ao8 S Y L V A BOOK iv 



sed quia maxime luceat; by so many lamps, suspended 

 in them before the shrine ; or because they kindled 

 fires, by what accident unknown : 



1 Whether it were 



By lightning sent from heaven, or else there 

 The salvage-men in mutual wars and fight, 

 Had set the trees on fire, their foes t'affright. 



Or whether the trees set fire on themselves, 



2 When clashing boughs thwarting, each other fret. 



For such accidents, and even the very heat of the sun 

 alone has kindled wonderful conflagrations: Or haply 

 (and more probably) to consume their sacrifices, we 

 will not much insist. The poets it seems, speaking 

 of Juno, would give it quite another original, and tune 

 it to their songs invoking Lucina, whilst the main and 

 principal difference consisted not so much in the 

 name, as the use and dedication, which was for silent, 

 awful, and more solemn religion, (si/va, quasi silens 

 locus] to which purpose they were chiefly manu consiti^ 

 such as we have been treating of, entire, and never 

 violated with the ax: Fabius calls them sacros ex 

 vetustate, venerable for their age ; and certain it is, they 

 had of very great antiquity been consecrated to holy 

 uses, not only by superstitious persons to the Gentile 

 deities and heroes, but to the true God, by the 

 patriarchs themselves, who ab initio (as is presum'd) 

 did frequently retire to such places to serve him in, 



1 Seu caeli fulmine misso, 



Sive quod inter se bellum silvestre gerentes 

 Hostibus intulerant ignem, formidinis ergo, &c. 



Lucret. lib. v. 1243. 



2 Mutua dum inter se rami stirpesque teruntur. 



