ing to the wine," they mixed it with this liquor, they would not live so long;" for in this he allowed that they excelled the Ethiopians. crystal, and in this manner:-After all the moisture is exhausted from the body, by the Egyptian or some other process, they cover it totally with a kind of plaster, which they de corate with various colours, and make it convey as near a resemblance as may be, of the person of the deceased. They then inclose it in a hollow pillar of crystal, which is dug up in great abundance, and of a kind that is easily worked. The deceased is very conspicuous through the crystal, has no disagreeable smell, nor any thing else that is offensive. This coffin the nearest relations keep for a twelvemonth in their houses, offering before it different kinds of victims, and the first fruits of their lands; these are afterwards removed and set XXIII. The Ichthyophagi in their turn questioned the prince concerning the duration of life in Ethiopia, and the kind of food there in use:-They were told, that the majority of the people lived to the age of3 one hundred and twenty years, but that some exceeded even that period; that their meat was baked flesh, their drink milk. When the spies expressed aston-ishment at the length of life in Ethiopia, they were conducted to a certain fountain, in which having bathed, they became shining as if anointed with oil, and diffused from their bodies the perfume of violets. But they asserted that the water of this fountain was of so in-up round the city. substantial a nature, that neither wood, nor any thing still lighter than wood, would float upon its surface, but every thing instantly sunk to the bottom. If their representation of this water was true, the constant use of it may probably explain the extreme length of life which the Ethiopians attain. From the fountain they were conducted to the public prison, where all that were confined were secured by chains of gold; for among these Ethiopians brass is the rarest of all the metals. After visiting the prison they saw also what is called the table of the sun. XXIV. Finally they were shown their coffins, which are said to be constructed of 3 Lived to the age of, &c.]—“ We travelled all the night, as far as Bacras, a large borough, the lord of which was a venerable old man, of a hundred and thirty years old, and who appeared to us as strong and vigorous, as if he had not been above forty.-Poncet's Voyage to Ethiopia. 4 Coffins.]-Coffins, though anciently used in the East, and considered as marks of distinction, are not now there applied to the dead either by Turks or Christians. "With us," says Mr Harmer, in his Observations on Passages of Scripture, "the poorest people have their coffins : if the relations cannot afford them, the parish is at the expense. In the East, on the contrary, they are not now at all made use of. Turks and Christians, Thevenot assures us, agree in this. The ancient Jews probably buried their dead in the same manner: neither was the body of our Lord, it should seem, put into a coffin, nor that of Elisha, whose bones were touched by the corpse that was let down a little after into his sepulchre, 2 Kings xiii. 21. That they, however, were anciently made use of in Egypt, all agree; and antique coffins, of stone and sycamore wood, are still to be seen in that country, not to mention those said to be made of a kind of pasteboard, formed by folding and glewing cloth together a great number of times, which were curiously plastered, and then painted with hieroglyphics. Its being an ancient Egyptian custom, and its not being used in the neighbouring countries, were doubtless the cause that the sacred historian expressly observes of XXV. The spies, after executing their commission, returned; and Cambyses was so Joseph, that he was not only embalmed, but put into a coffin too, both being managements peculiar in a manner to the Egyptians."—Observations on Passages of Scripture, vol. ii. 154. Mr Harmer's observation in the foregoing note is not strictly true. The use of coffins might very probably be unknown in Syria, from whence Joseph came; but that they were used by all nations contiguous on one sufficiently. I have not been able to ascertain at what side at least to Egypt, the passage before us proves period the use of coffins was introduced in this country, but it appears from the following passage of our cele brated antiquary Mr Strutt, that from very remote times our ancestors were interred in some kind of coffin. "It was customary in the Christian burials of the Anglo Saxons to leave the head and shoulders of the corpse uncovered till the time of burial, that relations, &c. might take a last view of their deceased friend." We have also the following in Durant, "Corpus totum at sudore obvolutum ac locuto conditum veteres in cœnaculis, seu tricliniis exponebant." We learn from a passage in Strabo, that there was a temple at Alexandria, in which the body of Alexander was deposited, in a coffin of gold; it was stolen by Se. leucus Cybiosactes, who left a coffin of glass in its place. This is the only author, except Herodotus, in whom I can remember to have seen mention made of a coffin of glass. The urns of ancient Rome, in which the ashes of the dead were deposited, were indifferently made of gold, silver, brass, alabaster, porphyry, and marble; these were externally ornamented according to the rank of the deceased. A minute description of these, with a multitude of specimens, may be seen in Montfaucon.-T. 5 Pillar of crystal.]—“ Our glass," says M. Larcher, "is not the production of the earth, it must be manufactured with much trouble." According to Ludolf, they find in some parts of Ethiopia large quantities of fossil salt, which is transparent, and which indurates in the air: this is perhaps what they took for glass. We have the testimony of the Scholiast on Aristophanes, that is, though afterwards used for glass, signified anciently crystal: as therefore Herodotus informs us that this substance was digged from the earth, why should we hesitate to translate it crystal ?—T. exasperated at their recital, that he determined siderable number of his men. XXVI. The troops who were despatched against the Ammonians left Thebes with guides, and penetrated, as it should seem, as far as Oasis. This place is distant from Thebes about a seven days' journey over the sands, and is said to be inhabited by Samians, of the Eschryonian tribe. The country is called in Greek, "The happy Island." The army is reported to have proceeded thus far; but what afterwards became of them it is impossible to know, except from the Ammonians, or those whom the Ammonians have instructed on this head. It is certain that they never arrived among the Ammonians, and that they never returned. The Ammonians affirm, that as they were marching forwards from Oasis through the sands, they halted at some place of middle distance, for the purpose of taking repast, which while they were doing, a strong south wind arose, and overwhelmed them beneath a moun From Thebes instantly to proceed against the Ethiopians, he proceeded to Memphis, from whence he perwithout ever providing for the necessary sus-mitted the Greeks to embark.-Such was the tenance of his army, or reflecting that he was termination of the Ethiopian expedition. about to visit the extremities of the earth. The moment that he heard the report of the Ichthyophagi, like one deprived of all the powers of reason, he commenced his march with the whole body of his infantry, leaving no forces behind but such Greeks as had accompanied him to Egypt. On his arrival at Thebes, he selected from his army about fifty thousand men, whom he ordered to make an incursion against the Ammonians, and to burn the place from whence the oracles of Jupiter were delivered; he himself with the remainder of his troops marched against the Ethiopians. Before he had performed a fifth part of his intended expedition, the provisions he had with him were totally consumed. They proceeded to eat the beasts which carried the baggage, till these also failed. If after these incidents Cambyses had permitted his passions to cool, and had led his army back again, notwithstanding his indiscretion, he still might have deserv-tain of sand," so that they were seen no more. ed praise. Instead of this, his infatuation continued, and he proceeded on his march. The soldiers, as long as the earth afforded them any sustenance, were content to feed on vegetables; but as soon as they arrived among the sands and the deserts, some of them were prompted by famine to proceed to the most horrid extremities. They drew lots, and every tenth man was destined to satisfy the hunger of the rest.' When Cambyses received intelligence of this fact, alarmed at the idea of devouring one another, he abandoned his designs upon the Ethiopians, and returning homeward arrived at length at Thebes, after losing a con 1 Satisfy the hunger of the rest.]-The whole of this narrative is transcribed by Seneca, with some little variation, in his treatise de Ira; who at the conclusion adds, though we know not from what authority, that notwithstanding these dreadful sufferings of his troops, the king's table was served with abundance of delicacies. Servabantur interim illi generosa aves et instrumenta epularum camelis vehebantur. Perhaps the most horrid example on record of suffer. ing from famine, is the description given by Josephus of the siege of Jerusalem. Eleven thousand prisoners were starved to death after the capture of the city, during the storm. Whilst the Romans were engaged in pillage, on entering several houses they found whole families dead, and the houses crammed with starved car. cases; but what is still more shocking, it was a notorious fact, that a mother killed, dressed, and eat her own child-T plain that the guides, who detested the Persians, led them 2 Never returned.]-The route of the army makes it astray amidst the deserts; for they should have departed from the lake Mareotis to this temple, or from the environs of Memphis. The Egyptians, intending the destruction of their enemies, led them from Thebes to the great Oasis, three days' journey from Abydus; and having brought them into the vast solitudes of Libya, they no doubt abandoned them in the night, and delivered them over to death.-Savary. 3 Mountain of sand.]-What happens at present in performing this journey, proves the event to be very credible. Travellers, departing from the fertile valley lying under the tropic, march seven days before they come to the first town in Ethiopia. They find their way in the day-time by looking at marks, and at night by ob. serving the stars. The sand-hills they had observed on the preceding journey having of tenbeen carried away by the winds, deceive the guides; and if they wander the least out of the road, the camels, having passed five or six days without drinking, sink under their burden, and die: the men are not long before they submit to the same fate, and sometimes, out of a great number, not a single traveller escapes; at others the burning winds from the south raise vortexes of dust, which suffocate man and beast, and the next caravan sees the ground strewed with bodies totally parched up.-Savary. "We set forward on the second of October, early in ful desert. These deserts are extremely dangerous, the morning, and from that very day we entered a frightbecause the sands, being moving, are raised by the least wind; they darken the air, and falling afterwards in clouds, passengers are often buried in them, or at least lose the route which they ought to keep."-Poncet. So where our wide Numidian wastes extend, -Such, as the Ammonians relate, was the fate | after a long absence it was his custom to do; of this army. and that when this happened, it was customary for all the Egyptians to hold a solemn festival. Cambyses disbelieved what they told him, and condemned them to death, as guilty of falsehood. XXVIII. As soon as they were executed, he sent for the priests, from whom he received the same answer. "If," said he, “any deity has shown himself familiarly in Egypt, I must XXVII. Soon after the return of Cambyses to Memphis, the god Apis appeared, called by the Greeks, Epaphus. Upon this occasion the Egyptians clothed themselves in their richest apparel, and made great rejoicings. Cambyses took notice of this, and imagined it was done on account of his late unfortunate projects. He ordered, therefore, the magistrates of Mem-see and know him." He then commanded phis to attend him; and he asked them why they had done nothing of this kind when he was formerly at Memphis, and had only made rejoicings now that he had returned with the loss of so many of his troops. They told him that their deity had appeared to them, which The helpless traveller, with wild surprise, Addison. "These lines," says Mr Bruce, who quotes them, "are capital, and are a fine copy, which can only appear true by the original having been before our eyes, painted by the great master, the creator and ruler of the world." 4 Epaphus.]-Epaphus was the son of Io, the daughter of Inachus. The Greeks pretend he was the same person as the god Apis; this the Egyptians rejected as fabulous, and asserted that Epaphus was posterior to Apis by many centuries. 5 Their deity.]-It was probable that Apis was not always considered as a deity; perhaps they regarded him as a symbol of Osiris, and it was from this that the Egyptians were induced to pay him veneration. Others assert confidently that he was the same as Osiris; and some have said, that Osiris having been killed by Typhon, Isis inclosed his limbs in a heifer made of wood. Apis was sacred to the moon, as was the bull Mnevis to the sun. Others supposed, that both were sacred to Osiris, who is the same with the sun. When he died, there was an universal mourning in Egypt. They sought for another, and having found him, the mourning ended. The priests conducted him to Nilopolis, where they kept him forty days. They afterwards removed him in a magnificent vessel to Memphis, where he had an apartment ornamented with gold. During the forty days above mentioned the women only were suffered to see him. They stood round him, and lifting up their gar. ments, discovered to him what modesty forbids us to Afterwards the sight of the god was forbidden name. them. Every year they brought him a heifer, which had also certain marks. According to the sacred books, he was only permitted to live a stipulated time; when this came, he was drowned in a sacred fountain.-Larcher. A few other particulars concerning this Apis may not be unacceptable to an English reader. The homage paid him was not confined to Egypt; many illustrious conquerors and princes of foreign nations, Alexander, Titus, and Adrian, bowed themselves before him. Larcher says that he was considered as sacred to the moon; but Porphyry expressly says, that he was sacred to both sun and moon. The following passage is from Plutarch: "The priests affirm that the moon sheds a generative light, with which should a cow wanting the bull be struck, she conceives Apis, who bears the sign of that them to bring Apis before him, which they pre- XXIX. When the priests conducted Apis to his presence, Cambyses was transported with rage. He drew his dagger, and endeavouring to stab him in the belly, wounded him in the thigh; then turning to the priests with an insulting smile, "Wretches," he exclaimed, "think ye that gods are formed of flesh and blood, and thus susceptible of wounds? This, planet." Strabo says, that he was brought out from his apartment to gratify the curiosity of strangers, and might always be seen through a window. Pliny relates with great solemnity that he refused food from the hand of Germanicus, who died soon after; and one ancient historian asserts, that during the seven days when the birth of Apis was celebrated, crocodiles forgot their natural ferocity, and became tame. The bishop of Avranches, M. Huet, endeavoured to prove that Apis was a symbol of the patriarch Joseph. It has been generally allowed, that Osiris was rever. enced in the homage paid to Apis. Osiris introduced agriculture, in which the utility of the bull is obvious; and this appears to be the most rational explanation that can be given of this part of the Egyptian superstition.See Savary, Pococke, &c.-T. 6 The tail.]-The scholiast of Ptolemy says, but I know not on what authority, that the tail of the bull increased or diminished according to the age of the moon. -Larcher. 7 Under the tongue.]-In all the copies of Herodotus, it is επί δε τη γλώσση upon the tongue, but it is plain from Pliny and Eusebius that it ought to be ro under.' The former explains what it was, Nodus sub lingua quem cantharum appellant, "a knot under the tongue, which they call cantharus, or the beetle," viii. 46. The spot on the forehead is also changed by the commentators from quadrangular to triangular. Pliny mentions also a mark like a crescent on the right side, and is silent about the eagle. The beetle was considered as an emblem of the sun.-T. T indeed, is a deity worthy of Egyptians; but you shall find that I am not to be mocked with impunity." He then called the proper officers, and commanded the priests to be scourged: he directed also that whatever Egyptian was found celebrating this festival, should be put to death. The priests were thus punished, and no farther solemnities observed. Apis himself languished and died in the temple, from the wound of his thigh, and was buried by the priests without the knowledge of Cambyses. 2 XXX. The Egyptians affirm, that in consequence of this impiety, Cambyses became immediately insane, who indeed did not before appear to have had the proper use of his reason. The first impulse of his fury was directed against Smerdis his own brother, who had become the object of his jealousy, because he was the only Persian who had been able to bend the bow, which the Ichthyophagi brought from Ethiopia, the breadth of two fingers. He was therefore ordered to return to Persia, where as soon as he came, Cambyses saw this vision: a messenger appeared to arrive from Persia, informing him that Smerdis, seated on the royal throne, touched the heavens with his head. Cambyses was instantly struck with the apprehension that Smerdis would kill him, and seize his dominions; to prevent which he despatched Prexaspes, a Persian, and one of his most faithful adherents, to put him to death. He arrived at Susa, and destroyed Smerdis, some say, by taking him aside whilst engaged in the diversion of the chase: others believe that he drowned him in the Red Sea; this, however, was the commencement of the calamities of Cambyses. XXXI. The next victim of his fury was his sister, who had accompanied him into Egypt. She was also his wife, which thing he thus accomplished: before this prince, no Persian had ever been known to marry his sister; but Cam 1 Buried by the priests.]-This account is contradicted by Plutarch, who tells us, that Apis having been slain by Cambyses, was by his order exposed and devoured by dogs.-T. 2 Immediately insane.]—Amongst the ancients, madness was considered and termed a sacred disease, inflicted on those individuals who had been guilty of impiety. Orestes was stricken with madness for this reason. "Quem Jupiter vult perdere dementat prius." 3 Marry his sister.]—Ingenious and learned men of all ages have amused themselves with drawing a comparison betwixt the laws of Solon and Lycurgus. The following particularity affords ample room for conjecture and discussion: At Athens a man was suffered to marry his sister by the father, but forbidden to marry his sister byses, being passionately fond of one of his, and knowing that there was no precedent to justify his making her his wife, assembled those who were called the royal judges; of them be desired to know whether there was any law which would permit a brother to marry his sister, if he thought proper to do so. The royal judges in Persia are men of the most approved integrity, who hold their places for life, or till they shall be convicted of some crime. Every thing is referred to their decision, they are the interpreters of the laws, and determine all private disputes. In answer to the inquiry of Cambyses, they replied shrewdly, though with truth, that although they could find no law which would permit a brother to marry his sister, they had discovered one which enabled a monarch of Persia to do what he pleased. In this answer, the awe of Cambyses prevented their adopting literally the spirit of the Persian laws; and to secure their persons, they took care to discover what would justify him, who wished to marry his sister. Cambyses, therefore, instantly married the sister whom he loved, and not long afterwards a second. The younger of these, who accompanied him to Egypt, he put to death. XXXII. The manner of her death, like that of Smerdis, is differently related. The Greeks say that Cambyses made the cub of a lioness, and a young whelp engage each other, and that this princess was present at the combat; and when this latter was vanquished, by the mother. At Lacedæmon things were totally remother, and forbidden to marry his sister by the father. versed, a man was allowed to marry his sister by the -See what Bayle says on the circumstance of a man's marrying his sister, article Sarah.-T. festly leading to corruption, and the perversion of justice, 4 Of some crime.]-An appointment like this, maniprevailed in this country with respect to judges, till the reign of George the Third, when a law was passed, the wisdom of which cannot be sufficiently admired, making the judges independent of the king, his ministers, and successors. Yet, however this provision may in appear. ance diminish the strength of the executive power, the riot-act, combined with the assistance of the standing army, which is always kept up in this country, add as much to the influence of the crown, as it may at first sight seem to have lost in prerogative. Such, however, was the opinion of judge Blackstone.-T. 5 Whom he loved.]-Her name, according to the scho liast of Lucian, was Attossa, who next married Smerdis one of the magi, and afterwards Darius, son of Hystas pes.-Larcher. 6 Afterwards a second.]—If Libainas may be credited, the name of this lady was Meroe.-Wesseling. 7 Smerdis.]-It is perhaps not unworthy of remark that the same personage who is here called Smerdis, Eschylus, in his Persæ, called Merdis. H another whelp of the same litter broke what confined it, and flew to assist the other, and that both together were too much for the young lion. Cambyses seeing this, expressed great satisfaction: but the princess burst into tears. Cambyses observed her weep, and inquired the reason; she answered, that seeing one whelp assist another of the same brood, she could not but remember Smerdis, whose death she feared nobody would revenge. For which saying, the Greeks affirm, that Cambyses put her to death. On the contrary, if we may believe the Egyptians, this princess was sitting at table with her husband, and took a lettuce in her hand, dividing it leaf by leaf: "Which, said she, "seems in your eyes most agreeable, this lettuce whole, or divided into leaves?" He replied, "When whole." "You," says she, "resemble this lettuce, as I have divided it, for you have thus torn in sunder the house of Cyrus." Cambyses was so greatly incensed, that he threw her down, and leaped upon her; and being pregnant, she was delivered before her time, and lost her life. XXXIII. To such excesses in his own family was Cambyses impelled, either on account of his impious treatment of Apis, or from some other of those numerous calamities which afflict mankind. From the first hour of his birth, he laboured under what by some is termed the sacred disease. It is, therefore, by no means astonishing that so great a bodily infirmity should at length injure the mind. empire of Egypt and of the ocean. Croesus, who was present, did not assent to this. "Sir," said he to Cambyses, "in my opinion you are not equal to your father; you have not such a son as he left behind him." Which speech of Croesus was highly agreeable to Cambyses. XXXV. Remembering this, he turned with great anger to Prexaspes: "You," said he, "shall presently be witness of the truth or falsehood of what the Persians say. If I hit directly through the heart of your son, who stands yonder, it will be evident that they speak of me maliciously; if I miss my aim, they will say true in affirming that I am mad." No sooner had he spoken, than he bent his bow, and struck the young man. When he fell, the king ordered his body to be opened, and the wound to be examined. He was rejoiced to find that the arrow had penetrated his heart; and turning to the father with a malicious smile, " You observe," said he, "that it is not I that am mad, but the Persians who are foolish. Tell me," he continued, "if you ever saw a man send an arrow surer to its mark?" Prexaspes, seeing he was mad, and fearing for himself, replied, "I do not think, Sir, that even a deity could have aimed so well."-Such was his treatment of Prexaspes. At another time, without the smallest provocation, he commanded twelve Persians of distinction to be interred alive. XXXVI. Whilst he was pursuing these extravagancies, Croesus gave him this advice: "Do not, Sir, yield thus intemperately to the warmth of your age and of your temper. Restrain yourself, and remember that moderation is the part of a wise man, and it becomes every XXXIV. His phrenzy, however, extended to the other Persians. He once made a re. markable speech to Prexaspes, for whom he professed the greatest regard, who received all petitions to the king, and whose son enjoyed the honourable office of royal cup-bearer. "What," says he, upon some occasion, "do the Persians think of me, or in what terms do they speak of me?" "Sir," he replied, “in all other respects they speak of you with honour; but it is the general opinion that you are too much addicted to wine." "What!" returned the prince in anger, " I suppose they say that I drink to excess, and am deprived of reason; their former praise, therefore, could not be sincere." At some preceding period he had ask-tended," replied Tell, ❝ to have shot you to the heart, if ed of those whom he used most familiarly, and of Croesus among the rest, whether they thought he had equalled the greatness of his father Cyrus. In reply they told him, that he was the greater of the two, for that to all which Cyrus had possessed, he had added the 8 Through the heart.]-The story of William Tell, the great deliverer of the Swiss cantons from the yoke of the Germans, may be properly introduced in this place. Grisler governed Switzerland for the Emperor Albert. He ordered William Tell, a Swiss of some importance, for a pretended offence, to place an apple on the head of one of his children, and to hit it, on pain of death, with an arrow. He was dexterous enough to do so, without hurting his child. Grisler, when the affair was over, took notice that Tell had another arrow concealed un der his cloak, and asked him what it was for? “I in I had killed my child." The governor ordered Tell to selves independent, See this historical anecdote referred Which ascertain'd the sacred rites of man.-T. |