O F SE R PEN T S. 217 



of a Serpent with a Hawk's Head, becaufe of the wonderful 

 Agility of that Bird. We fee no Table of OJiris and Ifis^ two 

 Egyptian Idols, without a Serpent joined to them *. This IJis 

 married OfiriSy King of that Country, and govern'd with fo 

 much Wifdom and Gentlenefs, that the Egyptians paid divine 

 Honours to them, who had been fuch Bleffings to the Land. 



I N Fjgypt is a Serpent of the Afpick. Kind, called Thermiitis, 

 to which they gave divine Worfhip ; therefore crown'd with it 

 the Statue of their Goddefs Ifis. In the Corners of the Temples, 

 they built little Chapels under ground, where they carefully fed 

 this 'Thermutic Serpeitt^ as 2i J acred Genius -f*. 



The Egyptians alfo paid divine Honours to the Crocodile, that 

 monftrous kind of Serpent, particularly the Inhabitants of ^r/?;/o^', 

 and they who dwelt in the Neighbourhood of Thebes, and the 

 Lake Mceris ; among whom 'twas fed by their Priefts with Bread, 

 Wine, Flefh, and diverfe Rarities J. 



THMAUTUS, (o often mentioned by Sanchoniatho, attri- 

 buted fome Deity to the Nature of the Serpent ; an Opinion ap- 

 proved by the Phenicians, therefore look'd upon as holy and im- 

 mortal, and comes into the facred Myfteries ||. 



They reprefenied the World by a Circle, in the middle of 

 which was a Serpent, reprefenting the good Demon, or Genius 

 of the World, by which 'tis animated, and is a Symbol of the 

 Almighty Creator. Behold here the Blafphemy of Satan, in 

 giving to God the Form of a Serpent, which he had borrow'd 

 himfelf to make war againft God in Paradife. They fometimes 

 reprefented their Gods with the Bodies of Serpents, and honour'd 

 thofe odious Animals with divine Worfhip, as Symbols of Apollo, 

 of the Sun, and of Medicine, and were put into the Charge of 

 'Ceres and Projerpine, 



HERODOTUS obferves, that in his time, near Thebes, 

 there were to be feen tame Serpents, adorn'd with Jewels, and 

 confecrated to Jupiter, which did no harm to any body : When 

 they died, they were buried in Jupiter s Temple **. Milan fpeaks 



F f of 



* Macrobii Oper . Sat. cap. XX. 



t Mlian de Animal'tbus, lib. X. Conrad. Gefner. de Serp. p. 32. 



4: In Jan^onus de ^adruped, cap. viii. p. 142. 



II Eujeb. Prap. Evangel. I i. c. 10. from Philo Biblius, the Tranflator of 

 Sanchon. _ "^ 



** Ex Crocodilis aUmt. appeniaitei auribus vel gemfffas — —facris in urnis 



fepeliant. Euterpe, lib. ii. p. 186. 



