O F SERPENTS. 207 



whole World is the Temple of God. The Sicyoniaiis would build 

 no Temple to their Goddefs Coronis : Nor would the Athenians 

 eredl a Statue to the Goddefs Clemency, who they faid was to live 

 in the Hearts of Men, not 'within Stone-Walh. The Goddefles 

 were numerous, but I fhall add no more. 



They did not only enroll Men and Women among their Gods, 

 but they bad alfo Hermaphrodite^Gods . Thus Mifierva, accord- 

 ing to feveral of the Learned, was both Man and Woman, and 

 worfhipped as fuch under the Appellation of Limus & Luna. 

 Mithras, the Perjian Deity, was both God and Goddefs j there 

 were Gods of Virtue, Vice, Time, Place, Death .... Infancy, 

 Not Men only, but every thing that relates to Mankind, has alfo 

 been deified, as Infancy, Age, Death, Labor, Refl, Sleep, Virtues, 

 Vices, Time, Place .... Infancy alone had a numerous Train of 

 Deities. They alfo ador'd the Gods of Health, Love, Fear, Pain, 

 Indignation, Shame, Renown, Prudence, Art, Science, Fidelity, 

 Liberty^ Money, War, Peace, Vidtory. . . , . 



Thus we have feen, that nothing more common among Pa- 

 gans, than to place Men among the Number of Deities ; yea^ 

 fome of them would not wait for their Deification till Death. 

 Thus Nebuchadnezzar, K'ln^ oi Babylon, procured his Image to 

 be worjhipped while he was living. Thus Augujlus had Altars 

 erefted and Sacrifices offered to him while alive. He had Priefts 

 called Augujlales, and Temples at Lyons, and feveral other Places. 

 He was the firft Roman who carried Idolatry to fuch a pitch : 

 Having in a moft refpeftful manner view'd the embalm'd Body 

 of Alexander the Great, was aflc'd, if he would fee Ptolemy'% alfo ? 

 he anfwer'd, His Ciiriofity was to fee a King., not a Man. His 

 Favourite- Poet complements him with the Title of God^. Yea, 

 the Ethiopians deem'd all their Kings Gods. 



II. Inanitnate T^hings turjid into Gods. 

 Things without Life were made into Gods by the Heathens: 

 The Sun, Moon, and Stars feem to be the firfl: Idols, or falfe 

 Gods, to whom they paid a divine Regard. Pcftdonius defines a 

 Star, a divine Body. The Zabii eredled Images to the Stars, 

 Avhich they fancied to be fo many Gods, and that they influenced 

 the Images confecrated to them , yea, and communicated the pro»> 

 phetick Spirit to Men. 



The. 

 * Deus nobis bcec otia fecit. 



