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luckily, that he could not have the convenience of evacuating upwards, by repetition, prayer, or lecture, he was forced to open an inferior vent. In short, he wrestled with the flesh so tong, that he at length fubdued it, coming off with honourable wounds all before. The furgeon had now cured the parts primarily affected; but the difeafe, driven from its poft, flew up into his head and as a skilful general, valiantly attacked in his trenches, and beaten from the field, by flying marches withdraws to the capital city, breaking down the bridges to prevent pursuit; fo the disease, repelled from its first station, fled before the rod of Hermes, to the upper region, there fortifying itfelf; but finding the foe making attacks at the nofe, broke down the bridge, and retired to the head-quarters. Now, the naturalifts obferve, that there is in human nofes an idiofyncracy, by virtue of which, the more the paffage is obftructed, the more our fpeech delights to go through, as the mufic of a flagellet is made by the flops. By this method, the twang of the nose becomes perfectly to resemble the fnuffle of a bagpipe, and is found to be equally attractive of British ears; whereof the faint had fudden experience, by practifing his new faculty with wonderful fuccefs in the operation of the fpirit: for, in a fhort time, no doctrine paffed for found and orthodox, unless it were delivered through the nofe. Straight, every paftor copied after this original; and those

who

who could not otherwise arrive to a perfection, fpirited by a noble zeal, made ufe of the fame experiment to acquire it. So that, I think, it may be truly affirmed, the faints owe their empire to the fnuffling of one animal, as Darius ‡ did his to the neighing of another; and both ftratagems were performed by the fame art; for we read, how the Perfian beaft acquired his faculty by covering a mare the day before.

I should now have done, if I were not convinced, that whatever I have yet advanced upon this fubject, is liable to great exception. For, allowing all I have said to be true, it may still be justly objected, That there is, in the commonwealth of artificial enthusiasm, fome real foundation for art to work upon in the temper and complexion of individuals, which other mortals feem to

want.

Obferve but the gefture, the motion, and the countenance of fome choice profeffors, though in their most familiar actions, you will find them of a different race from the rest of human creatures. Remark your commoneft pretender to a light within, how dark, and dirty, and gloomy he is without: as lanterns, which, the more light they bear in their bodies, cast out fo much the more foot, and fmoke, and fuliginous matter to adhere to the fides. Liften but to their ordinary talk, and look on the mouth that delivers it: you will imagine you are hearing fome ancient oracle, and your understanding VOL. II.

Herodot.

C

will

will be equally informed. Upon these, and the like reasons, certain objectors pretend to put it beyond all doubt, that there must be a fort of preternatural Spirit poffefling the heads of the modern faints; and fome will have it to be the heat of zeal, working upon the dregs of ignorance, as other spirits are produced from lees by the force of fire. Some again think, that when our earthly tabernacles are difordered and defolate, fhaken and out of repair, the fpirit delights to dwell within them; as houses are faid to be haunted, when they are forsaken and gone to de

cay.

To fet this matter in as fair a light as poffible, I fhall here very briefly deduce the history of Fanaticifm from the most early ages to the prefent. And if we are able to fix upon any one material or fundamental point, wherein the chief profeffors have univerfally agreed, I think we may reasonably lay hold on that, and affign it for the great feed or principle of the spirit.

The most early traces we meet with of Fanaties in ancient ftory, are among the Ægyptians, who inftituted thofe rites known in Greece by the names of Orgia, Panegyres, and Dionyfia; whether introduced there by Orpheus or Melampus, we shall not difpute at prefent, nor, in all likelihood, at any time for the future. The feafts were celebrated to the honour of Ofiris, whom the Grecians called Dionyfius, and is the

fame

fame with Bacchus ;* which has betrayed fome fuperficial readers to imagine, that the whole bufinefs was nothing more than a set of roaring, fcouring companions, over-charged with wine. But this is a scandalous miftake, foifted on the world by a fort of modern authors, who have too literal an understanding; and, because antiquity is to be traced backwards, de therefore, like Jews, begin their books at the wrong end, as if learning were a fort of conjuring. These are the men who pretend to understand a book by scouting through the index; as if a traveller should go about to describe a palace, when he had seen nothing but the privy; or like certain fortune-tellers in Northern America, who have a way of reading a man's destiny by peeping into his. breech. For, at the time of inftituting these mysteries, † there was not one vine in all Ægypt, the natives drinking nothing but ale; which liquor feems to have been far more ancient than wine, and has the honour of owing its invention and progress not only to the Egyptian Ofiris ‡ but to the Grecian Bacchus; who, in their famous expedition, carried the receipt of it along with them, and gave it to the nations they vifited or fubdued. Befides, Bacchus himself was very feldom or never drunk: for it is recorded of him, that he was the first inventor of the mitre ; || which he wore continually on his head, (as the

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whole company of Bacchanals did,) to prevent vapours and the headach after hard drinking. And for this reason, fay fome, the scarlet whore, when he makes the kings of the earth drunk with her cup of abomination, is always fober herself, though fhe never balks the glafs in her turn, being, it seems, kept upon her legs by the virtue of her triple mitre. Now, these feasts were inftituted in imitation of the famous expedition Ofiris made through the world, and of the company that attended him, whereof the Bacchanalian ceremonies were fo many types and fymbols. From which account it is manifeft, that the Fanatic rites of thefe Bacchanals cannot be imputed to intoxications by wine, but muft needs have had a deeper foundation. What this was, we may gather large hints from certain circumftances in the courfe of their myfteries. For, in the first place, there was in their proceffions, an entire mixture and confufion of fexes: they affected to ramble about hills and deferts; their garlands were of ivy and vine, emblems of cleaving and clinging; or of fir, the parent of turpentine. It is added, that they imitated fatyrs, were attended by goats, and rode upon affes, all companions of great skill and practice in affairs of gallantry. They bore, for their enfigns, certain curious figures, perched upon long poles, made into the fhape and size of the virga genitalis, with its appurtenances; which were fo many

* See the particulars in Diod. Sic. 1. 1. & 3.

fhadows

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