That roll'd about, and fmother'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 Wool, (for which reafon Sophocles calls the Bladders μαλλαδέτις κύσεις) put it into the Fire, to obferve in what Place it would break, and which way it would dart the Urine (a). 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 axeg rauma's, or uppermost part in the Flames, and the Gall: megi yas exegi, Enemies being bitter like Gall. Karνquarrela, Divination by the Smoke of Sacrifices, in which they obferved what Windings and Turnings it made, how high it afcended, and whether in a direct, or oblique Line, or in Wreathes; alfo how it fmell'd, whether of the Flesh that was burned, or any thing else. AiCarouarréa, Divination by Frankincenfe, which if it presently catched Fire, and fent forth a grateful Odour, was esteem'd an happy Omen; but if the Fire would not touch it, or any nafty Smell, contrary to the Nature of Frankincenfe, proceeded from it, it boded Ill. Oivouavrea, and TSpouarreia, 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. (b) Virgil hath made mention of them both, in the Story of Dido. Vidit, thuricremis cum dona imponeret aris, Off'ring before the Altar, as she stood, E. D. Κριθομαντεία, and Αλευρομαντεία, Divinations by which Predictions were made from the Flower with which the Victim was befprinkled. Hither alfo may be referr'd Ix0vouav Tsía, Divination by the Entrails of Fishes, for which Tirefias and Polydamas are faid to have been famous: as alfo Nornomía, which made Predictions by Eggs, and feveral others. Who was the firft Inventor of this Divination is uncertain. By fome it is attributed to Prometheus, the great Father of moft Arts. Clemens of Alexandria (c) afcribes it to the Hetrurians: And Tages, one of that Nation, whom they feign'd to have sprung out of a Fur (a) Euripidis Scholiaftes Phænifis. (b) Æneid. IV: 453. (c) Storm. I. pag. 306. row in the Tarquinian Fields, was commonly thought by the Italians to have been the first who communicated this Divination to Mankind (a), as appears from Cicero. The fame is mention'd by Lucan (b) : Et fibris fit nulla fides, fed conditor artis It was certainly very antient, and obtain'd fo great Credit amongst the Grecians, that they would defift from the greateft, 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 Mardo to any nius the Perfian made an Affault upon the Grecians, Paufanias "the Lacedamonian, at that Time General of all the Grecian Forces, "offer'd Sacrifice, and finding it not acceptable to the Gods, com"manded the Lacedamonians, laying down their Shields at their Feet, "to abide quietly and attend his Directions, making no Refiftance 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 Lacedamonians was wounded: At this Time alfo Calicrates, 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 "lamented 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 Caufe was heard, and wonderful was the Forbearance of the "Men; for they repelled not the Enemy that charged them, but ex"pecting their Opportunity from the Gods and their General, fuffer"ed themfelves to be wounded, and flain in their Rank; and fo ob«ftinate they continued in this Refolution, that tho the Priests offer"ed one Victim after another, without any fuccefs, and the Enemy "ftill preffed upon them, they moved not a Foot, till the Sacrifices "proved propitious, and the Soothfayers foretold the Victory." I CHA P. XV. Of Divination by Birds. 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; (c) Pliny reports that Car, from whom Caria receiv'd its Name, was the firft that made Predictions by Birds, and Orpheus by other Animals; (d) Paufanias telleth us, That Parnaffus, after whofe Name the Mountain Parnaffus was call'd, first obferved the Flight of Birds. The fame Clemens of Alexandria (e) re (a) Lib. II. de Divinatione, (b) Lib. I. (c) Lib. VII. c. LV. (d) Phocicis, (e) Strom. I. pag. 306. I ports T ports concerning the Phrygians. This Art was very much improved by Calchas, who, as Homer tells us, was · οιωνοπόλων ὄχ ̓ ἄρας. Of Augurs far the best, 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 Lacedamon, the King and Senate had always an Augur attended upon them, to advife with; (a) and Calius reports, that Kings themselves 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 Verfe of (6) Aristophanes, Οὐδεὶς εἶδε * θησαυρὸν ἢ ἐμὸν, πλίω ἔτις ἀπ ̓ ὄρνις» None, but perhaps fome Bird, knows any thing And the Scholiaft quotes fuch another Saying out of him; Οὐδείς με θεωρεῖ πλίω ὁ παραπλάπρος ὄρνις. None fees me, but the Bird that flieth by. T There is a Proverb alfo much to the fame Purpofe; for when they thought themselves fecure from the Knowledge of all Perfons, they us'd to fay, Οὐδεὶς οἶδε τί ὡμίλητα, αλλά γε εἴτε ὄρνις. None is cofcious to what I have been converfing about, except perchance fome Bird. (c) Ariftophanes hath introduced the Birds themfelves, telling what religious Obfervance was paid them,. Εσυ δ' ὑμῖν Αμμων, Δελφοί, Δωδώνη, ΦοῖβΘ- Απόλλων, For we to you inftead of Hammon are, The Omens given by Birds were by the Greeks called ogvies, ὀρνεοσκοπικά, αἴσιμα, οἰῶνοι, δἰωνισματα, &c. And the Obfervers of them, ορνεοσκόποι, ὀρνιθομάθεις, ορνιθοσκόποι, οἰωνιςαὶ, οιωνοθέται, οιωνοπόλοι, &c. But afterwards, thefe Names were promiscuously us'd for almost all the Species of Artificial Divination; as Arufpicium, and Augurium were among the Latins. The Scholiaft of Ariftophanes hath obferv'd, that olaves ransom To un ogvea they call'd Omens, which are not made by Birds, by the name of oiovi. And او (a) Antiq. Lect. lib. VIII. cap. I. ((b) Avibus. (c) Loc,cicat." the the fame Author affirms, that πᾶν σύμβολον ἐκφευκτικὸν, ἢ προτρεπτικὸν aéta ögvis. Every Omen, which either encourages to, or diffwades from any thing, was term'd ogvis. Plato is of Opinion that divisi was originally a general Name, and written with an o Micron, olovısız, fignifying any thing, i'oibusda Taμλola, by which we make Conjectures of what is to come; but now (faith Ariftides) they write it with Mega, To ŵ ogμvúvovтes, 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 (a) Alexander ab Alexandro informs us. They had alfo oiavisnerov, i. e. a Place, or Seat appointed for that purpofe, called fometimes by the general Names of x, and 9Ix☺. as in Sophocles's (b) Antigone, where Tirefias speaks thus : Εἰς τὸ παλαιὸν θῶκον ὀρνιθοσκόπον For fitting in my wonted hallow'd Place, And the Scholiaft upon that Place telleth us, this Seat was peculiarly named xos, 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 appear'd 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 is firft Influences from that Part of the World. On the contrary, the Western Omens were unlucky, because the Sun declines in that Quarter. J The Grecian Augurs, when they made Obfervations, kept their Fa ces 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 (c) Hector, telling Polydamas, that he regarded not the Birds, Εἶτ ̓ ἐπὶ δέξι ̓ ἴωσι πρὸς ἐῶ τὸ ἠέλιον τε, Whether o'th' right Hand, tow'rds the gilded Eaft, They take their Flight. The Reason of this, as it is deliver'd by Plutarch from Plato and Ariftotle, was, that a'ernews, the Beginning of the Celestial Mo tions was in the Oriental Parts of the World, and that therefore these were accounted Jia T xоous, the right fide of the World; and the (b) Ver. 1115. (c) Iliad. '. v. 239. () Gep. Dier. XV. cap, X. Weft, Weft, where the Motion terminates, destra, the left. Hence the Signs that were prefented to them on the Right Hand, were accounted fortunate; and thofe on the Left, unlucky. On the contrary, the Romans, making Obfervations with their Faces towards the South, had the Eaft upon their Left Hand, and the Weft upon the Right; of which there are innumerable Proofs, which, for Brevity's fake, I Thall pass by; remitting fuch as defire farther Satisfaction to Varro, and other Latin Authors. For this Reafon, whatever was fortunate, the Gracians call'd Seiov, the Romans, Siniftrum, on what Hand fo ever it appeared. And tho' the Roman Poets do sometimes call Things unlucky, Siniftra; yet then they speak Graco more and fo doth (a) Virgil, when he saith, Sæpe finiftra cava pradixit ab ilice cornix. Oft has th' ill-boding Crow from hollow Oaks On the contrary, Statius, tho' the Business in hand concern'd the Signa feras, lavumque tones, Hence it came to pafs, that things awkward and foolish, were called Siniftra or Lava, in which fenfe (b) Virgil has ufed this latter Word, Sepe malum hoc nobis (fi mens non lava fuiffet) De calo tactas memini pradicere quercus : That is, My Misfortunes were often prefaged by the Oaks torn in pieces by Thunder, if I had but had Wit, or Forefight enough to have understood the Divine Prodigies. In (c) Sophocles the Word deset has the fame Signification, Οὔποτε γε φρενόθεν γ' ἐπ' ἀριστερά, Παι ΤελαμώνΘ, ἔσω He means, that if Ajax had been in his right Wits, he would never have committed Actions fo foolish and ridiculous; and the old Scholiaft E upon that Place tells us in exprefs Terms, that the right Hand fignify'd Prudence, and the left, Folly; este (faith he) of manasi to μwed ἐκπλιν, δεξια ἢ τα συνέτα. Birds were fortunate, or unfortunate, either by their own Nature, or by the Place and manner of their Appearance for the fame Birds at different Times have boded different and contrary Events. The unlucky Birds were called ao, pernicious; amobor, hated, or ungrateful; d'exéλ101, troublesome, ab & priv. and sixa cedo, q. non Siniftra; i. e. non finentes, because they would not permit a Man to proceed in his Undertakings; fo Siniftra (if we niay believe Feftus) is rather derived à finendo, than à finiftra manu. For the fame Reafon they were alfo named wλunal, and sipanxaì, because they restrained Men from what they had design'd. Thofe that appear'd out of their (a) Eclog. I. v. 18, (b) Ib. v. i6. Y 2 (c) Ajace, v. 184. wonted |