Part XV. The Cbddaic\ Tbilofo^hy.

But (notwithftanding the Oracle)that this Wor- fhip, though of the True God, was Idolatrous, is beyond doubt : fo as to them might be appli- n Rom. 1.20. ed 'What St. Paul faith of the Pomam^ a when they knew God they Glorify' d him not as God^ but i Verfe 23. b changed the Glory of the uncorruptible God in¬ to an Image madellike to corruptible Man.
The Name and Image whereby they repre- fented the fupream God was that of Bell, as ap¬ pears by the prohibition given by God himfelf,
. e Hof. 2. 1(5. not to call him fo any more : c Thou , [halt call me no longer Baali BeU vt'wPi tPi^Cbalddtans \% the lame as Baal with the Phcenicians, both de¬ rived from the Hebrew Lord-, xYiisBell of the 'Babylonians is mentioned by the Prophets Efay and Jeremy : They who firft tranflated the Ealtern Learning into Greek, for the mofl: part interpret this Bell by the word Jupiter. So lierodottrs, 'Diodorus, Hefychius, and others .• Be- rofus (faith Eufebius) was PrieJiof'Bdhis, whom they interpret (Ma) Jupiter-, the reafon of which feems to be, for that Bell was the chief God . with the Chaldaans, as Jupiter with the Greci¬
ans, who by that name meant the True God, as the Chaldxans by the other j for to him St. Paul applies that Hemiftick of Aratus jS ^
(for we are aljo his offfpr'mgl)yN\lvM hath '^5x17.28. reference to* the firft Verfe, ^
And upon thefe words of St. Pete?’-, Worfhip ye God, but not as the Grecians- Clemens A 1 ex an dr i- Stm> jjus obferves, that he faith not, IVorJInp not the God whom the Grecians, but as the Grecians : he changed the manner of the WorJhip,but Preached noi another God.
The Temple of this Jupiter Belus dXBabylon, is exafUy defcribed by Herodotus an Eye-witnefs in whofe time it was yet extant, thus : the gates lab. I, were of Brafs: the Temple it felf fquare -, eve¬
ry fide two furlongs broad. In the midji of the Temple there was a folid Tower (not hollow) of thicknefs and height of a Stadium ; upon which there was Jet another, and another upon that, and • fo on to eight : on the outfde of thefe voere fairs,
by which to go up every one of them-, in the midfl of the fairs werefeatsfor fuch as went up, to ref themfelves : in the highef Tower there was ano¬ ther Temple (or Chappel,) and in it a Bed fump- tuoufyfurniJh‘d,and a Table of Gold-, but neither in this was there any Statue, nor doth any P erf on He here anights except one Woman, a Eoreigner, cf whom the God makes choice above all other, at the Chaldstans who are Priefsof this God aver : for they ( fay tho’ I hardly credit it) that the God himfelf comes into this Temple, and refs in this Bed : There is moreover in this Temple another lower Chappel, in which there is a great Statue of Jupiter all of Gold, fitting-, and be fide it a Table and Bench all of Gold alfo : infomuch that the I ' Chaldseans value it at Soo Talents: Likewife without the Chappel there is an Altar of Gold,and another Altar vety great, upon which areSacrifi-- ced Sheep of full growth, for upon that of Gold, it is not lawjul to Sacrifice any but Sucklings -, On this greater Altar the Chaldxans burn yearly of Erankincenfe to the value of 100000 Talents in -r Sacnfke to their Gods. There was alfo at the fame time in this Temple a Statue 12 Cubits high, of maffie Gold, which I faw not, but take upon the the report of the Chaldeans : this Statue Darius Son of UyMCpcshad a great mind to take, but
durfnot but his Son'Kerx.es afterwards took it, and flew the Prief which forbad him to f ir it : Thus was this Temple Built. and Beautified, hefide infinite Gifts and Prefents. Hitherto Herodotus : e terms the Priefts of Belus Chaldxans -, and ;. Ma 'monides afferts the Chaldcean Idolaters to ae the fame with the Prophets of Baal.
The Fefiival of B^’//is mentioned, 2 King 10. 20. his Oracle by Arrian -, the fame which Stephanus means, faying. The Chaldjtans had an Oracle which was no lefs 'in efeem'with them, than that at Delphi toas w'lththe Grsccians.
CHAP. II.
Worfhip of other Gods, Angels and Daemons.
THe fecond kind of their Religious Wor* fhip, was that of other Gods, Angels and Dsemons ^ Kext the Supream God (faith Eufe¬ bius, delivering their Opinion) there followeih a multitude of other Gods, Angels, and Daemons.
Thefe Gods they diftinguifhed into feveral Or¬ ders, Intelligible S-, Intelligibles and IntelleHualsy, Intelletfuals -, fountains -, Principles -, 'Unzoned Gods-, Zoned Gods-, Angels and Demons. To .v
the Worfhip of thefe belongs what we have al¬ ready delivered concerning their Theurgy.
CHAP. III. V
The Chaldaean Worfhip of the Ccelefial Bodies.
THe third kind of Idolatrous Worfhip ufed by the Chaldeans and Babylonians was of the Celeftial Bodies; into which, Maimonides faith, they fell foon after the Flood: perhaps oc- cafioned by their continual addi£f ion to Contem¬ plation of them ; and grounded upon Obferva- tion of the great Benefits communicated to Mankind by their Influence.
The Levitical Law, in prohibiting this Idola¬ try, fets down the particulars of it, Lefl thou lift up thine eyes unto Heaven, and when thou Dent. 4. ip. feefl the Sun, andthe Moon, andthe Stars, even all the Hof of Heaven, fioould be driven to Wor- wip them and Serve them. And of the Jewifh Idolaters put down by Jofiah (befides thofe that 2 Kings 23. 5; burn Incenfe to Baal, of whom already ) are reck¬ oned thofe that burnt Incenfe to the Sun and to the Moon and the Planets (or Signs, Mazalothy and to all the Hof of Heaven. This doubtlefi they learned of their Neighbours the AJfyr'tans, of whom the Prophet Eek'iel complains that they doted.
C H A P. IV. .
Of the Sun.
THe Sun and Moon are firft named and di¬ ftinguifhed from the reft ; with them per¬ haps this kind of Idolatry began, before it came to be apply ’d to any of the other Stars ; for the moft ancient mention of it, (which is by Job a Neighbour to xh^Chaldeans) we find thefe two only named .* That the Chaldeans efteemed thefe v. 26, the principal is confirmed hy R. Maimonides, who laith,T^^v held the ref op the feven Planets Mar. He. ,
E e e e to
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26' ” . ClMldaicIi Fbilojophy. Part XV
to -he Gods, but the tiooYjum manes the grcatejl.
Mor Ne Butofthefe fadds Maimomdes) they held the
Sun to be the great eji God. W hat he tarther re¬ lates in conf^mation hereof, out of the Books of the concerning and the like,
was delivered formerly. Of the AJJyrian Idols dedicated to the Sun, Macrohius mentions three, Adad, Adonis and Jupiter Hcliopolites.
Adad JigniJieth one-, this (jod they adore as
Saturn. I. cap. powerful Jut they joyn with him a Goddefs
named kx.tii^^.x.QSyiJcribing tothefe tioo an ahfoiute power over all things • by thefe -they mean the Sun and the Earth that hereby they underfiand the Sun, is manifejlfor the Image (j/Adad ts very fair and hath beams bending dowmmrds, to Jhew that the Bower of Heaven confifls in the beams of the Sun,fent down upon the Earth.The Image of Atar- gates hath beams eredtcd, to Jhew that the Earth produceth all things by the power of the beams fent from above : Thus Macrobius but whereas he faith that Adad fignifieth one, either he him- felf is raiftaken,or his Text depraved, for (as Mr. Selden obferves) with the Syrians, and Chaldaans or Afyrians, Chad, from the Hebrew ^ fieth one -, but Adad or Adod which in the Scri¬ pture is Hhadad, is of a different fpelling ^ Eru- ’ fius reads (in Alacrobius ) Hhada, which fignifies
One in Syriack. Of this Idol perhaps is the Pro¬ phet Ifaiah to be under flood, they that fandifie
Cap. 66.V.1J. and purifie themf elves after One in the midft of the Gardens, dedicated to that Idol behind the Temple j SubinteUigendum enim'\'empliim,pone Templum, faith Jofeph Scaliger.
Saturn. 1.21. is derived from Adon, Lord. That A-
donis is the Sun (fkltli Alacrobius) is not doubted, upon view of the Religion of the AfTyrians, with whom Venus Architis (now worjhipped by the Phe- mC\dLns)and Adonis were heldin greatven’eralion:' Bor the Naturalifls Worfhipped the Super iour He- mifphere of the Earth, in part whereof we dwell, by the name of Ycnns, the inferior they called Bro- ferpina. Hereupon among the ATyinns or Bh(£- nicians the Goddefs is introduced mourning, be- caufe the Sun in performing his annualCourJe p.af feth thro" the 1 2 Signs of the inferior Ifem'ifphere-, for of the Signs of the Zodiacli,fx are ejieemed . fupcrior,fix inferior -, and when he is in the infe^
rior, and confequently makes the days fhorter,the Gfiddefs is believA to mourn, as if the Sun were fnatcEd away by death jor a time, and detained by Proferpina/k Goddejs of the inferior part, and of the Antipodes : Again, they conceive that Adonis is reftor'd to Venus when the Sun furmounting the fxStars pj the inferior Order begins to illuminate our Hemifphere, and lengthen the light and days, Saturn. 1.17. Jupiter Heliopolites -, the Afi^rians
(faith the fame Author) under the name of Jupi¬ ter Worjhip the Sun (whom they jiyle A/* «a/oto- tdihu J with extrardinary Ceremonies-. The Image of this God was taken from a Town in /Egypt, Heliopolis at what time Senemus,j5£’r- haps the fame as Senepos, Reign'd over the /Egyp¬ tians ^ it was brought thither by Oppias Ambajfa- dor ^/Delebois King of the AEiymus, and by the /Egyptian Priejis,the chief of whom was Parmetisj, and'having been a long time kept by /Iw AfTyrians, was afterwards removed to Heliopolis (in^- gypt j the reafon of which, and why being carried ,>2 .• , out of ,^gypt it teas brought back into the place
inhere now it is, and where it is Worjhipped with
Rites that are Aflyrian /Egyptian, I forbear to relate, as being nothing pertinent to our purpofe. That this ]Mp\x.Qi is the fame with the Sun, appears as well by their Religious Rites, as by ■ the fafhi on of the Image, for its being of Gold (of whi ch Metal deferibes thofe Telef* mes to have been which the Chaldceans made to the Sun) and without a Beard, is fufficient Argu¬ ment hereof. 1 he right hand is lifted upholding a Whip like a Charioteer, the left holds a Thunder-, bolt and fome Ears of Corn, all which denote the confociate powers of Jupiter and the Sun. AHore- over the Religion of this Temple is excellent for Divination, which is aferibed to the power of A- pollo, who is Jte ■ fame with the Sun : Likewife the Image of the Heliopolitane God is carried on a Bier, as the Image of the Gods are carried at the Solemnity of the Games of the Circenfian Gods Alany Hobles of that Country follow, thei,r Heads Jhaved, they themf elves pure by a long Chaftity -, they are driven by Divine infpiration, not as they will themfelvesjut lahither the God carries them.
This God they confult even abfent, by fending Table-books Sealed up, and he writes back in order to the ^leftions inferted in them : Thus the Em¬ peror Trajan being to go out of that Country into Parthia with his Army, at the requeft of his Eriends zealous in this Religion, who having had great expe /'intents in this kind, perfwaded him to en¬ quire concering the fuccefs of his Expedition,pro- ceeded with Roman prudence, lefl there might be fome deceit of Alan in it, and firfi fent the Table- ' books Sealedup, requiring an anfwer in writing ;
The God commanded Paper to be brought, and or¬ dered that it fhouldbe fent to him blank, to the afionifhment of the Brief s. Trajan received it with admiration, for that he alfo had fent a blank Table-book to the God. Then he took- another Ta¬ ble-book, and wrote in it this ^efion,whether ha¬ ving finijhed this War, he fhould return to Rome 5 This he Sealed up -, The God commanded a Centu- rialVine, one of thofe Gifts that were in the Tem¬ ple, to be brought, and to be cut into two pieces, •
and wrapt up in a Napkin and fent. The event appeared manifeft in the death of Trajan, his Bones being brought back to Rome : lor by the Eragments, the kind of Reliques (his Bones ) by the token of the Vine, the future chance was decla¬ red. Hitherto Macrobius.
To thefe add Bell or Bel//s a name tho’ more peculiar to the Supreme Deity, yet common to many of the Chaldean Gods, and among others to the Sun,- as Servius witneffeth. In Punick Lan¬ guage (faith he) God is namedPaA-, but among f the AfTyrians he is called Boll, and by a certain inASudd. i. myf ical reafon, Saturn and the Sun.
CHAP. V.
The Chaldjcan Worjhip of the Moon.
THe Moon was Worfhipped by thsChaldaans under many names, all which are Feminine; and the greater part anfwerable to thole of the Sun (laft mentioned) which feems to confirm what R. Maimonides delivers of them, that they held the feven Planets to be Gods and GoddeJJes, Pa^.
Male and Ee/nale, Married to one another.
Now the Chaldceans (or rather they who firft Tranflated the Chaldaick Learning into Greek) a- mpng other names applyed to the Sun thole of
Jupiter