Part XVII.

The Chddaiclf\^ Fhilofdfhy,
55
4 Uh. I. i Lib. 15.
Troxm.
d Loc. tit.
require nothing but the Soul of the viblim : Tet - fome (it is /aid) lay part of the fat upon the Fire.!
- - - — - - — I
CHAP. IV. ' ‘ ' i
i
The Gods of the Perfians. j
HErodotus a and b Strabo reckon the Gods of the Ferfians thus, Jupiter ^ the Sun j the Moon I Venus the Fire^ the Earth the Winds'.^ the Water- c haertius not Fo fully, the Fire, the Earthy and not the Water.
By Jupiter, as d Herodotus and Strabo affirm.
t Loc. cit.
f Oeconom.
Forphyr.
the name of Bell, which fufficiently -argues they derived this God from the Chaldaans.
To the Sun (as both e Herodotus and Strabo witneffes) they Sacrificed : Strabo adds, that/&^_y called him Mithra. This was the greateft of their Gods, as Cyrus ("introduced by / Xeno¬ phon) acknowledgeth i fwearing by him : Hefy - chius likewife affirms it was the greateft of their Gods, and that the greateft Oath which the King himfelf took was by Mithra.
They reprefented him with the face of a Li¬ on, in a Ferfian Habit,with a Tiara, holding with both hands a Bull by the Horns, which Teemed to ftrive to get from him 5 fignifying, that the Moon begins to receive her Light from him when (he leaves him.
^ Zoroafter firji among the Ferfians ( ^zi-Eu- bulus affirms, ixiho wrote many Volumes of the Hifiory of Mithra) did Confecrate a natural Cave in the Mountains next Perfia,/» honour c/Mithra, the King andFather of all : fignifying by this Cave the World framed by Mithra •, by the other things difpofed within it, in fit dijiances, the Elements and garters of the World. The Cave of Mithra is mentioned by many others.
In the Mithrean Rites( for fo Lampridius terms h Lib. 6. con- them) Celftis (cited by h Origen) faith, the tvoo~ tra Celf. fold Motion of the Stars, Fixed and Erratick,was
reprefented and the pajjage of the Soul through them : in fign whereof there was fet up a high pair of Stairs, having feven Gates, the firji if Lead, the Jecond of Tin, the third, of Brafs, the fourth of Iron, the fifth of Leather, the fixth of Silver, the feventhof Gold-, the firfi belongs to Saturn, the Lead fignifying the flownefs of that Vianet-, the fecond to Venus, to whom they com¬ pare Tin, for its brightnefs and foftnefs -, the third to Jupiter, as being mofi folid, with Brazen Steps -, the fourth to Mercury, for they hold him to be the flout eft undertaker of aWBufineffes fun¬ ning, and Eloquent, the fifth /i?Mars, in regard of its unequal and various commixture -, the fixth to the Moon, of Silver-, the feventh to the Sun, whofe colour, as alfo that of the Stars refembles Gold. .
He who was initiated into thefe Rites proceed¬ ed, as Suidas relates, through feveral degrees of contumely, i Konnus wpoxt Gregory Nazianzen
I Greior.Naz. ^t^elve k and of pain, as burning, blows, and the like, by which trial he waste give t^i- mony of hit Sanldity,and of his being void of raf- fion.
Of the Rites of the Moon there is nothing fad in particular.
Concerning thofe of ‘ Herodotus Lib. i.
They Sacrifice alfo to Urania, they learnt of the. Afiyrians- and Arabians-,. the(Ajfyrians'call ''
Venus, Militta, the Arabians At{2X,mTerfians Metra. And as Milidtha in Syriack fignitieth ge¬ nerative, prpljficfi Venus genetrix, ib m.ader, or mater, with the Perfians- iignifies, (as Raphelen- gius obferves) a Mother. This perhaps was that Mother of theGods,\iihich Cicc?-o zFB.rms to have been Worfhipped by the Perfians, Afjyrians, ' and all the Kings of Fmo'pQ and Afia, ffinh great Devotion.
The Fire, h JuHus Firmicus faith, they pre- „ ve error, ferred before all the other Elements-, o Agathias prif. Reiig. affirms they learnt to Worftiip it of the Chald^r ansi p Strabo XQhxzs, that in Cappadocia there p Lib. 15. was a great number of Maf, called Pyrethi, and many Temples of the Perfian Gods -, they kill not theViSim with. a Knife, but ftrik^ it down with a Club : Here alfo there are Pyrethia Chappelsl in the midft of which is an Altar, covered with 'great fiore of Afhes -, where the Magi preferve a fire that never goes out -, and coming in every day fing atmofl the J pace of an hour, holding a bundle of Rods before the Fire, ( with which, zs q yi.Sel- q De Dih- Syr, den obferves, they ftirr’dit up whilft they fting,).A"^ 2. r. 7. Their Heads are covered with ’ W oalle'n Tia- rds, which being tied on both fides hide l heir Lips , and Cheeks'. Thus 5/r^^£',an eye-witnefs? Thefe Pyratheia (or zs Suidas terms them Pyr^’/^) were' thofe fempiternal Fires of the Alagi mentioned by r Ammianus Marcellinus. A’either in Term ’' pics only did they ufe thefe RiteSybut in private' ^ Caves, where f reports, they ■' ^ ‘
Worfhipped the LLo with many extraordinary- Ceremonies, as-among- other things ufing to pro¬ nounce thefe Words, "b/lulajia y.v?-ciK^ 0 y-ro-n-Ui ffvvd'M '3rct7£?V dydvy. Jsfox did this Worfhip ex¬ tend to Fire only, but t to all things that refem- ^ bled it, as Dyonifius reports, whereof, u Strabo " inftanceth the Pyropus. Julius Firmicus adds, that they called the Fire Mithra^ by which, a,s alfo by their Worfhipping it in Caves, it is ma- nifeft, that (Tometimes at leaft) they took it for the Sun, their greateft Deity.
Concerning the Worfhip of the Earth and^
Winds nothing particular is delivered ^ That of the was performed in this manner, a- They x strab. nb. go to a Lake, River, or Spring, where they make aTrench,and kill a ViHim-, taking care that none of the. Blood come at the Water -, then laying Myrtle and Laurel on it they burn it with Rods and making fome Prayers, fprinkle'Oyl mixed with Milk and Honey, not in the Fire or Water, but on the Earth.
Other Gods the Perfians had, though not reckoned among th^, whether as lefs. pri ncipal, or of later date -, of thefe are mentioned by the fame Author {Strabo,) and by others,
("Venus) Amandatus Sacaa, Sandes, and Kann^d (Diana.)
Perkg.
Lib.
Hitherto of the DoUrine of the Perfians.-
Fff f
THE
26
ART XV 11.
THE
THIRD BOOK.
Of the Sabaeans.
Arabia the Nobleft Peninfula (if we may fo term it) of A^a, is termi¬ nated by the Perfian, the Indian^ and the Red Sea, except that on one fide it is conterminous to Syria^ ny which vicinity was occafioned fo near a correfpondence be¬ twixt 'thofe Nations, that as the Chaldaean ' Learning overfpreading all Mefopotamiay Syria, and AJJyria, did on one fide extend to their Neighbours the PerJIamfb on the other it reach¬ ed to the Arabians, from which nearnefs^ per¬ haps it was (not only of Situation, but Religion and Opinions, ) that P^iny ufeth their names promifeuoufly, calling a great part of Mejbpo- tamia, Arabia 5 and the Arabians thcmielves Syrians. And the later Eaftern Writers(efpecially the Arabians) under the appellation of Chaf” dim or Chaldanin (Chaldceans, ) comprehended not only the Babylonians but the Nabathaans, Cbaranaans, and Sabaans,zs (among others )Mu- Toamed IJ'acides takes Chajfdanin and Nabathaa to be lynoniraous, and Ahmedus, to his Book con¬ cerning the Religion of the Sabaans, gives this Title, Of the Rites of the Charanean Cbaldteans commonly ^notion by the name of Sab commonly known by the name of Sabdums-, becaufe the Sabeeans being the moft confiderable of thele, they likewife under the appellation of Sa- bdcans included all the reft^ even the Chaldaans of Mefopotamia : ufing the terms of Chaldea and Sabtea no lefs promilcuoufty than Pliny thole of Arabia, Mefopotamia, and Syria : for which R. Maimonides (who doth fo throughout all his Writings) gives this reafon, becaufe the Doftrine of the Chaldeans extend thither, and that the Religion of all thefe Nations was the fame.
Now whereas Arabia is commonly diftingui- flied into the Stony, the Pefart, and the Happy, we here mean not that part which is fty led the Defert, lying on the North of Sabtea, and firft planted by Ifmael, whole Polferity afterwards, having learned the Language of the Sabaans (Arabick) were called Arabians alfo, or more properly, Hagarens, as delcended from Hagar, and Aarab Majiiaarabah,the made Arabians,(th3Lt is, made fuch by cohabitation and converfttion with the true Arabs, ) but thole other true A- tabs the Inhabitants of the Defert and the Hap- ' py, whereof the former came from Nebaiothus, Son of IJtmel, and are by Pliny, Strabo, and Pto-
THE
Eighteenth Part.
The Sabaean Philofoyh erp
CHAP.
Of the Inpitutors of the Sabxan SeB.
C
Oncerning the firft Inlfitutor of Learning and Religion among the there
is not any certain agreement of Au¬ thors, Patricides, an Arabian Writer, attri¬ bute ^ this Invention to to a certain Perfian named Zoroafier, contemporary with Tera Father to Abraham 5 Zerodafi and Zoroafier are the fame; wereby it appears, that means
one of thele two Zoroujiers, whereof one was the firft Author of Sciences among thoChaldaans, the other introduced the lame Sciences among the Per fans ; and tho’ he calls this Zerodafi a. Perfian, yet by the Antiquity .of the Time in which he conceiveshim to have lived, it is pro¬ bable he rather intended the Chaldaan. '
Others (adds Patricides ) are of Opinion that Tachmurat King of Perfia gave beginning to this Religion. The fame perhaps whom Elmacinus (another Arabian Hiftorian, ) calls Tachitrith : Others (faith h§^) conceive that the Religion of the Sabaeans was manifejied by a certain King of the Perfians, whofe name was Tachurirth.
Elmacinus mentions another Perfian, to whom, the fame invention was attributed. In thofe days faith he, came forth Nazarib ^Terfian, who, as is reported, was Author of the Religion of the becans.
Others (continues Patricides) derive the In¬ fancy of the Sabatans From a certain Gratcian na¬ med Juvan or Javan, Son of Berkley, and him' they will have to be of the City of Zaituna, which was bult in Attica. Thus he; where Hottingerlbt Berkley reads, Mercolim, Mercury, confirmed by Elmacint/s upon the laniQSuhiQ^. Others, faith he, afiirm, thgtt the Religion of the Sabatans was brought forth by a man whofe name was Juvarr,- ^Markoli, a Gtzchn, who firft found out the Science of the Stars,
To thele Patricides adds the Opinion of fome other syOno held that the Authors of this Sell were fome of thofe' who were at the building of the Tower of Babel. Thus the Arabians.
Some attribute the Inftitution of the Sab£ans to Cham, Son of Noah, who, being banifhed from
lomy called Nabataans, as the Country it felf his Father^s fight, fled thither, and (to ule thc^ Nabataa, the later from Saba, Son of Chus, the words of luillantit/s ) fetled in that part of the Son of Cham, after whom ftiled Sab^ans ('as the Earth, which is now called Arabia. Tim was the Country Sabiea)zr\ Arabians ol Arabia, the Defert) the native A- \cipalFounder thereof had not received theWor- rabians. The Charan^ans mentioned toatih.&t.'Jhip of GodbyTradition fromhisFather : Thus
with thefe, were the Inhabitants of Cara, a Ci¬ ty of Arabia, mentioned by Pomponius Mela, whole Inhabitants the Carraans, Pliny placeth next thuSab^eans, diftinft from Ham oi^aran in Mefopotamia,
Lallantim,yN\\hvt]xom many agree in attributing the Original of Idolatry to Chant, and to his Son Chus the firft' Planter of Chaldaa, from whofe Son Saba the Sabuans were named, and, upon this ground, fome have laboured to vioveCham