tain no doubt, but that this is the true situation of the once famous temple of Jupiter Ammon.

to inshrine.

To bury. The tower of Belus and Pyramids of Serapis were designed for the tombs or monuments of the Assyrian or Egyptian kings.

720 Belus or Seraphis, their gods.

721

Belus, one of the most ancient kings of Babylon, about 1800 before the age of Semiramis, was made a god after death, and worshipped, with much ceremony, by the Assyrians and Babylonians. This temple of Belus was the most ancient and most magnificent in the world. It was originally the Tower of Babel, which was converted into a temple. It had lofty towers, and it was enriched, by all the succeeding monarchs, till the age of Xerxes, who, after his unfortunate expedition against Greece, plundered and demolished it. Among the riches it contained, were many statues of massy gold, one of which was forty feet high. Serapis had a magnificent temple to his honour at Memphis, another at Alexandria, and a third at Canopus. The worship of Serapis was introduced at Rome, by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, A. D. 146, and the mysteries celebrated on the sixth of May; but with so much licentiousness, that the senate were soon after obliged to abolish it.

when Egypt with Assyria strove. Egypt, a country in Africa, it is a narrow vale on both sides of the Nile, bounded by ridges of mountains or hills: it is the most considerable part of Africa; and was once the seat, if not the

parent, of science. Dr. Young has immortalized it by the following lines:

If glorious structures and immortal deeds Enlarge the thought, and set the souls on fire, My tongue hath been to cold in Egypt's praise: The queen of nations and the boast of times, Mother of science and the house of gods! Assyria, a large country of Asia, whose boundaries have been different in its flourishing times. The Assyrian empire is the most ancient in the world. The country is now called Curdistan. 729 With Naphtha.

There are springs of Naphtha at Baku, a seaport town on that part of the Caspian Sea which is included in the territory of Persia: it is strongly fortified; and enjoys considerable trade in rock salt, sulphur, naphtha, cotton and saffron, which are produced in the surrounding country, and are exchanged for wine and silk stuffs. The everlasting fire and the Naphtha springs, in the neighbourhood, have been subjects of wonder to credulous travellers; some of whom have detailed exaggerated accounts of these natural appearances. In a dry and rocky soil, ten miles from Baku, a sulphureous and bituminons vapour issues from the earth, and, when set fire to, continues to burn for a long time. The votaries of superstition have taken advantage of this phenomenon, and have erected temples, in which the Indians perform certain religious ceremonies. A hollow cane is fixed in the ground, near the altar, in one of the temples, and a blue flame, which, it is said, has burned since the flood, and will continue so to the end of the world, issues

729

from its upper extremity. The soil is described

The

as a mixture of coarse marl and sand. chemical reader will be at no loss to perceive that this imflammable gas is produced by the decomposition of certain substances, under the surface; and that it is probably the same with the carbonated hydrogen gas, which is obtained from coal, for the purpose of lighting streets and manufactures. The naphtha springs, in the neighbourhood of Baku, are a copious source of revenue to the khan. The naphtha, of which the the principal spring is in a small uninhabited island, is of various degrees of consistence: sometimes it is in a liquid form, when it boils over and runs in a continued stream; and sometimes solid and black, like pitch. If accidentally kindled, the whole course of the current, as it proceeds to a great distance into the sea, appears in a flame. The naphtha is collected in reservoirs, and it is drawn off from one to another, for the purpose of purification; it is conveyed in vessels to different parts of Persia, and is employed, by the poorer inhabitants, for both light and heat. Springs of hot water are found in the same vicinity; and are employed, for both bathing and drinking, in the cure of various diseases. The naphtha, taken internally, or used as an external application, is also regarded as a sovereign remedy in a long list of disorders; though it may be doubted, whether it penetrates instantaneously into the blood, as has been asserted. Hanway's Travals.

and Asphaltus yielded light. Asphaltus, or Jew's pitch, an inflammable

mineral substance, which is found on the waters of the Dead Sea, in Palestine; and, far more abundantly, in the extensive tar lake, in the island of Trinidad, in the West Indies.

731 And some the Architect.

Vulcan, whom they feigned to have been thrown by Jupiter from heaven, to the Isle of Lemnos in the Ægeon Sea, where he constructed immense forges; likewise in Mount Etna, and worked there with his black Cyclops: his talents were celebrated; and Jupiter, his father, loaded him with honour, and made him god of fire: many temples were erected to him; where he was represented, leaning upon an anvil, and having the eagle ready to carry the thunder: he assisted the Titans in their war against heaven. Vulcan is Tubal, see Genisis, iv. 22.

789 In ancient Greece.

Græcia, a celebrated country of Europe, bounded on the west by the Ionian Sea, south by the Mediterranean Sea, east by the Ægean, and north by Thrace and Dalmatia. This country has been reckoned superior to every other part of the earth, on account of the salubrity of the air, the temperature of the climate, the fertility of the soil, and, above all, the fame, learning and arts of its inhabitants. The austerity of their laws, and the education of their youth, particularly at Lacedæmon, rendered them brave and active, insensible to bodily pain, and fearless and intrepid in the time of danger. The Greeks planted many colonies, and totally peopled the western coast of Asia Minor. In the eastern parts of Italy, there

739

were also many settlements made; and the country received, from its Greek inhabitants, the name of Magna Grecia.

and in Ausonian land.

Ausonia, one of the ancient names of Italy, which it received from Auson, the son of Ulysses. Men called him Mulciber.

741

A sirname of Vulcan.

thrown by angry Jove.

Jove, a title of Jupiter.

On Lemnos th' Ægean Isle.

Lemnos, an island in the Ægean Sea, between Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothrace. It was sacred to Vulcan, called Lamnius pater, who fell there when kicked from heaven by Jupiter. Lemnos is one hundred and twelve miles in circumference, according to Pliny, who says that it is often shadowed by Mount Athos, though at the distance of eighty-seven miles. It has been called Hipsipyle, from Queen Hipsipyle. It is famous for a certain kind of earth or chalk, called terra Lemnia, or terra sigillata, from the impression or seal which it can bear. As the inhabitants were blacksmiths, the poets have taken occasion to fix the forges of Vulcan in that island, and to consecrate the whole country to its divinity. Lemnos is also celebrated for a labyrinth, which, according to some traditions, surpassed those of Crete and Egypt. Some remains of it were still visible in the age of Pliny. The island of Lemnos is now called Stalimene.

·

and at the Soldan's chair.

Soldan or Sultan, an ancient title used by the Turks, Persians and Arabians to their emperors.