Dec. 10. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



567 



philological pursuits ; and had some share in the 

 formation of a society in his native town, for the 

 purpose of debating questions relative to these 

 sciences. I have understood that he was for some 

 time noticed by a small portion of the scientific 

 world, but afterwards neglected, as, from his own 

 account, he appears also to have been by his 

 literary fellow townsmen ; and at last to have died 

 in a Norwich alms-house. This is but a meagre 

 account of the man, but it is possible that I may 

 be able to glean farther particulars on the subject ; 

 for a medical friend of mine, who some time ago 

 lent me Mythological Astronomy, promised to let 

 me see some papers in his possession relative to 

 this learned shoemaker's career, and to a few of 

 his unpublished speculations. When I have an 

 opportunity of seeing these, I shall be glad to com- 

 municate to your correspondent through "N. & Q." 

 anything of interest. The title-page of Mytho- 

 logical Astronomy runs thus : 



" The Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients 

 demonstrated by restoring to their Fables and Sym- 

 bols their Original Meanings. By Sampson Arnold 

 Mackey, Shoemaker. Norwich : printed by R. Walker, 

 near the Duke's Palace. Published May 1, 1822, by 

 S. A. Mackey, Norwich." 



The book contains a variety of subjects, but 

 principally treats of the Hindoo, Greek, and Roman 

 mythology; and endeavours to deduce all the 

 fables and symbols of the ancients from the starry 

 sphere. It also contains a singular hypothesis of 

 the author's upon the celebrated island of Atlantis, 

 mentioned by Plato and other Greek authors ; and 

 some very curious speculations concerning the 

 doctrine of the change in the angle which the 

 plane of the ecliptic makes with the plane of the 

 equator. 



Urania's Key to the Revelations is bound up with 

 the above work. I forgot to say that his Ancient 

 Mythology demonstrated is written in verse, and 

 afterwards more fully explained by notes. His 

 poetical abilities, however, neither suit the subject, 

 nor are of a very high order. His prose is better, 

 but here and there shows the deficiency of edu- 

 cation. E. M. R. 



Grantham. 



SINCERE, SIMPLE, SINGULAR. 



(Vol. viii., pp. 195. 328. 399.) 



When a hive of bees is taken, the practice is to 

 lay the combs upon a sieve over some vessel, in 

 order that the honey may drain out of the combs. 

 Whilst the combs are in the hive, they hang per- 

 pendicularly, and each cell is horizontal; and in 

 this position the honey in the cells which are in 

 the course of being filled does not run out ; but 

 when the combs are laid on the sieve horizontally, 

 the cells on the lower side of the combs hang per- 



pendicularly, and then the honey begins to run 

 out of those that are not sealed up. The honey 

 that so runs out is perfectly pure, and free from 

 wax. The cells, however, that are sealed ap with 

 wax still retain their honey ; and the ordinary 

 process to extract it is to place the sieve with the 

 combs upon it so near a fire as gradually to melt 

 the wax, so as to let the honey escape. During 

 this process, some portion of wax unavoidably 

 gets mixed with the honey. Here then we have 

 two kinds of honey : one in a perfectly pure state, 

 and wholly sine cera ; the other in some degree 

 impure, and mixed cum cerd. Can anything be 

 more reasonable than to suppose that the former 

 was called sincerum mel, just as we call it virgin 

 honey ? And this accords with Ainsworth's deri- 

 vation, " ex sine et cera : ut mel purum dicitur 

 quod cera non est permixtum." If it be said that 

 there is nothing to show that the old Romans 

 adopted the process I have described, I reply it i» 

 immaterial what process they followed in order to 

 extract what would not flow out of itself; as 

 whatever did flow out of itself would be mel sine 

 cerd. 



If such were the origin of the term, it is easy 

 to see how appropriately, in a secondary sense, it 

 would denote whatever was pure, sweet, unadul- 

 terated, and ingenuous. 



Now if we apply this sense to the line : 



" Sincerum est nisi vas quodcunque infundis acescit," — 



it will mean, " unless the vessel be sweet and pure, 

 it will tui'n whatever you pour into it sour." 



This is the interpretation that has always 

 hitherto been put upon the line ; which is thus 

 translated by Tommaso Gargalio, vol. iii. p. 19. 

 edit. 1820: 



" Se non e puro il vase, ecco gia guasto 

 Che che v' infondi." 



And by Francis (vol. iv. p. 27., 6th edit.) : — 



" For tainted vessels sour what they contain." 



The context shows that this is the correct trans- 

 lation, as sincerum vas is obviously in opposition 

 to " auriculas collectd sorde dolentes," in the pre- 

 ceding line. 



The line itself plainly refers to the well-known 

 fact, that if wine or other liquor be poured into a 

 foul vessel, it will be polluted by it. Nor can I 

 avoid noticing the elegant opposition, according to 

 this construction, between the sweetness in «'«- 

 cerum, and the acidity in acescit. 



I also think that Mr. Ingleby's version cannot 

 be correct for the following reason. Cracks may 

 exist in every part of a vessel alike ; and as the 

 part filled by the liquor is always many times 

 greater than the remainder of the vessel, cracks 

 would more frequently occur in the former ; and, 

 as where air can get in the liquor can get out, it 



t 



