wholly a quack," "wrote at length on the macrocosm and 

 microcosm, and it entered into the philosophies of the mystics 

 Jacob Boehme and Emmanuel Swedenborg. 



Allusion is made in the last paragraph of the quotation 

 from the " Epistle of Isis" to the twelve signs of the zodiac 

 and their supposed influence on the anatomy of man; this 

 too is a very ancient feature of astrology and played an im- 

 portant role in the practice of Rudolph's fortune-tellers. Its 

 foundations were laid by Chaldean astronomers, Hebrew 

 sages and Greek philosophers; Christian mystics adopted it 

 and mediaeval astrologers magnified it so that it became a 

 persistent popular superstition. The first step in the evolution 

 of this conception was taken more than four thousand years 

 ago, when the star-gazers of Babylon observed the circular 

 zone through which the sun appears to pass in the course 

 of a year, and divided it into twelve constellations, creating 

 what is known as the zodiac. To these twelve divisions 

 symbols were given some of which are said to be Babylonian 

 ideographs of the months. The astronomers of Egypt adopted 

 this system and their lively imaginations peopled the constel- 

 lations with genii; thus arose a symbolism in which each 

 group of stars is likened to a given animal or human char- 

 acter. The twelve constellations and their anatomical associ- 

 ations are quaintly set forth in the following lines: 



The Head and Face the Princely Ram doth rule, 



The Neck and Throat falls to the sullen Bull 



The lovely Twins guide Shoulder, Arm and Head, 



The slow pac'd Crab doth Breast and Spleen command. 



The Lion bold governs the Heart of Man. 



The modest Maid doth on the Bowels scan. 



The Reins and Loins are in the Ballancc try'd. 



The Scorpion the Secret Parts doth guide. 



The Shooting Horse lays claim to both the Thighs ; 



The Knees upon the Headstrong Goat relies. 



The Waterman, he both the Legs doth claim, 



The Fishes rule the Feet and meet the Ram again. 



Moore's Vox. Stellarum, 1721. 



90 



