1give a greater Air of Dignity and Awſulneſs to
a Place than ſome artful Laws made by the
Ancients; ſuch as theſe: That nothing Male
ſhould preſume to ſet Foot in the Temple of
the Bona Dea, nor in that of Diana in the Pa
trician Portico; and at Tanagra, that no Wo
man ſhould enter the ſacred Grove, nor the in
ner Parts of the Temple of Jeruſalem; and
that no Perſon whatſoever, beſides the Prieſt,
and he only in order to purify himſelf for Sa
criſice, ſhould waſh in the Fountain near Pan
thos; and that nobody ſhould preſume to ſpit
in the Place called Doliola near the great Drain
at Rome, where the Bones of Numa Pompilius
were depoſited; and upon ſome Chapels there
have been Inſcriptions, ſtrictly forbidding any
common Proſtitute to enter; in the Temple of
Diana at Crete, none were admitted, except
they were bare-footed; it was unlawful to bring
a Bond-woman into the Temple of the God
deſs Matuta; and all common Cryers were ex
cluded from the Temple of Orodio at Rhodes,
and all Fiddlers from that of Temnius at Te
nedos. So again, it was unlawful to go out of
the Temple of Jupiter Alfiſtius without ſacri
ficing, and to carry any Ivy into the Temple
of Minerva at Athens, or into that of Venus at
Thebes. In the Temple of Fauna, it was not
lawful ſo much as to mention the Name of
Wine. In the ſame Manner it was decreed,
that the Gate Janualis at Rome ſhould never
be ſhut, but in Time of War, nor the Temple
of Janus ever opened in Time of Peace; and
that the Temple of the Goddeſs Hora ſhould
ſtand always open. If we were to imitate any
of theſe Cuſtoms, perhaps it might not be a
miſs to make it criminal for Women to enter
the Temples of Martyrs; or Men, thoſe dedi
cated to Virgin Saints. Moreover there are ſome
Advantages very deſirable, ſaid to be procured
by Art, which when we read of, we could
ſcarcely believe, unleſs we ſaw ſomething like
it in ſome particular Places even at this Day.
We are told that it was brought about by hu
man Art, that in Conſtantinople Serpents will
never hurt any body, and that no Daws will fly
within the Walls; and that no Graſshoppers
are ever heard in Naples, nor any Owls in
Candy. In the Temple of Achilles, in the
Iſland of Boriſthenes no Bird whatſoever will
enter, nor any Dog or Fly of any Sort in the
Temple of Hercules near the Forum Boarium
at Rome. But what ſhall we ſay of this ſur
prizing Particularity, that at Venice, even at
this Day, no Kind of Fly ever enters the pub
lick Palace of the Cenſors? And even in the
Fleſh-market at Toledo, there is never more than
one Fly ſeen throughout the Year, and that a
remarkable one for its Whiteneſs. Theſe
ſtrange Accounts which we find in Authors,
are too numerous to be all inſerted here, and
whether they are owing to Nature or Art, I
ſhall not now pretend to decide. But then,
again, how can we, either by Nature or Art,
account for what they tell us of a Laurel-tree
growing in the Sepulchre of Bibrias King of
Pontus, from which if the leaſt Twig is brok
en, and put aboard a Ship, that Ship ſhall ne
ver be free from Mutinies and Tumults till the
Twig is thrown out of it: Or for its never
raining upon the Altar in Venus's Temple at
Paphos: Or for this, that whatever Part of the
Sacrifice is left at Minerva's Shrine in Phrygia
minor, will never corrupt: Or this, if you
break off any Part of Anteus's Sepulchre, it
immediately begins to rain, and never leaves off
till it is made whole again? Some indeed af
firm, that all theſe Things may be done by an
Art, now loſt, by means of little conſtellated
Images, which Aſtronomers pretend are not
unknown to them. I remember to have read
in the Author of the Life of Apollonius Tyaneus,
that in the chief Apartments of the Royal Palace
at Babylon, ſome Magicians faſtened to the
Cieling four golden Birds, which they called
the Tongues of the Gods, and that theſe were
endued with the Virtue of conciliating the Af
fection of the Multitude towards their King:
And Joſephus, a very grave Author, ſays that
he himſelf ſaw a certain Man named Eleazer,
who in the Prefence of the Emperor Veſpaſian
and his Sons, immediately cured a Man that
was poſſeſſed, by faſtening a Ring to his Noſe;
and the ſame Author writes that Solomon com
poſed certain Verſes, which would give Eaſe
in Diſtempers; and Euſebius Pamphilus ſays,
that the Ægyptian God Serapis, whom we call
Pluto, invented certain Charms which would
drive away evil Spirits, and taught the Methods
by which Dæmons aſſumed the Shapes of brute
Beaſts to do miſchief. Servius too ſays, that
there were Men who uſed to carry Charms
about them, by which they were ſecured a
gainſt all unhappy Turns of Fortune; and that
thoſe Charms were ſo powerful, that the Per
ſons who wore them could never die till they
were taken from them. If theſe Things could
be true, I ſhould eaſily believe what we read
in Plutarch, that among the Pelenei there was
an Image, which if it were brought out of the
a Place than ſome artful Laws made by the
Ancients; ſuch as theſe: That nothing Male
ſhould preſume to ſet Foot in the Temple of
the Bona Dea, nor in that of Diana in the Pa
trician Portico; and at Tanagra, that no Wo
man ſhould enter the ſacred Grove, nor the in
ner Parts of the Temple of Jeruſalem; and
that no Perſon whatſoever, beſides the Prieſt,
and he only in order to purify himſelf for Sa
criſice, ſhould waſh in the Fountain near Pan
thos; and that nobody ſhould preſume to ſpit
in the Place called Doliola near the great Drain
at Rome, where the Bones of Numa Pompilius
were depoſited; and upon ſome Chapels there
have been Inſcriptions, ſtrictly forbidding any
common Proſtitute to enter; in the Temple of
Diana at Crete, none were admitted, except
they were bare-footed; it was unlawful to bring
a Bond-woman into the Temple of the God
deſs Matuta; and all common Cryers were ex
cluded from the Temple of Orodio at Rhodes,
and all Fiddlers from that of Temnius at Te
nedos. So again, it was unlawful to go out of
the Temple of Jupiter Alfiſtius without ſacri
ficing, and to carry any Ivy into the Temple
of Minerva at Athens, or into that of Venus at
Thebes. In the Temple of Fauna, it was not
lawful ſo much as to mention the Name of
Wine. In the ſame Manner it was decreed,
that the Gate Janualis at Rome ſhould never
be ſhut, but in Time of War, nor the Temple
of Janus ever opened in Time of Peace; and
that the Temple of the Goddeſs Hora ſhould
ſtand always open. If we were to imitate any
of theſe Cuſtoms, perhaps it might not be a
miſs to make it criminal for Women to enter
the Temples of Martyrs; or Men, thoſe dedi
cated to Virgin Saints. Moreover there are ſome
Advantages very deſirable, ſaid to be procured
by Art, which when we read of, we could
ſcarcely believe, unleſs we ſaw ſomething like
it in ſome particular Places even at this Day.
We are told that it was brought about by hu
man Art, that in Conſtantinople Serpents will
never hurt any body, and that no Daws will fly
within the Walls; and that no Graſshoppers
are ever heard in Naples, nor any Owls in
Candy. In the Temple of Achilles, in the
Iſland of Boriſthenes no Bird whatſoever will
enter, nor any Dog or Fly of any Sort in the
Temple of Hercules near the Forum Boarium
at Rome. But what ſhall we ſay of this ſur
prizing Particularity, that at Venice, even at
this Day, no Kind of Fly ever enters the pub
lick Palace of the Cenſors? And even in the
Fleſh-market at Toledo, there is never more than
one Fly ſeen throughout the Year, and that a
remarkable one for its Whiteneſs. Theſe
ſtrange Accounts which we find in Authors,
are too numerous to be all inſerted here, and
whether they are owing to Nature or Art, I
ſhall not now pretend to decide. But then,
again, how can we, either by Nature or Art,
account for what they tell us of a Laurel-tree
growing in the Sepulchre of Bibrias King of
Pontus, from which if the leaſt Twig is brok
en, and put aboard a Ship, that Ship ſhall ne
ver be free from Mutinies and Tumults till the
Twig is thrown out of it: Or for its never
raining upon the Altar in Venus's Temple at
Paphos: Or for this, that whatever Part of the
Sacrifice is left at Minerva's Shrine in Phrygia
minor, will never corrupt: Or this, if you
break off any Part of Anteus's Sepulchre, it
immediately begins to rain, and never leaves off
till it is made whole again? Some indeed af
firm, that all theſe Things may be done by an
Art, now loſt, by means of little conſtellated
Images, which Aſtronomers pretend are not
unknown to them. I remember to have read
in the Author of the Life of Apollonius Tyaneus,
that in the chief Apartments of the Royal Palace
at Babylon, ſome Magicians faſtened to the
Cieling four golden Birds, which they called
the Tongues of the Gods, and that theſe were
endued with the Virtue of conciliating the Af
fection of the Multitude towards their King:
And Joſephus, a very grave Author, ſays that
he himſelf ſaw a certain Man named Eleazer,
who in the Prefence of the Emperor Veſpaſian
and his Sons, immediately cured a Man that
was poſſeſſed, by faſtening a Ring to his Noſe;
and the ſame Author writes that Solomon com
poſed certain Verſes, which would give Eaſe
in Diſtempers; and Euſebius Pamphilus ſays,
that the Ægyptian God Serapis, whom we call
Pluto, invented certain Charms which would
drive away evil Spirits, and taught the Methods
by which Dæmons aſſumed the Shapes of brute
Beaſts to do miſchief. Servius too ſays, that
there were Men who uſed to carry Charms
about them, by which they were ſecured a
gainſt all unhappy Turns of Fortune; and that
thoſe Charms were ſo powerful, that the Per
ſons who wore them could never die till they
were taken from them. If theſe Things could
be true, I ſhould eaſily believe what we read
in Plutarch, that among the Pelenei there was
an Image, which if it were brought out of the
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