LA PREMIERE PARTIE DV 



N O E , fils dc Lamcch, a obtcnu grace cnucrs Dicu, qui I'a 

 repute cftre homme iufte & parfaiA.En Ton temps efloyent au 

 monde aucuns Geans,qui faifoyct beaucoup d'outrages a tou 

 tes nations du monde. Alors Dieu, voyant Ics grans maux qui 

 regnoyctenIatcrre,deliberacnroymefme,dedeftruircroures 

 creatures viuantes,fors Noc & Ca flimille : fi luy feic comande- 

 ment dc faire vne Arche , laquelle il acheuaen loo.ans. Apres 



Fig. g. — Section of Page from Piomfitunitr (/< > mnhnlli-^ ([553) l)y CluilLuimc 

 Rcmiili- (Di\-. Ill' Xiiinismaiics iiIioId). 



alons; with the coin ilhistrntions. Only the (•a:.^'Tnrss 

 to fill in niissins; information can explain the aniazint; 

 lahrications of some of these early writers. In 



Piii/ii/i/iiaiif dii uh'JaiUes des jilin iinnmiiii'is juisiituus ijiii 

 on! I ill di'jnds h KunmiHii nu 11/ du iiiinidi , piil ilishcc! in 



Fig. 10. — River-god Gel.\s on a coin from 

 Sicily, interpreted as the minoi.nir bv 

 Rouille, and actual coin (plioio IVom Roiiillc, 

 left, and author's phoio). 



Lyon in 1553 b\- Gtiillaunir Ronille, tlieic appear, in 

 addition to the drawings of real coin images, imagi- 

 nary portraits of Adam, Noah, Osiris, Auamemnon 

 (fia;. 9). Not onl\- was such fiction mixed with l.u I 

 hut also the real coins themscKcs oltcn were intcr- 



P.M'ER 32: NUNUSM.'S.TICS— .\N ,.\N(::IFNT SCIFNCE 



pretcd lo fit till- purpoM's of the .imlior. For ex.imple, 

 the ri\er-i;od Gelas, a man-headed hull, whicli 

 appears on an ancient coin iium the Greek city ot (iela 

 in Si( il\', is identified as tin- minni.nn-. Gomparison 

 with the actii.il coin rcxcals liow ihe drawini; was 

 clianucd 1 1\- adtfilion of the invented legend Mixii- 

 l.wi^ws (fi'4. 1(1).'" In another in^l.mce, fur a coin ol 

 iIk; 'Ihracian kini; I.\ sim.ichus. wIki used the licul ol 

 .Mex.nider ihi- (ire, it on the uh\ ervc, Rouille t.lkes 

 the kinc;'s name from its original (ireek on the reverse 

 ,ind pl.Ri-s il, in a L.itin spellin;;, iic.viiJe .Mexander's 

 head on the hice ol' (he coin (111;. 1 1 I."'' 



The ii,ii\e appro. icli of stu h c.irly iinljlicitions 

 aroused oiiK a limiled interest; more mature treatises, 

 which appi-.ireil duiim; the ciiK|ue( into, h.id .1 wider 

 appe.il. '1 he Itali.m hum. mist .Xnuelo Poli/.ianu 

 (1.43.; 14')4) puhlished his Miuillii>h<»iii)i cnlfiiiai- 

 jiinnm in 14,S'i in Florence, in this css.iy he discussed, 

 amoiii; other lliinus, .incienl coin images such .!•- the 

 daeuers on lirulus' coin, reu.irded <j;ener.ill\- as .111 

 exjiression of lilieitv. .Xfier this puhli( aticjii, \.iiious 

 (ilhei inimism.uic inonoL;r,iphs lollowed ill I r, nice. 



Rol 11 1 I . I'lolllpllKhT,-, p. -l.\ 



Ihul., p. \'S(>. 



17 



