Receiv'd her Isis to divine abodes, And rank'd her dogs deform'd, with Roman gods? Mr. RowE. The bird before her is the Egyptian ibis. This figure however does not represent the living bird, but rather an idol of it, as one may guess by the pedestal it stands upon, for the Egyptians worshipped it as a god. Quis nescit, Volusi Bithynice, qualia demens Juv. Sat. 15. How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, Venerem precaris? comprecare et Simiam. Mr. TATE. PRUDENTIUS, Pas. Romani. We have Mauritania* on the fifth medal, leading a horse with something like a thread, for where there is a bridle in old coins you see it much more distinctly. In her other hand she holds a switch. We have the design of this medal in the following descriptions that celebrate the Moors and Numidians, inhabitants of Mauritania, for their horsemanship. Hic passim exultant Numidæ, gens inscia freni: On his hot steed, unus'd to curb or reign, * Fig. 5. SIL. IT. lib. 1. An Mauri fremitum raucosque repulsus Exarmatus erit, cum missile torserit, hostis. CLAUD. de Bel. Gildon, Can Moors sustain the press, in close-fought fields, The horse too may stand as an emblem of the warlike genius of the people. Bello armantur equi, bellum hæc armenta minantur. VIRG. Æn. lib. 3. From Africa we will cross over into Spain. There are learned medalists that tell us, the rabbit*, which you see before her feet, may signify either the great multitude of these animals that are found in Spain, or perhaps the several mines that are wrought within the bowels of that country, the Latin word Cuniculus signifying either a rabbit or a mine. But these gentlemen do not consider, that it is not the word but the figure that appears on the medal. Cuniculus may stand for a rabbit or a mine, but the picture of a rabbit is not the picture of a mine. A pun can be no more engraven than it can be translated. When the word is construed into its idea, the double meaning vanishes. The figure therefore before us means a real rabbit, which is there found in vast multitudes. * Fig. 6. Cuniculosa Celtiberiæ fili. CATAL. in Egnatium. The olive branch tells us, it is a country that abounds in olives, as it is for this reason that Člaudian in his description of Spain binds an olive branch about her head. · Glaucis tum prima Minervæ Nexa comam foliis, fulvâque intexta micantem CLAUD. de Laud. Stil. lib. 2: Thus Spain, whose brows the olive wreaths infold, Martial has given us the like figure of one of the greatest rivers in Spain. Batis olivifera crinem redimite coronâ, • Quem Bromius quem Pallas amat. MART. lib. 12. ep. 99. Fair Bætis! olives wreath thy azure locks; And Prudentius of one of its eminent towns. Tu decem sanctos revehes et octo, Cæsar augusta studiosa Christi, Pacis honore. PRUDENT. Hymn. 4. France*, you see, has a sheep by her, not only as a sacrifice, but to show that the riches of the country consisted chiefly in flocks and pasturage. Thus Horace mentioning the commodities of different countries, Quanquam nec Calabræ mella ferunt apes, hough no Calabrian bees do give Fig. 7. HOR. Od. 16. lib. 3. No wines, by rich Campania sent, In my ignoble casks ferment; No flocks in Gallic plains grow fat; Mr. CREECH. She carries on her shoulders the sagulum that Virgil speaks of as the habit of the ancient Gauls. Aurea cæsaries ollis, atque aurea vestis: VIRG. Æn. lib. 8. The gold dissembled well their yellow hair; She is drawn in a posture of sacrificing for the safe arrival of the emperor, as we may learn from the inscription. We find in the several medals that were struck on Adrian's progress through the empire, that, at his arrival, they offered a sacrifice to the gods for the reception of so great a blessing. Horace mentions this custom. Tum meæ (si quid loquar audiendum) Te decem tauri, totidemque vucca; And there, if any patient ear My muse's feeble song will hear, My voice shall sound through Rome: Thee, thee I'll praise, when Cæsar's come. Ten large fair bulls, ten lusty cows, A calf just wean'd HOR. Od. 2. lib. 4. Mr. CREECH. Italy* has a cornu-copia in her hand, to denote her fruitfulness; —magna parens frugum Saturnia tellus. VIRG. Georg. 3. and a crown of towers on her head, to figure out the * Fig. 8, many towns and cities that stand upon her. Lucan has given her the like ornament, where he represents her addressing herself to Julius Cæsar. Ingens visa duci patriæ trepidantis Imago: LUCAN. lib. 1. Amidst the dusky horrors of the night, Then groaning thus the mournful silence broke. Mr. RowE. She holds a sceptre in her other hand, and sits on a globe of the heavens, to show that she is the sovereign of nations, and that all the influences of the sun and stars fall on her dominions. Claudian makes the same compliment to Rome. Ipsa triumphatis quæ possidet æthera regnis. CLAUD. in Prob. et Olyb. Cons. Jupiter arce sua totum dum spectat in orbem, Nil nisi Romanum quod tueatur habet. Ov. de Fast. lib. 1. Jove finds no realm, when he the globe surveys, Orbem jam totum victor Romanus habebat, Quà mare, quà tellus, quà sidus currit utrumque. PETRON. Now Rome, sole empress, reigns from pole to pole, The picture that Claudian makes of Rome, one would think, was copied from the next medal*. ·Innuptæ ritus imitata Minervæ: Nam * Fig. 9. |