vour of the fountain. Moreover, as people were determined in the choice of their holy places by thofe præternatural phænomena, of which I have before taken notice; if there be any truth in my fyftem, there will be uniformly found fome analogy between the name of the temple, and its rites, and fituation: fo that the etymology may be ascertained by the history of the place. The like will appear in respect to rivers and mountains; especially to thofe, which were efteemed at all facred; and which were denominated from the Sun, and Fire. I therefore flatter myself, that the etymologies, which I fhall lay before the Reader, will not ftand fingle and unfupported; but there will be an apparent analogy throughout the whole. The allufion will not be cafual, and remote, nor be obtained by undue inflexions, and diftortions: but however complicated the name may appear, it will refolve itself eafily into the original terms: and when refolved, the truth of the etymology will be ascertained by the concomitant hiftory. If it be a deity, or other perfonage, the truth will appear from his office and department, or with the attributes imputed to him.'

By maintaining this judicious union between etymology and hiftory, Mr. Bryant, through the whole courfe of his work, has reflected amazing light on the mythology and worship of the firft ages, the origin of nations, and the general ftate of the ancient world. His matter, at the fame time, is fo copious, and is connected fo closely together, that we can only pursue the method we have hitherto taken of felecting fome few of the things which deserve peculiar notice.

Our Author obferves, that the ancient Cuthites, and the Perfians after them, had a great veneration for fountains and ftreams, which alfo prevailed among other nations, fo as to have been at one time almoft univerfal. It mattered not what the nature of the water might be, if it had a peculiar quality. Many inftances are given of this veneration for waters, and one reafon for holding them fo facred arose from a notion that they were gifted with fupernatural powers.

Mr. Bryant, in vindicating his explication of the word Hanes, as fignifying a fountain of light, takes occafion to make fome juft ftrictures on the conduct of thofe learned men, who regard the Hebrew language as the ftandard, according to which ancient terms are to be expreffed and explained. They have not confidered that every other nation, to which we can poffibly gain accefs, or from whom we have any hiftory derived, appears to have expreffed foreign terms differently from the natives in whofe language they were found. And without a miracle the Hebrews must have done the fame. We pronounce all French names differently from the people of that country; and they do the fame in refpect to us. What we call London,

they

they exprefs Londres: England they ftile Angleterre. What fome call Bazil, they pronounce Bal: Munchen, Munich: Mentz, Mayence: Ravenfpurg, Ratisbon. The like variation was obfervable of old. Carthago of the Romans was Carchedon among the Greeks. Hannibal was rendered Annibas: Afdrubal, Afdroubas: and probably neither was confonant to the Punic mode of expreffion. If then a prophet were to rife from the dead, and preach to any nation, he would make use of terms adapted to their idiom and ufage, without any retrofpect to the original of the terms, whether they were domeftic or foreign. The facred writers undoubtedly obferved this rule towards the people for whom they wrote; and varied in their expreffing of foreign terms, as the ufage of the people varied; for the Jewish nation, at times, differed from its neighbours, and from itself. We may be morally certain, that the place, rendered by them Ekron, was by the natives called Achoron : the Acaron, Axxxgwv, of Jofephus and the Seventy. What they termed Philiftim, was Peleftin: Eleazar, in their own language, they changed to Lazar, and Lazarus: and of the Greek uvedo, they formed Sanhedrim. Hence we may be certified that the Jews, and their ancestors, as well as all nations upon earth, were liable to exprefs foreign terms with a variation, being led by a natural peculiarity in their mode of fpeech. They therefore are furely to be blamed, who would deduce the orthography of all ancient words from the Hebrew; and bring every extraneous term to that teft. It requires no great infight into that language to fee the impropriety of fuch procedure. Yet no prejudice has been more common. The learned Michaelis has taken notice of this fatal attachment, and fpeaks of it as a ftrange illufion. He fays, that it is the reigning influenza, to which all are liable, who make the Hebrew their principal study. The only way to obtain the latent purpose of ancient terms is by a fair analyfis. This must be discovered by an apparent analogy; and fupported by the hiftory of the place, or perfon, to whom the terms relate. If fuch helps can be obtained, we may determine very truly the etymology of an Egyptian or Syriac name, however it may appear repugnant to the orthography of the Hebrews.'

There were many people called Hyrcani, and cities and regions, Hyrcania: in the hiftory of which there will be uniformly found fome reference to Fire. The name is a compound of Ur-chane, the god of that element. He was worshipped particularly at Ur in Chaldea: and one tribe of that nation were called Urchani.-What may feem extraordinary, our Author cannot help thinking, that the Hercynian foreft in Germany was no other than the Hurcanian, and that it was denominated from the god Urcan, who was worshipped here as well as in the Eaf

3

Eaft. We must not be furprized to find Amonian names among the Alpes; for fome of that family were the first that paffed them. Indeed many of the Alpine appellations were Amonian; as were also their rites: and the like is to be observed in many parts of Gaul, Britain, and Germany.

tars.

Speaking of Britain and Ireland, Mr. Bryant remarks, that both of these countries, but efpecially the latter, abound with facred terms, which have been greatly overlooked. I will therefore, he adds, fay fo much in furtherance of the British antiquarian, as to inform him, that names of places, especially of hills, promontories, and rivers, are of long duration; and fuffer little change. The fame may be faid of every thing, which was efteemed at all facred, fuch as temples, towers, and high mounds of earth; which in early times were used for alMore particularly all mineral and medicinal waters will be found, in a great degree, to retain their ancient names: and among these there may be obferved a resemblance in most parts of the world. For when names have been once determinately affixed, they are not eafily effaced.-I have been affured by my late excellent and learned friend Mr. Wood, that if you were to mention Palmyra to an Arab upon the fpot, he would not know to what you alluded: nor would you find him at all more acquainted with the hiftory of Odænatus, and Zenobia. Inftead of Palmyra he would talk of Tedmor; and in lieu of Zenobia he would tell you, that it was built by Salmah Ebn Doud, that is by Solomon the fon of David. This is exactly conformable to the account in the fcriptures: for it is faid in the book of Chronicles, he alfo (Solomon) built Tadmor in the wilderness. The Grecian name Palmyra, probably of two thoufand years ftanding, is novel to a native Arab.'

In treating of the worship paid at caverns, and of the adoration of Fire in the first ages, our ingenious Writer produces many ftriking proofs of the prevalence of these two fpecies of fuperftition. Men repaired either to the lonely fummits of mountains, or elfe to caverns in the rocks, and hollows in the bofom of the earth; which they thought were the refidence of their gods. At the entrance of thefe they raifed their altars, and performed their vows.-When in procefs of time they began to erect temples, they were ftill determined in their fituation by the vicinity of these objects, which they comprehended within the limits of the facred inclofure. Thefe melancholy receffes were esteemed the places of the highest fanctity: and fo greatly did this notion prevail, that in after times, when this practice had ceafed, ftill the innermoft part of the temple was denominated the cavern.-The cave in Mount Atlas was named Co-el, the House of God; equivalent to Calus of the Romans. To this the people made their offerings: and this

was

was the heaven which Atlas was fuppofed to fupport.-Among the Perfians most of the temples were caverns in rocks, either formed by nature, or artificially produced. They had likewife Puratheia, or open temples, for the celebration of the rites of Fire. The caverns in the mountains of Chufiftan were facred to Mithras, and were made use of for his rites. In these gloomy receffes people who were to be initiated, were confined for a long_feafon in the dark, and totally fecluded from all company. During this appointed term they underwent, as fome fay, eighty kinds of trials, or tortures, by way of expiation. Many died in the trial: and thofe who furvived were often fo crazed and fhaken in their intellects, that they never returned to their former ftate of mind. Some traces of this kind of penance may be ftill perceived in the East, where the followers of Mahomet have been found to adopt it.

Mr. Bryant, in his differtation on the Omphi, and on the worship upon high places, throws great light on feveral practices of antiquity, and illuftrates a number of paffages in ancient writers. We can only take notice of fome few of the circumftances mentioned by him. The term Omphi, he obferves, is of great antiquity, and denotes an oracular influence, by which people obtained an infight into the fecrets of futurity. As men in the first ages repaired, with the utmost reverence, to rocks and caverns, as to places of particular fanctity, where they thought that the Deity would moft likely difclofe himself either by a voice, or a dream, or fome other præternatural token; fo, many for the fame purpose worshipped upon hills, and on the tops of high mountains; imagining that they hereby obtained a nearer communication with heaven.-This practice in early times was almost universal, and every mountain was efteemed holy. The people who retired to eminences fancied that they were brought into the vicinity of the powers of the air, and of the deity who refided in the higher regions. But the chief excellence for which they were frequented was the Omphi, expreffed quon by the Greeks, and interpreted Ossa xandwv, vox divina, being efteemed a particular revelation from heaven. In short, they were looked upon as the peculiar places where God delivered his oracles. The word Omphi, or Amphi, fignifies the oracle of Ham; who, according to the Egyptian theology,. was the fame as the Sun, or Ofiris. He was, likewise, revered as the chief Deity by the Chaldæans, and by moft nations in the Eaft. He was ftiled both Ham, and Cham; and his oracles both Omphi and Ompi. In confequence of this the mountains, where they were fuppofed to be delivered, came to be denominated Har-al-Ompi; which al-ompi by the Greeks was changed to Oxuros, Olympus; and the mountain was called ogos OUμ. There were many of this name.

They

They were all looked upon to be prophetic; and fuppofed to be the refidence of the chief Deity, under whatever denomination he was specified, which was generally the God of Light. For thefe oracles no place was of more repute than the hill at Delphi, called Omphi-El, or the oracle of the Sun. But the Greeks, who changed Al-omphi to Olympus, perverted these terms in a manner ftill more ftrange: for finding them fomewhat fimilar in found to a word in their own language, their caprice immediately led them to think of oppuλcs, a navel, which they fubftituted for the original word. This they did uniformly in all parts of the world; and always invented fome ftory to countenance their mistake. Hence, whenever we meet with an idle account of a navel, we may be pretty fure that there is fome allufion to an oracle. In refpect to Delphi, they prefumed that it was the Umbilicus, or Center of the whole earth.

Speaking of the Omphalus of Jupiter Ammon, described by Quintus Curtius, and which that hiftorian has tranflated Umbilicus, and garnished with gold and jewels, our Author remarks, that the whole arifes from a mistake in terms, as in many inftances before. It was Omphi-El, the oracle of Ham, or the Sun and the fhrine, from whence it was supposed to proceed, was carried in a boat. The Pateræ, reprefented as fo many filver bafons, were, in reality, the interpreters of the oracle. They were the priests, who, in the facred proceffions, walked on each fide, and fupported both the image and the boat, in which it was carried.-The cuftom of carrying the Deity in a fhrine, placed in a boat, and supported by priefts, was in ufe among the Egyptians, as well as the Ammonites. It is a circumftance which deferves our notice, as it appears to be very ancient, and had doubtless a mysterious allufion.-The perfon in the fhrine was their chief ancestor, and the whole process was a memorial of the deluge.

From the fhrines of Amon may be deduced the history of all oracles.-The Greeks adhered religiously to ancient terms, however obfolete and unintelligible. They retained the name of Amphi, though they knew not the meaning; for it was antiquated, before they had letters. That it originally related to oracular revelation is plain, from its being always found annexed to the names of perfons famous on that account; and from its occurring in the names of men, renowned as priests and augurs, and fuppofed to have been gifted with a degree of foreknowledge. We read of Amphiaraus, Amphilocus, Amphimachus, perfons reprefented as under particular divine inAuence, and interpreters of the will of the gods. Amphion, though degraded to a harper, was Amphi-On, the oracle of Apollo, the Sun.

Mr.