OF ALL COUNTRIES. 15 



Which we may render — 



A woman lends the lovely bust, a fish supplies the tail. 



The following hymn in her honour, taken from the 

 Magic Papyrus, bears some resemblance to the style of 

 Hiawatha. 



" Isis has struck 

 With her wing 



And closed the mouth of the rain, 

 She caused the fishes to remain lying in the stream, 

 Not a jug of water could be drawn out of it. 

 Sinking of the water, rising of the water I 

 Her tears lell (like) water, 

 Her tears fell into 



The water ; a cubit of fishes at the mouth of the ape ; 

 A cubit of wood at the mouth of the star. 

 By Isis was uttered the cry : No crocodile ! 

 And was effected the act of salvation. 

 Come, act of salvation. 

 Papaluka ! Paparuka ! 

 Papaluro." 



These latter lines form an invocation of the fish-god. 



Akin to this deity, in substance if not in name, was 

 Dagon, the fish-god of the neighbouring Phoenicians, whose 

 grand temple stood at Azotus. The origin of his apothe- 

 osis is attributed by Sanchoniathon to his having been the 

 inventor of the plough and the loaf; a noble title indeed, 

 which makes one half inclined to look with leniency upon the 

 idolatry, especially when it is compared with the heavy fine 

 which would now be imposed upon any one who conferred 

 such a benefit upon the world at large, unless indeed he con- 

 sented to be robbed of all his due. Dagon was probably 

 identical with the K?;t&) worshipped at Joppa, and AepKTjrco 

 at Ascalon, all three towns being close together, and the 

 nature of the worship being identical ; but a doubt may be 

 permitted whether the transformation of Dagon on the one 



