The Ægyptians that pretended so great antiquity, 300 Kings before Amasis: and as Mela writes, 13000 years from the beginning of their Chronicles, that brag’d so much of their knowledge of old, for they invented Arithmetick, Astronomy, Geometry: of their wealth and power, that vaunted of 20000 Cities: yet at the same time their Idolatry and superstition was most gross: they worshipped, as Diodorus Siculus records, Sun and Moon under the name of Isis and Osyris, and after, such men as were beneficial to them, or any creature that did them good.

In the city of Bubasti they adored a Cat, saith Herodotus, Ibis and Storks, an Oxe (saith Pliny) Leekes and Onions, Macrobius,

Porrum & cæpe deos imponere nubibus ausi, Hos tu Nile deos colis,——

Scoffing Lucian in his vera Historia: which as he confesseth himself was not perswasively written as a truth, but in Comical fashion to glaunce at the monstrous fictions, and gross absurdities of writers and nations, to deride without doubt this prodigious Ægyptian Idolatry, fains this story of himself; that when he had seen the Elisian fields, and was now comming away, Radamanthus gave him a Mallow-root, and bade him pray to that when he was in any peril or extremity; which he did accordingly; for when he came to Hydamordia in the Iland of treacherous women, he made his prayers to his root, and was instantly delivered.

The Syrians, Chaldeans had as many proper Gods of their own invention; see the said Lucian de dea Syriâ. Morny cap.22. de veritat. relig. Guliel. Stuckius Sacrorum Sacrificiorumque Gentil. descript. Peter Faber Semester. l.3. c.1, 2, 3. Selden de diis Syris, Purchas Pilgrimage, Rosinus of the Romans, and Lilius Giraldus of the Greeks.

The Romans borrowed from all, besides their own gods, which were majorum and minorum gentium, as Varro holds, certain and uncertain; some cœlestial select and great ones, others Indigites and Semi-dei, Lares, Lemures, Dioscuri, Soteres, and Parastatæ, dii tutelares amongst the Greekes: gods of all sorts, for all functions; some for the Land, some for Sea; some for Heaven, some for Hell; some for passions, diseases, some for birth, some for weddings, husbandry, woods, waters, gardens, orchards, &c.

All actions and offices, Pax, Quies, Salus, Libertas, Fælicitas, Strenua, Stimula, Horta, Pan, Sylvanus, Priapus, Flora, Cloacina, Stercutius, Febris, Pallor, Invidia, Protervia, Risus, Angerona, Volupia, Vacuna, Viriplaca, Veneranda, Pales, Neptunia, Doris.

Kings, Emperours, valiant men that had done any good offices for them, they did likewise canonize and adore for Gods; and it was usually done, usitatum apud antiquos, as Jac. Boissardus well observes, deificare homines qui beneficiis mortales juvarent, and the Divel was still ready to second their intents, statim se ingessit illorum sepulchris, statuis, templis, aris, &c. he crept into their temples, statues, tombs, altars, and was ready to give oracles, cure diseases, do miracles, &c. as by Jupiter, Æsculapius, Tiresias, Apollo, Mopsus, Amphiaraus, &c. dii & Semi-dei.

For so they were Semi-dii, demi-gods, some medii inter Deos & homines, as Max. Tyrius, the Platonist, ser.26. & 27. maintains and justifies in many words. When a good man dies, his body is buried, but his soul ex homine dæmon evadit, becomes forthwith a Demi-god, nothing disparaged with malignity of aire, or variety of forms, rejoyceth, exults and sees that perfect beauty with his eyes. Now being deified, in commiseration he helps his poor friends here on earth, his kindred and allies, informs, succours, &c. punisheth those that are bad, and do amiss, is a good Genius to protect and govern mortal men appointed by the gods, so they will have it, ordaining some for provinces, some for private men, some for one office, some for another.

Hector and Achilles assist Souldiers to this day; Æsculapius all sick men, the Dioscuri Seafaring men, &c. and sometimes upon occasion they shew themselves. The Dioscuri, Hercules and Æsculapius, he saw himself (or the divel in his likeness) non somnians sed vigilans ipse vidi: So far Tyrius. And not good men only do they thus adore, but tyrants, monsters, divels, (as Stukius inveighs) Nero’s, Domitians, Heliogables, beastly women, and arrant whores amongst the rest.

For all intents, places, creatures, they assign gods;

Et domibus, tectis, thermis, & equis soleatis Assignare solent genios ——

saith Prudentius. Cuna for cradles, Diverra for sweeping houses, Nodina knots, Prema, Pramunda, Hymen, Hymeneus, for weddings; Comus the god of good fellows, gods of silence, of comfort, Hebe goddess of youth, Mena menstruarum, &c. male and female gods, of all ages, sexes, and dimensions, with beards, without beards, married, unmarried, begot, not born at all, but as Minerva start out of Jupiters head. Hesiodus reckons up at least 30000 gods, Varro 300 Jupiters. As Jeremy told them, their gods were to the multitude of Cities;

Quicquid humus, pelagus, cœlum miserabile gignit Id dixêre deos, colles, freta, flumina, flammas.

What ever heavens, sea and land begat, Hils, seas and rivers, God was this and that.

And which was most absurd, they made gods upon such ridiculous occasions; As children make babies (so saith Morneus) their Poets make Gods; & quos adorant in templis, ludunt in Theatris, as Lactantius scoffs.

Saturn a man, gelded himself, did eat his own children, a cruel tyrant driven out of his kingdom by his son Jupiter, as good a God as himself, a wicked lascivious paltry King of Crete, of whose rapes, lusts, murders, villanies, a whole volume is too little to relate. Venus a notorious strumpet, as common as a barbars chair, Mars, Adonis, Anchises whore, is a great she-goddess as well as the rest, as much renowned by their Poets; with many such:

and these gods so fabulously and foolishly made, ceremoniis, Hymnis, & Canticis celebrant; their errors, luctus & gaudia, amores, iras, nuptias & liberorum procreationes, (as Eusebius well taxeth) weddings, mirth and mournings, loves, angers, and quarrelling they did celebrate in Hymns, and sing of in their ordinary songs, as it were publishing their villanies.

But see more of their originals. When Romulus was made away by the sedition of the Senators, to pacifie the people, Julius Proculus gave out that Romulus was taken up by Jupiter into Heaven, and therefore to be ever after adored for a God amongst the Romans.

Syrophanes of Ægypt had one only son, whom he dearly loved, he erected his statue in his house, which his servants did adorn with crowns and garlands, to pacifie their masters wrath when he was angry; so by little and little he was adored for a god. This did Semiramis for her husband Belus, and Adrian the Emperour by his minion Antinous.

Flora was a rich harlot in Rome, and for that she made the Common-wealth her heir, her birth day was solemnized long after; and to make it a more plausible holiday, they made her Goddess of flowers, and sacrificed to her amongst the rest.

The matrons of Rome, as Dionysius Halicarnassæus relates, because at their entreaty Coriolanus desisted from his Wars, consecrated a Church Fortunæ muliebri; and Venus Barbata had a temple erected, for that somewhat was amiss about hair, and so the rest.

The Citizens of Alabanda a small town in Asia minor, to curry favor with the Romans (who then warred in Greece with Perseus of Macedon, and were formidable to these parts) consecrated a temple to the City of Rome, and made her a goddess, with annual games and sacrifices: so a town of houses was deified, with shameful flattery of the one side to give, and intolerable arrogance on the other to accept, upon so vile and absurd an occasion.