Chap. IV. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 47 



think, be queftloned. One of them, by name Agatharcbides, fays, 

 that they were to be feen in Alexandria in his time, having been 

 fent thither from Ethiopia and the country of the Troglodites. So 

 that it appears, that the Latrator Anubis^ as Virgil calls him, which 

 was the form of one of the Egyptian gods, was not an imaginary 

 form, but taken from real life. 



This author, Agatharchides, mentions another animal of mixed 

 form, having the head of a man and the body of a lion, fuch as he 

 is reprefented in ancient fculpture, and is called a Sphynx. He fays 

 he was fent to Alexandria from Ethiopia, with the dog-headed man 

 above mentioned. And he defcribes him ta be, by nature, a tame 

 and gentle animal, and capable of being taught motion to mufic ; 

 whereas the dog -headed men, he fays, were exceedingly fierce, and 

 very difficult to be tamed *. According, therefore, to this author, 

 the fphynx was no imaginary animal, but had a real exiftence, as 

 well as the dog-headed men. Agatharchides, however, is the only 

 author, as far as I know, who mentions the fphynx, as an animal 

 adually exifting; whereas the dog headed men are mentioned by fe- 

 veral other authors It may be obferved, however, that Agatharchi- 

 des had an opportunity of being very well informed ; for he lived 

 about the time of Ptolemy, III. king of Egypt, who had a great 

 curiofity to be informed about the wild men of Ethiopia, and for 

 that purpofe fent men to that country, particularly one Symmias, 

 from whom Agatharchides got his information f. And I am difpofcd 

 to believe that he was well informed ; for I have read his book, and 1 

 think it has all the appearance of being an authentic narrative, with- 

 out any mixture of fable, unlefs we are difpofed to believe, that there 

 never exifted, on this earth, men different from thofe we fee now. 



But 



• Vol. III. of this work, p. 264. 

 t Ibid. p. 50. 



