C 7H ) 
recorded of St. John Baptifi, that he lived upon Lecufii 
and Wild Hony, that he did this only in 'the Defert ff//. 
dernefs, where no other Suftenance was to be had. 
■ And thus welee the Native Irijh were (though un- 
known to themfelves) Authors of a pradlical Commen- 
tary on this part of the Levitkal Law, and by Matter 
of Fad have explained what was the true ^5enfc and 
Meaning of this othcrwife fo dark and abftrufc Text ; 
and indeed fuch a Caution as this was highly ntceffary, 
and of fo great Moment to the Jeivs^ that it was well 
worth the Care and Wifdom of their great Leader and 
Prophet, to infert a Particular Claufe in fheir Law con^ 
cerning it : For 'tis certain Vakftine^ Arabia, ^gypt^ 
and the other neighbouring Countries about them, were 
all jextreamly fubjeft. to be intefted with thefe forts of 
pernicious Vermin ; which is the Reafon they are fo fre- 
quently mentioned, and fbmetimes threatned as Judg- 
ments to the Jews, by the Prophets in their Sacred Wn- 
tings. 
And this al(b puts in my Thought s^ t|iat it is, more 
than probable, this fame deflrudtive Beetle we are fpeak- 
ing of, was that very kind of Scaraleus, the Idolatrous 
Egyptians of old had in fuch high Veneration, ^s to pay 
Divine Worfliip to it, and fo frequently grave its Image 
upon their Agulios and Olelisks, zs we fee at this Day : 
though I the ^learned and refining ilntiquaries, I know, 
give afar other Account of fhis Matter, and tell us a Sto- 
ry of the Beetle being an Hierogliflcal Repreftntation of 
the Sun, and therefore held as facred among them ; yet 
this is made out bur very lamely, and in my Opinion is 
a ftrange and a forced Conjedurc. 
Whereas nothing can be fuppofed more Natural, than 
to imagine a Nation addi^^cd to Polytheifm^ as the ^gyp^ 
tian$ were^ in a Country frequently fuffering great Mif- 
chief 
