J264 ON THE GODS OF GREECE, 



anfwers to the Vulcan of Egypt, where he was a Deity 

 of high rank; and his wife iSWAirefembles the younger 

 Vejla, or Veflia, as the Eolians pronounced the Greek 

 word for a hearth. Bhavdni, or Venus, is the confort 

 of the Supreme Deftruclive and Generative Power; but 

 the Greeks and Romans, whofe fyftem is lefs regular 

 than th^t of the Indians, married her to their divine 

 artifl, whom they alfo named Hepkaifloi and Vulcan, 

 and who feemsto be the Indian Vifwacar nan, the forger 

 of arms for the Gods, and inventor of the agnyaflra, or 

 fiery JIi aft, in the war between them and the Dauya , or 

 Titans. It is not eafy here to refrain from obferving 

 (and, if the obfervation gives off nee in England, it is 

 contrary to my intention) that the newly-difeovered 

 planet mould unquestionably he named Vulcan; fmce 

 the confufion of analogy in the names of the planets is 

 inelegant, unfcholarly, and unphilofophical. The name 

 Uranus is appropriated to the firmament; but Vulcan, 

 the flowed of the Gods, and, according to the Egyptian 

 priefts, the oldeft of them, agrees admirably with an 

 orb, which muff, perform its revolution in a very long 

 period; and, by giving it this denomination, we fhall 

 have feven primary Planets with the names of as many 

 Roman Deities, Mercury, Venus, Tellus, Mars, Jupiter^ 

 Saturn, Vulcan. 



It has already been intimated, that the Mufes and 

 Nymphs are the Gopya of Mat'hura, and of Goverdhan, 

 the Parnaffus of the Hindus, and the lyrick poems of 

 Jayadeva will fully j unify this opinion; but the Nymphs 

 of Mufick are the thirty Raginis, or Female Pajfions, 

 whofe various functions and properties are fo richly 

 delineated by the Indian painters, and fo finely defcri bed 

 by the poets: but I will not anticipate what will require 

 a feparate Effay, by enlarging here on the beautiful 

 allegories of the Hindus in their fyftem of mufical 

 modes, which they call Rdgas, or Pafjions, and fuppofe 

 to be Genii, or Demigods, A verydiftinguifhed fon of 



Brahma % 



