fome legend about gold. The name Chus, fo often rendered Chrufos, and Chrufor, was fometimes changed to Xpurawe, Chrufaor, and occurs in many places, where the Cuthites were known to have fettled.-This repeated mistake of the Grecians, of which our Author points out many inftances, arofe in great measure from the term Chufus and Chrufus being fimilar.-But there was ftill another obvious reafon for this change. Chus was by many of the eaftern nations expreffed Cuth; and his pofterity the Cuthim. This term in the ancient Chaldäic, and other Amonian languages, fignified gold: hence many cities and countries, where the Cuthites fettled were defcribed as golden; though they had no relation to gold, but to Chus.— By a fimilar mistake, Cal-Chus, the hill, or place of Chus, was converted to Chalcus, Xaλxos, brafs. Colchis was properly Col-Chus; and therefore called alfo Cuta, and Cutaia. But what was Colchian being fometimes rendered Chalcion, Xaλxo, gave rife to the fable of brazen bulls; which were only Colchic Tor, or towers.

Mr. Bryant introduces his difcourfe on Canaan, Cnaan, and Xvas, and on the derivative Xuxvos, with the witty strictures of Lucian upon the ftory of Phaethon, and Cycnus, as described by the poets; and he takes notice, that whatever may have been the grounds upon which this fiction is founded, they were certainly unknown to the Greeks; who have mifinterpreted what little came to their hands, and from fuch mifconftruction devifed their fables. Phaethon, according to our ingenious Writer, though reprefented by many of the poets as the offfpring of the Sun, or Apollo, was the Sun. It was a title of Apollo, and was given to him as the god of light.-In refpect to Cycnus and his brotherhood, thofe vocal minifters of Apollo, the ftory, which is told of them, undoubtedly alludes to Canaan the fon of Ham, and to the Canaanites his pofterity. The name of Canaan was by different nations greatly varied, and ill expreffed; and this mifconftruction among the Greeks gave rife to the fable.-Befides this, the Swan was the infigne of Canaan, the hieroglyphic of the country. Thefe were the causes which contributed to the framing many idle legends; fuch as the poets improved upon greatly. Hence it is obfervable, that wherever we may imagine any colonies from Canaan to have settled and to have founded temples, there is fome story about Swans and the Greeks in alluding to their hymns, inftead of vxxvxov arpa, the mufic of Canaan, have introduced XUXVEICU aopa, the finging of these birds: and instead of the death of Thamus lamented by the Cucnaans, or priests, they have made the Swans fing their own dirge, and foretel their own funeral. The whole affair of the traditions and notions

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of the ancients concerning Swans, and their pretended harmony, is explained, by Mr. Bryant, in a masterly and entertaining manner.

Under the head of Temple Science, an account is given of the firft delineation of countries, and origin of maps; which were first described upon pillars. Our Author from hence is enabled to folve the enigma concerning Atlas, who is faid to have fupported the heavens upon his fhoulders. Though the origin of maps may be deduced from Egypt, yet they were not the native Egyptians by whom they were first conftructed. Delineations of this nature were the contrivance of the Cuthites, or fhepherds.-Maps, in after times, were fketched out upon the Nilotic Papyrus; and there is likewife reafon to think, that they were fometimes delineated upon walls. Mr. Bryant imagines, that the fhield of Achilles in Homer was copied from fomething of this fort, which the poet had feen in Egypt; and that the garment of Thetis alluded to an historical picture preferved in fome tower. We are forry that we cannot infert this article at length, as it would have afforded much pleasure to our learned and claffical Readers.

From the Author's remarks upon the words Tar, Tor, and Tarit, we learn that the Greeks, having changed Tor to Taygos, a bull, have invented a number of idle ftories in confequence of this change. From hence he explains the story of Geryon, and the brazen bulls of Colchis.-We however fometimes meet with facred towers, which were really denominated - Tauri, from the worship of the myftic bull, the fame as the Apis, and Maeuis of Egypt. Such was probably the temple of Minotaurus in Crete, where the Deity was reprefented under an emblematical figure; which confifted of the body of a man with the head of a bull-Temples, by the Greeks, have been mistaken for deities, and places for perfons. Torone was a place in Macedonia, and literally fignifies the tower of the Sun. The poets have formed out of it a female perfonage, and fuppofed her to have been the wife of Proteus. Amphi Tirit is merely an oracular tower. This too has been changed to a female, Amphitrite; and made the wife of Neptune. The name of Triton is a contraction of Tirit-On, and fignifies the tower of the Sun, like Torone: but a deity was framed from it, who was fuppofed to have had the appearance of a man upwards, but downwards to have been like a fifh.-Cerberus was the name of a place, as well as Triton, or Torone, though efteemed the Dog of Hell. The term properly fignifies the temple, or place of the Sun. The great Luminary was ftyled by the Amonians both Or and Abor; that is, Light, and the Parent of Light and Cerberus is properly Kir-Abor, the place of that deity. The fame temple had different names from the diverfity

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diverfity of the god's titles, who was there worshipped. It was called Tor-Caph-El; which was changed to Teixepaλcs: and Cerberus was from hence fuppofed to have had three heads.Mr. Bryant cannot help thinking, that Otus and Ephialtes, thofe gigantic youths, fo celebrated by the poets, were two lofty towers.

The differtation on Tit and Tith, which were the names given to towers when they were fituated upon eminences fashioned very round, abounds with illuftrations of the ancient mythology. From these we can only felect a few circumftances. Tithonus was nothing more than a Pharos, facred to the Sun.The Cyclopian turrets upon the Sicilian fhore fronted due Eaft and their lights muft neceffarily have been extinguished by the rays of the rifing fun. This may be imagined to be the meaning of Apollo's flaying the Cyclopes with his arrows. Tethys, the ancient goddess of the fea, was nothing else but an old tower upon a mount. Thetis feems to have been a transposition of the fame name.-The hiftories of Tityus, Prometheus, and many other poetical perfonages, was certainly taken from hieroglyphics misunderstood, and badly explained.—All the poetical accounts of heroes engaging with dragons have arisen from a misconception about the towers and temples, which those perfons either founded, or else took in war: or if they were deities, of whom the story is told, these buildings were erected to their honour.-We often read of virgins, who were exposed to dragons and fea-monfters; and of dragons, which laid wafte whole provinces, till they were at length by fome person of prowess encountered and flain. Thefe hiftories relate to women, who were immured in towers by the fea-fide; and to banditti, who got poffeffion of these places, from whence they infefted the adjacent country.-There is fo much proof of perfonages having been formed out of places, that our learned Writer declares, that he cannot help fufpecting much more of ancient hiftory, than he dares venture to acknowledge. He imagines, that Chiron, fo celebrated for his knowledge, was a mere perfonage formed from a tower, or temple of that name. He entertains the fame opinion with regard to Charon, and Caftor, the fuppofed difciple of Chiron.-Trophonius was likewife a facred tower; being compounded of Tor-Oph-On, Solis Pythonis Turris.-By the fame analogy we may trace the true hiftory of Terambus, the deity of Egypt, who was called the Shepherd Terambus. The name is a compound of Tor-Ambus, or Tor-Ambi, the oracular tower of Ham.

There was another name current among the Amonians, by which they called their λopo, or high places. This was Taph; which at times was rendered Tuph, Toph, and Taphos.The Amonians, when they fettled in Greece, raised many

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Tupha,

Tupha, or Tapha, in different parts. Thefe, befide their original name, were still farther denominated from fome title of the deity, to whofe honour they were erected. But, as it was ufual in ancient times to bury perfons of diftinction under heaps of earth formed in this fafhion, thefe Tapha came to fignify tombs and almost all the facred mounds, built for religious purposes, were looked upon as monuments of deceased heroes. Hence Taph-Ofiris was rendered Tapos, or the burying-place of the god Ofiris: and as there were many fuch places in Egypt and Arabia, facred to Ofiris and Dionufus; they were all by the Greeks efteemed places of fepulture. Through this mistake many different nations had the honour attributed to them of thefe deities being interred in their country.-The Greeks fpeak of numberlefs fepulchral monuments,, which they have thus mifinterpreted. They pretended to fhew the tomb of Dionüfus at Delphi; alfo of Deucalion, Pyrrha, Orion, in other places. They imagined that Jupiter was buried in Crete. This error of the Grecians is ftrongly and vigorously attacked by our Author. He declares, that there never was any thing of fuch detriment to ancient hiftory, as the fuppofing that the gods of the Gentile world had been natives of the countries where they were worshipped. Upon this fubject he has not fcrupled to oppofe Cumberland, Uher, Pearfon, Petavius, Scaliger, with numberlefs other learned men; among the foremoft of whom is the great Newton. Nay, he has not fcrupled to run counter to the opinions of all antiquity. All the Fathers, who treated on the matter, and many persons of learning befides, fuppofed the gods of the Heathen to be deified mortals, who were worshipped in the countries where they died. It was the opinion of Clemens, Eufebius, Cyril, Tertullian, Athenagoras, Epiphanius, Lactantius, Arnobius, Julius Firmicus, and many others. What is more to the purpose, it was the opinion of the Heathen themselves; the very people by whom thefe gods were honoured: yet ftill, fays our courageous Writer, it is a mistake. With fuch a formidable phalanx against him, nothing less than the extraordinary abilities and literature of Mr. Bryant could give us the expectation of his finally obtaining the victory.

The next fubject of inquiry is Ob, Oub, Pytho, five Ophiolatria; which the Author begins with obferving, that it may feem extraordinary, that the worship of the Serpent should ever have been introduced into the world, and especially that it fhould almost univerfally have prevailed. As mankind are faid to have been ruined through the influence of this being, we could little expect that it would, of all other objects, have been adopted as the moft facred and falutary fymbol, and rendered the chief object of adoration: yet fo we find it to have been. Of

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Of this, ample proof is produced in the courfe of the differtation; and it is fhewn, that as the worship of the Serpent was of old fo prevalent, many places, as well as people, from thence received their names. It would be a noble undertaking, fays Mr. Bryant, and very edifying in its confequences, if fome perfon of true learning, and a deep infight into antiquity, would go through with the hiftory of the Serpent.' We can think only of two men to whom we would recommend fuch an hiftory; and thefe are Mr. Bryant himself, and Mr. Farmer of Walthamstow. Were both thefe Gentlemen to undertake the fubject, new and very different obfervations might probably be the refult of their inquiries.

The laft article we fhall mention at prefent, is the Cuclopes or Cyclopes. The Author takes notice, that he may appear prefumptuous in pretending to determine a history fo remote and obfcure; and which was a fecret to Thucydides two thoufand years ago. Yet this is his purpofe. The gigantic Cyclopes, he informs us, were originally Ophitæ, who worshipped the fymbolical Serpent.-But we muft not look for the Cyclopians only in the island of Sicily, to which they have been by the poets confined. Memorials of them are to be found in many parts of Greece, where they were recorded as far fuperior to the natives in fcience and ingenuity.-The Grecians, however, have fo confounded the Cyclopian deity with his votaries, that it is difficult to speak precifely of either.-The Cyclopian deity was Ouranus, and the Cyclopians were his priests and votaries: fome of whom had divine honours paid to them, and were esteemed as gods.-The Cyclopians were particularly eminent for their skill in building. They founded feveral cities in Greece, and conftructed many temples to the gods, which were of old in high repute.-They were an Amonian colony, and every circumftance recorded concerning them witnesses the country from whence they came. They were of the fame family as the Cadmians, and Phænices; and as the Hivites, or Ophites who came from Egypt, and fettled near Libanus and Baal-Hermon, upon the confines of Canaan.-There was a place in Thrace called Cuclops, where fome of Cyclopian race had fettled. Hence Thrace feems at one time to have been the feat of fcience.-The notion of the Cyclopes framing the thunder and lightning for Jupiter, arofe chiefly from the Cyclopians engraving hieroglyphics of this fort upon the temples of the deity. As they were great artists, they probably were famous for works in brafs and iron: and that circumftance in their history may have been founded in truth,

[To be continued.]

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