278 M U S 
the particular meaning of their names, Erato fignifies the 
amiable ; Urania, the CelefHa!; Calliope, elegance of lan¬ 
guage; Euterpe, the who pleafeth; Thalia, lively joy, 
efpecially the feftivity of banquets ; Melpomene, (lie who 
delighteth in tinging; Polymnia, multiplicity of fongs; 
Terpfichore, (lie who delighteth in the dance ; Clio, glory. 
An epigram of Callimachus gives the attributes of the 
Mufes in as many lines: 
Calliope the deeds of heroes tings ; 
Grp at Clio fweeps to hiftory the firings ; 
Euterpe teaches mimes their iilent ftiow; 
Melpomene prefides o’er fce.nes of woe ; 
Terpjlchore the flute’s fort povv’r difplays ; 
And Erato gives hymns the gods to praife ; 
Polymnia to the dance her care apply’d; 
. Urania wife, the ftarry courfe defery’d; 
And gay Thalia's glafs was life and manners’ guide. 
This epigram does not, however, exa&ly correfpond with 
the ideas of other poets, or of the ancient painters, in cha¬ 
racterizing the attributes of the mufes ; and indeed of the 
epigram itfelf there are very different readings and trans¬ 
lations. The ancients had numberlefs ingenious and fan¬ 
ciful ideas concerning the Mufes, which we have not room 
to recite. “ It feems (fays the abbe Barthelemi) as if the 
firft: poets, enchanted with the beauties of Nature, occa- 
fionally were led to invoke the nymphs of the woods, hills, 
and fountains ; and that, yielding to the prevailing tafte 
for allegory, they gave them names relative to the influ¬ 
ence they might be fuppofed to have over the productions 
of the mind.” Trav. of Anacharfis, vol. iii. 
The palm-tree, the laurel, and all the fountains of 
Pindus, Helicon, Parnaffus, &c. were facred to the Mufes. 
They were generally represented as young, beautiful, and 
modeft, virgins. They were food of fohtude, and com¬ 
monly appeared in different attire according to the arts 
and Sciences over which they prefided. Sometimes they 
were reprelented as dancing in a chorus, to intimate the 
near and indiffoluble connexion which exifts between the 
liberal arts and Sciences. Sometimes they appear with 
wings, becaufe by the afiiftance of wings they freed them- 
felves from the violence of Pyrenseus. The worfhip of 
the Mufes was univerfally eflablifhed, particularly in the 
^enlightened parts of Greece, Theffaly, and Italy. No Sa¬ 
crifices were offered to them, though no poet ever began 
a poem without a Solemn invocation to the goddeffes who 
prefided over verfe. There were feftivals inftituted in 
their honour in Several parts of Greece, efpecially among 
the Thefpians, every fifth year. The Macedonians ob¬ 
served alfo a feftival in honour of Jupiter and the Mufes. 
It had been inftituted by king Arclielaus, and it was ce¬ 
lebrated with ftage-plays, games, and different exhibitions, 
which continued nine days, according to the number of 
the Mufes. 
It muff not, however, be imagined, that the deities, 
thus invoked, are confidered, even by the ancients poets 
themfelves, as divine perfons, from whom they expedl any 
real help. Under the name of Mufe they pray for the ge¬ 
nius of poetry, and all the talents and circumftances ne- 
ceflary for a happy execution of their undertaking. Their 
addreffes to the Mufes are mere allegories, and manners of 
expreffmg themfelves poetically; as when they make gods 
of fleep, of flame, of revenge, and other natural and moral 
things. Accordingly, the Mufes are of all ages, countries, 
and even of all religions : there are Chriftian as well as 
Heathen Mufes; Latin, Greek, Englifh, and French, 
Mufes. There are alfo new Mufes, who appear every day 
in favour of thofe, who, difdaining things too trite and 
common, choofe to ftrike out of the road. Thus, wdien 
Virgil wrote his Eclogues, he invoked the Sicilian Mufes, 
becaufe he imitated Theocritus; and, the Sicilian poet 
having fucceeded, the Roman begged for a genius as 
happy as that of this iflander. The Mufes of the poet 
Lucretius had never infpired any perfon before him. It 
is plain, from the do&rine of his book, what kind of di- 
M U S 
vinity it was hemvoked. He addreffes himfelf to Venus ; 
but, at the fame time, tells us, that none of the deities 
trouble themfelves with human affairs. His Mules, there¬ 
fore, muff of necefiity be mere allegories. 
MU'SE-INSPIRED, adj. Gifted with the power of 
verfe : 
The mufe-hfpired train 
Triumph, and raife their drooping heads again. Waller. 
MU'SE-RID, adj. Pofleft by tire mufe.—Pale, meagre, 
mufe-rid wight! Shajlone. 
MU'SEFUL, adj. Deep thinking; fiiently thoughtful. 
Full of mufejul mopings, which prefage 
The lofs of reafon, and conclude in rage. Drydett. 
MU'SELESS, adj. Regardlefs of the power of poetry.— 
Mufelefs and unbookilh they were, minding nothing but 
the feats of war. Milton's Areopagitica. 
MU'SER, f. One who mufes ; one apt to be abfent of 
mind. 
MUSES'TRE, a town of Italy, in the Trevifan : eight 
miles eaft-north-eaft of Trevigio. 
MU'SET, /! [in hunting.] The place through which 
the hare goes to relief. Dr. Johnfonfrom Bailey.—Mufst 
is a gap in a hedge. Cot grave. 
The purblind hare, 
How he outruns the wind! and with what care 
He cranks and crofles, with a thoufand doubles! 
The many mufits through the which he goes, 
Are like a labyrinth to amaze his foes. Shakefpeare. 
MUSE'UM, [Greek.] A repofitory of learned curio- 
fities.—Our feioliffs will often write mufeeum for mufeum ; 
as Mr. Thorelby, in the account he has given us of his col¬ 
lection of rarities, and others ; but the Greek word is 
pno-ilov, i. e. mufeum in Engliih. Pegge's Anonym. 
Museum was a name originally given to a palace, or 
vaft range of building, in Alexandria, and which indeed 
took up one-fourth of the city. This quarter was cailed 
the Mufeum, on account of its being fet apart for the mufes 
and the ftudy of the fciences. Here were lodged and en¬ 
tertained the men of learning; who were divided into 
many companies or colleges, according to the fciences of 
which they were the profeflors; and to each of thefe houfes 
or colleges was allotted a handfome revenue. The foun¬ 
dation of this eftablifhment is attributed to Ptolomy Phi- 
ladelphus, who here placed his library. Hence the word 
mnj'eum is now applied to any place let. apart as a repofi¬ 
tory for things that have an immediate relation to the arts. 
The firft perfon whom we read of having formed a ca¬ 
binet of natural and artificial curiofities in England was 
fir John Tradefcant, who lived in the reign of Charles I. 
This gentleman poflefled large phyfic-gardens in Lambeth ; 
and travelled over a confiderable portion of the giobe with 
the diftinft view of improving himfelf in natural fcience, 
and procuring fpecimens of whatever appeared rare and 
curious. The fon, having imbibed the fpirit of his father, 
followed his example; and by their joint exertions a very 
valuable collection was framed, which afterwards became 
the property of Mr. Elias Afhmole, and was comprifed in 
his noble donation to the univeriity of Oxford. The mu¬ 
feum thus formed at Oxford, called the Ajhmolean Mufeum, 
is a noble pile, erefted at the expenfe of the univeriity. It 
was begun in 1679, and finifhed in 1683, at which time 
the valuable colledlion of curiofities prefented to the 
univeriity by Alhmole was there repoiited, and after¬ 
wards digefted and put in order by Dr. Plott, who was 
conftituted firft keeper of the mufeum. Divers confider¬ 
able acceffions have been fince made to the mufeum ; as of 
hieroglyphics, and other Egyptian antiquities, by Dr. 
Huntingdon; and of an entire mummy, by Mr. Good¬ 
year ; of a cabinet of natural curiofities, by Dr. Lifter ; 
alfo of divers Roman antiquities, altars, medals, lamps. 
Sec. Among the more remarkable of the venerable re¬ 
mains of Tradefcant’s original cabinet, ftill prefervedin the 
Aflimolean Muleuro, is the head of the bird called a dodo, 
(fee 
