fum, he proceeded to fell the one who was next in beauty, taking it for granted that each man married the maid he purchased. The more affluent of the Babylonian youths contended with much ardour and emulation to obtain the most beautiful: thofe of the common people who were defirous of marrying, as if they had but little occafion for perfonal accomplishments, were content to receive the more homely maidens, with a portion annexed to them. For the crier, when he had fold the faireft, felected next the moft ugly, or one that was deformed; fhe alfo was pat up to fale, and affigned to whoever would take her with the least money. This money was what the fale of the beautiful maidens produced, who were thus obliged to portion out those who were deformed, or lefs lovely than themselves. No man was permitted to provide a match for his daughter, nor could any one take away the woman whom he purchased, without firft giving fecu rity to make her his wife. To this if he did not affent, his money was returned him. There were no reftrictions with refpect to refidence; those of another village might also become purchafers. This, although the moft wife of all their inftitu tions, has not been preferved to our time. One of their later ordinances was made to punish violence offered to women, and to prevent their being carried away to other parts; for after the city had been taken, and the inhabitants plundered, the lower people were reduced to fuch extremities, that they prostituted their daughters for hire.

They have also another inftitution, the good tendency of which claims applause. Such as are diseased 254 among them they carry into fome public fquare: they have no profeffors of medicine, but the paffengers in general interrogate the fick person concerning his malady; that if any perfon has either been afflicted with a fimilar disease himself, or feen its operation on another, he may communicate the process by which his own recovery was effected, or by which, in any other inftance, he knew the difcafe to be removed. No one may pafs by the afflicted perfon in filence, or without enquiry into the nature of his complaint.

"Previous to their interment, their dead are anointed with honey, and, like the Ægyptians, they are fond of funeral lamentations*. Whenever a man has had communication with his

wife,

"254 Difeafed.]-We may from hence obferve the first rude commencement, of the science of medicine. Syrianus is of opinion, that this fcience originated in Egypt, from those perfons who had been disordered in any part of their bodies writing down the remedies from which they received benefit.-Larcher."

"Funeral lamentations.]—The cuftom of hiring people to lament at funerals is of very great antiquity. Many paffages in

the

wife 255, he fits over a confecrated veffel, containing burning per. fumes; the woman does the fame. In the morning both of them go into the bath; till they have done this they will neither of them touch any domeftic utenfil. This cuftom is also observed in Arabia.

"The Babylonians have one cuftom in the highest degree abominable. Every woman who is a native of the country is obliged once in her life to attend at the temple of Venus, and proftitute herself 256 to a stranger. Such women as are of fuperior rank, do

not

the Old Teftament feem to allude to this.-Jeremiah, xvi. 5. Baruch, vi. 32, "They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feaft when one is dead."

"A fimilar cuftom prevails to this day in Ireland, where, as I have been informed, old women are hired to roar and cry at funerals.

255 Communication with his wife.]-I much approve of the reply of Theano, wife of Pythagoras. A perfon enquired of her, what time was required for a woman to become pure, after having had communication with a man. She is pure immediately," anfwered Theano, "if the man be her husband; but if he be not her husband, no time will make her fo."-Larcher from Diogenes Laertius.

"Ablution after fuch a connection is required by the Mahometan law.-T.

256 Preftitute herfelf.]-This, as an hiftorical fact, is quef, tioned by fome, and by Voltaire in particular; but it is mentioned by Jeremiah, who lived almost two centuries before Herodotus, and by Strabo, who lived long after him. See Baruch, vi. 42.

"The women alfo with cords about them fitting in the ways, burn bran for perfume. But if any of them, drawn by fome that paffeth by, lie with him, fhe reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herfelf, nor her cord broken."

"Upon the above Mr. Bryant remarks, that inftead of women, it should probobly be read virgins; and that this custom was univerfally kept up wherever the Perfian religion prevailed., Strabo is more particular: "Not only," fays he, "the men and maid-fervants proftitute themfelves, but people of the first fashion devote in the fame manner their own daughters. Nor is any body at all fcrupulous about cohabiting with a woman who has been thus abused.

"Upon the custom itfelf no comment can be required; Herodotus calls it, what it must appear to every delicate mind, in the highest degree bafe.

"The proftitution of women, confidered as a religious inftitution, was not only practifed at Babylon, but at Heliopolis: at Aphace, a place betwixt Heliopolis and Biblus; at Sicca Veneria,

not omit even this opportunity of feparating themfelves from their inferiors; thefe go to the temple in fplendid chariots, accompanied by a numerous train of domeftics, and place themfelves near the the entrance. This is the practice with many; whilst the greater part crowned with garlands, feat themselves in the vestibule; and there are always numbers coming and going. The feats have all of them a rope or ftring annexed to them, by which the stranger may determine his choice. A woman having once taken this fituation, is not allowed to return home, till some stranger throws her a piece of money, and leading her to a distance from the temple, enjoys her perfon. It is ufual for the man, when he gives the money, to fay, "May the goddefs Mylitta be aufpicious to thee!" Mylitta being the Affyrian name of Venus. The money given is applied to facred uses, and must not be refufed, however fmall it may be. The woman is not fuffered to make any diftinc tion, but is obliged to accompany whoever offers her money. She afterwards makes fome conciliatory oblation to the goddefs, and returns to her house, never afterwards to be obtained on fimilar, or on any terms. Such as are eminent for their elegance and beauty do not continue long, but those who are of lefs engaging appearance, have fometimes been known to remain from three to four years, unable to accomplish the terms of law. It is to be remarked that the inhabitants of Cyprus have a fimilar obfervance." Vol. 1. p. 267.

That this paffage has the eafe of original compofition no man of tafle will controvert; whilf every fcholar, by turning to the original text of Lib. 1. § 196-200, may fatisfy himfelf that it is a faithful tranfcript of the author's ideas, in a style and manner of writing as fimilar to his as the different idioms of the two languages will eafily admit. The following extract is of the fame character, and fufficiently curious to authorize its infertion here.

"The art of medicine 155 in Egypt is thus exercifed: one phyfician is confined to one difeafe; there are of courfe a great number

who

in Africa, and alfo in the ifle of Cyprus. It was at Aphace that Venus was fuppofed, according to the author of the Etyinologicum Magnum, to have firft received the embraces of Adonis.-T."

Mylitta, or rather, according to Scaliger, Mylitath, which in the Chaldæan tongue, is the fame as Genetrix.-The Mylitta of the Affyrians, the Mithra of the Perfians, and the Alitta of the Arabians, have the fame fignification. See Hefy. chius at the word Μηλητα."

155 Art of medicine.]-It is remarkable, with regard to medicine, that none of the fciences fooner arrived at perfection; for in

who practife this art; fome attend to diforders of the eyes*, others to thofe of the head; fome take care of the teeth, others are converfant with all difeafes of the bowels; whilft many attend to the cure of maladies which are lefs confpicuous.

"With refpect to their funerals and ceremonies of mourning; whenever a man of any importance dies, the females of his family 156, disfiguring their heads and faces with dirt, leave the corpfe in the house, and run publicly about, accompanied by their female relations, with their garments in diforder, their breafts ex

the space of two thoufand years, elapfed fince the time of Hippocrates, there has fcarcely been added a new aphorifm to those of that great man, notwithstanding all the care and application of fo many ingenious men as have fince ftudied that fcience.-Dutens.

"The Egyptians were always famed for their knowledge in medicine, and their phyficians were held in great repute. We find even in latter times, when their country was in a manner ruined, that a king of Perfia, upon a grievous hurt received, applied to the adepts in Egypt for affiftance, in preference to thofe of other coun

tries.

"With respect to the ftate of chirurgery amongst the ancients, a perufal of Homer alone will be fufficient to fatisfy every candid reader, that their knowledge and fkill was far from contemptible. Celfus gives an exact account and defcription of the operation for the ftone, which implies both a knowledge of anatomy, and fome degree of perfection in the art of inftrument-making.

The three qualities, fays Bayle, of a good phyfician, are probity, learning, and good fortune; and whoever perufes the oath which anciently every profeffor of medicine was obliged to take, must both acknowledge its merit as a compofition, and admire the amiable difpofition which it inculcates.-T."

"This, with one other paffage, c. 11, of this book, are the only allufions to that most cruel difeafe, the ophthalmia, with which Egypt is now fo much tormented.”

156 Females of his family.]—" I was awakened before daybreak by the fame troop of women! their difmal cries fuited very well with the lonely hour of the night. This mourning lafts for the fpace of feven days, during which interval the female relations of the deceased make a tour through the town morning and night, beating their breasts, throwing afhes on their heads, and display. ing every artificial token of forrow.”—Irwin.

The affembling together of multitudes to the place where perfons have lately expired, and bewailing them in a noify manner, is a custom ftill retained in the Eaft, and feems to be confidered as an honour done to the deceased.-Harmer. This writer relates a curious circumstance corroborative of the above, from the MS. of Chardin; fee vol. ii. 136."

6

pofed,

pofed, and beating themselves feverely; the men on their parts do the fame, after which the body is carried to the embalmers i57.

"There are certain perfons appointed by law to the exercise of this profeffion. When a dead body is brought to them, they exhibit to the friends of the deceased, different models highly finished in wood. The most perfect of these they say resembles one whom I do not think it religious to name in fuch a matter; the second is of lefs price, and inferior in point of execution; another is ftill more mean; they then enquire after which model the deceased fhall be reprefented; when the price is determined, the relations retire, and the embalmers thus proceed: In the most perfect fpecimens of their art, they draw the brain through the noftrils, partly

157 Embalmers.]-The following remarks on the fubject of embalming are compiled from different authors.

"The Jews embalmed their dead, but instead of emboweling, were contented with an external unction. The prefent way in Egypt, according to Maillet, is to wash the body repeatedly with rofe-water.

"Diodorus Siculus is very minute on this fubject: after defcribing the expence and ceremony of embalming, he adds, that the relations of the deceased, till the body was buried, ufed neither baths, wine, delicate food, nor fine clothes.

"The fame author defcribes three methods of embalming, with the firft of which our author does not appear to have been ac. quainted. The form and appearance of the whole body was fo well preferved, that the deceased might be known by their fea

tures.

"The Romans had the art of embalming as well as the Egyp tians; and if what is related of them be true, this art had arrived to greater perfection in Rome than in Egypt.-See Montfaucon. A modern author remarks, that the numberlefs mummies which fill endure, after fo long a courfe of ages, ought to ascertain to the Egyptians the glory of having carried chemistry to a degree of perfection attained but by few. Some moderns have attempted by certain preparations to preferve dead bodies entire, but to no purpofe.-T.

"Whoever wishes to know more on the fubject of embalming, will do well to confult M. Rouelle's Memoir in the Academy of Sciences, for 1750, p. 150, and Dr. Hadley's Differtation in the Philofophical Tranfactions, vol. liv. p. 3. 14. The first calls the wrapper cotton, the other determines it to be like long lawn, woven after the manner of Ruffia fheeting. A great deal of farther in. formation may also be had from Larcher. The words of Herodo fus are remarkable and precife; oudovos Bugowns, linen of cotton, or cotton linen. Thus Pollux and also Arrian define, what we have now fo common, Indian cotton.”