226 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAT. XII. 



feminine Being of the Orphic philosophy, produced 

 in the Chaotic Egg and acting upon its elements;** 

 and quotes this passage of Horapollo* in support 

 of his opinion : — " The world seems to the Egyp- 

 tians to consist of a masculine and feminine na- 

 ture, and they designate Minerva by a vulture (and 

 a beetle), and Vulcan by a beetle (and a vulture) ; 

 for these are the only Gods which are represented 

 by the Egyptians as having a double nature, or as 

 being both masculine and feminine.*' He thence 

 concludes with Jablonski, that *' the Goddess, 

 whom the Greeks call Minerva, and who was wor- 

 shipped at Sais, was the counterpart of Phthas, or 

 the same Being in his feminine character.** But 

 this is not supported by the evidence of the mo- 

 numents, nor is there any relation between Pthah 

 and the Egyptian Minerva. 



I have here, and in other places, introduced 

 several theories of Greek and Roman writers on the 

 subject of mythology, and have mentioned some 

 of the speculations of philosophers who studied in 

 or visited Egypt. But I must not omit to observe 

 that the opinions of late writers, as Porphyry, lam- 

 blichus, Proclus, and all the new Platonists of 

 the Alexandrian school, should be admitted with 

 considerable caution. Though many of their spe- 

 culations were derived from an Egyptian source, 

 the original was often even more than parce dis- 

 torta ; and no doctrine of theirs can be accepted 

 as illustrative of Egy])tian notions, which is not 

 confirmed by the monuments, or expressly stated 

 to be taken from the philosophy, of Egypt. 



* Horapollo, lib. i. c. 12. 



