

1 



In raptur'd strains thy praise was hymn'd of old,* 

 And still resounds on Ganges' faithful shores.f 



Within thy fair corolla's full-blown bell X 

 Long since th' immortals fix'd their fond abode ; 



There day's bright source, Osiris, § lov'd to dwell, 

 While by his side enamour'd Isis glow'd. 



saith he often did eate of the fruite of a certaine herbe growing in a great brooke or lake, two or three courses or miles long, on the north- 

 " t "L of FeXot whieh is about twelve eourses from Agra, in the dominions of the great Mogo.l, called Surrat or Guzurrat, m the East 

 Tndes which the people call Camolachachery, describing it to be like a goblet, flat at the head, con tarn, ng d.vers nuts or akornes w.thm it. 

 I have hire sedowne these things, as well to show you mine owne observations after Clusius and others, that assuredly tins is the true Faha 

 WW hi ancients, as to pfovoke some of our nation to be as industrious as the Hollander by whose care m the.r travels tins was first 

 fad! £nown t us, to search out such rare fruites as grow in the parts of their abode, and either communicate them to such as are expe- 

 rienced or having penned them to publish their labours in print, if it may be, which I hold to be better, according to Mr. Fincham s example, 

 whose observations have given so great an illustration in this matter, as well as in other things, by me also remembered elsewhere m this 



W ° r * e pa-anism at first arose from gratitude, and the adoration of this flower, as will be presently shown, proceeded chiefly from this cause. 

 Amon. the Egyptians, animals as well as flowers, which were useful, were among the objects of worship Cicero judiciously remarks « that 

 no animals were held sacred by the Egyptians, but such as merited regard from their extraordmary uUhty. The same sentiment holds ex- 



actlv with regard to their sacred plants. . 



« jEzvptii nullam belluam, nisi ob aliquam utilitatem quam ex ea caperent, consecrarunt velut Ibes, max.mam vim serpenhum confic.- 

 unt cum sint aves excels*, cruribus rigidis, corneo proceroque rostro; avertunt pestem ab iEgypto, cum volucres angues ex vastitate Lyb.ae 

 vento Africo invectas, interficiunt atque consumunt, ex quo fit ut ill* nee morsu vivae noceant nee odore mortuee; earn ob rem mvocantur ab 



./EevDtiis Ibes." Cic. de Nat. Deor, lib. 1. , . , , ™ . • , j u jj- > u a 



The idols belonging to the aborigines Egyptians were birds, and beasts, and plants, which the Phoenicians altered^ by adding a man s head 

 or body, and thence formed those motley deities, commonly considered as the Egyptian deities. Vide Origin of Hieroglyphics and the My- 

 thology of the Ancients, by the Bishop ofClogher, p. 14. . ' 



The only objection urged against this opinion, so favourable to the ancient Egyptian superstition, is the worship of the crocodile. The 

 inhabitants of Thebes consider the crocodile as a sacred animal. One of these creatures is rendered tame, and attended with the greatest care 

 and veneration His food is prescribed and regulated according to the directions in their sacred books. He is adorned with earrings made of 

 e old and precious stones, as well as a sort of bracelet upon his fore feet," &c. Herodotus. But it is probable he was worshipped as the great 

 Typhon or emblem of destructive power; and it is to be observed, that this superstition was peculiar to Thebes; whereas the Lotos, the 

 Ibis, the Ichneumon, the Cow, &c. were held in superstitious veneration in every part of Egypt. ..,._. 



+ When Sir William Jones was at dinner on the borders of the Ganges, some of his people, at his desire, brought him the Nelumbium, 

 when all his Indian attendants immediately fell upon their faces, and paid adoration to this plant. 



X The flower of the Nelumbium is bell-shaped, somewhat resembling our Water Lily, and its flowers are in circles, which as these expand 



emit a most agreeable odour. . 



* The ancient Egyptians, like the primitive Persians, worshipped the sun and moon, or rather their deities, whence so many benefits issued 

 to mankind We are almost tempted to forgive that superstition which could believe these planets the abodes of a god and a goddess, whom 

 they denominated by the names of Osiris and If*; They sometimes quitted their supreme abodes, and came down upon earth and enjoyed 

 themselves, by riding on a stately flower above the waters, blown about by the zephyrs; nor can we much wonder at such superstition, since 

 we have had our fairies, and Anacreon the Greek poet describes Cupid alike diminutive. 



As late I sought the spangled bowers, 

 To cull a wreath of matin flowers, 

 Where many an early rose was weeping, 

 In one I found the urchin sleeping: 

 I caught the boy, a goblet's tide 

 Was richly mantling by my side; 

 I caught him by his downy wing, 

 And whelm'd him in the racy spring. 

 Oh! then I drank the poison d bowl, 

 And love now nestles in my soul; 

 Yes, yes, my soul is Cupid's nest, 

 I feel him fluttering in my breast. 



Moore. 



Thus the Roman poet Virgil invokes the sun and moon as deities: 



Vos, O clarissima mundi 

 Lumina, labentem coelo qui ducitis annum, 

 Liber, et alma Ceres. 



Lvcaon whose wickedness was fabled to have hastened the destruction of the old world, was the father of Callisto. Her charms engaged 

 the affections of Jupiter, but his jealous consort having discovered the amour, changed her into a bear, in which shape she is Placed^by 





