<1>

The kings of the Egyptians were priests. Plutarch, de Iside et Osjr., p. 353B.[Editorial Note 1]

Isis was one of the Muses. Plutarch, ibid., p. 352A. Many say that Isis was a daughter of Mercury, many of Prometheus, ibid.

Kings were chosen either from the priests or from the warriors. — Any of the warriors who was made king immediately attached himself to the priests and became a participant in their philosophy, ibid., p. 354B.

The temple of Minerva (whom they also call Isis) is in the city of Sais. ibid., p. 354C.

Pythagoras was held in great admiration by the Egyptian priests, and he himself admired them; he imitated their mode of expounding things by means of symbols and riddling remarks, and he wrapped up his doctrines in enigmas, ibid., p. 354E.

Some call Venus Nephthys, wife of Typho. ibid., p. 355F.

Homer who, like Thales, was taught by the Egyptians, made water the first principle and origin of all things. ibid. p. 364.[Editorial Note 2]

Among the Egyptians Bacchus is said to be son of Isis and does not have the name Osiris but Arsaphes, which signifies strong and brave. ibid., p. 365E.

Anticleides makes Isis daughter of Prometheus and wife of Liber, ibid., p. 365F.

Orus was brought up by Latona in the marshes near Buto. ibid., p. 366A.

Isis is sometimes called Muth, i.e. Mother, ibid., p. 374B, hence great mother[Editorial Note 3].

The Egyptians often denote Isis by the name Minerva, ibid., p. 376A.

[Editorial Note 4]

Some say that Osiris divided his army into certain troops & companies & gave to each an ensign formed with the shape of some animal, & the several Egyptian nations worshipped the animal which fell to their share. Others that their later kings to terrify their enimies, put on the head & chief members of Beast formed in gold & silver. Some tell that a crafty king when he observed the Egyptians light & prone to innovations, & by reason <2> of their multitude to be insuperable should they act with prudence & by common council: he contrived an occasion of their perpetual discord by dispersing several superstitions among their several nations. For while he enjoyned them severally the worship of several animals which were at enmity with one another & some of which preyed upon others the nations being affected with the hostility of their animals were secretly inclined to hostility with one another. So amongst all the Egyptians the Lycopolitæ eat sheep because the wolf whom they worship as a God does so. And in our times when the Cynopolitæ eat the fish Oxyrynchus, the Oxyrinchitæ caught dogs & sacrificed them & eat them as sacrifices, & thereupon these two Nomi making war on one another, did each other much mischief till the Romans by way of punishment fell upon them both. Thus he. p. 380 A. B.

[Editorial Note 5] <3>

Alcohol = Stybium or Antimony[Editorial Note 6]. Alembrot = the salt of the philosophers, the key of art. Almizadir = verdigris. Almizador = sal ammoniac. Anatron = gall of glass. Andena a kind of Steel in oriental regions which is cast like Copper and silver. Artanek = Artaneck = Arsenic of which there are three kinds, white, yellow or orange, and citrine. Artincar = Borax. Barnabus or Barnaas = Saltpetre, urine of saltpetre, a very acid vinegar. Fel vitri = froth of glass. Kadmia = the unripe mineral of any metal, which still consists of its first matter. Likewise copper stone, Cathimia, Calamine stone. Marcasite = pyrites. Martach = Litharge.

<4>

They tell the legend[Editorial Note 7] that the gods were born in Egypt, and the earliest observation[Editorial Note 8] of the stars is attributed to them . Diodor Sic. bk. 1, p. 9d.[Editorial Note 9]

Some of the old Greek mythologists call Osiris Dionysus καὶ σείριον παρωνύμως, and, with a slight change, Sirius. ibid., p. 11a.[Editorial Note 10]

And the earth [i.e. the element] as being a kind of receptacle, they call mother,[Editorial Note 11] just as the Greeks too, with a small verbal change due to the passage of time, call her Demeter, since of old they called her Γῆν μήτερα[Editorial Note 12], as Orpheus attests in these words:

Γη{μ}ήτηρ πάντων Δημήτηρ πλουτοδότειρα, ibid.[Editorial Note 13]

Earth Ceres, giving all things generously to all. p. 12a[Editorial Note 14]

Minerva was air for the Egyptians. ibid., p. 12c.[Editorial Note 15]

Among the first celestial and eternal gods of Egypt Diodorus numbers Osiris and Isis for the sun and the Moon, and Jupiter for the pervading spirit, Vulcan, Ceres, Ocean or Nile and Minerva for the four Elements. ibid., p. 11 and 12.[Editorial Note 16]

According to the Egyptians, Jupiter Ammon and Juno bore Osiris, Isis, Typho, Apollo and Venus[Editorial Note 17] ibid., p. 13a[Editorial Note 18]

Egyptian Thebes or Diospolis was once named after the mother of its founder Isis. ibid, p. 14a.[Editorial Note 19]

Some say the Sun, some Vulcan, was the first king of Egypt. ibid. p. 13a.[Editorial Note 20]

The inventions of Mercury: articulate speech, letters, cults and sacrifices to the gods, the regular system of the stars, harmony of sounds, gymnasia, music, ibid, p. 14.[Editorial Note 21] Mercury was the scribe of Osiris, ibid, p. 15.[Editorial Note 22] The division of the land of Egypt between 4 brothers, ibid, p. 15.[Editorial Note 23] Osiris undertook a journey to Ethiopia, ibid, p. 16. b.[Editorial Note 24]

Anubis different from Mercury, ibid, p. 15, 16.[Editorial Note 25]

Dionysus, Pan, Osiris are the same for the Egyptians, ibid, p. 14, 16 & p. 22.a[Editorial Note 26]

The 9 Muses and Apollo Musagetes ibid., p. 16. b.[Editorial Note 27]

At the time when Osiris set off for Ethiopia and left Busiris in lower Egypt, the Nile inundated lower Egypt while Prometheus was reigning there, and then Hercules curbed the river ibid, p. 16.[Editorial Note 28] Therefore Prometheus Canaam and Busiris are the same.

Osiris is numbered among the celestial Gods; at his death Isis and Mercury institute his mysteries. ibid, p. 18.a.[Editorial Note 29]

The history of Osiris Isis and Typho. ibid, p. 18.[Editorial Note 30]

That Dionysus was born from Jupiter and Semele is a figment of Orpheus. Diod. p. 20.[Editorial Note 31]

Isis restored Horus to life after he had been overcome by the wiles of the Titans and found dead in the waters, and she made him immortal. ibid, p. {o}[Editorial Note 32]

The majority [of the Egyptian priests] agree in this that the Giants were all destroyed because of the war levied against Jupiter and Osiris. ibid. p. 23. b[Editorial Note 33]

The sacred grove of Vulcan in Memphis, ibid, p. 23. c & p. 19 b.[Editorial Note 34]

Isis was the eldest daughter of Younger Saturn according to the inscription on the pillars. ibid., p. 24.[Editorial Note 35]

That the Athenians were a colony of the people of Sais, and derived their laws and constitution from Egypt. ibid, p 24, 25.[Editorial Note 36]

A large number of colonies were sent out from Egypt to different parts of the world. ibid, p. 26. a.[Editorial Note 37]

The Egyptians declare[Editorial Note 38] that the earth is spherical and divide it into five zones ibid, p. 37.[Editorial Note 39]

<5>

Before Ninus, by whom Semiramis according to some is believed to have been begotten, nothing memorable has entered the historical record. Macrob. Somn. Scip. bk. 2, ch. 10.[Editorial Note 40]

Under a cloud of poetical invention Homer has given it to be understood by those who have the wit to discern the truth, that Jupiter with the rest of the Gods, i. e., with the planets, set out for Ocean, as the Ethiopians were inviting him to a banquet. They claim that by this mythical image Homer meant that nutriment is drawn from water by the stars, for the reason why he called the Ethiopians kings of the celestial banquets[Editorial Note 41] is that none but the Ethiopians live around the shore of Ocean, and the vicinity of the sun burns them so much that they appear black in colour. Macrob. ibid.[Editorial Note 42]

Janus and Camesis lived in Italy at the same time. Hence the land is Camisene and the town is Janiculum. See Macrob. Saturn. bk. 1, ch. 7.[Editorial Note 43]

Saturn was imagined to be in bonds among the Italians. Macr. ibid., ch. 8.[Editorial Note 44]

Among the twelve signs of the Zodiac, each of which is believed to be the fixed home of a specific deity, since the first sign, the Ram, has been assigned to Mars &c. Macrob. ibid., ch. 12.[Editorial Note 45]

Apollo called Libystinus & called Lycius. Macrob. ibid. ch. 17.[Editorial Note 46]

Juno is said to have obstructed Latona as she was about to give birth to Apollo and Diana. Macrob ibid., ch. 17.[Editorial Note 47]

Minerva is recorded as issuing from the head of Jupiter, that is, she came forth from the highest part of the aether. Macrob. ibid ch. 17.[Editorial Note 48]

Liber is proved to be the powerful father of wars because they declared him to be the originator of the triumph. ibid ch. 19.[Editorial Note 49]

Among the Egyptians Apollo who is the Sun is called Horus.

Among Theologians Jupiter is the soul of the world. Macrob. Somn. Scip. bk. 1, ch. 17.[Editorial Note 50]

Sanchoniatho tells that Hypsuranius placed his home in Tyre and initiated the art of making huts by weaving together reeds with rushes and papyrus, and engaged in serious hostilities with his brother Usous. And Usous was actually the first to cover his body with skins stripped from wild animals which he had captured himself; and when after a violent storm of wind and rain had occurred, and fire had flashed out from trees of Tyre rubbing against each other and burned a wood which was there, he made use of a tree whose branches he had previously stripped off as a boat, and did not hesitate to commit himself, without precedent, to the sea. — Many centuries later from the progeny of this Hypsuranius, Venator and Piscator[Editorial Note 51] were born, and they discovered the art of Fishing and hunting and afterwards gave their name to the whole tribe of fishermen and hunters. Two brothers were born to them, who discovered iron and the many uses of iron; one of these, Chousor[Editorial Note 52] by name, whom he says is Vulcan, devoted great industry and exertion partly to eloquence and partly to chanting and the arts of divination. He also invented the hook and the bait, the fi <6> shing line and improvised boats, and he was the first of all men to sail. For this reason they worshipped him too after his death as a God and called upon him under the name Diamichius. Sanch. in Euseb. Præp. Ev. bk. 1, ch. 10.[Editorial Note 53]

Rusticus or Agricola[Editorial Note 54] in the books of the ancients[Editorial Note 55] is called the greatest of the Gods, an altogether singular appellation. From him and from Ager[Editorial Note 56] the tribe of both farmers and hunters who used dogs was propagated. The name of Vagabonds and Titans is also given to them. They left sons Amynus and Magus &c. Sanchon. ibid.[Editorial Note 57]

When Astarta was roaming the world, she found a star fallen from heaven, and dedicated it in the holy island of Tyre. But the Phoenicians relate that this very Astarte is Venus. Sanch. ibid.[Editorial Note 58]

Sanchoniatho or rather Philo[Editorial Note 59] writes of the Greeks as follows. The Greeks, a nation rather more civilised and talented than others, first took most of those things for themselves; but as they were intent on charming their ears and minds with the pleasure of fables, they exaggerated them beyond measure by adding a host of ornamental fictions. And hence Hesiod and the rest of the cyclic Poets[Editorial Note 60] whose silly stories have gone round the world, fabricated for themselves certain conflicts of the Giants and Titans and other castrations. As they broadcast these all around, they finally overcame truth itself. From childhood onwards, our ears have been accustomed to their fictions & filled with beliefs propagated through many centuries, and they guard these vain and empty stories once they have accepted them, like a deposit held in trust. Thus something which has taken strength and power from time itself, has so strengthened its hold that it is an extraordinarily difficult thing to shake off, and now the truth itself is denied, while impure and spurious stories are held to be true. Philo in Eusebius. Præp. Evan. bk. 1, ch. 10.[Editorial Note 61]

Ωρος Orus a certain king of Egypt. Manetho and Appion in Josephus, cont Ap.[Editorial Note 62]

Hiram who lived at the time of Solomon, demolished ancient shrines and built new temples, and he dedicated fanes of Hercules and Astarte. Joseph. ibid.[Editorial Note 63]

Following very ancient records Berosus wrote just as Moses did about the deluge that happened and the destruction of mankind in it; and he also wrote about the ark in which the chief captain of our race was preserved, when it came to rest on the summit of mountains in Armenia. Then enumerating the progeny of Noah and giving their dates he came down as far as Nabulassarus [father of Nebuchadonosor, king of the Babylonians and Chaldeans]. Joseph. cont. App.[Editorial Note 64]

Of all their attainments, attention to writing history is quite recent among the Greeks. As the Greeks themselves <7> admit, the Egyptians, the Chaldeans and the Phoenicians, have a very ancient and very stable record of their history. For they all inhabit places which are not at all subject to the ravages of climate; and they have taken great care that none of the events that happen among them should be left without a memorial but should be always preserved in public records by their wisest men. By contrast innumerable disasters have afflicted the region of Greece, which has wiped out the memory of things. But those who in constructing new ways of life believed that they were the first of all men, should acknowledge that they learned to recognise the nature of letters late and with difficulty. For they are believed to have had a very ancient familiarity with them from the Phoenicians and they boast that they learned them from Cadmus. But no one will be able to prove that a piece of writing has been preserved from that period, either in Temples or on public monuments,since even about the events at Troy, where the war was fought for so many years, there has been a great deal of subsequent argument and controversy as to whether they made use of letters in their account of it; and the true view has prevailed that the use of today's letters was unknown to them, etc. Joseph. cont. App. bk. 1.[Editorial Note 65]

Hestiaeus mentions the place which is called Sennar in Babylonia in this manner: They say that the Priests who survived that disaster [i.e. the Deluge], came to Senaar of Babylonia, bearing the sacred emblems of Jupiter Enyalius[Editorial Note 66]. Josephus, Antiquities, bk. 1, ch. 5.[Editorial Note 67]

The Syrian Semiramis was a handmaid of a royal household slave, and mistress of the king, whom the gre{at} king Ninus had {m}et and fallen in love with etc. — then telling how Semira{mis} ordered Ninus to be killed, he continues: Η῾ δε Βελεστία etc. And was not Belestia a barbarian woman? whose temples and shrines the people of Alexandria maintain under the name of Venus Belestia. Plutarch in Amatorius, near the beginning.[Editorial Note 68]

At the festival of the Consualia they put garlands on horses and asses. Is this because that festival is celebrated for Consus who is the horseman Neptune? Plutarch in Quaest. Rom.[1]

The Romans believe that Saturn is the father of truth. The fables say that he was very just — the opinion has prevailed that in the reign of Saturn greed {and} injustice had no place among men, but good faith and justice.[Editorial Note 70]

[2]Numa paid great honour to Janus because he was civilised and more intent on cultivating the earth than on waging war. — By persuasion he brought the Italians, whose ways were fierce and unjust, to a different manner of life, and settled them down by means of agriculture and a training in civil life. Plut. Quaest Rom[Editorial Note 71]

<8>

That Saturn, as some fable, begat Osiris and Isis from Rhea, and, as most people assert, they begat Jupiter and Juno. That five gods were born from these. Their names Osiris, Isis, Typho, Apollo and Venus. Diod bk. 1.[Editorial Note 72]

Uranus from Titaea his wife[Editorial Note 73] had the 18 Titans and daughters Basilea and Rhea or Pandora. Basilea married her brother Hyperion and had by him two children, Helius[Editorial Note 74] and Selene. Helius[Editorial Note 75] is killed by the Titans, Selene throws herself headlong from the roof. Helius appearing in a dream to his mother says that he and his sister will be transformed into immortal natures, so that he who formerly was called the sacred fire in the sky, is now called Helius (Sun), and she who hitherto was Mene now goes under the name of Selene (Moon). Diod. bk. 3 from the Philosophy of the Atlantians.[Editorial Note 76]

The Titans slay Osiris by treachery Diod bk 4.[Editorial Note 77]

They assign a year to one, a month to the other, and days to others. Plato in Eusebius, Praep. Evang. bk. 11, ch. 16.[Editorial Note 78]

What is more, says Porphyry, Chaeremon and others are of opinion that there was nothing else prior to these worlds which we see before us, since they put those which are accepted by the Egyptians at the very start of their discussions. Nor do they recognize any other Gods than those which are commonly called the wandering stars, and which fill the Zodiac, and likewise any that rise in their vicinity. To these they add those divisions into Decans, horoscopes, and those who are called the strong and powerful Leaders, whose names are contained in their almanacs, along with remedies for diseases and disasters, as well as their risings and settings, and prognostications of future events. Porphyr. in Euseb. Praep. Evang. bk. 3, ch. 4.[Editorial Note 79]

Among the Egyptians they say that Osiris is the Nile consorting with Isis, i.e. the earth, and Typho is the Sea into which the Nile flows and vanishes. Plutarch.[Editorial Note 80]

Venus is the daughter of Jupiter. Diodor. bk. 1.[Editorial Note 81]

Moloch today is Mars for the Coptiti Bochart Geogr. p. 67,[Editorial Note 82] and Kiun is Saturn for the Egyptians. ibid.

Of old Thebes was called Egypt.[Editorial Note 83] — In the City of Atarbechis [which is in the Egyptian delta] a temple of Venus was built[Editorial Note 84] — The Egyptians say that they do not know the name either of Neptune or of the Tindaridae[Editorial Note 85]. — The he-goat and Pan were called Mendes in Egyptian.[Editorial Note 86] The inhabitants of Mendes number Pan among the Eight Gods.[Editorial Note 87] — Unknown to the Egyptians are the names of Neptune, Castor, Juno, Vesta, Themis, the Graces, the Nereids, the Dioscuri.[Editorial Note 88] And they seem to me to have been named by the Pelasgi except for Neptune | Poseidon, whom they heard of from the Libyans. For originally the name of Neptune | Poseidon was used by no one except the Libyans, who always hold this God in honour. The Egyptians therefore acknowledge his existence, but pay him no honours.[Editorial Note 89]

<9>

— The festival that the Egyptians[Editorial Note 90] celebrate most enthusiastically takes place in the city of Bubastis in honour of Diana. Second to it is the festival in the city of Busiris in honour of Isis — there is a very large temple of Isis there. Third is the festival in honour of Minerva in the city of Sais. Fourth is the one at Heliopolis in honour of the Sun. Fifth in the city of Buto in honour of Latona. Sixth in the city of Papremis in honour of Mars.[Editorial Note 91] And they say that the Mother of Mars dwelt in this temple, and when he grew up Mars attempted to have sex with her, etc.[Editorial Note 92] — The oracle which they patronise above all others is that of Latona in the city of Buto.[Editorial Note 93] — The Egyptians say that Ceres and Liber hold first place among those below.[Editorial Note 94] — Bubaste in our language is Diana.[Editorial Note 95] — That prior to the other kings, there were Gods in Egypt living as princes together with men, and one of them was always the preeminent chief among them, and the last one to reign there was Osiris's son Orus, whom the Greeks call Apollo. That he after destroying Typho was the last to rule in Egypt. And Osiris in the Greek language is Dionysus, that is Liber.[Editorial Note 96] And yet among the Greeks Hercules Dionysus and Pan are thought to be the youngest of the gods; but among the Egyptians Pan is the oldest even of the eight Gods who are said to be the first; Hercules of those who are said to be the second, who are twelve in number; Dionysus of those who are called third, who were born from those twelve.[Editorial Note 97] — Latona (who is number one among the eight deities who came first), since she lived in the city of Buto where her Oracle is, hid Apollo there, after he was entrusted to her by Isis, and she returned him safe, at the time when Typho came searching everywhere to find the son of Osiris. For they say that Apollo and Diana are the children of Dionysus and Isis, and that Latona is their nurse and liberator. And in fact Apollo in Egyptian is called Orus, and Ceres Isis, and Diana Bubastis. Herod. bk. 2.[Editorial Note 98]

The Arabs think that Dionysus whom they call Ουροτάλτ Urotalt and Urania whom they call Alilat, are the only gods. Herod. bk. 3.[Editorial Note 99]

From[Editorial Note 100] Caelus were born Hyperion Saturn Atlas Basilia, Rhea or Pandora. Basilia and her brothers and sisters were born from Hyperion, and Helius and Selene were born from Basilea[Editorial Note 101]. The brothers of Hyperion kill him and drown Helius, still a boy, by submerging him in the Eridanus[Editorial Note 102] Basilea persuaded her people to venerate the dead boy with Divine worship. The brothers divide the kingdom between them. The most famous of them are Atlas and Saturn. The regions bordering on the Ocean fell by lot to Atlas, and he called the peoples there Atlantians and named the greatest mountain on earth with his own name of Atlas. His daughters Maia, Electra, Taygeta, etc. bringing forth sons laid the foundations of very many tribes of men and cities. {Finally} he brought it about that mortals should pay immortal honour to them when they were dead, and should raise them to the heavens and assign the Constellation of the Pleiades to them. The eldest, Maia, from the embrace of Jupiter, gave birth to Mercury, the discoverer of many arts. By his sister Rhea whom he had been taken into his conjugal bed, Saturn, whose impiety and greed were astounding, begat Jupiter. The latter held the whole world under his sway. Thus Diodorus bk. 9 about the Gods among the Atlantians.[Editorial Note 103]

<10>

Ager and Rusticus or Agricola[Editorial Note 104], from whom the race of Farmers and hunters is sprung left sons Amynus and Magus to whom the credit is given for developing farms and flocks. Their children were Misor and Sydyc; Misor had a son Taautus, the inventor of the first written Alphabet, whom the Egyptians called Θωωρ, the Alexandrians Θωωθ, and the Greeks Hermes.

One Elium[Editorial Note 105], called Altissimus[Editorial Note 106], and Beruth his Wife, held places near Byblus. To them were born Coelum and Terra.[Editorial Note 107] When Altissimus had perished in a struggle with wild beasts, he was elevated to the company of the Gods.[Editorial Note 108] When Coelus succeeded to the imperial power, he entered into a marriage with Terra his sister, and had four children by her — Ilus, who was called Saturn, Betylus, Dagon who is Called Sito [i.e. custodian of the corn] and Atlas.[Editorial Note 109] — ὁι δὲ σύμμαχοι Ιλου Now the allies of Ilus, who was the same as Saturn, are called Eloim, as it were Saturnians. Further Saturn cut the throat of his son Sadidus with his sword, and a little while later he also cut off the head of a daughter, so that all the rest of the Gods were profoundly horrified by the mentality of Saturn.[Editorial Note 110] Astarte daughter of Coelus.[Editorial Note 111] The Phoenicians relate that she is Venus. Dagon, because he had invented corn and the plough, was called invoked as Jupiter Aratrius[Editorial Note 112]. Jupiter Belus son of Saturn.[Editorial Note 113]

When the God Surmubalus and Thuro who was later called Chusarthis, succeeded Mercury after a long interval, they threw light upon his occult theology, which was wrapped up in the shades of allegory.[Editorial Note 114]

When Diodorus (bk. 3) describes the desert regions of the Africans, which abound in serpents varied in size and shape, together with their Inhabitants, he adds: The story is that these snakes made a great assault on Egypt at one time and left the inhabitants destitute of a great part of their land. Diod bk. 3, page 184.[Editorial Note 115]

To Uranus[Editorial Note 116] were born sons, Hyperion, Atlas, and others as well as daughters of whom the two eldest were famous above the rest, Basilia and Rhea, called Pandora by some. Basilia was taken in marriage by her brother Hyperion, and when she had two children by him, Helius and Selene, the brothers enter into a conspiracy and slay Hyperion, and they immerse Helius who is still a boy in the Eridanus and drown him. When this disaster came to light, Selene who passionately loved her brother, threw herself headlong from the roof. Their mother insisted that her people should venerate them now that they were dead with divine worship, and that her own body no one should henceforth touch. [Then seized with a fit of madness, she picked up her daughter's rattles and with her own hair flying all over the place she went wandering, and strays hither and yon like a woman raving, accompanied by the noise of tympani and cymbals. And not long after, when a storm of rain and lightning suddenly arose, she was seen for the last time on earth. And the people marveling at this prodigy, set Helius and Selene among the stars, and built an altar to the mother, being convinced that she <11> was already a Goddess, and with the beating of drums and the clashing of cymbals, and with imitation of the other things that occurred around her, they paid her cult and worship.[Editorial Note 117] The birthplace of this Goddess is ascribed to Phrygia, etc.[Editorial Note 118] But] after Hyperion had been taken from their midst, the children of Coelus divided the kingdom of their father among themselves; the most famous of whom were Atlas and Saturn. The regions bordering the Ocean went by lot to Atlas, and he called the people there Atlantian and the greatest mountain in the land Atlas after his own name.[Editorial Note 119] [They tell us that he had an accurate knowledge of Astrology and that he first revealed the system of the Sphere. The belief that the whole world rests upon his shoulders arose from this, since this fable adumbrates that the sphere was invented and described by him.[Editorial Note 120]] Among his very many sons Hesperus stood out.[Editorial Note 121] Daughters were born to him — Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, Merope, Halcyone and Celaeno. Uniting with heroes of the most noble stamp and with the Gods themselves, they laid the foundations of many nations of men. Thus the eldest one, Maia, from the embrace of Jupiter, gave birth to Mercury, inventor of many arts. They were raised to the sky, and the constellation of the Pleiades is dedicated to them.[Editorial Note 122] They report of Saturn, brother of Atlas, that his impiety and avarice were outrageous; he took his Sister Rhea into his conjugal bed and begat Jupiter, who was later given the cognomen of 'Olympian'[Editorial Note 123]. They say that Jupiter had the whole world under his sway, — and adopting a manner of life quite contrary to that of his father, he showed himself fair and humane towards all men; on account of which he was honoured by his people with the name of father. He took over a kingdom which had either been freely given to him by his father or transferred to him by his subjects because of their hatred of his father. And although Saturn made war against {him} with the help of the Titans, still Jupiter emerged as victor in the battle and Lord of nature. And in travelling subsequently throughout the whole inhabited world, he deserved well of the human race. And because he excelled in strength of body and in every type of virtue, he easily united the whole world under him. He took especial care to impose penalties on the wicked and impious and to reward the common people with benefits. And when he found release from human affairs — all men with passionate zeal acclaimed him everlasting lord of the whole universe.[Editorial Note 124] Diodor. bk. 3.[Editorial Note 125]

Busiris, king of the Egyptians, desiring to get hold of the daughters of Atlas because they were of outstanding beauty and good sense, dispatched pirates all over the sea with orders to seize the girls and bring them back to him.[Editorial Note 126] At the same time Hercules, while engaged in his final labour, killed Antaeus, who compelled strangers to compete with him in wrestling bouts; and he inflicted a well-deserved punishment on Busiris in Egypt who slaughtered visitors to his country as a sacrifice to Jupiter.

Before the reign of Jupiter no farmers subjugated the land

even to mark possession of the plain or to apportion it by boundaries was sacrilege

men sought gains for the common good

and earth of her own accord gave her gifts more freely when none demanded them

It was he who put the noxious venom into snakes

and made wolves hunt prey, and commanded the Sea to rage

in order that experience, by taking thought, might gradually forge all manner of skills

<12>

and seek in the furrows the blade of corn.

Then first did rivers feel upon their backs boats of hollowed alder.

Then the sailor gave numbers and names to the stars

the Pleiades, the Hyades, and bright Arcton, daughter of Lycaon.

Then it was discovered how to catch wild creatures with traps

and snare them with lime, and how to surround large coverts with hunting dogs

And one man lashes the broad river with his casting net aiming for the deep water

while another trawls through the sea his dripping drag-net

Then came the rigid strength of iron and the blades of the screeching saw

(For the earliest men cleaved wood with wedges until it split)

then came arts of all kinds. Toil conquers all

Unrelenting toil and driving poverty driving in harsh conditions.

Ceres first taught men how to turn the earth with iron, etc. Virgil. Georg. 1.[Editorial Note 127]

Latona bore Apollo, Jupiter and Ceres bore Proserpina. Hesiod.[Editorial Note 128]

Ποσειδάωνα γαιήοχον, ἐννοσίγαιον Hesiod. Theogon. v. 15.[Editorial Note 129]

When Prometheus had formed man, Vulcan by the order of Jupiter fashioned Pandora out of mud, and Minerva, Venus and all the Gods adorned her with beauty and with every kind of grace of body and dress. And Mercury gave her soothing words, lies, the mind of a dog and the morals of a thief. Jupiter sent her to Epimetheus by the messenger Mercury as a gift. And Epimetheus did not first reflect how Prometheus had warned him not to accept any gift from Olympian Jove, but to send it back again, lest any evil come to mankind. But he, accepting her, only understood after he already had the evil. For previously the families of men lived on the earth exempt from evils and without hard labour; but the woman removing the great lid from the vase with her hands scattered grave cares around. Hesiod. Ἠργων καὶ ημηρῶν bk. 1, v.     and Theogon, v. 562.[Editorial Note 130]

Helius and Selene were born from Hyperion and Thea[Editorial Note 131]. From Rhea and Saturn were born Vesta, Ceres, Juno, Pluto, Neptune.[Editorial Note 132] From Iapetus and Clymene, daughter of Ocean, were born great-hearted Atlas and Menoetius pre-eminent for his glo{ry} and shifty, quick-scheming Prometheus, and stupid Epimetheus, who was a disaster right from the start for men the inventors of things. For he was the first to accept the Virgin woman whom Zeus had made. But far-seeing Jupiter cast Menoetius Μενοίτιον, the aggressor, into Erebus, striking him with a blazing thunderbolt because of his stupidity and boundless arrogance. But Atlas holds up the wide sky[Editorial Note 133]. From Jupiter and Juno were born Hebe, Mars, Lucina, Vulcan.[Editorial Note 134] From Venus and Mars Φόβος, Δεῖμος, Phobos and Harmonia.[Editorial Note 135] Vulcan married Aglaia, the youngest of the Graces.[Editorial Note 136] From Jupiter and Eurynome were born the three Graces Aglaia, Euphrosyne, Thalia.[Editorial Note 137] Hesiod.

<13>

That Busiris is Canaan is confirmed by the fleet which Diodorus says was sent by him to the Atlantians.[Editorial Note 138] For the Phoenicians were the first of all men to take to the sea. The invention of ships too is attributed to Vulcan. So Philo of Byblos from Sanchoniatho[Editorial Note 139]: Vulcan, he says, (otherwise known as Chousor[Editorial Note 140] or Diamichius) devoted great industry and exertion partly to eloquence and partly to chanting and the arts of divination. He invented the fishing-hook and bait, the fishing line and improvised boats, and he was the first of all men to sail. Hence his wife Venus gave rise to the stories of the beautiful Syrens; for she had gone into the sea and had the appearance of a human being to people on the land and was concealed below and only visible as far as her chest. This is also the reason why the Syrian Goddess Decerto[Editorial Note 141] (whom the learned have proved to be Venus) had the form of a fish below, and why Venus was said to have emerged from the sea, and why the fish was sacred to her. Hence too it is agreed that Vulcan and Venus were the parents of the Phoenicians. For the Phoenicians were the first of all men to take to the sea. Sanchuniatho says that a certain Hypsuranius[Editorial Note 142] lived in Tyre and made huts from reeds and rushes and papyrus and that Usous, brother of Hypsuranius, when a discord arose {between} them, first dared ές θάλασσαν ἐμβῆναι, to take to the {s}ea, after making a small boat from the trunk of a tree. Hence the Usous of Sanchoniatho is that Vulcan who was the first of all men to sail. And undoubtedly אש Es or אשה Esa is fire, and hence Usous is Vulcan. It is not clear who Hypsuranius the brother of Usous is. It is likely that two gods have been confected from the two names of one God, as often happens; unless perhaps Hypsuranius is Noah, who travelled through many lands and lived now with one people, now with another, in order to exhort all men to piety and moral righteousness. For the Syrians indeed and for the Assyrians, for whom Belus is Jupiter, Cham is Uranus or Coelus and Noah is Hypsuranius or supercoelestis[Editorial Note 143]. For אש is {illeg} or אשה esa fire, and hence Usous is Vulcan. [This אב אשה es – ta, fire of an Apartment or fire of the Watchmen, and hence Ε῾στία. Again אב אש תא Ef – es – ta, is the fire of the verdant watchmen, and hence Ε῾φαιστος and Vesta. For verdant things alone and the first fruits of the Earth were offered to the Sun as the author of Vegetation <14> at this sacred fire in the beginning.][Editorial Note 144] So Vulcan lived at Tyre, and there first of all men he took to the sea. Hence Tibullus: Tyre which first learned how to trust a boat to the winds.[Editorial Note 145] And, as I think, Tyre took its name from Venus. Strabo bk. 15[Editorial Note 146] says Ατεργατην δε Ηὺν Αθοραν — Atergates is Athara. Obviously from Athara comes Athar — fish in Syrian Atar-dag & Or from the obsolete word κῆτος (sea-monster) and Αταρ-κήτης[Editorial Note 147]. And Atergates was generally called, with omission of the vocalic prefix, Dercete, whence I infer that the name of the woman was Tyr, i.e. the same as the name of the City Tyre, for the Hebrews צור TSyr, (whence Syris and Syrenus and with the article prefixed הצור Atyr or Atsyr. The Tyrians are often called by this name, 1 Paralip. 22.4[Editorial Note 148], Nehemiah 13.16. Among the Assyrians or Phoenicians, says b[3] Macrobius)[Editorial Note 149] the Goddess is represented as mourning. And c[4] Virgil: Nor is the white wool stained with Assyrian dye.[Editorial Note 150] Assyrian dye here is the Tyrian purple. And the eldest son of Venusd[5] founded another maritime city Tsidon which in the earliest times was quite populous, and in later times e[6] when it had been devastated by wars and sacked, it very much contributed to the growth of Tyre with its citizens. Hence Tyre (Isaiah 23.12) was called the daughter of Sidon, and is believed by some to have been newly founded at this time. To these two cities or their founders relate the two celestial fish which are dedicated to Venus and Cupid. And hence it is that the Syrians worship fish as Gods. Cicero III de nat. Deor. the Syrians worship a fish.[Editorial Note 152] Clement in the Protreptic: The Syrian worship of a fish is no more absurd than the Elean worship of Jupiter.[Editorial Note 153] Xenophon περὶ ἀναβάσεος: The river Chalus was full of large tame fish, which the Syrians regarded as Gods nor did they allow them to be harmed.[Editorial Note 154] This is said of the Syrians on this side of the Euphrates. They also venerated the dove as this was the bird of Venus.

<15>

Antediluvian history from Abydenus[Editorial Note 155]

The Chaldeans write that Alorus first ruled in Babylon for 10 sari. A sarus is a period of 3600 years,[Editorial Note 156] a Nirus 600 years and a Sosus 60 years. After him Alaparus reigned for * sariAbydenus F 2 b says '3 sari'. Amillarus from the city of Pantibiblus ruled for 13 sari. During his reign a second Annedotum came up from the sea similar to Oannis, semi-fishlike in appearance. After him Ammenon from Pantibiblus ruled for 12 sari. Then Magalanus from Pantibiblus for 18 sari. Then Daos a shepherd from Pantibiblus for 10 sari. During his reign four half-fish came to land from the sea, and their names were Euedocus, Eneugamus, Enubulus, Anementus. Then next was Anodaphus son of Aedoreschius[Editorial Note 157]. After him others reigned, and finally Sisuthrus, so that altogether there were ten kings and the total length of their reigns was 120 sari. And

Abydenus from Berosus[Editorial Note 158]

After Euedoreschus some others reigned as far as Sisithrus. And Saturn predicted to him that there would be a flood on the fifteenth day of the month Daisius, and he ordered him that he should hide any writings he had in Heliopolis which is in Sippar. And when Sisithrus had done what he was commanded, he was straightway carried sailing to Armenia and immediately recognised that this was of God. On the third day after it had stopped raining, he sends out birds so that he might know whether the earth was free of waters. But as the sea still covered all things, they returned whence they had come. Afterwards Sisuthrus sends out others. The third time they flew away. In Armenia the boat affords amulets to the inhabitants from its wood. There are some who say that the first earth-born creatures priding themselves on the size and strength of their bodies

<16>

From Jupiter and Juno were born Osiris, Isis, Typho Venus Diodorus in Euseb bk. 2, ch. 1.[Editorial Note 159] Osiris was the son of Jupiter Diodor bk. 1.[Editorial Note 160]

That Proserpina and Minerva are the daughters of Jupiter. Eus. ibid.[Editorial Note 161] Isis is Proserpina, Plutarch, On Isis.[Editorial Note 162] Among Theologians Jupiter is the soul of the world. Macrob. Somn. Scip.[Editorial Note 163]

Hercules is Egyptian by fatherland — It is agreed by all that Hercules came to the aid of the celestial Gods in the war of the Giants. — [The Greeks] call him son of Jupiter but are ignorant who his mother was.[Editorial Note 164] – The most part agree in this that the Giants were all destroyed in the war levied against Isis and Osiris[Editorial Note 165] — On the pillars erected to Isis and Osiris Isis and Osiris are said to be the youngest children of Saturn. and Isis is the mother of king Horus. Diod. bk. 1.[Editorial Note 166]

Proserpina is Ceres. Cleanthes somewhere.

Cham, instructor of Mercury, grandfather of Horus. For it is thus in the sacred book [which is by chance entitled for Hermes] Pay attention O Horus my son. For you shall hear the secret reflections which your grandfather Chamephes heard from Hermes, who wrote treatises on every subject based upon the discourses of Chamephes, progenitor of all.[Editorial Note 167]

[Editorial Note 168]

Ælian de Animal XV. 2 writes that the Kings of Atlantis that were of Neptunes race wore their Diadems of hee Goats hairs as their Queens did of shee Goats hairs.

[Editorial Note 169]

Artaphanus in Euseb bk. 9, Pr. Ev. ch. 23 says that the Egyptians thought that Isis was the earth.[Editorial Note 170]

Hercules one of the twelve Gods. Herod bk. 3.[Editorial Note 171]

The Titans slay Osiris by treachery. Diod bk. 4.[Editorial Note 172]

Venus is the daughter of Jupiter. Diod bk. 1, Homer ιλ. ε.[Editorial Note 173]

The Egyptians say that Ceres and Liber ho{ld} the first place among those below.[Editorial Note 174] — Osiris in Greek is Dionysus, that {is} Liber — Herod bk. 3.[Editorial Note 175]

Atlas is the brother of Hyperion and Basilia [i.e. of Osiris and Isis] and the father of Maia, the mother of Mercury Diod bk. 3.[Editorial Note 176] The Assyrian Saturn, i.e. the Egyptian Hercules is the Brother of Atlas Diod ibid. Him his son Jupiter expelled from the throne. ibid.[Editorial Note 177]

Busiris king of Egypt sailed through the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantaei.

— Bright Arcton, daughter of Lycaon Virgil Georg. bk.[Editorial Note 178]

Neptune brother of Pluto and Ceres – From Iapetus were born Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, Epimetheus. Jupiter thrust Menoetius down into Erebus [He is Osiris, called Menes, the first King of Egypt according to Marsham[Editorial Note 179]] — From Jupiter and Juno were born Hebe Mars Lucina Vulcan. Vulcan married Aglaia, the youngest of the Graces. She was daughter of Jupiter. Hesiod Theog.[Editorial Note 180]

Janus and Camesis lived in Italy at the same time. Hence the land is Camisene. Macrob. Satur{n} bk. 1, ch. 7[Editorial Note 181]

Apollo is called Libysticus and Lycius. Macrob. bk. 1, ch. 17.[Editorial Note 182]

Liber is proved to be the powerful father of wars because they declared him to be the originator of the triumph. Macrob bk. 1, ch. 19.[Editorial Note 183]

<17> Figure <18>

The brothers of Hyperion [i.e. Osiris] submerge and drown Helius [i.e. Orus or Apollo son of Osiris] while he was yet a boy in the Eridanus [i.e. the river Nile][Editorial Note 184]. Diod. bk. 3 from           philosophy.[Editorial Note 185]

<19>

The theology of the Egyptians symbolic. Iambl. sec. 7, ch. 1.[Editorial Note 186] How the Sun is portrayed as God, ch. 2. The first God and the second are superior to the Stars and the aetherial gods according to Trismegistus, sect 8, ch. 2. The third God is Vulcan, then the Sun and the Moon, and then those who are in charge of the different parts of the heavens. ch. 3. The Egyptian priests were accustomed to show the Gods to the people by means of spheres: the source of this is Synesius in Calvitium.[Editorial Note 187] Proclus from Porphyry on the Egyptians in Tim. p. 216. ἐσημαίνον διὰ κύκλου τὴν μονοειδῆ ζωὴν, καὶ νοερὰν επιστροφήν[Editorial Note 188] The old physicists called the sun the heart of heaven and earth. See Ficino's book on the Sun.[Editorial Note 189] The Egyptians and the Babylonians, the most ancient of peoples, were the first to receive the worship of Gods, and had a pre-eminent reputation for sanctity. Egypt was called the temple of the whole world, was believed to be placed under the guardianship of the Decans (i.e. Angels), just as Judaea also was, on the testimony of the Egyptians, in Origen, Query?[Editorial Note 190] The Egyptians were the earliest worshippers of the gods Herod. bk. 2, Lucian bk. on the Syrian Goddess.[Editorial Note 191] Porphyrius IV de Abst. that this formal prayer was made for every dead man by the Egyptian embalmer: O lord Sun, and you other Gods, who generously grant life to men, receive me and commend me as a friend to the immortal Gods: I have always piously worshipped the Gods, whom my parents told me to worship, as long as I have lived in this world.[Editorial Note 192] The Greeks corrupted the ancient philosophy, See Iamblichus, sect. 7, ch. 5[Editorial Note 193] and Galus in the notes, p. 295.[Editorial Note 194] On the views of Plato Hermes, Orpheus, the Chaldeans, etc on God the Father and the Word, see Galus on Iamblichus sect. 8, ch. 2, p. 297, 298, 299 etc. Ὓ δωρ και ψάμμος[Editorial Note 195], two principles of all things according to the Egyptians, Galus, p. 298. The twelve great Gods from Egypt preside over both Egypt and the twelve Egyptian months: on this matter see Galus, p. 304 from Diodorus, the inscriptions of Gruterus , Ennius, Kircher. Eusebius bk. 3, Praep. Ev. ch. 4 asserts that all the Theology of the Egyptians was merely <20> physical: since it did not even dream of God or Gods or incorporeal nature.[Editorial Note 196] After the σκότος ἄγνωστον[Editorial Note 197], the Egyptians place among the first principles ὕδωρ και ψάμμον[Editorial Note 198]. So too Thales: Galus, p. 305. Why the soul, according to the Egyptians, is ὁμοούσιος[Editorial Note 199] with God, Galus, p. 307. Strabo notes that the Egyptian Priests at Thebes devoted a great deal of attention to Astronomy and Philosophy.[Editorial Note 200] Galen bk. 1 Against Julian, ch. 1 notes that in Egypt whatever was discovered in the arts had to be approved by the common consent of the learned; then only was it inscribed on the pillars without the author's name, and deposited in the sacred shrines. Hence the large number of books that go under the name of Mercury. Anyone who wants more on this topic should consult Is. Casaubon Against Baronius[Editorial Note 201] Possevinus Bibl. s.v. Mercurius[Editorial Note 202], Collius, On Souls, bk. 3 ch. 24,[Editorial Note 203] H Ursinus on Trismegistus, Conringius de Hermet. medicina[Editorial Note 204] and Olaus Borricchius his Opponent. The Pythagoreans imitated this. All their own discoveries they marked with the name of Pythagoras concealing their own, etc. Galus p. 182, 183.

On several Worlds etc see Theodoretus, de curandis Graecorum affectibus.[Editorial Note 205]

On the Philosophics see Plutarch in Isis.[Editorial Note 206] Sanchuniatho in Euseb.[Editorial Note 207]

Some have said that the Eridanus is the Nile, while several have also said that it is Ocean - Below it the star called by the name Canopus shines more brightly than the rest. And the island Canopus is washed by the river Nile. Hyginus Poet Astron bk. 2 in Eridanus.[Editorial Note 208] When Jupiter attacked the Titans, Pan first threw into humans the fear called Panic, as Eratosthenes says.[Editorial Note 209] — And the Egyptian Priests and some poets say that when several Gods had gathered in Egypt, Typho suddenly came to the same place, a very fierce giant and a very great enemy of the gods: moved by this fear they transformed themselves into different shapes, etc. Hygin poet. Astron bk. 2 in Capricorn.[Editorial Note 210]

<21> [Editorial Note 211]

Ætolus the son of Endymion the grandson of Protogenia slew Apis the son of Phoroneus & thereupon fled into the land of Curetes where his father then reigned newly taken from them & gave the name of Ætolia to that country & was not long after expelled by Pelops who came into Greece about 27th or 28th year of Solomon as above.

And therefore Apis was slain by Ætolus about the 20th or 25th year of Solomon.      these

Triptolemus

And the Centaurs were the first horsmen & Endymion & Aristæus the first Astronoms & these things gave a beginning to practical arts & trades in Greece. And

When the Curetes were expelled Peloponesus whether by Endymion or by Phoroneus they fled to the island        & b

<22>

The four ages succeded the flood of Deucalion & some tell us that this Deucalion was the son of Prome the son of Iapetus. But Iapetus the father of Prometheus Epimetheus & Atlas was the brother of Osiris & flourished after the flood of Deucalion.

Phorbas And his great grandson went into Rhodes & made that island habitable by purging it from wild beasts & serpents about the end of the reign of Solomon And Hæmon the son of Pelasgus reigned in Hæmonia &

[Editorial Note 212] <23>

Now we must introduce what the Tyrrheni[Editorial Note 213] say of themselves. First they scorn the notion that they were named after some immigrant, since they think themselves to be the only indigenous people in Italy, and they call themselves Razenua after the son of their most ancient god whom they call Janus Vadymon. Their tetrapolis of Hetruria and its parts — Boltursena, Vetulonia, Thussa and Harbanus — they call by the name of Calumbus, and they assert that it was founded by their God in the golden age soon after the inundation of the earth, not to mention before Atys. For in their own native language they call their country Saleombro from the flood itself, at the time when the Umbri originated. They point to many traces of their antiquity, such as Gods, rites, customs, letters, laws. All of this undoubtedly agrees with what the better Greek historians say.[Editorial Note 214] For they write that only the Tyrrheni are very ancient in Italy, and they do not derive from others in their origin, nor are they refugees and immigrants like the rest, but they are sprung from their own territory; for they differ in their most ancient gods and customs not only from the other peoples of Italy but also from the adjacent peoples of Croton and Perusia in front of them and from their nearest neighbours, the Phalisci, behind them, between whom they lie. Jupiter and Juno are gods and goddesses for all the Tusci; only the Tyrrheni worship Janus and Vesta, whom in their own language they call Janib Vadymo and Labith Horchia. The Romans themselves also admit that the Hetrusci are the oldest and originated in the golden age, and from them primitive Italy derived altars, rites, divinations, colonies and doctrines beginning with their earliest tetrapolis called Hetruria, from which the Romans call them Hetrusci. There is not therefore any way by which opponents may prove that these Tyrrheni derive either their name or their origin from the son of Atys, but they have taken this name from Turses[Editorial Note 215] etc. So Myrsilus of Lesbos in his Book on the Origin of Italy and the Tyrrheni. It is available in Historia antiqua,[Editorial Note 216] which consists of the book of Myrsilus of Lesbos, the Fragments of M. Porcius Cato, Archilochus, On Times, Berosus of Babylon (Annian), Manetho the Egyptian (Annian), Metasthenes the Persian (also Annian), Xenophon de Aequivocis, Q. Fabius Pictor, On the Golden Age, bk.     , Sempronius, On the Division of Italy, and Philo Judaeus, his Book of biblical antiquities. From the books of Master Laughton.

[Editorial Note 217]

The people of Boutan observe some ceremonies of the Chineses, burning Amber at the end of their feasts, though they do not worship fire like the Chineses. Taverner's Travels in India lib 3. pag. 184. Edit Lond 1684.

[Editorial Note 1] Plutarch 'Isis and Osiris' may be found with English translation in vol. 5 of Plutarch's Moralia, 15 vols., ed. and trans. Frank Cole Babbitt et al., Loeb Classical Library (1922-69). The page numbers given by Newton are printed in the margins of this edition; they are standard reference numbers for the Moralia. Newton owned two copies of Plutarch's complete works: Harrison, 1330, 1331.

[Editorial Note 2] 364D.

[Editorial Note 3] magna mater. Cf. Diodorus 3.58 on the Magna Mater among the Phrygians and elsewhere.

[Editorial Note 4] The following text was written originally in English

[Editorial Note 5] Translation resumes

[Editorial Note 6] In this paragraph I use Martinus Rulandus the Elder, A Lexicon of Alchemy or Alchemical Dictionary (Frankfurt 1612), translated by Arthur E. Waite (London: John M. Watkins 1893/1964), which is available online.

[Editorial Note 7] fabulantur - cf. fabulantur in f 8 init.; — or possibly fabula est

[Editorial Note 8] observatio

[Editorial Note 9] Diodorus, 1.9.6, in Diodorus of Sicily, ed. and trans. C. H. Oldfather, C. Bradford Welles, Charles L. Sherman, Francis R. Walton, Russel M. Geer, 12 vols., Loeb Library (1933-67), vol. 1. Newton owned Diodorus Siculus, Bibliothecae historicae libri XV, de XL ... Studio et labore L. Rhodomani. (Greek and Latin), Hanoviae, 1604. Harrison 517. Newton also owned George Booth's English translation (London 1700). Harrison 518.

[Editorial Note 10] Diodorus, 1.11.3.

[Editorial Note 11] matrem.

[Editorial Note 12] Gēn mētera, 'Earth mother'.

[Editorial Note 13] Gē mētēr pantōn Dēmētēr ploutodoteira. Newton gives an unexpected translation of this line; the Greek seems to me to mean, 'Earth, mother of all, Demeter, giver of plenty.' Newton possessed Orpheus, Argonautica, Hymni, et De lapidibus, ed. A.C. Eschenbach (Utrecht, 1689). Harrison 1214. The poems and hymns are not now attributed to the legendary Orpheus himself.

[Editorial Note 14] This paragraph, including the quotation from Orpheus, is from Diodorus, 1.12.4.

[Editorial Note 15] Diodorus, 1.12.7.

[Editorial Note 16] Diodorus, 1.11 and 12.

[Editorial Note 17] Venerem

[Editorial Note 18] Diodorus, 1.13.4.

[Editorial Note 19] Diodorus, 1.15.1..

[Editorial Note 20] Diodorus, 1.13.2-3.

[Editorial Note 21] Diodorus, 1.16.1.

[Editorial Note 22] Diodorus, 1.16.2.

[Editorial Note 23] Diodorus, 1.17.3.

[Editorial Note 24] Diodorus, 1.17.3.

[Editorial Note 25] Diodorus, 1.18.1.

[Editorial Note 26] Diodorus, 1.15.6-8 (Dionysus); 1.18.2 (Pan); 1.25.2 (Dionysus and Pan).

[Editorial Note 27] Diodorus 1.18.4. Musagetes, 'Leader of the Muses', is a cult-title of Apollo.

[Editorial Note 28] Diodorus, 1.19.1-3 and 5.

[Editorial Note 29] Diodorus, 1.20.6.

[Editorial Note 30] Diodorus, 1.21-2.

[Editorial Note 31] Diodorus, 1.23.1-3.

[Editorial Note 32] Diodorus, 1.25.6.

[Editorial Note 33] Diodorus, 1.26.6-8.

[Editorial Note 34] Diodorus, 1.22.2.

[Editorial Note 35] Diodorus, 1.27.4. Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 31r.

[Editorial Note 36] Diodorus, 1.28.4 ff.

[Editorial Note 37] Diodorus 1.29.5.

[Editorial Note 38] statuunt

[Editorial Note 39] See Diodorus, 1.40.1-8.

[Editorial Note 40] Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, 2.10.7 (Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, translated with introduction and notes by William Harris Stahl (New York: Columbia University Press 1952).

[Editorial Note 41] This is not a direct quotation from Homer, though Iliad, 1.423-25, 23.205-7 and Odyssey, 1.22-6 are close; cf. also the 'tables of the sun' in Herodotus, 3.17-8, and the reputed piety of the Ethiopians in Diodorus, 3.2.2-3. See Macrobe, Commentaire au Songe de Scipion, ed. M. Armisen-Marchetti, 2 vols. (Paris: Les belles lettres, 2003), vol. 2, p. 160 n. 214. Attempts were made by early editors to emend the text to bring it into line with Homer, but none have found favour, and modern editions print the text as Newton gives it.

[Editorial Note 42] Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, 2.10.11.

[Editorial Note 43] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.7.19. Macrobius, Saturnalia, ed. and tr. Robert A. Kaster, 3 vols., Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press 2011). Loeb Classical Library. Also Macrobius, The Saturnalia, tr. Percival Vaughan Davies (New York: Columbia University Press 1969).

[Editorial Note 44] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.8.5, 10.

[Editorial Note 45] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.12.10.

[Editorial Note 46] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.7.24, 36 ff.

[Editorial Note 47] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.17.52.

[Editorial Note 48] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.17.70.

[Editorial Note 49] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.19.4.

[Editorial Note 50] Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, 1.17.14.

[Editorial Note 51] 'Hunter' and 'Fisher'.

[Editorial Note 52] for Chrysom, transliterating the Greek

[Editorial Note 53] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.11-12. Eusebius, Præparatio Evangelica. F. Vigerus recensuit, Latinè vertit, notis illustravit. Ed. nova. (Greek and Latin) Coloniæ, 1688. Harrison 591. Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, translated by Edwin Hamilton Gifford, 2 vols. (1903; reprinted, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House 1981). Eusèbe de Césarée, La Préparation Evangélique, ed. J. Serinelli and E. des Places, 9 vols. (Paris : Les éditions de Cerf 1974-87); Bk. 1 is in vol. 1.

[Editorial Note 54] 'Countryman' or 'Farmer'

[Editorial Note 55] 'In the books of the ancients' is a mistranslation of the Greek as it is given in modern texts, which actually means 'among the inhabitants of Byblos'. The translator may have had a different reading in his Greek text. The confusion is between biblos ('book') and Byblos (the name of a city).

[Editorial Note 56] 'Field'

[Editorial Note 57] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel., 1.10.12-13.

[Editorial Note 58] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel., 1.10.31-32.

[Editorial Note 59] Presumably Philo of Byblos, a scholar of the second century AD who composed a Phoenician history, allegedly based upon Sanchuniathon, portions of which are preserved in Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel. Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 11r.

[Editorial Note 60] The 'epic cycles' are groups of early hexameter Greek poems, largely epic, other than those of Homer and apparently Hesiod. See Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol. 1, Greek Literature,ed. P.E. Easterling and B.M.W. Knox (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1985; online 2008), pp. 106-10. Only fragments survive.

[Editorial Note 61] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel. 1.10.40.

[Editorial Note 62] Josephus, Against Apion, 1.93-6. Josephus, with an English translation by H. St. J. Thackeray, 8 vols. (Loeb Classical Library). Against Apion is in vol. 1.

[Editorial Note 63] Josephus, Against Apion, 1.118.

[Editorial Note 64] Josephus, Against Apion, 1.129-32.

[Editorial Note 65] Josephus, Against Apion, 1.7-12.

[Editorial Note 66] I take this epithet of Zeus from the text of Josephus.

[Editorial Note 67] Josephus, Antiquities, 1.119. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, in Josephus, with an English translation by H. St. J. Thackeray, 8 vols. (Loeb 1926-65). Antiquities occupies vols. 4-9.

[Editorial Note 68] Plutarch, Amatorius, 753D-E. — Plutarch's Moralia, 15 vols., ed. and trans. Frank Cole Babbitt et al., Loeb Library (1922-69). Amatorius is in vol. 9 under the title, 'The Dialogue on Love'.

[1] Plutarch, Roman Questions. [Editorial Note 69]

[Editorial Note 69] Plutarch, Roman Questions,48, 276C in vol.4 of the Loeb Moralia.

[Editorial Note 70] Cf. Plutarch, Roman Questions, 12, 266E-F.

[2] Plut. Rom. Quest.

[Editorial Note 71] Plutarch, Roman Questions, 19, 268C.

[Editorial Note 72] Diodorus, 1.13.4.

[Editorial Note 73] uxore

[Editorial Note 74] Helium for Heleum

[Editorial Note 75] Helius (Sun) is the usual Latinisation of Greek Ἥλιος (Helios) in Diodorus' text.

[Editorial Note 76] For the Atlantians see Diodorus, 3.56.1-2. Cf. Yahuda 16.2, between f 36r and f 39r (two folio numbers are missing at this point in the transcript).

[Editorial Note 77] Cf. Diodorus 4.6.3.

[Editorial Note 78] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel., 11.16.1. Eusebius appears to be adapting [Plato], Epinomis, 986c.

[Editorial Note 79] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel., 3.4.1.

[Editorial Note 80] Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, 363D.

[Editorial Note 81] Cf. Diodorus, 1.13.4.

[Editorial Note 82] Newton owned Samuel Bochart, Geographia sacra, Frankfurt 1681 (Harrison 231).

[Editorial Note 83] Herodotus, 2.15.

[Editorial Note 84] Herodotus, 2.41.

[Editorial Note 85] Herodotus, 2.43. 'Tyndaridae' here presumably means Castor and Pollux, more normally known, as in this passage of Herodotus, as the 'Dioscuri'. The term 'Tyndaridae' is usually reserved for their half-sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra. All four were children of Leda, but the father of Castor and Pollux was the god Zeus, while the father of Helen and Clytemnestra was the mortal, King Tyndareos.

[Editorial Note 86] Herodotus, 2.46.

[Editorial Note 87] Herodotus, 2.46.

[Editorial Note 88] Herodotus, 2.50.

[Editorial Note 89] Herodotus, 2.50.

[Editorial Note 90] With this paragraph cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 23r.

[Editorial Note 91] Herodotus, 2.60.

[Editorial Note 92] Herodotus, 2.63.

[Editorial Note 93] Herodotus, 2. 83,152, 155.

[Editorial Note 94] Cf. Herodotus, 2.156.

[Editorial Note 95] Herodotus, 2.137.

[Editorial Note 96] Herodotus, 2.144.

[Editorial Note 97] Herodotus, 2.145.

[Editorial Note 98] Herodotus, 2.156.

[Editorial Note 99] Herodotus, 3.8. Modern texts spell the first name Ὀροτάλτ.

[Editorial Note 100] On this paragraph Cf. Yahuda 16.2, between f 36r and f 39r (two folio numbers are missing at this point in the transcript).

[Editorial Note 101] I follow the varying spelling of these names in the text of this paragraph.

[Editorial Note 102] The river Po normally, but Newton understands it to refer to the Nile. See f 18.

[Editorial Note 103] This does not seem to be in Diodorus Book 9 but 3.57 and 60. Newton attributes this material to bk. 3 in Yahuda 16.2, between f 36r and f 39r (two folio numbers are missing at this point in the transcript). Cf. also f 18 below.

[Editorial Note 104] Cf. f 6 above. On this para cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 32r.

[Editorial Note 105] On this paragraph cf. Yahuda 16.2.

[Editorial Note 106] 'the Most High'.

[Editorial Note 107] Sky and Earth.

[Editorial Note 108] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.14-15.

[Editorial Note 109] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.16.

[Editorial Note 110] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.21.

[Editorial Note 111] 1.10.22.

[Editorial Note 112] 1.10.25. 'Jupiter of the Plough'.

[Editorial Note 113] 1.10.26.

[Editorial Note 114] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.43.

[Editorial Note 115] Diodorus, 3.50.1-3.

[Editorial Note 116] With this paragraph, cf. f 9.

[Editorial Note 117] Diodorus, 3.57.1-8.

[Editorial Note 118] Diodorus, 3.58.

[Editorial Note 119] Diodorus, 3.60.1.

[Editorial Note 120] Diodorus, 3.60.2; cf. 4.27.5.

[Editorial Note 121] 3.60.2-3.

[Editorial Note 122] 3.60.4-5.

[Editorial Note 123] 3.61.1

[Editorial Note 124] 3.61.4-6.

[Editorial Note 125] 3.57-61.

[Editorial Note 126] Diodorus, 4.27.1-2.

[Editorial Note 127] Virgil, Georgics, 1.125-48, with omissions. The translation is taken from the Loeb edition with minor modifications. In vol. 1 of Virgil, ed. and tr. H. Rushton Fairclough, rev. G.P. Goold (Harvard University Press 1999), 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library

[Editorial Note 128] Hesiod, Theogony, 918-20; 912-14. I have used Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia, ed. and tr. Glenn W. Most (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP), 2006. Loeb Classical Library.

[Editorial Note 129] Hesiod, Theogony, 15: 'Poseidon, earth-encircler, earth-shaker'.

[Editorial Note 130] Works and Days, 42-105. Theogony 561-616. In editions of Newton's time Works and Days, now numbered consecutively throughout, was divided into two books.

[Editorial Note 131] Hesiod, Theogony, 371.

[Editorial Note 132] Hesiod, Theogony, 453-56.

[Editorial Note 133] Hesiod, Theogony, 507-17.

[Editorial Note 134] 921-23.

[Editorial Note 135] 933-37; Phobos, Deimos.

[Editorial Note 136] 945-6.

[Editorial Note 137] 907-11.

[Editorial Note 138] Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 13v: 'But I am still investigating how it came about that Canaan was called Busiris.' More pertinently, see the 'insertion from f 59v': 'Antaeus and Busiris are recognised as Phut and Canaan from the lands granted to them to the west' etc.

[Editorial Note 139] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.11-12. Philo of Byblos was a scholar of the second century AD, who composed a Phoenician history, allegedly based upon Sanchuniathon (this seems to be the usual modern spelling), portions of which are preserved in Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel. 'Sanchuniathon is cited by Philon of Byblos as a pre-Trojan War authority for his Phoenician History (preserved in Eusebius).' (OCD, p. 1352).

[Editorial Note 140] for Chrysor; cf. f 5, ad fin.

[Editorial Note 141] This is the spelling of this goddess's name in Diodorus, 2.4.2 ff. on which this passage appears to be based.

[Editorial Note 142] Cf. f 5 ad fin above and Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 1.10.11-12.

[Editorial Note 143] Coelus sky or heaven; supercoelestis 'above the sky or heaven', which is also the meaning of the Greek Hypsurania.

[Editorial Note 144] Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 13v.

[Editorial Note 145] Tibullus, Carmina, 1.7.20.

[Editorial Note 146] Strabo, Geography, 16.4.27 ad fin.

[Editorial Note 147] It seems that this should mean something like: 'Obviously from Athara comes Athar — fish in Syrian, and Atar-dag and Athar together with the obsolete word κῆτος is Αταρ-κήτης', but I can't reconstruct the Latin even with the help of the diplomatic text.

[Editorial Note 148] 1 Chronicles 22.4.

[3] b Saturn bk. 1 ch 27

[Editorial Note 149] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.21.2.

[4] c Geor bk. 2

[Editorial Note 150] Virgil, Georgics, 2.465.

[5] d Genesis 10.15

[6] e Iustin. bk. 18 § 3.[Editorial Note 151]

[Editorial Note 151] Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, 18.3.1-2

[Editorial Note 152] Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, 3.39.

[Editorial Note 153] Clement, Protrepticus, 2.39.9. Clément d' Alexandrie, Le Protreptique, ed. C. Mondésert, 2nd. edn. (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1949).

[Editorial Note 154] Xenophon, Anabasis, 1.4.9.

[Editorial Note 155] This passage of Abydenus is most easily available, with English translation, in Brill's New Jacoby, ed. Ian Worthington (Leiden: Brill 2007- ), which is online. Abydenus is no. 680 in this collection, and our passage is F 2 b. It is taken from Synkellos, Chronography.

[Editorial Note 156] Newton discusses the length of a sarus at Yahuda 16.2, f 1v.

[Editorial Note 157] I am not at all sure that f. should be read as 'son of'. Also the text in Brill's New Jacoby reads differently: 'In the reign of Euedoreschos who came after this, Anodaphos.'

[Editorial Note 158] This is Brill's New Jacoby, 680, F 3 b. It is taken from Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 9.12.1. Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 51r.

[Editorial Note 159] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 2.1.5; cf. Diodorus, 1.13.4

[Editorial Note 160] This appears to be 1.13.4.

[Editorial Note 161] This appears to be 2.2.60.

[Editorial Note 162] Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, 27. 361E.

[Editorial Note 163] Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, 1.17.14; cf. above f 5.

[Editorial Note 164] Diodorus, 1.24.1-4.

[Editorial Note 165] Diodorus, 1.26.6-8

[Editorial Note 166] Diodorus, 1.27.3-4. Cf. Yahuda 16.2, f 31r.

[Editorial Note 167] Corpus hermeticum, ed. A.J. Festugière and A.D. Nock, 4 vols. (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1954). Cf. Yahuda 16.2, insertion from f 19v.

[Editorial Note 168] The following text was written originally in English

[Editorial Note 169] Translation resumes

[Editorial Note 170] Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 9.27.32.

[Editorial Note 171] Herodotus, 2.43.

[Editorial Note 172] Diodorus, 4.6.3.

[Editorial Note 173] Diodorus, 1.13.4; Homer, Iliad, 5.131.

[Editorial Note 174] Cf. Herodotus, 2.156 and f 9 above.

[Editorial Note 175] This looks like Herodotus, 2.144; cf. f 9 above.

[Editorial Note 176] Cf. Diodorus, 3.57, 60, and f 9 above.

[Editorial Note 177] Cf. Diodorus, 3.57-61 and ff 8 and 9 above.

[Editorial Note 178] Virgil, Georgics, 138; cf. f 12 above.

[Editorial Note 179] Newton possessed Marsham, Sir John, Canon Chronicus Aegyptiacus, ... (Lipsiae, 1676). Harrison 1036.

[Editorial Note 180] For these passages of Hesiod, see f 12 above.

[Editorial Note 181] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.7.19; cf. f 5 above.

[Editorial Note 182] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.7.24, 36 ff.; cf. f 5 above.

[Editorial Note 183] Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.19.4; cf. f 5 above.

[Editorial Note 184] Eridanus is usually the Po in the classical texts I know, but see the quotation from Hyginus on f 20 below, and cf. Yahuda 16.2 (just before f 39r), where Newton says 'By the Eridanus in which Helius perished I understand the Nile.'

[Editorial Note 185] Diodorus, 3.57.5. The gap in the text presumably should refer to 'the philosophy of the Atlantians', as in f 8 above.

[Editorial Note 186] Iamblichus, On the Mysteries, 7.1; Newton's references to this text correspond to the numbering of modern editions. Jamblique, Les mystères d'Egypte, E. des Places (Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 1966).

[Editorial Note 187] Synesius, In Praise of Baldness ['calvitium' in Latin], 10.1. See Synésios de Cyrène, tome 4, Opuscules, 1, ed. J. Lamoureux and N. Aujoulat (Paris: Les belles lettres 2004).

[Editorial Note 188] esēmainon dia kuklou tēn monoeidē zōēn, kai noeran epistrophēn: 'By means of a circle they signified the uniform life and intellectual reversion.' Proclus, Commentary on Plato's Timaeus, bk. 3, 216c, in Proclus Diadochus in Platonis Timaeum Commentaria, ed. E. Diehl (Leipzig 1904/Amsterdam 1965), vol. 2, p. 247.

[Editorial Note 189] Ficino, De sole et lumine libri duo.

[Editorial Note 190] This looks like Newton's note to himself to check which book of Origen contains this statement.

[Editorial Note 191] Lucian, On the Syrian Goddess, 2. This work of Lucian's is available in vol. 4 of the Loeb Lucian under the title 'The Goddesse of Surrye'. Lucian, ed. and trans. A. M. Harmon et al., 8 vols., Loeb Library (1913-2004).

[Editorial Note 192] Porphyry, On Abstinence, 4.10.3-4. Porphyre, De l'Abstinence, ed. M. Patillon et al. 3 vols. (Paris: Les Belles lettres 1977/1995).

[Editorial Note 193] Iamblichus, On the Mysteries, 7.5.

[Editorial Note 194] Newton owned Iamblichi De mysteriis liber, ed. T. Gale (Oxonii 1678). Harrison 827.

[Editorial Note 195] 'Water and sand'.

[Editorial Note 196] Cf. Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, 3.4.1-4.

[Editorial Note 197] 'the unknown darkness'

[Editorial Note 198] 'water and sand'

[Editorial Note 199] 'of one substance'

[Editorial Note 200] Strabo, Geography, 17.1.46.

[Editorial Note 201] This looks like Isaac Casaubon, De rebus sacris et ecclesiasticis exercitationes XVI, ad Cardinal. Baronij prolegomena in Annales, etc.

[Editorial Note 202] Could this possibly be A. Possivinus, Bibliotheca selecta de ratione studiorum?

[Editorial Note 203] This looks like Francesco Collius, De animabus paganorum libri quinque (1622).

[Editorial Note 204] This looks like Herman Conring, De hermetica medicina libri duo (1669).

[Editorial Note 205] Theodoretus, On the Treatment of Greek Affections.

[Editorial Note 206] Plutarch 'Isis and Osiris', possibly ch. 10.

[Editorial Note 207] Presumably Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel.

[Editorial Note 208] Hyginus, Poetica astronomica, otherwise known as De Astronomia, 2.32, the section headed 'Eridanus'. See Hygin, L'astronomie, ed. A. Boeuffle (Paris : Les Belles Lettres 1983).

[Editorial Note 209] Hyginus, De Astronomia, 2.28.

[Editorial Note 210] Hyginus, De Astronomia, 2.28, in the section headed 'Capricorn'. Cf. Yahuda 16.2 f 62r.

[Editorial Note 211] The following text was written originally in English

[Editorial Note 212] Translation resumes

[Editorial Note 213] Here Newton broaches the question of the origin of the Etruscans, vexed since antiquity.

[Editorial Note 214] Some of the material that follows is in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 1.25-30, but Newton's source appears to be Historia antiqua.

[Editorial Note 215] Greek τυρσεις (turseis), 'towers'. See Dionysus of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 1.26.

[Editorial Note 216] This appears to be Judas Bonutius, Historia antiqua (1599), a reprint of a work by Joannes Annius, Antiquitatum Variarum Autores, which seems to have been reprinted a number of times in the sixteenth century under different titles. Historia antiqua contains various works purporting to be by Myrsilus, Cato, Berosus, Manetho, etc., as listed by Newton, but most of them are spurious. It is also quoted at Yahuda 16.2, f 42r and f 67r. I have not seen the book itself. I get the contents from a Catalogue description.

[Editorial Note 217] The following text was written originally in English

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