to a Feaft, to fuch a certain Place, where a Mule loaded with Corn, had let his Burden fall: The Company, defirous to know the truth of the Business rose up immediately, went to the Place, and found it as he had told them. Democritus also was a Pretender to this Art, and gave out, that he could teach others the Method of attaining it; which he did by telling them the Names of certain Birds, out of a Mixture of whofe Blood a Serpent would proceed; which, being eaten, would, without any farther Trouble, infpire into them this Knowledge It is alfo feign'd, that Melampus arrived at this Art by having his Ears licked by Dragons, Such another Story Euftathius relates of Helenus, and Calandra, the Children of Priamus, the Trojan King, viz. That being left in Apollo's Temple, Serpents came to them, and, rounding themselves about their Ears, made them fo quick of Hearing, that they could discover the Counfels and Defigns of the Gods. I muft add one thing more out of Apuleius, viz. That when any unlucky Night Birds, as Owls, Swallows, Bats, &c. got into a House; to avert the bad Omen, they took efpecial care to catch them, and hang them before their Doors, that fo the Birds themselves might undergo, or atone for those Evils, which they had threatened to the Family. Thus much for Birds. It will be convenient, in the next place, to fpeak fomething concerning the Predictions made by Infects, Beafts, and Signs in the Heavens. First then, Ants were made ufe of in Divination, as may appear from the Inftance given in the laft Chapter, where, I told you, Cimon's Death was prefag'd by them. Another Inftance we have in Midas, the Phrygian King; for when he was a Boy, and fast asleep, Ants came, and dropt Grains of Wheat into his Mouth; whereupon the Soothfayers being confulted, foretold, that he would be the richest Man in the World. Bees were esteemed an Omen of future Eloquence, as appears from the Story of Plato; for as he lay in the Cradle, Bees are faid to have come and fat upon his Lips; whereupon the Augurs foretold, that he fhould be famous for Sweetnefs of Language, and delightful Eloquence. And Pindar is faid to have been expofed, and nourished by Bees with Honey instead of Milk. Other things alfo were foretold by them: But the Romans efteem'd them an unlucky and very dreadful Omen, as may be found in Plutarch's Life of Brutus. Before Pompey's Defeat, μελισσῶν ἐσμὸς ἐπὶ τοῖς βιμοῖς εκάθισε a fwarm of Bees fat upon the Altar, as we are told by Appian". There was a Locuft green, and flow in Motion, call'd Mavns, which was obferv'd in Soothfaying, as Suidas taketh Notice. Toads were accounted lucky Omens. Snakes alfo, and Serpents were ominous; as appears by the Serpent, that in Homer's fecond Iliad devour'd eight young Sparrows with their Dam; which was by Calchas interpreted to fignify, that the Siege of Troy thould continue nine whole Years. Boars were unlucky Omens, boading an unhappy Event to all the Defigns of Perfons that met them. I fhall mention but one more, viz. the Hare, a moft timorous Animal; and therefore appearing in time * Plinius Nat. Hift. lib. ix. cap. xlix. Lib. ii. Bell. Civil. of of War, it fignified Vanquishment and Running away. When Xerxes had prepared a vaft Army to invade Greece, it happen'd that a Mare brought forth a Hare; which Prodigy was a Prefage of Xerxes's base and cowardly Flight, after his Fleet was deftroy'd by Themiftocles. I come in the laft place to Omens from the Heavens. I do not mean those by which Philofophers and Aftrologers made their Predictions, but fuch as were usually observed by the common People: fuch were Comets, which were always thought to portend fomething dreadful. Such alfo were Eclipfes of the Sun or Moon, with which feveral Armies have been fo terrified, that they durft not engage their Enemies, tho' upon never fo great Advantages. Plutarch in his Treatife of Superftition reports, that Nicias the Athenian General, being furrounded on every fide by his Enemies, was ftruck into fuch a Confternation by an Eclipfe of the Moon, that he' commanded his Soldiers to lay down their Arms, and fo, together with a numerous Army, tamely yielded up himself to the Slaughter. For the true Cause of them being unknown, they were imputed to the immediate Operation of the Gods, that were thought thereby to give notice of fome fignal and imminent Calamity; and fo ftrongly were the Vulgar poffefs'd with this Opinion, that Anaxagoras brought himself into no fmall Danger, by pretending to affign the natural Reason for them. Lightnings alfo were obferved; and, if they appeared on the Right Hand, accounted good Omens; but if on the Left, unlucky, as Euftathius hath obferv'd in his Comment upon the second Iliad; where Neftor tells the Grecians, earnestly defiring to return into their own Country, that Jupiter had made a Promise that they should take Troy, and confirm'd it by Lightning i Ασράπτων ἐπὶ δέξι ̓ ἐναίσιμα σήματα φαίνων. By ominous Lightning gave the lucky Sign. Other Meteors alfo were obferved by the Soothfayers, as the Ignis Lambens, which was an excellent Omen, prefaging future Felicity; as appears from Servius Tullius, whofe Promotion to the Kingdom of Rome was foretold by it. The Argonauts, in their Expedition to Colchos, were overtaken by a dangerous Tempeft near the Sigean Promontory; whereupon Orpheus made Supplication to the Gods for their Deliverance; a little after there appear'd two lambent Flames about the Heads of Caftor and Pollux, and upon this enfued a gentle Gale, the Storm ceafing, and the Sea becoming calm and ftill: This fudden Alteration begot in the Company a Belief, that the two Brethren had fome Divine Power and Efficacy, by which they were able to still the Raging of the Sea; infomuch that it became a Custom for Mariners, whenever they were in any dangerous Storms, to invoke their Affiftance. If the two Flames (which from this Story are call'd by the Names of the two Heroes) appear'd together, they were ever after efteem'd an excellent Omen, foreboding good Weather; and therefore Theocritus, in his Hymn upon the Diofcuri, praifeth them for delivering poor Seamen ready to be swallow'd up by the Deep: Αλλ' Αλλ' ἔμπης ὑμεῖς τε καὶ ἐκ βυθῆ ἕλκετε νέας And when the gaping Deep would fain devour E. D. Horace fpeaketh to the fame Purpofe, calling thefe two Meteors Stella or Stars, Dicam & Alciden, puerofque Ledæ ; Stella refulfit, Defluit faxis agitatus humor, Alcides next my Mufe muft write, And Leda's Sons; one fam'd for Horse, Of haughty Brav'ry, and of noble Force : The Winds are hufht, they rage no more, And Waves roll foftly by the quiet Shore. Mr Creech. If one Flame appear'd fingle, it was call'd Helena, and was a very dangerous Omen, portending nothing but Storms and Shipwracks; efpecially if it follow'd' Caftor and Pollux by the Heels, and as it were drove them away. Tho' Euripides in his Oreftes makes them all profperous and defirable Signs, where fpeaking of Helena, he faith, Ζωὶς γδ ἦσαν ζῆν νιν άφθιτον χρεών, Κάτορι το Πολυδεύκει τ ̓ ἐν αἰθέρος πτυχαῖς Σύνθακος ἔσαι ναυτίλοις σωτήριος. b Carm. lib. i. For For being fprung from Jove, fhe needs must be E. D. Earthquakes were unfortunate Omens. Hence Seneca, among other direful Prefages, mentions an Earthquake: Lucus tremifcit, tota fuccuffo folo Nutavit aula, dubia quò pondus daret, Earthquakes were commonly thought to be caus'd by Neptune, who is hence term'd ΕννοσίκαιΘ and ἐνοσίχθων by the Poets; and therefore it was ufual to fing Paans, and to offer Sacrifices on fuch Occafions, to avert his Anger. This we find to have been done by the Lacedæmonians in Xenophon. A Gulf being open at Rome, Curtius leap'd into it to appease the angry Gods. And the fame Occafion happening at Celana, a City of Phrygia, King Midas caft many things of great Value, and at length his own Son into the Gulph, by the Command of an Oracle". The Winds alfo were thought to contain in them something prophetical, and were taken notice of in Soothsaying; as appears from Statius, when he faith, Ventis, aut alite vifa, Bellorum proferre diem. And, as the Birds or boding Winds prefage, Many others might be added, but I fhall only mention one more, viz. the Thunder, the nobleft and moft obferved of all the heavenly Omens. It was good, or bad, like other Signs, according to its different Pofition; for on the Right Hand it was lucky, on the Left unfortunate. Thunder in a clear and ferene Sky was a happy Sign, and given by Jupiter, in Homer &, as a Confirmation that he granted the Petitions made to him. The Poet's Words are thefe, where he speaks of Ulyes, who had pray'd to the Gods for fome Sign to encourage him in his Enterprize against Penelope's Courtiers; It was an unfortunate Omen to have any thing Thunder-ftruck. The Shepherd in Virgil relates, that all his Misfortunes were thus foretold : Sæpe malum hoc nobis, fi mens non læva fuiffet, There is a parallel Paffage in Ovid's Letter to Livia: Jupiter ante dedit fati mala figna futuri, Flammifera petiit cum tria templa manu. To avert unlucky Omens given by Thunder it was used to make a Libation of Wine, pouring it forth in Cups. And they stood in fo much Fear of Lightning, that they adored it, as Pliny obferves. They endeavour'd to avert its malignant Influences, by hiffing and whistling at it; which they call'd wore, as appears from Ariftophanes *, when he faith, xav dvasçala, if I caft forth Lightning, wonπusso, they'll bifs; where the Scholiaft obferves, that it was ufual Taïs a'sganaïs wonTv, to hiss at the Lightning. In Places which had fuffer'd by Thunder Altars were erected, and Oblations made to avert the Anger of the Gods; and after that no Man adventur'd to touch or approach them. Hence Artemidorus obferves, that by the Thunder obfcure Places were made estona, remarkable, by reafon of the Altars and Sacrifices which were there prefented to the Gods; and that on the contrary, Places which had been frequented became enua Cara, defert and folitary; ἐδεὶς γδ ἐν αὐτοῖς διατρίβειν ἔτι θέλει becaufe no Man would, after that Accident, ftay there. At Rome, Places affected by Thunder were inclos'd by a publick Officer, and the Fragments of the Thunder-bolt, if any fuch could be found, were carefully bury'd, left any Perfon fhould be polluted by touching them. And it was farther cuftomary to atone for any thing which was Thunder-ftruck, by facrificing a Sheep, which being call'd Bidens, the Thing affected by Thunder came to be term'd Bidental, as the old Scholiaft obferves from the following Paffage of Perfius : m F Lots there were four Sorts, viz. Political, Military, Luforious, and Divinatory: the three firft do not at all concern my present Purpose, however treated of by fome in this Place. Of the Prophetical there were diverfe Sorts, two of which were most in use, viz. Σnxμαντεία, and Κληρομαντεία. Eclog. i. ver. 16. Satir. ii. ver, 26. Lib. xxviii. cap. ii. k Velpes. 1 Oneirocrit. lib. ii. Στιχόμαν |