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PREFACE.

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S it is the defign of the following notes to illuftrate and explain such parts of the antient Mythology as occur in the hymns here prefented to the reader in an English drefs, it may be proper, in order to his forming a right judgment of particulars, to lay before him a general view of my fentiments concerning the rife and progrefs of what is called Mythology in the world. To do this at large, and produce the proofs and teftimonies that are neceffary from antiquity, would vaftly exceed the bounds of a preface, which obliges me to content myself at prefent with giving only a short sketch of what I take to be the true ftate of the cafe. The chief difficulty then, I apprehend, that attends an enquiry of this kind, and has rendered fo many attempts fruitless, is the want of a clue to lead us regularly up to the fountain; which muft have been originally one, however afterwards, in their courfes, the ftreams took different tinctures in different ages and countries. For were we once well acquainted with the nature and properties of the water at the fpring-head, we might easily, by following the current down again, perceive when and how it became adulterated and corrupted with adventitious mixtures. The Mythology of the Greeks and Romans, who lived in the midnight of Paganifm, just before the day dawned, and the fun of righteousness arofe upon the earth, is one vaft ocean of confufion, which ingulphed into itself all the broken traditions of theological, phyfical, and hiftorical truths that came near it, and converted them into fables, changing the truth of God (as the Apoftle fpeaks of them) into a LIE. Accordingly, if we look into the mufter-roll of their gods, and the facts related of them, we fhall find fome owe their birth to the great things revealed to believers from the beginning concerning the Saviour of the world, and what he was to be, to do, and to fuffer, for the falvation of men. Thefe may be put to the fcore of theology. Another fet of gods are the operations of nature and the mechanical agents, that perform them, deified, which may therefore be faid to have a phyfical divinity; while a third part of the annals of heaven is made up of broken and disjointed fragments concerning heroes and heroines that lived, or were reported to have lived, and acted upon earth; and thefe venerable perfonages cannot, I think, be allowed more than an historical godhead.

These I take to be the three grand fources of mythology; and were they always kept distinct, it might be no difficult matter, perhaps, to refer each

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copy to its original. But the misfortune is, they are not; for generally, if not always, the theological and phyfical parts are mixed and blended, and often there is a jumble of all three together, nothing being more common than to find a god acting in a threefold capacity, fometimes as a theological, fometimes as a phyfical, and sometimes as an hiftorical god. In this cafe, to untwift the cord, fhew which was the original stamen, and how, when, and by whom the others were added, and woven into it-Hic labor, hoc opus-for here those ingenious gentlemen the poets, that twisted it, can give us no affiftance. They knew not what the materials were, or whence they came; but they took what they found, added what embellishments they fanfied, and then worked them all up together, each according to his own imagination. From the time when the true history of the Greeks begins, to the first apoftafy of the Gentiles from the patriarchal faith and worship to idolatry-a period which goes under the general denomination of the fabulous age-is a great gap in the mythological chain, by which we are deprived of the first and most valuable links of it. If we knew what were the objects of the heathen worship at their first going off, and afterwards in particular of the Canaanites, it would guide us downwards to unravel the mythology of the Greeks, who (as most learned men feem to agree) were fome of those that fled weftward, when difpoffeffed by Joshua. 'Till we have this knowledge, we are in a labyrinth without a clue; we find matters in a great confusion, and after all our labours fhall leave them in a greater.

To this knowledge no book can help us but the Bible, which begins with the beginning of the world and man, and brings down a history of the true Religion inftituted by God, with the deviations and corruptions introduced by Satan, to the times of the Greeks and Romans, thus filling up the deficiency, and compleating the chain. By the light afforded us in Scripture we find, that two of the abovementioned fources of mythology, divinity and phyfics, were originally united, the latter being used as illuftrative and explanatory of the former. The invifible things of God from the creation of the world, from the beginning, ever fince there was a revelation made of them, are clearly feen, not by the eye of sense, but that of faith, being understood by the things that are made, even bis eternal power and godhead are exhibited to us by visible objects, and not otherwife to be known or conceived. The counfels of the eternal Three foreordained before, and executed in time, for the redemption of man, are shown us as in a glafs by the operations performed in nature, and the bright rulers that carry on these in the material world are representatives of the more glorious ones that carry on those in the fpiritual. The beavens, by the light enshrined in their tabernacle the fun, placed in them, and thence irradiated on the earth, moon and ftars, declare and hold forth to us an image of the glory of God, the divine light, that from the humanity of our Lord is poured forth on his Churches and Saints; while the air in conjunction with the light diffufed thro' the universal system of nature, to

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animate and give breath to all creatures, is a moft expreflive emblem of an omniprefent fpirit, the author, giver, and preferver of fpiritual life. The patriarchs and believers made that ufe of the knowledge of nature defigned by him who gave it them; they regarded it as a ladder, whereby they might afcend to a knowledge of the almighty Lord of nature, and his fpiritual operations in the economy of redemption. But the nations, after their apoftacy at Babel, dropt the originals, and worshipped the copies inftead of them, ferving the creature more, or rather than the creator. For, from that time, we find it conftantly charged upon the Babylonians, Egyptians, Canaanites, and other neighbouring nations, that they paid divine honours to the Hift of Heaven, thofe powers in the fervice of Jehovah, which, from their tents, the folar, lunar, and ftellar orbs, ftationed in fuch beautiful order and array in the firmament, are divided, and fent abroad to all nations under heaven. Vos, o clariffima mundi lumina! became now the general invocation; and by the names of the idols and temples of the Canaanites, and others remaining upon record in the Bible to this day, it appears, that they knew what great and wonderful things the powers of the heavens performed in nature, for which they adored them as the Gods that governed the world. That the heavens were the ruling agents in this fyftem was true; but when they afcribed fupremacy and independency to them, they forgot that there were higher than they, and that it was Jehovah that made the heavens. They were found philofophers, though rotten divines. But in procefs of time, the knowledge even of philofophy declined, and was loft; people received the Gods and creeds of their ancestors without the reafons of them, and fo worshipped; they knew not what, they knew not why; only their fathers did it, and therefore fo did they. The knowledge of philofophy being gone, the latter heathens patched up matters with fragments of history and fable; and as it had been usual among the old idolaters for kings and great men to take the names of their Gods, they confounded the hiftorical actions of the prince with the phyfical actions of the God, which introduced that intricate and often utterly inextricable confufion in the Greek and Roman mythology, lamented in vain by the critics and beaux efprits of modern times. The hymns. called Orphic (whoever was the author of them) plainly appear to have been wrote when the phyfical mythology was declining, and the hiftorical or fabulous gaining ground, are a fort of ifthmus between the two feas, washed by the waves of both. In many places his defcriptions of the natural agents and their operations are amazingly juft and beautiful, and the compound epithets, he uses to defcribe thein beyond measure, full, ftrong, and expreffive; and in others, where there is a mixture of the fabulous, a great deal of true philofophy is ftill difcernable. But in Homer the cafe is widely different. There the fabulous almoft wholly lofes fight of the phyfical." And though there are many particulars, which may be referred to nature, the

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labyrinth is fo intricate, that it requires a clue far more exact, than we can at prefent have, to carry us through its mazes.

It cannot be expected, that matters fhould be much better in this particular with our author, who is but a modern, in comparison of Homer, and who lived, though in an age of polite learning, yet, in the very darkest times of Paganism. Notwithstanding, this, by fome means or other, he has mixed in the present hymns, feveral particulars well deferving notice, and which may fully fatisfy the reader of the fitness of the key above-given to open the heathen mythology. Spanheim has proved, beyond controverfy, that he was no ftranger to the LXX tranflation of the Bible; an opinion which the following obfervations will, I imagine, abundantly confirm, as to remember it, in the perufing of them, will be of fervice to me, as well as my readers. I have been fo large in my notes, that there is little occafion to fay more on this subject and as I have provided a copious index, it will be easy to refer to any particular.

It was my original intention to have given Mr. Prior's tranflation of the two firft hymns of our author, which are incomparable pieces of poetry: but upon a close examination, I found many misunderstandings of the original, which would have occafioned fo frequent carping, that I determined to tranflate them afresh; which I have done in rhyme, for no other reason than because I was unwilling to enter the lifts with fo excellent a master as Mr. Prior, in blank verfe, conscious how much I muft lofe by fuch a competition :-The rest are in blank; which, doubtlefs, is the most proper for fuch compofitions. I have fpared no pains to make the work as acceptable as might be to my worthy friends and subscribers, whose generous affiftance I thus beg leave to acknowledge; and though fo long time has intervened fince my propofals were firft delivered, I trust the work has loft nothing thereby, as I have not been wanting in a diligent revifal of it; indeed the pains and labour it has coft me will very greatly overbalance every thing I can expect from it for though the work was nearly finished, before I took my degree, in the year 1750, at Cambridge; the toil of correcting, printing, and a long &c., amidst my many other neceffary avocations, has been truly grievous and burdenfome. And after all perhaps, I am only making myself a ftage for ill-natured criticism to display its malignity be it fo: yet let me affure every reader of this work, that if they enter upon it with a mind as candid and open to truth, as unprejudiced and unbigotted to any man's notions or opinions as my own, they will never cenfure others for differing in judgment with regard to fuch matters, but with fatisfaction hear all, and give cool impartial reason the final decifion the treatment which through my notes I have given to others, will, I hope, gain to me the like. However, be the remarks of the envious' and ill-natured what they please, I fhall always find cause to rejoice in the ebliging readiness of my friends to affift and promote my endeavours: and

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here I cannot omit to pay a particular regard to my dear and worthy friend the reverend Mr. Parkhurst, who has furnished me with many excellent remarks, and from whofe found judgment, enlarged understanding, unwearied application, and generous openness of heart, the world has great and valuable fruits to expect: Dr. R. SCHOMBERG too has, with abundant civility, favoured me with his obfervations; and it gives me pleasure thus to acknowledge his learned and friendly affiftance. To Maurice Johnfon, Efq; I am indebted for the head of Callimachus, prefixed to this volume, which is taken from a curious drawing by that celebrated antiquary Beauprè Bell, Efq; copied from a fine antique. And very many particular kindneffes I have received from various other friends, whofe names I efteem not more an honour to my lift, than the friendship they are pleased to favour me with, an happiness to my life.

The original propofals promised head and tail-pieces; but the tail-pieces, I found, depended entirely upon chance, according as there was room left at the end of each hymn or not: and for this reafon, I threw all into one, placing the antiques intended for the tail-pieces in the head-pieces; by which means, there are the fame number of figures, and the fame expence to me-nay, indeed, the bead at the beginning, as well as the Select Epigrams are more than were at first propofed---but it was my defire to please and fatisfy my fubfcribers. Each plate contains fomewhat explanatory of paffages in the author, or in the notes, and every piece is copied from the remains of antiquity, found either in Montfauçon, or Spence's Polymetis, which book will best shew the use of such antient remains for the explanation of the poets. Callimachus has been happy in the regard of great and learned men: the Variorum edition of his works prefents us with all their labours together: there we see Grævius, Stephans, Frischlinus, Voet, Faber, and his ingenious daughter Madam Dacier, Dr. Bentley, and, above all, Spanheim, uniting their endeavours to set forth the beauties and excellencies of our poet and fuch names, I hope, will be fufficient to justify my choice. I can never too largely commend the observations of Spanheim upon Callimachus, which are a rich fund of learning, and discover at once the most ingenious, and the most cultivated mind: I have gathered plentifully from them; and had formerly digested many more of his remarks into my own; which are in a great measure dropped, as I have omitted most part of my critical notes, my fondness for that fort of writing being confiderably abated.

I have fubjoined the Life of Callimachus, as compiled by Bafil Kennet, which is very exact and impartial: and thus have, to the utmost of my ability, endeavoured to make the work as perfect as I was able.

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