60 



he saj's, he collected from ancient Greek traditions. Now, 

 Avhen the actions of each of these are attributed to one, the 

 most celebrated of those that bore the same name, we may 

 easily imagine what an ample field for various, and even in- 

 consistent tales, was opened to the Grecian poets. 



The personification of moral qualities gave occasion to the 

 invention of numerous fables : thus Hesiod says, v. 223, that 

 Night begot Nemesis, the Goddess of revenge and envy, and 

 also fraud and contention ; and, v. 886, that the first wife af 

 Jupiter was Metis, prudence; and, v. 901, that his second 

 wife was Themis, justice. 



But perhaps the most fruitful source of all was the innate 

 love of fables with which the Greeks were possessed. Hesiod 

 himself owns, v. 27, that false tales, no less than true, may 

 be inspired by the muses — for the entertainment of the 

 happy, and the consolation of the unfortunate. 



The immoral tendency and gross indecency of many of 

 these tales was noticed and censured in the earliest times, 

 by those that received the less exceptionable parts of the 

 Greek theology. Dionysius of Halicarnasstis* relates, that 

 Romulus, who lived about seven hundred years B. C. and 

 two hundred after Homer and Hesiod, adopted the principal 

 part of the Greek theology, but rejected tlieir immoral and 

 indecent fables ; a conduct which the historian himself highly 

 approves. It scarce need be mentioned, that Aristotle., 



Plato, 



* Lib. 2. cap. 7. (or 18 cf the Oxford Edition.) 



