livid Colour, or fpotted; were full of Blifters, or Pimples, fill'd with corrupt or falt Matter, broken or torn in Pieces, or ftunk like putrified Bodies; laitly, if Serpents crawling, or any thing elfe terrible and unufual was found in them. If the Lungs were cloven, the Business in hand was to be defer'd; if whole and entire, it was to be proceeded in with all poffible Speed and Vigour. Other Parts of the Victim did fometimes prefage Things to come, efpecially if any thing had happen'd extraordinary, and contrary to the common Courfe of Nature. For Inftance, on the Day that King Pyrrhus was flain at Argos, his Death was foretold by the Heads of the Sacrifices, which being cut off, lay licking their own Blood, as Pliny reports. Another unlucky Omen happen'd to Cimon, the Athenian General, a little before his Death; for when the Prieft had flain the Sacrifice according to Cuftom, the Blood that ran down, and congeal'd upon the Ground, was by a great many Pifmires carried to Cimon, and placed all together at his great Toe: They were a long Time in doing this before any Man perceiv'd them; but Cimon had no fooner efpy'd them out, but the Augur brought him Word that the Liver had no Head; and in a very fhort time after that famous Captain died. Hither are to be reduced fome other Ways of Divination, by things made ufe of at Sacrifices; as firft, Ilçquarrela, Divination by the Fire of the Sacrifice. Good Signs were fuch as these; If the Flames immediately took hold of and confum'd the Victim, feizing at once all the Parts of it; on which account they ufually prepar'da guava, dry Sticks, which would eafily take fire. Alfo if the Flame was bright, and pure, and without Noife or Smoke; if the Sparks tended upward in the Form of a Pyramid; if the Fire went not out till all was reduc'd to Afhes. Contrary Signs were, when it was kindled with difficulty, when the Flame was divided, when it did not immediately spread itself over all the Parts of the Victim, but, creeping along, confumed them by little and little; when, inftead of afcending in a straight Line, it whirled round, turned fideways, or downwards, and was extinguish'd by Winds, Showers, or any other unlucky Accident; when it crackled more than ordinary, was black, cafting forth Smoke, or Sparks, or died before all the Victim was confum'd. All these, and fuch like Omens, fignified the Displeasure of the Gods. Some of thefe Signs Tirefias fpeaks of in Sophocles ", as very fatal and pernicious : No fparkling Flames up from the Fire flew, That roll'd about, and smother'd all the Place; And Thighs defil'd without their wonted Fat. E. D. Sometimes, when the Entrails foretold nothing certain by Diffection, the Priest made Obfervations from them in the Fire. In order hereto, he took the Bladder, and binding the Neck of it with Wooll (for which Reafon Sophocles calls the Bladders ueλλα fétis 'seis) put it into the Fire, to observe in what Place it would break, and which Way it would dart the Urine °. Sometimes they took Pitch of the Torches, and threw it into the Fire; whence if there arose but one entire Flame, it was taken for a good Omen. In matters of War, or Enmity, they took notice of the area haua's, or uppermost part in the Flames, and the Gall: xe ixei, Enemies being bitter like Gall. Karvoμavla, Divination by the Smoke of Sacrifices. in which they obferv'd what Windings and Turnings it made, how high it afcended, and whether in a direct or oblique Line, or in Wreaths; alfo how it fmell'd, whether of the Flesh that was burned, or any thing else. AGavouavia, Divination by Frankincenfe, which if it presently catched Fire, and fent forth a grateful Odour, was efteem'd an happy Omen; but if the Fire would not touch it, or any naity Smell contrary to the Nature of Frankincenfe proceeded from it, it boded Ill. Oivouarrea, and remansia, Divination by Wine and by Water, when Conjectures were made from the Colour, Motion, Noife, and other Accidents of the Wine, of the Libations; or the Water in which the Victims were washed, and fome Parts of them boiled. Virgil hath made mention of them both in the Story of Dido : Vidit, thuricremis cum dona imponeret aris, Off'ring before the Altar, as fhe flood, E. D. Κριθομαντεία, and Αλευρομαντεία, Divinations by which Preditions were made from the Flour with which the Victim was besprinkled. Hither alfo may be referr'd Iouarela, Divination by the Entrails of Fishes, for which Tirefias and Polydamas are faid to have been famous: As alfo neonomía, which made Predictions by Eggs, and several others. Who was the first Inventor of this Divination is uncertain. By fome it is attributed to Prometheus, the great Father of most Arts. Clemens of Alexandria afcribes it to the Hetrurians: And Tages, one of that Nation, whom they feign'd to have fprung out of a Furrow in the Tarquinian Fields, was commonly thought by the Italians to have been the Euripides Scholiaftæ Phæniffis, Eneid. iv. 453. a Strom. i. p. 306. first who communicated this Divination to Mankind, as appears from Cicero. The fame is mention'd by Lucan': Et fibris fit nulla fides, fed conditor artis It was certainly very ancient, and obtain'd fo great Credit amongst the Grecians, that they would defift from the greatest and feemingly moft advantageous Undertakings, and attempt things moft hazardous and unlikely to be attain'd, if the Entrails of Victims diffuaded them from the former, or encouraged them to the latter. Whereof we have this remarkable Inftance in Plutarch's Life of Ariftides: "When Mardonius "the Perfian made an Affault upon the Grecians,Paufanias the Lace"dæmonian, at that time General of all the Grecian Forces, offer'd Sa❝crifice, and, finding it not acceptable to the Gods, commanded the "Lacedæmonians, laying down their Shields at their Feet, to abide "quietly, and attend his Directions, making no Refiftance to any of "their Enemies. Then offering a fecond time (for if the first Victim "afforded not aufpicious Omens, it was ufual to offer on, till they "obtained what they defired) as the Horfe charged, one of the Lace"dæmonians was wounded: At this Time alfo Callicrates, who by report was the most comely proper Man in the Army, being fhot " with an Arrow, and upon the point of expiring, faid, That he la"mented not his Death (for he came from home to lay down his "Life in the Defence of Greece) but that he had died without Action. “The Cause was heard, and wonderful was the Forbearance of the "Men; for they repelled not the Enemy that charged them, but expecting their Opportunity from the Gods, and their General, fuffer"ed themselves to be wounded and flain in their Rank; and fo ob"ftinate they continued in this Refolution, that tho' the Priests offer'd "one Victim after another without any Succefs, and the Enemy ftill preffed upon them, they moved not a Foot, till the Sacrifices proved "propitious, and the Soothfayers foretold the Victory. 66 I t COME in the next place to speak of Divination by Birds; the Invention of which is by fome afcribed to Prometheus, or Melampus the Son of Amythaon and Dorippe. Pliny reports that Car, from whom Caria receiv'd its Name, was the firft that made Predictions by Birds; and Orpheus by other Animals. Paufanias" telleth us, That Parnaffus, after whofe Name the Mountain Parnassus was called, first obferved the Flight of Birds. The fame Clemens of Alexandria reLib. vii. c. lv. Lib. ii. de Divinatione. Strom. i. p. 306. $ Lib. "I bocicts. ports ports concerning the Phrygians. This Art was very much improved by Calchas, who, as Homer tells us, was At length it arriv'd at fuch Perfection, and gained fo much Credit in the World, that feldom any thing of moment was undertaken, either in Time of War or Peace, feldom any Honours conferred, any Magiftrates created, without the Approbation of Birds: Nay, other Divinations were fometimes paffed by unregarded, if not confirmed by them. At Lacedæmon, the King and Senate had always an Augur attending upon them, to advise with; and Calius reports, that Kings themfelves ufed to ftudy the Art. The Birds, because they were continually flying about, were thought to obferve and pry into Men's moft fecret Actions, and to be acquainted with all Accidents whence that Verse of Ariftophanes, Οὐδείς εἶδε τὸν θησαυρὸν τὸν ἐμὸν, πλὴν εἴτις αρ' ὄργες• None, but perhaps fome Bird, knows any thing Treafure. And the Scholiaft quotes fuch another Saying out of him; Οὐδείς με θεωρεί πλὴν ὁ παριπτάμμος ὄρνις· None fee me, but the Bird that flieth by. There is a Proverb alfo much to the fame Purpofe; for when they thought themselves fecure from the Knowledge of all Perfons, they ufed to fay, Οὐδεὶς εἶδε τί ὡμίλησα, πλήν γε εἴτις ὄρνις· None is confcious to what I have been converfing about except perchance fome Bird. Ariftophanes hath introduced the Birds themselves, telling what religious Obfervance was paid them, f Εσμὲν δ' ὑμῖν Αμμον, Δελφοί; Δωδώνη, Φοίβος Απόλλων, For we to you inftead of Hammon are, You firft confult, then profecute Defigns. The Omens given by Birds were by the Greeks called gves, ὀρνεοσκοπικά, αἴσιμα, οἰωνοὶ, οἰωνισμάτα, &c. And the Obfervers of them, ὁρνεοσκόποι, ὀρνιθομάντεις, ορνιθοσκόποι, οἰωνιςαὶ, οἰωνοθέται, oi@UCTóÃO!, &c. But, afterwards, thefe Names were promifcuously ufed for almoft all the Species of Artificial Divination; as Arufpicium and Augurium were among the Latins. The Scholiaft of Ariftophanes hath obferved, that οἰωνες καλᾶσι καὶ τὰ μὴ ὄρνεα they called Omens, which are not made by Birds, by the name d Antiq. Lect. Lib. viii. cap. i. Avibus. f Loc. citat, •`Avibusy of οἱ οἰωγοί. And the fame Author affirms, that πᾶν σύμβολον εκφευκτικὸν, ἢ προτρεπτικὸν λέγεται ὄρνις : Every Omen, which either encourages to, or diffuades from any thing, was termed vis. Plato is of Opinion that divisin was originally a general Name, and written with an 6 Micron, civiκή, fignifying any thing, δι κ οἰόμεθα τα μέλλοντα, by which we make Conjectures of what is to come; but now (faith Ariftides) they write it with Mega rocurwires, to give the better Grace to it. The Grecian Augurs were not, as the Latin, clothed in Purple, or Scarlet, but in White, having a Crown of Gold upon their Heads when they made Obfervations, as 8 Alexander ab Alexandro informs us. They had alfo oiavis piov, i. e. a Place, or Seat appointed for that purpose, called fometimes by the general Names of nC, and JanC, as in Sophocles's Antigone, where Tirefias fpeaks thus: Εἰς γὰρ παλλαιὸν θῶκον ὁρνιθοσκόπον For fitting in my wonted hallow'd Place, And the Scholiaft upon that Place telleth us, this Seat was peculiarly named J, and that Tirefias had Power to affemble the Birds from all Quarters, when he had Occafion for them. They us'd alfo to carry with them writing Tables, as the Scholiaft upon Euripides reports, in which they wrote the Names and Flights of the Birds, with other things belonging thereto, left any Circumftance fhould flip out of their Memory. The Omens that appeared towards the Eaft were accounted fortunate by the Grecians, Romans, and all other Nations ; because the great Principle of all Light and Heat, Motion and Life, diffuses its first Influences from that Part of the World. On the contrary, the Western Omens were unlucky, because the Sun declines in that Quarter. The Grecian Augurs, when they made Observations, kept their Faces towards the North, the Eaft being upon their Right-hand, and the Weft upon their Left: That they did fo, appears from Homer, who brings in Hector, telling Polydamas, that he regarded not the Birds, Εἶτ ̓ ἐπὶ δέξὶ ἴασι πρὸς ἐῶ τ' ἠέλιόν τε, Εἴτ ̓ ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ τοί γε ποτὶ ζόφον ἠερόεντα. Whether o'th' Right Hand, tow'rds the gilded Eaft, Or on the Left, towards the dusky Weft, They take their Flight. The Reason of this, as it is deliver'd by Plutarch from Plate and Ariftotle, was, that de Tйs nivnotes, the Beginning of the Celestial Motions, was in the Oriental Parts of the World, and that therefore these were accounted ♫žia т nósμs, the right fide of the World; and the 8 Gen. Dier. xv. cap. x. h Ver. 1115. Iliad. v. 239. West, |