Part XIX

'The Chdldaic\ Pbilofophy.
37
a Maimon.
b Idem.
e M:)r. I'ev.
CHAP. I.
Of the Gods and Rites of the Sabacans.
H E * Sabaeans he/d (as th&ChaId the Stars are Gods^ but the Sun the great- eft Godi, for they plainly ajfert^ that the Sun Go¬ verns the fuperiour and inferiour Wor/ds •, h and call him the great Lord^ t he hord of good. What they relate concerning refilling to Wor-
(hip the Sun, is delivered elfevvhere, what they further fable of the Patriarchs, that Adam^ (not being the firft Man, but begotten by a Man and Woman) was a Prophet of the Moon, and, by Preaching, perfwaded Men to Worlhip the Moon, , and compofed Books of Husbandry ^ That Noah was an Husbandman likewife, but believed not in ldols, for which they difcom- mended him in all their Writings^ That Seth alfo dilfented from Adam, as to Worlhipping the Moon j fee delivered more fully by c Mai- ?nonides.
Their Form.s of Worlhipping thefe Gods was twofold, daily, and Monthly ^ the daily, is by Said Vahed delcribed thus : They make the firjl day Sacred to the Sun *, the fecond to the Moon, the third, to Mars-, the fourth to Mercury ; the fifth to Jupiter-, the fixth, /^? Beltha Venus-, the feventh, to Saturn.
The delcription of ttheir Monthly Worlhip receive from a Ms. of Mahumed ben Ifaac,c\X.Q6i by Hottinger -, They begin the year from the Month Nifan, of which they keep holy the firft, fecond, and third days adoring and praying to their Goddefs Beltha : they go to her Temples, Sacrificing Sacrifices, and burning living Crea¬ tures : On the fixth day of the fame Month they kill a Bull to their Goddefs the Moon -, and towards the Evening of the fame Day eat it. On the eighth day they keep a Faft, and like¬ wife, celebrate (at Night) a Feaft in honour of the feven Gods, and of theDsemons; Offering a Lamb to the God of the Blind {Alars : ) On the fifteenth day is the Feftival of Satnmael, (by this flame the Talmudijls underftand the Devil) Celebrated with many Sacrifices, Holocaufts, and Offerings ^ On the twentieth they vifit a Cterobium ok th.Q Haranaans, called Cadi, where they kill three Oxen, one* to Saturn 5 another to Mars, the blind God -, the third to the Moon : they kill likewife nine Lambs, leven to their feven Gods ( the Planets) one to the God of the Geniuffes, and one to the God of the Hours. They likewife burn many Lambs and Cocks. On the 28th day they go into the Temple which they have in the City Saba, at a certain Gate of Char ran, called the Gate Afar ah -, and kill to Hermes their God, a great Bull -, as alfo feven Lambs to their feven Godsj one to the God of the Daemons, and to the God of the Hours, taring and drinking ; but they burnt nothing of any Beaft that day.
The fecond Month which is Jiar, they be¬ gin alfo with Sacrifices, celebrating the Confe- cratioii of Sammael, and Feafting ^ The fecond day they keep in honour of Aben Salem-, drink¬ ing, and filling their hands with Tamarik and other Fruits.
The 23d day of the third Month they keep in honour of Sammael, whom they affirm to be
the God that maketh the Arrows fly-, the. Cum-ar or Prieft,makes an Arrow take fire twelve times* by rubbing another ftick againft it : the laft time he creeps upon the ground, and puts Flax to it-, if their Flax kindle, they conceive their Rites well accepted of the Gods, otherwife not.
The fourth Month Jhammuz, had a peculiar Solemnity about the middle of it, called the Fe¬ ftival Albukal, of the Weeping Women : The O- riginal of which is thus related by R. Alaimoni- des : In the fame Book, faith he, they tell a Story of a certain Idolatrous Pfeudo-Propher^ named Thammuz : who calling upon the King to Worlhip the feven Planets, and the twelve Signs of the iZodiack, and being by the King put to an ignominious death, the fame night in which he was flain,all the Images from all parts of the Earth met in the Palace which was erefted at Babylon to the great Golden Image of the Sun, fufpended betwixt Heaven and Earth .* There this Image of the Sun fell downproftratein ths midft, and (all the reft of the Images Handing roundabout it) bewailed Thammuz, and began to relate what hapned to him -, whereupon the reft of the Images fell a weeping, and lament¬ ed all that Night.* Butaffoonas the Morning appeared they all flew away and returned home to their feveral Temples. Hence came the Cuftom, that on the firft day of the Month Thammuz ( June ) they Weep, Lament, and Bewail Thammuz. This Cuftom of. Wotnen- Weeping Thammuz, is mentioned alfo by
the Prophdt d as imitated by the«Jews
the 2pth day of this Month they confecrate to i;. 14. Sammael, and to other Gods and Demons -, Sa¬ crificing nine Lambs to Uanan.
In the fifth Month, which, as. the Syrians, they call J.^,they prefs new Wine to their Gods, and give it feveral Names ^ this they do the eight firft days. They likewife kill a new born Infant to their Gods, which they beat all to pie¬ ces-, then they take the ftefh and mix it with Rye-meal, Saffron, Ears of Corn, Mace, and lit¬ tle Cakes like Figs -, they bake this in a new O- ven, and give it to the People of theCongrega- tionoi Sammael all the .yQ'dt long-, no Woman eats of this, nor Servant, nor Son of a Bond-wo¬ man, nor Man that is PofTeffed, or Mad.
• The Rites of the fixth Month, nanaed Eloul, are thus defcribed by the lame Author 5 Three days they boil Water to wafh themfelves, that they may perform the Rites of Sammael, who is the Prince of the Daimons, and the greateft God i into this water they caft fome Tamarisk, Wax, Olives, Spice, Tflc. and when it is hot, take it before Sun-rife, and pour it, upon their Bodies, as an Amulet ; The fame day alfo they kill eight Lambs, leven to their Gods, and one to the God Sammael -, they eat alfo in their Con¬ gregations, and drink every Man feven Cups of Wine -, The Prince exaffs of every one of them two Drachms to be paid into his Exchequer.
On the 2 (5th day of the fame Month, the^ go forth to aMountain,celebrating the Rites of the Sun, Saturn and Venus -, .burning eight Hen- Chickens, eight Cocks, and as many Hens ^ He who made a Prayer and Requett to Fortune takes an old Cock, or a Cock-chicken, to the wings of which he ties two firings j and lets their ends on
Jhe Cbaldaicli Philofofby.
art
lax.
CHAP. II.
Other Rites of the Sabxans contrary to the Le- vit 'ical Law.
Maimonides mentions feveral other Rites
of the Sabaans^ which were exprelly
fire and gives up the Chickens to the Goddefs Loaf to the Congregation, in honour of rMar-r ; Fortune ■ If the Chickens are quite confumed by | the Prince exaas of every one of rhem towards the fire, his Prayer is heard , but if -the fire of his Exchequer two Drachms, thole itrings goes out before the Chickens be quite burnt, the Lord of Fortune accepts not his Prayer, nor Offerings, nor Sacrifices. Qn the syth and 28th they have their Myfteries, Sacri¬ fices, Offerings, and Holocaulls xoSamfnaelfytho is the greateft Lord .• ) to the Daemons and Ge- niuffes, which compafs them about, defend them, and befiow good Fortune on rheni.
The feventh Month, which the Syrians and Sabjeans call the frJiTifchri,lmh peculiar Rites, thus delcribed by the lame Author ; About the middle of this Month, they burn Meat to the Dead, in this manner.- Every one buys of every lore of Meat that is in the Market of all kind of Flefh, Fruits, green and dry j they likewife drels it feveral ways *, all which they burn in the night time to the Dead, and wilh it the Thigh-bone of a Carnel ^ they alfo pour mixed Wine upon the Fire for the Dead to drink.
Iij the eighth Month, which is called the la- ter Tifchri, they Faft on the 2 ift day, and fo on, for nine days, the laft of which is the 2pth, this day they do in honour of the Lord of Fortunes,
The ninth Month, called the firfl Canun^ is chiefly Sacred to Venus -, on the fourth day they let up a Tabernacle, which they call the Bed of Beltha ^ adorning it with feveral Leaves, Fruits,
Rofes, Before they offer their Sacrifices of Beafls and Birds, they fay, Let thefe Sacrifices
be Deftined to our Goddefs Beltha ^ this they do for feven days : all which time they burn ma¬ ny Beafts to their Gods and Goddefles. On the 30th day of the fame Month, the Prieft fits in an high Chair, to which he gets up by nine Reps i and, taking in his hand a flick of Tama¬ risk, ffretcheth it out to them all, and flriketh every one of them with it three, or five, or feven times. Afterwards he makes a Difeourfe to them, wherein he declareth to the Congregati¬ on their continuance, multitude, places, and ex¬ cellency above all other A^ationsj he likewife tells them the largenels of their Empire, and the days of their Reign ; After which he comes down from the Chair, and they eat of the things Offered to the Idols, and drink : and the Prince exaOis of every one of them this day fWo Drachms to the Exchequer.
The tenth Month, called the other Canun^ feems particularly devoted to the Moon ^ for on the 24th day thereof is the A'ativity of the Lord, that is, the Moon, at what time they cele¬ brate the Rites of Sammael^ Sacrificing, and Burning fburfeore living creatures, four-footed Beaft s and Fowl -, they alfo eat and drink and burn Badi^ flicks or canes of Palm, llender at the bottom, to their Gods and Goddeffes.
In the eleventh Month, Sijubat^ they Fall fe¬ ven days together, beginning from the pth day, upon which they proclaim aFafl to theSun,who is the great Lord, the Lord of Good ; They eat not in all this timeany thing of Milk ^ nor drink Wine-, noi pray during this Month to any but Sammael., the Genii, and Daemons.
In the Month Adar^ which is the twelfth and laft, they' Faft: alfo to the Moon, efpecially on
R
repugnant to the Levitical Law, adding, that he was acq^aainted with the Reafons and Caufes of many of the Laws ofMoRsfy means of knowing the Laith^ Rites., and Worjhip of the Sabteans.
The Examples alledged by him and others are thefe.
They Offered Levened Bread onlyyind.^ for their Offerings^ made choice of fweet things only., and anointed their Sacrifices with prohibited,
Levit. 2. II.
They ufed on a certain day to feed on Swines Llefh ; prohibited, Levit. 1 1. 7.
They held it unlawful to kill and feed on Tome Beafts permitted to the Jews ^ as the Ox, which Alaimonides faith, they much honoured for the great Profit he brings by Agriculture., and therefore held it unlawful to kill him.^ as alfo the Sheep‘s neither of which they killed.
Some of the Sabarans worjhipped Devils., belie¬ ving they had the Shapes of Goats., and therefore called them Scirimj On the contrary, the Leviti¬ cal Law prohibits to Offer Sacrifices le Seirim, untoGoats., that is to fay. Devils, appearing in the Forms of Goats, Levit. 17.7.
Though they did abonnmte Bhod., as a thing exceeding det eft able., yet they did eat it., believing it to be the food of the Damons., and that he that did eat of it fhould become a Brother., or Intimate Acquaintance of the Damons., injomuch that they would come to him and tell him future Events j prohibited, Levit. 17. 10, 25. ^
7 hey worjhipped the Sun at his Rdfing., for which Reajon, as our Rabbins exrefly teacn in Ge- mara, iAi)x Maimonides., Abraham our father de- flgnedtheWefl for the place of /h(?Sanbfum San- dtorum, when he Worjhipped in the Mountain Moria. Of this Idolatry they Interpret what the Prophet b Ezekiel faith, of the Alen with b chap. 8. 16^ their Backs toward the Temple of the Lord., and their faces towards the Eafl, Worfhipping the Sun towards the Eaft.
Mahummed Ben-lfaac relates, that they Jhavei themf elves with Razors, and branded the mf elves with fire-, there were alfo MarriedWomen among them who fhaved themf elves in the fame manner-, forbidden, Levit* 21. 5.
c They had a Cuftom of pajfing their Chil-c Maimon. dren, as foon as they were born, through the fire, Mor. Mev. 3. which they Worjhipped, affirming, that fuch Chil¬ dren as were not fo pajj'ed would die. This was alfo exprelly forbidden by the Levitical Law.
Another moft obfeene Cuftom they had of Engrafting, deferibed by d Maimonides, toiiJfbr. Nev. which he conceives the Levitical Prohibition to ?• 37* allude.
Others there are of the fame kind cited by the fame ^ Author, who concludes, that dy Mor. itfev.
the 28 th day ^ The Prefidentdiflributes a Barley \ ingthofe particular Lawsjthe reafons whereof are 44*
concealed