt to reduce those " to servitude from whom he has received no in- " jury. Give him therefore this bow> and in my 81 name speak to him thus : The king of iEthi- " opia sends this counsel to the king of Persia — " when his subjects shall be able to bend this " bow with the same ease that I do, then with a "- superiority of numbers he may venture to attack " the Macrobian ^Ethiopians. In the mean time " let him be thankful to the gods, that the iEthi- " opians have not been inspired with the same " ambitious views of extending their posses- tc * _ ?) sions. XXII. When he had finished, he unbent the bow *, and placed it in their hands ; after which, taking * It is surprizing to see how much Mr. Bruce talks at ran- dom on the subject of this historical anecdote ; in all of which, these two words of Herodotus refute him. Bruce tells a long story of a custom of the Shangallas, whom he will call the Macrobians, which consisted in hang- ing upon their bows a ring from the skins of the different animals they kill, till the bow intircly loses its elasticity, and M 2 cannot i64 T II A L I A. taking the purple vest, he inquired what it was, and how it was made : the Ichthyophagi properly explained to him the process hy which the purple tincture was communicated; but he told them that they and their vests were alike deceitful. He then made similar inquiries concerning the bracelets and the gold chains for the neck : upon their describing the nature of those ornaments, he laughed, and conceiving them to be chains z6 , remarked, cannot be used. It was one of these inflexible bows, says he, which the /Ethiopian prince sent to Cambyses. Instead of this, Herodotus says, " the prince unbent the bow," &c. &c. I can hardly wonder that Larcher should speak of Bruce with such severity, having had myself frequent occasion to reproach him with haste and inaccuracy. iC ' Conceiving them to be chains.]— We learn from a passage in Genesis, xxiv. 22, that the bracelets of the Orientals were remarkably heavy; which seems in some measure to justify the sentiment of the ./Ethiopian prince, who thought them chains simply because they were made of gold, which was used for that purpose in his country. — See chap, xxiii. " And it came to pass as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, of ten shekels weight of gold. That the bracelet was formerly an ensign of royalty amongst the Orientals, Mr. Manner, in his Observations on Passages of Scripture, infers from the circumstance of the Amalckite's bringing to David the bracelet which he found on Saul's arm, along with his crown. That it was a mark of dignity there can be little doubt; but it by no means follows that it was a mark of royalty, though the remark is certainly I ingenious. THALIA. 16 o remarked, that the ^Ethiopians possessed much stronger. He proceeded lastly to ask them the use of the perfumes ; and when they informed him how they were made and applied, he made the same observation as he had before done of the purple robe * 7 . When he came to the wine, and ingenious. If it was, there existed a peculiar propriety in making it the part of a present from one prince to another. By the Roman generals they were given to their soldiers, as a reward of bravery. Small chains were also in the remotest times worn round the neck, not only by women but by the men. That these were also worn by princes, appears from Judges, viii. 26. " And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested, was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold ; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian; and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks." Which last circumstance tends also to prove that they thus also decorated the animals they used ; which fashion is to this day observed by people of distinc- tion in /Egypt. — T. 27 Purple robe.'] — It is a circumstance well known at pre- sent, that on the coast of Guagaquil, as well as on that of Guatima, are found those snails which yield the purple dye so celebrated by the ancients, and which the moderns have supposed to have been lost. The shell that contains them is fixed to rocks that are watered by the sea; it is of the size of a large nut. The juice may be extracted from the animal in two ways ; some persons kill the animal after they have taken it out of the shell, they then press it from the head to the tail with a knife, and, separating from the body that part in which the liquor is collected, they throw away the rest. When this operation, repeated upon several of the snails, hath yielded a certain quantity of the juice, the thread that M 3 is ' 166 T H A L I A. and learned how it was made, he drank it with particular satisfaction; and inquired upon what food the Persian monarch subsisted, and what was the longest period of a Persian's life. The king, they told him, lived chiefly upon bread ; and they then described to him the properties of corn : they added, that the longest period of life in Persia was about eighty years. " I am not at " all surprized," said the ./Ethiopian prince, " that, subsisting on dung, the term of life is so u short among them; and unless," he continued, pointing to the wine, " they mixed it with this " liquor, they would not live so long:" for in this he allowed that they excelled the ^Ethiopians. XXIII. The Ichthyophagi in their turn ques- tioned the prince concerning the duration of life in ^Ethiopia, and the kind of food there in use : They were told, that the majority of the people lived to the age of one hundred and twenty years, but that some exceeded even that period ; that their is to be dyed is dipped in it, and the business is done. The colour, which is at first as white as milk, becomes afterwards green, and does not turn purple till the thread is dry. We know of no colour that can be compared to the one we have been speaking of, either in lustre or in permanency. — Raynal. Pliny describes the pttrpura as a turbinated shell like the buccinum, but with spines upon it ; which may lead us to suspect the Abbe's account of the snails of a little inac= euracy.— >T. THALIA. 167 their meat was baked flesh*, their drink milk. When the spies expressed astonishment at the length of life in ./Ethiopia, they were conducted to a certain fountain, in which having bathed, they became shining as if anointed with oil, and emitted from their bodies the perfume of violets f. But they asserted that the water of this fountain was of so insubstantial a nature, that neither wood, nor any thing still lighter than wood, would float upon its surface, but every thing in- stantly sunk to the bottom. If their repre- sentation of this water was true, the constant use of it may probably explain the extreme length of life which the Ethiopians attain. From the fountain they were conducted to the public * This is the second place in which Herodotus asserts that these ^Ethiopians lived on baked or roasted flesh; never- theless, Bruce, vvith his accustomed carelessness and inac- curacy, affirms, as if from our historian, that they lived on raw flesh, which, he adds, they continue to do to this very day. f Cada Mosto, who made a voyage to Senegal in the year 1455, affirms that the natives made use of a certain oil in the preparation of their victuals, which possessed a three- fold property ; that of smelling like violets, tasting like oil of olives, and of tinging the victuals with a colour more beau- tiful than saffron. The present inhabitants of this part of Africa extract an oil from the kernels of the palm-nuts ; this is used for the same purposes as the palm-oil, but, as Dr. Winterbottom observes, more nearly resembles butter, as it has no smell. M 4 1G8 T H A L I A. public prison, where all that were confined were secured by chains of gold ; for among these ^Ethiopians, brass is the rarest of all the metals. After visiting the prison they saw also what is called the table of the sun. XXIV. Finally they were shewn the ^Ethi- opian coffins 18 , which are said to be constructed of 28 Coffins, .] — Coffins, though anciently used in the East, and considered as marks of distinction, are not now there applied to the dead either by Turks or Christians. " With us," says Mr. Harmer, in his Observations on Pas- sages of Scripture, " the poorest people have their coffins : if the relations cannot afford them, the parish is at the ex- pence. In the East, on the contrary, they are not now at all made use of. Turks and Christians, Thevenot assures us, agree in this. The ancient Jews probably buried their dead in the same manner: neither was the body of our Lord, it should seem, put into a coffin, nor that of Elisha, whose bones were touched by the corpse that was let down a little after into his sepulchre; 2 Kings, xiii. 21. That they, how- ever, were anciently made use of in ./Egypt, all agree ; and antique coffins, of stone and sycamore wood, are still to be seen in that country, not to mention those said to be made of a kind of paste-board, formed by folding and glueing cloth together a great number of times, which were cu- riously plaistered, and then painted with hieroglyphics. Its being an ancient ./Egyptian custom, and its not being used in the neighbouring countries, were doubtless the cause that the sacred historian expressly observes of Joseph, that he was not only embalmed, but put into a coffin too, both being managements peculiar in a manner to the ^Egyptians." —Observations on Passages of Scripture, vol. ii. 154. Mr. THALIA. 169 of crystal, and in this manner: — After all the moisture is exhausted from the body, by the iEgyptian Mr. Harmer's observation in the foregoing note is not strictly true. The use of coffins might very probably be un- known in Syria, from whence Joseph came; but that they were used by all nations contiguous on one side at least to iEgypt, the passage before us proves sufficiently. I have not been able to ascertain at what period the use of coffins was introduced in this country, but it appears from the following passage of our celebrated antiquary, Mr. Strutt, that from very remote times our ancestors were interred in some kind of coffin. " It was customary in the Christian burials of the Anglo Saxons to leave the head and shoulders of the corpse uncovered till the time of burial, that relations, &c. might take a last view of their deceased friend." We have also the following in Durant, " Corpus totum at sudore ob- volutum ac loculo conditum veteres in coenaculis, seu tri- cliniis exponebant." We learn from a passage in Strabo, that there was a tem- ple at Alexandria, in which the body of Alexander was de- posited, in a coffin of gold ; it was stolen by Seleucus Cy- biosactes, who left a coffin of glass in its place. This is the only author, except Herodotus, in whom I can remember to have seen mention made of a coffin of glass. The urns of ancient Rome, in which the ashes of the dead were depo- sited, were indifferently made of gold, silver, brass, alabaster, porphyry, and marble ; these were externally ornamented according to the rank of the deceased. A minute descrip- tion of these, with a multitude of specimens, may be seen in Montfaucon.— T. On the subject of the leaden coffins of the Saxons, see Gough's Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain; Intro- duction, p. 11. One reason for not having coffins in the East, may be the quickness of interment, and the cool retreats in which the bodies were deposited, at a distance from the towns. 170 THALIA. ^Egyptian or some other process, they cover it totally with a kind of plaster, which they adorn with various colours, and make it exhibit as near a resemblance as may be, of the person of the deceased. They then inclose it in a hollow pillar of crystal * 9 , which is dug up in great abundance, and of a kind that is easily worked. The de- ceased is very conspicuous through the crystal, has no disagreeable smell, nor any thing else that is offensive. The nearest relations keep this coffin for a twelvemonth in their houses, offering before it different kinds of victims, and the first- fruits of their lands; these are afterwards re- moved and set up round the city. XXV. The spies, after executing their com- mission, returned ; and Cambyses was so exas- perated at their recital, that he determined in- stantly to proceed against the ^Ethiopians, with- out ever providing for the necessary sustenance of '■ 9 Pillar of crystal.] — " Our glass," says M. Larcher, " is not the production of the earth, it must be manufactured with much trouble." According to Ludolf, they find in some parts of ^Ethiopia large quantities of fossil salt, which is transparent, and which indurates in the air : this is per- haps what they took for glass. We have the testimony of the Scholiast on Aristophanes, that iaXo?, though afterwards used for glass, signified an- ciently crystal : as therefore Herodotus informs us that this substance was digged from the earth, why should we hesitate to translate it crystal ? — T. THALIA. 171 of his army, or reflecting that he was about to visit the extremities of the earth. The moment that he heard the report of the Ichthyophagi, like one deprived of all the powers of reason, he com- menced his march with the whole body of his in- fantry, leaving no forces behind but such Greeks as had accompanied him to iEgypt. On his ar- rival at Thebes, he selected from his army about fifty thousand men, whom he ordered to make an incursion against the Ammonians, and to burn the place from whence the oracles of Jupiter were delivered : he himself, with the remainder of his troops, marched against the ^Ethiopians. Before he had performed a fifth part * of his in- tended expedition, the provisions he had with him were totally consumed. They proceeded to eat the beasts which carried the baggage, till these also failed. If after these incidents Cambyses had permitted his passions to cool, and had led his army back again, notwithstanding his indis- cretion, he still might have deserved praise. In- stead of this, his infatuation continued, and he proceeded on his march. The soldiers, as long as • Thus it appears that Cambyses never penetrated beyond the desert of Selima, that is, says Rennel, on the supposition that he set out from Thebes, and that Sennar was the en- trance into the country of the Macrobians. The desert here alluded to must necessarily have been that in which Bruce suffered such dreadful hardships, namely, that above Syene. 172 THALIA. * as the earth afforded them any sustenance, were content to feed on vegetables; but as soon as they arrived among the sands and the deserts, some of them were prompted by famine to pro- ceed to the most horrid extremities. They drew lots, and every tenth man was destined to satisfy the hunger of the rest ?Q . When Cambyses re- ceived intelligence of this fact, alarmed at the idea of his troops devouring one another, he abandoned his designs upon the Ethiopians, and returning homeward arrived at length at Thebes, after losing a considerable number of his men. From Thebes he proceeded to Memphis, from whence he permitted the Greeks to embark. — Such was the termination of the Ethiopian ex- pedition. 30 Satisfy the hunger of the rest.] — The whole of this nar- rative is transcribed by Seneca, with some little variation, in his treatise de Iru; who at the conclusion adds, though we know not from what authority, that notwithstanding these dreadful sufferings of his troops, the king's table was served with abundance of delicacies. Servabantur interim illi ge- nerosa; aves, et instrumenta epularum camelis vehebantur. Perhaps the most horrid example on record of suffering from famine, is the description given by Josephus of the siege of Jerusalem. Eleven thousand prisoners were starved to death after the capture of the city, during the storm. Whilst the Romans were engaged in pillage, on entering several houses they found whole families dead, and the houses crammed with starved carcases ; but what is still more shocking, it was a notorious fact, that a mother killed, dressed, and eat her own child. — T. THALIA. lit XXVI. The troops who were dispatched against the Ammonians left Thebes with guides, and pe- netrated, as it should seem, as far as Oasis*. This place is distant from Thebes about a seven days journey over the sands, and is said to be inhabited by Samians, of the iEschryonian tribe. The country is called, in Greek, " The happy Islands." The army is reported to have pro- ceeded thus far; but what afterwards became of them it is impossible to know, except from the Ammonians, or from those whom the Ammonians have instructed on this head. It is certain that they never arrived among the Ammonians, and that they never returned JI . The Ammonians affirm, that as they were marching forwards from Oasis through the sands, they halted at some place of middle distance, for the purpose of tak- ing * Thus it appears that Herodotus applies this name of Oasis to the greater Oasis only, which is the El, or El Wall of the present day. Indeed, Wall means the Oasis, and El Wall is therefore The Oasis. See on this subject Major Rennel, p. 555. 31 Never returned.] — The route of the army makes it plain that the guides, who detested the Persians, led them astray amidst the deserts; for they should have departed from the lake Mareotis to this temple, or from the environs of Mem-' phis. The /Egyptians, intending the destruction of their enemies, led them from Thebes to the great Oasis, three days journey from Abydus; and having brought them into the vast solitudes of Libya, they no doubt abandoned them in the night, and delivered them over to death. — Savary. 174 THALIA. ing repast, which whilst they were doing, a strong south wind arose, and overwhelmed them be- neath a mountain of sand J1 , so that they were seen no more. — Such, as the Ammonians relate, was the fate of this army. XXVII. Soon after the return of Cambyses to Memphis, the god Apis appeared, called by the 31 Mountain of sand] — What happens at present in per- forming this journey, proves the event to be very credible. Travellers, departing from the fertile valley lying under the tropic, march seven days before they come to the first town in ^Ethiopia. They find their way in the day-time by look- ing at marks, and at night by observing the stars. The sand- hills they had observed on the preceding journey having often been carried away by the winds, deceive the guides ; and if they wander the least out of the road, the camels, hav- ing passed five or six days without drinking, sink under their burden, and die : the men are not long before they submit to the same fate, and sometimes, out of a great number, not a single traveller escapes; at others the burning winds from the south raise vortexes of dust, which suffocate man and beast, and the next caravan sees the ground strewed with bodies totally parched up.— Savary. Mr. Brown, however, one of the last travellers in these regions, does not easily give credit to the idea of living per- sons being overwhelmed with sand. I think with my friend Major Rennel, that it is more probable that they perished from fatigue and the want of water. The proper rout would certainly have been from Memphis, from whence Amnion was also one-third nearer. See Rennel, p. 578. To this it may be added, that the nature of the desert round Seiva, or -Seewa, does not appear to be constituted of that shifting sand of which the Western desert is composed. v THALIA. 175 the Greeks, Epaphus u . Upon this occasion the ./Egyptians clothed themselves in their richest ap- parel, and made great rejoicings. Cambyses took notice of this, and imagined it was done on account of his late unfortunate projects. He ordered, therefore, the magistrates of Memphis to attend him ; and he asked them why they had done nothing of this kind when he was formerly at Memphis, and had only made rejoicings now that he had returned with the loss of so many of his troops. They told him, that their deity u had 53 Epaphus.] — Epaphus was the son of Io, the daughter of Inachus. The Greeks pretended he was the same person as the god Apis ; this the Egyptians rejected as fabulous, and asserted that Epaphus was posterior to Apis by many cen- turies. 3+ Their de«Yj/.]— It is probable that Apis was not always considered as a deity; perhaps they regarded him as a sym- bol of Osiris, and it was from this that the ^Egyptians were induced to pay him veneration. Others assert confidently that he was the same as Osiris; and some have said that Osiris having been killed by Typhon, Isis inclosed his limbs in an heifer made of wood. Apis was sacred to the moon, as was the bull Mnevis to the sun. Others supposed, that both were sacred to Osiris, who is the same with the sun. When he died, there was an universal mourning in ./Egypt. They sought for another, and having found him, the mourn- ing ended. The priests conducted him to Nilopolis, where they kept him forty days. They afterwards removed him in a magnificent vessel to Memphis, where he had an apart- ment ornamented with gold. During the forty days above mentioned, the women only were suffered to see him. They stood 176 THALIA. had appeared to them, which after a long ab- sence it was his custom to do ; and that when this stood i-ound him, and lifting up their garments, discovered to him what modesty forbids us to name. Afterwards the sight of the god was forbidden them. Every year they brought him an heifer, which had also certain marks. According to the sacred books, he was only permitted to live a stipulated time; when this came, he was drowned in a sacred fountain. — Larcher. A few other particulars concerning this Apis may not be unacceptable to an English reader. The homage paid him was not confined to ^Egypt; many illustrious conquerors and princes of foreign nations, Alex- ander, Titus, and Adrian, bowed themselves before him, Larcher says that he was considered as sacred to the moon ; but Porphyry expressly says, that he was sacred to both sun and moon. The following passage is from Plutarch : " The priests affirm that the moon sheds a generative light, with which should a cow wanting the bull be struck, she con- ceives Apis, who bears the sign of that planet." Strabo says, that he was brought out from his apartment to gratify the curiosity of strangers, and might always be seen through a window. Pliny relates with great solemnity that he re- fused food from the hand of Germanicus, who died soon after; and one ancient historian asserts, that during the seven days when the birth of Apis was celebrated, crocodiles forgot their natural ferocity, and became tame. The bishop of Avranches, M. Huet, endeavoured to prove that Apis was a symbol of the patriarch Joseph. It has been generally allowed, that Osiris was reverenced in the homage paid to Apis. Osiris introduced agriculture, m which the utility of the bull is obvious; and this appears to be the most rational explanation that can be given of this part of the ^Egyptian superstition. See Savary, Po~ cockc, c^c— T. The THALIA. 177 this happened, it was customary for all the Egyp- tians to hold a solemn festival. Cambyses dis- believed what they told him, and condemned them to death, as guilty of falshood. XXVIII. As soon as they were executed, he sent for the priests, from whom he received the same answer. " If," said he, " any deity has " shown himself familiarly in iEgypt, I must see " and know him." He then commanded them to The reader will remember that one of the plagues in- flicted on iEgypt by the hand of Moses, was the destruction of the cattle, in which, as the ./Egyptians venerated cattle as divinities, there appears, according to Mr. Bryant, peculiar fitness and analogy. See Bryant on the Plagues of ./Egypt, p. 102. This judgment displayed upon the kine of ./Egypt, was very significant in its execution and purport; for when the. dis- temper spread irresistably over the country, the ./Egyptians not only suffered a severe loss, but what was of far greater consequence, they saw the representatives of their deities, and their deities themselves, sink before the god of the He- brews. They thought that the soul of Osiris was uniformly resident in the body of the bull Apis; a notion not unlike that concerning the Deli Lama, in Elith, Tangat, and Thibet. But Osiris had no power to save his brute representatives. Both the Apis and Mnevis were carried off by the same ma- lady which swept away all the herds of deities, these Dii Stercorii who lived on grass and hay. There is reason to think that both the camel and ass were held in some degree sacred, who were involved in the same calamity. Hence it is said by the sacred writer, upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment. Vol. II. N 178 THALIA. to bring Apis before him, which they prepared to do. This Apis, or Epaphus, is the calf of a cow which can have n'o more young. The iEgyp- tians say, that on this occasion the cow is struck with lightning, from which she conceives and brings forth Apis. The young one so produced, and thus named, is known by certain marks : The skin is black, but on its forehead is a white star of a triangular form. It has the figure of an eagle on the back, the tail 35 is divided, and under the tongue 36 it has an insect like a beetle. XXIX. When the priests conducted Apis to his presence, Cambyses was transported with rage. He drew his dagger, and endeavouring to stab him in the belly, wounded him in the thigh ; then turning to the priests with an insulting smile, " Wretches," he exclaimed, " think ye " that 35 The tail.] — The Scholiast of Ptolemy says, but I know- not on what authority, that the tail of the bull increased or diminished according to the age of the moon. — Larchcr. 36 Under the tongue.] — In all the copies of Herodotus, it is 1 7H h t» yXuo-o-ri, upon the tongue ; but it is plain from Pliny and Eusebius that it ought to be l?ro, under. The former explains what it was, Nodus sub lingua quern can- tharum appellant, " a knot under the tongue, which they call cantharus, or the beetle." viii. 46. The spot on the forehead is also changed by the commentators from qua- drangular to triangular. Plinjr mentions also a mark like a crescent on the right side, and is silent about the eagle* The beetle was considered as an emblem of the sun.--~T. ii THALIA. 179 that gods are formed of flesh and blood, and " thus susceptible of wounds ? This, indeed, is " a deity worthy of ^Egyptians: but you shall " find that I am not to be mocked with impu- " nity." He then called the proper officers, and commanded the priests to be scourged : he di- rected also that whatever ^Egyptian was found celebrating this festival, should be put to death. The priests were thus punished, and no further solemnities observed. Apis himself languished and died in the temple, from the wound of his thigh, and was buried 37 by the priests without the knowledge of Cambyses. XXX. The ^Egyptians affirm, that in conse- quence of this impiety, Cambyses became imme- diately mad, who indeed did not before appear to have had the proper use of his reason. The first impulse of his fury, was directed against Smerdis, his own brother, who had become the object of his jealousy, because he was the only Persian who had been able to bend the bow, which the Ich- thyophagi brought from ^Ethiopia, the breadth of two lingers. He was therefore ordered to return to Persia, where as soon as he arrived, Cambyses saw 37 Buried by the priests.] — This account is contradicted by Plutarch, who tells us, that Apis having been slain by Cam- byses, was by his order exposed and devoured by dogs. — T. N <2 180 T H A L I A. saw this vision : a messenger appeared to arrive from Persia, informing him that Smerdis, seated on the roval throne, touched the heavens with his head. Cambyses was instantly struck with the apprehension that Smerdis would kill him, and seize his dominions ; to prevent which he dis- patched Prexaspes, a Persian, and one of his most faithful adherents, to put him to death. He arrived at Susa, and destroyed Smerdis, some say, by taking him aside whilst engaged in the diver- sion of the chace ; others believe that he drowned him in the Red Sea; this, however, was the com- mencement of the calamities of Cambyses. XXXI. The next victim of his fury was his sister, who had accompanied him to /Egypt. She was also his wife, which thing he thus accom- plished : before this prince, no Persian had ever been known to marry his sister 38 ; but Cambyses, being passionately fond of one of his, and know- ing that there was no precedent to justify his making 38 Marry his sister.] — Ingenious and learned men of all ages have amused themselves with drawing a comparison be- twixt the laws of Solon and Lycurgus. The following par- ticularity affords ample room for conjecture and discussion r At Athens a man was suffered to marry his sister by the father, but forbidden to marry his sister by the mother. At Laced cemon things were totally reversed, a man was allowed to marry his sister by the mother, and forbidden to marry his sister by the father. — See what Bayle says on the circum- stance of a man's marrying his sister, article Sarah.-~T. T II A L I A. 181 making her his wife, assembled those who were called the royal judges ; of them, he desired to know whether there was any law which would permit a brother to marry his sister, if he thought proper to do so. The royal judges in Persia are men of the most approved integrity, who hold their places for life, or till they shall be convicted of some crime 39 . Every thing is referred to their decision, 39 Of some crime] — Our judges formerly held their offices durante bene placito, and the King might remove them at pleasure- This continued till the passing of the act 13 Wil- liam III. chap. 2, which was expressly made for the pur- pose of maintaining the dignity and independence of the judges in the superior courts; and which enacted, that the commissions of the judges should be made quam diu se bene gesserint, and that their salaries should be fixed and established, but they were still liable to be removed on the address of both houses of parliament, and their seats were vacated upon any demise of the crown. By the 1st Geo. III. chap. 23, the judges are at liberty to continue in their offices during their good behaviour, not- withstanding any demise of the crown, and their salaries are absolutely secured to them. This act was made at the express recommendation of his Majesty, from the throne ; his words are memorable; he was pleased to declare that " he looked upon the independence and uprightness of the judges as essential to the impartial administration of justice; as one of the best securities of the rights and liberties of his subjects; and as most conducive to the honour of the crown." 1st Blac. Com. 2.37- These and various other acts which have been passed since the Revolution in loSS, such as the bill of rights, to- leration act, septennial parliament, to |3fl»oT*Te? THALIA. 191 propriety, when he observed that custom 46 was the universal sovereign. XXXIX. Whilst Cambyses was engaged in his ^Egyptian expedition, the Lacedaemonians were prosecuting a war against Polycrates, the son of iEaces, who had forcibly possessed himself of Samos. He had divided it into three parts, assigning one to each of his brothers Pantag- notus and Syloson. He afterwards, having killed Pantagnotus, and banished Syloson, who was the younger, seized the whole. Whilst he was thus circumstanced, @uh>tktov v/re^Tccra yt^- — " Custom is the sovereign of mor- tals and of gods ; with its powerful hand it regulates things the most violent." — T. 45 Custom.] — Many writers on this subject appear not to have discriminated accurately betwixt custom and habit : the sovereign power of both must be confessed ; but it will be found, on due deliberation, that custom has reference to the action, and habit to the actor. That the Athenians, the most refined and polished nation of the world, could bear to see human sacrifices represented on their theatres, could listen with applause and with delight to the misery of (Edi- pus, and the madness of Orestes, is to be accounted for alone from the powerful operation of their national customs. The equally forcible sway of habit, referring to an individual, was never perhaps expressed with so much beauty as in the following lines of our favourite Shakespeare: How use doth breed a habit in a man ! This shadowy desert, unff%quented woods, 1 better brook than nourishing peopled towns. Here I can sit alone, unseen of any, And to the nightingale's complaining notes Tune my distresses, and record my woes. T. 192 THALIA. circumstanced, he made a treaty of alliance with Amasis, king of iEgypt, which was cemented by various presents on both sides. His fame had so increased, that he was celebrated through Ionia and the rest of Greece. Success attended all his military undertakings; he had a hundred fifty- oared vessels, and a thousand archers. He made no discrimination in the objects of his attacks, thinking that he conferred a greater favour 47 even on a friend, by restoring what he had vio- lently taken, than by not molesting him at all. He took a great number of islands, and became master of several cities on the continent. The Lesbians, who with all their forces were pro- ceeding to assist the Milesians, he attacked and conquered in a great sea-fight. Those whom he made prisoners he put in chains, and compelled to sink the trench 48 which surrounds the walls of Samos. 47 A greater favour. ,] — This sentiment is false, and Libanius seems to me to have spoken with truth, when, in a discourse which is not come down to us, he says, " An instance of good fortune never gives a man so much satisfaction as the loss of it does uneasiness." He, continues Larcher, who takes his property from another, inflicts a wound which the restitution of that pro- perty does not heal. The mind of him who has received the injury, invariably remembers it with resentment. 43 Sink the trench.] — It would be an interesting labour to investigate, from ages the most remote and nations the most barbarous, the various treatment which prisoners of war have experienced : from the period, and from those who put 3 in THALIA. 193 XL. The great prosperity of Poly crates ex- cited both the attention and anxiety of Amasis. As his success continually increased, he was in- duced to write and send this letter to Samos : " Amasis to Polycrates. " The success of a friend and an ally fills me " with particular satisfaction ; but as I know the " invidiousness of fortune 49 , your extraordinary " prosperity in practice against their unfortunate captives every species of oppression and of cruelty, to the present period, when the refinement of manners, and the progress of the milder vir- tues, soften the asperity, and take much from the horrors of war. — T. 49 Invidiousness of for tune. .] — Three verj 7 distinct qualities of mind have been imputed to the three Greek historians, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, with respect to their manner of reflecting on the facts which they relate. Of the first, it has been said that he seems to have considered the deity as viewing man with a jealous eye, as only promoting his successes to make the catastrophe of his fate the more calamitous. This is pointed out by Plutarch with the se- verest reprehension. Thucydides, on the contrary, admits of no divine interposition in human affairs, but makes the good or ill fortune of those whose history he gives us depend on the wisdom or folly of their own conduct. Xenophon, in distinction from both, invariably considers the kindness or the vengeance of Heaven as influencing the event of hu- man enterprizes. " That is," says the Abbe Barthclemy, " according to the first, all sublunary things are governed by a fatality; according to the second, by human prudence; according to the last, by the piety of the individual." — The VOL, II, O inconstancy 194 THALIA. " prosperity excites my apprehensions. If I " might determine for myself, and for those " whom I regard, I would rather have my af- " fairs sometimes flattering, and sometimes per- " verse. I would wish to pass through life with " the inconstancy of fortune is admirably described in the follow- ing passage from Horace ; and with the sentiment with which the lines conclude, every ingenuous mind must desire to be in unison. Fortuna sa3VO lata negotio, et Ludum insolentem ludere pertinax, Transmutat incertos honores, Nunc mihi, nunc aliis benigna. Laudo manentem : si celeres quatit Pennas, resigno quse dedit, et mea Virtute me involvo, probamque Pauperiem sine dote quasro. It would be inexcusable not to insert Dryden's version,, oi" rather paraphrase, of the above passage. Fortune, that with malicious joy Does man her slave oppress, Proud of her office to destroy, Is seldom pleas'd to bless : Still various, and inconstant still, But with an inclination to be ill. Promotes, degrades, delights in strife, And makes a lottery of life. I can enjoy her while she's kind, But when she dances in the wind, And shakes the wings, and will not stay, I puff the prostitute away : The little or the much she gave is quietly resign'd. Content with poverty, my soul I arm, And virtue, tho' in rags, will keep me warm. T. I tt I. it a u a u T H A L I A. 195 the alternate experience of good and evil, ra- " flier than with uninterrupted good fortune. I do not remember to have heard of any man remarkable for a constant succession of pro- sperous events, whose end has not been finally calamitous. If, therefore, you value my coun- sel, you will provide this remedy against the excess of your prosperity : — Examine well " what thing it is which you deem of the highest " consequence to your happiness, and the loss " of which would most afflict you/ When you " shall have ascertained this, banish it from you, " so that there may be no possibility of its re- " turn. If after this, your good fortune shall still " continue without diminution or change, you " will do well to repeat the remedy I propose." XLL Polycrates received this letter, and seri- ously deliberated on its contents. The advice of Amasis appeared sagacious, and he resolved to follow it. He accordingly searched among his treasures for something, the loss of which would most afflict him. He conceived this to be a seal- ring 50 , which he occasionally wore; it was an emerald 50 A seal-ring.] — This ring has been the subject of some controversy amongst the learned, both as to what it repre- sented, and of what precious stone it was formed. Clemens Alexandrinus says it represented a lyre. Pliny says it was a sardonyx; and that in his time there existed O % one 196 THALIA. emerald set in gold, and the workmanship of Theodorus the Samian, the son of Telecles. De- termining to deprive himself of this, he embarked in a fifty-oared vessel, with orders to be carried into the open sea : when he was at some distance from the island, in the presence of all his at- tendants, he took the ring from his finger and cast it into the sea ; having done this he sailed back again. XLIL Returning home, he regretted his loss; but in the course of five or six days this accident occurred : — A fisherman caught a fish of such size and one in the temple of Concord, the gift of Augustus, affirmed to be this of Polycrates. Solinus asserts also, that it was a sardonyx ; but Herodotus expressly tells us, it was an eme- rald. At this period the art of engraving precious stones must have been in its infancy, which might probably en- hance the value of his ring to Polycrates. It is a little remarkable that the moderns have never been able to equal the ancients in the exquisite delicacy and beauty of their performances on precious stones. Perhaps it may not be loo much to add, that we have never attained the perfection with which they executed all works in miniature. Pliny says, that Cicero once saw the Iliad of Homer written so very finely, that it might have been contained ' in nuce,' in a nut-shell. Aulas Gellius mentions a pigeon made of wood, which imitated the motions of a living bird; and yElian speaks of an artist, who wrote a distich in letters of gold, which he inclosed in the rind of a grain of corn. Other instances of a similar kind are collected by the learned Mr. Dutens, in his Enquiry into the Origin of the Disco- veries attributed to the Moderns. — T. THALIA. 197 and beauty, that he deemed it a proper present for Polycrates. He went therefore to the pa- lace, and demanded an audience ; being admitted, he presented his fish to Polycrates, with these words : " Although, sir, I live by the produce of " my industry, I could not think of exposing this ^ fish, which I have taken, to sale in the market- " place, believing it worthy of you to accept, " which I hope you will." The king was much gratified, and made him this reply : " My good " friend, your present and your speech are " equally acceptable to me ; and I beg that I " may see you, hi? supper 51 ." The fisherman, delighted 51 See you at supper.] — The circumstance of a sovereign prince asking a common fisherman to sup with him, seems at first sight so intirely repugnant, not only to modern man- ners but also to consistency, as to justify disgust and provoke suspicion. But let it be remembered, that in ancient times the rites of hospitality were paid without any distinction of person ; and the same simplicity of manners, which would allow an individual of the meanest rank to solicit and ob- tain an audience of his prince, diminishes the act of conde- scension which is here recorded, and which to a modern reader may appear ridiculous. — T. The story of the fisherman, in the fourth Satire of Juvenal, will here occur to the reader. He carried his enormous fish to the prince, who, by the way, did not ask him to sup- per, which marks the progress of refinement, the times of Domitian being comparatively modern. The present, how- ever, was accompanied by a speech, which I shall insert, in Mr. Gifford's version. This, which no subject's kitchen can contain ; This fish, reserved for your auspicious reign, 3 O chipf, 198 T H A L I A. delighted with his reception, returned to his house. The servants proceeding to open the fish, found in its paunch the ring of Polycrates ; with great eagerness and joy, they hastened to carry it to the king, telling him where they had met with it. Polycrates concluded that this incident bore evi- dent marks of divine interposition ; he therefore wrote down every particular of what had hap- pened, and transmitted it to JEgypt. XLIII. Amasis, after perusing the letter of his friend, was convinced that it was impossible for one mortal, to deliver anht *er from the des- tiny which awaited him ; he was satisfied that Polycrates could not terminate his days in tran- quillity, whose good fortune had never suffered interruption, and who had even recovered what he had taken pains to lose. He sent therefore a herald to Samos, to disclaim all future connec- tion sz ; his motive for doing which; was the ap- prehension, O chief, accept : to free your stomach haste, And here at large indulge your princely taste. No toils 1 set; he longecl his lord to treat, And rushed a willing victim to the net. 51 Future connection.~\ — This may be adduced as one amongst numerous other instances, to prove, that where the human mind has no solid hopes of the future, nor any firm basis of religious faith, the conduct will ever be wayward and irregular ; and although there may exist great qualities, capable of occasionally splendid actions, there will also be extraordinary weaknesses, irreconcileable to common sense or THALIA. 109 prehension, that in an)' future calamity which might befal Polycrates, he, as a friend and ally, might be obliged to bear a part. XLIV. Against this Polycrates, in all things so prosperous, the Lacedaemonians undertook an expedition, to which they were induced by those Samians who afterwards built the city of Cydon in Crete SJ . To counteract this blow, Polycrates sent privately to Cambyses, who was then pre- paring for hostilities against iEgypt, entreating him to demand supplies and assistance of the Sa- mians. With this Cambyses willingly complied, and sent to solicit, in favour of Polycrates, some naval force to serve in his ./Egyptian expedition. The Samian prince selected those from the rest whose principles and intentions he most sus- pected, and sent them in forty triremes to Cam- byses, or common humanity. Diodorus Siculus, however, gives a very different account of the matter, and ascribes the beha- viour of Amasis to a very different motive : — " The /Egyp- tian," says he, " was so disgusted with the tyrannical beha- viour of Polycrates, not only to his subjects but to strangers, that he foresaw his fate to be unavoidable, and therefore was cautious not to be involved in his ruin." — T. 53 Cydon in Crete.] — This place is now called Canea : some say it was at first called Apollonia, because built by Cydon the son of Apollo. Pausanias says, it was built by Cydon, son of Tegetes. It was once a place of great power, and the largest city in the island; for a description of its present condition, see Savory's Letters on Greece, — T. o 4 <200 THALIA. byses, requesting him by all means to prevent their return. XLV. There are some who assert, that the Sa- mians sent by Polycrates, never arrived in iEgypt, but that as soon as they reached the Carpathian sea they consulted together, and determined to proceed no further. Others, on the contrary, affirm, that they did arrive in iEgypt, but that they escaped from their guards, and returned to Samos : they add, that Polycrates met and en- gaged them at sea, where he was defeated; but that, landing afterwards on the island, they had a second engagement by land, in which they were totally routed, and obliged to fly to Lacedaemon. They who assert that the Samians returned from /Egypt, and obtained a victory over Polycrates, are in my opinion mistaken ; for if their own force was sufficient to overcome him, there was no necessity for their applying to the Lacedae- monians for assistance. Neither is it at all con- sistent with probability, that a prince who had so many forces under his command, composed as well of foreign auxiliaries as of archers of his own, could possibly be overcome by the few Sa- mians who were returning home. Polvcrates, moreover, had in his power the wives and chil- dren of his Samian subjects : these were all as- sembled and confined in his different harbours ; and he was determined to destroy them by fire, and the harbours along Avith them, in case of any treasonable THALIA. 201 treasonable conjunction between the inhabitants and the Samians who were returning. XLVI. The Samians who were expelled by Polycrates, immediately on their arrival at Sparta, obtained an audience of the magistrates, and spoke a great while in the language of suppliants. The answer which they first received informed them, that the commencement of their discourse was not remembered, and the conclusion not un- derstood. At the second interview they simply produced a leathern bag, and complained that it contained no bread; even to this, the Lacedae- monians replied, that their observation was un- necessary S4 ; — they determined nevertheless to assist them. ** Observation was unnecessary.] — The Spartans were always remarkable for their contempt of oratory and eloquence. The following curious examples of this are recorded in Sex- tus Empiricus : — " A young Spartan went abroad, and en- deavoured to accomplish himself in the art of speaking; on his return he was punished by the Ephori, for having con- ceived the design of deluding his countrymen. Another Spartan was sent to Tissaphernes, a Persian satrap, to engage him to prefer the alliance of Sparta to that of Athens ; he said but little, but when he found the Athenians employed great pomp and profusion of words, he drew two lines, both terminating in the same point, but one was straight, the other very crooked ; pointing these out to Tissaphernes, he merely said, " Choose." The story here related of the Samians, by Herodotus, is found also in Sextus Empiricus, but is by him applied on a different occasion, and to a dif- ferent people. — T. tot THALIA. XLVII. After the necessary preparations, ' the Lacedaemonians embarked with an army against Samos : if the Samians may be credited, the con- duct of the Lacedaemonians in this business was the effect of gratitude, they themselves having formerly received a supply of ships against the Messenians. But the Lacedaemonians assert, that they engaged in this expedition not so much to satisfy the wishes of those Samians who had sought their assistance, as to obtain satisfaction for an injury which they had formerly received. The Samians had violently taken away a goblet which the Lacedaemonians were carrying to Croesus, and a corselet", which was given them by Amasis king of JEgypt. This latter incident took place at the interval of a year after the former: the corselet* was made of linen, but there were interwoven in the piece, a great num- ber of animals richly embroidered with cotton and gold ; every part of it deserved admiration : it was composed of chains, each of which con- tained three hundred and sixty threads distinctly visible. 55 A corselet.] — Some fragments of this were to be seen in the time of Pliny, who complains that so curious a piece of workmanship should be spoiled, by its being unravelled by different people, to gratify curiosity, or to ascertain the fact here asserted. — T. * This corselet is mentioned with praise by Herodotus, in Euterpe, c. 182, by Pliny, Nat. Hist, book xix. c. ], and by iElian. Hist. Au. book ix. c. 17. THALIA. £0^ visible. Amasis presented another corselet, in- tirely resembling this, to the Minerva of Lindus. XLVIII. To this expedition against Samos, the Corinthians also contributed, with consi- derable ardour. In the age which preceded, and about the time in which the goblet had been taken, this people had been insulted by the Sa- mians. Periander 56 , the son of Cypselus, had sent to Alyattes, at Sardis, three hundred chil- dren of the principal families of the Corcyrcans, to be made eunuchs. They were intrusted to the 3 * Periander.'] — The life of Periander is given by Dio- genes Laertius ; from which I have extracted such parti- culars as seem most worthy the attention of the English reader. lie was of the family of the Heraclidse ; and the reason of his sending the young Corcyreans, with the purpose men- tioned by Herodotus, was on account of their having killed his son, to whom he wished to resign his power. He was the first prince who used guards for the defence of his per- son. He was by some esteemed one of the seven wise men; Plato, however, does not admit him amongst them. His celebrated saying was, that " Perseverance may do every thing." In an epigram inserted in Stephens's Anthologia, and translated by Ausonius, %oAa Kpalmv is the maxim attributed to Periander, " Restrain your anger :" of which rule he must have severely felt the necessity, if, as Laertius relates, he killed his wife Melissa in a transport of passion, by kick- ing her or throwing a chair at her when pregnant. Her name, according to the same author, was Lyside; Melissa was probably substituted through fondness, certain nymphs and departed human souls being called Melissa:. — Menage. —T. -204 THALIA. the care of certain Corinthians, who, by distress of weather, were compelled to touch at Samos. The Samians soon learned the purpose of the . expedition, and accordingly instructed the chil- dren to fly for protection to the temple of Diana, from whence they would not suffer the Corin- thians to take them. But as the Corinthians prevented their receiving any food, the Samians instituted a festival on the occasion, which they yet observe. At the approach of night, and as long as the children continued as suppliants in the temple, they introduced a company of youths and virgins, who, in a kind of religious dance, were to carry cakes made of honey and flour 57 in their hands. This was done that the young Corcyreans, by snatching them away, might satisfy their hunger, and was repeated till the Corin- thians who guarded the children departed. The Samians afterwards sent the children back to Corcyra s8 . 37 Honey and flour.] — The cakes of Samos were very famous. — See Atkenmts, book xiv. c. 13. 5 * Back to Corcyra.] — Plutarch, in his Treatise on the Ma- lignity of Herodotus, says, " that the young Corcyreans were not preserved by the Samians, but by the Cnidians." — This assertion is examined and refuted by Larcher. Pliny says, that the fish called echines stopped the vessel going swift before the wind, on board of which were mes- sengers of Periander, having it in command to castrate the sons of the Cnidian noblemen; for which reason these shells were highly reverenced in the temple of Venus at Cnidos. M. Larcher, avowedly giving the reader the above passage from Pliny, is guilty of a misquotation: " these shells," says THALIA. 205 XLIX. If after the death of Periander, there had existed any friendship betwixt the Corin- thians and the Corcyreans, it might be supposed that they would not have assisted in this expe- dition against Samos. But notwithstanding these people had the same origin (the Corinthians hav- ing built Corcyra) they had always lived in a state of enmity. The Corinthians, therefore, did not forget the affront which they had received at Samos ; and it was in resentment of injuries for- merly received from the Corcyreans, that Peri- ander had sent to Sardis these three hundred youths of the first families of Corcyra, with the intention of their being made eunuchs. L. When Periander had put his wife Melissa to death, he was involved in an additional cala- mity. By Melissa*, he had two sons, one of whom says he, " arreterent le vaisseau ou etoient ces enfansj" whereas the words of Pliny (see Gronovius's edition, vol. i. page 609) are these, " Quibus inhaerentibus stetisse navem portantem nuncios a. Periandro ut castrarentur nobiles pueri." — T. * The story of Melissa is thus related in Athenreus, book xiii. c. 6. Pythaenetus, in his third book of the history of Mgina, says that Periander, having seen Melissa, the daughter of Procles of Epidaurus, in a Peloponnesian dress, without any robe, in one simple vest, and serving out wine to the la- bourers, fell in love with and married her. The following is from Diogenes Lacrtius: He had two sons by Melissa, Cypselus and Lycophron. At some succeeding period, being exasperated against her by the 206 THALIA. whom was seventeen, the other eighteen years old : Procles, their grandfather by the mother's side, had sent for them to Epidaurus, of which place he was prince ; and had treated them with all the kindness due to the children of his daughter. At the time appointed for their de- parture, he took them aside, and asked them if they knew who had killed their mother. To these words the elder brother paid no attention ; font the younger, whose name was Lycophron, took it so exceedingly to heart, that at his return to Corinth he would neither salute his father, converse with, nor answer him ; in indignation at which behaviour, Periander banished him his house. LI. After the above event, Periander asked his elder son, what their grandfather had said to them. The youth informed him, that their grand- father had received them very affectionately, but as he did not remember, he could not relate the words he had used to them at parting. The father, however, continued to press him ; saying, it was impossible that their grandfather should dismiss them without some advice. This induced the young man more seriously to reflect on what had passed ; and he afterwards informed his father of the calumny of one of his concubines, he was the cause o her death, by kicking her when she was pregnant. According to Pausanias, there was a monument in honour of this Melissa ne.ir Epidaurus. THALIA. £07 of every particular. Upon this, Periander was determined not at all to relax from his severity, but immediately sent to those who had received his son under their protection, commanding them to dismiss him. Lycophron was thus driven from one place to another, and from thence to a third, and from this last also the severity of Pe- riander expelled him. Yet, fearful as people were to entertain him, he still found an asylum, from the consideration of his being the son of Periander. LII. Periander at length commanded it to be publicly proclaimed, that whoever harboured his son, or held any conversation with him, should pay a stipulated fine for the use of Apollo's tem- ple. After this no person presumed either to receive or converse with him, and Lycophron himself acquiesced in the injunction, by retiring to the public portico. On the fourth day, Pe- riander himself observed him in this situation, covered with filth * and perishing with hunger : his heart relenting, he approached, and thus ad- dressed him : " My son, which do you think " preferable, your present extremity of distress, " or to return to your obedience, and share with " me * The original is a?.8ja-», literally with unwashed things. In warm countries, before the use of linen, the frequent ap- plication of the bath, and of washing, must have been pecu- liarly necessary, and makes this expression striking and appropriate, £08 T H A L I A. me my authority and riches ? You who are my son, and a prince of the happy Corinth, choose the life of a mendicant, and persevere in irritating him, who has the strongest claims upon your duty. If the incident which in- duces you to think unfavourably of my con- duct, has any evil resulting from it, the whole is fallen upon myself; and I feel it the more sensibly, from the reflection that I was myself the author of it. Experience has taught you how much better it is to be envied than pi- tied 59 , and how dangerous it is to provoke a superior and a parent — return therefore to my house." To this speech Periander received no other answer from his son, than that he him- self, by conversing with him, had incurred the penalty which his edict had imposed. The king, perceiving 59 Envied than pitied.] — Of this, M. Larcher remarks, that it is a proverbial expression in the French language : it is no less so in our own. The same sentiment in Pindar is referred to by the learned Frenchman, which is thus trans- lated by Mr. West. Nor less distasteful is excessive fame To the sour palate of the envious mind ; Who hears with grief his neighbour's goodly name, And hates the fortune that he ne'er shall find; Yet in thy virtue, Hiero, persevere, Since to be envied is a nobler fate Than to be pitied, and let strict justice steer With equitable hand the helm of state, And arm thy tongue with truth : O king ! beware Of every step : a prince can never lightly err. T, T II ALIA. 209 perceiving the perverseness of his son to be im- mutable, determined to remove him from his sight ; he therefore sent him in a vessel to Cor- cyra, which place also belonged to him. After this, Pcriander made war upon his father-in-law Procles, whom he considered as the principal occasion of what had happened. He made him- self master of Epidaurus 60 , and took Procles prisoner ; whom nevertheless he preserved alive. LIII. In process of time, as Periander ad- vanced *° Epidaurus."} — This was a city of the Peloponnese, famous for a temple of /Esculapius. When the Romans were once afflicted by a grievous pestilence, they were ordered by the oracle to bring /Esculapius to Rome; they accordingly dis- patched am ; >ass.idors to Epidaurus to accomplish this. The Epidaurians refusing to part with their god, the Romans prepared to depart: as their vessel was quitting the port, an immense serpent came swimming towards them, and finally writhed itself round the prow; the crew, thinking it to be /Esculapius himself, carried him with much veneration to Home. — lhs entrance is finely described by Ovid: — Jamque caput rerum Romanam intraverat urbem, Erigitur serpens — summoque acclivia malo Colla movet : sedesque sibi circumspicit aptas. Which description, fully considered, would perhaps afford no mean subject for an historical painting. Epidaurus was also famous for its breed of horses. — See Virgil, Georgic iii. 43, -*. Vocat ingenti clamore Cithasron Taygetique canes, domitrixque Epidaurus equorum. The same fact is also mentioned by Strabo, book viii.— T. Vol. II. P 210 THALIA. vanced in years, he began to feel himself inad< quate to the cares of government ; he sent there- fore for Lycophron to Corcyra, to take upon him the administration of affairs : his eldest son * appeared improper for such a station, and was indeed dull and stupid. Lycophron disdained to take the smallest notice of the messenger who brought him this intelligence. But Periander, as he felt his affection for the young man to be un- alterable, sent his sister to him, thinking her interposition most likely to succeed. When she saw him, " Brother," said she, " will you suffer the sovereign authority to pass into other hands, and the riches of our family to be dis- persed, rather than return to enjoy them your- self ? Let me entreat you to punish yourself no more; return to your country and your " family : obstinacy like yours is but an unwel- " come guest, it only adds one evil to another. " Pity is by many preferred to justice ; and " many, from their anxiety to fulfil their duty " to a mother, have violated that which a father " might expect. Power, which many so assi- " duously court, is in its nature precarious f. " Your * That is Cypselus. See chap. 5 — note, f A similar sentiment occurs in the Iphigenia in Aulis of Euripides, which is thus translated by Mr. Wodhull: Yet such splendour oft is found Precarious. — Empire, tempting to the view, Comes laden with affliction. • This T II A L I A. 211 * Your father is growing old, do not therefore " resign to others, honours which are properly " your own." Thus instructed by her father, she used every argument likely to influence her brother ; but he briefly answered, " that as long " as his father lived he would not return to Co- " rinth." When she had communicated this answer to Periander, he sent a third messenger to his son, informing him, that it was his inten- tion to retire to Corcyra; but that Lycophron might return to Corinth, and take possession of the supreme authority. This proposition was ac- cepted, and Periander prepared to depart for Corcyra, the young man for Corinth. But when the Corcyreans were informed of the business, to prevent the arrival of Periander among them, they put his son to death. — This was what in- duced that prince to take vengeance on the Corcyreans. LIV. The Lacedaemonians arriving with a powerful fleet, laid siege to Samos, and advanc- ing towards the walls, they passed by a tower which stands in the suburbs, not far from the sea. At this juncture Polycrates attacked them, at This version is by no means accurate. The Greek is— T«to 01 y s<7Ti to X0&X01/ atpaXepuv. For this, iiuiT»ely power, is an unstable good. P 2 212 T II A L I A. at the head of a considerable force, and com- pelled them to retreat. He was instantly se- conded by a band of auxiliaries, and a great number of Samians, who falling upon the enemy from a fort which was behind the mountain, after a short conflict effectually routed them, and con- tinued the pursuit with great slaughter of the Lacedaemonians. LV. If all the Lacedaemonians had behaved in this engagement like Archias and Lycopas, Samos must certainly have been taken ; for these two alone entered the city, with those Samians who sought security within the walls, and having no means of retreat were there slain. I myself one day met with a person of the same name, who was the 1 son of Samius, and grandson of the Archias above mentioned ; I saw him at Pitane 61 , of ** Pitane.] — This proper name involves some perplexity, unci has afforded exercise for much acute and ingenious cri- ticism. Martiniere, from mistaking a passage of Pausanias, asserts that it was merely a quarter, or rather suburbs of La- cedaDmon, and is consequently often confounded with it. This mistake is ably pointed out and refuted by Bellanger, in his Critique de quelques Articles du Diet, de M. la Mar- tiniere. This word is found in Hcsychius, as descriptive of a distinct tribe ; in Thucydides of a small town ; and in Herodotus of a whole people : — See book ix. chap. 52, where he speaks of the cohort of Pitane, which in the glorious battle of Platea was commanded by Amompharetus. It is certain I T H A L I A. 213 of which place he was a native. This person paid more attention to Samians than to other fo- reigners ; and he told me, that his father was called Samius, as being the immediate descendant of him, who with so much honour had lost his life at Samos. The reason of his thus distinguishing the Samians, was because they had honoured his grandfather by a public funeral 62 . certain that there were several places of this name; the one here specified was doubtless on the banks of the Eurotas, in Laconia. — See Essais de Critique, fyc. 316". — T. 64 Public funerals—The manner in which the funerals of those who had died in defence of their country were so- lemnized at Athens, cannot fail of giving the English reader an elevated idea of that polished people. On an appointed day a number of coffins made of cypress wood, and containing the bones of the deceased, were ex- posed to view beneath a large tent erected for the purpose; they who had relations to deplore, assembled to weep over them, and pay the duties dictated by tenderness or enjoined by religion. Three days afterwards the coffins were placed upon as many cars as there were tribes, and were carried slowly through the town, to the Ceramicus, where funeral games were celebrated. The bodies were deposited in the earth, and their relations and friends paid for the last time the tribute of (heir tears; an orator appointed by the re- public- from an elevated place pronounced a funeral oration over his valiant countrymen; each tribe raised over the graves some kind of column, upon which was inscribed the names of the deceased, their age, and the place where they died. The above solemnities were conducted under the inspec- tion of one of the principal magistrates. The most magnificent public funeral of which we have any account, was that of Alexander the Great, when his body P o was 214 THALIA. LVI. The Lacedaemonians, after remaining forty days before the place without any advan- tage, returned to the Peloponnese. It is re- ported, though most absurdly, that Polycrates struck off a great number of pieces of lead cased with gold 6 ', like the coin of the country, and that with was brought from Babylon to Alexandria; a minute descrip- tion of which is given by Diodorus Siculus. For a particular description of the ceremonies observed at public and private funerals, amongst the Romans, consult Montfaucon. — T. 63 Lead cased with gold.] — Similar to this artifice, was that practised on the people of Gortyna in Crete, by Hannibal, as recorded bv Justin. After the defeat of Antiochus by the Romans, Hannibal retired to Gortyna, carrying with him an immense treasure. This circumstance exciting, the envy of the people against him, he pretended to deposit his riches in the temple of Diana, to which place he carried with much ceremony several vessels filled with lead. He soon took an opportunity of passing over into Asia with his real wealth, which he had concealed in the images of the gods he af- fected to worship. No such coins as those mentioned by Herodotus having been ever discovered, is perhaps a sufficient justification of our author, for the discredit which he has here thrown upon, the story concerning the artifice of Polycrates. That spu- rious coins, however, of this kind were fabricated in very early times, is a fact with which every Medallist must be suf- ficiently acquainted. The collection of Dr. Hunter will afford several examples. One instance of a leaden coin, cased with silver, as remote as the time of Seleucus the First, of Syria, may be seen in that cabinet, where is also a similar coin of the city of Naples. The collection at the British Museum, would doubtless afford several instances of the like THALIA. 215 with these he purchased their departure. — Thi* was the first expedition of the Dorians * of La- cedosmon into Asia. like forgery. In the Roman Series, Neumann (Num. Vet. Anecdoti, pars xi. p. 201) makes mention of a remarkable instance from Schulzius, of a leaden coin of Nero, which had been antiently circulated for brass, in which metal it was enclosed. Of leaden coins covered with gold there are two examples in the cabinet of Dr. Hunter; one belonging to the Emperor Trajan, and the other to his successor, Ha- drian. The lead, however, in these coins seems to have been hardened by a mixture of some other metal, perhaps tin, or a small portion of silver. Demosthenes relates, from Solon, that several cities in Greece adulterated their coins as Well with lead as with brass — agyvgiu ti[jt,ivoii, to 6b y.au ex. ^xXy.ov y.ccru- X^vo-UfAEvov Bcrx.eva.izro. Lib. 77- p. 876, edit. Leunclavii. -Many Samian coins are to be seen in the cabinets of col- lectors. These have sometimes been mistaken for the coins of Salamis in Cyprus, owing to the circumstance of their having only the two initial letters of the inscription upon them. The French writers still remain in this error, and confound the coins of both the above places. There cannot, however, be any reasonable doubt enter- tained upon this point, since we have in our own country, in the Hunterian collection, a genuine, coin of this people, which, while it agrees in every other respect with those at- tributed to Salamis, differs in the important particular of P 4 preserving * For this note, see the next page. 216 T H A L I A. LVII. Those Samians who had taken up arms against Polycrates, when they saw themselves for- saken by the Lacedaemonians, and were distressed from want of money, embarked for Siphnos 64 . At preserving the impression of the name at full length — SAMIftN. See Pellerin Recucil de Medailles de Pcuples et dc Villes, torn. 3, pi. 101. Catalogue d'unc Collection cTcm- preintes en soufre dc Medailles Grccques et Romaines, a Paris, An. &, p. 53. Hunteri Num. Vet. Populorum ct Urbium, p. lb S, tab. 47- Do?n. Scstini Classes Generates Geographic Numismatic, pars xi. p. S4. * Larcher, in his first edition, had omitted the term of Lacedremon, thinking with Valcknaer, that Dorians was suf- ficient of itself. In his second edition he has rendered it Lacedaemonian Dorians. 64 Sip/inos.] — This was one of those small islands lying opposite to Attica: They were seventeen in number, and called, from their situation with respect to each other, the Cyclades ; they were all eminently beautiful, and severally distinguished by some appropriate eNcellence. The marble of Paros was of inimitable whiteness, and of the finest grain;. Andros and Naxos produced the most exquisite wine; Amengos was famous for a dye made from a lichen, growing there in vast abundance. The riches of Siphnos are ex- tolled by many ancient writers ; it is now called Siphanto. The following account of the modern circumstances of Siphnos, is extracted principally from Tournefort. It is remarkable for the purity of its air; the water, fruit, and poultry are very excellent. Although covered with marble and granite, it is one of the most fertile islands of the Archipelago. They have a famous manufactory of .straw hats, which are sold all over the Archipelago, by the name of Siphanto castors : though once so famous for its mines of gold and silver, the inhabitants can now hardly tell you THALIA. 217 At this time the power of the Siphnians was very considerable, and they were the richest of all the inhabitants of the islands. Their soil produced both the sold and silver metals in such abun- dance, that from a tenth part of their revenues, they had a treasury at Delphi, equal in value to the richest which that temple possessed. Every year they made an equal distribution among themselves, of the value of their mines: whilst their wealth was thus accumulating, they con- sulted the oracle, to know whether they should long continue in the enjoyment of their present good fortune. From the Pythian they received this answer : When Siphnos shall a milk-white senate show, And all her market wear a front of snow ; Him let her prize whose wit suspects the most, A scarlet envoy from a wooden host. At this period the prytaneum, and the forum of Siphnos, were adorned with Parian marble. L-Vill. This reply of the oracle, the Siphnians were unable to comprehend, both before and after the arrival of the Samians. As soon as the Saimans" you where they were. They have plenty of lead, which the rains discover. The ladies of Siphauto cover their faces with linen bandages so dextrously, that you can only see their mouth, nose, and white of the eyes. — T, *18 T H A L I A. Samians touched at Siphnos, they dispatched a messenger to the town, in one of their vessels. According to the ancient custom, all ships were painted of a red colour; and it was this which induced the Pythian, to warn the Siphnians against a wooden snare, and a red ambassador. On their arrival, the Samian ambassadors en- treated the inhabitants to lend them ten talents : on being refused, they plundered the country. The Siphnians hearing of this, collected their forces, and were defeated in a regular engage- ment ; a great number were, in the retreat, cut off from the town, and the Samians afterwards exacted from them an hundred talents. LIX. Instead of money the Samians had re- ceived of the Hermionians, the island of Thyrea *, adjacent to the Peloponnese : this they after- wards gave as a pledge to the Traszenians. They afterwards made a voyage to Crete, where they built Cydonia, although their object in going there, was to expel the Zacynthians. In this place they continued five years, during which period they were so exceedingly prosperous, that they not only erected all those temples which are now * There was another place of this name in Arcadia. See Pausanias, book 8, 1. 35. In the original text it is Hydrea; but this, by common consent of the best manuscripts, is er- roneous. THALIA. S19 now seen in Cydonia, but built also the temple of Dictynna 65 . In the sixth year, from a junc- tion being made with the Cretans by the JEgi- netae, they were totally vanquished in a sea en- gagement, and reduced to servitude. The prows of their vessels were taken away and defaced, and afterwards suspended in the temple of Mi- nerva at iEgina. The iEginetre were impelled to this conduct towards the Samians, in resentment of a former injury. When Amphicrates * reigned at Samos, he had carried on a war against the JEginetae, by which they materially suffered ; this, however, they severely retaliated. LX. I have been thus particular in my ac- count of the Samians, because this people pro- duced the greatest monuments 66 of art which are to 6s Dictgnna.] — Diana was worshipped in Crete, indif- ferently under the name of Dyctynna and of Britomartis. Britu, in the Cretan language, meant sweet, and martis, a virgin! Britomartis was also the name of a virgin greatly be- loved by Diana ; and what is said by Diodorus Siculus on the subject seems most worthy of attention. His story is this : — Dictynna was born in Cseron ; she invented hunters toils and netsj and ihcnce her name. She was the daughter of Jupiter, which renders it exceedingly improbable that she should be obliged to fly from Minos, and leap into the sea, where she was caught in some fishers nets. The Mons Dic- tynnams of Pliny is now called Cape Spada. — T. * This prince is mentioned by no other author. 66 The greatest monuments.'] — Of these monuments some vestiges are still to be seen, consult Tournefort, i. 314. Port ceo T II A L I A. to be seen in Greece. They have a mountain which is one hundred and fifty orgyise in height ; they have made a passage entirely through this, the length of which is seven stadia, it is moreover eight feet high, and as many wide. By the side of this there is also an artificial canal, which in like manner goes quite through the mountain, and though only three feet in breadth, is twenty cubits deep This, by the. means of pipes, con- veys to the city the waters of a copious spring 67 . This Port Tigani is in form of a half moon, and regards the south-east; its left horn is that famous Jettee which Hero-. dotus reckoned amongst the three wonders of Samos. This work, at that time of day, is an evidence of the Saimans 1 ap- plication to maritime matters. t 67 Copious spring.] — On the left of the dale, near, to the aqueduct which crosses it, are certain caverns, the entrance of some of them artificially cut. In all appearance some of these artificial caverns were what Herodotus says were ranked among the most wonderful performances of the Greek nation. The beautiful spring which templed them to go upon so great a work, is doubtless that of Metelinous', the best in the island, the disposition of the place proving perfectly favourable, the moment they had conquered the difficulty of boring ii ; but in all probability they were not exact enough in levelling the ground, for they were obliged to dig a canal of twenty cubits deep for carrying the spring to the place designed. There must have been some mis- take in this passage of Herodotus; for neither the Samians nor any other people could make a canal forty feet deep by only three wide. Some five hundred paces from the sea, and almost the like distance from the river Imbrasis to Cape Cera, are the ruins of the famous temple of the Saurian Juno. But for Herodotus T II A L I A. 2Gi This is their first work, and constructed by Eu- palinus, the son of Naustrophus, an inhabitant of Megara. Their second is a mole, which pror jects from the harbour into the sea, and is two stadia or more in length, and about twenty or- gyite in height. Their last performance was a temple, which exceeds in grandeur all that I have seen. This structure was first commenced by a native of the country, whose name was Rhcecus 63 , son of Phileus. LXI. Whilst Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, passed his time in iEgypt, committing various excesses, two magi, who were brothers, and one of Herodotus we should never have known the name of the architect, lie employed a very particular order of columns, as may be now seen. It is indeed neither better nor worse than the Ionian order in its infancy, void of that beauty which it afterwards acquired. — Thus far Tournefort. Its ancient names were Parthenias, Anthemus, and Me- lamphissus. It was the birth-place of Pythagoras, and the school of Epicurus. Pococke says, that there are no remains which he could prevail upon himself to believe to belong to this canal. He adds, that the inhabitants are remarkably profligate and poor. Tournefort makes a similar remark. There arc no disciples of Pythagoras, observes the French- man, now left in Samos; the modern Samians are no more fond of fasting, than they are lovers of silence. — T. 63 li/iariis.] — This Rhoecus was not only a skilful architect, but he farther invented, in conjunction with Theodorus of Samos, the art of making moulds with clay, long before the Bacchiades had been driven from Corinth; they were also the first who made casts in brass, of which they formed • tat ■ 222 THALIA. of whom Cambvses had left in Persia as the ma-* nager of his domestic concerns, excited a revolt against him. The death of Smerdis, which had been studiously kept secret, and was known to very few of the Persians, who in general believed that he was alive, was a circumstance to which the last mentioned of these magi had been privy, and of which he determined to avail himself. His brother, who, as we have related, joined with him in this business, not only resembled in person 6g , but bore the very name of the young prince, the son of Cyrus, who had been put to death by the order of his brother Cambyses. This man, Pa- tizithes, the other magus, publicly introduced and placed upon the royal throne, having previously instructed statues. Pausanias relates the same tact, with this addition, that upoa a pedestal behind the altar of Diana, called Pro- tothenia, there is a statue byRhoecus: it is a woman in bronze, said by the Ephesians to be that of Night. He had' two son=, Telecles and Theodorus, both ingenious statuaries. Lurcher. 69 llesembled in person.]— Similar historical incidents will here occur to the most common reader, there having been no state whose annals are come down to us, in which, from the similitude of person, factious individuals have not ex- cited commotions. In the Roman government a false Pom- pey and a false Drusus claim our attention, because one exercised the political sagacity of Cicero, the other em- ployed the pen of Tacitus. Neither have we in our own country been without similar impostors, the examples of which must be too familiar to require insertion here. If other examples be thought necessary, not many years have passed since the Russian empire was nearly overturned by a false Demetrius. — T. T H A L I A. 223 instructed him in the part he was to perform. Having done this, he sent messengers to dif- ferent places, and one in particular to the ^Egyp- tian army, ordering them to obey Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, alone. LXII. These orders were every where obeyed. The messenger who came to iEgypt found Cam- byses with the army, at Ecbatana, in Syria. He entered into the midst of the troops 70 , and exe- cuted 70 Into the midst of the troops.] — It may to an English reader at first sight seem extraordinary that any person should dare to execute such a commission as this, and should venture himself on such a business amongst the troops of a man whose power had been so long established, and whose cruelty must have been notorious But the per- sons of heralds, as the functions they were to perform were the most important possible, were on all occasions sacred. Homer more than once calls them the sacred ministers of gods and men; they denounced war, and proclaimed peace. It has been a matter of dispute amongst the learned from whence this sanctity was conferred on them ; they were said to be descended from Ceryx, the son of Mercury, and under the protection of that god. This office, in Athens and Sparta, was hereditary. In Athens, as I have observed, the heralds were 'said to be derived from Cenyx; in Sparta from Talthybius, the celebrated herald of Agamemnon. They usually carried a staff of laurel in their hands, sometimes of olive, round this two serpents were twisted. To what an extreme this reverence for the persons of ambassadors or heralds was carried, will appear from the book Polymnia, chap. \3i. It is almost unnecessary to add, that in modern times the persons of ambassadors are in like manner deemed sacred, unless the treatment which in case of war they re- ceive 224 T H A L I A. cuted the commission which had been given hint* When Cambyses heard this, he was not aware of any fallacy, but imagined that Prexaspes, whom he had sent to put Smerdis to death, had neg- lected to obey his commands. " Prexaspes," said the king, " thou hast not fulfilled my orders.*' " Sir," he replied, " you are certainly deceived ; " it is impossible that your brother should rebel " against you, or occasion you the smallest trou- iC ble. I not only executed your orders concern- " ing Smerdis, but I buried him with my own " hands. If the dead can rise again, you may " expect also a rebellion from Astyages the " Mode ;. but if things go on in their usual course, " you can have nothing to apprehend from your " brother. I would recommend, therefore, that " you send for this herald, and demand by what " authority he claims our allegiance to Smerdis.'* LXIII. This advice was agreeable to Cam- byses : the person of the herald was accordingly seized, and he was thus addressed by Prexaspes : " You say," my friend, " that you come from " Smerdis, the son of Cyrus; but I would advise " you ceive at Constantinople be deemed an exception. The mo- ment that war is declared against any foreign power, the re- presentative of that power is seized, and sent as a prisoner to the Black Tower. Neither is the case much better in France, where the Portuguese minister v. as not long since thrown into the common jail, and the ministers of other foreign courts, not excepting our own, shamefully insulted. — T. THALIA. . d-5 " you to be cautious, as your safety will depend " upon your speaking the truth ; tell me, there- " fore, did Smerdis himself intrust you with this " commission, or did you receive it from some " one of his officers ?" " I must confess," re- plied the herald, " that since the departure of " Cambyses on this ^Egyptian expedition, I have " never seen Smerdis, the son of Cyrus. I re- " ceived my present commission from the magus " to whom Cambyses intrusted the management " of his domestic affairs ; he it was who told me " that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, commanded " me to execute this business/' This was the sincere answer of the herald; upon which, Cam- byses thus addressed Prexaspes : " I perceive " that, like a man of integrity, you performed " my commands, and have been guilty of no " crime: but what Persian, assuming the name " of Smerdis, has revolted against me?" " Sir," answered Prexaspes, " I believe I comprehend " the whole of this business: the magi have ex- " cited this rebellion against you, namely, Pati- " zithes, to whom you intrusted the manage- " rnent of your household, and Smerdis, his " brother." LXIV. As soon as Cambyses heard the name of Smerdis, he was impressed with conviction of the truih ; and he immediately perceived the real signification of the dream in which he had seen Vol. II. Q, Smerdis 226 THALIA. Smerdis seated on the royal throne, and touching the firmament with his head. Acknowledging that he had destroyed his brother without any just cause, he lamented him with tears. xVfter indulging for a while in the extremest sorrow-, which a sense of his misfortunes prompted, he leaped hastily upon his horse, determining to lead his army instantly to Susa, against the rebels. In doing this, the sheath fell from his sword 71 , which, 71 The sheath fell from' his sword.] — The first swords were probably made of brass ; for, as Lucretius observes, Et prior a?ris erat quam ferri cognitus usus. It has been remarked, on the following passage of Virgil,. i£rata?que micant pelta?, micat ceneus ensis, that the poet only uses brass poetically instead of iron ; this, however, seems forced and improbable. More an- ciently, which indeed appears from Homer, the sword was worn over the shoulder; if, therefore, the attitude of Cam- byses in the act of mounting his horse be considered, his receiving the wound here described does not appear at all unlikely. In contradiction to modern custom, the Romans sometimes wore two swords, one on each side ; when they wore but one it was usually, though not always, on the right side. On this subject, see Montfaucon, where different spe- cimens of ancient swords may be seen. The Persian swords were called acinaces, or scymetars. — T. In order to see how the ancient Persians wore their swords, we have only to look at the figures on the ruins of Persepolis, where we shall see the swords, or rather dag- gers, on the right side. In all our more ancient monuments also, there is a sword at the left, and a dagger at the right side. THALIA. 227 which, being thus naked, wounded him in the thigh. The wound was in the very place in which he had before struck Apis, the deity of the ^Egyptians. As soon as the blow appeared to be mortal, Cambyses anxiously inquired the name of the place where he was : they told him it was called Ecbatana. An oracle from Butos had warned him that he should end his life at Ecbatana; this he understood of Ecbatana 74 of the Medes, where all his treasures were depo- sited, and where he conceived he was to die in his old age. The oracle, however, spoke of the Syrian 7 * Ecbatana.] — Ctesias makes this prince die at Babylon ; but this is not the only place in which he contradicts Hero- dotus. — Larchcr. It appears by the context, that this Ecbatana was in Syria; an obscure place, probably, and unheard of by Cambyses till this moment. A similar fiction of a prophecy occurs in our own history. Henry the Fourth had been told he was to die ifi Jerusalem, but died in the Jerusalem-chamber at West- minster. Which tale Shakespeare has immortalized by no- ticing it. It hath been prophesy' d to me many years I should not die but in Jerusalem, Which vainly I suppos'd the Holv Land. But bear me to that chamber, there I'll lie, In that Jerusalem shall Harry die. This fiction was common in all ages, and indeed Shakes- peare has three or four others. Batangea in Palestine marks the place of this Syrian Ec- batana. — See D'AnxUle. (I 2 228 THALIA. Syrian Ecbatana. When he learned the nam of the town, the vexation arising from the rebel- lion of the magus, and the pain of his wound, restored him to his proper senses. " This/' he exclaimed, remembering the oracle, " is doubt- " less the place, in which Cambyses, son of " Cyrus, is destined to die." LXV. On the twentieth day after the above event, he convened the more illustrious of the Persians who were with him, and thus addressed them : " What has happened to me, compels me " to disclose to you what I anxiously desired to " conceal. Whilst I was in iEgypt, I beheld in " my sleep a vision, which I could wish had " never appeared to me. A messenger seemed " to arrive from home, informing me that Smer- " dis, sitting on the royal throne, touched the '■ heavens with his head. It is not in the power of men to counteract destiny ; but fearing that my brother would deprive me of my kingdom, " I yielded to passion rather than to prudence. " Infatuated as I was, I dispatched Prexaspes " to Susa, to put Smerdis to death, After this " great crime, I lived with more confidence, be- " lieving that, Smerdis being dead, no one else " would rise up against me. But my ideas of the future were fallacious; I have murdered my brother, a crime equally unnecessary and " atrocious, and am nevertheless deprived of my " power. it tt n EUTERPE. 229 " power. It was Smerdis the magus 73 , whom li the divinity pointed out to me in my dream, " and 73 Smerdis the magus.] — Mr. Richardson, in his Disser- tation on the Language, &c. of Eastern nations, speaking of the disagreement between the Grecian and Asiatic history of Persia, makes the following remarks: From this period (6"l0 before Christ) till the Macedonian conquest, we have the history of the Persians as given us by the Greeks, and the history of the Persians as written by themselves. Between these classes of writers we might na- turally expect some difference of facts, but we should as naturally look for a few great lines which might mark seme similarity of story: yet from every research which I have had an opportunity to make, there seems to be nearly as much resemblance between the annals of England and Japan, as between the European and Asiatic relations of the same empire. The names and numbers of their kings have no analogy! and in regard to the most splendid facts of the Greek historians, the Persians are entirely silent. We have no mention of the great Cyrus, nor of any king of Persia who in the events of his reign can apparently be forced into a similitude. We have no Croesus, king of Lydia; not a syllable of Cambyscs, or of his frantic expedition against the .Ethiopians. Smerdis Magus, and the succession of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, by the neighing of his horse, are to the Persians circumstances equally unknown, as the numerous assassinations recorded by the Greeks, 230 THALIA. a a tt (C a a and who has now taken arms against me. Things being thus circumstanced, it becomes you to remember that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, is actually dead, and that the two magi, one with whom I left the care of my household, and Smerdis his brother, are the men who now claim your obedience. He, whose office it " would have been to have revenged on these " magi any injuries done to me, has unjustly " perished by those who were nearest to him : " but since he is no more, I must now tell you, " O Persians ! what I would have you do when " I am dead. — I intreat you all, by those gods " who watch over kings, and chiefly you who are of the race of the Achaemenides, that you will never permit this empire to revert to the Medes. If by any stratagem they shall have seized it, by stratagem do you recover it. If they have by force obtained it, do you by force wrest it from them. If you shall obey my ad- vice, may the earth give you its fruits in abun- dance ! may you ever be free, and your wives and your flocks prolific ! If you do not obey me, if you neither recover, nor attempt to re- a << t( u a a it ti to know whether she cohabited with Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, or with any other person. She • . returned THALIA. i23a returned for answer, " that she could not tell, " as she had never seen Smerdis, the son of " Cyrus, nor did she know the person with " whom she cohabited." Otanes sent a second time to his daughter: " If," says he, " you do " not know the person of Smerdis, the son of " Cyrus, inquire of Atossa who it is with whom " you and she cohabit, for she must necessarily " know her brother." To which she thus re- plied, " I can neither speak to Atossa, nor in- " deed see any of the women that live with him. " Since this person, whoever he is, came to the " throne, the women have all been kept sepa- " rate 75 ." 75 Kept separata.] — Chardin, speaking of the death of a king of Persia, and the intemperate grief of his wives, says, that the reason why the women upon such occasions are so deeply afflicted, is not only fur the loss of the king their husband, but for the loss of that shadow of liberty which they enjoyed during his life; for no sooner is the prince laid in his tomb, but they are all shut up in particular houses. Tourneibrt tells us, that after the death of the sultan at Constantinople, the women whom he honoured with his cm- braces, and their eldest daughters, are removed into the old seraglio of Constantinople ; the younger are sometimes left for the new emperor, or are married to the bashas. It appears that in the East from the remotest times, females have been jealously secluded from the other sex. Never- theless, we learn from modern travellers, that this is done with some restrictions, and that they are not only suffered to communicate with each other, but on certain days to leave the haram or seraglio, and take their amusements abroad. Where 234 T II A L I A. LXIX. This reply more and more justified the suspicions of Otanes; he sent, therefore, a third time to his daughter: " My daughter," he observed, " it becomes you, who are nobly born, " to engage in a dangerous enterprize, when " your father commands you. If this Smerdis 7 Homer above all things for understanding how to lye in perfection. His lyes, according to that master's opinion, and the judgment of the gravest and most venerable writers, were in themselves the justest moral truths, and e.xhibitive of the best doctrine and instruction in life and manners." It is well remarked by one of the ancients, though I do not remember which, that a violation of truth implies a contempt of God, and fear of man. Yet the gravest of our moralists and divines have allowed that there may be occasions in which a deviation from strict truth is venial. — T. 240 THALIA. would be false, and the false man sincere. As to the guards, he who suffers us to pass shall hereafter be remembered to his advantage ; he who opposes us shall be deemed an enemy : let us, therefore, now hasten to the palace, and execute our purpose." LXXIII. When he had finished, Gobryas spake as follows: " My friends, to recover the " empire will indeed be glorious ; but if we fail, " it will be nobler to die, than for Persians to " live in subjection to a Mede, and he too de- " prived of his ears. You who were present at " the last hours of Cambyses, cannot but re- " member the imprecations which he uttered " against the Persians, if they did not attempt " the recovery of the empire. We then refused " him attention, thinking him influenced by ma- " lignity and resentment; but now I at least " second the proposal of Darius, nor would I " have this assembly break up, but to proceed " instantly against the magus." The sentiments " of Gobryas gave universal satisfaction. LXXI V. During the interval of this consulta- tion, the two magi had together determined to make a friend of Prexaspes : they were aware that he had been injured by Cambyses, who had slain his son with an arrow ; and that he alone was privy to the death of Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, THALIA. en Cyrus, having been his executioner ; they were conscious also that he was highly esteemed by the Persians. They accordingly sent for him, and made him the most liberal promises ; they made him swear that he would on no account disclose the fallacy which they practised on the Persians ; and they promised him, in reward of his fidelity, rewards without number. Prexaspes engaged to comply with their wishes ; they then told him of their intention to assemble the Per- sians beneath the tower 81 which was the royal re- sidence, from whence they desired him to declare aloud that he who then sate on the throne of Per- sia was Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, and no other. They Avere induced to this measure, from a con- sideration of the great authority of Prexaspes, and because he had frequently declared that he had never put Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, to death, but that he was still alive. LXXV. Prexaspes agreed to comply with all that they proposed ; the magi accordingly as- sembled 81 Beneath the tower.] — This was the citadel. Anciently the kings lodged here for security. In cliap. lxviii. Hero- dotus observes (hat the magus would not stir from the cita- del, and in chap, lxxix. he says that the conspirators left behind in the citadel such of their friends as were wounde-4 in attacking the magi. — Larcher. Vol. II, R 242 T H A L I A. sembled the Persians, and leading Prexaspes to- the top of the tower, commanded him to make an oration. He, without paying the least atten- tion to the promises he had made, recited the genealogy of the family of Cyrus, beginning with Achaemenes. When he came to Cyrus him- self, he enumerated the services which that prince had rendered the Persians. He then made a full discovery of the truth, excusing himself for con- cealing it so long, from the danger which the revealing it would have incurred, but that it was now forced from him. lie assured them that he actually had killed Smerdis, by the order of Cam- byses, and that the magi now exercised the sove- reign authority. When he had imprecated many curses 82- upon the Persians, if they did not at- tempt 81 Imprecated many curses."] — In ancient time?, and amongst the Orientals in particular, these kind of imprecations were very frequent, and supposed to have an extraordinary in- fluence. The curse of a father was believed to be particu- larly fatal; and the Furies were always thought to execute the imprecations of parents upon disobedient children. When Joshua destroyed Jericho, he imprecated a severe curse upon whoever should attempt to rebuild it. This was at a distant period of time accomplished. We have two examples of solemn imprecations on record, which have always been deemed worthy of attention. The one occurred in ancient Rome : When Crassus, in defiance of the auspices, prepared to make an expedition against the Parthians. The tribune Ateius waited for him at the gates of the city, with an altar. a fire, and a sacrifice ready prepared, and with the most 3 horrid THALIA. 243 tempt the recovery of their rights, and take ven- geance upon the usurpers, he threw himself from the tower. — Such was the end of Prexaspes, a man who through every period of his life merited esteem 8 '. LXXVI. The seven Persians, having deter- mined instantly to attack the magi, proceeded, after imploring the aid of the gods, to execute their horrid solemnity devoted him to destruction. The other example is more modern, it is the imprecation which Aver- roes, the famous Arabian philosopher, uttered against his son. As it is less generally known, I shall recite it at length : Averroes was one day seriously conversing with some grave friends, when his son, in a riotous manner, intruded himself, accompanied by some dissolute companions. The old man, viewing him with great indignation, spoke two verses to the following effect : " Thy own beauties could not content thee, thou hast stripped the wild goat of his beauties; and they who are as beautiful as thyself admire thee. Thou hast got his wanton heart, his lecherous eyes, and his senseless head ; but to-morrow thou shalt find thy father will have his push- ing horns. Cursed be all extravagancies ! when I was young, I sometimes punished my father; now I am old, I cannot punish my son; but I beg of God to deprive him rather of life, than suffer him to be disobedient." It is related that the young man died within ten months. — T. 83 Merited cstecm.~] — Upon this incident M. Larcher re- marks, that this last noble action of his life but ill cor- responds with the mean and dastardly behaviour which Prexaspes had before exhibited to the murderer of his son. Larcher, however, forgets the profound veneration which the Persians invariably paid to their sovereigns.. It 2 244 T II A L I A. their purpose. They were at first ignorant of the fate of Prexaspes, but they learned it as they went along. They withdrew for a while to deliberate together ; they who sided with Otancs, thought that their enterprize should be deferred, at least during the present tu- mult of affairs. The friends of Darius, on the contrary, were averse to any delay, and were anxious to execute what they had resolved, im- mediately. Whilst they remained in this sus- pence, they observed seven pair of hawks 8 *, which, pursuing two pair of vultures, beat and severely tore them. At this sight, the conspi- rators came immediately into the designs of Da- rius : 8+ Seven pair of hazels. ] — The superstition of the ancients, with respect to the fight or flight of birds, has often exer- cised the sagacity and aeuteness of philosophers and scholars. Si me birds furnished omens from their chattering, as crows, owls, See. ; others from the direction in which they flew, as eagles, vultures, hawks, &c. An eagle seen to the right was fortunate. — The sight of an eagle was supposed to foretel to Tarquinius Friscus, that he should obtain the crown; it predicted, also, the conquests of Alexander; and the loss of their dominions to Tarquin the Proud, and Dionvsius tyrant of Syracuse ; innumerable other examples must here occur to every reader. A raven seen on the left hand was unfortunate: Sa?pe sinistra cava prasdixit ab ilice cornix. — Virgil. Upon the subject of the auspicia, the most satisfactory in- telligence is to be obtained from the treatise of Cicero dc Divinatione. From the Latin word auspicia, from ares m- ej>icere } comes our English word auspicious. — T. T II A L I A. 245 rius ; and, relying on the omen of the birds, advanced boldly to the palace. LXXVII. On their arrival at the gates, it happened as Darius had foreseen. The guards, unsuspicious of what was intended, and awed by their dignity S; of rank, who, in this instance, •seemed to act from a divine impulse, without any questions, permitted them to enter. As soon as they came to the interior part of the palace, they met with the eunuchs, who were employed as the royal messengers ; these asked their business, and at the same time threatened the guards for suffering them to enter. On their opposing their farther entrance, the conspirators drew their swords, and, encouraging each other, put the eunuchs to death ; from hence they instantly rushed to the inner apartments. LXXVIII. Here the two magi happened to be, 8s Awed bu their dignity. ,]-r-The most memorable instance m history, of the effects of this kind of impression, is that of the soldier sent into the pri ion to kill Caius Marius : — The story is related at length by Plutarch. When the man en- i the prison with his sword drawn, " Fellow," exclai the stern Roman, " darest thou kill Caius Marius?" Upon which the soldier dropped his sword, and rushed out of doors. This fact, however, being no where mentioned by Cicero, who speaks very largely on die subject of .Marius, has given Dr. Middleton reason to suppose, that the whole is a fabulous narration. — T. II 3 246 THALIA. be, in consultation about what was to be done in consequence of the conduct of Prexaspes. As soon as tncy perceived the tumult, and heard the cries of the eunuchs, they ran towards them, and preparing in a manly manner to defend them- selves, the one seized a bow and the other a lance. As the conspirators drew near to the at-^ tack, the bow became useless; but the other magus, who was armed with the lance, wounded Aspathines in the thigh, and deprived Inta- phernes of one of his eyes, though the blow was not fatal. The magus who found his bow of no service retreated to an adjoining apartment, into which he was followed by Darius and Gobryas. This latter seized the magus round the waist 8* irxXui, ^v 'JEA*»j»s« l&thxni ex«Xaj>, wv Se Zv^y.riv ovopatpvc-iv. The remainder of this pas- sage, literally translated, is, " and all that present which in Persia is most honourable/' This gift is fully explained by Xenophon in the first book of the Anabasis; it consisted of S 2 a horse 260 THALIA. without the ceremony of a previous messenger 96 , except when the king should happen to be in bed with his wife. They also resolved, that the king should marry no woman but from the family of one of the conspirators. The mode they adopted to elect a king was this : — They agreed to meet on horseback at sun-rise * in the vicinity of the city, and to make him king, whose horse should neigh the first. LXXXV. Darius had a groom, whose name was (Ebares, a man of considerable ingenuity, for whom, on his return home, he immediately sent. " (Ebares, " said he, " it is determined " that we are to meet at sun-rise on horse- " back, and that he among us shall be king;, " whose horse shall first neigh. Whatever acute- " ness you have, exert it on this occasion, that " no a horse with a gilt bridle, a golden collar, bracelets, and a sword of the kind peculiar to Media, called acinaces, besides the silken vest. His expressions are so similar to those of Herodotus, as to satisfy us that these specific articles pro- perly made up the gift of honour. — T. $6 Previous messenger.] — Visits to the great in Eastern countries are always preceded by messengers, who carry pre- sents, differing i ; ae according to the dignity of the per- son who is to receive them. Without some present or other no visit must be made, nor favour expected. — T. * Their appointing this period to determine who was to be prince, arose probably from the custom always observed by the Persians of paying adoration to the rising sun. u a THALIA. 261 " no one but myself may obtain this honour." " Sir," replied (Ebares, " if your being a king " or not depends on what you say, be not afraid ; " I have a kind of charm, which will prevent any one's being preferred to yourself." — Whatever," replied Darius, " this charm may be, it must be applied without delay, as the " morning will decide the matter." (Ebares, therefore, as soon as evening came, conducted to the place before the city a mare, to which he knew the horse of Darius was particularly in- clined : he afterwards brought the horse there, and after carrying him several times round and near the mare, he finally permitted him to cover her. LXXXVI. The next morning as soon as it was light the six Persians assembled, as had been agreed, on horseback. After riding up and down at the place appointed, they came at length to the spot where, the preceding evening, the mare had been brought ; here the horse of Darius in- stantly began to neigh, which, though the sky was remarkably clear, was instantly succeeded by thunder and lightning. The heavens thus seemed to favour, and indeed to act in concert with Darius. Immediately the other noblemen dismounted, and falling at his feet, hailed him kinjy 97 . o 91 Hailed him king'] — Darius was about twenty years old S S when 262 THALIA. LXXXVII. Such, according to some, was the stratagem of CEbares ; others, however, relate the matter differently; and both accounts prevail in Persia. These last affirm, that the groom, hav- ing rubbed his hand against the private parts of the mare, afterwards folded it up in his vest, and that in the morning, as the horses were about to depart, he drew it out from his garment, and touched the nostrils of the horse of Darius, and that this scent instantly made him snort and neigh. LXXXVIII. Darius the son of Hystaspes 98 was when Cyrus died. Cambyses reigned seven years and five months ; Smerdis Magus was only seven months on the throne; thus Darius was about twenty-nine years old when he came to the crown. — Larcher. This circumstance of thunder and lightning from a cloud- less sky, is often mentioned by the ancients, and was con- sidered by them as the highest omen. Horace has left an ode upon it, as a circumstance which staggered his Epicu- rean notions, and impressed him with awe and veneration, 1, i. Od. 34 ; and the commentators give us instances enough of similar accounts. With us there is no thunder without clouds, except such as is too distant to have much effect ; it may be otherwise in hot climates, where the state of the air is much more electrical. — T. 98 Darius the. son of Hystaspes.] — Archbishop Usher holdeth that it was Darius Hystaspes that was the king Ahasuerus, who married Esther; and that Atossa was the Vashti, and Antystone the Esther of the holy scriptures. But Herodotus positively tells us, that Antystone was the daughter of Cyrus, and therefore she could not be Esther: and that Atossa had four. THALIA. 26s was thus proclaimed king ; and, except the Ara- bians, all the nations of Asia who had been sub- dued first by Cyrus, and afterwards by Cam- byses, acknowledged his authority. The Ara- bians * were never reduced to the subjection of Persia ", but were in its alliance : they afforded Cambyses four sons by Darius, besides daughters, all born to him after he was king ; and therefore she could not be that queen Vashti, who was divorced from the king her husband in the third year of his reign, nor he that Ahasuerus that divorced her. — Prideaux. * Perhaps it may be said of the Arabians with greater truth than of any other nation, that they have never been enslaved. On this subject Larcher refers to Genesis, c. xvi. v. 12, where God says of Ismael, the parent of the Arabians : " And he will be a wild man, his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him, and he shall dwell in the prefence of all his brethren." 99 Never reduced to the subjection of Persia.] — The inde- pendence of the Arabs has always been a theme of praise and admiration, from the remotest ages to the present. Upon this subject the following animated apostrophe from Mr. Gibbon, includes all that need be said. " The arms of Sesostris and Cyrus, of Pompey and Trajan, could never achieve the conquest of Arabia. The present sovereign of the Turks may exercise a shadow of jurisdiction, but his pride is reduced to solicit the friendship of a people whom it is dangerous to provoke, and fruitless to attack. The ob- vious causes of their freedom are inscribed on the character and country of the Arabs; the patient and active virtues of a soldier are insensibly nursed in the habits and discipline of a pastoral life. The long memory of their independence is the firmest pledge of its perpetuity ; and succeeding gene- rations are animated to prove their descent, and to maintain S 4 their C64 T H A L I A. Cambyscs the means of penetrating into ^Egypt \\ ithoiit which he could never have accomplished his purpose. Darius first of all married two wo- men of Persia, both of them daughters of Cyrus, Atossa who had first been married to Cambyses, and afterwards to the magus, and Antystone a virgin. He then married Parmys, daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus *, and also that daughter of Otanes who had been the instrument in disco- vering the magus. Being firmly established on tlje throne, his first work was the erection of an equestrian statue, with this inscription : " Da- " rius, son of Hystaspes, obtained the sovereignty " of Persia by the sagacity of his horse, and the " ingenuity of CEbares his groom." The name of the horse was also inserted. LXXXIX. The next act of his authority was to divide Persia into twenty provinces f, which they their inheritance. When they advance to battle, the hope of victory is in the front, and in the rear the assurance of a retreat. Their horses and camels, who in eight or ten days can perform a march of four or five hundred miles, disappear before the conqueror : the secret waters of the desert elude his search ; and his victorious troops are consumed with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, in the pursuit of an invisible foe, who scorns his efforts, and safely reposes in the heart of the burning solitude." * Namely Phcedyma. See c. 6S. + The account given of the Persian monarchy by Hero- dotus is curious, and seems to have been copied from some 9 public THALIA. £65 they call satrapies, to each of which a governor was appointed. He then ascertained the tribute they were severally to pay, connecting sometimes many nations together, which were near each other, under one district ; and sometimes he passed over many which were adjacent, forming one department* of various remote and scat- tered nations. His particular division of the provinces, and the mode fixed for the payment of their annual tribute, was this: They whose payment was to be made in silver, were to take the Babylonian talent 10 ° for their standard ; the Euboic public record, which had been communicated to him. Ac- cording to it, the Persian empire was divided into twenty satrapies, or governments. The tribute levied from each is specified, amounting in all to ] 4,56*0 Eubaean talents, which Dr. Arbuthnot reckons to be equal to £.2,807,437 sterling money; a sum extremely small for the revenue of the great king, and which ill accords with many facts concerning the mines, magnificence, and luxury of the East, that occur in ancient authors. — Robertson on India. * Much as 1 dislike the word department, it seems the only one here which will express the meaning of the author. It certainly may be doubted whether Darius connected these scattered nations in one government. Darius the Mede, usually understood to be Cyaxares the Second, divided his empire, which consisted of the territories of Babylon and Media, into 120 provinces; these were subject to three pre- sidents, of whom Daniel was the first. See Daniel, c. vi. v. J. Major Urn net, 23 1. *°° Bain/Ionian talent.] — What follows on the subject of the. talent, is extracted principally from Arbuthnot's tables of ancient coins. The Q6G THALIA. Euboic talent was to regulate those who made their payment in gold ; the Babylonian talent, it is to be observed, is equal to seventy Euboic minre. During the reign of Cyrus, and indeed of Cambyses, there were no specific tributes ,0 ', but presents were made to the sovereign. On account of these and similar innovations, the Persians call Darius a merchant, Cambyses a despot, but Cyrus a parent. Darius seemed to have The word talent in Homer, is used to signify a balance, and in general it was applied either to a weight or a sum of money, differing in value according to the ages and countries in which it was used. Every talent consists, of 60 minae, and every miua of 100 drachma?, but the talents differed in weight according to the minae and drachma; of which they were composed. What Herodotus here affirms of the Babylonian talent, is confirmed by Pollux and by ./Elian. The Euboic talent was so called from the island Euboea; it was generally thought to be the same with the Attic talent, because both these countries used the same weights : the mina Euboica, and the mina Attica, each consisted of 100 drachmas. According to the above, the Babylonian talent would amount, in English money, to about £.226"; the Euboic or Attic talent to £. 103. 15 s. — T. 101 No specific tributes.] — This seemingly contradicts what was said above, that the magus exempted the Persians for three years from every kind of impost. It must be ob- served that these imposts were not for a constancy, they only subsisted in time of war, and were rather a gratuity than an impost. Those imposed by Darius were perpetual; thus Herodotus does not in fact contradict himself.- - LarcAer. THALIA. 267 have no other object in view but the acquisition of gain ; Cambyses was negligent and severe ; whilst Cyrus was of a mild and gentle temper, ever studious of the good of his subjects. XC. The Ionians and Magnesians of Asia, the iEolians, Carians, Lycians, Melyeans 10 *, and Pamphylians, were comprehended under one dis- trict, and jointly paid a tribute of four hundred talents of silver ; they formed the first satrapy. The second, which paid five hundred talents, was composed of the Mysians, Lydians, Alysonians, Cabalians, and Hygennians l03 . A tribute of three hundred and sixty talents was paid by those who inhabit the right side of the Hellespont, by the Phrygians and Thracians of Asia, by the Paphlagonians, Mariandynians I0+ , and Syrians ; . and , * 1 Melyeans.'] — These people are in all probability the same with the Milyans of whom Herodotus speaks, book i. c. clxxiii. and book vii. c. clxxvii. They were sometimes called Minyans, from Minos, king of Crete. — T. 103 Hygennians.] — For Hygennians Wesseling proposes to read Obigenians. — T. 10+ Mariandynians.] — These were on the coast of Bithynia, where was said to be the Acherusian cave, through which Hercules dragged up Cerberus to light, whose foam then produced aconite. Thus Dionysius Penegetes, 1. 78S. That sacred plain where erst, as fablers tell, The deep-voie'd dog of Pluto, struggling hard Against the potent grasp of Hercules, With foamy drops impregnating the earth, Produc'd dire poison to destroy mankind. 268 THALIA. and these nations constituted the third satrapy*. The Cilicians were obliged to produce every day a white horse, that is to say, three hundred and sixty annually, with five hundred talents of sil- ver ; of these one hundred and forty were ap- pointed for the payment of the cavalry who formed the guard of the country ; the remaining three * For a most perspicuous and most satisfactory eluci- dation of the geographical situation of these satrapies, I cannot do better than once for all refer the reader to Major . Kennel's excellent work, from p. 23-1? to p. 323. The con- clusion of this portion of Major Rennel's work breathes sen- timents worthy a soldier and a Briton. I cannot deny my- self the satisfaction of transcribing the last paragraph : *• If the enemy is bent on our destruction, what have we to do, but to dispute the point, even to extermination ? What worse tan befal us, by contesting it, than by submitting ? Take the examples of conquest, of submission, and of fra- ternization, severally ; and then let any one, if he can, point out the distinction between the treatment that the French government has shewn to the different people who have fallen under its power, by those different modes ! We have therefore nothing to hope but from our own exertions, under the favour of Heaven : and let us trust, that the contest will Terminate gloriously, and perpetuate the system of liberty transmitted to us by our ancestors, and thus hold out an- other bright example to succeeding times. The hatred of Europe is rising against France (or rather against its govern- ment ; for we hope that this distinction may be made in favour of a great proportion of the people, who may not be made accomplices in its guilt) ; that hatred must in- crease, and become general; and all Frenchmen who leave their own country on schemes of hostility, must in the end be hunted down as enemies to the peace and comfort of mankind. We will hope that the time is not far distant." THALIA. 269 three hundred and sixty were received by Da- rius : these formed the fourth satrapy. XCI. The tribute levied from the fifth satrapy was three hundred and fifty talents. Under this district, was comprehended the tract of country which extended from the city Posideium, built on the frontiers of Cilicia and Syria*, by Am- philochus, son of Amphiaraus I0S , as far as iEgypt, part of Arabia alone excluded, which paid no tribute. The same satrapy, moreover, included all Phoenicia, the Syrian Palestine, and the isle of Cyprus. Seven hundred talents were exacted from * It should be remembered that Syria is always regarded by Herodotus as synonymous with Assyria. What the Greeks called Palestine the Arabs call Falastin, which is the Philistines of Scripture. 10s Aniphilochus, son of Amphiaraus.] — For an account of Amphiaraus, see book the first, chap. xlvi. The name of the mother of Amphilochus, according to Pausanias, was Eriphyle. lie appears to have obtained an esteem and ve- neration equal to that which was paid to his father. He had an oracle at Mallus, in Cilicia, which place he built; he had also an altar erected to his honour at Athens. His oracle continued in the time of Plutarch, and the mode of consult- ing it was this : — The person who wished an answer to some inquiry passed a night in the temple, and was sure to have a vision, which was to be considered as the reply. There is an example in Dion Cassias, of a picture which was painted in the time of Commodus, descriptive of an answer commu- nicated by this oracle. — T. 270 T H A L I A. from iEgypt, from the Africans which border* upon JEgypt, from Cyrene and Barce, which are comprehended in the ^Egyptian district. The produce of the fishery of the lake Mceris was not included in this, neither was the corn, to the amount of seven hundred talents more ; one hun- dred and twenty thousand measures of which, were applied to the maintenance of the Persians and their auxiliary troops garrisoned within the white castle of Memphis : this was the sixth satrapy. The seventh was composed of the Sat- gagydos, the Gandarii, the Dadicae and Aparyto?, who together paid one hundred and seventy talents. The eighth satrapy furnished three hun- dred talents, and consisted of Susa* and the rest of the Cissians. XCII. Babylon and the other parts of Assy- ria constituted the ninth satrapy, and paid a thou- sand talents of silver, with five hundred young eunuchs. The tenth satrapy furnished four hun- dred and fifty talents, and consisted of Ecbatana, the rest of Media, the Parycanii, and the Ortho- corybantes. * The modern Khusistan answers to this division. The Persian monarchs had more than one residence, and accord- ing to Major Rennel, Susa and Persepolis were their winter habitations. In the time of Herodotus, however, Susa was the capital. THALIA. 271 eorybantes. The Caspians, the Pausica?, the Pan- timathi, and the Daritce, contributed amongst them two hundred talents, and formed the ele- venth satrapy. The twelfth produced three hun- dred and sixty talents, and was composed of the whole country from the Bactrians to iEglos. XCIII. From the thirteenth satrapy four hun- dred talents were levied ; this comprehended Pactyi'ca, the Armenians, with the contiguous nations, as far as the Euxine. The fourteenth satrapy consisted of the Sangatians, the Saran- gaeans, the Thamana^ans, Utians, and Menci, with those who inhabit the islands of the Red' Sea, where the kins; sends those whom he ba- nishes ,o6 ; these jointly contributed six hundred talents. . ,06 Whom he banishes.] — Banishment seems to have been adopted as a punishment at a very early period of the world ; and it may be supposed that, in the infancy of society, men, reluctant to sanguinary measures, would have recourse to the expulsion of mischievous or unworthy members, as the simpler and less odious remedy. When we consider the effect which exile has had upon the minds of the greatest and wisest of mankind, and reflect on that attractive sweet- ness of the natal soil, which whilst we admire in poetic de- scription we still feel to be ratione valentior on/ni, it seems wonderful that banishment should not more frequently su- persede the necessity of sanguinary punishments. That Ovid, whose mind was enervated by licentious habits, should drplorc, in strains the most melancholy, the absence of what alone could make life supportable, may not perhaps be thought 272 THALIA. talents. The Sacoe and Cash* formed the fif- teenth satrapy, and provided two hundred and fifty talents. Three hundred talents were levied from the Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians, and Arians, who were the sixteenth satrapy. XCIV. The Paricanii and ^Ethiopians of Asia paid four hundred talents, and formed the seven- teenth satrapy. The eighteenth was taxed at two hundred talents, and was composed of the Matieni, the Saspirians, and Alarodians. The Moschi, Tibareni, Macrones, Mosynoeci, and Mardians, provided three hundred talents, and were the nineteenth satrapy. The Indians, the most numerous nation of whom we have any knowledge, were proportionally taxed ; they formed thought wonderful : but that Cicero, whose whole life was a life of philosophic discipline, should so intirely lose his firmness, and forget his dignity, may justify our concluding of the punishment of exile, that human vengeance need not inflict a more severe calamity. In opposition to what I have asserted above, some reader will perhaps be inclined to cite the example of Lord Bolingbroke, his conduct, and his reflections upon exile; but I think I can discern through that laboured apology, a secret chagrin and uneasiness, which convinces me at least, that whilst he acted the philo- sopher and the stoic, he had the common feelings and infir- mities of man. — T. * I have altered this word, which was Caspii in the for- mer edition, to Cash, on the authority of Major RenneL The Caspii have already been concluded with the Darit2e r in c. 92, and the Kashgurians actually join to the Sacs. THALIA. 27 formed the twentieth satrapy, and furnished six hundred talents in golden ingots*. & v XCV. If the Babylonian money be reduced,, to the standard of the Euboic talent, the aggre- gate sum will be found to be nine thousand eight hundred and eighty talents in silver ; and, esti* mating the gold at thirteen times 107 the value of silver, there will be found, according to the Eu- boic talent, four thousand six hundred and eighty of these talents. The whole being estimated together, it will appear that the annual tribute ,oS paid & * Gold was found in the rivers of India, in the region which was towards Persia; so says the Ayin Acbary. The number of six hundred must be a mistake ; it is out of all proportion, and would make this satrapy pay four times and a half as much as Babylonia and Assyria, which was one of the richest satrapies. See Rennel, as before. 107 Thirteen times the value of diver.] — The proportion of XCVI. Such was the sum which Asia prin- cipally, and Africa in some small proportion, paid to Darius. In process of time, the islands also were taxed, as was that part of Europe which extends to Thessaly. The manner in which the king deposited these riches in his treasury, was this : — The gold and silver were melted and poured into earthen vessels ; the vessel, when full, was removed, leaving the metal in a mass. When any was wanted, such a piece was broken off, as the contingence required, XCVII. We have thus described the different satrapies, the net revenue of Persia, the sums paid by the provinces, and the gold or silver deposited in the royal treasury. The monarch might annually save three millions six hundred thousand pounds of the seventeen or eighteen millions raised upon the people — Gibbon. * Taking the value of the Euboic talent at £. 1 93. 15*. according to Arbuthnot's valuation, the sum arising on the above number of talents is about £. 2,82 J, 000. If to this be added, according to the above statement, 700 talents for the value of the ./Egyptian grain, and 1000 more for the con- tribution of the Arabians, and if we are allowed to value the gratuities from the Persians, the Ethiopians, and the Col- chians, at 2000 more, that is 3700 talents in addition, the aggregate will be about £.3,650,000, or somewhat more than three millions and a half of our money. — Renncl. T H A L I A. B7S Satrapies, and the impost on each. Persia is the only province which I have not mentioned as tributary. The Persians are not compelled to pay any specific taxes, but they present a regular gratuity. The /Ethiopians who border upon iEgypt, subdued by Cambyses in his expedition against the /Ethiopian Macrobians, are similarly circumstanced, as are also the inhabitants of the sacred town of Nyssa, who have festivals in ho- nour of Bacchus. These /Ethiopians, with their neighbours, resemble in their customs the Calan- tian Indians: they have the same rites of sepul- ture '° 9 , and their dwelling's are subterraneous. Once in every three years these two nations pre- sent to the king two chcenices of gold unrefined, two hundred blocks of ebony, twenty large ele- phants teeth, and five ^Ethiopian youths; which custom has been continued to my time. The people of Colchos n .° and their neighbours, as far as ,0( J The same rites of sepulture.'] — The word in the text is •Tri^aT., which means grains: to say of two different na- tions that they use the same grain, seems ridiculous enough. Vuhnaer proposes to read fw/miti. I have followed Valcnaer, though I think the transition somewhat violent. To say that they used the same kind of grain, namely Spelt, would make very good sense. 110 The people of Colchos.] — It was the boast of the Col- chians, that their ancestors had checked the victories of Sesostris, but they sunk without any memorable effort under i : <■ arms of Cyrus, followed in distant wars the standard of the great king, and presented him every fitth year with a hundred boys and as many virgins, the fairest produce of T 2 the 276 T II A L I A. as mount Caucasus, imposed upon themselves the payment of a gratuity. To this latter place the Persian authority extends ; northward of this, their name inspires no respect. Every five years the nations above-mentioned present the king with an hundred youths and an hundred virgins *", which also has been continued within my remem- brance. The Arabians contribute every year frankincense to the amount of a thousand ta- lents. — Independent of the tributes before spe- cified, these were the presents which the king received. XCVIII. The Indians * procure the great num- ber of golden ingots, which, as I have observed, they the land. Yet he accepted this gift like the gold and ebony of India, the frankincense of the Arabs, and the negroes and ivory of ^Ethiopia : The Colchians were not subject to the dominion of a satrap, and they continued to enjoy the name as well as substance of national independence.— Gibbon. 111 Hundred virgins.]— -The native race of Persians is small and ugly, but it has been improved by the perpetual mixture of Circassian blood. This remark Mr. Gibbon applies to the Persian women in the time of Julian. Amongst modern travellers, the beauty of the Persian ladies is a constant theme of praise and admiration. — T. * Herodotus's very confined knowledge of India is proved by the extraordinary reports which he has detailed concern- ing its inhabitants, some of which are highly injurious to the character of that industrious, inoffensive, and highly civilized people. THALIA. 277 they present as a donative to the king, in this manner : — That part of India which lies towards the east is verv sandy ; and indeed, of all nations concerning whom we have any authentic ac- counts, the Indians are the people of Asia who are nearest to the east, and the place of the ri- sing sun. The part most eastward, is a perfect desert, from the sand. Under the name of In- dians many nations are comprehended, using dif- ferent languages ; of these, some attend princi- pally to the care of cattle, others not ; some in- habit the marshes, and live on raw fish, which they catch in boats made of reeds, divided at the joint, and every joint llz makes one canoe. These Indians have cloth made of rushes 115 , which ha- ving people. For, with many particulars that are true respecting their customs and manners, he has mixed a greater number that are false, and of such a nature as to brand their cha- racters with a charge of odious and obscene practices, from which they arc perfectly free at this time, and were so no doubt then. — Rennei. "* Every joint.] — This assertion seems wonderful; but Pliny, book wi. chap, 56', treating of reeds, canes, and aquatic shrubs, affirms the same, with this precaution in- deed, " if it may be credited." His expression is this:— Harundini quidem Indie ae arborea amplitudo, quales vulgo in tempi is vidtnms.— Spissius mari corpus, fcemince capacius. Navigiorumque etiam vicern prasstant (si credimus) singula internodia. The Si credimus is nut improbably a sneer at Herodotus. — T. 113 Cloth made of rushes.] — To trace the modern dress back to the simplicity of the first skins, and leaves, and X 3 feathers, <27S THALIA. ving mowed and cut, they weave together like a mat, and wear in the manner of a cuirass. XCIX. To the east of these are other Indians, called Padaei " 4 , who lead a pastoral life, live on raw flesh " s , and are said to observe these cus- toms : feathers, that were worn by mankind in the primitive ages, it" it were possible, would be almost endless; the fashion has been often changed, while the materials remained the same : the materials have been different as they were gradually pro- duced by successive arts, that converted a raw hide into leather, the wool of the sheep into cloth, the web of the worm into silk, and flax and cotton into linen of various kinds. One garment also has been added to another, and ornaments have been multiplied on ornaments, with a va- ricty almost infinite, produced by the caprice of human vanity, or the new necessities to which man rendered himself subject by those many inventions which took place after he ceased to be, as God had created him, upright.— See histo- rical remarks on dress, prefixed to a collection of the dresses of different nations, ancient and modern. The canoes and dresses here described, will strike the reader as much resembling those seen and described bv modern voyagers to the South Seas. — T. 1I+ Padmu\— Iinpia nee saevis celebrans convivia mensis Ultima vicinus Phcebo tenet arva Padseus. Tibull. 1. iv. 144. Herodotus does not appear to have heard of the Ganges, but these Padaei probably inhabited the banks of that river. The Sanscrit and proper name of the Ganges is Padda. Major Rennel is of opinion that these Padaei may answer to {he Gangaridae of the later Greek writers. 1,5 On raw fash.] — Not at all more incredible is the cus- tom T H A L I A. £7Q tonis : — If any man among them be diseased, his nearest connections put him to death, alleging in excuse that sickness would waste and injure his flesh. They pay no regard to his assertions that he is not really ill, but without the smallest compunction deprive him of life. If a woman be ill, her female connections treat her in the same manner. The more aged among them are regularly killed and eaten ; but there are very few who arrive at old age, for in case of sickness they put every one to death. C. There are other Indians, who, differing in manners from the above, put no animal to death, torn said to be prevalent among the Abyssinians, of eating a slice of meat raw from the living ox, and esteeming it one of the greatest delicacies. The assertion of this fact by Mr. Bruce, the celebrated traveller, excited a clamour against him, and by calling his veracity in question, probably operated, amongst other causes, to the delay of his publi- cation. This very fact, however, is also asserted of the Abyssinians by Lobo and Poncet. If it be allowed without reserve, an argument is deduciblc from it, to prove that bullock's blood, in contradiction to what is asserted by our historian, in chap. 15 of this book, is not a poison; unless we suppose that the quantity thus taken into the stomach would be too small to produce the effect. Lobo, as well as Bruce, affirms, that the Abyssinians eat beef, not only in a raw state, but reeking from the ox — T. T 4 2so THALIA. death" 6 , sow no grain, have no fixed habitation and live solely upon vegetables. They have a particular grain, nearly of the size of millet, which the soil spontaneously produces, which is protected by a calyx, the whole of this they bake and eat. If any of these Indians be taken sick, they retire to some solitude, and there remain, no one expressing the least concern about them during their illness, or after their death. CI. Among all these Indians whom I have specified, the communication between the sexes * is like that of the beasts, open and unrestrained. They are all of the same complexion, and much resembling the ^Ethiopians. The semen which their males emit is not, like that of other men, white, but black like their bodies 117 , which is also the case with the .-Ethiopians. These In- dians- 116 Put no animal to death.~\ — Nicholas Damascenus has preserved the name of this people. He calls them Arito- nians. On this name Mr. Wilkins observes that it may be a corrupt reading of Barrata, or Bharata, which is the San- scrit name of India. I cannot help thinking Mr. Wilkins a little fanciful on this subject. — Larcher. See in Melpomene an account of the Issedenes, and in Clio what Herodotus says of the Massagetse. * See Clio, c. 2l6\ 117 Black like their bodies.] — Semen si probe concoc'tum merit, colore album et splendens esse oportet, ut vel hinc pateat quam parum vere Herodotus scribat semen nigrum iEthiopes promere. Rodericvs a Castro de universa mulierum medicina.—- Aristotle had before said the same tiling, in hi* history of animals. — Larcher. THALIA. 281 dians are very remote from Persia towards the south*, and were never in subjection to Darius. CII. There are still other Indians towards the north, who dwell near the city of Caspatyrum, and the country of Pactyica. Of all the Indians these in their manners most resemble the Bac- trians ; they are distinguished above the rest by their bravery, and are those who are employed in searching for the gold f. In the vicinity of this district there are vast deserts of sand, in which a species of ants 1 " 8 is produced, not so large * Thus it appears that Herodotus had a very good idea of the form and extent of the Erythrean sea, but he certainly did not know that India extended so far southward as it actually does. f See Vincent's Nearchus, p. 70, and Ptennel, p. 4 TO. 1,8 Species of ants.] — Of these ants Pliny also makes men- tion, in the following terms : " In the temple of Hercules, at Erytlme, the horns of an Indian ant were to be seen, an astonishing object. In the country of the northern Indians, named Danda?, these ants cast up gold from holes within the earth. In colour they resemble cats, and are as large as the wolves of /Egypt. This gold, which they throw up in the winter, the Indians contrive to steal in the summer, when the ants, on account of the heat, hide themselves under ground. But if they hap- pen to smell them, the ants rush from their holes, and will often tear them in pieces, though mounted on their swiftest camels; such is the swiftness and fierceness they display from the love of their gold." I pon the above, Larcher has this remark : — The little com- munication <3®s T II ALIA. large as a dog, but bigger than a fox. Some of these, taken by hunting, are preserved in the palace of the Persian monarch. Like the ants common in Greece, which in form also they nearly resemble, they make themselves habita- tions in the ground, by digging under the sand. The sand thus thrown up is mixed with gold- dust, to collect which, the Indians are dispatched into the deserts. To this expedition they pro- ceed, each with three camels fastened together, a female being secured between two males, and upon her the Indian is mounted, taking parti- cular care to have one which has recently foaled. The females of this description are in all respects as munication which the Greeks had with the Indians, pre- vented their investigating the truth with respect to this animal ; and their love of the marvellous inclined them to assent to this description of Herodotus. Demetrius Tricli- nius says, on the Antigone of Sophocles, doubtless from some ancient Scholiast which he copies, that there are in India winged animals, named ants, which dig up gold. Herodotus and Pliny say nothing of their having wings. Most of our readers will be induced to consider the description of these ants as fabulous; nevertheless, De Thou, an author of great credit, tells us, that Shah Thomas, sophi of Persia, sent, in the year 1559, to Soliman an ant like these here described. They who had seen the vast nests of the termites, or white ants, might easily be persuaded that the animals which formed them were as large as foxes. The disproportion be- tween the insect, though large, and its habitation, is very extraordinary. — T. The reader will find an elaborate account of the termites in the Philosophical Transactions for 1781. THALIA. ess &s swift as horses, and capable of bearing much greater burdens 119 . *'* Greater burdens.] — Of all the descriptions I have met with of this wonderful animal, the following, from Volney, seems the most animated and interesting : — No creature seems so peculiarly fitted to the climate in which it exists, as the camel. Designing the camel to dwell in a country where he can find little nourishment, nature has been sparing of her materials in the whole of his form- ation. She has not bestowed upon him the fleshiness of the ox, horse, or elephant, but limiting herself to what is strictly necessary, she has given him a small head without ears, at the end of a long neck without flesh. She has taken from his legs and thighs every muscle not immediately requisite for motion, and in short has bestowed on his withered body only the vessels and tendons necessary to connect its frame together. She has furnished him with a strong jaw, that he may grind the hardest aliments; but, lest he should con- sume too much, she has straitened his stomach, and obliged him to chew the cud. She has lined his foot with a lump of flesh, which, sliding in the mud, and being no way adapted to climbing, fits him only for a dry, level, and sandy soil, like that of Arabia : she has evidently destined him likewise for slavery, by refusing him every sort of defence against his enemies. So great, in short, is the importance of the camel to the desert, that were it deprived of that useful animal, it must infallibly lose every inhabitant. — Volney. With respect to the burdens which camels arc capable of carrying, Russel tells us, that the Arab camel will carry one hundred rotoloes, or five hundred pounds weight ; but the Turcomans camel's common load is one hundred and sixty rotoloes, or eight hundred pounds weight. Their ordinary pace is very slow, Volney says, not more than thirty-six hun- dred yards in an hour; it is needless to press them, they will go no quicker. Raynal says, that the Arabs qualify the camels for expedition by matches, in which the horse runs against 284 THALIA. CIII. As my countrymen of Greece are well acquainted with the form of the camel, I shall not here describe it; I shall only mention those particulars concerning it with which I conceive them to be less acquainted 120 . Behind, the ca- mel has four thigh and as many knee joints ; the member of generation falls from between the hinder legs, and is turned towards the tail. CIV. Having thus connected their camels, the Indians proceed in search of the gold, choosing the against him ; the camel, less active and nimble, tires out his rival in a long course. There is one peculiarity with respect to camels, which not being generally known, I give the reader, as translated from the Latin of Father Strope, a learned Ger- man missionary. " The camels which have had the honour to bear presents to Mecca and Medina are not to be treated afterwards as common animals; they are considered as con- secrated to Mahomet, which exempts them from all labour and service. They have cottages built for their abodes, where they live at ease, and receive plenty of food, with the most careful attention." — T. 120 To be less acquainted.'] — These farther particulars con- cerning the camel, are taken from Mr. Pennant. > The one-bunched camel, is the Arabian 'Camel, the two- bunched, the Bactrian. The Arabian has six callosities or* the legs, willkneel down to be loaded, but rises the moment he finds the burthen equal to his strength. They are gentle always, except when in heat, when they are seized with a sort of madness, which makes it unsafe to approach them. The Bactrian camel is larger and more generous than the domes- ticated race. The Chinese have a swift variety of this, which they call by the expressive name of Fong Kyo Fo, or camels- with feet of the wind. THALIA. 285 the hottest time of the day as most proper for their purpose, for then it is that the ants conceal themselves under the earth. In distinction from all other nations, the heat with these people is greatest, not at mid-day, but in the morning. They have a vertical sun till about the time when with us, people withdraw from the forum TiI ; du- ring t ~ l People withdraw from the forum.'] — The periods of the forum were so exactly ascertained, as to serve for a notation of time. The time of full forum is mentioned by many au- thors, as Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus Siculus, Lucian, and others, and is said by Suidas to have been the third hour in the morning, that is, nine o'clock ; and Dio Chrysostom places it at an intermediate point between morning, or sun- rise, and noon, which agrees also with nine o'clock. One passage in Suidas speaks also of the fourth, fifth, and sixth hours ; but either they were fora of different kinds, or the author is there mistaken, or the passage is corrupt. See yElian, xii. 30. and Athenaeus, xiv. 1. the time of breaking up the forum, ayo^ hxhvc-n;, is not, I believe, mentioned, except. here, by Iierodotus; but by this passage it appears that it must have been also a stated time, and before noon ; probably ten or eleven o'clock. This account of a sun, hotter and more vertical in the morning than at noon, is go perfectly unphilosophical, that it proves decisively, what the hypothesis of our author concerning the overflowing of the Nile gave strong reason to suspect, that Herodotus was en- tirely uninformed on subjects of this kind. Mid-day, or noon, can be only, at all places, when the sun is highest and consequently hottest, unless any clouds or periodical winds had been assigned as causes of this singular effect. Whoever fabricated the account, winch he here repeats, thought it ne- cessary to give an appearance of novelty even to the celestial phenomena of the place. Herodotus «80 T 11 A L I A. ring which period the warmth is more excessive than the mid-day sun in Greece, so that the in- habitants are then said to go into the water for refreshment. Their mid-day is nearly of the same temperature as in other places ; after which the warmth of the air becomes like the morning else- where; it then progressively grows milder, till a% the setting sun it becomes very cool. C V. As soon as they arrive at the spot, the In- dians precipitately fill their bags with sand, and return as expeditiously as possible. The Persians say that these ants know and pursue the Indians by their smell, with inconceivable swiftness. They affirm, that if the Indians did not make consider- able progress whilst the ants were collecting them- selves together, it would be impossible for any of them to escape. For this reason, at different in- tervals, Herodotus himself uses the term of it^a^a. uyo^s in book ii. ch. 173, and vii. 223. — T. Whatever credit Herodotus may be in various respects en- titled to, this and other passages demonstrate him to have been grossly ignorant of natural philosophy. He did not be- lieve the earth to be globular. See Melpomene, c. 36'. He did not credit the existence of snow in elevated situations in warmer climates ; and most unphilosophically indeed does he explain the phenomena of the inundation of the Nile, Eu- terpe, c. 24. See again, Melpomene, c. 42, his account of the voyage of Nechao. See on the subject Rennel, p. 8. THALIA. 287 tervals nl , they separate one of the male camels from the female, which are always fleeter than the males, and are at this time additionally in- cited by the remembrance of their young whom they had left. Thus, according to the Persians, the Indians obtain their greatest quantity of gold; what they procure by digging is of much inferior importance. CVI. Thus it appears that the extreme parts of the habitable world, are distinguished by the possession of many beautiful things, as Greece is for its agreeable and temperate seasons. India, as I have already remarked, is the last inhabited country towards the east *, where every species of birds and of quadrupeds, horses excepted' 23 , are much IZI At different intenah.] — This passage is somewhat per- plexing. The reader must remember that the Indian rode upor the female camel, which was betwixt two males. Tins being the swiftest, he trusted to it for his own personal secu- rity ; and it may be supposed that he untied one or both of the male camels, as the enemy approached, or as his fears got the better of his avarice. — T. The knowledge which Herodotus had of India was ob- tained from the Persians, which, says Dr. Robertson, ren- ders it probable that in the time of the Historian very liitle intercourse subsisted between Egypt and India. * See Rennel, p. l66, 7» and 197. " J Ilui/is excepted.] — Every thing of moment which is in- volved in the natural history of the horse, may be found in M. Button: but, as Mr. Pennant observes, we may in this country 288 THALIA. much larger than in any other part of the world. Their horses are not so large as the Nisrean horses of Media. They have also a great abundance of gold, which they procure partly by digging, partly from the rivers, but principally by the method above country boast a variety which no other single kingdom pos- sesses. Most other countries produce but one kind, while ours, by a judicious mixture of the several species, by the happy difference of our soil, and by our superior skill in management, may triumph over the rest of Europe in having brought each quality of this noble animal to the highest per- fection. The same author tells us, that the horse is in some places found wild ; that these are less than the domestic kinds, of a mouse colour, have greater heads than the tame, their foreheads remarkably arched, go in great herds, will often surround the horses of the Mongals and Kalkas while they are grazing, and carry them away. These are excessively vi- gilant : a centinel placed on an eminence gives notice to the herd of any approaching danger, by neighing aloud, when they all run off with amazing swiftness. These are sometimes taken by the means of hawks, which fax on their heads, and distress them so as to give the pursuers time to overtake them. In the interior parts of Ceylon is a small variety of the horse, not exceeding thirty inches in height, which is sometimes brought to Europe as a rarity. It may not, in this place, be impertinent to inform the reader, that in the East the riding on a horse is deemed very honourable, and that Europeans are very seldom permitted to do it. In the book of Ecclesiastes, chap. x. ver. 7. we meet with this expression, " I have seen servants on horses," which we may of course understand to be spoken of a thing very unusual and im- proper. To conclude this subject, I have only to observe, that the Arabian horses are justly allowed to be the finest in the world in point of beauty and of swiftness, and are sent into all parts to improve the breed of this animal.— T. THALIA. £89 tibove described. They possess likewise a kind of plant, which, instead of fruit, produces wool ,i+ , of a finer and better quality than that of sheep : of this the natives make their cloaths. CVTI. The last inhabited country towards the south, is Arabia, the only region of the earth which produces frankincense 1 * 5 , myrrh, cinna- mon Ii6 , casia ,i7 , and ledanum !a8 . Except the- myrrh, ■** Produces wool.]-— This was doubtless the cotton shrub, called by the ancients byssus. This plant grows to the height of about four feet: it has a yellow flower, streaked with red, not unlike that of the mallow; the pistil becomes a pod of the size of a small egg; in this are from three to four cells, each of which, on bursting, is found to contain seeds in- volved in a whitish substance, which is the cotton. The time of gathering the cotton is when the fruit bursts, which happens in the months of March and April. The scientific name of this plant is gossypium. — T. ■*• Frankincense] — This, of all perfumes, was the most esteemed by the ancients ; it was used in divine worship, and was in a manner appropriated to princes and great men. Those employed in preparing it were naked, they had only a girdle about their loins, which their master had the pre- caution to secure with his own seal. — T. 116 Cinnamon] — is a species of laurel, the bark of which constitutes its valuable part. This is taken off in the months of September and Februar}\ When cut into small slices, it is exposed to the sun, the heat of which curls it up in the form in which we receive and use it. The berry, when boiled in water, yields, according to Raynal, an oil, which, suffered " 7 — 1X9 For these notes, see next page. Vol. II. U 290 THALIA. myrrh, the Arabians obtain all these aromatics without any considerable trouble. To collect the frankincense, they burn under the tree which produces it a quantity of the styrax I29 , which the Phoenicians export into Greece ; for these trees are each of them guarded by a prodigious num- ber of flying serpents, small of body, and of dif- ferent colours, which are dispersed by the smoke of the gum. It is this species of serpent which, in an immense body, infests iEgypt. suffered to congeal, acquires a whiteness. Of this, candles are made, of a very aromatic smell, which are reserved for the sole use of the king of Ceylon, in which place it is prin- cipally found. — T. It is now well understood that the substance called cin- namon by the ancients was extremely different from this of ours, which is peculiar to the island of Ceylon. The cin- namon of the ancients, as well as their other spices, ledanum excepted, came most probably through Arabia, from India. These tales of Herodotus were most likely invented by the Arabians, to conceal a fact of such importance to their in- terest. " 7 Casia.] — This is, I believe, a bastard kind of cinnamon, called in Europe cassia lignea; the merchants mix it with true cinnamon, which is four times its value ; it is to be dis- tinguished by a kind of viscidity perceived in chewing it. T. ■ 2 * Ledanum.] — Ledanum, or ladanum, according to Pliny, was a gum made of the dew which was gathered from a shrub called lada.— T. " 9 Styrax.] — This is the gum of the storax tree, is very aromatic, and brought to this country in considerable quan- tities from the Archipelago. It is obtained by making inci- sions in the tree. The Turks adulterate it with saw-dust. Another species of storax is imported to Europe from Ame- rica, and is procured from the liquid-amber-tree.— T. 7 THALIA. 291 CVIII. The Arabians, moreover, affirm, that their whole country would be filled with these serpents, if the same thing were not to happen with respect to them which we know happens, and, as it should seem, providentially, to the vipers. Those animals, which are more timid, and which serve for the purpose of food, to pre- vent their total consumption are always re- markably prolific 110 , which is not the case with those which are fierce and venomous. The hare, for instance, the prey of every beast and bird, as well as of man, produces young abundantly. It is the singular property of this animal IJI , that it conceives a second time, when it is already preg- nant, and at the same time carries in its womb young ones covered with down, others not yet formed, 130 Remarkably prolific.'] — See Derham's chapter on the balance of animals, Physico-Theology, b. iv. chap. x. and ch. xiv. § 3. 1SI The singular property of this animal.] — With respect to the superfoetation of this animal, Pliny makes the same re- mark, assigning the same reason. Lepus omnium pra?das nascens, solus pra3ter Dasypodem superfcetat, aliud educans, aliud in utero pilis vestitum, aliud implume, aliud incho- atum gerens pariter. This doctrine of superfoetation is stre- nuously defended by Sir T. Brown, in his Vulgar Errors; and, as far as it respects the animal in question, is credited by Larcher : but Mr. Pennant very sensibly remarks, that as the hare breeds very frequently in the course of the year, there is no necessity for having recourse to this dostrine to account for their numbers.— T. V 2 <292 T H A L I A. formed, others just beginning to be formed, whilst the mother herself is again ready to conceive. But the lioness, of all animals the strongest and most ferocious, produces but one young one 131 in her life, for at the birth of her cub she lose& her matrix. The reason of this seems to be, that as the claws of the lion are sharper by much than those of any other animal, the cub, as soon as it begins to stir in the womb, injures and tear& the matrix, which it does still more and more as it grows bigger, so that at the time of its birth no part of the womb remains whole, CIX. Thus, therefore, if vipers and those winged serpents of Arabia were to generate in the ordinary course of nature, the natives could not live. But it happens, that when they are incited by lust to copulate, at the very instant of emission, the female seizes the male by the neck, and does not quit her hold till she has quite devoured it 1 ". The male thus perishes, but the female is also punished ; for whilst the young are still within the womb, as the time of birth ap- proaches, to make themselves a passage they tear in * 3 * But one young one.] — This assertion is perfectly absurd and false. The lioness has from two to six young ones, and the same lioness has been known to litter four or five times. — T. 131 Quite devoured it.] — This narrative must also be con- sidered as intirely fabulous.— T. THALIA. 293 in pieces the matrix, thus avenging their father's death. Those serpents which are not injurious to mankind lay eggs, and produce a great quan- tity of young. There are vipers in every part of the world, but winged serpents are found only in Arabia, where there are great numbers. CX. We have described how the Arabians procure their frankincense ; their mode of ob- taining the cassia is this : — they cover the whole of their body, and the face, except the eyes, Avith skins of different kinds ; they thus proceed to the place where it grows, which is in a marsh not very deep, but infested by a winged species of animal much resembling a bat, very strong, and making a hideous noise ; they protect their eyes from these, and then gather the cassia. CXI. Their manner of collecting the cinna- mon ,J+ is still more extraordinary. In what par- ticular 1,4 Cinnamon.'] — The substance of Lai-Cher's very long and learned note on this subject, may, if I mistake not, be comprised in very few words : by cinnamomum the ancients understood a branch of that tree, bark and all, of which the cassia was the bark only. The cutting of these branches is now prohibited, because found destructive of the tree. I have before observed, that of cinnamon there are different kinds; the cassia of Herodotus was, doubtless, what we in general understand to be cinnamon, of which our cassia, or cassia lignea, is an inferior kind. — T. U S 294 T H A L I A. ticular spot it is produced, they themselves are unable to certify. There are some who assert that it grows in the region where Bacchus was educated, and their mode of reasoning is by no means improbable. These affirm that the vege- table substance, which we, as instructed by the Phoenicians' 3 *, call cinnamon, is by certain large birds 135 As instructed by the Phoenicians.] — I cannot resist the pleasure of giving at full length the note of Larcher on this passage, which detects and explains two of the most singular and unaccountable errors ever committed in literature. " The above is the true sense of the passage, which Pliny has mistaken. He makes Herodotus say that the cinnamon and casia are found in the nests of certain birds, and in par- ticular of the phccnix. Cinnamomum et casias, fabulose nar- ravit antiquitas, princepsve Herodotus, avium nidis et pri- vatim pheenicis, in quo situ Liber Pater educatus esset, ex inviis rupibus arboribusque decuti. The above passage from Pliny, Dupin has translated, most ridiculously, ' l'antiquite fabuleuse, et le prince des menteurs, Herodote, disent', &c. He should have said Herodotus first of all, for princeps, in this place, does not mean prince, and menteur cannot pos- sibly be implied from the text of Pliny. Pliny had reason to consider the circumstance as fabulous, but he ought not to have imputed it to our historian, who says no such thing. 13ut the authority of Pliny has imposed not only on Statius, Phariieque exempta volucri Cinnama, where Pharia volucris means the phoenix ; and on Avienus, Internis etiam procul undique ab oris Ales arnica deo largum congessit amomum ; but also on Van Stapel, in his Commentaries on Theophras- tus. Pliny had, doubtless, read too hastily this passage of Herodotus, which is sufficiently clear. Suidas and the Ety- mologicum Magnum, are right in the word ftiwu^ot." THALIA. 295 birds carried to their nests constructed of clay, and placed in the cavities of inaccessible rocks. To procure it thence, the Arabians have contrived this stratagem : — they cut in very large pieces the dead bodies of oxen, asses, or other beasts of burden, and carry them near these nests : they then retire to some distance ; the birds soon fly to the spot, and carry these pieces of flesh to their nests, which not being able to support the weight, fall in pieces to the ground. The Ara- bians take this opportunity of gathering the cin- namon *, which they afterwards dispose of to dif- ferent countries, CXII. The ledanum 156 , or, as the natives term it, ladanum, is gathered in a more remark- able * The same cause that allotted a. place in Herodotus to the description of the ants that were said to dig up gold in India, and to that of the mode of collecting cinnamon in Arabia, namely, the difficulty of getting at the truth, gave occasion also to the description of the table of the sun in, /Ethiopia. — Rennel. The mode here described of getting the cinnamon, re- sembles in many particulars one of the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor, in the Arabian Nights Entertainments. 136 Ledanum.] — The following further particulars concern- ing this aromatic are taken from Tournefort. It is gathered by the means of whips, which have long handles, and two rows of straps ; with these they brush the plants, and to these will stick the odoriferous glue which hangs on the leaves; when the whips are sufficiently laden V 4 Nvitl * 296 T IT ALIA. able manner than even the cinnamon. In itself it is particularly fragrant, though gathered from a place as much the contrary. It is found stick- ing to the beards of he-goats, like the mucus of trees. It is mixed by the Arabians in various aromatics, and indeed it is with this that they commonly perfume themselves. CXIII. I have thought it proper to be thus minute on the subject of the Arabian perfumes ; and we may add, that the v/hole of Arabia ex- hales a most delicious fragrance. There are also in this country two species of sheep, well deserv- ing admiration, and to be found no where else. One of them is remarkable for an enormous length of tail 137 , extending to three cubits, if not more. with this glue, they take a knife and scrape it clean off the straps. In the time of Dioscorides, and before, they used to gather the ledanum not only with whips, but they also were careful in combing off such of it as was found sticking to the beards and thighs of the goats, which fed upon nothing but the leaves of the cistus. They still observe the same process ; and the Abbe Manite describes it at length in his account of Cyprus. The ledum is a species of cistus. 137 Enormous length of tail.] — The following description of the broad-tailed sheep, from Pennant, takes away from the seeming improbability of this account. " This species," says Mr. Pennant, " is common in Syria, Earbary, and /Ethiopia. Some of their tails end in a point, but THALIA. 297 more. If they were permitted to trail them along the ground, they would certainly ulcerate from the friction. But the shepherds of the country are skilful enough to make little car- riages, upon which they secure the tails of the sheep : the tails of the other species are of the size of one cubit. CXIV. ^Ethiopia, which is the extremity of the habitable world, is contiguous to this country on the south-west. This produces gold in great quantities, elephants with their prodigious teeth, trees and shrubs of every kind, as well as ebony ; its inhabitants are also remarkable for their size, their beauty, and their length of life *, CXV. The above are the two extremes of Asia and Africa. Of that part of Europe nearest to the west, I am not able to speak with decision. I by no means believe that the Barbarians give the name of Eridanus I38 to a river which empties itself but are oftener square or round. They are so long as to trail on the ground, and the shepherds are obliged to put boards with small wheels under the tails, to keep them from galling. These tails are esteemed a great delicacy, are of a substance between fat and marrow, and are eaten with the lean of the mutton. Some of these tails weigh 50lb. each." * Herodotus remarks in another place, Melpomene, c. IS", that, whatever may be the cause, the Africans are more ex- empt from disease than any other men. 138 Eridanus.'] — Bellanger was of opinion, that Herodotus intended here to speak of the Eridanus, a river in Italy ; Pliny egs THALIA. itself into the Northern Sea, whence, as it is said, our amber comes. Neither am I better ac- quainted with the islands called the Cassite- rides I39 , from which we are said to have our tin. The Pliny thought so too, and expresses his surprize that Hero- dotus should be unable to meet with a person who had seen this river, although part of his life was spent at Thuria, in Magna Gra?cia. But this very reflection ought to have convinced both Pliny and Bellanger, that Herodotus had another Eridanus in view. The Eridanus here alluded to, could not possibly be any other than the Rho-daune, which empties itself into the Vistula, near Dantzic, and on the banks of which amber is now found in large quantities. — Larcher. The historian's want of information on this matter, could only, as Rennel observes, be occasioned by the jealousy of the Phoenicians. 139 Cassiterides.] — Pliny says these islands were thus called from their yielding abundance of lead ; Strabo says, that they were known only to the Phoenicians ; Larcber is of opinion that Great Britain was in the number of these. The Phoenicians, who were exceedingly jealous of their commerce, studiously concealed the situation of the Cassi- terides, as long as they were able ; which fully accounts for the ignorance so honestly avowed by Herodotus. Camden and d'Anville agree in considering the Scilly Isles as un- doubtedly the Cassiterides of the ancients. Strabo makes them ten in number, lying to the north of Spain ; and the principal of the Scilly isles are ten, the rest being very in- considerable. Dionysius Periegetes expressly distinguishes them from the British isles : A'ov&t pjjct-oj tuat B^e'ccuoii, — V. o63. Yet THALIA. 299 The name Eridanus is certainly not barbarous, it is of Greek derivation, and, as I should con- ceive, introduced by one of our poets. I have endeavoured, but without success, to meet with some one who from ocular observation might de- scribe to me the sea which lies in that part of Europe. It is nevertheless certain, that both our tin and our amber ,4 ° are brought from those ex- treme regions. Yet it is not an improbable conjecture of his commentator Hill, that the promontory of Cornwall might perhaps at ri, be considered as another island. Diodorus Siculus describes the carrying of tin from the Cassiterides, and from Britain, to the northern coast of France, and thence on horses to Marseille?, thirty days journey ; this must be a new trade established by the Romans, who employed great perse- verance to learn the secret from the Phoenicians. Strabo tells us of one Phoenician captain, who rinding himself fol- lowed by a Roman vessel, purposely steered into the shal- lows, and thus destroyed both his own ship and the other; his life, however, was saved, and he was rewarded by his countrymen for his patriotic resolution. Eustathius, in his comment on Dionysius, reckons al o ten Cassiterides; but his account affords no new proof, as it is manifestly copied from Strabo, to the text of which author jt affords a remarkable correction. — T. My friend Major Kennel observes, that what is related by Diodorus Siculus concerning the island to which tin was carried at low water, seems to point to Cornwall. The island might be St. .Michael's Mount, in Mount's Bay. Xi ° Amber.] — Amber takes its name from ambra, the Ara- bian name for this substance; the science of electricity is so called from dtcfrum, the Creek word for amber. This term of electricity is now applied not only to the power of at- tracting soo T II ALIA. CXVI. It is certain that in the north of Eu- rope* there is a prodigious quantity of gold', but how it is produced I am not able to tell with certainty. It is affirmed indeed, that the Ari- maspif, a people who have but one eye, take this gold away violently from the griffins ; but I can never persuade myself that there are any men who, having but one eye, enjoy in all other respects the nature and qualities of other human beings, trading lighter bodies, which amber possesses, but to many other powers of a similar nature. Amber is certainly not of the use, and consequently not of the value, which it has been, but it is still given in medicine, and is, as I am in- formed, the basis of all varnishes. It is found in various places, but Prussia is said to produce the most and the best.— T. * By the north of Europe, the north-west part of Asia is intended. The Europe of Herodotus is extended indefi- nitely to the east, Asia being placed to the south rather than to the east of Europe. f Of this fable, Milton makes a happy use in his second took ,of Paradise Lost : As when a griffin thro' the wilderness With winged course, o'er hill or mossy dale, Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth Had from his wakeful custody purloined The guarded gold. Lucan speaks of the Arimaspians as a people who orna- mented their hair with gold. Auroque ligatas Substringens Arimaspe comas. Pliny relates the same fable with Herodotus. See Nat. Hist. 1. vii. c.2. See agaiu Melpomene, 13 and '27. T II A L I A. 301 beings. Thus much seems unquestionable, that these extreme parts of the world contain within themselves things the most beautiful as well as rare. CXVTI. There is in Asia a large plain, sur- rounded on every part by a ridge of hills, through which there are five different apertures. It for- merly belonged to the Chorasmians, who inhabit those hills in common with the Hyrcanians, Par- tisans, Sarangensians, and Thomaneans ; but after the subjection of these nations to Persia, it became the property of the great king. Prom these surrounding; hills there issues a large river called Aces*: this formerly, being conducted through the openings of the mountain, watered the several countries above mentioned. But when these regions came under the power of the Persians, the apertures were closed, and gates placed at each of them, to prevent the passage of the river. Thus on the inner side, from the wa- ters * This story, so improbably told, seems to relate either to the river Oxus, or to the Ochus, both of which have un- dergone considerable changes in their courses, partly by the management of dams, partly by their own depositions, for they certainly flow near the countries of .the Chorasmians, the Hyrcanians, and Partisans ; but the Sarangajans, if taken for the people of Zarang, that is Segistan, as no doubt they ought to be, are out of the question as to an\ connection with these rivers. — Rennell. 302 THALIA. tcrs having no issue, this plain became a sea, and the neighbouring nations, deprived of their ac- customed resource, were reduced to the extremest distress from the want of water. In winter they, in common with other nations, had the benefit of the rains, but in summer, after sowing their mil- lot and sesamum, they required water but in vain. Not being assisted in their distress, the inha- bitants of both sexes hastened to Persia, and pre- senting themselves before the palace of the king, made loud complaints. In consequence of this, the monarch directed the gates to be opened to- wards those parts where water was most imme- diately wanted ; ordering them again to be closed after the lands had been sufficiently refreshed : the same was done with respect to them all, be- ginning where moisture was wanted the most. I have, however, been informed, that this is only granted in consideration of a large donative above the usual tribute. CXVIII. Intaphernes, one of the seven who had conspired against the magus, lost his life from the following act of insolence. Soon after the death of the usurpers, he went to the palace, with the view of having a conference with the king ; for the conspirators had mutually agreed, that, except the king should happen to be in bed with his wife, they might any of them have ac- cess to the royal presence, without sending a pre- vious THALIA. 303 vious messenger. Intaphernes, not thinking any introduction necessary, was about to enter, but the porter and the introducing officer * prevented him, pretending that the king was retired with one of his wives. He, not believing their asser- tion, drew his sword, and cut off their ears and noses ; then taking the bridle from his horse, he tied them together, and so dismissed them. CXIX. In this condition they presented them' selves before the king, telling him why they had been thus treated. Darius, thinking that this might have been done with the consent of the other conspirators, sent for them separately, and desired to know whether they approved of what had happened. As soon as he was convinced that Intaphernes had perpetrated this deed without any communication with the rest, he ordered him, his son, and all his family, to be taken into custody ; having many reasons to suspect, that in concert with his friends he might excite a sedi- tion : he afterwards commanded them all to be put in chains, and prepared for execution. The wife of Intaphernes then presented herself before the royal palace, exhibiting every demonstration of * Introducing officer.] — This was an officer of the highest rank in the empire, as appears from both Cornelius Nepos and /Elian. 304 T II A L I A. of grief*. As she regularly continued this con- duct, her frequent appearance at length excited the compassion of Darius; who thus addressed her by a messenger : " Woman, king Darius " offers you the liberty of any individual of your " family, whom you may most desire to pre- ? ' serve." After some deliberation with herself, she made this reply : " If the king will grant me " the life of any one of my family, I choose my " brother in preference to the rest." Her de- termination greatly astonished the king; he sent to her therefore a second message to this effect : " The king desires to know why you have thought " proper to pass over your children and your " husband, and to preserve your brother ; who " is certainly a more remote connection than " your children, and cannot be so dear to you " as * Grief.] — Bruce amuses himself and his readers with drawing a parallel between the manners of the Abys.sinianal and those of the ancient Persians. In one place he goes so far as to intimate that Abyssinia might not improbably have been colonized from Persia. — But he here exhibits a notable proof of his extreme carelessness and inaccuracy, for in referring to this passage, after telling us, that in Abyssinia it was the eus^ torn for supplicants to croud round the royal palace with noisy complaints of their grievances, he says Herodotus tells us that in Persia the people in great crowds and of both sexes come roaring and crying to the doors of the palace, and Intaphernes is also said to come to the door of the king making great lamentations. Herodotus expressly says it was the wife of Intaphernes; Intaphernes himself was in chains. THALIA. 305 " as your husband?" She answered thus: "O " king ! if it please the deity, I may have ano- " ther husband ; and if I be deprived of these, " may have other children ; but as my parents " are both of them dead, it is certain that I can " have no other brother 14 '." The answer ap- peared 141 I can have no other brother.']—' This very singular and, I do not scruple to add, preposterous sentiment, is imitated very minutely by Sophocles, in the Antigone. That the reader may the better understand, by comparing the differ- ent application of these words, in the historian and the poet, I shall subjoin a part of the argument of the Antigone. Eteoeles and Polynices were the sons of (Edipus, and suc- cessors of his power ; they had agreed to reign year by year alternately; but Eteoeles breaking the contract, the brothers determined to decide the dispute in a single combat ; they fought, and mutually slew each other. The first act of their uncle Creon, who succeeded to the throne, was to forbid the rites of sepulture to Polynices, denouncing immediate death upon whoever should dare to bury him. Antigone trans- gressed this ordinance, and was detected in the fact of bury- ing her brother; she was commanded to be interred alive ; and what follows is part of what is suggested by her situation and danger: And thus, my Polynices, for my care Of thee, I am rewarded, and the good Alone shall praise me : for a husband dead, Nor, had I been a mother, for my children Would I have dar'd to violate the laws. — ■ Another husband and another child Might sooth affliction ; but, my parents dead, A brother's loss can never be repair'd. Franklin's Sophocles, The reader will not forget to observe, that the piety of An- tigone is directed to a lifeless corpse, but that of the wife of VOL. II. X Intapherne* so6 T H A L I A. peared to Darius very judicious; indeed he was so well pleased with it, that he not only gave the woman the life of her brother, but also pardoned her eldest son: the rest were all of them put to death. Thus, at no great interval of time, perished one of the seven conspirators. CXX. About the time of the last illness of Cambyses, the following accident happened. The governor of Sardis was a Persian, named Oroetes*, who had been promoted by Cyrus. This man conceived the atrocious design of ac- complishing the death of Polycrates of Samos, by whom he had never in word or deed been in- jured, and whose person he never had beheld. His assigned motive was commonly reported to be this : Oroetes one day sitting at the gates of the Intaphernes to her living brother, which is surely less repug- nant to reason, and the common feelings of the human heart_ not to speak of the superior claims of duty. There is an incident similar to this in Lucian : — See the tract called Toxaris, or Amicitia, where a Scythian is de- scribed to neglect his wife and children, whilfi he incurs the greatest danger to preserve his friend from the flames. " Other children," says he, " I may easily have, and they are at best but a precarious blessing ; but such a friend I could no where obtain." — T. * Historians are not quite agreed about the name of this man. He is called by some Orontes. See Valerius Maximums, book 6. chap. 9. Comprehensum enim Orontes Darii Regis Praefectus in excelsissimo montis vertice cruci aftixit. Lucian, however, in more than one place calls him Orontes. O f I «. THALIA. the palace 142 with another Persian, whose name was Mitrobates, governor of Dascylium, entered into a conversation with him, which at length ter- minated in dispute. The subject about which they contended was military virtue : " Can you," says Mitrobates to Oroetes, " have any preten- " sions to valour, Avho have never added Samos to the dominions of your master, contiguous as " it is to your province ; and which indeed may : so easily be taken, that one of its own citizens " made himself master of it, with the help of " fifteen men in arms, and still retains the su- " preme authority?" This made a deep impres- sion upon the mind of Oroetes ; but without me- ditating revenge against the person who had af- fronted him, he determined to effect the death of Polycrates, on whose account he had been re- proached. "> 4 At the gates of the palace.] — In the Greek it is at the king's gate. The grandees waited at the gate of the Persian kings: — This custom, established by Cyrus, continued as long as the monarchy, and at this day, in Turkey, we say the Otto- man port, for the Ottoman court. — Lurcher, Ignorance of this custom has caused several mistakes, par- ticularly in the history of Mordecai, in the book of Esther, who is by many authors, and even by Prideaux, represented as meanly situated when placed there. Many traces of this custom may be found in Xenophon's Cyropasdia. Plutarch, in his life of Themistoeles, uses the expression of those at the king's gate, run i%\ Qv(>-. (3ct?i\tu<;, as a general designation for nobles and state officers. — See Brisson, de Regno Persarum? lib. i.— T. x 2 308 T H A L I A. CXXI. There are some, but not many, who affirm that Oroetes sent a messenger to Samos, to propose 'some question to Polycrates, but of what nature is unknown ; and that he found Poly- crates in the men's apartment, reclining on a couch, with Anacreon of Teos 143 by his side. The man advanced to deliver his message ; but Polycrates, either by accident, or to demonstrate the contempt ,4+ in which he held Oroetes, con- tinued ** 3 Anacreon of TeosJ] — It is by no means astonishing to find, in the court of a tyrant, a poet who is eternally singing in praise of wine and love : his verses are full of the enco- miums of Polycrates. How different was the conduct of Py- thagoras ! That philosopher, perceiving that tyranny was established in Samos, went to iEgypt, and from thence to Babylon, for the sake of improvement: returning to his coun- try, he found that tyranny still subsisted ; he went therefore to Italy, and there finished his days. — Larcher. This poet was not only beloved by Polycrates, he was the favourite also of Hipparchus the Athenian tyrant. And, nothwithstanding the inference which Larcher seems inclined to draw, from contrasting his conduct with that of Pythagoras, he was called ?As TLbiKihov, OV 7T0TE \)M $Z$UB Q^iat 7T9T»H* K»£X>}.— T. X 4 sis T H A L I A. this incident, she used every means in her power to prevent his going to meet Orcetes ; and as he was about to embark for this purpose, on board a fifty-oared galley, she persisted in auguring un- favourably of his expedition. At this he was so incensed, as to declare, that if he returned safe she should remain lono; unmarried. To this she expressed herself very desirous to submit; being willing to continue long a virgin u8 , rather than be deprived of her father, CXXV. Polycrates, disregarding all that had been said to him, set sail to meet Orcetes. He was accompanied by many of his friends, and amongst the rest by Democedes I49 , the son of Calliphon ; 148 Long a •virgin. I—To die a virgin, or without having any children, was amongst the ancients esteemed a very serious calamity. Electra in Sophocles enumerates this in the catalogue of her misfortunes : Atekiioi; TaXam , a.iVjx7j-JWJtfj), gave it. vase and all, to Democedes. 'YTr&WWa is thus made to signify plunging the vase among the gold to fill it, as a pitcher into water; which sense is confirmed by good authorities. The idea more immediately excited by the word is, that they struck the bottom of the vase to fhake out all the gold; but according to this interpretation, the vase itself is the fi^n, or case. — T. 3Z0 T H ALIA. skilful of the medical profession, without having had any regular education, and indeed without the common instruments of the art. His reputa- tion, however, was so great that, in the second year, the inhabitants of iEgina, by general con- sent, engaged his services at the price of one ta- lent. In the third year, the Athenians retained him, at a salary of one hundred minae 15J ; and in the 155 One hundred mince.] — Valcnaer suspects that this place has been altered by some copyifts. Athens, in the time of its greatest splendour, allowed their ambassadors but two drachmas a day; and a hundred drachma; make butonemina. If when the Athenians were rich, they gave no more to an ambassador, how is it likely that, when they were exceedingly poor, they should give a hundred minaj to a physician ? Thus far Valcnaer. From this and other passages in the an- cient writers, it appears that in remoter times it was usual to hire physicians for the assistance of a whole city by the year. The fees which were given physicians for a single incidental visit, were very inconsiderable, as appears from the famous verses of Crates, preserved by Diogenes Laertms, T»0fi payney y.vu.<; osy. , Icltpu ogaxpyi* KoXecta ra.Xa.vToe. nrivrt, ervpBtiKu xwirvcv, Tlopyft tccXccvtov, TPiuijSo^ov. " To a cook 30/. ; to a physician two groats ; to a flatterer 900/.; to a counsellor nothing; to a whore ISO/.; to a phi- losopher a groat." The above is supposed to describe part of the accounts of a man of fortune. See Arbuthnot on Coins, p. 19s. — The yearly pension paid Demoeedes the physician, by the Athenians, was one hundred minse, or 322/. 18*. 4*/. The Eginetse paid him yearly the pension of a talent, or i93/. 15*. He had a pension from Pqlycrates of Sanaos of two talents, 387/. 10*. The THALIA. 321 the fourth year Polycrates engaged to give him two talents. His residence was then fixed at Samos ; and to this man the physicians of Crotona are considerably indebted for the reputation which they enjoy; for at this period, in point of medi- cal celebrity, the physicians of Crotona held the first, and those of Cyrene, the next place. At this time also the Argives had the credit of being the most skilful musicians' 56 of Greece. CXXXII. Dcmocedes having in this manner restored the king to health, had a sumptuous house provided him at Susa t was entertained at the king's own table, and, except the restriction of not being able to return to Greece, enjoyed all that he could wish. The .-Egyptian physi- cians, who, before this event, had the care of the king's health, Mere on account of their inferiority to Dcmocedes, a Greek, condemned to the cross, but he obtained their pardon. He also procured the liberty of an Elean soothsayer, who having followed Polvcrates was detained and neglected among The daily allowance of two drachmae to an ambassador is KW. or '„'.;/. \\s. 5\d. per annum. All that can be said of the difference is the high opinion entertained of a skilful phy- sician both at Athens and in Persia. — T. 156 Musicians.] — Music was an important part of Grecian education. 15oys till they were ten years old were taught to read by the grammatistes ; they were then taught music three years by thecitharistcs; after the thirteenth year they learned the gymnastic exercises, under the care of thepaidotades. — T. Vol. II. Y 3M T H A L I A. among his other slaves. It may be added, that Democedes remained in the highest estimation with the king. CXXXIII. It happened not long afterwards, that Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, and wife of Da- rius, had an ulcer on her breast, which finally breaking, spread itself considerably. As long as it was small, she was induced by delicacy to con- ceal it; but when it grew more troublesome, she sent for Democedes, and shewed it to him. He told her he was able to cure it ; but exacted of her an oath, that in return she should serve him in whatever he might require, which he assured her, should be nothing to disgrace her C XXX IV. Atossa was cured by his skill, and r observant of her own promise and his instructions, - she took the opportunity of thus addressing Da- rius, while she was in bed with him : " It is won- " derftil, my lord, that having such a numerous " army at command, you have neither increased " the power of Persia*, nor at all extended your " dominions. It becomes a man like you, in " the vigour of your age, and master of so many " and such powerful resources, to perform some " act which may satisfy the Persians of the spirit " and virtue of their prince. There are two rea- " sons which give importance to what I recom- mend : — The one, that your subjects may ve- nerate the manly accomplishments of their '.' master ; the other, that you may prevent the " indolence tt T II ALIA. 323 indolence of peace exciting them to tumult and sedition. Do not therefore consume your youth in inactivity, for the powers of the mind I57 increase and improve with those of the body; and in like manner as old age comes on they become weaker and weaker, till they are finally blunted to every thing." " What you say 158 ,'' answered Darius, " coincides with what was passing in my mind. I had intended to make war against Scythia, and to construct a bridge to unite our continent with the other; which things shall soon be executed." Will it not, Sir," returned Atossa, " be better to de- fer * S1 Powers of the mind.] — This opinion is thus expressed by Lucretius, which I give the reader from the version of Creech. Resides, 'tis plain that souls are born and grow, And all by age decay as bodies do : To prove this truth, in infants, minds appear Infirm and tender, as their bodies are; In man the mind is strong; when age prevails, And the quick vigour of each member fails, The mind's pow'rs too decrease and waste apace, And grave and reverend folly takes the place. T. * sB What you say.] — I have not translated il yvtou, which is in the original, because I do not think we have any correspondent word in our language. O woman! would be vulgar; and according to our norma loquendi, O wife ! would not be adequate. In the Ajax of Sophocles, v. 293, yvw is used to express contempt; but in the passage before us it certainly denotes tenderness. The address of our Saviour to his mother proves this most satisfactorily :— See also Homer. K«» tfin t«& vjarxa, tufoj, y\.im, — T, Y 2 (( (( 11 it a (< « S24 T H A L I A. 11 fer your intentions against the Scythians, who " will at any time afford you an easy conquest ? " Rather make an expedition against Greece : I " wish much to have for my attendants some women of Sparta, Argos, Athens, and Co- 1 rinth, of whom I have heard so much. You have, moreover, in the man who healed the " wound of your foot, the person of all others the best qualified to describe and explain to you every thing which relates to Greece." If it be your wish," replied Darius, " that I should first make a military excursion against Greece, it will be proper to send previously thither some Persians as spies, in company with the man to " whom you allude. As soon as they return, " and shall have informed me of the result of " their observations, I will proceed against " Greece." CXXXV. Darius having delivered his senti- ments, no time was lost in fulfilling them. As soon as the morning appeared, he sent for fifteen Persians of approved reputation, and com- manded them, in company with Democedes, to examine every part of the sea-coast of Greece, enjoining them to be very watchful of Demo- cedes, and by all means to bring him back with them. When he had done this, he next sent for Democedes himself, and after desiring him to examine and explain to the Persians every thing which related to Greece, he entreated him to return in their company. All the valuables which he THALIA. 325 he possessed, he recommended him to take, as presents to his father and his brethren, assuring him that he should be provided with a greater number on his return. He moreover informed him, that he had directed a vessel to accompany him, which was to be furnished with various things of value. In these professions Darius, as I am of opinion, was perfectly sincere ; but Demo- cedes, apprehending that the king meant to make trial of his fidelity, accepted these proposals with- out much acknowledgement. He desired, how- ever, to leave his own effects, that they might be ready for his use at his return ; but he accepted the vessel which was to carry the presents for his fa- mily. Darius, after giving these injunctions to Democedes, dismissed the party to prosecute their voyage. CXXXVI. As soon as they arrived at Sidon, in Phoenicia, they manned two triremes, and loaded a large transport with different articles of wealth ; after this, they proceeded to Greece, examining the sea-coasts with the most careful attention. When they had informed themselves of the parti- culars relating to the most important places in Greece, they passed over to Tarentum ,59 in Italy. Here Aristophilides, prince of Tarentum, and a native ,S9 Tarentum] — These places, with the slightest variation possible, retain their ancient names. We now say the gulph 9i Tarento ; and Crotona is now called Cottrone. — T. y 3 S26 T H A L I A. native of Crotona, took away the helms of the Median vessels, and detained the Persians as spies. Whilst his companions were in this predicament, Democedes himself went to Crotona. Upon his arrival at his native place, Aristophilides gave the Persians their libertv, and restored what he had taken from them. CXXXVII. The Persians, as soon as they re- covered their liberty, sailed to Crotona, in pur- suit of Democedes, and meeting with him in the forum, seized his person. Some of the in- habitants, through fear of the Persian power, were willing to deliver him up ; others, on the contrary, beat the Persians with clubs ; who ex- claimed, " Men of Crotona, consider what ye " do, in taking away from us a fugitive from our " king. Do you imagine that you will derive " any advantage from this insult to Darius; will " not rather your city be the first object of our " hostilities, the first that we shall plunder and " reduce to servitude ?" These menaces had but little effect upon the people of Crotona, for they not only assisted Democedes to escape, but also deprived the Persians of the vessel which accompanied them. They were, therefore, under the necessity of returning to Asia, without ex- ploring any more of Greece, being thus deprived of their conductor. On their departure, Demo- cedes commissioned them to inform Darius, that he was married to a daughter of Milo, the name of T H A L I A. 327 of Milo* the wrestler being well known to the Persian monarch. To me it seems that he has- tened his marriage, and expended a vast sum of money on the occasion, to convince Darius that he enjoyed considerable reputation in his own country. CXXXVIII. The Persians, leaving Crotona. were driven by contrary winds to Japygia ,6 *, where they were made slaves. Gillus, an exile of Tarentum, ransomed them, and sent them home to Darius. For this service, the king declared him- self willing to perform whatever Gillus should re- quire; who accordingly explaining the circum- stances of his misfortune, requested to be restored to his country. But Darius thinking that if, for the purpose of effecting the restoration of this man, a large fleet should be fitted out, all Greece would take alarm ; Gillus affirmed that theCnidians would of themselves be able to accomplish it: imagining that as this people were in alliance with the Tarentines, it might be effected without diffi- culty. Darius acceded to his wishes, and sent a messenger to Cnidos , great a slaughter of his countrymen, his indignation prevailed, and he ordered THALIA. 335 ordered his soldiers to put every Samian they could meet with to death, without any distinction of age. Part of his forces immediately blockaded the citadel, whilst another part were putting the inhabitants to the sword, not suffering the sacred places to afford any protection. CXLVIII. Maeandrius, leaving Samos, sailed to Lacedaemon. On his arrival there with his wealth, he set in order his goblets of gold and silver, and directed his servants to clean them. Having entered into conversation with Cleo- menes l6} , son of Anaxandrides, the king of Sparta, he invited him to his house. Cleomenes saw his plate, and was struck with astonishment. Maean- drius desired him to accept of what he pleased ,64 , but 161 Cleumcncs.] — Of this Cleomenes. a memorable saying is preserved in the Apophthegms of Plutarch. It relates to Homer and Ilesiod ; the former he called the poet of the Lacedemonians, the latter the poet of the Helots, or the slaves ; because Homer gave directions for military conduct, Ilesiod about the cultivation of the earth. — T. ,fi4 To accept of v/taf he pleased.]— -This self-denial will ap- pear less extraordinary to an English reader, when he is in- formed, that according to the institutions of Lycurgus, it \va- a capital offence for a Spartan to have any gold or silver in his possession. This we learn from Xenophon ; and it is also ascertained by the following passage. from Athenceus; see the sixth book of the Deipnosoph : " The divine Plato and Ly- curgus of Sparta would not suffer in their republics either gold or silver, thinking that of all the metals iron and brass were sufficient." Plutarch, in the life of Lysander, tells us of a man named Therax, who, though the friend and colleague of Lysander, was put to death by the ephori, because some silver 3 36 T II A L I A. bat Cleomenes was a man of the strictest probity, and although Maeandrius persisted in importuning him to take something, he would by no means consent ; but hearing that some of his fellow-citi- zens had received presents from Masandrius, he went to the ephori, and gave it as his opinion, that it would be better for the interests of Sparta to expel this Samian from the Peloponnese, lest either he himself, or any other Spartan, should be corrupted by him. The advice of Cleomenes was generally approved, and Maeandrius received a public order to depart. CXLIX. When the Persians had taken the Samians as in a net ,6 \ thev delivered the island to Syloson almost without an inhabitant ,C6 . After a' certain interval, however, Otanes, the Persian general, re-peopled it, on account of some vision which silver was found in his house. The self-denial, therefore, or rather forbearance of the ancient Romans, amongst whom no such interdiction existed, seems better entitled to our praise. This sumptuary law, with respect to gold and silver, took its rise from an oracle, which affirmed that the destruction of Sparta would' be owing to its avarice : — it was this, tfi As in a net.] — The Greek is c-ecyYiytvcrxili;, which was the custom of the Persians, and was also done with respect to the islands of Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos, see book vi. chap. 31 , where their manner of doing it is described. — T. 116 Without an inhabitant.] — Strabo imputes this want of inhabitants to the cruelty of Syloson, and not to the severity of the Persians. — Lurcher. THALIA. 337 which he had, as well as from a disorder which seized his privities. CL. Whilst the expedition against Samos was on foot, the Babylonians, being very well pre- pared, revolted. During the reign of the Magus, and whilst the seven were engaged in their con- spiracy against him, they had taken advantage of the confusion of the times to provide against a siege, and their exertions had never been disco- vered. When they had once resolved on the re- covery of their liberties, they took this measure : — Excepting their mothers, every man chose from his family the female whom he liked best, the re- mainder were all of them assembled together and strangled l67 . Their reserve of one woman was to bake their bread l68 : the rest were destroved to prevent a famine. CLI. On the first intelligence of this event, Darius 167 Assembled together and strangled.] — Prideaux, making mention of this strange and unnatural action, omits inform- ing his readers that the Babylonians made an exception in favour of their mothers ; but by this barbarous action the pro- phecy of Isaiah against this people was very signally ful- filled :— " But these two things shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood ; they shall come upon thee in their perfection, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments." Isaiah, xlvii. 9. — T. 168 Bake their bread.] — This anciently was the employment of the women; see book vii. chap. ISJ. — T . Vol. II. Z 338 T H A L I A. Darius assembled his forces, and marched against them : on his arrival before the city, he besieged it in form. This, however, made so little impres- sion upon them, that they assembled upon the ramparts, amused themselves with dancing, and treated Darius and his army with the extremest contempt. One among them exclaimed, " Per- " sians, why do you lose your time? if you be " wise, depart. When mules produce young 1<59 , " you shall take Babylon." This was the speech of a Babylonian, not believing such a thing pos- sible. CLII. A whole year and seven months having been consumed before the place, Darius and his army 169 Mules produce young.] — -Upon this passage M. Larcher remarks, that mules but seldom engender. As I have never seen nor heard of any well authenticated account of such a circumstance, I give the reader the following passage from Pennant, with some confidence of its being invariably the case. " Neither mules, nor the spurious offspring of any other animal, generate any farther : all these productions may be looked upon as monsters ; therefore, nature, to pre- serve the original species of animals entire and pure, wisely stops, in instances of deviation, the powers of propagation." What Theophrastus or Pliny may have asserted, in contra- diction to the above, will weigh but very little against the unqualified assertion of so able a naturalist as Mr. Pennant. The circumstance was ever considered as a prodigy, as appears from the following lines of Juvenal : Egregium, sanctumque virum si cerno, bimembri Hoc monstrum puero, vel miranti sub aratro Piscibu? inventis etfwtce comparo mulcc. — T. THALIA. 359 army began to be hopeless with respect to the event. They had applied all the offensive engines, and every stratagem, particularly those which Cyrus had before successfully used against the Babylonians ; but every attempt proved ineffec- tual, from the unremitting vigilance of the be- sieged. CLIII. In the twentieth month of the siege, the following remarkable prodigy happened to Zopy- rus, son of Megabyzus, who was one of the seven that dethroned the Magus : one of the mules em- ployed to carry his provisions produced a young one; which, when it was first told him, he disbelieved, and desired to see it ■ forbidding those who had witnessed the fact to disclose it, he revolved it se- riously in his mind 5 and remembering the words of the Babylonian, who had said the city should be taken when a mule brought forth, he from this conceived that Babylon was not impregnable. The prophecy itself, and the mule's having a youm? one, seemed to indicate something supernatural. CLIV. Having satisfied himself I hat Babylon might be taken, he went to Darius, and inquired if the capture of this city was of particular import- ance to him. Hearing that it really was, lie began to think how he might have the honour of effecting it by himself: for in Persia there is no more cer- tain road to greatness, than by the performance of illustrious actions. He conceived there was no more probable means of obtaining his end, z 2 than S40 THALIA. than nrst to mutilate himself, and thus pass over to the enemy. He made no scruple to wound himself beyond the power of being healed, for he cut off his nose and his ears, and clipping his hair close, so as to give it a mean appearance ,7 °, he scourged himself; and in this condition present- ed himself before Darius. CLV. When the king beheld a man of his il- lustrious rank in so deplorable a condition, he in- stantly leaped in anger from his throne ,7, 5 and asked who had dared to treat him with such bar- barity ? Zopyrus made this reply, " No man, " Sir, except yourself, could have this power " over my person : I alone have thus disfigured " my body, which I was prompted to do from " vexation 170 To give it a mean appearance.]— I do not remember an instance of the hair being cut off as a punishment; it was frequently done as expressive of mourning in the most re- mote times; and it was one characteristic mark of the servile condition. See Juvenal, sat. v. book i. 170. Omnia ferre Si potes et debes pulsandum vertice raso Prrebebis quandoque caput nee dura tenebis Flagra pati, his epulis et tali dignus amico. It was also, as I have elsewhere observed, done in ridicule. 171 Leaped in anger from his throne.]— This incident, with the various circumstances attending it, properly considered, would furnish an artist with an excellent subject for an histo- rical painting. The city of Babylon at a distance, the Per- sian camp, the king's tent, himself and principal nobles m deep consultation, with the sudden appearance of Zopyrus in the' mutilated condition here described, might surely be in- troduced and arranged with the most admirable effect.— T. THALIA. 341 " vexation at beholding the Assyrians * thus " mock us." — " Wretched man," answered the king, " do you endeavour to disguise the shame- " ful action you have perpetrated under an ho- " nourable name ? Do you suppose that because " you have thus deformed yourself, the enemy " will the sooner surrender ? I fear what you have : done has been occasioned by some defect of " your reason." " Sir," answered Zopyrus " If I had previously disclosed to you my inten- " tions, you would have prevented their accom- " plishment ; my present situation is the result of " my own determination only. If you do not " fail me, Babylon is our own. I propose to go, " in the condition in which you see me, as a de- " serter to the Babylonians : it is my hope to " persuade them that I have suffered these cruel- " ties from you, and that they will, in conse- " quence, give me some place of military trust. " Do you, on the tenth day after my departure, " detach to the gate of Semiramis 172 a thousand " men * Assyrians and Babylonians are used as synonymous terms in Clio, c. 106, 178, as well as elsewhere. * 7 * The gate of Semiramis.]— Mr. Bryant's remark on this word is too curious to be omitted : — Semiramis was an emblem, and the name was a compound, of Sama-Ramas, or Ramis: it signified the divine token, the type of providence ; and as a military ensign, it may witli some latitude be interpreted the standard of the Most High. It consisted of the figure of a dove, which was probably en- circled with the Iris, as those two emblems were often repre- sented together. All who went under that standard, or who Z 3 payed (C (( 11 It 11 342 THALIA. " men of your army, whose loss will be of no consequence; at an interval of seven days more send to the Ninian gates other two thou- sand; again, after twenty days, let another party, to the number of four thousand, be or- " dered to the Chaldean gates, but let none of these detachments have any weapons but their swords ; after this last-mentioned period, let your {C whole army advance, and surround the walls. " Be careful that Persians are stationed at the " Belidian and Cissian gates. I think that the " Babylonians, after witnessing my exploits in " the field, will entrust me with the keys of those if gates. Doubt not but the Persians, with my " aid, will then accomplish the rest." CLVI. After giving these injunctions, he pro-* ceeded towards the gates ; and, to be consistent in the character which lie assumed ,7J , he fre- quently payed any deference to that emblem, were styled Semarim and Samorim. One of the gates of Babylon was styled the gate of Semiramis, undoubtedly from having the sacred em- blem of Sama-Ramas, or the dove, engraved by way of dis- tinction over it. Probably the lofty obelisk of Semiramis, mentioned by Diodorus, was named from the same hiero- glyphic. — This note was inserted in the first edition, but I now think it liable to many objections. Sama-Rama is an Indian deity, and has nothing to do" with a dove. It is an emblem of power. It seems much more reasonable and natural to suppose that the gates of Babylon were named from the an- cient monarchs, Bel, Ninus, &c. 173 The character which he assumed.'] — Many circumstances in the history of Zopyrus resemble those of Sinon in the /Eneid: 3 Qui T H A L I A. 343 quently stopped to look behind him. The cen- tinels on the watch-towers, observing this, ran down to tiie gate, which, opening a little, they inquired who he was, and what he wanted ? When he told them his name was Zopyrus, and that he had deserted from the Persians, they con- ducted him before their magistrates. He then began a miserable tale of the injuries he had suf- fered from Darius, for no other reason but that he had advised him to withdraw his army, seeing no likelihood of his taking the city. " And now," says he, " men of Babylon, I come a friend to you, but a fatal enemy to Darius and his army. I am well acquainted with all his designs, and his treatment of me shall not be unrevenged." - Qui se ignotum venientibus ultro Hoc ipsum ut strueret, Trojamque aperiret Achivis, Obtulerat, fidens aniini, atque in utrumque paratus Seu versare dolos, seu certa? occumbcre morti. — Both tell a miserable tale of injuries received from their countrymen, and both affect an extraordinary zeal to dis- tinguish themselves in the service of their natural enemies. Sinon says of himself; Cui ncque apud Danaos usquam locus, et super ipsi Dardanidae infensi poenas cum sanguine poscunt. — Again he says, Fas mihi Graiorum sacrata resolvere jura Fas odisse viros, atque omnia ferre sub auras Si qua tegunt ; teneor patriae nee legibus ullis. T, Z 4 344 T H A L I A. CLVII. When the Babylonians beheld a Per- sian of such high rank deprived of his ears and nose, and covered with wounds and blood, they tertained no doubts of his sincerity, or of the friendliness of his intentions towards them. They were prepared to accede to all that he desired ; and on his requesting a military com- mand, they gave it him without hesitation. He then proceeded to the execution of what he had concerted with Darius. On the tenth day, at the- head of some Babylonian troops, he made a sally from the town, and encountering the Per- sians, who had been stationed for this purpose by Darius, he put every one of them to death. The Babylonians, observing that his actions cor- responded with his professions, were full of ex- ultation, and were ready to yield him the most implicit obedience. A second time, at the head of a chosen detachment of -the besieged, he ad- vanced from the town at the time appointed, and slew the two thousand soldiers of Darius. The joy of the citizens at this second exploit was so extreme, that the name of Zopyrus resounded with praise from every tongue. The third time also, after the number of days agreed upon had passed, he led forth his troops, attacked and slaughtered the four thousand. Zopyrus, after this, was every thing with the Babylonians, so that they made him the commander of their army, and guardian of their walls. . T H A L I A. 34.5 CLVIII. At the time appointed, Darius ad- vanced with all his forces to the walls. The per- fidy of Zopyrus then became apparent; for as soon as the Babylonians mounted the wall to repel the Persian assault, he immediately opened to his countrymen what are called the Belidian and Cissian gates. Those Babylonians who saw this transaction fled for refuge to the temple of Jupiter Bel us; they who saw it not, continued in their posts, till the circumstance of their being betrayed became notorious to all. CLIX. Thus was Babylon a second time taken. As soon as Darius became master of the place ,7 * he levelled the walls *, and took away the gates, neither 174 Master of the place.] — Plutarch informs us, in his Apophthegms, that Xerxes being incensed against the Ba- bylonians for revolting, after having conquered them a second time, forbad their carrying arms, and commanded them to employ their time in singing, music, and all kinds of dissi- pation, &c. The Babylonians did not revolt under Xerxes. Plutarch assigns to him a fact, which regards Darius; however this may be, after the reduction of Babylon the Persian naonarchs fixed their residence in three great cities; the winter they passed at Babylon, the summer at Media, doubtless at Ecba- tane, and the greater part of the spring at Susa. — Larcher. * I think with Major Kennel that this expression must be understood with some reserve. The following are M. Ken- nel's words on this subject : It must not be omitted that Herodotus states that Da- rius Hystaspes, on the taking of Babylon by the stratagem of Zopyrus, 346 THALIA. neither of which things Cyrus had done before. He ordered three thousand of the most distin- guifhcd nobility to be crucified : the rest were suffered to continue where they were. He took care also to provide them with women, for the Babylonians, as we have before remarked, to pre- vent a famine, had strangled their wives. Darius ordered the neighbouring nations to send females to Babylon, each being obliged to furnish a sti- pulated number. These in all amounted to fifty thousand, from whom the Babylonians of the present day are descended. CLX. With respect to the merit of Zopyrus, in the opinion of Darius, it was exceeded by no Persian of any period, unless by Cyrus; to him, indeed, Zopyrus, levelled the walls, and took away the gates; neither of which things Cyrus had done before. But let it be re- marked that Darius lived about a century and a half before Alexander, in whose time the walls appear to have been in their original state, or at least nothing is said that implies the contrary. And it cannot be believed, that if Darius had even taken the trouble to level thirty-four miles of so pro- digious a rampart as that of Babylon, that ever it would have been rebuilt in the manner described by Ctesias, Cli- tarchus, and others, who describe it at a much later period. Besides, it would have been quite unnecessary to level more than a part of the wall, in order to lay the place open, and in this way probably the historian ought to be understood. It is much to be lamented that no traveller has taken pains to investigate the site and ruins of Babylon, which would surely well repay the care and labour of the under- taking. T H A L I A. 347 indeed, he thought no one of his countrymen could possibly be compared. It is affirmed of Darius, that he used frequently to assert, that he would rather Zopyrus had suffered no injury, than have been master of twenty Babylons, He rewarded him magnificently : every year he pre- sented him with the gifts deemed most honour- able in Persia ; he made him also governor of Babylon for life, free from the payment of any tribute, and to these he added other marks of liberality. Megabyzus, who commanded in iEgypt against the Athenians and their allies, Mas a son of this Zopyrus ; which Megabyzus had a son named Zopyrus ,7 '', who deserted from the Per- sians to the Athenians. 175 A soti named Zopyrus.~\ — Zopyrus, son of Megabyzus, and grandson of the famous Zopyrus, revolted from Arta- jjerxes after the death of his father and mother, and advanced towards Athens, on account of the friendship which sub- sisted betwixt his mother and the Athenians. lie went by sea to Caunus, and commanded the inhabitants to give up the place to the Athenians who were with him. The Cau- nians replied, that they were willing to surrender it to him, but they refused to admit any Athenians. Upon this he mounted the wall; but a Caunian, named Alcides, knocked him on the head with a stone. His grandmother Amestris afterwards crucified this Caunian. — Larc/icr. HERODOTUS. 3E BOOK IV. MELPOMENE. CHAP. I. AR I U S, after the capture of Babylon, undertook an expe- dition against Scythia. Asia was now both populous and rich, and he was desirous of avenging on the Scythians, the injuries they had formerly committed, by entering Media, and defeating those who opposed them. During a period of twenty-eight years, the Scy- thians, as I have before remarked, retained the sovereignty of the Upper Asia; entering into which, when in pursuit of the Cimmerians \ they expelled 1 Cimmerians.'] — From this people came the proverb of Cimmerian darkness. We reach'd old ocean's utmost bounds, Where rocks control his waves with ever-during mounds ; There in a lonely land, and gloomy cells, The dusky nation of Cimmeria dwells. The 350 M E L P O M E N E. expelled the Medes, its ancient possessors. After this long absence from their country, the Scy- thians were desirous to return, but here as great a labour awaited them, as they had experienced in their expedition into Media ; for the women, de- prived so long of their husbands, had connected themselves with their slaves, and they found a numerous body in arms ready to dispute their progress. The sun ne'er views th' uncomfortable seats, When radiant he advances or retreats. Unhappy race ! whom endless night invades, Clouds the dull air, and wraps them round in shades. Odyss. book xi. Of this proverb, Ammianus Marcellinus makes a happy use, when censuring the luxury and effeminacy of the Roman nobility. " If," says he, (I use the version of Mr. Gibbon,) " a fly should presume to settle in the silken folds of their gilded umbrellas, should a sun-beam penetrate through some unguarded and imperceptible chink, they deplore their in- tolerable hardships, and lament in affected language that they were not born in the land of the Cimmerians, the regions of eternal darkness." Ovid also chooses the vicinity of Cimmeria as theproperest place for the palace of the god of sleep: Est prope Cimmerios, longo spelunca recessu, Mons cavus, ignavi domus et penetralia Somhi, Quo nunquam radiis oriens, mediusve, cadensve Phoebus adire potest, nebulaa caligine mixtae Exhalantur humo, dubiaeque crepuscula lucis. The region assigned to this people in ancient geography was part of European Scythia,now called Little Tartary.—T- M E L P O M E N E. 35i II. It is a custom with the Scythians to deprive all their slaves of sight z on account of the milk 3 , which is their customary drink. They have a par- ticular kind of bone, shaped like a flute : this is applied * Deprive all their slaves of sight. ~\ — Barbarous as this con- duct may appear to every humane reader, although practifcd amongstan uncivilized race of men, he will be far more shocked when I remind him that in the most refined period of the Roman empire those who were deemed the wisest and most virtuous of mankind did not scruple to use their slaves with yet more atrocious cruelty. It was customary at Rome to expose slaves who were sick, old, and useless, to perish miserably in an island of theTyber. Plutarch tells us, in his Life of Cato, that it was his custom to sell his old slaves for any price, to get rid of the burden. They were employed, and frequently in chains, in the most laborious offices, and for trivial of- fences, and not seldom on mere suspicion, were made to expire under the moft horrid tortures that can be imagined. —T. 3 On account of the milk,"] — Of this people, Homer speaks in the following lines : And where the far-fam'd Hippomolgian strays, Renown'd for justice and for length of days, Thrice happy race, that, innocent of blood, From milk innoxious seek their simple food. — 11. xiii. Upon this subject Larcher gives the following passage from Niebuhr : — " J'entendis et vis moi-meme, a Bafra, quelorsnu'un Arabe trait la fcmclle du bufle, un ai":re lui fourre la main et le bras jusqu'au coude, dans la vulva, parce qu'on pretend sa- voir par experience qu'etant chatouuT" u Jt"\ la sorte, elle donne plus de lait. Cette methode r 3 tr % beaucoup a celle des Scythes." — We learn, irom' tus s P e "lines pf Anti- phanes, preserved in Athenaeus, that ocythians gave thiv milk to their children as soon us they wevo bora. 352 MELPOMENE. applied to the private parts of a mare, and blown into from the mouth. It is one man's office to blow, another's to milk the mare. Their idea is> that, the veins of the animal being thus inflated, the dugs are proportionally filled. When the milk is thus obtained, they place it in deep wooden vessels, and the slaves are directed to keep it in continual agitation. Of this, that which remains at top 4 is most esteemed, what subsides is of inferior value. This it is which induces the Scy- thians to deprive all their captives of sight, for they Oi yBvojjt.zvoK7iv tvvsui; Tan; TraicioK Aia^iooacru/ wrruv x^ $ouv irntiy yotKx. " Do not those Scythians appear to you remarkably; wise who give to their children, as soon as ever they are born, the milk of mares and cows ?" — T. 4 Remains at top.] — Is it not surprising, asks M. Larcher in this place, that neither the Greeks nor the Latins had any term in their language to express cream ? Butter also was unknown to the Greeks and Romans till a late period. Pliny speaks of it as a common article of food among barbarous nations, and used by them as an unction. The very name of butter (/SsTugon) which signifies cheese, or coagulum of cows' milk, implies an imperfect notion of the thing. It is clear that Hc v odotus here describes the making of butter, though he knew' no name for the product. Pliny remarks, that the barbarous nations were as peculiar in ne- glecting chees"* ' l making butter. Spuma lactis, which that author uses in a . 'ng what butter is, seems a very proper phrase for cream,, , -tter is often mentioned in Scripture ; see Manner's curiot. accounts of the modes of making it in the East, vol. i. and iii. — T. M E L P O M E N E. 553 they do not cultivate the ground, but lead a pas- toral 5 life. Ill From the union of these slaves with the Scythian women, a numerous progeny was born, who, when informed of their origin, readily ad- vanced to oppose those, who were returning from Media. Their first exertion was to intersect the country by a large and deep trench*, which ex- tended from the mountains of Tauris, to the Palus Moeotis 5 Lead a pastoral life.] — The influence of food or climate, which in a more improved state of society is suspended or subdued by so many moral causes, most powerfully contri- butes to form and to maintain the national character of bar- barians. In every age, the immense plains of Scythia or Tar- tary have been inhabited by vagrant tribes of hunters and shepherds, whose indolence refuses to cultivate the earth, and whose restless spirit disdains the confinement of a seden- tary life.— Gibbon. * It is by no means easy to conceive what mountains can here be intended. Larchcr translates the passage as I do. and thus expresses himself in a note : The Chersonesus Taurica is surrounded on all sides by the Euxine, the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and the Palus Maeotica, except in one narrow neck which separates the gulph of Carcinitis from the Palus Mreotis. It is in this spot, I suppose, that the trench mentioned by Herodotus was sunk. It com- mences at the spot called Taphrse, where the city Perekop now stands, which according to P. Briel in the Tarta- rian language signifies a trench. The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus tells us that in his time this trench was filled up. The mountains of which Herodotus speaks were within Tauris; there arc none beyond it. VOL. II. A A Perhaps, 354 M E L P O M E N E. Palus Meeotis. They then encamped opposite to the Scythians, who were endeavouring to effect their passage. Various engagements* ensued, in which the Scythians obtained no advantage. " My " countrymen," at length one of them exclaimed, " what are we doing ? In this contest with our " slaves, every action diminishes our number, " and by killing those who oppose us, the value " of victory decreases : let us throw aside our " darts and our arrows, and rush upon them only " with the whips which we , use for our horses. ** Whilst they see us with arms, they think them- " selves our equals in birth and importance ; " but as soon as they shall perceive the whip in " our hands, they will be impressed with the sense " of their servile condition, and resist no longer." IV. The Scythians approved the advice ; their opponents forgot their former exertions, and fled ; in this manner the Scythians obtained the sove- reignty of Asia ; and thus, after having been ex- pelled by the Medes, they returned to their coun- try. From the above motives Darius, eager for revenge, prepared to lead an army against them. V. The Scythians affirm of their country that it Perhaps, says my friend Major Rennel, the passage is cor- rupt, and it may be from some part of Tauris to the Palus Masotis. — May it not then be the trench which separates the Peninsula of the Crimea from the main land? MELPOMEN E. 355 it was of all others the last formed 6 , which hap- pened in this manner : When this region was in its original and desert state, the first inhabi- tant was named Targitaus*, a son, as they say (but which to me seems incredible) of Jupiter, by a daughter of the Borysthenes. This Targitaus had three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais, and lastly Colaxais. Whilst they possessed the country, there fell from heaven into the Scythian district a plough, a yoke, an axe, and a goblet, all of gold. The eldest of the brothers was the first who saw them ; who, running to take them, was burnt by the gold. On his retiring, the second brother ap- proached, and was burnt also. When these two had been repelled by the burning gold, last of all the youngest brother advanced; upon him the gold had no effect, and he carried it to his house. The two elder brothers, observing what had hap- pened, resigned all authority to the youngest. VI. From LipOxais those Scythians were de- scended 6 Last formed.]-— Justin informs us, that the Scythians pre- tended to Inrmore ancient than the Egyptians. — T. * The fabulous accounts of the origin of the Scythians merit little attention as matters of history ; but there are cer- tain accordances in respect of names with the modern tradi- tions amongst the inhabitants of Western Tartary that appear remarkable. See Rennel farther on this subject, p. 73. M. Rennel thinks he perceives in the Targitaus of Herodotus some affinity to the name Turk, the reputed son of Japhet, and the patriarch of the Tribes of Turkestan and Tartary, A A 3 350 M E L P O M E N E. scended who are termed the Auchatas ; from Arpoxais, the second brother, those who are called the Catiari and the Traspies ; from the youngest, who was king, came the . Paralatse 7 . Generally speaking, these people are named Scoloti, from a surname of their king, but the Greeks call them Scythians. VII. This is the account which the Scythians give of their origin ; and they add, that from their first king Targitaus, to the invasion of their country by Darius, is a period of a thousand years, and no more. The sacred gold is preserved by their kings with the greatest care ; and every year there are solemn sacrifices, at which the prince assists. They have a tradition, that if the person who has the custody of this gold, sleeps in the open air during the time of their annual festival, he dies before the end of the year ; for this reason they give him as much land 8 as he can pass over on horseback in the course of a day 9 . As 7 Paralatx.] — This passage will be involved in much per- plexity, unless for t«? |3acriAn«?, we read tou @sata. This latter word seems to intimate that these were feasts instituted to commemorate the birth-days ; but these, it appears, were observed by sur- viving relations and friends upon the anniversary of a per- son's death. Amongst many other customs which distin- guished these TenTia, some were remarkable for their sim- plicity and elegance. They strewed flowers on the tomb, they encircled il with myrtle, they placed locks of their hair upon it, they tenderly invoked the names of those departed, and lastly they poured sweet ointments upon the grave. These observances, with little variation, took place both in Greece and Rome. — See the beautiful Ode of Anacreon : Tt at dsi XiGov pv^iQiiv E//E fjiacXXon, 10$ st» £<£ Ylvxccaov. Thus rendered by Cowley : Why do we precious ointments show'r, Noble wines why do we pour, Beauteous MELPOMENE. 377 they venerate the principles of justice ; and that their females enjoy equal authority * with the men. XXVII. The Issedones themselves affirm, that the country beyond them is inhabited by a race of men who have but one eye, and by Gryphins who are guardians of the gold. — Such is the in- formation which the Scvthians have from the Issedones, and we from the Scythians ; in the Scy- thian tongue they arc called Arimaspians, from Arima, the Scythian word for one, and spu, an eye. Beauteous flowers why do we spread Upon the mon'ments of the dead ? Nothing they but dust can shew, Or bones that hasten to be so ; Crown me with roses whilst I live. See also the much-admired apostrophe addressed by Virgil to the memory of Marcellus: Heu miserande puer, si qua fata aspera rumpas, Tu Marcellus eris : manibus date lilia plenis, Purpureos spargarn flores, animamque nepotis His saltern accumulem donis. T. '' Rcnnel remarks, that this evinced a degree of refine- ment far above the standard of Scythian nations. But as we learn, he continues, that the Ocgurs were a lettered nation, and that they alone furnished the conqueror Jenghis Kan wit!) secretaries: we are the less surprized at the re- finements of their ancestors. The physical geography of their country is such, being one of the most elevated tracts in the center of Asia, as is likely to preserve national man- ners through a long course of ages. P. 147". 378 M E L POME N E. XXVIII. Through all the region of which we have been speaking, the winter season, which con- tinues for eight months, is intolerably severe and cold. At this time if water be poured upon the ground, unless it be near a fire, it will not make clay. The sea itself 31 , and all the Cimmerian Eosphorus, is congealed ; and the Scythians who live within the trench before mentioned make hostile incursions upon the ice, and penetrate with their w 7 aggons as far as Sindica*. During eight months the climate is thus severe, and the remaining four are sufficiently cold. In this re- gion the winter is by no means the same as in other 31 The sea itself.] — The Greeks, who had no knowledge of tins country, were of opinion that the sea could not be con- gealed ; they consequently considered this passage of Hero- dotus as fabulous. The moderns, who are better acquainted with the regions of the north, well know that Herodotus was right. — Larchey. Upon this subject the following whimsical passage occurs in Maerobius. — Nam quod Herodotus historiarum scriptor, contra omnium ferme qui ha^c qua?siverunt, opinionem scrip- sit, mare Bosporicum, quod et Cimmerium appellat, earum- que partium mare omne quod Scythicum dicitur, id gelu constriugi et consistere, aliter est quam putatur ; nam non marina aqua contrabitur, sed quia plurimum in illis regi- orribus fluviorum est, et pallidum in ipsa maria influentium, superficies maris cui dulces aquae innatant, congelascit, et incolumi aqua marina videtur in mari gelu, sed de advenis u'ndis coactum, &c. * This region is opposite to the Cimmerian Bosphorus. See chapter 86, where Sindica is placed opposite to the river Thermodon. MELPOMENE. 379 other climates; for at this time, when it rains abundantly elsewhere, it here scarcely rains at all, whilst in the summer the rains are incessant At the season when thunder is common in other places, here it is never heard, but during the summer it is very heavy. If it be ever known to thunder in the winter, it is considered as ominous. If earthquakes happen in Seythia, in either season of the year, it is thought a prodigy. Their horses are able to bear the extrcmest severity of the climate, which the asses and mules frequently cannot 32 ; though in other regions the cold which destroys the former has little effect upon the latter. XXIX. This circumstance of their climate seems to explain the reason why their cattle are without 34 Asses and mvles frequently cannot.]— This assertion of Herodotus is confirmed by Pliny, who says, " Ipsum animal (asinus) frigoris maxime inipatiens: ideo non genCratur in Ponto, nee axquinoctis verno, etcaetcra pecua adajittitur sed colstitio." The ass is a native of Arabia; the warmer the climate in which they are produced, the larger and the better they are. " Their size and their spirit," says Mr. Pennant, " regularly decline as they advance into colder regions." Hollingshed says, th.it in his time " our lande did yeelde no asses." At present they appear to be natu- ralized in our country; and M. Larcher's observation, that the}- are not common in England, must have arisen from misinformation. That the English breed of asses is com- paratively less beautiful must be acknowledged. — T. 380 M E L P O M E N E. without horns"; and Homer in the Odyssey has a line which confirms my opinion: — " And Ly- bia, where the sheep have always horns 54 ; 1 ' ■which is as much as to say, that in warm climates horns will readily grow ; but in places which are extremely cold they either will not grow at all, or are always diminutive. XXX. The peculiarities of Scythia are thus explained from the coldness of the climate; but as I have accustomed myself from the com- mencement of this history to deviate occasionally from my subject, I cannot here avoid expressing my surprize, that the district of Elis never pro- duces mules ; yet the air is by no means cold, nor can any other satisfactory reason be assigned. The inhabitants themselves believe that their not possessing mules is the effect of some curse 55 . When 33 Without horns. 1 — Hippocrates, speaking of the Scythian chariots, says, they are drawn by oxen which have no horns, and that the cold prevents their having any. — Larcher. 34 Always horns.] — The line here quoted from Homer is thus rendered by Pope: And two fair crescents of translucent horn The brows of ail their young increase adorn. T. 35 Of some curse.] — The following passage is found in Plu- tarch's Greek questions. Q. Why do the men of Elis lead their mares beyond their borders when they would have them covered ? ■* A. Was M EL P O M E N E. 38 1 When their mares require the male, the Eleans take them out of the limits of their own terri- tories, A. Was it because /Enomaus, being remarkable for his great love of horses, imprecated many horrid curses upon mares that should be (thus) covered in Elis, and that the people, in terror of his curses, will not sutler it to be done within their district? It is indisputably evident, that something is omitted or corrupted in this passage of Plutarch. As it stands at pre- sent it appears that the ma; es were to be covered by horses, and so the translators have rendered it; but the love of ^Enomaus for horses, would hardly lead him to so absurd an inconsistency as that of cursing the breed of them within his kingdom. The truth is, it was the breed of mules which he loaded with imprecations; and it was only when the mares were to be covered by asses, that it was necessary to remove them, to avoid falling under his curse. Some word express- ing this ought therefore to be found in Plutarch, and the sus- picion of corruption naturally falls at once on the unintel- ligible word ho^xq, which is totally omitted in the Latin ver- sion, and given up by Xylander as inexplicable; Wesseling would change it to IvSoga?, but that does not remove the fault: if we read e»o3ux8< all will be easy. The question will then stand thus: " Why do the men of Elis lead those mares which are to receive asses, beyond their borders to be co- vered ?" And we must render afterwards, " that should be thus covered," instead of covered only : ovofroxa;, being a com- pound formed at pleasure, according to the genius of the Greek language, but not in common use, might easily be cor- rupted by a cart less or ignorant transcriber. I should not have dwelt so long on a verbal criticism of this kind, had not the emendation appeared important, and calculated to throw additional light on this passage of Herodotus. Conformable to this is the account of Pausanias : — " In Elis," says he, " mares will not produce from asses, though. they 382 M E L P O M EN E. lories, and there suffer asses to cover them; when they have conceived they return. XXXI. Concerning those feathers, which, as the Scythians say, so cloud the atmosphere that they cannot penetrate nor even discern what lies beyond them, my opinion is this : — In those re- moter regions there is a ^perpetual fall of snow, which, as may be supposed, is less in summer than in winter. Whoever observes snow falling continually, will easily conceive what I say ; for it has a great resemblance to feathers. These regions, therefore, which are thus situated re- motely to the north, are uninhabitable from the unremitting severity of the climate ; and the Scy- thians, with the neighbouring nations, mistake the snow for feathers' 6 . — But on this subject I have said quite enough. they will in the places contiguous : this the people impute to some curse." Book v. p. 3S4. And Eustathius has a similar remark in his Comment on Dionysius, 1. 409- Upon the above Larcher remarks, that this doubtless was the reason why the race of chariots drawn by mules was abolished at the Olympic games, which had been introduced there in the seventieth Olympiad by Thersias of Thessaly. —T. 36 Snow for feathers.] — The comparison of falling snow to fleeces of wool, as being very obvious and natural, is found in abundance of writers, ancient and modern. See Psalm cxlvii. ver. 5. — Who sendeth his snow like wool. Martial M E L POME N E. G33 XXXII. Of the Hyperboreans 37 neither the Scythians nor any of the neighbouring people, the Issedoncs alone excepted, have any know- ledge ; and indeed what they say merits but little attention. The Scythians speak of these as they do of the Arimaspians. It must be con- fessed that Hesiod mentions these Hyperboreans, as Homer also does in the Epigonoi 3S , if he was really the author of those verses. XXXIII. On this subject of the Hyperbo T reans, ' Martial beautifully calls snow densum tacitarum vellus aquarum. In whose capacious womb A vapoury deluge lies to snow congeal'd ; Heavy they roll their fleecy world along. — Thomson. 37 Hyperboreans.'] — It appears from the Scholiast on Pin- dar, that the Greeks called the Thracians Boreans; there is therefore great probability that they called the people beyond these the Hyperboreans. — Larcker. — Doubtless, the inhabi- tants of Russia and part of Siberia. The Hyperboreans of the Romans corresponded with the Gog and Magog of the Arabians. 3S Epigonoi.] — That Homer was the author of various poems besides the Iliad and the Odyssey, there seems little reason to doubt; that he was the author of these in ques- tion can hardly be made appear. The Scholiast of Aristo- phanes assigns "them to Antimachus; but Antimachus of Colophon was later than Herodotus, or at least his cotem- porary. The subject of these verses were the supposed au- thors of the second Theban wai \\ the time m which Homer flourished, the wars of Thebes and of Troy were the subjects of universal curiosity and attention. — T. 384 M E L P O M E N E. reans, the Delians are more communicative. They affirm, that some sacred offerings of this people, carefully folded in straw, were given to the Scythians, from whom descending regularly through every contiguous nation 3 - 9 , they arrived at length at the Adriatic. From hence, trans- ported towards the south, they were first of all received by the Dodoneans of Greece ; from them again they were transmitted to the gulph of JMelis , whence passing into Euboea, they were sent from one town to another, till they arrived at Carystus ; not stopping at Andros, the Ca- rystians carried them to Tenos, the Tenians to Delos ; at which place the Delians affirm they came as we have related. They farther observe, that to bring these offerings the Hyperboreans 4 * sent 39 Through every contiguous nation.] — On this subject the Athenians have another tradition. — See Pausanias, c. xxxi. p. 77- According to them, these offerings were given by the Hy- perboreans to the Arimaspians, by the Arimaspians to the Scythians, by the Scythians carried to Sinope. The Greeks from thence passed them from one to another, till they arrived at Prasis, a plt>ce dependant on Athens; the Athe- nians ultimately sent them to Delos. " This," says M. Lar- cher, " seems to me a less probable account than that of the Delians." 40 Hyperboreans.'] — Upon the subject of the Hyperboreans, our learned mythologist Mr. Bryant has a very curious chapter. The reader will do well to consult the whole; but the following extract is particularly applicable to the chap- ter before us. Of MELPOMENE. S85 sent two young women, whose names were Hy- peroche and Laodice: five of their countrymen accompanied them as a guard, who are held in great veneration at Deios, and called the Peri- pheres* 1 . As these men never returned, the Hyperboreans were greatly offended, and took the following method to prevent a repetition of this evil : — They carried to their frontiers their offerings, Of all other people the Hyperboreans seem most to have respected the people of Delos. To this island they used to send continually mystic presents, which were greatly re- verenced : in consequence of this, the Delians knew more of their history than any other community of Greece. Calli- machus, in his hymn to Delos, takes notice both of the Hy- perboreans and their offerings. This people were esteemed very sacred ; and it is said that Apollo, when exiled from heaven, and when he had seen his offspring slain, retired to their country. It seems he wept; and there was a tradition that every tear was amber. See Apollonius Rhodius, book iv. 6ll. The Celtic sages a tradition hold, That every drop of amber was a tear Shed by Apollo, when he fled from heaven ; For sorely did he weep, and sorrowing pass'd Thro' many a doleful region, till he reach'd The sacred Hyperboreans. See Bryant, vol. iii. 491. 4,1 Peripheres.] — Those whom the different states of Greece sent to consult Apollo, or to offer him sacrifice in the name of their country, they called Theoroi. They gave the name of Deliastoi to those whom they sent to Delos ; and of Py- thastoi to those who went to Delphi.— Lqrchen Vol. II. C c f86 MELPOMENE. offerings, folded in barley-straw *, and com- mitting them to the care of their neighbours, directed them to forward them progressively, till, as is reported, they thus arrived at Delos. This singularity observed by the Hyperboreans is prac- tised, as I myself have seen, amongst the women of Thrace and Pasonia, who in their sacrifices to the regal Diana make use of barley-straw. XXXIV. In honour of the Hyperborean vir- gins who died at Delos, the Delian youth of both sexes celebrate certain rites, in which they cut off their hair 41 ; this ceremony is observed by virgins previous to their marriage, who, having deprived * Pliny mentions this circumstance, and seems to inti- mate that the Hyperboreans suspected that these individuals were not fairly dealt with. Pliny says these offerings were composed of the first fruits of their corn. * a Cut off their hair.] — The custom of offering the hair to the gods is of very great antiquity. Sometimes it was de- posited in the temples, as in the case of Berenice, who con- secrated hers in the temple of Venus ; sometimes it was sus- pended upon trees. — Lurcher. When the hair was cut off in honour of the dead, it was done in a circular form. Allusion is made to this ceremony in the Electra of Sophocles, line 52. See also Ovid : Scisss cum veste capillos. This custom, by the way, was strictly forbidden by the Jews. Pope has a very ludicrous allusion to it: — When fortune or a mistress frowns, Some plunge in business, others shave their crowns.— 2V M E L P O M E N E. 387 deprived themselves of their hair, wind it round a spindle, and place it on the tomb. This stands in the vestibule of the temple of Diana, on the left side of the entrance, and is shaded by an olive, which grows there naturally. The young men of Delos wind some of their hair round a certain herb, and place it on the tomb. — Such are the honours which the Delians pay to these virgins. XXXV. The Delians add, that in the same age, and before the arrival of Hyperoche and Laodice at Delos, two other Hyperborean virgins came there, whose names were Argis and Opis* J ; their object was to bring an offering to Lucina, in acknowledgment of the happy delivery of their females ; but that Argis and Opis were accom- panied by the deities themselves. They are, therefore, 43 Opis.] — Orion, who was beloved by Aurora, and whom Phen cycles asserts to have been the son of Neptune and Euryale, or, according to other authors, of Terra, endea- vouring to offer violence to Opis, was slain with an arrow by Diana. The first Hyperboreans who carried offerings to Delos were, according to Callhnachus, named Oupis, Loxo, and Hecaerge, daughter of Boreas. — Larcher. Opis is thus mentioned by Virgil : Opis ad /Etherium pennis aufertur Olympum. According to Servius, Opis, Loxo, and Hecaerge, were sy- nonymous terms for the moon. Opis was also the name of a city on the Tigris.— J". C C 2 S88 MELPOMENE. therefore, honoured with other solemn rites. The women assemble together, and in a hymn composed for the occasion by Olen of Lycia 4 * r they call on the names of Argis and Opis. In- structed by these the islanders and Ionians hold similar assemblies, introducing the same two names in their hymns. This Olen was a native of Lycia, who composed other ancient hymns in use at Delos. When the thighs of the victims are consumed on the altar, the ashes are col- lected and scattered over the tomb of Opis and Argis. ** Olen of Lycia.] — Olen, a priest and very ancient poet, was before Homer; he was the first Greek poet, and the first also who declared the oracles of Apollo. The inha- bitants of Delphi chanted the hymns Which he composed for them. In one of his hymns he called Ilithya the mother of Love; in another h : & affirmed that Juno was educated by the Hours, and was the mother of Mars and Hebe.— hardier. The word Olen was properly an /Egyptian sacred term, and expressed Olen, Olenus, Ailinus, and Linus, but is of unknown meaning. We read of Olenium sidus, Olenia ca- pella, and the like. Nascitur Olenije sidus pluviale capella\ — Ovid. A sacred stone in Elis was called Petra Olenia. If then this Olen, styled an Hyperborean, came from Lycia and /Egypt, it makes me persuaded of what I have often sus- pected, that the term Hyperborean is not of that purport which the Grecians have assigned to it. There were people of this family from the north, and the name has been dis- torted, and adapted solely to people of those parts. But there were Hyperboreans from the east, as we find in the history of Olen. — See Bryant further on this subject, vol- iii. V92-3. MELPOMENE. 389 Arsis. This tomb is behind the temple of Diana, facing the east, and near the place where the Ceians celebrate their festivals. XXXVI. Concerning these Hyperboreans we have spoken sufficiently at large, for the story of Abaris 45 , who was said to be an Hyperborean, and to have made a circuit of the earth with- out food, and carried on an arrow 46 , merits no attention. As there are Hyperboreans, or in- habitants of the extreme parts of the north, one would suppose there ought also to be Hyper- notians, or inhabitants of the corresponding parts of the south. For my own part I cannot but think it exceedingly ridiculous to hear some men talk of the circumference of the earth, pre- tending, ** Abaris.] — Jamblicus says of this Abaris, that he was the disciple of Pythagoras; some say he was older than Solon ; he foretold earthquakes, plagues, &c. Authors differ much as to the time of his coming into Greece: Harpo- cration says it was in the time of Croesus.-— T. 4 ' 5 On an arrow.] — There is a fragment preserved in the Anecdota Graca, a translation of which Larcher gives in his notes, which throws much light upon this singular passage; it is this : a famine having made its appearance amongst the Ilypeiboreans, Abaris went to Greece, and entered into the service of Apollo. The deity taught him to declare oracles. In consequence of this, he travelled through Greece, de- claring oracles, having in his hand an arrow, the symbol of Apollo. — An acute friend has suggested to me that this must be an allusion to the introduction of the letters of the alpha- bet. It is certain that Herodotus did not understand it. C C 8 3f)0 M E L P O M E N E. tending, without the smallest reason or proba- bility, that the ocean encompasses the earth*; that the earth is round, as if mechanically formed so ; and that Asia is equal to Europe. I will, therefore, concisely describe the figure and the size of each of these portions of the earth. XXXVII. The region occupied by the Per- sians extends southward to the Red Sea; beyond these to the north are the Medes, next to them are the Sapiriansf. Contiguous to the Sapi- rians, and where the Phasis empties itself into the Northern Sea, are the Coichians. These four nations occupy the space between the two seas. XXXVIII. From hence to the west two tracts of land stretch themselves towards the sea, which I shall describe : The one on the north side com- mences at the Phasis, and extends to the sea along the Euxine and the Hellespont, as far as the Sigeum of Troy. On the south side it begins at the bay of Margandius £, contiguous to Phoe- nicia, and is continued to the sea as far as the Triopian * We might be induced to conclude, from this incidental sneer of Herodotus, that there were some excellent astrono- mers and geographers in his time, although, like Copernicus and others, they did not obtain much credit among their cotemporaries. f These are elsewhere called Saperians. X The Gulph of Issus. The Mariandini are on the coast ol the Euxine. MELPOMENE. 391 Triopian promontory ; this space of country is inhabited by thirty different nations. XXXIX. The other district commences in Persia, and is continued to the Red Sea 47 . Be- sides Persia, it comprehends Assyria and Arabia, naturally terminating in the Arabian Gulph, into which Darius introduced 48 a channel of the Nile. The interval from Persia to Phoenicia is very ex- tensive. From Phoenicia it again continues be- yond Syria of Palestine, as far as iEgypt, where it *' The Red Sea.] — It is necessary to be observed, thaf^ot only the Arabian Gulph was known by this name, but also the Persian Gulph and the Southern Ocean, that is to say, that vast tract of sea which lies between the two gulphs.-— Larchcrt What Herodotus calls the Erythrean Sea, must be under- stood to be that between Ethiopia and India, generally. This includes the Arabian Gulph, but which he particularly distinguishes by that name in several places, as also the sea into which the Euphrates and Tigris discharge themselves, but winch Herodotus conceived to be an open sea, and not a gulph. Both Herodotus and Agathemenus industriously distin- guish the Erythrean Sea from the Arabian Gulph, though the latter was certainly so called, and had the name of Ery- threan. The Parthic empire, which included Persis, is by Pliny said to be bounded to the south by the Mare Ru- bruni, which was the boundary also of the Persians : by Mare Rubrum he here means the great southern sea. — B n/ant. 48 Darius introduced.] — See book the second, chap. 158. C C 4 392 MELPOMENE. it terminates. The whole of this region is occu- pied by three nations only. — Such is the division of Asia from Persia westward. XL. To the east beyond Persia, Media, the Sapirians and Colchians, the country is bounded by the Red Sea ; to the north by the Caspian and the river Araxes, which directs its course to- wards the east. As far as India, Asia is well inhabited; but from India eastward the whole country is one vast desert, unknown and unex- plored. XLI. The second tract comprehends Lybia, which begins where iEgypt ends. About iEgypt the country is very narrow. One hundred thou- sand orgyiae, or one thousand stadia, compre- hend the space between this and the Red Sea 49 . Here the country expands, and takes the name of Lybia. XLII. I am much surprised at those who have 49 This and the Red Sea.] — Here we must necessarily un- derstand the isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulph or Red Sea. Herodotus says, book ii» chap. 158, that the shortest way betwixt one sea and the other was one thousand stadia. Ag'ippa says, on the au- thority of Pliny, that from Pelusium to Arsinoe on the Red Sea was one hundred and twenty-five miles, which comes to the same thing, that author always reckoning eight stadia to a mile. — Larcher. MELPOMENE. 393 have divided and defined the limits of Lybia, Asia, and Europe, betwixt which the difference is far from small. Europe, for instance, in length much exceeds the other two, but is of far inferior breadth : except in that particular part which is contiguous to Asia, the whole of Lybia is sur- rounded by the sea. The first person who has proved this, was, as far as we are able to judge, Necho king of iEgypt. When he had desisted from his attempt to join by a canal the Nile with the Arabian Gulph, he dispatched some ves- sels s °, under the conduct of Phoenicians, with directions to pass by the columns of Hercules, and 50 Dispatched some vessels.] — This Necho is the same who in Scripture is called Pharaoh Necho. He made an attempt to join the Nile and the Red Sea, by drawing a canal from the one to the other ; but after he had consumed an hundred and twenty thousand men in the work, he was forced to de- sist from it. But he had better success in another under- taking; for having gotten some of the expertest Phoenician sailors into his service, he sent them out by the Red Sea, through the straits of Babelmandel, to discover the coasts of Africa, who having sailed round it came home the third year through the straits of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea, which was a very extraordinary voyage to be made in those days, when the use of the loadstone was not known. This voyage was performed about two thousand one hundred years before Vasquez de Gama, a Portugueze, by discover- ing the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, found out the same way from hence to the Indies by which these Phoenicians came from thence. Since that it hath been made the com- mon passage thither from all these western parts of the world.— P> ideaux. 594 MELPO M E N E. and after penetrating the Northern Ocean to return to iEgypt. These Phoenicians, taking their course from the Red Sea, entered into the Southern Ocean* : on the approach of autumn they landed in Lybia, and planted some corn in the place where they happened to find themselves; iv hen this was ripe, and they had cut it down, they again departed. Having thus consumed two years, they in the third doubled the columns of Hercules, and returned to iEgypt. Their rela- tion may obtain attention from others, but to me it seems incredible 51 , for they affirmed, that having * Meaning the Ocean that washes Africa on the East The circumnavigators are said to have entered the Southern Ocean, when they quitted the Arabian Gulph. Dr. Vincent observes (see his Nearchus, p. 275, 6.) that it is very doubtful whether this voyage was performed bv the Phoenicians ; it requires more evidence, more particulars, and a clearer detail of facts to enable us to form a judgment. See also the very learned Doctor's Periplus, p. 175, where he thus expresses himself. It must be confessed that the facts he gives us of this voyage though few are consistent. The shadow falling to the South, the delay of stopping to sow grain and reap a harvest, and the space of three years employed in the circum- navigation, joined with the simplicity of the narrative, are all points so strong, and so convincing, that if they are in- sisted on by those who believe the possibility of effecting the passage by the ancients, no arguments to the contrary, how- ever founded upon a different opinion, can leave the mind without a doubt upon the question. £1 Tome it seems incredible.] — Herodotus does not doubt that the Phoenicians made the circuit of Africa, and returned to MELPOMENE. 395 having sailed round Lybia, they had the sun on their right hand. — Thus was Lybia for the first time known. XLIII. If the Carthaginian account may be credited, Sataspes, son of Teaspes, of the race of the Acha^rnenides, received a commission to cir- cumnavigate Lybia, which he never executed : alarmed by the length of the voyage, and the solitary appearance of the country, he returned without accomplishing the task enjoined him by his mother. This man had committed violence on a virgin, daughter of Zopyrus, son of Mega- byzus, for which offence Xerxes had ordered him to be crucified ; but the influence of his mother, who was sister to Darius, saved his life. She avowed, however, that it was her intention to in- flict a still severer punishment upon him, by obliging him to sail round Lybia, till he should arrive at the Arabian Gulph. To this Xerxes assented, and Sataspes accordingly departed for iEgypt ; he here embarked with his crew, and proceeded to /Egypt by (he ftraits of Gibraltar; but he could not be- lieve that in the course of the voyage they had the sun on their right hand. This, however, must necessarily have been the case after the Phoenicians had passed the line; and this curious circumstance, which never could have been imagined in an age when astronomy was yet in its infancy, is an evi- dence to the truth of a voyage, which without this might have been doubted. — Larchcr. 306 M E L P O M E N E. proceeded to the columns of Hercules ; passing these, he doubled the promontory which is called Syloes *, keeping a southern course. Continuing his voyage for several months, in which he passed over an immense tract of sea, he saw no probable termination of his labours, and therefore sailed back to iEgypt. Returning to the court of Xerxes, he amongst other things related, that in the most remote places he had visited he had seen a people of diminutive appearance, clothed in red garments 52 , who on the approach of his vessel * Often written Soloeis. It appears, says Rennet, that the Soloeis of Hanno, and of Scylax, and the Solis of Pliny, and of Ptolemy, must have been situated between the Capes Blanco and Geen on the coast of Morocco, in which quarter also the Soloeis of He- rodoius, as being a part of the inhabited tract, must of necessity be situated. ss Red Garme?its.~\ — This passage has been indifferently rendered Phoenician garments, and red garments; the original isto-GijT* ouno)iV — Larcher, dissenting from both these, trans- lates it " des habits de palmier:" his reasoning upon it does not appear quite satisfactory. "It seems very suspicious," says he, " that people so savage as these are described by Herodotus, should either have cloth or stuff", or if they had, fhould possess the means of dyeing it red." But m the first place, Herodotus does not call these a savage people; and, in the next, the narrative of Sataspes was intended to excite astonishment, by representing to Xerxes what tobim at least teemed marvellous. That a race of uncivilized men mould clothe themselves with skins, or garments made of the leaves or bark of trees, could not appear wonderful to a sub- ject of Xerxes, to whom many barbarous nations were per- * fcctlv MELPOMEN E. 397 vessel to the shore, had deserted their habitations, and fled to the mountains. But he affirmed, that his people, satisfied with taking a supply of pro- visions, offered them no violence. He denied the possibility of his making the circuit of Lybia, as his vessel was totally unable to proceed 53 . Xerxes gave no credit to his assertions * ; and, as he had not fulfilled the terms imposed upon him, he was executed according to his former sentence. An eunuch belonging to this Sataspes, hearing of his master's death, fled with a great sum of money to Samos, but he was there robbed of his property by fectly well known. His surprise would be much more power- fully excited, at seeing a race of men of whom they hud no knowledge, habited like the members of a civilized society ; add to this, that granting them to be what they are not here represented, Barbarians, they might still have in their country some natural or prepared substances, communicative of different colours. I therefore accede to the interpretation of rubra, utentes veste, which is given by Valla and Gronovius, and which the word fl>oin*»»»] will certainly justify. — T. 53 Unable to proceed.] — This was, according to all appear- ances, the east wind which impeded the progress of the which constantly blows in that sea during a certain period. — Lurcher. — See the note of Wesseling. *Thisy says Major Kennel, reminds me of the fate of Sir Walter Raleigh. It is very possible, continues the Major, that Sataspes was discouraged from prosecuting his voyage by the adverse winds and currents that prevail on the coast of Sierra Leone, &c. from April to October, and which would be felt by those who left ^Egypt or Carthage in the Spring, a more likely season to undertake an expedition of this sort than in winter, when the order'of things is different. — P. 71o. 398 MELPOMENE. by a native of the place, whose name I know, but forbear to mention. XLI V. Avery considerable part of Asia was first discovered by Darius. He was extremely desirous of ascertaining where the Indus meets the ocean, the only river but one in which crocodiles are found ; to effect this, he sent, among other men in whom he could confide, Scylax of Cary- andia 5 *. Departing from Caspatyrus in the Pactyian 54> Scijlax of Cart/andia.] — About this time, Darius being desirous to enlarge his dominions eastward, in order to the conquering of those countries, laid a design of first making a discovery of them : for which reason, having built a fleet of (hips at Caspatyrus, a city on the river Indus, and as far upon it as the borders of Scythia, he gave the command of it to Scylax, a Grecian of Caryandia, a city in Caria, and one well skilled in maritime affairs, and sent him down the river to make the best discoveries he could, of all the parts which lay on the banks of it on either side; ordering him for this end to sail down the current till he should arrive at tho mouth of the river ; and that then passing through it into the Southern Ocean, he should shape his course westward, and that way return home. Which orders he having exactly executed, he returned by the straits of Babelmandel and the Red Sea; and on the thirtieth month after his first setting out from Caspatyrus landed in ^Egypt, at the same place from whence Necho king of iEgypt formerly sent out his Phoenicians to sail round the coasts of Africa, which it is most likely was the port where now the town of Suez stands, at the hither end of the said Red Sea. — Pridcaux. There were three eminent persons of this place, and of this name: — The one flourished under Darius Hystaspes, the second under Darius Nothus, the third lived in the time of Polybius. M E L P O M E N E. S99 Pactyian territories, they followed the eastern course of the river, till they came to the sea ; then sailing westward, they arrived, after a voyage of thirty months, at the very point from whence, as I have before related, the ^Egyptian prince dispatched the Phoenicians to circumnavigate Lybia. After this voyage Darius subdued the Indians, and became master of that ocean : whence it appears that Asia in all its parts, except those more remotely to the east, entirely resembles Lybia*. Polybius. This was also the name of a celebrated river iu Cappadocia. — T. * See Vincent as before quoted, Nearchus, p. 2/5, and Periplus, 178. From the last I extract what follows, as highly deserving attention. The name of Sataspes still lives in the same page of Hero- dotus, whom Xerxes put to death because he attempted the same circumnavigation in vain from the straits of Gades; and the following page celebrates Scyiax of Caryandia, who passed from the Indus into the Gulph of Arabia, to the point from whence the Phoenicians had commenced their expedi- tion. 1 have as little faith in the voyage of Scyiax as in that of the Phoenicians; but it is unjust that Darius should suffer the name of the iuferior to survive, while Necho should totally suppress the fame of the superior. The great argu- ment against both is the total failure of all consequences whatsoever,' the total want of all collateral evidence, and the total silence of all other historians, but those who have copied from Herodotus. This argument of the learned Dean seems to me conclu- sive : it is surely improbable that so great a discovery should neither be followed up, nor substantiated by other evidence, nor proclaimed by other writers. Major Kennel, however, thinks otherwise, and what he says of course demands the highest respect. — See p. 718. ioo M E L P O M E N E. XLV. It is certain that Europe has not hitherto been carefully examined ; it is by no means de- termined whether to the east and north it is limited by the ocean. In length it unquestionably exceeds the two other divisions of the earth ; but I am far from satisfied why to one continent three different names, taken from women, have been assigned. To one of these divisions some have given as a boundary the iEgyptian Nile, and theColchian Phasis; others the Tanais, the Cim- merian Bosphorus, and the Palus Masotis. The names of those who have thus distinguished the earth, or the first occasion of their different appellations, I have never been able to learn. Lybia, is by many of the Greeks said to have been so named from Lybia, a woman of the country ; and Asia from the wife of Prome- theus. The Lydians contradict this, and affirm that Asia 55 was so called from Asias, a son of Cotys, and grandson of Manis, and not from the wife of Prometheus ; to confirm this, they adduce ss Asia.] — In reading the poets of antiquity, it is necessary carefully to have in mind the distinction of this division of the earth into Asia Major and Minor.— When Virgil says Postquam res Asias, Priamique evertere gentem Immeritam visum superis, it is evident that he can only mean to speak of a small por- tion of what we now understand to be Asia; it may not be amiss to remember, that there was a large lake of this name near Mount Tmolus, which had its first syllable long. MELPOMENE. 401 adduce the name of a tribe at Sardis, called the Asian tribe. It has certainly never been ascer- tained, whether Europe be surrounded by the ocean: it is a matter of equal uncertainty, whence or from whom it derives its name. We cannot willingly allow that it took its name from the Sy- rian Europa, though we know that, like the other two, it was formerly without any. We are well as- sured that Europa was an Asiatic, and that she never saw the region which the Greeks now call Europe ; fhe only went from Phoenicia to Crete, from Crete to Lycia. — I shall now quit this sub- ject, upon which I have given the opinions ge- nerally received. XLVI. Except Scythia, the countries of the Euxine, against which Darius undertook an ex- pedition, are of all others the most barbarous ; among the people who dwell within these limits, we have found no individual of superior learning and accomplishments, but Anacharsis 5<5 the Scy- thian. Longa canoros Dant per colla modos, sonat amniset Asia longe Pulsat pains. By Asia palus, the poet probably meant the Lake of Grygaus, near Sardis, and beneath mount Tmolus. — T. 56 Anacharsis.] — Of Anacharsis the life is given at some length by Diogenes Laertius; his moral character was of such high estimation, that Cicero does not scruple to call him sobrius,continens, a'ustinens, et temperans. He gave rise to Vol. II, D d the 402 MELPOMENE. thian. Even of the Scythian nation I cannot in general speak with extraordinary commendation ; they have, however, one observance, which for its wisdom excels every thing I have met with. The possibility of escape is cut off from those who attack them ; and if they are averse to be seen, their places of retreat can never be discovered : for they have no towns nor fortified cities, their habitations they constantly carry along with them, their bows and arrows they manage on horseback, and they support themselves not by agriculture, but by their cattle S7 ; their constant abode the proverb, applicable to men of extraordinary endowments, of Anacharsis inter Scythas : he flourished in the time of Solon. The idea of his superior wisdom and desire of learn- ing, has given rise to an excellent modern work by the Abbe Barthelemy, called the Voyage du jeune Anacharsis. With respect to what Herodotus here says concerning Anacharsis, he seemingly contradicts himself in chap, xciv and xcv of this book, where he confesses his belief that Zamolxis, the supposed deity of the Scythians, was a man eminent for his virtue and his wisdom. Dicenus also was a wise and learned Scythian ; and one of the most beautiful and interesting of Lucian's works is named from a celebrated Scythian physician, called Toxaris. It must be remembered, that subsequent to the Christian aera many exalted and accomplished characters were pro- duced from the Scythians or Goths. — T. 37 By their cuttle.']-— " The skilful practitioners of the medical art," says Mr. Gibbon, " may determine, if they are able to determine, how far the temper of the human mind may be affected by the use of animal or of vegetable food ; and MELPOMENE. 403 abode may be said to be in their waggons 58 . How can a people so circumstanced afford the means of victory, or even of attack ? and whether the common association of carnivorous and cruel, deserves to be considered in any other light than that of an innocent, perhaps a salutary prejudice of humanity. Yet if it be true, that the sentiment of compassion is imper- ceptibly weakened by the sight and practice of domestic cruelty, we may observe that the horrid objects which are disguised by the arts of European refinement are exhibited in their naked and most disgusting simplicity in the tent of a Tartarian shepherd. The ox or the sheep are slaughtered by the same hand from which they were accustomed to re- ceive their daily food ; and the bleeding limbs are served with very little preparation at the table of their unfeeling mur- derer." — Mr. Gibbon afterward gives the reader the follow- ing curious quotation from the Emile of Rousseau: " II est certain que les grands mangeurs de viande sont en general cruels et feroces plus que les autres hommes. Cette observation est de touts les lieux, et de touts les terns : la barbarite Angloise est connue," &c. — I hope this reproach has long ceased to be applied to England by those who really know it, and that the dispositions of our countrymen may furnifh a proof against the system, in favour of which they were thus adduced. As for Rtjusseau, he deserves to be lashed for his impu- dence : for it is very certain that the French have committed more cruelties within fifteen years, than all the flesh-eaters in the world ever committed in fifteen hundred. 58 In their waggons.] — See the advice of Prometheus to Io, in ./Eschylus : First then, from hence Turn to the orient sun, and pass the height Of these uncultur'd mountains: thence descend To where the wandering Scythians, train'd to beni' The distant-wounding bow, on wheels aloft Roll on their wattl'd cottages. Potter. See also Gibbon's description of the habitation of more D d o modern 404 M ELPOME N E. LXVII. Their particular mode of life may be imputed partly to the situation of their coun- try, and the advantage they derive from their rivers ; their lands are well watered, and well adapted for pasturage. The number of rivers is almost equal to the channels of the Nile ; the more celebrated of them, and those which are navigable to the sea I shall enumerate ; they are these : The Danube *, having five mouths, the Tyres, modern Scythians. " The houses of the Tartars are no more than small teats of an oval form, which afford a cold and dirty habitation for the promiscuous youth of both sexes. The palaces of the rich consist of wooden huts, of such a size that they may be conveniently fixed on large waggons, and drawn by a team, perhaps of twenty or thirty oxen." The same circumstance respecting the Scythians is thus men- tioned by Horace : Campestres melius Scythe, Quorum plaustra vagas rite trahunt domos, Vivunt et rigidi Gets Immetata quibus jugera, liberas Fruges et Cererem ferunt, Nee cultura placet longior annua. T. * Of these rivers the Danube is the most Western, the Tana'is the most Eastern. The Tyres, orTyras, answers in ail respects to the Dneister. There were many rivers which bore the name of Hypanis, but this, as Major Rennel, p. 56, observes, answers to the Bog. The Boristhenes is the largest river next to the Danube. The port of Cherson, established by Catherine of Russia, seems to answer to the situation of the Boristhenitae. The following three rivers, viz. the Panticapcs, Hypacyris, and Gerrhus, must have been of inferior note, nor have their situations been defined by modern geographers. The last river, the Tana'is, is unquestionably the Don. Don, says Major MELPOMENE. 405 Tyres, the Hypanis, the Borysthenes, Pantica- pes, Hypacyris, Gerrhus, and the Tanais. XLVIII. No river of which we have any knowledge is so vast as the Danube ; it is always of the same depth, experiencing no variation from summer or from winter. It is the first river of Scythia to the east, and it is the greatest of all, for it is swelled by the influx of many others : there are five which particularly contribute to increase its size ; one of these the Greeks call Pyreton, the Scythians Porata ; the other four are the Tiarantus, Ararus *, Naparis, and the Ordessus. The first of these rivers is of immense size; flowing toward the east, it mixes with the Danube : the second, the Tiarantus, is smaller, having an in- clination to the west : betwixt these the Ararus, Naparis, and Ordessus have their course, and empty themselves into the Danube. These rivers have their rise in Scythia, and swell the waters of the Danube 59 . Major Itennel, seems to be a corruption of Tana, the proper name of a city which stood on or near the site of Azoph. Tana and Tanais are obviously the same. * D'Anville recognises the Porata in the Pruth, the Ararus in the Siret, the Neparis in the Proava, and the Ordessus in the Argis ; but the Tiarantus he has not made out. See Rennel, p. 9« 58 JVatcrs'of the Danube.'] — Mr. Bryant's observations on this river are too curious to be omitted. The river Danube was properly the river of Noah, ex- P P 3 pressed 406 MELPOMENE. XLIX. The Maris also, commencing among the Agathyrsi, is emptied into the Danube, which is likewise the case with the three great rivers, Atlas, Auras, and Tibisis ; these flow from the summits of Mount Haemus, and have the same termination. Into the same river are received the waters of the Athres, Noes, and Artanes, which flow through Thrace, and the country of the Thracian Crobyzi. The Cius, which, rising in Peeonia, near Mount Rhodope, divides Mount Haemus, is also poured into the Danube. The Angrus comes from Illyria, and with a northward course passes over the Tribalian plains, and mixes with pressed Da-Nau, Da-Nauos, Da-Nauvas, Da-Naubus. He- rodotus plainly calls it the River of Noah, without the prefix; but appropriates the name only to one branch, giving th( name of liter to the chief stream. It is mentioned by Valerius Flaccus: Quas Tanais, flavusque Lycus, Hypanisque Noasque. This some would alter to Novasque, but the true reading is ascertained from other passages where it occurs ; and particularly by this author, who mentions it in another place : Hyberna qui terga Noae, gelidumque securi Haurit, et in tota non audit Amazona ripa. Most writers compound it with the particle Da, and express it Da-Nau, Da-Nauvis, Da-Naubis. Stephanus Byzantinus speaks of it both by the name of Danoubis, and Danousis, &c. ; vol. ii. 33£>. The reader will find a very fine description of the Danube and its alluvions, in Polybius, book iv. chap. 5. — It is obvious that Herodotus had never heard of the Ganges, the Burram- pooter, and other great rivers of India and China. M E L P O M E N E. 407 with the Brongus ; the Brongus meets the Da- nube, which thus receives the waters of these two great rivers. The Carpis, moreover, which rises in the country beyond the Umbrici, and the Alpis, which flows towards the north, are both lost in the Danube. Commencing with the Celtae, who, except the Cynetae, are the most remote in- habitants in the west of Europe, this river passes directly through the center of Europe, and by .a certain inclination enters Scythia. L. By the union of these and of many other waters, the Danube becomes the greatest of all rivers ; but if one be compared with another, the preference must be given to the Nile, into which no stream nor fountain enters *. The reason why in the two opposite seasons of the year the Danube is uniformly the same j~, seems to me to be this : in the winter it is at its full natural height, or perhaps somewhat more, at which season there is, in the regions through which it passes, abundance of snow, but very little rain ; but in the * This assertion must be understood with some limitation ; after the Nile actually enters /Egypt, it certainly is inert afed by no stream; but in its progress through Abyssinia it is cer- tainly swelled by many rivers, some of which are of consider- able magnitude. — T. + The Danube however certainly varies in its bulk at different seasons, as is proved by Marsigli. D D 4 408 M E L P O M E N E. the summer all this snow is dissolved, and emptied into the Danube, which together with frequent and heavy rains greatly augment it. But in pro- portion as the body of its waters is thus multiplied, are the. exhalations of the summer sun. The result of this action and re-action on the Da- nube, is that its waters are constantly of the same depth. LI. Thus of the rivers which flow through Scy- thia, the Danube is the first ; next to this is the Tyres, which rising in the north from an immense marsh, divides Scythia from Neuris. At the mouth of this river those Greeks live who are known by the name of the Tyritse. LI I. The third is the Hypanis ; this comes from Scythia, rising from an immense lake, round which are found wild white horses, and which is properly enough called the mother of the Hypanis 6o . This river through a space of five days journey from its first rise, is small, and its waters are sweet, but from thence to the sea, which is a journey of four days more, it becomes exceedingly «o The Ifi/panis.] — There were three rivers of this name : — One in Scythia. one in the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and a third in India, the largeft of that region, and the limits of the conquests of Alexander the Great. This last was sometimes called the Hypasis. — T, M E L P O M E N E. 409 exceedingly bitter. This is occasioned by a small fountain, which it receives in its passage, and which is of so very bitter a quality 61 , that it in- fects this river, though by no means contemptible in point of size : this fountain rises in the coun- try of the ploughing Scythians*, and of the Alazoncs. It takes the name of the place where it springs, which in the Scythian tongue is £x- ampoeus, corresponding in Greek to the " Sacred " Ways." In the district of the Alazones the streams of the Tyres and the Hypanis have an inclination towards each other, but they soon separate again to a considerable distance. LIII. The fourth river, and the largest next to the Danube, is the Borysthenes 6 *. In my opinion this river is more fertile, not only than all the rivers of Scythia, but than every other in ai Bitter a quality.] — This circumstance respecting the Hypanis is thus mentioned by Ovid : Quid non etScythicis Hypanis a montibus ortus Qui fuerat dulcis salibus vitiatur amaris. It is mentioned also by Pomponius Mela, book ii. c. 1. — T. * Herodotus distinguishes the XkvQki agorngs?, from thereat c * Borysthenes.J — The emperor Hadrian had a famous horse, to which lie gave this name ; when the horse died, his master, not satisfied with erecting a superb monument to his memory, inscribed to him some elegant verses, which are still in being. — T. 410 M E L P O M E N E. in the world, except the ./Egyptian Nile. The Nile, it must be confessed, disdains all compa- rison ; the Borysthenes nevertheless affords most agreeable and excellent pasturage, and contains great abundance of the more delicate fish. Al- though it flows in the midst of many turbid rivers, its waters are perfectly clear and sweet ; its banks are adorned by the richest harvests, and in those places where corn is not sown the grass grows to a surprising height ; at its mouth a large mass of salt is formed of itself. It produces also a spe- cies of large fish, which is called Antacaeus ; these, which have no prickly fins, the inhabitants - salt : it possesses various other things which de- serve our admiration. The course of the stream may be pursued as far as the country called Gerrhus, through a voyage of forty days, and it is known to flow.from the north. But of the remoter places through which it passes, no one can speak with certainty ; it seems probable that it runs toward the district of the Scythian hus- bandmen, through a pathless desert. For the space of a ten days journey these Scythians in- habit its banks. The sources of this river, like those of the Nile, are to me unknown, as I believe they are to every other Greek. This river, as it approaches the sea, is joined by the Hypanis, and they have both the same termina- tion : the neck of land betwixt these two streams is called the Hippoleon promontory, in which a 3 templQ M E L P O M E N E. 4ii temple is erected to Ceres 63 . Beyond this temple as far as the Hypanis, dwell the Borysthenites. — But on this subject enough has been said. LIV. Next to theabove, is a fifth river, called the Panticapes; this also rises in the north, and from a lake. The interval betwixt this and the Borysthenes is possessed by the Scythian husband- men. Having passed through Uylcea, the Panti- capes mixes with the Borysthenes. LV. The sixth river is called the Hypacyris : this, rising from a lake, and passing through the midst of the Scythian Nomades, empties itself into the sea near the town of Carcinitis 6 *. In. its course it bounds to the right Hylsea, and what is called the course of Achilles. LVI. The name of the seventh river is the Gerrhus; it takes its name from the place Gerrhus, near 6i To Ceres.] — Some manuscripts read to " Ceres/' others to " the Mother"; by this latter expression Geres must be understood, and not Vesta, as Gronovius would have it. In his observation, that the Scythians were acquainted neither with Ceres nor Cybele, he was perfectly right; but he ought to have remembered that the Borysthenites or Olbiopolita* were of Greek origin, and that they had retained many of the customs and usages of their ancestors. — Larcher. 6 * Carcinitis."] — Many are of opinion that this is what is now called Golfo di Moscovia ; but as this is in the Taurica Chersonesus, now Crimea, it may rather perhaps be Precop, or some adjoining town. 412 MELPOMENE. near which it separates itself from the Borys- thenes, and where this latter river is first known. In its passage toward the sea, it divides the Scythian Nomades from the Royal Scythians, and then mixes with the Hypacyris. LVII. The eighth river is called the Tanais 6 *; rising from one immense lake, it empties itself into another still greater, named the Mseotis, which separates the Royal Scythians from the Sauromatae. — The Tanais is increased by the waters of another river, called the Hyrgis. LVIII. Thus the Scythians have the advantage of all these celebrated rivers. The grass which this 65 Tanais.] — This river is now called the Don. According to Plutarch, in his Treatise of celebrated Rivers, it derived its name from a young man called Tanis, who, avowing an hatred of the female sex, was by Venus caused to feel an unnatural passion for his own mother; and he drowned himself in consequence in this river. It was also called the river of the Amazons; and, as appears from an old scholiast on Horace, was sometimes confounded with the Danube. — It divides Europe from Asia: Dionysius. See also Quintus Curtius. — Tanais Europam et Asiam me- dius interfkut. 1. vi. c. 2. Of this riververy frequent mention is made by ancient writers; by Horace prettily enough, in the Ode beginning with " Extremum Tanaim si biberes Lyce, &c."— T, MELPOMEN E. 413 this country produces is of all that we know the fullest of moisture, which evidently appears from the dissection of their cattle. LXI. We have shewn that this people possess the greatest abundance; their particular laws and observances are these: Of their divinities 66 , Vesta is without competition the first, then Ju- piter, and Tellus, whom they believe to be the wife of Jupiter*; next to these are Apollo, the Coelestial Venus, Hercules, and Mars. All the Scythians revere these as deities, but the Royal Scythians pay divine rites also to Neptune. In the Scythian tongue Vesta is called Tabiti ; Jupi- ter, and, as I think very properly, Pappus f ; Tellus, 66 Of their divinities.'] — It is not unworthy the attention of the English reader, that Herodotus is the first author who makes any mention of the religion of the Scythians. In most writings on the subject of ancient mythology, Vesta is placed next to Juno, whose sister she was generally supposed to be: Montfaucon also remarks, that the figures which remain of Vesta have a great resemblance to those of Juno. With respect to this goddess, the ancients were much divided in opinion ; Euripides and Dionysius of Ilalicarnassus, agree . in calling her Tellus. Ovid seems also to have had this in his mind when lie paid " Stat vi terra sua, vi stando Vesta yocatur." Most of the difficulties on this subject may be solved, by supposing there were two Vestas. — T. * Jortin on Spenser, 57. f Papccits] — or Pappaeus, signifying father; as being, ac- cording to Homer, sralng a*\a> t« din* re, the sire of gods and men. in every lar says Larcher, it is notorious that ap, pa, and papa, are the first sounds by which infants dis- tinguish their fathers. 414 M E L P O M E N E. Tellus, Apia ; Apollo, (Etosyrus ; the Coelestial Venus, Artimpasa ; and Neptune, Thamimasa- das. Among all these deities Mars is the only one to whom they think it proper to erect altars, shrines, and temples. LX. Their mode of sacrifice in every place ap- pointed for the purpose is precisely the same, and it is this : The victim is secured with a rope, by its two fore feet; the person who offers the sacri- fice 6? , standing behind, throws the animal down by means of this rope ; as it falls he invokes the name of the divinity, to whom the sacrifice is offered ; he then fastens a cord round the neck of the victim, and strangles it, by winding the cord round a stick ; all this is done without fire, with- out libations, or without any of the ceremonies in use amongst us. When the beast is strangled, the sacrificer takes off its skin, and prepares to dress it. LXI. As Scythia is very barren of wood, they have the following contrivance to dress the flesh of the victim: — Having flayed .the animal, they strip «7 Who offers the sacrifice.}— Montfaucon, in his account of the gods of the Scythians, apparently gives a translation of this passage, except that he says " the sacrificing priest, after having turned aside part of his veil :" Herodotus says no such thing, nor does any writer on this subject whom I have had the opportunity of consulting. — T. MELPOMENE. 415 strip the flesh from the bones, and if they have them at hand, they throw it into certain pots made in Scythia, and resembling the Lesbian caldrons, though somewhat larger ; under these a fire is made with the bones' 8 . If these pots can- not 66 Fire is made with the bones.'] — Montfaucon remarks on this passage, that he does not see how this could be done. Resources equally extraordinary seem to be applied in the eastern countries, where there is a great scarcity of fuel. In Persia it appears from Sir John Chardin they burn heath ; in Arabia they burn cow-dung; and according to Dr. Russel they burn parings of fruit, and such like things. The prophet Ezekiel was ordered to bake his food with human dung. See Ezekiel, chap, iv. 12. " Thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man." Voltaire, in his remarks on this pas- tage, pretends to understand that the prophet was to eat the dung with his food. — " Comme il n'est point d'usage de manger de telles confitures sur son pain, la plupart des hommes trouvent ces commandemens indignes de la Ma- jeste divin." The passage alluded to admits of no such in- ference : but it may be concluded, that the burning of bones for the purpose of fuel was not a very unusual circumstance, from another passage in Ezekiel. — See chap. xxiv. 5. " Take also the choice of the flock, and burn the bones under it, aad make it boil well." — T. — See on this subject of fuel in Eastern countries, Russel's Aleppo, i. p. 39. The fuel employed for heating them (the bagnios) consists chiefly of the dung of animals, the filth of stables, and the parings of fruit, with the offals collected by persons who go about the streets for that purpose. These materials, accumu- lated in a yard belonging to the bagnios, both in drying and when burning are extremely offensive to the neighbourhood. The bakehouses use brushwood, but these are only trouble- some an hour or two in the day. Cow-dung is seldom used in 416 M E L P O M E N E. not be procured, they enclose the flesh with a cer- tain quantity of water in the paunch* of the victim, and make a fire with the bones as before. The bones being very inflammable, and the paunch without difficulty made to contain the flesh sepa- rated from the bone, the ox is thus made to dress itself, which is also the case with the other victims. When the whole is ready, he who sacrifices, throws down with some solemnity before him the entrails, and the more choice pieces. They sacrifice dif- ferent animals, but horses in particular. LXII. Such are the sacrifices and ceremonies observed with respect to their other deities ; but to the god Mars, the particular rites which are paid are these : — In every district, they construct a temple to this divinity, of this kind ; bundles of small wood are heaped together, to the length of three stadia, and quite as broad, but not so high ; the top is a regular square, three of the sides are steep and broken, but the fourth is an inclined plane forming the ascent. To this place are every year brought one hundred and fifty wag- gons in the city, but by the Arabs and peasants it is not cnly used as fuel but employed to make a fiat pan, in which they fry their eggs. Camel and sheeps dung with brushwood, or stalks of such plants as grow in the desert, are the common' fuel. * I have also heard that in the Isle of Portland, and in other parts of England, fuel is made of dried cow-dung. — The same was done, and probably is still done, in Scotland, MELPOMENE. 417 gons full of these bundles of wood, to repair the structure, which the severity of the climate is apt to destroy. Upon the summit of such a pile, each Scythian tribe places an ancient soymetar 69 , which is considered as the shrine of Mars, and is annually honoured by the sacrifice of sheep and horses ; indeed more victims are offered to this deity, than to all the other divinities. It is their custom also to sacrifice every hundredth captive, but in a different manner from their other victims*. Having poured libations upon their tTj Ancient scymetar.] — It was natural enough that the Scy- thians should adore with peculiar devotion the god of war; but as they were incapable of forming either an abstract idea, or a corporeal representation, they Worshipped their tutelar deity under the symbol of an iron cimeter. — Gibbon. In addition to this iron cymetar or cimeter, Luciah tells us that the Scythians worshipped Zamolxis as a god. See also Ammianus Marcellinus, xxx. 2. — Nee templum apud eos visitur, aut delubrum, ne tugurium quidem culmo tec- tum cerni usquam potest, seel gladius Barbarico ritu hurhi figitur nudus, eumque et Martem regionem quas circumcir- cant praesulem verecundius coluut. Larcher, who quotes the above passage from Amm. Mar. tells us from Yarro, that anciently at Home the head of a spear was considered as a representation of Marc. Varro, Festus, and Clemens Alexandrinus, affirm that Mars was worshipped by the Sabines and Romans under ihe form of a spear. Plutarch, in his Life of Romulus, says, the spear placed in the Royal Palace was called Curis or Quiris. * See the History of the Conquest of Mexico, by Bernal Vol. II. E E *>iaa 418 M ELPO M E N E. their heads, they cut their throats into a vessel placed for that purpose. With this, carried to the summit of the pile, they besmear the above- mentioned scymetar. Whilst this is doing above, the following ceremony is observed below : — From these human victims they cut off the right arms close to the shoulder, and throw them up into the air. This ceremon}* being performed on each victim severally, they depart : the arms remain where they happen to fall, the bodies- else where. LXIII. The above is a description of their sacrifices. Swine are never used for this purpose, nor will they suffer them to be kept in their country. LXIV. Their military customs are these: — Every Scythian drinks the blood of the first per- son Diaz del Castillo, translated by Maurice Keating, Esq. p. 142. These animals were fed with game, fowls, dogs, and, as I have heard, the bodies of Indians who were sacrificed ; the manner of which, I have been informed, is this : they open the body of the victim, when living, with large knives of stone ; they take out his heart and blood, which they offer to their gods, and then they cut off the limbs and the head, upon which they feast, giving the body to be devoured by the wild beasts, and the sculls they hang up in their temples. How- singular must it appear, that in nations so remote, so similar, examples of cruelty and superstition should prevail ! — T. M ELPOMENE, 419 son he slays ; the heads of all the enemies who fall by his hand in battle, he presents to his king: this offering entitles him to a share of the plun- der, which he could not otherwise claim. Their mode of stripping the skin from the head 7 ° is this : — They make a circular incision behind the ears, then, taking hold of the head at the top, they gradually flay it, drawing it towards them. They next soften it in their hands, removing every fleshy part which may remain, by rubbing it with an ox's hide; they afterwards suspend it, thus 70 The shin from the head.] — To cut off the heads of ene- mies slain in battle, seems no unnatural action amongst a race of fierce and warlike barbarians. The art of scalping the head was probably introduced to avoid the trouble and fatigue of carrying these sanguinary trophies to any con- siderable distance. Many incidents which are here related of the Scythians, will necessarily remind the reader of what is told of the native Americans. The following war-song, from Bossu's Travels through Louisiana, places the re- semblance in a striking point of view: — " I go to war to revenge the death of my brothers — I shall kill— I shall ex- terminate — I shall burn my enemies— I shall bring away slaves — I shall devour their hearts, dry their flesh, drink their blood — I shall tear off their scalps, and make cups of their sculls." The quickness and dexterity with which the Indians per- form the horrid operation of scalping is too well known to require any description. This coincidence of manners is very striking, and serves greatly to corroborate the hypo- thesis, that America was peopled originally from the northern parts of tjie old continent. — T. E E "3 420 HELP O M E N £. thus prepared, from the bridles of their horseS, when they both use it as a napkin, and are proud of it as a trophy. Whoever possesses the greater number of these, is deemed the most illustrious. Some there are who sew together several of these portions of human skin, and convert them into a kind of shepherd's garment. There are others who. preserve the skins of the right arms, nails and all, of such enemies as they kill, and use them as a covering for their quivers. The hu- man skin is of all others certainly the whitest, and of a very firm texture; many Scythians will take the whole skin of a man, and having stretch- ed it upon wood, use it as a covering to their horses, LXV. Such are the customs of this people : this treatment, however, of their enemies, heads, is not universal, it is only perpetrated on those whom they most detest. They cut off the scull, below the eye-brows, and having cleansed it thoroughly, if they are poor, they merely cover it with a piece of leather; if they are rich, in ad- dition to this, they decorate the inside with gold ; it is afterwards used as a drinking cup *. They do * William de llubruquis travelled through Thibet in the 13th century ; and it could not be very far from thence that these Scythians lived in the time of Herodotus. Speaking of MELPOMENE. 4«i do the same with respect to their nearest con- nections, if any dissensions have arisen, and they overcome them in combat before the king. If any stranger whom they deem of consequence, happen to visit them, they make a display of these heads 71 , and relate every circumstance of the of the inhabitants, he says, " In times past they bestowed on their parents no other sepulchre than their own bowels, and yet in part retaine it, makyng fine cuppes of their deceased parents skulls, that drinking out of them in the middest of their jollitie, they may not forget their progenitors." See Purchas, 430. Hole on the Arabian Nights, p. 257. 71 Display of these heads.] — Many instances may be ad- duced, from the Roman and Greek historians, of the heads of enemies vanquished in battle being carried in triumph, or exposed as trophies; examples also occur in Scripture of the same custom. Thus David carried the Philistine's head in triumph; the head of Ishbosheth was brought to David as a trophy; why did Jael smite off the head of Sisera, but to present it triumphantly to Barak ? It is at the present day practised in the East, many examples of which occur in Niebuhr's Letters. This is too well known to require fur- ther discussion ; but many readers may perhaps want to be informed, that it was also usual to cut otf the hands and the feet of vanquished enemies. — The hands and feet of the sons of Rimmon, who slew Ishbosheth, were cut off and hanged up over the pool of Hebron. — See also Lady Worthy Mon- tague, vol. ii. p. 19. " if a minister displeases the people, in three hours time he is dragged even from his master's arms: they cut otf his hands, head, and feet, and throw them before the palace gate with all the respect in the world; while the sultan, to whom they all profess unlimited adoration, sits trembling in his apartment." — T. K E 3 If 422 MELPOMEN E. the previous connection, the provocations re- ceived, and their subsequent victory : this they consider as a testimony of their valour. LXVI. Once a year the prince or ruler of every district mixes a goblet of wine, of which those Scythians drink 71 who have destroyed a public It may be added, that the body of Cyrus the younger, as Xenophon tells us in the Anabasis, had its head and right hand cut off. 7a Those Scythians drink.] — These, with many other cus- toms of the ancient Scythians, will necessarily bring to the mind of the reader various circumstances of the Gothic my- thology, as represented in the poems imputed to Ossian, and as may be seen described at length in Mallet's Introduction to the History of Denmark, To sit in the Hall of Odin, and quaff the flowing goblets of mead and ale, was an idea ever present to the minds of the Gothic warriors ; and the hope of attaining this glorious distinction, inspired a con- tempt cf danger, and the most daring and invincible cou- rage. See Gray's Descent of Odin : — 0. Tell me what is clone below;. For whom yon glittering board is spread, Drest for whom yon golden bed. Pr. Mantling in the goblet see The pure beverage of the bee ; O'er it hangs the shield of gold, 'Tis the drink of Balder bold. T. See also in the Edda, the Ode of king Regner Lodbrog. " Odin sends his goddesses to conduct me to his palace.-— I am going to sit in the place of honour, to drink ale with the gods. — The hours of my life are passed away, I die in rapture." Some of my readers may probably thank me for giving MELPOMENE. 423 public enemy *. But of this, they who have not done such a thing are not permitted to taste ; these are obliged to sit apart by themselves, which is considered as a mark of the greatest ignominy 75 . They who have killed a number of giving them a specimen of the stanzas, as preserved by Olau* Wormius. 25. Pugnavimus ensibus : Hoe ridere me facit semper, Quod Balderi patris scamna Parata scio in aula. Bibemus cerevisiam Ex concavis crateribus craniorum. Non gemit vir fortis contra mortem Magnifici in Odini domibus Non venis desperabundus Verbis ad Odini aulam. 29. pert animus finire ; Invitant me Dysa?, Quas ex Odini aula Odinus mihi misit. Laetus cerevisiam cum Asis In summa sede bibam : Vitaj elapsa? sunt horae ; ltidens moriar. T. * Something of this kind was done by the Parthians, when the head of Crassus was brought to their king. It should be remembered that the Parthians were descendants of Scythians, and not very far removed. 73 Greatest ignominy.'] — Ut quisque plures interemit ; ita apud eos habetur eximius: cseterum expertem esse caedis, inter opprobria vel maximum. — Pomp. Mela, 1. U. c. 1. E E 4 424 MELPO M E N E. of enemies, are permitted on this occasion to drink from two cups joined together. LXVTI. They have amongst them a great number who practise the art of divination ; for this purpose they use a number of willow twigs 74 , in this manner : — They bring large bundles of these together, and having untied them, dispose them one by one on the ground, each bundle at a distance from the rest. This done, they pre- tend 7 * Willow twigs.] — Ammianus Marcellinus, in speaking of the Huns, says, " Futura miro pYassagiunt modo ; nam rec- tiores virgas vlfnineas colligenti s, easque cum incantamentis quibusdain secretis praestitutb tempore discernentes, aperte quid portendatur norunt." — Larcher, in quoting the above passage, remarks, that he has seen some trafces of this super- stition practised in the province of Berry. There is an ani- mated fragment of Ennius remaining, in which he expresses a most cordial contempt for ail soothsayers: as it is not perhaps familiar to every reader, I may be excused inserting it. Non vicinos aruspices, non de cireo astrologos, Non IsiacOs conjectores, non interpretes somnium, Non enim sunt ii aut sapieritia aut arte divina, Sed superstitiosi vates, impudentesque harioli, Aut inertes, aut insani, aut quibus egestas imperat. A similar contempt for diviners, is expressed by Jocasta, in the CEdipus Tyrannus of Sophocles : Let not a fear perplex thee, CEdipus; Mortals know nothing of futurity, And these prophetic seers are all impostors.— -T. MELPO M E N E. 425 tend to foretel the future, during which they take up the bundles separately, and tie them again together. — This mode of divination is he- reditary among them. The enaries, or " effe- minate men," affirm that the art of divination" was taught them by the goddess Venus. They take also the leaves of the lime-tree, which divid- ing into three parts they twine round their lingers ; they then unbind it, and exercise the art to which they pretend. LXVIII. Whenever the Scythian monarch happens to be indisposed, he sends for three of the most celebrated of these diviners. When the Scythians desire to use the most solemn kind of 7S Art of die ination.] — To enumerate the various modes of divination which have at different times been practised by the ignorant and superstitious, would be no easy task. We read of hydromancy, libanomancy, onyctomancy, divinations by earth, fire, and air: we read in Ezekiel of divination by a rod or wand. To some such mode of divination, in all pro- bability, the following passage from Hosea alludes. " My people ask. counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them." This passage affords an additional explanation of that which occurs in vol. i. Whether this phenomenon was more common in Scythia, after a particular event, or whe- ther it were a disease or languor, the subjects of it formed a distinct class of people, and fell into every effeminate excess. — For further remarks on this subject see the end of this volume where the reader will rind a novel explanation, for which I ani indebted to Mr. Blair. 426 M E L P O M E N E. of oath, they swear by the king's throne 76 : these; diviners, therefore, make no scruple of affirming, that such or such individual, pointing him out by name, has forsworn himself by the royal throne. — Immediately the person thus marked out is seized, and informed that by their art of divination, which is infallible, he has been indi- rectly the occasion of the king's illness, by hav- ing violated the oath which we have mentioned. If the accused not only denies the charge, but expresses himself enraged at the imputation, the king convokes a double number of diviners, who, examining into the mode which has been pur- sued in criminating him, decide accordingly. If he be found guilty, he immediately loses his head, and the three diviners who were first consulted, share his effects. If these last diviners acquit the accused, others are at hand, of whom if the greater number absolve him, the first diviners are put to death. LXIX. The manner in which they are exe- cuted is this : — Some oxen are yoked to a wag- gon iillecl with fagots, in the midst of which, with their feet tied, their hands fastened behind, and 76 King's throne.]—" The Turks at this day," says Lar- cher, " swear by the Ottoman Porte." Reiske has the same remark : " Adhuc obtinet apud Turcas, per Portam Otto- manicum, hoc est, domicilium sui prmcipis, jurare."— T. M E L P O M E N E. 427 and their mouths gassed, these diviners are placed ; tire is then set to the wood, and the oxen are terrified to make them run violently away. It sometimes happens that the oxen themselves are burned ; and often when the waggon is consumed, the oxen escape severely scorched. This is the method by which, for the above-mentioned or similar offences, they put to death those whom they call false diviners. LXX. Of those whom the kins condemns to death, he constantly destroys the male children, leaving the females unmolested. Whenever the Scythians form alliances 77 , they observe these ceremonies: — A large earthen vessel is tilled with wine ; into this is poured some of the blood of the contracting parties, obtained by a slight incision of a knife or a sword * ; in this cup they dip a scymetar, some arrows, a hatchet, and a spear. After this they pronounce some solemn prayers, and 77 Form alliances.] — See book i. c. ~i \. fe On this subject, Larcher relates the following anecdote from Daniel's History of France: " When Henry the Third entered Poland, to take pos- session of the crown, he found on his arrival thirty thousand cavalry ranged in order of battle. The general of these ad- vancing towards him, drew his sword, pierced his arm with it, and receiving in his hand the biood which flowed from the wound, drank it, saying, " Evil be to him among us who would not shed in your service every drop of his blood; it is from this principle that I count it nothing to shed my own." 428 MELPOMENE. and the parties who form the contract, with such of their friends as are of superior dignity, finally drink the contents of the vessel. LXXI. The sepulchres of the kings are in the district of the Gerrhi. As soon as the king dies 78 , a large trench of a quadrangular form is sunk, near where the Borysthenes begins to be navigable. When this has been done, the body is inclosed in wax, after it has been thoroughly cleansed, and the entrails taken out ; before it is sown up, they fill it with anise, parsley-seed, bruised cypress, and various aromatics. They then place it on a carriage, and remove it to another district, where the persons who receive it, like the Royal Scythians, cut off a part of their ear*, shave their heads in a circular form, take a round piece of flesh from their arm, wound their foreheads and noses, and pierce their left hands with arrows. The body is again carried to another province of the deceased king's realms, the 7 * King dies.] — A minute and interesting description of the funeral ceremonies of various ancient nations may be found in Montfaucon, vol. v. 126, &c. — T. The funeral ceremonies of the Scythian kings, and the golden goblets buried with them under large barrows, re- mind us- of the tombs found in Great Tartary, ascribed to the descendants of Genghis Kan, in the 13th century. See Archaeologia, v. iii. p. 222. * Bayer, in his Memoriae Scythicre, makes Herodotus say- that the Scythians cut off a piece of the king's ear. M E L P O M E N E. 4%9 the inhabitants of the former district accompa- nying the procession. After thus transporting the dead body through the different provinces of the kingdom, they come at last to the Gerrhi, who live in the remotest parts of Scythia, and amongst whom the sepulchres are. Here the corpse is placed upon a couch, round which, at different distances, daggers are fixed ; upon the whole are disposed pieces of wood, covered with branches of willow. In some other part of this trench, they bury one of the deceased's concu- bines, whom they previously strangle, together with the baker, the cook, the groom, his most confidential servant, his horses, the choicest of his effects, and, finally, some golden goblets, for they possess neither silver nor brass : to conclude all, they fill up the trench with earth, and seem to be emulous in their endeavours to raise as high a mound as possible *. * Modern discoveries abundantly prove the general truth of our author's report concerning the sepulchres of the an- cient Scythians; if it be allowed that a part of the tumuli, found in the plains towards the upper branches of the Irtish, Oby, &c. are of so antient a date: or, on the other hand, if the sepulchres in question are not so ancient, it at least proves that the same custom prevailed amongst their de- scendants. It appears, that tumuli are scattered over the whole tract, from the borders of the Wolga and its western branches, to the lake Baikal. Those amongst them, which have attracted the greatest notice, on the score of the gold and silver (but principally the former) contained in them, lie 430 M ELPOMENE. LXXII. The ceremony does not terminate here. — They select such of the deceased king's attendants, in the following year, as have been most about his person ; these are all native Scy- thians, for in Scythia there are no purchased slaves, the king selecting such to attend him as he thinks proper : fifty of these they strangle 19 , with lie between the JVolga and the Oby : for, those which are farther to the east, and more particularly, at the upper part of the Jenisei, have the utensils contained in them, of copper. It has not come to our knowledge, that any of these mo- numents have been found in the Ukraine, where the sepul- chres described by Herodotus should have been; however, it may be conceived that it is a sufficient testimony of the general truth of his description, that the}' are found so far west as the southern parts of Russia, and on the banks of the Okka, Wolga, and Tanais ; since much the same sort of customs may have been supposed to exist amongst the Scy- thians and Sarmatians generally; and it is certain that the Sarmatians and seceding Scythians occupied the tracts just mentioned. — B.cnnel. 79 They strangle.] — Voltaire supposes that they impaled alive the favourite officers of the khan of the Scythians, round the dead body; whereas Herodotus expressly say^ that they strangled them first. — Larcher. Whoever has occasion minutely to examine any of the more ancient authors, will frequently feel his contempt ex- cited, or his indignation provoked, from finding a multi- tude of passages ignorantly misunderstood, or wilfully per- verted. This remark is in a particular manner applicable to M. Voltaire, in whose work false and partial quotations. with ignorant misconceptions of the ancients, obviously abound. The 1 learned 1'auw cannot in this respect be in- tircly exculpated; and I have a passage now before me, in wh M ELPO M E N E. 4&1 with an equal number of his best horses. They open and cleanse the bodies of them all, which having filled with straw, they sew up again : then upon two pieces of wood they place a third, of a semicircular form, with its concave side up- permost, a second is disposed in like manner, then a third, and so on, till a sufficient number have been erected. Upon these semicircular pieces of wood they place the horses, after pass- ing large poles through them, from the feet to the neck. One part of the structure, formed as we have described, supports the shoulders of the horse, the other his hinder parts, whilst the legs are left to project upwards. The horses are then bridled, and the reins fastened to the legs; upon each of these they afterwards place one of the youths who have been stranded, in the following manner : a pole is passed through each, quite to the which the fault I would reprobate is eminently conspicuous. Speaking of the Chinese laws, he says, " they punish the relations of a criminal convicted of a capital offence with death, excepting the females, idiom they sell as stares, fol- lowing in this respect the maxim, of the Scythians, recorded by Herodotus." On the contrary, our historian says, chap. 70, that the females are not molested. A similar remark, as it. ■ 'Cts M. Pauw, is somewhere made by Larcher. —T. \\\ the mild and polished country of China, th i rot Chun-Tehi having lost one of his wives, sacrificed more than thirty slaves upon her tomb! lie was a Tartar, that is, ,■• Scythian; which historical fact, observes Larcher, may sr to make what Herodotus relates of the ancient Scythians the more c.c ; ible. 432 MELPOMENE. the neck, through the back, the extremity of which is fixed to the piece of timber with which the horse has been spitted ; having done this with each, they so leave them. LXXIII. The above are the ceremonies ob- served in the interment of their kings : as to the people in general, when any one dies, the neigh- bours place the body on a carnage, and carry it about to the different acquaintance of the de- ceased ; these prepare some entertainment for those who accompany the corpse, placing the same before the body, as before the rest. Private persons, after being thus carried about for the space of forty days, are then buried 80 . They who *° Are then buried.] — The Scythians did not all of them observe the same customs with respect to their funerals : there were some who suspended the dead bodies from a tree, and in that state left them to putrefy. " Of what con- sequence," says Plutarch, " is it to Theodorus, whether lie rots in the earth or upon it?— Such with the Scythians is the most honourable funeral." " Silius Itahcus mentions also this custom: At tiente i n Scythica suffixa cadavera truhcis Lenta dies sepelit, putri liquentia tabo. It is not perhaps without its use to observe^ that barbarous nations have customs barbarous like themselves, and that these customs much resemble each other, in nations which have no communication. Captain Cook relates, that in Otaheite they leave dead bodies to putrefy on the surface of the ground, till the flesh is intirely wasted, they then bury the bones.— Lurcher. See Uaivksivort/i's Voyages. M ELPOMENE. 433 who have been engaged in the performance of these rites, afterwards use the following mode of purgation : — After thoroughly wafhing the head, and then drying it, they do thus with regard to the body ; they place in the ground three stakes, inclining towards each other; round these they bind fleeces of wool as thickly as pos- sible, and finally, into the space betwixt the stakes they throw red-hot stones. LXXIV. They have among them a species of hemp resembling flax, except that it is both thicker and larger ; it is indeed superior to flax, whether it is cultivated or grows spontaneously. Of this the Thracians 8l make themselves garments, which so nearly resemble those of flax, as to require a skilful eye to distinguish them: they who had never seen this hemp, would conclude these vests to be made of flax. LXXV. The Scythians take the seed of this hemp, and placing it beneath the woollen fleeces which we have before described, they throw it upon the red-hot stones, when immediately a perfumed 81 Of this the Thracians.] — Ilesychius says that the Thracian women make themselves garments of hemp : consult him at the word KaevaC »? : — " Hemp is a plant which has some re- semblance to flax, and of which the Thracian women make themselves vests." — T. Vol. II. Yf 434 M E L P O M E N E. perfumed vapour 81 ascends stronger than from any Grecian stove. This, to the Scythians, is in the place of a bath, and it excites from them cries of exultation. 5* 4 perfumed vapour.] — I translate, for the benefit of the reader, what Palaephatus says upon the subject of Medea's magic powers. Concerning Medea, who was said by the process of boiling to make old men young again, the matter was this; she first of all discovered a flower which could make the colour of the iiair black or white ; such therefore as wished to have black hair rather than white, by her means obtained their wish. Having also invented baths, she nourished with warm vapours those who wished it, but not in public, that the professors of the medical art might not know her secret. The name of this application was >&a.^vai<;, or " the boiling." When therefore by these fomentations men became more active, and improved in health, and her apparatus, namely the caldron, wood, and fire, was discovered, it was supposed that her patients were in reality boiled. Pelias, an old and infirm man, using this operation, died in the process. — T. The reader will necessarily be impressed with the particu- lar resemblance to this custom, which we find at this day among the Finlanders. The following description is given by one of the latest travellers in that country : Almost all the forest peasants have a small house built on purpose for a bath ; it consists of only one small chamber, in the innermost part of which are placed a number of stones, which are heated by fire till they become red. On these stones thus heated, water is thrown, until the company within be involved in a thick cloud of vapour. In this inner- most part, the chamber is formed of two stones for the ac- commodation of a greater number of persons within that small compass; and it being the nature of heat and vapour to ascend, the second story is of course the hottest, &c. — Acerbi. M E L P O M E N E. ^b exultation. It is to be observed, that they never bathe themselves : the Scythian women bruise under a stone, some wood of the cypress, cedar, and frankincense ; upon this they pour a quantity of water, till it becomes of a certain consistency, with which they anoint the body 83 and the face ; this ba Anoint the body.] — When we read in this place of the custom of anointing the body amongst- an uncivilized race, in a cold climate, and afterwards find that in warmer regions it became an indispensable article of luxury and elegance with the politest nations, we pause to admire the caprice and versatility of the human mind. The motive of the Scythians was at first perhaps only to obtain agility of body, without any views to cleanliness, or thoughts of sensuality. In hot climates, fragrant oils were probably first used to disperse those foetid smells which heat has a tendency to generate ; precious ointments therefore soon became essential to the enjoyment of life; and that they really were so, may be easily made appear from all the best writers of antiquity. See Anacreon, Ode xv. Ejuot jt/.E^Ei fAveoKTt KocT and sixty thousand by night. From the entrance of the Euxine to Phasis, which is the extreme length of this sea, is a voyage of nine days and eight nights, which is equal to eleven hundred and ten thousand orgyce, or eleven thousand one hundred stadia. The broadest part of this sea, which is from Sindica 97 to Themiscyra, on the river Thermodon, is a voyage of three days and two of his mistress: — It was here likewise, in a place where the distance between the opposite banks cannot exceed five hun- dred paces, that Xerxes composed a stupendous bridge of boats for the purpose of transporting into Europe an hun- dred and seventy myriads of Barbarians. A sea contracted within such narrow limits may seem but ill to deserve the epithet of broad, which Homer as well as Orpheus has iie- quently bestowed on the Hellespont.— Gibbon. 96 In a long day.] — That is, a ship in a long day would sail eighty miles by day, and seventy miles by night. See Wes • seling's notes on this passage. — T. 97 Sindica.] — The river Indus was often called the Sindus. There were people of this name and family in Thrace. Some would alter it to Sindicon, but both terms are of the same purport. Herodotus speaks of a regio Sindica, upon the Pontus Euxinus, opposite to the river Thtrmodon. This Vol. II. G g some 450 M E L P G M E N E. two nights, which is equivalent to three thou- sand three hundred stadia, or three hundred and thirty thousand orgyae. The Pontus, the Bos- phorus, and the Hellespont, were thus severally measured by me; and circumstanced as I have- already described. The Pains Mieotis flows into the Euxine, which in extent almost equals it, and which is justly called the mother of the Euxine *„ LXXXVII. When Darius had taken a survey of the Euxine, he sailed back fesaki to the bridge constructed by Mandrocles the Samian. He then examined the Bosphorus, near which 98 he ordered some would alter to Sindica, but both terms are of the same amount. The Ind or Indus of the east is at this day called the Sind ; and was called so in the time of Pliny. — Bryant. * See what Major Rennel says on this subject, p. 53, as well as on the bridges constructed over the Hellespont by Darius and Xerxes, p. 120, & seq. 98 Near which."] — The new castles of Europe and Asia are constructed on either continent upon the foundations of two celebrated temples of Serapis, and of Jupiter Urius. The old castles, a work of the Greek emperors, command the narrowest part of the channel, in a place where the op- posite banks advance within five hundred paces of each, other. These fortresses were restored and strengthened by Mahomet the Second, when he meditated the siege of Con- stantinople : but the Turkish conqueror was most probably Ignorant that near two thousand years before his reign Da- ; rius had chosen the same situation to connect the two conti- nents by a bridge of boats. — Gibbon. MELPOMENE. 45i ordered two columns of white marble to be erected ; upon one were inscribed in Assyrian, on the other in Greek characters, the names of the different nations which followed him. In this expedition he was accompanied by all the na- tions which acknowledged his authority, amount- ing, cavalry included, to seventy thousand men, independent of his fleet, which consisted of six hundred ships. These columns the Byzantines afterwards removed to their city, and placed before the altar of the Orthosian Diana", ex- cepting only one stone, which they deposited in their city before the temple of Bacchus, and which was covered with Assyrian characters. That part of the Bosphorus where Darius or- dered the bridge to be erected, is, as I conjecture, nearly at the point of middle distance between Byzantium and the temple at the entrance of the Euxine*. LXXXVIII. With this bridge Darius was so much delighted, that he made many valuable pre- sents 99 Orthosian Dia?ia.] — We are told by Plutarch, that ia honour of the Orthosian Diana, the young men of Ld.ce- dremon permitted themselves to be flagellated at the altar with the extremest severity, without uttering the smallest complaint. — T. * See Rennel on this subject, as before quoted. G G <2 4.52 M E L P O M E N E. vsents I0 ° to Mandroclcs the Samian, who con- structed it: with the produce of these the artist caused a representation to be made of the Bos- phorus, with the bridge thrown over it, and the king seated on a throne, reviewing his troops as they passed. This he afterwards consecrated in the temple of Juno, with this inscription: Thus was the fishy Bosphorus inclos'd, When Samian Mandrocles his bridge impos'd : Who there, obedient to Darius' will, Approv'd his country's fame, and private skill. LXXXIX. Darius, having rewarded the artist passed over into Europe : he had previously or- dered the Ionians to pass over the Euxine to the Ister, where having erected a bridge, they were to wait his arrival. To assist this expedition, the Ionians and JEolians, with the inhabitants of the Hellespont, had assembled a fleet ; accord- ingly, having passed the Cyanean islands, they jailed directly to the Ister; and arriving, after a passage of two days from the sea, at that part of the river where it begins to branch off, they con- structed a bridge. Darius crossed the Bos- phorus, 100 Valuable presents.] — Gronovius retains the reading of ■nxKTt ^ty.ac, which is very absurd in itself, and ill agrees with the context : the true reading is ira.ci £«-xa, that' is, ten of each article presented. — See Casaubon on Athenaeus, audi others.— T, M EL'POMENl 4^3 i phorus, and marched through Thrace , and ar- riving at the sources of the river Tearus, he en- camped for the space of three days. XC. The people who inhabit its banks, affirm the waters of the Tearus to be an excellent re- medy for various diseases, and particularly for ulcers, both in men and horses. Its sources are thirty-eight in number, issuing from the same rock, part of which are cold, and part warm ; they are at an equal distance from Heraeum, a city near Perinthus ,CI , and from Apollonia on the Euxine, being a two days journey from both. The Tearus flows into the Contadesdus, the Con- tadesdus into the Agrianis, the Agrianis into the Hebrus, the Hebrus into the sea, near the city JEnus. XCI. Darius arriving at the Tearus, there fixed his camp : he was so delighted with this river, that he caused a column to be erected on the spot, with this inscription : " The sources of " the Tearus afford the best and clearest waters " in the world : — In prosecuting an expedition " against Scythia, Darius son of Hystaspes, the " best 101 Perinthus.] — This place was anciently known by the different names of Mygdonia, Keraclea, and Perinthus. — It is now called Pera. — T. G G 3 454 MELPOMENE. " best and most amiable of men, sovereign of " Persia, and of all the continent, arrived here " with his forces." XCII. Leaving this place, Darius advanced towards another river, called Artiscus, which flows through the country of the Odrysians 102 . On his arrival here, he fixed upon one certain spot, on which he commanded every one of his soldiers to throw a stone as he passed : this was accordingly done ; and Darius, having thus raised an immense pile of stones, proceeded on his march. XCII I. Before he arrived at the Ister, he first of all subdued the Getce, a people who pretend to immortality. The Tracians of Salmydessus, and they who live above Apollonia, and the city of Mesambria, with those who are called Cyrmi- anians, and Mypsasans, submitted themselves to Darius without resistance. The Getae obstinately defended themselves, but were soon reduced ; these, 101 Odrysians.] — Major Rennel refers these Odrysians to Thrace and the quarter in the neighbourhood of Adrianople. Darius comes to them before he arrives among the Gets, who were seated to the south of the Danube. Mention is Ri&de of them by Claudian in his Gigantomachia: Primus terrificum Mavors non segnis in hostem Odvisios impellit equos. Silius Italic us also speaks of Odrisius Boreas. — T. M E L P O M E N E. 450 these, of all the Thracians, are the bravest and the most upright. XCIV. They believe themselves to be im- mortal ,0} ; and whenever any one dies, they are of opinion that he is removed to the presence of their god Zamolxis ,04 , whom some believe to be the 103 They believe themselves to be immortal.] — A man calls these people Dacians. " The first exploits of Trajan," says Mr. Gibbon, " were against the Dacians, the most warlike of men, who dwelt beyond the Danube, and who, during the reign of Domitian, had insulted with impunity the majesty of Rome. To the strength and fierceness of Barbarians, they added a contempt for life, which was derived from a vain persuasion of the immortality of the soul." The Getae are represented by all the classic writers as the most daring and ferocious of mankind; in the Latin language particularly, every harsh term has been made to apply to them : Nulla Getis toto gens est truculentior orbe, says Ovid. Hume speaks thus of their principles of belief, with respect to the soul's immortality : — " The Getes, commonly called immortal from their steady belief of the soul's immortality, were genuine Theists and Unitarians. They affirmed Za- molxis, their deity, to be the only true God, and asserted the worship of all other nations to be addressed to mere fic- tions and chimaTas: but were their religious principles any more refined on account of these magnificent pretensions ?" It is very easy to see that both Hume and Gibbon are very angry with the poor Gets, for their belief in the im- mortality of the soul. — T. 104 Z'amolxis.] — Larcher, in conformity to Wesseling, pre- fers the reading of Zalmoxis. — In the Thracian tongue, Zal- mos means the skin of a bear ; and Porphyry, in the life of Pythagoras, observes, that the name of Zalmoxis was given him, because as soon as he was born he was covered with the skin of that animal. G G 4 456 M ELPO M E N E. the same with Gebeleizes. Once in every five years they choose one by lot, who is to be dis- patched as a messenger to Zamolxis, to make known to him their several wants. The ceremony they observe on this occasion is this : — Three amongst them are appointed to hold in their hands, three javelins, whilst others seize by the feet and hands the person who is appointed to appear before Zamolxis; they throw him up, so as to make him fall upon the javelins. If he dies in consequence, they imagine that the deity is propitious to them ; if not, they accuse the victim of being a wicked man. Having disgraced him, they proceed to the election of another, giving him, whilst yet alive, their commands. This same people, whenever it thunders or lightens, throw their weapons into the air, as if menacing their god ; and they seriously believe that there is no other deity. XCV. This Zamolxis, as I have been in- formed by those Greeks who inhabit the Helles- pont and the Enxine, was himself a man, and formerly lived at Samos, in the service of Pytha- goras, son of Mnesarchus ; having obtained his liberty, with considerable wealth, he returned to his country. Here he found the Thracians dis- tinguished equally by their profligacy and their ignorance; whilst he. .himself had been accus- tomed to the Ionian mode ,qf liie, and to man- ners MELPOMENE. 457 ners more polished than those of Thrace ; he had also been connected with Pythagoras, one of the most celebrated philosophers of Greece. He was therefore induced to build a large mansion, to which he invited the most eminent of his fellow- citizens : he took the opportunity of the festive hour to assure them, that neither himself, his guests, nor any of their descendants, should ever die, but should be removed to a place, where they were to remain in the perpetual enjoyment of every blessing. After saying this, and con- ducting himself accordingly, he constructed a sub- terranean edifice : when it was completed, he withdrew himself from the sight of his country- men, and resided for three years beneath the earth. — During this period, the Thracians re- gretted his loss, and lamented him as dead. In the fourth year he again appeared among them, and by this artifice gave the appearance of pro- bability to what he had before asserted. XCVI. To this story of the subterraneous apartment, I do not give much credit, though I pretend not to dispute it; I am, however, very certain that Zamolxis must have lived many years before Pythagoras : whether, therefore, he was a man, or the deity of the Getas, enough has been said concerning him. These Geta?, using the ceremonies I have described, after submitting themselves 458 M E L P O M E N E. themselves to the Persians under Darius, fol- lowed his army. XCVII. Darius, when he arrived at the Isler, passed the river with his army ; he then com- manded the lonians to break down the bridge, and to follow him with all the men of their fleet. When they were about to comply with his orders, Coes, son of Erxander, and leader of the Myti- lenians, after requesting permission of the king to deliver his sentiments, addressed him as follows : ** As you are going, Sir, to attack a country, " which, if report may be believed, is without " cities and entirely uncultivated, suffer the " bridge to continue as it is, under the care of " those who constructed it : — By means of this, " our return will be secured, whether we find " the Scythians, and succeed against them ac- " cording to our wishes, or whether they elude " our endeavours to discover them. I am not " at all apprehensive that the Scythians will over- " come us; but I think that if we do not meet " them, we shall suffer from our ignorance of '" the country. It may be said, perhaps, that I " speak from selfish considerations, and that I " am desirous of being left behind ; but my real u motive is a regard for your interest, whom at " all events I am determined to follow." With this counsel Darius was greatly delighted, and thus replied: — " My Lesbian friend, when I +- " shall MELPOMENE. 459 " shall return safe and fortunate from this ex- " pedition, I beg that I may see you, and I will " not fail amply to reward you, for your excel- " lent advice." XCVIIL After this speech, the king took a cord, upon which he tied sixty knots' 05 , then sending 105 Sixty knots.] — Larcher observes that this mode of nota- tion proves extreme stupidity on the part of the Persians.* It is certain, that the science of arithmetic was first brought to perfection in Greece, but when or where it was first intro- duced is entirely uncertain; I should be inclined to imagine, that some knowledge of numbers would be found in regions the most barbarous, and amongst human beings the most ignorant, had I not now before me an account of some Ame- rican nations, who have no term in their language to express a greater number than three, and even this they call by the uncouth and tedious name of patarrarorincoursac. In the Odyssey, when it is said that Proteus will count his herd of sea-calves, the expression used is wf^Traev/Iat, he icill reckon them by Jives, which has been remarked, as being probably a relick of a mode of counting practised in some remote age, when five was the greatest numeral. To count the fingers of one hand, was the first arithmetical effort: to carry on the account through the other hand was a refinement, and required attention and recollection. M. Goguet thinks, that in all numerical calculations peb- bles were first used: -^yip^u, to calculate, comes from -4") a little stone, and the word calculation from calculi, pebbles. This is probably true; but between counting by the five fingers and standing in need of pebbles to continue a calcu- lation. * Larcher is severe upon the Persians, who were certainly not a stupid people. He possibly took this method to prevent the possibility of a mistake. 4do MELPOMENE. sending for the Ionian chiefs, he thus addressed them : — " Men of Ionia, I have thought proper to " change my original determination concerning " this bridge: do you take this cord, and ob- " serve what I require ; from the time of my " departure lation, there must have been many intervening steps of im- provement. A more complicated mode of counting by the fingers was also used by the ancients, in which they reckoned es far as 100 on the left hand, by different postures of the fingers ; the next hundred was counted on the right hand, and so on, according to some authors, as far as 9000. In allusion to this, Juvenal says of Nestor, Atque suos jam dextrd computat annos. Sat. x. 24p. and an old lady is mentioned by Nicarchus, an Anthologic poet, who made Nestor seem young, having returned to the left hand again: Antholog. 1. ii. This, however, must be an extravagant hyperbole, as it would make her above 5)000 years old, or there is some error in the modern accounts. — There is a tract of Bede's on this subject which I have not seen ; it is often cited. Macrobius and Pliny tell us, that the statues of Janus were io formed, as to ixjark the number of days in the year by the position of his fingers, in Numa's time 355, after Caesar's correction 305. — Satttr/i i. 9- and Nat. Hist, xxxiv. J. — T. On this subject my friend Major Rennel thus expresses himself: To me it seems clear that the figures called Arabic are from India, through the Arabians. I regard our arithmetic as Indian, and the figures may be traced as clearly as the Roman letters from the Greek. M E L P O M E N E. 46 1 * departure against Scythia, do not fail every " day to untie one of these knots. If they shall " be all loosened before you see me again, you are at liberty to return to your country ; but in the mean time it is my desire that you pre- serve and defend this bridge, by which means " you will effectually oblige me." As soon as Darius had spoken, he proceeded on his march. « << For the following remarks on Book i. c. 105, I am indebted to Mr. Blair. THREE things should be particularly attended to in the interpretation of this author's words (Book i. § 105, and iv. 6*7.) ; viz. 1st. That he is naming a bodily infirmity S«*«a »2c7o? (fem. dis.) supposed by the Scythians to have been inflicted as a punishment for their sacrilege, at the ancient temple of Venus, in the city of Ascalon. 2dly. That the immediate effects of this disorder were evident to foreigners who visited the Scythians. odly. That this dreadful affliction descended (or was sup- posed to descend) to the posterity of the delinquents, who were generally denominated imgus (effeminate men) by the Scythians. Various opinions have been entertained respecting the dis- ease in question ; but the one which has been most plausibly urged, is that Herodotus here means, in decent terms, to point out a detestable and unnatural crime. It may be asked, however, why should the author employ an obscure periphrasis or circumlocution, to express that which in other parts of the first book (§6l, 135) he has depicted very in- telligibly ? Besides, it is not conceivable how, any people should adopt the notion of this abominable vice being in- flicted as a national punishment ; since no man can be so stupidly 462 MELPOMENE. stupidly ignorant as not to know that this sinful habit of which we are speaking is intirely voluntary and acquired. With regard to the effects of this vile propensity, there can be no doubt that (if it were indulged inordinately) men would by slow degrees become inert, and wholly incapaci- tated for the rites of a married life : but these do not seem to be the effects intended by Herodotus, when he speaks of their manifest appearance to common observation. Tra- vellers in Scythia were unlikely to discover the enarees by any other than outward and visible symptoms of effemi- nacy ; so that 1 am at a loss to reconcile this circumstance of notoriety with the opinion of a secret practice which ge- nerally superinduces invisible effects. Probably too, this practice itself, if it really prevailed in Scythia, did not exist to that degree which is common in warmer countries ; for example, in Italy and in Greece. But the idea which, in my mind, is most inconsistent with this explanation, is that of the disease being transmitted to the posterity of the delinquents. Now, if the debilitating consequences of this supposed vice rendered the offenders unfit for marriage, they would, d, fortiori, be disabled from the power of propagating their own infirmities to posterity ! Who could be the descendants of the impotent em^sec, their crimes having been punished by an incurable imbecility ? May we not thus derive, from the father of history himself, the means of refuting this opinion, although it has been sup- ported by the learning of more numerous and more profound critics, than any other interpretation? Let us now see whether some light may not be thrown on this inquiry by Hippocrates, who was a countryman of He- rodotus, as well as his contemporary ; and who has expa- tiated pretty largely on this effeminate state of the Scythians, in his book Trs^t xipuv, viccrvv} tottmv. From Hippocrates we learn that this disease was only ex- perienced by the opulent Scythians; that the notion of its divine original was altogether chimerical and superstitious; that the infirmity was to be attributed to a natural cause, viz. to constant riding on horseback, and exposure to very inclement weather; that its effects were principally confined to M E L P O M E N E. 463 to the hips and lower parts of the body, including the geni- tals; and that the disorder consisted, not merely in the loss of virility, but in chronical rheumatic dispositions (xeo/*«Ta) ac- companied xcith lameness and effeminate habits. This is all I can collect from Hippocrates, apart from his theory. The learned Dr. Ilensler, indeed, supposes these Scythians had a discharge from the urethra, a malignant kind of gleet: but this does not appear either from the account of Herodotus, or of Hippocrates, and is therefore only a conjectural idea. Upon the whole, I think these two ancient authors may be sufficiently reconciled, and the one may be adduced in illus- tration of the other. Both of them speak of the symptoms as evident and permanent, attacking those who had formerly been inured to hardships, and disposing them afterwards to a state of indolence or effeminacy. The natural constitution of the Scythians, in so cold a region, would unfit them, as Hippc crates observes, for connubial duties ; and, if the higher classes were chiefly afflicted with this infirmity, it might arise from something peculiar in their mode of living, and so be imagined by the common people to have been an hereditary evil, the fruits of sacrilegious profanations in the temple of Venus. END OF VOL. II. 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