THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS. 49 



goddess, who, in their religion, they held it sacrilege 

 so much as to touch. Therefore, that he might ex 

 piate his country s guilt, nothing respecting the 

 duties of hospitality, when the bonds of religion tied 

 him with a more reverend regard, suddenly slew 

 Diomedes, commanding withal that his trophies and 

 statues should be abolished and destroyed. Neither 

 was it safe to lament this miserable destiny ; but 

 even his companions in arms, whilst they mourned 

 at the funeral of their captain, and filled all the 

 places with plaints and lamentations, were suddenly 

 metamorphosed into birds like unto swans, who 

 when their death approacheth, sing melodious and 

 mournful hymns. 



This fable hath a most rare and singular subject: 

 for in any of the poetical records, wherein the heroes 

 are mentioned, we find not that any one of them, 

 besides Diomedes, did ever with his sword offer vio 

 lence to any of the deities. And indeed, the fable 

 seems in him to represent the nature and fortune of 

 man, who of himself doth propound and make this as 

 the end of all his actions, to worship some divine 

 power, or to follow some sect of religion, though 

 never so vain and superstitious, and with force and 

 arms to defend the same : for although those bloody 

 quarrels for religion were unknown to ancients, the 

 heathen gods not having so much as a touch of that 

 jealousy, which is an attribute of the true God, yet 

 the wisdom of the ancient times seems to be so 

 copious and full, as that, what was not known by 

 experience, was yet comprehended by meditations 



