Of despicable foes. With these in troop
Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called " .
Aftarte, queen of Heav'n, with crescent horns ;
To whose bright image nightly by the moon : 440
Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs, ...
In Sion also not unsung, where stood ...
Her temple on th' offensive mountain, buile
By that uxorious king, whose heart though large,'
Beguild by fair idolatreffes, felli... : 445
To idols foul. Thammuz came next behind,

; Whose

é opinion which Lucian relates, according to the traditions died « viz. that this stream at certain every year and reviv'd again. He a seasons of the year, especially was flain by a wild boar in mount « about the feast of Adonis, is of Lebanon, from whence the river “ a bloody color; which the Hea. Adonis defcends and when this " thens looked upon as proceed- river began to be of a reddith u ing from a kind of sympathy in hue, as it did at a certain season

the river for the death of Adonis, of the year, this was their signal a who was kill'd by a wild boar for celebrating their Adonia or k in the mountains, out of which feafts of Adonis, and the women

this Itream rises. Something made loud lamentations for him, t like this we saw actually come fupposing the river was discolor'd ti to pass; for the water was staind with his blood. The like idola* to a surprising redness; and as trous rites were transferred to Jeru& we observed in traveling, bad falem, where Ezekiel saw the wo« discolor'd the fea a great way men lamenting Tammuz, Ezek. * into a reddish hue, occasion d VIII, 13, 14. He said alfo unto me, a doubtless by a sort of minium Turn thee yet again, and thou foart * or red earth, wash'd into the fee greater abominations that they do. * river by the violence of the rain, Then be brought me to the door of « and not by any ftain from Ado. the gate of the Lord's house, which ” nis's blood."

Addifon. was towards the north, and behold Thammuz was the God of the Sy. there for women weeping for Tamrians, the fame with Adonis, who muz, Dr. Pemberton in his Ob

servations

Whose annual wound in Lebanon allurid
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
In amorous ditties all a summer's day, is
While smooth Adonis from his native rock. : 450
Ran purple to the sea, suppos'd with blood :::
Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the love-tale ;
Infected Sion's daughters with like heat, :
Whose wanton pafsions in the sacred porch

h:, :
Ezekiel law, when by the vision led
His eye fürvey'd the dark idolatries . . n
Of alienated Judah. Next came one

Who

fervations upon poetry quotes some bis, face to the ground before the art of these verses upon Thammum as of the Lord, and the bead of Dagor distinguishably melodious; and they and both the palms of his hands were are observed to be not unlike thole cut off upon the threfcold (upon the beautiful lines in Shakespear i Hen. grunsel or groundfil edge, as Milton IV. AA III. and particularly in the expreffes it, on the edge of the sweetness of the numbers; .z.. footpoft of his temple gate) erily iba As sweet as ditties highly penn'd, flump of Dagon was left to him as Sung by a fair queen in a fum

we read 1 Sam. V. 4. Learned mer's bower,

men are by no means agreed in With ravishing division to her

their accopnts of this idol. Some " lute.''

derive the name from Dagan which iii i . fignifies corn, as if he was the in457. Winner Next came one ventor of it;, others from Dag

W bo mourn'd in carnefl, &c.]The which fignifies a fish, and represent Jamentations for Adonis were with him accordingly with the upper out reason, but chere was real oc- part of a man, and the lower part casion for Dagon's mourning, when of a fish. Our author follows the the ark of God was taken by the latter opinion, which is that comPhilistines, and being placed in the monly receiv'd, and has besides the temple of Dagon, the next morn- authority of the learned Selden, ing behold Dagon was fallen upon This Dagon is called in Scripture

Who mourn'd in earnest, when the captive ark is
Maim'd his brute image, head and hands lopt off :11
In his own temple, on the grunsel edge, 2002.7460
Where he fell fat, and Tham'd his worshippers:
Dagon his name, fea monster, upward man ini
And downward fish: yet had his temple high
Rear'd in Azotus, dreaded through the coast : ;
Of Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon, ki 465
And Accaron and Gaza's frontier bounds.s ,
Him follow'd Rimmon, whose delightful feat..?
Was fair Damascus, on the fertil banks - nie

. . Of

the God of the Philiftines, and bana and Pharphar, rivers of Dan was worthipped in the five prina mafcus, as they are called 2 Kings cipal cities of the Philistines, men. V. 12: A leper once be loft, Naaman cond i Sam. VI. 17. Azotus or the Syrian who was card of his les Alhdod where he had a temple as prosý by Elisha, and who for that we read in 1 Sam. V. Gath, and reason resolvd thenceforth to offer Afcalor, and Accaron, or Ekron, neither burnt-offering nor facrifice to and Gaza where they had sacri- any other God, but unto the Lord, fices and feastings in honor of him. 2 Kings V. 17. And gain'd a king, Judg. XVI. Gaza's frontier bounds, Abaz his fottish conqu'ror, who with says the poet, as it was the southern the assistance of the king of Affyextremity of the promis'd land to- ria having taken Damascus, , law ward Egypt. It is mention'd-by there an altar, and sent a pattern Moles as the fouthern point of the of it to Jerusalem to have another land of Canaan. Gen. X. 19.'' made by ic, directly contrary to

467. Him follow'd Rimmon, &c.] the command of God, who had Rimmon was a God of the Syrians, appointed what kind of altar he but it is not certain what he was, would have (Exod. XXVII. 1, 2, or why so calld. We only know &c.) and had order'd that no other that he had a temple at Damascus, should be made of any matter or 2 Kings V. 18. the most celebrated figure whatsoever. Abaz however city of Syria, on the banks of Ab- upon his return remov'd the altar

of

Of Abbana and Pharphar, lucid ftreams.
He also' against the house of God was bold: 470
A leper once he lost, and gain'd a king,..
Ahaz his fortifh conqu’ror, whom he drew
God's altar to disparage and displace .
For one of Syrian mode, whereon to burn
His odious offerings, and adore the Gods 475
Whom he had vanquish'd. After these appear’d.
A crew who under names of old renown,
Ofiris, Isis, Orus, and their train,

With

of the Lord from its place, and set fled into Egypt, and there conup this new altar in its stead, and cealed themselves in the Thapes of offer'd thereon, 2 Kings XVI, 10. various animals; and the Egyp&c. and thenceforth gave himself tians afterwards out of gratitude up to idolatry, and inttead of the worshipped the creatures, whose God of Israel he facrific'd unto the shapes the Gods had aflum'd. Ovid Gods of Damascus, 2 Chron.XXVIII. Met. V. 319. &c. where is an ac23. whom he had subdued. . count of their transformations: and

478. Ofaris, Iris, Orus, and their therefore Milton here calls them

" train, &c.] Ofiris and Ifis Their wand'ring Gods disguis d it were the principal deities of the

brutish forms Egyptians, by which it is most pro

Rather than human. bable they originally meant the sun and moon. Orus was the son of 482. Nor did Israel scape Osiris and Ifis, frequently con- Th infection, &c.] The Israelites founded with Apollo: and thefe by dwelling so long in Egypt were and the other Gods of the Egyp- infected with the superstitions of tians were worshipped in mon- the Egyptians, and in all probabi. Arous fhapes, bulls, cats, dogs, &c. lity made the golden call, or ox and the reason alleged for this (for so it is differently call'd, Plal. monstrous worship is deriv'd from CVI. 19, 20.) in imitation of that the fabulous tradition, that when which represented Osiris, and out the giants invaded Heaven, the of the golden earings, which it is Gods were so affrighted that they most likely they borrow'd of the

Egyptians,

With monstrous shapes and forceries abus d...i
Fanatic Egypt and her priests, to seek .. . 480
Their wand'ring Gods disguis’d in brutish forms
Rather than human. Nor did Israel 'scape s
Th’infection, when their borrow'd gold compos'di
The calf in Oreb; and the rebel king : in?
Doubled that fin in Bethel and in Dan, '. 485
Likening his Maker to the grazed ox, ..!!.
Jehovah, who in one night when he pass'

d o a From Egypt marching, equal'd with one stroke

Both

Egyptians, Exod. XII. 35. The that eateth grass : Jehovah, who iz calf in Oreb, and so the Psalmist, one night when he pass'd from. Egypt They made a calf in Horeb, Pfal. marching, for the children of Israel CVI. 19. while Mofes was upon not only pafi'd from Egypt, but the mount with God. And the rebel march'd in a warlike manner, and king, Jeroboam made king by the the Lord brought them out, the Ifraelites who rebelled against Re- Lord went before them : equal'd hoboam, 1 Kings XII. doubled that with one froke both. ber fir-born fix by making two golden calves, and all ber bleating Gods, for the probably in imitation of the Egyp- Lord flew all the firft-born in the tians with whom he had conversed, land of Egypt botb man and beaft, who had a couple of oxen which und upon their Gods also the Lord they worthipped, one called Apis executed judgments. Exod. XII. 12. at Memphis the metropolis of the Numb. XXXIII. 4. and Milton upper Egypt, and the other Mnevis means all their Gods in general, at Hierapolis the chief city of the tho' he says bleating Gods in partilower Egypt: and he fet them up cular, borrowing the metaphor in Bethel and in Dan, the two ex- from sheep, and ufing it for the tremities of the kingdom of Israel, cry of any sort of beasts. Dr. Bentthe former in the south, the latter ley says indeed that the Egyptians in the north. Likening bis Maker to did not worship fheep, they only the grazed ox, alluding to Pfal. abftain'd from eating them: but (as CVI. 20. Thus they changed their Dr. Pearce replies) was not Jupiglory into tbe fimilitude of an ox ter Ammon worshipped under a