660 
their idolatrous worship, that the Council of Jerusalem con- 
nected impurity with idol offerings as things to be avoided. 
The emblem became of a far more gross form and character 
in after ages, and such as could admit of no doubt as to its 
meaning. It was the guardian of the Roman gardens ; and 
though perhaps at that time a mere scarecrow, it retained 
its name " Priapus," and, with its name, a remembrance of 
its origin, peculiarly fitted for gardens, viz., the sun, the 
author of life, and heat, and vegetative power. There are 
several examples of this among Roman remains in Britain, 
as, for instance, on an old Roman arch, near Newcastle ; 
and, again, on a stone found at Adel, near Leeds, not far 
from an old Roman pottery manufactory. The numerous 
examples found in Pompeii, for almost every conceivable 
purpose, for charms, for personal ornaments, for lamps, &&, 
shew how general its use was; and, though gross in its 
form, it evidently was not a mere emblem of sensuality, as 
was shewn by its appearance as the tutelar deity of an 
oven, where bread, the staff of life, is prepared ; but it was 
a remnant of the old worship of their fathers, and signified 
"life," creative and supporting power. 
From certain customs, attached to menhirs or pillar 
stones, especially to the Obelisk of Kerloaz, in Brittany, it 
is evident that some remains of impure worship, or rather 
superstition, are still lingering among a people who call 
themselves " not the least civilized in the world." 
There is one more coincidence, or similarity of religious 
habit, between Britain and Egypt, India and Canaan, and 
connected with Baal worship, that may be worth observing, 
viz., the worship of the "Bull," or " Heifer." The Egyptian 
Apis is too well known to require more than a passing 
allusion ; so also the Sacred Cow of India. The frequent 
mention of calves, &c.,Jn the Old Testament, shews that 
the idea was a common one in Canaan. We must have 
